Cullinary Follies
Foolishness; fancy; with no practical purpose.Fermented foods
I've been making kimchi, soft cheese and sourdough, now that I have the time to make them. Creme Fraiche is an old favourite - absolutely nothing compares with its silky, rich texture.
My Dad died in 2003 at age 70, from bowel cancer. A kid during WW2, he ate burned meat and overcooked vegetables. I've long been aware of the role of diet in bowel cancer.
Most ingredients of kimchi can be purchased in my town, but nowhere could I find the essential daikon radish. Oh well, buy some seeds and grow them. This set the kimchi plan back by about a year, but hey - I'm retired and it's a pandemic.
The kimchi is quite good and stores well in the fridge. Side dish with asian food or a ham and kimchi sandwich.
The soft cheese was an interesting project. One litre of milk gave me enough cheese to make 9 or ten dumplings, 3 or 4 to a meal. Cost of milk, heating, time, culture (purchased from health food shop - approx. $11 au for around 20 batches of 1 ltr.)
Then again, I guess when you're retired, you can't bill for time expended. Proves that everything DOESN'T have a price.
Just like 75% of the plante's population, I've been making sourdough. Unlike most of them, I've actually got it working, despite the invaluable 'help' found on the net.
Sourdough is more of a culture (bwahhhahhhaaa) than a recipe. My first starter had it's own chart ticked off, every day. Since then I've learned to trust my senses - sight, smell - and can judge when it's ready for a loaf.
Creme Fraiche: Tub each full strength cream & sour cream. A little sugar, a little liqueur. Fold together, glass/steel bowl, cling wrap. Room temp for around 24 hrs. Piece of piss as we say in Oz.
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Being retired is the key. I couldn't do it if I was still working.
The first time I went to the store in 2020 after the hoards came, I realized how lucky I was. I had also stocked up on a lot of things on March 2, over a week before the stores were wiped out. Produce was okay and I headed for the meat department figuring I'd be happy with a whole chicken or whatever I could get. Good thing too. It was another couple weeks before there was much of a meat selection.
I would have been hurting if I'd been on my old canned and frozen food diet. I'm making soup tomorrow after having done a whole turkey dinner just for myself. It's almost a whole day of processing and packing for the freezer after doing that. I was lazy though and left the soup for tomorrow. 
