It's Summer; Let's Grill Everything!

My neighbor grills all summer long, and she doesn't limit herself to meats. She actually bakes on her grill, treating it as an outdoor oven. Her bread and homemade pizza are simply wonders of the summer.

So far, I've been slow to experiment with using my grill for anything other than slabs of chicken or beef, but today I grilled meatloaf and baked potatoes for our dinner and had plenty of coals left over. I decided to whip up tomorrow's breakfast muffins and set them baking. That, of course, reminded me that I had a birthday cake to bake, so why not?

By the time I got everything mixed up and on the grill, I was looking at needing to add more coals. That can be a problem midway through baking something on your grill. So, if you are going to try to use your grill as an outdoor oven, you must own one of these...

With a charcoal chimney, you can get the next set of coals ready without exposing your food to excess flame or starter fluid. When my second batch of coals was ready to add to my "oven," I moved all my muffin tins to one side of the grill, removed a grate, dumped in the hot coals, and then arranged them where they were needed.

Just so you know, Strawberry Banana Muffins are really good with a little smokey flavor adding a touch of savory to the sweet. I'll let you know tomorrow how the gluten free chocolate cake tastes grilled.



P.S. Blogger just informed me that I've not posted my Strawnanna Bread recipe. I'll get that up this week.

Johnny Cakes (Cornmeal Pancakes) A Wheat Free Alternative

These Johnnycakes are so easy to whip up and add to a breakfast or brunch that I have the recipe penciled in at the bottom of my pancake recipe. We have wheat allergies in our family, so we know how handy it is to have good tasting alternatives to certain standards like pancakes or waffles.

This is one of those dishes that you'll likely need to make plenty of. Though technically a side dish or a substitution, it's good enough to be a main player.

Not the best picture, but these are them! You can see the browning
and the indents of my fingers!

Johnnycakes

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

I like to mix all the ingredients and soak the batch overnight. The texture is simply better that way, but that step is not required. Just mix it up, shape the batter in your hand (it's akin to making a sand pie on the beach, gritty and damp) and fry it on a hot, greased griddle until firm with some browning. Flip.

We serve ours drizzled with honey.

That is indeed one cool cook!

Meanwhile, this is all I've been up to today, playing in the kitchen with this guy. That's four loaves of oat bread cooling up there. 

P.S. Don't let the little white Kitchen Aid fool you. I used the industrial mixer under the counter and under the pink shroud to get those loaves done. A nice lady retiring from her pizza business let us buy it from her. Don't you just love Craigslist?

Not only do I read maps, I like cars.

I'm still a girl, though. To prove it, I'm starting with a recipe...

It's been a long, rough, and emotional week. I thought I'd lighten things up with some cooking therapy. I took an Internet fast yesterday and then tore my kitchen apart making red beans and rice and this recipe from the Food Network. I substituted the flour to make it gluten free and doubled the recipe to boot, so I wound up skimming off a ton of oil. Other than that glitch, this is worth passing on. It is so good!

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo

Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped bell peppers
• 1 pound smoked sausage, such as Andouille or Kiebasa, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3 bay leaves
• 6 cups water
• 1 pound boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon Rustic Rub, recipe follows
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon file powder (substituted 1 used one drop of Root Beer extract)

Directions

Combine the oil and flour in a large cast-iron or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven, over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. Add the sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves. Continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the water. Stir until the roux mixture and water are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Season the chicken with the rub and add to the pot. Simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, green onions, and file powder. Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls

Rustic Rub:

• 8 tablespoons paprika
• 3 tablespoons cayenne
• 5 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons onion powder
• 6 tablespoons salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme

Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container. 

I am saving that Rustic Rub recipe for later. It has just the right amount of kick to it. I have to admit I added parsley, a dash of cinnamon, and cilantro to it. If there wasn't a file (sassafras leaves which give off a root beer flavor) in this recipe, I'd have added a tablespoon of cocoa, too. That's just how I roll. 

