Slapdash Liptauer

I adore Liptauer, the Austro-Hungarian spread for bagels and such. Often, I don't have all the ingredients or the time to make it. Instead, I'll spread toast with yoghurt cheese and sprinkle smoked paprika, English mustard powder and caraway seeds on top. It's not quite the same - and definitely missing the zing of cornichon - but it will do in a pinch. For a busy morning breakfast, it's certainly more satisfying than buttered toast.

Food Factory Day

Today is fully autumn in our kitchen. It's Food Factory Monday: beef stock, yogurt and for the first time, home made lemon-lime soda. Natural fermentation! Since the ginger ale was so amazing, I'm hopeful that by the weekend we'll be sipping some delicious soda. At the very least, it should be easier on the budget than the commercial soda water. If it's actually health giving, instead of harmful, I'll be over the moon. If I'm really, really lucky, the Vintner will prefer it over the carbonated stuff.

Delicious Yogurt

How did I ever get out of the habit of making yogurt? The home made batches are so superior to what I could buy. I'm so happy autumn cooking has returned.

Stocking Up on Mondays

Here at the Cottage, Monday is for stocking the kitchen. Not with shopping so much as turning the kitchen into our little factory. In cooler weather, it's the day to bubble a stock pot on the back burner. In the middle of summer, it's the day for pickling and canning. All year 'round, it's the day for making yogurt. Since, ahem, we haven't finished eating last week's yogurt, the yogurt container is still too full to fill again. However, I do have extra time to write about yogurt, so perhaps that counts for something.

The Vintner has requested a special meal for the season finale of his favorite show on television tonight. He had a rough week of extra work, so whatever he wishes is fine with me.

Thus, we have an unusual day of a quiet kitchen on a Monday at the Cottage. I'm enjoying it, along with the lovely weather. Busy summer days are just around the corner, so this won't be coming my way again any time soon. Since we did have an usually busy morning with the boys and extra errands, it's good luck to have the kitchen tasks happen to be quiet.