Wednesday, August 10, 2011

I Feel Like an Ant

Surely you all know the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper. Well I'm the ant busily storing up for the winter. Yesterday I made paneer (an Indian cheese) for the first time. I just love Shahi Paneer and can't seem to find the paneer locally. And since it really is just a home made cheese, I could make it easily.

It is probably the easiest of cheeses to make. It only requires milk and an acid (lemon juice is traditional, but I used buttermilk) to curdle it. So heat the milk; throw in the acid; watch it curdle; pour through a cheese cloth; let hang for a while; kneed until smooth; refrigerate. It takes no aging, no enzyme, and no trying to get a clean break. So simple. It makes a cheese that doesn't melt like other cheeses do. So you can simmer it in the sauce and let it absorb the flavors.

Today I make the sauce and put them together and froze five servings and ate one. The sauce uses up a lot of things form the garden like tomatoes (whoohoo more tomatoes gone), onions, garlic, and coriander. Remember that pile of coriander I got this year. Well two teaspoons have been used up. Boy do I have a long way to go.

Onions being sorted

Oh and speaking of using up onions and garlic. The garlic was dried and removed from the shed. The onion tops from the Copra onions had dried enough to make braids. So they have been braided and hung (four hanging in the photo above). I made some different sizes of braids. I really like the one long one the best. I'll see how it holds up over time. I also made one braid for my CSA friend. I put in all three kinds of onions on that one. I've got three Alisa Craig that are on the bottom. Then I put Redwings up the middle all the way up and the Copras along the side. The first is a sweet onion that needs to be used up first, but the last two are storage onions and can be kept for a long time.

The last thing I did today was make some pickles. I made one jar of dill pickle spears. Yes just one jar. I made it at the same time as the bread and butter pickles so I didn't have to boil all that water bath water twice. The last time I made dills I didn't like them. I had kept the spices in the jar and they got way too seasoned. So I tried a very simple recipe. The only seasonings are dill and mustard seed. Very simple. I didn't even use onions, though that might be a mistake. I love onions in my pickles. These will be the only pickles I make this year that are canned. Any others I make will all be refrigerator pickles since I like those best.

So this ant has put away a lot of things for the winter in the last few days. Though unlike the ant in the story, I do share if entertained. But not if you sing like a cricket. That cricket that got in the house has been serenading me when I go into the basement is not welcome. The other day the sound was getting higher. It had better not crawl up the walls into my bedroom. Then I'll become an insane murderous fire ant and no one wants to see that.

30 comments:

  1. Cheese, too? Is there anything you don't make?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gayle, I swore that I wouldn't get into making cheese. Really I did. But then we couldn't find paneer. Shahi Paneer is one of my son's all time favorite meals. And let me tell you mozzarella just didn't cut it. It melts and is too rubbery for the dish. We thought about just doing it with chickpeas and not doing cheese at all, but a mother has to do things for her son. So I broke down and made paneer and it was really easy. And delicious. So my son will come visit again on Monday. We will see what he thinks about it all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such a nice cheese to make...so easy. I make it from time to time as well. It is perfect in Indian dishes...obviously.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How do you make refrigerator pickles? I grew over 30 pounds of cucumbers this year!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love paneer. I make it with our goat's milk. Yesterday we had paneer, pea and potato curry. Delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ok, so now I'm going to have to get on the Cheese wagon :) and try making some of this too. You make it sound so easy and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm definitely feeling like an ant too! Since we spent the day yesterday celebrating our Anniversary, I spent the entire day today doing the "can can".

    I'm going to have to try my hand at cheese making after canning season is over.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That cheese looks very interesting! How does it taste?

    ReplyDelete
  9. OK, I'm officially retiring. Not only haven't I canned anything at all (strawberry and raspberry jams are frozen, they don't count), my trip to the garden this morning might just have well not have happened at all. I may have found 8 ounces TOTAL to pick!

    You rock!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I had homemade paneer for dinner tonight. It is _so_ delicious!!! Kudos on making enough for a small army. That's what kind of ant you are: an army ant!

    Or something >_>

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have been wanting to make cheese for sometime now..having a dairy doesn't help. You make it look so easy I just might have to give it a whirl!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really like to see the results of your crop especially tomatoes and onions .. make your own tomato sauce also is a matter that is very new to me. can you share pickle recipe here?

