eG Foodblog: Kerry Beal and Anna N (2012) - Mixing it up in Manitoulin

[Kerry Beal]

I'd like to introduce you to Ernie. He joined Anna's family last week when he was discovered hiding at the Sally Ann thrift store.

He was invaluable today after my dropsy hit again and I dumped the entire container of yeast from the freezer on the kitchen floor.

It has been a bad dropsy week - the first incident was the lamb chop that I was turning over on the egg - flipped it right over the balcony! I stood there for a minute with a dumb ass look on my face thinking all was lost - then realized I could go down after it! It's the one on the lower left (closest to the balcony) that looks a little less 'put together' than the other three.

Here are the marks it left as it bounced across Cam and Vi's patio downstairs.

The next incident was when we came out of the liquor store in Sudbury yesterday and I realized my add oil light was on. Added about a quart, then while putting the cap back on dropped it down into the engine. The lovely mechanic at the Harley dealership figured it was the most fun he'd had all week getting that back out for me - even broke his broom handle in half so he could get at it successfully!

[Kerry Beal]

Experiments in ice balls today - this one was placed in a container insulated somewhat with paper towels to encourage it to freeze in the right direction for clarity. You notice that half is crystal clear.

In keeping with tonight's dinner - a Japanese Cocktail. My orgeat was a little thicker than the last batch I made - we actually added a little lemon after and quite enjoyed the balance it gave the drink.

Set up to tempura tonight.

Anna mixed up rice flour, trisol and soda water.

We had shrimp, sweet potato, snow peas, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms and I had some okra. Anna drew the line at that!

For dessert the Honey Mousse from the Gentleman's Companion. I think it could have used a few more hours in the freezer - but made with buckwheat honey it was quite delicious.

After dinner - out to the balcony to watch the humming bird feed and to try to identify a few species of other birds.

[heidih]

Where to begin....

I love the sense of experimentation, freedom and play.

That freeze dried corn is making me think as I adore "corny corn".

Kerry - looks like you are a "tea with milker"?

You completely captured me with the dropsy bit. To see cooks I think of as a bit scientific and precise admit to such incidents has me smiling. As a visual person I can totally see the yeast flying. Bravo on retrieving that chop!

[heidih]

Oh I forgot to compliment the gift basket. Quite an assortment for a remote area? Looking forward to see how you use and enjoy the items.

[Chris Hennes]

It has been a bad dropsy week - the first incident was the lamb chop that I was turning over on the egg - flipped it right over the balcony! I stood there for a minute with a dumb ass look on my face thinking all was lost - then realized I could go down after it!

Have you no respect for the five second rule?! Or are you just really fast?

[Nich]

I am incredibly jealous right now.

The only thing I've tried making from the Milk Bar book was the crack pie. I deviated a little on the size of the pies being made tho' so I had to leave them in the oven for a lot longer.

With the tempura setup, what was the trisol that you used in the batter?

[Kerry Beal]

Where to begin....

I love the sense of experimentation, freedom and play.

That freeze dried corn is making me think as I adore "corny corn".

Kerry - looks like you are a "tea with milker"?

You completely captured me with the dropsy bit. To see cooks I think of as a bit scientific and precise admit to such incidents has me smiling. As a visual person I can totally see the yeast flying. Bravo on retrieving that chop!

More of a milk with teaer!

[Kerry Beal]

It has been a bad dropsy week - the first incident was the lamb chop that I was turning over on the egg - flipped it right over the balcony! I stood there for a minute with a dumb ass look on my face thinking all was lost - then realized I could go down after it!

Have you no respect for the five second rule?! Or are you just really fast?

Yeah - 5 second rule was right out the window - I just stood there for that 5 seconds! Then ran out the door yelling 'gotta get my chop'. Anna was laughing so hard she nearly spit out her drink. I can't stop laughing every time I recall the incident.

I was afraid that Cam or Vi was going to see me when I fetched it. Thank god they weren't sitting outside when the thing hit!

[Kerry Beal]

I am incredibly jealous right now.

The only thing I've tried making from the Milk Bar book was the crack pie. I deviated a little on the size of the pies being made tho' so I had to leave them in the oven for a lot longer.

With the tempura setup, what was the trisol that you used in the batter?

Trisol is a modified wheat starch made by Texturas that adds crunch to fried stuff (and shelf life to things) - I think they would call it a wheat dextrin. You see lots of stuff with tapioca dextrin added for shelf life. Anyway it makes things shatteringly crisp.

Here's the onion rings Anna made to go with the ill fated lamb chop. Soaked in buttermilk with a bit of salt and pepper, dipped in a flour mixture with about 35% trisol, then back in the buttermik, a second dip in the flour then fried. Two hours later the couple of cold pieces left were still very very crisp.

The trisol was another thing I brought up to play with. For the cotton candy I had picked up a couple of Texturas items that the Canadian distributor had - so I had to see what else they had and decided to pick up the Trisol. It's a huge bucket. But you do use a fair amount with each project.

