Re-cheesing

After last weekends organic near-disaster I needed to regain my cheese mojo so made a halloumi, a feta and a ricotta from 6l of (non-organic, bog standard normal) milk. The feta (around 400g) and the ricotta (around 150g) were drained by hanging in cheesecloth and have that 'rustic' look

The halloumi (1.3kg)  is more satisfying as I get to shape it with the cheese press

 After chopping, cooking at 40 degrees C and salting it looks like this

And it tastes great.

Jacarandas

For a few weeks in October Brisbane turns a beautiful purple colour as the jacaranda trees flower

I was surprised to find that the jacaranda isn't an Australian tree but was introduced from Brazil and planted by the early colonists to beautify the countryside. It may have been a different way of looking at the world to how we see indigenous flora today but it worked.

  

Make your own cider - Pt 2

Been a bit of a delay in writing this - just think of it as time for the cider to mature! But to recap, back in Part 1 you made up a 'wort' of apple juice, added yeast and left it sitting at room temperature.

The next step only needs to be done if you used home-juiced fruit, which will leave small bits of fruit in the mix which need to be filtered out. It's easy to do - around two weeks after topping up the fermentor sterilise a large pan (or two smaller pans), a sieve and a funnel with boiling water. Then just strain the juice into the saucepan

There will be some murky looking yeast at the bottom of the fermentor - leave that in there, this is known as 'trub' and is yeast that still has an important job to do

Then tip the juice back into the fermentor  - it'll cloud up again but that's fine, it'll clear up again soon enough

Replace the breathable 'lid' and put the fermentor back in its safe place for anywhere between 3 weeks and a couple of months.

Once the fermentor has been left to sit for at least a month or so after filling (regardless of fresh or bottled juice) then it's bottling time! Give it a taste when you're doing this too, it'll be flat and sharp. You could drink it as it is, but bottling will give it some fizz and help it clear further.

The bottles that you use are up to you. When I brew beer I tend to use Coopers PET homebrew bottles, but the easiest & cheapest way of doing this to to keep some "soda pop" bottles handy. Take the labels off if you want to be all lah-de-dah and if you drink tea with your little finger stuck out. However - and this is important - make sure that the bottle is designed to hold pressurised liquid. Don't use juice bottles, and don't be tempted by those classy glass swing-top bottles you can get from homeware shops as the walls are too thin and they can explode.

Once you've got your bottles sterilise them with very hot water from the tap - don't use boiling water as it will deform the plastic. Also sterilise the bottle lids, a saucepan, a funnel and a spoon

Once you've done that let the spoon and funnel air-dry and then use them to add 'priming sugar' to each bottle. Add about one heaped teaspoon of caster sugar per 500ml of bottle space, so eg a 1.25l bottle should have 2 heaped and one level teaspoon of sugar added. What happens here is the yeast in the cider 'eats' the fresh sugar and produces carbon dioxide. Because the bottle is sealed the C02 has nowhere to go and so the pressure forces the C02 into the liquid. This adds fizz to the drink in the same way as a soda stream does. 

Gently pour the cider into the bottles, leaving about 20mm headspace at the top of each bottle, but do not empty the fermentor - stop pouring into bottles when there is an inch or so of cider still to go .

 You can see why I was christened the 'evil drinking leprechaun'

Tip the final inch of the cider into the saucepan - it will look murky and milky like so

Top up each of the bottles with some of the yeast solution - this is a way of making sure that there is yeast in each bottle to fizz it up.

If possible fill the bottles close to the top - if a bottle is only half full, look around for a smaller bottle and transfer it. Or add in some fresh juice to top it up.

Make sure you put the lids on the bottles tightly, and after this you just need to leave it for a couple of weeks at room temperature to condition in the bottle. If you're using clear bottles then you'll need to put them somewhere dark to keep the sunlight out. Don't transfer it to the fridge during this time as you'll stop the yeast doing its thing.

