Fifol/Whyg Stew

Dinner tonight! Turned out so well, thought I'd share. =)

Scrounging around post-midevening-snack, I realized that whatever I made for dinner, I'd have to eat all of, since there's no more room in the fridge. So instead of opening anything new, I combined what was already there! It wasn't meant to be a stew, but that's what happened, and it's darned tasty.

Fifol/Whyg (Fridge is full of leftovers/What've you got) Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle Yellow curry simmer sauce (I used Thai Kitchen brand; no funky additives) **
• 6-12oz. Ground beef
• 4 Carrots
• 1 Handful of green beans (or whatever veggies you have on hand)
• 1c. White wine (of the savory variety; I used a California Sauvignon Blanc)

Materials:

• Large saucepan
• Lid for saucepan (optional)
• Stirring spoon

Directions:

1. Pour bottle of curry sauce into saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add ground beef, and cook until no pink shows, stirring frequently to coat.
3. While the beef is cooking, chop carrots into bite-sized pieces, and rinse/de-funkify/de-endify the green beans. (I like to cut the carrots into workable lengths, then quarter them lengthwise before slicing. Makes it so much faster!)
4. Once the meat is no longer rare, add the vegetables, stirring frequently, until liquid is reduced by about half. 
5. Add the wine and return to a boil.
6. Cook until vegetables are at a tenderness you prefer (2-5 minutes). 
7. Serve, and enjoy! =) I imagine this would be good over rice (as most things tend to be), but I was too lazy to make a pot. 

** To make your own curry sauce, start with a base of beef or chicken stock, and add chili, coconut milk, galangal (or ginger), shallot, and cumin to taste. Included in the ingredients of the Thai Kitchen variety are as follows: Coconut Milk, Sugar, Yellow Curry Paste (Garlic, Red Chili Pepper, Lemongrass, Galangal (Thai Ginger), Salt, Shallot, Cumin, Soybean Oil, Spices), Fish Sauce (Anchovy Extract, Salt, Sugar)

French Death Puffs (Bouffée de la Mort)

I've just discovered my own demise. It's allergen-free, takes 5 minutes, and only requires a hand mixer and a microwave.

"Why is it French?" I can hear you asking. Well, it's made of chocolate and berries, is at once decadent and light-as-air, and as I tasted the first one and melted into a puddle of pure bliss, I heard from far away my own voice warbling "Ouiiiiiiii!!!!!!" ... Also, "bouffée de la mort" sounds alternately like "puff of death" or "puff of love" when read aloud.

Seriously, this is gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, soy-free, and frickin' tasty.

Et without further ado,

French Death Puffs (Bouffée de la Mort)

Ingredients:

• 2 Large egg whites
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 2/3c. Granulated sugar
• 1tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1Tbs. Cocoa powder
• 2c.-ish Chocolate puffed rice cereal
• Chambord
• Raspberries (fresh or thawed)

Tools:

• Mixing bowl
• Electric hand blender (or a whisk if you're feeling strong)
• Parchment paper
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Mixing spoon
• Microwave

Directions:

1. Whip eggs in mixing bowl on medium speed until they get frothy (15 seconds or so).
2. Add the pinch of salt and up the speed to medium-high as you slowly add the sugar. Continue whipping (and turning the bowl periodically) until the egg mixture becomes glossy and thick and holds stiff peaks. (Does it sound like we're making meringue? Well, yeah!) It will be about the consistency of melted marshmallow (thanks, Joy the baker!). 
3. Fold (or lightly stir) in the vanilla and cocoa powder.
4. Stir in the cereal, starting little by little and making sure it's all coated before adding more. I didn't measure this bit, but the cereal should all be mostly coated without extra egg goop dripping off, and without it being dry. Err on the side of goopy rather than dry if you're unsure.  
5. Drop by heaping teaspoon onto parchment paper, and stick in the microwave (yeah, you read that right). I did 'em one at a time, but I imagine you could do 4 or so. Watch out, they puff up like peeps in there!
6. Nuke it for 30 seconds. If your microwave is crazily overpowered, test 'em one at a time to make sure they don't burn, and lower the time by 5-second increments until it works.
7. Remove and let them cool COMPLETELY. I know, I know, you want to eat them NOW, but trust me, chillax. They won't hold together if they're still warmish. 
8. Once cooled, plate them, break 'em open, drizzle with chambord, and top with raspberries. 
9. Nom classily. Repeat as desired. 

