Country Cooking with GoodByeCityLife

Love Chai Tea? Then You’ll Love These Cookies

Laura Childs — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:43:57 +0000

If you love the various blended spices in chai teas and lattes, you love these somewhat biscotti, somewhat shortbread, crescents.

The recipe makes about 2 dozen crescent shaped cookies. Prepare dough in advance.

Cookies:

This isn't the right picture - I will upload a new pic shortly.

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tbsp. sugar
1 cup flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, finely chopped

Chai spice blend:

1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2/3 cup superfine sugar

Directions

In a food processor combine butter, sugar, flour, vanilla extract and salt. Pulse until all ingredients are combined.
and pTransfer dough to a large bowl and stir in chopped nuts. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Remove dough from refrigerator and soften 20 to 30 minutes. Form dough into 1-inch balls.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together cloves, cardamom, ginger, white pepper, cinnamon and superfine sugar and set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll dough balls until dough is shaped into finger-size shapes. Bend shapes into crescents, place on baking sheets, bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on bottom.
Transfer to a wire rack and cool cookies for 5 minutes. While cookies are still warm, carefully dip cookies in chai spice blend and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Favorite Christmas Cookies – Chocolate Orange

Laura Childs — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:27:14 +0000

A few years back I decided to try some new cookie recipes for the holidays. They had to work for large batches, be freeze-able without loss of quality or flavor for up to a month, and be able to ‘wow’ all of my friends – some of who are quite picky and particular about the food they eat.

I set the television up in the dining room for the afternoon, rented three movies and tried eight new recipes. On my large farmhouse styled dining table I mixed, rolled, chilled, filled, wrapped and tasted cookies. By far the chocolate orange cookies below were my favorite so I hope you’ll give them a shot for your own family.

A variety of Christmas cookies can bring the festive back to the season - try something new and delicious.

If you love the mix in flavor of chocolate and orange (and subsequently love the Terry’ Orange Chocoloates from the UK), this is the cookie for you! Until I get some pictures, I’ll describe this for you as a rolled and cut cookie with a small dollop of orange marmalade in the center and one side coated in chocolate.

Orange Chocolate Cookies (makes about 3 dozen cookies, dependant on size)

1 cup butter, at room temperature, plus a little extra for chocolate dipping sauce
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 cups flour, plus a little extra for rolling dough
1/4 cup orange marmalade, divided
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use Pampered Chef cookie pans – in either case, watch the cookies carefully when baking. They should finish off, top and bottom, a light golden brown in color.

Begin by beating the butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until fully absorbed, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Add in and beat the egg yolk and orange zest.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour until just combined.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. I used a 2″ star cookie cutter, but you could use any size smaller or any simple shape to make these. Re-roll and re-cut all the dough until finished. Place cut shapes on the cookie sheets.

Before putting into the oven, make a slight indentation in center of each cookie and fill with 1/4 teaspoon of orange marmalade.

Bake approximately 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a double boiler melt the bittersweet chocolate, whisking in enough butter (1 tablespoon at a time, up to about 4 tablespoons) to make a good dipping consistency. Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate and place the cookie on waxed paper until chocolate sets.

Easy Homemade Bread – Free Recipe

Laura Childs — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:14:36 +0000

It’s been called the “best free bread recipe on the Internet”…

This recipe was originally published on GoodByeCityLife in 1999. In a redesign in September 2009 the formatting may be off. If so, please visit again next week and I will have it fixed by then.

No Knead French Baguette

This makes delicious small crusty loaves. Golden brown on the outside, moist and slightly chewy inside.

A nice bread to compliment dinners with a main dish of pasta (great with pesto, cream or pink sauce as well).

Plus, on day 2, you can use any remaining for my personal favorite, bruschetta with feta.

The best part about this recipe? Even an amateur bread baker can get great resutls! No kneading is required.

Yield:	Oven Temp:
2 loaves	400º
Rising Time:	Prep Time:
2 hours	25 minutes

Ingredients
1 pkg.	active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups	warm water (110 – 115º)
1 tbn	sugar
2 tsp	salt
1 tbn	shortening, melted
4 cp	all purpose flour
4 tbn	cornmeal (optional)

Method
	In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
	Add sugar, salt, shortening and 1 cup warm water; stir until dissolved.
	Add flour and stir until smooth (you may or may not knead).
	Cover and let rise in a draft-free, warm place for an hour or until doubled.
	Turn onto floured surface. Divide in half; let rest for 5 minutes.
	Roll each half into a 10" x 8" rectangle. Roll up from the long side; pinch along seam edges to seal.
	Place seam side down on oiled baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise again until doubled, approximately 45 minutes.
	With a very sharp knife, make five diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf.
	Bake as directed or until lightly browned.
	Cool on wire racks.

