Blessings Darlings!
My Mother, bless her heart, was never an inspired cook. She was constrained by the times she was born into (born during WWI, teen during the Depression, young adult during WWII rationing) and the challenges of kashrut. Salt, pepper, onions, and garlic were about the only seasonings she used, and she insisted that "Jews don't use gravy."
So, shall we say, as a cook I am not my Mother's daughter. While I started slow, by high school I was experimenting with foods from health food stores (Dannon yogurt! Exotic! Yeah, I'm OLD) and started making bread from scratch. My husband, whose Mother had a similar generational if not religious upbringing, came into my life having already broken out into Chinese cooking and always trying new foods at ethnic restaurants.
So today I'm going to share with all y'all two spices that are important in my life. They are cumin and ginger.
GINGER
Many folks only know ginger from its role in sweet foods. From Red Hots to pumpkin pie to gingerbread, cooks first get to know ginger in powdered form. Big, bulbous, fibrous spicy - these attributes of ginger root make working with it directly a bit intimidating at first. It's used a lot in Chinese cooking to kick things up.
It's easy to start by peeling about a square inch of ginger root and chopping it finely. DO NOT START BY USING A MICROPLANE GRATER ON GINGER. Recipes call for CHOPPED ginger for a reason - microplaned it's stronger than you will expect. Saute' it lightly in some olive oil, then add a pound of green beans and saute' them until done. Experiment from there in other dishes later.
My 'secret' ginger use? I use those peels from the ginger root when I make chicken stock. They add a wonderful depth to the flavor.
I also grow ginger, but .... I'm not good at it. I can't stop it from going dormant in winter even tho' I bring it in, and it starts up LATE in spring. I certainly don't get enough for me to use my own much of the time!
CUMIN
You might now know it, but you've probably already met cumin before. It's one of the ingredients in some good chili, and in some tacos. Which, when you think about it, makes it a pretty NEW addition to actual Mexican food, since it's a native of the middle east and India! You'll use this spice ground, rather than in the whole seed.
To me it particularly shines in middle eastern food. Tzatziki Sauce is one of the staple sauces of my kitchen. A simple mix of yogurt (usually Greek yogurt, tho' 'regular' yogurt is fine if you want a thinner sauce), lemon, salt, garlic, cumin, and chopped cucumber, I use it as a sauce on sandwiches (felafel, gyros), as a salad dressing, as an accent to roast lamb, etc.
I've been failing at growing this, too. Le sigh.
So, go forth and play with your food! It's fun, and alchemical.
Frondly, Fern
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Hamanatashen Failure
Blessings Darlings!
Last week the festival of Purim started, Wednesday night at sundown. It's a Jewish festival that celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people as recorded in the book of Esther. It's a fun holiday, where folks dress up, drink heavily, etc.
I'd probably celebrate it even if my son wasn't Jewish for the party aspects.
But since 'Esther' and "Mordachai" there are probably revised versions of the Pagan Gods Isthar and Marduk, and nothing like the events in the book were actually recorded during the reign of the king mentioned in the book (Xerxes 1 or 2, I've forgotten which it was supposed to be), I figure it has it's roots in some pre-Judeo/Christian/Islamic Pagan spring festival anyway.
So I figured I'm make Hamantashen, one of the traditional foods eaten then. It's a 3 cornered cookie with a fruit or seed filling. But I had pie on my mind*** so figured I'd try making them with pie crust instead of with a cookie base.
It didn't work well. The pie crust was GREAT. I used the all-butter pie crust recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, known around our house as "Big Blue". However, the pie dough didn't hold the shape, so flopped over into a circle topped with the blueberry filling. NOT at all Hamantashen.
OTOH, they tasted GREAT, and were a lovely dessert. But I had to have the Spawn pick up REAL Hamantashen on the way home.
Failure still tasted good.
Frondly, Fern
*** This COMING Wednesday is Pi Day, March 14, as in the mathematical Pi, which is 3.14(etc). I was working on figuring out what Pies to have for dinner that day - Should the main course be Shepherds? 4-can? Pizza? Pasties? Pot Pie? And what sweet pie for dessert?
Last week the festival of Purim started, Wednesday night at sundown. It's a Jewish festival that celebrates the salvation of the Jewish people as recorded in the book of Esther. It's a fun holiday, where folks dress up, drink heavily, etc.
