A friend bequeathed me this pumpkin. Which was a lovely and generous thing to do, because it was a delicious pumpkin. Slight caveats: (a) I had to put it in my backpack and ride back to my car with it, not a long way but a fair step with several kilos of pumpkin on my [...]
Also tagged awesomeFor what is success without defining failure? Yesterday, for reasons, misc., I kinda stuffed up my cheesemaking. I was riding the wave of success from Friday’s triumphant feta (best cheese yet, I might must add): I was probably a bit cocky. I was also tired and grumpy and my pants weren’t on straight. And the [...]
Also tagged cheeseOne thing I noticed very quickly while researching cheese recipes was the number of FAQs that dealt with the issue of what to do with leftover whey. When you make cheese, you separate almost all the fats, sugars, proteins and other good stuff into the curds, and then lift those out of the watery whey. [...]
Also tagged cheeseI understand the science (kind of) and the process, but it still blows my mind. Warm the milk, add the culture; let it sit, add the rennet; let it sit…CURDS. Cheesemaking is rocking me in no small way. I’ve made four (successful) batches of cheese now, and that last moment where you approach the pot [...]
Also tagged cheese, science!It was kismet. A few days at home, sick, reading up on cheesemaking; then I get back to work and, before I can dismiss the idea as the fevered ravings of a feverish fool with a fever, my coworker starts talking excitedly about her friend’s triumph in home haloumi. If that complete stranger can do [...]
Also tagged cheese, science!A long and particularly satisfying break, my spoonfullies. M and I had a happy sojourn in Aotearoa and now I’m back with a head full of brains full of ideas and shoes full of feet. I was going to have a bit of a blog-chat about all the things I learned and thought about while [...]
Also tagged beautiful soup, pressuredIt’s only 25°C right now and that’s so balmy I’m giddy with it. So I did the sensible thing: toasted muesli, baked more bread, and then cooked an amazingly pink breakfast pie. I bought some stalks of rhubarb, which I showed to my own growing rhubarb seedlings to show them what they’re aiming for, with [...]
Also taggedWhen I first started food blogging, I assumed all food bloggers were cooking/serving/eating the same way I did: messily/hastily/quickly. I’ve revised this assumption, based on (a) how many food bloggers mention their cameras and offer advice on shooting your food; and (b) Foodgawker. People out there are committed to the look of it, and I’m [...]
Also tagged awesomeFollowing an inspirational visit from friends and their tales of wondrous farinaceous delight, I decided my life needed more foccacia. Indeed, yours probably does as well. So I listened the savoury songs they sang, and translated their vision into bread. Much like when Michaelangelo translated the Bayeux Tapestry into rap on So You Think You [...]
Also tagged baking, breadYou may recall my ice cream cone-related ambitions recently? The cones were tasty, but lacked the structural integrity required to live up to their names: we had ice cream burritos instead, which I’m claiming the invention of. But M is not one to simply rename a recipe and call it a success (from the “What [...]
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