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Rabu, 07 Mei 2014
Grand Marnier Soufflés – Rising to the Occasion on Valentine’s Day
What a golden opportunity to show off your cooking skills, and a flair for the dramatic; not to mention the countless innuendos and double entendres such a scene would afford. Afraid it won’t turn out, and you’ll completely embarrass yourself? Too bad! No guts, no glory, and by “glory” we mean…glory.
The good news is, contrary to popular belief, and many cartoons, soufflés are actually very easy to make. I hope after a few viewings of this video, and maybe a practice run or two, you’ll realize just how simple this really is. Of course, to make things a little exciting you can over-fill these like I did, which can cause some wild and unpredictably shaped soufflé tops.
By the way, I do have a Crème Anglaise video recipe in the works, but for now you’ll have to rely on the simple written recipe below. As I mention in the clip, this is an extremely impressive dessert “as is,” but when you pierce the top of that hot, steaming soufflé, and pour in the silky, sexy sauce…well, you saw the video. Let’s just say it’s a very nice touch.
Speaking of nice touches, if you’re still looking for that extra special Valentine’s Day dessert for your extra special Valentine, I hope you’ll put aside your fears and give this a go. You really should get lots of compliments. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 Grand Marnier Soufflés:
2 (8-oz) heat-proof ramekins, brushed inside with melted butter and coated with sugar.
Note: Mine were closer to 7-oz, which is why I overfilled them as you saw. This amount of batter should fill two 8-oz ramekins. Amounts may vary depending on volume of your eggs/meringue, so don’t be surprised if you have a little more or less.
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons melted butter
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold milk
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup white sugar
powdered sugar to garnish finished souffles
View the complete souffle recipe
View the complete souffle recipe
Crème Anglaise Sauce:
(Makes about 1 cup)
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup white sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tbsp Grand Marnier
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Whisk everything together in a small, but heavy saucepan. Place over med-low heat, and cook, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula being scraped across bottom, until the mixture is hot, and thickens slightly. The mixture should not come to a simmer (but close). The temp should be around 180 degrees F. when it’s done. Remove from heat, strain to remove any over-cooked particles of egg, and let cool. If you want, you can add some fresh orange zest to the sauce as it cools. Serve ice cold with hot soufflé.
View the complete sauce recipe
View the complete sauce recipe
Selasa, 29 April 2014
Tarte Tatin – See What the Others Aren’t Willing to Show You
So, it’s with much pride that I show you the whole ugly scene that is the tarte tatin dismount. The good news is, it’s very simple to slap everything back on the crust before it cools, and none will be the wiser. This is even easier if you’re doing a version with very soft and tender apples and lots of caramel, which is my preference, as you’ll see.
Some feature firm, barely cooked apples, while others cook the fruit all the way down to a buttery, caramelized jam. The beauty of a recipe that uses just pastry dough, butter, apples and sugar to make the magic, is that no matter how yours comes out you’ll enjoy it. Of course, you’ll want to hedge your bets with some vanilla bean ice cream to be safe. I hope you give this classic French treat a try soon. Enjoy!
3 large apples, quartered
3 tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
pie dough for a single crust
View the complete recipe
View the complete recipe
Minggu, 20 April 2014
A Visit to The Green Barn Market
This weekend we went to Toronto to visit family and friends, and since thats never enough for me we left early enough on Saturday to stop in somewhere Ive wanted to go for a long time - The Stops Green Barn Farmers Market. To my surprise, I recognized the place - when I lived in Toronto, it was a TTC streetcar depot. That kind of barn, duh. Okay. It sure looks different, though.
Inside was a wonderful light-filled space, with wall-to-wall windows at both ends and a skylight running the length of the building. The walls are a warm, mellow block that add to the welcoming feel of the place. It was also full of people; vendors and shoppers.
Heres cheese from Fifth Town, one of Ontarios best small cheese makers.
At this time of year most of the vegetables available are root and storage vegetables, but there was a good selection.
This man had some greenhouse spinach though! As well as leeks, celeriac, rutabaga, parsnips and daikon. He was also there representing Urban Harvest, and had a good selection of vegetable seeds.
