Changing Up Spring Sweets

 This is the season for baking holiday treats and sweets. Yet it's usually the same thing, from kugel for Passover to Easter themed cakes , cupcakes and cookies . What about changing ot up a bit? Put in a new recipe that the family will love.

Passover begins on April 5th this year and ends on April 13th. The usual desserts are ones made with out flour namely kugel. Yet it's time to break out of that classic mold. Why not serve a refreshing fruit salad or fruit cups instead. Make it colorful with pineapple chunks, kiwi slices and strawberries,Add blueberruies ,s liced grapes and tangerine slices for more sweetness. Now zing it up with a honey lime dressing. Another dessert not necessarily associated with Passover are chocolate covered strawberries. Dip these ruby gems in dark chocolate for a different kind of ending . Give them a dusting of kosher sprinkles to make them even fancier.The days are getting warmer so think about fruit sorbets.Create an easy three ingredient one by using fruit, honey or agave syrup and a squueze of lemon juice.It's pureeing the fruit and mixing with the sweetener and juice. Pour this into ice cube trays and then freeze. Take the frozen cubes and placed into a food frocessor. They're transformed into a cool creamy dessert. Think a a strawberry or blueberry sorbet for a refreshing end. You can also make a chocolate one too using both Dutch processed chocolate and cocoa powder.

As for Easter, yes those bunny cakes and cupcakes are cute but they can be a little boring. Why not end the Sunday meal with homemade ice cream spiked with chocolate eggs or the fun multicolored robin's egg malted milk eggs. You can make a vanilla or choclate ice cream loaf to be sliced and served with whipped cream.. It can even be served in multicolored cones for the little ones. Brownies may be known as an after school snack but they can be topped with a thin layer of icing and a Peep for a colorful end to your Easter dinner. You can use a box mix or try a scratch recipe.Another unusual idea are cake bites baked to look like small Easter eggs. You can use molds (which can be bought on Amazon) to create the shapes and then decorate them in pretty colors.Both kids and adults will love meringues. These are airy puffs of sweetness which can be made with vegan or non vegan ingredients. The non vegan is made with aquafaba or chickpea brine and tastes the same as the regular ones made with egg whites. Dye them pink with all natural beet root which gives them a candy pink color. Of course coffee flavored ones are great for the adults.

Change up your Spring treats with new and exciting recipes .Break away from the classics.Serve fun sweets for Passover and Easter

Candy Treats

 Onr of the best aspects and even gifts of the holidays is hoemmade . As easy as it is to eat, it's tricky to make. Luckily there's help to guide you through in making the three most popular - fudge, caramel and nougat.

Regular contribtur and baking cookbook author , Claire Saffritz wrote about these goodies in yesterday's New York Times Food section.For any of these candies she strongly recommnends a candy thermometer, along with a heavy saucepan that won't cause scorched candy and a kitchen scale for exact measuring. The first and easiest recipe is fudge.Hers is a rich blend of cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips, butter and whole milk. There's also corn syrup and honey along with granulated sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Home confectioners must cook the fudge into "soft ball "phase, meaning the candy forms a soft ball when dropped into water. The mixture should be cooked at 235 degrees Farenheit and stirred constantly. The sugars and cocoas are first  cooked separately  and then combined. .Once the fudge hits the soft ball phase then take it off the heat and poured in a pan lined with parchment paper and cooking spray. It'll keep up to a month.

Caramels start with sugar, cream and butter . Ms. Saffitz also infuses the cream with coffee to counteract all that sweetness.Unlike with the fudge, don't stir the mixture and wash down the saucepan walls with a wet pastry sauce to avoid any crystallization.It's cooked until the hard ball stage which is putting a good drop of the mixture into cold water and seeing to become a hardy chewy ball. The hardest candy to create is nougat. It's an eleaborate mix fo egg whites, sugar and nuts. The pistacchios are toasted first then the egg whites salt and sugar are whipped in a stand mixing bowl (think meringue) After this heat the corn syrup, sugar and water together . Cooked honey is also added in and hotne finally the meringue mixture , This really is a two person venture with one mixing the egg white while the other watches and stirs the syrup. This last is added to the mix and it's beaten until the nougat is voluminous. The nuts are then added and the candy is poured into a parchment paper lined pan to set. Let it set for six hours to overnight before cutting into squares.

There's nothing like the sweet treat of candy as a gift. It's a great present, full of homemade ingredients and careful cooking. Make a batch of fudge , caramel or nougat for your holiday sweetie.

Easter Light Eating

 As with other holidays Easter brings about rich meals and even richer desserts. Yet it doesn't have to be this way. You can easily create lighter fare that's just as tasty and packed with flavor.

Many families have either ham and lamb. While these are traditional, they can be a bit too much in flavor. They 're geared more to Christmas or New Year's Think a lighter taste for Spring. Cornish hen fits the bill especially if it's just roasted with lemon and herbs. As with other poultry like turkey and chicken  you can put butter or a plant sub in like Melt under the skin.It not only imparts a lovely flavor but also gives the meat some moisture too. One is perfect for a small aster dinner for two. What would go with this? Think a side of herbed wild  rice and that Spring favorite asparagus. Herbed rice is made with the chewier, wild version along with a chopped yellow onion and such herbs as  dried, rosemary, thyme and basil. If you want something lighter then think of roasted carrots simply rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper. The asparagus can be made with butter and Parmesan  to emphasize the green's earthy flavor. If chicken isn't your thing, then think salmon. You can go the sheet pan way with a garlic butter sauce  along with roasting it with fingerling potatoes and asparagus.

