manicbaker's IReallyLikeFood

I bought it for a recipe

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:54:00 GMT

This blog is the second in a series on Late Winter cooking. Whether we are doing it for religious reasons, such as Lent, practicality, Spring cleaning, or because we spent too much over the holidays and have to stretch the budget, we are eating our way through our pantries and freezers.

Most of us who like to cook have a category of food which has worked it way back into the dark recesses of the pantry, something we bought for a recipe. I looked through my own pantry and this is what I found: a can of a canellini beans, left behind by my last room mate, mandarin oranges, a bottle of capers, crackers, half a bag of shredded coconut, dried cranberries, a can of cranberry sauce, two cans of cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups of dried daal.

I've done some snooping (with permission) in other folks pantries and here were some of the things in their pantry. Can of beets, canned green beans, crushed pineapple, Cake mix in various random flavors, boxes of jello, a bag of brown sugar (now turned to concrete) molasses, jar of curry powder, half boxes of crisp rice cereal, pasta in every shape imaginable.

Do some snooping in your own pantry. Take all the BIFR (bought it for a recipe) items out and put them on the table or counter. If you have any items that you have taken out, looked at and asked yourself "when am I ever going to use this?" and then put it back in your cabinet, include that as well. Marvel. Do the inevitable past date culling. Separate that into what can be composted or put out for the birds and squirrels and what has to be tossed. Take the extra moments to empty the containers and recycle them. Dump what needs dumping.

Take a look at what is left. Now, you might decide to take the item and go ahead and make that recipe, if you even remember what it was. But if that means going out and purchasing seven other items, and the point is to keep things simple, that might not make sense. You can google that item and "ingredient" or "recipe" and see what you come up with. If you find something scrumptious AND you can honestly say you will cook that recipe before March 21, keep the item. Set those things aside.

Do you have cabin fever? If often hits at this time of year, so the next suggestion might be just right for you. E-mail some of your friends, tell them you are doing a pantry raid and challenge them to the same. Pick a date and have a potluck, everyone brings a dish using at least one item they've culled from their pantry, and they can bring a few others in a bag and everyone can pick and choose. This is a LOT of fun, trust me you will laugh your heads off. Oh, and it's a great time to use up those various teas and flavored drink mixes we found in our search as well.

Soup, salad, sandwich! Some of those cans can be emptied into the soup pot. Canned beans are a healthful addition to a salad, or a wonderful salad in themselves, cold and rinsed and seasoned. If you've never had a baked bean sandwich you're missing something wonderful. Soup, salad, sandwich are three amazingly versatile categories, and a great time to think out of the box. I am not kidding when I suggest you try some shocking new combinations. Crunchy peanut butter and cranberry sauce sandwich. Pork and bean soup with crackers crumbled on top. and drained crushed pineapple on a fresh salad..yes it's great with Italian dressing! Canned beets are great in a cold salad too, and canned beet/mandarin orange salad is to die for! Don't forget those spices and seasonings you have tucked away.

Macaroni mayhem. It makes no difference what shape the pasta is, there is a quick sauce or plain old butter and salt to eat it with. Large pastas can be broken into smaller bits. Pasta salad anyone? It tastes as good in Winter as it does in Summer. And pasta is nice and easy way to get rid of the randoms soups too!

Meatloaf. Boy oh boy can you get creative with meatloaf! Another great way to use up some canned soup, and those crackers or bread crumbs, or dry stuffing mix. Canned veggies chopped and mixed in. Did you know that any not sweet cereal can be used in place of bread crumbs or oatmeal in meatloaf? Hurray! there goes those Rice Krispies! Those bottle of seasonings and spices? Curried meat loaf is yummy.

Dump cake! A good way to get rid of jello, canned fruit, dried fruit. (soak dried fruit for a little bit first), and pudding mixes.

Some of us are simply never going to do some of the things above. Nearly every community I know of (and many many churches) have a food pantry. If the items are in their original unopened package and not past date consider bringing them there. Even spices. Even the 12 grain breakfast cereal and jar of capers. Trust me, all sorts of people find themselves down and out and needing the food pantry at times. Imagine yourself in that situation. How tired would you be of canned soup, peanut butter sandwiches and spaghetti and sauce? What if you have a personal commitment to eat healthy and everything at the food pantry is super processed? What if you are from a different culture? Wouldn't it be lovely if you went to the food pantry and there was something wonderful like that?

