A Tool For Your Kitchen

 

Today's tip, make salsa from something other than tomatoes. Try peaches, nectarines, pears or mangoes. 

Be creative and your salsa will be a hit!

I wrote Cook as a tool for the kitchen. A counter top book for all the basics we eat in North America from Monday to Sunday morning to night. How do you roast a piece of meat, make a soup, create a salad dressing, soft boil eggs, make a pizza dough? It is all in Cook, published by Whitecap Books. My call is to unite your own personal sous chefs and get them cooking. A skill that will empower your sous chefs for the rest of their lives! Cook!

Today go to the CTV Edmonton website, click on CTV Morning Live, scroll to Fun Summer Dips & Salsa, to see Deb making Salsa.

Hands Down Easiest, Favorite Dinner

 This is one of my go to meals. All my sous chefs can make it and love it. I hope yours do too. This is one recipe in my book Cook--You Can Cook Fast, Healthy Meals For Your Family, Published by Whitecap Books

Hamburger Pasta Meal

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Equipment: Heavy pot with lid

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red or green pepper, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

¼ tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, crushed

1½ cups elbow macaroni

1 (700 mL) bottle spaghetti sauce

2 cups water

1½ cups cheddar or mozzarella cheese, grated

Order of Events

1. In a large skillet or heavy pot over medium-high heat, brown beef in oil with onion and pepper. With a wooden spoon, break beef into large chunks and stir constantly until completely cooked through and browning.

2. Stir chili powder, salt and crushed garlic into beef mixture.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low; add macaroni, spaghetti sauce and 1½ cups water. Bring to a simmer; cover with lid.

4. Simmer until macaroni is cooked and liquid is absorbed, approximately 6-8 minutes.

5. Stir in cheese and mix until melted through.

Kitchen Gossip

Vegetarian option – Omit the ground beef and substitute ground soy. You could also make the dish with ground turkey.  Pump up the vegetables by adding chopped carrots in step 1.

FOOD MECHANIC

Delightfully Cool Aprons

Aprons are cool. No really they are cool. They perk up a dowdy outfit and keep an especially delicious outfit clean. I have decided I am not old fashioned. I am modern traditional. This Saturday morning shot of pancake making proves how desirable a colorfully functional apron can be. I am not sure why my sous chefs chose not to be in the picture with me but I keep telling them, I'm Cool!

Banana Bread

The banana tree is actually an herb. My sister in-law, the fab lady who seems to be able to recite the botanical names of all the plants she comes in contact with refused to believe this. I had to go  and get my loved copy of Alan Davidson's, The Oxford Companion to Food, and show her. Bananas are a marvelous fruit. They travel well in their own carrying case, freeze well and whip up into delicious smoothies with a full, flavorful mouth feel and they make an amazing quick bread. I have made banana bread for my boys since they were young. For a treat I will throw a handful of chocolate chips on the top of the batter before I bake it. This banana bread comes form Cook--You Can Cook Fast Healthy Meals For Your Family, Whitecap Books.
This afternoon tea and a slice of banana bread!

Great Auntie Irene's Cookies

My Great Auntie Irene was a mod gal.  She was born in 1907 and passed away in her 99th year in 2006. She never had children  but embraced my aunts and uncles and all their broods as her own. She met and married my Uncle Charlie, an American, in 1953.

She was young in the roaring 20's and filled my head with fantastic stories. I loved hearing about the parties, hats, shoes and outfits best and bless her soul she remembered every one of them. I too love a great hat and a sparkling new shoe.

When my kids were little and new shoes were far and few between I was overwhelmed as the holidays approached. I wanted to bake cookies but could barley furrow up the energy for one batch let alone the  2-3 I wanted.  Aunt Irene came to my rescue and passed along one of her cookie recipes she had been making since she was a girl. They are simple and everyone loves them. She would make 3 different looking cookies from the same recipe. It looks like you have been baking all day. I included Aunt Irene's recipe in my book Cook--You Can Cook Fast, Healthy Meals For Your Family published by Whitecap Books.

Jam Thumbprints – Aunt Irene’s  Cookies

Oven Temperature: 350˚F

Baking Time: 10-12 minutes

Equipment: Cookie sheets

Servings: 40 cookies

Ingredients

2½ cups all purpose flour

½ tsp cream of tartar

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup non-hydrogenated lard

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

 Ingredient Options

Raspberry jam

Beaten egg and toasted pecans, chopped

Order of Events

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar and baking soda.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and lard with sugars.

4. Add egg and vanilla and blend well. Blend in dry ingredients.

5. Roll into small balls and press with thumb and put jam in center. Or press flat, dip in beaten egg, and press into chopped toasted pecans. Or press flat and leave plain.

6. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 10-12 minutes until evenly brown, rotate pans half way through baking.

7. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet, remove to wire rack to cool.

Kitchen Gossip

For the timed-starved, you can make 3 different-looking cookies with this one recipe.

TELL ME AGAIN WHY YOU NEED TO BUY BOXED COOKIES

Deb Anzinger P.H.Ec.

Shadow Parents

Sometimes parents need to be in the shadows.
Standing back and letting my children make their own decisions is what I have to do. Its not easy. My nature is to organize, delegate and get everyone moving. My goal is to have independent, happy children who put their own partners first just as my partner and I do for each other. I need to give them space to organize and think for themselves. I will be there if they need me. Watching them take chances, reach for goals and grow their self confidence is a priceless gift.

My Sous Chef Has Flown the Coop

Big Burly Boys love to eat.

It is a joy to watch them re energize with healthy, colorful, good for you food.

I call my boys my Sous Chefs. I am the Big Kahuna, the Organizer, usually the Shopper and certainly the Head Chef! I relish my role and love to delegate.

One of my Sous Chefs has flown the coop. Not for good, thank god, for the summer.

Will I survive without my sous chef? Will he survive without a Head Chef?

Part of me wants to think he will be lost at sea without his mother to delegate jobs to him. One of his comments before leaving was" Mom what are you going to do when you can't think for me any more" That hurt but the comment had truth. Please do not tell him I said so!

When I asked him if he would be eating a lot of Burritos from the Burrito Grill, they are fabulous, he looked at me and smiled, " Mom as long as I have your book Cook with me I will be fine, I am hoping to invite the guys in for dinner."

Guys welcome to your new roles as Sous Chefs.

Deb Anzinger, Professional Home Economist, author of Cook--You Can Cook Fast, Healthy Meals For Your Family