After a couple of weeks the cider will be good to go! Make sure you chill the bottles in the fridge for at least 24hrs before opening, and be careful when you open them because they can easily fizz over. The cider will be very sharp and dry, so if that's not to your taste just mix in some freshly juiced apple juice to sweeten it up. Or maybe some strawberry, or melon? See what works for you, and let me know!

The chips are down

After trolling through numerous recipes on the web I decided that I needed 50g of oak cubes to flavour my IPA, but after carefully measuring it out the cubes they didn't look enough so I chucked in another handful or so into the saucepan. I poured in boiling water (around 3 times the height of the cubes) and left them boiling on the stove for 15 minutes or so. It was surprising how much water was absorbed by the cubes and also the deep dark colour of the remaining water

I tipped the murky water out and left the oak chips soaking in fresh water for a day or so, which leeched out more colour that just wasn't there in the original oak chips

I drained the oak cubes and tipped them into the fermentor, where somewhat disconcertingly most of them sank immediately. Which makes me wonder how old boats worked...

 
In another week I rack off this bad boy into secondaries to mature for a few weeks, then two long weeks of bottle conditioning before we get to try it.....

Testing times

One of my roles in this company is to test the software and try to find the many bugs that the developers leave behind. It's mundane but relaxing, I just stick on some decent tunes and spend the day amusing myself writing snarky bug reports with phrases like "I cannot believe...',  'was there ANY testing done at all' and 'Anyone with a vague idea of business process would know that...'. Yup, I'm easily amused.

My friend & colleague Marin keeps bring in beautifully crafted and melodic post-rock masterpieces for me to listen to whilst I work, but it's hard to go past some shouty lyrics & squelchy basslines from my youth to block out the world at large. The Lo-Fidelity All Stars are a criminally under-rated band from the late 90's who fit the bill perfectly. Turn it up.

 

Barefoot Southbank loop

I've been slowly building up my barefoot running distance, and last week I managed a 3.8 km run. So this week I thought I'd push it a bit further, break the 4 km barrier and loop across the river  - always a worrying thing to do as there's no easy way to shortcut back if things don't go well!

It turned out that I didn't need to worry as I felt pretty good. I've been refining my style to try to limit the work done by my calves and use my glutes & hammies instead and that seemed to pay off as I felt light on my feet, was enjoying the run and kept finding reasons to extend the distance. I managed just over 4.7 km in all, which I was very happy with, and even though I was trying to keep it slow & steady I still managed a 10.5km/hr average. Although I'm sore this morning...

Whilst I was out I saw posters advertising a Corporate 5km fun run next Thursday evening, with a possible 4,500 runners & walkers. What do you think - a good opportunity for my first barefoot 5km?

Incidentally I've been asked a few times why I run on tarmac & concrete instead of grass. You definitely get a sanded feeling on the soles of your feet when you run on artificial surfaces, but the shot below shows what you pick up from hanging out the washing on our apartment lawn. These are "bindi's", small caltrop-shaped thorns that embed themselves into whatever steps on them.

 

I'd prefer to take my chances on the tarmac....

Mangled organic

I haven't made cheese for a while so I decided to whip up a batch of haloumi & feta yesterday. We nipped down to the local supermarket and after surveying the fridges for a few minutes I decided to blow the budget and get 6l of organic milk.

It was all going well - temperatures were right, rennet & starter were both safely stored in the freezer, the hangover was subsiding and the V8s were driving round in circles on the telly - but after a few hours the milk was refusing to set. You're looking for what's called a 'clean break' (where the solid curd splits neatly over your finger) and instead I was getting this

 

Even after letting it set overnight I was getting this

 

I dug one of the milk cartons out of the recycling bin and the advertising all looked very homely & healthy

 

 

but then I read the small print - 'Ultra-pasteurised'

 

It turns out that ultra-pasteurised milk is treated differently to normally pasteurised milk. Instead of being heated to around 70 degrees Centigrade for 15 to 20 seconds, ultra-pasteurised milk is forced through a microbial filter and narrow pipes at around 135 degrees Centigrade for 2 seconds. "In the way nature intended" I assume. This kills more of the bugs in the milk but also mangles the proteins in the milk so it won't form curds. It increases the shelf life significantly, which is ironically why it's used for organic and other higher unit-cost milks. So something else to look out for - don't get ultra-pasteurised milk to make cheese as it won't work and it's probably been sitting there for weeks. Full fat 'regular' milk is a cheaper, better, fresher option.

