A Taste of Kindness

 One thing Pope Francis taught us was kindness to others. He was very much like St. Francis ,of whom he took his name. we can learn from both ,especially during these are times.

Food is one of the best ways to reach out to anyone.If you do have a family member, neighbor or friend who is alone and wanting company share a meal with them. Nothing lifts the spirits more than a meal and good conversation.It doesn't;t have to be a fancy meal, McDonald's or even a sandwich in the back yard will do the trick.Invite them over for a Sunday family dinner. It's soon to be barbecue season so save an extra set at the outdoor table.Remember our veterans, especially the elderly ones. Not only share a meal with them but shop for them as well. You can also volunteer at soup kitchens too. It's strange that many just volunteer only on Thanksgiving or Christmas. The needy are hungry all year long. They need food in the  Spring and summer months too. The staff would greatly appreciate the extra hands too. There are also food pantries that will need help and food too.Donate what you can if you can.

It is hard to share however with food prices always rising to astronomical highs and not enough time, thanks to busy schedules.Yet , we lose our humanity when we only think of ourselves. If you're having struggles yourself  reach out. There's no shame in visiting a food pantry. You have to eat. Your family  and animal companions have to eat. Keep in mind that they also have necessary items too, such as diapers, detergent, soap, and paper towels to name a few. Another idea that can work is the community are aptly named community gardens. Cities such as Paterson and Newark, both  New Jersey  highly urban cities have these. Everyone in the neighborhood pitches in, from tilling and hoeing the soil to planting the seeds to weeding and then harvesting the crops. It means fresh veggies and fruits for all. Some gardens even offer cooking classes that show how to make nutritious yet tasty meals with the harvests. They also offer classes for kids for gardening too as well as other classes such as yoga and meditation. It's all about helping each other.

Pope Francis ,like St. Francis helped all. It's time to do the same. The best way is through food.

An Easter Full of Treats

 everyone have a good Easter.enjoy all the candy and those oh so expensive eggs. It is a time for all sorts of sweets and traditional foods.

I cannot wait to crack my chocolate Fiorina egg from Lidl. It;s chock full of little  chocolate treats. There's also a bunny from my friend Harry and chocolate eggs from Walgreens.

A good Easter to everyone! Go on an egg hunt. Much on chocolate eggs.Revel in the season of rebirth

Good Friday Request

 With today being Good Friday, the usual question about food and drink is being replaced with a request. Consider your neighbors this Easter and Passover season as well as family. Feed and nourish them if they are having difficulty feeding their own. Lend them a couple of dollars or share bounty from upcoming gardens this summer.

This is Holy Season by the generous, thoughtful, and considerate the rest of the year too.

Fish For Easter

 Many will be baking ham or lamb this Easter Sunday. However for something different try fish. There is the religious symbolism of it but there's also a fresh flavor to it .It's also easier to prepare and cook than the other two traditional meats. It's a different spin fitting in with the lightness of Spring.

Regular contributor and chef Genevieve Ko gave this recipe in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It is a refreshing turn from the over saltiness of ham and the sometime dryness of lamb. It may be hard for some to switch. Ham for Easter has been the mainstay ofr many German and American families. Pigs were slaughtered din the fall, Their haunches were brine cured and ready around Easter. Lamb also is a hard meal to give up.It has religious significance and baby lambs were sacrificed in the Spring. Yet these are also labor intensive to prepare and cook. Fish isn't. salmon is a good choice,It's low calorie and light, perfect for a warmer weather meal.Ms. KO recommends using wild salmon which works well with the butter honey glaze. Home chefs can also use fatty farmed salmon which will give the meat a richer flavor. as with steak season  with salt an hour before cooking. This will draw the moisture out of the flesh as the fish chills in the fridge , giving a firmer texture.It can be salted four hours before cooking or even a few minutes before.

