Hello again everybody! Today’s question will be short and sweet – and it will come from me.

As you all know, I went into a kind of radio silence when I buckled down to look for work. The situation got a little tight with cash flow, so I needed to concentrate 100% on getting the employment I needed to make a contribution to my household. Phew! That was a tough month, that’s for sure.

I am happy to report that I am gainfully employed, and the last 5 weeks have been spent in intense training. That said, my baby here has never been far from my mind. My Evernote account is overflowing with ideas on posts, recipes, and tutorials.

That brings me to the meat of the day – my question to you, dear readers.

What is it that you want to see me cover?

I know that it is a very general question. I know that I have a lot to offer you – but I don’t know where you would like me to go.

So, dear reader. Let me know in the comments, or even contact me on my Ask the Chef page. I will listen and respond to all questions and comments that I get.

I am here for you, so tell me what you want to see!

Just a quick note to let you all know I am still alive and kicking. I have been absent as I am thrusting all my energies into getting gainfully employed!

I will be back, with good news!

Thank you for reading.

Always,

The Well Done Chef

Keith Hache asks:

Do you have some recipe starters for making a simmering sauce for meat? I have been making pulled pork and am making a slow-cooked shredded beef. Once I slow cook it and shred it, I like to toss it in with some simmering sauce. Usually this is just BBQ sauce with some soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce for acidity. I’d like to do it homemade style and I don’t mind taking my time to make it.
Ideas?
I’d like to make one a little sweeter and one with a bit more spice.

So, here is where I go with this stuff – you do this in the crock-pot, right?
Most BBQ sauces are based with ketchup (sometimes even mustard,) a vinegar, sugar, and seasoning. Especially important is ginger and garlic. (preferably fresh.) my go-to sauce is 1 part ketchup to 1/2 part vinegar, 1/2 part molasses, then lots of ginger, Worcestershire, soy sauce, chipotle Tabasco, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, Szechwan peppercorns and sea salt.
Another one to try is an Asian style. So, beef broth, soy sauce, sake, ginger, sesame oil, green onions, Asian pears, and then finally some Sambal Oelek (or even rooster sauce in a pinch.) Marinate your beef in that, then cook them slowly in the marinade – it’ll make a sauce that’s orgasmic.

DINESH wrote:

What is meant by standardisation of recipes?

Good question Dinesh. A while back I wrote a post on recipe standardization. You can find it here. The cliff notes version is – a recipe becomes standardized when it is written in a way that it can be executed exactly the same way using the written list of ingredients, and the steps to create the recipe.

Connect with the Well Done Chef

Don’t forget about our BlenderBottle Giveaway! Contest ends March 1st, at 23h59.

I am never far from that sucky string called the Interwebs. You can get a hold of me many ways:

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BMan asks:

Just doing some late night research. I am trying to find some new foods to add some variety to my diet and I was wondering if you have tired these beans Chana Dal? Did you have problems with spikes?

Well, I can tell you that for me, I have a bit of spike in blood sugar when eating pulses, legumes, and other low-GI foods. It isn’t so miserable for me, but my experience will be different than yours. (I am just a chef and writer after all.)

I can’t say that I have tried Chana Dal – as from what I gather it’s a black chickpea that has the skin removed, that resembles a split pea. The closest I have eaten is a dish made is with garbanzo beans (chickpeas.)

In that end, I think a few dishes here and there with chickpeas would be exactly what the chef ordered, wouldn’t you say?

ZKo asks:

Can any one recommend a Caesar dressing i could buy or make prefer to buy but if have to make will do.

Great question! At it’s base, Caesar dressing is only:

• fresh crushed garlic
• wine vinegar
• lemon juice or lime juice – fresh squeezed
• Worcestershire sauce
• raw egg yolks
• olive oil
• salt to taste
• fresh-ground black pepper
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

The idea is to make a dressing out of these ingredients – with the vinegar and lemon juice being around 1 part to 3 parts olive oil. The rest of the ingredients are just for flavor.

