Cake and cookie mixes can be time saving yet they really don't let home bakers get all too creative. However there's nothing wrong with adding to the mixes, spiking them up with flavor or color. It makes for fun baking and eating.
One of the easiest mixes to doctor are brownie ones.Yes, they're good on their own but they can be amped up. I recently did this with Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Brownie mix. The mix does produce a delicious treat but I wanted something extra. Walnuts are the perfect nut for brownies, they go hand in hand.I added a small package of broken pieces or chips and they gave so much to the recipe. You could add pecans or peanuts too if you wanted to. The Duncan Hines site has recipes for amaretto brownies along with ones spiked with ground red pepper. If you're adding this, experiment with various pinches of pepper. What you may think is not hot may be a four alarm fire for someone else. Cake mixes can also have an add in or two. Coffee granules can elevate any dark chocolate cake. A small dash of liquor or even soaking a cake mix cake in rum. The last is the ultimate holiday cake, especially with a homemade hard sauce. Sprinkle cakes are still the cake of the moment. Just remember to add ONLY quarter of a cup. I used a full cup once and ended up with two layers of unbaked disaster. Keep in mind that the sprinkles don't always have to be multicolored. Have all pink or all blue for reveal cakes. Use red and green for Christmas and orange ones in a chocolate cake for Halloween.
Cookie mixes can also be zinged up with all sorts of add ins. Over the years I've added mini chocolate chips to the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix and red and green sprinkles to their sugar cookie mix. Any of these are fun add ins - especially for a holiday tray or bake sale. M &M's are another great add in, whether they're the regular size or the mini ones.One of the best additions is Hershey's Kisses to make Blossom cookies. They can be the traditional peanut butter ones or use a sugar cookie mix. Dust with cocoa powder after they're baked for an extra layer of flavor.If you're craving something healthier then think about tossing in some Raisins or Craisins - dried cranberries. They both add an old fashioned sweetness and color to any cookie, especially the spice and oatmeal ones. Nuts can also be a nice add in. Put the nuts in a chopper first for a finer texture.Think pecans or walnuts to add more of a buttery flavor. Another fun idea is turning the cookies into sandwich ones.The filling is an easy mix of confectioner's sugar, vegetable shortening, butter and a few drops of vanilla extract. You could sub in cocoa powder for vanilla for a fudge-y kind of frosting.
Don't be afraid to add to any cake or cookie mix. Put your own spin on these. A half cup of sprinkles or raisins, a shot of brandy or red pepper will make these average ingredients your signature mark
Friday, October 18, 2019
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Nonna Vision
Imagine having a nonna -grandmother who can teach you everything about pasta making and then some. You can thanks to the You Tube Channel, Pasta Grannies. It's everything home chefs need to recreate good Italian home cooking.
Kim Severson wrote about this amazing channel and the person behind it in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Pasta Grannies is the brainchild of Vicky Bennison, a former British business person. She had always been interested in food , seeking out local specialties when she traveled to such places as Turkistan , Siberia and Kenya. Ms. Bennison soon was writing a series of food based travel guides and then a cookbook. The Pasta Grannies came about when she and her husband, Billy Macqueen, the children's TV producer behind Teletubbies, bought a house in The Marche region of Italy fifteen years ago. Some local cherry wine makers invited her over to dinner of rabbit ravioli. The grandmother who made it had to be cajoled to come out the the kitchen. Then there was the pasta making lesson from another local nonna.Ms Bennison became obsessed with the importance of homemade pasta in an Italian household and the women who created it. Initially she had thought to write a cookbook about these home chefs and their recipes. However pasta making is very physical. Pictures were not going to cut it. Video was needed.
She first made one video a month, posting them on YouTube as a way to organize the work and to show publishers that it was a worthy idea.It start as a hobby but then viewership expanded to 5,000 subscribers. Then the videos started to appear on Facebook and food sites. The catalyst was an article in a 2018 Business Insider which featured an article highlighting some of the rarer pastas. A video by Cesaria, a Sardinian nonna who made filindeu, a kind of woven pasta and lorighittas, braided pasta rings , garnered millions of page views. (Cesaria was nonplussed by this and laughed her head off at her newly found fame). The videos caught the eye of YouTube executives and even green lit a documentary on the women for their Spotlight channel. The videos are informative and show pastas , from all over the Italian Republic, from Puglia in the south to Lombardy in the north.. It's not just pasta being made from scratch but mouth watering sauces and fillings as well. Most anyone can make the recipes at home and they're varied thanks to the regions. The women are inspiring , with age - one has reached the century mark - not stopping them. They roll out sheets with ease, cut into neat little squares or strings with a flick of the wrist. Now there is a cookbook , Pasta Grannies (Hardie Grant Publishers 2019).
