Monthly Archives: November 2020

English Muffins

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  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cups milk
  • 1/2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • In a medium bowl, add the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix briefly.
  • In a separate jug, add the milk, water, and butter. Pop it into the microwave for 15-30 seconds or until it’s lukewarm and the butter has melted. Take care not to let it get too hot.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until you form a dough. The dough will be quite soft and a little sticky. (NOTE: See video about holding back liquid until you get the right consistency of dough).
  • Once the dough has come together, just scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover tightly with cling wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Now let it sit at room temperature for a minimum of 12-18 hours. (If you want to cook off your muffins at a later time then pop the dough in the fridge after 18 hours) 
  • The next morning, the dough will have doubled in size. Turn it out onto a floured surface.  Cover with cling wrap and a kitchen towel and let rest for just 10 minutes.
  • After resting, the gluten will have relaxed. You can now roll it out to about 2 cm or slightly over an inch in thickness. (In the video I said roll to 1 cm however I found this to be very thin later)
  • Using a 3-inch cookie cutter dusted in flour, cut out rounds and transfer them to another a baking tray lined with parchment. Any scraps can you re-rolled and made into another muffin. Note: At this point, you can place the muffins in the fridge to be cooked off later.
  • Cover the muffins with plastic wrap and a tea towel and let it rest for about 40-45 minutes. After 45 minutes, the dough circles will have puffed up a little. Proceed to cook!

Cooking the English Muffins:

  • Heat a large nonstick frying pan over a steady, medium to medium-low heat.
  • Using a flat spatula, carefully move over the English muffins onto to a non stick frying pan and cover with a lid.
  • Leave at least a 2 inches between each muffin. It makes 8-10 muffins so you will probably need to cook them off in two batches. Take extra care when moving your muffins to avoid compressing the dough and knocking out the bubbles.
  • Cook on this side for about 6-7 minutes. The steam created with the lid on will help the muffins rise and cook through fully.
  • Flip over and cook on the other side for another 3-4 minutes. 
  • Set the muffins aside to cool down before eating them fresh. These muffins also toast up really well. 
  • Store for 4 days at room temperature or freeze for up to 8 weeks. 

Instant Pot Pickled Beets

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  • 2 cups peeled and diced yellow beets
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 whole cinnamon stick
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 tbsp. maple syrup, optional
  1. Mix all the ingredients in your 3 quart Instant Pot (or double or triple for larger IPs).  
  2. Cook on manual/pressure cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
  3. Release pressure manually. Store in fridge. 

French Chicken Casserole

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  • 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
  • 3 large shallots, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 pound baby gold potatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Season chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside. Add mushrooms, shallots and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender and browned, about 5-7 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in chicken stock, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf and potatoes. Return chicken to the skillet. Place into oven and bake until potatoes are tender and chicken has completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 40-45 minutes. Stir in heavy cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.


Lemon and Ginger Curd

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  • 4 large lemons unwaxed or wash thoroughly first
  • 225 g caster sugar
  • 115 g unsalted butter
  • 1 lump of stem ginger and a teaspoon of the syrup from a jar
  • 4 medium eggs
  • Zest the lemons and squeeze out the juice. Put this into a bowl that sits on top of a pot of simmering water. Add the sugar, ginger (finely chopped) and ginger syrup and butter (also chopped). Stir to mix thoroughly and let everything melt together.
  • Take the pot and bowl combo off the heat once it has got to this stage. Whisk the eggs in a jug and pour this gently into the lemony mixture. Put it back on the heat and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the curd sticks to the back of the spoon
  • Pour into a couple of sterilised jars, and store in the fridge, use within 2 weeks

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

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POTATOES

  • 1 lb baby yellow, gold, or red potatoes (we prefer gold), peeled or unpeeled, cut into ~1 inch uniform chunks (1 lb yields ~3 cups chopped)
  • 1/2 cup water (or for more flavor sub vegetable broth or chicken broth if not vegetarian or vegan)

SEASONING

  • 2 Tbsp vegan butter (we prefer Miyoko’s // or sub organic cultured dairy butter)
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (optional, plus more to taste)
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
  • 2-4 Tbsp dairy-free milk (plain, unsweetened // optional // only if needed)

GARNISH optional

  • Fresh parsley
  • Vegan butter (we prefer Miyoko’s // or sub organic cultured dairy butter)
  • Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  • If peeling potatoes, do so first (we prefer peeling some and leaving the skin on a few for a bit of texture, but feel free to skip peeling for more rustic texture or to peel all for smooth and creamy potatoes). Then cut potatoes into ~1 inch uniform chunks and add to Instant Pot (DO NOT use the trivet) with water or broth.
  • Cover with lid, press “PRESSURE COOK”, and set to high for 5 minutes. It will take ~5 minutes to come to pressure before beginning the 5 minute countdown. NOTE: For larger batches, increase proportions of potatoes, water, and seasonings, but leave cooking time the same.
  • Once the timer goes off, carefully quick release, making sure to avoid steam coming from the release valve. If you can’t get to it right away, it’s also okay to allow a natural release.
  • Check the potatoes with a knife to ensure all are easily pierced and very easy to mash. If they’re not, put the lid back on and “keep warm” for 5-10 minutes more or until all potatoes are tender to allow for easy mashing.
  • There’s no need to drain any water out as it will be used to help mash the potatoes. This also helps retain more nutrients from the potatoes. Use a potato masher (or large fork) to mash the potatoes. Then add butter of choice, garlic (optional), and salt and pepper.
  • Mash until desired consistency is reached. Mash more for creamier potatoes, less for chunkier potatoes.
  • Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more salt or pepper to taste, butter for buttery flavor/richness, or dairy-free milk as needed to thin (just be sure not to add too much or your mash can become runny).
  • Serve hot, garnish with parsley (optional) or more butter, salt, and pepper. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month (though best when fresh). Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding more butter or milk of choice as needed.

