Protest With Eggs

 You would think that eggs are coming from the golden goose given their high price these days. They are one of the most expensive food items out right now. They're are ways to work around them. It's a simple as using basic sub ins.

Regular contributor and pro baker Genevieve Ko wrote about this in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. For decades moms have been using egg substitutes because their kids have egg allergies. Baking allows for these.Cooking is trickier. Home chefs (including myself) have used JUst Egg which does work in both cooking and baking.It is expensive at around $5.31 for a 16 ounce bottle and it has to be used within a two day time frame. It'/s good for making omelets and frittatas.  A=However with baking you can vary the ingredients. Egg is used for binding so a good binder is all that's needed. Eggs also moisten dishes with their water content and make the crumb of any baked good richer with their fatty yolks . Whites are good for creating airy meringues along with lifting baked goods. Whites also add a fluffiness to savory dishes and make for a lighter ,almost poofy omelet and cheese souffles.

What can be used for a egg substitute? Ms Ko recommends flax gel. Again it'sa good binder and can add structure ,moisture and fat. Most baking recipes can use it such as cookies, muffins, cupcakes and yeast rolls to name a few.It does have a subtle nutty taste but this works with other ingredients and is a good binder. Professor Genevieve Meli of the Culinary Institute of America who teaches pastry arts recommends grinding flax seeds to produce it.The down side is that it can go rancid quickly. Another sub in and a favorite of vegan home bakers is aqua faba, the chickpea fluid. It adds moisture to such treats as brownies but also makes excellent meringues.Unlike egg whites it will not help in creating a tall cake.One mom favorite is banana or applesauce.It binds adds moisture and does provide some structure.Use it for yeast rolls and even pancakes to  get the same texture as ones made with egg. Mashed sweet and regular potatoes can be used  potatoes along with pumpkin puree can be used for savory dishes such as meat loaf and breading meats

Yes using eggs are a home chef's luxury. Yet there are sub ins to help. Use them for budget baking.

Warming Spices

 How to make a dish even hotter? Add some heat. It could be sliced jalapenos or a heaping teaspoon of red pepper. This makes for a blood warming meal that will get you through the cold days ahead.

Of course chili is one of the hottest dishes to make. Many make it with just a one alarm rating yet it can be made to be super hot. A five alarm is a fiery change.This means adding more spices and peppers to your already established recipe. Jalapeno is added a long with teaspoons of chili powder ,cayenne pepper and red pepper. if it's too eye watering it can be cooled down with individual dollops of sour cream or guacamole. Another Mexican favorite mole sauce can also be spiked up another levelIt a dark chocolate sauce made with such cocoa .Usually made with cumin and tomatoes. it can be varied with a good kick of ground red pepper. It's usually serve with chicken or beef but can be good with vegetables too. if you want to add more heat then thick about jalapeno cornbread to any of these dishes. Add half a cup of fresh sliced one for an extreme bite or pickled ones for a lesser zing.

Pasta can be fiery too. Arrabiata sauce can bring in blood warming fire. It's a red sauce, rich with tomatoes and the extra kick of red pepper flakes. A teaspoon o them  toasted in butter should bring out the flavor and give the sauce the appropriate taste. If you want you can add any protein too to give it more oomph. Think chicken beef or shrimp. Keep in mind that pizza sauce can also be made arribiata. Add some spicy pepperoni too or ventricina ,a spicy Italian salami as topping.  for a really elegant hot dish , make lobster arrabiata . This is made with two three pound lobsters and four dry red Chiles. The lobsters do have to be roasted first and the meat and juice added to the creamy sauce. It's usually served with spaghetti but also works with any of the "long" pastas like fettucini and linguini.Indian food is also full of heat. Try a chicken curry that combines ginger - another biting spice and chili flakes to create a blood warming dish.Again ,if it's too spicy then serve with Indian flatbread like naan or roti.

If you want to be toasty hot during these cold days, then cook with heat. These dishes will keep you warm .They're not only not but also delicious.

