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October 12th, 2024 at 01:24 am

My Take: American Goulash

Chef John’s American Goulash was invented to stretch a small amount of beef into enough food for a not-so-small family..”

Small Family? Steps 1 & 2, divide into meal size for your family & freeze up to 2 months. .

By John Mitzewich
Allrecipes Updated on November 25, 2023

Instead of
Soy Sauce: 1.5 TBL Maggi’s Seasoning + 1 TBL Olde Thompson Umani Blend.
Chicken Broth: Beef Broth.
Cheddar Cheese: 1 Cup Sour Cream (Step 5)

Other Changes
Only ONE Teaspoon Kosher Salt

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/275489/chef-johns-american-goulash

Ingredients List: Amazon are affilates – Atlantic Spice is not.
(respecting copyright mean referring to full recipe on All Recipes)
Links are for the brands I prefer.
olive oil
ground beef
onion, diced
garlic, minced
bay leaves
paprika
Italian seasoning
kosher salt
ground black pepper
cayenne pepper
chicken broth
marinara sauce
diced tomatoes
water
soy sauce
Sub Maggie’s check locally for better pricing)
plus Olde Thompson Umani Blend
elbow macaroni
Italian parsley fresh
Cheddar cheese (or Sour Cream)

April 10th, 2024 at 12:48 pm

Tiplet: WhenIsTheSeason?

FC-Wednesday WHEN Is The Season?
While web wandering to compare instructions for freezing cucumbers, I came across a “new to me” site what offers information on when produce is “in season” with the very helpful format of giving it state by state. https://www.whenistheseason

I do not really care for “cooked” fruit and vegetables – but still often want the flavor – I have been relearning the craft of preparing food to be used later.

www.bupperts.com

For fresh, Buppert’s/Doran’s Chance, Our favorite local farmer does offer bulk when their fruit and other produce is in season.

Another “nice thing” about Buppert’s is that they also support other small Food Crafters like a bakery and locally grown / made condiments and of course my annual spring basket treat during their early opening weeks.

/

April 5th, 2024 at 09:01 am

Maggi’s Seasoning is my Soy Sauce Sub!

WIP1 2024-02-15 If you are among those who have adverse (mild to major) reaction to Soy products, AND you like Asian foods – you need to find a substitute. In my case it was either give up Asian inspired dishes or devote the effort to working out a suitable replacement to avoid unpleasant consequences. Who knew the most palatable (to us) was already in my pantry.

The primary difference between Maggi’s Seasoning2 and most if not all brands of Soy Sauce is their basic ingredient(s):
Maggi’s Liquid Seasoning is made from wheat and glutamic acids. Soy Sauce is Soy Beans and as part of looking up things for this article, the second ingredient is usually “wheat” possibly a concern for some.

Maggi’s flavor is considered to be a bit more complex, as well as slightly thicker (although that is irrelevant when used as an ingredient. From a flavor standpoint, both add great umani.3 )

When used as an additive to “one dish meals” like stews, chilis, and such it adds that something something that is much missed when it is not there.

When used as a condiment or dipping sauce, some may want to add a tiny bit sweetener or other added seasoning. Sorry to be vague, but having not found one I really like, not ready to recommend. “Straight from the bottle works for us as a Soy Sauce substitute.

If you want more details on the history and uses of Maggi’s I do suggest reading Jennifer McGaven’s recently updated TheSpruceEats article entitled “What Is Maggi Seasoning?”4 So much so that when working on this update, every article I found referenced it “in a good way”.

Among the pleasant surprises related to was Maggi’s Seasoning much lower Sodium rating of 400mg per tablespoon – as compared with Kikoman and various store brands of 920mg Sodium per tablespoon.

The big surprise (to me but then gluten is not my issue) was that pretty much every brand of Soy Sauce also contain wheat.

As with many things Amazon, if you use some of the links herein are affiliate, I may earn a commission which does not effect the price you pay (although looking thru the listing just might) often the best price is found in your local stupid market

Bottom Line: Maggi’s Seasoning,
used as a Soy Sauce sub with a 1:1 ration works for us,
your palate may prefer something stronger.
And, in most cases half the sodium.

