rexsreine's Profile
How do you preserve garlic?
If you are talking about the large jars of peeled garlic found at places like Costco, after much trial and error, I've found two very good ways to handle them.
1. Put the garlic in the food processor, add just enough oil (I use olive or grape seed) to get things going, and let it process till very finely minced. Spread the mixture thinly onto a shallow baking pan with sides. Cover tightly with foil. Freeze overnight. Next day, break into big chunks and place in a plastic freezer bag. Keep frozen. It's easy to break off a small piece as you need it.
2. Put the garlic in a heavy saucepan. Cover with olive oil so the garlic is about one-fourth the total level. Simmer on low till garlic is soft and golden. Don't burn or it's bitter. Add chopped fresh parsley, Italian herbs or herbes de Provence, dried or fresh basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, a spoon or two of Dijon mustard and onion powder, a few spoons of wine vinegar. Let cook for another 15 minutes or so. Remove from heat. Use a stick blender to incorporate the ingredients. Taste. You may want to add salt,pepper, or more herbs, mustard, or vinegar. I have also added either a bit of soy sauce or Asian fish sauce which rounds out the flavor. Sorry I cannot give exact proportions, I dump and cook till it tastes good! This idea is based on a rather pricey condiment called "GranMere's". You add a spoonful to steamed vegetables, salads, sauces, or anything that needs a little seasoning boost. Keep in the fridge. Stores for weeks and weeks.
Slicing Ribeye roast for philly cheese steak
Others may disagree, but I think it's a shame to use a rib eye roast for Philly sandwiches.
We've used New York strip steaks (which were less $$$ in our store) that had been partially frozen. I used my mandoline to slice them super thin.
Whole wheat pastry flour?
Sorry for the delayed response, sweet100s. This looks delicious. I'm always looking for recipes that don't use a lot of sugar, do use whole grains, and have been tried and recommended by good cooks. It's not too hard to make marvelous baked goods with refined or unhealthy ingredients, but good ones made from nutritious foods is another matter. Thanks for your generous sharing.
Anyone tried Clabber Girl Sugar-Replacer-for-Baking in their recipes?
I bought two bags online when it first came out. Have never seen it any stores here (Phoenix area). No aftertaste and worked well in recipes. One BIG problem: there is a fair amount of the sugar alcohol called maltitol in the mix. You may or may not have stomach distress from this. I had cramps for hours and spent way too long in the bathroom...I am being polite about my physical reactions...I liked a lot things about this product, but it doesn't like me. Your mileage may vary
How DO you sprout mung beans and any azuki bean sprouting?
If you want the mung beans to sprout "straight'' (like you buy in the stores), they have to be sprouted under pressure. Years ago, I had some kitchen gizmo that allowed for this. It was basically a metal cylinder with an open wooden support at the bottom and a perforated plastic cylinder inset. The soaked beans went in the plastic and that sat on the wood support. You put a piece of cheesecloth over the beans and a clean weight on top, rinsed as usual for a couple of days. For the weight, I had a scrubbed and boiled smooth rock. Sprouts were straight! I think you could rig up something similar by making perforations with an awl in a cheap plastic container. You'd have to put it in the oven to keep out of the light (which was what the metal cylinder did) so the sprouts stay their typical white color. Sounds weird, I know, but it worked for what I considered to be "real" mung bean sprouts.
Using a pressure cooker (6 qt) to can?
Don't know what your definition of small batches is, but you can get a smaller-sized pressure canner. You don't have to do 16 pints at a time, but consider that most low acid foods need 75 to 90 minutes processing time. I personally wouldn't want to keep my stove going that long for just four jars of something. I agree with Miss Vicki; get a real canner unless your Presto specifically gives instructions on how to use it safely as a pressure canner. I believe Kuhn-Rikon has pressure cookers in a variety of sizes that work as pressure canners as well, but they are not cheap.