Pasta Grannies or Nonnas are a must see. Vicky Bennison has created the perfect channel for pasta lovers and home chefs. It is full of good recipes and advice from talented nonnas from all over Italy.
Kim Severson wrote about this amazing channel and the person behind it in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Pasta Grannies is the brainchild of Vicky Bennison, a former British business person. She had always been interested in food , seeking out local specialties when she traveled to such places as Turkistan , Siberia and Kenya. Ms. Bennison soon was writing a series of food based travel guides and then a cookbook. The Pasta Grannies came about when she and her husband, Billy Macqueen, the children's TV producer behind Teletubbies, bought a house in The Marche region of Italy fifteen years ago. Some local cherry wine makers invited her over to dinner of rabbit ravioli. The grandmother who made it had to be cajoled to come out the the kitchen. Then there was the pasta making lesson from another local nonna.Ms Bennison became obsessed with the importance of homemade pasta in an Italian household and the women who created it. Initially she had thought to write a cookbook about these home chefs and their recipes. However pasta making is very physical. Pictures were not going to cut it. Video was needed.
She first made one video a month, posting them on YouTube as a way to organize the work and to show publishers that it was a worthy idea.It start as a hobby but then viewership expanded to 5,000 subscribers. Then the videos started to appear on Facebook and food sites. The catalyst was an article in a 2018 Business Insider which featured an article highlighting some of the rarer pastas. A video by Cesaria, a Sardinian nonna who made filindeu, a kind of woven pasta and lorighittas, braided pasta rings , garnered millions of page views. (Cesaria was nonplussed by this and laughed her head off at her newly found fame). The videos caught the eye of YouTube executives and even green lit a documentary on the women for their Spotlight channel. The videos are informative and show pastas , from all over the Italian Republic, from Puglia in the south to Lombardy in the north.. It's not just pasta being made from scratch but mouth watering sauces and fillings as well. Most anyone can make the recipes at home and they're varied thanks to the regions. The women are inspiring , with age - one has reached the century mark - not stopping them. They roll out sheets with ease, cut into neat little squares or strings with a flick of the wrist. Now there is a cookbook , Pasta Grannies (Hardie Grant Publishers 2019).
Pasta Grannies or Nonnas are a must see. Vicky Bennison has created the perfect channel for pasta lovers and home chefs. It is full of good recipes and advice from talented nonnas from all over Italy.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Environmentally Correct Shrimp
There's more scrutiny over a simple plate of shrimp than ever.There are questions about its' origins , and its' impact on the environment. what about overfarming and its' impact on other species? Most importantly what the right kind to eat and will it increase or decrease our carbon footprint on the planet.
Melissa Clark discussed these points in her article along with recipes in today's New York Times Food section.The author of the issues weekly A Good Appetite has unearthed some eye opening facts on American's favorite seafood. we eat more of it now than ever, with forty-nine per cent of families eating it in 2018. It used to be a luxury food, only being seen at weddings, usually next to caviar. Now it's affordable with some shrimp going for $5.97 a pound.The problem is that the popularity comes with a cost.Farmed shrimp, what most of us eat , originates from mostly from Southeast Asia, namely Vietnam. Workers are basically slave laborers harvesting disease ridden crustaceans from antibiotic swamps (!) amongst dead mangroves in some cases. Some of the shrimp also come from India and South America. There are facilities that do have transparency , don't misuse antibiotics and overcrowd their ponds. American shrimp farms are rare , with only one percent of all shrimp coming from the US. A new company Tru shrimp, out of Balaton Minnesota is working to improve water recirculating systems. That means no antibiotics in the water and more shrimp being raised here, not abroad. This will lessen our carbon footprint.
