Machacha

Muchacha is a butterfly in South Africa; an Asian fruit shaped like a football and orange in color; or, shredded Mexican beef (check out the justapinch.com recipe - it sounds good)...if you can believe the definitions resulting from a Google search. My experience has been with the latter. Rather, a dish inspired by the latter and found on the Ihop breakfast menu.

Until last November, I'd never eaten at an Ihop and the only thing I knew about Ihop was that it was Sam's favorite restaurant and he loved their French pancakes, which were not available at Bob's Big Boy. That's Sam from the movie "I Am Sam." If you haven't watched it, do so. It's a great story. Anyway, over the Thanksgiving holiday last year we drove to Portland, picked up my sister, Jane, at the airport and the next day drove to Clarkston, Washington to celebrate our older sister's super 70th birthday. The second day of our stay, Judy wanted to have breakfast at her favorite restaurant, Ihop. Janie had eaten an an Ihop and told me to try the Machacha as it's the only thing on the menu worth eating. I did and was pleasantly surprised...I liked it!

Since then, we've eaten at Ihop twice in Sacramento and I've created my own version of the Machacha, which I think far surpasses the Ihop version. The base of it is leftover hash...something Verne has been making for the past 30+ years. When in doubt as to what to eat and we're short on time and inspiration, hash is one of our fallback meals. A pound of ground beef, one onion, and two or three large potatoes makes more than the two of us can eat, so there's always leftovers for the next day. Now those leftovers are transformed into a delicious frittata-like breakfast. I quickly fry the hash to reheat it, top it with two or three eggs (whisked), a generous amount of minced green onions and jalapeno peppers (the pickled kind); once the eggs are cooked I finish it with grated cheese and a few more green onions and serve with salsa. This is so good it's worth making hash just to have available for breakfast the next day!

Lemon Glaze aka Lemon Curd

One of our most recent food discoveries is Lemon Curd. It's a simple custard-like cream made from eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest, and unsalted butter. I'm not sure how we've lived so long and not discovered it sooner. It all started with a visit from our friend Cece Brown (former neighbor in Nevada). Cece came over to spend a few days with us and work on a quilt we'd both decided to make. As usual when we have company, Verne put a great deal of effort into planning and preparing meals, complete with desserts each night. One of the desserts was Lemon Zabaglione, a recipe he got several years ago when he attended one of John Ash's cooking classes. Verne loves to make it and when he serves it he always shares the story that John Ash told at the class about first experiencing Lemon Zabaglione on a trip to Italy and being served by a "beautiful, young Italian boy." Whenever I hear the story, I always get the feeling that John may have been more taken with the boy, than the Zabaglione. Anyway, Verne made it for the three of us and we all loved it! Cece enjoyed it so much that we served it again over fresh fruit the following morning.

A few weeks later when we were in Nevada, we stopped by to visit Cece and she gave us a jar of lemon curd she'd just made along with the recipe. Within a couple of days, we'd eaten the jar of curd and made our own double batch...and the beat goes on. Verne makes the curd, puts it by in 1/2 pint jars, freezes it, and we use it as gifts, serve it to special company (like the Rausch family during their recent visit), and we always have an open jar in the refrigerator and eat a little over fresh fruit each night after dinner. It is too good! My next step in preserving the lemon curd will be to process it in my steam canner (and probably freeze it, too, just to be extra safe).

Lara was a little dubious about trying it when they were up, but the alternative would have been to face the wrath of her father (you know how he can get when you question his cooking). She loved it and took a jar home to serve at her Easter brunch. She admitted that the name "curd" caused her concern. At the Rausch house, it is now called Lemon Glaze. Whatever works! I totally get it, as "curd" is one of those words that (1) sounds like someone clearing their throat; (2) conjures up at least one vulgar, rhyming word; (3) makes you think of soured, curdled milk or curds and whey (curds being the slippery, white, gelatinous stuff you get when making cheese...see my earlier blog as we just experienced curd when making our own cheese in Saag Paneer). So, CACAO to the name Lemon Curd (Private Joke: "CACAO" is a safe word a few of us picked up from watching Portlandia)... Lemon Glaze it is!

Next time any of you visit, you'll be going home with jars of our Strawberry-Vanilla Jam and Lemon Glaze.

P.S. I'll say this the first of several times...PLEASE RETURN THE JARS!

BEWARE OF FOOD FROM CHINA AND INDIA (Reprinted from an email)

Since this is a blog (primarily) about food and cooking, I figured this email I received from a friend is timely. Having visited food production facilities in China, Scott warned us two years ago to avoid fish and other products coming from there. Here's more on the subject. Read on...

