Frozen Black Grapes (OG)

If you ever get the chance to eat black grapes, I highly recommend them. I was pleasantly surprised my the variation in flavor and the extra sweetness these had over the standard green offerings. (The fact that they were $1/lb cheaper than the other colors didn't hurt either.)

I wiped and sorted these grapes, just as I did the green and red variety previously.  One bunch didn't pull off the vine very well without splitting, which I took to be a sign of less than ripeness.  The rest of the grape bunches picked much cleaner.

We taste tested our first batch after an overnight in the freezer.  These have a noticeably softer "bite" when fully frozen, which I attribute to the extra sugars working as an antifreeze.

Whole Pickled Pluots

(inspired by a friend's memory of pickled peaches and the spices in my Joy of Cooking book.)

Vinegar Syrup
1 Gallon of ACV
8-10 Cups of Cane Sugar
1/2 Cup Cream of Tartar
1/2 Cup Sea Salt
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Star Anise
5 Whole Cloves
1 Piece Ginger candy (couldn't find the dried ginger)

A bunch of ripe, cleaned Pluots
(4-5 fit into a wide mouth quart jar)

1. Place all ingredients for the "syrup" into a large stockpot.
2. Bring to a light boil and stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add enough Pluots to fill a few jars at a time.
4. Fill sterilized jars with fruit and add hot vinegar to fill line. (I used a ladle to lift fruit and pour vinegar.)
5. Wipe rim and mouth of jar with a clean cloth.
6. Place sterilized lid and band carefully and tighten band according to instructions.  
7. Let sit undisturbed for 12 hours to cool.
8. Repeat as needed.
9. Check your seals and store in a cool, dark...but ideally not too damp place if leaving the bands on the jars.   

I used tattler lids for the first time due to the high acid content.  I tested the seal by removing the band and gently lifting the jar by the lid.  We've got some serious vacuum going on....yeah!

I started with 16 lbs of Organic Dapple Dandy Pluots, lost some to nibbling and some to shrinkage (spoilage), but still managed to put up 14 beautiful quarts.  I had to make a second batch of syrup to finish the jars.  There was some left over, which I will use it for making beet pickles at a later date.

Pork, Peach and Potato Stew

Hearty and colorful!

1. Take the remainder of the Pork Roast and Peaches out of fridge (or freezer).
2. Cut pork and peaches into tidbit sized pieces.
3. Scrape gelatin broth/gravy from storage container into a pan.
4. Add cut (and peeled, if desired) potatoes to pan.
5. Add extra salt for potatoes
6. Place meat/fruit on top.
7. Heat on medium low with a cover until potatoes are tender.
8. Stir and remove from heat to cool.
9. Enjoy!

Pennywise Platter Thursday

Homegrown Pork Shoulder with Fresh Roasted Peaches

Pork Shoulder with Fresh Peaches

Ingredients:

2 TBS Cane Sugar
(Brown or White)
2 TBS Cream of Tartar
10 TBS Unflavored Beef Gelatin
1 TBS Sea Salt
Dash of Allspice

1  cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Ceres brand Guava Juice
(blends well with ACV)

2.34 lb pork shoulder (milk fed)
5 peaches, skinned and halved.



Defrost in water and/or bring meat to room temperature. Mix the dry ingredients together until there are no clumps.  Add liquid while stirring and let set.  Line the bottom of a roasting pan or deep dish with peach halves.  Place roast on top.  Cover peaches and roast with gelatin  mixture.  Bake at 300* for at least 90 minutes. Let rest.  (90 minutes is the upper limit on my toaster oven.  We set it cooking, went for a stroll, came back in about 3 hours.)   Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

This is a tangy dish with a touch of sweet...catered to an adult palate.  Young ones might appreciate some additional sugar to cut the tart.  Ketchup Boy  managed to voluntarily put away multiple servings over the course of the weekend without adding extra sugar (something he's not shy about).... yet never would admit he liked it. Go figure...

