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Snacking in the Kitchen

~ Culinary Adventures In & Out of the Kitchen. Recipes, Reviews, Culinary Musings.

Category Archives: Ideas

Life Lessons in the Kitchen: Patience

26 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by snackingkitchen in Cooking, Ideas, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, Writing/Publishing

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Caramelized Onions

Life has taken a few interesting turns in the last few months. With it, it brought a level of stress and anxiety. As much as I am trying to stay positive, I find it difficult. And so, I walk into the kitchen and turn to cooking, to feed, to soothe, to take a moment from thinking about everything that is happening and everything that is not. This sounds like one of those non-specific Facebook posts, does it not? But without going into details, I’ll just say that a lot of balls are up in the air right now and I’m failing at juggling.

But back to the kitchen. One onion, a few cloves of garlic, and thyme. And time. That night’s meal prep was an exercise in patience. Thin onion slices, mingled with minced garlic and a sprig of thyme with a bit of olive oil. Over medium heat, they softened up, sweetened up, and turned tender. There was no hurry, no cranking up the heat, no multitasking. Just the sweet and savory aroma filling the kitchen. At the end of the process, I splashed a little bit of rice vinegar and turned off the heat.

There are so many uses for this jam-like onion condiment. I spread the onions on a piece of sourdough bread, topped with sharp Cheddar, and thin slices of crispy pear. A second piece of bread went on top, lightly pressed, and transferred to a skillet. The end result was a perfectly crispy and gooey grilled cheese sandwich.

Happy stomach, happier heart.

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Aside

Preserving Herbs: Dry Freezing

03 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by snackingkitchen in Healthy, Ideas

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Tags

freezing, herbs, preserving

How to Preserve Herbs ~ Freezing3

How is it that there is always a bag of herbs, slowly wilting in my fridge?  I try my best to use them up, wash and dry them ahead of time, but still I fail.  It seems that almost weekly I end up throwing out bunches of cilantro and parsley.  I’m sorry my dears! I wish I would have taken better care of you.

In the past, to solve this unfortunate death, I’ve made pesto, and froze it in ice cube trays for later use in sauces, soups, etc.  But what if I didn’t want to use oil, salt, pepper, garlic, etc. to store the herbs?

In comes my friend Dana.  When visiting her home, I peaked into her freezer to find a glass jar with something green inside.  Turns out it was parsley!  Dana claims her family has been using this freezer method to preserve herbs for ages.  Good enough for them?  Good enough for me!

Image

The method is quite simple.  You start by thoroughly washing and drying herbs.  A salad spinner works like a charm, or you could dry them in multiple layers of kitchen towels.  If you would normally not eat the stems of the herb you are preserving, go ahead and discard the stems (or better yet, save them in the freezer to flavor soups and stocks).

All clean and dry?  It’s time to get chopping.  I used my mini food processor to chop the herbs, but you can certainly use a knife.  I’d suggest going for a rough chop vs a mince, you don’t want to release too much juice.

Image

Once you are all chopped up, transfer the herbs to a freezer-safe container.  You might want to even label and date the containers.  Try freezing individual herbs  or make a blend of a few.

They stay bright green and fragrant.  So much better than premature death, don’t you think? 🙂

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Cranberry Challah Turkey for Thanksgiving

03 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by snackingkitchen in Baking, Dessert, Holidays, Ideas, Recipe, Thanksgiving

≈ 2 Comments

Alas it is no longer Thanksgiving, but don’t you have something to be thankful for on daily basis?  As such, I’m going to share with you photos for a Cranberry Challah Turkey that I created for a family Thanksgiving Dinner, inspired by Pinterest.
 
 

I used the basic challah recipe, adding an extra egg, an extra 1/4 cup of sugar and a cup of cranberries to the dough.
 
 
Ingredients

Risen dough, studded with plump cranberries

To make the turkey, pinch pieces of challah roll and lightly roll to shape.  Place the body, head, feet, and feather pieces together on a parchment lined baking sheet.  For the face, insert extra cranberries to form eyes and mouth.

With a sharp knife, cut slits through the ends of the feathers. 

Lightly brush the entire bird with an egg wash and liberally sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Adults and kids loved this bird!  You’ll find the recipe I used here.

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Outside the Kitchen: New Pillows from West Elm

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in House Decor, Ideas, Outside the Kitchen

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Do you ever wonder about my tastes and preferences outside of the kitchen?  In case you are, I thought I might start sharing glimpses of my house decorations.

For the first post, here’s a picture of newly purchases silk pillow cases from West Elm.  I couldn’t resist the silky, smooth, luxurious texture of the pillowcases or their rich color combination of silver, shades of blue, and green.

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Halloween Pumpkin Carving ~ The Story of Two Pumpkins

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Decorating, Holidays, Ideas

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Happy Halloween!  This is my third time (ever) carving a pumpkin and a second year I have gotten together with friends to carve, eat, drink, and hang out ~ thanks Anya for hosting!