Easter cakes are always pretty and cute but they are also overloaded with tons of buttercream icing. Family and friends may prefer a simple Bundt cake.  Think one made with Meyer lemons or Cara Cara oranges and a simple glaze. A slice of pound cake would also be a nice ending to the Easter meal. You could bake a chocolate one which is dense but think of a  chocolate chip or a marble one. One of the airiest desserts to make is meringue. These can be made vegan by using aquafaba or chickpea brine. Whipped up it creates the same foamy lightness as an egg white meringue. Coffee meringues are a nice touch or you can try fruity ones, perfect with tea. You will need dried berry powder or freeze dried fruit. These also impart a lovely pink color, perfect to match those Easter eggs. There are two great desserts made with this. One is the Pavlova, named in honor of the great ballerina Anna Pavlova, This is a layer of meringue, whipped cream and fresh fruit such as strawberries , blue berries and raspberries. The other dessert is an Eton Mess, a favorite of the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex. This is like a combination of a Pavlova and a parfait where the meringue is broken into pieces and layered with whipped. cream and berries.

Think Spring when you're cooking and baking for Easter. The lighter flavors are like the season itself - delicate and fresh. It's a nice way to celebrate the day.

Back With Meringue

 Foodie Pantry is back open thanks to a reprieve on the gallbladder. With it comes the magic of meringue.It's the elegant topper on citrus pies or  delicate puffs of goodness. Best of all it's not complicated to make as people think it is.

Melissa Clark wrote about it in her Good Appetite column in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Many home bakers shy away from making this classic. Meringue can be tricky to make and bake. When it comes out good it's phenomenal, When it comes out bad, it can be drippy , weepy or just gooey. Meringue is one of the oldest recipes having first been made in the 16th Century. Making it was real chore with bakers of the time using everything from birch branches to knives to bundles of  straw.It only improved with the invention of the wire whisk in the 19th Century. The basic make up of it is just foam. Shake or agitate any liquid and bubbles will appear However the specific proteins in the whites and its' vegan counterpart aquafaba (chickpea water) allow them to turn into a billowing mousse. when beaten these proteins uncoil, trapping in tiny bubbles.The proteins thin out the more they're beaten and they become more and more aerated with each whip. Add sugar or heat or both will help stabilize them by firming up the proteins as their structure remains intact.

There are three different types of meringue. The simplest is commonly called French meringue,It made solely from egg whites and sugar.It's the lightest and most voluminious of the three. It's also the least stable and can break down. It's used to boost sponge cake and macarons and gives those crunchy meringue kisses. The second is Swiss meringue, where the egg whites and sugar are heated in a double boiler until the sugar melts, then beaten until buoyant and creamy.It's the coating on baked Alaska and added to buttercreams for richness. The densest, smoothest and most stable is Italian meringue.It's also the most challenging to work with. The sugar is heated to 240 degrees Farenheit and it's then carefully beaten into a bowl of whites.It's kind of like making candy and it can be used interchangeably with the Swiss version. Ms. Clark gives a wide array of different recipes. You could try her extra lemony meringue pie, made with  sharply bright Meyer lemons or the chocolate meringue raspberry tart. This is a fruit tart  with a meringue zinged up with cocoa powder and frozen dried raspberries. There is also a blood orange pie with a butterscotch meringue made with brown sugar to create that butterscotch flavor.

Whipping up a meringue for any of these recipes is a nice touch. It does practice to make the perfect one. Once mastered the end result is  amazing.

The Fall Pantry In A Pandemic

 It's time to start thinking of refilling the pantry now that fall is fast approaching. It'll be different, thanks to the pandemic which means  a different way of stocking up. what should be bought in bulk and what should be bought sparingly? What will give us hearty and delicious dishes in the upcoming months?

Apple season and fall go together perfectly so stock up on them. If you're lucky some farms in your area are open for limited picking. Take advantage of this because apples can keep for a relatively long time compared to other fruit. A basket or two is perfect and can keep well in a cool pantry, basement or even root cellar.If you can't make it to a farm, your local grocery store has a wide variety to choose from. Try Cortlands or Galas. Of course you can make pies with them, but also consider making something a bit long lasting like homemade apple sauce. This will go great with such cold weather dishes as pork chops or roast. The fruit can also be used in making apple butter and a variety of baked goods such as muffins. Canned fruit is another must have. Think peaches or pears which make great snacks or desserts on their own. Canned veggies are a must since they're versatile and can keep for long periods of time. Try to stock up on such essentials as canned potatoes - perfect for potato salads or soup, green beans  - again great as a summery salad or as a side  cooked almondine with almond slivers. Kids will love canned corn so consider buying a few cans of those . It is versatile too, being added to corn muffins or fritters or to chowders to add color and flavor. 

