How you doin’? What’s not to like with this recipe. It’s a yummy one-biter! It can easily be brought to a potluck dinner. Whenever I asked “what can I bring?” Crispy Apple Crumb Cups top the list.
 
I use a good all-purpose McIntosh apple which, by the way, is the Canadian national apple. McIntosh apples are good for eating as well. They are well known as dessert apples that break down quickly and require a shorter cooking time than most other apples. When first picked, McIntosh apples are sweet, juicy and tart with a bit of a spicy flavor thrill.
 
What will this recipe deliver? Sweet cinnamon-scented apples held in a buttery crispy oatmeal cup with a crunchy sweet topping. I like to make sweet treats to share with friends. I do this a lot with chocolate, but I came up with this inexpensive recipe so that I could bake and take apple crisp to share with family and friends.
 
Prep time: 45 minutes
Bake time: 20 minutes
Yield: 48 mini apple cups
 
Ingredients 
3 large McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups butter, diced
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Grease 4 12-cup mini-muffin tins.
3. Mix the apples, water, granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon together in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer until apples are partially cooked, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Set aside.
4. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl.
5. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
6. Place a heaping tablespoon of the crust mixture into a mini muffin cup and press it into the cup so that it covers the bottom and pushes up the sides of the cup. Make the crust go all the way to the top of the little muffin cup and patch any holes with more crust mixture.
7. There will be crust mixture left over. Place about 2 teaspoons of apple filling in the crust pockets.
8. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the remaining crust mixture on the filling.
9. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown; 15 to 20 minutes.

ChefSecret:  This is a Budget Recipe. Why? You probably have most of these ingredients in your pantry already. Don’t let them get one day older, make this inexpensive recipe and save a couple of bucks.

Quip of the Day: “Good moms let you lick the beaters. Great moms turn them off first.”
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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.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

#ThanksgivingRecipes #Thanksgiving #Apples #Snack #CrumbCups #McIntoshApples #CrispyAppleCrumbCups #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2022 #BeThankful #QuarantineKitchen #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                                   ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2022

How you doin’? It’s time to embrace Charlie Brown and the Great pumpkin and holiday spice. Pumpkin spice is a very polarizing flavor, and yet, every year dozens of new products flavored with pumpkin spice are launched.

While many people assume that pumpkin spice is synonymous with Starbucks and fall, the flavor was around long before Starbucks introduced its fan-favorite latte in 2003. First, let’s understand just how pumpkin spice became the official flavor of fall.

Pumpkin spice was originally just known as pumpkin pie spice. It is typically made with a blend of spices—ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. It doesn't actually have any pumpkin flavor in it; the spices above are what pumpkin pie is seasoned with which is likely how it got its name.

Pumpkin pies were first made by American pilgrims in the 1600s which is said to have included a version of pumpkin pie spice, referred to simply as "spices." Many other recipes throughout the years called for pumpkin pie spice, but there wasn't a universal recipe or store-bought spice mix seen (or tasted) until much later.

The McCormick Spice Company originally introduced the first commercially available pumpkin pie spice in 1934 and a similar blend is still sold today. After its launch, McCormick published recipes featuring its pumpkin pie spice. The company wanted the spice to be utilized far beyond the traditional pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. The company featured the pumpkin pie spice in more savory dishes, like pumpkin fettuccine and pumpkin spice and apple soup.

Obviously, you don't see that many people reaching for the pumpkin spice to add to pasta as much as you see them adding it to desserts and coffee. Which is where Starbucks comes into the story.
The first Pumpkin Spice Latte was created in the R&D lab. The team behind the coffee drink wanted to create a fall beverage that could be as successful as its signature Christmas drinks.
Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte is made with espresso and pumpkin spice syrup—pumpkin puree, sugar and milk—with a whipped cream and pumpkin spice topping—made with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove (sort of a pumpkin spice).

Since you can’t copywrite recipes, Pumpkin Spice Latte is now a staple on many other coffee chains’ menus… Dunkin', Tim Hortons, and even McDonald's, have mimicked its success with their own versions of this Fall beverage.

