Cold Doesn't Even Begin To Describe It

 We knew it would be coming. You can't spend all of a Central Plains winter working and being outside in nothing but a T-shirt and windbreaker, or a sweatshirt. At some point you KNOW you're going to pay for that. Usually we get brutally cold for a few days, five at the most in mid to late January. Sometimes we get a warning shot across our bow for a couple days in December. But for the most part, as cold, miserable and windy as the storms are, they are quick to pass, and normal temperatures creep in and let us enjoy winter without considering moving the whole farm to a warmer climate, like Greenland.

The snowfall this year hasn't been funny either. Instead of coming down one or two inches at a time, melting off the roads shortly after we plow, and then off the grass a couple days later. This year it has  come down down by the mountain load. And it has stayed, in one case a dump of 14 heavy,wet inches.

Now has come the cold. It started a few days ago with temperatures dipping well below freezing and it's stayed there, day and night, and it will for at least the next 10 days. (17 days below freezing is what it ended up being.) In fact, our temperatures will be below 10'F as a HIGH temperature for the next 7 days. Wind chills will be dropping us to -40'F this weekend. Luckily, the animals are kept out of the wind and we spend as little time in it as possible. (Our lowest real temp was -31 and wind chill that night was -45'F.)

The alpacas can handle the cold out of the wind. They have thick rubber mats on their stall floors and a DEEP layer of hay/straw on top of that to snuggle into at night. They have full access to inside the barn, which does stay a few degrees warmer than outside. They get extra food rations, and have heated water at all times. Yesterday, I wrangled them and put their coats on them. That will make them even happier. They do get bored, and when the sun comes out, they do wander down the pasture and have some hay in the shed, wrestle, or just go for a run.

Don't fret. The hens are just fine too. Nights are brutal, but their well designed coop and run are draft free, and the clear panels allow heat to build on a sunny day. Today when the temperature was only 6 degrees at lunch, it was 24 in the coop. I'm sure we'll have a couple end up with frostbite on their combs, but that happens every winter. They too have heated water and get extra feed, to include warm veggies for breakfast and dinner.  They've been as low as -18'F before, so I'm not worried about them. Merriweather, at age 6.5, has been put in the 42 degree workshop. She's old and gets a pamper spa week. 

So if I'm not outside, what am I doing? Last week I had a ball being the weekly host at @smallholdingsUK on Twitter. If you twitter, check it out.  It is a group of small land holders, originally only in the UK, but now all over the world. We share what we do, where we are, and how we do things. It's a great way to travel and meet new people and get new ideas without stepping out the door. :::Waving to all my new friends.:::

I've also snuck down to the sewing room. I can't sew while Doc is working in his office, so my pile of work has been waiting for me. I had a small project I could work on while he was upstairs working on non-school things. 

A few weeks ago I found a yard of very high quality flannel at the local charity shop for only $1. At the time I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but it followed me home anyway. I found a list of things online that you can do with bits of flannel. I passed on the washable swifter type dusters and found someone that was making re-usable/washable 'paper' towels that snapped together and rolled up. What a great idea! I decided to forgot the cute snap idea and just went with the quilted rag idea.

I purchased a yard of grey terrycloth with my coupon for $5 and set to work.

I washed and dried both to mitigate shrinkage. I placed the flannel on the terry and pinned it all over. Wrong. Wrinkle planet. Wrinkles everywhere. That wouldn't do at all. I removed all the pins and put the flannel UNDER the terry and pinned- much better. 

Then I simply used the machine to sew a diagonal line across the whole thing and then mirrored that line about every 2.5 inches to quilt the two pieces together. Then I figured the best cut size to minimize waste, which turned out to be 11 inches square with only a tiny bit of loss to square the piece up.

I ended up with 12 quilted rags. They needed the diagonal that goes the other way which was faster and easier on an 11 inch piece than a giant panel. Then I simply finished off the edges with the serger. 12 nice mop up rags or dust cloths for only $5 and two hours at the machine!