Soy Sauce Instant Pot Pork Belly

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  1. Grab your Instant Pot. Turn on the sauté setting, and add the oil and ginger. Let it caramelize for about 30 seconds. Then add the scallions and cook another 30 seconds. Add the star anise, rice wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and water.
  2. Close the lid of the instant pot, and make sure you have your vent set so it is not venting. Cook for 5 minutes on the high pressure setting.
  3. Safely release pressure, open the lid when safe, and carefully lower the pork belly into the instant pot.
  4. Cook the pork for 20 minutes on the high pressure setting. Allow the pressure to release naturally once the timer has gone off. Once safe to open, retrieve the pork belly, and cut into smaller chunks as desired.
  5. Serve over rice with sauce spooned over the top, along with a stir-fried green veggie of your choice.
  6. Let the braising liquid cool, and store it in containers in the freezer. When you need it again, let it thaw in the refrigerator and throw it back in the instant pot with an additional ½ cup Shaoxing wine, ½ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar to bring it back to the right flavor concentrations.


Apple Cider

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  • 10–12 medium apples (assorted types), quartered
    2 oranges, quartered (also peeled, if you would like your cider less tart*)
    4 cinnamon sticks
    1 tablespoon whole cloves
    optional extra seasonings: 1 teaspoon whole allspice, 1 whole nutmeg, and/or 1 inch fresh ginger
    16 cups water, more or less
    1/2 cup sweetener (I recommend brown sugar or maple syrup)

Combine your ingredients in a stockpot.  Add the apples, oranges, cinnamon, cloves and (optional) extra seasonings to a large stockpot.  Cover with water, leaving about an inch or two of space at the top of the stockpot. Simmer.  Heat the cider over high heat until it reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until the apples are completely soft. Mash the apples and oranges.  Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, take a minute to mash all of the apples and oranges against the side of the stockpot to release more of their flavors.  Then cover and simmer for 1 more hour. Strain.  Using a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth, strain out all of the solids (apples, oranges, spices), pressing them against the strainer to release all of their juices.  Discard the solids. Sweeten.  Stir in your desired amount of sweetener, to taste.

Canned Tomato Sauce

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  • 45 pounds of tomatoes
  • 6 cups chopped onions (I use a food processor for this)
  • 12 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar (more to taste)
  • ¼ cup coarse sea salt (more to taste)
  • Bottled lemon juice (2 tablespoons per quart jar)
  • A water bath canner

Wash the tomatoes and remove the ends and any damaged spots. Quarter them and deseed them by running your fingers down the middle and scraping out the bulk of the seeds and juice. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor or blender.

(OR, you can run the tomatoes through a food mill and save yourself a lot of time! When I’m using my food mill, I wash them, remove any bad spots, and that’s it– the machine does the rest.)

Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, pepper, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and allow to reduce by about one-half. If you are using very juicy tomatoes, this can take 3-5 hours.

The most important part of homemade tomato sauce is the tasting! Tomatoes greatly differ from variety to variety, so you must taste as you go.

In order to keep the ratios of high acid to low acid foods at a safe level in this recipe, you cannot increase the amount of onions or garlic you use, but you CAN increase the herbs, sugar, or salt.

Once the sauce has reduced by half and the flavor is where you want it to be, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to each pint jar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each quart jar.

Ladle the sauce into the jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Process pints for 35 minutes and quarts for 40 minutes in a hot water bath canner. (Keep in mind that you may have to adjust your processing time according to your altitude.)

REMEMBER: Don’t start timing until the water has returned to a boil with the filled jars inside.

Store your sealed jars in a cool, dark place. I use this all-purpose sauce in all sorts of recipes- add basil and oregano to give it an Italian twist, or add chili powder and cumin for Mexican food.

Notes

  • Most recipes will suggest that you peel the tomatoes before you puree them. Since I despise peeling tomatoes (it’s ok for a handful, but when you’re dealing with 60 pounds of small tomatoes, it’s an utter nightmare), I always just run mine through my food mill instead. In the past when I didn’t have a food mill, I would deseed and then puree them (with the skin on). Sometimes you’ll find a bit of peel in your finished sauce, but I absolutely do not think it’s offensive at all. It’s a small price to pay to avoid the monotony of peeling a million tomatoes.
  • To make this more of an Italian-style sauce, add 3 tablespoons dried oregano and 3 tablespoons dried basil (or to taste)
  • Sugar is important in tomato sauce recipes to help cut the acidity. However, you can leave it out if you  wish.
  • DRIED herbs and spices won’t effect the ratios of this recipe at all, so you can safely remove or add them, according to your own taste.
  • My favorite tomatoes to grow for making canned tomato sauce are Roma or San Marzanos.