Peeled Chestnuts: Make or buy?
I needed peeled chestnuts for a batch of pickled chestnuts I wanted to make. So I needed them whole, as opposed to a tin of chestnut purée; you don’t pickle chestnut gloop. I know you can buy peeled chestnuts canned in brine, but I wanted to do my own pickling. And with the advent of…
Christmas Beer: Bah Humbug
Having previously liked King Goblin Beer from Wychwood Brewery in England, a few trial bottles of this beer went in the shopping basket when it appeared in the store in Decemeber 2013. We liked it so much, we went back and cleaned the store out, stocking up the basement pantry with about two…
Skinny Store Bread
A simple sandwich often ends up being way more fattening than you’d even dream possible — once you put together the bread, the butter, the filling, and any condiments. People would be shocked to know just how something so simple and seemingly inconsequential can really pack on the pounds. One way to help get…
King Goblin Beer
This was one of our fall beers here in the Beaches. Brewed only under full lunar moons1 in the old, witchy forests of England2, it is a dark, rust-coloured ale with a woodsy, spritely taste with a vague suggestion of spice to it and a hearty malt aroma. It is lightly-carbonated, and not too…
Maldon Salt
Maldon Salt has been my go-to salt of choice since I discovered it in England in the late 1990s. It’s got a pure clean salt taste, but best of all, the salt is in flakes which provide a wonderful crunch on top of your food. The salt is extracted from the mud flats along…
Skinny Homemade Bread
This bread recipe makes a loaf of classic, soft-crumb white bread — the kind the French call “pain de mie.” The dough is made in a bread machine then turned into a bread pan for a final rise and baking. It shouldn’t take any more than 10 minutes of total active time from you…
Sugar in ketchup
What’s the ketchup with the lowest amount of refined sugar in it? That’s the question I set out to answer for myself. Most people never realize how fattening ketchup can be. If anything, they think “oh, tomatoes, something in there that might fight cancer, healthy.” But most brands of ketchup add a boatload of…
Shopping for low-sodium foods
In the spring of 2013, I began the hunt for low-sodium processed foods to purchase. And yes, I agree. It’s crazy if “normal sodium” has to be called “low sodium”, but that just goes to show you how bad things have got.1 And yes, I know the obvious suggestion — make everything yourself from scratch….
Salt Substitutes
In 2013, I began the hunt for salt substitutes as part of the salt management strategy for my kitchen. My initial research made me aware of a few things. There are substitute products, and substitute techniques; Some salt substitute products / techniques approach the “substitute” angle by trying to replicate the taste and chemistry…
Salt management strategy: it’s time your kitchen had one
Oh, I hear you. I was there. I said the exact same thing — “what kind of loser needs to worry about salt reduction.” Well, my answer now would be, “Do it now before it’s done to you. Because if you do it now, you can likely enjoy a lifetime of merrily enjoying gourmet…
