Must Have Mustard

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Mustards

I love to make condiments! I must have mustard in many forms in my pantry. Honey Mustard, sweet, savory, mild, smooth, chunky there are so many ways to make gourmet mustard at home

Mustard is so fun and so diverse from sweet to hot, savory to fruity, there is no limit.

Mustard ingredients

This post will give you a recipe for a grainy dark mustard and an apricot mustard. Both are spectacular and very diverse in how you will find ways to use them.

For both of these recipes we use whole mustard seeds. Yellow mustard seeds for the apricot mustard and brown mustard seeds for the grainy mustard.

So here, are the recipes. The method follows both and is the same for both.

Grainy Brown Mustard

1 cup whole brown mustard seeds

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar or honey

Additional water if needed for processing

Apricot Mustard

1 cup whole yellow mustard seeds

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup dried apricots, rehydrated

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

Additional water if needed for processing from rehydrating the apricots

Soak mustard seeds overnight

Method for both:

Soak the seeds overnight in the water and wine. You need to make sure the seeds are totally covered by liquid. Add more liquid if you need.

It is highly recommended to soak the mustard seeds overnight due to how hard the little seeds are. If you tried processing the recipe without soaking, it would take forever to get those seeds broken and start turning into a paste.

Rehydrate the apricots in hot water for 30 minutes, reserve any excess water for processing.

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend for 3-4 minutes for the apricot mustard to become somewhat smooth and 2-3 minutes for the grainy mustard. If you want more whole seeds in the grainy mustard, do not process as long. Add additional water as needed to make a smooth consistent product.

Store the mustard in a glass, stainless steel or plastic container; not aluminum. The mustard will mellow after about a week. The flavors will develop and become nice and tasty.

I use the apricot mustard for ham, pork or chicken. It makes a nice glaze, marinade or spread.

Use the grainy mustard on sandwiches, in salad dressings or to dip pretzels.

How do you use mustard?

Apricot Mustard

Dark Grainy Mustard

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The Beauty Of Pollination

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The Beauty Of Pollination

This is spectacular! If you don’t know about ” TED Talks” this is a beautiful introduction.

Please enjoy this video.

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Chive Blossom Vinegar and Vinaigrette

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Onion chive blossoms

Chive blossom vinegar isn’t a normal thing to be making in January, but my wish for chive blossoms was realized.

This winter had been on the warm side for us. It was just last night the geranium and the jalapeno plants bit the dust to freezing.

While making a salad for dinner the other evening, my thoughts turned to chive flowers and all the yummy things I could do with them.

I thought how nice it would be to have some chive blossoms to add to the salad, or sprinkle some over the baked potatoes.

I was thinking about making more chive blossom vinegar but alas, being January, my desire would have to wait until spring.

Chive blossoms have a delightful onion or garlic flavor, depending upon which type of chive you have. Onion chives have lovely purple flowers that I really like; garlic chives produce white flowers.

But look at what I found!

As I rounded the corner towards my office, right there in front of me was a lovely plot of blooming chives in the schools herb garden.

Yay! Wish granted!

( Now I wish for a million dollars)

I picked as many as I thought I needed and ran home to toss them into the evening salad and make some Chive Blossom Vinegar for salad dressings in about a month.

Chives are quite simple to grow and actually are perennial so they come back year after year. I have both garlic chives and onion chives growing in my garden. They definitely are not flowering now. In fact they look quite pathetic until a bit of warmth cradles them a bit.

Chive Blossom Vinegar

Prepare the blossoms 3 ways: with stem, no stem, single flowers

Use a funnel to fill the bottles

Chive Vinegar

Wash and dry the chive blossoms. Prepare the chive in any of the following ways:

  • Leave as much stem on as you want
  • Use only the tiny flowers
  • use the entire flower heads in tact; no stem
  • leave some stem with the flowers
  • chop some chives to add with the flowers
  • any combination you want

The goal is to make it look pretty and attractive.

  • Place prepared blossoms into an attractive bottle.
  • Boil enough white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar to fill the bottle.
  • Use a funnel to fill the bottle with the hot vinegar.
  • Cork or seal the bottle.
  • Label with the date you made the vinegar.
  • Let steep for 30 days.

After the flavor has developed, open the bottle and experience the fresh aroma of the chive blossom vinegar.

Use it to make a simple vinaigrette.

