The Fresh Blog: A Closer Look: Strawberries

Children and adults alike can’t deny the allure of strawberries. The fruit’s flavor is hard to resist, especially because it offers a guilt free way to satisfy your sweet craving. Strawberries are available year-round at your local grocery store of course, yet there’s nothing quite like…

There are no strawberries quite as delicious as the ones you grow. My parents had a strawberry patch in our backyard. They put the plants within metal-framed concentric circles that were built upward, almost like a pyramid. If the bunnies didn’t get the berries first we would wait until they were ripe and pick them by the bowlful. My Mom would make strawberry shortcake once or twice and insisted they be made with biscuits. She made what we know as her famous upper-lip sneer for what she considered fake strawberry shortcake made with yellow cake. Biscuits soaked up the strawberry juices and the whipped cream but they never got soggy. We ate hem too fast for that to happen.

Strawberry shortcake recipe: www.ronniefein.com

Coffee Maker Update

A while ago I mentioned I was using a new coffee maker. My old one, a Braun, was still fine but it was so old everyone I knew made fun of me for keeping it. It also didn’t match anything else in my kitchen.

I still can’t throw the old one away. It’s in my garage.

But I’ve been using the new Cuisinart for a few weeks now. It’s stainless steel and black and looks good in the kitchen and it makes good coffee. It took some getting used to (with the old Braun you could see from the outside how much water is in the tank; this one you have to look inside and it’s more difficult to tell).

My mother also once had an old pot that she never threw away. Not a coffee pot, but a small, one-quart saucepan that was lightweight and well used and full of lumps and bumps. It wobbled on the burner. She never used it. It was just there in the cabinet.

I once asked her why she kept it and she told me that when she heard the announcement on the radio that World War II was over she and everyone else in the neighborhood ran outside with pots and pans and started knocking them together.

It was her victory pot and she could never let it go.

Click here to ask Ronnie a question: http://ronniefein.com/ask

Ronnie's Ketchup!

I can vouch for how great this ketchup is, and so worth the extra effort. Actually, this recipe got me thinking about devising one without sugar. I know it won’t be half as great, but then I can post it on my blog! Keep up the great work, Ronnie. Your posts are terrific. 

Submitted by Val Foster

Heinz Ketchup

fuckyeahcondiments:

Originally, ketchup was tomato free. Ketchup apparently began in China, as a sauce called ke-tsiap, made from fish brine mixed with herbs. (pic via flickr)

Yes indeed and then all of a sudden someone used mushrooms instead of fish and the first vegetable ketchups were born. Along came cucumber ketchup, grape, walnut and lots of others.

I’ve made tomato ketchup (and other kinds of ketchup too). The tomato ketchup was really tasty, thick and tangy so I thought I would try it out on my father-in-law, who was a ketchup devotee. He said “this ketchup is delicious but it isn’t Heinz.” I said I knew that, but did he like it? And he said again “it’s delicious. It isn’t Heinz.”

To this day I don’t know whether he was just comparing the two or whether he liked Heinz — or mine — better.

But in case you’re at a Farmer’s market and can buy a load of tomatoes, (maybe this will have to wait till the end of summer), and you want ketchup that’s tasty, thick and tangy, try my recipe:

Ketchup

8 pounds tomatoes, quartered

4 medium onions, finely chopped

2 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons celery salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cinnamonstick

1 tablespoon ustard seed

2 dried hot chili peppers, optional

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon whole cloves

Place the tomatoes and onions in a large, deep pot and bring to a boil over high heat. (Do not add water.) Lower the heat and simmer the vegetables for about 30 minutes or until they are soft. Strain the vegetables through a sieve or strainer extracting as much liquid as possible, and reserve the juices. Wash the pot and pour in the reserved juices. Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, white sugar, celery salt, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Place the cinnamon stick, mustard seed, hot peppers, black peppercorns and whole cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth (tie it closed with kitchen string) or in a small muslin cooking bag. Place the bag of spices in the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the mixture for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, or until the mixture is thick. Discard the spice bag. Pour into jars prepared for bottling (follow manufacturer’s instructions) or spoon into plastic containers and keep, covered, in the refrigerator. Makes about 1-1/2 quarts

Hummus and the Hound

My daughter’s dog Ziggy ate my breakfast yesterday. !@#$%^^&&*

It was yogurt and strawberries and I accidentally left the bowl on a chair outside on the deck while I got up for a few seconds to get something a few feet away. That’s all it takes for this dog. She has a nose for food and will zero in on it in seconds.

Okay, I was almost finished anyway.

Later in the day Ziggy got to the homemade hummus —!@#$%^&* — which unfortunately was in an antique sandwich glass bowl. Not an expensive thing, but it was a good shape and size bowl for hummus, which I make often. Okay, okay, it’s just a thing. But the hummus was really good and it was gone, gone, along with its container.

I had a dog named Rocky when I was about 8. That dog also ate everything in sight and one day it leaped up onto the table and made off with the roast beef my mother just put there for my father to slice.

That was it for my mother who never wanted the dog in the first place. She said we children wouldn’t take care of it (she was right) and that she would wind up with all the work (she was right about that too). The next week Rocky was “living with a nice family on a farm upstate.”

