Cream of Potato soup and I've moved...

 

 

 

This blog has moved to:   https://hrhobo.wordpress.com/  due to blogger not wanting to play nice with the old content so hop on over and continue to follow our adventures.

But here's the Cream of Potato soup recipe... hope to see you at my new blog!

Cream of Potato soup

4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2"-1" cubes
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 tablespoons olive oil (lard works, too)
1 quart whole milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound pork sausage or chorizo, cooked (optional)

Cook potatoes in enough water to cover them, until soft.  Drain the liquid into a separate bowl (you'll use the liquid in your soup) and set the potatoes aside. In a large pot melt the lard and cook the onions until translucent (you can also cook the sausage with onions, if desired).  Add flour and then slowly whisk/stir in the milk and potato water.  Cook until thickened.  Stir back into the soup the cooked potatoes.  (If you didn't add the sausage with the onions you can also add it at this point, too.)  

Serve with crackers or a nice homemade loaf of bread with butter.  You can even top your serving with some shredded cheddar.  Enjoy.

Insights from a Meat Processor

I'll work on a post in a few days but, in the meantime, passing on a good article about meat and its processing.  A little insider insight that I thought was a interesting read.


Cutting the Cold, Hard Fat

Laundry & laundry soap recipe

LOTS of gardening activity going on.... weather or insects permitting!  We went from nice Spring temps to Summer temps in short notice.  And the mosquitoes are loving it... and the buffalo flies.  But tomatoes/peppers need to be transplanted and seeds directly sown into the ground.  And then watered.  I ran out of fuel for the big tiller to tackle the weed patch except that ain't going to happen for a few days since we are getting a good dousing as I type.  I'd much rather have the rain than the crazy wind that went through at the start of this storm.  But over all we've been busy, busy, busy.

The garden takes most of my time but we have other responsibilities to add to the mix like fence work to keep our cows in and the neighbors range cows out, tractor work, outside employment at a friend's ranch, monitoring/feeding the bees, and working with our cows (have to keep them remembering they are cows and not pets!), fixing bust fence wire, cleaning out coops and pens, mending fence from all the snow we had over the winter, chopping thistle and weeds, cleaning up fallen trees from the wind storms and snow, check the diversion dam and ditch ... did I mention fixing fence?? .... plus all the other daily chores that need to get done.  But ONE chore that is important is having some clean clothes to wear that don't stink to high heaven or have something questionable blotted on the side of the pant leg.

So when the skies are clear and the wind isn't blowing a hundred miles an hour it becomes a good day to get some laundry done.  Freshly washed clothes hung on the line outside have a wonderful smell.  At least I think it does.  Which leads me to laundry soap and laundry soap recipes. There are a lot of 'recipes' circulating on-line, and you can search for 'homemade laundry soap recipes' and get a lot of different varieties, most have the same ingredients and amounts.  Some people add scents, different kinds of powders or bar soaps, different amounts of powders, etc.  I think the one I jotted down and adapted, many moons ago, came from an old Backwoods Home magazine article by Jackie Clay (update:  a quick search on her blog and I found the article referring to her laundry soap recipe.... it can be found here at Wash Day.

This works well for me so I'm going to share with you.

Homemade Laundry Soap:
One 5-gallon bucket
5 gallons HOT water
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap
Grater to shred the soap
2 Cups borax laundry powder
2 Cups Super Washing Soda
1 Cup Biz (I've seen Oxyclean added, but I don't think it works as well as Biz when you soak)

Take your 5-gallon bucket and grate the entire bar of the Fels Naptha soap in it.  I use the 'fine' portion of the grater because it dissolves quicker.  It doesn't take all that long but if you are troubled by the thought of sitting for several minutes grating soap AND you have children in the house, then by all means use a little child labor and let that youngster do it.  Bribe Offer them food and you'd be amazed at what you can get done.  If no kids in the vicinity, you can use the larger holed portion but I think it takes longer to dissolve.  Then treat yourself to a cookie (after washing the soap off your hands.... cookies + soap = nasty) and ponder the next steps.

After shredding the soap, mix in the rest of the powders together with a whisk or spoon.  Then add about 1 gallon of hot water.  I just use HOT (as hot as it will get) tap water.  Some people put the shredded soap in a large metal pot on the stove, add some water and heat it on low heat until it dissolves, but we have set our water heater to its recommended setting (145F - check your label on your tank to see how hot your water should be) and the water is hot enough and dissolves the soap just fine.  Even if it doesn't dissolve it all, it will still work in your laundry.

