Christmas Cookies December 19th, 2010
Candy Cane Cookies
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 egg
3 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food color
2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 egg
3 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food color
2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
2 tablespoons sugar
- Stir together 1 cup sugar, the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir food color into 1 half. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
- Heat oven to 375ºF.
- Stir together peppermint candy and 2 tablespoon sugar; set aside.
- For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane.
- Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Immediately sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack and let cool.
Gingerbread Men
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons molasses
1 egg
2 tablespoons water or milk
3 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Currants or Assorted candies, if desired
Colored sugar or Additional sugar, if desired
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 tablespoons molasses
1 egg
2 tablespoons water or milk
3 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Currants or Assorted candies, if desired
Colored sugar or Additional sugar, if desired
- Beat granulated sugar, butter and molasses in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well mixed. Beat in egg and water until blended. Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cardamom and cloves. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Roll 1/3 of dough at a time on floured surface to 1/8inch thickness. (Keep remaining dough refrigerated until ready to roll.) Cut with floured 2 1/2inch gingerbread boy or girl cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with currants or candies. Sprinkle with colored sugar.
- Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool.
Soft Pretzels and Spicy Mustard December 5th, 2010
Big Gooey Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 4 cups hot water
- 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
- When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.
Mustard 101 The most basic mustard only needs mustard seeds, a pinch of salt, and enough vinegar or alcohol (beer, wine, sake) to cover the seeds. But from that basic recipe you can add a lot of variety. Brown mustard seeds add a wasabi type spice. Beer, wine, sake, and various types of vinegar all alter the taste of your final mustard. Flavors like nutmeg, paprika, and turmeric can add a lot of complexity. This is one of my favorite mustards recipes, but you can experiment to find what flavors you like best.
Ingredients:
· 1/4 cup yellow mustard seed
· 2 Tbsp. black or brown mustard seed, heaping
· 1/4 cup dry mustard powder
· 1/2 cup water
· 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
· 1 small onion chopped
· 2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
· 1 tsp. salt
· 2 garlic gloves, minced or pressed
· 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
· 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
· 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
· 1/8 tsp. turmeric
Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine mustard seed and dry mustard.
2. In a 1- to 2-quart stainless steel or nonreactive saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, on medium heat until reduced by half, 20-30 minutes.
3. Pour the mixture into the mustard mixture. Let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours, adding additional vinegar if necessary in order to maintain enough liquid to cover seeds.
4. Process the seeds and mixture in a blender or food processor until pureed to the texture you like --this can take at least 3 or 4 minutes. Some prefer whole seeds remaining, others a smooth paste. The mixture will continue to thicken. If it gets too thick after a few days, stir in additional vinegar.
5. Scrape mustard into clean, dry jars; cover tightly and age at least 3 days in the refrigerator before using.
Makes about 1 1/2 -2 cups.
Ingredients:
· 1/4 cup yellow mustard seed
· 2 Tbsp. black or brown mustard seed, heaping
· 1/4 cup dry mustard powder
· 1/2 cup water
· 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
· 1 small onion chopped
· 2 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
· 1 tsp. salt
· 2 garlic gloves, minced or pressed
· 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
· 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
· 1/4 tsp. dried tarragon leaves
· 1/8 tsp. turmeric
Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine mustard seed and dry mustard.
2. In a 1- to 2-quart stainless steel or nonreactive saucepan, combine remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, on medium heat until reduced by half, 20-30 minutes.
3. Pour the mixture into the mustard mixture. Let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature for 24 hours, adding additional vinegar if necessary in order to maintain enough liquid to cover seeds.
4. Process the seeds and mixture in a blender or food processor until pureed to the texture you like --this can take at least 3 or 4 minutes. Some prefer whole seeds remaining, others a smooth paste. The mixture will continue to thicken. If it gets too thick after a few days, stir in additional vinegar.
5. Scrape mustard into clean, dry jars; cover tightly and age at least 3 days in the refrigerator before using.
Makes about 1 1/2 -2 cups.
Labneh and Rennet Cheese November 28th, 2010
Pendant String Light November 21st, 2010
Hints!
When you soak your cotton or acrylic based string in the glue be sure not to unravel the yarn. It is much easier and less tangly if you keep the skein intact. Also, once thoroughly soaked, ring out the string before wrapping the balloon. It will reduce the mess and the drying time.
Inaugural Workshop: Incubator and yogurt November 14th, 2010
*Raita and Tsatsiki: Savory yogurt sauces (about 1 hour)
Raita Ingredients (for 1 liter)
1 large cucumber
15 mL/1 tbs salt
500 mL/2 cups yogurt
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
5 mL/1 tsp ground cumin
60 mL/1/4 cup dill (we used dill at the workshop, but you can also use cilantro, mint, or parsely)
Tsatsiki Ingredients (for 1 L)
1 large cucumber
15 mL/1 tbs salt
500 mL/2 cups yogurt
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
30 mL/2 tbs olive oil
15 mL/1 tbs lemon juice
black pepper to taste
60 mL/1/4 cup fresh parsley or mint taste (we used about 15 mL dried parsley at the workshop)
*Okara Falafel (about 30 minutes)
Ingredients
400 g okara (sold in the tofu aisle)
1/2 c flour
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic
2 tbs parsley
2 tsp salt
oil for pan frying
Raita Ingredients (for 1 liter)
1 large cucumber
15 mL/1 tbs salt
500 mL/2 cups yogurt
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
5 mL/1 tsp ground cumin
60 mL/1/4 cup dill (we used dill at the workshop, but you can also use cilantro, mint, or parsely)
Tsatsiki Ingredients (for 1 L)
1 large cucumber
15 mL/1 tbs salt
500 mL/2 cups yogurt
4 to 6 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
30 mL/2 tbs olive oil
15 mL/1 tbs lemon juice
black pepper to taste
60 mL/1/4 cup fresh parsley or mint taste (we used about 15 mL dried parsley at the workshop)
*Okara Falafel (about 30 minutes)
Ingredients
400 g okara (sold in the tofu aisle)
1/2 c flour
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic
2 tbs parsley
2 tsp salt
oil for pan frying
Process for Raita and Tsatsiki
1. Grate cucumber into a colander, sprinkle with salt, mix well, and leave in a sink or over a bowl to drain excess water for about 1 hour
2. Mix other ingredients with cucumber in a bowl.
3. Taste your sauce, it may need more salt or seasonings.
4. Refridgerate til ready to serve.
*From Sandor Ellix Katz`s Wild Fermentation
Process for Falafel
1. Mix all ingredients except the oil in a large bowl. Use your hands to form patties (flatter patties cook faster)
2. Fry in shallow oil and enjoy with Raita or Tsatsiki!
*From Simon Daly`s Polestar column
