Wednesday Tip of the Week

Okay, I have to celebrate a bit here on my blog before my tip..............I made butter today!!!! It was such a rush! I wonder if Laura Ingells Wilder used to feel the same excitement when she turned (or rather churned) regular ole cream into butter? Probably not. But I didn't have to work very hard, my Kitchen Aide mixer did however. I put raw cream into the mixer, whipped it on high for about 25 minutes and wall laa, BUTTER!

At first I just checked on it every few minutes. It looked like just whip cream for the longest time. As it mixed around and nothing seemed to be happening I will admit I had my doubts. As time ticked by I found myself watching to bowl more and more. I became mesmerized by the balloon whip spinning and spinning and as I watched I started rooting for the cream to turn. Turn baby, turn! I really started to believe that it wasn't going to happen but I couldn't tear myself away from the silver bowl. But just when I was about to give up I noticed small yellow curds forming and the buttermilk separating out. All of a sudden the buttermilk started splashing out the sides, I turned the mixer down a bit to contain the mess. Here is where it got really exciting. In one dramatic moment the curds clumped together into a gorgeous yellow ball and were fully separated from the creamy white buttermilk now collected in the bottom of the bowl.

It reminded me of watching the birth of a child. Such hard work (on the part of my Kitchen Aide) and waiting, and waiting and waiting until it everything happens all at once. The butter seemed to be "birthed" out of the buttermilk in one climatic event. Okay, maybe that's a bit over the top. But it was really fun and exciting to watch. Unlike the birth of a child I didn't cry tears of joy but I did dance around the kitchen singing "Mama made butter! Mama made butter!" Baby Girl started singing it too "Mama may buh! Mama may buh!" She was just as excited as I was but had no idea why. My boys took a little taste, shrugged their shoulders and said, "Yep, tastes like butter Mom."

As exciting as it was I probably won't do it again. The experience was fun and I don't regret it. However, it cost me $12 for a pint of raw cream and I got about 2/3 of cup of butter out of it. I guess I could do it with pasteurized cream which would be cheaper but why would I? Trader Joe's has 1 lb of organic butter from pastured cows for $4.79. I'd have to spend much more than that on organic cream to get 1 lb of butter. Plus, my poor Kitchen Aide might wear out from all that "butter birthing"! I highly recommend doing it once though. It will make you feel like you Super Homemaker, Mama Extraordinaire! And we all could use a few more moments like that.

On to my tip of the week..........buying butter is more cost effective (but not as cool) as making your own. Just kidding! I don't know where this tip originates from but it's been around a while. If you drop a raw egg on the floor or counter sprinkle some salt on it generously. Wait a few minutes and then just scoop it up with a spatula and towel. This tip comes in really handy when one of your kids drops and entire carton of eggs all over the floor you just mopped. You may use all your salt in that case but you won't lose your mind sopping up slippery raw egg for 2 hours!!!

What is your favorite tip in the kitchen? Cleaning it, cooking in it or whatever??????