In The Kitchen: Chicken Stock, Yogurt and Kimchi

This week brings another build-up of kitchen projects. I like keeping my family well-nourished, though often it seems like I spend a LOT of time in the kitchen. I've been working on doing one project each day rather than all of them at once, but this day I ended up with a counter full of food-waiting-to-be-made. Here is what I made:

Raw Milk Yogurt- I've never had my homemade yogurt turn out like supermarket yogurt, but this batch is really yummy. I heated about 6 cups of milk on the stove to 110 degrees F-- warm enough for the bacteria to proliferate but not so hot that the enzymes and bacteria present in the raw milk would be killed. I then boiled a tiny bit of water, dissolved 2 teaspoons beef gelatin into the hot water, and mixed the gelatin, vanilla, xylitol and stevia (to taste), and a small container of Brown Cow yogurt in with the warm milk. The mixture went into my yogurt maker (but a yogurt maker is not necessary), incubated overnight and then went into the fridge. In this article "Mother Linda" talks about heating or not heating yogurt, and she makes hers without a yogurt maker.

Chicken Stock-I've read that not only does stock have lots of minerals easily absorbed by our bodies, but it also nourishes our digestive systems with its gelatin. Every week I roast a whole chicken, eat the meat, and toss the bones, along with the organs (I would throw in the head and feet, too, if I could find some), into the stockpot. I add some vinegar, some veggies, and let it simmer (covered) overnight. In the morning I pour the stock into jars and refrigerate and/or freeze them. I use the stock for our morning oatmeal, for soups and sauces, and for drinking (with salt added). Here is an article about stock, which includes recipes for chick, beef, and fish stock.

Kimchi- I usually only make sauerkraut, but I'm trying to branch out. I used the recipe from Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods. I cut up about half a head of cabbage (I was supposed to use Chinese cabbage), a few radishes and a couple carrots and let them soak in salt water overnight. The next morning I mixed up a paste of chopped onion, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, fish sauce, and kelp and mixed the paste with the drained veggies. I put it all in a jar, weighed it down by setting a glass with water on top of the mixture, and let it sit out until "ripe". Matt really likes it. There are several recipes at Love That Kimchi, and The Ultimate Kimchi Recipe looks like it's worth trying.

What projects are on your kitchen counters this week? What kind of foods do you prepare on a regular basis?


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