The weather has been cooperating and so I have been walking 2 miles a day (for those metal hips) and trying my best to work in the garden. I do not love getting my hands dirty with soil while insects feast on my neck and ears. There seems to be alot of pulling up and killing of anything we did not plant, which makes our garden beautiful, but plays havoc with the shoulders. I think I'm getting into it. I do love to eat the vegetables that grow in it.
To compensate for not having a cow, we have begun buying raw milk from a local farmer. Tonight we are making a kind of cream cheese called marscapone. We were making mozarella and ricotta but we still have some of each in the frig and two more gallons are due to arrive this evening. We don't have enough room in our refrigerator for the projects we've been doing lately. We are also growing oyster mushrooms. We harvested 2 and half pounds yesterday and today, we picked about a half pound.
There are more coming, too. We made 2 beds, each with a different strain of Oyster mushroom. The second bed is beginning to fruit. We will eat them fresh, pickle them and dry them.
All this is to say that I haven't been blogging. I will try to get the promised pictures from previous posts into their places. I do have mushroom pictures but I'm not even going to say anything about it until I catch up.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
JUNE 21st It's SUMMER 7:28 AM
HAPPY SUMMER!
Summer officially began this morning and today will be the LONGEST DAY of the year.
Summer officially began this morning and today will be the LONGEST DAY of the year.
Monday, June 14, 2010
the Soybean vs the Chopper
If you think, as I always have, that diamonds are the hardest materials on earth then, clearly you have never tried to grind soybeans. The tempeh package instructions mention a hand grinder...omg! I have noticed that soybeans are spoken of as dry, or soaked or cooked. There is a reason for this verbal deference. You have to know what you are facing.
The dry soybean is impervious to the blade, mechanical or hand-wielded. I DID prevail and we DO have tempeh, but what a struggle. I thought it was challenging enough to master getting the hulls off the beans.
I was happy with the results of the first batch, particularly with the taste. The only criticism I had was that all the beans were in 2 pieces instead of having some quarter pieces, which may affect texture. The store bought kind has a visible variety of sizes. Now I do too!
I did try uploading a picture of the second batch. It took so long I cancelled it.
I owe you another picture
HERE (tempeh6/14/10.jpg)
The dry soybean is impervious to the blade, mechanical or hand-wielded. I DID prevail and we DO have tempeh, but what a struggle. I thought it was challenging enough to master getting the hulls off the beans.
I was happy with the results of the first batch, particularly with the taste. The only criticism I had was that all the beans were in 2 pieces instead of having some quarter pieces, which may affect texture. The store bought kind has a visible variety of sizes. Now I do too!
I did try uploading a picture of the second batch. It took so long I cancelled it.
I owe you another picture
HERE (tempeh6/14/10.jpg)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
It's a TEMPEH day
Today I will make our second batch of tempeh.
This time I am using a grinder to gently crack the soy beans into 2 to 4 pieces. Last time I soaked beans overnight, rubbed them together with my hands and picked out the hulls, only to find out later that the boiling action brings the hulls to the surface. You just need to use a small strainer to scoop them up.
Other than that procedural change, I will boil the soy beans for about 1and a half hours, skimming the hulls. I will drain, cool and dry the beans with a towel. I have plastic bags with holes prepared from the last batch. Then I will add the powdered tempeh starter along with a tablespoon of any kind of flour and a teaspoon of brewer's yeast ( I used a champagne yeast that I also use to make homemade ginger ale). Next I will mix the starter into the beans thoroughly. Then I will pack the tempeh into the plastic bags and put them on a tray in my oven for the next 24 hours.
This time, when the tempeh is ready I will put some of it into the freezer. There is one caution when storing tempeh which is: Always place them so they DO NOT touch each other until well frozen or they will continue to grow and blacken.
Check back and I'll let you know how it all turns out!
This time I am using a grinder to gently crack the soy beans into 2 to 4 pieces. Last time I soaked beans overnight, rubbed them together with my hands and picked out the hulls, only to find out later that the boiling action brings the hulls to the surface. You just need to use a small strainer to scoop them up.
Other than that procedural change, I will boil the soy beans for about 1and a half hours, skimming the hulls. I will drain, cool and dry the beans with a towel. I have plastic bags with holes prepared from the last batch. Then I will add the powdered tempeh starter along with a tablespoon of any kind of flour and a teaspoon of brewer's yeast ( I used a champagne yeast that I also use to make homemade ginger ale). Next I will mix the starter into the beans thoroughly. Then I will pack the tempeh into the plastic bags and put them on a tray in my oven for the next 24 hours.
This time, when the tempeh is ready I will put some of it into the freezer. There is one caution when storing tempeh which is: Always place them so they DO NOT touch each other until well frozen or they will continue to grow and blacken.
Check back and I'll let you know how it all turns out!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Rainy Days and Gardening in Sandgate
What can you do on a rainy day in beautiful downtown Sandgate?
Surfing the Internet is OUT!
The men went to window shop for heavy equipment.
It's too warm to turn the oven on and bake.
