This is a tally ho food project if ever I heard one!
I just got my first SCOBY or mother of vinegar starter last weekend. It's in a small mason jar and floating on the top which means it is happy right now.
what I needed
-SCOBY starter plus and a cup of kombucha for it to live in
-gallon of water
-1 heaping cup of sugar
-1tsb basic black tea
-1tsb basic green tea
-a cloth tea bag
-one large glass or ceramic wide mouth container ( I got mine from Target)
-Piece of cloth to cover top of brewing container
-rubber band to secure cloth to container
First thing first sanitize EVERYTHING! You don't want your kombucha to have to compete with any other less health wild yeast or bacterias that might be hanging around so I like to have a container of food safe proportion of iodine or some other sanitizer to wash everything (including hands) in.
Start by boiling water. Fill tea bag with teas. Once boiling seep the tea for 15 minutes while boiling. After seeped I decided to mix in sugar and cool down the brew ice bath style. This is something I learned from brewing beer. Empty your sink and place the hot pot in the sink. You can either fill ice around the pot or run a cold water bath for it to sit in. This will save you Hours.
Once the water is down around 90-85 degrees time to transfer the sweet tea into the glass container. Now you can move your SCOBY (shiny side up) and extra liquid into the glass container. Only thing left then is cover with the cloth so it can get air, secure it down with the rubber band to keep fruit flies out and find a nice out of the way place for you kombucha to grow. Keep it out or areas you smoke in or with lots of smells (like the kitchen)
Right now my is chillaxing on a bookshelf in the hallway.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Great Steak Rub
I am a big fan of steaks of all kinds. Big honking T-bones, deliciously fatty ribeyes, but most of all, delicate little filets. Especially now that I live near enough to a good butcher to get them on a regular basis without paying through the nose!
I may not have a grill at this point in time (someday, someday), but I do have a broiler, which is almost as good. So about once a week, I grab a couple of filets and have the easiest, most delicious dinner I can think of.
My favorite part, though, is the spice rub I put on the steaks before they go in. I change the exact composition almost every time I do it, but I recently had a very big success with a particular combination.
First, I prep the steaks with two to three splashes of Worcestershire sauce and a decent dollop of yellow mustard. This helps the spice mix stick to the meat and gives the steaks a really wonderful juiciness.
Then I add the spices: a liberal coating of garlic powder, two healthy shakes of white pepper, a good dusting of coriander, one shake of allspice, and two to three of ground cloves. On top of all that, I add one grind each of good salt and black pepper. Okay, maybe two grinds of black pepper if you really like the stuff.
Mix all that with your fingers and massage it into the steak, then turn them over, rinse (your hands, preferably with soap, people), and repeat. With my broiler, eight minutes to a side gets them to medium, and nine gets medium well. Let them rest for at least two minutes before eating for highest awesome potential.
I may not have a grill at this point in time (someday, someday), but I do have a broiler, which is almost as good. So about once a week, I grab a couple of filets and have the easiest, most delicious dinner I can think of.
My favorite part, though, is the spice rub I put on the steaks before they go in. I change the exact composition almost every time I do it, but I recently had a very big success with a particular combination.
First, I prep the steaks with two to three splashes of Worcestershire sauce and a decent dollop of yellow mustard. This helps the spice mix stick to the meat and gives the steaks a really wonderful juiciness.
Then I add the spices: a liberal coating of garlic powder, two healthy shakes of white pepper, a good dusting of coriander, one shake of allspice, and two to three of ground cloves. On top of all that, I add one grind each of good salt and black pepper. Okay, maybe two grinds of black pepper if you really like the stuff.
Mix all that with your fingers and massage it into the steak, then turn them over, rinse (your hands, preferably with soap, people), and repeat. With my broiler, eight minutes to a side gets them to medium, and nine gets medium well. Let them rest for at least two minutes before eating for highest awesome potential.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Lamb Apples
All right, let's start this blog off with a concept created by Amanda, executed by... well, mostly me and her husband.
