For the love of honey... or, I can Can-Can!

Maybe it's coming from a crafty family, or just me, but I've always loved homemade gifts. As a kid I enjoyed them but I'm not sure I really appreciated them properly until I started making them myself. Of course, some of the best homemade gifts are edible. So when I came across a recipe called Love Honey, I knew it would make a great gift.

I've always wanted to learn how to can and preserve my own food. There's just been one little thing holding me back...I'm scared. Scared of the equipment, scared of the hot water and most of all I’m scared of glass jars exploding in hot water! Luckily, this recipe did not require anything but a jar with a screw-top lid. We went right to the store so I could purchase the required jars and get started. The choosing of the jars was a little more complicated than I had imagined. We found two styles that seemed small enough, based on the fact that one recipe makes one cup of honey, and both pretty in their own way. Since I photograph everything and want the product to show through the glass, we opted for the smooth-glass with an interesting shape instead of the fancier etched glass jar.

Upon returning home and opening the package of jars to sterilize them I realized, with extreme horror, that we'd accidentally bought jars that don't have screw on lids, but actual canning lids! It was late at night (when all my good ideas come to me... like painting the kitchen purple) and I'd already torn off the cardboard box, so now I felt obligated to use them. The torn packaging, when pieced back together, had minimal instructions for the canning process.

A couple years ago I came across a recipe for Banoffee Pie. I love the holiday movie, set in Great Britain, titled Love Actually. And in it there is a scene about banoffee pie. I wonder every time I see it just what is banoffee pie? Well, here it was and I almost felt silly when I found out it was simply banana and toffee. I had to make it, of course. I remember making toffee in high school Spanish by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk on a hotplate so I figured this would be just as simple. Well, it is when you don't forget about the 4 cans on the stove. Apparently, it's like running your car without replenishing the oil. When you let all the water boil out you get exploding cans. They didn't spray all over the kitchen, but were horribly disfigured and I was only able to get enough caramel out of the three I could open (scraping around the blackened areas) to make one of the two pies. My favorite large pot, in breast cancer pink, was ruined. The pie tasted amazing, so all was not lost, but the fear of ruining another pot was something that dawned on me now as I stared at these canning jars.

I've already spent many hours online researching canning methods, recipes, rules and especially the dangers, so I felt more or less the same about doing it as I had in the past. The difference now was I had the jars and the product sitting in front of me. I didn't have the canning pot or the special tongs but even so, I decided it was time to face my fears and finish what I'd started.

I winged it according to the simple instructions on the box and using my largest non-stick Dutch oven for the boiling water bath. The most trouble I had was not having tongs that would grip the wide mouthed, 2-inch tall jars. I used two pancake spatulas to pick up and lift (juggle) the jars out of the boiling water. I don't recommend this method however, it worked.

According to the recipe we now leave the honey to cure for three or four weeks. Luckily, my math skills are far below my writing skills so we ended up with at least two and a half cups of honey leftover after filling the four canning jars. This I poured over a double batch of spices in an old pasta sauce jar and planned on keeping and testing myself. The honey has become my number one favorite flavoring in everything from oatmeal to coffee (instead of cream and sugar). I can't wait until Christmas so I can get the reactions of my family. The flavor seems to mellow as it cures, but it comes on sweet followed by a potpourri of holiday spices and then finishes with a perfectly melded flavor.
This recipe is so easy but is really something special. I hope you give it a try!

UPDATE: 1/14/2010
Email from a friend: "I really liked the honey. I had it on my oatmeal and it had just the right amount of sweetness and the spices were mellow and not overwhelming, a lovely blend of both sweet and spice. When things are too spicy I get heartburn, but this didn't come close. I'm still looking forward to toast with it."

It's called stuffing for one reason....