It seemed a shame to throw away 6l of milk so I thought I'd try a soft cheese instead. I ladled the mush into colanders lined with muslin, tied them into balls and hung them to drip dry for the day. In 35 degree heat, which was a little concerning.

 

It actually worked out pretty well as the cheese is soft, spreadable and tasty

 

I added garlic, salt, pepper, spring onion greens and a dash of paprika to one batch and it's great on crackers

 Perhaps I won't take it back to the shop for a refund after all...
 

Gear review - Timbuk 2 Shift

Most of the photos I've posted over the last few weeks have featured my new 'Shift' pannier / messenger bag, so after reading one of Katherine's posts I've been inspired to write my first gear review.

The Timbuk 2 Shift is a pannier bag that doubles as a messenger bag.

On the bike (yes, I know the rack is mounted too high) -

Or over your shoulder. The strap is detachable but I normally just tuck it into the bag when it's mounted on the bike

It attaches to the rack with these hooks and a bungy strap, so it's quick and easy to get on and off. 

The hooks can get tucked away behind these velcro straps when you're carrying it around, although I generally don't bother and it's only occasionally gotten tangled in my clothing

 

It's not a huge bag but it's big enough to fit the day to day essentials, and it also has an inner pocket for small laptops, tablets or magazines

As you can see it has a rubberised inner so it's probably pretty waterproof, although that's not massively important as I don't ride in the rain. It comes in two colours - black or this greyish colour with red highlights - and because I use a black Timbuk 2 laptop bag for work I decided to get something a little different. It's already getting a tad grubby but would probably be easy to wash, not that I'll ever get round to it.

I was in two minds about whether to buy this but now I have I use it almost all the time when I'm on a bike. It's just handy to chuck a lock in, so I can leave the bike, sling it over my shoulder and go for a wander without looking like a cyclist. And I'm able to stock up on veggies or grains as part of a ride.

The only problem I have with it is the external pockets. There are 4 pockets all set on top of one another, which means that once you've put things in one pocket there's no room in any of the others.

Also there are no pockets that aren't covered by the main flap of the bag, so you have to undo the clips to get to anything.

 

So in summary if you have racks and want a small casual practical bag that doubles as a pannier, this could the one for you... 

Oaked IPA

I'm trying another IPA today, partly because they're very tasty and partly because I have a few half-used bags of hops that I want to clear out of my fridge. I'm also trying an extra ingrediant - oak cubes - which should hopefully add a bit of a 'barrel' flavour to the beer.

Most of the recipes suggest using these as part of the secondary conditioning, but my secondaries are wine demijohns and I'm not sure the necks are wide enough. So the plan is to add them to the primary once the initial rush of fermentation has died down. A handy hint I picked up from the web is to soak them for a day or so first so that they don't absorb any of the lovely beer they'll sitting in.

The recipe is -

2 1/2 kg  traditional pale
1/2 kg wheat
360g light crystal

Mash for 1 hr @ 66 degrees (ish)

Add wort to pan and then add 20g Fuggles hops. Bring wort to boil (this is known as first wort hopping and should give a deeper flavour)
Sparge the mash and add the sparge water
Bring to the boil and add 30g Topaz hops (16.5%!)
After 30 mins add 25g Northern Brewer & 10g Topaz hops
After 55 mins add 30g East Kent Goldings
After 60 mins add 2 1/2kg pale malt extract, stir to dissolve and take off heat

Cool, strain into the fermentor and dilute to 25l  (Original Gravity approx 1.057)
Agitate the wort and sprinkle on S-04 english ale yeast

After a few days add 50g oak cubes soaked in water overnight (add the oak cubes to boilng water and boil for 10 mins before soaking to keep them sterile)

I've got a good feeling about this one :)

Snelsmore Wood

In the mid 90's a bypass was built around the scenic English town of Newbury, requiring the bulldozing of a significant amount of farmland & mature woodland. This lead to England's largest road protest, commemorated by this song.

