California Cooking Southern Style

Many think that California cuisine is heavily inflienced by Mecican and Asian cuine yet there is another influence - the African American one. Fueled by thirty years of Great Migration, this is a cuisine with Southern roots and Golden State ingredients. It's finally being acknowledged in a cookbook by a California chef.

Food writer and podcaster of  A Hungry Society  Korsha Wilson wrote about this and chef Tanya Holland in today's New York Times Food section. Chef Holland is the author of a new book highlighting California soul food.Tanya Holland's California Soul : Recipes from a California Journey West (Ten Speed Press 2022)> She has written other cookbooks and also hosted a TV cooking show "Tanya's Kitchen Table." Yet it is her restaurant Brown Sugar Kitchen that made her famous. Hers is a fusion of her parents Louisiana and  Virginian roots with California grown and native ingredients. Hery chunky apple, sliced Granny Smith apples caramelized in a cast iron skillet.  recipe was parially inspired by her grandmother back in Virgnia, she also baked rolls with sweet potato  along with cooking apple cider braised pork chops and gumbo z'herbes with crab and prawns. This type of fusion cooking came about from the Great Migration between  1940 to 1970 when African americans left Lousiana and Texas and settled in Oakland and Los Angeles. The brought their recipes with them and subbed in Dungeneess crab for blue  and used rice grown in the Sacramanto Valley for Lousiaina classics like jambalaya and dirty rice. Santa Maria style barbecue blended with Texas  smokehouse tradition.

Chef Holland's background is an impressive mix. She was born in Connect cut and raised in Rochester , new York.  She trained in Burgundy, france at the Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne after graduating from the University of Virginia. She worked at a series of French style restuarants in the US but was routinely denied the opportunity to learn new skills and mive up through the ranks. she had to create her own opportunities. she moved the San Francisco Bay area whre she opened Brown Sugar Kitchen. she sourced local bakers and farmers to stock her eatery.  She has left there and now works with the James Beard foundation to make its' award more inclusive. Three of her recipes are included in the article. There is her gumbo that is loaded with Dungeness crab and shrimp, spiced with file and thyme.It also has potatoes , onion and - a California influence coconut milk in it. Then there are her sweet potato rolls which take a new spin on a classic bread recipe. Her date bars are a nod to one of California 's most popular fruits, dates. She makes a paste of them and uses it as the filling for rich brown sugar and butter rich cookie .

California soul cooking is an important part of the state's culinary history.It is a fusion of traditional recipes and native ingredients. It's a perfect marriage that creates delicious dishes.

Farfalla Soup Pasta

 One of my Mom's favorite dishes was a hybrid of chicken broth and farfalle or butterfly pasta in sauce. This fusion dish was and still is perfect for the cold days ahead. It's an easy mix that's sure to please. Just serve with garlic bread for a hearty week day or weekend meal.

It starts with two containers of veggie broth for a vegan spin on the recipe. I used Acme's Signature brand but you could use chicken or beef broth too.

This is cooked for twenty minutes and then the farfalle is added.

Farfalle is a tricky pasta to cook. The middle takes longer than the ends because they're pinched together. You have to be patient with it. It does take about twenty minutes to cook properly no matter what liquid you cook it in.

                        It's then adding the Ragu sauce and mushrooms to make it heartier

I think a smaller can of just roasted tomatoes would work better. This gave me a whole pot of pasta soup.

It was then cooking it for another few minutes until the farfalle were tender on the ends and al dente in the middle.

                                 Of course you have to have garlic bread with it . Salads work too with this

The end result was more like a tomato soup with pasta. I think it will taste even better reheated with some Melt plant butter added. It was good with the garlic bread, very tomato-y , thanks to Ragu's intense flavor.

This pasta soup is the best chill chaser you can make. It;s a tasty blend of traditonal farfalle and broth. Try it for a tasty way to combat the cold.

Party On A Budget

 In another couple of weeks it will be party season. Theres only one problem with it this year - sky high costs. How do you celebrate when pinching pennies?It will take a lot of planning.

Many home chefs do live to have some kind of holiday get together. It could be a tree trimming party or a cookie exhcnage .it could just be cocktails  and fancy nibbles with friends Yet all these cost money and this year some products and incrediets are almost fifty to seventy per cent higher in price. What to do?Budget. Look at cheaper alternatives and ways to stretchh those party dollars. One good idea is having a pot luck holiday party. Have friends bring over their favorite dishes instead of you making all of them. ask people to cook or bake dishes that can feed a crowd. Lasagna is one and it cna be made cheaply if using in store brands along with going vegan. Sub in veggies for ground beef or look to sales and Beyond Meat for an alternative. The same goes for mac and cheese. You can splurge on the cheese a little while saving on the pasta.As far as cakes and cookies, ask guests to look for whatever is on sale and use those to create party desserts.There should be some kind of drinking. Limit it to alcoholic and non alcoholic punches which can be diluted with plenty of seltzer and juice.

Another idea is to shop for bargains. You'll have to rely on  Target,Wal-Mart Acme , Stop & Shop  Shop Rite and Aldi for this. Wal-Mart is usually much cheaper than the  other groceries.  You could easily get chicken breasts and shrimp to turn into fancy kebobs. They also have great cookie trays and cheesecake platters. Aldi is another store with plenty of bargains. Buy their summer sausage along with a panino deli tray wich is three kinds of cold cuts  like salami wrapped around small mozzarella sticks. Think Acme, Stop & Shop and Shop Rite if you want to buy shrimp trays for a decent price along with their wide range of affordable desserts. Target has always had excellent pricings (plus five percent off if you hav etheir Red Card) on their appetizers and hors d'ouevres.  You may have to store hop to get the best bargains but it will be worth it to have a table full of good food. Check out Wine Warehouse along with any discount liquor stores in your area. There's sure to be some good bulk pricing not only on wine but on the less expensive champagnes too. Another idea is limit your menu. Don't have shrimp and sushi . Have one or the other. Have veggies and dip but don;t pair it with a large charcuterie board. One or the other will get neglected. have a sampler board with just a few meats cheeses and crackers. Cut down on desserts too. One trifle and three or four different kinds of cookies should be the perfect ending.

You can party on a budget. It just takes thoughtful planning and smart shopping. This ensures a gathering thats still festive and fun.

Up Next

 Thanksgiving planning is over, Now what? Do you take a break or start planning for the next holiday? What to do next?

