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KitchenKatalog: Blog 279
Monday, September 09, 2013, 10:32 AM
I was going back a forth a lot on what to make for dinner while I was shopping, and this is what I came up with. First, the successful part: the omelet. I found chicken meatballs at Trader Joes (3.72 points plus for 4, though the package says you should get more). Anyway, I decided to make meatball omelets. I took 9 meatballs (half the package), cut them in half, and warmed them in a thing of spicy tomato sauce I had in the pantry. In the mean time, I cooked egg beaters on the non-stick pan and put it under the broiler to cook the top. I then topped half of it with half the meatballs, added some LF mexican cheese and put it back under the broiler. This came out very good. It was very easy and pretty low in points (though I didn't calculate it). I froze the rest of the meatballs so I could easily make this again!
I was also craving brown rice so I decided to do it in the pressure cooker (see this post) which calls for a 2:1
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6589, 2013-09-09_103237
Sunday, September 08, 2013, 08:56 PM
I quickly threw this dinner together because I was hungry but pretty exhausted from brewing all day. (I also totally goofed and forgot to take a picture before breaking the yolk). I cooked a bt under 1.5 servings of pasta. Meanwhile, I sautéd garlic then added two small cans of chicken and then canned green chili peppers (I had to slice them). I also added two wedges of laughing cow. I brought it together with the pasta, added a tiny bit of pasta water and put the lid on to melt the cheese. I "fried" an egg and topped it with that.
It was a fast but pretty good meal. Similar to what I did the other day. The nice thing about it is that I can keep everything I need for it (minus the egg) in the pantry and ready to go.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6573, 2013-09-08_205631
Sunday, September 08, 2013, 05:16 PM
Brew 003
I am brewing a banana bread dunkelweizen. As noted in the recipe, it is inspired by this but I tweaked it to a single hop and a few other things. The recipe is below, followed by pre-brew notes and then my brew notes:
(Brewers Friend Link) (PDF) (XML file saved locally)
Banana Bread Ale | Brewer's Friend
By (from HBT)
Method:
All Grain
Style:
Dunkelweizen
Boil Time:
60 min
Batch Size:
1.25 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size:
1.7 gallons
Efficiency:
70% (brew house)
Boil Gravity:
1.045 (recipe based estimate)
Original Gravity:
1.061
Final Gravity:
1.015
ABV (standard):
5.98%
IBU (tinseth):
22.18
SRM (morey):
15.45
Fermentables
Amount
Fermentable
PPG
L
Bill %
1.5 lb
American - Wheat
38
1.8
51.1%
1 lb
United Kingdom - Munich
37
6
34%
0.25 lb
Flaked Oats
33
2.2
8.5%
1 oz
American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)
33
1.8
2.1%
1 oz
American - Caramel / Crystal 40L
34
40
2.1%
1 oz
Chocolate (BCHB)
34
414
2.1%
Hops
Amount
Variety
Time
AA
IBU
Type
Use
0.2 oz
East Kent Goldings
Pellet
5.8
Boil
60 min
18.5
0.2 oz
East Kent Goldings
Pellet
5.8
Boil
5 min
3.69
Mash Guidelines
Amount
Description
Type
Temp
Time
4.4 qt
Heat 4.4 qt to 166-167°F
Infusion
154 F
60 min
0 qt
Raise to 170, Mash Out 10 min
Temperature
170 F
10 min
3 qt
Dunk (Batch) Sparge
Sparge
170 F
10 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb
Other Ingredients
Amount
Name
Type
Use
Time
0.13 tsp
Yeast Nutrient
Other
Boil
10 min
Yeast
Wyeast - Weihenstephan Weizen 3068
Attenuation (avg):
75%
Flocculation:
Low
Optimum Temp:
64 - 75 F
Starter:
No
Notes
Original Source: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/banana-bread-ale-90074/ but I doubt their hop numbers. I replaced both with EKGs(used brew365 calculator for mash with minor adjustments)Note: Check the AA% on the hops and adjust as needed pitch only HALF of the yeast pack to keep the banana flavor.
Generated by Brewer's Friend - <http://www.brewersfriend.com/>
Date: 2013-09-08 15:23 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2013-09-08 15:23 UTC
Target is to under pitch by a little to get more banana. I have 1.25 gal at 1.061 (estimated). According to Brewer's Friend, I need 53 billion cells. The yeast was manufactured 2013-08-15 so the above link estimates it has 83 billion. If I pitch half of it, I should be pitching about 41 billion which will under pitch by a little. I'll make sure to aerate well and maybe go a bit over half. I'll see the numbers when I put it into a measuring cup.
I'll update more with brew notes but my mash plan is as follows:
Grains were double milled
I am also going to introduce a whirlpool. I'll get it started after it has cooled by stirring vigorously. I'll then put the (sanitized) lid and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Then, using the sanitized siphon, I'll move it to the fermenter but first through the colander. Some will go into the test jar first for a hydrometer reading.
(Combined notes taken while brewing with comments around the same time. I'll try to denote added notes with italics)
(I'll keep updating this)
The process seemed to work very well. The new bags worked well (note that they were inside out) and were easy to clean. The whole thing took a bit longer than I'd hope (it's not 5:13) but it was fun and worth it.
Most of the technique (double mill, BAIB, mashout, dunk/batch sparge, etc) seemed to work well. I think I need to work on post-boil technique. Why did my brew-house efficiency come out lower than pre-kettle? Whirlpooling didn't work. I didn't like the time it took and there wasn't much hop matter spared. Maybe it would be better with irish moss? Or with a hoppier brew?
