#at least their texture is delightful especially while fresh from the oven

[akai-anna]

[evolutionbiofuel]

Embrace the Tradition: The Art of Wood Fired Pizza Ovens

Wood fired pizza ovens have stood the test of time as the pinnacle of pizza perfection. Their allure lies not only in their rustic charm but also in the unique flavor and texture they impart to pizzas. From this article, you can go through all the reasons why wood fired pizza ovens reign supreme over their electrical or gas counterparts, explore the art of using these timeless cooking marvels, and discuss traditional clay options that offer an authentic culinary experience.

Reasons Wood Fired Pizza Ovens Are Superior

Unparalleled Flavor: Wood fired pizza ovens infuse pizzas with a distinct smoky flavor that cannot be replicated by electric or gas ovens. The high temperatures generated by burning wood crisps the crust while locking in moisture, resulting in a perfectly charred exterior and a tender, melt-in-your-mouth interior.

Quick Cooking Times: These ovens reach soaring temperatures of up to 900°F (482°C) or higher, allowing pizzas to cook in mere minutes. The intense heat ensures that pizzas emerge with a crisp, blistered crust and evenly melted toppings—a feat unmatched by conventional ovens.

Versatility: Beyond pizzas, wood fired ovens excel at cooking an array of dishes, including bread, roasted meats, vegetables, and even desserts. The radiant heat from the fire imparts a delightful smokiness to every dish, elevating the overall culinary experience.

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Energy Efficiency: While gas and electric ovens rely on continuous energy consumption, wood fired ovens harness the natural energy of burning wood. This makes them a more sustainable and cost-effective option in the long run, especially for avid home cooks or pizzeria owners.

Aesthetic Appeal: Wood fired pizza ovens add a touch of rustic charm to any backyard or kitchen space. Their traditional design and dancing flames create an inviting ambiance, making them the focal point of social gatherings and culinary adventures.

How to Use a Wood Fired Pizza Oven

Mastering the art of using a these pizza oven requires practice, patience, and a deep understanding xof its nuances. Here's a step-by-step guide to achieving pizza perfection:

Preheat the Oven: Build a roaring fire using seasoned hardwood such as oak, maple, or cherry wood. Allow the oven to preheat for at least an hour, ensuring that the internal temperature reaches around 800°F (427°C) for optimal pizza cooking.

Prepare the Dough and Toppings: While the oven preheats, prepare your pizza dough and gather fresh, high-quality toppings. Keep toppings minimal to prevent sogginess and allow the flavors to shine.

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Assemble and Bake: Stretch out the dough on a floured surface, add your desired toppings, and transfer the pizza to a well-floured pizza peel. Slide the pizza into the oven, rotating it occasionally to ensure even cooking. Pizzas typically cook within 60 to 90 seconds in a properly heated wood fired oven.

Monitor and Enjoy: Keep a close eye on the pizza as it bakes, using a pizza peel to rotate or remove it from the oven once the crust is crisp and the toppings are bubbly. Allow the pizza to cool briefly before slicing and savoring each flavorful bite.

Wood Fired Options for Clay Traditional Pizza Ovens

Traditional clay pizza ovens offer an authentic and rustic way to cook pizzas, embodying centuries-old culinary traditions. These ovens are typically constructed from clay or terracotta and are known for their excellent heat retention and distribution properties. Buy pizza ovens here, one of the industry’s best 68 cm Table Top Design.

Wood-fired options for clay traditional pizza ovens involve using dry hardwood such as oak, maple, or cherry as fuel. The wood is burned inside the oven to generate intense heat, which is absorbed by the clay walls and floor. This heat is then radiated evenly throughout the oven, ensuring consistent cooking temperatures.

Cooking with wood-fired clay ovens requires attention to detail, including proper seasoning of the oven to prevent cracking and regular maintenance to prolong its lifespan. Despite the additional care required, wood-fired clay pizza ovens offer a unique cooking experience, infusing pizzas with a distinctive earthy flavor and aroma reminiscent of traditional, artisanal cooking methods.

Summary

Wood-fired pizza ovens represent more than just a cooking appliance; they embody a timeless tradition of craftsmanship, flavor, and conviviality. Whether embracing the rustic charm of traditional clay ovens or reveling in the versatility of modern designs, the allure of wood-fired pizza ovens continues to captivate and inspire generations of culinary enthusiasts around the world.

[viranlly]

Viranlly hosts Thanksgiving Dinner.

in partnership with Wines of British Columbia.

IT’S CRUNCH TIME Y’ALL!

I don’t even where time went but here we are now, just over a week before Thanksgiving. The aroma of PSL is in the crisp fall air, the days are getting shorter, and the meals we preppin’ are getting cozier each day. The holidays are upon us and so is the (grape) harvest month.

To celebrate both festivities, I’ve teamed up with the Wines of British Columbia to come up with some fun thanksgiving recipes and of course delicious BC wine pairings to go with them. I’m skipping the turkey, because let’s be honest, I don’t trust myself with a bird that size, nor that I have the space and capacity both physically and mentally to handle a turkey. I want to make sure that this holiday cooking will be as stress-free and as boozy as possible, because we all deserve that kind of holidays.

Please note that these recipes serve 4-6 people.

First thing first, it’s not a dinner party at Viranlly’s without a damn-well-put-together CHARCUTERIE AND CHEESE BOARD. Here’s the fun part about this board: there’s no recipe. The trick is you want to make sure you have a balance in flavours, textures and colours (because ya know.. aesthetic). 

THE MEAT : variety of cured meats with different flavour profiles - hot genoa salami, prosciutto, iberico ham, chorizo, and capicollo are always a great start.

THE CHEESE : make sure you have at least hard and soft cheese, everything in between never hurts either - jammy brie or camembert is a crowd pleaser, manchego is delicious, especially when you can find the truffle-y ones. Can never go wrong with parmigianio-reggiano, or a nutty pecorino. Aged cheddar and smoked gouda if you want a little funk. The possibility is honestly, endless.

THE FRUITS AND VEGGIES : grapes and olives (olives are veggies, right? I prefer unpitted Castelvetrano) are staple on my board. Seasonal fruits and veggies always add amazing flavours to the board : pears and figs in the fall, peaches and berries in the summer.

THE EVERYTHING ELSE: honey, hummus, nuts, preserves, bread, crackers, pate, and everything your heart and stomach desire.

I always love to start the night off with a bottle or two of bubbly, something really crisp, citrusy and refreshing. The Howling Bluff Faux Paw has a ton of berry notes with a just a zest of spice, perfect to be enjoyed with everything on this board. Another great bubbly is the Haywire Pink Bub, which, we consumed throughout the summer. 

The next two dishes are heavily inspired by my friends’ thanksgiving last year, with a view adjustments to meet what I have readily in my, and most kitchens.

This RADICCHIO AND SQUASH SALAD is my definition of the perfect autumn salad: rich and nutty, a hint of bitterness and lots of crunch.

THE VEGGIES: 

1 medium-sized delicata squash, sliced up to half-an-inch-thick half moons (wow that’s wordy). Toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper before hitting the 450F preheated oven for 25-35 mins, or until  fork tender. Occasionally turn your sheet tray to make sure they’re cooked evenly, and flip the squash over halfway. 

Tear up and cut one head of radicchio into quarter, soak them in ice bath for a couple minutes before assembly. 

Thinly slice one medium-sized asian pear, toss in the juice of half a lemon and season with salt and pepper. 

THE DRESSING: 

Toss half a cup (minus a handful for later) of pecan, or walnut, or hazelnuts (really, any nuts you have around -- 2 tablespoon peanut butter work too), 1 small shallot, juice of half an orange and one lemon, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, a splash of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey) into a blender. Blend together and gradually add in a 1/4 cup of olive oil until a silky consistency is achieved. Season with salt and pepper.

THE ASSEMBLY: 

Spread leftover nuts in a small sheet tray, drizzle with olive oil, salt and one tbsp maple syrup.Put them in the still-hot oven just enough to get them slightly toasty. I tend to forget about them and burn the nuts to the ground, so leave this step until the last 5-10 mins before assembly. 

Combine squash, radicchio in a big bowl, coat with dressing. Transfer to serving plate. 

Sprinkle the toasted nuts, and the asian pear allover squash and radicchio.

Shave some parmesan or piave.

Drizzle with some more olive oil and lemon juice, and crack some more black pepper.

I thought this salad can use the brightness and the blossoming freshness of the Orofino orange wine: stunning colour, burst of tropical fruits and elegant floral notes. My mouth is watering as typed this.  

This SAUSAGE AND CORNBREAD STUFFING changed the stuffing game forever. Honestly, you’d never want to eat another crusty, white bread stuffing for any holidays ever again. It’s so very indulgent, buttery, and loaded with aromatics. Crispy up top, soft and moist -- yes, moist inside.

THE CORNBREAD:

I am obsessed with the cornbread from Boulevard Kitchen and Oyster Bar. And since this recipe relies quite heavily on the cornbread, trust me, you’d want to use the best cornbread you can find. In this case, I’ve found the winner. Cut up 1 1/2 lb cornbread to 3/4″ pieces and leave them in a 350F oven for 40 mins or so until they’re dry. Don’t worry we’ll the moisture back later. Transfer cornbread to a big mixing bowl.

THE STUFFING:

Cook and a lb or so of breakfast sausage in a skillet. Break them apart with a wooden spoon and let brown about 8 minutes. Transfer sausages to a plate.

In the same skillet, leaving the sausage brown bits, add 1/4 cup of butter and cook one diced onion and two stalks of cubed up celery until softened. Add three cloves of chopped garlic and one sliced japaleno, cook for another minute or so. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and another 1/4 cup of butter and let the liquid evaporate. Add thyme and chopped sage.

THE ASSEMBLY:

Combine cornbread and stuffing in the mixing bowl, add 2 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock. Stir them occasionally until cornbread absorbs most of the liquid.

Lightly butter a cast iron pan, or baking dish and transfer mixture in.

Put the pan in the 350F oven for 40-ish minutes then turn up the heat to 425F for 15-20 mins until the outside is crisp and golden brown.

The VinAmité Chanson d’Amour is quite a delightful pairing for this dish. The chardonnay in the blend gives that soft minerality while keeping the palate fresh and peachy. Another great option is  the Unsworth Pinot Noir: plum-y, dark cherry, a swift hint of earthy herbs - brings out the thyme aroma in the dish.

The last recipe is a simple, choose-your-own-adventure kind of recipe to replace the boring old sweet potato casserole. It’s a BYOB: Build Your Own Baked sweet potato bar!

THE SWEET POTATO:

Cut 4 medium-sized sweet potatoes into half and coat them in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put them cut side down on a sheet tray and into a 425F oven for 30 minutes or until they’re fork tender.

THE TOPPINGS:

The toppings, again, can honestly be anything you’re in the mood for buuut these are my three favourites:

Spicy chorizo cooked in vermouth and butter. It’s as simple as it sounds. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon or so olive oil and bloom chili flakes in it. Slice two links of spanish chorizo and toss into the chili oil. Add vermouth and butter and cook until sauce thickens. 

Spicy soy garlic tempeh. Dice one slab of tempeh (I used tempea) into 1/2 cm cubes and season with salt and pepper. In a skillet, add one table spoon of oil and add 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Toss the tempe in, and add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of kecap manis. If you like the heat, add 1-2 sliced up birdseye chili. Serve with cilantro and green onion.

Lobster salad. Cut 2 lobster claws into chunks, add the juice of half a lemon and season with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoon of kewpie mayo, one teaspoon of honey, and mix together. Add 2 stalks of thinly sliced celery and top it off with dill. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

THE SAUCE: 

As simple as sour cream (or plain greek yoghurt), lemon juice, olive oil, grated garlic cloves, seasoned with salt and pepper.

The salad dressing leftover works well too!

THE ASSEMBLY:

Go wild ;)

The wines for this particular dish can be as playful as you want them to be buuuut I decided to go with something a bit more crisp, fruity and floral like the Tantalus Vineyard Riesling especially if you go on the lobster route. Another great option is the Bartier Bros Merlot, which, is a slightly nutty, savoury with a touch more of cherry and dark fruits. 

Hosting a holiday dinner is a pretty big job and I admit, it can get really stressful but I hope these easy-ish recipes and the wine (I know the wines work) will help you guys through. A MASSIVE thank you to the team at Legends Haul for making my grocery shopping for this dinner SO. MUCH. EASIER. 

And just another PSA that the holiday is the PERFECT time to support you local wineries and enjoy the delicious wines BC has to offer. And BC has A LOT to offer. So, explore, sip and savour your way throughout this Harvest month. Find more information about BC Harvest Month here.

[the-truth-will-light-the-sky]

Rainy Days in Insomnia

Young Prince Regis and his crew all cope with the rain differently. So, which one overthinks things and who gets to spend the entire day listening to jazz?

Prince Regis

Contrary to belief, Prince Regis loves the rain.

In fact, he rejoices whenever it pours.

The main reason for this is the fact that he has the excuse to stay in the Citadel.

And when he has nowhere else to go, then he’s got a very good reason to go and visit his father, King Mors.

The prince would engage his father in every conversation possible, or challenge him to a game of chess to which the prince always, always loses.

He doesn’t mind his chess blunders, however. Every moment he can spend with his father, whether he gets a good scolding, a long lecture on chess, politics or even ehem, adult things,  Regis doesn’t mind at all. At least he doesn’t have to attend to his princely duties that would take up so much of his time away from his father.

During rainy days, Regis is very much the only person who is active in the Citadel.

He’d bother Clarus to no end with his talk, or ask Cor Leonis to  spar with him. 

Sometimes, Regis would pitch some of the Crownsguard or Kingsglaive for Cor, amused in the confused expression of the young soldier whenever someone tries to flirt with him.

If no one else is available to be engaged in conversation and other such things, Regis amuses himself with books.

The other thing he ever bothers himself with is music. He can’t play any instruments save for a couple of songs in the guitar, but he listens to his collection of valses, concertos and most of all, songs by the latest Jazz or country singers. 

With the latter, Cid was a huge influence. Not the cowboy kind as the prince is not fond of it even one bit, but the relaxing, home-feel kind of songs.

Expect Regis to drink a hot beverage, especially chai tea whenever the weather gets cold and dreary.

Owns a very expensive foldable black umbrella. He likes keeping it with him if he has no choice but to travel in the rain. He would share it, but of course, not with strangers. 

He’s the one who, if he had the choice, would buy a transparent umbrella. But he’s supposed to be incognito out in the streets so he can’t.

Also, speaking of choices, if the young Prince can be extra lively in the halls, he would. Although, he’s the one who’s bound to be greeting everyone with an extra cheery tone just to lift the mood. 

Sleeping on a cold night is one of Regis’ favourites. He looks forward to it with a smile on his face.

He curls up in his luxurious Lucian duvet, feeling the soft texture of his bedsheets against his skin even as the Fulgurian shows his might in the grey skies.

He likes to spray his room with a light scented perfume to help him ease in to beautiful sleep.

Regis is actually very indulgent of himself in the rain. Expect him to reach for a nice slice of decadent cake and a glass of wine as he’s all cozy in front of the fireplace either in his study or in his father’s solar as the rain pours outside.

A warning or not. Don’t sit beside Regis on the couch, especially on a rainy afternoon.

Because if he falls asleep, he’ll cuddle the next person until he wakes up half an hour later. Everyone learned this the hard way. 

Not even Cid’s excessing cursing of ‘son of a garula’ or ‘wretched bastard’  or ‘gerrofff me or I’ll strangle yer royal throat kid’, Regis won’t budge. And boy, Cid would never stop making everyone wake Regis up. It makes for a good photo op for Weskham, however.

Clarus Amicitia

Clarus is a sleepy man on rainy days.

Nothing lulls him to sleep better than the soft pattering of rain on the roofs and windows.

No one is surprised to see the man nodding off on meetings or curled up in a corner of the solar, a book laid flat on his face, snoring the rainy day away.

No amount of coffee wakes him up.

The only thing that could stop him from falling asleep on a grey day is a sparring match.

So when the rain comes, everybody shuffles away from the young Amicitia’s path.

No one wants to be his sparring partner for the whole day, not even Cor. He’s much too strong for everyone.

Regis made the mistake of accepting his request and ended up looking as a haggard, rain-soaked and ruffled chocobo after that. Never again, said Regis.

In days when Clarus can resist the temptation to sleep in as it rains cats and dogs outside, he’d be found walking around the perimeter of the Citadel several times.

It is during these rare days that Clarus can be engaged in any kind of conversation. He’s a bit of a curt man, but when it rains, he relaxes somewhat, thus making him quite open to socialising with people he works with.

Clarus is the one who can detect if it’s going to rain because of his hobby of watching his environment.

As soon as Clarus predicts the rain coming, Weskham would buy all of his ingredients to stock up for his ‘rainy day comfort food’.

If he’s supposed to be out in the rain, he brings out his huge umbrella. It fits everyone under it.

Clarus likes to sleep in early during rainy nights. He can’t be made to stay up when the feel of his comfy bed beckons him to a wonderful night full of sleep.

Veritas a.k.a. V

She has a love-hate relationship with the rain.

Veritas likes the fact that whenever it rains, everybody stays indoors. It brings everyone together.

A busy Regis becomes very much engaged in every conversation. A sleepy Clarus is lightly snoring on the couch as everybody huddles by the fire. A contemplative Cor puts up the best topic for debate. And Cid, well…Cid brings in the fire in the cracker. Meaning, he’s the one who gets everyone either arguing or laughing in the room, even King Mors.

Veritas is very much inclined to delve into her ‘gentle hobbies’, as Regis likes to call it.

The immortal would curl up in one corner, preferably near the window or the fire and start doing some embroidery work. Sometimes, she’d take a pencil and her notebook and would start to either draw or write. And when she finds a new book, she’d be busy reading it, too.

Just don’t leave her with nothing to do on a rainy day.

Rainy day makes her feel down. She remembers the days she spent with the First King of Lucis and how he held her inside the Citadel for days just so she wouldn’t escape him. She hated those days. And the rain makes her remember such horrible things.

Cid is the one who is able to coax her to get up from her seat and hover over to watch the card game.

She’s highly likely to tell Cor Leonis of what cards Regis has in his hand, to which Regis calls her out on it, daring her to try the game herself. 

She tries it, but fails. All the time. She’s horrible with games.

She’s the target of one such Prince Regis whenever he’s in one of his dancing moods. He’d pull her up from her seat to whirl her about the room as his favorite valse is playing, says he needs to practice for that moment he finds the opportunity to dance with Aulea. She agrees; he can dance, but not without mischief.

She’s not averse to sparring. She’ll spar with Clarus. But only once. 

Her energy’s too low on rainy days.

Except when she has been engaged in some sort of activity the day before, then she’ll be inclined to try and finish it even on a dreary day.

She’s extra sociable in rainy nights. She’ll be happy to answer questions or tell stories. Just don’t ask her about Somnus Lucis Caelum her ex-something. She’d clam up and change the subject all too obviously. 

Veritas likes to drink hot chocolate as she gazes out into the window.

The smell of the rain doesn’t bother her at all.

Cid Sophiar

Rain? What rain?

Cid Sophiar doesn’t care whether it is raining cats and dogs or blazing like a hundred degree oven outside. Nothing stops him from doing whatever it is that he needs to do.

He likes to work on his cars and machines even if the rain is dripping down on his skin, as long as his precious leather jacket stays out of the way.

One is bound to find the mechanic strolling about Insomnia in the rain without his umbrella.

He doesn’t even get sick when he does so.

He likes to feel the rain against his skin, revelling in the way it falls on him.

When it rains and Cid is with his friends, expect a whole tirade of stories.

Cid likes to tell stories whenever the rain pours down. Everyone is there with him escaping the rain, so he has all the reason to be sociable, right?

He almost always tells the exact same stories that whenever he has the dialogues coming up, either Regis or Weskham would mouth the words quietly while doing the exact same gestures as Cid does when he blurts out the lines.

When he has the chance, he’d blast up the volume of his radio as it plays his favourite songs.

Regis curls in the sofa of Cid’s house, pulling the pillows over his head, groaning in contempt.

However Regis might hate Cid’s rainy day playlist of swamp music, the prince is delighted to partake in Cid’s delicious comfort food: tacos.

Everybody loves Cid’s comfort food for rainy days. Veritas especially loves the chili, to which she is the direct competitor to the limited stock of it against Cor Leonis.

But when the night comes and it is still raining, Cid Sophiar becomes quiet.

He likes to look out the window, watching the rain against the glass, the bokeh effect of lights beautiful in his eyes.

He stares a lot at his hands, too, wondering just how his life is going by in front of his eyes. He can be very mellow in rainy nights.

But when the morning comes, he forgets everything.

And he’s Cid Sophiar all over again. All fire and energy, as usual.

Cor Leonis

The sulkiest boy in Lucis.

Cor Leonis hates the rain.

Allergy boy. Sneezes incessantly whenever it starts raining.

He can’t go outside to get some fresh air.

Plus, it gets him into one of his moods.

On rainy days, Cor Leonis contemplates on his own existence.

He questions the decisions he’s made or the ones he is going to make.

His family is of a lesser status as those serving the Crown of Lucis. His decision was to make some sort of distinction for themselves. But he was wondering if he did the right thing.

Instead of going to school or acting like boys his age, he was serving the King of Lucis, secluded within the walls of the Citadel, hearing of news of threats against the kingdom instead of listening to jokes or lessons.

He doesn’t mind those, however. What he kept thinking about is if he’s worthy to be serving the royal family in the first place.

Aside from this, there’s just something about the rain that makes him feel so aware of things.

He’s extra observant of the way the light shifts in the room whenever a storm cloud passes by, or whenever the fire crackles in the fireplace, the distant sound of cars drowned out in the rain, or the sweet scent of hot tea as it lingers in the air of every room in the Citadel.

He likes to stand in front of the windows and just stare out into nothingness, a cup of coffee or barley tea in his hand.

He’s rather fond of the conversations that King Mors and Prince Regis would engage in. He’s often being invited to join, and the laughter or the banters that would echo in the room would comfort him from his rather dreadful reveries.

Cor likes the valses in the rain, too. He likes to listen as the records play out with the scratches echoing from the speaker.

He’d listen to the music as his hand touches every surface he could find, revelling in the way that his senses are even more sensitive in the rain.

Rainy days are the best time to make Cor Leonis memorise something. He’s got nothing else to do, so better make the most of it and ask him to memorise a military strategy or a poem, or anything at all. Except maps, of course. He’s bad at remembering geography.

Weskham Armaugh (before they left for Accordo)

The deep-voiced retainer loves to take things easy on a rainy day.

He’s not sleepy like Clarus nor is he moody like Cor.

No. Weskham drops every appointment he makes and stays indoors. 

He can do some paper work and research, but his priority is to sit back and relax as he listens to the rain.

He’s one of those ‘romantics’ who would light up a candle in his room, put up some incense or sandalwood scent, as well as playing some soft music like jazz to complement the mood.

He’s an intellectual, but he doesn’t shy away from feeling his senses, mainly those that eases some of his troubles away.

Expect him to run a bath at the end of the day, warm and relaxing, a glass of wine in his hand as he reads his new book.

Despite his ‘idle’ state, Weskham gets most of his work done during rainy days. The more relaxed he is, the more he can focus on his work.

Weskham whips up the best soup or pasta on rainy days and everyone looks forward to it.

His friends, and even some of the Kingsglaive would wait in the kitchen as he finishes up his delicious food.

The kitchen becomes one of the liveliest place in the Citadel because of him.

Even King Mors would look forward to Weskham’s famous Lucian Tomato and Olives Pasta.

He’s most susceptible to singing while it’s raining. It gets him into one of his moods wherein he can be heard singing from outside his door.

And he’s got a really good voice, too.

[megabadbunny]

The Great Cookie Exchange 2k17: White Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes!

(lightly sweet with a delightful burst of tart, surprisingly easy to make! feat. Oreo cookie crust, stabilized whipped cream frosting, sugared cranberries, and white chocolate Christmas trees covered in edible glitter!)

Thanks to @chocolatequeennk for coming up with the cookie exchange idea, and thanks to @goingtothetardis for convincing me I could try my hand at cheesecake and it wouldn’t be a horrible disaster! :D To be fair, though, one of my favorite things about this dessert is that, while it is time-consuming and dirties a fair number of dishes, the steps themselves are actually pretty darn easy! I cobbled the dessert together out of several recipes I found online (sources below) for the sake of bringing something a lil different to my office holiday party yesterday; they were super effing popular and I received a truckload of nice comments. So if you a) are picky about sweets b) like cheesecake c) are interested in making seasonal/holiday treats that are pleasantly nondenominational (not into Christmas? Then those are wintery holiday trees!) and d) want for people to heap compliments on you, make this recipe, my buddies, my guys. <3 <3 <3

I would highly recommend making them with a friend, mostly because baking is so much fun when you do it with company. :D

The Recipes (AKA What is, How do???)

I would recommend starting with the sugared cranberries (source recipe here), and I would recommend making them a day in advance. Here’s my altered version of the aforementioned recipe:

4.5 cups sugar (3 for simple syrup, 1.5 for coating (or more if needed)) 1.5 cups water 2 cups fresh cranberries

First, make a simple syrup by stirring together your water and 4 c. of sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves and the water comes to a boil. Keep stirring and boiling until the mixture goes from opaque to transparent and has a slightly thicker texture when you lift your spoon out--like a thin syrup.

Remove the syrup from heat and let cool for a few minutes, then pour over cranberries in a bowl. The cranberries need to sit in the simple syrup for a minimum of 4 hours, but I would recommend letting them sit overnight, stirring occasionally.

4 hours later/the next day, drain the cranberries from the simple syrup, pour your remaining 1.5 c of sugar into a bowl, and coat the berries in handful-sized batches, rolling them around in the sugar-bowl with a fork until they’re evenly coated all over. (You might end up needing more sugar, since it starts to stick together and refuses to get coat-y after a while.) Place sugared cranberries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or wax paper and let dry for at least two more hours, and, voila! You’ve got lovely sugared cranberries!

Next up--or perhaps more accurately, simultaneously up--is the white chocolate Christmas trees, if such a thing interests you! The cupcakes are just as good with or without, tbh. I would recommend using Ghirardelli’s white chocolate melting wafers--they melt more evenly than white chocolate chips (significantly less risk of scalding), they hold their shape better than the chips, and they’re just so much effing tastier than any other candymaking chocolate I’ve had. The total amount you need depends on how many trees you want to make, but I can tell you off the bat that a 10 oz pkg of the Ghirardelli will make about 20-24 of the trees I made. (Srsly the Ghir’s are just so yummy, especially tasty while melted--dip some pretzels in the leftover melty goo, nom nom nom such a good treat!!!)

You can use pretty much any Christmas tree candymaking mold of your choice; I used this one. I also recommend using disco dust if you’re in an edible glitter mood. (I would ONLY buy either the original Disco Dust or the Sunflower Sugar Art variety--others will claim to be the same but many of them are actually regular craft glitter repackaged as “technically nontoxic glitter” for cake-PROP-decorating purposes. Boo!!!)

While your simple syrup for the cranberries is cooling, sprinkle a little bit of your edible glitter in the cavities of your candymaking molds by dipping a (clean, dry) index fingertip in the glitter and rubbing your thumb and forefinger together over the cavities so the glitter falls in. (You’re gonna get glitter everywhere no matter what; I’m sorry in advance.) Melt a handful or two of your white chocolate wafers in a microwave-safe bowl, in intervals of 30 seconds at 50% power, stirring between each session. When the white chocolate is smooth and liquidy enough to pour (no more chunks!!!), pour it into the molds, doing your best not to overflow. When each cavity is filled, gently tap and wriggle the mold--this distributes the chocolate more smoothly and also helps to eliminate pesky air bubbles. Stick the mold in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. When removing, check to make sure the chocolate is pulling away from the edges of the mold--that means it’s ready to come out. Turn the mold over on a plate or piece of wax paper and gently shake and tap the mold until the chocolate falls out.

If your chocolate overflowed out of the mold, it might be a little more difficult to get out, and you might have to trim it with a sharp knife afterward. Just use extreme caution, puhleeeeze

And now it’s time for the big to-do: the cheesecake cupcakes! You can also make these a day or two in advance, if you like--they refrigerate quite well! The recipe makes about 16 regular-size cupcakes, or at least that’s how it turned out for me.

The original recipe is here (just disregard the section on the raspberry stuff); my personal tips follow:

- DON’T OVERBEAT THE CUSTARD. Only beat it until it is just blended. Aka, use a hand- or stand-mixer, but with extreme prejudice. Over-beating makes the custard more likely to crack in the oven. Not that that happened to me, or anything... 0:) (Don’t worry tho, even if they do crack, you can just hide it with delicious toppings! They’re still tasty!)

- I would almost always recommend buying store brand cream cheese over Philadelphia. The flavor is richer and they’re easier to soften.

- A quick and fairly easy way to soften the cream cheese? Stick the still-wrapped blocks in your bra/cami/back pants pockets while you’re working on the other stuff. #noshame

- When crushing the Oreos, definitely remove the filling, like the recipe suggests. You might be tempted not to, for the sake of saving time, but since I tried it both ways, I now know that the filling makes the Oreos more difficult to crush, since it makes the cookie bits stick together more. Additionally, if you don’t have a food processor and need to crush the cookies the manual way (it meeeeee), put the cookies in a baggie (be sure to squish out all the air before sealing!!!), lay them down on an old towel, place another towel over the baggie, and go to town with a rolling pin. The towels protect your surfaces from getting bashed and make the sounds a lot easier on the ear!

- If you’re making regular-sized cupcakes (as opposed to minis, like the recipe indicates), you’ll want to scoop a tablespoon of cookie crust into each cup and pack it down; on top of that, spoon custard into each cup until it’s about 3/4 full. (The cakes will puff up while baking and then sink after, or at least, that’s my experience.) I had the best luck baking the cupcakes on a lower shelf in the oven, at 325 degrees, for 15-20 minutes. They’re done when the outsides are set and the middle is still a little jiggly, or when you touch them and the batter no longer sticks to your fingers (they’ll be just a lil springy to the touch).

I don’t have pictures of the baked cupcakes, for reasons...? But hey this is what the batter looks like! :’D

While the cupcakes are cooling, you can make the stabilized whipped cream!

It so tastyyyyyyyyyyy, sigh. And unlike regular whipped cream, which collapses on itself like a delicious but dying star after a couple hours, this shit holds the fuck up! Like seriously I made it days ago and it’s still truckin’. Find the recipe here!

Once everything is set/cooled/etc. (i.e., the candy is out of the molds, the cranberries have formed a semihard sugar shell, and the cupcakes are cool to the touch), it’s time to start pipin’ and decoratin’! I used a small open-star frosting tip to pipe the whipped cream onto my cupcakes, making a small swirly circle in the middle and then little dollop stars around the outside.

Then I dropped several sugared cranberries on some of the cupcakes (in the center, atop the nice lower swirly bit), and for others, I nestled a tree right smack dab in the middle, using cranberries in the front and back to prop it up (and add that delightful little burst of color/flavor!).

Anyway, that’s about it! Just make sure you have a tall enough container to store the tree-cupcakes in, keep them all refrigerated while you’re not eating, and voila! Delicious fancy fairly-easy-if-a-bit-time-consuming cheesecake cupcakes are yours to share as you please! Or don’t. They are shockingly easy to eat.

Thanks and have a happy holiday!!! <3 <3 <3

[ketohc]

Keto Chips – A Good Idea?

Keto Chips – A Good Idea?

People who love snacking might feel there are less options while on a keto-diet; especially for that time of the day when you feel the urge to munch on something, between your lunch and dinner.

So, what are you counting on these days? Mere salads and keto-bars are not going to keep you interested for a long time if those are the only choices you have in your mind; and anything you opt for needs to fit in the low-carb diet always.

How about Keto-chips?

Yes, it’s the long-awaited snack, that you only dream of now. Eating chips was so easy at one time. Just grab a packet or two, and go munching while watching a movie, your favorite series, working or partying. But we aren’t talking about the chips that are available in the market. We talk – Keto chips here!

Have you checked on the keto-friendly chips yet? If not, we have good information and some nice recipes to try out. Also, these are going to be fresh and healthy. What better can you expect your snack to give you, than letting you feel the guilt-free indulgence over something you can forever lean on!

Replacing Food

We all know that keto-dieting can be a little challenging, for the kind of restricted plan one needs to follow. No, it doesn’t have to be so depressing. Keto-diet is about cutting down on carbs and filling in fats, so pick your choice of healthy alternatives with low-carb, high-fat and replicate what you like eating the most.

How to add chips?

We haven’t forgotten about that yet. We had to tell you that every food is replaceable, provided you are open to integration. Make yourself a small bowl of keto-friendly chips, made from many low-carb items like radish, cheese, cucumber, zucchini, kale, spinach, coconut, cabbage, pork rind, etc.

Bring in all that you eat for keto, and see what wonders you are going to create in your very own kitchen.

What Are Chips and Why Aren’t They Low Carb-Friendly?

Potato chips are the first ones to hit us when we call chips, and then we have tortilla chips, equally tempting and a wonderful snack along with dips. These sound great for a non-keto dieter, however, for the followers, it’s essential to know that both are higher on carbs and not keto-friendly. To add more, these chips go through different processes, where they are treated chemically for enriched color and are fried in vegetable or canola oil, used commonly for processed foods (the later having major negative effects on the heart, blood, liver, and kidney as well).

If you are not worrying about it yet, you might like to know that 1 ounce of potato chips gives you about 15g carbs and 10g fat (not total saturated fats).

Are Keto Chips Low in Carbs?

We are focusing a lot on making the keto-diet interesting and variant. The sole reason behind it is to make the journey less disappointing for you because we understand that the transformation can be irksome at times. Hence, sharing new recipes, giving out information on the nutritional values and helping you understand the do’s and don’ts is the whole agenda.

So, let’s be practical

keto-chips aren’t going to be just how you thought (yummy potato chips or Doritos), No!

These will be different in taste, texture and looks; but we assure you that these are keto-friendly, and you can count on them any time of the day. These chips will be low in carbs, and diversely tasty too.

We would call you even luckier if you can find an organic store that sells out keto-chips! But if you know of none in your city, you’ll get more ideas here, on how to make your snack at home.

What Chips Can You Eat on the Keto Diet?

Like we mentioned above, there are many low-carb options you can consider for your keto-chips. Pick few and try out making them for a start if you like the taste, great! If not, try another one!

Radish Chips

Apart from being low on carb alternative to potato chips, radish can provide you with many nutrients like, potassium, vitamin B, vitamin C, manganese, and folate, that detoxifies your blood, promoting better health, great skin, improved heart health and weight loss at the same time. Why not try it for good?

Here is what you need to do to get yourself a small bowl of radish chips.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375°F

Wash the radish and slice it into thin chips

Spread a parchment paper over a baking sheet and then place the chips on it

Spray oil lightly over the chips and then sprinkle salt & pepper too

Bake this in the oven for about 10 minutes, take it out, turn them upside down and bake for another 6-10 minutes

Once they seem crispy, take them out of the oven and keep aside to cool

A cup of sliced radish has an only 2g net carb and zero fat. Isn’t that just perfect?

Cheese Chips

Cheese on a keto-diet is an advantage, really. At least you have something to rely on when you need to either top your salad, use as a dip or spread it over your regular meal. But, have you come across these amazing cheese chips ever?

With high-fat and low-carb content, cheese makes perfect chips for a keto-dieter. In fact, an ounce of this delicious crunchy snack will give you 6g saturated fat and less than 0.5g carb! Along with that, you will also receive a bunch of goodness from these chips, like important vitamins, zinc, calcium, and phosphorus.

Try these out and thank the creator later.

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400°F

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and carefully place the cheese slices on them (you can also cut them into shapes you like)

Bake these for 8-10 minutes, making sure occasionally that they don’t burn

There! You have your gorgeous looking cheese chips, totally keto-friendly and great as a snack.

Cucumber Chips

Over salad or just like that, cucumbers are so much healthy. Also, it gives you enough vitamins, manganese, potassium, and magnesium. With less than 2g carb in a serving, you can make this one ideal snack for you, every time a cucumber is seen lying in the refrigerator.

All you will need to do is exactly what you do for a salad, slice ‘em up!

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170°F

Use a kitchen towel to dry the moisture from over the cucumber

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cucumber slices over it

Bake them low & slow for 3 hours

Kale Chips

A green leafy vegetable like kale is majorly known for its anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that help the body defeat many diseases. Kale makes great salads and are pretty loved by many. Also, it’s ideal on a keto-list because it provides only 2g carbs and less than 1g fat in a serving of one cup.

It is low on carb. Hence, it is one amazing veggie to add in the list of chips. Try making these at home and start munching already!

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350°F

Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and keep aside

Remove thick stems from the leaves and tear the leaves into a size that you like

Bake them for about 10-15 minutes, till the edges of the leaves turn brown and look crunchy enough. Don’t burn them

These were quick and easily available recipes for you to make amazing keto-friendly chips, from the available items in your kitchen. Below we will be sharing more recipes on how to make incredible keto-chips. Some you’ll love to try right away.

Keto Tortilla Chips

Contrary to the above statement, we would like to add tortilla to this list. No, this is going to be a keto-friendly tortilla recipe, so you won’t feel bad about eating them.

These chips are going to taste just like your favorite tortilla chips but will be gluten-free and low-carb; plus, no wheat and no corns.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Mozzarella cheese (shredded)

Two tbsp psyllium husk

¾ cup of Almond flour (powdered)

Salt (as per your liking)

¼ tsp onion powder (optional)

¼ tsp garlic powder (optional)

¼ tsp paprika (optional)

Method:

Heat your oven to 356°F

Take a non-stick saucepan and gently heat the cheese, while stirring constantly

Mix almond flour, spices, psyllium husk, and salt in the melted cheese and stir for a dough like the combination, and then knead it until it’s smooth

Dice the dough into two balls and roll them as thin as possible, between two sheets of parchment paper to avoid sticking on the rolling pin

Use a pizza cutter to cut-out triangle shaped of this flattened dough and spread them over the baking sheet, with enough space for them to stay untouched from each other

Bake these for about 8 minutes or till the edges turn brown (also, the thickness of the tortilla chips will decide how much time you’ll need to bake them)

You have your bowl of freshly baked home-made tortilla chips. Devour!

Almond Butter Cabbage Chips

Another great ingredient for a keto-salad, cucumber makes it to the list without an effort. With just about 5g of net carb and almost zero fat, this leafy veggie is apt to include in anything you want.

The kale recipe was simple and had not much to experiment with. However, you can try adding almond butter as a twist to the keto-chips’ idea. Also, this recipe will make a lot of chips, so you can store them in the refrigerator and munch on them later, or even share (if you can).

Ingredients:

900g Cabbage (cut into pieces)

Four tbsp Almond butter

One tbsp Coconut amino

Four tbsp Avocado oil

One tbsp Fish sauce

Two tbsp Hemp seeds

Method:

Keeping the cabbage aside, mix everything else in a large bowl

Whip it to form a nice and smooth paste (you can add water to the mixture if you think it’s too thick, but make sure to keep the pasty texture intact)

Take the cabbage leaves and coat them with the paste thoroughly

Keep them in the dehydrator for at least 6 hours at 145°F. These should be dry and crispy by then

You can store these chips in an airtight container and consume them within three days

Cinnamon Coconut Chips

While leafy veggies make great chips (as you’ve already read), coconut is not stepping back either. With the natural richness that coconut carries, cinnamon just adds to the flavor taking the nutty delight to another level.

Coconut chips are wonderful healthy snacks for keto-dieter, and even those who aren’t won’t deny taking a bite… no, several bites in fact. However, the carb content could be a little on the higher side, therefore, making sure not to overeat is recommended.

Making these amazing cinnamon coconut chips is super easy and consumes only about 5 minutes!

Ingredients:

1 and ½ cups of Coconut flakes

One tsp Cinnamon

Method:

Preheat your oven to 325°F

Take a baking sheet and spread the coconut flakes. Sprinkle the cinnamon powder over the flakes

Place the sheet in the oven and bake it for 5 minutes, turning them upside down occasionally, so they don’t burn and bake thoroughly

Once they look golden brown in color, remove it and let it cool

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Though keto-chips might not replace the taste of those nicely packed potato chips or the tortilla chips, yet, you are never going to regret consuming them. And above that, you’ll find so many recipes to try for a new keto-chips’ idea.

People share new ways of making keto-meals or snacks interesting, because of the limited options available for the dieters, and you’ll never get bored of trying them too.

If you’re worrying about more options for a snack while on a keto-diet, worry not, you have several ways of making your snacks faultlessly ketogenic, and tasty too.

For instance, Fat-bombs that you can create yourself at home using either peanut or almond butter. Then we have Pork rinds for non-vegetarians, that is made of pork skin; Low carb tuna pickle, Guacamole as dips, Canned Sardines, Low carb onion rings, Peanut butter barks, Keto mug bread, Zucchini chips, Chia Seed puddings, Mixed nuts, Beef Jerky, Pumpkin seeds, and many, many more.

If you have forgotten eggs, let’s remind you that boiled eggs too make amazing snacks. Just boil them in the morning and eat them whenever you feel the pangs hitting in, or whenever you are bored. They are easily available, cheap and generally in the kitchen stock as well.

What more do you need?

If you want more variation, try checking out delicious recipes online. Make the most of your keto-diet program.

Happy munching!

References

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/195554?utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=J_Am_Med_TrendMD_1

https://academic.oup.com/aje/article-abstract/122/1/27/110405

https://www.peta.org/living/food/vegan-keto-tips-recipes/

https://asweetlife.org/why-i-chose-a-ketogenic-diet-for-diabetes-management/

https://wellandwealthy.org/easy-keto-recipes/

https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/717451

https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com

https://www.fatforweightloss.com.au/recipe/peanut-butter-cookies/

https://whatmollymade.com/peanut-butter-fat-bombs/

https://www.ruled.me/peanut-butter-pancakes/

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[thuthao080800]

I know I just posted corn chowder, but it’s still corn season here, which means sweet corn is still on the menu. This vegan corn pudding is an easy, multipurpose side dish that straddles the space between savory and sweet.

Pudding vs. casserole vs. soufflé

I recently got Toni Tipton-Martin’s wonderful cookbook, Jubilee. Martin has a recipe for corn pudding that she describes as “a way for families to enjoy corn in a lush custard.” She also notes that corn pudding is also sometimes known as corn soufflé, which “gives you a sense of how refined and light it can be.”

Martin bases her recipe on Carla Hall’s recipe, which involves beaten egg whites and a stir halfway through baking. The recipe that I’m sharing today isn’t nearly as light as the recipe that Martin describes. Truthfully, it may be closer to a corn casserole than a corn soufflé.

I did a little more reading as I looked into making a vegan corn pudding of my own. I found that the distinctions between pudding, casserole, and soufflé were a little difficult to parse. This article describes corn pudding as a type of casserole. It goes on to say that corn pudding is a “cross between cornbread and a soufflé,” and “[i]t can lean sweet or savory, depending on how you like it.”

Keep it simple

My vegan corn pudding is a little more sweet than savory, but it’s definitely a bit of both. It’s closer to cornbread than soufflé. This is a matter of preference—I like the substantial texture—and it’s also what happened as I was recipe testing. I kept trying elaborate ways to replace eggs, from beaten aquafaba to silken tofu.

The more I fiddled in an effort to get something that was genuinely soufflé-like, the mushier and heavier my corn puddings became. When I switched approaches and tried something much more simple—basically, a soft/wet cornbread dough—I ended up with this vegan corn pudding.

It was less luscious and silky than what I had imagined, but it was delightful in its own way. Think cornbread that’s tender enough to scoop up with a spoon and serve alongside some baked tempeh, chipotle lentils, tofu scramble, or vegan chili. It would be an awesome Thanksgiving side dish, not to mention a nice savory/sweet breakfast.

Vegan corn pudding ingredients

Vegan “creamed corn”

A lot of corn pudding or corn casserole recipes call for canned, creamed corn. So far as I know, some brands are actually vegan, but I found that it was easy to make a homemade version for this vegan corn pudding recipe. I did this by heating vegan butter, corn kernels, and non-dairy milk in a pot, then using an immersion blender to blend them up. Not difficult at all, and probably fresher tasting than the canned version.

Flour

I like unbleached, all purpose flour for this recipe. But if you’d like to make it gluten free, you can certainly use a gluten-free, all purpose flour blend. I really like King Arthur’s Measure for Measure. While I often make cornbread with whole grain flour, I really prefer all purpose for this recipe. It helps to keep the texture light and tender, as it’s supposed to be.

Cornmeal

Medium or fine grind cornmeal will work best for this recipe. I tested it with corn flour, too, because I sometimes like to make cornbread with corn flour in place of corn meal. That version was dense, rather than tender, so I’d definitely recommend sticking to cornmeal if possible.

Vegan yogurt (or sour cream)

You can use either a plain/unsweetened vegan yogurt or vegan sour cream to prepare the vegan corn pudding. Both are available more widely than ever, and they’ll both work well. The yogurt or sour cream help to keep the corn pudding moist, and their acidity will also help to activate the baking powder and make the pudding rise.

Storing and serving corn pudding

I think the corn pudding tastes best when it’s fresh out of the oven, warm and sweet smelling. Still, it’s a recipe that you can make a day or two in advance, especially if you plan to contribute it to a holiday table. If you do prepare it in advance, simply cover it and store it in the fridge till you’re ready to reheat. I recommend reheating the pudding in the oven: it’s best warm, and the oven will preserve its texture better than the microwave.

I haven’t yet tried freezing the pudding, because it’s a new-for-me recipe. But I’m guessing it could be frozen for at least four weeks. And when I try it—as I know I will, because I plan to make this again—I’ll let you know!

Print

Vegan Corn Pudding

A simple, versatile, and 100% dairy free version of corn pudding. Perfect for holidays!

Course side

Cuisine American, can be gluten free, can be nut free, can be soy free

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword corn, holidays, pudding

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Gena Hamshaw

Ingredients

2 tablespoons (28 g) vegan butter

2 cups fresh or frozen and defrosted corn kernels, divided (about 3 ears of corn)

1 1/2 cups (355 mL) unsweetened, non-dairy milk

2/3 cup (80 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (75 g) cornmeal

2 1/2 teaspoons teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

3 tablespoons  (36 g) cane sugar

3/4 cup (150 g) plain/unsweetened vegan yogurt or vegan sour cream

fresh, snipped chives, for serving

Instructions

Butter or oil a 9 x 9 square or 2.5 quart rectangular baking dish and preheat your oven to 350F.

Heat the butter in a skillet or frying pan over medium low heat. Add 1 1/2 cups of the corn and 3/4 cup of the non-dairy milk. Heat through, then use an immersion blender to blend the mixture partially. It should have some texture but few visible, whole corn kernels. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

Stir the remaining 1/2 cup non-dairy milk and the vegan yogurt or sour cream. Pour it into the dry ingredients, followed by the warm pureed corn mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of whole corn kernels. Fold everything together until the batter is evenly incorporated and no streaks of flour are visible (little lumps are fine). 

Transfer the batter to the baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is just set and the edges are just browning. Serve warm. 

I know that Thanksgiving and the fall holidays are still pretty far off. Then again, September felt very far away back in June, and June felt very far away when quarantine started in March. I still remember thinking that things would be back to the old normal by the time I celebrated my birthday! This year has been both creeping and amazingly swift.

For now, here’s to September, the change of the seasons, and taking it day by day. Till Sunday.

xo

The post Vegan Corn Pudding appeared first on The Full Helping.

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[josephkitchen0]

Experimenting With Maple Syrup

By Habeeb Salloum

The first stop of our group on the Tap into Maple Route located in Ontario’s Lake Country and Springwater, an area within the larger region of Bruce Grey Simcoe, was at Shaw’s Maple Syrup and Sugar Bush, a plantation of maple tree wonder and also home of the Shaw Pancake House. In this land of scenic, tamed wilderness for Torontonians and thousands of other tourists, Lake Country is an outdoor paradise that has many enticements, not least of which is the maple syrup season and its peripheral bounty.

We had come in early spring to enjoy this North American natural sweet—the only sweet enjoyed by the Indigenous Peoples in this part of the world before the arrival of Columbus.

The North American cold and harsh winters, followed by warm and sunny spring thaws give parts of Canada and the U.S.A. an advantage when it comes to the production of maple syrup. These ideal weather conditions produce the sweetest and most flavorful maple syrup not only in Canada, but also around the world. This, combined with the thousands of acres of natural maple forests (also called bushes), make Eastern Canada, especially Quebec (producing some 70 percent of the world’s production of maple syrup), and the North Eastern U.S.A., the home of almost all the sugar maples in the world.

While enjoying a breakfast that included a large stack of pancakes saturated with homemade maple syrup, Tom Shaw, owner and manager of the Sugar Bush enthusiastically talked about his passion for his family’s business. He is the fifth generation of Shaws who have been producing maple syrup on this farm and his son, soon to follow, will be the sixth. Tom’s great-grandfather began the business in 1904 by collecting the sap in pails and boiling it in cast-iron pots. This method continued until the 1970s when a system of tubing was installed.

Sated from a very filling meal, led by Tom, we walked to the edging sugar maple bush where we were shown the old method of sap dripping into buckets, a slow and tedious process. Just as Tom explained, we witnessed what must have been a near revolution in production technology when we watched how the tubing system works to collect sap. These tapped trees are connected by a system of plastic tubing that transports the sap from the trees to tanks where it is stored for distilling. The end product remains naturally pure syrup without any chemical agents or preservatives.

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Depending on the sugar content, usually running from two to four percent, it takes 30 to 40 liters (roughly eight to 10 gallons) of sap to produce, after boiling, one liter of syrup. The condensed product contains significant amounts of carbohydrates, potassium, and calcium, and small amounts of iron and phosphorus, and a tablespoon contains about 50 calories. From this pure syrup, which is filtered and sterilized before being poured into containers, are made: maple sugar, maple butter, soft maple sugar candy, and maple taffy—all appreciated products that the tourist takes back as a souvenir of Canada.

Even though all over North America and other parts of the world, maple syrup is known as a breakfast delight, the Indigenous Peoples used it to enhance wild game and, later, the European settlers added it to all kinds of dishes. Today, when, in the maple syrup areas, the sap runs, it’s maple syrup time! Family and friends gather during the few weeks in spring when the sap flows and the theme is usually maple syrup foods. Besides the traditional Canadian maple syrup dishes such as maple syrup-baked beans, maple omelettes, and maple desserts, and hot maple taffy served on a bed of fresh snow, I often add this luxurious natural sweetener to my favorite Middle Eastern desserts such as Kunafa, stringed phyllo-dough filled with a soft cheese, and Qata’if, a type of stuffed pancake dessert.

As for us that day, at the point where the sap is collected we stopped to listen to Tom relate the story of maple syrup and its attributes. It was apparent that maple syrup and its many drawing cards were an integral part of his life.

Leaving Tom’s Bush behind I thought of the boiling sap, called by some of its fans, “liquid gold.” As happens to the gold ore in its raw stage, the maple sap was before us being refined into a valuable commodity. The difference is one can eat this variety of liquid gold.

Back home in my kitchen I continued my experimentation with maple syrup as an ingredient in food and came up with a series of dishes. From these the following will give an idea of the culinary delight of this golden eatable.

RECIPES

Maple Flavored Baked Chicken

Serves 8

Cooking meat with a sweet taste is a North African specialty. This dish is a continuation of this tradition.

      2 tablespoons ground mustard seed

      8 cloves garlic, crushed

      5 tablespoons maple syrup

      1/4 cup lemon juice

      1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

      1 teaspoon black pepper

      1 teaspoon cumin

      2 teaspoons powdered ginger

      1 1/2 teaspoons salt

      2 tablespoons olive oil

      4 pounds chicken drumsticks*

      Flour for dredging

      2 eggs whisked with 1 tablespoon water

      2 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400˚F.

Place mustard, garlic, maple syrup, lemon juice, thyme, pepper, cumin, ginger, salt and oil, in a large bowl then thoroughly combine. Add chicken and coat evenly. Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for one hour, turning the chicken over every 15 minutes.

Dredge the drumsticks with the flour, then lightly roll in the egg mixture. Coat each drumstick in the breadcrumbs and place in a well-greased casserole, side by side. Cover. Bake until done for about 1 1/2 hours, the final 20 minutes uncovered.

Serve with mashed potatoes.

* If boneless chicken breast is preferred, bake for 45 minutes or until golden.

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Maple Carrots

Serves 4

This type of dish is popular in Morocco but made with sugar or honey instead of maple syrup.

       1 pound carrots, sliced into

       1/2 inch thick rounds

       4 tablespoons maple syrup mixed with

       2 tablespoons orange juice and

       1/4 teaspoon salt

       1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

       1/4 teaspoon cumin

Place carrots in a saucepan, then cover with water and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes or until slices are tender. Drain then stir in maple syrup mixture. Allow to simmer uncovered over low heat for five minutes, stirring a few times, then place on serving dish. Sprinkle with ginger and cumin then serve.

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Baked Beans With Maple Syrup

Serves about 6

Beans cooked in this way with vegetables and herbs and spices are perhaps more tasty and healthier than beans cooked with all types of meat.

        1 1/2 cups white beans, soaked overnight in water into which has been dissolved 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, then drained

        8 cups water

        2 large sweet red peppers, seeded and finely chopped

        1 large onion, finely chopped

        4 cloves garlic crushed

        2 cups chopped mushrooms

        4 tablespoons tomato paste, dissolved in 1/2 cup water

        1/2 cup maple syrup

        1 teaspoon salt

        1 teaspoon dry mustard

        1 teaspoon cumin

        1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

        1/2 teaspoon black pepper

        1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Place beans and water in a saucepan and bring to boil, then cover and cook over medium-low heat for one hour or until beans are half cooked (still semi-firm). Transfer with their water to a casserole then stir in remaining ingredients. Cover, then bake in a preheated 350°F oven for three to four or until beans are well cooked, checking occasionally and adding more water if necessary.

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Sweet Cabbage and Apple Salad

Serves about 6

Different than ordinary salads, this cooked salad dish is both succulent and satisfying.

       4 tablespoons olive oil

       1 medium onion, thinly sliced

       1 large apple, cored and finely chopped

       4 cups shredded cabbage

       1/3 cup water

       4 tablespoons maple syrup

       3 tablespoons vinegar

       1/2 teaspoon salt

       1/2 teaspoon black pepper

       1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

Heat oil in a saucepan, then sauté onion and apple over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients then cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. Serve hot or cold as a salad or vegetarian entrée.

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Lentils with Maple Syrup

Serves about 8

Simple to prepare this recipe can be served with cooked rice or mashed potatoes. 

       1 1/2 cups split red lentils

       4 cups water

       2 medium potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch cubes

       2 medium carrots, finely chopped

       1 medium onion, finely chopped

       4 cloves garlic, crushed

       4 tablespoons tomato paste, dissolved in 1/2 cup water

       4 tablespoons maple syrup

       2 tablespoons soy sauce

       2 tablespoons olive oil

       1 teaspoon powdered ginger

       1 teaspoon cumin

       1 teaspoon dried marjoram

       1/2 teaspoon salt

       1/2 teaspoon black pepper

       1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Place all ingredients in a casserole then stir. Cover; bake in a 350˚F preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until lentils are well cooked, checking a few times and adding more water if necessary. Serve hot.

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Sweet Maple Syrup Balls

Makes about 3 dozen balls

This is a type of dessert that is prepared in different ways in many countries, especially in Asia.

       2 cups flour

       4 tablespoons cornstarch

       1/2 teaspoon salt

       1 1/4 ounce package dry yeast dissolved in l/4 cup of warm water along with 1 teaspoon of sugar then allowed to stand for 10 minutes

       2 cups warm water

       1 1/2 cups maple syrup, mixed with 1/2 cup water

       Cooking oil for deep-frying

Combine flour, cornstarch and salt in a mixing bowl, then pour in yeast and mix well. Add water then stir until mixture resembles texture of pancake batter, adding more flour or water if necessary. Cover; then set aside for one hour.

In the meantime, heat maple syrup then set aside, but keep warm.

Place oil in a saucepan and heat over medium, then drop one tablespoon of batter into hot oil. Deep-fry until balls become golden, then remove with a slotted spoon and dip into warm syrup. Remove, drain excess syrup then arrange on a serving platter. Continue until all the batter is used. The balls are at their best if served soon after frying.

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Maple and Walnut Tarts

Makes about 16 medium size tarts

Pecan or pine nuts can be used as a substitute for the walnuts.

1/2 pound butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vinegar

4 eggs, beaten (1 beaten separately)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups white flour

1 cup brown sugar

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine butter, water, vinegar and the one egg (beaten separately), then set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine salt and flour, then slowly pour in contents of the other mixing bowl. Knead into dough, adding a little water or flour if necessary. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 16 balls, then roll out balls into rounds about l/8 inch thick. Place each round snugly in greased muffin cups, then flute in same fashion as pie and trim excess dough. Pierce tart shells in bottom a few times with a fork, then bake in a 375˚F preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In the meantime, combine remaining ingredients to make filling. Fill the tart shells, dividing the filling evenly, then bake in a 350˚F preheated oven for 15 minutes or until crust turns golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool; then remove tarts from trays and serve.

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Maple Syrup Bread Pudding

Serves about 6

To make these “maple-syrupy” sweeter, maple syrup may be added to the cooked pudding to taste.

       2 tablespoons olive oil

       2 packed cups of small pieces of bread

       1 1/2 cups milk

       1 cup maple syrup

       2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 4 tablespoons water

       1 teaspoon vanilla

       1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

       1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

       1/2 cup currants or raisins

       Whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine all ingredients, except whipped cream, in a greased casserole dish, then bake uncovered for about 50 minutes or until top lightly browns. If desired, top with a tablespoon of maple syrup and serve with whipped cream.

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Tofu Cream Dessert

Serves 4 to 6

A tasty and healthy dessert, this dish is simple to prepare and makes a tasty treat.

       1 pound soft tofu, drained

       1/2 cup maple syrup

       1 tablespoon lemon juice

       2 teaspoons vanilla extract

       1 teaspoon lemon rind

       1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until creamy — 5 to 10 minutes. Chill then serve.

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Maple Syrup and Date Muffins

Makes about 16 medium size muffins

Dates, an Arab contribution to the world’s cuisine, go well as an ingredient in desserts, especially muffins and cakes.

       2 cups white flour

       2 teaspoons baking powder

       1/2 teaspoon baking soda

       1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

       1/2 teaspoon salt

       1 cup chopped dates

       1/2 cup ground almonds

       2 eggs, beaten

       3/4 cup maple syrup

       1/2 cup butter, melted

       3/4 cup water

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, then stir in dates and almonds and set aside.

In another bowl, combine remaining ingredients, then stir into flour mixture, adding more water if necessary to make a batter. Fill greased muffin cups, about 3/4 full, then bake in a preheated 350˚F oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for a few minutes, then remove from cups.

Originally published in the November/December 2015 issue of Countryside & Small Stock Journal.

Experimenting With Maple Syrup was originally posted by All About Chickens

[toddlazarski]

Whiffs of Napoli at San Giorgio Pizzeria

Shepherd Express

Chicago or Sheboygan. Eight years ago, this was basically the Milwaukee menu for serious scorching-oven fare. The former’s wave of Neapolitan pizzas seemed to be peaking, highlighted when GQ’s Alan Richman dubbed Great Lake as the ‘Best Pizza in America’. (It mattered so little in the oceanic pie world of Chicago that the place would be closed within a couple years). The big city scene was rounded out by the likes of the excellent Spacca Napoli, exocticized by the fired coal offerings of Coal Fire. Meanwhile our small town  neighbors to the north held every Milwaukee foodie’s favorite in-the-know secret: Il Ritrovo.

We had Piccolo. Also, maybe you could count whatever was happening at the short-lived efforts of Dick’s nightclub. Aside from that, well, it’s best not to think of the stone ages in today’s bustling scramble scene of catchup. Now we have Wolf Peach - much more than a pizzeria, but still, some occasional Neapolitan-leaning gems can be found alongside bone marrow and such. There’s Anodyne, a coffee shop’s success meeting the owner’s backyard passion project, yielding a from-Italy oven, some figuring-it-out salad days, and now frequent pizza brilliance. There is Carini’s, the Shorewood meets Sicily stalwart having added a 900-degree Acunto fire-breather. More recent is Bay View’s Santino’s, whose food can best be summed up by the fact that the restaurant often feels like the set of The Sopranos. Earlier this summer Di Moda opened in the space of Trocadero, because out with the gastropubbery, in with the fancy pizza. There will certainly be more. While the best of the new school has been Zarletti Mequon - Brian Zarletti schooled by maestro Roberto Caporuscio, president of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli, in the hard streets of midtown Manhattan.

Amidst the wave it’d be easy to overlook San Giorgio, the new, next-door opening by the owners of Calderone Club. Especially considering it’s residence in the oft-forgotten, by Milwaukeeans at least, downtown dining scene. Especially in the large shadow cast by Calderone Club itself, the much beloved, pretty ordinary spot for Milwaukee pub style pizza.  

But, note the window placard on some walk by: “Vera Pizza Napoletana” it states atop the logo - a serious jester shrouded in white, pizza peel yielded like a most potent tool of war, his focus only on the red orb before him, it seeming to contain all importance in the world, even despite the steaming Vesuvius outline in the background. Or grab a spot at the “pizza bar” - a melding of the two greatest things made by man - and spot the same certificate hanging on the back wall. What it means: they are a member of the VPN, an official delegation that designates its members as making “true Neapolitan pizza.” Admittance is based on, among other specifications, having a 900-degree wood-burning oven, using ‘certified’ mozzarella, type “00” wheat flour, tomatoes yielding from the lush soil around Mount Vesuvius. There’s also plenty of overcooked minutia: intricate requirements such as “proper work surface (usually a marble slab),” and oregano that is "Origanum vulgare from the ‘Labiatae’ family.” But, what it means hanging here: San Giorgio joins the aforementioned Il Ritrovo, Sheboygan’s other pizza spot - Harry’s, and Madison’s Naples 15  as the only spots in the state for such certified ‘za.      

Does any of this matter? Is such acronym salad but a marketing ploy? Is it misplaced rigidity? Isn’t adherence to tradition a bit overrated in comparison to, you know, taste? And, when you’re pizza-hungry, do you mind if, say, they're using a “low speed approved mixer”? Or if the pie is over the 11-inch maximum size? Are all of these just crusty stipulations, rules ordained by the hall monitors of technique?

These are the things to ponder as you sit in the considerable shadow of the blue tile beauty made in Naples - a Stefano Ferrara, or, basically, a Mercedes Benz of domed, high-temp ovens. And it burns just so, like a finely tuned, precision-engineered machine. Or you think it does, until maybe you hear one pizzaiolo tell the next, under his breathe, in a moment of heated frustration, "I'll kill you," and you realize, with the glimpse of one mistake, one disagreement, that it’s a very different kind of precision at work here. There’s something inherently temperamental at play, the world of careful cooking and fetishistic focus mixing with kitchen bullshitting and operatic southern Italian machismo right before you. There’s no setting a timer and walking away. There’s a constant checking of the temp with a gun, an indicator of the dynamic state, there’s a spinning of the pizza peel, like Federer flipping his racket, the easy familiarity with a tool, known through repetition, non-sentient friendship, a paint brush pointed toward doing serious life’s work.   

The entire presentation feels more art than kitchen procedure. It’s also at least part pizza porn - what with the in-and-out of the long peel, penetrating and prodding. And it feels all aesthetic pleasure. Especially as the waitress whisks another fire-kissed pie of San Marzano tomatoes, and nostrils fill with the woody essence of charred flour, and there’s Italian marble under your elbows, and Louis Prima overhead.    

For certain people, it feels special, essential - the kind of people that plan their honeymoon around making it to Naples, and then decide to spend the rest of their lives denigrating Rome and the Amalfi Coast, fiercely defending Napoli’s place as the actual greatest place in all of Italy, if not the world. For others, San Giorgio is simply a classy, laid back, downtown-y type place of which there are less and less downtown these days.    

Whatever your personal baggage walking through the door, there’s not much getting around it: the way pizza freaks talk about pizza is awful. Like BBQ geeks, with their ridiculous wood preferences, the need to pepper convo’s with terms like “bark,”  to let you know they know of what they speak. Or the way mixologists denigrate lesser bitters, with a scoff, like our president toward reality. Having said that, for those same certain people, Neapolitan style pizza, like Naples itself, is well deserving of a flight or two of poetic fancy.

To start, the style is a texture lover’s dream. A perfect synthesis of dough and char, of pillow and base, of stretching and body, of delightful little black air bubbles, popping up like corpuscles, hardened flakes mixing with softer pockets. What pizza nerds call ‘leoparding’ happens underneath - dark spots bleeding through the golden crust, indicating a happy marriage between worlds of cool dough and extreme heat. It adds up to what might be the mouth’s version of getting into a really comfortable bed - memory foam melding into a just-firm-enough mattress.

Atop such framework, variations abound. There is the Margherita - wielding San Marzano tomatoes, fresh Fior di Latte mozzarella, Parmigiano, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil. (The ‘extra’ is an extra stipulation, of course). Or there is the Margherita D.O.C. - the same but with Mozzarella di Bufala, the D.O.C. meaning “Denominazione di Origine Controllata,” another authentication, which also, yes, indicates designations within designations, wheels within wheels. Whichever, whatever, these are the most elemental, the best introduction, either would rightly act as a top notch representative - the bread, sauce, melted cheese combination sort that should be sent up in one of those space ships, along with Robert Johnson recordings and Michelangelo prints as a sort of message: “beat this, aliens.”   

The “Calabrese” is the next, logical punch up.  Along with San Marzano tomatoes, mozz, something called Caciocavallo Cheese, and red pepper flakes, it showcases soppressata, maybe the most criminally under-used aspect of Italian culture, which holds enough spice, enough zing to make pepperoni seem rote.    

On the white pizza side, there is the “Quattro Formaggi,” which might very well translate to fat ‘Sconnie guy. It is smoked Provola cheese, fresh mozz, Fontina, Gorgonzola, and a bounty of fresh garlic. An oily, pungent punch of gooey melted cheese, sharpness mixing with smoothness, contrast and medley at once, it is a tongue and breath bop of rich saltiness and airy satisfaction. If going such a sans tomato route, the “Genovese” is built on a basil pesto sauce, popped by cherry tomatoes, with a Citterio Genoa salami that is good enough to make the over-gushing about soppressata seem a bit silly. It’s similar to what the crispy pancetta atop the “San Giorgio” does, this being another white pie offering with braised fennel, more fior di latte mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, baby arugula, a sunny side egg, and plenty of potential to kick start nap time. 

Really, if you top any such carbohydrate beauty with shimmering, globby cheese chunks, any type of sauce whatsoever, there can be no wrong orders. The only mistake to be made here is filling up on burrata, or the arancini, or the excellent croquettes. Or, asking for a pizza to go, which San Giorgio prefers not to do, religiously adhering to the belief that the oven is part of the experience, that it needs to be eaten hot, fresh, immediately. Not reheated, like by a tasteless barbarian.

Pizza. But not pizza ‘to go.’ And there you have it, the thing that somehow says it all: something both impossibly simple and elegant. The essence of elevated street food. But not in the hipster sense, in the 2000-year-old  timeless fashion, where fire meets grain, there are few, but fresh, ingredients, carbs and proteins in a single bite, cooking done with man’s first and most basic invention, a reduction to essentials, an overwhelming sense of everything you want in your mouth - all at once, in one hot bite.       

There is a street in Naples’ old district, where pizzerias abound, and mopeds whizz by, and there seems like an almost irresponsible number of corner cafes, and the cobblestone paths are packed and loud, and intimidating, if not just for the sheer volume of life. Within that first bite, between swills of Peroni, San Giorgio can feel like via Tribunali. Or at least as close to Naples as many might come. Despite being on Old World 3rd street, despite upbringing and the emotional bind of childhood pizza memory, and the reality that Midwest pizza might still be the appropriate everyday preference, and regardless of whatever VPN means or doesn’t mean, it’s nice, if for just a moment, to find that true taste, sense, of somewhere else.