Every fall pantry needs beans - and plenty of them. They're a great source of protein and can be put into a variety of different dishes. Since chili will be prevalent for the cooler days, stock up on the kidney and pinto ones. Black beans are another must stock. Combine them with rice and spices for a nice side to roast or barbecued chicken. Chickpeas are another bean that should be bought a few can at a time. They have a dual purpose. Use the beans for everything from the Indian stew choley to homemade hummus and save the aquafaba or bean liquid for vegan meringues and mousses. Bean flour among other flours are another good pantry buy. Make sure you have plenty of white or gluten free too along or almond and coconut flour  if you're eating more healthfully. We may be baking a bit more again so stock up on yeast too. There has been a shortage in the past and there may be one again if everyone uses the cooler weather to bake bread.Sugar and confectioner's sugar will keep so again get the larger containers. There may not be school bake sales but there may be at home Halloween parties where cupcakes and cookies will be required.Take stock of the spices you have as well. You may need to buy a new bottle of cinnamon and nutmeg for baking and cooking.

it's time to stock your fall pantry. It'll be a bit difficult because of the pandemic but it can be done. Buy what is needed the most and your pantry be fine.

A Whole Meal Of Recipes

One of the hardest things for a home chef to do is come up with a three or four course meal for company. What do you start with? What do you end with? Should you have one side? Two? or three? And what about the main course - what works well for everyone? Don't despair. There's are recipes that can help you from start to finish.

Alison Roman, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section and famed food blogger gave an appetizer to dessert menu in yesterday's issue. This is great for the home chef who loves to have friends and family over for good food.It's excerpted from her new book, Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food For Having People Over  ( Clarkson Potter 2019). where she gives low stress but high impact recipes for all sorts of dishes.It  starts out with a simple framework snacks, salads  sides, mains and sweet things. She starts off with labneh dip with sizzled scallions and chile. This is a kind of Middle Eastern yogurt dish made with Greek yogurt however you can also use sour cream too. It's swirled with lemon juice for tang. Scallions and hot pepper flakes along with cilantro are cooked in olive oil . The pepper turns a fiery shade of orange as it's drizzled into the labneh. I'd serve it with homemade pita chips  and maybe a bowl of homemade hummus too.

The main course is a roast chicken - always a crowd pleaser.Ms. Roman firsts drizzles it with olive oil and then sprinkling it with fennel seeds. The cavity is filled with  half a bunch of oregano. It gets better. Vine ripened tomatoes are put around the chicken along with the rest of the fresh herb.There's also garlic and butter, cut up and scattered around the bird as well. At the end red wine vinegar is spooned over the tomatoes and cooked from the veggies' heat. The tomatoes and carved chicken are placed over slices of  country loaf or sourdough. You would think this is enough but Ms. Roman offers the side of lemony white beans with anchovies and Parmesan.It's basically a bagna calda sauce, fired up with a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.Escarole and parsley are added.I would nix those and serve the beans and sauce on bread as a main meal. To end the meal are Tiny Salty Chocolatey Cookies, a sort of chocolate snap with a dusting of flaky seas salt like Maldon or Jacobsen. These are double chocolate thanks to the wedding of cocoa powder and 67 per cent bittersweet chocolate. You can add any nuts too, to these meringue like cookies. They do require two egg whites plus one egg . The cookies are just a nice end with coffee and tea.

Cooking an entire meal shouldn't be a head ache. It should be a fun doing , as you cook and bake for those you love. It should be unfussy , without any fanciness  - just good taste and good food.

Your Fall Baking Must Haves

It's now perfect weather for baking. The're no  more summer humidity and scorching days to put you off baking. It's time to bake luscious pies and fun Halloween treats. It's also time to gather up your fall baking must haves.

October is pie month. It's time to reevaluate your metal and glass pie tins.Aluminum pie tins last forever however if there are dings or discoloration, then buy new ones. (the old ones can make excellent trays for outdoor flower pots). Glass pie pans should be crack free. If you see one , then replace. Buy new Pyrex ones from Target or Walmart. For a fun addition buy pie birds if you don't already have them. These are blackbird (for four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie) shaped funnels that let the steam out of the baking pie. Using these aid in venting steam from double crust pies and prevents the filling from bubbling over. If you're more into baking tarts, check your tart pans. Some can get rusty. This requires cleaning with just baking soda and water along with a thorough drying before using. If not, then just replace them with newer, cast iron ones.  As for ingredients , make sure you have plenty of Crisco for the pie crusts and butter for the tart crust. Always have a bag of flour on hand along with the fruit for filling. Make sure your corers and parers are up to par too. You'll be needing them to create the filling.Another must have?Cinnamon and sugar. Don't run out of these when your making apple pie. Also make sure you have pumpkin pie filling and the necessary spices for it too.

October not only has Halloween parties but school bakes sales as well. It's a big time for cupcakes , cookies and sweet treats. You can stock up on cake, brownie and cookie mixes if you don't have to the time to make the scratch versions.Many stores like Stop & Shop are offering a  dollar a box on certain brands like Duncan Hines right now. Take advantage of this , especially if you have a big bake sale ahead. If you're planning on baking from scratch make sure you have the appropriate flours, including gluten free ones for kids who have allergies. Also make sure you have plenty of confectioners sugar for icing. Since it's Halloween it goes without saying to have a good amount of orange , black and purple food coloring. Get the thicker textured gels if you want more intense hues. Before baking, check your cake and brownie pans. Are they up to snuff or do you have to replace them? The same is true for cupcake pans and cookie sheets. If they are too dark or rusted , get new ones. It's best to stock up now than before the Christmas baking season begins. Another must  is parchment paper, especially if you're bent on making meringues. It also comes in handy for cake baking too. As for icing, check your icing bag quantities. You made need to buy another box, especially if you had a lot of Spring and summer decorating to do. Also you may want to add an icing knife or spatula. This makes frosting all that more easier.

