I recently posted an attempt to make an ice cream suitable for a diabetic. Here is another popular flavor, strawberry.

There were some pitfalls in the last batch, namely the graininess after the ice cream was spun. There were a few great comments to how to avoid that scenario, and it got me to thinking.

What if I used a natural thickener to set my ice cream? One could use stabilizers, algae, or gelatin to set up the ice cream. The idea is to replace the structure of the sugar in the ice cream so it does not freeze into a solid block.

Today I thought I would try my hand at using yogurt. The milk is naturally thickened by the bacteria in the yogurt, and it would also have a creamier profile.

I make yogurt regularly, and I have a great post on how to do that. There is a little fore planning for this recipe, unless you replace it with commercially prepared yogurt. Be careful to use a Balkan style though, as you don’t want a yogurt that is thickened with gums and gelatin. Look for something around 6 to 10% milk fat.

The other key to this recipe is using local fruit. If you just buy those disgusting huge strawberries that are pure white when you cut into the center, you need to add more sugar to coax the flavor out of them. I prefer to eat my sugar naturally, thank you.

I am lucky enough to live in Quebec, and I have a bit of strawberries growing in my back yard. I supplemented the amount by going to the local market. This year is a bit expensive for strawberries, as it has rained like crazy. In the end though, I ended up paying less than half than for the fake strawberries you see at the grocery store.

Blend strawberries, eggs, cream, yogurt, and Sugar Twin together with a hand-blender

Since I was going to use a hand blender today, I made this into a 1 bowl affair. It worked out pretty good, and my other half was not as vexed with the amount of dishes.

No graininess, and a couple of spoonfulls missing.

The mixture spun up really good, and there was no sign of the graininess like before. My son could not wait, so I had to give him a few spoonfuls to tide him over. That was a good sign.

Here's a trick: cover the top of your ice cream to prevent a skin from forming.

The ice cream held its own, and was a sucess. I was not so sure of the Sugar Twin, but in the end it turned out great. If you knew it was in there, you could tell. My wife and son ate it without complaint, so speaks volumes.

Wow, good enough for a Diabetic!

The next ice cream I am going to try out will have Stevia leaves for sweetening. For that, I will be making the most popular flavor of all, Vanilla!

Quebec Strawberry Ice Cream

Inspired by Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book pg 54

Serves: 8

Calories per serving: (4 ounces): 123.99

Carbohydrates: 7.26 grams

Ingredients:

• 1 pint fresh Quebec strawberries, hulled, chopped (you can use your own local strawberries, just please… local only!)
• 1 cup Sugar Twin
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup yogurt (preferably homemade or at least 6% milkfat)
• 2 free-range organic eggs

Method:

1. Combine strawberries, Sugar Twin, and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Toss together, and place into the fridge to macerate for at least an hour, (or overnight.)
2. Take out the bowl, add the cream, yogurt, and eggs. Grab your hand blender and blend the works until it is smooth. Some people prefer to have chunks in their ice cream. If that is you, go ahead and take out half first the strawberries at first, then add them back  in the next step.
3. Add your ice cream to your maker according to the manufacturer;s instructions. When the ice cream is ready, taste a few spoonfulls, then place it into a container, covering the top with plastic wrap before putting on the lid.

Why can’t a Diabetic enjoy ice cream?

Something that bothered me about my Diabetes diagnosis was the things I had to give up. Ice cream is one of those things. Nothing says summer like a nice bowl of ice cream. Today’s post will attempt to bring back what Diabetics are forbidden to have: Ice Cream!

I recently had the displeasure of eating what passed as “ice cream” for diabetics at an ice cream stand. Trouble was, it tasted like plastic. The experience wasn’t all that great, but it got me to thinking:

What is ice cream?

Basically: air, cream (or milk for those misguided fat-free crowd), sweetener, and eggs.

Of course, it goes without saying that sugar as a sweetener is what gives us Diabetics the most trouble.

What if we used another sweetening agent instead? There are so many different products to sweeten with that I decided to make a Facebook Page just for Diabetic Ice Cream experiments.

What follows is today’s experiment, using an awesome ice cream machine, the Cuisinart ICE 50-BC (link goes to my Amazon store page). Of course, you don’t need a fancy machine to make this ice cream, but it sure helps.

