Homemade Whey, The Easy Way!!

Homemade whey is an optional but highly reccomnded ingredient in Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles and other lacto fermented foods. When you use whey in fermentation you can lower the amount of salt in the recipe with more consistent results. Whey contains active lactobacilli, the active lactic acid and lactic acid producing bacteria we rely on to preserve and ferment vegetables when pickling. When making lacto fermented pickles without homemade whey the amount of salt has to be increased, the salt prevents the production of bacteria which would may the vegetables to go bad before they had a chance to ferment.

If you look on the web there are step by step instructions for making homemade whey using raw milk. This method requires you allow the milk to sit out at room temperature until it sours or curdles. Once it has curdled you can strain it and the liquid that is separated out is homemade whey. However there is a far simpler method for making homemade whey, one that can be used even if you live in a state where you cannot obtain raw milk. Many cooks have already made whey before, and then just threw the whey out as an unwanted by product.

To make homemade whey take plain whole milk yogurt that contains active yogurt cultures and strain it. The liquid that strains out is the whey and you are left with thick Greek style yogurt or yogurt cheese in the strainer. In the past I have used a basket style coffee filter in a small strainer when straining yogurt, however I was out of filters so I borrowed a bee keepers honey filter from my neighbors. You know you live amongst your tribe when you can ask to borrow a filter to make whey and instead of your sanity being questioned for wishing to make whey you are offered an alternative.

When making homemade whey and greek yogurt it is important to use whole milk yogurt because low fat versions often have stabilizers and thickeners in them, to make up for the missing fat, that could prevent the proper separation. In addition full fat yogurt is tastier and more satisfying, so in the end you will eat less. Somehow this feels less like making whey and more like harvesting it, but no matter how you describe the process it really is simple.

Under the Highchair Virtual Jam Swap '09

For the past month I have been playing Florence Nightingale as the males in my house have been dropping like flies. Lewis had swine flu badly enough that he wasn't vertical for days and out of work for over a week. The boys have had fevers and other symptoms one day been fine for a week and then symptoms again. Because of the swine flu the school district has sent home guidelines that children should not return to school until they have had 24 hours without a fever of 100° or higher. Once their fever is gone my children are back to their usual energy and whining levels. There is little that compares to being stuck at home with pent up children. It is these moments that I question my sanity.

However I have found solace in reading about other bloggers jams, jellies and preserves on Under the Highchairs Virtual Jam Swap for 2009. Surely by next summer all the males here will be healthy and I can make some of these. The chickens and I have been healthy all along, but the males... If you have any canning safety questions after reading the posts (or from somewhere else) feel free to ask them in the comments section here. If you have a question someone else has the same one and may be waiting for someone else to ask.

Challah

I have been on a quest for a great homemade challah recipe for several years now. I hate paying $5 for a loaf of bread that I feel I should be able to make at home. It turns out that making challah is more challenging then I originally thought it would be. I have tried every recipe in my cookbooks (with my collection this was quite the endeavor) plus several I found online. Every recipe I tried made a lackluster loaf that only looked like challah.

I often wondered if my habit of using part whole wheat pastry or white whole wheat flour was the culprit, but never bothered testing any of the recipes with all white flour. I just couldn't bring myself to expend time and energy again on any of the recipes that were boring and dense instead of eggy, rich and light. Besides, part of the benefit of baking your own bread is the ability to use healthier ingredients.

I finally found a challah recipe we all love. It is rich and eggy, soft to the tooth and it makes beautiful french toast, both in taste and appearance. Plus the whole wheat pastry flour I used did not negatively affect the finished product. However this bread is not an easy just leave it to rise for a few hours while you do other things before shaping the loaves recipe. Let's just say this is a very finicky bread. With this recipe I now understand why the Jewish people baked unleavened bread when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt. Who would have time to baby sit bread when fleeing Pharaoh? However even with all the work this bread will be made often in my home.

