Cream of mushroom soup

When going shopping with family last week the question of cream of mushroom soup came up.  I said no canned soups as most of them have crap like MSG in them.  Many people use cream of mushroom as a base for things like green bean casseroles and chicken casseroles, just to name a few.  The reality ls that it is easy to make, much like macaroni and cheese, but most people do not know how.  So, I gave a cooking lesson on vacation (surprise, surprise).  

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

Ingredients

8 oz sliced mushrooms (preferably crimini, but white button are ok)

1/3 rasher (1/4 lb) bacon 

1/4 c flour

1 qt whole milk

1 t salt

1 t pepper

1/4 t nutmeg

OR instead of salt, pepper and nutmeg 1 T Everything or Ginny Rub from the Feast Hall

1)  Cut raw bacon into short 1/2" wide pieces (across the bacon) put in medium saucepan and start to cook over medium-low heat until it starts to render. (If you do not want to use bacon use 1/4 c butter and melt it or use olive oil.

2)  Add mushrooms and seasoning and stir together.   Keep on medium-low heat and cover, stirring occasionally.  Sweating mushrooms until they become soft and release all of their juice.

3)  Uncover pan, raise to high heat, stir and cook until mushroom juice mostly evaporated.

4)  Mix flour into mushroom until everything is evenly coated.

5)  Whisk in milk, quickly while bringing to a boil. 

6)  If you are using this for a casserole or are going to cook it further you can remove from heat now. If you are serving it as it you should simmer it for about 30 minutes to cook out the flour taste.

Fish Wild v. Farm raised

My last post discussed how I really only want to eat wild caught fish.  The reality is that some farmed fish, especially salmon, are less nutritious than farmed fish.  My husband pointed out that some fish are actually farmed in their native environment.  So, I did some research...

When the topic of wild v. farm raised fish is brought up there are a lot of concerns about the nutrition of the seafood, the sustainability and the impact on the environment.

From what I have found clams, mussels and oysters are fine if they are farmed.  The consensus is that they are raised in their native waters and clean the water around them.  Like many other fish you really want want to avoid these shellfish if they are from China or Latin America due to pollution.

I have found this link to pocket guides that I think give you the best option for making the best decision for your seafood purchases.  It is called the pocket seafood guide and they are made for different regions.  You can get them here or it also comes as a smartphone app at no cost.  

I hope this helps make you happier about the seafood you eat like it will for me.

Anthoinette

Balsamic Vinegar

Tonight I was made all to aware of my greatest fear...

I had this image of a perfect dessert.   Vanilla ice cream, strawberries, pirouettes, gingersnaps, a block of chocolate topped with balsamic.  It was wonderful, until I got to the sharp taste of the inferior balsamic.  I could have screamed!

Very high quality balsamic is renowned for being expensive, but not at  the La Crosse Olive Oil Company.  The bottles average $18 for a 350ml bottle.  They come in 24 different flavors and are rich and sweet with a slight twang.  They also carry a number of sea salts, spices, olive oils and infused oils.  I love everything I purchased there.  The quality is excellent and the prices are very good.  If you live in  the area I suggest stopping in and trying their products.  If you do not live in the area check out their website as I am quite certain they will not disappoint.

Anthoinette

a delightful finish for steaks

Have you ever had a steak hot off the grill and thought to yourself that it was missing something?

I recently learned what that something was....

Recently Auroras husband, Prince Charming, for perpetuity known as Charming, was let loose with the grill.  When he was done a beautiful spoonful of savory butter suddenly appeared on top of the steaks.  I was so wowed by this that I forced him into my kitchen in servitude to recreate this masterpiece and teach me how to recreate it myself.

Steak Butter

Ingredients
1/4 c butter
2 T garlic
2 T fresh basil
1/2 t salt

Directions
1) roughly chop garlic and basil

2) put garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle and pulverize until a lumpy paste forms

3) add basil and bruise it

4) add butter and mix thoroughly

5) serve at room temperature, a large teaspoon per steak is plenty

NOTES:
This can be used anywhere you use butter

You can use any fresh herb for this

Adjust the garlic to your liking

I hope you try this and enjoy it as much as I did.

Anthoinette

Salads

I know that salads are more of  a spring and summer than winter thing, but...

I have recently had the fortune to have other people cooking for me and working in the kitchen with me.  With these opportunities, which I love, I have gotten to rethink salads.  I think I have a formula that may just work

I propose a pick an ingredient salad, just pick one ingredient from each category and make your salad

BASE:  For the base you should have a flavorful green
broccoli, spinach, mixed greens, romaine, maybe snow peas or asparagus

CITRUS:  Add some citrus for brightness and acidity to brighten the greens
 such as a segmented orange, grapefruit, pineapple, tangelo, tangerine, lemon or lime the segmented fruit, just zest or both.

SWEET:  just a touch like
strawberries, beets, craisins, raisins, apples, mangos, peaches, bell peppers

MEAT:  adds a touch of salty-earthyness and chew
bacon, ham, shredded chicken or pork

NUTS:  adds crunch
almonds, walnuts, peanut, cashew, pecan, pine nuts, hazel nuts, pistachio

EXTRAS:  this is completely optional.  I would only suggest adding extras if it will truly add to the salad.   If you use cheese use blue, feta, or goat cheese, for olives kalamata, manzanilla, greek.  What ever you add, make it count.  If it does not add greatly to the overall salad in flavor or texture, just say no!

