Afghan Lamb Meatballs with Garlic and Mint

Really, it is the sauce that makes these tasty little meatballs extra special.  The contrast of a yogurt or kefir based, creamy sauce with added lemon, garlic and mint, just sets off the savory lamb so well.  The same sauce can be used for a salad of sliced cucumbers with extra mint  too.

I bought the book, The Silk Road Gourmet, by Laura Kelley, quite awhile ago, and as these things happen, only made two things from her book, both excellent - one recipe, was a Pomegranate- Cardamom Lamb Roast, and another, Meatballs with Lemon Sauce, though I did make that one several times, due to its excellence.  This is a re-visitation, and there is so much more in that book  needing to be cooked up.  Wonderful recipes from her travels following the ancient "Silk Road" through Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, noting the connections and links between the different cuisines and cultures.

Texas Style Chipotle Chicken, Oven-fried

This recipe was inspired by a book I just finished, Susan Wittig Albert's, Cat's Claw, one of her Pecan Springs Mysteries, set in the Texas hill country.  Fun, not too nasty who-done-its.  The publisher's blurb on this states:

 As the first female police chief in Pecan Springs, Texas, Sheila Dawson has cracked many a mystery in collaboration with local sleuth China Bayles. Now Sheila puts her smarts to work, sifting through secrets to find a killer on the prowl…

Larry Kirk, Pecan Springs’ computer guru, has been shot dead in his kitchen. At first Sheila believes it to be suicide, but further investigation reveals that Kirk’s death wasn’t self-inflicted. And the truth is reinforced by her friend China Bayles’ news—Larry recently asked her for legal advice in regards to a stalker.

As a police chief in a male-dominated force, Sheila meets many challenges, especially when her theories rock the boat in high-profile cases like that of George Timms, who was caught breaking into Larry’s shop. Now that Larry is dead, Sheila is sure the burglary is connected to the murder. But when Timms disappears instead of turning himself in, Sheila must prove she’s got what it takes to hunt down a predator who’s loose on the streets of Pecan Springs…

I enjoyed Albert's recent approach to character voice, shifting between the various leads, which brings more depth and insight to the story.  She also includes her usual interesting segues into different local and cultivated herbs, as Cat's Claw, which give each book its title.

Waimea Blue Fog Cheese for Daring Cooks

Sawsan from chef in disguise was our March 2013 Daring Cooks hostess! Sawsan challenges us to make our own homemade cheeses! She gave us a variety of choices to make, all of them easily accomplished and delicious!

I was happy to jump onto this latest challenge, due to my long postponed goal of making pressed and formed cheese.  Having experimented with cream cheese, feta and ricotta, I purchased a form and follower (the doo hickey that fits snugly on top) for pressing cheese.  Those items have been languishing in a cupboard, so hurrah, they've been put to use!

Making my own blue cheese sounded fun, despite my granddaughter's dire warnings, mentioned in an earlier post.  So using a favorite kefir and cheese site, Dom's Kefir for instructions, I started off with a half gallon of fresh, raw goat's milk, and inoculated it for 24 hours with kefir grains rather than rennet.  For a variety of reasons.  I always have it on hand for one.  You can visit his site for more information than you need or want to know.  I'm calling it Waimea Blue Fog, since I bought the goats milk there in Waimea, on the cooler, North end of the Big Island, known for an occasional fog blanketing its road and green hills.

Sauerkraut with Kefir Whey, Juniper Berries, Cumin and Mustard Seeds

These days it almost seems as though I'm either posting about pumpkins, or something to do with kefir.  So, no exception here.  When you're thrilled about a subject what can you do but share the fun with the world at large.  I do realize that for some of you this is nothing new, still ...

