A Good Fourth Of July

 Have a gook FOurth of July. It's really not a time to celebrate but to mobilize to make this a great country again. (although if you want to be more persuasive serve blue foods like blueberries and Cointreu. Also start gathering those  casserole recipes for those pot luck dinners and fundraisers.

We can turn all of this around. Start a grass roots movement, feed our troops , start  a culinary salon where everyone can exchange ideas and recipes.

An Indigenous Sweet Treat

 After all the gooey cakes and chocolates this week, it's nice to find a dessert a bit more natural. This is in the form of grape dumplings , an Indigenous American treat that several East coast and Midwestern tribes make. It may be a centuries old recipe but it still packs a punch.

Kevin Noble Maillard, author of Fry Bread :A Native American Family Story  and a member of the Seminole tribe wrote about this classic indigenous dessert in today's New York Times Food section. They were originally balls of corn mush boiled in the juice of wild grapes. They represent the evolution of Indigenous foodways, along with forced relocation, cultural exchanges and developments in the food system. Modern chefs and cooks are showing a renewed interest in all things Native American along with eating locally grown foods.Earlier tribesmen saw bounties of all sorts of native fruits and veggies according to Cherokee citizen Elise McMullen-Ciotti an NYU graduate student majoring in food studies. The country held an massive amount of grapes. The original recipe calls for a native one called the possum grape. These were smaller than the European ones and had a tangy flavor. They are small and seedy , growing in wild abundance throughout southeastern US. Nowadays, modern Indigenous chefs use either Welch's Concord grape juice or grapes from their local grocery store.

Mr Maillard borrows his mother, Sharmaine's recipe for this recipe. You could use flour or Bisquick but the truest taste belongs to the ones made with cornmeal. They use blue cornmeal but if you can't find that use a medium grind yellow one. Flour is also added  along with one egg for binding  and melted butter. To sweeten it and give it that rich purple color add in a quarter cup Concord grape juice. (Keep in mind that grape juice does settle so you have to shake it before using.) There is also the addition of sweet agave but it can be omitted. The dumplings are made like any other dumpling, sift all the dry ingredients and then make a well in the middle for the liquid ones. Once mixed then roll the dough out into a rectangle after vigorous kneading.It's then cut into rectangles using a knife or pizza cutter.  prick each piece three times with a fork rinesThe sauce is a mix of cornstarch dissolved in cold water and four cups of well shaken grape juice . You also need to add two cups of dark seedless grapes and agave syrup if you want. bring to a roiling boil and carefully add the dumplings to the juice. They should cook for ten minutes. For the juice to turned into a syrup cook it for an additional five minutes on a low-medium heat. Serve with vanilla ice cream and fresh tarragon leaves. You also have them on their own too.

Grape dumplings are a refreshing way to enjoy dessert and honor the Indigenous People. They are a nice way to enjoy natural ingredients without all that sugar .  Make them for a simple but flavorful dessert.

Into The Mix

Cake and cookie mixes can be time saving yet they really don't let home bakers get all too creative. However there's nothing wrong with adding to the mixes, spiking them up with flavor or color. It makes for fun baking and eating.

One of the easiest mixes to doctor are brownie ones.Yes, they're good on their own but they can be amped up. I recently did this with Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Brownie mix. The mix does produce a delicious treat but I wanted something extra. Walnuts are the perfect nut for brownies, they go hand in hand.I added a small package of broken pieces or chips and they gave so much to the recipe.  You could add pecans or peanuts too if you wanted to. The Duncan Hines site has recipes for amaretto brownies along with ones spiked with ground red pepper. If you're adding this, experiment with various pinches of pepper. What you may think is not hot may be a four alarm fire for someone else. Cake mixes can also have an add in or two. Coffee granules can elevate any dark chocolate cake. A small dash of liquor  or even soaking a cake mix cake in rum. The last is the ultimate holiday cake, especially with a homemade hard sauce. Sprinkle cakes are still the cake of the moment. Just remember to add ONLY  quarter of a cup.  I used a full cup once and ended up with  two layers of unbaked disaster. Keep in mind that the sprinkles don't always have to be multicolored. Have all pink or all blue for reveal cakes. Use red and green for Christmas and orange ones in a chocolate cake for Halloween.

