A couple years ago I took a Methods of Ethnic Dance Choreography class at BYU. I didn't get too much out of it, but one of the things I've retained, and have used quite frequently, is the phrase "fill your bucket". The teacher said it referring to the research necessary to do good choreography; good art does not usually materialize out of thin air, but starts with inspiration. And to gain that inspiration we needed to fill up our choreography idea bucket to the brim with dance performances, YouTube videos, etc.
I also have a metaphorical cooking bucket (as cooking is an art), and I do my best to keep it filled to the brim with ideas and techniques I learn as I research. So here are a few of my favorite cooking blogs and sites that keep my creativity bucket running over.
101 cookbooks- A couple years ago Heidi Swanson set out to cook naturally-- to throw out all her processed ingredients and only cook with natural, vegetarian ingredients. Here blog 101 cookbooks follows her journey and provides lots of whole foods recipes along the way.
food52- more of a website than a blog this site provides great recipes using mostly whole ingredients. Their genius recipes series is one of my favorite- recipes I use over and over again.
sprouted kitchen- similar to 101 cookbooks with a slightly different feel. The photographs are fantastic!
running with tweezers- Again similar to 101 cookbooks except she uses a lot of sea food (she's a pescatarian). Whole food blog with fantastic photographs.
Punk domestics- traditional food preservation with a modern twist. This site has recipes and techniques for canning, cheese making, charcuterie, micro-farming, you name it.
Italian dish- Everything I ever wanted to learn about italian cooking I learned it here.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Locavore Experiment- What we eat
Since we've decided to try to eat local there have been many times that I have a concerned parent or friend look me in the eye and ask "Are you and Todd doing OK?", as if they think we are scouring the hillsides trying to fill our hungry tummies with dandelion greens. I've discovered that most just have no idea how you eat if you buy very few things at the grocery store. So, to appease those who worry that we may be secretly starving, I've compiled a list of our local resources we use. This is by no means an exhaustive list-- just what we've been using (or checking out), over the past month. There are lots of other local producers around.
- Rexburg farmers market
- Idaho Falls farmers market
- our little garden
- Bethany's parents garden-- my father has developed a habit of planting entirely too much, which we plan to use to our advantage
- Driggs farmers market- not open til June
- Hi Stakes spelt- whole grains for milling
- Flour mill in Pocatello- sold in bulk at Brolims under the brand PFM
- Hooper Honey farm
- Lots of other honey producers all around Rexburg and IF- If you buy honey at the grocery store- Stop. Local honey tastes so much better and is much more economical.
- Reeds Dairy
- Manwiring cheese- local Rigby cheese
- Meadow Lark farms- Best cheese in Idaho. Fancy sheep's milk European style cheeses recently won some international awards. In between Rexburg and Sugar City.
- Udderwise Dairy- Goat's milk cheese. This lady makes an excellent blue cheese, feta, and gouda.
- Eggs from local producers- the lady who runs Bountiful Baskets in Menan sells eggs for $2 a dozen, I also get them from my yoga teacher sometimes. Local eggs are also sold at all farmers markets and probably by your neighbor down the street.
- Brady's Beef- really nice grass fed beef
- Big lost river meats- lots of types of sausages. I like the Cajun style.
- Falls Brand Pork Products- Local, all-natural bacon. Need I say more?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Locavore: Making Yogurt
If there is one thing that Idaho is not short on in the local food chain it is cows. Because of this, a beautiful variety of dairy products are available as well as some fantastic (albeit quite expensive) grass finished beef. Unfortunately yogurt is not among the dairy products available, but is pretty simple to make. I make it from a full gallon, which makes enough yogurt for us to eat and me to cook with for a week or two.
We start with 1 gallon of milk- most milk will work here, as long as it's not ultra pasteurized- they've pasteurized this milk so much that nothing will grow in it. This means no yogurt, cheese, etc. You can use raw milk, non-homogenized, or homogenized and pasteurized, and with any fat content you like. My mother even uses her dry, fat free milk from their food storage. I use whole milk, I like the texture and the fat is important to be able to absorb the fat soluble vitamins in the milk. Some people also thicken their yogurt with additives such as gelatin and dry milk powder, or other things that only an industrial food scientist would understand. Since we're trying so stay away from additives I generally thicken mine by straining it, the traditional Greek way. My yogurt is made with just a couple tablespoons of yogurt and milk
So the basics are easy- you just need to know a few things about bacteria. First they are happiest between 125-80 degrees F, so to make yogurt we simply have to heat the milk, introduce the bacteria, than keep it at that temperature while the bacteria happily munch on the milk sugar. After 3-8 hours your yogurt should have set up.
For those of you recipe people, here are more in depth directions:
You will need:
Milk
2 tablespoons of relatively fresh yogurt for every quart of milk (don't let it sit in your fridge for weeks before you use it)
A decent thermometer
A smallish cooler
A thick blanket
A large pot to heat the milk (I use my pressure cooker to do a gallon at a time)
A larger pot to heat the water (I use my hot water canner)
Canning jars or other watertight containers to put your yogurt in (Big ones, or little ones for individual servings)
1. Heat the milk to 180 F, to pasteurize. Take it off the heat and let it cool to 120-125 with the thermometer in it to monitor the temperature (It's really handy if your thermometer has an alarm).
2. While the milk is cooling heat enough water to cover the jars in the cooler, plus an inch or two. Also put the jars in here to warm and sterilize them.
