Apr 19

Iced Green-Ginger Tea

When I need a seriously quenching,  non-alcoholic, summer drink, I drink iced teas.  There are dozens of possibilities when making iced teas from scratch.  If I can infuse a health benefit as well – I get happy!  My go-to fave is Iced Green-Ginger Tea.

Homemade Iced Ginger Green Tea

Homemade Iced Ginger Green Tea Sweetened with Local Honey

Green tea is known to have benefits against: impaired immune functions, high cholesterol, infection, cancer, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The list is long and the belief in its benefits has existed, in some cultures, for centuries.

Ginger aids in all manners of digestion from gas to naseau,  is an effective blood thinner, reduces blood clotting, aids in menstrual discomfort, assists with good circulation and also lowers cholesterol.

Honey has carcinogen-preventing and anti-tumor properties, and is an antioxidant.  If you get yours locally, it can assist in reducing allergy symptoms.

Iced Green-Ginger Tea

Ingredients:

4 cups boiling water

4 green tea bags

Grated Ginger & Honey to taste

Ice

Directions:

Grate approximately 2 tablespoons fresh ginger and add to heat proof pitcher.  You may want to start with less ginger if you are unsure if you will enjoy the flavor.

Add teabags & pour boiling water over tea bags: your container should have room left for ice after steeping.

Steep tea and ginger for at least 5 minutes.  Add 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste, and stir well.

Add ice to fill the container. You can either fish the teabags out, or leave them in as I do.

Pour over ice & enjoy!

 

Apr 18

Cooking lamb in two shakes of its tail

Lamb is another thing I miss being in the US. Though you can occasionally find it in supermarkets, it is very expensive and the choice of cuts is limited. I have read that one of the reasons that lamb isn’t as popular a meat in the US as it is in other parts of the world is that during the 19th century when sheep production in the US moved Westward, the sheep farmers came into direct confrontation with the cattle ranchers. These ‘range wars‘ often turned bloody and in the end the cow became ‘king’ of the west. Since then, lamb has never been a popular meat in the US, with production peaking in the 1950s and declining ever since.

Domesticated modern sheep are most likely descended from the Mouflon, a wild sheep. They were breed initially for meat, milk and their skins, but it wasn’t until modern breeds were developed that wool could be mass produced. Unlike modern sheep that can be shorn, ancient sheep had to be plucked for their wool, which was a long time consuming task.

During my recent trip back home, we had to have a roast leg of lamb that my Mother-in-law cooked before coming back to Texas. We bought it at a local farm shop that raises it owns Scottish Blackface lambs. The Scottish Blackface sheep is the most common breed of sheep in the UK because of its ability to thrive in exposed locations, such as the Highlands of Scotland and other moorland areas, and still produce good meat, milk and wool on such marginal pastures. Blackface lamb meat is well known for its distinct flavour and its low levels of fat, which in todays health concious world makes it a great low fat meat.

Scottish Blackface Sheep

Scottish Blackface Sheep

To roast a 2kg (4lb) leg of lamb, first rub the leg with olive oil, salt, black pepper and about about 3 crushed cloves of garlic. Take some fresh rosemary sprigs and push them into slits cut into the leg. Place the leg of lamb onto a roasting tray and cook at 200C (400F) for about 1hr 15mins for pink or 1hr 30mins for more well done. Let the lamb rest for about 15mins, and while it is resting prepare a gravy from the roast drippings.

Roast leg of lamb

Roast leg of lamb

Carve slices and serve with gravy, roasted potatoes, vegetables and mint sauce. As well as the traditional mint sauce you can also try tart jams / sauces such as red currant jam which compliments the lamb perfectly.