Speaking of rolling, I have been daydreaming about the 2013 Dodge Dart. It's their latest compact and looks it, but once you get her to open up, she'll dazzle. Beauty on this beast truly lies within.

"She's average looking, but she has a great personality!"

Hubba hubba!

She has a programmable display, too.

That's all the time I have for drooling right now, but here's a handy dandy link to the Dodge Dart page. Although I think she's pretty, I wouldn't sneeze at her older sister either.

1972 Dodge Dart

I used to own one of these, but it was a green rust bucket that wouldn't start. When I was done with it, it was mostly fiberglass, but it still wouldn't start. I'm pretty sure this one runs better. It's prettier, that's for sure.

Goody Goody Gumdrops: Easy Christmas Candy

Sheila's over here getting eaten alive by trolls on the blogosphere. One even strayed over to bite me for saying essentially the same thing (she says it way better). I do advocate practicing accommodating hubbies on this side of the sheets first so that the shouts of delighted surprise emanating from the bedroom doesn't wake the neighbors. (Those would be your shouts, by the way. Hubbies are generally very accommodating to accommodation in the bedroom.) All of this oppressive politeness and Neanderthal niceness seems run of the mill to me, but you never know what will tick people off. Makes you have to work hard for it.

Hubby and I on a vacation in Europe

At any rate, since being sweet to your husband is this year's outrageously offensive behavior, I thought I'd be even more scandalous and advocate cooking again.

I know this cooking habit of mine is downright stereotypical of me, but I can't help myself. My husband eats. My children eat. Even I have been known to eat. My family is referred to as the "Plague of Locusts" among our friends. We descend upon a kitchen and leave dishes spinning in our wake. If I didn't cook, just imagine the effort entailed in feeding the Martin Hordes. I'd have to strap five children in their age appropriate car torture devices and appear with them in public. I'd have to comb hair, wipe faces, and even wear shoes! Anything but that! Have you seen my shoes? Cooking is my only recourse against such horrors. 

I wear them because he likes them!

It doesn't help that I'm cheap. To move Martins, we must use a vehicle. The vehicle has about 6 round trip town runs in its tank. I have to tell you that what I cook, for the most part, is better than the food we can afford once we feed this member of the Martin Family.

Most restaurant food isn't worth the gas.

So, now that I've got my daily recommended allowance of snark out of my system and have once again implied that I seriously believe that wives should at least act as if they like their husbands, I guess I should give you the candy recipe. I adapted it from a magazine that advocates, among other anti-happiness propaganda that wives should have boyfriends to practice being nice to. I guess that makes sense. Since we gals are supposed to treat our husbands authentically (i.e., rudely, impulsively, irrationally), we have to make nice somewhere or we'd lose all social skills before our divorce.

Gumdrops
 

6 tbs (8 envelopes) of unflavored gelatin

1 1/2 cups cold water

2 1/4 cups boiling water

6 cups sugar

Sugar to coat

extract to taste (5 drops butter extract, 3 drops mint extract is super yummy!)

food coloring as desired (try some of the neon colors)

Don't hate me because I'm sweet!

Begin boiling 2 1/4 cups of water. Coat 2 8x8 pans with cooking spray and set aside. In another pot, sprinkle gelatin evenly over cold water, avoiding clumps. Let stand for 5 minutes. Pour boiling water into gelatin and water mix. Stir until dissolved. Add sugar. Gently boil mixture for 25 minutes. Pour mixture into the 8 x 8 pans. Add extract and coloring and stir gently until uniformly colored. Chill for 4 hours or let stand overnight. Coat a knife with cooking spray (this is important) and cut gumdrops into cubes. Coat in sugar and let stand for a few hours for the sugar coating to crystallize. Store in an airtight container. Tastes great! Ships great!

