"Recently I highlighted the Japanese citrus fruit, the satsuma. If you are fortunate enough to find them at your local market, look for ones that feel heavy for their size with glossy, fragrant peels. It's fine if the skin feels a little loose around the fruit, but the satsuma shouldn't feel squishy or look wrinkled. Another indicator of freshness at the market is whether they still have their stems and leaves. If so, look for healthy green leaves. And don't worry if there's some greenness on the peel. Sometimes the fruit inside ripens before the peel changes color. They can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, preferably in the crisper drawer.
With their intensely floral, sweet, and tangy notes, satsumas are a nice addition to boldly flavored dishes,both sweet and savory. Toss them in a salad, or use their juice and zest in cakes, or in more savory sauces and glazes. Their sweetness balances out tart flavors like cranberries or lemons. And their tartness works nicely against sweeter flavors, like brown butter, brown sugar and honey."
Layla Schlack is the author who wrote these words that appeared in the October/November issue of Fine Cooking magazine.
Today is National Coffee Day! It is a day to recognize and celebrate our country's favorite hot beverage. And in honor of the day several national chains are offering free or discounted cups of coffee.
Stop at any of Wawa's more than 700 locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida today and walk away with a free coffee of any size. Krispy Kreme is going one better by giving away a glazed doughnut with a free 12 ounce cup of coffee at their locations. And if you're on the road today Pilot Flying J is giving away a free small cup of coffee or small tea or cappuccino with an on - line coupon. Dunkin' Donuts is cutting the price of a medium sized cup of coffee to 66 cents to celebrate their 66th anniversary. When you fill up at a Sheetz gas station you can score a free cup of Joe from their self serve. And if you happen to be at the Walt Disney World Resort you can purchase a hot 16 ounce or iced 24 ounce cup of coffee for only $1. Whole Foods is going one better with a 25 cent 12 ounce cup of coffee.
If you wish to donate to a good cause on this day head over to McDonald's. When you purchase a cup of coffee there all the proceeds will be donated to Covenant House, a group that assists homeless young people. Similarly, Starbucks is going to donate one rust-resistant coffee tree for every cup of Mexico Chiapas coffee it sells on Thursday. Caribou Coffee will donate a coffee to caregivers and family members in cancer centers across the country for every cup of Amy's Blend purchased.
So sit back and smell the coffee!
Fine Cooking magazine in the October/November issue introduces us to Satsumas, one of the first citrus fruits to ripen. Along with tangerines and clementines, they are a part of the Mandarin family of small oranges with loose skin. Known to many as "honey citrus" for their sweet flavor, they are the ultimate fruit: tender, juicy, easy to peel, seedless and full of fragrant flavor.
Taking the name of a former province in Japan where they have been grown for over 700 years, they made their way to America when a general's wife sent a tree home in the late 1800s. Not long after that single arbor arrived more than a million trees were shipped to the Gulf Coast. The cold-hardy trees can withstand the region's occasional cold snaps better than other citrus varieties, so they're well suited to large-scale commercial farming there, as well as in Northern California. But their thin, delicate skin makes them difficult to ship, so the majority of satsumas are sold canned. However, improved shipping techniques have permitted them to show up across the country so many more can enjoy them fresh.
They are just now about to be harvested, so start looking for them in the produce section of your favorite market.
Dukkah is an Egyptian blend of nuts, seeds and spices that is used as an all-purpose seasoning. "It's fine enough to sprinkle on food as a garnish yet chunky enough to grab by the handful and eat as a snack." say Miki Kawasaki, writing for Serious Eats.
Meaning "to crush" in Arabic, Dukkah's ingredients vary but generally includes cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, salt, dried herbs and nuts...anything from peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts or pumpkin seeds. They are all ground into a coarse powder and used in a variety of ways. It's popular as a street food and is sold in paper cones. It is also used in homes as a breakfast or as a snack. It can be added to yogurt or hummus to spice up dips, sprinkled on veggies, or used as a rub for meat and fish. Flatbreads can be dipped into olive oil, then into dukkah as a mealtime side dish.
Miki concludes her article by exclaiming that it is a "very personal and individual mixture." Guess I'll have to travel to Cairo to find out for myself.
Baking powder is indispensable when it comes to baking. It reacts to certain ingredients and also to temperature to create tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide that make bread and other tasty treats rise.
And while a container will last a long time, unless you're a frequent baker you probably have a box in your pantry that has passed it's shelf life. That means your baked goods won't get the lift they deserve.
The website kitchn provides a simple test to help you know if the baking powder you're using will give your cakes and muffins the necessary rise. Here it is:
1. Measure out a half cup of hot tap water.
2. Add a 1/4 tsp of baking powder
3. Look for fizzing.
If the baking powder is still effective there should be an immediate bubbling or fizzing reaction. If it happens your baking powder is still good. If not, it's time to invest in a new box.
Yesterday I highlighted some of the places where sodium hides in the food we enjoy on a daily basis. This information was provided by the webpage skinnymom.com. Here is more information on the topic.
