My Tuesday Twister posts are my weekly round-up of what’s going on in my kitchen and our lives, as it pertains to GNOWFGLINS. We try as much as possible to make use of “God’s natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally and in season.” So here we go – I’ll catch you up on what’s twisting in my kitchen this week!
Last Wednesday, I bought Oregon coast wild salmon and wild cod from a traveling salesman in a hippie bus full of freezers. We had fish and chips (with the cod) on Thursday night! I kid you not, it was sooo good. I think we need to have it again – and we can because I bought 9 pounds of the cod.
I used Tiffany’s recipe for fried fish batter, only I used sprouted spelt for the flour. Thanks, Tiffany, that is a great recipe and a keeper! I think I need to learn better how to do it. I kept pulling the batter off with my fingers, wherever I touched the fish as I dipped each piece, which you can see in the picture above. We ate the fish with oven-roasted potatoes. Oh, my…
My dairy kefir is a little weird. I did something the other day that just baffled me. I can’t think where my mind was. I milked the goats, came inside, and strained the milk into the jar for making kefir. I put the cloth napkin on top and secured it with a rubber band, then left it out to brew. Can you tell what I missed? I forgot to put in the kefir grains!
So by the next day, the milk was ripe. 
I figured, why not just put the grains in at that point and brew the kefir? Another 24 hours went by (this time with the grains) and it didn’t go quite right. The (good) bacteria that had proliferated during the first 24 hours had such a foothold that the kefir didn’t develop properly. It worked allright, but it wasn’t smooth. It was kind of grainy. And instead of tasting tart and effervescent, it was more like a mild cheese. Jeff’s words for food like that are “toe jam” though I don’t remember if he said it for this kefir specifically.
Anyway… I was okay with it, but everyone could tell it was different. To salvage it (aka keep it edible and enjoyable), I made an instant relish from apples, oranges, raisins, and cinnamon by chopping them into a chunky sauce in the food processor. And we mixed that into our kefir, and we liked it very much! In fact, they all want me to keep making the kefir with fruit relish this way.
I don’t think my grains are irreparably harmed. I rinsed them well after they came out of that messed-up batch and I *think* the other batches are back to normal. I hope! Could be too soon to tell! And never fear, eCourse members, these are NOT the grains that I’ll share with you!
So, that’s it for me – what’s twisting in your kitchen? To participate in the Tuesday Twister Blog Carnival, visit this post. I’m doing the new thumbnail thing again, and also going to use thumbnails for this Friday’s Sandwich Round-Up. I’d love to have you join either, or both!
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Oh . . . we just love fish. But we live hundreds of miles from even a lake and hours and hours (like 14) from an ocean. Occasionally we can afford fresh fish that is flown in . . . I’m filing this recipe away for just such an occasion. What a treat that will be!!!!
Thanks!
Connie – I hope you get to do the recipe soon. Ironically, even though we are two hours from the coast, we don’t get much fresh fish. The coast seems miles away…. I am really thankful for this opportunity we just had.
Wardeh, the fish looks delicious! Wish I could have been there. I’m glad you like the recipe! I usually use sprouted wheat when I make this recipe, so it’s good to know that spelt works just as well!
Tiffany, I’m glad to know that sprouted wheat works well. I had just mentioned that possibility to someone. Thank you so much for the fantastic recipe!
The fish looks very good and those potatoes have me salivating! They look like they have the perfect amount of crunch.
The fruit relish/’messed up kefir’ combination sounds great. I might try that with my regular old kefir
.-= Millie @ Real Food for Less Money´s last blog post… Tuesday Twister April 20 =-.
wardeh you are braver than i am! we see that bus all the time and have been tempted to buy seafood, but never have yet. actually, it is my husband who has the most reservations. but with your recommendation, maybe we will give it a go!
usually, i am drawn to stuff like that bus: loud, colorful, psychadelic, funky! but those adjectives dont mesh with ‘fresh fish’ in the mind so easily…
thanks for the post. we are going to have to try this!
Gabrielle – How funny! I was so leery of stopping, but Beth (from the pastured poultry farm) said she loves his fish, especially the Ling Cod. I had just seen her at the feed store and she pointed the way. So I went.
I didn’t get Ling Cod because it wasn’t boneless and I wanted boneless for the fish-n-chips.
He said he won’t be back for 3 months, but since Terri said she saw him last month, maybe that means sooner.
We bought from the bus last month and have absolutely loved the fish. I had reservations but my husband said go for it, and I’m glad he did.
Terri – How funny! As I just told Gabrielle, I needed some encouragement, too.
Millie – Yes, perfect amount of crunch!
I got some potatoes today (Wed) and we’re hankering for fish-n-chips again – probably tomorrow!
We finally had some wild caught Alaskan Cod at the store yesterday – for a somewhat reasonable price. I almost cheered right there in the fish market. Anyway . . . I brought it home and promptly made Tiffany’s recipe for fried cod. It was so very good . . . amazing really. My whole family loved it! Thanks for sharing this resource!! Since we don’t get fish very often – this will definitely be a favorite treat at our house.