January 23, 2011

Out the Kitchen Window

It’s that time of year where the temperatures have plunged to the sub-zero range and taken us hostage indoors.  There is not a lot going on around the farm and not a lot to write about either.  I have wandered outside a few times with my camera looking for something interesting to take photos of, only to feel disappointed by the drab colors and lack of life everywhere I look.  It exists in such contrast to spring and summer when this place is bursting with life and the possibilities seem endless.

Yesterday, I was standing at the kitchen sink after arriving home from driving my daughter to orchestra when I glanced up and noticed this pileated woodpecker out in the crabapple tree.

Ah!  A sign of life!

I fumbled through my camera bag to get my new telephoto lens to snap some close-up pictures.

By the time I got the telephoto lens on the camera, I only had time for a few shots before he flew away back into the woods. I am disappointed that the pictures did not turn out very sharp.  It was a good reminder to slow down, get the settings and focus right, and not rushing just to snap a picture.

Even though the pictures did not turn out that great, I was nonetheless thrilled to see this unique bird up close.  They really are large birds, about the same size as a crow. I think they have a prehistoric look to them, maybe a bit like a pterodactyl.

And while I have trudged around outdoors recently in search of something interesting to photograph, it turns out that the remaining fruit on the crabapple tree right outside my kitchen window is providing some of the best winter subjects.  Even better is that in the dead of winter, there are signs of life around here.  You just have to be paying attention.

Hope it is warmer where you are.

-Lynell

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January 12, 2011

Cold-Smoking: Almonds and Cheese

Time has gotten away from me and I have not posted anything for a while.  I had started this post shortly after my last post on the cold-smoked pork chops and am finally getting around to finishing it up.

So, anyhow, along with those garlic sage pork chops that we smoked a few weeks ago, we also threw some almonds and a block of sharp cheddar cheese in the smokehouse.  We have tried smoking both in the past, but were disappointed with the overpowering smoke flavor.


This time around we smoked the cheese for about 1.5 hours and the almonds for about 2.5 hours.  Once again, the cheese was still too smokey and overwhelming for my taste.  I think we will cut back to an hour next time and see if that does the trick.

The almonds, however, turned out just perfect!  Unlike commercially “smoked” nuts that are commonly flavored with liquid smoke, the smokey flavor of these almonds was fresh and subtle.  You can see in the picture that we put them in a wire strainer basket to allow the smoke to circulate around the almonds.

After cold-smoking, we followed the recipe below to finish the flavoring process.

Spicy Smoked Almonds

  • 1 pound unblanched raw smoked almonds
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 t. garlic powder
  • 1 T. kosher salt finely ground (coarse salt doesn’t stick to the almonds very well)
  • 2 t. chili powder
  • 1 t. fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Combine the olive oil and seasonings, then mix in the almonds until they are well coated. Spread them evenly on a cookie sheet (one with sides works best).

Bake the coated almonds for 15 minutes stirring them a couple of times to roast them evenly. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheet.

When cool they should look dry and coated with the seasonings, and they are ready to serve with no chemical smoke flavoring!

We enjoyed snacking on them while sipping a robust red wine. Give them a try some time and enjoy!

-Lynell

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December 31, 2010

Cold-Smoking: Garlic and Sage Pork Chops

Cold temperatures and some much-needed spare time over the holidays provided the perfect opportunity to fire up the smokehouse and do some cold-smoking.  We decided to do some pork chops and turned to our favorite smoking resource for a brine recipe:  Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.

Roughly following the recipe for the Garlic-Sage-Brined Pork Chops, we mixed up the following brine:

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1/2 c. kosher salt
  • 3/4 c. packed dark brown sugar
  • 4 T. fresh sage leaves (we used ground sage and only about 3 T.)
  • 2 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
  • 1 T. fresh ground black pepper

After mixing up the brine to dissolve all the ingredients, we placed 6 thick bone-in pork chops in a gallon Ziploc bag and put them in a cooler in the garage to soak overnight.

In the morning, we put the brined pork chops on the steel rack in the smokehouse and let them sit for a few hours to dry.