There are many discussions on the internet as to whether it's called stuffing or dressing, but as I read through the histories and opinions of each author I formed a theory of my own. It's called stuffing because I can't help but stuff myself with it. Sure, I'll have a bite of turkey on my plate, some mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe even some veggies, but those are all just for show. If it wouldn't look strange, I'd just leave the bird frozen and serve up stuffing every year. I've never actually felt the desire to call it dressing either. I'm sure it's all in how we're raised, tomato/tomatoe, but even so, I can't recall one time when I've seen anyone lean back from the table, loosen their waistband and happily sigh, "Ah, I'm dressed!"
When I was young I loved the holidays at grandma and grandpa’s house. Grandma made the best stuffing ever! Until I found out what it was made of. I know a gizzard and a few kidneys shouldn't change my opinion of it but I've got a squeamish side. I wasn’t about to give up on my stuffing habit though, so I went on the search for a perfectly turkey-less turkey stuffing. After several years of acceptable, but similar, recipes I found one in the Christmas 1997 issue of the Taste of Home magazine. Over the years it has evolved into my version below, which has become a staple on our holiday table. Don’t be afraid of the rye bread. The 3 to 1 ratio of light to dark rye creates a balance that doesn’t overpower the dish, it’s just enough that friends and family recognize it as something extra special you've done with your stuffing. Feel free to substitute all light rye if the dark is too strong for your family’s tastes and any apple is fine, but I personally prefer the crunch and tartness of the granny smith. It has lots of flavor, lots of texture and is good stuffed or baked alongside the turkey. I hope you enjoy this as much as my friends and family do!

Rye Bread Stuffing
1 lb day-old light rye bread, cubed
1/2 lb day-old dark rye bread, cubed
1 lb Jimmy Dean brand sage flavored sausage
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 large granny smith apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped celery
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh minced Italian parsley (or dried parsley flakes)
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3-3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Instructions: Toss bread cubes in a large bowl. In a skillet, cook and crumble sausage just until cooked through. Remove to paper towels to drain. To same skillet, add onion, apples, celery, garlic and butter. Saute until apples and vegetables are tender. Add both the onion mixture and sausage to bread. Add nuts (if desired), seasonings and enough broth to moisten. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake; stuff turkey just before baking. Bake any additional stuffing separately in a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Or bake all stuffing separately in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish. To bake stuffing separately, place in greased dish, cover and bake at 325 degrees for one hour; uncover and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Serves 10-12 (11 cups of stuffing)
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 70 minutes

Well, it's October again and that means its breast cancer awareness month. No doubt we've all been affected by cancer in some way. I've lost two friends, one in real life (Dec 2005) and one online (Oct 2009) to breast cancer. I don't want this to feel like a depressing column though. Both of these women were positive about their fate and honest about their experiences. They found a way to let others into their hearts to share the laughing, smiling or crying. Simond and Ellie will be greatly missed but the marks they made on our hearts will always be with us.

Every October on Recipezaar we tag recipes to make that have the word pink in the title or contain a pink ingredient. I've made several already and have another 5 to go.... for now. I'm sure I'll keep tagging more recipes throughout the month but we definitely started off with some real treats. We had a drink to toast the courageous women who battle this disease every day and a bright and cheerfully unique cheesecake.

Pink Daiquiris



Pink Lemonade Cheesecake

Taking Food For Granted…?

Yeah, I’m guilty. There are some foods that I give very little thought to. They seem so common or ordinary that my mind never stops to give them their proper due. I’ve realized that tacos are one of those foods. On just about every major intersection you can find a taco restaurant and mobile taco stands (trucks), or taqueria, are frequently seen in parking lots around town; always busy during the lunch hour.

I remember late one night during high school when my friends and I drove through a taco restaurant. I ordered the craze of the moment for all four of us; BLT soft tacos. It was a genius idea; a soft flour tortilla wrapped around crunchy fresh lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese and crispy fried bacon pieces all smothered in a ranch dressing. We’d been eating them nearly every day since they were introduced, hoping to contribute to sales enough that the taco chain would make them a regular menu item. We’d spent the evening at a football game and dance and were really ready to dig in. Until out of the loudspeaker, the words you never expect to hear at a taco joint… “I’m sorry, but we’re out of cheese.” There is nothing like a crazed taco fan that has just been told she can’t have them. I politely… okay, sarcastically (I was a teenager, after all)pointed out that there was an Albertson’s right across the street and that I was pretty sure they’d have cheese in stock. Amazingly, this tactic did not get us BLT tacos and shortly thereafter they were discontinued. When I look back I see this incident should have been the beginning of my taco reverence, but it wasn’t going to happen for another 20 plus years.

