Tumblr

This is a quickie post to say, I've opened a Tumblr account, you can find me at
http://jazzeria.tumblr.com

Apologies this was so late.  I kind of forgot about this blog, but have been updating my Tumblr regularly.  But who knows, maybe I'll end up steady on Blogger again one day...

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Small Discoveries

Today has been a day of discoveries for me.  First, I've discovered that I should never go grocery shopping--especially at SuperStore--without having eaten breakfast, unless I want to spend seventy bucks on tasty things.

(This doesn't show all the things I bought, but it does show most of the food.)

Having said that, I ended up buying a lot of tasty things that I'd never tried before; and while I haven't dug into all of them yet, I've already learned more than I thought:

PC Baby Dill Pickles with Garlic [link].

I never really liked pickles until now.  These aren't sugary-sweet like most bread-and-butter pickles.  And they're also not overly vinegary like most other pickles I've tried.  And as a bonus, they're tiny.  Only downside: I could only find them in the 500 mL jar, and I want moar!  However, for $2.18 for the jar, I'd still call it a decent purchase.

Island Farms Victoria Style Cream Cheese [link].  I bought this serendipitously.  Philly was $4.90-some for a 400g tub, and this was $3.99 for a 500g tub.  And as a bonus, it's made in BC.  I've only ever really had Philly cream cheese (unless you count bad experiences with Lucerne and no-name), so I didn't know what to expect from "Victoria style" cream cheese.

First thing I noticed was the texture.  It's looser, more liquid than Philly, and I got the feeling I could have poured it out of the tub if I wanted--though the entire tub might pour out!

Curious, I stuck a finger in it and tasted.  HOLY CREAM.  You know how heavy cream (like whipping cream) has that beautiful sweet dairy taste?  It tastes like that; but also with the tang I've come to associate with cream cheese.

I suspect this goes with everything; but I have only yet tried it with the aforementioned pickles, and slices of Ambrosia apples.  Cream cheese and apples seem like common sense, but cream cheese and pickles--who knew!  (Extra: Cream cheese, apples and white wine were a brilliant combination!)

Hungarian Salami: the larger redder one.
Genoa Salami: the smaller paler on one top.

Salami.  I never used to know what salami was, besides some kind of dry-ish sausage that my mom sometimes put on sandwiches when I was a kid.  I hated pre-sliced meat that came in vacuum packs; they were always wet and in my young mind, gross.

But one day, in the last year or two, I tried "Genoa salami".  And it was interesting.  I think maybe I expected it to taste like pepperoni, but there was this strange, unexpected taste.  I suspect it's the "fermented meat taste".  It was also chewy.  And "meaty", which I don't know why surprised me--maybe I expected it to taste like spices?

Ever since, I'd been meaning to try salami again.  For most people, maybe salami is no big deal, but bear in mind, I thought it was icky as a kid.  But every time I'd go to the deli, I'd be hugely intimidated by the vast selection of salamis--not to mention their pices.  I hadn't realised there were so many types of salami!

Today, I happened to be near a Miller's Meats by accident.  I nosed around their frozen foods.  Chicken livers for $6.59 /kg was cheaper than Safeway ($7.91 /kg), but still nowhere near SuperStore ($4.14 /kg).  They also had some Manitoba-made perigies, and a good selection of frozen lamb from New Zealand--though, a bit pricey.

However, their deli was reasonably-priced, in fact cheaper than Superstore!  Most salami were $2.19 /100g, whereas SuperStore charges around $2.50 /100g.  The staff were friendly and helpful--even let me taste some salami.  I bought about 75g each of Genoa and Hungarian salamis; and a jar of rosehip spread.

(Another reason to eat breakfast before going out: so I don't accidentally drop my newly purchased jar of rosehip spread on my way out the door!  Thankfully the staff let me take another one after checking my receipt.)

The Genoa salami tasted exactly as I remembered: meaty, just a little smoky, and with that same "strange" flavour.  The Hungarian salami was much bolder in comparison; much saltier, smokier and "meaty", but it didn't have as much of the mystery flavour.  I'd say the Genoa salami was "mild" compared to the Hungarian; but I liked both--just for different reasons.


