Nun Farts

Wehave all ready covered devil farts so now its time to talk about nun farts. Ofcourse we are talking about the french pastry "pate a choux" or puff pastry. It bakes nice and poofy leaving a hollow center for cream filling or whatever filling you want to put in there. The lightness of the pastry inspired the name pets de nonne or "nun's farts."

We learn something new everyday.

Enjoy!

Recycling leftovers

I prefer the word recycling rather than leftovers which leads one to think that the meal is just reheated food. I prefer to recycling, which in my mind means transforming one food into another style of food. I mean the plastic water bottle you recycle can be a park bench next.

A prime example for me was last week. I over roasted a whole chicken for dinner. What was left went into the fridge. A night or two later, I diced up some of that chicken and we had chicken nachos, fajita style chicken. Then it became chicken tempura during an oriental feast. The final grace was the pieces picked off of the bone for chicken and noodles, which are always a hit here.

Last night we had ham. This morning we had ham in our scrambled eggs then I shaved the ham with my meat slicer and we had ham sandwiches for lunch. I'll probably freeze the rest and save it for ham and beans.

And don't forget about the chicken bones, freeze them and use them for chicken stock.

There are opportunites everywhere in the kitchen when you can make sure you absolutely get your moneys worth.

Enjoy!

An Amazing Basil Vinaigrette

I found this recipe online. This dressing is amazing.

Ingredients

1/2 shallot
1 clove of garlic
handful of fresh basil leaves washed
1 tbs dijon mustard
3 tbs red wine vinegar
9 tbs regular olive oil not extra virgin
salt and pepper to taste

combine all ingredients in a blender and process til smooth
or
combine all ingredients in a high wall bowl and process with an immersion blender.

If it is a bit too thick add some more vinegar

I made some yesterday and love it.

Enjoy

Nothing Like Home Made

I have really enjoyed making more things at home that I would usually buy at the market. It does take a little time but is worth the wait. Plus it can save a lot of money on things you use a lot of. Another great benefit is the more things you make at home the more you learn about, flavor, herbs, spices, etc.

Here are a few things we have made at home:

Mustard
Salsa
beef stock
chicken stock
taco and fajita seasoning
brined dill pickles
vinaigrette dressings
marinara sauce
pizza sauce
pasta
pico de gallo
bread
pizza crust
rib rub
bbq sauce
marinades


Try experimenting in your kitchen with the foods you love the best. Don't get discouraged if it is not perfect. You may find what you have made tastes better that what you were buying. There truly is magic in the kitchen. So go play in there a while and enjoy yourself.

Impulse Buy

I was at the market yesterday and found some beautiful anaheim chile peppers in the produce cooler. I bought half a dozen to make chile rellenos. Rob loves rellenos, she first had them at Dos Hombres in Warrensburg, MO. Since then she has made some herself and eaten them at various mexican restaurants. Tonight I am going to make some for her.

A lot of the recipes I have seen online are meat free. That won't work around here. So I am going to stuff them with chicken and pepper jack cheese. They should be good.

Anaheim peppers are great for those who prefer milder spice. Anaheim are very low in capsaicin so the heat is very mild. A good beginner chile pepper.

To stay with the mexican theme, I will make some nachos and tacos for the boys.

Enjoy.

Sushi

I do a lot of cooking on the fly. Sometimes the ingredients or dishes change then its off to the grocery store again. I never know what the muse has in store for me or what inspiration will strike next.

My latest challenge was sushi. I am not sure why but wanted to try my hand at this Japanese delicacy. At the local megamart I purchased the japanese style rice, nori seaweed sheets(algae), imitation crab meat(surimi), avacados and cucumber. I already had wasabi paste on hand.

So I set in cooking the rice then added the vinegar mixture. After reading about sushi and watching several videos, I tried to do it the right way. The rice is very sticky. Its hard to fold in the vinegar while trying to fan the rice with the other hand, but I did get the rice down to room temperature.

Now for the sushi roll. I didn't have a sushi rolling mat so did it on my cutting board. The nori I bought wasn't very wide so it was easy to in too much filling. Finally I got the rice on the nori after battling with the sticky rice. I rolled it up and had too much filling so the ends didnt quite meet. But it was enough to for Rob and I to eat. Besides having too mush filling I also had too much wasabi paste. WHEW!!!! Talk about a sinus cleaner, WOW.

