The Belgium Foodie

Fermented Cherry Tomatoes That Pop! & Panzanella Probiotic Salad

2011-01-12T14:40:00.000-08:00

Fermented Cherry Tomatoes That Pop! & Panzanella Probiotic Salad: "

Last summer I fermented a large batch of cherry tomatoes.They were nothing what I expected. They were bubbly and fizzy and they danced around in the jar. They popped when you placed them in your mouth. Super easy and oh so good! Tomatoes are a super food.One of the best. Even your skin benefits when you eat tomatoes. Lycopene has been scientifically proven to help protect your skin from sun damage. Not only that but people who eat the most were shown to have 33% more protection from sunburns.

The high content of vitamin C in tomatoes means that you have added protection against viruses. Vitamin C is also an essential component in healing of cuts and injuries. So eat your tomatoes and here is a great recipe to do just that!

Lacto Fermented Cherry Tomatoes

Quart canning jar

Enough Cherry tomatoes to fill a quart jar 3/4 full

1 pck of Cultured Veggie pck Or 4 Tbsp of kefir whey

Filtered water

Wash tomatoes and place in clean sterilized jar.

Fill with filtered water 3/4 way full .

Sprinkle a small amount from cultured veggie package into jar about 1/2 tsp or add kefir whey.

Seal and let sit on counter for 4 days.

Then place in refrigerator and ferment about 1 week or longer. They will last at least a year.

Panzanella With Fermented Tomatoes And Fermented Dressing

Serves Twelve

6 cups cubed Sourdough bread or (stale bread works well too)

1 jar of fermented cherry tomatoes

1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 medium yellow peppers, seeded and cubed

1 large seedless cucumber, quartered lengthwise, cut into 1' pieces

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup of kombucha

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tbsp juice from fermented cherry Tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Heat oven to 400^oF. Arrange bread cubes in a single-layer on pan. Toast in oven 10 to 12 minutes, until evenly browned.

Meanwhile combine oil, kombucha, garlic, fermented juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Whisk together.

Add tomatoes, peppers, onions, cucumber and parsley to large bowl. Stir in dressing. Just before serving, add bread cubes, toss to blend thoroughly.

Magic Pickles & Sweet Fermented Pickle Relish

2011-01-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

Magic Pickles & Sweet Fermented Pickle Relish: "

Every year I plant my garden anxious for my fruits and veggies. But each year I don't plant cucumbers because each year they come back anyway. In different places in my garden they will sprout. Always in a place where they can have lots of room. It just makes me laugh and delights me. It is what I call summer magic. This year I thought they wouldn't come. We had an exceptionally hard winter and I started to believe they weren't coming and I started to panic. No pickles, what is a fermenter fanatic to do. But come they did, in a spot they had never sprouted from before. Now in my own reality I like to believe that as I sleep, angels come at night and plant seeds,so they will grow and become cucumbers. Then I will ferment them and tell the world how to have make these life giving pickles. That this it is my destiny and higher calling. So if I find out that every-bodies cucumbers come back every year. I will be slightly disappointed maybe even crushed. So if you don't mind I prefer to stay in my own crazy reality watching with joy as my cucumbers come to me year after year, and coming up with new recipes to fulfill my greater destiny.

I think everyone should ferment and not can their vegetables. No big boiling pots of water heating up the kitchen. Just a little chopping and patience and you have one of my favorite foods fermented pickles!! Pickles that are loaded with vitamin c and good bacterias that can change the world that lives inside of you. So my first recipe this year with my cucumbers is: Sweet fermented relish. Man I just love pickles...

Sweet Fermented Pickle Relish

Makes 1 quart

You can also make these into bread and butter chip pickles. Just don't chop and dice but leave the cucumbers and onions in thin slices. These are really good on sandwiches.

3 cups chopped and diced cucumbers

1/2 cup chopped and diced sliced onions

1/4 cup whey or 1/2 tsp from Cultured Veggie pck

1/2 cup honey or maple syrup

1/2 red pepper chopped and diced

1 1/2 Tbsp celtic sea salt

1 Tbsp whole celery seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds

In large bowl, mix cucumbers with onion and place in 1 quart-sized, wide-mouthed mason jars, pressing down lightly with a pounder or meat hammer. Combine remaining Ingredients and pour over cucumbers, adding more water if necessary to cover. Keep the top of the liquid 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to the refrigerator. These will last at least s year in your fridge.

Don't Can It Culture It! & Claire's Cultured Squash & Donna's Dill

2011-01-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

Don't Can It Culture It! & Claire's Cultured Squash & Donna's Dill: "

Every summer my mom and her friends would can the produce from our garden. They would heat up the house for days with the canning and sterilizing jars. The house will get so hot I would go to a friend house. I did however love one particular thing that my mom would can. It was summer squash relish. Oh man I would eat spoonfuls of this stuff. I would put on hamburgers and dish it out as a side with my sandwiches I just loved it. So this year I found the recipe and decided to culture it and leave out the vinegar. No heat just chop and place in jars. Doesn't get any better than that. It is still one of my favorite condiments and it taste just as good as my mom's. It's a great way to use your summer squash and on top of that it is a fantastic probiotic food.

Claire's Cultured Squash

2 lbs Yellow squash cut in thin round circle's

3 tbsp salt

1 onion chopped in thin slices

2 cups honey

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp tumeric

2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 pck Veggie culture or 1/4 cup whey

2 cups filtered water( you will add more later)

Place squash and onions in 2 quart jars. Place other ingredients in a bowl with a spout for easy pouring. Mix all ingredients till well combined. Pour mixture into jars making sure that each jar gets equal amounts of ingredients. (some of the seed fall to the bottom)

Fill the jars with extra water leaving an 1 1/2 inches of room at the top and making sure veggies are below the water. The veggies will mold if left above the water. If this happens scrape off the mold or discard veggies and push the others below the water. The mold is harmless and won't hurt anything but they can ruin the taste of the veggies. Set at room temperature for 3 days and then place in the refrigerator.

I thought you might also like my Dill pickle recipe.

Donna's Dill Pickles

3-4 lbs of cucumbers (small to medium is ideal, but if all you have is large, cut them into spears)

3 Tbsp Celtic sea salt

2 – cloves of garlic, separated into cloves & peeled and chopped

3 Tbsp whole dill seed

2 Tbsp whole coriander seed

1 tsp whole mixed peppercorns

1 tsp juniper berries

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp dill seed

1/2 Veggie Pck or 1/4 cup kefir whey

filtered water

Chop cucumbers in half place flat side down on surface and cut into spears.

Place cucumbers in 4- 4 quart jars. Place other ingredients in a bowl with a spout for easy pouring. Mix all ingredients till well combined. Pour mixture into jars making sure that each jar gets equal amounts of ingredients. (some of the seed fall to the bottom)

Fill the jars with extra water leaving an 1 1/2 inches of room at the top and making sure veggies are below the water. The veggies will mold if left above the water. If this happens scrape off the mold or discard veggies and push the others below the water. The mold is harmless and won't hurt anything but they can ruin the taste of the veggies. Set at room temperature for 3 days and then place in the refrigerator.

Kefir For Dummies

2011-01-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

Kefir For Dummies: "

Someone at my class asked if I had a kefir for dummies blog. I give out so much information at my classes that it is hard for people to keep it all straight. I have been doing this for at least 8 years and forget that I learned it over a period of time. So this is for all the people who come to my classes and read my blogs and want it explained in more detail.

Kefir For The Extremely Smart

1. There are two ways to make kefir. One with grains that reproduce and will last a life time (if you don't kill them with heat or starve them by not feeding them.) Or you can purchase culture packages. You get 6 packages that makes 42 gallons of kefir. Instructions for this kind of kefir is inside the packages. This explanation is for kefir using kefir grains.

