Balsamic Barbecue Sauce Recipe. Yes, Homemade!

I was running low on ingredients.  My refrigerator held a vacuum packed slab of Pork Shoulder, Boneless.  

Where do they get Boneless Pigs, and how can they live without bones?

Anyway, I remembered that I lived near a restaurant supply store where I previously bought a gallon of Balsamic Vinegar. 

Yes, A Gallon.  Right around four liters if you prefer.

Most barbecue sauce has vinegar in it in some level and this recipe has saved me multiple times.

Since the Pork Shoulder was about 8 pounds (4kg), I wasn't going to soak it in the sauce overnight.  I merely coated it at 6 PM and then a top off coat an hour later at 7:30 in the evening.

At 9pm, I turned on the oven at 225F (107c) for 12 hours.  At 9AM I added another 2 hours.

Perfect.  I had a Slab of Meat that shrank some, but was at 205F (96c).  

At 11:30 I was able to eat some of the most buttery barbecue that I had in a very long time.  

This sauce you make at home, over the stove.  It took about 1/2 hour of total time, 15 minutes prep, 15 of simmering.  It thickened and I was able to say this is a winner again.

Yes, I used it on Pork but it works well with Beef, and Poultry.  Yes, I have done all three.

For my Vegetarian and Vegan friends and Family, try it on tofu or a Veggie Burger.  

It is awesome.  It is my go to barbecue sauce.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper  

Process:

• Add the ingredients to a saucepan and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
  Alternately add the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. 
• Simmer over medium heat until reduced by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Refrigerate and use fairly promptly like any homemade goods.

Heat Gun plus Bone Broth plus Peanut Butter Jar Lid is how to get some Canning Jars

I joke, often, that I am on my way to becoming a 1950s homemaker.

When I bake, it is from scratch.  I have churned butter, made buttermilk, and biscuits on many occasions.  Dog food is from ingredients that I source in bulk from a Restaurant Supply Store, and I have multiple recipes from a maintenance diet to a diet for my own elderly dog.

I buy Beans and Rice in 25 pound bags. 

My counter, when installed in the house after a remodeling, we thought was a "landing strip".  Now it's cluttered with random ingredients.

Yes, I need to put away the flour.  It is in bags, and I think I have 12 pounds of the stuff laying around. 

I stock the kitchen with these Meta Ingredients because I enjoy baking.  I should since I am an extremely active person.  I measure workouts in multiples of "marathons" in two sports.

All of this baking and cooking requires a lot of storage space.  My own massive "American Style" refrigerator freezer is too small for the task.  It may be as tall as I am, but it is literally crammed with homemade goods that are waiting to me enjoyed as well as ingredients for the future.

I even have 8 cups of Mango Chunks harvested from the backyard tree that are waiting to be turned into Jelly.

The Jelly needs to be placed into Jars.  Of course, I taught myself home canning so that I could make a stupid amount of food and set it aside to be enjoyed when the trees are no longer bearing fruit.

Home canning can be an time consuming proposition.  You need all the tools to boil, sterilize, and store the food.  Boil your jars, lids, and tools for 30 minutes, fill with the food, then boil for 30 minutes more to make sure you don't end up with nasties that will explode your jars.  Botulism is not a joke.

That is only a rule of thumb.  There are of course little wrinkles here and there.  

I have been known to tailor my shopping to this.   If you were to follow me into a supermarket, I have a tool.

A Lid from a Jar of Peanut Butter.

Seems a little random, doesn't it?

Yes, I buy my jarred food based on whether the peanut butter lid will fit it.

Why?  Even now, there are plenty of food stuffs that are sold in glass jars.  There was a time where Plastic was something you only heard about in a movie like The Graduate and it wasn't in the home in wide varieties.  Even baby shampoo came in a glass bottle.  Not the best idea, your toddler or cat would knock that glass bottle on the floor, and now you had shards of glass where you might be in bare feet.

But the wrinkle is two fold.  If the peanut butter lid was the same size as your random glass jar full of Pickles or Broth, then the jar should be able to be reused to can more Jelly in.

I did say Mango Jelly, but I can get bags the size of my laptop full of various fruits out of season to make all sorts of things.  

Large jars.  I run them through the dishwasher and hopefully the label will release from the side so I can reuse them.  Anyone want 32 ounces of Jelly in a reused jar of Bone Broth?

But the comical wrinkle of this is the label.  They don't always release.

All those bumper stickers you see stuck to the tail end of the car in front of you in traffic, as well as the back of street signs, and laptop lids can be removed.

If they are stuck to a plastic thing, you may be stuck with them forever.

In Automotive Detailing, the rule of thumb is to try to peel the sticker off, gently.  If it doesn't come off, use a heat gun to loosen the adhesive but only on something that will take the heat.  Plastic bumper guards won't take to this treatment at all.

This is where I got the bright idea to try it on my jar of Bone Broth.  It's a fine size. It is a quart, or a liter if you must.  I was thinking that over the holidays season, I can fill it with some homemade something and send it off to family and friends.  Last year my Jelly was not very good as I was struggling with consistency issues.  The answer was to send off some of my own recipe mixes in jars with the recipe written on the side.  Having extra jars will help.

I was standing in the kitchen just this very morning under the stove hood.  I did not know if I was going to start a fire.  The heat gun says it produces 1000 degrees of heat directed at the target.  Paper burns at Fahrenheit 451 - hence the title of that book!

Loaded for bear!  I turned the stove hood on to vent fumes outdoors, pointed the heat gun at the label on the jar and started to melt the glue behind the label.

It was a success but in the process, that peanut butter jar lid I mentioned?  Well... it's in the trash, melted.  I should have removed it first! 

Oops.  It was early, and I was having a Senior Moment!

Get that label good and hot.  If it starts to char, turn off the gun and try to peel.  Then turn off the gun and set it down somewhere safe.  I used a serrated steak knife to peel off most of the label, then use it to remove most of the remaining goo.  When through, full strength dish soap and an abrasive stainless steel scrubby finished the job.

All nice and sparkly and waiting for whatever comes next.

Perfect size for a mix or to make iced tea until then.

Anyone up for some rather strong iced tea?  It's cooling in the bottom shelf of the fridge.

Let's go to the kitchen and have a glass!

Recipe - Yeast Risen Donuts Baked as Bread - What happens?

This is playing with my food.  I know, Mom said, Never.  In this case, I'm being "creative" with recipes.

The recipe is from the treasure trove of Bread Machines I have gotten over the last decades.  I was paging through and noticed one for Yeast Risen Donuts.  If you roll this out to 3/8 of an inch, cut them out to donut shapes, shape, fry and decorate with cinnamon sugar, you will have some great treats.

