Baking, Baking and More Baking…My Favorite Bread Recipe

So, I’ve been busy putting my new Bosch mixer to the test. I’ve tried Dayna’s favorite bread recipe (which is delish and I hope she’ll share it here with everyone!) and a few others in search of a good standby recipe.

I came across this recipe and made a few changes. It is really, really good. The bread is light and soft…great texture and not too dense.

Best Bread

• 1/2 c warm water

• 3 pkgs or 1.5 T active dry yeast

• 1/4 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

• 1 T white sugar

• 4.5 c warm water

• 1 c old-fashioned oats

• 1 c wheat bran

• 1/2 c flax

• 2 c whole wheat flour

• 1.5 T salt

• 2/3 c brown sugar

• 1/3 c olive oil

• 1/3 c melted butter, cooled

• 1/2 c vital wheat gluten

• 9.5 c unbleached all-purpose flour

• In the bowl of your mixer, add together first four ingredients. Mix on lowest setting until combined. Let sit 5 minutes to allow yeast to grow. Meanwhile, in a blender, blend together oats and flax seed until very coarsely ground.

• Add to mixing bowl: water, oat/flax mixture, bran, wheat flour, salt, brown sugar, olive oil, butter and gluten. Mix on low speed 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of flour at a time until dough pulls away from side of bowl. Amount of flour will depend upon humidity. Dough may be sticky.

• Place dough in oiled bowl and turn to coat surface. Cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm spot or on an oven mitt in a 150-degree oven. Allow to rise until the dough doubles in size or about an hour.

• Divide the dough into 6 small sections (8“ pans) or 4 large sections (9” pans). Slap each section on the table to remove air pockets and form into loaves.

• Place the loaves in greased bread pans and allow to rise another hour or until the dough is about an inch above the rim of the pans. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 35 minutes or until brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn loaves out of pans onto rack until cooled.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Happy baking!

My First Canning Adventure!

I know, I know, all I've been writing about lately is food! Well, that's what my life is all about right now. I love living in a bigger house so that we have room for some food storage! FINALLY! As most of you already know, Rit and I bought a new refrigerator a couple of months ago. I LOVE THIS THING! I know it's silly to fall for an appliance, but it seriously makes my life so much easier. I love the extra space, the great lighting, and the filtered water in the door. I drink so much more water now! I hated washing and filling up our old Brita filter in the fridge before. Anyway, we also bought a freezer at the same time.

I have never had a separate stand-alone freezer. It's a whole new world. I. Love. It. I have been spending a lot of time lately roasting tomatoes, making soups with fresh local produce, and making vegetable and chicken stock...all for the freezer. I'm thrilled with the concept of being able to use local-produce-based, homemade foods all winter. Plus, as silly as it may sound, I find it really satisfying to "put up" food and to see what I've accomplished from this fresh, local produce. I know where it came from and how it was made. I love that!

After listening to Amy's stories of preserving, I decided to try to dehydrate some hot peppers and make our own chili powder. The peppers from the farmer's market were gorgeous and cheap (remember them from my last post?) We also harvested quite a few from our small garden. So, while wearing gloves, I sliced them length-wise in half and removed the seeds. I then dehydrated them. When they were nice and dry, I put them in my beloved Vitamix blender and turned them into powder.

If you try it, just be careful not to inhale when you take the lid off of the blender. It's potent stuff! But it smells heavenly. We can't wait to make chili this winter with our roasted tomatoes and homemade chili powder! Thanks for the idea, Ames!

The boys are in love with dehydrated apples, so I'm making as many as I can. We purchased apples CHEAP from a local orchard. We actually got a really good variety, too.