I guess I'll take a walk and look at the garden.
Surfing the Internet is OUT!
The men went to window shop for heavy equipment.
It's too warm to turn the oven on and bake.
I guess I'll take a walk and look at the garden.
Homemade TEMPEH in Sandgate Vermont
It's the first of June. We have been at work outside. The garden is in great shape. #1 son has been getting logs to cut into firewood later in the season. Our newest fruit trees are planted and leafing in the front orchard. The bees did arrive, if somewhat late for dandelions and fruit tree blossoms. And if the bears allow, we will have honey this year.
Our newest project has to do with growing mushrooms. I'm beginning to think I should have called this blog Sandgate Serendipity. This blog wants to be about more than just what we do with soy beans! It's really about my family life in a great town in Vermont called S A N D G A T E.
You read in my last post about the dangers of too much unfermented soy in the diet. My disappointment turned into curiosity about how to make fermented soy products. I picked tempeh as it is simple to make and most people have eaten it, unlike Japanese Natto, a fermented product that is an acquired taste.
I found powdered tempeh starter at one place only, GEM Cultures in Washington. They have a website: www.gemcultures.com but you cannot use the site to order. You must download the order form and mail it in. You should also pick up some brewer's yeast (I used a champagne yeast) because the tempeh directions mention using a tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of brewer's yeast (per pound of soy) when it is humid as the flour helps distribute the tempeh starter culture powder throughout the soybeans and the yeast gives it a nutrient boost.
Now, back to how we made TEMPEH in 10 EASY STEPS
Step # 1 I soaked 5 cups of dried organic soy beans overnight.
Step # 2 Removing hulls: When cool enough, put your hands into the beans. Rub beans together. Use a small strainer to remove hulls as they float up.
Step # 3 I cooked soy beans for 20 mins. The rolling boil helped hulls float for removal.
Step # 4 Cooled and towel dried soybeans. Removed any hulls left. (Beans must be DRY)
Step # 5 Added 1 teaspoon Tempeh starter/per lb and 1/2 tblsp Flour and 1/2 tsp Brewer's yeast
Step # 6 I mixed the beans thoroughly
Step # 7 I packed beans into locking plastic bags that I punched a grid of holes for air circulation
Step # 8 I incubated packed beans at 85 degrees F. My oven's pilot light keeps the oven slightly higher than that so I kept the oven door slightly ajar, used a thermometer and found the temperature to be a balmy 87 degrees
Step # 9 WAITED ALL NIGHT. Found beautiful tempeh (took about 18 hours)
Step #10 Planned to cook and eat tempeh at lunchtime!
Where there are spaces between the steps, please imagine pictures. Living in rural Sandgate has its ups and downs with respect to the internet. It is raining and therefore, I cannot upload the pictures.
Will upload pics as soon as the weather changes....
Our newest project has to do with growing mushrooms. I'm beginning to think I should have called this blog Sandgate Serendipity. This blog wants to be about more than just what we do with soy beans! It's really about my family life in a great town in Vermont called S A N D G A T E.
You read in my last post about the dangers of too much unfermented soy in the diet. My disappointment turned into curiosity about how to make fermented soy products. I picked tempeh as it is simple to make and most people have eaten it, unlike Japanese Natto, a fermented product that is an acquired taste.
I found powdered tempeh starter at one place only, GEM Cultures in Washington. They have a website: www.gemcultures.com but you cannot use the site to order. You must download the order form and mail it in. You should also pick up some brewer's yeast (I used a champagne yeast) because the tempeh directions mention using a tablespoon of flour and a teaspoon of brewer's yeast (per pound of soy) when it is humid as the flour helps distribute the tempeh starter culture powder throughout the soybeans and the yeast gives it a nutrient boost.
Now, back to how we made TEMPEH in 10 EASY STEPS
Step # 1 I soaked 5 cups of dried organic soy beans overnight.
Step # 2 Removing hulls: When cool enough, put your hands into the beans. Rub beans together. Use a small strainer to remove hulls as they float up.
Step # 3 I cooked soy beans for 20 mins. The rolling boil helped hulls float for removal.
Step # 4 Cooled and towel dried soybeans. Removed any hulls left. (Beans must be DRY)
Step # 5 Added 1 teaspoon Tempeh starter/per lb and 1/2 tblsp Flour and 1/2 tsp Brewer's yeast
Step # 6 I mixed the beans thoroughly
Step # 7 I packed beans into locking plastic bags that I punched a grid of holes for air circulation
Step # 8 I incubated packed beans at 85 degrees F. My oven's pilot light keeps the oven slightly higher than that so I kept the oven door slightly ajar, used a thermometer and found the temperature to be a balmy 87 degrees
Step # 9 WAITED ALL NIGHT. Found beautiful tempeh (took about 18 hours)
Step #10 Planned to cook and eat tempeh at lunchtime!
Where there are spaces between the steps, please imagine pictures. Living in rural Sandgate has its ups and downs with respect to the internet. It is raining and therefore, I cannot upload the pictures.
Will upload pics as soon as the weather changes....
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