I have another idea, since we are talking food pantries and many of us DO make donations, not just clean out the cabinet sort. I never bring something to the food pantry that I would not feel comfortable eating myself or feeding to my children, unless the food pantry itself asks for specific items (they often have a list).

Any thing that is left, can be thrown away. WHAT! Waste food! If you are never going to eat it, you have already wasted the money, so you are losing nothing, and gaining space for things you WILL use. Again, empty the can or box for recycling, dump the rest. After you've done this, guilt or thriftiness will make you think twice before buying a food item you will never use again, or letting the remainder of it moulder until it's not useable anymore. This entire process is actually a very good spiritual and psychological practice.

Of course this won't be accomplished all in one day, that's OK. We have six wonderful weeks of Late Winter to attend to it, but don't put it off, at least not the initial culling, because we haven't even started on the freezer! Oh my! Basically it's the same process. If you can do the initial culling in the same week it will help you meal plan etc, since you will know what all you are working with. When you do your freezer please wear gloves. Handling frozen food for even a short time can do damage to unprotected hands.

Yes, this blog is about food, but the same process can be applied to our linen closets, (yes, swap with your friends). Clothes closet ( many schools have clothing closets these days, as do communities, this is above and beyond the thrift store) Appliances and tools (awesome to swap these) and the various cleaning supplies, paints, fertilizers, weed killer, insecticide and other potential hazardous chemicals. If you can't swap them among friends, call your local sanitation dept. They have a hazardous waste drop off point. If you don't already know what to do with used batteries or broken appliances ask them, they have the answer.

For some of us, this will be an eye opening, soul opening process. We WILL think twice when we shop. Maybe the super large family size looks like a great deal, but not if we end up not using it. If we want a less than critical kitchen gadget or appliance we very likely can find a used one in good or even new condition at the thrift store.Think yogurt maker, ice cream maker,bread machine or an extra coffee grinder just for spices. I have bought all of these in great condition for a song. Before we buy something that contains poisonous chemicals, e-mail among our friends and find out if they have some they don't know what to do with.This not only saves money and prevents waste, but it builds a sense of community.

Enjoy this exercise in mindfulness.

Pagan Seasonal Cooking

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:16:01 GMT

Up until very recently in human history, people ate what was seasonally and regionally on hand. Though a certain amount of food trade has been going on for millenia, this consisted primarily of things that didn't spoil, or livestock. I find myself with natural seasonal eating, craving more carbs in Winter, and passing by fresh "Summer" veggies and fruits for winter squash and sweet potatoes. It just feels right.

Part of my pagan religious/spiritual tradition is focusing on doing what comes naturally, recognizing the sacred in daily life and demonstrating gratitude by embracing it.

The term "holiday" is derived from holy day. A day set aside to observe, honor, commemorate or celebrate something that moves people's souls. Many holidays have associated foods. In America the Summer is begun and ended with a barbacue on Memorial and Labor Day. Champagne is a staple on New Year's Day, and turkey is standard for Thanksgiving. Those are, for the most part, secular holidays, and though many people have lost the practice, holy days have associated foods as well.

Food is a critical part of nearly any gathering, and has always played a role in religious practice. Many Christian churches regularly celebrate a Eucharist or Communion meal.

I think most people tend to associate holidays with feasts, with celebrations rather than observations. But not all holy days are feasts, and sometimes we find the spiritual in the quiet and solid, rather than the showy and rich. I find that this holy day, the cross quarter between Winder Solstice and Spring/Vernal Equinox, to be just such a holy day. In seasonal terms, for many of our ancestors, it was a time when the makings for a feast were running low, or had already run out. A modern equivalent would be us feeling the pinch in our budgets following the excess of Christmas. Late Winter is the time many of our ancestors lived "close to the bone". I wonder if that term refers to OUR bones, or those of the animals killed and eaten for food, since vegetables were running low!

These days it's easy to get our hands on all the fresh foods that we enjoy in any other season. Yes, we will pay a premium for cantalope and blueberries, but they are nearly always in the produce section, no matter how much snow may be on the ground outside. Still, the bins are full of seasonal bounty, and the prices reflect what is available in abundance.

This crossquarter goes by many names, religious and secular. Imbolc, Groundhog Day, candlemas, Lupercalia to name some of the more common ones. Each religion and culture has noted this day in it's own way. In the Northern Hemisphere this is traditionally a day of scarcity with hope. We don't have a variety and abundance on our tables, the we are looking towards Spring and the early signs are there. Imbolc refers to the fact that the ewes are dropping lambs and beginning to give milk. And of course some of that milk finds it's way onto the table.

