Spinach can be frozen for storage. Because spinach is an early spring plant, a huge harvest can be laid in early and then pulled before the summer-loving plants like cucumbers are ready to sow. But, maybe you’re not a gardener. Maybe you’re just one of those people who have a hard time using a whole…
Vegetable stock
Make Your Own Tahini
Tahini, a paste made from roasted sesame seeds, is one of those unusual foods that has gotten slapped with the labels “ethnic” and “vegan.” That’s no reason to give it the cold shoulder. The odds are that you probably have had tahini pass your lips, though, especially if you’ve ever enjoyed a hummus dip. I…
No-Bake Maple Granola Clusters
So, funny story… a local farmer here sells gluten-free and organic rolled oats for a smashing good price here. In fact, she sells them to health stores all around southern Ontario. Unfortunately, they usually end up in the bulk bins for 2-3x the price and where they run the risk of being cross contaminated. So…
Apple Molasses
I love historical minutiae as much as I love science. It could be a related phenomena… there is just so much to KNOW (also, keeps me thinking, helps me try to recover from baby brain…). For instance: carrots giving you better eyesight? TOTAL URBAN LEGEND. That’s right. If you grew up thinking carrots helped you…
Gluten Free Apple Brown Betty Muffins
It was National Brown Betty day on October 5, and I’m a day late in getting up my celebration for it as usual! I had actually prepared it twice just last week, but utter exhaustion, smartphones and WordPress just don’t seem to get along. The “brown Betty” had its name bestowed in dubious quotation marks back in…
Homemade Pectin
My friend Jennifer at Homegrown.org recently asked me to write up a 101 on making homemade pectin instead of using store-bought powdered stuff with dubious GMO ingredients. I happily complied, since I’ve got the hots for scientific research of the food variety. 🙂 You can find the entire 101 article at http://www.homegrown.org/forum/topics/making-pectin-101
Vanilla Sugar
Vanilla beans are often overlooked as a expensive, inconvenient, “I-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-this” product. It is true that they take a little getting used to compared to the ubiquitous vanilla extract, and they are definitely a premium item. But, if you can find it in your heart to buy some beans just once, vanilla sugar might win you…
Crème Pâtissière
(AKA Pastry Cream!) Crème Pâtissière is, at the center of it’s little French heart, just a custard thickened with a starch to make a sturdy confectioner’s product. By the way, custards themselves have a long and colourful history, dating back as far as the Middle Ages! Who knew? Well, that means it definitely counts as retro!…