Cookie mixes can also be zinged up with all sorts of add ins. Over the years I've added mini chocolate chips to the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix and red and green sprinkles to their sugar cookie mix. Any of these are fun add ins  - especially for a holiday tray or bake sale. M &M's are another great add in, whether they're the regular size or  the mini ones.One of the best additions is Hershey's Kisses to make Blossom cookies. They can be the traditional peanut butter ones or use a sugar cookie mix. Dust with cocoa powder after they're baked for an extra layer of flavor.If you're craving something healthier then think about tossing in some Raisins or Craisins - dried cranberries. They both add an old fashioned sweetness and color to any cookie, especially the spice and oatmeal ones. Nuts can also be a nice add in.  Put the nuts in a chopper first for a finer texture.Think pecans or walnuts to add more of a buttery flavor. Another fun idea is turning the cookies into sandwich ones.The filling is an easy mix of confectioner's sugar, vegetable shortening, butter and a few drops of vanilla extract. You could sub in cocoa powder for vanilla for a fudge-y kind of frosting.

Don't be afraid to add to any cake or cookie mix. Put your own spin on these. A half cup of sprinkles or raisins, a shot of brandy or red pepper will make these average ingredients your signature mark

The Vegan Lamb Part Two Iced

After baking the vegan lamb and letting it sit  for a day, it was time to ice it. I used the same  Wilton recipe as before however I used Stop & Shop's confectioner's sugar instead of Domino's

It' starts out with vegetable shortening and a stick of Country Crock spread. This was whipped for a few minutes with an electric beater. Vanilla, sea salt and almond milk were added along with five cups of sugar.

                     There was a heart shape in the middle of the bowl.

                      More of a heart shape in the beater blades.Maybe my Mom is looking out for me and this is her way of letting me know she's around , watching.

                I used the bags of confectioners sugar which weighs  two pounds. I recommend  buying this amount  for any big baking project, especially if  there's a lot of icing to do. Also the bag is easier to handle than the box.

 I don't know if it was that or adding a little too much almonds milk (half a cup instead of a quarter) but the icing was runny, looser than what it was the last time around.

   I also mixed  cocoa powder into a small blob of icing  for the mouth, nose and eyes,
 There were also candy eyes from Betty Crocker that I picked up in Stop &Shop's bake aisle.They
 kind of gives the lamb a Raggedy Ann kind of look. I think I'll stick with the blue icing for the eyes
 instead.

 

Unfortunately a vegan scratch cake is not as strong as a Dream Whip/cake mix  cake  The

head fell off thanks to the frosting's heaviness. The next time the vegan lamb will just have a dusting of powdered sugar with buttercream features. I realize it's just too fragile for

 a butter and shortening rich icing. The cake was good on it's own, very delicate tasting

 thanks to the almond extract. 

Now I know what to do when Easter comes around and I have to bake a flock of lambs. It's a lot of trial and error but worth the work. It's always good to bake and ice a tester cake. There won't be any bad surprises or tears.

Cheese Lesson

Cheese is so common you would think the average foodie would know it inside and out.Surprisingly this age old food has several varieties.They come in all sizes, from wheels to wedges and flavors ranging from sharp to mild. used the right way with the right accompaniments, they can be just heavenly.The question is do most people know their cheeses? Suzanne Lenzer asked this in her column in today's New York Times Wednesday Dining section.Luckily she has expert help thanks to Liz Thorpe , a cheesemonger and author of the 2009 book "The Cheese Chronicles". Ms. Thorpe breaks this fermented casein down into six categories.They are fresh, bloomy rind , washed rind, pressed,cooked and blue.Ms Lenzer decided to first try the bloomy kind so called because the soft mold or yeast rind blooms on the cheese's exterior.She selects a creamy Brie first and uses it for a dressing.It works well with emulsions such as salad dressings and dips.A fresh cheese such ricotta or mozzarella softens rather than melts in direct heat ,which makes it an excellent topping for pizza. Ms.Lenzer also discovers some misconceptions about cheese too.Most. Think that cheddar is the perfect cheese for melting.It is not.Thanks to its high acidity( which gives it that sharp bite of taste) the texture only melts into small oily globules or nubbins.If you want a melty cheese go with a Gruyere which is the backbone of any good croquet Monsieur sandwich.For a perfect wedge that compliments fruit ,think about ones with a washed rind,.These hold up really well as just slices.For another good melting cheese consider the cooked kinds, such as Parmesan and Gouda. Everyone's fave ,blue cheese should have fewer blue veins which signifies a sweet taste.Blue cheese with huge pockets of blue are best for crumbling over soups and salads. Cheese is as complex as wine.It has different varieties and flavors, textures and properties.Like a good Merlot ,it should be taken with seriousness.