I have been saying that Donuts are nothing more than a Brioche Roll recipe that has been tweaked.  This one is proof of that.  It has an extra blast of sugar in the recipe to make it into a sweet-er bread.  The resulting flavor is like an old school restaurant dinner roll.  Very soft and fluffy.  It added about an extra 10g or 1/3 ounce of sugar to each roll from the standard bread recipe.

Dinner tonight will one of these with a slap of Grapefruit Curd or Homemade Mango Jelly (I haven't decided) and some peanut butter.  The side dish will be a Plantain cooked in a skillet with butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

I had a 20 mile cycling workout today in the heat.  Don't judge!  :)


Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened. 
• 1 egg, scrambled (Sorry Vegans, it's for flavor and texture)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast 
• 3 Cups All Purpose Flour (Plus more if this is thin like mine was)

 Process:

• To proof the yeast, mix milk, water, butter, and scrambled egg.  Temperature should be about 105F or 40C.
• Add yeast to that container and allow to proof.
• Add Ingredients to the bucket of the bread machine, or to the mixer with a dough hook in order listed.
• Mix your dough as needed with the dough hook or the dough cycle in the bread machine.
• To make rolls, divide dough into appropriate size (about 80 grams or 3 ounces each) and roll out or place dough into greased bread pans.
• Bake at 400F until golden brown.
• Enjoy.
  
  No, really, enjoy.  They were wonderful, even nostalgic.

Rack the McNab Dog has always been tough to feed. Pancreatitis and Allergies do not help.

Please eat your food?

I find myself saying that constantly, for the last almost 15 years.  

Rack, The McNab SuperDog has historically not been a morning feeder.  In fact I believe to this day, that he stunted his growth by not wanting to eat as a puppy.  

He went through his "Prime Years" at around 40 pounds.  Most McNabs are 45 to 55 pounds and I never even got him above 42.  

We got into a "feedback loop" years ago and it calcified into this routine.  I am famously an early riser.  I would wake early enough to get to the park for a workout at sunrise.  Since I have been an athlete since I was a teen, it has served me well.

With Rack, getting him fed and walked, has been a trial.  I never was able to just put a bowl of food down and he'd eat.  I think this is how I ended up with him.  He was left at a vet's office for 39 days and was never picked back up.  Slow Motion Abandonment.  To this day, he loves the Vet, no matter which one, I think they fussed over him.

We went through a slow adjustment process of different foods.  His original diet has shifted over the years but it served him well in his prime.

He had Pancreatitis more times than I care to mention.  This is, I believe, what we are going through right now.  The symptoms seem to fit well.  Loose stools, disinterest in food, low energy, there are more.

He's eaten better than most people.  I've developed a fair amount of knowledge of Nutrition for my own Training Regimen.  It works, I'm constantly amused at the reaction of medical personnel when I explain to them that my resting heart rate is in the low to mid 50s and if I am dehydrated it will sneak up to 60 and I panic.

Long story.  You try doing three marathons a week on a bicycle in Florida temps and humidity.  (Sips some iced tea)  

When I say "Hydrate" I know what I mean.  I bring half a gallon to drink on the trail and it rarely comes home with me after a 2 hour workout.

Pancreatitis in a dog is helped by a lean diet.  The protein has to be prepared so that the fat content is as low as possible.  Boiled ground beef in his case.  I shifted his original diet to boiled beef along with the same tried and true veg to fill out the dietary requirements.

He also has an allergy to grain which manifests itself in an ability to turn poultry into soft serve poo.  No chicken/turkey.  Beef only.  Pork is problematic with dogs.

So he's on "A Prescribed Diet".  

When dogs get older, they have a lower protein diet.  So I developed one.  Vet approved.  

But the same diet over and over is boring.

Waking up at dawn got earlier and earlier to allow for all of this.  I'm now getting up at 4:45AM just to get some food in his stomach, then a mile walk.

That walk is getting slower.

I have always allowed him to direct the walk, a McNab is known to be an incredibly intelligent creature.  If you can't train a McNab, you can't train a dog.  

Rack has a mental map of where the neighborhood is laid out.  Certain walks are on certain blocks at certain times of day.  There is a cul-de-sac near me that is well planted with mature trees and since it is Furnace Hot in August in South Florida, he pulls to go through that street at the 5pm walk.  Other walks are more flexible.

However lately, his historically two mile walks at 530 after putting some food in him, are being truncated in the middle.  His choice, not mine.  He heads back at to the house after a mile.  

He knows where he's going.  In fact yesterday he dragged himself home after a half mile total because that was it, he was done.

But this food thing?  It is difficult.  You have to be flexible.  I don't like pampering, after all, I have a freezer crammed with ingredients to make the next three days of dog food.  The result is that I just keep putting food down in hope he won't be avoiding it all day.

Part of my own Nutritional Obsession is that I make a lot of food from scratch.  There are a lot of recipes for breads, cakes, cookies on here.  In fact, I need to locate my recipe for a cake mix.  Adding two tablespoons of the right dark cocoa to a single layer of white cake mix turns it into a very dark chocolate cake.

This all gives me an excuse to point to the ignored dog food bowl when he's begging for the Cheese Tax when I am cooking for my own needs.

You aren't getting mine in favor of your own.  

If there is one hint I can give is Yogurt.  It is why I make so much of the stuff for my own uses.  He likes it too.  If he is ignoring his food, a tablespoon of yogurt smeared on top changes it into something good.

Not boring is good.

Which is where I am today.   He had Pancreatitis.  I solved that by mixing his normal food 50/50 with white steamed rice.  That bored him more so I added Yogurt to the top.

Since he actually ate the 7 ounces of his diet mix and it only took 2 hours to do so, I filled the bowl again and am going to paint the top with the whey from the top of the yogurt container.

I suspect it's going to be a tough "last year" fighting Pancreatitis.

Since I found my cake mix recipe, I guess I have an afternoon tax.  I'm off to the kitchen to feed Rack again and my own need for Chocolate Cupcakes filled with Buttercream Icing.  Real Buttercream icing, none of this "Bettercream" crap you get in the markets these days.

I'll get off that soapbox.  I have baking to do.

Quick Sourdough Bread Recipe - Fixing the Bread Machine's Recipe

I promise I'll keep my text brief.  

The resulting bread had a crispy crust, a soft crumb, and a tart flavor.

When I was making this recipe, it came up much too dry.  So I started adding back in water.  Usually for a 1 1/2 pound loaf, you don't need to add in as much water as I did, but at the end I added in 2 extra ounces of water.

It could be measuring error.  Too much flour could cause a dry and ragged dough. I don't think so.

So the "fixed" recipe is what I have below, and that is the picture we have of the rolls.  I also used Greek Yogurt which may well explain why it was a dry dough.

