I go away for one afternoon and this thread E.X.P.L.O.D.E.S!
Don't know how much (if any) I'll be able to address tonight - it's been a long day - but I will definitely start responding to folks in the morning.
A few quick notes: Welcome Patrick, Amanda and Kris - good to see some friends here. And an especial Welcome to the new folks - it's always good to meet new people.
To the person who needed help figuring out how to get Calculus Victus - like the book and the website, it's not very intuitive, is it?
However, here's how to get your One Month, Two Month, Three Month, To Goal numbers:
-- Open program. If you've already entered yourself, double click that line.
-- When you do, you'll see your stats: name, height, etc.
-- Look to your left. You'll see two words. At the top, Person. That's where you are now.
-- Look back to where you are. Right under the "Body Type" box, you'll see "Optimal Diet" with a drop down box next to it.
-- Click on that drop down box. You'll be able to choose "Under 1 month or never" -- or "Under 2 months" -- or "Under 3 months" or "3 months or more"
-- Select a choice. Then look to your left again. Right under the word "Person" is the word "Advice" - click on that. Voila! You'll see your stats for that choice.
-- Write those numbers down (I now keep my list on my fridge door) for that choice, then go back and choose another time period. Click 'advice' again, and write down those numbers, etc.
To Nancy:
The (non) recipe sounds wonderful, but I'm wondering if using 6 yolks (1 per serving) with more butter as well as the added cream might work. The yolks are the thickener part of the egg anyway, and I would add about 1/3 cup powdered erythritol for volume as well as sweetening, as with 'real' curd. And adding liquid sucralose too would create a lovely sweetening synergy. One problem I have with sucralose is that it tends to lose its 'sweet' taste after a few bites, but synergy stops that reaction. If this mix works, it would lower the protein per serving, and up the fat.
I went shopping today too, and struck gold. Walmart had avocados for .50 each! That's amazing for New England. And a whole bag of lemons for only $3.00 - so I grabbed it, thinking of your curd.
On the subject of Creme Fraiche: Your recipe is okay, but it's not the real thing. But making the real thing is amazingly easy - you just need the culture. And you can get a pack of 5 for only $5.95 at
www.cheesemaking.com. You can use this culture for making real marscarpone and butter, too. The packs stay in the freezer forever, so I have about 15 packs in there.
Here's how you make it:
-- Pour 1 quart heavy cream into a sanitized mason jar. Put the jar in a pot of water that comes halfway up the sides. Heat the cream to 86 degrees - just warm. Pour in a packet of culture (I've found that half a packet works just fine) and stir. Remove from the heat, top the mason jar with a small sheet of cheesecloth held on by a rubber band.
-- Put the jar anywhere you like, as long as it's not near direct heat or in sunlight. Within 12 hours it will have thickened and soured. Taste it. If it's as sour as you like, great. Cover with the lid and put in the fridge, where it will continue to thicken to a thick sour-cream like consistancy. Or leave out for up to another 12-36 hours.
-- When you have about 1/2 cup left in the fridge, guess what? You can use it to culture
another quart of cream! Same thing - heat cream, stir in creme fraiche, let stand 12 hours. Etc. Can't really do it a third time though - not enough acid left.
Or:
-- Make the creme fraiche. Leave for12 hours. Skim off 8 ozs to put in fridge to eat. Pour the rest into a churn (I got mine on Ebay). Churn 5-7 minutes. Voila - European Butter - the best you've ever tasted.
-- Pour off the buttermilk. Real buttermilk. Put in fridge and use in a myriad of ways. I make LC buttermilk biscuits and scones.
-- Pour in cold water and wash the butter. Pour off and repeat 5 or 6 times until the water is absolutely clear - that's getting rid of the last of the buttermilk, which if left in will 'sour' the butter.
-- Put the butter (just over a pound) on a board and 'squeeze' out the last of the water. The butter will be like silk. Add a bit of salt if you like - I use my best fleur de sel for this - mix well - put the butter in the fridge and moan every time you eat it, it's that good.
Marscarpone - lemon juice doesn't really work. If you can't get tartaric acid (NOT the same as Cream of Tartar, though C of T is made from it), you can use Citric Acid - but both should be available at any wine/beer-making supply store near you, or on the net. Both are very cheap and you only need 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp per quart of cream.
-- Pour 1 quart LIGHT cream in a mason jar. Put jar in pot of water that comes halfway up the sides. Heat on med. high to 185 - not one degree higher, so as it gets over 180, watch carefully.
-- When it hits 185, stir in 1/8 tsp tartaric or citric acid and immediately remove the jar from the heat. You should immediately see curds forming. If not, add another 1/8 tsp. acid but no more.
If preferred, you can use some of the creme fraiche culture instead, but you'd only heat the cream to 86, as for the creme fraiche. Then follow the steps below.
-- Let the jar sit out until cool - then pour into butter muslin (very tight knit) or what I use: a plastic muslin/cheesecloth from the wine making supply shop. Let all the whey drip into the sink; squeeze the bag toward the end. Pour into a yogurt cheese drainer (or just put the bag in the fridge in a colander over a bowl) and let everything drain further overnight in the fridge. You will have a pound of the most fabulous marscarpone you've ever had. Mix some into yogurt cheese to lower protein and up fat content, or just eat the stuff with fruit or whatever. Bet some topped with your lemon curd would be amazing.
That's it for now - be back later...
Lisa
I will follow all of your posts with interest and wish you well.
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