Category Archives: FoodStuffs

Quotes From Foodies

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What do some famous chefs and food writers have to say about cooking and food? See for yourself.

“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.” – James Beard

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.” – Paul Prudhomme

“People who love to eat are always the best people.” – Julia Child

“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes and cooking. It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment and creativity.” – Guy FieriGuy F cooking with kids

“A home cook who relies too much on a recipe is sort of like a pilot who reads the plane’s instruction manual while flying.” – Alton Brown (This is a personal favorite since I’m a “by guess and by golly” cook. Pg)

“Most seafoods…should be simply threatened with heat and then celebrated with joy.” – Jeff Smith, The Frugal Gourmet

“Nouvelle Cuisine, roughly translated, means: I can’t believe I paid ninety-six dollars and I’m still hungry.” – Mike Kalin

“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.”  Alice May Brocke

”This is my advice to people: Learn how to cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun” – Julia Child

“The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving: Even the simplest food is a gift.” – Laurie Colwin

Let’s allow words of wisdom from other reliable sources as well.

chocolate-whisk“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” – Charles Dickens

“How can I govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?” – Charles De Gaulle (Frankly, I never met a cheese I didn’t like. Pg)

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

“Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands and then eat just one of those pieces” – Judith Viorst

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” – Oscar Wilde

I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.” — Erma Bombeck

Have you heard a quote about food and cooking from a chef or other notable person? Maybe someone not so notable, but wise. Or funny. Let’s hear it.

Your comments are like cream cheese frosting on my carrot cake.

Foodie Goes Dippin’

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Foods that often turn up at a get-together are dips accompanying a chip of some kind. Right? But what if you’re tired of store-bought dips and want to bring along one that’s as easy to prepare as it tasty?

Just in time for my country’s Fourth of July celebrations, Foodie Friday helps out with a handful (not literally) of recipes featuring ease of prep and variety to boot. Not to say men can’t be great cooks, but even the average guy who wants to show off a little can whip up a simple dip. In fact, the first recipe on the list comes from a man I used to work with. People raved over this dip and I was smart enough to ask for his recipe. (Thanks, Jerry!)

Seafood Dip

  • 2 T. dry onions
  • 2 T. water
  • 1 large can Albacore tuna, drained
  • 8 oz. cream cheese (fat-free, if preferred)
  • 1 T. hot sauce
  • 2 t. parsley flakes
  • 2 T. chili sauce
  • 2 T. horseradish

Mix dry onions and water together and let sit while mixing remaining ingredients. Blend onions into tuna mixture. Chill before serving.

Seafood dip made with salmon and plain yogurt

Seafood dip made with salmon and plain yogurt

You can also use the same amount of red salmon in place of tuna. For either kind of seafood, be sure to drain it completely (“smash” it with a fork if you have to in order to get all the moisture out) and flake it so that it stirs in evenly.

Creamy Hot Artichoke Dip

  • 1 14-oz. jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1 c. low fat mayonnaise
  • 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients and bake uncovered at 350 degrees or until heated through. Serve warm. This dip can be prepared in one of those mini crock pots too. A great idea in summer when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen.

Veggie Dip

  • 1 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • ¼ c. minced onion
  • ¼ t. salt
  • 1 t. chili powder
  • ½ t. garlic powder
  • 1 t. dill weed
  • ½ t. cumin

Whisk all ingredients together. Chill before serving. This dip is also good on baked potatoes.

Serving suggestions: Naturally, dips are great with chips of some kind. Depending on the dip, select pita chips, corn chips, veggie chips, or Fritos. Some work well when spread on crackers. You might even find a dip works as a condiment in a wrap or pita pocket.

Try substituting plain nonfat Greek yogurt for the mayo or cream cheese if you like. The consistency will be different, but you get less fat and more protein.

And here are a couple bonus selections from the Iowa Girl. A fruit dip and Southwestern Black Bean Dip.

Eat hardy!

 

Foodie is Stewing

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I promised this recipe for Tugboat Lentil Stew to friend who was curious. I made it earlier this week because I was in the mood for something substantial but heart healthy. This turns out to be more of a stew than a soup because lentils soak up liquid and because the large veggies aren’t reminiscent of a thinner dish. I usually use brown lentils, but if you aren’t sure what kind you should use in a particular recipe, this might help.