If you really want to cheat, then use an olive oil mayo, and just add the lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and parmesan cheese to it – and voila! Caesar dressing! Would you all be interested in a Caesar dressing recipe from WDC?

Robert asks:

Following the planting of a few tomatoes a few months ago that have gone wild, my interest in growing other edibles has become an obsession with my herbal jungle increasing daily.
Nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own produce (preferably organic) and making it a good part of a healthy meal. We have had ideal growing conditions in Melbourne, Australia this year and most varieties are booming.
Chili, celery, spring onions, sweet potatoes (a little late, or early however they are going great), mints, beetroot, basils and others make some interesting dishes.
For those space restricted, a few pots with some quality potting mix or good garden soil can produce an abundance of healthy goodies.
With the never ending spiral of governments taxing anything that breathes or looks like it still has a few left, banks anouncing mega profits and crying poor, power companies hiking prices every time someone mentions CO2 any money saved is a bonus.
Excercise is an added bonus while pottering around in the garden also smake for a healthy lifestyle.
Let those green fingers go wild!

I agree Robert. In fact, get involved with my Garden Project as it progresses through the year.

Do You Have a Question For me?

I am never far from that sucky string called the Interwebs. You can get a hold of me many ways:

• Follow @Jason_Sandeman on Twitter.
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Srdjan Ostric asks:

Do you have any experience with Jerusalem artichokes? Are they very starchy or can they be a mashed potato low carb substitute?

Jerusalem artichokes are indeed starchy – but the starch is not like those in potatoes. It is inulin, something that doesn’t absorb like a regular carbohydrate does, so it doesn’t count as high in carbohydrates.

With that said, I can’t say they would be a perfect mashed potato substitute, (as nothing really is…) but they do the job. I have seen shepherd’s pie made with them, gratin-style dishes, and they turn out okay.

When you are making soup, you can use them as is, but keep in mind that they will add a distinct taste to your soup.

They are best steamed or roasted – that way they retain their shape. You can puree them, but you will find the consistency is a little more mushy than regular mashed potatoes.

Grant asks:

Do you have any good vegetarian ideas???

Just add meat? Seriously though – great question. I can understand the allure for eating vegetarian. I don’t agree with the dogma, but that’s just my opinion.

When I have a client that requests something vegetarian, I try my best to offer what I am making as a meat course, but in a vegetarian style. I do this for two reasons: so they person doesn’t feel like they are left out of the main course meal of others, and so it is easier for the cooks to implement on the fly.

An example of this philosophy would work well in a steak house. Granted – it’s probably rare that a vegan is going to show up in a steakhouse, but it does happen. Instead of humming and hawing over what to serve, a nice portabella mushroom that is marinated in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and herbs can be grilled just like a steak and even served at the same table as the rest of the meat eaters – and the vegan doesn’t feel left out.

Other dishes could be a vegetarian moussaka in lieu of a meat moussaka, or a shepherd’s pie that is made with lentils instead of lamb or beef. The possibilities are endless, once you start to think outside what the main meat dish would be.

Zelina Stelter asks:

The soy thing is an issue for us as well. My daughter is on thyroid medication which means we must avoid soy. As very minimal meat eaters we need a protein substitute that does not have soy. So difficult…..we are sick of eggs and beans.

That is a great question! I can’t really speak about the health effects of soy, as I’m just a cook – and I don’t have any background in the science behind goiter genic foods, or the other demons soybeans seem to harbor.

If you have a problem with soy, then more than ever, make it yourself! You can still enjoy eating foods that you like – and being a minimal meat eater does not mean that you need replace everything with tofu! The best option I know of for your situation is a traditional Asian way of eating. A small amount of meat, a load of vegetables, all cooked in traditional fats like pork, chicken, or coconut. The idea is to pack as much exciting flavor into your dish as you can. Oh yes, then a little bit of meat.

