The Lilies of the field - Onions

There is a story I learned as a child about a woman who asked a man what she could do to improve her life.  He suggested that she stop and really look around her and decide on one thing to become an expert in.  She was a single mother, working hard washing clothes for others and hoped for a more immediate solution, but she decided to follow his advice.  She looked around and noticed the tiles that surrounded her and began to learn about them.  She went on to become an expert in the field and a successful business woman and lecturer.  When she wanted a new challenge, she studies about the ants she saw walking across the tiles and began a second career.  In the spirit of this woman, take some time and learn about a new vegetable that is part of the lily family.  If you thought eating flowers in salad was a new thing, think again.  :)

While garlic and onions are small things, one could not imagine cooking without them today.  Onions and garlic belong to the Allium genus. Allium, in fact, is derived from the Greek word for garlic. Shallots, scallions, leeks, and chives are also members of the allium family.

For a great breakdown of the different types of onions and how to use them as well as all of the other allium veggies, check out the All About Allium Vegetable link.
http://www.thevegetariansite.com/health_allium.htm

 

 

If you have Crohn's Disease, you cannot eat onions or garlic or most of the allium based vegetables.  So what do you do then?   Many recipes start with a base called a mirepoix.  A mixture usually of celery, carrots and onions.  Alliums are also usually the base for most stocks.  If you are allergic, just don't like the taste or the smell of alliums or have Crohn's disease, Here are some ideas I have found while looking through the Internet.

 

•Fennel has a licorice-like taste but onion-like texture. Try it with chicken or fish.
•Celery is among the most common aromatics.
•Bell peppers are often used in Cajun cooking. Green peppers and celery are a good base for rice dishes or savory stews.
•Carrots are used as an aromatic in French cooking in combination with celery.
•Celeriac, or celery root, is the knobby root of one variety of celery. Peeled and diced, it can be used as an aromatic in sauces or stews.
•Peppercorns: white, pink, or Szechuan pepper can add different flavors to your cooking.
•Cumin's distinctive taste that may work well in some recipes, especially where garlic is used raw.
•Horseradish, freshly grated, can add some of the pungent notes you might otherwise lack.
•Ginger and galangal have distinctive flavors but may be useful in stir-fries as aromatics.

So here's to eating stinky flowers!  :)

Trivia Makers and Breakers - Kitchen trivia

It was the 1980's.  It seemed like everyone I knew was into Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.  The goal almost seemed to be the one person in the neighborhood who knew a little about everything.  I mean when you have parties, and people pick teams for games, the goal is not to be the last person picked, but rather the first person picked.  :)  granted these were college and adult parties and a lot of the trivia revolved around the Rocky Horror Picture Show, MTV and Days of Our Lives, but book knowledge needed for trivia games was good too.  Trivia was something that anyone could access and use.  The flip side of trivia is that if you didn't know it was kind of like, "Wait, how can you not know that?"

There are things in the kitchen that almost everyone thinks they know and are more than happy to share with you like mothers with birthing stories.  So, here is some kitchen trivia (all based on fact) that may be of help to you in your UnChef adventures.

1 - The thing about the tongue having certain areas that capture certain tastes like sweet, sour, etc; some people call it the tongue map: False.  Your whole tongue can taste every taste.  So the only way you are going to get some not so flavorful food past people without saying, "Oh, your sour flavor receptors must be off" is to pray that they have a cold.

2 - It is important to knead bread: True. One of the most important things that takes place during the kneading process is the development of gluten, a type of protein. As the flour that makes up the dough is moistened and stirred, the gluten begins to form and also gains in strength as the dough is subjecting to the kneading process. This protein acts as a binding agent within the dough, allowing the loaf to take on a cohesive texture that will allow the substance to not fall apart during baking. It also helps in the process of making a light and flavorful bread.

3 - There are 2 cooking methods:  True. Okay so this is a bit of a trick question, but essentially cooking is either Dry or Moist.  For an AWESOME breakdown of cooking methods follow the link.
http://chasingdelicious.com/kitchen-101-cooking-methods/

4 - It is good to add salt to sweets and sugar to spicy foods:  True.  Believe it or not, salt is not only good in chocolate, but a little salt helps to enhance all of the flavors in your sweets.  Sugar in spicy food like chili, does the same thing.

