Tomatoes ready to give their all for the sauce. Nothing like freshly made pasta sauce for fresh pasta. It also makes a great snack with a few pieces of crusty Italian bread for dipping!
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Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Super Simple Pickles
You can make super simple pickles from extra cukes, using the brine from your favorite store bought pickles.
After you have finished the jar of pickles, don't throw the jar...or the brine....away. Simply slice up your fresh cukes and drop into the brine. Stir with spoon to be sure that slices are covered. Let sit for a few weeks in the fridge and then enjoy!
(I actually will only re-use the brine once, maybe twice, then throw away.)
Saturday, September 6, 2014
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Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Thistle for Rennet Part 2
The thistle is slowly drying. Some is looking good, some, unfortunatly, are turning into white cotton, meaning they will not be usable.
Hopefully, there will be at least enough dried thistle to make the process worth while. Then again, this is my first try, so maybe practice makes perfect?
Stay tuned for (hopefully), the next step after the thistle is dried and ready.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Saving Ground Cherry Seeds
I have been wanting to grow ground cherries for quite some time, but never go around to sending for seeds. So, when I was at a market in Penn Yan, NY and saw ground cherries for sale, I decided to just harvest them myself, and bought some. I found that stripping the seeds out in small batches works the best.
The harvesting of the seeds is really quite simple. First, you need to remove the paper casing.
Next, squeeze and drop the fruit into a bowl of shallow water
Let sit in the water and allow the seeds to float out. If need be, you can safely manipulate the seeds out of the fruit with your fingers, into the water, without damaging the tiny seeds.
Remove the meaty parts, leaving only the seeds. You will notice that the seeds will go to the bottom. Should any seeds be floating on top, discard those individuals, as they are no good.
Next, carefully pour the water off of the seeds. This is easier than you think, as the seeds will remain behind if you pour slowly and carefully.
You will now be left with the seeds.
Let the seeds dry thoroughly, then either put them with the rest of your harvested seeds for packaging when you are done, or package immediately.
The harvesting of the seeds is really quite simple. First, you need to remove the paper casing.
Next, squeeze and drop the fruit into a bowl of shallow water
Let sit in the water and allow the seeds to float out. If need be, you can safely manipulate the seeds out of the fruit with your fingers, into the water, without damaging the tiny seeds.
Remove the meaty parts, leaving only the seeds. You will notice that the seeds will go to the bottom. Should any seeds be floating on top, discard those individuals, as they are no good.
Next, carefully pour the water off of the seeds. This is easier than you think, as the seeds will remain behind if you pour slowly and carefully.
You will now be left with the seeds.
Let the seeds dry thoroughly, then either put them with the rest of your harvested seeds for packaging when you are done, or package immediately.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Collecting Thistle for Rennet
The other day, my friend Martha was talking about making rennet from thistle. As it sounded interesting, we decided to begin harvesting the purple flowers (before they dry and explode with seed, at which time it is too late, I guess). This is the first bunch that I harvested here at the 1840's farm.
According to directions, they need to dry for about 3 weeks before we can go to the next step. In the mean time, more flower heads should be blossoming soon. The thistle plant is so pretty, that I hate to cut the heads off.
Stay tuned for the progression of rennet making with thistle. (It should be noted that it is said that this rennet should be used with goat or sheep milk only as it can make cow's milk cheese bitter. )
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