2. You have to find or purchase kefir grains. Here are some resources.

Cultures For Health

www.torontoadvisors.com/Kefir/kefir-list.php/>

Happy Herbalist.

3. Take 1-2 tablespoons of Kefir grains. ( always keep them in milk they need something to eat at all times)

4. Place in a 4 quart glass canning jar and cover with 1-2 cups of cold milk. A good rule of thumb is for every tablespoon of kefir grains add 1 cup of milk.

5. Place a lid on the kefir and place in a spot in your kitchen that is out of the sunlight. This will stay for 24 hours.

6. After 24 hours take the kefir and remove the grains. This can be done with a slotted spoon or a strainer.

7. Then place your kefir that is strained in a glass jar and refrigerator or drink or second ferment. (see below)

8. Place your kefir grains in new milk and leave for 24 hours to start the process again.

Storing your kefir on vacation.

If you don't want to make new, kefir and want to store it, place it in at least 2 cups of milk remembering that if you have 1 Tbsp of grains to 1 cup of milk rule and adding a little more. I like to store mine in at least 3 cups of milk making sure that they have plenty of food to eat. Then you place this in the refrigerator. This will last for one week and then if you want to do it longer drain the milk and add new milk after 1 week. If you are going to be gone longer than a week double the milk you would add. It eats the lactose (milk sugar ) out of the milk and you want to be sure it has plenty to eat and won't die. It is a living colony and needs food just as you do.

Second Fermenting Your Kefir

This is what I do on a regular basis. It taste better, less sourer and the B vitamins sky rocket. Once you try this you won't go back to making it without 2nd fermenting. So Good!!

So here is what you do. It is super easy. After you make your kefir normally ( see above) and take the grains out, you place your kefir in a clamp down jar. Then you take an organic lemon or orange. If you don't have an organic one you can make it chemical free by placing your orange or lemon in boiling water for 30 seconds, then rinse in cold water. Then you take a vegetable peeler and peel you fruit skin in strips and place it in your jar and clamp the lid down. Leave it on your counter for half a day to a whole day. Then place in refrigerator and enjoy. It is so yummy it is lighter and creamy and flavored with your lemon or orange. It has a little more carbonation and the taste is worth the extra half a day and it is better for you. A lot of people I know will leave there grains and ferment their kefir for days. Although this is not a bad thing it makes for super sour kefir. You hardly want to drink it, it is so sourer. Kefir is meant to be enjoyed and the better it taste the more you will drink it.

Things I have second fermented my kefir with are; lemon or orange peel, whole strawberries, chia tea bag, cinnamon stick, and vanilla extract. I take the item out after the second ferment and store the flavored kefir in the fridge.

Blueberry Banana Kefir Smoothie

1 cup of frozen blueberries

1 cup of kefir

2 pcks stevia or your choice of sweetener

Blend until smooth, then pour in a pourable pitcher.

1 Banana

1 cup of ice

1 cup kefir

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 pcks stevia or your choice of sweetener

Blend until smooth, then pour in a pourable pitcher.Then take a tall glass and pour at the same time from both pitchers into the glass.This will create the two sided drink. Kids love this!

"

Gluten pain the best teacher & Strawberry Gingerade Coconut Kefir

2011-01-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Gluten pain the best teacher & Strawberry Gingerade Coconut Kefir: "

I have met hundreds of people who are now on gluten free diets. My daughter used to be one of them. How can this grain that has been around since time began suddenly wreak such havoc on so many individuals. Well it is definitely causing a lot of problems, but I was never one to just do something with out understanding the reasoning behind it. I want to know the answers for myself and not just take someones word for it. So when my daughter developed IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and couldn't eat wheat and every week the list kept getting bigger with things she couldn't tolerate. I became a woman on a mission to understand what was going on. One of the things I have always hated about modern medicine is that they slap a band aid on problems such as blood pressure, cholesterol and a host of other problems. My question is why do you have high blood pressure and why can you suddenly not digest wheat and other foods? What causes the body to develop these symptoms. This is the best part of all our beautiful bodies. They call out to us with problems to get our attention. They are our best teachers and when you start having troubles there is much to learn.The only way to do that is to go within and become attentive to something we take for granted. The inner world of our bodies. I will share with you what I learned. This is my journey to understanding and yours may be different but maybe I can shed light on something that will help you.

Every morning my 16 year old daughter would climb out of bed and drag her self to the kitchen. Each morning I would pray that she would feel better that day. Her words were always the same. " I never feel good mom,"' It broke me. She was only 16 and she hated getting up everyday to a life filled with pain. I took her to doctors and they wanted to remove her gallbladder for really no reason. It was just a guess. Then I took her to an acupuncturist. This was my first lesson in the bodies ability to talk to you. With much kindness our Chinese acupuncturist talked with Maci. He said things to her like," you have to much hurry worry and your body is hurting because of this." I remember as those words came out of his mouth, I fought back tears, because it was so true. She came home that afternoon and broke up with her boyfriend and than the journey really began.
I started researching the foods that hurt her gut the most and eliminated them from her diet. Here is what I found.

The reason she was having so much trouble digesting grains is really two fold. First her gut lining was damaged. Stress and foods she was eating and a lack of nutrient dense foods was destroying her gut lining. Not enough of the right bacterias to turn her foods into vitamins and fatty acids was causing much stress on her gut. There was nothing to protect her lining. Years of antibiotics had stripped her of all her good bacteria and left her defenseless. Just eliminating the food will eliminate the pain but then you need to fix the lining and add foods to do this. The best foods for this are cultured foods. She had a cultured food at every meal. Kefir for breakfast and 1 to 2 tbsp of cultured veggies at lunch and dinner. Then kombucha or coconut kefir to drink at every meal. She also had a lot of bone broths made into soups. They are healing to the digestive track because of the collagen in the broth. She also ate a ton of coconut oil by the tbsp. Usually 3 tbsp a day. I would watch as she got a burst of energy from this and was always amazed. All these foods are healing to the gut. Each one plays a different part in the healing. As she got better I discover why we have such trouble with grains now.

Grains are not the same as they used to be. For 100 of years they would cut the sheaths of grains and stack them in the fields and leave them to gather the next day. The dew would make the grains sprout and unlock the nutrients and deactivate the phytic acid, and enzyme inhibitors. Than the workers would gather the grains and take the seeds off the stalks to be used. Today we have combine machine that take the seeds off instantly never allowing the grains to sprout. Then for years and still today in European countries we always used sourdough starters to rise our breads, which transforms the bread in the same way that sprouting does. It puts lactobacillus into the bread. These wonderful bacterias that not only change our breads into a healthful foods, also change our bodies the same way. Now we have instant yeast and the bread never has a chance to transform. Couple this with guts that are so damaged they can barely digest anything and you have a recipe for disaster. Grains take huge amounts of B vitamins to digest and when you are under a lot of stress you don't have what you need. Sprouting a grain activates all the B vitamins that are locked in there, giving you what you need to digest it.

So the formula. Remove or deal with stress. Heal they gut with fermented foods and nutrient dense foods.Then once it is healed add sprouted or sourdough grains. This is what I did and have watched many others do. My daughter can now eat anything and is free from a life sentence without grains. She loves life and can't wait to get out of bed. Food is not something that she is afraid of but something that brings her great joy. If you are reading this blog chances are your body is trying to tell you something.
Your body is your best teacher are you listening?

How to make Strawberry Gingerade Coconut Kefir

This Drink is so delicious you'll want to drink it everyday. it is fizzy and bubbly and full of flavor.It is a great way to get probiotics in your kids because it taste so good!
Heat 1 quart of young green coconut water to 92 degrees or skin temperature. (You can find coconut water in the Asian sections of your grocery store or health food stores.

