Well, the previous post was a darned good one for #100. So this one can be short and simple.
Go to http://foodnetworkhumor.com/
Be warned... may lead to laughing until throat is dry and voice is hoarse and you must crawl to the bathroom still hooting.
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Darya Pino Makes It Simple
Darya Pino, over at Summer Tomato, has put together a flowchart to help simplify a trip to the supermarket. With the possible exception of 100 Mile Diet, this flowchart summarizes pretty much every serious food book I've read over the last couple of years--from Raj Patel's Stuffed and Starved to Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. The flowchart is clear, concise, and funny. Enjoy!
Monday, 13 December 2010
Duck 'n' such
Thursday, for the first time in months, I roasted a duck for dinner. As usual, I ended up with a "mature" duck from Fairways, instead of their "young" duck (mature means that the price per kilo is about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of the young duck). Sometimes this works out, sometimes not: mature duck tends to roast up a lot tougher than the young ones.
I can't remember where I got the recipe for roasting duck, but it is really simple. Remove the wings--at least the end half. As they are really small, they dry out anyway, and can burn. With a very sharp knife, cut through the skin of the breast from breast bone to outside with long diagonal strokes close together. Don't cut into the meat--these cuts are to allow the fat to run out of the bird. Rub with coarse salt and place in an open roaster.
With an oven temperature of 175C (350F), roast the duck for 1 hour on its back, flip for an hour (to help brown the back) and then flip back for a third hour. I did this once with a young duck at 150C (300F) for a slightly longer time (3.5 to 4 hours) and ended up with the tastiest deep-fried skin imaginable. I've never managed to duplicate that skin.... But that's really all there is to roasting a good duck. And, most importantly, this slow roast seems to maximize the amount of fat that renders out of the duck.
Because the oven was on anyway, I halved a squash and put some olive oil and butter in it, roasting it alongside the duck. I also found a recipe on Salon.com for beets:
INGREDIENTS
Beets, preferably all the same size (if not, you'll just have to pull the smaller ones out when they're done
first)
Toasted, whole sweet spices – 1 cinnamon stick, 5 allspice berries, 3 cloves per pound of beets, or to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 400F
2. If the tops are on, cut them off, leaving about 1 inch of their stems. Gently wash the beets of any obvious dirt or mud under cold running water. If the thin root coming off the beet is very long, trim it to an inch or so,
but this isn't strictly necessary.
3. Place the beets in a pan big enough to fit them all with a little room between them. If using, scatter the spices around the beets. Add a little water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan by 1/8 to 1/4 inch. This creates steam and helps to keep the beet juices from burning.
4. Wrap the pan tightly in foil and place in the oven. Depending on the size of your beets, this can take from 45 minutes to well past an hour. If your beets are 11⁄2 to 2 inches wide, check on them at 45 minutes, being very careful of the hot steam that will come billowing out when you unwrap the foil. They are done when a
skewer or paring knife can slip though them easily. If they're not, re-cover tightly and keep cooking. When
they're ready, take them out and uncover to cool.
5. When the beets are cool enough to handle, the skins should slip and peel off rather easily; just rub them a
bit to get them going. You can wear gloves for this to not stain your hands, but I like using paper towel,
which gets a nice grip on the skins.
6. You can cut the beets now, season them with salt and pepper, dress them however you like, and serve. Or, if you want to put the roastiness back into roasted beets, fire up a big, heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add a little vegetable oil, and when it is shimmering, add the peeled cut beets in one layer and sear them until
you get some nice caramelization. Flip to color the other side. Or, if you have a large quantity of cooked beets to caramelize, toss them with some oil, lay them on a sheet tray, and roast them in the oven at 425F until they've taken on some color. Love them.
Flavors to pair with beets
Beets, walnuts, goat cheese and a light vinaigrette are a classic for a reason, and while I may tire of seeing them on restaurant menus, I won't tire of eating them together. But beets are surprisingly versatile; I find that if I add something acidic to heighten their sweetness and something rich to round it out, lots of flavors from lots of culinary traditions work wonderfully — from the Mediterranean to northern and eastern Europe and beyond. Here are some of my (current) favorite combinations; of course, all of these can be adjusted to your personal taste:
• Mint, olive oil, sherry vinegar or another aged-wine vinegar
• Melted butter and ginger
• Lime, honey, dill
• Oranges and olives
• Yogurt and parsley
• Pine nuts, raisins and vinegar
-- Francis Lam
Now I didn't want to did through the cupboard looking for all the required spices, so I'm happy to report that they weren't essential. The beets roasted nicely and peeled fairly well--even though I hadn't roasted them hot enough, substituting time for temperature. I also boiled some Yukon Gold potatoes and sieved them when they were cooked through; I got this trick from Heston Blumenthal and the result is a lovely (albeit delicate) version of mashed potatoes. This just meant that I drained them in a metal sieve and then pushed the cooked potato through the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.