I bought two dehydrators cheap at a local factory store. They've been running almost non-stop since I bought them a couple of weeks ago. But, in lieu of a dehydrator, an oven can also be used to dehydrate apples. First peel, core and slice your apples. As you slice them, place them in an antibrowning bath. You can make the bath by crushing and dissolving 6 500mg vitamin C tablets in 2 c. of cold water or by adding 1/4 c. lemon juice to 2 c. cold water. After 10 minutes in the bath, remove and pat the apple slices dry. If using the oven method, place the slices on a cake cooling rack and place the rack in a 170 degree oven for about 3-4 hours. If using a dehydrator, place the apple slices on the racks in the dehydrator, careful not to overlap. The time in the dehydrator depends on the type of dehydrator. The slices are done with they are leathery and won't stick together when squeezed together. Cool and then place them in a covered container for one week. If there is no moisture in the container after one week, transfer the slices to an air-tight container and store for up to one year. If moisture is present, try dehydrating longer.


So aside from dehydrating and freezing, I tried my hand at canning this weekend...for the first time! I was a little intimidated, but I read a lot before I got started and I hope I did it right. I have to wait a little longer before checking to see if my jars sealed correctly.

I used a variety of apples. I did core them, but I didn't remove the skins as that is where so many nutrients are found.

I didn't add any sugar at all, just lemon juice and cinnamon. It's delicious! I canned 8 quarts so far and made some to keep in the fridge, which Rit has almost finished off already.

I am loving all of this preserving and I look forward to another week of it. It's getting me even more excited for my big garden next year. YEAH!

Love, Kate

Weekend Recap and the Coveted Recipe Revealed

Dear Sisters,

I can't believe that you have already come and gone! I've been looking forward to your visit for over a year and now it's over. Hard to believe. We had such a good time and I'm so grateful that you were all able and willing to come. I truly loved spending the time together with you and Dave and mom and dad. Molly, we so missed you.

Here are a few photos of our memorable weekend:

The bike ride to the beach.

Canoe Races

Mom and Dad

Paddlers Extraordinaire

 I tried to include photos from the lighthouse, but they kept inserting sideways. Huh. I don't know. Anyway, we enjoyed some fun food during your visit and several of you asked for recipes. Here's one of my faves from your visit:

Roasted Red Pepper-Basil Pesto (compliments of Bobby Flay)

You can roast the red peppers as he does. Obviously, that's preferred. If you're typically short on time (like me), you can use the jarred variety. 

• Roasted red peppers (the equivalent of two peppers worth)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Put the peppers, garlic, basil and pine nuts into your food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil and pulse to emulsify. Add the cheese and salt and pepper to taste and pulse few more times to combine.

We have used this recipe for everything from pizza sauce to a dip for crackers and veggies to a sauce for sandwiches (as we did during your visit).

I can't wait to hear what you do with it. I'm excited to share with you next week the recipe I found for laundry detergent. I wanted to test it out before I shared. After using it for about three weeks, I really like it and haven't had any problems. So, next week it is.

I had such a great time with you all and thank you for the fun visit.

Love, Kate

p.s. LOVED the tomatillo salsa you made while you here, Ames. And Dave, LOVED the stuffed jalapeno poppers you made...even it it did take me hours to recover from the heat.

Green Smoothies

Good Morning Girls,
I'm sure by the time you read this, I'll be in Wisconsin sharing a long weekend with most of you.  It should be a great family bonding experience.

Last week I took Nate and went to State Fair with dad, Dayna and Logan.  It was so fun to bring our four-year olds and enjoy the smells, sounds and sights of the fair.  I love that atmosphere!  We also had to stop by the Vita-Mix demo and taste the green smoothie..  We all loved it, even the little boys.  I do love green smoothies, not only how they taste, but the nutrition they are packed with.  One thing I learned was that lime is wonderful addition to a green smoothie...so refreshing.  I had to try it on my kids the next day and they really liked it as well.  I think the citrus helps mask the kale taste and I also added more spinach that I have been lately.  I only put in about 1/8 of a lime, peel and all.  Wash it well before using it, but you'll be surprised by the great flavor it adds.  This morning we had another green smoothie and this is what I added: spinach, flax seed, water, pineapple, bananas, apples and about 1 Tblsp. apple juice concentrate with some water and ice.  You all know that I love my vita-mix and green smoothies is one of the reasons why. 

