Chive Blossom Vinegar

Years.

It took years for me to finally get a chive plant to bear blossoms. I'm not sure why I had such a difficult time, but my best guess (along with a bit of investigation) is that chives don't bloom until their second year. At least mine didn't. I had planted year after year in various locations and many times didn't even get basic chives. I was told often that they grew "anywhere, like weeds", without having proof of that at all.

Last year I grew chives in a container, but only the chives themselves grew. I put them to bed with the rest of the garden in the fall and this spring, sure enough, they grew with blossoms attached. Finally! My reasoning for attempting to grow them all these years was solely for the blossoms to make chive blossom vinegar with.

I was a happy camper this year.

So, here is a photo or two of the blossoms, the vinegar making, and a final usage in chive blossom mayo. Click on the photos to view them larger.

The method is as simple as it looks: Harvest the chives with blossoms intact. Rinse well and trim blossoms from stems. Set chives aside for another use. Toss blossoms into a glass jar with a non-metal lid. Add vinegar to cover, lid tightly and set in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks. Strain blossoms and keep vinegar in the dark to prevent the color from fading.

Vinegar on the first day, one day later and two weeks later. The strained and finished product on the bottom.

Homemade mayo is far easier than you think. I always make mine by hand, but feel free to search the web for blender and processor recipes - there a re quite a few out there.

Here is 1 egg yolk, 1 Tablespoon of chive blossom vinegar, a pinch of white pepper and salt to taste. Blend well and pour 1 cup of oil into the egg mixture in a VERY thin and slow stream while whisking continuously until mayonnaise forms. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Keep covered tightly in the refrigerator and use within 1 week.

I Still Make Dinner

Everything from the grill: flank steak with crema (Mexican sour cream, because sometimes the usual just doesn't cut it), cliantro and lime. Corn in the husk, zucchini, green onions and shrimp. Dessert? Double-berry milkshakes.

I haven't been absent from here on purpose, and it hasn't been for anything bad, just busyness on my part. Back in March I started another job working nights. That's all well and good, and the original purpose was to work at night so I would still have my days open for children and food blogging. My life seems to be so very different from others in many respects, but usually it's the glitch-factor with me. The Murphy's Law sort of bent that's usually only reserved for cursed Irishmen.

I don't only work 40 hours a week, my weeks are more often than not 63 to 75 hours in length. That's a whole lot of time NOT for myself. Getting home in the morning is odd, sometimes several of the kids are awake and or gone from the house to school already and I miss the standard goodbyes before their school day more than I thought I would. Everyone is home from school now, though and it's a bit easier to come back to the house and find them sleeping instead of gone.

I actually like my job quite a bit. It's not without moments that make a person want to run the other way (I work at a group home for two mentally and physically disabled women), but there are rewards you don't get elsewhere. It's a bit like mothering, in that respect, much of the reward is not monetary or tangible, but things like silent hugs or silly sideways smiles go pretty far for me.

I do cook, of course; all seven kids are still roosting at the nest and need to be fed the same several times a day as always, but I find now that the time it takes to set up a photo or write a paragraph or two are lost in the sheer run-around that is my day. I miss doing what I love - cooking and photographing and especially writing. I can write a full first chapter of a book in my head at night when I'm just about to drift off. I just can't seem to find the time to get it to paper or computer screen.

So, without a recipe attached or a lengthy and menu-worthy description, I thought I'd share tonight's dinner; as-is without any fluff. See? I'm still cooking - they're still eating.

Eggland's Best Brunch

This past Sunday I was able to host an Eggland's Best Brunch at my house. We had a packed house and an equally packed table featuring recipes from both Eggland's Best and Fabio Viviani's ebook, "Did I Really Make Breakfast?"

Why Eggland's Best eggs? Well, take a look at the stats for yourself. Eggland's Best eggs, compared to typical eggs have:

Click to make larger

And just in case you didn't know, it's safe and healthy to eat up to 6 eggs a week!

Not only are there more nutritional benefits to EB eggs, but they also use a special patented hen feed, a more strict quality assurance program than any other, and EB eggs are fresher than other eggs, being shipped to the store no later than 48 hours after laying.

The flavor is also better than ordinary eggs and it's actually quite noticeable even in recipes where the eggs are combined with several other ingredients. I chose to use 3 of my own recipes, 3 from Eggland's Best and 3 from Fabio Viviani. Every single recipe was a hit with every age range at the brunch. Of course, the kids loved the Deviled Eggs and Breakfast Pizza with Hash Browns and Sausage from Eggland's more than any others, but the adults hit up Fabio's Eggs Baked in Cheese Fondue until there was nothing left. I changed up the recipe in the tiniest way, I served the eggs and cheese sauce over steamed asparagus rather than toasted bread and nobody could get enough.

Of course, Fabio's Cheese Bomb Biscuits and my Vidalia Onion Pie were also devoured completely (the biscuits were the first thing gone!) and the remainder of recipes including EB's Mexican Fiesta Breakfast Bake, my own Angel Food Cake with blueberries and peaches in cream, Mini Quiches and JoAn Henry's Strawberry Muffins were as well liked as any. Overall, everyone went away fully FULL and happy and several guests left with EB shopping bags, aprons, egg plushies, egg turners and coupons for a FREE dozen of Eggland's Best eggs!

