… from the Arts & Crafts Side of the California KitchenHow you doin’? My first memorable encounter with “art” was in Mrs. Wilson’s kindergarten class. Yes, I can really remember that far back…can you? Mrs. Wilson sent home a recipe to all the mothers of the class on how to make colorful finger paints out of cornstarch. That was at a time when mothers were required to take part in their children’s educations. A little sarcasm here. I remember, with pride, the excitement I felt when I arrived at school with my three jars of pastel-ish finger paints. Mrs. Wilson provided the unfinished porous finger paint paper. She also provided a large roll out of paper so that we could all contribute to making a shared diorama-style painting. And then, of course, each and every one of us kids were our own semi-washable canvases! As I recall, it was more fun that a barrel of monkeys. Those were wonderful carefree days. If you are still confined to your own home school rooms and are looking for a little diversion, whip up some finger paints and create a cleanable area to allow your kid to let out their inner artist. I provide this recipe so that my nieces and nephews in London can share in a little washable fun. And to their mums and dads, these are great picture moments—get the iPhone ready. So, go at it, Mabel Rita, George, Monty and Teddy. To their parents… just a little light soap takes it off the walls and out of the clothes. Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Clean-up time: Anyone’s guess Yield: 36-ounces Ingredients 4 cups water 1 cup cornstarch 6 tablespoons granulated white sugar 1 teaspoon salt 3 packages icing color gels 3 paint stackable containers (found in discount dollar or craft stores—a 3 jars for $2) 1 package finger paint paper Directions
ChefSecret: The finger paints are great for an Easter crafts session. Don’t worry… these finger paints are completely digestible, so if you see a little “blue poo” in a couple of days it’s nothing to get excited about. Kid’s COVID-19 Quip of the Day: “A little girls asks her mother what she’s doing. Her mother says, I’m making a sign for the front door. The little asks, What does the sign say. Mom replies, Welcome! The little girl replies, “No, no mommy, it should say, Stay Away—We shoot Porch Pirates!” The Many Uses of Use Cornstarch Cornstarch is a great ingredient that everyone should have in the house. I use it most often for thickening the sauce of an Asian stir-fry. I also use it to thicken other sauces, soups, stews, custards and more. There are 1001 uses for this pantry staple in the kitchen and beyond. A lot of people don’t really know what cornstarch is. Not to be confused with corn flour (which is made from whole kernels), cornstarch is made from the endosperm found at the center of the corn kernel. The starches inside the endosperm are removed, rinsed, dried, and milled into a fine powder. This leaves us with cornstarch—a white, chalky powder. It's made up of a long chain of starch molecules that will unravel and swell when heated in the presence of moisture. This swelling, or gelatinization, is what causes thickening. If you run out of cornstarch, what else can you use and still thicken your sauce and such? You can substitute cornstarch with:
I hate to have an ingredient on hand that I can only use in one or two recipes. What else can I do with cornstarch, you ask? Cornstarch goes well beyond the kitchen and dining room table:
Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to send a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? 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. We added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Other #Kids #FingerPaints #CornStarch #Wilton #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021
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…from the California Kitchen How you doin’? Have you been following your 5-A-Day regimen? This recipe will help. The original Caesar Salad was invented in Tijuana at the Hotel Caesar by an Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini. Caesar owned restaurants in Mexico and the United States. He was living in San Diego but working in Tijuana where he avoided the restrictions of Prohibition. His Tijuana establishment was frequented by many of Hollywood’s super stars of the era. Tijuana Chilled Caesar Pasta Salad is the next step up from the romaine lettuce-centric salad found in most Italian restaurants today. It is the perfect spring and summer salad, and because there is no mayonnaise it’s perfect to take to picnics, too. Prep time: 20 minutes Chill time: 1 hours or longer (tastes better the longer it chills) Yield: 2-4 servings Ingredients For the salad 2 cups dry rainbow Radiatore pasta 1 green onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives 3 tomatoes, diced 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles For the dressing 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1-1/2 teaspoons garlic salt 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup light olive oil 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional) Directions
