Salume is in bloom...

Another cold snap here in central Texas, but our first batch of salume is undeterred. I was very happy to walk into the shop on Saturday and see this lovely mold bloom. The whole shop was filled with a wonderful porky mustiness, the aroma of sausage slowly fermenting. These guys are now off to the drying room for a couple of months.

Signs of life

I'm settling in to my new home in Austin (actually, about 45 minutes outside of Austin for the time being.) and besides the heat, I'm really enjoying it. I haven't taken in any BBQ yet, but I have been enjoying some awesome cheese from Pure Luck Dairy, some awesome beer from Shiner (Smokehouse Ale, yum!) and some awesome views from my porch. I've also been experimenting in the kitchen a little bit, pickling some eggs, making a caramelized onion jam and tonight, pickling some Okra. Unfortunately, I lost my camera, so for the time being, I can't show you any of this.