DRESSING:  this one is going to sound more complicated than it is.  I encourage creativity.  I would start by choosing 3 ingredients that compliment or contrast items in your salad.  Let me give you some examples.  In my Springtime salad with strawberries and spinach I use a Balsalmic Honey Mustard Vinegrette.  Here is how the pairing works grapefruit is contrasted by honey, strawberries enhanced by balsalmic vinegar and the bacon complimented by the stone ground mustard.  If you have beets in your salad try orange juice, even if you already have oranges in the salad.  Maybe try some mayonaisse with lime zest and honey.  You really are only limited by your creativity and pantry.

When adding crunchy components, save them until the last minute.

Wether you dress your salad or serve dressing on the side is completely up to you.  Some salads are better when they are completely coated, with others and uneven dressing is more fun.

With old man winter bearing down upon us embrace the feeling of seasons yet to come and have fun making salad.

Anthoinette

Cooking to impress

With us being waist deep in the silly season it is easy to feel the stresses of entertaining.  For me, as much as I love the challenge of a lush multi-course meal, when I am cooking for the same people again and again I feel the pressure to keep upping the ante.  I have a reputation to uphold.  It is inevitable that there are people in our lives that we have concerns about cooking for, wether it be someone we revere, fear disappointing, or just someone who we perceive as having very high standards.

I have had a lot of people in the kitchen with me over the years.  Many of them told me they did not know how to cook.  To that I say "Bah!".  We each have our comfort zone and our style in the kitchen that take years to hone to where we want.  Anyone can cook.  Most just lack confidence. We  have all known the person who could burn water.  I had that friend and she made the best fried chicken.  I could never duplicate it no matter how many times she showed me.

When I cook multi-course medieval feast I start with an idea, search and modify the recipes, do multiple test runs on most items, with my hungry and honest team of guinea pigs.  By the time a feast, or any event that I handle this way, comes around, I do not want to see or eat the food because I have made it so many times to guarantee perfection.  A few months down the road I am usually recovered, but that is the pressure I put on myself due to my reputation.  My guinea pigs are my safe zone.  In my world they know that sometimes what I cook is not perfect.  The only people that have seen my complete failures in my kitchen is my son and husband.  There has been a time or two when I called for pizza because dinner was not edible.

My point is that you should focus on what you do and do it well.  If you try to go too far out of your comfort zone when you are trying to impress, you are most likely setting yourself up for failure.  Do not do that to yourself.  Save the experiments for your close family and friends that will give you constructive criticism not the person you feel you must impress.  If you practice the way you want to cook in a safe zone you will find that you start to cook the way you want.  For more helpful hint on getting where you want I would recommend reading my post Recipe V Creative Recipes.

I hope this helps make holiday entertaining a less stressful for you.

Anthoinette

Spice... What to do when they are not available

Today I had a legendarily frustrating day over something that should have been simple.  I need to make a large batch of our spice rub before Christmas so I needed to get the supplies.  I was not looking for anything exotic like the Kipi Luwak or the long pepper.  I was looking for simple spices like Rosemary, Thyme and Chipotle.  Even in Puerto Rico I was able to get the basics.  But, I degress.  The question I pose today is what do you do when you can not find the spices you want and, or need?

There are 3 most likely answers:

1)  do without- this is alright if it is a one time thing or you just do not like the spice, or it is not integral to the dish

2)  make a substituion-go online find out what spices you have that would give a similar flavor, or just play and have fun

3)  find another way to get you spices-beg, borrow, steal, order, grow.  These are all viable options in you live in the United States of America.  When I lived in Puerto Rico I had to order any peppers and fennel.  Most of the other herbs and spices were available but I chose to order them as well in the name of quality.

Living in "the Valley" I never imagined I would have any issues getting any of these mundane spices.  So once again I look at my old friend, ordering online.

There are a number of purveyors that are more than happy to oblige.  The secret is finding one that is not too spendy and of good quality and freshness.  I will go through a list of several that are available and try to give a brief overview.

WORLD SPICE:  World Spice was my friend back when I lived in Puerto Rico.  Their prices were always reasonable, including shipping.  The quality was excellent.  They have a full section of peppers and salts, teas and even some exotics.  I may well go back to using them.

PENZEYS SPICE:  I know I have readers that have Penzeys at the top of their list.  In the Mid-West it is *the* spice company to order from.  Looking at the prices they are a bit less expensive than World Spice.  From every account I have heard their quality is excellent.

SAVORY SPICE SHOP:  The Savory Spice Shop is on par with Penzeys and World Spice.  They have a good variety.  I can even get Hot Spanish Paprika, which after much research is what I believe is the common American translation for Spanish Pimento.

NW SPICE COMPANY:  I seem to remember visiting their store at some point and was a happy girl. Their variety is a bit more esoteric than World Spice and I think the cost a bit less.  It is hard to say for sure as they are currently working on their online store.  They were honored by Bon Appetite Magazine.

SAN FRANCISCO HERB CO.:  This looks like a wonderful online resource.  It does look like you have to buy the herbs and spices by the half pound or the pound, but the prices that I sampled are *CHEAP*!!!  I think I will have to try them out just to see what their quality is.

MY SPICE SAGE:  I am just going to say the prices I sampled are more than double World Spice and the web site is not easy to use.

VAN DE VRIES SPICE CORP:  It looks like you have to call them to order spices.  I personally have my own reasons for keeping their number in my rolodex.

MONTEREY BAY SPICE CO.:  If you do salves, tonics, are a witch and needs herbs for your ceremonies this is the place to go.  There are a lot of medicinal herbs and they are ***CHEAP***.  I would be interested in trying them just to see if the quality is good with the prices being so low.