In my faith, this day starts the Season of Austerity. It sounds a lot scarier than it is. It is a recognition that resources might be running low in a physical sense, but our needs are met and we look forward with hope. It is a good time to discern what are wants and what are needs in our lives. And though it is not a holy day or season of feasting or fasting, food is, of course, involved.

In the Christian tradition this is about the time Lent begins, 40 days (in my faith the season lasts six weeks as well, due to celestial forces) and it is a season of fasting and delving into the spiritual. It's not hard to imagine how fasting became a tradition, not all of it was self imposed. In order to get people through the rest of Winter with needs met and hope sustained encouraging them to wisely budget their remaining supplies, that their physical needs might be bet was a blessing, not a sacrifice. Some people associate Lent with giving up something well loved, as some sort of penance. Really it's an opportunity. If nothing else, whenever we pass on the thing we want, and instead reach for what we need, we are reminded of the spiritual aspects of the season.

So, how does this play out in a pagan faith? Simple. In a word, simple. Use what is on hand, to meet our need, and let ourselves get a sense of what is want. Make use of more seasonal food, and less luxury food. Pass on the blueberries and reach for the sweet potatoes. Simple. Eat what has been collecting in the pantry and freezer. Use up what we've stored before heading to the store.

Also consider what are nutritional needs are. We know what we want, but are we getting what we need? There is a little book titled "God's Diet" by Dr Dorothy Gault McNemee. It is not a religious book, but an introduction to a simple diet, a daily diet, not one focusing on weight loss. The very simple premise is this. If it didn't grow on a tree, come out of the ground, get picked off a plant or walk or swim, don't eat it. Cut out refined foods. If God didn't make it, don't eat it.

There is no calorie counting, deprivation or hand wringing involved. Eat what you want, as long as it's still recognizable as food. This little book, and it's good common sense seriously changed the way I eat. For some, it might feel like deprivation at first, and as much as I like this way of eating, there are times when I still eat refined foods. But for the most part I follow the simple guidelines. During this season, I am going to follow them more closely.

I don't find the Season of Austerity to be a buzz kill. I look forward to it. It makes things simpler, actually takes a weight off of my life. When I am not running about chasing down wants, I am better able to enjoy and appreciate getting my needs taken care of. Meals become easier to prepare. I have permission to stop watching reruns on TV, and get around to watching the movie I've been meaning to, or read a book, or talk a walk. The closets get cleaned, the pantry becomes less cluttered. In six weeks I will be very ready for Spring.

Over the next six weeks I will share some recipes and eating ideas that are appropriate for the season. Making use of winter crops and veggies, or what we have stored in the back of the pantry. Many of them will follow God's diet, and most of them will be appropriate for Lent, if that is your way of navigating these last weeks of Winter. For today, here is a suggestion that is perfect for Imbolc, incorporating winter crops, milk and cheese. Cream of Brocolli Soup.

You can find 1000 recipes on line, give it a Google.

And Happy Ground Hog day! Everyone is poised, hoping for Spring.

Dont underestimate the power of flour

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:14:20 GMT

Many of us are going to be doing a lot of baking in the next several weeks, and it's understandable that we would want to save money where and when we can on ingredients. Baking is NOT cheap! There are places we can pinch the budget and cut corners and still have baking success, but I've also discovered that there are some places when it pays to pay. Flour is one ingredient I never pinch pennies on.

I have had too many great recipes go down due to cheap flour. And along with the cheap flour went many dollars worth of other ingredients. I've had cookies flatten, cakes fail, pie crust harden and bread refuse to rise properly all in the name of saving a buck and fifty cents. Buying quality flour is a lesson I learned a long time ago. The good news is that quality name brand flour usually does go on sale at regular intervals. You won't get 5 lbs for 79 cents, but you will get a good deal, and considering what it will save you in butter, eggs, nuts, etc by giving you good results, it pays for itself instantly.

For recipes in which vanilla is a main flavor, certain cookies, or whipped cream, I only use top brand vanilla. If vanilla is only a backround flavor, store brand suffices. Spices are another area in which the use can determine the quality.If I am making gingerbread houses, which, most likely wont get eaten, I will use double or triple the recipe amounts of dollar store spices. These make a nice aromatic house. For cinnamon buns, I use only top notch cinnamon.

