Leftovers!
November 23, 2012 at 9:39 AM | Posted in Food, leftovers, turkey | 4 CommentsTags: Cooking, Eating, Home, Leftovers, Thanksgiving, Turkey, United States, United States Department of Agriculture
Just a little on America’s Favorite Meal after Thanksgiving, Leftovers! Which will be part of my lunch and dinner today.
Leftovers are the uneaten edible remains of a meal after the meal is over, and everyone has finished eating. Food scraps that are not considered edible (such as bones or the skins of some vegetables and fruits) are not regarded as leftovers, but rather as waste material; any remaining edible portions constitute the leftovers.
The ultimate fate of leftovers depends on where the meal was eaten, the preferences of the diner, and the prevailing social culture. Home cooking leftovers are often saved to be eaten later. This is facilitated by being in a private environment, with food preserving facilities such as airtight containers and refrigeration close at hand. Some leftover food can be eaten cold from the refrigerator, while others may be reheated in a microwave or a conventional oven, or mixed with additional ingredients and recooked to make a new dish such as bubble and squeak.
Though leftover or partially eaten food (Ucchishta) is never offered to a Hindu deity, the goddess Matangi is prescribed to be offered this taboo oblation to gain her grace to achieve Supreme knowledge and supernatural powers.
The word “ort”, meaning a small scrap of food left after a meal is completed, is not commonly heard in conversation, but is frequently encountered in crossword puzzles.
New dishes made from leftovers are quite common in world cuisine, and many were created in the days before refrigeration and reliable airtight containers existed. Besides capturing nutrition from otherwise inedible bones, stocks and broths make an excellent base for adding leftover morsels too small to be a meal themselves. Casseroles, paella, fried rice, and pizza can also be used for this purpose, and may even have been invented as a means of reusing leftovers.[citation needed] Among American university students, leftover pizza itself has acquired particular in-group significance, to the extent that the USDA‘s Food Safety and Inspection Service offers, as its first tip under “Food Safety Tips for College Students”, a discussion of the risks of eating unrefrigerated pizza, which are considerable.
At some holiday meals, such as Christmas in Western countries and Thanksgiving in the USA, it is customary for the host to prepare much more food than can be eaten, specifically in order to send leftovers home with the guests. Cold turkey is archetypal in the United States as a Thanksgiving leftover, with turkey meat often reappearing in sandwiches, soups, and casseroles for several days after the feast.
Leftovers from a restaurant meal may either be left behind to be discarded by the restaurant, or taken away by the diner for later consumption. In order to take the food away, the diner may make a request for it to be packaged. The container used for such leftovers is commonly called a doggy bag or doggie bag. It is speculated that this derives from the euphemistic pretense that the food will be given to the diner’s pet, rather than eaten by a person. However it may also be a corruption of the East Anglian term docky, meaning lunch. The term doggy bag is preferred[citation needed] over take away or take home bag as it was popularized in the 1970s etiquette columns of many newspapers. Doggy bags are most common in restaurants that offer a take-out food service as well as sit-down meals, and their prevalence as an accepted social custom varies widely by location. In some countries, especially in Europe, people would frown upon a diner asking for a doggy bag.
It’s that time of year! – Canning 101
September 26, 2012 at 10:02 AM | Posted in cooking, Food, vegetables | 1 CommentTags: Boil, Canning, Fruit, Home canning, Mason jar, Pressure, Recipe, United States Department of Agriculture
I thought I would pass along an informative article on Canning. From the latest issue of Healthy Cooking/Taste of Home. Fantastic magazine that’s always packed with great and healthy recipes. The web link is at the bottom of the post.
Canning 101
New to canning? Preserving and canning can seem intimidating at first, but they can be an easy way to save money and give fruits and veggies a longer shelf life. You can enjoy homegrown vegetables and fresh fruit year round and make pickles, salsa, jams and jellies from scratch.
Getting Started
Before you get started, it’s important to have all the right tools. Here’s a list:
Mason jars with new lids and bands.
Everyday kitchen utensils such as a spatula, funnel and tongs.
A pressure canner or a boiling water bath canner.
Foods with high acidity, such as fruits and tomatoes, can be processed in a boiling water bath canner. These foods are naturally acidic and able to kill bacteria at boiling point (120°). Foods with low acidity, like vegetables and soups, require a pressure canner (not to be confused with a pressure cooker), which reaches high enough temperatures (240-250°) to kill any bacteria.
