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Green Tea Blender Soap

20 May

Green Tea Blender Soap from Rural Spin

This blender soap is wonderful for the home soap maker who wants to make soap for home use and to share with family and friends. This recipe makes almost half a pound of soap, or about 8 bars. It is a mild soap that has skin conditioning qualities and a nice bubbly lather that feels pleasant against the skin. This soap can be used in the shower and at the sink–it is mild enough for daily use. And, because you’re making it yourself, you can make it smell like whatever you wish!

Note: If you like the idea of green tea soap but don’t want to make it yourself, I sell this bar (with enhanced skin-conditioning ingredients like shea butter) at my Etsy shop with free shipping. You can find the green tea soap for sale here.

SOAP MAKING PRIMER

Just to get this out of the way, there is no way you can make soap without lye. Soap is basically defined as the chemical reaction between lye (a base) and fats (an acid) called saponification. This chemical reaction can’t take place without lye, which means no soap.

There is no way you can make soap without lye, shown here along with tea made from distilled water.

There is no way you can make soap without lye, shown here along with tea made from distilled water.

That said, after this chemical reaction is complete, there is no longer any lye left in the soap–it has all been made into soap along with your fats! This soap recipe is mild on the skin, and when properly aged for six weeks before use, no lye remains.

SAFETY

Lye is a caustic base, which means it will burn you if you get it on your skin. Safety glasses should be worn; a pair of safety gloves and a long-sleeved shirt wouldn’t hurt, either. As another safety precaution, an open bottle of vinegar should always be at your side when making soap. Vinegar is a mild acid, and it will neutralize the lye if you get some on you. If you do, just pour the vinegar straight onto your skin.

Using a blender for soap making is very fast and easy, but extra caution should be practiced when doing so. As you may have experienced, sometimes blenders can “burp” after mixing liquid ingredients, releasing trapped air bubbles that exist in the mix. You must be very cautious of this, and make sure you do not allow any splashing or “burpage” to be released into your face! Always shake or tap the blender to release these potential large air bubbles before removing the lid from blended soap.

Your ingredients include olive and coconut oils, lye, salt, sugar, distilled water, and a tea bag.

Your ingredients include olive and coconut oils, lye, salt, sugar, distilled water, and a tea bag.

Here are safety precautions to follow:

  • ALWAYS pour your lye into the water and NEVER pour water into lye. Doing so will cause an explosion that will definitely ruin your day, and potentially send you to the hospital
  • Wear eye protection
  • Protect your skin from splatter and splashing
  • Keep pets and children away from your lye at all times
  • Always keep the lid on the blender when it is in motion
  • After your soap has traced, tap the blender (still with the lid on) on your kitchen counter to release any air bubbles before removing the lid.

INGREDIENTS

When you pour your tea/lye solution in with your oil, you will see it settle. After blending for about 15 to 30 seconds, it will trace.

When you pour your tea/lye solution in with your oil, you will see it settle. After blending for about 15 to 30 seconds, it will trace.

Note: All ingredients for soap making are measured by weight, not volume. Since you are working with a chemical reaction, weights provide a more accurate measure than volume. If you plan on making small batch soaps at home often, invest in a digital postal scale, which is available from any office supply store. They vary widely in price, so just get the cheapest one available; it will be accurate enough for your soap making.

  • Green Tea: Studies have documented the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of green tea when applied topically . Green tea applied to the skin can can reduce sun damage and help skin problems like papulopustular rosacea. However, in this recipe the benefits will be limited as exposure to air decreases the effectiveness of green tea for these purposes. For this reason, consider the green tea in this recipe to be more for color, and is an optional ingredient. You can also substitute black tea if you’d like.
  • Distilled Water: Using distilled water is not mandatory, but undistilled water will incorporate the minerals and chemicals in the water to your soap, which can cause discoloration and other issues. You can buy gallons of distilled water at any grocery store.
  • Olive oil: Olive oil is a wonderful moisturizer for the skin because it attracts external moisture to the skin and holds it there, while at the same time providing a barrier against your internal moisture from escaping. And it does not block natural skin functions. When it comes to soap making, the cheaper the olive oil, the better. Olive pomace oil (very low grade) is wonderful if you can find it. Otherwise, just purchase a cheap brand of olive oil. But beware! Many manufacturers are diluting their olive oils with other oils to decrease costs. Make sure the oil you are buying is 100% pure olive oil. 

