Food

Have you tried the salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks? Holy moly.

This treat is based on that spectacular combination of flavors. Squares of homemade caramel are sprinkled with coarse kosher salt, and drizzled with dark chocolate.

To make the caramel, I follow this recipe from Jacques Pépin. I prefer it’s smooth buttery flavor, rather than sugary sweet.

When making caramel, it helps to use a candy thermometer. The sugar heats up quickly, so don’t take your eyes off of it for a second. If it overheats and burns, it’s no problem — the process is quick, and the ingredients are inexpensive enough to try again if you need to.

David Lebovitz offers more tips to make perfect caramel.

When the caramel is firm enough to cut into squares, sprinkle a little kosher salt over the top.

Melt some chocolate chips in a ziploc bag in the microwave.  Trust me and use bittersweet or dark chocolate. Cut a small hole in one corner of the bag, and then drizzle the hot melted chocolate over the caramel.

Keep chilled in the fridge. (Try not to eat it all by yourself.)

Tuesday, Ann from Vintage Mommy and One Bag Nation is featuring Food Gifts for Holidays by Hand.

Holidays by Hand is Ann’s great idea, and I appreciate her inviting me to join in. I would also like to thank Kelly for her work in coordinating it. And all of you, for the projects you’ve shared!

I’m looking forward to seeing some delicious treats and food gifts this week.

I spent Sunday afternoon in bed watching movies and eating — I kid you not — a chocolate bacon bar. Awesome.

Photo by mecredis

The amount of information about celiac and eating gluten-free is almost as overwhelming as the first gluten-free trip to the grocery store. We’re traveling for Thanksgiving, and our families have asked about the food.

Those of you who have followed a gluten-free diet already know what I am going to share. You gave me so many good suggestions the other day. This post is really for family and friends who want to have guests for dinner and need a quick gluten-free guide.

I am intentionally leaving out details so this will be the short, simple version.

First of all, what is gluten?

Gluten is what makes bread so great and gives it that nice chewy texture. It’s a protein found in wheat and other grains.

What is celiac?

When you have celiac disease, your body reacts negatively to gluten, and the result is that your small intestine can’t absorb the nutrients from food. The only way to avoid being malnourished is to eat a strict gluten-free diet. Celiac has a wide range of symptoms, but they don’t show up for everyone.

Foods to avoid

The short list: wheat, barley, rye, (and possibly oats)
The long list: unsafe ingredients

The significance of the long list is that if you are kind enough to cook for us, I will want to know the recipe.  If one of the foods is pre-packaged, then I will ask to read the ingredients list, even if you’ve already looked to make sure it doesn’t contain wheat.  

Please don’t take my caution personally.  It’s just that I’m not sure if you will recognize that barley malt or caramel coloring, for example, contain gluten.  I need to check the list of ingredients myself, because it’s not worth the risk.

Good news! Foods that are ok:

rice, corn, quinoa, buckwheat, potatoes, millet, and more
(not to mention fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy)

Cooking without wheat

Gluten-free bread just won’t taste the same, no matter how you bake it. Good recipes are available to try, but they take practice. The best strategy for someone inexperienced is to choose familiar, appealing foods that are already gluten-free, such as roasted chicken and vegetables, or grilled fish with rice. Use salt and pepper instead of seasoning mixes, just to be safe.

What I’m most nervous about is cross-contamination: that somehow a bread crumb or a tiny bit of flour will accidently mix in with the food. Please be careful about your spoons, cutting boards, and other cooking equipment, to make sure they don’t get mixed up in the cooking process. A small amount matters a great deal to stay healthy.

Resources

These are not the medical websites. These are the gluten-free food blogs that make me cry into my keyboard almost every time, because I’m so relieved to have found them.

• Gluten-Free Girl
• Karina’s Kitchen
• Gluten Free Cooking School

And every now and then, when I start to worry or wonder if this is going to be ok, I read this blog and am cheered by her young, positive, and now healthy outlook:

• Aprovechar

Honestly, being gluten-free is like being in a special club. People you don’t even know will share their knowledge, so that you can avoid what they went through. It wasn’t Lane’s pediatrician who identified her intolerance to gluten, it was an online friend who recognized the reason for Lane’s low weight and picky eating. (Once we switched to a gluten-free diet, Lane’s growth rate doubled.)

One final word: 97% of people who have celiac don’t even know it. Last week, my husband Doug realized that he is intolerant to gluten too. If you’re having health troubles but don’t know why, try removing gluten or other foods from your diet for a while, and see if it helps.