Here is the experiment:

Today I will experiment with Splenda. The results will be at the end, with the recipe.

Start with 2 free range eggs

Here you see an action shot! Whisk those eggs until they are frothy!

Wait! You mean you are not going to cook them? Before you balk at not cooking the eggs, remember that if your eggs are fresh, it’s okay to eat them raw. For example, you would eat raw eggs when you eat mayonnaise.

Why not cook them like all those other recipes say? The reason is the mixture would thicken like a custard, and have a cooked flavor. There is enough fat in this mixture that we can enjoy the fresh taste of the cream and milk. Besides, I don’t like to heat Splenda from the packets. In coffee it is fine, but I have never had success with other heating applications with the packets. Perhaps the bulk Splenda is different.

In another bowl, 1 Cup of half-and-half

Some recipes will call for milk. I replaced it with half-and-half to up the fat content. Understand this people – the fat in ice cream is not what makes you gain the weight. It’s the sugar!

Add 2 cups heavy cream to the half-and-half in the bowl.

A quick aside here… I love Martha Stewart! Seriously, I love her magazines. I recently took a quiz on her site to see if I was a “master chef or a novice cook?” I got 9 out of 10! One of the questions was on how you measure liquids. You can see I did not really measure this at eye level. I will tell you a secret though – we don’t use liquid measurements in a professional kitchen. We use a scale. But I digress… back to the ice cream at hand!

Add 2 tablespoons of Premium freeze-dried coffee to the cream mixtures. Yes, that is bacon in the background! I was eating my breakfast while preparing for this post!

Yes, it’s a shortcut. Thing is, I could probably make some double strength espresso, incorporate it into the mix. Truth though, this way isn’t so bad. Sometimes you can make a compromise and not affect the flavor. In this case, the flavor is superior to the espresso.

Add in 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the bowl.

My favorite cacao powder is Barry Extra Brut. You can get it by clicking on that link that goes to my Amazon store. I like to put it into a plastic container so it will keep almost indefinitely.

Add in 18 packets of Splenda to the bowl.

Wow! You’re asking yourself, “Why doesn’t he just add in the baking Splenda?” Good question. I didn’t feel like buying a whole box of the stuff, and I had some leftover for my morning coffee before I discovered Stevia, so why not use them up? Find out how that turned out later…

Whisk everything together to blend ... sort of.

Don’t get too carried away about blending the mixture. The eggs are coming next, you’ll get another chance. The main problem is incorporating the cacao powder with the liquids…

Pour and whisk the eggs into to the chocolate mixture.

Pour the eggs into the chocolate mixture. Why use another bowl to whip the eggs WDC?

I think it is only to annoy my wife. See, she hates it when I have so many different dishes for one recipe. I really can’t think of another reason.

Whisk for all your might!

Here’s your second chance to mix the works up. Once the mixture is homogenized, you can stop. (I just had to slip that big word in there!)

This is why I am fat - I can't resist the tasting of food!

Taste the mixture. Keep in mind that it might be a little sweeter than you are used to cold. The sweet sensation will dissipate with the cold, so keep that in mind. You may have to adjust the sweetness with another packet or two of Splenda. Of course, I always use that as an excuse to “test” things out. See if it works for you!

The Monster Ice Cream Machine!

Worth every penny folks! This machine will pay for itself in, uhh, 2 or so years. The best part? You don’t have to freeze the bowl to make ice cream. It has it’s own refrigeration unit inside. The downside? It weighs a tonne, and can’t exactly go on your counter.

Another bad point is your significant other might curse it when they trip over it in the kitchen floor. But… back to this post!

Turn the motor on, then add the ice cream mixture in a thread through the hole.

The machine is loud, but if your significant other just turns up the T.V., all will be well in the household. Alternately, you could put the machine in the bathroom with the door closed. Excessive, but if it avoids an argument? Why not!

Spin the ice cream mixture for 30 to 60 minutes.

The number 1 ingredient in ice cream is air. The reason it tastes so light and fluffy is because of the air that is worked into it. If you don’t have a machine, the ice cream won’t be as nice because the ice cream mixture will freeze into crystals. The paddles on the machine break the crystals as they freeze, and incorporate more air into the mixture as they swoop through the mix.