Add entire foil package of Kefir culture packages ( purchase here. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/Milk-Kefir-Starter-Culture.html) and stir to dissolve thoroughly.
You can also use kefir grains about 3 to 4 tbsp per quart of coconut juice.
Add 1 tbsp of fresh grated ginger

Pour into a close able vessel.Such as a bottle with a clamp down lid. It will now take 4-5 days for the kefir to culture at room temperature. The coconut water will become cloudy as the culture grows and it will become "fizzy" and lose it's sweetness and become tart. When the coconut culture is done,add 4 or 5 frozen strawberries to about 8 ounces of the coconut kefir and whirl in a blender. Then sit down and enjoy this delicious probiotic drink. Or refrigerate for later.

If you used the Kefir culture packages ( purchase here. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/Milk-Kefir-Starter-Culture.html) save 6 tablespoons from each batch to inoculate the next quart of coconut water. It will culture faster each time. Many times it will only take a day to culture. You can do this up to 6 times on each package or until it stops culturing. Mine can go up to 13 times.
If you use kefir grains you will start over each time with your kefir grains in new coconut juice.

"

The Legend Of Kefir & Apple Kefir Breakfast

2011-01-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

The Legend Of Kefir & Apple Kefir Breakfast: "

Here is how I know a recipe that I have created is something people will
like. This particular recipe scenario went like this. I sampled my recipe for
breakfast and then while I was eating it, I started plotting when I would eat
it again, like say lunch. So then at lunch I start listing in my head all the
nutrients and all over health benefits of eating this food many times. This of
course goes on while I am eating the chosen recipe. Than after dinner I decide
that it would make a fabulous dessert only to discover that someone has eaten
the rest of it. Slightly irritated, I realize that yes my recipe is a success,
because everybody is eating it and I can't stop eating it. Yes, it is truly a love affair for me between
the joy of eating something good for me, while enjoying the deliciousness of
the food.

This recipe fits these criteria. Hope you like it.

But first I must tell you; The Legend of Kefir

There are so many stories of kefir that you can pick and choose which one suits you. It has been around for thousands of years. The stories are many and the mystics behind this food would make a great documentary. The one main point is that is seems to date back to the time of Abraham. It is there in ancient scrolls found in Turkey, that Abraham credits his long life to this fermented milk. There are more stories told in Turkey and in Russia. The first is that kefir grains were the manna that fell from the sky to feed the children of Israel. Another story I heard that is told quite frequently in Turkey is that they were given to Noah from an angel to sustain him. Marco Polo also mentioned kefir in the chronicles of his travels in the East.

This is the most documented story about kefir. In the Caucasian Mountains, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea there is a legend that Mohammad
who claims that the grains were a gift from Allah, gave kefir grains to the people and taught them how to make kefir.
The 'Grains of the Prophet’ were guarded carefully since it was believed that they would lose their strength
if the grains were given away and the secret of how to use them became common knowledge.

Other peoples occasionally heard strange tales of this unusual beverage which was said to have ‘magical’ properties.

Not many people outside the Caucasus used kefir and it was mostly forgotten about for centuries until news spread of its use for the
treatment of tuberculosis.
Russian doctors believed that kefir was beneficial for health and the first scientific studies for kefir were
published at the end of the nineteenth century.

However, kefir was extremely difficult to obtain and grains were the only way to make this drink and very hard to come by.
In 1908 a committee of Russian Doctors determined to obtain some grains, came up with a plan. They contacted two brothers called Blandov that ran the Moscow Dairy and had connections in the Caucasians mountains, were they made some of their cheese products.

They sent a beautiful employee named Irina Sakharova, to the court of a local prince to see if she could entice him to give her some grains. The prince was quite taken with her but had no intentions of giving her kefir grains, so instead he kidnapped her for himself.
However the Tsar was not happy when he discovered the facts of what the prince had done, and ruled that the prince was to give Irina ten pounds of kefir grains,
to repay her for the insults she had endured.

In Russia in the 1930 the first commercial kefir was made and sold and the rest is history. In 1973 the Minister of the Food Industry of the Soviet Union sent a letter to Irina Sakharova
thanking her for bringing kefir to the Russian people.

So this food that seems to have been around since time began has written it own story on the lives of my family and friends. The stories are quite astounding and they still continue to grow. Maybe it is time that you meet my friend kefir. Here is how to make kefir. Kefir for dummies.

Here is another way to enjoy kefir on a cold winter morning.

Apple Kefir Breakfast

2
apples (Golden Delicious or Rome Beauty), medium size

2 Tbsps butter
1 tbsp sucanat
2
tablespoons chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of water

Wash and core the apples almost to the bottom. Don't core all the way to the bottom.Take a apple peeler and peel a thin strip all away around the apple. Place them in a baking dish. Combine the butter, cinnamon/sugar mixture and walnuts. Fill the cavity of each apple with the mixture, dividing it evenly among the two apples. Pour the water into the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Then let cool and make the kefir topping.

Kefir Topping.

2 cup plain kefir

2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp maple syrup ( or four packages of stevia for a lower sugar option)

Mix plain kefir with the cinnamon and maple syrup and blend in blender. You can also use stevia in place of the maple syrup if wanting to cut down on sugar. When apple is warm not hot, ( you don't want to kill the good bacteria) pour kefir topping over top of apple and serve. You can add some golden raisins and extra walnuts if you like. This is really delicious and the house smells heavenly.

My First Oven-Baked Bread for Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

My First Oven-Baked Bread for Thanksgiving: "

This was my first time to use oven to bake bread (before used bread machine). I had been wanting to try the no-knead bread receipe since it came out in 2006.

I followed the original receipe but tuned it to suit my case. Since my order of the digital scale hasn't arrived, I could only use volume to measure the quantities:

3 Cup flour (2 AP + 1 WW)

1 5/8 tsp salt

3/8 tsp active dry yeast (direct into the mix)

1 5/8 Cup filtered water

After mixing, it looked pretty sloppy.

Then went back to look at the video and realized that it's 1 1/2C water used in the video. This dough was way too wet. Anyway, I still continued the process. Atfer two hours at room temperature, I put the dough (inside a plastic bag) into the fridge.

Here are a series of photos of the long cold-fermentation process.

With another hour at room temperature (total 58.5 hr), I streched and folded the dough. It's so wet that even with plenty flour it's very difficult to handle the dough.

I let it sit for 15 min and then transferred it onto a kitchen towel with flour & cornmeals. Covered for 2.5 hr for the 2nd rise. The dough did rise quite a lot (but in a flat round shape).

When I tried to put it into the big stainless stew pot (preheated in the oven at 500F), I couldn't let it slide into the pot. The dough was so wet that it sticked to the towel. I tried to use the chopping mat but it still sticked to that. In the end, I had to scrabed the dough down.

I was worried that this might delate the dough quite a lot. But when I removed the cover after 30min, I noticed the bread was all right. So happy that I forgot to lower the oven temperature to 450 until 8 min later. I let it baked at 450 for another 8 min before took the bread out.

It looked not bad right? Initially I shaped it into a round 'disk' (it's too soft to be shaped into a ball), but it became oval when I tried very hard to let it slide into the pot. I even slashed the dough but it's all gone during that process.

Look at this caramalized crust!

I brought this bread for the Thanksgiving dinner at my supervisor's house. I had the honor to cut my bread and took the picture.

When I saw the crumb like that, I knew it's going to be good. And indeed, it's very chewy inside! I was very proud of my bread. Well, for a newbie, this was a big success.

If I didn't have the trouble of sliding this extremely wet dough into the pot, the bread would likely rise higher than the above.

I estimate the hydration in my dough was around 90%, much higher than Mark Bittman's in his later note (80%). Next time I would definitely lower the water amount. I would like to try no-knead bageutte. :-)

The water fried Chashao vegitable dumpling, water boiled Chashao dumpling, millet ferment full wheat pot bread

2010-11-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

The water fried Chashao vegitable dumpling, water boiled Chashao dumpling, millet ferment full wheat pot bread: "

Hello TFL loafer:

I'm glad to come here as a new mumber. I'm a new baker. I just start baking western bread from 1 month ago. I find here 2 weeks ago when I want to find pot bread. I like here many charming bread. And I'm very interesting with here Tartine bread pot experiment now! Thanks for information about baking bread. Thanks for this website organizer.

