Boiled Cider?

Have you ever heard or tried boiled cider?  Never have I, but that is soon to change as far as the tasting goes it will be soon.  One of my favorite cooking channels on You Tube was making an apple skillet cake using boiled apple cider.  He is a pretty interesting old guy....probably a few years older than me.  I told ya he was old!  He lives in Canada, built a tiny cabin on his property and films some of his vlogs on cold winter days from the cabin.  He  has a great garden, many varieties of fruit trees and fruit bushes.  Oh, he has chickens.  Has to be a nice guy if he likes chickens.  Ok, back to the boiled cider.  It got my attention when I read his notification for a new vlog using boiled apple cider.  He told about it and how it is made.  I even googled boiled cider to get the full "how to".  Apparently the only ingredient I need is fresh cider and 5 hours to watch it simmer away.  What else do I have to do when the cold wind and rain continues to keep me inside?  Knit, read, try new recipes and old faithful ones, keep up with my You Tube cooks and watch a pot simmer.  Sounds good to me.  Now, I could take the easy way (which I never do) and order a pint from Amazon at $14.95.  Instead I will get a qt from a gallon of cider, at least that is what the directions say.  Either way I am excited to try something new.  It might even be tasty on that sour dough bread that will be hopefully in my oven in 8 days. Tis the season to try new foods.  The starter is doing its thing, all bubbly, raising and falling just like Joshua said.  You Tube is my new how to source.   Just another outlet to learn new things.

Speaking of new things :)  I ordered fingerling yarn from Latvia, way over across the Atlantic, a small country in Europe.  Made me a little nervous but I was looking for a certain color and weight.  This gal has a shop on Etsy.  It said for delivery to the USA it could take from 10 to 30 days.  No problem, I still have another month on the Snowfire, double knit throw I am knitting.  How about 5 days from order to delivery with a tracking number!!!!  Can I say excited beyond words.  When Dick brought in the mail there it was.  Nervous to see if I would be happy with the quality was my main hand shaking reason.  The reviews on her store and yarn were all 5 star and many of them.  The yarn is better than I ever thought it could be.  This gal packaged it in a beautiful bag and added a hand written thank you card.  She won me over by going above and beyond.  I buy yarn at a shop in Alfred, NY and Southern Pines, NC.  I really like to look and feel the yarn before I buy it.  But $ are a priority so comes ordering on line from Knit Picks here in the USA.  They did not have what was planted in my mind as to what I wanted for my next double knit project.  The yarn I bought from Latvia is actually spun in Germany which is fine with me.  The price was amazing compared to buying local even including $10 in shipping.  Some will say, why?  Buy local or made in the USA.  Seriously,  I do try but there are times it just isn't meant to be.  Plus, I really believe in fair trade.  I do mean fair trade as in export and import.  By the way, it is all in the presentation when trying to sell or promote something.  That first impression be it a thing or person is the most important second of like or not.

Now you see why I am hooked on this Latvia shop.

A few of my favorite things :)

A little tip.  If you like fresh seafood try Toads, in Olean, NY.  It is across from Dunkin Donut.  I like their sign inside the seafood and meat market.  It says, try our seafood, it was swimming 48 hours ago, or was that 24 hours?  Either one, that is fresh.  This is our 2nd time for fresh peeled shrimp and both times it was amazing with no old fishy smell!  The scallops are good too.  They also have fresh smoked beef sticks and hot dogs.  Different flavors, such as garlic, cheese, cheese and jalapeno and others but we have only tried the ones I mentioned.  They are open Thursday through Sunday.  Great place!

Tuesday and the sun is shining........now that is unusual in our neck of the woods.  At least this fall for sure.  Will it be snowing all winter?  Time will tell!

Time will Tell

After a few months of taking a break which doesn't mean I really took a break and totally relaxed.  It is simply the point of thinking, going through old memories, creating a few new ones and  hanging out at Cook'n by the Creek.  It has been a busy summer as usual with the garden, canning, lawn work and also doing a few things at the cabin.  There was also time for family and friends, old and new.  We were lucky to meet quite a few new people this year and all were just our style.  That is a good thing.  I always told the boys when the left for college or the military, you will find your own.  They did!  That makes me happy.

So where to begin on the happenings around here?  It will take a while to sort out what goes in what blog.  I am not sure where to start so this old mind will start recent and works it way backwards.  As I set here looking out over Clara Valley with the hills almost bare from the leaves it reminds me of days gone by.  Twenty years we have lived here and it just keeps getting better.  By the way, no beautiful fall colors in our valley and surrounding areas.  It is just one of those years.  No complaints, just take a look around and find something to make you smile and put the awe in your mind.  It sure is green and that is another good thing.  Wild Boy Smokey is enjoying the fresh green grass and has not had hay from his winter stash, thanks to Dan and Merle Austin we have some nice hay.  Now is this a sign of the winter to come?  Seems like that is on many local minds.  How hard a winter?  More snow than usual, more frigid temps or the opposite?  Again, time will tell and only time.  For me, I will take lots of snow...........it is so beautiful, clean and fresh enjoy. 

Friends took us to an old cider mill near Canisteo, NY.  Lain's and it was just our style.  An old barn with the grinders and press.  A little outside stand to buy cider, apples, homemade vinegar, baked goods, cheese and cheese curds.  Dang, I had to try the vinegar.  It had the "mother" in it.  My sister-in-law told me about the vinegar with the "mother" maybe 50 years ago.  Now I had the chance to see it and try it for myself.  That will be another blog!  Told ya I was gathering and thinking on all these mind boggling thoughts of mine.

So what have I been doing recently out of the ordinary routine?  Yesterday I mixed rye flour and water to get a sour dough starter going.  It will take 7-10 days of playing chemist, feeding and dividing the mixture.  Then with some luck I will be making crusty sour dough bread, pancakes and what ever else I find recipes for.  I have been on you tube looking for the recipe that suits me.  I found a young man that is the best to explain and what a humor he has.  He does many things from all kinds of breads to smoking bacon, etc.  Not sure of his age but I am thinking 20 something and I trust his advice.  Even old seasoned cooks and bakers can learn from the young.  His name is Joshua Weissman and worth the watch.  He carries a great sense of humor and just the right amount along with his knowledge.  Check him out if your looking for a little entertainment and great tips in the kitchen for cooking and baking.  

This is the starter, tonight at 4pm it will have set 24 hrs then I get to divide and feed.  

Hoping for some good sour dough bread.  Time will tell!

From our visit to Lain's Cider Mill I bought a half bushel of apples, all different kinds. $8.00 a half bushel, $14 a bushel.  On Wednesday they turned into apple butter, apple jelly and sliced apples for the freezer for winter pies.  After peeling and coring the apples for the apple butter I looked at the peels and cores........what a waste.  They would be put out for the deer but for some reason I thought.......what if I boil them with some water and make apple jelly?  It worked!   Some of the apples had red skin so the jelly is a beautiful light pink.  Sometimes I can think out of the box.......not often but it does happen occasionally.  Then I surprise myself.  

apple butter..............apple jelly =  homemade butter milk biscuits!

That pretty pink apple jelly on the bottom and apple butter on the top.