I read several articles on Google about this, and even one that was
defending the eating of talapia said to avoid the fish that came from
China. Also, I had just returned home from buying Albertson's 4-day
special of 4 bags of frozen talapia for the price of one. Sure
enough, on the top of the bags, it read "farm raised", and on the
bottom in small print it said, "China".

read all the way down....

I recently saw a Food inspector on TV.... He said he had lived
overseas and he had seen the filthy conditions their foods are raised
and processed in.

It is enough to make you throw up. Some foreign workers have to wear
masks as they work in these places, because the food is so rotten and
filthy, it makes them want to throw up. Many of their Fish on Fish
Farms are fed Raw sewage daily. He said he has seen so much filth
throughout their food growing and processing that he would "never" eat
any of it. They raise this filth , put some food coloring and some
flavorings on it, then they ship it to the USA for YOU to consume and
feed to YOUR families. They have no Food & Safety Inspectors. They
ship it to you to buy and poison your families and friends.
Imported food we eat and the junk we buy

Green Giant frozen vegetables are from China , and so are most of
Europe 's Best.

Arctic Gardens are Okay. So is Birdseye.

Never buy the grocery store garlic unless it is clearly marked from
USA or Canada , the other stuff is grown in people poop (even worse
than chicken poop).
China is the largest producer of garlic in the world. U.S. is next.

Buy only local honey, much honey is shipped in in huge containers from
China and re-packed here.

Cold-FX is grown and packed in China and is full of fecal bacteria.
Doesn't work anyway, big scam. If the country of origin is not clearly
marked beware.
If produce, ask an employee.

Watch out for packages which state "prepared for", "packed by" or
"imported by". I don't understand the lackof mandatory labeling,
especially the produce.
The country of origin should be clearly shown on the item in the
store. I go to the local farmers' markets in season and keep a wary
eye open the rest of the year.

Please read this very carefully, and read to the very bottom. It's
important for all of us.

How is it possible to ship food from China cheaper than having it
produced in the U.S. or Canada ?

FOR EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS RIGHT ON
THE CAN 'FROM CHINA '. SO, FOR A FEW MORE CENTS, BUY THE LIBERTY
BRAND.
GOLD BRAND OR THE DOLE IS FROM CALIFORNIA
Beware, Costco sells canned peaches and pears in a plastic jar that
come from China

ALL "HIGH LINER" AND MOST OTHER FROZEN FISH PRODUCTS COME FROM CHINA
OR INDONESIA . THE PACKAGE MAY SAY "PACIFIC SALMON" ON THE FRONT, BUT
LOOK FOR THE SMALL PRINT. MOST OF THESE PRODUCTS COME FROM FISH FARMS
IN THE ORIENT WHERE THERE ARE NO REGULATIONS ON WHAT IS FED TO THESE
FISH.

Recently The Montreal Gazette had an article by the Canadian
Government on how Chinese feed the fish: They suspend chicken wire
crates over the fish ponds, and the fish feed on chicken s--t.
If you search the internet about what the Chinese feed their fish,
you'll be alarmed; e.g., growth hormones, expired anti-biotic from
humans. Never buy any type of fish or shellfish that comes from these
countries: Vietnam , China , Philippines

Check this out personally. I did. Steinfeld's Pickles are made in
India - just as bad!

Another example is in canned mushrooms. No-Name brand came from Indonesia .

Also check those little fruit cups. They used to be made in Canada in
the Niagara region until about 2 years ago. They are now packaged in
China !

While the Chinese export inferior and even toxic products, dangerous
toys, and goods to be sold in North American markets, the media wrings
its hands!

Yet, 70% of North Americans believe that the trading privileges
afforded to the Chinese should be suspended!

Well, duh! Why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges?

SIMPLY DO IT YOURSELF, CANADA AND THE U.S. !

Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says
'Made in China ' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply
choose another product, or none at all. You will be amazed at how
dependent you are on Chinese products, and you will be equally amazed
at what you can do without.

THINK ABOUT THIS:

If 200 million North Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese
goods, that's a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our
favor...fast!! The downside? Some Canadian/American businesses will
feel a temporary pinch from having foreign stockpiles of inventory.

Just one month of trading losses will hit the Chinese for 8% of their
North American exports.
Then they will at least have to ask themselves if the benefits of
their arrogance and lawlessness are worth it.

START NOW and don't stop.

Send this to everybody you know. Let's show them that we are
intelligent, and NOBODY can take us for granted.

Strawberry Fields Forever

We've been anxiously awaiting spring strawberries. There are a number of fields/stands in Sacramento and whenever we're in town from mid-April thru mid-October, we stop and buy strawberries and other fresh produce. We had to make a run to town last Friday to buy lumber for the "headache" rack for Verne's '52 Chevy truck. Here's an in-progress picture of the red-oak bed without the headache rack...

