Honey-Dijon Poppy Seed Vinaigrette (dresses 4 cups mixed greens)

using good quality ingredients makes all the difference

• 2 teaspoons good-quality cider vinegar (unfiltered)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons good quality Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (or one tiny pinch of dehydrated, ground garlic)
• pinch freshly-ground black pepper
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil*

*vegetable oil: Rice Bran Oil, Good quality EVOO, Canola oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simply toss into an empty jar with a screw-tight lid and shake with all your might. Dress greens. Serve immediately.

Enjoy. Sharing Optional!™

Isn’t it lovely? (clickety on the image for a larger, printable view).

Yes, you can substitute an 8 x 8 square pan for a 9″ round one; the only consequence will be the shape. If you want to do half of a recipe that calls for an 8 x 8 recipe, simply look at the row for the 8 x 8 pan, then under the header “one-half,” which says 32. In the left column, we don’t have a pan that is exactly 32, so you have a few options: 6″ round or 6 x 6 square would be your best options.

Looking for some good pan suggestions?

Calphlon Nonstick 9 x 13 pan
Calphalon Nonstick 8 x8 pan
Chicago Metallic 9 x 9 Nonstick pan
Chicago Metallic Nonstick Mini Loaf 5.75″ x 3.25″
Chicago Metallic 8″ Round Nonstick Cake Pan
Chicago Metallic 9″ Round Nonstick Cake Pan

There are three basic steps:

1. Prep ingredients
2. Brown veggies
3. Simmer

Really. It is that simple, but tastes complex. My photos show my OCD side, as I purchased a 13-quart dutch oven so I could make obsessively-large batches, then pressure can them to put away for later. Unfortunately, once I know that the sauce is made, it only lasts a week…after all the work of canning it, I mean. The sauce does freeze beautfully, though, and only requires a quick overnight thaw in the refrigerator.

Giada’s Simple Tomato Sauce (as taken from FoodNetwork.com, with my changes)

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags or Mason jars. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Watch the commercials, then read some comments. There are lots of funny ones (and several that could use an edit button).

My sister sent me an interesting link today, followed by my view of an interesting advertisement in a magazine. Both claiming that corn syrup is healthy, because it’s derived from corn.

Well, I’ve got a few things to say about it, too (heh. When don’t I, though?) As stated in “In Defense of Food,” (and crudely paraphrased by me), if a “food-like substance” has to tout its healthiness, it’s a sure sign that it’s not healthy; or at least the best option. I’ve never seen an advertisement for a carrot…but I see lots of ads for V8 juice. Blueberries are full of vitamins and antioxidants, but their wrapper doesn’t say that; but, Blueberry Pop-Tarts sure go out of their way to make sure you know that. Same with just about every other raw, natural food out there—-including sugars & honeys versus corn syrup. The healthy foods stay quiet, why the manufactured foods hire marketers to justify their existence.

The website claiming the values of corn syrup sure brings up a lot of good points: same calories as sugar and honey and same amount of sweetness as sugars and honey. However, what the key points are are complete omitted! Such as: the fact that corn syrup is a chemically-altered substance, whereas sugars and honeys are natural in their form. And that corn syrup, by several reports has been show to cause weight gain, and maintain it at higher levels. Last, but not least, their website says, “HFCS-55 is as sweet as table sugar, while HFCS-42 is somewhat less sweet. When HFCS-55 was developed…” Mmmm. Developed! I always like to have a “developed” product in my foods. :)

The omission of truth about corn syrup: SweetSurprise

As a closing thought, “We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.” — Alfred E. Newman (MAD Magazine). ]]> http://blog.kitchennut.com/2008/09/corn-syrup-is-trying-to-make-a-health-claim-status/feed/ http://blog.kitchennut.com/2008/09/corn-syrup-is-trying-to-make-a-health-claim-status/ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Kitchennut/~3/378983049/ http://blog.kitchennut.com/2008/08/how-to-green-up-your-kitchen/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:30:03 +0000 KitchenNut http://blog.kitchennut.com/?p=450 I don’t have a terrible amount of waste leaving my kitchen/house (to me, my kitchen is my house), but I still find that there are more opportunities to “green-up” my kitchen! If you’ve been looking for a few options to cut-down on the waste your house has been producing, here are a few of my favorite things:

