tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90711609444865332802024-03-13T00:17:19.706-07:00XYZ RecipesA Blog for the Few of Us who Eat to Live...XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-11891890866348342912008-11-25T17:00:00.000-08:002008-11-26T12:36:12.604-08:00Less Turkey, More Bull, with King George VI PieTo celebrate the massive and incredible and stunning changes about to be Wrought in our World (I for one am still patiently waiting, for with the appointment of "20 Hawks, Clintonites and Neocons" to top posts before you could recover from your post-election hangover, it appears that the more things change, the more they stay the same) - in any case, to celebrate the nature of the change, I am doing Thanksgiving with good, old-fashioned, BEEF AND POTATOES, I'm done with election gobble-gobble, I mean, WHERE'S THE BEEF?<br /><br />This Change is beginning to look like Halloween all over again. And therefore, for this Permanent State of Halloween we have found ourselves in, reminiscent of the ForeverNEver Irish-Brit conflict in an ironic way, ironic because it would not make money for the evil elite to have that conflict ever, ever end, how about some BRAISED BEEF with as much Irish beer and and whiskey you can muster up, spuds a la COLCANNON, and King George VI's very own special Pumpkin Pie, to celebrate America's new Thanksgiving of Bogus Change.<br /><br />After all, King George has run yet another one of his "choicest boys" up the flag (you did know he had a penchant for this kind didn't you?) and into the deadliest cage of them all, deadlier than the Colorado ones of days of yore. There's more on that at my Black N Crispy political kitchen, if you can find it.<br /><br />I would suggest for your listening pleasure preparing this All Bull Thanksgiving, Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares to You". It is arguably one of the 25 saddest songs in the world, in my book the saddest, and sing it for our Last Thanksgiving Supper, and for the blackbird in the white cage who could fly us away, if he himself only could do so for himself. This is because at precisely "7 hours and 15 days" into his "Co-Presidency", Americans were again cheated of any right for justice on real legal matters. See for yourself:<br /><br /><strong></strong><blockquote><strong>Mario Murillo</strong>: “There’s been talk about a close ally and friend of Obama as a potential Attorney General for the United States, Eric Holder, who is currently defending Chiquita Brands International in its defense against dozens of plaintiffs here in Colombia, <span style="font-style: italic;">working families who were targeted by paramilitaries who were funded to the tune of $1.7 million over the last several years. I</span>t’s a major scandal. And if this guy becomes the Attorney General under an Obama administration, then it’s going to be really hard to find justice in this case coming from the United States.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Xyz_Recipe Girl: </span> "Ummm, that would be <span style="font-style: italic;">any case </span>that goes against PNAC, can you say <span style="font-weight: bold;">Banana Republic </span>in the new Administration and not get sued?"<br /><br /></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">COLCANNON</span> - adapted from Irish Food recipes all over the world - traditionally served at Halloween - now spruced up for America's Final Harlequin Banquet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS</span><br /><br />3 lbs of thin skinned medium sized potatoes<br />1 medium green cabbage<br />1 cup buttermilk<br />1/2 cup copped green onions<br />6 Tbl butter<br />Lots of Salt and Pepper<br /><br />I like this best with cabbage, but have made it with kale, turnip greens, bok choy, brussel sprouts, spinach, and a goodly mix of all of the above, and still like it best with green cabbage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD</span><br /><br />1. Wash spuds, with brush if not organic, leave skins on, place in cold water in large pan, best to be large enough to allow them all have their own place at the bottom, to cover by a third. Salt it liberally.<br /><br />2. Cover and Bring to a boil then reduce to Medium heat.<br /><br />3. After about 15 minutes (usually the halfway plus point) pour out 2/3 of the water, leaving the spuds in just a little bit of water, reduce the heat a teensy bit more, let the potatoes cook for about 10-15 minutes. You must keep the covered, cuz its the steam that does its magic here.<br /><br />4. In the mean time, quarter the cabbage, cut into very thin slices and place in a pot with a bit of BOILING water and salt, and cook til soft, should not be more than 7 minutes. When done, drain immediately if not sooner, salt and pepper LIBERALLY, nad add 2-3 TBL of the butter.<br /><br />5. Back to the spuds, when done, drain the water, put the spuds in a bowl, and remove the skins, mash in the bowl with a potato ricer.<br /><br />6. Put the potato pan back on the stove, add the buttermilk and onions, bring to a boil, then add the mashed potatoes, and stir furiously.<br /><br />7. Add the cabbage, and the rest of the butter if it is too stiff, else save the butter for adding to the serving bowl, mix well, until fluffy. Does not matter if chunks of spuds are in there.<br /><br />Put in a heated dish and serve hot with the optional butter globbed in the center, and fresh pepper/salt, sprinkle with parsely. There is no better comfort food, political or not.<br /><br />I forgot. You will want to do these spuds last, to keep them hot, it's easy and fast as a last minute dish.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />BEER or WHISKEY BRAISED BEEF</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS</span><br />2 pounds really really good beef, like tri-tip chopped into largish stewing sized pieces<br />1 1/2 pounds carrots<br />3 large onions<br />4 Tbl all pupose flour<br />1 Tbl + 1 more Tbl cumin for marinating<br />4 Tbl olive oil<br />2 Tbl balsamic vinegar<br />1 tsp Basil<br />1 Tbl molasses<br />1 cup chicken or vegetable stock - no MSG<br />Parsley<br /><br />METHOD<br />1. Cut tri-tip ino chunks a bit larger than for stewing, and marinate in balsam, salt, pepper and cumin.<br />2. Dice the onions and peel and cut the carrots into finger sized lengths, and not too fat across.<br />3. Heat the oil and onions in a large pan until fat and transluscent definitely NOT where they lose their water and give up the ghost, cuz they are going into the oven.<br />4. Remove onions to a large pan for the oven, placed for now on top of the stove burner, on low to keep warm.<br />4. Mix cumin and flour, salt and pepper<br />5. Coat the beef with the flour mix, and brown in the pan that did the onions, adding more oil if needed. Brown.<br />6. Add basil and a few Tbl guinness to beef in pot, cook for a minute or two, and add molasses with a few tbl of stock.<br />7. NOW remove to the place on top of onions in the oven pan.<br />8. Bring to low simmer, arranging carrots (no potatoes or anything else please) around the beef<br />9. Slowly add rest of Guinness and bring to low simmer.<br />10. Now lastly add remaining stock, and cover with foil.<br />11. Bake in a 325 - 350 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.<br /><br />Serve with colcannon, very delicious COMFORT food both, and ya gonna be needing it in the days ahead, esp., mid 2009.<br /><br />You will want to end with Irish Coffee and King George VI Pumpkin Pie - recipe is next. In the UK in the '60's and '70's they used to call this Gollywogg pie, as this pumpkin pie will include UN-CHIQUITA BANANAS, as indeed so I was slandered as a young girl, going to a top British school... but we shan't be as crude here, or shall we? Hmmmm!XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-36257368743619467812008-07-22T18:15:00.000-07:002008-07-22T19:18:37.214-07:00Coconut Panko Oven Fried ChickenThis chicken is quick and surprisingly delicious, goes well with the coconut vegetable basmati rice.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Main ingredients</span><br /><ul><li>2 pieces of chicken breasts, skinned </li><li>1/2 cup coconut flakes</li><li>1/2 cup panko - Japanese breadcrumbs<br /></li><li>4 Tbl butter</li><li>1 egg</li><li>1-2 Tbl soy sauce</li><li>1 Tbl cornstarch<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spices</span><br /><ul><li>Cumin - 1 Tbl<br /></li><li>Curry powder - 1/2 Tbl<br /></li><li>Oregano or cilantro flakes optional<br /></li><li>Salt, pepper to taste<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Optional Gravy ingredients</span><br /><ul><li>Chicken broth</li><li>Coconut milk</li><li>Cooking alcohol (wine, rice wine)<br /></li></ul>Baking pan, oven at 350-360 deg. F.<br /><br />Dot butter in bottom of baking dish with fingers, flatten the dots out a bit til bottom is overed.<br /><br />In a large flat-bottomed bowl, mix together cornstarch, spices, coconut flakes and panko. I sometimes add oregano or cilantro or even basil flakes here.<br /><br />In a small bowl beat egg, add soy sauce, a bit of water to stretch if you have more than 2 pieces of chicken.<br /><br />Dip chicken, one piece at a time, in egg mix, then roll in coconut-panko mix.<br /><br />Put in pan and bake uncovered at 350 - 360 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn chicken pieces and continue baking 20- 25 minutes more.<br /><br />Remove the chicken and add a suitable amount of chicken broth with coconut milk to the bottom of the baking pan, and a bit of alcohol of choice to reduce the butter etc., mix, add salt and pepper to taste, and that is your gravy.<br /><br />If you want a more robust gravy, then add some pureed fruit (any fruit, I'm not picky, but aficioanados will tell you the pulpy ones are better, apricot, peach, grape, plum ... vs apple), more butter (or olive oil), rice wine vinegar, chicken broth, brown sugar, mustard, salt and chili powder... and cook 'til blended. This is really in the duck sauce family but goes great with this sort of baked chicken.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-85766039012937505472008-07-22T14:52:00.000-07:002008-07-22T18:15:44.170-07:00Coconut Vegetable Basmati Rice<span>I have not been posting, but I have been cooking up a storm, mostly for Buddha Kitty, who has been diagnosed with chronic renal failure. Well, that's what the blood tests say, of course, I always said starting a year ago, that by the time they get around to diagnosing his liver/kidney issues using blood tests my cat will be near death.</span><br /><span><br />That, of course, is EXACTLY what happened, *fork* over a few thou anyways.<br /><br />Interestingly, in this journey, Buddha Kitty has taught me a lot about homeopathics, holistic approaches, integrative medicine, asshole vs. sainted vets, and how owners must stick to their Cat's instincts, always.<br /><br />He was losing weight dramatically; this meant getting and keeping food in him was a life-and-death challenge. His digestive system finally did get jump-started, <span style="font-style: italic;">*that's</span></span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">* a whole 'nother blog especially considering how many thousands of pet owners have furry loved ones with CRF after that bloody, terroristic pet food attack last year</span> - and when it did, my beautiful cat began to eat.... and how! and what? What did he eat? <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">eye-talian food! </span><br /><br />Yep, that'd be prosciutto, bologna, chicken cooked with garlic, oregano, bit of cheese and tomato, more prosicutto, does he not like the dish? - put some tomato paste over it - for that matter, pour tomato soup with corn, fresh corn on the cob, aparagus, screw the rice, how about orzo instead. Fish? Cod? Okaaay but I prefer fillet of sole please... baked with a smidge of olive oil, garlic and basil... and frigging <span style="font-style: italic;">kale</span>, which the sainted vet-aut</span><span>hor Carol Schwartz who wrote "Four Paws, Five Directions" about TCM for pets, has a recipe for CRF cats that includes kale, and asparagus, so dear folks, we ignore my sainted CAT's internal food taste machine at our own peril!<br /><br />My beautiful, soulful Buddha cat, coming back from a CRF death ... on Italian food... yeah, yeah, he's got the science diet k/d out, also the modified diet kib</span><span>ble, he eats those too, plus about a tray of 20 different feline nutritional and herbal and other supplements, some prescription, others not, plus three difference kinds of cat vitamins and minerals... that he gets delivered through a feeding syringe twice a day, plus his sub-q fluids etc. etc. etc. But, make no mistake, he puts up with all of that ONLY if he gets fed pure Italian.<br /></span><br /><span>I kid you not. Sainted vet says (when I asked about the salty prosciutto) as long as he's eating we'll worry fine-tuning the "what" later, right now he's got to put on weight so whatever he's eating within reason, fine. Just watch the garlic and no onions and make sure he gets the canned and the kibble also.<br /><br />Cat is now back to demanding food every two hours, demanding I get off the phone and pet him, demanding fresh-laundered, warm white towels for him to recline over, and looking at me with those magical aqua blue eyes from 10 thousand times 10 thousand years ago.<br /><br />Back in action he is, a 6-7 on a scale of 1 to 10, better than the 1-2 he was mere weeks ago, proving for once and for all the kitchen is the medicine cabinet of first resort. You want to know what worked, it'll cost ya, not giving any of that away for free anymore.<br /><br />I go back to where I left off, pr</span><span>edictably with Mr. Coconut. I'll fix the vinegar and other sections in a bit, I am a busy, traveling person in a HURRY!<br /><br /></span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Coconut Vegetable Basmati Rice</span><br /></span><span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nVATs-DOGfUshJHLEe8Dbjb142ua-QFZcvE4g1hgU-3f0KBW1_W1GEQj_DU7eGsDDamhubyAClfeh89CjUJKgUSHK4htvRPNbib4xgnEYUqeuQaHKDXYR35uTML8nyy8Di3j6Rqi0y4-/s1600-h/Coconut+Vegetable+Basmati+Rice.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7nVATs-DOGfUshJHLEe8Dbjb142ua-QFZcvE4g1hgU-3f0KBW1_W1GEQj_DU7eGsDDamhubyAClfeh89CjUJKgUSHK4htvRPNbib4xgnEYUqeuQaHKDXYR35uTML8nyy8Di3j6Rqi0y4-/s320/Coconut+Vegetable+Basmati+Rice.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225971686518836082" border="0" /></a><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">SERVES 4 </span></span><span><br /><ul><li>1 cup basmati rice </li><li>4 tsp olive oil</li><li>1 tsp salt </li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Coconut etc. </span><br /><ul><li>1 cup chicken broth </li><li>1 cup coconut cream/milk</li><li>½ cup shredded coconut (optional) </li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vegetables </span><br /><ul><li> ½ cup green peas (fresh, froze, whatever)<br /></li><li>½ cup carrots - cut in strips, bit pieces<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spices </span><br /><ul><li>1 small cinnamon stick</li><li>4-6 cardamom pods</li><li>4-6 cloves</li><li>1 tsp cumin seeds</li><li>½ tsp fenugreek seeds (optional) </li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD</span><br /><ul><li>Clean wash soak rice in water for 15 minutes, drain, set aside</li><li>Heat oil in pan </li><li>Add all spices stir for about 1 minute - don't let it smoke esp. if you're using cinnamon powder instead of a stick<br /></li><li>Add vegetables (green peas and carrots), and optional shredded coconut; stir fry for 4 minutes, keep the heat to stir-fry level.<br /></li><li>Add rice, salt, chicken broth with coconut milk</li><li>Bring to a boil, cover the pan and turn down to low</li><li>Simmer for 12-15 minutes</li></ul></span>Serve with curry or yogurt.<span> The picture does not do it justice, when I removed the cover to take the snap, the aroma was intoxicating. So the most accurate way to look at the picture is to imagine being suddenly intoxicated.<br /></span>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-85227782061972954662008-03-13T23:18:00.000-07:002008-03-14T00:05:23.210-07:00Fermented Wine: The Secrets of Vinegar[This is a blog in progress. I am culling from several places the most amazing vinegary tales of culinary and medicinal triumphs. More importantly, I'm on the road, and need to have custom pickled things with me - or sent to me from my food storage stash - for my own health and wellbeing.]<br /><br />After Codex, all our secret medicinal remedies will be pass on in the Green Language with poetry.<br /><dl><dd>Jack and Jill went up the hill</dd><dd>To fetch a pail of water.</dd><dd>Jack fell down and broke his crown,</dd><dd>And Jill came tumbling after.</dd></dl><dl><dd>Up Jack got and home did trot</dd><dd>As fast as he could caper;</dd><dd>And went to bed and covered his head</dd><dd>In vinegar and brown paper.</dd></dl><br /><h3><span class="mw-headline">Job's Tears</span></h3> <p>In Japan, an aged vinegar is also made from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job%27s_Tears" title="Job's Tears">Job's Tears</a>; it is similar in flavor to rice vinegar.</p> <p><a name="Kombucha" id="Kombucha"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vinegar&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Kombucha">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Kombucha</span></h3> <p>Kombucha vinegar, also referred to as probiotic vinegar,<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since March 2007" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</span></sup> is made from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha" title="Kombucha">kombucha</a>, a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria. The bacteria produce a complex array of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrients" class="mw-redirect" title="Nutrients">nutrients</a> and populate the vinegar with symbiotic bacteria which some claim promote a heathy digestive tract, though no scientific studies have shown this to date. Kombucha vinegar is primarily used to make a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinaigrette" class="mw-redirect" title="Vinaigrette">vinaigrette</a> and flavored by adding strawberries, blackberries, mint, or blueberries at the beginning of fermentation.</p><p><br /></p>Sodium acetate is the chemical that gives salt and vinegar chips their flavor. It may also be added to foods as a preservative; in this application it is usually written as "sodium diacetate" and labeled <b>E262<br /><br /></b>This is the well-known "fizzing" reaction between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_soda" class="mw-redirect" title="Baking soda">baking soda</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar" title="Vinegar">vinegar</a>. 84 grams of sodium bicarbonate react with 750 g of 8% vinegar to make 82 g sodium acetate in water. By subsequently boiling off most of the water, one can refine either a concentrated solution of sodium acetate or actual crystals.<br /><br /><br />Most meals start with onions, ginger and garlic. In this the fermentation month, I thought to pickle these favorites, plus the peck s of peppers that I never seem to finish.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">However a big caveat:</span><br /><br />"Pickled peppers and mixed vegetable-pepper <span style="font-weight: bold;">home-canned products</span> are commonly prepared by many households. These products also have been implicated in botulism deaths due to the use of untested recipes, under-acidified products, addition of too much oil, or lack of processing."<br /><br />So we're not canning.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">GINGER:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0314M05.htm#5">Uncle Phaed</a> of course, gave us this recipe for pickled ginger.<br /><br />A great way to keep ginger is to put whole roots in a jar and cover with dry sherry. Ginger will keep indefinitely this way. Just slice off as needed. Be sure the sherry continues to cover the ginger.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pickled Ginger </span><br /><br />1/2 cup fresh ginger -- sliced paper thin<br />1/4 cup white vinegar<br />1/4 cup rice wine vinegar<br />1/2 cup sugar<br /><br />Stir all ingredients together in non-reactive stainless steel pan or glass<br />saucepan and bring to a boil.<br /><br />Let mixture cool to room temperature and chill overnight. (Pickled ginger<br />keeps for several months in the refrigerator.)<br /><br />Yield: 1 1/2 cups<br />Pickled Ginger<br /><br />2 tablespoons sugar<br />1 cup rice vinegar<br />1/2 cup water<br />1/2 pound fresh ginger root<br /><br />Combine sugar, vinegar (use ONLY rice vinegar) and water in 1-pint jar<br />with tight-fitting lid.<br />Peel ginger then cut it into long, PAPER-THIN slices using a swivel-bladed<br />vegetable peeler.<br />Place the slices in the pickling liquid. Refrigerate at least 2 to 3 weeks<br />before using.<br /><br />Yield: 1 pint. If kept submerged in the liquid, this will keep indefinitely<br />in the refrigerator.<pre></pre><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b><h3></h3></b></span></span>PICKLED HOT PEPPERS <br /><br />chili and jalapeno <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;">Chile peppers are usually preserved in salt and vinegar. Adding sugar or honey produces a more mellow tasting pickle. Adding spices gives additional flavour.<br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Salt</b> a: Used to extract moisture from some vegetables, which would otherwise dilute the vinegar and cause the pickle to ferment, and the vegetables to toughen. Use cooking salt rather than table salt; the latter contains a higher iodine content which can discolour the vegetables (it makes them darker).</p><strong>Salt b.</strong> Use noniodized canning or pickling salt. Noncaking materials added to table salt may make the solution cloudy.<div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Vinegar</b> a: Use bottled vinegar's (malt, distilled, wine, cider, spiced etc); draught vinegar's are not strong enough. White distilled or cider vinegar's of 5 percent acidity (50 grain) are recommended. Use cold vinegar for crisp vegetables and boiling vinegar for softer ones. The vinegar should cover the vegetables by at least an inch (2.5cm). For a home-made spiced vinegar, boil 1oz (25g) of mixed pickling spice in 1 pint (600ml) of vinegar for 5 minutes. Strain when cold.</p><p><strong>Vinegar b.</strong> Use a high grade cider or white distilled vinegar of 5 percent acidity (50 grain). White vinegar may be preferred with light-colored peppers or vegetables to retain color or if clear liquid is desired. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Do not use vinegars of unknown acidity</span>. For a less acidic flavor, add a small amount of sugar. This offsets the sharp acid flavor without affecting the pH or acidity of a product.