Helping The Hurricane Victims

There have been three devastating hurricanes in the last month . Homes have  been demolished and with them the heart of any house - the kitchen. It's ,time to step up in our kitchens to generate money and items that are crucial to starting over. Charity does begin at home, but with our ovens and pantries.

One of the easiest fund raisers to organize is a bake sale. Nothing beats homemade cookies and cupcakes. These are simple to make and fun to vary. Bake giant chocolate chip cookies instead of the usual smaller ones. (Try the recipe from Wednesday's New York Times Food section.) It's a good idea economically because you can charge more - think three dollars a cookie  instead of two dollars for six. They can also be made in sugar and peanut butter flavors too.  Since it's fall, think about a fun batch of caramel apple cupcakes. Bake them in muffin tins for a rounded apple look and then ice with caramel when cooled. Finish by sticking popsicle sticks in them to look like the real thing. Again, these can be priced at four  dollars a piece to bring in more money. To honor those hit by Hurricane Maria on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, bake  Pueto Rican cakes. These are a delicate mix of an egg and butter rich cake soaked in a homemade rum syrup.They're then decorated with a  syrup soaked meringue. Another cake to celebrate the island is a yummy pineapple rum cake which is sure to be a best seller. It's a pineapple upside down cake spiked with the Caribbean spirit. Squares of it would sell well.

A second way of helping is going through your pantry and donating any duplicates.It's easier to donate cans and foodstuffs to the Houston and Florida victims.It's not so much for those on Puerto Rico.  If anything donate water and diapers to those hit by Hurricane Maria.  When donating, try to aim for canned items that are versatile. Tomato sauce and  can be used in making a great pasta dinner but it can also be used for making chili as well as soup. Canned green beans can be used both in salads and as a side. Canned potatoes are another must donate. They are great in thickening up soup but the sliced ones can used in scalloped potatoes.Corn is another versatile canned veggie because it can be added to salads or served on its' own. Canned chili, although not as good as homemade - yet makes for a  satisfying meal They're not as donated as much as other canned goods but canned fruits are always welcome. Kids. love canned peaches and these make for a change up from the usual processed snack cakes for dessert. Just remember to get the ones that are low in syrup and sugar. Try canned grapefruit which is loaded with Vitamin C along with canned mandarin oranges also packed with Vitamin C and fiber. Fruit salad is also good. It can even be eaten for breakfast and canned cherries make for a nice snack.

We have to open not only our hearts, but our Kitchens and pantries too. Organize bake sales. Start a can drive . Bring those hurt by these wicked hurricanes closer to returning to their own kitchens and pantries.

Your Fall Dinner Guide

One of the blessings of fall is that it's perfect weather for creating lavish dinners. It's time for roasting  and  creating good old fashioned sides that are filling. It's the season for the kitchen to be filled with mouth watering aromas and tastes.

Roasts are always a great fall dish. Not only are they satisfying, but they also provide the family with leftovers. A Sunday favorite is London Broil, a top round steak that is usually marinated. It doesn't have to be , it can just be liberally sprinkled with pepper and then put into an oven  or broiler. A simple marinade is using olive oil, garlic and maybe a splash of lemon. Roast beef is another great fall main course. It can be made on its own or with gravy.It's an easy cook, Just  dust with salt and pepper. Remember cooking time is one pound times twenty minutes, so a six pound roast can take two hours. Cooler weather also means tasty pork dishes. A pork roast can be cooked in a broiler, oven or slow cooker, however if you want a nice crust go for the oven method of cooking.It can be made Italian style with garlic cloves and rosemary or German with a side of cooked, spiced apples. Tired of the usual roasts? Then go for lamb. It can be with made exotic with the addition of  tarragon, paprika and cumin or simple with only lemon , garlic and rosemary. Want  lighter fare? Then go for chicken or Cornish hens. These are more delicate in flavor and calories, a different spin on the traditional roasts. Of course there is turkey which  should not be reserved for just the holidays. Roast a smaller one for a Sunday dinner.

