caterina cacciatore

why, of course, my dear ~~ and then promptly forgot about it for three days

kefir grains are in a quart jar of raw milk / kefir grains are little spongy critters that are an acidophilous culture / they put beneficial bacteria into the milk and then you have a healthy drink / fresh made

here is the definitive kefir site :

KEFIR

so now they are at my house / the jar is wrapped with messages to the kefir that it is loved and we are grateful for its benefits *_/ see footnote

messages are pasted on the glass so they are read from inside the jar (where the kefir grains are thriving and multiplying)

first i used some of the kefir to make cornbread to go with the pork/green chile

i rinsed out the grains and put most of them back into a jar as the starter

then i put the rest of the really sour kefir (the one neglected for three days) into a bowl with the rest of the raw milk

this went into the warming drawer at the bottom of the new stove /

in a few hours it was nicely curdled / i drained the whey / hung the curds / now i have a lovely ball (size of an old-fashioned croquet ball) of kefir cheese

it is delicious ! a very different flavor from goat cheese

i also put a small amount of kefir grains in a pint of heavy cream (organic) and let it sit on the counter for oh almost 24 hours

when the grains were strained out i had MASCARPONE !!

mascarpone is a specially wonderful smooth and creamy Italian cream cheese



*_/ footnote / this sort of message for your kefir and for your water is influenced and inspired by a book called :

The Hidden Messages in Water
by Masaru Emoto

i will tell more about it when i put on my book reviewer's hat / smile

these were so good i wdnt let myself eat them all up at once / as they dwindled down to a precious few i rationed myself to 2 or 3 and then 1 or 2 and then only one was left *

preheat oven 450'

1 and 1/2 sticks butter (12 TB)
soften to room temperature
then beat at high speed until fluffy

add 1 and 1/2 cups finely shredded cheese
i have used Jalapeno Jack / cheddar / monterey jack
whatever is in the cheese drawer but prolly not soft
moist cheeses

(jalapeno jack was a big hit)

okay / add the cheese to the butter / mix well

then add 1/4 cup parmigiano (parmesan)

when that is all mixed and using your hands
work in 1 and 1/2 cup All Purpose flour that
has 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cayenne (0r to taste)

form the dough into a ball and divided into four
and pat each into a round or a square / wrap in
plastic stuff and put in the refrigerator
for 2-3 hours or until they are the way you like
them to roll out

roll each dough ball or square out on a floured surface
1/16 th of an inch thick / cut out with cookie cutters or
free style knife work / a pizza cutter works great for
spontaneous cracker shapes

you can make them look like Cheddar CheezIts (poke
little holes in them)

