Fish And Chips - Baked-Style

• Old Bay and Panko coated cod fillets
• fish pan fried then baked, served on a bed of greens with a lime wedge
• Home fries - thinly sliced baked baby red potatoes
• House made tartar sauce
• Lemon and herb slaw

Eggless Pasta Dough

fettucini to be dried

As requested, I finally got around to making homemade ravioli. Making homemade pasta is always a but of a procedure; it's a lot more work than cooking a box of dried pasta. Ravioli especially involves a filling and more rolling and cutting. But homemade pasta in the end is always worth it.Sadly I do not have my own, so I had to borrow a pasta roller and ravioli cutters - thanks again!! I made a big batch of eggless pasta dough and ended up making 60 ricotta-filled ravioli, 42 lobster-filled ravioli, and with the extra dough I made some fettucini and spaghetti to have on hand.

spaghetti to be dried

Easy Homemade Eggless Pasta Dough
4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
1/2 cup olive oil
approx. 3/4 cup water (room temperature or warm water is preferred over cold)
salt, optional (usually salt is just added to the water when boiling pasta, but feel free to add some to the dough if preferred)

Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the oil and water into the well, then bring the mixture together with your hands, kneading it together until it forms a nearly smooth ball. More water or flour may be required, but don't add more until the dough had been kneaded at least five minutes, as pasta dough usually requires a bit of muscle.

Wrap the dough ball well, and set aside on the counter to rest for about an hour before rolling. Roll out, cook, and dry as needed! This makes a big batch, so some dough can be saved in the fridge or freezer for rolling out later, or simply cut out a lot of pasta and freeze it or dry it.

Homemade Cereals

Lately I have been on a homemade cereal kick. The storebought stuff just won't do for me anymore, even my previous favorites (and please, I don't ever want to see cornflakes again!)  Cocoa puffs first thing in the morning? Not my cup of tea. Some may call me a cereal snob, but I just prefer the homemade variety, just like I prefer pretty much any food homemade. I rarely eat storebought bread anymore, would never dream of buying a storebought cake, and why have storebought cookies and lasagna when you can have homemade? Homemade cereal (and most homemade baked goods, for that matter), contain less preservatives and chemicals. They are more natural, and you can put all the good stuff in it that you want. This is especially true with cereal, where you can easily control the amount of sugar, salt, ad fat, and add any whole grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits to suit your personal tastes. Moreover, homemade cereal is extremely easy to make. Well, not every kind. I'm not about to go try making homemade Cheerios, or Lucky Charms, or shredded wheat, but granola, bran flakes, and oat squares are all quite simple. I have already featured quite a few cereal recipe on here. I am running out. Not of recipes, but of different types of cereal. I mean there are 60000+ recipes for granola, or muesli, or oatmeal, but I'm looking for a little something different. I have never heard of a cereal cookbook before, and I am tempted to write my own. I have begun creating my own cereal recipes, one I will feature tomorrow. 

Garlic Bread

Garlic bread is a popular side dish that goes well with many different meals. It is most commonly served with pasta, in particular Italian pasta dishes, such as spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna. Garlic bread can be purchased all ready and premade at many grocery stores in the bakery, bread, refrigerator, or freezer section. However, it is pretty easy to do at home yourself, and does not take much longer. Making your own garlic bread is also cheaper, and it will be fresher than storebought garlic bread. Simply pick up a freshly baked crusty bread in the bakery section of the grocery store. Many stores bake these breads fresh every day, so go early in the morning, or ask out back if they have any just baked. They often come in special bags when they are this fresh. There will probably be a choice of breads, generally crusty Italian breads are used for garlic bread, but French bread, Farmer's bread, or a whole wheat or multigrain version of any of these breads will work well too. Slice the bread in half horizontally. Spread both sides with garlic spread - a storebought tub works fine, but if you want to make your own garlic spread, even better! Do not be shy with the garlic spread, use lots! Put the halves back together. This can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator until needed, or heated right away. Just pop it in the oven wrapped in aluminum foil at 350◦F for 10-15 minutes until hot. Then slice and serve. This is basically the same as the garlic bread you can purchase at the store, Italian bread sliced and spread with garlic spread, but it is cheaper and you can use fresh bread, while premade garlic bread at the store is usually made with day-old bread.