Most home chefs will take a break from any kind of cooking and baking. Thanksgiving is always draining and it is nice to take a couple weeks off just to relax. This is the time to get out the crockpot or Insta pot ad start thiuking stews and chilis. They're easy to make and easy to store leftovers. You can also use leftover turkey for a white chili. This is cooking the turkey cooked with cannelini beans and Monterey Jack cheese. Onions and garlic are also added as are such spices as cumin, oregano and garlic along with cinnamon. It's a nice dish to come home to on a blustery cold night. This is also a good time to think about cooking other easy dishes like hamburgers and hot dogs .These are easy to grill and again are filling. if you're still tapped out from the holiday then order in. You can easily get a roasted chicken and sides at any grocery store or Wal-Mart. Also take advantage of the family sized meals from Marie Callender's and Stouffer's family style meals that can feed four  to five people.

What about those home chefs and bakers who are all set to tackle Christmas and Hanukkah? The last is later this year, starting December 18th and ending on the 26th. Both holidays require cooking and baking. It;s a good time to start stocking up especially if groceries are offering after Thanksgiving sales. Write down your plans. Are you planning a cookie exchange? Will there be family parties as well as a sit down dinner? Are you going to be on a budget? These are all factors to consider in the upcoming weeks. You can  easily pace yourself with both shopping, cooking and baking. It;s also a good time to assess all your baking equipment. is your cookie shooters up to par? Is the barrel that holds the dough cracked? Take advantage of sales to get a new one. Also check your cookie cutters. Do you feel like you need one or two new ones? Check your shapes. You don't want to have just snow flakes or reindeer. Get a new one like a sleigh or Santa to mix things up What about the latkes? Do you need a new peeler?  You can easily make them in an air fryer which is also on sale now.

what's up next is up to you. You can take it easy for th next couple of weeks. You could also start your holiday cooking and baking plans. It's your decision.

Turn Those Leftovers Into Gold

 Black Friday usally means shop til you drop. It also means dealing with yesterday's leftovers. What do you do with them or the overage from ingredients? Turn them into yummy dishes.

This had been nagging at me  all last night. I had extra Just Egg egg substitute and vegetable broth left over from yesterday's vegan French bread stuffing. It dawned one me what I can make with them  -. pompiest, that Piedmontese comfort food , breadcrumb soup.

I used these leftover ingredients with a cup and a half of breadctumbs, cooked and combined to create a soothing potage. It was a stomach calming  respite from yesterday's filling meal. It also made for a hot tasty lunch too.

Thanksgiving provides us with all sorts of leftover.  Melissa Clark wrote about using leftover  turkey in a number of ways in Wednesday's The New York Times Food section.  It's best in a soup where you can spice it and add pearled barley as Cristiana  N> de Carvalho did , using her native Brazilian mother's recipe. There are also turkey enchiladas and pot pies, the last made with left over veggies too. Keep in mind other leftovers can be totally transformed.I may turn those sweet potatoes into air fried wedges. Brussels sprouts can also be crisped up again in the air fryer. f course the best is just turkey reheated with stuffing and gravy to continue with the holiday.

Those leftovers are culinary gold. They can be turned into any savory lunch or dinner. Be creative with them to create a tasty meal.

A Good Thanksgiving And Stuffing Too

 For all my readers whether in the US or around the world Happiest of Thanksgivings. May it have been as nectic and delicious as my own vegan one.

This is the day's masterpiece - a vegan French bread stuffing with fresh thyme, made with Acme's Signature brand veggie broth and Just Eggs as the softener and binder. It was pretty good - even better reheated.

Do you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share? Let me know. It could be just as good as my stuffing.

Cranberry Facts

 what would the Thanksgiving table be without cranberry jelly? Its' rich ruby coloring and tart taste gives zing to an other wise bland table. This American classic is truly just that more American than apple pie<Its history is as old as the country and continent itself.

Regular contributor Christina Morales wrote about them in todays' New York Times Food section.It actually jellied cranberry which is the star and its' been around for 110 years.It was created in 1912 by Massachusetts farmer and lawyer Marcus L. Uran. Mr. Uraan wanted to support local cranberry famrers in his native Massachusetts. he also bought a bog as well. He had the idea to extend the usual two month cranberry season to all year round by pressing them into juice and prederving them into jellies. This became the famed Ocean Spray company in 1930, also created by John Makepeace of Massacusetts and Elizabeth Lee of New Jersey. They created one of the first farm cooperatives which is now owned by seven hundred farmers nationwide. The canned sauce was first served in 1941 and has been a classic ever since.  A phenomenon is that Gen Zers have disovered this as they take over holiday cooking from older relatives. Cranberry jelly is also becoming the star of Friendsgiving dinners too.

It is popular with a four percent rise in production despite the price being raised twenty per cent higher than last year fifteen billion cranberries were harvested during that time. About a thousand farms grow them according to Karen Cahill, marketing director of the Cranberry Marketing Committee. The fruits need a lot fo land. To just grow an acre of cranberries a farmer needs another five to seven acres of support land just for the water's reservoir system.Contrary to popular believe they do not grow in water  but rather in a moist well drained environment. These beds also called bogs are flooded with eighteen to thirty inches of water  when the berries are ready to be harvested in September and October. The cranberries rise to the top of the bog, thanks to each berry having four air pockets. Farmers uses rakes and tractors to detach them fron their vines. The harvested berries are then put into yellow containment booms, that also are used for corraling oil spills. They're cleaned a number of times before going off to the processing center to be frozen. Their skins and seeds are removed and they're mashed into a puree Corn syrup is added to this then they're filtered and pacled into cans. everything is then lableled and boxed ready to be shipped to groceries around the country.

Cranberries are one of the most American foods we can eat.It's pnly fitting that they're served at the most American of holidays. Enjoy a slice of it with your meal tomorrow.

Table Set

 Does anyone know how to set a table? Yes you put plates in a certain way along with cutlery and glasses. Many of us, though have been doing it wrong, There is a right   and elegant way of doing such.