All in all it was an ugly attempt but tasted great. I had left over rice so I rolled up some more yesterday just to practice. I turned the nori 90 degrees and had more room to work so the rolls came out better.

I have ordered some wider nori sheets and a bamboo rolling mat so there will be more sushi on our future. Havent decided on trying the raw fish yet(sashimi).

If you enjoy sushi try making it at home. Enjoy!

Got my knives back.

Got my knives back from Accurate Sharpening of Tempe, AZ. I sent out 6 knives and they all came back wicked shaarp. I think the total cost with shipping was $42. It was a very quick turn around time. I am well satisfied. I have a few others that I am going to send out.

Pumpernickel means Devils Farts

Pumpernickel comes from Wetsphalian dialect for the Devil(St. Nick) and for "fart", this is a high Fiber bread.

It is realy amazing to read about the history behind food.

This information comes from Harold McGee.

Knives and knives and knives OH My

Knives are a cook's best friend. You don't have to spend a fortune for a good set of knives. I bought a Wolfgang Puck set of 4 santoku knives at Sam's club for a bout $40. They are great knives, I love them.

Dull knives are a bad thing. Always keep your knives sharp. I have a hand sharpener with 2 ceramic rods. Before every use I run the knife thru the sharpener about 10 times, then I use a knife steel on it.

Don't put your knives in the dish washer, the heat is a bad thing, and they can get tossed around and damage their edge. I hand wash mine.

Over time, they will need to be resharpened by a professional. I just sent out 6 knives to Accurate Sharpening and Cutlery Sales in Tempe, AZ. I have never used them before. The average cost was about $5.50 per knife plus shipping charge.

I will let you know how it goes.

See Ya

Cheat Night

There are days when everyone's schedule is different from everyone else. From after school activities to sports and meetings, just cant get everyone together for dinner. At these times it is perfectly acceptable to go simple. Last night went to the old standby of tuna helper and veggies.

Everyone enjoyed it but at different times. And Cale around there are no leftovers. He grazes all evening.

Simple can be delicious.

Talk of the Town

I recently went there for lunch with my mom and two brothers. The first time I went there I was sadly disappointed. The hamburger was rock hard and the fries were smoking hot but raw in the middle. I took the family there for breakfast one sunday morning. The foos was good and there was plenty of it. We ordered a la carte. We went back there a few weeks later. This time the food food wasn't as good and the portions were smaller. Due to the past visits it isn't a place I frequent.

This time I was invited to lunch and my brother Max was paying so I went for a free meal. While my mon, Max and I were waiting for Carl, we took a look at the buffet. Usually there are only two buffets I eat at, and that would be the pizza buffet and a chinese buffet. The foods on those change over fairly quickly so usually the food is fresh. I don't want meat loaf that has sat under the hot lights for hours and swimming in grease.

Reluctantly I went for the buffet here partially because everyone else was getting the buffet but the food looked good. The fried chicken was still steaming form being cooked. The salad bar had several options including things like marinated mushrooms. I started there then went for the entrees and sides. There wasn't as mush of a selection as you would find at other places but i think that is agood thing.

I enjoyed the chicken, the potatoes and gravy and the stir fry. I was however a bit disappointed in the stir fry. The waitress warned us that it was spicy but it was sadly lacking in spice. The flavor was good but I was hoping for the heat.

Overall it was enjoyable and the food was good. Have to give them a thumbs up for their buffet.

Canning Trial #2

I decided to get more practice with the pressure canner. I peeled and sliced up a enough carrots for a pint. I sterilized the jar, lid and ring. I put some salt and boiling water in to fill up the pint jar. I locked the lid into place and lit the burner. The pressure built up and the safety valve popped up. Now I have to let it vent for 10 minutes. I thought it was a bit too much heat so I backed off the burner. Unfortunately it was too much and the pressure dropped enough for the safety valve to drop back down. Rather than continue I decided to let it cool down and try again another time. Oh well trial and error.

Day Pickles

Day pickles are pickles that are to be made in the morning and enjoyed all day, even for 1 or 2 days more if you can keep your fork out of the jar.

