Make Your Own Condiments--No Kidding!

From one of my favorite magazines, Mary Jane's Farm, I found an interesting and fun idea: making our own condiments. Don't you think the extra work might just be worth the absence of all those chemicals, and artificial this-es and thats found in the store-bought stuff? I'm told the extra flavor is well worth the effort also.

So according to the article, "Easy Homemade Condiments," (April-May, 2010, pp. 58-59), making our own ketchup, mayo, and mustard isn't as daunting as we might think. And a very cool thing I learned is that ketchup can be made from frozen tomatoes! So if you have a bumper crop this coming summer, keep this idea in mind--not all extra tomatoes have to go to salsa. AND, this ketchup recipe can be frozen as well.

The article also said mustard is not just easy to make, it's inexpensive too! Finally, the mayonnaise takes only 15 minutes to make, and includes only five ingredients. Now before we launch into the recipes, I have to ask: do YOU have a recipe for a homemade condiment? Please share--we're all in this together, so let's help each other out! And until next time, happy cook'n!

FRESH TOMATO KETCHUP (yield: 2-3 C)
3 lbs ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp ground allspice
2 whole cloves
2 tsp celery seeds
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/3 C light brown sugar
1/3 C apple cider vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp sea salt

Place tomatoes, onion, garlic, and all spices into a stockpot and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 40 min., stirring regularly, until about 1/3 of the juices have evaporated. Let sit for 30 min. to cool. Remove cinnamon stick.

Put the tomato mixture in a blender and process at the highest speed for 1 min. (pulse to start). Run the mixture through a food mill, using the finest mesh screen, or a fine sieve and return to a clean sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, add the brown sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt; adjust spice to your taste. Simmer for about 1 hour to thicken the ketchup. Allow to cool to room temperature. Store in a jar in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

(To freeze ketchup, store in canning jars; when ready to use, thaw and simmer for 15-20 min to allow the extra water to evaporate.)

(To make ketchup from frozen tomatoes, thaw tomatoes completely and drain in colander. Quarter the tomatoes instead of chopping. since you'll lose most of the tomatoes' water when draining, you'll end up with less volume. Per the recipe, reduce the sugar and vinegar to 1/4 C each, and the salt to 1/2 tsp; when thickening, simmer for only 30 min.)

BASIC YELLOW MUSTARD
1/2 C yellow or black mustard seeds
3/4 C apple cider vinegar
1/3 C water
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt

Soak mustard seeds in vinegar and water for 2 days. Place mixture in blender along with sugar and salt; puree until almost smooth. Add water if needed, for desired consistency. This mustard will be very spicy, but will mellow after a day or two in the fridge. To make an herb mustard, add 1 tsp of your herb choice with the sugar and salt. For honey mustard, add honey to the completed mustard at a 1;1 ratio.

(TIPS: Homemade mustard keeps for about 1 month in fridge--this also stops the increase in heat. To make your mustard yellow, add turmeric. Don't use aluminum for mixing or storing mustard--oxidation of aluminum will occur. Heat activates an enzyme that kills the flavor of mustards; if using your mustard in a cooked recipe, add it toward the end of the cooking time for maximum flavor.)

(To make a simple mustard from powder: mix 1 Tbsp mustard powder with 1 tsp water, 1 tsp vinegar, and 1 tsp sugar. Let stand 15 min. to develop flavor. This equals 1 Tbsp prepared mustard.)

COOKED MAYONNAISE (yields: 1 1/4 C)
3 egg yolks
3 Tbsp cold water
1/2 C extra virgin olive oil, or sesame oil, or safflower oil
3 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt

In medium saucepan, whisk egg yolks and water until bubbly. Place over medium-low heat and continue to whisk until mixture just begins to thicken, coating the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat. Continue to whisk, and add oil very slowly in a steady stream. Allow the mixture to cool, then whisk in lemon juice and salt.

How About A Little Somethin' Different for Dessert?