</p> <p><strong>Caution:</strong> The acidity in a pickled product is as important to its safety as it is for taste and texture. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">There must be a minimum, uniform amount of acid throughout the mixed product to prevent growth of botulinum bacteria</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">.</span> Use only recipes with tested proportions of ingredients. <strong style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Do not alter vinegar/water proportions</strong><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </span>in the recipe.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>Spices</b>: Use whole spices, powdered ones will make the vinegar cloudy. <b>Mixed pickling spice consists of equal amounts of stick cinnamon, allspice berries, cloves, mace and peppercorns. Extras can include root ginger, celery seeds<br /></b></p><p style="text-align: left;"><b>Pre-cooking</b>: Some recipes require the chile peppers to be blanched before pickling, some don't.<br /><br /><b>Pans</b>: Use un-chipped enamel, aluminum or stainless steel pans. Copper, brass and iron pans will react with the vinegar, giving an off taste.<br /><br /><b>Sealing</b>: Jars must be sterilised and well sealed. Metal lids will corrode on contact with the vinegar. Kilner jars, with their rubber sealing rings, are recommended.<br /><br /><b>Maturing</b>: A minimum of 2 to 4 weeks maturing time is recommended. Crisp pickles will tend to soften after about 3 months.<br /></p><br /><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h3>Quick Facts...</h3> <ul><li>Use only fresh, blemish-free vegetables and up-to-date, research-based recipes when pickling peppers and pepper blends.</li><li>Use pure, granulated, non-iodized canning or pickling salt, high grade vinegar of 5 percent acidity, and fresh spices.</li><li>Process pickled peppers in a boiling water bath for the altitude-adjusted length of time specified in a tested recipe.</li><li>For oil peppers, use only fresh vegetable oil in the amounts specified in tested recipes.</li><li>Additional processing time and head space are needed to preserve pickled peppers in oil.</li></ul> <p>Pickled peppers and mixed vegetable-pepper home-canned products are commonly prepared by many Colorado households. These products also have been implicated in botulism deaths due to the use of untested recipes, under-acidified products, addition of too much oil, or lack of processing.</p><p><br /></p>Ingredients: <br /><br />4 pounds hot, long red, green or yellow peppers <br />3 pounds sweet red and green peppers, mixed <br />5 cups vinegar (5 percent acidity) <br />1 cup water <br />4 teaspoons canning or pickling salt <br />2 tablespoons sugar <br />2 cloves garlic <br /><br />Yield: About 9 pints Procedure:<br /><br />Wash peppers. If small peppers are left whole, slash two to four slits in each; quarter large peppers.<br /><br />Blanch in boiling water or blister in order to peel.<br /><br />Flatten small peppers. <br /><br />Fill jars, leaving ½-inch headspace.<br /><br />Combine and heat other ingredients to boiling and simmer 10 minutes.<br /><br />Remove garlic.<br /><br />Add hot pickling solution over peppers, leaving ½-inch headspace. <br /><br />Adjust lids and process pints or half-pints for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.<br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></p><br /><h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Garlic Pickled Chile Peppers</strong></span></h2> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">500g (1 lb) Cayenne peppers </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 tablespoons salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 teaspoon allspice </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 teaspoon celery seeds </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">3 cloves of garlic cut in halves </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">900ml (1 1/2 pints) vinegar (garlic vinegar if available) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 tablespoon granulated sugar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">8 peppercorns </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Wash the peppers and place into hot sterilized jars. Mix the allspice with the celery and mustard seeds. Pack into the jars. Add the garlic. Place the vinegar, sugar and peppercorns into pan and bring to the boil. Pour over the peppers and seal the jars. Makes about 1.5kg (3 lb)<br /></span></p><h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Fresh Pickled Jalapenos</strong></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Using fresh Jalapenos peppers, blanch for 3 minutes in boiling water. To prevent collapsing, puncture each pepper with a needle. Add the following ingredients to a pint jar packed with the blanched peppers before cooling occurs: </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 medium sized Garlic clove </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 teaspoon of onion flakes </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 small bay leaf </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/8 teaspoon ground Oregano </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/8 teaspoon Thyme </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/8 teaspoon Marjoram </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 tablespoon vegetable oil </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Cover with boiling brine solution prepared as follows: mix together; </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">3 tablespoons sugar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">9 tablespoons salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 pints water </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 pints 5% vinegar </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Close containers and process for 10 minutes in boiling water, then cool. Note that the jalapenos must be hot when brine solution is added. </span></p> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Easy Pickled Peppers</strong></span></h2> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 - 1 1/2 lb. fresh hot peppers (any kind you like) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 good sized handful of cayenne peppers (optional - adds color to mix) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 lb package of peeled baby carrots </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 or 2 heads garlic - peel and separate cloves </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 cup salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 cup black peppercorns </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 cup whole coriander seeds </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">White vinegar to cover </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Put the carrots on to boil in the vinegar. Stab each pepper with a paring knife. After the carrots have cooked for about 10 minutes, add everything else to the pot. Simmer 5 (crisp) to 15 (soft) minutes depending on your taste. Pour mixture into old mayonnaise jars or what ever else large glass jars you have on hand that have a cover. Cover (not too tight) and let cool for an hour or so. Then refrigerate. You can eat these right away but if you way for a few days the vegetables (carrots and garlic) will get hotter.<br /></span></p><p><strong>Peppers. </strong> A variety of peppers work well for home canning. Common varieties are Cubanelle, Hungarian, yellow wax, sweet cherry, sweet banana and sweet bells. Thick-fleshed peppers with firm waxy skins and bright, glossy color, free from defects, give the best pickled products. Avoid peppers that are soft, shriveled or pliable, and dull or faded in color. As with all pickled products, the shortest time from pick to pack offers the highest quality pickled product.</p> <p>Cut large peppers (Cubanella or bells) into jar-size pieces. Remove seeds and white inner core. Smaller varieties may be packed whole but must be slit to allow the vinegar solution to enter the hollow portion of the pepper. Make two small slits through the flesh of each whole pepper.</p><p><img src="http://us.st1.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/Img/trans_1x1.gif" alt="pad" border="0" height="1" width="26" /><a href="http://www.canningpantry.com/index.html"><img src="http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/canning-pantry_1992_1579891" border="0" height="5" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="0" /></a><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="574"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="574"><br /><h1 style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; color: rgb(0, 51, 102); font-size: 16px;">Pickling Chili Peppers</h1></td></tr><tr><td colspan="3" style="font-size:12px;"><p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Chile peppers are usually preserved in salt and vinegar. Adding sugar or honey produces a more mellow tasting pickle. Adding spices gives additional flavour. </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Salt</span>:</b> Used to extract moisture from some vegetables, which would otherwise dilute the vinegar and cause the pickle to ferment, and the vegetables to toughen. Use cooking salt rather than table salt; the latter contains a higher iodine content which can discolor the vegetables (it makes them darker).<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Vinegar</span>:</b> Use bottled vinegar's (malt, distilled, wine, cider, spiced etc); draught vinegar's are not strong enough. White distilled or cider vinegar's of 5 percent acidity (50 grain) are recommended. Use cold vinegar for crisp vegetables and boiling vinegar for softer ones. The vinegar should cover the vegetables by at least an inch (2.5cm). For a home-made spiced vinegar, boil 1oz (25g) of mixed pickling spice in 1 pint (600ml) of vinegar for 5 minutes. Strain when cold.<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Spices</span>: </b>Use whole spices, powdered ones will make the vinegar cloudy. Mixed pickling spice consists of equal amounts of stick cinnamon, allspice berries, cloves, mace and peppercorns. Extras can include root ginger, celery seeds etc.<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Pre-cooking</span>:</b> Some recipes require the chile peppers to be blanched before pickling, some don't.<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Pans</span>:</b> Use unchipped enamel, aluminum or stainless steel pans. Copper, brass and iron pans will react with the vinegar, giving an off taste.<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Sealing</span>:</b> Jars must be sterilized and well sealed. Metal lids will corrode on contact with the vinegar. Kilner jars are recommended.<br /> </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 175);">Maturing</span>:</b> A minimum of 2 to 4 weeks maturing time is recommended. Crisp pickles will tend to soften after about 3 months. </span></li></ul> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Garlic Pickled Chile Peppers</strong></span></h2> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">500g (1 lb) Cayenne peppers </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 tablespoons salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 teaspoon allspice </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 teaspoon celery seeds </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">3 cloves of garlic cut in halves </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">900ml (1 1/2 pints) vinegar (garlic vinegar if available) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 tablespoon granulated sugar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">8 peppercorns </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Wash the peppers and place into hot sterilized jars. Mix the allspice with the celery and mustard seeds. Pack into the jars. Add the garlic. Place the vinegar, sugar and peppercorns into pan and bring to the boil. Pour over the peppers and seal the jars. Makes about 1.5kg (3 lb) </span></p> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Fresh Pickled Jalapenos</strong></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Using fresh Jalapenos peppers, blanch for 3 minutes in boiling water. To prevent collapsing, puncture each pepper with a needle. Add the following ingredients to a pint jar packed with the blanched peppers before cooling occurs: </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 medium sized Garlic clove </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 teaspoon of onion flakes </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 small bay leaf </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/8 teaspoon ground Oregano </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/8 teaspoon Thyme </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/8 teaspoon Marjoram </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 tablespoon vegetable oil </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Cover with boiling brine solution prepared as follows: mix together; </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">3 tablespoons sugar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">9 tablespoons salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 pints water </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 pints 5% vinegar </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Close containers and process for 10 minutes in boiling water, then cool. Note that the jalapenos must be hot when brine solution is added. </span></p> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Easy Pickled Peppers</strong></span></h2> <ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 - 1 1/2 lb. fresh hot peppers (any kind you like) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 good sized handful of cayenne peppers (optional - adds color to mix) </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 lb package of peeled baby carrots </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 or 2 heads garlic - peel and separate cloves </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 cup salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 cup black peppercorns </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1/4 cup whole coriander seeds </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">White vinegar to cover </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Put the carrots on to boil in the vinegar. Stab each pepper with a paring knife. After the carrots have cooked for about 10 minutes, add everything else to the pot. Simmer 5 (crisp) to 15 (soft) minutes depending on your taste. Pour mixture into old mayonnaise jars or what ever else large glass jars you have on hand that have a cover. Cover (not too tight) and let cool for an hour or so. Then refrigerate. You can eat these right away but if you way for a few days the vegetables (carrots and garlic) will get hotter. </span></p> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Grandma's Pickled Banana peppers</strong></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Recipe By : Jerry Ziehm</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">banana peppers </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 tsp. salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 tbs. good olive oil in each jar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Brine </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">3 qts. water </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 qt. white vinegar bring to boil </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Place peppers, salt, oil in jars, pour hot brine to the top of jar, seal jars, water bath for about 5 min.<br />(When I water bath I only boil about 2 min). Peppers stay very crisp. Also you can put a clove or two of garlic in each jar if you wish. Recipe yields about 10 quarts. </span></p> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Pickled Jalapenos</strong></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Recipe By : Pacific Northwest Extension Bulletin </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">6 pounds jalapeno </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">5 cups vinegar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">1 cup water </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">4 teaspoons pickling salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 tablespoons sugar </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">2 cloves garlic </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Wash peppers. If small peppers are left whole, slash 2-5 slits in each. Quarter large peppers. Blanch in boiling water. Flatten small peppers. Fill half-pint or pint jars leaving 1/2 inch head space. Combine and heat other ingredients to boiling and simmer 10 minutes. Remove garlic. Pour hot pickling solution over peppers leaving 1/2 inch head space. Adjust lids. Use conventional boiling water canner processing. Process for 10 minutes at below 1000 feet, 15 minutes at 1001 to 6000 feet and 20 minutes above 6000 feet. </span></p> <hr /> <h2><span style="color: rgb(175, 0, 0);font-family:Georgia;" ><strong> Pickled Chiles</strong></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Recipe By : The Goodness of Peppers by John Midgley (Pavilion Books Unlimited, London). </span> </p><ul><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">225g/8 oz. whole fresh chiles </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">350ml/12 fl. oz/1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar with 1 teaspoon salt </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">sprig of bay </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">sprig of rosemary </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">4 gloves of garlic, peeled </span></li><li><span style="font-family:Georgia;">up to 350ml/12 fl. oz/1 1/2 cups extra white wine vinegar </span></li></ul> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Inspect the chiles for damage, discarding any that are bruised, lacerated or otherwise blemished. Snip off all but the base of their stems. Bring the vinegar and the chiles to a boil in a pan. Add the remaining ingredients except the extra vinegar and simmer for 6-8 minutes. With a clean spoon, transfer them to a jar previously sterilized with freshly boiled water. Pour in the pickling liquid with its herbs, top up with the additional vinegar to cover and allow to cool before sealing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">The chiles will be ready within a month. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Georgia;">This quantity will fill a medium-sized jar with whole chiles, preserved with herbs and garlic and up to 675ml /1 1/2 pints /3 cups of vinegar. Increase the vinegar quantity and dilute it with a little water if you want to preserve a larger quantity of chiles, or sweet red and yellow peppers, which should first have their caps, seeds and pithy membranes removed. </span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><strong>Garlic.</strong> If desired for flavor, use mature, fully-dried, white-skinned garlic, free of blemishes. Garlic contains a water-soluble pigment that may turn blue or purple. A blue-green color may develop in pickles made with stored red-skinned garlic. Immature garlic, garlic that is not fully dry, or red-skinned varieties may turn blue, purple or blue-green. Except in the case of a bright blue-green color resulting from abnormally high concentrations of copper-sulfate, such color changes do not indicate the presence of harmful substances.<br /><h3>Marinated Refrigerated Peppers</h3> <p>Remember, all pickled pepper products stored at room temperature must be processed, to avoid the risk of botulism toxin development during storage. The boiling water bath processing step can be omitted <strong>if pickles are stored in the refrigerator</strong>. Use the following procedure.</p> <p>Wash peppers. Small peppers may be left whole with two small slits in each pepper. Core and cut large peppers into strips.</p> <p>Sterilize jars, lids and screwbands. Pack peppers tightly into sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. </p> <p>For each 6 cups of brine, combine 5 cups vinegar, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon pickling salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer five minutes.</p> <p>Pour vinegar solution over peppers, leaving 1/8-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust headspace so that brine covers all peppers. Wipe rims. </p> <p>Place sterilized flats on jars. Do not put on screwbands. Allow jars to cool. Put on screwbands and wipe jars. Refrigerate six to eight weeks for the pickled flavor to fully develop. Keep refrigerated and use within six months. This pepper product allows the peppers to marinate in a high acid solution, at a cold temperature, and in the presence of air. These conditions are not favorable for botulism toxin formation. It <strong>does not</strong> ensure against other types of spoilage.</p><br /><h3>Salsa</h3> <p>Most salsa recipes are a mixture of low-acid foods, such as onions and peppers, and acid foods, such as tomatoes. Use tested recipes to ensure proper acidification.</p> <p>Use the amounts of each vegetable listed in the recipe. If desired, green tomatoes or tomatillos may be substituted for part or all of the tomatoes. Add the amount of vinegar listed. If desired, you may safely substitute an equal amount of lemon juice for vinegar in a recipe using vinegar.<strong> However, do not substitute vinegar for lemon juice</strong>. This substitution will result in a less acid and potentially unsafe salsa.</p> <p>Spices do not affect acidity or safety and may be adjusted as desired. Do not thicken salsas with flour or cornstarch before canning. After you open a jar to use, you may pour off some of the liquid or thicken with cornstarch.</p> <h3>Chili Salsa</h3> <ul><li>12 cups peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes (choose a meaty variety or</li><li> squeeze out extra juice)</li><li> 6 cups seeded, chopped chili peppers*</li><li> 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onions</li><li> 1/4 cup finely chopped garlic</li><li> 1 cup vinegar</li><li> 1 tablespoon salt</li><li> 1/2 teaspoon pepper <br />*Use mixture of hot and mild peppers to suit taste.</li></ul> <p><strong>Yield:</strong> Makes 6 to 8 pints</p> <p><strong>Procedure:</strong> Combine ingredients in large saucepan. Heat to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot into clean pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath.</p> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"> <tbody><tr valign="top"><td colspan="3"><strong>Table 4: Recommended process time for chili salsa in a boiling water canner.