Ring, ring. “Hello?” “Hi, Tricia. I have a friend here who has some beef fat, but doesn’t know what to do with it. Do you want it?” “Why, yes. Yes, I do.” And this is how I recently acquired some beef fat. And it wasn’t just any beef fat; this friend of a friend had [...]
Archive for the ‘Back to Basics’ Category
Come, mister tallow man.
Posted in Back to Basics, Fat on February 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Vinegar, Take 2
Posted in Back to Basics, Beer and Wine, Experimenting, Preservation on February 3, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Even though I killed my last vinegar mother, Jackie gave me another and I’ve been sharing my Barefoot pinot grigio bubbly with her (the mother, not Jackie; though I would gladly share booze with Jackie anytime). I am determined to keep it alive. Which shouldn’t be difficult, really, since my last one probably wasn’t dead [...]
Pop Culture and Popcorn
Posted in Back to Basics, Experimenting, Fat, tagged Chicken fat, Popcorn, Simple on December 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
What better way to break in our new TV, than sitcoms and a bowl of popcorn. We were a TV-less household for almost two years. (But not really in the purest sense; we sometimes caught our favorites — Glee, 30 Rock, and The Office — on Hulu.) I really enjoyed the big box’s absence. Or, [...]
Foraging Walks
Posted in Back to Basics, Nature on November 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I went on Jackie Dill’s spring and fall foraging walks this year. These walks appeal to many of my interests: the aspiring amateur naturalist and photographer, cook, hiker. I love learning to identify the plants. I like hiking around real slow, crouching, ducking tree branches, looking for mushrooms or interesting critters. I enjoy hearing Jackie [...]
Kelvinator
Posted in Back to Basics, Big Food, Media on September 27, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Never mind what it implies about our social life—Matt and I look forward to the Saturday evening radio line up. The Midnight Special at 6pm on KCSC (90.1), followed by The Thistle & Shamrock and Folk Salad on KOSU (91.7). The Midnight Special songs play with a theme. I was cooking and listening this past [...]
I killed my mother.
Posted in Back to Basics, Beer and Wine, Experimenting, Preservation on August 8, 2010 | 9 Comments »
I didn’t know how to tell you, so I’ve put off this post for some time. I killed my vinegar mother—the gelatinous substance that turns wine into vinegar. Over a year ago I acquired a mother from Jackie Dill, the self-sufficient, wise wildcrafter of Coyle, OK. And since I was so grateful that Jackie shared [...]
Meal Planning
Posted in Back to Basics, Blogs on July 8, 2010 | 2 Comments »
I think an impediment to the prevalence of whole, fresh food (and thus, local food) in our diets is the lack of home cooking. And one impediment to home cooking is reluctance and intimidation toward meal planning. This is an easier obstacle to tackle compared to lack of time or money. Though, as meal planning [...]
Regarding Lard
Posted in Back to Basics, Bread, Fat, Pizza on November 12, 2009 | 2 Comments »
2.27 pounds of lard from Rowdy Stickhorse Wild Acres + 2.07 pounds of lard from Downing Family Farm = 7 cups of rendered lard Here’s how ya do it: Fresh lard Cube the lard and add about one cup of water. Slowly melt the fat over low heat for a couple hours.* Once the lard [...]
Jammin’
Posted in Back to Basics, Preservation, Sweets on June 29, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Ooh, yeah! all right! We’re jammin’: I wanna jam it wid you. Were jammin’, jammin’, And I hope you like jammin’, too. -Bob Marley Homemade Jam 64 ounces of strawberry jam for $29 5 pounds of organic strawberries from Peach Crest Farm = $25 Sure-Jell pectin = $1.44 7 c sugar = [...]
Rendering Chicken Fat
Posted in Back to Basics, Fat, Meat, Recipe on April 27, 2009 | 11 Comments »
According to Fat by Jennifer McLagan, schmaltz morphed in the 1930s from a Yiddish noun meaning “rendered fat” into a description for anything excessively sentimental. Schmaltz usually refers to poultry fat, but in Germany schmaltz usually means pork fat. “Unlike other rendered fats,” McLagan says, “schmaltz is often flavored. Sliced onions are the most popular [...]
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