Off Til October

 Sorry to say Foodie Pantry will be closed until the fall.Another bad fracture right below the original

Grill Those Veggies

 It's grilling season and that means plenty of dogs and burgers along with chicken steak, and seafood on the barbecue. Yet it also means veggies too. There's nothing like a nice side of grilled asparagus or fresh from the coals corn. Any veggie, even an avocado can be turned into a barbecue delight.

Steven Raichlen, the man most associated with the PBS favorites Primal Grill and Barbecue University wrote this informative guide in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Chef Raichlen is usually associated with grilling all things meaty  however here he goes for all things veggie. Like grilling any kind of meat or seafood , cooking and cooking times vary. What works for sturdy cauliflower will nor work for delicate asparagus and vice versa. Chef Raichlen breaks them down into categories which will make for easier grilling and more delicious dishes. There is also direct and indirect grilling. The first is perfect for soft vegetables such as mushrooms and zucchini along with bok choy and kale . Indirect grilling is done for meatier veggies like cauliflower or potatoes, both Idaho and sweet. It's cooking them in a closed grill (like the Egg) over a medium heat.

Chef Raichlen also includes some recipes as well. There is a delicious grilled zucchini that's also pretty.It's slicing the zucchini on a mandolin outfitted with a finger guard. This will turn the gourd into ribbons and then pushed onto wood or metal skewers . They should resemble old fashioned ribbon candy. Oil the grill with vegetable oil first to prevent sticking. You can add barbecue butter .a tasty blend of melted butter, barbecue rub or spice mix ,garlic and lemon zest. This would be a great side with chicken. Another recipe calls for corn with sesame soy butter. The butter is a mix of melted butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, and mirin or honey.  The cobs should have their ends cut off on one end while the husks should be pulled down and then tied with butcher's string. They're then basted with the soy sesame butter and browned three minutes on all side. After they're cooked, baste with more butter nad sprinkle with sesame seeds and chives.

It is grilling season but instead of meat try veggies. They're a nice side or change up from the usual chops or wings. Get some green on the barbecue this summer.

Yan Can Still Cook

 One of the biggest celebrities to come out of the Nineties was Martin Yan. He was the star of PBS's "Yan Can Cook", much like Julia Child was in the Sixties. Where did he go? He's still atound.

Regular contributor Priya Krishna interviewed him in today's New York Times Food section,He now has hos own YOu Tube channel with a modest audience. There are the same fans from thirty years ago along with a new generation of home chefs. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area where the PBS station there KQED reruns his shows.His background is humble. He left his home in Hong Kong to work for a family friend in their restaurant. He was thirteen, sleeping on the kitchen floor and working long hours .A church elder helped him secure a student visa to Calgary where he could attend university.It was at that city's TV station where his career began.CFAC-TV needed a filler so he filled in with a segment on Chinese cooking.The rest is history.

There were other CHinese chefs such as Joyce Chen and Cecilia Chiang who also started around the same time but Chef Yan's exuberant style made him stand out. He took his viewers inside an egg roll factory and into the kitchen of a dim sum factory. He had more access to these places because he spoke the different dialects that make up the Chinese language. Also he showed how to cook straight forward dishes as opposed to more complicated ones. This help draw in more people.As time went by he did introduce more intricate recipes. He built  a lucrative career ranging from cooking specials to speaking at schools companies and even festivals around the world.He wrote cookbooks and opened  restaurants in China and the USA.He has helped the careers of Ming Tsai , another PBS chef and  Brandon Jew.

Martin Yan may not have thhat glittering star power of Julia Child or Jacques Pepin. He does have staying power thanks to online media. He can still cook and do it well.

A Sweet Juneteenth Treat Homemade Strawberry Soda

 Everything red and traditional will be served this Saturday for Juneteenth, the holiday that celebrates the end of enslavement in the US. There are red velvet cakes and  red beans and rice. Some will have red barbecue sauce. What to drink? Strawberry soda. The old fashioned home made kind.

