Thursday, September 20, 2007

Chipotle Cornbread

The recipe below is scaled to a medium-sized cast iron skillet. Doubling the recipe ingredients and using a high-walled 10” skillet produces a 2” thick cornbread.


I N G R E D I E N T S

3/4 cup coarsely ground yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. double acting baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp cayenne or ground red pepper
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely diced
2 1/2 tsp. chilled shortening/lard
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg

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In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar,
pepper, salt and baking soda. Melt the butter in a medium skillet
over medium heat. Cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes

Grease a cast iron skillet (6 inches in diameter and at least 1inch
deep), with 1 teaspoon of the shortening and heat skillet in a 450-
degree oven for 10 minutes. Add the remaining shortening to the
cornmeal mixture and blend until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add
the onion mixture and gradually stir in the egg and buttermilk so
that batter that barely holds its shape. Stir until just mixed.

Pour batter into the hot skillet and bake it in the middle of a 450
degrees oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Broil to brown top if desired.

Yellow Squash Casserole

2 pounds yellow summer squash, sliced
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded carrots
1 package Pepperidge farm herb seasoned stuffing mix
1/2 cup melted butter
3 cups grated cheddar cheese

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Heat oven to 350ºF. Combine squash and onion in large saucepan. Cover with water and add a little bit of salt. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes, then drain. Combine soup and sour cream in large bowl and stir in grated carrots. Add squash and onions. Combine stuffing mix with butter and spread half on bottom of a 10x10 inch casserole dish. Cover with half of squash combination and half of the cheese. Repeat layer, saving just a few crumbs for the top. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes or until heated through. Serve hot.

GRIDDLECAKES - Feed the family size!

Assumptions: All ingredients at room temperature

1 1/2 Cup of Milk

4 teaspoons of Baking Powder

4 Tablespoons melted butter

4 Tablespoons of sugar or syrup


2 eggs

1 teaspoon of salt


2 Cups of white flour

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Beat the milk, eggs, and butter to a frothy mix a let stand.

Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt well.

Add the dry ingredients to the milk, eggs, and butter mixture.

Stir well but do not be concerned about the lumps.

Oil a griddle or frying pan and heat until small drops of water dance on the oiled surface.

Pour ¼ to ½ cup of batter onto the griddle’s surface until bubbles stop rising, then flip over for an additional 2 -3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Park surplus pancakes in a 200 degree oven until all are ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Black Bean Chili


1 lb dried black (turtle) beans

2 lb boneless pork loin

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 chiles de arbol, toasted, stemmed and seeded

3 Anaheim chilies, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon of cumin seed, ground to a coarse powder

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of habanero sauce

1 cup of chopped red (Spanish) onion

2 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and minced

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes and juice

1 red bell pepper cored, seeded and diced

1 tablespoon of lime juice

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Place the beans in a large pot and cover generously with water, allow to soak overnight.

Using a lightly oiled, high walled skillet at high heat, braize the pork loin on all sides to a browned state. Cut the braized pork into cubes.

Drain the beans and put back into the same pot with the pork, garlic, chiles de arbol, Anaheim chilies, cumin, oregano and salt. Cover with water and bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for four hours. Regularly stir the chili to reduce sticking and add water if the mixture becomes overly thickened.

Add the jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, and lime juice, cook uncovered for an additional hour or until thickened.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Toad Spit Stout

2/20/98


3.3# Black Rock Dark Extract
1# Dark Malt Extract
3# Plain Extra Light Malt Extract
¼ lb. Crystal Malt (cracked)
½c. ground 8 o’clock coffee
½ lb. Black Patent Malt
1 oz. Northern Brewer’s Hops at boil
½ oz. Fuggles (2nd flavoring) at boil
½ oz. Fuggles (finish bitter) at end of boil
3 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss
WYEAST 1728 Scottish
5.5 Gallon Yield

Prepare WYEAST as per instructions approximately 2-3 days before beginning.

