Day 151: Experimentation

It is always risky experimenting in the kitchen, when the results of said experiment are meant to be dinner.

I finally got my hands on some leaf lard, the best form of animal fat for baking.  Leaf lard is prized for its lack of porky flavor, and is found around the kidneys and the loin.  

Lard is slowly coming back in to fashion.  Marginalized for decades after the production of vegetable shortenings and oils, it is enjoying a comeback in the culinary world.  And for good reason.  It works beautifully as a shortening in pastry, creating a very flaky crust, is fairly inexpensive (of course that will change once it becomes more popular with hipster foodies), and as a naturally occurring fat, can be argued to be better for your body than those nasty hydrogenated vegetable shortenings.

So... back to dinner.  This week I made my first pie dough using leaf lard.  I keep it frozen, which makes it easy to cube, and it proved no more difficult to utilize than butter. 

Instead of a dessert pie, I decided to experiment with a savory one, putting it together for tonight's dinner.  I had a decent amount of roasted pork belly left over, which I combined with sauteed onions and rhubarb, seasonings, and the leftover caramel-vinegar glaze from dinner earlier in the week.  

This may be hands-down the ugliest pie I have ever made.  I was in a hurry; I needed to get outside before the skies opened up and get some more garden planting done.

Thank goodness appearances aren't everything.  While it lacked in aesthetic appeal, it actually proved to be quite tasty.

So, all in all, a decent success.  I will definitely be using leaf lard again.  You'll probably see the results on this blog.  Stay tuned...

Day 150

Stop!  Do not ever throw out bananas that look like this away!  They could even be darker than this, black even!  These are perfect baking bananas.  I throw these in a ziploc bag and put them in the freezer; I don't even peel them.  Once I get a full bag of them, I take them out and make all sorts of tasty things: bread, cookies, etc.  Don't freak out when you see they've turned like, completely black and oozy.  It's almost like they've caramelized.  Trust me, they will add amazing flavor to your banana-laden baked goods.

Day 149

These crazy looking little berries are Alpine Strawberries, akin to wild strawberries and those amazing little strawberries you get in France and Italy.  They are quite small and pointy, and as you can see, have very prominent seeds.  Our plant is quite large now, producing berries nearly all summer.  Their taste is quite floral, a nice change from the bland hard things at the grocery.  

Day 148: On the Menu Tonight

Roasted bone-in pork belly from Bluescreek Meats, baby bok choy, jasmine rice, caramel vinegar glaze.  Delish.

Day 147

Hello little pea!  This pea is growing on one of our Tom Thumb pea plants, so named because they only grow to about 8" high, making them ideal for container planting.

Day 146: Thank You Fergus Henderson

Roasted marrow bones from Bluescreek Farm Meats.  Chile and cherry jam, parlsey salad, pickles, toasts.  A glass of sangria.  A contented sigh.  

Day 145: It's Gettin' Hot in Hurr

All four burners going at the same time.  I'm glad it's cool out today.