</strong></td></tr> <tr align="center"><th rowspan="2" align="left" valign="bottom"> Style of pack/Jar size</th> <th colspan="2">Process time at altitudes of:</th></tr> <tr align="center" valign="top"><th>6,000 ft or less</th><th>Above 6,000 ft</th></tr> <tr valign="top"><td>Hot:<br />Half-pints or pints</td> <td align="center"><br />20 min.</td><td align="center"><br />25 min.</td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>*Tomato Salsa (Using Paste Tomatoes)</h3> <p><strong>Note:</strong> Paste tomatoes, such as Roma, are recommended for salsa because they have firmer flesh and produce thicker products. Slicing tomatoes will require a much longer cooking time to achieve a desirable consistency.</p> <ul><li>7 quarts peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes</li><li> 5 cups seeded, chopped long green chilies</li><li> 4 cups finely chopped onion</li><li> 1/4 cup seeded, finely chopped Jalapeno peppers</li><li> 6-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped</li><li> 2 cups bottled lemon juice</li><li> 2 tablespoons salt</li><li> 1 tablespoon black pepper</li><li> 2 tablespoons ground cumin*</li><li> 3 tablespoons oregano leaves*</li><li> 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro*<br />*Optional; use only for desired flavor</li></ul> <p><strong>Yield:</strong> Makes 13 pints</p> <p><strong>Procedure:</strong> Combine all ingredients except cumin, oregano and cilantro in a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add spices, if desired, and simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ladle hot into clean pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Add pretreated lids and process in a boiling water bath canner. </p> <p>*Source: Salsa Recipes for Canning; PNW395, a Pacific Northwest Extension Publication. Washington, Oregon, Idaho.</p> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td colspan="3"><strong>Table 5: Recommended process time for tomato salsa in a boiling water canner.</strong></td></tr> <tr align="center"><th rowspan="2" align="left" valign="bottom"> Style of pack/Jar size</th> <th colspan="2">Process time at altitudes of:</th></tr> <tr align="center" valign="top"><th>6,000 ft or less</th><th>Above 6,000 ft</th></tr> <tr valign="top"><td>Hot:<br />Half-pints or pints</td> <td align="center"><br />20 min.</td><td align="center"><br />25 min.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><h3><span class="mw-headline">Veterinary treatment</span></h3><strong>Pest fighter</strong>:<br /><p> A teaspoon of white distilled vinegar for each quart bowl of drinking water helps keep your pet free of fleas and ticks. The ratio of one teaspoon to one quart is for a forty-pound animal.</p>Vinegar along with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide" title="Hydrogen peroxide">hydrogen peroxide</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen" title="Hydrogen">H</a><sub>2</sub><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen" title="Oxygen">O</a><sub>2</sub>) is used in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livestock" title="Livestock">livestock</a> industry to kill <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterium" class="mw-redirect" title="Bacterium">bacteria</a> and viruses before refrigeration storage. A chemical mixture of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peracetic_acid" title="Peracetic acid">peracetic acid</a> is formed when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid" title="Acetic acid">acetic acid</a> is mixed with hydrogen peroxide. It is being used in some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asian</a> countries by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerosol_spray" title="Aerosol spray">aerosol sprays</a> for control of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia" title="Pneumonia">pneumonia</a>. A mixture of five-percent acetic acid and three-percent hydrogen peroxide is commonly used.<sup class="noprint Template-Fact"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources since February 2007" style="white-space: nowrap;">[<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a></i>]</span></sup><p>Apple cider vinegar in particular is often touted as a medical aid, from cancer prevention to alleviation of joint pain to weight loss.<sup id="_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-17" title="">[20]</a></sup> Claims of its benefits go back at least to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates" title="Hippocrates">Hippocrates</a>. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958" title="1958">1958</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._C._Jarvis" title="D. C. Jarvis">D. C. Jarvis</a> made the remedy popular with a bestseller that has sold over one million copies.</p><h3><span class="mw-headline">Diet control</span></h3> <p>Multiple trials indicate that taking vinegar with food increases satiety (the feeling of fullness) and so reduces the amount of food consumed.<sup id="_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-10" title="">[13]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-11" title="">[14]</a></sup> Even a single application of vinegar can lead to reduced food intake for a whole day.<sup id="_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-12" title="">[15]</a></sup></p><h3><span class="mw-headline">Cholesterol</span></h3> <p>A scientific study published in 2006 concluded that a test group of rats fed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetic_acid" title="Acetic acid">acetic acid</a> (the main component of vinegar) had "significantly lower values for serum total cholesterol and triacylglycerols", among other health benefits. <sup id="_ref-BritishJournalofNutrition_0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-BritishJournalofNutrition" title="">[7]</a></sup></p> <p><a name="Blood_glucose_control_and_diabetic_management" id="Blood_glucose_control_and_diabetic_management"></a></p> <h3><span class="editsection">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vinegar&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Blood glucose control and diabetic management">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Blood glucose control and diabetic management</span></h3> <p>Small amounts of vinegar (approx. 20 mls or two tablespoons of domestic vinegar) added to food, or taken along with a meal, have been shown by a number of medical trials to reduce the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index" title="Glycemic index">glycemic index</a> of carbohydrate food for people with and without diabetes.<sup id="_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-5" title="">[8]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-6" title="">[9]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-7" title="">[10]</a></sup> This has also been expressed as lower glycemic index ratings in the region of 30%.<sup id="_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-8" title="">[11]</a></sup><sup id="_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinegar#_note-9" title="">[12]</a></sup></p><h5>Food Preparation </h5> <p><strong>Getting the last drops</strong>:<br />When you can’t get the last bit of mayonnaise or salad dressing out of the jar, try dribbling a little of your favorite vinegar into it, put the cap on tightly and shake well. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ve been wasting.</p> <p><strong>Cooking fish</strong>:<br />Try soaking fish in vinegar and water before cooking it. It will be sweeter, more tender and hold its shape better. When boiling or poaching fish, a tablespoon of vinegar added to the water will keep it from crumbling so easily. </p> <p><strong>Cake icing</strong>:<br />Cake icing can be prevented from becoming sugary if a little vinegar is added to the ingredients before cooking. The same is true when making homemade candy.</p> <p><strong>Boiling eggs</strong>:<br /> When boiling an egg and it’s cracked, a little vinegar in the water will keep the white from running out. </p> <p><strong>Keeping potatoes white</strong>:<br />A teaspoon of white distilled or cider vinegar added to the water in which you boil potatoes will keep them nice and white. You can keep peeled potatoes from turning dark by covering them with water and adding 2 teaspoons of vinegar. </p> <p><strong>Freshen vegetables</strong>:<br /> Freshen up slightly wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water and vinegar.</p> <p><strong>Fruit and vegetable wash:</strong><br />Add 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar to 1 pint water and use to wash fresh fruits and vegetables, then rinse thoroughly. Research has shown that vinegar helps kill bacteria on fruits and vegetables. </p> <p><strong>Frying doughnuts:</strong><br />Before frying doughnuts, add ½ teaspoon of vinegar to hot oil to prevent doughnuts soaking up extra grease. Use caution when adding the vinegar to the hot oil. </p> <p><strong>Flavor booster</strong>:<br />Perk up a can of soup, gravy or sauce with a teaspoon of your favorite specialty vinegar. It adds flavor and taster fresher. </p> <p><strong>Meat tenderizer</strong>:<br />As a tenderizer for tough meat or game, make a marinade in the proportion of half a cup of your favorite vinegar to a cup of heated liquid, such as bouillon; or for steak, you may prefer to a mix of vinegar and oil, rubbed in well and allowed to stand for two hours.</p> <p><strong>Fruit stains</strong>:<br /> Remove fruit or berry stains from your hands by cleaning them with vinegar. </p> <p><strong>Fresh lunch box</strong>:<br />It is easy to take out the heavy stale smell often found in lunch boxes. Dampen a piece of fresh bread with white distilled vinegar and leave it in the lunch box overnight.</p> <p><strong> Get rid of cooking smells</strong>:<br /> Let simmer a small pot of vinegar and water solution. </p> <p><strong>Fluffy Egg Whites</strong><br />Soak a paper towel with 1-2 Tablespoons of white distilled vinegar. Wipe mixing bowl and beaters or whisk with the vinegar-soaked paper towel, then dry with a cloth or paper towel prior to whipping egg whites. </p> <p><strong>Fluffier Rice<br /> </strong>For fluffier and great tasting rice, add a teaspoon of white distilled vinegar to the boiling water before adding rice. Rice will be easier to spoon and less sticky.<br /></p><p><br /></p>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-70604018193497701892008-03-02T19:43:00.000-08:002008-03-17T14:15:55.392-07:00Quick Tempura DinnerThis Spring calls for light fermented foods, so begins a month dedicated to the cuisine of Japan. Black, Red and White misos of various strengths, from strong MUGI (barley-rice) miso to medium soybean-rice miso - these pastes provide the bases for soups. For stock I used fish broth or bottled water. For the solids, I always have some seaweed, tofu, spring onions, carrots and radishes; added to that are one or more of mushrooms, spring potatoes, green peas and sugar snaps.<br /><br />Tempura is a lovely, sophisticated fun addition. It's a great way to quickly cook shrimp, other seafood morsels and vegetables, and serve them instantly with various tempura dipping sauces. The trick is to prepare the seafood, vegetables and lay out the tempura batter components (never made batter until the oil is hot!). Once you have everything ready to go, the meal is prepared in mere minutes. When I prepare tempura the miso is on the lighter side, with less solids.<br /><br />I call this LIGHT, yet it involves deep frying. Done properly there is very little fat and the seafood is super fresh, cooked in a flash. Not more than 3-4 minutes stove time and it's ready.<br /><br />I call this QUICK, yet it has a lot of prep time. You can prepare all the batter mixes, dipping sauces, vinegar sauces, and vegetable bits ahead of time. If you just doing shrimp, other than making them straight, what else prep is there?<br /><br />I never said this was not messy. Not only can it be MESSY, it rates no less than 5 black-and-crispy fire engines and/or ambulances if you do not have a start to finish oil management plan.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS</span><br /><br />This is a deep frying dish, so make sure you have 1-2 liters of fresh oil handy. It's not that you will be using all of this, but dish is not the "three turns of the pan" oil usage. The best way to stress this is to urge you to invest in a lovely large goblet of quality <span style="font-weight: bold;">OIL</span>. Your brain needs it!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ICE </span>- just enough to cover the bottom of a large bowl<br />(You will put your batter bowl on top of this to keep your batter ice cold)<br /><br />Optional Condiments on table: Pickled ginger, wasabe, soy sauce, salt, pepper, grated daikon (or other radish bits), sriracha sauce...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tempura Dipping Sauce - Fancy<br /><br /></span>2 Tbl soy sauce<br />2 Tbl orange juice - or lemon juice w/brown sugar to sweeten<br />2 Tbl Mirin rice wine<br />2 Tbl brown sugar<br />1 Tbl extremely fine chopped spring onions<br />1 tsp sesame seeds (gomasio)<br /><br />(This makes a different salad dressing - has no oil or vinegar)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tempura Dipping Sauce - Fancy and Spicy!</span><br /><br />1/4 cup soy sauce<br />1/4 cup Mirin rice wine<br />1/4 cup lemon juice<br />2 Tbl brown sesame oil<br />1 tablespoon brown sugar<br />1 tablespoon wasabi powder<br />2 tablespoons really finely minced scallions<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tempura Dipping Sauce - Regular</span><br /><br />1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock<br />2-3 Tbl soy sauce<br />2-3 Tbl Mirin rice wine<br />2-3 Tbl grated fresh ginger<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tempura Dipping Sauce - Traditional<br /><br /></span><div id="rIng">1 cup dashi soup stock (dashi are bonito flakes, a most indispensable secret ingredient to add savory flavor in any kitchen - do not underestimate the taste-power of dried fish flakes, second only to MARMITE!)<br />1/4 cup mirin<br />1/4 cup soy sauce<br />1/2 tbsp sugar</div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tempura Dipping Sauce - </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Alternative</span><br /><br /> 1 cup soy sauce<br />1/2 cup water<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2-3 Tbl seasoned rice vinegar (note: not rice wine!)</span><br />4 teaspoons white sugar<br />1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced<br />(Add some hot chili to this if you'd like)<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOT SPICY VINEGARY SAUCES<br /><br /></span>There are people who have not tasted Japanese foods but once in their lives, and upon being introduced to Tempura, say "Oh, just like <a href="http://www.ljsilvers.com/default.asp">Long John Silver's</a>!". They will appreciate having a spicy, vinegary sauce to go with their <span style="font-weight: bold;">Japanese Fish 'n Chips</span>. - <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">most </span>people's metabolisms need and love to have a second spicy vinegary sauce to go along with this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Long John Silver Coca Cola Deep Frying Fast Foods OIL Clause:</span><br /><br />Long John Silver's has a <a href="http://www.yum.com/nutrition/menu.asp?brandID_Abbr=3_LJS">Nutrition Calendar</a> with numbers for their battered shrimp. It is worth paying attention to this. You in your own kitchen will NOT be using their oil: "100% soybean oil with dimethylpolysiloxane, TBHQ and citric acid", which is also used in other fast food chains, such as MacDonald's. Neither will you be cooking it the way they do. You will be COMBINING with other prescribed items, and that is the secret to health.<br /><br />Let's take a look at "100% soybean oil with dimethylpolysiloxane, TBHQ and citric acid":<br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong></strong></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>TBHQ, or TERT-BUTYLHYDROQUINONE</strong> is used as an antioxidant for unsaturated vegetable oils and animal fats. It can be used in combination with BHA. It is added to a wide range of foods, with highest limit permitted for frozen fish. It is used to enhance storage life. For industrial use, TBHQ is used as a stabilizer and is added to varnishes, lacquers, resins, and oil field additives.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">In high doses, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tert-Butylhydroquinone">TBHQ led to stomach tumors and damage to DNA for lab animals</a>. Prolonged exposure to TBHQ may cause cancer. While this is for high doses and lab rats, I have trouble with the idea that something you can only handle with protective clothing, per the <a href="http://www.tbhq.net/tbhq-msds.htm">Material Safety Data Sheet</a>, is going in my food. You can find TBHQ in a wide variety of fast food menu items, especially anything fried or cooked in oil.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p>Hmmm! What about Soybean Oil?<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><blockquote>Soybean oil is very popular because it is cheap, healthful and has a high smoke point. Soybean oil does not contain much saturated fat. Like all other oils from vegetable origin, soybean oil contains no cholesterol.</blockquote></span>Well, that's what it started out as, today it's been GMO'd, and:<br /><h2></h2><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Food use of soybean oil</span> Soybean oil is also used by the food industry in a variety of food products including salad dressings, sandwich spreads, margarine, bread, mayonnaise, non-dairy coffee creamers and snack foods. The high smoke point of soybean oil allows it to be used as frying oil. <span style="font-style: italic;">Soybean oil is often hydrogenated to increase its shelf life </span>or to produce a more solid product. In this process, unhealthy trans fats are produced which may raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. Food manufacturers are now trying to remove trans fats from their product. For this purpose, scientists are breeding new varieties of soybeans containing oil that does not need to be hydrogenated.</blockquote></span>Good gawd, will they NEVER STOP their madness?!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RULE:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Properly deep fried foods are very healthy but if you eat a deep fried product prepared with messed up oils (from food industries that fund ever more crazy messing-up of our basic food ingredients) - it will KILL you sooner than later - but, do NOT throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak - proper deep frying is HEALTHY! </span><br /><br />If you do not have wasabe, try making a Hot Mustard sauce, or have a chili fish vinegar sauce ( e.g., <b>Sriracha </b>sauce, which is an Asian (Thai) hot and spicy chile sauce with garlic for dipping) on the table. Sriracha is made from chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Be forewarned, it clocks in on the Scoville rating at around 2,000 units. I add some to a dashi-soy mix.<br /><br />The fact is you really do need the VINEGAR and PEPPER to help digest the deep fried fat. There is nothing wrong with a good dose of fresh healthy OIL in your body as long as it is balanced.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A borrowed note on Japanese Vinegars:<br /><br /></span>I got these from <a href="http://lunchinabox.net/">LUNCH IN A BOX:</a><br /><p text="Sweet vinegar dressing recipe here..." class="ljcut"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sanbaizu </span>(three-flavored vinegar) is one of the four main vinegar dressings in Japanese cuisine, made with <span style="font-weight: bold;">rice vinegar, soy sauce, dashi (bonito stock) and sugar</span>. The other vinegar dressings are:</p> <blockquote> <p text="Sweet vinegar dressing recipe here..." class="ljcut"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nihaizu</span> (two-flavored vinegar) with vinegar, soy and dashi<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Amazu</span> (sweetened vinegar) with vinegar, dashi and sugar<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Ponzu</span> dressing with citrus juice, vinegar, soy, mirin, bonito flakes and konbu</p></blockquote> <ul><li><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-weight: bold;">Sanbaizu #1 (sweet vinegar dressing)</span><br />3 Tb rice vinegar<br />1/4 tsp soy sauce<br />2 Tb sugar<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />1.5 Tb dashi (bonito stock - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YB40O?ie=UTF8&tag=lunch-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0002YB40O"> </a>instant is fine)</li><li><u><strong>Sanbaizu #2 (sweet vinegar dressing)</strong></u><br />1/3 cup rice vinegar<br />1/2 tsp soy sauce<br />1.5 Tb sugar<br />1/4 tsp salt</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TEMPURA BATTER </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Beer and Straight up</span><br /><br />1 egg<br />1 cup very cold Asahi beer or 1 cup iced water<br />3/4 cup mix of all purpose flour, and if you like, use less flour and make up the rest with a bit of baking powder, corn starch, spices such as cumin, parsley as you like<br /><br />(I've settled on using 1/2 whole wheat flour and 2 Tbl cup kudzu root powder and 2 Tbl corn starch with cumin, garlic powder, CHILI PEPPER POWDER, and other dried herbs (parsley, basil, tarragon, depending...)<br /><br />1/4 cup of the above flour mix for flouring shrimp and vegetables<br /><br />Mix eggs and ice water or beer in a bowl, and 1/2 to 3/5 cup add flour to the egg mixture.<br /><br />You want the consistency of heavy cream. The batter should be runny enough to light coat seafood and vegetables dipped in it. Test with the back of a spoon - it should be thick enough to coat the spoon.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">What if you don't have BEER ... or an EGG...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Tempura Batter - Wolfgang Puck</span><br /><br />1/4 cup rice flour (you can use all purp, or unbleached white, even wheat for this...)<br />3 cups soda water, plus more if necessary (Use regular bottled water...)<br />2 cups all-purpose flour<br />1/2 cup cornstarch<br />1 tablespoon baking powder (this is instead of the egg)<br />1 tablespoon salt<br />1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (some this ends up on the bottom of the oil pot as red dots!)<br /><br />"The quantities here make enough to coat about a dozen shrimp and a dozen scallops, or other bite-sized pieces of seafood, plus an accompanying assortment of vegetables that you like. "<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:85%;" > "First, make the Tempura Batter: In a small bowl, stir together the rice flour and 1/2 cup of the soda water until blended. Set aside. Into a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Stir into this mixture the remaining 2 1/2 cups soda water, salt, and cayenne; then, stir in the rice flour mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it to rest in the refrigerator at least 1 hour before use."