A basic table setting just has the dinner plate flankled by one fork on the diner's left and a knife on the diner's right.next to the knife is the dessert spoon (or soup spoon if soup is being served.) The fork is placed on a napkin, although if you want to be traditional , then place the napkin on the diner's right hand side. A water glass is also placed on this side as well. If you're planning a more formal dinner then you'll have to add salad forks and dessert spoons and forks. The salad fork is place directly to the right of the dinner fork. The dessert spoon and fork are placed on the top section of the place setting. A smaller plate for your dinner roll is placed  on the left along with a smaller butter knife.On the right hand side there should be three glasses arranged in a triagular pattern. The bottom two should be the water on the left hand side while the glass for the white wine sits opposite it. In back of these is the red wine glass. If you want to be fancy add place tags. These are placed behind the dinner plate and sometimes flanked by small individual salt and pepper shakers.

What about a buffet table? Do the rules of etiquette apply to it as well? Not really. The integrity of the food is what matters here. Hot food should be on one end, while cooler dishes like salads and cold cuts should be on the other end. The two temps should not be mixed. You can add a wooden block to the middle of the table for the chafing dishes. This highlights the main sides like gravy and stuffing. Another idea is placing the hot dishes on another table for complete separation. Doing such will allow guests to choose what they want first. The first items on the buffet table should be plates and cutlery. It's up to you as the host to decide whether to use your good china if you have enough to suit a lot of guests or  elegant plastic ones. Many choose the last and luckily they're easy to get from Amazon. At the end of th e t able are the napkins (and wet wipes if there are sticky or messy finger foods).After dinner the tables are cleared and then the desserts are put out. Again follow the same protocol but add cups and saucers for coffee and tea. Put urns of coffee and hot water where the chafing dishes were along with a basket of assorted teas and sweeteners. You can also have creamers on the table or place them on individual tables along with sugar or honey. 

A well set table reflects on the host. It's showing a level of tastefulness that will add to the dinner. The perfect place setting is the key to the perfect meal. 

The Well Rounded Cranberry

 Cranberries are just for jellies or juices. They can be used in everything from stuffings to mocktails along with being the star of many a dessert. They're more well rounded than you think.

Cranberries should be a part of the Thanksgiving dinner. Ditch that slimy jelly though and rethink them. A great idea using them as a glaze for the bird itaelf. It's cooking two pounds of the fresh berries in a sweet savory mix of onions,butter sugar rosemary and the cranberries along with vinegar and orange zest.It;s cooked over a low flame until the cranberries burst.It's simmered and then strained (save the mash for a side).The glaze is then brushed over the turkey after two hours of roasting. This can also be used for chicken too. Cranberries can also zing up stuffing too.Used the dried ones or Craisins for a filling that;s also redolent with walnuts too.It's still perfect with gravy thanks to the the traditional sage and thyme added. For this tormbread or bread cubes can be used.Surprisingly these bright gems can also be highlight veggie dishes too. Try a kale and cranberry salad. It's even more tastier with the addition of almonds and goat cheese. A zingy Dijon -orange viniagrette dewesses it. Brussels sprouts can also benefit from it.Roast the two together with a maple glaze for a unique  side.

Keep in min that cranberries are also great in a dessert. They're perfect in a pie , in a mousse like form with the addition of gelatin , heavy cream and coconut milk. Another dessert that the kids would love are cranberry bars with cream cheese frosting.This is combining fresh berries with a cookie dough and then decorating it with a creamy topping. You could even add a sprinkle of Craisins on top for an even more festive look. Another fun cranberry dessert recipe is tartlets. This is mix of a buttery crust made just butter cream cheese and flour. The filing is a custardy mix of egg, cranberries, vanilla and sugar. You could add a glaze but a puff of whipped cream would really give it that gilded edge. What about those fun mocktails and cocktails? A fun mocktail is mixng cranberry juice with any flavored seltzer like Waterloo Seltzers. Try it mixed with  their cherry or blackberry lemonade flavors. There's the perfect amount of fizz and sparkle. Add a sprig of mint or a stick of mixed otange wedges and cherries.The most famous cranberry ccoktail is the Cape Codder.This is mixing vodka with cranberry juice. You could also make a cheery cranberry sangria with red wine and triple sec. Add some orange juice for a sweet citrus-y kick. 

It would be a shame to just have jellied cranberries. Try them in either savory or sweet dishes. Wnjoy them in any drink. They're an incredibly versatile fruit that's perfect in anything and everything.

Tweaking Tradition

 There;s nothing like time homored recipes. Yet they may be too time honored and may need to be updated,especially for the holidays. It's not completely disregarding the recipe.It's enhancing it with new flavors and new cooking methods.

Have you ever thought of using the sous vide method on your turkey. This is a different way of cooking a turkey but it provides the bird with juicy , flavorful meat. You do need a sous vide machine to do this. They're around $99 on Amazon if you want to get one overnighted. You will have to butterfly or spatchcock the bird along with giving it time in the oven for crisp skin.Then there's dry brining it instead of wet and cooking it in a hot water bath for six hours. Another tweaking idea is spatchcocking the bird for a more even roast.It's split open thanks to poultry scissors (which cna be bought at any grocery store) and the back bone is removed. This lets it sit flat on the roasting pan where it cooks for just two hours. Butterfying or spatchcocking also works for any other kind of poultry too like Cornish hens and chicken. Of course you'd never omit thhe turkey's must have - stuffing but you can tweak it.Instead of the usual bread crumbs, stale bread especially French or Italian works just as fine. It gives for  a more chewy and crunchy bite. You could also add some soft pretzels too for flavor and texture.

Sides always deserve a tweaking. Everyone makes the usual sweet potatoes with marshmallows. This may have been great decades ago but its time to update them. Try them as fries , crisped in the air fryer. These are definitely a fun change up everyone will like .in fact they'll be the first to go. Another idea is mashing them. This is the same as the traditional mashed potato recipe with boiling them first and then mashing with milk and a stick of butter or plant butter. Add a tiny drizzle of maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg for more flavor. If you opt for potatoes then think smashed for something different. This is taking red or yellow potatoes and boiling until tender. It's then smashing them with a masher and baking them on a large baking sheet. You can drizzle olive oil on them, followed by a sprinkle of rosemary leaves. Theur crispy texture and meaty interiro are reminiscent of French fries  but they have more oomph. This cam be done to that other Thanksgiving staple Brussels sprouts. Again it;s just boiling until tender and then smashing them. They're then popped into the air fryer with just a salt and pepper seasoning . If you  want to be fancietr sprinkled htem with Parmesan cheese and some chili powder.

Traditional needs to be tweaked in onder to remain fresh and relevant. Start with family recipes. it will make for a more interesting and delicious Thanksgiving.

Are You Thanksgiving Ready?