Other things I bought today but haven't yet tried, and will likely blog about soon:

• White Stilton with cranberries [link]
• Rosehip spread (it will be a while before I open this, though)
• PC Glazed Pork & Chicken Liver Pate - 4 Peppercorns [link]
• PC Smoked Mussels
• PC Goat Brie [link]

I also passed The Frenchway on my way home, and through the window saw a few loaves sitting on the "50% off" shelf, so I just had to see what kind they were!  I ended up getting a seed-filled bread with lots of flax and I think sunflower seeds for $2.25--a steal of a deal!  It may or may not be the same one I got last time, which I think they called something like "Happy Sunflower Loaf".  I wish they had a menu so an awkward person like me could lurk before ordering.  

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Chicken Livers

A roommate walked in on my cooking and asked, "Whatchya makin?"
"Chicken livers", I said, as I pulled these out of the oven where they were keeping warm.
"Omigosh they're so tiny!!"

I was so happy to know this love of tiny things is not a trait found only in Asians!

I'm not exactly certain why or how, but I've really gotten into eating chicken livers these past few months.

I usually dip them in a mixture of flour, salt, garlic powder and black pepper; then fry them in bacon fat thinned out with sunflower oil because I find bacon fat smokes easily.  (Or perhaps more accurately, sunflower oil flavoured with a bit of bacon fat.)

Handling the raw livers felt like handling a giant blood clot: kind of morbid, but really cool!  I don't like finding tough sinew in the finished product, so I do like to remove the yellow-white sinews, even if it takes extra time.  I haven't found a good way to remove them, other than to hold a paring knife in place and tug, but this affects the texture slightly.  I'm told this step is optional, though.

Chicken livers with red wine sauce and
caramelised onions with balsamic vinegar.

I absolutely love the livers with just a big sprinkle of coarse salt and a grind of black pepper at the end, or just tossed with freshly minced garlic; but sometimes, I like to have condiments, too.

If I'm not using a lot of oil, I'll sometimes deglaze the pan with whatever red wine I have open (lately it's been Merlot), thicken with a bit of flour, and add a big scoop of blackcurrant jelly.  Yes, blackcurrant jelly.  I find I need a BIG fruity flavour to contrast with the good-bitter, slightly metallic flavour of the livers.  I usually like a thin red wine sauce with meat, but the livers need a thick sauce that will really hold on, so this sauce usually takes on a gravy-like texture.

I also like them with caramelised onions in balsamic vinegar.

A while back, in late January, I noticed a bag of onions had been sitting in the kitchen for maybe two months, and were starting to actually mould!  I left a note to my roommates, "If those were your onions, I used most of them because they were starting to go bad.  If you had plans for them, please let me know and I'll buy you a new bag!"  Actually, I left three, because I figured that was a good number of onions to leave.

I made a small mistake of cutting the onion slices longitudinally instead of latitudinally.  The fibres run longitudinally, which tends to result in unappetising strings of onion pieces later.  I sauteed them in a Dutch oven with little oil and salt, then put the lid on and over the next hour or so, would pause my homework to stir them a bit and add a little splash of water to help them soften.

After tasting, I decided they weren't as sweet as I had dreamed, so I added a big splash of balsamic vinegar.  That hit the spot!



What didn't fit in the jar, I ate that night on a slice of homemade bread, with a smear of butter.  Mmm!

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Breakfast

I've been trying to make a habit of taking time for breakfast whenever possible.  Usually this means days I don't have school, and weekends I don't work.  I had a loaf of bread and some coffee cream I was trying to use up, so lately breakfast has been French toast.

I usually have it with some sort of warm cooked fruit, sausages and or bacon, maple syrup and a nice smear of cultured butter, with a sprinkle of coarse salt mixed in.

 

One time, I had a bunch of green grapes going bad in the fridge.  There were too many to eat at once, and I don't like squishy grapes, so I decided to roast them.  I tossed the stemmed and washed grapes with a bit of olive oil and a big pinch of salt, then roasted in the oven at about 375F for maybe 15 min, until they were browned.