Simply Delish

Savory Sunday

Seasonal Saturday 

Your Recipe, My Kitchen

MaFF Monday

Hunk of Meat Monday

Monday Mania

Barn Hop
Hearth and Soul Hop
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival
Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Gluten-Free Wednesdays
Real Food Wednesday 
What's Cooking Wedneday

All in One Loaf

I have been craving meatloaf for a while now but my last attempt ended up a lousy meatloaf...but an excellent sloppy joe/nachos type meal.   Mixing gelatin IN the loaf just didn't work.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
4 medium sized potatoes
1 lb grass fed ground beef
1/4 cup beef gelatin
3/4 cup ketchup
Sea salt
Coconut oil


I poured a thin layer of coconut oil on the bottom for "greasing" the pan, then swished it around a little to get it up the sides.  I peeled the potatoes, the sliced them thin into half moons.  4 potatoes filled the loaf pan to about the halfway point.  If your's are bigger or smaller, adjust accordingly.  I salted lightly in between layers of potatoes.  The burger was added next.  My meat came from by back yard, but use the best you can find and afford.  I was feeling a bit no frills today, so just plopped it in and spread it to cover the potatoes.  I mixed the gelatin into the ketchup and spread the resulting paste mostly evenly over the top.  As it heats, the gelatin will liquefy and spread itself out.

It's cooking right now in the toaster oven at 300* for an hour or until the potatoes are tender.

Variations are endless.  I used Hunt's sugar sweetened ketchup this time, but can envision adding a little horseradish for a cocktail sauce topping, or mixed with mustard and sweetened for a BBQ sauce.  Any ground meat would work, or a blend.  Basil comes to mind. Or paprika and sour cream instead of a tomato based sauce, maybe some horseradish too.  Apples instead of potatoes with an orange chutney for the top.  Of course, you could make a lasagna size version for more people or leftovers too....or in a crock pot?

Hmmmm...let's see how this one turns out first, shall we?

Blog Background Design Update

I added one of my own pictures as the background.  It's Bunny's first day (as in Energizer Bunny)...she's a few hours old in that photo, I think.
What do you think of it as the background?  Is the writing legible still?  More so? Less?

Here she is again, in case you can't see the background......

 Just for added cuteness.....

Orange Fig Sauce

Take the Fig Chutney and replace the vinegar with Orange Juice and leave out the sugar....unless you are using it for a dessert sauce, you don't need it.  Go easy on the salt too. Actually, we made an over salty batch of rice and so needed to completely remove it from the sauce. (Verbally teaching someone else to cook...2 handfuls PLUS beef broth was a bit too much, even for me.)

So you don't have to click to the other page....

Orange Fig Sauce
3/4 cup All fruit Fig preserves
8-10 TBS unflavored beef gelatin
1/2-1 cup Orange Juice (depends on desired thickness of sauce)
Pinch of salt (optional)

We poured generously over a slice of homegrown ham and a side of jasmine rice.

Simply Delish

Neufchatel - Attempt #2

1. Again, I started with 1/2 gallon of freshly strained milk, but I let it cool down for an hour before I started.
2. I added approximately 1/4 tablet rennet (approximate because it had gotten a little crumbly in it's container.) and stirred for a few minutes.  No gelling took place this time.
3. I did not add clabber this time....because I forgot.  What can I say....it happens.
4. I set the measuring bowl outside to clabber/gel on the back porch in a sunny spot (no rain today and hot and humid) with a clean dishtowel to keep out direct sun, bugs and too curious critters.
5. I set the timer for one hour to check it.  It looks just right and there is a small pattern on a section of the top where the dish towel sunk down and made contact.  Oops.
6. I brought it inside to drain off excess whey and cut the curds into 1 inch squares.  This releases more whey and allows for easier transfer into the butter muslin lined  colander.  I used a wide, slotted spoon for transferring.

Drip, drip, drip.....

Now I am waiting as the whey slowly drips from the curds.  I have high hopes this time!

Update: We're definitely getting there.  No squeak this time, color is whiter throughout, the texture is much softer but still firmer than cream cheese/neufchatel.  If you ever want to make imitation Silken brand tofu, this is it.  I can't believe I just said that.  LOL!

I didn't mix in salt, but added it to the bottom of the container and placed the cheese on top.  The next day, all the salt is absorbed into the cheese quite evenly, as far as I can tell.

P.S. The first attempt made a great breakfast with a side of fresh cherries.  I added a little more salt across the bottom of the storage container and the cheese seemed to absorb it well overnight.