 It's that question that's asked every year. Are you Thanksgiving ready? Have you been stockpiling? Testing all the appliances? Checking pots and pans? It's time to look over what will be the busiest room in the house.

One thing home chefs can do is look over their larger appliances. Is the oven working correctly? What about the microwave and air fryer? These are sub major players in the whole meal game but if can be dire if they break. Microwaves are used for melting butter and cheese along with quick vegetable steaming . Air fryers come in handy for crisping up rolls along with  air frying potato and sweet potato wedges. Make sure they up to par and their wires are still sturdy. Other smaller items to check on - mixers and blenders. MIxers are usied for everyhting from kneading bread dough to even easily mashing potatoes. Blenders are used for batters and blending ingredients for salad dressings. Check to make sure the machines are running smoothly and the blender body is not cracked. Food processors and choppers should also be examined. These too are integral in creating the perfect dishes too. Look over you knives as well. Do they need to be sharpened? Now is the time to do it - in that calm period before all the cooking frenzy.

Once the appliances are thoroughly checked  then start looking at your ingredients. Have you bought your turkey yet? Buy it now because you never know if your store may run out or may run out fo the size you want.Vegan and vegetarians should also have their tofurkey already bought. Some places may only carry two or one tofurkey kits (these include a glaze and stuffing). You may have to drive around and look in two r three stores before finding one. The same applies to Gardein's turkey cutlets and gravy. This is my Thanksgiving go too and I noticed stores like Target and Acme didn't really stock it as they did in the past. I had to  buy it two weeks ago and it was the last one in my local Acme. Another item to stock up on now is pre made stuffing. Many home chefs don't like the idea of making the dish from scratch , although they'll never have to run out of bread. Get a box of the family's faovrite stuffing now. Green beans are going to be popular too , thanks to everyone planning on making casseroles.Of you can;t fidn them sub in another veggie like lima beans or corn. Also make sure you have enough flour , sugar and spices for baking along with eggs. They may seem like a small things  but also check to see if you have enough napkins and containers for leftovers too.

Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Be ready now for it. It does pay to be prepared,

More Thanksgiving ideas

 Don't be nervous about next week. Yes it's the biggest cooking day of the year but it doesn't haven't tobe the most worrisome. Thanks to the New York Times Thanksgiving will be a dream to plan.

Yesterday's Food section had a cornucopia of recipes and ideas. There was a huge article on veggie dishes that was explored yesterday.Now it's time for the meat and traditional ones.One article that stands out is one  regular contributor Genevieve Ko wrote about the famed Ina Gartner. Ms. Gartner gave recipes that feature store bought ingredients, Hers is an easy cook and bake, in the spirit of her latest and thirteenth (!) cookbook  "Go To Dinners" A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook" (Clarkson Potter Publishing 2022) Her recipes include Parmesan Mashed Potatoees that uses Bob Evans already made mashed spuds and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Ocean Spray cranberry sauce is the base of her apple spiked cranberry sauce while Pepperidge Farm herbed croutons and Harveys; Bristol Cream are part of her tasty Murshroom and Gruyere bread pudding. Yes there is a dessert , namely pie, a lush bourbon chocolate pecan one. her crust is a store bought one  suc as Wholly Wholesome. The chocolate is not gourmet. It's Nestles semisweet chocolate chips. The only recipe without any prepared ingredients is her turkey and gravy one which is a flavorful traditioanl one spiked with lemon,

Melissa Clark also contributes . Hers is non -pie desserts. One of the easiest is her riff on the great Marian Burros plum torte.However she's used pears instead but maintained the cardamon along with the grated lemon or orange zest.The pears are first poached with sugar and red wine., They're then sliced  and added to a buttery cake batter. Another great end would be her pumpkin butterscotch custard with spiced whipped cream. It;s traditional homemade goodness with the addition of a cup of pumpkin puree for color and a holiday taste. The rest is a lush mix of heavy cream, whole milk and butter. There is also five large eggs and four yolks for a creamy thickness.  Ms. Clark adds a tiny quarter teaspoon of pumpkin spice and two teaspoons vanilla or bourbon. The topping has more punpkin spice added to sugar and heavy cream. There are pies - whoopie ones.She used her two bite cinnamon scented ones that hold a cream cheese icing filling. This continues in the Thanksgiving vein with the addtion of homemade cranberry sauce for a swirl of color.

Thanksgiving will be a breeze with these recipes. They're tasty , easy and fun. These recipes will add to any table whether for dinner and dessert.

A Veggie Lover's Thanksgiving

 Can you have a Thanksgiving without the bird? YES!!!! It's easy to opt for a vegetarian holiday and even party by just using all sorts of vegetables. Going meatless is a great and economic change up from past Thanksgivings.

Vegetarian and regular contributor Alexa Weibelgave gave a wealth of delicious looking recipes in today's New York Times food section. The entirie issue is Thanksgiving centered (more on it tomorrow).  Ms. Weibel's recipes are perfect for the growing number of people forgoing meat and those who just can;'t afford a turkey this year. Her ombre gratin would be the perfect recplacement, with it's layers of red potatoes, beets, sweet potatoes and butternut squash . Berween these layers are Gruyere cheese and and savory cream, enriched with three egg yolks , half and half and butter. It's spiced with garlic and whiole peppercorns along with shallot bayleaves and thyme. Nutmeg gives it a little sweetness. It's topped with a buttery,crunchy layer of phylo dough. To be honest this would also make a great Christmas, New Year's or hoiday party dish as well. Another show stopper are the the roasted cabbage wedge with lemon vinaigrette.It's cutting a whole head into equally sized wedges and then brusing them with a mix of olive oil,lemon zest and juice along with Dijon mustard, honey and garlic. These are roasted until caralemized for thirty to forty minutes.They're served cold with a lemon vinaigrette that's plush with creme fraiche and mayo, Dill and parsley decorate it.

Other recipes which can be good sides as well as the main dish too. Home chefs will love the roasted mushrooms with the smoky pomegranate sauce. The mushrooms are first tossed with granulated onion,  , and poultry seasoning, then brushed with olive oil. They're then steamed and roasted. The pomengrante sauce, enhanced with garlic, butter and scallions along with ancho chiles and peppercorns are drizled on them. Brussels sprouts lovers will enjoy them roasted with honey almonds and Fresno chiles These are first dressed and then roasted on a sheet pan. for a fun dish try the ginger beer glazed butternut squash with gremolata. THis is a colorful dish with cooking ginger beer with vegetable stock  until it boils. The squash is then added in an even layer. Cook until the squash is tender for about twenty five minutes until th eliquid becomes a glaze While this cooks , make the gremolata. It's a mix of fresh ginger,parsley, garlic and orange zest. This is sprinkled over the squash for a truly bright looking dish.

