Mini Potpies

I think it’s safe to say I have fondness for things in little mason jars.  These cute mini potpies with an herb crust were made in half pint wide mouth jars… perfect for a smallish single serving.  I’ve made apple pies in them before, and were fun to make and give out… they also froze well.  Cuteness…  

  

Cheesemaking – Monterey Jack

A little cheesemaking kit had been sitting in my pantry for a few months, and about a week and a half ago I finally had the chance to bust it out and get to work!  It was a very interesting process, but a long one.  The kit I have is for making ‘harder’ type cheeses, and I started with a Monterey Jack.  I’m actually not sure if I did everything correctly… keeping the milk and curd at certain temperatures for a length of time was a bit of a challenge.  I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it…

To sum up the process a bit, the whole non-homoginized milk is heated to certain temp, cultures are added, allowed to set, rennet is added, allowed to set again until it has set into a firm curd, curd is then cut , then allowed to set again, temp is increased, let set again and stir, then the whey can be poured out.  Whew!!

Curds in the mold getting ready to be pressed.

And my makeshift weight (sack o’ salt) gently squeezes out the excess whey from the curd.  A heavier weight (bigger sack) was added after 15 minutes, and was left to press for 12 hours.

 

Then it was time to air dry the cheese for a few days.  And finally, wax!!!

It’s been in the cheese cave (AKA the fridge) for about a week now, but  has to age for 1 – 4 months.  It’s a bit too cold in there, so hopefully it still turns out.  I’ll report back when it’s all ready!

Cashew Chard ‘Burritos’

One meal I made this week was Cashew Chard ‘Burritos’ which was found here.  My swiss chard wrapped babies basically turned out like little bundles… not really burrito shapes, but hey, that doesn’t really matter, right?  The filling, which included lentils, cashews, tofu, carrots, onion and spices, was especially tasty and would be good just by itself!  Aren’t they cute?

 

Edible Harvest

I realized I didn’t write a post on the Edible Harvest at Prairie Crossing I attended on Sunday. Not much to say since I could only stop by for a bit, but I did pick up some awesome jam! And hung out with some goats and pigs… And some bees… And this lady…?

Sunday + Football = Pizza

Well, any day = pizza in my book.  Here’s a kalamata olive, basil and sun dried tomato pizza… probably my favorite combination.

Green Tomato Soup

I think I have a new favorite soup!  Since it’s getting pretty darn cold lately, and the garden was full of unripe tomatoes, I went on a recipe search for soup so I could use up these little green guys.  I basically used this recipe, minus the ham and scallions.  Added some little onions from our garden (see last photo), cannellini beans, a couple itty bitty red + yellow tomatoes and fresh rosemary.  So good!

Eli’s Cheesecake Festival

I stopped by Eli’s Cheesecake Festival this past weekend, and had a good time, despite the bit of rain we got.  I sampled some cheesecakes, of course (choco chip, snickers to name a couple), and bought small pumpkin cheesecake at their dock sale to take home.  Oh, and I saw the Michigan Apple Queen, and this guy…

Chris had some fresh (and I mean fresh) coffee from Crop to Cup.  I sampled the Horchata with Espresso.

 

This mural in the foyer of Eli’s building kind of cracked me up. 

I’d like to live in cheesecake-land…

Carmel Corn

What do you do when you pop too much popcorn?  You make carmel corn!  Mmmmmmm, fall is here….

Oatmeal + Tomato Soup

Here’s another quick fix from my kitchen… Oatmeal and Tomato Soup.  While it sounds like an unusual combination, you’ll be surprised by how a few ingredients make a tasty dish.  Whip this up when you don’t have time to go to the store!

1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 1/2 T. butter
1 (28 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
1 – 1 1/2 water (add more if you want a thinner soup)
3/4 c. rolled oats
salt + pepper to taste

In a heavy-bottomed skillet (I like to use my iron skillet), saute onion and garlic in butter until onion begins to brown.  Add everything but oats and simmer.  Add oats and cook for 6 – 10 minutes.  Now eat!

While this is a good basic soup, it’s even better with cannellini beans, fresh herbs or crushed red pepper.

Banana-Yogurt Breakfast Quickie

One of my favorite breakfast (or snack) foods is this quick and easy bowl of goodness.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who fancies up yogurt like this, but here’s my ingredients anyways…

- a healthy dose of Stoneyfield Farm Organic French Vanilla yogurt
- one sliced up banana
- handful of dried cranberries (or any dried fruit)
- several dashes of cinnamon
- 1 T. or so of flax seed

Now eat!  Granola is another good topper, of course… oh, that reminds me… my granola levels are dangerously low!  Must get on that.