Anyway, if you want a recipe for easy, homemade hummus, here it is. It was good while it lasted:

Lemony Hummus

1 can chickpeas (about one pound)

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large cloves garlic

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

cayenne pepper to taste (I use 1/4 teaspoon)

chopped parsley, optional, about 2-3 tablespoons

zatar, optional

pita bread

Drain the chickpeas but reserve the liquid. Place the chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt and cayenne pepper in a food processor. Process until you reach the texture you like, adding 3-4 tablespoons of the reserved chickpea liquid if you like it smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with optional parsley and zatar. Serve with pita bread. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

Good Causes: World Cup Calendar for Soccer Aid

jessehertzberg:

afootballreport:

By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal

Being less than two weeks away from the start of the World Cup, I think it’s a good time to take a break from the predictions and focus on a good cause. Designer David Watson has created this very cool typographic poster of the entire event’s schedule. The poster is available to buy here: http://www.trebleseven.com/ and profits go to Soccer Aid, a charity that raises money for UNICEF. 

(via worldcupreport)

This is not really about food memories — or is it? Trick or Treat for Unicef began in 1950, in Philadelphia. Kids asked for money instead of candy at Hallowe’en so children around the world could get basics, like food and water. My kids went trick or treating for Unicef. Soccer Aid is another good way to make sure children get what they need. Why wait for Hallowe’en?

Mashed Potatoes

Chow posted a recipe today for Creamed Spinach. It’s made with baby spinach and lots of cream. I am sure it is delicious. Looks nice too. For the recipe:

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10731-creamed-spinach

My mother got us to eat spinach with her recipe for creamed spinach. Her version was this: mix cooked spinach with mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were so rich, creamy and buttery that she could have put any vegetable with it — turnips included — and we would have eaten it. Here’s the recipe:

Mashed Potatoes

• 2 pounds boiling potatoes (such as Yukon Gold)

• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks

• 4 tablespoons cream cheese, cut into chunks

• 1/2 cup dairy sour cream

• 1/4 cup warm milk, approximately

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Cook them in lightly salted simmering water for about 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return the potatoes to the pan. Cook briefly over low heat to evaporate excess moisture. Mash the potatoes with a ricer or potato masher. Add the butter and cream cheese and mix in thoroughly until the butter an cheese are completely blended in. Add the sour cream and blend in thoroughly. Mix in enough milk for desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 6 servings

If you want to make it into creamed spinach: add a bunch or two of cooked spinach.

Roasted Beet Salad

Recipe for Roasted Beet Salad

When I was a youngster, I thought beets only came in a can. They were either whole, sliced or diced and they were a great relief from the usual diced carrots and peas (also from a can).

In the 1950s canned food was the great liberating thing for women — who could make dinner quickly by just opening …. a can of something to go with whatever meat they were making.

Cooking real, fresh beets does take more time than opening a can. But roasted beets are so sweet it’s worth it. All you have to do really is wash them off, wrap them in foil and put them in the oven.

Yesterday I roasted beets and made a salad out of them. Thanks to my new herb garden, I was able to include fresh mint and dill, just snipped from a few steps away from my kitchen. Here’s the recipe:

Roasted Beet Salad:

• 1 bunch beets (12-16 ounces), trimmed

• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion or 2-3 scallions, chopped

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Scrub the beets and wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Roast until tender, about 45-75 minutes, depending on size. Unwrap the beets and when they are cool enough to handle, peel them. Cut the beets into bite size pieces. Place the beet chunks in a bowl. Add the onion, olive oil, wine vinegar, lemon juice, dill and mint. Toss ingredients. Let rest for 15 minutes before servings. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 4-6 servings

Salt & Fat: Probe thermometer

I don’t really consider a probe thermometer in the first tier of kitchen instruments, like I do a sharp knife and a sturdy pan. It’s a nicety, something you acquire when you want to add a little more precision to your cooking — you don’t need one when you’re roasting a chicken, but it sure does…

It’s amazing how such a simple kitchen tool can cause such frustration. I have also had my ups and downs with probe thermometers. I always use one and consider this tool an essential — mostly because things like roasted chicken and roast beef and turkey can over cook easily.

I have been using a Polder, and I like the fact that it has a wire that can take high oven heat. On the other hand, the model I bought makes you set the oven temperature as well as the preferred cooking temperature for the food. I hate doing that.

So I just bought an Oneida, but after reading your post, looked to see what kind of wire it has — it’s silicone coated and specifically says not to use in an oven higher than 400 degrees F. Wish I had read this before I bought it. I often roast food starting at 450 degrees to give it a crispy surface, then lower the temp.

I would love a followup on how you like the Oxo. I like their vegetable peelers so would be predisposed to try the probe.

My mother tested her chickens and turkeys using the fork method. You pierced the thigh and if the juices ran yellow you knew the chicken was done. Unfortunately, with that method you never knew for how long those juices were running yellow! I don’t know how she judged the roast beef. Somehow she had this internal clock that let her know the meat would be rare.

Barbecued Brisket with Mango Barbecue Sauce for Memorial Day

Judging by the traffic, Memorial Day weekend started yesterday, when it took me an extra half hour to get where I was going. I hate driving in traffic, but it did give me a chance to think about what to serve now that the weather is great and I will be out at the grill more often.

One of my favorites is Texas-style barbecued brisket. I make it a couple of times during the summer and everyone I know, even the people who say they never eat beef, eat this because you just can’t say no to it.

I don’t know if it’s the sauce I use — my own mango barbecue sauce — or the meat, but this dish is a winner.

You have to pre-braise the brisket, otherwise it gets hard as a rock on the grill. If you don’t want to bother with that, you can use the sauce for flank steak, skirt steak and also chicken parts or boneless breasts, without first pre-cooking.

Here’s the recipe for the Mango Barbecue Sauce:

Mango Barbecue Sauce

• 1 large ripe mango
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup bottled chili sauce
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Peel the mango and puree the flesh in a food processor. Heat the vegetable oil in a nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for one minute. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the mango puree, chili sauce, orange juice, molasses, soy sauce and cayenne pepper. Stir to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Cook over low-medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until slightly thickened. Let cool.

Makes about 2-1/2 cups