DiggingDogFarm

I made a hard cheese roughly 4 weeks ago using kefir as a starter and rennet as a coagulant. It was an impromptu experiment. I have the patience and attention span of a gnat so I couldn't wait to sample it! I sampled it yesterday and was surprised at how complex the flavor is for a cheese that's so young and not aged properly or for any great length of time—I don't currently have the "cheese cave" set up. I vac packed it and kept it in the fridge after pressing. The flavor is slightly tart and is reminiscent of a melding of Cheddar and Parmesan. I think it's very good! The texture is relatively dry, so it would make a great grating cheese, but it's not at all bad when sliced very thin. I'm sure it would have been excellent if it had been aged properly. Maybe I'll do it "right" next time!

And temperature of the meat, brine, etc. And density of the meat muscle. And connective tissue in or on the meat. And fat in or on the meat. And orientation of the muscle fibers. And strength of the brine. FWIW, here is a post of mine on equilibrium brining and a link to my curing calculator: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/universal-cure-calculator.124590/

In the end, here's what I ordered from Fedco: 204A - Provider Bush Green Beans (2oz) 1 x $1.90 = $1.90 318A - Scarlet Runner Pole Beans (1oz) 1 x $2.10 = $2.10 792A - Alderman Shell Peas (2oz) 1 x $1.80 = $1.80 798A - Gard-N Garden Combination Inoculant Legume Inoculant (treats 8lb) 1 x $6.00 = $6.00 1239A - Little Leaf H-19 OG Pickling Cucumbers (1g) 1 x $2.00 = $2.00 1243A - Mexican Sour Gherkin Specialty Cucumbers (0.2g) 1 x $2.50 = $2.50 2439A - Evergreen Hardy White Scallions (1/16oz) 1 x $1.70 = $1.70 2590A - Caucasian Mountain Spinach ECO Perennial Greens (0.1g) 1 x $2.70 = $2.70 3050A - Claytonia Specialty Greens (0.5g) 1 x $2.20 = $2.20 3096A - Good King Henry Perennial Greens (0.5g) 1 x $2.10 = $2.10 3099B - Sea Kale Perennial Greens (2g) 1 x $4.60 = $4.60 3182A - Golden Purslane OG Specialty Greens (0.5g) 1 x $2.10 = $2.10 3195A - Turkish Rocket ECO Perennial Greens (1g) 1 x $3.60 = $3.60 3831A - Jaluv An Attitude OG Hot Peppers (0.2g) 1 x $2.20 = $2.20 3866B - Matchbox OG Hot Peppers (0.4g) 1 x $4.00 = $4.00 4585A - Lavender OG Lavender (0.2g) 1 x $1.80 = $1.80 5282C - Empress of India Nasturtiums (27g) 1 x $5.00 = $5.00

I think I'm going to corn a chuck-eye roast in the style of Darina Allen's "Ballymaloe Spiced Beef." Slightly adapted. Balleymaloe is in Cork, Ireland. Recipe here "Ballymaloe Spiced Beef." I better get my heinie in gear!

I'm giving the kefir a rest for the first time ever—froze the grains. I'm going to experiment with "heirloom" mesophilic (room temperature) yogurt cultures. First up—Filmjölk

Works now, but, of course, there's no index! GRRRrrr!!! Bought it anyway.

All I'll say is—food isn't the only thing that's packed in cans. I open a lot of cans.

Linda Chalker-Scott Debunks Horticultural Myths =Link= I have both of her horticultural myth books: The Informed Gardener and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again Excellent!

I currently have four P-51s and two P-38s.

Appears there are a few Oxo models. All with mixed reviews. Maybe I should adapt a military issue "John Wayne" opener for home use by adding a larger handle. May be able to grasp it with a small pair of Vise-Grips to make it more ergonomic and speedier. Or just start a couple minutes earlier.

OMG! Yuck!!! This may be a disaster! I hope it's not ruined like almost all the Corning products have been ruined!

I'm familiar with that opener. I read some of the reviews earlier—very mixed. "I don't care if this thing is "Made in the USA" or not. It's garbage, just like every other can opener that exists in the world."

No, not necessarily. Not if it works real good.

I have several of the military issue can openers. They're extremely reliable and work well, but they're slow. If I use a traditional can opener and it doesn't work in spots, I can finish opening the can with the military issue. Problem is, my traditional can opener has become so bad at opening cans, it creates a huge hassle! It's a Swing-A-Way handheld—but it's a piece of junk!!!