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.

Harvest Drinks

 One of the best aspects of the season is the drinks of the season. Thye can be chilled  for a refreshing sip or warmed for a chilly November day. Either way , they're alwys delcious.

Cider has been in the stores since September. One good thing about it is that it can be served hot or cold. Iced cider  is especially good at a tailgating party. It's a nice change up from soda. You could add some plain seltzer or cranberry flavored one for a fun  fizzy drink.Keep in mind that this apple drink also is the perfect base for a punch if you're thinking of having a party. Mix it with ginger ale and a splash of whiskey if you;re feeling daring.Add some apple and orange slices too for some zing.A thermos fo hot apple cider is always welcomed , whether at a fall picnic or football game. It's cooking it or even apple juice for a few minutes un a saucepan. Cinnamon sticks , cloves and orange peel are added for more flavor. You can serve directly into mugs or pour into a thermos. Hot cider, like its' cold counterpart, can also be used in a punch. Add some rum and orange slices to it.It's the perfect drink for a few friends hanging around the fire pit.

Surprisingly enough the other fruit of the season, the pear cna also be turned into a tasty cider. Not many stores  in the States actually carry it. This version of cider is more of a British drink called perry.  You can buy an alcoholic version. The Swedes have produced one called Kopparberg (and a six pack is only $3.49!!!)  However you can also make a non buzzy one .  what pears to use? Any but try to find ones low in sugar. Most use Barlett pears which are popular right now Take around ten  and combine them with about six to eight cups of water (the water should be two inches above the pears). Cook with one half cup of brown sugar cinnamon sticks and allspice. Also use whole cloves and a vanilla bean pod split open. (Don;t use vanilla extract for this). Bring to a boil and  cook uncovered for an hour. After this mash the pears  - which will be mushy  - and the cover th epot. Cook for another two hours. Strain the cider through a fine meshed metal sieve. Keep the pear mash for eating.It'll be like apple sauce. Serve the perry hot. if you want a punch with it, then add white wine, Calvados and pear slices for a different spin,

Try a cider made from the fall harvest. Both apple and pear versions are perfect for an autumn dinner or party. Try them for a different kind of drink.

Chutni Punch Adding Fire To Winter Dishes

 This is the time for warm, fragrant dinners. Curries comes to mind. A spice spiked curry with a marriage of different spices comes to mind. It's even better with Chutni Punch , a new flavoring that brings the flavors of India to everyone's kitchen.

I recently discovered Chutni Punch and thought it would be perfect in my slapdash tomato curry. This is a take on a chicken curry turned vegan. It's full of warm spices that are perfect on a cold winter's day.

They come in three flavors, savory chana ,super sesame and spicy peanut.I used a heaping tablespoon  of savory chana in my curry.

Other spices are also added in such as garam masala, tumeric, and cumin along with garlic and onion powders.

The base is a mix of vegan soy yogurt, crushed tomatoes and coconut milk. The proteins were vegan chicken and chickpeas. The chickpeas were cooked first in just vegetable oil and then the tomato was added. Two cups of vegan soy yogurt was used along with 3/4 of a cup of coconut milk. This was cooked for about half an hour until all the flavors are melded together. I used about two tablespoons of ground ginger too, along with a good dash of the onion and garlic powders. A good dash of cumin, turmeric  and garam amsala were also added.

The end result was a warming curry that perfumed my kitchen with all sorts of good aromas. It was great over rice and just the thing on a cold January night.It wasn't as fiery as curries that I've had at Indian restaurants., It was a smooth texture thanks to the yogurt and hot but not super spicy .I'm looking forward to having it tomorrow as leftovers.

Chutni Punch is the perfect add in for a curry.It's also great in other dishes too, Yet happiness on a cold night is a hot dish that warms you inside and out.

A Healthier Rice Pudding

Can you have a healthier dessert? Yes, if it's rice pudding. there's a way to make it not only good tasting but good for you.

I decided to make a healthy version with the left over brown rice I used to make a summer rice salad.

It was about a cup and a half left, perfect for a smaller version of the dessert. The recipe is from Food.com and I added some tweaks to it.

The recipe calls for two to three cups of soy milk I used almond which is thinner and produces a soupy pudding.

It was then boiling for twenty minutes with occassional stirring. The flame was lowered and then simmering for another fifteen

It calls for a quarter of sweetener like agave or maple syrup. Maple syrup works best here giving the pudding an earthier flavor. I had to up it by another quarter cup to give it the right amount of sweetness.

