Gas Station Eats

Gas stations in the American South are more than just a place to fillup the truck. It's palce to get a hot meal, whether it's fried chicken ro shwarma. A new book chronicles this truly American phenomenom. It shows not just gas stations but places to enjoy a warm meal and meet neightbors and friends.

Regular contributor and a Southerner hersle,f Kim Severson wrote about this new book in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Southern photographer Kate Medley takes astounding and  soul revealing snaps of  this big part of SOuthern life. She was raised in Mississippi so going to the local gas station for everything form flour to Coke was normal for her. Her book also has an opening written by fellow Southerner Kiese Laymon who also grew up in Mississippi, He too spent his childhood eating fresh not food  in gas stations.On of his childhood memories involves heading to eat at one with his grandmother and her boyfiend. They would order a box of dark meat chicken a foam container of fried fish and  fried potato wedges also known as potato logs. Ms. medley discovered this way of lif when she was coveirng the area for the New Yrk Times  after Hurricnae Katrina. She also finished a master's program in Southern studies which also allowed her a glmpse into the unique lifestyle.

It's a get her done attitude that's even spreading to immigrants settling in the South. Ms Medley wanted to show this diversity so she took pictures of Nita Patel and her samosas at Tasty Tikka located inside a Shell station in Irmo, South Carolina and Gina Nguyen holding a garlic butter shrimp banh at Banh Mi Boys which opened in a family owned Texaco in Metairie Louisiana. She took Ms. Severson to another immigrant run place in Leland Mississippi in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. The Frattesi family opend up a combo of gas station and eatery in 1941.There s their famed cheesesteaks and pork roasts next to bait to be sold and pantry staples. A freezer holds frozen steaks and bags of shelled pecans.It even runs on the honor system where visitors tell the cashier what they had for lunch.There are no paper bills here.Locals put their groceries and gas on a runnung tab.Unfortunately after the owner Mark Frattesi, son of the original owner retires that's it. Th next generation does not want to take over. Up the road a better story exists.A forner gas station is home to Betty's Place. Owner Betty Campbell and her husband opened it while her brother Otha serves as a maire d'.She used to cook for blues great B.B. King and brings that devotion to the place that hosts hundreds of tourists from all over the world yearly.

Gas station and hot food served in them are as much a part of Southern life as barbecues and football. They represent a unique facet of an interesting lifestyle. The new book Gas Stations will show this slice of life..

A German Classic in No Time

 This is the weather for spaetzle and gravy. There's nothing as comforting as this German classic main or side dish. Unfortunately it is labor intensive to make them.Luckily Aldi has instant ones complete with a yummy mushroom gravy.

Aldi (like Lidl) is a German company) so they're bound to have good German products like spaetzle and chocolates along with cans of red cabbage and sauerkraut.I found their mushroom flavored spaetxle from Deutssche Kuche.I bought two packets right away bcause I knew it would be delicious anf go fast.

It's an easy make. Just boild two and aquartr cups of water and add the packet,a mix of spaeztle and powdered gravy. 

It kind of looked soupy at first but then thickened up.

I just had to stir ti a few times during the course fo about twenty minutes(the packet  says it'll cook up  in twelve to fifteen minutes but it does take longer)

                               The entire pot was steaming and frgrant with cooked mushrooms.This was going to be a tasty and satisfying treat for lunch.

This was really delicious and I plan on buying it again.It makes for a perfect winter lunch or weekend supper.It was even good reheated later in the microwave for dinnr. I just added a tablespoon of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and it was just as tasty as when it was first cooked. You could easily serve this along side pork chops or pork roast as a filling and warming side.

Try Deutsche Kuche's spaetzle for a tasty main course or side dish. They're  perfect , hearty and filling on a winter's day. These delicious noodles will warm you through and through.

The Importance of A Hot Meal

Everyone has busy lives these days. The problem is that that means certain aspects of or lives suffer, especially our diets. What can help ? A hot meal.There are so many benefits in having at least one warmed plate a day.

It is tempting to grab some easy and quick at any time during the day. The problem is an energy bar or even a sandwich isn't that great on a chilly winter day. There are also other benefits in creating a hot comforting meal, whether it's breakfast , lunch or dinner. A not meals also improves digestion, strengthens immunity , increases energy and even regulates elimination. A warm meals is a big help to the spleen which helps in digestion. If you keep putting cold food in your stomach, you'll feel fatigued and weak, along with having puffing eyes and bloating. A warm meal helps. It's also a great comfort for a stressful and busy day. Start off with a warm breakfast.if you;re rushed , then think a simple scrambled eggs and air fried bacon. Put this on toast for a tasty open faced breakfast sandwich. Another easy cook is oatmeal. Add warmed cream ro milk and maple syrup to start off the day, For a Sunday brunch go whole hog with fresh form the oven quiches  and waffles fresh from the waffle iron.

Most lunches aren't hot. This is Ok for the summer months when all you want is a salad or a sandwich along with a cold drink.Yet a hot lunch is a perfect break from a busy work or school day. Think hot sandwiches like grilled cheese or the fancier Croque Monsieur. Soup is always good too. What you can do is make  up a plot the night before for dinner and serve the leftovers for lunch.Warm up some rolls for a more filling plate.Keep in mind that those breakfast eggs can easily be turned into a lunchtime omelt or fritatta. Just add some cheese and ham for a tasty Denver omelet or some spinach and mushrooms for a flavorful fritatta slice. As for dinnr, yes you can order in or go out. It's fun to eat out mid week, However get out the air fryer if you want to eat in. This helps in quickly cooking up chicken nuggets or potato skins.Keep in mind that you can also cook chicken breasts and different cuts of steak. Also pasta comes in handy here. Jarred sauce works just as well as homemade if you're pressed for time. Add garlic bread for a fun treat.

A hot meal is not only a comfort but it's vital to your health. Try to have at least one hot one a day, YOU'll feel better anbd hav a better lif too.

Polenta, Pasta or Risotto What's Your Choice

 What is a nice accompaniment to a tomato sauce or grilled chicken ro steak? Do you go for a side or base of  polenta, pasta or risotto? or do you eat these on their own? What works best with various sauces and sides?

