Mayo part the second

The poached salmon, with cilantro and scallions, the latter growing in the kitchen from those roots I planted, went like this.

The mayo on it tasted okay but wasn't what I was looking for. It had mixed like this.

Not the plan. Incidentally I was a bit concerned about using a raw egg, but found that the acid lemon juice actually cooks it without heat, so I calmed down about that.

I was quite downhearted about the mayo situation, though it tasted okay, part of the mayo taste is the texture, creamy with a bite.

So in the afternoon I watched a couple of videos and realized two things. One was that I'd mixed too hastily, not waiting long enough before raising the blender up the container, and the other that a bit of fermented ingredient could help.

So I took it out of the fridge, without warming, added half a tsp of yogurt, and blended again. Magic!

Whereupon I made egg salad to celebrate. And found it tasted much better with this texture.

Quite a few people find they don't get it to emulsify, and I think the blending method is critical. 

Raise the blender too fast, even when you think it's slow, and it won't work. Keeping the blender at the bottom of the mixture, running until you see emulsion happening, is the trick. Ta-dah.

I have now joined the ranks of people who say oh, it's so easy! Easy when you know how.

And on that triumph I continue what people call my hearing journey today. I'm consulting the audiologist about hearing aids. So we'll see if it works like mayo -- learning in stages.

Happy day, everyone, I hope your learning goes smoothly. Another mayo reference, she's getting obsessed here.

Late breaking news: James by Percival Everett, the audio book, has finally arrived for me. Now I'll see what it's all about.

Textiles and Tea and mayo

I tried mayo today, to see how it would work. I'm having poached salmon for lunch, so I'd like a bit of mayo with it. I won't buy it, no idea what's in those expensive jars, but Leigh, of Five Acres and a Dream posted a simple recipe today  

Here's the cast of characters

 I didn't have a glass container the right size that would also accommodate the stick blender, so I used a yogurt container. And I didn't have prepared mustard.

Here's the upshot 

I didn't have any prepared mustard, so I used dry powder mustard made with with milk. And I added a little pinch of salt and sugar.

It tastes okay, and we'll see how it works with the salmon and baked potatoes. The texture is thin, probably because it doesn't have the emulsifiers you get in prepared mustard. Next time around I'll use Dijon. And maybe olive oil, which I also didn't have, which is more viscous and will probably have a thicker consistency.

Meanwhile, yesterday's Textiles and Tea was a wonderful session with a Navajo (Dine) traditional weaver, dyer, felter and shepherd, keeping the old breed churro sheep. 

She's so knowledgeable,  patient and good humored with people unfamiliar with her traditions. She doesn't mind if people use Navajo designs, as long as they follow the complex protocols. It's a spiritual as well as a physical process. 

Some shapes, such as the boxes,  are significant, recalling the long trek Indians were forced on, and the language oppression they endured. She speaks the Navajo language and did so here and there during the interview. Her own name, given by her grandmother, indicates her work, to be a weaver.  She commented on the people of her age brutally prevented from speaking their own languages in the enforced government schools, who do not speak their own language now,  as a result.

Despite this, the beauty and movement of her work survives, and she wants people to use her weaving, not put it away or hang it as an artwork. I've heard this from other indigenous artisans. It's art and it's also meant to be functional.

She uses a lot of looms, not all Navajo, because she's always trying out new ideas. And she uses a number of fibers, including flax and silk, in addition to the wool from her sheep.

Check her website, seen in the top slide, for more about this wonderful talent. She's a weaving treasure.

Happy day, everyone, off to fix lunch now.