Turkey

I really tried. I swear.

I ordered my turkey from a local farmer. I paid $12 per pound and I was OK with it because it was local, an heirloom breed and was coming to my local farmers market never having been frozen. With great anticipation I went to the market to pick up this amazing bird, to be handed a 6.5 lb. package in brown paper. I probably should have given it a look then and there but was in a bit of a hurry.

Once home I unwrapped the scrawniest bag of bones I'd ever seen. Of the 6.5 lbs., at least 5 pounds of it was bones. It couldn't even be balanced on it's back in the traditional roasting position. Now before you accuse me of only having experienced the unnatural birds that the grocery stores sell filled with hormones ans extra fats and a pop up timer, I bought an heirloom turkey from a different farmer a couple years back and it was fabulous! Too bad they were already sold out this year.

End result: I went out and bought another bird at the grocery store and braised the scrawny one in the manner of a pot roast so we had turkey for a couple days before thanksgiving. my lesson is learned and I still enjoy other things that I have bought from this farmer....I wonder if he will even be able to look me in the eye next week.

Cheese

Camembert actually. I just spent a quiet evening doing something I have been wanting to do all by myself. I ate the camembert I made two months ago!

I was afraid to share it because....well....what if it tasted terrible? I made it at cheese making school in Corvallis, Oregon at OSU two months ago. I brought it home and then forgot it for a whole day before taking it into my house. I placed it into something that is like a giant plastic shoe box with a little plastic tray in the bottom and a loose fitting lid and left it in the garage. Lo and behold, a few days later, it was all white and fuzzy! As instructed, I wrapped it in cheese paper and left it to age in the same container for 6 to 8 excruciating weeks.

I checked it every few days, sniffing for off odors and watching for more colorful molds. It just sat there getting a little bit softer and shrinking a bit. Today I cut it open and ate it with french bread. It was kind of strong but still very good. I had to do this alone because I couldn't stand to see wrinkled noses or crossed eyes if it came out terrible.

I have all of the ingredients so now I just need to start some here at home. No longer am I afraid to serve or give it to someone. Whew!

Rose Petal Jelly

They are sitting on the desk my grandfather made. Lined up like little pink soldiers. Tiny medicine like jars of beautiful pink rose petal jelly. When opened, they smell like roses dipped in sugar and taste as intensely sweet as floral honey. I hope they make appreciated little holiday gifts.

Making them was a bit of a battle. First I found all of the jars at Cost Plus...that was actually the easy part. I used the recipe in one of my favorite new cookbooks, Chefs On The Farm. I filled up all of those adorable jars with what turned out to be a thick rose petal syrup. Not giving up, I emptied them all back into the pan, strained out the rose petals, added double the sugar and two packs of Certo. Now they are back into their jars with fresh rose petals and set up perfect.

Trouble is, they are perfect and there is no way I can exactly recreate what I did after all of that!

Pickles

Pickling used to be a practical method of preservation and, I imagine a way to make winter food taste better. I seem to have stumbled upon a completely impractical form that I gobble up as fast as I make them. So much for saving up for armegeddon.

I was inspired by some pickles given to me by a friend who would later not share the recipe. Some friend! This is from the very last recipe in Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Poleyn.

Sweet Garlic Pickles

1lb. small cucumbers sliced 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
1/2 red onion sliced very thin
10 peeled garlic cloves
1 cup cider vinegar
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tblsp sugar
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Cook all of this together at a simmer for 10 minutes. Drain off the liquid, place the cucumbers, garlic, onion and remaining mustard seed in a jar( or two depending on what size you use).

1 cup rice wine vinegar
1 cup sugar

Cook the remaining ingredients together until sugar is dissolved and liquid has come to a boil. Pour over pickles in the jar while very hot. Lid jars and when they are cool enough, store in the fridge. These are pretty good the next day, but you will be rewarded if you wait a month.

I don't know if these can be processed/canned and stored long term.



1

Delicious Armageddon

For some reason lately, I seem to be preserving, freezing, fermenting...you name it. I am playing with my food. I thought I would share my attempts at this in case anyone else is felling the same way.

My grandmothers both regularly did these things. Giant freezers, jam cupboards and canning kitchens were there to handle the bounty of their gardens, fishing trips or baking binges. I was a part of this when I spent time with them in the summers, but now they are gone. Not summers, just my grandmas.

I seem to have instinctively picked up some of their skills and am adventurously trying to recreate what they did with today's ingredients, locally produced foods and my regular old kitchen. This will be the place to log my journey.

Sylvia