For the love of the nog

I've just been reading on the Internet, trying to find out this burning question: If egg nog originated in the United Kingdom and moved to the USA with the colonies, why I can't find it in the shops here in Scotland?  I grew up on the West Coast of the United States, and egg nog was a staple in our house at Christmas.  Since I've been in Scotland I've not once see it in the shops.  

Never mind, better to make these things yourself anyway.  Especially when your chickens are still laying 5 a day and you need to use up some eggs.

I'll not lie to you, I've been feeling very festive this year.  

Christmas Cake ✔

Lebkuchen  ✔

Christmas pudding ✔

Egg nog--better get to work!!

I used a recipe from Allrecipes.com.  This is a fabulous site, in case you've never been there.  Here is what I did:

Amazingly Good Eggnog

• 1-1/3 cups milk
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/3 cups light cream
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

Directions

1) Combine milk, cloves, 1/8 teaspoon vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil. 

 

 

2) In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. 
3) Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.
 

4) Stir in cream, 3/4 teaspoon vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving. 

 

I changed the recipe only slightly.  I omitted the rum because I want to share it with the kids.  I'll add a wee dash of something from the cupboard after they've gone to bed. 

7 Days (in pictures)

In the spirit of the The Barefoot Crofter, here are my seven days.

Home made gnocchi

Once before I made potato gnocchi and I thought they were really good.  I also thought they were rather labour intensive, because I am a really lazy cook.  However the universe recently ensured that I had a glut of kale, and a glut of potatoes, and I decided I need to make a recipe I had been saving for some time, Spinach Gnocchi Bake.  And yes, I know that the dish isn't pretty.  But oh my did it taste like a little bit of heaven.  Days later and I still can't wait to make it again!

I used the gnocchi recipe from my Italian cookbook, which I will write out here, mainly because it is the only recipe I use from this book.  When I made them this time I didn't think they were that difficult at all, and I had enough from a 1/2 recipe to make dinner and freeze 1/2 for dinner later on.  Perhaps I've matured as a cook.  At any rate I was well chuffed!  However I was just doing a web search on making gnocchi and everyone is saying how hard it is.  I thought it was dead simple, and they were really good.  I think if don't go into a project thinking it will be hard, you will be better off. 

To make potato gnocchi my super easy and tasty way:

1kg/2lb potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
60g/2 oz/1/4 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
300g/10 oz/2 1/2 cup plain flour
salt

1) Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes or until tender.  Drain well.
2) Press the hot potatoes through a sieve (strainer) into a large bowl.  I use the back of a large spoon to do this.  Add 1 tsp of salt, the butter, egg, and 150g/5oz/1 1/4 cup flour.  Mix well to bind together.
3) Turn onto a lightly floured surface and kneed, gradually adding the remining flour, until a smooth, soft, slightly sticky dough is formed.
4) Flour your hands and roll the dough into 2cm/3/4" thick rolls.  Cut into 1cm/1/2" pieces.  Press the top of each one with the floured prongs of a fork.

5) Bring a large pan of water to a simmer.  Add the gnocchi and cook in batches for 2-3 minutes until they rise to the surface.  Remove with a slotted spoon and put in a warmed, greased bowl.  At this point you can use them for a recipe, or simply pour a sauce over them it is up to you.

When I made these, I made 1/2 a recipe, which gave me about 1lb of gnocchi.  I used 1/2 of that to make the recipe above.  The rest I froze without cooking, so when I am ready I can just pull them out of the freezer and pop them into the boiling water.  Talk about fast!

A few notes about the recipe Spinach Gnocchi Bake. I didn't use spinach, I used kale.  I washed the kale, removed their very stiff ribs, and whizzed it in my food processor until it was quite finely diced.  I find kale very similar to eating a brillo pad, so I like to break it down first.  Then I sautéed it with the onions and it was wonderful.  Also, don't skip the Gruyere cheese, it makes the recipe.  I DID skip the mozzarella cheese, because that seemed WAY too cheesy for me.  I didn't miss it, I don't think you will either.

7 Days (in pictures)

In the spirit of the The Barefoot Crofter, here are my seven days.

It cracks me up Isla chose the Santa Beard for her face painting at the school Christmas Fair.  Too cute!

Our first snow fall of the year, November 25, 2011.  Luckily it didn't stick around (though it did snow three separate times!)

Pumpkin pie!  My favourite pie ever, and even better than Mom's now that I cook down my own pumpkins.

Swan at the park.  The girls and I were pretty excited it came so very close to us. 

Home made gnocchi ready to be cooked.  I made a fabulous meal out of this that I will post last in the week.

Isla showing off her new mittens.  I whipped these up for her sheep costume for the school Christmas play, and they are incredibly nice.  I think I'll need a pair of these myself! 

7 Days (in pictures)

In the spirit of the The Barefoot Crofter, here are my seven days.

My first Christmas cake.  It smells so good, how will I wait?

Yes, my chickens spy on me

Last week was a sunset, this week is a sunrise.  Gorgeous colours!

Dave's new hat, and my first attempt at colour work

Our new organic fruit and veg delivery--happy happy!!

Making Digestives

One of things we are trying to do is make (or bake) things that we normally buy.  You can have all of the goodness, without all the extra ingredients that keep things fresh almost indefinetely.  I've had some failures (Jaffa Cakes should be bought, at least by me) but this one is a real winner.

Perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but I printed this recipe out back when we were living in Michigan (uhm, 6 years ago) and then never made it.  Sure, I added it to my recipe book, but that's as far as I got.  Today my husband was craving something sweet and this suddenly seemed the perfect time to try making my own digestive biscuits.

If you follow the link and give these a try, you won't be sorry.  The only thing I did differently than the recipe is, being a very lazy cook, I threw all the ingredients into my Cuisinart (dry first, with a quick mix) and mixed them up that way.  From start to finish it took probably 25 minutes, and that includes baking.

My daughter ate three after her dinner, all the while saying, "These are SO GOOD.  I mean, really, really good.  Make more tomorrow."  That is the biggest compliment I can get.  You will see in the picture some of mine are over cooked.  I rolled them unevenly (and a bit too thin if I'm honest) and the 15 minutes the recipe calls for was too long in my oven.  My second tray came out better.  I was going to put a layer of chocolate on the top and we found it wasn't necessary, they are so good on their own.  So simple.  So lovely. 

7 Days (in pictures)

In the spirit of the The Barefoot Crofter, here are my seven days.

 

The girls are in the paper in their Halloween costumes!

One beautiful sunset

 Lovely apple sauce

 Our new compost bin (should I be this excited about compost?)

Ham and veggie pie (I love pies!)

A nature walk

A good laundry day

Here is the recipe for the ham and veggie pie above.  It is from this book:

I can't remember where I bought it, but it has numerous tasty recipes in it.  The pie I made can be made with any kind of meat you like (I've also made chicken and ham, and chicken and veggie), and any kind of vegetables you have in the kitchen.  I love a versatile meal!

100g cooked ham, cubed
vegetables, any you like.  I don't measure but often use, carrots, frozen peas, frozen green beans (broken up to smaller pieces), broccoli, cauliflower, cooked diced potatoes, you get the idea.  I add enough as I think I need to fill out the pie.
150ml double cream
75ml chicken gravy (I use 1/2 a bullion cube in water)
1 tbs thyme
1 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp English mustard
250g ready-rolled puff pastry
1 medium egg, beaten
ground black pepper

1) preheat oven to 200C, gas mark 6.  In a bowl add the cream, gravy, thyme, cornflour and mustard.  Season with black pepper and mix well.  Add in meat and vegetables.

2)  Spoon pie mixture into a baking dish, I prefer to use the casserole dish in the picture.  It is rather deep, as I add more filling to my pie than the recipe calls for (but you don't need extra sauce).  Then unroll the puff pastry and trim it to fit the dish.  Tuck edges under and press down lightly.  Brush the egg over the pastry, make a slit in the middle to let air escape.  Cook for 30-35 minutes until pastry is golden and puffed up.

Our chickens are crazy

Our chickens are crazy.  Let me explain.  I've never known a chicken to be so social, so curious, and so smart.  Yes, I said smart.  A chicken!

Every day I walk the almost 1/2 mile of our driveway to collect the girls from the school bus.  Last week on the way back home we were greeted by Nae Luck McCluck, our tiniest chicken.  She was outside the gate, and walking down the road toward us.  When we got to where she was, she simply turned around and followed us back home.  It was like she was coming to greet the girls, and make sure they made it back safely to give her some scratch---  which they do each day when they get home.

Funny enough, but I forgot about it.  Then, the next day, there she was again, waiting, this time further down the track.  The next day, there were two of them, and so on.  Today there were 4 birds waiting our arrival.  Very odd to say the least, but the girls feel well loved.  Here is a video clip I took when there were two out.  You can see the border collie in Jess has come out, she is trying her hardest to round up the chickens and get them home.

Eggs!

Well our chickens seem to be kicking the egg laying up a notch.  It started very gradually, with one a day, then two, and now finally five a day!  And even better, four of the chickens are laying where they should in the nesting boxes, and the fifth is laying in a cardboard box we left laying in the garden.  It is thick cardboard, but I'm not sure how much longer it can last against the elements.  It will be interesting to see where she lays when the box disintegrates.

So here are two very simple things I've done with eggs this week.  The first was prompted by my daughter dropping an egg yesterday, and we all felt sad.  It was obvious for the kids to collect eggs they would need a basket.  Luckily we have quite a few baskets that my Grandma made.  We swiped a bunch last summer when we visited, and filled our suitcase with them.

My second project was what to do with an over production of eggs?  Today I made an old favourite, pickled eggs.  There are loads of recipes out there, and I'm going to bet that none are easier than mine.  Here is what I do:

1) boil about 11 eggs (or more if you husband always swipes a few like mine)
2) allow to cool and peel eggs, rinse in water and add to a quart canning jar
3) boil enough plain vinegar to fill the jar to the top, then pour over the eggs
4) seal with lids, and as the heat dissipates it should actually form a seal.  Then label with the date and put in the cupboard for a few weeks
5) enjoy!

7 Days (in pictures)

In the spirit of the The Barefoot Crofter, here are my seven days.

 

Bonfire fun!

A visitor

Walking home from the school bus

 Just down the road from our house

Our new vehicle (aka Dave's new love)

The McGreen girls

7 Days (in pictures)

My girls iced and decorated the carrot cake for my birthday.  That's pure love right there.  Delicious, edible love.

I think the buttons for my new cardigan are really pretty

My Mom made Isla's Witch costume, to her exact specifications.  Everyone was stumped why she was such a colourful witch, but I think it suits her personality perfectly!

 My Mom made Snow White too, she is one talented lady!

Jess in all her comfort

Home made butter cookies