As the weather warms, the inclination to hold a backyard barbecue or go on a picnic increases. And don't you love how these little events inspire us to experiment with different recipes? When we're invited over to a friend's house, I'll ask what I can bring. And very often the response is, "Oh, how about a little somethin' different for dessert?" Hah! I always love a good challenge.

Our neighbors grabbed the chance to throw a little backyard get-together a while ago, and I had the chance to answer the call for a different dessert. I found a recipe my Aunt Toots used to make, and I think you ought to know about it. It's a pudding made from crackers--it not only tastes great, it's a great conversation piece--who would ever think crackers could turn into pudding?

Do you have an unusual recipe we could try? Please share--we're all in this together, so let's spread the good stuff! And until next time, here's to a little somethin' different for dessert, and of course, here's to happy cook'n!


"GONE CRACKERS!" PUDDING (serves 8; this is a creamy coconut pudding topped with meringue)
2 large eggs
1/2 C sugar, divided
1/3 C cornstarch
1 quart milk (4 cups)
1 C crumbled saltine crackers (20, 2-inch squares)
1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 1 1/2-quart casserole or baking dish. Separate eggs, placing whites in a medium-size bowl and yolks in a small bowl. Set aside 3 Tbsp sugar. In 2-quart saucepan, with wire whisk, combine remaining sugar and the cornstarch. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth.

Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil--about 10 minutes. Slowly beat a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; pour yolk mixture back into saucepan and cook 1 min. longer. Stir in crackers, coconut, and vanilla; spoon into greased dish.

To make meringue, add cream of tartar to egg whites. with electric mixer on high speed, gradually beat the reserved 3 Tbsp sugar into egg-white mixture until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pudding. Bake pudding 15-18 min. or until meringue is lightly browned all over. Cool pudding to room temperature on wire rack, then refrigerate until ready to serve.

The TOP 10 Googled Foods of the Year!

According to Restaurants & Institutions, the top 10 most-Googled recipes of last year were:

1. Chili
2. Meatloaf
3. Cheesecake
4. Banana bread
5. Pancake
6. Salsa
7. Hummus
8. Lasagna
9. Apple pie
10. Meatball

This isn’t all that surprising, is it? Seems there are just standard foods we just gravitate to, and this list reflects that. Does it gibe with your own cooking-search behavior in 2009? Myself, searched for 4 out of the ten recipes—cheesecake, banana bread, salsa, and lasagna.

Salsa because I am planting 20 tomato plants this gardening season, with hopes and dreams of having enough tomatoes to put up my own salsa. Here you’ll see the recipe I plan to use. And since I have a LOT of apples (it’s the end of the fruit storage season and the beginning of a new one), I thought I’d make up a few pies. So here you’ll also see one of the apple pie recipes I plan to use.

If you have a recipe you could share in any of these categories, please do. I’d love to see what your best recipes are. We’re all in this together, remember, so let’s help each other out. No need reinventing the wheel, after all. And until next time, happy cook’n!

HOMEMADE TOMATO SALSA

4 large ripe tomatoes on the vine

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 green onions, thinly sliced

2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped

1 red jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chop, dice, etc. Mix altogether and enjoy!

CARAMEL APPLE PIE TO DIE FOR

10 individually wrapped caramels

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

2/3 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Unwrap and cut caramel candy in half. In a large bowl, mix candy with flour. Stir in apples, ice cream topping, and lemon juice. Pour filling into pie crust and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Place in oven on a sheet of foil to catch the drips. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Bars that Are Above Par!

Don't you love picnics and backyard barbecues? And the warmer weather that's coming (please tell me it's coming) means picnics and BBQs! So with this in mind, I thought it would be fun (and would take our minds off this lingering cold front that's moved in), to test-drive some new dessert recipes--bars to be specific.

Try these out and let me know what you think. Also, if you have a good bar recipe, share it with us. We're all in this together, so let's help each other out. When we share, no one needs to reinvent the wheel, so to speak! And until next time, happy cook'n!