Last month we were preparing for my daughter’s third birthday and for family to be in town for two weeks. We’d been eating some quick and easy meals for several days while getting the house and party stuff ready, including tacos, but the night before everyone was to arrive I really needed to clean out the refrigerator to make room for the food we’d be buying the next day. While tossing miscellaneous food items from the fridge I realized I still had a lot of taco fixin’s. The recipe I’m sharing with you today is the result of cleaning out the fridge, but not wanting my family to know that’s what I was feeding them. I found a can of black beans in the pantry, a container of tomato sauce where I’d only needed two tablespoons from the can for a previous recipe (it hadn’t been frozen in ice cube trays yet) and the last remaining chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Chipotle peppers start out as jalapenos but after being dried and smoked they become less spicy and provide a rich, smoky-sweet flavor to your recipes. It doesn’t take much chipotle to jazz up the same old soup or stew and I usually open a can and store the leftovers in the fridge in a small recycled maraschino cherry jar. The resulting recipe garnered rave reviews and gave me a new appreciation for the taco. They’re quick, convenient, versatile and delicious. It’s no wonder humans have been filling tortillas with everything from eggs to fish for centuries. I hope you enjoy these delicious, protein-packed tacos as much as we did and feel free to change up the meat to cooked and shredded pork, chicken or turkey and the veggies to whatever is on hand.

Tink's Spicy Beef & Black Bean Tacos
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
4 green onions, sliced into 1/4 sections on the diagonal
1 lb ground beef (I use lean chuck roast that I grind up into hamburger)
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup white onions, diced
1 chipotle chile in adobo, diced
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
6-8 tortillas (I use tomato and basil flavored but flour tortillas were fine too)
sour cream (optional)
cheese, shredded (I used pre-shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend)

Directions:
1) In large bowl, toss together lettuce, carrots, green onions and cabbage. Set aside.
2) Brown beef in skillet until almost no pink remains and drain grease (if needed). 3) Add garlic, onion and chipotle chili. Cook and stir until no pink remains in beef.
4) Add tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, salt and black beans. Stir to combine and simmer until heated through.
5) Warm the tortillas between paper towels or in tortilla warmer in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
6) Top tortillas with sour cream, salad mixture, cheese, beef and bean mixture; fold and enjoy!
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

One of my fondest memories growing up is the reaction my best friend had about my mom's fried rice. She was so addicted to it she would randomly request that mom make some. I have been craving it lately but knowing that it needs to be done with "yesterday's" leftover rice gets me every time. (If fresh rice is used it will stick together in a mushy mess instead of separating out into individual dry pieces.) Well, as luck would have it I spaced when making rice a few nights ago & instead of loading the rice cooker with 2 cups rice & 4 cups water I put in 4 cups of both! So I added another 4 cups of water & wow... that was a lot of leftover rice! So, last night I combined what I could remember of mom's fried rice with what I had on hand & my family loved it. We ate this for a main meal but usually it's served as a side. The first bite I took really did take me back 25 years! I hope you enjoy it too! :)


Fried Rice with Bacon (Oriental Style)

1 lb bacon
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves (or to taste)
6 green onions, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces on a diagonal (5 for stir fry & 1 for garnish)
1/2 cup carrots (pre-shredded or 1-2 carrots finely diced)
3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables (the small diced size)
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granule (I used a leftover packet of chicken flavored seasoning from Ramen noodles as well as 1/2 packet of the chili flavor)
2 tablespoons water
5 cups cooked rice (brown or white, but be sure it's refrigerated till cold)
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
3 teaspoons sesame oil