Whoa! If I had known I could have gotten my knives and scissors sharpened I would have brought them. I miss having a little old Italian guy come round the neighbourhood, ringing a hand-bell to let people know they should bring their knives out to be sharpened. But here you can get sharpened just about everything that gets dull by the looks of it.
Angus beef from Field Sparrow Farms in the Kawarthas. Check the link... its an interesting farm.
Some really lovely looking savory pies.
St. Johns Bakery had done such a roaring business that by the time we were there at 9:30 they were closing in on being totally sold out.
This little 4-person band filled the whole space with lively music that was a real joy to listen to. I recognized classic jazz pieces, what sounded for all the world like klezmer music, and "This Little Light of Mine", which I had last heard from the piping little voices in First Day School junior class. Fun!
More delectable goodies. Oh how hard to make a decision!
Ontario grown sweet potatoes from Round Plains Plantation. They also had baked goods, including some from their gluten-free kitchen. We got a basket of mixed sweet potatoes, including Covington (a standard orange-fleshed one) Okinawa and Murasaki (Japanese varieties with light flesh and purple skins) and OHenry (a skinny little light skinned variety.) Were looking forward to sweet-potato fun!
Theres still plenty of Ontario apples - and pears, which I havent seen here for quite some time. Nice! Oh those lucky Torontonians.
Not Ontario grown - but Ontario produced - were these delectable chocolates from ChocoSol. We tried the hemp-seed and salt, and the 5-Chili, and bought both. Im now regretting that we didnt buy some of their drinking chocolate. Next time! This is another place doing fascinating stuff - be sure to click the link!
A wide array of green, crunchy sprouts to liven up those root veggies.
Honey and beeswax products - we bought a little jar of lavender honey. Im getting to have quite a collection; we must do a honey tasting one of these days.
Ontarios Own summer in a jar.
Ying-Yings Gourmet Tofu Products, made with Ontario-grown, certified organic non-GMO soybeans. Yes! They have all kinds of flavoured tofu; they even have tofu "bacon". We tried it, and if it wasnt completely convincing it would certainly work well enough in recipes that need that little salty-smoky-chewy hit that bacon provides.
We loved this market and can definitely see why this has become one of Torontos favourite markets in only three years of operation. Its just bursting with great local foods, and we could write a whole post about each and every vendor.
They are open every Saturday 8 am to noon at the Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St. (at St. Clair).
On another note, this will be the last post for several days. The other thing we did while in Toronto was pick up a new computer for me. Two hard crashes requiring nerve-wracking resuscitations in the last 6 months tells me its time to make an orderly change-over before I cant even do a resuscitation at all. So once thats done and Im up and running again, Ill be back.
Kamis, 17 April 2014
Heading Back to San Francisco after Four Days in Foodie Heaven at the Food Wine Classic
Im flying back into SFO tonight after experiencing my first, and hopefully not last, Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. With so many famous cooks all crammed into this beautiful, but very small town, the best way to describe this event would be to call it a "celebrity chef petting zoo."
By the way, I highly doubt any of the participating chefs would mind being objectified in the petting zoo analogy. In fact, Im hoping they start using the phrase, and I get credit for coining it!
The chefs that come to Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic know the drill. Sure theyre there to cook, lecture, and party with their fellow foodies, but more so they are there to be photographed with fans, asked questions, patted on the back, and told repeatedly, "youre my favorite chef!"
The food and wine were amazing, but what I will remember most about this event are all the interesting exchanges between the various participants. Ming Tsai and Jacque Pepin had a classic Smackdown, which I just blogged about on my American Food site on About.
There were Top Chef winners everywhere, and they certainly enjoyed chatting and joking with each other, as well as rubbing elbows with the cult-like fans of the show. The old guard – Jacque, Ming, Bobby, and Mario (you dont need the last names do you?), all appeared in multiple venues around the event to large adoring throngs.
I have a bunch of articles lined up to appear on About.com, so Ill be sure to post links here when those go up. In the meantime, if you would like to see a few hundred photos I shot while there, I just created a photo album with Google Picasa. The shots you see here are some of my personal favorites.
I havent had time to write any captions yet, or remove bad and/or redundant photos, but they still may be fun to take a peak at to get a glimpse of my Food & Wine Classic experience.
