Yours 'til Niagara Falls

Where There's Smoke, There's Turkey

For dinner yesterday, we had a smoked turkey.  It was much nicer that the store-bought lunch-meat stuff I've bought before.  It wasn't hard to do, but it did take a little bit of planning.

First, buy a turkey.  I waited too long to get a frozen one, so I got a fresh bird.  The day mefore cooking, I made a brining mixture in a large plastic bag (water, kosher salt, demerara sugar and some dried herbs) and had the whole arrangement sit in the fridge overnight.

Early in the morning, drain the turkey and have Helpful Neighbor put it in his ginormous smoker.

In eight hours, you will be rewarded with a beautiful golden bird.  Much nicer, in my opinion than a weinie roast.

And, as long as I'm chattering about food, Dr. Andrew Weil posted this info on his vitamin-shilling website to which I subscribe.  It's probably true:

Seven Reasons the French Are Slimmer

For years, scientists on both sides of the Atlantic have been trying to unravel the "French paradox" - the finding that despite a high-fat diet, the French appear to have a lower rate of heart attacks (as well as a lower rate of obesity) than other Western countries, particularly the United States. While no definite explanations are available, it may have a great deal to do with how the French approach eating:

1. Their portions are smaller
2. They eat only at mealtimes, snacking is frowned upon
3. They eat a wide variety of food
4. They don't skip meals
5. They enjoy their food, emphasizing dishes made from quality ingredients that are fresh and locally grown
6. They stick to internal cues - primarily, no longer feeling hungry - to stop eating
7. They tend to eat meals with family and friends, making eating a pleasurable experience and not something to “fit into” a schedule or feel guilty about. 

P.S. I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Paris about five years ago.  Make no mistake, those people are getting pudgy, according to what I observed in the Metro.

Shaken Cream

I'm sure that plenty of people already know this trick, but it's handy to know.  Instead of dragging out ye olde mixmaster, you can create a lovely cream topping by shaking the heavy cream in a container.  Here's how:

Pour one cup of heavy cream into a container which has a lid.  For my 8 ounces of cream, I used a 32 ounce yogurt container.

Just a spoonful of sugar...

Slap on the lid and cover with an absorbent towel.  Trust me.  You want the towel.

Shake it, shake it, shake it.  It takes only a few minutes.  In hardly any time at all, say three or four minutes you will no longer hear liquid sloshing around.  Open the lid and you will see the cream is lovely and thick.  (presumably if you were to keep shaking, you'd eventually get homemade butter. Not the end of the world, but not what we're after just now.

What you now have is the very best topping for local strawberries and shortcake.  I like using home made poundcake for this, but my very favorite is a baking powder biscuit.  I'm not partial at all to angelfood cake.  Anyhoo, the shaken cream is a great alternative to traditional whipped cream.

Pretty Pizzelles

Today was a beautiful day.  Four-day weekends are the most civilized idea anyone has ever had.  This afternoon I made pizzelles.  I guess it's been awhile since I made some because it took me ten minutes to find my pizzelle iron.

Play With Your Food

The New York Times featured a story on carving fruits and vegetables.  What the article describes goes way beyond the tomato skin roses I use to pretty up my potato salad. Take a peek here .

Addendum:  Make sure you look at the slideshow of decorative carvings:  here.

Canadian Groceries

One advantage of being a border town is the relative ease with which one can go grocery shopping in Canada.  There are a couple things I notice when I shop there.  There's a strong British influence (read Elizabeth David , you will not be disappointed) as seen in lemon curd, crumpets  golden syrup and mincemeat.  The grocery stores are a little further ahead in the organic department.  In most of the American stores, there is a separate organics section.  In Canada, organic products are interspersed with like products.  I was, however, very surprised to see the organic honey which was produced in Australia. I was under the impression that it was impossible to verify that every flower the bee collector from was unsullied by agricultural chemicals. 

11 Foods That Are Not Loaded With Pesticides

According to Dr. Andrew Weil  there are 11 foods that you don't have to buy in the organic produce section.  Everyone I know is trying to stretch their grocery dollars, so I think this is good to know.  Here' the list:

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cabbage
6. Corn (sweet, frozen)
7. Kiwi
8. Mangos
9. Onions
10. Pineapples
11. Peas (sweet, frozen)

Hail, King Arthur

Do yourself a favor and take a look at the King Arthur Flour blog Baker's Banter.  It features well-illustrated recipes and baking techniques.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/ 

One thing I wasn't aware of is that the company is an employee-owned concern.  That explains the family vibe the company exudes.  If you are disappointed with the way your baking is turning out, you might consider trying this brand.

My favorite aspect of this well-written blog is the descriptions of the inner workings of the King Arthur test kitchen.  I'd love to take one of the classes they offer. 

Easter Treats

I wanted to show off two of my favorite Easter recipes.  The first is Easter Bread.  All it is is a rich dinner roll recipe with butter and eggs  jazzed up with orange and lemon zests and copious amounts of anise flavor.  After the first rising, the loaves are formed and a colored, hard-boiled egg is plunked in the center.  After baking, it is glazed and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands.  I left one loaf unglazed to use for the most heavenly toast you can imagine.

The other recipe I tried for the first time this year is a savory ricotta pie.  The dough is a pizza crust recipe and the filling is ricotta, mozzarella and pecorino cheese.  Kind of like the cheese mixture in a lasagna.  It was delicious, and if I say so myself, pretty as a picture.

All I can say is that yesterday I went through seven pounds of King Arthur flour, two dozen eggs and two pounds of butter for yesterday's baking.

Gotta Get Healthy

The past week I've been off and had a little time to think.  I'm tired of a few things in my life, and I think I'm ready for a change.  A list of what I'm tired of:

Looking around a room and always being one of the heaviest people in the room

Wearing clothes which are frumpy because there really are no pretty clothes in my size

Being tired all the time

Having elevated blood pressure

So... tomorrow I start the Doctor Oz diet.  I went grocery shopping tonight.  I took "You on a Diet" with me and bought all the recommended foods for the two-week start given in the book.  Healthy food costs a lot!  Anyhoo... to make things interesting, my husband and I are doing it together.  The winner after this two-week adventure gets $50.00 bucks from the other person.  I read an article that having money riding on it really increases the chances of sticking to it.  I'm hoping the two-week detox will break my never-ending craving for sweets.  I'll keep you all posted.

A Welcomed Season

Lent begins this week.  I've always had warm feelings towards this season of preparation and reflection.  Some people are less than pleased this year that it is such an early Easter this year, but I myself am more than happy.  I'm all for anything that hastens this winter along.  I won't review the ugly details, but it hasn't been a good time for me.  I'm not complaining because I know it could be so much worse, I'm just stating facts.

Returning to the subject of Lent, one of the reasons I like it is because of the ceremony with which it begins, Ash Wednesday.  Dust to dust is a pretty sobering image.  As far as giving things up for Lent, that doesn't usually work for me.  I'm considering a variation on that theme.  I'm thinking this year,  Lent will be a time to get rid of clutter, mental and physical.  Have a restful Sunday.