I have not noticed a difference in my recipes based on which brand of granulated or powdered sugar I use. They seem to work out well no matter what. I do not use shortening in my baking, and 90% of the time opt for butter. For short bread, butter cookies etc I use only name brand butter which has a very fresh clear flavor. If the butter is going to be in highly seasoned cookies, store brand butter is used. In the few cases where I use margarine, I use only brands I have tested and trust. BEWARE! many of the new diet/health spreads cannot be substituted in baking recipes for margarine or butter.

I have found good fresh nuts in off and discount brands, but I always taste test them before using. Candied fruits, I have found are best purchased in name brands or taste tested first. They can be too dry, or stale flavored. For chocolate coating, I have had good luck with Borden or a large chain store brand, but mixed results with discount or off brands. To get a better flavor when using chocolate coating I usually use half coating, half melted chocolate chips. Same with white coating and white chips.

I have had no problems with off brand evaporated or sweetened condensed milk. Store brand chips are fine unless I am making truffles, then I buy the best quality chocolate I can afford.

Which items do you splurge on, and which have you found you can pinch pennies on when it comes to holiday baking?

Healthy eating on the road, in the woods and on the trail

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:14:17 GMT

Traveling season is fast approaching, when day trips, cross country adventures, camping and hiking call us to stretch our winter weary muscles and air out our cabin fevered minds.

When I travel/camp/hike, I have a few food situations that call for creative handling. Cost, space, health, and keeping properties without refrigeration (I don't have one of those mini auto fridges)

Here are a few of MY on the road food ideas.

As you drive, it's just as easy to stop at a grocery store as at a convenience store. You can use the rest room, wash your hands, and pick up fresh fruit, yogurt, or heck, even a rotisserie chicken. I keep paper towels and plastic ware in my car at all times. This is cheaper and healthier than rest stop and convenience store offerings.

Nuts, seeds and dried fruit, are healthy, portable and require no refrigeration. The same goes for hard cheeses.

Boxed cereal, is good eaten out of hand.. It's cheaper than most granola if you are on a budget.

Peanut butter and bread..jelly if you roll that way

I drink water and refill my bottles whenever I stop.

If I am traveling with someone who doesn't want water...powdered lemonade, sports drink or tea is quick and cheap.

I like to nibble while I drive. I keep a pint of fresh berries in the drink holder, way healthier for me than chips, and when you do the math, they don't cost much more.

Yogurt keeps in the trunk even when it gets pretty warm. (I always use plain, I can't vouch for the keeping capacity of fruit yogurt)

Hard boiled eggs keep a day or two, and are very portable. The boiling essentially sterilizes them, I know that the sanitation gurus will lynch me for this, but I've tried it, and it works. I wouldn't recommend it in blazing temperatures, but they are great for a day hike, or to supplement breakfast the second day on the road.

I've lived out of my trunk for many a long weekend without ever once stopping at a restaurant. I make a creative challenge out of eating healthy and cheap when I travel. I start the day with a stop at a grocery store for fruit and veggies and go on from there.

What smart traveling/camping/hiking food tips do YOU have?

Nearly Instant Napoleans, elegance in under an hour

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 10:29:18 GMT

A Napolean is a dessert consisting of a stack of flaky pastry layers alternating with pastry cream or whipped cream. They are often iced on top, but can also be simply blanketed in whipped cream. Berries, chocolate or liquor can be added for variety. They look impressive, are super tasty, if a bit messy...to eat. And you can make them at home in under an hour.

Here is how. This recipe makes 3, 12 inch Napoleans. Each Napolean serves 5 conservatively, 4 nicely and 3 very generously. The * represent a variation of the basic recipe

Buy:
1 Box of frozen puff pastry. I buy Pepperedge Farm. This brand gives you two sheets, tri folded, this will make 3 12 inch Napoleans.

One 3.4 oz box instant vanilla pudding

a pint of half and half

one can of light whipped cream OR 1 pint whipping cream

Depending on the flavor of the Napolean you desire, berries, fruit pie filling, apricot jam, a large plain chocolate bar, nuts, etc
++++++++++++++++++
The pastry needs to thaw out of the box (just before using) for about 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375

To make the Napoleans, unfold the thawed pastry, cut on fold lines with a sharp knife. Lay the strips on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, until the tops are somewhere between barely browned and deeply sun-tanned. Remove from oven and cool.