Add the rest of your water as you stir and dissolve any of the soap/powder that may still be in your mixture.

Now, if you purchased a lid for your 5 gallon bucket when you bought it (unlike a certain blogger... who will remain unnamed <cough>), all you need to do is let it cool and then cover it with the lid.  If you didn't buy a lid with your 5 gallon bucket or have a bucket that didn't come with one, then you can ladle the contents into old laundry soap containers, large wide mouth jugs or empty vessels with good fitting lids of some sort that will stay on if you have to shake it up before use.

Oh, and not all 5-gallon buckets will hold 5-gallons.  Just thought I'd add that little tidbit of information before you go dumping all your water in your bucket thinking it will hold it all and about a 1/2 gallon goes oozing onto the floor.  Mix up your brew outside, just in case.

Sometimes the concoction gels up a bit as it cools and sometimes it don't.  Either way, it still is soap.  I fill old laundry soap containers, vinegar jugs or large plastic empty sauerkraut/pickle jars that came from one of those big box stores.  Shake it/mix it up a bit and it is good to go.  I use about 1 cup of the laundry soap, sometimes 2 cups.  It all depends on how dirty the clothing is that needs to be washed.

Which leads me to the observation that front loader machines don't 'clean' as well as the regular old machines with the agitator in the middle.  Those 'he' machines may be good for city dirt, but just don't work for ranch dirt.  I sometimes have to take the grungy ones and wash in a pail or tub with a scrub board to get the dirt out. It is amazing as to what dirt gets left in the clothes... not for the faint of heart!

Well, that about sums it up for now.  Try it out or look on-line for a 'recipe' that you like.  It will save you money in the long run, plus you'll have a nice laundry soap that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.  That 5-gallon bucket of soap will last me at least a month and we do go through some laundry loads around here.

Until next time....

Making Mozzarella Cheese From Goat's Milk

 

And it is tasty!  I love cheese and figured that since I had fresh goat milk at the ready, I'd give it a try instead of feeding the milk to the chickens or dogs.  Or freezing it for later.

I had purchased junket rennet several years ago for something that I have no idea what it was for (probably for a custard or ice cream) but figured rennet was rennet.  According to some cheese makers you can't use junket rennet - that it is best with custards and ice cream -  but other cheese makers said that you can.  I went with the other cheese makers and, lo and behold, you can use junket rennet to make mozzarella cheese.

There is even a little instruction booklet inside the box that has the recipe for making mozzarella cheese with junket rennet. The recipe called for one gallon milk but I felt that would be too much so I cut the amount in half using instead: 1/2 gallon goat milk (pasteurized), 1/4 junket rennet tablet and 5/8 teaspoon citric acid.  


You can find the original recipe here and it is also listed below for you to print for later use.  The website also has other recipes that you can grab and more information about cheese making.


The junket rennet I found at the grocery store by the gelatin/pudding products.  Citric acid can be found in with the canning supply products.  Both you could easily find online somewhere, I'm sure.

I think the only thing I would change is near the end where you add 1 teaspoon salt to the 1 cup of curd before microwaving.  It made it a little too salty.  It wasn't unpleasant but a little too salty for my taste.  Maybe I didn't mix it in well enough??   And the only other note about this was that when it does call for cooking in the microwave for 45 seconds... if it looks like paste, don't worry.  I thought I had made goat milk paste, too.  It is about that consistency and I just kneaded it with the spoon, as directed, for a few minutes longer.  I was sure it was ruined and that it was only going to be good enough to seal the leaky watering can I use in the greenhouse by the time I was done.  But when I felt it was kneaded enough I dumped the glob into a small glass pyrex bowl, pressed it down, smoothed it about, covered and set in the fridge....wishing it good luck.


Well, it turned out better than expected.  No longer was it the consistency of paste but cheese, it was delicious (always a plus!) and I'm going to make another batch of mozzarella and smoke it this go around, along with some hard cooked eggs!

Don't forget to copy and print out the original recipe for your reference.


AMERICAN MOZZERELLA

by Dr. David Fankhauser, for Redco Foods 10 June 2003

"American mozzarella" is the cheese commonly used on American pizza. It is made using citric acid for acidification instead of bacterial fermentation as in other cheeses. It is very elastic, melts well and strings when hot.

