Thoughts on Kraut

Ok, so this is a food that gets a bad rap. Sauerkraut.

I know what most of you are thinking. It smells weird, tastes strange and lots of people have a negative opinion of it. Guess what? Sauerkraut is awesome!

According to the USDA, sauerkraut is a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and dietary fiber. It's a great companion to a lot of other foods. Part of my family is from Poland and the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in our house was pierogi (more on these in another post), kielbasa, piles of sauteed onions, and sauerkraut.

So, here's one of the things I think is most interesting about kraut--it is a natural byproduct of the yeast in the air. Sauerkraut is composed of four ingredients: cabbage, salt, yeast and time. But, you don't have to add the yeast yourself. It...just...happens!

This is how easy it is:

Ingredients:

5lbs cabbage (more or less)
3 Tbsp kosher or pickling salt (I use kosher because I always have it on hand)
1 Large crock or jar or bucket (sterilized)
Clean, sterile towels

Cabbage and salt

You are going to sterilize your container, and finely chop or shred your cabbage.

I've got a great crock here that I borrowed from a friend. This is like the Cadillac of crocks and you are under no obligation to make this investment. However, if you do want one, check out Ebay or Amazon. There are a variety of options, different companies, sizes, colors, etc.

The next step is simply to layer your cabbage with salt. So, layer of cabbage, salt, cabbage, salt, cabbage, until your crock is full. You want the last layer to be salt.

Let this sit at least several hours, but overnight is probably best. The salt is going to work on the cabbage and water will be released, creating a brine. The brine should cover the top of the cabbage when it is weighted down. If it doesn't, you can make some bring using 1tsp of salt per 1cup of boiled water. Make sure it is cooled down, and then add enough brine to cover your cabbage.

After 1 hour

After 2 hours

Overnight

 

 

As you can see, the cabbage changes drastically, just in a matter of hours. After letting it sit overnight, there was not enough self-generated brine to cover the cabbage, so I made some and covered the cabbage. The next step is to weigh down the cabbage. The crock came with the weights, but if you are using another container, a great method is to put a plate on top of the cabbage and fill a gallon jug or jar with water and place it on top.

Finally, cover the crock. This one comes with a water seal. The deep lid and the lip provide a reservoir for water that creates a natural barrier. If you are using a non-crock method, you will use a damp, sterile towel or pillow case to cover your bucket or container.

Now, all you have to do is leave it alone. You should check it once a week for 3-4 weeks, until the cabbage reaches the level of fermentation you want, and skim off any stuff that grows on top.

I'll be updating everyone on the kraut as time goes one. Stay tuned!

Moburt's = Magic

I want to talk about one of my favorite places in town, a resource I'm going to be using on a regular basis as I explore all kinds of local foods.  Moburt's

This is a great place, here in Topeka, and here's a little bit about it.

It's run by great people, born out of a love of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. Moburt's is a shop that specializes in spices, herbs, salts and sugars. They've recently added balsamic vinegars and olive oils. Let me tell you, when you go there, you are in for a treat!

On my first visit, I was looking for something to top a scone and wouldn't you know it, I found it! Blueberry sugar. That's right, blueberry sugar.  Largish crystals of sweet goodness, infused with that purpley, berry magic. What could be a better topping for a....you guessed it....blueberry scone. It was magical and I never looked back. I started exploring other sugars-- espresso (amazing on chocolate chocolate chip cookies) and ginger sugar.

It wasn't long before I was sucked into the salts. Anyone who knows me, knows that the ghost pepper sea salt is my favorite. Indeed, I adore spicy foods. This salt became particularly special in my world when I added it to my chocolate chip cookie recipe (which, by the way, is the World's Best--in my opinion). The sweetness of the cookie dough and chocolate chips, heightened with the sea salt comes first, and then POW! The spicy pepper kicks in at the back of your throat, and then it's gone, leaving only a barely lingering reminder of its heat.

Anyway, there is more to come about my friends at Moburt's. They are going to be one of my most valuable resources in the coming weeks and months. 

What is love?