To make the pastry filling. Use one 3.4 oz box of INSTANT vanilla pudding. Place in bowl, add 1 1/2 cups of half and half. I prefer half and half because it gives a super rich cream, but you can get by with milk. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

*Alternately, if you choose to use liquor in your Napolean, use 1 and 1/3 cup half and half, and after mixing well (I use my hand blender for a fast smooth product) beat in 3 Tbls of the liquor of your choice. Set aside.

*If you'd like a fluffier filling...Make the pudding with only 1 1/4 cup of milk/half and half, and after it sets up (5 min) stir it smooth and fold in 3/4 cup cream, whipped

*If you are using whipping cream rather than canned, beat until fluffy with 2/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. You can use other flavoring extract to taste if desired.

*For chocolate whipped cream, add 1/3 cup powdered cocoa before beating and increase vanilla to 2 tsp

Just before serving (it literally takes 5 minutes to put together) On serving tray, place one of your puffed pastry strips, spread with a layer of cream filling. (if using jam for flavoring, spread with jam first, then cream...for any other flavoring, cream first) Then put berries, shaved chocolate bar, nuts, or whatever over cream. Top with second layer, add a thin layer of cream, Cover generously with whipped cream and garnish appropriately to match the flavor of the filling.

* you can make the Napolean ahead, but it really should be no more than a few hours ahead as refrigeration toughens the pastry layers. Making it right before you serve dinner, and letting it sit on the counter for an hour or so is fine and makes it slightly less messy to serve as the layers "gel" a bit.

Thats it. Bring it to the table to oohs and ahhs, cut into portions with a serrated knife, enjoy.

Peanut flour, try it. it's good!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:12:44 GMT

I'm a fan of peanuts. I like peanuts, peanut butter, peanut cookies, peanuts in ice cream, peanuts in candy. I make a mean spicy peanut sauce for pasta and rice. They are yummy and nutritious. They are fattening. I don't love that last part so much. But about 9 months ago I came across a product that allows me all the good things about peanuts without so much of the fat. That product is peanut flour.

It can be purchased in light or dark roast with a fat content of 12% or 28%.The 12% flour is 50% protein. It does not have the same properties as wheat flour and cannot be substituted one to one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have 100 other wonderful uses in the kitchen, from the traditional peanut butter sandwich to a truly wonderful baked porkchop.

I purchase my peanut flour from Byrd Mill, an online source. I prefer a medium roasted flavor, which I achieve by mixing a bag of dark roast, with a bag of light roast. I buy the 12% fat content, because fat is an issue for me. The lighter roast has a lighter peanut flavor and can be "hid" by stronger flavors in foods when you don't care for them to scream "peanuts" but want the nutritional value. This is a very versatile product. I'll give you a few ideas about how I use it.

Peanut non-butter...I mix the peanut flour with milk or water with some salt to the desired consistency, and use it just as I would normal peanut butter for a spread. If you prefer, you can sweeten it with honey, molasses or sugar.

I enjoy quick lowfat snacks of peanut non butter on bananas, or even make a peanut butter cup hot chocolate.

Experiment with adding it to baked goods. It's perfect for lowfat smoothies.

For a peanut butter candy filling, take store bought peanut butter, mix in enough peanut flour to achieve a moldable consistency, add salt and sweetening to taste, dip in chocolate and you have a lower fat peanut butter cup.

Mix it into ice cream or pudding to increase the fiber and nutritional value. The milk in these products makes the peanut protein complete!

Add it to applesauce for a yummy nutritious kids treat.

Make a low fat Indonesian spicy peanut sauce with a fraction of the fat.

And here is an idea for yummy Asian oven baked pork chops.

One packet of Kung-Pow or Szechaun Stir-Fry seasoning
1/4 cup peanut flour
1 1/2 c cracker crumbs (saltines, ritz, brenton's, triscuits, etc)
or...1 1/2 cup cereal crumbs (chex, rice krispies)
Place all these in a bowl or bag and mix well.

In a bowl mix
3 T soy sauce
1T molasses
3T wine or balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 375. Prepare baking sheet with aluminum foil or non stick spray. Moisten chops with the liquid, then coat with seasoned crumbs. Bake for 20 to 40 minutes depending on thickness of chops.

for an easy side dish...take the remaining soy sauce mixture, add 2 tsp oil. Cut up into bit sized pieces celery, carrot, onion, red and green peppers. Place on sprayed baking sheet and roast along with the chops.

Popcorn Illiterates

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:11:15 GMT

We are now in our second generation of popcorn illiterates!

