Anyone who wants to develop any skill in fermenting needs to realize the most important single aspect to this skill, cleanliness. When I ferment, I wash all the jars, tops, glass weights and nipple tops in the dishwasher on the “sterilize” setting. When the dishwasher is finished, I prepare the vegetables, in this case the…
This recipe is my variation of two presented by Martha Stewart in her book “Appetizers“. The empanadas are fast friendly, if you use the aquafaba (garbanzo liquid, see below). There are a number of different sauses you canuse with these empanadas, either sweet or savory. The following cranberry apple sauce seems to go very well…
Potted shrimp is thought to have originated in Lancashire during Tudor times. It was a way to preserve food as the butter will keep the shrimp for some time without refrigeration. The classic recipe uses brown shrimp, since Morecambe Bay in Lancashire is renowned for its brown shrimp. These small shrimp are still caught in…
Cong you bing is Mandarin for the classic Chinese scallion pancake. The scallion pancake has been present in Chinese and Taiwan cuisine for centuries. Myth suggests that the pancake originated in Shanghai. This pancake is similar to the Indian paratha and there are many Indian peoples in Shanghai. There is a further legend that Marco…
Garbanzo beans, or chickpeas, are beans and very high in protein. This bean has been cultivated for about 10,000 years. It is used extensively in Mediterranean cuisine. The tan bean, kabuli type, is the most common. There is a black variety, rarely used beyond Southern Italy. The chickpea can be ground into a flour, and…
In a sense a cheesecake is “wrapped” in a crust. However, because this cake is so good, I felt it had to be added to my site. As a desert it is wonderful and can be decorated as you wish. I always slice some kind of berries or fruit and decorate the top. I is…
These are delicious pancakes and easy to make. They can be served as part of a dim sum lunch or as sweet dish after or during dinner. These are a variation, if you will, on the classic Chinese scallion pancake. First you make the pancake dough, these can be used for the scallion version so…
Vareniki are the Ukranian and Russian version of pierogi. Pierogi are the Polish dumplings that classically are stuffed with potatoes. Vareniki can also be stuffed with the potato and cheese mixture, however as with pierogi, they can be stuffed with meat, fish, other vegetables and cherries. Cherry vareniki are a wonderful dish that can be…
Sour cream is an acidic fat and a fermented product. Cream is fermented with lactic acid producing bacteria. This results is the tangy taste of sour cream and also thickens the final product. The acidic nature of the sour cream breaks down and tenderizes long protein molecules of flour proteins.Adding this to a dough increases…
Onions contain sugars and the slow long cooking process brings them to the forefront. This is the caramelizing process. Cooking slowly will cause a material to change both in color, becoming browned, and flavor, as the sugar oxidizes. This process is called pyrolysis. Caramelization occurs with ingredients such as onions, meat, vegetables, even fruit. Eastern…