    Empty drink containers make excellent molds for soap making. One container will hold one batch of blender soap.

    Empty drink containers from coconut water or nut milks make excellent molds for soap making. One container will hold one batch of blender soap.

  • Coconut oil: This is very popular in soap making and with good reason. Coconut oil has wonderful lathering and moisturizing properties, and makes a good hard bar of soap.
  • Sugar: Increases the bubbly lather
  • Salt: Increases a soap’s hardness
  • Essential Oils: Feel free to use your favorite scent in this soap. I like to use lemongrass or lemon because it fits the “tea time” theme, but use whatever you like best. It is highly recommended, however, that you only use pure essential oils for soap making; synthetic scents do not always react well in the soap making process, and could cause your batch to fail (you’d know it if you saw it).
  • Molds: I find that the best molds for home soap making are empty nut milk, coconut water, or similar containers. Just rinse them out thoroughly before use, and cut the tops off so you can easily pour your soap into them. After the soap is hard, simply tear the box away and recycle.

RECIPE

This recipe will fill a standard-sized blender about half way full. You really don’t want to make any more than this because you want enough room in the blender for the liquid to move and mix after you turn the blender on. Because there is lye here, oozing soap out of the blender is not something to encourage.

  • 1 green tea bag (you can use black tea)
  • Olive oil: 14 ounces
  • Coconut oil: 6 ounces
  • Distilled water: 7.6 ounces
  • Lye: 2.8 ounces
  • Salt: 1 tsp
  • Sugar: 1 tsp
  • Essential oils: 2 tsp
  • 1 empty box from, say, coconut water or nut milk (at least 32 ounces in size)
When the soap traces, it will change color and become opaque. A bit of soap drizzled from a spoon will remain on the surface for a few seconds before sinking back into the soap.

When the soap traces, it will change color and become opaque. A bit of soap drizzled from a spoon will remain on the surface of the soap for a few seconds before sinking back into the soap. It will leave a trace!

Measure your lye into a small bowl and set aside.

Get your essential oil bottle ready with the lid open and the dropper popped out. Have your teaspoon at the ready, too.

Measure your distilled water into a container, then heat it until it is warm (if you wish you can heat it in a microwave). Pop the tea bag into the water and let it steep until the tea is brewed. When cool, transfer the tea into a jar with a lid. Make sure you remove the tea bag, squeezing it thoroughly to extract all of the liquid.

Wearing your protective gear, slowly pour your premeasured lye into your tea. The addition of the lye will cause a few things: 1) your solution will get cloudy and 2) it will get very hot. This is normal.

Pour your soap into a prepared mold such as this.

Pour your soap into a prepared mold such as this.

Leave your lye solution sit until it reaches about 90F (this may take a few hours) and when the lye is completely dissolved in the tea.

Measure your oils into a saucepan and heat over low heat until your coconut oil melts.

You want the temperature of your lye/tea solution and your oils to be the same, about 90F.

Pour your oil into your blender, then add your lye/tea solution. Using the blender on the lowest, slowest setting possible, blend for about 15 seconds.

Stop the blender, shake it to remove any air bubbles then remove the lid. Add in your salt and sugar, and your essential oils. Place the lid back on your container.

Blend for an addition 15 to 30 seconds, or until your soap traces fully (to check for tracing, dip a spoon into your soap and drizzle it over your soap; if your soap leaves a mark (“trace”) behind that takes a few seconds to sink back in, trace has been reached.

Pour your soap into your mold and carefully tap your mold on the counter to release tiny air bubbles. Because blender soaps trap a lot of air in the mix, some air bubbles are inevitable  in your final bar and tapping the mold, as you would a cake pan, will help minimize this. Leave your soap sit undisturbed overnight or for about 8 hours.

After it is hard, tear off your mold and slice your soap into bars using a knife.

Soap should age 6 weeks before use. Frequently people leave soap sit for only three weeks but this aging process is important because the chemical reaction between the lye and fats is not yet complete at three weeks. Leaving the soap sit until the chemical reaction is complete will:

  • Make the bar harder, which means it will last longer
  • Make the soap more mild for your skin
The bar on the right was made using green tea, and the bar on the left was made using black tea. Notice the color difference and the different shapes two types of molds made. Otherwise, the soaps are the same.

