R12171

Whey hey hey

Today I'm extracting whey from organic full fat yogurt for use in probiotic drinks.

It's really easy to do + you get left with the curd which is tasty !

First plonk the yogurt in a piece of cloth and hang so it drips into a container

What drips out is the Whey !

This is the Curd that's left in the cloth !

 

I used the whey to make limeaid and fermented apple/mango/peach/pink peppercorn drink, which will be ready in a 5 days or so (or longer if you want to develope the flavour) ..

I used the curd to make a curd and dehydrated olive dip which was delicious and then also made a mango curd ice cream (which was nice but went all crystaly after being frozen for some reason)

Closed

Standing in a closed supermarket for five seconds stretched out to an hour. I've never seen Sainsburys in this mood ...

Sourdough Baking

I acquired some sourdough starter the other day in an attempt to reignite my love of baking. The first loafs i made were crusty and tasty but did not rise well at all for some reason. These are my second attempts in which i used a rye starter with white flour and baked it in a casserole pan at the highest temperature my oven would go.

Making this bread does take time as you must fold it every half an hour or so for 6 hours but i find it is a pleasant and relaxing activity, seeing it grow and develop and change texture. Also it's so cheap to make and loads more interesting than the stuff from the shops.

Skygazing

Sourdough/Kefir/Invention

I love Sourdough so i got a starter from eBay. Looking forward to ditching the supermarket bread i have been using. This sourdough was started in 1979 in a Lake District bakers and is being used to make bread ever since. You just feed it once a week when it's in fridge or feed it every 12 hours when it's not in fridge. Golden rule is whatever you take out put same amount back in (flour and water) .. 

I am planning to do my first bake with this on Sunday!

 Bellow is my first attempt at Water Kefir using mineral water and brown sugar. I have never tasted it or tried making it before but it's meant to be great and it's even easier than Kombucha to make.

I was sick of loosing my sponge for my homemade vinegar cleaner so i've made a crude modification. I'll 100% be taking this to the dragons den.

Nests in trees

Kim Chi Wim Chi

I've read lots of bereavement pamphlets which mention the many stages of bereavement you go through when someone you love dies. But none of them mention the fermenting/pickling/conserving stage which i seem to be in right now. In the last 2 weeks i have made kombucha, preserved lemon, pickled cauliflower, pickled aubergine, a ginger bug, fermented chilpote chilli sauce and kim chi. I'm hooked.

My first attempt at making Kim Chi early this week was pretty sub par (not edgy enough) but tonight, thanks to some annoying American guy showing me the way on youtube, i think i have got the hang of it. I adapted his recipe to create a couple of my own experimental kim chi blends and they taste pretty dam raucous. OTT is the best though with this kind of thing i'm thinking

HEN KIM CHI BASIC RECIPE

- Blitz Ginger, Garlic and Apple

- Add Salt

- Add fishy stuff like dashi powder, fish sauce etc

- Add Sugar

- Mix with LOADS of Chilli Flakes to make a paste

- Add random stuff like coriander and sesame seeds

- Add a tiny bit of water or juice until right consistency

- Mix paste with hands into chosen vegetables

- Tightly squeeze it into a jar leaving a little gap at top, seal lid

- Leave room temperature for 2-6 days. Opening lid at least once a day to burp it

- Transfer to fridge for 1-3 weeks

- Eat when it tastes funky enough for you 

CARROT, BEETROOT STEMS, CAULIFLOWER LEAFS, CUCUMBER AND APPLE KIM CHI

ASPARAGUS, STIR FRY MIX AND CAULIFLOWER KIM CHI

I look forward to trying them when they nice and fermented in the new year !