You Thought You Knew: Bread Crumbs!

I have been betrayed by Bread Crumbs!!!

I always keep some bread crumbs in my pantry, as most people do, it always useful for filler, breading, etc. and I use it as a key ingredient in my bean burgers. Sometimes I splurge and get the Panko, but I usually just stick to the most generic stuff I can find. Recently I was making some food for a Baby Shower and realized I was out, so in a rush, I went to the convenience store downstairs. All they had was the "Italian-Style" breadcrumbs, with parmesan, herbs, and a crapload of things that I didn't want to feed a bunch of pregnant women. But with time being an issue, I guiltily used the store bought, preservative rich italian. Vowing to never buy it again because of the poop it came with.

Not long after I went to the big chain grocery store to stocked up on supplies, grabbed the good ol' bread crumbs I usually buy as I gave the stink eye to the "italian-style" next to it. And thought to have a look at the ingredients listed on the regular crumbs. And wouldn't you know it. Aside from the flavourings in the italian, all the same preservative and modified hoodads were in my staple crumbs. A little light-headed from this realization, I bolted from the store with a deep sense of betrayal (this is a dramatization) the same betrayal when you realize your mom has been using Knorr's salt and MSG blend. (A.K.A Stock) for the wholesome meals you have been eating since you were a pup.

So where do I turn for fresh breadcrumbs? I tried drying out my own bread, which is not as convenient in a pinch. But then I thought. Why not dry them out in the oven, and then another thought, why not bake them in small cubes like crutons, and then the big daddy of all thoughts. Why not make some killer crutons and grind them up? BAMMM!!! a star is born. With a 3-4 of slices of good quality bread, olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and paprika, baked for 10 min. or less. then a few whizzes in the processor. You have a cup of the most wonderful breadcrumbs that would put any storebought to shame. When I tried it on my next batch of bean burgers, it gave them a wonderful crunch as if they had been slightly breaded as well as a whole new level of flavour. Free of any preserves or mods. Hurray for thinking!!!!

Meat Free Menu:BlackBean & Corn Sliders

In my never ending quest to find food that is tasty and good for you. I continue to try and find meals that are meat free and not only taste good, but keep you feeling full. So I search through multiple vegan cookbooks and try to find things that I think will fill my needs. In my search I fell upon a cookbook called "Spork-fed" written by two vegan sister whose names escape me, but look like delightful vegans from Los Angeles, where all vegans come from. I may have messed around with the recipe, but probably not, and call me what you will, I didn't track down vegan worchestershire sauce. I figure a little anchovy juice doesn't hurt when you have replaced the rest of the burger with beany goodness. I omitted the corn my first time out, but have since added it and tastes just as good. I really like the fact that I get to put in oats. I think it gives it a chewy texture that helps me not miss the meat.

Catering the Shower Pt. 2 (shopping)

Well I didn't get to post prior to the event as I was hoping, so I'll do a recap.

Made my final ingredients list and went shopping. Did almost all of it at No Frills. Yes I know I should have gone to the organic market and such. But this was a non-paying gig and as much as I like the guest of honour at this shower and as much money you can save by illiminating meat from the menu. The bill was still going to be well over $100 even at the discount market, so I had to go on the cheap. Not that the food wasn't healthy. Just not organic healthy, and if Michael Pollan has shown me one thing, even the  word "organic"can be sketchy. My shopping excursion was a success except for Hungarian Paprika (which was not a necessity, but a personal choice for the chickballs) and the rice paper wrappers. I was surprised that No Frills and Sobey's either stopped carrying them or were completely out. Even the staff at Sobey's were surprised. We all know what they looked like, we all knew where they would be if they were in stock. But no rice paper. I eventually had to go to the Superstore down the road a ways to pick some up.
With my ingredients in hand I ventured forward into the catering world. Little did I know that being a dad and working in a kitchen your baby daughter and wife refuse to stay out of can lead to a huge headache, cooking at all hours of the night. and illiminating one of the dishes all together. Which one? Tune in next week when I'm not in the middle of my worknight for "Chickballs n' BBQ Sauce"

Catering the Shower

At this writing I can't say whose shower I'm catering. Even though the only person reading this blog is the person writing it. This is more of a place for me to keep track of my recipes, only posting the one's that work. This event is for a vegetarian, so with my new burgeoning interest in cooking meat free. I have undertaken an entirely vegetarian cocktail party menu. At this writing I have come up with a menu. The Party is on Saturday, today is Tuesday, on the schedule today is clearing out the fridge. The party will consist of 30 women. I have opted for 4 dishes, all various cuisines, a couple overlapping so I had to improvise a vegan version of an old greek standard. I hope it works, if not, I can save it with dipping sauce. God bless the dipping sauce. it can turn cardboard into a late night drunken snack (or um...So I've heard)

