Snow Days Fun Recipes

 Snow days don;t always have to mean Zoom meetings or classes. It could be a day in making and balong fun recipes. It[s a great way to use up the day and even try new dishes and treats.

Of course pizza is always the recipe of chpice amongst everyone. Pizza dough is easy to make. It's just watrr flour , yeast , sgar and salt.It's also a good introduction to working with yeast. Once made you can have all sorts of fun with toppings.If you want a no fuss, then buy the pizza sauce that comes in the easy to squirt bottle (it looks exactly like  a ketchup bottle). Shredded mozzarella is good for an even cheese layer  but use cunks fo it if you want to create a traditional Margherita one.Everyone can create their own toppings. Make sure you have plenty of vegan and meat pepperoni, bacon bits, olives, peppers and for those into healthy eating - spinach and brooccoli. You could also make the extra fun  and easy garlic knots or twists. They're super easy to bake and thn dip into a zingy marinara sauce (for this you can just use the pizza sauce heated up in the microwave). Another fun dish? Chicken wings!!! Thy're made even easier in an air fryer. Just toss them in olive  oe vegetable oil first then give them  good toss in chili or garlci powder. Add salt and pepper to this for more ;flavor.

Of course a snowy day also means baking., Have a couple of rolls of Pillsbury cookie dough on hand for easy baking and eating. (also ave plenty of milk on hand for this as well) You can also buy cookie mixes too from Betty Crocker and create tasty plates of oatmeal and peanut butter ons. A fun snowy day activity is baking sugar cookies and letting the little ones (and bigger ones) decoare them with homemade or store bought icing and such decorations as sprinkles and mini chocolate chips.Bakibng a batch of cupcakes are another fun stay indoors activity. Use cake mix for an easier route. Again the frosting can be storebought or homemade. Have plenty of decorations on hand so the kids can have a field day with them. A snowy day can also mean a foray into candy making., Try your hand at fudge or peanut briittle. Fudge just requires chopped semi sweet chocolate pieces, condensed milk and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You could add dairy or plant butter for a smoother consistency and better taste. Of course peanut brittle is a blend corn syrup, water and peanuts cooked and later mixed with baking soda, vanilla extract and butter. It's then poured onto a loaf pan an d let cool. (this cna even be outside).

The weather outside may be frightful., The cooking and baking insid will be delightful. Make and enjoy these treats on a frosty day home from school and work.

Wash Your Mouth Out With Chocolate

 Chocolate just isn't for dessert or snackign anymore. You can use it to wash your mouth out! Yes, yoru mouth. There's a new mouthwash ou there that can make brushing and dental care fun.

Normally this isn't the place for reviewing health care product but this one was so unusual and diffrent

 I thought it had to be told.It's from SuperMouth and comes not only in chocolate, but also vanilla, strawberry and the traditional mint. This is primarily for kids. The website has a lot fo cool stuff from a comic book to music for brushing on their app. They also have toothpaste in the same flavors so kids can match or mix up flavors, depending on what they like. It's a fun way to get them to brush and take care of their teeth. There is also flavored floss and even tongue scrapers to rid the mouth of bacteria laden food bits. There are also basby toothbrushes and finger brushes parents can use on babies' mouths

What about the taste?It  sort of tastes like a chocolate malted with something extra added. It's not bad tasting Just diffrent.

Kids and chocolate lovers will adore this,especially if they arenpt fond of the traditional strong mint flavors of other mouth washes.

SuperMouth is changing the way kids are taking care of their mouths. THis is a fun new path everyone will like. Try it and their chocolalte floss and toothpaste.

Easy Friday Potatoes

 It's the start of the weekend. It's time for just easy cooking whether for main meals or for sides. Air frued potatoes fills this need.

I just wanted air fried potatoes for lunch.It;s kind of like just wanting an order of fries, except air fried potatoes are so much better. I bought these from yesterday's Lidl's haul.

These are from The LIttle Potato Company. Their Little Yellows slice up and fry up nicely. I defiinitely plan on buying thm again the next time I visit Lidl.

It was first rinsing them off and then slicing each one info four slices or coins. I added half a cup of olive oil, salt and pepper along with garlic and onion powders.

Even small potatoes take a long time to air fry. It was cooking them for fifteen minutes at 400 degrees. Thyey were flipped at seven minutes, half way between the beginning and end of cooking times.