5 - Fruits are sweet and vegetables are not: False.  Fruits are the mature ovary of a plant. Fruit, normally fleshy, contains a large seed within, such as an avocado or peach seed, or numerous tiny seeds, such as a tomato or an orange. All produce that contains seeds is botanically classified as fruit.
A vegetable is a plant's edible stem, root, bulb, tuber, leaf or flower. For example, celery, carrots, potatoes, lettuce and cauliflower are botanically classified as vegetables.

So there you have it, a few things to think about and to put you on your way to becoming a food trivia beginning expert.  Next time, fun with allium.  Wait, how can you not know what allium is?  :)

Eggplant, the unwanted or unknown relative

I loved my Cousin Randy.  I have to admit that I didn't see him much, but he was the cousin that no one wanted to admit he was a family member.  This of course, just made me want to get to know him more.  I drew his tattoos for my art class and got my first leg burn while riding his motorcycle.  He passed away in his early 30's after being killed while he was riding his motorcycle.  I played my cello at his funeral as a way to say goodbye.  I am glad that I got to know him, even if no one else seemed to want to.

There are certain foods in the US that most people don't seem to want to get to know or give a bad reputation.  One of these marvelous foods is the eggplant.  It's too bitter, or it's too sweet, or it soaks up too much oil, etc.  I have found eggplant though to be a perfect food for the beginning UnChef.

Eggplants should be bright in color and without bruises and in particular without brown spots or dents which indicate they've been stored too long. Select eggplants heavy for their size because this indicates a young fruit which will have better texture than an older one.

Yes, they are fruit.  Eggplants are relatives of the tomato and the pepper.  Contrary to common belief there is no such thing as a Male or Female eggplant.  In the past, eggplant varieties could be bitter, but these days it is not necessary to salt and soak eggplants get get rid of bitterness.  The bitter is just under the skin, so peeling tends to do the trick.  Like potatoes, eggplants turn color once they are cut, so get your eggplant into a bowl of water with lemon juice and salt just as soon as you cut it so it doesn't discolor.  When you are ready to use it, make sure you dry it off well.

Salting does, however, perform a very useful function. If you are going to fry the eggplant in oil this treatment greatly reduces the amount of oil that will be absorbed. Unsalted eggplant is an oil sponge without peer.
First give the eggplant the citric acid bath, then drain and salt it liberally. Let the eggplant sweat in a glass or stainless bowl for between 1/2 and 1 hour, turning now and then. Finally rinse the eggplant in several changes of warm water until it does not taste too salty.

You can cook eggplant all sorts of ways.  They can be steamed, fried, baked, sauteed, boiled, microwaved, stir-fried or stuffed. They are eaten as an appetizer, main dish or as part of a melange of vegetables.  Do not use aluminum cookware with eggplant as it will cause discoloration.  If you are baking whole eggplant, be sure to puncture the skin in several places so it does not burst.

Here are some measurements from About.com: Home Cooking

• 1 medium eggplant = about 1 pound.
• 1 medium eggplant = 4 to 6 servings.
• 1 pound eggplant = 3 to 4 cups diced.
• 1 serving = 1/3 pound as a side dish.
• 1 serving = 1/2 to 3/4 pound as a main dish.

I love to make stuffed eggplant. Just cut it length-wise, scoop, mix, re stuff and bake.  Look around, check out some recipes and get to know the cousin you never know you missed, until now.

Pasta from the Orient Express - Chinese noodle basics

http://www.recipies.50webs.com/Making%20chinese%20noodles.htm

I wanted to start off with the link in this post as this really is the best sight I found for the beginning UnChef who is ready to try something you think might be beyond you.  It also has a great embedded link for rice noodles.

