Herbs & Spices: Curries, v3

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Cat

Cat’s spice rack

By Cat, Dec 8, 2017, a redo of Aug 2007 posting  (Photo, right, by Cat; photo below from Wikimedia Commons) 

NOTE: This posting is a redo to fix an error. See also the redo for “Blends.”

“Curry” gets its name from the curry tree, native to India and Sri Lanka. It can be used alone, or more typically mixed with other spices. In India, these mixes are ground right before using, to provide maximum health and flavor benefits, as the spices used in curries have amazing anti-inflammatory (e.g., turmeric) and anti-oxidant activity (e.g., cinnamon, garlic and rosemary). see GreenMedInfo articles (24) for more on this.

Curry leaves & fruits

For ground spices, I highly recommend grinding your own for each recipe, because they lose much of their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity with time, once they are ground. This practice is dominant in East-Indian kitchens; I use my Revel electric spice grinder (made in India), as in photo, below, from Amazon.

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Salmon and White Wine

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, August 5, 2020 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Chinook Salmon

Chinook Salmon

I was intrigued by a White Wine-Poached Salmon recipe by Linda Gassenheimer in today’s Daily Inter Lake (originally from the Tribune News Service (1)). When I searched the internet for the recipe, the first one that came up was “Salmon gets fresh flavor from lemon, garlic,” which is served with pasta (from the Tribune News Service on Jan 20, 2017).

The White Wine-Poached Salmon recipe came up as a recipe originally from her book, Delicious One-Pot Dishes, and reprinted by the Tribune News Service: Diabetes Quick Fix.

So I include my adaptation of both her recipes, here since they both include salmon and white wine. I’ve not yet tested either recipe.

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Grilled Chicken with Gochujang Glaze

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Cat

BBQ Chicken on Grill

by Catherine Haug, August 2020 (image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

A Gochujang Glazed Grilled Chicken recipe in our local Daily Inter Lake newspaper (originally from the LA Times (2)) got my attention because of the gorgeous photo that looks like it was grilled with BBQ Sauce (similar to the photo, right), and because I’d never heard of gochujang sauce and was intrigued.

I am not familiar with gochujang sauce; All Recipes (3) refers to it as “Korean chile paste;” Yummly (4) refers to it as “red pepper paste.”

I also found the introductory information that accompanied the recipe (2) helpful, and I highly recommend reading that before giving it a try. However, that info does not include brining the chicken; instead, “you season the chicken [pieces] all over with salt and pepper, then turn to evenly coat in the marinade, while massaging the mix into the meat. Let stand while the grill heats, turning occasionally.”

I’ve not yet tested this glazed chicken, nor gochujang sauce recipe. When I do test it, I will brine it before marinating and grilling the chicken pieces. Brining helps the meat to retain moisture, especially for breast meat. Of course, you can skip that and simply salt the chicken as in the original recipe, but it may lose some of its moisture.

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Plum-Glazed Duck Breasts

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Cat

Wild Muscovy Duck

By Cat, July 2020 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

I finally found a frozen duck breast at my local grocer and just had to buy it; now I get to decide what recipe to use. I love duck with any kind of fruit sauce, so I’ve decided to give this recipe a try, since I LOVE plums.

It uses plum preserves, and of course, it’s best to make your own (for the healthiest ingredients). I’ve chosen a recipe from Epicurious (5) that makes about 1½ cups preserves (from 1 lb dried plums); it is quick and simple, and the end product can be frozen rather than canned.

I’ve included my test recipe for the plum preserves (using dried plums/prunes) below the duck recipe. If I like the results, I may move the full  recipe to its own page.

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Notes on Alzheimer’s, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases; Nutrition: Supplements

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, 2019 and ongoing

Initially, the bulk of the information on this page was from Lee Euler of Awakening From Alzheimer’s, via email. I’ve since added other items not from Lee; if the item doesn’t list a different source, it is from Lee’s email.

The original post, Nutrition: Foods and Supplements, was getting too long, so I’ve broken it down into two separate posts: Foods  and Supplements (this posting).  I may also need to divide each of them again, as each is still too long.

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Duck à l’Orange

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Cat

Wild Muscovy Duck

By Cat, July 2020 photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons

I have not made this classic French dish for years, not since the late ’90s in Portland. My housemate at the time also loved to cook, so we took turns every Sunday, making a special dinner. It had become a sort of “contest;” but that ended the last time I made this dish. I put my all into it, and it was so worth it, when he declared I was the winner, as we  ate our last bites.

The recipe requires a fair amount of detail and time, but so worth it.

