Recipe: Rosemary Lemon Chêvre

For mad scientists who keep brains in jars, here's a tip: why not add a slice of lemon to each jar, for freshness? – Jack Handy

Brains...brains... Uh, I mean chêvre...

No, this isn’t a recipe for preserved brains, but now that it’s been mentioned…. Or if you want your kids to help you just tell them the chêvre is "brains"...

But seriously, if you’re still looking for some slots to fill with homemade gifts this Christmas look no further. Here’s a recipe that is extremely easy and extremely impressive looking. A little work looks very “intensive,” shall we say…

Beautiful layers of yellow, white and green.

First you have to make chêvre… Yeah – I hear you all now, but it’s really EASY!!! Basically you take 1 L full fat goat milk, heat it to 185°F, add the juice of a lemon, stir it in gently and sit back. How hard is that?

What happens is the curd separates from the whey. Strain out the whey, knead in some salt and you’re done. I understand goat milk can be a little expensive. I actually found some marked down 50% off its regular price because it was nearing expiration date. 

I routinely look at the Superstore for marked down “health products.” Discounted goat milk can be found quite often, at least here in Halifax. So can kéfir, and some other items in their "organics" section.

If you want full directions on how to make chêvre I do have them on my blog. Look here. You’ll see that they’re pretty much what I outlined above.

So then the next steps. You need a lemon, some rosemary and olive oil, plus two 250ml sterile jars. Here’s how it’s done….

Rosemary Lemon Chêvre

Makes 2 x 250 ml Mason jars

1 L full fat goat milk

2 lemons

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 sprigs rosemary

I had to go buy 12 jars. Who know's what I'll put in the
other ten...

Make the chêvre first. (milk and 1 lemon) See the directions here. It’s easy and only takes about 1/2 hour.

Sterilize the jars and tops. Wash and pat dry the rosemary sprigs.

Divide the chêvre into two balls. Flatten to the size that will fit into the Mason jars.

Slice the lemon into four even 1/4” slices. Place 1 slice in the bottom of each jar. Top with the chêvre. Flatten out a little if necessary. Twist one stalk of rosemary on top of each of the chêvre disks and finish with another lemon slice.

Heat the 1 cup of oil in a saucepan until some water sprinkled on top sizzles away quickly.

Pour the hot oil into the jars, ensuring it goes down the sides to completely immerse the lemon, cheese and rosemary.

Close the jars and refrigerate. Within 2 weeks the flavours will have permeated the cheese. 

See, impressive looking but oh so easy….

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Recipe: Preserved Jalapeno Peppers, Lacto-fermented

We don't need a melting pot in this country, folks. We need a salad bowl. In a salad bowl, you put in the different things. You want the vegetables – the lettuce, the cucumbers, the onions, the green peppers – to maintain their identity. You appreciate differences. – Jane Elliot 

About half as many jalapenos as you will need. Tank goodness they're cheap.
Photo: °Florian, Flickr ccl

So I’m starting to really get interested in the lacto-fermentation (no vinegar) way of preserving foods. This is veggie no. 2. The first was successful cabbage. This time it’s jalapenos.

My brother in-law loves pickled jalapenops. I usually make him a couple jars for Christmas. My usual recipe can be found here. They have onion, carrot, garlic and spices in the pickling mix.

This year he’s going to get lacto-fermented jalapenos. Jalapenos and salt – nothing else. They should be interesting. I’m not sure what they will turn into but if the difference between cabbage and sauerkraut is any indication they should be delicious.

Slice the peppers the "long" way as opposed to in rings.
Photo: BenSpark, Flickr ccl

Lacto-fermentation is the act of preserving vegetables through the use of healthful bacteria. The most common one is lactobacillus. It’s one of the common good bacteria in yogurt. 

To lacto-ferment you extract juice from whatever you’re dealing with (it can be vegetables, fruit or some meat) by massaging it with salt. The act of massaging breaks down cell walls and liquid is released. In effect, you’re making brine from the juice of whatever it is you’re preserving.

In the case of jalapenos, the liquid was quite green. Rather “lurid” to say the least. It’s now been about half as bright green after a week. The colour has started to tone itself down somewhat to something natural looking.

