First attempt at beer brewing, a stout 3.14% alc/vol

I was looking on Mr Tube and saw some vids on brewing. I'd always thought I'd like a crack at doing it. I had a tenant in the flat below and he made his own beer, pretty rugged stuff and he'd got an old fridge with a tap in it. Not a bad tenant, no trouble from him. I think his beer was quite high on the alcohol content.

The purchase

Anyway, I saw that there was a local shop in Newtown that sells starter kits for beer making, so I thought I'd give it a try its a Mangrove Jacks kit for $110. I wanted to start with a stout and the chap in the shop kindly switch it over from the beer type that came with the starter kit. A different brand. On switching over I got a Muntons Irish Style Dublin Stout.

The chap had recommended an Oatmeal stout but I thought I'd try a taste that I know. So went for the Irish Stout. If its not too much of a disaster then I can always try other ones. There was a big bag and a tin. The bag goes in first apparently.
I'd parked at Countdown supermarket opposite so I didn't have far to carry the stuff, and whilst there had a concern about the water, so ended up buying 26 l of still water ($16). The concern seems to be about the chlorine affecting the taste. Also the chap in the shop, when I said I'd most probably cock it up didn't disagree but said there was usually something drinkable at the end.
 So , cost to date is $126. And after preparing it it will take 5-10 days for fermentation. After that it needs 3-4 weeks for the carbonation drops (I think sugar) will need to react with the beer so 3-4 weeks after that. I'll be thirsty by the time they are ready.
I'll leave it until tomorrow to set it all up.

The preparation videos

I thought this  video was useful for setting up from the UK:

There is also this double one, video'd in Petone, not the most thrillingly paced but goes through the process:

The process

Wednesday 17th July, 2019.
I did the sterilization as they suggested. I used a cloth to wipe out the inner side of the fermenter and put that in its own bag so no cross contamination.
Initially I put in 2 teaspoons of the sterilizer then on reading instructions again saw it was 2 tablespoons  so adjusted to suit.
Put some in a sprayer to spray hands and other stuff.
Used bottled water to fill up. Put the sugars in first (as the man in the shop said) to stop clumping , then the tin and used kettle to get the stuff around the tin edges.
With 3 1/2 l of boiling water and bottled water for the rest, the temperature is 22 degrees, so I need to cool it down a bit before I can put in the Yeast, so I'm waiting on that.

It seems to be sitting on 22 deg C so I put it in the bath (I'm worried the sink may fall out of frame in laundry) sitting in cold water up to about the 7l mark. So will watch until it gets to below 20 deg C to put in the yeast.
I will also need to test the specific gravity as well.
This came out at 40 or 140 or 1040 - (still figuring out markings on the hydrometer.

So the start reading is 1040 which is the OG, and 5% alcohol/vol.
I had to do a lookup on this. So it seems you have the start alcohol and you get the end alcohol and you subtract one from the other to get final alcohol content.
So, in a blog I read (here) and it suggests final should be about 1.008 FG,  so that alcohol content there should be 1% so difference of alcohol content should be 4%, which is about right for a normal stout (Guinness 4.2%).
So all made , yeast added, in the cupboard and I'll have to wait 5 to 6 days. So that will stink out the house with guests coming Sunday.
I'll need to take it out to test the alcohol content on Monday 22nd and again on Tuesday 23rd to test FG and see if its stabilized.
Other calc is :
(OG-FG) x 131 = ABV (alcohol content) ,w here OG = 1.040 , so if FG 1.008 then sum will be .032x 131 = 4.192%

Day 1. Wed 17th July

 

I put the fermenter in my "hot press" (Airing cupboard). I 'd put a temperature logger in there before for a few hours and the results were that the temp was just above 15 deg C (note- datalogger battery died and there was only one reading)

When I put the fermenter in the cupboard it was at 20 deg C. As the temp was steady at 15 deg C in the cupboard I decided to wrap the tank in a duvet. I checked the temperature the next day in the AM and it was at 18 deg C.
I'll keep an eye on it and if it drops then I'll have to put a bit more heat in the space somehow.
There is a bit of a brewing smell as the cupboard is in the middle of the house, I may have to get a hose and run it into the attic space. Top of airlock is 25mm internal so I think it might be hose pipe size.