As I looked around I knew that I was in deeper than I thought possible.  I had taken the job knowing that I didn't know everything about it, but I'm a quick learner.  We were newly married and I was newly pregnant.  I wasn't looking for a job in the accounting department of a savings and loan, just something to get by until I could find a full time job with benefits.  My husband was learning English and working 2 part-time jobs without benefits.  As a temp I didn't need an accounting background.  As a new mom, I needed to find a way to make myself needed at the job I was at.  That didn't happen, but I did find out that by following a few basic steps, I could make something that looked very hard, not so bad.

Handmade Chinese noodles are about the same.  Look really hard (and okay and I not talking about the hand-tossed noodles here) but with a few basic steps, you can make it work. 

Chinese noddles are a made from a hard dough
It is very important to let your dough rest
Corn Starch or Tapioca Starch/flour can be used
You can roll and cut it by hand or use a pasta machine

Kansui powder can be substituted by using Koon Chun brand, it comes in a clear glass bottle labeled “potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution” and the UPC is 0-20717-80230-8 or also easier to find is Rennin as a substitute for Kansui (you can find it in the grocery store with the ice cream toppings). It comes in a Jello sized box.  Do not listen to others and use Bicarbonate or Arm and Hammer.  The reason is that it is used as a quick leaven to rise dough. Soda will make flour mixture crumbly as it's designed to make a fine crumb for bread and cookies, and the crispness for crackers.  Kansui is to make curds, like rennin, and designed to congeal liquids. Kansui helps to aaccelerate gluten bonding, improve elasticity and noodle flexibility. It also keeps yellow color of noodles bright.

As with Italian pasta you can buy it in a box, but it is worth the time to step outside the comfort zone and impress yourself, because you can and you will.  :)

Chinese Take Out, it's easier. Really?

Growing up, there were certain foods you went out to have.  Even though I lived in Iowa, my parents wanted to make sure that I had the opportunity to try different types of food.  I learned to use chopsticks at the only Chinese Restaurant in Ceder Falls Iowa in the old downtown.  Near there was the Spaghetti Factory where I tried Italian Food.  Across from the hospital in Waterloo was a Swedish Smorgasbord.  And for fancy American Food was the Restaurant near the car race track just across the boarder from Cedar Falls in Waterloo.  Breaking the bank meant going to Oelwein to the Stake House there.  Everything else was just getting a bite to eat.  The one thing they all had in common was that what we ate there we did not eat at home.  I never even thought of making them at home.  I mean, who would have the skills, or the right kitchen equipment or ingredients?

Fast forward about 30 years and there are not only many more cultures and food represented at restaurants near where I live and in Iowa, but more people are cooking at home.  For each country it is all about the right flavor profile and spice base.  In the prior instalments, we talked about Italian.  Now it is time for Asian.  Let me just preface this with the following; Asian food is just as varied as any other and these are generalizations for the beginning UnChef.  As you learn more, you will branch out more.  Just as Italian food is very different from North, to Central, to South, to Coastal; Asian food differs from country to country and region to region.

Okay, so for some basic fun you do not need to spend a lot or buy a lot of new things.  For you spices there is a basic three: Garlic, Ginger and Scallions.  Other flavor basics include Chile paste and soy sauce.  As you branch out, try combining them with 2 or 3 of the following:
• Shallots
• Lemongrass
• Thai basil
• Cilantro
• Coconut
• Sesame seeds and sesame oil
• Rice vinegar
• Curry

 The basics for Asian cuisine also include rice and noodles.  We have already discussed rice, so I will leave that for you to go back and review.  Many of the noodle basics we learned from Italian cooking carry over to Asian noodles.  More on cooking with Asian Noodles to come.  So get your flavors and get ready to Cook Take Out while you are in.  :)

Mug Shot - microvwave baking in a cup

Once in a while, you have an ah-ha moment when someone shares something with you and you wonder why didn't I think of that?  For me it was in one of those silly chain emails.  I was living in Chile and a girlfriend in Utah sent me something that she swore I had to try it.  What was it you may ask?  Well, let's just say that before you read on be sure that you have self control when it comes to dessert.  :)  It was a recipe for 2 minute chocolate cake in a cup.  Yep, that was the end for me for several weeks.  It just became to easy to grab a mug of delicious chocolate whenever I wanted one.  For me it was a reminder of home, and having 4 boys didn't help.

