Smoked Salmon Appetizer, Salad, Cream Corn

Creme Fraiche, Crackers, Smoked Salmon
Nom nom. A lot of food all in one line. I was supposed to make a post about the salmon a month ago but it just left my mind. Crackers with crème fraiche and salmon. Most people don't think about making their own "sour" cream, but it's easy and very exciting to watch the bacteria develop in front of your eyes :)

Creme Fraiche, originally a French product, is pronounced "krem fresh." It can be used sweet or plain, with berries or soups! It's sold in some specialty stores, but for an expensive price. Why buy it when you can make it yourself? All you need is:

• 1 cup pasteurized heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk OR 1/2 cup of sour cream
  

Make sure the heavy cream is at room temperature (or heat it up slightly, making sure it's below boiling) Mix it with the buttermilk in a container with a lid. Close the lid and let the bacteria develop for 24-36 hours in a warm room. It's done when it becomes thick. Also, don't worry about the creme going bad because the good bacteria will protect it from the bad ones :) Creme fraiche will keep in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

Time for another episode...
-- of what Jenny eats!
Stuff that's easy to make but super-duper tasty.

Salad with my favorite vinaigrette: Asian sesame dressing!

This one's for my mom because I know she wants to know about everything that it eat >_> And it's not yellow barf on rice. It's cream corn with ham -__-" Next time I'm going to put less corn and more "sauce." Contains 1/2 can whole kernel corn, chopped SPAM, 1 egg. I used the water from the can and additional water with corn* starch to make a sauce. Used about 1 teaspoon. Next time, more starch, more water.
* I used corn starch in substitution for TAPIOCA starch, which is why the sauce isn't as "glossy" as it should be. They're both thickeners used for sauces and filling, but they differ in that the tapioca imparts a glossier sheen, which is ideal for sauces.