sprinklefingers

did the word carcass get your attention?

good.

this week i experimented with freezer jam (post coming soon!) and while making room in the freezer i came across a few bags of chicken parts. chicken parts which i had completely forgotten about! and right next to the chicken parts? frozen carrots & celery! it was like winning a special award right there in front of the freezer!

while i’m still canning obsessed, i’m also very into soup right now, so finding a treasure trove of chicken stock makings in the freezer was a special moment. do not make fun of me. do. not.

anyways, back to the soup. we’re having a cold september here in oregon, so soup has been playing a starring role at our dinner table. and, thanks to my freezer, i was able to whip up a giant pot of chicken stock in no time at all. wow, huh?

here’s how you can squirrel things away in your own freezer so that you too can someday be surprised by a carcass:

first of all, do you ever buy those rotisserie chickens from the market? you know, the precooked juicy chickens perfect for shredding and putting in a burrito or quesadilla or on top of a salad? i usually pick one up when i’m short on time - you do that, too…don’t you? please say you do. i don’t want to be the only one who takes complete advantage of this amazing kitchen shortcut…

okay, so, yes. you do occasionally buy rotisserie chickens. sweet. we have something in common.

next time you buy one, after removing the meat from the bones, put the bones & parts and what-not into a freezer bag. label that bag ‘chicken carcass’ or some other hilarious thing and stick it in your freezer. once you’ve got 2 or 3 carcasses in your freezer, then you’ve pretty much got what it takes to make stock. (as long as you’ve got a few carrots, some celery and an onion around.)

i found it all in my freezer chicken stock
makes a big pot of stock

you need:

• 2-3 bags of leftover/frozen chicken bones & bits
• 3-4 carrots
• 3-4 stalks celery
• 1-2 onions
• 2 bay leaves
• salt to taste
• 12-15 peppercorns

to make stock:

1. put everything in a stockpot and cover with water by 2-3 inches.
2. put pot over medium high heat and bring to a simmer.
3. simmer for at least one hour - or all afternoon, depending upon how much time you have.
4. taste it. if the chicken flavor has developed and you’re happy with the result, remove the stock from the heat. if not, keep cooking!
5. once your stock has finished cooking you’ll want to refrigerate it so that the fat will harden at the top and you can scrape it off and discard it. if the pot in which you made your stock can also hold food in the fridge, great. if you don’t have such a pot, ladle the stock into storage safe containers and refrigerate.
6. the next day you’ll want to scrape the layer of fat off the stock. once that’s done you can prepare the stock for freezing by dividing it into 4-cup (or so) freezer safe containers.
7. label your containers. freeze.
8. when you’re ready to make soup simply thaw the stock overnight in the fridge OR run some hot water around the outside of your freezer container to loosen the stock, then plop the frozen blob of it into a saucepan and thaw/reheat on the stovetop.
   
   
   
   [this photo is gross. it’s what was left at the bottom of my pot after i ladled the stock into containers. as you can tell, there are bones and skin in there. and i guess right now would be the time for me to tell you that i doubt there’s a more gross kitchen enterprise than making chicken stock.]

we’ve discussed removing hazelnut skins, yes. and now that you have that skill under your belt (or wherever you put your skills these days,) let’s talk about what to do with all those hazelnuts!

first up, and my new favorite way to eat hazelnuts, preserving them in honey. this is really as simple as packing layer upon layer of toasted, slightly skinned hazelnuts and local honey into a jar as possible.

hazelnuts preserved in honey
river cottage preserves method

you need:

• empty, clean glass jars. half pint jars work best, simply to control portions.
• toasted, somewhat skinned hazelnuts (some skin on them will be fine because the honey will do a great job of masking the bitter taste of the skins.
• large jar of local honey

to preserve:

1. drop one layer of hazelnuts into the bottom of the jar.
2. cover with honey.
3. repeat

keep repeating the layers until you’ve filled the jar - you want the honey to completely cover the nuts once you reach the top of the jar. place the lid on the jar and screw on tight - store the nuts in a cool, dry, dark place.

these honey preserved hazelnuts are so completely delicious on plain yogurt - so delicious that it’s difficult for me to put into words how much i love the combination. since i started preserving hazelnuts in honey, i have served the nuts on plain, whole milk yogurt as dessert for every guest who’s come to visit. such a treat.

