Custard is a Classic

One of my favorite desserts is custard, plain old fashioned custard. The simplest form of custard is custard pie. It's easy to make and the very essence of smooth, creamy luxury. The sprinkle of nutmeg on the top brings the holiday aroma to the table. Learn to understand custard.

Generally, custard involves milk, eggs and sugar. It may be served alone or incorporated into something frugal like Bread Pudding. By adding more spices and a random selection of fruit, it becomes a unique masterpiece.

The plain custard may be embellished with toppings: Flan is one European treatment of custard. It is made by making caramel by melting sugar in a skillet and allowing it to brown. Then you place the sugar in the bottom of a pie plate and add the custard. Next you place it in a water bath and bake it for about 45 minutes in a 325 degree oven. You may also use ramekins and make individual custards.  (A water bath is made by putting the pie plate or ramekins in a roasting pan, then adding water so that custard containers cook in the water.)

Creme Brulee is a custard made with heavy cream, egg yolks, and sugar, just a richer version of custard. The special topping is made by adding a sprinkle of granulated sugar to the top of the cooked custard in the ramekin, and then browning the top under the broiler or with a kitchen blow torch.

P.S
Many years ago my doctor told me that if I had to eat a dessert with sugar, plain old custard is the least offensive so far as diabetes is concerned. I savor that little piece of information and eat it rarely and sparingly. AND enjoy it tremendously.

Fall for Baking

Cinnamon roll buns fresh from the oven. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We had a rare relief from the summer heat this week, and hints of fall swept in with a cooling breeze. That always makes me want to bake and fill the house with warm cinnamon and bacon odors. It happened and I made bread. Somethings you just can't resist.

If you don't happen to be so inclined, you might buy cinnamon rolls and warm them for a few minutes in the oven and just fill the air with the smell. Even stale ones will revive in the warm oven and thrill you with the taste and you didn't have to do all the baking stuff. Pumpkin pies are a real hit in the fall. You don't have to butcher you own pumpkin--buy it in a can and get the crust already in the aluminum pan. Mix the pumpkin with a cup of milk, a cup of sugar, three eggs, a tablespoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of all spice, and a dash of cloves, and stir it up real good.  Pour it in the pie pan and bake for an hour on 350. You can cut it when it cools a little and put a little whipped cream on top or a little caramel sauce. Then just enjoy or call family or friends to come and share with you

Fall is a great time to start baking. The heat of summer has passed and the holiday season is waiting for full flower. Enjoy your pie!

English: Pumpkin pie with whipped cream (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Easy Spread for Summer Sandwiches

little sandwiches with the crusts cut off (Photo credit: Klara Kim)

If you are looking for an easy spread for summer sandwiches that don't require all the vegetables and complicated slicing, try this:
Put your meat in the food processor and chop it with cream cheese until you have a spreadable mixture. You might like to add a few spices--garlic powder, minced onion, or basil.  


You can use last nights left over roast, or a few deli slices of ham or turkey. Spread it on any kind of bread or cracker, and voila--you have a new delicacy. Put it on a plate with a few olives, pickles and, raw vegetables and you are a food guru. 


If you are concerned about amounts, don't be.  You can probably get a good spreadable consistency with three ounces of cream cheese and five or six slices of meat from the deli or from a package.  


Experiment with it and try adding other ingredients like pickle relish or grated cheese. Be adventurous!  Your friends may ask for your recipe.

Ladies Are Coming for Supper

I have severely neglected this subject and have not kept up with posts, so it is amazing to me that I continue to get a few readers. I do love food and new ways and insights into using and enjoying it.  In less than two weeks I will be hosting a dinner for about 30 people, or maybe less, with my daughter. We intended to have a light supper, but the closer we get the more complex and demanding the preparation appears. 


We wanted light and easy, you know, the way it looks in the magazines and on TV. Roma Tomatoes stuffed with Chicken Salad, Roast Beef and Cream Cheese on Pumpernickel sandwich bread, Egg Salad on dainty white bread, Fruit on a Carved Watermelon, and for dessert, Chocolate Mousse with  Lace Cookies.  Sounds lovely!  But when you look closely, there's some work going on in there.  We're going to hit a few bakeries and delis today to see if they can help us. The real good part of such a meal is the friendship and love we'll share.

Summer Food for Kids

It's time to think about summer food for kids.  Do you have kids?  Do you volunteer for kids activities?  Day camp? Vacation Bible School?  Whatever your connection with kids in the summer, food is sure to be a big part of the deal.  And they won't like the same thing two days in a row.  Think of things that are cool to eat and easy to fix and clean up.


Popsicles and Ice Cream bars are the all-time favorite for outdoor activities.  Inside, they get drippy and smear on the couch.  Have you tried Jello on a stick? Or Yogurt.  Use the same Popsicle containers you do for Koolaid popsicles.  They are more nutritious.  Or just freeze them in small paper cups and put the stick in when the yogurt or Jello has become stiff enough to hold them up.  Don't make them too big or they will fall of the stick before the kids finish eating.

Some days you may want to make special to relieve boredom.  Make colored popcorn.  Sprinkle colored sugar crystals on hot popcorn and stir or shake.  Serve in the yard under an umbrella with lemonade and play circus music.  Take pictures of your gymnast or trapeze artist to display later or send to grandparents. 


Sandwiches for summer are still a good choice.  Peanut butter with jelly or mashed bananas don't require cooking.  You can even make them ahead and let them chill in the fridge.  Put a teaspoon of lemon juice in the bananas to prevent the darkening.  The variety of chips is astounding.  Pick your favorite.  Make a heartier sandwich for supper with sliced ham or roast beef and avocado and sliced tomatoes, or make a buffet.  Everybody chooses what to put on his or her sandwich.

Summer is great, but it's better when you can keep cool and easy.  

American Favorites

Food is a fundamental part of all cultures.    Potatoes are very prominent in the native culture of Texas.  Look for potatoes fried--oh that's right--That's French Fries.  The perfect French Fry is easy to define: Crisp and richly browned on the outside, and soft and custardy on the inside.  It should never be limp or have excess grease.

One of the factors that causes French Fries to be limp and greasy is excess starch.  To prevent that, allow the sliced potatoes that you intend to fry to sit in cold water for a few minutes; then rinse them in cold water until the water runs clear and you see no more evidence of the starch.  Chill them for 30 minutes or over night.

Fill you fryer with at least three inches or more of crease.  Fry the cold, drained potatoes until they are limp and begin to brown.  Take them from the grease with a skimmer and drain on paper towels for 30 minutes overnight.  When you are ready to serve them, return them to the hot grease and allow to cook until they are brown and crisp.  Serve immediately.

Until I learned to cook French Fries like this I thought you couldn't prepare them in advance, but using this technique, you can.  This is real cooking, so if you don't want to go to this much trouble, you can bake your potatoes.

To bake potatoes in the conventional oven, choose Russet or other baking potatoes.  Rub washed potatoes in butter and wrap in foil.  Cook them in the oven for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

To bake them in the microwave, rub them in the butter and wrap them in 1 or 2 paper towels.  Bake for 5 or 6 minutes.  Pierce with a skewer to test for doneness.  Serve with butter, sour cream, bacon bits, chopped chives or cream cheese.
Enjoy the potatoes, and they are American, too.

What Should I Cook?

It's easy to get in a rut with cooking.  Food may become boring or  dull unless you do something to refresh you taste and your attitude about eating.  I don't often really want to spend the whole day in the kitchen.  I remember doing it, but I'm trying to overcome that tendency now.


Now if you want to make eating an adventure again without going out, you can try new combinations or jazz up old one.  


Spaghetti with Italian Sausage is one favorite I haven't used in a while.  Usually spaghetti is usually served with meat sauce or meat balls.  Try slicing sweet or spicy sausage and adding it to your sauce. You can saute the sausage for a few minutes before you add the sauce, canned is fine, and the cooked spaghetti.  Or you can add the sausage and sauce to the spaghetti at the table.  If you light a candle you have romance.


Tomato soup is a favorite, but you don't have to eat it unchanged from the can.  Add a sprinkle of dried or fresh Basil, a spoonful of sour cream or a sprinkle of grated cheese.  Try a new kind of crackers, too.  There is a splendid variety with cheese or black pepper topping, whole wheat, or bran.


Tomatoes are good with your scrambled eggs.  Get the grape tomatoes and add a few whole or sliced to pep up breakfast.


If you have leftovers in the fridge, don't waste them.  Put all your leftover veggies in a pan and add a few pieces of chopped ham, left over roast, or chicken from last night's Chinese food, and let it simmer for a few minutes.  It will be unique.  Call it anything you like.  You probably can't repeat it because you won't have that same selection of leftovers again.  It may be the Soup of the Year.  On the other hand, if you don't like it, it was all leftovers anyway.  You don't have to feel bad about throwing it out.

Pineapple--Better than Candy

Fresh pineapple is better than candy.  I love it, and it is healthful, too. It is sweet and juicy, and it will make take the edge off the afternoon so you can control your hunger till suppertime.


Buy fresh pineapple.  If it is already cleaned, you can put sections in a plastic bag or container to take with you. If you buy a whole pineapple do not panic.  It is easier to clean and prepare than you might think.  


Remove the top and bottom so that both are flat.  Stand the pineapple up on the end and remove the outside by slicing straight down from top to bottom.  Turn the pineapple around and continue to remove the peel until you have completely cleaned it.  There may be brown spot where the outside was dimpled.  You will notice that these dimples run in a straight diagonal lines.  If you want to remove them, lay the pineapple down and make a shallow cut on each side of each line and take it out.


Stand the pineapple on the end and cut it in half from top to bottom.  Then cut the halves again so that you have four quarters.  If you remove the narrow part of the triangular wedge, you have removed most of the core.  Slice the spears in bite size pieces.  Enjoy!!!
If you want to see a demonstration, click here. 

GARLIC!!!

Image via Wikipedia

There was a time when I thought garlic was over the top, but I have changed my mind. The chefs on TV can't seem to get enough of it and I have come to understand why. It's really good!

Buy the garlic powder, not garlic salt, to prevent increased sodium in your diet. You can use the garlic blubs, but it is more trouble than the powder. You can enrich a frozen dinner by a sprinkle and freshen up leftovers with a little.

Traditionally, garlic has been highly associated with Italian food, but I find it in many recipes from the Far East, Middle East, Mexico, France and Jamaica, etc.  If you really want the fresh garlic, buy the bulbs and separate the cloves.  To separate them easily, strike the bulb with a spatula or the flat edge of a knife.  Place them on a pan and roast them in a slow oven 300 degrees until they become a rich brown.  Store them in the fridge in a glass jar covered with olive oil , and use the bulbs and the oil in any recipe you want.  The bulbs will be soft and buttery to spread on toast or pizza crust.


One really neat thing about garlic is that it is fairly easy to grow.  I planted a whole bulb in my flower bed early in the spring.  Now it has several stems growing tall and straight.  When the heads form, the stems will bend gracefully and enhance the flower bed even more.  I am looking forward to this and then eating my produce.

The health food addicts claim it as valuable for your heart and blood pressure. I just like it because it makes things taste good.

Dieting Is so Misleading!!!

Don't believe everything you read or hear about dieting.  Nobody can guarantee that you will lose a specified amount in a week or a month.  Many diets are publicized as fabulous and better than sliced bread, but they may be lying.  I read a list of 10 or 11 of the worst diets  the other day, and I couldn't believe people would actually eat them.  


If you want to plan a diet for yourself, first make a list of the things you like, things you would eat on a regular basis, like every week or month.  


Next evaluate whether they are healthful.  Do they have vitamins, minerals, protein?  And whether you can afford them.  Are they available in you area, or this season?


Do you need to restrict them to occasional treats?  


Now your planning gets really tough.  You may have to estimate calorie counts and nutrient requirements.  One way to try to balance your diet is to make sure you eat various colors of vegetables--yellow, green, red, white, orange.  


Another rule about colors lets you know which cheese is the lower calorie--white cheeses are usually lower in fat than yellow.


If you plan for a week at a time, try to eat several different kinds of meat because fish has nutrients that beef doesn't even though both provide good source of protein.  Chicken and turkey are less fat than beef and pork.  Game like venison is usually very lean.


Active people--people who run, engage in regular training, or play sports--can eat a higher calorie diet than people who are less active, but high levels of fat and sugar may still be causing cholesterol buildup in arteries.  


The general rule is control carbs, restrict fat and sugar, eat abundant fruits and vegetables.  Get a good chart of nutrients to plan a more detailed diet.

Bottom line--think in terms of "Is this good, do I need it, will it provide what I need" instead of "That looks good, I like it, I'll diet later.

Fresh Vegetables for Spring

Nutritionists say that the most nutritious way to eat food is with the least stuff done to it.  This is especially true with things like vegetables and fruit.  Combining raw vegetables to make a stunning, crisp, colorful salad is both easy and healthful.  Dressing is not a bad thing, especially in small portions.  


Dressings get a bad rap because they sometimes contain ingredients that are not kind to the low fat diet.  Some vegetables, raw carrots, for instance, need the oil from the dressing to make the Vitamin A easier to digest and store.  I don't like for dressing to drown the salad.  The rule I use for salad dressing is:  Glisten not drown.

If you cook your vegetables, you will retain more of the vitamins and minerals if you cook them less rather than more.  Tender crisp is the technique recommended instead of boiled till limp.  I had a hard time with this because my husband was from the "boiled till limp" school of vegetable cookery.  He wanted the cabbage cooked till it turned pink.  


Make your spring lively with fresh fruit and vegetables and keep it easy with little or no cooking.

Springtime Means It's Time to Plant

Is there some innate drive in human beings to plant crops, to grow  food?  I no longer live where I have the room or the need to plant a garden, but still there is this drive to grow something to eat.  


Tomato plants or strawberries wouldn't be too difficult.  I just need a corner in a flower bed or a pot on the porch and I can have something to eat that I grew myself.  But I must be cautious because too many plants might require a hoe or fertilizer or Seven dust for bugs.  And I certainly don't want to have to can or freeze anything.  


Tomatoes for a salad would be nice, but I can't think about peas or corn or watermelons--I don't have enough room for things like that.  Maybe spring flowers would satisfy my planting desires.  No it's a sustenance thing:  the need to provide food.  Maybe I can just stop at a produce stand and buy the veggies if I have just a plant or two to remind me of garden experience.  I think I can handle it now. 

How Are Your Greens This Year?

Image via Wikipedia

Fresh greens are marvelous!  They are good in salads and on sandwiches, and they are also great cooked as an accompaniment for beef, chicken, or fish.  

·         1 cup of fresh spinach contains 7 calories and it is high niacin and zinc, and very high in fiber, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.  If you choose to cook it, don’t load it up with fat and salt.

·         1 cup of fresh raw turnip greens contains 18 calories.  This amount of greens will not add calories merely by cooking, but the tendency is to add bacon grease or butter and eat it with cornbread.  Beware—you have added many calories.  Turnip greens are high in iron, riboflavin, thiamine, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, riboflavin, thiamine, and very high in calcium, dietary fiber, manganese, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin B6.  Remember that cooking doesn’t add calories, but the greens wilt and become less filling.  A cup of cooked greens has 29 calories.  And the tendency to add salt and seasonings may change the health benefits.

·         1 cup of mustard greens contains 15 calories.  They have a spicier flavor than turnip greens and they give a new experience when mixed with other greens.  They are high in niacin and phosphorus, and very high in calcium, dietary fiber, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C.

There are many other types of greens, but they have similar nutrients and benefits.  You may add them to noodles, casseroles, or soup or eat them fresh.  The nutrient value alone is reason enough to add them to your diet.

Remember that they are fresh and will not stay that way for extended periods in the crisper.  When you have eaten all you want of them raw, do a quick steam or microwave them for 90 seconds, and you have reduced the amount significantly without losing the nutrition.  And they are plentiful in the grocery store!

Eating Better from the Deli

Image via Wikipedia

I have become a fan of the deli!  As I get older and lazier, the deli has improved and the food is grand.  I do believe in eating a sample of something to see if I like it.  If your deli offers this option, take it.  Know what you are committing yourself to.


Also remember that you don't have to take it the way it is.  Some things are better with your own touch on them.  A plain cake might be much better with a glaze or whipped topping.  If you find the BBQ chicken dry, add some of your own sauce.  Strawberry preserves or jam can be turned into strawberry syrup with a tablespoon or two of water in the microwave.  Your ice cream will never know you didn't buy it.


There are some excellent products in the freezer nowadays too.  Heat frozen rolls in the oven for ten minutes--Voila!!!  They'll think you made them yourself.  The deli even has casseroles almost like Mama used to make.  Again, add a little seasoning or butter and they do just fine.


Remember too, that buying a prepared food that seems expensive can be more economical because you don't waste as much, and you don't have to buy ingredients that may go unused.  I really hate to feel I have to eat something I don't particularly like because it is junking up the refrigerator.


Remember--frugality.