Everything is better with butter

Wow.  Time sure flies when you're having fun. Last post was leading up to Thanksgiving and now we're a couple of weeks gone. It's the time of year for just about everything to come to a head in three short weeks.  Shopping, baking, wrapping, school concerts, Santa visits and parades,  family gatherings with people we might see just once a year, and sadly, for some good friends, hospital vigils. 

Today, though, I took some time to make butter.  Why, you ask?  Well, Elizabeth came home from school last week and told me she made butter in science class.  You know, something in one form changes to another sort of lesson.  She said it took about an hour to shake that cream in a jar.    Then, I indulged in some couch time and watched Alton Brown.  He was making clotted cream.  Pretty close to butter if you don't agitate it.  So I was intrigued and decided to try it because how often does the same idea come to you in a couple of days?

I thought using the stand mixer would be better than shaking a jar but I was wrong.  It took forever and never did clot. Forever.  And ever.

So yesterday when the kids were here for dinner I told my tale of mixer woe and Elizabeth said I had to use a jar and just shake it till my arms fell off and eventually you will feel and hear that it "changed."

So, today,

 I bought a pint of heavy whipping cream and started shaking while watching the impeachment proceedings.  This was good.  I didn't need to even think about how hard to agitate the jar.  It just kind of happened by happenstance.

 And sure enough, after about 25 minutes, certainly not the hour Elizabeth said it would, it changed into a clump of curds.

 I rinsed and rinsed till the water ran clear,

 put it in a bowl, added a pinch of salt and squooshed it together and

voila!  Creaminess, smooth, tasty butter.  I wish I had bread in the house.  Oh, wait!

I remember we have a loaf of homemade Latvian bread in the freezer, a gift from friends Aina and Terry.  Now this is good, folks.  Fresh, creamy light butter on toasted home made bread.  For very little effort.  The possibilities are endless.