Waste Not .. Want Not

Today is Saturday .. a beautiful sunny day, and I'm hoping to go take a nice long walk in the cool, crisp mountain air.  It's also the day to tidy up the refrigerator for the week and make use of food and left-overs before they go bad.  I HATE wasting good food .. so It's important to know what's in the fridge so it doesn't get pushed to the back and turn into a science experiment.  We use up our left-overs within a few days to ensure quality. 

I'll be making potato leek soup for dinner as I have extra milk and a huge leek.  There's a quart of chicken stock and a rutabaga as well .. and some steak.  These will get turn into some type of meal as well.  Let's see .. Philly steak sandwiches for lunch (I have red pepper and onions and homemade bread rolls).  Rutabagas are great cooked up with potatoes and mashed .. (that will be a side dish for Sunday's dinner) .. and the stock .. well, I think some may go in the potato-leek soup .. and the rest will be served steaming hot in over-sized mugs sprinkled with some dried thyme and a pinch of sea salt.

There's also a 1/4 loaf of home-baked bread .. I've already got that in a large skillet with a little butter, olive oil, smashed clove of garlic, dried thyme and a little sea salt to make salad/soup croutons.  Stale bread works best for French toast or bread puddings too.  Leftover bread can be whirred in the food processor to make fresh bread crumbs to add to meatloaf .. or toasted in a baking sheet and stored in the pantry for another week or two.

My two cups of buttermilk will be the base for a new batch of ranch dressing, the homemade yogurt will get drained and turned into yogurt herb cream cheese.  

In any economy, good or bad, it's wise to use up your extra food if stored properly, with-in a few days; most times, my family doesn't even realize they're eating the previous day's meal because it's been 're-purposed' into a 'new to them' meal.  How do you best utilize left-overs?

Danish Heritage Cooking

I've recently started making a few heritage recipes given to me by my Danish cousin, Egon.  I remember having ableskivers on my honeymoon with Mr. Mac thirty years ago in Solvang, California.  On a recent thrift store outing, I was able to purchase a new ableskiver pan.  Here is the family recipe:

Æbleskiver
(Danish “doughnuts”)
This is possibly one of the most famous Danish desserts. To make æbleskiver requires a special
skillet called an “æbleskivepande”. Usually, you are able to find an “æbleskive-pande” at the
Scandinavian gift stores in the area.
2 cups flour
2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼1/4 teaspoon salt
Melted butter or margarine for frying.
Separate the eggs and set aside the egg whites. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Beat
until it forms into a thickened, smooth batter. Let the batter rest for half an hour in the
refrigerator. Beat the egg whites until very stiff. Fold the egg whites into the cool batter. Pour the
batter into a pitcher. Melt the butter for frying.
Pre-heat the æbleskive skillet. Pour a little melted butter in each hole. Then fill the holes 3/4 with
batter. Fry the æbleskiver at medium heat. When a shell has started to form turn the æbleskiver
around with a (wooden) knitting needle or a meat skewer. Keep on turning the æbleskiver until evenly
“baked”.

When done remove the æbleskiver from the skillet and keep them warm. Decorate the æbleskiver
with powdered sugar. Served with jelly and sugar.
- Enjoy

Cultured Buttermilk & Ranch Dressing

On keeping and making cultured buttermilk:  This is one of those good for you additions to food that is very effortless to 'keep going' with an endless supply for very little cost.  At least once a week I start a batch to use as the base for ranch dressing or as an addition to homemade bread or smoothies.  No cooking is involved.

To make cultured buttermilk you need some buttermilk or a powder starter to make your first batch of starter at home (see here for source).  You basically take one part of (live) cultured buttermilk and add three parts fresh pasteurized milk  (1/4 cup buttermilk to 3/4 cup milk), place in a mason jar and mix with a plastic spoon. Fasten a paper coffee filter over the top with a rubber band.  Let this mixture culture at room temperature for 12-18 hours edit: up to 24 hours is OK the longer it sits out the tangier the flavor (70-77 F) in the warmest spot in your house (probably the kitchen).  I set my jar in the barely warm oven on my 'proof' setting.  You could set yours in the oven with the pilot light or oven light on (away from the bulb).  Keep away from drafts. Once the buttermilk is set (not runny) replace the filter with a regular lid and put in the fridge for six hours before use.  Stir before using.  Make sure to save at least 1/4 cup to start your next batch.

To make another batch, you repeat the above directions. This should be done once a week (no longer than seven days).  For larger quantities, just remember the ratio of 1 part buttermilk to 3 parts milk. After doing this a few times, it really becomes second nature and effortless.  It is recommended to not use metal when making cultures.  Plastic or wooden spoons are fine.

Buttermilk (Ranch) Dressing

1/2 C buttermilk

1/2 C mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

salt and pepper to taste

fresh or dried herbs (I use either parsley or thyme .. just a few pinches to taste)

1 small or medium clove of garlic, pressed

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Whisk the above ingredients together well in a bowl.  Adjust seasonings.  Store in a lidded mason jar for up to one week.  Mix before serving.

If you don't have lemon zest or juice, you may substitute a little bit of lemon pepper seasoning to taste.

This recipe is easily doubled.  Just use the 1:1 ratio of buttermilk to mayo ... and adjust the seasonings to taste.

Read about buttermilk's benefits here

Copyright Free Image found here

All Things Buttermilk

When you have a continual supply of cultured buttermilk at your disposal ... and you want to keep it fresh by recharging a new batch each week ... it's good to have a few recipes to make use of it.  We often include buttermilk in fresh/frozen fruit smoothies ... and it's a great addition to homemade bread dough.  Today I'll post my recipe for buttermilk pancakes.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon organic cane sugar

1 large egg

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons melted butter

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl mix the buttermilk and egg ... slowly whisk in the melted butter.

Cook on a lightly oiled hot griddle (med-high heat- use a little butter or 1/2 tsp bacon drippings if you make bacon).  Test the griddle with a drop or two of water ... it should sizzle/dance.  Using a 1/2 cup ladle, spoon the batter in rounds on the griddle.  Cook until they just start to bubble and are a tiny bit dry around the  edge.  Flip and cook on other side.  Keep warm in preheated oven until all pancakes have been cooked.  Serve with maple syrup. Makes about 8-9 6-inch pancakes.

Photo credit:  Carl Larsson 

How to make cultured buttermilk