I'd probably celebrate it even if my son wasn't Jewish for the party aspects.
But since 'Esther' and "Mordachai" there are probably revised versions of the Pagan Gods Isthar and Marduk, and nothing like the events in the book were actually recorded during the reign of the king mentioned in the book (Xerxes 1 or 2, I've forgotten which it was supposed to be), I figure it has it's roots in some pre-Judeo/Christian/Islamic Pagan spring festival anyway.
So I figured I'm make Hamantashen, one of the traditional foods eaten then. It's a 3 cornered cookie with a fruit or seed filling. But I had pie on my mind*** so figured I'd try making them with pie crust instead of with a cookie base.
It didn't work well. The pie crust was GREAT. I used the all-butter pie crust recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, known around our house as "Big Blue". However, the pie dough didn't hold the shape, so flopped over into a circle topped with the blueberry filling. NOT at all Hamantashen.
OTOH, they tasted GREAT, and were a lovely dessert. But I had to have the Spawn pick up REAL Hamantashen on the way home.
Failure still tasted good.
Frondly, Fern
*** This COMING Wednesday is Pi Day, March 14, as in the mathematical Pi, which is 3.14(etc). I was working on figuring out what Pies to have for dinner that day - Should the main course be Shepherds? 4-can? Pizza? Pasties? Pot Pie? And what sweet pie for dessert?
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Git Your Biscuits In the Oven.....
Blessings, Darlings!
I have a history of making really really lousy biscuits. No matter what I did, they came out heavy and flat tasting. Not worth the calories.
Which is a shame, since unlike big ol' loaves of bread (which I now rock at), biscuits can be cooked on a balcony or patio or porch in a toaster oven. A great plan for summer baking without heating up the house.
This changed last week. Since I was still working on the half-bushel of peaches I had bought I figured I'd that) so I figured I'd do a peach cobbler. Because they are 'just quickly cobbled together', you know. Well, usually they are, but I went with the Test Kitchen recipe which has you par bake the cobbler and biscuit topping separately. So I had to make biscuits. Intimidating!
BUT these weren't the type of biscuits I had tried to make before. I had always tried making cut biscuits - THESE were drop biscuits. And they turned out AMAZING. I also added two pinches of freshly-ground cardamom to the peach mixture, which kicked it up too.
So, tonight, dinner is soup from leftovers. Fundamentally a beef barley soup. Great soup, but it needed a little something something to make it special. How about drop biscuits? Husband said - how about cheesy drop biscuits? Okay!
They SO rocked. I made a dozen and I don't know if there will be any left by the end of the evening. And there are only three of us.
Since I love you folks, I'm going to share the recipe.
CHEESY DROP BISCUITS
2 Cups all purpose flour 1 tsp dried wild green onions
1 tbs baking powder 1/4 cup shortening
1/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, small dice
1/8 tsp garlic salt
Oven on, set to 450. Baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
All dry ingredients plus the cheese into bowl, stir.
Melt the shortening. Mix it into the buttermilk. The lumps are a GOOD thing. Add liquid to dry ingredients, stir 'till just mixed. I had to add a smidge more milk, you might not have to.
Use the 1/4 cup measure you used for the cheese to dole out dough on to baking sheet. Bake. In my oven it took 10 minutes - it could take up to 15 in yours.
Eat. Smile. Repeat.
I have a history of making really really lousy biscuits. No matter what I did, they came out heavy and flat tasting. Not worth the calories.
Which is a shame, since unlike big ol' loaves of bread (which I now rock at), biscuits can be cooked on a balcony or patio or porch in a toaster oven. A great plan for summer baking without heating up the house.
This changed last week. Since I was still working on the half-bushel of peaches I had bought I figured I'd that) so I figured I'd do a peach cobbler. Because they are 'just quickly cobbled together', you know. Well, usually they are, but I went with the Test Kitchen recipe which has you par bake the cobbler and biscuit topping separately. So I had to make biscuits. Intimidating!
BUT these weren't the type of biscuits I had tried to make before. I had always tried making cut biscuits - THESE were drop biscuits. And they turned out AMAZING. I also added two pinches of freshly-ground cardamom to the peach mixture, which kicked it up too.