The bar on the right was made using green tea, and the bar on the left was made using black tea. Notice the color difference and the different shapes two types of molds made. Besides shape and color, the soaps are the same.

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Rural Spin

 
5 Comments

Posted by on May 20, 2013 in Hobbies and Arts, Home and Living, Homesteading, Recipes, Saving Money, Soap Making

 

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10 Reasons to Ditch Morning Coffee for Morning Cocoa

17 Apr
Cocoa powder has amazing health benefits, and as a morning beverage can easily replace coffee.

Cocoa powder has amazing health benefits, and as a morning beverage can easily replace coffee.

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Know what my beverage of choice is in the morning? A hot cup of cocoa. But it’s not the calorie-laden version you might be thinking of…it’s the healthy version that does the same job (for me) as coffee but with more health benefits. Plus, I think hot cocoa has a superior taste to coffee. And, yes, cocoa powder does contain caffeine, but not as much as coffee.

And while a Starbucks 16oz hot chocolate has 370 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 50 grams of carbs, this recipe for 16 ounces of sweetened hot cocoa is only 54 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 15 grams of carbohydrates. It’s only when people add fat to cocoa that it becomes, well, fattening.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF COCOA

We have known about the health benefits of cocoa for centuries. And now we have dozens of scientific studies to back up this historic knowledge. We can thank the high concentration of polyphenols (especially flavanols) in cocoa for these health benefits, even when compared to levels found in other sources like red wine and tea. Here is a list of some of the many health benefits of regular cocoa consumption:

  1. Cocoa and chocolate can cut your rate of heart disease, and cut the death rate of heart-attack survivors.
  2. Cocoa can help decrease the risk of stroke.
  3. Cocoa can decrease blood pressure, including in pregnant women.
  4. Cocoa has the potential to improve kidney function.
  5. The caffeine in cocoa can protect your skin against sun damage and skin cancer.
  6. Older folks who eat chocolate (and wine or tea) have higher cognitive abilities than those who don’t.
  7. Consuming cocoa powder can increase cognitive function and may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
  8. Chocolate can relieve stress.
  9. Eating cocoa or chocolate can increase feelings of satiety, which can help with weight loss.
  10. If you’re sick, cocoa can relieve coughs almost as well as codeine.

HEALTHY HOT COCOA

Cocoa powder and hot water are all that is needed for a tasty morning beverage, but you can add sweetener and milk to taste!
Cocoa powder and hot water are all that is needed for a tasty morning beverage, but you can add sweetener and milk to taste!
  • 16 ounces of hot water
  • 2 tablespoons real unsweetened cocoa powder (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon honey (or more to taste)
  • 1/4 cup milk (optional…I use coconut milk)

While your hot water is boiling, place your dry cocoa powder in the bottom of your cup. After your water boils, pour about 2 tablespoons of the hot water into the cup (if you use more or less cocoa powder, just use an equal amount of hot water here).

Using a spoon, stir the cocoa and water until smooth, to eliminate any lumps. Then fill your cup the rest of the way with hot water.

Add sweetener and milk to taste. For an extra treat, add a bit of vanilla, almond, or hazelnut extract per cup. That’s it! Drink away! What a way to start the morning!

RESOURCES

I used these sources (and others) for my research on the health benefits of cocoa. Click on each study title to be sent to the original article:

Chocolate consumption and mortality following a first acute myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program

Blood pressure and endothelial function in healthy, pregnant women after acute and daily consumption of flavanol-rich chocolate: a pilot, randomized controlled trial

Effect of dark chocolate on renal tissue oxygenation as measure by BOLD-MRI in healthy volunteers

Effects of chocolate, cocoa, and flavan-3-ols on cardivascular health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials

Flavonoid-rich cocoa consumption affects multiple cardiovascular risk factors in a meta-analysis of short-term studies

Increased caffeine intake is associated with reduced risk of basal cell carcinoma of the skin

Chemopreventive effects of cocoa polyphenols on chronic diseases

The neuroprotective effects of cocoa flavanol and its influence on cognitive performance

A reduced-calorie dietary pattern including a daily sweet snack promotes body weight reduction and body composition improvements in premenopausal women who are overweight and obese: a pilot study

Theobromine inhibits sensory nerve activation and cough

10 important health reasons to replace morning coffee with morning hot cocoa from Rural Spin

 
7 Comments

Posted by on April 17, 2013 in Home Remedies & Apothecary, Recipes

 

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Slow Cooker Fruit and Oat Breakfast

27 Jan
Overnight cooking in a crock caramelize apples, honey, cinnamon, lemon juice, and coconut oil into a tasty, healthy breakfast.