On the menu:
Mini Leek Tarts with Red Pepper and Feta (a oroven recipe)
Chickpea Meatballs in 2 sauces. (meaty meatless balls with 2 classic sauces, let's hope they hold up)
Mushroom Summer Triangles w/ Mustard Dipping Sauce (something lighter with an asian flair)
Vegan Spanikopita w/ Tzatziki (vegan pita w/ yogurt sauce, I know, but it would be sacrilege to substitute)

60 bitesize pieces each, minimum. oh my.

Up next: The Shopping List!!!

Herb Your Enthusiasm: Basil

What do I know about herbs. What do I need to know? Mainly how they taste, what dishes they work best in, how to use them properly, different types and maybe some health and medicinal attributes. but other than that all the rest of the information is...well, fodder. But fascinating to some. I won't delve too much into the scientific names and such, but I'll just touch on what catches my fancy.

 BASIL: THE FRAGRANT KING!!!

Largely associated to italian cuisine, it is surprisingly not  native to italian soil. It actually is a plant originally from India and tropical parts of asia, where because of the consistant warm weather are perrenials (continuosly growing) plants. The herb has been used for over 5,000 years. Although there are over 40 known varieties the predominantly used would be of the sweet basil variety, of these the Genovese basil is most popular in mediterainian cooking. But the herb is widely used in South Eastern Asian Cuisine, these regions favouring Thai, Lemon, and Holy Basil. I'd Love to try some of those varieties.

Generally the herb is used fresh, and at the end of the cooking process, it's subtle flavours will not withstand the cooking process too well. It's characteristic flavour in my opinion is floral and sweet, with a hint of mint (not surprising since it is a member of the mint family) and an slightly camphor aftertaste, others describe a peppery and clove taste as well. Having just eaten a leaf, I get a baby spinach aftertaste now. If you use dried,  you won't get much more than a hint of the true basil flavour, Still, I always have some on hand. I try to rehydrate it in warm water, but don't think it does much. a more useful suggestion is to chop the basil and freeze it with a little water into an ice cube tray. then just pop it in to your dish when needed.

Basil works extremely well with tomatoes and tomato based sauces, but is also wonderful with cheese, most meat dishes, richer pasta and rice dishes. Works well combined with Garlic, Lemon and/or Thyme.Basically if you want something a little floral to add to your dish, Basil's your herb.
Most popular dishes:

Insalata Caprese (tomato,basil and cheese. Oh my.)

Pesto (Genovian Basil preferred)

Pizza Margherita (pretty much Caprese on Pizza dough)

Gai Pad Gapow (Holy Basil Chicken Batman!)

Other things to note; basil grows well in sunlight so if you've got good exposure on your window sill, you'll never have to buy basil again, the more sunlight, the more aromatic the basil, this is all heresay, I face the cold, dark north in my condo. Also interesting is it's wonderful affect in your innards, helps with vomiting, flatulance, constipation, and is also known to act as a mild sedative. hmmph, the things you learn. Maybe I'll have a cup of basil tea at the end of a long day or a questionable meal out.

Well that's it for my first Herb Your Enthusiasm. I'll attach a Basil based recipe I've tried in the near future to round this posting up. Until then. Love, Learn, Eat!!!

Shame on Stamos: "Greek" Yogurt De-mystified

When I was a boy my mother would often make Tzatziki and she would always use thickened yogurt that she made herself. Not the yogurt (although she can and does on occasion) but the thickened yogurt that has recently been gaining notoriety as "greek" yogurt. I have always seen it various places never paying much mind to it. I figured if someone is in a pinch, they can just grab a container of thickened yogurt to make their last minute greek dipping sauce. Usually these were in clear plastic containers such as you would find in a bulk store. But with this new surge in the market for "greek" yogurt culminating in a new advertising campaign for Oikos starring well known greek icon, uncle Jessie himself, John Stamos. With a price tag double the balkan style yogurt that most likely is it's source I had to ask. Why would anyone pay for something that is literally as easy to make as making a pot of tea. All that is required is a few seconds of "work" and a few hours of time. Is our society so crippled that we can't wait for 4-8 hours for anything? It's yogurt, not a new kidney. Other than those last minute greek dinner parties, I don't know anyone in dire need of thickened yogurt. I looked at the Oikos website to see if there was anything more to their greek yogurt. They even have a "How we make Oikos" page on there in which they reveal that they use a "centuries-old straining method that removes the whey from the yogurt" and that this "requires about three times the milk used to make regular yogurt". Well let me take the time here to de-mystify this most basic of sacred straining methods and in the process explain how three times the milk can me obtain with the same amount of yogurt.