The amount of air added into the ice cream is called “overrun”, and is the main reason you see gums and thickening agents added to commercial ice creams. Enough theory!

Of course, if you don't have that huge monster machine, you could just put it into a bowl for the freezer

If you don’t have a fancy machine, you can opt for the freezer method. Put the bowl into the freezer, and set a timer for every 5 minutes. When it goes off, pull out your bowl and whisk the ingredients together. Repeat those steps until the mixture resembles a slightly melted ice cream. It will not be as nice, and it will be a major pain in the ass. (Especially if your significant other is trying to catch up on their PVR shows and the alarm goes off every 5 minutes!)

Put the ice cream into a container with a piece of plastic touching the ice cream's top. Then place a lid over it.

No, your ice cream is not ready yet! It will need some curing time in the freezer first. If you must, you could give out a few tablespoons here and there as a taste, but avoid eating too much. It will be too soft!

After a couple of hours, your ice cream will be hard enough to scoop, and you will have this deliciousness to eat!

The results:

The ice cream turned out a little bit grainy. I think it was due to the Splenda. The cream base just did not lend well to the smoothness that I usually like with ice cream. It could be that I left the mixture too long in the bowl as well. Overall, the ice cream was not bad, certainly better than plastic! I think I will try with some Sweet n’ Low next time and see what happens.

The recipe:

Diabetic Mocha Ice Cream

Inspired by Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book pg 72

Serves: 8

Calories per serving (4 oz): 275

Carbohydrates per serving: 6.37 grams

Ingredients:

• 2 free-range chicken eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons Barry Extra-Brut cacao powder
• 4 tablespoons freeze dried coffee
• 18 packages Splenda

Method:

1. Whisk eggs together until frothy. In a separate bowl, combine half-and-half cream, whipping cream, cacao powder, instant coffee and Splenda together. Whisk the mixture until incorporated, then add in whisked eggs. Whip the mixture together until the mixture is homogeneous.
2. Set up ice cream maker according to instructions; add the ice cream mixture to the bowl while it is spinning. Process according to your ice cream makers instructions. (It should take almost 30 minutes to an hour.)
3. Alternately, if you do not have an ice cream maker, you can put the bowl into the freezer with a whisk inside. Set a timer for 5 minutes, whisk the mixture, and replace it into the freezer, resetting the timer for 5 minutes. Repeat as necessary until the ice cream mixture is soft.
4. Remove the ice cream from the maker, and place it into a container with a tight-fitting lid. Make sure to put a layer of plastic on top of the surface of the ice cream to avoid ice crystals from forming. Freeze for a couple of hours to let the ice cream set.

I am taking the next couple of days off work to gear up for a week full of menu tasting madness. The new summer banquet menu will be going into effect, and the room service menu will be changing as well.

I will naturally have to cook everything on there, take pictures, and write recipes.

I can’t hardly wait to share some of the creations of our wonderful team with you.

Here are a few links for items that are just awesome:

How to Truss a Chicken. Bob is awesome, and so is Micheal Ruhlman!

Watermelon Syrup and Watermelon Butter by Cupcake Project. I would have never thought of the two items. I love things that surprise me.

Blueberry Strawberry Pie by Sassy Radish. So sinful, and so worth it.

Silky Butter Chicken Sauce at Mark’s daily Apple. What a lovely primal dish. I love butter chicken, so go there for a decent version to try out.

Until then, remember – REAL food, for your LIFE.

I have passed an anniversary of sorts. 2 years with an amazing program. I am speaking of Living Cookbook 2008. (The link goes to the product page in my Amazon Store.)

For those of you that have followed me for a while know that I have just been diagnosed with Diabetes. Living cookbook is a godsend – it helps me to figure out the carbohydrates of my menu choices. More on that later. Let’s get into why I think you need to get this program, now!

Support

The problem I had with other programs is that they usually ended up not being supported. They are released, kind of work, and their life cycle ends. You are then left with a buggy program that works, (some of the time.)

With Living Cookbook 2008, Lee Granger is active in his forums, and is always there to help. If there is a problem that you are having managing your data, he is there to help. If there is an update to fix a major bug, it is there.

