Shopping RIght

 Many home chefs don't know how to take advantage of their grocery stores. They may not know how to shop in a discount store or take advantage of a more expensive grocery and what it has to offer. It's time to shop right.

I found this out recently when a friend complaind about Lidl. She said the food was not good quality. That surprised me because I've had nothing but hits from the store. Her mistake was buying their fresh meat, namely chicken. She should have bought from either a chicken farm or a store known for its' meats. For any kind of meat, whether its' steak or chicken she should have headed to stores like Acme, Stop and Shop or Shop Rite simply because they have butchers there. Whatever you buy will always be fresh and better tasting. Lidl is excellent for freshly baked goods like their breads, pretzels and focaccios along with their frozen foods. Thir pizzas are from Italy and taste better than Blaze's or local pizzerias. Other Lidl must buys are their frozen veggies and dinners like their frozen risottos. These re extremely flavorful and easy to store and cook. Another Lidl plus is their good variety of fruits and vegetables. Their seedless purple grapes are wonderful, sweet and delicious. The same can be said to their competition Aldi, They have good and well priced veggies and fruits along with very inexpensive instant dinners like packaged flavored spaetzles and risotto. Their soda, like Lidl's is not only delicious and better tasting than Coke but also much less in price.

What happens if you want to still shop at the bigger supermarkets? You can. Yes, will get better quality meats and fish along with fresh deli food like salads and rotisserie chicken but a bit more in price. You'll also have a wide range of baked goods like Acme 's and Stop and Shop's where their array of freshly baked goods are better than local, privately owned bakeries. However they can be expensive regarding many items. The best bet is to bargain hunt. I'm a huge fan of their lunch meat ends which are always price below two dollars. These are usually hidden in a corner of their hero section.. The turkey one is especially delicious and cheap  $1.45 for a half pound of cubed ends. Buy their jar of in house Signature gravy for $2.45 for a quick hot lunch or supper I've also bought their lunch meat ends ham which is perfect for salads. As with any large grocery store, take advantage of their coupons, and their apps. Acme gives you points toward major discounts and you can save as much as $20 on an order. Another tip is always buy the inhouse brands. They'e just as good as the national and usually taste much better too.This also applies to their toothpaste, mouthwash and some beauty products too as far as with cost.

It does take some savvy and hunting but you can do well both in the better and more cost effecient supermarkets. Use these tips to get the most for your dollar. You'll  do well and also have tasty food and drink.

The Joy Of Maman

 If you want good French inspired pastries go to Maman. This  sweet coffee shop is popping up all over and features such treats as Kouign amann and pain chocolat. It'sa great place to go to if there's one on your neighborhood. Visit and have a treat if you want a taste of France.

I went to the one in Princeton, new Jersey located a few blocks away from the famed university. it's like being inside a Versailles garden with flowers oeverywhere and lovely  delicately printed china. Of course its' the pastries that shine. There is the to die for Kouign amann from Bittany . This is a coil of pure butter pastry , sweetned with a thin caramel syrup along with chocolate croissants. There are also slices of various sweet loaf breads to try as well.

                                            There are all sorts of cookies, especially chocolate chip and oatmeal. Try their ginger molasses snap. It;s a sweet  fiery bite, good with a cup of  their wide variety of  herbal teas.

You can biu a boy of their teas. I loved their ginger tisane which was a lovely , hot hit of spice on a frigid day (perfect when I was racing around the campus snapping pics). The teas are supplied by Sloane's, an American tea company.

Keep in mind Maman's are mostly in New York City but you can visit them also in Philadelphia, Princeton and Madison,New Jersey. they also have a wide array of salads and soups as well along with sodas and lemonades.

Visit Mana's if you want a taste of France. It's a calming haven to enjoy a tisane and a croissant. it's une oasis parfait.

The Food Of Sicily

 Most Italian culinary focus doesn't involve Sicily. It's usually the North with their  elegant, sophisticated dishes or Naples and Rome with their vibrant flavorful ones. Yet Sicilian cooking is fresh, one of the first farm to table cuisines.The ingredients come from the land and sea and marry the island's varied cultural ancestry.

The island has experieinced a wide array of cultures  starting almost from the beginning of time. The original Sicils (for whom the island was named after0 probably migrated from the iIalian  mainland's Amalfi coast. There were also other tribes , the Sicanians and Elymians which probably came from Spain and Greece..Later the Greeks and Arabs took over followed by the Romans, Germanic tribes, Arabs and Vikings. There was also the Spanish rule in the mid 1700's as well, bringing an Iberian influence to the cooking. There is also the Italian influence evidenced in their spaghetti dishes. The pasta is topped with breadcrumbs and chopped parsley.Another has Arab influences, pasta con sarde, This was created by General Eufemio's chef a Byzantine commander who protected the island''s coast. He needed a hearty meal to feed his many troops. A chef came up with one that utilized local produce, - namely sardines and Arab ingredients namely saffron and raisons.Pistacchios also figure in Sicilian cooing as well, thanks to the Moorish influence.