This yielded two batches. They were grat on their own but you could also serve them alongside of steak or even with eggs and bacon as a haerty Sunday brunch. Drizzle on melted cheddar and sprinkle with bacon bits for a tasty game day snack too.

These are asy friday potatoes but you could make them any day of the week. Save them for the upcoming weekend or make alongside a weekday grilled meat. They're good any day you serve them.

A Good Fire In Your Kitchen

Habanero peppers sometimes  receive a bad rap. Yet they're perfect for creating sauces and heating up ordinary ingredients. The knack is knowing how toharness the fire so that ti works for your recipes.

Contributor and celebrity chef Patti Jinich wrote about the zingy pepper in yesterday's New York Times Food section.The habanero is a main and particular ingredient of the Yucatan Peninsula 9it's famous for Cancun and Mayan pyramids.Surprisingly it came from the Amazon Basin in South America and migrated up to the area during colonial times.It became a major export to Cuba and recieved its' name from one of the island's provinces La Habana.Its' consumption was largely confined to the Yucatan peninsula until about a decade ago.There it was used for salsas. American discovered it and put it into everything from rice to potato chips and even chile crisp.Home chefs can have a field day with it.It does not only have a fiery taste but can also taste fruity, citrusy and flowery before it gets the mouth on fire. Kep in mind it's least ripe when its' green and can have a bitter and acidiic taste. Look for ones that are yellow, orange and red and have waxy skins.The pepper's heat is concentrated at the top and dissapates along its' length.

Unlike most hot peppers, they're easy to chop. There's no residual fieriness left on hands and fingers after cutting.(unless you;re chopping up a lot,. Then just wash hands with soapy water).Chef Jinich suggests having them chopped  after de-stemming and deseeding. Add  a sliced raw onion, a bit of lime juice and some salt for an easy salsa.It makes for a spicy pico di gallo or a perfect condiment for tacos, tortas and tostadas.it can also be puree dto be used in sauces , soups ,stews or marinades. She includes three recipes  that include habaneros.  You could try her tomato -habanero salsa which is a blend of Roma tomatoes, white onions and vegetable oil. A different weeknight dinner is habanero chicken and broccoli. The chicken is  a simpleroast while the florets get a kicky sweet and fiery habanero sauce that's also mixed with honey, lemon and lime juices.A nice side is her tangy romaine salad with a habanero-avocado dressing.It's the peppers roasted and deseeeded mixed with avocado, brown sugar,vinegar, salt peppr and water. The romaiine laos has oranges added for brightness and sweetness.

Use the habanero to give a kick to any dish on a cold winter's day.It's easy to cook with and add to any recipe. It brightens up any dish and dinner.

More Lessons To Learn

 One solid New Yer's resolution is either improving one's cooking skills or finally learning how to cook. either won;t disappoint in the long run. The skills gleaned now will last a lifetime, meaning tasty meals and easier ways to deal with prep and cooking.

Regular contributor , chef and restauranteur Sohla El-Wahlly has written about and gives readers easy recipes to try in today's New York Times Food section. She has also teamed up with te Times to create videos on You Tube geared for novice home chefs.(they're at youtube.com@NYTCooking) Most are half and hour long and Chef El-Wahlly guides you through first selecting the best ingredients and then the different cooking methods. (there are much shorter Tikotk videos from adventurous home chefs who have tried and executed  the NY Times recipes ,Also check those out) There is already a video on eggs and the many different ways to cook them, from a simple scrambled to sunny side up. There will also be videos on crispy salmon without any stovestop platter, a rice pilaf, perfect onits' own or as a buttery side and a perfectly cooked and crisped spatchcocked chicken. There will also be recipes for  broiled broccoli even kids will love, a one skillet steak dinner and Chef El=Wahlly's mom's spaghetti dinner.