Homemade Honey Butter

I begged this recipe from a friar in the Florida Bay Area chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism after he brought out a large wooden mug full of  what he called "the milk of human kindness" (thank you, Shakespeare!), the buttermilk made as a result of this butter recipe! It's immensely satisfying to make something as simple as butter at home. Plus, it's a good workout! =)

• Note 1: I halved the original recipe to make it physically easier on myself; feel free to double the amount as long as you also double the size of your container.
• Note 2: You can flavor this however you'd like; nutmeg, ginger, or no spices at all! It's really up to you, and so simple you can make multiple batches to test 'em out!

Honey Butter and Buttermilk

Ingredients:

• 1 pint (2c.) Heavy cream (local, if possible)
• 1/6c. Honey (I used creamed; any type is fine)
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. Salt

Materials:

• 4c. Screw-top container (I used a Ziploc one; clear is best, so you can see what's happening)
• Container for the milk (I used the pint bottle the heavy cream came in!)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients into ziploc container.
2. Shake vigorously for 10 minutes. You'll hear, feel, and see the different stages! First, it turns into whipped cream (the sloshing will stop), then the buttermilk will separate from the butter (the sloshing will start again), and eventually the butter will all clump together (and rattle around inside the milk). 
3. Once the butter separates, decant and save the buttermilk (into the heavy cream pint container, or another tupperware).
4. Rinse the butter in its container until the water runs clear. Removing any excess buttermilk is essential at this stage, as any remaining milk will make the butter turn rancid sooner.
5. Once it's clean, ball the butter up with your hands and place it in whatever container or mold you'd like! It gets rather hard in the fridge (no additives, and all that), so you can totally leave it out in a closed container as long as your kitchen doesn't get too hot or humid.
6. If the butter isn't as spiced or honeyed as you'd like, work more flavor into it before refrigerating. 
7. Enjoy! You've just made part of your own breakfast! =D The buttermilk is AMAZING on its own, or as a coffee creamer. Yum yum yum! Also try it to make buttermilk pancakes, desserts, biscuits (which you can then spread the honey butter on!), you name it!

Cinnamon-Sriracha Truffles

Yep, you read right. What started as a series of culinary failures turned into something quite tasty! Give 'em a shot!

Cinnamon-Sriracha Truffles

Ingredients:

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Heavy cream
• Honey (I used creamed honey, but any type works)
• Cinnamon (and other spices, if you'd like, such as nutmeg, ginger, vanilla)
• Sriracha (or garlic-pepper sauce)
• Cocoa powder (or hot cocoa mix)

Materials:

• 2 Glass bowls
• Spoon
• Parchment paper
• Plates or baking sheet (whatever will fit in your fridge/freezer)
• Toothpicks

For the truffle center:

1. Heat heavy cream in the microwave until very hot. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt. Add more chocolate or milk to achieve thick soupy consistency (still some resistance to stirring, but doesn't hold its own shape when hot).
2. Once smooth, add honey and sriracha to taste. Mix thoroughly, and stick in fridge or freezer to cool.
3. Once first mixture is cooled and hardened, drop small portions into cocoa powder and roll between palms to create smooth spheres. Place back in freezer to harden again.

