kitchen tinkering

 

I spent the day yesterday tinkering in the kitchen.  A couple of new recipes were tried, among them these...pickled duck eggs.  

 

Boiled eggs are left to sit in a mixture of vinegars and spices. I'll get to sample these in a few weeks and I can't wait.

Did you whip up anything new in the kitchen this weekend?

 

extra eggs

My chickens and ducks have started to lay with gusto so I find myself with a glut of eggs.

I've already boiled up the older ones, traded a dozen and a half with my neighbor for some panfish, and last night I made that custard cake that's making the rounds on pinterest.

This weekend I plan to poach some and make some hollandaise.  And maybe some more gnocchi to freeze.

Okay, what was I saying?  I'm so hungry right now I've lost my train of thought...

This coming week is spring break and since my kids will be home, I'm planning to finish up some neglected home projects and lay low.  I'll pop in here if I finish up anything fun, but if you don't hear from me you can just assume I'm painting walls and eating flan.

Have a great weekend everyone!

perfect punctuation

I told myself, before the beginning of winter, that I would take care to punctuate these long snowy days with new experiences, color, and comfort.  Winters are long here and about this time of year I start getting the blahs.  It was perfect timing then that the first batch of sauerkraut that husband made, using the ferementation crock I gave him for christmas, was ready around the same time my brother in law experimented with making corned venison.  I baked up a couple of loaves of rye, and we had ourselves a reuben fest last night.

It was the first time I've ever had a reuben, and washed down with a pint of husband's homemade beer, I must say it was delicious.

Just what I needed.  It made waking up to below-zero temperatures a little more tolerable this morning.

How do you manage cabin fever, the blahs, the greys?  Are you counting the days until spring?

grinding garlic

When it comes to food I'm a hands-on kind of girl.  I bake my own bread, dry my own tomatoes, and make my own cheese from time to time.   We brew our own beer and ferment our own sauerkraut so I find it odd then that I never once thought about making kitchen staples like garlic powder. 

I was running low on garlic powder and as I was writing it on my grocery list I suddenly wondered if I could make my own.  The answer was yes, and the process was really simple, to boot.

I picked up a few heads of good garlic at the store, peeled and sliced them, and put them in the deydrator on low until they were dried to a crisp.  (a full day and a half)

I ground them up with my mortar and pestle until I had powder and that was it.  Now, it did take some time to process all of that garlic, and 5 heads only gave me about 2/3 cup so the question for me naturally, is "is it worth the effort?"  I stuck my finger in a bit of the store bought garlic powder and tasted it.  It was vaguely garlicky.  I stuck my finger in the homemade and tasted it.  Whooo!  It definitely had some kick.

A little will go a long way with this, and it comes with no extra packaging, which I appreciate.  The overall cost was about the same as store bought too.  I can couple it with some finely ground salt when a recipe calls for garlic salt.  I'm glad I tried it.

Do you have any pantry staples that you make?  Have any good tips for me?

Jellies and Jams

Another of my holiday to-do's was to make a few different jellies and jams for gifts.  I was able to put a big check mark on that this week, making three different wine jellies and a sweet onion jam.  I may still sneak in a caramel apple jam I've been wanting to try, but this is a good start. 

The pink is a white zinfandel, the pale yellow is a Minnesota-made Columbine wine, and the gold with flecks of pepper is the sweet onion.  I also made a batch of a Minnesota-made red wine jelly.  I've made a lot of jelly, but all of these were firsts for me.  The wine jellies taste like a grown-up grape jelly and the onion is oh.so.good. with its sweet and spicy vibe. 

They looked so lovely sitting on the table today that I got a little photo-happy.  And those sweet little covers?  My friend Sonia made those, aren't they wonderful?

As the sun went down, they were like a little stained glass window on my table.  So pretty.

This is the recipe I used for the wine jellies.   This is the recipe I used for the sweet onion jam.  Though this recipe calls for no-sugar pectin, I never have good luck with it.  I prefer regular pectin for my recipes.

What about you?  Do you have a favorite, unusual jam or jelly flavor you can share with me?   I'd love to try some new ones. 

Happy Monday, everyone.

Peanut Soup

Snow always puts me in the mood for soup so last night I made up a batch of a rib-sticking, tasty West African peanut soup.  I first tried a peanut soup last year at one of my favorite restaurants, Prairie Bay.   I liked it so much I had to try making it myself.  I found this recipe and I've only made very slight adjustments to it. 

I like making this soup because it's simple but yields a hearty soup that even my kids like.  The chopped peanuts add a great texture against the creaminess of the peanut butter.  The recipe makes a lot so I always have extra to freeze and it keeps wonderfully.  Plus, the smell of the onions, garlic, and peppers cooking makes my kitchen smell like happiness.

Ingredients

2 tbl olive oil
2 med onions, finely diced
2 large bell peppers, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes with juice (I always add more, either canned or fresh)
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 18 oz. jar of creamy peanut butter (note: you're looking for peanut flavor, not sugar so try to find the natural stuff, it's usually in the refrigerator case at the grocery store)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts, shells and skins removed

Directions

1.  Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat.  Cook onion, bell pepper, and garlic about 5 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes with their juice, broth, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.

2.  Add rice to soup and stir.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

3.  When rice is cooked, whisk in peanut butter, stir in chopped peanuts, return to simmer, and serve. 

Do you have a favorite soup recipe to share?