I know that it is really difficult in this day and age to find something that doesn’t have soy in it. It’s a huge business down South, and soy creeps into EVERYTHING. Soy is heavily subsidized, so is cheap to produce. In fact, sometimes it’s even found in innocent-looking “whole” foods like frozen chicken breasts.

It’s a no-brainer to avoid processed foods, but keep in mind that seasoning mixes will have soy in them, so will marinades, mayo, anything that is a convenience product. Unfortunately that means you will have to make most things by yourself – but then again – that’s what I am here for!

The best way to avoid any soy is to eat organic, whole foods in the way they come closest in nature. So, instead of boneless, skinless chicken breast in the freezer, opt for the whole chicken instead. Yes, that means you will have to cut it yourself, and I have that covered too – check here.

Finally, have a see if your daughter can have fermented soy products. I have read that they may not cause problems with thyroid, as long as they are prepared properly, and are organic. Examples of this are natto, tempeh, miso, and good soy sauces. These products will go a long way to make your food taste great again!

It’s coming down to the wire for the Garden Poll!

Help me decide what to grow this year, take the poll! http://poll.fm/f/3if9h. You can also vote on the sidebar if you like.

Do You Have a Question For me?

I am never far from that sucky string called the Interwebs. You can get a hold of me many ways:

• Follow @Jason_Sandeman on Twitter.
• Like the Well Done Chef! on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the Well Done Chef’s YouTube Page
• Add the Well Done Chef! to a Google+ page.
• Ask me a question from my Ask the Chef! page.

Subscribe to the Well Done Chef by the RSS feed or subscribe to Well Done Chef! by email.

Stacy asks:

I need help getting my numbers down without taking drugs. What should I eat so I don’t have to take insulin anymore?

Well, here is a pipe-bomb waiting to happen. Here’s the thing – I am not a nutritionist, dietitian, medical professional, or licensed in any way to give you this information. Therefore, I don’t. My best advice to you, the only one that I can give – is for you to do some research into what protocol that you want to try out, then find yourself a health care team that will work with you on that.

There has been controversy on the blogosphere lately about whether a blogger should be allowed to give dietary advice. I have no problem giving GENERAL advice, but when it becomes specific, (like in the case of diabetes.) then I am not comfortable giving you advice that could directly affect your health. I don’t know your medical history, I don’t have the tools to assess your situation, and I don’t have the know-how to give you a meal plan that will help you.

Heck, I;m still trying to figure out my own!

Keith Hache asks:

Any good recipes for Quinoa?

Great question! Quinoa is all the rage these days. I used to make a lot of it at Jasper Park Lodge – but usually into a salad that no one ate.

These days, people put it into soups, make salads out of it, use it instead of rice for pilafs, the possibilities are endless!

One of the best resources I have found is Heidi over at 101 Cookbooks. She has a good selection of recipes you can look at for Quinoa.

I will be posting something on Quinoa soon, too.

Amanda Mosher asks:

Can very cold temperatures affect cooking times?

Great question! My answer is… it depends what you are cooking with.

In terms of electric ovens, as long as the door is kept closed, your cooking time should not suffer. Just remember that every time you open your oven door, all the heat rushes out as the oven temperature normalizes with the temperatures outside the oven.

If your house or apartment is colder in the winter, then it will take longer for the oven to heat up to the proper temperature. The difference can be a startling 50-100 degrees depending on how long the oven door is opened, which will lengthen your cooking time.

As for cooking on a barbecue – it really depends on how your barbecue is insulated. (Which directly points how expensive your barbecue is.) For the barbecues I use, the cooking time is slightly increased (as long as I remember to keep the lid down most often.) This is because some of the heat is lost through the lid, and to keep the fire itself hot enough to cook with. That’s why I avoid barbecuing in the winter as much as possible. (Plus, it’s freaking cold!)