You’re going to love the way this recipe turns out – so much so that you’ll want to make more wonderful, delicious loaves just like it!

Bake Bread Recipe Book

About the eBook "Pro Bread Secrets"

This ebook is the first of many for author Laura Childs, although to date this is the only recipe book.

The book itself is loaded with 23 recipes, tested in at least 40 kitchens now, by well over 40 different cooks.

This is an ebook which means you buy it, download it to your computer and access it at anytime. No need for an internet connection!

You can print out the entire ebook, just a few recipes…it’s all up to you! At the moment however, this ebook only works with PC based systems and MACs running Virtual Windows. It will not run on a standard
MAC computer.

Laura Childs says: "I first discovered my love of bread when I was 35 years old! I don’t mean store bought gummy goo, I mean homemade bread from a skillful baker.

"Having the good fortune to test, eat and learn from my friend’s mother, I’ve found that bread making can be easy and fun, and the rewards are great.

"Since writing this book (nearly 7 years ago now), I have encountered many people who had tried and failed to bake bread, hmmm…never tasted the true goodness of hot from the oven, and/or were intimidated to even try one recipe. Change is good!

"Within a few trials each one of them was baking bread like a pro after following the simple tutorial and using the tried-and-true recipes within Pro Bread Secrets."

Thank you for supporting our website and community effort by purchasing this book. My email address is on every
page of the ebook and I love to hear from fellow bakers, so if you need to ask a question or want to drop me a note I’d be honored to hear from
you!

Truly,

Pro Bread Secrets Author

GoodbyeCityLife’s first ebook: Pro Bread Secrets

Here you will find all you need to know to succeed at baking delicious bread without any fancy machines or special ingredients. (It’s really not as hard as you may think!) Also included are 20 tried and tested recipes that have consistently received rave reviews from friends, families and neighbors over the years.

I think you’ll find this resource to have a pleasant assortment of Traditional (standard white and whole wheat varieties), Cultural (French, Italian, Swiss), Healthful (Muesli), and Quick Breads (Dinner Rolls, Pitas) — as well as helpful articles on the process of bread-making, tips for success, and ingredient substitutions.

Bake Bread Recipe Book, Table of Contents

The majority of links below are not active, they are for demonstration only and are only part of the contents of GoodByeCityLife’s Country Living, Pro Bread Secrets.

Introduction

Dedication/Introduction

Table of Contents

About this E-Book

About the Author

Bread Making Tutorials

Step by Step – Intro

Kneading, First Rising, Punching Down, Second Rising, Shaping, Pan and Pause, Baking, Cooling

Knowledge Base

Substitutions – What Not to Do!

Cooling/Wire Racks

Baking Terms for Bread Loaves

Loaf Pans

The Perfect Bowl

The Recipes

Loafs

Basic White Bread

Bit O Everything Braid

Maple Oat Bread

Muesli Bread

No Knead French Baguette

Potato Bread

Raisin Pumpernickel

Whole Wheat Bread

Small Breads

Butter Flaked Rolls

Country Popovers

Crescent Rolls

Nana Jean’s Fan Tans

Pita Bread

Specialty Breads

Authentic Irish Soda Bread

Burrito (Quesadilla) Shells

Campfire Bread Strips

Richard’s Pizza Dough

Kid Pleasers

Chicken ‘n Biscuits

Moist Banana Bread

Pigs in a Blanket

Impress the Guests

Best Ever Cinnamon Buns

Cheese and Onion Focaccia

Large Batch

Heirloom Loaf Recipe

Bread Baking Tips

Laura Childs — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:44:05 +0000

Oiled Bread Bowls and Pans

When a recipe calls for oiled or greased pans or bowls you are best sticking to vegetable based oils – namely margarine, vegetable or olive oil or shortening.

A greased bowl with dairy or animal based oil (butter, lard) might go rancid or coat the yeast molecules too heavily to ensure rising.
A greased loaf pan with dairy or animal based oil (butter, lard) often burns the bread (protein overheats in the oven).