APRICOT ALMOND BARS (makes 36 bars--well, depending on how you cut 'em. I LOVE a big, honkin' bar!)
CRUST:
1 C flour
1/2 C butter, chilled, cut up
1/4 C water

FILLING:
1 C water
1/2 C butter, cut up
1 C flour
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp almond extract

TOPPING:
1/2 C apricot jam, warmed
1/4 C slivered or sliced almonds, toasted
1/2 C powdered sugar
2 to 2 1/2 tsp milk
1/4 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch pan. Place 1 cup flour in medium bowl. With pastry blender, cut in 1/2 C butter until it's the size of peas. Add 1/4 C water; mix until dough forms. Flatten dough into a disk. Press dough evenly in bottom of pan. Cover; refrigerate 30 min.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 1 C water and 1/2 C butter to a boil. Pour boiling mixture into large bowl. Add 1 C flour; beat at medium speed until smooth and flour is absorbed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 2 tsp almond extract.

Spread batter over dough in pan, covering completely. Bake 50 to 55 min. or until deep golden brown. Remove from oven. Spread with apricot jam; sprinkle with almonds. Cool on wire rack.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk and 1/4 tsp almond extract; mix until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bars.

LEMON RASPBERRY BARS (makes 30 bars...well, maybe, or maybe 15 biggies!)
CRUST:
1 1/2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
2-3 Tbsp water

FILLING:
4 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (I prefer non-aluminum, such as Rumford's)
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 C raspberry jam
Powdered sugar
Fresh raspberries for garnish (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch pan. In medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 C flour, 1/4 C sugar and salt; mix well. With pastry blender, cut in butter until butter is the size of peas. Add 2 Tbsp water; toss to moisten. Mixture should be moist and crumbly; if mixture seems dry, add additional water. Press mixture evenly over bottom of pan. Bake 18-20 min. or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk together eggs, 1 C sugar, 1/4 C flour and baking powder until well blended. Add lemon peel and lemon juice; blend well.

Spread jam over partially baked crust. Top with lemon mixture. Return to oven; bake an additional 20-25 min. or until set and lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. When cool, cut into bars; sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired.

CHOCOLATE CHIP-OATMEAL-WALNUT BARS (makes 48 bars--hmmm, maybe--maybe 20 humungous bars! This is a delicious twist on Blond Brownies.)
1 C butter, softened
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 C old-fashioned oats
1 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
Dash salt
1 (12 oz) pkg chocolate chips
1 1/2 C chopped walnuts, toasted*

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, beat butter at medium speed until soft an smooth. Add brown sugar, sugar and vanilla; blend well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In medium bowl, combine oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Spoon and spread dough in ungreased 15x10-inch pan. Bake 15-20 min. or until golden brown; cool on wire rack.

*TIP: to toast nuts, spread on baking sheet; bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 min. or until lightly browned. Cool.

End of Winter Apples--Dessert's Best Friend!

As you move through the produce section of your grocery store, have you noticed some "killer deals" on apples lately? There are two times of year apples are super affordable--Autumn when they first come on, and the end of winter (all the storage bins are being emptied and readied for the next crop).

While it's true the end of winter batch tends to be a little mushy, these apples are nonetheless just right for desserts, bars, and cookies. I just bought a big bag and have great plans for them. Here are a few of the recipes I found in an issue of a 1998 Eating Well magazine that I'll be making in the next week or so:

APPLE CUSTARD TART (serves 8)
CRUST
1/2 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 C flour
1Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp brown sugar, well packed
3/4 tsp baking powder (I prefer non-aluminum, such as Rumford's)
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
3 Tbsp water
FILLING
6 Tbsp sugar, divided
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 medium apples
1/3 C cottage cheese
3 oz. cream cheese
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

For crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, or coat with nonstick spray. Spread oats in a pie pan; bake for 7-15 min., or until toasted. Let cool. Process in a food processor until finely ground.

