andiesenji

Over the decades I have been cooking I have tried liquid smoke many times but never quite cared for the flavor and sometimes during cooking the flavor completely dissipates, leaving no hint of smokiness behind. Too much and there is an acrid, sharp flavor that is most unpleasant and catches in the throat. I prefer a different solution. For some things I use Lapsang Souchong tea because that imparts a wonderful smoky flavor without the harsh flavor I find in liquid smoke. For some foods I use smoked salts. In fact, I cooked a pot of beans yesterday and used guava-smoked salt to achieve a flavor that is remarkable like the flavor achieved when the beans are cooked with smoked ham hocks.

Home brew was a staple on my grandpa's farm and in the '40s it was not legal - a "dry" county but making anything with alcohol was illegal then. Just buying the malt was difficult although the Jewel Tea man always had some on his truck...

Are you into brewing per se? For some reason, which I cannot fathom because I don't drink alcohol because of an allergy, I got FOUR emails today with links to this site for this Maple Pumpkin Ale. I only wish I could drink it.

Yes. They have a pink tinge under the skin.

Wow. Those look so much like the pink Duchess apples that at one time were grown all over Wisconsin, Michigan and upstate New York - They were developed from Cox's Orange Pippin as a cooking and eating apple. Growers have tried to grow them here but they require a hard, prolonged freeze during the winter to produce well. When my mother was still alive, she would ship me a crate of them from Wisconsin every autumn. They stored well.

I make my own mincemeat. Right now is a good time because it does need a few weeks to "mature" so the flavors meld. Granny Sweeney's mincemeat This makes enough mincemeat for about 6 large pies or 8 - 8-inch pies. 2 sticks of unsalted butter - 2 cups raisins 2 cups sultanas (golden raisins) 1 cup chopped dried plums (prunes) 1 cup Zante currants 1 cup chopped dried cherries 1 cup mixed peel - or citron - don't use the stuff with the red and green dyed cherries. 3 cups chopped dried applies 2 cups finely chopped nuts (Granny used hickory nuts but pecans, walnuts or ?? work - I have used pistachios) 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons nutmeg (freshly grated is best) 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground mace 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar OR 2/3 cup dark molasses or sorghum *** This is much less sugar than in most recipes. 1 1/2 pints apple cider 1/2 cup bourbon Optional - You can add 12 ounces of well-done lean beef, finely minced plus about a cup of finely minced beef suet which was in the original recipe - I sometimes make it this way because it is richer, in my opinion, but it works okay without it. In a 6-8 quart pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and allow it to cook until it just begins to brown. Stir in the dried fruits then add the spices, stir well to mix thoroughly add the sugar and apple cider Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Add the bourbon bring the heat up to medium and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Spoon some into a saucer - if there is excess liquid running out of the mincemeat, continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Check again. The mincemeat should have a "jammy" texture and very little free liquid. Ladle into sterilized jars or into one big container. This DOES NOT NEED REFRIGERATION UNLESS YOU ARE USING THE MEAT VERSION...

Odd things can happen in Brazil. Several years ago some friends were on a tour in a forest near the city of Vitorio and one of the two guides was severely injured when a Brazil nut fell on him - while he was explaining why the group should stand clear of the tree because it was especially dangerous at that time of the year. The group of mostly Americans tipped him very generously for being so demonstrative about the subject...

I have an electric steamer very similar to this one, except mine is an older model and is round instead of oval. I usually use just one tier, but when cooking vegetables and something else at the same time, I use both. Mine was inexpensive but I've been using it constantly for more than 10 years so it has been a bargain. I prefer to use one like this because I can see what is happening. I also have rice cookers but they seal closed while cooking and I can't check on the contents easily. I also use it for steaming potstickers and other steamed buns and dumplings. If you check the "Dried fruit thread you can see my steamer in action "refreshing" dried fruits that have gotten too dry... Other uses - steaming fresh grape leaves and other greens for wrapping stuff. Cooking mini steamed puddings.

Soak the roasted ones and overnight is best. I make cashew milk and they have to soak a lot more than 2 hours. I put them in cold water and into the fridge overnight. I have a Soyabella - I use some raw nuts - almonds, for instance, but not cashews. Not that I worry about poisoning but to me raw cashews have a metallic flavor that I do not like. You can also steam the cashews (I use steam a lot) and I also steam almonds and other nuts that have been stored for awhile. Steam them for at least 15 minutes - they will release much more oil and your product will be richer.

Steamed eggs are much easier to peel, even very fresh eggs. I've hard "steamed" eggs that my egg man said were laid the day prior and they peeled just fine. There is also less chance of getting the dark ring around the yolk.