I was unhappy/concerned about the measurement when I bottled the saisonso I decided to try a different measurement. I quickly took the airlock out (which was already bubbling BTW) and weighed it as 11 lbs 1/4 oz or 4997 g. I then weighed a different, empty bucket with lid at 1 lbs 7/8 oz or 478.4g. Therefore, I had 4518.6 grams. The density of water is 1000g/L but the density of this wort is 1072 g/L (OG*density of water). Therefore, there were (4516.6g/1072 g/L)=4.213L=1.113 gal. That is about 4% difference. I guess that's not too bad.
I like using the weight method but I need to be careful because my scale is supposed to max out at 11 lbs. Obviously it went above it there with the weight of the full fermentor, but there may be a loss of accuracy and/or it may just not work well.
(Day 6) It fermented quickly but then seemed to stop bubbling after the first day, maybe even sooner. I gave it a small shake to try to re-ignite anything in there but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.
On2013-09-14, I racked it into a secondary so I could take a measurement (even though a secondary is not needed). At 73F, it read 1.021 which seems high.
However, Brewers Friends says that is 6.56% ABV and is 69.4% attenuation. That may be fine. I will investigate the typical FG of Dunkels and see what I find. I'll update if need be.
I bottled the dunkel. Here are my notes:
I really need to look into the loss of so much. What can I do to prevent it? I drank that 1/2 bottle. It was okay. Definitely tasted like a wheat beer but no detectable banana flavor. May be more pronounced cold. Not sure
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6554, 2013-09-08_171629
Sunday, September 08, 2013, 04:39 PM
Photos for theBanana Bread Dunkelweizen
Initial setup with water. Worried that the rack may be elevating too high but in the end I think it was fine:
Showing how I stir with thermometer in wort while adding heat. I keep a close eye on it
After stirring notice how it looks like some areas with more grain than others. Need to distribute it better
Brew dog likes (unhopped) wort. (reminder, Hops+Dog==Sick/Death)
My emergency backup chilling method. I'm glad the bag was waterproof.
You can see as I siphoned from the whirlpooled wort, I still had a lot of trub. Not sure if irish moss would have helped this.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6582, 2013-09-08_163911
Friday, September 06, 2013, 08:33 PM
This was a pretty simple meal. I started by cooking 1.5 servings of "Plus" pasta. While that was going, I sautéd a tbsp of garlic. I then added a pack of salmon (5 oz). As I mixed that, and checked on the pasta, I lightly microwaved 2 wedges of laughing cow. I added a tiny bit of almond milk to the salmon (instead of cream) and then, when it was almost done, I added the pasta along with the laughing cow. I then seasoned with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. I tossed until the almond milk had largely cooked down. Topped with parmesan cheese
It was pretty good. The salmon wasn't incredible, but it did the job. I didn't calculate it out, but I think the whole meal was pretty low. Good carb source from the pasta and protein from the salmon
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6551, 2013-09-06_203328
Thursday, September 05, 2013, 09:15 PM
I needed something really fast for dinner since it was late after bottling my beer. I had chicken ready to go so I cut it up into pieces, put it in a plastic container, added some flour, salt, and pepper and shook it. I then sautéd it with just pam. I flipped them and let them cook until a few were around 150-160. I cut the heat then and let them keep cooking. I figured they were various sizes so some may be overcooked but the rest should be fine. Sure enough, most were really good with some real juiciness (surprising!) and a mild, but nice flavor. I made 10 oz of chicken and saved half for lunch.
I also steamed some edamame.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6547, 2013-09-05_211524
Sunday, September 01, 2013, 11:20 AM
We had my grand parents over to my Mom's and did MYOP. We used the Trader Joes pizza dough (cut in half so 8oz/pizza) and did them on a tray (2 pizza/tray) in the convection oven set at 400°F (which drops to 375). Everybody made different pizzas and I do not remember them all. But our toppings are below. Note that we used the Trader Joes pizza sauce which I liked a lot. Also, the Trader JoesQuattro Formaggio (TJ 's site link) blend. It was exceptionally good on the pizzas.
Anyway, available toppings:
Note that the strange shapes were partially because I told people to aim for football shapes so I could fit two on a tray (lined with non-stick Al foil, but parchment is better)
As always, they came out very good. They needed about 20 minutes in the oven, but I really just watched them for when they were done.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6538, 2013-09-01_112024
Friday, August 30, 2013, 11:10 AM
I made BSTA (Bacon-Spinach-Tomato-Avocado) sandwiches for lunch in the car. I was at Whole Foods and got the black-forrest bacon (5 slices total, ~4/10 lbs). The rest of the sandwich is pretty self-explanatory. Bacon (see below for how I did it), sliced tomato, spinach instead of lettuce, and an avocado. I actually made 3 sandwiches with this but the third was on a smaller roll.
I cooked it in the pan with a bit of water to prevent curling. That failed pretty miserably. It ended up boiling it more than anything. Once it was cooked, I had to pour out the water and then I tried to let it sizzle. I ended up with some tough and wet bacon. Next time, I'll either just let it go in the pan and curl, or I'll use the oven (I have done it before. I'd have to find that post). I was in a hurry so the oven wasn't really an option. Maybe even the microwave would have been better.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6533, 2013-08-30_111053