The original recipe came from Peter Reinhart's Crust and Crumb: Master Formulas for Serious Bread Bakers. I guess the title should have tipped me off to the work that would be involved. The only changes I have made to the recipe are to use half white whole wheat flour, I also added some water to the egg wash so the crust was less like shellac. The first time I made it everyone liked the center, but not the crust. Lastly I adjusted the baking technique to use my convection oven, this way I did not need to rotate the loaf to ensure even browning. When making this it is important to use the highest quality eggs you can, factory egg production produces eggs that will not add much to the bread.

Challah

Adapted from Peter Reinhart's Crust and Crumb

3 1/2 (16 oz) cups flour (the original calls for bread flour, I used half King Arthur All Purpose Flour and Half King Arthur White Whole Wheat)

1/4 cup (2 oz.) sugar

1 tsp (.25 oz.) kosher salt (Reinhart does not specify kosher salt, but this is a Jewish bread)

2 tsp (.22 oz.) yeast

2 Tbsp (1 oz.) butter softened or melted and cooled

2 large eggs (3.3 oz.) beaten

2 large egg yolks (1.33 oz) beaten

1/4 cup (2 oz.) milk at room temperature

1/2 cup water at room temperature

cooking spray

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low for 1 minute using the flat beater blade. Beat for 10 more minutes on medium speed. Place dough in a bowl and mist with cooking spray, cover bowl with a lid or plastic wrap or place the bowl in a plastic bag. Leave to rise for 1 hour or until it has visibly swelled.

Remove from the bowl and knead by hand for 5 minutes. If the dough is so sticky it is sticking to your hands dust with flour and continue kneading. Return the kneaded dough to the bowl, mist with cooking spray and cover, allow to rise for another hour or until it visibly swells. After 1 hour divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Mist the balls with cooking spray and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap to rest for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes roll each ball into a long snake that is about 12 to 18 inches long. Keep the pieces you are not working with covered. Braid the 3 pieces together starting in the middle. Pinch the ends to seal and then tuck them under. After braiding the first half turn the bread over and around so the braid will still go the same way. Do not pull the pieces overly tight when braiding as this prevents expansion while rising.

Place the bread on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg and water. Mist with cooking spray and cover with the damp towel or saran wrap before allowing to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. I found the towel stuck to the dough so I put jars around the bread and draped the towel over them so the damp towel did not touch the rising bread.

Preheat the oven to 325° with convection or 375° if your oven does not have convection. Brush the bread with the last of the egg wash and sprinkle on any seeds your family may allow you to serve them (notice my bread does not have seeds). Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, rotating the tray half way through the baking time if you are not using convection. When done it should be firm not squishy with an internal temperature of 185° (mine was more like 191° both times). Allow to cool on a rack for 45 minutes before slicing or eating.

French Toast

makes 3 slices, can be multiplied

3 slices of bread approximately 1/2 inch thick (Challah or Cracked Wheat Bread are excellent choices)

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

splash of vanilla extract (approximately 1/2 tsp)

butter

Melt butter in a wide skillet and heat until foaming, meanwhile beat egg, milk and vanilla in a wide flat bowl or baking dish. Place bread in the batter, flip over to soak the second side using a fork and then transfer to the pan as the slices absorb batter. Allow the french toast to cook until it is golden brown in spots and then flip over to cook the second side. Once the second side is golden brown serve with butter, real maple syrup and or jam.

"Mama, step on the gas"

"Mama, step on the gas on the way there." That was the call from the backseat as I drove Julian, my 4 year old, to the emergency room. He burned himself in one of those kitchen moments I am always waiting for, especially with a kitchen that is not even considered large enough to be small by modern architectural standards. In addition to the size of my kitchen there is the energy and enthusiasm of my children, it is amazing this has never happened before.

As I sat at the registration desk with him I wondered if it would sound like I was lying. How often do people come in with a preschooler who burns them self on a half sheet pan because they are trying to steal a roasted brussels sprout before dinner? Maybe I should have told them he was reaching for a warm cookie.

Julian and I sat together in a mercifully oversized chair in the waiting room reading. My father gave the boys The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury several years ago and somehow I had the presence of mind to grab it as we left the house. I have always loved that gift as it makes it much easier to bring a library of bedtime books when on vacation. In this instance it turned out to be invaluable. Part of Julian's joy while reading it was getting to choose the stories I would read. Just a perfunctory no to the stories he was refusing and a voice filled with joy for the ones he wanted to hear. Perhaps it made the emergency room visit a little too nice as he came home and announced to his father, "I had fun at the emergency room." Now we both have visions of him becoming even more death defying in his actions. Although I have to admit I had fun with him as well.