Today, pumpkin spice goes beyond coffee and desserts with brands introducing pumpkin-spice flavored cooking spray, pumpkin spice hummus, and even, heaven forbid… Pumpkin Spice Spam. Of course, there are non-food products too — like pumpkin spice-scented candles, bathroom sprays and yes, even underarm deodorant!

The nationwide love for pumpkin spice is credited to Starbucks' latte — which is proven every year when Starbucks launches the PSL and thousands of people take to social media to share their excitement. But the real reason we love pumpkin spice is actually caused by something happening in our brains.

The truth is, we don’t have any memory for taste. We have a memory for aroma and we don't love pumpkin spice so much for its taste, but because of its nostalgic scent. When you use your other senses (like sight, hearing, touch, and taste) that information is first sent to an area in the brain called the thalamus. After it passes through the thalamus, it goes to the specific area for processing that sense. Your sense of smell takes a different path.

Information about smells skips the thalamus and goes straight to the cortex. This gives odors in our environment (and in the foods we eat) a sort of direct access to higher-level processing areas in the brain. The primary brain area for processing odors (the piriform cortex) is anatomically close to, and intertwined with, brain areas involved in emotion and memory processing. This may be one of the reasons odors are able to evoke such vivid memories.

Because our perception of taste goes hand in hand with aromas, we taste (and in turn smell) pumpkin spice and our brain perceives it as a warm, happy Fall memory that we love to enjoy.
If you have a lot of nostalgia for the fall season, then an aroma that's strongly related to fall with a familiar name like pumpkin spiced latte would probably work really well to stimulate all those warm fuzzy feelings. It all comes down to how you perceive fall and your memories of the season.
Over the last 3-years we have included several recipes with this favorite Fall flavor and we will not fall short today. Try our Pumpkin Pancakes during this holiday season… they make a wonderful fall spice breakfast.
  
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  15 minutes
 
Ingredients 
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (I prefer Libby)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
cooking spray or unsalted butter
 
Directions

1. Whisk together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar in a large bowl until well combined.
2. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl.
3. Add the flour and spice into the pumpkin mixture; whisk just until combined. Do not over mix.
4. Spray a griddle or frying pan with cooking spray or brush with butter; heat over medium-high heat.
5. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons batter for each pancake onto the hot griddle and flatten batter slightly with a spoon.
6. Cook until small bubbles appear on the service, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes over and cook until golden brown, about 2 more minutes.
7. Repeat with remaining batter.
8. Serve with whipped butter and maple syrup or top with whipped cream and fresh cut fruit or berries or toasted pecans.

ChefSecret:  Skip measuring all the spices; just add 1-1/2 tablespoons of prepared pumpkin pie spice instead.

Quip of the Day:  Never iron a 4-leaf clover; that would be pressing your luck.
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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.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

#ThanksgivingRecipes #Thanksgiving #Breakfast #Brunch #Pancakes #PumpkinSpice #PumpkinSpiceLatte #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2022 #BeThankful #QuarantineKitchen #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2022

How you doin’? Last August, Joan came back from a family reunion with a couple of loaves of Zucchini Bread made from her former neighbor Pat’s special recipe and beautiful zucchini from her garden… moist and delicious, with lots of Vitamin A.
As many of you will remember from Cooking lesson #31 Nut Tree Orange Nut Bread I love baking quick breads. If you don’t remember, link in here or go to the Perspectives website and find it on the search bar.

So here’s the skinny on Zucchini Quick breads—it doesn't taste much like zucchini, since zucchini doesn't really have a well-defined flavor, but there is a twinge of “green” flavor in the background. The zucchini add a nice moistness to the bread.

Okay, you planted zucchini in your home garden and when it ripens it all ripens at the same time. This is a great way to use up all the ripe crop while making a tasty, sweet loaf that you can freeze for later enjoyment.