Fall is here. That means a return to baking. Make sure your kitchen is ready to handle it. Have all your tools and ingredients ready for a fun, sweet season.

A Very Paleo Christmas

Christmas is the time for rich food and even richer desserts. There's a lot of guilt - and calories involved though and that means spending January dieting. Yet suppose you can have tasty treats and eat them too? You can - with a Paleo based menu and recipes.

Ham is a big deal and a classic Christmas main dish for centuries. Guess what? It's also the star of many a Paleo dinner too. Instead of crusting it in brown sugar and ginger ale use a mix of coconut crystals, raw honey, along with maple syrup. Zing it up with dijon mustard and coconut vinegar which has the similar taste to apple cider vinegar.It can still be decorated with pineapple rings and cloves. Another choice is of course,turkey.Keep it moist with constant basting. so there's no need for gravy. Since a flour based gravy is taboo, try a barbecue sauce mixed with chicken broth for a different spin. Every Christmas dinner table is also laden with sides. Think a simple grilled Brussels sprouts  with just olive oil or better yet a melange of veggies. Try a colorful mix of cauliflower, kohlrabi, and butternut squash baked in coconut oil and spiked with thyme and rosemary. For fanciness, try a sweet potato Dauphinoise, made with almond milk.There is some decadence with the addition of butter and Gruyere cheese. You could also just roast them in the oven and serve with a small dab of butter or coconut oil.

Christmas means cookies and treats. The Paleo diet allows for a wide variety of ingredients to be used so that means a variety of goodies. Paleo sugar cookies have an extra nuttiness thanks to homemade cashew flour being added to the recipe. This is easy to do. It's just taking raw cashews and grinding them in your food processor. Coconut flour is added for more substance, Tapioca flour is also added as a binder along with the clarified Indian butter ghee,one egg and honey. It  may sound like a bit too much for a simple cookie but the end result is worth it. Want more variety ? Then try the caveman's version of the chocolate chip. It's more or less the same as a regular one, but the standard brown sugar is replaced with raw honey (keep in mind that the taste won't have that earthy sweetness regular ones have). Blanched almond flour mixed with coconut flour is used instead of white.The Paleo recipe does require organic dark chocolate chips and not the usual bag of morsels. If these recipes are a bit off putting then think about Paleo peppermint meringue trees. These don't vary too much from the original  recipe. They're made with egg whites, tinted with a natural green dye , and piped into three blobs on top of each other. After baking, the bottoms are dipped in a mix of peppermint oil and dark chocolate . This is a great treat for kids and adults alike.

Paleo doesn't t mean basic. You can have some good for you holiday treats Paleo style that are relatively healthy and fun. It's still a Christmas with a good meal , followed by tasty treats.

When Life Gives You Aquafaba

Aquafaba is one of the newest darlings on the food scene. It is the siren for foodies like myself and I was over eager to bake aquafaba meringues.How hard could it be? It seemed everyone who ever made the little puffs of sweetness had success. I knew I would too.

I was wrong.

I started with the right ingredients.

Bean water from Rienzi chickpeas.

Sugar

Salt  and cream of tartar

Flavoring - peppermint

Even chocolate chips.Everything was whipped up, in first my standing mixer

I thought it was going well, although the liquid refused to get thick with stiff peaks.I then tried a balloon whisk on my hand mixer. Nothing happened.I added the peppermint extract and chocolate chips.Bad, bad ,bad idea. The fluff turned to liquid right quick.

I had to pour it on this.

covered in parchment paper.

It came out like this

A giant flat crisp. Yes,I was gutted.I wanted , cute puffy meringue kisses. What I got instead was a layer of gook.,Being thrifty.I decided to bake it as required, in a 250 degree F oven for an hour and a half. Surprisingly, the meringue pizza came out OK, with one side,perfectly crispy while the other was gooey and chewy..

What did I do with this mess? Put Eton in front of it and came up with a spin on the classic English dessert. I broke off pieces of meringue and layered it with whipped cream. Chocolate chips were tossed over it all for more flavor. It went from a disaster to a delicious and fun dessert.

I think my chickpeas and myself are better suited to this.

A tasty grab anything salad(More on that tomorrow)

Braving French Pastry

One of the most elegant treats any baker can make is French pastry. It's a complicated blend of crisp layers , airy creams and  artistic decorations. They're a challenge for the home baker yet  a feather in one's toque if done. The question is can an ordinary baker make an extraordinary sweet?

Many ask themselves that.It's a long leap between cake mix cakes and mille-feulle, better known as Napoleons. The best way to acclimate yourself  to it is start off with the relatively easy recipes (and there are some).One of the easiest is crepes,. It's basically sort of like a pancake batter that has to be chilled overnight.it's flour eggs milk and water mixed together and then set aside for twenty-four hours. You can buy a crepe pan for it. This is nothing more than a wider, thinner frying pan or use a frying pan or skillet. Drizzle creme Anglaise over it or serve it street style with granulated sugar and lemon juice. Another relatively easy treat is clafoutis. A plus is that it can be made with any kind of fruit, from apples to blueberries. It's basically an egg rich batter blended together - usually in a blender and poured over fruit. It's baked for only half an hour  - until it's golden and puffy.Once you've accomplished that, try Kouign Amann , the mouth watering buttery sweet bread from Brittany.It's made with the same dough as the croissant which is another pastry a home baker can master. Both require  a lot of butter because it's sealed in layers of rolled dough. It is  labor intensive , with mostly rolling out dough and butter along with shaping into the classic crescents.