I knew that "mature" duck tends towards the drier and chewier side of things, so I wanted something to pair up with the meat. Instead of gravy, I bought some fresh cranberries, boiled them with a bit of water until they popped, and then pressed then through the sieve as well. The liquid went back in the pot, I added some sugar to counteract the astringency of the cranberries, thickened with rice flour, and et voila, warm cranberry sauce.
In the end, only the breast meat was worth eating and it was a bit chewy. But the long roasting time seems to help a bit with that problem. The drumsticks went into the stock I was preparing, and the rest of the carcass went into the fridge to be turned into stock later.
But as good as dinner was (and it was good, the duck notwithstanding), the most important part of roasting the duck is currently in the refrigerator: the rendered fat. This one duck gave me ~750 ml of fat. It's good for weeks in the refrigerator, longer if frozen. And there is nothing like duck fat to work with potatoes. Fried in duck fat, potatoes take on an extra, silky, texture that cannot be duplicated any other way. I used some of the fat to brown some shallot slices, and then fried a combination of yellow potato with some diced sweet potato for a quick meal (be sure to let the sugars in the sweet potato caramelize), and remembered why I like duck so much. Duck soup is good, roast duck is lovely, but it's the fat that really matters.
I can't remember where I got the recipe for roasting duck, but it is really simple. Remove the wings--at least the end half. As they are really small, they dry out anyway, and can burn. With a very sharp knife, cut through the skin of the breast from breast bone to outside with long diagonal strokes close together. Don't cut into the meat--these cuts are to allow the fat to run out of the bird. Rub with coarse salt and place in an open roaster.
With an oven temperature of 175C (350F), roast the duck for 1 hour on its back, flip for an hour (to help brown the back) and then flip back for a third hour. I did this once with a young duck at 150C (300F) for a slightly longer time (3.5 to 4 hours) and ended up with the tastiest deep-fried skin imaginable. I've never managed to duplicate that skin.... But that's really all there is to roasting a good duck. And, most importantly, this slow roast seems to maximize the amount of fat that renders out of the duck.
Because the oven was on anyway, I halved a squash and put some olive oil and butter in it, roasting it alongside the duck. I also found a recipe on Salon.com for beets:
INGREDIENTS
Beets, preferably all the same size (if not, you'll just have to pull the smaller ones out when they're done
first)
Toasted, whole sweet spices – 1 cinnamon stick, 5 allspice berries, 3 cloves per pound of beets, or to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat your oven to 400F
2. If the tops are on, cut them off, leaving about 1 inch of their stems. Gently wash the beets of any obvious dirt or mud under cold running water. If the thin root coming off the beet is very long, trim it to an inch or so,
but this isn't strictly necessary.
3. Place the beets in a pan big enough to fit them all with a little room between them. If using, scatter the spices around the beets. Add a little water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan by 1/8 to 1/4 inch. This creates steam and helps to keep the beet juices from burning.
4. Wrap the pan tightly in foil and place in the oven. Depending on the size of your beets, this can take from 45 minutes to well past an hour. If your beets are 11⁄2 to 2 inches wide, check on them at 45 minutes, being very careful of the hot steam that will come billowing out when you unwrap the foil. They are done when a
skewer or paring knife can slip though them easily. If they're not, re-cover tightly and keep cooking. When
they're ready, take them out and uncover to cool.
5. When the beets are cool enough to handle, the skins should slip and peel off rather easily; just rub them a
bit to get them going. You can wear gloves for this to not stain your hands, but I like using paper towel,
which gets a nice grip on the skins.
