March
27
2013
I have been searching through old material; notes, blog drafts, articles drafts, and photos. By far the photos have been the most fun. I wanted to share some of the ones I have taken but not gotten a chance to post for various reasons.
BEER, need I say more?
This is Called the Fat Belly
Stromboli from heaven!
Secret Agent Wedding?
November
24
2012
This past week for Thanksgiving, we made a whole bunch of pumpkin items. I made pumpkin bread, chili, and two very different pies, while my wife made pumpkin whoopi pies. I think I have finally had enough of pumpkin for a bit. On the bright side my night vision has never been better!
November
8
2012
How often do you eat out in a week? Once, twice, or more than ten?! I have been thinking about writing up a guide to use for when you eat out. I have noticed lately that a lot of people seem to think that mediocre places are awesome. This is a bit of a shame. I think most places we go throughout are day are not that good at all, and maybe its because we haven’t had anything good or great, ever! I think we’ve forgotten what it is to have customer service of any type. I hear stories of people getting upset over the simplest things. Items that if it were a good place or great place wouldn’t ever be considered. Maybe a checklist would help guide people back to expecting better service, food, decor, and cleanliness. Maybe we need to be re-taught these things. In a world where ever penny means something again, I think we should be demanding a certain level of these items, and we should also expect to be demanded of others the same way. Being thankful for the opportunity to eat out and do local business, should go both ways. I have noticed a lot of jaded business owners lately that do not seem to appreciate the business of their patrons. It is almost as if it were a hassle to serve the people paying their bills. It seems to make people go to larger places with crappier food, just because the local guy doesn’t care so why should we?
Yes I think a guide is to come, and moreover a guide for both sides to live by.
April
13
2012
I finally found the raw milk!!!!! I know I do not need raw milk necessarily, in order to make cheese, however I do want some for my first time to see how it should be. Anyways back to the milk. I found it at a wonderfully friendly farm store in Waterford, PA. This is a little over an hour from my house but is the closest place that I can get it at my convenience. I have a bunch of milk on order for next weekend, ( Not this coming Weekend) and will be starting with a simple cheese like Mozzarella. So stay tuned for the making of the cheese….. finally!!!!
August
7
2011
Tonight, I was looking for something to eat, and I really wanted some spaghetti. The problem was we didn’t have any sauce. I was upset at first, we had spaghetti noodles already made, but no sauce. My wife and daughter love noodles with butter, not me I need something significant on mine. Well, instead of trying to make something else I started to look for some tomatoes can or otherwise, and I remembered that I had used them all this weekend. I still had no sauce and it was getting late. I didn’t want to microwave something, I just didn’t want to eat like that. So I got to thinking, what is in a tomato sauce anyways. Well wouldn’t you know it I had something that had everything but the spices in it already and I bet you do to. I had a medium generic salsa in my cabinet. I also had no chips in the house. So no sauce with my spaghetti, and no chips for my salsa. Might as well try and make something with both of what I had left. So I put the salsa in a pan and added some spices, celery seeds, basil, oregano, a bay leaf, and a little rosemary. Stay away from adding onion, or garlic, salsa already has an abundant amount of it in there. So I cooked it for about 4-5 minutes just enough to get the flavors to meld, then I took out the bay leaf. I also pan fried up some squash rounds and cucumber rounds then added them onto the spaghetti then some parmesean, then the sauce, and topped it with some shredded cheddar. Surprising to both my wife and I it had worked perfectly as a tomato spaghetti sauce. I also used the leftover squash and cucumber as a snack for later, but that I will tell you about another time.
August
2
2011
About a week ago I went and got some fresh produce at a local produce stand, I love local stands if you haven’t noticed, and I found some baby cucumbers which I decided that night to make some pickles with. I found a large enough container to put them in, and I washed them and added 2 cups of cider vinegar, 2 cups of regular white vinegar, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup salt ( kosher salt put through the food processor for about 2 minutes.) coriander, dill, onion, and celery salt. I just eyeballed the odd spices. A week later I have pickles, they are quite good. If I had to complain about anything I think I would go a little heavier on the salt and dill and a little water to the vinegar, but still pretty good for my first pickles ever. On a side note, I am just about ready for the cheese making, I know it seems like I have been stalling its because I have been. I have been having trouble getting the raw milk, but I think I have it solved so I will continue here soon.
August
1
2011
The test batch of kraut finally finished last night and I was able to try it. It came out very mild in flavor but it was to be expected since it was such a little amount that I did to test, I also used leftover bagged cabbage for the test batch. All in all I liked it, even my wife had some. The full batch is due out in about 4 more days so we will see but I am confident that having been a whole head of cabbage it will come out fine.
July
23
2011
How many times a month do you cook meat? Everyday? Maybe, once a week? Why not use a rub? Rubs are a bunch of dry ingredients, literally rubbed all over the surface of the meat before it is cooked. Some of these come in bottles already made up for us, but I thought it would be fun to try and come up with a few of our own. The most basic is a salt rub. Grab a gallon size freezer bag and add a cup of salt, then add a quarter cup of black pepper. That’s it! Sounds kinda boring you say? Alright, now add a quarter cup of cumin, and then a tablespoon of cayenne pepper. Now you have a basic southwestern style rub. With a salt base you can make just about anything. Don’t like southwestern style? Add garlic, and dried lemon grass instead, for a lemon garlic rub. The sky is the limit, When using a rub, high dry heat methods of cooking go better, as braising and slow cooking would make the rub run off. Get your spices out and try something tonight for dinner. You may be surprised what you discover.
July
23
2011
Equipment, is a huge part of making cheese, while some cheeses need very little others need a specialty equipment. The items you will need for any cheese are large pots, large spoons, knives, thermometers, colanders, and cheesecloth. These items will make some of the simplest cheeses out their. You’ll have to check the individual recipe to find out what you might need. Specialized equipment will include, cheese press, wax, rind, cheese molds, brushes, and acid testing kits. I know it can sound complicated, but once you have all of this equipment the sky is the limit on your cheese making. I am slowly getting all the pieces I need to start and hopefully in the next little bit there will be cheese for everyone. Ok , well at least some cheese to try in my house.
July
21
2011
I found a new restaurant in my town the other day, and to my surprise an old friend of mine from high school was one of the owners. The place is called the Buster Brown Bean Co Cafe & Bistro, and it serves locally grown food. This is the first place that I know of in my small town to do this, and what a pleasant and tasty way of doing things. This food is so fresh and tastes so good. So hat’s off to my friend and his partner, and good luck to them in the future. The picture is of the eggplant sandwich that they made while I was there.
Loading ...By AlHow To Get Rid Of Acne Scars
Stretch Marks Removal
How To Get Rid of Blackheads On Nose
Best Eye Cream For Dark Circles
Best Stretch Mark Cream
How To Get Rid Of Dark Circles Under Eyes
How To Get Rid of Blackheads On Nose
Best Eye Cream For Dark Circles
Best Stretch Mark Cream
How To Get Rid Of Dark Circles Under Eyes