Corn Tortillas

I finally attempted some corn tortillas. I bought some masa a few weeks ago, wanting to make them, and finally got around to making them this week. I found a recipe online from Rick Bayless. I liked it because it was so simple: masa harina and water. No wonder corn tortillas are so cheap!

My only complaint would be that they're a little thick and that's probably because of my tortilla press. It just doesn't get them as thin as I would like. I roll out my flour tortillas with a rolling pin and may have to try doing the same with these. Even so, they taste great. Last night I made tiny enchiladas with them. I was proud that there were homemade tortillas in there, even if they were a little thick and small. It's something that gets better the more you do it, right?

Bears and Catfish

 Two of my kids have birthdays within weeks of each other. This year they were old enough to tell me what they wanted to do for their birthday and they said they wanted to go camping. I was all for it. It had been a while since I went camping. We picked a place in Cherry Valley called Bogart park because it was pretty cheap, close, and there was a fishing pond. I thought it would be fun to try to catch some fish while we were there. Not long after we got there, some of the men and boys headed out to the pond to see if they could catch anything and the women and other kids were going to catch up later. While we made our way over to catch up to the boys, some people kept warning us that the bear was at the pond. Apparently there are some bears that live in the area and are frequent visitors to the park. I was not aware of this when I booked the campsites. When we were almost there, a few of the kids saw the bear and we decided to head back to camp. When we talked to the guys later, they said the bear had come to the pond and tried to take some people's bait and then crossed the path about 10 feet from them.

At this point I was pretty freaked out. As we got ready for bed, I tried to make sure all the food was cleaned up and put away. I even put the trash in our car. I did not want that bear anywhere near us while we slept. After we put the kids to bed, the grownups talked for a bit and then we headed to bed ourselves. I was confident that no bears would visit us that night. Oh, how wrong I was.

I kept hearing footsteps all night and was freaked out. Then we hear a loud bang - - our trash can getting knocked over. This trash can was 6 feet from our tent. I huddled inside my sleeping bag and prayed the kids wouldn't wake up. Our friends in the next tent over got out and looked (they're crazy!!) and it was a HUGE bear looking around in our trash. It finally went away and the people across from us packed up their campsite so fast, I think they put the tent in their car fully assembled.

A few hours later, I heard rustling, and sure enough, the bears were back. This time it was a mother and her 2 cubs. Even more scary! Day could not come soon enough. That morning I found candy wrappers in the trash that I had missed. Doh!

 Craig said this was the best camping trip he had ever been on.

Before we headed home, we went to the pond again to try our luck at catching some catfish. We used our leftover hot dogs for bait and I caught the fish you see above. When we got home, Craig filleted it and I cooked it.

I found a recipe online that looked pretty good. I mixed some mayo, butter, and parmesan cheese, poured it over the catfish. Then I put some sliced tomatoes on top and broiled it until it was done. It was an exciting camping trip and one that I'm sure will not be forgotten.

Rock Fish

 Last Thursday, I had a chance to go deep sea fishing with some of Craig's family out of San Diego. I had been once before with my family and was excited to go again. I remember catching something every time I put a line in the water. This fishing trip was a little different, though. We only went for a half day, so we didn't get to go that far out into the ocean. We were still pretty close to the land, which was a bummer. We also found out when we got there, that they had no anchovies for bait, which I learned was very bad. We used squid and sardines. On top of all this, there were pelicans and sea lions all over the place, scaring away the fish. There were not a lot of catches happening. There was one guy that caught a shark in the first fifteen minutes we were out there, but he  had to throw it back because it was too small. At the end of the day I had 2 small fish in my bag, both Rock Fish, I believe. They seemed big at the time I caught them, but as you can see from this picture, they were not big at all.

I took those fish home, and filleted them myself. I wanted to get better at doing it. I realized that having a fillet knife would have been good, but my kitchen knives eventually did the trick. I was able to get some meat off of those tiny fish.

I figured the quickest way to cook it was to put a little salt and pepper on them and fry it up in some butter. I wanted something fast and easy, as I was still stinky and sweaty from the fishing trip.

Probably not the healthiest way to enjoy my fish, but it sure tasted good.