the preserved nuts are also great on ice cream, oatmeal, as part of a cheese plate, or simply straight from the jar. [also, i heard yesterday that the holiday season begins in like 3 weeks (seeing as how back-to-school supplies are already in stores, it MUST be true.) hazelnuts preserved in honey = super awesome holiday gift. trust me.

hazelnut whipped cream

i love adding finely ground, almost paste-like, hazelnuts to my whipped cream. i whip the cream with sugar like usual, then as it’s whipping i add small plops of ground hazelnuts (that have been toasted & skinned)…just enough to flavor the whipped cream, not enough to weigh it down. hazelnut whipped cream is delicious on anything chocolate, but elevates pumpkin pie to a level of deliciousness that i can’t describe in electronic words.

chopped hazelnuts in baked goods

thanks to study abroad and nutella, we all know that chocolate & hazelnuts go perfectly together. next time you’re whipping up some cookies, add in some chopped hazelnuts. sprinkle in some toffee and you may want to make sure the front door is locked - so no one walks in and sees you eating an entire batch of just-baked cookies.

chopped hazelnuts in crumble topping

next time you design-your-own-crumble, add some chopped hazelnuts to your crumbly top. their toasty goodness is especially delicious with stone fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines.)

hazelnuts everywhere else

we put hazelnuts in our oatmeal. we mix them into our homemade granola. we often enjoy them on salads. chopped hazelnuts have the ability to blow minds when sprinkled on top of sauteed brussels sprouts.

and one other thing about hazelnuts:

they freeze really well. pack them into an airtight bag and freeze. when you’re ready for hazelnuts, just grab the bag!

——-
and now, a feast for your eyes: hazelnuts preserved in honey…


ps: what’s with all this hazelnut talk? well, aside from me being addicted to the honey preserved version of the nut, i’m also in the midst of creating my own birthday dessert. i can’t explain the whole thing yet, but i can tell you it involves hazelnut-toffee AND it’s a tart. and my birthday is soon, so you won’t have to wait much longer for a full explanation.

i have a love-hate relationship with hazelnuts.
first of all, i love their nutty, sweet flavor. i love their texture. i love their shape and how they snap between your teeth when you bite them.

but i hate their bitter skins! hazelnut skins can take a dessert (or a snack) from sublime to bitter in just one bite - which is frustrating. who’s with me?

in the interest of helping home cooks everywhere, i bring you my method for removing some or most hazelnut skins…i know, i know. i’m the best.

first, toast the hazelnuts:

preheat oven to 350. roll hazelnuts onto a sheet tray in a single layer. place in oven and bake until you can smell their toasty goodness. if you can’t rely on your nose to tell you when they’re done, i say you give them 5 minutes in the warm oven, then open it up and check to make sure things aren’t burning. you could even test a nut or two to just make sure. but i usually just wait until i can smell them. honestly. i do.

next, add friction:

once the hazelnuts are toasted, tip them into a fine mesh sieve. grab a wad of paper towels (or a kitchen towel) and rub the nuts like crazy. against the mesh of the sieve, against each other - whatever you can do to cause friction. the friction (and the heat from the oven) will cause the skins to peel off.

soon a pile of removed skin bits will be collecting in the bottom of the sieve. once you’ve rubbed for a good bit, you will have removed enough of the bitter skins to make a huge difference in your hazelnut flavor. not ALL of the skin will be gone, but that’s okay. it will honestly make a big difference to have even some of the skin removed.

now that you’ve removed the skins from your hazelnuts, what will you do with them? post coming soon!

i’ve got news for you:

making your own yogurt is not, in fact, magic!
it’s actually easy. so easy that it feels like cheating.

so easy that when your friends are AMAZED that you made your own yogurt you’ll feel slightly guilty for not telling them that it’s only as difficult as boiling boiling water (sort of)! [my advice to you, at least for a few days, don’t tell anyone how easy it is. let them be amazed by your skills for as long as possible. take photos of your yogurt and post them to facebook. bring a jar of yogurt to work and make sure to mention to others that you made. it. yourself. eat up the attention. AND eat up the yogurt!]