Roast lamb

Apr 18

Iron Brew – Made in Scotland from Girders

Iron Brew

Barrs Irn Bru

Iron Brew, or Irn Bru as it is spelt, is Scotland’s other national drink (the other being Whisky), and has long kept global brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi in second place in Scotland. Iron bru is bright orange in colour and contains ammonium ferric citrate, which along with the fact that it was popular amongst the town’s steel workers in Falkirk, were it originated, it truly deserves its name. However a change in labelling laws forced todays strange spelling, as the drink was is not brewed. Though Barrs Irn Bru is sold throughout the world it is probably relatively unknown outside of ex-pat Scottish communities who seek it out in preference to cola and for mixing with scotch.

For Scottish ex-pats in the US, you can get your Irn Bru fix here

Apr 18

Homemade Sausage: Kitchen Aid Sausage Attachment

Meat Grinder Attachment from Kitchen Aid

Meat Grinder Attachment for the Kitchen Aid Mixer

Sausage Stuffing Attachment from Kitchen Aid

Sausage Stuffing Attachment for the Kitchen Aid Mixer

Many of us own a Kitchen Aid Mixer that stands nice and pretty on our kitchen counter that is literally too heavy and big to move in and out of a kitchen cabinet the handful of times a year that it is to be used. Likewise, most of us own a Kitchen Aid attachment pack that may have been used once or twice because we really thought it would be cool to make something special.

The Kitchen Aid Mixer and the Pasta Maker attachment in our house did fall under that category. That was until I received the attachment that allows me to prepare and stuff sausage in my own kitchen this past Christmas. I believe that the Kitchen Aid Mixer with the Sausage Making attachments has been used three times in as many months which is probably more then it has been used in the previous three years.

For a few years I have been wanting to make sausage at home, but withheld making the purchase of a meat grinder / casing stuffer machine because of not being able to justify purchasing another specialized implement for the kitchen. Thankfully, my wife researched the options and found that for less money an attachment could be purchased for the Kitchen Aid.

For people interested in making sausage at home, the sausage making attachment for the Kitchen Aid Mixer is the perfect starting point. The manufacturer’s instructions on how to grind, season and fill the casings is limited (there is an element of implied understanding), but do not allow yourself to be deterred. There are books and numerous on-line resources that will help fill in the gaps of your knowledge. There are dedicated machines that are faster and provide more options (larger diameter grinding plates for courser ground meat), but for an amateur such as myself, I am more then happy to use the Kitchen Aid Sausage Making Attachment. I honestly do not see myself upgrading to a faster, larger capacity dedicated to making sausage.

The entire process of making sausage is a lot of fun and there is a high degree of satisfaction in creating your own homemade artisan sausage. For those of you that have had the desire to make your own sausage at home, the Kitchen Aid Sausage Making Attachment is the perfect start.

Kitchen Aid Sausage Making Attachment Pack

Kitchen Aid Model #: KN12AP (Mixer Attachment Pack with Citrus Juicer)

Kitchen Aid Model Number: KN12AP (Mixer Attachment Pack with Citrus Juicer) – This pack offers you creative versatility with the included citrus juicer, food tray, food grinder and sausage stuffer.

Apr 18

Mysterious Mirepoix

When Chefs use this term it sounds like an exotic ingredient or complicated culinary feat.  It actuality, is a very basic combination of vegetables, diced & mixed together before sauteing. Some mirepoix combinations include leafy greens, as found in soup, and others contains meat, au gras, if you need the term.

Onion, Carrots, Garlic, Thyme & Rosemary

Onion, Carrots, Garlic, Thyme & Rosemary

Mirepoix is a French word/name, possibly stemming from the title of an 18th century French Diplomat named Charles Pierre Gaston Francois de Levis, Duke of Levis-Mirepoix.  Mirepoix is a small town located in southern France.

Every cooking nationality has it’s mirepoix.  A favorite blend of diced vegetables.

Italians call it soffritto; Portugese cooking: refogado; Poland: wloszczyzna and in Creole cooking: the holy trinity. Almost every nation has its typical combination & term.

My personal favorite combination is: onion, garlic, carrot, celery, rosemary & thyme.

It is an easy cooking base for any sauce, gravy, soup or stew.  Next time you see the term, know its just veggies diced & sautéed!