Trim most of the fat from bacon & chop meat into bite-sized pieces. Fry in large skillet until almost crisp. With slotted spoon, remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Set aside. Leave 1 teaspoon (or less) of the bacon grease in pan but wipe out any more than that & reduce heat to medium low.
Lightly beat eggs, milk, salt & pepper together, then add to hot pan & scramble. Breaking up into small, 1/2 inch or so, sized pieces & cook til dried but not browned. Remove to small bowl & set aside.
To pan, add olive oil, garlic, 5 of the sliced onions, shredded carrot & frozen veggies. Stir fry for about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle bouillon (or packets) over veggies then add the 2 Tablespoons water & stir to dissolve.
To pan, add rice, soy sauce & sesame oil. Stir fry for about 3 minutes or until rice is evenly coated with the soy sauce.
Stir in bacon pieces.
Gently stir in scrambled egg.
Garnish with last sliced green onion.
Serve with additional soy sauce, sesame oil or chili oil.

Makes 4 main dishes or 6 side dishes.
15 minutes prep
30 minutes cooking

Why do they always discontinue the good stuff?

We were shopping with Sophie last week when Bryan commented again on how we can't find his favorite frozen snack anymore. We used to buy a box of bagel dogs every time we went to Costco but Costco has long since stopped carrying them. We also would buy the mini bagel dogs when we could find them. Even I would eat one once in a great while. So I suggested we just try making them ourselves. The next day I spent some time researching bagel recipes & then found a recipe for bagel dogs at another blogsite Cooking Dunkin Style who found the recipe at America's Little Germany who found the "Mall Pretzel" recipe at Allrecipes.com - Mall Pretzels(no previous source listed from there).

I remember making bagels years ago when my son was a toddler & I guess it must've been quite an experience, as I've not done it since. I've often thought about doing it again though and I do remember the hassle of making, boiling and then baking them. So when I saw this recipe, where the boiling is replaced by a quick dunk in a baking soda and hot water bath, I had to give it a try. The recipe as written is excellent but I've changed the instructions slightly to make the mini-dogs. We only made one full sized bagel dog, to compare, & I personally like the flavor of the hot dog better than the little smokey, but I like the size of the minis. Cause they're just plain fun to eat!
I used my Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook attachment for the mixing & kneading with great results.

Mall Pretzel - Bagel Dogs

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 package Little Smokies cocktail sausages(rinse, drain & pat dry with paper towels)
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt



In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast, brown sugar and salt in the 1 1/2 cups warm water. Stir in flour, and knead dough on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover, and let rise for one hour.
Combine 2 cups warm water and baking soda in an 8 inch square pan.

After dough has risen, divide in half and put one ball back in the bowl and cover again. Gently roll and stretch the second half into a log about 16 inches long and cut into 16-20 pieces. Roll each piece into a 7 inch rope, then starting at one end of the little smokie begin wrapping the dough around in a spiral, ending at the other end. Crimp the end or push it under the last wrap if needed to secure.

Dip it into the baking soda and water solution. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets, and let rise 15 to 20 minutes.

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Repeat with remaining dough. Feel free to experiment with different sizes of dough you use for wrapping, especially if you choose to make the full-sized dogs. I ended up liking the thicker wraps best because the dough stayed soft & puffy instead of getting hard & crunchy on the outside. Any leftover dough can be formed into pretzels, twisted into pretzel sticks or I even tried just cutting them into bite-sized bits that were great for toddler snacks.

Serve with melted Velveeta cheese, ketchup, mustard, BBQ or horseradish sauce for dipping.

Yield depends on how many Little Smokies or hot dogs you're using. One full recipe will make a nice addition to your appetizer tray.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake or Cupcakes

Easier than burnt sugar cake and a really good substitute is the Brown Sugar Pound Cake(cupcakes) I've been tinkering with. Originally credited to the Crisco.com website I found it on Zaar, here: Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I've made the cake into cupcakes and actually ended up enjoying them even better that way. I've tried them with both the frosting from the cake recipe and this frosting, Browned Butter Frosting. Both frostings were deliciously thick & rich and both very good.