A Late Summer Barbecue

 The weather's still warm. The grill is still viable. Why not celebrate the season with a late summer -early fall barbecue. Enjoy the taste of favorite summer treats while you can. They can even have a more fallish spin to them.

It's still warm enough to have hamburgers. You can easily go with beef , plant based or turkey. Yet if you want something different along with a nod to autumn then think pork based ones.Add sage to ground pork for more flavor along with bacon ground with garlic. Remember to make a two inch indentation with your thumb in each patty before placing over the flame to prevent bulging. grill them for five to six minutes on each side. What can go with this?Try an apple chutney from the season's first harvests. This is a kind of relish made with Granny Smitth apples, onions, and raisins. This are chopped and cooked in a mix of cider vinegar andd freshly squeezed orange juice. Spices such as hot pepper flakes and ginger are added for heat while brown sugar is added for sweetness. You could also put mustard seeds in if for flavor and color. Another idea is baked potatoes instead of  the ususal potato salad. pre cook them in the microwave for ten minutes before you put them on the grill. This ensured that they'll be fully cooked when you're ready to eat them.

What other dishes would compliment a late summer barbecue? Some gardens are still producing tomatoes. You can still whip up a salad with them with a nice creamy burata. Grilled toamtoes are also tasty side for any late summer barbecue. You can even give them a sprinkle of breadcrumbs for a take on tomatoes Provencale. They are just good rubbed in olive oil and garlic and then served on grill toasted Italian bread.Some gardens are still producing zucchini. These are wonderful too after being cooked on the coals. Slice them lengthwise instead of in coins and give them a light brushing of olive oil and a sprinkle of rosemary and oregano. What to drink with this? Try a French cider that's not as dense or heavy as  the regular cider that's just coming out now. The Duche du Longeville, a fizzy tasty quaff is too perfect with those late summer burgers. It'll chill nicely. If the night becomes nippy then bring out a thermos of flavored coffe or herbal tea. have these with grilled apples cooked in a foil pcket with brown sugar and butter and spiked with ginger and cinnamom.

Yes, you can still have a good barbecue depsite what the calendar says. Enjoy a late summer cookout with good food and good drink. There's still time.

Vegan Tailgating Go Meatless

 Yes, it's tailgaiting time in the US. it's where rabid fans camp out in their local arean's parking lot and cook like crazy. There's a wide array of meats , from sausages to hot dogs, wings to hamburgers. Yet what do vegetarians and vegan have? Their own equally delicious menus!! It's time to go meatless!! Yay team vegan!

Of course you can have the same yummy burgers that meat loving fans enjoy. Beyond Burgers, Gardein and Impossible Burgers carry plant based patties that grill up just as good and crispy as the real thing. if you want a more authentic hjommade burger taste just give the burgers a very light dusting of onion powder.  They'll taste like those homemade ones with the chopped onion added to the mix. You can even make bacon cheeseburgers too.  Top the burgers with slices of Go Veggie cheddar and slices of Morningstar Farms bacon. The last should be made in the microwave ahead of time. They get their crispiest there. You can pack them in paper towels os they don't break or get crumbly.  Hot dogs are another fun tailgating food. Go for Field Roast ones that have a smoky flavor. These are also tasty grilled. You can turn them into cheese dogs with the addtion of vegan cheese or turn them into Chicago dragged through the garden dogs complete with chopped white onions, tomatoes , pickles and peppers.A squirt of mustard completes this. Try Field vegan sausage too with peppers for a Sicilian treat.

Chili always figures in tail gating parties. A vegan one is just as tasty and fun as one containing beef or turkey.The best soy "beef" crumbles come from Morningstar Farms or Gardein. Both brands have crumbles that cook up juicy and tender. Keep in mind this is one for hardy crowds so make it a two or three alarm one. What about  that staple of many an arean cookout chicken wings? There really aren't any comprable ones on the market yet however you can create your own version. Use seitan to emulate the chicken meat and bamboio sticks for the "bones". It's basically a dough made with flour and water and then boiled in vegetable bouillion, They're then fried in either peanut or grapeseed oil because these oils have a high smoke temp. Once they're done you can slather them in a spicy or bought homemade sauce. Another idea is cauliflower wings.First give them a thorough washing and then pat them dry.  Coat  them in a barbecue sauce and grill for a few minutes until the edges become charred.