1 large cucumber

2/3 cup white vinegar

1 tbs kosher salt

1 1/3 cup of water

1 tbs dill seed

1 tbs dill weed

1 clove of garlic minced

I took the cucumber and sliced it thin. I mixed the ingredients and added the cucumber slices to the brine in a bowl. I covered the bowl and let it rest for 3 hours. Then I packed the pickles into a pint canning jar, poured the brine over them and sealed the jar then placed them in the fridge. When you go from the bwol to the jar you will have liquid left over, make sure you get the spices and garlic from the bottom of the brine.

To save time and energy, you can go straight to the pint jar.

Brine Pickles

Several years ago I tried to make dill pickles. I used the hot pack method. They always came out mushy and not very flavorful. This year I chose the old tried and true method of brining. I got some pickle sized cukes at walmart and some baby dill. Dill isn't quite in season yet. I started the brine about 6 weeks ago, skimming off the scum every few days. I ket them in a cool dark place. I didn't want the temp to get over 70 degrees.

They were a success. They are firm and not mushy. The dill flavor is lacking so Ill add more next time. The crushed red pepper brings some heat, but I think it is too much for the boys.

They are good but I think I can do better. Once this batch is eaten I will start a new batch.

Enjoy

Food and Time

For breakfast you have breakfast food, for lunch, lunch food and for dinner, dinner food. HOG WASH. Food knows no time. It cares not what the clock says. I believe you can eat any food any time of day. I eat whatever I want when I want. It maybe stuffed jalapenos for breakfast or an omelet for dinner.

When it comes to enjoying food, don't limit your self by the clock. Eat whatever you want whenever you wan't. And

HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FOOD!!!

Accidental Mashed Potatoes

A few days ago I was cooking beef filets. I planned on serving them with buttered potatoes and buttered corn. I was trying so hard to get the filets perfect, that I kind of forgot the potatoes. They boiled away un disturbed. When I strained them in the collander, they were very tender. Too tender as a matter of fact. I was kind of cook on the fly anyway so not to be bothered I thru in some butter and milk and got out the mixer. I yelled to the boys in the living room, "we are having mashed potatoes." The boys didn't seem affected at all.

Experimental Gardening

My neighbor told me that if you have potatoes that have eyes popping out all you have to do is lay them in the garden and cover them with straw. He swares they will grow. So we have a 12 pack bet. I put 6 of them out in the garden yesterday. We will see.

Canned Potatoes

My pressure canning experiment was a success. I was happy to see that. The canned potatoes came out with a mild salty flavor and were fork tender. They would be great for easy mashed potatoes or potato salad. I think I am going do do more canning as summers comes along.

Pressure Canning

Over the years Rob and I have canned a lot of salsa and sauce. We tried chili once but that didn't work out well. Our process was basically hot jars, hot lids and hot salsa. We would fill them and put on the lids and rings and then listen to them pop as they sealed. So now I am trying new processes. A lot of people I know can with a hot water bath method. But the water will never get over 212 degrees F. With a pressure cooker or canner you can get temps around 240 degrees F. That will kill most nasty things that can ruin you canned ingredients.

So I bought me an 8 quart pressure cooker. I bought it for cooking, because you can do beef stew in 30 minutes. Today I experimented with pressure canning. I put a rack in my cooker with several inches of water. My product was just a quart jar of raw potatoes and salt. Once the lid was sealed and the fire on I waited for the safety valve to pop up and then let it vent steam freely for 10 minutes, then I installed the 15 psi weight. Once the weight started gently rocking I let it cook for 30 minutes.

At 30 minutes I turned off the heat and let the steam vent off until the safety valve fell back down. I took out the quart of potatoes and let it cool. I just now heard the pop of the lid being sealed. This is the first time I have ever pressure canned anything, so I did it outside on my turkey cooker burner. Because of the wind I had to constantly adjust the heat to keep the weight rocking.

Tmorrow I will open the jar and see how it is. Hopefully good. So far it is and successful experiment.

Enjoy.

Cherries Jubilee

I don't eat sweets, no candy, cakes, pies etc. Because of that I never made desserts. In my quest for more knowledge about food and cooking, I have started making desserts. The last was a simple cherries jubilee. The whole family loved it. And no I didn't eat any. It was a simple recipe, the best part was the brandy flambe'.