Enjoy your day!

It's Tomatillo Time!

Sisters,
I'm so excited to share a new favorite at our home!  We started growing tomatillos a few years ago in the garden.  We only planted them the one year and they've faithfully returned each year since.  I grew them at first so I could make the tomatillo salad dressing we all love.  Then I started experimenting with other recipes, but haven't considered any of them "keepers".  I've finally made a recipe we really like. Drum roll please...it's Roasted tomatillo salsa.  We like it with chips or as a sauce for smothered burritos.    I've decided that the trick is to have plenty of hot peppers in the mix.  That is not the norm around our home...I think we have tender taste buds and don't like things very spicy, but the combination with the tomatillos is perfect!  It's pretty easy to make and as usual at my house, you taste and add whatever the batch needs.  The original recipe is found at Allrecipes here, but I've included the recipe with my modifications below.


1 pound tomatillos (with husks on)
1 onion quartered
4 garlic cloves peeled
4-5 banana or Anaheim peppers (I've even used a bell pepper with the others)
1-2 jalapeño or Serrano Chile Peppers (depending on the heat you want!)
Salt to taste
a handful of chopped cilantro

Rinse tomatillos with the husks on and wash the peppers. Put tomatillos, peppers, onions and garlic on a cookie sheet and roast on broil until they start to blacken.  You may need to stir so they roast evenly.  Cool and remove tomatillo husks and pepper stems (and seeds if you don't want it very hot!).  Put tomatillos, peppers, onions, garlic and salt in food processor and blend until slightly chunky.  Heat in sauce pan if desired to further blend the flavors (sometimes I skip this step and it's still great!).  Add cilantro and serve with chips or over a burrito.  Enjoy!

I do want to hear if you try this.  I've made a couple larger batches and frozen it.  I'll heat it and then add the cilantro.  It will make a great winter meal.  I wish you all lived closer so I could share the many tomatillos that currently grace my garden!

Our New Favorite Recipes

Hi all,


The boys and I decided to make lunch for all of the staff at Rit's school last week. I wanted to share the two yummy recipes we tried out. We made grown up grilled cheese sandwiches and the best cookies ever for dessert. First, I'd better tell you about the sandwiches. I used country white bread, each slice buttered on one side. On one slice, spread ricotta cheese. Here's the pile: First, place the ricotta-spread slice butter side down on your griddle or frying pan. Then add your meat like Canadian bacon or pepperoni. The meat can easily be left out. Pile on some roasted red peppers and fresh basil. Add some balsamic vinaigrette. Top with thickly sliced fresh mozzarella and cap it with your remaining slice of bread. Grill on both sides until browned and the cheese is nice and gooey. They are good beyond description. 

Now onto the cookies. There seems to be a trend lately in baking: salty and sweet. It's a delicious combination. For example, salted caramel cupcakes. YUM.I found the recipe on a blog called Sugar Cooking. Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips. WHAT?! They are beyond delicious. Be sure to add the salt on top. It's the prefect finishing touch.

Both the sandwiches and the cookies were a big hit. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Love, Kate

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins

Kate,
Sorry to hear about the terrible fate of chippy. Keep those five gallon buckets covered! ;) It was such a nice weekend, busy but good. We had a great time at our girl mother's day luncheon, but wish you would have been there. It has been so nice to have my in-laws visiting. I really enjoy having them here.

Yesterday I made this recipe and I wanted to share it with you. I frequently have leftover hot cereal and will frequently give it to Ginger to eat... in know you are rolling your eyes as you think that I shouldn't be feeding that to a dog. Instead of giving it to Ginger, now I have a recipe that uses cooked oatmeal and it was even good. I don't have a photo because these muffins were eaten to quickly. Everyone really liked them. You'll have to try it sometime and let me know what you think!

Leftover Oatmeal Muffins
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sucanat
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 Tblsp butter and 1 Tblsp coconut oil (or just use 2 Tblsp. butter) melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked oatmeal
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Combine dry ingredients and then add egg, milk, and butter. Stir until well blended. Spoon into lined or greased muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees.
Next time I think I would add chopped apple or raisins as well. They were quite good.

