All About Butter

Look in your fridge.  I bet there are a few things in there you've become so accustomed to buying, you'd never think to reassess.  Today, even our most basic products are loaded up with crap that no one can pronounce.  Tapioca Maltodextrin?  Seriously, what is that and why is it in my butter?!  Did you know there is only one ingredient necessary to make butter?  Milk- all you need is milk.  It's crazy and incredibly unnecessary to pack such a basic product with so much garbage.


So, I naturally decided to solve this problem by making my own batch.  Once I discovered how EASY it was, I couldn't resist!  Plus, I have the ability to choose the quality of milk I want to use.  I've very picky about my dairy.  I like to pick local with ethical standards.  The majority of dairy farms are linked to the veal industry.  To keep the cows lactating, they need to breed.  So what to do with the calves?  They're shipped off to veal farms where they're abused and killed terribly.  It was such an awful shock, I went vegan for a period of time.  Then I considered the possibility of farms who have a love of both animals and dairy, like me.  They do exist.  Some farms care for their calves properly, don't shoot them up with drugs and feed them properly.  Did you know that you can determine the cow's diet based on the color of the butter?  Yellow is grass fed; white is corn or meat fed.


So homemade butter it is.  This way I know the quality if my dairy and it tastes INCREDIBLE!  The process takes no more than 10 minutes.  You can either use fresh heavy cream for sweet cream butter or soured heavy cream for sour cream butter.  I think I prefer soured, myself.  Also, zest it up with herbs and spices: sea salt, pepper, rosemary, chives, thyme... whatever!  I can't emphasize how good it tastes.  I always get rave reviews and it's truly beyond simple.

THE STUFF
heavy cream
spices and herbs, as desired
cheesecloth or butter muslin
jar with a secure top

THE PREP


If you're using sour cream, allow for it to sit on the counter overnight to spoil.

Pour cream into the jar and shake using slow, controlled, strong strokes.  The motion should resemble you attempting to toss the jar to the floor, as if to shatter it.  But don't drop it because that's not really productive.  Just keep going for 5-8 minutes.  Just when the contents appear to not be moving with the motion of your shaking, keep going.  The mixture will then separate. Give a few last shakes to really bind the butter.  Drain the excess liquid from the jar and reserve- it's buttermilk and you can use it for pancakes!  Then add a half cup of cold water into the jar, shake 3 times and drain.

Next, spoon butter into the cheese/butter cloth and press out the excess buttermilk.  I then sprinkle the seasoning right on top while in the cloth, stir it up and just spoon into tupperware.  If you want to be fancy, you can also spoon the butter onto wax paper, roll it up into a log like a burrito, secure with tape and allow it to harden in the fridge.  Whatever your preference, it doesn't matter- the end result is an amazing treat to top on pretty much everything.  It will also add so much more flavor to your baking!

As for seasoning, I just like sea salt and chives.  Rosemary, salt, thyme, and chives with a zest of lemon rind is also delish.  Play around and have fun.

Muscle Me Muffins

One of the reasons I love cooking is it relaxes me.  It's one of the few outlets in my life where I can just be creative and quiet.  I love taking ideas and twisting them up to invent something new and occasionally unexpected.  Plus, there's no terrible consequence if you screw up!

I also love food, cause... well, it tastes SO good!  Everyone knows that on a bad day there's nothing like some ice cream to cheer you up.  Well for me, I want to actually make that ice cream.  That way,  I've turned my negative into something delish.  And let me tell you, I'm no baker.  But when that truly awful day hits, baking is the first thing I'll turn to.  It's a real challenge-the science of it.  If I can bake a killer loaf of herb bread, there's nothing I can't do.  Really!  Think about it.

So, a little about me:  I've recently finished my master's degree and have been aggressively job searching.  We all know it's tough out there and some days I really feel knocked down.  So in retaliation, I've been really dedicated to eating healthy, getting physically fit, and BAKING!  I feel, to keep on this journey I need to be focused and really be strong mentally and physically.  As for the mental fitness, the kitchen is my shrink.  The worse the day, the more challenging the baking becomes.  I swear, one day I WILL nail that damn yeast bread and when I do, you'll be the first to know

Since I started at the gym, I realized how appalling all fitness foods are.  It's all processed and made in factories who produce money, not food.  No consideration for health and no care for the Earth.  So, problem: I still need my protein and nutrients.  As a veg, I need to take care that my food is loaded with nutrition.  So, I made my own fitness food creation...

MUSCLE ME MUFFINS

I got the original idea from Cooking Light but changed it up a bit.  They have no butter, no oil, are made from raw ingredients, and are loaded with fiber, protein, and omega 3!  What could be better?!  They're also super easy to make.  Here's the deal:

 

THE STUFF

• 1 cup all-purpose stone ground wheat flour
• 1/2 cup pastry stone ground wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 heaping tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup lightly toasted and ground millet 
• 3 tablespoons wheat bran
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt
• 1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 2 smashed large pear
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup chopped raw almonds
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed - separated

THE PREP

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Place 18 unbleached muffin cups in 2 muffin baking pans.
• Sift flours and millet into a large mixing bowl. Add oats, sugar, wheat bran, baking soda, nutritional yeast, salt, and 2 tbsp flaxseed; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, smashed pears, and egg; add to flour mixture, folding with a silicone spatula just until moist. Fold in nuts and dried fruit. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with remaining flaxseed. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool and enjoy!

These are so good and you can change up what fruit and nuts you add!  I do encourage you use stone ground wheat, as it's the only wheat process that ensures maximum nutritional value.  Also, also try to buy local!!!  Just throw one in your bag and munch on it before a really tough workout for some extra fuel.  It's also great for an afternoon pick me up.  I hope you enjoy!

I DID!