In a large bowl, stir together ground oats, flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. Drizzle oil onto dry ingredients and mix with a fork or your fingers until crumbly. Use a fork to stir in water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until dough just comes together.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead 7-8 times. Roll dough out into an 11-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared pan, pressing to fit. Trim edges. Prick bottom of crust in a few places with a fork and line with foil or parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, dry beans, or rice. Bake crust for 8-12 min., or until firm. Remove foil or parchment and weights; cool on wire rack.

For filling: In a bowl, mix 3 Tbsp sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cinnamon. Peel, core and cut apples lengthwise into 12 wedges each, tossing apples in sugar mixture as you work. Arrange apples in a single layer in prebaked crust and drizzle with any liquid from bowl. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 min., or until apples are tender but still hold their shape.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree cottage cheese until smooth. Add cream cheese, egg, vanilla, salt and remaining 3 Tbsp sugar; process until smooth. Pour over apples. Bake tart for 15-20 min. more, or until custard is set. Let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or chilled. I plan to serve this with lots of sweetened whipped cream (yeh, I know...).

FRESH APPLE SQUARES (makes 16 squares)
1 1/2 C flour
1 C old-fashioned oats
1 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 tsp baking powder (as usual, non-aluminum; I prefer Rumford's)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/4 C apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 tart medium apples (Granny Smith, etc.), peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1/4 C coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch square baking pan or coat it with nonstick spray. In large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Work in oil and apple juice concentrate with your fingers until coarse crumbs form.

Firmly press 2 C of the oat mixture into prepared pan. Arrange apples over crust in three rows. Mix nuts into remaining oat mixture. Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over apples and pat firmly into an even layer. Bake for 30-35 min., or until top is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

And for a yummy Sunday morning breakfast:
BAKED APPLES WITH GRANOLA (serves 4)
2 Tbsp butter, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 large apples
3 Tbsp sugar
2/3 C granola of your choice
1 large egg white
1 1/2 C apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Peel apples nearly halfway, leaving skin on bottom halves. with a paring knife, carefully cut out apple cores, leaving bottoms intact. Holding the paring knife at a 45 degree angle, widen the opening at the top of each apple by about 1/2 inch. Place apples in an 8-inch square or round baking dish. Brush peeled parts of apples with 1 Tbsp butter mixture and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar.

In food processor, pulse granola until it forms coarse crumbs. Add egg white, remaining butter mixture and 1 Tbsp sugar; pulse until just combined. Spoon granola mixture into apples, spreading it slightly over tops and mounding up a bit. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar. Pour cider into baking dish around apples.

Bake apples for 50-60 min., or until tender and filling is puffed and lightly browned. (Cover apples loosely with foil if browning too quickly.) Cool in pan for about 15 min. Serve warm, spooning pan juices over apples. I will also be adding dollops of sweetened whipped cream. (Yeh, yeh, I know...)

Do YOU have an apple recipe you could share? Please do--as I always say, we're all in this together, so let's spread the good stuff. And until next time, happy cook'n!

Throw In a Little Surprise With Your St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

We always got a kick out of St. Patrick's Day at our house. I'd make green milk, green butter, green pancakes, green apple juice, and green scrambled eggs for the family breakfast that morning. There was the usual pinching anyone who forgot to wear green, the corny Irish jokes ("What's Irish and stays outside all year long?" "Patty O' Furniture!" for instance), and a fun green dessert for dinner that evening.

One of the things the kids liked to do was hide their touch of green, so they could "double-pinch" anyone who mistakenly pinched them for what was assumed a lack of green in their outfit. They just delighted in fooling people. So it occurred to me this morning, why not insert a little surprise into a St. Patrick's Day dinner--why not fool folks at the dinner table? (You're probably thinking right now, "This chick's got a lot of time on her hands...")