I did have a little snag with the license key (mainly I did not have one after buying it from Paypal), but a reminder on the forums got me the key within a day.

To me, this is the most important selling feature of the software. I have used other software (like Mastercook) where the program simply would not do what it was supposed to do.

Recipes

If you only used the program for this feature, it would be worth all of your investment. You are greeted with a tree-view of your recipes on the left hand side. I like that feature because at least you can see all of your recipes at a glance. That feature is in use for all tabs later, and comes in handy.

Data entry is a snap. While that aspect is always no fun, at least the interface is intuitive enough to respond with you as you are typing. I find it best to use the tab button to navigate through your ingredient lists.

In entry, there are a myriad of things that you can enter in for recipe. Nutritional information, links to media files, pictures, etc. The best part of this program is the “capture” ability for recipes. (Also ingredients, but that is later.)

You can copy and paste a recipe into the same recipe entry window – from the “capture” tab. Like other programs, you can then highlight the text and press the corresponding button for what it is. The best part is you are not in an entirely separate window – you can go back and check your progress as you go. If the ingredients did not enter in correctly, you can go back and fix it.

You also have the ability to create new cookbooks, ingredients, measures, etc from the recipe entry window. While that may seem cumbersome at first, it becomes a powerful asset later when you are getting into multiple recipes.

The ability to link ingredients is the key to the whole works. You can link to ingredients or recipes. Better yet, if the program does not understand you at first, you have the option of searching for the ingredient to get an exact match. Again, it seems a little cumbersome at first, but the ability to be on the same page as your program is priceless.

Ingredients

I will say one thing about this program: there are about a million ingredients already pre-loaded into the program. If you are an average user, this will not really affect you as much. For the professional, it is a little unwieldy. The reason is that the ingredients are so precise. An example is Tuna. If you are looking for it, it is called, “Finfish, Tuna, All Grades”. The saving grace of the program is the ability to use “common words”. You can instead call it “tuna” and the links will all work. The problem comes from multiple items that use the same common terms. I wish that the common terms could be more like a tag structure, so multiple common terms could be used for that.

That being said, Living Cookbooks is the most powerful program for ingredients that I have ever come across. The database is well though out, and almost every aspect a chef could want is there.

Entry of ingredients is a snap. (Even editing ingredients is a snap!) You have space for the name, common name, description, picture, nutritional information, etc. Most importantly, (here is where the power of this program shines!) is the measure and shopping tabs.

In the measuring tabs, you can add a measure to the ingredient with all the standard formats, (lb, kg, gram, etc,) and you also have the ability to add your own custom measures. That means if you routinely buy a 20 lb bag of onions, you can add it to the measurements pad. Thing is, you need to add the weight in grams. Best still, you can even estimate the weight of the ingredient based on common weights of other items. Better yet, you can even compare it to weights already in the database by searching for the item. If you can understand the awesome power of that, then you are on the same page as me.

Shopping is more for the professional user, like a chef. If you are at home using this program, chances are that, unless you are super anal, you are not going to update prices on an ongoing basis for all the stores in your area. As a chef though, I have all my suppliers as separate “stores” so I can keep track of their prices. You can even opt to have a default buying place. Better still, the program does all the costing for you behind the scenes. If you buy your eggs from a supplier at X cost, then you can also automatically see what the cost of 1 egg is. (Remember you put in the grams earlier on for the custom measures? Here is where the accuracy shines!)

Menus

The ability to make menus based off of recipes, and ingredients is another powerful aspect of this program. The average user may not use this feature; for my banquet menu, I can just add recipes, ingredients and come up with a menu that is costed, and the portions are costed. As a bonus, there is even nutritional information supplied. There is not much more to say except that the interface is flawless, and the interactivity between the other tabs is nothing short of amazing.

Calendar

I don’t use this tab very much, but for those of you into that, you have the ability to drag and drop recipes and ingredients to the calendar to plan your meals. There are spots for Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and night cap. Best of all, nutritional information is calculated for the whole day, and the cost can also be displayed. Part of the reason I do not use the calendar much is that you only have one to work with. If there were multiple calendars, I would use them.

