A Brave New World

 As much as we need our gall bladders , we actually don't need them. Humans , surprisingly can live without them.There will changes to diet but life can continue on without thus tiny organ.

I'm about to find out how much I can live without this yellowish green little pear on Wednesday when I have it removed. A lot has changed since my grandfather's day when he had his (just two months before I was born). Gallbladder removal  usually required a week long hospital stay after a five inch incision was made in the upper right abdomen. Not anymore. The operation is now known as a "procedure" and treated much the same way as a tooth extraction (this is where I shake my head)It's laparoscopic and will only take an hour and a half.. A small video camera is in placed  in one of the four incisions in the upper right quadrant .Special, small surgical instruments are also inserted to sever the bile ducts. These are reattached to one leading into the upper intestine. You usually (and I'm hoping to go home) leave after four or five hours in the recovery unit unless something happens such as an infection. Then it's four days of hospital food.I'm hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. I'll be off for a week or two .

When I come back it's discovering and writing about a whole new world. Digestion is tricky at best without a gall bladder.I will have to eat smaller meals more often. Think grazing.This I don't mind.because I do this anyway.  My body won't  be able to process Fried foods such as potato chips and fries are definitely off the table. fried meats like chicken are also a lifelong ban (although I could sneak in a drumstick every now and then).Foods should be baked, steamed or broiled. There should be more fruits and veggies on my plate which is a plus. One,'I'm a big believer of using fresh fruits and veggies whenever the season and, two I do love them. I will have to put a kabosh on cookies and snack cakes (although like the chicken leg,I could sneak in one or two every now and then),Caffeine, whether in soda, coffee or tea is also not allowed. Caffeine increases the amount of stomach acid which in turn makes the stomach empty faster. There could be more gas, sharp pains and bloating. The same is said of chocolate which will be limited to once in a blue moon. My diet will be different but healthier.

This little pear has caused me trouble over the years but I will miss her. This new world is going to be scary and frustrating. As with any new venture.I will do the best I can.

Customizing Rubs And Sauces

We're in the full swing of barbecue season> That means delicious meats and veggies on the grill, sizzling with all sorts of flavor. How do they get to be so tasty ? Rubs and sauces but not just any rubs and sauce . Ones you make yourself.

Many novice grillers will ask what's the difference between a rub and a marinade. Rubs can be wet or dry an marinade is always composed of liquid materials. Rubs are usually just added just before grilling. Meats and veggie are usually marinated for a few hours before cooking. What makes a good rub?  A combination of sugar ,salt , herbs and spices. As for the sweet, brown sugar is always used.It gives the rub and meats a mellowed, earthy flavor. As for the salt. a good sea salt always works. The spices can be what you want. Many use paprika for kick and color . Cayenne can also be used, mainly for fire. You can add a lot or a little of this, depending on how you like heat. Cumin, a spice used mostly in Mexican and Indian cooking, can also be thrown in . Dried garlic and onions powders give a rub more flavor but use these sparingly. The flavors can be overwhelming in generous quantities. Are rubs different from meat to meat? Not really. What makes a good wet rub? Any liquid from an oil like avocado or olive to juices such as lemon or lime. This is combined with the other ingredients to make a paste to rub onto the meat. With these you can add minced garlic or freshly chopped onions.

A marinade is no different than a rub because it , too, flavors meat or vegetables.They're different, however in that not one marinade is for all meats and veggies.  A good steak one has Worcester sauce in it mixed with lemon juice and olive oil. It's spiced with dry parsley flakes, garlic powder and dried basil. You could add some hot sauce for kick if you want. As for chicken think sweet.  Soda such as Pepsi, Dr, Pepper or Coke can be used for this as it offers the perfect balance for  balsamic vinegar and soy sauce.Lime or lemon juice can be added for some zing . Crushed garlic and cumin give it more flavor and more of an unami taste. Orange juice is a must for  marinating chicken. You can use fresh squeezed or already juiced. Try it in a combo of olive oil and soy sauce. Chop in garlic if you want or onion for more flavor and sprinkle in rosemary and oregano. if it's a little to tart, then add a drop or two of wildflower honey to balance it out. Veggies can also benefit from a good marinade. Start off with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add a quarter teaspoon of maple syrup or honey . These caramelize the veggies giving them a nice glossy finish. Garlic and onion powder can be added. Stir in a few hot pepper flakes for some zing.