I freely admit I have been a bad blogger. It's been almost two years since I posted, and there has been a lot of Pure Food Love in my life since then. I've changed a lot, I've grown a lot. My world has expanded, I've experience the loss of a loved one and the exhilaration of success. I have learned about the beauty of a tight local community and the strength of a shared vision of renewal.

I am going to embark on a quest to explore, discover, and bring to light all of the amazing foods that are locally grown and produced in my little corner of the world. I want to push my understanding of what it means to eat local, to establish relationships with small restaurants and food suppliers. I want to learn to create works of culinary art with the gorgeous, fresh and wonderful foods I can find in this, the Bread Basket, this glorious farm land.

Join me and let's see what we discover, together. Let's experience this Pure Food Love.

Cheese Experiment #2: Mascarpone

Most people have heard of mascarpone as an ingredient in tiramisu, or have seen it when browsing the fancy cheese section of the store. It generally comes in a 6oz container and costs enough that you'd think twice before purchasing it. What is it really, though?

Basically, mascarpone is like Italian cream cheese, but oh so much more refined. It is creamy, smooth and cool, perfect for desserts or mixing into a special sauce to add richness. Is it easy to make? Yep.

As with the previous experiment, first step was to gather tools.

Next, gather ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup dry milk solids
1 lemon, cut in half

Three ingredients, again! Doable? I think so.

First thing's first. I added the cream and milk solids together and whisked them in the pot.

Then came the waiting. The milk needed to come to 180 degrees (sound familiar?) over low heat. This took quite a while, about an hour. Once it reached temperature, I squeezed in one half of the lemon and switched to a metal spoon to mix, then added in the juice from the second half of the lemon.

This was the resulting curd. Not so much a separation as in the previous cheese, but a serious thickening.

Finally, this had to be covered and placed in the refrigerator to cool overnight. What resulted?

It looks, more or less, like yogurt, but tastes divine! It was so creamy, so rich, with just the barest aroma and flavor of fresh lemon that you might not even notice. I wanted to dig in with my spoon, but refrained. What shall I do with it? I'm not sure, but since this product has an extremely limited shelf life, three days or so, I better figure it out fast!

Have a favorite mascarpone recipe? Share it below. I love to hear ideas. :)

Cheese Experiment #1: Paneer

Here we go, cheese numero uno on my journey into cheese making. I'm stoked!

The first step is to collect all the supplies. For this recipe, I'll need:

Non-reactive pot
Measuring cup
Whisk
Rubber spatula
Thermometer
Cheese Cloth
Strainer
Draining rack
4lb Weight

Next, get all the ingredients. This one is pretty easy.

10 cups 2% milk
5 cups Buttermilk
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

Three ingredient recipe? I think that's doable.

I put the milk in the pot and heated it to 175 or 180 degrees. It took a loooooong because you have to heat the milk slowly.

 Next, I added the buttermilk and the coagulation was fairly instantaneous. I then raised the heat to 195 degrees. Here's what the curd looked like.

After the curd had cooked and set a little, there was a large collection of fairly firm curds in the pot.

Next, the curd is drained in cheesecloth, salted, and pressed.

 

 

Final product:

Not the prettiest paneer ever. I think perhaps the curds were too cool when I pressed them, so they didn't make a block, but holy cow is it delicious!!!

Cheese Making

One of my goals for several years has been to learn to make my favorite food....CHEESE!

There are so many different kinds: fresh, aged, hard, soft, semi-soft, blue, mild, stinky. Each has its own personality, its own character. So far, I love them all!

So, I'll be starting with some simple cheeses in the coming days and hopefully progressing to more complicated and time consuming cheeses as time goes on.

What's your favorite? Comment below and I might just choose to make your favorite as part of my learning process. :)

Eeeek!

Worst blogger ever!!!

So I set up my contest and then forgot to draw for the New York prize!!! Well, I'm afraid it is going to have to wait a little while longer.... I can't find it! I put it some place safe while I've been working on clearing out the second bedroom and reorganizing and now I'm not sure where it went. :(

My apologies to my readers. I'll stop being such a putz and get back on it!