Saturday, September 19, 2009

My New Mother

Don't worry, Mom. Or Stepmom.

A coworker and partner in canning from the co-op just gave me some "mother" from her red wine vinegar, so I finally get to give making vinegar a try!

Pretty, huh? And pretty creepy. The "mother" is the cellulose and bacteria that transform wine (or cider or any alcohol) into vinegar. I should have homemade vinegar by Christmas! I'll keep you all posted about the process. Right now it's just organic red wine and the mother, hanging out in a bowl covered in a dishtowel.

This evening I made up a nice little plate for my early dinner (as opposed to the late dinner that I'll eat when Mike gets home from work).

From the top, clockwise: Pickled Beets, fresh basil, Dr. Kracker crackers, olives marinated in chilies, walnuts toasted with alder-smoked salt, and Tofutti cream cheese mixed with dried tomatoes in olive oil, chives, and lemon thyme.

It was pretty much a platter of appetizers that I ate by myself. Yum!



7 comments:

Susan said...

I never knew really about how vinegar was made - fascinating! Now I want some mother. I can't wait to see how it turns out for you. :)

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

I love that you're making your own vinegar!!

Catherine Weber said...

Ooohh yum -- I love appetizers for dinner!

(Not that the vinegar-making isn't exciting . . . those olives just look amazing!)

Crystal said...

Sounds like a great early dinner!

Anonymous said...

mmm, I love making little plates like that, those olives look fantastic!

aTxVegn said...

I didn't know you could make your own vinegar - cool!

Fresh from the Source said...

I know this makes me sound like Methuselah, but I remember that all vinegar had "mother" in it when I was younger. I didn't know, though, that it was used to make the vinegar. I hated the look of it as a kid. I'd love to find vinegar with it in now.