A Very Vegan Stracciatella

 Stracciatella is a must make soup for the winter. This Tuscan favorite is one of the tastiest and easiest to whip up. There are only three ingredients - eggs, chicken broth and fresh spinach. The problem is that this isn't made for vegans - until now. 

     Cooking in a vegan household is hard.  There's a lot I can't make  unless I find sub ins.Luckily I was able to get almost comparable subs.

I used Vegg egg yolk, Not Chick-n  bouillon cubes and baby spinach leaves. This cooked up into a really delicious soup for lunch.

It's taking five cups of water and two cubes.

Mash these with a wooden spoon until the water turns a golden yellow. The add two to three tablespoons of Vegg's Egg Yolk Substitute.

There are going to be lumps. Use a spoon to smash the larger ones to release more of the egg yolk powder. Leave the smaller ones. Stracciatella is meant to have lumpy egg strands . That's part of it's charm.

Once this is done add two thirds of an eight ounce bag of spinach.

It may seem like a lot but spinach cooks down quickly in a matter of minutes.

 The soup is done when the leaves turn a dark emerald green and look like collard greens.

Stracciatella is great with a sprinkle of Parmesan or a drizzle of olive oil. I like mine with a warm piece of garlic bread. Another great thing about it is that it reheats well too. You can make a big batch of it and then have it a day or two later.

A vegan stracciatella is the perfect soup for these frosty nights. It's an easy cook on the stove. Make up a pot and enjoy its' soothing warmth and flavor.

The Return Of Applejack

 One of the most American of drinks is making a huge comeback. Applejack is returning to bars and homes, bolstered by a new curiosity abut this fruity spirit. It's becoming popular , not only with hipsters but with those wanting to make this drink, as old as the US itself.

Julia Moskin wrote about it and the distilleries making it in yesterday's New York Times food section. She even has included a recipe for an applejack butter pecan Bundt cake with caramel frosting and a wild drink recipe calling for it, These are new applications for a drink that 's usually been just been served on its' own. The alcohol began with early colonists making do with what was grown around them - namely apple trees. The harvest was then jacked , a distilling method that does not involve the usual method of boiling but of freezing. Any household with an abundance of cold weather and apple cider could make this heady drink. With each freeze the water in the cider turns to slush. Each time the ice is skimmed off, the concentration of alcohol grows and what's left in the barrel reaches forty proof.That clear spirit is applejack, not as strong as vodka but potent enough. American legend , Johnny Appleseed or as he was baptized, John Chapman,an apple grower went through the Blue Ridge Mountains scattering seeds. It wasn't for the promise of pie but for applejack. Apple orchards were prime real estate in the 1700's because apples were not only a viable food source but also important for making the spirit.

Now apple jack distilleries are making a big comeback one hundred years after Prohibition nearly obliterated them and authorities razed the orchards that produced them. One of the oldest is Laird from Colt's Neck New jersey that actually started making hard cider and apple jack in 1698. Laird's apple jack was so popular during the Colonial Era that even George Washington wanted the recipe to bring back to Mount Vernon ( Laird's longstanding relationship with the White House came in handy during Prohibition when the distillery was granted a "special federal license" to make  it for "medicinal  purposes"). The company today has a good selection of apple brandies made from Winesaps, Jonathans,Delicious and Pippin apples. Many other distilleries use these as well as Arkansas Black. They can't use  big sweet apples like Red and Golden delicious because they were bred for eating and are too sugary in flavor. Applejack is also aged, much like Calvados, the much loved apple brandy from Normandy, The spirit is usually aged in cast off casks from bourbon and scotch makers. Apple jack can be drunk by itself or mixed with dark rum as well as other juices. Ms Moskin puts it into a kicky Bundt cake that's also rich with butter and cream cheese.

The most American of spirits is coming back to lift our spirits. applejack is returning to the homes and bars once again. Try this heady sip and enjoy its' kick and fruity flavor.

Dumplings For The New Year

 The Lunar New Year is fast approaching it and with it comes all the treats of the season. One of them is a plate of dumplings. These are easy to make and fun to eat. Even creating the dough or skins is a simple task. Celebrate the Year of the Ox with a tasty plump dumpling.

Genevieve Ko wrote about these delicious dumplings in today New York Times Food section. Ms Ko, author of Better Baking also gave a few good recipes and how tos  as well. Any home chef, whether novice or experienced can create them. There are two, one savory, filled wit tofu and veggies and the other sweet,  tang yuan, stuffed with sesame seeds, peanut butter and sugar swimming in a sweet ginger soup. Making the dough is therapeutic. There's a soothing rhythm to kneading and rolling out the dough cutting the circles, then filling them.Many home chefs think that making skins or wrappers is hard. They're really not. It's a mix of just flour and hot water. Using the last ensures wrappers that are thin and simple to pleat. Make them with cold water and you wind up with ones that are tougher and more elastic.The tang yuan requires a different dough. The sweet dumplings have wrappers made from rice flour and a cooked mix of water and a neutral oil like grapeseed. Both kinds of wrappers need to stand, the savory for half and hour the rice flour one for only ten minutes.