In 1 1/2-gallon cold water add ¼ lb. Crystal, ½ lb. Black Patent, 1/2c. ground coffee and 3-tsp. gypsum. Bring to near boil, remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes at 155 F.
After 10 minutes remove Crystal, add extracts, hops, and Black Rock extract.
Bring to boil for 30 minutes. Stir and watch for boil over.
Add ½ oz. Fuggles and Irish Moss.
Boil for 15 minutes longer, add additional ½ oz. Fuggles.
Allow 15 more minutes to complete a 1 hour boil.
Remove from heat and chill wort in sink of ice water.
Strain cooled wort into fermenter containing 3 1/2 gallons of cold water.
Fix and pitch yeast according to directions. Mix in wort and cover. Add airlock.

O.G.
F.G.

Kegged (2) 5L kegs and 11 bottles. Excellent, tasty, and strong.

New Year’s Pilsner #3

12/30/97


1.8Kg Munton’s Export Pilsner Extract Kit
½ lb. Special 6 Row Type Malted Belgian Barley
1 oz. Northern Brewer’s Hops
1 lb. Extra light malt extract
1 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss
5.5 Gallon Yield

In 1 1/2-gallon cold water add ½ lb. Special 6 Row Type Malted Belgian Barley and 1-tsp. gypsum. Bring to near boil, remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes at 155 F.
After 10 minutes remove Malted Barley, add Pilsner kit, 1-lb. light extract, 1/2-oz. Northern Brewer’s hops.
Bring to boil for 50 minutes. Stir and watch for boil over.
After 50 minutes add last 1/2-oz. Northern Brewer’s hops, 4 oz. Malto-Dextrose (improves viscosity and head retention) and 1 tsp. Irish moss.
Boil for 10 minutes longer, remove from heat and chill wort in sink of ice water.
Strain cooled wort into fermenter containing 4 gallons of cold water.
Fix and pitch yeast according to directions. Mix wort and cover. Add airlock.

1.030 O.G.
1.014 F.G.

Racked and bottled into 33 16 oz. Bottles on January 15th, 1998.

Nor’East Wheat Beer

1.8Kg Munton’s Wheat Beer Kit
3 oz. Crystal Malted Grain
¼ C Vermont Maple Syrup
2# Wheat DME
1# Plain Light DME
Wyeast #3056 (Wheat)
2 tsp. Gypsum
4 oz. Malto-Dextrose
1 tsp. Irish Moss
Tettnanger Hops (4.2%)
Saaz Hops (3.6%)
5G yield

Heat 3G water, add 3 oz. Crystal Malt when cold.
Bring to near boil (180 degrees F) remove heat and steep for 10 minutes
Remove Crystal, add Munton’s, 3# DME. ½ oz Saaz Hops, 1/4C Maple Syrup.
Boil for 45 minutes, observe break.
After 45 minutes add ½ oz Tettnanger hops, add 4 oz. Malto, 1 tsp. Irish Moss.
Boil for 15 more minutes add 2 gallons of cold water from sanitized container, remove and chill in ice bucket. Remove from chill after wort reaches 70 degrees F.
Siphon and strain wort into sanitized fermenter.
Fix and pitch yeast according to directions.
Add airlock.
O.G. 1.090
Hops calculation – 3G water, 3# DME = 1#/G = 30% hop utilization (~)
F.G. 1.220

India Pale Ale - First Recipe

Brewmeister 1.6Kg IPA Extract Kit
3 lbs. Light Amber Malt Extract
1 oz. Cascade Hops
2 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss
½ lb. Crystal Malt Barley

Add ½ lb. Crystal Malt in bag to 2 ½ gallons cold water
Turn up heat, remove Crystal Malt just at boiling is evidenced
Add ½ oz. Cascade Hops, 1 ½ lbs. Of Light Amber Extract, and 1.6 Kg extract kit at the boil start. Mix ingredients well.
At 30 minutes past boil start add additional 1 ½ lbs. Light Amber Malt Extract.
At 40 minutes past start of boil add an additional ½ oz. Cascade Hops.
At 45 minutes, end boil.

Pour hot wort through screening funnel into primary fermenter containing 2 ½ gallons of cold water. Add additional water to reach the 5 gallon mark.

Specific Gravity Readings:

1.055 O.G. 11/18/97
1.020 E.G. 11/27/97

Racked 11/29/97 with ¾ cup priming sugar dissolved in 1 pint of boiling water.