i-made-it-myself vanilla bean yogurt
makes approximately 42 oz

you need:

• 32 oz 2% milk (the fresher the better. make sure it’s not about to expire.)
• 10 oz half & half (the fresher the better. make sure it’s not about to expire.)
• one vanilla bean, seeds stripped out
• 6 oz (170 grams) commercial (store bought) plain whole milk yogurt (with live cultures.) it’s best to remove the yogurt from the fridge when you begin heating your milk.

here’s how you do it:

1. pour the milk and the half & half into a tall-sided sauce pan. place the pan over medium-high heat.
2. cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out all of its seeds. plop those seeds into the milk/half & half. [note: you can also place the scraped bean into the pot to bring out even more vanilla flavor. i don’t do this because i’m addicted to vanilla sugar.]
3. wait for the milk/half & half to boil. allow it to boil so that it crawls up the side of the pot, then immediately pull it off the heat (and when i say immediately, i mean it. unless you like to clean up hot milk messes.)
4. allow the milk/half & half to cool to 100 degrees. use a thermometer, please. [word of warning: DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. disastrous results await if you do not allow the milk to cool. speaking from experience, of course.]
5. once cool, ladle out a portion of the somewhat cooled milk/half & half and whisk in the yogurt. whisk until completely smooth.
6. pour the milk/yogurt mixture back into the remaining milk/half & half mixture and whisk again until completely smooth.

now you have the base of some (soon to be) vanilla bean yogurt.

here’s what you do next:

• if you have a yogurt making machine: fill each very clean jar (or the one jar if you have that type of maker) with the yogurt base. put the jars inside the machine. close the lid and turn on. let sit for 7 hours. remove the jars, put on their lids and refrigerate for 3 hours minimum.

• if you do not have a yogurt making machine there are a handful of ways you can turn your yogurt base into actual yogurt:

1. pour the yogurt base (while still warm) into a large enough lidded glass jar. screw on the lid. wrap a bath towel around the jar and fasten it so that it stays. place the towel-wrapped jar in a cooler or other somewhat air-tight container and let sit overnight (minimum of 8 hours.) in the morning, remove the jar from the towel/container and refrigerate for a minimum of 5 hours (longer than the tiny jars of yogurt because this is one big jar!)
2. OR pour the yogurt base (while still warm) into a large enough lidded glass jar. screw on the lid. place the jar in your GAS oven. the interior of a gas oven is usually a bit warm because the pilot light is always on. it’s warm enough, in fact, to turn your yogurt base into yogurt. allow the jar to hang out in the oven overnight (minimum 8 hours.) in the morning, remove the jar from the towel/container and refrigerate for a minimum of 5 hours (longer than the tiny jars of yogurt because this is one big jar!)

the warm jar method, whether you incubate the yogurt in a cooler or your oven, will yield a yogurt that has some whey (looks like water) in it. so far i’ve tested three batches of jar/cooler yogurt and all three batches have contained whey i’ve had to drain off. simply tip the jar & pour out the whey OR strain it through doubled-up cheese cloth. refrigerate what’s left over and - voila - yogurt!

the method you use for incubating the yogurt base is really up to you - a machine is nice because you don’t have to think about it…and in all of my testing a machine has yielded a yogurt with perfectly thick consistency.

but I know space is limited for yet another kitchen device, and there are other ways… the jar/towel method is very easy and yields good results, as does the pilot light method. still, a quick search on the internet will show you that all sorts of people do all sorts of things to incubate their yogurt base - some pour the base into a jar, then fill additional jars with boiling water, THEN place all the jars in a cooler and let it sit. there are others who insist that all you really need is an insulated thermos-type vessel…pour in the warm yogurt base, put on the lid and let sit until morning - no additional towels or jars of boiling water required.

i will warn you though, if you make yogurt without the help of a yogurt maker, you’ll want to make sure your base stays at a temperature of 100-110 degrees during its incubation period. if it gets much cooler, you’ll end up with completely pourable (as opposed to plopable) yogurt. it’ll still be yogurt, it just may not be a consistency you’re used to.

still, it’s the combination of the incubation time PLUS the fact that you boiled the milk that forces the yogurt base to firm up - so play with all of these methods (as you have time) to see what ends up working best for your liking. personally, i love my machine. and while i’m not saying you need a machine to make good yogurt, i do love the foolproofness of it.

coming soon: a post taking you beyond vanilla yogurt…we’ll discuss flavors!

