Cajun Jambalaya, Done Vegan

 

My mother was born and raised in Elton, Louisiana, a small town in the Cajun Triangle (the area with points in Alexandria, pronounced Ahl-eck for short; Lafayette and Lake Charles). The poverty was real, but even during the Depression, they still managed to grow plenty of rice and sugar cane, and fish for sac-au-lait and crawfish, and hunt for ducks. My grandfather had a herd of cattle that foraged in the dense woods, and would ride his horse to round them up by nightfall. My mother had to milk their stingy teats to get what little milk they provided before heading off to school. She was the youngest of five girls and a boy, and the first to learn English before starting school. 

But the food was good, spicy but not mouth-burningly hot, and heavily rice-based. They loved their rice, and looked aghast at anyone who would cook it with tomatoes and ruin the texture. (They liked tomatoes, but in a sauce or as a side dish.)

I’m sure there were times when the ducks had migrated, the pork from the pigs that were slaughtered in the fall ran out, the chickens refused to lay. But if there were any recipes for jambalaya that didn’t have tasso (a spicy ham) or andouille sausage or chicken or all three, they weren’t in my mother’s recipe box.

I made this vegan version for my book club ladies earlier this month, and they liked it a lot. Since I now live in Sacramento, I toned down the amount of cayenne pepper, but had my hot sauce available for any brave souls who needed it.

Lori K’s Vegan Jambalaya

Serves 6-8

Seasoning mix:

4 small whole bay leaves, dried

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch of cayenne

1 teaspoon of filé powder (ground sassafras leaves, also called filé gumbo)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves

2 cups uncooked rice (I like basmati, but any long-grain rice will do)

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped red, yellow or orange bell pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1 can of beans, rinsed and drained (any unseasoned type will do; I prefer cannellini beans)

3 cups vegetable stock (be sure it doesn’t contain tomatoes or tomato juice; if you can’t find it, and haven’t made your own from vegetable peelings and scraps, Seitenbacher makes a good instant vegan broth)

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Instructions

Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix in a small bowl and set aside.

Rinse the rice until clear, drain and put in an oiled 9x13 glass pan. Set aside.

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat; add the onion, celery, peppers and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the seasoning mix and cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Scrape it into the pan over the rice. Sprinkle the beans over the vegetables.

Bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add the yeast and soy sauce. Pour slowly over the rice and vegetables and cover tightly with foil. Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Check to see if the rice is browning around the edges; if so, turn down the head to 350 and bake 15 minutes more. Otherwise, continue baking for 10 minutes at 375, and if the rice is tender but still a little crunchy, take it out of the oven and cover tightly. Let it rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. Serve.

A most delicious chicken dish

I wish I could take credit for this dish, but I can’t. I saw a Facebook Reel about a similar dish, but when I went back to look for it, I couldn’t find it. So I searched my memory banks as to what I could remember about it and this was my best guess. I made it tonight, and thought I should write it down so I can make it again. It was truly spectactular and pleasing. I served it with a side of broiled asparagus.

Lori K’s version of the most delicious chicken dish you’ll ever make

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, halved lengthwise

¼ cup flour

1 egg

4 sprigs thyme, leaves only

Garlic salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup of chicken or vegetable broth

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped

1½ cups cooked rice (I think the original called for mashed potatoes, but rice is what I had on hand)

Instructions

After you halve the chicken breast, pound each half with a meat mallet. Put the flour in a fine wire-mesh strainer and sprinkle it generously over each breast; turn each half and sprinkle over the other side. On a plate large enough for each half, that has at least a ½-inch lip, crack open the egg and beat it. Add the thyme, and the amount of garlic salt and pepper you would usually use on a chicken breast. Beat the spices and egg together.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until it starts to lightly smoke. Have two ½-tablespoon pats of butter ready. Dredge the first floured chicken breast half through the beaten egg on both sides. Put a butter pat in one side of the pan in the hot oil and put the breast on top of it. Repeat with the other half. Cook until both halves are golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.

When both are done, lower the heat to simmer; add the broth and the capers. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until the broth thickens and the meat is done.

Put ¾ cup of rice on half the serving plate and put a chicken breast half on top of it. Drizzle half of the pan juices and capers over it, then half of the lemon juice, then sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with a salad and/or your favorite vegetable(s).

Summer’s bounty in a winter chowder

I try every summer to take advantage of fresh white and bicolor corn, cooking it until crisp-tender, then cutting it off the cob and freezing it. Nothing like having a bit of culinary sunshine to chase away the chilly blues on an early spring day.