ChefSecret: Top with a little salsa and Mexican cheese blend. Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “From now on I’m always going to wear a mask to the grocery store, I prefer a disguise when squeezing the produce and purchasing obscene amounts of junk food.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are also being posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Salads #SideDish #PastaSalad #TijuanaPastaSalad #CaesarSalad #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021 The Easter Collection How you doin’? I love the flavor and texture of old-fashioned smoked hams. Last year I bought a commercial brand ham and it was so “pumped” with water and chemicals that there was relatively little ham to taste after cooking, and relatively little actual ham flavor. Yes, they’re easier to cook, but if you’re cooking for compliments—forget it! There are hams and then there are Benton’s Smoky Mountain Hams. They’re a little pricey and take a lot of time and effort, but they’re well worth it. Simple stated, Allan Benton produces great American hams. Now, you might have noticed in the name of this post that this recipe is part of The Easter Collection. We’re posting this one a week early to allow time for you to order, receive and prepare this special ham. So, go… order it now. We’ll wait. I wanted to do justice in the preparation to match the effort that went into it at the Benton smoke house. Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams are slow cured using salt, brown sugar and sodium nitrite. They are typically aged 9-10 months, although they do sell hams that are a year and older. This time-honored practice dates to colonial days when the preparation and preservation of meat was a way of life. Allan Benton has upheld the traditional dry-curing process to produce world class country hams and bacon. A Benton’s ham weighs in at between 16 and 18-pounds. You can also purchase bacon and other cuts of ready-to-cook hams on their website at www.bentonscountryhams2.com. How to make a whole, bone-in Benton’s Country Ham Preparation for the whole ham Allow a good 6 or 7 days to do it right. Hey, you only live once, right?
Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams 2603 Hwy. 411 North Madisonville, Tennessee 37354 Phone: (423) 442-5003 Hours: Monday - Saturday: 8:30am 5:00pm Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “I was watching the news the other day and they advised that you contact your older friends and relatives for a welfare check to make sure they’re okay. Being a little older, I’m very fortunate to have someone check on me almost every day. She is from India and is very concerned about renewing my car warranty.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? 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. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Entrees #Ham #SmokedHam #BentonsCountryHams #Easter #Pork #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021 … from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour (or Candy) Bar How you doin’? After Cooking Lesson #78: Strawberry-Infused Vodka we received a lot of comments on how many of our readers tried the Fresh Strawberry Collins and loved it. So, I thought let’s see what other liquors we can infuse and with what. Here’s a few new tips to brighten up your boozy happy hour and save your kids from a few cavities. Ready, set, go. Quick, look over both shoulders. Are the kids out of the room yet? Great. Then listen up—you don't have to let the kids take all the candy from you anymore. Sure, let the little whipper snappers put on scary masks at Halloween time and go begging across the neighborhood for penny taffy. You can even wear a smile while you help them do it—that'll be your own disguise. Once the kids are asleep, your caper really begins with these awesome and somewhat strange candy-infused spirits. The basic idea is to take popular candy, drop them in a jar full of hooch and wait until it tastes good. Whereas many store-bought flavored liquors tend to taste flat or chemical-like from an overabundance of artificial flavors and sweeteners, you can make any of these homemade booze infusions to perfectly fit your taste in just a short time. You'll need a few things to accomplish these boozy science experiments, but it's likely, if you have kids or a sweet tooth, that you've already got some of this stuff in the house. It’s just the alcohol and candy of your choice. I have a few combinations to recommend below, but feel free to experiment with like-minded flavors—apple and cinnamon, vodka, gin or anything that suits your tastes. You don’t have to use expensive branded liquors—the cheap stuff will do. Make sure you have all the “chemistry” paraphernalia required… be sure to have some 16-ounce mason jars on hand with nice tight-fitting lids. When it comes time to strain out the remaining candies at the bottom of your jar, a fine mesh