Racked into 30 sixteen ounce bottles.

Comments:

A very tasty ale, with good body and dark amber color. Perhaps less extract (or more water) would produce a more realistic IPA. A great first effort!

Canadian Ale Extract Recipe #2

12/19/97


3 1/2 lb. M&F Canadian Ale Kit
½ lb. Crystal Malted Grain
1 oz. Saaz Hops
2 lbs. light malt extract
1 tsp. Gypsum
1 tsp. Irish Moss
5 Gallon Yield

In 1 1/2-gallon cold water add ½ lb. Crystal Malted Grain. Bring to near boil, remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes remove Crystal, add kit, 2-lbs. light extract, 1-tsp. gypsum, 1/2-oz. Saaz hops.
Bring to boil for 30 minutes. Stir and watch for boil over.
After 30 minutes add 1/2-oz. Saaz hops and 1 tsp. Irish moss.
Boil for 15 minutes longer, remove from heat and chill wort in sink of ice water.
Strain cooled wort into fermenter containing 3 1/2 gallons of cold water.
Fix and pitch yeast. Mix wort and cover. Add airlock.

1.044 O.G.
1.012 F.G.

Racked into 33 16 oz. Bottles 12/29/97

Lentil Stew by JoeB

Lentil Stew

1 cup dry lentils

3.5 cups chicken broth

1 14 ounce can of peeled Italian style tomatoes cut up

1 peeled and chopped potato

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons of snipped parsley

1 tablespoon dried basil crushed

1 garlic clove

Pepper to taste


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Rinse and drain lentil beans. In a large saucepan, combine lentils, chicken broth, undrained tomatoes, potato, carrot, celery, onion, parsley, basil, garlic and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until everything's tender.

how to catch a fish

TITLE - How to catch a fish (outline)

1) Fish and their environments – generally speaking

1a. Saltwater fish; where they live,

1b. Freshwater fish; I’ll concentrate on these types of fish

2) Fishes of Pennsylvania’s lakes and streams – my topic for today

2a. Most Common species are

2aa. Bass

2ab. Perch

2ac. Trout

2ad. Other common types?

2b. Fishing locations: fishing on a lake; this means you will need a boat. This is reserved for another discussion; I’ll concentrate on fishing from the edge of a lake or a stream.

2bb. Fishing from the edge of a lake; Fishing the edge of a lake means you might spend several hours in one spot. It’s a good idea to take a selection of baits. You might also want to take more than one fishing rod to use more than one kind of bait or lure. Always bring water and a light snack as well, and don’t forget a folding stool or bucket in case you get tired of standing.

2bc. Fishing a stream; Stealth is required when fishing from the edge of a stream, as the fish are wary of predators and are easily frightened. Once they hear your footsteps or see your shape they will most likely dash under a rock or some other obstacle and will ignore any attempt you might make to catch them. Walk slowly and softly and stay away from the edge. Don’t lean over the bank and look into the stream because if you see the fish they will have seen you, too. Keep low to the ground while getting the fishing pole ready and try to minimize any motion except to cast the bait into the water. Another thing is to try and dress in drab colors, avoiding white to other bright colors.

You need some standard things for both lake and stream fishing – a rod, a reel and some bait. Bait can be artificial, such as lures; these include any kind of attractor bait. Sometimes the lures seem to be meant to attract fisherman, not fish, and these can cost several dollars each. Some artificial bait includes rubber worms, frogs, or even insects. The fish seem to know the difference in most cases, except in later summer months when the fish are more active due to the warmer water and the plentiful number of insects that fall into the streams and lakes during this time.

There is also live bait; these include minnows, worms of several types (red, maggots, fly larvae), and extend to frogs, crayfish, or even grasshoppers. Real bait works the best, especially in the early season when the water is cooler and the fish are especially hungry.

Once you have gathered your choice of bait, find your favorite rod and reel, some boots or shoes if you are going into a wooded area for stream fishing, then you are ready to catch a fish.

One final bit of information : The Pennsylvania Fish Commission has plenty of information on lakes and streams as well as what species of fish inhabit these waters. Consult the web site or other publications before you set out to catch a fish.