Jesse eventually fired up the firebox and smoked the chops for about 5 hours with apple wood. The smell was mouth-watering.

The chops were grilled on New Year’s Eve in 15 deg F weather. As usual with a finely cold-smoked meat product, the meat was pink all the way through the chop from the smoking, the brining kept the chops moist and flavorful, and a side dish of sauerkraut or applesauce were great complements. A cold Blue Moon beer was the finishing touch to a great meal. If only Jesse’s little brother would have sent us a nice hand-crafted box of chocolate truffles (www.intriguechocolates.com) for Christmas, the meal would have been perfect!

Happy New Year!

-Lynell

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December 28, 2010

Seed Catalogs…Already??

I was surprised when I opened the mailbox today and found a large bundle of mail, even by Christmas card season standards.   Assuming that we have received most of the Christmas cards that we will this year, I was curious about the contents of the bundle.

Amongst all the normal bills, junk mail, etc., I found these…

Seed catalogs?!!  Already?

In all honesty, I am a seed catalog junkie.  I pour over them, mark pages, make lists, plan, and daydream about the upcoming gardening season.  But it is not even January.  I still have my Christmas tree up and have not even recovered from the holiday.

Is it just me, or is this a little too early to be receiving seed catalogs?

-Lynell

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December 27, 2010

More on Building a Smokehouse

As it turns out, my original post on building our smokehouse has been the number one hit that brings people to my blog.  Based on the level of interest and/or lack of information out there on the web, I thought I would try to post some more information for people interested in constructing their own smokehouse.

The most helpful resource we found when researching how to build a smokehouse was a little publication by Storey Publishing appropriately titled, Build a Smokehouse.  It is available on Amazon for $3.95, a real bargain, or visit their website at www.storey.com and search for “smokehouse.”

This great little book goes through some basic information on smoking food, explains the differences between hot-smoking and cold-smoking, and provides a helpful description of how smokers and smokehouses work. There are also detailed instructions for building a block smokehouse similar to the design that we used, and some smaller smoker projects if you don’t want such a large structure. The “hot smoke pit” is cheap and easy to build anywhere. In addition, the “barrel smoker” and the “box smoker” are also very good alternatives for cold-smoking smaller quantities at a much lower cost.

Feel free to ask questions in the comment section and we will do our best to answer them.

-Lynell

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December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas cards are sent, the presents are purchased, the stockings are hung, and the meals are planned.

Now it is time to take a deep breath and focus on the real reason for the season.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and meaningful Christmas!

-Lynell

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December 11, 2010

Snow Bird

Yesterday I noticed a robin in the crabapple tree just outside our kitchen window.  I was a little puzzled because I thought robins migrated south in the winter.  The bird seemed out-of-place in this frozen land, but I assumed that it must surely be on its way south sometime very soon.

We had a “major weather event” here in Minnesota starting Friday evening and continuing through today with lots of accumulating snow and strong winds.

The snow kept falling all day long and by this evening we had somewhere around a foot of fluffy new snow!

While making breakfast in the kitchen this morning, I looked out the window and was shocked to see that poor little robin back in the crabapple tree.  Braving the snow storm, it was hopping around the tree and eating the crabapples.

Worried that there was something wrong with this bird that was still around Minnesota at this time of year and in these conditions, I did a quick internet search to see if it was “normal” for a robin not to migrate south.

I was surprised to read that robins apparently do not always leave in the winter, especially if there is a food source like crabapples or berries to sustain them.

They keep themselves warm with thicker feathers and by shivering.

So, I guess this robin has decided to stick around this winter and snack on the crabapples on our tree.

The robin will be doing a lot of shivering tonight, as temperatures are predicted to plunge to -15° F.  Tomorrow does not look much better with a high of 3° F and wind chills of -35° F.  Poor little thing!

As I sit inside tonight with my kids, playing games and enjoying a warm and cozy fire, I am glad very glad that I am not that robin.  And if I were, I would never be crazy enough to stick around this state through the winter…even if there were some crabapples nearby.

Cozy and warm in Minnesota,

Lynell

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