A tablespoon of vanilla and a teaspoon and a half og vanilla were added for flavor.

What's rice pudding without the raisins? I added about a cup (and then more when it was ready for the fridge). You could add chocolate chips - nextt time - along with craisins, dried cranberries and almonds.

This is the finished product. it was a little too soupy , turning out more like a congee.It still had the classic rice pudding taste. I'm hopening it will thicken in the fridge. Yet it was tasty and healthier than the traditional version.

Rice pudding allows you to make a healthier version. Try this one for a good for you treat. Enjoy it this easy and fun recipe.

A Few Simple Tweaks

Vegetables are good . They are  chock full of nutrition and low in calories, yet many people avoid them. They complain that the flavor is too bland or they're not prepared in an appetizing way. The solution? Add a few tweaks here and there.

That's basically what Dave Tanis did and wrote about in today's New York Times Food section. His A City Kitchen Column is devoted to making those tough to swallow veggies zesty and fun.Think dirt candy. He targets cauliflower and broccoli, Cauliflower is a versatile veggie. The hot trend right now is ricing it, which makes it exciting to eat.It's also delicious as a soup and heavenly  breaded and fried. Mr. Tanis has many suggestions,  a few of the celebrating Sicily' love of it. The Sicilians bake it  under a topping of soft sheep's milk cheese and olives.Mr. Tanis perks it up with a dash of anchovy, garlic and hot pepper. Mozzarella and pecorino cheese  stands in for the original choice. He also subs in romanesco broccoli, a bright chartreuse spiky kind of cauliflower, but the recipe can be used for any kind of cauliflower. He also gives a pan roasted recipe that has the florets roasted with such herbs as parsley and rosemary, zested up with garlic and red pepper flakes. It's easy to create and would be great accompanying any roast. Mr. Tanis suggest serving it  with a lemon wedge.

Broccoli also gets some spiking up too.It is good on it's own or with a squirt of lemon or melted butter or margarine.As he states, the fresher it is, the better the taste.He also recommends getting the organic kind, right now coming in from California.Look for the smaller and multi-stemmed ones. The
way the stalks are cut can also influence the taste. Don't chop large,puffy florets. These will end up overcooked. Aim for longer, thinner spears. Mr. Tanis usually butter steams  which is essentially simmering them in a butter water bath. This will yield firm but tender stalks. .It is a great way to cook them because the broccoli soaks up all that savory cooking liquid in just five minutes.It can be jazzed up even more with a hearty sprinkling of toasted bread crumbs that have been spiked with red pepper
flakes. . It's topped off with shaved Parmesan cheese. Mr Tanis suggests interchanging these recipes between the broccoli, cauliflower and its' fancier cousin the romanesco broccoli.

Cauliflower and broccoli are good on their own but sometimes need some spiking up. Try them these ways, jazzed up with bread crumbs or oven roasted for a new spin. This will liven up the ordinary, turning them into something extraordinary.

Fresh, Healthy Veggies

This is the time of year to eat right to stay healthy. That means incorporating more vegetables in your diet. The problem is the frozen stuff - well - it's the frozen stuff. There's no taste and thanks to processing all those vitamins and minerals have been eroded away.

What to do ? Buy fresh. Yup. Do what your grannies and great grannies did. Get carrots with the tops still attached (you can use these as mulch later on) Buy those heads of cabbage. Unprocessed vegetables will be a boon to your family. They'll get the e full impact of all those good things , such as Vitamin C, folic acid and betacarotene.They'll also appreciate the unadulterated taste too. So many processed greens don't have a strong flavor. Unfortunately we've had to load them up with unhealthy cheeses, and sauces to make them palatable. Just prepared dishes won't need those crutches to make them dinner worthy. Their true taste will come out; making them irresistible.

Cooking fresh vegetables is an easy feat. Spinach can be left to simmer with a few tablespoons of water over a low flame. You can add a teeny bit of sea salt and cracked pepper to bring out its' earthy flavor. Yams can be cooked over a grill or even roasted in the back yard. Cabbages can be shredded and quickly stir fried for a tasty side to pork, beef or chicken.

On your next shopping trip, bypass the frozen food aisle. Head straight to the veggie section and pick out some fresh , healthy vegetables They're a brilliant and sensible way to protect your family against winter ills.