6. You can cut the beets now, season them with salt and pepper, dress them however you like, and serve. Or, if you want to put the roastiness back into roasted beets, fire up a big, heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add a little vegetable oil, and when it is shimmering, add the peeled cut beets in one layer and sear them until
you get some nice caramelization. Flip to color the other side. Or, if you have a large quantity of cooked beets to caramelize, toss them with some oil, lay them on a sheet tray, and roast them in the oven at 425F until they've taken on some color. Love them.
Flavors to pair with beets
Beets, walnuts, goat cheese and a light vinaigrette are a classic for a reason, and while I may tire of seeing them on restaurant menus, I won't tire of eating them together. But beets are surprisingly versatile; I find that if I add something acidic to heighten their sweetness and something rich to round it out, lots of flavors from lots of culinary traditions work wonderfully — from the Mediterranean to northern and eastern Europe and beyond. Here are some of my (current) favorite combinations; of course, all of these can be adjusted to your personal taste:
• Mint, olive oil, sherry vinegar or another aged-wine vinegar
• Melted butter and ginger
• Lime, honey, dill
• Oranges and olives
• Yogurt and parsley
• Pine nuts, raisins and vinegar
-- Francis Lam
Now I didn't want to did through the cupboard looking for all the required spices, so I'm happy to report that they weren't essential. The beets roasted nicely and peeled fairly well--even though I hadn't roasted them hot enough, substituting time for temperature. I also boiled some Yukon Gold potatoes and sieved them when they were cooked through; I got this trick from Heston Blumenthal and the result is a lovely (albeit delicate) version of mashed potatoes. This just meant that I drained them in a metal sieve and then pushed the cooked potato through the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.
I knew that "mature" duck tends towards the drier and chewier side of things, so I wanted something to pair up with the meat. Instead of gravy, I bought some fresh cranberries, boiled them with a bit of water until they popped, and then pressed then through the sieve as well. The liquid went back in the pot, I added some sugar to counteract the astringency of the cranberries, thickened with rice flour, and et voila, warm cranberry sauce.
In the end, only the breast meat was worth eating and it was a bit chewy. But the long roasting time seems to help a bit with that problem. The drumsticks went into the stock I was preparing, and the rest of the carcass went into the fridge to be turned into stock later.
But as good as dinner was (and it was good, the duck notwithstanding), the most important part of roasting the duck is currently in the refrigerator: the rendered fat. This one duck gave me ~750 ml of fat. It's good for weeks in the refrigerator, longer if frozen. And there is nothing like duck fat to work with potatoes. Fried in duck fat, potatoes take on an extra, silky, texture that cannot be duplicated any other way. I used some of the fat to brown some shallot slices, and then fried a combination of yellow potato with some diced sweet potato for a quick meal (be sure to let the sugars in the sweet potato caramelize), and remembered why I like duck so much. Duck soup is good, roast duck is lovely, but it's the fat that really matters.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Kitchen Tip : An easy way to extract pomegranate seeds | Chatelaine.com
I love pomegranates but the seeds are so hard to extract. Years ago a friend showed me how to get the seeds out of this delicious fruit easily and I've never tried it, except when dining with her. It worked every time. Recently I was at Silk Road Teas Holiday Lounge where I had a Philospher's Brew Sangria. The recipe is on the Silk Road Tea website at www.silkroadtea.com instead of the cranberries, grapes, star fruit or citrus this version had pomegranate seeds (3 in total) placed at the bottom of the wine glass. The sangria can be made with or without the white wine.
Here is Chatelaine's tip to extract pomegrante seeds and is the same one I've used.
Kitchen Tip : An easy way to extract pomegranate seeds Chatelaine.com
Here is Chatelaine's tip to extract pomegrante seeds and is the same one I've used.
Kitchen Tip : An easy way to extract pomegranate seeds Chatelaine.com
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Silk Roads Tea and Chocolate
Back to Silk Roads spiffy tea store for a workshop in making tea with added chocolate. What a neat idea! I usually make what I call "skinny cocoa" or a posset at home, with lots of hot water, a bit of cocoa and a slug of milk. But at Silk Roads, the facilitator made several kinds of green tea, black tea, chai and oolong. To the hot, fresh tea she added a spoonful of Camino brand chocolate powder. This powder had plenty of sweet in it, unlike plain cocoa. For Louise and the other lactose-free enthusiasts, she added whipped coconut milk, and for the rest of us there was a shot of whipping cream.