Another treasure at the charity shop. a 12 ounce glass peanut butter jar full of pins, old sharp sewing pins and long hat pins, as well as tailor pins. The BEST treasure this time was a roll of pale lilac table cloth. It is 44 inches across and started as 100 foot long. There is at least 50 feet there as it almost filled it's original box. It feels like percale cotton. I'll test it. If nothing else it will be GREAT for pattern mock-up. If it's cotton, then a matching historic 1840 skirt/shirt set it is! How much was it. Well it was on half price sale. $2.50 yup. So check your charity shops !

A Gnother Gnome

Doc here.

During the winter break, I decided to create 3D wall art of Baard the Gnome.

I started by printing the line-art that Caryl had created for her Etsy shop to create graphite rubbings for the general outline. The body is formed by halving a length of 1x12 and using a thickness planer to reduce the two halves down to about ¼". While it would've been nice to make the resaw cut in a single pass on the bandsaw, the wood's width was too great -- so I made two passes on the table saw.

Several passes through the thickness planer brought the pieces down to ¼" thick.

I then made the graphite rubbings on each of the two pieces and cut out the layers of Baard's body using the bandsaw.

When I rubbed the outlines onto the layers, I also marked three points by punching the pencil through through the paper to mark holes to drill on the drill press.

Two of the holes are drilled all the way through the back layer and partway into the front layer for dowels to align the two layers. The third hole is drilled all the way through both layers to position Baard's nose.

Then I used the strip sander to make the final touch-ups to the layers' outlines and to partially round the edges.

On to Baard's hat. At first approximation, it's a triangle, but the sides are slightly curved, and the bottom edge has a pronounced curve. The front of the hat is a curved surface. I wanted the lower corners to be at the same level as the body's front layer and the middle of the base to project about a half-inch from the front layer, which would be the full thickness of the original 1x12. The peak of the hat should be slightly shallower than the body's front layer.

I started with a graphite rubbing and then cut a triangle. The reason I started with straight sides instead of starting with the bandsaw was so I could make bevel cuts to start shaping the front surface. By running the triangle's sides along the tabletop, the resulting bevel faces will leave the base thicker in the middle than the sides, and the sides and peak will all be at the same level.

After using the bandsaw to introduce the slight curves on the hat's sides and the pronounced curve on the base, I used the belt sander to finish shaping the hat's front from a collection of flat facets to a single curved surface. Finally, I used some scraps from forming Baard's body to extend the thickness of the hat's sides so the hat appears to fully enclose Baard's head.

I cut out Baard's nose from the 1x12 and gave it an initial pass at rounding it with a ⅜" roundover bit on the router table. I further rounded it with the strip sander.

The strip sander left Baard's nose faceted, and so I finished rounding it using a sanding sponge.

Baard's shoes were daunting at first glance.

I decided to start with a scrap of 2x3 and used Forstner bits to cut the concave curves first. I cut a dado down the middle of the 2x3 and then cut the 2x3 down the middle of the dado, creating the two shoes -- each half of the dado is now a rabbet to attach the shoe to Baard's body.

I used the bandsaw to cut the convex surface at at the bottoms of the shoes, and then I free-handed a rough oval shape from top to front to bottom to back. I touched-up the shaping on the strip sander and, as with the nose, removed the faceting with a sanding sponge.

I added a little detail using rasps, and I cut the excess dowel material off the back using a bear saw.

The two body layers, and the hat now pressure fit together, and the body and feet stay together using gravity if the body were to be propped up.

After I finish-sanded it, Caryl stained the segments and glued Baard together.

Mini Schnitz Hand Pies

 Hand Pies.  Tiny fist sized capsules of dough (fried or baked) that are used to contain and transport fabulous fillings into your gullet.

As long as I had the induction coil plate out for the Rosettes the other day, I decided to go ahead and deal with the dried apples that had been so unceremoniously displaced from the cookie jar.  The cookie jar spent all of Fall housing a gallon of dried apple slices from the Fall harvest.  As the season switched from the crisp autumn air to full on frigid, I noticed the apples were being nibbled on less and less as a snack.  The jar now holds oatmeal pecan toffee cookies, and the apples were thrown into a large ziploc baggie on the counter.

