Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[greeneyes]

At first, I just put them in a coffee can with a plastic lid, but since I wasn't using them up very quickly, I decided to put them in wide mouth mason jars, and vacuum sealed them. They are in the basement, and it's usually no hotter than 70 degrees, so I expect they will still be good long after I am six feet under.

Sometimes I put a desiccant in with them, if I have it on hand. If not, I sometimes use rice in a napkin. They say that wheat was found in the tombs of ancient civilizations that were still good, so as long as it is not exposed to moisture and/or air, I'd say at least 10-15 years.

This winter, I'm trying some different varieties, White Winter Wheat, Triticale, and the old reliable cereal rye. I have plenty of the Red Winter Wheat stocked, so time to branch out. Mostly, I don't want the beds to get taken over by weeds, so growing winter grains does that and provides, food, and good compost to boot.

[Jamestown1630]

My husband has been wanting to buy a setup and try this. I admit I’ve been worried, but maybe I’ll cave and surprise him at Xmas.

[Jamestown1630]

This is good to know. I’ve been concerned about stocking up any whole grain because of rancidity.

[Nuocmam]

I don’t grow or can mine but buy them at the health food store. I seal what I don’t use in a seal a meal bag and put them in the freezer.

[greeneyes]

If I could find a good bread recipe that uses medium grind wheat berries, I might use them more often. I do understand that the wheat needs to be soaked to improve the ability to utilize the nutrients.

So far the recipes all taste too much like sour dough, which doesn't bother me, but hubby can't stand it. Since I'm low carb, I have to find something that he will eat. So once every other month or so, I try a new recipe.

Still, my all time favorite bread is a French baguette, so it may not be possible to get close enough to that with home milled wheat, but maybe the white wheat will give better results. Next year, I'm going to use the rye and/or triticale to try and cook some Boston brown bread.

[MV=PY]

https://www.amazon.com/Anova-Culinary-Bluetooth-Precision-Cooker/dp/B00UKPBXM4/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1505265737&sr=1-3&keywords=sous+vide

Here’s my favorite. You can hang it on a beer cooler and cook. ;-)

[greeneyes]

Rancidity becomes an issue after grinding, but the whole berry as long as it is sufficiently dried at harvest and kept dry during storage will last a long time.

The number 10 cans from the LDS have a 30 year life, but I’d bet they will still be good when the next century rolls around. The stuff that is canned by LDS, I consider legacy food - I won’t use it unless that’s all that’s available. So unless SHTF, I will pass it on to my children for hard times- since they don’t prep at all- I’ll even have instructions and recipes to go with them.

I have been watching Clara’s cooking on you tube recently. She’s passed away now, but I enjoy hearing her stories about depression era cooking. So far it’s all started the same way, peel a potato and dice it, chop up some onion, crush some garlic, saute and then add the other stuff.

[Viking2002]

There you go. If I can’t find a packet of mulling spices, the clove and cinnamon stick work quite nicely, especially if you can procure some whole nutmeg for the mix. The orange peel angle never occurred to me. Well played, sir.

[Jamestown1630]

Yes; I’ve seen videos of setups like that. Thanks very much!

[Jamestown1630]

Good to know.

I don’t think there’s an LDS canning place nearby, but we can vacuum pack in plastic, or vacuum in mason jars. Would that work?

Of course, we can freeze; but freezing isn’t a guaranteed way of keeping long-term.

[greeneyes]

For doing at home, I think that Mason Jars are the best. Mice can chew through plastic and mylar. The can’t get through the glass jars and metal lids.

Initially, I did put some stuff in mylar and put that in plastic 5 gallon buckets, but then I read about others having rodent issues with that. So then the next batch of stuff, I ordered from the LDS on-line store.

Their stuff was less expensive than any other canned stuff at the time I was ordering-so you might want to check it out. They have added some things like carrots, potatoes, and apples since I originally ordered stuff. They also have portable water filters, mylar bags and a few items like that.

https://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category3_715839595_10557_3074457345616706370_-1_N_image_0

[Jamestown1630]

Slice the whole orange, and throw it into water with cloves, cinnamon sticks. You can have it simmering for several days, just adding a little water now and then, before you dump it and start over. Probably works in a crock pot, too. I usually have a little pot going on the stovetop all winter; it just makes things nice.

I started doing this after reading about Lady Ottoline Morrell and her orange pomander balls - the scent of those is fantastic, but unless you have ideal conditions to dry them, they may go moldy and not turn out well; and the simmering way smells almost the same.



These instructions for the orange balls have the drying part at the very end - you really need to dry them, to make them keep a while; and I usually cover the whole orange with cloves, and dust it with cinnamon before hanging to dry:

http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-spiced-orange-pomander-balls/

[greeneyes]

I forgot to mention that the berries I used last weekend were from the 2011 harvest, and were just stuck in a metal coffee can with plastic lid - nothing else. Absolutely no hint of rancidity and smelled good.

The recipe was 2/3 wheat berries and 1/3 regular flour soaked for 24 hrs. I think that something 50/50 and maybe more water for soaking would be a better bread.

After I baked the bread, I did some research, and it seems that for regular bread, the flour is 60% flour to 40% water
and professional bakers use more than 90% water for whole wheat. So I’m going to keep experimenting. I have plenty of wheat that isn’t under seal to experiment with, and by next summer, I should have even more. LOL

[Viking2002]

Yes, we have an herb/flower drying rack from Burpee’s hanging in the kitchen. Nothing like smelling fresh-cut basil, dill, and oregano hanging from the hooks. Sprigs of them tied with twine and hanging overhead. My God, it makes a house smell like a home. We are of one mind, methinks. Never left my pot simmering that long. Maybe it’s my sense of smell. I rotate it out after 24 hours and start a fresh simmer pot. I actually have one dedicated to it, and nothing else gets cooked in it. We also have a wood stove, and that makes for a nice source of simmering heat once the wood coals are a low, simmering red.

[Yaelle]

I want to hear how your apple chutney came out! I made a good fermented one last year. Mmmmmm.

Tonight I tried a recipe that is supposed to be the juiciest meatballs. Pretty yummy. Using boneless skinless chicken thighs, minced in the food processor with onion, garlic, green peas, lemon juice, salt and pepper (and I added some bread crumbs so they would hold their shape in the oven). They were green, but they were juicy. Next time I think I might substitute mushrooms for the peas. Very tasty. I’ve frozen them for snack times.

[Yaelle]

Tender cooked carrots still in their shape are soooo good. Even just in olive oil and sea salt, but your butter sauce sounds fantastic.

[Yaelle]

For harvest time, tonight I also made an apple cake for the NYT and you all have to try thIs. It’s fast, makes a small apple cake, a cross between a cake or pie but easier than either.

So easy and soooo good. Add some cardamom like one of the comments suggested. I added 1/2 tsp cardamom.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017857-easy-as-pie-apple-cake?action=click&module=Collection%20Page%20Recipe%20Card&region=Desserts%20for%20Apple%20Season&pgType=collection&rank=7

[Yaelle]

Thanks, saving it. We are going to eye for sure this winter. Mom and the little one can do this. And they smell so good. And they could even be gifts for people.

[Yaelle]

We are going to MAKE SOME this winter. I don’t know how I always get so many typos.

[Jamestown1630]

I love anything with Cardamom - it’s got to be one of the most intriguing fragrances in the world.

I’ve even set it out in little bowls in my kitchen, to scent the air; but it’s one of those things that loses fragrance quickly when you grind it to release the scent.