I’m a cook who uses what’s on hand if it works. I also make substitutions all the time to go along with my own taste and health needs. This stew can easily translate if you want it to. This is the basic recipe; you’ll find some alternative additions/substitutions at the end of the post.groups-of-lentils

Use your imagination. It’s your kitchen!

Tugboat Lentil Stew

  • 1 lb. dried lentils
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 c. chopped onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 c. sliced carrots
  • 1 c. sliced celery
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 c. water
  • 1 14 oz. can vegetable broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 lb. sliced chicken sausage
  • Black pepper to taste
  • 1 t. sea salt
  • Lemon slices for garnish
  • Red wine vinegar

Rinse and pick over lentils for stones. In a Dutch oven, heat oil until hot. Toss in onion, garlic, carrots and celery. Sauté for 10 minutes or until onion is translucent and vegetables are tender crisp. Add tomato sauce, water, vegetable broth, bay leaves and lentils. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover; reduce heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until vegetables are slightly soft. Add chicken sausage and pepper. Cover and let cook another 10 minutes or until chicken is heated through. Add salt. Ladle into bowls and garnish with lemon slices and a dash of red wine vinegar. Serves 8-10.

lentil stew in bowl

Meat: I have never used chicken sausage because I can’t find it. I have used ground turkey because I like cooking with it and it’s less fatty. When I use ground turkey in this recipe, I cook it until done in a frying pan with the olive oil first and add some ground fennel. Fennel will give a sausage-like flavor. Experiment with it for your own taste.

Veggies: I’m not a fan of celery so I’ve never used it in Tugboat Lentil Stew. Sometimes, if I have them, I’ll throw in 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables instead. Or one cup each of frozen carrots and green beans (or peas). I always use onion because what’s a stew without it?

Liquid: I like the flavor we get using tomatoes. But if I don’t have tomato sauce, I almost always have a can of petite diced tomatoes around. A large can is okay because those lentils really soak up the liquid. In fact, I use more broth too. I add it as the stew cooks when needed. Unsalted chicken broth is my favorite because there’s so much sodium in other types.

Spices/Herbs and Garnish: Bay leaves are a must. It’s a stew, after all. (Just remember to remove them or give a prize to the person who finds one in his dish.) If you don’t like garlic, leave it out. No sea salt? Use whatever kind you have. Remember that with sea salt, you don’t need as much for flavor. I don’t garnish mine. I usually want my stew right away and I’m not so fancy I need them. Although…the vinegar sounds good for a little kick. Speaking of “kick,” I’m all for just a pinch of red pepper too. You can add that to the pan when you pour in the liquids.

One big plus about this recipe is you don’t dirty a lot of dishes.

Enjoy your stew.

Your comments are like that extra kick in my stew. Are you one of those “by guess and by golly” cooks like me?

Family Foodies

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When my daughter, Sarah, was growing up, she learned how to cook a few simple meals. Once she reached high school, our schedules didn’t always match, so she fended for herself sometimes.

It seemed to be something she enjoyed. She even experimented with cooking.

One time, when I invited a friend for dinner, she surprised us by making meatloaf. However, she thought if she split the meat mixture into two pans, it would make double the amount. Sarah couldn’t understand why she ended up with two pans of two-inch-high meatloaves. We explained to her why it didn’t work, and we all had a good chuckle. It was a fun learning experience for her.

Later, as a homemaker and mother to my grandson, she wanted to expand her Foodie experience and add more variety to her cooking. “I need some new recipes,” she said. “We’re rotating the same stuff.”

So I put my little pea brain to work and decided to gather a collection of family recipes. I contacted my siblings and my stepmother, requesting one or two of their favorite recipes. I asked them to send something she could prepare easily using fairly common ingredients.

No fancy stuff; just good home cooking in her own specialized cookbook.

pillsbury-doughboyI compiled the recipes in a binder I’d found in a mail-order catalog. Poppin’ Fresh (otherwise known as the Pillsbury Doughboy) graced the cover and insides of that 3-ring binder. Other Doughboy promotional items came with the binder and after slipping each typed recipe into a plastic sheet protector, I sent the package off to my little girl.

It was more of marriage gift than a wedding gift, but she was happy that she could provide new variety in the meals she cooked. More stuff to add to the rotation, you might say.

My beef stroganoff recipe was the first one I added to the collection. It was the recipe I used for the first meal I cooked for her father when we were dating. He loved it. Now, she makes it too.