Out of all three polenta is the most versatile. The ground corn meal can be perfect on its' own, as a base or gracing a plate as a side.It can be labor intensive if you want to cook it.It does require a lot of stirring after a basic mixing of finely ground cornmeal, water and salt.It can also be lumpy however the best way to beat this is to pulverize the meal before cooking.An easier method  would be buying the already made polenta logs and grilling them until they're crispy and golden yellow. A simple cacciatore sauce with chicken is the best main dish with it. The thin tomato sauce works well with the polenta. Another good sauce is a simple mushroom and spinach one. This is an easy make with simply sauteing spinach with baby bellas in a mix of garlic olive oil and butter. Can you serve polenta with grilled or roasted meats. Only if there's a sauce. On it's own , without any sauce ro even butter and cheese polenta can be somewhat dry. There should be some kind of sauce there.

If you want to serve a good side with steaks or chicken then think either pasta or polenta. Pasta can accompany  achicken in the form of noodles. Again with any kind of sauce it's a great side. You can even cut up a rotisserie chicken or a flank steak and add it to a tomato or spinach  sauce to make a heartier dish.Any kind of pasta is good on its' own. Just add butter or to make it more flavorful cook it in the broth of your choice. Unlike polenta there are so many different types that work well with any type of ingredient.  Penn can work with a chunky tomato sauce while linguine is perfect  as a base for clams or chicken cutlets. Risotto is a diffrent matter.Risotto is a phenomenal , especially the saffron infused risotto Milanese. This is perfect as a main course or as a side with any protein form lamb chops to shrimp. A plus about this addition is, like pasta, anything can be added to it while cooking. The miost popular add ins are mushrooms and asaparagus. You can also mix in chopped tomatoes too along with a variety of cheeses.

What's the most versatile and best? Use polenta for sauces. Try pasta as a side and use risotto as a main dish. 

Air Fried Bacon A Tasty Treat

 Air fryer and bacon strips are a marriage made in heaven. The  heated air flowing around the strips makes for crunchy crackly pieces.The result is a mouthful of crispy goodness, to be eaten on their own or in  a sandwich or salad.

I recently discoverd this when I had the air fryer out and was looking to cook something hot and quick for lunch. Luckily I had Lightlife plant based bacon (excuse the syrup puddle on the package). This bacon is usually a chore to cook.It requires a griddle and either oil or plant butter.It's hard to get the pieces crisp.

That is until I discovred the strips can be put into the air fryer for eight minutes at 400 degrees Farenheit.

 First they';re sprayed with a cooking spray.I used Target's Good and Gather olive oil one They then just have to be flipped over at the halfway mark of four minutes. The end result?

Slices of crispy, salty goodness. These were good on their own and in a sandwich. I can just imagine a BLT with them or crumbled in a salad. I will also make them as a great side to a Just Egg spinach omelet. Keep in mind regular bacon also crisps up very well in an air fryer xcept the strips usually take ten to twelve minutes to cook at about the same degree 400 Farenheit.

Want the perfect match? Just cook any kind of bacon in an air fryer. The end product is a plate full of crispy, browned well cooked strips  that are just wonderful on their own.

Sopa Paraguayo A Tastier Cornbread

 Cornbread is always a treat. There's nothing like that dense , yellow crumb and sweet taste , perfect with a lashing of butter. Imagine that it could be made better.it can thanks to the Paraguayan version of it.

Regular contributor Christine Morales wrote about this side dish in yesterday's New York Times wednesday Food section. It is Paraguay's (a landlocked country between Chile and Brazil) national dish, created in the mid-1800's Legend hhas it that during Carlos Antonio Lopez's presidency , an over zealous chef added too much cornmeal to the often served dish of corn soup.In an attempt to fix the dish he put the dish in the oven and baked it. the leader loved it so much tat he proclaimed it the national dish of the country. However a truer story is that the bread hade been baked for centuries before that. The Cario-Guarini indigenous tribe living near what is now Ascension likely used native corn and baked a bread when they learned about dairy from the Spanish colonists. Its' hard to get here in the US where 30,000 Paraguyans live. Most  Paraguyan restaurants serve it as a side to grilled meat.It's also hard to recreate since cheese used, a rich,creamy Paraguyan queso is hard to find. Some bakers sub in mozzarella, Montery Jack or Muenster. Another problem is that it's usually wrapped in banana leaves and baked in a clay oven.

Can it be made at home? Yes. Ms Morales does include a recipe for it.Keep in mind it has a texture that os soft and spongy like bread pudding instead of the usual form one associated with cornbread. Try to use P.A.N. cornmeal which is white precooked cornmeal (if nothing else use your regular kind) aong with a cup of fresh or canned kernals.  Get the Paraguyan queso if you're lucky to have a South American market nearby.If not use grated Muenster or mozzarella. This is a very eggy dish . eight eggs with the yolks and whites separated are used along with one firmly diced yellow onion. The recipe is a little more labor intensive than the American version.The kernels have to be cooked and then pureed and then combined with the cornmeal until well mixed. The egg whites have to bee beaten into a meringue like froth . Then the yolks are wisked in one at a time. This is set aside. The onion is sauteed in corn oil and all the ingredients are mixed together. It'll look like cake batter and is baked for forty to forty-five minutes in an 375 F arenhit oven. The bakin pan should be greased with corn oil and not butter. Cool fifteen to twney minutes before serving with any grilled meat.

Sopa Paraguayo is a wonderful accompaniment to any steak or chicken dish. Try it with pork as well.Its a different take on the classic cornbread.

OnThe Menu

 Has anyone ever taken a good read at their menus? Do you know what your favorite eatery serves?Or the font that it's printed in?what about the graphics and size?Well, there's a new survey that shows exact;y what's on those pages.

Regular contributors Priya Krishna. Tanya Sichynsky and Umi Syam wroteabout this fascinatingaspect of restaurant lif in today's New York Times food section. After dealing with the pandemic , plexiglass barriers, QR codes that brought menus to our phones , masked servers and curbside delivery menus are back, They've become works of art. Mses Krishna, Sichynsky and Syam looked over a whopping 120(!!!) menus and discovered some interesting trends that emerged.One is the Ceasar salad.There are dozens of varieties of it ,from a catfish Casar, redolent with fried green tomatoes ,boiled eggs and cheddar to a Thai one with puffed rice croutons to a Casar del jardin that is loaded with carrots.There is even a tofu Caesar that many places are serving.Another interesting point is that menus have literally shrunk in size. They're not as large as they used to be. Menu colors have become brighter too.  Some are a dazzling Barbie pink while others are a cheery canary yellow.