The trick with the salt and brine is that you’re preserving your subject for a short time with salt, until the good bacteria have a chance to increase and take over the job of preservation.

Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying (rotting) bacteria. Starches and sugars in vegetables and fruits are converted into lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid-producing bacteria. Lactobacilli are everywhere, present on the surface of all living things and especially on leaves and roots of plants growing in or near the ground.

Some words to the wise. Use gloves when you’re massaging the jalapeno slices. If you have any small cuts in your hands the jalapeno juice will sting terribly. I didn’t have any cuts or abrasions but my hands still burned after I was done for an entire night. This was after I had washed my hands with soap and water at least 4 times. So wear gloves.

Peoples in the past knew how to preserve their harvest. It’s only in the last century or so we have divorced ourselves from a veritable treasure trove of kitchen lore. And they call it progress…

The jalapenos have now begun to loose a little of this colour.

Preserved Jalapenos

Makes 2 x 500 ml jars

1 kg fresh jalapenos (2.2 lbs)*

2 tbsp sea salt 

(plus 1 cup water mixed with 2 tbsp sea salt if necessary)

Wash the jalapenos well to remove any surface dirt or chemical spray.

Trim off the ends close to the stem. Then cut the jalapenos in long slices with the seeds still in the peppers. Repeat until all the peppers have been sliced.

Place the slices in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the 2 tbsp of salt.

(Put on clean, untreated rubber or latex gloves.) Slowly begin to squeeze the slices of jalapeno making sure the salt is well worked into the flesh. As you proceed, you will see green liquid forming in the bottom of the bowl.

This isn't necessary. I got nervous.

Continue to massage the slices until they are reduced to about 1/3 their original volume.

Divide the pepper slices between two sterilized 500 ml mason jars. Tamp the peppers down tightly into the jars. Divide and pour the green brine over the peppers.

If the liquid does not come up to cover the slices, mix the remaining salt with the water and top up the jars.

I took an extra step that I probably didn’t have to. I processed the jars for 15 minutes in a hot water bath. I was feeling a bit unwary. But everything seems to be going along well so far with the jalapenos.

*Purchase the number of jalapenos you reasonably think it will take to fill the jars when sliced. Some jalapenos are heavier than others, so weight isn’t a really accurate measure when purchasing them.

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Booze of the Week: Peanut Cream Liqueur

If you don't mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream. – Barry Goldwater

Tasting is believing. Smooth, peanuty, creamy and not too sweet.

This is a bit of an unusual liqueur. I believe a peanut liqueur is only made commercially in one place – St. Lucia in the Caribbean. The name of the liqueur is Castries Peanut Rum Creme. It’s been called peanuty, smooth and creamy without being too sweet. It’s actually made with cream.

Toast the peanuts until fragrant, but don't let them burn!!!

Well mine’s a bit different. It’s peanuty, smooth and creamy but isn’t made from rum and has no cream. How is it creamy you ask? Well – steel yourselves – I substituted the water in the simple syrup for whey left over from making ricotta cheese. Whey has a “creamy” mouth feel without the milk solids.

That green stuff is the whey. Amazing and full of minerals and nutrients.

It sounds weird, and maybe disgusting but the result bears out the process. After one month I had a wonderfully peanut-flavoured liqueur, almost 3 x 375 ml too!

My spouse and I were discussing uses and we came up with a peanut butter and jelly shooter. Peanut liqueur layered with strawberry or raspberry liqueur. It would probably be amazing.

The peanuts infuse for 4 weeks.

That will have to be tried. You should also try this liqueur. For a nut flavoured liqueur this is pretty flavourful and easy. Rather than a lot of blather I opted for a lot of pictures. This is definitely a recipe I’ll repeat.

Next liqueur? I think it will be strawberry “cream”...

Peanut Cream Liqueur

Time: 1 month  |  Yield: almost 3 x 375 ml

2 cups shelled, dry roasted unsalted peanuts (make sure they’re ONLY peanuts – no soy oil or any other ingredient)

1-1/2 cups whey (from 4 cups separated milk)

1-1/2 cups white sugar

4 cups vodka

After the four weeks strain through cloth – several times.

Toast the peanuts dry in a sauce pan until fragrant. Take care not to burn. Chop the peanuts coarsely and divide between two 1L Mason jars.

