Hobbits In Rivendell

Pumpernickel 1.0

June 4, 2007

9:14 pm

Last night’s experiment was in Pumpernickel Bread. If I’d read the Wikipedia article beforehand, I might have gone out and bought some rye flour and spent another day at it. As it was, though, I believe that, for a first experiment, I’ve ended up with a nice, American-style Rye.


After final knead	Divided

I basically started with my regular sourdough starter, fed it & let it run wild all day on the counter, removed out the piece which goes back in the fridge, and started adding crazy things to it. The crazy things were: lots of molasses, cocoa powder, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, and dill seeds. From there, it was a matter of working in more whole wheat flour, a fair amount of oat bran (2 cups, as opposed to my usual 4 cups of fiber), and some white flour, just for good measure. Oh – and some olive oil, because one of the consistent features of all of the recipes I examined on the web was that they included fat of some kind, be it shortening (!), butter, oil, or olive oil.


15 Minutes into the rise	1 Hour into the rise

After an exceedingly long rise (about 1:20), I felt that they’d finally achieved the amount of rise needed to go into the oven. I don’t know what’s up with that long rise time, but I suspect it’s because of the oil, molasses, and chocolate all acting as inhibitors to my yeast’s growth. In any event, in they went, to come out when they were almost 190 degrees F (probe thermometer). I pulled them early, because I figured they’d carry over, and I wanted a more tender bread.

All Done!

I’m told that it’s a milder flavor than other Pumpernickel, which may or may not be a good thing. I think that, next time, I’m going to go for the sourdough Rye thing, and the long bake time which is characteristic of German Pumpernickel. Just, you know, to see what that’s all about. And also because I found it truly difficult to part with all of that cocoa powder. Really really difficult.

Leftovers Become Gelato

by David T. Macknet

June 1, 2007

9:08 pm

5 Comments on Leftovers Become Gelato

Food, Recipe

So last weekend we had some friends over, and we ended up with some leftovers. Now, I’m not talking about the little bits of prepared food which would soon be eaten (and were), but about leftover, perishable, raw ingredients such as a half-gallon of whole milk, and a couple of avocados. So, what to do? Gelato!

There really wasn’t much of a recipe, but … well, I’m going to try to document it, as it’s marvelously green, tasty, and a good use of ingredients. So here goes:

1/2 Gallon Whole Milk

16 oz Large (bubble-tea size) Tapioca pearls

2 Vanilla Bean Pods

2 Avocados, just ripe

Zest and Juice of 10 “key” limes

Assorted sweeteners (xylitol, honey, sugar, maple syrup) to taste

3 Tbsp Ginger powder

1 Cup Candied Ginger, chopped

4 Tbsp Soy Protein Powder

Soak tapioca pearls in the milk overnight.
Add Vanilla Bean Pod guts, sweeteners, and soy protein powder, then bring to a rolling simmer (doesn’t make sense unless you’ve done tapioca – in which case, it makes sense) in a pan which looks too large for the purpose (you’ll need the room, for the rolling simmer).
Simmer, stirring constantly, until you get sick to death of standing there or until the tapioca doesn’t taste raw any longer.
Remove from heat, strain out the bubble tea bits and … dispose of as you see fit, as they’re no longer needed.
When liquid has cooled to a reasonable temperature, apply your stick blender to it & incorporate the rest of the ingredients except for the Lime Zest and Candied Ginger.
Fold in Lime Zest.
Cool overnight.
Fold in Candied Ginger.
Pour mixture into your (running) ice cream machine and let it run until the dasher sticks.
Remove mixture to a suitable vessel & thence into the freezer for at least four hours.

Yes, there are some ambiguities in there. And, yes, we probably could have achieved the same thing by using the tapioca flour sitting in the pantry, rather than using the bubble-tea tapioca pearls … but we didn’t know that when we started. You see, the decision to strain out the tapioca was made after we’d been all the way through the cooking process, at which point we determined that they were … well, just too strange to want to have frozen. So, we pulled them out. It works.

The one difference in the above recipe from what we did is that I incorporated the avocado earlier in the process … and I wouldn’t recommend it, as it makes it really difficult to taste for sweetness & flavor, as hot avocado really is an acquired taste. As it was, we played it safe by holding off on adding more sweetener & more lime until we had a chance to taste it chilled, and we’re glad that we did. Hot avocado throws everything off, so I recommend adding it when your mixture has cooled somewhat. Or not, you know, ’cause it’s your freezer that’ll be full of gnarly green goo, not mine.

