Holiday Bird Take 3

Well the time has come upon us. I have commited to make the Christmas turkey once again. And as of yet, haven't done any research into what I am going to do to the bird. My first attempt was a bit of a letdown, burnt the skin in the first hour. So non of that high initial heat stuff for me, I'm all about the foil til the last hour, also the brine made the gravy salty.Last year was a complete success. I think largely due to the fact that I did it in my own kitchen with all handy tools and no distraction. Focused, well thought out and properly timed. Sorrily, I didn't document it in any way so I have nothing to blog for it. Basically I brined the bird, rubbed a butter,herb and spice mixture under the skin and on it for the most gloriously browned bird you've ever seen. and I think I went with a sourdough stuffing. Don't want to stray too much this time around but like I said I haven't set my eyes on anything new. I'll check my American Thanksgiving newsletters and see what pops out, if anything.

Soup: Not you again!

After a long day of Christmas shopping and holding off on mall junk food binging. I go grocery shopping because I am going away for the holidays. So I have to finish what is left in the fridge. And out of the kindness of her heart, my wife has made a healthy mixed bean soup. Well, made as in she bought a package of pre-made(grrrr) dry soup mix from The Big Carrot (so you know it good).
Soup; there are good ones out there. My mom's greek lentil soup called "Faki" is equally good hot or cold, and gets better as the flavours meld together every passing day. But unlike my mother who puts flavour first, my wife's oh so healthy and easy soups tend to be....bland. Where is the slow sweating of the onions, celery, garlic. The richly flavoured broth with, if I'm lucky, has the gelatinous richness of a good chicken stock (which I have frozen in my freezer for such soup emergencies.)
But I know health is important and to tell you the truth the issue here is not the flavour. I can stomach a healthy, rich in folate and fibre organic soup on a weeknight meal with a wedge of cheese and a bit of bread. It's the quantity that kills me. I've got about 6 servings of this stuff and nothing else to eat.
Why does it seem that the people who try to stuff you full of "healthy" foods tend to eat out a lot more and rely on pre-mades more than us true omnivores. My wife is presently enjoying lunch at Fresh while I'm here stuck with wet legumes. And believe me I'll probably be the one finishing them off... Was that a tangent? oh well. I guess I'm just trying to put of the soup eating.

So to soup I say you're welcome to visit. But don't pack an overnight bag.

Mac n' Cheese Without the Cheese?

When it comes to cooking I believe in the truth, real ingredients for real food. No lo-fat alternative made of artificial substances, no pre-made time saver. Hell, I won't even use pre-made sausages in a dish because I consider that cheating. So when someone suggested to me that there is a non-dairy cheese alternative that was not processed beyond recognition. but actually an all natural product, I was skeptical, and when I found out it was yeast, I was a little grossed out.

But this is no ordinary yeast, it is Nutritional Yeast Flakes. and unlike Active dry yeast, it is dead, or rather, deactivated, having been grown on molasses and sugarcane, then laid to rest. and in passing has a nutty cheese-like flavour.
Kudos on the first soul to try a spoonful of this stuff.

So I was intrigued, ever on the hunt for a different take on something familiar, more to prove that there is no replacing the original than anything else. I picked up a tub of flakes and tracked down a recipe for the cheesiest of all cheesy dishes. The classic homemade Mac n' Cheese. I tracked down a couple of recipes online, amalgamating them, and to my surprise, not only was it easy to make but damn tasty. Now, I'm not going to say it's as tasty as the real deal, but I will say that Vegan mac n' cheese is to homemade MnC what what homemade Mac is to Kraft dinner. Maybe not as flavourful but probably a lot better for you. And as a former KD junkie, I have come a long way.

The recipe is similar to the classic, Start by making your pasta and straining it when done.

Then to the sauce starting with a roux of equal parts non-hydrogenated margarine and spelt flour.

Next, add water with flavour enhancement of salt, mustard, tumeric and hot sauce,

tasting it at this point you get a savoury yet empty taste but once the yeast is added,

the whole sauce become this rich full flavoured magic that has me thinking of how many other ways I can use this magical sauce.

Mix half the sauce with macaroni, then pour the rest on top.

I used brown rice mac just to go completely wheat free as well and you won't believe how utterly edible this faux comfort food can be.





I have just made my third batch of the stuff and just ran out of yeast. but believe me, I will add it to my shopping list from now on.


So as a fan of real food where would I place this? There is not an artificial flavour in this dish, nothing pre-made or highly processed. So yes, it is real by my standards. The only thing unreal about it is to call it mac n' cheese but the alternative Mac n' Yeast isn't as appealing. So I'll stick with MnC for now, until I come up with a word that defines the amazing flavour of the sauce better. Maybe Mac n Crazy Good?