Living The Julia Life

Each year, on August 14, the calendar on my computer reminds me it's Julia Child’s birthday. Does that seem strange? For most foodies, probably not. We owe a lot to this culinary maverick, who brought one of the world’s most delicious and famous cuisines to the American kitchen. She also made it okay to fail, as long as you try again. As she reminded us, we are often alone in the kitchen, so who’s going to know.

I've watched Julia’s television shows all my life. However, she became my hero when I discovered she began her culinary journey at age 37, which was about the same age I was when I ventured out into my writing career. Her success allowed me to put aside my fears and believe it is never to late to follow your dreams and build the life you desire.

Now, years later, I have my Julia Life: I’m a full-time freelance writer. I’m married to my version of Paul Child, my husband Michael, who loves me and encourages me to follow my dreams. (It is such a gift to have a husband who says, “I’m so proud of you” on a regular basis.) I've created dishes that make me close my eyes in rapturous delight. 

Yes, I still have goals and dreams ahead (my first published book being at the top of my list), but I’m so happy and blessed to be living The Julia Life.

To celebrate Julia's birthday yesterday, I watched the movie Julie and Julia. I skipped through the Julie parts to focus on the Julia ones, which are based on my favorite book, My Life in France by Julia Child with her nephew Alex Prud’Homme. (The biography Dearie by Bob Spitz comes in a close second.)

This weekend I plan to open up Mastering the Art of French Cooking to try out a new recipe, though which one I’m not certain of yet. Until then, here are some of my favorite Julia recipes from past blogs:

French-Style Country Pâté

Roasted Chicken

Leek and Potato Soup

Orange Bavarian Cream

Clafouti

“Good results require that one take time and care. If one doesn't use the freshest ingredients or read the whole recipe before starting, and if one rushes through the cooking, the result will be an inferior taste and texture—a gummy beef Wellington, say. But a careful approach will result in a magnificent burst of flavor, a thoroughly satisfying meal, perhaps even a life-changing experience.” –Julia Child, from My Life in France. 

Giardiniera

This summer I’m having a lot of fun learning the basics of food preservation. First I wrote about making jams and jellies, and this week I had article in the Topeka Capital-Journal about pickling. 

I do a little dance each time I hear a jar's lid pop as it seals. The Picky Eater just shakes his head at my excitement. 

In the article, I wrote about my first memories of homemade pickles being of my Mamaw making jars in her Missouri farmhouse kitchen. I have a card from her recipe file from 1971 that lists all the pickles she made that summer, including 40 pints of dill pickles and 12 of lime pickles (named not for the citrus fruit but because the cucumbers were soaked in lime and the pickles were a bright green color.)

In fact, I have a photo of Mamaw coming up from the cellar with a jar of pickles in her hand. I won’t post it here. Her hair is in curlers, and even though she’s no longer with us, I know she would be mortified if I put it out there for all to see.

The photo makes me smile every time I see it. She didn't know I was taking it. Bad granddaughter. 

While I like pickles made with cucumbers, giardiniera is my favorite. This Italian mix of pickled veggies typically calls for cauliflower, carrots, celery, and red pepper. Since I’m not a fan of red peppers, I added extra carrot instead.

I also made bread and butter pickles. While there are many recipes available, I decided to try the Ball Bread and Butter Pickle Mix found with the canning supplies. I just followed the recipe on the jar. Yum!

To read all of my pickling tips, just click here. The giardiniera recipe is also in the article, but I like it so much I had to share it here as well.

Giardiniera

Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen D. I. Y. Cookbook by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen

Makes 4 1-pint jars

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into 1/2-inch florets

4 carrots, sliced 1/4-inch thick on an angle

3 celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 serrano chilies, stemmed and thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 3/4 cups distilled white vinegar

2 1/4 cups water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Wash 4 1-pint jars in warm, soapy water or the dishwasher. Also wash the screw bands by hand. In a large pot or canner, place the jars without lids on a rack so they do not touch the bottom. If you don’t have a rack, place the rings on the bottom and set the jars on top. Fill with water to 2 inches above the jars. Cover and heat to boiling, and then boil for 10 minutes. After that time, turn heat to low and keep the jars in the water until needed.