Do You Have a Question For me?

I am never far from that sucky string called the Interwebs. You can get a hold of me many ways:

• Follow @Jason_Sandeman on Twitter.
• Like the Well Done Chef! on Facebook.
• Subscribe to the Well Done Chef’s YouTube Page
• Add the Well Done Chef! to a Google+ page.
• Ask me a question from my Ask the Chef! page.

Subscribe to the Well Done Chef by the RSS feed or subscribe to Well Done Chef! by email.

Well, it’s Monday again, and I’m here to answer your questions. Let’s get started.

Alexandra Nicholson asks:

I would like to make natural homemade baby food – not really a question but i figure you can help.

Well, you won’t hear any argument from me on that. While it is easier to buy canned baby food, one has to wonder what actually goes into it. Couple that with all the scares we have been having lately, I don’t blame you.

Back when my son was born, I was all gung-ho about making our own food, and searched a lot of places. I finally came across a book (from a dietician here in Montreal no less,) that I feel has the best information, instructions, and book out there.

You can buy the book here through the link in my Amazon store. I put it up there for you or anyone who is interested in making your own baby foods. The best part is that it is really straight forward – nothing too hard.

Michelle Bertrand asks:

If you’re looking to dumb a post down for the layperson (like me lol)… how to pair herbs and spices with meat and veg. I never know what goes with what or what combinations might taste good unless it’s in a recipe, so I usually tend to do the same ol’ same ol’

Ah! This is one of those times that the Flavor Bible comes in handy! When I look up my favorite herb, Rosemary, I find a lot of things:

It goes especially well with Lamb, Grilled fish, Chicken, Garlic, and grilled meats in general. It pairs well with potatoes, peppers, beans, and olive oil. A lesser known pairing could even be apples and apricots.

If you are interested in playing around with herbs, I suggest giving the Flavor Bible a try. In the meantime, I will definitely have some herb related posts for you coming up in the next few weeks!

Tony Kuriger asks:

How to make things better using vinegar. Matching variety to purpose.

This is a good one. There are so many types and varieties of vinegars, it’s really hard to answer this one. How you use a vinegar really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

For example, a tomato soup may taste a bit flat. The addition of acid to the soup may brighten the flavors a bit. Before you rush off to grab any old bottle of vinegar, you need to think about the profile of the soup. I would never put white vinegar in the tomato soup, it would be too pungent and strong. Balsamic vinegar would be good, or perhaps an aged balsamic drizzled on top would be even better.

If you are looking for a delicate touch, a few drops of champagne vinegar would make a fish dish taste more ethereal.

Perhaps you are eating a foie grass dish – in that case a ice wine vinegar would rock the boat.

Do you have a question for me? You can contact me through the Ask the Chef! page, my Facebook Fan Page, my Google+ account, my YouTube Channel, or my Twitter account.

Hello all! It’s Monday, let’s get into this week’s questions:

Jennifer asks

Can I cook the seasoned pork loin roast in the Crockpot?

Absolutely! There is nothing like setting your Crockpot on in the morning to come home with the mouthwatering aroma of a fully cooked meal. The only thing to worry about is the amount of fat in your roast. When you are buying the seasoned roast, it’s usually flavored by a marinade. Unfortunately, there is no extra marinade that you can add to the crock to ensure the meat stays moist.

The way to get around this is to add a bit of good fat to the crock with your vegetables and liquid. While your roast is cooking the fat in the pot will self-baste the meat and ensure that it remains tender. If you’ve ever eaten a stringy pot roast, you have suffered from a roast that is way too lean.

Which fats to add? If you are using a pork roast that is marinaded in a sweet marinade, then add a touch of coconut oil, butter, or chicken fat. If the marinade is a bit stronger, (such as an Asian style,) then you can add either olive oil, pork fat, or even sesame oil.