Overnight cooking in a slow cooker caramelizes ingredients into a tasty, healthy breakfast.

The beauty of this recipe is that it is very adaptable; you can substitute different ingredients depending upon what you have on hand and make the most of personal taste preferences. This is also very easy and allows you to have a healthy, hot, hearty, and delicious breakfast ready for you when you wake up in the morning. Kids can even serve themselves.

I love the caramelization that occurs with this method — it creates a very deep and satisfying flavor. A slow cooker (Crock-Pot) is needed to create the depth of flavor, and of course the convenience of having a hot breakfast ready for you before your eyes have even adjusted to the morning light.

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INGREDIENTS AND HOW-TO

(This recipe makes two large servings, or four smaller servings as part of a larger breakfast menu)

Into a slow cooker unceremoniously toss and stir well:

My dog, River, supervising food photography.

My dog, River, supervising food photography.

  • 3 apples, which you have washed, cored, and chopped into bite-sized chunks (no need to skin)
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 to 3 tablespoon honey (I don’t like things very sweet, so I only use 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon water (you may want to add more water depending upon how moist you want it; I like mine on the dry side so add another tablespoon of water if you want something more moist)

Set your crock pot to low, put the lid on, and let it cook overnight. In the morning, place into bowls and top with a healthy dollop of pureed sweet potatoes — I use organic canned sweet potatoes, you can use organic canned pumpkin, too, which is very tasty, or of course make your own! It is also tasty with yogurt or a bit of milk.

Don’t feel limited to apples; I frequently make it with mixed berries, bananas, or nuts depending upon what I have on hand. It is also very tasty with a healthy tablespoon of peanut butter added!

 

 
5 Comments

Posted by on January 27, 2013 in Great for Kids, Recipes

 

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Quick and Tasty Pancake Cups

10 Nov

About 25 minutes (including baking time) is all you need for these tasty and impressive pancake cups

I whipped up these individual cups this morning and in about 25 minutes (including cooking time) I had a breakfast Martha would be envious of. These are sort of a cross between a popover and a pancake, and they are quick, easy, and look very impressive for guests and yourself! You can even eat them with your fingers, which makes them great for brunches, parties, and more. Fill them with anything you want, from fresh fruit to jams to chocolate. Get creative with your fillings. A ham and cheese filling would be great, too!

Your batter should be smooth and run easily, but not be too thin. When you pour the batter, a drizzle should be very briefly visible on the top before melding with the rest of the batter.

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes 6 pancake cups. Adapted from this Basic Popover recipe)

  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tbls butter, melted
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp extract of your choice (vanilla, orange, or almond are nice)
  • 1 tsp lemon or orange zest (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 400 F (425 for higher altitude cooking). Take a muffin tin and butter each cup well. Place all of your ingredients (make sure the melted butter is cooled a tad so it doesn’t cook the eggs) in a blender. Be sure the flour goes in last and is on top of the other ingredients; if you put the flour in first much of it will clump in the bottom of the blender. Whiz for 30 seconds or so or until all of the lumps are gone and the batter is smooth  Divide your batter by pouring into your muffin tin in equal amounts.

The batter will puff up quite a bit in the oven, then fall when cooled.

Pop into the oven for 15 minutes, or until the tops are just starting to brown. You will see these puff up quite a bit in the oven — this is good! When they are done, remove them from the oven and they will immediately start to fall. This is good, too! They will fall until cups are formed in each pancake.

Take a knife and run around the inside of each muffin cup to loosen the pancake cups. Take a fork and release them from the bottom–they may stick a tad so be careful.

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Place them on plates and fill the cups with whatever filling you wish! Here are some suggestions:

The resulting cups can be filled with all manner of sweet or savory fillings.