Anyway, I found a recipe for an orange chiffon pie that I am going to add food coloring to. So the family will see it and think, "Oh, Key Lime Pie for St. Patrick's Day. Great idea." And then they'll bite into it and ha ha! NOT lime, but orange! I'll let you know how it all turns out (the pie and the reactions). Meanwhile, here's the recipe, and don't forget to share any fun St. Patrick's Day ideas YOU have--we're all in this together, remember, so let's share the good stuff. And as always, happy cook'n!

FLUFFY ORANGE (but we'll make it GREEN) PIE (makes one 9-inch pie)
2 C vanilla wafer crumbs (takes about 50 wafers)
1/3 C butter, melted
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 C (1/2 pint) whipping cream, whipped
Green food coloring (enough to turn the mixture a nice green)

Combine crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom and up side to rim of pie plate. Chill. Meanwhile, in large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then juice concentrate, until smooth. Add green food coloring and mix well. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into crust. Chill to hrs or until set. I would make extra whipped cream, color it green as well, to garnish pie with. You can't have too much whipped cream, anyway!

The Seductive Souffle

Souffle. Like the word itself, it is soft and airy, the literal translation from the French meaning a whisper, a breath, a burst of inspiration. As a dish, it evokes all of these terms. At its most dramatic, straight from the oven, a successful souffle billows majestically above the rim of its vessel--a commanding culinary show-stopper.

And of course, the taste is unbeatable. If you've had experience making them, you know they're made by mixing a highly flavored sauce or puree with stiffly whipped egg whites, which expand in a hot oven to give the mixture its dramatic height. Whether savory or sweet, there are three crucial points:

1. the base must be the right consistency,
2. egg whites must be stiffly beaten,
3. and folding together of the two must be done carefully so as to retain maximum volume and lightness.

Since the spinach souffle is a fairly common recipe that you might already have, I thought I'd share one less common, one my neighbor, Mavis would make when her kids were home (she says she got it from the Food Network). It's delicious, and what's nice, it's easy to make:

CHICKEN AND CHEDDAR SOUFFLE (serves 4-6)

• Unsalted butter for greasing the souffle dish, plus 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons), at room temperature
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mild Cheddar
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 packed cups baby spinach leaves
• 1 store-bought, rotisserie chicken, breast meat only, skinned and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 6 egg yolks, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 2 (1/2-inch thick) slices country-style white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 egg whites, at room temperature

(Special equipment: a 2-quart (8-cups) souffle dish.) Arrange an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart souffle dish. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 stick of butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheeses, the spinach, chicken, egg yolks, and bread cubes. Stir until combined (mixture will be thick).

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites at high speed until they hold stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the chicken mixture. Using a spatula, fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon the batter into the prepared dish and bake until the souffle is puffed and the top is firm and golden, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

As romantic and delicious as it is elegant and easy, this French classic, the souffle, is well worth the effort. So let's include this dish in one of our next menu plans. Now, do you have a souffle recipe you've tried that you could share? Please do--we're all in this together, remember. So let's spread the good stuff, and until next time, happy cook'n!

OATMEAL: It's Good, and So Good For Us!

It has been scientifically proven that a fiber-rich diet helps lower cholesterol. It has also been confirmed that high fiber diets also help in cases of diabetes, obesity and cancer. Oats are highly nutritious and filled with cholesterol fighting soluble fiber. And unlike other grains, oats do not lose their nutrients, even after being hulled and processed. Here are the amazing benefits of oatmeal--a convincing argument to indulge, especially for breakfast:

Oats for Breakfast Provide an Excellent Source of Fiber

Few Americans get the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day, but with a bowl of hot oatmeal in the morning, the day's off to a great start. A single serving of oats provides almost twenty percent of the daily fiber requirement. Plus, oatmeal is a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber helps to lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, while insoluble fiber keeps the digestive tract working properly.