The first step is making the syrup. This is taking:

1 1/2 cups -destemmed  strawberries cut into halves or quarters

1 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar,

Combine all three ingredients in a sauce pan over a medium high heat. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for twenty minutes, Strain the strawberries out from the syrup, Don't press down on them or they'll make the syrup cloudy. Save this mash for yogurt or ice cream. Chill the syrup in the fridge for an hour or two. Keep in mind you can use other summer fruits like peaches , blueberries and nectarines too.

After make the soda according to Soda Stream instructions add about three tablespoons to the carbonated water. Shake bottle to mix and chill until serving.

This is the perfect soda for the celebration but it's also a great drink for the summer. Add it to your Juneteenth celebrations. 

Flag Day - Start Of The Barbecue Season

 Today is Flag Day and it's really the start of the barbecue season. What will work this season of getting back together. Everything and anything goes.

Barbecue is coming back in a big way. We can now have family get togethers and pool parties again. You can go huge with bison burgers and rib eye steaks, For a smaller get together think of grilled lamb chops. These are over the top but affordable. Keep in mind to let them warm up to room temp before putting them on the barbecue.Another over the top meat to grill is lobster. The tail is the best for this so you can easily buy the tails at your local fish market. Preparing it is not as hard as some home chefs think.Use the same cooking shears you use for butterflying chicken to cut away the shell. It's then using a knife to split the tail meat. THis will curl up when cooking so put it on wood skewer to prevent this from happening. You could also use the skewers for shrimp kebobs too. Intersperse grape tomatoes and pepper chunks for more flavor.This works for scallops too along with London Broil.

 It's also time for fancy  summer drinks since we are celebrating again.Many would just prefer beer  but what  about some of the fancier IPA(or India pale ales). Get the best like the San Diego brewed Ballast Point Sculpin. This has a tropical fruit flavor, a great thirst quencher for a hot night. The company has gone out on a limb with such diverse flavors as habenero, grapefruit and coffee.Another IPA is the popular Dogfish Head Flesh and Blood. Try this with good old fashioned burgers and dogs.It's brewed with lemon flesh and blood orange juice. Lemon and orange peels are also added in to give this a grown up lemonade vibe. Another grown up lemonade is the actual stuff with a shot of vodka. Just make the lemonade fresh and add what you feel is a good and heady amount. Want something tamer? Try mocktails. You can create a refreshing one using pureed watermelon, lime juice and seltzer. Garnish with mint leaves.A non'alcoholic punch made up of cranberry and orange juices and spicy ginger beers. Float orange slices in it for a more festive look.

Flag Day begins the barbecue season. Celebrate with a good old fashioned barbecue and a fun drink. It's time to enjoy the grill again.

Happy Birthday ,Poppy.

Easy Summer Meals

 I know I won/t be cooking anything elaborate this summer. It will be simple and good. Summer is a tough season and cooking with only one hand harder still.

Here is a list of some easy dishes  anyone can make,

Grilled veggies. Use a colorful mix of zucchini, beefsteak tomatoes, peppers and onions. You can try them shish kebob style too.

Grilled meats- Think London Broil, chicken, shrimp and salmon. Try lobster for more extravagance

Grilled pita - Top with cheese or tomatoes or try hummus or baba ganoush.

Gazpacho, This Spanish classic is an easy whir of veggies, olive oil and vinegar. Think liquid salad but tastier.

Pasta salad, Yes,, it's a barbecue side but it can be made toothier with the addition of cubed ham or chicken, Use tuna for a different spin.

Charcuterie A no brainer. Serve every one's favorite  cold cuts and cheeses with sliced French bread and olives.

Salad Nicoise, This Provencale classic can hold everything from hard boiled eggs to tuna along with a host of veggies.

Make these dishes for an easy season of lunches and dinnersThey just take a few minutes to whip up. Enjoy!!!

One Handed Cooking Microplane Grating

 One thing about prepping and  cooking with one arm. It's hard. Yes , people have done it and still do it. Yet it's difficult. Luckily I found that I can use my simple micoplaner to create some different dishes.

I've gotten into fruit a lot in a way thanks to being prediabetic but also it's easy to eat to breakfast. I've been wanting an easy dessert. Why not combine good for you dark chocolate with it.

