Candy Corn And Other Hallloween Sweets

 One of tne most obvious treats of the day is candy corn, This Halloween sweet has a it's share of followers and haters. Why such a dichotomy? Why is there such a split over this classic Americna candy?

Essence and New York Post contributor Derrick Bryson Taylor tackled the question in today's New York Times Business section. The candy has long been a favorite aminsts American kids first being made in the 1880's by the Wonderle Candy Company. The Philadelphia based candy company marketed it as did the Goelitz Candy Company a Boston concern that labelled it chicken scratch. It was really an equallizer for working class kids who now could afford candy like their rich counterparts.  The candy was available year round. Candy corn  really took off in the 1940's when trick or treating became popular. It, like other candies could be made in smaller sizes , perfect for easy giving out. Eighty years later it's still going strong despite the haters out there. It is as iconic as those Mellocreme pumpkins  which are just as sugary. Kids dress up as the triangles for Halloween, There are jewelry , hair ornaments and clothing all centered around them. Fans like Etsy shop owner Melissa Cady loves these.

The problem with candy corn is that it is too sweet. My favorite kind is the chocolate bottomed ones that kind of have a Tootsie Roll flavor to them. Some people don;t like the cloying sweetness (comedian Lewis Black compares the taste to "poop* although I fail to see how it could taste like it) Others like Key Lee, a New York City content creaotr compares it to maple syrup and finds it too sweet. Keep in mind that's it's now manufactured in such diverse flavors as breakfast where the corn tastes like pancakes, french toast and waffles to Brach's bizarre salute to a fall festival. The candy corn has a trio of strange colors from aquamarine to cotton candy pink. The flavors are kettle corn, maybe good, strawberry lemonade, OK, if it;s tart , cotton candy - too sweet and strawberry funnel cake - interesting. There's also a lemonade shakeup which hopefully is not cloyingly sweet but citrussy tart.There is also Christmas and Easter corn.They taste the same as the fall version but are in the traditional red and green or pastel colors.

Where do you stand on this holiday classic? Will you be munching on it tonight and into tomorrow? Or will there be another Halloween treat to tempt you?

Questionable Meat Lunch Meat Leftovers.

 There's always a bargain at Acme. There was one that was eye catching - and questioinable. Was it worth buying.

I saw this in my local Acme.It looked intriguing and approrpriately scary given the season.

it was lunch meat ends with fifty per cent off. I wasn;t going to buy ti at first yet I was too intrigued  ,I also couldnt resist a bargan either (this was around $1.50). It;s just chunks fo turkey meat 

There are several different recipes you can make with this. I instantly thought of a turkey Caesar salad but also placing the chunks iin already made jarred gravy. This can be served over toast for a tasty hot meal.

I just sprinkled tarragon on the chunks and  the leftover potatoes from Sunday's dinner for a hot quick dinner. This is good too.  Using tarragon gave me another recipe idea.Again I can also shred the turkey , add mayo and tarragon  to make a yummy salad. This is perfect on a sliced croissant or brioche.

This container of tuekey chunks mick look a trick  but it's really a treat.They can be used for a number of different recipes hot and cold. Get this for making great dishes.Acme , lunch meat, turkey, 

Sales Gathering

 Should you start buiying now for the holidays? If it's presents , the answer is yes. Take advantage of sales. Yet what about food? Should you buy ahead if the prices are good?

This is the question home chefs are facing nowadays.Many local groceries like Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, Acme and Wal-mart are all having good sales right now. If you want to save then look at what'be ing offered at lower prices. Canned goods are a must. They will keep for years practically. If you're planning on making a green bean casserole, then take advantage  of the sales. The same is true with yams and pumpkin pie filling. Buy now while the prices have been dropped.You could also apply this to baking too. Sugar and flour also will keep . These are definite must buys along with corn syrup for making pecan pie. As for chocolate and nuts - don't buy weeks before the holidays  - no matter what the price.  Chocolate can get stale and even change color. Nuts can go rancid which can destory an entire recipe. 

For every day items  buy. I couldn;t resist two big boxes of Cheerios from my local Shop-Rite.

These will last for weeks and were only eight dollars for two. Another good buy was Bachmans' Halloween bag of Jax cheese curls

This was another food Shop-Rite buy with eightteen bags going for eight dollara a bag. They're around $2.25 a bag . Think of what a large bag of Halloween candy costs at anywhere from twelve dollars to almost fifty bucks for a super sized bag. Another plus about this si that this becomes my snack if there are very few trick or treaters coming around. Shop Rite also has other holiday bargains which I'll take advatnage of as the season advances.

As any thrifty home chef will tell you , take advantage of any sales. Food is expensive. Grab any chance you can for a discount.

Your Restaurant Faves

 The New York Times Wednesday Food section recently listed it's favorite Philly eateries.

Here's the question of the week - what's yours? Was it a place from childhood? A great place you ate in on a vacation?Or the restaurant around the corner? Let us know. 

