Pood

Summer is in full bloom here on the prairie and with it, as every year, come back memories of my childhood almost always spent with either set of grandparents. They are my fondest memories from my childhood and interestingly they have something in common- a kind of freedom provided by the old and the wise in my family.

Lobo and I undertook a recon mission a few days ago—we visited an upscale supermarket in the area, in hopes they’d have a larger selection of Asian goods than the other stores in the area. We were wrong on that, but were pleasantly surprised to find competitive prices on a few things (not enough to make regular stops there worthwhile, however).

I did find something in the dairy section that got my culinary coils all knotted up. Imagine this mashup: the epitome of 1970s-tech “convenience” foods, processed and packaged in a pressurized can for squirting, then consuming; and current organic food mania.

Both snolfs like the Asterix and Obelix books, but Snolf the First really enjoys them. He re-reads the books we have regularly, has adopted some of the phrases and mannerisms that run through the books, and has long wanted to have roast boar.

Why do I call my recipes and food section “pood”? Well, it’s largely due to the neologistic tendencies of my prime conspirator, Don Lobo Tiggre ...

Way back before he and I merged households, we were separated by much of the U.S. Early in our friendship, we’d discovered a shared fondness for Rush’s music, and made an agreement to try to see a concert together someday.

When the Test for Echo tour was announced, I scoured the dates, searching for any possibility that would work for us to share a concert together. Few venues were close to him in Wyoming ... ones that were close to me were on weekdays. Finally, one date lit a candle of hope: a Saturday concert, in Rockford, Illinois. After a series of phone calls and email exchanges, The Rushian Adventure was a go: I’d get tickets for the show and make hotel reservations online; Lobo would fly into Indianapolis and I’d pick him up there; then we’d cruise up to Rockford to enjoy the show.

Well, like any complicated plan, it didn’t go off entirely as envisioned. However, we did get to Rockford in plenty of time for the concert. Walking around outside the concert hall, we decided we should eat some dinner before the show; but there were no fast-food places in sight. Choosing a random street, we set off in hopes of finding a good, quick bite to eat.

After only a few blocks, we came upon a corner joint that appeared to be a restaurant ... except its lovely, glowing neon sign looked more like “POOD” than “FOOD”. Lobo arched an eyebrow at me, and asked, “You willing to try some pood?” I nodded, and in we went.

The waitress was a rather typical harried hash-slinger; even so, she was a good sport about Lobo’s pun-laced, fast-paced, amusing banter. His query about the sign, however, brought her up short. She had never paid much attention to the sign, apparently, and it just didn’t sink in that the sign could be read as anything other than “food”. That simply added to our amusement. When our orders arrived, we discovered, amid much giggling, that we did indeed enjoy pood very much.

So, the term has stuck. Much to our delight, our children were amused by the neologism, and have picked it up as well.

When I think of bigos I immediately feel like I'm about to open presents. See, for me it's the ultimate Christmas dish and one of the perfect comfort dishes. It is a meal ideal for entertaining guests and a good topic for a conversation about Poland, its culture and history. It is so because it's a dish similar to Russian and German dishes and very often when I introduce someone to it they say "But this is so German!" or something of a similar effect. Yes, I perfectly understand why anyone would think so- bigos is mostly sauerkraut and meat so you can't get any more German than that.

Longer ago than I care to admit, a dear friend asked me about making pie crust. And since today is that person’s birthday, I figured evidence that I hadn’t forgotten that request might make a suitable birthday gift.

When done well, pie crust is a deep brown, delectable testament to the near-miraculous effect of heat on a few simple ingredients. Tender and flaky, it serves as a perfect embrace for fresh fruits, pudding, or whatever tasty filling a cook can devise. Pie crust can also be intimidating as hell to make, because the quality of those simple ingredients really matters. So does the cook’s handling of them. I am by no means an expert pie baker, but I am adequate and if I had regular practice, I’m confident I could become an expert one. So could you; and here are my tips and an excellent recipe for starting down that path. Let’s head into the kitchen!

I don’t recall where I saw the link to the Harper’s article, The revolution will not be pasteurized: Inside the raw-milk underground, but I’m glad it came to my attention. The article is quite long, but very interesting, and mostly excellent. Oddly enough, it isn’t the subject of raw milk that leads me to write about the article.

I’ve been so busy making truffles and trying to catch up on other work that I completely forgot to post the obligatory pictures! Here’s the pre-truffle photo, with several of the truffle ingredients shown. Looks like the fun’s about to commence, no?

Each of those big blocks is ten pounds of chocolate. The smaller packs of chocolate, still in their wrappers, are the milk chocolate. Yes, this is the luscious dark milk chocolate I’ve been raving about for a couple of years now—it’s Omanhene chocolate and they do make candy-bar type chocolate and other products. One may browse and buy their goodies online.

Now, what does all this stuff look like when I’m done with it? Peek behind the curtain to see how I decorated each flavor ...

I knew, just from reading the title, that I would be sputtering with indignation if I clicked through to read Is a taste of deceit with carrots so bad for kids?. I clicked. Consider yourselves warned.