Biscuit roses is another transitional level It was featured in yesterday's Sunday's New York Times Magazine. Famed baker , Dorie, Greenspan, wrote about this after baking them. They're sort of like a cross between a lady finger and biscotti.Like biscotti, it's twice baked.and like lady fingers, the yolks and whites are separated , beaten  and then joined into the dough. It''s a great way for beginners to learn about meringues  along with how to shape batter with a piping bag. After this it's an easy move to eclairs, those classic Gallic pastries. They do require a choux paste which is a delicate two step method. It's first putting water .milk butter and sugar into a two quart saucepan and bringing the mixture to a boil. Flour has to be added  slowly, stirred until everything is blended.It;s then adding five more eggs to give it that rich golden color. Just don;t make ti too hot or you'll have scrambled eggs on your hands. Choux paste can be used to make cream puffs along with the eclairs,One of the hardest pastries to make is the mille feuilles or thousand leaves. Also called Napoleon , after France's famed emperor it;'s taking a dough similar to croissant dough where it's rolled and folded several times.There' are intervals where it's put in the fridge. A simple vanilla  cream is sandwiched in the layers .The whole thing is topped off with a decorative chocolate or vanilla glaze.

Can the average home baker handle French pastry? Oui! Once conquered these complicated recipes will be as easy as a chocolate chip or scratch cake one.

Chickpeas From Savory To Sweet

Chickpeas are quickly becoming a kitchen staple. They can be used in any lunch or dinner recipe and now they also an ingredient in breakfasts and desserts. These creamy little peas are becoming the powerhouses of the culinary scene and with good reason.

This amazing little pea , also know as the garbanzo bean has been around for 7,500 years.We modern cooks weren't the first to popularize it. Ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian chefs  also cooked with it and centuries later the Spanish brought it to the New World. It also made its way to Spain via North Africa and India, thanks to the trade routes. Chickpeas are the backbone in Indian vegetarian cooking, allowing it to be the much needed protein. The beans are divided into two kinds , desi and kabuli. The first is a small dark ball while the kabuli is the smooth creamy white one we use. Surprisingly you can start off your day off with a chickpea scramble. It's mixing chickpeas with turmeric (to give it that scrambled egg look) along with white onion and garlic.If this is too strong in the AM, just omit the onion and garlic and sub in spinach and mushrooms. A nice brunch idea is a savory muffin ,using a can of them drained with  a package of spinach. The best thing about the recipe is no flour is used,perfect for those with gluten and wheat allergies. The peas and spinach are pulsed in a food processor with nutritional yeast and Parmasian cheese, Eggs are added for binding and then the mixture is poured into a greased muffin pan. The muffins are baked the same as regular muffins  - for about twenty-five minutes.


Of course chickpeas have been used in lunches and dinners since the Neolithic Era. Hummus is a classic lunch as well as party dish and anyone can make it. What is good about the recipe is that you can add anything you want to i, from spinach to red peppers. The basic recipe is mashing the peas with lemon juice and olive oil. The traditional one calls for tahini sauce but this can be omitted. Minced garlic is added for bite. some home chefs even add sun dried tomatoes for color and to amp up the taste.Now the age old dip is entering the dessert realm.Because of its' mild taste companies and home chefs are pairing  the pea with chocolate and sweet spices. Sweet hummus dip has a stronger, texture than the regular, in a way resembling cookie dough.Use unsweetened cocoa  when making it and palm sugar.Of course the chickpea water, aquafaba has hit the baking world in a big way. Bakers are whipping in into vegan meringues  with excellent results. It can also top both Key Lime and lemon meringue pies too for a healthier spin. Chickpeas , though, shine their best in stews and soups. A hearty chickpea stew is loaded with protein and flavor. Add tomatoes along with bell peppers and onions for one that is tasty and filling. Or try it with cauliflower, spiked with curry for a different spin.Minestrone soup can benefit greatly from the addition of a can of chickpeas.A cup of them can go a long way in adding flavor to a pot.

Use this amazing little powerhouse any way you'd like, Start the day with it or make a refreshing lemon hummus for a healthy lunch, Have it for dinner or even dessert.The chickpea is versatile.

The Best Aquafaba Cookbook!

Aquafaba is one of the hottest and trendiest ingredients in the food world today. This miracle ingredient  is nothing more than bean water, coming from the humble bean. Yet it can create anything from elegant French macarons to homey scrambled eggs.

This magical elixir is the subject of vegan food blogger. Rebecca Coleman's new all vegan cookbook Aquafabulous (Robert Rose Publishers 2017). This cookbook is completely devoted to aquafaba, or bean water that comes not only chickpeas but also from navy beans and cannellini beans, The  recipe book is perfect for hard core , serious vegans, who have eschewed all meat, eggs and dairy products.What is great about the book is that it has recipes covering everything from breakfast to dessert. Mostly aquafaba is used for meringues and macarons, but there are all sorts of easy to create dishes and treats.A plus of the book is that Ms Coleman answers the many questions about the liquid. She  assures home chefs that their sweet desserts won't have an overpowering bean flavor.There is also an explanation of the different beans used in making a light or dark meringue along with the surprise of using tofu water to also create aquafaba.She also has a list of the important ingredients that are musts in any vegan pantry.There's also three different recipes for making homemade aquafaba, using  stovetop, slow cooker and pressure cooker methods.The last two methods do require an extra step of boiling, but this is minor.

