Question about your Carrot salad recipe

Under the ingredients, you described the carrots as shredded and then in the body of the recipe, you call them grated.  What is a shredded carrot and for this recipe, which method do you prefer?    Thanks,  Marlyn

 submitted by:   marlynack@optonline.net

Hi Marlyn

Thanks for alerting me to this. I changed the recipe to reflect that you can either shred or grate the carrots. I always use the shredder blade on my food processor (too much trouble to hand grate). Once, after I shredded the carrots, I also chopped them with the “S” blade so that they looked grated (this is something I do when I make potato pancakes, btw). Either way they taste terrific. I take the easy way out now and just use the shredding blade.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can hand grate or chop finely in a blender.

What do you eat when you're stressed out?

When frustrated, upset or stressed out, people respond to food in two different ways. Some people can’t eat. They feel full up to the top of their throats and nothing solid will go down.

Other people eat to capacity, stuffing their faces till all the little spaces in the emotional part of their brains are saturated.

I am the second type.

So, last night at about 8:30, after an evening of babysitting for my granddaughter Lila, 4, and grandson Remy, 3 months, I set out to drive from Brooklyn to my home in Connecticut, about 45 miles away and about 5-6 blocks from their house I hear “click, click, click” and I feel a lttle lopsided at the driver’s seat and I know without looking that I have a flat tire.

Yep. Got out — luckily — in a parking space just before I was about to make the left turn to take the highway, turned right instead because I know there’s a service station 2-3 blocks away and surely some nice young man will change the tire for me.

But apparently the young people at this station have safe, secure jobs and plenty of assets in the bank and have no need to earn an extra $$whatever they think I might give them, and they told me to call AAA, which I did.

Then, when the man from AAA came and tried to get the “doughnut” tire out of the trunk, he broke off the screw that holds it in place.

So now I have no tire and no way to get the doughnut tire.

He borrowed some tools from the service station and after several attempts to get the spare he told me he couldn’t get the screw off, that the doughnut was there for life and that I should put air in the tire and drive to the local 24/7 tire store and get a new one.

Geez! My tire is brand new and besides I don’t want to go to the tire store and I’m tired and cold and now I WANT TO EAT. ANYTHING!!!!

But I didn’t have anything in the car to eat. I was eyeing the Yogurt Truck which had parked itself at the gas station. Imagine, in this day and age, a yogurt truck selling “healthy” frozen yogurt, (rather than that fat-and-calorie laden ice cream), that you can get covered with fudge sauce, sprinkles, chopped cookies or other wholesome items.

But I realized I don’t want just anything. It was cold out and I had forgotten my sweater at my daughter’s house and besides, ice cream isn’t filling and neither is healthy frozen yogurt with nutritious sprinkles on top.

I needed to munch something. Potato chips, pretzels. Stuff like that.

So I looked the AAA man in the eye and gave him my best Mom “you can do it if you try” look and said in my best Mom voice “you can do it if you try, I just know you can.” So he borrowed another tool and sure enough, after a while he did it!

He fixed the tire, blessed me for having an AAA card. I didn’t have any gold stars or stickers to give him so I gave him some extra $$, because he was so determined.

A few weeks ago I blogged about having food in the car for emergencies (I was stuck in a horrible storm then). But do I listen to my own advice about having food in the car? Or to the advice of people who told me what food I should always have in the car?

NO!

I wasn’t really hungry. I was upset, frustrated and stressed out, needing the kind of food I want to eat when I feel that way. So the real problem is how to have that kind of food in the car all the time and only eat it when I need it.

I’m not sure how that can work. I’d probably eat the stuff at any old time and then I would have to keep replacing it and if there’s one thing I don’t need it’s to consume extra calories of eat-this-when-you’re-upset food.

I did have some Ricola sugar free lemon-mint cough drops. They had to do.

But when I got home just before 11 p.m. I ate a large bowl of popcorn.

Which is better, the food or the memory of the food?

Was your mother really a good cook? Was that chocolate cake or those hash browns you had 20 years ago at that restaurant really fabulous?

Food memories can be funny. Our tastes change. Maybe Mom’s chocolate chip cookies weren’t really that good, maybe those hash browns were actually a bit too greasy and if we ate these foods today in someone else’s kitchen or in a different restaurant we wouldn’t rave.

But we remember them so fondly that we think we’ll never find the ultimate recipe for whatever it is we thought was so wonderful.

I have that feeling about a lot of foods. My Mom’s Nut Roll. The Apple Tart at L’Orangerie in Los Angeles. My grandmother’s baked blintzes. The Hot and Sour Soup at Temple Garden in New York’s Chinatown.

When autumn comes and I see the trees turning orange and gold, my food memory turns to pumpkin pie and that makes me remember the Automat. It went out of business when I was a little girl, but I still remember my Aunt Roz and Uncle Mac taking me there for lunch or dinner when we went into Manhattan to go ice skating or to see a show. They were the kind of aunt and uncle that took their nieces and nephews to places and we all loved them so much that the food that came with the day would of course be wonderful no matter where or what it was.

