Say Cheese

We have just finished up another a batch of feta cheese.

Feta is a traditional Greek cheese. It is a brined, crumbly, curd cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. After it has aged (two weeks to a month, if we're patient) in its brine, we usually crumble it onto salads or into scrambled eggs. Sometimes we put it on pizza, or in/on other dishes. Others use it as a table cheese, in pastries, and in baking--spanakopita ("spinach pie") and tyropita ("cheese pie").

The first record of what is probably feta cheese, is from the Byzantine Empire. It was called "fresh" or "recent" cheese (prósphatos), and was described as brined and was associated with Crete. (Andrew Dalby, Siren feasts: A history of food and gastronomy in Greece, Routledge, 1996)

The current name "feta" comes from the Italian word fetta ("slice"), which was introduced into the Greek language in the 1600's.

Whatever it is called in other places, the Greeks claim feta as their own. They also lay claim to being the first cheese makers. Polyphemus,  son of Poseidon and one of the Cyclopes, is said to be the first cheese-maker. Homer describes Polyphemus' bowls and baskets full of cheeses in the Odyssey.

Traditionally, feta is made from sheep's or goat's milk or a mixture of the two. Today it is also commercially made with cow's milk. We, of course, use goat's milk. Here is a link to the basic recipe most like the one we use:


http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/feta.html

We also made ricotta from the whey. This will go into the lasagna planned for dinner next week.


As soon as we set up our cheese cave, we'll try making some Colby or other aged cheeses. What's a cheese cave, you ask? And how do you make one? A description of ours will soon follow--no digging or spelunking involved!

More Efficient Means More Self-Sufficient

We have several improvement projects currently in progress on our place. All these and almost all of the projects planned are to make our micro eco-systems more efficient or to make our work easier or more effective. Our goal is to work smarter, not harder. This will allow us to become a little more self-sufficient in the space and time we have available.

For example, we just finished making some portable fence sections so that we can keep the fowl away from some new crops we intend to plant this week. Most of the time a low visual barrier is sufficient to keep the water fowl out, but the chickens often require a bit more, especially in height. Prior to our getting some Marans chickens, our chickens rarely, if ever flew over our four-foot picket garden fence. The Marans, however, have taught everyone in the coop to fly up to the top of the fence and then to fly down on the other side. Time to either clip some wings or make the fences a little higher, or both. So we made some lightweight fence panels that hopefully will do the job.

A month or so ago, someone left the garden gate unlatched and the geese found their way into the garden and ate every single new transplant--cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli--down to the ground! So we replanted the garden rows. A week or so later, we had a day or two of gusty winds which blew the gate latch apart. The geese helped themselves again to every single new transplant, and some not-so-new plants. So we put a new, better latch on the gate and replanted the garden rows. So far, so good: humans are happy, geese not so much.

We also are putting fence around the patio (again to keep the fowl at bay) and new siding on the fish tanks that will be more aesthetically pleasing than the makeshift siding we have had (the siding keeps the sun off of the tank so that algae doesn't grow). Because the fish tanks and aquaponic grow beds are at the edge of the patio, this siding also will be incorporated into the fence around the patio. While we're at it, we will need to design and build a better solar water heating system for the fish--last winter the water stayed just a little too cool for them. They survived just fine, but they didn't thrive or grow much during the cooler months.

We'll be updating our worm bins from the plastic storage containers we started with years ago, to a single more permanent arrangement. The worms turn our kitchen scraps into compost in a very short time. They also become food for the chickens, ducks and fish (and when we go fishin’ they also make for good bait).

We also have plans to consolidate three compost bins into one larger bin over and around which we will put up wire and wood to house chickens. The idea is to let them turn the compost with their scratching, as they live mostly on the kitchen and garden trimmings we throw in for them. This seems to be a very efficient use of resources--time, space, and waste. We have also designed an automatic chicken waterer that we’ll be putting into service in the next few weeks--we have to do some plumbing first, but it will be worth it when we’re finished. Details will follow.

In addition to these projects we are putting in some raised beds in the front yard to increase our growing space. We're looking forward to the Spring when we'll be able to look out our dining room window over a sea of winter squash vines--green like a lawn, but with edible produce....