Lamb Apples!
That's right, apples with a lamb filling. I know that sounds reversed, but believe me it is delicious. Amanda got the idea from a great traditional Armenian cookbook, which had a recipe for apples stuffed with something else, maybe fruit or some such. The method came from a combination of that, online recommendations for other stuffed apples, and our heads.
First, we made the filling. Ingredients:
Ground lamb- we used about two pounds, but we probably didn't need quite that much.
Oil- about two tablespoons will do; we used veggie oil, but I'll probably try sesame next time
Onion- about half an onion, diced
Garlic- about two cloves, minced
Dried cranberries/raisins- about half a cup
Pistachios- 1/4 to 1/2 cup, ground
Spices- we used a fairly sweet, dark, Indian blend of spices including cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon (among other things), to taste
I stir-fried the filling, starting by sweating the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions looked decently translucent. Then I added the pistachios and fruit, just to warm them up a bit and get the flavor of the onions and garlic in them, and then the lamb. I cooked the lamb, stirring frequently, until it was mostly brown before adding the spices. I should note here that I cook without adding salt, but most people would probably put a pinch or three in at this point for good measure.
DO NOT stuff apples with raw filling- it isn't likely that you will be able to cook the filling thoroughly in the oven without ruining the apples.
Meanwhile, the apples were being prepped- Amanda's husband used a scoop of some sort (I think it was actually intended for making cookies) to remove the stem and seeds from the apples without putting holes in the bottom. He preheated the oven to 350 F and put the six apples in a baking tin with a lid. We also put a bed of bulgar pilaf (made by Amanda) beneath the apples to catch any delicious drippings that might come out in the baking process.
We stuffed the apples with as much lamb as would fit, sprinkled them with some leftover pistachio bits, and then covered them.
We baked the apples at 350 F, covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 20. They were ready to eat pretty much straight from the oven, and they were delicious! Pictures to come.
Lamb Apples!
That's right, apples with a lamb filling. I know that sounds reversed, but believe me it is delicious. Amanda got the idea from a great traditional Armenian cookbook, which had a recipe for apples stuffed with something else, maybe fruit or some such. The method came from a combination of that, online recommendations for other stuffed apples, and our heads.
First, we made the filling. Ingredients:
Ground lamb- we used about two pounds, but we probably didn't need quite that much.
Oil- about two tablespoons will do; we used veggie oil, but I'll probably try sesame next time
Onion- about half an onion, diced
Garlic- about two cloves, minced
Dried cranberries/raisins- about half a cup
Pistachios- 1/4 to 1/2 cup, ground
Spices- we used a fairly sweet, dark, Indian blend of spices including cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon (among other things), to taste
I stir-fried the filling, starting by sweating the onions and garlic in the oil until the onions looked decently translucent. Then I added the pistachios and fruit, just to warm them up a bit and get the flavor of the onions and garlic in them, and then the lamb. I cooked the lamb, stirring frequently, until it was mostly brown before adding the spices. I should note here that I cook without adding salt, but most people would probably put a pinch or three in at this point for good measure.
DO NOT stuff apples with raw filling- it isn't likely that you will be able to cook the filling thoroughly in the oven without ruining the apples.
Meanwhile, the apples were being prepped- Amanda's husband used a scoop of some sort (I think it was actually intended for making cookies) to remove the stem and seeds from the apples without putting holes in the bottom. He preheated the oven to 350 F and put the six apples in a baking tin with a lid. We also put a bed of bulgar pilaf (made by Amanda) beneath the apples to catch any delicious drippings that might come out in the baking process.
We stuffed the apples with as much lamb as would fit, sprinkled them with some leftover pistachio bits, and then covered them.
We baked the apples at 350 F, covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 20. They were ready to eat pretty much straight from the oven, and they were delicious! Pictures to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)