Related post: The Poison Protein - identifying an intolerance to casein (Prior to going gluten-free, we had already switched to a milk-free and casein-free diet for Doug, so you’re welcome to ask about that too.)

What is it about soup that is so satisfying?

It must be the warmth, and how it simmers for so long so the flavors come together.

Or is it all about the bread bowl?

Soup nourishes us when we’re sick, it warms us on days when it’s icy and cold, and it always tastes better the second day.

My Best Soup Recipe

I can make a rich and savory New England Style Clam Chowder. I’m not sure where it originated, but I think it found it’s way to me from a spiral-bound Junior League cookbook back in the 80’s.

We had it on special occasions, especially New Year’s and Christmas Eve. I made it for Doug when we were dating, when I wanted to impress him but I only knew how to cook a couple of meals.

Rachel’s Recipe for New England Style Clam Chowder

I love this recipe. I hope you enjoy it.

1. Chop and fry bacon 2 slices of bacon in a big skillet. 
2. Add 3 Tablespoons of butter to the bacon.
3. Add 1 clove garlic, minced.
4. Add 1 cup of each vegetable, chopped:  onion, carrot, celery, and green pepper.  Saute for a few minutes.
5. Stir in 3 Tablespoons of flour.
6. Add 3 cups of chicken stock, and let it cook for 10 minutes.
7. Add 1 cup of potatoes, cubed.
8. Add 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
9. Add a 10 ounce can of baby clams and juice and cook for 10 minutes.
10. Make a roux with 2 Tablespoons butter and 2 Tablespoons flour, cooking it over low to medium heat and stirring so it doesn’t burn. 
11. Add 2 cups half and half to the roux and bring almost to a boil to make a cream sauce.
12. Add parsley (3 Tablespoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried).
13. Combine both mixtures into one and store overnight in the refrigerator.  Heat before serving. Enjoy!

Add a Finishing Touch

For any kind of soup, don’t underestimate the impact of a garnish to add contrast, eye-appeal, and an embellishment of flavors.

A few ideas:

• Goldfish crackers or crumbled Saltines over tomato soup.
• Crumbled bacon, chives, and shredded cheddar over potato soup.
• Oversized croutons and melted cheese over french onion soup.
• Truffle oil over mushroom soup.
• A dollop of sour cream over tortilla soup.
• Oregano or basil over minestrone.
• A spoonful of pesto over vegetable soup.

Yum.

Photo by macinate

Today was the first day it seemed like cold weather is just around the corner.

I suddenly felt the need to get sweaters out of storage and put the summer clothes away. The grocery store had pumpkins and hay bales displayed in the front. The sun was bright, but not as warm as it used to be.

It was the first day that drinking a hot cup of coffee felt just right for the weather. I love how hot beverages become such an important ritual to cold winter days. Common events seem so much more significant. Coffee with friends, hot tea with scones, hot chocolate by the fireplace…

How do you like to drink yours?

Coffee — yes, definitely made each day in the french press and poured into an oversized mug. Lots of milk, and generous spoonfuls of sucanat (dried sugar cane juice).

Hot Tea — black tea or green, always with cream and extra honey. Chai tea too with milk, served hot or cold over ice while I’m wrapping presents.

Hot Chocolate — do you put marshmallows on yours, or a pile of whipped cream? It always makes me think about camping trips and football games. I have a delicious recipe for hot chocolate, the classic way it should be.

For each serving:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 Tablespoon cocoa
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 2-3 drops of vanilla extract
• small sprinkle of cinnamon

The real secret to this recipe is in the method. First warm the milk in a pot over medium heat for a couple of minutes, swirling it occasionally to keep the milk from scalding.

Then if you have one, use a stick blender to mix the ingredients. It will froth the milk and smoothly blend the cocoa. (I use this stick blender every day since we drink so many smoothies.) If you want to pretend you’re in the movie Chocolat, add a tiny sprinkle of red cayenne pepper– it’s good! Drink and enjoy!

What’s your favorite — coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or something different? How do you make your favorite drink on a cold day?

Fridays are great movie nights, and movies mean popcorn. Did you know that before microwaves, people used to cook popcorn on the stove?  It’s true!  (Half joking here, Doug had no idea the first time I told him about stovetop popcorn.)

So for all of us who grew up watching popcorn pop in the microwave, I thought it would be fun to make a little home movie about how to make popcorn on the stove. It’s less than three minutes, and you can joke about my Texan accent if you want.  (If this doesn’t show up in your RSS Reader, click through to view it on Small Notebook.)

Personally, I love to grate fresh parmesan cheese over hot popcorn. How about you?

What’s your favorite popcorn topping?