Another great idea for greased pans before baking is to add a sprinkling of cornmeal to the pan. This lends an almost ‘nutty’ flavor to the bottom of the loaf and always helps the base to cook, without burning, and without growing soggy.

Warm Liquid

Warm water is 100-115 degrees Farenheit (43-46 Celcius) – slightly warmer than your body heat (so should feel warm to your skin).

Draft-Free, Warm Location

Room temperature in your house is perfect to let bread rise, although dough can actually take a little extra heat — such as a sunny window, or on top of the stove if the oven is on low.

If you have a gas or propane oven often the pilot light will generate enough extra heat for quicker rising times.

A word of caution though…not too hot or sunny – your yeast will exhaust itself, and create big bubbles in the dough that will collapse and not rise again.

Recipe Abbreviations and Substitutions

Abbreviations used in this book:
tsp	-teaspoon
tbn	-tablespoon
pkg	-package (used for yeast in this booklet, 1 pkg is approximately 1 tablespoon)
pinch	-as much as you can grab between your forefinger and thumb (about 1/4 teaspoon)
Substitutions for Ingredients:
Brown Sugar
	Any light, medium or dark Brown Sugar can be used in these recipes. A brown sugar alternative is same quantity of white sugar plus 2 tablespoons of molasses (per cup).
Butter
	If the recipe states butter you must use butter to achieve satisfactory results. Butter can be a substitute for other fats, but no substitute can be made for butter. Greasing pans with butter (instead of oils or margarine) often results in burnt bottoms. Butter or Margarine Within a bread recipe: These can be substituted for each other. You can also use vegetable or olive oil with minimal change in the results. If the recipe states only "butter" without a link or a qualifying "or margarine", you must use butter for satisfactory results. Finally, don’t use butter to grease your pans – that practice usually results in burnt loaf bottoms.
Buttermilk
	If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can ‘make’ it. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of regular milk and you have a perfect buttermilk substitution.
Dried onion flakes
	An equal quantity of minced fresh onion.
Garlic
	1/2 tsp fresh chopped garlic is equivalent to 1/2 tsp dried garlic flakes – but is only a fair make-do substitution (fresh garlic is best).
Oil
	Olive Oil, Butter, Margarine, Vegetable Oil, Lard and Non-Stick Cooking Spray.
Sour cream
	Yogurt

Baking Yeast Breads – One Baker’s Tips

One small package of yeast found in the US and Canada grocery stores, is approximately 1 tablespoon (or 2 1/2 teaspoons) to those who buy their yeast in large quantities.

When baking bread, you’ll want to ‘proof’ your yeast first by dissolving into warm water with a teaspoon of sugar.

If, after 10 minutes the liquid has gained volume and is foamy you’ll know the yeast is active and fine for use.

For the record, warm water is 100-115 degrees Farenheit (43-46 Celcius) – slightly warmer than your body heat so it should feel warm to your skin.

Even if the recipe does not call for proofing yeast I suggest you do it always, especially if you are uncertain about the age of your yeast.

Be cautious with liquid temperatures before adding yeast to use in a bread recipe. If the liquid is too hot it will kill the yeast and all is lost. If the liquid is too cold the bread will take longer to rise.

Yeast that has passed it’s expiration date is not reliable past the first rising.

The best place to store yeast is in the refrigerator in a sealed jar or container.

The quantity of yeast, water and sugar to use is determined by the recipe directions.

Yeast that has been frozen can be used 3-4 months after it’s expiration date. Just remember to defrost for 1/2 hour at room temperature before ‘proofing’.

Enjoy baking bread at home and sharing with your friends.

Country Living Writer and Author at GoodByeCityLife.com

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Loaf Pans to Use When Making Bread

Laura Childs — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:13:18 +0000

If you’re going to bake bread, you’ll need loaf pans on hand – the more, the merrier.

Once your family tastes what you can do they won’t want store-bought bread anymore so you’ll be baking lots of loaves of fresh bread every week.

Shortly thereafter, the word gets out that you can bake great tasting homemade bread. Friends, family and neighbors start asking you about it and you’ll want to share (which means you’ll be baking more often).

I’ve had local families offer to pay any price if I’d make them a batch along with my own every week – once they’d tasted the loaves at church dinners or community get-togethers.

Loaf pans are compact and lightweight, which means they’re inexpensive to ship anywhere in the country. After our house fire last year I had to replace over 15 loaf pans and since we were under-insured I had to replace them as affordably as possible.

