Winter just hasn't been that...winter-y around here. All of the area bulbs have been halfway out since mid-January, and I noticed some daffodils in full sun blooming last week. The temperatures are still bouncing between actually cold, and quite spring-like, but I have to remember to hold my horses when it comes to spring planting etc. My neighbors did think I was a little crazy for putting together the new garden bed in the beginning of February, but now it will be ready when the weather is!
As it is still winter, I'm trying to go through the stock of food built up in our freezer and pantry. Last fall we purchased a decent amount of beef from Oakland Green, an old farm/ B&B about an hour northeast of us. Hubby actually went with me (likely to restrain my spending, but he actually chose the more expensive cuts!) and we had a lovely time - resulting in bringing home enough meat to fill half of our freezer. We've since gone through the roasts and ground beef, and I have been slowly incorporating the more "interesting" cuts (offal), which are cheaper and require some creativity to make appetizing. Liver is still not high on my list, and tongue does add a different taste (even when slow-cooked in BBQ sauce), and the heart also makes a decent stew. It's nice to try different things that we may otherwise not have, and I like the idea of making use of/eating the whole creature. The freezer is the emptiest its been in a long time, save for stock, pizza sauce and even some ice cubes (which makes the hubby very happy).
My Reblochon is aging nicely in our corner (by the poorly insulated back door -thus nice and cool for cheese aging!) and I've been learning a lot along the way. The main thing I learned is that brushed rind cheeses are actually not that easy, and possibly not the next step I should have taken! After the cheese is pressed and salted, it needs to be flipped and wiped down with a brine every other day, and I guess such diligence is not my strong suite. I ended up battling some vicious fuzzy blue mold (not the yummy good kind!) and I think I delayed my cheese's proper aging in the process. In the past week it has finally started to develop its characteristic orange hue, and my blue arch nemesis seems to have been put on the back burner.
Just to prove that things haven't stopped fermenting here, I made my first batch of Kombucha, from a scoby I grew myself! I don't like the idea af spending $20+ to purchase a starter (and then what if something goes wrong?!?), so I found a method to grow it from one store-bought bottle ($3 - much better!). It's neighbor the sourdough starter is starting to behave (and smell/taste) better, mostly because I've learned how to better take care of it (aka cook with it more often!). I just pre-baked a couple of sourdough pizza crusts for dinner tonight - to be topped with homemade mozzeralla and pizza sauce! I'm still working on acheiving the proper crust and flavor when baking sourdough loaves, but they are steadily improving in both departments.
Hubby does not always appreciate all the healthy foods I keep around here (and therefore force upon him), so for Valentine's Day, he received a basket of goodies that don't normally make it through our door. Candies and chips were the majority, but some homemade chocolate chip cookies seemed to also go over well. The flowers he got me are still doing well, but the chocolate and banana bread beer are now only a memory. ;)
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