IDEAS IN FOOD: 31 entries from July 2018

« June 2018 | Main | August 2018 »

31 entries from July 2018

First Corn Of The Season

At our table, anyway. We missed the very first crop at our local farm, this is from their second round of picking. It was incredibly sweet, juicy, and delicious. It's nice to know we have several more weeks of this bounty to look forward to. The first batch, okay the first few batches, are always simply steamed with butter and salt on the side, for those who want them. We just revel in the flavor of the fresh corn. Later on we'll start tinkering. For now, it's time to savor the summer season.

Years Past

July 31, 2015

July 31, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 31, 2018 at 07:09 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Say Yes

This video is for all of the workaholics out there. We know who we are.

Find your joy, the fuel for your hum.

Years Past

July 30, 2015

July 30, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 30, 2018 at 04:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Roasted Seaweed

As a child, roasted seaweed, aside from sushi, was strictly home food. Mom would buy these large squares of seaweed that we would roast over the gas flame on the range and then cut into small rectangles with a sharp pair of kitchen shears. We would have bowls of hot steamed rice and small plates of soy sauce at the ready. Mom taught me to carefully heap my rice in a pile in the center of the bowl. Then we would dip the roasted seaweed paper into the soy sauce, lightly coating one side. We would drape it over the rice and use our chopsticks to wrap it around a small portion, creating a little cornucopia to be eaten in a single bite. Sometimes when she came home from trips to Japan she would bring canisters of pre-seasoned seaweed strips, these were a special treat, and I would eat them straight out of the can as often as I ate them with rice.

It was with some bemusement several years ago that I notice a wave of seaweed snacks appearing in the supermarket. The initial offerings seemed to be deep fried. While they had an enticing crunch, they were also greasy and somewhat unpleasant to my palate. When Amaya came home one day asking me to buy the organic seaweed snacks that she had at a friend's house, I decided to give them another chance. I came across these Gimme Organic Seaweed snacks at a local supermarket and tossed them in my cart. They are roasted with sunflower seed oil and have just a hint of salt. The rectangles are pleasantly crisp, slowly melting into that familiar chewy, nori deliciousness. There's a hint of richness from the oil but they are not greasy or tough. I could easily wrap these around rice without even dipping them into soy sauce. I'm not sure how filling they are, in terms of being a snack, but they are satisfying and delicious, especially if you already have a taste for seaweed--as I do.

Years Past

July 29, 2017

July 29, 2016

July 29, 2015

July 29, 2014

July 29, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 29, 2018 at 05:25 PM in At the Table | Permalink | Comments (0)

Home Grown

This was our first year growing tomatoes. Someone with more experience might have harvested them before this last week of rain and let them finish ripening on the counter. That's just a guess, because during that time period, the tomatoes changed from perfect specimens to the scarred beauties you see above. When you grow them yourself you're not going to just throw them away and that's a good thing because these tomatoes are pretty darned flavorful. They have a rich fruity aroma. They are juicy and tender and they taste like summer. Looking at them I suddenly realized why so many Italian recipes call for removing the tomato skins. It's an easy way to work around an ugly tomato. A little editing can make anything beautiful and thus more delicious.

Years Past

July 28, 2012

July 28, 2010

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 28, 2018 at 04:56 PM in Approach to Cooking, At the Table, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tiger Crunch Doughnuts

Years Past

July 27, 2015

July 27, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 27, 2018 at 05:44 PM in Approach to Cooking, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Separated Egg Noodles

I am of the mindset that if you are going to separate eggs, you should have a recipe that utilizes both the yolk and the white. In pasta making, egg yolk pasta is put on a pedestal. The egg whites are often left to their own devices. In most cases they are thrown out. Today I began tinkering with an egg white pasta to compliment our egg yolk dough. Besides frugality, I believe having both egg yolk and egg white doughs will lead to delicious developments. The first may be bacon and eggs.

Years Past

July 26, 2015

July 26, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 26, 2018 at 07:16 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Streusel

I started with the cake crumb streusel recipe from Maximum Flavor. In this case, I wanted to have more cake than the original. When I say cake I mean doughnut pieces. Aside from that modification, I kept the recipe the same. I mixed the streusel by hand and refrigerated it until it was cold. I broke the streusel apart and sprinkled it on a parchment lined sheet pan. I baked the streusel for 30 minutes at 350°F. The struesel is buttery, crunchy and smells deliciously of doughnuts.

The updated streusel is destined for a doughnut topping, an ice cream upgrade, and hopefully a peach crisp--if I'm lucky.

