Week 2

Week 2! Alright we did it. We actually did it twice. I was a little worried this would be a one off and we would lose motivation to keep trying new things; but hey, we did it twice.

This week we realized we didn't actually have any household products that need replacing. Last week we needed hand soap and mouth wash... this week we aren't out of everything! Of course we have plans for the future when we have the need for stuff. I'll teach The B how to make laundry soap when we finally run out (it's been almost a year on the current batch) and I'll show him how I make his dish soap. It's just a waiting game.

Well with that tangent out of the way here is what we made this week. The B found a way to use some left over white wine we had in the fridge. We do not like wine, turns out and we just don't cook enough with it but we vow to waste not want not. He was able to find a recipe for vinegar made with left over wine and a vinegar starter! 

This goodie requires an unpasteurized vinegar starter. We need live bacteria that will eat the sugars in the wine to create a delicious fermented vinegar that we can use in cooking. This is a project you have to wait for. The baby vinegar needs to sit for a few weeks to get all delicious and usable. 

This isn't so much a recipe as it is a ratio. We found ours on Phickle.com. You want 3 tbsp of "mother vinegar" to 1 cup of wine. I like that because you just use what you have and adjust the vinegar amount as needed.

Now, obviously we have not tried it as it needs time to grow, but I will be talking about it some time soon. I'm thinking homemade vinaigrette on some lovely greens or maybe a nice tangy Asian sauce. Yum!

This week I decided to teach how to make homemade peanut butter. Yum! I love peanut butter and having it homemade always sounds better. I used The Kitchn's recipe for my batch.

2 cups (16 ounces) peanuts (unsalted and raw)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons honey

Set oven to 350°F and roast peanuts for 10 minutes until they are light brown and glossy with oil. Place in food processor and pulse until chopped.

Proccess for 1 minute and scrape down sides 2-3 times. Then add oil and honey and blend until smooth and creamy (or until your food processor starts to make a worrying noise). Scrape into a container and place in the fridge. Use within 3-4 weeks. 

Now, taste-wise this stuff is amazing. Texture-wise I feel like I need to do some tweaking. Our batch turned out to be pretty dry and grainy. I know this has something to do with our food processor lacking real power, but I think it may need some more oil as well. It is wonderful spread on toast and is much more fulfilling than a jar of jiffy. Will be making this again and trying new things with it.

Still not sure what to make next week but stay tuned to see what we learn!