A Good Lidl Haul

 LIdl is fast becoming a favorite of American shoppers. Not only do they have good prices but also good food on many unusual imported treats. It's a fun trip to see the stroes. You'll never know what you'll find.

I recently went to my local Lidl in Elmwood Park, new Jersey,. I was not impressed on my very first trip there but almost a year later that changed.I always lik their focaccia pizzas,. Those are great but that was it.,Now they have much more, very much like another German import Aldi. 

I fell for their frozen chestnut squash soup which when heated for five to six minutes transforms from chunks of frozen soup to a creamy potage. This is going to be first course for my Thanksgiving dinner. Their croissants are pure heaven, done correctly with crunchy layers and an airy middle. I bought apricot jam to go with them.

I'vve been into Greek olive oil recently,preferring its' rich flavor to the Italian variety. This was a steal for six dollars.This will b eperfectin for sauting the frozen veggie and potato mix I also  bought a margherita style frozen pizza.

Along with two packages of steamed veggies with potatoes.Lidl

has some excellent vegetarian and vegan choices, including their version of Impossible Meat.

Of course Lidl has some good sweets too. I could not resist their version of the classic fudge stripes and straight from Fmance macarons.

I definitely could not resist Diana's Chocolate Covered bananas.

This I will be buying over and over. My whole haul, including a big family box of Cheerios

was only forty bucks total!!!! I'm definitely holiday food shopping here!

If you want good and gourmet food for much less, then head to your local Lidl. You'll find some interesting foods that will enlarge your culinary palate. It's worth a trip.

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Chip City Cookies

 There are so many cookie companie s out there yet Chip City stands out. Why? Their cookies ar ethese huge mounds of goodness, bigger than the average round! Plus they come in all sorts of unusual and traditional flavors.

I discoivered them today in Ridgewood ,New Jersey, Any bakery featuring cookies is always worth investigating.It was a cheery place with the lure of cookies - GIANT ones 

They offered five or four choices.I wen with the safest. Chocolate chip and confetti

These are huge mounds of cookies. Chip City also had the brookie, a brownie cookie , hybrid and caramel apple cider doughnut. Their menus change weekly. You could walk into any of their Long Island, Manhattan and New Jersey stores and try a Key Lime one ,a giant cookie filled with Key lime pie filling or a peanut butter chocolate one. There are eleven flavors on rotation,

How do they taste? An odd mox of crunchy outer shell with a chewy cookie inside. They were interesting  and the chocolate chip had a good amount of chips on. The confetti one was more sugary than buttery.  Keep in mind that they are expensive. Each cookie costs a whopping five bucks!

If you like giant cookies then try Chip City ones. They're big enough for two or three people to enjoy. Try their many flavors , They're a bog cookie with a big taste

Campus Food Fights

 There's bee a growingconcern over what college kids eat on campus. Cafeterias are producing tasty food but the problem is that it's mostly fried. Some are changing their menus to fit diets and religious restrictions >Yet in some schools there's still a battle.

It is easier to conitnue a menu with cheap ingredients. However it's time to rethink the dishes whne students' health could be harmed.If enogh people protest there can be changes Both faculty and the student  body should have some kind of protest along with petitions that everyone can sign. They can even ask for  a school nutritionist that can help in planning healthier meals. He or she can also assist in what ingredients to buy and recipes to make. A nutitionist can also help in teaches classes or giving seminars on proper eating,If the school doesn;t have the money for one , then they can always rely on a professor who teaches the subject. Their input will also be helpful when it comes to planning decent recipes to put  out,

What else can universities and campuses do? One is installing salad bars on the campus. This way both faculty and students can eat fresh veggies and fruits. The cafeteria staff can also include healthy proteins like chicken or turkey. They can also offer good for you  dressing like vinaigrettes flavored with fresh herbs.Forget heavier dressings made with mayo and buttermilk.. They're too rich in calories and fats. Skip the croutons and bacon too. Pepitas and sunflower seeds add just as much crunch and flavor as them. Another suggestion is offering vegan alternatives. Many kids are turning vegetarian these days. Cafeterias can offer burgers made with Beyond Beef  or offer more veggies dishes like ratatouille which can be made for a crowd. Instead of doughnuts and cookies, limit desserts to fresh fruits. They're easy to carry in a backpack too.

