Archive for January, 2010
You Can Reduce Your Salt Intact – A Rant
Seems everywhere I look someone is telling me to reduce my salt intake. This is a much easier task then you think. The first step is to stop eating all that fast, takeout food. Sure it taste great; they load it up with salt to make it taste great. Then you ask them to put some extra salt into the bag, just in case they shorted the fries.
Look, I have been telling everyone for over a year that they need to start preparing meals at home. The more you make at home the less you are at the mercy of the 16 year old working the fry machine. The second easy thing you can do is to stop using all of those pre-prepared foods. Again, the companies load these up to make them taste good, taste good but very bad for us. Make meals using fresh ingredients, check out any canned goods you use in cooking. There are low sodium versions of almost everything on the market these days.
So finally let me hit home…do it for the kids. Make their meals and besides healthier meals , you may just have the opportunity to spend some quality time with them. And as an added bonus, eating healthier yourself may just keep you around to see their kids.
Add comment January 28, 2010
Recipe of the Week – Banana Nut Muffins
(From the Easy Meals I Can Cook Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Banana Nut Muffins
In our house we have differing opinions about just when a banana is right for eating. My wife likes it when they are just turning from green to yellow. The bananas are hard and crisp with a slight tart taste, perfect she would say. I, on the other hand, like them when they are getting yellow or even when they are showing some signs of black on the skin, they are sweet and soft and everything you would want in a banana. Which brings me to the reasoning behind this post.
When the bananas begin to go over the hill, soft and yellow/black with spots of brown on the inside, it’s then that most people throw them away. This is a big mistake as they are just right for banana nut muffins. These are quick to make and if you get your timing down just right you can have them out of the oven when your family comes into the kitchen to start their day. No one can resist the warm muffins. If you are having trouble getting your kids to eat something before school; try putting a plate of the muffins out on the end of the counter, where they grab their books and head out. Chances are they will grab one or two on the fly. The muffins are good cold, wrap them in plastic wrap and leave them out and watch them disappear. Just remember to hide one for yourself, warm it in the microwave and sit back for the 3 minutes relaxation you allow yourself.
Banana Nut Muffins
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Easy Recipes I Can Cook |
| Meal: | Comfy Breakfast (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 2 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 4 | medium | banana, overripe |
| 1 | cup | sugar, white |
| 0.75 | cup | butter, unsalted |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 1 | tsp | vanilla |
| 0.5 | cup | walnuts, chopped, toasted |
| 0.5 | cup | chocolate, chips |
| 1 | spritz | PAM |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray PAM in muffin tins. Reserve 1 Tb of flour. Combine remaining flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Melt butter and cool. Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl; add sugar and whip until light and fluffy. Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Beat until blended; fold in flour ½ at a time. Mix nuts and chocolate chips with the reserved 1 Tb of flour. Fold into mixture. Scope into muffin tins and bake for 15- 18 minutes until brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
Add comment January 26, 2010
Cell Phones and Table Manners – A Not So Futuristic Rant
I didn’t think I would become a curmudgeon but here I am complaining again about manners, or more importantly about lack of manners. Don’t you think it is about time to put those cell phones on hold, at least during family dinners? ‘Course then again who has family dinners anymore. Don’t get me started on that!
Growing up we had no cell phones at the table, we had no tv on during dinner. All we had was good food and a chance to talk to each other. As my kids were growing up we had two, make that three, rules at dinnertime. The first was when I put the food on the table you’d better be in your seat. Shirts were required and there were no hats, with the exception of stupid birthday hats, allowed. It didn’t take long for my kids’ friends to catch on. They were always welcomed at the table as long as they followed the rules. Many good conversations took place at that table and I think both the adults and the kids learned from them.
Back to the phones at the table thing. I spend time and energy creating good meals. I find it very annoying to have people constantly checking their phones while attempting to have a meal. Are they that important that their texted comments, if not immediately sent, would set in motion the end of the world? Perhaps their friends would not be able to LOL, and we all need to LOL on occasion, if not for their texted insight into how the world works. One frightening aspect about this new phenomenon is that the adults now feel free to join in on the texting at the table. Maybe we should spend more time teaching how to use a knife and fork properly and less time LOL’ing; but them again I am just a grumpy old man.
Add comment January 21, 2010
Back in the Kitchen Again – Doing the Happy Dance
(From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Dana's Flourless Chocolate Cake
I’m doing the happy dance, I am back in the kitchen again. Some of you will think I am nuts, some only semi-nuts and a few will understand. For those of us who cook, eating in fast food restaurants, getting take-out, or even going to the chain restaurants is a punishment, not a plus. The food is never as good as it should be, the atmosphere not great and not up to the high standard we set at home. So you can see that now that my move is complete and my kitchen almost back to where I know what is “behind door number 3″, I am extremely happy to be “home” again. I am still trying to get everything situated in the kitchen, what goes in what drawer and where the particular plates are but man it is good to be making the food the way I want it and besides, no tipping required.