See also: 1. Poultry, Fowl Main-Course Menu; 2. Brining Poultry; 3. Dressings Menu (to choose a vinaigrette for a side salad) Continue reading →

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Duckling Quarters with Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Posted on July 15, 2020 by Cat

Wild Muscovy Duck

By Cat, July 2020; ; photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons

This is another recipe from when I lived in Portland; I recorded it on a recipe card, where I found it the other day when looking for a recipe for my frozen duck breast. I believe I made this one year for dinner on Christmas Day, and it must have been delicious or I would have tossed the recipe card.

The original recipe for the pilaf uses white rice, but I far prefer to use wild rice, because unlike regular rice, it is not contaminated with arsenic. I provide both versions here, as the method for cooking the rice differs by type. NOTE: wild rice is not a true rice, but rather rice-like seeds from a plant that grows in shallow water, a common home for ducks. From Wikipedia:

“The plants grow in shallow water in small lakes and slow-flowing streams; often, only the flowering head of wild rice rises above the water. The grain is eaten by dabbling ducks and other aquatic wildlife.

I now live in NW Montana, where it can be difficult to find a whole duckling unless you are a hunter. But I can find frozen duck breasts, so that is what I will use to test this recipe.

I’ve not yet tested this adaptation of original recipe.

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Roast Duckling with Wild Rice Stuffing

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Cat

Wild Muscovy Duck

By Cat, July 2020; photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons

I purchased a frozen duck breast, skin-on, a few months ago, and now I want to do something with it. It’s been years since I’ve cooked duck, but it is one of my favorite meats when I eat-out.

I don’t know the original source of this recipe, and I don’t recall the last time I made it, but because I still have my handwritten recipe card, I’m certain I loved it. And I definitely love wild rice.

I’ve not yet tested this adaptation of original recipe.

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BBQ Sauce (from Old Bridge Pub in Bigfork)

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Cat

BBQ Chicken on Grill

By Cat, June 2020 (photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

One of my fav places to eat in my hometown of Bigfork MT is the Old Bridge Pub. The chef (Louie) makes an excellent BBQ sauce and shared it with me, and gave me permission to share with others. Now that BBQ season is here, I plan to use this to make BBQ Chicken on my old outdoor grill.

The original recipe makes 40 fl oz (about 2½ quarts). His original recipe cites weight in ounces (oz), but weight varies with distance above/below sea level, so I prefer to use grams (g) which is constant no matter how far you are from sea level.

I intend to experiment with a smaller size recipe for 1 quart (16 fl oz).

Ingredients and Equipment for 2 different size recipes

  • Sauce, original recipe (40 fl oz or ~2½ quarts):
  • 3 cups homemade ketchup (24 oz or 680 g)
  • ½ cup molasses (4 oz or 113 g)
  • ¾ cup red wine vinegar (6 fl oz or 177 g)
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce (2 fl oz or 59 g)
  • 1 cup packed Rapadura or brown cane sugar (8 oz or 226 g)
  • 2 Tbsp dry mustard (1 oz or 28 g)
  • 4 Tbsp chili powder (2 oz or 57 g)
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • Sauce, smaller recipe (1 quart) I’ve not yet tested this size
  • 1¼ cups homemade ketchup (272 g)
  • 3 – 3½ Tbsp molasses (45 g)
  • ¼ – ⅓ cup red wine vinegar (71 g)
  • 1½ Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (24 g), or to taste
  • 6 Tbsp (¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp) Rapadura or brown cane sugar (90 g), or more to taste
  • 2 – 2½ tsp dry mustard
  • 4 – 5 tsp chili powder
  • ¼ – ½ tsp cayenne
  • Equipment:
  • measuring cups and spoons, and/or scale that measures in ounces or grams
  • sauce pan
  • storage container(s)

Method

  1. Combine all ingredients in sauce pan, and simmer 5 minutes. Do not scorch.
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Homemade Cat Food: Canned/Pre-cooked Fish

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Cat

By Cat, May 2020 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Sardines in a Can

After reading a Mercola article about the importance of serving homemade food for your pets (9), I’ve decided to introduce homemade cat food to my elderly cats.

I prefer making food that is mostly raw fish, chicken or rabbit meat and organ meat (heart, liver, brain, etc.), but I’ll start with using canned or lightly-cooked fish to see how it goes. I present two different recipes here, each of which makes about 1 cup of food, enough for 2 days for 2 cats. and Minerals (the list may grow as I create more recipes)

  • Includes: 1. Canned or Lightly-Cooked Fish for Cats; 2. Canned Sardine Food for Cats
  • See also: 1. Homemade Pet Food; 2. Homemade Cat-Food (About) for notes about ingredients: Amino Acids, Fats/Oils, Fiber/Starch, and Minerals (the list may grow as I create more recipes)

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