What would go with this? Ms. Ko has pickled Persian cucumber which sits a top of the fish. after an hour the cucumbers still maintain their crisp freshness. Keep in mind that the longer the cucumber marinate in salt and the honey mustard marinade  the soggier they'll become which actually works to their favor.They become tangier in taste while the mustard seeds plump from the honey-vinegar brine. The brine is first put on the cucumbers. Use rice wine or white wine vinegar   for a lighter flavor. Lemon zest is added to it as well for zing and brightness. What to serve with it? Roasted potatoes work along with asparagus. Ms. KO throws a sheet pan of the stalks  in the oven as the salmon roasts at 425 degrees  Farenheit. A arugula salad works here as well along with other fresh greens to welcome Spring. As for a starch think white or even brown rice. It is the perfect side for the fish and cucumbers.

Try salmon for Easter. It's a refreshing flavor that anyone will enjoy. Start a new tradition  with this fantastic dish.

Sweet Homemade Easter Treats

 More than any other holiday Easter is the  holiday for all sorts of sweets.Not only does this include chocolate bunnies and eggs but homemade treats too. These are wonderful; after a savory meal of ham and asparagus.

New contributor and author of the newsletter Kitchen Projects, Nicola Lamb, give sus two classic Easter treats in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section one treat is more of a candy and it comes from Britain.These are called nest cakes although there's nothing cakey about them. They're the first thing British chefs and kids learn to make and they're also a favorite here in the US.It;s just melt chill portion them out in cupcake papers and then chill.It;s really a buttery treat because the recipe has five tablespoons of butter in it. Almost two cups of chocolate chips are used in it - although some American recipes also add in a quarter cup of peanut butter and/or marshmallow fluff.  Also white chocolate or milk chocolate can be used instead of dark for variety.Four cups of plain cornflakes are used . It's not a sin , though, to sub in Rice Krispies or CHinese fried noodles. Using a cookie or ice cream scoop, place the mixture in a muffin tin lined  with cupcake fullers. Chill until the chocolate is set although not too hard. Fill with Cadbury or robin;'s eggs, M& M's or Whoppers.

The second recipe which could also grace any shower dessert table comes from Sweden,Princesstarta or princess cake. This was first made for Swedish princesses Margaretha, Marta and Astrid in 1948 by Jenny Akerstron, a home economist teacher who also wrote a cookbook. It was originally called grintarta or green cake thanks to the lightly tinted marzipan icing. The royal association is still strong.The country sold out of them in 2012 when Princess Estelle was born.The cake itself is a dome of three layers of sp onge cake along with a cream and jam filling. This may be daunting for beginner bakers , especially the assembling and placing the marzipan on top. Yet it can be done. Home balers will need a springform or an eight inch round cake pan.It is a typical sponge cake made with three eggs and r=two an half tablespoons of vegetable oil added for a smooth ,spongy texture. The custard is a rich cream that has yolks and even butter added. There is also the marscapone cream added that combines teh cheese with heavy cream. There is the recipe for marzipan but a store bought one can be used if it;s tolled out. for the cake. Save a small bit for th pink rose on top.

Easter is the time for sweet goodies. Make something simple as the chocolate nests or something more involved as the Princess cake. either treat is a guaranteed show stopper.

The Perfect Book For Brunch Season

 Spring means brunches. It could be  a lush one to celebrate Easter.It could be a fun one with friends and family.It could be an elegant one for upcoming bridal and baby showers. Luckily there's a new recipe book that help with all of these.

Brunch Seasom :  A Year of Delicious mornings From The Buttermilk Kitchen (Gibbs Smith Publisher 2025) was written by The Buttermilk Kitchen creator and chef Suzanne Vizethann. She is inspired by the Lulu Cafe in Chicago. The restaurant featured seasonal brunch dishes by fruits and veggies that were in season. It is brunch season now but yo9u could easily make a good autumnal brunch  along with doing brunches for Christmas day, New Year's Day and even Valentine's Day. she starts off with recipes for seasonless staples like the perfect bacon and scrambled eggs.There are also recipes for mimosa and avocado toast, which all of these would make for a fabulous brunch no matter what the season. Spring and summer feature a plethora of vegetable laden recipes. The asparagus frittata with goat cheese is the perfect warm weather brunch main course. Imagine having it with a chilled mimosa or a Bellini.A great summer brunch nibble is the heirloom tomato toasts (which would make a fabulous dinner too)It's combining tomatoes - after all a fruit  - with cherries, blackberries and blueberries.It has a bottom layer of rich , creamy burrata.