</span><br /><a href="http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipedetail.php?Alias=RE_WP3100"><br />Puck makes a HOT CHINESE MUSTARD SAUCE</a> to go with his tempura... as the alternative dipping sauce. What a great idea.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOT CHINESE MUSTARD SAUCE</span> modified from PUCK's original cuz his had hard to get ingredients.<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:85%;" ><br /></span><br />2 tablespoons Chinese dry mustard (or Colman's English Mustard Powder)<br />Pinch turmeric<br />2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar<br />2 teaspoons water (umm, I'd use soy sauce)<br />1/4 cup liquid from bottled pickled ginger<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;" ><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">STOP!</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;" ><br /><br /></span></span>We are not running a fancy restaurant where we buy bottles of pickled ginger just to harvest the juice. From <a href="http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0314M05.htm#5">Uncle Phaedrus Consulting Detective and Finder of Lost Recipes</a> we offer his lost pickled ginger case file:<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;" ><br /></span></span><pre>Pickled Ginger<br /><br />1/2 cup fresh ginger -- sliced paper thin<br />1/4 cup white vinegar<br />1/4 cup rice wine vinegar<br />1/2 cup sugar<br /><br />Stir all ingredients together in non-reactive stainless steel pan or glass<br />saucepan and bring to a boil.<br /><br />Let mixture cool to room temperature and chill overnight. (Pickled ginger<br />keeps for several months in the refrigerator.)<br /><br />Yield: 1 1/2 cups </pre><span style="font-size:130%;">Continued...<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;" ><span><br /></span></span></span>1 lemon, juiced<br />1 tablespoon sugar<br />1 cup peanut oil<br />1 tablespoon chili oil<br />1 tablespoon toasted Asian-style sesame oil<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:85%;" ><br />While the batter is resting, make the Hot Chinese Mustard Sauce: In a bowl, dissolve the dry mustard and turmeric in the rice wine vinegar and water. Stir in the pickled ginger liquid, lemon juice, and sugar and whisk until well blended. In another bowl, combine the peanut, chili, and sesame oils. Whisking continuously, slowly pour the oils into the mustard mixture until emulsified. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.<br /><br /></span><br />That's it for all the best batter AND dipping recipes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Optional:</span><br />Panko - Japanese breadcrumbs (do not use any other)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEAFOOD</span><br /><br />Large Shrimp with tails on, deveined. Get a bag of uncooked shrimp tails on and take out what you will be preparing, let them sit in the refrigerator to defrost.<br /><br />After defrosting, you have to straighten the shrimp with your fingers, nick each side 2-3 times with a knife, and press the back of the shrimp without breaking the tail off, or else it will curl up when frying. Then stack them on paper towels to dry, coat in flour...<br /><br />...if the oil is hot, NOW make the batter ... dip shrimp in batter, rain the panko on, and quick deep fry it.<br /><br />Any variety of fish cut into small pieces will do nicely as well.<br /><br />All the tempura cooks agree, if you drop a little tempura batter into the oil and the batter comes back right up it's 360 degrees F or over. If it it goes half way to the bottom and then back up (it does the bob-thing) it's about 340 degrees F and the right temperature for the carby veggies - a bit higher for the protein rich seafood.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />HOW TO MANAGE THE HOT OIL:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Suggested Equipment:</span><br /><br />Candy Thermometer with clip<br />Deep pot, dutch oven cast iron preferably<br />Wire basket<br />Tongs<br />LONG wooden chopsticks<br />Paper towels<br />Paper bag<br />Lotsa oil - if you do not have a 2+ qt (2 liters) bottle of good oil handy, fouggedaboudit.<br />Nerves of Steel (just kidding!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RULES FOR COOKING IN HOT OIL:</span><br /><br />I got these from a number of different sources:<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;"></span><ul><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Be sure to choose a pan that's larger in circumference than the heat source to minimize the risk of flares. Many experts feel a Dutch oven made of seasoned cast iron is ideal.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">In Japan, they deep fry in a wok, but I usually use a pot, because it's more stable on an electric stove and I'm nervous around hot oil.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">If you don't have an electric deep fryer, invest in a wire frying basket - and a candy thermometer with a clip.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Make sure you have a lid nearby. If the oil bursts into flames, pop the lid on. Oil fires will go out if you smother them. Have aloe vera gel around in case you burn yourself.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Always use fresh oil if you can.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Never fill your pot more than half full of oil. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">You need the oil deep, deep enough to immerse your food without touching it the bottom. A few inches, a lot, make sure you have a large bottle. You will need to top off during batches.<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Remember you'll need at least 3 inches between the surface of the oil and the top of the pot to allow room for the oil to bubble up.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Get that clip on candy thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, a you can drop a cube of white bread into the hot oil. At 350*F (175*C) the bread fries to a golden brown in about 1 minute; at 375*F (190*C) it takes about 40 seconds.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">When the oil's hot enough, you'll see swirls forming at the bottom of the pot. I look for that, and then I plunge a wooden chopstick into the oil; bubbles should form all around the submerged stick.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Do not let the oil smoke; this is a sign that it's too hot, can flash soon, and it'll give your food a burnt taste. Make sure you can quickly move then entire pot to a cold burner and regather your wits. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">On that note, make sure the vent is on, the doors to the smoke alarms are closed. There is nothing more nerve-wracking than a too sensitive smoke alarm that goes off if it hears you whisper "make me some dark toast, honey" when you've got a pot half full of near smoking hot oil.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Make sure the cats are stowed. Especially when there is seafood around, they'll be circling the floor around your hot pots like sharks. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">To remove fried foods from hot oil opt for an Asian wire mesh skimmer, a slotted spoon or a pair of tongs.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Placing a clean brown paper bag beneath the paper toweling will absorb the most oil from the freshly fried foods.</span></li><li>Dispose of your used oil with care. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Don't pour it down the drain:</span> our sewage systems have enough to deal with without that. Let the oil cool completely, and then <span style="font-weight: bold;">pour it into an empty bottle or jar and throw it away in the garbage. </span></li><li>Really, COULD you re-use your oil? No, yes, maybe... Never more than once or twice, and then only if you are using a similarly flavored food, and it is finely strained to remove old food particles.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VEGETABLES<br /><br />You do not want to use a vegetable or fruit that will release its water into the 350 degree hot oil!!!<br /><br /></span>Carrots, potatoes, daikon, yams, sweet potatoes, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip, green onions, any root vegetable, mushrooms...<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>Cut these into thin slices - you might want to parboil the potato roots a bit first... dip in the seasoned flour, then into the tempura batter, then into panko (or just the panko) and deep fry in the hot oil. 2- 3 minutes, 4 at most.<br /><br />Fry in batches, and remove with tongs, chopsticks, slotted spoon or basket, and put on a plate with paper towels - <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">remove paper towels </span>- and place in pyrex dish in warm oven on extremely low to keep warm while rest is cooking.<br /><br />The prep is worth it. You can do large parties so well with this. When prepared properly, the tempura absorb much less fat than you would think.<br /><br />From the moment they are lifted from the wire basket - they give off such delicious smells, are so appealing, and eaten so quickly - all gone so fast I have never managed to snag photographs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OIL MANAGEMENT PLAN</span><br /><br />My oil management plan is to cool the oil and strain back into a reserved oil bottle. I re-use the oil twice for Tempura within 5-7 days. Then I'm done with Tempura for the season. It's too addictive.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CLEANUP</span><br /><br />I was kidding up there about the mess, cleanup is a breeze.<br /><br />If you are disposing of the oil, cool and bottle it, as per usual, and place the bottle in the trash. The best way to cleanup lots of oil is with lots of soap,right? Nope, in fact, most cooks know that "a puddle of oil on your kitchen floor can grow bigger and even more slippery when mixed with soap and water."<br /><br />Sprinkle salt and/or any remaining flour on the oily deep fry pot and wire basket. Let them soak, then add just a drop or two of dish-washing liquid, HOLD THE WATER!, then wipe with paper towels or a dry rag.<br /><br />Now, wash as usual.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-68465434560638106032008-02-26T02:19:00.000-08:002008-02-26T02:23:26.011-08:00Manna - the most secret ingredient in the worldManna from heaven. Some have a good idea of what that might have been and I agree with them.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-23864504109255506352008-02-25T23:51:00.000-08:002008-02-26T12:37:52.625-08:00Homemade Yogurt with Pomegranates<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYiFyEk0xcp9K-FilpeeEtwckD-bcM4rq2a3eKyLMWwADMPGiCz_G5G_NjFpz_r1fWFb8JoVEPje6zbQs42psQzVQ-52jX1JFmu69aF4rC1qdHvCZgRP_truAxsrxvyDsKO8fd2gwdsXa/s1600-h/Illustration_Punica_granatum2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYiFyEk0xcp9K-FilpeeEtwckD-bcM4rq2a3eKyLMWwADMPGiCz_G5G_NjFpz_r1fWFb8JoVEPje6zbQs42psQzVQ-52jX1JFmu69aF4rC1qdHvCZgRP_truAxsrxvyDsKO8fd2gwdsXa/s400/Illustration_Punica_granatum2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171199908751156946" border="0" /></a> Mix 1/2 cup of pommy seeds with 1/2 cup of fresh homemade yogurt. A home run on all fronts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pomegranates:</span><br /><br /><p><a href="http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/-189-pomegranate-power.html">Summary Features of Pomegranate</a></p><br />1. Most powerful anti-oxidant of all fruits<br />2. Potent anti-cancer and immune supporting effects<br />3. Inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation that could cause heart attacks, strokes and embolic disease<br />4. Lowers cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors<br />5. Lowers blood pressure<br />6. Shown to promote reversal of atherosclerotic plaque<br />7. May have benefits to relieve or protect against depression and osteoporosis<br /><br /><a href="http://xyzrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/02/fermentation-of-milk-culinary.html"><br /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://xyzrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/02/fermentation-of-milk-culinary.html">Homemade Live Plain Yogurt:</a><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIm3PE4M23nWBLBkXDtOhgU3hTM-i7-yhdGeE3L4wyC2w9sO11FZ5R1as2GKkVAvWcUlbrCQ9eFO7ygQxd9gf8kUpA_TCuHGNgrWyb9jpZ7SJ1_s8GfMRf8wsm3-vbE48PL1JLs05HGi_s/s1600-h/800px-Kefirpilze.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIm3PE4M23nWBLBkXDtOhgU3hTM-i7-yhdGeE3L4wyC2w9sO11FZ5R1as2GKkVAvWcUlbrCQ9eFO7ygQxd9gf8kUpA_TCuHGNgrWyb9jpZ7SJ1_s8GfMRf8wsm3-vbE48PL1JLs05HGi_s/s400/800px-Kefirpilze.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171206252417853170" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;">This is a picture of "Kefir Grains" - a commodity more precious than gold in my book<br />though it is merely a "gelatinous community of bacteria and yeast".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">If you know how to use "Kefir grains" to ferment foods<br />(not just milk for making yogurt), it will give you a condition known as<br />WTMB - Way Too Many Birthdays, routinely, 120 of them.</span><br /></div><br />Summary of live (probiotic) yogurt features:<br /><br />Provide dual roles (protective and therapeutic):<br /><br /><ol><li>They manufacture some of the B-vitamins including niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), folic acid and biotin.</li><li>They manufacture the milk-digesting enzyme lactase which helps you digest calcium-rich dairy products.</li><li>They actively produce anti-bacterial substances which kill or deactivate hostile disease-causing bacteria. </li><li>They do this by changing the local levels of acidity or by depriving pathogenic bacteria of their nutrients or by actually producing their own antibiotic substances which can kill invading bacteria, viruses and yeasts.</li><li>Some (such as the bifidobacteria and acidophilus) have been shown to have powerful anti-carcinogenic features which are active against certain tumors.</li><li>They improve the efficiency of the digestive tract and when they are weakened bowel function is poor.</li><li>They effectively help to reduce cholesterol levels when this is high.</li><li>They play an important part of the development of a baby’s digestive function and immune system. Bifidobacteria infantis is acquired from breast-milk and when it is in poor supply allergies and malabsorption problems are more common.</li><li>They help protect against radiation damage as well as deactivating many toxic pollutants.</li><li>They help to recycle oestrogen (one of the female hormones) which reduces the likelihood of menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis.</li><li>Therapeutically they have been shown to be useful in treatment of acne, psoriasis, eczema, allergies, migraine, gout (by reducing uric acid levels), rheumatic and arthritic conditions, cystitis, candidiasis, colitis and irritable bowel syndrome and some forms of cancer!</li></ol><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir">There's this helpful tidbit from Wiki:</a><br /><br /><blockquote>In 2005, Mireille Guiliano released her best selling book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, in which she touts yogurt as her secret weight loss weapon.<br /><br />In her novel, she campaigned for Americans to discover the benefits and pleasures of homemade plain, non-fat yogurt, as opposed to the sugar and corn syrup-laden ‘imposters’ found in most U.S. supermarkets. Her book was the first contemporary weight loss plan to center around making homemade yogurt.</blockquote><br /><br />You see where I'm going don't you?<br /><br />I shall be marched straight to a CODEX jail subsidized by the AMA and the FDA and George Bush's GrandPop's IG Farbenverbunderen Global Big Pharma for ruthlessly promoting all this!XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-43015800592077901472008-02-24T21:08:00.000-08:002008-03-01T22:46:35.729-08:00Apple Coconut Redux: Yogurt!I made the title Apple Coconut Redux, because of some copy cats out there in the CHOW world. I don't make a zillion dollars ripping off other people's culinary knowledge, so I shall make it a bit harder for them. <span style="font-style: italic;">They</span> are the gateway to the Corporate Plasticized Homogenized Food industry. Beware! They are out to make it illegal for the average person to own raw ingredients and <span style="font-style: italic;">cook!</span><br /><br />I am addicted to Apple Coconut <span style="font-style: italic;">anything - </span>fresh or fermented, raw or cooked, boiled, baked, grated, ground, toasted, roasted, squeezed, pies (oh yummy!), cakes, dessert, chocolatized, caramelized, cerealized, porridge, soup, salad, yogurt, ice cream, curries - and this time, we're taking on Apple Coconut YOGURT.<br /><br />This is not the "take some live culture raw yogurt and add some coconut and apples and honey to it", nope, this is the real deal, where this apple coconut yogurt is produced by encouraging the Yeastie Beasties and Culture Vultures to do their thing, with Mr. Coconut and Ms. Apple <span style="font-style: italic;">right there</span>.<br /><br />If you suspect there might be some synergistic chaos and fusion magic from cre-arranging a taste-stage where cultures unite - YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!!!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVGfjZXhVe2X6nHw9eCq_nAA8_o-iwxfYtMpApwQqfXok3zvXcYU0kmeprLMsZpQC59DM1bfg02V_p-0yaAios4G5e4yfd809tPrAkq5PDSn-jEPDTRhI5ByHJl5urM72HppUeQjjW9fi/s1600-h/AppleCoconutYogurt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVGfjZXhVe2X6nHw9eCq_nAA8_o-iwxfYtMpApwQqfXok3zvXcYU0kmeprLMsZpQC59DM1bfg02V_p-0yaAios4G5e4yfd809tPrAkq5PDSn-jEPDTRhI5ByHJl5urM72HppUeQjjW9fi/s400/AppleCoconutYogurt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173029849682150402" border="0" /></a><br />Yogurt by definition is made with milk. Coconut can be fermented into making fermented coconut (kefir) and even coconut vinegar (we're not going that far!) So can apples be fermented (cider) and even apple cider vinegar (we're not going that far!) What we are doing is a double, then a triple witching fermentation making apple coconut yogurt, and umm, apple coconut milk yogurt yogurt.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">EQUIPMENT, INGREDIENTS and REASONS:</span><br /><br />To make yogurt you will need 1 quart of whole milk, about 1/4 cup whole powdered milk with no preservatives (ask me about brand names if you are serious), about 1/4 cup of yogurt starter culture with at least the following:<br /><br />In addition, you will require a candy or frying thermometer that you can easily and quickly read 100, 115, 120, 190, 200 degrees F real well, and one you can clip to the side of a heavy metal pot or else you'll have to stand there over the stove and hold it at least 2 inches into the milk or other fluid, as you don't want it to touch the bottom of a metal pot (false high readings).<br /><br />For the apple coconut part of this, you will need 1 cup of peeled cored, ground up ripe apple and 1 cup fresh unfiltered unpasteurized raw apple juice. Also, 1 cup of fresh coconut meat from a young coconut (the slippery stuff, not the old hard stuff) or 1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut that you must reconstitute using 1/2 fresh coconut water or 1/2 coconut milk with no preservatives (ask me about brand names if you are serious). You will need a sweetener which I prefer to be HONEY. Have some vanilla and coconut essence on hand.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">"The family that ferments, </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">fandangos </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">and flosses together stays together forever." </span><span style="font-style: italic;">I said that, 2008.<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lets Get Cultured...</span><br /><br />You can culture the coconut separately and the apple separately or you can do it together. The difference is the taste and texture of the final product.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fermenting Together...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS<br /><br /></span>1/4 - 1/3 cup starter<br />2-3 tablespoons of finely grade fresh eating apple<br />2-3 tablespoons of fresh shredded coconut<br /><br />Note: If you can't get fresh, then use store-bought but it will like have preservatives. I believe the preservatives in the yogurt ingredients are responsible for a slightly salty aftertaste, which can be alleviated in the final product by adding a bit of honey.<br /><br />Note: if the only shredded coconut you can get is SWEETENED, then use less honey in the first step mix.<br /><br />1-2 tablespoons honey.<br />1 pint of whole milk (note: many times I have run out of milk and sometimes use a mix of evaporated and whole milk; evaporated has a number of additives but it will still work. )<br />2 tablespoons of powdered milk<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD:</span><br />Prepare food thermos by cleaning and filling with hot water to heat thermos.<br />Stove burner between medium and medium low.<br />Take starter out of refrigerator to bring to room temperature, place in pyrex measuring cup at least 2 cup size.<br />Mix the apple coconut and honey you plan on using in a small container.<br /><br />Pour milk into a deep pot and affix the candy thermometer to the side<br />Add the powdered milk and stir<br />Add the coconut apple honey mix and stir.<br />Keep stirring to prevent scorching until mixture reaches 200 degrees F.<br /><br />Remove from heat and let cool to 120 degrees F.<br />Empty the thermos of the heating water<br />Quickly remove one cup of this mix and add to starter, stir well.<br />Quickly pour this into the thermos<br />Quickly pour the rest of the mix mix into the cup and then transfer into the thermos until all milk is in thermos.<br />Mix quickly and well then close thermos<br />Let rest for 6 hours<br />Open and pour into container and refrigerate overnight, or at least 2-4 hours.<br /><br />It will have a very creamy consistency, a tart yogurt taste followed by a coconut taste and a sweet taste. The shreds of coconut add some perceptible texture, as this closeup I took sort of show:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7OkOGwTNQxGw4hmSNxL9m-1rsY0ehdZY6Wuac-jKPns6jbcMMvJeS8E2itPIIA6ThjlZN5-1tJSqqnGhi_zsDT6GRavTVjLSTEDmuh0ih847qgObAArm3BQnVBVQJl6d8GUhjWv29rhl/s1600-h/AppleCoconutYogurt+Closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7OkOGwTNQxGw4hmSNxL9m-1rsY0ehdZY6Wuac-jKPns6jbcMMvJeS8E2itPIIA6ThjlZN5-1tJSqqnGhi_zsDT6GRavTVjLSTEDmuh0ih847qgObAArm3BQnVBVQJl6d8GUhjWv29rhl/s400/AppleCoconutYogurt+Closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173031455999919138" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Goes extremely well over APPLE COCONUT PIE! Or even Just Coconut Pie!