Years Past

July 25, 2015

July 25, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 25, 2018 at 05:00 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fried Rice Frittata

This morning we used a frittata as a refrigerator recycling bin. Fried rice is usually our go-to dish for this, a vehicle for tasty odds and ends meant to be re-purposed into a delicious meal. Today the frittata and the fried rice were united. I always put extra eggs in our fried rice and this morning I went slightly over board. As I was cooking the mixture it formed a beautiful round that needed very little assistance to become a frittata. Now comes the fun part of converting this catch all into a new creative platform.

Years Past

July 24, 2015

July 24, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 24, 2018 at 06:31 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Onion Braised Pork Shoulder

This all started because Amaya and I were watching Survivor Africa (Season 3). During one of the reward challenges, the survivors were bidding on food items, one of which was a dish of fried chicken and mashed potatoes. They didn't really show the food, it was more the contestants reactions to eating the food. As I watched the show, I realized that it had been quite some time since we had mashed potatoes at home. It was time to remedy that.

As it happened I had a pork shoulder, salted and sitting in the fridge, waiting to be cooked. Usually we braise it in a mixture of tomatoes and chilies and go Mexican with the flavors. But I wanted gravy for my mashed potatoes. I decided to create something reminiscent of French Onion Soup, without the cheese and bread topping. I've always loved that rich beefy broth and it often gets forgotten in the excitement of the melted Gruyere. So I pulled out a container of organic beef broth and put it in the blender with a tablespoon of salt, two large onions and several cloves of garlic. That may sound like a lot of salt but it was a rather large pork shoulder. The outer pre-seasoning only penetrates so far and you need to cook it in a highly seasoned liquid for the best results. I added a rather large dollop of blond miso and some soy sauce to the liquid and then poured it around the pork shoulder in a deep half hotel pan. I covered it and put it in the oven at 250°F convection in the morning before I left for the shop (8-ish), Alex uncovered it when he got home from the shop around 2:30 and put it back into the oven, and it was done around 5:00pm.

We let it rest for at room temperature for about an hour because I didn't get home until almost 6:00pm. The meat was meltingly tender and the sauce was rich and delicious. We didn't bother to thicken the juices, simply pouring them into a large measuring cup and using a turkey baster to remove the less fatty juices and debris from the bottom. The onions and garlic had mellowed and sweetened, the flavor of the pork had imbued the sauce with it's meaty goodness, and the liquid itself was deeply savory. We spooned it over the meat and potatoes and there was silence at the table for several moments. It doesn't get any better than that.

Years Past

July 23, 2015

July 23, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 23, 2018 at 03:47 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (1)

Apple Pie Crumbs

We pulverized caramelized white chocolate, vanilla sandwich cookies, freeze dried apples, cinnamon, vanilla paste, salt and malic acid together in the food processor into a fine crumb. It tastes of intense apple pie. It is a staple in doughnutland. But it would be incredible as a cake inclusion, ice cream topping or even a magic shell.

Years Past

July 21, 2015

July 21, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 22, 2018 at 06:44 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chicken Under Slab Bacon

We have done plenty with chicken and bacon. What we have not done is cooked chicken under thick meaty slabs of bacon. Until last night. I seasoned boneless skinless chicken thighs with salt and put them in a single layer in a pan. I topped the chicken with thick slices of bacon. We cooked the chicken until it and the bacon were done, about 40 minutes. The chicken cooked in the bacon fat and its own juices. It was a quick confit. We let the chicken rest for 10 ish minutes and served it with the bacon alongside a tomato and cucumber salad. The chicken was moist, tender, smokey and rich. Chicken under a brick is fine but chicken under slab bacon is so much better.

Years Past

July 21, 2015

July 21, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 21, 2018 at 04:58 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watermelon Vinegar

I was looking for a vinegar to season our sun dried watermelon. It made sense to make watermelon vinegar. I vacuum sealed watermelon trimmings and rice vinegar together. I mashed the watermelon into a rough pulp and refrigerated it overnight. I cut the bag open and strained the mixture. The vinegar became rosy pink. It picked up the floral aroma of the watermelon while keeping the sweet sharp edge of the vinegar. The speed and ease in which I was able to make the infusion happen has me excited about exploring new ingredient and idea specific vinegars in the future.

Years Past

July 20, 2015

July 20, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 20, 2018 at 05:07 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tomatoes and Sun Dried Watermelon

We cut up a beefsteak tomato and seasoned it with salt. Once the juices began to flow, I added olive oil, pieces of our sun dried watermelon and basil blossoms to the bowl. I mixed everything together and tasted. The watermelon was concentrated in flavor, aroma and sweetness. It needed to be tamed with acidity. I added rice vinegar to the mixture and let the fruits marinate and meld. The acid tempered the sweetness and brought everything together in a delicious summer salad.