strainer works well, or you can opt for a thin sheet of cheesecloth and just take your time with it. No sense in spilling your infusion all over the counter just because you couldn't wait to drink it fast enough. So, go dust off your inexpensive bar bottles on the back shelf, sneak some candy out of pantry and get to work: We've got some makin’ and drinkin' to do. Hot Tamales and Vodka Hot Tamales are the candy for the kid who wants more than a stick of Big Red but can't handle the Atomic Fireballs. With emphasis on cinnamon flavors and a little tongue-tickling heat, Hot Tamales have been a candy aisle staple for years and years. Pour enough whole hot tamales into a 16-ounce mason jar to cover the bottom in a single layer—about 12 to 15 candies should do. Add two cups of vodka and seal. Because the slightly tacky Hot Tamales exterior breaks down quickly you won't have to wait long... 10 hours or will do it and your magic infusion is ready. The color you're looking for is bright hot pink. That's how you know it's working. Once you've achieved a maximum warm glow from the jar, strain off the candy dregs at the bottom. Try it with anything slightly fruity. The thin cinnamon backbone gives enough woodiness and warmth to the infusion, so punch it up a touch with something bright and clean, like apple cider, orange juice or a fizzy lemon lime soda. Hershey's Milk Chocolate and Good, Old American Bourbon Of all the candies we tested in booze, the Hershey's bar maintained their shape and relative size the longest. That's a good thing, since our goal was a delicate chocolate flavor that doesn't overpower the bourbon. Start with two half-ounce snack size Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars in the mason jar and fill to the top with bourbon. Let them steep for 24 hours. While it may not look like much the flavor is working, eventually those Hershey's bars will be bullied into submission, and surrender that sweet, sweet chocolate flavor. Try it with a little fresh mint. If you've infused the chocolate correctly, you should have some seriously smooth bourbon with just a hint of darker sweetness. Muddle a few mint leaves gently in the bottom of your glass, add ice and your chocolate bourbon, then slowly sink into your leathery couch as a fire crackles nearby and your faithful puppy brings in your slippers. Candy Corn and Gold Rum Sugar vs. sugar! When you infuse two cups of rum with about two ounces of candy corn, it ends up being—well, different, but you and the Bacardi Bat have gotten into worse troubles together—remember all those Mojitos at Margaritaville last year? Mostly, the sweet sting of rum is as present as ever, but there's a nice undercurrent of candy corn that will sit on your tongue long after your hangover has passed. Really, this one depends on your preferences for candy corn. If you're a fan, you might find this one an intriguing and a fun seasonal beverage. But if you can't stand the tricolored triangles, mixing in rum will be as disappointing as your kids finding out that Easter Bunny isn’t—Santa ate him for Christmas dinner. Assuming you're OK with the idea of candy corn, load up on the candy corn in this infusion, with 2 ounces of the confection. Add two cups rum on top. Let the jar rest for about 36 hours, strain away any remaining candy corn nubs that might be stuck to the bottom and enjoy. They should come out easily if the infusion is run through a mesh strainer. Try it with some coconut milk, to really embrace the sweet sugary flavors, and a touch of Angostura bitters to help take the sweet edge off. Junior Mints and Tequila Mint, chocolate, and some white tequila? What could go wrong? A lot! Which is why you've got to be extra careful with this infusion. The three items can work together, but it's all about the timing. If you want this infusion to turn out right, you're going to have to watch it closer than your own kids. Pour in a small pile of Junior Mints, enough to line the bottom of your mason jar and then a few more. DO NOT cut open the individual Junior Mints, or you'll risk releasing an over-abundance of mint. Top with two cups tequila. Then, let the chocolate slowly filter off the Junior Mints until the white fleshy insides just start to be revealed. You should be safe to let this happen overnight, but don't sleep in too long in the morning or you'll end up with a big jar of spiked mint water. Check after 10 hours and leave the jar no more than 12 hours. If you've done your job correctly, the remaining little pods should just have some white sticking through, and they won't fall apart when you strain them out. What's left is a brown-tinged mason jar of then, gently minted, smoothly chocolate tequila that still carries some bright alcohol afterburn. Try it in iced coffee or serve it with a splash of citrus soda or tonic for a bitter, bubbly edge. Werther's Hard Candies and Applejack Applejack—I haven’t had that since college, but apple and caramel are natural allies, so expect the same sort of fall flavors you'd get from