<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcRd5Ck5ZT5DuSKTgACtERThjNojCKRkAhEo8QQyndUU1crq9BiqlyLLxXwSvwGg5rg0Co5oltOiGJFZxtyRCR7NDFnagvrvDurdSyT4nrPpVhYumg0QYNqYDTdRHmKyLRWzBaolK_Lao/s1600-h/CoconutPie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzcRd5Ck5ZT5DuSKTgACtERThjNojCKRkAhEo8QQyndUU1crq9BiqlyLLxXwSvwGg5rg0Co5oltOiGJFZxtyRCR7NDFnagvrvDurdSyT4nrPpVhYumg0QYNqYDTdRHmKyLRWzBaolK_Lao/s400/CoconutPie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173029853977117714" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-92053393097726060792008-02-24T14:45:00.000-08:002008-02-26T01:32:11.955-08:00The Fermentation of Milk, a culinary enleavening experience in Two PartsYou can always count on my refrigerator harboring the odd pint of spoiled milk. I hang on to it, convinced one day I shall find a way of transforming it from "bad" to "wondrous life-saving elixir". Then someone comes by and points out the mold, the stale cheesy smell, and tosses it out. Then I start over. I am amazed at the <span style="font-style: italic;">flourishment </span>of all sorts of life with regard to milk.<br /><br />But I digress. Cow's milk is for children. Adults thrive on culture... fermented milk. Here's how to make two which feature interchangeably in XYZ recipes: <span style="font-weight: bold;">YOGURT</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">SOUR CREAM</span>.<br /><br />A note on the equipment - you will need:<br /><ul><li>A good candy thermometer that YOU can find the following temps easily 98, 100, 115, 120, 125, 190, 200 degrees F even when it's steamy and milky. Make sure it has a clip so you can clip it on the side of the container/pot or else you will find yourself standing over a pot of warm steaming milk for longer than you like holding it in 2 inches of fluid without touching the bottom of the pot. They cost around $5.<br /></li><li>A heavy (stainless steel preferably) pot.</li><li>A funnel or a pyrex measuring container with a spout</li><li>A food thermos, has a wide opening so you can get the yogurt out after it has incubated. Thermos brand thermoses has a nice one that holds over a quart for about $15.00.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">YOGURT</span><br /><br />For the longest time commercial yogurt sold in stores had no live cultures. It was packed with sugars and <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>corn syrup. People wised up and all of a sudden commercial yogurt companies had to bend to people pressure, and they put the live cultures in - well, we <span style="font-style: italic;">think </span>they're still in there! Now they pose off as being the owners of a very special traditional knowledge...hey, lets make our own yogurt, and keep our own starter culture to pass around to family and friends - this way you can make sure it it isn't genetically engineered!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS:</span><br /><br />1 quart whole milk<br />1/8 to 1/4 cup powdered whole milk or 1/8 to 1/4 cup heavy cream<br />1/4 cup starter culture with AT LEAST:<br /><ul><li>Lactobacillus bulgaricus</li><li>Streptococcus thermophilus</li></ul>It is said these two strains are the closest to what the Mongols used (kumiss) which came from the steppes, you know, home to those people who live to 120 zillion years.<br /><br />For the starter culture use a good quality plain commercial yogurt. I recommend, if you can get it, <a href="http://www.nancysyogurt.com/">Nancy's plain non fat Yogurt</a>. You can be assured that your yogurt will turn out perfect and BETTER tasting (if you thought that was possible) than Nancy's. Nancy's is far better than Dannon or the others, in my opinion.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nancysyogurt.com/making_our_products/live_cultures.php">Nancy's yogurt has all the good stuff:</a><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b></b></p><blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>L. acidophilus</b></p> <ul style="margin-top: 3px;"><li>Acidophilus produces enzymes that improve the digestibility and absorption of vitamins.</li><li>Acidophilus suppresses the overgrowth of yeast infections following antibiotic therapy.</li><li>Acidophilus, by balancing the bacteria in the gut, helps with dermatitis and acne.</li><li>Acidophilus is able to survive digestive acids and enzymes to become a resident of the small intestine where it becomes therapeutically effective.</li></ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>S. thermophilus</b></p> <ul style="margin-top: 3px;"><li>Thermophilus produces high levels of the enzyme lactase, which assists humans in the digestion of milk based foods.</li><li>Thermophilus helps form the body and flavor of yogurt.-that tartness you taste with Nancy's is the live culture!</li></ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>L. bulgaricus</b></p> <ul style="margin-top: 3px;"><li>Bulgaricus increases systemic immune response.</li><li>Bulgaricus produces an antibiotic-like substance called Bulgarican.</li><li>Bulgaricus produces lactase, the enzyme needed to digest milk products, thus helping lactose mal-digesters enjoy yogurt.</li><li>Bulgaricus helps give yogurt its distinctive flavor and creamy consistency.</li></ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>L. casei</b></p> <ul style="margin-top: 3px;"><li>Casei is a highly prolific probiotic.</li><li>Casei, being a probiotic, successfully survives digestive acids to take up residency in the intestines where it provides many health benefits.</li><li>Casei significantly enhances lactose digestion.</li><li>Casei reduces the risk of infection from E. coli, salmonella, shigella, lysteria and intestinal viruses.</li></ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>L. rhamnosus</b></p> <ul style="margin-top: 3px;"><li>Rhamnosus stimulates an immune response to invading foreign organisms.</li><li>Rhamnosus suppresses rotoviruses and diarrhea-causing organisms.</li><li>Rhamnosus is effective in treating colitis.</li></ul></blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b></b></p><blockquote><p style="margin-bottom: 3px;"><b>B. bifidum cultures</b></p> <ul style="margin-top: 3px;"><li>Bifidum is known to make milk products more digestible to lactose-intolerant consumers.</li><li>Bifidum eliminates yeast and intestinal virus infections Bifidum repairs and prevents intestinal inflammation.</li><li>Bifidum contributes greater protection to breast-fed infants by stimulating the immune system.<br /></li></ul></blockquote>I like the Springfield Creamery team because they were "the first to use live acidophilus and bifidum cultures in yogurt over 30 years ago." Casei immunitas closed, Dannon!<br /><br />I do not recommend using Corporate Probiotics. Be careful. Those clowns are mucking around AGAIN in all sorts of ways, including genetically engineering our beneficial bacteria. Worse, they have stolen traditional processes and decided they can make it better with their "More is More" mantra ... NO! More is greed, gluttony and ... so <span style="font-style: italic;">George!</span> Check out what <a href="http://www.healingcrow.com/ferfun/conspiracy/conspiracy.html">HEALING CROW </a>has to say about the "yogurt conspiracy".<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD</span><br /><br />Take the 1/4 cup of starter out of the refrigerator and place it in a large (2 cup) pyrex measuring container, to bring to room temperature.<br /><br />Take the 1 quart of whole milk and add the extra powdered milk or cream to it. Mix well.<br /><br />(At this stage you would later add certain flavorings but if you try to do this now without ever having made plain you will screw up and likely make something that tastes like frog vomit.)<br /><br />Heat the milk slowly to between 190 and 200 degrees. Keep at 200 degrees for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. You will notice that at around 190 to 200 it begins to bubble ever so slightly at the edges of the pot, it will steam but not boil. I keep mixing with a wire whisk constantly.<br /><br />After 10 minutes of this, remove from heat, but keep the burner at the setting you had for 120 in case you have to warm it back up for whatever reason.<br /><br />Let it cool to 130 degrees then remove one cup full and bring this to 120 degrees by placing it in a blow of tepid not cold water. (You want this cup to cool down a tad faster than the pot).<br /><br />When it is at 120 degrees pour over the starter in your pyrex container. Mix gently but well. This mix has a mind of its own and will lump up just like that. Make sure it doesn't drop below 115 degrees so work fast.<br /><br />While you were mixing the starter with the cup of milk, the rest of the pot milk is cooling - and should now be close to 120.<br /><br />Pour this pot milk into the food thermos, and check the temperature. It should be at 120 degrees and not more. It's OK if it goes down to 115, but you only have these 5 degrees of separation to work within.<br /><br />(If you pour the pot milk into the thermos when it's at, say 130 degrees, it will take forever for it to cool down to 120, even if you leave the lid open, it's a thermos!)<br /><br />Now, add the starter mix you prepared to the thermos with 120 degree milk, mix well, and close it up tightly.<br /><br />It will keep at between 115 and 120 which is perfect. You don't want it to drop below 98 degrees, and I think better firmer yogurt is made if you stay within 115 to 120. Other recipes will say heat to 190 degrees, or cool to 98 degrees as boundaries, but I say 120 and 200 are the only numbers you have to remember for perfect yogurt.<br /><br />Let it rest for 6 hours.<br /><br />Turn the stove burner off!<br /><br />After six hours, open it up, and pour into a container, marking the date and time. Feed some to your cat - they LOVE warm freshly made yogurt - and NEED the probiotics too.<br /><br />As for you, hands off, put into the refrigerator for a couple of hours, better yet overnight. You will likely find the taste less harsh than the original, and the texture more solid, less commercial.<br /><br />If it didn't come out this way, then start over and follow the instructions to the T. I never failed on my first try and I made all sorts of mistakes so this is about as fool proof a recipe as you'll get.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SOUR CREAM<br /><br /></span><span>Most commercial sour cream I find in my local supermarket, with few exceptions, such as NANCY's, has corn starch to make it artificially thick and no live cultures. Nancy's sour cream:<br /><br /></span><ul style="margin-top: 6px;"><li class="bullet_spc">No additives, thickeners, or preservatives</li><li class="bullet_spc">Cultured for 18 hours with acidophilus, bifidum, and four lactic cultures</li></ul>It is a food group by itself. It is addictive. I can eat no other commercial sour cream. By comparison, other commercial sour creams taste like milk with corn starch and lemon juice. Even so, if you make your own sour cream it will taste better than Nancy's.<br /><br />The process is far less involved than yogurt IF you start out with ultra-pasteurized (heated past 280 F to extend shelf life) heavy WHIPPING cream, (not HEAVY CREAM) According to <a href="http://whatscookingamerica.net/Sauces_Condiments/CreamDefinitions.htm">"Whats Cooking America - What is Cream - Are you Confused?":</a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Heavy Whipping Cream has 30 % butterfat</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">By contrast Heavy Cream has 36-38% butterfat.</span></li><li><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:verdana;">Heavy Whipping Cream is </span>Cream with enough butterfat in it to allow it to thicken when whipped.<br /> Does not whip as well as heavy cream but works well for toppings and fillings.</span></li><li style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Almost all whipping cream is now ultra-pasteurized, a process of heating that considerably extends its shelf life by killing bacteria and enzymes.<br /></span> </li></ul> The issue of ultra-pasteurization is not just about the killing of bacteria etc. The process changes the protein structures and that is why you have to heat it up to 200 F if you do not start out with the (ultra-pasteurized) whipping cream - not all heavy creams are ultra- pasteurized.<br /><ul><li><span class="font12"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><b> Pasteurized and Ultra-pasteurized:</b> Creams will generally be labeled pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. Ultra-pasteurized creams will remain fresh longer but pasteurized will provide a better flavor, will whip up fluffier, and will hold up longer. </span></span></li></ul>If you don't have or want to start out with something that processed, then the method for making sour cream is exactly the same as yogurt where you have to heat to 200 degrees and let it cool back down to 120.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS</span><br /><br />1 Quart of heavy whipping cream - decide whether ultrapasteurized.<br />1/4 cup of starter culture - use Nancy's yogurt or your own yogurt as above<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD<br /><br />Using Ultra-pasteurized:<br /></span><br />In a heavy steel pot, heat the whipping cream slowly (stirring gently and constantly with a wire whisk to ensure even temperature distribution) to 120 degrees F.<br /><br />Add the culture, and mix well. Do not let the temperature drop below 115.<br /><br />Pour into a food thermos for six hours. Remove from the thermos, and refrigerate overnight. Actually you can use it after a couple of hours, but it sets better overnight.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-43007320589258807882008-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:002008-02-24T14:52:31.205-08:00Muy MisoFor Saturday night, there was a repeat of "<a href="http://xyzrecipes.blogspot.com/2006/12/peasant-style-miso-soup.html">Peasant Miso Soup</a>" with a salad that had definite elements of Mexican and Asian cuisine: avocados, corn, bell pepper, garbanzo beans, shitake mushrooms ... and the salad dressing must contain: <span style=""> </span>lime, diced to microscopic perfection shallots, garlic/ginger powder and cumin with plain live yogurt and sesame seeds together with rice wine vinegar and brown sesame oil, and a tad of brown sugar to taste. Wave some chili and black pepper powder in the general vicinity. I sometimes substitute (for the yoghurt) coconut cream/milk (without the meta bisulphites please, that leaves only ONE brand that I know of, the one in the red can brand named Thai).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVmr_YRPrXEa5SKALFqOfHc4RIXVOc8FJhWVEqoPHJ8BYtNhbUhq0zIMXXSCLS-cVlv-snTASVjlQ-HNzGxE6gXXVm6aCoAOTxrKTrrAUxcGc_FQHWC2Y3dudcLUssro3-2lzkfh3P013/s1600-h/MisoSoup_salad_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHVmr_YRPrXEa5SKALFqOfHc4RIXVOc8FJhWVEqoPHJ8BYtNhbUhq0zIMXXSCLS-cVlv-snTASVjlQ-HNzGxE6gXXVm6aCoAOTxrKTrrAUxcGc_FQHWC2Y3dudcLUssro3-2lzkfh3P013/s400/MisoSoup_salad_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170679728082069170" border="0" /></a>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-24868727128524165472008-02-24T14:23:00.001-08:002008-02-24T21:08:31.662-08:00Oops I did it againBroken promises!<br /><br />For Thursday February 21st, I made "Indian Lamb Chili" but I omitted the lamb. I replaced the lamb with quite a bit of hamburger beef.<br /><br />Because of that substitution, for this episode, I added more flax seeds, 1/2 can of corn, a bit less kidney beans, less garbanzo beans, and a bit more peppers, including whole chilis to the mix.<br /><br />To balance the spicy hot taste, I served it with HOMEMADE live-culture yogurt, and avocado slices on top.<br /><br />I failed to take pictures, it was gone too soon. However, it did remind me to do a section on fermented foods - this time fermented Milks - such as yogurt and flavored yogurts. If you are real good I'll show you how to cross over into non aerated ice-creams, fermented ice creams and ummm, masalarized ice creams, you know, curry ice cream!<br /><br />You can't call yourself a proper nutraceutical cook without owning your own live "yeastie beasties", this time, yogurt cultures. Okay I know live yogurt cultures are bacterial "YEASTIE BEASTIES" - but it's my food blog and I like calling the whole lot of them that leaven up our lives - the Yeastie Beasties.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-82671770196060335192008-02-20T18:57:00.000-08:002008-03-01T22:54:09.787-08:00Indian Lamb ChiliI have now returned to posting what I make every day for my self-declared Health Month. Since I have to tend to healing my fur angel, I have limited myself to 30 minutes for preparing any meal.<br /><br /><blockquote>My fur angel is on a very nice protocol to cure his oral gum teeth issues without <a href="http://www.petzlife.com/anesthesia_risk.htm">the horrific risks of oral surgery</a>, <a href="http://www.dvmnews.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=99207">that Corporate Vets know about</a>, and I am so glad I fired that Nazi Vettery. Interestingly, fur angel's teeth and gums are very quick to heal, with the right care and homeopathic products. The usual suspects work quite well. I am amazed at how quickly they are returning to health. I thought I couldn't make myrrh based formulations but turns out I can.<br /><br /></blockquote>I found a quick recipe for chicken chili that I modified and used for lamb. I modified it so much it's hardly recognizable and the final result is a "keeper", especially it only took me 30 minutes to make.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INDIAN LAMB CHILI<br /><br />Served with buttermilk soda bread, topped with fresh avocados and homemade plain yogurt (daahi style)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvcqabByb5q8lR8Ff1jnCH2NGXqHVzkuiXQmR-3J8mWfIR6Bgv1xcVI-NS7Wg8khcUI8ZvL0aZuAWGXJPFpS6tWVHJ8MmSqZHJT49FkllDVo0zA3TdFn5BDKhEuV0KCa8d0j7uG4iex77/s1600-h/IndianLambChili_avocadoandyogurt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvcqabByb5q8lR8Ff1jnCH2NGXqHVzkuiXQmR-3J8mWfIR6Bgv1xcVI-NS7Wg8khcUI8ZvL0aZuAWGXJPFpS6tWVHJ8MmSqZHJT49FkllDVo0zA3TdFn5BDKhEuV0KCa8d0j7uG4iex77/s400/IndianLambChili_avocadoandyogurt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173033019368014930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS </span>(yes this part takes only 10 minutes to prepare)<br /><br />A. The "Holy Trinity"<br />Red Onion or Shallot chopped fine - 1/2 cup<br />Garlic 1/2 head finely chopped<br />Fresh Ginger 1 inch finely chopped<br /><br />B. Basic Indian Spices - Seeds<br />Cumin seeds and powder<br />Coriander Seeds and powder<br />Cilantro<br /><br />C. Meat - cubed lamb about 1 plus pounds<br />Marinated 5 minutes in soy sauce balsam vinegar brown sugar S&P (discard marinade)<br />Kosher Salt and Black Pepper<br /><br />D. Chili Spices and stuff<br />Oregano<br />Garlic Powder<br />Bay leaf<br />Chili pepper<br />Red crushed peppers<br />Cayenne Pepper<br />Paprika<br />1 diced red bell pepper<br />2 diced jalapeno peppers<br /><br />E. Beans<br />Red Kidney Beans<br />Garbanzo beans<br /><br />F. Vegetables<br /> Diced tomatoes frizzed with tomato paste and tomato juice and Soy sauce<br /><br />G. Olive oil<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqEG1r3tGLbR_S4hDY3uT8vUM0QfQXW3DxWuZoUiRlmrQ1OPkWewy0ZvBfW2CmmOAn7-wEw2qGX2fWGnZe4-mQAGUdqTcg6zIGR9YuMzwcl2xI3Y_4OdgrUrPW9Yg3rZ7uebeGSXANbsM/s1600-h/IndianLambChili.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoqEG1r3tGLbR_S4hDY3uT8vUM0QfQXW3DxWuZoUiRlmrQ1OPkWewy0ZvBfW2CmmOAn7-wEw2qGX2fWGnZe4-mQAGUdqTcg6zIGR9YuMzwcl2xI3Y_4OdgrUrPW9Yg3rZ7uebeGSXANbsM/s400/IndianLambChili.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173033015073047602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy steel skillet.<br />2. Add the Holy trinity, and saute about 10 minutes on low.<br />3. Add the Indian spices stir about 30 seconds<br />4. Add meat and salt and pepper and braise lamb until the meat is browned and converted.<br />5. Add Chili stuff stir<br />6. Add beans and stir<br />7. Add "vegetables" tomatoes and tomato juice/or/paste and water and stir<br /><br />Bring to boil. Cover, turn heat to low, simmer for another 20 minutes. Serve hot. It's all you need for dinner, plus 4 oz red wine.<br /><br />The trick here is in the organization of your basic ingredients. When you do your shopping, for the basics, e.g, onions, garlic, ginger etc. divide this stash in half, chop one half immediately before storing them.<br /><br />Make sure your spices are organized so you can pull one teaspoon quickly. Use the library approach.<br /><br />Served with buttermilk soda bread...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFu7UiQv1REfq_snWotmn1miYSN1yGt1Szk9pJ4roXCu6hMc-6WOP9gi4w_Et_I6HkrkukfpyKa3WGqld1N99K_xZZYn9uFKtj1eLZhe3ojpymZl-OFgLlpUqdmxKNdZUEbcxSQZlxjXr-/s1600-h/IndianLambChili_withSodaBread.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFu7UiQv1REfq_snWotmn1miYSN1yGt1Szk9pJ4roXCu6hMc-6WOP9gi4w_Et_I6HkrkukfpyKa3WGqld1N99K_xZZYn9uFKtj1eLZhe3ojpymZl-OFgLlpUqdmxKNdZUEbcxSQZlxjXr-/s400/IndianLambChili_withSodaBread.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173033019368014914" border="0" /></a>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-17456145868831060362008-02-18T19:14:00.001-08:002008-02-20T18:56:49.774-08:00Taming the Wild Yeastie BeastiesI wanted to make India's oldest most difficult, most sophisticated, most healthy, most common simple food items: Idli/Dosa's...<br /><br />I have been putting it off for a year cuz of traveling, one reason or another. It's like making music, you get into the groove with your band and it's all perfect, you get out of the groove and y'all just don't sound right. Same with me and my Idli Dosa ingredients, they're a tough crowd - the Yeastie Beasties.<br /><br />By the way, fermented foods are the secret to long healthy life, if you want to really know. Yes, it's also about omega fatty acids, yes it's about anti-oxidants, but really, let's all cut to the chase - if you're over 50, you've gotta start fermenting to live past 120.