Place the flat canning lids in a sauce pan off the heat and pour some of the liquid from the boiling pot over the top to cover. This will soften the rubber to help the lids seal.

In a large bowl, toss together the cauliflower, carrots, celery, and chilies. Set aside.

           

In a large sauce pan, heat the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic cloves, remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves and bring the mixture back to a boil.

           

Remove the jars from the hot water and turn up the heat to bring the canner water back to a boil. Working with one jar at a time, pack with the vegetable mixture to the neck of the jar. Pour the boiling vinegar mixture over the vegetables until completely covered, leaving 1/2-inch headspace from the top. Run a small rubber spatula, plastic knife, or bamboo skewer between the jar and the food, pressing towards the center, to release any air bubbles. Wipe the rim with a damp cloth. Remove a flat lid from the warm water and place on top of the jar. Screw on a ring. Continue until the remaining jars are filled.

           

When the water in the canner is boiling, gently place the jars inside, making sure they do not touch each other or the outside of the canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 to 2 inches. Cover, bring the water back to a boil, and process for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the canner lid. Allow the jars to remain in the hot water for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove the jars from the canner and place on a dry towel to cool completely, leaving 1 to 2 inches of space between the jars. You will hear the lids start to pop as they seal, but it may take some time. Let the jars cool 12 to 24 hours before checking the seal. If the ring band has loosed during processing, do not tighten. This could interfere with the sealing process.

To check the seal on the cooled jars, press on the lid. If it springs back, the jar is not sealed. Also remove the ring and to lift the lid with your fingertips. If it stays tight, the seal is good. If after 24 hours a jar doesn’t seal, just store the unsealed jar in the refrigerator and enjoy it first. Also refrigerate any jar after it’s opened.

The vegetables with be tender and flavorful in a week, though you can eat them right away if you can’t wait. Store the sealed jar in the pantry for up to 1 year.

Celebrate the Hot Dog

July is National Hot Dog Month, and I think of them as a summertime staple. Keep a package in the freezer and you’re ready for a cookout anytime! One of my favorite places to eat hot dogs is at a baseball game, so I took these photos at a Kansas City Royals game a little over a week ago. I also thought I’d share some hot dog history tidbits.

Just how popular are hot dogs?  Each American eats approximately 60 hot dogs every year, and on July 4th we enjoy 150 million of them. If you lined up each of those dogs, they’d reach from Washington, D. C. to Los Angeles more than 5 times.

No one is exactly sure where hot dogs came from. One clue: In the 1600s, a butcher brought his sausages to Frankfurt, Germany. They became so popular that people called them frankfurters, which is another name for hot dogs.

However, hot dogs are also called wieners, a name that comes from a city in Austria. The city, Vienna, is spelled Wien in that country, and it sounds like “veen.” The sausage’s name is pronounced “veener” in Austria, but here it sounds like “weener.”

In the 1800s, some frankfurter and wiener makers immigrated to the United States. Many immigrants sold their sausages and hot dogs from pushcarts and wagons. One immigrant, a man named Anton Ludwig Feuchtwanger, sold his frankfurters at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. He gave everyone a pair of white gloves so they could keep their hands clean and not burn their fingers as they walked around. Unfortunately, a lot of people didn't bring the gloves back. So Mr. Feuchtwanger asked his sister’s baker husband to make a soft roll to hold the frankfurters. Many people think this was how the hot dog bun was invented. However, historians say the Germans have always eaten sausages with bread.

German immigrant Chris Von de Ahe, owner of a bar and the St. Louis Browns baseball team, was the first to sell frankfurters at baseball games in 1893. (The Browns moved to Baltimore in 1953 and became the Orioles.)

You’ll hear a lot of different stories about how hot dogs got their name. The most popular is the tale of a sportswriter and cartoonist named Tad Dorgan, who was watching a baseball game at the Polo Grounds in New York City on a cold April day sometime in the early 1900s. (No one knows for sure the exact year.) He heard the sausage vendors yell to the crowd, “Get your dachshund sausages while they’re red hot!”