I want to take dumpling in this weekend. So I buy pork and celery. Daisy_A ask me if I know char siu bao. I know this South China bread from my tongue. I been take this in restaurant when I stay in Guangdong. The char siu pork is my favate dish in Guangzhou. But here Beijng no many char siu. I been try to baking this pork last month. It's not same with restaurant. But already ok. Package,pack, bundle; packet; parcel;bag; yurt all call "Bao" in China. char siu bao is wheat flour parceled with char siu pork. Many people no take lunch and dinner in Guangdong. They like to take morning tea with small cake and midnight snack with big dish in restaurant. So Guangdong have many delicate snack. char siu bao so popular and came from Guangdong. So normally char siu bao meaning Guangdong style char siu bao.

I search in net. If I want making it samilar with restaurant. I need making a along time raising sourdough. But I want take now(#^.^#). So After 1 day waitting for pork saltd. I finishd char siu baking. I start to making char siu dumplng. Dumplng dough no need yeast. So I can get quickly. I already have char siu now. So I will making Guangdong char siu soon. And now this my style char siu bao(char siu dumpling)

BBQ sauce：

Soybean sauce 2 T(30ML)*，

Red colour preserved beancurd 1 piece，

Sugar 45G*，

Five-spice powder 1/2 t(2.5ML)，

garlic chopped 5G，

Cooking rice wine 1T(15ML)，

oyster sauce1T(15ML)*，

Red rice or preserved beancurd sauce 1T（15ML）(optional)

meat：pork 250g

brushing liquide：Maltose(or honey) 30g，water 30ML

Dough: 250g all porpose flour 125g water 2g salt 1 egg white

For I pan fried dumpling: 100g water 10G all porpose flour mix

I also use my electric cooker aluminous pot baking my pot bread. This bread I use many DIY material: I use millet rose ferment(I made in 1 week ago) mix with soy bean and ginkgo dregs(residue from beans after I making tofu) and full wheat (11/3cup all purpose wheate 11/3 cup whole wheat no bran and 1.5 cup whole wheat with bran ) 80G 100% yeast(20g all porpose flour 20g whole wheat flour). I use about 350Ml wine and 50 water. ferment and bean dregs all wet. So my dough more than 80% water flour I think. And in room 14 degree 12 hours it's already big up. I think maybe from my wine. I take it out room. It's already cold enough outside. About 33 hour later. It's more big. I take back room in 14 degree. After I finish my Chashao Bao lunch. I remember my big bread. It's already very big and sticky.So I preheat my oven with pot in 200 degree in 10 minutes. After I take dough to hot pot close lid 250 degree 20 minutes. after I take the lid away, 20 minutes 210 degree. After I take pot over and move bread 10 minutes again. After I turn the bread top down. top heat 200 degree open 10 minutes. After stop I open the oven door. Not so happy feeling. so I open oven 200 degree 10 minutes again. After really stop,I open oven waitting about 5 minutes. I take the bread out. And quickly open it. The time from I start his dough already 48 hours.

Thank you for your reading

Happy Thanksgiving Wishes: A Deviled Eggs Recipe Martha Stewart would Love

2010-11-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Wishes: A Deviled Eggs Recipe Martha Stewart would Love: "

Many may not think of it as traditional but I love having deviled eggs for a Thanksgiving appetizer. I know, you may automatically think of deviled eggs as a summer recipe but this time of year is actually ideal as you do not need to worry about the ’stayed out in the heat too long’ problem.

The deviled egg recipe below is so good that Martha Stewart would be proud to serve it on Thanksgiving Day…

6 large eggs

2 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise

1/2 celery stalk, minced

1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons milk

Ground pepper

Directions

1.PLace eggs in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat, cover, and let sit 10 minutes.

Drain water and then run fresh cold water over the eggs until cool enough to hold. Peel the eggs and then slice each egg in half lengthwise.

Remove the egg yolks and place in a small bowl and mash. Add mayonnaise, celery, Old Bay, and mustard and mash until smooth. Add milk, one tablespoon at a time while stirring, until mixture is creamy.

Season mixture with pepper and then fill each egg white with about 1 tablespoon yolk mixture. Dust with a dash of Paprika or minced scallions if yo uwish.

Thanksgiving Desserts: Apple Pie with Cranberries

2010-11-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Desserts: Apple Pie with Cranberries: "

My niece and I made this pie recently – this summer, actually, when raspberries were abundant in the back yard and she suggested their tartness might go well in an apple pie. She was right. It turns out cranberries are as delicious a pairing in apple pie – and even better suited to the season. It’s now one of our favorite Thanksgiving desserts.

This is a simple recipe – my 12 year old niece did most of it herself. Remember that when making an apple pie the fruit shrinks considerably, so don’t be afraid to pile it high. After placing the top crust on our pie, we cut slits to allow steam to escape – and because her mom (my sister) is a math teacher, we cut them in the math symbol for pi.

Apple Pie with Cranberries

pastry for a double crust pie

6-8 apples, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

pinch salt

1-2 cups fresh cranberries (if you use frozen, don’t thaw them)

Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry, fitting it in without stretching it – let the edges hang over the side.

Slice the apples into a large bowl. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and salt; add to the apples and toss them together. Pile them into the pastry, dumping any sugar left in the bottom of the bowl overtop. Scatter cranberries overtop.

Roll out the remaining pastry and place it over the pie; trim the edges (both layers) to about 1/2-inch past the edge of the pie plate. Tuck and crimp however you like, using your fingers or the tines of a fork. Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape. If you like, brush the top with milk or cream, and if you like, sprinkle with a spoonful of sugar.

Bake the pie for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F and bake for another 45-50 minutes, until golden and juices are bubbling out through the slits. Cool on a wire rack.

Serves 8.

Raspberry Marshmallows

2010-11-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Raspberry Marshmallows: "

Your eyes are not fooling you… you are finally looking at a new post on Butter Sugar Flour. It has been 3 months since I last uploaded anything and I know that is a really poor effort. I’m sorry! Thanks to all those lovely readers who sent me emails of concern asking how I was and where I have been (lots of: “are you okay?” “is everything okay?” “ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!”). I’ve had a rather rough start to 2010 and things are much better, but there is still a lot that needs to improve! I am staying as positive as I can though, which is the only way to be! :)

Since this is my first post for 2010, I might as well share a few of my goals for this year. I wouldn’t say they are new year’s resolutions, but just things to strive for. They aren’t listed in order of importance:

To get out of Australia…

I don’t mean permanently as I do love my hometown of Melbourne very much, but I do want to begin travelling internationally this year (although I haven’t ruled out moving abroad in the coming years). I haven’t been overseas since I was 10 years old and thirteen years is a very long time to stay in the confines of my island country! I need to explore this wonderful earth of ours, see the sights of the world, experience different cultures and just have some fun! I am actually considering a two month holiday in the coming months, to USA and Europe. Hopefully it works out!

Potential disasters in the kitchen…

I aim to be more experimental in terms of food and baking this year. I don’t mean really crazy and wacky flavour combinations, but more so trying out more and more recipes (especially from my big cookbook collection) and to not be afraid in trying something, even though it looks very difficult and daunting… At the moment I have a list as long as my arm of recipes I want to try. Just to name a few: rhubarb and blueberry jam, chai creme brulee tarts and lemon curd crepe cake – yum!