I also shot a small amount of video footage with my very low resolution Flip Cam. The video you see here is a short excerpt from a very entertaining demo by Iron Chef Michael Symon called "For the Love of Pork." How was I going to miss that one?The sound isn’t great, but you should be able to hear him relay a funny story of how Tom Colicchio help him with the subtleties of naming a dish. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more. And yes, I will be back in the kitchen soon!
Rabu, 16 April 2014
Dont Be Tempted to Buy Cheap Supplements
NEVER buy vitamins or supermarket/pharmacy brands without checking them first. Cut-rate products contain additives, food allergens, sugar, artificial food coloring, flavoring and dyes. Many supplements are coated with shellac or contain potentially hazardous chemicals like chlorine.
Other problems include potency and purity which can vary widely from pill to pill and bottle to bottle. Freshness is another issue. The FDA does not require expiration dates on supplement bottles so many companies dont include them.
SCARY, ISNT IT?
There is no regulation on the dietary supplement industry so anyone can put a product on the market. ARE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS SAFE? - BUYER BEWARE!
--Check out these two reports --
ARE YOU GETTING YOUR DAILY DOSE OF LEAD? The FDA did a study on amounts of LEAD found in women’s vitamins, pre-natal vitamins and children’s vitamins. Out of 324 brands tested, only 4 did not have lead in them! The FDA allows a certain amount of lead to be acceptable in supplements, however, SHAKLEE BELIEVES THAT NO AMOUNT OF LEAD SHOULD BE ACCEPTABLE.
Click on the link to learn more: http://tinyurl.com/Ins45s
also, CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT on the World’s Largest Supplier of Fish Oil Supplements that contain PCB’s (industrial chemicals).Initial defendants include Houston-based Omega Protein, which is the largest producer of omega-3 fish oil in the world; GNC; drug store chains Rite Aid Corp. and CVS Caremark Corp. and others.Click link to learn more: http://www.healthzone.ca/health/articlePrint/773977
I have been using Shaklee products for 34+ years and I can trust that the products are Always Safe, Always Work and are Always Green. Shaklee performs up to 350 tests for purity, freshness, potency and safety on all raw ingredients for a single product. Products undergo as many as 262 separate quality assurance tests throughout the manufacturing process as well. No other company does this extensive research.
To learn more, check out my Shaklee site or Better Health in 31 Days.
Read More..
Other problems include potency and purity which can vary widely from pill to pill and bottle to bottle. Freshness is another issue. The FDA does not require expiration dates on supplement bottles so many companies dont include them.
SCARY, ISNT IT?
There is no regulation on the dietary supplement industry so anyone can put a product on the market. ARE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS SAFE? - BUYER BEWARE!
--Check out these two reports --
ARE YOU GETTING YOUR DAILY DOSE OF LEAD? The FDA did a study on amounts of LEAD found in women’s vitamins, pre-natal vitamins and children’s vitamins. Out of 324 brands tested, only 4 did not have lead in them! The FDA allows a certain amount of lead to be acceptable in supplements, however, SHAKLEE BELIEVES THAT NO AMOUNT OF LEAD SHOULD BE ACCEPTABLE.
Click on the link to learn more: http://tinyurl.com/Ins45s
also, CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT on the World’s Largest Supplier of Fish Oil Supplements that contain PCB’s (industrial chemicals).Initial defendants include Houston-based Omega Protein, which is the largest producer of omega-3 fish oil in the world; GNC; drug store chains Rite Aid Corp. and CVS Caremark Corp. and others.Click link to learn more: http://www.healthzone.ca/health/articlePrint/773977
I have been using Shaklee products for 34+ years and I can trust that the products are Always Safe, Always Work and are Always Green. Shaklee performs up to 350 tests for purity, freshness, potency and safety on all raw ingredients for a single product. Products undergo as many as 262 separate quality assurance tests throughout the manufacturing process as well. No other company does this extensive research.
To learn more, check out my Shaklee site or Better Health in 31 Days.
Sabtu, 12 April 2014
Cutting Tips To Avoid Cutting Tips – Plus Bonus “Creamed” Corn Recipe!
So, just in case you’re one of these people who prefer your culinary techniques not to be dangerous or difficult, I’m posting this alternative method. Sure it’s just as fast, just as easy, and way safer, but you do have to admit, my style was way more exciting.