For the shell:

1. Melt a second batch of semi-sweet chocolate chips, adding 1tsp. oil per cup of chips. Once smooth, add cinnamon and/or other spices to taste.
2. Remove truffle balls from freezer, skewer with toothpick, and use spoon to coat them evenly in melted chocolate. Be quick so the centers don't melt. Drop back onto parchment, garnish as desired with salt and/or ginger, and place in fridge to harden. (Note: These might look messy and/or dangerous. Don't panic! Use a toothpick to clean up the edges and/or remove excess chocolate from the base of each truffle.)

Dulce de Leche Caramels

Ever find yourself with an extra can of dulce de leche? If you're not in the mood to make butterbeer, here's how to keep from eating it with a spoon. Also happens to be a stupendously easy way to make "OMG where'd you get these?!" chocolates for your next gathering or gift-giving occasion. =)

Dulce de Leche Caramels

Ingredients:

• Dulce de leche (canned, or you can make your own by boiling a can of condensed milk!)
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips (or a bar; dark or semi-sweet works best since the caramel is so sweet)
• Oil (olive and coconut work well without imparting too much extra flavor)
• Salt
• Cocoa powder (or hot cocoa mix)

Materials:

• Spoon
• Parchment paper
• Plates or baking sheet (whatever will fit in your fridge/freezer)
• Glass bowl (for melting chocolate)
• Small bowl (for cocoa powder)

Directions:

1. Spoon small globs of dulce de leche onto parchment paper, and stick it in the freezer to harden. (Should take between 20 minutes and an hour, depending on your machinery.)
2. Once they've hardened, drop them one by one into the cocoa powder and roll them between your palms to create smooth spheres. Put 'em back in the freezer.
3. While they're re-hardening, Melt chocolate chips and oil (1tsp. oil per cup of chips) in the microwave in 10-second increments once it gets warm, stirring frequently. Once it's smooth, add salt to taste (make it a little saltier than you'd like with just the chocolate, as the caramel will add an enormous amount of sweetness to it.)
4. Pull the caramels from the freezer, skewer one with a toothpick, and use a spoon to coat it evenly with chocolate. Move quickly, as the caramel will soften and melt into the chocolate if you're not careful. Drop them back onto the parchment paper, garnish with salt if desired, and stick 'em in fridge to harden. (Note: They might be messy-looking. Don't panic! Once they're back on the parchment, use toothpicks to pull away excess globs of chocolate that form around the base.)
5. Enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Berries with Mint Leaves!

It's finally Spring! And what better way to procrastinate on term papers than to make chocolates with fresh produce? Yummmmmmmmmm.... I imagine these would be good in clusters, too! If you use a little chocolate as glue to stick a raspberry, a blackberry, and a couple blueberries, you could dip the whole cluster in chocolate and garnish with a mint leaf! Whoa.

Chocolate Covered Berries with Mint Leaves

Ingredients:

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Oil (olive or coconut works well without imparting too much extra flavor)
• Fresh berries! (NOT frozen) (I used raspberries and blackberries)
• Fresh mint leaves (for garnish, and also for flavor)
• Salt (optional)

Materials:

• Glass bowl
• Toothpicks
• Spoon
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheet or plates (whatever will fit in your fridge)

Directions:

1. Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1/4tsp of oil per cup of chips, stirring until smooth and as liquid as possible (taste to make sure it's not oily; if it is, add more chocolate). (Note: if berries are a little under-ripe, or if you want a slightly more popped flavor, add a pinch of salt to the chocolate before coating.)
2. Skewer berry on toothpick and swirl in chocolate, using spoon to cover berry entirely. Place on parchment paper in fridge to harden. If there are holes left by the toothpick, use another toothpick or a fork to place more melted chocolate on the bald spot.
3.  For garnish, use melted chocolate as glue to stick a small fresh mint leaf atop each berry!

Raspberries! Little leaves are the best for these, as large ones can overpower the flavor.

Blackberries! The mint really adds an extra oomph to the blackberry flavor, plus a little salt offset the tang of underripe berries. =)