School cafeterias don;t have to be good food deserts. They can offer students an faculty nutritious and tasty dishes .They just need to change.

Rediscovering Yakgwa

 What is comfort food?If you're Korean then it;s yakgwa an ancient dessert that's hot again. This sweet has been around for centuries yet's it's firmly beloved by a new generation. Its also an easy bake in any home oven so everyone can discover it's specialness.

Regular contributor and chef Eric KIm wrote about this treat in yesterday's New York Times food section, Yakgwa roughly translates to medicinal confection and for years Koreans used the prized syrup for illnesses .It also connects genrations and tells the story of Korea;s reverance for tradition and optimism for the future. It's been eaten since the Goryeo Dynasty that existed between 918 and 1392 CE and now has had a resurgeance and beyond thanks in part to YouTube and TIktok videos. Then there is the Korean drama Alchemy of Souls" on Netflix that feature the sweet. There is also South Korea's Generation MZ a hybrid of  Millenial and Generation Z who have made it popular again. It's easy to find in South Korea with boutique companies like Golden Piece and Jangin Hangwa selling the original honey to  newer flavors like lavender, chocolate and even cookies and cream.Traditionally, because of the scarcity of it;s ingredients, honey, sesame oil and flour, the treats were only  eaten on special occasions like coming of age, marriage death and veneration of the dead. It's used in memorials although a new generation is having it more often.

It is rare to get here in the States. Chef Kim has included a recipe for it. Yakgwa is basically a fried cookie tha'ts surprisingly made without butter, eggs or milk. Ginger , cinnamon and freshly ground black pepper flavor it   A quarter cup of honey or maple syrup provide the sweetness as does two tablespoons granulated sugar. Soju , a clear and distilled Korean brain alcohol is added to the dry ingredients along with the honey and sesame oil. Soju can be found in most liquor stores. Everything is mixed together to form  a rough dough.It's kneaded then rolled out. Once cut it;s fried in vegetable oil.  You will need to go to a Korean grocery store for the jocheong or brown rice syrup used for the syrup that's poured over th e fried cookies. This also gives the sweets a nice glossy finish too. I'ts mixed with more honey or maple syrup and fresh ly cut ginger is added to this to give it zing.  After the cookies have been fried and then cooled for half an hour they're soaked in the syrup overnight and are ready to serve. Many decorate them with pine nuts or crystalized ginger.

Yakgwa is a treat that now can be enjoyed at home. It reprsents the long history of Korea but also it's futire.It's a sweet from the past that can be enjoyed now

Tiktok's Culinary Stars

 If you want to be the next Julia Child your easiest route would be TIktok. This uber popular app has created some new culinary stars that are being shot into the popular media stratosphere.will this trend last? Possibly

Regular and cookbook author Priya Krishna wrote this fascinating article for today/s New York Times Food section. Tiktok has been responsible for the meteroric rise of such novelists as Colleen Hoover thanks to the ever popularBookTOk. Now foodies around th eworkld are diiscovering good  recipes by  personable home chefs and bakers. Thes people have no experience , no culinary school or even restaurant experience. Some have only come to cooking and baking recently like B. Dylan Hollis. He started baking in his Wyoming kitchen during the pandemic. yet it was the usual sourdough recipe. Since he loved vintage Mr. Hollis decided to try recipes from antique cookbooks and hisa pork cake, meat loaf meets pound cake (!!!????) became a smash hit, viewers loved it. Now he even has a lucrative cookbook that came out in JUly. Baking Yesteryear  has evne sold more copies than the Obamas books and Prince Harry's autobiography.

Other home chefs are following suit. Joanne Lee Molinaro has racked up sales along with garnering thousands of fans with her Vegan Korean videos. There;s a story with each video as she creates tasty nonmeat dishes. JOn KOng is another Tiktok home that has not only garnered a following but included QR codes in his cookbook that links them to his videos. Then there's Nadia Caterina Munno who parlayed her 3.1 million Tiktok followers into a deal for a cookbook. Her "The Pasta Queen" released last NOvember debuted at number five on the New York TImes "Advice, How To and Miscelleneous " list Her career took off when she posted a video in 2020 crtiticizing how another made lasagna.  Jenny Martinez was selling bulldozers before she made My Mexican Meso videos and then got a cookbook deal. Barbara Costello,  a 74 year old retired teacher has just aced a deal for a cookbook, thanks to her "Celebrate with Babs" Tiktok videos. These are homey fun recipes that wouln't go amiss at a tailgating party. 