Restaurants have also become more creative with their fonts. There are many different types and they 've become smaller. They're now fiv points (in comparison to Times which is printed in seven to eight points)  . Another phenomena popping up on menus are mascots. They could be drawn by a creative employee or borrowed from Hnri Matisse and Jean Cocteau. Like fashion restaurants have become brands. Logos are too obvious but a mascot is a sublte way of advertising.A big trend  is informal. Most look likey they've been created by a design school freshman  .Cheesy fonts reign supreme as do wonky formatting and using printer paper.A more eco version is using an inkless embossing stamp to impress a restaurant's name on a menu. The anatomy is also changing. Restaurant employees are also getting salary increases thanks to their bosses cutting down on menu costs;There's also a service charge explanation also included as well as eateries telling  diners that they offer health benefits for their help. Also on the menu is having entrees explained as smaller or bigger along with listing mocktails with their sodas and teas.

Menus are the window to any restaurant. new innovations in them show new innovations in the kitchen. They are the bestway to introduce a new diner to great cuisine.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Shopping RIght

 Many home chefs don't know how to take advantage of their grocery stores. They may not know how to shop in a discount store or take advantage of a more expensive grocery and what it has to offer. It's time to shop right.

I found this out recently when a friend complaind about Lidl. She said the food was not good quality. That surprised me because I've had nothing but hits from the store. Her mistake was buying their fresh meat, namely chicken. She should have bought from either a chicken farm or a store known for its' meats. For any kind of meat, whether its' steak or chicken she should have headed to stores like Acme, Stop and Shop or Shop Rite simply because they have butchers there. Whatever you buy will always be fresh and better tasting. Lidl is excellent for freshly baked goods like their breads, pretzels and focaccios along with their frozen foods. Thir pizzas are from Italy and taste better than Blaze's or local pizzerias. Other Lidl must buys are their frozen veggies and dinners like their frozen risottos. These re extremely flavorful and easy to store and cook. Another Lidl plus is their good variety of fruits and vegetables. Their seedless purple grapes are wonderful, sweet and delicious. The same can be said to their competition Aldi, They have good and well priced veggies and fruits along with very inexpensive instant dinners like packaged flavored spaetzles and risotto. Their soda, like Lidl's is not only delicious and better tasting than Coke but also much less in price.

What happens if you want to still shop at the bigger supermarkets? You can. Yes, will get better quality meats and fish along with fresh deli food like salads and rotisserie chicken but a bit more in price. You'll also have a wide range of baked goods like Acme 's and Stop and Shop's where their array of freshly baked goods are better than local, privately owned bakeries. However they can be expensive regarding many items. The best bet is to bargain hunt. I'm a huge fan of their lunch meat ends which are always price below two dollars. These are usually hidden in a corner of their hero section.. The turkey one is especially delicious and cheap  $1.45 for a half pound of cubed ends. Buy their jar of in house Signature gravy for $2.45 for a quick hot lunch or supper I've also bought their lunch meat ends ham which is perfect for salads. As with any large grocery store, take advantage of their coupons, and their apps. Acme gives you points toward major discounts and you can save as much as $20 on an order. Another tip is always buy the inhouse brands. They'e just as good as the national and usually taste much better too.This also applies to their toothpaste, mouthwash and some beauty products too as far as with cost.

It does take some savvy and hunting but you can do well both in the better and more cost effecient supermarkets. Use these tips to get the most for your dollar. You'll  do well and also have tasty food and drink.

The Joy Of Maman

 If you want good French inspired pastries go to Maman. This  sweet coffee shop is popping up all over and features such treats as Kouign amann and pain chocolat. It'sa great place to go to if there's one on your neighborhood. Visit and have a treat if you want a taste of France.

I went to the one in Princeton, new Jersey located a few blocks away from the famed university. it's like being inside a Versailles garden with flowers oeverywhere and lovely  delicately printed china. Of course its' the pastries that shine. There is the to die for Kouign amann from Bittany . This is a coil of pure butter pastry , sweetned with a thin caramel syrup along with chocolate croissants. There are also slices of various sweet loaf breads to try as well.

                                            There are all sorts of cookies, especially chocolate chip and oatmeal. Try their ginger molasses snap. It;s a sweet  fiery bite, good with a cup of  their wide variety of  herbal teas.

You can biu a boy of their teas. I loved their ginger tisane which was a lovely , hot hit of spice on a frigid day (perfect when I was racing around the campus snapping pics). The teas are supplied by Sloane's, an American tea company.

Keep in mind Maman's are mostly in New York City but you can visit them also in Philadelphia, Princeton and Madison,New Jersey. they also have a wide array of salads and soups as well along with sodas and lemonades.

Visit Mana's if you want a taste of France. It's a calming haven to enjoy a tisane and a croissant. it's une oasis parfait.

The Food Of Sicily

 Most Italian culinary focus doesn't involve Sicily. It's usually the North with their  elegant, sophisticated dishes or Naples and Rome with their vibrant flavorful ones. Yet Sicilian cooking is fresh, one of the first farm to table cuisines.The ingredients come from the land and sea and marry the island's varied cultural ancestry.

The island has experieinced a wide array of cultures  starting almost from the beginning of time. The original Sicils (for whom the island was named after0 probably migrated from the iIalian  mainland's Amalfi coast. There were also other tribes , the Sicanians and Elymians which probably came from Spain and Greece..Later the Greeks and Arabs took over followed by the Romans, Germanic tribes, Arabs and Vikings. There was also the Spanish rule in the mid 1700's as well, bringing an Iberian influence to the cooking. There is also the Italian influence evidenced in their spaghetti dishes. The pasta is topped with breadcrumbs and chopped parsley.Another has Arab influences, pasta con sarde, This was created by General Eufemio's chef a Byzantine commander who protected the island''s coast. He needed a hearty meal to feed his many troops. A chef came up with one that utilized local produce, - namely sardines and Arab ingredients namely saffron and raisons.Pistacchios also figure in Sicilian cooing as well, thanks to the Moorish influence.