Yummy Failure - Neufchatel

Neufchatel isn't supposed to squeak, is it?

This is my first attempt at a non Mozzarella cheese.  Well.............it STILL wants to be Mozzarella!
It tastes like a raw, non stretched version of my Mozz.  Yummy, but not at all what I had in mind.  I used this recipe as a guideline, kinda sorta:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09337.html

We have been hot and dry for a long time and the pasture is crispy.  This morning's milking wasn't enough for a full batch, so I halved it.  I strained 8 cups of the "still warm from the cow" milk into a large glass measuring cup with pour spout.  The dog got the rest of the morning's milking.  Why? She's pretty adorable and it saves cleaning a jar later.  I stirred in 4 TBS of 2 day clabber that had already formed a soft curd.  If you look closely, you can see the white specks in the cheese...it didn't quite blend all the way.

The next step was to add the rennet, which is where I got into trouble, I think.  It was supposed to take about 30 minutes to gel and it gelled almost immediately, in a few stirs of the spoon.  I followed the rest of the steps as closely as I could.  It became obvious I was not going to get the intended results when I tried to stir the salt in.  I don't think you are supposed to have to chop it up to mix.

I used my plastic colander on top of a 2 cup measuring cup and butter muslin to strain and the measuring cup on top as the weight and waited 2 hours.  The drippings were very milky colored and came to about 1 cup, so I estimate my yield at about 1.5 cups of cheese.

I came across this recipe that calls for 1/2 the amount of rennet:
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/neufchatel/neufchatel.htm

I suspect the freshness of the milk has a lot to do with the discrepancy of rennet needed.  Or maybe it's my cow?

This cheese is begging for a fresh tomato....hmmmm....like a thick slice off a Cherokee Purple.....a little salt and freshly ground pepper.......

I wonder if it would melt?

Monday Mania
Barn Hop

Pickling Cherries

I was able to purchase 18 lbs of unsprayed RIPE black cherries for less than $2.00/lb.  They are exquisite!   I was planning on canning some and cooking with some and eating some fresh.  Then I came across this recipe for WHOLE (meaning with the stems and pits intact) pickled cherries...and I was intrigued.  We like sweet pickles in our household.  I like eliminating unnecessary steps.  It is the perfect combination in my mind.

So inspired by the previous recipe and the flavoring of this pickled cherry recipe,  and this other pickled cherries recipe, I set out to make my own.

I currently have 6 liters put up.  I washed each batch of cherries in a vinegar /water solution first.  I filled each jar with a handful of cherries at a time, checking for too soft or damaged fruit.  2 cherries got rejected.  One was disposed of in my tummy and one was thrown out to the chickens.

I chose to make one 2 liter batch sweet and spicy with 3 whole dried jalapeños and about 2:1 vinegar to sugar with 2 TBS sea salt.  The other 2 batches are 1 star anise each, some whole cloves and peppercorn with approximately 3:2 vinegar to sugar.  One is a little heavier on the cloves and peppercorns than the other.  I used raw ACV for the vinegar and will just keep them in the back of the fridge.  There's 2 TBS of sea salt in each jar plus 1 tsp of cream of tartar for extra potassium.

Will have to get back to you on how they turn out...but I have high hopes.  Worse comes to worse, I can make a chutney out of them or something.


Update Day 3:  These have been sitting on the counter for  about 3 days.  I hadn't gotten around to making space in the fridge for them yet.  I couldn't resist a nibble....
A little softer than I was expecting...but I think that's because they weren't cold.  Tasted good....not quite the same as a fresh cherry but not a vinegar bomb either.  I like it so far...especially if they keep long term.  There's quite a bit of the undissolved sugar at the bottom on the jar, I should probably just use less next time but I was afraid of making them too sour.


Seasonal Saturday 
Foodie Wednesday
Simple Lives Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Fresh Food Friday
Friday Potluck
Fightback Friday
Savory Sunday 
Barn Hop
Monday Mania
Make a Food "e" Friend Monday
Your Recipe, My Kitchen

Quicky Chocolate Slushie

The remnants....