It might be easier to try canning produce with high acidity first, because most pots found at home can be converted into boiling water bath canners.
The Process
Although low-acidity and high-acidity foods use different kinds of canners, the overall canning process is virtually the same for both.
Gather ingredients; read through recipe and instructions.
Wash and dry jars, lids and bands.
To prevent cracking when hot food is added, heat jars and lids in hot (not boiling) water. Bands should be kept at room temperature so they’re easier to handle.
Simmer 2-3 inches of water in pressure canner or fill boiling water canner half-full of water and simmer while food is being prepared and placed in jars. If using a pressure canner, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Prepare food.
Remove jars from canner using tongs or similar kitchen utensil and fill with food, leaving appropriate headspace as called for in recipe. (Headspace is the space between the food and the lid.) If the recipe calls for it, remove air bubbles in food by running a spatula between the food and the inside of the jar.
Clean rim of jar and place lid on top, making sure it’s centered so the seal makes contact with the rim. Tightly screw on band.
Return filled jars to canner. If using a pressure canner, follow manufacturer’s directions. If using a boiling water canner, place lid on top and bring to a boil. Depending on the recipe and your altitude, processing times will differ.
Remove jars from canner and let sit 12-24 hours. Don’t retighten or adjust the bands.
To be sure the lid is sealed to the jar rim, remove the band and try to lift the lid off. If the lid stays put, the jar was sealed successfully.
Label your jars and store in a dry, cool place.
Sources: USDA Guide to Home Canning (2006) and Ball Canning Corporation. For more information, visit http://www.uga.edu/nchfp or http://www.freshpreserving.com
Canning Tips
Remember to adjust the processing time for your altitude. The air is thinner at higher altitudes, which causes water to boil at a lower temperature. Lower boiling temperatures are not as effective at killing bacteria. To compensate, increase the processing time or canner pressure.
Use Mason jars to preserve foods, but never re-use the lids.
Only use a boiling water bath canner or a pressure canner. Open-kettle canning or the use of a dishwasher, oven or microwave for processing is not recommended
Canned food should only be kept up to a year. Only can the amount of food your family will consume over the span of a year.
Tea Provides Profound Health Benefits
September 23, 2012 at 10:11 AM | Posted in diabetes, diabetes friendly, green tea | 1 CommentTags: American Institute for Cancer Research, Blood pressure, Ferri, Health, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Torr, United States, United States Department of Agriculture
Farmer’s markets grow in popularity
June 6, 2012 at 9:48 AM | Posted in Food, fruits, vegetables | Leave a commentTags: Farmer, Farmers' market, Journal - News, Ohio, Organic food, Saturday, Sunday, United States Department of Agriculture
Came across this article in this morning’s Journal – News. A really great article about our local Farmer’s Markets here in and around Butler County. You can read the entire article by clicking the link at the bottom of the post.
Farmer’s markets grow in popularity
More people seek affordable goods that support communities.
With an estimated 1,000 farmer’s markets, farm stands and pick-your-own fields and orchards in Ohio, local-grown produce and foods are easily available.
“Within the past year or two, there have been markets popping up all over,” said Lori Panda of the Ohio Proud program, part of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. “People are interested in supporting their local economy and Ohio farmers. It’s bringing the community together.”
“Buying local” is exploding in popularity as people seek more affordable, chemical-free foods and goods that support their communities. Many markets are expanding to offer cooking demonstrations and educational programs that teach people how to prepare unfamiliar vegetables or grow their own.
“The challenge for the farm markets is it’s starting to get difficult to get vendors, especially on Saturdays, because there’s so many markets and they’re so popular,” Panda said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual survey showed 278 farmer’s markets in Ohio in 2011.
‘That community feeling’
One of the state’s oldest markets is Dayton’s PNC
2nd Street Market, a
MetroParks facility, whose roughly 45 vendors saw more than 3,800 patrons on the last Saturday in May.
“We started (in the 1980s) as the Wegerzyn Market, open Saturdays on a seasonal basis,” said market manager Jimmy Harless. “Ten years ago, we converted an old freight depot, and we’ve been here ever since. Half our vendors have been here all 10 years.”