Continuing the list of the top ten culprits containing sodium:
6. Soup. Low calorie? Sure. But calories aren't everything. Most canned soups contain a ridiculous amount of sodium, so check those nutrition labels. One cup of tomato soup may only have around 75 calories, but it sports about 20 percent of your daily value of salt. A better option is to make your own soup so you can control the sodium content.
7. Processed cheese. We can only warn you so many times about processed foods. But consider that processed cheese contains a whopping amount of salt. One slice can have more than 500 mg of sodium, depending on the brand. Even the ones labeled "light" contain about 250 mg! So the term is all relative.
8. Pancakes. We may associate pancakes with sweet, heavenly goodness, but restaurants slip in a whole slew of ingredients that would shock and surprise us. Did you know that three of IHOP's buttermilk pancakes contain 1,400 mg of sodium? That's well over half of our daily value.
9. Veggie Burgers. Most veggie and soy burgers out there are packed with processed ingredients. The companies that produce them often add a boatload of sodium to cover up the taste. Some of these burgers can include more than 500 mg of salt, and that's before you tack on the bun and condiments.
10. Breakfast Cereals. Sugar? sure. But sodium? Believe it or not, most of our favorite cereals are loaded with a surprising amount of salt. Fiber One honey Clusters lists its sodium content at 230 mg, or about 10%. Stick with the cereals like shredded wheat or oatmeal to avoid hidden salt.
We all are well aware that we should carefully monitor our salt intake. The American Heart Association recommends that we not consume more than 1,500 mg of sodium daily. They also point out that 75% of our sodium intake comes from processed foods, not the salt shaker.
Unfortunately many of our favorite foods sneak sodium into our diet. Reading labels closely is one good way to take caution and avoid consuming too much salt.
The skinnymom.com website offers some sage advice concerning foods that we often enjoy but that put sodium onto our plates and into our mouths. In a two part installment I will highlight the 10 offenders listed. Here are the first 5:
1. Sauces: Beware of pasta sauces, salad dressings and marinades! Even a single serving can clock in at 15% of your daily sodium quota. And that includes ketchup that we slather on our burgers and fries, too. Two tablespoons contain nearly 13% of your daily value.
2. Cold Cuts: Even if you avoid the pre-packaged stuff and head straight for the deli, there's a good chance your meat is packing quite a bot of salt. A mere 2 ounce serving of turkey can bring you to about half of your daily sodium allowance.
3. Cottage Cheese: One cup of cottage cheese boasts only 200 calories, 28 grams of high-power protein, and just 8 grams of carbs for a snack that is perfect for those watching their waistlines. However, it also has about 40% of your daily value of salt, so you may want to consider low-sodium cottage cheese, or Greek yogurt.
4. Bagels: Most people are not aware that bread is actually a major source of sodium. A plain bagel contains about 460 mg of salt - or around 19% of your daily value. An everything bagel boosts that number up to 640 mg!
5. Chicken breasts: And here we were thinking that chicken was a tasty, lean addition to our menu! Some companies inject their meat with salt water to make it plumper and to enhance the flavor. Unfortunately it also jacks up the sodium content to about 400 mg instead of the original 40.
Regrettably I must take a temporary leave of absence to work on healing from a nagging medical condition. I hope to be back on line in the near future.
Thanks for your understanding and support!
Vinny
As many of you know, I travel the globe attending food festivals. I've been to a garlic festival in California, a chili cook-off in Galveston, a chowder competition in Newport, Rhode Island and a fiery foods festival in Albuquerque. But there is one festival that I think I will take a pass on: the La Tomatina Food Fight Festival in Bunol, Spain.
It was held last Wednesday in the small town not far from Valencia, as it has been each year on the last Wednesday in August since its inception in 1944. No one is exactly sure how it began. Some say it started as a friendly end of summer event among neighbors, others theorize that disgruntled town folk pelted city councilmen with the over ripe red orbs. But it has become a tradition in the town of 9,000 people in honor of their patron saint, Luis Bertran.
Thousands flock into Bunol each year to participate. It has now become a ticket only event limited to 20,000 people. At 11am a water cannon is set off signaling the start of the giant food fight. Over 100 metric tons of over ripe tomatoes are trucked in and ready to be thrown. The free for all lasts for an hour and by the end of that time everybody and everything is awash in red. There are few rules, but an important one is strictly enforced. All tomatoes must be squished first before being thrown. Old clothes and goggles are strongly advised!
At the conclusion the town's fire trucks are brought in to hose down the buildings and streets. The water is supplied from an old Roman aqueduct.
It's quite a mess, but at least it's safer than the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona.
Remember that old saying about an apple a day? Well, it's true! Researchers have concluded from a recent study that pectin, a type of fiber found in apples, can increase the "good" bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract which, in turn, aids in digestion.
To receive all the benefits of pectin, keep the peel on the apple. An apple with a peel contains more than twice the fiber as one without. And if you can find them at the market, try a Honeycrisp or Pink Lady variety for their sweet flavor!
