I just got the Elecom Huge Trackball. So far so good!
Elecom Huge Trackball
Black Walnuts
We cracked open a bunch of black walnuts that N had collected from some nearby trees. The shells are so hard! We used a big hammer to smash them open.
Sake update
I think the chewed sake (kuchikamizake) is done. The liquid on top of the rice pieces is clearing up, which is a sign that there is no longer any fermentation going on. If I add more rice, I may be able to get the yeast going again, though.
After the fermentation is done, you’re supposed to strain out the rice pieces (sake lees or sake kasu, which can be eaten or used for pickling), then put a chunk of charcoal in to make the sake clear. In lieu of that, J suggested running the sake through a Brita filter. It uses activated charcoal, after all, and if we keep making sake, it may be useful in the future.
The koji sake doesn’t seem to be done yet.
Roast chicken and veggies
We butterflied the chicken, which is supposed to help keep the breast meat from getting overcooked and dry. The meat has had many second lives, in soup, in tacos, and there’s a ton left over for future uses.
Sake update
Our sake has been fermenting for almost three weeks now. It’s looking pretty good! The remaining experiments smell strongly of alcohol.
As I discussed in the planning post, you can use different sources of amylase to digest the rice. Koji works really well, chewing/saliva is fine, barley malt is less than desirable, and ginger doesn’t work (at all, as far as I could tell). The brown rice syrup, which started fermenting unaided in the cupboard, was added to provide a wild strain of yeast.
After taking these pictures, I threw away the ginger one. It wasn’t rotting, but it didn’t seem to be doing the right thing either. A few days later, I also threw out the barley malt one. It had a weird skin on the surface, maybe kahm yeast?
So I’m left with the koji experiment and the chewed experiment. Fortunately, they both smell strongly of alcohol. I hope they’ll be done soon (how do I tell when that is?). I may add another batch of rice to each. Doing this can push the alcohol content higher than it would otherwise be, since having more food available can trick the yeast into fermenting more.
Friend V from college is interested in sampling the experiments, including the chewed one! Yay! I thought I would be the only one trying it- it’s my saliva, after all.
Feijoas and chickens
The other day, J and I took a trip to pick up free fruit.
I’m not sure what I’ll use these for. Eating, of course, but they get overripe fast. I was thinking of making cobbler or drying some. Any other suggestions?
On the way to pick the feijoas up, we saw chickens!!! I guess zoning allows them in this area.
During the trip, J and I stopped by Whole Foods to buy some stuff and to recycle some number 5 plastic through the Gimme 5 recycling program. Plastics are turned into plastic lumber and maybe into consumer products. They also recycle Brita filters!
We used the trip to go to our local Japanese grocery store, where we had dinner. I check out 99 Ranch’s and Nob Hill’s dumpsters on the way. Unfortunately, they both use compactors, so I couldn’t go diving.
Lastly, we stopped at Goodwill for more mason jars! I think we’re finally reaching the saturation point for prepared food storage. At this point, I’m attempting to get enough that we can store dry goods in jars too. It’ll make the kitchen cabinets a lot more organized.
Garage-cleaning out sale!
Weekends are great for garage sales. Recently, a multi-family garage-cleaning out sale was happening near us. I enjoy non-curated sales since they are usually cheaper and have more useful stuff. The fact that this was garage cleaning masquerading as a sale was a good sign.
Indeed, amongst the hazmat suits, gas masks (one of the sellers was a retired EPA hazardous waste cleaner-upper), and old clothes, were several good finds. One was a stack of cast iron, of which we bought for $1 each:
We got a small pack of pH paper (also from the hazardous waste guy). Maybe it’ll be good for cooking? Canning? Fermentation??
I also looked at very enticing Japanese hankies, but I already have plenty from my dead grandparents… I just wanted to give the hankies a good home ;_; They might end up all alone in the world.
J and I got a ride back from the very friendly hazmat guy. It would’ve taken us a while to lug the air fryer, filing cabinet, and cast iron all the way back (1 mile), so it was very appreciated!
Popovers
We made popovers, an airy, eggy baked item. Although I like them a lot, I’d never realized how easy they are to make!
Popover Recipe
6 eggs
2 cups (480 mL) milk
6 Tbs (90 g) butter, melted
2 cups (240 g) flour, sifted
1 tsp (5 g) salt
- Generously butter whatever you’re baking in. The original recipe (from Betty Crocker?) calls for ten 1/2-cup (120-mL) ramekins.
- Whisk together eggs, milk, and melted butter until frothy. Gradually beat liquid into flour and salt until mixture is smooth.
- Spoon batter into baking containers until three-quarters full. If using separate containers, put on baking sheet for ease. Place in oven preheated to 425°F (220°C). Reduce heat to 375°F (190°C). Bake about 30 min.
Substitutions: I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the flour. Because popovers are leavened by eggs and don’t require gluten, basically any type of flour should work.
Tortillas
It was one of those nights where we had a bunch of leftovers that don’t fit well together. Fortunately, we were able to pull everything together by making tortillas!
I found this seemingly legit recipe. Tortillas are really easy in concept. The dough is made from ground corn, traditionally nixtamalized to improve nutrition, and water. The tortillas are formed by pressing, then briefly heated in a skillet.
Unfortunately, there were some difficulties. I pressed the tortillas flat using a Pyrex square baking dish, so each tortilla had a faint “Pyrex” emblazoned on it. It took a surprising amount of force to press the tortillas, and they were still too thick to cook properly. I see the benefit of a special press. We had to cook the tortillas longer than called for to cook through, but doing this caused the outside to be crispy, rather than soft and flexible.
Making tortillas used up our masa (one of the goals!), so this may not happen again anytime soon.
Dinner at Yayoi and Dessert at Gelataio
