Did You Guess What I Was Making???? Homemade Chicharrones!

I was able to get some fresh pigskin at a local market, so I decided to make Chicharrones. 

I started by boiling the skins till they were soft and pretty fragile. This would make it easier to scrape any fat off. Once the skins were boiled (at least an hour), I CAREFULLY (because at this stage they will easily tear) removed them from the pot and put them on a cookie sheet. I then refrigerated overnight. (I boiled these mid day.) Refrigeration makes the fat removal much easier that it would be right out of the pot. The next day, using a spoon, I scraped all of the fat from the skin. (Above) Sometimes there is a small bit of fat on the edges that doesn't want to come off. When that happens, just trim that edge off. You MUST remove all the fat before the skin goes into dehydration.

 Once I completer the fat removal from the skins (above), they were ready for the dehydrator. 

 If necessary, cut skin into manageable pieces that will fit into the dehydrator. Then, 167 degrees for about 16 hours. ALL of the moisture must be removed from the skin or it will not fry properly later on.

 After 16 hours, you will end up with......pieces of "pork plastic", which is how I refer to the dehydrated skins. At this time, you can break the "pork plastic" into smaller pieces to either store or cook right away.

 Cooking them up is easy!!!! Take canola oil to 400 degrees (my oil was slightly higher, but worked fine) and CAREFULLY drop a few pieces at a time into the oil. within seconds, it will puff right up. I get little to no splash back when putting the pieces in the hot oil, because there is no moisture in the pieces. When done (about 15 or 20 seconds) put on paper or in a bowl, and season with your favorite kind of seasoning, or even just salt and pepper.

  To Store Unused Pieces- You MUST keep moisture out. I have double bagged in freezer bags and put into the fridge for a few days. It has worked fine for me. However, I have also been told that another good way to store in the fridge for a while is vacuum packing. I have just tried this method, to see how it goes. If vacuum packed, I have also been told you can freeze for long term storage. I need to try this method. I haven't as yet as mine never lasted that long to have to worry about long term storage!

Drying Blueberries

I had a pound and a half of blueberries given to me the other day that were just begining to go bad. After removing a few bad ones, I still had almost the entire pound and a half. So now, what to do with them? I won't eat them fast enough right now to have them gone before they all go bad, I have enough things in the freezer and I don't have time right now to bake.

After a few minutes of thought, problem solved. I got one of my dehydrators out and dried them. They are so good this way, like candy. But I think that I may use them for baking later.

BTW.....this is what a pound and a half of blueberries condenses down to when dried.... sort of looks like a jar of allspice, doesn't it?

Still Picking!

Out walking around the yard at 1840s Farm today picking wild berries and currants.

At the end of last season, I found a huge patch of currants in the hedgerow. This year I did the first harvest and with this first round, I probably got 3 or 4 pounds. (And I didn't even pick all of them, as I always leave some for the "critters".)

Also picked some berries. Not as much as usual, but I've already done 3 picks and looks like many more to come. And, it looks like this year's crop of wild rosehips will be pretty big.

Berries have gone into the freezer. Currants will be going into the dehydrators. With the next pick, I may put some juice in the freezer to make jelly later when I have more time, but I haven't decided yet.

If you are into wild foods or emergency preparedness, learn about what there is to eat right in your own yard. But always make sure you know what you are picking and when in any doubt, even the slightest, find someone who knows!

Later today, I will be harvesting more wild grape leaves to preserve for stuffing later.

Drying Dandelion Greens

Although I am not a big fan of dandelion greens, I actually do like them in angel hair with garlic, oil and chile, with a little peccorino romano.

However, the older the greens get, the more bitter they get. And it seems like as the season progresses, they get more bitter as well. So, I decided to try and dry some of the early, young, greens, just to see what happens. If it works out, I'll have to go out into the yard and harvest more!

If you want to see a picture of the dish, check out the "Throwback Kitchen" blog.
http://throwbackkitchen.blogspot.com

Onion Tops are Done

The first batch of young wild onion tops are dried and packaged. I left this bunch whole, but the next will probably be chopped afterwards and stored in a spice jar. I use them just like chives and store out of the light so they don't lose their color.

Time to Start Drying

Had to mow today up at the 1840s farm (I'm up here in the Finger Lakes for a bit working on my latest book). Now, anyone who really knows me, knows I absolutely HATE mowing lawn, and I put it off for as long as I possibly can.

Well, today the grass was long enough that I had to grit my teeth and get the lawn tractor out. But before I did that. I went around the lawn and trimmed off the young wild onion tops so that I could dry them. I already have a big patch by the house and those straying into the lawn would be lost anyway. So, I cut off the tops and use them like chives. Sometimes fresh, sometimes dried.

Now,  I'm filling one of my dehydrators with wild onion tops. I have 4 machines, and fortunatly brought on with me. One is a very basic, bare bones, 1 has a fan, and 2 have adjustable temperature controls with fans. And depending how much I have to do, there are times when I have had all 4 going at one time! My favorite thing to make? Jerky, of course! But this year I plan on making some tomato powder and garlic powder as well.