Vegans can als have a delcious feast as they cheer on their favorite teams. It's easy with all the meat substitutes out there. You can have a tasty time with all sorts of fun vegetarian dishes.

Tough Days Easy Cooking

 These are rough days, with kids starting all sorts of sports and arts. Offices are cutting out their summer hours. That means less times at home. It also means hurried and easy to make meals. Yet you can still have a delcious dinner with just using a one pot or one sheet pan. it's makes a harried life simpler.

Regular contributor Melissa Clark gave us quick and tasty recipes in her "A Good Appetite" in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Her inspiration surprisingly comes from Manhattan restaurant An American Place. she was impressed with how chefs and sous chefs created all sorts of delcious dishes using a myriad of bowls, pots and pans.she wondered if everything could be condensed to one pot or one pan. Yes.ms. Clark is a firm beliver in less work, less mess and more flavor. It's not just for the sake of cleanup although creating a restuarant style meal can require a lot of equipment It reusing and repurposing the same bowls , from using one for mixing veggies  and then using it for dressing. They're quick to make too, start at six and they'll be on the table at seven.as she also points ou these are good for a busy weekend too. One, an English fry up is also perfect for brunches too. Again, these make for great meals if you;re busy too. It's less mess and more time to enjoy a walk or a relaxing day off.

The recipes are varied. You can try a sheet pan English breakfast . This was adlpted from "Dinner in One Exceptional and Easy One Pan Meals"It has everything for those who love breakfast for dinner. There are breakfast sausage links , frying up with eggs.Plum tomaotes are also thrown in with mushrooms too. It''s served with buttered toast but you could also have rolls with this. The eggs are added fifteen to twenty minutes in and cooked sunnyside up.For another sheet pan meal there's brussels sprouts and the Indian cheese paneer along with the one pot cooked  crispy chickpea stew with greens and lemon.They're also taken from the same cookbook. The fitst is kind of like a roasted salad, sprinkled with the paneer  A garlic and line vinaigrette spiked with cumin is sprinkled on top. You could try the chickpea stew, redolent with , garlic, onions and hot pepper flakes cooked with the chickepas and such winter greens as collards kael and winter greens. CHicken stock is added and feta cheese is sprinkled on top.

These are rough days ahead. Make life easier with one pan or one pot meals. They're delicious and simple.

Easy Breads For Rosh Hashana

 One of the highlights of Rosh Hashana, starting next week is the bread. Challah is always a great accompaniment to a holiday dinner. A homemad e loaf even more so. Best of all the dough can also be used for babka too.

Claire Saffitz ,a chef, food writer and You Tube personality wrote about this versatile dough in today's New York Times Food section. Challah is the perfect bread because it's easy to make for beginner bakers as well as being perfect for sweet and savory dishes. It makes for an excellent French toast while being perfect for sandwiches or accompanying soups and salads. How to make a  memorable loaf? Keep Chef Saffitz 's  hints sin mind when creating it. Start with a sponge. You have to mix a lot of yeast into the dough because of the recipe's high sugar low moisture make up. Mix a small amount of flour with water and a small amount of yeast to create a sponge.as it sits the yeasts feed on the starches in the flour and multiply. Thsi makes the mixture active and bubbly, removing the need to add more yeast to the dough. Another important tip - find ingreddient balance. You need to put eleven grams of salt in the dough. This may sound exccessive but it brings out the flavor and strenghtens the gluten network. Then there's the olive oil. There should be one third cup f it.It keeps the bread Pareve as well as giving it a silky feel.It will need a lot of kneading to give it good crust and crumb. How do you know when enough kneading is enough? The window pane test. Take a small ball of dough and stretch it out. The dough iis thoroughly kneaded if you can see light coming through it , 