I absolutely love this cookbook!! I had no idea that bean water could be so versatile. I have been wanting to make homemade macarons with it  - and the book has the recipe - but thought it was only used for this. How wrong! It can be used to make a sub in for real scrambled eggs in such tasty recipes as Breakfast Burritos and a potato -kale frittata. It makes waffles airy and light and pancakes puffy. Aquafaba is also a main ingredient in homemade pasta, creating a feather light dough along with being in a healthy baked mac and cheese.Of course there are meringue and macaron recipes. Ms. Coleman has an excellent one for French macarons filled with a chocolate ganache that I would love to try. There is the other famed meringue recipe, Pavlova that is a combination of heavenly meringue covered in macerated berries. Vegan bakers will love making the lemon meringue pie, sans the usual egg whites. Chickpeas themselves shine in some of the savory recipes too. Anybody, even fervent meat lovers would gobble up chickpea curry, chock full of sweet potatoes, chickpeas and green peas.There is a vegan chicken salad made with mashed chickpeas that's on my radar. It will be perfect for picnics . A meatless loaf with miso gravy is another must make, perfect as a the main course at any holiday dinner. An aquafaba  based ice cream will be the perfect ending to these dishes,.

Aquafabulous is the definitive cookbook for this amazing ingredient. Buy it and create not just out of this world macarons and meringues but a wide variety of tasty and healthy savory dishes.It's amazing what this humble and simple ingredient can create.

Just Desserts For Your Holidays

Everyone obsesses about the Easter and Passover dinners  - what to serve and how its' going to be cooked. Yet dessert is just as important . It provides not only an end to the meal but the time to really relax and chat with family and friends. There should be just as much thought put into it as the main meals.

Easter can be a time of  gravity or fun.  An easy idea for a cross is buying  five pound cakes and arrange in a cross shape. It's then decorating them with white buttercream icing and marzipan flowers. Craft shops do sell cross cake molds so making one is doable. It's usually double the amount of batter and icing.Another religious themed cake is the Easter lamb. You need a special mold for this which can be bought at any kitchen store along with a dense pound cake batter. Ice with buttercream and coconut to simulate the lamb's wooly coat along with colored icing for the eyes, ear interiors and nose.  Another idea is just a regular round cake decorated with buttercream or cream cheese icing lilies. Then there is the fun shaped egg, bunn,,y and carrot cakes. Bake these in a simple chocolate or vanilla or for whimsy  - carrot. Decorate an egg cake with colored icing, pastel sprinkles (which can be bought at your local grocery or Target) and colored sugar.. A bunny cake can also be coated in flaked coconut for a fuzzy look. If there are kids, then think fun cupcakes iced in Easter colors. You can do a two color swirl on top for extra fun or turn the cakes into mini baskets. This requires green icing for the grass. Use red string licorice or green pipe cleaners for the basket handle and of course, jelly beans for the eggs.

Passover presents a different but exciting challenge - baking without flour.  There are many cakes and cookies that are flourless, and would work well ending any seder. For the first night, you may want to try a show stopper. Think a chocolate sponge made with ground almonds and ten eggs to give it a chewy , sweet density. A real crowd pleaser would be the Passover brownie cake, made with finely ground matzoh which many cooks use  to create all sorts of baked goods.It, too, is rich in eggs, using five along with a cup and a quarter of almonds.Passover cakes can even be layer cakes and there is a seven layer one created from  not surprisingly - matzoh sheets. It's creating a kind of mousse with eggs, melted chocolate margerine, and sugar and spreading it on layers of  kedim soaked matzoh. This is made with raw eggs, so be careful with who it's served to. Macarons are another holiday tradition. It's creating airy puffs from egg whites, and white sugar along with desiccated coconut. You can go trendy and use aquafaba - bean water.It's the protein rich water that chickpeas are canned in and since it has the same make up as egg whites can be made into a glossy meringue . The bean flavor dissipates with cooking and the finished product is a glossy , light as a feather treat.

Easter and Passover are all about the traditional foods. Just remember to just make dessert as important as the min meal. It can be serious or fun,. but always full of sweetness and flavor.

Culinary Iconoclast Ruby Tandoh

Cooks, bakers, and even food bloggers tend to be sheep. They follow and write about what's trending, trying to keep up with the culinary hipsters who make our eating rules. Luckily, there is a rebel, the famed British chef, baker and blogger Ruby Tandoh to break the rules. She believes in eating what mothers and grans have said for centuries  -eat what you like. The heck with what everyone else tries to tell you.

Ruby Tandoh's name may sound familiar to fans of The Great British Baking Show.Times contributor, Tejal Rao, a regular contributor and food blogger herself., wrote about this phenomenon in today's New York Times  Food section. She was one of the final contestant on the Season Four competition. This former art and philosophy major turned to cooking and baking as not only a passion but as a way of life. She has written food centered essays for The Guardian, British Elle, and other magazines along with two cookbooks. Her latest book, "Flavour: Eat What You Love" is due out here in the States next month. It was first published in the UK last August  It's a celebration of a skilled home cooking enthusiast. The book also touches upon on the feminist concept of "shine theory"  which values female friendship over competition. She eschews diets and wrote a lament in an essay  that food writers have gone from feasting and flavor to cleanness and lightness. Chef Tandoh has created a dialogue and somewhat of a revolution in Britain. She also has misgivings about the benefits of some diets and their promises too.

