Ease Into Fall Cooking

After a lazy hazy summer of easy cooking it's time to get serious,With cooler temps means more cooking.The transition , though doesn't have to be cataclysmic. You can ease into fall cooking and baking with some easy dishes every one will like.

Even if you've been creating nothing but salads and barbecues for the past three months you can still bounce back with a delicious home cooked meal. One of the easiest is meat loaf. This is simple enough to make.All it requires is ground beef, minced onion , eggs milk and bread crumbs. If you want some variation spice it up with some chili or curry powder. A simple roasted chicken or turkey breast is another easy dinner choice. Serve with Stove Top stuffing and mixed veggies. Make enough so that you have leftovers for sandwiches or a hot lunch the next day.

Pasta is another easy dish to cook up. There's nothing like coming home to a hot plate of spaghetti or penne with a homemade sauce. If you're a tad more adventurous make meatballs which again are pretty easy to whip up. (think meat loaf in ball form). With the sauce , use the tomatoes from your garden harvest for a fresher , more healthier sauce.  Want something  different? Then try tacos. They  are not only fun but super simple to make. Use any of the kits that come with the taco shells and spices. Then cook up either pork, beef or  chicken for filling along with chopped tomatoes and lettuce for decoaration..

Easing into fall cooking is a snap. You can create delicious and simple meals with only a few recipes. It's a great way of getting prepared for the season of heavy cooking ahead.

Easy Fridge Jams

This is the season for jams and jam making. However making them requires a lot of work- as well as luck. However there is a way tohave fresh made  preserves and butters without all the fuss and threat of botulism. It's just boiling and putting away in the fridge.

Melissa Clark explored the idea of fridge jams in her Wednesday's A Good Appetite column in  The New York Times Dining section. The recipe requires just putting freshly made mixes in the fridge than in the pantry(or other cool, dry places). It doesn't require boiling the canning jars and then sealing them with pectin. The method takes practice and if done wrong can have very deadly and hazardous results.Witrh refrigerator jams , it's just a simple boiling and if you want, macerating the fruit the night before in sugar.  Then pop into the fridge and eat.That's it. There is a mold issue however it can be scraped away or just throw the jam out when green blooms appear.

This variation on preserving allows not only enjoying the fruits of the season but also trying new flavor combos. Ms. Clark gives some good recipes such as a nectarine and peach with a dash of lemon verbena thrown in.This also has lemon and its' zest  as a preservative  too. However it's the mix of peaches and nectarine that is seductive. Imagine it spread over French toast or topping buttery croissants. She also has an unusual mix of tomatoes, honey and vanilla.The combination may sound strange but, remember that  the tomato is a fruit so it does work well in jams. She suggests putting is as a filling with linzer torts or paired with ricotta and toast. However I would make a sweet crust pizza and then add this later on for an unusual dessert.

Making a summer or fall jam doesn't have to be a headache. Try making the fridge style kind to enjoy freshly made jams and different flavors. It's like getting the best tasting preserves without all the fuss and muss.

Fermenting Frenzy

Mention fermented food and most people ususally grimace. Yet fermentation is one of the more common ways to prepare food and drinks. It's an easy step too that even home chefs can follow. The results are often pretty tasty and a great way to preserve all sorts ot foods.

The process was the subject of the main article in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. The huge piece was written by Dining regular , Jeff Gordinier,Fermentation , he found, is a process using bacteria to basically"cook" food. There is also a cookbook written by Sandor Ellix Katz, The Art of Fermentation by publisher Chelsea Green gives recipes on how to use this prep method to your advantage.There are recipes for the famed Korean kimchi or pickled cabbage along with ones for eggs pickled in soy sauce. Fermentation is making a comeback with some Manhattan chefs, especially the ones at the famed Momufuko.

Fermentation is nothing new, It has been around for centuries,Germans have used it for centuries in the making of sauerkraut. Other, more ancient civilizations such as the Sumerians and the Egyptians used fermented grains to concoct beers. Our earliest ancestors fermented berries to preserve them and to create a heady brew. It makes sense to ferment  because it's a method  of handling a harvest and making it last during the colder months This way his  people can enjoy summer's bounty during a harsh winter. . Fermented foods are also being rediscovered for their health benefits  as well. They  help to stave off everything from breast cancer to heart disease and osteoporosis.

Fermentation is a food process that is beneficial on many levels. It can help preserve foods and make them tasty.It helps in creating .better health but most  of all it's a great way of holding onto summer's bounty.Enjoy favorite veggies in a tasty brine.

Your Food Your Heritage

There's a sure way of connecting anyone to his or her heritage and culture: food. The dishes our grandparents , great grandparents and ancestors brought with them from other countries are visual reminders that our past is always with us. They are not only our comfort foods but part of us.

This was a subject of an article in today's new York Times Dining section, The piece written by newcomer,Rachel L. Swarns tells about how certain families, including hers , preserve their heritage with handed down recipes. She is from the Bahamas, a  country rich in natural food resources.. Like Marcel Proust and his Madeleine's , its' the taste that reminds her of that balmy paradise . It's the tang of limes or the sweetness's of coconuts candy , homemade  and fresh. To be honest we all have good memories of family recipes. There's also a certain thrill in making them, knowing this is a direct link and even some insight into our family's world.

