Grab Bag

” Going Bananas “

Image Source : dachshundlove.blogspot.com

 

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I found this on Recyclebank.com and thought it merit’s a share.
Enjoy  🙂

8 Great Ways to Reuse Bananas

Aug 17, 2012 by Trish Smith
You can reuse the complete banana, from inside out, to assist you with some of life’s every day challenges.

I was inspired by the previous story I wrote, Fuel Starts Going Bananas, to read more about the reusability of bananas. Besides throwing the peels into my backyard composter, I didn’t really know any other things to do with the leftover banana waste.

So I did some research and discovered a bunch of eco-friendly ways to reuse bananas instead of just throwing them away. Here are a few of the most interesting alternatives:

    • A tip from ThriftyFun says that if you happen to get bitten by red fire ants, by rubbing the inside of a banana peel on the bite you will prevent it from itching and getting inflamed. This also works for mosquito bites.
    • You can use bananas as fertilizer, either by putting them directly into your composter like I do, or by cutting them into little pieces and mixing them in the soil. Bananas are great for plants because they are rich in phosphorous and potassium.
    • Rubbing the inside of a banana peel onto your brown leather shoes is a great way to clean them and keep them shiny. Also works for non-leather shoes.
    • The potassium in banana peels can cure you of warts in less than 2 weeks.
  • By gargling with water and salt, and then rubbing a mixture of banana peels onto your teeth for about 2 weeks, they will get significantly whiter.
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    Read the rest of the article HERE.
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” Dave Arnold And Harold McGee Do Cool Stuff To Eggs At Harvard “

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Dear Friend’s 
I came across this on cookingdistrict.com and thought you might enjoy this as much as I did.
Take a few minutes time out and have Fun  🙂

Image Source: Crazy Chefs

” Dave Arnold And Harold McGee Do Cool Stuff To Eggs At Harvard ”
By Lisa McLaughlin on September 12, 2012

The new school year has begun and with it comes the first lecture of the 2012 Food and Science Lecture Series at Harvard. The first installment featured Dave Arnold, the uber creative Director of Culinary Technology at the International Culinary Center and Dave Arnold and gastronomic guru Harold McGee talk about soft matter science, explosions, mayonnaise making, haute cuisine, make some dragon’s beard, and do some super cool stuff with eggs.

See the video HERE
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” Wiener Backhendl Im Nest “


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Tonight’s  dinner reminds me of my childhood in Germany,
when this was a very special treat when my parents took me
to a restaurant and I found wiener back hendl on the menu.
Tonight I used cornish hen instead of the more traditional chicken,
but otherwise, this is the real deal. A simple dish of breaded , fried,
bone in chicken  🙂
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Cut a whole chicken into eight pieces or a cornish hen into four pieces,
season with garlic paste, salt and pepper and fry at 375 degrees until golden.
Transfer to a wire rack and bake in a 375 oven until the internal
temperature reaches 162 degrees. Let rest for five minutes before serving.

Bon Appetit !   Live is Good
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” Asiago Crusted Pork Chop & Brussel Sprouts “

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Here I am tonight, thinking  ” what  can I do with those lovely brussel sprouts ? ”
Lovely brussel sprouts ??? !
I used to hate them with a passion, but boy oh boy, has that changed.
Now they are one of my favorite vegetables and I am glad I got some in the fridge
today, because they pair so nicely with my breaded pork chop.
Usually I saute my sprouts with bacon, but I felt I had enough pork on my plate today.
Great, tasty dish and the bone made bella happy   🙂
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Ingredient’s :

Pork chop,
Asiago cheese,                     finely grated
Panko bread crumbs,
AP flour,
Egg,                                         whisked
Cayenne ,                               to taste
Salt,                                         to taste
Olive oil,                                for  sauteing

Brussel Sprout‘s                  blanched, halved
Roasted garlic,                     paste
Salt,                                         to taste
Cayenne,                                to taste
Nutmeg,                                 to taste
Butter,                                     for  sauteing

Method :

Season pork chop with salt and cayenne.
Blend panko and flour 50% each.
Bread Chop by dusting in flour, then coating with egg
and finally with the  panko / flour mix.
Sautee until center reaches 158 degrees, rest on absorbent paper.

Saute garlic in butter until fragrant, add brussel sprout’s and seasoning
and  saute until heated through. To serve, top pork chop with fried parsley.

Bon Appetit !    Life is Good !
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” Stirfried Chicken, Asparagus & Cashew Nuts “

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After a couple of heavy hitter meals during the past few day’s,
I decided to go a bit lighter today with this old asian standby,
chicken with cashew nuts. Light, tasty and delicious. I did not
add any starch, but it pairs equally well with noodles or rice.
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Ingredients :

Chicken leg,              deboned & diced
Asparagus,                blanched
Cashews,
Onions,                      coarsely sliced
Garlic,                         paste
Ginger,                        grated
Soy sauce,                   to taste
Oyster sauce,             to taste
Chili sauce,                to taste
Chili oil,                      to taste
Sesame oil,                 to taste
Peanut oil,                  to stir fry

Method :

Stir fry chicken until golden, remove to absorbent paper, reserve.
Sautee onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant, add asparagus,and seasoning.
Simmer for one minute, add chicken and any accumulated juices, mix well.
To serve, pour over noodles or serve with Chinese steamed rice  (fan)

吃个饱 !     Life is Good !
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” Bauern Vesper ” # 1