There are also farms on the island too, providing all sorts of fresh produce. The Sicilians love broccoli rape , drenched in garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes.People from Catania to Messina enjoy a grilled vegetable salad. This is a combination of grilled eggplant, onion, pepper, zucchini and peppers along with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.it can be eaten as a main dish with a good hunk of crusty Italian bread or served as a side with grilled steak or chicken.A favorite snack is arancini made with spinach,. These are fried rice balls stuffed with greens and mozzarella. They can also be filled with meats such as salami and other island cheeses like pecorino or ricotta. Fruit is also abundant on Sicily.Oranges and Meyer lemons are big in cooking and in salads. They're also popular ice flavors. A refreshign dish year round is Sicilian orange salad. This is sliced oranges mixed with black kalamata. olives and cnopped fennel. sliced red onions are also added to it and its' dressed with a combination  olive oil and lemon juice

Sicilian cuisine is a trip into fresh  ingredients turned into delicious dishes. They represent the island's love of the land and the sea. These are dishs with history and flavor.

for Concetta Portelli Helble

Rethinking Those Treats

 A fun snowy day activity is making Rice Krispy Treats. It's an easy recipe to whip up. There's no baling or flour or yeast to contend with. Yet these squares can be livened up and eleavated to the next level of deliciousness.

Eric Kim gave his spin on them in Wednesday's New York Times food section. He adds in black sesame seeds fried in browned butter ad give a heady dash ofsesame oil Doing such will add a dark peatnut butter flavor and cut through all that marshmallow-y sweetness. It's reminiscent of Japanese and Chinese sweets made with the seeds . The recipe is pretty much close to the original save for that addition.Over the years the New York Times Food section has produced some interesting variations of the Rice Krispie treats. There is Julia's Moskin's adaptation where browned butter is used when the marshmallows are melted. This sounds like something I would like. The browned butter gives it a nuttiness  but also a rich buttery taste. Butter and vanilla should be added to the recipe. for a more vegan option try Melt plan butter which works just as good as the real thing. You can also use vegan marashmallows as well which you can buy on The All Natural Candy site.

What else could you do to vary the recipe. Add  mini chocolate chips would give the treats an extra layer of flavor. Another idea is dipping the ends in melted dark chocolate (using milk chocolate may give them an overpowering sugariness). Use the 90 percent dark to counteract all that sweetness. Then try dipping them in crushed peanuts or sprinkles just to make them fun. You could add peanuts or any kind of nut to the recipe as well just for a different flavor. Surprisingly raisins can also go into the mix along with Craisons. The last again is a niuce tart and tangy foil  and can make the squares taste less cloying if you're not into super sweet. Coconut also works and sorts of makes them like crunchy Mounds bars.Here's a big kicker. for a bright taste of sunshine add lemon juice, zest and extract to the recipe to give them a kind of lemon bar vibe. This is great if you want a more summery , kind of lemonade taste to your snack.  You can also do the same with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest.

Give the treats a different spin. They can be buttery or lemony, rich with chocolate or with oranges or coconut. No matter how you make them, they're still a great snow day snack.

A Truly North American Whiskey

 As Scottish as whiskey is, it does thrive on the grains of North America. Now an ancient Mexican corn is shaking up the traditional Highland recipe, giving a unique blend of Old and New Worlds,

Author of Single Malt: A Guide To the whiskies of Scotland and TImes obituary (!!!!???) writer Clay Risen wrote about this blend in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Mr. Risen writes about one of the Yucatan Peninsula's oldest corn breeds  the nal t'teel or rooster corn so ninknamed because it grows quickly and is unobthered by heavy rains or drought.It emerged f0ur thousand yars ago and gtows in a variety of colors.It almost died out thanks to the influx of high yield hybrds developed in the US. This older breed was given a lifeline fo sorts when the Gran Maizal Distillery in Merida used t and other indigenoius corn breeds to make whsikey. This boosted the local economy.Now there are more than a dozen disterlleries across Mexico using corn native to their regions. Half of them are already exporting ro are planning to export to America to create a new market.

There are differences in the way Mexican whiskey is made. First the corn goes through the ancient process of nixtamalization in which the dry  kernals are steeped in an alkaline solution. This maks them not only easier to work with  but better tasting too. Gran Maizal whsikey is not produced in the traditional column still. This cna cause the liquid to lose character however ti gains in effeciency.It's made in a pot still which allows the grains' flavor to come through. Gran Maizal's owner Gonzalo de la Pezuala along with Cesar Alaya also worked with a research lab to create a proprietary yeast strain to ferment the corn. The company combines four varieties to make their whiskey, chalaqueno, bolita,tepecintle and olotillo, each taken from a different subregion around Oaxaca. Chalaqueno grows in the far highlands while olotillo gows in the coastal plains along the Pacific Ocean.The four types produce a colorful harvest but more imprtantly produce a whiskey with a nuanced blend of flavors. GRan Maizal has high hopes for the US, a country now known for its'c raft whiskies.

Combining millennia old  New world corn breeds wih centuries old Old world whiskey recipes could be the next bing thing. These ancient breeds will give the liquor new spark and fire. It should be an interesting mix.

Connecting To Caribbean Cuisine

 Caribbean cuisine is fast becoming a staple and important part of the American table. Thanks to a heavy influx of island based immigrants, dishes made with oxtails and Scotch bonnet peppers are becoming everyday.There is a whole range to choose from thanks to the regions many different islands and conutries. 

Food writer and podcast host Korsha Wilson wrote about this interesting and flavorful cuisine in today's New York Times  Wednesday Food section. She writes that forty-six percent of Black immigrants or roughly around two million people are coming to the US , from the Caribbean.This is comprised of thrirteen countries stretching from South America to the Bahamas, with an area larger than Texas and Alaska combined. despite tis' size and diversity the area, especially the cuisine, has always been talked about in broad terms,. The chef  GUyanese bornTavel Bristol-Joseph knows this and is trying to dispel any stale tropes about the cooking. There are other first generation chefs who share his idealogy. They have backgrounds in fine dining kitchens and are now getting specific about each island's unique assemblages of culinary influences. This is evolving further reflecting at first the indegenous Taino cuisine and later the African slave trade and European dominance.

Caribbean cuisine, despite this long history hadn't really impacted American until the Seventies and Eighties One of the first was Lowell F. Hawthorne who brought about the Golden Krust fast food chain of Jamaican cuisine aong with the chef Norma Shirley who brought Jamaican cooking to New York City.Pastry chef, Paula Velez who also co started Bakers Against racism, experienced this. She wanted to embrace her Dominican heritage nmore fully so she blends ingredients from Santo Domingo with classical French techniques. She has carrot cake with a passion fruit glaze and plantain sticky buns.Oakland < California chef Nelson German highlights his native Dominican menu with the African influences . He had wanted to return to his roots after working in restaurants that featured Euroamerican foods. Some Caribbean chefs may not strictly adhere to all the traditional Caribbean recipes. They cna adapt to local produce and work with the seasons. That's what makes the cuisine special - the way it can adapt.