Most people under the age of 30 have NEVER tasted popcorn made the old fashioned way. And if you ask them just what the old fashioned way IS...they may have a vague recollection of a hot air popper, but mostly you will get blank stares or something they learned in 4th grade social studies class about Native Americans popping corn around a fire. The years in between are lost, the years of shaking a pot over a stove burner are forgotten...MAYBE they've had exposure to Jiffy Pop, or heard tell of it, but few have tasted or made popcorn, the old fashioned way themselves.

Movie popcorn, and microwave popcorn have their own charm, and can taste great. Hot air popped corn, while being pretty tough and relatively flavorless comes a wee bit closer to the actual "old fashioned" kind, but to get the real deal, you need to start from scratch, with a few basic tools found in the ordinary kitchen. A pot with a handle and cover, some cooking oil, a big bowl, a stick of REAL butter, sorry no substitutes, salt (again, no substitutes, not for this round, you can pull out the Mrs Dash at a later date) and popcorn. You can find it at most grocery stores, but you may have to ask. In my local grocery store, it is NOT found with the 109 varieties of microwave pop corn, it's on another aisle with the dried fruit and nuts.

Here's how to do it:

Put about a tablespoon of cooking oil into the bottom of your pot, less if you are using a small pot.
Pour popcorn kernels into the pot until you have a layer one kernel deep covering the bottom.
Put on the lid.
Place pot over medium heat on the stove.
Shake the pot back and forth, it makes a nice satisfying sound, alternatively you can rock the pot back and forth a la "ship on a stormy sea" style, you should hear the kernels moving.
In a few minutes the kernels will begin to pop. This will give off a tantalizing smell and you may feel goosebumps rising all over you.
Tilt the lid slightly to allow steam to escape.
Breathe in deeply.
Keep shaking, rocking, until the popping slows down.
Remove from heat.
Take off lid, you may hear a few random pops
Dump hot popcorn into the bowl.
Cut off a generous chunk of butter and put it into the hot pot.
Melt butter and pour it all over the popcorn.
Shake on salt, to taste.
Stir arouind the popcorn to distribute salt and butter.
Grab something tall to drink, and ENJOY your fresh hot popcorn.

I mean it, really, it is worth the "work" (it takes about 10 minutes). If you have never had homemade popcorn...you may well be converted for life. If you have had it before...you will be reminded just how good it is.

And you can dress it up as much or little as you like, though for this first round, please stick to the tried and true formula above. But yes, it's amazing with brown sugar, chili powder, cinnamon or Italian spice sprinkled over it. You can buy cheese powder and make your own cheese popcorn, or sprinkle grated parmesan over it...let your imagination run wild.

And please share this wonder with someone, a friend, a young person who has never tasted popcorn that didn't come from a microwave bag or wasn't doused in that yellow stuff at the movie theater. Don't let the culinary experience that is old fashioned popcorn die.

Please share your popcorn memories or creative popcorn mix in's below! and long live the tender fluffy kernel.

Ground meat on sale? Make sausage!

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:02:12 GMT

It's easy, it's cheap, it tastes amazing, and you can make it lean as you like...that's right, home made sausage...wait, keep reading! You don't need a meat grinder, casing etc.

Now, if you are a purest and only consider it real if it's like the store bought version, then this might not be for you, but if you are a person who likes to cook, likes to eat and looks aren't the most important thing when it comes to food, read on.

For some reason, ground meat of all varieties was on sale the other day, so I stocked up. Usually I would just patty it up and put it in the freezer for later use, but it was a rainy day, a good day for cooking, so I got creative.

I had tried my hand at home made bratwurst about a month ago with tasty results! I mixed up ground pork and beef with spices, made sausage shapes (no casing) and baked them so they'd retain their shape till they firmed up, they browned nicely in the oven and tasted great...oh, did I mention they cost about 1/3 of what store bought prepared brats cost? Since I, like so many of us, am currently unemployed, this is a plus.

Encouraged by that experiment, I decided to try my hand at some other varieties. Fresh kielbasa (I am 50% Polish), and chorizo...because I LOVE it spicy.

I searched the web for recipes, and then, in true cooks spirit used them as inspiration rather than formulas. I keep a well stocked herb/spice collection, so it was easy to improvise as I went along. The recipes for kielbasa varied wildly, the ones for chorizo, barring the proportions, were surprisingly similar.

What I did was check out a number of recipes and see what the basic, across the board, ingredients were. I used that as my starting point, then tweaked it with the inclusion and amounts of the other spices according to my own tastes and sensibilities. I mix the kielbasa and chorizo by hand, but when I make brats...I prefer the smooth textured ones, so I mix that in my stand up mixer for a longer time to pulverize the meat. Works like a charm.