Grilled meats and veggie always can benefit from a little more flavor and zest. Any good rub or marinade can do this. Try one or the other for a truly delicious barbecue.

Add Veggies Make Sauce

 You don't have to spend time to make sauce for pasta.Nor do you need just tomatoes. You can use anything to create a great sauce for any kind of pasta.It just takes some creativity and whatever in the vegetable crisper.

Tomatoes have always been the basis of Southern Italian sauces. This wasn't always the case until the Sixteenth Century when the Spanish introduced these Mexican beauties into the Italian diet. They taught the Italians how to fry them in a pan along with onions, squash and eggplant , a sort of prototype of ratatouille. The ingredient caught on because it could flavor other foods without having to use spices which were  costly and rare at the time. Tomato sauce can be good, especially homemade but it does take time to make. You can make a crockpot version if you want. I feel this is fine during the fall and winter when you need a heavier sauce for spaghetti and even gnocchi, The Spring and summer call for a different , much lighter sauce. I am a big fan of Sam Sifton's burst tomato sauce. This is a fresh take and I've add a twist to it. Fresh spinach leaves not only give it color and flavor but also much needed iron and folate. The recipe is super easy.It's just sauteing grape  or cherry tomatoes in a mix olive oil and butter (I use Melt) Add some chopped and washed spinach leaves. About ten minutes in start bursting or popping the tomatoes. The juices will mix with the oil and butter and create a wonderful tasting sauce.There's a light ness and freshness.

You don;t have to have tomatoes  to create a great sauce. One of my favorites involves baby bellas and spinach. This sauce is a nice change up from the traditional tomato sauce. Again this starts with sauteing washed and chopped spinach leaves in an oil and butter mix. Baby bellas are added and cooked until there's a crispness to them. Add about half a cup of either chicken or veggie stock to give it that saucy quality. You could add chicken breasts if you want to give it more heft. You could also go the arriabiata route and give it a dash of red pepper. A Spring primavera sauce is always a nice change up. This has a whole slew of fresh veggies that can compliment any kind of pasta. The basic sauce is a mix of red onions, carrots,  broccoli, bell peppers, squash and zucchini. Tomatoes and garlic are also added but you can omit the tomatoes if you want. The veggies are sauteed in olive oil (but add a knob of butter for more flavor) and mixed into the cooked pasta. Another fresh idea is asparagus and peas. Both are sauteed in olive oil with shallots and garlic. The sauce is ready when the asparagus turns a bright green.

All you need is veggies, garlic and olive oil to create the perfect pasta sauce. See what's in the fridge and run with it.Be creative. You'll wind up with a tasty, fun sauce for any type of pasta.

 

Take Out In The Wilderness

 Everyone craves a good take out. Yet what happens when you're far away from any restaurant and delivery. You have a plane come in and deliver it. Delicious, albeit cold food of all sorts are delivered to remote villages. 

Regular contributor and Alaska journalist Victoria Peterson wrote about this , specifically in the Alaskan bush in yesterday;'s New York Times Food section. Many villages such as Fort Yukon, located  way in the upper northeast corner of the state are far from any fast food jiont. The villages have no pizzerias or Chinese restaurants. Families have to order through Door Dash to get any kind of"fun: food. Natalia Navarro had to wait until pilot Robert Golike deliver their order. He uses his Cessna to take food to them and other isolated families craving a taste of the city.,Ms Navarro's order consisted of steak tacos and churros from Pedro's Mexican grill in Anchorage and classics such as lo mein, beef broccoli and General Tso's chicken from Famous Wok, a Chinese food chain. Her family relished  every bite. The trip is to their house is a long one.It's a long air journey over the silty waters of Cook Inlet and over the craggy snow covered peaks of the Alaska range.and the many laked terrain In Nikolai where he would land.MS Navarro only orders twice a month because of the expense. 