The fillings are tasty and can be modified. You can be vary them or put your own spin on them. Ms. Ko uses tofu mixed with spinach, watercress or baby bok choy. There's also celery stalks too added and chili crisp for flavor. Chili crisp is a fiery savory/sweet mix you can buy or make yourself. It's a blend of red pepper flakes, ginger, sugar and cinnamon. There's also soy salt to balance this out. The dumplings are  cooked immediately in a mix of oil and water. This ensures a crispy bottom and a tender top. Keep in mind oil and water cooking together can be lethal so keep a cover on the pan until the rapid firecracker popping stops. By then the water has evaporated and you can finish cooking the dumplings in an uncovered pan. As for the sweet ones, they're cooked in the ginger soup. This again is a mix of scrubbed ginger with either rock or granulated sugar. This will only take ten minutes and then divide the dumplings and soup into individual bowls. The filling is a combined mash of ground and toasted sesame seeds and peanut butter. This is put into a freezer to firm up before being turned into filling.

It's the Year of the Ox! Celebrate with savory and sweet dumplings. They're a great way to ring in the Lunar New Year.

Culinary Time Travel

 Wouldn't it be something if we can time travel back to the past? Imagine the famed people we'd see or get to connect with ancestors we've only heard of in family lore? In a way you can, and it doesn't have to do with Einstein's theory of Time Constant. You can easily do it with cooking and baking.

Before you start pick an era that really sings to you. If you adore it, then odds are you've already tried recipes form that period of history. if not , there are a lot of eras to explore from a culinary side Everyone is jumping on the Paleo diet but what did real cave people eat? Luckily there's no cooking here. Our first ancestors were big fruit eaters, getting their nutrients from dates, oranges, apples and grapes. There were no roasted meats and veggies. That came later, by a few centuries. If you want really good eating then look to the Romans. They knew how to feast. They also created a forerunner of polenta called puls made with  a kind of wheat. It was served with veggies and cheese or eggs. Sometimes it was served with meat and fish on special occasions. Keep in mind that tomatoes and  potatoes along with corn were not introduced  until the Columbian Exchange The same goes for spinach and eggplant which came with the Arabs. Yet there was plenty of olive oil and bread so you could make focaccia and serve it with caramelized onions and leeks. The Romans were big on sausages, especially pork ones. You could create a dish with modern day polenta , tomatoes and sausage to recreate this.

Most home chefs have been to their local Renaissance fairs. These fun fests are not exactly an homage to the 1400's and 1500's. They serve fajitas and corn dogs along with pierogies and cotton candy so far away from the real recipes of that time. The Elizabethans were big on seafood such as lobsters and crab along with salmon and trout. Think lobster with butter  with maybe a side of salad (brought from Spain by Henry VIII's first wife the Spanish queen Catherine of Aragon). Chicken was also popular and you can easily roast one and serve it with homemade bread. The Europeans weren't the only ones with centuries of interesting dishes.African cuisine was mostly vegan for millennia, with cattle being held in high esteem, They relied on grains and vegetables for food. Think about making rice with a variety of different veggies such as eggplant or green beans. Amaranth flour was also used and it can be used to create various breads like the Ethiopian teff. The Ancient Egyptians took it a step further and had beer with their meals. They also had chickpeas and different veggies that easily can be made into a salad or grind the chickpeas into hummus.

Yes, you can time travel. Just find any recipe from the past and adapt it to fit modern cooking or baking. It's like a time capsule for your palate.

Food Equals Money

 Right now everyone is probably feeling more than the financial pinch of this pandemic.It's tough when we're trying to make ends meet. What can we do? Turn to food. Not to eat but to make money from. There are ways to make those dishes tasty - in the financial sense.

If you have a specialty or a list of great recipes, then consider a pop up restaurant. The one  good thing about the pandemic is that restaurants are eagerly renting out their kitchen to young chefs. This practice known as cloud kitchen is great for novice cooks and sous chefs who have been laid off. The New York Times food section wrote an entire article on this last Wednesday. If you have a menu, then advertise it on Instagram . Start with a few dishes and advertise either pick up or delivery. The restaurant may even be able to incorporate some of your dishes into theirs if they're similar. They will ask for a rental fee for use of their facilities but in the end it's worth it. Keep in mind it's illegal to run a pop up from your house or apartment (although some have done it and gotten away with it). It's also good to ask the restaurant owner for advice. Even if you know the restaurant industry, you may glean other facts or advice about certain aspects. As for bakers,  who want a pop up bakery, ask any local restaurant owner if you can use their oven and even fridge.  You might even be lucky enough to have the eatery add your creations to their dessert list.