Pressure Canner -- Weighted Gauge vs Dial Gauge
I went through the same thing you are. Additionally, I have a glass top stove (ugh!). After much research, I bought the 23 quart Presto on Amazon. I am very pleased with it. It has a dial gauge and I've read the same things you have about reliability of them and need for yearly testing. So, I went on the Presto website and spent about $15 to buy the three-piece weighted gauge that you use instead of the gauge that comes with the Presto. You leave the dial on but don't pay attention to it. It appears that my dial is correct but who knows how it will be next year. Dials, right out of the box, can be off by several pounds in either direction. The ONLY downside with the three piece weight is that you basically have a choice between 10 pounds or 15 pounds pressure. If you live at an altitude requiring only 12 pounds of pressure, you must use all three rings, giving 15 pounds pressure. That's what I have to do. I knew nothing about pressure canning as of March. Now, I feel very confident and have pressure canned hundreds of jars of meat, chicken, sauces, etc. I don't know how much canning you plan on doing, but the Presto 23 quart will hold 16 pints. I wouldn't fire it up for fewer than eight jars.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask more.
Ginny
Whole wheat pastry flour?
Sweet, mind posting the recipe for the blueberry muffins with cinnamon crumble?
Thanks!
Good cookbook for a new cook?
America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.
They really do test everything.
Everything works, especially for a novice.
What to do with a big piece of Pancetta?
Rabaja, is this Nigella recipe available on food network or chowhound? If not, would you post it? Sounds wonderful. Thanks.
Homemade "Greek" Yogurt
Miss Needle, are you adding any dry milk powder to your fluid milk? Is all your fresh, fluid milk non-fat? Nonfat dry milk powder - MUST be non-instant type from health food store; instant makes yogurt gritty - adds a lot of thickness and body as well as nutrition. And a little fat from the fluid milk (like 2%) helps, too.
homemade boursin
Funny you should mention this. I recently got the following recipe from a group I belong to and I need to give credit to Charlie Knox. I tried this a couple of days ago and loved it. I have tried other recipes for homemade boursin but I like this one the best so far.
Boursin-Homemade
Yield: 1 Pound
2 pk (8 ounces) cream cheese;
-room temperature
4 oz Butter; room temperature
1 ts Dried oregano
1/4 ts Dried dill
1/4 ts Dried basil
1/4 ts Dried thyme
1/4 ts Marjoram
1/4 ts Fresh ground black pepper
2 Cloves garlic; peeled and
-lightly crushed
Combine all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Refrigerate
at least four hours before serving.
This recipe is very close to the commercial cheese.
__
Anyone preserving, canning or putting food up these days?
Your post seems to indicate you will be doing mostly water bath canning for high-acid foods. Don't know if you plan on getting into pressure canning but it's nowhere near as intimidating as many people have been led to believe. I taught myself how to do it this spring with the aid of the internet and a few well-chosen books. It's very satisfying. I don't live in a region where fresh fruits and vegetables are readily available at reasonable prices so I've mostly canned meats, dried beans, and meat sauces. I can't tell you how convenient it is to open up a jar of lean chicken breast chunks and put a burrito, taco, or chicken salad together in literally a matter of minutes. And my products taste better than commercially canned and have no funky chemicals added! Can't beat that.
Putting a microwave in a cupboard?
My daughter put her microwave in a cupboard in two different houses. Admittedly, she didn't live in either house for more than a few years but it didn't seem to cause any problems. Door was left open while MW was operating. Personally, I thought it was a pain and terribly inconvenient but it didn't bother her or her husband. I do think having it in a lower cabinet could be a bit awkward though.
Canning tomatoes with their skins on?
If you're talking about the safety of the tomatoes canned with skin on, as long as they are well-washed and you use the recommended amount of bottled lemon juice, I don't see why not. Aesthetics might be a different matter. The skins may well come off during processing and float to the top. You may want to check with your county extension office.
Please educate me re: Italian red sauce
With my son and his wife, DH and I actually did a smack-down, blind taste-testing on marinara sauces. Daughter-in-law won, I am embarrassed to admit. She used David Rosengarten's trick of sautéing eggplant in oil and then using that oil in the marinara sauce. I have to say - and this really is NOT sour grapes - that I wasn't crazy about it, though obviously, others were. I did, however, take second place. What I am about to explain is NOT the fastest of meatless sauces, but I like it the very best of all.
Go to food network and look up Alton Brown's roasted tomato sauce. Make it.
Make a basic marinara sauce, something like Donali's posted here or similar. Combine the two sauces. The result will be rich and full-bodied. You can use a stick blender on it if you like a smooth texture. You'll want to keep it in your freezer for emergencies - if you can manage not to eat it all immediately.