Anyway, since I had freshly cut corn at my heavily-scared fingertips, I decided to show you my new favorite recipe for creamed corn. This lower-cal take on the classic side dish features Greek yogurt and a little Indian spice, and I was absolutely thrilled with how it came out.
The flavor was great, and the tangy yogurt gave the dish such an interesting texture. I couldn’t stop eating it. So, if you’re looking for another easy, and relatively healthy way to enjoy fresh, sweet corn, I hope you give this a try soon. Just be safe, and as always, enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 portions:
2 large ears sweet corn
2 tsp olive oil
salt to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
cayenne to taste
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp plain Greek yogurt (or more if you want it creamier)
2 tsp freshly sliced chives
View the complete recipe
View the complete recipe
Minggu, 30 Maret 2014
To copy restaurant recipes
Copy of restaurant recipe can be easy or hard to s. It depends whether a dish is easy to tend as many side dishes or complex, how many main dishes or appetizers are - especially those which are considered a restaurants "Billboard" or signature menu item.
The key to a qualified restaurant is menu Copycatter to try a variety of dishes from restaurants. Also, try your taste buds and nose, able to detect and differentiate between various spices to train herbs and other flavors. Make a list (mental or on paper) of all the ingredients that you think are the next you have element of food in a restaurant and you say your Waitperson questions if you correctly linked.
When the waiter, cooking or your favorite recipe Manager is ready, you used a copy of the actual recipe to create a specific court, most of the way home to you, copy it in your own kitchen.
After the list of ingredients and some instructions for putting together and preparation is most of the battle of course. But even then could not having some special utensils or devices are used to make the dish the restaurant need to compensate. Or, you may need to scale the recipe significantly down you, if the recipe exist, is to produce large batches at a time.
There are books available now that these problems have developed. Their authors have spent many hours track or find scores of these secret restaurant recipe-s test over and over, and then change kitchen as needed for the average Kochs.
Where is a way. If your wildest desire is located, your favorite-restaurants top to copy recipe at home know that you can do it... so get to work!
Sarah Sandori is the food and entertaining columnist solid gold info writers Consortium. Have you ever wanted to duplicate exactly a favorite dish from a favorite restaurant? Check out Sarahs article where reveals your source for the most delicious secret restaurant recipes in America: http://www.solid-gold.info/most-wanted-recipes.html
Rabu, 19 Maret 2014
Yard long beans curry Karamani curry Garden to plate
Yard long beans (Chauli / Karamani) have not been my most favourite vegetable, because they are often tough and stringy when bought from the supermarket. Ever since I started growing these in my garden, Ive changed my opinion about this vegetable.
For one, it is a hardy plant, producing a good yield once it starts flowering and fruiting. Its always fun to search for the green delicate long beans among the green leaves and there are a surprise few always hiding in the middle of the foliage. You can pluck them when still tender which means they cook in no time. The overlooked beans can always be used for the mature seeds inside, which you can use in a soup or a vegetable dish.
Read More..
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| Seeds from Auchan (formerly SPAR) Supermarket, Bangalore |
For one, it is a hardy plant, producing a good yield once it starts flowering and fruiting. Its always fun to search for the green delicate long beans among the green leaves and there are a surprise few always hiding in the middle of the foliage. You can pluck them when still tender which means they cook in no time. The overlooked beans can always be used for the mature seeds inside, which you can use in a soup or a vegetable dish.
I may have said this before, but to avoid any confusion, I must clarify that, Curry in the tamil / Tambrahm cuisine parlance means a dry saute, where boiled or raw chopped vegetables are added to a hot oil after a simple tempering of curry leaves, mustard seeds, udad dal and dried red chillies. And once the vegetable is nearly cooked, a sprinkling of fresh coconut completes the dish. It is almost like a lightly cooked salad and not a gravy dish. Also, it is one of the easiest ways to prepare any vegetable, while retaining its nutrition, taste and colour.
Karamani Curry / Yard long beans curry
Printable version here
Printable version here
Serves 2-3
Time taken : Under 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 tbsp of oil ( I used organic coconut oil)
Pinch of asafoetida
2 dried red chillies, broken
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp udad dal
2 cups of chopped yard long beans
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sambar powder
2 tsp fresh coconut
Directions
- In a large wok / kadai, heat the oil.