New York's Hottest Trend Fuchka

 New York and it's boroughs have always been food trend setters. Whatever comes from the city spreads first to the suburbs and then the rest of the world. This is true with fuchka - a Bengal street food that everyone can't get enough of to snack on.

 International contributor and sports writer (!) Andrew Keh wrote about this in the main section of today's New York Times. Fuchka  pronounced fooch ka, (sort of like the plant and the color) is a tasty Bengali street food. It's closest cousin could be pani pura and gol gappa.. Both are filled with potatoes , yellow peas, onion and cilantro. Chili flavoring gives them their kick. The mix is stuffed into semi opeend semolina shells and then deepf fired. A splash of tamerind sauce gives them their tangy sweetness. Shaved hard boiled egg slivers decorate it. There are recipes on the web if you want to try making them at home.

The idea of brining this to America is Naeem Khandaker who brought the idea from his native Khulna in southern Bangladesh. He saw that bengalis were not selling thier recipes but Indian recipes or Bengali foods under different names. This would not do for him. H eopened Tong in 2018 and within a few weeks had a steady stream of customers. Soon there were more food carts selling the delicious treat, ripping off his recipe.      Althought Mr. Khandakar  has opned up more food carts in the boroughs and even a restaurant in Jamaica Queens. There are fierce rivalries  which even result in calling in the cops. Yet the food unifies the growning Bengali population here in New York        

Hopefully there will be fuchka trucks and restaurants throught the metro area. This treat is too tasty to be kept to one neighborhood. The world should know about these.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Memroies In Scent And Taste

 What makes us feel truly at home? Is it familiar sights from our childhood? The smell of hebs grwoing int eh family garden? Or the tastes of our vountry and heritage. For some it's all three. Mostly though it's the cooking  that welcomes us back.

Regular contributor and chef Yewande Komolafe pondered this as she wrote about going home in today New Yorks Times Wednesday Food section.  The article is take from her cookbook "My Everyday Lagos; NIgerian Cooking At Home and in the Diaspora" (Ten Speed Press 2023). She is from Lagos , Nigeria, the country's capital,  her parents home is in the countryside. Nigerians are rediscovering and questioning their pre colonial past. Some do it in activism, Some in the arts. Chef Komolafe explores her Nigerian heritage through her cooking which is art itself. She gives three recipes which are a blend of her life in America and family ones. Anyone - Nigerian or not can make these and taste centuries of cooking and spicing. Keep in mind that if you buy the cookbook, she cautions against being burdens by the notion of authenticity.The bukas or relaxed  Nigerian based restaurants thoughout the world have their own verion of these dishes. The home chef should too.

Chef Komolafe includes a shakshura type of breakfast dish  -  jammy tomato breakfast eggs. it may not have the exact flavor  of shashuka but it is fragrant with oregano, chives mint and basil. Tomatos , onions and Scotch bonnet peppers are sauted with oil and smashed red peppers.It's garnished with sunnyside up eggs. Another recipe included is her mother's iwuk idesi or one por rice with chicken .Again Scotch bonnet peppers are used here in a pepper paste along with whole crayfish or dried shrimp. This is added to a braised chicken along withginger garlic and chicken stock. Long grained rice is cooked with it for a flavorful bite. She also has akara, tasty bean fritters. These are made with ewa olyin or black eyed peas soaked and peeled. {although you cna use bean powder. There's also garlic cloves , onions and Scotch bonnets again for fire and bite.These can be fried in red palm oil  and if that can;t be found use peanut oil. The mix should resemble whipped hummus before it's fried into crispy fritters.

OUr heritage and our cooking shaping. None is more evident in Chef KOmolafe's recipes. Like herself they are traditional but also reinvented for a table outside Nigeria.

Quick And Easy And Vegan

 The variety of vegan products seem to ve expanding on a daily basis. There are new  and tasty items that are so quick to heat up and eat. They're becoming ubiquituous in kitchens all over/

One of my new favorites is Nasoya's plant based steak. I bought the Korean barbecue flavor. This was a quick five minute cook in my air fryer. The strips were like the real thing and with the barbecie flavor downright delicious. 

These go well with anything. I added air fryer roasted potatoes which were also an easy fix.It was just tossing them in olive oil with a heavy sprinkle of oregano,  garlic powder, salt and pepper and air frying for fifteen minutes at 380 degrees Farenheit.

Chao cheese which has a great selection now has a yummy queso dish that perfect for tortilla chips.

Then there is Louisville vegan topping which you can put on anything. I plan on making pizza bagels with this topping for a different variation. They also have bacon and taco toppings along with an aamzing selection of soy jerky. 

For dessert? Siete Vegan Mexican cookies which are healthier takes on classic Mexican baking.

Siete has a wide range of Mexican products from  chips to seasnings to snacks. They've added such tasty desserts as these cookies along with churro strips.

Vegan cooking is becoming easier and easier. There's a whole host of new products out there that are quick to make and easy to eat. Try them for a simple and fast dinner.