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-31499754096426807302008-02-17T14:09:00.001-08:002008-02-17T14:13:57.472-08:00When Dixie belonged to Whiskey<span style="font-weight: bold;">A Summary of Whiskey Recipes a la Taste Wheel (tm)<br /> - when there are health benefits and when there are not<br /><br /></span>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-33094566439650712682008-02-17T11:49:00.000-08:002008-02-17T12:15:07.775-08:00Exotic "Leftovers" - Eggs Migos again!This is a weekend institution when I am in California - I love the fresh corn tortilla taste with the fresh red peppers, jalapeno peppers, vine tomatoes, avocados, shallots, cilantro, jalapeno jack pepper cheese and shot through with bit of deli meat. And eggs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX21Feo4YnFBvBfSWIdb7RzPYEqnqTNZ0Vl7weRTHcX-eI4GNTLbxr0_eKZk6OvvgUJ-4paveWoTdNMhlshqw8_09qxUbdnS7YcTDwbamSfIxrM3j2XitNj6hkQmliSYUqJjZKD2w6y_m9/s1600-h/Migos_CloseUp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX21Feo4YnFBvBfSWIdb7RzPYEqnqTNZ0Vl7weRTHcX-eI4GNTLbxr0_eKZk6OvvgUJ-4paveWoTdNMhlshqw8_09qxUbdnS7YcTDwbamSfIxrM3j2XitNj6hkQmliSYUqJjZKD2w6y_m9/s400/Migos_CloseUp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168043743443756626" border="0" /></a><br />The trick is to wake up motivated to cut veggies. If you're sane, you're not.<br /><br />So, start by going into the kitchen and start the coffee. Grab the bag of tortillas at the back of the refrigerator, waiting faithfully and patiently for you to remember them again. They can do this for months.<br /><br />You start with browning some 1-2 inch tortilla strips in brown sesame oil. While that is browning on low to medium, chop the jalapenos and onions and red peppers real fine and layer over the tortilla. That will take several minutes. While that is cooking slowly, dice the tomatoes and add some balsam vinegar and sugar and let marinate. Break 3-4 eggs in a bowl and whisk, add some cumin, soy, sea salt and black pepper. Dice half the avocado into medium sized pieces. Take a few slices of whatever deli meat you have and dice it into small pieces. Chop some cilantro.<br /><br />Let's see about now, the coffee should be ready so pour yourself a cup. Cut a small block of the cheese and grate it.<br /><br />About now the corn tortilla-onion-pepper base is ready for the next layer. Add the meat and some cilantro. Stir. After a minute of two, add the tomato mix, and stir/cover, then add the rest of the cilantro and the avocados. Stir. Cover. After a minute, pour the eggs mixture carefully and evenly, and stir to make sure it cooks evenly, then add the cheese, and cover.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mzqlOhrY27oSWLXnMNjMj0crlnvQu1gw2Vbc1WYKdo3ogO3YWoBBUjFOnintOBqqcwnToLDi2S2A_x8pi0AaMuR910jOjakNQm_7W4Z4PZQVOqGY8HEOKk7y2G-KWgQjcw03K2DtiVDP/s1600-h/Migos_Closer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mzqlOhrY27oSWLXnMNjMj0crlnvQu1gw2Vbc1WYKdo3ogO3YWoBBUjFOnintOBqqcwnToLDi2S2A_x8pi0AaMuR910jOjakNQm_7W4Z4PZQVOqGY8HEOKk7y2G-KWgQjcw03K2DtiVDP/s400/Migos_Closer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168043739148789314" border="0" /></a><br />Let it cook slowly for a minute, then take the lid off - check for egg done-ness - and serve immediately.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vP7G4mjUf-RRmsVLZumSjPyzP_J0YURW2PdqGy24iT4xh7hDGlcm2i4fqkQVqpo_-r6dCiZJTo86QYazJwpw-65yI1PKL6R7eRpkZ1Hz2JtmS9MvEoITi_FmOIaFyrOgfhORskej_LNE/s1600-h/Migos_Pan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vP7G4mjUf-RRmsVLZumSjPyzP_J0YURW2PdqGy24iT4xh7hDGlcm2i4fqkQVqpo_-r6dCiZJTo86QYazJwpw-65yI1PKL6R7eRpkZ1Hz2JtmS9MvEoITi_FmOIaFyrOgfhORskej_LNE/s400/Migos_Pan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5168043730558854706" border="0" /></a>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-53826896652803722782008-02-15T22:10:00.001-08:002008-02-18T14:51:14.498-08:00Health Month's promise to post daily recipesI remember I wrote this a mere two weeks back, though it seems a lifetime ago:<br /><br /><blockquote>For the month of February , self-declared "Health Month", I am going to post what I make each day mostly for dinner per Taste Wheel (tm) (c) protocols.</blockquote><br />Then one of the two felines got sick and I was tending to him. All promises go out the window when your fur babies are sick. The Tonk threw up one last round that scared the bejesus out of me. I actually went into the bathroom and cried, cuz I thought I was going to lose him. He didn't eat for 3 days, and with a cat that is dangerous. He lost a lot of weight. Course they get sick at midnight at the start of a weekend. Bitch-vet played games with me ordering antibiotics at midnight Friday night from 1800 PetMeds. You can read all about my response "at another blog".<br /><br />I cooked for him, I fed him every hour on the hour sometimes only 1/4 tsp some food until he got over the hump. Bought store-bought for me or wasn't hungry. I had professional carpet cleaners come with their van and vacuum hoses and their non toxic cleansers and clean the entire house. I had to leave with the two fur babies for several hours; they were wonderful in their box and carrier. I was a nice day. When I came back the air in the house smelled better. Since I had to get everything off the floor and move the furniture around, it was a time I did early spring cleaning.<br /><br />All of a sudden it was Valentine's Week, and lots of cooking, baking to do for self and others. No time for posting here.<br /><br />On Valentine's day I thought I would skip the Tonk's nightly administration of his nutraceutical supplements* - something I have to do with a medicine dropper and he hates it. I figured I'd give him the night off, as a special treat. He wasn't having it. As much as he hates it, he parked himself at the "medicine dropper" place, and waited: his sweet dark chocolate/cappuccino colored apple face looking up, a quizzical-laughing look in his drop-dead gorgeous aqua jewel eyes. (He knows how to use those eyes, hearts of pure strangers skip a beat.)<br /><br />I hugged him, and gave him his supplements. When I was done he crawled on my shoulder and hugged my neck. My Heart. My Soul. My Furry Valentine.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Note for those interested:</span><br /><br />Tonk has a range of issues - bad gums - likely an old abcess flaring up - but he also has some kidney issues due to toxic pet food attack of 2007. Hence he also has liver issues. Anesthesia is out of the question. Infections have to be controlled and his gumz have to be made healthy again. He won't eat when his teeth hurt. The poisons make him throw up. Brushing his teeth, and giving him a wide range of natural antibiotics, and supplements, and food he can bear to keep down, 1/4 tsp at a time.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Current Feline Supplements:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li><a href="http://www.designinghealth.com/products/feline_products_main.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">Missing Link Superfood Feline Supplement</span></a></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/gumz-n-teeth-prevent-pet-gingivitis.html">Gumz</a> <a href="http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/">n Teeth</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/"> Native Remedies</a> powder</span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" >Separately:</span><ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.thensome.com/olipet.htm">Oli-Pet</a> Olive Tree Leaf Extract</span></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">*Food he keeps down:</span><br /><ul style="font-weight: bold;"><li><span style="font-size:85%;">My special chicken soup recipe for cats</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.weruva.com/">Weruva</a> canned "grandma's chicken soup" formula</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.petcentreofsparta.com/p-1102-weruva-mixed-case-canned-cat-food-introduction.aspx">Weruva Mack n Jack seafood formula</a><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Broiled orange roughy or tilapia only - and - boiled large shrimp<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;">Canned tuna in water very very low sodium only mixed with boiled white rice (a tempter to eat, in desperation, not good to feed tuna regularly due to mercury contamination)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/">Orijen kibble (no grains at all) from Champion Pet food in Canada!</a></span></li></ul><br />And, if you are REALLY interested... <span style="font-weight: bold;">from a HOLISTIC MAMMAL CARE point of view</span>...<br /><br />The cat is an older Tonkinese male, and Tonks are known for having teeth problems and throwing up. Most vets I have taken him to do not know this fact. Tonks bodies are dense, they are "bricks wrapped in silk" and they do not look like those stupid poster picture from the 1950's of the alley cats most vets have up on their wall to show you when your cat is overweight. Tonks have fur coats to die for, so most of their weight in in their coat. Go ahead, put one in the tub and wet it down. What you're left with is an overgrown rat. Sick Tonks emaciate quickly, while looking full and furry. Even Holistic vets, who should know this, don't, and IMO should be taken out and &*^!<br /><br />So taking him to a vet is a crap shoot and he is too sick for crap shoots. Vets have no bloody idea what to feed sick cats except to push the Science Diet Killer Korporate foods on them.<br /><br />So I'm on my own. Food and meds. Healing food and healing meds. For healing meds, even if I can get a scrip for an antibiotic, most Corporate pharmacists are too stupid or lazy to mix down the human grade e.g., Clavamox down to cat sized. What the &*%! did they go to school for?<br /><br />So, throw out "all they make you believe in, all that you should be leaving"...<br /><br />Holistic meds for dental care works the same for pets as for humans: Vitamin C to decrease swelling and pain; Myrrh to heal gums; Echinachea, (both types but especially purpurea) for infection and periodontal therapy; Arnica for healing; <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fragaria vesca paste softens and breaks down years of built up plaque and tartar</span> (that artificial sugar laced crap they put in pet and human mouthwash just gives you cancer and you do not need a dental cleaning or dental surgery to whack off the plaque or fix the gums); Herpericum perforatum is excellent for oral pain control. Hepar Sulphur promotes suppuration (pulls out the poisons from abscesses) and for pain as well as Mercurious Sol for abscesses. Even Traumeel tincture. You can get these anywhere real Americans have had the courage to burn the American Nazis (Kissinger- Bush - and Hillary Clinton's codex alimentarious) and stock their shops properly.<br /><br />YOU have to read up on this for dosages and strengths and interactions for both humans and pets. Once you have it worked out for yourself, you can figure it out for the pet. If you're lucky you might get to talk to a human being (not a corporate clone). If you are really really really lucky you might find a vet, or a friend who will actually give you the name of a vet who will help you out with all this. Most friends who know vets won't give their names out, cuz the Nazi's are going after the good vets first.<br /><br />As for the foods: your pet knows better than you the tastes that will heal. You just have to throw out what they tell you and start cooking and spicing and herbing for your sick pet they same way you do for humans.<br /><br />PS They say cats and dogs will die if they eat onions. Develop Heinz body red blood cells. Kidneys destroyed. The cruel onion lab experiments on cats have been grossly misinterpreted. On purpose. There is nothing more dangerous than a poorly educated twit with a typing finger and an internet connection who have replicated dire warnings about onions of all sorts being a deathly threat to cats. Only in America. Don't feed it raw you twits. And don't believe anything a corporate lab experimenting on animals has written.<br /><br />My cat loves and thrives on curry. But that's another blog.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-76101719604201805662008-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:002009-08-28T16:29:19.182-07:00Orange Cappucino Pudding CakeI was listening to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv-0mmVnxPA">Carly Simon's "Hymn of Wall Street"</a>, which is better remembered as "Let the River Run", her Oscar winning song... in the vid you can see the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center... Carly captured the spirit of New York of that time, there was still an innocence despite it all.<br /><br />If you ever had anyone tell you as a child you could be anything you wanted to be, then "that New York" was <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">the </span>place with a special energy that pushed you to make it happen. I know, it pushed me, it made me, and in the end, it saved me. The Twin Towers were my beacon home. I have been all over the world and every single State in the Union, and no place has "that New York's" energy. Now, neither will "this New York". It's become a craven caricature of its former self, filled with plastic people from the other plastic places of this and other countries who flooded to it after 9/11, who never knew her. They are all trying to be cool citizens of the Silver City Carly wrote and sang about. New York will never be that enchanted Silver City ever again. Listening to that song made me homesick for a lot of things, including this Orange Cappuccino thing.<br /><br />It is from the old Ebinger's bakery. Ebinger's was a New York institution until the Entenmann's of the same era moved ahead with marketing their bakery items in supermarkets and other places. These days, (in my opinion of course) Entenmann's tastes plastic, filled as it is with High Fructose or other Corn Syrup and other Corporate plastic food ingredients. Ebinger's may have disappeared, but at least they didn't sell out. As a result, it is the Ebinger's recipes that are hunted down, argued over and missed; it is the Ebinger's recipes that garner sighs; it is the people who stored the last of <a href="http://www.recipelink.com/cookbooks/1999/0609604201_2.html">Ebinger's famous Brooklyn Blackout cake </a>as museum items in their freezer for years who are respected in culinary circles.<br /><br />Here's the recipe for their Orange Cappuccino Pudding Cake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLF2v50vXhRFp3latmcuoOqZijCHJHXp0Gnm16-hn01ryuv5EzvkPmy8MFw5foXDfzH2bLnsU4O3XjRCof1WztcyJqoEmVCySP8suKUxsjI2WiDqhPemjshUlMz4mDO78sLspOxbrXoeI/s1600-h/OrangeCappucinoPuddingCake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuLF2v50vXhRFp3latmcuoOqZijCHJHXp0Gnm16-hn01ryuv5EzvkPmy8MFw5foXDfzH2bLnsU4O3XjRCof1WztcyJqoEmVCySP8suKUxsjI2WiDqhPemjshUlMz4mDO78sLspOxbrXoeI/s400/OrangeCappucinoPuddingCake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167445780916938178" border="0" /></a><br />I found it on the web over by <a href="http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/">Uncle Phaedrus, Consulting Detective and Finder of Lost Recipes</a>, and made a change or two, or three - you didn't think I was going to leave out Mr. Jack Daniels or Mr. Jim Beam? Naah, this is Valentine WEEK!<br /><br />I gave some to Vegetable Cutting Boy - he had ordered Cacao Nibs a la Scharffen Berger for Valentine's day. This is what the baked nibs look like, and they taste muy better than the chocolate chip dealies.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoRpqI3m5ZiQmcnIxRAtXi-siqVS7LhLLhyphenhyphenvGgiUCvLN84z-Ypb3vFcXvn_DEUUPqnRP_QHSi5tQfOdpou9cJRIUXvF4sFebhwlMT7HErJAU7G0uO1Rzu28b3St7Hf-6BLRoZ8IUfEhxK/s1600-h/OrangeCappucinoChoco_CHOCNIBS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoRpqI3m5ZiQmcnIxRAtXi-siqVS7LhLLhyphenhyphenvGgiUCvLN84z-Ypb3vFcXvn_DEUUPqnRP_QHSi5tQfOdpou9cJRIUXvF4sFebhwlMT7HErJAU7G0uO1Rzu28b3St7Hf-6BLRoZ8IUfEhxK/s400/OrangeCappucinoChoco_CHOCNIBS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167446180348896754" border="0" /></a>I always appreciate a man who brings me the correct chocolate things - things I can use at the start of a chocolate cooking adventure, rather than some end result, that is pretty to look at, and pleasing to taste, but where's the fun!<br /><br />Here's the fun! Make yourself some Choccolada fun! Vegetable Cutting Boy said this version turned out to be a $15.00 dessert in a five star restaurant and could not believe this was the first time I made it. See it's FOOLPROOF! Well, to good friends anyway!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Orange Cappuccino Pudding Cake</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Serves 12</span><br />(Note: 12 is a stretch goal, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">do your best</span>. In my house, half of it was gone in one sitting, two helpings each of dessert, I was careful to make just a hearty salad with cheese, shrimp, avocado, tomato, celery, carrots and mixed herb greens with a sesame coconut dressing for the dinner).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS</span><br /><br />1 cup all-purpose flour<br />1 cup packed (I mean really packed) golden brown sugar<br />2 rounded tsp. baking powder<br />2 tsp. orange zest (note, I had two oranges, overly ripe but not gone bad, I used all the zest a bit closer to 3 and I would do the same again).<br />1/2 cup orange juice (I used the juice of the above oranges plus some pulp).<br />2 Tblsp. vegetable oil (I used 2 Tblsp. melted and cooled butter)<br />1 egg (hmm, I looked at the lone egg, it didn't look right, so I added the yolk only of a second egg)<br />2 tsp vanilla extract (and if some extra runs over that's OK too).<br />1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used the Scharffen Berger Semi Sweet Chocolate Covered CACAO NIBS. I used enough to dot it the way it came out in the picture. I didn't measure but it is a least 1/4 - 1/3 - 1/2 cup)<br />1/3 cup granulated white sugar<br />1/4 cup instant coffee powder (Note they say "or hot chocolate mix" - NO it must have the coffee or is isn't right!)<br />1/4 cup cocoa (I used the GHIRADELLI Unsweetened Cocoa - I get fabulous results with their products).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD<br /><br /></span>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish (they said spray with vegetable spray, I don't, and suspect it was so done by Ebinger's for kosher reasons - note there is no milk in this recipe).<br /><br />Put up about 2 cups of hot water to boil for this recipe. You'll only use 1 - 1/4 cup of it. Fill the espresso maker for later, it tastes real good with espresso.<br /><br /><blockquote>Note: This is a recipe where you mix the dry and mix the wet then mix together. Remember I treat brown sugar as "a wet one" 'cuz it is wet, so even though their recipe says "mix the brown sugar with the flour", as a dry, DON'T. Mix the brown sugar in with the WET ingredients. Ask Alton Brown, he finally did a show that backed me up on this, though he has no idea who I am.)<br /><br /></blockquote>In a bowl stir together flour, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together orange zest, orange juice, BROWN SUGAR, egg, vanilla, then mix in the butter.<br /><br />Add the wet ingredients to the dry, blending until JUST mixed. (Do NOT over mix!!!) Batter will be thick. Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the chocolate nibs (chips) over the top.<br /><br />In a bowl whisk together 1 -1/4 cup HOT water, granulated sugar, instant coffee mix, and the unsweetened cocoa. Pour carefully over cake batter. (Yes, DROWN THE CAKE - it'll pool at the bottom to make the sauce - see picture).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQf6MaPiOvbAihdz4XMh3_Jq9lnEmdHw3mz_khoIoSQvqN_mUCLhl8GkErPH6AMFgbBYjQvTnLqvyqeoyGlneZk02Szt-9myr2-NnpilrXVEJ6jWwDO8rKkTc5USDyJU5DxyttTTUwlZvf/s1600-h/OrangeCappucinoChoco_SAUCE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQf6MaPiOvbAihdz4XMh3_Jq9lnEmdHw3mz_khoIoSQvqN_mUCLhl8GkErPH6AMFgbBYjQvTnLqvyqeoyGlneZk02Szt-9myr2-NnpilrXVEJ6jWwDO8rKkTc5USDyJU5DxyttTTUwlZvf/s400/OrangeCappucinoChoco_SAUCE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167446171758962130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Bake 35 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.<br /><blockquote><br />(In my cheap oven that runs cold, I had to do the 385, 375, 365, 350 drill which worked well).<br /><br /></blockquote>SERVE WARM. Spoon cake and underlying sauce into individual dessert dishes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_i0-TQ6EoXK3Bn5py7ODogIgYlTM4wH8G6uZ7CEEtDi8_8bzqJdjOwFxHh_5NFOEZ-nKVDYbV7qMY0PFpLsw1NYn34RrZ_Hxu5vSTMyVBWcRs2nX2LE4RXJUE_jqC__SZsQEJ0tIhjM3/s1600-h/HalfScarfed+and+Melted.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb_i0-TQ6EoXK3Bn5py7ODogIgYlTM4wH8G6uZ7CEEtDi8_8bzqJdjOwFxHh_5NFOEZ-nKVDYbV7qMY0PFpLsw1NYn34RrZ_Hxu5vSTMyVBWcRs2nX2LE4RXJUE_jqC__SZsQEJ0tIhjM3/s400/HalfScarfed+and+Melted.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167451119561287202" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CALLING <a href="http://www.jimbeam.com/beam/default.aspx">Mr. BEAM!</a> </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.jackdaniels.com/">Mr. DANIELS!</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span>1/2 cup heavy cream<br />1/3 cup granulated sugar<br />1/3 cup whisky (Kentucky bourbon)<br />1 goodly capful vanilla essence.<br /><br />Put cold heavy cream in a blender, add sugar and WHIP until hard; add whisky - (now look, you DON'T have to reach for 130 year old Kentucky Bourbon, but then again, if you're going to knock up the cream in proper Southern fashion, then you sort of have no choice), and vanilla and WHIP again.<br /><br />Spoon onto and around cake and chocolate.<br /><br />Serve with espresso coffee. Serve again and again and again. (Ummm, If you're a minor reading this, you have no business drinking in the first place.)<br /><br /><blockquote>After you have made this cake, things like BAB AU RHUM begin to make sense. "Delisheye" things that cost $12.50 per teensy-weensy spoonful in those snotty yet trendy coffee houses, with the $25 cappuccino's suddenly become in your reach. It's real power, man, this is where it's at!<br /><br /></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">NOTE:<br /><br /></span>I fought the urge to add Cointreau or Bourbon to the coffee, cocoa mix you drown it in before you put it in the oven. Instead I opted for the whipped cream "knocked up" by <a href="http://www.jackdaniels.com/">Mr. Daniels</a> or <a href="http://www.jimbeam.com/beam/default.aspx">Mr. Beam</a>. In reality, you could add your favorite orange liqueur in with the coffee, the taste will be added to the cake, though the alcohol will have evaporated off, AND you can also add it to the whipped cream.