Because of the patterning, they look something like the Hopi Purple String bean which can vary in color from a gray/tan to almost purple but always with the stripes and specks of a darker color. There is a photo of variations here. I think the Hopi bean is related to the Rio Zape - which can also vary in color and I think is sometimes called Amethyst bean.

Recipe for Brandy balls. Aunt Hattie Anne's Brandy balls. 1 cup mixed dried fruit, minced very fine 1 cup ground pecans (coarse grind) 1 cup crushed spice cookies (or gingersnaps if you have to use store-bought) 1/4 cup melted butter 1/2 cup brandy (or bourbon) Mix everything together and store for 10 days. Use a teaspoon to portion out, form into balls and roll in powdered sugar or jimmies or candy beads. (or whatever works for you) My Aunt's choice was limited back in the '40s.

I can't find the reference but somewhere in one of my numerous "herbal" books there is a mention of this melon being used for medicinal purposes by doctors and pharmacists at the beginning of the last century and I think it was in the U.S. Pharmacopeia at one time. I found one of the sources for recipes and for advice - including how to use the seeds here

I was given a few citron melons several years ago - there are a few places in this desert area where they grow wild and the folks who gather them are very secretive about the sites where the tsammas can be found. I used the same recipe that I use for watermelon rind preserves and also made some sweet pickles - enough for one pint jar. One caveat - the stuff is more potent than prunes if you have need of a laxative so eat sparingly!

I had a large Northern Tool meat grinder but sold it and bought a much smaller unit made by Waring and it works fine. I have several of the old KAs and the metal meat grinders. I bought one of the "plastic" ones three or four years ago for my new (at that time) KA and the gears on it "froze" the second time I used it so I tossed the entire piece of crap. I also have several of hand-cranked ones, some antique, some just "vintage" that I could always use in a pinch, except now when I'm not supposed to be doing anything "vigorous" with my arms.

Here are a few photos of working one type of fruit/nut blends. (I use gloves) These are the pear/filbert with coconut. These are fig and pistachio This is a portion of a blend I have been kneading and then rolled into a "rope" to cut into segments. The next photos show the difference between dried fruits that have dried too much and how they look after being steamed. Figs (white) Pineapple Some pears in the steamer after the "first pass" - they need a bit longer. Can't find the "after" photo. And these are peaches and nectarines that were steamed and then cooked in syrup to make glacé fruits. The steaming shortens the time needed in the syrup by many hours.

I use a food grinder because I like the texture/consistency of the product much better because when I tried it with a food processor, I got a really gummy (not in a good way) result with some stringiness in some fruits - especially figs - that the meat grinder breaks up. I have some photos of part of the process and as soon as I find them in iPhoto, I will post. Early on I used the hand-cranked meat grinders as were used in my grandmother's kitchen but in the '70s when I began grinding my own meats making sausage and etc., I got an electric meat grinder and found it worked a treat on the fruits - I was doing large batches back then because that is also when I began my limited catering part-time and people loved the "sugar plums" and not just for the end of year holidays.

Sugar plums vary in color from pale amber (the apricot/almond to nearly black - the black fig ones, while "white" figs are much lighter unless combined with dark nuts or other fruits. I forgot to add that there are several "boiled" sweets made with dried fruits, usually with some honey and various spices and herbs. I used to grow horehound and use it in a fruit candy with apples and pears. Haven't thought of that for years. Somewhere in my old recipe cards I have an ancient recipe for fruit and nut brandy balls - I'm allergic to alcohol so couldn't eat them but many years ago used to make them to send to my dad who loved them and demanded a tin of them every year before Christmas and "enough" to last him through his birthday on Feb. 2... The recipe was passed to me by a relative who, during prohibition, made her own peach brandy for holiday cooking. Her father had been a pharmacist and had a small distillation apparatus which she used to great effect before, during and after prohibition because Livingston, county, KY, where I was born and raised was a "dry" county and so were the adjacent counties. No sales of liquor or any alcohol for that matter, except thru a pharmacy "for medicinal purposes!"