Several recipes suggest leaving the mixed sausage in the fridge overnight (or longer) kneading from time to time, to let the seasonings meld. I thought that sounded like a good idea, I hadn't tried that last time. The chorizo recipes suggesting leaving it go for as long as three days to get the full flavor, which is probably OK, since one of the ingredients is a surprising (to me at least) amount of wine, vinegar, or combination of the two.

The kielbasa and bratwurst recipes only suggest overnight.

For ease of use, the meat can be formed into sausage shapes, balls or patties and baked, this allows them to firm up, if you like you can then cook them in kraut, toss them on the grill to "finish" them, freeze them or whatever.

Chorizo can be done the same way or cooked loose for some recipes, depending on how you want to use it.

Some recipes use egg as binder. In my brats (this time I used turkey...because it was on sale) I added ground cooked barely to hold in extra moisture, since the meat was so lean. Many recipes include dry milk as well.

Sausage is not an exact art, though some rules of thumb are usesful. About one tsp of salt per pound of meat seems standard. Most recipes suggest using fatty meat, and surely they will make for a tasty juicy sausage, but because of the diet I am on, I use leaner meat, either with or without fillers. Since I make the sausage for my own personal use and don't really miss the fat, this isn't an issue. The filler can hold moistness, though technically it is something that is left out of homemage sausage, indeed it is one of the reasons people make their own.

Fillers, like bread crumbs, oatmeal, other grains, or crumbs (think meatloaf) certainly change the texture, but not necessarily in a negative way. Meatloaf is nothing else but a large quick sausage, yummy and moist in its best incarnations. To any homemade sausage recipe, add some filler, bake it in a loaf and you'll have an interesting ethnic meatloaf...it's all good!

I think the best frame of mind to go into sausage making with is creative and open. Think about the cuisine of the culture who's sausage you are approximating. Beer brats? Yup, they DO have beer in them, it would work for a variety of wursts. When I saw the spices in bratwurst I was scratching my head...ginger and nutmeg? huh? But when I think of it...gingerbread, with the same spices comes from the same cultures. Makes sense, and yes, it works.

Indeed I've learned a lot about the "theme" spices of various cultures..it is not uncommon for the same or similar st of spices to show up in both savory and sweet dishes of a culture.

In Mexico, chili, chocolate and cinnamon show up in both sweet and savory dishes. In German and Polish cooking, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and mace reappear over and over. In Italian, anise and fennel are standards in both main dishes and desserts. This is a good thing to remember when making sausage.

So, for each lb of ground meat you want about 1 tsp of salt, 2T of seasoning, and 1/3-1/2 cup of water or other liquid. These are all negotiable, but are good jumping off points. If you prefer a smoked sausage, add liquid smoke flavoring. Most sausage recipes also suggest about a 1/2 tablespoon of sugar or other sweetner per pound of meat. Adjust according to tastes.

But don't limit yourself to the seasonings of any particular culture. Be bold! Use your imagination! I plan to make Indian curry sausage and Thai inspired sausage very soon. Why not? I mean, Indian seasoned meatballs in a lovely curry sauce...I'm drooling here...are you?

Sometimes we let the details of a certain food preparation put us off. I didn't make sausage for years, because I thought I had to have a grinder and casing. But cooks throughout time have improvised, that is where oure recipes come from. We take what we have, put it together in new ways, sometimes out of desperation, neccessity or inspiration and viola', a new favorite is born!

I hope this inspires you to try your hand at the lowly, lovely art of sausage making.

I'm in love with my ice cream maker

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:30:05 GMT

Home made ice cream...is there anything like it? According to society it conjures up images of tanned kids with dirty knees sitting on a wide front porch with their approving elders looking on as they lick creamy drips of melted cream from their wrists because they can't eat the generous scoops fast enough from the cones...ahhh.

Well, this is the 21st century, and I am a foodie and I don't need 5 quarts of peach icecream because I don't have a gaggle of little kids anymore, or extended family within 700 miles to share it with..and it's the dead of winter, but damn if I don't love me some ice cream.

To complicate the situation...I am on a whole food diet, or at least a no refined food diet...and most ice cream that is commercially available is on my no no list. Ice cream is the one food that I bend my food rules on. After not eating it at all for 9 months, I decided life was better with it after all.