    ReplyDelete
  13. You've been busy, thought you might take a break after canning all those mater sauce.
    I make paneer from time to time, you're right, it's the only cheese don't melt in cooking. I also make kefir yogurt cheese whenever we get tired of drinking it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I found the braiding part is always fun when we harvested garlic and onions. Lovely braid Daphne. Nice home-made stuff. YUM!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The Sage Butterfly, it is very good. I'll have to try to make Palak Paneer when the spinach comes in during the fall.

    McArtor,
    http://daphnesdandelions.blogspot.com/2008/07/frozen-basil-and-summer-pickles.html
    BTW the recipe doesn't have to be followed exactly since it isn't canned. You can make it simple with just the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar and a few seasonings. Or you can make it more complex like the recipe posted.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Bridget, that sounds delicious.

    Carol, it is easy. It is probably the easiest of all cheeses to make.

    Robin, I had to try now since my son is visiting again on Monday and I'll have to feed him.

    Nickie, it tastes a lot like ricotta but smoother. It would probably be good as an herbed cheese.

    Annie's Granny, I wish I could give you my tomatoes. I really don't want them anymore. I'm done canning and have some paste on my counter. I'm trying to give it to my townhouse mates. I can only hope they say yes. Or I'll have to can again.

    Ben, lol it was just a pound and a half. I needed it all to freeze. I have just enough to make Shahi Paneer one more time for my son when he comes to visit on Monday.

    Mrs. Pickles, lol yes having a dairy helps a lot. You can get homogenized raw milk. I used UHT milk which is not the milk you are supposed to use, but heck paneer is pretty foolproof. I'm lactose intolerant and wanted to see if I could make it with Lactaid milk. I wasn't sure if not having lactose would mess it up or if the UHT issue would mess it up. It isn't supposed to work with other cheese, but it does with paneer.

    shafirul suffian, The bread and butter pickles were make using the following page:
    http://www.canning-recipes.com/recipes/bread_and_butter_pickles.html
    But I divided it in half because I only had two quarts of cucumber slices.

    Mac, I'm going to take a break now I think. But only if I can give away my tomatoes to someone. Otherwise I'll have to deal with them.

    Malay-Kadazan, I love the braiding part too. Maybe I'll do a tutorial when I get to the red onions that aren't dry enough yet.

    ReplyDelete
  17. That cheese makes me think of a simple fromage blanc... is it actually similar to that in taste and texture?

    Well done on all the hard work you have been doing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Laura, that is exactly what it is. Different cultures. Different names. But the same cheese. This one is kneaded though to get a creamier texture.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is so cool! I can't wait to give it a go. How much buttermilk do you use in relation to milk?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thomas, a gallon of milk to a quart of buttermilk. 4:1 The recipe I used is on allrecipes.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. all i can say is holy moly. oh, and no moss on you. sheesh.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wow, Daphne! You have really worked hard but boy, you will have so much lovely food to enjoy during the winter.
    I am really impressed!
    Take care,
    Charlotta

    ReplyDelete
  23. Can you show a video or step by step instructions on braiding onions? I want to try it but I can barely do a single braid in my daughter's hair. I'd love to see more detail. I hate to ask this but do your fridge pickles taste anything like the kind in the store? Those are my favorite but since chemo I can't have regular vinegar but I can have rice vinegar and want to make my own - although I think my husband may buy me a fridge for the garage to keep them out of the way.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Donna, It is the busy seasons.

    Charlotta, thanks

    Books, When I do the red ones I'm going to try to do a step by step instruction. I'll see how it goes. It is very much like French braiding. My fridge pickles don't taste like store bought. They are similar, but not the same. But if you love pickles it can't hurt to try them. Some people like them better, some don't. It's all a matter of taste.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi,

    I have been following your blog since some time now..have been silent till now..but had to write a comment today ! You just continue to amaze me...I am an Indian and was brought up eating paneer..but I stopped eating it since I don't like the store bought paneer here in the US..I am too lazy to make it at home..you are an inspiration !!

    Namrata

    ReplyDelete
  26. Right, you're like an ant. :)
    Great post as always.

    Cassy from Guitar Made Easy

    ReplyDelete
  27. What beautiful onions. And the cheese making is highly impressive :)

    We didn't have enough cucumber production this year to make anything other than refrigerator pickles, but last year out canned pickles were hit-and-miss. Some were too mushy and we have no idea why since they were all canned the same way. Must have been the individual cucs.

    ReplyDelete
  28. oh I an't wait till our tomatoes ripen so I can make that paneer and sauce! yum yum!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I know how you feel. Funnily enough I just made some panneer cheese too but only a small batch for tonight's dinner. Yours look more ambitious. It's been pretty busy round here storing up the harvest.

    ReplyDelete