Monday, January 27, 2014

Adam's Day in the Kitchen

I slapped all these photos up on facebook in one thread, and it looked so much like a blog post, I thought, "Hey! A blog post!"
We read on the weather forecast yesterday that a big winter storm is headed our way this week -- a "weather event," as we now call them. This got my hubby's cooking spirit all riled up, and he started slamming pots around and dashing to the grocery. It was a cookin' day, in anticipation of being snowed in! Does ice and a few inches of snow count as a snow emergency? Ha! In the Deep South is sure does!
First he made this Moroccan bread, khobz. I can never remember how to spell it. We don't know how to pronounce it. Who cares? It tastes delicious.
These are for supper tonight, with homemade chicken salad.
Then he made a fresh batch of granola with dried fruit. Very good.
He made another batch of bread, a recipe of his own invention. It'll be bubbling away until tomorrow, when he'll bake it off and we'll eat it.
Then Adam started something very new. He made mozzarella cheese. He used a gallon of milk, some rennet tablets and fresh lemon juice. I don't really know the whole process. I just jump in the kitchen occasionally and snap photos.

It looks a lot like yogurt, which he also made a batch of today.
Here's the finished mozzarella. We'll have it on pizza tomorrow night for supper when the wind is howling and the snow is blowing and the ice is slick on the roads.
This is some of the whey that you set the mozzarella in, in the frig. He used the rest of the whey to make ricotta cheese, which he said was too much trouble for the dab of ricotta he got.
The mozzarella is firm. Isn't it fun to think you can make this at home? From milk?
We'll be hunkering down in our winter weather event, giving you regular updates. I'm looking forward to two days on the couch, doing next to nothing except knitting, painting with Julia, smelling lovely aromas from the kitchen, and watching Downton and Sherlock on the pbs.org site. Delightful!

17 comments:

Kezzie said...

I can't believe he made Mozzarella!!!!!! That's amazing! And I'd love to be there for that bread- looks gooood!x

Angela said...

One of these days I want to try my hand at making mozzarella, too. Enjoy all those delicious dishes! (My husband was home today and he made us gumbo for dinner, which was yummy:)

M.K. said...

Kezzie, we had that bread with our chicken salad - very yummy. It's so quick -- less than 2 hours from start to finish, and it's a yeast bread. Only one rise. He watched a video online that taught the recipe, with a Moroccan lady demonstrating it.

M.K. said...

That's an excellent cold weather dish too, Angela!

Pom Pom said...

Go, Adam, go! I love the hardware on your kitchen cabinets. It's my favorite.

Leslie said...

Beautiful bread! Yum!!!

GretchenJoanna said...

These husbands who cook - I am in awe.

Mary Ann Potter said...

Wow. Bread and cheese and granola. Impressive. Y'all will be eating well! We too are waiting for the cold to set in - again. Temperatures here today rose into the sixties. Wonderful. I know this latest bout with the cold will be short. Not expecting much snow here but conditions keep changing.

M.K. said...

My parents in the NC mountains - way out west - won't get any snow, and we're gonna get at least several inches. Really crazy weather! Like you, I'm hoping for a brief stint, and then warmer temps again. :)

mysteryhistorymom said...

I'm so jealous! I want to be snowed in with all that delicious food and great tv watching.;) Sounds like heaven to me! No snow on the horizon here but I can always hope for a bit to come our way. Thanks for this great post- stay warm and cozy! Lori

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Wow, fresh bread, homemade granola and mozzarella cheese. It all sounds good and looks delicious to me.

Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

M.K. said...

We are waiting for ice, Lori :) Not sure how much snow. It's silly really. Up north, the snow comes and the snow leaves, and nobody really notices. Down here, a visit from Snow is like a visit from the queen!

M.K. said...

Thanks, Lorraine. We will need to eat it in itty bitty portions to keep from blowing our diets!

M.K. said...

It is pretty -- I like the color too. We're enjoying our new home. Adam is really "breaking in" the kitchen - haha!

M.K. said...

And I am very thankful. I get to enjoy his creativity, and he gets to enjoy doing it :) I'm sure your Bill has many gifts too!

Dogwood Lane Rambles said...

Oh my gosh give that man a break! All the food looks wonderful but the mozzarella is on my short list so I may be asking him for advise. Thanks for the inspiration.

M.K. said...

You're welcome, Patrica! He made the pizza tonight and he's resting now - haha :) He really enjoys it, and is motivated to cook, so all I do is sit back and enjoy the results :)