On Friday, I ran out to the store for a few things, and came back with quite a few more. Cabbages were drastically reduced; I assume from an overstock of St Patrick's day heads. I like cabbage, so I picked up a few. Boiled it that night, and stuck it in the refrigerator. I estimate I'll be having cabbage with lunch for the entire week. This does not make me sad in the least.
Strawberries were also on sale for a lower than normal sale price. (A price I have seen before, but still less than the normal 2 for X price.) Buying the strawberries also meant that I had to have cream. I debated between yogurt, sour cream, or heavy whipping cream and settled on the whipping cream purely for taste reasons.
That evening, I rinsed half the berries, put a metal bowl with a tablespoon of sugar in it in the fridge, and proceeded to prepare the strawberries: de-stemming, hulling, and cutting into tiny pieces. Then I sprinkled about 2-3 spoonfuls of sugar over the strawberries, and set them aside.
As the berries and sugar intermingled, I pulled out the chilled bowl and poured a bit of the whipping cream into it. Honestly, I have not idea as to the measurement. If I had to guess, probably 2 tablespoons. Maybe more.
Then I thought for a moment. Stand mixer, hand mixer or by hand? Since I hadn't used the stand mixer bowl, I took the stand mixer out of the running. It has had enough of a work out, considering the amount of cookies I made in the past two weeks. For some reason, I settled on whipping the cream by hand, so out came the whisk.
Several minutes and one tired arm later, I had soft peaks of sweetened whipped cream.
I divided up the strawberries and cream and surprised my husband with a delicious and simple dessert, hopefully ushering spring and summer into our little corner of the Earth.
Showing posts with label Recipe Thursday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe Thursday. Show all posts
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
A Play on Recipe Thursday: Pudding
Earlier this week, we caved to grocery store pressure and bought a pudding mix. Organic butterscotch. It was delicious, so much so that my husband steeled down to the kitchen unbeknownst to me to finish it off. I was sad.
The next night, we mourned the early demise of said pudding (I glared at my husband a bit) and also the lack of eggs in the house. (Since no eggs usually means no tasty baked goods. We also don't have applesauce on hand.) We were almost certain that our collective sweet tooth would go unquenched. But then, I cracked open my More With Less cookbook. (If you don't already know about this cook book, I strongly suggest you find a copy to borrow. It is amazing. It is a go-to resource for recipes when you are short an ingredient or two, and substitutions. My mom gifted me an updated version because I used her so much!)
In this gem of a cooking reference, I found a very simple chocolate pudding recipe. It called for sugar, corn starch, cocoa, milk, vanilla, and margarine. I had everything in my kitchen already. (Well, I had butter, not margarine.) My husband was a bit surprised to learn we had corn starch in our cupboards, but I wasn't! (I did buy it, after all.)
One feature of the More With Less book is that they include hints, additions, and variations that other cooks have used with success. For this pudding recipe, one suggestion was to replace the few tablespoons of margarine with a quarter cup of peanut butter. Usually, I like to make a recipe at least once by the 'book' before I start in with the alterations, but we could not pass up the chocolate and peanut butter combination.
The pudding thickened up beautifully. I almost didn't want to add the vanilla and peanut butter, but I did. And I should have used a whisk to blend in the peanut butter and not just my wooden spoon. Or added it a bit sooner. The peanut butter didn't incorporate a smoothly as it could have, so the pudding was a bit lumpy, but still quite tasty. Neither my husband nor I had any complaints.
The recipe yield was four servings, so we halved it, putting half in the fridge. With our track record, if we hadn't put half away immediately, we could have demolished the whole batch in one go.
A bit of an aside, to explain how much I love More With Less, I'd say this: If I could only have one cookbook for the rest of my life, it would be a toss up between More with Less and my older version of Joy of Cooking. I'd probably try to find book binder to combine the two into one, super cooking resource.
The next night, we mourned the early demise of said pudding (I glared at my husband a bit) and also the lack of eggs in the house. (Since no eggs usually means no tasty baked goods. We also don't have applesauce on hand.) We were almost certain that our collective sweet tooth would go unquenched. But then, I cracked open my More With Less cookbook. (If you don't already know about this cook book, I strongly suggest you find a copy to borrow. It is amazing. It is a go-to resource for recipes when you are short an ingredient or two, and substitutions. My mom gifted me an updated version because I used her so much!)
In this gem of a cooking reference, I found a very simple chocolate pudding recipe. It called for sugar, corn starch, cocoa, milk, vanilla, and margarine. I had everything in my kitchen already. (Well, I had butter, not margarine.) My husband was a bit surprised to learn we had corn starch in our cupboards, but I wasn't! (I did buy it, after all.)
One feature of the More With Less book is that they include hints, additions, and variations that other cooks have used with success. For this pudding recipe, one suggestion was to replace the few tablespoons of margarine with a quarter cup of peanut butter. Usually, I like to make a recipe at least once by the 'book' before I start in with the alterations, but we could not pass up the chocolate and peanut butter combination.
The pudding thickened up beautifully. I almost didn't want to add the vanilla and peanut butter, but I did. And I should have used a whisk to blend in the peanut butter and not just my wooden spoon. Or added it a bit sooner. The peanut butter didn't incorporate a smoothly as it could have, so the pudding was a bit lumpy, but still quite tasty. Neither my husband nor I had any complaints.
The recipe yield was four servings, so we halved it, putting half in the fridge. With our track record, if we hadn't put half away immediately, we could have demolished the whole batch in one go.
A bit of an aside, to explain how much I love More With Less, I'd say this: If I could only have one cookbook for the rest of my life, it would be a toss up between More with Less and my older version of Joy of Cooking. I'd probably try to find book binder to combine the two into one, super cooking resource.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Return of Recipe Thursday! Pancakes
The other night, I was planning on making a split pea soup for dinner (and subsequent meals). I figured that on a cool October evening, hot split pea soup with biscuits would be warming and very satisfying.
But then the weather decided it didn't like October, and opted for more July-like temperatures of the 80s (Fahrenheit). I like split pea soup, but it was just going to be too hot, and too heavy of a meal.
Our pantry is pseudo-stocked. A lot of pieces, they just don't all go together. I had pancakes in my head, though, and we decided on that for dinner. We had almost everything on hand, except butter, which had been used up in making our brunch omelets. Off to the store went my husband, and I set out measuring and mixing.
It was 1.5 cups of flour, sifted with 3 TBS sugar, 1.5 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt. I was supposed to sift before measuring the flour, but I didn't.
Mix 3 TBS melted butter, 1 - 1.25 cups milk, and 2 beaten eggs. Really, I was supposed to separate the eggs, beat in the yolks, and whip the whites till fluffy and fold them in. I didn't.
I actually made two batches, so we would have leftovers (seriously yummy), and each time, I started out with just 1 cup of milk, but thought the batter was too thick, so I opted for 1.25 cups of milk total. This lead to a very thin batter, which made the pancakes really spread out in the pan.
The thin cakes, and using about a quarter TBS of butter to grease the pan between cakes lead to pancakes that were cooked through, but not exceptionally brown, and with a texture reminiscent of a thicker crepe. This is actually delicious.
We had pancakes with butter and powdered sugar as our main course for dinner that night. Can't tell you how devious that can make you feel.
One issue I almost always have with doing eggs or pancakes is temperature control of the pan. My brain freaks out most of the time, and I end up with a pan that is too hot or one that is too cold. This time, I set the pan over high heat initially, and let it get to the right temperature (according to my Joy of Cooking, this is when cold water sprinkled on the pan will sizzle and dance a bit). Then I reduced the heat to medium. I didn't have to turn the heat back up, because, as I am sure you know, keeping the pan over the gas flame for the amount of time it takes to make a batch of pancakes keeps the pan above medium heat! (Another phenomenon about which I have frequently forgotten.)