Strange Days in the South-land

by David T. Macknet

May 31, 2007

4:51 am

2 Comments on Strange Days in the South-land

Food, Recipe

My friend Susan mentioned her love just the other day for all foods Southern, and the addition of the phrase ‘pimento cheese’ brought my childhood back to mind.

My Mom raised us as vegans a lot of the time… then there were those days when she did not. Born just outside of New Orleans, Mom wasn’t even raised vegetarian herself, so it was a hard transition for her when she moved to San Francisco in the sixties and got into what everyone else was doing – sprouting wheatgrass and whatever other kinds of grass they could get their hands on. Growing up, we had basically schizophrenic dietary habits that veered from full-on vegan to lacto-ovo vegetarianism. I can’t say that I ever suffered from this – I managed to be a tubby little thing regardless – but it did mean that we sampled hundreds of the most …unique recipes imaginable. Sometimes they were awesome. Other times… well, we love ya, Mom, but just about every kid goes through the lamentable phase of straight up tossing their school lunch into the trash… Me, on the argument that not even kids in Africa didn’t wanted soggy mashed tofu on sprouted wheat bread. (That was one of her misses. To her credit, she only made it without lettuce once or twice. The bread holds up a lot better if there’s lettuce protecting it.)

Just finishing a novel set in 1940’s Alabama-Iowa-Georgia and then a present-day cross-country trip to the South, I’ve been steeped in the particular food things that go along with the South… Grits. Black-eyed peas. Pimento Cheese. Susan got me thinking — about what pimento cheese actually IS, to those people who didn’t grow up at my house. I looked up pimento cheese, and understand now what the real stuff is: cheese. And cream cheese. And mustard. And hot sauce and pimentos and roasted pimentos and some people put in nuts. Mom’s pimento cheese was really, really, really good, but it didn’t contain any cheese at all. Mom’s recipe went something like this:

2 C. raw cashews

3-4 T. brewer’s yeast

1 C. water

1 C. oil

1/2 t. salt

1/4 C. lemon juice

2 t. onion and garlic powder

1/2 c. pimentos

2 T. soy “milk” powder (optional)

Basically, all that’s left to do is blend everything up, adding the oil last, and make a kind of cashew mayonnaise. Sometimes Mom added about 5 tbsp. of agar flakes to her pimento cheese. Agar gels, so it created the illusion of a more ‘solid’ spread.

When she used agar, Mom stirred it into boiling water, simmered it for five minutes, stirring frequently, and then when it was cooked, she added it to the other ingredients in the food processor. All ingredients were then blended for about three minutes, then poured it into whatever mold and put it in the fridge overnight.

There are a lot of variations one can do with pimento cheese, too – adding chopped green olives, or toasted sesame seeds or caraway or dill… the list goes on. Sun-dried tomatoes and basil is quite good, or you could add onion flakes…

On the face of things, Mom’s recipe seems pretty good, but since I never do know when to leave well-enough alone, I have a few thoughts I’d like to try. For one thing, doesn’t this sound like something that would taste great with the addition of Vegemite? Why use a powdered yeast when you can use the brown glop in the yellow can? And it seems to me that silken tofu should somehow play into this. ‘Cause doesn’t tofu go with everything?

If nothing else, I’ve enjoyed plumbing the depths of my back-brain, and remembering one of Mom’s more random recipes that worked. If only I could figure out a way to make cashews less than 157 calories an ounce, I’d eat this every week…

Strange Birds

by David T. Macknet

May 31, 2007

12:02 am

Finch World

by David T. Macknet

May 30, 2007

11:27 pm

2 Comments on Finch World

Critters

In the interest of getting these guys out here for everybody who’s interested, and because we’ve had to spend so much time with them over the past few days, I thought I’d throw out a few pictures of Finch World. Shown here, with his black-and-white self, is Flitter; to his side is Pippi. They’re probably contemplating some evil, because that’s about all Pippi seems interested in.

We can be fairly certain that their evil doesn’t involve Twitter, as he’s pretty well staying out of all of the chaos. Yes, Pip will pick on him, too, but only if Miniver has managed to elude her. Or if Pip has met with the spray bottle in conjunction with Min, and, thus, thinks that she should take it out on somebody else.

Miniver, here, is simply glad to eat. And eat and eat. We think that she’s trying to get as large as Pip, but we’re afraid that it’s a futile kind of thing. Min is a Spice Finch, you see, whereas Pip is a Zebra. Zebras are much larger than Spice Finches, and a bit larger than Society Finches, too. Thus, Min is doomed to eat and eat and never get particularly larger.

