Friday, February 03, 2006

Todays foodie things

Yesterday I was given some frozen double cream. It said on the tub 'NOT TO BE FROZEN' so it was a bit of a gamble if it would make butter. Probably an experiment is not the best idea for one's first attempt at it but there you go - I am all for an experiment.

The internet was playing up first thing so I couldn't to the forum I like - Mrs L's to get the instructions, so I just 'went for it'.

I got it straight out of the fridge and it looked really grainy not like smooth double cream should look! But as it was free and I was in a ‘couldn’t care less’ type of mood, I just stuck it in the food mixer, put it on to the slowest setting, and went off the feed the chooks. Had a shower – then remembered it!

Oops, there was buttermilk everywhere! But lo and behold in the stainless steel bowl was butter! MAGIC



Not a very good photo as the glare came off the stainless steel bowl, but it was a lovely yellow buttery colour all over - those white bits are just photo glare and I don't know how to fix that!

I strained off what little buttermilk was left (half a cup) and pulled off bits and rinsed it under cold water. Then I put it all together in my now freezing cold hands and squashed it into a ball.

I added a few twists from the salt grinder, squished it up to mix it a bit, and patted it with spatulas to look like this…………



It weighed in at 4.75 ounces - but it was only a small tub of cream, and there was lots of butter milk - over the floor, the walls, the work top - so next time there will be no waste. And it was free food this time!

Later when I looked up how to do it on the forum………..the cream had to be at room temperature………etc etc. I broke all the rules – except the hygiene ones of course!

Clearing up all the splashes of buttermilk was not a chore as I was still on a high at making the butter. It is now in residence in a plastic tub – from Tesco’s – which hardly befits such a work of art. Perhaps I should search the charity shops for a proper butter dish next. I don’t suppose anyone out there has an old butter mould or butter pats they want to swap or sell – or knows of someone who does?

Lunch time was our once a week treat of eggs and home made fat free potato wedges – and I had a doorstep slice of my own wholemeal bread with my own butter which I dunked into my own very golden and soft egg yolks – happiness is slow food – with every mouthful tasting divine.

As I am typing this, the aroma of my latest batch of two wholemeal and jumbo oats loaves is wafting in here – and they are topped with roasted pumpkin seeds. Who needs a bread maker when you have a food mixer and an oven? So much quicker.

In a moment I will get them out of the oven, and when I turn them over to tap them out of the tins some of the roasted seeds will fall off, and I won’t have to fight Pat for them either as he is out bowling.



The other thing I have just done is to get some of my frozen raspberries and layer them with the thick yoghurt I make. This is what they look like now – but by tea time the will have thawed and the juice will have made lovely marbled patterns into the yoghurt, four pots in all. Yummy.

Best be off - the bread smells done, and there are some lovely toasted pumpkin seeds with my name on them!

6 comments:

  1. Hello Allotment Lady,

    I am just curious about how you make your yoghurt. Do you have a yoghurt maker or is there a simple process for doing it?

    Thanks
    Muppet

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Muppet
    Thanks for looking. Years ago I bought a cheap yoghurt maker from Lakeland - I am sure they still do them

    It doesn't take up much room - just as well my small kitchen

    You just buy some bio yoghurt - I used Yeo Valley natural. You only need 2 tablespoonsful.

    I buy long life milk as it seems to make thicker yoghurt, and skimmed which is lovely (but obviously full fat is probably even better - but as mine is delish I haven't tried full fat.)

    So I little yoghurt maker (electric) I ltr of milk, 2tbps of yoghurt. Pour in milk, add yoghurt, switch on and forget for 6 - 8 hours. You can do less than a litre I just fill it up to max.

    I usually leave mine for 8 hours or put it on before I got to bed.

    You get a lovely cream yoghurt - you just pour off the whey.

    I like mine really really stand a spoon up in it thick like Greek yoghurt, so I strain mine in yoghurt strainers - have lasted me for years!

    You can make a litre of delicious youghurt for 35p the cost of a litre of long life milk.

    Oh and remember to save 2 tbsp of yoghurt (before you strain it) for the next lot- keep in a sealed pot in the fridge.

    YOU can add all sorts of syrups and fruits etc. I tend to use fruits that I have grown, or lemon curd, or meusli, and now my own dried fruit - and simple the best wicked one was at Christmas with my home made mincemeat heavily laced with rum.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well.... what can I say - you are an inspiration!!! So much so I have made marmalade (not the best thing I have ever made but there you go) my own bread for a pizza base and am awaiting some casings to have a go at sausages. Many have poohooed what I am doing - but who can dish up a whole meal from what you have either grown or made? Not many I dare say. I look forward to your postings each day and all I can say is continue to inspire us!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Jooles

    I have on occassions had quite a bit of poohooing on here and else where - but are we bovvered? Do I look bovered?

    I am really happy in the low profile way I live and the food I eat - and I have the POWER to block the littl nasties from leaving more messages.

    Just about to add some chicken licken photos.

    Thanks for your nice comments.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jooles I forgot to add that if you want some rusk for your sausages I have some spare. £1.60 per kilo plus whatever the postage costs.

    You only have to use a small amount - and the smallest quantity I could buy was 6 kilos for £9.50 - at the time I didn't realise that you didn't use much!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you very much allotment lady! I will have a look for yoghurt makers, it sounds easy peasy.

    ReplyDelete

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