Looking back over this post, I realize that for someone who likes to follow recipes and directions, I sure do take a lot of liberties with them.
How about you? Enjoy breakfast-for-dinner? Enjoy following recipes or winging it?
But then the weather decided it didn't like October, and opted for more July-like temperatures of the 80s (Fahrenheit). I like split pea soup, but it was just going to be too hot, and too heavy of a meal.
Our pantry is pseudo-stocked. A lot of pieces, they just don't all go together. I had pancakes in my head, though, and we decided on that for dinner. We had almost everything on hand, except butter, which had been used up in making our brunch omelets. Off to the store went my husband, and I set out measuring and mixing.
It was 1.5 cups of flour, sifted with 3 TBS sugar, 1.5 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt. I was supposed to sift before measuring the flour, but I didn't.
Mix 3 TBS melted butter, 1 - 1.25 cups milk, and 2 beaten eggs. Really, I was supposed to separate the eggs, beat in the yolks, and whip the whites till fluffy and fold them in. I didn't.
I actually made two batches, so we would have leftovers (seriously yummy), and each time, I started out with just 1 cup of milk, but thought the batter was too thick, so I opted for 1.25 cups of milk total. This lead to a very thin batter, which made the pancakes really spread out in the pan.
The thin cakes, and using about a quarter TBS of butter to grease the pan between cakes lead to pancakes that were cooked through, but not exceptionally brown, and with a texture reminiscent of a thicker crepe. This is actually delicious.
We had pancakes with butter and powdered sugar as our main course for dinner that night. Can't tell you how devious that can make you feel.
One issue I almost always have with doing eggs or pancakes is temperature control of the pan. My brain freaks out most of the time, and I end up with a pan that is too hot or one that is too cold. This time, I set the pan over high heat initially, and let it get to the right temperature (according to my Joy of Cooking, this is when cold water sprinkled on the pan will sizzle and dance a bit). Then I reduced the heat to medium. I didn't have to turn the heat back up, because, as I am sure you know, keeping the pan over the gas flame for the amount of time it takes to make a batch of pancakes keeps the pan above medium heat! (Another phenomenon about which I have frequently forgotten.)
Looking back over this post, I realize that for someone who likes to follow recipes and directions, I sure do take a lot of liberties with them.
How about you? Enjoy breakfast-for-dinner? Enjoy following recipes or winging it?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Borrowing a Recipe Thursday: Barbeque Ribs
A Barbeque recipe was requested, because of just how many sauces have high fructose corn syrup in them. (It really is everywhere!)
As a barbeque lover, one would think I have an old stand-by recipe, but I don't. So, I've been thinking about this. Where should I go for a recipe? Which style of barbeque should I model? I was thinking myself into in-action.
Then, I stumbled across this rib recipe over at Big Dreams for a Simple Life. I haven't tried this myself, but it looks like a fairly traditional and straightforward sauce. Not too sweet like a molasses sauce, not too vinegary like an eastern North Carolina sauce.
I'm not giving up my search, but I wanted to let you know the progress thus far!
As a barbeque lover, one would think I have an old stand-by recipe, but I don't. So, I've been thinking about this. Where should I go for a recipe? Which style of barbeque should I model? I was thinking myself into in-action.
Then, I stumbled across this rib recipe over at Big Dreams for a Simple Life. I haven't tried this myself, but it looks like a fairly traditional and straightforward sauce. Not too sweet like a molasses sauce, not too vinegary like an eastern North Carolina sauce.
I'm not giving up my search, but I wanted to let you know the progress thus far!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Courtesy of my husband
I admit it: sometimes, I forget that my husband was a fully functioning adult before we met, and that he continues to be a fully functioning adult, who chooses to be with me and doesn't need me take care of things.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the general idea holds. I don't always give him the credit he deserves.
Anyway, the other night we had a thrown together meal of rice and beans (an indian style soybean mix in a microwavable pouch). To make an appetizer, he got fish sauce and cilantro, too.
1) He taught me a trick for cleaning cilantro: remove stems from needed amount; rinse under water in your hands, and squeeze off excess moisture. Place on the edge of a paper towel, and then roll the towel, squeezing out the remaining water. Voila!
2) He then finely chopped it, salted it and peppered it
3) He made rice balls as best he could from our rice, and rolled them in the cilantro.
4) Some fish sauce was placed in a dish.
5) Rice balls dipped in said dish.
6) Pop in mouth and enjoy!
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. Usually, I am not a huge cilantro fan. I like it, but find that it can easily overpower a dish, or that too much has been added to something. The combination of rice, cilantro and fish sauce, though, was wonderful (if not a bit salty, though, this can be easily altered, and I do like salt).
And because I know you are on the edge of your seats, wondering about my tomatoes:
There are about 6 tomatoes in various stages of growing right now. I have plenty of blooms that I hope will develop fruit.
I did learn this weekend, though, that I have been severely under-watering the tomatoes. Luckily, it had been a rainy spring, so the plants didn't die of thirst out-right, but I suspect that the water deprivation affected the fruit development.
That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the general idea holds. I don't always give him the credit he deserves.
Anyway, the other night we had a thrown together meal of rice and beans (an indian style soybean mix in a microwavable pouch). To make an appetizer, he got fish sauce and cilantro, too.
1) He taught me a trick for cleaning cilantro: remove stems from needed amount; rinse under water in your hands, and squeeze off excess moisture. Place on the edge of a paper towel, and then roll the towel, squeezing out the remaining water. Voila!
2) He then finely chopped it, salted it and peppered it
3) He made rice balls as best he could from our rice, and rolled them in the cilantro.
4) Some fish sauce was placed in a dish.
5) Rice balls dipped in said dish.
6) Pop in mouth and enjoy!
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this. Usually, I am not a huge cilantro fan. I like it, but find that it can easily overpower a dish, or that too much has been added to something. The combination of rice, cilantro and fish sauce, though, was wonderful (if not a bit salty, though, this can be easily altered, and I do like salt).
And because I know you are on the edge of your seats, wondering about my tomatoes:
There are about 6 tomatoes in various stages of growing right now. I have plenty of blooms that I hope will develop fruit.
I did learn this weekend, though, that I have been severely under-watering the tomatoes. Luckily, it had been a rainy spring, so the plants didn't die of thirst out-right, but I suspect that the water deprivation affected the fruit development.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Sweet Potatoes on the stove
Have you ever ordered "home fries" or breakfast potatoes at a restaurant? Even though these terms can cover a whole slew of things, every time, they have been delicious. So much so that I've cubed, seasoned and cooked potatoes on the stove (in my giant frying pan) several times. (Even mixed potatoes and turnips to sneak in said turnips.)
I was thinking about those the other day when trying to figure out something to eat for dinner. It was one of those nights where we were fending for ourselves. And we still don't have a working oven. And we still haven't restocked the kitchen since the move. And the kitchen is still in disarray. I can only blame the move for so long, at some point I'm either busy or lazy. Wager it is a combination of both.
The thought of venturing out into the tornado warning weather to spend money on fast food was disheartening, both to me and my stomach. The idea of polishing off a bag of Ritz chips was slightly more appealing until I thought about it. A sandwich sounded like a good idea, but I held off on that, just in case we needed that bread later on.
Then it struck me. I still had those farmer's market sweet potatoes (from a while ago) that had never been cooked! Fleetingly, I dared dream about sweet potato fries before I remembered that the oven doesn't work. Slight let down. But, wait! I saw my big frying pan sitting on the stove, and thought, "Why not just do the potato-turnip thing with just sweet potatoes?" So, I did.
The recipe goes a little something like this:]
wash and prepare your sweet potatoes
slice thinly or cube, trying to keep the pieces uniform
heat a bit of oil or butter in a skillet over medium high heat
add potatoes
stir
let it sit
stir
add more oil/butter if needed
stir...