Darren asks:

Do I have to cut the lemons re: preserved lemons k I’ll take a look cause I’ve seen two different way, some say cut lemon into 1/4 wedges and some say cut them but leave attached etc..

I have a recipe for preserved lemons here. It’s really up to you how you want your lemons cut. I have seen the lemons peeled first, then chopped up, brined, then covered with vinegar.

I have always just cut them into quarters, but not all the way through. The reasoning for this – you can put the salt in the inside, and the salt in the outside will all melt together with the weight of the lemons as the vessel fills up. If the lemons are fully cut, then it is harder to get the liquid out of the lemons because there isn’t any weight pressing them down.

If speed is an issue, you can even use a Food Saver to suck out the air in the bag, which will speed up the pickling time.

Dawn asks:

how do they get the gelato so smooth? is it because of the lack of cream or the lack of milk? or is it in the amount of air in the mixture?

This is a tricky question – bear with me while I geek out for a second.

There are a few things that makes ice cream, sorbets, and gelati have a nice, smooth consistency. (Also known as mouth feel.) They are: crystals, fat, overrun, and stabilizers.

The quicker the ice cream freezes, the larger the ice crystals are in the final product. The factories slow the process by freezing the gelati on a large conveyor belt over a long period of time. While this is happening, it is being churned, which introduces air into the mixture. This is known as overrun.

The more fat there is in the base, the better the mouth feel. The thing is, gelati tend to have less fat than the American ice cream base. To get around this, traditionally the Gelaterie let the mixture cure for a while (usually overnight,) to allow the flavors to develop, and the sugars to bind to what little fats there are. Barring that, a stabilizer is usually added. (I am not sure what is in them, just that they are marketed as sorbet or ice cream stabilizer. Usually it’s agar agar, or something else made from a seaweed product.)

The problem with home made gelati is that the mixture is frozen quickly, without very much overrun. (Remember… air incorporated.) The flavors are be more intense, but as there isn’t as much air, it’s not as smooth. That’s also why your cost is more to make it at home than in the factory – you have less air!

How do we fix that? Make your mixture, allow it to “cure” overnight, and perhaps use a stabilizer to make it smoother. You will have to eat your creation within a few days so it won’t gather big ice crystals. I’m imagining that won’t be a problem though.

Do you have a question for me? You can contact me through the Ask the Chef! page, my Facebook Fan Page, myGoogle+ account, my YouTube Channel, or my Twitter account.

Good Monday to all of you out there. Yes, it’s been a while, and No, I don’t have any excuses. I am back though, so let’s get this Ask the Chef! episode started!

Andy wrote:

Chef-
I’m lactose intolerant and have a stupid-but necessary-question for you; does
substituting soy milk for milk/cream in recipes work? I’m new to the kitchen and
didn’t want to accidentally render one of my first efforts inedible through
ignorance. Thanks!
Andy

Great question Andy! I have never had a problem with substituting soy milk for milk in the past. I have only ever done it a handful of times, so I looked online, and through several of my Asian cookbooks. In most cases, you can substitute the soy milk as if it were a dairy product. The only roadblock you need worry about is whether the soy milk is sweetened or not. You can imagine what a cream soup would taste like with a sweetened soy milk – and I am sure you wouldn’t make that mistake twice!

Harry Conrad wrote:

I am wanting to start exercising with the p90x and was wondering if you have
found any other remedies to the diet plan and the recovery bars that they
recommend I read your posting about the recovery drinks and I am about to give
those a try. Thank you in advance for any information you can give me.

Harry

Good for you, Harry. I did a few turns at P90X, and I agree, it can be brutal. I have a couple recipes for recovery drinks that Harry is speaking about here, and here.

The diet plan is a bit tricky for those who want to go on the Primal Path. What I tried to do was follow the plan, yet ignore the advice about using egg whites, or lean meats. You might be interested in checking out Mark’s Daily Apple – the founder of that site is none other than Mark Sisson, who you see at the end of every P90X video talking about supplements.