I call this a bread, but it really is very cake-like.  It is a beautiful and delicious loaf, not to mention super-fast and easy to make. And that, along with the fact that there is no proofing required, is why it is called “Quick Bread.”
 
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Bake time:  50 minutes
Cool time:  35 minutes
Yield:  2 loaves, about 16 servings
 
Ingredients 
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoon molasses
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
 
Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Generously butter two loaf pans.
3. Mix the kosher salt into grated zucchini and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture to a strainer and rinse very thoroughly under cold water to remove the salt. Let it drain for 15 to 20 minutes before using.
5. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl. Set aside and reserve until needed.
6. Combine the beaten eggs, molasses, sugar and vanilla in another large mixing bowl and whisk until mixture is smooth and turns a pale yellow, about 2 minutes.
7. Grab a handful of the drained zucchini and put it into a kitchen towel and squeeze out any excess water before transferring into the egg-sugar mixture. Repeat until all the zucchini has been transferred.
8. Pour in the melted butter and stir until combined.
9. Stir the pecans into the batter, followed by the flour mixture. Use a spatula to mix until the flour disappears.
10. Deposit the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
11. Tap the pans on the countertop to settle the batter and get rid of any air pockets.
12. Bake in the center of a preheated oven until golden brown on top and a cake tester poked in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
13. Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn them out on to a cooling rack for another 25 minutes.
14. Let cool completely before serving.

ChefSecret:  You can use any nut you like, some people prefer walnuts instead of pecans. You can also add butterscotch, toffee or dark chocolate chips if you like.

Quip of the Day:  “Question: What is a zucchini’s favorite sport? Answer: Squash.”
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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.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

#Baking #Snack #Breakfast #Brunch #QuickBread #ZucchiniBread #Zucchini #2022 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                                 ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2022

​How you doin’? Every meal provider’s recipe box needs a simple go-to biscuit. Here’s mine. These are light, buttery and ready in no time. This recipe was given to me by Ethel, the San Jacinto Inn’s head cook. Ethel was a tough old bird… she made me wash dishes for an hour to get the recipe. Later I learned I could have just bought her cookbook. The dishpan hands were worth it though… I got to work with Ethel!
 
The San Jacinto Inn was famous for its seafood and chicken dinners—it wasn’t just a meal, but a dining and working experience. Jack and Bertha Sanders established the restaurant in 1916 near the Lynchburg Ferry on the Houston Ship Channel. Originally a small lunch counter, the menu included fresh seafood caught by the Sanders’ served with freshly baked biscuits and homemade preserves. In 1917, the growing restaurant moved to its location in an old dance hall opposite the present location of the Battleship Texas near the San Jacinto Battleground State Park. Soon the popularity of the San Jacinto Inn grew, and dining there became a tradition and an experience) for many Houstonians, their families and me too when I travel to the area.
 
The dining room featured an all-you-can eat menu, consisting of primarily seafood and chicken. In winter, the menu included celery, shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, fried oysters, fried tenderloin of fish, fried chicken, French fried potatoes, and hot biscuits served with strawberry or black cherry preserves, and dessert. The summer menu mirrored its winter counterpart in many ways but featured iced crab and stuffed crab rather than the oyster dishes. In the 1930s and 1940s, patrons not only enjoyed the hefty meal, but also a dance orchestra. During World War II, this live entertainment gave way to a need for more tables to accommodate the restaurant’s growing clientele. In later years, the restaurant seated nearly seven hundred guests and it boasted serving 85,000 pounds of fish, 55,000 chickens, 200,000 pounds of shrimp, 1,700,000 oysters, 50,000 crabs, and 500,000 hot biscuits in an average year.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  12 to 15 minutes
Yield:  16 biscuits
 
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (see ChefSecret below)
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) frozen unsalted butter, shredded on a box grater
1 cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
 
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425⁰F. Pulse the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a food processor.
2. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Add the buttermilk and pulse a couple of times until the dough just comes together but is not fully incorporated. 
3. Turn out on to a floured surface and pat into a thick 8-by-8-inch square. Cut into sixteen 2-inch square biscuits. Arrange on an ungreased baking sheet, brush with buttermilk and bake until golden; 12 to 15 minutes.