  • Jam
  • Fresh fruit
  • Apple or fruit butter
  • Carmelized nuts
  • Jam mixed with an equal amount of plain, Greek-style yogurt
  • Sweeten plain, Greek-style yogurt to taste, and add nuts
  • A simple topping of melted butter and confectioners sugar
  • A simple drizzle of chocolate sauce or maple syrup
  • Diced ham with a slice of Swiss cheese, popped under the broiler for a few moments until the cheese melts
 
6 Comments

Posted by on November 10, 2012 in Holidays, Recipes

 

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Basic Hearty Stew, Frugal and Tasty

29 Oct

Stew is the quintessential frugal meal for cool weather, for meat eaters and vegetarians alike.

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Nothing says “satisfying meal” like a flavorful stew on a cold evening. And since stew is geared towards less tender cuts of meat, the dish is also frugal. From Hungarian goulash to the Nigerian vegetable stew called ewedu, all cultures have a basic stew specialty all their own.

Paired with homemade bread, cornbread, rice, or noodles, you can stretch your dollars even further with zero expense of flavor. Here’s a recent elk stew I made that turned out delicious, but you can use beef or even just focus on hearty mushrooms if you’re a vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb elk stewing meat cut into bite-sized chunks (you can use beef or even lamb stew meat)
  • 2 lbs soup bones (I used beef soup bones, but use what you can get readily and cheaply)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped sweet peppers (I used mini sweet peppers, but you can use whatever kind you’d like)
  • 1 lb mushrooms, sliced coarsly
  • 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 cups stock (you can use vegetable, beef, or chicken stock. Basically, whatever stock you have on hand to give the stew a deeper flavor)
  • 2 tbls olive oil
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 tbl paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tbl ground sundried tomatoes (just take sundried tomatoes and grind them fine, either in a coffee grinder or using your blender as a grinder. See my post on making mushroom powder for the how-to on this: Homemade Mushroom Powder)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Additional water as needed through cooking
  • Serve with cooked rice or noodles to taste (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Place your olive oil in a dutch oven and heat on a medium flame. Saute your onion and garlic until soft and just starting to brown around the edges. Add your mushrooms and peppers, and saute until soft.

Remove the vegetables to a bowl, add more oil if necessary, and brown your stew meat on all sides.

Deglaze the pot with the wine (or a bit of stock if you’re leaving the wine out). Put your vegetables back in the pot along with the meat. Add your Worcestershire sauce, paprika, cloves, and bay leaf. Add your soup bones and your stock. Add additional water if needed to cover the bones completely.

Simmer gently for the first hour with the lid on. Then remove the lid and simmer to continue cooking. Add water as necessary to make sure the meat cooks long enough to soften, and to allow the soup bones to give up whatever meat was on them. This can take several hours.

When the meat is tender, allow the stew to continue to simmer uncovered until the liquid is reduced by about half. The broth will have a wonderful flavor and color at this point. Taste to correct the seasoning, by adding salt and pepper if desired.

If you’re using a slow cooker for the actual cooking of the stew, you will need to finish the stew on the stove top to allow the broth to reduce sufficiently. Just boil the stew until reduced; perhaps 30 minutes.

You can serve in a bowl alongside a plate of bread, or place a serving of noddles or rice in a bowl, and serve the stew on top. This option would really help you stretch your dollar.

This is a tasty stew, and it really is worth having ground sun-dried tomatoes on hand to add to various dishes. You can can this using a pressure canner; follow the various canning instructions given at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on October 29, 2012 in Recipes, Saving Money

 

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Serious Blue Corn Cornbread

21 Oct

A pan of blue corn cornbread. It jumped into tummies before I had a chance to take a photo out of the oven.

This is cornbread with the taste of full-on corn, and I like to use blue cornmeal because it has a higher protein content than yellow cornmeal, but you can use yellow for this recipe if you’d prefer. This recipe is also very quick and easy for everyday meals. The bread is very basic and rustic (but still moist), and is meant to be so (and since there is no wheat flour, it’s gluten-free). As an accompaniment to stews or hardy winter meals, this cornbread makes a great addition. But I’ve also eaten it for breakfast with eggs, or just a side of jam and butter.

INGREDIENTS 

  • 2 cups blue cornmeal (finely ground)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 3 medium to large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk or sour milk (or take your milk and add 1 tablespoon white vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes)
  • 1 to 2 tbls maple syrup, honey, or molasses
  • 3 tbls bacon fat or coconut oil

Blue corn has a wonderful, deep corn flavor and a higher protein value than yellow corn. But you can use yellow cornmeal just the same.