Years Past

July 19, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 19, 2018 at 06:02 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sun Dried Watermelon

We have paired and compared tomatoes and watermelons for years. We have played with the concentration of watermelons and tomatoes to mimic meats and focus flavors. Somehow in our tinkering I did not see the similarity of sun dried tomatoes and sun dried watermelon, until I did. I cut the watermelon into planks and placed them onto parchment lined sheet pans. I put the pans in a 200°F oven for about 6 hours, flipping the watermelon occasionally to allow for a more even drying. I pulled the watermelon out when it was roughly 1/2 its original size.

I seasoned the pieces with salt and coated them with olive oil on pans. The watermelon cooled to room temperature on the pans then I put them and the oil into a container in the refrigerator. The dried watermelon first has an almost pumpkin-like flavor, earthy and tender, followed by intense sweetness. It's startling and polarizing, getting mixed reviews at our table. The trick will be how to bring all the flavors together and make dried watermelon lovers out of us all.

Years Past

July 18, 2015

July 18, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 18, 2018 at 05:11 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (1)

Flour, Water, Salt and the Vacuum Sealer

Many years ago we developed the technique for vacuum sealing cookie dough to expedite its hydration. We quickly applied the idea to other kinds of dough from tart to bread to pasta. The vacuum sealer is an essential tool in making fresh pasta dough quickly and efficiently without the need to excessively knead. It is a functional short cut that enhances the finished product. This is because kneading is done to develop gluten and that gluten is passively developed when the dough is uniformly hydrated.

Durum Model

450 grams durum flour

3 grams salt

200 grams water

Put the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Pour the water into the flour and use your fingers to disperse the water and bring the flour into a crumbly mass. Keep working it with your fingers, squeezing the flour into a rough and shaggy ball. Fold the mass onto itself, beginning to knead the dough. It will feel both dry and moist. Keep kneading the dough until it forms a ball and all of the flour is absorbed. Put the ball on the counter and continue to push, pull, and rotate the dough. It will resemble a rough semi-smooth pasta dough. Put the pasta dough into a vacuum bag and seal on high pressure.

When the dough is vacuum sealed it becomes fully hydrated and ready to roll. This particular dough is designed and destined for trofie and orecchiette, a few shapes I am looking to master.

Years Past

July 17, 2015

July 17, 2009

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 17, 2018 at 03:33 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who's It For?

I have allowed the process of book writing to kill my creativity. I am still able to harness the energy for others. But writing our first and subsequent books squashed the risk taking and slowed the drive. We were constantly asked to create for a home audience, an audience that for the most part we never knew and who did not know us. We have had our creative platform, this blog, for 14 plus years. But as we wrote books I became distracted and frustrated by the need to create for an audience rather than for myself. Occasionally over the years we have broken free of the shackles. But more often that freedom has come working with others, as we help connect their dots and create with them.

The reality is that most of my ideas don't translate into the everyday. Sure, I cook everyday. But the ideas, dishes and elements I want to make take time, energy and a ton of dishes. I am always looking for a broader outlet. I was able to take this approach with Curiosity Doughnuts. It has allowed us to take doughnuts to the extreme.

I am wrestling with the creative process and with bringing the ideas to light. I am looking to move our thoughts and processes out of the shadows. Too often I edit before creating, wondering if something would be repeatable and able to be made for a book rather than enjoying the process of creativity.

I still need an outlet for the results of the our tinkering. But realizing what has been hindering me is the first step in getting new ideas into action.

Years Past

July 16, 2015

July 16, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 16, 2018 at 06:24 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (4)

Baby Bok Choy Leaves

I've avoided Organic Girl products for years because they seemed a little bit pricey to me compared to the regular organic greens from Whole Foods or the local ones from Bright Farms. The difference is just a dollar or so, but the packages are smaller and we're always on a budget so every purchase is a balancing act. I love the convenience of packaged baby greens for a quick dinner but Amaya hates baby arugula and does not like spring mix. I can get her to eat the baby spinach or kale if I cook them but her saturation point is pretty low. So I was on the hunt for something new when I spotted the baby bok choy. I picked it up out of curiosity and was rewarded when both Alex and Amaya ate them without complaint. This may not sound like a glowing recommendation but, in our house, this is a huge win. The baby bok choy leaves are sweet and tender, avoiding the stringy texture of pea greens and the bitterness of spinach. It's a a refreshing change of pace for our table.

