Making Butter (again)

It is going to be a cold weekend. Bitter cold temperatures will start tomorrow, January 19, 2025 and continue until Wednesday. A lot of other things will happen in this time period too, but I will not mention or focus on that. If you read this in 2035, then Google (or whatever means of researching is happening in ten years) about a situation we are having now. You will probably just be able to think it, and the Wikipedia chip in your brain will know the answer but I digress.

Today I thought I would clean out the refrigerator and start fresh. I had soup that was past its prime and other things to sort through. I came across an unopened container of heavy cream. During the holidays I was going to make whipped cream for something and didn't. The container was not past the expiration date, but I sure didn't need a bunch of whipped cream. I could have eaten it from a bowl but knew it wasn't a smart idea. I decided to make it into butter rather than toss it in the trash.

I had blogged about making butter several years ago. Here is the link. https://www.thecabincountess.com/2016/11/make-your-own-butter.html I had purchased a little butter churn at the time. A lot of you know my youngest grandchild Ewan. He likes to experiment with making random things just like me, so I gave the churn to him a few years ago. Today I used my Kitchen Aid mixer. Not the authentic way to make butter, but today was about getting the job done and not acting like a pioneer. 

All it takes is pouring the cream into the mixing bowl, turning it on and letting it mix until you get butter. You drain off the buttermilk to use in something else. I think I will make bread. Next rinse the butter under cool water until it runs clear and add some salt which makes it taste better and preserves it some.

 I have a Butter Bell crock. It is a small crock where the butter is put in the top section and a small amount of water is put in the bottom. The top part with the butter packed inside is the lid. This keeps the butter fresh and makes it easy to spread. I put half of this batch into the bell and refrigerated the other half. I mentioned in the previous blog that 1 pint of cream makes one stick of butter (4 ounces). I got a little more this time. I got almost seven ounces. It still isn't very economical, but in this case I would have thrown it away. Now I have almost one half pound of butter to use up. I am a bit of a cheap skate so it works for me.

Now I have a clean refrigerator and I am ready to hunker down and ride out this weather. I have a lot of firewood so I might even make a fire in the fireplace. Right now it looks beautiful outside. I know it's only temporary, but the way time flies at my age the cold snap will be over before I even notice.

Thirty One Days in January Seems Like a Hundred Days

My last post was a little serious and an attempt at being a positive person with a good attitude. I really am most of the time, but I have failed miserably this past week. Even the smallest decisions seem daunting. I play four New York Times games in the morning as part of my routine. I play Wordle, Connections, Strands and Mini Crossword and Nerdle at night. I normally dislike games but somehow this is just a challenge against myself, and it's so good for my brain. Even that has been a little hard to focus on. January has never been my friend and extra vitamin D or a mood light isn't going to help that. It's cold and even though it's getting better, it's still dark at 5pm. I have tons of television channels but nothing to watch. Who wants to see murders and mayhem all night long? Living alone and making all the decisions gets overwhelming at times. After almost four years, I am still not completely used to it. At first I would wake up in the night and rush out of bed because I was sure I forgot to do something important. That doesn't happen anymore, but I still am afraid I am missing something. I never had to worry about home and car maintenance or snow removal or where the shut off valve is for the water. Tax season is coming up again and all that it entails. Tax preparers can only work with the information they are given. What if I forget an important deduction or don't even know about it in the first place? I can't get out and walk like I want to because of the weather. People say take your phone in the woods with you in case you fall or need help. If I am knocked out, my phone won't help much. So now I have to look into upgrading my smart watch to be even smarter. It has to know when I am knocked out and then tell my phone to send help. I had to replace my dishwasher and microwave the day after Christmas. Thanks to my son in law, that was easy. People in general are stressed about the state of the world, their health and healthcare and relationships making them just plain rude and self absorbed. They pay no attention to an old lady until you are parked at the side of the road looking for a special bird or animal to photograph. Then someone will pull up to make sure everything is alright. Nice, but scary at the same time. I don't park and watch anymore. I keep moving. Not everyone is rude, but a fair number would rather run you over than stop. I'm sorry this sounds terrible and pathetic. Good grief just writing all this down, it's no wonder my attitude stinks. That has to stop.

So what do I do when I get in a funk. I write ridiculous blogs, I knit or crochet unwanted items and cook food. Today I made a kettle of chicken soup. I bought a big pack of chicken legs because five pounds cost only $2 more than a little two pound package. With the extra chicken legs, I made this recipe. I am not sure I ever made chicken legs like this before. I always buy chicken breasts for meals and thighs or legs for soup but I guess you can teach an old dog a new trick or two. They were really good. I made rice to eat with them, and I will freeze most of them to eat later.

Sticky Chicken Drumsticks

Mix the marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

2 T. ketchup

1 T. apple cider or rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. fresh ginger or 1/8 t. of dried ginger

1 T. sesame or vegetable oil

Pour this mixture over two pounds of chicken legs (about 8-10). I put the chicken in a ziplock bag and poured in the marinade. Then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

When ready remove the drumsticks and put on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. 

After 25 minutes, turn the drumsticks over and put a little marinade on each one.

Bake another 20 minutes until they are golden brown.

The third thing I made was a Mug cake. It was really large and I tried to save half of it for later. It didn't work. I kept at it until the whole thing was gone. If I keep that up, I will really need to double up my walks into the woods. I did flip it out of the mug so it is easier to cut in half. No guarantees that will make a difference on how it is consumed.

 Chocolate Mug Cake

1/4 cup self rising flour*

*I make my own with 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 t. baking powder and 1/2 t. I keep it in a jar for when I need some.

1/4 cup sugar (or Splenda will work)

1/4 baking powder

1/8 t. salt 

4 1/2 T. milk (I used Oat milk)

1 T. oil

3 T. water

1/4 t. vanilla 

2 t. mini chocolate chips

Mix all the dry ingredients in a microwave safe mug.

Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Put a teaspoon of chocolate chips on top and microwave on High for 2 minutes. Take out and let it rest for a minute. Top with the rest of the chocolate chips. It is a little like Lava Cake with the melted chocolate chips.

Seriously writing down the reasons for my bad mood did help. That and a good night sleep usually does the trick. Mama said there would be days like this. It's kind of like living in Wisconsin. We can't appreciate all the good days if we didn't have a few bad ones. Many would say I don't know what trouble is, and I really don't. Imagine losing everything in a fire or tornado or being abused on a daily basis. Everyone has their trials and tribulations. It doesn't matter where we have been. What matters is where we are going. I just have to get out of my head and house once in a while and eating chocolate cake doesn't hurt.

My next blog will be more fun, I promise.