Homemade Chocolate Milk

Chocolate milk is a delicious drink. It is also very nutritious, it provides all of the same nutritional benefits as white milk.  Many athletes drink chocolate milk after strenuous activity to refuel, replacing lost calories, electrolytes, and carbohydrates. Chocolate milk has been proven to be better than most sports drinks, it contains all of the required vitamins and minerals. Chocolate milk, which is essentially the perfect combination of chocolate and low-fat milk, contains just the right balance of nutrition. It contains protein, calcium, carbohydrates and many other vital vitamins. I really like chocolate milk, although I usually don't drink it after exercising, just with an afternoon snack when I feel like it. It goes exceptionally well with most baked goods. Unfortunately, we were out of chocolate milk at our house. So I decided to try making some of my own. I searched for an easy recipe on the internet and found one. There are also many recipes out there for drinking chocolate, which was the original way in which chocolate was consumed, and is more like melted chocolate. It is much thicker and richer than chocolate milk. That was not quite what I was looking for. I found a simple recipe using cocoa, sugar, water, and milk. I will try a recipe for drinking chocolate another day. Of course, you could always use the chocolate milk powder or syrup to make chocolate milk, or make your own chocolate syrup or sauce to add to milk, or just melt some chocolate chips, and you would probably also have something similar to chocolate milk. 

Homemade Chocolate Milk
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 Tablespoon granulated (white) sugar
1/2 cup warm water*
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
*warm water helps to dissolve the cocoa and sugar and keep the milk smooth

In a tall glass or a pitcher, whisk together the cocoa and sugar until smooth. Slowly whisk in the warm water. Gradually whisk in the milk. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours.
Note: Recipe amounts can be adjusted for different quantities and different tastes. The key is to use equal amounts of cocoa and sugar, and half as much water as milk. Use as much ingredients as you need for the number of people you are serving. If you like your chocolate milk sweeter, add more sugar. If you like it richer, use less water and more milk (or use warm milk in place of the water). If you like it thicker, use a higher ratio of cocoa and sugar to water and milk.

This chocolate milk recipe is pretty good, but it is definitely not the same as store-bought chocolate milk. This recipe is thinner, and probably not quite as sweet. It also is not as smooth - you need to make sure to sift the cocoa, and whisk everything well to make it nice and smooth. Even then, you may end up with a few lumps still, or the milk may be slightly gritty. Not a bad substitute though.

Store-bought versus Homemade

On supermarket shelves today, there is an extremely wide variety of food products to choose from. Food items now come in every size, shape and flavor we could ever imagine. But it is still difficult to beat the taste of homemade baked goods. One of the reasons I have so many things to post on this blog is because I make many of the foods I eat. I am not completely opposed to store-bought goods, but there are some things that I do refuse to eat store-bought versions of, just because I think homemade tastes so much better! However, there are some store-bought items that have perfectly acceptable quality, in fact, there are even a few specific items where I think store-bought actually taste better than homemade. Of course, everyone has their own opinions, but here are some of mine.

• BREAD There is nothing like homemade bread, and there are so many different kinds to choose from. Some breads are very easy and quick to make at home, and they taste amazing still hot from the oven. I do prefer commercial bread for most sandwiches though, because it is sturdier, uniformly shaped, hold up well, and has a mellow flavor and texture. It is also more convenient to use store-bought bread for sandwiches, as we would have to make bread every day at this house to keep up. I also have yet to master the art of even bread slicing.

• COOKIES Usually I prefer homemade cookies, especially fresh and hot from the oven. There are some pretty good brand-name cookies out there that you just can't duplicate at home. 

• CAKE You've got to go homemade with cakes. Stores can make good cakes, but I find homemade cakes just taste less artificial and more realistic. I don't even really like to use boxed mixes for cakes - it has to be from scratch. And I definitely do not like store-made or ready-made canned frostings.

• MUFFINS Although you can get some pretty delicious-looking, giant muffins at the grocery store, I much prefer homemade. Homemade muffins are often fresher, moister, and more tender than commercial muffins. Besides, who can eat a muffin that big anyway?

• SQUARES I find that stores don't tend to carry a wide variety of choices in bars and squares. Homemade are usually tastier and are so easy to make.

• PIZZA I like to make homemade pizzas and panzerottis with dough from scratch, but there are also some frozen pizzas, store-made pizzas, and restaurant pizzas I enjoy. There are also some that I absolutely hate. Pizza, which seems to be such a basic food, can differ in so many ways from place to place.  Overall, I am not very picky when it comes to pizza, and I will eat pizza from most places, although I do prefer some kinds over others.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Sweetened condensed milk is the great base to a variety of delectable squares. It can also be the foundation of many cookies, cakes, cheesecakes, and beverages. Although they share many similar characteristics, do not confuse sweetened condensed milk with evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is made by evaporating sixty percent of the water from fresh milk, processing, and canning, so that it becomes shelf-stable. Sweetened condensed milk is also derived from fresh cows milk with water taken out, but a great amount of sugar is added to it, yielding a thick, sticky, sweet product. These two milks can never be substituted for one another, as they have very different consistencies and sweetness. Another big difference, is that evaporated milk is quite cheap, while sweetened condensed milk can be quite pricey. Good news: it is possible to make your own sweetened condensed milk at home; it is quick, easy, and cost-efficient. Give it a try!