Chive blossoms on baked potato

Chive Blossom Vinaigrette over Tomato, Onion, Cucumber Salad

  • 1/2  cup chive blossom vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups of olive oil

Place all the ingredients but the oil into a bowl and whisk to combine.

Whisk in the oil and serve.

This is a temporary emulsion which means you will need to whisk it before using as it will separate.

Tomato, onion, cucumber salad with chive blossoms

Tomato, Onion, Cucumber Salad

Serves 2

  • 1 medium tomato, wedged into 8 wedges
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
  • 1 scallion, sliced thin
  • 1/2 English cucumber, sliced thin
  • Chive blossoms

Toss the sliced vegetables in a bowl and then arrange attractively on salad plates.

Sprinkle the chive blossoms on top

Drizzle Chive blossom vinaigrette over salad and serve.

To make this go over the top, drizzle a few drops of truffle oil over the salad too.

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Glazed Lemon Shortbread

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Glazed Lemon Shortbread

My son loves these. He is going back to school soon and when he gets there, a box of these sweet treats from home will be waiting.

This twist on traditional shortbread adds fresh lemon zest in the mix and fresh lemon juice in the glaze. One secret is to use a very fine microplane on the fruit so the zest is very fine.

If you like the lemon version, branch out and try making them with orange, or lime or tangerine or grapefruit. Kumquat maybe?

The amazing part of good shortbread is how they just melt in your mouth. Then take a nice sip of tea. Sit back and enjoy.

There are several pictures at the end of the post, so scroll down.

Glazed Lemon Squares

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar (10x)
  • Zest from 1/2 lemon (Use the other half in the glaze)
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Using a mixer on high-speed, cream butter,  10x sugar, zest and vanilla 3-4 minutes; until light and fluffy.

While the butter and sugar are creaming, measure and mix the flour and salt into a bowl.

Scrape down the bowl.

On low-speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.

Mix only until the mixture comes together and resembles crumbs.

Do not over mix! Over mixing will develop the gluten in the flour and give you a ‘tough cookie’ rather than a tender one.

Transfer the dough to a non-stick 9 x 12 cake pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and pat the dough evenly into the pan.

Place in the refrigerator or freezer until the dough becomes thoroughly chilled.

Traditionally, you can prick the shortbread with a fork for decoration. You can choose not to.

If, for some reason, you get a wild hair on and decide to add baking powder to the mix, I would strongly suggest you do prick the dough to prevent bubbles and warping.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Clean up the kitchen.

Once the dough is chilled, place it in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. The shortbread will remain pale.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Cut the shortbread while still warm. You get a cleaner cut edge.

Once cooled; remove the cut shortbread and put them on a rack which is placed over a clean sheet pan.

Make the glaze just before you are going to pour it over the cookies.

Be sure the cookies are completely cool so the glaze does not run or melt off.

Randomly pour the glaze. You can do it randomly or evenly, which ever you prefer.

DO NOT spread the glaze as the cookies are crumbly and you will not have a smooth glaze. If you make a lot of glaze you can cover them and decorate them like petit fours.

I like to sprinkle a fine touch of finely ground fleur de sel on the top of the shortbread cookies.

Sweet, tart, salty, smooth. . .

To make the Lemon Glaze:

  • Zest from the other half of the lemon used in the mix
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar (10x)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

Sift the sugar to ensure no lumps.

Add the zest, stir it in and then add the juice. Mix until smooth with a fork. Whisking will add too many bubbles.

Pour over cooled shortbread cookies.

Allow glaze to dry about an hour longer before storing.

Use a fine Microplane to zest the fruit

Cream butter and sugar. Don't forget to scrape down the bowl sides.

Add flour; mix only until combined

Cover with plastic, pat evenly into pan. Chill.

Cut while still warm for a clean edge.

Place on a rack and glaze

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Black Bean Soup

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A simple and quick recipe for a warm and hearty soup.

I prefer to use Bushes Brand of  canned beans but you can use what you want. You can even soak your beans and make this from dried. But that isn’t so quick.

Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

  • 2 15-ounce cans seasoned Bushes Brand Black Beans
  • 1-1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup chunky salsa – your desired level of heat
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried onions
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Garnishes:

  • Small diced onion
  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Chunky salsa
  • Hot Sauce

Open the cans of beans and put them in a sauce pot along with the chicken stock and all remaining ingredients.