Ingredients:  

• 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt - I used Greek yogurt, therefore water is adjusted
• 2/3 cup warm water - plus 2 extra ounces or 4 Tablespoons
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Margarine or Butter, softened
• 3 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 3/4 teaspoon yeast

Process:

• Add the ingredients in order to the mixing bowl with the dough hook.
• Alternately add this to the Bread Machine Bucket.
• Either use the Bread Machine's Bake cycle.
• Or the Bread Machine's Dough cycle - My Preferred method.
• Allow the dough 1 hour to proof and rise in a warm space.
• Bake at 400 for up to 22 minutes.
• The Original Recipe is below however I recommend using above text recipe because it was wonderful and raised properly.

Basic Buttercream Icing Recipe

Weird huh?  I keep throwing recipes up here?  I needed a good simple Buttercream icing recipe.  This is one that doesn't need cooking, and can be done with a hand mixer, although your arm may get tired.

When you need 3000 calories a day for all the training you do on the trails, an extra cupcake is not a big deal.  In case you need a good, basic, simple cake or cupcake recipe, I've got you covered!

Oh and Buttercream can be made vegan by substituting Margarine and nut milk in.

The trick with Buttercream Icing, Frosting if you prefer, is that you do things gradually.  Loosey-goosey.  It is not baking, it is more "combining ingredients" and if you think that it is done, then great, it is!  If you think it is too tight or too firm, add more liquid, too loose, add more sugar.  

Remember, add your ingredients gradually!

Ingredients:

•     2 sticks of butter, at room temperature, softened
•     3 to 4 cups of confectioners sugar, sifted
•     1 teaspoon of vanilla extract - other extracts can be substituted such as peppermint if desired
•     2 to 3 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream or Milk
•     Optional - for chocolate icing, melt separately 3 squares Baker's chocolate
•     Optional - pinch of salt

Process:

•     Cream your butter well with a mixer.  The more you cream the butter, the more fluffy it will be
•     To the creamed butter add in slowly 3 cups of sifted confectioner's sugar.  
•     If a sweeter icing is desired, add up to 4 cups, however I found it to be perfect with 3 cups.
•     Add to the icing base 2 to 3 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream or milk.  I recommend 3 Tablespoons heavy cream.
•     Add to the icing base any flavoring such as your chocolate, vanilla, or peppermint at this time.
•     Mix well to incorporate as much air as possible.
•     This will be very stiff in the refrigerator so chill only when needed.
•     At room temperature, this icing will be soft and creamy.

White Cake Mix - From Scratch Because The Box is Shrinking

I bake, a lot.  So I have been collecting recipes to replace Boxed Mixes as well as for things that I need to have in the house.  When you have a calorie budget of 3000 calories a day to support your athletics, you have to prepare.

Recently the common "Boxed Cake Mixes" got "shrinkflationed".  They went from 15 ounces to 13.33 ounces.  Or so.  

No.  Just, No.  That. Is. Greed.  

F. U. Betty.

Especially when the recipe for making a Boxed White Cake Mix is so easy that you can keep it in a jar, on your counter, for up to a year.  

After that, you are on your own, although I have had "some success" adding Baking Powder and Baking Soda to a mix and reviving it.  Salty, but it can "work".

Just use the stuff, you will enjoy it, and this particular mix is what you probably have in your kitchen already.


Instructions:

• Add the ingredients to a bowl.
• When ready to use, bake at 350F/180C for 20-25 minutes.
• The cupcakes in the picture took me 22 minutes in a "calibrated oven".

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups cane sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

To make the 12 cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180C
• One batch makes one layer of cake or 12 cupcakes of 2 Oz/56g each.
• Yes, I measured with a gram scale.
• Add the mix to a large mixing bowl.
• Add 1/2 cup milk.
• Add 1/2 cup neutral oil (I cheated and used olive oil).
• 2 large eggs, scrambled.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
• Mix well, pour into cupcakes or your baking pan.
• Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick put into the middle comes out clean.
• A cake pan will take longer, 25-35 minutes.

Two Ingredient Bagels Benefit From Boil Before Bake

 You can tell when I am intrigued by a recipe or a process.  It unlocks my inner analyst, and I start getting precise with how I make the baked good.

In this case, Boiling.  If you boil a bread dough in an alkali like baking soda or lye, you end up with a Pretzel once baked.  If you cook a bread bun about 3 oz/85g after boiling, you get a rather nice Pretzel Roll.

For a Bagel, I brought up 32 ounces of water, measured, to a full boil in a narrow pot.  To that water I had added a measured tablespoon of honey. (Metric below)

The result once baked is a proper chewy crust on the bagels.  If you don't boil them, this recipe will give you something a bit odd and very crunchy on the outside.

You Must Boil These Bagels.

The one shaped like a "C" was boiled 45 seconds per side.
The bagel shaped like a "O" was boiled 30 seconds per side.

The resulting difference?  Visually nothing.

However, I have just finished that "C" with some cream cheese.  I have to say it was one of the best Cinnamon Raisin Bagels that I have had years.  It was precisely what I wanted. 

So do your boils for 45 seconds per side and see if it's right for you!

Ingredients:  

Boiling liquid:

• 32 ounces (1 liter) of water.
• 1 Tablespoon (14g) of Honey.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels:

• 1 cup (236ml) All Purpose Flour
• 1 ounce (28g) Raisins (or to taste)
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) Cinnamon 
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) Baking Soda
• 3.25 ounces (92g) Yogurt or 5 ounces (142g) Greek Yogurt

(If you want plain, leave out the raisins and the cinnamon and choose your own add ins or none if you like, I won't judge!)

Process:

• To a mixing bowl add Flour, Raisins, Cinnamon, Baking Soda.
• Mix your dry ingredients a bit.  A Fork will do nicely.
• Add your Yogurt to the bowl and begin to mix the dough by hand.
• (Yes, I use my hands, do wash yours before you begin.)
• Continue mixing the dough until it is an even consistency.  My resulting dough was like a "Play Doh" or a soft modeling compound.  It should not be sticky.
• Form the bagels.  Take 1/2 of the dough and roll it out into a snake/cylinder.
• Attach the two ends together to form the traditional Bagel shape and set them aside.
• Repeat with the second bagel.
• Bring your Honey and Water up to full rolling boil.
• Carefully place your bagel into the boiling water for 30-45 seconds per side.

Baking:

• Set your air fryer to 360F/180C and 11 minutes.
• Place your bagels into the air fryer bucket.
• Cook your bagels for 5-6 minutes and flip to the second side.
• When 9 minutes have elapsed, inspect the bagels. 
• If they are done, remove from heat, otherwise, you still have 2 minutes on the clock!
• The bagels in this picture above were baked for 10 minutes.
• Enjoy.

