The Best Yogurt Homemade

The perfect yogurt should be thick and creamy. There should be a definite tang that works well in both savory and sweet dishes.Where to get this kind?At home. The best kind is the artesenal, straight from your kitchen sort. All it takes is a starter and your favorite brand of milk.

Priya Krishna, grew up with  perfectly made and cultured yogurt and made it the subject of an article for today's New York Times Food section. Yogurt is a big part of the Indian cooking tradition and most immigrants bring over a starter culture when they move to the States.It's used in a variety of different dishes,mostly savory.It is a staple of South Asia because it holds up so well.It's in the cooking of every section of the area, from the vegetable heavy foods of Gujarat to the light gravies and biryanis of Sindhi food in Pakistan. Yogurts are never store bought. They're made at home without all the fancy yogurt makers. The most important part is the culture.It's two bacterias, lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.Their function is to ferment the lactose or milk sugar to produce lactic acid.The increase in this reduce the milk's pH and causes the milk to clot or form a soft gel. It can be bought at Amazon and Wal-Mart however these won't make for a good tasting yogurt. The starters have to be taken off other starters, whether from family or friends in the community. It does cement bonds in the Indian community.

Is the milk just as important. That can vary. Some swear by certain brands, some don't care, as they just place special emphasis on the culture.Ms Krishna supplies a recipe from her cookbook,Indian-ish (Howard Mifflin Publishers 2019)that she wrote with Ritu Krishna All it takes is four cups of organic whole milk and 1/4 cup of full fat yogurt with live active cultures. She recommends checking the ingredient list  however if you know someone with an active culture then definitely ask them for  some.First add 1/4 inch of water at the bottom of a Dutch oven. This will prevent the milk from sticking when cooked. The milk is almost boiled and then cooled until it goes down to 135 degrees F. As the milk cools, smear the bottom of a one quart lidded glass container with the starter yogurt.Ms.Krishna suggests a dab , not smearing the whole bottom. When the milk has cooled to the proper temperature  whisk in the remaining yogurt. Stir until completely mixed and then pour into the container. Leave the lid on loosely to allow the air to escape.. Place the jar in an unheated oven with the oven light on for one hour. You can tell when it's done when it jiggles like Jello.Some batches can take up to five hours to set. It  will last for four to six weeks.

The best yogurt is the one straight from the kitchen. Make it to day and then experience its' tart , creamy lushness. It's an easy cook

Delicious Dump Dinners

A dump dinner may not sound too tasty but it's actually a flavorful melange of meats, veggies and spices. It's an easy way to create lunch or dinner without so much fuss. Best of all, it requires very little prep time.

What is a dump dinner exactly? It's basically where you dump everything in a crockpot or Insta Pot and cook for a few hours. There's no elaborate cooking where you have to use everything from a bain Marie to a skillet. Prep time is a snap too,.It just cutting the ingredients into chunks, sometimes adding liquids and always adding spices. Another plus is that even tweens and teens can make dinner , freeing up their parents to do other household chores or errands.Another plus is that dump dinner ingredients can be bought in bulk, saving money along with being perfect for freezing. Many dump dinner affectionados make soup.It's an easy cook and an easy freeze. Try chicken soup, filled with the old fashioned goodness of  chicken, broth and carrots.You can turn it into a minestrone by adding tomatoes and chickpeas , along with some kind of small pasta and spinach. A comforting potage, especially during these blustery days is a dump potato soup.it's taking Yukon Gold potatoes and cooking them with chicken broth, onions and garlic.  After cooking it can be topped with crumbled bacon and sour cream. Best of it it can be frozen to be eaten on those days when cooking is impossible.

There are also dump dinners (which can be turned into dump lunches too.). Stews are the easiest to make because it's just chopping and tossing. A beef stew is always a good choice. Give it an Italian spin by adding diced tomatoes and a variety of other veggies such as zucchini bell peppers , celery and potatoes. Tomato paste and  red wine vinegar are also added. Make it even more heartier by adding some pasta such as gemelli or rotelli to the mix. The beef and beef broth can be cooked and vegetable broth subbed in to create a hearty vegan soup. Use chickpeas for protein.A sure fire pleaser is turkey breast. It can be flavored with lemon garlic or a  turned into a spicy one with dried mince garlic and paprika. Italian seasoning also spikes it up some. Serve with rice instead of stuffing for a different kind of turkey dinner. Another idea is pulled pork.It's just pork roast, apple cider vinegar and barbecue sauce slow cooked for six to eight hours. Then shred and serve on hamburger buns. You could also do the same with other meats too for variation.

Dump dinners are an easy and tasty meals  It's just dump everything in your crock pot or Instapot and leave. The result is a delicious and flavorful slow cooked dish.

Kitchen Cleanssers Go Natural Or Not

The kitchen is the one room in the house that always needs to be clean.The fridge has to sparkle, the microwave had to gleam and the floor has to shine. The question is do we achieve through the natural cleansers our grandmothers used or use powerful but sometimes damaging soaps and rinses.