My mom’s famous chocolate cake recipe went in as well. Mom called it “Mayonnaise Cake” and it was always chocolate. She made it when she wanted to bake a cake but was low on eggs. There was always Miracle Whip in the fridge so that was her way of substituting. I remember that cake being really moist. It was a winner.

Each family member who cooks has a specialty when it comes to cooking and baking. Mine are spaghetti sauce, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with a ‘secret’ ingredient, and wet burritos with all the elements made from scratch. Maybe someone in your family creates killer appetizers or a stew that keeps everyone warm and filled up on a cold winter day.

Sharing family recipes leaves a legacy to Foodies, and kitchen heritage is important. We form memories around eating with family and friends. For a long time, the potluck meal has been a way people find fellowship and form community. Eating together gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “comfort foods.”

Maybe you’d like to give the gift of food memories to a family member or friend. Do the research. Get creative with presentation. Then believe that your gift will bring fond memories with their every trip to the kitchen.

Fur Ball Friday

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Today is supposed to be when I post my Foodie information. A fun or informative post about eating and cooking.

But

A fellow blogger, Genie, of BunnyEatsDesign has a bunny who looks a lot like my little Scout. Today she gets to see him just like I’ve checked out pictures of her little guy, Tofu, on her site. Go check her out here. 

Click on “Bunnies” at the top of the page to see posts about Tofu. She offers some great recipes with accompanying photographs she takes herself.

Hug your furry friend today and eat hardy!

Foodie and Herb Part 2

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In “Foodie and Herb” a couple weeks ago, we talked about how to enhance some different meats with herbs and spices. Maybe you’ve already begun to experiment.

This week, Foodie give some ways to enhance seafood, pasta and vegetables.

When working with pasta, you can add new twists to familiar tastes. For instance, using ground nutmeg smooths out the flavor of Alfredo sauce. Ground mustard, rosemary, parsley and black pepper go well with savory mushroom sauces. Sprinkle tarragon over a primavera recipe. Thyme, rosemary, oregano leave, garlic powder and black pepper are good with any pasta salad recipe.

Italian seasoning, basil, crushed red pepper, garlic and onion powders and oregano give hearty flavor to pasta soups, stews, and casseroles.

The variety of pasta lend themselves differently to which sauces you use. Capellini, angel hair, fettucine, linguini and spaghetti work the best with smooth, thin sauces or sauces with chopped ingredients. Shaped pasta like mostaccioli, penne, rotelle, rotini and ziti are best used with chunky and heavier sauces. Large shells and manicotti lend themselves well to being stuffed with a hearty red sauce or cheese sauce.

If you’ve never tried making your own pesto sauce, try this recipe which is easy and goes well with those finer pastas like angel hair, fettucine, linguini and spaghetti.

Whether your vegetable dish is a salad or you’re dressing up baked or steamed veggies, herbs will prove a welcome addition. Potato salads, green salads, vegetable salads perk up with dill week, celery salt, paprika, and white or black pepper.

For a new sensation, use lemon pepper seasoning on green leafy vegetables like salad greens, spinach, kale, mustard, collard or mustard greens.

Season corn, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes and winter squash with ginger, cardamom, dill weed, chives, onion powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, mace, marjoram, or thyme.

When it comes to fish, they fall into categories of mild, moderate and full flavors like other meats. For delicately flavored fish like flounder, sole, orange roughy, or trout, enhance them with thyme, tarragon, dill weed, garlic powder, oregano or white or black pepper. The moderate flavors of salmon, snapper, catfish and rockfish peak up with dill weed, Italian seasoning, tarragon, lemon and pepper seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, or pepper. Tuna and swordfish are full-flavored fish. They wake up to the addition of basil, rosemary, oregano, marjoram, thyme, garlic powder, and red or black pepper.

In cooking shrimp or scallops or for creating any seafood recipe, try tarragon, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, lemon pepper, red or black pepper or parsley. Whether steaming crabs or broiling lobster, the unique flavors of dry mustard, red pepper, lemon pepper and chives work well.

Substitutions are helpful to know when you’re out of something fresh and something from your cupboard is handy. For 1 medium -size onion, use 1 tablespoon onion powder. One eighth teaspoon garlic powder or half teaspoon garlic salt substitutes for 1 medium clove of garlic. Substitute one fourth teaspoon ginger for 1 teaspoon fresh ginger. For 1 tablespoon fresh herbs, use 1 teaspoon dried herbs.