- Add asafoetida, immediately adding red chillies, mustard seeds, udad dal.
- Once mustard seeds splutter and dal turns golden, add the chopped beans, salt - stir well and sprinkle water, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes on a low flame.
- Check on the beans every 3 minutes or so, sprinkling some water, if it is too dry or catching at the bottom of the pan.
- Once done (tender, but still retaining some crunch), sprinkle sambar powder, stir to mix well.
- Remove from flame and garnish with coconut.
- Serve with rasam-rice or sambar - rice.
Useful information about growing yard long beans on the USDA site.
Kamis, 13 Maret 2014
This is What Happened to the Other Half of the Pie Dough
It was rolled out and filled with a pint of fresh blueberries. They were mixed with just the right amounts of sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. The dough was folded up and around, covering some berries, while leaving others exposed to be dotted with small pieces of butter. A light sprinkling of sugar rained down, and in the oven it went. After being baked golden, in a 33 cent pie tin, it was served with vanilla ice cream and my family. It was almost transferred to a pretty plate to be photographed, but that just didn’t seem right. Enjoy!Selasa, 04 Maret 2014
Heading to Norfolk to Get the Truth Behind Americas First Ice Cream Cone
I sure hope I can handle the truth. Im heading out on my last press trip of the year (I think), to Norfolk, Virginia. I was invited to cover the Town Point Virginia Wine Festival, as well as sample the local cuisine, and since Ive never been to the area I decided to check it out.On Friday were stopping by Doumars Cones and BBQ, where a certain Abe Doumar is said to have created the worlds first ice cream cone. I will be subjecting them to the same hardcore investigative journalism youve come to expect from me.
That said, after a few free ice cream cones Im liable to say anything. Hey, you want objectivity, go read the...er...umm...well, you get the point.
Here is a very cute video I found on Doumars Cones. Enjoy, and stay tuned!
Photo from www.doumars.com
Rabu, 26 Februari 2014
Easily the easiest to make Brownies
Stack of chewy browniesIt was a last minute desicion to attend a dinner potluck at a friends place and I had to come up with something fast and good. Since there was plenty of food planned, brownies seemed like a good idea. However, the fact that brownies had never been a part of my prior culinary experiments, was making it seem like a bad idea.
Like any other student of Google university, I typed out, brownies with oil, and lo...there were several such recipes, made for lazy last minute bakers like me. I tried one such recipe, try as I might I cannot seem to find the correct source. As soon as I do, it will be appended into the post.
I chose a recipe for a 9x9 pan, so that if a disaster was encountered it wouldnt have become a huge waste.
The results of the first batch were highly encouraging and I quickly put in a second batch. DH and me tasted one and oohed and aaahed over it. The friend who came to pick me up insisted that he have one first before we landed up at the potluck house and he gave me his double thumbs up too! People at the potluck finished it off, including the crumbs. So, when you need to impress people without spending too much time, this is JUST the recipe for you.
Walnut Brownies with orange zest
Time taken - Under 30 minutes
Makes 16 pieces
Source- to be added soon
Category - Dessert, potluck party, picnic food
For a 9 inch square pan
Ingredients
1/2 cup Canola oil - I used soyabean oil which is pretty much odourless.
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup powdered brown jaggery / brown sugar
(You can use 3/4 cup sugar instead or more depending on sweetness of the sugar you use)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp orange zest (optional - but it gives a wonderful flavour)
1/3rd cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Cadburys)
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat oven at 350F. Line a 9 inch square pan with foil coming out of the edges and grease base & sides with oil.
Blend the sugars into the oil, in a large bowl. Lightly whisk the eggs and fold it into the oil-sugar mix. Do not beat this much.
Add the vanilla extract and orange zest into this mix.
Sift the baking powder, AP flour and cocoa powder onto a sheet.
Put in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, along with chopped walnuts and stir gently till well incorporated. Do not beat air into it or over mix if you want your brownies to be chewy.
Pour mix into greased pan, even it out and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is dry and it springs back on touch.
Cool well.
Cut with a pizza cutter for clean edges into 16 squares.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. You could even refrigerate overnight and serve next day when the brownie will be its fudgiest best.
Variations:
Orange zest pairs beautifully with chocolate flavour and the aromatic walnuts.