SPICE ISLAND:  Their site has a redirect to Amazon.com.  You could pay more and get it in its individual glass jars like you do at the supermarket, but why?  I personally like getting seasonings in bulk and reusing my jars.

PENZEYS SPICE:  I know I have readers that have been wondering when I was going to get to Penzeys.  In the Mid-West it is *the* spice company to order from.  Looking at the prices they are a bit less expensive than World Spice.  From every account I have heard their quality is excellent.

SAVORY SPICE SHOP:  The Savory Spice Shop is on par with Penzeys and World Spice.  They have a good variety.

With resources like these you should never have to do without unless it is a "rush" order.  Please leave comments about your sources, quality and prices.

Anthoinette

Enhanced Meats

Anyone who knows me knows I like my food in its god given natural state until I start making it into a tasty meal. I even by pigs and cows from farmers if I am able. One of the things that helps keep the budget from busting (too badly) is frozen meats. I have no issues buying things near expiration, or anything with a good price of a suitable quality and freezing it. Ideally you can buy things already frozen as to avoid the slight textural breakdown. ********************************************************************** Quick lesson: When food is professionally frozen it is I.Q.F. or Instant Quick Freeze. They freeze it at such a low temperature that ice crystals don't have time to form in the cells of the meat, or what ever else you are freezing. When you freeze it at home it is a much slower process so crystal from from the liquid in the cells and essentially tenderize the meat. This is why I freeze my briskets before using them. ********************************************************************** I have noticed that it is next to impossible to buy frozen meats that don't have some kind of "added natural solution" that is usually up to 15%. Is that 15% by weight or volume? Did you discount the price by 15% so I am not paying for your natural solution? Exactly what is in your natural solution? The answer that the percentage is by weight and no they did not discount it by that amount. You are paying for that extra percentage of meat you are not getting. To me it's just one more way for food manufacturers take food one more step from nature. Anyone out there that reads labels knows exactly what I am talking about. More importantly it takes control of your food out of your hands. After you have learned to rely on the enhanced meat for cooking you won't be able to properly cook real meat, it will always seem dry because you are used to over cooking it. I was able to find an excellent link on this subject: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/enhancedmeat.html I encourage you to read the whole article as the really good information is near the bottom. Anthoinette

Fresh Herb Marinade for Meats

All winter long I use dried herbs. Then spring comes, I plant my garden and my herbs magically appear, beckoning me to use them. In most cooking it is fun to just add fresh herbs whole or chopped in place of dry. Though my favorite use this year is to make marinades for meat. The other night we grilled some chicken that had marinated for 24 hours in mint, thyme, lemon balm, rosemary, grape seed oil, garlic, salt and pepper. It got rave reviews and I have been requested to post the recipe. Unfortunately I can not give the exact recipe, only the ingredients, technique and suggestions. I believe I covered this before, but just in case. When I season food I try to think of it like music. The flavors fall into 3 basic categories, base, or earthy, mid tones and treble or bright tones. I will try to give you a better idea. The base tones are things like meat, oregano, salad greens, smoke flavor. These are the flavors that act as a platform that all the other flavors build on. The mid tones are flavors like thyme, rosemary, and tomato. The high tones are the high lights that you want to be ever so gentle with as to not overpower the dish. This would be things like citrus, vinegar, salt, fennel, basil, garlic, and peppers. A good way to establish where seasoning fit in this palette is to taste them and see how they feel to your taste buds. Does it feel earthy, then it is a base flavor. Does it make your mouth zing, then it is a high tone. If it lies somewhere in the middle then yes it is a mid tone. When I am seasoning a dish I taste it and search for proper balance, but if it is not balanced then I can discern what tone I need to adjust and start searching for the appropriate flavor to add. But, I digress. The reason this is so important is because with marinades it is equally important to find the right balance. If you are using a stronger meat like lamb, game or beef you can use more of the stronger herbs, or highlights to cut through the flavor. Though if you are using meats like pork or chicken you need to use more of the earthy and mid tones and be careful with the high lights as to not overpower the meat. When I go my herb garden I already know the flavor of the meat and may or may not have an idea for the finished flavor. I usually see what herb call out to me first. One of my favorites is Lemon Balm because it has a light citrus flavor that goes well with almost anything. Rosemary, sages, and thyme are equally as versatile and used in many cultures foods. Mint is very Mediterranean and middle eastern and should be used with caution. I am not saying don't use it, only to use it in small amounts as it can overpower quickly. Fennel, dill and oregano also need to be used with caution. For me a little oregano can really add to a dish. If you add too much it tastes burnt to me. Fennel and dill work best with Chicken and fish and you can use the fronds as well as the seeds. I would never discourage experimentation but if you choose to use these herbs with other meats, use them sparingly. Now that herbs are selected and cut bring them in the house, wash them and put them in your blender or food processor with a little garlic, salt, pepper and grape seed or other high temperature oil. When this is mixed marinate the meat for 5 minutes to 3 days. If you are concerned about a long marinade because of the potential for the meat to go bad, remember that bacteria needs air, water and protein. When you coat a meat in oil it makes it so the air can not get in. Also if your fridge is closer to freezing than not proteins will last longer. I hope this inspires a love of fresh herbs. If you absolutely can not get the fresh herb you can do the same with dry herbs but it will need to sit longer.

