Cheese, Cheese and more Cheese

In a misguided fit of enthusiasm bolstered by the mere look of our Gouda that will be ready in three months I rushed out and got another bucket of milk at 7.30 this morning. Had I been smart enough to swing by the supermarket and buy another peg basket and spend 10 minutes drilling holes in it, it would have been my most inspired move of the day, but sadly no. I was clever enough that I could make two separate batches of gouda and paneer, work for two organisations, get Bev’s groceries, plus the supplies needed for tomorrows pig processing, fix the door on the shed and the woodstove. So twelve and a half hours later the fucking cheese is made.

The paneer was easy, bring two litres of milk to the boil, turn off wait a few minutes and add ¼ cup of vinegar of almost any description. Leave for the curds to form, gently lift them out into a cheese mould, press for a bit and there you go. Gouda in contrast takes hours, heat the milk, add the kefir, wait, add the rennet, wait, cut the curd, wait, stir the curd every 5 minutes for 30-60 minutes, wait, pour some whey off, add more water stir 10 minutes, pour some whey off, add more water stir 10 minutes, pour some whey off, add more water stir 10 minutes and finally ,finally, finally you can put it the mould. Imagine doing all that twice in one day to save spending $11.89 and wielding your drill for 10 minutes. I get it that no one want to see another picture of boring old cheese until the stuff is ready to eat. So this is the Where’s Dinner? photo. It was two beautiful John Dory fillets with a salad, eaten while….you guessed it stirring cheese! Tonight I am listening to Reb Fountain, I saw her at WOMAD and loved her, here is a live performance of one of the tracks from her new album, released today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJTSoI4vqzo

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The official blog launch, or is it lunch of entertaining!

Ok here is the thing, my key performance indicator, to use corporate wank language is how much fun I am having. I have had three rules for many years. 1. Don't hang out with shit people. 2. Avoid all things boring unless absolutely necessary. 3. Always have something to look forward too. (I stole this one off a friend) in recent years I have added 4. Only stay in Hawera 1 weekend a month. Oh how the mighty have fallen! (I ripped that line from Tom Waits) if you don't know who he is I am not surprised. 1. I now have a dog to hang out with for a month, His name is Murphy, and he is only borrowed. 2. All those jobs here in my house, like cleaning it, tedious shit like painting that window, weeding the garden properly, sorting the shed out, renovating my desk (an old table from Butcharts Bakery), even mowing the lawn, there it all is right there in front of me with all the time in the world to get on with it having ignored i...

A quick soup, best I can do in a short timeframe

Hot & Sour Soup 500g shark 1 packet mild Singapore laksa paste (I know I know I know, but sometimes needs must) 1 t salted shrimp 1 t tamarind 2 T of the oil leftover from spicy smoked mussels ½ an onion peeled and finely diced 4 cloves garlic peeled and finely diced 1 thumb ginger peeled and finely diced 2 silverbeet leaves or other leafy green 1 tin coconut cream 500 g fish stock 2 serves noodles I used ramen 1/4 cup fresh lime juice Fry the onion, garlic and ginger in the oil, add the spice paste, salted shrimp and tamarind stir it all around until it is cooked a bit then add the fish and cook for 5 minutes then add the stock and simmer for 10 minutes. When you are ready to serve it add the coconut cream, bring to boil again then add the noodles, when boiling yet again add the silverbeet or greens. Once wilted turn off and add the lime juice.

Give a cake a go day.

I received a delivery of jam, the fruit was left in the bowl at Kidsbarn for lockdown so Emma knocked up a batch of jam with it, I scored a bottle on the proviso it appeared on the blog so this is what I did. I based in on a recipe from a book called Harbour Kitchens which was a fundraiser many years ago for the schools in Lyttleton. There is a classic recipe from the witt of Joe Bennett for fish and chips if you can get your hands on a copy. This is an adaptation of the Lemon Yoghurt Cake by Jane Simmons. False Pretences Cake Zest of 2 lemons 1 ¾ C sugar 2 eggs Juice of half a lemon 4/5 C of greek yoghurt Half a jar of orange, pineapple and kiwifruit or other jam ¾ C oil 2 1.2 C flour 2 large t baking powder Line a largish tin with baking paper, I lined a smallish tin, then had too much mixture, so I lined another tin spooned the rest of the mix into that and it was too big! So I lifted it out and transferred to a loaf tin, what a palave...

Entertaining!

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