Whole Wheat Treats

This is the start of the season for all kinds of treats, from jelly doughnuts to cookies. Unfortunately it also means an abundance of white flour and refined sugar. Ditch those and try something healthier. Think about using whole wheat flour and  different kinds of all natural sweeteners.They will still be yummy delights  but they won't be overloaded with the bad stuff. Everyone will be happy , from you to your little sweet tooths.

,find a good whole wheat flour. One of the best is the King Arthur brand.The company also produces a white flour as well and both are sold on the same grocery  shelf.Another excellent brand is Bob's Red Mill. You can also buy it at your local grocery or at Amazon.com. As for the sweetening, go with  dark honey, molasses or brown sugar. Eggs , surprisingly can be replaced with ground flax seeds which act like binders as well.Just remember that one tablespoon of flax seeds plus three tablespoons of water equals one egg.However if you still want to use eggs , then use organic ones.As for milk if you want to sub in soy almond or rice go ahead or again go  for the organic type.

Baking all naturally ' mean you have to give up family favorites. You can still start Hanukkah with sufganiyot, the traditional holiday jelly doughnut. According to tradition they do have to be fried in oil, however you can sub in healthier ingredients from also adding brown sugar to making a fresh apple mash for the inside. Cookie lovers can still have their faves , from sugar cookies to chocolate chips to oatmeal.For holiday decorating you can use natural food coloring such as beet juice to color the dough or arrange nuts, raisins or cranberries in fancy patterns on the surface before baking. Whole wheat based cupcakes are another treat too.  You can also make a frosting that subs in brown sugar or  for white and confectioners.With this though it's best to use a thicker binder such as an all natural cream cheese.

Holiday treats can be both yummy and healthy.It's easy if you sub in all natural flours and sweeteners  for the refined stuff. It;s a great and wholesome way to celebrate the upcoming festivities.

Risotto Cakes A Spin On The Classic

Risotto is always a good dish to make. Arborio rice goes well with almost any ingredient from tomato to saffron.As versatile as it is ,it becomes even more so with twisting it into a new idea. Risotto cakes are a different way of serving this Northern Italian classic. They can be made into holiday hors d'ouevres or a light lunch or supper.

Dsvid Tanis wrote about these gems in his A CIty Kitchen column in Wednesday;s New York Times Dining section. He adds the earthy fall flavor of butternut squash for both taste and body. Cheeses such as the Northern Italian classic Fontina and Parmesan are also added for binding.It is then lightly fried in oil after a thin coating of just flour and egg. Mr. Tanis also suggests bread crumbs which give the cakes more of a crunch. For this , try ground up French or Italian bread for added flavor.

There are other risotto cake recipes out there as well.Sandra Lee gives a pretty simple one that would make for great Christmas party appetizers. Hers are a simple blend of  leftover rice, Parmesan cheese and roasted garlic.They're shaped into walnut sized balls  and then fried.Risotto cakes can also be stuffed.You can try a smoky mozzarella or even a minced portobello stuffing. For parties you can try a marinella sauce Ora saffron infused mayo based one.Another party trick is wrapped a thin piece of prosciutto around them to serve to guests. Risotto cakes are a great way of using left over arborio rice.They also make for a delicious light lunch or supper or a perfect party appetizer. Try them this way to appreciate risotto even more.

Sriracha Madness

It seems sriracha is the latest craze.In fact it's so popular  there's even a shortage. What to do ? Make it yourself. It's a pretty easy recipe that can be replicated in time for a fun holiday party or better yet a spicy dinner on a cold fall night. It'll add to anything and give ordinary dishes zing.

It was the topic of an article in yesterday's New York Daily News Now Focus section. The piece written by Jeannette Settembre explains the reasons for the shortage.One is the many fans that the sauce has attracted and the other is because fumes from the Irwindale California  factory is leaving residents in the are with irritated eyes and throats.The sauce is basically ketchup's more exotic ,definitely more fiery cousin. It can be put on everything from omelets and noodles to steaks and chicken for kick. It's a definite must at tailgate parties where it would elevate burgers and dogs to the next level of flavor.

Sriracha sauce, unlike ketchup, ispretty easy to make.It's a mix of two kinds of peppers, namely red hot peppers and Thai chili peppers along with tomato paste  and fish sauce. Sugar is added to temper the hear and to give it tang , rice wine vinegar. Canola oil is added to give it smoothness along with water. The entire mix , including garlic is put into a blender and pureed. It can be served with the traditional Thai omelet or as hai tod, with mussels and oysters.However you can also add it to meat loaf and hamburger along with chicken wings.Steaks and stir fry can also benefit from it as well.

Sriracha sauce is one of the hottest flavors out right now. if you can't get it , the sauce is a snap to make. Whip of a batch and let it add zing and zest to your favorite dishes.

Turkey ABCs

With Thanksgiving two weeks away it's time to talk turkey. Literally.Many people , even experienced home chefs, are flummoxed when it comes to this bird. Questions and fears abound. It's time to take it easy. Turkey is a simple bird to prepare and roast.

Melissa Clark gave a simple how to on turkey in a huge  article in today's New York Times Dining section. The best piece of advice that she gave: buy a smaller bird. Instead of wrestling with a twenty-five pounder, go for the twelve or thirteen pound turkey. Buy extra turkey pieces whether all light or all dark ,if you feel you don't have enough. Another good idea is dry brining the bird as opposed to wet brining. All this involves is just rubbing salt and pepper all over it. Also prepping it with just oil and not glancing in the  oven every half hours is also recommended. This makes for crispy skin that's as crunchy as a potato chip.