Years Past

July 15, 2015

July 15, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 15, 2018 at 06:15 PM in Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kettle Corn 2018

Summertime may seem like an odd choice for kettle corn but since I like to snack on popcorn and it stales quickly in the humidity, kettle corn seemed like a good bet to help the popcorn stay crispy throughout the afternoon. This is not the case, but it was good excuse to eat kettle corn. Our original method still works. That said, we've made some small tweaks.

I've embraced the Stovetop Whirly Pop. It makes the whole popping process much easier and it's easy to clean. I use a combination of sunflower seed oil and whole butter instead of straight oil--basically 2 tablespoons of each fat. I put it in the popper and as the butter melts I add 1/2 cup of popcorn. I tend to use 1/4 cup of sprouted popcorn and 1/4 cup of organic yellow popcorn kernels. I like the combination of sizes that I get from a blend. I do a quick whirl to coat the popcorn with oil and then add 1/3 cup of sugar and the salt. I've cut the salt to a heaping 1/4 teaspoon because that's what I use in my regular popcorn ratio, I've grown a little less salty over time. Then I increase the heat to medium and turn the handle of the popper until the kernels begins to pop. At that point, I reduce the heat to low and continue to turn the handle until the popping tapers off. The handle can get a little stiff but as long you turn it continuously, it should be fine. Then I dump everything out into a big wooden salad bowl and shake it a bit to cool things off. You could also spread it out on a sheet pan to cool but I prefer to minimize my dishes. Once the popcorn is completely cool it's ready to eat. The trick is not to sit there and eat it all at once.

Years Past

July 14, 2015

July 14, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 14, 2018 at 02:09 PM in Approach to Cooking, Recipes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fresh, Frozen and Fermented

It's summer. There is supposed to be an insane amount of pristine vegetables to choose from. Unfortunately availability and quality are not equal. Oftentimes the frozen vegetable is better than the seasonally available version. Instead of being held to the season hold yourself to what is delicious. Combine the best ingredients, utilizing the form it is in from frozen to fresh to fermented.

Years Past

July 13, 2015

July 13, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 13, 2018 at 04:58 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes | Permalink | Comments (0)

Strawberry Lemonade Water Ice

All you have to do is make or buy good lemonade.

Put it in an ice cream maker, we use the Breville Smart Scoop.

Be patient while it churns and then scoop it out. Easy, delicious, and relatively inexpensive.

The perfect treat for indulging yourself on a hot summer day.

Years Past

July 12, 2015

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 12, 2018 at 06:08 PM in Approach to Cooking | Permalink | Comments (0)

Best Beef Porchetta

Because here in America we are constantly turning traditions inside out and upside down in pursuit of delicious food,

today we bring you the Best Beef Porchetta from Eater.

Years Past

July 11, 2015

July 11, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 11, 2018 at 06:30 PM in Approach to Cooking, Videos | Permalink | Comments (1)

How Italy's Best Porchetta Is Made

It's always interesting to go back to where is dish was born and see how it's made.

This is an interesting (short) video from Lucky Peach TV. It makes me think about how to adapt the recipe for our own

kitchen, creating a porchetta that is smaller and more suited to our own tastes. The best videos should inspire you to do

something more on your own.

Years Past

July 10, 2015

July 10, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 10, 2018 at 06:53 PM in Approach to Cooking, Videos | Permalink | Comments (1)

Drawing Out Ideas

I had an idea. I saw a tree. Then I wanted to see what half a tree bare and half fully in bloom looked like. I searched the internet and saw many pictures. Many of the drawings depicted roots. The roots reminded me of a whale's tail. I saw a whales tale in the trunk of the tree. What if the pictures were combined. What if the roots were the tail? I set about researching what a whales tail looked like. I searched, collected and combined images in my head. I set about sketching. The first sketch was rough. So was the second. I continued to sketch. Then I added some color. The drawing is improving. The details are becoming finer. The idea is becoming real.

Years Past

July 9, 2015

July 9, 2012

July 9, 2009

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 09, 2018 at 07:00 PM in Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Doughnut Bread Pudding Bundt v2018

We created our doughnut bread pudding to utilize unsold doughnuts. It comes and goes as we adapt to the ebbs and flows of doughnut sales. Recently we were long doughnuts. I pulled out the recipe and set to work making the delicious concoction. My concern was what I was going to cook it in. I saw 8-inch bundt pans in the kitchen at Whole Foods and asked to borrow them. The bread pudding cooked substantially faster than the massive bundt pan I first used and even the 9 inch round pan we eventually settled on. The smaller bundt has a fabulous aesthetic and its ridges provide perfect keys for slicing. Doughnut bread pudding is back and beautiful in its new form.