Day 2/3/4 of ferment

I was a bit concerned with temperature. The thermometer had dropped to 18/16 (so 17 deg C) so I thought I'd better raise the temp in the cupboard on day 3. I put in an electric oil heater on to try and even the temperature. I thought I'd had it on low but on checking day 4 the temperature was at 20 deg C. So I wound down the heater to a lower setting. I'll keep an eye on it. I'll also check the temp logger.
It seems to be bubbling away quite merrily so that is good.
My car was stolen Thursday night so will need to plan how to get the hose. As its off gassing into linen cupboard I may need to get the vent running soon or very beer smelling linen.

 Day 5  first measure

Monday 22 July I took the fermenter out and poured some beer out for the hygrometer. The reading was 1.016. It needs to be around 1.008 and when getting it out it was still bubbling through air trap, so I don't think its finished fermenting. Back in the cupboard and let it brew some more.

DAY 6/7 CONSISTENT MEASURE AT 1.012

On day 8 I decided to bottle as it was not going to go down to 1.008 too fast. Zoe & Karl were around so Zoe helped do the bottling, she was definitely better than I was.
So now have 30 bottles with 2 carbonator pellets in each of the pert bottles . I am storing them in their original box and I need to leave them in a warm place for 5 days. We turned the bottles upside down so that the pellets would dissolve.
Next, 5 days in warm place and then put in cool place and can drink after 14 days. 2 weeks to go before the tasting.

 Day 5 of storing

I  tried a bottle on day 5. It did not have much of a head and was quite sweet, but pleasant enough, although not much of a bite to it. I'm glad I've tried but will wait for a while longer so hopefully it will get a bit more oomph.
Am supposed to put in a cool place but as temperature has dropped I'll keep it in the dining area for now.

Pupusa's , Pickled cabbage

My daughter Zoe is coming to stay and she is gluten intolerant. So I thought I'd look up online things to make that she could eat. She definitely will not be having my sausage rolls, that's for sure.
So, I came across pupusa's from El Salvador and thought I'd give them a try, they look really good.

First problem is getting the corn flour. I did try normal cornflour and that was useless. I needed the Masa Harisa. In all the video's they use Maseca brand and I tracked some down in Moore Wilson's.

I first had to make the pickled salad so hunted down some apple cider. The cabbage, carrot and onion is pretty good. You have to refrigerate it overnight and it is pretty crunchy and zingy. I'll need to make some without onions for the Zot.

The pickled cabbage recipe vid

 After this the straight recipe for pupusa's

and the guys simplification process:

The making of them.

So after finding the right flour, I set to work. Browned the pork which I'd cut into small pieces and blitzed with a tomato and half a brown onion. That was alright, I'd forgot the garlic so added a teaspoon full and blitzed again.
The filling was more like a paste, which is what it is supposed to be, but a bit wet, so when I was making the balls, drips of fluid would come out, so I had to dry the mix out a bit. I think it was supposed to ball up in your hand but mine was a bit more creamy. I'd been light on the pork as I wanted to save some for when Zoe comes.
The easy guy method didn't quite work for me either. He had a dryer mix (1.5 cups of water to 3 of flour, whereas proper one was 3.5 to 4 cups of water to 4 cups flour, but the guys one also had a bit more oil in his dough). Both aimed for "playdough" consistency. I thought I had that but mine was too dry. In the end I added more water and oil.
I used Mozzarella cheese as well, separate to the pork mix. I thought the cheesy strands look better.

Result

My dough was either too thick, too thin in places and would crack, and sticky, so putting in down on the chopping board it peeled away the dough on one side.
After making one I don't think I had enough filling in as it was pretty dry, hence the pickled cabbage and salsa to give it a lift.
The more I did the thicker they got.

Overall

I thought this   would be a cool recipe and something interesting that is gluten free but i was a bit disappointed with it.
After all the effort I was not that impressed with the result of the pupusa's themselves. I liked the pickled cabbage though. I'd do that again.
I think for a gluten free type meal I'd go for the quesadilla's instead. Easier to make and prepare and a bit more flexible.
I might try using the maseca flour to make tortilla's instead.

