All-Purpose Crepes

I don't usually share recipes that have large yields, or recipes for freezing. I'm not someone who enjoys leftovers or thawing Tuesday's frozen food for Friday's dinner. Crepes, however, are different. When I was a small child, around 6 years old, I fell in love with crepes, and I've been filling them both sweet and savory ever since. This recipe has a large yield, and the finished crepes take up very little space in the fridge or freezer.

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 C flour
• 2 C milk
• 1/2 C melted butter

1. Combine ingredients in blender, blend for about 1 minute. Scrape down sides with rubber spatula and blend for another 15 seconds or until smooth.
2. Refrigerate batter at least 1 hour.
3. Brush pan with butter and heat over medium-high heat. Pour 2 to 3 Tablespoons of batter into pan (using a ladle makes this easier), and tilt pan in all directions to swirl the batter so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a very thin layer. Cook crepe until bottom is lightly browned, 1-2 minutes. Turn carefully with spatula and brown the other side for a few seconds until set. Remove from pan with spatula; stack between layers of waxed paper.

Yield: 30 to 35 crepes

Robyn's notes: do not feel that your crepes need to be perfectly uniform in size or an exact circle. Basically you are making an exceptionally thin pancake. Whereas when making pancakes, you're watching for bubbles to form, when making crepes you're watching for the surface sheen to disappear. When the surface of the crepe batter appears dull, that's when it's time to turn the crepe over. Once the crepes have been made and stacked on the waxed paper, they can be stored in the fridge or freezer in a ziploc bag. Fridge for about a week, freezer for up to 4 months. This batter can be used for any manner of fillings, both sweet and savory. Be creative, or search "crepes" in the sidebar for my recipes using this base.

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently

Xanthan Gum

A white powdery flour, produced from the fermentation of corn sugar, which is used as a thickener or binding agent for dressings, gravies, and sauces. It's an ideal substitute for gluten in gluten-free baking.

Unlike other gums, it is stable under a wide range of temperatures. Most recipes call for very small amounts, which allows a small bag of xanthan gum to go a long way.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Tapioca Flour

Derived from the root of the cassava plant, this flour is very light, powdery, smooth, and tasteless. It can be used as a thickening agent, as well as combined with other gluten-free flours to make delicious baked goods. It thickens quickly and at a relatively low temperature, which makes it a good choice for correcting a sauce just before serving it.

Tapioca flour and tapioca starch are two names for the same product.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Potato Starch

A flour derived from cooked potatoes that are crushed and washed until just the starch remains. The starch is then dried to a powder.

Potato Starch is used as a thickener for sauces, soups, and stews. Potato starch tolerates higher temperatures than cornstarch when used as a thickener. It's a natural way to add moistness to many baked goods.

Unlike cornstarch or other grain-based foods, it is permitted for use during Passover.

Potato starch and potato flour are not interchangeable.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Rice Flour

Polished rice, with the hulls removed and the raw rice ground very finely, becomes rice flour. It can be made from either white rice or brown rice. Rice flour has a similar texture to cornflour and can be used as a thickening agent, mixed with a little water, milk, or stock according to the recipe, and added while the dish is still hot and still cooking. It is a particularly good substitute for people who are intolerant of wheat.

In Asia, it is widely used for making rice papers and the dough for dumplings. It is often used to make sticky Asian cakes and sweets. Rice flour can be combined with wheat flour to make bread, but this produces a crumbly loaf.

Glutinous rice flour is a separate product and is usually labelled rice powder. It is made from finely ground glutinous rice, or "sweet rice" and is principally starch, plus a small amount of protein. The starch is waxy and makes an excellent gel.

Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Sharpen Your Knives

This blog has been a long time neglected. First I was too sick to keep it updated. Then I was too sick to cook. Then I was too sick to cook or to bring it at least to the most current. Then it got to be too much of a pain to log in and out of my different gmail addresses all the time. So I've switched it over to this gmail address, where two of my other blogs are, and left my locked up blogs on the other gmail address, since I only post on them for me and therefore it matters less whether I get around to it regularly.

Now that it's here I've switched it from Blogger's Template format (to which I had done a lot of tweaking) to the Layout format. I think I've maintained all the basic and important personalizations, but there may still be some changes and/or additions as I discover I've forgotten something.