Ms. Swarns reached out to several children and grandchildren of immigrants. There were a variety of nationalities and sometimes she was lucky to speak with three generations. Some people made their family recipes with an American twist, updating it for their children. This was the case of Nena Vukanic, the daughter of Serbian immigrants. Her children like some of the family recipes like the bean soup. They nixed the stuffed cabbage. Others families interviewed were three generations of Korean family. The six year old daughter , Minah, who is half American too, loved all the dishes her mom Jo Hee Sisco and her grandmother Sook Lee made.Sometimes the family dishes often wound up along side of American classics on the dinner plate.

Who we are means everything to us. That includes our culinary heritage. Our ancestors not only gave us interesting sets of DNA and RNA but also interesting recipes too.

Making Food Cool

There's a reason why ten to twelve years olds are called tweens. It doesn't so much have to do with age but the fact they're between listening to their moms and dads and heeding the dietary advice of their friends. What may be healthy and good to the folks may be icky and disgusting to them. What to do to insure good nutrition and keep their eating habits healthy? Make food cool.

As kids grow and enter middle school, they tend to assert their independence in a variety of ways. Most times it's how they eat. There's nothing better than hanging out at the mall and grabbing a burger there. Hopefully they've learned from all those nutrition classes and nix the accompanying fries and cola, but they don't. If you want , make your dinner or even Saturday lunch as tasty as mall meal. Think about serving sliders those fun mini hamburgers. Instead of beef, sub in turkey or spicy bean veggie burgers. Another fun idea is pulled chicken tacos. Shred cooked chicken with a healthy tomato salsa. Have the kids pile on beans , onions and guacamole or avocado slices for a more nutritional variation.

Kids love pizza.It's just that simple. However they're probably munching on the greasy oily stuff at the local pizzeria.Surprise them and yourself with a home baked  whole wheat one. You can add cheese  to it but you can also have an old fashioned kind with fresh chopped tomatoes along with some other veggies rich in antioxidants. Think about making individual ones that your tweenies can enjoy.Grilled chicken , usually considered an "adult dish" can be made kid friendly as well. You can cut it into bite sized pieces and serve over pasta.it's also good over a flavored rice which is a kid favorite. To broaden their palates , add saffron to it along with almonds for a more exotic spin. You can also have the chicken with sweet potato plank fries  and a garlicky mayo dip.

Tweens are probably the most discriminate of all eaters. Get them fired up over eating by making food cool again.They'll have not only tasty food but healthier meals.

Honey Versus Sugar

Everyone needs some kind of sweetener, whether in their  coffee or tea along in their baked goods. We all know white sugar is bad for you. There is honey and raw sugar.The question is which is better? Which works well with drinks along with cooking needs.

Honey is nature's sweetener.It's been used since ancient times, starting with the Greeks and Romans.Depending on the flowers involved in making it, the stuff contains niacin, riboflavin and calcium,It also has iron in it along with zinc and potassium.,Honey also contains Vitamin C and is useful in tissue and cell repair. Raw sugar is actually white or refined sugar but with out the processing. It really is devoid of everything from calories to vitamins.It's slightly better for you than white sugar..If you want a more substantial sweeteener than go for molasses or even the cactus based agave.Honey also  adds more depth along with antioxidants to breads, cakes and cookies. Because of its' slight acidity, it reacts with the baking soda creating a moister, denser cake or loaf.

As far as portability raw sugar does win. There are packets that you can easily stash in a lunch bag or at your desk without any fuss . It also is easier to bake with as well  however honey is still the healthier ingredient.  Then there's the sticky  residue. Honey can be messy when it's spilled and a pain to clean up. Raw sugar can just be swept away.It's also better to take on vacations too because it is easier to pack. Then there' the coffee conundrum.Coffee almost cries out for sugar packets, Putting  an aromatic honey in a good cup of joe may clash with the drink's rich flavor. It's better with any kind of tea. Leave the raw sugar for your cappuccinos or lattes.

Honey or sugar - which is the better choice. For home stick with honey. It is used more and can be used in baking  and just to sweeten teas. For the office and vacations use the packets, but use them sparingly, You can have both , and both work well in those different and diverse situations.

Foods For The New Year

Tomorrow night is the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish  New Year.Its a time of celebrating and welcoming in new harvests.It;s also a time to ensure luck by serving special dishes with meaning. . These have been handed down for centuries, and eaten with the same relish and hope that their ancestors had. Each is special.

The Jews like to start with something sweet to ensure a sweet year. This is often honey dipped in their delicious egg bread challah.This last is baked either in a braided shape or in spirals or rounds to symbolize the continuity of Creation. Sometimes raisins or honey is added to the dough for extra sweetness. Children , whether at home or at school,get treated to apple slices dipped in honey. Another specialty is honey cake itself, more of a spice cake thanks to addition of cloves, cinnamon and allspice,.New fruit is also on the Rosh Hashanah  table as well and it has to be the first fruit , untasted of the season. This is usually the desert pomegranate because its' many seeds are an allegory to good deeds that will be done in the upcoming year. Fish too is eaten for fertility.

The holiday is also full of special recipes as well. Many households prefer to have brisket served with carrots,Carrots are another holiday food with special meaning as well. Some create tzimmes, baked and sweetened carrots. Like brisket recipes these vary from family to family. Some add honey as a sweetener while others use chopped prunes or even a sprinkle of cinnamon. A roasted chicken is another holiday favorite. Again making it involves an element of sweetness This time again with cinnamon and apples.Since fish symbolizes fertility , many young couples opt for it.  Try a fish stew with cod and haddock or stick with the traditional gefilte or stuffed fish.

A new year will be coming it and with it foods to both celebrate and symbolize it's arrival and meaning. What is eaten  is a connection to a past rich with culture and history. The foods also symbolize a bright , sweet and prosperous year ahead. too.