Bread pudding in Air Fryer, No, oven yes.

This is something that sticks to your ribs. Not too sweet but filling.

I like this chaps process, although I didn't add the butter to the bread, just to the bowl for prepping.
160 deg C for 20 minutes (half of the 40 minutes for normal oven).

I wanted to use some molenburg bread as it was taking up room in the freezer. I threw everything in and cooked it for quite a while but it did not set. I threw out half of it. It didn't quite work with the flavours. I will go back to a simple white bread and minimalist recipe.

Overall, not blown away with the results, in fact I didn't make it for a long while because I was disappointed with it. I think I tossed a lot of it.
I threw in too many spices. I had a feeling I was doing so at the time. 

 Oven Recipe

I then decided to go back to a simple oven recipe and used this gentleman's recipe:

I found it was a lot more simple, a bigger batch, but I froze a lot of it and have been eating it regularly.
I have been saving the leftover ciabatta bread when I don't eat it all and make a new batch. I put those bits in a freezer bag and collect the ends in the freezer. I have to thaw and when mixed with the wet ingredients leave them to soak a lot longer as the bread is pretty crusty. I also have to use the bread knife to cut it into smaller pieces, too hard to tear with hands.
This was the taste I was after, so I'll be making it again for sure.
ingredients - 

• 500g bread -any bread 
• 500g dried fruit 
• 140g light muscavado 
• 600 ml milk
• 2 eggs
•  demerara sugar for sprinkle topping 
• 1.5 teaspoon of ground mixed spice, (cinnamon nutmeg) 
• 100g melted butter

16th May 2020. A different recipe- verdict- Delicious, and not too sweet

I hadsome nubs of ciabatta left over so decided, as the weather was cooling, to use them up in  bread pudding.

I found this one online and decided to give it a try, the photos show its the right colour, dark brown rather than pale.

Recipe webpage  here:

Ingredients:

• 1kg Bread (day old/stale white bread), chopped.
• 1,200ml Whole milk.
• 400g Raisins
• 300g Currants.
• 300g Sultanas
• 100g Mixed peel.
• 100g Glace cherries.
• 2 tbsp Ground mixed spice.
• 4 Egg.
• 280g Light brown sugar (plus additional for sprinkling on top before baking).

I was a little lighter on raisins etc but added grated orange zest and used 4 eggs. I think milkwise I used about 600ml, also nutmeg and cinnamon and some mixed spice.

I was a little light on the sugar but its absolutely delicious. Not too sweet but a nice crunchy top with the sugar on top which I'd layed quite thick.

Looking forward to having this over the next few day and hopefully weeks if I don't scoff it all too quickly.

Definitely a great use of unused bread.

For the baguettes I just cut them up and toast them, that is good too.

Fried rice

I came to this late, but I really enjoy a fried rice. I do like making an omelette and cutting it into ribbons for the fried rice.
Here is a basic recipe that I'm following, although I'll be adding a few more ingredients.
A bit like Dad's mince, crude and simple, but easy and fast. 

I have been using the 90 second microwave rice as I've been having issues with cooking rice of late. It is also a nice portion size, 2 portions so eat one and freeze the other for later. With cooking rice the batch size is usually larger.

Fried Rice

Its  a good cobble together what you have and throw it in. I've just got a Rotisserie chicken and have leftovers. I was looking for ideas on what to do with it and saw it being used for Fried Rice. I thought that's a great use. I usually get at least 2 meals out of  cooking it, so that is handy, and it uses frozen veges easily if you don't have anything fresh.
As I only have some chicken I'll use the dark meat for the fried rice and add some bacon, then I'll use the left over breast for sushi.

Freezer and some stocks

I'm now buying a kg of streaky bacon at a time and splitting it up into 4 slices (then cutting those in 2) and putting them in freezer bags. Each bag lasts me 2 days for breakfast with the air fryer or for adding to other recipes. I'm loving the convenience of the freezer, some of the things really work well, and the bacon is one, the sausage rolls another, the tortilla mix too. Really handy to grab and use. Even if at last minute you can use the microwave to thaw.
I bought fruit and froze it, but don't use it, so that fills up the freezer. I'll have to plan to use, but I wont replenish.
The dumplings, won tons and sui mae are great, as are the Spring rolls. Also the frozen pizza balls.
The naan bread I froze I wasn't too blown away with, I'm still trying to find some of them. I may have to make some more, just to use up the big container of yogurt I bought, and make some curry's too.