The cloth will catch a lot of sediment but the liqueur will not be fully clear.

To make whey, bring 4 cups of whole milk to 185°F in a saucepan. Add 2 tbsp of vinegar or lemon juice to the milk. Remove from the heat and stir. In a few minutes the curds will separate from the whey. Drain, reserving both the curds and the whey. (The curds are ricotta cheese.)

Bring the whey and sugar to a boil and let cook for 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Divide the vodka evenly between the two Mason jars. Then add the whey syrup to the vodka and peanuts. Cover tightly. Shake vigorously and let sit for 4 weeks.

After the infusion period is over strain the liqueur through fine cotton cloth to remove as much peanut residue as possible. Repeat several times if necessary.

The finished liqueur. Peanuty!!

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Recipe: Peposo Notturno, “Nocturnal Pepperiness” Beef Stew

When those waiters ask me if I want some fresh ground pepper, I ask if they have any aged pepper. – Andy Rooney 

Florence Cathedral. Photo: Boreio Selas, Flickr ccl

There’s a story associated with this one. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but let’s pretend it is.

It’s the early 1400s in Florence Italy. You’re a mason working on an engineering marvel – the dome on the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (in English known as Florence Cathedral).

Your co-workers who make the tiles for the dome have an overnight recipe that uses the cooling kilns to cook their next day’s meals. Since it has lots of pepper and takes overnight to cook it gets the name Peposo Notturno.

Here’s another part of the story. The dome’s architect, Brunelleschi, wants to get as much work out of you as possible. It takes time for you to climb down to eat dinner. He figures to save that time he’ll deliver your dinner up to the dome for you. It doesn’t take long for you to realized that you’re losing your lunch break, so you go on “strike.”

Maybe true, maybe not. Regardless, the recipe in question is stunning in its taste and simplicity.

OMG this was good (especially if you like garlic and lots of pepper...)

This recipe proves that with a few basic ingredients you can create something absolutely amazing. This is literally meat, salt, pepper, wine and garlic. That’s it. Mind you, it’s a lot of pepper and a lot of garlic.

All the recipes for this stew call for an 8-hour cooking time. I’ve shortened it to 3-1/2. I let the stew simmer for 3 hours one evening. Serving night I let it simmer for a further 1/2 hour while the potatoes boiled before being mashed.

Wine works wonders on meat, especially that much wine. Since I cut the cooking time in half I also cut the wine in half from the overnight version, so you have enough leftover for a glass or two. I’m sure the shorter time renders a slightly different result, but by three hours the meat had already fallen from the bone. That ‘s a good sign.

If you wish a thicker sauce you can add some tomato paste, but that’s not original to the recipe. Remember tomatoes weren’t introduced to Europe until nearly a century after this recipe was in common use.

My mashed potatoes aren’t original either (potatoes – South America), and come to think of it neither would be polenta (corn – Central America) since the main ingredients wouldn’t be part of European cuisine until nearly 1500 as well.

I wonder what they would have used for “side dishes” in the 1400s?

Peposo Notturno

Time: 3.5 hrs  |  Serves: supposedly 4, but 2 at my table…

1 tbsp olive oil

2 beef shanks

3 tbsp cracked black pepper

1 tbsp sea salt (I had Celtic hanging around so used that)

3 whole heads of garlic

1/2 bottle decent Italian red wine

Put everything in a pot. Cover and cook for 3.5 hours.

After the 3.5 hours remove the meat and reserve. You will note it has been dyed a deep burgundy colour from the wine.

Squeeze the garlic cloves from the bulbs and discard the skins. Whisk the garlic together with the remaining wine and pepper. Bring to a boil. 

Then add the beef back into the pot and heat through.

Serve with warm polenta or mashed potatoes drizzled with the garlic pepper sauce.

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Gardening: Yucca. A Taste of the Tropics & Hardy!

Politics, just like the tropical forest, feeds itself from its own waste. – Paul Carvel

The bells! The bells! (Apologies to Victor Hugo and Quasimodo)

Hmmm. Interesting thought… Here’s something exotic that will not only last through our Nova Scotia winters but will increase if given the right conditions. It’s Yucca filamentosa. 

