Coffee

A little coffee with my milk!

Coffee is GOOD for you....fully caffeinated in all it's glory.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

Baked Cheesy Potato Shreds

It was another wet and dreary day and I was in a hurry.  I shredded some potatoes and pepper jack cheese in the Cuisinart  all together and poured some coconut oil in the baking dish.  I added the shreds to the dish and kind of tossed it around like a salad...to mix the oil in and to disperse the cheese a little more evenly.  I forgot to add salt....it did need it.
The dish was filled to the top before I stuck it in the toaster oven at 300*F for an hour.  We went and did other things for a while, so I am not sure how long it sat, cooling.  As you can see, it did reduce by about a third.
I LOVE this dish!  It took 2 minutes to prep and didn't need my presence to cook.

Fight Back Friday

Ooh applesauce...or is it pie filling?

Applesauce with Nectarines

This is my FIRST attempt at canning...looks good, doesn't it?

I followed the guidelines from here:
How to Make Homemade Applesauce
We like chunky in our household, so I decided to skip the grinding part, left the peels on, and fed the cores to the chickens.

Ingredients:

Coconut Oil 
10 lbs Nectarines
10 lbs Pristine Apples
10 lbs Ginger Gold Apples
Sucanat/Cream of Tartar Mix 
(1/4 tsp CT/TBS sugar)
Unrefined Sea Salt

Yield: 8 1/2 quarts

I put oil on the bottom of the pot to cover and prevent scorching.  I don't know that it was necessary, but I like to sneak it in where possible.  I filled the pot, with room to stir,  and set it on low with the lid on and went and did other things.  When it was mushy, we had some for lunch.  I just mixed in a little gelatin for protein and....viola...a complete meal.  WOW! Exquisitely yummy!  Totally NOT like anything store bought.

After lunch and with renewed motivation, I started filling jars.  I put it in my HOT jars from the dishwasher and placed them in the canner. My first batch only filled 3 jars.  My second batch filled 5 jars.  I had expected twice that amount...at least.  I suspect I may have cooked a lot of the water out.  I will  be having another go today with the rest of fruit.  I intend to have these on hand for emergency food....either the  "I'm hungry RIGHT NOW" type of emergency or the "power's out during an ice storm" emergency.  It mixes hot or cold with gelatin and can be reheated easily on the wood stove.

1 jar didn't seal due to too much space from the looks of it.  We were FORCED to eat that jar right away....with extra coconut oil and gelatin. Butter would work too.  Theses were store bought OG apples, picked under done.  I am so looking forward to tree ripened apples.

Two for Tuesdays
Tuesday Twister
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Simple Lives Thursday
CANNING WEEK 2011

Milestone

I had to tighten the band on my watch by one notch this morning...it was so loose, it was dangling like a bracelet.

Scalloped Potatoes

Today was a dismal and soggy day...over 9 inches of rain!  The creek was as full as it could be without going over its banks.  I craved hot, slow cooked, comfort food.  Here's what I chose to make:

Ingredients
Potatoes
Cheese
Milk
Butter and coconut oil
Salt 
Pepper

I sliced 3 medium potatoes in the food processor, then grated about 8 oz of  Munster and a little Parmesan type hard cheese.  After a heavy coating of the sides and bottom of the baking dish with coconut oil, I layered the mix of potatoes and cheese.  I ground some salt and pepper over the top, added about 1 cup of milk (what was left in the jar) and dotted with thin slices of butter, about 1-2 TBS.  I baked it in my toaster oven at 300* for an hour.  It sat for 15 minutes before our digging in.

This would be a good use for older or clabbered raw milk.

We didn't have any leftovers.

Simple Lives Thursday 
Pennywise Platter Thursday