INSTRUCTIONS

It is better to use a cast iron skillet for this recipe; you’ll notice the difference in the taste! But you can use a rectangular baking dish of appropriate size, too.

Take your skillet (or rectangular baking dish) and place the bacon fat or coconut oil in it. Place in the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

While the pan is heating, sift together your dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix your eggs and buttermilk/sour milk well.

Add your wet mixture into your flour mixture and combine.

By this time your oven should be pre-heated. Remove the pan from the oven and swirl the melted fat/oil well to make sure the pan is covered. Then pour the remaining fat into your batter and blend until combined.

Pour your batter into your skillet and return to the oven, baking until a tester inserted into the bread comes out clean, about 30 minutes (depending upon your oven).

 
9 Comments

Posted by on October 21, 2012 in Recipes

 

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Homemade Cottage Cheese, 1839 Style

29 Jul

In 1839, making cottage cheese was just a matter of leaving raw milk sit out until it formed curds, then strain overnight.

First, let me say that this won’t work unless you have raw milk available to you. The reason is that raw milk never really goes “bad,” it just sours. You can use it months after it’s left the cow (properly handled, of course). Pasteurized milk, on the other hand, has had its molecular structure altered, and because of that it doesn’t ever sour, it putrefies. This means if it goes bad, it’s not edible. I know, I know, this happenstance eliminates the possibility for many to make cottage cheese using this method, but it’s still interesting to see how people made food 175 years ago.

But if you do have access to raw milk, this makes a wonderful creamy cottage cheese that I love. It’s creamier than store-bought cottage cheese, and the “lumps” are very small. The flavor is a combination of cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese. It doesn’t taste like store-bought cottage cheese because the store-bought stuff is cultured, which gives it a specific flavor. You can make cultured cottage cheese at home, too, if you purchase the culture from an outside source, but this recipe allows you to make your own like folks made it at home long ago. And, it’s easy as pie!

INGREDIENTS & HOW-TO

  • 1/2 gallon raw milk
  • salt (optional)
  • butter (optional)

Raw milk forms curds on its own after it sits in a warm location for several hours.

Take your milk out of the refrigerator and set it in a warm corner (room temperature or higher) until curds form, which will take between 12 and 24 hours, depending upon the temperature of your room. You’ll see the curd development easily as the curds will separate naturally from the whey, as seen at right.

Once the curds form, strain them overnight, making sure not to press them. This can be done in different ways. I took a colander and placed it inside a larger bowl, and then poured my curds into a jelly bag. I left the jelly bag sit in the colander in the refrigerator overnight (you don’t need to refrigerate it). If you don’t have a jelly bag, you can just line your colander with a kitchen towel. Or if you don’t want to save your whey, you can secure a jelly bag or towel (tied at the ends) to the kitchen sink spigot and just let it drip into the sink.

The next day, turn your cottage cheese into a clean bowl. At this point you can choose to add more cream if you want it super creamy (I don’t find this necessary), butter for additional richness, or salt or spices to taste. I like it plain, myself. I just dump the cheese into a bowl and call it good.

I eat my cottage cheese with fruit and nuts, and I use it in recipes for things like homemade ranch dressing, dips, or anywhere I’d use cream cheese, sour cream, or sometimes plain yogurt. It has a wonderful flavor, and is so easy to make that I use cottage cheese in many ways. It is really only limited by your imagination!

Note: The references for this came from  the 1839 publication, “The Kentucky Housewife,” by Mrs. Lettice Bryan. The original text reads: “Take a large bowl of milk* that is just beginning to turn sour, cover it and set it in the corner where it will keep lukewarm till if forms a curd. Then place a linen cloth over a sieve; put in your curd, fold over the corners of the cloth to keep out the dust, and let it drain till next morning, without pressing it in the least. Then turn it in an earthen dish, add as much rich, sweet cream as will make it a little soft; add a large spoonful of butter to each pint of the curd, mixing it in a very little salt, and work it with a spoon till th whole is very smoothly mixed. Then put it in a china bowl, and set it in a cool place till the tea-table is ready.”