Heavenly Humbling Homemade Olive Oil Mayo

Is it just me or do you sometimes get the feeling the angels are laughing at you?
"Silly human"

Last year I made my very first batch of Olive Oil Mayonnaise and planned on blogging about how simple and easy the recipe is. It's so easy and so good, in fact, that some restaurants make their mayonnaise in-house and you know how busy a restaurant kitchen is. It really is that simple and quick. In theory, anyway. That blog post never materialized. All I managed was this. (I was in a bit of a mood.) The mayonnaise was a disaster. Turns out I'd done everything right and still had a mess of inedible gloop in the end. Life's like that. It's just a little reminder that no matter what I think, I'm not in charge of things.

Since I don't like those little reminders, I don't usually take them lying down. I guess it's a holdover from my unrepentant heathen days that I hold onto the illusion that if I can plan things out to the last detail, everything will be fine. God knows better. Let's just say that He tosses me friendly and frequent reminders of who He is when I start to puff up with ignorant importance. This was one of those reminders. After the failure, I hunted around to find out what went wrong. As it turns out, olive oil can not be whipped with a metal utensil without sometimes developing a flat metallic taste. Sometimes. (?)(!)(...) I tried it with a wooden spoon and it turned out well. Then I tried it with plastic. Fine again. Then I tried it again with the metal and that was fine, too. Then I ran out of eggs. So I had to accept that sometimes using metal on mayo would make a mess and sometimes it wouldn't. Oh fine, then. 

So, let's get that straight before you start: use a metal whisk at your own risk. No matter what it tastes like, the mayo will turn out a bright yellow due to the egg yolks. If you find the idea of yellow mayo hard to stomach, I'm sure you could use only egg whites, but you may need to add an extra egg or two, maybe three. Let me know if you fiddle with this and how it turned out. I don't want to be the only lonely silly human around the place.

Enjoy!

Olive Oil Mayonnaise (Revised)

1 egg white, room temperature (the fresher the better)

1 Tbs vinegar or lemon juice
1 cup olive oil (have 1/4 cup ready in reserve)

salt to taste (try starting with 1/4 tsp)

Whip yolk, salt, and vinegar, and slowly add half of your oil. Then whip in remaining oil. It will begin to pull away from the bowl when it is thick enough. If too thick, add water by the drop. 

Use in the same way you always use mayonnaise. 

The Planet's Best Cole Slaw

My husband concocted this recipe. It is so good that I had to share it even though I've not done much posting on anything other than food lately. YOU HAVE TO TRY THIS! I'm warning you though, better make a double batch or it'll never make it to the picnic.

The Planet's Best Cole Slaw


1 large head of cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
3/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise
1/2 cup of vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
splash of white wine
1 tsp of salt (or to taste)


Combine all ingredients with a wooden or plastic spoon. Refrigerate.

Cooking Tip: If an olive oil based mayonnaise is stirred too vigorously with a metal spoon, sometimes a horrible metallic aftertaste develops. It is safer to just stick with wood or plastic.

Jelly Fish? That's not a good name for this dish...

...but I've used up all my creative energy reserves cooking. I know that cooking has become a major theme of late, but since we've switched to meat free, I've been spending a lot more time thinking creatively on food. You are the beneficiaries/victims of circumstance! Congratulations!

That's some good eatin' right there!

Jelly Fish
1 cup jelly (plum, apricot, pineapple)
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cilantro (substitutes include marjoram or parsley)
4 tbs vinegar
splash of wine (red, blush, or white)
1 Tbs high heat oil (safflower or corn)
6 to 10 fish fillets

Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Heat oil in a skillet. Dip fillets in the bowl to coat and cook for 4 to 6 minutes each side. Pour additional sauce on top of fish while cooking. Remove fish when it flakes with a fork. Pour additional sauce into skillet and heat, stirring constantly. It will thicken quickly. Serve fish over rice and drizzle sauce over top.

I'm attempting to find a cheap, tinned fish that would do well in the sauce. We've tried canned tuna, but it was too strong a flavor. If you have any success with a "poor man's" version of this recipe, would you let me know?