Of course it's the braid that makes challah what it is. Basically it can be turned into any shape you want. The traditional braid is the most used and the simplest. a pretty one is a smaller braid tucked in a larger one. You can also wrap it around itself to form a circle. This would be a lovely one for any raisin laced challah.Once you perfect a simple braid you can try a French braid . Keep in mind that a light texture is essential for a good challah. Once you've conquored it, then move on to simple sandwich loaves and soudough.Ms. Saffiitz also includes a  cinnamonbabka recipe , redolent with the spice and zinged up with orange zest. The dough is a basic challah one but.a mix of cinnamon, brown sugar orange zest and almond flour. also add a generous pinch - about one hlf teaspoon of Diamond Crystal salt to it . Break up any lumps of brown sugar with your fingertips. Reserve about a quarter of the cup of the mixture to sprinkle over the loaf. The dough is then divided into two pieces. One  rolled out and the cinnamon mix is spread out on one piece while the other is put in the fridge. Chill both babkas in the fridge for anywhere from four to twelve hours. THey're then proofed, washe d in egg and then baked in a 350 degree oven for fortyfive minutes. They're then cooled for ten.

Observe the holiday with good food. This includes a good challah or babka with the meal. They are perfect breads to make for this holiday dinner.

Pudding Time

 Pudding may be old fashioned but it 's still a great dessert. There's nothing like ending a dinner with it or just enhoying a quick sweet. You can go old school and make your own to get that down home flavor.

Puddings are usually sweet recipes in the US .However in Britain you could have savory ones like Yorkshire which is really a popover. and France  meat ones like salmon and foie gras or chicken liver. The ones here though could be custards or mousses. All countries have some form of it and during the Twentieth Century it used to be a popular dessert that was easy to whip up. surprsingly the word comes from the Latin word for sausage botellus and then the French changed it to boudin. it could also be from the German pud meaning to swell. A good homemade pudding has cornstarch in it ,acting as a binder. milk is added for creminess while vanilla and sugar flavor it.It's first boiled and then constantly stirred until the mixture thickens.It can be spooned into individual bowls or into one big one and chilled. for a richer texture and taste , use whole ream instead of milk. One of the best desserts is chocolate pudding.Make a really rich one using whole cream, and one half cup of baking cocoa. Add butter and vanilla for a fudgy flavor. You could add a tiny drop of mint  for  a fancier chocolate mint dessert.

Many go wild for a homemade butterscotch pudding. This is  silken treasure made with brown sugar heavy cream and egg yolks, The egg yolks are blended with the cornstarch for a silky  but thick constistency.  The brown sugar is cooked into a syrup with water along with salt.It's important for it to caramelize for both the color and flavor. Butter and vanilla are added to the finished product . You could add bourbon or brandy for a grown up version of this childhood classic. What about vegans? Can they enjoy a pudding that's as rich as the egg and dairy laden ones? There are vegan puddings that can be made with any kind of plant milk like soy or almond. Vegan butter may be called for for more flavor. The most important ingredient in vegan pudding is the same one in regular ones - cornstarch. This will help in thickening the mix. Add cocoa powder or brown sugar for a chocolate or butterscotch one. You could even toss in peanut butter which will give a creamy texture and a unique flavor.

A scratch pudding is a great dessert or treat. Make a traditional or vegan one for a truly unique sweet.It's the epitome of homemade goodness.

Pet Parent Recipes

 Our furbabies are everything to us.We fret and worry orver them>we wonder if thye're eating right and what we can do to make their diets better. One way is cooking for them.  This ensure that they're eating the right foods for better lives.