Shopping

This tab has both stores and inventory lumped together. I would prefer to see the two separate, but I can deal with it. The best part about this section is you can link your ingredient items with their respective inventory items. Then you can even maintain a large inventory, and remove inventory items as you are prepping them. (You do this from the context menu of recipe/menu items and selecting “remove from inventory”.) I have not gone as far as to use this feature, but I can see the raw power. When I slow down a little, I may start to incorporate the inventory feature of the program a little more.

Reference

I never use this tab. However, there is a plethora of information available at your fingertips. There is an alphabetized glossary, and a reference section of cooking techniques.

Adding a glossary term is a snap, and we also enjoy the same “capture” ability as in recipes and ingredients. This is awesome if you are searching through the Internet, and find a term that you want to remember for later. Best yet, you can also link techniques inside recipes in case you need to refer to a technique later. This comes in handy for me sometimes. An example is for sushi. I have a video on how to roll a tiger roll. For the recipe, I can link the technique (and even the video!) for reference later!

Internet

I never use this tab. I am not the type that likes browsing inside an application. I prefer having a separate window for that. If you like the feature though, it is there for you, and I am sure the ingredient capturing is even easier from that.

What about printing?

Finally, the printout format is infinitely customizable through a print options screen. There are so many bells and whistles there it boggles my mind. The only gripe I have is I have no way to add an image to the header of the document, so I can have the restaurant logo on the top of the page.

Final Verdict:

Here’s the deal: As of this writing, this program is $34.95. You will get more than your money’s worth if you put some time into it.

Living Cookbook 2008 (Link goes to my Amazon store) will not solve every problem you have as a chef. Hey, if that was the case, some monkey in a suit could sit behind the program and run the kitchen. It is excellent in its execution. There are a few things I would like to see though, as a chef only:

1. Integration with Excel – This is super important to me, because there are a lot of cost calculations and what if’s that I use on a daily basis. I keep records on what has been sold, and how the items are doing. Right now the best workaround I can get is exporting out in the .fdx format, change it to an .xml extension and try and go for that. It is clunky, and sort of workable.
2. I would love the ability to do basic culinary calculations. I can get a portion cost out of the program, but the amount is set off 100% yield. If I could be able to put an average yield on an item (like an apple for instance, the yield is 85%) it would help me to determine the real cost.

This post will be short and sweet. I came across a great video today that showcases the best part of the Italian philosophy. The butchering of a pig from snout to tail. All parts of the pork will be used, and the video is a great resource for those of you who would like to know about pork.

I would LOVE to have a masterclass like the gentleman had. Lucky guy!

Four men and a pig: a lesson in Italian butchery

I thought you would all love an update about my battle against going to the drive-thru. I have still not gone yet, but I have brought (or one would say bought) out the big gun. I have tried out a new stew, and I have made something that seems so simple, but new for me and the family.

Back in the day, I would pass by the store shelves for a sweet and sour sauce. My training tells me that it really is only a few components here and there, so why would I not make it? I will tell you why: ease of use.

It is so much easier to grab that jar, dump it in, and go from there. I once had a good friend remark to me that it was ironic that I was a chef, yet I sometimes grabbed for that shit er… stuff from the convenience shelf. That is just it. Convenience.

Have I let you all know that I have lost over 35 pounds in the last 3 months by cutting out HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) from my life? Surprise! That means that I have dropped the soft drinks, and anything that even remotely smells of manufactured sugar.

What the hell does that have to do with what I am speaking of? Everything. The drive-thru is filled with HFCS. Labeled as “Sweetener”, “Glucose-Fructose”, “Modified Sweetener”, or other various incarnations – this is the obesity epidemic that I believe North America is battling.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not here up on a soapbox. I merely like to point out to everyone that while I still eat bacon and eggs every day, I eat mounds of fat, fries that would make most people horrified, I still have lost 35 pounds. I even did it eating at drive-thrus. The secret? Just the sandwich. Meaning, skip the fries, and the drink. Have the sandwich.

That aside, we are trying to beat the drive-thru habit. What I am about to post is nothing really superstar. In fact, some may laugh at me for it. You know what? It tastes fricken good. I don’t even really have a recipe for it, but I will try and recreate it here. You will even see the system D that I need to use in the house.