 
17 Comments

Posted by on July 29, 2012 in Fun Experiments, Great for Kids, Homesteading, Recipes, Saving Money

 

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Wild Edible Cookery: Milkweed Flower Risotto

21 Jun

Milkweed flower buds taste like a cross between asparagus, peas, and artichokes. They make a wonderful addition to a risotto.

I can’t say enough about the tasty versatility that is the edible milkweed flower bud. They are a delicious cross between asparagus, peas, and artichokes and can be had for free if you know where to look (but as always don’t be greedy and over-harvest any wild edible–in this case the monarch butterflies rely on them for survival). While several parts of certain milkweed plants are edible, the flower buds offer a treat in early summer and can be either eaten on their own with butter, or incorporated into other dishes such as this delicious risotto recipe we made up in the Rural Spin kitchen. Be sure to read our ‘spin, Respect for the Yummy Milkweed for more info on how to process milkweed flower buds for eating.

INGREDIENTS (about 4 servings)

Milkweed flower buds before processing. They need to be processed twice to remove bitterness and alkaloids. After that, they are delicious.

  • 2 cups processed milkweed flower buds (again, see Respect for the Yummy Milkweed on how to do this)
  • 1 1/2 cups arborio rice (if you don’t use this kind of rice, the recipe just won’t work)
  • 4 cups chicken stock (you can also use vegetable stock if you want a vegetarian option)
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced very thin or chopped finely
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional, or more to taste)
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or more…if you want)
  • salt and pepper to taste

HOW-TO

Place your stock and wine in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Reduce heat to a slow simmer — you want it to just stay hot. You’ll then want a heavy-bottomed, shallow pan — like a large, deep frying pan — for making your risotto:

Processed milkweed flower buds are added after the rice is fully cooked, to incorporate and heat through.

  • Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your pan over medium heat until bubbly. Toss in your garlic and and red pepper flakes and saute for about two minutes until the garlic is soft.Toss in your rice and stir thoroughly to coat the rice with the butter and oil. Saute for about two minutes, stirring constantly, until the grains are lightly toasted.
  • Start adding your hot broth/wine mix. To do this take a ladle-full at a time (my ladle holds about 1/2 a cup of liquid) and add it to your rice, stirring constantly until all of the liquid is equally absorbed into each grain of rice. After the liquid is absorbed, take another ladle-full of your liquid and repeat the process until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through. It is important to follow this process and stir constantly. If you don’t do this and you just dump all the liquid in at once, your risotto will not work.
  • You want the rice to be tender but still have a “bite” to it. If you find you need more liquid, add more broth or wine. As you follow this process, you’ll notice that the starches in the rice will create a wonderful creaminess. That is why other rice varieties won’t really work.
  • After your rice is cooked, add your processed milkweed flower buds and the last tablespoon of butter. Stir to heat through and incorporate.
  • Turn off your heat, then add your Parmesan and mix thoroughly. Taste to see if you need to add salt and pepper.
  • Remove from heat and serve, topped with more red pepper flakes and Parmesan, if desired.

    Milkweed flower risotto with Parmesan, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on June 21, 2012 in Edible Plants, Homesteading, Recipes

 

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Wild Yeast Sourdough Biscuits

12 Apr

Don't they look delicious?

I love biscuits. There’s nothing quite like a biscuit fresh from the oven, sliced while still warm and slathered in butter. Holy moly….drool. And biscuits are so versatile! You can use them for any meal, and they make a great platform for breakfast jams or eggs and cheese, lunch tomatoes and lettuce, or dinner chicken and gravy. The uncooked dough can also be repurposed as dumplings for soup or a topping for cobbler. I’ve also used this recipe as a base for pizza.

This recipe uses wild collected sourdough starter. Review our post on collecting your own wild yeast here: Collecting and Maintaining Wild Yeast Sourdough Starter.

RECIPE
(This makes 6 biscuits, double the recipe for more):

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter, removed from refrigerator the night before, fed, and left to sit overnight
  • 1/4 cup sour raw milk, buttermilk, or plain yogurt
  • 1 cup (or more) flour (I used wheat but you can use white)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons bacon fat, lard, or butter (cold)
  • 1 tablespoon vodka (Vodka provides a wonderful tenderness and some forgiveness if you add too much flour. The alcohol cooks off in the oven.)

