My kitchen has changed these past couple of years. Aside from actually physically changing kitchens around 5-6 times since starting this blog, I've practiced my skills and added some fancy new tools. My current job at a kitchen shop helps with both the skills and the tools. I own several sharp knives and know how to use them reasonably well. I own a refurbished Vitamix and use it for millions of smoothies and amazing velvety soups. I actually follow recipes now! I'm experimenting with new ingredients and new techniques which means I am often vastly out of my comfort zone. The first time I made clarified butter, I sat with my nose practically touching the pan anxiously waiting for the milk solids to settle to the bottom. Last time I made clarified butter, I threw the butter in the pan and let it do its thing until it was time to skim the foam. Then I threw some brown sugar, a dash of apple cider vinegar, some sea salt, and a healthy dose of vanilla together and cooked it down into a nice caramel sauce to drizzle over cheesecake. Always save the foam! You paid for that foam, dangit! Don't just throw it away!
The same attitude applies to many things in my kitchen. Vegetable scraps and chicken bones are stashed in the freezer until I feel like making stock. I'm trying my hand at pan frying salmon with a crisp melt-a-way skin (need to practice this one more). Coffee grounds were thrown around my potted herbs (Until I let the herbs die in the hot sun. I can't get attached to plants at a rental. My green thumb may just have to wait until I own some actual dirt.) Why, right this second I'm drinking a soothing brew I threw together in a saucepan. Just keep topping off the pot as you dip some out and keep using the same herbs and spices until the flavors all used up. This is called frugality. It's been around for centuries and centuries and I certainly am not claiming credit for it. Merely, as my skills in the kitchen develop, I am recognizing ways to use all my ingredients to their fullest potential.
Anyway, here's the rough recipe (I still don't measure everything) for the lovely beverage I'm enjoying. This post was originally going to be about a roasted grape, goat cheese, and proscuitto pizza we made recently, but it somehow took a different turn. Life can be funny that way. The pizza post will wait.
-One small pot water
-Smallish chunk of fresh ginger cut into smaller chunks
-Some peppercorns. Like, a half teaspoon or something
-A couple bay leaves
-Some cinnamon. Stick if you got it!
-Whatever else sounds nice. I threw in some sage
Boil all this up until it smells nice. Ladle some into your favorite mug. My favorite mug is a lovely mulberry color and the glaze is all swirly! Top off the pot and bring to a boil again. This recipe is technically supposed to steep for a few hours, but I wanted it now. Put a healthy spoonful of honey into your mug. I'm lucky enough to have picked up some local honey at the farmer's market outside my work. Add a dash of cream. Enjoy!
This recipe was taken from another blogger named Shaye Elliot. A homesteader from somewhere in Washington who just does all kinds of cool stuff. We don't know each other, but we may actually be soul sisters. You'll notice that my recipe lacks all-spice and cloves. I lack all-spice at the moment and flat out did not read the recipe that well and missed the cloves. My recipe has sage because I like sage. This is a cup of tea, not rocket science. Make what you love and relax!
I also want to clarify a couple points on my sidebar as to other things that have changed for me. Currently, our apartment has its own washer and dryer. This experience is just as wonderful as I expected. It's real swell not to hoard my quarters or have to trudge a block or two through snow drifts to wash my sheets. Also, I now own a culinary torch and have used it on occasion to make creme brulee. This experience is also as wonderful as I expected it to be. I love creme brulee and that's a fact. My culinary torch has also been utilized for toasting cheese on top of French onion soup, bruleeing sugar on a lemon tart, and (my current favorite) roasting marshmallows for s'mores. I eat so many s'mores.