Won ton soup

Its cooling down in Autumn now and I'll be looking for some warming soups. I like the idea of making a batch of won tons and freezing them for soups during the week.
I need to get won ton pastry and chicken stock, and maybe some chicken, also bok choy is nice with it too, and I have the mung beans, so I should start to learn how to make this dish as I would order a pork won ton soup regularly from KC's in Courtenay place.

Here is a real basic example of the soup, no frills.

 

I like Marion's videos and her cooking , here is her take on it:

First attempt

I made the won tons and have frozen some for later. 

I cooked the won tons in a separate pot so flour would not mess up ther broth. Oxo cubes 1 1/2 low salt chicken in 1 1/2 cups of water with Garlic, ginger paste & pepper at beginning and one star anise added later. I only made enough broth for one bowl. Also I only simmered the broth for about 10 minutes.

 I used dried ribbon noodles ans some pork chunks. 

A little bland, both the broth and the won ton fillings. Both needed a bit of zing. I did get some Pam's Chicken stock  so for next one I will use that and compare. 

It definitely filled me up and was a hearty meal. 

The next pork joint I do for Manu I will carve a few pork slices off. Actually, the pork tasted meaty, but different to what I'd get at the restaurant. Maybe it should be stewed in the broth more. 

I didn't add any salt or soy afterwards either, maybe that would lift the flavour? 

I had about 8 won tons and the pork.

So, next time:

More flavour in the broth. Try by using chicken stock rather than cubes.Start broth early and simmer to get flavours in it. 

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Moule et frittes & instant pot recipe

 From Belgique apparently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moules-frites
When Mary & I tried to do the Camino from Mont St Michael we came across the Galettes and Moule & Frittes when we were exploring Riennes & Nantes areas.
Mary's was not a fan of Mussels but I like seafood and am not fussed about fish. So I was trying it out a bit.
The mussels were tiny, so you almost expended more effort getting them out of shell and into mouth  than the calorific value of the mussel.  Not so with NZ green lipped mussels that are a decent size! Or so I thought. I decided to do a white wine recipe, sadly Chef John was the best I've found to date, no frittes.

 Moule et frittes

As a kiwi, mussels and chips seems weird, but it works.
I used air fryer with chopped up Agria potatoes , thinly sliced, no oil with some Hellman's mayonnaise. That worked fine.
The mussels were from Pak'n'Save and they were pretty small. Very disappointing. I think I'll try Countdown & New World for Mussel comparison.
For the wine I found a 7.80$ bottle of Pinot Gris. I find Chardonnay and Savignon Blank at the cheap end very acidy. As I'd be using some for the cooking and some for the trinking, I quite like Gris.
Parsley I got from Mt Vic by the loop. Fresh.
I didn't have spring onions, they are $1.50 a bunch at the harbour market and 2.45$ a Pak'n'Save so I used some brown onions and a bit of garlic.
I think I was a bit heavy handed with the wine, so sauce was quite diluted, and I added a bit of cream. Unfortunately sauce was too diluted, next time, less wine and more concentrated. Maybe simmer to thicken, I can be a bit impatient.
I'd just made fresh Ciabatta so I toasted  a couple of slices for dipping in the sauce. Too watery.
So I'll need to do the recipe again. Hopefully it will improve.
Still a yummy and fun meal to have, opening the shells, getting the mussels, having chips and dipping fresh bread. Not amazing but hard to bugger up too much.
Definitely worth another go.
A slightly unsettled tummy that night. 2 mussels were only partially open, maybe I should have left them.
As weather is cooling it is maybe time to think of Seafood Chowder. A yummy warm meal. I'll have to plan for some bread making and cream to go with it. 

Instant pot recipe

I tried this out but I think after the saute I had it on for 2 hours , so after a couple of minute I pulled the plug out and released the steam, a serious amount of it before the pressure valve dropped.

