UrbanMonique

21st Century Kitchen

Hey, tear yourself away from your smart phone/tablet/laptop long enough for me to ask a question: In this sleekly modern, ever connected age, do you use any of those things when you cook?

I admit to being a bit of a tech geek. I don’t own all the newest and coolest, but I do have an iPhone 5 and a 3rd Gen iPad and I use them extensively. In fact, I’m writing this post on the iPad, as I do most of what shows up here on the blog. I use the iPad extensively for recipe creation too; most of what I post here is stuff I do without a lot of conscious thought or planning, so when it comes time to covert them to usable recipes for y’all, I find this technology fits well in the kitchen and is resilient enough to handle that environment. And another truth be told, the cameras on phone and pad are far better than the $1000 first digital camera I bought some 14 years ago, so most of the pics for this site are done on them as well.

The point is, if you have this stuff and you cook, there are some tools that may make sense for you and are definitely worth a look. Here are a few I like.

NOTE: I’m not gonna post links to the apps themselves, since y’all may not use the same OS as I do. Whether you’re using Apple, Android, Windows, or something else, you can probably find the noted apps for your device.

Recipe Apps:
No matter how good the cook, Almost all of us use recipes regularly; even Mike Simon delves into his venerable copy of James Beard’s American Cookery for inspiration, as do I. Recipe apps can be a real help when you get the germ of an idea that needs fleshing out. I’d say first and foremost that the greatest resource in this. Regard is a simple Google search; with that, you’ll get links to the others in spades. So, that said, do you need any others? Probably not, but still I enjoy and use Big Oven, AllRecipes and Key Ingredient from time to time; they’re nice if you’re looking up, say, strawberry rhubarb pie and want to see some variations on the theme in condensed form. And doing that is completely kosher, by the way; see, Stevie Ray Vaughan really did cop licks from Albert King, and then made them his own, K? The other very useful function within these apps is the ability to accurately scale recipes up or down to your needs; the conversions aren’t always foolproof, but they’ll get you close enough for fine tuning.

Cooking Reference Apps:
How about al those handy apps telling you ow to do stuff? I think they do come in handy and I use several. Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio and Bread Baking Basics are two that provide simple, concise information in a very usable format. How To Cook Everything also may come in handy; resources like this can be a help when you’re looking for, as a for instance, alternative methods. for instance, if you always boil root vegetables, then you might look into roasting for a different take on favorite ingredients, things like that.

Shopping Apps:
Boy, are there a ton of shopping list apps out there, and let me tell you, a whole bunch of them are crap! I’ve tried many of these, so let e save you some time and energy; Grocery IQ is a very nice shopping list app that can sync to multiple devices, check your local store for deals, and post coupons and specials as you shop. Key Ring is a nice alternative to carrying all those annoying little plastic tags around, if you subscribe to various store’s shopper programs. Buycott, recently reviewed here, is an excellent resource for conscientious shopping. And finally Bakodo is the most robust bar code scanner that can come in handy for checking prices and comparative shopping.

General Cooking Utility Apps:
Now here’s a category where there is indeed a whole bunch of useless crap out there! Again, Ive slaved my way through the chaff to present only the wholesome kernels for y’all. Cooking offers a very useful batch of yields and alternatives for a myriad of ingredients, and some common conversions. KitchenUnits takes conversion to the next level, offering serious flexibility for your recipe tweaking. And finally, Timer+ is a very flexible, multi-source timer that’ll let you keep track of everything on one simple panel.

Cookbook Apps:
Now here’s a tough nut to crack; can and should a tablet or phone replace the venerable cookbook? My firm, unwavering answer is, yes and no. If you’re anything like us, some cookbooks are like art texts; they’re meant to be big, beautiful, almost coffee table tomes you want to feel the weight of as you revel at mouthwatering photos. No app will or cold ever replace those. On the other hand, The Joy of Cooking, American Cookery, Charcuterie, Julia Child, Harold McGee, or Claudia Roden are working titles, meant to be used as a textbook is in school; having those quick at hand, easily searchable, and custom printable is most worthwhile, and it helps your precious print copies last longer too!

