Barley Soup in Storage

Over the last two weeks I have shared my dehydrating journey that leads up to packaging what I have recently dried into some convenient "soup-in-a-bag" meals.

I did promise to share what I put into my bags with you, so here is the recipe for your convenience:

For the veg part I added into each bag some dehydrated:

Potatoes (next time I will grate them)

Carrots,

Leeks

Celeriac

Cabbage

Onion

I didn't weigh them out, and just roughly estimated how much of each I put inside. Perhaps next time I will weigh them out so that I get evenly distributed bags :)

What I forgot to put inside was some kidney beans, but I will add these to the pot this time and next time will be sure to include them in the packets!

I added half a cup of barley to each bag.

This is the finished bag.

I added 3 bouillon cubes, an oxygen absorber, and as I didn't have any silica bags on hand, I added a teabag which has a teaspoon of rice inside for moisture absorption.

To make, I will empty the contents into a pot, add 1 1/2 liters of water and simmer until ready.

Enjoy :)

x

New Gadget - Soyabella

As we really like to have smoothies for breakfast in our home, I have been on the lookout for an easier way to make nut milks. The commercial milks available, although they taste good, come with a couple of additives and the price is not too shabby either!

Whilst browsing through Youtube a couple of weeks ago, as you do :), I followed a link which led me to a video introducing the Soyabella.

Of course I had to have one!

I received my new gadget about a week ago and have been making almond milk with it until now.

This is such an easy process, I am thrilled thus far.

To do this, all you do is the following:

• Measure out a cup of almonds in the plastic measuring cup that accompanies the gadget
• Place them into the sieve attachment and cover with water overnight
• Empty the water, fill your soyabella with the desired amount of filtered water
• I add 2 destoned dates for sweetness at this point
• Attach sieve to motorhead, and mill (I mill 5 times)

The resulting milk is great!

I have dehydrated the leftover pulp and ground it down to make almond meal.

Once I have enough almond meal I will be baking something with it, so watch this spot :)

I will be trying soy-milk soon and will let you know how that turns out!

Do you use a soymilk maker?

Can you tell me how to make rice milk with the Soyabella?

More Veg Dehydrating

This past week I continued on my dehydrated veggie prep for some soup storage (Meals in a bag)

I dried: grated celeriac, chopped cabbage, and sliced carrots.

All of the veg was blanched and the carrots were also sprayed with lemon juice before heading into the dehydrator. (dehydrated at between 50 - 60°C)

The last veg I need for my soup is potatoes which will be done in the next couple of days, so stay tuned for the recipes which will follow!

x

Gouda

Next on my list of cheeses to try (as well as my bucket list for February) was Gouda.

Above you see the cheese fresh out of the brine.

Now what I noticed at this stage is that either the curds did not knit together properly, or that those marks are from my cheese cloth that was a little short and so I couldn't stretch it enough to make a smooth cheese.

As I am a total novice, I am not sure which it is and what the consequences of this might be, so I will soldier on.

What I am guessing is, that it could create air pockets in the cheese over time, or that it will make for a very crumbly cheese which Gouda shouldn't be :(

But, as this is supposed to be a learning procedure, I will go through the motions, and will inform you once I open it as to what happened.

I once again followed Gavin Webber's recipe for Gouda, and as my culture used Flora Danica.

Here is the Gouda before I waxed it. 

I put 1 layer of liquid wax coating on the cheese before waxing.

and here it is after my first attempt at waxing :)

I can't wait to see how this cheese turned out, and will share it with you here :)

x

Baked Beans

I have always wanted to try and make baked beans on my own.

Not the american kind with bacon, the English kind, the one that goes down a treat with a real English breakfast, or any old time of the day on toast or with mash and sausage :)

I found a recipe on the web and decided that I would let the "Cooking" take place in the canner.

So what I did was to soak the beans overnight, and the next day prepared the sauce, drained the beans and mixed them with the sauce, filled up my jars and pressure canned for 65 minutes (I used 500ml jars).

Here is the recipe I tweaked (I can't remember where I found this recipe as I had so many of them on hand, I do apologize)

500g Haricot beans (soaked overnight)

4 tins tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

4 Tbsp Worcester sauce

2 tsp Tabasco sauce

2 cloves

some mixed dried herbs

Fry onion and garlic until soft.

Add tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Drain beans and add to the tomato mixture.

Fill into 500 ml jars (this portion made 6 x 500ml jars for me)

Leave 2-3cm headspace

Pressure can for 65 minutes.

Here is a quick video to show you how they look as soon as they come out of the canner:

I will be tasting them this weekend and will let you know how they turned out :)

Dehydrating for Storage

Last week I managed to dehydrate a couple of things which is always great!

I am processing a couple of veggies for some soup mixes which I plan to add to storage.

All of my veg gets dehydrated at between 50 - 60 degrees Celsius.

On the first day I dehydrated frozen veg:

And on the second day, I dehydrated the stinkies :) So blanched onion, leek and celery stalks.

Issue I had: Onions, leeks and celery need to be dried on parchment paper or silicone sheets, as they almost dried into the tray :O 

I placed all of my dried goodies in jars with oxygen absorbers and will be using them once I have all of the ingredients I need to make the soup mixes.

I will share the recipes with you then, so do stay tuned :)

Farmhouse Cheddar with Peppercorns

After making the cheddar, I decided to try cheddar with peppercorns.