Ms. Clark also suggests spatchcocking the bird.This may sound complicated but all it is is removing the backbone before cooking.This gives for a  juicier bird with an even more golden skin. Any butcher can remove the bone for you, however it can be done at home using very sharp poultry shears. Spatchcocking allows the cook to spread the bird flat in the roasting pan and cook for a quicker time than one with a backbone.Another must is having a meat thermometer on the ready.The internal temperature must be 165 F .Also home cooks have to realize ,that unlike chicken, a roast  turkey will have pink spots. This is normal, the meat isn't raw as it would be in the other.

Cooking a Thanksgiving turkey shouldn't;t be daunting .It should be as easy as roasting chicken. Follow the above recommendations and it'll be fine. You'll have a glistening golden bird with an amazing flavor and , crispy , crackling skin.

The Food Network At Twenty

It';s hard to believe that the cable channel, The Food Network is two decades old.Thanks to it. we can now get recipes every hour of the day and also get informed about various foods. Yet is it a helpful station ? Can it compete with public television that also offer us good shows about cooking?

The Food Network started twenty years ago as the TV Food Network and was a division of the famed CNN network..The original chefs who signed on back then was the very well known Jacques Pepin, along with Donna Hanover and Emeril Lagasse. A few years later cooking greats Mario Batali and Bobby Flay joined them. The show expanded its' format with the quirky Alton Brown who not only guided viewers through recipes but also offered them fun facts. (think Bill Nye in the kitchen) along with that Japanese classic and cult favorite Iron Chef,

The channel also explored contests such as The Next Food Network Star  which launched the meteor like career of Guy Fieri and Aarti Sequeria. Some of the shows have been entertaining. For all her problems, Paula Deene did know how to cook a good Southern dish and introduced a lot of Yankees to the joys of butter and grits..We got to explore the reality show drama of Duff and his amazing cakes long with Rachel Ray and her wealth of recipes and tips. Giada DeLaurentis , exuding both glamor and homey cucina charm showed us how to make biscotti and homemade pasta. All of these are fun yet they don;t have the same gravitas along with wry irony as the two PBS series that features Lidia Bastianich and Chris Kimball. These teach you much more than some of the Food Network offerings.It is a cooking lesson without all the folderol.

As long as there are fans, there will always be a need for the Food Network. It will provide entertainmnet for foodies . Will they learn something though? Possibly but will it make an impression as did the public television cooking shows have done?

Hale and Healthy Hot Meals

This is the time of year when a hot meal is much wanted. There's nothing like it to chase away the chills and shiver a cold month brings. Yet a dinner or lunch should not only be hot , it should also be nutritious  too. Fill it with rich ingredients bursting with good for you antioxidants and vitamins.It'll not only warm you up but keep you healthy during the season ahead.

Any meal filled with vegetables is a good one, A perfect lunch or even weekend dinner is vegetable or minestrone soup. You can fill it with not only beans which are beneficial, but also cabbage, tomatoes corns and potatoes.Add some whole wheat elbow macaroni or orzo  for a more satisfying meal. It'll go well with hot homemade whole wheat biscuits or rolls. Another tasty lunch or dinner meal that's also has the same healthy impact is chili. You can make it a vegan style with plenty of kidney and red beans along with black or even lean beef. For oomph throw in some hot peppers which are considered a super food.

If you want a full hot and healthy meal, then think traditional. Nothing beats  whole wheat
spaghetti with homemade sauce. Make the sauce with heart healthy garlic and herbs for more zing. Another idea is stuffed cabbage. Cabbage is high In Vitamin C and  the leaves can hold everything from brown rice and lean beef or  chopped portobello mushrooms. and peppers.Portobellos are a great main dish on their own. They can be grilled indoor like steak or even be turned into burgers. Another way is stuffing them with spinach and cheese.Of course nothing beat that cold weather fave, baked mac and cheese. You can create a healthy version just by using whole wheat macaroni,  and reduced fat cheddar. Try a layer  of broccoli  florets or red pepper strips instead of bacon,if your family still insists on bacon then sub in the turkey one instead.

Nothing beats a hot meal on  chilly day. Whip up something hale and healthy to warm up tummies either for lunch or a nighttime dinner.It' will not only be tasty but nutritious too.

Hot And Herbal Natural Teas

November practically screams for a good hot cup of tea. This is when the weather gets nippy and we greet both mornings and evenings with frost on the ground and a bite in the air. What better than to start or finish the day with a healthy mug of herbal tea? It's  soothing and comforting , the liquid version of a security blanket.

Herbal teas have been around for millennia. The ancient Egyptians first came up with a flavorful tisane called kerkades. This was hibiscus sepal brew that's still made today in some countries. The Jamaicans still make this but add ginger , sugar and rum, usually for the Christmas holidays. The Chinese were and still are the masters of herbal tea brewing.They use it for medicinal reasons,but you can just use it to just melt away  the day's cares .Most home brewers use  a mix of herbs and fruit. Other just rely on already made teas from such companies as Celestial Seasonings. These are good  and have a wide variety of flavors, from chamomile to peppermint. However you have a wider range with a home made herbal brew.

If you want to go truly natural, then try blending your own . Home brewers stick with the tried and true such as ginger and chamomile. Fresh  made ginger tea is not only good for waking up in the morning,it's a great drink for  after a full meal. Take a fresh ginger root and either cut the knobs  into small chunks or thin slices.Put these in your  mug and pour boiling water over the pieces  letting it steep for a few minutes, Chamomile is just as easy , Dry the flowers and put about two teaspoons into a cup or mug. Steep for a minute or two. You can also make citrus based teas too, using either lemon, orange or lime peels mixed with your favorite green or black tea. For any herbal tea, don't add refined sugar. Dark or wildflower honey is your best and healthiest sweetener.

Herbal tea is the nice  accompaniment either on a chilly morning or during a frosty night. Brew up a cup and enjoy its' all natural flavor. It's not only soothing but good for you too.