I'm new to the instant pot controls so am wary.

Butter, onino & garlic saute'd about a cup and a half of pinot gris wine and then in pressure cooker.

I'd rinced the mussels in clean water but there were barnicles on them.
I didn't want to saute off the wine, but in fact, after the steaming/venting no taste of wine at all, so next time I'd just do in a normal pot.
The chips I did in the air fryer with lard after I'd soaked them in cold water to get the starch off them.  I had them avec mayonnaise and they were nice.

 Chips were good. Mussels well cooked, I still hd to take the beards off of the, but no wine subtlety to it. The parsly and spring onions on after were nice. Just the sauce dissapointing.
Conclusion on instant pot method ? Dissapointing, it steamed off the wine, part of the best bit of it!

Crab Rangoon & firecracker shrimps

I have seen this on a few vids and thought I'd give it a crack.
Its Cheese and Surimi filling (with onions) wontons and there are a few variations on the theme.

 Crab rangoon with surimi

I had Philadelphia cheese and I was at shops and decided to get some surimi to try this recipe out.
The above vid is good as its baked rather than deep fried.

I had half the block of Phili cheese and about 100-125g of surimi and 1/4 chopped onion (run out of spring onions) and made them into shapes above. I got 17 out of the mix.

I used air fryer for 5 of them. I had bought some sirachi sauce (Thai chilli) and thought I'd try that out. It's a hot sauce and too hot for these won tons as they have a delicate taste. So not the ideal outcome.

I froze the rest so will have to try them with a sweet chili sauce next time.  Or the mayo and sriracha sauce in vid below, that way you can adjust to your own spiciness in the sauce.
Easy to make and freeze and ingredients are not hard to come by.
Not crab though!!!!!

Not that impressed by them, just tasted creamy, not much crab flavour and it didn't go too well with sweet chili sauce either. The Mayo/sriracha  mix was OK but didn't really complement the cheese. Also cheese leaked from pastries in Air Fryer, even if you were heating from frozen.
I've some left as well as some cheesy dumplings (that leak too). I might try steaming them and seeing if that method works better. Also a bit of research on dipping sauce to complement the cheese.
Easy to make, but taste hasn't wowed me. If I try again I'll put some prawns in and a lot more surimi to try and get more of a seafood taste rather than just cheese.

Firecracker shrimps

This looks fun to do. I think I'll have to give these a try with the air fryer.
I like the sauce, mayo and sriracha sauce mixed together

in the one below she freezes them for later

for Vietnamese its rocket shrimp. one below has rice paper.

I tried the ones above, cutting the pastry in half. It tasted too much of the pastry- need to cut the pastry (spring roll large pastry sheets) into quarters, then the ration of prawn to pastry may be more balanced. Tasted hard and crunchy, not too mush prawn flavour.
The mayonnaise sriracha sauce mix was good, creamy with a bit of after burn.

 

I tried with the rice paper but that didn't work too well.
I then tried with 1/4 sheet of pastry and that worked great.  Very happy with the result. The ratio of pastry to shrimp works for 1/4 sheet and the sauce is definitely great. I will start using it instead of sour cream.

Rice Paper and things to do with it

I see the clearish spring rolls at Yum Cha and it doesn't really appeal.
I keep on seeing them at the Asian market & decided to buy some.
In the videos below the idea of Sushi looks very appealing, I've just bought some pickled ginger and need to make some. I've marinated and cooked some chicken, so tomorrow may be the day.
The 2 vids below give some ideas on what to do with them:

 Sushi

The sushi was a great success, I liked it so much i think I had it 3 evenings in a row.
I had marinated the chicken in Soy sauce and honey and cooked that up but I think I now have a use for Rotisserie chickens from the supermarket.
I always have coleslaw,chicken and bread for the first meal, then wonder what to do with the leftovers.
Mary would make a curry, but I think I will try a fried rice with Chicken and also a Sushi with chicken.
The other ingredient for the sushi is the rice. Since some of my fails with rice I've been using the 90 second microwave packs for between $1.50 to $2.00. Really quick to make and use, so handy.
 With Wasabi, pickled ginger and the rice paper the meal is put together as quick as making a sandwich. So a very quick meal.