Homemade Yogurt plus Homemade Self Rising Flour equals Two Ingredient Bagels in the Air Fryer.

I'm bending the definition of two ingredients.  

Since I am not afraid of making things from scratch, and that includes ingredients, I'm defining the recipe differently.

Homemade Yogurt plus Homemade Self Rising Flour equals Bagels.

Sort of.  Mrs B back at the Bagel Place in Cherry Hill, NJ back in the day would chuckle at these and say it's a nice try.  They "suffice".  They are not the best but they are certainly good in a pinch.

I am using Homemade Yogurt.  The original recipe calls for Greek Yogurt and works well with that.  Since Homemade Yogurt has a higher amount of liquid in it, the Greek Process makes something more like Cream Cheese than what you're used to out of a tub, you cut it back.

I find that either:
5 Ounces of Greek Yogurt or 3.25 ounces of Homemade Yogurt can be used.

Furthermore, if you have Self Rising Flour around, use it.  1 cup.

Since I don't keep the Self Rising Flour on hand, I take 1 cup All Purpose Flour and add 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda.

That is the recipe, it makes two bagels.

Air Fry at 360F for about 13 minutes flipping at 5 minutes.

I wanted Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, and apparently that is something that the bagel shop we go to in Florida does not do any more.  

I guess Cinnamon Raisin Bagels have "Aged Out"!

To make Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, add about a teaspoon of Good Cinnamon to the dough, and 1 ounce of Raisins.  Knead all the ingredients together.

Kneading.  This starts as a dry mix, but as you knead the dough together, it gets wetter.  If this gets to be too wet, dust with flour.

Furthermore, a real bagel is boiled before baking.  That gives that shiny crust we all know and love.  If you do nothing, the crust will be crispy and even hard.  I used Olive Oil and it was approaching the right consistency but I am open to suggestions.  

Maybe I will boil them next time.  With Honey or Malt Syrup.  Hmmm.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Self Rising Flour or 1 cup All Purpose Flour Plus 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda.
• 5 ounces Greek Yogurt or 3.25 ounces "Regular" Yogurt.

Process:

• To a bowl add 1 cup flour.
• Add 5 ounces Greek or 3.25 ounces "regular" yogurt.
• Knead, by hand, the mixture until the yogurt has been incorporated.
• Optional - This will make a plain bagel.
• Optional - Add Ins are 1 tsp Cinnamon plus 1 ounce Raisins.
• Optional - Coat or Roll the bagels in Sesame Seeds.
• Egg Wash or Coat the Bagels with Olive Oil or Butter.
• Divide the dough in half.
• Roll out the dough into a long thin cylinder and attach the tail to the head.
• Or roll the dough into a ball and push a finger through the middle and stretch to get the traditional hole in the middle.
• Bake in Air Fryer at 360F/180C for 13 plus minutes.  

Greek Spice Mix Recipe

This business of having a blog since 2009 can get rather involved.  If I need a recipe, I check here, then all on my computer in the recipes folder, then on my external server.

Since I did not find the recipe I needed, it is time to publish this.  I did later find it splattered all over my drives so my annoyance is your reward.

This particular spice mix is flexible.  It originally came from a recipe to make Gyro meat.  One pound each of Lamb and Ground Beef, plus the spices, and you get something pretty close to what I have had in a Greek Restaurant.

However, since I have all sorts of people who find this blather that I call a blog, the recipe has been used in different ways.  

I can vouch for this spice mix being excellent on Air Fryer Chicken Parts.
It is excellent on Roast Pork.
It is excellent on a burger.

Since it works well with "milder meats" it would work well with Tofu also.
That's one for the vegan readers that come here.

The recipe is an old standby for me, I keep this in a jar on the counter.  When I am looking for something different, I sprinkle it on the raw protein, then cook.  

It's also good on veg like white rice.


Ingredients:

1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 teaspoon Ground Pepper

2 teaspoons Paprika
2 teaspoons Minced Garlic or Garlic Powder

1 Tablespoon Oregano
2 Tablespoons Dried Onion or Onion Powder


Process:
Mix all ingredients into a jar.
Shake to mix.
Use on your food as a rub or mix in as needed.

Recipe - Make Plain Yogurt In The Microwave

I'll keep my lecturing to the end and keep it brief.

If you buy Yogurt, consider making your own.  You can do it simply and quickly.  If you use a microwave to warm the milk, your favorite pre-school child could do it.

Ingredients

"Seed Yogurt".   Always buy yogurt with live cultures.  It's better for you anyway.  Yogurt will grow from old yogurt. Plain yogurt of your favorite brand.  Sugar free and unflavored.

Sugar.  Common table sugar.  About a tablespoon per quart will do nicely.

Milk.  I typically get 2% but I have done this from powdered milk and from whole milk.  Your choice.


Instructions

Keep in mind, this could always fail and your container could end up being a container of spoiled milk.  Check it every 12 hours or so.  It should smell like yogurt, not like the dumpster behind the dairy.

Find yourself a very clean jar to make this in.  I use a quart mason jar but you can use anything else that is appropriately sized.  It should have a lid and fit in the microwave.  I have a gallon of the stuff brewing in my kitchen right now.

Put that jar in the microwave and warm the milk to 90-100F or 35-39C.

Add a tablespoon of common sugar per quart.

Check the temperature of the milk to make sure it really is in that temperature band.  Too hot or too cold and you will kill the seed yogurt. 

Add 2 ounces, 56g of yogurt to the quart jar.

Stir vigorously and cover the jar.

Allow the yogurt to brew for about 48 hours.  This should be done in a warm room or any appropriately warm place like in the oven with the light on.  My kitchen was 76F/26C.  

After 48 hours, check your yogurt.  It should have jelled and taste tart.

Refrigerate and eat promptly as you would any other plain yogurt.  I have 4 ounces of plain yogurt with an ounce of (mango) jelly, a half teaspoon of lime juice, and a packet of sweetener (saccharine).


Semi-Comedic Back Story.  Once upon a time, I worked with Sue.  She should have been named "Karen" because she sat across from me and complained about everything.  I mean constantly.  One day I brought in for lunch some yogurt I had found at an ethnic grocery.  Mango, since I truly enjoy them and am looking forward to Mango Lassi Season.

Sue saw that and made the comment "You do know you could make it yourself, don't you?".  

Despite her being a bit snide about the way she said it, she was right.  I basically used the process she described and have been doing so the majority of my life.

Sue may have been a Karen, but she was right about the Yogurt.  

Oh and if you really want flavor and your on-hand jelly isn't your favorite, I put some Tang in it today and ended up with a Creamsicle.  Helps to have (big) kids around sometimes.

Technology and I are Fighting. The Story of Why I Have Two Microwave Ovens.

Technology and I are going through a rough patch lately.