———————————————

i leave you now with a shot of my very own vanilla bean yogurt. i made it myself!





ps: no, this yogurt isn’t lowfat. yes, you can make lowfat yogurt, but this post is not about lowfat yogurt. yes, you can use a commercial yogurt starter instead of actual yogurt to make, well, yogurt…but why would you? yes, you can use dry milk powder to help thicken the yogurt, and yes that allows you to maybe, probably skip the part where you boil the milk..but again, this post is not about making yogurt with dry milk. just like any food item under the sun, there are many, many, many other ways to prepare yogurt. but i’m only one lady with one blog. so, there.

in a recent post i wrote a recipe calling for magical lyle’s golden syrup.
it’s a sugar-based syrup better known in the UK than it is here, and nutritional questions aside, i love the stuff. true to its name, it’s golden in color. it’s the consistency of corn syrup and is totally delicious.

speaking of corn syrup, lyle’s golden syrup is not corn syrup. lyle’s is made from cane sugar. and lyle’s is packed in amazing tin containers and costs about 5 times more than corn syrup. BUT you can use lyle’s  in place of corn syrup in many of your recipes (note i said many and not all.) and you can also put it on pancakes. what? seriously.

i recently visited lyle’s home on the web. and i’m so glad i did. they have a recipe section and i found a recipe for something called sausage rockets. you basically glaze the sausages in a wash of soy sauce and lyle’s. okay, fine. i’ll try it.

i’ve had something on my mind for a while now, and i thought i’d share it with you. you are really lucky. you feel lucky, don’t you?

okay, here goes. i’ve been wondering whether or not it REALLY matters if you stir a kitchen concoction in one direction only as some recipes instruct. (clue #3429 that i have a lot of time on my hands AND clearly have no life.)

before turning to the internets, i thought i’d test the theory in my own kitchen. over the weekend i made 24 quarts of oregon hood strawberry jam…which means i was standing, sweaty and stirring for the majority of saturday. as i was stirring my 4th batch of jam, the whole ‘stir in one direction’ thing popped into my head.

slow-cooked jam making involves a lot of stirring - basically you want the fruit & sugar to boil without burning, so you want the heat to be gentle and you want to take your time arriving at the boil - which means stirring, stirring and more stirring. and the only way to make sure your jam has boiled enough is to wait until it is hot enough to boil so that stirring doesn’t make the boil go away.

here’s what i did to test the theory:

• just as the jam was about to reach the type of boil that wouldn’t go away with stirring, i stirred in the other direction a few strokes, then the original direction a few strokes.
• each time i did this, i noticed the jam would quickly reduce its bubbly/boiling action. it would take half a minute or so to come up to the boil again.

BUT, if i stirred in the SAME direction as the jam was about to reach the ‘big’ boil, it would:

• continue on its path to the type of boil that couldn’t be stirred away.

to further test the theory, i then waited for the type of boil that couldn’t be stirred away to be in full swing and i:

• stirred in one direction then quickly changed directions only to watch the boil wane a bit!

what do these tests prove? that stirring in one direction only simply stirs the pot, while continuously changing direction not only stirs but also incorporates more air - which can cool down your concoction enough to effect a rapid boil. incredible! and so scientific, right? yes, right.

just call me dr. sprinklefingers.

ps: when i finally did turn to the internet to prove my theory, there was a lot of talk about custards, dumplings & mayos, etc. and stirring in one direction. to be perfectly honest with you, i had already tested the theory for myself where temperature was concerned and didn’t really have the desire to wade through so & so’s crummy blog to find out what multi-directional stirring does (or doesn’t do, more likely) to custards.

in an earlier post, i reprimanded you for not saving your vanilla beans.

i hate to say it, but i’m back to do the same - and this time it’s about parmesan rinds. more specifically, the rind of a wedge of parmigiano-reggiano. no, this cheese isn’t cheap. and after you’ve used all of its salty, nutty goodness on food, why not stretch it a bit further and also put the rind to good use?

how?
good question!