Caribbean cuisine is the cuisine to look out for. It's varied in it's flavors and influences. It's this mix that makes it so tasty and fun to try.

Jennifer Garner Cooks

 Jennifer Garner is the type of star or celeb (whichever you want to call her) seems like she'd be the perfect friend. She;s wholesome, fresh and sweet. She's also the friend you'd like to bake and cook with as well. You can even if you're not a friend. Her show "Pretend Cooking Show" on her You tube channel Garnerish isa great way to learn how to cook and pick up tips.

I disocvered Garnerish by accident.It really is a delightful program and it's like watching your bestie cook and bake. Of course there is  anod to Garner's idol, Ina Gartner, (shes' even mentioned in a  video or two). she makes simple and complex recipes.What's great about these videos is that they show fails. This happened with her bagel recipes which she quickly dumped in the garbage. ( I would have just torn them up and let the birds or wildlife eat them).It's as if she's saying it's all right to make mistakes . No one is a perfect cook or baker. - something other chefs fail to mention. No home chef then feels bad and quits cooking or is afraid to try anything. Ms. Garner is one of us. If she feels its OK to sometimes produce clunkers then it's OK for us too. This is very important for thosejust starting out in the kitchen. Cooking is not a perfect art. There will be underbaked cakes or scorched meats and burned soups. It diesn't mean you should just walk away. Come back and try again.

What about her recipes? She has a really good one on zoodles, zucchini pasta with an easy sauce. Keep in mind Ms. Garner does have state of the art equipment. She can bascially create restuarant quality dishes. You can easily buy a cheaper spiralizer. The zoodles are sauteed in olive oil with garlic and herbs. The sauce is an easy one of canned tomatoes with onions . She adds a blog of frehs whipped ricotta for more flavor. An even easier recipe is her leftover chicken soup which is like any body's mom's.A really sweet one is her making chffon pie with her mom,West Virgnia born Pat (Ms. Garner was born and raised there). Her mother helps and imparts really good wisdom on making whipped cream(always use metal bowls to whip cream in and always store th e bowls in fridge before using) . This is an easy tasty dessert that's reminscent of Eton Mess, a glorious mix of whipped cream, fresh fruit and homemade meringue.There's also adisasterous chocolate chip cookie video that everyone can relate to.

If you like cooking with your besties, then watch the 109 episodes of Pretend Cooking. These are fun and easy to watch how tos. They'll make you feel good about cooking and baking.

Snow Days Fun Recipes

 Snow days don;t always have to mean Zoom meetings or classes. It could be a day in making and balong fun recipes. It[s a great way to use up the day and even try new dishes and treats.

Of course pizza is always the recipe of chpice amongst everyone. Pizza dough is easy to make. It's just watrr flour , yeast , sgar and salt.It's also a good introduction to working with yeast. Once made you can have all sorts of fun with toppings.If you want a no fuss, then buy the pizza sauce that comes in the easy to squirt bottle (it looks exactly like  a ketchup bottle). Shredded mozzarella is good for an even cheese layer  but use cunks fo it if you want to create a traditional Margherita one.Everyone can create their own toppings. Make sure you have plenty of vegan and meat pepperoni, bacon bits, olives, peppers and for those into healthy eating - spinach and brooccoli. You could also make the extra fun  and easy garlic knots or twists. They're super easy to bake and thn dip into a zingy marinara sauce (for this you can just use the pizza sauce heated up in the microwave). Another fun dish? Chicken wings!!! Thy're made even easier in an air fryer. Just toss them in olive  oe vegetable oil first then give them  good toss in chili or garlci powder. Add salt and pepper to this for more ;flavor.

Of course a snowy day also means baking., Have a couple of rolls of Pillsbury cookie dough on hand for easy baking and eating. (also ave plenty of milk on hand for this as well) You can also buy cookie mixes too from Betty Crocker and create tasty plates of oatmeal and peanut butter ons. A fun snowy day activity is baking sugar cookies and letting the little ones (and bigger ones) decoare them with homemade or store bought icing and such decorations as sprinkles and mini chocolate chips.Bakibng a batch of cupcakes are another fun stay indoors activity. Use cake mix for an easier route. Again the frosting can be storebought or homemade. Have plenty of decorations on hand so the kids can have a field day with them. A snowy day can also mean a foray into candy making., Try your hand at fudge or peanut briittle. Fudge just requires chopped semi sweet chocolate pieces, condensed milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You could add dairy or plant butter for a smoother consistency and better taste. Of course peanut brittle is a blend corn syrup, water and peanuts cooked and later mixed with baking soda, vanilla extract and butter. It's then poured onto a loaf pan an d let cool. (this cna even be outside).

The weather outside may be frightful., The cooking and baking insid will be delightful. Make and enjoy these treats on a frosty day home from school and work.

Wash Your Mouth Out With Chocolate

 Chocolate just isn't for dessert or snackign anymore. You can use it to wash your mouth out! Yes, yoru mouth. There's a new mouthwash ou there that can make brushing and dental care fun.

Normally this isn't the place for reviewing health care product but this one was so unusual and diffrent

 I thought it had to be told.It's from SuperMouth and comes not only in chocolate, but also vanilla, strawberry and the traditional mint. This is primarily for kids. The website has a lot fo cool stuff from a comic book to music for brushing on their app. They also have toothpaste in the same flavors so kids can match or mix up flavors, depending on what they like. It's a fun way to get them to brush and take care of their teeth. There is also flavored floss and even tongue scrapers to rid the mouth of bacteria laden food bits. There are also basby toothbrushes and finger brushes parents can use on babies' mouths

What about the taste?It  sort of tastes like a chocolate malted with something extra added. It's not bad tasting Just diffrent.

Kids and chocolate lovers will adore this,especially if they arenpt fond of the traditional strong mint flavors of other mouth washes.

SuperMouth is changing the way kids are taking care of their mouths. THis is a fun new path everyone will like. Try it and their chocolalte floss and toothpaste.

Easy Friday Potatoes

 It's the start of the weekend. It's time for just easy cooking whether for main meals or for sides. Air frued potatoes fills this need.

I just wanted air fried potatoes for lunch.It;s kind of like just wanting an order of fries, except air fried potatoes are so much better. I bought these from yesterday's Lidl's haul.

These are from The LIttle Potato Company. Their Little Yellows slice up and fry up nicely. I defiinitely plan on buying thm again the next time I visit Lidl.