Craig and I gobbled this up pretty quickly. Maybe next time we go I'll catch a giant fish and can make more than these tiny fillets. Wishful thinking, I know.

Italian Feather Bread

When you make cheese, there is a lot of left-over whey. I always feel bad if I pour it down the sink. It seems like such a waste. When I got my cheese-making kit from the New England Cheese-Making Co., it came with a recipe book that included recipes to use the left over whey. One that caught my eye was Italian Feather Bread. With a name like that, how could you not try it? We did, and really liked it. Especially when we dipped in in roasted garlic and Italian seasonings in olive oil. It was just like at Italian restaurants that give you their delicious bread to dip in the garlic and olive oil. The only difference is that I used 100% white wheat flour to make it. Here's the recipe:

2 packages yeast
1 T sugar
1 c warm water
1/3 c butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 c hot whey or milk
2 t salt
5 1/2 to 6 c flour
1 lightly beaten egg white
 Cornmeal

Stir the yeast, sugar, and warm water together in a large bowl. Let sit until yeast dissolves and starts to proof.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in the hot whey and let cool to lukewarm. Add salt and combine with yeast mixture.

Stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon (or in a mixer with the dough hook) add the flour 1 cup at a time, until the dough starts coming away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be sticky.

Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until it becomes easy to handle. Knead for 2-4 minutes with well floured hands.

When the dough is soft and smooth, let rest for 5 or 6 minutes. Divide in 2.

Roll each half into a rectangle and roll up starting from the wide end, pinching the seams as you roll.

Grease a large baking sheet and sprinkle cornmeal over the top. Place the loaves on the baking sheet. (If you like those fancy marks on top, cut four slits with a sharp knife) Let them rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about an hour. Brush with beaten egg white and bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes or until the loaves are a golden color and make a hollow sound when you tap with your knuckles. Cool on a rack and serve fresh.

*I don't usually do the egg white on top, although it does make it look nice and shiny on top. I just find that when I brush it on, the bread collapses and it becomes more flat in stead of round. I spray the top with cooking spray instead. Also, since it makes 2 loaves, you make make one for right then and save the other for later. I have frozen one loaf and thawed it when we were ready to eat it and it was still moist and delicious. Or you can share a loaf with your friends. :)

Hard vs Soft

Soft White Wheat

Hard White Wheat

I learned something new in the last month. Did you know there are 2 kinds of wheat? I'm not talking red wheat and white wheat, but hard and soft. I like white wheat because it has a more mild flavor and is a lot easier on your insides. Every time I would go to order more wheat I had the option of buying hard white wheat or soft white wheat. I never knew what the difference was so I just bought the hard. Even looking at the two, it's hard to tell which one is which.

But then everything changed when I read a friend's blog about the subject. Apparently, hard wheat is better suited for yeast-based breads, which is a good thing, because that's what I was using to make my bread. Soft wheat is best suited for quick breads and baked goods that use some kind of leavening, like baking soda or powder. It's comparable to the expensive whole wheat pastry flour you can get at the store.

When I was up in Utah, I decided to buy a giant bucket of the soft white wheat and give it a try. I've tried it in tortillas, muffins, and brownies and have hardly noticed a difference in taste. It seems like the soft wheat has a similar flavor to white flour with the added bonus that it actually has nutritional value. I used it in cornbread for dinner, and I suspect that it will be delicious.

I'm excited to have gained this new knowledge. I've been trying to cut out white flour, but there are some things that just taste better with it. Now that I've discovered the soft wheat, I think I may never have to buy white flour again! Plus, buying wheat berries is sooooooooooooooo much cheaper than buying it ground. You can seriously buy about 6 months of wheat for about $20. When you grind it yourself and make your own baked goods, it will save you boatloads of money, not to mention you save your body from all the nasty additives the food industry is so fond of.

So what are you waiting for?? Go get some wheat!!

Silly Chicken

While we were on vacation, we had a friend watering our plants and taking care of our chickens. She would come by once a day and make sure the chickens had food and water and collected the eggs. When we came back, we were unloading everything and putting stuff away when Craig noticed there were 2 eggs in our bike trailer. He thought we had put them there. We had not.

