Of workouts, alcohol, and the pursuit of sheep

[storytimewithjoe]

Catchy subjectline, eh?

Yesterday marked the end of the slightly late New Moon Funk for me.  (Altogether now... YEAH!  'bout damned time!)  After an uber-productive workday, I hit the House of Pain for an amazing workout (and no, I'm not even talking about the clean-shaven Mr. Clean guy that I saw for the first time - wow!), followed by meeting up with red_goldilocks and kd_morin  on the redaction of the ever-elusive sheep's milk project.  Long story short, our cooking group has been working on a previously unworked 14th century Neapolitan cookbook.  A couple of weirder recipes have eluded us until recently, as finding key ingredients has been a proverbial beeyotch! 

This recipe was just odd.  Truly, we had no earthly idea what the recipe would be creating.  Fried cheese?  Spaetzel?  Something even weirder?  In the long run, we managed to create something akin to crepes.  And ya know what?  They were YUMMY!  Initial observations- cow's milk is NOT a really fare substitute for sheep's milk.  The texture was different, but the flavor was WAAAAY different.  Sheep's milk - FAR superior in this particular recipe.  Now to really play with it, and figure out what to use it for.

I'm psyching myself up today for a cwaaaaazy day.  After work, I have some errands to run before we conduct an interview with another potential new roomie.  After that, we have Baronial council.  Never a dull moment. 

This weekend, which currently looks very light (amen!), I am hoping to chisel away at some artsy fartsy projects.  Once again, I want to *try* to strike a balance between rest and progress.  I must remember my mantra - "The SCA is a journey, not a race."

Comments

Is it more sweet or tart?

[flaming-mo.livejournal.com]

If tart-creamy mushroom crepe filling
If sweet-use as a dessert crepe, perhaps with glazed strawberries

Re: Is it more sweet or tart?

[joeguppy.livejournal.com]

Ah, good point. Well, the original recipe calls for the cook to "strew forth with sugar," so it ends up being sweetened. Now, having never worked with sheep's milk before, I was rather surprised to discover the wonderful flavor. Unlike the cows milk, the sheep's milk version tasted sweeter with a slight vanilla undertone. For the heck of it, we tried some homemade preserves with it (blackberry, and later apricot). FABulous!

Re: Is it more sweet or tart?

[flaming-mo.livejournal.com]

I'd have to look, but I presume the difference is, in part, due to fat content. Especiially if it was whole.
Was the milk raw or pasteurized? It can also make a difference with flavor and texture, even with cow's milk.

Re: Is it more sweet or tart?

[joeguppy.livejournal.com]

The very, very, VERY short version of this is one of our guildmembers went absolutely nuts for months trying to find sheep's milk. In the long run, we were able to get a hold of 100% powdered sheep's milk. We would LOVE to be able to try whole or fresh, but have just not been able to find it. I'm not sure how it compares to, say, Goat's milk which has a higher fat content than typical cow's milk. I do not believe that cream can be seperated from goat's milk, and it is possible that that is the same for sheep.

Re: Is it more sweet or tart?

[flaming-mo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, fresh, raw milk of any kind, particularly sheep or goat is very difficult to find. You have to get it straight from the farm or do it yourself. Same with eggs.

[woodysfun61.livejournal.com]

I am just glad you finally explained about the sheep thing, because I began to worry about you and those poor sheep. Being I am not too far from Kentucky, you have to worry about what those hill country Kentuckians, are doing on those sheep farms, down in the hills LOL. I thought maybe you had started to join them LMAO j/k

[joeguppy.livejournal.com]

I'm frightened.

[woodysfun61.livejournal.com]

you should be I know I was worried for you as well as the sheep *EG* ;-D