It's easy to go vegetarian for Thanksgiving. Use these dishes for a tasty and meat free meal. You'll feel better doing so 

Add Some Spice To Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving dinner is traditionally American despite us being a country of many nationaltites. its's the same oldbird and mashed potatoes  with some tables offering green bean cassetole. What about chainging it up a bit? Add some of that international spice to this all American meal.

One of the most interesting ways to change it up is varying the turkey. Most home chefs rub the bird with butter and just season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. This is fine but it lacks some spark. Think about adding some oregano and lemon for a Mediterranean twist.Use about two tablespoons of fresh or dried oregano and use in a salt rub. It's then basted with a combination of lemon oil and olive oil. For a reslly different flavor try the Szechuan five spice as a rub.It can be bought or made at home. it's a mix of Szechuan peppercorns, star anise,cloves cinnamon and fennelk seeds.it's rubbing the skin with it before cooking. As for the stuffing keep with the Asian theme. Try a sticky rice one with Chinese or sweet rice, shiitake mushrooms, along with shallots and water chesnuts. You can add the Chinese wine shaoxing wine along with soy sauce and cooked vaccuum sealed chestnuts. The recipe calls for soaking the rice overnight and then steaming it until it's translucent.everything is then fried in a skillet with peanut or olive oil.

Changing up the turkey may be too much for some . what about changing the sides instead. The New York Times food section has a yuca recipe that sounds intriguing. Yuca is a  South American tuber which looks like a sweet potato but has white flesh.On it's own it has a mild nutty taste but garlic, milk and butter is added to give it a tasty , creamy flavor. Yuca does require work. All the layers and veins have to be peeled off until all the flesh is showing. It's then cut into thirds, and boiled in water with garlic.Once boiled the milk and butter is added and its mashedlike potatoes.Broccoli is almost always on the Thanksgiving table. It's usually drenched in cheese or butter. Try spicing it uo with curry fior a different flavor. Cook it air fried or sheet pan style for crispiness.As for the curry paste you can control the heat . If you're family likes fiery then gets the strongest or most intense version. If they are averse to any kind of heat, don;t worry . You can always use garam masala instead.Ginger powder is also used but this can be omitted too. The broccoli is tossed int e spcies and then roasted.

Thanksgiving may be an American meal but it can have international influence. Spike up the bird or the sides for a more memorable holiday. it's a nice change up from the usual.

Five Years Without The Chef

It's been five years since we lost the master chef, my Mom. I still miss her - her culinary advice and her joy in discovering new places to  food shop and eat. She has been on my mind a lot these last few weeks as I esplore new farms and shops.

My Mom would have loved Terhune Farms in Princeton and probably would have liked a sip of their many wines instead of cider. Apple butter would have been on her list of must buys along with a good crusty bread to spread it upon. She would have been intrgued by the Asisan food Market I just visited down in Pmainsboro. How she would have felt about seeing th elive fish would have prompred a few remarks about capturing animals to cook them (although she was no vegan or even vegetarian, she did not like the idea of seeing animals suffering). The endless aisles of all sorts of Asian and Indian foods may have made an impression and I know she would have definitely bought cellophane noodles for  one of her signature dishes , a take on the Szechuan ants climbing a tree. This was always a favorite in our house, with ground beef, and later soy crumbles sauteed with scallions and cooked clear rice noodles.The endless shelves of teas would have also caught her fancy and I'm sure we would have brought home a few boxes.

As for some of my new dishes - I hoped she would have liked my  air  fried zucchini boats. She loved zucchini and tryung this way with bread crumbs and tomatoes would have also appealed to her. It's reminiscent of our family dish tomatoes provencale. She may have made ti with variations such as a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or added the soy crumbles to the filling.she may have suggested air frying zucchini slices or coins until they're crisp for a fun side with hamburgers. How would she have dealt with the new barbecue? This is the most luxurious we've ever bought so she would be engrossed in not only barbecuing but also smoking a variety of different meats. It definitely would have cooked whole Cornish hens and possibly London Broil along with the usual hot dogs and hamburgers. She may have liked Mexican street corn or eliote and she wouldhave put her own spin on it. The ears would be brushed with butter, roasted and then sprinkled with Parmesan and maybe some oregano.

Five years is a short time in the eternal spin of things. However it is too long without her.So much has happened, so many places she would have liked visiting and so many new recipes she would have loved trying.

Food And War

 War affects how countries eat. Moatly, as seen recently in Ukraine, cause shortage and starvation.Yet the one good thing about conflict is that it introoduces service people to other cultures . Despite the harshness and scariness it does bring people together. Mostly that occurs in eating. There's something communal in sharing.

It's the American conflicts that have created firsts. The Revolutionary War was the first to introuce rations for its' troops. Thanks to the Continental Congress of 1773 colonial fighters were able to receive a pound of beef, and half a pound of pork or salted fish a week. There were also three pints of bean or peas along with a pint of rice or meal a week too. They also got flour or hard bread along with cider or beer. Everything was salted for preservation. As for veggies, onions and turnips which were easy to carry and cook also were part of their diet.Vinegar was later added to prevent scurvy. Did these men bring their wives' and mothers' recipes with them. Probably. Did they swap them? Most likely , being the first to expand the American palate. The Civil War saw canned foods on the troops' menu . Condensed milk, pork and beans were fed to the Union troops.Cattle also moved with the men, being slaughtered for the only fresh food. There was chicken fricasee if they could gert their hands on poultry and Union forces also made mushroom ketchup by boiling mushrooms. They may have brought the recipe home. There were also Cornish game hens and ham and beans stew to eat .