The roasted grapes had a beautiful, mellow flavour.  Is mellow the right word?  It was rather mild, but very pleasant.  The taste of grapes was still there, but with almost no acidity.  The browned skins gave a nice "toasty" flavour.  With the acidity gone, a bunch of other flavours start to come through.  I want to say it tastes like an unwooded wine, but I feel that might do wine a disservice.

By the way, I cooked these apples with Fireball and the last bit of dark rum.  Mmm!

I'm liking my breakfast habits :)

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Grilled PB&J

I had a craving for something different for breakfast today.  I opened the fridge door to look for inspiration.  I've had this jar of natural peanut butter for months, I just don't go through peanut butter very quickly--unless I'm making peanut butter cookies, or have gotten back on the peanut butter and bananas on warm bread -boat.

And lately I've fallen in love with blackcurrants, in particular, blackcurrant jelly.  Even the store-brand stuff tastes great, and I just can't wait to open the jar I bought from the farmers' market in fall!!

So peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seemed suitable.  But if you know me, you'll know I dislike cold sandwiches.  So I decided to pan fry it like a grilled cheese sandwich!

I think next time I'll use a softer white bread without so many seeds and grains, to really let the peanut butter and jam shine through.  All I had was a seedy, grainy bread--which is heavenly for grilled cheeses.

A note on peanut butter: I buy natural peanut butter whose only ingredient is either "peanuts" or "roasted peanuts" depending on the brand.  While I love not worrying about hydrogenated oil, I also find the texture inhibits my ability to taste the peanuts, maybe it's too oily and my saliva can't dissolve the flavours so quickly, maybe the uniform texture makes it all blur together--whatever the reason, I usually add a tiny dab of honey and a sprinkle of salt.  This opens up the peanut butter and I can taste so much more peanutty goodness this way!

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Apple Pie Sugar

Whenever I need to peel apples for something, I always feel that throwing away the peels is wasteful.  So I started dehydrating them for a later use.

I could put them in tea blends, I thought to myself.

Or, I could grind them into powder and add to my oatmeal, or as a topping on baked goods.

Even better, why not mix that powder with spices and sugar?

 

Above: three average-sized apples gave me the peels on the drying rack; and I saved the peels from maybe 3 apples previously.  When ground in my mini food processor, this resulted in approximately 1/6 cup.


The method is pretty straightforward:

The next time you need to peel apples, try to keep the peels in large pieces.  Arrange them on a rack, set on a baking pan, and dehydrate.  I set these in the oven at 175F, and then forgot to turn the oven off when I went to bed (thankfully, I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered!), so it was on for about 10 hours.  I assume they were done sometime well before that!

You don't need to dry them in the oven, if you have the time and space, you can just let the peels air-dry.  But I think the low heat actually cooks the sugar a bit, I got a very nice toasty flavour from the peels this way!

Crush the dried peels in a food processor, spice grinder, or whatever implement you like, until it's a consistency you like.  Mix in sugar and spices as you like.  I used a raw small-granule sugar, ground cinnamon and ground cloves.

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Apple Slices and Pan Sauce

(Apologies for the blah photo, I only had my cell phone camera at the time.  I'll post a better photo next time I make this!)

When my wisdom teeth made chewing difficult, I got into the habit of cooking my fruit in this manner.  And even though my jaw's back to normal, the habit of cooking fruit stayed.

I like this cooking method for apples and pears.  I imagine it might also work for hard nectarines or peaches. It feels a bit strange to "sear" the fruit and make a sort of pan sauce by deglazing with white wine.  I sometimes wonder if some properly-schooled chef will appear behind me and smack me upside the head for this disgrace.  Or something.  ...  Anyway.


First I melt some butter and add just a bit of oil to raise the average smoke point.

On high heat, I "sear" the fruit slices, adding a big pinch of salt and whole spices (eg: star anise, cinnamon stick) to the pan, if I remember them.  For this batch I used three apples, which fit very nicely in the 11" pan.