Check out this short video of the food and one of the happy little guys.




Full Disclosure: Eggland's Best provided me with VIP coupons for free product, a $100 gift card to use for supplies, a flip video camera, information, recipe cards and prize packs to give away to guests.

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

There's nothing like a versatile recipe to make my day. Add to that affordable and quick and you have a real winner for me. With so many picky eaters in this household, it's difficult to make something that everyone will like. This sandwich can be made with any meat or cheese and come out just as good so experiment a little like we do. Switch out the ham for turkey or the provolone for Swiss or cheddar. There really is no end to the combinations with this recipe.

The original recipe (this is actually quite old) most often calls for a sweeter roll like Hawaiian, but the miniature Portuguese rolls I used were perfect as well. I still think the glaze could be a little sweeter, but everyone else here was fine with them as-is.
Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Makes one 9x13 pan
Printable Recipe

1 stick butter or margarine (to heck with cholesterol, we all know butter is better)
3 Tablespoons honey mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
12 - 16 small rolls such as King's Hawaiian
3/4 pound thinly sliced ham
1/2 pound sliced provolone

1. Melt butter and stir in honey mustard and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Brush the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan with glaze.
3. Split rolls in half horizontally and layer the bottom of the pan with the bottom halves of rolls.
4. Brush the cut sides of the rolls with glaze and layer ham and cheese on each roll.
5. Place top halves of rolls on the sandwiches and brush with remaining glaze.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Rice Pudding and Raw Milk

Just about a year ago I began buying raw milk. Not for daily or even weekly consumption, but for a once-in-awhile thing. I'm not completely sure what my motivation was beyond the fact that it's a bit controversial and from much that I've read, if conditions are right, it isn't all together unsafe. In fact, for many people with lactose intolerance, raw milk can be a Godsend.

Nobody here has lactose issues, and for the most part I'm fully happy with the pasteurized 2% that I buy for daily use, but the crunchy/hippie/farmer type in me had to go out and give it a try. I wrote about the first couple excursions at Blog Catalog, so I won't repeat myself, but I will add that the scene changes ever so slightly each time I visit the farm. Sometimes it's laundry day, sometimes there's nothing going on; this time it was ... meat grinding day?

Saturday was rather gray and blah, and the farm looking austere from the lack of foliage on the trees only added to it. Once I walked into the garage however, the air took on an almost sinister feel when I caught sight of a young Mennonite man pushing meat into a grinder. Add to it the fact that he had a strange grin on his face and the whole scene became a bit "Children of the Corn".

I'm hopeful the meat was for personal consumption and not for sale, because thinking of eating anything from that farm other than milk, eggs or honey safely ensconced in plastic jugs, cardboard egg containers and glass jars makes me feel a little queasy. No matter, I grabbed what I'd come for and left without looking back (except to look at the chickens, can't help myself).

Then came the question of what I'd be making with these 'less-than-usual' ingredients I'd traveled nearly 30 miles for. No idea, as usual, it's just something I like to do and I usually figure it all out later. This time it turned out to be rice pudding. I have several kids who can never get enough of this, and my step-father always gets a container, but it takes a few hours to make, so I don't tackle it too often.

Raw milk is perfect for this. The original recipe uses 8 cups (half a gallon) of milk to a single cup of rice, so the result is ultra rich and creamy and raw milk, with its full-fat content from the layer of cream atop can only add to it. I don't care how bad it is, it's not something we have frequently, so we'll counter it with steam for dinner a couple nights this week.

It may seem a waste to cook with raw milk, but there's more to using raw milk than the mere fact that it hasn't been pasteurized or homogenized, just like there's a point to buying milk directly from a farm that produces it: flavor. I could well purchase whole milk for this right at the local grocery, but there is no denying that the flavor of fresh milk, raw or otherwise, is far superior to that found in the standard dairy case. Besides, only half is used to make this recipe, the rest is consumed straight-up or in cereal where everyone gets the most benefit from it.

If you have the time to do this (a lazy Sunday would be good) give it a try. It takes frequent checking and stirring, but the end result is so worth it, you'll be glad you took the time to make it. This was also posted at Family.com a couple years ago.

Rice Pudding
Serves 8-12
Printable Recipe

1 cup long grain rice
2 cups water
8 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split and seeds scraped - set aside seeds

Cook the rice in the water following package directions -- this usually means adding the rice to the water, bringing to a brief boil, reducing heat and simmering, covered tighly for 20 minutes until the rice absorbs all the water and is tender.

In a large pot combine the cooked rice, milk and scraped vanilla bean if you're using it. Cook over a very low flame, stirring from time to time (every 10 minutes is good), until all the milk has cooked into the rice. This can take an hour to an hour and a half. You'll also have to skim the top 'skin' that forms each time you stir.

Once the milk is absorbed, remove from the heat, remove the vanilla bean if used and quickly add the beaten egg, stirring constantly so the egg thickens the pudding but does not cook. Stir in the sugar and vanilla seeds or extract until well combined.

Pour into a large flat pan like a 9x13 baking pan. Cool in the refrigerator, covered, for several hours before serving.