"Lent? Yuck!" Cooking up a metaphor

Today a friend made a soup disaster. I shared a spice guide with her. It didn't help the soup but it helped her get intrigued by cooking again.

What fascinates me about cooking is how much it is like life. Think metaphorically with me here and I promise to pull it together at the end...Sometimes you make a mess that you are stuck with eating because you've used up all your time and energy making the gloop and there just isn't anything left to do but eat it. I made a fondu (fond glue) like that once. By the time I was done ruining the dinner I had hours of scraping ahead of me.

Other times you take one bite and decide that you just couldn't possibly be that hungry. "No thank you, I'm having water! Mmmm!" Putting up with me and some of my great ideas is just more punishment than doing without. Those are the creations that even the dog shies away from with that peculiar doggy look of "I'm not even rolling in that!"

Yes, indeed, the kitchen will humble us and make our families grow in holiness. "I don't care what it tastes like! Offer it up!" (Yes, I really said that and no I couldn't take myself seriously after that. We ate cereal instead.) Just when you think you've got things in hand, along comes a meal so bad it makes it to the family legend stage. "Remember that time mommy melted the spoon in dinner?" (true story) It all seems so simple. Put in ingredients in the right order, the right amounts, add heat and it is good, right? In theory, yes. In reality sometimes even scrambled eggs can be beyond me (shells, rubbery, bland).

But, hey, even when the last meal was bad, you gotta eat. Just like life will keep on chugging along, there's always another meal coming around. You can start over three times a day, not counting snacks.

So, now that you are past the fun, adventurous stage of Lent, now that your penance is actually starting to grind at you a bit, now that you've had three feasts right in a row to break both your fast and your penance rhythm, and now that you're seriously considering giving up on giving up something for Lent, I'm here to remind you cheerfully that yes, you are a failure. Me, too. We all are going to suck at most things at least some times. Even eggs. In life the difference between a good cook and a bad one is that the good ones learn from their mistakes and try again.

Spicing issues? Try it the Vegan Way!
(no, actual children were harmed in the writing of this blog)

Get cooking. And for fun, try out some of these spice combos. From Compassionate Cooks (Vegans).

 Which Spices/Herbs to Use

How many of us have spice racks with jars of spices we bought years ago and never used, whose sole purpose is to collect the dust in your kitchen? J Now is the time to dust them off (or replace them) and start adding flavor to your dishes. The correct spice or herb (whether it is fresh or dried) for any food is the one that tastes right for you. When you're at a loss about what to add to a dish, try something from the list below.

WHICH SPICE GOES WITH WHAT FOOD?

Beans - cumin, cayenne, chili, oregano, parsley, pepper, sage, savory, thyme

Breads - anise, basil, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, lemon peel, orange peel, oregano, poppy seeds, rosemary, saffron, sage, thyme

Fruits - allspice, anise, cardamom, Chinese 5-spice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mint

Potatoes - basil, caraway, celery seed, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, marjoram, oregano, paprika, parsley, poppy seed, rosemary, tarragon, thyme

Salads and Salad Dressings - basil, caraway, celery seed, chives, dill, fennel, garlic, horseradish, lemon peel, lovage, marjoram, mint, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sumac, tarragon, thyme

Soups - basil, bay, chervil, chili, chives, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, marjoram, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, star anise, thyme

Sweets - allspice, angelica, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, ginger, lemon peel, mace, nutmeg, mint, orange peel, rosemary, star anise

Tomatoes - basil, bay, celery seed, cinnamon, chili, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon, thyme

Vegetables - chili, chives, curry, dill, marjoram, parsley, savory, thyme

WHICH SPICE/HERB GOES WITH WHAT FOOD?

Allspice: An ingredient in many baked goods as well as "Jerk" sauces.

Anise Seed: Mild licorice flavor, used in cookies, or candies.

Arrowroot Powder: Use as a thickener in puddings, pies, soups, sauces, and gravies.

