Festive Rice Salad

I have no recollection of eating this salad prior to making it here the other day but it was in my “tried and true” recipe box so I must have at some point. The recipe card is written in my aunt’s handwriting. Perhaps she brought the salad to a family gathering and jotted the recipe down for me to take home? I don’t know.

At any rate, it’s a delicious salad.

I used a type of rice called “forbidden rice”. It’s an heirloom variety I found at a little shop in the city. It’s very black and surprisingly keeps that color even after cooked. I think it’s beautiful. It tastes like wild rice so you could use that instead. Or really, any rice. My recipe card here says long grain brown rice. Use what you’ve got!

Oh, one more note. Do not substitute any type of vinegar for the white stuff called for here. It gives the salad a special tang. Well, you could substitute, I suppose, but it wouldn’t be the same and me thinks just not quite as yummalicious.

Festive Rice Salad

Adapted from Taste of Home

3/4 cup uncooked rice

10 oz (about 2 cups) frozen peas, thawed

1 small red pepper, diced (I used frozen)

3 T minced onion

1/2 cup craisins

1/3 cup peanut oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

2 T maple syrup

1/2 t dried dill weed

1/4 t salt

1/4 t ground mustard

1/8 t black pepper

Cook the rice. Cool. Mix it with the peas, peppers, onion, and craisins.

In a small bowl, whisk  the oil, vinegar, maple syrup, dill, salt, mustard, and pepper. Drizzle over the salad and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature or refrigerated.

Yield: 5 – 6 cups

Weekly Menu for 5-20-2013

We got two pigs last week! Now I have another outlet for all of the whey I’m producing these days. Brad named them Ham and Cheese. I love it. They are hilarious. The first day we had them, they were wilder than anything but within 24 hours, they were oinking with delight whenever we’d go out there. Now they frantically squeal when we leave the pen. I never knew pigs could get attached so fast!

In other news, the garden is coming along nicely. We had a late frost which set back some corn and green beans but other than that, things are growing. We’ve been eating lettuce and spinach for a few weeks now, which is probably obvious with all of the salads that have been on the menu. Asparagus, too. It’s been a chilly spring but whenever we have a few warm days in a row, the asparagus practically jumps out of the ground.

I have a pint of ranch dressing that needs used up. It was leftover from that birthday party we attended last week. The hostess accidentally made way too much and I offered to take some off of her hands. Woohoo…I love me some ranch dressing!

Hmm, what else is in the fridge. Not much besides gallons of milk and whey. More cheese will be made this week and then I’m going to stop for a while. I want to make sure this cheese gets good before I make a whole fridge full of it and realize that it tastes terrible!

Monday: Spaghetti Pie, Salad, Green Beans

Tuesday: Red Rice, Asparagus, Sauteed Spinach

Wednesday: Hamburgers on Homemade Buns, Salad, Corn

Thursday: Chicken Ranch Casserole, Green Beans, Sugar Peas

Friday: Baked Lentils with Cheese, Salad, Dill Beans

Saturday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Sunday: Leftovers from Saturday night, Salad

Desserts: Ricotta Cheesecake, Apricot Pie, Peach Banana Smoothies

Odds and Ends: Colby Cheese, Dill Cheddar Cheese, Bread, Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise

When I first whipped up this mayonnaise, I was sure I wouldn’t like it. I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise to begin with (I usually only use it as a salad dressing, not on my sandwiches) so when I smelled my fresh mayo, I thought it sort of stank (stunk?). But I stuck it in the fridge and when I pulled it out later that day to make some coleslaw, I realized it actually smelled quite good! It made a delicious coleslaw dressing.

I have yet to try it on a sandwich but Brad did. He said, “It’s different but good.” That usually means, “I don’t love it but I’ll eat it.” I guess that’s not too bad coming from a guy who doesn’t particularly like changing his food habits! And even if I end up keeping a small jar of the bought stuff for Brad’s sandwiches, I am going to try to have this homemade version around for salads and such, especially during the summer when we eat cucumber salad all of the time.

Mayonnaise

This recipe is a conglomeration of a whole slew that I’ve read in the last few weeks. Really, though, how different can basic mayo recipes be?

1 whole fresh egg, room temperature

1/2 t salt

1 t dry mustard

black pepper, to taste

1 cup plus 2 T neutral flavored oil (I used peanut), room temperature

2 T white wine vinegar or lemon juice

In a food processor, place the egg, salt, mustard, and pepper. Whirl to mix and then with the machine still running, VERY slowly (I mean, super slow, hair-thickness thread) pour in the oil. Stop a time or two and scrape down the bowl of the processor to make sure all of the ingredients are being incorporated evenly. Once the oil is completely blended in, slowly add the vinegar and then you are finished.

If your mayonnaise “breaks”, beat a fresh egg yolk in a clean bowl and gradually beat in the curdled mayonnaise.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

Weekly Menu for 5-13-2013

Cheesemaking went well last week. I have four wheels aging at the moment and I hope to do two more this week. I hope this stuff tastes good or I’m wasting a boatload of time!

There is leftover roast beef and mashed potatoes in the fridge which are headed for a shepherd’s pie. The remaining “ricotta” that I have will be used in lasagna.