One of my favorite places to shop affordably is at the country auctions but as they’re seasonal around here I headed to the next best auction – online at ebay. Since I enjoy using the vintage or antique enamel pans whenever I can find them at a good deal and in decent conditions.

Different Pan Types and Materials

Using the enamel pans for baked goods gifts are a well received treat and easy on the budget as well.

Often though I’m scouring for the best deals because I shop in quantity for both baking students and personal use. Aside from the vintage pans, I’ve also used the new silicone ones and find they are excellent for homemade bread.

Stoneware pans from upscale cooking supplies (i.e. Pampered Chef) are quite good as well, just be sure to read the care and cure directions before hand and follow them to a ‘T’ – I’ve broken a few of these myself through carelessness and my investment lost as a result.

Have a look at the bread pans below currently selling on ebay and order yours today!

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Cooling Racks for Home Made Bread

Laura Childs — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:00:45 +0000

Imperative to Delicious Homemade Bread

Wire racks are essential to successful bread-making after they come out of the oven and pan.

Due to the high temperature at baking, bread continues to ‘cook’ even though it is removed from the oven.

Taking bread out of the pan and onto a wire rack ensures that cooling air can flow evenly around the loaf and prevents the loaf from over cooking.

Wire racks also prevent soggy bottoms. If you’ve ever had bread that was dry and tough on top of the slice, but almost wet at the bottom, you know what I mean.

Furthermore, cooks who leave their bread in the pan, placed on top of a hot oven, will find that their bottoms are easily burnt.

If you’re going to spend all that time kneading and mixing and waiting for consecutive risings, you might as well finish the job right and invest in a large wire rack.

Where to Buy Wire Racks

Because wire racks are lightweight, they’re easy and inexpensive to ship. Some models even fold up and fit nicely in a drawer – perfect for those of us with small kitchens or limited space.

I buy mine online. I’m often shopping for friends and students at the same time so when I find good racks I buy them in bulk. You should be able to find some really great deals in all shapes and sizes from the listing below.

Choose a seller nearby to save on shipping. These listings change daily so be sure to add this page to your favorites and visit again if you don’t see what you like today. There is usually quite a selection so pick one close to you to save $ on shipping costs!

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In Search of the Perfect Bowl

Laura Childs — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 03:44:06 +0000

Believe it or not, your success when baking bread relies heavily on the bowl you mix and allow your dough to rise in.

Glass, pottery or ceramic is best.

Plastic, on the other hand, is the worst.

Plastic bowls often hide bacteria, flavors and smells in tiny surface nicks. The bacteria alone can kill your yeast culture. Plus, those flavors and smells can ruin the taste and aroma of your finished loaf.

Imagine the slight taste of garlic through your loaf. Sounds yummy right? Well it isn’t when you toast up a slice and load it up with homemade apricot jam!

Metal bowls are inferior due to the way they conduct heat or cold. However, they’ll do in a pinch. They are still acceptable. In the old days enamel bowls and large pots were often used for mixing dough.

I’ve included a few listings from the country store of fun and useful bowls below. We use ebay for all our Country Store products since the service is trusted and accepted world wide.

These listings change every day so please add this page to your favorites (quick link below) and be sure to check back often.

I love starting my batches in the old glass and ceramic bowls, there’s just something much more ‘country’ about baking bread this way!

Here’s a final great tip that I’ve always had success with. If you own one of those old stoneware crocks, use it to let your bread dough rise in! Especially when baking a large batch of bread. Mix it all up and let it rise twice in the old stoneware crock – you won’t have to worry about heat loss or temperature changes that way.

If you collect old stoneware, crocks, graniteware, specialty glass or antique yellow ware, you’ll have another good reason to visit again and see what’s new!

There’s just so much cool stuff to choose from…

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Too Much Zucchini in the Garden?

Laura Childs — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:31:54 +0000

My favorite recipes for this versatile veggie…

Far too often our garden surprises us and puts up far more of a certain vegetable than we thought possible! Zucchini is such a vegetable – thankfully we’ve got the best recipes to share when this happens to you!

First off, this country living site has a "Did you know you could make pickles out of zucchini?" recipe, and following that, some great zucchini bread recipes…

If I have to say that word one more time – when my kitchen is loaded up with these beasts, I may go mad!

Great Zucchini Pickle Recipe

If you’ve tried Linda’s Delicious Pickled Beets, Tomato Salsa or Apple Butter you know you’ll love this recipe — even if you don’t like zucchini.