When we were finally ushered in to a room and seen by a Physician's Assistant I found out it was only a small second degree burn and we did not need to come in. They still bandaged it up before sending us on our way. When we returned home, both starving, I was relieved to see Julian still tearing in to a pile of roasted brussels sprouts. I feared he would hold a grudge against them. Now that it is brussels sprouts season I urge you to revisit this recipe/method, even if you have never liked brussels sprouts in the past. I know of at least 4 people who have been converted by this preparation.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

1 large bunch fresh brussels sprouts

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 - 45o degrees. Basically if you are making something else in the oven the sprouts can adjust. The other day I was making braised turkey in the oven at 300 degrees, I still tossed in the sprouts early on, no reason to waste the oven space, and when the turkey was done I turned the temperature up to 400 with convection.

Trim the stem pretty close to the leaves and then pull off any leaves that look unappealing. If the leaves are bruised deeply you can also trim off the area in question. For smallish sprouts cut them in half lengthwise, for larger ones cut them in fourths.

Place the brussels sprouts on a roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on kosher salt and freshly grated pepper. Afterwards toss them around with your hands making sure that the sprouts are well covered in oil. roast in the oven, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sprouts are nice and caramelized (brown) over much of their surface area and tender but not mushy when pierced with a fork or knife. I am afraid I have no idea how long this takes, especially as I gave a range of temperatures. I just check them when I go to shake the pan.

This time I cooked them for approximately 30 minutes on 400° with convection. I have also cooked them at 400° without convection and it took closer to 45 minutes. Friends recently told me they made them once with diced apples added in the last 5 minutes, I intend to try that variation soon.

Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

As a child we used to get green tomato pickles from Williams Chicken near my Grandmothers. They would be floating in a large plastic tub of brine and they were sour and delicious. My brother was mildly addicted to them. Even though I understand his obsession with them, I still do not fully understand the night he created, "Green tomato stuffed hamburgers". Let me just suggest you never attempt to make them and leave it at that. Although I have to admit the vegetable soup with the egg poached in it he made another time was worse, maybe it was the addition of the melted stinky cheese.

Several years ago I consulted the Ball Blue Book and tried to make green tomato pickles. Some folks liked them, but for me it did not match my memory of pickled green tomatoes. This summer when I was making lacto fermented pickles I realized the pickled green tomatoes we all loved where lacto fermented, not vinegar, salt and water. The folks from Flack Family Farm told me to use the same procedure I would use for any vegetable. Then they thanked me for giving them an idea for using their green tomatoes.

The good news is this method of pickling couldn't be easier, no boiling water bath canner, no hot brine. Plus lacto fermented foods are super foods, in modest quantities anyway. They improve vitamin absorption and correct the environment of your digestive system. The down side is after 3-4 days at room temperature they have to be stored in the fridge. The basic procedure comes from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Although there is no recipe for green tomato pickles in the book. It is better to make the pickles with homemade whey as they are lower in salt and it works more consistently. Whey is really simple to make using full fat yogurt that active yogurt cultures. The only downside to making it with whey is you have to plan ahead, and have yogurt in the house.

Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

For 1 quart (make as many or as few as you wish to store)

1 wide mouth quart preserving jar

enough green tomatoes to fill the jar to 1 inch below the lid (only use tomatoes that are totally green, the ones that made you crazy at the start of the summer)

1 dill head or 1 fresh dill sprig or 2 Tbsp dried dill or dill seed)

1 hot pepper with the stem pulled off (optional)

1 large or 2 medium or 3 small cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp canning and pickling salt

4 Tbsp homemade whey (or substitute an additional Tbsp of canning and pickling salt)

water

Wash the tomatoes and remove their stems and place in the clean wide mouth jar to 1 inch below the rim. Add the garlic and hot pepper between the tomatoes and add the salt and whey, if using. Fill the jars with water to 1 inch below the rim and screw on the lids. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days (3 days when kept at 72°) before placing on the top shelf of your fridge. They can be eaten after the 3 - 4 days but are better after a month of storage. It's normal if the brine is fizzy or there is white foam floating on the top. If the pickles go bad the smell will be completely off and you won't want to eat them.