Traditional roasts demand traditional sides. Mashed potatoes are always a crowd pleaser. Think of the age old recipe that's just a simple mix of Golden potatoes, butter and cream. You can sub in milk for the cream. Variations include add garlic, chives and even the skins themselves. Scalloped potatoes are a nice alternative and easy to make. It's just potato slices layered with a kind of Bechamel sauce, dots of butter  and then baking for an hour. Sweet potatoes are another great side that can compliment any roast. Nix the overly sweet casserole and go with baked kind. They can be roasted with your roast on a separate foil lined cookie sheet. Because of their intense flavor, just serve with butter and a sprinkling of flaky sea salt. Don't forget the greens. Steamed broccoli is  the perfect palate cleanser for all the other sides. Add  some lemon juice to bring out the fresh "Spring-y" flavor. Another great green is Brussels sprouts.. It's just boiling them and then giving them a topping of butter knobs and grated Parmesan cheese. It's then broiled so the sprouts are covered in buttery and cheesy goodness. For color throw some corn into the mix. Use canned since the corn season is well past. Try fiesta corn ,a marriage of the kernals cooked with chopped red and green peppers. Creamed corn is another nice alternative.

The temps are dropping That means it's the season for cooking hearty roasts and sides. It's a nice way to warm up against the nip in the air.

The Perfect Parmesan

One of the best dishes for fall is eggplant Parmesan.It's a tasty dish, well loved on both sides of the Atlantic yet somehow it loses in translation here.However there's a new way to take that casserole from soggy to super. It's just rethinking the eggplant in a more traditional way.

Julia Moskin tackled this in yesterday's New York Times food section. Eggplant Parmesan has always been a dinner favorite both in the US and in Italy. Unfortunately the American version is as delicious as its' Italian cousin. This is due in part to the way we love our slices of eggplant. They have to be dipped in egg first and then heavily crusted with bread crumbs. This method is fine if you're having them as "poor man's oysters" with a squeeze of lemon on the side or maybe a drizzle of .aioli Yet to layer these oil rich slices  under layers of tomato sauce and melted mozzarella is not good. It bakes into a mush as the sauce seeps into the slices ad turns the whole dish into flavorful sludge. People will eat it, whether at home or in a restaurant but it's still not the best. Luckily it was the famed French chef Jacques Pepin  and his mother who inspired Ms. Moskin. Start off with the eggplant. Don't get those whopping deep purple ones. Stick with delicately striped Japanese ones. These make the best for slicing and frying. Also forget about individual slices. Think fans. Cut one into a fan and flatten out with your palms. Doing this expels any liquid which makes for a crisper texture and much better for pan frying.

Here's the hard part. Changing up both the batter and the sauce. Mix the heavy breadcrumbs. Use Madame Pepin's recipe for aubergine beignets which is just dipping the fans in a mixture of water and flour. If you still want the crunch of  bread crumbs, then use the feather light panko ones. Fry in vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil. (If you want  just serve the fried eggplant on its' own) next is the sauce. Ms/ Moskin looks to shakshura, the North  African egg dish with a tomato sauce. She uses a simple tomato sauce , preferably homemade. A canned sauce can be used as well, however one made with late season tomatoes is much more delicious. The next step is adding packaged mozzarella, shredded or diced.Place the cheese in evenly spaced piles  in the bubbling sauce so that they're not so close and melt together.It may have to be done in two batches. It's then placing a spoonful of the sauce either on top or alongside the eggplant. Top with the mozzarella, lifting it out with a slotted spoon. Decorate with fresh herbs. and serve. This is the closest to Italian style.

Eggplant Parmesan can be made better the Italian way. It's a geat way of reimagining a classic dish. Try it for a tasty change of pace.

The Rise Of Bread

Bread has been around for milleniums.The basic recipe hasn't changed  either  however that's about to change.Thanks to a new recipe book,Modernist Bread, how we look at this basic foodstuff our ideas about baking it are going to be tilted on their axis.

Teal Rao wrote about this book entitled Modernist Bread written by Francisco I got a and Nathan Myhrvold. It's a follow up to their epic Modernist Cuisine, written in 2011.The we book is a hefty 2,000 pages long and is a whopping $625.This is for serious home bakers and bread lovers as it chronicles both the history and science of bread making. It starts with the idea of microbiology and goes deposit into explanations.As Ms. Rao states it makes home bakers rethink how the world,s oldest and most recorded food is thought.Ancient recipes, such as what the ancient Romans, baked was recreated.The bread back then was not tasty nor was it delicious during the Renaissance . According to the authors it wasn,t even good during the start of the arts analysis movement in the 1970s.The time is now. Many professional bakers thought there would be new insights, but there weren't any.Yet home bakers can profit immensely from this book.