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VmplzUQb47RrzQxDVZOGNfkecCsNg-t0kypljnmoYqmY0_iN8_uObe9BFhxOGy_RWRLW_ySWLxiCgU47i8oZ9p4hFvBXxmJPtKmF8lA7jrL8x3IaTpt8R7KNKuXeG3idz3isnnLzuvsf/s1600-h/Gonzo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VmplzUQb47RrzQxDVZOGNfkecCsNg-t0kypljnmoYqmY0_iN8_uObe9BFhxOGy_RWRLW_ySWLxiCgU47i8oZ9p4hFvBXxmJPtKmF8lA7jrL8x3IaTpt8R7KNKuXeG3idz3isnnLzuvsf/s400/Gonzo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167446188938831378" border="0" /></a><br />A final word on the <a href="http://www.cojoweb.com/WTC.html">Silver City</a>: For each anniversary of 9/11, in honor of my DNA being <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbzmFtSpeA">Touched by the Sun </a>, it has become a planned activity - with a select few of us who were "in danger of burning by fire" that day - to wake up with Carly and Mr. Daniels. I suppose I shouldn't - depleted Uranium alone is a deadly toxic legacy, much less to mix with Kentucky Bourbon, but <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbzmFtSpeA">as Carly sez in her song</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjbzmFtSpeA">:</a><br /><br /><blockquote>"Let my wings of desire<br />Soar over the night<br />I need to let them say<br />she must have been mad..."</blockquote><br />And I am, still, extremely, quite... mad!<br /><br />Every time I raise a glass, it's a back-handed "slap in the face" salute to the International Dixie Mafia for pulling off the most ghoulish stunt since they lifted those missiles and took them up to that airport in NJ, for the TWA 800 stunt.<br /><br />When "Dixie belonged to Whiskey", y'all were better gentlemen politician pirates than the ones you've become on this global narco-terrorism jaunt of yours. Phoo-ey in your eyes. A pox on your karma. No pudding for you!XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-66380087733345431152008-02-03T15:45:00.000-08:002008-02-03T16:16:13.814-08:00Sweet and Sour Chicken a la Fast Food<span style="font-weight: bold;">February 2nd, 2008</span><br /><br />It was a cold, rainy, windy Saturday dedicated to my feline master and mistress.<br /><br />The male is doing much better on chicken soup. I resorted to using a medicine dropper to ensure he gets his nutraceuticals, and waving a 12 inch turkey baster at him to "encourage" him to eat something.<br /><br />The female is a world class athlete, Siamese were bred for that, and she starred today in some awesome videos; I spent all day and night making into YouTube material (does anyone know how to export a photo captured within a Windows Movie Maker clip into Adobe Photoshop without resorting to capture software like Hijaak or Snag-it?)<br /><br />Around 8:30pm it occurred to me it was Saturday night, and no, cold roast chicken and slices of cheese with celery and carrots were just not gonna cut it. In addition, there's all that delisheye bok choy...<br /><br />In 15-25 minutes, the following was whipped up and set to wine and song:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients:<br /><br /></span><ul><li>Cold roast chicken cut into small chunks</li><li>Cold jalapeno cheese sliced and diced</li><li>4-5heads baby bok choy sliced and diced</li><li>One tomato, diced</li><li>One fresh jalapeno pepper diced small</li><li>One stalk celery diced</li><li>4-5 Tb canned corn</li><li>4-5 Tb frozen sweet peas</li><li>1-2 heads spring onion diced finely</li><li>Sesame seeds<br /></li></ul><ul><li>2 Tb canned diced tomato</li><li>1 Tb tomato sauce</li><li>1 Tb dark sesame oil</li><li>2 Tb Soy sauce</li><li>2 Tb vinegar</li><li>2 Tb dark brown sugar</li><li>1 Tb Cumin</li><li>1 Tb ginger powder</li><li>1 Tb garlic powder<br /></li></ul><ul><li>2 twirls of sesame oil for the wok</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Method:</span><br /><ul><li>In a small mixing container mix the tomatoes and and the sweet and sour ingredients.</li><li>Heat oil for wok, and stir fry on hot hot heat all the green stuff 2-3 minutes.</li><li>Add chicken, corn, stir fry for a minute, then add the sauce. Stir for 2-3 minutes.</li><li>Add sesame seeds and cheese. Cover, and turn down heat.</li></ul>Serve hot over rice.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-12901778938731204102008-02-01T20:43:00.000-08:002008-02-01T20:51:38.409-08:00First Friday in February Fast FoodFor the month of February , self-declared "Health Month", I am going to post what I make each day mostly for dinner per Taste Wheel (tm) (c) protocols.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">February 1:</span><br /><br />Feline companions, the Tonkinese especially, are not feeling well, they took the priority. Did you know the extent of the horrific state of National Vettery?<br /><br />Because I spent most of the day doing research into National Vettery (sort of like the National Lottery - if your pet survives a vet appointment you win the jackpot!) - the quick Friday Night Special dinner was a roasted herbed chicken with steamed broccoli and brussel sprouts as sides, done "a la sesame"<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recipes:</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Taste Wheel Values:<br /><br /><br /></span>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-38699665867448918282008-01-31T21:52:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:06:59.258-08:00Sweet and Sour Fish with Bok Choy and VegetablesThis is a straight up recipe I did tonight. I had about three kinds of bok choy that needed using up. When I purchased them I wanted to make a load of sweet and sour bok choy as sides, and tonight with a separately prepared chicken dish; but I had already baked all the chicken in the infamous orange-honey-mustard dish from my misbegotten yute. Having nothing other than raw frozen fish pieces (tilapia, roughy, sea bass), I put them together "ah so":<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Sweet and Sour Sauce:</span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >½ cup diced tomatoes with 1 tablespoon tomato paste mixed well<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >4 Tbl soy sauce<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >2 level Tb brown sugar <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >2 Tbl red wine vinegar or cider vinegar<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 Tbl ground ginger – or 2 TB fresh grated ginger<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1-2 TB brown sesame oil<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >½ tsp coriander<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 tsp cumin<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-weight: bold;" class="MsoNormal" face="arial">For the wok:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >a.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ></span></p> <ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 tsp olive oil</span><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >·<span style=""> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1/4 cup minced scallions<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >2-3 diced shallots<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 diced jalapeno pepper<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >6 garlic cloves, minced<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >½ cup grated fresh ginger<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >b.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 more TB cornstarch preferablt Kudzu Root as thickener at end<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >½ cup water <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >½ cup coconut milk<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Fish:</span> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >2 tablespoons olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 to ½ pound fresh white fish fillets, cut into 1-2 inch strips<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 large TB cornstarch <o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Vegetables:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;">(Note: you do not need all the veggies just a sweet one e.g., carrots to balance the bok choy. earth mushroom would complete the trio of tastes.)<br /><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >2 -3 cups baby carrots diced small<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >1 lb baby bok choy, cut into 2-inch pieces (about 5 -6 cups)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >¼ to ½ pound fresh shiitake or any other fresh mushroom, thinly sliced<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >¼ - ½ cup diced celery or water chestnuts <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >¼ - ½ cup frozen corn defrosted or canned corn<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Method:</span><br /></p><ol style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Stir together all sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a prep bowl, and set aside.</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >In large nonstick wok, warm vegetable oil over high heat. <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >In a second skillet with its 1 TB olive oil, stir fry scallions, shallots, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger, and cook until scallions about 2 – 3 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Coat pieces of sea bass with 1 Tbl of cornstarch. Add fish to skillet and cook until golden, about 4 - 5minutes. Transfer fish to a plate using a slotted turner or spoon and cover with a bowl to keep warm.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >To the wok, add carrots, bok choy, mushrooms, celery, corn and ½ cup of water. Cook until vegetables are crisp but tender, about 2 – 3 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Stir in sweet and sour sauce mixture and ½ cup of water. Simmer until vegetables are almost crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Return fish to skillet and simmer until cooked through, about 2 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >In the sweet and sour sauce prep bowl, mix kudzu root powder (or cornstarch) and water. <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Stir into skillet and cook until sauce is lightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Serve hot over rice. Basmati rice prep takes 15 mins for soaking and 12 mins for boiling, the same time as this dish.<o:p></o:p></span></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:10;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Preparation Time: 25 minutes</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-5400481347421402382008-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:002008-02-15T23:28:09.672-08:00Internet VindalooniesThis appears to be a colder and wetter winter for the entire North American continent than experienced for many a year. Short memories and still shorter IQ's have people screaming "global cooling is the new global warming".<br /><br />This is the time for warming foods, hence we dredge up an oldie but goodie for this sort of season, <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">the VINDALOO curry.</span><br /><br />Take a Google-gander at the Internet: About 30,000 hits for "VINDALOO CURRY". Hmm, something's wrong. OK, omit the word "curry" and search again. Now you get about 612,000 hits!<br /><br />Originally a pork dish made with "red wine and garlic", the Portuguese brought it to Goa, India, and it immediately merged with local spices. it became an authentic Indian dish when the Hindu people got ahold of it - no red wine and no pork! They are completely forgiven because what they did with the spices brings this dish to new culinary heights, that those two simple ingredients (which end up jangling the nerves) cannot accomplish.<br /><br />We find the Queen of Indian Cuisine, Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking (1982) to be one unwitting cause of the epidemic of Indian Slob Cuisine cropping up all over the Internet.<br /><br />Mrs. Jaffrey is a world-class gourmet cook, author and teacher, and it is her recipe books which made Indian cooking accessible to the Far West.<br /><br />Her recipes have been slaughtered by those reading her, too many of whom decided, it appears from Internet food sites, they are in a most unique position improve upon her curry.<br /><br />There has been no more grievous bollixing up of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes than in the Vindaloo arena by those I call Internet Vindaloonies.<br /><br />You can always can when a self-appointed Curry Cuisine-artist has ripped of Jaffrey - e.g., the tell-tale signs of her uniquely phrased original in their instructions, such as but not limited to: "remove them with a slotted spoon".<br /><br />In fact, if you Google just that: "remove them with a slotted spoon" you will find over 1,000 hits, having mostly to do with curry, and people who have borrowed Jaffrey's work and minced their own around hers. Imitation IS the sincerest form of flattery, but the Vindaloonies should know that when you flatter someone you have to give them credit, or else it's just plagiarism.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A few Vindaloonie hints:</span><br /><br />Authentically speaking, Vindaloo is a very dry hot curry process applied to meats mostly. It's a standalone kind of thing, meaning, don't ADD stuff to it, it is not a stew.<br /><br />Most people add potatoes. Don't. All that potato starch chemically changes the curry sauce. If you must add, add chickpeas, some appropriate green bean, or dessicated coconut for an appetizer version.<br /><br />And by the way, if you are looking on the web at an "AUTHENTIC CURRY RECIPE" that has beef in it, remember that the COW is a sacred animal in India, and there is NO AUTHENTIC RECIPE that calls for BEEF.<br /><br />Now, it's merely a point of cultural fact: I eat BEEF, I just don't expect to see "Authentic Indian" and "Beef" in the same sentence.<br /><br />One last thing: the real thing does NOT require electric blenders, mixers etcetera etcetera etcetera just as real Mexican Mole makers shun that process. It don't mix up the same, and it don't taste the same, period.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VINDALOO CURRY</span><br /><br />(Despite popular misconceptions, the "-aloo" in Vindaloo does NOT mean "potatoes")<br /><br />There are two approaches: marinate the meat in the vinegar and some of the spices then process, or not. If you are using a gamey meat such as lamb, marinate, if chicken do not marinate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vindaloo Chicken with Coconut:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients:</span><br /><br /><ul><li>1/4 cup Apple Cider or Rice Wine or WHITE Vinegar</li><li>1 TB to 1/4 CUP DARK BROWN SUGAR (you can use less but use SOME sugar it is bitter without).</li><li>4 TB light vegetable oil</li><li>1 large onion, quartered OR diced fine</li><li>1/4 cup water</li><li>2 TB tamarind paste IF YOU CAN GET IT.</li></ul><ul><li>1/2 cup tomato paste</li><li>1 cup coconut flakes unsweetened (optional) mixed in just enough water to wet</li></ul><ul><li>1 TBL brown sugar </li><li> 1 tsp salt </li><li> 1 tsp cayenne pepper (chilli pepper crushed is fine)</li><li>6 garlic cloves, chopped </li><li>1" cube fresh ginger</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">MEAT:</span><br /><br />1 POUND CHICKEN BREASTS or CHICKEN THIGHS CUT INTO BITE SIZED PORTIONS<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SPICES:</span><br />For Vindaloo Masala:<br /><ul><li> 1 tsp cumin seeds<br /></li><li> 1/2 tsp cumin powder<br /></li><li> 6 green cardamom pod seeds only<br /></li><li> 1 inch cinnamon stick<br /></li><li> 1 tsp black mustard seeds<br /></li><li> 1 tsp fenugreek seeds<br /></li><li>1/2 tsp chili powder</li></ul>...<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><ul><li>2-3 tsp CORIANDER POWDER</li><li> 1/2 tsp TURMERIC<br /></li></ul> <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">METHOD:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Make the Vindaloo Mixture:</span><br /><br />Grind the ingredients for the masala together. Pour into a small bowl, and add vinegar, salt, cayenne pepper and sugar.<br /><br />Heat 2 Tbl oil in a skillet and add the onions. Saute on low heat for a long time, covering when the onions sigh, until they turn a dark golden brown. Remove them leaving as much of the oil and moisture in the pan, and grind them to a pulp, making an onion paste. Add this to the masala mix. This is the vindaloo mixture.<br /><br />Grind the garlic with about 1 Tb water until you have a garlic paste. Grind the grated ginger, and add to the garlic paste. Add a Tbl oil to the skillet and add the garlic ginger paste. Stir constantly make sure it doesn't burn just browns. Add the coriander and turmeric, then add the chicken pieces, stirring constantly. Brown the chicken.<br /><br />Now add the vindaloo paste, tomato sauce, and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup water (and potato pieces if you must). Stir and bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about an hour.<br /><br />Serve with Indian bread (roti) or rice.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-64085206918911311052007-12-18T16:49:00.000-08:002007-12-18T17:30:27.734-08:00The Garam Dude -- how to heat things upIn Hindi, Garam Doodh means Hot Milk. Once, I travelled extensively with someone whose first tentatively inquiring words in a dhaba were: "Garam Dudh hai?" This means, "Do you nice people have hot milk?" If they said yes, as inevitably they did, he would order some, and look over at me, Wink and Mooooooo. He was from Wisconsin USA, Home of the Sacred Cow, and after enough instances of this dhaba thing, I'd call him "The Garam Dude".<br /><br />There is a story of why to drink milk warm, for all you who cannot digest the thing, drink all milk products warm. But I won't go into that one yet.<br /><br />First, the concept of "warming foods" and how they should be selected, and when and why and for whom and how etcetera etcetera etcetera.<br /><br />You've heard of Garam Masala, so now you know the Garam means Hot, and the Masala means "A Blend of Spices". It's used to make spicy Indian foods, and sold in Western food stores, often formulated locally as, well, what I refer to as a blatant attempt at cultural genocide. <br /><br />I am in the MidWest currently, and stopped in to a highly touted health food store in Columbia, MO, and grabbed a couple of starter spice bottles for YAWHCPTNWAC (Yet Another Western Health Care Provider Teaching Nutrition Without A Clue).<br /><br />I was going for the 6 C's, and saw this formulation for their "Garam" Masala:<br /><br /><br />Pretty pathetic, I'd say it was Thanda Masala, or rather, Thanda Pandering Masala... everybody knows that real Garam Masala - to warm the consitution - consists of - well if you google you will come across several recipes like this:<br /><br />½ cup cumin seeds<br /> ½ cup ground coriander<br /> ½ cup whole black peppercorns<br /> 5 teaspoons seeds of black cardamom pods<br /> 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon<br /> 2 teaspoons ground cloves<br /> 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg<br /> 2 teaspoons black salt<br /> 1 ½ teaspoons asafetida powder<br /> <br />Not the real thing either...I found that recipe source came from a Wesbite marketing Indian Culture, and the key person behind it was a Westerner... it seems everyone is copying the frauds.<br /><br />Here you go, why on earth they left out the critical warming agent: GINGER, is beyond me.<br /><br />INGREDIENTS:<br />4 tbsps coriander seeds<br />1 tbsp cumin seeds<br />1 tbsp black peppercorns<br />1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)<br />1 ½ tsps dry ginger<br />¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)<br />¾ tsp cloves¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)<br />¾ tsp crushed bay leaves<br /><br />PREPARATION:Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside. When the spices are roasted turn of the flame and allow them to cool. Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices. Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder. Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-64528392701645144062007-05-31T17:04:00.000-07:002007-05-31T18:33:58.747-07:00Taste Blocking: Sweet with no sugar, Savory with no salt, Bitter with fruitIt's been a while. I've been learning to feed and heal Buddha Cat, who got hit with the Poisoned Pet Food making it's rounds, even in the top of the line Pet Food items. The squalid, grotesque criminality of the Pet Food Industry is a cherished Corporate Family Value protected by Big Agra and Big Pharma. I learned a lot, and the bottom line is this: if we want to succeed, we better start looking after the animals NOW.<br /><br />For a while back there I was feeding my own human circle on automatic pilot. I could hardly bring myself to touch chicken, or turkey, or beef, or olive oil, or wheat flour, anything "food" for that matter without shudders of revulsion. But, it's better to know the worst truth than to have your head so firmly entrenched in the sand, you might as well be a living, mindless carcass. Which is all your value is to Corporate America anyway.<br /><br />Some time last week, sparks of creativity flew and someone noticed the aromas of a meal I cooked in 30 minutes. Rachel Ray, eat your heart out sweetie, you'll never be able to taste block like this.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Sweet with no sugar, savory with no salt, bitter with fruit</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Block 1 - Sweet with No Sugar</span><br /></span>Rice<br /><br />1 cup of Basmati rice (wash and soak for about 15 minutes, drain)<br />1 cup green peas<br />1 cup chopped carrots cut across into 1/4 inch dime sized pieces<br />Salt<br /><br />1 cup Coconut flakes<br />Cinnamon, Whole Cardamoms , Cloves, Cumin Seeds<br />(1 - 1 1/12 teaspoons of flavor each)<br />Mix sesame oil and olive oil, and head, stir fry spices for about 1-2 minutes, or less, do not burn.<br />Add peas and carrots, stir fry some more and add soaked rice, coconut flakes, salt, stir it up, and then add 2-3 cups water, boil and back off to simmer for 15 minutes, then done, how hard was that?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Block 2: Savory with No Salt</span><br /><br />Onions<br />Garlic<br />Ginger<br /><br />Fenugreek, Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Cumin powder<br /><br />Heat Olive oil, add onions, garlic, ginger, and bring to stir fry temps, then back off. Add fenugreek, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cumin powder. Let it all cook together. When onions have sweated, add cooked pieced poultry and brown. Stir and cover.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Block 3: Bitter with Fruit</span><br /><br /></span>Tomatoes soaked in a bit of soy sauce<br />Chard or other bitter green e.g., bitter melon<br /><br />Make a hole in the center of the pan the poultry has been browning in, and put the tomatoes and if you are using bitter melon, add these too. Add some channa masala. Cover, and let tomatoes (and/or melon) cook. After a few minutes, if you are using chard, add chard now, and stir well. Cover and cook on low till all flavors mixed.