Then there is wild shrimp. It is fresh caught , a delicacy only available to those living along the coast. Ms. Clark went to Galveston, Texas , home to many shrimpers. She met with fisherman, Buddy Guidan, who has been shrimping for forty years. He is successful, with a fleet of forty boats, a retail store, Katie's seafood Market and a restaurant, Katie's seafood House. They shared boiled shrimp - an entirely different eating experience. The meat has a firm, plump texture with a saline taste similar to lobster.It was like heaven to her,especially with the shrimp being dipped in melted butter. Unfortunately this may be a thing of the past. The number of wild shrimp is finite and fragile. Our appetite for it will not stop , meaning it could be on the endangered species list. We've over fished areas where they were rampant, off the coasts of California, Maine, Washington and Oregon. There are few exceptions such as wild Alaskan spot prawns which are popular right now with West Coast chefs. Right now all the wild caught ones are from the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia. Another problem is outfitting the shrimp nets to not include turtles. Keep in mind that wild shrimp can also be chemically treated too to preserve them. some boats have plate freezers which freeze the shrimp without any interference, yielding a much more delicious crustacean.
Knowing all this should we eat more shrimp? My advice is to cut down on it if you care about the environment and the species' future. Make it for a special meal with family and / or friends. Treat it as something rare.
Melissa Clark discussed these points in her article along with recipes in today's New York Times Food section.The author of the issues weekly A Good Appetite has unearthed some eye opening facts on American's favorite seafood. we eat more of it now than ever, with forty-nine per cent of families eating it in 2018. It used to be a luxury food, only being seen at weddings, usually next to caviar. Now it's affordable with some shrimp going for $5.97 a pound.The problem is that the popularity comes with a cost.Farmed shrimp, what most of us eat , originates from mostly from Southeast Asia, namely Vietnam. Workers are basically slave laborers harvesting disease ridden crustaceans from antibiotic swamps (!) amongst dead mangroves in some cases. Some of the shrimp also come from India and South America. There are facilities that do have transparency , don't misuse antibiotics and overcrowd their ponds. American shrimp farms are rare , with only one percent of all shrimp coming from the US. A new company Tru shrimp, out of Balaton Minnesota is working to improve water recirculating systems. That means no antibiotics in the water and more shrimp being raised here, not abroad. This will lessen our carbon footprint.
Then there is wild shrimp. It is fresh caught , a delicacy only available to those living along the coast. Ms. Clark went to Galveston, Texas , home to many shrimpers. She met with fisherman, Buddy Guidan, who has been shrimping for forty years. He is successful, with a fleet of forty boats, a retail store, Katie's seafood Market and a restaurant, Katie's seafood House. They shared boiled shrimp - an entirely different eating experience. The meat has a firm, plump texture with a saline taste similar to lobster.It was like heaven to her,especially with the shrimp being dipped in melted butter. Unfortunately this may be a thing of the past. The number of wild shrimp is finite and fragile. Our appetite for it will not stop , meaning it could be on the endangered species list. We've over fished areas where they were rampant, off the coasts of California, Maine, Washington and Oregon. There are few exceptions such as wild Alaskan spot prawns which are popular right now with West Coast chefs. Right now all the wild caught ones are from the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia. Another problem is outfitting the shrimp nets to not include turtles. Keep in mind that wild shrimp can also be chemically treated too to preserve them. some boats have plate freezers which freeze the shrimp without any interference, yielding a much more delicious crustacean.
Knowing all this should we eat more shrimp? My advice is to cut down on it if you care about the environment and the species' future. Make it for a special meal with family and / or friends. Treat it as something rare.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
A Quick Fall Remodel
Autumn is the time for any kind of remodeling. Lord knows my kitchen needed it, with a thirty plus year old microwave table and an old broken dishwasher used as a pantry. It was definitely time for a quick upgrade.
Thank heavens for Lowe's I was able to buy two cabinets that could be used for either a kitchen or laundry room. Each cost $160 each - not bad.
Thank heavens for Lowe's I was able to buy two cabinets that could be used for either a kitchen or laundry room. Each cost $160 each - not bad.
They were more or less easy to assemble, with the biggest head ache being the handles.They fit perfectly in my postage stamp sized kitchen and hold most of my junk.
You can see it's roomy and one can hold a lot.