You could add chocolate chips, peanut butter, chilli powder or just about any flavours, using this as a basic brownie recipe.
You could use butter, but I prefer oil - it is easier to handle, less messy and also saturated-fat free.
Like any other student of Google university, I typed out, brownies with oil, and lo...there were several such recipes, made for lazy last minute bakers like me. I tried one such recipe, try as I might I cannot seem to find the correct source. As soon as I do, it will be appended into the post.
I chose a recipe for a 9x9 pan, so that if a disaster was encountered it wouldnt have become a huge waste.
The results of the first batch were highly encouraging and I quickly put in a second batch. DH and me tasted one and oohed and aaahed over it. The friend who came to pick me up insisted that he have one first before we landed up at the potluck house and he gave me his double thumbs up too! People at the potluck finished it off, including the crumbs. So, when you need to impress people without spending too much time, this is JUST the recipe for you.
Walnut Brownies with orange zest
Time taken - Under 30 minutes
Makes 16 pieces
Source- to be added soon
Category - Dessert, potluck party, picnic food
For a 9 inch square pan
Ingredients
1/2 cup Canola oil - I used soyabean oil which is pretty much odourless.
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup powdered brown jaggery / brown sugar
(You can use 3/4 cup sugar instead or more depending on sweetness of the sugar you use)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp orange zest (optional - but it gives a wonderful flavour)
1/3rd cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Cadburys)
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat oven at 350F. Line a 9 inch square pan with foil coming out of the edges and grease base & sides with oil.
Blend the sugars into the oil, in a large bowl. Lightly whisk the eggs and fold it into the oil-sugar mix. Do not beat this much.
Add the vanilla extract and orange zest into this mix.
Sift the baking powder, AP flour and cocoa powder onto a sheet.
Put in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, along with chopped walnuts and stir gently till well incorporated. Do not beat air into it or over mix if you want your brownies to be chewy.
Pour mix into greased pan, even it out and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is dry and it springs back on touch.
Cool well.
Cut with a pizza cutter for clean edges into 16 squares.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. You could even refrigerate overnight and serve next day when the brownie will be its fudgiest best.
Variations:
Orange zest pairs beautifully with chocolate flavour and the aromatic walnuts.
You could add chocolate chips, peanut butter, chilli powder or just about any flavours, using this as a basic brownie recipe.
You could use butter, but I prefer oil - it is easier to handle, less messy and also saturated-fat free.
This easy recipe for Brownies goes to Brownie Babe of the Month at Once upon a Tart.
Tags:
Minggu, 23 Februari 2014
SANDRAS SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO FREEZE FRESH HERBS The easy way and tips for using them later
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| I often find that I have an abundance of herbs at times, and here is a quick method of freezing some of them so you have use of your herbs year round... |
This is so rewarding...
I often have to go to the market for just one herb while cooking a particular recipe. Further, I tend to never use all the herbs I purchase or grow, so this is the best method I found to preserve herbs is by freezing them.
Choose the best and healthiest, leaves, sprigs, or shoots of herbs: basil, parsley, thyme, chives, rosemary, etc., (See below).
Wash, and spin dry fresh herbs (or pat dry with paper towels).
Spread them out in one layer on a parchment paper (or wax paper) lined baking sheet. Flash freezing them flat and individually will prevent them from melding together later on.
Cover and place the cookie sheet of herbs into the freezer and freeze solid for a minimum of 24 hours.
Meanwhile, mark small Zip Lock bags with date/name of herb/amount/expiration date = up to 6 mos. When frozen, measure and place ¼ cup into individual bags, and to freezer.
If you freeze quite a few herbs, it may be easier to find them in your freezer if you store the individual packages of the same herb together in one large container.
[Be aware that when herbs are frozen, they become limp, lose their color and are best used in cooked foods, dressing, sauces, pesto, salsa, etc., although not as a garnish for instance.]
