Tasty Tangents

Food, life and other morsels

April 24, 2010
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Comments Off on Coconut Muffins

Coconut Muffins

Coconut Muffins

Coconut Muffins


So there was a big bowl of leftover chocolate icing in the fridge from a cake my sister made that was just screaming out to be used.

I decided I needed to find something cupcake-like to go with the yummy frosting, and after rifling through about half a dozen cookbooks, I struck on this super simple recipe.

Other than using mini muffin cups and unsweetened coconut (becauses that’s all I had in the pantry), I followed the recipe exactly.

They were delicious, but I think next time I will use sweetened coconut or add a bit more sugar to the recipe. I’d also bake them a little less or use one more egg to make them a little moister.

Ingredients

Dry:

2 cups cake and pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flaked sweetened coconut

Wet:

2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp grated lemon peel

Directions:

Peheat oven to 400F and prepare 12 muffin cups.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.

Melt butter. In medium bowl beat eggs lightly and combine all wet ingredients.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture all at once and stir together gently until mixed but still lumpy.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

From the Magnificent Muffins Cookbook.

April 23, 2010
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Comments Off on Defining authenticity

Defining authenticity

How do you know if food is authentic? Do you have any specific indicators that you use to determine if the Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, Indian or Greek restaurant you’re at is serving what you would consider authentic food?

And does it matter to you?

Authentic is one of those terms that I find really difficult to define when it comes to food, because everyone’s perception is so different.

I have the most experience with Italian food. And the food that I’m used to comes from a few specific regions in the country. I have also spent time in Italy, eating what I would consider to be “authentic” food at restaurants and homemade by friends and family.

So to me, that style of Italian food, fresh, with richly-flavoured olive oil and made from scratch, is authentic.

But maybe Italian-American cooking, which I find richer, creamier and heavier, is its own style of cooking and can also be considered authentic.

I guess it’s all about what you want at the moment. Some days I want an “authentic” thin crust pizza with prosciutto, olives, arugula and mozzarella. Other days I want a thick slice of pepperoni and mushroom pan pizza.

What do you think? Is authentic important when it comes to food? Is it even possible to define when food is authentic?

April 22, 2010
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Comments Off on Old-Fashioned Nut Loaf

Old-Fashioned Nut Loaf

Old-Fashioned Nut Loaf

Old-Fashioned Nut Loaf

For a book that begins with “Dear Homemaker,” the recipes in the old Pillsbury’s Bake Off Breads Cook Book are actually fairly quick in terms of labour, though the resting periods for the bread mean you can’t be off anywhere for a few hours.

Even though my recipe didn’t turn out perfectly, it was still delicious, and I’m pretty sure that the only problem was that my milk was too hot when I added it to the yeast.

I’ve always been a little bit afraid of recipes that call for yeast, because so many things, and especially something as problematic as temperature, can have a big impact.

But this recipe has shown that even if it’s not as light and fluffy as you’d expect, it can still be a delicious bread.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 package active dry yeast
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
2 egg yolks (reserve whites)

Nut filling:

2 egg whites
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup flaked coconut

In large bowl combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Heat milk and butter in microwave until milk is warm (butter doesn’t need to, actually shouldn’t, melt). Add to flour mixture along with egg yolks. Gradually add rest of flour, mixing well.

Cover, let rise in warm place until light and doubled in siez, about 2 hours.

Make nut filling by beating egg whites slightly in small mixing bowl and stirring in remaining ingredients, mixing well.

Punch down dough and roll out on floured surface to a 12×9 inche rectangle. Spread with filling. Roll up, starting with 9 inch side. Seal edges and ends (use a little water on your finger if dough won’t stick). Place seam-side down in greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Brush with milk and sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes. until golden brown.

April 21, 2010
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Comments Off on What’s wrong with this picture?

What’s wrong with this picture?

Do you ever find that a picture on a news story has the opposite effect than the story would otherwise?

I was reading this article, “Sugary diets appear to worsen cholesterol levels,” which talks about how a diet high in sugar and processed food is bad for your health.

But whenever I looked at the picture of Tim Hortons’ donuts, all I wanted to do was eat a sugary, deep fried, diet destroying donut, or two.

The photo makes sense for the news story, but obviously had a bigger impact on me than the words in the story itself.

I love looking at pictures of food, which is why sites like foodgawker.com and tastespotting.com are on my list of sites that get a daily visit.

I think many, if not all of us are very visual people. The question is, does everybody get hungry when they see a beautiful picture of food?

April 20, 2010
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Comments Off on Bacon without borders

Bacon without borders

I’m as big a fan of bacon as anyone, but it’s getting to the point where you just don’t know where bacon is going to pop up next.

This column “You won’t believe this column is not bacon,” takes a fun look at all the places the tasty, salty treat is showing up these days.

Inspired by news that a bacon-flavoured vodka is hitting store shelves, it recounts the many new food-based and non-edible ways that the striped wonder is being used.

I’ve personally only had one bacon-flavoured treat that I didn’t love, bacon jellybeans, but I’m not ruling out all bacon-inspired sweets.

I may even try some of the dessert recipes recommended by Time Magazine if I get the opportunity.

But to be honest, I’m feeling a little bit like a purist these days. Bacon is so good straight out of the oven that maybe trying to improve it is futile.

I suppose using it to try to improve other dishes makes sense, you should see what it does for brussel sprouts, but it’s never a bad thing to let bacon stand alone.