Basil: used in Italian and Mediterranean cooking, especially good with tomatoes.

Bay Leaves: Perfect use in stews, sauces, soups, and marinades.

Caraway Seeds: Great in baked goods and with fruits.

Cardamom, ground: A wonderful addition to Indian dishes.

Cardamom, whole: Dry roast the whole cardamom seeds for more flavor in your recipe.

Cayenne Pepper: Wonderful heat for any Mexican dish.

Chervil Leaf: Similar to parsley, a mild flavor for any meat, soup or vegetable dish.

Cilantro: Used in Mexican cooking & salsas; may also be used in Indian dishes.

Cloves, ground: Popular in desserts, syrups, and sweet vegetable dishes.

Coriander seed, ground: Citrusy, sweet & tart flavor to be used at the end when cooking.

Cream of Tartar: Adds consistency and stability to any cookie or cake.

Cumin Seed, ground: Wonderful with tomato dishes, chili, salsa & Indian dishes.

Dill Weed: Great in dressings and sauces and on potatoes.

Ginger, crystallized: Sliced ginger partially dried in a sugar syrup solution. For sweets.

Ginger, ground: A sharp, aromatic spice is used in many sweet baked goods and curries.

Lemongrass: A grass with citric oils, very popular in Thai cooking.

Marjoram: Like oregano & from the mint family, it has a sweeter and subtler taste.

Nutmeg, ground: A sweet, nutty spice is used in custards, pastries, and vegetables.

Oregano, Greek: A must for Italian cooking, Greek oregano has a mild, delicate flavor.

Oregano, Mexican: Slightly stronger than Greek and less sweet, used in Spanish cooking.

Paprika, hot: Mixed with cayenne, these red peppers make the Hungarians famous.

Paprika, sweet: This sweet, milder Paprika will add radiant color to any dish.

Parsley: This versatile herb can be used as a garnish or with anything other than sweets.

Poppy Seeds: Used in baked goods, breads & to flavor noodles.

Rosemary, ground: Use ground in sauces or stocks to avoid the "needle" look.

Saffron, whole threads: Use for saffron rice and Indian dishes.

Sage: Well known for use in stuffings.

Salt, Kosher: Coarser than regular granulated, easier to control in cooking.�

Savory: Strong, peppery taste, good with veggies & stuffing.

Sesame Seeds: Used mostly for baking breads & rolls, nice for stir-frys.

Spearmint: A popular tea flavoring, used in sauces and veggie dishes.

Tarragon: Aromatic herb used to flavor vinegar, dressings, breads. Great with potatoes!

Thyme, ground: Great for Greek & Italian cooking, use ground for sauces & soups.

Thyme, whole leaf: Versatile in flavoring veggies, pizza, stews & herb blends.

Turmeric: Used as a natural yellow coloring for soups, sauces, rice, curry, & tofu scramble.

TIPS FOR USING SPICES/HERBS

STORING

• Store spices in a cool, dark place. Humidity, light and heat will cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor more quickly. Although the most convenient place for your spice rack may be above your stove, moving your spices to a different location may keep them fresh longer.
• As a general rule, herbs and ground spices will retain their best flavors for a year. Whole spices may last for 3 to 5 years. Proper storage should result in longer freshness times.
• Because the refrigerator is a rather humid environment, storing herbs and spices there is not recommended. To keep larger quantities of spices fresh, store them in the freezer in tightly sealed containers.

USING

• For long-cooking dishes, add herbs and spices an hour or less before serving. Cooking spices for too long may result in overly strong flavors.
• Use restraint! In general, � teaspoon of spice is enough for 4 servings.
• Do not use dried herbs in the same quantity as fresh. In most cases, use � the amount in dried as is called for fresh.
• Seasoning food is an art, not a science. Experimenting with herbs and spices can be fun and educational, and while you may occasionally be eating a less than perfect dish, you may also end up creating that recipe that will become a classic in your household.