A Vegan Jersey Maque Choux

 Cajun food is a perfect chill chaser during this weather.One the famed masque choux  is one of those even if it's typically associated with summer barbecues. It a tasty melange of flavors and ingredients that work any time of year.

I decided to try the recipe after receiving the recipe in my email. It looked very tasty save for one ingredient - corn.With that I decided to sub in peas and chcikpeas since I  sadly can't digest corn.. I also used a base of Lidl's riced cauliflower stir fry which does have a little  corn and chopped green peppers

 

The recipe calls for real back on or ham but I used Morningstar Farms soy slices which gives more or less the same taste.

The true maque choux recipe calls for just butter but I used a mix of Country Crick plant butter and a bit of the Lid; olive oil.

It also calls for heavy cream,I used  a tablespoon of Violife's vegan sour cream and about quarter of a cup of Lidl's almond milk.

Chopped tomatoes are also added for more flavor as the original recipe. I used a generous dusting of onion powder and ground red pepper.

It's simmered over a medium flame for fifteen minutes.

I'd add the bacon later to keep it's crispness.As with any Cajun dish rice is a must so I used Lidl's Ninety minute kind

to stop up the sauce.

I arranged the bacon around the sides with rice 

This was deliciously flavorful with the hot pepper and cream sauce highlighting the vegetables and bacon. This is definitely going to be made a second and third time. It was very tasty and it can be made a variety of ways, whether the original or varied to suite individual  tastes.

Add Macque Choux to your winter table . It;s a fiery , creamy delight that's perfect for a cold night. Try it for a taste of New Orleans,

The Impactful California Cuisine

 Not many US states have the impact on world cuisine as California.It may have been the state where all our entertainment came from but also many food movements that have impacted the globe also derived in both northern and southern parts of California.

Long before there were the Spanish and Americans in The Golden State, there were the indigenous tribes.Due to its size there are several different scores, each uniquely different. They were eating the healthy salmon long before anyone else discovered this fish and its' nutritional power. There were also deer as well. along with sheep and even bear. Small fowl like grouse  and quail were also consumed as well as seafood such as mussels crabs and clams. Most of the tribes relied heavily on accords which went through an elaborate process of boiling and leaching (getting rid of toxic  tanic acids ) to create either a thin gruel or a thick stew . Not surprisingly all the tribes of California roasted and the bus which were high in protein. Crickets and grasshoppers were the most popular.When the Spanish arrived in 1769, They brought the chief components of the Mediterrenean diet that are the cornerstone of California cuisine.OLive oil fresh vegetables and wine were now a part of anew rethought California cuisine.

A change happened in Northern California with the 1849 Gold Rush, It also helped to highlight San Francisco, now becoming a place for wealthy patrons to go . The Forty-Niners brought salted food and hard tack, similar to what sailors ate. The Chinese were also coming into the San Francisco area and with them. Even though they were initially disliked, their food and cooking techniques made a massive impact even to this day in the state.Thanks to the fil industry arriving in So Cal , oranges and lemons were being incorporated in not just Californians' diets but all of America's. The Twentieth Century brought such innovators as Helen Evans Brown,originally a New Yorker and Alice Waters. Waters was influenced by her time in France but used fresh local fruit and vegetables at her restaurant ,Chez Panisse in Berkeley California, The state continues to influence the world today. The juicy and delicious French dip originated in LA along with fish tacos and the ever popular California roll. Where would the world be with out San Francisco sourdough.

California is a powerhouse in the culinary world. It has been that way for centuries.It will continue on, with good food and good flavors.

If you want to help those affected by the California wildfires, consider the American Red Cross and PROJECT HOPE

Dining In Dining Out

 Even though it's wintry up here in the New York area , there's thoughts of eating al fresco. Here's the question - what do you prefer Inside eating where it has a cozy atmosphere albeit  a din of conversations (and let's face it  its always fun to eavesdrop)or outside where you can feel the sun on your face and enjoy food in fresh air. 

What is your preference? Let us know.

For my Sweetie Bella who loved to look out the window when she had her favorite snacks.