It;s the Twentieth Century wars, however that created the modern American cuisine that we know.The Spanish American War saw troops being deployed to the Phillipines and Puerto Rico. These troops may have tried some fo the native foods like curries from the first and mofongo from the second. The First World War saw Americans going off to fronts in France ,Italy and Germany. Some may have tasted the dishes there and brought dishes such as duck stew, risotto and wursts.(althought they could easily get some variation of these in immigrant communities back in the States). Yet it was the Second World War that brought more recipes to the American table. GIs stationed around Naples brought home pizza , loving it so much that it became part of the American diet from Maine to California. This also happened with lasagna too, with servicemen bringing home recipes that they got form the Southern Italian villagers they protected. It happened with Japanese food, especially during the Korean War when servicemen spent their R&R in Tokyo.Japanese restaurants grew in popularity after that. Recent wars like the Vietnamese Conflict along with the Gulf and Afghani wars saw refugees brining their dishes to the US.

War is hell. Yet it does bring about innovations and exploration into different cultures. it shows in our many different dishes brought about by conflict.

Computer Cooking?

AI has taken over much of our lives today.Yet can it take over our kitchen and our time honored recipes? Can  artificial intelligence give us the perfect Thanksgiving dinner? That's what both chefs and home chefs want to know.

Regular contributor  Priya Krishna along with AI tech writer Cade MIller for the NY TImes, explored the possiblities in yestrrday's New York Times Food section. This is a new branch of AI but it is making headway. These computer generated recipes do share many aspects with their handwritten counterparts. There is the list of ingredients, exact measurements , step by step instructions and even fabricated notes with personal touches. The best test of these, as food editors and chefs of all sorts know is Thanksgiving. Ms. Krishna, along with other New York Times Food writers, Melissa Clark, Genevieve Ko, Erik Kim and Yewande Komolafe decided to try out a technology known as GPT-3 to devise a holiday menu. GPT-3 is a neural system that's more adept at analyzing large amounts of data. it has created credible recipes in the past. In fact some can pass for human generated ones. in order to create recipes, Ms. Kirishna had to put in her background along with likes  like Italian and Thai food along with making not too sweet desserts.It also asked for what ingredients she often cooks with. she then added "Show me a Thanksgiving menu made for me."

How did the computer do?The first recipe was pumpkin spice chaat or bite sized snacks that can be used as appetizers. Ms. Kirishna was confused by the concept but impressed with the program's inventiveness. Minutes later she had a palusible menu. Along with the pumpkin spice chaat there were recipes for green beans with miso and sesame seeds, a turkey with a soy-ginger glaze and a naan based stuffing. She wanted a cranberry sauce that wasn't too sweet and a little spiced and she got one with those exact requirements.. There was also a pumpkin spice cake with orange cream frosting. How did it all work out? The personal notes about using the flavors of Ms Krishn'as childhood fot the turkey were a li. The naan stuffing required thirty-two components. The recipes were light on salt and fat.  Still there was hope - until they were tasted. The naan stuffing tasted like chana masala and fruitcake got into a bar fight, There was no butter or oil to moisten the bird and it came out incredibly dry and stringy,. It was also flavored with only one garlic clove. The chaat tasted like grassy mush. The cake looked like two pancakes sandwiched together with icing. Her felloow food writers were hard with their comments, with Ms Ko summing it up - "Food with no soul."

Should we rely on AI for our recipes? No, We need the human touch for delicious recipes and time honored dishes. It's this that makes meals especially holiday ones memorable and beloved.

The Perfect Roast Turkey

 The star of any Thanksgiving table is the roast turkey.it has to be golden brown perfection, with juicy meat and a buttery flavor. what does it take to get the ideal bird? A variety of different methods and ingredients some surprisng some traditional.

Regular contributor and chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt explored this in today's New YorkTimes Food section. Thanksgiving is only two weeks away(!!!!) and hime chefs across the country are getting antsy about roasting the best version of turkey. There are many ways to achieve this and any one from the novice home chef to experienced cook can achieve this. Keep in mind that turkey ,like most poultry. has both dark and light meat.That means different conistencies that have to be cooked two different ways. Dark meat has an abundance of connective tissues which needs to be cooked hot and long  so that the tough , elastic collagen breaks down to essentially a gelatin. This moistens and tenderizes the meat. The temperature to enable this has to be between 170 and 180 degrees Farenheit, Unfortunately this will dry out the leaner, white met which only needs less than 160 degrees Farenheit before it turns dry and stringy. Home chefs need a method to figure out how to roas tht etwo meats or alter how the meat reacts to the temps.. Chef Lopez-Alt recommneds doing these simultaneously.

How though? It starts with brining. A salt brine is much better as it brings out the juices. You could go with a dry brine which is simply salnting the bird before cooking it. You can easily cook it in a wet brine. The salt breaks down the bundles  of protein sheaths call fibrils which wrap themselves around the turkey's muscles. The fibrils are like fiber optic cables which gives meat its' distinctive grain, A liquid brine can require a large pot which takes up fridge room along with diluting the turkey's flavor. Chef Lopez-Alt recommends an unusual brine - mayo. Dry brine it first then slather a mix of Hellmanns', parsley, sage and thyme. Also add in scallions lemons and kosher salt. Get this mix into every crack and crevice. Save what's left over for the next day turkey sandwiches. As for the roasting butterflying is the best way. You will need meat scissors for this.It's cutting the lengs and spreading them away from the body. The breastbone is broken and flattened. Cooking a "flattened" turkey allows for the meat to cook faster .It just requires a lower temp in a faster amount of time.It only takes an hour an half to thoroughly cook. You can even cook it with a layer of veggies to prevent th e drippings from drying out. keep in mind this only works for turkey's weighing between ten and fourteen pounds

The perfectly roasted bird can be had. It just taking an untraditional methods to get the crisp skin and juicy meat. It may be different but worth it,.

High End Versus Low End Baking

 Home chefs are starting to think of the heavy baking season ahead. There' are pies and breads to make for Thanksgiving  followed by the intense cookie race for Christmas.One of the big questions is do they go for the more expensive ingredients and implements or save money with buying cheape ingredients.

It's a hard dilemma. Purists will want to use the best quality yet for some it's hard to do thanks to inflation. A simple compromise is using both high and low end in the same recipe.If you;re going high end then think King Arthur. This is one of the oldest flour companies in the country  first starting in Boston in the 1790's by Hnery Wood. Over two centuries later home bakers rave about its finely milled flours and pure extracts.Yes it is expensive.You can buy a pound fo flour for $4.95 online or at your local grocery. Acme sells their organic flour  for $7.19 , Their almind flour there is around nine dollars. Their cake mix is close to nine dollars for a box. You could easily go to your local Stop & Shop and buy a box of Duncan Hines cake mix for only $1.25 on sale right now. Again it's up to you. If you want to indulge yoru family then go for the more expensive. Their doughnut and muffins pans are high quality with prices as high as almost thirty dollars.Are they worth the money? You can probably get twenty years out of them so the answer is yes. King Arthur also sells extracts  and cocoa powder too. They are expensive with a tin costing $12,95. You can get ti for a lot less again at any store.

