Food and Cooking – Page 2

Meditations on an ice cream scoop…and moose poop.

If I’m going to have dessert, I’m going to go all the way. I don’t have to have a lot if it’s really high quality stuff. So I find myself scooping out two bowls of Moose Tracks ice cream, into cute little blue and white porcelain Happy Neko bowls from Japan. The scoop is sturdy, fits well into my hand, carves out the creamy goodness with ease, and never bends.

I think it cost five dollars and I’ve had it for years.

I consider how I have been before. Whyever would I need an ice cream scoop? I had a spoon, after all, and so what if it bent? I could always bend it back. Never mind the frustration and sticky mess caused by it almost every time. What a way to begin a dessert.

So I’ve got my scoop. As I wash it and put it in the drainer, I think about how the difference between an easy time and a hard time can be traced to one right tool or perhaps a right technique. It’s not about skill, though that helps, or even money. My scoop was cheap. But it makes a big difference.

The spouse won’t call Moose Tracks Ice Cream by its right name, because it reminds her of moose poop. It’s a nasty thing to be reminded of when you’re all warm and happy

from a good meal.

We decided to call it Denali ice cream instead. That way it can be glacial boulders on clean snow. No large, aquatic, messy moose needed. Did you know that moose can get most of their food from water weeds during the summer time, and even dive for them like large ungainly antlered ducks? Little moose are often frightened to try and often require persuasion. Go look it up if you want a good laugh.

And here’s to well made ice cream, in moderate quantities, easily served into pretty bowls with a proper scoop.

Recipe for Simple Grilled Mackerel

Blue mackerel, cleaned and headless (can use clouded mackerel, Norwegian, etc)

Mushrooms

Kosher salt, black pepper

Heavy duty aluminum foil

Chop mushrooms finely, mix with salt and pepper. Pack mixture into fish cavity. Wrap each fish into a foil packet, sealing well at the edges.

Preheat grill to cooking temp.

Set packets on heat, medium works well, and close lid. Open after five to ten minutes and flip. Close lid again, cook for another five to ten minutes. Test temperature according to your preferences, let rest for another ten minutes before unwrapping.

Serve on bed of rice with soy sauce. Be careful not to swallow any bones.

Sunday Morning

Food and Cooking

It’s quiet, just the way I like it. I wake up a bit late, maybe a half hour after I wanted, but I don’t worry too much because it’s Sunday after all. I dodge cats all the way though morning routine – fluid exchange, shower, brushing hair, dressing. Shinji, my 15 year old Siamese mix, plays his usual game of getting in my way, cris-crossing my path and then running away when I try to pet him. Silly boy. I’m glad he’s still capering like a much younger cat. He was a rescue, his Other Mom died about a year ago. It took him months to get over his depression. Amazing how many people still think cats don’t love!

My slightly younger cat, a fine 12 year old queen calico, greets me out in the living room. Everything is still a little chaotic this soon after my move and the house is still rather empty in certain places and cluttered in others, with painting supplies and tools on the bread making counter and paint cans scattered hither and yon. Everything will come together, I know.

Eventually I say goodbye to the spouse and make it out of the house. The morning is still fresh and new. I back out of my steep driveway, careful to watch and avoid the parents having a morning walk, little kids attached by the oldest leash of all – their hands. I smile at the pink clad youngsters. Nice to see people being outside, just to be outside. I pull out and head to my first grocery stop, gritting my teeth as I pass over the one mile of potholed road that bears little resemblance to a proper city street. It smooths out just as I get to the store.

The aisles are quiet and the employees are fresh. I catch a yawn or two. I love being here at this time, when everything is new and organized and I don’t have to fight for my position in the aisles. I start playing my favorite bargain game. Recalling what other stores charge for things, I buy, or don’t buy, crossing things off my list as I go. This can of chili? There’s a screaming deal, I’ll buy extra to put by. That condiment? Stuff must be made of hand picked saffron for the price they charge. I’ll get it at store number two. And so on. I get out of there with a total that’s way under budget. There’s only one cashier, at the express line no less, and my cart is way over 15 items. I chat with her as I help her get things moved through quickly.

On to the second store, where I pick up the things I passed over at the first. I see a firefighter buying massive quantities of beans, I chat with him as I pick out my diced tomatoes. Fresh salsa is in the offing, traditional Shaw family Scottish salsa. Scottish salsa, you say? Aye, and we used ta make it with onions and turrrnips, but t’was improved greatly after the New World was discovered. Last minute, I remember the cilantro. Can’t have good salsa without fresh cilantro.

I come out of the store smiling, still under budget. It’s a lovely sunny morning. An acoustic version of “Who’ll Stop The Rean?” comes on the car radio. I answer the question – nobody stops it, you have to move away from it. I pull into the drive and commence stocking the pantry, gently shooing cats out of the way, breakfast burritos on the brain.