The other side is sheer mess but that will be straightened up. Honest.
What I love is that it can be customized. Right away I had to add matching hooks (that I bought at Target) for my many pot holders.
They are kind of like twins to the door and drawer handles.
Then there is the hook is on the side., again bought at Target.
My extension cord is multipurpose, being used for the microwave and toaster oven.
Sometimes all it takes is just a small addition to make a kitchen bright again. My new cabinets did just that. It's an easy fix - and one that will last a long time.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Native Influences
Ask anyone what is American food and they'll say hot dogs, hamburgers and, of course French fries. Except they're not. The first two are as German as schnitzel, the last as Belgian as mussels and a frosty mug of Stella Artois. What is American food? Squash and popcorn. They are as American as the First Peoples.
The indigenous tribes have contributed much to the American diet - namely healthy good for you food . We also have them to thank for helping our struggling colonists at the Plymouth Plantation. The Wampanoag Tribe taught them how to plant The Three Sisters - corn - squash - and beans which sustained the English during the harsh Massachusetts winters. They also taught the colonists how to work and till the area's rocky soil. Another food that came into the diet is maple syrup. The indigenous showed how to tap the trees and collects the sap used for everything from syrup to candy.Its' sugar was crucial in sweetening cakes along with tea and coffee. The Lenni Lennape, a division of the Delaware Indians, showed colonists the local clam,oyster and eel beds in the Raritan Bay area , just outside of New York City. They also harvested the wild strawberries, blueberries and blackberries that grow throughout the state. These were in heavy rotation in many an early New York or New Jersey's housewife's pantry, being used for jams and pie fillings.
The indigenous are also responsible for introducing corn pone and hominy grits to the American diet. The Roanoke and Neusick tribes, along with many from Southeastern Native American ones developed the process of nixtamalization - in which corn is soaked and cooked in lime water or some other alkaline solution to remove the hulls.. This helped in creating the Southern staples hominy and cornbread. The mash was also important in creating whiskey too. The West Coast tribes brought salmon to settlers' diets along with native deer, duck and rabbit. The Caribbean indigenous tribes also contributed a lot to the way we modern nativists eat. Thanks to them we have barbecue , first known as barbacoa. The Taino tribe of the various islands that include Cuba and Puerto Rico gave us the method of roasting various meats such as goat and sheep over open air fires. The fiery and delicious pepperpot stew is also one of their contributions to our cuisine as is the ever popular jerk. Another gift is Mama Juana , from the Dominican Republic branch of the Tainos.It's a wild punch with the kick of rum and red wine mixed with different tree barks and herbs.
Today we should celebrate all the contributions of the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere. They have been vital in creating new countries and new cultures. They have been responsible for our dietary success for five centuries now. It's time we honor them properly.
The indigenous tribes have contributed much to the American diet - namely healthy good for you food . We also have them to thank for helping our struggling colonists at the Plymouth Plantation. The Wampanoag Tribe taught them how to plant The Three Sisters - corn - squash - and beans which sustained the English during the harsh Massachusetts winters. They also taught the colonists how to work and till the area's rocky soil. Another food that came into the diet is maple syrup. The indigenous showed how to tap the trees and collects the sap used for everything from syrup to candy.Its' sugar was crucial in sweetening cakes along with tea and coffee. The Lenni Lennape, a division of the Delaware Indians, showed colonists the local clam,oyster and eel beds in the Raritan Bay area , just outside of New York City. They also harvested the wild strawberries, blueberries and blackberries that grow throughout the state. These were in heavy rotation in many an early New York or New Jersey's housewife's pantry, being used for jams and pie fillings.
The indigenous are also responsible for introducing corn pone and hominy grits to the American diet. The Roanoke and Neusick tribes, along with many from Southeastern Native American ones developed the process of nixtamalization - in which corn is soaked and cooked in lime water or some other alkaline solution to remove the hulls.. This helped in creating the Southern staples hominy and cornbread. The mash was also important in creating whiskey too. The West Coast tribes brought salmon to settlers' diets along with native deer, duck and rabbit. The Caribbean indigenous tribes also contributed a lot to the way we modern nativists eat. Thanks to them we have barbecue , first known as barbacoa. The Taino tribe of the various islands that include Cuba and Puerto Rico gave us the method of roasting various meats such as goat and sheep over open air fires. The fiery and delicious pepperpot stew is also one of their contributions to our cuisine as is the ever popular jerk. Another gift is Mama Juana , from the Dominican Republic branch of the Tainos.It's a wild punch with the kick of rum and red wine mixed with different tree barks and herbs.