The idea has caught on.Alaska Air Transit is one of the dozens of small regional airlines flying people and cargo to hundreds of remote communities across Alaska. There are Netflix DVDS along with the needed outdoor gear and groceries.Yet it's receiving something like pizza that's the most exciting.Most order from Pizza Hut whose food keep the best on the journey.For some families it was that along with CHinese that was only delivered. Now the spectrum has widened thanks to DoorDash. Families can get any kind of cuisine they're craving or want to try for the first time. To deal with the influx of orders coming to their office, Alaska Air Transit owner, Josie Owen has set up a giant tent in the parking lot where drivers can  label the order with the person's name and  village before leaving it before the staff. The need is growing. Twins Caiti and Shari O'Connor have started their own business , expediting orders during their school year in Anchorage. They pick up pets at the airport to take them to the vet,  along with storing vehicles. Their most lucrative order is food. They dropped off three hundred dollars of food from Panda Express  for an employee appreciation on St Paul Island.

Anyone anywhere nowadays can appreciate a pizza or lo mein. They can enjoy tacos or a good burger thanks to pilots who fly to where they are. it's a new form of food delivery but a much needed one.

Sharing Love And Food

Food and love should be shared freely. Gullah cook Emily Meggett know this as she doles out equal parts  of them in the heart of South Carolina's Low Country Her cooking and attitude get love back, It's no wonder that she and her dishes are well known and adored.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about Ms. Meggett in today's New York Times Food section. The entire world will be knowing Ms Meggett in two weeks time when her cookbook,"Gullah Geechee Home Cooking:Recipes From the Matriarch of Edisto Island (Abrams Publishing) The 123 recipes centers on  the staples of the Gullah Geechee table: rice seafood and locally grown fresh vegetables.Ms/ Meggett gives reader the definitive chicken perloo and okra soup along with one pot dishes. Other dishes reflect her own creativity to feed a large family or countless friends. She created leftover meat casseroles and canned pork and beans over rice and smoked sausage. Her wildcat sauce is made with crisped salt pork,flour and sauteed scallions with a splash of coffee. Ms. Meggett also has made countless shrimp and grits lunches for the Charleston car dealership where she gets free tune ups.The cookbook has a mix of complex recipes such as making wine(!) from muscadine grapes and stuffing shad with parsley and rice and serving it with roe. This is a two day prep. Then there's easy ones like pancakes made with melted butter and corn syrup and making juice pops called thrills or bears with Tropical Punch or Kool Aid.

Ms. Severson includes two of Ms. Meggett's recipes. One is the Gullah favorite crab cakes and the other is the classic benne wafers. The crab cakes are  made with homemade toasted bread crumbs as the filler. There's also self rising flour too (although you can sub in a mix of flour and baking powder,Mace and onion give it that distinct flavor as they're whisked into a cream sauce that also features , flours eggs, white vinegar and milk. Lump crab meat is added to the sauce and mixed lightly. They're then divided into thick rounds and coated with the bread crumbs. They're fried in half a cup of vegetable oil and then drained. Of course the benne wafers could follow these. This classic Gullah cookie gets its name from the benne seeds used

 in the recipe. They're actually sesame seeds so you can use these as well.These are rich  cookies thanks to th the addition of half a cup of butter used. There's also the mix of brown and white sugar for more flavor and baking soda for lift.Eggs and vanilla are also in the mix too. These' are a lovely ending to any meal.

Emily Meggett carries on the Gullah tradition of making good food and sharing it with those she loves. Thanks to her new cookbook, now the world can also love her good food and share it with those they love. It is food from the heart.

Creative Boards.

 Nothing says fun and excitement like a charcuterie board. It brings about thoughts of parties and friends getting together. Best of all you can get creative with it, from creating a traditional to a veggie loaded one to a dessert one. If you're having trouble with board ideas, don't worry. There's a brand new book to help you fix the perfect board for the perfect gathering.