Ingredients

Skim Milk

Cane sugar

Cocoa powder

Cream of Tartar

Sea salt

Homemade Vanilla 

 I had a about a quart left of already skimmed milk in a half gallon jar and needed to make room for the next milking. I carefully tapped out some cocoa powder from its storage jar, dug out a few large clumps of dark brown molasses sugar with a fork (trying to use it up to make room in the cupboard),  tossed in a small spoonful of Cream of tartar and about the same of sea salt.  After a dash of vanilla, I put the lid back on and SHOOK, SHOOK, SHOOK.  When it looked mostly blended, I poured in in an already frozen ice cream canister and stirred.  After about 10-15 minutes, it was frozen and fluffy.

Yeah, I found a few clumps of unmixed, dry cocoa while eating some...but I didn't mind.  You could probably do the same thing with chocolate milk made from syrup and avoid the clumps, but I was out. I need to make a double or triple batch next time.

Friday Food

Savory Neufchatel Dip

I couldn't resist tasting with a mushroom first....

Ingredients 
Base:
1 cup Neufchatel (lowfat cream cheese)
2-4 TBS skim milk
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp sea salt

Suggested spices:
Thyme 
Red Pepper Flakes
Onion Powder
Fish Sauce

Mix all ingredients until well blended.  I used a food processor and added to it while while blending.  The milk is just to thin to desired consistency.  This came out about like a sour cream dip, only with a lot less fat and more protein.  I envisioned it with a little added vinegar for a cucumber salad dressing as well, but ate it all before I could try that.

We used the dip for whole mushrooms, fresh black cherries and homemade tortilla chips.  It was very interesting how the different food items brought out different flavors.  The mushrooms made the dip seem very mild and sweet, while the cherries seem to bring out the hotness of the pepper flakes.  The tortilla chips were used with the leftovers the next day and they were the best.  They were hot from the stove and slightly melted the dip as the chips made contact.  Sublime!

Hearth and Soul Hop
Made From Scratch
Gluten Free Wednesday
Dip Blog Hop

Frozen Grapes

Wild grape vines are in abundance around here, but fruiting is rare and I have never seen any at the ripened stage.  It is totally possible, the birds beat me to it.  Anyway, if I want grapes, I have to buy them.

Already frozen OG green grapes

Organic Red and Green Seedless Grapes were on sale this week at a store I happened to be in already.  I brought some home and put them in the fridge until I could attend them.  When I was ready and able to put my feet up for a time, I set my self down with a bag of grapes, a clean dish cloth and a box of quart sized slider bags.  I like to "polish" my grapes, rather than wash them. They are usually a little damp from the fridge and wiping them removes dust and dirt, but also the yeast...that white bloom seen on the fruit.  There shouldn't be any chemical residues on OG grapes, in theory.  You don't really know what you are getting unless you grow it yourself. 

Ewwww.....that came off the grapes...

I think I prefer frozen grapes to room temperature ones....at least in this weather anyway.  They are bite sized popsicles and a great way to store grapes during their season.  Mine don't usually last very long though...they make such an easy, refreshing snack.  They turn brown rapidly when defrosted all the way, so if you actually wanted to use them non frozen, I would recommend a cooked dish...like a pie or sauce or...HMMMM, this looks good...



Life as Mom
Seasonal Saturday
Food Renegade

Accidental Chocolate Pudding - GF, no cornstarch

I am a huge fan of the taste and even more so, the texture of Fudgsicles.  I haven't had one in years...not since I used to walk home from school and pass by the Corner Store every day, I think.  I do NOT like the ingredients....NOT something I ever paid attention to back then.  I also do NOT like the texture of "homemade" fruit juice popsicles, with only the top bite being soft where the solids have massed during the freezing period and the rest of it being hard, icy flakes.  I wanted something that would be uniform in texture and tasty through out.

So here is attempt #1.......

Ingredients
2 cups of cane sugar
1 cup of gelatin
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp sea salt

6 cups Fresh milk, skimmed  (I used the milk leftover from skimming the cream for ice cream.)

Mix the above dry ingredients together until well blended, no clumps of cocoa or gelatin.  Slowly add part of the milk to the dry ingredients, about 2 cups or so, to make a smooth syrup.  Heat at a low/medium temperature for a few minutes to dissolve the gelatin.  Remove from heat, and stir to cool.  When the temperature is low enough (you can touch the sides of the pot with bare hands), add the rest of the milk slowly, stirring to combine as you go.