Today we should celebrate all the contributions of the indigenous peoples of this hemisphere. They have been vital in creating new countries and new cultures. They have been responsible for our dietary success for five centuries now. It's time we honor them properly.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
The Straw Controversy
Hard to be believe a simple plastic tube like this is at the heart of so much controversy.
Yet it is. Plastic straws are being vilified and with good reason. They are seriously harming marine life across the globe and damaging underwater ecosystems. As an environmentalist and veteran of many a beach sweep, I have picked up dozens of these. They range from the regular sized ones people use in their sodas to the tiny juice box ones.Americans throw away a whopping 500 million a day while an ecology conscious Europe tosses out about 25.3 billion ones a year. They, along with other non biodegradable plastics are contributing to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch located halfway between California and Hawaii. The worst problem with straws contributing to this is that a straw is made from polypropylene which is derived from polypropylene gas. The real damage comes from when the plastic degrades into microscopic bits. Fish eat it. We eat the fish. It's not good.
There are alternatives and many restaurants are embracing them. Atlantic Highland's Bahr's and its' sister eatery, Moby's has long embraced biodegradable paper straws. The family who owns these ocean front restaurants know first hand the damage these tubes can do. However paper straws do have their downside as well. They can be ingested by marine life which can ruin the animals' digestive systems. Paper straws do decompose more efficiently and quicker, by almost two hundred years. Other restaurants such as Feroce's in Manhattan use bucatini, those wide, sturdy long pasta tubes. These can be great except for two problems. They can't be used by those with gluten allergies and they dissolve during use. Another idea is bringing your own glass or metal straws. Amazon sells a pack of borosilicate ones in pretty colors. These are highly heat and cold resistant and also come with their own cleaning brush. A set can cost about ten dollars. They also sell metal ones with silicon mouth tips, also in pretty colors. A pack of ten goes for $9.99.
What should you do about the straw dilemma? Protect the planet by just going strawless. If you have to use them, then settle for paper, metal or glass. It's a small way to help lessen a big problem.
Friday, October 11, 2019
The Taco Bell Bean Burrito Challenge
I've been fascinated with Taco Bell's bean burrito lately. It's a tasty marriage of kidney beans, onions and cheese stuffed into a hot chewy tortilla. Tasting it , I realized this is pretty easy to replicate. After all the homemade version is sometimes better than the original.
It was.
It's an easy recipes with these ingredients for the filling, Two cans of red kidney beans, one small , yellow onion and one small can of tomato sauce.
It was.
It's an easy recipes with these ingredients for the filling, Two cans of red kidney beans, one small , yellow onion and one small can of tomato sauce.
The onion was quartered and put into my chopper ,
Then sauteed in olive oil for a few seconds.
The beans and tomato sauce were then added. Most recipes for the Taco Bell bean burrito call for refried beans but I wanted texture.
Two teaspoons of red wine vinegar are added for tang as well.
The spices were garlic salt and a must have in Mexican cooking -cumin.
Add a good dash of both along with a healthy dash of chili powder too.
Then it comes time to mash
Use an old fashioned potato masher for this and someone with a strong hand (Like a brother) This give the filling a new textured mouth feel. Cheese is also a big flavor booster in this,
I used Lite Life vegan cheddar and just shredded in the pieces.
It's mashed more to get the cheese integrated and gooey.
It's also the time to get the tortillas ready. I used Old El Paso.
Each side was painted with water. They'll steam better in the microwave if you do this. Cook for 15 seconds.
This is unrolled.
This is rolled.
How was the taste? Exactly like Taco Bell's but better. This is definitely going to be one of my new go to recipes. It's easy to do and very flavorful. I like how all the spices came together and added so many dimensions to just a simple beans, onions ,and tomato sauce dish.
Try the Taco Bell Bean Burrito challenge. It's just a fun way to reinvent a classic and enjoy a tasty dish. It's sure to be a family favorite.
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