Beautiful when not in flower. Photo: catsav, Flickr ccl

I thought I would start posting ideas for springtime gardening. Even though winter hasn't officially arrived the growing season is definitely past, so we need pleasant thoughts to occupy our minds until the snow leaves for good next year.

Yucca plants are hardy perennials that have a range of USDA Zones 3 to 10. That’s pretty wide. Essentially that covers from the Florida Panhandle in the USA to most of the lower parts of Central Canada’s provinces and both Canadian coasts.

Yucca can grow between 12” in height to a glorious 5’ (60”) when their flower spikes are in full glory. They’re quite a sight and demand attention in the garden.

Some common names for Yucca include Spanish Dagger, Spanish Bayonet and Adam's Needle. The most common one I’ve heard in Nova Scotia is Adam’s Needle. There are nine species and 24 subspecies of Yucca, and their distribution covers a wide area of Central and North America. Some yuccas are extremely exotic looking – nothing at all like Y. filamentosa. Yucca filamentosa is usually what is sold here in garden centres.

I planted mine too close to young,
vigorous apple tree...duh.

For much of the growing season, yucca are a mass of architecturally interesting sword shaped leaves. They’re quite rigid and can be a bit of a danger so watch small pets and children. The leaves are usually in the form of an upright clump emerging from the ground. This makes them a favourite in garden border designs. They’re very structural.

The flowers!

But then they do something a little unexpected. They flower, a lot. Yucca (can) flower from the middle of summer through autumn, when they carry masses of white 2”-3” hanging bells. These flowers, that can appear in the dozens, are borne on very rigid stalks that emerge from the centre of each plant. The spikes on our plants were nearly 4 feet tall.

Note, I put “can” in brackets above. The reason is that I was waiting for several years for our yucca to go into flower. I believe it’s mostly my fault that I had to wait so long. I’m pretty certain I was a little unkind to it in both the soil and location choices. It makes a great difference. My yucca survived but did not “flourish.”

Location and soil

Choose a location in full sun to plant your yucca. Although Yuccas can tolerate partial shade, they grow best in full sun. The soil should be somewhat dry and well-drained as the roots of Yuccas rot easily in wet soil. The soil where I planted was not loamy as much as somewhat clay. 

Over time I believe I have amended enough, but some sand or larger aggregate should have been added into the soil to ensure proper drainage. That and some organic matter… You can even go to the extent of adding an inch or so of gravel to the top of the bed where they are planted.

If your plant is in a place where snow can be thrown on it you may want to
think about burlap protection. Not from the cold, but from the weight.
Photo: Jerry Friedman, Flickr ccl

Winter protection

Yucca filamentosa needs no real winter protection, unless you are afraid of winter damage to the leaves. One year we had snow ploughed heavily over top of ours and it flattened it like a pancake. It took a whole growing season for the leaves to recover. No blooms that year.

If you have the location, yucca is really well worth your minimal trouble. For the normal cost of a garden centre perennial you get a little of the tropics in your temperate garden. I haven’t been able to kill mine yet. Mind you I haven’t tried, but I wasn’t helping either.

Yucca sold locally in Nova Scotia is usually Y. filamentosa, but last year we purchased a variegated variety. It’s planted in hopefully a better spot. Only time will tell if I got it right.

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How to Make: Homemade Sauerkraut (Lacto-fermentation)

Life – a spiritual pickle preserving the body from decay. – Ambrose Bierce 

First, get yourself a cabbage... Photo: thskyt, Flickr ccl

It's not too late in the season for the excess of summer's crop to be preserved. So let’s try a “pickle.” Not literally pickles, but the technique of preserving foods by "pickling." This recipe is a bit of an experiment. I made this just yesterday so the final result isn't in, but my technique and info comes from impeccable sources, so I have high hopes.

This is what I'm shooting for. Photo: JaBB, Flickr ccl

Pickling is also known as brining or corning. It’s a process that is widely used for both meat and vegetables. We have all heard of quick-brining a turkey or chicken to keep in the moisture. We also are familiar with the preservation of meat through “corning.”

Pickling is the process of preserving food in two distinct ways. The first is by preserving in brine (salted water) to produce lactic acid. This is called lacto-fermentation. The second is by preserving in an acidic solution – usually vinegar. Usually the food is brined and then vinegar is added.