So, tonight, dinner is soup from leftovers. Fundamentally a beef barley soup. Great soup, but it needed a little something something to make it special. How about drop biscuits? Husband said - how about cheesy drop biscuits? Okay!
They SO rocked. I made a dozen and I don't know if there will be any left by the end of the evening. And there are only three of us.
Since I love you folks, I'm going to share the recipe.
CHEESY DROP BISCUITS
2 Cups all purpose flour 1 tsp dried wild green onions
1 tbs baking powder 1/4 cup shortening
1/4 tsp baking soda 3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp salt 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, small dice
1/8 tsp garlic salt
Oven on, set to 450. Baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
All dry ingredients plus the cheese into bowl, stir.
Melt the shortening. Mix it into the buttermilk. The lumps are a GOOD thing. Add liquid to dry ingredients, stir 'till just mixed. I had to add a smidge more milk, you might not have to.
Use the 1/4 cup measure you used for the cheese to dole out dough on to baking sheet. Bake. In my oven it took 10 minutes - it could take up to 15 in yours.
Eat. Smile. Repeat.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Busy Kitchen!
Blessings, Darlings!
I'm busy in the kitchen today, making soup and bread and probably cookies or cake.
HOWEVER - I'm changing the day I post foodie stuff to Tuesday, since everyone seems to be too busy on Mondays to read anything. Not sure what I'll post on Monday, of course.
Frondly, Fern
I'm busy in the kitchen today, making soup and bread and probably cookies or cake.
HOWEVER - I'm changing the day I post foodie stuff to Tuesday, since everyone seems to be too busy on Mondays to read anything. Not sure what I'll post on Monday, of course.
Frondly, Fern
Friday, January 14, 2011
Homeless Shelter Education
Blessings, Darlings!
I've spent a lot of time in homeless shelters, having worked in several of them over the years. The women (the shelters I worked in were for women, especially those dealing with domestic violence) taught me lots of things over the year.
First, we shared recipes. Which means they taught me to make noodles using the egg mix left over from breading chicken to be fried. This is dinner here tonight, BTW.
They taught me how to re-use oil for frying. Which involved repeatedly banging into my thick head that frying shouldn't be at the HIGHEST TEMPERATURE THE STOVE CAN GET TO. I admit I was a slow student here. And I still don't save oil that is used to fry fish to fry more fish with later. The smell is not a family favorite!
They prepared me for motherhood in many ways. Early on, they taught me to not be fooled by the scent of pine cleaner - just because you smell it doesn't mean they cleaned the place. Really, the issue here was ownership: I learned that no one takes responsibility if they don't feel ownership of the problem or the solution.
Practically, when I was pregnant, they taught me how to extend the use of my pre-pregnancy clothes by use of adaptations like using strong rubber bands from the button on my jeans ... thru' the button hole .... back to the button. And what brands of sweat pants were most likely to fit thru' the entire pregnancy.
They taught me that there are no people more important in your life than friends, both from the friendship that they provided to me, and from the fact that most of them, when they moved out, moved in with friends themselves.
I also learned that I can't even be in the same building if someone is cooking chitlins, and that some people really CAN burn either spaghetti sauce or macaroni and cheese to the point that they are inedible. But I'm sure I could have learned that by simply having more roommates over the years, too.
Frondly, Fern
Frondly, Fern
I've spent a lot of time in homeless shelters, having worked in several of them over the years. The women (the shelters I worked in were for women, especially those dealing with domestic violence) taught me lots of things over the year.
First, we shared recipes. Which means they taught me to make noodles using the egg mix left over from breading chicken to be fried. This is dinner here tonight, BTW.
They taught me how to re-use oil for frying. Which involved repeatedly banging into my thick head that frying shouldn't be at the HIGHEST TEMPERATURE THE STOVE CAN GET TO. I admit I was a slow student here. And I still don't save oil that is used to fry fish to fry more fish with later. The smell is not a family favorite!
They prepared me for motherhood in many ways. Early on, they taught me to not be fooled by the scent of pine cleaner - just because you smell it doesn't mean they cleaned the place. Really, the issue here was ownership: I learned that no one takes responsibility if they don't feel ownership of the problem or the solution.
