Straight and Narrow

Last week I found Meyer lemons in the store again.  It's that time of year!  I was down to one last jar of lemon curd so bought 8 lemons and planned to make a new batch.  Unfortunately, between work and getting sick, I'm only getting to this today.

In the past I have experimented with other flavors:  key lime, regular lime, grapefruit.  None of them were ever as good as the lemon.  In fact, I just tossed 2 jars of grapefruit curd because I came to the realization that no one was ever going to eat them and they were just getting older in the back of the fridge.  I guess grapefruit doesn't cook as well as lemon does.  So.  No more experimenting!  (At least, not with curd.)

This was also an opportunity to try out my new juicer attachment for the KitchenAid mixer, which was a Christmas present.  What an improvement!  It is so easy to use and to clean.  Thanks, Stephanie!

Here's the link back to the recipe.  A double batch makes just over 4 cups, I got 3 half-pint jars and 3 half-cup jars.  We should be set for a while.

Taste Test

Today I finally felt the robiola due latte was ready.  In fact, one of the cheeses had to be tossed because the rind developed a crack and it leaked liquidy cheese.  That was the one that had the most mold so I didn't really feel bad about it.

These were washed with a light brine every 2-5 days and kept in the garage in a tupperware container.  The garage got as cold as 45 but no warmer than 60 degrees.

I will admit, I'm rather insecure about this.  Some of them are more moldy than others, but they do all seem to have a rind and a creamy, somewhat acidic cheese on the inside. I don't think these are ready for prime time yet, but it's not inedible.  Although I haven't eaten the rind yet.  I've been cutting that off...

Cleanup

While my husband and our friend cleaned all the snow off the driveway, sidewalk, and steps (without the snow blower, mind you, as one of the belts keeps slipping off), I canned more of the Turducken soup.  I put up 5 pints this time.  I think, in total, that batch of soup was 3 and a half gallons!  The rest is still in the fridge for lunch or dinner or something.

We got about a foot of snow, much better than some of the towns around here, and it's very light and fluffy so easy to shovel.  It's sunny out now and everything is so beautiful.

Welcome Back, Turducken Soup!

Nothing like a blizzard to get you in the soup-making mood!

I'd been planning this soup for a while, as I always do after Thanksgiving as it's the only time I roast a turkey.  However, with all the ducks we've been roasting (we're up to 3 so far) I decided to do the soup a little differently this year.  All the bones from 3 ducks, 1 turkey and 1 chicken went into my lobster pot with 4 gallons of water, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper, to make stock.  The bones were then strained out and chopped turkey, chicken and duck meat added, plus all the additional meat I got off the bones.

Ultimately, I ended up with a tremendous amount of soup, so I'm canning 7 quarts right now.  Five of us ate some for dinner, and there is still plenty in the fridge.  Maybe I'll can some pints tomorrow.  This is enough for today!

Turducken Soup

Turducken stock (see above)

chopped turkey, duck and chicken meat

3 large leeks

6 carrots

2 ribs celery (more if you have it, I ran out)

2 packages mixed gourmet mushrooms (baby bellas, shiitake, and oyster)

2 cups wild rice

salt and pepper to taste

winter savory to taste

thyme to taste

Saute the leeks, carrots and celery in a little duck fat.  Toss into the stock with the meat, mushrooms, rice and spices.  Simmer away!

Best wishes to everyone for a safe, healthy, happy and prosperous 2014!

Nettle Frittata

With the snowstorm, the kids didn't have school, so we got off to a slow start.  I'm making Turducken soup (more on that in another blog post) but at some point everyone got hungry.  We had some leftover bacon so I decided to try a frittata.

Bacon and Nettle Frittata

1 cup blanched nettles, chopped

4 slices thick bacon, diced

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby-jack and Wauvremont - the latter of which smells bad but tastes fine)

salt, pepper and nutmeg

Beat the eggs and milk, add the spices.  Put the bacon, nettles and cheese in a baking dish.  Pour the egg mixture over everything.  Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

P.S. Did you notice the new plates?