Shaw Family Salsa Recipe

6-8 pickled jalapenos

1 large can diced tomatoes

1/2 small red onion

1 handful fresh cilantro

6 cloves garlic, peeled

Salt to taste

Plenty of Cumin

Blend thoroughly, can store in fridge for 1-2 weeks.

Snack Hack: Honey Mustard Pretzels

Food and Cooking

As I was in the grocery store looking for a decent snack, I incubated a new idea. I absolutely love mustard pretzels, but they are usually $2-3 more than I want to spend, and several extra ingredients more than I want to eat. An idea started incubating and now it’s hatched!

Why not make my own mustard pretzels, I thought? So I did, and now you can too. I like making my own snack foods when I have time because I like controlling the ingredients.

I used:

1 bag of sourdough pretzel pieces, 15 ounces

Plain yellow mustard, 1/2 cup

Honey, 1/4 cup

Small bowl, whisk, large mixing bowl, sheet pan.

I started by measuring the mustard, then made a kind of cup in the mustard by coating the sides with it. That way I could pour the honey into, straight from the jar. I did this with half my mustard so it would fill a half cup measure in total. It was really easy to clean the measuring cup afterwards!

Similarly, I poured a little water into my mixing bowl first, so the honey would have less chance of sticking there, too. Don’t use much here, a quarter cup at the absolute most. I whisked it all together then added the other 1/4 cup of mustard. I gave it a final whisk.

I poured the pretzel pieces into the large mixing bowl, then poured the coating on top, mixing it all thoroughly with clean hands.

I placed the coated pieces on the baking sheet in a single layer, then baked in the oven for 60 minutes at 250 degrees.

Stir them every fifteen minutes or so.

If your pretzels are still damp, they may need a bit of drying on the counter or in a warm oven. I live in a dry climate so don’t have that issue.

I found these to have a milder flavor than my favorite brand, but I liked the price and ingredients a lot better!

You can, of course, alter this recipe to your own tastes. You could add cayanne or garlic, both would be amazing, change the mustard type to something else, or dream up something interesting like using ranch dressing mix as part of the recipe!

Happy crunching.

via Daily Prompt: Incubate

Now that’s a spicy lollipop!

Food and Cooking

Mexican kids are tough!

That’s what I always think when I look at the candy section at my local carniceria. Not only does it carry things like custom-cut meat, tortillas, and drinks, but there is an ever expanding candy section. I feel lucky to be living in Southern Arizona. If I didn’t, I’d be missing out on a lot of great flavors.

Why do I think those kids are tough? For one thing, half their candy has cayenne in it. One of my favorite kinds is a paste made with tamarind, chili powder, and sugar. I also like the lollipops that are fruit flavored once you get through a layer of chili and salt. Another thing I tried recently is candied barrel cactus. That was good, as was the candied sweet potato. Both were chewy and moist on the inside, rather like a good chunk of dried pineapple.

Mexican candy has interesting and unique things in it. I love the goat milk caramel, for instance, which brings back memories of my childhood – I milked a goat every day. I will admit, I haven’t gotten used to the salted, preserved plums, called saladitos. It’s just too much salt for me. I tried, though! Another thing I’ve learned to do is eat jicama strips with chili and lime. It’s also good on apple slices. Go to any Hispanic oriented grocery store and you’ll even find a liquid preparation of brined fruit chili powder just for drizzling over things.

Other candy is made with coconut, peanut, tamarind, various forms of chocolate, and marshmallow. You can even find chocolate dipped corn flakes sold in little bags, the same way M&Ms are sold. I haven’t tried everything there is to try, but there sure are a lot of interesting flavors out there!

I think the coolest lollipop is sort of mango flavored, covered with a spicy layer, and shaped like a chicken. They are fun to eat and a balanced flavor. Really!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/lollipop/

Finally, summer’s here! Have some Switchel.

Food and Cooking

You may be wanting to know exactly what switchel is. Basically, it’s a mix of water, ginger, vinegar, and sugar. Sometimes fruit juice is added.

When I first encountered this beverage, I thought it tasted strange. However, the more I drank it, the better I liked it. I learned that it was a common hot weather beverage in Early America, and that intrigued me. I’ll write more about its history later but first, here’s how to make it.

Switchel is simple to make. You start with cold water and add apple cider vinegar, sweetener of some kind, and fresh ginger. It’s refreshing, replenishes your potassium, and helps your digestion. It’s a great recovery drink for after a work out. Though the spicy, sweet and sour flavor may be a bit odd at first, it’s certainly well worth getting used to!

Here’s a good recipe to start with.

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons brown sugar, 10 ounces cold water, and minced fresh ginger to taste.

Variations:

Make ginger tea and add the vinegar and sugar.

Use honey.

Use maple syrup.