3.When the milk reaches 120 take out a cup of the milk and mix it with the yogurt to thin it and make it easier to mix in, when mixed well put the yogurt mixture into the pot of warmed milk.
4. Fill the jars with the milk mixture and screw the lids on tightly-- they'll be underwater for a while.
5. Put the jars in the cooler and cover them with 125 degree water plus a couple inches You may have to add some cool water to your large pot to get it to the right temperature.
6. Put the cooler somewhere out the the way and cover it with the thick blanket, tucking it around the cooler to keep the heat in. Set a timer for 3 hours
7. Check it at 3 hours. It should be getting thick. I leave mine for another couple hours than put it in the fridge to finish thickening.
Your yogurt is finished!
To thicken it put the yogurt in a cheese cloth and let it drain for an hour for a thicker yogurt. For yogurt cheese let it drain overnight. Yogurt cheese makes a great spread and can be used just like cream cheese, though it has a little different flavor. I've even made a yogurt cheesecake before and it worked great!
We start with 1 gallon of milk- most milk will work here, as long as it's not ultra pasteurized- they've pasteurized this milk so much that nothing will grow in it. This means no yogurt, cheese, etc. You can use raw milk, non-homogenized, or homogenized and pasteurized, and with any fat content you like. My mother even uses her dry, fat free milk from their food storage. I use whole milk, I like the texture and the fat is important to be able to absorb the fat soluble vitamins in the milk. Some people also thicken their yogurt with additives such as gelatin and dry milk powder, or other things that only an industrial food scientist would understand. Since we're trying so stay away from additives I generally thicken mine by straining it, the traditional Greek way. My yogurt is made with just a couple tablespoons of yogurt and milk
So the basics are easy- you just need to know a few things about bacteria. First they are happiest between 125-80 degrees F, so to make yogurt we simply have to heat the milk, introduce the bacteria, than keep it at that temperature while the bacteria happily munch on the milk sugar. After 3-8 hours your yogurt should have set up.
You will need:
Milk
2 tablespoons of relatively fresh yogurt for every quart of milk (don't let it sit in your fridge for weeks before you use it)
A decent thermometer
A smallish cooler
A thick blanket
A large pot to heat the milk (I use my pressure cooker to do a gallon at a time)
A larger pot to heat the water (I use my hot water canner)
Canning jars or other watertight containers to put your yogurt in (Big ones, or little ones for individual servings)
1. Heat the milk to 180 F, to pasteurize. Take it off the heat and let it cool to 120-125 with the thermometer in it to monitor the temperature (It's really handy if your thermometer has an alarm).
2. While the milk is cooling heat enough water to cover the jars in the cooler, plus an inch or two. Also put the jars in here to warm and sterilize them.
3.When the milk reaches 120 take out a cup of the milk and mix it with the yogurt to thin it and make it easier to mix in, when mixed well put the yogurt mixture into the pot of warmed milk.
4. Fill the jars with the milk mixture and screw the lids on tightly-- they'll be underwater for a while.
5. Put the jars in the cooler and cover them with 125 degree water plus a couple inches You may have to add some cool water to your large pot to get it to the right temperature.
6. Put the cooler somewhere out the the way and cover it with the thick blanket, tucking it around the cooler to keep the heat in. Set a timer for 3 hours
7. Check it at 3 hours. It should be getting thick. I leave mine for another couple hours than put it in the fridge to finish thickening.
Your yogurt is finished!
To thicken it put the yogurt in a cheese cloth and let it drain for an hour for a thicker yogurt. For yogurt cheese let it drain overnight. Yogurt cheese makes a great spread and can be used just like cream cheese, though it has a little different flavor. I've even made a yogurt cheesecake before and it worked great!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Locavores: May 5-11 Shopping and menu
Another great weekend for eastern Idaho locavores! Here is what we found this week-
Rexburg Farmers Market- radishes, herbs, and tomatoes. Also some of the most amazing handmade blue cheese I've ever tasted.
Idaho Falls Farmers Market- small red potatoes, leeks, garlic, basil, arugula, spinach, garlic chives, fresh eggs, and handmade smoked andouille sausage.
And we are still in asparagus season so we picked 3 lbs from the ditch banks in Rigby
And here is what we're doing with it
Saturday- With andouille sausage we have to make GUMBO!!!- This is a basic recipe, we'll adjust it for our needs.
Sunday- Arugula salad with blue cheese and and smashed potatoes
Monday-Asparagus risotto with spinach salad
Tuesday-pasta squares with radish green and basil pesto- a la this recipe
Wednesday- This asparagus salad, deviled eggs, and good bread
Thursday- Pizza night! Using whatever ingredients are on hand
Rexburg Farmers Market- radishes, herbs, and tomatoes. Also some of the most amazing handmade blue cheese I've ever tasted.
Idaho Falls Farmers Market- small red potatoes, leeks, garlic, basil, arugula, spinach, garlic chives, fresh eggs, and handmade smoked andouille sausage.
And we are still in asparagus season so we picked 3 lbs from the ditch banks in Rigby
And here is what we're doing with it
Saturday- With andouille sausage we have to make GUMBO!!!- This is a basic recipe, we'll adjust it for our needs.
Sunday- Arugula salad with blue cheese and and smashed potatoes
Monday-Asparagus risotto with spinach salad
Tuesday-pasta squares with radish green and basil pesto- a la this recipe
Wednesday- This asparagus salad, deviled eggs, and good bread
Thursday- Pizza night! Using whatever ingredients are on hand
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