Cooking Successes

I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen.

Over the years, Jared and I have stocked up on a lot of food in the pantry, and in an effort to save money for a month or two, we are planning to eat through our food supply in the pantry only buying food necessities. We have done a very good job, and all told, we have spent less than $150 on food since 3 weeks ago. That will even go down more in the coming weeks as I continue to milk the goat and get more and more milk from her. I have big plans for the milk as cheese and as other useful dairy items.

As a byproduct of using the things in the cupboard, I have been cooking almost everything from scratch. This is how I normally am, but there are some things that I had never attempted.

I managed to cook pinto beans the other day, and I made a batch of refried beans. Granted, they are not exactly the same as the ones that come out of the can at the store, but they were pretty darn good. We ate them on tostadas the other night, and Jared agreed that they were quite tasty.

I also managed to make some yogurt out of the goat's milk that I had. I made almost a gallon of yogurt. It came out OK, but I messed up and tried to re-culture some yogurt that only had a 1 generational starter in it, so it took a little longer to make with a little boost from another starter. It is a little more liquid than I would like, but it tastes pretty darn good, and Jared even said that he liked it.

Yesterday, we were in the store, and I was getting very hungry. We walked by some dough nuts, and I insisted that I wanted to eat one. Jared said that I could not have one. Rather than not ever eat them, I went home, and I decided that I was going to make a batch on my own.

I actually managed to do it, and it actually was very, very good. I made a glaze for some of them, and for others I rolled them in sugar. I am going to make a batch of donut holes this morning and take them up to Scott (my goat guy) and his wife. I am happy that they came out so well because they taste so darn good. I will never be able to eat a store bought donut ever again. Attempt it, I dare you.

I also made a very nice batch of Fromage Blanc cheese. It is just a nice little goat cheese that works well on bread or other foods. I am excited to use it.

I have a batch of bagels rising in the oven right now. I had better go turn them into something before my husband mutinies on me.