Gotta say, what a nice taste. Tea with chocolate added. Bit of cream. Definitely a taste I'm going back to again. Especially the Mayan Madness, with a nice dark tea (she used Velvet Potion) with chocolate and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. VERY warming on a cold day!
Gotta say, what a nice taste. Tea with chocolate added. Bit of cream. Definitely a taste I'm going back to again. Especially the Mayan Madness, with a nice dark tea (she used Velvet Potion) with chocolate and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper. VERY warming on a cold day!
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Silk Roads Tea Popsicles
Summer is sadly over and we are into Autumn in full force. I'm planning to continue making tea syrups because they will be good to add to holiday drinks and I'm still awaiting a milk (soy, hemp or rice) frother to make lattes. I did promise to post the tea popsicle recipes, although I never did get around to making these myself. Next year's summer progject....
Tea Popsicle Recipes
Tea popsicles are easy to make, and are a delicious summertime treat. They are rich in antioxidants and nutrients that are good for you, but are low in the things you might want to avoid (calories, artificial flavours and colours). Here are two of Silk Roads favourite recipes for you to enjoy.
Earl Pink Tea Popsicle
A tart & revitalizing popsicle that looks as good as it tastes.
2 tbsp. Earl Green tea, 2 cups water
1 cup grapefruit juice, 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 tbsp. sugar
Bring water to just before the boil. Pour 2 cups water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in sugar to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with juices (*Tip: Never combine hot tea with grapefruit juice.)
Pour mixture into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving. To transform this into an adult popsicle, add up to 1/4 cup of gin or vodka to the recipe.
Velvet Potion Tea Popsicle
This popsicle was created purely as an indulgent adult treat. It combines the intoxicating cocoa flavour of Velvet Potion tea with coconut and Irish Cream whisky. A perfect way to unwind after a long day! Enjoy as a snack, or serve for dessert.
2 tbsp. Velvet Potion tea, 1 cup water
1 tbsp. maple syrup, 2 1/2 cups coconut milk, 1/2 cup Irish Cream whiskey
Bring water to a full, rolling boil. Pour 1 cup water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in maple syrup to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with coconut milk and Irish Cream. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving.
CAUTION: Do not re-freeze and consume a popsicle that has started to melt or thaw.Tea popsicles are all-natural and preservative-free, so be sure to consume within 4 days.
Tea Popsicle Recipes
Tea popsicles are easy to make, and are a delicious summertime treat. They are rich in antioxidants and nutrients that are good for you, but are low in the things you might want to avoid (calories, artificial flavours and colours). Here are two of Silk Roads favourite recipes for you to enjoy.
Earl Pink Tea Popsicle
A tart & revitalizing popsicle that looks as good as it tastes.
2 tbsp. Earl Green tea, 2 cups water
1 cup grapefruit juice, 1 cup cranberry juice, 1 tbsp. sugar
Bring water to just before the boil. Pour 2 cups water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in sugar to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with juices (*Tip: Never combine hot tea with grapefruit juice.)
Pour mixture into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving. To transform this into an adult popsicle, add up to 1/4 cup of gin or vodka to the recipe.
Velvet Potion Tea Popsicle
This popsicle was created purely as an indulgent adult treat. It combines the intoxicating cocoa flavour of Velvet Potion tea with coconut and Irish Cream whisky. A perfect way to unwind after a long day! Enjoy as a snack, or serve for dessert.
2 tbsp. Velvet Potion tea, 1 cup water
1 tbsp. maple syrup, 2 1/2 cups coconut milk, 1/2 cup Irish Cream whiskey
Bring water to a full, rolling boil. Pour 1 cup water over 2 tbsp. loose tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain tea into a heatproof jug (plastic or stainless steel) and stir in maple syrup to dissolve. Refrigerate until completely chilled. Combine chilled tea with coconut milk and Irish Cream. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze. Wait until popsicles are completely frozen before serving.
CAUTION: Do not re-freeze and consume a popsicle that has started to melt or thaw.Tea popsicles are all-natural and preservative-free, so be sure to consume within 4 days.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Choose Cage-Free Eggs - A Farm Animal Welfare Campaign by WSPA Canada
Why we shoud choose cage-free eggs. Read more at .......
Choose Cage-Free Eggs - A Farm Animal Welfare Campaign by WSPA Canada
Choose Cage-Free Eggs - A Farm Animal Welfare Campaign by WSPA Canada
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