Using a immersion blender, slightly puree the soup just enough to break up some of the beans, but not all of them.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, then place a generous cup of beans into a blender or food processor or even mash them by hand. Add the mashed beans back to the soup.

Bring to a boil, stir frequently while preparing the garnishes.

Ladle the soup into soup bowls, garnish with desired garnishes. Serve with tortilla chips and salsa on the side.

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My Favorite Breakfast

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This is my favorite “special occasion” breakfast.

It set the tone for the entire day!

My favorite breakfast

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Why not me and why not now?

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This post is not about food, but about motivation. What gets us going?

“We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. . . There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel unsure around you”

~Marianne Williamson, spiritual activist, author, lecturer, and founder of the Peace Alliance

These questions cross my mind from time to time; Why not me and why not now?

Hiding from our talents does nothing to further the world along or to reach the potential we are capable of reaching with focused effort.

We all have talents somewhere.

The problems lay in not defining or creating a focus on which to either concentrate or to direct our activities. Without direction how do we know what to focus on or in what direction to go?

Using an old analogy: when you start on a trip and head out the driveway, which way to go? Interstate, airport? How do we get to where we are going? Do we know where we are going or just wandering around?

This is why I make goals and lists of the steps I think will take me there.

Oddly enough, I have found making lists really works for me. Even if I scribble a few places to go, things to pick up while out, people to visit or weeds to pull in the garden, if it is on my list, it gets done. This works for simple and complex projects. Make a list of baby steps.

I used to teach at another college in Georgia. One year they had written some clauses in my employment contract that would require me agree to teach culinary arts at the #1 top security all-male prison in the state. I visited the area once and my blood ran cold.

(Think female in a high security all male prison – not for me! Very, very scary)

As I read my employment contract renewal, I saw a clause that said I would agree to work at the prison and anywhere else they decided anywhere, any time. I thought about what would I really like to do instead and it came to me that what I really wanted, above all else, was my own restaurant and to be my own boss.

So, I outlined the steps it would take to open my restaurant. Less than a year later, I had quit the teaching position and opened a wine room for tasting and sales; a kitchen shop for everything you could want for your kitchen, a recreational cooking school and a cafe.

Writing the business plan really helped clarify what I wanted, when and who I needed to help.

This was a great experience that clearly demonstrated that having a clear plan of action really works.

Recently I have been wanting to fulfill more of my potential and have felt like my wheels have been spinning without traction.

So I decided this is the year to work on the book I have wanted to write for a while. Obviously a cookbook. If I don’t get it started, it will never take shape.

Why not me and why not now?

If not me,  who?

If not now, when?

I have two neighbors who have awakened me to ask those questions more and more and to seriously ponder the answers.

One woman, Donna, had retired earlier this year. She and her boyfriend went to Spain on  vacation to celebrate. She began to not feel well while on the trip so when she returned, she scheduled a doctors visit. The outcome of that visit was she had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She spent the last months of her life  in and out of various therapies. She died this fall, only 7 months after being diagnosed.

Another neighbor is “90 and 1/2″ as she would proudly tell you. She is active and refuses to have any help because she says as soon as she doesn’t keep moving and doing things she won’t be able to. The other day, she severely burned both of her hands in a flash grease fire, was rushed to a burn unit for surgery and now cannot use her hands at all for anything. Now, her family is looking at placing her in assisted living because she needs full-time, all the time help.

They say she will be alright but it will take several months for the burns and surgery to heal. To someone who measures “90 and 1/2″, this may be a long time for her. It definitely changes the rest of her life.

This illustrates clearly we have no idea what in coming down the pike for us. So why do I squander days of not really doing anything?

We have no guarantee of time. We have no guarantee of talent or success.

All we have control of are our choices and intentions.

So my challenge to you is to ask yourself

“Why not me? Why not now?”

Make a plan and see what happens.

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Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

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Ahh! One of my favorite vegetables is Brussels sprouts. These little green cabbage looking things are wonderful as long as they aren’t over cooked.

Truth is you either love them or hate them. I stand firmly in the love category.

They grow on a large stalk and if you can find them on the stalk, buy them that way. The first time I found them on the stalk, I grabbed it, brought it home only to realize the stalk was way too big to fit into my refrigerator. Considering the size of the stalk, I must have been insane at the market when I thought it would definitely fit into the fridge.