BASIL a natural snipped in with tomatoes; terrific in fresh pesto; other possibilities include pasta sauce, peas, zucchini, Italian toppings for brochettes
CHIVES dips, potatoes, tomatoes
CILANTRO Mexican, Asian and Caribbean cooking; salsas, tomatoes, salads, dips
DILL carrots, cottage cheese, fish, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, dips
MINT carrots, fruit salads, parsley, peas, tabouli, tea, parfaits, desserts, drinks, garnish
OREGANO peppers, tomatoes, sauces, stews
PARSLEY The curly leaf is the most common, but the flat leaf or Italian parsley is more strongly flavored and often preferred for cooking. Naturals for parsley include potato salad, tabouli, green salads, sauces, soups, and stews, to mention a few
ROSEMARY chicken, fish, lamb, pork, roasted potatoes, soups, stews, tomatoes
SAGE poultry seasoning, stuffings
TARRAGON chicken, eggs, fish, salad dressings
THYME eggs, lima beans, potatoes, poultry, summer squash, tomatoes
WINTER SAVORY dried bean dishes, stews
Rabu, 12 Februari 2014
TAKING A BREAK GOING TO HIMALAYAS
Dear Friends
I am going to the Himalayas ( No..No I am not renouncing the world or becoming a Sadhu,) and will be back on 3rd Dec.
This is kind of an addiction or obsessions, my magnificent obsession, to go to the Himalayas. Of course I will be driving around the same places in Kumaon, which I have been doing for many years.
I will not be able to access Internet or mobile phone network and will not be able to communicate with you all.
As soon as I am back I will read all the postings and go for a virtual cooking and eating spree :-).
Of course I will pray for all of you at Jageshwar Maha-Mrutyunjaya temple and also at Kalika temple of Gangolihat
In the mean time you can read and see my blog on Indian Himalayas!!!
The photo below is a greetings to you all. I havent read The Bible , but this line comes to me always, when I am in the Himalayas
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Kamis, 06 Februari 2014
Perfect Polenta – Dedicated to Some Fun Girl
I remember my grandfather standing at the stove, stirring a big pot of the stuff, and every once in a while some of the thick, bubbling polenta would burp out of the pot and on to his hand. He would jump back and yell something, which to my very young ears sounded sort of like, “hey, some fun girl!”
Of course, years later I realized he was actually saying, “vaffanculo.” I’ll let you translate yourself. By the way, one way to avoid the wrath of the molten mush is to adjust your heat to maintain a nice gentle bubble.
Besides severe burns, there’s not a lot that can go wrong with this recipe. As long as you stir it in slowly, whisking constantly, and simmer it until it’s perfectly soft, you will have one of the world’s great comfort foods, and a beautiful base for any number of stews or braises. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 Portions:
4 cups water or broth
1 cup polenta (you can use regular corn meal, but it’s not as easy to work with, and the texture isn’t as interesting)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Note: if your question is, “can you add [blank] to this recipe,” the answer is yes.
Senin, 03 Februari 2014
How to make Simple Spicy Salt n Pepper Shrimp
Simple Salt and Pepper Shrimp
Easy and delicious recipe! This dish for the shrimp lovers with a special kick of jalapenos.
Ingredients
1 lb. of shrimps deveined
1/3 cup of finely diced ginger
2 seeded and diced jalapenos
2 seeded and diced red sweet peppers
1/3 cup of diced onion
3 tablespoons of coarsely chopped cilantros
3 tablespoons of chopped green onions
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon to ground black pepper
3 table spoons of granulated chicken stock or MSG
1 teaspoon of sugar
4 tablespoon of olive oil divided
In a medium pan on medium heat, add 2 table spoons of olive oil, ginger and garlic until its about to brown. Then add the onions, stir until half way cooked then add in the peppers. Set it aside off the heat. On a large skillet on medium heat add about two more table spoons of olive oil then align shrimp to cook. sprinkle on the salt, black peppers, chicken granulate or msg and sugar. Add the stir fry veggies on top of the shrimp and stir it a couple more times. Turn off the heat and add the green onions and stir it once more. Place it on a serving platter and sprinkle the cilantro on top. Serve with a side of jasmine rice.
Tutorial Video:
Minggu, 02 Februari 2014
8 Days To Go
Hi Everybody, remember there is just 8 days left to vote for which dish you want me to cook. Check out my poll and get voting! Jeena :)
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Kamis, 26 Desember 2013
The secret to making a glammed up eggplant curry
Eggplant is one vegetable that you can either hate or love but never ignore. For all my childhood, I was an eggplant hater, may be even allergic to some varieties. Nothing life threatening, just this crazy itching in my mouth when I ate some types of eggplant. Then for years I was a fence sitter. Okay, "this is made for lunch so I will eat the tiniest bit, just to keep you happy" kinda fence sitter. And then I discovered cooking this versatile vegetable and while I wont call myself an eggplant lover, I am now a fan.