[prasantrin]

I had a recipe for yum neua, but now I can't find it. Look up Colonel Philpott's recipe (actually his wife's). He posted a slew of her recipes on Usenet way back when--they were so good some Thai grocery store website stole them (i.e. put them up on their website and refused to give attribution--I know this because I called them on it, and they were adamant that they didn't have to give attribution).

How'd you do the round ice cube? What would happen if you insulated the ice cube maker in something more insulating--would you get clearer ice cubes or would it not make a difference? I need a pictorial!

[Kerry Beal]

I had a recipe for yum neua, but now I can't find it. Look up Colonel Philpott's recipe (actually his wife's). He posted a slew of her recipes on Usenet way back when--they were so good some Thai grocery store website stole them (i.e. put them up on their website and refused to give attribution--I know this because I called them on it, and they were adamant that they didn't have to give attribution).

How'd you do the round ice cube? What would happen if you insulated the ice cube maker in something more insulating--would you get clearer ice cubes or would it not make a difference? I need a pictorial!

Ah the round ice cubes! I have at home some amazing round ice cube makers sent by a friend who picked them up in Japan! Didn't bring them with me this trip - but while a HomeSense in Sudbury we found a little tube with 4 ice round makers in them. They press together and you fill through a hole in the top. They seem to have a habit of the ice expanding and instead of going out the hole it pushes the thing apart.

I think something more insulating might do the trick - I'm going to see what I can find that will fit that criteria today and will experiment some more.

[Kerry Beal]

Blueberry Squffins to take for grand rounds this am - sound a little pretentious to call them 'grand' rounds in a community of this size!

And I've got the corn cookies to take for the clinic today where I am working.

[Kerry Beal]

Working on an aqueous extraction of osmanthus flowers this am - not sure what I'm going to do with it. Anna and I had a dessert at a Korean grill of osmanthus jelly which was lovely, very floral. I found the flowers in the asian grocery store before we left so brought along a package. Welcome any suggestions.

[Franci]

Can I borrow your words, Heidi?

Where to begin....

I love the sense of experimentation, freedom and play.

That freeze dried corn is making me think as I adore "corny corn".

The first thing I cooked in it were some lemons - Alex and Aki at Ideas in Food blogged about Pressure Cooked Citrus a while back and I decided this would be a good thing to try. I took a couple of nice lemons, added a bit of water and cooked until they were pooped and the liquid was starting to thicken up. I then made a puree with this in the Thermomix.

So breakfast for me this am was some plain Liberté Méditerranée yogurt with a bit of the lemon puree and drizzle of some nice honey. I couldn't find any grape nuts or anything in the cupboard to add a little bit of crunch.

Thanks for the idea. Now there are going to be plenty good lemons around. I surely want to try this.

[Darienne]

The pair of Anna and Kerry elicit envy on so many levels. Your lunches, your friendship and your cooking partnership. I would give a lot to have a cooking partner. I do have a confectionery partner, Barbara, and that is wonderful, but a cooking partner would be a bonus. Perhaps I should advertise on Kijiji?

Wonderful blog even so far.

[carol lang]

Kerry,

I am enjoying reading about your culinary experiments.

[Anna N]

Good morning! I have been up and about for some time but try to leave the kitchen to Kerry in the morning so she can bake. I did squeeze in breakfast though:

Leftover rib steak, a farm fresh egg (I seem to have caught the same case of dropsy as Kerry!) and some pureed sweet potatoes. I often roast a bunch of sweet potatoes on grocery shopping day, puree them and stick them in the fridge or freezer for a quick side.

If Jupiter is aligned with Mars and all is right with the world I will be cooking up something from the Momofuku book. Our hints as to who would be the next blogger included photos of both the Momofuku and the Milk Bar cookbooks. We thought some of you might catch on knowing that Kerry is primarily a baker and me primarily a savoury cook! First thing I must find out though is the dough capacity of the Thermomix as there is no stand mixer here. Imagine that - we have an ultrasonic cleaner, a mini Green Egg, a Thermomix, a candy floss machine to mention only a little of our equipment, but no stand mixer.

[DianaM]

There is always a gift basket waiting for us. This one contained a gift certificate to a coffee place, a loaf of fruit and nut bread, a hard-ripened goat cheese (not yet tasted) and a jar of baked cherry tomatoes from Spain. Not sure how we will use this yet!

The goat cheese is delicious, I've been buying it every summer when the cheese makers come to the Milton farmer's market.

Those farm eggs look fantastic, with a balcony view to match. Enjoy your time on Manitoulin, and keep making us jealous! :-)

[Anna N]

I think a bit of a backstory on how Kerry and I met is entirely appropriate as it involves eG.