Later I realized the stalk can sit on the counter in the kitchen for a few days, while they get eaten up in various dishes.

Brussels sprouts can be steamed, sautéed, baked or roasted, or pickled.  You can use them in soup, as a side dish and in salads. I adore them with Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese.

You can cook them whole, cut them in half or “shave” or shred them into thin slices. There are even Brussels Sprouts with chocolate. And of course, don’t forget, you can always add bacon.

My preference is to use fresh sprouts but if you can’t find fresh one and you absolutely need to have Brussels sprouts, frozen will do in a pinch, although not nearly as wonderful as fresh.

The following recipe is a simple delicious way of serving Brussels Sprouts.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup pecans – halves or pieces
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Trim sprouts and cut in half. Rinse under cool water.

Heat a saute pan, add oil. Place the sprouts cut side down in the pan. Allow the cut sides of the sprouts to become golden brown, not black and not pale green but a nice golden color.

Place the pecans over the sprouts as they are browning. Once the sprouts have  developed the color, stir the pan and add the water to steam the sprouts.

Simmer until the water has evaporated; add butter and stir to glaze the nuts and Brussels sprouts.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Trim and wash the sprouts

Place cut side down in a hot saute pan

Put pecans on top

Add water and simmer until water is gone

Serve and enjoy!

Eat More Brussels Sprouts!

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Tabouli, Taboule or Tabbouleh

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Tabouli, Taboule or Tabbouleh, is all the same.

It is time to get to know this terrific and tasty side dish.

Taboule is a middle eastern dish that has become part of the American diet. Just as Chinese foods became Americanized, so have middle eastern foods. So to call a particular taboule recipe an authentic middle eastern dish is not exactly accurate. There are regional differences – some use more parsley, some add cucumber and feta cheese. Then there are the non-traditional taboule salads that can have apples an walnuts in them or made with quinoa rather than bulgur.

My favorite version is simple with bulgur, parsley, tomato, olive oil, mint and lemon juice.

Sometimes I’ll make a batch and sit down and eat an entire bowl. I love how this dish makes you feel like you are really doing something good for your body.

Serve taboule as a cold side dish.  This recipe for taboule has a nice balance of traditional flavors.

  • 1 cup  bulgur wheat
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup  fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced small
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced small
  •  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • pinch of salt
  • fresh ground black pepper

Method:

  • Place bulgur in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Soak bulgur in water for 30 minutes.  The wheat should have absorbed all of the water. If there is any water left, drain and squeeze out as much water as possible.
  • Peel, seed, and dice the tomato
  • Dice the onion and finely chop the parsley and mint
  • Mix the bulgur, tomato, onion, parsley, and mint in a large bowl
  • Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together and pour over the salad
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper

Taste and adjust the various ingredients to your taste. More olive oil? More lemon juice? Just be careful not to make the salad too wet. Instead of adding more salt, consider adding feta cheese crumbles.

  • Refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to blend

Optional additions:

  • Finely sliced scallions
  • Crumbled Feta cheese
  • Diced cucumber
  • Pitted olives
  • Diced green and/or red pepper

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Zucchini Brownies

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Zucchini Brownies are a great way of adding vegetables to your families diet. Unless you tell them zucchini is in the mix, they simply won’t know. The secret here is to finely shred the zucchini so it ‘melts’ while baking. You can’t expect it to be undetectable if you put big chunks in the mix.

This is a great way to get some vegetables into your meat and potato family members.

This recipe follows the formula of replacing the fat in the recipe with vegetables. The shredded zucchini adds the required moisture that creates the most gooey, fudgy brownies; you won’t believe they are full of zucchini.

 

Zucchini Brownies

  • Servings: 9-12
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Zucchini BrowniesZucchini Brownies

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Butter a 9 x 9 baking dish.

Combine sugars, egg and vanilla in a mixing bowl on medium speed.

Fold in zucchini.

Shred Zucchini

Shred Zucchini

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture on low-speed, mixing only long enough to combine the ingredients.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish, smoothing it evenly in the dish.

All mixed together with the Shredded Zucchini

All mixed together with the Shredded Zucchini

Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool on a rack.

Cut and remove from pan after the brownies have cooled to room temperature.

Zucchini brownies


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