Practically, when I was pregnant, they taught me how to extend the use of my pre-pregnancy clothes by use of adaptations like using strong rubber bands from the button on my jeans ... thru' the button hole .... back to the button. And what brands of sweat pants were most likely to fit thru' the entire pregnancy.
They taught me that there are no people more important in your life than friends, both from the friendship that they provided to me, and from the fact that most of them, when they moved out, moved in with friends themselves.
I also learned that I can't even be in the same building if someone is cooking chitlins, and that some people really CAN burn either spaghetti sauce or macaroni and cheese to the point that they are inedible. But I'm sure I could have learned that by simply having more roommates over the years, too.
Frondly, Fern
Frondly, Fern
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Soup's On!
Blessings, Darlings!
The weather has turned blessedly cool and refreshing after the record heat of summer (and the record high temperatures that the DC area hit even last week!). So I can go back to ENJOYING hot bowls of soup again.
My love of soup goes WAY back, before even my earliest memory. My mother remembers the first time she fed me soup. Apparently I couldn't get enough. I'm sure it was chicken soup, served as part of Shabbos dinner, and she made it herself. She didn't say if it had noodles in it. She DID say that she stopped feeding it to me that night before I was done eating all I wanted.
My favorite soups are hearty stew-like ones, full of vegetables, meats, noodles or rice or potatoes or matzo balls, etc. But that's not to slight cream based soups, or lovely broths, or silky split pea, or.... well, you get the obsession.
Usually we have soup with lunch almost all year. This year, with the heat, we really couldn't face that (and we really don't like cold soups), so we've been soup-free for rather a while.
But it's time to get back on the soup bandwagon!
Simmering has started again in my kitchen. Barley, unhulled, is almost done cooking. It will be joined by stock from the freezer, a can or two of mixed veggies, and a can of beef. Maybe a can of mushrooms, too. Tomatoes? Why, yes, since the garden is still burying us in them! Herbs and other seasonings will be adjusted, bowls will be filled, and comfort food will fill our tummies, easing cool-weather sharpened appetites.
I'll be repeating the magic of soup making at least once a week for the next 9 months (except during the move, when I expect we'll use a lot of canned soup). I can't wait!
Frondly, Fern
The weather has turned blessedly cool and refreshing after the record heat of summer (and the record high temperatures that the DC area hit even last week!). So I can go back to ENJOYING hot bowls of soup again.
My love of soup goes WAY back, before even my earliest memory. My mother remembers the first time she fed me soup. Apparently I couldn't get enough. I'm sure it was chicken soup, served as part of Shabbos dinner, and she made it herself. She didn't say if it had noodles in it. She DID say that she stopped feeding it to me that night before I was done eating all I wanted.
My favorite soups are hearty stew-like ones, full of vegetables, meats, noodles or rice or potatoes or matzo balls, etc. But that's not to slight cream based soups, or lovely broths, or silky split pea, or.... well, you get the obsession.
Usually we have soup with lunch almost all year. This year, with the heat, we really couldn't face that (and we really don't like cold soups), so we've been soup-free for rather a while.
But it's time to get back on the soup bandwagon!
Simmering has started again in my kitchen. Barley, unhulled, is almost done cooking. It will be joined by stock from the freezer, a can or two of mixed veggies, and a can of beef. Maybe a can of mushrooms, too. Tomatoes? Why, yes, since the garden is still burying us in them! Herbs and other seasonings will be adjusted, bowls will be filled, and comfort food will fill our tummies, easing cool-weather sharpened appetites.
I'll be repeating the magic of soup making at least once a week for the next 9 months (except during the move, when I expect we'll use a lot of canned soup). I can't wait!
Frondly, Fern
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Nutrition Note: Cooking Carrots
Blessings, Darlings!
A StomperNet friend tweeted a link on differences cooking makes in available nutrients in carrots. Here's the link itself: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7998801.stm . What the researchers found was that cooking carrots increased the beta-carotene absorbed over that available in raw carrots.
This has been known in 'standard' nutritional circles here in the US for a while - I have to assume that the British study brought something new to the party that the news report didn't cover. That fat-soluble vitamins held in hard cellulose structures (raw veggies and fruits cells) are more available after cooking is so well known that it's even cited on Whole Foods website, with scientific references to 2002 and before.