(turn off stove to leave the house to get necessities. Turn it back on...)
stir...
cook until potatoes are soft, or desired tenderness.
I like to at least start on a medium-high heat to get a few crispy edges, but often end up fiddling with the heat, and letting everything sit on the stove over a medium heat for a while.
The cooking time is somewhat longer than you would think (or at least longer than I always expect). I would say you should figure on at least a half hour of time on stove.
I realize that you can do this with pretty much any root vegetable, and any combination of said veggies. I was just rather pleased with myself that night. Especially since I didn't have to eat yet another sandwich.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Sandwiches and the frying pan.
Do you know what can be really good after a long day, especially when the weather is cool? A fried sandwich. Or a grilled sandwich.
Did you eat grilled cheese as a kid - with bread that had been grilled to a golden perfection in butter on the stove? Yeah. That. So good!
You can employ this "grilling" method with any kind of sandwich you see fit. Like peanut butter and jelly, or a good old meat and cheese.
Paninis and toasted sub sandwiches seem to be all the rage right now. You can create a wonderful grilled sandwich at home, and it is about as fast as ordering one is.
While what goes in between the pieces of bread is up to you, the process is one that can be perfected.
A few pointers for the sandwich itself: don't pile it too high, or else it won't heat through before it burns, and it will just be a mess to heat! Also, a personal preference: wait to add veggies like tomato or lettuce until after the sandwich is grilled. Doing this will offer a nice contrast, and prevent your veggies from going limp and wilting.
Alright, ready?
As you make your sandwich, heat a frying pan to medium-lo to medium heat.
When the sandwich is complete, butter one side of the bread, thoroughly. This helps with the browning and the not-sticking. And I do mean "butter thoroughly."
With your spatula, place the sandwich into the warm pan, butter side down. If you don't hear that satisfying sizzle, adjust heat up a smidge.
Butter the top of the sandwich. Again, do so thoroughly. About this time, use your spatula to peak at the bottom. If it looks good, flip the sandwich, carefully!! If not, let it alone for another minute.
Since I'm impatient, I'm the cook who checks every minute or less until the thing is done. This undoubtedly increases cooking time.
Once flipped, you need to let the sandwich be for a few minutes. After 2 or 3, check it, and then gauge how much time is needed.
When both sides are beautiful and crisp, place the sandwich-masterpiece on a plate. If you are adding veggies, do so now.
Cut the sandwich in half, and pull the halves apart so you can marvel at the yummy goodness. This also gives you restaurant-quality presentation. Because that is the most important thing. ;)
I think that this makes regular meat-and-cheese sandwiches special, and more dinner-like. It is also a fun treat for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Just delightful.
Have you done this before? Any particular favorite sandwich to grill/fry?
Did you eat grilled cheese as a kid - with bread that had been grilled to a golden perfection in butter on the stove? Yeah. That. So good!
You can employ this "grilling" method with any kind of sandwich you see fit. Like peanut butter and jelly, or a good old meat and cheese.
Paninis and toasted sub sandwiches seem to be all the rage right now. You can create a wonderful grilled sandwich at home, and it is about as fast as ordering one is.
While what goes in between the pieces of bread is up to you, the process is one that can be perfected.
A few pointers for the sandwich itself: don't pile it too high, or else it won't heat through before it burns, and it will just be a mess to heat! Also, a personal preference: wait to add veggies like tomato or lettuce until after the sandwich is grilled. Doing this will offer a nice contrast, and prevent your veggies from going limp and wilting.
Alright, ready?
As you make your sandwich, heat a frying pan to medium-lo to medium heat.
When the sandwich is complete, butter one side of the bread, thoroughly. This helps with the browning and the not-sticking. And I do mean "butter thoroughly."
With your spatula, place the sandwich into the warm pan, butter side down. If you don't hear that satisfying sizzle, adjust heat up a smidge.
Butter the top of the sandwich. Again, do so thoroughly. About this time, use your spatula to peak at the bottom. If it looks good, flip the sandwich, carefully!! If not, let it alone for another minute.
Since I'm impatient, I'm the cook who checks every minute or less until the thing is done. This undoubtedly increases cooking time.
Once flipped, you need to let the sandwich be for a few minutes. After 2 or 3, check it, and then gauge how much time is needed.
When both sides are beautiful and crisp, place the sandwich-masterpiece on a plate. If you are adding veggies, do so now.
Cut the sandwich in half, and pull the halves apart so you can marvel at the yummy goodness. This also gives you restaurant-quality presentation. Because that is the most important thing. ;)
I think that this makes regular meat-and-cheese sandwiches special, and more dinner-like. It is also a fun treat for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Just delightful.
Have you done this before? Any particular favorite sandwich to grill/fry?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Raiding the Pantry
I've been a neglectful blogger as of late. My apologies.
Life has been hectic lately, and so I haven't been making dinners at home much. Or they have consisted of heating various ingredients and combining, not necessarily crafting a meal.
The only remotely-frugal thing about some of our meals this week has been their pantry-combing nature. We've been having deli or sandwich shop nights and fend-for-yourself nights, the latter being of the pantry-combing variety.
After a dentist appointment, a can of mandarin oranges, rice pudding, and stuffing (yes - from a box, full of yummy sodium, I know. Still, have to use what we have.) was one meal.
Another "on your own" meal was a can of salmon, mixed with mayo and mustard, on crackers. "Dessert" was Nutella on crackers. Why? Because I love Nutella.
The craziness should die down... soon... ish. I hope to get back on track with the whole food thing by then.
Haven't bought any new shampoo yet. I think I underestimated what was left. *whew!
Life has been hectic lately, and so I haven't been making dinners at home much. Or they have consisted of heating various ingredients and combining, not necessarily crafting a meal.
The only remotely-frugal thing about some of our meals this week has been their pantry-combing nature. We've been having deli or sandwich shop nights and fend-for-yourself nights, the latter being of the pantry-combing variety.
After a dentist appointment, a can of mandarin oranges, rice pudding, and stuffing (yes - from a box, full of yummy sodium, I know. Still, have to use what we have.) was one meal.
Another "on your own" meal was a can of salmon, mixed with mayo and mustard, on crackers. "Dessert" was Nutella on crackers. Why? Because I love Nutella.
The craziness should die down... soon... ish. I hope to get back on track with the whole food thing by then.
Haven't bought any new shampoo yet. I think I underestimated what was left. *whew!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Bread add-ins
If you remember, last week, I posted a recipe for wheat bread that includes dry milk. Most recipes don't include dry milk. But, dry milk (aka instant or non-instant milk powder) is nutrient rich, and a great way to increase the nutritional value of food. It also is great to have on hand when baking in case the milk in the fridge has gone sour! I have made mac'n'cheese with dry milk! (I've also made the boxed stuff with leftover marinara instead of milk - it is tasty!)
But back to bread. My first forays into baking bread were with the White Bread Plus recipe, found in some editions of Joy of Cooking. I wanted to try new things, but I was a very novice baker, and nervous about switching things up too much. In my book, on the same page as White Bread Plus was the Cornell Triple Rich Flour Formula.
Yup, the Cornell Triple Rich Flour Formula. Try saying that five times fast.
Basically, before you measure each cup of flour in a given recipe, you put:
1 tablespoon of soy flour
1 tablespoon of dry milk
1 teaspoon of wheat germ
in the bottom of the cup, then add your normal flour.
This adds a nutritional punch to your final product, and is a great way fortify white bread.
Like I said, it has been a while since I've made white bread, or used this recipe. I do remember that the look, feel and taste of the loaves with the CTRFF and those without were basically the same. You could some of the wheat germ, but it just gave a slightly grain-filled look to the bread. Similar to using Hodgson Mill flour instead of the Kroger wheat flour.