I cruise the gourmet ice cream aisle like some people cruise porn...fantasizing..but that stuff is expensive, and fattening, and...full of sugar. So I decided to try my hand at healthier ice cream, in small batches, at home. I found a counter top ice cream maker at a thrift shop for under 10 bucks. (they show up pretty regularly) and got to work.

I can make whatever I like, as healthy as I like, or as decadent as I like. I make batches for my family, and batches for me. Chocolate sweetened with pureed dates and prunes. Banana that needs no sweetener at all, and avocado..to die for that only has two tablespoons of agave nectar per quart. And that is just the beginning.

My family is loving this...I mean LOVING this...because I like to experiment and they like to be guinea pigs. I make them full fat ice cream with sugar...but also lower fat ice cream, sorbet with less sugar, and they like it all.
Along with my blender and Kitchenaide mixer...my ice cream maker gets the most use of my kitchen appliances.

I keep the freezing canister in the freezer so it's ready whenever inspiration strikes. Home made and in small batches, frozen non fat yogurt and ice milk...is great. It doesn't last long and get all weird and crystally like the half gallons I buy at the store. And I can make it by pints too...as small of a batch as I like, and serve it fresh...soft serve or hard. I can't believe I waited this long.

We HAVE a traditional ice cream maker, you know the big canister, the big wooden tub, the one that requires a huge bag of store bought ice, a box of rock salt, sounds like a cement mixer and takes a couple of hours to make ice cream. We've had it for years, and about every other summer we pull it out and make ice cream, but it's such a job, such an ordeal that it's only a very special, very occasional thing. And because of the energy, expense and time, we don't try anything too adventurous, because we don't want several quarts of something we don't love hanging around.

Problem solved!

If you don't have one yet...and you love ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, gelato, ice milk, frozen yogurt, get one.
It's great for vegetarians and vegans too. Seriously, the thing will pay for itself in NO time at all.

The internet is full of recipes, but once you get the hang of it, experimenting is simple.

Today...blueberry sorbet!

Baking outside the box, or "bananas were on sale..."

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:20:55 GMT

My local store had a special on ripe bananas, a whole big bag for a buck forty nine. I took the bait and brought a bag home and started scouring the net for not so typical banana recipes.

Every recipe I found for banana bread or muffins was pretty standard, the usual spices, tons of sugar, and throw in raisins or chocolate chips for variety...oh and don't forget the walnuts. Now don't get me wrong, those are some tasty breads, but my family doesn't love banana bread, and I do love a challenge. So I got to thinking of a new kind of banana bread, less sweet, with an unexpected flavor.

I opted for a taste in a different direction...caraway seeds, ground ginger, black pepper, and ground mustard. All flavors that work with both sweet AND savory dishes, oh, and some ground sesame seeds as well. No sugar, just the mild sweetness of the bananas. The result is a loaf with a totally different taste, moist, that would make a nice base for cheese, peanut butter, a turkey sandwich or just some plain old butter (my husband says).

Here is the recipe

grease and flour a large loaf pan, or use muffin cups and muffin tin (increase temp to 375 and reduce time to 20 min for muffins)

heat oven to 350

3 lg. bananas

1 1/2 tsp crushed caraway seeds or 3/4 tsp ground

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp ground cloves

if desired...3T ground sesame seeds

or 1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 egg

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 1/2 c. all purpose or whole wheat flour

1/3 c. melted butter or oil

Preparation:

Mash bananas.

Add slightly beaten egg.

Add melted butter or oil

Sift dry ingredients together and add to above mixture.

Mix until moistened.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Now, for a treat for ME

I am on a no sugar/no refined foods diet. I also have an ice cream maker I am addicted to..I found a recipe for roasted banana ice cream that I modified slightly to meet my criteria. I'll pass it on.

In a greased glass dish..

chop three bananas, lightly drizzle with blackstrap molasses (about 1 T) toss to coat and roast bananas at 375, stirring occasionally till dark brown and carmelized.

The bananas will mush up, just keep spreading them on the bottom of the pan and returning to the oven. They will begin to smell carmelized and toasty, you decide how dark you want them.

Put 1 and 1/2 cups milk or half and half in a blender jar (vegetarians use 'milk' of your choice)

Add banana mash

1/4 tsp ground mace

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

blend till smooth.

chill and freeze in ice cream maker, or in the freezer stirring every 30 minutes till thick.

YUM!

I haven't had a chance to try the chicken banana curry yet...I'll have to get back to you