I have always got on well with things that way.  I'm the kind of person who took the old war time ethos of "Make Do And Mend" to heart.  

In that way, I've been able to learn quite a lot.  Replaced my own Oxygen Sensors on the Jeep when I needed to, for example.  Oil Changes are simple, and I do most of the maintenance on the car.  23 years old and runs like a "Swiss Watch".

>I was a Financial Project Manager for a major university on the East Coast.  "Req To Check" was my thing.  Requisitions through the posting of the Purchase Orders against the accounts on the General Ledger.  I was the strongest programmer in the department, the "Programmer of Last Resort" and the one who got the "meatiest problems".

My own favorite computer is about 6 years old.  It started out in corporate life as a Windows computer, and when it got to me, I immediately opened it up and upgraded the components.  One of the upgrades was to install Debian Linux, again, immediately.

To say that I am a Do It Yourself kind of tech guy is minimizing things here.

But lately, I'm about to toss most of it out the window.

You see, touch screens are the bane of my existence.  The things are everywhere.

Smart phones have them.  Cars have them.  Even my oven has a touch screen.

I don't see that they are being used properly.  I mean an oven?  With a Touch Screen?  Give me a break!

So as I am riding along, happily playing music, something happens and I need to control the phone.

Have I said yet that I hate iPhone for this sort of thing?  

Ok, I despise the little gadgets.  My big hands reach down to work on the phone and I almost always have to stop moving and pay attention.  It would be like a smaller person using the phone with their elbow and throwing it into traffic in disgust.

I don't know which tiny person designed these things but whoever you are, I hate you.

The latest thing to become "quirky" was my microwave oven.  Of all things to flake out, a microwave.  

In the kitchen there is very little with food that I won't attempt.  I have churned butter in the food processor - that takes about 5 minutes.  I also make the dog's food from scratch.  The ingredients that are raw have to be cooked to a minimum of 165F/74C so that the bacteria is killed.  Frozen Peas and Fresh Carrots are the two ingredients that go into the microwave.  I demand that they are cooked at full power uninterrupted.

Lately the microwave has decided that at random moments it will cycle, go to low power mode.  When it does that, the cooking cycle is ruined and I have to throw out what I am doing and restart the process.  There is no pattern with this, and I believe that an internal part is overheating.

Since I demand the thing to work without interruption, the microwave is useless to me.  This one is going into the trash.  But I have a second one.  That is a story in itself.

About 6 or more years ago, someone left a perfectly good microwave on the curb of my block.  It was left in the box, sealed.  Taped up from the factory.  Sitting pretty under a street lamp.  I walked Rack The McNab SuperDog past the box at the 5PM walk.  I walked him past it at 9PM.  The next morning, the box was still sitting there.  5AM.  Under the street lamp.

Yoink!  You are mine.

At that point the older microwave was still working well and I didn't believe that I needed this new one so I put it in the shed.  

This week I had had enough of flaky kitchen appliances.  I went to my shed, got the box, cutting my left wrist in the process.  Opening the box I brought the new microwave in and put it on the kitchen counter.  Doing so I said to the old microwave "If you fail again, I'm stripping you for parts, and you go out in the trash!".

Yes, I threatened my old microwave with a new microwave.

It has only been a few days and the old microwave is working correctly.  I think it took the hint.  

Cross me, and out you go old microwave!  

I have done that with iPhones as well.  I have a very good friend who hands me down old electronic hardware.  This computer that I put Linux on is not the first, and I have taken broken computers and recycled and up-cycled them into working useful equipment before.  I get old iPhones and have never bought one.  

But those iPhones?  I hate them and hate the entire ecosystem.  The idea that Apple has a walled garden to keep you safe has been dis-proven, and they are harvesting information for nefarious purposes, or so it has been said in the last few years.

Personally I think that Apple's Walled Garden has poison ivy in it.  I don't want to use their hardware the way that they want me to.  If I want to put music on the blasted thing, I should be able to plug it in and move data back and forth at will.  Pictures, and Documents as well.    I should be able to do a backup of the stupid thing to a network drive or attached memory stick but I have not found a way to do that.  On top of it all, that screen is too small.  Tiny for me.  I have to jump through hoops in order to get any of that done.

Pretty hardware that is dumbed down for some pointless exercise in minimalism.

So when I look at videos with "Shiny New Objects" with sparkly touch screens, I lose interest.  I'll stick with my 23 year old Jeep Wrangler, and my 6 year old laptop as much as possible.  

How exactly will I be able to use a touch screen on a car to adjust the air conditioning in traffic at 60 MPH with my elbow, again?

I am forced to use that confounded iPhone since I am a competition class dual sport athlete and my sport watch requires it.  Sport watch with a touch screen and Bluetooth.  To talk to the iPhone.  

It has a sealed battery in it that I have to recharge every 10 days too.  Eventually it will get flaky and I'll have to buy a new watch because nobody repairs things any longer.

Can someone please, find me a Tube Tester and a set of All American Five tubes?  I have a radio from 1956 that could use some refreshing.  I hear they have this new music called Rock and or Roll that might be fun, but R&B is much more my style.  Meanwhile, I will find a swing music or classical orchestral program.  Just to relax to.

Oh and Apple should get off my damn lawn.  I think they're drunk anyway.

Mango Jelly Recipe for 2025 and Instructions for Canning for Future Self

I don't like repeating blog articles, but I do change things around from time to time.   I have been at this since 2009 and there are things that I modify and put back on the blog.

In this case, it isn't so much the Mango Jelly recipe as much as the process.  The recipe is same as it was but it was tailored for my canning pot, and I did increase the amount of Bulk Pectin.  I got a much more "me friendly" result.  The result is more firm and more like what I expect a jelly to be like. 

If you like a soft jelly, reduce the amount of pectin from 12 to perhaps 10 or 8 Tablespoons.  I am using Bulk Pectin.  It's cheaper that way and being retired, I save money where I can.

Of course the Full Internet Warranty Applies - No Warranty implied or expressly written.  You follow these instructions at your own risk.  Just because this "works for me" does not mean it will work for you.  Read them, re-read, get your equipment set up, and re-read again.  Ramblingmoose.com takes no responsibility for any actions on your part.

That being said, I do this a couple times a year.  These are instructions from me to my future self.  I could do this with one jar in a sauce pan and a sealing lid if I had to. 

But I am a special character.  I've been told I am an ampersand.

The Full Recipe is at the bottom.

Wash your hands, frequently.

Canning.  The USDA has instructions, and "everyone else" does as well.  This is what I did Monday.  I've been canning for a couple years now and I have gotten good results.  Usually only one jar per batch fails to seal.  BUT, I tend to reuse my lids.  I have been told don't do that.   I roll the dice and don't pass on jars until a week or two after they are sitting around so I know they're going to seal.  The one that fails is mine and goes into the fridge.  Mango Jelly Pie on a Graham Cracker Crust can be a very nice dessert, and this jelly is great on Pancakes for syrup.  I had it on pancakes today and enjoyed it.