Remember to have fun while you navigate the kitchen. You might even decide you’d like to start your own herb garden. Then you’ll really be a Foodie!

 

 

 

 

Foodie And Herb

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Something great happened the day I decided to be brave and begin experimenting with herbs and spices. I still use recipes, especially for baking. But cooking “by guess and by golly” is generally pretty much how I do it. Now I enjoy cooking much more. I also enjoy the results much more.

I never make my famous spaghetti sauce the same way twice. I may be using the same herbs, but never in the same amounts, and it always turns out tasty. When I don’t have a specific herb or spice, I often find I can substitute.

However, knowing a little about which spices and herbs work well with different foods can help. It can also be a boon to have some spice blends on hand to use so you don’t have to buy those small bottles with cranked up cost.

Add These to This to Get That

To enhance the flavor of beef, use bay leaves, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, or thyme.

When cooking with pork, which has a mild flavor, give it some oomph with basil, caraway seed, ground ginger, Italian seasoning, oregano, savory, rosemary, or garlic powder.

Where I live, we eat wild game. Enhance those flavors with marjoram, thyme, bay leaf, garlic powder, or onion powder.

Turkey is traditionally flavored with poultry seasoning or sage, but you can also try oregano, black pepper, herbs de Provence, onion powder, rosemary savory, or basil.Garlic and Herb Lemon Chicken

Chicken and Cornish hens come alive with such herbs as dill weed, basil, ginger, oregano, thyme, chives, bay leaf, garlic and onion powders, paprika, rosemary, sage, or tarragon.

 

Make Your Own Seasoning Blends

If you need a little jump start to try some new herbs, here are a few blends you can mix up to experiment with.

Salad herb blend: 2 tsp. basil leaves; 1 tsp. dill weed; 1 tbsp. marjoram leaves; 1 tbsp. parsley flakes; 1 tbsp. tarragon leaves. If you like to add protein to your salad, match these ingredients to the list of which goes best with each herb.

Meat and vegetable blend: 1 tbsp. basil; 1 tsp. celery seed; 1 tbsp. marjoram; 1 tsp. onion powder; 1 tsp. thyme.

Taco seasoning: 1 ½ tbsp. oregano; 1 ½ tbsp. garlic powder; 1 tbsp. paprika; 2 tbsp. cumin; 1 tbsp. chili powder; ½ tsp. allspice.chicken taco

Don’t be afraid to experiment and tweak the blends to your own taste. There’s no right or wrong combination. An advantage to using herbs and blends is that you can spice up your food without using salt.

What’s That Flavor?

Herbs have different flavors, naturally. In addition, they fall into categories of mild, medium and robust. Chives and parsley are examples of mild-flavored herbs. Some medium-flavored herbs are basil, dill weed, marjoram, and mint. Stronger-tasting herbs are those like bay leaves, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, and thyme.

Tips for Keeping Herbs and Spices Fresh

Avoid storing spices near the stove, dishwasher, sink or a window. Dried spices don’t spoil, but they can lose strength. Moisture and heat contribute to this. Be sure to never sprinkle or pour spices directly into a steaming pot since the steam introduced into the bottle hastens loss of flavor and aroma. It also results in caking. For the same reason, if you’re measuring from the bottle with a measuring spoon, be sure the spoon is dry.

Some folks like to use fresh herbs for everything and that’s a great idea. You can always substitute dried herbs for fresh if you know how, and vice-versa. Check it out here.

Next week, Foodie meets herb in part 2 to talk about how to enhance other foods (pasta, vegetables and seafood), helpful substitutions, cooking tips, and a recipe or two.

Bon appetite!

Foodie Redux

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It won’t be long and my movie buddy will be gone. She’s moving to sunny Florida and I’ll remain here in the Midwest. I will miss her. She and I have similar tastes in movies and books. We both like to play Scrabble and we both can talk a mile a minute.

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Today’s Foodie post is re-blogged for Gina, my movie buddy, and a tribute to that quintessential concession stand treat: popcorn.

 

“I Can Hear It Now”

Popcorn is a snack food that has been compared to social media. I suppose it’s true; the more generous you are with it, the more people you attract.

When you think of popcorn, do you think of

a) Jiffy Pop
b) Microwaved
c) Theater-popped
d) Air-popped
e) All of the above

When popcorn pops, it creates not just a sound in the ear, but an aroma in the nose. The unique treat in your hand belies the soft crunch you’re about to feel between your teeth (and the nasty hulls stuck there later on). Popcorn is a sensual experience only the eater can describe.