Oats Are a Source of Antioxidants

Antioxidant is the nutritional buzz word and oatmeal has its share. Oats are a source of a unique group of antioxidants known as avenanthramides which help to prevent oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Cholesterol oxidation can lead to plaque formation in the arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease. The avenanthramides in oatmeal help to prevent this unfortunate sequence of events. No wonder oats are so heart healthy!

Oats for Breakfast May Boost Immunity

Oatmeal is a source of beta-glucans, a type of polysaccharide found in whole grains and mushrooms. Beta-glucans have shown the ability to reduce the risk of infection after surgical procedures as well as fight off disease causing bacteria and viruses. This makes oatmeal the perfect food to have on the table during flu season. Beta-glucans are also thought to have anti-cancer properties.

Oatmeal is Filling and Satisfying

The high fiber content of oatmeal makes it a satisfying and filling breakfast choice. The beta-glucans found in oatmeal also help to stabilize blood sugar level and insulin levels.

All this said, you've likely shopped for oatmeal. How often have you been intrigued by this gorgeous can on the market shelf? But, perhaps when you read that McCann's Irish Oatmeal has to cook for 30 minutes, you passed. Here's a recipe to change your mind. Put the oatmeal on to cook and then go dress, pausing to stir occasionally. It's worth it!

ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL (serves 4)
4 C water
1/4 tsp salt
1 C steel-cut oats (McCann's Irish Oatmeal is a good one)
1/4 C packed brown sugar
2 tsp grated orange peel
Topping:
sour cream, or warm half 'n half, or light cream (or a combination of all three--what the heck!)

In medium saucepan, bring water and salt to boiling; gradually stir in oats. Reduce heat; cook and stir about 5 min. or till mixture starts to thicken. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 min., stirring occasionally. Spoon hot oatmeal into four individual custard cups. Sprinkle with brown sugar and orange peel. Place in shallow baking pan. Bake at 500 degrees for 2-3 min., just till sugar begins to melt. Top and enjoy!

Now do you have an oatmeal recipe you think we ought to have? Please share--we're all in this together, remember. So let's spread the good stuff, and until next time, happy cook'n!

Master Flavor Match-ups & Add Some Zing to Your Meals!

One of the things I loved about my late Aunt Annie’s cooking was how she would surprise us with unusual flavor combinations. She loved to use herbs and spices and she knew what she was doing. She liked to grow herbs in her kitchen window sill and this was about the time of year she would start new seedlings. (I miss her and love to talk about her—thanks for listening.)

The other day when I was looking through her recipe collection, I found a little booklet that I’m pretty sure was her herb and spice “Bible,” so to speak. It is well-worn, and the corner of a page titled “Flavor Match-Ups” was folded over. My guess is this is where Aunt Annie got her start in flavor combining.

So here’s just a small excerpt from this dandy piece of information—just in case you’re interested in doing more with herbs and spices:

ALLSPICE:

Add 2 whole allspice to the pot when stewing chicken. Dash ground allspice over fruit salad. Season cranberry juice with allspice, cinnamon, and cloves; serve hot or chilled.

CARAWAY SEED:

Add to cream-puff batter—2 tsp for ½ C flour; fill with creamed ham. Or make tiny puffs; fill with ham salad and serve as appetizers. Sprinkle caraway over coleslaw or atop a tuna casserole prior to baking.

CHERVIL:

Add bouquet garni when cooking peas: For 1 lb frozen (or fresh) peas, use ¼ tsp each chervil and thyme, and 1 tsp snipped parsley.

CHILI POWDER:

Add a dash to canned corn—nice zippy change.

CINNAMON: (research shows this spice is a real health booster, so it’ll pay to include it more often in our meals)

Combine 2 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon: sprinkle on 4 grapefruit halves; fill center with butter and broil. Add ½ tsp to crumbs for graham-cracker crust. Or try this: to flour mixture from 1 package angel food cake mix, add 1 tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp each cloves and nutmeg. Sift and prepare as usual.

CORIANDER SEED:

Add ground seed to potato salad, bread, cookies, pumpkin pie, and cherry pudding.