It was first rinsing them off and then slicing each one info four slices or coins. I added half a cup of olive oil, salt and pepper along with garlic and onion powders.

Even small potatoes take a long time to air fry. It was cooking them for fifteen minutes at 400 degrees. Thyey were flipped at seven minutes, half way between the beginning and end of cooking times.

This yielded two batches. They were grat on their own but you could also serve them alongside of steak or even with eggs and bacon as a haerty Sunday brunch. Drizzle on melted cheddar and sprinkle with bacon bits for a tasty game day snack too.

These are asy friday potatoes but you could make them any day of the week. Save them for the upcoming weekend or make alongside a weekday grilled meat. They're good any day you serve them.

A Good Fire In Your Kitchen

Habanero peppers sometimes  receive a bad rap. Yet they're perfect for creating sauces and heating up ordinary ingredients. The knack is knowing how toharness the fire so that ti works for your recipes.

Contributor and celebrity chef Patti Jinich wrote about the zingy pepper in yesterday's New York Times Food section.The habanero is a main and particular ingredient of the Yucatan Peninsula 9it's famous for Cancun and Mayan pyramids.Surprisingly it came from the Amazon Basin in South America and migrated up to the area during colonial times.It became a major export to Cuba and recieved its' name from one of the island's provinces La Habana.Its' consumption was largely confined to the Yucatan peninsula until about a decade ago.There it was used for salsas. American discovered it and put it into everything from rice to potato chips and even chile crisp.Home chefs can have a field day with it.It does not only have a fiery taste but can also taste fruity, citrusy and flowery before it gets the mouth on fire. Kep in mind it's least ripe when its' green and can have a bitter and acidiic taste. Look for ones that are yellow, orange and red and have waxy skins.The pepper's heat is concentrated at the top and dissapates along its' length.

Unlike most hot peppers, they're easy to chop. There's no residual fieriness left on hands and fingers after cutting.(unless you;re chopping up a lot,. Then just wash hands with soapy water).Chef Jinich suggests having them chopped  after de-stemming and deseeding. Add  a sliced raw onion, a bit of lime juice and some salt for an easy salsa.It makes for a spicy pico di gallo or a perfect condiment for tacos, tortas and tostadas.it can also be puree dto be used in sauces , soups ,stews or marinades. She includes three recipes  that include habaneros.  You could try her tomato -habanero salsa which is a blend of Roma tomatoes, white onions and vegetable oil. A different weeknight dinner is habanero chicken and broccoli. The chicken is  a simpleroast while the florets get a kicky sweet and fiery habanero sauce that's also mixed with honey, lemon and lime juices.A nice side is her tangy romaine salad with a habanero-avocado dressing.It's the peppers roasted and deseeeded mixed with avocado, brown sugar,vinegar, salt peppr and water. The romaiine laos has oranges added for brightness and sweetness.

Use the habanero to give a kick to any dish on a cold winter's day.It's easy to cook with and add to any recipe. It brightens up any dish and dinner.

More Lessons To Learn

 One solid New Yer's resolution is either improving one's cooking skills or finally learning how to cook. either won;t disappoint in the long run. The skills gleaned now will last a lifetime, meaning tasty meals and easier ways to deal with prep and cooking.

Regular contributor , chef and restauranteur Sohla El-Wahlly has written about and gives readers easy recipes to try in today's New York Times Food section. She has also teamed up with te Times to create videos on You Tube geared for novice home chefs.(they're at youtube.com@NYTCooking) Most are half and hour long and Chef El-Wahlly guides you through first selecting the best ingredients and then the different cooking methods. (there are much shorter Tikotk videos from adventurous home chefs who have tried and executed  the NY Times recipes ,Also check those out) There is already a video on eggs and the many different ways to cook them, from a simple scrambled to sunny side up. There will also be videos on crispy salmon without any stovestop platter, a rice pilaf, perfect onits' own or as a buttery side and a perfectly cooked and crisped spatchcocked chicken. There will also be recipes for  broiled broccoli even kids will love, a one skillet steak dinner and Chef El=Wahlly's mom's spaghetti dinner.

Even if you don't watch the NY TImes video, there's Chef El-Wahlly's advice to consider. As with any project start with the right tools. Buy a big cutting board. Smaller ones are perfect for cutting proteins and then easy to wip down. For all other buy the biggest one you can. This will be perfect for cutting up veggies and herbs one right after the other and leaving them into little piles. It makes for an easy , effortless  throwing everything intoa pot or skillet too. Another must is a knife you can sharpen.Chef El-Wahlly recommends steer clear of any celebrity endorsed ones. Buy yourself an inexpensive one along with a small whetstone for sharpening.Big bowls for mixing and a heavy skillets are also musts. Another iteme very kitchen should have is a sheet pan. This should not just be forroasting veggies an meats.. Use this as an all purpose cookie sheet and to dry brine meats in the fridge. There is also advice on tasting the food you cook along the way to make sure it tastes OK, swapping in one ingredient for another and learn how to read a recipe. Another bit of advice be kind to yourself. Mistakes will happen . Let them.

Watch the videos to learn how to cook. You'll definitely pick up tips and tricks for making a better meal. Cooking is not hard. It's easy if you know what you're doing.

Are You Storm Ready

 This is January and that means storms - all sorts of them Are you ready for them? What about your food supplies? Ehat can you cook with if you lose power? Be prepared and be ready,

It used to be that the month just brough blizzards and monster snowstorms.Thanks to global warming we're getting more and more hurricane like storms in a warming winter. The same advice I gave in September during that season I'll give now.Have plenty of canned food along with plenty of bagged and canned food for your animal companions. Winter flooding is getting bad here in the States. It may be hard to get to a store , especially if it's in a low lying flood zone. Make sure both people, and animals have enough of their special foods for special diets too. Keep in mind that your power may go out so that's a problem for fridges and freezers. Those frozen dinners will have to be cooked quickly, namely in a gas oven. No electricity means no air fryers or  microwaves.If you can and the weather breaks then get out your barbecue. Use charcoal and any relatively dry wood as fuel and cook up any meats and even vegetables. Frozen dinners will have to be deconstructed and cook what you can from them.