There are also farms on the island too, providing all sorts of fresh produce. The Sicilians love broccoli rape , drenched in garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes.People from Catania to Messina enjoy a grilled vegetable salad. This is a combination of grilled eggplant, onion, pepper, zucchini and peppers along with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.it can be eaten as a main dish with a good hunk of crusty Italian bread or served as a side with grilled steak or chicken.A favorite snack is arancini made with spinach,. These are fried rice balls stuffed with greens and mozzarella. They can also be filled with meats such as salami and other island cheeses like pecorino or ricotta. Fruit is also abundant on Sicily.Oranges and Meyer lemons are big in cooking and in salads. They're also popular ice flavors. A refreshign dish year round is Sicilian orange salad. This is sliced oranges mixed with black kalamata. olives and cnopped fennel. sliced red onions are also added to it and its' dressed with a combination  olive oil and lemon juice

Sicilian cuisine is a trip into fresh  ingredients turned into delicious dishes. They represent the island's love of the land and the sea. These are dishs with history and flavor.

for Concetta Portelli Helble

Rethinking Those Treats

 A fun snowy day activity is making Rice Krispy Treats. It's an easy recipe to whip up. There's no baling or flour or yeast to contend with. Yet these squares can be livened up and eleavated to the next level of deliciousness.

Eric Kim gave his spin on them in Wednesday's New York Times food section. He adds in black sesame seeds fried in browned butter ad give a heady dash ofsesame oil Doing such will add a dark peatnut butter flavor and cut through all that marshmallow-y sweetness. It's reminiscent of Japanese and Chinese sweets made with the seeds . The recipe is pretty much close to the original save for that addition.Over the years the New York Times Food section has produced some interesting variations of the Rice Krispie treats. There is Julia's Moskin's adaptation where browned butter is used when the marshmallows are melted. This sounds like something I would like. The browned butter gives it a nuttiness  but also a rich buttery taste. Butter and vanilla should be added to the recipe. for a more vegan option try Melt plan butter which works just as good as the real thing. You can also use vegan marashmallows as well which you can buy on The All Natural Candy site.

What else could you do to vary the recipe. Add  mini chocolate chips would give the treats an extra layer of flavor. Another idea is dipping the ends in melted dark chocolate (using milk chocolate may give them an overpowering sugariness). Use the 90 percent dark to counteract all that sweetness. Then try dipping them in crushed peanuts or sprinkles just to make them fun. You could add peanuts or any kind of nut to the recipe as well just for a different flavor. Surprisingly raisins can also go into the mix along with Craisons. The last again is a niuce tart and tangy foil  and can make the squares taste less cloying if you're not into super sweet. Coconut also works and sorts of makes them like crunchy Mounds bars.Here's a big kicker. for a bright taste of sunshine add lemon juice, zest and extract to the recipe to give them a kind of lemon bar vibe. This is great if you want a more summery , kind of lemonade taste to your snack.  You can also do the same with freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest.

Give the treats a different spin. They can be buttery or lemony, rich with chocolate or with oranges or coconut. No matter how you make them, they're still a great snow day snack.

A Truly North American Whiskey

 As Scottish as whiskey is, it does thrive on the grains of North America. Now an ancient Mexican corn is shaking up the traditional Highland recipe, giving a unique blend of Old and New Worlds,

Author of Single Malt: A Guide To the whiskies of Scotland and TImes obituary (!!!!???) writer Clay Risen wrote about this blend in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Mr. Risen writes about one of the Yucatan Peninsula's oldest corn breeds  the nal t'teel or rooster corn so ninknamed because it grows quickly and is unobthered by heavy rains or drought.It emerged f0ur thousand yars ago and gtows in a variety of colors.It almost died out thanks to the influx of high yield hybrds developed in the US. This older breed was given a lifeline fo sorts when the Gran Maizal Distillery in Merida used t and other indigenoius corn breeds to make whsikey. This boosted the local economy.Now there are more than a dozen disterlleries across Mexico using corn native to their regions. Half of them are already exporting ro are planning to export to America to create a new market.

There are differences in the way Mexican whiskey is made. First the corn goes through the ancient process of nixtamalization in which the dry  kernals are steeped in an alkaline solution. This maks them not only easier to work with  but better tasting too. Gran Maizal whsikey is not produced in the traditional column still. This cna cause the liquid to lose character however ti gains in effeciency.It's made in a pot still which allows the grains' flavor to come through. Gran Maizal's owner Gonzalo de la Pezuala along with Cesar Alaya also worked with a research lab to create a proprietary yeast strain to ferment the corn. The company combines four varieties to make their whiskey, chalaqueno, bolita,tepecintle and olotillo, each taken from a different subregion around Oaxaca. Chalaqueno grows in the far highlands while olotillo gows in the coastal plains along the Pacific Ocean.The four types produce a colorful harvest but more imprtantly produce a whiskey with a nuanced blend of flavors. GRan Maizal has high hopes for the US, a country now known for its'c raft whiskies.