Here are some interesting links about CTRFF:
The history of the creator of Cornell Triple Rich bread
A Q & A from a 1980 edition of the Eugene Register-Guard about the benefits of using CTRFF with today's flour. (really, the whole page is interesting, including an article about home-baked bread being tastier than store bought, and a shower versus bath column)
A blogger's (anecdotal and unscientific) taste test!
Cornell Triple Rich Flour Formula and White Bread Plus in Joy of Cooking (pages 602 and 603) [this version of the bread recipe was written for a baker using a mixer - the process is a little different in my book, sans mixer]
Yup, I'm a little nutty.
What sort of things to you add to meals, breads and other foods to make them better?
But back to bread. My first forays into baking bread were with the White Bread Plus recipe, found in some editions of Joy of Cooking. I wanted to try new things, but I was a very novice baker, and nervous about switching things up too much. In my book, on the same page as White Bread Plus was the Cornell Triple Rich Flour Formula.
Yup, the Cornell Triple Rich Flour Formula. Try saying that five times fast.
Basically, before you measure each cup of flour in a given recipe, you put:
1 tablespoon of soy flour
1 tablespoon of dry milk
1 teaspoon of wheat germ
in the bottom of the cup, then add your normal flour.
This adds a nutritional punch to your final product, and is a great way fortify white bread.
Like I said, it has been a while since I've made white bread, or used this recipe. I do remember that the look, feel and taste of the loaves with the CTRFF and those without were basically the same. You could some of the wheat germ, but it just gave a slightly grain-filled look to the bread. Similar to using Hodgson Mill flour instead of the Kroger wheat flour.
Here are some interesting links about CTRFF:
The history of the creator of Cornell Triple Rich bread
A Q & A from a 1980 edition of the Eugene Register-Guard about the benefits of using CTRFF with today's flour. (really, the whole page is interesting, including an article about home-baked bread being tastier than store bought, and a shower versus bath column)
A blogger's (anecdotal and unscientific) taste test!
Cornell Triple Rich Flour Formula and White Bread Plus in Joy of Cooking (pages 602 and 603) [this version of the bread recipe was written for a baker using a mixer - the process is a little different in my book, sans mixer]
Yup, I'm a little nutty.
What sort of things to you add to meals, breads and other foods to make them better?
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Wheat Bread
Remember that post about bread, where I am convinced that I killed the yeast? I thought I'd share the recipe with you! The recipe is from More With Less.
I do want to say that despite not really rising, the bread was still very yummy, with great flavor, and a nice texture. It was a little heavy, but not too much. I was actually a little surprised.
First, you mix 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of dry milk, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2 packages of yeast together.
Second, you warm 3 cups of water (the recipe calls for potato water or water - I've only ever had/used plain old tap water), 1/2 cup of honey, and 2 tablespoons of oil. (Here's my first deviation, since I only had/have olive oil, I melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan before adding the water and honey. It has been fine so far!)
When the water mixture is warm (NOT HOT!!), add to the flour mixture, and ... mix. Recipe is written for using an electric mixer. I prefer not to use one. Recipe says to mix for 3 minutes. I just mix until it is fairly consistent, without huge lumps.
Now, you add 1 cup of whole wheat flour, mix. Add up to 4 and 1/2 cups of white flour. As most experienced bakers, and the recipe advise, you should reserve the last cup or so to be added during kneading. I generally add a cup at a time, and when it is very difficult to mix, flour my counter, and turn it out to be kneaded. Usually, I've added 3 cups of white flour.
Since I know that I will need to add flour, I usually liberally sprinkle flour on top of the dough, on my hands, and on my pastry knives/bowl scrapers, which I use to start the kneading process. Kneading really is a hands-on learning process. You want to work the dough until it will not accept more flour, but this is a tricky line, because you can overwork it. The best way I can describe kneading is that you take one side of the dough-ball, and fold it to the center, pushing with the heal of your hand. As you do this, you are rotating the dough about 90 degrees. You keep doing this, adding flour as necessary, until the dough isn't sticky anymore.
Grease a bowl, put the dough in it, and turn (to coat). Set aside in a warm, draft free area to rise. My mom always wet a cheese cloth with hot-as-you-can-stand-it water, wrung it out thoroughly, and loosely placed it over the bread. I do too.
After it had doubled in bulk (about an hour), punch down the dough, and turn back out onto the counter. Knead very lightly, and divide it so you can form loaves. Recipe says it will make 2; I have found that it can easily make 3 loaves.
Grease your loaf pans, place your formed loaves in said pans, and set aside to rise. Again with the warm towel/cheese cloth. Again with the double in bulk. Again, it will take about an hour.
Bake for about 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn out onto cooling rakes, and resist the urge to eat it all in one sitting. Properly stored, it should freeze just fine for at least a few weeks. I've not had it last that long though, usually gets eaten!
Do you make your own bread? Is there a recipe that you swear by?
I do want to say that despite not really rising, the bread was still very yummy, with great flavor, and a nice texture. It was a little heavy, but not too much. I was actually a little surprised.
First, you mix 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of dry milk, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2 packages of yeast together.
Second, you warm 3 cups of water (the recipe calls for potato water or water - I've only ever had/used plain old tap water), 1/2 cup of honey, and 2 tablespoons of oil. (Here's my first deviation, since I only had/have olive oil, I melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan before adding the water and honey. It has been fine so far!)
When the water mixture is warm (NOT HOT!!), add to the flour mixture, and ... mix. Recipe is written for using an electric mixer. I prefer not to use one. Recipe says to mix for 3 minutes. I just mix until it is fairly consistent, without huge lumps.
Now, you add 1 cup of whole wheat flour, mix. Add up to 4 and 1/2 cups of white flour. As most experienced bakers, and the recipe advise, you should reserve the last cup or so to be added during kneading. I generally add a cup at a time, and when it is very difficult to mix, flour my counter, and turn it out to be kneaded. Usually, I've added 3 cups of white flour.
Since I know that I will need to add flour, I usually liberally sprinkle flour on top of the dough, on my hands, and on my pastry knives/bowl scrapers, which I use to start the kneading process. Kneading really is a hands-on learning process. You want to work the dough until it will not accept more flour, but this is a tricky line, because you can overwork it. The best way I can describe kneading is that you take one side of the dough-ball, and fold it to the center, pushing with the heal of your hand. As you do this, you are rotating the dough about 90 degrees. You keep doing this, adding flour as necessary, until the dough isn't sticky anymore.
Grease a bowl, put the dough in it, and turn (to coat). Set aside in a warm, draft free area to rise. My mom always wet a cheese cloth with hot-as-you-can-stand-it water, wrung it out thoroughly, and loosely placed it over the bread. I do too.
After it had doubled in bulk (about an hour), punch down the dough, and turn back out onto the counter. Knead very lightly, and divide it so you can form loaves. Recipe says it will make 2; I have found that it can easily make 3 loaves.
Grease your loaf pans, place your formed loaves in said pans, and set aside to rise. Again with the warm towel/cheese cloth. Again with the double in bulk. Again, it will take about an hour.
Bake for about 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Turn out onto cooling rakes, and resist the urge to eat it all in one sitting. Properly stored, it should freeze just fine for at least a few weeks. I've not had it last that long though, usually gets eaten!
Do you make your own bread? Is there a recipe that you swear by?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Sweet Potato Fries
I love sweet potatoes. They are so rich in flavor, and generally good for you, too. There are a few mid-range steakhouses where sweet potatoes are a regular side, and sweet potato fries are popping up on more and more menus, substitutable for regular fries.
Fried food is still fried food, so you do need to consider that if you are out and considering your side options. At home, though, you have more control. Personally, I don't have a fryer, and don't really ever have enough oil, or the right kind of oil on hand for frying. But, no bother, fries can be made in the oven.