What about cookies? Many home bakers make tins of all different kinds for family and friend gifts along with for the office or class party. Family and friends can get the best.You can use the the better flour and Kerrygold butter along with the top grade vanilla extract. You can decorate them with the Wilton cookie decorating kit. This has the nozzles and bags to create sweetly stars and angels. you will have to supply the icing yourself. A better deal is Wal-Mart's cookie kits. Their own brand Great Value is offering some cool and inexpensive kits like their gingerbread one for only $4.97. It comes with the mix, cutter, two tubes of icing  and candy decorations. You can;t beat that! Another good Wal-Mart deal is their  BUild Your Own Brownie Tree kit which has the brownie mix , an icing pouch, cutters and candy decorations. These are perfect for the kids to make  but also fun on any holiday dessert table.  Another idea is cutting back on the amount you're planning to bake. Instead of two pr three pies for Thanksgiving choose one and stick with it. As for cookies opt for three or four as opposed to five or six. 

It's a dilemma about choosing high or low end baking. Base your choice on what works for you financially. Welcome  holiday baking. DOn;'t be fianancially drained by  it.

A New Jersey Gem Terhune's Orchards

Princeton  is known for education and being a haven for great mind s like Albert Einstein and John Nash. What it's not known for is it' country side ,stretching form the busting core of the town to farmland. It should be known one farm, Terhune Orchards. This is a must see Jersey gem, only an hour and a half south of Manhattan.

I had heard a lot about this farm which is actually a large complex of fields orchards, trails and stores. It was amazing to see. Kids can go to the small petting zoo and feed the goats and a Shetland pony. There is a bunny to pet and the general store has a sweet kitty  who's oblvious to the people around him or her.The Mount family have owned this property since 1973 and Gary Mount grew up on an apple farm nearby. You can also pick apples or enjoy the beautiful woods on their many trails.

There is a large tent seling home baked goods such as pies and different fruit breads . Inside the General Store there are more prodicts from pasta to a variety of breads and jams. I was tempted to get the cider slushie.It looked so good on an unseasonably warm November day. Terhune's also has a winery with such unusual wines as peach and apple. There are even wine tastings where you can sample those wines and others such as Jersey  made chardonnays and  Cold Soil white,a traminette .

                                              One productI could not resist was apple butter.

This was pure heaven!!!!!! It was a creamy , cinnamon rich applesauce with the consistency of a thick pudding. I loved it so much I had it just by the spoonful but it is excellent on bread , especially croissants. I plan on buying it again during my next trip. It can be used in strudels or glazing pork but just slathering it on a buttery croissant is sheer perfection.

If you're in the Princeton area, stop by Terhune Orchards. There is so much there  to do and see. Try the winery. Play with the animals. sample their amazing products like their apple butter.

Terhune Orchards

330 Cold Soil Road,

Princeton ,New Jersey 08540

Are You All Right?

 This holiday season might be a sad one for many who can;t afford a good Thanksgiving meal. If that's the case please write to Foodie Pantry at Lizrwriter@aol.com with Foodie Pantry Help in the subject line

 Here's what to include

 Your name and address,

The store that you shop at and its' manager if you know who it is. 

Foodie Pantry will write to them and see what can be done to get you a decent holiday meal with all the trimmings. I can;t promise but I can try.

A Pinched Thanksgiving

 This is going to be a tough Thanksgiving with prices high and salaries stalled. What can home chefs do to have a good and tasty holiday? The answer is pinching. See where you can save money and see what you can cut back on.

The first question any home chef should ask themselves is is a big family Thanksgiving doable? Think before you commit. The cost of a twenty pound Butterball turkey at Acme is $32.78 (!!!!!!). Then add in various sides and you have a two hundred dollar meal (which not surprisingl is the average price of an individual four course holiday meal at any upscale Manhattan restaurant).If you still want family and friends , then split the cost. Ask guests to bring sides and desserts. Delegate who brings what so there's not any duplicates. Also check about allergies and preferences. Another idea is just having people over for dessert, instead of the whole meal. This means you can just have a small, intimate Thanksgiving and serve just turkey breast which is much cheaper than the whole bird. (Acme sells theirs for around $14.99 for three pounds while Stop & Shop for around $21.99 for seven pounds). Desserts can also be one big one like a pumpkin or pecan pie while encouraging homemade ones like cookies or cupcakes. Please emphasize that guests should not spend a lot of money on their desserts.

You can cut back a lot if it's just family. Again go for the turkey breast. You still can have the juicy meat and crisly skin but with out all the extra. As for the rest of the meal go for generic. Acme has some great  inhouse stuffing mixes along with flavorful gravies. Go to the cheaper makrets for your fresh veggies. These are like farmer's markets , usually found in strip malls like the Saddle Brook Farmer's Market. They have the best prices on everything from squashes to Italian breads. Many other towns and cities have markets like this. Take advantage of them. Another way of pinching Thanksgiving is eliminating the one dish no one really likes. If the family makes a face at jellied cranberries or Brussels sprouts then get rid of them. Why waste money on food you know won't be eaten.  Cut back on similar foods. Why serv e both sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes? This is too much to eat. The same thing with rolls and stuffing which is a kind fo savory bread pudding. Don't go wild with dessert. Pick one pie and stick with it. Some stores sell mini pies , You can easily buy these so everyone gets a bite fo their favorite.

This is going to be a tight Thanksgiving. Yet it still can be a tasty one if you carefully budget. Pinch a few pennies and you can still have an affordable holiday meal.

Creating A Community With Food And Love

 The Cleveland Ohio area is not necessarily known for its' thriving LGBTQ community or for places catering to then. That's about to change thanks to neighboring Lakewood where there is a plan for inclusivity starting with a burgeoning food culture helping them. 