Many home chefs swear by bleach.it does wonders in the bathroom, leaving surfaces sparkling and super clean. Yet is it safe to use in the kitchen, especially around food?. You can but use it sparingly .If it's used to clean out a messy refrigerator use only a tablespoon to a gallon of cold water. parts of the fridge should have already been washed in warm soapy water, namely a mild dish detergent like Dawn or Palmolive. Bleach has been used as cleanser for porcelain sinks.It gets rid of any of the yellowing hard water stains. It's usually poured into the sink, straight, not cut by water. Using a sponge, scrub the bottom and the sides then rinse.It should stay clean for a few days.  Another cleaning agent is hydrogen peroxide. This also works just as well however there is a caveat with working with it. It is strong. Inhaling it or accidentally getting it on the skin can be dangerous, causing burns.Use it blended with water .It can also be used also to clean cutting boards too, just use it sparingly.

Two of my favor cleansers are apple cider vinegar and baking soda. They're harmless if they get on the skin or in the eyes and yet clean just as well as bleach and hydrogen peroxide. Apple cider vinegar is great for cleaning the microwave. You can soak three or four paper towels with it and then place on the microwave's plate.it's then cooking it for five to six minutes and letting the vinegar steam the interior clean. Another must have is Angry Mama, a plastic container that does the same work as the soaked paper towels. This is a container that has parts water and vinegar mixed. in it.It's then placed in a microwave for seven  minutes and steams come out of the Angry Mama's head. The  left over vinegar water mix can be used to clean the stove too..The vinegar does an excellent job of getting rid of tough stains such as tomato soup and curry. The plate does have to be washed and that's usually done with Dawn. I also like using the vinegar to clean the fridge shelves and crisper. Baking soda is a good cleanser in a pinch too but it does take some elbow grease to clean a sink with it. It's also good for scrubbing away stubborn tea and coffee stains in mugs too.

A clean kitchen is a home chef's pride. It's up to you how you want to clean it. With chemicals or natural,it's your choice. Whatever works to get it sparkling, go with it.

A Good Basic Pasta Sauce

One recipe every home chef should have in their arsenal of recipes is a good  homemade tomato sauce. It should be robust  enough to support any pasta and delicate enough to let the various
ingredients shine through. It should be one that also can be altered to fit the home chef's whims. In other words - the perfect sauce.

The basic sauce recipe is usually made in a large sauce pan. This creates a quick cook which can be frenetic especially when you're cooking pasta at the same time. This is why I prefer my crock pot sauce  - my version of my Mom's. A sauce should start with a good glug of olive oil such as Bertoli's extra virgin. It gives the sauce body and silkiness.  You can start off with sauteing diced onions for it. This is one of the flavor support that give the pasta sauce sweetness. If the onions are too strong sub in a teaspoon of onion powder.Garlic is the second support thrown in. Usually two minced or crush cloves will do it. Again, if you're not big on it, add one minced small clove or sprinkle in garlic powder or garlic salt.Now it's time for the tomatoes. Many feel that crushed  tomatoes add more flavor and texture. I prefer a plain, organic base  such as Tuttorosso plain sauce and tomato paste.It creates a smooth, satiny textured sauce that works with every kind of pasta from spaghetti and angel hair to gemelli and penne.Salt and pepper are necessities for a good sauce. The controversy comes in the sweeteners. Many put in sugar or carrots. These can give the sauce a candlylike taste. Use a dark honey. I prefer Carmel Honey Company's California Wildflower. Just a dollop or two give balances out that tomato -y tang.You can add basil  - dried or fresh if you want.

The basic sauce can be varied. Melissa Clark had an interesting spin on it in last Wedneday's New York Times Food section. Her A Good Appetite column features a kind of lamb ragu. Her sauce has the usual ingredients : crushed tomatoes and paste, onions and olive oil. Then it veers off. She adds not only lamb but also anchovies.Both bring a sweetness to the sauce and balances out the sometimes metallic taste of the tomatoes. She suggests omitting the fish if you 're not a big anchovy fan but they do add to it. She also recommends varying the recipe with pork. This definitely will add flavor. Many Napolitano home chefs add a good amount of pork to their sauces. Another variation to Ms Clark's recipe is marjoram - which is stronger tasting herb than oregano. It's up to you if you want to add that..Beef or even beef strips are a great addition if you're going for a stick to your ribs sauce. Chicken can also be added. Many love a sauce rife with seafood. Use this basic one and then add whatever strikes your fancy - shrimp, clams , tuna.

Every home chef should have a good tomato sauce in their repertoire. It a kitchen basic that highlights any pasta. Best  of all it can be varied at the cook's whim.