We were a bit baffled, but took the eggs inside and put them in the fridge. The next day I looked out my kitchen window and saw one of the chickens in the trailer laying an egg. I took a picture through the window because I thought it was funny. It seems that this chicken kept squeezing through the gate and laid eggs here while we were gone. It makes sense, since usually the dogs are back there and keep them from coming through the gate. Our dogs were in a kennel, so they had free reign back there.

Chickens are so weird.

Dried Cherries

While up in Utah visiting my family, I picked up some cherries. Is it just me, or does it seem like cherries are dirt cheap this season? There must have been a great crop this year. Anyhow, I had been wanting to try drying cherries for a while, but never did because I never had a cherry pitter.  I sure wasn't going to sit and cut all those cherries to get the seeds out. Fortunately for me, my mom has one. So we decided to try drying these cherries while I was up there.

Here's a wonderful shot of me pitting the cherries. We had to do it outside because it's a messy job. You basically stab each cherry with a metal rod, which pushes the seed out into it's own little container. As you pull the rod up, it drops the cherry and it slides out into a bowl you set on the side. It took no time at all to pit my bag of cherries. The juice splatters all over the place, which is why you wear clothes you don't care about.

My son decided to help out. I'm not sure if you can tell, but there are cherry juice splatters all over his face and clothes.

After pitting them, we placed them on the dehydrator and left them there for about 18 hours. My mom checked them periodically, and if they were done, would take them out.

We ended up with a small bag of the dried cherries and I would say they were pretty good. I made some granola cereal and added them to it and it made a pretty tasty breakfast cereal. I must say, though, I do prefer canned cherries over dried. Maybe if I go up there next summer we will can them instead. Maybe if I get a decent crop from my cherry tree I will can them. I guess I'll have to wait until next year.

Dried Apricots

Round 2 for the apricots.  After canning a bunch of apricots, there were still quite a few left to dry. I had tried this last year, with disgusting results. I think I may have left them in the dehydrator for a little too long. Or maybe a lot too long. They were crunchy and gross. While I was up in Utah with my mom, I got some tips for drying them, since she used to do it all the time. The first tip I learned was to turn the halves inside out, like you see in the picture above. This lets them dry a little more evenly since the moist parts are exposed.

 

Then we laid them on the dehydrator with the skin side down and turned it on for about 8 hours.

The apricots did brown quite a bit, which is normal, since we did not treat them with anything before drying them. They don't look too appetizing, but they taste pretty good. I've heard that if you soak them in a citric acid solution or lemon juice, they will keep their color, but I have yet to try that. I remember soaking them in lemon juice last year and all I remember is that the lemon totally masked the apricot flavor.

I think drying is really a lot of trial and error, but if you can get it right, it's a great way to preserve the harvest.

Canned Apricots

 You may have noticed an absence of posts last week. This is because I was up in Utah visiting my family. Fortunately for me, my mom and I came across a fruit stand selling apricots. I was really excited about this because I usually am given apricots every year by friends whose trees are overloaded with them. This year, however, those trees were not overloaded. I had accepted the fact that I would not be able to can any this year, which for me was a little sad. Canned apricots are nostalgic for me. My mom canned them every year and we always had a ready supply. So when I saw the large boxes of apricots, I went and bought a large box. I decided to can some and to try drying some. Here's how I can them:

I washed them, tore them in half, and removed the pit, then stuffed them in these quart mason jars. We had made a syrup by combining 1 1/2 cups of sugar per quart of water. This we dissolved and brought to boiling and then poured into the jars filled with apricots.

After wiping the lip of the jar to ensure a proper seal, we screwed on the lids and placed them in this water bath canner. I do not have a water bath canner, just a pressure canner, but this sure was convenient. I'm told that they are very inexpensive too. Maybe some day I will pick one up.

If I remember correctly, we processed them for about 35 minutes and then pulled them out to cool.

This was the final result. We ended up with 14 quarts. I have to say that canning is a lot more fun and a lot easier when you do it with some one. Everything I have canned to date has been by myself so it was nice to do this with my mom. It time passed quickly and we were able to do a lot in a small amount of time. Maybe next time I so some serious canning I'll invite some people over.