Pantry

Epic Failure: Curing and Brining Olives

As with many things I write about, I have no idea what possessed me to believe that I should cure olives. Isn't our tiny house and our tiny kitchen already stuffed with my experiments (in progress now: plum wine, hard cider, salted liver)?

Olives weren't even premeditated. I saw them in the produce section looking kind of sickly. The conversation with myself went something like this:

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Homemade Ricotta

After turning some beautiful raw goat milk into chevre and feta, I’ve taken a shine to making my own fresh cheese. I don’t do it that often, but I’ve found that for the most part, fresh cheeses are easy to make and the techniques are pretty similar across all of them. Whenever a recipe calls for something I can make myself (and provided I have the time), I give it a try. I was really happy with homemade cream cheese I’d made a few months ago, so I decided to give whole-milk ricotta a try too.

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Rendering Lard

I don't know how Kate McDermott (Art of the Pie) keeps herself in leaf lard, what with the number of classes she gives every month. But tonight I'm going to channel Kate and everyone I've known who swear by lard in pie crust and render a bit of my own. Leaf lard it's not, but it's from our pig, so I know it was well loved in its life, lived locally and healthy, and is cherished each time I open the freezer door.

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Concord Grape Pie Filling

Ever wonder what to do with all of those concord grapes pouring over your fences and arbors this time of year? You could make jam and juice, certainly, but why not something a little more unexpected? Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an abundance of terrific apples and berries, but what a lot of folks don't know is that out concord grapes make mean pies too.

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