What I didn't know until much later is that there are several easy cake and brownie recipes that you can make in the microwave, in a very short time and in a mug.  I have to admit that I often look for shortcuts in the kitchen but I hadn't really thought of the microwave as a means of baking.  Following are a few of the links that I have used to find these great easy recipes.

http://www.rd.com/recommends/easy-recipe-cake-in-a-mug/

http://pinterest.com/VelvieHelton/cake-in-a-mug-meals-in-a-mug/

http://www.completelydelicious.com/2012/03/two-minute-chocolate-mug-cake.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/5-minute-Chocolate-Cake/

Now that we have gotten our sugar fix, next time it is on to another culture/country of easy cooking!

Doing it down home style - inventive alternative cooking methods

There are moments that you can't forget.  There are others that you wish you could.  Then there are the moments that you wish you could remember forever.  This post starts with one of those moments.  I can't remember how old I was, but I do know that I was cooking by then.  I was watching TV  I think about 20 years ago and they had famous people on (no I do not remember the name of the show, the host or even the famous person they were speaking with).  If I remember right, the person being interviewed was some type of rock star.  They asked him about his favorite recipe and he showed them his favorite - dishwasher cooked fish.  It was the first time I had ever considered the idea of cooking in something that wasn't the stove except for over the fire or on a BBQ.  The whole idea opened up a whole new world to me. 

In my house, the only dishwasher we had was me, as being an only child I had no one else to trade off with.  So I couldn't try the dishwasher fish as much as I wanted to.  I now do have a dishwasher, but as I am not sure I remember the whole thing very well I am a little chicken to try.  But I did find out about people who cooked over the engine of their car while driving, drying food in the back window of the car and several cooking methods other countries use like baking in the ground or in a Tajine. 

So for the beginning chef I do have one idea that is not only easy but will impress your friends and cause them to have one of those moments to remember.  It is Cooler Corn.  If you are having a large get together offer to make the corn on the cob.  Shuck and clean your corn and put it in a large cooler.  you can make up to 20 to 25 cobs this way.  Then take boiling water and pour it into the cooler so that it cover the corn (about 2 large tea kettles worth)  Close the lid and voila, 30 minutes later your corn is ready.  The corn will keep well with out getting mushy for a few hours.  Remember to NOT add salt as it will make the sweet corn tough.  Add the salt and butter at the table. 

Cooking is fun, and now you know to be on the lookout for those moments and ideas that will not only make it fun but memorable.  :)

A case for eggs

My son will kill me when he sees this but oh well.  :)  When we lived in AZ our twins were about 3 years old.  One of them was very very active.  He loved to climb everything (door frames, kitchen appliances, etc.) jumped from heights (5 stitches inside his mouth the first day of preschool), no fear of water (jumped into the diving end of the pool even though he had no idea how to swim) and had an interesting fascination with eggs.  He loved the feel of the egg and his favorite activity was taking a case of eggs, going to the back room and throwing the eggs at the wall.  We would discover broken eggs and egg shells covering walls and carpet at least 2 times per week over about a 6 month period.  I never knew what started this behavior or why he seemed to enjoy it so much, I just happy when it passed. 

From that time my son was not an egg fanatic, but he has always loved eggs for breakfast and sometimes for dinner.  Eggs can freak the new cook out.  How long do you cook them, how do you flip an omelet, why does my egg stick to my pan?  Here is a great link for all things eggs that answers many of those questions.  http://whatscookingamerica.net/eggs.htm

You can find a lot of special kitchen gadgets/cookware for eggs.  They tend to be expensive and job specific.  For eggs you can usually use the regular pots and pans you already have.  If you are not into eggs because of taste or texture, they great thing about eggs is that their is such a variety of ways to prepare, season and serve.  The main tip here is to jump in and try new things with eggs.  I know I was surprised with all of the new things I didn't know about eggs.  They are also an easy meal to make when you need something fast, filling and nutritious.

For videos you can follow check out Alton Brown and his egg show
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/alton-browns-guide-to-eggs/index.html