Monday: Beef Shepherd’s Pie, Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Tuesday: Pork and Sauerkraut, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Wednesday: Lasagna, Salad with Blender Salad Dressing

Thursday: Sausage Egg McMuffins, Cooked Sugar Peas, Sauteed Spinach

Friday: Baked Salmon, Festive Rice Salad, Salad, Dill Pickles

Saturday: Friend’s Birthday Party

Sunday: Beef Veggie Soup, Bread, Dill Beans

Desserts: Cherry Cobbler, Pumpkin Pie, Peach Cobbler

Odds and Ends: Parmesan Cheese, Jalapeno Cheddar, Cottage Cheese, Yogurt, English Muffins (maybe), Baked Beans (for lunches)

Ricotta Cheesecake

So apparently my rennet was old. About 4 years ago I went through a spell where I made a bunch of mozzarella cheese. When Tage came along, I put my cheese making supplies away and haven’t looked at them since until a few weeks ago when I started making cottage cheese. Well, I made a batch of weird cottage cheese and then when I tried some farmhouse cheddar the other day, the curd never set firm enough. Instead of throwing out the batch, I drained the soft curd through cheese cloth for several hours and got a ricotta-like cheese. It tasted delicious.

And it was destined for this lovely cake.

I never thought I’d like ricotta cheesecake. I’m not a huge fan of the cheese itself. This cake, though, was perfect – very lightly sweet and decadent enough to feel like a big indulgance. I love a good, rich cheesecake now and then but I can never eat more than one or two slices of a cake so I don’t make it very often. But I could eat a lot of this cake. Maybe that’s a bad thing!

Oh, and I got some new rennet and my cheese making is going splendidly. I’m pressing my third wheel at the moment while the other two air-dry on the counter. They smell wonderful!

Ricotta Cheesecake

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Crust

7 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs (about 1 cup)

1 T sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix the crumbs with the sugar and butter. Press into the bottom of a greased 8- or 9-inch spring form pan. Surround the bottom of the pan with a layer of tin foil. Set aside.

Filling

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened

2 1/2 cups (20 oz) thick ricotta cheese*

2/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 t lemon zest

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth. Add the ricotta and sugar and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined each time. Stir in the zest and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the crust. Set the pan into a larger pan and fill with about an inch of water. Slide the whole thing into a preheated 350F oven and bake for about 45 – 60 minutes or until just set in the middle. Remove the cake from the water bath and chill before eating. Serve plain or with a fruit sauce.

*If your cheese is on the thin side, hang it to drain for a while in cheese cloth but you’ll want a full 2 1/2 cups of thick cheese when you are finished draining it.

Serves: 8 – 12

Everyday Bread 2

This is the bread I’ve been making lately. We’ve been wolfing it down so fast I have to make a batch about every week.

If you don’t have whey, just use water. I really prefer the whey, though. I think it helps the bread to stay soft longer.

Everyday Bread

4 cups whey (scalded and cooled to 115F) or warm water

1/3 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

2 1/2 T active dry yeast

1/2 cup peanut oil

1 T salt

3/8 cup gluten

6 cups whole wheat bread flour

2-3 cups hi-gluten white flour

In a large bowl, stir together the whey, sugar, potato flakes, and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, gluten, and whole wheat flour. Beat vigorously. Stir in enough of the white flour to make a knead-able dough. Knead at least 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Place back into the bowl (I don’t bother greasing it). Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Scrape the dough out onto the counter and divide it into 3 (for large loaves) or 4 (for smaller loaves). Shape the loaves, place into your bread pans, cover, and let rise again until doubled. I like to slash the loaves just before baking but it’s not necessary. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until nicely browned and hollow sounding when tapped on the bottom. Remove from pans immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 3 – 4 loaves

Weekly Menu for 5-6-2013

With all of the whey left from making so much cottage cheese the last two weeks, I made some ricotta. It’s the strangest ricotta I’ve ever made. Usually my homemade ricotta turns out sort of dry and grainy. This is the exact opposite…very smooth and creamy. What gives? I think it will be delicious on pizza so that’s where it’s headed.

I also didn’t get around to making the Vareniky as that was an evening when Brad was chopping rye and I didn’t feel like making such an involved recipe for just the kids and I. Instead, we ate fried potatoes, boiled asparagus, sauteed spinach, and apple butter bread.

AND!!! I got a cheese press*!! It’s going to be another cheesy week around here. Anybody local need/want some gallons of whey?

Monday: Tacos, Coleslaw

Tuesday: Vareniky (More with Less p. 144), Salad (with blender salad dressing)

Wednesday: Grilled Ricotta Pizza, Grilled Asparagus, Green Beans

Thursday: Venison Steaks, Grilled Potato Packets, Sugar Peas

Friday: Beef Burritos, Salad, Cooked Carrots

Saturday: Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans

Sunday: Stuffed Cabbage Casserole, Salad (with Italian dressing), Jelly Bread

Desserts: Pumpkin Pie, Cracker Pudding

Odds and Ends: Farmer’s Cheddar Cheese, Stirred Curd Cheddar Cheese, probably another one or two kinds of cheese, Bread (we are eating a ridiculous amount of bread lately!)

*This is not a paid advertisement.