Even if you don't watch the NY TImes video, there's Chef El-Wahlly's advice to consider. As with any project start with the right tools. Buy a big cutting board. Smaller ones are perfect for cutting proteins and then easy to wip down. For all other buy the biggest one you can. This will be perfect for cutting up veggies and herbs one right after the other and leaving them into little piles. It makes for an easy , effortless  throwing everything intoa pot or skillet too. Another must is a knife you can sharpen.Chef El-Wahlly recommends steer clear of any celebrity endorsed ones. Buy yourself an inexpensive one along with a small whetstone for sharpening.Big bowls for mixing and a heavy skillets are also musts. Another iteme very kitchen should have is a sheet pan. This should not just be forroasting veggies an meats.. Use this as an all purpose cookie sheet and to dry brine meats in the fridge. There is also advice on tasting the food you cook along the way to make sure it tastes OK, swapping in one ingredient for another and learn how to read a recipe. Another bit of advice be kind to yourself. Mistakes will happen . Let them.

Watch the videos to learn how to cook. You'll definitely pick up tips and tricks for making a better meal. Cooking is not hard. It's easy if you know what you're doing.

Are You Storm Ready

 This is January and that means storms - all sorts of them Are you ready for them? What about your food supplies? Ehat can you cook with if you lose power? Be prepared and be ready,

It used to be that the month just brough blizzards and monster snowstorms.Thanks to global warming we're getting more and more hurricane like storms in a warming winter. The same advice I gave in September during that season I'll give now.Have plenty of canned food along with plenty of bagged and canned food for your animal companions. Winter flooding is getting bad here in the States. It may be hard to get to a store , especially if it's in a low lying flood zone. Make sure both people, and animals have enough of their special foods for special diets too. Keep in mind that your power may go out so that's a problem for fridges and freezers. Those frozen dinners will have to be cooked quickly, namely in a gas oven. No electricity means no air fryers or  microwaves.If you can and the weather breaks then get out your barbecue. Use charcoal and any relatively dry wood as fuel and cook up any meats and even vegetables. Frozen dinners will have to be deconstructed and cook what you can from them.

What should you buy? Usually most go for bread, milk and eggs. You can easily make French toast with these . Also think easy to store cheese slices. You can make everything from grilled cheese to stuffed tortillas with the slices. They can also go into salads too for extra protein. Cold cuts also work and they can also be used in salads for more protein. Some grocery stores will be flooded or will be powerless. A few will have generators and most industrial freezers can keep food overnight at the longest. Stay away from the creamy stuff like frozen dinner with sauces. Fresh meats and seafood can easily spoil. Avoid these. Stick with cereals for breakfast for the kids. Buy boxed milk , both plant and dairy for them and for your coffee. Again canned food will come in handy .Beans and tuna fish can be eaten cold right out of the can. Figure on bean salad and tuna mixed with vegan mayo (this is safer for you because there are no eggs in it that can go bad). Get fresh fruits and vrggies to eat too. Again these can be eaten raw and a good source of nutrients. Buy bagged snacks and cookies along with candy just to have as comfort food.

January is getting a bad reputation  as a stormy month these days. Be  prepared. be careful. You can weather any storm with the right food choices.

It's Crockpot Season

 It's January and that means one thing :time to get out  the crockpot or start using the one you received for Christmas. There's so much you cna make using it. Be rady for , easy, ribsticking meals  that warm you from yoru head to your toes.

I got mine out after a few seasons of not using it.I love it, from Classic which I bought at Target six years ago./ The handle is broken and it's seen better days after six years but it still works beautifully.

I spent a rainy , snowy Sunday making homemade vegan chili.It's my Mom';s recipe that I tweaked. It  has a cuo of both kidney and cannellini beans, a cup of vegan soy crumbles, crushed pepper infused tomatoes and tomato sauce. A mix of cumin, chili powder, along with onionand garlci powders were added. You can add real meat and just the tomato sauce. A bowl of it was perfect on a frosty, chilly day. You can jazz it up your own recipe by adding a layer of mixed Mexican cheeses, and sour cream or a dollop of guacamole.

Use your crockpot to make all sorts of warming dishes. My next big recipe with it will be homemade tomato sauce. This is bascially the chili recipe sans the cumin and chili powder. I can see  it on top of penne or spaghetti with vegan meatballs. I can also just serve meat balls and sauce over Italoan bread for a hot hearty, hero. Keep in mind that crockpots can also be used to make Swedish meatballs and a variety of homemade soups. Imagine a good leek and potato one being simmered in it. If you have apples, cut them up with some granulated sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for a chunky applesauce. 

It's crockpot season. Use yours to make hot , tasty meals. It's such an easy cook that produces warming dishes for cold winter days and night.