What should you buy? Usually most go for bread, milk and eggs. You can easily make French toast with these . Also think easy to store cheese slices. You can make everything from grilled cheese to stuffed tortillas with the slices. They can also go into salads too for extra protein. Cold cuts also work and they can also be used in salads for more protein. Some grocery stores will be flooded or will be powerless. A few will have generators and most industrial freezers can keep food overnight at the longest. Stay away from the creamy stuff like frozen dinner with sauces. Fresh meats and seafood can easily spoil. Avoid these. Stick with cereals for breakfast for the kids. Buy boxed milk , both plant and dairy for them and for your coffee. Again canned food will come in handy .Beans and tuna fish can be eaten cold right out of the can. Figure on bean salad and tuna mixed with vegan mayo (this is safer for you because there are no eggs in it that can go bad). Get fresh fruits and vrggies to eat too. Again these can be eaten raw and a good source of nutrients. Buy bagged snacks and cookies along with candy just to have as comfort food.

January is getting a bad reputation  as a stormy month these days. Be  prepared. be careful. You can weather any storm with the right food choices.

It's Crockpot Season

 It's January and that means one thing :time to get out  the crockpot or start using the one you received for Christmas. There's so much you cna make using it. Be rady for , easy, ribsticking meals  that warm you from yoru head to your toes.

I got mine out after a few seasons of not using it.I love it, from Classic which I bought at Target six years ago./ The handle is broken and it's seen better days after six years but it still works beautifully.

I spent a rainy , snowy Sunday making homemade vegan chili.It's my Mom';s recipe that I tweaked. It  has a cuo of both kidney and cannellini beans, a cup of vegan soy crumbles, crushed pepper infused tomatoes and tomato sauce. A mix of cumin, chili powder, along with onionand garlci powders were added. You can add real meat and just the tomato sauce. A bowl of it was perfect on a frosty, chilly day. You can jazz it up your own recipe by adding a layer of mixed Mexican cheeses, and sour cream or a dollop of guacamole.

Use your crockpot to make all sorts of warming dishes. My next big recipe with it will be homemade tomato sauce. This is bascially the chili recipe sans the cumin and chili powder. I can see  it on top of penne or spaghetti with vegan meatballs. I can also just serve meat balls and sauce over Italoan bread for a hot hearty, hero. Keep in mind that crockpots can also be used to make Swedish meatballs and a variety of homemade soups. Imagine a good leek and potato one being simmered in it. If you have apples, cut them up with some granulated sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for a chunky applesauce. 

It's crockpot season. Use yours to make hot , tasty meals. It's such an easy cook that produces warming dishes for cold winter days and night.

A Coptic Christmas Feast

 Tomorrow is Christmas in the Coptic Orthodox as well as in the Serbian. Ethiopian and Russian orthodox to name a few. It's a day to feast on lush dishes as well as observe centuries old traditions. 

This sect of the Orthodox Church observe the Julian calendar which predates the Gregorian one that most Christians follow.It actually starts with a fast from November 25th to January 6th and regards all products from animals. This is called the Holy Nativity Fast and it shows not only devotion but self control.At the mass before Christmas Day tonight a bread marked with twelve dots representing the apostles is presented at the church.It's called the qurban. After the fast is broken usually with the fatta -a light soup served with roasted bread vegetables and meat.iI;s usally made with  a lamb stock which can be acidic and also garlicky. There are also hardboiled eggs and cheese to eat too. This prepares families for he big feast on Christmas Day. This consists of roasted turkey or chicken and macaroni in a bechamel or white sauce There is a sesame cookie called kahk made with pistachios and honey alng with ghee or melted butter to give them a rich flavor.

Other Eastern Orthodox countries also observe January 7th Christmas. Serbians also have their take on the Christmas feast. They serve roast pork with either dried cherries or apricots or pecenica served with  sarma fermented cabbage rolls stuffed with  ground meat, rice, eggs and  old bread. They're cooled for twelve hours in a regular pot on the stove top or oven cooked in a clay pot .A fstive mimosa salad is also added to the table. This is kind of live a saovry trifle serve in a glass container so all can see its' layers.The first layer is usually a pickled fish  followed by a tier of cooked and chopped potatoes. Carrots and sliced green onions add another punch of flavor and color. It's topped with a thick layer of grated cheese and mayo. How is the meal finished? With platters of small cakes.  Serbian home bakers will make madarica or Hungarian Maids small layered cakes consisting of biscotti and caramel, They're topped with a rich layer of dark chocolate. Kids and adults alike will love peaches or breskvices  sandwich cookies that look exactly like the fruit. They're baked first, then hollowed out and filled with peach or apricot jam. The coloring comes from first dipping th ewhole cookie in diluted yellow food colring and then dipping the tops in diluted red food coloring. After they're rolled in granuated sugar.     

For those celebrating the Otthodox Christmas     , enjoy the feasts. Enjoy the foods and sweets with family and friends. RCoptic Orthodoxeflect on the day and what it means.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Rouxing The Day

 One of the bases of  a good thick soup is roux. This is a mix of flour cooked into a kind fo sauce with butter.It may sound fancy but it's pretty easy to make.

I wanted it as the base for my celery soup.It's cold weather here and a good thick, soup is just the thing for a frosty  day. I used half a cup or eight tablespoons of Acme's Signature all  purpose flour.

It was cooked with eight tablespoons of Melt plant based butter.

It was lumpy at first and I had to add another tablespoon of Melt. After several figure eight stirs it became a nut brown sauce. It was time to add the veggie broth and mix of celery and potatoes.I also sliced up a clove of garlic and added salt and pepper to enhance the soup's flavor.

It took three cups of celery and a can (around sixteen ounces or about two cups) of sliced potatoes.I also added half a cup of almond milk.

Keep in mind you can also use cow's milk or even cream for a richer flavor along with using real butter.

 

It was simmered over a medium flame until the celery turned a bright, vibrant green. This took about twenty to thirty minutes.

The soup was thick and creamy although you don't really need roux to make it thick.It  did add a lovely flavor to the bowl and I may use it in making a vegan chicken bisque.

Roux is a great way of adding body and flavor to any soup. Try it when you want tomake a thick potage for a cold day.It makes for a wonderful and easy to create base.

Life Changing Recipes

 A new year means a new outlook especially in cooking and baking. You may want to cook vegan or even learn how to cook. You may want to try your hand at baking - finally. yet what recipes to use? Not to worry There are some good ones to give a whirl.

