Chilly Summer Days

 Those days will come - those chilly Summer Days when you;d prefer a hot chocolate to a chocolate gelato. Yet you can still enjoy picnics and days around the barbecue and campfire.The key is eating warming foods,They'll keep you toasty until the summer sun comes back,.

How do you stay the day on a cold summer morning? The same as you wound on a fall or winter day - oatmeal or farina. despite  the temps  berry harvests still thrive. Add some strawberry or any bertry butter with maple syrups. Also a good dose for cream with blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. Also warmed croissants with fresh made jam is another good way to start a below average temperature June or July morning.You could also make a hot sandwich with scrambled eggs, pork roll (Or Taylor ham) and and English muffin.A  hot sandwich is the  perfect way to chase off a chilly day especially if it's the first day of driving.Have a side for fruit to go with it.Omelets make for a good breakfast or even lunch. have them with peppers or cheese along with julienned ham r bacon bits. Shakshuka, the spicy Tunisian egg dish is a great family breakfast on a frosty Sunday. It's taking eggs and poaching them in a spicy tomato sauce that also has bell peppers onions and garlic. Omit these if they're too much for breakfast. Also it makes for a good brunch dish, especially with crusty bread.

What if your camping trips turns into a frost festival? You can still make hearty meals over a camp fire. Take already cooked spaghetti and already made meatballs. Add a sauce and you;re good to go.Surprisingly enough  garlic bread can be made over an open fire. You can buy a grill and and placed oiled and spiced slices of Italian bread on it and evenly toast both sides.The loaf can be cut into chunks , dipped in a garlicky oil and the toasted over the flames.Everyone knows you can cook hot dogs over a campfire but you can also cook hamburgers too. Patties are put into foil packets and then put over the flames for twelve to fifteen minutes. what about the beach? You can always bring hot soup in thermoses for a nice hot lunch.  Also instead of a cool drink, ring a thermos of coffee or hot tea to go with  sandwiches.Luckily there are  so many seafood restaurants that border seaside parks. Visit one for a good hot mug of chowder or a fresh  from the fryer fish and chips.As for a chilly evening at home,you can make a grilled steak but also have a jar of warmed gravy to go with it. Baked potatoes are a nice side on a chilly night. Serve with hot cheese sauce for an added treat.

Yes, there will be chilly summer days and nights. A hot meal would not go amiss during these days. Make a warming breakfast, lunch and dinner to chase anyway these cold days.

Strawberry Butter Red White And Whew

 Flag Day is also an American holiday that deservesceelbration. Since it's in the e middle of the first strawberry season here, why not create a special dish that highlights  the berries.THis would be the very delicious strawberry butter. It;'s great on bread but also on a slice of pound cake , croissants or brioches.

The recipe has been on my radar since I wrote about it last week.I have been wanting to create Berry butters .They're great on rolls, especially toasted ones along with waffles..I made a vegan version using Melt salted plant butter. The recipe calls for unsalted butter but I feel the salted variety adds to the flavor.

I used three heaping tablespoons (which here they look like vanilla ice cream).

It was then dicing and de-stemming five to six large strawberries 

It was hard at first whipping them together. I finally had to use my mixer to really get a good creamy blend.

It was tasty but it needed some sweetness. strawberries can. be tart.It was time to add in vegan honey.

I used a good three tablespoons to get it to the right Berry sweetness. This I mixed in with a spoon since the butter had softened considerably.

This was so good on sourdough bread.It does have to be chilled  before serving. It's going to be paradise when it's slathered on a waffle.

Strawberry butter is a great way to celebrate any holiday.It's perfect for fancy or simple brunches. It's good on anything from rolls to croissants.Try it for a great strawberry flavor.

Your Summer Comforts

 We all have them - summer foods that make us feel good. It could be charred hot dogs straight from the grill plopped on a buttered roll. It could be a host of Boardwalk(this is Jersey after all) treats from taffy to cotton candy to candy apples. It could be s'mores or just a gelato from a neighborhood shop.

Mine relies on the garden. pomodori e uovi or Piedmontese tomatoes and eggs.To me there is nothing better than this - the marriage of eggs and ripe tomatoes, enhanced by freshly minced garlic.it has to be eaten with a big hunk of Italian bread, just to stop up those tomato juices.