2 red potatoes, peeled, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

1/2 cup green chilies finely chopped

2 ounces thick-cut bacon bits, crisped for a minute in microwave  between paper towels 

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour mixed with 1 teaspoon dried powdered oregano  

1 Parmesan rind (optional)

2 sprigs thyme

Freshly ground black pepper 

2 cups chicken broth

Corn off the cob, about 2-4 cobs, frozen OK, but thawed

1 cup heavy cream

Instructions 

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium and add potatoes, onions and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened but haven’t taken on any color, 12–15 minutes. Add chiles and cook until fragrant and softened, about 3 minutes. Add bacon bits. Stir in flour and cook until nutty and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add cheese rind, thyme and chicken broth, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork-tender, 10–15 minutes. Add cream, cook, stirring, until chowder has thickened, 5–10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve. 

Nothing fishy about Perfect Fish

 It's such an unassuming little gadget, but with a name that sounds more like a brag than a discription, the Perfect Fish Cooking Time Indicator is indispensable for cooks who love fish. I've had mine for almost as long as it's been available (the patent was issued in 1984), and it lost its plastic part that rested on the fish to get a precise measurement years ago, but the aluminum measuring part still hangs near my stove.

I have looked far and wide for a better-looking and intact replacement, with no luck. The few that have appeared from resellers on eBay and Etsy were snapped up quickly.

If this gizmo sounds like something that would help you from either overcooking or undercooking fish, here's my workaround:

Take a straight-edge metal ruler. Put it next to the piece of fish you will be cooking. Using a non-flexible thin item such as an icing spatula or knife, place it across the fish, perpendicular to the ruler and measure how thick the fish is. Figure 5 minutes of cooking time for every half inch of fish, 10 minutes for 1" and so on. Bake or broil at 450°F ; pan fry or deep fry at 375°F. 

It has never let me down. If anyone hears of a reissue of this useful tool, please let me know!

Lori K's tip of the day – July 23, 2023

If you're heating soft corn tortillas in the microwave, put a folded paper towel on the bottom first, then the tortillas. This allows the steam somewhere to go, so the bottom tortilla is soft and warm like the rest, not soggy. A minute in the 'wave is all you need.

Lori K's veggie Mexican scramble

Serves 2

Ingredients

Oil

4 oz. soy or other vegetarian chorizo

½ pound of chard or spinach, rinsed and stems removed

2 eggs

Pepper and/or salt to taste

6 tortillas

Instructions

Put a little oil in a large nonstick skillet and turn on the burner to medium heat. Remove the casing from the chorizo, chop it roughly and add to the skillet. Meanwhile put a smooth cotton or linen towel on a large microwave safe plate, pile on the chard, fold the towel over it, and microwave for about 90 seconds until just wilted. Remove from the microwave, and when cool, squeeze out as much liquid as possible (you could save the liquid for vegetable broth; it's very nutritious). Chop the greens, put them in the skillet, and turn the heat down to low. Crack the two eggs over the mixture, season with the salt and pepper, and scramble the mixture until the whites set. Put the tortillas in a warmer (a clean tea towel could be used instead) and microwave for 1 minute.

Plate the scramble and use it as a filling for the tortillas, one at a time, keeping the others warm as you eat them all up.

Nanner, nanner, banana bread

My mother loved to make banana bread and I loved to eat it. She preferred pecans. but I loved walnuts in it. 

Yet, once the doc told me that I was prediabetic and would need to ease up on the sweets, I knew my days of enjoying this treat would come to an end if I didn't make some changes. Here's my compromise. 

I halved the amount of butter and sugar, and doubled the number of bananas. It worked! 

Lori's Banana Bread 

Ingredients 

1/4 cup butter 

1/4 cup sugar 

2 eggs 

6 bananas (thawed if frozen; mashed if fresh) 

1/3 cup milk, mixed with 1 tablespoon vinegar 

2 cups flour 

1 teaspoon salt 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1 cup walnuts (or pecans, or other nuts) 

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter and sugar in a stand mixer. Add the eggs and bananas while the mixer is going, one at a time until blended, then the milk. 

Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and mix with the nuts until they are well coated. 

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together; add slowly to the mixture while the mixer is still going until all is blended. 

Turn off the mixer and fold in the nuts. Pour into a well-oiled loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Turn out on a cooling rack. Serve warm or cold.

