Is it a Chile or a Chili?

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The Spoon Mage™ Explains the Difference Between Chile and Chili!

Chile Tree WM 500Chiles are peppers that grow on capsicum plants.

Chile flavors range from mild to very hot. Ancho and guajillo are two mild chiles. Chipotle and hot New Mexican are two very spicy chiles. Some chiles, like my favorite the Hatch Chile Pepper, come in both hot and mild! Tasty chiles can be used fresh or dried and ground. Use the Scoville Scale to help you select the right pepper for you. The higher the unit, the hotter the pepper! There are plenty of mild peppers to choose from, just look lower on the scale. Explore the varieties of peppers. They are not just about hot and mild. Each one brings its own special flavor to your mindful palate. Read More

Bechamel Sauce

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Bechamel WMBéchamel is a rich and creamy Mother Sauce made out of milk. It’s one of the five main source sauces from which other saucy recipes spring.

The smooth white sauce is begun by making a light or white roux – briefly cooking the flour and butter until the flour begins to cook. Warm or hot milk is carefully stirred into the roux (or vice versa in the traditional manner) to create the sauce.

Béchamel is then modified with seasonings or other elements such as cheese, onions, or shallots.

Once you know how to make a Basic Béchamel, you will recognize it in many dishes from au gratin potatoes to Alfredo. Add a little of this and a little of that to make the sauce sing. Read More

Baked Brie

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Baked BrieGetting a handle on cookery basics is a great way to gain confidence when you cook. Baked brie is sophisticated and a deliciously easy way to expand your own mindful palate.

Ingredients:

1 small round of brie
1 baguette

Totally Optional: honey, jam, caramelized onions Read More

Beef Bone Stock

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Stock Ingredients:

2 lbs soup bones, either short ribs or oxtail, or talk to your butcher to find out what is available
1 T vegetable oil, or other high heat oil
Cheesecloth and cooking twine
1 carrot, sliced into three pieces, root and stem removed
Skin and first layer of one large onion
2 sprigs parsley
Center ribs of celery, including all the leaves
15 or so pepper corns, a small handful will do
6 cups water
1/2 t salt Read More

Making Ginger Lemongrass Tisane

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GingerLemongrassTisaneWhat is a tisane?

Tisane is the correct name for what people like to call herbal tea.

An herbal brew cannot be a tea because all tea is derived from the same type of plant – and that plant is not ginger or lemongrass or chamomile.

The source plant is camellia sinensis. Yes, white, green, or black , if it is tea, it comes from the same plant. The different teas are the result of how the plant is grown and harvested.

If tea is your preference, you can always grow your own!

The following technique works for many tisanes. First, let’s make a wonderful tisane of ginger and lemongrass. Read More

Leeks in the Kitchen!

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1024px-Au_marché_-_poireaux,_céleriMindfully delicious leeks are nutritious low calorie power houses that belong in the onion and garlic family of plants. Add them to any dish that would benefit from a mild oniony flavor. They work a special magic in soups and stews.

Leeks usually come bundled with twist ties or rubber bands. The bundles usually contain either two large bulbs or 3-4 smaller bulbs. It does not matter whether your leeks or large or small, they will taste the same.

What does matter is whether there is a lot of white and light green from the base of the bulb upward, because that is the part you eat! Look for leeks that have a lengthy edible area.

Don’t throw away the dark green leaves though, they are perfect for simmering a delicious stock and are a welcome addition to the compost bin. Read More

Safely Storing Olives

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olives deli

Are These Olives Still Good?

If you are not sure how old that jar of olives is, take a moment to check a few things before mindlessly consuming them.

Look for signs of mold, changing texture, or if the liquid has discolored – toss them in the trash if anything does not look right. Read More