Erik Piepenburg ,who handles more of the New York Times' Arts sections and movie reviews wrote this interesting piece in the paper's Wednesday's Food section yesterday.The area is changing , and is more reminiscent of Manhattan's chelsea before it became gentrified. The Fieldhouse, a 30,000 square foot complex hosted a show headlined by some of the stars  such as MOney X-Change and Trinity the Turk of "Ru Paul's Drag Race . The complex's three restaurants are also getting their produce from a neighborhood garden tended by LGBTQ. They feel like they are finally part of the community according to Chelsea Brennan , a transgender woman who also did electrical installation at The Fieldhouse. The complex is just step one in this unification. The company behind it, Studio Wesr 117, headed by daniel Budish and Betsy Figgie will create a gay neighborhood with a new hotel, shops and a health clinic. It will be funded by one hundred million in both public and private funds. The company's partner is the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and the LGBTQ Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

Food is the main goal here. There are all sorts of classes at The Fieldhouse along with previews of the menus. The restaurants haven't opened yet but they are offering prviews of their dishes. Visitors enjoyed burgers topped with goat cheese from the area's Mackenzie Creamery and pizza, especially the pepperoni one called the Flirt from the complex's pizzeria Eat Me.There will also be a gastro pub called Muze anda rooftop  bar called The Trellis. There is also a food court of sorts for those attending games and events. The fieldhouse also boasts an intimate demonstration kitchen where there are all sorts of classes.At a recent pastry making class, drag queen Plenty O'Smiles iced cookies while teen-aged transgender boy Theo Crowfoot-Suede watched. Then Theo grabbed the piping bag and squeezed it just so to ice a pumpkin shaped ccokie. he and his mom Kim travelled all the way from Columbus to not only attend a fun class but to be amongst people like him. There was also a salsa making class for the group who tended the community garden , led by The field house's  pansexual assistant mananager Ms.Hulzing who goes by Ox.people of all persuasions enjoyed the salsa going home with printed copies of it.

Can The Fieldhouse be a model for future LGBTQ neighborhoods. Most definitely. It takes funds but also a community to make it work too.

The Food Moguls

 There is a new holy trinity of cooking. It's not ingredients but  two chefs and their investor. This trio of chefs Mario Carbone, Rich Torris and their investor Jeff Zalaznick are chaning the way the New York  and Miani are eating and partying. They are taking over and doing it in a remarkably short time.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin wrote about this trio in today's section of the New York Times Food section. Not since Warner Leroy took over Tavern on the Green in the Seventies have three entrepreneurs made such an indelible mark on Manhattan's culinary scene. Their group, Major Foods, is also a powerhouse in Miami, moving their headquarters there.who are they and how did they get this much clout?Chefs Torrisi and Carbone are from the outer boroughs. They grew up with homemade Italian cooking which was and still is a huge influence on what they make.They were fledgling chefs when they met Mr. Zalaznick, just emerging form such known eateries as Da Posto and Boulud. Chef Carbone cooked Italian while Chef Torrisi leaned more to the French, Their partner comes from a family worth billions.Mr. Zalaznick's grandfather is financier and real instate investor Paul Milstein. His name graces the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life in the Museum of Natural History, Milstein Hospital in Upper Manhattan and the Milstein Division of the New York Public Library. There are connections to the city's most powerful families like the Tisches and the Le Fraks.

This does provide money to experiment and expand as it has for th e last ten years with them. They were able to open up Carbone in Greenwich Village and the sandwich shop Parm, They exploded on the MIami restaurant scene with  Carbone's South Florida extension. There is ZZ's Club,a private and posh food club that offers such dishes as the supremely tender Wagyu beef at $250 (!!!!) a plate and salmon teriyaki at $48 a plate.It also has a cigar and backgammon terrace. They also have Sadelle's, a homage to Jewish cooking in New York ,Miami and now Riyadh, Saudi Arabia along with the Dirty Laundry and The Grill which celebrate American cuisine.(their prices for a sit down Thanksgiving meal are outrageous - even for New York)Some fellow restauranteurs are skeptical of their success. Kevin Boehm and his business partner Rob katz are going for a low key approach and tailor their restaurants  like the Girl And Goat chain to the communitiues they're in. They also feel that expanding in different markets will be challenging down the road. However Major Food Group seems impervious to tis, even thriving in Miami during the Covid lockdown.

Will this trinity overtake the market? Probably on the high end range for a while. It's their time to shine and it shining brightly.

Food for The Souls

 Today and tomorrow the Christian world honors its saints and its souls. This is usually done through prayer but also through eating. There's a warm feeling reminiscing over a loved one's favorite dishes and recipes past down. Thye're not really gone if their food lives on through the generations.

Mexicans celebate Dios de Muertos -Day of The Dead. It's not a day of sadness but one of togetherness as families create such dishes as concha breads, taquitos and skull shaped cookies and candies.Taquitos are easy to make and they 're perfect to cook up all month long.It's just taking tortillas and first heating them. They're then filled with whatever you want , whether chicken ,beef or beans and then frying them in oil.They can be topped with cheese or guacamole. These can also be baked or air fried for a healthier , crisper bite. Chili is also served for the day. This is a definite cold weather dish as well. The Mexicans have always used ground beef but you can also make a white one. This involves chicken instead of beef and using creamy white cannelini beans instead of the usual kidney and pinto.Some recipes add broccoli and corn .That's up to you. Spicing is the same, with the usual bite of chili.The  memorial meal is finished with some kind of sweet. Bake skull  shaped brownies that can be either iced or just dusted with confectioner;'s sugar. You can also make the sweet concha bread, perfect with butter and Mexican hot chocolate.

Soul cakes are  another part of the All Soul's Day. If it sounds familiar Sting sang about them over a decade in his Christmas album. They're a big part of Samhain the Celtic holiday which Halloween derives from. Children went from door to door, much like trick ro treat, asking if homeowners would want a prayer said for the souls of their dearly departed. Payment was an apple, plum or these. The recipes goes back centuries, probably to the medieval period and the ingredients reflect this. They are egg yolks, butter, sugar and milk. Raisins and such spices as cinnamon, cloves nutmeg and gimger. A cross is made in them, similar to hot cross buns. You can modernize them with subbing in pumpkin spice for the spices and craisins or dried cranberries for the raisins. Soul cakes can also be made plain. They're usually baked in rounds and then dusted with powdered or granulated sugar. Some British chefs use saffron as flavoring and to give the cake a pale yellow color. Soul cakes are a nice contast to the rich holiday cookies on the calendar ahead.

These are the days when we remember our beloved who are gone. There are taquitos and cocnhas or soul cakes. Any of these are a lovely way to celebrate those lost.