Mastodawn

Michael Sheldon Jan 14, 2023

First-year's harvest of lemons is in! Well, except for a few I picked in the last couple weeks.
For such a small tree, it really produced this year.

And you know what to do when life gives you lemons, right? Yup, grab a bottle of gin! 🤣

Michael Sheldon Jan 1, 2021

Honestly, 2021 needs all the luck it can get, so for our New Years meal, two traditional foods:
Pork and Sauerkraut a tradition in Pennsylvania where my wife and I grew up, and Hopping John, a Southeastern tradition.
The pork in this case is an end loin roast I slow-cooked on the smoker.
Modern recipes for Hopping John use black-eyed peas, but the 19th century recipe I use calls for red cowpeas.
Hopping John recipe:
https://butterthesizeofanegg.com/new-years-traditions-hopping-john/

New Years Traditions: Hopping John – Butter the Size of an Egg

Butter the Size of an Egg

Michael Sheldon Dec 27, 2020

My wife got me a subscription to the "Mantry" (Man's Pantry) this year. And in the first crate was a bottle of Hot Honey (Chile-infused)
Now, like me, I'm sure the first reaction you had was "what the heck do you do with THAT?"
And about 30 seconds later, I thought, ooohh, honey-glazed carrots! Which I tried, and they were awesome.
My next idea was to brush down a batch of cornbread with it. Oh yeah, that's good eats.
Recipe:
https://butterthesizeofanegg.com/spider-corn-bread/

Spider Corn Bread – Butter the Size of an Egg

Butter the Size of an Egg

Michael Sheldon Nov 10, 2020

Buttermilk Whole Wheat Bread (One Pound Loaf)

3/4 Cup buttermilk
1.5 Tablespoons Canola Oil
4 Teaspoons Maple Syrup
1 cup Unbolted Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp Bread Flour
1 Tbsp Gluten
1 Tsp Salt
1.5 Tsp Yeast

In a bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, bread flour, gluten and salt.
Add, buttermilk, oil, and syrup to the pan.
Add the flour mixture to the pan.
Make a small well in the flour, and add the yeast to it.
Set bread machine for whole wheat setting and run.

Michael Sheldon Nov 9, 2020

Well, the third loaf of bread in as many days, is now cooling in one of my ovens.
Hoping that my hound won't be able to get that open. 🙄

On the plus side, doing it three times in a row allowed me to tweak the flour amounts. The first loaf was a little wet, the second was a little dry, this one is juuuussst right. 😋

Michael Sheldon Oct 17, 2020

Finished another task on the kitchen list.
Installed hanging pot racks in the end cabinet opposite the range. These cabinets do not have doors, and are only 18" deep.
The pot racks are 24" long, and intended for use in kitchens with lower ceilings. I bolted them directly into the underside of the butcher-block countertop.

Michael Sheldon Oct 16, 2020

The island countertop was delivered on Tuesday. But, it's going to be a little while longer before it can be anchored down.
Apparently, when you take a big piece of wood from somewhere (Tennessee) that has this mystical thing called humidity, to a place (Arizona) that does not believe in humidity, wood does "interesting" things.
Currently, it's got a concave warp across the width, with about 15mm of deflection, due to the top shedding moisture faster than the bottom.

It's gorgeous though.

Michael Sheldon Oct 5, 2020

OK, it's probably a bit weird for me to squeee. 'Cause, 50+ years old, male, and regarding a cook book.

But, squeeeeeeeee!

I just got a package from English Heritage with a copy of "How to Cook the Victorian Way with Mrs. Crocombe" that I pre-ordered ages ago. It even has a signed card in it from the actress who plays Mrs. Crocombe at Audley End, Kathy Hipperson. It's a gorgeous book, lots of photos, etc.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you MUST check out their videos on YouTube!

Michael Sheldon Sep 10, 2020

Day 41 of kitchen rebuild. The range is now levelled and in place. There were issues with the levelling devices on the range, so I spent some time today fabricating my own. It's now dead-level, and very stable.

The range top, from left to right:
Two 15K burners, with a "portable french top" sitting on them. One 18K burner, then one 11K burner and one 5K burner. Right of that is two induction rings.

Ovens, left to right:
Electric convection oven & broiler. Gas oven. Electric "warming cabinet".

Michael Sheldon Sep 5, 2020

It's day 39, end of week 8.
There's no question, it looks like a kitchen now. The sink-side countertop is in place, and the water is operational.
The electrical is all hooked up and turned on, and I put up the center ceiling light fixtures.
Monday's a holiday, so next progress will be tuesday, when the appliances are delivered and installed.

Two more weeks until completion.