What is yours? fried butter from your state's fair? Family burger recipe? Or just a salad with the bounty from your garden. Let us know

Boutique Bottles

 Is water just water or are there variations - yes variations - that are slightly above just everyday H20?Surprisingly yes, water isn;t just water, mined from common springs. There's a whole new breed of the bottled stuff that's actually making waves.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food  section. It used to be that Perrier was the designer water of choice but not any more. There are more boutique ones as were tasted at the ninth  annual Fine water Taste and design show recently in Atlanta, Georgia. water tasting is surprisingly like wine tasting. It's tasted, swished around the mouth and then spat out. Like coffee and beer ,water is experiencing a third wave of popularity , much like coffee and wine with Gen Zers.They've be primed in the fruity Le Croix waters and now want to level up.It's also gaining traction with the wellness crowd who have grown increasing skeptical of just plain tap water along with purified water in plastic bottles. H20 connaiseurs now can try waters from melted snow that's been filtered through Peruvian rock and deep sea water that has been pumped up eighty miles from the Korean coast( you do wonder about salinity there). There is also water gathered from nets from a miisty Tasmanian forest as well as a Texas brand laced with lithium called Crazy water.

Most would ask - what's wrong with just a decent from the tap glass of ice water.There are a lot , especially Generation Z would would turn their noses up at it.people want to elevate water just from the hydration and turn into into an experience similar to wine or alcohol.Influencers continue to plug these waters.This is nothing new. Back in 2001 Manhattan's Ritz-Carlton introduced a water sommelier, a person who knows water like a wine sommelier Publicists began using phrases like luxury hydration options without irony. However America was last in discovering spring water.It started in the 1800's when many visited the update New York spa town of Saratoga Springs. Springs there offered naturally carbonated waters that touted health benefits. throughout much of the Nineteenth Century.Now there are more than four thousand waters to choose from, some are a few dollars, some - otherwise known as jewelry waters cost thirty dollars a bottle. The water people buy are divided into two categories purified and natural. Purified is nothing more than tap water that's been filtered  and s tripped of minerals. and impurities while natural comes directly. from the earth.

Water is being transformed.It's not just that drink from the tap. It's elevated with minerals and pure flavor.Is it worth a sip? Yes.

Condiment Care

 t's that time of year when everyone uses ketchup, mustard, mayo and hot sauce almost on a daily basis. Yet do werefrigerate them 9or leave them out on the counter as we do in winter? Summer  - and any hot temperature is really not a friend to all those extras from peanut butter to jam included. How does a home chef take care of these vital side ingredients? LUckily there's a guide for them,

New contributor Kristin Miglore, creative director at  Food52.com gave a comprehensive guide in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. There are guidelines for everything which comes in handy during these warm and soon to be steamy days. The most important condiment in the summer is mayonnaise.It is a vital ingredient in so many summer side salads as well as being what gives sandwiches their flavor and moistness. The big surprise is that it can last outside the fridge for up to three months. However it's wise to  keep it chilled (it is egg based after all)Mayo can get too warm and emulsify.This means it can break down,separate and wind up with an unpleasant taste.Don;t put it in the back of the fridge either. It can freeze and ice crystals can form inside it ruining the texture. All mayo jars should be relegated to the fridge door shelves Homemade mayo, always made with raw eggs should be refrigerated promptly after making to reduce salmonella risk. WHat about the second most used summer condiment - mustard? it is pantry safe and can be left out thanks to nature of the mustard seed along with the added vinegar and salt. Still it can lose it's bright yellow color and even separate. The taste can go off too. It's best to keep it next to the mayo. The same goes for ketchup thanks to tomatoes' acidity. A bottle can be left out (diners do it) but it's best refrigerated for a better taste.

One of the most important ingredients any time of year is butter. Again like mayo it is surprisingly safe at room temperature. Of course salted will taste fresher longer than unsalted thanks to the salt preserving it. However whipped and plant based butters are more delicate and should be refrigerated at all times. Ghee is another matter.It's been simmered in water until that's evaporated.Ghee can keep up to six months. Honey is another, albeit lesser summer ingredient is honey.It's always perfect over fresh fruit or in mocktails as well as in homemade ice cream.Honey is sugar which means it can last indefinitely. well preserved honey has been found in Egyptian tombs dating back 3,000 years. However do not let moisture in.A wet spoon or a loose lid in ninety percent humidity . This can cause yeast to ferment and leave the syrup with a bad taste and odor. Keep the lid on tight and do not keep in the fridge.Ice crystals can form and cause the syrup to become thick and grainy.Many will bring bringing another sweetener from Vermont or Canada this summer - maple syrup.This most definitely has to be refrigerated. Keeping it out at room temps will cause it to ferment. You could have a bottle of maple wine or vinegar  along with a mold riddled syrup.Toss it if there is mold. Maple syrup can be stored in the freezer. It will not be affected by the extreme cold.

These are just some of the suggestions for the summer's most popular condiments. The guide is more thorough, covering capers, Kim chef and even peanut butter. It is a keeper to follow all year round.