Of course, while cooking breaks down those cellular cellulose walls, cooking and any water the veggies are cooked with tend to destroy and/or wash out the water soluble vitamins such as C and B complex.
What does this mean for your home kitchen?
I'll tell you.
Well, at least I'm going to make some SWAGs - Scientific Wild-Ass Guesses.
Winter Cooking SWAGs
My guess is that especially over winter, eat your sources of Vitamin C raw - it is not widely spread in most winter season foods. Especially if you're eating stored local food, since vitamin C oxidizes away over time. In fact, if you're eating locally over winter your main sources of fresh vitamin C foods are likely to be bean/seed sprouts that you've exposed to the sun so they develop some green and vitamin C and any green onions you grow.
Your B vitamins don't oxidize away as quickly as the C does, for the most part. Some will be in your stored fruits and veggies, even dried/frozen/canned, lots of some of them in whole grains.
And cook most of your high-carotene veggies - sweet potatoes, hard squash, etc.
Summer Cooking SWAGs
Who wants to cook in summer? It's hot and humid here. Eat stuff raw if that's good for your taste/body. Do minimal cooking, early in the day when it's cool, and serve things chilled. Just because that's how *I* like to eat during the summer [grin]. And with all the fresh produce around, you'll get enough beta carotine from strawberries, then cherries, then muskmelons and peaches, etc. Not to mention the lovely spring greens, followed by fresh peas and pea pods, then beans, then peppers, then tomatoes, etc.
Supplements?
I'm fond of taking a multipurpose vitamin supplement daily in winter when the range of foods isn't as large or has a lot of food-miles and age on it. Since I buy cheap generics, it's sort of cheap insurance here. OTOH, humans have survived for 15,000 or more years dealing with cold winters, lousy food storage, etc without them. Without chocolate too, I might add, and that I REALLY don't understand.
Catch you later!
.
A StomperNet friend tweeted a link on differences cooking makes in available nutrients in carrots. Here's the link itself: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7998801.stm . What the researchers found was that cooking carrots increased the beta-carotene absorbed over that available in raw carrots.
This has been known in 'standard' nutritional circles here in the US for a while - I have to assume that the British study brought something new to the party that the news report didn't cover. That fat-soluble vitamins held in hard cellulose structures (raw veggies and fruits cells) are more available after cooking is so well known that it's even cited on Whole Foods website, with scientific references to 2002 and before.
Of course, while cooking breaks down those cellular cellulose walls, cooking and any water the veggies are cooked with tend to destroy and/or wash out the water soluble vitamins such as C and B complex.
What does this mean for your home kitchen?
I'll tell you.
Well, at least I'm going to make some SWAGs - Scientific Wild-Ass Guesses.
Winter Cooking SWAGs
My guess is that especially over winter, eat your sources of Vitamin C raw - it is not widely spread in most winter season foods. Especially if you're eating stored local food, since vitamin C oxidizes away over time. In fact, if you're eating locally over winter your main sources of fresh vitamin C foods are likely to be bean/seed sprouts that you've exposed to the sun so they develop some green and vitamin C and any green onions you grow.
Your B vitamins don't oxidize away as quickly as the C does, for the most part. Some will be in your stored fruits and veggies, even dried/frozen/canned, lots of some of them in whole grains.
And cook most of your high-carotene veggies - sweet potatoes, hard squash, etc.
Summer Cooking SWAGs
Who wants to cook in summer? It's hot and humid here. Eat stuff raw if that's good for your taste/body. Do minimal cooking, early in the day when it's cool, and serve things chilled. Just because that's how *I* like to eat during the summer [grin]. And with all the fresh produce around, you'll get enough beta carotine from strawberries, then cherries, then muskmelons and peaches, etc. Not to mention the lovely spring greens, followed by fresh peas and pea pods, then beans, then peppers, then tomatoes, etc.
Supplements?
I'm fond of taking a multipurpose vitamin supplement daily in winter when the range of foods isn't as large or has a lot of food-miles and age on it. Since I buy cheap generics, it's sort of cheap insurance here. OTOH, humans have survived for 15,000 or more years dealing with cold winters, lousy food storage, etc without them. Without chocolate too, I might add, and that I REALLY don't understand.
Catch you later!
.
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