Note and Writing Apps:
For the most part, almost every OS has a simple note taking app that will work fine for you. I use the native Apple app for quick ideas and a more sophisticated writing app for recipes and draft posts. I’ve tried several of the latter, and found iA Writer the best for my needs; it lets you title, search and print with ease, and that comes in very handy when you’re working up something good you don’t want to lose track of. If you don’t have a good native note app, there are plenty out there for your OS, guaranteed.

Truthfully, I’ve used dozens of apps for many moons now, and held off on writing this until I felt I had a solid suite of useful applications. Some or all of these may be of use to you, as they have been for me; and of course, if you have or find some thing cool, you just make sure you share it with the rest of us, hear?

Green Tomato Chutney

I remember with great fondness making Chutney in the fall with my mom. Hers was a sweeter recipe, with very little bite. I love the stuff, but what really floats my boat are the layers of flavor and the interplay between savory and sweet, and the cold of the sauce versus the spiritual heat of good chiles.

This recipe has amazing depth, great balance and a delightful, subtle back-of-the-mouth heat. It’s simple to make and absolutely delightful with chicken, pork, and rice dishes. It also helps solve the problem of what to do with too many tomatoes, especially if you get caught with a bunch of green ones at the end of the season.

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2 Cups Green Tomatoes, chopped and firmly packed
1 Cup Apple, rough chopped and well packed
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sweet Onion, chopped
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
Rind of a small Lemon & Lime, fine grated
Juice of Lemon & Lime
2 Jalapeño Chiles, field stripped & diced
2 medium cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon Coriander Seed, ground
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon, ground
1/4 teaspoon Clove, ground

You may sub 1/2 teaspoon of dried red chile such as Tabasco or Cayenne if you prefer – If you do, add 1 diced small Green Bell Pepper to the mix.

If you buy whole spices as we do, combine salt, coriander, cinnamon and clove in a spice grinder and process until finely ground.

In a non-reactive saucepan over medium-high heat, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat until mixture is just simmering.

Allow Chutney to simmer, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce thickens and absorbs pretty much all free moisture.

Remove from heat, pour into a glass bowl and allow to cool completely.

Refrigerate in an airtight glass container for up to 45 days.

Yields about 1.5 pints.

Can be done in volume and water bath canned for longer storage;
See this article at the NCHFP for more information.

Enjoy!

E & M

Boycott Jimmy John’s

Read about the owner of Jimmy John’s before you dig into that sandwich! The people of his original store’s town universally can’t stand him and neither can I…

This guy is a jerk off of major proportion!
Find a sandwich place that has some class and social conscious, like Panera, and/or a local outfit that needs your business – This guy doesn’t deserve it…

Boomer Deserts

Check out some sweet treats in the Summer edition of American Boomer!

Enjoy,
E & M

Say, why don’t y’all…

So, when I look at ‘real’ food blogs, I see the stuff that folks occasionally ask about here;

‘Why don’t you,’
List nutritionals and calories
Post prep times?
These are, hands down, the questions asked the most. So, in a nutshell, here’s why;

See, to me, listing nutritionals means that first and foremost, portion size and ingredients are set in stone and they ain’t. When you cook and feed the family or friends, does everyone get the same portion? Of course they don’t. This ain’t a restaurant, so we neither need nor desire everyone to eat the same portion.
It also implies that ingredients you use are exactly the same as what we showed; I sure as hell hope that ain’t true either. If you take nothing else from our site, I would hope we radiate and instill a love for experimentation and sourcing what you have on hand locally; that’s why we cook and share.
Third, very little of what we use and offer is “Bad for you” frankly. Fresh proteins, veggies, fruit and other staples, found locally whenever possible are in no way bad for you. If there are ingredients you can’t or don’t want to eat, change ’em. Almost nothing we use is ‘Processed’ in the sense that most of the crap you want to avoid is. We shop by the Eben’s Perimeter Rule; that means go around the outermost aisles of the store, where you’ll find produce, proteins, dairy, bakery, beer and wine; everything in the middle is processed bullshit you neither need or want, (OK, very tongue in cheek, but fundamentally sound…)
Finally, nutrition IS important and should be monitored in some way, shape, or form; if you need or want detailed info on anything we do here, then use our nutritional calculator link and go to town. There’s even a mobile version out now.