I make various fruit and nut "sugar plums" putting the fruit and nuts through a meat grinder forming into slabs and then cutting into cube and finally rolling into balls or ovals, sometimes into "sticks" - If they are sticky, they get a coating of grated dried coconut, fine nut meal to keep them from sticking together. If you have "old" dried fruits that have become hard DO NOT DISCARD THEM. They can be "recovered" by STEAMING so try this prior to tossing something that cost a lot of money. Some combinations that I like - Apricot/Almond, Cherry/Almond, Fig/Walnut/Coconut, Cranberry/Apple/Pecan, Date/Pistachio, Pear/Filbert, Peach/Cashew/Ginger. In fact candied ginger goes well - in small amounts - with any of the combos. And the date/pistachio is very good with the addition of candied orange peel. I've also added hemp hearts (shelled hemp seed) to some of these combos with excellent results. I can't eat chocolate but chocolate bits, cocoa nibs can be added and the finished things can be dipped in chocolate - for those who like it. This is a photo of Apricot/Almond/Ginger and a close up of one before rolling in grated coconut.

I have it and use it and for some things it is just so automatic that I reach for it that I don't even think about. I use it to line cookie tins and separate layers of cookies and I wad it up to keep pies from shifting in the pie carrier - it's cheaper than parchment and crunches easier. I use it when making sausage patties and freezing them. I use it for mashing my fruit/nut mixtures into slabs before cutting into squares so I can form them into balls (sugarplums). And with the slabs wrapped in wax paper I can stack them on a tray to slide into the fridge to chill prior to working the stuff. I put sheets down to catch any "spillage" when I make spun sugar stuff. I used to make cotton candy (gave the machine away a few years ago) and wax paper was the only thing that could be wrapped around it and not pull it apart when unwrapping. Ditto caramel apples & etc.

I'm also looking forward to your culinary adventures during the next three weeks. Incidentally, The following just happened to be mentioned on the local news this morning. Apparently one of the news people is from Ontario so the weather person sometimes notes the weather from that area. Southern Ontario - several days mostly cloudy with rain. Northern Ontario - mostly cloudy with snow - possible blizzard conditions, road hazards. (The news anchor quipped that she moved to California because she was tired of moss growing on her north side...) Stay safe, both of you, at home and on the road.

OOOOh... Nice find. I have "several" Crock Pots, slow cookers and the jumbo vintage electric roasters (4) and sometimes I have two or more going at the same time. Right now I'm making apple butter - from the applesauce I made late last winter and had in the freezer. My neighbor came across the street and took the big tub of sauce out of the freezer and set it in the deep side of the sink so as it thawed I could easily ladle out what I wanted to fill the crock pots. One advantage, the house smells absolutely wonderful and I am sitting here sort of drooling. As the acidity and sugar is high enough, the canning (in half pint and 12 ounce jars) can be in a water bath instead of the pressure canner (which I can't lift now). ----- Took a short break, made some toast and got a small dish of the "butter" and am now replete.

I have one that has a non-tacky (in my opinion) print of Basenjis, the dog breed I love...

I have several of the large ones but have never used them for cutting. They fit perfectly on the shelves of wire industrial shelving - so things with feet will sit securely without tipping. I use them on my wood countertops under appliances that tend to "leak" liquids or grease or that get blisteringly hot - (some of my vintage appliances do this) and where I need to place things that might otherwise mar the counters. Before I got the copper slabs from Bella Copper to cover the stove top burners, I would use the glass cutting "boards" there to make a smooth working surface when I only needed part of the stove top. I have given them to friends who have counter tops that can't accept hot pans from the oven or the stove (Formica, etc) and they are used constantly for this purpose. I don't know anyone who uses them for their original purpose as I think they are not suitable and I much prefer wood.

I found the Orange Creamsicle Cookies on line two or three years ago and they live up to the hype. RECIPE HERE I used less sugar - substituted the sugar/stevia compound for the white sugar and the sugar/Splenda brown sugar baking mix for the brown because of my diabetes and for me they turned out perfectly. I used a # 30 disher (ice cream scoop) as the 1 1/4 ounce measure is perfect for a medium-size cookie. I did flatten the little mounds slightly with the back of the disher after the first batch which did not spread quite enough for my preference - not sure why but I a recommend a test pan with a few cookies before banging the whole batch into the oven. I hope this helps, in my opinion these have the "flavor" of the holidays - that orange aroma during baking is wonderful. Here is the recipe that I use with my homemade mincemeat............ This is a very old family recipe that I have "modernized" to use actual measures because a "fist-sized lump of butter" doesn't take into account that some fists are smaller or larger than others. I know my fist is much larger than my grandmother's. I also cut the size way down because the original recipe made about 200 cookies, 4 eggs, 2 1/2 pints of flour, etc. Mincemeat Cookies 1/4 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 egg, well beaten 1 cup mincemeat 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/8 tsp salt Preheat oven to 350F(moderate). Cream butter and sugar together. Add well beaten egg, then mincemeat. Mix thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients together; add to mincemeat mixture. Mix well. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until done. Yields 3 dozen.