Y’all know we had a garden this past summer ... but in my focus on the tomatoes and their prodigious output, I overlooked commenting on a few other crops. Today, with a lot of economic bad news and worrying, and with Bush’s so-called stimulus plan seen through and the U.S. dollar still getting fucked by Paulson et al., our little corn experiment is worth reporting.

A while back I went on and on about turkey. Having recently roasted another big bird, I have a few observations on the process, along with another food bonus for those willing to wander back in to the kitchen with me.

A while back I read an enthusiastic endorsement of a new cheesecake cookbook on a foodie site; being a cheesecake lover, I clicked through to Amazon to check it out. The cookbook is apparently based on a successful restaurant’s New York-style cheesecake recipes. But a few things in an editorial review turned me off of the book, and of their cheesecakes. My primary objection is the use of corn starch in the cheesecake. Now, I know that restaurants need to be as concerned with food appearance as much as taste, but as something of a cheesecake snob, I do not like extra binders in my cheesecake. The cheese and eggs should be sufficient—no flour, gelatin, or corn starch should be necessary to get a smooth cheesecake. They can add off flavors and textures to the cake. I’ve never had a problem with cracks in my cheesecakes, and I’ve never gone to the lengths described to accomplish a picture-perfect cheesecake—I don’t use extra binders, I don’t use a water bath, and I bake the cheesecakes at typical (325–350° F) temperatures.

All that said, making a pretty and delectable cheesecake is one of the trickier propositions I’ve encountered. Still, all that’s required is some extra care in preparing the batter and baking the cake. For starters, one must plan ahead: cheesecakes taste best after mellowing about 24 hours after they’re baked. Follow me into the kitchen if you’re interested in the secrets of homemade cheesecake success.

Today’s the day Prohibition was overturned ’lo those many years ago. It ain’t much, but in support of Repeal Day, here’s a concoction I’ve been enjoying of late.

In a rocks glass, place a generous pinch of brown sugar; I prefer dark but whatever is on hand will work. Pour a glug of bourbon over it, and swirl to help the sugar dissolve. Then pour in 4-8 oz. of grapefruit juice (not the pink kind), depending on how much bourbon you added and how stiff you want your drink. Add an ice cube or two if desired, and enjoy.

I realized last night that I was almost out of my last batch of home made schnapps, so thought it would be a good time to share the recipe here.

Before I start, and just for the sake of argument - those who are purists or like to work a lot harder than necessary... here are some links to other methods.

Brewing Real Schnapps by distilling - without a real "still"
What are Schnapps and Cordials?
Complete, exhaustive recipes and directions here.

So! Start out with JUST ripe, fresh fruit if at all possible. Frozen fruit is ok, as long as it is top quality and JUST ripe when frozen. (Good luck unless you picked it and froze it yourself. sigh) Wash and clean (peel if needed, core, remove stems, pits, etc.) carefully, then allow to drain thoroughly. Fruit that turns dark on exposure to air can be sprinkled with vitamin C powder. Grind some C tablets with a mortar and pestil - just remember to wash out the chili powder you ground up last!! LOL

Chop fine or run through food processor on coarse setting. Don't puree.

ratio is 1 pound clean, dry fruit to 1.5 cup everclear or 95% grain alcohol PLUS 1.5 cup filtered or distilled water. OR you can use 3 cups of 80 proof Vodka. Some vodka has a funky flavor, so the better quality the better the finished product will taste. I won't use vodka at all since I started with the Everclear - but the vodka is ok if you can't get the other.

DO NOT ADD SUGAR at this point.

Mix these in a sterile glass or stainless steel container with a good tight seal. Allow to stand in a cool, dark place for 2 to 4 weeks. Pour through a fine metal strainer into a clean glass jar. Allow it to drip and don't press. The fruit pulp will make wonderful topping for all sorts of things, so don't even DREAM of discarding it! It can be frozen in ice cube trays and then put in plastic bags to be used little by little.

When you have the pulpless product in the glass jar you can choose whether or not to add sugar - or how much. The standard recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup white granulated sugar for the batch size above. That much sugar may or may not dissolve immediately, but will be ok eventually. Don't use more, however. This should be sealed again and left to age in a cool, dark place for about 3 months.

I have plans to try some plain honey instead of sugar on the next batch. The honey would be especially good with some of the herb liquors like peppermint or spearmint. I want to do some with chamomile and maybe one with rosemary too.

For an herbal recipe, start with the 1.5 cup water, boiling. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the dry herb and allow to steep until the water is cold or longer for bark (cinnamon) or seeds (like dill). Strain out the herbs and add the alcohol, then sweeten or bottle unsweetened. It doesn't need the same "working" time as the fruit, though it will improve in flavor with age.

One of my favorites is made with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves and apple juice concentrate for the water. This one definitely needs the sugar. It's dynamite on/with hot apple pie or to make "mulled cider" in a flash. Use a recipe for apple pie spice mix to get the proportions. I'll look it up and try to remember to add it later.

Whew! Have fun with this. I need to go find something to drink! [G]

If you’ve been missing my caramels and honey-roasted almonds, wait no longer! Clicking on the pretty green snake will transport you to my current offerings ... I will add more items once I am more caught up on other work. Special orders are always welcome, however; please email me to discuss your needs and ideas.

Thanks very much for your interest in my homemade, HFCS-free, old-fashioned candies and other treats!