Next comes prep and cooking time.
Weeeeeellllll, how do I say this? Listing prep time is, in my not even remotely close to humble opinion, one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read.
Who’s prep time, pray tell, would that be? Mine? Yours? Emeril’s?
I’ve been cutting things for decades and have pretty damn good knife skills; do you? I can stem, seed and core a tomato blindfolded, without cutting myself, in about 15 seconds; can you? I don’t even think about process and procedure any more, it just comes naturally; does it for you? And if your answers are ‘No’, does that make you slow? If I can prep Dish A in 10 minutes and you take 20, should you not make that dish?
No, no, and NO!
Let alone those considerations, what do you have right on hand when you start your prep?
How well equipped is your kitchen?
How was your day before you started cooking?
How many rug rats are flying around your feet?
How man critters need to go out right NOW?!
Get the picture?
Who gives a rats ass how long it takes if you have the time and want to make it? If you’re cooking, you either have a sense of what you can and will accomplish in a given time, or will develop one in time; if you really do like cooking and want to do it, you’ll do it, right?
Right!

Finally, I submit that both these criterion for a “real food blog” are things fomented by and for those who want to be ‘famous’ or ‘make it big’ and/or the corporate food world that supports such desires. I’m 100% sure we’ll never do neither; those considerations, frankly, don’t have a damn thing to do with why we do this.

We do this because we have dear friends who own a fantastic CSA asked us to. We do this because we have a love for good food and cooking shared with those you love. We do this because we hope to inspire such in y’all. If that ain’t good enough, so be it.

Those are my rants and I’m sticking to them.

Peach Blueberry Tart

Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Holly Figueroa O’Reilly asked for a peach recipe; when she asks, I answer!

Here ya go, Holly!

Peach & Blueberry Tart

Crust:

1 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
¼ cup Almonds
6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
3 Tablespoons Sugar
¼ teaspoon Salt
2 – 4 Tablespoons Ice Water

Process almonds to a coarse meal texture.

Add flour, sugar and salt and blend thoroughly.
Cut cold butter into ½” cubes, add and process until the mix is well incorporated, (Again, like a rough meal consistency).

Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to clump; make sure the mix is moist to the touch.
Gather dough, flatten into a roughly 1” thick disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, (And up to a day).

When ready to build, line a pan with parchment, then roll dough out to fit, (Tart or sheet pan, depending on whatcha got).

Blueberry compote:
1 Cup Blueberries
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Cointreau
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar (Or honey)

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add Cointreau and heat through.

Add butter and agave nectar and combine thoroughly.

Add blueberries, drop the heat to medium, and allow sauce to thoroughly coat. Continue heating and mixing until roughly ¾ of the berries have burst. Remove from heat and set aside.

Peaches:
4 – 6 peaches of your choice, (Make sure they’re nice and firm – no mushy stuff!)
¼ Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Vanilla Bean

Preheat oven to 400º F.

Peel, core and stem peaches (You can blanch them if they’re tough to skin), Then cut them into ¼” thick slices.

Spread an even, thin layer of the compote over the dough.

Layer peaches overlapped by about ¼ their width, starting in the middle and working out toward the edges, until you’ve covered the whole shebang. Don’t use the ends/little nasty pieces if your concerned about appearance, (Which ya aughta be)
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean, add to sugar, and shake blend evenly over the peaches.
(Toss the bean into your sugar bowl and enjoy killer vanilla sugar)
Cut butter into ¼” cubes and toss onto the peaches as well.

Place tart in middle of oven. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate pan 180 degrees, and continue baking for another 15 minutes. Edges of the tart should be nicely browned, and don’t fret if the juice burns a little on the pan.

Garnish with a dollop of Mexican Crema and a mint leaf.

Enjoy!