Equipment

5 quart covered stainless pot with heavy bottom

1 cup pyrex measuring cup

2 cup pyrex measuring cup

Thermometer

Long bladed knife

Sterile handkerchief or non-terrycloth dish towel

8 inch strainer

Receiving container to catch draining whey

1000 watt microwave oven

Ingredients

1/2 tablet "JUNKET" Rennet Tablet
1-1/4 teaspoon citric acid
1 gallon milk(whole milk for a richer flavor or skimmed milk for low calorie cheese) 

Instructions:

1. Warm milk over gentle heat 88ºF (31ºC), take care not to scorch.
2. Dissolve 1-1/4 tsp. citric acid powder in 1/2 cup cool water. Add to 88ºF milk, stir well.
3. Dissolve 1/2 tablet Junket Rennet into 1/4 cup cool water. Stir thoroughly into warmed milk mixture. Let set undisturbed for 1-2 hours, until a clean break is achieved.
4. Cut curd into 1/2 inch cubes.
5. Warm the curds and whey over low heat, stirring gently to warm evenly and keep the curds separated until temperature reaches 42º C (108ºF). Hold at 42ºC for 35 minutes, stirring every five minutes to keep curds separated and off the bottom.
6. Collect curds by pouring curds and whey through a fine cloth held in an 8 inch sieve over a 1 gallon container, let drain for 15 minutes. Save whey to make ricotta if you wish (see recipe)
7. Break up curd, mix in 1 teaspoon salt thoroughly.
8. Place 1 cup of salted curd into 2 cup measure.
9. Microwave on high for 45 seconds
10. Separate hot curd from container with the back of a fork, knead with hands to distribute heat evenly. Heat again for 20 more seconds. Stretch and fold to make smooth and elastic, shape into a soft ball.
11. Drop into cold, salted water (1/3 cup salt per quart), let sit in refridgerator for a day, store in an air tight container. Use within a week or so.

How Much to Plant? See the planning guide....

In the back of the old Ball BLUE Book of Canning book there are some reference charts of vegetables and how much to plant for a family of 6.  I think it is quite handy and believe that it should have been kept in all the following canning books Ball has published since that issue.  But they haven't, so here's a copy of those charts below for your reference.  If you run across this book in a used book store or thrift store, grab it.

It is well worth it for the planning guide. But in the meantime....

***** PRINT THESE OUT *****

Buttermilk biscuits recipe + self-rising flour instructions

I have no idea where I got this recipe from since I wrote it down several years ago but it is quick and easy.  It calls for self-rising flour... if you don't have that, no problem.  You can make self-rising flour!  It's easy, too. The recipe follows below the biscuit recipe.

Enjoy!

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
2 1/2 cup self-rising flour
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup butter or shortening
3/4 - 1 cup buttermilk**, sour milk, milk or whipping cream

Preheat oven to 450F. In medium bowl stir together flour and sugar.  Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly (shortening in pieces about size of green peas). Stir in buttermilk until dough leaves sides of bowl.  If dry, add a little more milk.

On lightly floured surface knead dough just until smooth (note: this step is mostly to just get the dough together so you can roll it out ... don't knead like you're making bread).  Roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut dough with 2 1/2" biscuit cutter or can cut into squares. Place cut biscuits on ungreased cookie sheet with sides touching (for soft biscuits) or 1" apart for crunchy sides.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and enjoy with butter, your favorite jam or some ham/egg/cheese.

Makes about 12 biscuits.


**how to make a substitute for 1 cup buttermilk - 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup.  Let stand 5 minutes before using.  Or you can use 1 cup whole milk + 1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar or 1 cup plain yogurt. (Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book 1981)




SELF-RISING FLOUR

All purpose flour
salt
baking powder

Using dry measure, measure desired amount of flour into separate container as follows:

FOR EACH CUP of FLOUR, add 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  Mix to combine. Can be made ahead of time and stored in an air-tight container to be used later.

Homemade baking extracts

I don't know why I didn't think about this sooner, but something to consider with the rise in the cost of foods or the scarcity of certain items.  If you bake, don't over look extracts.

BackwoodsHome has an excellent article in making homemade cooking extracts.  Go and print it out for reference.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/homemade-baking-extracts-by-linda-zimnick/

If you give it a try, I'd like to hear your comments on making homemade cooking extracts.  Pros and cons.