Looking through the viewfinder…

I really want to improve on my photography this year and really grow into a specific style. I want to be a better photographer, I want to know the complete ins and outs of my beast of a camera and I am just really keen to keep on learning about anything and everything related to digital photography: lighting, composition, workflow, post processing, flash work – all of it. I carry my camera everywhere with me now, and although it gives me a sore shoulder, I never miss out on a photo opportunity! I have also recently joined the Beyond Snapshots team as a photography intern/assistant and am really excited to see what I will be able to learn from this role. A portfolio is in the works this year too…

Blog, what blog?

This blog needs some attention! I want to update more often (and I will) and it is in dire need of a makeover which needs to be done ASAP! The theme you are looking at now was meant to be a temporary fix for only a few weeks whilst I worked with several web designers, but due to timing and “creative differences”, nothing ever happened. I considered hiring another web designer to help me change the blog, but I’ve decided to tackle it on my own. It’s time to get my geek on! Wish me luck!

I have a few other personal and career goals on my “let’s do it in 2010″ list, but I think they’d be pretty boring to share. What I will share with you is a recipe for raspberry marshmallows. It is the exact same recipe as the passionfruit marshmallows featured on this blog and are just as delicious. This recipe is so versatile, you could make any fruit-flavoured marshmallow you want, may strawberry, blueberry or peach. It is a foolproof recipe that I have made many, many times before.

Raspberry Marshmallows

300g raspberries

500g caster sugar

20g powdered gelatine

2 eggwhites

snow sugar, for dusting (Snow sugar is icing sugar with vegetable fat, cornflour and dextrose added to prevent the sugar from absorbing moisture and dissolving. Icing sugar/confectioner’s sugar is a suitable substitute if you can’t obtain snow sugar)

Lightly grease and line a 17cm x 25cm shallow cake pan an dust base liberally with snow sugar.

Place the raspberries in a small pan and cook over medium heat, smooshing them with a spatula. Cook until they fall apart, let cool and pass through a sieve. You should get around 200ml of puree. Combine the puree with gelatine in a bowl and set aside.

Combine caster sugar and 1 cup water in a saucepan and coojk over low heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, then increaseheat to medium and cook for 5-10 minutes or until syrup reaches 125C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat, add passionfruit mixture to syrup and stir until gelatine dissolves. Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, whisk eggwhites and a pinch of salt until frothy. Gradually add passionfruit mixture, whisking continuously on medium speed until mixture has doubled in size, then slowly decrease speed and mix until mixture is warm (about 40C). Pour into prepared cake pan, and using a lightly oiled spatula, spread evenly, then dust top liberally with snow sugar. Stand at room temperature for 3 hours or until firm. Using a sharp, serrated knife dusted with snow sugar, cut marshmallow into squares and roll in snow sugar to coat.

Store in an airtight container between sheets of baking paper at room temperature for up to two weeks.

whole wheat 1-2-3 sourdough

2010-11-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

whole wheat 1-2-3 sourdough: "

Made the old standby again. I really love this bread. I have a question though. First, the recipe:

9 oz starter (100% hydration)

9 oz whole wheat flour

9 oz white flour

9 oz bread flour

18 oz water

1 T salt

I mixed it all in my KA for about 5 minutes, then did 2 stretch and folds over an hour. The dough was VERY wet so I folded in about 1/8 cup flour. It retarded overnight in the fridge, then one more stretch and fold, divide, preshape. Rest and rise for about an hour. Then shaped and pulled taut.

Cooked with steam in a 450 °F oven for 35-40 minutes. It had good oven spring, and looks GREAT.

Here is my question:

my bread is pretty flat before I put it in the oven. It doesn't hold its shape while rising. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, but would slightly drier dough help here? my dough is very wet, but it usually tastes great. Any thoughts? I supposed I could rise it upside down in a towel-lined-flour-covered bowl or wicker basket. But I don't have 2...

Potato loaf and fresh butter

2010-11-22T11:02:00.000-08:00

Potato loaf and fresh butter: "

I made a potato bread today, using Dan Lepard's recipe from The Art of Handmade Bread (AKA The Handmade Loaf) as the basis and tweaking it a bit. If memory serves me right, I used:

300 grams water

200 grams mashed potatoes

500 grams bread flour

1 tablespoon sourdough starter (cold from the fridge)

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

I gave it quite a while, 10 minutes or so, in the mixer, then let it rise slowly most of the day, folding it a couple of times when I noticed it cresting over the edge of the bowl.. I shaped it an hour or so before I wanted to bake it, then baked it with steam at 465 for 15 minutes then 400 or so for another 20 to 30 minutes.

It has a relatively tight crumb but is really nice and soft. I'm thinking I may make this as rolls for my Thanksgiving day feast this year.

My kids and I also made fresh butter in Mason jars as discussed here.

The kids had a blast dancing around the living room shaking the jars (we put some music on) and the butter was truly delicious. It is well worth the effort!

Simply Tomatoes Pasta

2010-11-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

Simply Tomatoes Pasta: "We often like to complicate matters, and lose the simplicity of being...simple.

So here, no sardines, no mushrooms, no ground meat. No Bok Choy, no bell peppers, no greens beans. I serve you...simply tomatoes. The 'simply tomatoes' linguine - garlic and onions included, salt and pepper not forgotten.

Simply Tomatoes Linguine

Ingredients: 1 large tomato, diced; 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced; 1/2 a big onion, diced; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; cooked linguine (set side some boiling pasta liquid)

Directions: Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the onions, and fry briskly, then add the garlic and continue to fry till onions are slightly tender. Add in tomatoes, fry and simmer till tomato juice is released. Then lower the heat and continue to simmer till the tomatoes are soft and tender (almost disintegrated). Salt and pepper to taste. Add in linguine and toss well into the sauce, adding some pasta liquid if too dry.

The only other ingredient I can suggest to add, is some red pepper chili flakes or red chili powder to spice things up for Simply Tomatoes Spicy Linguine.

This dish is for , My Meatless Mondays and Hearth and Soul. It's pasta - so I can't forget Presto Pasta Nights hosted by Denise of Oh Taste n See.

What is the simplest pasta you have cooked?

Tag: tomatoes, pasta, tomatoes pasta

An Escape to Food on Facebook

Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies

2010-11-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise Cookies: "'The best kind of prize is a surprise!' Can anyone guess from which book-turned-movie this quote is? Hint: It has to do with chocolate ... No? The answer is 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', one of my favorite books as a child. The cookies I baked today also involve a surprise and chocolate; they're chocolate cookies with a chocolate topping and a marshmallow surprise.

I never liked chocolate cookies before I started baking them myself. When you make them from scratch, the chocolate seems more intense and flavorful, plus it's really delicious to eat them when they're still warm. These cookies were lovely. The marshmallow surprise and chocolate topping sets them apart from the countless of other chocolate cookie recipes I've tried. Rating: 4 out of 5.

Surprise Cookies: Martha Stewart - Cookies

Ingredients: Makes 2 dozen
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally

- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ⅛ cup cocoa powder
- ⅛ cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.
- Using a tablespoon or 1 ¾-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly. Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, 2 to 2 ½ minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
- To make frosting: place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in butter and cocoa powder. Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of frosting over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

As if the cookies weren't chewy enough, the marshmallow surpise and
chocolate frosting made them that much chewier!

Truffle Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

2010-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

Truffle Brownie Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites: "

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and I can honestly say, I am still a little obsessed with pumpkin. I cannot wait for pumpkin pie, I am making my pumpkin soup as I write this, and I am thinking about attempting some sort of pumpkin macaroon (have lots of egg whites on hand).

My Thanksgiving menu is already set and organized and I am not planning on adding to it. However, my kids are off from school this week and later today, we are meeting friends for a hike. Our plan is to go out for lunch after the hike, yet I knew everyone is going to end up back at our house to play for a bit. I wanted to have some snacks on hand. I whipped up these truffle brownie pumpkin cheesecake bites as I had some left over pumpkin puree in the fridge. Rather than making them in a 9x9" pan, I opted to make individuals in my silicone baking muffin pans. These are going to be the perfect compliment to a big bowl of pomegranate seeds and a white bean dip with roasted pita chips. Maybe, we will skip lunch all together and simply come home for the snacks!