after you’ve grated all of the cheese away, stick the rind in a refrigerator container and place it in the fridge. or freezer! [note: don’t forget it’s there!]

the next time you’re making anything brothy - a soup, a stock, a braise - grab that rind out of the fridge/freezer and plop it into your cooking liquid.

the rind imparts a difficult-to-describe sweet, nutty flavor…something that will elevate even a simple soup to new heights.

after your soup/stock/braise has finished cooking, simply fish the rind out - it will be a soggy (somewhat icky) mass - but it will have done its job deliciously.

don’t believe me? well, you should because many specialty grocers are now selling parmigiano-reggiano rinds by the pound. nose-to-tail eatingwithout the actual nose & tail!

and now, because you are so sweet, a recipe using parm rinds:
minestrone soup from sunset magazine (a soup we have literally eaten about one hundred times since the recipe was published. crazy, crazy, crazy good. especially if you use homemade broth.)

…that you can use your strawberry compote & strawberry syrup.

compote

• warm a scoop or two, serve it over ice cream
• homemade ice cream: as your cream base is swirling in your ice cream maker, mix in a few scoops of the compote
• slather it on a thick slice of artisan bread with butter
• mix into your morning oatmeal
• mix into plain greek yogurt
• plop a dollop onto your granola
• mix a bit with cream cheese = the most delicious strawberry cream cheese, ever
• add some to your cottage cheese
• serve along side seasoned ricotta cheese - add in some perfect bread/crackers

syrup

• use in place of maple syrup on pancakes & waffles
• pour a bit into a champagne flute and top with bubbly (cava or prosecco or champagne!)
• pour a bit into a glass and top with bubbly water (for those non-drinkers out there)
• use in place of flavored syrups in all your mixed drinks
• stir into oatmeal
• warm the syrup a bit and serve it over a brownie sundae
• use a drip or two to flavor your daily 8 glasses of water
• add a bit to steamed milk for a delicious strawberry steamer

and when all else fails: eat the compote with a spoon and drink the syrup straight.

or, if you’ve got too much of both and don’t think you can use it all within a few weeks, freeze it! both the syrup and the compote can be frozen in any freezer-safe jam jar. when you’re ready to use it, simply defrost in the fridge overnight.

just kidding about that last part, but it is so delicious that i know you’ll be tempted.

hood strawberries. the current crown jewel of every farmer’s market in oregon. and with five (5!!!) full days of sunshine reported to be ahead, it looks like the hoods may have a season longer than the 2-3 weeks originally reported. thank god for that.

i was at the farmer’s market this morning. buying my usual flat of berries (my 4th one this season.) [i told you i stock up, and i am no joke about that. i. stock. up.]

anyways, i reserved 2 lbs of this morning’s flat and the rest i washed, hulled, dried and froze. and what did i do with the reserved 2 lbs, you ask?

fantastic question. no, really. that was a great question. seriously.

here’s your answer:

hood strawberry syrup & compote

you need:

• 2 lbs hood strawberries* - washed, hulled and roughly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup vanilla sugar**
• 2 T Lyle’s Golden Syrup
• 1 t orange zest
• glug of aged balsamic vinegar

proceed as follows:

1. place all ingredients in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them.
2. turn heat up to medium-high and keep an eye on things as the strawberries begin to break down. stir often.
3. once the mixture starts to boil, keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t boil over. reduce the heat a bit and stir often.
4. let mixture boil lightly (not a spewing boil, but a delightful active boil,) for 18 minutes.
5. watch everything very closely. if your boil is too rapid, you will need less cooking time overall. if you keep it at a happy boil, you can leave it on the heat for the 18 minutes. [DO WATCH that your mixture is not turning super dark…that means it’s burning! bad!]
6. once your time is up, remove the saucepan from the heat and let mixture sit to cool off. your strawberries should be broken down at this point, but they will not simply melt into the syrup.

next up:

1. once your mixture has cooled a bit, place a fine mesh strainer or sieve over a bowl.
2. pour in your mixture. at first a lot of syrup will flow right into the bowl, then things will slow. as they slow, press the strawberries down, extracting more syrup.
3. leave the strainer suspended over the bowl for an hour or two.
4. at this point you have strawberry compote in the strainer and strawberry syrup in the bowl. two for one! buy one, get one! i love bogo!
5. scoop the compote into a container and refrigerate.
6. pour the syrup into a container and refrigerate.

both items can be frozen, but instead i suggest you eat as many pancakes as possible in the coming weeks and use a ton of strawberry syrup. and i also suggest you buy some delicious vanilla ice cream and serve it with big scoops of compote on top.*** so good it will make you crazy for strawberries.