When you have kefir in the fridge, a culture in process on your counter top, and some cream cheese draining right next to it, you have arrived in kefirland.  Also there's a lot going on in your kitchen.  Now with whey to utilize from the cheese, you can imagine my delight at discovering a recipe for making pickled veggies of various sorts, including sauerkraut.  Kefir whey shortens the fermentation period, so that hardly any salt is needed.  Though after fermenting at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, you do want to let it mature in the fridge.  Don't do as we did, eating it before the 2 to 3 recommended weeks were up.  Now it's almost all gone, just when the flavor's getting to the fabulous stage.  Please see if you can restrain yourselves.

Three Cheese Ravioli with Mushrooms and Caramelized Leek in Cream Sauce

That title could have been longer, with words like basil and nutmeg scented, fabulous, delicious and wonderful, but we have to be concise some of the time.  Limit ourselves occasionally.  My granddaughter helped me with stuffing the ravioli, which always makes things go faster (and with a certain entertainment value).

I used a mixture of kefir cream cheese, grated cheddar and parmesan Reggianito, with some minced basil, for the filling.  Half the stuffed pasta went into the freezer for another day and half were covered and reserved in the fridge for dinner.  Getting that done early made for a hassle free meal prep later.

Roasted Pumpkin Scones with Fresh Ginger and Cranberries

The aroma of roasted pumpkin is such an awesome thing to have perfuming your home.  Days later I was still smelling that delicious scent.  It seems to linger.  Since a little piece of that fabulous pumpkin was left, I thought how nice pumpkin scones would taste, with a bit of fresh minced ginger and some cranberries .  The sort of thing I wake up thinking about.  To go with my hot cocoa.

To tell you the honest truth, I will never boil or steam another pumpkin, which amounts to flavorless really, when compared to a roasted specimen.   An executive decision has been made in this kitchen.  I am only saddened to think of all those wasted years, of cooking pumpkin the wrong way, just the difference between diluting a flavor or concentrating it.

So, what you do with a little dab of left-over (aside from frying it up with an egg) is to mash and add to this lovely scones recipe from Alice Waters.  Which I did, with a few other adjustments.  Like adding some spices and cranberries, using  kefir instead of cream (but feel free to go with the cream) and a bit of soda to balance the acidity in kefir.

Making Kefir Cheese or "Grandma you could die!!"

On a recent post about my experience with making kefir at home, I mentioned that my next experiment would be using that kefir to make cheese.  My granddaughter was here, so thinking she might like to be involved, I told her about my plans.  I said, for Brie or Blue Cheese, we can scrape a bit of the mold off some purchased cheese, and use it to inoculate ours. When she heard that I would be MAKING CHEESE AT HOME, it seemed to terrify her.  I hardly knew what to say, I was so shocked by the reaction.  Of course, being on the cusp of teendom, she has been lecturing me on various subjects, so I should have been prepared.   "Grandma, don't you know there are thousands of bacteria out there, how are you going to know the mold is safe???  You could die!  I'm not eating any."  Grandma is known to live dangerously; eating mushrooms growing out in the wild, making wine and yes, cheese.

Making Kefir, for Salad Dressing, Lassi, Cheese, Curried Pumpkin Soup

The latest exciting discovery around here is the awesome benefit of keeping a kefir culture going, drinking and doing stuff with it.  On the benefit subject, Bob has had stomach problems for over 20 years, taking Zantac, Prilosec, Tums, antacids, baking soda, etc. etc., daily, and still waking up at night with indigestion.  He has no more of that!  As a side note, he also says it has eliminated his sugar craving. Of course, this solution is of no monetary value to the drug industry.  Sorry you doctors out there, but I do think you should take your heads out of the drug basket, and have a look at other solutions. 

A client of his had mentioned making kefir in front of our grandson, who declared an interest in doing it himself, and was given some of the starter culture (pictured above).  Then, when the boy went off to camp last month, I agreed to babysit his new pet, and Bob started drinking kefir (the client had told him it was good for indigestion/acid reflux).  So, now we have our own culture going and his stomach thing is over.  Sleeping through the night and able to eat without constant indigestion.  An answer to prayer.