Dorgan decided to draw a cartoon of a vendor selling a sausage that looked like a dachshund dog with a head and tail. When he started to write the caption, he couldn't spell  dachshund. Instead he wrote “hot dog.”  The cartoon was a big hit, and people began using “hot dog” instead of “frankfurter,” “wiener,” or “dachshund dog.” It’s too bad no one has ever found a copy of Dorgan's hot dog cartoon. In fact, most hot dog historians think the story is just a legend.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, served hot dogs to England’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at a picnic held on the president’s estate in Hyde Park, New York. I wonder what royalty puts on their hot dogs.

What do you like on your hot dog? My favorite way to eat them is with mustard, hot pepper relish, and a little chopped onion. I also love Chicago-style dogs.

In fact, how you eat your hot dogs often depends on where you live in the United States:

• A Kansas City hot dog is served on a sesame-seed bun and topped with sauerkraut and melted Swiss cheese. (Like the one pictured on the left.)

• Boston hot dogs come in a “New England–style” bun, which is split on the top instead of on the side. They’re topped with mustard and relish.

• In New York, people eat hot dogs topped with pale yellow mustard and either steamed onions or sauerkraut.

• New Jersey’s Rutt's Hut is famous for deep-fried hot dogs. They’re called “rippers” because they rip open as they fry, and get crispy on the outside.

• People in Chicago like their hot dogs in a poppy seed bun and top them with a lot of stuff: bright green relish, yellow mustard, chopped onions, tomato slices, a dill pickle wedge, peppers, and a sprinkle of celery salt.

• Texas is famous for the corn dog, which was invented by Neil Fletcher at the State Fair in 1942. Most Texans eat their corn dogs with mustard.

• Southeastern United States, folks like to eat slaw dogs, which are hot dogs topped with coleslaw.

• Pink’s in Los Angeles serves a bacon-burrito dog, which is two hot dogs, cheese, bacon, chili, and onions wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Now that you know a little more about hot dogs, grab a package of dogs and buns, plus some of your favorite condiments, and call up some friends and family to celebrate summertime and this All-American meal.  

No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

 

Sometimes summer can be torture. No, I’m not referring to the stifling heat and humidity. I’m talking about all of the wonderful recipes for homemade ice cream to be found in magazines and cookbooks, or floating around on the internet, and me without an ice cream maker.

Then one magical afternoon, I watched a rerun of a Nigella Lawson cooking show. There she was, in full view, making bitter orange ice cream without a churn! It looked so easy and sounded so delicious. I was intrigued.

Nigella's website lists a number of no-churn ice cream recipes. Most call for heavy cream, confectioner’s sugar, and a flavoring of some kind.  One of her recipes called for sweetened condensed milk instead of sugar. All of the recipes instructed readers to put the ingredients into a mixing bowl and then whip until soft peaks form.

No egg yolks. No cooking. No churn. Simple!

I decided I wanted to try a basic vanilla no-churn ice cream. Once I had it mastered, it would just be a matter of adding different ingredients to change up the flavors. So I went to the internet and found many recipes, but these all called for whipping the cream separately to stiff peaks and then folding it into the flavored sweetened condensed milk.

First, I tried the recipe Nigella's way. Epic fail! The mixture never whipped. My guess is my cream-to-sweetened condensed milk ratio wasn't correct. Whatever the reason, the mixture just stayed a loose liquid. (I’m curious to try the recipes with confectioner’s sugar to see if they work better.)

So I went to the whip-the-cream-separately method.

Major success!

The ice cream was amazing and tasted like my Mom’s homemade version she makes in an ice cream churn. It was so rich and creamy you would swear there were eggs in the mixture. Plus, the ice cream scooped smoothly out of the container with no ice crystals.

Perfect!

I did discover the longer this ice cream is in the freezer, the less smooth it becomes. However, I think that may be because I froze it in a larger container than necessary, leaving the ice cream exposed to more air than in a smaller container. Anyway, it still tasted wonderful.