Combining millennia old  New world corn breeds wih centuries old Old world whiskey recipes could be the next bing thing. These ancient breeds will give the liquor new spark and fire. It should be an interesting mix.

Connecting To Caribbean Cuisine

 Caribbean cuisine is fast becoming a staple and important part of the American table. Thanks to a heavy influx of island based immigrants, dishes made with oxtails and Scotch bonnet peppers are becoming everyday.There is a whole range to choose from thanks to the regions many different islands and conutries. 

Food writer and podcast host Korsha Wilson wrote about this interesting and flavorful cuisine in today's New York Times  Wednesday Food section. She writes that forty-six percent of Black immigrants or roughly around two million people are coming to the US , from the Caribbean.This is comprised of thrirteen countries stretching from South America to the Bahamas, with an area larger than Texas and Alaska combined. despite tis' size and diversity the area, especially the cuisine, has always been talked about in broad terms,. The chef  GUyanese bornTavel Bristol-Joseph knows this and is trying to dispel any stale tropes about the cooking. There are other first generation chefs who share his idealogy. They have backgrounds in fine dining kitchens and are now getting specific about each island's unique assemblages of culinary influences. This is evolving further reflecting at first the indegenous Taino cuisine and later the African slave trade and European dominance.

Caribbean cuisine, despite this long history hadn't really impacted American until the Seventies and Eighties One of the first was Lowell F. Hawthorne who brought about the Golden Krust fast food chain of Jamaican cuisine aong with the chef Norma Shirley who brought Jamaican cooking to New York City.Pastry chef, Paula Velez who also co started Bakers Against racism, experienced this. She wanted to embrace her Dominican heritage nmore fully so she blends ingredients from Santo Domingo with classical French techniques. She has carrot cake with a passion fruit glaze and plantain sticky buns.Oakland < California chef Nelson German highlights his native Dominican menu with the African influences . He had wanted to return to his roots after working in restaurants that featured Euroamerican foods. Some Caribbean chefs may not strictly adhere to all the traditional Caribbean recipes. They cna adapt to local produce and work with the seasons. That's what makes the cuisine special - the way it can adapt.

Caribbean cuisine is the cuisine to look out for. It's varied in it's flavors and influences. It's this mix that makes it so tasty and fun to try.

Jennifer Garner Cooks

 Jennifer Garner is the type of star or celeb (whichever you want to call her) seems like she'd be the perfect friend. She;s wholesome, fresh and sweet. She's also the friend you'd like to bake and cook with as well. You can even if you're not a friend. Her show "Pretend Cooking Show" on her You tube channel Garnerish isa great way to learn how to cook and pick up tips.

I disocvered Garnerish by accident.It really is a delightful program and it's like watching your bestie cook and bake. Of course there is  anod to Garner's idol, Ina Gartner, (shes' even mentioned in a  video or two). she makes simple and complex recipes.What's great about these videos is that they show fails. This happened with her bagel recipes which she quickly dumped in the garbage. ( I would have just torn them up and let the birds or wildlife eat them).It's as if she's saying it's all right to make mistakes . No one is a perfect cook or baker. - something other chefs fail to mention. No home chef then feels bad and quits cooking or is afraid to try anything. Ms. Garner is one of us. If she feels its OK to sometimes produce clunkers then it's OK for us too. This is very important for thosejust starting out in the kitchen. Cooking is not a perfect art. There will be underbaked cakes or scorched meats and burned soups. It diesn't mean you should just walk away. Come back and try again.

What about her recipes? She has a really good one on zoodles, zucchini pasta with an easy sauce. Keep in mind Ms. Garner does have state of the art equipment. She can bascially create restuarant quality dishes. You can easily buy a cheaper spiralizer. The zoodles are sauteed in olive oil with garlic and herbs. The sauce is an easy one of canned tomatoes with onions . She adds a blog of frehs whipped ricotta for more flavor. An even easier recipe is her leftover chicken soup which is like any body's mom's.A really sweet one is her making chffon pie with her mom,West Virgnia born Pat (Ms. Garner was born and raised there). Her mother helps and imparts really good wisdom on making whipped cream(always use metal bowls to whip cream in and always store th e bowls in fridge before using) . This is an easy tasty dessert that's reminscent of Eton Mess, a glorious mix of whipped cream, fresh fruit and homemade meringue.There's also adisasterous chocolate chip cookie video that everyone can relate to.

If you like cooking with your besties, then watch the 109 episodes of Pretend Cooking. These are fun and easy to watch how tos. They'll make you feel good about cooking and baking.