a real candy apple in this infusion (an ode to Daffy Apple). If you only use 4 hard candies, you'll get a crisp fruitiness, smooth, sweet caramel and a little depth from the alcohol at work. No matter how long you let this mason jar sit, you're going to have some creamy, frothy stuff at the top and a pretty thick texture. Your mason jar will get syrupy, your mouth will feel lined with a sheet of sugar, and the liquid on the sides of your glass will take their time falling away back down to the bottom of the tumbler. Don’t let this put you off. For best results, use no more than 4 Werther's hard caramel candies. Top with 2 cups applejack, and strain after 36 hours. There will be some candied pellets still stuck to the bottom of the jar. You may want to filter through a coffee filter if you have the patience to wait. Try it with slice of a real tart Granny Smith apple and a little ginger ale to keep things light and to thin out your drink so you don't need a spoon to consume. Marshmallows and Cachaça No, my friends, cachaça is not the name of the booty dance that got Miley Cyrus in all sorts of trouble. It's the purest representation of organic sugarcane, fermented in the rustic hills of Brazil. You know it’s going to be sweet so what better to add to the mix than marshmallows?! You know, the pillowy white cylinders that are basically pure sugar anyway? Cachaça has a lip-smacking flavor that reminds us of bananas and citrus with a hint of salt—the final result was sugary and a bit funky. If you don’t have a REAL sweet tooth you may want to pass on this one. Cachaça is delicious on its own. The infused cachaça is, well, different. The marshmallows disappear inside the alcohol basically instantaneously, and no matter how many marshmallows you keep adding into the mix, they will all disappear. Start with 5 large marshmallow and add to that if required. If you do attempt this infusion, wait two days for any remaining sugars to collect at the bottom before you give it a sip. Strain through a coffee filter before sipping. Try it with bitters and tonic, just for the sake of science. ChefSecret: You don’t have to be limited by my imagination. Go to the candy aisle and see what’s popular and then start to innovate on your own. I am not liable for anything that you dream up or the consequences of consuming. Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “I found the longer I’m isolated the easier it becomes. The other day, someone asked me what I was doing, and I said, NOTHING. It didn’t mean I was free to talk, it meant I was doing NOTHING.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? 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 and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Cocktail #HappyHour #Vodka #HotTamales #Hersheys #Bourbon #CandyCorn #Rum #JuniorMints #Tequila #Werthers #AppleJack #Marshmallows #Cachaca #Cheers #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021 … from the California Kitchen How you doin’? When I was growing up, I used to think that oatmeal cookies were better for you than other cookies because they were packed with oatmeal. I would eat an entire package of Archway Oatmeal Cookies while all the time wishing they were chocolate chip. I then fell for peanut butter cookies—peanut butter is good for you, right? What’s a young man to do? Well, fast forward many years… and, as an adult, I decided to combine everything I loved—oats, peanut butter and chocolate. Of course, there’s also lots of butter, sugar and flour to balance out the recipe. After the Civil War peanuts became a subsistence crop in several southern states. This was before Jif and Skippy and no one knew quite what to do with them. Do you know who invented the peanut butter cookie? It was invented by George Washington Carver in 1910, when Alabama's Tuskegee Institute published a peanut cookbook to promote the crop. Thanks, GWC! In his book he shares 105 ways of using the peanut from Peanut Soups and Salads to Peanut Butter Candy and even Peanut Coffee. In Lesson #82 I shared Grandpa Max’s Private Reserve Presidential Peanut Brittle recipe that was a mainstay at T.R’s Sagamore Hill residence. Prep time: 15 minutes Chill time: 30 minutes Bake time: 18 to 21 minutes Yield: 24 cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup shortening (I prefer to use Crisco) 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 cup chunky peanut butter 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup of chocolate chunks 1 cup quick-cooking oats Directions
Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “Did you hear the one about the germ? Never mind, I don’t want to spread it around.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? 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 and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Baking #Cookies #Oatmeal #PeanutButter #NPB #NationalPeanutBoard #NationalPeanutMonth #Snack #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021 |
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