The first time I did sweet potato fries, I followed a recipe from the Food Network's website. Since I didn't print it out, I've been dredging my memory, and cobbling together recipes from other sources to create a workable sweet potato oven fry.
In this quest, I've burnt more than a few sweet potato sticks...
Here's a basic recipe upon which you can build and with which you can play:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash two sweet potatoes (or however many you want, since I'm generally cooking for 2, two potatoes works), and cut into roughly sticks. (think thick carrot sticks)
Toss in up to 1 tbsp. olive oil. Salt to taste, if desired. Spread on a backing sheet. You want one layer of sweet potato sticks, so if you have a smaller oven or more potatoes, you may need to do this in batches.
Bake 30-40 minutes, tossing the fries occasionally. My oven doesn't heat very evenly, so at 40 minutes, I've been burning a few of the thinner pieces.
Several recipes I saw say to pat excess moisture off the fries before baking. This will help the exterior to crisp up. I've often neglected this step, and ended up with soft, tasty, and slightly crisp fries that are more reminiscent of roasted veggies than fries I'd get at a restaurant. Still very tasty.
Fried food is still fried food, so you do need to consider that if you are out and considering your side options. At home, though, you have more control. Personally, I don't have a fryer, and don't really ever have enough oil, or the right kind of oil on hand for frying. But, no bother, fries can be made in the oven.
The first time I did sweet potato fries, I followed a recipe from the Food Network's website. Since I didn't print it out, I've been dredging my memory, and cobbling together recipes from other sources to create a workable sweet potato oven fry.
In this quest, I've burnt more than a few sweet potato sticks...
Here's a basic recipe upon which you can build and with which you can play:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wash two sweet potatoes (or however many you want, since I'm generally cooking for 2, two potatoes works), and cut into roughly sticks. (think thick carrot sticks)
Toss in up to 1 tbsp. olive oil. Salt to taste, if desired. Spread on a backing sheet. You want one layer of sweet potato sticks, so if you have a smaller oven or more potatoes, you may need to do this in batches.
Bake 30-40 minutes, tossing the fries occasionally. My oven doesn't heat very evenly, so at 40 minutes, I've been burning a few of the thinner pieces.
Several recipes I saw say to pat excess moisture off the fries before baking. This will help the exterior to crisp up. I've often neglected this step, and ended up with soft, tasty, and slightly crisp fries that are more reminiscent of roasted veggies than fries I'd get at a restaurant. Still very tasty.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Meatloaf
I grew up half-knowing what my parents used to make meatloaf. Not everything, or proportions, just that worcestershire sauce, egg, spices, and oatmeal played a part, along with ground beef. In making it myself, I've added and subtracted, and made plenty of my own mistakes, some of which lead to crumbly-because-it-is-dry meatloaf or crumbly-because-it-is-too-wet-meatloaf. Go me.
Hehe. Even through all the trials, I still don't know what all of the proportions are. But here you have a rough meatloaf recipe that has seen me through:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Have 1 lb ground meat [beef, chicken, turkey, whatever you have, we tend towards chicken] thawed.
In your bowl, combine 1 egg, up to a tablespoon of italian seasoning [give or take, as always], about a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, one or two squeezes of ketchup, and a scant quarter cup of oatmeal [I have the rolled oat, not instant!!!]. These are all things that I tend to have on hand, and can easily be swapped out for other things. No worcestershire, use soy sauce, in moderation. No italian seasoning? Use oregano, basil, and most anything else you do have. No ketchup? No loss, use tomato paste if you have it. No oatmeal? Do you have instant potatoes, or breadcrumbs?
Mix.
Add the thawed meat. [I usually use the same fork I used to mix the other ingredients together to sort of break up the meat as I add it]
You're supposed to mush it all together with your hands, but I don't always want to do that. So, I use the fork to mix it all together.
I pat it all into a loaf pan, and smooth the top. I also squeeze ketchup on the top, because my husband really likes that. A loaf this size will cook in about 30 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. If you want to make a larger loaf, just add time [and seasoning!].
How do you feel about meatloaf? Do you have a beloved family recipe that you swear by? Or have you sworn off the stuff?
Hehe. Even through all the trials, I still don't know what all of the proportions are. But here you have a rough meatloaf recipe that has seen me through:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Have 1 lb ground meat [beef, chicken, turkey, whatever you have, we tend towards chicken] thawed.
In your bowl, combine 1 egg, up to a tablespoon of italian seasoning [give or take, as always], about a tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, one or two squeezes of ketchup, and a scant quarter cup of oatmeal [I have the rolled oat, not instant!!!]. These are all things that I tend to have on hand, and can easily be swapped out for other things. No worcestershire, use soy sauce, in moderation. No italian seasoning? Use oregano, basil, and most anything else you do have. No ketchup? No loss, use tomato paste if you have it. No oatmeal? Do you have instant potatoes, or breadcrumbs?
Mix.
Add the thawed meat. [I usually use the same fork I used to mix the other ingredients together to sort of break up the meat as I add it]
You're supposed to mush it all together with your hands, but I don't always want to do that. So, I use the fork to mix it all together.
I pat it all into a loaf pan, and smooth the top. I also squeeze ketchup on the top, because my husband really likes that. A loaf this size will cook in about 30 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. If you want to make a larger loaf, just add time [and seasoning!].
How do you feel about meatloaf? Do you have a beloved family recipe that you swear by? Or have you sworn off the stuff?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Sneaky Potatoes
Yes, sneaky potatoes. Why are they sneaky, you ask? Because they don't include just potatoes.
So, this installment of Recipe Thursday was inspired by those breakfast potato things/home fries I love to order when we have breakfast out. They are so yummy. I didn't really start out following any real recipe for this, so there is room for improvement.
Anyway, the sneaky-non-potato part of this side dish is the turnip. I was thinking about making my own skillet-potatoes (see how many names those yummy things go by?!), and also thinking about how to get more veggies into our diet (way back when we were in TX), and I remembered a conversation I had had about turnips, and that they could be cooked just like you would potatoes. I'd successfully done the skillet potato thing before, so I decided to try adding turnips into the mix.
So, you start with however many potatoes and turnips you think it will take to feed your crowd, and wash/peel/chop. Rough, one-inch-ish cubes seems to work well. Peeling the potatoes is completely up to you. It will be tasty with or without potato skins. The turnips, though, you do need to peel, and not just till the purple comes off. If you slice one in half, you'll see a slight color variation around the edge. You need to get all of that skin off. Trust me, it will cook up stringy and hard to chew. I've made the mistake before.
Then, you throw the potatoes into a hot pan, with a sparse amount of oil/butter. I have non-stick pans, so I really can use very small amounts of oil. Medium to medium high heat works. I like to get the browning on at least a few sides (yum!), so I do spend some of the cooking time on the higher end.
Salt, pepper, and season to taste. Stir constantly (although, you can be working on other things, just keep an eye/ear out).
In my experience, the potatoes take longer to reach the soft, ready-to-eat texture than do turnips. So, after 5-10 minutes, toss the turnips into the pan, too. Season more if needed. Keep stirring.
All in all, I'll usually spend a half hour so with the potatoes on the stove. I also almost always make too many, and then eat too many. That little fact is more to give you a gauge. The amount I usually make would probably do nicely as a side for a family of four, but I end up eating nearly a full serving as I am cooking them. Feel like you know more about me than you want to yet?
Anyway, you do have a window when it comes to the desired texture of the potatoes, so they can come off the stove a bit sooner, or stay on there longer, depending on how the rest of the meal is coming together.
Room for error, I like that. ;)
Do you share my love of breakfast potatoes? Do you think I should have told my husband that there were potatoes and turnips in his side dish from the get go, or was waiting a bit ok?