I hope it's a good day. We're still trying to figure out if it's winter or spring here. We got some new snow on the Mountains and a lot of cold rain here in the valley. I am looking forward to a warm weekend.

Love,
Amy

Rhubarb Cake Recipe

Kate,
It was so fun to walk around the yard on Saturday and notice that our rhubarb is ready. We only have two things we are harvesting at the present...rhubarb and spinach! I do love this time of year. I love thinking about yesteryear and the memories of rhubarb pie, rhubarb sauce and rhubarb cake.

For our Sunday dinner, I decided to break out mom's rhubarb cake recipe, healthify it and make it for dessert. It was moist and great...even dad gave it two thumbs up! You'll have to find some fresh rhubarb and give it a try. Here's the recipe I used...the healthier version.

Rhubarb Cake
1 1/2 cups sucanat (I used slightly less)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
dash of salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup milk
Mix the above and then add:
2 cups chopped rhubarb
Mix and pour into greased 9x13" pan...I just sprayed it with an olive oil spray.
Sprinkle the top with sucanat and cinnamon and chopped nuts (I used almonds)
Bake at 350 degrees for about 32-35 minutes.

Enjoy!
Amy

Recipe: My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie...the Healthier Version

Kate,
Today I decided to be the perfect mom and have chocolate chip cookies waiting for an after school snack. You know I am always trying to make things a little healthier, so I tried it with my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have always used whole wheat flour and even sucanat, but this time I made additional changes. They turned out very yummy. I even took some to my neighbor and she gave them a thumbs up. You really can't tell that they are better for you...now I must say they are not great for you, so you'd better not eat the entire batch!!
Here's the recipe...
1/2 cup butter softened (I want to try decreasing this, but haven't perfected that yet)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
3 Tbsp. applesauce (non-sweetened)
2 cups sucanat (sometimes I use a little less)
Cream
Then add:
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum type)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups regular oatmeal blended in blender until powdered (usually blend 1 cup at a time for best results)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 package chocolate chips
Raisins and nuts if desired

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until done (do not over bake)

Let me know what you think. I think you'll like them! I have some fun Easter things I want to share with you...I can't wait!
Love,
Amy

Recipe: Green Smoothie Deliciousness

Dear Amy,
Good morning! We both know how hard it can be to get enough veggies into our kids’ diets. i know that you’ve been interested in green smoothies for awhile now, so I thought I’d share one of our favorite green smoothie recipes.

We have this practically every day for lunch. The boys love it and anticipate it. And it’s super fast and super easy. Of course, the recipe is not exact since I made it up and I make variations of it depending on what I have on hand.

Combine:
A couple of large spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt
A couple of large spoonfuls of unsweetened applesauce
one banana
a few cubes of cooked sweet potato (skin-free)
a handful of raw spinach
1/2 cup or so of apple juice
Blend until smooth.

These amounts are for an amount that feeds both of my boys—maybe a couple of cups or so. I’ve added nuts, wheat germ, and raw oatmeal in the past—all have worked well. To blend it, I use my favorite kitchen toy—the Magic Bullet. I LOVE this thing! I got it on super sale at Kohl’s and I use it at least once a day…typically several times a day.

I usually pair a green smoothie with crackers, humus, sliced veggies, raisins and some cheese. The boys love it and I love knowing that they are eating well.

Give it a try! Have a great day!
Love, Kate

Recipe: A Healthy Twist for Banana Bread

Dear Kate,
As you know, I love making recipes a little more healthy. For some reason I love learning about healthy eating and healthy living. I have a recipe that I've tweaked for Banana Flax seed Bread that I want you to try sometime.