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The word  “Vesper”  has two very different meanings, and is used in different languages.
Obviously, we don’t want to discuss the religious meaning here, but the culinary one.
In southern Germany we use the word “Vesper” as an alternative to “Brotzeit“,
which means a meal consisting of bread (Brot) and usually, meat, poultry, cheese or fish.
It is a meal traditionally consumed at around sundown (there is a religious connection)
and used to be a simple version of dinner. These day’s, vesper has more or less taken on
the meaning of snack, consisting of  bread and protein during any time of day.
Yesterday I skipped breakfast and lunch and instead, in the early afternoon,
had a VERY substantial bauern vesper  (farmers meal),
consisting of smoked pork knuckles, slowly simmered until tender,
served with dijon mustard  and a dipping sauce of cider vinegar with roasted garlic,
chilies, salt and onions.  And last, but not least, a glass of fine merlot.
– And yes, this is one portion. (lot’s of bones)   🙂

Bon Appetit & Cheers !   Life is good !
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” Teriayki Salmon & Garlic Noodles With Straw Mushrooms In Oyster Sauce “

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Garlic noodles with anything ! What’s not to like ?
For yesterday’s dinner, I added teriyaki glazed salmon, which
made for a great, healthy (the salmon :-), good looking dinner .
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Ingredient‘s

Salmon :
Salmon filet,                       trimmed, skinless
Teriyaki sauce,                   to taste
Salt,                                       to taste
Cayenne,                              to taste
Peanut oil,                           for sauteeing

Noodles :
Rice noodles,                      cooked, drained
Straw mushrooms,            canned, drained
Ginger,                                  grated
Garlic,                                   paste
Onions,                                julienned
Chilies,                                 sliced
Scallions,                             sliced
Sesame oil,                           to taste
Soy sauce,                             to taste
Chili oil,                                to taste
Oyster sauce,                       to taste
Sriracha,                               to taste
Peanut oil,                            for sauteeing

Method :
Salmon :

Season salmon with salt and pepper and sautee on skin side until golden.
Brush bottom side with teriyaki sauce, turn and brush skin side.
Put into 375 degree oven and cook for two minutes.
Brush again with teriaki sauce and return to oven.
Repeat until salmon has reached your preferred temperature and a shiny
glaze has formed.

Noodles :

Sautee onions, garlic and mushrooms until garlic starts to turn color .
Add all other ingredient’s and continue to sautee  (stir fry) until all
ingredient’s are well incorporated.
To serve, top noodles with salmon and juices which might have formed
while the salmon was resting. Garnish with lemon or lime and cilantro.

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” Spaghetti Aglio e Olio “

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Tonight,
 a simple, great, straightforward pasta dish is all I need.
I give you :  Spaghetti aglio e olio  🙂
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Ingredients :

  • 1 pound dried Spaghetti
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons roasted garlic
  • 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
    Salt, to taste

Method :

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant.
Drain pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Add to pan.
Season with salt.Mix well, adding some of the cooking liquid
if the pasta seems too dry.
To serve, sprinkle with chopped italian parsley.

Please note :
I have changed the basic, very traditional recipe by replacing
slivered garlic with roasted garlic and adding scallions
(for crunch) and Parmigiano Reggiano (for taste).

Buon Appetito !   Life is Good !
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” Roasted Garlic – The Top Of The Food Pyramide ? “

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By now you have probably realized that I add garlic to just about
everything,  maybe with the exception of vanilla pudding and fruit salad   🙂
Here a quick instruction how to quickly and easily do this
wonderful concoction which will enhance so many dishes.
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Cut the top of a heads of garlic, drizzle with duck fat or olive oil,
sprinkle with kosher salt and wrap airtight in alu foil.
Roast in a 400 degree oven for one and a half hours. Let garlic cool in foil.
When cool, unwrap and squeeze garlic into bowl.
If you made a large amount to be frozen, mix with some oil so that it does not
freeze rock solid and you are able to remove small amounts at a time.
Pack into sealable bag and freeze.
This can be used in any dish which calls for garlic, but it is also great to just spread on
a grilled bread of any kind and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper🙂

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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” About My Recipes “

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Dear Friend‘s,

Here is my answer to a question some of my new readers have once in a while :

I love the dish! But where is the recipe ?

To answer those questions :
The ingredient’s (except most standard seasonings) are usually pictured in the first (the Prep) picture..
The idea is to have you add as much /  little of one ingredient as you like :
Don’t like much garlic? Add less! Love garlic?  Add more.
In savory cooking, recipes are usually just guidelines, which you should interprete
according to your taste , preferences and availability. (Don’t like butter? Use olive oil !
Don’t like butter nor olive oil? Use Canola oil or peanut oil or whatever fat you like !
Prefer your soup / sauce thicker or thinner ? Add more or less thickener !
Don’t want fat in your food? Leave it out!
Most reader like this format, especially the once who have fallen on their butt
by following “EXACT” recipes to the dot, just to find out they don’t give you the pictured  result      : -(

And yes, many of my recipes have the approximate amounts printed   🙂

So please remember :
To truly learn a dish, one must understand what the temperature, moisture and time does to the ingredients. (Amongst many other things).

To quote Alton Brown:
“A home cook who relies too much on a recipe is sort of like a pilot who reads the plane’s instruction manual while flying.”
– Alton Brown


Cooking is a labor of love.
Do what makes you happy, as long as you understand the guidelines.   :-)

Bon Appetit !   Life is Good !
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