We think that Flit and Min are going to hook up, because they hang out quite a bit, and they’ve been doing the mutual grooming thing. There hasn’t been any of the shuffle / fluff / dance / squawk behavior from Flit, though, so it could be that things have just been too chaotic. Perhaps it takes a bit longer for such things. Or perhaps Pip is really just a juvenile, despite her largeness.

Min, on the other hand, is having none of it. She’s pretty solitary most of the time, bouncing from one side of the cage to the other, flinging herself about. Or she’s at the food dish. I did see her this morning having a bath with Twitter, but … well, we just can’t tell yet. If it does end up happening, they’re the best hope for further reproduction, as Spice Finches and Society Finches can breed, as can Zebras and Societies. However, there are some which are infertile coming out of these crosses, so while they may end up with children, they may not end up with grandchildren. C’est la vie.

In a rare showing of … society, Min gets between Flit and Pip. Not to worry – Min really won’t stay long, and is probably just rubbing it in that Pip is the one who gets the spray bottle. You see, Pip just can’t stand it when Min gets the top perch, or the food dish, or a bath. So, she edges up and pecks. Min takes off, and ends up stirring up everybody, and it’s all-out chaos.

You see, Pip gets the water, but Min instigates. So, taking advantage of her small size and her experience in dashing about, Min antagonizes Pip, Pip responds with bites, and then Pip gets the spray. Unfortunately, Pip takes it farther than she needs to and doesn’t know when to quit, so Min can end up going without food for quite some time, as Min chases her about, and keeps her away from the food. Oh, the psychoses of two females trying to get the attention of a couple of old bachelors.

Garden Update

by David T. Macknet

May 30, 2007

10:31 pm

2 Comments on Garden Update

Gardening

There’ve been a few changes in the garden’s overall plan, as we’ve discovered seed packets that we didn’t know we had (Kale and Delicata Squash), and as we’ve realized that some of the spaces we’d allocated really could be filled with other things (three whole beds of sweet potatoes?). But, aside from a bit of reshuffling, we’re nearly there with laying out everything and getting it planted.

Highlighted in yellow are the beds remaining to be planted. There’s still one undecided bed, but I’m sure it’ll get decided soon enough. Also, not shown are the random Basil seeds which one of us has been sowing throughout the beds of the Long Beans. I won’t say which one of us this has been, but it was not me this time. So there.

For pictures of what’s there, check out the Gardening Set on Flickr.

Drama in Finch-Land

by David T. Macknet

May 28, 2007

12:28 am

6 Comments on Drama in Finch-Land

Critters

No pictures as of yet, but Friday we got a new finch. It’s that the other two (Flitter and Twitter – or Flit and Twit) had been acting … well, lonely, I suppose. We believe that they’re both male, as they trade off doing the strange little mating hop/dance that society finches do. Now, we’re OK with that, and they’d seemed to be OK with that, too, but they’d begun to really pluck themselves bald … so, we figured we needed to change something up in Finch-land.

First change was to get rid of their nest and to switch it for the lovely gourd shown to the left. It’s one we grew last year, but which broke off, so it’s suitable only for a small nesting box like this. That was quite a significant change for Flit and Twit, and they regarded it as EVIL for quite some time, and still haven’t climbed into it. Based upon that worrisome behavior, we figured we’d get them a companion, since the nest wasn’t the problem … or something. We’ve since heard tell, from the Finster Log, that finches may ignore a nest box for over a year. But, we hadn’t found that particular link yet.

So, the decision to get a new finch, perhaps of the female variety. Send one of us to the pet store … and arrive home with a female finch, certainly. A female Zebra finch, that is, because … well, because I didn’t believe that zebras could be fawn-colored and drab.

We’re waiting for the chaos to settle down. Twit has gone all still and strange, hiding in a corner. This is definitely not usual, as he’s usually the dominant one, and is quite fearless. Flit, now, has been doing the hopping dance. Considering that he was the one plucking out all of his feathers, I’m guessing that he doesn’t particularly mind that the female is of a different species, so long as the plumbing works. We’ll probably end up with some strange little half-zebra hybrids in a few months. I’m hoping that Twit will get interested as well, because Twit is the all-white one, and I believe that would be a nice cross. According to what I’ve found, the chics are likely to be sterile, but that’s not a drawback, in this case.

Slubby Hat Update

by David T. Macknet

May 27, 2007

7:38 pm

Slubby Hat

by David T. Macknet

May 24, 2007

12:20 am

3 Comments on Slubby Hat

Knitting

What do you knit for a man in his 70’s, who’s been in several branches of the military during two wars, who is a libertarian, and who has just undergone brain surgery? Well … let’s just say that it’s going to have to be … “manly.” This hat is an attempt at such a thing. Note the stealth lace yarn-overs? Should be good for a kick, ’cause they only show up if you really look for them.