New contributor Tanya Sichynsky Times cooking editor wrote an informative how to with recipes for yesterday's New York Times Food section. She covers simple recipes for those noivce chefs who want tasty but easy along with vegan ones for newly turned herbivores. There's also a section iwth easy baking recipes for those who want to start or hone their baking skills. The recipes come fromthe Food sections' other contributors . Beginners should try Melissa Clark's foolproof fish which is skin on salmon cooked with mustard.The whole dish takes only fifteen minutes to create. There's also her crisp edged quesdadilla for a great weekend meal.Ot's just a fried tortilla stuffed with three kinds of cheeses. For a more Asian bent there is Eric Kim's gye ran bap or egg rice that also has the salty tang of seaweed added.New vegetarians can try Zainah Sha's sheet pan tikka that also has bell peppers and onions spiced and flavored with ghee. Again Melissa Clark offers her vegan red lemtil soup, perfect for January days and beyond. Serve it with Sohla El-Wayily's quinoa and broccoli spoons salad.

A new year means a new stab at baking. Here the recipes don;t fail, in their easiness or tastiness. Everyone will love Scott Loitch's Rice Krispie Treats with Brown Butter. Browned butter heightens the taste ofany baked good , from browmies to cake. Novices can try their hand with it in this simple recipe. They're elevated with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt and colored sprinkles. As home bakers progress they then cna move on to Genevieve Ko's flourless chocolate cake. This is more like a gooey mousse in a way , with a fudgy center, perfect to be served with ice cream ro whipped cream. Then there is Marti Buckley's Basque cheesecake , adapted from her "Basque Country Cookbook.It spares the water bath and is baked at a higher temp than the New York ones.it has a burnished look because of this and has a flavor reminiscent of a toasted marshmallow.It also has the look of a more sophisticated cake despite its'simplicity.

This is the year to try. it can be as simple as try to cook, ro try to bake.It can also be as complex as try to eat healthier . Whatever is decided these recipes are here to help.

Salty Knowledge

 Salt isn't just salt. it could be the granualr sugar like one or flakes of melt in your mouth flavors of the sea. what kind of slat you use is vital to making or breaking any recipe. What;s good to use? Luckily there's a guide.

Regular contributor Melissa Clark wrote about this fascinating seasoning in today's New York Times Food section. We use salt almost daily  and what we use has a prfound effect on our cooking. Using salt as seasoning has been around since Neolithic times when early humans went into eating meat. Humans need it to survive. Sodium chloride or NACl regulates our body fluids and is essential for nerve, muscle and digestive function. Let's face it too - a lot of foods would taste horribly bland and unexciting without a dash of salr. Salt was also used for preserving meats , veggies and cheeses , espcially when global transport started in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The ancient Egyptians used it eve to preserve mummies/. Before mass production in the 20th Century salt was either found in mines or taken from any nearby ocean ro sea. That all changed in the 1900's when iodized salt came into being. Iodized salt , which was mined from salt mines  is important for regulating the thyroid gland.Now  howvermany are ditching that for the tastier flakier salts.

Ms. Clark also a guide to the different salts out there along with a recipe. You can use iodized or table salt for cooking and seasoning.It does have extra chemicals  like dextrose and sodium bicarbonate added to prevent it from clumping.Sometimes it does have a very briny or metallic tang to it.There is also kosher salt which does not need a rabbinical blessing to be used. it;s defined  by its coarse large crystals. These draw out blood from meat, which desalinates the meat.It also makes for a good crust around the meat. Then there are the darlings of the culinary world ; the sea salts.  Home chefs can buy common sea salt which is industrially produced from sea water. Keep in mind thse have additives too, namely anti-caking ones. They can come in grains like table salts or cubes used for pasta water.It has a cleaner flavor than table salt and is used a lot in baking. A better bet is traditional sea salt like fleur de sel, sel gris or flaky sea salt.They're made by evaporating sea salt in hot climates. They don;t have a uniform crystal size or salinity. Most are used in decoarting dishes but also had layers of complexity when being added to any swet or savory recipe. Sea salt flakes are probably the best salt to use. Maldon Sea salt which comes form the town on Maldon England on the Blackwater Estuary gives food a bright snap. They have less minerality than the other sea salts.  There is also fleur de sel, which has salty and bitter notes along with sel gris.it's harvested from the clay bottom hence te name grey salt. You can also try Himalayan pink salt from Pakistain whic has a slightly spicy flavor,

Salt is essential to life. It's also essential in bringing any dish to life. Sea salt is the best bit other work too in making food tastier.

Your Culinary Year Make It Your Best

 With a new year comes new posssibilities and hopes, especially in cooking and baking . Make this the year to try new recipes and ingredients. Be curious.  Be adventurous, but most of all be fun.

One way to try new dishes is to eat out.It's one thing to try recipes you see on the web it's another to experience them at an eatery. You can ask the server or chef what's in it  and how to create it.If the chef is mum with his ro her recipe then carefully look at it. How was it cooked? Broiled? Flambeed? What were the spices used? Did you detect a hint of red wine ro brandy in the sauce? What about the sides? Were they a simple vegetable sauteed in garlic and oil or did they come with their own sauce?Also think about the cuisines you haven't tried yet. Do you want to cook Szechuan? Or French? Do ants climbing a tree or creating scratch crepes appeal to you? if so , then tart cooking. Make sure you have the appropriate gear such as a wok or crepe maker (although a skillet pan can also do the trick for crepes). Do you want to try your hand at creating your own recipes? You can. There's nothing holding you back.

The same philosophy applies to cookbooks. Buy what interests you if you ddin;t receive a book on it for the holidays. I recently picked up The Great British Baking Show  recipe book at the Clark Shop Rite.

 it was intriguing and I thought why not.Hopefully I'll have the time to bake a few treats fromthis little volume.I do want to try Mary Berry's cheese straws as well as her zesty orange filled Jaffa cakes., a British classic. The breads are a must. I like the idea of a warm homemade bread slathered with butter and jam. It's challenging myself along with discovering tasty recipes I can also make for family and friends.

This is the year to have fun and challenge your cooking and baking skills.it could be adding a new spice or trying a new cuisine.It could even be making up a new recipe. Have fun. Be daring this year.

Dazzle In The New Year

 A New Year means all sorts of new things. It can be extremely fun for home chefs and bakers. There's all sorts of new to try. It's a year to experiment.

If you haven;t already use those Christmas giftcards to buy air fryers, immersion blenders and crockpots These are the three most important appliances outside of your stove and fridge. Another must is experimenting with new spices. Update your spice cabinet. Use flavorings you haven't used before. The same is true for bothi cooking and baking recipes.

It's a new year. Dazzle friends and family. Dazzle youself and your kitchen in 2024!

Have  a tasty, fun New Year!!!😍