Once again, I decided to stay away from the typical Halloween designs and free-hand my own.  I was inspired by paisley and flowing wave-like motives.  This year, I tried surface carving first and then went back with a carving tool to make the holes for the candle light to shine through.  What do you think?

And here is a look at the collective family of pumpkins – aren’t we a talented bunch?

“What’s that pumpkin without light?” you might wonder.  That one belongs to the Artist.  He decided to forego the carving tool and use a sharpie instead.  Check out more of his art on his personal site.

 

Curious how I carved pumpkin in the previous two years?  Check out pumpkin #1 and pumpkin #2.

Happy Halloween!

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Cooking the Matzo and the Last of Summer Basil

11 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Cooking, Ideas, Recipe, Tomatoes

≈ 4 Comments

I wish there was breakfast delivery.  You would wake up in the morning, and your breakfast would be dropped off at the door. Or perhaps served to you in bed.  I must still be dreaming.

Regardless, when the breakfast delivery failed and my refrigerator proved to be empty, I turned to the box of matzo leftover from Passover.  I pulled out a single sheet of this unleavened bread and broke it in half. 

Both sides got smeared with cream cheese.  The savory-to-be-matzo was topped with thinly sliced tomato, cucumber, salt, pepper and the last sprigs of summer basil plant.


The sweet matzo was spread with apricot jam, sprinkled with toasted slivered almonds and a handful of chocolate chips.

Who said breakfast had to be hard?

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What to Eat on Rosh Hashanah: Traditional Jewish New Year Food

14 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Cooking, Holidays, Ideas, Recipe

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Last night, I went to a Rosh Hashanah card making event at Paper Source and learned a lot about traditional Jewish foods to celebrate the New Year.  How timely, since the Jewish New Year is just around the corner – the celebration begins on Sunday, September 16th.

There are many recipes highlighting each of the symbolic foods, and I would like to share the recipes that I have made in the past.  Fair warning – not all of them are strictly kosher.  Enjoy!

The traditional Challah, Apples, and Honey – for a sweet year.  Round Challah is traditional for New Year.

Beets – to remove adversaries from your life.  Beet, Orange, and Avocado Salad

Carrots – to increase the merits.  Slice the carrots into round disks to symbolize coins.  Apple Aand Carrot Cole Slaw with Grapes and Basil


Dates – to protect against the enemies.  Or to bring you more dates 🙂 Rolled Date, Golden Raisin, and Almond Challah Rolls


Baked Dates with Manchego (skip the bacon!) 

Pomegranate – to increase the merits  Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Asian Pear



Pomegranate Molasses Roasted Leg of Lamb



Fish – to be fruitful and multiply.  Pan Seared Halibut, Braised in Diced Tomatoes with Capers

Gourd (squahes) – Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Three Cheeses and Basil


Whatever you will have on your table this Sunday to celebrate the New Year, I hope you are surrounded by friends and family, joy, and good wishes for the year!

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How to Cook and Peel a Perfect Egg

13 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Cooking, Eggs, Ideas

≈ 2 Comments


Do you know how to cook eggs?  Seems like a trick question, but I promise, there’s no trickery in mind.  Cooking eggs is a pretty straight forward process if you know how to do it correctly, and once you do, you will never have to see a beautiful egg yolk trapped in a greenish-grey outline, or a hard-as-a-rock egg white. 

Instead, you will enjoy a beautiful, bright, lemony-yellow or slightly orange (depending on the chicken) yolk and a tender white.

What’s inside counts, but so does what is on the outside … I’m talking about perfectly peeled eggs.  It’s true that eggs that are fresh are more difficult to peel than those that are older.  But with the kitchen tip I will share here, even the youngest eggs will be a breeze to peel.  Intrigued?  Keep on reading.
How to Cook and Peel a Perfect Egg

1.  Place eggs in a saucepan big enough to hold all of the eggs in a single layer.

2.  Cover the eggs with cold water – there should be enough water to cover the eggs by about an inch.

3.  Add a pinch of baking soda to the water and gently stir.  This is one of the keys to help you peel eggs quickly and easily.

4.  Bring the water to a boil over medium high heat.

5.  Remove the saucepan from heat, cover with a tight lid and set your timer for 12-15 minutes (12 for small eggs, 13 for medium, 14 for large, and 15 for extra large).  Leave the eggs covered, in the hot water, until the timer goes off.

6.  Transfer the eggs into a large bowl with water and ice (ice bath) and let them cool completely.

7.  Tap and roll the eggs gently on a counter and peel, starting with the fatter end of the egg.  The peel comes off like magic! 

If you are boiling eggs for breakfast, I suggest you boil a few extra to keep on hand for egg sandwiches, potato salads, or to enjoy the eggs as they are.

Below is the picture from weekend breakfast.  Perfectly hard boiled eggs, peeled, quartered, drizzled with sunflower oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.  In the middle is a salad of roasted vegetables with parsley and olive oil.  The beverage of choice: basil iced tea.