Boards: Stylish Spreads  For Casual Gatherings (America' Test Kitchen 2022) is the best guide for those who love this idea.It was written by Elle Simone, executive editor at the magazine edition of PBS's popular cooking show America's Test Kitchen and food stylist at Cook's Country Magazine, also based on another well received PBS cooking program. She is also the creator of She Chef  which helps mentor young female chefs. Her advice for creating all sorts of different boards is priceless. To be honest you don't need a party to whip up any kind of one It's fun for a weekday dinner or a date night in. The book does have recipes but Ms. Simone also suggests adding store bought items to the different platters. What I love about this book is the ideas for all sorts of charcuterie The recipes are easy to follow too so a novice can easily put together a professional looking board with very little fuss. Another plus is her illustrated step by step how to create the perfect one It starts with a focal point and then sections are grown from these. She also has a guide for what board would go well with what event. An elegant cocktail party could have a raw bar board while a baby shower could feature a brunch one.

As much as I love a traditional charcuterie mix of cold cuts, breads, crackers  and cheeses, I was excited to see other suggestions too. I love the movie night one which features buttered popcorn and seasonings such as hot sweet  blend of cinnamon and chili pepper and the Parmesan pepper spread. For this there are also recipes for a DIY Soda Bar where plain seltzer is mixed with such homemade syrups as watermelon and citrus. Another fun one is the ballpark.Ms,Simone includes a recipe and pictorial for making those yummy and big ballpark soft pretzels.Of course there are hot dogs and suggestions for how to make them like they're served in the major American ball barks. What to wash down with them? Homemade lemonade which can be turned into an Arnold Palmer with the addition of iced tea. For more sophisticated gatherings there is the Bloody Mary bar which features  this perfect breakfast drink and such nibbles as black pepper candied bacon.There are also the exotic shawarma and tapas bars for more adventurous eating. Kids and adults too will love the ice cream sundae bar where you can go wild with creating the perfect treat. Sugar addicts will adore the cookie decorating and chocolate fondue ones . A more sophisticated approach is the sweet and savory board, perfect for evening entertaining.

It is easy to create the perfect board for any occasion, Use Boards: Stylish Spreads For Casual Gatherings as your guide. You will end up with a stylish and professional looking board that will have family and friends talking.

A Garden Unusual

 Plant something instead of the usual tomatoes, lettuce and pepper, There are all sorts of different veggies you can have fun planting harvesting and then cooking. Be bold with what you plant. It'll lead to some new and exciting recipes.

This is the plan I'm taking for my garden this year. I saw kohlrabi and broccoli plants in my local nursery. These sparked an idea to plant something different. This means new recipes to try out. I wasn't that surprised to find out that kohlrabi is a German based vegetable (kohl being the German word for cabbage).I had eaten it in my childhood  thanks to it being part of our Swabian German heritage.For some reason I never thought about making any dish with it until I saw the plants. it opened up a wealth of ideas. It's also called a German turnip but can be cooked as any cabbage or broccoli dish. One recipe intrigued me. where'it's cooked German style in a buttery cream sauce and lightly spiced with nutmeg. The other plant that tweaked my interest is Brussels sprouts. I've made all sorts of Brussels sprouts recipes. They are the best steamed and served with melted butter and cheese however sliced ones can make for a great sheet pan side that can be cooked with the main dish. There's also a Brussels sprout salad that will be tasty to make, especially with freshly picked sprouts.

Before you go for some wild planting, make sure you have the space and the soil for it.Watermelon is a wonderful plant but it is a vine and that requires a lot of space. these also need full sun as do corn. A backyard cornfield is fun. I've had a few relatives do this and there's something neat about pickling your own corn. Homegrown corn also seems somewhat sweeter tasting too. It's also versatile. You can make a delicious corn chowder rich with the kernels and bacon or Mexican street corn. Imagine turning those ears into elote,  dripping with cotija cheese, sour cream and lime. A really neat and unusual planting would be popcorn. yes , You can grow your own.It's really the same as planting and harvesting sweet corn. You will nitrogen rich fertilizer because any type of corn needs a lot of nutrition.Another fun grow  are potatoes. There are many breeds to experiment with in your yard. You can try your hand in Fingerling or heartier Idahos.  yet these too , like a cornfield take up a lot of yard, You may just want to grow them as with corn.

Think about different plants and veggies to plant this season. It will create a fun gardening experience. It will also make for exciting and fun new recipes.