The Market is open Thursdays through Sundays, and just opened its seasonal outdoor market featuring local growers.
Harless said a new generation has grown up with recycling and organic foods and is helping to boost local farming and public markets, both as producers and purchasers.
“It’s become sort of like Main Street Dayton,” he said. “It’s that community feeling. And it’s not contrived. It’s the real thing with the real people who made the food.”
A few blocks away, the community spirit is strong at the all-volunteer Garden Station park, which features community gardens, paintings and sculptures by local artists and performance spaces. The site offers the county’s only Sunday farmer’s market, with about five vendors and an average 60 customers per week.
“We’ve added sustainable living workshops and demonstration market gardens to teach and promote more urban agriculture,” said organizer Lisa Helm-Hancock. “It’s about teaching people to take care of themselves. There’s not enough local, organic produce to support local restaurants — they can’t keep up with the demand.”
Farmer’s markets near you
The following farmer’s markets and farm markets are listed on www.ohioproud.org, part of the Ohio Proud agriculture marketing program of the state’s Department of Agriculture…
Read the entire article with lists of Markets by clicking link below:
One of America’s Favorites – Sausage
June 4, 2012 at 9:16 AM | Posted in Food | 1 CommentTags: Black pudding, Curing (food preservation), Roman, Salami, Sausage, United States, United States Department of Agriculture, Vegetarian hot dog
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat (normally pork or beef), mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices with a tough skin
around it, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.
Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made from intestine, but sometimes synthetic. Some sausages are cooked during processing and the casing may be removed after.
Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying, or smoking.
Sausage is a logical outcome of efficient butchery. Traditionally, sausage makers put tissues and organs which are edible and nutritious, but not particularly appealing[citation needed] – such as scraps, organ meats, blood, and fat – in a form that allows for preservation: typically, salted and stuffed into a tubular casing made from the cleaned intestine of the animal, producing the characteristic cylindrical shape. Hence, sausages, puddings, and salami are among the oldest of prepared foods, whether cooked and eaten immediately or dried to varying degrees.
Early humans made the first sausages by stuffing roasted intestines into stomachs. The Greek poet Homer mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the Odyssey, Epicharmus wrote a comedy titled The Sausage, and Aristophanes’ play The Knights is about a sausage-vendor who is elected leader. Evidence suggests that sausages were already popular both among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and most likely with the illiterate tribes occupying the larger part of Europe.
The most famous sausage in ancient Italy was from Lucania (modern Basilicata) and was called lucanica, a name which lives on in a variety of modern sausages in the Mediterranean. During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, sausages were associated with the Lupercalia festival. Early in the 10th century during the Byzantine Empire, Leo VI the Wise outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.
Traditionally, sausage casings were made of the cleaned intestines, or stomachs in the case of haggis and other traditional puddings.
Today, however, natural casings are often replaced by collagen, cellulose, or even plastic casings, especially in the case of industrially manufactured sausages. Some forms of sausage, such as sliced sausage, are prepared without a casing. Additionally, luncheon meat and sausage meat are now available without casings in tin cans and jars.
The most basic sausage consists of meat, cut into pieces or ground, and filled into a casing. The meat may be from any animal, but traditionally is pork, beef, or veal. The meat to fat ratio is dependent upon the style and producer, but in the United States, fat content is legally limited to a maximum of 30%, 35% or 50%, by weight, depending on the style. The United States Department of Agriculture defines the content for various sausages and generally prohibits fillers and extenders. Most traditional styles of sausage from Europe and Asia use no bread-based filler and are 100% meat and fat excluding flavorings. In the UK and other countries with English cuisine traditions, bread and starch-based fillers account for up to 25% of ingredients. The filler used in many sausages helps them to keep their shape as they are cooked. As the meat contracts in the heat, the filler expands and absorbs the moisture lost from the meat.
Classifications of sausage
Sausages classification is subject to regional differences of opinion. Various metrics such as types of ingredients, consistency, and preparation are used. In the English-speaking world, the following distinction between fresh, cooked, and dry sausages seems to be more or less accepted:
*Cooked sausages are made with fresh meats, and then fully cooked. They are either eaten immediately after cooking or must be refrigerated. Examples include hot dogs, Braunschweiger, and liver sausage.