Into the canning pot, place more lids than jars.  Rings do not to be sterilized. I can comfortably fit 8 jars on the grid inside of my pot.  So I tend to put 8 to 10 lids in to the pot.

Place the funnel and the magnet stick into the pot.  Any scoops or paddles I think I will need go into the pot.

Note:  If you place all the things other than the jars that you want to sterilize into a separate sauce pan, and can fit them in, it may make life easier.  Using tools to remotely fish things out from a boiling pot of water from under jars and grid can be painful.  I did not use a separate pot for the lids and tools this time and I managed.

The tools that do not go into the jars will remain on a dinner plate outside of the pot.

Do not use a paper plate.  I made that mistake this batch and when I turned the fire back on, it caught and you had ashes everywhere.  Bad move.  Hank will tell you Propane cooks hot, it's God's Own Gas.

Put the pot in the sink and fill all the jars with water after you lift the metal grid and place it on the bottom of the pot.  Then fill the pot to the line so that all the jars are completely submerged with about an inch of water on top of the jars.

Yes, that's a lot of water. 
Yes, it all has to come to a full rolling boil.

The Boil.  Place the full pot on the stove and turn the heat on, full.  You want the water to come to a rolling boil.  This will take about a half of an hour.  Make sure the propane tank has enough gas for this project.  The entire canning episode yesterday only used 1% of the 100 gallon tank.  You most likely won't move the needle on the larger tanks.  You won't want to do this on a smaller bottle since those are for the Grill.

Sterilizing.  Once the pot, jars, lids, and tools are on a rolling boil, set the timer on the stove for 30 minutes.  This must boil for 30 minutes to sterilize everything.  Yes, I know you can't kill all the tardigrades in the pot, but this will get the botulism out of anything.  This way when you send jelly Up North to family, they won't get sick.

Jelly needs to cook to 165F or 74C.  Start this when the water is boiling, it takes about 20 minutes to go from room temp to 165F.  This kills any nasties that might be on the fruit or the pot.  The temp gun helps but the numbers dance around while you are stirring with the immersion blender. 

As long as the fruit is not frozen, adding the ingredients to the separate cooking pot, then turning on the heat on medium will be fine timing.  Your immersion blender or stick blender is great for the task. 

Use the white blender.  The other blender is for making soap.  Don't mix them.  This takes too long to "restart" because you did something stupid.

Keep stirring the jelly until you are ready for it, and do NOT use high heat.  The Mangoes will hot spot and you will end up with discolored fruit.  Not the best when you want "Gift Quality".  This also will mean that the jelly, jam really since it is complete fruit, will be smooth and pureed with no chunks.

When the timer sounds, check the temp on the jelly.  If it finishes before the water has boiled for 30 solid minutes, turn the heat down on the jelly.  You don't want hot spots.

Hopefully everything is done correctly, no hot spots and you are now ready to can.

Turn the heat off the canning pot.

Filling Jars.  Fish the tools you need out of the water bath.  Place them on the clean plate you just reached out of the cabinet or dishwasher for this purpose.

You will need the scissors clamp, the funnel, the scoop, the paddle.  The magnet stick should have floated upright so you can grab that without getting burned.

Once you get the tools out of the water and set out to cool on the plate, get the metal rack out of the bottom of the pot.  It can be set so the metal handles are elevated and the jars are no longer in the hot water.

Using the scissors clamp, grab the first jar and dump the boiling water back into the pot.  Place this on the work plate.  Put the funnel into the mouth of the jar.  Fill the jar no higher than the bottom of the funnel.  For wide mouth jars, do not fill above the line under the threads.

Tools do cool quickly but do be careful.  It will be a little uncomfortable at first.

Take the funnel out of the jars, and set it aside.  Since you are using it to fill the jars with the jelly, I set it on top of the jelly, narrow side down. 

In filling, if you slopped any jelly on the rim of the jar, wipe it off with a wet paper towel.  Carefully, you don't want to contaminate the jars.  Paper Towels are considered by me to be sterile-ish compared to a cloth towel.

Place a lid on the top of the jar, rubber side down, and seat it on the rim.  Then screw down a ring gently.  Make sure the ring is not "tight" as the air inside of the jar needs to be forced out during the second boil to create your vacuum seal.  Usually getting it to meet the lid then backing off a "wee bit" is enough.

Place that jar back on the metal grid and repeat for all of the jars you intend to can for this batch.

Now that you have your jars on the grid, check to make sure the rings are not constricting the lids.  Lower the grid to the bottom of the pot.

Second Boil to seal your jars.  You now have all your jars submerged and it is time for the second boil.

Turn the heat on full, the fan back on, and wait for the water to come back to a full boil.

When the water is on a full rolling boil, set the timer on the stove for 30 minutes.  As the water is boiling, the heat will push some of the air out of the jars and create your later vacuum when you are waiting for the buttons on the lids to snap to seal. 

Time to remove the jars from the boiling water. 

Raise the grid to the top of the canning pot.  If you are confident, you can remove the grid to a safe workplace and deal with the jars.

Check each jar.  Make sure each lid is seated on the top of the jar and when you are confident, tighten the ring down.  Repeat for each jar and set them aside to cool.

By the time the jars have reached room temperature, each vacuum button should have snapped to prove that they are sealed.

Just because you need clean pipes, dump the hot water in the sink.  It will help melt the grease you didn't know you were putting in there.

Recipe.  USDA says you can store canned jelly for 6 to 12 months.

Ingredients:

• 8 Cups chunked ripe Mango pieces.
• 2 Cups Sugar.
• 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice.
• 9 Tablespoons of bulk Fruit Pectin.

Process:

• Cut up your Mangoes into chunks until you have 8 cups of the fruit.
• Mash slightly the Mangoes, and add to the cooking pot.
• Add 2 Cups of Sugar.
• Add 2 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice.
• Add 9 tablespoons of bulk Fruit Pectin.
• Cook on medium on the stove until the jam begins to set at about 30 minutes.

Toasted Pecan Bumper Brownies - Right Sized For Your Pleasure

This started at the park when I had the last Right Sized Brownie on the bumper of the Jeep at a water stop from the previous recipe.  I repeat the recipe below the SHORT narrative. 

See, I realized that I needed Toasted Pecans in this Brownie.  Sure they are great without, but I personally can afford the extra 30 calories each Brownie since Without they are 110, With they are 140, and my workouts burn 1000 calories per hour and my workouts are typically 2 hours or more.