A Family Classic Updated

One of my favorite dishes growing up was zuppa di montagna. It's a simple layered bread and cheese casserole,made moist with the addition of vegetable broth. I've been making it in the microwve for the last few years I decided to make it in the oven this time.
There was one problem though, no one has ever written down the recipe which was my Piedmontese great grandmother's and probably made for centuries before her. I scoured the internet until I found a comparable recipe on Our Italian Table. It was a take on the Sardinian version zuppa Gallurese.
It starts with cubing French or Italian bread. Mine was so stale, it was an easy snap.

It's then making the broth. I made two cups using Herb-Ox vegetable bouillon

The next step is super easy -layering.It's bread  Swiss cheese , a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and,broth .Repeat  the four ingredients  in an olive oil greased  glass dish.I used Sargento Baby Swiss slices which is the best. You can add a layer of Savoy cabbage too for more authenticity. Kale and Swiss chard would work.

It's then popping in the oven for forty-five minutes at 325 degrees Farenheit. I had to lower the temperature because I used s glass dish. Always lower the temp by 25 degrees when using glass.

It bubbled up into brown crusty goodness.

The flavor was amazing. I loved the texture too.

It was chewy , gooey and even crunchy. This is the recipe I'd recommend to every home chef.

If you're looking for a comforting winter dish on a cold night - this is it. It's easy and delicious .. Best of  all it has two kinds of cheese and Italian bread.

Candela Mamajuana The Perfect Sip

Mamajuana has always been an interesting concoction and a staple of  Dominican life. Candela has created their version of this potent and delicious drink.

Mamajuan is a brew of rum, organic honey  and a mix of tree bark and herbs. It kind of has an earthy green tea aroma. No wonder - That part is taken from a tea that the Taino indigenous tribes made and gave to Christopher Columbus.He combined it with wine for the first Mama Juama Clove is one of the herbs used and star anise which give the liqueur that licorice taste.

I wanted to try the Candela brand  because they have the real deal.Theirs is 60 proof which is a bit potent. 

On it's own, it's a bit strong.I cut mine with Pepsi to give it a more rum and Coke  vibe.

It  definitely had a kick to it and I can see sipping this on Oscar night (along with on summer evenings too). You could also add flavored seltzer like Bubly.I mixed their grapefruit flavor with it .It makes for a nice tropical marriage . Next time I'll add grapefruit and pineapple c hunks for a truly tropical treat.

If you want a change of pace try Candela Mamajuana. This is an interesting spin on rum and Dominican tradition. Best of all it is a great mixer. There's a dozen or more new drinks that can be made with it.

Nigella Returns

Two decades ago Nigella Lawson was the "it" girl of cooking. She was the aristocrat who brought home style cooking to both British and American kitchens. Then she disappeared off the culinary horizon, due to personal problems. Thankfully she is back with the same homeyness as before.

Ms Lawson was the subject of the main article in today's New York Times Food section. Besha Rodell, a James Beard Award winning writer  conducted an interview with the woman who coined the phrase "Domestic Goddess". The reissue comes during the twentieth anniversary of her globally successful cookbook "How To Eat." The book is out again in a special anniversary edition along with an audio book, narrated by Ms. Lawson. She is revered like royalty by some in Britain and Australia where she's attending a food festival in the western part of the country.The detractors think she nothing more than a spoiled aristocrat, the daughter of Chancellor of the Exchequer , Nigel Lawson. She came from money, her mother is descended from the family who created J Lyons And Company, the first food conglomerate in the world. She worked at Britain's The Spectator and The Sunday Times before she became a food writer.It's seen in "How To Eat". written in mostly narrative form, in the tone of a newspaper columnist. her voice is intimate  warm and chatty .her musings, were unusual at the time as she mentions memories of cooking with other people, including her sister , Thomasina.

 Like many food personalities and chefs, she was a revolutionary bringing new products and tastes to ordinary kitchens, Thanks to her,quinoa ,avocados and pomegranates are now kitchen staples. her ideas of cooking and writing about what she was cooking was also ground breaking. It was cooking to please yourself instead of flexing culinary muscles to impress others.(the article comes with a palate pleasing easy to make beef tenderloin with red wine, garlic and anchovy recipe.) She urged home chefs to think how the food tastes to them, and not to the guests. As Bee Wilson, another British food writer, and her friend, Ms Lawson felt that a comforting bowl of stew could be much be better than an elaborate  chef creation.It is a constant idea with her. Food should be as much a joy for the cook as it is for the eater. Recipes are malleable and there should be no stress and anxiety when cooking them for it ruins he appetite. Never think you're going to produce the definitive meal like a Sunday lunch..Make a lunch you want to make, she writes in the chapter on weekend lunches. Strange though that she doesn't have a definitive plan for her future. She doesn't know how she comes up with recipe books. There are no plots or plans. It's just anxiety that drives her.

Does it matter what drives Nigella Lawson? No. If anything she can rest on her laurels thanks to her evergreen of a cookbook, How To Eat.It is a brilliant classic that will inspire new generations of home chefs