I do know that the man in question will wear knit things – hideous knit things, with all sorts of patterns on them, even – if they’re soft. He has a particular penchant for cashmere, but is also quite fond of scratchy wool (we think it was military school at age 12 which did that). So, maybe he’ll accept this hat and will wear it. I certainly hope so, because the 7 inch long scar on the top of his newly-bald head is quite a thing to behold. I’d rather not have to look at it again any time soon, but I imagine I’ll get to this weekend, as the man in question is my father, and he’s bringing my little sister up this way to help her find an apartment.

So, this hat is to go to a dubious home, but we’re guessing that he’ll wear it. Given that he’s usually quite cold, he’ll probably love it. Of course, the cynic would point out that all he’d have to do would be to grow his hair a bit longer … but that would be ignoring the 60+ years of military haircuts. That type of thing has a lasting effect, I’m certain. I mean, that’s like 5 times longer than I had to put up with those haircuts, and I know they affected my mind.

I bought two balls of this Lana Grossa yarn, and the hat only took one, so I’m going to knit another up for myself, probably using the same pattern. It’s not all that complex of a pattern, because the built in tufts and the multicolored yarn really distract from any laciness which you might want to add. So, we’ll look at this one as practice.

Note on the brain surgery: he had a tremor which couldn’t be treated with medication any longer, and has since been corrected by the addition of an electrode implanted into his motor cortex, acting like a pace-maker for his motor nerves. Fun. He’s getting an on/off switch implanted into his shoulder tomorrow, so that he can sleep without running down the batteries, which he’s got to have surgically replaced every few years. Yummy, eh?

What Goes Into Bread

by David T. Macknet

May 22, 2007

1:32 am

5 Comments on What Goes Into Bread

Baking, Food

I finally broke down and bought myself an industrial quantity of Oat Bran. I’d bought a 25 pound sack of whole oats, because I could throw most of them in the freezer, and because we have a penchant for steamed oats for breakfast, but this? This is a commitment to baking (although some of us have eaten the stuff as a hot cereal, that’s just not normal).

So, the industrial quantity of bran, because the sourdough starter has just … well, exploded. I don’t know what’s up with it, but I’m having to bake about twice a week now, just because the stuff really wants to escape from its jar. I’m having to stir the stuff at the very least every other day, or else it pressurizes the jar and leaps out when I open it.

Into every batch of bread goes the same quantity of Fiber. Not that many of the batches are the same, or even mostly the same, but that the fiber provides the … anchor for it all. Two cups Flax Seeds (golden, because they’re more attractive in bread) and two cups of Oat Bran. From this, and lots of other stuff, will eventually come four loaves of bread. Could be sourdough (these days even my sweet breads are), or it could be otherwise, but this provides the anchor, and is why people love the stuff, I believe. You see, despite people’s fear of fiber, I think that they really want a hearty, crunchy, hefty bread. Not that this amount of fiber will kill the bread, by any means, but that it’ll give a good … heft to it all.

In today’s case, we’re making a Triple-O bread: Onion, Olive, Oregano. Also in there, playing bit parts, are rosemary, sage, thyme, mustard seeds (brown only, ’cause I’m out of yellow), sourdough starter, whole wheat flour, and a small bottle of Moscato wine. Sometimes I’ll go with Merlot, but lately it’s been Moscato, because of the sweetness, and because the Merlot makes it a bit too dark in color if I’m feeling like making a sourdough which could pass as anything other than whole wheat. The Merlot will make it kind of pink; it will enhance the color of the whole wheat flour, where the Moscato will leave it light in color.

Rather than go for the fancy wooden peel, I’ve been sticking with cardboard rectangles. Notice the little splash of cornmeal visible there underneath the loaves? That’s to make it easier to get onto the stone, which is heating away in the oven, which is set at 505 degrees F. (No – I don’t know why 505 and not just 500; it’s just the way I do it, and it makes me happy.) I discard the cardboard after a few months, or when it starts to suffer from having been sprayed with Olive Oil, which has been the case today. Sometimes it’s flour for the tops, if I’ve been using a white flour, but sometimes it’s just oil to keep the plastic from sticking to the tops while they rise.

So, after the long tortuous wait, it’s off of the stone and onto the cooling racks, where it’ll be covered with towels and will wait overnight, to be sliced up and shared with friends. We’ve found that it’s better to let it settle overnight, so that its moisture content can balance, and so that the glutens can really set up. It’s much easier to slice, and you’re less likely to indulge in that “half-a-loaf by way of sample” trap, which was getting way too common for us.