It;s Berry Season

 The one aspect of June is that it's berry season. Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are in full bloom right now.They can be turned into all sorts of sweet and savory treats.use them in baking. Use them in even barbecuing.Ir's your harvest.

Scones are an easy bake and there;s nothing better than a berry rich scone.Keep in mind that strawberries are water dense fruit and baking with them can lead to a soggy crumb. It's best to slice them and let them drain out  on paper towels for a few hours before using. You'll have a crisper crumb for baked goods and a thicker frosting.Can you make a strawberry croissant? Yes  but it's usually stuffing. Make it with a cream filling. You can have a creme anglaise or a simple whipped cream one put into the croissants right before serving. Another treat is berry butter, made with all three berries or just one or two.It's just taking a half cup of strawberries and a half cup of any other and then mixing them with a half cup of butter. Shape intoa log and chill in wax paper. Add rounds to pancakes and French toast for a fruity and fun bite.Fruit butter is also good on plain or raisin bagels and of course croissants. Another use of the  berries can be boiled down into a syrup. These make for a great natural soda ,especially if you use Soda Stream for the soda.It's just boiling them down with sugar and water into a simple syrup and then straining.

One of the best recipes for fruit is making tasty vinaigrettes. A strawberry vinaigrette is perfect for a grilled chicken salad. Add some creamy feta and almonds to the greens for a very delicious summer salad. Blueberries also make a great vinaigrette.It;s just taking the fruit and mixing it with lemon juice along with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Again this is a great with a grilled chicken salad or even a julienned  ham salad. Blackberry dressing is another tasty berry perfect for a dressing. Use good olive oil along with apple cider vinegar. It''s even more delicious with chunks of blackberry in it. Use it for a steak salad with a mix of different greens. Berries are a mouth watering addition to any barbecue marinade One of the best is a blackberry one thickened with ketchup and zinged up with vinegar.You can add Dijon mustard and sriracha for heat if you want.everything is cooked up and then the berry mash is strained out. It can be brushed on the meat before grilling. Strawberry glaze is perfect for chicken.Combine fresh , pureed strawberries with honey sugar and balsamic vinegar in a saucepan.Add some garlic and rosemary and cook until thick. You can brush it on before grilling or save it as a dipping sauce for legs and wings.

It's berry season! Take advantage of the harvest and create something sweet or savory!Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are perfect ingredients to any recipe right now!

Old Fashioned Foods

 Would our great grandparents eat what we would eat? What would we think of their favorites?Are there any foods that have lasted through the decades and still served today? Yes!

One of the most endearing and tastiest is the simple grahhan cracker. This sweet cracker began in the mid 1800's' by Sylvester Graham, the father of vegetarianism. They were and still are made with graham flour a densely milled whole wheat kind,complete with the hull and the germ. This creates a healthier digestive biscuit.It may have been the first "cookie many American kids ate. Now it's still a sweet snack and was reinvented as the base for s'mores first made in 1927 by the American Girl Scouts. Now home chefs also use it for pie crusts, weather it's for ice cream pie or a cream pie .Crushed graham crackers mixed with butter and sugar are also the base or crust for cheesecake too.is it still a healthy snack. Yes!It's much better than a sleeve of any kind of cookie and perfect for someone on a limited diet.Another sweet snack that  our grandparents loved is tapioca. Every home chef in decades past had her (yes her. It was always women in charge for the family kitchen back in the day ) had her own spin on the recipe. It's made with the exotic cassava root.Ot's been around for millennia  having first been made by indigenous Brazilians.  The pudding itself is made with "pearls" beads filled with the cassava.They;'re cooked with eggs as any custard is.Vanilla is added to bring out the cassava's flavor. Custards are another ls fashioned dessert that's still being eaten today.

Some foods can cause shivers.Pigs knuckles or hocks were a big deal in German family dinners . SOme German clubs like the deutch Club in Clark New Jersey, has it as part of its menu during their summer festivals and Ocktoberfests.They're braised  , depending  on the family oven crisped resulting in a crispy crackly skin.It's served with potato salad or sauerbraten. Brains and livers are other meats that our grandmothers had all sorts of recipes for. These fell out of favor when people preferred just eating different cuts.There are some who still make the classic liver and onions which is calf liver cooked in some kind of oil or fat and then onions are added to it. Some cultures like Moroccan  do still make it as do the Venetians in Italy. It's taken from a much older Roman recipe where the liver is cooked with figs. It serves with white polenta. Are there any brains recipes? Yes, there looks like some tasty ones, mostly fried and heavenly seasoned. Yet just try getting kids and most adults  to eat them . The answer would be a resounding no followed by leaving the table.

Some foods like graham crackers go on. Some like brains and livers don't Tastes change as do the population.