GINGER:

A must in many desserts, of course. Also goes well with soy sauce to lend an Oriental touch to chicken, pork, lamb, or beef. Try adding to seasoned sour cream to dress a chicken salad.

MACE:

Add dash to cherry pie, a light shake to oyster stew.

MARJORAM:

Particularly good with lamb. Accents mushrooms nicely also. Perfect in scrambled eggs, omelet, or soufflé—add ¼ tsp to 4 eggs. Season rice with marjoram, chervil, parsley, thyme and then serve with roast chicken or lamb.

MINT:

Besides making fruit beverages, fruit cups, and salads more delightful, it’s also great in fresh summer peas. And a little dried mint flakes add an amazing flavor to cooked rice!

I’ll share more of Aunt Annie’s favorite herb and spice secrets another time. Meanwhile, do you have tips on how to use these flavor enhancers? Please share. We’re all in this together, so let’s spread the good stuff. And until next time, happy cook’n!

Label-Reading Can Bring All Kinds of Tasty Surprises!

Do you ever read food packaging? I do. It's one of my little idiosyncrasies. I love seeing where things are made, what's in a product, and if there's a recipe or two included with the product. I was studying a recently emptied bottle of salt free Deliciously Dill Blend (one of my favorite ingredients to cook with) and found the manufacturer's website on the label. This company, Spice Hunter (located in San Luis Obispo, CA), is considered one of the best herb and spice providers around, so I was curious to see what their website offered--especially wondering if they offered recipes.

What a find--loads and loads of recipes! The company's spices and herbs are showcased in them, which is expected, and a really nice touch actually. For instance, look at the recipes below--who would have thought to include rosemary in a cookie or a muffin? I can hardly wait to see what this does to the overall flavor, and I will be trying these recipes this weekend. I'll be sure to report in. I'll also be talking more about label-reading and the tasty surprises we can find on them, in our upcoming Cook'n Club Newsletter, so be sure to open it up and read when it arrives.

Meanwhile, do YOU have any recipes you've found on a package label or product website? Tell us about them. We're all in this together, so let's share the good stuff. And until next time, happy cook'n!

ROSEMARY NUT COOKIES

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. The Spice Hunter Fresh at Hand Rosemary
2 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt, optional
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. grated orange peel

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Beat eggs, then add sugar. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture gradually to egg mixture. Stir in raisins, pecans, rosemary, and orange peel. Pour into greased 9” pan and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and cut into bars.

ROSEMARY AND LEMON MUFFINS

1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. The Spice Hunter Fresh at Hand Rosemary
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs
½ cups melted butter
2 Tbsp. sugar

Combine milk, Fresh at Hand Rosemary, and lemon zest in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cook and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cool slightly. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs until they begin to foam. Stir in butter, sugar, and milk mixture. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Fill muffin tins about two-thirds full. Bake at 375 °F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

POPPY SEED & LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH LEMON GLAZE

For Shortbread:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 Tbsp. The Spice Hunter Pure Lemon Extract
½ cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. The Spice Hunter Dutch Poppy Seeds
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

For Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. The Spice Hunter Pure Lemon Extract
2 1/4 tsp. water

Cream butter, lemon extract and powdered sugar together in a medium bowl. Add poppy seeds and flour, stirring to combine. Place dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll dough into a 9 by 13 inch rectangle. Place plastic wrap and dough onto a baking sheet and place in freezer until dough is firm. While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 325°F. Remove plastic wrap from dough, cut dough into 1 by 2 inch pieces, place on an un-greased baking sheet. Prick each cookie lightly with a fork twice. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden-brown on edges. While cookies are cooling, combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Once cookies have cooled, drizzle with glaze.

Have Fun with Tomato Soup!