As any cat parent will tell you cats can be both finicky and demanding. They may love one brand of cat fodo that's bad for them while compeltely ignoring what's good for them. Feline "junk food" can have everything from ground fish bone to dyes. Cats are like kids. They love junk food  - both theirs and human! This unfortunately can lead to obesity on both sexes and bladder stone in toms or males. What can you do as their parent? Prepare dishes with  fresh healthy meats, Cats are carnivores and will run to cooked poultry , beef and fish.  You will need a lot of meat thoug. A chicken one requires five pounds of chicken thighs along with such vitamins as B complex and Vitamin E. Taurine is a must. It helps them, to maintain that keen eyesight they're known for. Taurine is also essential for heart and digestive help and is a must for pregnant mama kitties.  You can buy it on Amazxon or Chewy which has one of the largest selection of animal companion foods and items. Keep in mind to add the chicken livers and heart for a truly nutritious meal.  You can also add rice too. Grains are good for feline digestion. A HUGE reminder - keep garlic , onions and other alliums out of the recipes. These are deadly to cats. Their food doesn't need flavoring. They love that meat taste plain.

Dogs are a tad easier. They're not as fussy as cats and you can feed them almost anything. They do  need fat, carbohydrates and protein for a balanced diet. That means also adding eggs, grains and even veggies to the recipe. They also need calcium and fatty acids. Start with either white or brown rice (if you want a healthier  food)cooked with lean ground sirloin and hard boiled eggs mashed for more protein.  You can add some carrots too for variety. You can also create ground turkey and broccoli mixed with dried rosemary . Dogs can have some herbs such as rosemary ,peppermint, dill and turmeric. Homemade dog biscuits are another treat you can make for your pooch. Some companies like King Arthur  flour sells dig biscuit mix along with cute bone shaped molds. Their mix has beef broth and carrtos added or for a sweeter mix try pumpkin and apples (canines can have these fruits without any side effects). the biscuits are like homemade cookies as opposed to storebought ones. They come out bigger and wider. You can also make your own dough using one of fido's favorite foods peanut butter along with honey and whole wheat flour.

Herbs Ahead

 Everyone is busy taking the last of the tomatoes and turning them into sauce. They're looking at those newly picked apples and thinking butters. Yet what about herbs. They're one of the most important ingrdients and the easiest to keep for fall and winter cooking ahead.

Herb drying has been around since the beginning of time. Home chefs and healers dried them in the sun or in their homes. The last was one by tying them in bunches and hanging them from the rafters. This not only provided flavor for their stews and roasted meats but also scented the main rooms. You can do this too, but preferably in a cool dry room like a pantry basement  or attic.Make sure the area is well ventilated otherwise the leaves will be soggy, damp or even rotty.  Can you dry herbs in the oven? Absolutely! You can even dry seeds ike pumpkin too this was too. Place the leaves on a cookie sheet in a low oven  - less than 180 degrees Farenheit for two to four hours.The leaves will be crumbly when they're fully done. Keep in mind that you should pick your herbs early in the morning and take the leaves before the plant begins to flower. This is when their flavor is at its' strongest. You can prolong harvesting by snipping off any buds that appear.Also remove dried , sickly or wilted leaves at this time too.

What can you do with dried herbs? Everything!!! Dried rosemary is used in many Italian dishes.It graces foccaccio, adding color and flavor to this famed bread. A truly tasty side dish is rosemary potatoes. This s taking red potaotes and sheet pan roasting them with rosemary and sea salt after tossing them in olive oil. They're roasted for 350 degrees Farenheit for thirty to forty minutes. You can also use the herb in homemade sauces and part of a pizza sauce. Basil is another incredibly popular herb that most gardens have. This too is versatile. Dried basil is a definite must for homemade tomato sauces what about pesto? Yes it's usually and traditionally made with fresh leaves but you can use the dried ones. Keep the same ingredients ,lemons, olive oil and walnuts and blend everything in a food processor or blender. Again you use the pesto as a plain sauce or add a teaspoon of it to sauces and even dressings. Sage is another herb that's great to dry.It'll be used in stuffings for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It imparts a slightly minty and pepepry taste that offsets the mildness of the bread. Also try it in minestrone soup too.

Keep those garden herbs going in delicious recipes for the entire year. They're a smap to dry and fun to use.  You'll have that fresh flavor well into fall.