Right Sized Toasted Pecan Brownie Recipe:

Toasted Pecans:

1. Measure out 40g, 1.4 ounce of chopped Pecan pieces.
2. Warm a skillet over low to medium heat.
3. Add the Pecans to the skillet. 
4. Stir, Shake or Jiggle the Pecans frequently as they will toast FAST!
5. I cook my Pecans for about 3 minutes on the heat and then test for flavor.

Brownie recipe:

Note:  I measured everything with a gram scale.  I have one and it works well, however typically volumes are used.  Maybe next time, huh?

I followed the recipe below faithfully and got some wonderful treats.  It fell together in about 10 minutes.  Cooked in 15.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (42 grams) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (29 grams) Cocoa Powder (sifted if needed)
• 1/16 teaspoon salt (nobody has one of those, I eyeballed "half" of a 1/8 tsp)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons (65 grams) coconut oil or unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (about 50 grams, out of shell)
• 1/4 cup (43 grams) chocolate chips, plus extra mini chips for the top

How to make them:
9 Brownies as in the picture are 40g/1.4 oz each.

1. Prep your pan: Line cupcake pan with 9 cupcake papers.
2. Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil or butter with the sugar and vanilla.
4. Once blended, mix in the egg until just combined.
5. Combine everything: Add the dry mix to the wet bowl a little at a time. Stir gently until almost no flour is visible. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Preheat the oven: Set it to 350°F (175°C).
7. Pour and top: Transfer the batter into your prepared pan. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top for extra gooeyness.
8. Cook for 12 to 20 minutes. The top should look set with a thin crust.
9. A toothpick in the center will come out a bit wet. The edges should have soft crumbs.
10. Cool before serving: Let them cool completely in the pan. They’ll continue to firm up as they sit.

Hillbilly Pie (Poor Man's Pie) - Direct From All Over The Web To My Kitchen

This recipe is just too simple not to try.  It came to me on Facebook.  However when I researched it, I just got dozens of hits with the same recipe.

How about that, must be good, so lets try it?

Think of this as a "Butter Bomb".  I will make it again but I will cut the butter back, most likely by 1/2.

I had a can of Peach Pie Filling on hand and since I am the only one in the house who likes Peach Pie, I used it.   Excellent!

Verifying the recipe, I also found comments that said that fresh fruit can be used on this in more than one place.

If you want it to be Vegetarian or Vegan, use Margarine and nut milk.  From a dietary standpoint, the Hydrogenation process that turns oil into Marge is not the best for your heart, but you knew that already!


Hillbilly Pie (Poor Man's Pie)
A simple, comforting dessert that’s easy to make and oh-so-delicious. Perfect for when you want a homemade treat with minimal effort!

 Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour (See Tip at the end if you don't have any)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (12 oz) can fruit pie filling (cherry, apple, peach, or your favorite)

 Instructions:

•  Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the butter in an 8x8-inch casserole dish and let it melt in the oven while preheating.
  
  
•  Mix the Batter: In a mixing bowl, whisk together self-rising flour, sugar, and milk until smooth.
  
  
•  Assemble the Pie:  Remove the casserole dish with the melted butter from the oven. Pour the batter evenly over the butter—do not stir!
  
  
• Add the Filling: Spoon the fruit pie filling evenly over the batter. The filling will sink slightly as it bakes, creating delicious layers.
  
  
•  Bake:  Place the dish back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and cooked through.
  
  
•  Cool and Serve: Let the pie cool slightly before serving. Enjoy warm, either on its own or topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Servings: 6–8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

 Tips:
No Self-Rising Flour? Substitute with 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Try New Flavors: Experiment with different fruit fillings to find your favorite combo!

Right Sized Brownies Recipe. Not Too Big, Not Too Small!

205+72+400+126+153 = 956

956 /  8 = 119.5

What that blather is about is a calorie estimate for a "right sized" brownie.

See, I needed a snack, that was between 100 and 200 calories.  I needed something that I would look forward to in the middle of a very intense workout.  I needed it to survive being in a closed Jeep Wrangler sitting in summer heat outside in a park in South Florida summer.

Brownies!

I also wanted a simple recipe.  Got it!  See below.

The realization was that all I needed to do was to cut the recipe into 8 pieces, put the batter into cupcake papers, and bake. 

12 minutes at 350F/175C and test with a toothpick.  That should be early, close the oven and retest in a wee bit.  When it is done, is when that toothpick comes out reasonably clean.  You probably will want to account for different oven "speeds" and adjust your cook time.

And finally, these were good.  I mean Gooooood.  I don't know what the common vegetarian/vegan substitutions are for eggs, so this is "conventional".  Martha Stewart to the rescue - this link suggests Banana/Applesauce/Yogurt at 1/4 cup per egg.

As always with substitutes, Your Mileage May Vary!

For each cupcake paper, use 1/8 of the batter.  In my case, it worked out to be 42 grams or 1.4 ounces.  It's also 3 tablespoons level and measured off the top of my head.

Also, this is a shameless copy of a recipe I put out about a month back.  I used an air fryer to cook it and while it was awesome, this method is more to my needs.

Note:  I measured everything with a gram scale.  I have one and it works well, however typically volumes are used.  Maybe next time, huh?

I followed the recipe below faithfully and got some wonderful treats.  It fell together in about 10 minutes.  Cooked in 15.

They. Were. Excellent!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (42 grams) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (29 grams) Cocoa Powder (sifted if needed)
• 1/16 teaspoon salt (nobody has one of those, I eyeballed "half" of a 1/8 tsp)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons (65 grams) coconut oil or unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (about 50 grams, out of shell)
• 1/4 cup (43 grams) chocolate chips, plus extra mini chips for the top

How to make them:

1. Prep your pan: Line cupcake pan with 8 cupcake papers.
2. Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil or butter with the sugar and vanilla.
4. Once blended, mix in the egg until just combined.
5. Combine everything: Add the dry mix to the wet bowl a little at a time. Stir gently until almost no flour is visible. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Preheat the oven: Set it to 350°F (175°C).
7. Pour and top: Transfer the batter into your prepared pan. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top for extra gooeyness.
8. Cook for 12 to 20 minutes. The top should look set with a thin crust.
9. A toothpick in the center will come out a bit wet. The edges should have soft crumbs.
10. Cool before serving: Let them cool completely in the pan. They’ll continue to firm up as they sit.

If you give these a try, let us know how they turn out. They're dangerously easy to make.

I Guess I Can Call It My Mutt Pizza

I know someone who goes to London, frequently.  He is aghast at what they call pizza over there.  His description was Jarred Spaghetti Sauce with Cheddar Cheese.

No, Really.  It sounds like an abomination.

Mind you if you try to serve me Pineapple Pizza, you will wear it.  I am flexible but it needs to taste right.  Pineapple belongs in an upside down cake.  Period.  Or perhaps on a different dessert.  Keep that dreck to yourself.