ChefSecret: When measuring flour, spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off the excess with a knife. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked biscuits.)
Sausage Gravy
 
You can’t have a recipe for biscuits without one for Sausage Gravy from scratch. Just a few simple ingredients are all you’ll need to prepare a delicious breakfast of Sausage Gravy and Biscuits. This quick and easy pan gravy is sure to please all in the family.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Total Time:  15 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients
1 pound of country-style bulk-packed pork sausage seasoned blend
2 tablespoons of butter or bacon fat
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
 
Directions
1.    Place a skillet on the range top over medium heat.
2.    Add the pork sausage, break it up with a spoon or fork and let it brown until fully cooked.
3.    Using a slotted spoon, remove the cooked sausage from the skillet. Set aside.
4.    Add butter or bacon fat to the skillet, let it melt.
5.    Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly to make a roux.
6.    Continue stirring while the mixture cooks for a minute or two, don’t let it burn. It will get thick and clumpy.
7.    Slowly stir in milk, about a half cup at a time, stirring constantly to work it all together with roux.
8.    Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Test it for flavor, as you go.
9.    Add the cooked sausage back into the pan, stir well.
10.Let the gravy and sausage simmer together for a couple of minutes until it reaches the desired consistency.
11.Serve the hot gravy over biscuits, eggs, hash brown potatoes or that very special fried chicken dinner and mashed potatoes.

ChefSecret:  Hold leftovers refrigerated for 3 to 4 days. It’s easy to reheat, just add a little more milk and correct the seasoning to taste.

Quip of the Day: “Recently I had a Zoom appointment with my “shrink.” The doctor told me, don’t worry, life is like a helicopter. That wasn’t comforting… I don’t know how to fly a helicopter either.”
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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.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

​#Baking #Biscuits #Biscuits-Gravy #SausageGravy #SanJacintoInn #Biscuits&Gravy #2022 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                                                        ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2022

How you doin’? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a bit of a sweet freak. I like to start the morning with a treat—healthy if possible—and end the night with just a touch of sugar. These Honey-Molasses Bran Muffins are a great head start on the day. This recipe bakes up deliciously tender muffins that feature wheat bran and whole wheat flour for flavor and fiber, and raisins, honey, molasses and applesauce for sweetness and texture.
 
In the area where I live, Vons Markets hot bakery sometimes has pretty darn good bran muffins, but they usually run out before I get there. So now I just put on my best baker’s apron and get the big bowl and wooden spoon out and in less than a half an hour I’ve got fresh, healthy morning muffins.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Bake time:  15-20 minutes
Yield:  12 to 15 medium-size muffins
 
Ingredients 
1 cup wheat or oat bran (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill brand)
1-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (for this recipe I used King Arthur brand)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup roasted and chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup applesauce (I used No Sugar Added)
1 cup milk
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 large beaten eggs
2 tablespoons demerara sugar (raw sugar)
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400° F and center a rack in the oven.
2. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin (Pam) or line with paper or foil baking cups (or both).
3. In a large bowl, combine wheat bran, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder.
4.  Stir in nuts and raisins.
5. Add in the applesauce, milk, molasses, honey, vanilla extract, oil and eggs and stir just until moistened.
6. Scoop into prepared muffin tin.
7. Sprinkle a little demerara sugar on top of the batter and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

ChefSecret: This is a basic bran muffin recipe to which you can easily add other ingredients—substitute dried cherries, cranberries or chopped prunes for the raisins. You can use straight honey or molasses instead of the mix. If you really have a sweet tooth add dark brown sugar in place of the other sweeteners. You can use almond extract in place of the vanilla. You can make it your own and change it up every time you make them.

Quip of the Day: “Why is a baseball team like a bran muffin? They both depend on the batter."
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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.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. 

#Baking #Muffins #HoneyMolassesBranMuffins #BobsRedMill #KingArthur #Vons #2022 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                                   ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2022