"Greek" Yogurt
1. get a tub of your favorite organic or low fat Balkan Style Yogurt.

2. lay two or three paper towels (or a few layers of cheesecloth) in a seive over a bowl.

3. pour yogurt into paper towel covered seive.

4. cover with plate or pot lid and put in fridge overnight.

5. Remove lid, dispose of bowl of yogurt liquid (whey), what you are left with in the paper towel is thick, creamy greek yogurt, and because of all the liquid removed about a third of the amount which may also be considered "three times the milk" in it's condensed form. Maybe not, I'm not a fancy food scientist.



So, there you have it folks, "greek" yogurt de-mystified, the "centuries old straining method" brought crashing into the modern kitchen. Do I feel guilty for exposing this secret recipe to the world? Well let me put it this way; At over $4 for a small tub, I seriously don't think Dannon are kicking any of that money back to the old world yogurt craftsmen. Better that "greek" yogurt be put back in the hands of mom and pop bakeries who took the time to strain some yogurt so that you could have a last minute dip for your keftedes (greek meatballs). And Stamos, c'mon you're better than that.

Adventures in the Spice Market Pt. 5: The Event

Game Day!!!


My day started at 8 AM. Mincing, chopping and frying, and squeezing oh so many limes. I think the count was 14, and I still had to send my wife to pick up one of those squeeze bottles of lime juice, sacrilege or not, I wasn't squeezing one more G.D. lime that night. The desserts were done and out of the way the week before as was the dipping sauces. So all that was left was the main, sides and appetizers(oh my). Ah the appetizers...for future reference; in this day and age, people aren't as into the public eating of fried foods as they use to be, let alone wheat, meat, and heat. So deep fried samosas and spring rolls didn't go over so well with the folks. Although my adventurous friend Michael gave them and the Galangal Emulsion the thumbs up. I didn't mind much since I had these wonderful treats to snack on throughout the week. The Chicken Samosa particularly made me happy.

Onto the sides, The ginger fried rice asked for day old rice which I was happy to accommodate for the day (or two) before. It was such a surprisingly simple dish to make and oh so flavourful that it is now my staple rice dish if I'm in a pinch. The power of slow cooking leeks is undeniable in this dish. The ginger, garlic and fried egg come in to round out the flavour. The lime noodles were tasty, I made the lime syrup the day before, thrown together with some rice noodles and vegetables. I'm sure the vegetarian were pleased with this one. And last was the mango, cherry tomato and long bean salad. I was doubling all the ingredients so that the usual “Serves 4” would accommodate the 8. And although I bought double the vegetables for this salad, I ended up just using the one servings worth, I've made salads before and there's just so much mango and long bean a person will eat. And I didn't need leftover salad taking up fridgespace. It was more than enough.

And as all this was going on my tofu and chicken breast were cooking and blackening away. This was the dish that sparked the event. I needed it to be everything it could be. Biggest lessons learn, double the sauce and lose the kumquats, anything so small with so many seeds should be banned from the kitchen. But all in all, the citrusy sweetness of the kumquat sauce was tasty and I wanted to make “the best chicken” my wife's ever tasted as authentic as a cookbook would let me. Nobody was dissappointed, not even the vegetarians who had my molecularly altered Tofu (frozen, thawed, squeezed, brined, squeezed again and dry rubbed) instead of chicken.

And after a few drinks and great conversation we had the dessert. And you can't go wrong with a chocolate coffee tart and coconut sorbet.

All in all a success, we had a wonderful meal, good wine, great conversation. and all it cost me was a lot of money, a lot of time, two very sore feet and a clean up that wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

Bottom line. 8+ dishes is a lot for one man in a small condo with no cupboard space. But with the grace of god and mainly the help of some very wonderful friends washing dishes, feeding me alcohol, giving me an extra hands in the kitchen, serving up dessert as my feet cooled. It all worked out. They were as much the reason the night was a success as was the food. And I thank you all.

So Jean Georges, I salute you for a wonderful excuse for a wonderful evening. I have learned a lot, forgotten much. Feel more confident in asian supermarkets. Have a new love for sriracha, kimchi and shrimp paste, a new resentment for kumquats and freshly squeezed lime juice. And forever fond memories of that afternoon in NYC where the Spice Market Experience was born.