I am very susceptible to cheese with pepper, so I can't wait to try this cheese :)

I followed Gavin Weber's Recipe which I find very informative and it helps you go through the motions step-by-step.

I used black peppercorns in mine.

The process is a little different to the original cheddar recipe, and quite a bit shorter, so if you are wanting to attempt cheddar making then I would suggest you go with this recipe first.

Here is my cheese prior to waxing on Day 3.

It was nice and dry.

My only issue being that I have so many lovely peppercorns on my surface, which I will ultimately lose to the liquid coating :(

Next time I will be sure to keep the surfaces free of peppercorns.

Here is my cheese, waxed and ready for it's new place in the cellar.

Yummy, I can't wait :)

Stay tuned!

The next cheese will be Gouda.

Are you a cheesemaker?

Have you made peppered cheddar before?

I would love to hear from you below.

Cheddar

At the end of January I finally took the plunge into the world of cheesemaking :)

I am a lover of cheddar, so I gathered that would be a good place to start.

I didn't add the annatto as I don't really mind what colour my cheese is as long as it tastes right.

The process was a long one.

I am lucky enough to live close to a farmer who sells raw milk and as I had to carry it home I made two trips on two consecutive days.

We were well into a good winter, and as we have a cupboard on our balcony, we figured that the milk would be fine out there overnight. 

Well, it froze slightly :(

I didn't let that deter me and continued in the cheesing process.

In mainland Europe, cheese wax is not as readily available as other places, but we do have a liquid cheese coating which inhibits mold growth.

So on Day 4 I coated the cheese.
I coated the cheese with 3 layers of liquid coating.

It is now sitting in the cellar where we have optimal temperatures and humidity.

I can't wait to taste it :)

I will be sure to share it with you here!

Next up - Farmhouse cheddar.

Boerewors Recipe

My homesickness comes in the form of craving foodstuffs from home.

How do I remedy this - well by making the foods I crave of course :)

Not only do I get to eat some of my favourite foods, but I learn a lot along the way!

Last month I was craving Boerewors - a South African sausage, so I went about finding the ingredients to make it.

Thanks to the fact that we now own a Kitchenaid that came with the mince attachment, I bought the accessories for sausage making and let rip :D

If you would like to try these yummy sausages here is the recipe I made:

1 Kg Pork

1 Kg Beef stew

1 Kg lamb stew

500g fat

2 Tbsp Salt

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 Tbsp Brandy

100g casings

Mince meat and mix with all of the spices and liquid. 

Let sit overnight.

Fill into casings.

Enjoy :)

Pressure Canning

Over the space of December and January I have been attempting pressure canning.

To be quite honest it does get quite addictive!

It took me a long time to start the initial canning process as by living in Europe, things are done a little differently here and most things are stored through a water bath canning process.

As I was very interested in adding some chicken and meats to my list of things to store, we decided that there was no time like the present to get on with it :)

At first I just did a single layer of jars (max 5 Jars), I am using the Weck glass jars as they are readily available to me, but I have since purchased another rack and can quite easily can 10 x 500ml Jars at a time, which is a wonderful thing in itself :D

I have decided to mainly use the 500ml jars as this seems to be a perfect amount for our family of 4.

For soups I tend to use a 750ml or 1 litre Jar.

So far I have canned:

Ratatouille (twice - it tastes amazing out of the jar - who would have thought!!)

Peeled, cooked potatoes (not so great, read below)

Raw, baby potatoes (Amazing)

Chicken and Maize soup (Fabulous)

Raw pack Chicken (so convenient)

Ratatouille

Raw baby potatoes (double layered in canner)

Chicken and Maize Soup

Canned Chicken

My only "Problem" that I have encountered so far was with my potato canning.

I had some potatoes at home that I thought I would can, and so after peeling and parboiling them I canned them as stated.

At first everything seemed fine, but after one week the water became milky.

Now into their second month of storage, the potatoes have all but disintegrated.

They still taste fine, and I have been adding them to soups and stews, but now I really only have a jar full of potato starch :O

Anyway, I have had much more luck with the baby potatoes and so I plan to continue canning those in the future :)

What are your experiences with pressure canning?

Our New Helpers

Over the last couple of months we have indulged in purchasing some equipment to make our storing a little easier.

From top to bottom:

Presto Pressure Canner

Kitchenaid

Dutch Cheese Press

La.va Vacuum sealer

I can wait to put all of these goodies to good use :)

x

2017 Bucket List

Life has been so hectic lately that I haven't had a moment to spare for blogging!

I hope to change that!!

This year I have decided to attempt various things in an aim to become more self-sufficient.

Not only to become more self-sufficient, but also to try out things that I take for granted because I can fetch them off a shelf in the supermarket!

So as I progress through 2017 I will share my various attempts with you, and hopefully share my experiences, and perhaps tips and tricks with you along the way :)

Here is my Bucket List of things to achieve thus far:

January 2017

Make Cheddar ✔

Make Boerewors ✔

Can Chicken ✔

Bake a sourdough loaf of bread ✔

February 2017

Make Gouda ✔

Make Paneer ✔

Make Farmhouse Cheddar ✔

Make and Can Baked Beans ✔

March 2017

Menu planning for food rotation
Dehydrate ingredients for storage
Can bacon (I am really curious about this one :))
Make Tilsit
Make Edam

I will update April as March progresses :)

All of my January experiences will follow over the next couple of days.