Add a splash of fruit juice, such as blueberry or cherry.

Sometimes I will make a strong ginger tea and chill that to make my base with. Other times I’ll simply add chopped ginger to my vinegar-sugar-water mix. Or, as mentioned in the recipe, I might add some fruit juice for variety. I’ve even drunk it warm! Your choice of sweeteners affects the taste. So far I like pure maple syrup or plain white sugar the best. You could also use honey, molasses, or stevia. You may want to limit your sweetener, though I wouldn’t recommend eliminating it at first. Personally, I plan to keep a big jug of it in the fridge this summer, especially during the hot, sticky monsoon months.

Personal experiences:

I have found it to have an energizing effect, somewhat like a mild energy drink. I usually digest things better after I’ve had some, too. I have some digestive issues and the ginger helps the muscles in my stomach and gut move a bit more slowly (link) so I digest things more thoroughly. Plain ginger tea does the same, particularly when I eat the chopped ginger as well as drinking the liquid. My body seems to crave the vitamins that are found in the apple cider vinegar. I tend to like {this brand}, though you can buy it at your local grocery store. If possible, buy it organic with the “mother” still included, though I’ve had great results even with the purified, pasteurized variety.

The history of Swtichel:

As mentioned before, this was a farmer’s drink in early America, but many people liked it. It was believed that the ginger had a warming effect that would lessen the shocking effect of cold water on the stomach, while the sugar and vinegar were there for flavor. It was basically an early sports drink.

Since it’s so easy to make, why not try some today?

If something more traditional is more to your liking, here is how to make a simple ginger beer.

First, start with ginger tea. That’s easy to make – steep chopped ginger in hot water for five minutes or so. Make it nice and strong.

Mix the tea with sugar to taste. Perhaps a cup of sugar for a gallon of ginger beer.

Once it’s cooled to body temperature, add a half teaspoon of yeast. Simple baking yeast is fine.

Evenly divide the mixture into two clean 2 liter soda bottles. Put a slice or two of ginger in each one to strengthen the flavor. Fill the rest of the way with plain water. Leave an inch or so of space at the top of the bottle for “head room.” Cap the bottles tightly.

Leave the ginger beer in the fridge overnight, or until the bottles feel hard. The yeast will carbonate the sweet ginger tea and make it into a simple ginger ale, without building up enough to form alcohol. This makes a great cold drink for a hot day!

via Daily Prompt: Final

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Automatic Yogurt

Food and Cooking

Tired of paying high prices for yogurt? Interested in being more involved with your own food supply? Sick of tiny containers and lots of artificial ingredients? Don’t have the time for a complicated cooking project?

Try automatic yogurt!

It’s really easy.

All you need is milk of some kind, a spoonful of unsweetened yogurt to use as a culture, and a Thermos style insulated bottle.

That’s it!

How?

The process is simple and even a little fun. Just heat up the milk to just above body temperature, then stir in a spoonful of your favorite plain yogurt. Finally a use for those tiny containers that go on sale at the grocer’s. If you use a microwave to heat the milk, add the culture after you already have it warm.

You can use nonfat dry milk to make yogurt, then you can just use warm tap water to make your milk. Mix it double strength for a really awesome texture.

Then, cap the Thermos tightly and set it in a warm place overnight. I usually use the top of my hot water heater. In the morning, you should have a nice amount of smooth, thick yogurt.

Uses:

You can add fruit or honey to your new yogurt, mix it into recipes, use it as a substitute for sour cream, or make it into sauces like tzatziki. It can be made into a type of cheese, too, if you drain it for several hours in cheesecloth. Make sure to save the whey for adding to soups or bread.

Tips:

If you’re looking for a wide mouthed Thermos bottle, it’s best to choose one that’s made of stainless steel. You can use other kinds but plastic holds odors and bacteria a little too well, while steel is easy to sanitize. Here’s a good example for you.

Some people also use a Crock Pot style slow cooker, which is great for when you need large batches, like if you’re making yogurt cheese. Here’s a nice, high quality, low cost example.

Common problems:

If you have an issue with mold, make sure your container is well sanitized with a weak bleach solution. Clean every nook.

If your yogurt won’t set, either your culture (the spoonful of yogurt) is weak, or you killed it with excessive heat or cold. The best temperature is about body tempoerature, maybe a little above.

If your yogurt tastes funny, clean your container.

Almost all problems with yogurt can be corrected by cleanliness, waiting a little longer, or getting the right temperature. The key is to remember that the bacteria that make yogurt are living organisms, and make an ideal environment for them to grow.