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl and stir with a fork to combine. (You can sift it, but who really does that anymore?)

Use a fork to cut in the fat/lard/butter until the fat is about pea-sized.

Add the sourdough starter, the milk or yogurt, and the vodka and combine thoroughly.

Add flour until the dough is easy to handle, but don’t make the dough dry. You may need to use the full cup of flour, or you may need to add more. Add enough flour to keep your biscuit dough on the sticky side but still manageable.

Place the dough onto a floured surface, dust lightly with flour and knead quickly for about 30 seconds. Be light with your biscuit dough! You want to incorporate the ingredients but you don’t want to knead it so long that your fat bits all melt; this will result in a denser product that is more like bread than biscuit.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/4″ thickness, then fold the dough as many times as you can. Roll out again to 1/2″ thickness and then cut with a biscuit cutter or a cup (I used a coffee mug).

Use all your dough, combining the pieces and rolling again to 1/2″ thickness so you get a complete a biscuit out of what is left. For the last bit of dough that’s too small for cutting, I just mush it together with my hands so I use ALL the dough.

Place biscuits on an oiled baking sheet and bake about 12 to 15 minutes at 400F, or until the tops are nicely browned a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the biscuits comes out clean.

And be sure to eat one hot out of the oven, slathered in butter. Yummers!

 
5 Comments

Posted by on April 12, 2012 in Recipes, Wild Yeast Sourdough

 

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Spinach and Quinoa Casserole

10 Feb

Any grain can be used in this hearty, filling casserole but we used quinoa for its ease and speed!

What the hell is quinoa, you ask? It’s a grain-like food that is frequently thought to be related to grains like rice, maize, and wheat. However quinoa, which is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.), is really more closely related to plants such as spinach and beets than grains. As such, it packs a ton of nutritional benefits including being a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids. It’s also a great source of manganese, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, Vitamin E, and fiber. Other benefits of quinoa are that it is easy to cook, cooks in 15 minutes, and it is versatile, making for a quick side dish when paired with other ingredients of your choice.

If you don’t have access to quinoa, rice and barely are great substitutes in this dish. But no matter if you use quinoa or a grain, this casserole is delicious, filling, and is a quick and hearty meal for the family. The main benefit with quinoa, though, is as an alternative source for meat-like protein. In areas where meat is particularly expensive, if you are trying to eat healthier forms of protein, or if you’re a vegetarian, it’s hard to beat the benefits of quinoa.

INGREDIENTS:

(This recipe serves 2 as a meal or 4 as a side dish. Double it to serve 4 as a meal!)

  • 1 package frozen spinach
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked following package instructions and set aside until assembly (substitute rice or barley if you like).
  • 1 cup cheese, grated (we used white cheddar, but you can use whatever cheese you wish, or a combination of cheeses)
  • 3 slices bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes (if you don’t like spicy food, use chili flakes only to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 375F oven

Remove your spinach from the package and place it in a colander to thaw and drain. I generally place a heavy bowl on top of the spinach to press out the extra moisture as it thaws–it’s like killing three birds with one stone (thawing, draining, and pressing). I’m lazy like that.

Cook the onions, garlic, chili flakes, and parsley until sublime.

After your spinach has thawed, place it in a bowl large enough to accommodate the spinach and your remaining ingredients. Then take your chopped bacon and saute it in a skillet until cooked through and as crisp as you like it. Remove the bacon and set aside onto a paper towel-lined dish. Pour off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat.

Add to the skillet your chopped onion, garlic, parsley, and chili flakes and cook until the onions are wilted and browned. Deglaze your pan with the wine and add everything to the bowl along with your spinach. Also add your quinoa (or rice or barley), cooked bacon, grated cheese (reserve some for the top), salt, and pepper. Mix well to incorporate.

Preheat your oven to 375F. While the oven is preheating, let your ingredients sit for about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid that accumulates in the bowl by tilting the bowl and using a large spoon to hold the ingredients in as you pour off the liquid. You don’t want it all to be bone dry, but you don’t want your casserole to be watery, either.

Transfer your mix into an appropriately sized baking dish and sprinkle the top with your reserved cheese. Place, uncovered, in your preheated 375F oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly and everything is heated through (about 20 to 30 minutes).

 
4 Comments

Posted by on February 10, 2012 in Recipes

 

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