So, this installment of Recipe Thursday was inspired by those breakfast potato things/home fries I love to order when we have breakfast out. They are so yummy. I didn't really start out following any real recipe for this, so there is room for improvement.
Anyway, the sneaky-non-potato part of this side dish is the turnip. I was thinking about making my own skillet-potatoes (see how many names those yummy things go by?!), and also thinking about how to get more veggies into our diet (way back when we were in TX), and I remembered a conversation I had had about turnips, and that they could be cooked just like you would potatoes. I'd successfully done the skillet potato thing before, so I decided to try adding turnips into the mix.
So, you start with however many potatoes and turnips you think it will take to feed your crowd, and wash/peel/chop. Rough, one-inch-ish cubes seems to work well. Peeling the potatoes is completely up to you. It will be tasty with or without potato skins. The turnips, though, you do need to peel, and not just till the purple comes off. If you slice one in half, you'll see a slight color variation around the edge. You need to get all of that skin off. Trust me, it will cook up stringy and hard to chew. I've made the mistake before.
Then, you throw the potatoes into a hot pan, with a sparse amount of oil/butter. I have non-stick pans, so I really can use very small amounts of oil. Medium to medium high heat works. I like to get the browning on at least a few sides (yum!), so I do spend some of the cooking time on the higher end.
Salt, pepper, and season to taste. Stir constantly (although, you can be working on other things, just keep an eye/ear out).
In my experience, the potatoes take longer to reach the soft, ready-to-eat texture than do turnips. So, after 5-10 minutes, toss the turnips into the pan, too. Season more if needed. Keep stirring.
All in all, I'll usually spend a half hour so with the potatoes on the stove. I also almost always make too many, and then eat too many. That little fact is more to give you a gauge. The amount I usually make would probably do nicely as a side for a family of four, but I end up eating nearly a full serving as I am cooking them. Feel like you know more about me than you want to yet?
Anyway, you do have a window when it comes to the desired texture of the potatoes, so they can come off the stove a bit sooner, or stay on there longer, depending on how the rest of the meal is coming together.
Room for error, I like that. ;)
Do you share my love of breakfast potatoes? Do you think I should have told my husband that there were potatoes and turnips in his side dish from the get go, or was waiting a bit ok?
Friday, March 19, 2010
Recipe Thurs-Friday
Hey, there.
I have a couple of excuses: 1) grant application crunch time at work [seriously, head spinning, and I've learned that I hate tables created in Word] and (2) generally feeling under the weather.
Those two forces combine to leave me little to no time to cook, much less blog. So, apologies to you, my reader. Recipe Thursday is coming to you late, and is not so much a full recipe as it is a flavor suggestion.
A few years ago, we would buy Ginger Soy sauce from William-Sonoma, even when we really shouldn't have afforded it. It is just so good!
Short on time, money, and car one day last year, I was thinking about what to do with a pork tenderloin that I had thawed out. I thought about that lovely Ginger Soy sauce, cursed my pantry for not magically producing a bottle, and had another thought. "I have ginger powder, and soy sauce! I can make a pseudo-sauce!"
In true lazy-cook fashion, though, I didn't actually make a sauce. Instead, I sprinkled the ground ginger (which I had from making ginger snaps - yum!) over the tenderloin, sparingly, maybe a couple of teaspoons. Rubbed that in. Sprinkled on roughly equal amounts of soy sauce, and rubbed that into the pork.
Cooked the tenderloin as directed, in the oven.
The flavor was nice, but very light. I have used this same sort of combination since, upping the amount of ginger and soy. How much you should use really depends on the size of the piece of meat you have, and how much you want to taste the spices.
There you have it: homemade, pseudo-sauce!
How do you feel about the ginger + soy flavor combination?
I have a couple of excuses: 1) grant application crunch time at work [seriously, head spinning, and I've learned that I hate tables created in Word] and (2) generally feeling under the weather.
Those two forces combine to leave me little to no time to cook, much less blog. So, apologies to you, my reader. Recipe Thursday is coming to you late, and is not so much a full recipe as it is a flavor suggestion.
A few years ago, we would buy Ginger Soy sauce from William-Sonoma, even when we really shouldn't have afforded it. It is just so good!
Short on time, money, and car one day last year, I was thinking about what to do with a pork tenderloin that I had thawed out. I thought about that lovely Ginger Soy sauce, cursed my pantry for not magically producing a bottle, and had another thought. "I have ginger powder, and soy sauce! I can make a pseudo-sauce!"
In true lazy-cook fashion, though, I didn't actually make a sauce. Instead, I sprinkled the ground ginger (which I had from making ginger snaps - yum!) over the tenderloin, sparingly, maybe a couple of teaspoons. Rubbed that in. Sprinkled on roughly equal amounts of soy sauce, and rubbed that into the pork.
Cooked the tenderloin as directed, in the oven.
The flavor was nice, but very light. I have used this same sort of combination since, upping the amount of ginger and soy. How much you should use really depends on the size of the piece of meat you have, and how much you want to taste the spices.
There you have it: homemade, pseudo-sauce!
How do you feel about the ginger + soy flavor combination?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Sweet Tea
So, this is a Southern thing that you are hard pressed to find much outside of the south-eastern states of the US. (That is, until McDonald's introduced sweet tea to their menu. It is actually quite good!) Having been raised by Northerners/Midwesterners, sweet tea isn't something that we had at home, but between going to undergrad in Tennessee, marrying a guy from TN/GA, and going to grad school in Texas, I've learned that I like sweet tea. A lot.
Iced tea itself is pretty much an American drink. A friend in grad school told me about when her mom was visiting from Russia. They had gone out to eat, and her mom had ordered tea. The server brought her sweet tea. She was utterly surprised, and despite the outrageous Texas summer, insisted on hot tea. Cultural mis-communication? I think so.
I do enjoy unsweet iced tea, and sometimes, depending on my mood, actually prefer it . (Do I hear gasps from anyone?) Some restaurants make a killer sweet tea, some make it too sweet for my taste, or have so little call for it that it is over-steeped, bitter and stale by the time I order it. Or it is make through the coffee maker, and tastes like it (a lovely sensitivity I got from my dad).
Looking around, there are also an incredible number of recipes and variations on how to make sweet tea.
From my somewhat-limited experience in making sweet tea at home, I've learned that if there is one thing that is paramount it is to dissolve your sugar in hot liquid [steeped tea or water] before adding the ice and cold water.
Some places use a simple syrup, and add it to iced tea. Some places will dissolve the sugar in the bottom of the pitcher. Some places will use store-bought sweetened liquid, or a fake sugar b/c it dissolves more easily in cold liquid.
I prefer using real sugar. So, that is what I use.
Depending on your taste, any recipe you find will need to be tweaked. Assuming you like (1) iced tea, and (2) sweetened iced tea.
One recipe that I like goes something like this:
Put about 4-6 cups of water in a sauce pan, and add 3-4 tea bags. Bring to a boil. (Yes, bring to a boil with the tea bags in it. One of the things about this is I'm using Lipton's iced tea or Lusianne iced tea bags. Tasty iced, but not exactly the creme de la creme of teas.)
Keep an eye on it. It will be ready when the kitchen starts to smell like tea, and the liquid reaches a dark tea color, darker than you would normally brew it.
As this comes to a boil, pull our your pitcher, and pour about a cup of sugar in the bottom. More if you like it sweeter. My husband likes it a bit sweeter, so I usually end up adding a bit more.
When the tea on the stove is ready, pull it off, remove the tea bags (step-mother-in-law is able to get a couple of uses out of these tea bags), and pour hot liquid directly over the sugar, stirring to dissolve.