Fall and winter brunch recipes are lusher and richer with the flavors of the seasons. A fall one has lobster rolls (Chef Vizethann recently moved to Maine ) along with a Bloody Mary with  lobster claws decorating it. A tasty brunch bite is the pumpkin bread French toast with homemade whipped cream.A really novel one is poached eggs with maple syrup. This may sound strange but it actually works because the eggs are poached in maple syrup. They;re served over French toast or pancakes.Heartier fall brunch fare includes short rib hash with sweet potatoes. The winter ones are lush reflecting the flavors of the winter holidays.I love the recipe for chocolate crepes. They would even be an elegant dessert filled with creme fraiche and raspberry jam,Of course there are homemade cinnamon rolls. They're a perfect way to start a weekend morning but there's also the savory and delicious kale and mushroom which also has flavorful Parmesan and scallions added. for a fun morning after the party brunch make her breakfast fried rice that has mushrooms, carrots and scallions in it along with maple syrup and bacon to give it that right breakfast flavor.Finish. with her hot cocoa cookies and mocha coffee. 

Brunch season is really Spring yet you can have it all year round with Chef Vizetthann's Brunch Season : A Year of Delicious Mornings From The Buttermilk Kitchen. These are perfect for any day of the year. Try them for a tasty brunch with family and friends.

Budget Easter

 This Easter may be a bit tough for some home chefs/ Prices are spiraling out of control. It's hard to get eggs. what to do. Budget wisely. You can have a bountiful table , full of delicious foods if you shop wisely first.

The main course for any Easter dinner is usually ham. Luckily Aldi and Wal-Mart have very good prices.Aldi starts at $12.75 for a boneless spiral one while Wal-Mart offers Kentucky Legend smoked ham. Lamb can also be served , with the ham or on it's own.Lidl has Butcher's Specialty boneless half lamb leg for $6.99 while Aldi offers ground lamb for $58.5 a pound. This can be turned into Greek kebabs, highlighted with lemon and a mix of ground cinnamon garlic and oregano. Another idea is getting smaller cuts of meat and letting the sides shine, Asparagus season is right now and many stores hare selling the stalks for under five dollars a bunch. These are versatile and can be made a variety of different ways. It's best Piedmontese style with melted butter and Parmesan cheese on top but you can also grill it after a bath in olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.Smashed potatoes are another light and affordable Easter meal side.Baby gold potatoes are being sold  at $2.97 at Wal-Mart and $3.99 at Target. These are perfect for the recipe and can be made in a few minutes.

Of course the other star of the Easter meal or more specifically brunch is quiche. It's primarily made up of those  elusive ingredients: eggs. The prices of these have dropped significantly so you can create an affordable pie.One quiche does require six eggs but that's because it's basically an egg pie, You can add everything from julienned or deviled ham to chopped asparagus, cheese and peppers. since this is a rich meal, think fruit salad for dessert or even a side. Melon is a good price right now Shop Rite is offering cantaloupe for $2.50  Three of these mixed with other fruits such as sliced bananas and oranges. A bag of fresh naval orange;s are $4.99 at Wal-mart. You can also use them to create miimosas  for a lovely brunch drink.Speaking of which a bottle of Asti Spumante is only $2.79 a bottle at Total Wine and More.Acme's Liquor store is selling Barefoot Bubbly Pink Moscato Champagne for $11.99. Don't worry about Easter chocolates. Lild has a wide array of chocolates at very good prices. The chocolate is German made and the taste is that of a much more expensive candy.

This is the year for a budget holiday. Yet it can still be a tasty feast if you shop smartly for it. Don't fret. You'll still  have the Easter dinner of your dreams.

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