Fruit Spring Rolls in Air Fryer

I've been making apple turnovers in the Air Fryer with my Granny Smith apples and the rice paper. I'm happy with these, they can dry out and crack and leak, but simple enough to do.
Crunchy on the outside and sweet and tasty inside.
Definitely an easy snack, and gluten free I think so I can offer Zoe some.
I have some Kiwi fruit, so I may try them one evening.
I'll have to try the air fryer spring rolls as well.

Prawn Firecrackers

I tried the prawn firecrackers with spring roll pastry, using half the pastry (cut on the diagonal). They tasted too bready and the prawn taste was masked too much.
So I tried using the Rice paper, but found it cracked when I used scissors to cut it on the diagonal. Then I tried wetting them before cutting, that was not too elegant either. Also wet rice paper was a bit slippery on the wet prawns and the resultant air fryer cooking of them was not too great either. The outside got cooked but it was sort of crispy inside but in a hard way, not a nice way.
I've now used a 1/4 of a spring roll sheet on the prawns and that works much better, a far stronger taste of the prawns in ratio with the pastry.

Dumplings & meat spring rolls

I'll have to hold back some mix the next time I make dumplings and use the rice paper to test it out, as well as spring rolls for freezing and using with air fryer too.

Cheesecake

I've had a hankering for a bit of cheesecake for a while and thought I'd like to try it.

This is a link to a no-bake simple recipe :
https://www.crazyforcrust.com/the-best-no-bake-cheesecake-recipe/
The Graham Cracker's had me a bit confused as I wasn't sure it if it was very sweet or slightly savory. I met a lady dog walking and she uses Arnott's  "Nice" biscuits (I was also thinking about Digestives) so I thought I'd give that a try.  She also mentioned condensed milk and that decided me, I would make it today.

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust (substitute Arnott's  "Nice" biscuits)

• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs — about 18 sheets
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 11 tablespoons unsalted or salted butter — melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt — only if using unsalted butter

 I halved these measures, no sugar, half a packet of Nice biscuits (250g pack, so 125g) and a 15mm slice off a block of butter

Filling:

• 2 8-ounce blocks cream cheese — room temperature (do not use low-fat)
• 14 ounces 1 can sweetened condensed milk — (regular, not low fat)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Berries or pie filling for topping

 I did one tub (250g) cream cheese and 1/2 can condensed milk. I also used the lemon skin for zest in the mix.

Instructions

1. Place graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a large bowl and stir using a fork. The mixture will resemble wet sand. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-10” spring form pan. Chill at least 10 minutes before filling.
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth using a hand or a stand mixer. Add sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix until smooth and no lumps remain. Pour into prepared crust. Chill at least 4 hours before serving so the mixture can set.
3. Top with berries or your favorite pie filling. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cheesecake can be made 1 day in advance, but don’t top it until ready to serve. It can also be frozen.
   
   

   Results

   This is a simple recipe. I've fallen in love with it already and I'm still waiting to try one!

   Licking out the dregs of the condensed milk cann brought back memories of doing it as a kid with my mum's cooking (I think the condensed milk went into her chocolate cake, a heavy simple cake with raisins that she'd bake on massive trays, 2 at a time,  that us 4 boys would scoff through in a couple of days, still haven't found an equivalent recipe) and the cleaning of the bowl of the filling was delicious too. 

   After I read that it needed to be chilled for 4 hours my heart sank. Still, I'm looking forward to trying them out. 

   I'm using the small metal baking trays that I use for Tortillas and there was enough mix for 4 (although some could do with some extra filling) so I will leave them in the freezer and get one out today and leave the others frozen. 

   
   

   Alternative

   halve the ingredients

    link

   For the crust

   3 tablespoons sugar

   2 cups graham cracker crumbs

   119g unsalted butter, melted

   
   

   For the filling

   2 pkts cream cheese, room temperature

   1 can sweetened condensed milk

   1/4 cup or icing sugar to dust

   1 cup raspberry sauce

   200g frozen raspberries.

   Thawed fresh raspberries, for garnish (optional)