After a massive security operation the road was completed in 1998.

According to Wikipedia -

Analysis since the construction of the bypass has shown that instead of the predicted 47% reduction in road deaths due to the new road, there was a 67% increase (from 6 to 10) in the five years after it opened.....The same report concluded that the levels of traffic on the old road had not fallen as much as might have been expected, possibly because of traffic being able to use it for other reasons.

There are now proposals to widen a section of the A34 to three lanes all the way up to the intersection with the M4 motorway at Chievely 

Queensland

I've just spent two days in Paramatta, Western Sydney. All I can say is it's good to be home....

 

Say yarrow, wave goodbye

I've talked before about non-hopped beer and I'm trying another variant - a yarrow and sweet orange beer. Yarrow is a much-loved traditional herb from the Northern hemisphere and is used for anything from stemming bleeding wounds to curing hemorrhoids. It also has a sweet but slightly bitter flavour so it can be used as a flavouring agent for beer. It was an integral part of gruit, the medieval pre-hopped version of beer, and is considered to have psychoactive tendencies, similar to wormwood. I'm missing the other two key ingredients of gruit - marsh rosemary & bog myrtle - but I managed to get some dried yarrow so thought I'd give it a go.

The standard pre-brew 'ingredients' picture

This was -

• 1kg cracked traditional grain, 1kg cracked pilsner grain, 1kg cracked maris otter grain (not because of any flavour profiling, it was just what was available in my LHBS)
• 300g light crystal grain
• 2 1/2kg pale malt extract
• 1/2 kg dark pale malt extract
• 60g dried yarrow
• 35g dried sweet orange

Mash the grains with 20g yarrow, 15g sweet orange, pith of half a lemon and 1 teaspoonful of coriander seeds for 1hr at 66 degrees C

Meanwhile boil up 40g of yarrow for an hour. With 15 minutes to go add 20g sweet orange peel, 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds and the pith of half a lemon. 

Ignore the cries from German beer enthusiasts :)

 

At the end of the hour add the wort from the mash to the boil pan and dissolve in the dried malt extract. Take off the boil and cool for an hour or so before making up to 25l with filtered water. Add Belgian ale yeast for some fruity esters.

I've had this fermenting in the primary for two weeks and racked it to secondaries today. It's sweet and light, so I'm curious to see how it turns out.

I also bottled my Rack Sheep, which has been in secondaries for 3 weeks and fermenting for 5. After prepping 25 bottles I dug out the secondaries and noticed that it was still bubbling. We've had a hot spell (35 degrees today!) and I think the yeast has rejuvenated itself so I would have liked to have left it in for a little while longer, but with limited space I have a 'just in time' bottling schedule and I didn't fancy re-cleaning all those bottles a week or two later so decided to bottle it as is. That one may be a bit lively when it's opened.....

Bonus tune!

Just listened to this whilst I was working and as always it made me smile, made me sad, made me think and made me wonder. So I thought I'd share. Stick with it, it's not just about the 'Dead!

Black Cab - Valiant

 

I need to ride my bike more...

Good song, amazing video - what more can I say?

 

Riverfire 2012

Brisbane holds an annual fireworks extravaganza called Riverfire, which was on this weekend. The events start with a display by the Australian Defence Eurocopter Tiger, and the flight team had far too much fun 'strafing' the crowd with the front-mounted cannon

Then the Blackhawks did a flypast - coincidentally a friend of mine's brother served on this exact same vehicle for a few years  

It wasn't just helicopters - there was a Superhornet flypast too

The big event was a 30 minute firework display that night, but with half a million people due that night the crowds were getting overwhelming

This will probably be the last Riverfire where we live within sight of the city so we decided we'd skip the rush at the end and watch it from the balcony at home. It looked great but photos were a little tricky...fun to try though!