A more healthful Bite

I love the little oatcakes that are commonly called Aussie Bites, but the sugar and butter calories are pretty daunting for those of us watching our weight, or our sugar and fat intake. 

So here's my attempt to make some with no cholesterol (although it does have saturated fat) and far less sugar. 

I made them in a mini-muffin tin that has 24 indentions; the batter makes 4 dozen, and it keeps well for several days in the refrigerator.

Lori K’s Aussie Bites

Makes about 4 dozen

Ingredients

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup honey

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups rolled oats, uncooked

1½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup raisins

¾ cup sliced almonds or chopped nuts

Instructions

Mix the first four ingredients until smooth. Add the rest a little at a time until everything is well mixed. Press into mini-muffin cups (24) and bake until golden, 13-15 minutes.

The "Mav-vita" is born

Ever since Jim's cousin Sarah and her husband Ray introduced us to Mavs at the Bel-Air Bay Club in Southern California, it's been our go-to party drink. A shot of good tequila, a wedge of orange sprinkled with cinnamon, it's heady and refreshing in a single gulp.

But what if you feel like sipping a Mav? Well, you then need a Mav-vita.

Squeeze two oranges (navel or Cara-cara) into a glass with some ice. Add a dash of cinnamon sugar. Pour in a jigger of good tequila. Stir until chilled and serve.

Tender ribs in under an hour

As I was marinating the mess of pork loin ribs that I plan to freeze and take on an upcoming camping trip, I realized that I had neglected to plan for dinner, which would be happening in about an hour or so. 

So I cut off six big ones and put the others back in the fridge to marinate overnight. I marinated the six for about a half hour, cut them apart, then pulled out the pressure cooker. I put 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan, put it on a medium hot burner and when the oil was slightly smoking, cooked the ribs on three sides, leaving the bone side raw. I then added a mixture of tamari, unseasoned rice vinegar and red wine to the pan after draining out the fat and wiping the inside with a paper towel. I put the ribs in, put on the cover, waited for the steam to build up, then set the timer for 15 minutes. 

I then cooked the corn on the cob in the microwave, and added it to the warming oven, where I had some mac 'n' cheese. When the ribs were done, dinner was served. Easy peasy, and delicious!

Lori K's Hot Rub and Ribs, pressure cooker edition

Ingredients

Two racks of pork ribs

Lawry's garlic salt

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Rub:

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of ground thyme

Pressure cooker liquid:

3 tablespoons tamari (wheatless) soy sauce

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons dry red wine or dry sherry

Instructions

Rinse and dry ribs and set them meaty side down on a jelly-roll pan. Lightly sprinkle the bones with garlic salt. Turn the ribs over.

Mix 2 tablespoons of oil and the spices thoroughly, then rub into the meaty side of the ribs. Sprinkle the meaty side with garlic salt and let stand for at least a half an hour before cutting off six ribs. (Cover pan in plastic wrap and save the rest for grilling the next day; they freeze well after cooking if wrapped tightly.)

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a pressure cooker (15 psi) over medium high heat. When smoking, add the six ribs to the oil and brown on the three meaty sides. Remove the ribs from the pan, drain the oil and wipe out the pan with a paper towel, being careful not to burn yourself. Add the liquid mixture to the pan, then the ribs, cover and turn up the heat a bit until the pressure comes up. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and when the pan has cooled a bit, release the steam valve and open the cooker. Serve immediately. 

If you prefer your ribs falling off the bone, add 2 tablespoons of water to the liquid mixture and increase the cooking time 5 minutes. If you like them even spicier, add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the rub.

Dreaming of another trip to Hawaii

Travel will be just a fantasy until we get a vaccine for COVID-19, the Spanish flu of our century. But being in semi-quarantine has provided me with more time for research. Here is a review of a Hawaiian cookbook I wrote 17 years ago I thought I'd share.

"Kona on My Plate" Cookbook review, Sacramento Bee, May 2003 Wed, May 14, 2003 – 57 · The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California) · Newspapers.com

A healthy breakfast quiche

Quiche is a favorite brunch item for many people, but most contain stuff that negates the healthful spinach and other vegetables, namely cheese, cream, butter and bacon, in a rich pie crust.

But can you have a flavorful AND healthful quiche? Sure you can. The one below is an example, but you can substitute in vegetables to your own taste, and even use lower-fat bacon pieces if you'd like (I keep a bag of them in the freezer). I used a half of a beef kielbasa sausage because I needed to use it up. Use less salt if you use bacon; less pepper if you use a sausage.