Banana Flax seed Bread
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 cup milk with 2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice added (let sit 5 min.)
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. applesauce
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp. baking powder (non-aluminum)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup mashed bananas

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix sucanat, milk, eggs and applesauce until smooth. In a separate bowl combine wheat flour, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix and add to wet ingredients. Add mashed bananas and lightly mix. Pour into greased (or sprayed) loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cook slightly in pan before removing. Makes one loaf.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. My kids even liked it and as you know that is not always the case. I hope it's a great day in Wisconsin. The weather is beautiful here, but is supposed to change later in the day...I'm getting Spring Fever!
Love,
Amy

Recipe: Scones...the New Breakfast of Champions

Dear Amy,

So, my BFF Tina came over this morning to spend some time with the boys, join us for breakfast and cut our hair—even the boys’. She has a salon here in town, but she’s kind enough to come over to cut our hair here at home. So sweet!

You know how much I love to cook, so I tried out some new recipes for breakfast this morning. I’ve made scones before, but never breakfast scones. I found a recipe and tweaked it a little. We loved the outcome. Give it a try!

SCONES (made 12 smaller scones)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter (Make your own! Find the directions in a previous post

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 Tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Mix well. Cut in butter using a pastry blender until you have pea-sized lumps. In a separate bowl, mix together milk and sour cream. Add milk/sour cream mixture to dry ingredients. Stir gently until well blended. The key to good scones is in working the dough as little as possible. DO NOT OVER STIR!

With floured hands, form the dough into balls. Place on a greased baking sheet, lightly touching each other and gently flatten slightly. In a small bowl, combine egg and remaining milk. Whisk together. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash and let them sit for 10 minutes. Bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Okay, so now for the fun additions. I added a cup of fresh blueberries and a handful of white chocolate chips to the dry mixture before adding the wet ingredients. After brushing the formed scones with egg wash, I sprinkled them with crystallized sugar. Or you could skip the sugar and go the simple glaze route. Instead of blueberries, try raisins or dried cranberries or dried currants. Try adding a little vanilla and cinnamon and then top with a vanilla/milk/powdered sugar glaze. So. Good.

For lunch or dinner, skip the fruit and sugar. Instead, add some chopped scallions, crumbled feta or gouda, fresh chopped herbs (maybe a bit of basil and oregano) and top with shredded cheese. YUM!

Yes, both photos are not of an entire scone. Yes, the recipe did make 12 scones. And yes, this was the very last bite of the very last scone…a mere few hours after breakfast. They were that good. And less than a minute after I finished taking these photos, in walked Rit and gobbled up this last bite. Yep, THAT GOOD.

I’ll be back Monday with a fun sewing project. Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Love, Kate

It's a Clay Day

Dear Kate,
I love the clothing adaptations you have made to make them work. I will have to try it. As you know, having a three year old under foot all the time is wonderful, but can also impede some of those basic household tasks. I have found over the years a great way to get my kitchen clean and keep the younger children occupied. When I do a good clean of the kitchen, N gets to play with clay. He loves it and looks forward to the weekly event. I limit the use of play dough because it is such a mess, but it has still been a favorite of my children. While N. is playing, I am able to clean out the fridge, clean the appliances, clean out a couple of cupboards if needed and the other things that need to be done in the kitchen. When I am ready to sweep and mop, the play dough is put away. N. then helps me move the chairs after I wipe them down and he lines up the chairs and plays with those while I mop the floor. It's been a great way to have him occupied and having fun while I complete one of my chores. I do prefer homemade play dough, so here is the recipe.
Homemade Play Dough
4 cups flour
1 Cup salt
2 1/2 tsp. alum
2 Tbsp. melted shortening
2 Cups warm water
Mix and add food coloring.

I store this in a Ziploc bag in the fridge. It keeps for quite a while.

Enjoy!
Amy

Recipe; Homemade Healthy Granola = YUM!

Kate,
Making butter...how fun! I am anxious to hear how the budget thing goes.  That will be challenging, but you are always up to a good challenge!  I will check out the cookbook you recommended.  I always love new cookbooks.