Sulfites, Sulfates, Wine, Food and You

Sulphites, Sulphates, Sulfites, Sulfates, Surphur Dioxide, it all comes from the same place, Sulphur and it leaves many people with varying issues. With the exception of Ferrous Sulphate (Iron) if it sounds like sulphur it probably is. Some derivative of SULPHUR is almost as common in food as SOY which is most of the time. Dried fruits, grated cheeses, mashed potato flakes and wines. Today I am going to focus on wine. Not all Sulfite/Sulphites are created equally in wine. Sulphites are naturally occurring in the wine making process. If those give you issues then just go on the wagon and give up alcohol for good. The sulphites in wine that typically give people issues are the ones ADDED as a preservative. The naturally occurring and the suplhites that are added bond differently in your system. The Sulphites that naturally occur in wine are already bonded to the wine. The added supphites are free to bond to you. What does this mean? This means that labeling is your friend. Even though some of the labeling is confusing, it is still your best friend. ORGANIC: This is the funny one. I actally consider this a bit of a joke. I really do. If the wine is Organic, then no sulphites can be added. If it is made with organically grown grapes then they can add sulphites. NO SULFITES DETECTED is exactly what it says. They did the testing and there were no sulphites detected. NO SULFITES ADDED is once again exactly what it says. Seeing this label is no different than an organic label when you looking for sulphites. All of these labels will be plainly on the front of the bottle. If it's not there, don't bother looking because it's not hiding in the back. WHAT TO LOOK FOR? N.S.A. Certified Organic Wines Organic Wines No Sulfites detected No Sulphites added WHAT NOT TO LOOK FOR? Made with Organically grown grapes The other thing to think about is which wines naturally have more sulphites that others. Dry Red Wines will have the least, followed by sweet red wines, dry white wines and then sweet white wines will have the most. Where to buy. If you are lucky enough to have some local wineries you may be able to get it from them. Fresher is better, because sulphites are used as a preservative you want wines that don't need to be preserved because they are fresh. You can also look at places like Whole Foods or other trendy health food mega marts. Ask a wine steward. WHAT BRANDS SHOULD I LOOK FOR? I have found some wonderful brands, unfortunately the differing wines can be hit or miss. I try not to pay no more than $10 and will not pay more than $15 a bottle. I love my wine... FREY: Lovely Syrah, and Caberet Sovengion, but their red table wine, not so much OUR DAILY RED: This is a cooking wine, and nothing more! It is very dry and tanic and not at all pleasant BADGER MOUNTAIN: I am in love Here are a few more http://www.mamasfineitalian.com/files/FREE-NO_ALC.pdf I hope this helps renew your love of wine.

Yogurt, Greek Yogurt, and Skyre

Yogurt is one the healthy foods that the food industry has not only made unhealthy but destroyed! Pick up a container of Yoplait or some other trendy yogurt and read the ingredients. You will find gelatin, High fructose corn syrup and a number of other sins that have no place in yogurt. I have actually seen foods claiming to be yogurt without any live cultures in them at all! Just get plain acidophiles yogurt. The only ingredients that should be in it are milk and (live)culture. Don't bother with Yoplait, any of the trendy or generic brands. Go for the ones with rustic names like "Mountain High" or "Old Home". Most major grocery chains will have some and it might be in the health food section. ********************************************************************* You can actually buy Greek Yogurt or Skyre, a Norwegian counterpart, and use it to the same purpose. I have yet to try true Skyre. I have been told that it is a tangier non-fat version, of yogurt, that uses a cousin of the live cultures used in standard yogurt. Greek Yogurt is an item that I mention in the Ranch Dressing recipe and I am certain you will see me mention it again. On this item I cheat. No, really I cheat on this one. I take a quart size tub of plain acidophiles yogurt and cut an "X" into it, down to the bottom, then I strain it through a coffee filter for about 3 days in the refrigerator until approximately 2 cups of liquid have drained. At that point you have homemade greek yogurt. I personally am very fond of this because I can use it anywhere sour cream is called for without sacrificing flavor and you drop a lot of the fat. I have put this out in place of sour cream on multiple occasions and people generally don't know the difference, or if they do notice, it is a question of curiosity not distaste. I hope this helps you better explore the world of yogurt.

Stock vs. Broth

Stock and Broth what is the difference. I quite honestly don't know how many people know the difference and despite knowing the difference myself I use the words interchangeably. Broth is just the meat juice and water whereas stock uses vegetables in it usually onion, celery and carrot. There are many ways to make stocks and broths. I use two. I only make broths. When I make broths I use bone, skin, fat and water and cook them together until I get all of the meaty goodness out of them, skim the fat and can them. You can freeze them just as well. Method 1: Pressure Cooker(I think mine is a 12 qt pressure cooker) Make certain canning plate is in bottom of pressure cooker to avoid burning dump bones, skin and fat of poultry, or pork or beef into pressure cooker filling 3/4 full put water in to cover apply lid and 15 lb weight boil for 3 hours turn off, when steam stops coming out, remove weight, and open when able pour contents through colander skim off fat can or freeze as desired. *** Please adjust cooking time for the size of your pressure cooker Method 2: Crock Pot Fill crock pot with bones, skin and fat Cover with water Put lid on and cook for 3 days on medium heat, stirring occasionally strain out solids defat can or freeze as desired A few notes: The crock pot method is a little messier in that the solids have partially fallen apart, unlike the pressure cooker method where it pretty much comes out in one solid lump. When I can my stock I don't add any salt as I use the pressure cooker to seal it. I have no plans of doing posts on canning as I am still a baby canner who knows next to nothing. Though, if someone else on this list has experience and feels comfortable posting on it, Please feel free.