1 cup skim milk powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
¼ cup butter or hard margarine

Process in a blender until smooth. Makes the equivalent of one (300 mL) can.

Hot Cocoa

Well, the snow has begun to come, making it the perfect time to enjoy some homemade hot cocoa. Sure, you could just tear open a package or scoop some mix out of a canister and add boiling water, but it won't be anywhere near as delicious as hot cocoa from scratch. There are many different recipes for hot cocoa or hot chocolate, all varying in taste, serving size, preparation technique, and simplicity. Some recipes serve one, others serve twenty-one. Some use the microwave, some use the stovetop. Whatever recipe you choose is up to you! Hot chocolate originated from drinking chocolate, which was the first form of chocolate that gained popularity for consumption. Before then, chocolate existed only as cocoa beans, which were much too bitter to eat on their own. Drinking chocolate is basically melted chocolate, often with additions such as sugar, milk, and vanilla, and is very rich and luxurious. It became increasingly popular in Europe served warm as an indulgent alternative to tea or coffee. This drink eventually transformed into hot chocolate or hot cocoa, which became very commercialized and readily-available. Drinking chocolate isn't very popular today, but you if you get the chance, you should try it; it's divine!

Basic Microwave Hot Cocoa For One
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch salt
2 teaspoons cold milk
additional milk

In a mug, mix the sugar, cocoa, and salt. Stir in the two teaspoons of cold milk until smooth. Add more milk to fill the cup. Microwave on HIGH (100%) for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until hot. Stir to blend.

Rich and Indulgent Microwave Hot Cocoa For One
Follow the same procedure as above, using 2 tablespoons each of cocoa and sugar. Add 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Slimmed Down Microwave Hot Cocoa For One
Follow the same procedure as above, replacing sugar with the equivalent of a no-calorie sweetener. Use fat-free milk.

GREAT ADDITIONS AND TOPPINGS: Of course, hot cocoa is very popular served with marshmallows and candy canes. Adding little chocolate bars or chocolate chips is also very good. Hot cocoa is delicious garnished with whipped cream, chocolate or caramel sauce, sprinkles, a dusting of icing sugar or cocoa, or a maraschino cherry.
Additional flavorings for hot cocoa include vanilla extract, instant coffee, ground cinnamon,  mint extract, orange extract, maple extract, or a splash or liquor. 
Hot chocolate is great for dipping Christmas cookies!

Hashbrowns

A few months ago, I came across a recipe in a magazine for homemade hashbrowns. 


These hashbrowns are baked, not fried, and the amount of fat and salt could easily be controlled. 


They are also an easy, delicious, and convenient side dish to go with almost any meal, because they can bake in the oven along with the main course. 


After many trials, and a few modifications, here is how I make homemade hashbrowns.
Homemade Hashbrowns
potatoes, peeled, washed, and diced into bite-sized pieces
oil
salt

*Choose the amounts of ingredients based on how many people you want to serve. Generally, allow one large potato per person, and about one tablespoon oil and one teaspoon salt for four servings, depending on your personal taste. You can always adjust the amounts after tasting.

Place the diced potatoes in a large bowl of cold water, and soak them until you are ready to use them, at least one hour and up to three hours. Preheat oven to approprite temperature (see below) and place a rack in the highest position. Drain the potaotes (I use a colander, which works really well) and place in an appropriately-sized pot, cover with fresh cold water, and add some salt. Bring to a roaring boil, covered, over high heat. Immediately turn off heat, and let the potatoes sit on the burner, covered, until the water is still. Drain again very throughly in the colander.

Drizzle some oil on a baking sheet, and spread it around. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet, spreading them evenly with a spatula. Drizzle potatoes with desired amount of oil, gently toss with the spatula to coat. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt, and toss again. Spread evenly.

There are two baking options here:

IF YOU WANT TO BAKE HASHBROWNS ALONE -
Use an oven heated to 425◦F and the top oven rack. Cook potatoes for 30 minutes, turning them with a spatula every ten minutes. Then, broil the hashbrowns on high heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy.

iF YOU WANT TO BAKE HASHBROWNS ALONG WITH A MAIN COURSE -
Use an oven temperatue suitable for your main course, anywhere from 325◦F to 400◦F, and the top oven rack. Cook potatoes for about 45 minutes (more or less, depending on temperature), turning them with a spatula every ten minutes for the first half hour, then just before broiling. Broil the hashbrowns on high heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy. Sometimes hashbrowns actually cook faster or crispier with another dish in the oven as well.

This may seem like a lenghty explaination, but all of the steps are short, easy, and crucial. Most potato dishes require a similar amount of steps and processes. If you happen to have some hashbrowns leftover (unlikely) they can be refrigerated for a day or so and reheated in the oven for 5-10 minutes (325◦F - 425◦F).