What does she cook and bake? She has been exploring her Ghanian roots. Her grandfather had immigrated from there, bringing a wealth of recipes.There is ground nut  or peanut soup spiked with chiles along with tilapia in a garlicky marinade. Fried plaintains round it out this a meal full of memories and flavor Her blog is full of yummy recipes for cakes , doughnuts and creme brules.made with raspberries. She has recipes for rye rolls and a mouth watering banana upside down cake. The new cookbook is a reflection of this as well. There's a creamy English fish pie, made with smoked haddock and peas topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes.Lentil soup is sparked with lime . She includes an opulent meringue, rolled up with cherries and cream. As we all saw on The Great British Baking show, she is an excellent baker. She relies on everyday sweeteners such as honey, sugar, dark brown sugar, golden syrup and treacle or molasses to create amazing sweets such as a marbled chocolate almond Bundt cake and steamed panettone.


Cooking and baking need rebels to keep it fresh . Ruby Tandoh is just that iconoclast to make us break the bonds of all these  diet recipes and fads. She setting us free in a very delicious way.

Aquafaba The New Game Changer

Something exciting has happened in the food world and we have the chickpea to thank for it. Actually we have the liquid that surrounds it  for this new discovery. With it , vegans now can expand their diets to include everything from meringues to mayo.

Jane Black wrote about this breakthrough in today's New York Times Food section It started with Goose Wohlt, a software engineer from Indiana and recent vegan who was in charge of the dessert for his family's Passover seder. He wanted to create a meringue however , as any vegan home chef will tell you, is impossible. Replacing the egg , in particular, the egg white is difficult , even more so to  it replicate. Egg whites are a combination of water and proteins, and it has been impossible to create an animal friendly version - until Mr. Wohlt started tinkering with the idea.Science is his passion, Before the chickpeas, his great love was antigravity.He scoured literature on proteins, starches and vegetable gums.It was his wife however who provided the key to his discovery. She had mentioned seeing a video about two French cooks who used the liquid from canned chickpeas to make a chocolate mousse. He decided to try it with the meringues. It worked. The liquid  whipped up instantly into a snowy white foam and create the perfect meringue.He posted it on Facebook to a group called "What Fat Vegans Eat" back in March and created a sensation. He christened the liquid aquafaba, Latin for bean water.

It is a true game changer and something both professional and home chefs can get excited about. (it made me order an immersion blender on overnight delivery so I can try the recipes). Aquafaba is now being used in everything from pancakes to purees. Even companies are getting in on the craze. Sir Kensington, a condiment company is introducing a vegan mayonnaise using aquafaba. How does chickpea water turn into glossy meringue and silky mayo? It has to do with having the same chemical makeup as egg whites: ninety per cent water and ten percent water. when the two are whipped together, those proteins unfold and bond together  trapping the air bubbles caused by whisking. Pour aquafaba into a mixer and it will foam instantly.The only drawback is the slightly beany smell that disappears when cooked. There's no residual flavor and best of all few calories.It's excellent as a sub for the real mayo. Many have tried to replicate the original using peas which created a vegetal aftertaste. I am looking forward to making the mayo recipe with it since eggs are off my table thanks to gallbladder issues.It'll be flavorful thanks to the addition of dry mustard and lemon juice, perfect for sandwiches and salads.

Aquafaba is a rising star. It's an exciting new ingredient that will be a kitchen necessary in years to come.Watch yourselves, egg whites, you;re about to be replaced!

The Challenges Of Passover Cooking

Passover is one of the most ancient and traditional of meals. However with any  holiday meal, it can pose challenges ,leaving home  chefs to scratch their heads. One problem is vegetarianism - the other how to make something new with a limited allowance of ingredients. Not to worry - there are solutions.

Many families have to embrace their kids or relatives new vegetarian lifestyle. What happens then to the lamb or brisket?It can still be made but new dishes have to be added.One idea is vegetarian potato and mushroom croquettes, more or less based on latkes. These are really patties that also has onion added for flavor . The binder is ground maztoh meal. The potatoes are first boiled and mashed and then the sauteed onions and mushrooms are the added as are the crumbs. The croquettes are then mounded and fried in extra virgin olive oil (it is considered suitable for Passover cooking) for eight minutes until crisp.A more colorful dish is roasted beet casserole. This recipe works for both vegans and vegetarians.It's simply layering sliced beets in a lightly oiled baking dish and then sprinkling salt, sugar and paprika on top of them. It's then dotted with margarine and baked for half a hour. Spinach and leek can come together with potato to create a kind of strata.It is labor intensive with  cooking the potatoes first however they can be microwaved to save time. There is also making the cashew "cheese" which also requires avocado and layering of the different ingredients from soaked matzoh to leeks and baby spinach.

Another challenge for Passover home chefs is the dessert.Leavening is not allowed so that rules out many cakes.However that also forces a lot of creative thinking.  A mock chestnut torte is  an elegant way to solve this problem. Since chestnut puree is not acceptable for the holiday, mashed sweet potato can be used as the base. The dessert has an almost souffle like quality because the six eggs required are separated and the whites are made into a meringue first before being added to the mix of sweet potatoes, yolks and dark chocolate.Melted chocolate is drizzled over the cake as a glaze and then it's decorated with raspberries.Macaroons are a traditional must and these, too, can be made at home.It's an easy recipe that just needs egg yolks , granulated sugar and  two cups ground almonds. Home chefs can also make the coconut ones too, subbing in the ground almond with shredded coconuts and using the egg whites instead of the yolks, Chocolate chips can be added  or cocoa powder added to the recipe for richer treats. Kids will love matzoh brittle, matzoh topped with homemade caramel and dark chocolate and then broken into bite sized pieces.