• 3-gallon size biodegradable bags (made from a corn, a renewable resource); 300 bags that fit in small trash cans, $49.01 with free shipping: BioBag 3-gallon bags
• 13-gallon size kitchen biodegradable bags (made from corn, a renewable resource); 60 bags that fit into your kitchen-sized trash can, $13.60 (with subscribe and save) and free shipping with Amazon Prime: Perf Go Green 13-gallon bags
• Indoor, odor-free, compact composter (watch fascinating video here), $299.00: Nature Mill Pro Indoor Composter
• Reusable, nylon, washable grocery bags; these are my favorites, as they are so small and fit well inside my purse, so I never forget them! I love the large handles–they are very comfy and don’t cut into my skin. Each bag holds 3-4 times more than a traditional plastic bag (=less to carry!) If any liquids leech into them, simply toss in washing machine, $38 for 6 tote bags (free shipping): Baggu Eco-Friendly Bags
• Reusable, washable produce (or bulk foods) bags; again, I love them! No more plastic bags (that you can never figure out which end to open, anyway!) that are the same weight, so they won’t tip the scales; $10.50 for set of three (lots of colors and sizes to choose from) with $2 shipping ($.50 for each additional purchase): kootsac eco-friendly produce/bulk foods bags

These are very small steps that can be taken to help keep more junk hitting our landfills! So, what are you waiting for? Go green-up your kitchen and house!

Most of the time, when baking, the slightest mistake will bring total devastation. Especially when you’re trying out that new, complicated recipe for company! However, sometimes you can have what my hubby refers to as “happy accidents,” when something goes wrong, but it gives you the benefit. I like those. Last night, while making a batch of 24 cookies, I finished mixing my dough, to look in the bowl and realize that my ratio of butter-to-flour wasn’t really working…and it immediately dawned on me: oops! You added a full stick of butter, instead of a half!

Fortunately, when there is a higher fat ratio to flour, worrying about gluten isn’t quite as a big deal as it normally would have been. Still could be a problem, but fixable in this case. So, I simply mixed up another batch of dry ingredients, warmed my egg, and added the sugar. Since sugar is often considered a “liquid” ingredient in baking, I mixed my sugar and egg together, then added them to the sort-of-already-done cookie dough, and mixed it in. This also created a heavier liquid-to-flour ratio, so I wouldn’t have to worry about too much gluten. Then I added the additional flour, gently stirred, and Wa-lah! A batch of 24 very large cookies. Mmmm. Here’s to happy accidents!

I’ve used these egg beaters (technically, the Kirkland brand) with excellent results in other things that require only one egg, such as pancakes, quick breads, etc. I suppose in that small of an amount, the onion powder doesn’t surface. However, in a sponge cake that uses the eggs as it’s cornerstone…it was definitely a problem. So, into the trash it went. Yes, one big ‘ol carbon footprint from me. You really have to trust me…it was way beyond saving. [Of course, I made a new cake (real eggs) and wow----it was amazing.]

So, since somebody failed to warn me, I’m warning you. Don’t use egg beaters in cake. Unless you really like onions. A lot.

Of course, it was all in good reason, for those of the soon-to-be goodies (yummmmmmmmmy!) Of course, I am very proud to say that I have chosen the utmost perfect chocolate to ever be paired with my oh-so-perfect macaroons. I feel that I can claim perfection since, just like the chocolate, I tested so many different batches of the coconut macaroons…way more than the chocolate. After all, when I am putting my stamp of approval on it, I have to make sure it is the absolute best. Obsessively-so, of course (since I know no other way).

You know the crazy part? Even after eating so many, I’m dazzled by them…I guess that means I’m obsessively happy with the final result. Good thing, too! Because I’ll be ready to ship in only two weeks. Hooray!!