I come from the era of Jiffy Pop, but my family could neither afford it nor would one package have fed our large family. We popped our kernels from a bag the old fashioned way.

f) In a pan on top of the stove

My earliest association of popcorn involves Mom serving up the surprise, usually on a Saturday night. The seven of us–Dad and we six kids–would be sitting in the living room watching TV when, all of a sudden, “It” would begin.

Pop! Pop! Pop! POP-POP-POP! POP-POP-POP-POPPITY-POP! An unmistakable sound, those kernels hitting the lid of a pan. Mom couldn’t hide now what she was up to. And inevitably, one of us would hurry to the kitchen to confirm and report back, “We’re having popcorn!”

By then, the aroma of those tiny popping kernels wafted through the house; we needed no one to tell us. Imagine six kids full of anticipation for a rare treat. Then Mom came first with a bowl for Dad and, in turns, a bowl for each of us children. She’d give the popping another go because one pan didn’t feed everyone.

I confess that I can eat popcorn until it’s coming out of my ears (pun intended). At a movie theater, I’ve actually had friends with whom I’m attending keep tabs on me. Or talk me down from the ledge of even getting in line to purchase a bushel basket of it.popcorn 2

Whew, I just walk in the door and I’m a theater popcorn junkie. How can those youngsters at the concession stand possibly feel good about trafficking refills for a paltry fifty cents? Dripping with butter, for me, it’s a cross between Mom’s love served in a bowl and Paula Dean’s favorite recipe.*

Now, just in time for my blog post–I’ve wanted to write about popcorn for a couple weeks–the New York Times publishes an article about scientists “discovering” the mechanics of popcorn popping. Is this really news? Did no one ever figure this out before?

As if the average kid about to get a bowl of air-popped, Jiffy Popped, microwaved, or theater popcorn cared. **

At heart, I’m a kid when it comes to popcorn. It reminds me of sitting with my sibs and the folks watching the boob tube. That truly felt like family time. I didn’t need bowl after bowl of it to enjoy it. I didn’t need the buttery-flavored junk on top or the special toppings they offer these days. It didn’t have to come quickly like microwaved popcorn.

The sound and the scent were enough. And Mom knowing just when it was a good night to treat us. That’s another sensual experience, I suppose. One that evokes pleasure in my heart.

Somewhere, kids must still be sitting in living rooms listening to the poppity-pop out in the kitchen while Mom prepares to serve up a little fun and love. I know this because I see that popcorn can still be found in kernel form on supermarket shelves; the kind you have to pop without a microwave.

But if you’re interested in microwaving without buying the commercial microwave brands, here’s a great article with tips for just that.

Why not pick up some popcorn–your choice–this weekend and enjoy the treat with your family? Don’t forget the dental floss.

*I realize that’s not real butter, only some buttery-flavored concoction but still…
** Actually, my geeky grandson would probably love to study the principles of corn popping.

“Crazy” Foodie

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There must be as many different ways to make baked beans as there are families who make them. Honestly, I don’t remember how I prepared them prior to finding this recipe. When I served them to my family, even the picky eaters liked them. I like the idea that most of the sweetness comes from raisins and apple. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a no-sugar-added recipe for baked beans before this one.boston-baked-beans 2

Crazy Baked Beans
1 medium apple, pared and diced
½ c. chopped onion
1 31-oz. can pork and beans
6 ounces smoky links, thinly sliced
¼ c. raisins
2 T. ketchup
2 t. prepared mustard
¼ t. cinnamon

In a small sauce pan, cook apple and onion in a small amount of boiling water about five minutes or until tender. Drain. In large mixing bowl, stir together apple/onion mixture, beans, smoky links, raisins, ketchup, mustard and cinnamon. Turn mixture into a 1 ½ quart casserole dish or bean pot. Bake uncovered at 375 F. for one hour (or until heated through), stirring once.

These are good served with corn meal muffins.
Makes 8 half-cup servings

As always, if you like to cook with raw foods, you can substitute the pork and beans with dried beans to make the equivalent. In that case, you would want to add some molasses and a little brown or raw sugar. It might not take more than a couple tablespoons of each. Add them to your own taste. Use your imagination for substitutes for the meat.

Flexibility makes for a great cook!