Hi Ho's or Ritz !

~~~~

* (indicates foot note) i made some with spelt and amaranth flower instead of unbleached organic all purpose / they were drier / the grains soak up more moisture / so i think one might use some soft or moist cheese along with one of the others / like some ricotta with mexican enchilada cheese / toss in some dried chilis or leave untrammeled or seasonings you like / can be a mild tasting cheese too

spelt and amaranth didnt make satisfactory crackers but they make fabulous Crumbles / i used them as croutons for the SPinach Soup /

nice crunchy cheesey butter topping for .... oh .... lots of stuff

i love spinach / fresh spinach / not canned or frozen

i love spinach creamed / souped / raw in salad / and as Orgasmic Spinach

lightly steamed / cooled a little / dressed with olive oil / scattered feta over it with maybe some crisped garlic chips and a sprinkle of fresh basil

yum

very tasty piled on a slice of crusty bread or bruschetta

we will have that today with the rack of lamb / the feta of the moment is what i made from the goat milk / the feta is cut into small cubes, like dice, and put in a jar with grape seed oil / whole pepper corns / and lavender springs

more yum

for the SPINACH SOUP

saute some leeks or some sweet onions and garlic (optional) in a butter/olive oil combination until they are soft / carmelize them if you wish / then turn off the heat

for a little thickener sprinkle a small palm-load of flour over the onions and stir

put a couple of bags of preferably organic baby spinach into the food processor and chop it up

if you use elderly spinach instead of baby remove the biggest of the stems / use the stems for something else like put in the dog food or in the vegetable juice or in the compost pot

add a quart of chicken broth / either homemade or the kind that comes in a box (Pacific) to the onions / bring up to a low boil and cook until slightly thickened and the flour is cooked / then stir in the spinach and warm it up to a simmer

simmer until heated through and the spinach is "done" / this wont take long as spinach is a form of Fast Food / when overcooked it is yucky and not worth eating

season with salt and pepper and nutmeg

just before serving pour in some cream or half and half to your taste

oh you can puree this too in a blender if you wish / i usually dont

slightly derived from dining ala Roma

we have our soup course for breakfast

today it is chicken soup / yesterday it was cream of spinach* / recipe follows / but it will up there in the next post

mid day we have our entree of Roast Chicken with gravy and scalloped potatoes/carrots

mid afternoon we have a liquid vegetable course of homemade juice : carrots, beets, celery, red cabbage, lemon juice

our cocktail snack on Christmas Day is caviar with a dab of creme fraiche on an Elegant whole wheat cracker

wash the caviar down with champagne

the champagne isnt really / it is sparkling wine from California / it comes in a beautiful blue bottle chosen so that it can be broken and the pieces used to fuse in the glass kiln

desert or bedtime food solace is Hemp Seed Cereal with cream

&&&&&&

coming up SPINACH SOUP recipe

we took the dogs, leggy lanky white dog Dought, and shaggy black stuffed toy dog Dot, to the Slick Rock to let the chicken rest / it is now warming up in the oven / gravy is being simmered and the scalloped potato/carrots will be mooshed up as a vehicle for gravy

all the while up on the rocks i thought of how the chicken can be stuffed with any kind of stuffing one likes or simply with chunks of onion, apple, orange, lemon, garlic, herbs for extra flavors and moisture

this chicken is to be a Resource for several other meals to which garlic and so on can be added when wanted

for example the top priority is sliced white meat chicken sandwiches with mayo and salad greens on fresh neo-tuscan boule

garlic olives on the side

some of the chicken, prolly thighs, will be used for chicken/green chile tamales / i will add some sauteed onion and garlic to that as well as cilantro and cumin

there is always chicken and rice / the rice awaits / and this can be fancied up or made into a simple and nourishing soup

after that is nap time / smile

testing / trying out / the convection bake feature of the new stove

convection means some kind of fan circulating the heat / claims that food cooks more efficiently / with better distribution of heat and therefore in less time

also good for multiple dishes in the oven on different racks

so ~~~~

on the upper shelf is a roasting chicken / Un Pollo Arrosto

molto simplice (very simple) with olive oil spritzed in the baking pan / melted butter drizzled over the chicken / salt and pepper / into the oven

on the lower shelf are scalloped potatoes and carrots in a baking dish / thin slices layered with milk and chicken broth poured over / dotted with butter / cover with foil

both are in oven set at 350 or 375

set timer for one hour and check on both / add some chicken broth to the chicken / this will help for later gravy making

put 'em back in for 20 minutes more then baste the chicken / wiggle its leg to see how done it is / remove the scallop vegetables from the oven

hmmmmm / decide to turn off the oven and let the chicken rest / whilst i go out and sit in the sun

ciao / see you later / piu tarde

1 and 1/2 sticks of butter
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
cream those two together
add :

3 eggs, one at a time

then add :

1 and 1/2 cups flower
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

when this is all mixed add 1/2 cup sour cream

flavorings of your choice

for example today i used vanilla and lemon and lemon zest

for the birthday cake i used vanilla and almond flavorings

as this cake was inspired by classic Basque cakes which have big cherries at the bottom i used wild blueberries instead just cuz i had them

butter and flower a loaf pan or a bundt type pan

bake for at least an hour 325 degrees

actually the blue berries made kind of an unruly looking cake when i took it out of the bundt pan / kind of not what one might call "perfect"

it is soooo liberating to send a cake to a party that looks casual and devil may care and downright

INSOUCIANT

take the pound of hamburger you got for the dogs and with a chopped onion and some garlic brown the meat in a heavy pot with olive oil / season with salt and pepper

when the meat is brown add that quart jar of tomatoes from last year, the year there were lots of different kinds of tomatoes instead of the previous year when there were only cherry tomatoes and their considerable variations

a perfect quart of mixed tomatoes

deluxe

add what's left of the chicken broth / maybe a cup / and the glass of red wine from last night

simmer on the back burner

seasonings will be a small palmload of brown sugar / an herbal bouquet of fresh parsley with snippets of sage and lavendar / pinches of cinnamon

i had this with cappellini / angel hair pasta / a little parmigiano sprinkled on top and a spritz of olive oil / maybe a pat of butter

the baked onions with sage and gruyere looked good in the picture

maybe only baking one onion was the problem ?

so put the onions

which were baked with olive oil / salt and lots of pepper)
ittle chicken broth / soy sauce at 400 degrees

at the last five minutes grated gruyere and chopped fresh sage

so put the onions in the little food chopper / give em a quick turn

voila / just the thing to smear on toasted NeoTuscan Boule (really) with some sauteed creminis on top and a scattering more of gruyere

drizzle olive oil

slurp

&&&

update on the masa crepes / for breakfast this morning the last of the birthday cake cherries jubilee rolled up in the leftover crepes / dabble creme fraiche on top / heat in the oven or fry in butter

this is the kind of breakfast a skater eats before she heads for the norweigian fjords

with a twirl of her skirt

kick glide smile

1/3 cup of masa harina or fineground corn meal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 TB sugar
three large eggs beaten
3/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup of water
1-2 TB butter melted

mix everything together well and put in ice box for an hour before using