Zucchini Pickles – (5 half-pints)

2 lbs fresh, firm zucchini
2 small onions
1 sweet red pepper
1 sweet green pepper
¼ cup salt
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 cups vinegar (4 to 6% acidity)

Prepare Vegetables
Wash zucchini and cut in thin slices. Peel and cut onions in quarters, then into thin slices. Slice peppers thinly. In large pan combine zucchini, onion, red and green pepper and salt. Cover with ice cubes and let stand 2 hours. Drain thoroughly.
Prepare Brine
Bring remaining ingredients to boiling. Pour over vegetables. Let stand 2 hours. Bring all ingredients to boiling point and heat 5 minutes.
Can them Up!
Pack zucchini and brine (boiling hot), into hot sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch head space. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

Shelf Life of this Zucchini Pickle Recipe

Store jars in a cool, dark place and let set for 6-8 weeks before opening. Consume within 8 months.

Now onto the Yummy Baked Breads…

Zucchini Bread (makes 2 loaves)

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
3 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

The process:

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Stir together eggs, oil, sugar, zucchini.
Sift together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.
Add to grated zucchini.
Stir in vanilla and nuts (if desired).
Bake 1 hour.
Cool completely.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread (makes 2)

2 cups grated zucchini
3 eggs
1 cup applesauce
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/4 cups flour
6 ounces chocolate chips
1/2 cup cocoa

The process:

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Grease and lightly flour two loaf pans.
Stir together grated zucchini, eggs, applesauce, vegetable oil and sugar.
Add remaining ingredients.
Pour mixture into loaf pans.
Bake for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to 300 F and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Country Wood Stove

Laura Childs — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:17:12 +0000

The Heart of Your Home

If you have the notion that you’d love a woodstove in your home or in your kitchen, there’s a few things I want to share with you.

Yes, it is wonderful to get off the grid, even if by just a little. Home heating and home cooking eats up a lot of electricity every month, so you’ll be saving money by switching over to a wood stove. Likely that was your first thought anyway.

Next you’ve probably thought of the presence a wood stove evokes. That back to basics, country living, quality of life, feeling. People gathered around the wood stove, the smell of fresh baked bread. A house that says “quality matters”, it’s no longer a question of rushing and ‘good enough’. It’s a statement of forethought and love.

That’s good, because if you’re going to be using your woodstove for cooking, you’ll find that meals take a little longer than if you were cooking with an electric or gas range. Especially if you’re starting from a cold stove where there hasn’t been a fire burning all day long.

The Elements of A Wood Stove

This vintage country cookstove has served the family for many years and a few generations.

All wood stoves operate the same way, although there are some peculiarities among the different brands. You’ll find in each a firebox and dampers.

The firebox is most often found in left corner of a woodstove and is loaded up first with news print or plain paper, then small bits of wood (cedar if you have some), and then larger pieces of wood. Remember to leave air space for circulation within the fire box. It is much more efficient to keep a small fire burning than a smoldering or raging fire.

The dampers of your woodstove could be anywhere, but they’re easy to spot. There should be a chimney damper (not necessarily on the chimney) that moves the smoke out of the woodstove and into the chimney. The other damper is your oven damper (used to let the warm air into the oven portion of your stove. You really need to consult your owner’s manual if you have one, and experiment to find the right positions.

You’ll get a feel for it after you’ve lived with a wood cook stove long enough – how far open the dampers are for the type and maturity of each fire will eventually come naturally to you – I promise!

Let’s Get Cooking on the Wood Stove!

You get to cook on the entire top surface of your woodstove. You’ll get a feel for this as well, moving your pots and pans around to the hotspots as you need it.

Plus, of course, cooking in the oven part of your stove. Some have temperature gauges (even the old ones), but again, you will get a feel for this. And you can always pick up an oven thermometer for a few dollars so you don’t end up with too many ruined meals before you get used to cooking this way.

Recent Woodstove News

All wood stoves (except cookstoves, furnaces and fireplaces) purchased in the United States must now comply with a EPA Phase II Wood Stove Emissions Regulation. This regulated Federal standard requires that every new wood burning stove be tested and passed for low particulate emission.

The good news is that the newest, high efficiency, EPA Approved, wood stoves are exempt from any municipal or city level burn bans that local air quality authorities may impose during episodes of high airborne pollution.

However, different states, provinces and municipalities have their own sets of restrictions and regulations. Please check with your local authority on this matter. For instance, some states have adopted even further standards regarding woodstoves and cook stoves.

