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Cider Bottling

I have celiac disease, which means that one of the things I can't drink is beer. Well, there is gluten free beer, but in general I can't have beer. I can drink hard cider, however, and as the weather turns colder, I find myself wanting a cider now and then.

Since I love DIY food projects, and we had beer making equipment from back in the day, I decided it was time to try brewing up some cider. After consulting several websites, I found that this article from Mother Earth News was the most straightforward. 

Basically you take some apple cider and put it in a pail with some yeast. Easier than brewing beer!  I did take the step to heat the cider on the stove before adding the yeast and I have to say that heating 5 gallons of any liquid at one time is not exactly easy. Thank goodness I have a really large stockpot!

After a couple of weeks of fermentation, it was time for bottling. I skipped the extra clarifying step, so I'm sure we'll have some sediment in the final product, but that doesn't really bother me -- especially for my first time making cider. Since I wanted a bit of sparkle in my cider, I did add some extra honey and brown sugar before bottling.  

Maddie was my helper since We did this final step while Pete was at work, and I have to say that she was a wonderful helper.

In a couple of weeks, this should be ready for drinking. I'll have to remember to post some photos of the finished product.

Homemade Irish Cream

I have a list -- a list of festive holiday things  -- and this week, since Pete is off work, we are planning on checking off a few of the items.  One item we checked off was homemade Irish Cream!

Pete and I both enjoy having a glass of Bailey's at the holidays, so I thought it might be fun to make some from scratch.  I found out that it was super easy and ridiculously delicious.  So much yummier than the premade stuff!

There are a bunch of recipes out there, but they are mostly all about the same.  Here's a recipe I cobbled together to create my own version:

Holiday Irish Cream Recipe

1 cup Jameson's Irish Whiskey

1 14 oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Tbsp. good quality Chocolate Syrup

2 tsp. Espresso Powder (I get mine from King Arthur Flour)

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Blend everything except the whipping cream in a blender for about a minute.  Add the whipping cream and blend until combined (only a few seconds).

Pour into a pretty bottle or jar and refrigerate.  Shake before using.  Should keep for about 3-4 weeks.

 

Making Mozzarella

Stretching the cheese

I've had cheese making on my food project list for quite a while now, and this weekend when I mentioned that I was bored, Pete told me to make some cheese.  I didn't think I could find the supplies in town, but it turns out that there is a Brew & Grow not far from us and they had the 30 Minute Mozzarella kits in stock.

The kit -- you can get one at cheesemaking.com

As it turns out, making mozzarella is super easy!  From what I can gather, the one problem that can mess up your final product is over-processed milk.  Milk producers are now overheating their milk, even milk that is not labeled as ultra-pasteurized, so they can keep it on the shelf longer.  (Well, there is a lot more to it, but suffice it to say, this is yet another byproduct of the dysfunctional food system in this country.)  This messes up the proteins in the milk somehow which can cause your cheese to refuse to firm up. 

Finished cheese in an ice bath

If you are from the Chicago area, Oberweis milk is safe for cheese making -- that's what we used and it worked beautifully.  As you can see, my cheese set up, although I need a lot of practice with shaping  :)

Slices of our finished cheese -- yum!

One gallon of milk makes quite a bit of cheese, although I forgot to weigh the final product.  We've been eating it straight up, tossed with pasta and tonight Maddie and I are making homemade pizza.  It was a fun project and I'll definitely be making more cheese in the future.

DIY Vanilla Extract (or Vanilla Vodka) & Some Homemade Lemon Curd

Did you know that vanilla extract is super easy to make?  Like, super easy.  And even with good vanilla beans and decent vodka, it's probably going to be way cheaper to make your own than to buy it at the grocery.

First get some vanilla beans, not those pathetic and ridiculously expensive ones from the grocery though.  Instead, may I suggest the internets.  I bought mine from Beanilla.com and they arrived quickly and were lovely, plump and fragrant.  And in case you are curious, I'm using the Bourbon variety.

Next, get yourself a bottle -- I just used a pint canning jar which I ran through the sanitize cycle in my dishwasher (probably not necessary because of all the alcohol).  Then cut your beans to fit.  I cut mine in half and sliced them open lengthwise.  Use three beans per cup of alcohol.  I used absolute vodka because I couldn't imagine using my pricey Ketel One, but I didn't want a half bottle of super cheap stuff getting dusty in the liquor cabinet. 

Now I wait.  I understand it takes about 6-8 weeks to mature.  But look at all those lovely vanilla bean seeds floating around int he vodka!  Oh, and if you want vanilla vodka for holiday beverages, just use sooner -- I'm guessing about 2 weeks will get you some lovely vanilla flavor.  Oh, and you need to keep it in a dark place -- especially if you are using a clear glass bottle.

Since I was sanitizing jars anyway and had a big bag of lemons in the fridge, I decided to make some lemon curd.   I used David Lebovitz's Lemon Curd recipe because it was easy, used one pan and had a lower sugar to lemon ratio -- and I like my curd lemony.  From what I have heard (via my Googling) lemon curd freezes well, so the two smaller jars will be saved for future lemon fixes in the deep darkness of winter when they will be much appreciated.

“Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.”