Passover cooking should not come with problems. There are solutions for dealing with vegetarianism as well as what to make for dessert. These provide for a tasty meal that suits everyone;s beliefs and taste with ending on a high sweet note.

Spring Clean Your Cooking

With Spring coming, its' time to start cleaning up our cooking routines. Warmer days mean lighter meals that feature more green than protein. Gone are the days of heavy sauces and stews,of crockpot dinners followed by heavy pies and cakes. Think airy , think Spring.

One of the reasons lamb is so popular for Easter and Passover is that it's a lighter meat. Of course, Spring is a the time of lambing when the young sheep are born. Yet the sweet tender flavor is a far cry from. the heavy beef and pork roasts that we've been eating all fall and winter. Consider serving leg of lamb for Easter. Make it Mediterranean style, studding it with garlic cloves or creating a garlic  lemon marinade ,using an entire head of garlic, along with  lemons , rosemary and parsley. You could also create a parsley pesto, made the same way as basil pesto to serve with it or with lamb chops. Capon is another great idea for a Spring get together. Sizewise  it's between a chicken and turkey and chicken and is primarily sold by butchers and not your local grocery. The flavor is less gamier than regular chicken which makes it a lighter tasting meat.Chicken, itself, is a great Spring dish, It's easier to prepare and cook , along with working well with seasonal veggies such as asparagus. This last will be seen all over supermarkets in the upcoming weeks. A favorite dish is  steamed asparagus , topped with melted  butter, or margarine and sliced hard boiled eggs. The stalks can be grilled too, with just a coating of olive oil and lemon.

Baking takes a lighter turn too. Gone are the heavy  buttercream rich cakes and fruit laden pies of colder days. Many home bakers turn to the airy and light angel food cake for a dessert treat.It's made primarily of egg whites along with almond and vanilla flavorings. Its' light airy texture is a perfect foil for the first berries of the season. Serve slices of the cake with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. As for the yolks, think zabaglione, the ethereal custard, made with them along with sugar and Marsala. You could also serve it with the cake.Another use for egg whites are meringues, the quintessential Passover dessert. They're a great treat for any holiday or Spring gathering. Many novice home bakers do have qualms about making them. Meringues can be temperamental depending upon the level of humidity.(try baking them on dry, sunny Spring days) They usually turn out OK if baked and cooled properly. The trick is leaving them in a cooling oven for entire hour  after baking. This will ensure they won't crack. 'A fun Easter dessert is lemon bars. This classic recipe is another easy bake.with a buttery crust and tart topping with a dusting of confectioner's sugar. It'sa fave with both kids and adults looking for a refreshing change from all that chocolate.

It's time to Spring clean your dishes. Think light and airy tastes and textures for the season again.Cook and bake dishes that reflect  sunny balmy days ahead.

Coconut For Coconuts

There is a craze right now that's permeating our cooking and even our beauty habits.It seems we cuckoo for coconuts - in every form.  It's all over these days from flakes to oils, in our best dishes and on our cuticles. Is it too much or does this tropical stunner actually have benefits.

First of all the coconut is not a nut but a drupe, or an offspring with a fleshy outer part covering a seed or pit (think more peaches and plums). The name coco derives from the Portuguese word for skull, thanks to the face like indentations in it sailors who first saw it on their travels were amused by this , hence the name. The meat or the interior white flesh is called copra when dried and used in baking and cooking. The oil and milk from it is used both in food and beauty products. Then there is the coconut water which is everywhere these days.It grows primarily in tropical climates and is not what would be considered domesticated. The meat itself is high in carbs and fat.A one hundred gram serving can yield a whopping 354 calories. with 89% of it being saturated fat. This also applies to coconut oil too which is high in  saturated fat and lauric acid, the last being responsible for raising cholesterol to sky high levels.Ditto for the coconut milk  which is derived from the oil.It is  better to stick with the low calorie , low carb,   coconut water .It also  has a significant amount of  electrolytes  - good for those playing sports.

So is being coconuts for coconuts worth it? The fruit is , for baking and candy making. The copra does have the perfect taste that meshes well with chocolate, vanilla and even lemon cake. As we all know it's a great decoration for Easter cupcakes and holiday meringues.The flakes are also  excellent gracing curries  and other Asian dishes. Again, it's good if you want a splurge  but not  good if you  have it a few times a week.? It also doesn't apply to an Almond Joy or Mounds splurge.then If you do want; a healthy fix of coconut   then try Zola's dark chocolate coconut nuggets instead. What about coconut oil? Health conscious  home chefs could try the one Lou Ana puts out ,The Southern California company makes theirs non -hydrogenated and zero calories which is perfect for any kind of cooking and baking. It also aids in losing weight, speeding up metabolism as well as helping to fend off staph bacteria along with several different kinds of cancer. Coconut oil is  also good for softening cracked heels, cuticles and sun fried hair, Coconut water is another must have.Again Zola, a brand new, sustainable company has different waters that are perfect with a meal or just as a refresher. Also Vita Coca is another good choice with even a newly added cafe latte to drink..

The coconut craze will be wth us for a while. Take what you will from it and use it to benefit your diet and lifestyle. You can go mad for the health aspects of them.