A nice pan of this!

Sweet and Sour Pork Chops with Fresh Oranges

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 x 2.5 cm cut pork chops
• to taste kosher salt
• to taste freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 orange pepper, sliced thinly
• 60 mL rice vinegar
• 200 mL ketchup
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 200 mL freshly squeezed orange juice
• (Zest from the 4 oranges)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 30 mL low salt soy sauce
• 60 mL palm sugar, chopped

Method:

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
2. Sear pork chops with a smidgen of oil over high heat; remove when brown.
3. Lower heat to medium, and with pan drippings, sweat onion and peppers until they are tender.
4. Mix vinegar, ketchup, sugar and salt together; add to pan.
5. Mix freshly squeezed orange juice with cornstarch; add to pan and cook, stirring, until the cloudiness clears.
6. Add the pork chops and orange zest to the pan.
7. Cover and simmer for up to an hour, or until the pork chops are tender.
8. Once the pork is tender, remove from pan, add soy sauce and palm sugar to the sauce, stir and serve the sauce over the pork chops.

So, there is nothing that is really earth shattering there, is there? There are a few Asian flavor profiles, but the wife is saying the kitchen smells awesome.

When you have no cover for your large pan, here is a System D moment:

System D at its Finest - Anything can be a cover

Best of all, another system D moment: I have these oven mitts that look like this. I still use them, I just use them backwards. Man.

Hey! They are still good, just turn them around! LOL

Do you have a go-to dish to break the drive-thru? How about your system D moment? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

Okay, I have a confession to make. I hate it, but sometimes I turn to fast food to feed the family.

There, I got it out. Now, hear why:

Lately, I have been working upwards to 70 hour weeks. When I am not at work, I am usually commuting, which accounts for another 2 hours of the day. Then, I sometimes work at home. All in all, I am looking at close to 90 hours a week of work.

Now, you all see that I have a problem, and I think that those of you out there have the same problem as me.

Fast food joints are not all bad. They are there because they fill a demand. Truth is, they fill it too easily. I am not going to war against them. I just want something better for my family than the “nuggets” my son asks after.

The irony is that I have the skill to cook my way around the goofy clown, or the colonel. I just have not been doing my best to avoid them.

WDC will be focused on solving that problem for you all. So, I am throwing out the question to you out there:

How do you avoid visiting the fast food restaurant during your insanely busy week?

I am looking forward to hearing your response in the comments section.

Stay tuned for more posts on how to beat that stupid clown at his own game!

Today’s Battle is of the Plum Sauces!

First off: Courtesy of FrankenFoods, we have the back label of a “plum sauce” at Wally Mart:

Of course it is hard to see with my shaking hand here: The ingredients on the back of this "plum sauce": Water, glucose-fructose, pumpkin, brown sugar, modified cornstarch, vinegar, tomato paste, plums, salt, dehydrated garlic, spices, natural flavors, citric acid

What a huge list of ingredients. Let us break it down, shall we?

Their Ingredients:

Water – The first listed ingredient represents the bulk of the recipe. So, this recipe contains mostly water. Nice start guys!

Glucose-fructose – The second ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup. Nice.

Pumpkin – What? Did you just read that right? Pumpkin? Okay, not sure what that would be doing in a plum sauce. I am guessing it is more for body and color. I hope!

Brown sugar – Okay, that is meant to be there, yes.

Modified cornstarch – There is no hard and fast answer to what this is, except it is used to thicken a cold item. See, water is not that thick, so…

Vinegar – This component is right, somewhat. Notice that there is an absence of rice vinegar here. Probably due to cost?

Tomato paste – Seriously! If they used a good amount of plums, they would not need the tomato paste. Here it is used as a thickening and coloring agent. Folks, it is supposed to be plum sauce. What are we eating here?

Plums – Finally! Plums in plum sauce!

Salt – Sure, you need it.

Dehydrated garlic – I am sure this is easier to use the real thing. Funny.

Spices – What spices??? Care to share here?

Natural flavors – What does that mean? Did you know that turd could be classified as a natural flovor?

Citric acid – This is used as a flavor agent and preservative agent. You could just use lemon juice.

