Days 6 & 7 - The Watched Cream Never Rises

Be good ya'll!

I've started into even more dairy adventures.  After the success I had with the mozzarella cheese and ricotta, I've decided to branch out into butter.  Apparently its just as easy to make as cheese.  The only problem is that I have to wait for the cream to rise to the top of my local raw milk.  I'm guessing it doesn't help that I open the fridge about every 5 minutes to check on it!

But... I've finally come up with a recipe that Rocks!

I found a bag of tomatoes left over from last summer's garden in the bottom of my freezer.  You would have thought I had just found a winning lottery ticket.  One hour later and I had a decent tomato sauce.

Gee...what to make with tomato sauce, ricotta cheese, local grass fed ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and a huge bunch of of local kale?

Noodleless Kale Lasagna of course!

So I chopped up the Kale and some cabbage into bite size pieces and sauteed in garlic.
Cooked the ground beef with a couple of tablespoons of Italian seasoning mix and onion (locally available this season at the Palafox Market)
Mixed 8 oz of ricotta, 4 oz mozzarella, two eggs and more Italian spices.

Layer 2 x
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 ground beef mix
1/2 ricotta cheese mix
small handful mozzarella cheese grated
1/2 of the greens

Finish with more tomato sauce and a handful of mozzarella cheese
I know - sounds great doesn't it - and it was

Day 3 redux and Day 4

Day 3 redux

So on day 3 I didn't really cook anything different.  I had Day 2 leftovers for lunch and Day 3 leftovers for dinner.  I wanted to point out my Breakfast, however,  I think this is what is meant in the Bible about a Land overflowing with milk and honey.  I found frozen blueberries from last years garden, reheated with East Hill Honey, my homemade yogurt (best in the world), and add more East Hill Honey.  Yummy

Day 4

Started with a trip to the Palafox Market.  I missed out on some greenhouse hydroponic tomatoes by about  5 minutes.  I did an initial walk through of the market to see what was available.  Saw the tomatoes and made a mental note to go and get them.. By the time I got back they were gone and I was mad!  It may not seem like much but tomatoes from the supermarket are off limits so I got pretty excited by the thought of fresh tomatoes.  Made up for it by picking up some green sweet onions.  Also stopped by the booth of Green Cedars Farm and made arrangements for some lamb. It won't be available until the third week of March (about the last week of lent) but I'm sure by then I will be desperate for some alternate protein source.

Amy Moss came over for some milk fun this afternoon.  I've sourced out some local milk but can't find any local cheeses. Apparently there is a cheese producer over near Elberta, AL but its not carried in any local grocery store.  It is served at the Pensacola Bay Brewery.  I'm hoping to stop by there soon for local brew and local cheese.

Went by our local craft wine/cheese making shoppe (The Shady Lady) and picked up a cheese making kit. Guaranteed to make mozzarella or roccotta cheese in 30 minutes.  Amy Moss came over to help.  We broke out the Paw Paw's raw milk from McDavid, FL and set to work making cheese.  The first batch of Mozzarella went OK but didn't become a string-like as anticipated.  The rocotta  cheese came out great.  We decided to try one more batch of mozzerella cheese - It came out great!!.  I am officially a cheese maker!  Luckily Amy Also showed up with a couple of bottles of Smokey Plum wine by my favorite Vitner - Joe Moss.  I don't know how Joe made this wine but it is some of the smoothest local wine you could possibly imagine.  It is light smooth and mellow with the perfect balance of fruit.  Two Thumbs Up for this Hatton House vintage!

I think Dinner tonight will be leftovers, wine and cheese.

Day 1 Redux

Day 1 of the lenten locavore experiment finished strong.

A field trip to Everman's
Deciding I needed to expand my availability of local food products, I headed to Everman's in downtown Pensacola.  I was immediately dismayed at the lack of local products.  There were no local veggies in the grocery area at all!  I had a conversation with a nice lady who calmed me down.  She took me on a tour of the store to point out all the local products.  I'm still dismayed at the small quantity of local food items available.  But it is winter and many farmers have lower production during this time.  I was able to buy a small selection of items that were grown or produced locally.

As you can see I've hit several major food groups.

While I was there, a local farmer brought in some produce. I bought one of everything he had:  cabbage, kale, and collards.  I am growing collards in my garden but these were all very lovely.

I also settled on some Keen's Beans for coffee.  It is sourced from Costa Rica (one of my favorite countries) but is roasted here in Pensacola.  It may be a bit of a compromise but I don't think I could live without my coffee.

I included a bottle of Mardis Gras Red from Perdido Vineyards because it seemed to connect to the theme of this experiment.  In the future I intend to hit up my favorite winery for locavore beverages (Joe Moss).

Next there is a pound of ground beef from Hastings Farm in Bay Minette, AL.  I can already tell that getting a variety of protein will be hard to source locally.  Everman's doesn't carry any local meat chicken.  I produce my own eggs.  Soon I'm going to hit up some of my favorite anglers/spear hunters for fish.

One of my favorite finds was the raw milk.  Paw Paw's raw milk from McDavid, FL.  Now before anyone chastises me about raw milk, you should  know that I'm mainly using it for yogurt.  The yogurt making process requires a heating of 185 F.  This is plenty to pasturize the milk - you have to for yogurt to be sure that only your bacterial innoculant is active.  There's quite a bit of debate about raw milk.  Some say it is easier to digest, others say it is a health hazard.  You can't buy it for human consumption.  This milk was labeled for "pet food".  However, it is obviously intended for human consumption.  If you want to buy this local milk and are worried about contamination; it is easy to pasturize you own milk.  Just heat carefully (lots of stirring) to 161 F for 15 seconds (or 145 for 30 minutes).  This is a much lower temperature than industrialized pasturization and will leave proteins much less affected.

Thanks to my brother Rusty Pritchard for the gift of a Yogotherm for yogurt making.

It turned out great!

Next a jar of pizza sauce.  I know - strange.  But it is locally produced in Mary Esther, FL and should provide a lovely tomato flavor.  Not in season but I'm all for canning and preserving.  Plus its another chance to support a local business.

Finally I want to mention the honey.  This is a really local product from East Hill Honey.  I was really pleased to find something produced that near.  Its raw honey pollinated from local flowers.  The health benefits of this are enormous - plus it tastes great! I did a side by side comparison with some storebrand stuff I still had.  The local raw honey is vastly superior.

All in all a decent haul from Everman's.  Should hold be over until the Farmer's Market this weekend. (I hope).

Dinner - stir fry of cabbage, collards, and Kale with a few sweet potatoes from my garden.  Paired up with sweet red wine.