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Pomegranate Molasses Meets Vanilla Ice Cream

09 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Cooking, Dessert, Ice Cream, Ideas

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Have you ever cooked or assembled food with just two items that seemed so far from one another that you would have never ever thought they would create harmonious magic for your tasting buds?

I can’t remember the last time I played that game in the kitchen.  Perhaps I should schedule play dates with my friend Priya more often for inspiration.  On the night of our play date, she showed up with a pint of a fantastic vanilla bean ice cream.  I don’t even remember what I cooked for dinner, but it must have been quiet filling, because we almost forgot about the ice cream.

When it was time to cool down I pulled out the carton of vanilla ice cream from the freezer and scooped it into our bowls.  And then I stopped.  I wanted something more.  Chocolate sauce wouldn’t do and I didn’t have any berries on hand.  I was craving for something tart and sweet at the same time.  And then I reached into my refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of Pomegranate Molasses.  I drizzled it over the ice cream and we ate.  It was fantastic.

There were a few spoons of ice cream left in the container when Priya went home.  I drizzled a bit more right inside the container and finished it.

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Joining the Pinterest Craze: Sunny Side Up Eggs Inside Bell Pepper Slices

08 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Breakfast, Brunch, Eggs, Gluten Free, Ideas, Kids, Recipe, Vegetarian

≈ 1 Comment

Art doesn’t happen strictly on canvas.  Art can, and does, happen everywhere.  Even in my kitchen!  One morning, the Artist was set on making Sunny Side Up Eggs Inside Bell Pepper Slices.  He must have heard me talk about this fun recipe and seen pictures I shared from Pinterest.  Have you checked out the site yet?  Be sure you have hours of free time to browse, and while you are there, you might as well look me up, under snackingkitchen, of course.

But back to the eggs, the Artist headed to the store, early in the morning, to pick up a pepper, and came back with a huge, organic, green bell pepper.  I would’ve chosen a different color, but his palate dictated the serenity of green.

While this recipe was prepared by an adult, it will work equally well prepared by children!  So please, be sure to cook this with your kids!  They will love it, and they will love you for letting them in the kitchen.

Sunny Side Up Eggs Inside Bell Pepper Slices

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 bell pepper, cored, cut into 1/3″ slices, crosswise
4 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.

2.  Saute pepper slices on one side for 2-3 minutes.  The skillet needs to be large enough to fit 4 slices of pepper without overcrowding them.

3.  Crack eggs into individual small bowls.  Be careful not to break the egg yolks.

4.  Flip pepper slices to the other side and lower the heat to medium.

5.  Pour each egg inside a pepper slice. Magic – the pepper holds the egg within its borders.

6.  Cook the egg to desired doneness and season with salt and pepper right before serving.

This was fun to make and even more fun to eat.  Next time, I’ll use an orange bell pepper, or perhaps even a large poblano.  While the eggs are cooking, I would recommend toasting a piece of toast and lightly buttering it to later dip the bread into the rich, soft yolk.

The secrets to the dish:
~ Be sure the peppers are sliced evenly, so they are fully touching the surface of the skillet, otherwise the egg white will escape
~ Control the heat
~ Cook the pepper on both sides

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Playing With Food: Happy Face Breakfast

26 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by snackingkitchen in Breakfast, Brunch, Chili, Cooking, Decorating, Eggs, Ideas, Kids

≈ 2 Comments

Whether you are cooking for kids, adults, or adult kids, making your food fun is a fantastic challenge!  The other morning, making breakfast for myself and another kid-at-heart adult, I put together a happy face.  This couldn’t be easier.  

On the plate, arranged in the smiley face shape are: two sunny side up eggs (eyes), black bean and chocolate chili, sliced avocados (lips/mouth), and toasted whole grain black bread (hair).  Later on, I added a dash of hot sauce to each of the yolks (but I was too hungry to take a picture).  This was a relatively healthy, definitely delicious, and a fun breakfast to eat.


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One Item, Multi Uses

12 Thursday Mar 2009

Posted by snackingkitchen in Decorating, Ideas

≈ 2 Comments


The Southern Living @ Home department was having a sale today of their old merchandise inventory. Never one to pass a good bargain, I stood in line of exciting and anxious employees, armed with my checkbook, “patiently” waiting for 11:30am.

Once the clock turned to 11:30am, the mystery merchandise, boxed up, and marked with $1/$2/$3 and up was up for grabs. Easier said than done. At the end, I purchased a pitcher, a set of glasses, a creamer & sugar bowl set, a few candles, and a candelabra. But rather than using the purchased items for their obvious purpose, I tried something different.

And so, the beautiful pitcher became a container to hold my kitchen tools. Since the pitcher was too tall, I stuffed it with a few plastic bags to “raise its bottom” – and now the tools fit perfectly.

Having enough drinking glasses, I decided to turn the 4-glass set into a perfect bathroom container set. Bonus points – the green of the glass matches my shower curtain (more on that later). Notice that the glass I’m using to hold make-up brushes has dried lentils as a base.

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