Glass Jar Butter

One thing I remember fondly is making homemade butter with nothing more than a glass jar and a marble. It is a lot of fun and great for arm muscles! (or to tire out the kids)

Adapted from Memory

Ingredients:

Whipping Cream
Glass Marble
Glass Jar
Enthusiastic Shaker

Optional:

1/2 tsp Salt for every 6 cups of cream
Water
Blender

Expiration:
2 days w/o optional step
1 week w/ optional step

Directions: 

Carefully clean and dry your glass jar and marble, then fill to about 3/4 with whipping cream. The closer your cream is to room temperature, the better. Room temp. cream means less shaking overall.

Add the marble and seal the jar. Shake. A lot. (For smaller kids, use something closer to a baby food sized jar)

After about 5 minutes of shaking, you should already see the thickening starting. This is the butter starting to separate from the buttermilk. Continue shaking for about another 5-8 minutes until there is a very obvious separation between the thin liquid buttermilk and the butter solid.

Strain the butter. (Save the buttermilk for baking!)

Optional:
To keep your butter longer, rinse with ice water and add to a blender. Add about the same amount of ice water as butter and blend at low speed, then drain the water. Repeat until the water is no longer cloudy when draining. This removes any remaining buttermilk and keeps it from spoiling.

At this point you can mix in your salt. The measurement is an approximation, so add slowly until you get the taste you want. Wrap your butter in wax paper and store in the fridge, ready to use.

Apple Pancake Pie

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup 2% milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp plus 2 tbsp butter, divided
3 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1/8 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk flour, milk, egg, 1 1/2 tsp. sugar and salt to a smooth texture.  Place 1 1/2 tsp of butter in a 7" pie plate.  Put in oven for 2 to 3 minutes or until butter is melted to coat pie plate.  Pour batter into pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly brown.

While batter is cooking, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add apples, cinnamon and remaining sugar and saute until tender.  Spoon into baked pancake and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Options: Pancake can be topped with whipping cream, yogurt, raisins, dates, roasted pecans, etc.

Creamy Spinach Soup

INGREDIENTS

70 grams (about 1/4 package) whole wheat couscous
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (or more, to taste)
1 medium onion, chopped
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pint chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 lb baby spinach
118 mL whipping cream
Chile powder, to taste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Cook the couscous according to package directions.

While the couscous is cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened. Do not allow to brown.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the spinach in bunches until it all wilts. Add the whipping cream and simmer for a few minutes. Add additional salt and pepper if need be. Add the cooked and drained couscous and chile powder (if using), and serve hot.

Chevre Zucchini Gratin

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs zucchini, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
8 oz chevre, at room temperature
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Boil zucchini in salted water until tender, but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Melt butter in a skillet. Add onion and saute until translucent. Arrange one-third of zucchini in prepared dish. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half of onion over zucchini. Repeat layers, seasoning with salt and pepper, and end with zucchini on top.

Crumble chevre into top of a double boiler. Stir in cream. Cook until smooth and thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Thin with an additional 2 to 4 tablespoons cream if too thick. Pour over zucchini layers. Combine Parmesan and bread crumbs. Sprinkle over gratin. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.

Note: May be prepared in advance and refrigerated or frozen. Bring to room temperature before baking.