What can home bakers learn?Techniques on how to combat wheat bread ' dryness and density along with preventing bagels from going bald when their toppings fall off.The first is solved by adding bran and germ to create a lighter, aired loaf.The second requiem the surprise ingredient of tapioca starch which acts as an edible glue.Also add gelatin makes high hydration doughs much easier to handle along with providing a browser crust..Mr.Migoya was born in Mexico City where he learned how to make hu it Lacombe the rich, earthy fungus in corn that 's used as a sourdough starter.He was a pastry chef at the famed French Laundry along with being a teacher at the Culinary Institute of America.He also worked at the famous Queen llc in New York City along with owning his own chocolate store in the Hudson Valley.There is a recipe for cherry chocolate bread that home bakes surely must try.It starts with a liquid sourdough starter and is chock full of dried cherish and chocolate chips.
Bread has been around for a long, long long time . Modernist Bread  demystifies this ancient staple.The book is worth the hefty price,

Parsing Through Fall Spices

Autumn brings a plethora of warm, rich flavors, thanks to spices. They enhance rich and hearty dishes, from savory to sweet. Yet what exactly are they? Are they just pumpkin pie flavoring or a host of complex grindings that can be used on their own?

Everyone associates this time of year with pumpkin pie spice. Our doughnuts and coffee, ice cream and, of course , pumpkin pie . what is it exactly?It's equal parts cinnamon, nutmeg, allpsice and ginger. Any of the spices would be goon on their own, flavoring both savory and sweet dishes. Cinnamon is derived from the inner bark of  the Cinnamomun  tree. Cinnamon is  usually used in rolls and breads, but can also be used in lunch and dinner dishes too. The Greeks often use it i eggplant dishes and moussaka.It's big on tagine dishes where it's mixed with coriander and cumin. A dash of it is good in mashed sweet potatoes too. Sweet cinnamon dishes are great for ending a meal Apple cooked in cinnamon are always tasty as are baked apples.Nutmeg is another fall spice that's versatile.It comes from the ground seed of the tree of the same name.It's been used for centuries in both savory and sweet dishes, especially in Colonial America. Try it in a butternut squash soup or spiced kabobs. It;s also tasty in Swiss chard dishes, bringing out the veggie's earthy sweetness. Nutmeg can add a festive sweetness to vanilla ice cream and pudding.
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Allspice is another versatile spice that can liven up both a dinner and dessert.It is a Caribbean spice coming from the  pimenta dioca tree.It is the primary ingredient in jerk  and gives Cincinnati  chili its'zing. Meats such as lamb, chicken, and beef can be marinade in a it along with cumin,garlic and freshly squeezed  orange juice.It can also be used in Arabic recipes such as a veggie tangine.Use this zesty spice in a cake rich with walnuts, raisins and brown sugar.A teaspoon of it to hot cocoa   takes it up a notch.Ginger is another autumnal spice tat can be used in both savory and sweet recipes.Ginger is a big component in Chinese cooking.Fresh ginger gives everything from fish to veggie's bite and fire.Add to lobster along with scallions for a zingy Cantonese seafood dinner.Ginger chicken is a nice week night  meal.Of course the  root has been used for centuries in cookies and cakes.A true sign of the upcoming holidays is gingerbread.Bake some for a lovely end to a Sunday dinner or make gingerbread cupcakes for a fun Halloween party.
Make gingerbread cookie baskets and fill with vanilla ice cream for a different kind of dessert.

Autumn is spice season.Break free of the traditional pumpkin spice ones and try them individually.They add a warm fire to any savory or sweet recipe.

island Delights

The Caribbean has given us so many delicious foods and drinks. From jerk to rum, we've experienced some of the best the islands have to offer. They are a mix of indigenous ingredients and European influence. It makes for a tasty cuisine of savory, spicy and sweet.