Another way to make money from food is delivery. Door Dash and Uber Eats are always hiring and the pay can be good if you hustle.There will be background checks but Door Dash is an overnight one. The company then send you an insulated tote within a few days. You pick out a route close to your home and them work it. It could just be your town or your town and the surrounding ones. You also can decline any  pick up too if you don't have the time or have too many deliveries. One of the best things about it is you can make as much money as you want. There's no cap so you can easily earn up to five hundred a week. Uber Eats is the same principle, with delivering food from local restaurants to homes and businesses. You can still be a delivery person even if you just have a scooter or bike.  This is great for those living in big cities like New York, Boston and Chicago where it's easier to move around without a car. A plus to all of this is discovering new restaurants and their menus, a definite bonus if you're looking for a new place to order from.Another idea is working for the actual restaurant. The only problem is that you'll be working exclusively for them and that means fewer deliveries. It's not  great and also the owner may not pay as well as Door Dash or Uber Eats.

You can make money from food. Start a pop up restaurant or deliver food. It's a great way to remedy your financial situation with a dash of cash added to the recipe.

A Hot Cup On A Cold Night

 The weather around most of the country is frigid. The nights are even worse. We have to stay in anyway. Why not do it with a good hot cup a sweet treat and a good book. It's a perfect way to while away a blizzard or nor' easter. let it snow. You'll be inside, cozy and warm, a steaming mug by your side, with something sweet to nibble on.

As far as drinks, a nice herbal tea is the perfect cup for right now. There are a lot out there right now. What's the best to drink? Celestial Seasonings has the widest array of choices. One of their most popular is the Sleepytime which has a mix of soothing chamomile, spearmint and lemongrass. If you want something fruitier, then brew up a cup of their wild berry zinger or their new watermelon mint (it seems like an odd combo but it actually works.) Another choice is any Earl Grey tea . This pairs great with any sweet, from a simple pound cake to brownies. Twinings is the second tea company that has so many choices. You can try their black and green teas for your evening warm up or their many herbal teas. They have such interesting combinations as grapefruit and basil along with butter mint. Of course there's coffee too, now very popular thanks to the Keurig coffee maker. Remember to always drink decaf otherwise you'll still be wide awake at midnight and beyond. What's the best decaf? Trader Joe's in house brand tops many lists. It's flavorful and rich, the perfect cup on a frosty night. Another good brand is Volcanica which has coffees from around the world. You could easily buy their Jamaica blend or their Cameroonian one.

Sometimes the perfect drink on a frosty night is the most traditional. This is where hot cocoa comes in. You can easily buy the already mixed kind or make it yourself. One of the more popular is Swiss Miss which comes with or without marshmallows. It's a fun, sweet cup that's warming from head to toe. Land O' Lakes, usually know for their butter, also has ventured into hot chocolate. They have a huge amount of choices, from cinnamon and chocolate to raspberry and chocolate. There's even a white chocolate mix for something entirely different. Yet nothing beats the flavor of an old fashioned made hot cocoa. It starts with a really good hot cocoa powder. Droste is one of the best for this. It produces a rich, Parisian like hot cocoa that's full bodied and layered in taste. You could also use Ghiradelli's or Hershey's too. Add a quarter of a teaspoon of milk to moisten the powder into a paste and then cook the milk over a medium heat. DO not let it boil or it will produce a skin you'll have to skim off. Stir and sweeten to taste. You can  sub in almond, soy, cashew, or oat milk if you want a vegan or healthier version. A splash of mint  or hazelnut  flavoring can also be added. Toss a marshmallow or two or a dollop of whipped cream with grated dark chocolate for a lusher drink. 

This is the perfect weather for a cup of something hot. Make a steaming cup of tea, coffee or hot cocoa. Grab a plate of cookies and settle in. It's time to get cozy!

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A Spicy Sauce To Chase The Chill Away

 There's nothing like a fiery bite to chase away the winter chill. We need something hot to warm us right down to our fingers and toes. There's a new sauce that provides this spark - the Mighty Sesame Company's new harissa spiked tahini sauce.

The Mighty Sesame Company creates everything with sesame seeds - namely tahini, the creamy sauce used in Greek and Mediterranean cooking. They're known for their tahini bars but have recently expanded into sauces. The harissa flavor is new and represents how important tahini is in Middle Eastern and North African  cooking. Harissa is a Tunisian hot chili pepper paste made up of red pepper  and garlic pastes, caraway and cumin. It is fiery but can be tempered with the addition of olive oil, or in this case tahini, the crushed sesame sauce.

It's the  sauce to put on Gardein's chicken tenders, giving them some spark and zing. It's a nice change up from barbecue or hot sauce and I plan on using the harissa tahini again on them. I can even see it in a pita stuffed with chicken or steak shawarma. The Mighty sesame sauce will definitely be added to plain hummus too to zing it up and will be part of a dressing , mixed with a touch of olive oil.

It's biting cold outside. Warm your palate with  The Mighty Sesame Company's harissa tahini. It's a great addition to any dish, from chicken tenders to hummus.