Baingan Bharta, Vangi baath, Baba Gannoush, stuffed eggplant, gosh I have quite a list of favourite recipes with this vegetable. This recipe is an easier variation of the stuffed eggplant. You still have to roast the spices and grind them, but no painstaking stuffing involved. This is the smarter way to enjoy the tastes of a stuffed eggplant. This dry curry goes well with rotis and great with rice and sambar. I have used the large round eggplant for this recipe, which is the kind I prefer because it has fewer seeds and cooks faster. But it should work well with any kind of eggplant. Make sure the pieces are uniformly chopped so they cook evenly. This coarsely ground spice powder is the secret to glamming up any boring vegetable or any vegetable you dont know what to do with.
Recipe for Spicy Eggplant Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 large globe eggplant cut into wedges or thick batons, soaked in water
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp amchoor powder or 1 tsp tamarind paste
Ingredients to grind for the spice mix:
3 large dried red chillies
2 tbsp chana dal
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp udad dal
1 sprig curry leaves
1 bay leaf
Directions
In a large wok / kadai, dry roast all the spices together, until the chana dal and udad dal turn golden brown. Remove, cool and grind to a coarse powder.In the same wok, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the asafoetida and then drain and squeeze out all the water from the eggplant pieces and add them to the oil.
Add salt and turmeric and stir the eggplant till well coated. Lower the flame, add a little water at a time, around 1/4th cup, cover and cook the eggplant till nearly done. Dont cook to a mush.
Add the coarse spice powder, amchoor and coat the nearly cooked eggplant with the spices by stirring well. Cover for another 5 minutes with a sprinkle of water if required and let the eggplants cook completely while soaking up the flavours of the spices. The coarsely powdered dals give the vegetable a nice crunchy texture.
Serve hot with rotis or with dal & rice.
Note:
If you dont find a big eggplant, use 8-12 smaller sized eggplants for this, cutting each into wedges. This spice mix works for other vegetables like bottle gourd, snake gourd, capsicum, potato, sweet potato etc. Follow the same method of sauteeing the vegetable until nearly done, adding the spice mix, stirring to coat well and then cover and cook for 5 mins till vegetable is fully cooked and infused with spice flavours.
Rabu, 25 Desember 2013
The need to shift to raw dog food
These days the market with a number of brands is flooded dog food. Since so many people have dogs as pets, is the demand for dog food on the rise. But many owners have noticed that your dogs prefer these ready-made foods should be nutritious and has listed a list of important nutrients. Many pet lovers have also adverse health complains your canines. So if it was understood that prepared and canned or boxed dog food is not nutritious, although it contains all the essentials that not always the requirements met.
Another cause of dogs turning away is the monotonous taste. Every meal and every brand tastes the same. So most owners had to look for a change. In these days consider many dog lovers and pet owners in favor of raw food meals. Change meal and no meal tasting identical to have shown increasing interest dogs and has proved more favourable than the finished counterpart. Also are these simple and basic; the cost is competitively lower than what you are ready to buy.
Raw is raw and uncooked meals. It can contain raw and cooked meat and vegetables and fruit. Thus at least change the natural nutrients. It retains all the minerals, vitamins and proteins, essential amino acids, etc. in their original form and level without change in the structure and properties. This is better than the food prepared and processed.
Give your dog raw food means that you have a wide range and choice in the hand. You can change or try different combinations of recipe every day to keep s. Dog food recipe, especially homemade dog food recipe s stand easily follow. Also packed and frozen raw meals for dogs on the market are good which also and facilitates sorted. Drag the dog diet according to the breed that fits him better.
You should take care of your pet, as much as you do the rest of your family. Keep in mind that it get k-9 friend enough rest, exercise, water and good, healthy diet is important for you. This can be different for different dog breeds. Of course everything is fresh will be better for you. This applies to all members of your family.
More information is available on whatisthebestdogfood.org. You provide information on what is the best dog food including the best dog food for small, medium and large size dogs.
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