At the Automat, if it was autumn, there was pumpkin pie.

It was the very best pumpkin pie. In my memory. I have been trying to duplicate its flavor and texture since I started cooking. But food memories linger so no matter what I come up with, it’s never “the one” even if the results are fabulous. Someone once gave me a recipe that was supposed to be the Automat authentic version and I made one. Of course I didn’t remember the pie tasting like my pie did.

So which is better, the food or the memory of the food?

Both really, for different reasons. We can savor the memory and eat something delicious even if it isn’t quite the version you remember.

Here’s a terrific recipe for Pumpkin Pie. Not too spicy and with a hint of molasses. Don’t use pumpkin pie “mix”, use plain pumpkin puree or fresh mashed pumpkin (press fresh mashed pumpkin to extract excess liquid).

Pumpkin Pie

• 1-1/2 cups mashed pumpkin (canned is fine)

• 1/3 cup brown sugar (any kind)

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 3 tablespoons molasses

• 3 large eggs

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1-1/2 cups half and half cream or evaporated milk

• 1 9-inch single pie crust, unbaked

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Spoon the pumpkin, brown sugar, white sugar and molasses into a bowl and blend ingredients thoroughly. Beat in the eggs. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cream. Blend ingredients thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the crust. Bake for 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and continue baking for 55-60 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Makes one pie

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Easy way to pit a ripe avacado

yumblrinmy:

This will come in handy if you make guacamole or guacamumus.

Wish I could have embedded the video here in this post, but the creator disabled embedding :(

Sometimes you know how to do something and don’t do it anyway.

Last weekend I went to pit an avocado and instead of using a chef’s knife, I used a small utility knife because I was too lazy to get the big knife that was in a drawer about 7 feet away.

And instead of hacking the knife into the pit sideways, I tried to use the point.

Yes, indeed, I missed and now I have a large cut in the middle of my palm. Hurts. I feel like a jerk.

Do it the right way folks!

Easy Baked Apples

What do you eat when you wake up cold and shivery?

We haven’t turned the heat on yet because it’s been about 70 degrees here and our house has been warm. But all of a sudden it’s really autumn, the outside temperature has dropped and it was freezing in our bedroom this morning.

I desperately wanted something warm to eat. But there wasn’t anything in the house!

Wish my Dad was around to make some of his renowned hot chocolate.

Mmm how about some quick biscuits? Hot oatmeal?

My thoughts actually turned to baked apple, warm and fragrant and sufficiently sweet for dessert, but breakfasty enough.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any baked apples.

Fortunately, I still have some of the apples I bought at Blue Jay Orchards (http://www.bluejayorchardsct.com/) in Bethel, Connecticut a while ago for my pie apples.

I’m making baked apples today, in case I wake up cold tomorrow.

Easy Baked Apples

• 4 large apples for baking
• half a lemon
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup maple syrup, agave or honey
• 1 cup orange juice or apple cider
• cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the apple cores, leaving about 1/2-inch on the bottom. Peel the apples halfway down from the top, stem end. Rub the peeled flesh with the cut side of the lemon. Place the apples in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the raisins, nuts, one tablespoon of the sweetener and 3-4 tablespoons juice. Stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Combine the remaining sweetener and juice and pour over the apples. Sprinkle the apples with cinnamon. Dot the apple tops with butter. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender, basting occasionally with the pan juices. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

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more noisy children!

sprinklefingers:

oooh. oh! check it out!

the story about the north carolina restaurant that banned screaming children made it all the way to the UK!

here’s what one of the guardian’s bloggers has to say about it.

don’t miss the comments!

ps: take it easy, folks! we’re talking about kids here, not terrorists!

Oooh indeed. When I was a kid we didn’t get to go to a restaurant until we were able to sit still.

My children (now grown adults) are probably still angry with me because I made them sit at the table instead of walking around and saying hello to other people at other tables. We wouldn’t eat out with my brother because he let his kids not only talk to strangers at other tables but also let them get up and sing, (in case there were any talent scouts hanging around).

Today, though, restaurants are more family-kid friendly and there are more of them. In these places children are not expected to behave like tin soldiers at attention. Toddlers make noise. Babies cry. Kids spill milk. Parents scold.

If you don’t like this atmosphere, and you want a quiet evening, eat somewhere else! Or go later after the kids have left and gone to bed. When my husband and I want a quiet dinner we go to a place where we know the kids aren’t.

It’s not like parents are going to take their toddlers and babies to The French Laundry or Restaurant Daniel. We’re talking about pizza places, burger joints. Places where you get grilled cheese sandwiches.

And it’s not as if kids are the only noise offenders anyway. I’ve heard many grownups laugh and talk so loud you could hear them across the restaurant, without a care in the world about how rude they are. 

So, chill out everyone. Deal with the noise (or go elsewhere).

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apple coffee cake

We made apple coffee cake with some of the apples we picked last weekend and it’s delish! An old friend taught me this recipe and it’s a big hit every time I make it. 