For this post I’m going to stay on the lacto-fermentation side of things. That is, preserving in brine – no vinegar.

If you think about it, humans have been preserving foods past their season for millennia. This was a necessity in an age before refrigeration, canning and our current (VERY fragile food delivery model) just-in-time (JIT) shipping. 

Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits bacteria that causes rot. Starches and sugars are converted into lactic acid by lactobacilli organisms. Lactobacillus are also present in fermented milk products like kéfir and yogurt.

Like the fermentation of dairy, preservation of vegetables (and fruit) by lacto-fermentation has many advantages beyond just preservation. The lactobacilli in fermented vegetables enhances their digestibility and increases vitamin levels. These beneficial organisms produce numerous helpful enzymes as well as antibiotic and anti-carcinogenic substances.

Before I kneaded in the salt this large bowl was full to the top with sliced cabbage.
This was from one (what I would call) "medium" head. It reduced down to less than half
of its previous volume and lots of liquid came out of the cabbage.

Their main by-product, lactic acid, not only keeps vegetables and fruits in a state of preservation, but also promotes the growth of healthy flora throughout the intestines. If you couple eating preserved vegetables with regular consumption of kéfir or yogurt you are well on your way to naturally helping your body ward off many of “societal” diseases with which we seem to be currently inundated.

You can lacto-ferment nearly any foodstuff. The usual one is cabbage (sauerkraut), but you can also lacto-ferment (not vinegar pickle) cucumbers, beets, turnips, greens, herbs, grape leaves… In Asian cultures they also ferment cabbage (kimchi) as well as carrots, radish, eggplant, carrots, etc. It is (or at least was) a common practice world wide.

Just purely from a health standpoint, if you’re smart you’ll learn some preserving techniques. It’s not that difficult or time consuming. Not only do preserved foods aid the body but that “JIT” food delivery model is unsustainable in the long run and when it breaks down….

That sounded a but doomsday, didn’t it. But it’s not far from the truth. Our foods are delivered within days of harvest, even if it's harvested on a different continent. On a happier note, I found preparing this quite therapeutic, and it only took 1/2 hour of my life.

By the way, I just realized this is another post about "Brassica." If you're a regular reader you'll remember yesterday's mustard post talked about this important vegetable family of which both cabbage and mustard are members.

Homemade Sauerkraut

Makes nearly two 1 L jars

The green colour will change to white as the sauerkraut
matures. This will take quite some time. It won't be within the
first three days. Taste will develop as it matures as well.

1 medium green cabbage

2 tbsp celtic sea salt 

(+ 1 tbsp salt and 1 cup water additional)

2 1L mason jars

Cut the cabbage into quarters. Remove the hard core from each wedge. Slice the remaining cabbage quite thin into long strips. Try not to chop it into small pieces, just thin long pieces.

Place the cabbage in a large ceramic bread bowl (not metallic) and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of the salt. The bowl should be nearly full of cabbage, perhaps 12 cups.

Slowly “knead” and squeeze the salt into the cabbage. Lift the cabbage up from the bottom to ensure you are getting all of the vegetable. After about 20 minutes the cabbage will be quite soft – almost as if it were partially boiled – and there will be a greenish brine in the bottom of the bowl.

Prepare two 1 L Mason jars by washing and sterilizing both the glass and the tops.

Divide the cabbage between the two jars and tamp down as much as you can. Divide the brine between the jars.

This is after 1 week. The sauerkraut is significantly whiter.

If the brine doesn’t come up over the top of the cabbage, mix the remaining salt with the water in the bowl until the salt is dissolved. Add enough brine to cover the cabbage.

Cover tightly and let rest. After a few days you may see bubbles coming up the sides inside the jars. This is a natural occurrence of the fermentation process. Just crack the jar to let some of the pressure off. Recover and continue to age the sauerkraut.

Let the sauerkraut age on your counter for 3 days. Afterwards it can be cellared (any colder place) and allowed to age further.

After the first three days it is ready to eat, but will continue to develop more flavour and become paler if left to age longer.

Lacto-fermented sauerkraut will last for several months in cold storage.

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