NY Pizza For All

 A slice of New York pie was almost always relegated to Manhattan and the five boroughs. It was something people in other states dreamed about  but could never have. However all that's changing  thanks to dedicated and innovative pizza artisans. New York style is coming to the US, whether the mountains or the prairies or the ocean states.

New contributor,Ed Levine, contributor and founder of Srious eats and host of the podcast Special Sauce write about this phenomena in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Mr. Levine is kind of a specialist himself , talking about different cuisines and life in general. He explored how the perfect triangle known as the slices has made its' way across the countries. Pizzerias are serving it and people are falling in love with it. What makes a New York pie so special.Its the entire makeup.It starts with the doughy bottom that charred perfectly in a cola fired oven. From there the low moisture top grade mozzarella and a sauce made from high quality canned and steamed tomatoes.The crust or raised lip should also be charred and riddled with airy bubbles. Most pizzas , especially the slices that non New Yorkers have experienced were  thick gummy slices with bad overly chewy cheese and a not so great sauce. Now thanks to pizza evangelists as it were and affectionados as well a s blogger and pod casters America wants a better slice.

The concept buying a single slice was new in some areas.when Ann Kim opened her place in Minnesota customers were confused at the concept of one slice.  People were dumbfounded when she placed back in the oven and crisped it up.Fellow pizzarias owner Justin de Leon faced something similar when he first opened up Apollomia's in LOs Angeles. Customers were familiar with the greasy paper plates the pizza slices came on ot the paper bags for take out pizza. They even asked for plastic knives and forks. However the country is becoming  acclimated to the idea of New York slices. Righteous Pizza of Rexburg Idaho is getting a big play, Bill Crawford , the owner and chef is creating pies that are the main drive of their business. They are mazed out to their capacity yet they;re constantly growing. Making a New York style pizza is learned. California pizza maker Tony Gemignani opened up Tony Gemignani's International School of Pizza in 2018. Bill Crawford is a proud graduate along wit Ann Kim and some other like Audrey Kelly and Laura Meyer  who have their own pizzas.

New York pizza is becoming a thing.People love th e lush combination of good cheese, good sauce and good crust. It's soon to be all over America 

Backyard Saffron

Saffron has always been the world's most sought after spice.It's been used for centuries  and it's what gives risotto Milanese and paella their distinct golden coloring and rich flavor. Yet this import is now being grown on farms across America.It's becoming a popular crop.

New contributor Jane Black wrote this for today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Saffron is a big crop of Iran but due to sanctions the US can't be imported here.It can be bought from Spain,India and Afghanistan, the last, also may have sanctions against US trade. This is where American saffron farmers come in. The crop is becoming popular with people who wouldn't have even dreamed about farming. It's always has been popular and surprisingly enough one of America;s earliest cash crops.It was part of Colonial Philadelphia;s commodity trade and was even as valuable as gold. The Pennsylvania Dutch embraced to and used it's golden goodness in teas, soups and cake,s It was even traded to the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean until the trade was disturbed by the War of 1812. Now saffron is making a huge comeback, although it was always a part of such great rice dishes like paella and risotto MIlanese.

Saffron farming is hard work however. It takes money to buy the corms or crocus bulbs to get the saffron. The harvesting the spice is hard. The croci has to be picked by farmers on their hands and knees in the dark!They have to be harvested in the dark before the sun rises and then each stigma, the sticky part of the flower's pistil.Melinda Price, of Peace and Plenty Farm in northern California processed 50, 000 to do . She uses her saffron to make unusual products like saffron infused honey and lemonade.They're solid money makes and don't require a big crop.Another saffron farmer, Jette Mandl Abramson came to a similar conclusion. She creates a saffron tincture that is one of her most popular.It does have its' medicinal qualities too. It's anti-inflammatory , helping in cardiovascular problems along with alleviating arthritis.it also helps in inducing sleep and suppressing tumors too. Most home chefs use it a variety of dishes and it adds to any recipe.

Saffron is becoming a hot crop. Will it be a new sensation this year? POssibly thanks to the amount of interest in it.