When the sugar is completely dissolved, you simply fill the rest of the pitcher with water and/or ice. It will still be a bit warm at first, which is where more ice can help.
Do y'all like sweet tea? Or do you find this a blasphemy against all things tea?
Iced tea itself is pretty much an American drink. A friend in grad school told me about when her mom was visiting from Russia. They had gone out to eat, and her mom had ordered tea. The server brought her sweet tea. She was utterly surprised, and despite the outrageous Texas summer, insisted on hot tea. Cultural mis-communication? I think so.
I do enjoy unsweet iced tea, and sometimes, depending on my mood, actually prefer it . (Do I hear gasps from anyone?) Some restaurants make a killer sweet tea, some make it too sweet for my taste, or have so little call for it that it is over-steeped, bitter and stale by the time I order it. Or it is make through the coffee maker, and tastes like it (a lovely sensitivity I got from my dad).
Looking around, there are also an incredible number of recipes and variations on how to make sweet tea.
From my somewhat-limited experience in making sweet tea at home, I've learned that if there is one thing that is paramount it is to dissolve your sugar in hot liquid [steeped tea or water] before adding the ice and cold water.
Some places use a simple syrup, and add it to iced tea. Some places will dissolve the sugar in the bottom of the pitcher. Some places will use store-bought sweetened liquid, or a fake sugar b/c it dissolves more easily in cold liquid.
I prefer using real sugar. So, that is what I use.
Depending on your taste, any recipe you find will need to be tweaked. Assuming you like (1) iced tea, and (2) sweetened iced tea.
One recipe that I like goes something like this:
Put about 4-6 cups of water in a sauce pan, and add 3-4 tea bags. Bring to a boil. (Yes, bring to a boil with the tea bags in it. One of the things about this is I'm using Lipton's iced tea or Lusianne iced tea bags. Tasty iced, but not exactly the creme de la creme of teas.)
Keep an eye on it. It will be ready when the kitchen starts to smell like tea, and the liquid reaches a dark tea color, darker than you would normally brew it.
As this comes to a boil, pull our your pitcher, and pour about a cup of sugar in the bottom. More if you like it sweeter. My husband likes it a bit sweeter, so I usually end up adding a bit more.
When the tea on the stove is ready, pull it off, remove the tea bags (step-mother-in-law is able to get a couple of uses out of these tea bags), and pour hot liquid directly over the sugar, stirring to dissolve.
When the sugar is completely dissolved, you simply fill the rest of the pitcher with water and/or ice. It will still be a bit warm at first, which is where more ice can help.
Do y'all like sweet tea? Or do you find this a blasphemy against all things tea?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Vegetable Beef Soup
Sheesh! I need to remember about Recipe Thursday before Thursday is almost over!
A few nights ago, we had soup-from-the-freezer for dinner. (Can't tell you how happy it makes me to be able to pull a fully cooked dinner out of the freezer to thaw the night before.)
I will do my best to recreate the recipe and method-to-my-madness that lead to a yummy soup.
It started with mangled pseudo-pot roast left-overs. I tried to pot roast a cut of meat that shouldn't have been pot-roasted, so it was dry, but perfectly edible. Also browned some ground beef, and sauteed some onions. Added a container of homemade stock (which might actually be broth, I may have my lingo confused) from the freezer (ideally, thawed, but in reality, sometimes I lazily let it finish thawing in the pot), and then water as needed to make sure the meat and onions were sufficiently covered.
Chopped up a few carrots, and added those.
Let it boil for a few minutes, then simmer for about half an hour or so. Really, as long as you keep an eye on the liquid level, you can probably let it simmer for an entire day.
Towards the end, I dumped in roughly a cup each of frozen corn and frozen peas (I love these things!), and let them thaw/cook in the soup.
Salt and pepper to taste. A bay leaf or two would be a nice addition.
The soup was tasty, and I didn't even add Worchestershire sauce to mine! I think I'm getting better at judging water amounts, and how long to boil turkey/chicken carcasses for stock/broth.
Apparently, I like making soup now.
What about you?
A few nights ago, we had soup-from-the-freezer for dinner. (Can't tell you how happy it makes me to be able to pull a fully cooked dinner out of the freezer to thaw the night before.)
I will do my best to recreate the recipe and method-to-my-madness that lead to a yummy soup.
It started with mangled pseudo-pot roast left-overs. I tried to pot roast a cut of meat that shouldn't have been pot-roasted, so it was dry, but perfectly edible. Also browned some ground beef, and sauteed some onions. Added a container of homemade stock (which might actually be broth, I may have my lingo confused) from the freezer (ideally, thawed, but in reality, sometimes I lazily let it finish thawing in the pot), and then water as needed to make sure the meat and onions were sufficiently covered.
Chopped up a few carrots, and added those.
Let it boil for a few minutes, then simmer for about half an hour or so. Really, as long as you keep an eye on the liquid level, you can probably let it simmer for an entire day.
Towards the end, I dumped in roughly a cup each of frozen corn and frozen peas (I love these things!), and let them thaw/cook in the soup.
Salt and pepper to taste. A bay leaf or two would be a nice addition.
The soup was tasty, and I didn't even add Worchestershire sauce to mine! I think I'm getting better at judging water amounts, and how long to boil turkey/chicken carcasses for stock/broth.
Apparently, I like making soup now.
What about you?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Recipe Thursday
Holy Toledo, Batman! I almost forgot about Recipe Thursday!
How about some yummy hot chocolate for the cold winter's nights?
This probably won't be the most inexpensive hot chocolate, nor is it particularly good for you, but I sure do enjoy it!
I devised this recipe when I was in high school, using a large, almost stein sized mug that my dad had. The proportions here are slightly smaller, but I still use the largest mug we have to make it. This mug probably hold two cups of liquid, easy.
Set water to boil, and pull out your favorite/largest mug.
Start with 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa. Preferably a nice dark cocoa. Whatever you have/like works.
Add 2 slightly less heaping tablespoons of sugar (more or less to taste), and stir until well mixed.
If you are so inclined, and/or remember, add a pinch of salt here, and mix.
Add a drop or two of vanilla extract.
Add a splash to a tablespoon or so of the thickest milk/cream you have on hand. We would have heavy whipping cream during Christmas, and that is just wonderful. Half and half works well, too.
Stir it all together like the dickens. Ideally, the consistency will be paste-like, but this will differ with the type of cream/milk you use. Whipping cream = more paste-like. Half and half = more like chocolate milk.
When the water boils, fill the mug up about half way, and stir well. When well-mixed, continue to fill mug till full. Stir some more.
Try not to drink it too fast.
Do you have a favorite cold weather drink?
How about some yummy hot chocolate for the cold winter's nights?
This probably won't be the most inexpensive hot chocolate, nor is it particularly good for you, but I sure do enjoy it!
I devised this recipe when I was in high school, using a large, almost stein sized mug that my dad had. The proportions here are slightly smaller, but I still use the largest mug we have to make it. This mug probably hold two cups of liquid, easy.
Set water to boil, and pull out your favorite/largest mug.
Start with 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa. Preferably a nice dark cocoa. Whatever you have/like works.
Add 2 slightly less heaping tablespoons of sugar (more or less to taste), and stir until well mixed.
If you are so inclined, and/or remember, add a pinch of salt here, and mix.
Add a drop or two of vanilla extract.
Add a splash to a tablespoon or so of the thickest milk/cream you have on hand. We would have heavy whipping cream during Christmas, and that is just wonderful. Half and half works well, too.
Stir it all together like the dickens. Ideally, the consistency will be paste-like, but this will differ with the type of cream/milk you use. Whipping cream = more paste-like. Half and half = more like chocolate milk.
When the water boils, fill the mug up about half way, and stir well. When well-mixed, continue to fill mug till full. Stir some more.
Try not to drink it too fast.