Gravies... do not have to be bad for you

I am a huge gravy nut. If I even suspect a meat is a little dry I will whip up a gravy in a heartbeat. Fortunately since I slow cook most of my meats that does not tend to be too much of an issue. I was talking with someone about gravy the other day and they mentioned how bad it is for you. It really doesn't need to be that way. There is no reason to add unnecessary fat to your gravy. I have 3 different ways I make it. Pot Roast Method: skim the fat from the meat drippings in your pan strain meat drippings into a saucepan in a separate container mix 1 T cornstarch with 1/4 c cold water, making a slurry whisk slurry into drippings, bringing to a boil for 1 minute, until it is clear and glossy add seasonings as desired. Chunky Method: cut up about whatever you want in your gravy, mushrooms, onions, garlic, capers, carrots, truffles, etc... Put in a pan with 1/8 c Oil Cook on high until steam appears then lower to medium, cover and let sweat for 5 minutes Mix in 1/8 c flour to coat what you put in Add 2 c drained, defatted drippings, stock, broth, milk, or other liquid, stirring constantly until brought to a boil, drop to low and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season as desired. Country Style: Start by browning 1 lb of good quality sausage of your choice, making sure to break it up into small pieces. Stir in 1/4 c flour, thoroughly coating cooked sausage Whisk in 4 c milk, bring to a boil while continually stirring Turn to low Season as desired Cook on low for 20-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until you no longer taste the flour. What liquid do I use? I have always been told that if you are making a beef or similar gravy to use water or red wine, something that will hold up to it's flavor. If you are making a poultry or pork gravy add milk. If you absolutely must use bouillon then please only use it at half strength. There are a lot of commercial stocks and broths on the market, some are O.K. and some are absolute crap. I prefer to use homemade. As far as seasoning gravies goes, I usually use the same seasonings I used on the meat. For a country gravy I suggest salt, pepper, garlic and sage. For a cream gravy try adding a touch of nutmeg. When using dry seasoning give them 5 minutes to fully bloom before tasting your gravy. As I have shown a gravy does not have to be full of fat and bad for you. It can be a delicious healthy sauce to savor and enjoy.

Yorkshire Pudding - Pop overs - Batter Bread

Yorkshire Pudding, also known as popovers in America are a wonderfully simple and delicious treat either warm or cold. A HISTORY LESSON: Yorkshire Pudding originated a long time before it got it's name. It used to be called "batter pudding", which were well known in England in many forms. Here is one of the original printed recipes for Yorkshire Pudding. Hannah Glasse's recipe [1747] "A Yorkshire Pudding. Take a quart of milk, four eggs, and a little salt, make it up into a thick batter with flour, like pancake batter. You must have a good piece of meat at the fire; take a stew-pan and put some dripping in, set it on the fire; when it boils, pour in your pudding; let it bake on the fire till you think it is nigh enough, then turn a plate upside down in the dripping-pan, that the dripping may not be blacked; set your stew-pan on it under your meat, and let the dripping drop on the pudding, and the heat of the fire come to it, to make it of a fine brown. When your meat is done and sent to table, drain all the fat from your pudding, and set it on the fire again to dry a little; then slide it as dry as you can into a dish; melt some butter, and pour it into a cup, and set it in the middle of the pudding. It is an excellent good pudding; the gravy of athe meat eats well with it." ---The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy, Mrs. Glasse, facsimile 1805 edition, introduced by Karen Hess [Applewood Books:Massachusetts] 1997 (p. 101-2) The recipes that I found call for equal portions, by volume, of eggs, milk and flour combined with a pinch of salt. More modernly you will see recipes that call for baking soda or powder, but these are not traditional. Baking soda and baking powder were not invented until the 19th century. Besides the egg act as it's leavening. You can watch it being made here: http://britishfood.about.com/od/regionalenglishrecipes/r/yorkspuds.htm Here is her written recipe: Ingredients: * 4 large, fresh eggs, measured in a jug * Equal quantity of milk to eggs * Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to eggs * Pinch of salt * 2 tbsp lard, beef dripping or vegetable oil Preparation: Serves 6 * Heat the oven to the highest temperature possible, however, do not exceed 450F/230C or the fat may burn. * Pour the eggs and milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly with an electric hand beater or hand whisk. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. * Gradually sieve the same volume of flour (as the eggs) into the milk and egg mixture, again using an electric hand beater or hand-whisk to create a lump free batter resembling thick cream, if there are any lumps pass the batter through a fine sieve. * Leave the batter to rest in the kitchen for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer if possible - up to several hours. * Place a pea-sized piece of lard, dripping or ½tsp vegetable oil in a Yorkshire pudding tin (4 x 2"/5cm hole tin) or 12-hole muffin tin and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Give the batter another good whisk adding 2 tbsps of cold water and fill a third of each section of the tin with batter and return quickly to the oven. * Leave to cook until golden brown approx 20 minutes. Repeat the last step again until all the batter is used up. I would have done well to read this before I made mine, as the video says to turn your oven to the highest temperature. That puts my oven at 550, well over the 450 the recipe says not to exceed. It burned the fat to the point that I had to fan out my house for hours, but not enough to ruin the fat, though a few of my puddings did burn.