I had plans to just make two, full-sized, Schnitz pies, one for us and one for the neighbors.  But the more I thought of it, the more I started to lean towards making smaller hand pies. A pie is cut into 6 or 8 pieces and then gone.  I can get far more hand pies than 12 or 16 if I make them hand sized, or better yet, bite sized, which means more gifts.  

Hand pies are prevalent in many cultures, they have many names, and can be filled with either sweet or savory fillings and can either be made with a doughy, biscuit like crust, or a flaky, pie dough like crust.

Schnitz pie, is an apple pie made from re-hydrated, dried apple slices.  I sometimes add raisins.  The hens have eaten all the raisins I had in the house this time, so these are just plain apple.

The recipe is simple and non-exact for the filling.

Place about 2 cups of dried apples slices in a pot and cover with water.  They'll float, so push them under.  Cover the pot and simmer as low as you can for about 30-40 minutes.  You can also use apple juice, or a combination of apple juice and water.

Drain the apples.  I simply pour the now re-hydrated apples into my small mixing bowl with the flat beat attachment, or even the smaller whisk attachment. 

I then add:

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

2 Tablespoons of brown sugar

dash of salt

dash of of Nordic Spice (optional)

I gently work the apples and spices until they are almost a paste, but still have texture.

For the dough you can use store bought biscuit or pie dough or you can use your own favorite recipe. The trick it to make it thin so it cooks through in the hot oil.

You can cut large circles and then place filling in the center and fold the dough into a half moon shape, or you can cut two circles, placing one on top of the other - like making ravioli - sealing the edged with a little milk wash and a fork on either shape.  I used a biscuit cutter and my ravioli cutter to shape, and seal in one blow.

You then fry at 370 degrees until golden brown, flipping them over when needed,  and then remove and allow to drain.

 

Dust with powdered sugar if you like.

Farmer's Cheese

 Well it turns out that I haven't posted here about making Farmer's cheese.  I can't believe it, but it's true. I only mentioned it here.  The next time I make it, I'll add photos to this.

Farmer's cheese is just about the easiest cheese you can make at home.  You don't need special equipment.  You don't need rennet or junket.  

You simply need a large heavy pot, like enameled cast iron or thick bottomed stainless steel.

Depending on how much cheese you want to make will depend on how large a pot and how much milk you will need.  

To give you an idea, I usually just use a gallon of good quality WHOLE milk and then use my 8qt stainless steel double bottom spaghetti sauce pot. From that I get 1 pound and 6ish ounces of cheese curds.

You can easily adjust this to a half a gallon of milk.

So what is Farmer's cheese?  It lies somewhere between the world of Ricotta and Cottage cheese. It is just the curds from heavy milk, that are drained, pressed, salted, and if you want to go nuts, seasoned.

NOW what do you do with it?

I use it like ricotta and mix it with egg and seasoning to fill stuffed shells or sprinkle in lasagna or on top of pizza, or in quiche or on salads.

BUT more likely than not, it is salted, seasoned, and pressed into an inexpensive cheese mold and then served as a high protein snack with crackers.  

I use the collected whey from the process for my liquid in bread making.  It's a sneaky way to add protein to your bread.

You simply pour your milk (DO NOT use high filtered milk like Fairlife) into your pot and set the burner to medium and get it warming up. The fattier your milk, the more curds you will get.  This is where I will toss any cream in the fridge that is close it it's date as well.  

I DO NOT SALT MY MILK. Save the salt for the end. 

 You don't want to get it to a boil, you're looking for just below a simmer.  It will start to get bubbly and foamy on the top.

Stir it on occasion while you are setting up the draining area:

I cut about 3 feet of kitchen cotton string and have it handy too.  You will gather the ends of the towel later and hang it from a cabinet knob to drain.

Mixing bowl for salting and seasoning.

I put a 6 qt bowl in the sink and place a colander on that.  Over the colander I lay a clean flour sack dish towel.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK back to the almost simmering milk. Turn off your heat and give it a good stir.

ADD for each half gallon of milk a 1/4 of a cup of acid. That's right, just dump it in and stir it for a few seconds. The division of curds and whey should be almost instantaneous.