Ding Ding! My version verses theirs!

Here is how we do it, and believe me, it is not hard. What you need are a few tools:

Canning pot, with the canning equipment: Ladle, funnel, jar lifter, magic wand

Food mill

Optional – a dishwasher to sanitize the jars. Keep them on dry cycle until you are ready to use them.

With all these items, you are going to make something that your family will talk about when they have your next batch of spring rolls. Let’s get started:

Start with 1.5 kilograms of plums, pitted. My recipe is in the left corner for… foreshadowing.

Add 1 medium onion, chopped

Add a knot of ginger, peeled and chopped.

Add a clove of garlic, minced

Add all of that to a pot, and add 250 mL of water. Cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Plums will be very tender at this point. Now for the fun part:

Puree the plums through a food mill with the fine plate. If you do not own one of these, a potato ricer will do the trick. Puree this right back into the pot.

This is the second part of the recipe: 200 grams of sugar, 125 mL rice vinegar, and 2 grams salt, 2 grams ground coriander, 6 cloves, 1 gram cayenne pepper, and a cinnamon stick.

Stir in sugar. Add rice vinegar after.

Stir in spices. Simmer the mixture over very low heat until it is about the consistency of applesauce. It will take around 45 minutes. Then, remove the cinnamon stick.

Ladle into jars using the funky funnel. Isn't it great?

Fill your jars to this point. That is, leave 1 CM before the rim. This is important, as the liquid will expand later on.

Seal each bottle with the heated lids, and put on the screw cap hand tight only. More will break the glass.

Place the jars gently in your canning bath.

Process in a canning bath for 30 minutes.

Lift the jars out with the jar tongs. What a handy contraption!

Place the jars upside down on a towel to cool. I learned that this method produces a better seal. I am not sure why. When you hear the tell-tale "pop", then you know you have done right.

There you have it! The recipe follows:

Chinese Plum Sauce

Yield: 2 jars (1 L)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kilograms plums, pitted, halved
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 knot (5 mL) minced gingerroot
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 250 mL water
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 125 mL rice vinegar
• 2 grams ground coriander
• 2 grams salt
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 grams cayenne pepper
• 6 cloves

Directions:

1. Add plums, onions, ginger, garlic and water to a medium-sized saucepan.
2. Cover the pan; bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer, cook for 30 minutes. The plums will be very soft.
4. Puree the plums through a food mill or ricer, returning the puree to a clean saucepan.
5. Add sugar, vinegar, salt, coriander, cloves and cayenne pepper to the plum mixture.
6. Simmer over low heat until the mixture is about the same consistency of applesauce. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
7. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.
8. Remove cinnamon stick; Fill canning jars, leaving 1 CM headspace.
9. Apply lids; screw metal bands only hand tight to avoid breaking the glass when boiling.
10. Process in boiling water canning bath for 30 minutes.
11. Lift out jars with jar tongs, place upside down for cooling.
12. When cool, you may or may not remove the metal bands *(Your preference)

The sauce will keep at room temperature for up to 6 months. How did the fight go? Who wins? Let your comments be the judge. Is there a FrankenFood you would like me to compete against? Let me know by visiting my Ask the Chef! Page.

It is sometimes hard to get a picky person to eat something new, or something they are not sure of. Enter in my wife, who took one look at the acorn squash that I bought, and promptly decided that she would not like it.

Acorn squash gets its name from the distinctive ridges. When you view it, it looks like a large green acorn. When you are looking for an acorn squash, choose one that is heavy to the touch, and avoid the ones with bruises or cuts in the flesh. At the best the squash’s skin will preserve the insides for a very long time, hence the name “winter squash”.

As with most squash, acorn squash is usually baked. We like to ramp things up a little bit here, and use our imagination:

First, cut the acorn squash in half, then scoop out the seeds.

Next, cut them into wedges. This will preserve the ridges on the outside, which makes the vegetable look like fun.

Next, blanch the acorn squash in boiling, salted water. You will cook them until the are just fork-tender. Do not go past that point, or you will just puree your squash.

Here we are looking at a pat of butter, with about 3 squeezes of maple syrup. Remember to be exact when measuring! You want to season the vegetable with maple flavoring, not have it swim inside it.