Will these Tiktok chefs have the lasting power fo JUlia CHild?They could. Their recipes are just as good as any chefs

Leftover Roulette

What do you do with all those leftovers ? Are they still good and if so can you repurpose them. What can you creat with a bit of these combined with a smattering of that?Plenty if you know how to do it.

Leftovers get moldy quick. Eat them now or you'll be faced with a  thin coating of white,  green or orange mold. Unless you're conducting a science experiment toss them. fruit also either gets a white fuzzy coating of the stuff alogn with shriveling up quick. The same with veggies. Try to use fruit as part of a parfait or evne breakfast. Of course overly - almost black bananas are a staple in banana bread. Apples and pears with brown spots should be chucked outside either to feed the local wildlife ro added to the compost heap. If you went apple pickingand wound up wirh too mnay baskets, then think about wither giving them to family, friends and neighbors or make pies and tarts for the crowd. Keep in mind that fall's fruit apple and pears can be frozen and they can be used for later use. As for veggies again, if there's even a spot of mold toss them,if not think about salads that just have tomatoes or peppers in them. Onions can keep and they can be shredded and air fried for crispy snacks.

Protein goes quick too,.leftover steak and chicken can be cut up and used in salads. Add tomatoes , broccoli and green beans  Dress with a zingy Italian dressing for  a qucik supper.Another idea is adding the meat  to ratatouille for a different spin on the classic French dish. Serve with toasted baguette slices.Leftover turkey and ham can be ground in the food processor with some mayo . This can take the leftovers into lunch or even as a quick snack spread on crackers. Leftover soup can be revitalized with the addition of broth and smaller pasta like pastina or orzo. It can be stretched also with some leftover steaks or cut up chicken breasts along with whatever cut veggies you have. Leftovers  can also be turned into subs.Yesterday's salad can be used as one of the layers  along with whatever cheese you have in the fridge. Keep in mind that cold cuts have a short life too. Use them within a few days  whether in sandwiches or inyour takes on Croque Monsiur or Croque Madame.

Clear the fridge before you forget and wind up with all sorts of mold. Be creative what the leftovers . They can be turned into something tasty and not be wasted.

Fall Roasts

 The temps are cooling and that means one thing - it's back to good old fashuioned roasts and sides. There are many you can make for these crisp , cool days and nights.

Keep in mind that roasting is changing. In out mothers" and grandmothers" day the oven was primarily used for cooking all sorts of meat. Now you can roast on your barbecue or more popularly your air fryer It makes roasting a bit more fun and interesting. If you are roasting on the grill, remember that the wood chips you use will flavor the meat. Most use hickory on beef and pork while poultry can be roasted over pecan, maple, hiickory or mesquite chips. Charcoal also works. For a traditonal flavor just rub what you;re cooking with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Try not to barbecue a fatty piece of meat because it will drip into the flames and cause a fiery flare up. The cut can rest for thirty minutes before serving. If you're going to roast chicken on the grill stick to the smaller birds like Cornish hen or poussin or a Spring chicken. The last is small young bird. with the average weight of only one pound. Remove the bag of giblets, heart and liver before cooking. These can be chopped up and used in the accompanying gravy. 

As for the air fryer, the cooking time is more or less the same as an oven. For roast beef it's usually fifteen minutes fo revery pound .  Afour pound London Broil will take about an hour. The same goes for chicken. It's thirty minutes at 350 degrees farenheit with a break after fifteeen minutes to turn the bird. Pork roast is also great , roasted in the air fryer. They skin gets extra crackly, which only elevates the flavor.It's also quicker to cook than a oven roasted one.It will probably take about fifty minutes for a two pound one. Keep seasoning simple so the flavor shines through. Of course you can go the traditional route and ove n roast your meat. Doing such allow you to collec tthe dripping to create a rich gravy. Another plus about oven roasting is that you can also roast some veggies when you're cooking that roast beef or chicken.  You could easily pop in a tray of seasoned potatoes for roasting. They make a great side for any kind of meat.Consider also Brussels sprouts , carrots and cubed sweet potatoes or yams to add to your roast.

It's time for heartier cooking. Return to roasts and sides for a good old fashioned meal. There's nothing like a satisfying dinner that's filling and delicious.