Lori's breakfast quiche

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup shredded potatoes (squeezed dry) or reconstituted hash brow
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
12 leaves fresh chard (cut off stems and chop, leave leaves whole)
About ¼ cup chopped cooked sausage or lean bacon or ham (optional)
3 eggs
1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
Garlic salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix the potatoes and oil until well coated, then press them in the bottom of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Cook for 10- to 15-minutes until the edges are brown.

Meanwhile, sauté the chard stems in a tablespoon of oil. When nearly soft, season with garlic salt and pepper.

Put the chard leaves on a microwave-safe plate and microwave them for 2 minutes. Turn the plate over on an old, clean dishtowel, fold the sides over the chard, then roll up tightly and twist to squeeze the moisture out of the leaves. Chop the leaves into ½-inch pieces and set aside.

Mix the eggs and yogurt well.

Pull the hash browns out of the oven and turn it down to 325 degrees F.

Sprinkle the chard leaves over the cooked potatoes, then the stems, then the meat (if using). Spray the sides of the pie plate with olive oil, then pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. Salt and pepper the top if desired. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave the next day or so.

Roux that doesn't make you rue the day

Roux, how I love you. You take plain ol' white flour and oil and turn it into a deep brown well of flavor and texture that cannot be matched.

But what I don't love is the time it takes to make you, the attention that you crave, and your ability to turn, after a long session of fretting and whisking, into a burnt mess with no warning. And now, I've found a way, although far from foolproof, to keep my schedule intact and my right arm from repetitive strain injury and still make a mighty fine roux.

I read where you could make roux in a microwave. Unfortunately, the person who posted the instructions had a much fancier microwave than mine, which has only one power setting, so my first batch came out of the first 6-minute cook time with a telltale black bubble that of course ruined the roux. Tried again, this time for 4 minutes, then adding 30 seconds, stirring after each round, until it came out as dark as I dared make it. And I was able to do it in a glass measuring cup, which made it easy to pour back into a cast-iron skillet, bring it to smoking and add the Cajun Trinity (chopped onion, green pepper and celery) for a surprisingly quick gumbo.

By the way, roux also makes the best turkey gravy in the world, and you can use the fat rendered off the cooked turkey instead of the oil, if you can separate it without getting any broth in the fat. Use the fatless drippings along with broth to make the gravy.

Lori's cheap and quick gumbo

Serves at least 10

Ingredients
2 cups onion, medium dice

1½ cups green pepper, medium dice

1 cup celery, finely diced

2 whole bay leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (can leave out if using andouille sausage or tasso)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon ground oregano

¾ cup flour

¾ cup canola oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

6 cups chicken broth

1 pound andouille sausage or tasso, or a good smoked sausage like kolbassa, sliced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked and sliced

3 cups of hot cooked rice (1 cup of uncooked rice)

Filé (dried powdered sassafrass leaves)

Instructions
Prep the vegetables, put together in a bowl and set aside. Mix the bay leaves, salt, three kinds of pepper, thyme and oregano, put in a small bowl and set aside.

Mix the flour and oil, with a whisk until there are no lumps, in a glass 4-cup measure. Microwave at 100% power for 4 minutes, remove and stir. Continue cooking in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until it turns a deep red-brown. If any black specks appear, it is burnt and you will need to start over. Do not get any of this on your skin; it's called Cajun napalm for a reason.

Pour the roux into a cast-iron skillet and heat over medium heat until lightly smoking. Add the vegetables and the garlic and cook until they are soft, about 3-5 minutes. Mix in the seasoning mixture from the small bowl until well combined and set aside.

Put the broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the roux to the broth by spoonfuls, whisking until each addition is dissolved. When it all is combined, add the meats. Cook at least 30 minutes.

To serve, put about ¼ cup of rice in a bowl, then sprinkle a teaspoon of filé over it. Ladle the gumbo over.

When life give you Meyer lemons, make lemon curd

I'm not much on sweets, but there's only so much petrale sole and dungeness crab that I can use Meyer lemons on. For those of you who unfamiliar with this little slice of heaven that grows on a tree in my backyard, the Meyer lemon is citron and a mandarin/pomelo hybrid that is much sweeter and less acidic than the common lemon.

