An Adventure in Butter and Cream

So folks, I did it! I made butter today!!!!! It was really fun. It took a bit longer than I thought so I got a bit nervous but everything turned out right. I started with a nice cold mixing bowl, wisk and heavy cream. I started mixing it and watched at the cream got thicker. Once the stiff peaks formed, this is where it got dicy. Since it was taking a decent amount of time, I turned off the mixer and scraped down the sides. I also looked up my friend EK's blog to see what she did when she made butter. About this time, the mixture started changing and I knew I was on the right track. As I watched the butter granules started forming and buttermilk began splashing out of the mixer. Thats right. With a mixer on high, any liquid is going to get wizzed right out of the bowl. At this point I decided the mixer had done its work. I turned it off and felt the butter. It felt like, smelled like and looked like little pieces of butter in a cloudy liquid. I dumped everything into a strainer lined with cheese cloth and squeezed. Once the butter was in a nice lump I began to wash it. I got butter all over my hands and ring, but its all good. The water came clear and I put the new butter into the French Butter Bell that I had bought from the farmers market a few months ago. My mom had bought one just like mine with a different pattern. When she tried to use hers with store bought butter, she said it didn't work. The butter slid right out of the bell into the water. When I filled mine, I checked to make sure the butter was staying upside-down. So far so good. In fact I just checked again... it's still upside-down. Since I've also been trying to find a place that sells fresh dairy products so that I can buy some buttermilk and fresh cream to make sour cream, I used some of the new-made butter milk and the left over heavy cream to attempt to make some sour cream now. Its sitting in a platic container on the counter. "Souring" I hope. We'll find out tomorrow. Now for using up the rest of the buttermilk. I have no idea what to do with it. The only thing I can think of is buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk ranch dressing! I'm sure both of those are fine things to try out. Maybe next week? Anyway.. I have plenty of ideas for using up the butter. I am hoping to make an herb butter with it. I have tons of rosemary that I never use and I am trying to come up with ideas for using it up. So far it's doing the best out of all my plants and herbs that I planted in the spring. I have one cucumber growing but I think it is dying because it is turning yellow. Oh well. On a side note I have some black cherry tomatoes! Gonna talk to my mom to find out exactly how dark they should be before I pick them. I can't wait. Maybe I can make some bruchetta with the basil pesto and cherry tomatoes. Looking forward to all the possibilities!

Its hot outside!!!!

Russell took a picture today. It was of the tempurature gage in the paramedic unit. It registered a 120 degrees outside!!!! Yikes! On a good note: I made a basil-parsely pesto trying to use up all the basil from my herb box. Its getting too hot outside for any kind of plant so I had to save them. The pesto doesn't quite taste like basil, but that's because I put a huge amount of parsley in it. And maybe not enough garlic. I toasted up some pine nuts for the first time. I tasted them too. They are soft. Almost like peanut butter in a hard shell form or something. It was new and different. I also have some good news. I finally bought heavy cream with the intent to whip the heck out of it and turn it into butter!!!! Yay! Stand by for an update either tomorrow or Saturday. Because I am going to make butter. =)

Garden update

So we had a bad windstorm a few days ago and an extra fence picket got knocked into my tomato plants that Russell moved onto the back deck. The mean ol' fence picket broke a branch of the HUGE tomato plant. Lucky me it didn't break it all the way and I was able to stake the branch and tie it to the stake and back on it self. There are bunches of tomatoes growing and I want to enjoy every single one, so I hope the branch will graft itself back onto the main stem. On a happy note, I have dahlia blooms!

Pictures

A picture post of babies!

My garden

I promised an update of my garden when I got my new computer. PS: I did get my computer finally =) So anyway.... here are the garden pictures. I've actually got a rather large cucumber too that I just saw today.

My tomato plants are mutating! They are so huge! It probably is because I misread the directions on the tomato plant food and fed them with it everyday I watered them instead of using it every 7-10 days.

I've got some flowers growing too. These below are Ranunculus.

And these are the Dalihas that I transplanted from a pot. They were just too big.

I also have two big trays of herbs. Parsely and Rosemary in one and Basil in the other. I've used them all but I have tons and am racking my brain for more ideas of where to use them. Any tips let me know =)

New computer

Yay! I bought a new computer yesterday. Unfortunately it won't be in till sometime in the future 8-O But I hope to get all my new pictures up soon. Yay again.

Wedding.... again

So I got some sorta bad/frustrating news today. I called St. Christopher's Church to see if they did weddings on Easter Saturday. Turns out the answer is no. And not just no, but NO! I didn't stay on the phone long after the receptionist said that. I called my mom. She was even more disappointed then I was and asked if Russell and I could change our date. As it turns out, that time in April works out the best for us. March is too iffy with the weather. I mean... this March we still had snow on the ground! I think we did anyway. And in May of 2012 Russell is possibly starting the PA program at AACC. And that will take 2 years. So we would get married, have no honeymoon and not get the chance until Russell finished school and even after that because he would have to get a job first so we can go back to paying all the bills and such. Earlier in the year or even fall of next year doesn't work because Russell will still be in is last semester of his BS degree. So it just works that April 7th be our date. And now I can't truely please my mother and grandmother by having a Catholic wedding because of all this and I have no idea where to even begin looking for new churches to get married in. On top of that, I am not sure I'll have enough money to pay for the kind of wedding that I want. Although the food and drink and stuff for the reception is actually less than I thought, the photographer that I want is $2000 at her cheapest. So I'll babysit for my sister and pick up extra shifts at work and Russell will do the same. I hope it will all come together. I just want to know that I will have the right Church to get married in. So many people hav suggested a courthouse wedding or one outside, but I really want to be married in a church. I don't so much care about it being Catholic or not. I'll probably stop 'wedding planning' for another month and then go back and attack it again. Just trying to make sure I've got all the parts together and such. So Hey! If you've got any suggestions, let me know!!!