Well, we decided to cook in our kitchen today as well. As you know, I love to cook and part of that is tweaking any recipe to make it better for you. N, age 3, has been asking for homemade granola, so today we made some! My entire house smells soooo good! Here's the recipe I used, it is one I tweaked by combining a few other recipes and then changed it a bit to make it healthier. Here you go:

Homemade Healthy Granola 
7 cups rolled oats (not quick)
1 cup raw wheat germ
1 cup shredded coconut (not the sweetened)
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup freshly ground flax seeds
1/2-3/4 cup seeds (sunflower, sesame, pumpkin etc.)
1 cup raisins (I also added some chopped dates)
1 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews etc.)
1 cup non-fat dry milk
Mix in bowl  and set aside

3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
1 tsp. salt (you could probably leave this out!)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. maplene
You can add some brown sugar if you'd like it a little sweeter
Mix the above ingredients in blender and then pour on dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Spread onto two large cookie sheets and bake at 250 degrees for 60-90 minutes stirring every 20 minutes.

As you can tell, you can change it to fit your tastes.  You may want to add more nuts, less wheat germ, more flour.  Play with it.

You'll have to try it and let me know what the boys think.
Have a great day!
Amy

Getting Started…

Dear Amy,
So, a lot is going on here. R and I have made some significant decisions regarding how we want our next couple of years to unfold.
We have committed to living on half of R’s salary for one year—HALF! Ouch. Although R doesn’t make a lot of money, she makes a good salary. And we feel that we spend more than we need to each month. Okay, let’s be honest, I spend more than I need to each month. And that other half of her salary? It’s going into savings. We’re going to do some traveling and the rest will go toward building our dream house in a couple of years—a spacious (not large) barn house with lots of windows on some spectacular acreage…with chickens…and a two-car garage.
The budget will be finalized this week. And living within such a strict budget? I know it sounds crazy, but it excites me! I look forward to the challenge. I welcome the creative problem solving. Part of the challenge will be to make this small house continue to work for our growing family for the next two years. Toward that goal, I am making daily decisions, conscious choices that keep us on the right path. More about that later in the week.
For now, I want to tell you about one of my favorite books in the kitchen: The River Cottage Family Cookbook. Love, love, love this book! It’s full of recipes and ideas for living and eating well. this book contains some great information on dairy foods, including directions on how to make butter. I realize that you’ve already tried this, but I haven’t, and I loved it. So easy! Last night, we enjoyed a dinner of homemade vegetable soup, homemade sourdough bread and homemade butter. Yes, butter! We made butter!
Please follow along with my make your own butter tutorial:
Start with heavy cream, locally produced is better, and leave it on the counter about 30 minutes or so, until it’s room temperature. The fresher the cream, the longer it will take to turn into butter.
Find a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. I used an empty applesauce jar. Fill it one-third full with cream. It needs plenty of room to move around and churn, so keep it to one-third full.

Screw the lid on tightly and start shaking! Shake it up and down and all around so that the cream is really moving around and hitting the bottom of the lid. Don’t stop shaking until the butter is finished. It’s a good workout using such a large jar. R and I had to take turns! The boys loved it.
At first, it will obviously feel like cream sloshing around in there. Then, it will get quiet and you won’t be able to see into the jar. Voila! Whipped cream!

Keep shaking! Suddenly, you’ll feel something heavy sloshing around in there, surrounded by liquid. It may take anywhere between 10-30 minutes to get to this point. You’re almost done! At this point, it’s very soft and looks like whipped butter. It needs a little more shaking to firm up a bit more and separate from the buttermilk.

All finished. Here’s what the butter looks like before it’s drained:

Drain the buttermilk into a separate container.

Then fill the jar with cold water, slosh the butter around and drain. Repeat this step until the water runs clear. Dump the butter onto a wood cutting board. Press with the back of a wooden spoon or with your hands to remove the rest of the buttermilk. If the butter is still full of buttermilk, it will spoil more quickly.


All done! Shape, wrap in wax paper and store in the refrigerator.

I highly recommend enjoying your fresh butter with fresh-from-the-oven, still-warm sourdough bread. Does it get any better than this?
Love, Kate