There are a handful of recipes from 2008 that still need to be added to the archives, but I did not keep track of my 2009 daily recipes as I did in the time previous, so there will be a huge jump between the old and the new. I am not healthy enough to cook on a regular basis anymore, so there will likely be fewer posts, but hopefully that will be made up for by the fact that I now have a camera (secondhand, but still! gift from my folks) and a pressure canner (gift from my sweetheart), so I intend to include more photos of the meals and to have preserved dishes as well as complete meals. My sweetheart has begun hunting again, which trips I enjoy accompanying him on, so at some point there should be recipes for game animals and birds, also. We'll see what truly happens in the end.

Soba with Peanut Sauce

• 8oz soba noodles
• 1/4 C natural peanut butter
• 1/3 C rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese chili paste with garlic OR 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 C thinly sliced scallion greens

1. Cook noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water for 6-7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water.
2. While the noodles cook, whisk together peanut butter, vinegar, soy sauce, and chili paste or cayenne in a bowl.
3. Add noodles and scallion greens to peanut butter dressing. Toss well and serve.

Robyn's notes: I used the cayenne instead of chili paste.

Ingredient Info: Soba: the Japanese buckwheat and wheat-dried noodles contain twice the dietary fiber of plain noodles. In terms of essential amino acids, soba scores higher than pasta or bread. Soba includes a lot of lysine, and therefore a good balance of amino acids.

Quinoa

Most commonly considered a grain, quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It has a light, fluffy texture when cooked, and its mild, slightly nutty flavor makes it an alternative to white rice or couscous.

The protein content of quinoa is very high, and it is a complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. This means it takes less quinoa protein to meet one's needs than wheat protein. Quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. It is a good source of dietary fiber, riboflavin, and phosphorus, is gluten free and considered easy to digest. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous, it may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Lentils

Lentils are legumes, seeds of a plant, and they grow in pods that contain either one or two lentil seeds. They generally have a mild, earthy, somewhat nutty flavour. They cook relatively quickly, but before cooking, always rinse them and pick out stones and other debris. Unlike dried beans and peas, there's no need to soak them. Lentils cook more slowly if they're combined with salt or acidic ingredients, so add these last. Bigger or older lentils take longer to cook. Store dried lentils for up to a year in a cool, dry place.

Lentils are the vegetable with the highest level of protein, other than soybeans, and they were apparently selected by Health Magazine as one of the 5 healthiest foods. They are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, and the high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising rapidly after a meal. They are rich in both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. Studies show that eating high fiber foods such as lentils, helps prevent heart disease.

The legume also has significant amounts of folate, magnesium, and iron.

GF - Depending on the brand you purchase, the lentils may have been processed on the same equipment as wheat products. Lentils themselves are, of course, gluten-free, but check your packaging.

Tofu

Tofu, also known as soybean curd, is a soft, cheese-like food made by curdling fresh hot soymilk with a coagulant. Traditionally, the curdling agent used to make tofu is nigari, a compound found in natural ocean water, or calcium sulfate, a naturally occurring mineral. Curds also can be produced by acidic foods like lemon juice or vinegar. The curds then are generally pressed into a solid block. Tofu is an excellent source of cholesterol-free protein, B-vitamins, and iron, is low in sodium, and is full of phytoestrogens, which may protect against some cancers and heart disease, bring relief from some of the uncomfortable symptoms of menopause, and protect against osteoporosis. Depending on the coagulant, tofu may be high in calcium and magnesium.

Tofu comes in several consistencies: soft, regular, firm, extra-firm. It is often sold in a small cardboard box found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store or in the Asian ingredients aisle. In all of my grocery stores, we have sections specifically for refrigerated soy products (such as tofurkey and "chik n nuggets"), and that's where tofu is located. The most common package sizes are 10.5oz, 12oz, and 14oz. If purchased already cold (the only way I've bought it), refrigerate until ready to use; otherwise, store in a cool, dark place. If you use only part of a package of tofu, store the rest in the refrigerator, covered with water, for 1 week.

Tofu can be used in smoothies, to add protein and to thicken them. The best tofu to use for smoothies is soft silken tofu, which is slightly more creamy than soft tofu.