*Cooked smoked sausages are cooked and then smoked or smoke-cooked. They are eaten hot or cold, but need to be refrigerated. Examples include kielbasa and mortadella. Some are slow cooked while smoking, in which case the process takes several days or longer, such as the case for Gyulai kolbász.
*Fresh sausages are made from meats that have not been previously cured. They must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Examples include Boerewors, Italian pork sausage, siskonmakkara, and breakfast sausage.
*Fresh smoked sausages are fresh sausages that are smoked and cured. They do not normally require refrigeration and do not require any further cooking before eating. Examples include Mettwurst and Teewurst.
*Dry sausages are cured sausages that are fermented and dried. They are generally eaten cold and will keep for a long time. Examples include salami, Droë wors, Finnish meetvursti, Sucuk, Landjäger, and summer sausage.
*Bulk sausage, or sometimes sausage meat, refers to raw, ground, spiced meat, usually sold without any casing.
*Vegetarian sausage refers to sausages made without meat, for example, with soya protein or with tofu or with herbs and spices. Vegetarian sausages are frequently sold in supermarkets, although it should be said that many vegetarian sausages sold in supermarkets may be vegetarian but are not vegan, for they may contain ingredients such as eggs.
The distinct flavor of some sausages is due to fermentation by Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, or Micrococcus (added as starter cultures) or natural flora during curing.
Other countries, however, use different systems of classification. Germany, for instance, which boasts more than 1200 types of sausage, distinguishes raw, cooked and precooked sausages.
*Raw sausages are made with raw meat and are not cooked. They are preserved by lactic acid fermentation, and they may be dried,
brined or smoked. Most raw sausages will keep for a long time. Examples include Mettwurst and salami.
*Cooked sausages may include water and emulsifiers and are always cooked. They will not keep long. Examples include cervelat, Jagdwurst, and Weißwurst.
*Precooked sausages (Kochwurst) are made with cooked meat but may also include raw organ meat. They may be heated after casing, and they will keep only for a few days. Examples include Saumagen and Blutwurst.
In Italy, the basic distinctions are:
*Raw sausage (salsiccia) with a thin casing
*Cured and aged sausage (salsiccia stagionata or salsiccia secca)
*Cooked sausage (wuerstel)
Blood sausage (sanguinaccio or boudin)
*Liver sausage (salsiccia di fegato)
*Salami (in Italy, salami is the plural of salame, a big, cured, fermented and air-dried sausage)
*Cheese sausage (casalsiccia) with cheese inside
The United States has a particular type called pickled sausages, commonly found in gas stations and small roadside delicatessens. These are usually smoked or boiled sausages of a highly processed hot dog or kielbasa style plunged into a boiling brine of vinegar, salt, spices, and often a pink coloring, then canned in Mason jars. They are available in single blister packs or sold out of a jar. They are shelf stable, and they are a frequently offered alternative to beef jerky, Slim Jims, and other kippered snacks.
The most common Mexican sausage by far is chorizo. It is fresh and usually deep red in color (in most of the rest of Latin America, chorizo is uncolored and coarsely chopped). Some chorizo is so loose that it spills out of its casing as soon as it is cut; this crumbled chorizo is a popular filling for torta sandwiches, eggs, breakfast burritos and tacos. Salchichas, longaniza (a long, thin, coarse chopped pork sausage) and head cheese are also widely consumed.
North American breakfast or country sausage is made from uncooked ground pork mixed with pepper, sage, and other spices. It is widely sold in grocery stores in a large synthetic plastic casing, or in links which may have a protein casing. It is also available sold by the pound without a casing. It can often be found on a smaller scale in rural regions, especially in southern states, where it is either fresh patties or in links with either natural or synthetic casings as well as smoked. This sausage is most similar to English style sausages and has been made in the United States since colonial days. It is commonly sliced into small patties and pan-fried, or cooked and crumbled into scrambled eggs or gravy. Scrapple is a pork-based breakfast meat that originated in the Mid-Atlantic States. Other uncooked sausages are available in certain regions in link form, including Italian, bratwurst, chorizo, and linguica.
In Louisiana, there is a variety of sausage that is unique to its heritage, a variant of andouille. Unlike the original variety native to
Northern France, Louisiana andouille has evolved to be made mainly of pork butt, not tripe, and tends to be spicy with a flavor far too strong for the mustard sauce that traditionally accompanies French andouille: prior to casing, the meat is heavily spiced with cayenne and black pepper. The variety from Louisiana is known as Tasso ham and is often a staple of both Cajun and Creole cooking. Traditionally it is smoked over pecan wood or sugar cane as a final step before being ready to eat. In Cajun cuisine boudin is also popular.