Truffle Brownie + Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

yield: 28 mini bites

ingredients:

brownies:

4 0z. unsweetened cocoa

1 stick of butter, cubed

2 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa

1 Tbls. espresso powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1 cup flour

cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbls. flour

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

instructions:

• preheat oven to 350*

for the brownie layer:

• melt chocolate, butter, cocoa, and espresso powder in a bowl over simmering water.

• remove bowl from the heat and add the sugar, vanilla, and salt. add the egg and mix until smooth.

• fold in the flour.

• using a small ice cream scoop, scoop batter into individual muffin tins. set aside while you make the cheesecake

for the cheesecake layer:

• in the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.

• add the sugar and combine

• add the egg and the vanilla and mix to combine

• mix in the remaining ingredients until fully incorporated.

• using the same ice cream scooper(cleaned, of course), scoop over brownie mixture and fill muffin cups almost to the top.

• using a toothpick or small skewer swirl the cheesecake mixture slightly to form a pattern with the brownie mixture.

• bake 20-25 minutes, rotating pans back to front mid through. brownie bites are done when the top of the cheesecake feels slightly firm to the touch.

• let cool on a wire rack. once cool, stick in the fridge for about 45 minutes. once totally firm, pop the brownie bites out of the muffin cups and enjoy!!

Tuscan Sourdough Stuffing

2010-11-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

Tuscan Sourdough Stuffing: "

My stuffing is a labor of love. I love making the sourdough bread mixed with Tuscan and sage seasonings. Then taking that bread and making it into stuffing. I feel as though I am walking in the footsteps of cooks from years gone by. I start a few days before Thanksgiving and make my delicious rosemary bread for the stuffing. Then I cut it in to cubes and let it sit out to dry and become crusty.

My mom use to mix up her stuffing the night before Thanksgiving and then bake it the next day. She would put it in this large glass bowl that was etched with gold. She would always leave a night light in the kitchen and I would always stop and stare at that bowl of cubed bread with seasonings and always grab a piece or two before sneaking off to bed. It is not a coincidence that the first thing I ever made as a little girl was a loaf of bread. I was young and had found a recipe for Sally Lunn bread and it fascinated me. I asked my mom if I could make it. With recipe in hand I set out to make my first and rather difficult recipe. To my mom's and my amazement the bread was a huge success. I still remember to this day taking it out of the oven and the joy I felt.

So as I celebrate my thankfulness this Thursday. I will have to include in my long list, the joy of cooking. It brings me and others such joy, and it is in so many ways my expression of love to my family and others. Put your love into your cooking you never knows who is watching. It might just be the pitter patter of children who will grow up to follow in your footsteps and prepare dishes filled with their love. Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

Tuscan Stuffing

1 loaf of Tuscan Sourdough bread ( see below)
1 stick sweet butter
2 tbsp dried or fresh sage
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup dried sour cherries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 cups minced yellow onion
1 cup minced celery or fennel
1 cup minced carrot
Up to 3 cups chicken stock (or turkey if you have it)
2 eggs, optional, use if you like a firmer stuffing

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the sourdough into 3/4-inch squares and place in large bowl. Melt half the butter add sage.

Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sage butter over the bread and toss gently but swiftly. Spread out on 2 cooking sheets and place in the oven until light brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place back into the bowl.

Meanwhile, place the dried fruit in a large bowl; add boiling water to cover and then set aside for at least 10 minutes. This will plump and soften the fruit for cooking. Drain fruit once plumped.

Raise the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Melt the remaining butter and add onion, celery, and carrot. Saute on medium-low heat until soft. Add dried fruit and remaining sage. Toss into cooled croutons. Gently toss and add chicken broth to moisten; add more broth if you like a softer stuffing. Stir in beaten eggs now, if using. Adjust salt and pepper, to your liking. Turn out into an oven-proof casserole.

Bake uncovered until golden brown on top, about 40 minutes.

Tuscan Rosemary Bread

8 ounces sourdough starter

1 cup water

3-4 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp dried rosemary

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

1 tbsp basil olive oil or if not available regular olive oil

Add starter and water to bowl. Slowly add other ingredients and mix until dough no longer sticks to bowl or hand about for 8 minutes. Then transfer to a greased bowl and cover. Then let rise in a draft free place till double in size for about 4 to 5 hours. Turn out dough and knead a few times to deflate. Then form into loaf and place in greased bread pan. Cover and let rise for an hour or two or until puffy and close to desired size. Then slash top of loaf and place in a preheated oven at 400º for 20 minutes then turn down heat to 350º and bake 20 minutes more or until brown and firm.Thoroughly cool bread on a rack before slicing.

Carrot Souffle with The Wicked Noodle

2010-11-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Carrot Souffle with The Wicked Noodle: "

Kristy Bernardo is the funny, charming voice behind The Wicked Noodle, a blog devoted to documenting her quest to feed her family delicious food. Kristy only began to cook seven years ago when she quit her corporate job to stay at home with her first child. Ever since then she’s been teaching herself all sorts of great recipes and techniques and, lucky for us, shares them with her readers each week. Today Kristy is sharing her amazing recipe for Carrot Souffle with The Family Kitchen. It is a fabulous recipe that is completely kid-friendly and would be a hit at any Thanksgiving feast.

Kristy: Six years ago I hosted my very first holiday dinner. It was important to me to host that year – my husband and I had just built a new house and our first daughter would be four months old, and I was eager to test out my new cooking skills. I’d begun the process of teaching myself to cook just six months before and I wanted to see just how far I’d come.

I scoured every cooking magazine I could find looking for the perfect way to do everything, from cooking a moist, tender turkey down to an impressive dessert. And of course, I needed to find some amazing side dishes.

The dinner turned out better than I could have hoped. But to be honest, mostly what I remember from that first dinner is the one dish that not only outshined the rest, but it’s also the only dish that’s showed up our table every holiday dinner since.

This side dish has it all. It’s absolutely delicious with a silky texture and vibrant color. It appeals to everyone from grown-ups to the smallest children, plus it’s easy to make and holds well if the rest of your meal needs a bit more time. The best part? It’s actually good for you even though it’s practically a dessert!

The dish I’m talking about is a carrot soufflé. I’ve served this dish countless times and I’m always asked for the recipe. One of my neighbors now serves it at her table every holiday, and a friend of mine from the other side of the country just made it for his dinner party where “everyone raved”. I’m a personal chef now, and the first time I made this for my clients they deemed it one of their all time favorite dishes!

The Wicked Noodle’s Carrot Souffle

7 cups chopped carrots (about 2 pounds)

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

cooking spray

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. In a pot of boiling water cook the carrots until tender enough to be speared with a fork. Then place them in a food processor and pulse until completely smooth.

3. Add the sugar, sour cream, flour, butter, baking powder, vanilla extract, salt and eggs to the processor and pulse to combine.

4. Coat a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray and spoon in the mixture. Bake for 40 minutes or until puffed and set in the center.

5. When the souffle has completely cooled sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

I hope you try this dish for your own holiday dinner this year. I guarantee it will become one of your favorites, too!

An Alternative to Cranberry Sauce or Relish: Cranberry Ketchup

2010-11-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

An Alternative to Cranberry Sauce or Relish: Cranberry Ketchup: "

I adore cranberry sauce and cranberry relish – and not only at Thanksgiving – but sometimes want something more complex. More than just sweetness, this chutney-esque ketchup is cranberry sauce for grown-ups; rather than just sit there being sweet and jiggly, the onions, ginger and vinegar add far more depth of flavor. It’s an easy recipe – all you do is toss everything into a pot and cook until soft and thick – pureeing it until smooth (use a food processor or hand-held immersion blender) makes it resemble real ketchup, but if you’d like to leave it chunky and call it chutney, it’s still delicious.