So it was to my delight to find and adapt this lemon curd recipe. It is based on an Ina Garten recipe, but uses less sugar, since she didn't specify Meyer. I liked it because it didn't demand you use a double boiler (I don't have one). I tried to see if you could do it with melted butter and a food processor like my favorite blender hollandaise, but no dice. Still, it was only a little over 10 minutes on the stove to lemony perfection.

Lori's Meyer Lemon Curd

Ingredients

3 Meyer lemons, zest removed and juiced

¾ cup sugar

⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt

4 large eggs

4 oz butter, melted

Instructions

Put the sugar, salt and the zest in a food processor and pulse until the zest is very fine. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Add the juice and blend until light and foamy. With the processor running, slowly add the melted butter. When blended, put in a nonstick heavy saucepan and heat over low heat until the mixture reaches about 170 degrees and thickens, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. It will thicken more as it cools. Keep refrigerated and use within a month, or freeze and thaw before serving. Makes about 1½ cups.

All about butter

This listing is not mine, but I approve them all. I found the list in a stash of emails I was about to delete, and thought I'd share it. It may be from The City Cook, but I can't find it on their site.

Butter Basics

• Butter is made from 100% heavy cream that has been agitated so to separate water and butterfat. The fat left behind is butter. The watery liquid that is removed is buttermilk or whey. Contrary to its high-cholesterol sounding name, buttermilk in fact is very low fat which makes sense if you consider how it's produced. 
• Nearly every butter available in our stores has been pasteurized.
• Unsalted or sweet butter is exactly as its name suggests. Butterfat without any added salt.
• Salted butter includes one to two percent salt (that's like adding one to two teaspoons per pound). Some salted butters include grainy salts like sel de fleur, giving the butter an almost crunchy texture and a more aggressively salty taste.
• European butter has a higher butterfat content -- as high as 86%. This is in comparison with regular butter, which will have a butterfat content of about 80%. More butterfat means less moisture and this translates into a denser, more refined texture and when used in baking, it can produce flakier pastries. In addition, some European butters are made with cultured cream and due to the addition of lactic acid bacteria, it has a more forward, bigger flavor. A few butters made in the U.S., including one by Cabot, will be labeled "European" as a way of declaring its higher butterfat content.
• Organic butter is made with cream that's been certified organic and antibiotic free.
• Whipped butter is simply butter to which nitrogen has been added which means it is softer to spread. But keep in mind that the whipping also reduces volume so you're actually getting less product for the money. If you love whipped butter, especially on pancakes or scones, just let a stick soften to almost room temperature and then whip it yourself using a hand or stand mixer. 
• Truffle butter is plain butter to which bits of black or white truffles have been added. Two popular brands are d'Artagnan and DaRosario and a little 2 oz. container usually costs $10 to $15. And what's the point? Well, if you are a truffle lover and with truffles costing the price of Caribbean vacation, a tablespoon of truffle butter tossed with a bowl of fettuccine (use dry pasta and search out DeCecco's, making sure it's the egg fettuccine), or added to scrambled eggs, or glossing plain steamed green beans will satisfy many a craving.
• Clarified butter has been melted so as to separate its water, milk solids and pure milk fat, producing a clear yellow liquid. By removing the water and milk solids, the remaining liquefied milk fat will not burn as easily, making it a good choice when butter is used in higher temperature frying.
• Ghee is the name in India for clarified butter that has been additionally cooked, adding more complex flavor and extended stability (ghee can keep unrefrigerated for many months). It also has cultural and religious importance.
• Compound butter is a term used to describe a butter to which flavorings have been added. Truffle butter is one but more quotidian examples would be made with garlic, minced tarragon or other fresh herbs, chopped shallot, or ground cinnamon. It's simple to make: use a fork to mash together softened butter with the ingredient of your choice and then refrigerate until ready to use.
• Countries that have dairy legacies, such as Ireland and France, deserve their reputations for really excellent butter and flavors can subtly vary depending on the grasses the cows eat. Butters from Ireland, Normandy, Brittany and Holland are exported to the U.S. and are increasingly easy to find in our grocers and specialty markets.

Lots of lava love

This is a quick and easy take on a dessert that was very popular in the '90s. Use the best chocolate you can afford.

Lori K's Molten Mini Cakes

Ready in 30 minutes

Serves 8

6 oz 70% or more chocolate, in pieces 4 egg yolks

16 T butter, divided 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

4 eggs 3/4 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in a 2 or 4 cup microwave-safe glass measuring cup, 

and remove 2 T to a small pinch bowl. Use the smaller amount to grease 

8 custard cups or ramekins. 