Weekends can get busy, especially if you work outside the home during the week--the weekend becomes "catchup time" (and they're never long enough, are they?). With this in mind, I thought I'd share something quick, out of the ordinary, and fun you can do for a weekend meal:

Try a Tomato Soup Bar. Set up much like a baked potato bar, a tomato soup bar also calls for an wide assortment of fun add-ins. For instance, consider Italian herbed croutons, shredded cheeses, sliced black olives, fresh chopped basil, cooked black beans, diced fresh tomatoes, Fritos or tortilla chips, butter (one of my personal favorites), Spice Hunter's Deliciously Dill, chopped onion, diced avocado, sour cream, and so on. You're limited only by your imagination.

We've always employed a canned tomato soup (think Campbell's or your local grocery store house brand--they all seem the same to me), but if you want to get creative, homemade tomato soup is the bomb.com (although this undoes the "quick and easy" aspect of this meal)! In case you don't care so much about the "quick and easy" and have the time for "from scratch," here's a recipe for homemade tomato soup that we here at Cook'n highly recommend:

HOMEMADE CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP
3 lbs freshly picked or vine-ripened tomatoes (although I've used the greasy, hard as rock, hothouse Roma tomatoes)
8 oz. chicken broth or water
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 C chopped celery
2 Tbsp fresh basil
1/2 C chopped onion
1 C milk or half and half

Combine tomatoes and broth; stew for 30 min. on low heat. Strain into bowl, removing seeds and skins. Return to pot. Stir in 1 1/2 Tbsp flour. Add celery, basil, and onion. Cook over very low heat until mixture has thickened to desired consistency. Stir in one cup milk or half and half during last 10 min. of cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (If a smooth soup is desired, process in blender before serving.)

Serve this soup with a variety of add-ins and enjoy the applause! Let me know what you think of this idea and if you try the recipe, share your thoughts on this as well. And until next time, here's to a fun meal and happy cook'n!

10 Favorite Things to Fix When Snowed In or Just Dealing with Nasty Weather

I was reading a foodie blog the other day (I apologize for not remembering which one) and the author talked about research that was done regarding the most common foods folks fix when either snowed in, or otherwise dealing with inclement weather. Here's the list:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies (no surprises here)
2. Chili
3. Beef Stew
4. Eggs and bacon
5. Minestrone Soup
6. Chicken Noodle Soup (and if the weather is super nasty, people seem inclined to experiment with making their own noodles)
7. Muffins (MY favorite is pineapple, carrot, bran with loads of raisins)
   
8. Spaghetti and meatballs
9. Pizza
   
10. Hot chocolate (lots of experimenting goes on with this one)

Do you notice the "comfort food" theme going on? Again, no real surprises with this list. My list would probably look close to this, except that I would qualify the "eggs and bacon" with omeletes and bacon. And I would substitute Bread for the "spaghetti and meatballs." What would YOUR list look like? This question would be a fun topic of conversation at the dinner table, don't you think? I'd be curious to see how close our family members would come to this list.

Now just for fun, I thought I'd share one of Kathy's all-time crowd-pleasing cookie recipes (you can see her demonstrate this on the website), just in case a snowstorm or other inclement weather heads your way:

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL COOKIES (yield: maybe a couple dozen cookies)
1 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa
1/2 C walnuts, chopped
1 Tbsp sugar (for mixing with nuts)
48 Rolos (you'll find these in the candy aisle; I would need to buy much more than 48 as I LOVE them and would be sneaking them as I was mixing this recipe)

Beat butter until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients, cover, and chill for about 1/2 hour. Mix nuts with 1 Tbsp sugar. Press each piece of dough around one Rolo and roll into a ball. Next, roll dough ball into sugar/nuts mixture and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 min. Let cool for 3-4 min. before moving to cooling rack.

This cookie recipe is to-die for, so be sure you have a couple bags of Rolos stashed in your pantry and hope hope hope for a snowy, nasty day (but then, who really needs any excuse to make a wonderful cookie?) Do YOU have a good recipe you like to make when you need a little extra comfort? Please share--we're all in this together, remember. And until next time, let's make our "10 Favorites" List and happy cook'n!