Cranberry ketchup also makes a great gift; preserve it in jars or decorative glass bottles and tie with a bow; it freezes well, and keeps in the fridge for weeks, so you can make it ahead of the big feast.

Cranberry Ketchup

1 medium purple onion, chopped

grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 c. apple or orange juice, or water

1 bag fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 cinnamon sticks, or 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

a good grinding of black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a largish pot set over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture boils, the onions become soft and the cranberries pop; about 20-25 minutes.

Let it cool a bit and then transfer to a food processor or run through a food mill until smooth. If it seems too thick, add a little extra water or juice.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal according to the package directions, or let it cool and transfer to plastic containers or squeeze bottles to store in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 4 months. Makes 2 1/2-3 cups.

Photo credit: istockphoto/LauriPatterson

the secret to a perfect frittata [5 ingredients]

2010-11-20T14:46:00.000-08:00

the secret to a perfect frittata [5 ingredients]: "

So I have 2 secrets to share today.

First is that over the last few weeks I’ve become obsessed with baked frittatas. You see I’ve always been a big fan of eggs in all their forms, scrambled, boiled and especially poached. And as much as I adore frittatas, I used to cook them only very rarely.

I think this was because I always found them a little tricky. Sure they turned out OK most of the time. But I found the juggling act of trying to get the whole frittata cooked through without overbrowning, or even worse, sticking on the bottom of the pan a bit too stressful.

But a couple of weeks ago I had a bit of a revelation. I was after something quick and vegetarian for dinner. There were asparagus that needed eating up along with some wonderful eggs from my cousin’s farm. This produced a vision of a beautiful asparagus tart with the spears lined up over the top. There definitely wasn’t time for pastry, and then it hit me. Why not try a baked frittata?

So I cooked the asparagus under the grill (broiler) until they were just tender. Whisked together a couple of eggs, lined my smallest springform pan and baked it all for about 15 minutes. And the results were even better than I was hoping. Beautiful to behold, wonderfully delicious AND super simple. Win. Win. Win.

The second secret, which you’ve probably already guessed is that baking is the best and simplest way to get perfect frittatas every time. And believe me I’ve been testing the method out. In addition to my lovely asparagus, there has been a breakfast chorizo frittata, a fancy brunch of frittata with potato, sausage & truffle oil, a potato & bacon and this wonderful chickpea & rosemary number. So simple and so good.

Do you have a favourite frittata flavour combination? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

[5 ingredients]

chickpea & rosemary baked frittata

serves 2

A frittata is just an Italian version of an omelette. Having a good frittata recipe in your repertoire is an incredibly useful idea. When you need a quick vegetarian protein hit, there are few things more satisfying.

I love this frittata with the fragrance of rosemary and the comfort of chickpeas. It’s all day dining really. Weekend breakfast or brunch? Just add hot buttered toast. Light lunch? Add a green salad. Simple supper? A generous glass of wine and you’re good to go.

4 eggs

large handful freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 can chickpeas (400g / 14oz), drained

2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F) and place a baking tray on the middle shelf.

2. Line a 20cm (8in) springform pan with baking paper & grease generously with olive oil.

3. Whisk together lightly eggs and parmsean. Season.

4. Place chickpeas in the prepared tin. Pour over the egg mixture & scatter over the rosemary. Season.

5. Place on the preheated tray and bake until golden and puffy and the centre feels firm and springy, about 15 minutes.

___________________________________________________________

This goes without saying, but the only way Stonesoup reaches more people is if you share it, Tweet it, Like it on Facebook, link to me from your blog, and email it to your friends. THANKYOU. I really appreciate your help spreading the word about 5 ingredients.

Dutch Speculaas Cookies

2010-11-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

Dutch Speculaas Cookies: "

I have often thought about trading the Netherlands for Paris. This is all just hypothetical, but I can see myself enjoying a croissant everyday and living la joie de vivre in France. Baguettes, pain au chocolat, macarons, madeleines. What would I really miss from my home country? ... Speculaas Cookies! I'm sure I'll have to pack an extra suitcase just to take a fair amount of speculaas cookies with me.

What exactly is speculaas? Speculaas is a combination of different spices; cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and white pepper. You can easily make it yourself (I wrote the instructions down for you, scroll under), but I bought the spices allready combined. In case I forgot to mention, or that you haven't catched on - keep up! ;) - speculaas is a traditional Dutch/Belgian cookie that is made for the holiday St. Nicholas Eve on December 5th.

I am very content with devouring a pack of store-bought speculaas cookies, but I wanted to make it from scratch myself. I googled a recipe and tried it out today. The cookies are delicious, however, this particular recipes seems to me as an American version of speculaas cookies. Meaning, a little too much butter and sugar. Not that there's anything wrong with that :), but I'm determined to find the perfect authentic Dutch speculaas recipe somewhere in the near future. Rating: 4 out of 5.

Speculaas Cookies: About.com

Ingredients: This will make a very large amount, I made half the recipe.
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon *
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger *
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg *
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves *
- 1/16 teaspoon ground cardamom *
- 1/16 teaspoon ground white pepper *

*- If you have speculaas spices, substitute the spices listed above for 3 teaspoons speculaas spices

Instructions:
- Cream the butter, sugars, and vanilla until they are thoroughly mixed and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating the mixture on medium-high until it turns fluffy again.
- Mix the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Turn the mixer speed to low and stir the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture in thirds, until the dough is fully mixed. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, until it is thoroughly chilled.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the chilled dough to ¼-inch thick (⅛-inch thick if thin, crispy cookies are preferred) and cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. If desired, use a traditional Belgian speculaas mold by pressing the chilled dough into the mold, cutting away the excess dough, and inverting the mold onto the baking sheet to release the cookie, design-side up.
- Bake the cut or molded cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges appear set and just begin to brown. Allow the speculaas to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.

Winter Pasta

2010-11-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

Winter Pasta: "

I seem to inherit a lot of CSA boxes. Friends and neighbors forget to put holds on their subscriptions before leaving town, and sure enough, they end up in my kitchen. When I was a kid there was a house that was always happy to take in stray animals, I've become the equivalent for CSA boxes. And I have to say, it's pretty great.

That said, cooking through a box is always a challenge of sorts. I mean, you want to cook your way through it before things start to go bad, sad or wilted. This always forces me to adapt and try out ideas I might not have considered otherwise. You also have the element of surprise that comes along with each box - not knowing exactly what will be inside each one. Although, there is one thing I do know. The box, whichever farm it comes from, usually includes lots and lots of greens - kale, spinach, lettuce, chard, arugula. Sometimes all of the above.

My friend Dan dropped off a box the other night, and after a quick glance I knew I would need to put a dent in the greens right away. I made this simple one-pot winter pasta with a sauce made from lots of kale, shallots, garlic, goat cheese and penne. Whatever I had on hand. You might tweak it with a different cheese - Parmesan or pecorino, for example. Or even ricotta. You could top it with a some chopped black olives or toasted nuts...I kept it pretty simple here. You can reheat any leftovers the next day, with a splash of water. The pasta holds up nicely.

I know a lot of you subscribe to CSAs and I'd love to hear your favorite ways to use up your greens. I have a bunch of go-to green-intensive recipes I rely on, but if you're doing something unique or unexpected with them on your end please share. I suspect Melissa Clark's kale salad will continue to be in high rotation around here all winter. I keep making it, in part because unlike other green salads that go south shortly after being dressed, this kale salad likes to party. It's delicious, and just gets better as it sits around, fully dressed, waiting for people to notice it. Other favorites? You can't go wrong with a hefty pot of Ribollita - I trade off between that and various takes on this lentil soup to which I add lots of chopped kale.

Continue reading Winter Pasta...