My wonderful brother-in-law came to town to help with the move and we are working on his kitchen skills. Over the years he has paid attention, more attention than I thought, in the kitchen as we caught up on our lives. We cooked a few meals together and I was pleasantly surprised that he had absorbed many of the basics. Anyway, during the NJ Christmas trip he put in his “wish list” for desserts, we did 4 out of the 5 he requested. The odd man out was a flourless chocolate cake so I thought it was fitting that we, actually he, would make this while he was here. He did a great job on the cake. We did think it took longer to bake than it should have so a good lesson here is to check the oven temperature on a new or different oven when baking for the first time. Apparently my oven beeps when it is preheated; only problem was that it beeped about 20 minutes and 100 degrees before it reached the proper temperature. This threw the total baking time off somewhat. Anyway, the cake was great and I froze the leftovers, so last night I had a piece. The cake was good, the memories better, so here’s to your, Campy, for all your help and for the cake.
Dana’s Flourless Chocolate Cake
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | Happy Birthday (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 8 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 16 | oz | chocolate, semi-sweet bits |
| 9 | large | egg, separated |
| 1 | cup | sugar, white |
| 3 | Tb | cocoa |
| 1 | recipe | chocolate ganache |
Preheat oven to 350. butter a 9” springform pan; line the bottom with buttered wax paper, dust with cocoa powder. Melt chocolate and butter together, allow to cool slightly. Separate eggs; beat yolks on medium for 1 minute, add sugar and beat until light yellow. In a separate bowl beat egg whites until just peaking. Blend cooled chocolate with egg yolks, add cocoa; fold in egg whites. Pour into pan, bake for 40-45 minutes. This is a very moist cake and an inserted knife should come out barely wet. Allow to cool for ½ hour prior too removing from pan. Pour chocolate ganache over top, leave on counter until ready to serve.
If you refrigerate this cake the ganache will lose its shine.
·Note: This is almost a souffle; it will rise and drop, if the center caves in don’t panic. Fill with berries and pretend it was on purpose. It happens to all of us.
Add comment January 19, 2010
Recipe of the Week – French Onion Soup
(From the Soup Collection at emealsforyou.com)
French Onion Soup
It’s still cold, very cold, here in the Midwest. I am staying with my soup theme. What could be better than a steamy bowl of onion soup to warm you after a tough day. This basic and yet terrifically comforting soup is easy to make. A little pre-planning may be necessary to have the bowls or bowl available that may be used in the oven. You can make individual bowls or just one big one; but then there may be fights over who gets the most cheese and bread.
What sets this soup off from many others is the crusty bread that soaks in the tasty broth; and then there is the cheese; gooey, stringy, melted cheese. A popular hit in many bistros why not try this at home and see how the oohs and ahhhs stack up.
French Onion Soup
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Soups |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 8 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 4 | large | onions, sliced |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 3 | medium | bay leaves, whole dried |
| 1 | Tb | thyme, fresh |
| 1 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | cup | wine, dry red |
| 3 | Tb | flour |
| 4 | 14 oz. can | beef broth |
| 1 | medium | baguette |
| 0.5 | lb | cheese, Gruyere |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt to taste |
Melt butter in a large pot or saute pan; add onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and pepper and saute until onions are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Add the wine and reduce, remove bay leaves. Sprinkle flour over onions and cook, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste. To serve pour soup into oven-proof bowls, place slices of the baguette on top and cover with slices of the cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is bubbly and golden. Watch carefully as the cheese will color rapidly.
Add comment January 13, 2010
Recipe of the Week – Mexican Meatball Soup
(From the Soup Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Mexican Meatball Soup
I guess I owe you all a few recipes as I have been AWOL for a little while. The NJ trip at Christmas and then closing on a condo on the 30th took me away from the blog and I apologize. The move is just about complete now and being that I heard ( course nobody hears anymore; more like emailed back and forth, from my old partner Chef Teresa, I thought I would give you her recipe for Mexican Meatball Soup. I don’t know about where you live but here in “southern” Ohio we had really cold weather and now some snow to boot.
Nothing says comfort like a hot bowl of soup on a gray and cold day. Chef Teresa brings us this wonderful warming and fulfilling addition to our soup collection. Serve it up with some crunchy bread or crackers. It is perfect to warm the soul as well as the body.
Mexican Meatball Soup
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Soups |
| Meal: | Mexican Supper (Quick Meals Planner) |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2.5 | cup | onions, chopped |
| 4 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 2 | small | bay leaves, whole dried |
| 5 | 14 oz. can | beef broth |
| 1 | 28 oz. can | tomatoes, diced |
| 0.5 | cup | salsa |
| 0.5 | cup | cilantro, chopped |
| 1 | lb | beef, ground |
| 0.25 | lb | pork sausage |
| 6 | Tb | corn meal, yellow |
| 1 | large | egg |
| 0.25 | cup | milk, whole |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.5 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 0.5 | tsp | cumin |
| 0.5 | cup | rice, white |
Heat oil in large heavy pot. Add 1.5 cups chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves, and bay leaves; saute 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juices, salsa, and 1/4-cup cilantro, bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine ground beef, pork sausage, cornmeal, milk, egg, salt, pepper, cumin, then remaining onions, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/4 cup cilantro in medium bowl. Mix well. Shape meat mixture by tablespoons into 1 to 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Add rice and meatballs to soup and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice and meatballs are tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Hint: Soup is shown in picture topped with sour cream and cilantro.
Add comment January 8, 2010