Years Past

July 8, 2015

July 8, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 08, 2018 at 07:16 PM in CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bubble Mix

Because it's summertime and you too may want to play with bubbles in your yard, here's our recipe for bubble mix:

12 cups water

1 cup Dawn or other dish soap

1/2 cup corn syrup

4 tablespoons baking powder

Mix gently in a large bucket until everything is well blended. Skim off any foam on top and then go make some bubbles.

We're using the Big Bubble Thing to make ours but there are plenty of other tools out there to play with.

The important thing is to have fun!

Years Past

July 7, 2015

July 7, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 07, 2018 at 04:37 PM in Beyond the Kitchen Doors, Recipes | Permalink | Comments (1)

Green Bean Stew

Our refrigerator has a lot of odds and ends. For instance: cold brewed dashi, hand crushed tomato sauce from pizza night, slices of hot and sweet sausage, an extra cooked burger with onions, half a can of artichoke hearts, a chunk of mortadella, and a bag of fresh but not juicy green beans. I combined everything in a large pot and added soy sauce, chili paste and salt from our pantry. I cooked the mixture on medium low heat for an hour, allowing the beans to become tender and the collection of ingredients to combine. Upon reflection I realized that I made a refrigerator minestrone. The only element missing was the pasta. Thankfully I thought that through and had a thick fusilli to serve the braised beans on top of. I have never understood minestrone as a soup. But as a pasta sauce I am all in.

Years Past

July 6, 2012

July 6, 2010

July 6, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 06, 2018 at 07:17 PM in American Noodles, Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Buttermilk Burgers

I am still looking to improve our burgers. Perhaps improvement is getting results you are looking for in a particular moment. I am looking for a meaty, juicy, rich, tender and crush-able burger. Tonight I am putting buttermilk to the test. I wondered aloud how come it had taken me so long to think to add buttermilk to the mix. I added 10% buttermilk, soy sauce, hot sauce, and a dash of liquid smoke to a blend of 85-15 ground beef. I seasoned the mixture with some additional salt and mixed everything together. I formed the burgers into patties. I tasted the raw mixture and it had a rich savory flavor. The burgers will sit seasoned in the refrigerator and be cooked in a few hours. Time will tell the results.

Years Past

July 5, 2015

July 5, 2012

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 05, 2018 at 05:25 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (2)

In a Pinch

Aki continues to hone her dumpling skills. She enjoys the process. Her deliberate folding and pinching is highlighted in the results. It means Amaya and I are treated to ever improving dumplings. It also means she is able to bust them out when we have nothing planned. Dumplings in a pinch.

Years Past

July 4, 2015

July 4, 2012

July 4, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 04, 2018 at 06:46 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, INSPIRATIONS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Getting Twisted

I have been playing around with twisted doughnuts. But my hand rolling and twisting has produced varied results. Then I came across the cutter designed for cutting twisted doughnuts, allowing for consistency. It turns out we still need help getting twisted.

Years Past

July 3, 2015

July 3, 2012

July 3, 2005

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 03, 2018 at 07:13 PM in Approach to Cooking, Balancing Tastes, CULINARY EVOLUTIONS, Curiosity Doughnuts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lobsters On Sale

The local market was having a sale on lobsters, it's not the lowest price I've seen this year but it was low enough to pique my interest. When I got there, this blew my mind. I've never seen pre-packaged live lobsters before. I didn't buy any. I couldn't wrap my brain around the idea that they could have been in the bags for who knows how long. Yes, they were still alive but were they still happy? I know, I know, I was planning to cook them. But shouldn't they be as happy as they can be until I put them in the pot? We normally buy lobsters and then cook them in a matter of a few hours. This just seemed like cruel and inhumane punishment. And of course, you can't get a lively specimen if they're all sulking in plastic bags without water.

Years Past

July 2, 2015

July 2, 2012

July 2, 2009

Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work

Maximum Flavor: Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook

Gluten Free Flour Power: Bringing Your Favorite Foods Back to the Table

Posted on July 02, 2018 at 09:02 PM in Beyond the Kitchen Doors | Permalink | Comments (1)

Spectacular Grapefruit

As temperatures soar we search for refreshing thirst quenchers. I like things that aren't too sweet, preferably underlined with a slightly bitter edge. Q's Spectacular Grapefruit fits the bill. It has the great citrusy flavor of pink grapefruit (maybe pink because of the color--suggestion is a powerful thing) without being too sugary or simple. It's got a little bit of bite, which I appreciate and it hits every part of the tongue. Alone on ice or with a slug of Hendricks gin and a squeeze of lime to liven things up, it is the perfect summer thirst quencher.

Years Past

July 1, 2015

July 1, 2012