Author: Catherine

Sam got me a food press. Turns out its known as a Torchietto in Italy, where it comes from.

I’m pretty excited about trying this out for oat milk and zucchini fritters and for pressing tofu. We’ll see what else we can do with it. Crush grapes or apples?

It was too much of a good thing, really. But we enjoyed ourselves and addressed the craving for sushi that’s been rumbling here.

I’m spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Really have nowhere else to go.

Big accomplishments this year:

• Found a vegan pecan pie recipe, along with crust, that I really like. I’ve made it three times now. Last pie had a bit of molasses replacing some of the maple syrup, which I find to be a nice enhancement to deepen the flavor.
• Developed a routine for making my own vegetable stock. No more purchasing those overpriced, overpackaged bricks of broth!

My stock is loosely based on Rebecca Katz’s Magic Mineral Broth, although I don’t demand too much precision in ingredients. Both Sam and I have gotten more diligent about savings scraps in the freezer. When the bag of scraps gets full and/or the jars of broth get empty, it’s time to make broth.

I throw the frozen scraps into the stockpot. I usually add some potato, carrot, leek tops or what’s looking old in the fridge. Then throw in peppercorns, juniper berries, and kombu or other embellishments. It will simmer on the stovetop or woodstove for a couple of hours.

Then, after cooling, I use a measuring cup and strainer to decant broth into my two big jars. The jars are the perfect size for the amount of stock I get from a full pot. The jars are missing lids so I use the beeswax wraps and rubber bands.

I don’t bother freezing stock. That was just causing additional headaches that were complicating the process. If we don’t use it up in two weeks, I make some soup or just discard it on the compost. Happy with this process!