Difference Btwn Ball Blue Book and Ball Complete Book of Home Canning
BBB is considered one of the bibles of canning. If you're a novice, you want to start there. Explanations are clear and concise. A good collection of recipes, there's more to the book than just jam, peaches, and tomatoes. I've done a number of the meat, sauce,and main dish items and have generally been pleased.There are also sections on freezing and dehydrating. The CBHC is pretty heavy on the jams, jellies, and preserves and its explanations might still leave a novice wondering about a few things. So, it all depends what your expertise level currently is and what kind of things you'd like to can.
Nangyi- Burmese rice noodle salad
Sorry - hit the wrong button and didn't get message conveyed.
DH and I went to a Burmese restaurant for the first time and had a delicious noodle salad. I've done an online search for a recipe and came up with only one. It uses rice noodles, chicken, cilantro, shredded carrot, ginger, garlic, tomato, fish sauce, roasted chick pea flour (besan), and hot pepper. The restaurant menu describing the salad mentioned most of those ingredients.
Anyone out there have experience making this wonderful dish? Words of wisdom for someone trying to recreate it for the first time? Thanks!
Dehydrator recs?
I have a Nesco 700-watt and like it very much. A food board I frequent has many posters who love their Excaliburs but they're kind of spendy. Most Ronco owners hate theirs and either have dumped the machine or plan to.
Whole Grain Bakers - Need to "soften" hard flour
Thanks to all who have responded. I'm trying hard to get completely away from white flour and other refined starches, so my experiments will be using whole oat, barley, or possibly millet flour. I've even read of kamut flour giving a buttery taste. I'll start with one-third replacement and see how it goes. I do not expect white flour lightness but I'd like to have tender quick breads.
Canning Tomato-Based Salsa
It's safe but since you have some non-acidic ingredients in there you must be careful about the exact proportions of the ingredients. Every approved recipe for salsa in a BWB that I've seen calls for either lemon juice or vinegar. I suggest you take a look at the Ball canning site, the Mrs. Survival site (preserving the harvest forum) or the University of Georgia website. All will have approved recipes.
whole wheat bread
I'll recommend the Laurel's book, too, and Peter Reinhart has a new book on bread baking with whole grains. Seems like it would be impossible to over knead ww bread, but it's not - just more difficult by hand. Over proofing is possible, too - and I've done that more than once. When that happens, the bread doesn't enough "oomph" left to get much oven spring and it falls on itself.
Did I overknead my whole wheat bread?
I'm not sure I understand your description of "unglued" either, but if the dough became stringy, thin (thinner than at the beginning of the process), sticky-gluey, then,yes, it was over kneaded. Unfortunately, once the gluten strands have become damaged like this, there isn't anything you can do to save the dough. You can add more flour all day and it won't help. Unless you have or knows somebody who has chickens (they will eat this kind of thing), you'll have to throw it out. You might want to try forming and baking for your own instruction, but I wouldn't expect much. I'm not convinced of KA's kneading abilities either; your machine may be one of the higher-powered ones or you did not have a large quantity of dough.
The color of home canned products
If the seal is good, the food is safe. Discoloration is common even when products are properly stored. Just be sure that upon opening there is that pop sound indicating the vacuum was breeched.
Whole Grain Bakers - Need to "soften" hard flour
I grind wheat berries into flour in my VitaMix. I bought high-protein, hard white berries in bulk.
I've used some to make muffins and quick breads and, while tasty, are not as delicate as I'd like. The answer no doubt is using soft, white wheat berries to grind into pastry flour, but I'd like to use what I currently have. My question: Do you think I could "soften" my high-protein flour by using, say, 2 T oat flour, spelt flour, or barley flour for 2 T of the hard wheat flour? Any other suggestions?
Thanks, Ginny
Fix a broken cheese sauce?
If your blender is of the heavier sort, try blending it. A hand held blender MIGHT work, too.
Bottled lemon juice
Nothing beats fresh if a recipe is depending on a fair quantity of lemon juice for flavor. I keep the bottled around for times when I need only a teaspoon or two but beyond that all I taste is chemicals. However, there is a frozen lemon juice (still from concentrate) that tastes a lot better than the bottled if fresh lemons are way too expensive. It's not available at all grocery stores - you may have to look in three or four places before you find it.