When I moved here to Florida, I was struck by how mediocre the pizza was.  Think sauce from a can and flavorless cheese.

I set on a path that allowed me to develop a recipe that my Italian Mother would be proud of.  It tastes like a 1970s Pizza Shop sauce.  The kind of place you walk in and see a giant vat of the stuff reducing on a slow flame on the stove.

Remember to add the spices when you take it off the heat.  You want the punch of oregano to shine through.

Today I came home from a marathon on the bike.  That seems to be my normal workout at this point.  Today was 28.02 miles - I was close and made sure to round out the distance.  After two hours, and getting hit by some light rain, and I wanted the pizza.

This thing's crust is not so very good.  It is a large tortilla.  Sure, it saves me about 300 calories but it is kind of soulless and I describe it as an "Italian Quesadilla".  Nothing against Mexican cuisine, I love and respect that and this mashup is strange.

I was in a rush so it has its place.

I did want to use up some of the oddball ingredients I had on hand.  The Mozzarella I had ready was only about half of what I needed so I got "creative".  Adding in the main flavor of the Parmesan would help this effort greatly. 

Still I was short.  I remembered the discussions of the British Pizza.  If we want to laugh, we look at each other and say "Cheddar Pizza" and cringe. 

At this point I realized either thaw out some more Mozzarella or get the Cheddar.  It's a good Cheddar, I equivocated, but it is still a cheddar.  It also was on the "old side" and I had cut out all the "spots".  It needed to be used up.

Ok, admittedly, all the ingredients were weird, let's make a pizza out of these bastard ingredients.  I cook to get a flavor profile as well as a balanced amount of protein with a specific calorie count.  That meant that in order to make the pizza 1000 calories, I needed 5 ounces of cheese total.  I ended up putting a mix together of 1 ounce of rather good sharp Parmesan, 2.5 ounces each of Mozzarella and Extra Sharp Cheddar.

Assembling the pie or quesadilla, I poured a glass of Chardonnay.  Taking a sniff of that glass, I realized it was for cooking.  We made Beef Stroganoff and it put the "Ordinaire" in the term "Vin Ordinaire".  Not great stuff.

Somehow the combination of that wine and the strange pizza worked well together.

I guess the moral of the story is not to be so rigid.  If you have to use Cheddar, it isn't the end of the world, just make sure that you have a strong sauce, and that the Cheddar is Extra Sharp.  Having it be the minority cheese in a mix won't ruin a pizza, it will pass if you are caught up short.

And a glass of Ordinary Wine never hurt anyone.

Air Fryer Brownies? Here is the recipe!

 

Everything was new once.  I once microwaved a chicken.  It actually came out well done but I can't say I would do it again.

I once had a Curry Chicken recipe that I really would love to find for that same microwave again but this was a time long past and a lost recipe.

Every new cooking fad has a peak.  The Air Fryer is having its moment right now and I find it to be amazing.

Worse comes to worse, this will bake well in the conventional oven, same time and temp.

Anything frozen, chicken parts both thawed and frozen, pork parts, fish sticks and fillets.  All have come out wonderful and wholesome.

This is an online recipe that I shamelessly stole.  The "pan" is my silicone liner that I oiled and poured the batter into.

Note:  I measured everything with a gram scale.  I have one and it works well, however typically volumes are used.  Maybe next time, huh?

I followed the recipe below faithfully and got some wonderful treats.  It fell together in about 10 minutes.  Cooked in 15.

Whenever you cook in an air fryer, I find that I have to check frequently and make sure the internal temp comes up to the correct level for meats.  I used a toothpick for the brownies and we have enjoyed them.

They. Were. Excellent!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup (42 grams) whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (29 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder (sifted if needed)
• 1/16 teaspoon salt (nobody has one of those, I eyeballed "half" of a 1/8 tsp)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons (65 grams) coconut oil or unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar or coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg (about 50 grams, out of shell)
• 1/4 cup (43 grams) chocolate chips, plus extra mini chips for the top

How to make them:

1. Prep your pan: Line a small cake pan or air fryer-safe dish with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dry ingredients: In a bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, stir together the melted coconut oil or butter with the sugar and vanilla.
4. Once blended, mix in the egg until just combined.
5. Combine everything: Add the dry mix to the wet bowl a little at a time. Stir gently until almost no flour is visible. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Preheat the air fryer: Set it to 340°F (170°C).
7. Pour and top: Transfer the batter into your prepared pan. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top for extra gooeyness.
8. Air fry Cook in the air fryer for 14 to 20 minutes. The top should look set with a thin crust.
9. A toothpick in the center will come out a bit wet. The edges should have soft crumbs.
10. Cool before serving: Let them cool completely in the pan. They’ll continue to firm up as they sit.

If you give these a try, let us know how they turn out. They're dangerously easy to make.

Old Style Pizza Sauce - Like Back In The Day, Youse Know?

How about an Old Style Pizza at home?
I mean with a real, (mostly) naturally sweet sauce.  You know from a Pizza Parlor "down the way" that has a giant pot of the sauce perfuming the neighborhood as you get closer to it?

You may not have had one since the 1970s, but this sauce is it.  It's exactly how I remember it.


No this pizza sauce is not Vegan.
It is not Vegetarian.

It can be made either way, but while good, it won't be quite the same.


I take a cue from Mom here, and I get a pound of Stew Beef and brown it in the pot before we start this sauce.  Then add the ingredients to the pot and reduce. 

I have not tried it with meatballs but the flavor will be similar.  Just brown the meatballs and let the sauce cook it.

You will end up with some Braciole once you scoop it out, and if you have some extra sharp Provolone and some Amoroso Rolls, you are now having one of my favorite sandwiches from childhood.  Kaiser or a Hard Roll will work, as will Linguica or a Cuban Roll.

The recipe has Anchovies in it. You can leave that out but I would strongly suggest preparing it as is.  You will want that "Umami Bomb".



Ingredients:

• 1 can San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz)
• Half 24 oz bottle tomato passata (or strained Roma tomatoes)
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Less then 1/8th red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Three anchovies rinsed and patted dry
• 1 Tsp salt

Ingredients at the end:

• 2 Tsp oregano
• Tsp basil
• 1 tsp sugar

Process:

• Process anchovies and can of tomato’s in food processor or blender until smooth.
• Add to pan with passata, salt, pepper and pepper flakes.
• Rinse out tomato can with minimal water and dump water into pan - the object is to get the tomatoes out of the can so you don't have to boil a LOT of water down in reduction.
• Reduce for hours low and slow simmer until thick and will cut with the wooden spoon in the pan.
• After you remove from heat, add oregano, basil and sugar and stir in.  
• Let cool and store.