The frankfurter or hot dog is the most common pre-cooked sausage in the United States and Canada. If proper terminology is observed in manufacture and marketing (it often is not), “frankfurters” are more mildly seasoned, “hot dogs” more robustly so. Another popular variation is the corn dog, which is a hot dog that is deep fried in cornmeal batter and served on a stick.
A common and very popular regional sausage in the Trenton, NJ and Philadelphia, PA areas is pork roll.
Other popular ready-to-eat sausages, often eaten in sandwiches, include salami, American-style bologna, Lebanon bologna, prasky, liverwurst, and head cheese. Pepperoni and Italian crumbles are popular pizza toppings.
Sausages may be served as hors d’œuvres, in a sandwich, in a bread roll as a hot dog, wrapped in a tortilla, or as an ingredient in dishes such as stews and casseroles. It can be served on a stick (like the corn dog) or on a bone as well. Sausage without casing is called “sausage meat” and can be fried or used as stuffing for poultry, or for wrapping foods like Scotch eggs. Similarly, sausage meat encased in puff pastry is called a sausage roll.
Sausages are almost always fried in oil, served for any meal, particularly breakfast or lunch and often “sweet sausages” have been created which are made with any of the above: dried fruit, nuts, caramel and chocolate, bound with butter and sugar. These sweet sausages are refrigerated rather than fried and usually, however, served for dessert rather than as part of a savory course.
Sausages can also be modified to use indigenous ingredients. Mexican styles add oregano and the “guajillo” red pepper to the Spanish chorizo to give it an even hotter spicy touch.
Certain sausages also contain ingredients such as cheese and apple, or types of vegetable.
Vegetarian and vegan sausages are also available in some countries, or can be made from scratch. These may be made from tofu, seitan, nuts, pulses, mycoprotein, soya protein, vegetables or any combination of similar ingredients that will hold together during cooking. These sausages, like most meat-replacement products, generally fall into two camps: some are shaped, colored, flavored, etc. to replicate the taste and texture of meat as accurately as possible; others such as the Glamorgan sausage rely on spices and vegetables to lend their natural flavor to the product and no attempt is made to imitate meat.
The soya sausage was invented 1916 in Germany. First known as “Kölner Wurst” (= Cologne Sausage) by later German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967).
My plate the New Guide
July 22, 2011 at 12:42 PM | Posted in baking, diabetes, diabetes friendly, fish, Food, fruits, grilling, low calorie, low carb, vegetables | Leave a commentTags: Drinking water, Eating, Food, Food Guide Pyramid, Fruit, United States, United States Department of Agriculture, Vegetable
The Food Guide Pyramid was the model for healthy eating in the United States. Maybe you had to memorize its rainbow stripes in school.
But the USDA, the agency in charge of nutrition, has switched to a new symbol: a colorful plate —called MyPlate — with some of the same messages:
* Eat a variety of foods.
* Eat less of some foods and more of others.
The pyramid had six vertical stripes to represent the five food groups plus oils. The plate features four sections (vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein) plus a side order of dairy in blue.
The big message is that fruits and vegetables take up half the plate, with the vegetable portion being a little bigger than the fruit section.
And just like the pyramid where stripes were different widths, the plate has been divided so that the grain section is bigger than the protein section. Why? Because nutrition experts recommend you eat more vegetables than fruit and more grains than protein foods.
Your food and physical activity choices each day affect your health — how you feel today, tomorrow, and in the future.
These tips and ideas are a starting point. You will find a wealth of suggestions here that can help you get started toward a healthy diet. Choose a change that you can make today, and move toward a healthier you.
Tips to help you:
• Make at least half your grains whole grains
• Vary your veggies
• Focus on fruit
• Get your calcium rich foods
• Go lean with protein
• Find your balance between food and physical activity
• Keep food safe to eat
Balancing Calories
● Enjoy your food, but eat less.
● Avoid oversized portions.
Foods to Increase
● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
● Make at least half your grains whole grains.
● Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
Foods to Reduce
● Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
● Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
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