After I've gotten a nice colour on the fruit, I deglaze with white wine, about 3oz, and kill the heat.  I taste and add any sugar if necessary, and any ground spices (eg: ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger).  This pan keeps heat for a long time, so the wine keeps a hard simmer awhile.  If I want, I add a pat of butter or maple syrup if I'm in the mood.  I let the fruit and sauce cook to whatever consistency I want that day.

For everyday eating, like the fruit soft with just a bit of resistance in the very centre; and the sauce to be moderately thin, maybe the consistency of half-and-half, and not too rich-tasting.  I typically just eat this with a spoon; but it's also good on top of oatmeal, and I imagine it'd be great on top of ice-cream, baked goods, or beside pork or chicken.


Good combinations I've tried so far:

• Pear with maple syrup and extra butter; thick sauce.  This is heavenly on top of oatmeal, the sauce is almost too rich to eat alone! 
• Pear with white wine, cinnamon stick and star anise; thin sauce.  
• Apple with white wine and butter; medium-thick sauce.  
• Apple with white wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black pepper; medium-thick sauce.  

Combinations I think would be good but haven't yet tried:

• Pear or apple with white wine and ginger; thin sauce.  
• Nectarines with rum, cloves, nutmeg; medium sauce.  
• ...

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White Wines

I have a favourite all-purpose white wine!  I like to drink it, I use it in my pasta alla carbonara, chicken, poaching fruit, in a reduction for fruit sauces, and I'll probably think of more ways to use it as I go!  Also, it's very affordable, about $13 a bottle; and according to the website, with every bottle from this line sold, the company makes a contribution to "global conservation" which I consider a bonus feature.

It's Banrock Station unoaked Chardonnay from Australia.

I used to dislike white wines because they all seemed to taste bitter and made my tongue and mouth shrivel up, the word for which I later learned was "astringent".  But the bitterness, I was told, comes from the oak barrels, and this wine was not wooded, and doesn't have that bitterness I dislike!

I do follow the adage of cooking with a wine I would drink.  However:

• I rarely finish a bottle of wine in one sitting (unless I have lots of company over).  So, I use the remaining wine for cooking, since it will only retain its subtleties for a further day or two.  
• I'm a student, and have a student's budget.  Wine which I buy to for drinking will be wine I can afford.  And again, since I don't often drink wine, it will sit unfinished for weeks, so it will likely become a cooking wine anyhow.  
• Once in a while, I will try a new wine.  Sometimes I'll like drinking it!  Sometimes I won't.  If I don't like drinking it, it will probably end up in a dish where I can't taste it too much (like in a soup).  

Another white wine I've enjoyed is Naked Grape Chardonnay, which has been "cellared in Canada".  I haven't been able to clearly identify the source of the grapes though.  I remember it didn't have as much flavour as the Banrock Station, and I think it was more acidic.  It was a "pleasant" drinking wine.  I'll update this description after drinking it again, as I'm having difficulty remembering it now.

I've also tried Naked Grape's Pinot Grigio.  It was...I think the pretentious terms are "avuncular" and "innocuous".  A less pretentious phrase that comes to mind is "sissy wine".  Don't get me wrong, it's good, I just didn't think it was....remarkable.  I drank about half the bottle and the rest went to poaching fruit.


With all this talk of white wine, you'd think I prefer white; but I've preferred red for most of my wine-drinking life.  But, there's a slightly embarrassing story behind why I haven't tried many red wines.

I discovered my favourite red wine very early, and used it all the time in cooking, even drinking sometimes!  I loved it!  And when I tried to find it in stores, I could not!  "It's a Cab Sauv from South Africa," I'd tell the floor staff, "with a green diamond-shaped label."  It took several unsuccessful trips to the Liquor Commission before I started asking my family where they got this wine.  Turns out, my brother and his friend made it!

Since then, I haven't needed red wine for cooking as much as I've needed white; so I haven't drank much red wine.  But, I was introduced to Merlot recently, when a guest brought a bottle over; and I love that deep, dark, raisiny flavour!  And recently, I tasted a Merlot from Cyprus that I absolutely loved.

When I've had more experience with reds, I'll definitely make a post about them.

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