Remove the acorn squash from the boiling water and toss it right into the maple butter mixture. Gently coat the squash. If you are too rough, the squash will break up and look like it has been partially eaten. You don’t want your food to look like it has been pre-chewed, do you?

Lay the acorn squash down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top. Oh man, I wish you could smell this. The combination of sweet squash with maple makes this irresistible.

Roast the squash in a 200°C (400°F) oven until the squash is golden brown. The smell in your house will be intoxicating. You will know it is done when it looks like this:

You can almost taste it! The maple syrup has caramelized, and you can even see little bits of sugary goodness. This dish pairs well with the pork dish to help with the tartness of the cranberries in the chutney. This dish can also stand on its own with other dishes where you need the sweetness of the maple to enhance another item of the plate. An example is with beef tenderloin.

Now, here is the recipe:

Maple Glazed Acorn Squash

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 acorn squash, cut in half and seeded
• 4 L (1 gallon) boiling water
• 50g (1/4 cup) salt
• 20g (2 tablespoons) butter
• 60 mL (1/4 cup) maple syrup
• 1/4 bunch parsley, chopped

Method

1. Cut the acorn squash into wedges, maintaining the ridges of the outside.
2. Blanch in boiling salted water for approximately 5 minutes, until the squash is just fork tender.
3. Put butter and maple syrup into a large bowl, (big enough to accommodate the squash.)
4. Remove squash from the blanching water; drain and put into the bowl with the butter/maple mixture.
5. Toss gently, to avoid breaking up the acorn squash.
6. Lay the squash on a parchment-lined baking sheet; sprinkle with chopped parsley.
7. Roast in 200°C (400°F) oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the squash turns golden brown. Take care not to burn the maple glaze.
8. Serve immediately.

This will not be a recipe, but a set of techniques. It will form a foundation to which you will build something better. Before we can create a dish that will blow someone’s socks off with all sorts of fancy ingredients, it is important that we understand the basics. With that, here we go:

Before we do anything, find yourself a good butcher. This butcher shop here has Jean, who’s life revolves around meat. This is key, because you might pay a little extra, but the guy will give you the best for your dollar. Wally can’t do that, no matter how much he tells you so.

The first step is to thoroughly dry your meat. Take a cloth, paper towel or something to make sure that the pork is not covered with blood. This is important to the browning of the pork.

Season liberally. Add a bit more than you think you will need with the salt and pepper. The reasoning for this is that the pork is thicker than the average piece of meat, so you need to compensate for the lack of seasoning in the middle.

Start off the oven at a high temperature – 200°C (400°F). This will allow the sugars in the meat to start caramelizing. Contrary to what others have written, this does not seal in the juices. What it does is add flavor to the meat. The fats will begin to melt, basting the meat as it cooks.

Once the pork has browned, lower the temperature to 175°C (350°F) and cook the loin until 65°C (150°F). Lowering the temperature will slightly increase the time for cooking, but will ensure tenderness by avoiding water loss in the meat.

Test the meat with a thermometer. The only accurate way to tell if your pork is done is to find the internal temperature. You could rely on older methods like touching the sides, squeezing it, saying a voodoo prayer over it, or even (gasp) cutting it open. All bets aside, the thermometer is the best way to tell if it is done or not. Here we are almost there.

Pull the loin out of the oven 10 degrees before the desired doneness. The pork will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven, so allow the resting process finish the cooking. (See below.)

Rest the meat by covering it with a sheet of aluminum foil. This is the most important step. Let me explain for a second why:

When the meat is in the oven, it contracts as it cooks. Muscles contract naturally so they will protect the inner organs from danger. In this case, it is heat. If you have ever cut open a piece of meat right after it has come out of the oven, you will see the outside has a cooked ring, and the center is raw.

Allowing the meat to rest will allow the muscle to relax, and the juices will redistribute through the whole meat. Failure to follow this last step is the number one reason most meats are tough and dry after cooking.

Here you can see what happens after the pork has rested, the temperature has risen to 160°F. At this point, the pork is relaxed, and juicy.

Slice the meat to the thickness you would like and serve.

I hope that helps you all out when it comes to cooking a pork loin. Do you have any tricks for cooking your loin?