Reading list

I want to jot down a couple notes to myself about things before moving on to other projects.

As the subject line notes, this weekend's cooking is a bit different from the usual. For one thing, I am cooking up a bean soup from a mix given to me by a family member for Christmas. I don't usually cook things from mixes like this one, but on the other hand, since I have it, I might as well cook it up and eat it. I'm not going to be adding the "optional" ham hock, however. I'll also bake some cornbread from an accompanying cornbread mix. Good enough for dinner for the week.

I also prepared a batch of homemade mustard. I need to record some notes to myself about that. I have a recipe in my recipe files for "Spicy Beer Mustard," which I think I found and first tried out back when I was living in Texas. I can't remember how many times I used it then, but I do remember obtaining horseradish specifically for the recipe, and being underwhelmed by the result.

This time around, since I've already been experimenting with other homemade mustard recipes (albeit rather unsuccessfully so far), I know enough to know I can just go ahead and omit the horseradish. I also got partway through and realized I don't have any of the onion powder the recipe called for, either. Whoops. So I swapped in a quarter of an actual onion, even though the recipe maker noted they couldn't make a real onion work in mustard. (unfortunately I didn't save information on where I got this recipe to begin with; I guess I downloaded it before I got in that habit). I used a breakfast stout, which may very well wind up imparting an odd flavor, and I used black mustard seeds instead of brown, since that's what I had (I did have the called-for mustard powder and yellow mustard seeds). So, a multidimensional experiment.

I have to figure it can't be worse than some of my other recent attempts. All the better if it's actually better. And even if it's simply "different," I'll probably continue this long-term mustard-making experiment because I haven't found any storebought options around here that are good enough to make me quit my experiments. I should note my mustard experiments are motivated by a combination of cheaper cost, reduction of disposable container use/generation, and flavor.
The best mustard I've ever had was made by someone in Arizona, and it no longer exists.

For the next time, perhaps a brown ale, and perhaps I'll actually get some brown mustard seeds and onion powder going. I'll have to stock up again on yellow mustard seeds and mustard powder, too. People say the mustard powder itself can be a major determinant of the end result. I was mostly just using the black mustard seeds because I wound up with a crap-ton of them from a shopping trip to an Indian grocery store at one point.