( They whey should almost look like weird lemonade.  You can add a little more acid if you think it still looks too milky.) Then STOP and put the spoon down.

ACID?!?!?!?  yes, but you've got it already, I promise.  You can use vinegar or lemon juice.  Some people use all lemon juice and some all vinegar.  I prefer a 50/50 mix as the citric acid stays in the whey and helps my yeast rise in my breads.  (remember you save the whey)

Let it just sit there for 20 whole minutes, no heat, no stirring.

When your time is up, pour your curds and whey slowly onto the dish towel that is lining the colander, over the bowl.

Gather up all the sides of the towel and tie and hang from a knob on your cabinets to drain for a few minutes. Either over the sink or a spare bowl.

Resist the urge to squeeze your cheese.

The more whey you remove the drier your cheese.  Good for some applications/final products not for others.  

When it feels like a blob of dough in a sack, pour your curds into a bowl and add salt, go easy to start, like 1/4 teaspoon and mix well.  Taste.  Need more? add more.

I also add garlic powder, onion powder and fresh cracked pepper and paprika.  Go crazy. Release your inner mad scientist.  (dill is good too, basil, oregano, sure! Why not?!) Even cinnamon and sugar with pecans is amazing!

Now put your mixed curds into a press and un-mold later, or if you don't have a mold, simply put back into the dish towel and roll and twist and squeeze it into a ball and turn out on to a plate.

Store wrapped or covered with plastic wrap or in a sealed container.  Use in less than 7 days.  We have frozen it for crumbling use later, but not for spreading or slicing.

Ostakaka

 Sounds weird, right?

Like a crazy joke from a 5 year old, 'what's for dessert mom?  KAKA?'

But seriously, it literally translates as cheesecake.  But this isn't your instant Jell-O brand sour pudding cheesecake, nor is it the dense, sugary, mile-high, graham cracker crusted dessert of New York City or Chicago.  It is not so much an acquired taste, as it has to deal with texture.  It is not smooth and creamy like American cheesecakes.  Think of it as custard and cheesecake having a baby.

This is the Scandinavian version of cheesecake, usually saved for Advent/Christmas, or other special events.  In American recipes, people have taken to substituting cottage cheese.  While I have never done that, even in a pinch, I suppose it would work.  The curds of American cottage cheese, it would seem to me to contribute the the chunky texture that puts off so many people.  

So what do I do?

I make my own cheese base.  The recipe itself is very simple, both for the cheese and for the ostakaka (Cheese-cake)

I use the same recipe for the farmer's cheese that I have previously posted and don't forget to save that whey for other projects!

For the Ostakaka you will need 16 ounces of curds from your 1 gallon of whole milk cheese recipe.  DO NOT ADD ANY salt.  Also do not drain it as long as you normally would.  You can leave it a little more wet than normal.  

****If you have extra curds from your gallon of milk, then put it aside for a snack while your casserole dish is in the oven.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and find yourself a 2qt casserole dish.

Add your cooled curds to your mixing bowl with the flat beater attachment or normal beaters and add the following:

3 eggs

Mix until the curds are fine and the eggs are well incorporated

Add:

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons of flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 Tablespoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of almond extract

(Optional, but I like mine with 1/2 t cinnamon, a dash of ginger, sprinkle of cardamom, and maybe nutmeg)

Mix well at slower speed.

Slowly add in 2 cups of Half-and-half.

Continue to mix until the batter resembles loose cake batter with tiny bits of cheese curd in it.

Pour this into your dish and bake 1-1 hour 15 minutes until it looses its wet, jiggly properties and is very lightly browned.

You can serve this warm or cold.  (I prefer mine cold)

And it is traditional to serve it with lingonberries, lingonberry jam, or lingonberry syrup.

The slight sweetness of the Ostakaka helps tame the tartness of the berries.  If you really don't want to deal with the tart, then you can substitute with strawberries, raspberries or anything else you like.  

Enjoy.

***I've had a lot of questions about where I obtain Lingonberry products.  Of course you can find it on Amazon (no affiliation or kickbacks) or Scandinavian store, but the oddest place I have found it reliably, is Tuesday Morning!  So if you have one nearby still, check them out.