Curried Tofu Salad Sandwiches

• half package (10.5oz) firm or extra firm tofu
• 2 Tbsp chopped celery
• 1 Tbsp sliced green onions
• 2 Tbsp low-fat plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp sweet pickle relish
• 1 tsp sweet honey mustard
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• dash turmeric
• whole wheat pita breads
• spinach leaves
• 1 small tomato, sliced

1. Drain tofu if necessary; press between layers of paper towels to remove excess moisture. Place tofu in medium bowl; break up slightly with fork. Add celery and onions; mix well.
2. In medium bowl, combine yogurt, relish, mustard, curry powder and turmeric; blend well. Stir carefully into tofu mixture. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Fill pita breads with spinach leaves, tomato slices, and tofu mixture.

Robyn's notes: This was quite easy and I was pleasantly surprised at how much he liked it, as this was his first foray into tofu. I had it in the fridge for a couple hours and it got a little watery and turned very yellow, but neither of those things were a problem.

Ingredient Info: Turmeric is used in some recipes as a substitute for expensive saffron. It is commonly used in curries and to provide colour (bright yellow). The turmeric plant, by the way, is thought to have many medicinal properties in Ayurvedic medicine.

Curry Powder

Many items in the spice aisle of the grocery store are a single spice or herb, dried, chopped or ground, etc. Curry powder, however, is not a single spice or herb. When purchasing curry powder, different brands will have different amounts of the spices, and sometimes other spices added.

Most curry powders usually include coriander, turmeric, cumin, and fenugreek in their blends. Additional ingredients such as ginger, garlic, fennel seed, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, green cardamom, black cardamom, mace, nutmeg, red pepper, long pepper and black pepper may also be added.

The curry powder I have on hand contains coriander, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, celery seed, nutmeg, cloves, onion, red pepper, and ginger.

GF - because curry powder is not a single spice, there is a slight possibility of gluten in some brands. The McCormick company is very dependable on this subject and does not hide wheat on their labels (if it's there, it'll say "wheat", not "natural flavours"). At the time of this writing, McCormick curry powder is gluten-free, as are most others.

About Bulgur

Bulgur is parboiled broken pieces of whole wheat. Middle Eastern cooks have developed a unique way of processing their wheat, which makes this grain cook quickly and retain essential nutrients. Whole kernels of wheat are steamed or parboiled and then cracked into small pieces. This process softens the wheat without removing the fiber-rich bran or the nutrient-rich germ.

Bulgur has a pleasantly mild, nutty flavor. The mild flavor goes well with stir-fries and curries. It is the chief ingredient in Middle Eastern tabbouleh (tabouli) and kibbeh. It's higher nutritional value makes it a good substitute for rice or couscous.

Look for bulgur at health food stores, Middle Eastern groceries and some supermarkets. Check the package or bin; fine-grain and medium-grain bulgur cook quickly, while coarse-grain bulgur must be cooked for a long time. Cracked wheat is not a good substitute.

How to Cook Shredded Chicken

This is absolutely the simplest way to do this, a total cheater version, probably, but it works

• chicken breast halves (1 per C of cooked chicken needed)
• chicken broth

Combine ingredients in a small pan (or larger if recipe is multiplied). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, about twenty minutes.

Remove chicken from broth. When it is cool enough to handle, shred chicken with fork. Strain broth for other use if desired.

On Hand

Items I keep on hand, in no particular order:

spices
garlic powder
salt
black pepper
seasoned salt
garlic pepper
oregano
parsley
ground cumin
taco seasoning
ground ginger
ground mustard
poultry seasoning
rosemary
basil leaves
Italian seasoning
marjoram
ground cayenne
paprika
tarragon
ground sage
thyme
onion powder
chili powder (always Gebhardt's Eagle brand)
garlic salt
nutmeg
cinnamon
ground allspice
ground sage
paprika


fridge items
vinegar (usually apple cider)
taco sauce
soy sauce
barbecue sauce
ketchup
mustard
eggs
plain yogurt
parmesan
thai peanut sauce
butter
milk
cheese
lemon juice
minced garlic

other
Italian style breadcrumbs
minced onion
crushed red pepper
corn syrup (light)
Wesson best blend
Pam organic Canola oil spray
olive oil
tabasco
peanut butter
cream of mushroom soup
cream of chicken soup
pasta, all sorts
honey
quick-cooking oats
wheat germ
vanilla
rice
couscous