Last but not least, this mostly started because I needed a “Fried Rice Solution” one more test to be sure it does, in fact, duplicate as expected and I will share.

Last Updated 2024-03-29

  1. WIP = Work In Progress ↩︎
  2. Maggi’s Liquid Seasoning is NOT GLUTEN FREE ↩︎
  3. Umami the word is currently rather trendy but has been around the culinary world for a very long time. It has been described as savory and is characteristic of broths and cooked meats ↩︎
  4. What Is Maggi Seasoning? ↩︎
March 31st, 2024 at 01:46 am

Risi e bisi – Italy’s Answer To Fried Rice

Risi e Bisi, Italian Rice and Peas

A classic Italian comfort food of rice with peas and chunks of ham
An excellent recipe to use left over Holiday Ham.

One of the reason’s I prefer to double if not triple basic rice is to freeze meal sized portions that can be used as the base for Risi e Bisi (and of course “Asian Fried Rice”) either as side of an Entree

Arborio Rice especially lends itself to Risotto, Spanish, Tex-Mex, and Mexican recipes. Although most such dishes call for use of Chicken, we prefer Beef stock.

Simply Recipes often has affiliate links, so caveat lechtor.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/risi_e_bisi_italian_rice_and_peas

You will need:
Arborio or other risotto rice
extra virgin olive oil
shallots, minced
cloves garlic, minced
diced prosciutto or other dry ham
beef, vegetable or chicken stock
water
fresh or frozen peas
parsley, chopped
grated Parmesan cheese

Join us on GAB at FoodCraft Making and Methods


March 23rd, 2024 at 01:18 am

Bread Machine Paddle Pointers

When to remove the paddle is an often asked question, and the answers vary. So much so that it really needs its own blog. Meanwhile, the possibly most asked question is how to remove a “stuck” paddle.

Always best to try avoiding the problem, but if it does get stuck…
The following may help.
As shown in the illustration, Many brands include a “tool” to remove the paddle from the inside the bread after baking. This tool should never be used to attempt to remove a stuck paddle from inside the pan. Metal tools, can and will for those who ignore this advice, damage the ceramic finish, the paddle or both.

The answer is an ounce of prevention. If removed from the machine before baking (beginning of last fermentation period) it cannot “burn on”

I (currently) use a brush intended for cleaning reusable straws. The straw cleaning brush helps to really clean inside the paddle. I have the Dawn Hydration Cleaning set – best price usually in your local stupid marketing their gadget aisle. It is also important to clean the stem so any residue does not cause an issue that may make removal before baking problematic

This is an Amazon Affiliate link so you can “see what it looks like” During the bread making process, after years of practice; I learned to remove the paddle just before the last rise/fermentation, remove the dough from the pan, then quickly remove the paddle, either from the pan, or from the dough ball – which ever it decided to stay.

Thanks to the KBS “Power Interruption Feature” This can safely and much more easily be done today by disconnecting the power, dumping out the dough ball into a ball. Removing the paddle from either pan or dough ball. Replace the dough ball, plug the machine back in, and the machine will continue with the program you selected. My “best time” is about 20 seconds, but according to KBS this will work for up to a 15 minute interruption.

If you are a member of the set it and forget it club… and the paddle stays in the bread – Insert the removal hook (2) into the base of the paddle in the bread (3) and the manual then tells you to gentle pull (4) until it slides out.

Again from experience I have a step (3-A) (someday I’ll make an illustration – that day is not today.)

(3-A) Using a Clean oven mitt or Kitchen Towel and maybe this new gadget that Caught My Eye1 a few days ago… Hold the loaf (because it is best to do this while bread is still almost hot) Gently pull the hook so the paddle is slightly raising the crust, with a sharp pointed paring knife, CAREFULLY cut a slit along the edge of the paddle. NOW it should come out of the bread with much less damage.

Don’t forget to cool the bread completely before placing in any type of storage bag, box, whatever, to avoid condensation.

This is a draft – so use at your own risk, however, your comments, critic and suggestions are more than a welcome – Thanks for reading.
Last update: 2024-04-08 spelling corrections
  1. ↩︎

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