</div>XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-44606609289694950822007-04-02T22:32:00.000-07:002007-04-04T16:48:25.355-07:00Perfect Roast Chicken for Imperfect CooksThere's nothing like it: a tender, juicy, tasty roast chicken each and every time, like clockwork, no double guessing, no worries, very predictable, with all the trimmings, perfectly done, with potatoes and veggies, and I - Ordinary Cook - have such a recipe.<br /><br />First, google: "perfect roast chicken". I got over 10,000 hits. There's so much perfection out there in Chicken Land! Each one incorporates a different approach. I tested at least 6 "gold star" recipes which claimed "perfection". Even the Food Network Gods, gold-plated actors with scripts - if they don't have a simple roast chicken in their repertoire, they're TOAST, in my book. And they don't. Each one gets something wrong they didn't warn you about. Even Saint Emeril the Bam-Meister. They don't get the herbs right either.<br /><br />It appeared more often than not, the most successful "perfect" roast chickens are done at high temps for a short period of time like 40-50 minutes. The theory is that this seals in the juices and gets the job done with short cooking times to prevent drying it out. That isn't the entire drill though.<br /><br />Trust me, 500 degrees for 45 minutes will serve up one HOT chicken (key parts at 190 degrees no less) with near RAW places inside. Why? Unless you started with a near frozen bird, there are two questions to consider, and you're not going to like either one: The first one is IS YOUR RANGE/OVEN FAITHFUL? and the second one is are you purchasing UNDER-AGE CHICKENS.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IS YOUR RANGE/OVEN FAITHFUL?</span><br />Your oven, my oven, the big question mark is your oven faithful at 500 degrees? Mine is rock solid at 400, even 450, but it sure isn't at 500. Like marital fidelity, a lot can go out the window under extreme conditions. Perhaps yours is faithful, but at 500 degrees, you have to tend things closely, expect "errors", and make allowances. Don't be too judgmental if there is a screw-up or two; if all this makes you think of trading in ovens, remember, they're mostly all alike in our "price range"... I tried this maximum of settings (500 degrees) in other ovens, and seems medium to low end residential ovens flake out at high temps. Okay, back to roasted chickens.<br /><br />Any 500 degree roast recipe requires up to double the "Professional Cooking God" recipe stated times, unless you have a superb quality top of the line professional oven and sous-slaves basting to the crack of your whip.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE TANDOOR:</span><br />I studied the one ethnic chicken dish that gets rave reviews the world over: <a href="http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=10">tandoori chicken</a>. I do not want lipstick-red tandoori on my dinner table (did you know the red color in tandoori chicken these days is food dye masquerading for special sauces?) - however, I did want the unbeatable succulence and whatever delicate taste I chose (thyme, lemon, garlic, rosemary) to survive the roasting.<br /><br />The tandoori gets rave reviews because it is succulent each and every time. And so very tasty. Tandoori chickens are marinated in a yogurt mix without their skin, and stuck in a clay oven which can reach 900 degrees Fahrenheit, and faster than you can say " <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >"high-temperature reusable surface insulation</span><span class="mContent"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >" </span>they are done! For refere</span><span class="mContent">nce, the Space Shuttle tiles are re-usable up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, while average home ranges/ovens max at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.<br /></span><br /><span class="mContent"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"A tandoori oven is designed to provide very high, dry heat. Fuel for this fire is provided by charcoals lining the bottom of the structure. In order to produce temperatures approaching 900 degrees </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-history-of-the-fahrenheit-scale.htm">Fahrenheit</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> (480 degrees </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.wisegeek.com/how-was-the-celsius-temperature-scale-developed.htm">Celsius</a><span style="font-style: italic;">), employees maintain a long vigil to keep the tandoori oven's coals burning all the time. At such high temperatures, most foods cooked in a tandoori oven develop a very crisp outer layer without sacrificing moistness on the inside."</span></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><br />Hot and fast. The entire bird is done, no chopping into pieces or it won't work. That sounds like roast chicken to me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Roasting Rule #1:<br /></span>I went with the <span style="font-weight: bold;">extreme salting and peppering</span> inside and out, as much under the skin as you can get, and<span style="font-weight: bold;"> squeeze a lemon</span> over it. Also, it doesn't take a Space Shuttle Scientist to figure out adding a <span style="font-weight: bold;">bit of sour milk</span> to the lemon squeeze would do wonders for the taste.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Roasting Rule #2:<br /></span>Short of Space Shuttle tiles and a bevy of coal workers, I was going to have to figure out how Mr. Average Oven could be utilized to <span>simulate 500 degrees</span>. You might marinade things perfectly, but you might still be stuck in non-professional range/oven land. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Locate the oven's thermometer.</span><br /><br />If you review ovens, say at <a href="http://www.epinions.com/Ovens">ePinions</a> you'll see ovens first categorized "Below $1,230" to "Above 9,190", then by brand, by type (single, double, triple) and by "Energy Type" (gas, electric dual); <a href="http://www.epinions.com/Kitchen_Ranges">Kitchen Ranges </a>are "Below $740" and "Above $5,200" etc.<br /><br />For yuks I selected one of the "most affordable" ones, from GE, and went to read the thousands of reviews. Not a single review actually spoke about the product (the range/oven itself). Instead, they griped about the stores they bought their item from. I chuckled at the litany of "rude", "scamster", "unethical", and then scolded myself, "Self, you are living in the kingdom of the corrupt, don't waste your time on the obvious". If a consumer wants actual reviews, a subscription to "Consumer Reports", or some such is the only way to "truth". When I believed in being a consumer I dutifully maintained such subscriptions. I was often quite irritated as "they" would ALWAYS omit from their reviews, at least two of <span style="font-style: italic;">the most </span>or<span style="font-style: italic;"> nearly most popular item</span> in a category. So, I wouldn't want to subscribe and then discover for "Kitchen Ranges", they might have omitted "GE", for example.<br /><br />Review of ranges/oven idea screwed, I am back to relying on my own common sense: The oven is supposed to get up to and hold 500 degrees. If it did not work once for you, then it won't work the second time. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I located where the thermometer was placed (e.g., at the top left rear) and decided that will be the "truest" part, and kept turning the bird so every piece of it gets a bit of "prime time" at 500 degrees.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RESULTS:</span><br />I did a baseline test for the first one: roasted for the "perfect Roast Chicken" recipe instruction that in 40 minutes it would be done. It wasn't - it was cooked unevenly - on top and raw underneath. With burned thigh ends.<br /><br />OK. I put it back in, foiled the thigh ends, flipped it and decided it was done at 90 minutes. But by then it was so late in the day, I refrigerated it, and heated it up the next day in the oven, for half and hour. ONLY THEN WAS IT DONE!<br /><br />However, it was very moist and exceedingly delicious. Something was up. It wasn't supposed to be this way, and I suspected the roaster had been chemically treated somehow, such as being injected with solutions of phosphates and flavoring compounds. If they don't "getcha" on the hormones, the Korporate Food Machine will "getcha" on the chemicals another way. More on that later, and if you think I'm being paranoid just keep reading.<br /><br />I knew the very high temperature approach was the way to go. I ate the other half two days later, heating it up in the oven for 40 minutes. Again, I could not believe how moist it was. That is not supposed to happen, ever. This occurred even with a frozen chicken I had allowed to thaw thoroughly.<br /><br />I tested various roaster recipes again. I changed the herbs and the timings and temps and performed proactive oven management and discovered:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BEST ROASTING RULE #3:</span><br />Perform Pro-active Oven Management: Turn often - every 15 to 30 minutes, flip the bird once, let it roast for almost two hours at the highest setting of 500 degrees. IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM. As for basting, it isn't worth it and it's too dangerous to get near a spitting bird with your face unless you do this every day. You don't need to baste.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OVEN:</span><br />Oven at 900 degrees (just kidding) - 500 degrees, OR it's best shot at simulating that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Personal Safety Check:</span><br />When playing with really hot ovens, pay attention to personal safety. Wear a pair of spectacles, sunshades or safety goggles when you open the oven, as the roaster will likely spit at you and you don't want that in your face. Wearing an apron is <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">not </span>an option, it's not about keeping your clothes clean, it's about protection. Make sure your hair, if you have any, is pulled back. Make sure you have several oven mitts, and sheets of aluminum foil out, and several kitchen towels available. Make sure you have standard safety equipment in the kitchen, a fire extinguisher, aloe-vera gel, and ice. Keep the cat occupied elsewhere. Make sure your kitchen floors are clean and dry to avoid slippage. Make sure your fan/range vent is on at least low. Make sure there is light ventilation in the house, and your smoke detectors are working but not neurotic. If it tends to go off toast bread on "dark", you're going to have to do get rid of it because it <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">will </span>go off on a 500 degree oven that is smoking a bird: the sudden, excruciatingly loud noise might make you drop the roast. On the cat. Make sure you keep a surface clear and with heat resistant tiles, e.g. half the range top, so you can place the roast pan on top for the "flippy-thingy" and testing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">INGREDIENTS:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Chicken:</span> A roaster that (1) isn't underage and (2) hasn't been frozen, or if frozen, the penalty is you have it thawed and marinated for hours. Marinate in salt and pepper with lemon juice and optionally, a bit of sour milk or yogurt only.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Marinade: </span>Lemon, Butter, Olive Oil or Sesame Oil, Rosemary or Thyme, one heads worth Garlic cloves, Bay Leaves.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Trimmings:</span> Potatoes, Carrots, Celery, Onion, Ginger (optional)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For time:</span> Maximum, 3 hours start to finish, 1 hour easy, slow prep , 2 hours easy, slow watching the oven.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">START:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do Trimmings:</span><br />Boil a large pot of water with onions. Peel large potatoes, and cut into quarters. Place in boiling water for 5-6 minutes, then drain water, leave spuds in pot, with lid on and shake the crap out of it. This will scuff them - giving nice chuffy and puffy roast potato skins.<br /><br />Remove lid and the "mash potato'" looking stuff from pot and lid. Remove spud, and if you want coat each with some of the mashed potato-y looking stuff. Place these potatoes in a large oven roasting pan around the rack for the chicken.<br /><br />Peel carrots, slice lengthwise, and cut into 2-3 -4 inch pieces. Do same with celery and ginger. Cut one large onion into large thick slices. Place these trimmings in the roasting pan and spritz with sesame oil and some soy sauce and brandy (or not).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do Marinade:</span><br />Finely dice (I mean really tiny) about 8-9 large cloves of garlic. Place in 3-4 TB olive oil or other oil. Add chopped up rosemary about 5 fresh sprigs, and 1/2 as much thyme, a tiny bit of sage if you have some. Place all this in the olive oil, and add 1/4 cup of softened butter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do Chicken:</span><br />Wash and pat dry with paper towels. If you have a problem getting the chicken to stand while you prep it - get a clean empty soda can and insert into where you just pulled out the gizzards. But remember to remove it. Now you can coat with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, inside and out. Squeeze a large lemon all over inside and out, and save rinds to insert in cavity later. And, this is where you can mix the lemon with sour milk and rub in.<br /><br />Using your hands, grab some marinade and coat the chicken with the oil/butter/herb mixture inside and out. Lastly, insert the bay leaves and the lemon halves.<br /><br />Transfer the chicken carefully onto the rack inside the roasting pan and place in oven.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Roast for 30 minutes </span>and check to see if you need to tent with aluminum foil, or if you should turn the pan around. (Some ovens do not heat evenly). If some part is getting real dark, tear off a piece of foil and cover it, the way they do women's hair in a salon when they are dyeing it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">At 45 minutes </span>turn the pan around.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">At the one hour mark, flip the bird over, </span>and continue to cook for 45 to 60 minutes, total 2 hours. To flip the bird over, I remove the roasting pan carefully and quickly from the oven and place on top of the stove. I make sure both hands have oven-mitts, and in each mitted hand, I have grabbed a large square of foil, then I secure the bird with my foil-mitted hands and turn it over. With confidence. Then I return the roasting pan to the oven.<br /><br />(The preceding is for people who do not have expensive kitchen accessories, and do not wish to have third degree burns while handling really hot stuff.)<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Now turn the pan every 10 minutes for another 30 minutes to the 90 minute mark.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">At 90 minutes mark, </span>check to see if the roast will be done when the meat is pulling away from the bone, and the juices are running clear. HA! I had that happen and still had red and pink spots at some places inside. But is that really a sign of not being done? NOPE! If you stick a thermometer in at two places in the breast and see it gets up to 180 - 190, that mostly means it's done - or not?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">When is is done?</span><br />If it looks a nice golden brown all over, and has clear juices, and it's at the correct temps, and you left it in long enough, and you cool it for 10 minutes and you cut it to the bone, and then wait a few minutes for any pink to turn, then see for yourself, only then is it done. If you do not have a meat thermometer, check this out: for thousands of years people didn't. They went by the other signs.<br /><br />But what if really, you have all the signs it is done and you cut it and oh my gawd, it's still bloody and red inside? Oh the horror, the embarrassment!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This is where we have to have the sad little talk about UNDERAGE CHICKENS. </span></div><br />Here is some good advice on <a href="http://virtualweberbullet.com/chickenselect.html#done">when a chicken is done</a> because even when it is, these days you'll be cutting into the chicken and finding worrisome red spots. <span style=";font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"A more technical explanation of the "bloody chicken" phenomenon is</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" > that chickens today are sold much younger t</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" >han in years past. As a result, their bones are soft and porous due to lack of maturity. This allows bone marrow to seep from the bones into the surrounding meat, especially if the chicken is frozen and thawed. This can result in an undercooked appearance even when the meat is c</span><span style=";font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">ooked to 185°F."</span><br /><br /></span>And even worrisome PINK spots:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Verdana,Helvetica,Arial;font-size:85%;" >Regarding thigh meat, "it's almost always a little pink when you first cut into the joint, even when overcooked." But if the thigh has been properly cooked, "the meat will lose its rosy tint very quickly on contact with the air."</span><br /><br />Be forewarned: The following can turn you into an instant vegetarian - I suggest you read <a href="http://www.hi-tm.com/Documents/Bloody-chik.html">Bloody Chicken</a> by O. Peter Snyder, Jr., Ph.D. of Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management. He summarizes thusly:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXcEVYAukQZlTS5Aq0byJAQwWwhuUKBWHxMLhFLuz5XSsVSkWSs8e7DdeQzBdROZAd6CG9hl3qpYxOCC8z_j7smgbNTR8GEgtaMddPxxGNbRBWaz2BvSx-Qcaox9o8XNm8SHN3jYLhbja/s1600-h/blodchk2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoXcEVYAukQZlTS5Aq0byJAQwWwhuUKBWHxMLhFLuz5XSsVSkWSs8e7DdeQzBdROZAd6CG9hl3qpYxOCC8z_j7smgbNTR8GEgtaMddPxxGNbRBWaz2BvSx-Qcaox9o8XNm8SHN3jYLhbja/s200/blodchk2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049630621353440802" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"The retail food industry is being forced to sell grossly overcooked chicken in order to get rid of the red blood color around the bones. The result is chicken that is dried out, unappealing, and does not taste good. A counter measure is to needle the chicken, pumping in solutions of phosphates, flavoring compounds, and water, which puts pathogens in the</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> middle of the chicken. If consumers were taught to eat safely prepared, bloody chicken, as they want to do with b</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">eef, they would be able to enjoy juicier chicken. This is an interesting problem for the USDA to solve. "<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6AiNOo8o0u6ApsL-DbqO2r3KmC15FgIkuX_YyUwNb1PsiQ8wGs-Amw4c107xsRAx30a6CAQ-kJlY8n8vo3AoBVmQkA31mKpPRcOrz_0Omk7yEKNNT1LDCfDGFe0KekVPp-pJZyNHwBoU/s1600-h/blodchk5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip6AiNOo8o0u6ApsL-DbqO2r3KmC15FgIkuX_YyUwNb1PsiQ8wGs-Amw4c107xsRAx30a6CAQ-kJlY8n8vo3AoBVmQkA31mKpPRcOrz_0Omk7yEKNNT1LDCfDGFe0KekVPp-pJZyNHwBoU/s200/blodchk5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049703846250870322" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nrwe-Kpa8WVf97Bhoo4IGjeT72iA92QnVAHP3yvdKUKZbZTzBjgzDfjYupQ3D299qBTmMRTCczOcgz5Wt59WJ5swjJMxZvSZXbijoRkuXJUVComvbaPgwlR0ndisvp88DTVKsVdWhSNK/s1600-h/blodchk4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nrwe-Kpa8WVf97Bhoo4IGjeT72iA92QnVAHP3yvdKUKZbZTzBjgzDfjYupQ3D299qBTmMRTCczOcgz5Wt59WJ5swjJMxZvSZXbijoRkuXJUVComvbaPgwlR0ndisvp88DTVKsVdWhSNK/s200/blodchk4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049704357351978562" border="0" /></a><br />Then he illustrated that these chickens were cooked properly, and pasteurized but noted that a customer would likely call the Department of Health with a complaint if served these wings.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TRIMMINGS:</span><br />The spuds will have thick, crispy roasted skins, and the carrots will have shrunk to lovely pieces of carrot sugar; the onions may be black so give them to the person who loves burned onions, there's always one. I place the onions over the other veggies so it can drip onion on the veggies during the roasting, the veggies won't burn but some onions will, but burnt onions are my favorite part of any roast.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">GRAVY:</span><br />Pour a cup of hot water into the pan, scrape pour the drippings into a saucepan. Add some root (e.g., kudzu root) - a bit of soy, brandy, water, bring to a boil, and that's your gravy.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9071160944486533280.post-89650703174710907782007-03-25T00:06:00.000-07:002007-03-25T00:19:51.351-07:00Ginger Chipotle CookiesGinger is a favorite year round ingredient, and ginger cookies are not just for Christmas. I make them year round too. I followed an Amish recipe for its appeal to men who remember their mothers using a similar recipe, but changed it radically to adjust taste values seasonally.<br /><br />Ginger will be hot, so you will need the sweet, cloves and cardamom to balance. I like it with a kick, so I add a 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili pepper.<br /><br />2 1/2 cups all purpose flour<br />1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />3/4 cup melted unsweetened butter<br />1 cup dark brown sugar<br />1/4 cup molasses<br />1 egg, beaten<br />2-3 Tablespoons fresh grated ginger<br />2-3 Tablespoons of powdered ginger<br />1 teaspoon cinnamon<br />1/4 teaspoon of chipotle chili pepper<br />1/2 teaspoon cardamom<br />1 teaspoon nutmeg<br />1 teaspoon clove powder<br />Extra brown sugar<br /><br />Oven to 350.<br /><br />In a bowl beat the butter and sugar for a long time, until creamy. Add the beaten egg and molasses, and mix well. Add the spices, and mix well. Then add the flour and mix - it should be a dough like consistency.<br /><br />Scoop and roll into balls - about 30 of them - roll in brown sugar, and place on a large cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, they will rise and almost join up, and will not be ginger snappy but have a fat, soft dome on top of a ginger snappy base. They taste better fatter.<br /><br />If you want ginger snappy, make smaller balls, about 50 of them, and bake for about 7-10 minutes check carefully, they could bake faster and burn.XYZ Recipe Girlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10828410719147267036noreply@blogger.com0