As we turned onto Sunrise, we noticed the first of the stands was open for business. Hooray! Picked that morning, the strawberries were fresh and beautiful at $2/box, a flat of day-old berries for half price, and equivalent to probably a triple flat of overripe berries for $10. I had $12 to spend (that's all we had between us), so I popped for the overripe berries with plans to go home and make strawberry jam. I love the "idea" of canning and actually took a step in that direction last fall when I bought a steam canner and canned a batch of plum/strawberry jam. I was so nervous about the process and getting it right and not poisoning us, that I froze the jam after it was canned. Can't be too safe!

Necessity called Saturday morning, because the overripe strawberries were not going to make it another day. We got out our "Put 'Em Up" book and began making jam. The first was actually a low-sugar syrup that was cooked for about 5 minutes, jarred, and frozen. We tried some Sunday night on a small scoop of ice cream, and it wasn't bad...not good enough to make again, though. We then made and canned a batch of Classic Strawberry Jam, following by a second batch of Strawberry-Vanilla Jam. Num! They are both delicious!!! The last 4 pounds of strawberries were cleaned and frozen to be used in smoothies, margaritas, or more jam. Four hours later when we'd finished, I looked at jam recipes in my Betty Crocker Cookbook. Just a word to the wise...if you decide to make jam, don't use an old tried and true recipe handed down from your grandmother or out of an old Betty Crocker Cookbook. The amount of sugar canners used to use is obscene...in this case, 7 cups of sugar for the same amount of berries that our current recipe used 2 cups (do the math, it's less than 30% of the original)! I think our jam can actually be called "low-sugar" with that kind of reduction.

I love pictures, so I'm including one of the jam cooking on the stovetop...

and the finished products...

There is something so appealing to me about rows...whether they are rows in gardens, the farming rows we see at Davis Ranch (Sloughhouse), or, in this case, rows of our strawberry syrup and jams. As Martha would say, It's a Good Thing! 

Curry...An About Face

My early childhood memories of curry are simply: "I'd rather go to bed hungry than eat it!!!" My mother never ventured far from a couple of dozen recipes passed down from her mother or the occasional casserole or jello recipes that were the rage of  the 50's and 60's. She had very few spices and rarely used fresh herbs in her cooking. She did, however, have a jar of curry powder that she used in a hamburger gravy served over rice. There was nothing I liked about it...most of all the color, which was a yellowish-green similar to split-pea soup. My punishment for refusing to eat was always the same...I'd have to sit at the table with the food in front of me (often, my uncle, who lived across the street, would sit next to me coaxing me to eat). His efforts must have occasionally been successful, because I do remember tasting Mom's hamburger curry gravy, and it was as bad as it smelled.

Anyway, until a few months ago I was convinced that I hated curry and all things Indian. Verne (for his own reasons) agreed with me, so we declined every offer we ever had to eat Indian food. That was until a few months ago...we hadn't been to Berkeley in months as there's little reason to go since the girls are no longer attending UCB. I do have a favorite fabric shop there, though, and Vera Allen is in her last year at UCB, so we decided to go for the day and take Vera to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants. As it turned out, she's discovered Indian food while at Berkeley and that was the cuisine of her choice. Reluctantly, we agreed (although the girls tried for their eight years at UCB to get us to try it and we always refused...go figure!). A long story short...we LOVED it!

Our next few issues of cooking magazines had recipes for a few of the dishes we'd eaten that day, including Vera's favorite: Chicken Tikka Masala. Over the past few weeks we've experimented with Indian cuisine twice. Our first effort was to make Saag Paneer, a vegetarian dish that includes fried cheese, spinach, and a curry sauce. All I can say is, WOW! It is declicious!. We had so much fun making our own cheese (whole milk, Greek yogurt, and lemon juice); 

mixing the spices of fresh ginger, garlic, jalapeno pepper, coriander, cumin, and turmeric; and finally frying the cheese, assembling the ingredients, and eating this delectable dish.

Within a week we were at it again. This time, it was a complete dinner, including Chicken Tikka Masala, Lemon-Cumin Rice, naan, and a dipping sauce. It was too good! I am in love with Indian food. The first of three books on the subject just arrived today: "India: Food & Cooking". All I can say is that my mother's recipe using curry was NOT Indian cuisine and, unfortunately, it kept me from eating anything "curry" for the past 50+ years. What a loss! One thing I've learned in our brief exposure to Indian (as well as Asian) cooking: every curry is different and must be made with the best and freshest ingredients. You can't get the variety of delicate, complex flavors that are the mainstay of Indian cooking in a single spice jar of curry powder! Don't waste your money, begin collecting the dozen+ spices that together create curries that will knock your socks off!!!