Washington, for instance, requires that all wood stoves in new homes draw combustion air into the firebox from outside the house.
In Ontario, Canada similar measures are being enforced – and not just for new homes, but any new wood burning furnaces as well!

Why is this?

Well having a fresh-air return through cook stoves, fireplaces and woodstoves eliminates possible health problems from breathing oxygen-poor air during Winter months when families spend far more time indoors and the windows are definitely closed. Add the closed window and re-circulated air problem to the fact that our homes are now so wonderfully insulated – compared to drafty, older, days-gone-by homes – that fresh air has little chance of sneaking into our houses. Hence the need for our heating air return to come from outdoors.

Is Your Woodstove Smoking?

If a lot of black smoke is coming out your chimney it’s a sure sign you’re burning something toxic in the woodstove.

If a lot of light colored smoke is coming out of your chimney, your fire isn’t burning efficiently (adjust your air intake).

Update: Older Woodstoves

If you are using an older model woodstove, there are a few things you can do to decrease pollution and increase efficiency from your woodstove.

Burn only aged firewood. Split your wood and allow it to air dry, also known as seasoning the wood, for 6-12 months.
When possible keep a small fire on. It’s better to ‘feed the fire’ many times through the day than to build one raging or smoldering fire. Small fires give more heat, burn more efficiently and don’t smoke out the neighborhood.
Burn only bio-degradable materials. Burning plastic, treated wood, magazines, or anything other than seasoned wood and newsprint can make the smoke coming out of your chimney (as well as the air circulating through your home) toxic.

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Wine Making Kits

Laura Childs — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:05:39 +0000

The Tools and Ingredients Found in A Good Kit

If you’re just starting out making wine at home you’ll likely want to begin with a wine making kit. This makes life so much easier for the beginning hobbyist.

There will be no last minute rushes to the wine supply store or ordering express delivery of one or two items that you didn’t think you’d need!

A Good Wine Making Kit Contains Everything You Need

One of my favorite places to shop for kits (for friends who are just starting out) as well as supplies for on-going wine projects, is Wine Making Equipment Kit. They have proven and brand name kits that are better priced for the guarantees and customer service you’ll need than anywhere else – online or off. You’ll have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find all the kits they sell but it is worth it when you see the selection offered.

I really like Amazon for new hobbyist kits as everything is well explained and customer service is fast and friendly. This is what every beginner needs! Help and information accessible to them exactly when they need it.

On the other hand, you could, with the list below, set up your own kit.

Put Together Your Own Wine Making Kit

A kit contains the fruit (or concentrate) required for your first batch so you’ll have to arm yourself with a recipe and these ingredients: fruit, water, sugar.

To round off the kit, you will also need:

Bucket
For primary fermentation. Ensure the bucket is a food grade plastic preferably without prior use.
Carboy
Available in glass or plastic. Glass is preferred by many enthusiasts, but plastic won’t smash if you drop it and is easier to move around.
Air Lock with Rubber Bung
Together they seal the carboy keeping air and bugs out.
Empty Wine Bottles
For storage – colored bottles are best for reds, clear are fine for white wines.
Peptic Enzyme
Prevents cloudy wine.
Campden Tablets
These sulphite tablets are used to sterilize the must and/or equipment.
Wine Yeast
Activates and accelerates the fermentation process.
Yeast Nutrient
Feeds the yeast so that it doesn’t die out or slow down.
Sieve or Cheesecloth
For straining out large particles.
Siphon Hose
Six foot (2m) plastic hose to move the wine during the racking process, approximately 1 cm diameter.
J-Tube
A plastic J shaped hose – to be inserted into the carboy during racking. Ensures sediment is left behind.
Hydrometer
Accurately measures Specific Gravity or percentage of sugar.

That’s it for your own kit!

Finding and/or buying those items one by one and you’ve just put together your own wine making kit. However, if you’re just starting out, I strongly suggest the kits below. They are cost-efficient and make your first batch fun and easy!

Winemaking Equipment Kit 1 Gallon. with Wine making DVD

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6 gallon Wine Making Equipment Kit for winemaking

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6 gallon Wine Making Equipment Kit for winemaking

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WineMaking Equipment Kit for 6 gallon wine making

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DVD Video Basic Winemaking Introduction to Wine Kits

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Winemaking Equipment Kit 1 Gallon: Great Holiday Gift!

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