Yet what was an easy way to serve it? That's where the microplaner (that I bought at Stop and Shop years ago) came in. Chocolate is very easy to grate and it produces a dust that completely covers the strawberries, bananas and blueberries.It looks like cinnamon but  it's Lindt 90 % cacao. It works perfectly for this. It's just an easy meal ender or snack. Keep in mind that this file can also be used to create fluffy clouds of Parmesan for pastas. It could also be used for the Spanish treat pan di tomat for grating tomatoes to go with the toasted bread.

Yes, it;s hard to cook one handed or partially with two. Yet a micoplanet helps in prepping. It's a great tool to have in the kitchen.

Messing Around

 Why would anyone eat army food? It's not the greatest at times, sometimes being made with the cheapest ingredients. Yet a variation is popular again,. Many foodies and even home chefs are turning to MREs - Meals Ready To Eat. Are they that good?

That's what regular contributor to the Times , Priya Krishna wanted to know in yesterday's New York Times Food section. These took off during the pandemic. They're not fancy. Yet they're still popular as the pandemic is closing down. They're not new.They're basically for those in combat away from field kitchens. The Civil War had hardtack to sustain soldiers while WW2 had what is known as C rations namely canned meats and breads. The war in the Persian Gulf updated them to create more diverse and tasty meals. Now thanks to You Tube  reviews.

Yet are these meals tasty? According to Emmy Cho who has her own You Tube Channel, they are. She states that the meals were both nostalgic and surprising, You don't always know what you're going to get.The pepperoni pizza has a dense crust and flavorless cheese.The cherry blueberry cobbler is a sweet goo while the tortellini are rubbery. There is no aroma - only the mix of magnesium and iron inside the heater that automatically cook the pouches. A dash of water activates this. Yet some love this.

Will MREs be the new foodie trend? Possibly. They're an acquired taste. Maybe with even better ingredients and more flavors they can be.

The Pantry Is Open Again!!!!!!

 Yes, it's wide open and its' been a frustrating month thanks to a fractured (And Now fixed humerus) I'm still not 100 per cent healed that will take physical  therapy.By the time that happens I'll be needing cooking therapy.

It's funny when you're injured how friends and family come with food. Friends cooked my favorite recipes, ordered from goo restaurants and ordered food baskets. All this helped tremendously especially in those early days when i couldn't even was let alone cook. I miss cooking and food shopping. There's something soothing about cooking a curry rich choley or a flavorful spinach and mushroom sauce for pasta. I was even going to plant a garden which brings me to an interesting article in today's New York Times Food section today. It's an article about old fashioned watermelon breeds, written by regular contributor Nicole Taylor. Ms Taylor interviewed  film maker and fourth generation farmer, Gabrielle E. W. Carter. Ms. Carter grows heirloom watermelon in her family's farm in Apex ,  The delicious fruit was indigenous of Africa and is kind of related to cucumbers, pumpkins and loofah Yes, that loofah that gives us those scrub sponges. Ms. Carter is reviving an original breed. with ebony seeds and sweet candy pink flash.

Why is it important that original strains like  Sugar Baby thrive? One  , because it connects the past to the present. This was emphasized in the Netflix "High On The Hog" series on African cooking. Both Ms. Carter and her uncle Andrew were featured in it. The heirloom varieties were a connection to ancestral lands. The second reason is that the melons are more flavorful than the hybrids we have now. What our stores have is just a pale imitation. Ms. Carter also includes her country panzanella with watermelon dressing. This is  a sweet and savory salad perfect for the upcoming Juneteenth  celebrating the end of slavery in Texas/ It also is good at every summer barbecue or elegant backyard supper. Ms. Clark takes cut watermelon and mixes it with red onion, cucumbers and feta cheese.Toasted and oiled cubed ciabatta bread is the base , absorbing the blend of juices and herbs. The dressing has the watermelon along with garlic and red pepper flakes to give it zing.

The pantry is wide open again There will still be recipes like the watermelon panzanella and soon cooking too. The how tos will be back as well. 

Special thanks to Lou who ordered us food and took me food shopping at WalMart < Lili and Polly for cooking my favorite stuffed tomatoes and rice, and Debbie who sent one of the yummiest food baskets.  You are my salt and pepper , olive oil and vinegar.

Also thanks to Dr V, for giving me the OK to write again, This is the nutrition I need to survive.