Add chocolate to the larger amount and stir until smooth and thoroughly mixed. 

Add the eggs and the egg yolks, mix thoroughly; then the sugar and flour and mix until smooth.

Place the cups on a rimmed baking sheet and fill. Put them all on one shelf in the middle 

of the oven and cook for 7-10 minutes. The outside of the cakes should raise slightly and look dry;

the middle should still be shiny. Do not overcook.

Super simple caramel sauce

Bananas are so good for your muscles, but some weeks, we don't eat them fast enough, i.e. before the dreaded brown spots start popping up. Someone who will remain nameless doesn't like the taste or texture of a ripe banana.

So usually, I just peel them and throw them in the freezer to be used for banana bread at some future time. But this morning I felt like bananas Foster, but didn't want to go to all the fuss.

So I just made a simple caramel sauce to pour over the sliced bananas. Delicious! Only four ingredients, and in simple proportions so I can keep it in my head.

Lori K's Simple Caramel Sauce
Serves 2 (can half or double and will keep for a week in the fridge)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated milk
Pinch or two of coarse salt

Instructions
Melt butter for 30 seconds in microwave in a 2-cup Pyrex measure. Add the brown sugar and evaporated milk, mix well, and return to the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well, and return to the microwave for 15 seconds.

Serve over sliced ripe bananas and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Enjoy!

Nifty butter trick!

I saw this on Facebook and had to share.

Kimberly Reaves Bernards

April 3, 2016 · Robbinsdale, MN · 

One of the coolest baking tips ever... Tried and true... If you need to soften butter quickly but don't want to melt it.... Put boiling hot water in a glass to heat the glass. Dump the water out and flip it over your stick of butter. In a few minutes it will be softy soft to use! You're welcome!

A star pepper

Here's something you don't see every day; a pepper with not three, not four, but five ribs. And it came from my community garden (getting peppers in December isn't an annual occurrence, not even in Sacramento). Delicious in our weekend omelette.

Good salmon, bad eggs

Eggs still are a mystery.

The trick to beautiful hard-boiled eggs is not to use ones that just came out of a chicken, not to overcook them and to cool them down in ice water immediately after cooking.

I thought I had done everything right when I recently cooked 18 of them for two parties on consecutive nights. And the first night, all was well. The shells, gently cracked all over, came sliding off like a dream, and the yolks were a lovely yellow through and through. I put the rest of them in the fridge. The next day, every last one of the yolks were covered in gray. I felt as bad as a young wife cooking a first meal for my husband and burning the rice.

Worse, there was nothing on the internet that could tell me what had gone wrong. It wasn't like all the eggs weren't cooked the same amount of time, or in a different pan. Sigh. More experimentation to come.

On the fish front, here's a really easy way to poach a skinless, boneless salmon fillet for one.

Lay the salmon flat in a microwave-safe pie plate or bowl. Season with herbs of your choice (I used Montreal Steak Seasoning this morning) and cover with wine or beer. Cover the dish and cook for 2 minutes. Remove carefully (it will be steamy hot) and chill. I topped it with some homemade mayonnaise. Yum!

Homemade mayonnaise

Ingredients
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
White pepper to taste
16 ounces olive or canola oil

Instructions
Beat together the yolks and the seasoning ingredients. Add the oil, a drop at a time at first, then in a slow, steady stream. Keep beating until all the oil is absorbed. 

An improved gazpacho, just made for ripe tomatoes

Gazpacho is the perfect soup for summer, especially when your plants start over producing. Even little ones make a crazy good soup. I used to use a tablespoon of sherry, but this year, I tried it with a shot of vermouth and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. It was perfection.

LORI K’S GARDEN GAZPACHO

Prep time: About 15 minutes

Serves 3 or 4

Note: I like seeds and skins. Add more prep time, and some tomato juice, if you want to remove both.

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped

1 large, young lemon cucumber, roughly chopped

½ red onion, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Two ½-inch slices french bread or 1 slice ciabatta, torn up

A few basil leaves, tarragon and/or parsley

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

A shot of dry vermouth

A drizzle (up to a teaspoon) of balsamic glaze

Salt and black pepper

1 avocado, quartered and thinly sliced into fans (optional)

Put the tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, onion, olive oil, bread, parsley and/or basil, garlic, vermouth and balsamic glaze in a blender; season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth, adding up to ½ cup water if necessary.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate for up to a few hours before serving or serve immediately. Garnish with avocado fans, if desired.