Spicy Cauliflower with Sesame

2010-11-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

Spicy Cauliflower with Sesame: "

Not everyone is a fan of the humble cauliflower. I get that. But we've enjoyed a good number of tasty cauliflower recipes together over the years, no? My hope is that the cauliflower curry or the lemon-zested sauté converted at least a few of you who were on the fence? If not, maybe this next recipe will. It's no joke. Imagine a skillet of caramelized onions cooked down with fragrant cumin, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and chiles. Add cauliflower and cook until tender. Vibrant, spicy, sweet earthiness all on one plate.

The inspiration for the recipe comes from Reza Mahammad's lovely cookbook, Rice, Spice and all Things Nice. I bought a copy and slipped it into my suitcase the last time I was in Portland, and I'm finally(!) getting around to cooking from it. I'm always on the look out for approachable Indian recipes, and this book is full of great ideas and beautiful photos. It seems that with a tweak or two, I can turn a good number of the recipes into one-pan weeknight meals. For example, with this cauliflower, you might toss in a couple handfuls of grilled or pan-seared paneer cheese or tempeh.

Give this a try, even if you don't think you're much of a cauliflower fan. It's that good. I can also imagine doing a creamy soup version of this - with a pureed cauliflower soup base topped drizzled with an oil infused with the cumin, turmeric, garlic, and chiles....topped with toasted sesame seeds and some sort of flatbread croutons?

Also! I know some of you are starting to think about Thanksgiving menus, I figured I'd update and bump up my favorite vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, as well as my favorite vegan Thanksgiving recipes. I went through and swapped out a few old favorites and swapped in a few new ones.

And lastly, on a complete side note and unrelated to anything to do with cauliflower - I want to tell you about a new, secret-until-now section of my site. I figured I'd bury a note here for those of you who read to the end. Here's the jist of it: I'm dying to know what your favorite cookbooks are. And beyond that - I'd love to know which recipes are your favorites from those books. I think I've found a way for us to share this sort of information with each other.

So...Let's say you have two favorite recipes from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, you can now share your thoughts here. Last weekend I bought Amanda Hesser's The Essential New York Times Cookbook. I made Bill Granger's Scrambled Eggs for breakfast yesterday, and have a slight twist on the Poppy Seed Torte headed for the oven. I can make notes here.

While you can use the new library system to make note of favorite recipes from any of your cookbooks, I thought it might be fun to also casually focus on a single book for a couple weeks at a time. What do you think about choosing a group cookbook? I have a list of recipes as long as my arm to try from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, so maybe we can start there? I'm not exactly sure how this is going to play out, but let's give it a shot. Who's with me?

The system is new, and we're still finding a few little bugs. Needless to say - your patience and understanding is much appreciated! Hope you like it. The direct URL: library.101cookbooks.com. -h

Continue reading Spicy Cauliflower with Sesame...

Mixed Mushroom Soup

2010-11-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

Mixed Mushroom Soup: "

Big, hearty soups are what appeal to me this time of year - flavorful broths punctuated with earthy mushrooms, starchy beans, long-cooked onions, or chunks of roasted winter squash. The sort of soups and stews that are able to take their place at the center of a meal instead of being relegated to a side dish. This is exactly the sort of soup I made over the weekend. I used a mish-mash of market mushrooms, a bit of cooked barley, and a good dose of onions. I gave it a bit of a Japanese flavor profile by using toasted sesame oil and shoyu/soy sauce as finishing elements. Quick, hearty, and satisfying.

You've heard me say it before, there a few things that help me eat well throughout the week - even when things get busy. I make over-sized pots of soup, like this one, let the leftovers cool to room temperature, then freeze them off in quart-sized baggies. A lot of the soups I love have grains and veggies and often some element of protein. They make for quick, one-pot lunches and dinners that you can pull from the refrigerator or freezer and have on the table in under ten minutes. It feels awesome. I've found on days when I'm too busy to shop, or cook something from scratch, these sorts of soups are just the thing I crave. And its a nice option to have versus eating out or ordering take-out.

As I mention down below, I made this soup with barley, but it could also work well with wild rice or brown rice. You could also skip the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, and take things in an entirely different direction. A bit of smoked paprika and lemon creme fraiche might be interesting. Or what if you did a saffron yogurt swirl, like we did for this lentil soup and added lots of chopped chives to finish?

And a little housekeeping, if you'll permit? Somehow, six months has passed since the last update on my new cookbook. Not sure how that happened, but I assure you - plenty has been going on behind the scenes. I turned in the manuscript over the summer, we decided on an entirely new jacket, a handful of people I deeply admire were kind enough to write notes for the back cover, and if all went well last week, Super Natural Every Day should be at the printer. I can't believe I'm actually typing that sentence. I promise to do a proper write up and post a bunch of pics sometime in the next couple of weeks.

And! before it slips my mind - I know many of you are on the lookout for vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes, and vegan ones as well. I updated those pages the other day and hope some of these recipes might make it to your holiday tables.

And lastly - a few of us have started cooking recipes from the newly-released Essential New York Times Cookbook. I think we'll focus on it through November, and then pick another cookbook to focus on in December. Please join us if you like! I learn much from spending time with individual books - and I bet you will too. So far, I've cooked Bill Granger's Scrambled Eggs, a variation on the Poppy Seed Torte, and the Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles - you can see my notes here. Judy Rodger's Warm Bread Salad is next on my list. -h

Continue reading Mixed Mushroom Soup...

Sourdough Soft Wheat Rolls

2010-11-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

Sourdough Soft Wheat Rolls: "

Remember how I spent some time trying to get a good soft crumb with sweet sourdough? Well I applied that same science to getting a nice soft wheat roll. The secret is adding some sour cream. Yes, you can add potatoes and that works too but the outcome is a bit heavier than the sour cream which helps produce a soft light crumb. Everyone wants a soft roll with dinner at times, yes the crusty hard rolls are terrific too, but sometimes you just want a soft dinner roll…

So here you go:

Sourdough Soft Wheat Rolls

Make sure your Whole Wheat starter (You really have to use a whole wheat starter for this recipe) is fed very well the night before and make sure you have at least 1 lb of it for the next day. Feed it @ 100% hydration (leave it out at room temperature overnight after feeding it in the evening.

Then the next day (around 10:00am or time it yourself to arrive hot for the dinner table):

Mix together in a large mixing bowl or dough folding container:

Whole Wheat Starter @ 100% – 16 oz/453g

Water – 4 oz/113g

Sour cream (nice thick regular fat kind)- 3 oz/85g

Malt Syrup (or Honey) – 1 oz/28g

Soft Butter- 2 oz/56g

Sea salt- .4 oz/11g

You do not need to autolyse the dough because of the large amount of starter used, which was basically autolysed all night long. Mix all of the ingredients together and then add:

All purpose flour- 15 oz/425g

Mix together into a soft dough but do not knead. This makes a very soft dough. Cover the dough and let it ferment 3.5 – 4 hours, folding the dough once each hour. Then weigh your dough and divide the amount into 12 pieces or however many you need. My rolls were 3.4 oz each and I made 12 rolls.

I placed the rolls into an oiled round casserole dish and made sure each roll was coated in the oil. I then covered the rolls and placed them into a dedicated refrigerator which is set at 46F. If you use your colder refrigerator, take the rolls out sooner and give them longer to warm up and proof before baking.

I left the rolls in the refrigerator for two hours and then warmed them up and proofed them for 1 hour. I set the dish of rolls into a pan containing hot water to speed up the proofing. Once the rolls are done proofing, slash the tops, then make sure the tops are oiled or spray with oil and bake at 425 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes.

I spread butter over the tops once the rolls were done baking. Serve hot with lots of butter!

This will make around 2 lbs 9 oz/1173g of dough at 64% hydration. It will make a dozen rolls approximately 3.4 oz/96g each.

Have fun baking everyone!