For the cake: 

1 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c sugar

1 T. cinnamon

5 1/2 T unsalted butter, room temp

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c milk

2 apples, peeled and sliced

For the crumb top: (mix in separate bowl)  

3/4 c flour

3/4 c brown sugar

1 tsp salt

4 T unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 c oats

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease parchment paper and place in baking dish

2. sift flour, baking powder and salt

3. mix 1/4 c sugar w cinnamon and set aside in separate bowl

4. In separate bowl, mix 1/4 c sugar w butter

5. Beat in egg and add flour mixture and milk slowly

6. Spread half batter on parchment

7. l;ayer the apples and sprinkle with 1/2 the cinnamon sugar

8. Add rest of batter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar

9. Cover with crumb top

10. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes

11. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 25 minutes

Submitted by cookiequest

WOW this DOES sound delish! Thanks for the recipe. I still have lots of apples, even after all my pie baking. Will definitely make this cake. YUM

Apples?

Hi - we went apple picking this past weekend but we didn’t pick greenings. The orchard had cortland, empire, fuji and gala. Of course they are all mixed up now and we don’t know which is which. Can you bake apple brown Betty with apples other than greenings? If so, what changes?

Submitted by Gillyf (Gillian@redfive.com)

Yes, of course you can use almost any kind of apples, except, I would say, Red Delicious, which are truly flavorless and in any event, don’t bake well. It might be a good idea to use a variety of apples, that would give it a nice flavor. The apples you picked are a bit sweeter than Greenings, so, if you like sweet desserts I would say don’t change anything about the recipe. But you could also cut down the brown sugar by a tablespoon or two.

IN addition, different apples soften (or not) differently, so the texture of these, when cooked, may be firmer than Greenings. No matter. Granny Smiths stay firm too and the dessert is still wonderful.

Guess what I am saying is that this is a very forgiving recipe, as is apple pie. Use whatever you have, try different apples each time and you’ll taste the difference as well as feel the different texture, but it will all still be delicious.

My Father's Favorite Apple Brown Betty

I bought so many Rhode Island Greening apples from a local farm (42 pounds — the last of their supply for the season) that this year I’m going to use them not only for my usual 12 pies (which I make, bake and freeze in order to have one pie each month until next year rolls around) but for some other goodies too.

I love the smell of apples baking. It’s a nurturing aroma that makes me feel warm and safe even as the days get darker sooner and there’s a chill in the air outside.

I need 36 pounds for the pies, so, what else?

Apple Brown Betty, of course! I just read that today is National Apple Brown Betty Day

http://bit.ly/cZfWbY.

Apple Brown Betty was my Dad’s favorite dessert and my mother had several different recipes for it. None better (or easier) than this one:

Apple Brown Betty

• 1/2 cup butter

• 5-6 pie apples (such as Rhode Island Greenings, Granny Smith)

• half a lemon

• 4 cups diced homestyle white bread

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter and set it aside. Peel, core and cut the apples into bite size pieces, placing them in a baking dish (1-1/2 quart). Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples and toss the fruit to coat it with the juice. Place the bread, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Pour in the butter and toss ingredients again to coat the bread with the butter. Arrange the buttered bread mixture over the apples. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is browned and crispy. Let cool slightly but serve warm.

Makes 6 servings

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Kugel Cookoff

I am going to be a judge at a Kugel Cookoff! Well, that’s good and bad news. Good because kugel, or good, old fashioned noodle pudding, is so fine. Bad because if this is anything like the cheesecake contest I once judged, or the apple pie contest, local baking contest — etc., etc. — I am going to consume MILLIONS of calories!!

It’s not so easy to work off those MILLION calories when you reach “that certain age.”

But, I am actually looking forward to this. First I am going to talk a little about kugel. People think of it as a Jewish specialty but it’s really just noodles with eggs and maybe cheese or vegetables, and it could be sweet and creamy or chewy and salty. The whole thing is baked until the middle is set and the top is crispy.

Lots of people from lots of ethnic groups eat it but don’t call it kugel. When my kids were little I often boiled egg noodles, mixed it with eggs and carrots or green beans or broccoli or mushrooms and grated cheese. I found it was one of the more efficient ways of getting my daughters to eat more vegetables. I never called it kugel, but that’s what it was. It was a more than once weekly dish at our house.

I don’t know what to expect at the contest. But here’s the information: the event is sponsored by the Stamford, CT. JCC at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday October 10, 2010. The entrants will bring their kugels, whch have been cooked elsewhere, to the JCC. The judges will then taste each one and make judgments about taste, ease of preparation, appearance and originality.

So, everyone who shows up at the event gets to eat lots of kugel. And guess what? After the feast there’s going to be a Kugel Workout! at the JCC fitness center.

How do you work off a MILLION calories??

Another bonus is that recipes will be provided and anyone who makes a kugel the next week can bring it to the JCC on October 17th. All the new homemade kugels will be donated to local homeless shelters.

For more information, call 203-322-7900.