(Disclaimer: If you follow the links to Amazon and decide to buy something, I get a small amount from the purchase. There’s no additional cost to you. I looked for the best value for the money and shared that, rather than picking the most expensive thing.)

via Daily Prompt: Automatic

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/2017/01/28/automatic/

Cooking in a small space

Food and Cooking

It’s possible to make some really amazing meals in a small room even if it doesn’t have a kitchen. All you need is a power outlet and a nearby water source such as a sink. While I love my kitchen with its counters and full sink and gas range with oven, I have fond memories of cooking in my dorm.

Provided you can safely get away with having one, an electric wok is a great choice for cooking in a small space. It’s deep enough you can use it as a steamer, just put a round rack in the bottom with a shallow layer of water, put the food on the rack and close it tightly. That way you can steam vegetables, dumplings, fish, bread, and any number of things. You can make stews in the electric wok because of its depth, you can fry, and you can of course use it for normal wok things like stir frying. This one item, plus a small cutting board, a good knife, and a cube fridge will allow you to do some amazing things. Having a couple of metal bowls also improves your abilities tremendously.

Some writers have also talked about crock pot cooking, making omelettes in a waffle iron, and making grilled cheese sandwiches or fried bacon with a clothes iron and aluminum foil. However, for sheer versatility I think the electric wok is still the best!

I once steamed a cake in my wok. I used a metal mixing bowl for the pan.

My best meal was probably steamed salmon, cooked on a bed of baby bok choy, served over rice. The salmon cooked on the bok choy in the wok.

Once I turned the wok into a double boiler and melted chocolate in it- using the venerable metal bowl.

I cooked eggs in it, fried bacon, made pancakes, as well as countless soups, stews and stir fries. This saved me money because I didn’t have to eat at the cafeteria every time I wanted something, and gave me hours of fun. I also had some pretty spectacular failures due to some overly adventurous taste buds.

There are two secrets to using an electric wok for cooking: planning ahead so everything can be cooked in the right order, and always using utensils of wood, metal, and other heat resistant materials. That way bowls can double as pans, and you have more versatility.

Discovering new foods

Food and Cooking

At this point, I haven’t had much chance to travel. But I’m still a person who’s curious about the rest of the world, so much so that I love roaming around on Wikimapia, and using Google Street view to see places I’ve never been! How to feed this desire to experience new things?

I travel to different international stores!

Not only do they have really interesting packaging in other languages, but I get a taste of different cultures, I see different ways of doing things. The sounds, sights and smells are different. I love that!

I’ll travel to Asia, by going to the international supermarket in the rich part of town – their prices are amazing, the staff is friendly, their meat and fish are well prepared, and I love exploring all the odd snack foods. What exactly does that fruit taste like? Let’s try! Why does dried squid make a good snack? What exactly is that cut of meat used for? Is refrigerated udon better than the dry stuff? How do you open a bottle of ramune, anyway? And what in the world is that huge purple flower bud that’s a foot long, and how do you cook it? So many questions, so many delicious answers.

Then there’s the utensils! Why are there five or six different types of mortar and pestle? What is that knife used for, specifically? How about that pot? The wonders don’t stop.

Other times I’ll head south, to the Carniceria, and get my favorite marinated meats, either to have them grilled (right there outside the store) or to take them home to bake. I’ll get some taijin powder to put on my apples, maybe a chunk of candied sweet potato, or maybe I’ll get some pumpkin empenadas. I’ll certainly pick up some thin, lovely, handmade tortillas and some real Coke with real sugar in a glass bottle.

By the time I get home, I feel like I’ve traveled!

via Daily Prompt: Discover

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A most delightfully Pungent kitchen

Food and Cooking

There are things I can’t cook at home – certain Vietnamese soups, old fashioned oatmeal, and overcooked cabbage. They leave the kitchen in a most pungent state.

This weekend my kitchen has been pungent in a good way. It normally whiffs of sesame oil and garlic, but now it also smelled of turkey breast, roasted potatoes, and more than the legal limit of pumpkin spice. Last night I made another batch of pumpkin bread. I used my own spice mix and I must tell you it was heady indeed. When I took it out of the oven, I stood for a moment, deeply inhaling.

That smell was a great one, almost rivaling rain when it hasn’t started falling yet, or a good Monsoon downpour when it fills the whole house with that damp, clean, almost resinous smell.

My nose and I are good friends and I love good aromas. Some of them always tell me I’m home.

Bonus: pumpkin spice mix recipe

For any interested, here’s my spice mix: nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger – all ground and mixed together in roughly equal amounts with maybe a bit more cinnamon. I buy them in packets at the grocery store, you know those lovely dollar packets? So I get my pumpkin spice at a discount price. It’s great for adding to oatmeal or coffee.

via Daily Prompt: Pungent

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Shaw Family Salsa Recipe

Here’s a good recipe to start with.

Variations:

Personal experiences:

The history of Swtichel:

You will need:

Procedure

Troubleshooting

How?

Uses:

Tips:

Common problems:

Bonus: pumpkin spice mix recipe