I had been a member for some time when Kerry joined in 2005. I was on a topic about dishwashing detergents and bemoaning the fact that Dawn Power Dissolver was not available in Canada. Kerry PM’d me and offered to get some next time she made a trip to Buffalo. At the time, I knew nothing about her and assumed with the name Kerry that she was male. I was astounded that anyone could be so generous to a stranger and suspected some nefarious motive to find out where I lived and carry out unspeakable crimes on my person or property. (I have since learned that many eG members are incredibly generous with time, knowledge and even ingredients and equipment.)

I relented and gave my address. Kerry showed up at my door one day with said detergent. She didn’t look overly dangerous or criminal so I allowed her into my home. We talked for the next 3 hours non-stop and the rest, as they say, is history.

[Kerry Beal]

Good morning! I have been up and about for some time but try to leave the kitchen to Kerry in the morning so she can bake. I did squeeze in breakfast though:

Leftover rib steak, a farm fresh egg (I seem to have caught the same case of dropsy as Kerry!) and some pureed sweet potatoes. I often roast a bunch of sweet potatoes on grocery shopping day, puree them and stick them in the fridge or freezer for a quick side.

If Jupiter is aligned with Mars and all is right with the world I will be cooking up something from the Momofuku book. Our hints as to who would be the next blogger included photos of both the Momofuku and the Milk Bar cookbooks. We thought some of you might catch on knowing that Kerry is primarily a baker and me primarily a savoury cook! First thing I must find out though is the dough capacity of the Thermomix as there is no stand mixer here. Imagine that - we have an ultrasonic cleaner, a mini Green Egg, a Thermomix, a candy floss machine to mention only a little of our equipment, but no stand mixer.

If you look in the back of the bottom cupboard - I think you'll find a Sunbeam Mixmaster.

[Beth Wilson]

I too met Kerry under suspicious circumstances She showed up in the chocolate store on Manitoulin and started asking all kinds of questions on how I made my chocolates and what equipment I used. I thought the lady was opening up a shop and was trying to steal all my ideas! Luckilly, I got over my suspicions and we got to sharing techniques and ideas. Then Kerry introduced me to Egullet and I started meeting more confectioners. I have been learning ever since!

I have been fortunate enough to enjoy some time with Anna and Kerry on the Island experimenting. I love the fact that "if you can think it up, we will give it a shot" awesome attitude of you two! Really enjoying the blog guys.

I was wondering if that Lemon puree that you pressure cooked up would be good as a chocolate center? Was the flavour as intense as it looked?

I can't wait for the cotton candy machine to be brought out! Wish I could be there when you do.

[Kerry Beal]

I too met Kerry under suspicious circumstances She showed up in the chocolate store on Manitoulin and started asking all kinds of questions on how I made my chocolates and what equipment I used. I thought the lady was opening up a shop and was trying to steal all my ideas! Luckilly, I got over my suspicions and we got to sharing techniques and ideas. Then Kerry introduced me to Egullet and I started meeting more confectioners. I have been learning ever since!

I have been fortunate enough to enjoy some time with Anna and Kerry on the Island experimenting. I love the fact that "if you can think it up, we will give it a shot" awesome attitude of you two! Really enjoying the blog guys.

I was wondering if that Lemon puree that you pressure cooked up would be good as a chocolate center? Was the flavour as intense as it looked?

I can't wait for the cotton candy machine to be brought out! Wish I could be there when you do.

Intensely flavoured but mellow - I think that any recipe that calls for marmalade where you might not want to add a lot of extra sugar would shine with this added. I'm sure I could think up a chocolate center using it.

I realize that I don't have any dark chocolate up here - it said I did on the lists I keep - but I'm thinking when I was up here in January that I gave it to the bakery lady to whom I was teaching some chocolate techniques. (Good thing you aren't up here anymore - she might be the lady to 'open the shop and steal your ideas')

[Kerry Beal]

Lunch today - cold steak, a bit of cheese and some nice little rice crackers.

[Anna N]

Lunch today was light after such a hearty breakfast:

The goat cheese from our gift basket and some crackers.

I have made the dough for the steamed buns from Momofuku and am now waiting for it to complete its first rise.

I did know about the Sunbeam in the bottom cupboard but trust me, it hardly qualifies as a stand mixer! It was state-of-the-art in its day but so was I around the same time!

[andiesenji]

Ah the round ice cubes! I have at home some amazing round ice cube makers sent by a friend who picked them up in Japan! Didn't bring them with me this trip - but while a HomeSense in Sudbury we found a little tube with 4 ice round makers in them. They press together and you fill through a hole in the top. They seem to have a habit of the ice expanding and instead of going out the hole it pushes the thing apart.

I think something more insulating might do the trick - I'm going to see what I can find that will fit that criteria today and will experiment some more.

Chef Tools just added these to their site and I ordered them - supposed to ship by the 28th. Tovolo Sphere Ice Molds.

(I also ordered the Charles Viancin "Water Drop Steamer" - also to be shipped late May)

Edited May 14, 2012 by andiesenji (log)