As soon as we have finished these projects, we’ll find some more. This is a great hobby. We encourage you to try it. Just as in any other hobby, start small and work up to the bigger projects.

Finding More Space

Last week we spent a few days cleaning out the garage and some corners and edges of the yard.

As far as the garage goes, the plan is to make plenty of room to set up an aquarium for a breeding colony of tilapia. We want to be able to raise our own on a continual and constant basis--more sustainability from home. If possible, we also want to have room to put in a fish tank to hold the rest of the tilapia during the cooler months where it is easier heat the tank, while we grow trout in the outside tanks. The trout need the cold water. We'll see what happens.

As for the yard, we cleared some brush and some wood piles and trimmed some trees so that we can have a little more planting space, or more space for our poultry. Between the new beds in the front yard and the space gained in the backyard, we'll be adding about four hundred square feet of growing beds. We'll also be adding some shelter for the ducks and geese for nest boxes and some pens for keeping them confined when we want or need them to be out from under foot.

Do you have a sunny lawn in your front yard? Why do you have a sunny lawn? You water, weed, fertilize, and mow. Why not put in edible landscape in that sunny spot in your front yard? With a strong hardscape (the structural elements: walkways, fences, planters, trellises, etc.) and the right choices of plants, you can water, weed, fertilize, just as you would with a lawn, but instead of mowing grass, you can harvest fruits and veggies that are good to eat.

Although we have had herbs and dwarf fruit trees in our front yard for several years, we are just now putting in raised beds and trellises for growing garden vegetables. We’ll be posting details along with photos of our experiment as it unfolds.

There are several good books available to show you how. Our current favorite is Yvette Soler’s The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden.

Pizza Dough

We’ve been making pizza every Friday night for about seven years now. Making pizza from scratch is how we really got started with our mini-farm and trying to become more self-sufficient. Read the details here. Several have asked recently about our pizza crust recipe. Thank you for the compliments.

The simple recipe, is nothing special beyond being shared by friends to get us started.We like it because it is easy and fast. We make ours with our counter-top mixer. We used to stir it by hand, but have decided to use the machine to make the job easier and a little less time-consuming.

Basic recipe made right in the mixer bowl:

1 Tbs. Yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

3 cups of warm water

The salt and sugar help the yeast to get going. If your yeast is less than fresh, you may want to let it bloom, then:

Add 7 1/2 cups of all purpose flour. (See our variations below.)

Mix on low for a few minutes. Increase speed and mix until dough pulls away from the sides.

Transfer to an oiled bowl to rise until doubled. Turn out onto a floured counter and kneed for two or three minutes. Cut into three or four equal pieces depending on the thickness of crust you prefer.

Shape into rounds, place on a floured board and let rise while you are finishing the sauce and chopping and slicing the toppings. This step will allow the dough to relax and will make it easier to roll out.

Roll out each round of dough to desired thickness or diameter. Place on a round or square pan depending on your preference, or on what pans you have. We use a round Pampered Chef baking stone. Top with sauce, cheese and other toppings. At this point, depending on how you like your crust, you can let the dough rise again, or you can bake it right away.

Bake in a 500 degree oven until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden, approx. 12-15 minutes. We use a pizza stone on a middle or slightly higher rack. Experiment with cooking times, rack height and pans to get the crust just the way you like it. In our family, some like it thin and crispy, some like it thicker and floppy. We make some of each.

To get a crunchy-tender crust, America’s Test Kitchen recommends letting the dough rest in the fridge for up to three days... yes, days. Even though we make pizza every week, for some reason we haven’t yet remembered to make the dough on Tuesday night. Here is their video. 

Our variations on the basic recipe:

We like to soak our grains before cooking them to maximize nutrition.

These days, we also use whole wheat flour. You can use as much or as little as you like. You will have to adjust the amount of water or the total amount of flour depending on how much whole wheat flour you use. We find that substituting one cup of whole wheat for one cup of AP flour doesn’t usually require any further adjustment.

We also add about a tablespoon of dried summer savory, marjoram, or oregano to the dough to make an herbed crust. We will be trying a rosemary and olive crust soon. We also plan a sourdough crust, and one made with yogurt as the starter. We’ll let you know how those turn out.