The Picky Eater and I devoured the first bowls, while I called Mom to tell her of my discovery.

Now I plan to spend the summer trying different flavor variations. I think chocolate has to come next.

Something to look forward to as the season steams onward.

No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Yield: 4

Author: Linda Ditch

A way to enjoy homemade ice cream when you don't own an ice cream machine.

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over mix. The cream can change quickly from fluffy to butter. Once stiff peaks are reached, set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt. With a large spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream until combined.
3. Pour the mixture into an air-tight freezer container (or a loaf pan, which you will cover with plastic wrap.)
4. Place in the freezer and allow it to harden for at least 6 hours before serving.
5. Enjoy!

Summertime Jam and Jelly

Today my article ran in the Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper on making jams and jellies. 

The piece features a European-style strawberry jam recipe inspired by one Sue posted on her View from Great Island blog last summer, plus one I saw in Home Made Summer by Yvette Van Boven.

In this method, instead of boiling the filled jars to seal them shut, you turn the jars upside down to seal!

Also, the article features my Mom’s yummy grape jelly, which we made on a recent Sunday morning on the

farm in the traditional way.

Both the jam and jelly were big hits!

Click here for the article and strawberry jam recipe.

Click here for Mom’s homemade grape jelly recipe.

Mystery Cuisine: Peach Upside-Down Cake

Two happy events occurred recently. One was the arrival of summer peaches, which I mentioned in my last post. The second was the publication of a new Booktown Mystery by Lorna Barrett, titled Not the Killing Type.

I've written before about Barrett’s cozy mystery series, which also contains recipes. In fact, I look forward to the recipes just about as much as I do learning about the latest happenings to protagonist, Tricia Miles, and the other residents of the fictional Stoneham, New Hampshire.

This new book didn't disappoint, both with the plot and the recipes. I enjoyed the emotional growth Tricia goes through as she works to solve the current town murder. Barrett gave this plot a lot of depth. Then I saw the recipe for Grandma Miles’s Peach Upside-Down Cake and knew I had to give it a try. So I headed to a farm stand located at a North Topeka gas station and found some delicious peaches (along with yummy tomatoes and cantaloupe.)

This is an easy recipe. I didn't bother peeling the peaches, and I added cinnamon to the recipe since I think its warm, fragrant flavor goes well with peaches. The result was a delicious cake that works both as a breakfast coffee cake (as it’s used in the novel) or a dessert.

The Picky Eater gave his approval.

I've had a slice for breakfast two days in a row. Plus a slice for an afternoon snack.

Yep, this recipe is a keeper!

Peach Upside-Down Cake

Adapted from Not the Killing Type by Lorna Barrett

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the melted butter into a 9-inch square baking dish. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter, and then lay the peaches on top in a single layer. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the peaches. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat the flour mixture and the milk, alternating between the two (one-third flour mixture, half the milk, one-third flour mixture, half milk, and remaining flour mixture.)

Spoon the cake batter on top of the peaches and smooth until even. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn the cake out onto a plate. Serve warm (though it tastes great cold, too!)

Rustic Peach Tart

Peaches have arrived in Topeka’s farmer's markets, and I've found a lovely way to enjoy them…other than the obvious one of consuming the luscious, sweet fruit while the juice runs through your fingertips This rustic Peach Tart is simple to make and highlights the flavor of ripe summer peaches.

The recipe is adapted from one I found in Home Made Summer by Yvette Van Boven. If you haven’t seen this cookbook yet, run out and grab a copy before summer’s bounty passes by. The book is full of wonderful recipes that celebrate the simple deliciousness of the fruits and vegetables available this time of year.

The best part of this recipe is the ease of preparation. There’s no peeling the peaches, and the crust comes together in minutes thanks to the food processor (and is one of the best crusts I've ever eaten.)

I also like the simplicity of the filling, which is just peaches, sugar, and salt. That’s it. The peaches are allowed to shine without any extra enhancements. Plus, depending on the sweetness of the fruit, not a lot of sugar is necessary.

Don’t have peaches? