… from the California Happy Hour BarHow you doin’? Vodka is most famously paired with juices like orange or cranberry, but the lesser known combination of vodka with apple juice is also delicious. It's very simple–just two or three ingredients—juice (or mixer) and vodka are all you need to make a great happy hour cocktail. Which mixers go best with vodka? Grapefruit Juice—If you’re looking to add a little sweetness to your vodka libation but don’t want a sugar overload, try using freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice. I love a Vodka Greyhound cocktail (originally made with gin). It makes for a punchy cocktail that is as tasty as it is refreshing. Ginger Beer—There is a reason why the Moscow Mule is one of the most popular drinks in bars today. It is a mix of vodka, lime juice and spicy-sweet ginger beer. Make sure you buy a good quality ginger beer (not ginger ale) to get the most out of your cocktail and ensure it isn’t sickly sweet. Lemonade—You don’t need to squeeze your lemons. Why waste the time when you could be drinking and not squeezing? Try using Simply Lemonade or the old frozen standby. Experiment a little by making the drink on your own by muddling fruit (like cranberries) or fresh herbs into the drink. Or try the Oaxacan Lemonade, which uses mezcal and cilantro to give the vodka and lemonade mixture smoky, grassy notes. Cranberry Juice—Everyone knows cranberry juice makes a Cosmopolitan—the perfect mixer for vodka, especially when you use the tart juice. If you don’t have orange liqueur for a classic Cosmo, feel free to use simple syrup to help balance the cranberry juice’s tart notes. You can also mix vodka, cranberry and grapefruit for a fruity, refreshing Sea Breeze. Pineapple Juice—Take a trip to the islands with a vodka cocktail with a fruity edge. Or mix vodka, pineapple juice and Chambord to create a downright delicious French Martini, or tackle the Tiki Torch with the Chi Chi, a vodka-spiked version of a Piña Colada. Or simply pour your favorite vodka into a glass of pineapple juice. Use the freshest juice possible with no added sugar. Tonic—Still one of my favorites is the clean taste of a Vodka. Use a good quality vodka and a mild tonic with less intense quinine flavor. Orange Juice—A Screwdriver was likely one of your very first cocktails that you probably ever tasted. The mix of orange juice and vodka is easy, refreshing and perfectly balanced when made with the freshly squeezed stuff. Add a little Galliano to the mix, and suddenly you have a Harvey Wallbanger, slightly fancy—but just as simple. ChefSecret: How much juice do I mix with vodka? Pour 1 to 2 fluid ounces of vodka into a highball glass and fill it with ice. Stir in as much juice as you like. Quip of the Day: “If you can’t think of a word, say “I forgot the English word for it”… that way people will think you’re bilingual instead of an idiot.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide . ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. In this New Year, seek out the good in people and avoid conflict. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America. #Cocktail #HappyHour #Vodka #Grapefruit #GingerBeer #Lemonade #CranberryJuice #PineappleJuice #Tonic #OrangeJuice #2022 #HappyNewYear #Cheers# QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2022
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…from the California Kitchen How you doin’? Peanut Butter cookies have been an American favorite for years. Ever wonder who invented the peanut butter cookie? The Peanut Butter Cookie was invented in 1910, when George Washington Carver of Alabama's Tuskegee Institute published a peanut cookbook to promote peanut crops across the south. In his cookbook entitled, How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it for Human Consumption, Carver included several cookies recipes that called for chopped peanuts. Peanut butter was added to the cookies 20 years later along with the fork marks that are associated with this cookie. In 1932, the Schenectady Gazette published the first peanut butter cookie recipe that called for crisscrossed fork marks on the top. Today, a peanut butter cookie just wouldn't be quite right without this iconic decoration! To set the record straight, the Aztecs invented peanut butter in the 14th century, but peanut butter cookies didn’t become an American favorite until the early 20th century. Prep time: 10 minutes Chill time: 30 minutes Bake time: 12 to 15 minutes Yield: 48 cookies+ Ingredients 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1-1/4 cups smooth peanut butter, 1 cup vegetable shortening (I prefer Crisco) 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 2 large eggs 1 cup granola cereal (I prefer Quaker Simply Granola) Directions
ChefSecret: Save the unbaked dough for another day. Scoop and bake the premade dough and have fresh-baked cookies in less than 20 minutes. Quip of the Day: “Have you ever noticed that all the instruments searching for intelligent life are pointed away from earth?” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. In this New Year, seek out the good in people and avoid conflict. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America. #Baking #Cookies #Snacks #Peanuts #PeanutButter #PeanutButterGranola #NPB #NationalPeanutBoard #GeorgeWashingtonCarver #QuakerSimplyGranola #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2022 Joan’s Healthy RecipesHow you doin’? Before we share today’s blog recipe (scroll down) with you there are a few things Joan and I would like to say, starting with Happy New Year! As you can see in the headline, this is #400 in our Survival Guide blogs. We started these shortly after the outbreak of Covid-19 and the following “14-day lockdown.” Joan and I were getting phone calls and emails from family, friends and clients for recipes and cooking tips. Preparing 3 meals a day for a family was stretching their cooking talent resources. We it would be simple to provide recipes for a 2-week stint; yet here we are at #400. In research conducted when Joan and I were the co-hosts of The Food Show on ABC, we found that the majority of meal-makers had a repertoire of only 5 entrees that they regularly cooked and at least one of those were repurposed restaurant leftovers. Our intention was to provide information on, healthful recipes that were easy and quick to prepare and would have good acceptance to the family. I must admit I fell in love with three inexpensive, time saving cooking appliances—Instant Pot pressure cookers, sous vide wand and indoor grills. You will see that many recipes are made quick and easy using an Instant Pot. Our recipes are test kitchen tested before publishing and are simplified wherever possible. Shortly after we started the blogs, we added information on the source, origins and history of the various recipes along with a Quip of the Day. I only elaborate to the extent that readers who were not in at the very beginning may not know how this all started. All in all we have published over 500 recipes (some blogs have multiple recipes) and have enough copy to write a new cookbook for the next pandemic. You might ask what has happened to Perspectives over the last 22 months? Our lease expired at our building that we have been in for the last 34 years and we chose not to renew it. We have moved to smaller offices and test kitchens. We have been working with our restaurant clients to help them navigate the world of home delivery and manage their staffs to to insure they can keep as many co-workers as possible. Our CPG clients have contracted with Perspectives to develop new products that meet today’s ever-changing consumer demands. Many of which include, Non-GMO, Organic, Vegan, Familiar Ingredients, No Artificial Colors, Flavor or Preservatives. Our test kitchen and food labs have been able to fulfill our clients’ needs. Here in California, and Los Angeles in particular, Covid has decimated our restaurants, hotels, resorts, theme park, cruise ships and airline clients and we continue to work with all sectors to improve their business propositions. The pandemic has forever changed the foods we buy, eat and the delivery systems that get them to us and will continue to be a part of our lives long after Covid-19 is just a fading memory. As we celebrate the new year, Joan and I, along with the Perspectives team, thank you for being a part of our blog family and we wish you the very best for a Joyous New Year. May 2022 be the best year ever! God bless! Cooking Lesson #400: Snappy Apple Snacks Joan’s Healthy Recipes How you doin’? Let me explain the category caption. My partner, Joan, told me I had to add at least one healthy recipe per week as people are more conscientious of eating healthfully the first few weeks of the new year. Actually, that’s not a bad idea. So, when you see a recipe caption, Joan’s Healthy Recipes, give the credit or blame to Joan. At Lawry’s Foods Sy (the food scientist) and I developed a snacking food that was crispy, a little sweet and full of cinnamon flavor. We had seen similar apple chips on a recent trip to Europe. Apple chips are a perfect substitute for popcorn, cashews and, unlike regular fried chips, you won’t feel gross after finishing the whole bag. While apple crisps, apple pies, and apple pie milkshakes are all great fall treats, this apple chips recipe does not contain butter or an abundance of sugar. It’s mostly naturally sweet from the apples… and it’s vegan! Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 3 hours Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 2 tart apples 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1-1/2 teaspoon sugar (or less as desired) Directions
ChefSecret: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Quip of the Day: “Never sing in the shower! Singing leads to dancing, dancing leads to slipping, and slipping leads to paramedics seeing you naked. So remember, don’t sing in the shower!” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. In this New Year, seek out the good in people and avoid conflict. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America. #Snacks #Apples #Lawrys #Resolutions #NYResolutions #HealthyEating #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2022 |
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