~~~~

i made a stack of masa crepes today / now several of them are rolled around the spinach/ricotta filling for ravioli / two filled crepes nestled together in an individual baking pan / with a generous dollop of tomato/garlic jam / a splurp of creme fraiche / and a sprinkling of parmigiano

put em in a hot oven until they look like they awta come out

first make Fraz Fries

these are potatoes shredded and fried up in butter oil bacon grease what have you into a crispy hash brown cake to have with two om egg yolks

make too many shredded potatoes / more than you need for breakfast ~~ add some shredded carrots / some parsnips that have been peeled and cored / these are to make a soup or a bisque or something like that

saute some onion leek garlic / as much of each as you fancy / in a heavy soup pot / in butter/olive oil or what you prefer like coconut oil is good too

when they are nicely softened or carmelized add the shredded vegetables and at least a quart of broth

well here the purpose of this vegetable circus is to use up some of the chicken broth that the duck was simmered in / there are two quarts of "duck" broth so use one or both of them / or chicken stock from a box / or vegetable broth if that suits you best

simmer until the vegetables are tender / cool it enough to puree it in a blender / add some cream / season with salt pepper whatever else it calls for

in this case it was a little on the parsnippy side / cinnamon and nutmeg and cayenne pepper joined the fun / quite yum

serve with a glob of tomato/garlic jam and some cubes of a good melting cheese like Gruyere

this is just a basic idea of how to make a vegetable bisque

there are endless variations / what makes a bisque a bisque is the pureed business and the addition of cream / classic or traditional bisque usually has some liquor in it at some point / like sherry in shrimp bisque / this is purely optional

4 TB butter
3 TB brown sugar
2 TB soy sauce
2 TB sherry

combine all and cook until
the sugar is dissolved

this is yum on anything you can think of :

grilled fish / roasted vegetables / roasted chicken

(Quick and Easy)

yield 2 cups

2 carrots shredded
2 shallots minced
2 hot chilis minced
4 TB sugar
1/2 cup viet fish sauce*
1/2 cup lime or lemon juice
1/2 cup water if you want to dilute it
(i dont dilute it)
6 TB rice wine vinegar**

* and **

this is a recipe found by googling in my quest for the sauce i loved the best for spring rolls at the little joint in downtown LA

this comes closest

you can always vary * and **

keeps well if you dont dip something yucky into it / use individual pots for dipping sauce

~~~~~~~~~~

an entry every day from my stack of recipeez