Do you have a favorite cold weather drink?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Chicken Soup
Soup is wonderful on a cold winter's day. So warm and comforting.
Here's my first try at chicken soup:
Last weekend, after I made the chicken stock, and was dividing it all up for storage, I had some stock leftover that didn't fit in the containers. It was about a cup or two of stock. I set that back on the burner, and added about 2 cups of water.
Then, I chopped up 1 carrot and half an onion and added it to the pot. I used about a cup of chicken, and roughly chopped it up, adding it to the pot.
This is a good point to add spices, if you like. I used salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder. A bay leaf would have been nice, too, but it slipped my mind. This is also the time to add any extra liquid, if it doesn't look like there is enough.
I brought everything to a boil for a few minutes, then reduced the heat to a simmer. I didn't set a timer or anything, so just checked on it regularly. When the veggies were soft, I knew it was ready. It yielded a bit over 4 bowls of soup.
I was excited, because this time, the stock wasn't as bland as I've made it before. The soup was yummy, too, and here's a picture of it. I took it to work for lunch; it was wonderful with some of my biscuits. In the picture, you may notice that the tell tale signs of some fat in the stock. You can always regulate the amount of fat in your stock and soup by skimming more or less off as it simmers. Personally, I do think that a little bit of fat is a good thing, necessary even. Moderation, in everything, being key. Now, if only I could moderate my chocolate and ice cream intake...
How about you; do you enjoy a steaming bowl of soup when it is snowing outside? Do you have any tried and true recipes that you enjoy?
Here's my first try at chicken soup:
Last weekend, after I made the chicken stock, and was dividing it all up for storage, I had some stock leftover that didn't fit in the containers. It was about a cup or two of stock. I set that back on the burner, and added about 2 cups of water.
Then, I chopped up 1 carrot and half an onion and added it to the pot. I used about a cup of chicken, and roughly chopped it up, adding it to the pot.
This is a good point to add spices, if you like. I used salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder. A bay leaf would have been nice, too, but it slipped my mind. This is also the time to add any extra liquid, if it doesn't look like there is enough.
I brought everything to a boil for a few minutes, then reduced the heat to a simmer. I didn't set a timer or anything, so just checked on it regularly. When the veggies were soft, I knew it was ready. It yielded a bit over 4 bowls of soup.
I was excited, because this time, the stock wasn't as bland as I've made it before. The soup was yummy, too, and here's a picture of it. I took it to work for lunch; it was wonderful with some of my biscuits. In the picture, you may notice that the tell tale signs of some fat in the stock. You can always regulate the amount of fat in your stock and soup by skimming more or less off as it simmers. Personally, I do think that a little bit of fat is a good thing, necessary even. Moderation, in everything, being key. Now, if only I could moderate my chocolate and ice cream intake...
How about you; do you enjoy a steaming bowl of soup when it is snowing outside? Do you have any tried and true recipes that you enjoy?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Biscuits
It’s Recipe Thursday again! That means that it is almost Friday and the weekend. Today, I’m going to share the biscuit recipe I’ve been using to accompany my soups for the past few weeks.
As you may recall, as much as I love the precision of baking and following recipes, they inevitably end up as a guide for me. So, naturally, I did alter the steps and execution a bit. But only for the rolling out and cutting of biscuits.
Instead of a rolling pin, I used my hands to flatten the dough after kneading. This was for a few reasons: (1) it felt better to do so and (2) I have a French style rolling pin that I got in Novgorod in 2003. My rolling pin is very light-weight, and doesn’t really, well, roll things out very well. It sure is pretty, though!
Instead of a biscuit cutter or glass to cut out biscuits, I used one of my pastry knives/bowl scrapers to cut the dough into strips, then into rectangles. **An aside: what they are calling “bowl scrapers” I grew up calling “pastry knives.” I also used these to cut the butter into the flour mixture.**
Here is where I was confronted with a bit of a conundrum. I had lopsided rectangles and squares, not circles. I figured that I could simply shape them into ‘biscuit-shapes,’ like one does with the inevitable remnant dough. To do so, I ended up folding each dough-quadrangle over onto itself several times, until I ended up with a rough circular, or at least oval-esque, shape. A more realistic yield is 8-10 biscuits.
I also omitted the “brush the tops with milk or butter” step. I almost always do. Partly due to laziness. Partly out of a desire to have fewer dishes to wash up.
I was not exactly expecting miracles or anything when I pulled them out of the oven, 12-15 minutes later. But what I found was pleasantly surprising. Layers! Holy Toledo, Batman, I made layered biscuits that sort of pull apart! (You can also see some homemade freezer jam in the picture, scrumptious!)
As far as flavor, they are basic biscuits. If you tend towards the 6 tablespoons of butter, as opposed to 4, they will be a bit more flavorful. They aren’t exactly flaky, nor are they as tender as the frozen Grands, but pretty darn good for a novice biscuit maker!
Why didn’t I just buy a bag of the frozen Grands? Because at $3.60 for a bag of 12 biscuits at my local Marsh (last time I checked), homemade biscuits are a heck of a lot cheaper. Especially since I did have everything on hand. Are you interested in a price-breakdown for biscuits? I’d be happy to attempt one.
Do you have a stand-by biscuit recipe that you love?
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Recipe Thursday: Quick Cabbage
Alright, from here on out, every Thursday, I'll post some sort of recipe that meets most, if not all, the following criteria: simple, good for you, and inexpensive.
Something you should know about my recipes: they are either extremely precise, or very general ideas of what to do. This Quick Cabbage, an adaption of a recipe from my trusty Joy of Cooking, is the latter, and meets all three criteria!
This recipe yields yummy, slightly sweet cabbage that is tender, and a nice accompaniment to any main dish.
Fill a pot with enough water to cover the cabbage, and set it to boil. *Note: at this time, the cabbage isn't in the pot.
Wash your head of cabbage, and cut off how much you want. A quarter of a head is usually good as a small side for the husband and I. Half a head will leave us with seconds, and possibly left overs.
Cut the cabbage into desired shape and size. I like roughly one inch strips
By now, the water should be rapidly boiling. Plunk your cabbage into the boiling water, and poke at it to ensure every bit gets submerged.
Boil until the color sharpens. Green cabbage will become more vibrant. I've only done this once with red cabbage, and it did take a bit longer than did the green.
Watch the cabbage carefully! This does not take long. I continue to poke at it, to keep things moving and submerged.
When the color has been reached, and the cabbage is firm, yet tender, drain off the water. Toss in about half to a whole tablespoon of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. I often omit the salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
And if you try it, let me know what you think!
Something you should know about my recipes: they are either extremely precise, or very general ideas of what to do. This Quick Cabbage, an adaption of a recipe from my trusty Joy of Cooking, is the latter, and meets all three criteria!
This recipe yields yummy, slightly sweet cabbage that is tender, and a nice accompaniment to any main dish.
Fill a pot with enough water to cover the cabbage, and set it to boil. *Note: at this time, the cabbage isn't in the pot.
Wash your head of cabbage, and cut off how much you want. A quarter of a head is usually good as a small side for the husband and I. Half a head will leave us with seconds, and possibly left overs.
Cut the cabbage into desired shape and size. I like roughly one inch strips
By now, the water should be rapidly boiling. Plunk your cabbage into the boiling water, and poke at it to ensure every bit gets submerged.
Boil until the color sharpens. Green cabbage will become more vibrant. I've only done this once with red cabbage, and it did take a bit longer than did the green.
Watch the cabbage carefully! This does not take long. I continue to poke at it, to keep things moving and submerged.
When the color has been reached, and the cabbage is firm, yet tender, drain off the water. Toss in about half to a whole tablespoon of butter, and salt and pepper to taste. I often omit the salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
And if you try it, let me know what you think!
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