As a full disclosure thing, the green tomatoes in the photo are not fermented yet. When done they will be more of an olive green color. I just wanted to post this while there were still green tomatoes for people to use.

Chinese Hamburger with Peas

No matter what culinary feats I may accomplish, how intricate and subtly spiced dishes I may prepare I think my families favorite may be simple Chinese Hamburger with Peas. I am pretty sure this recipe will mark the first time my best friend from high school, Kira, makes anything from my blog. It is still a favorite of hers as well.

For me this is basic comfort food. I have no idea what cookbook it was from because my father, in a move that still enrages me, allowed roommates to throw out my mothers complete set of Le Creuset, including a kitchen workhorse they no longer make, and all my mother's cookbooks. After my mother died my father began to make it, it was our weekly respite from take out food. We used to wing it, when making this for dinner, but I got tired of the sometimes lackluster renditions, so I tested and recorded the best version.

This is truly a pantry staple/emergency dinner as you can cook the hamburger meat from a frozen block without a problem. Just throw the block into the pan and cook over medium high heat, flipping it every few minutes to scrape off the browned and defrosted meat. Not glamourous but really handy for getting dinner on the table without ordering take out.

Tonight when making this Sebastian helped me, browning the meat, reading the recipe, measuring ingredients. Helping to brown the meat for this dish is one of my earliest memories in the kitchen. At dinner Julian talked about when he is in second grade and is old enough to help, "Even getting to brown the meat."

I have made it with veggie ground beef and it is still good, if you were not a meat eater my guess is it would be stellar that way, for me there was something missing.

Chinese Hamburger with Peas

1 lb ground beef (if you are vegetarian this still works with veggie ground beef)
2 small garlic cloves minced, or 1 large one (about 1 - 2 tsps)
1/2 cup dry sherry (you can also use sake or rice wine)
3 Tbsp Oyster Sauce (there are vegetarian/shellfish free versions or use hoisin sauce,)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp mushroom soy sauce (if you don't want to stock your pantry with another soy sauce just use all plain soy sauce)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 lb frozen peas (I prefer to use the ones in a bag, my mom always used the ones in a box)

Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste

1 - 2 scallions chopped for garnish (optional, really I never use them, but this dish needed something for the photograph)

Brown the ground beef in a large saute pan over medium high heat, breaking the meat up into bite sized pieces. (If the meat is frozen just flip it over every few minutes and scrape off the cooked layer). Once the meat is all broken up and is starting to brown add the garlic (if the meat is very fatty drain off the extra fat before adding the garlic). After all the meat is browned add the sherry, oyster sauce, ginger and both soy sauces. Cook while stirring until well combined. Add the frozen peas and then dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir to blend well. Add the water cornstarch mixture and cook over high heat until the liquids boil and the sauce thickens a little from the cornstarch and the peas are heated through.

Serve with white or brown rice. As a child the question of where I wanted my rice in relation to the Chinese Hamburger was very important. Eventually I got to the place where I wanted the Chinese hamburger on top of the rice. Sebastian has it on top now and Julian is just beginning to mix some of his portion together at the end of the meal. It is one of those parenting echoes that I enjoy, rather then the ones that prove my parents cursed me to raise a child who is just like I was.

Braised Pork on Om-nom-nomnivore

For my most recent adventures in the kitchen you will need to head over to Om-nom-nomnivore and my post on Pork Loin Braised in Milk. This is part of their week long salute to swine flu.

Now that I have directed you to that post I can go back to sitting shiva for Gourmet magazine. Gourmet has been my go to magazine for many years now and I am deeply saddened to lose it. Without Gourmet I would never have begun my localvore focus that began for me with the article they ran by Bill Mckibben when he ate only locally produced items for 9 months. Time to go drown my sorrows in leftover pork.

-Robin