When it was completely blended, I went to look for my popsicle molds.  By the time they were rinsed off, (a tad dusty) and drying in the rack, the mixture had set to a perfect pudding consistency.  There is a batch of actual popsicles in the freezer getting cold.  It will take a few hours to make a verdict on that...but served warm, it sure makes a good pudding!

BTW...1/2 cup of this stuff has 12.8 g of protein...no wonder it's so filling!

The Verdict:  The texture was very consistent....but way, way too much gelatin for a popsicle. 

I am going to attempt to add extra milk to the current unfrozen leftovers and see what I get.

Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Chocolate Drizzle

Ultra rich cherry cheesecake ice cream with a drizzle of homemade chocolate sauce

Do you see that?  That is a single scoop of ice cream.  Our family just doesn't DO single scoops.  This stuff is so rich and yummy, a single scoop is more than enough to satisfy.   It is a meal in and of itself.  Wow!

We had a birthday this past weekend and this is how we celebrated by request....we REALLY like ice cream here.

Cheesecake Base*, **
*this will need to chill at least 2-3 hours before using
**would make a fabulous fruit dip too

1 cup heavy cream (this is the stuff skimmed off the top of 3 day old milk for my non jersey cow)
1 cup sour cream (I used Kalona's from grass fed cows, Daisy would work)
1 cup cream cheese, softened (I used lowfat because that's what I had)
3/4 cup cane sugar
1 TBS Cream of tartar (the original recipe called for 2 TBS lemon juice, this did the job just fine)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla)
1/2 tsp salt (I used 20 rotations on my grinder, just guessing the actual amount)

Stick the above ingredients in a food processor or mixer and blend until smooth.  Resist the urge to eat it all right now.  I used a wide mouth quart jar for chilling.  It didn't all fit and I was FORCED to eat about an 1/8 cups worth.  Oh the sacrifices we make for our loved ones.

The Fruit Filling
2 cups Cherries* (mine were frozen)
2 TBS cane sugar

(add ons to the original recipe)
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 TBS OJ **
1 TBS Unflavored Beef Gelatin
1/4 tsp salt

*Sweet Cherry was the fruit requested, but almost any fruit will do
**I think I used more though, there were a few extra shakes in the container and I didn't want to return a mostly empty container back to the fridge.

I measured my cherries, then added everything but the gelatin and let it it for a bit.  I drained the juice off and mixed it with the gelatin in a small pan.  I heated it, stirring frequently, until the gelatin was dissolved.  I let it sit to cool, then added  back to the cherries.  I chose to chop my cherries at this point, but they could be left whole too.

At this point, we started getting a little impatient.  We didn't want to wait for things to chill and firm.  We wanted to eat yummies.....

So......

I mixed the filling into the ice cream maker with the base and stirred a few times and served.
This is what I got:

Still yummy and decadent, but not so pretty and not quite as good as when it was all the way frozen.  Two scoops was too much to eat at one time too, in my opinion.

Next time I'll wait for the individual ingredients to firm up, then fold in the filling and freeze until firm.....THEN serve.

Oh, the chocolate drizzle is this recipe: Homemade Chocolate syrup with Gelatin as thickener

Hearth and Soul Hop 
Made From Scratch Tuesday 
Gluten Free Wednesday
What's Cooking Wednesday
Garden Variety Wednesday

Chocolate syrup (gelatin and COT version)

Here's my original version of chocolate syrup or fudge topping: Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Below is my "sneak in the gelatin (extra protein) and cream of tartar (extra potassium)" version:

Ingredients
2 cups cane sugar
1 tsp unflavored beef gelatin

1 cup water

1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 TBS butter
1 large pinch of salt

2 tsp vanilla


Mix sugar and gelatin together, then add water. Stir to remove clumps.  Boil 1-2 minutes and turn stove off.
Add cocoa, butter, cream of tartar and salt stirring continuously until smooth, preferably with a whisk.
Add vanilla and store in a glass jar in the fridge. It should make 1 full pint...or a little more if the water didn't evaporate as much.

The cold syrup is a nice syrup consistency, not watery or gelatinous,  and blends well with a cold glass of fresh milk.