Flour-what kind to use and when to add it

If you are like me, you have occasionally overworked your flour which ends up in a chewy cake or bread. Quite honestly I don't claim to be an expert in flour, but I have a good understanding. We are most likely all aware of the different types of flour: All Purpose (AP), Whole Wheat (WW), Bread, Cake, bleached and unbleached and self rising flour. I will not even begin to get into the alternative flours because they do not behave like wheat flour and require a whole different expertise. Other than Whole Wheat flour the difference between the flours is the amount of gluten, or wheat protein in them. The higher gluten flours, like bread flour, are made of, or engineered to simulate hard wheat. The lower gluten flours, like cake flour, are made of, or engineered to simulate soft wheat. You are probably wondering why I think you might want to know this. The reason is that gluten gives you the chewy quality of European bread. When you work gluten it forms protein strand, which makes your dough chewier. That is why you knead bread, to form the gluten stands. If you only use All Purpose flour you might not think this applies to you, but it does. If you add your flour too early in a cake recipe and work it too much, the cake will not be as light and fluffy as you might like. If you like a chewy pizza crust you might want to work the dough longer or invest in some Bread flour. What I really want to get down to is when I add what to baking recipes and why. If you have been paying attention to the cake and bread recipes, you have probably noticed that I start by adding the fat and sugar and I add either the liquid or flour last, depending on the nature of the recipe. The reason for this is that the gluten strands do not start forming until you add moisture, not fat but milk, water, yogurt, etc... to the flour. Take a moment to think about biscuit and pie crust recipes. On the shortbread recipe I wrote that it is impossible to over-mix it. The reason why is that you don't have any gluten treads forming. In theory, just based on gluten thread, you could use any flour in that recipe and it would turn out the same. In practice it doesn't work that way. I started it with AP and was not satisfied with the texture. When I switched to Cake flour I had to modify the amount to get the dough right. Not only does each flour have different quantities of gluten, but also different grinds, so they measure differently. If you only use weight, instead of the U.S.A. measure, you might be able to just substitute what ever flour you want, but there will still be differences in the finished texture. If you are not happy with your finished baked goods textures, try a different flour, or try adding the flour later or earlier in the process. Whole Wheat flour is it's own beast. We like to mix it into things for a variety of reasons, flavor, texture, health... The problem with WW is that it tends to create a heavy end product. That is why I was so elated at the WW pasta. From my experience(Here is where I ask for experience and opinions from others), it is better to mix WW half and half with another flour. If you replace more than 50% of the flour with WW, you risk your bread being heavy, if you replace less than 25% it seems kind of pointless to me. The other thing I would say on WW is to add it last and mix it as little as possible. I have no idea what the gluten content is in WW, nor do I know if they use soft or hard wheat to produce it. What I do know is that it is what is says it is, the whole of the wheat. Bleached vs. Unbleached I find this to be a matter of personal preference. The reality is that bleaching the flour is just one more step of refinement. From everything I have been taught, the more a food is refined the less nutrition it retains. From my way of thinking this means Unbleached. This is one of the reasons I started using raw sugar, it's just healthier. Self rising flour is another area where I am quite uneducated because I can add baking powder and baking soda for myself, thank you very much. In my mind this product is limited because if you are using buttermilk or another acidic product when baking you should be using more baking soda and less baking powder. But with this product you have no choice as to how much is in there. I hope you found this of interest and will put this knowledge to future use. If you find yourself curious about different flours, a good place to look is http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ They have a lot of varieties and excellent descriptions. I won't lie to you, they can be a bit spendy, but it is an excellent place for information and hard to find baking items.

Onions-the source of much joy and many tears

Onions are as much a basic part of cooking as a form of fat is. Unfortunately a lot of people discover, over time, that onions don't love them back. This morning I want to tell you about your different options and my personal findings so that you don't have to live without those bulbs that bring to tears to our eyes. White onions are the most common. They are the strongest and seem to cause people the most issues. From GI distress to Migraines, if an onion is the cause of your problem, the white onion is the first one to avoid. Yellow onions are only slightly less common and a bit weaker and sweeter than white onions. This variety is less likely than the white onion to cause ill effects. The beautiful red onion is a personal favorite of mine. I can't get enough of it. It has a wonderful mild and sweet flavor that just adds to your food. I find the red onion causes no ill effect in people who are unable to have the white onion. I am not saying that if you go anaphylactic over a white onion that you should try the red, I would strongly discourage trying any onion in that case. But for people who have migraines, GI Distress, acid reflux and heartburn from onions, I would definitely suggest trying the red onion. The Shallot! This is a mysterious and often feared gourmet cousin of the onion. If you can not tolerate any onions, try the shallot. This little gem is often described as a cross between an onion and garlic. Yes they are small and expensive, but, you use less of them. When I use shallots, I equate one shallot to one red onion. They are much stronger, so you just use less. If a recipe calls for half an onion, use half a shallot. If it calls for 1/4 c onion, use 1 T shallot. Add these later in the cooking process instead of sauteing them early on. A burnt shallot is worse than burnt garlic. When I temporarily switched to shallots, my husband didn't know the difference. Leeks are also an option, that I think many people don't really know what to do with. The leek is very mild and when cooked becomes so sweet that it can be served as a vegetable(braised leeks). The downside of leeks is that they are fibrous, much like dehydrated celery. The key to dealing with this is small pieces. Slice it lengthwise a few times, and very thinly across, then make certain to cook it all the way. Young leeks can be eaten and used like scallions. I don't know that you can find these in stores, but they grow beautifully. I am limited on my use of scallions. I have no doubt that you can cook with them, I just haven't. I have always used these as a garnish or eaten them whole, sometimes grilled. They are mild and I can not speak from experience as to if they cause issues or not for people. No, I have not forgotten to address the sweet onions like Vidalia and Walla Walla. I have never had a draw to these onions and therefore don't know much about them. If onions are a problem for you there are a few other things you can do to ease the effect of them on your body: 1) eat young or spring onions, as these have less of the compounds that upset our systems 2) make certain your onions are cooked all the way 3) don't mix them with large amounts of grease or other irritants. I hope this helps you have a happier relationship with the onion family.