Recovery bars present a bit of a challenge. You can go for the lower-carb ones at the store, but they are prohibitively expensive. Mark Sisson has a beauty recipe for a Primal Bar – but be careful; they are addictive!

Garry Hannay wrote:

I am manager of a restaurant and we have started making hibiscus tea. A customer
said it did not taste right, it tasted ok to me. It was prepared maybe 4 days
ago. It is constantly refridgerated but can hibiscus tea go off?

I have never had hibiscus tea go off before, so this one is new to me. Here are a couple of my thoughts on this:

Tea will start to taste a bit stale after several days of refrigeration, but should not develop an off taste. If the tea is sour, then I would ask – how the tea was cooled before it was refrigerated?

I have seen liquids sour quickly because the cook put them away before they were properly cooled. While it is good to have the product refrigerated constantly, if the middle of the liquid is still hot when you put it into the refrigerator, that can cause some issues.

If you continue to have problems, another way is to infuse a simple syrup with the flowers, then dilute in ice water per order for your patrons.

I hope that helps you out Garry! Thanks for asking.

Do you have a question for me? You can contact me through the Ask the Chef! page, my Facebook Fan Page, myGoogle+ account, my YouTube Channel, or my Twitter account.

Terri writes:

Hi Jason. I happened onto your blog as a result of my ongoing research into the Paleo diet. I am a T2D on 115 units of insuling morning and night. I am about 50lbs overweight, suffer from severe diabetic neuropathy requiring morophine and hydrocodone in order to function a normal work day, P.A.D., and hypertension. The hypertension is under control with medication as well. My BG is running tight between 80-100 for the past year and now I am looking to the Paleo diet to hopefully lose the lbs, reduce the insulin intake, and hoepfully get off the pain medications. My main concern is I fight daily to prevent too low of sugars (and there is nothing worse than that feeling when your BG is too low) and I worry that the Paleo diet might exacerbate that problem. I have googled everything I can about T2D and Paleo diet without much success on people’s experience. Do you have any resources that you can direct me to? I am open to all recommendations. Thanks.

Wow. Straight up? I am NOT a doctor, or an endocrinologist. I am someone who is passionate about doing the right thing, eating right to fix your problems.

That said, there are plenty of resources out there that claim to help the insulin resistance via diet – be it Paleo, Primal, or just low carb. The main problem that I run into is that there is nothing out there that shows a T1D controlling their blood sugar with the lifestyle and NOT running into problems.

Harder still, there are few Endocrinologists out there that will help out with the low carb approach, much less a paleo approach. I don’t blame them; they are following clinical procedure and practices set out from a dietary approach that approaches nutrition from the “cover what you eat” paradigm.

That said, there are resources out there that show anedoctally that you can control your sugars with Paleo, Primal, or low carb. The problem is they are more geared towards prediabetic or T2 patients who are not on insulin. (The risks of hypoglycemia are not a major factor then.)

Treat the advice from the list of links below with a grain of salt:

Robb Wolf Paleo Solution

Marks Daily Apple

Diabetes Warrior

The only approach I know of that can be used AND is backed up by an endocrinologist who is ALSO a T1D is Dr Richard Bernstein. His approach is a very low carb (less than 30 grams a day) that can be adapted to the paleo lifestyle. In the excellent book “The Diabetes Solution,” there are numerous methods to adapting the low carb lifestyle and insulin needs. In my opinion, EVERY diabetic should have this book like the bible. Even if you don’t follow the guidelines, the information inside is priceless. (The link to the book title goes to my Amazon store – and I would maybe get a coffee if you bought it from there.)

Good luck with your journey Terri, and I hope that you find the answers you need.

Do you have a question for me? You can contact me through the Ask the Chef! page, my Facebook Fan Page, myTuDiabetes account, my YouTube Channel, or my Twitter account.