*this recipe really, really requires a strawberry that hasn’t been cultivated to withstand travel. read: a homegrown strawberry, NOT one grown in california and then shipped to wherever you are.

**taste your berries before making this recipe. if they are perfect, then use the amount of sugar called for. a bit tart? like things sweeter? add a bit more sugar.

***more ideas for strawberry compote & syrup tomorrow!

just a few days ago we talked about desserts with crumbly tops. and just before that i shared a recipe for strawberry-rhubarb crumble. now i’m here to help you design your very own delicious fruit dessert with a crunchy crumbly top. thank goodness, right?

now, let’s get down to it. a crumble (or a crisp!) is basically a bed of yummy fruit with a topping made from a variety of baking staples. it’s thrown together and baked until bubbly, thickened and fragrant.

because it’s something you can literally throw together, a crumble is one of the most forgiving delights you can possibly bake. this forgiving nature means that crumbles are perfect for experimentation. and that’s where i come in…

design-your-own crumble

filling:

• 2-2 1/4 lbs fruit - cut into large bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup sugar (minimum - more to taste, especially if your fruit isn’t super sweet. if you like things extra sweet, you’ll definitely need more.)
• dash of salt

topping:

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 t kosher salt
• 6 ounces cold, unsalted butter, cut into smallish cubes

prepare the filling:

1. mix all filling ingredients together.

prepare the topping:

1. in a bowl, mix together the flours, oats, sugar, salt and butter. using your fingertips, smear the butter into the other ingredients until you come to the point where the mixture will stay clumped together if you squeeze it. it will look mealy, and you do want it clumpy.

prepare to bake:

preheat oven to 375.

1. butter a baking dish - something smaller than a 9x13 if you like your crumble to have more fruit in each serving.
2. scrape the filling into the baking dish.
3. top with AT LEAST half of the topping. you can use more if you, like me, prefer the topping to the fruit.
4. put the dish in the oven and let it bake for 45 minutes, minimum. you want the fruit to be bubbling vigorously - and you want it to bubble until those bubbles thicken and kind of burst open (instead of bubbling rapidly like something that looks like boiling water.)

easy, right? you mix the filling together, you rub the topping together, you put it in a dish and you bake it. done!

now that you’ve got the basics, let’s talk about fruit fillings. most fruits will work in a crumble, but these are my favorites:

• blueberries
• peaches
• nectarines
• plums/pluots
• blackberries/marionberries
• raspberries
• strawberries
• rhubarb

i often find i like the results of a crumble made of a mixture of fruits much more than i do one made of, say, just blueberries. here are my favorite fruit combinations:

• blueberry/peach (white or yellow, but white are my favorites!)
• peach/plum
• blackberry/nectarine (white or yellow, but white are my favorites!)
• peach/raspberry
• strawberry/rhubarb
• blackberry/raspberry/peach

now that you’ve got the fruit down, let’s talk about the various flavorings you can add to your fruit filling. in addition to the sugar called for in the basic recipe, what about:

• scraping the seeds out of a vanilla bean, then mixing them with the filling
• orange zest - start with at least a teaspoon, adjust to taste
• balsamic vinegar - start with a tablespoon, adjust to taste
• cinnamon & other favorite spices - start with a teaspoon, adjust to taste

you’ve picked your fruit. you’ve settled on flavors. now check out these variations for your crumbly top:

• cinnamon - a teaspoon, sprinkle it in and combine as described in recipe (omit or use less if you’ve also added it to your filling)
• shredded coconut - 1/4 cup, toss it in and combine as described in recipe
• chopped, lightly toasted nuts - 1/4 - 1/2 cup (hazelnuts are delicious, just try to remove the bitter skins first.)
• wheat germ - 1/4 cup adds a delightful extra crunch

i plan to make at least one crumble every week of the summer. who’s with me? you? oh, good.

[white peach & blueberry crumble]