Reductions-not as tricky as you thought, and the taste is such a reward

A reduction is really easy and packs quite and impact. All you do is boil down a liquid, thus reducing it, to the consistency you want. This can be done with any number of things, vinegars, juices, alcohol, sauces, broths and stocks, etc... The list is only limited by your imagination. You are probably asking the purpose of a reduction. To make a more concentrated sauce. I will give you a few examples of things I have done, and a few ideas of things I want to do. I am certain you have some ideas of your own. Bake a beef roast with a good blend of spices. Reduce some pomegranate by 3/4 before pouring it over the top. This creates a taste similar to red wine with a little more sweetness and just a touch of tartness. People who eat this have no idea what the special flavor is, but they know they like it. Strawberries and Balsamic vinegar have practically become a classic combination. It costs a kings ransom to buy the thick aged Balsamic. There is no need to spend the money. Just buy a $4 bottle of Balsamic de Modena, and reduce it by 2/3rds. Then when you put it on the strawberries only use about 1 T per quart of strawberries. Let it sit for 10+ minutes before serving and you will be pleasantly surprised. You can also use this Balsamic for a traditional Italian table. Put out a dish of it and a dish of extra virgin olive oil, to be served with bread. Do you love Orange with meat. Try reducing Orange juice concentrate by half and then spicing it. This works great with just about any meat. Try pear juice on chicken or pork. Pepper, Bourbon steak? Start with a good steak, some large crushed peppercorns and a little bit of Bourbon. Lightly coat the steak with the peppercorns, cook it on your stove top on high, and pour in 1 oz of Bourbon(Scotch or Whiskey) when it is about half way done. The alcohol will cook out, and the pan will be mostly dry and leave your steak with a wonderful flavor. Try the same idea with Tequila and Lime(juice and/or zest) for Chicken, Pork or even Beef. Just finish it with a touch of salsa or Cilantro and viola! Any sauce, but for this example I will use BBQ. I love my Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce, but when you cook it with the meat, it gets liquidy from the meat juices. You take some in a pan and reduce it by half. Then you can put a nice thick coating on your hot wings, meatballs, or what ever you are serving. This really is a very simple idea that is virtually unlimited. I have a few notes on it: 1)if you reduce a stock or broth it can easily become salty, so choose sodium free and taste frequently 2)the other is I find it much quicker to start with a saute pan and frequently add a little at a time rather than actually boiling down a full pan of liquid. The down side to this is that it also runs the greater risk of burning, but it is ultimately up to you. 3)always reserve a little unreduced liquid on the side, this way if you reduce too far, it is easy to fix by adding the portion that you set aside. I hope you are inspired to try this technique and have fun with it.

Different fats for different jobs

I am quite certain we all know the difference between, oil or a fat that is liquid at room temperature, and a fat that is solid at room temperature like butter, lard, shortening, margarine. But do we understand why we use each fat? Today I will try to guide you through the often times confusing and misunderstood world of fats. Let's start with the fats that are liquid at room temperature. VEGETABLE OIL- This is a fairly versatile oil that contains any combination of safflower, canola, corn, etc.... I really have nothing to say about this except for that it exists and each brand will cook differently because of the individual properties of the oils used. Studies have found a link between most types of vegetable oil, and corn oil to post menopausal breast cancer and prostate cancer. CORN OIL- This is derived from the germ of the corn. It has a high smoke point, mild flavor and has been available since 1898. Studies have found a link between most types of vegetable oil, and corn oil to post menopausal breast cancer and prostate cancer. CANOLA/RAPESEED OIL- Canola and Rapeseed are close cousins and considered very heart healthy because of the types of fat it contains. I was unable to find any information on the smoke point of this oil, and I do not use it so I can not speak from experience. The pollen of these plants have been links to asthma. GRAPE SEED OIL- This comes to us as a byproduct of wine making. Grape seed oil also known as Grape oil has a high smoke point(420), a mild flavor, and since you can use less of it for frying or sauteing, it is good for a low-fat diet. It is excellent for anything you may want to use a liquid oil for. Grape Seed oil also has many health benefits, including being heart smart. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL- Extra Virgin comes from the first pressing of the grapes. Virgin Olive Oil is just a lower quality of Extra Virgin, which is a heavy oil with a pungent flavor that is great for salad dressing, to put on the table with bread, or anywhere you want the flavor to come through. Even though Extra Virgin Olive Oil is heart healthy you would be wasting your money to cook with it as it has a low smoke point and the heat will destroy the flavor. OLIVE OIL- Similar to Extra Virgin Olive, but usually more refined, probably the second pressing and not as much flavor. Olive Oil is also considered heart smart, but retains a low smoke point. It is a good generic oil, but I would not use it in items with a delicate flavor. EXTRA LIGHT OLIVE OIL- This has been filtered and other than being heart smart isn't too much different than most vegetable oils. It still has a low smoke point, but is excellent for baking. PEANUT OIL- This is absolutely fabulous for frying as it has a very high smoke point. It is often used in Asian stir fry and in the UK is marketed as "groundnut oil". Peanut oil is also heart healthy. NUT OILs- There are a number of different nut oils out there. I would use these much like Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for the flavor. Though you should be cautious as many people have nut allergies and should warn people if you have used them. Now let's look at the fats that are solid at room temperature. BUTTER- The first question is always salted or unsalted. The answer is unsalted. The only reason butter is salted is to cover up inferior quality. It's the same price, go for the unsalted! Butter should be nothing more than whipping cream that has been whipped too far. If you see anything other than cream and natural flavoring in there, just leave it. Butter has a low smoke point because of the milk solids in it. I prefer Tillamook. SHORTENING-Think about vegetable oil, only hydrogenated, so it is now the worst possible fat for you to eat. I have no love for this product, nor can I feign any. You are much better using butter or lard. LARD-I believe this comes from pigs. It is pure animal fat. Unfortunately when you purchase it in the store it is usually partially hydroginated, but for those of us who can't have soy, it is still a blessing. If you can find actual pure lard, it is almost as healthy as butter. Yes I hear the snickers from here. Think about it, butter is the way god intended. It is milk solids, a little water, and fat the way nature made it. I am not encouraging you to go eat an entire stick. That would be silly. But, as far as solid fats go, it really isn't that bad for you. MARGARINE-Think shortening, only butter flavored. It also has a higher water content so baking with it may yield differing results. When I use these different fats I have a pecking order: Extra Virgin Olive Oil-only for salad dressing, but I don't normally expend the money for it. Olive Oil-I will use this for salad dressing, breads, savory dishes, cooking rice Extra Light Olive Oil- I use this for most anything except for saute because of the smoke point. Grape Seed Oil-I use this for anything I can used an oil for. Butter-I use butter when ever I need a solid fat and taste matters, like cookies, biscuits, fruit breads. Lard-This is great when you need a solid fat and adding flavor is not a benefit, or butter is just too expensive. This makes great pie crusts and breads. I realized this is vary bias, but that's how I am in the kitchen. I want the best ingredients I can afford. Sometimes that means I do without rather than getting substandard product. With this guide I am not suggesting that an overabundance of fat in your diet is good for you. In fact my favorite saying with food is "every thing in moderation, including moderation". This just means keep a balanced diet and that every once in a while it is good to just over do it. This helps keep me from feeling deprived, while maintaining a proper balance, and I hope it will for you as well.

Soup, Salad, Sandwhich, Pasta, Casserole-the creative process

Most anything that can be used for one dish can be used for another. One of my favorite examples of this is Greek Salad turned into Greek Pasta. In Greek Salad you have red onion, tomato, spinach, olives, cucumber, bell peppers, feta, olive oil, balsalmic vinegar, salt, pepper, oregano, basil. You mix the dressing, and toss the salad. As a cold dish this can easily be made into a pasta salad or a sandwich. For the pasta salad I keep all of the ingredients, cook the pasta, cool the pasta in an ice bath, toss it with olive oil then toss it with all of the salad ingredients, including the feta and dressing, garnish and serve. For the sandwich you would just cut things flat instead of 3D, use mayonnaise and mustard, instead of olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, and add the meat of your choice. As a hot dish this is also very versatile, you can; serve it by itself as a vegetable, add pasta for a hot pasta dinner, add meat to make a one pot wonder, or even a hot sandwich if you wanted to grill the veggies and add meat. To turn it into a hot dish, I start by discarding anything that won't cook well, the cucumbers. Then saute the vegetables, except the spinach, and meat if desired, in the olive oil and add it to the precooked pasta, or what ever else I want to add and top it with the spinach, feta, balsamic and herbs. It is also easy to marinate the ingredients, except the spinach, in the dressing and grill them. I have found that men that don't like veggies, will usually eat them grilled. For a casserole, toss it all into a pan, probably with some meat and bake it at 350 for 45 minutes. For soup, do a tomato base then chop up all the ingredients and stir them in. It takes very little creativity to do this, just a knowledge of how foods work. If this example doesn't work for you, think about chili cheese nachos, chili omelette, chili dog, chili cheese fries, chili pizza and just plain old fashion chili. I hope this has inspired you to stir it up a bit, literally.

a few products worth note

I have eluded to what some of my allergies might be. Well, I'll just spell out the hard to avoid ones: white onions, MSG, Nitrates, Nitrites, Sulfates, Sulfites and Soy So at this point that rules out most processed foods, all cured meats, most dried fruits, most savory foods and most Chinese,not to mention vegetable oil, shortening, mayonaise and all store bought salad dressings. This is part of why we make so much of our own. I am not willing do without and I would not ask that of my husband. I have been able to find ways to overcome a lot of this. For salsa, if I am too lazy to fix some, or out of my own Rotel is a amazing. It does contain calcium chloride, but it it next to impossible to find descent preserved tomato products that don't. Bush products contain no soy. This is amazing and I could kiss them for it. Hormel Natural Choice products do not contain Nitrates or Nitrites, artificial ingredients or MSG! I couldn't ask for more because they also make Bacon that is uncured, but oh so yummy, honey glazed ham, turkey, and uncured pepperoni and hard salami. Quite honestly the reason I share these foods with you isn't for me, it's for you. Other than the white onions, which are just a pain, I firmly believe the rest of the foods I am allergic to, that are hard to avoid, are not good for us. Other than MSG also being used for flavor in many Asian foods, I look at why they are used. They are used to suck out moisture, retain color and kill bacteria. Yes you can say that salt also sucks out moisture and kills bacteria, and you would be correct, but when is the last time you heard of a salt allergy? A lot of people are allergic to these items. After talking with way too many allergists, allergy sufferers and doing research I am firmly of the mind that allergies are just about a toxic level of a substance built up in your body to the point where it causes an inflammatory response. I have already encouraged you to read labels. Now I encourage you to eat natural.