The dishes from the islands are the first fusion recipes. African, Creole, Cajun, and Amerindian have played an important role. The European influence is felt strongly as well. Spain, England, and France were the first major impacts, along with Portuguese and Irish. Surpsingly, but not surprisingly, there is also a Chinese, Javanese, Indonesian, Arab and South Indian input.Most of the islands share the same ingredients such as rice, beans cassava,a  kind of yam, along with cilantro or coriander. Bell peppers figure heavily into it, along with chickpeas, tomatoes,sweet potatoes and coconut. Some ingredients such as  ackee and saltfish, a type of fruit and salted cod are only cooked and eaten in Jamaica. Many bigger islands such as Jamaica have influence over the smaller ones or are so close such as Trinidad and Tobago that they influence each other. Some of them such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Domenican Republic have variations of the same dishes, slightly varying the amount of spicings.

What are the standout dishes of the islands? Puerto Rico and Cuba have the most known and the most popular.The Puerto Ricans make arroz con gandules y lechon - pork cooked with  yellow rice and pigeon peas.There's also pork belly or chicharrones which is crispy and salty like pork rinds. There's the crunchy  tostones, fried plantains, flavored with garlic powder and salt. Cubans have the delicious rice and beans, arroz y frijoles , cooked together. There's also the wildly delicious ropa viejo or old clothes.. This is shredded beef simmered in a tomato based criollo or garlic sauce. Arroz con pollo is another flavorful and famed dish along with the well known Cuban sandwich. This last is a tasty marriage of ham and pork loin with Swiss cheese and dill pickles on a cianbatta or hero bread. Mayo and mustard  round it out.Jamaican food is also striking. Jerk is made with a variety of different meats, from chicken to goat!.It's similar to our beef jerky here in the States. The Rastafarians have contributed vegetarian salt free cuisine to the island. This is called Ital and has such dishes as curried tofu chunks and vegetable stew.

The Caribbean has given the world a variety of tasty dishes. They are spicy and  sweet, savory and crunchy. Try them for an unusual spin on eating.

Lou And His Special Diet

Kids today are beset with a plethora of allergies.They suffer from everything from gluten to nut allergies. Many along with their parents r don't know what to do or how to refuse. Luckily, there's a brand new book out there to help along. A smart boy, named Lou can help them.

The children's book, Lou Knows What To Do; Special Diet "Boystown Press 2017) was co-written by Kimberly Tice,MS CCC-SLP and Venita Livack MA, CCC-SLP who have encountered children who have had allergies. It is a plague of the modern world, with more and more children (along with adults) being diagnosed with severe food hypersensitivity. This book is a gentle tale about a young boy , named Lou who has to deal with the double onus of a peanut and gluten allergies. This wide eyed boy, expertly drawn by Andre Kerry ,discovers he has to change his diet. His magic bubble wand (and what kid - or adult for that matter wouldn't want this) shows him the type of foods that he can't have. There is a bubble depicting a table full of doughnuts, cereal, bread and cake along with a bubble showing Lou looking fretfully at a jar of peanut butter.There are also pictures of him checking out boxes with his mom in the their local supermarket. Another shows hin at a restaurant, scanning over a menu along with thanking a chef for creating a "safe" meal for him. More illustrations show Lou  at school , with him saying no to trading questionable snacks,. There's also him with his teacher and the explanation of how to use an epi pen.

This is the must have book for both parents and teachers. What I like about it is that every page starts with the red ink highlighted Lou knows. Ms. Tice and Ms. Livack also know not to talk down to kids, and explain everything in simple, uncomplicated terms. They  have written other "Lou" books" that features the hero at the supermarket and at a party.Another plus is that they stress the seriousness yet liveability of severe allergies without also showing the sometimes dire consequences. This book is definitely a learning tool, allowing for a dialogue to take place between teachers and students. There is even a page of tips for educators.It can also open a conversation  for healthy eating and what foods are good or bad.There's also a quiz at the back too to see if the kids really understood the story and if they retained anything.A nice bonus would have been a section on recipes that feature gluten and nut free dishes and snacks. Hopefully the authors will consider this in this future and include recipes for sunflower seed butter as well as for gluten pizzas and cupcakes.

Lou Knows What To Do, Special Diet, is a great book for kids with allergy. It is smartly and sensitively written by two authors who have a keen insight into children. This is a must have for any young person's library.,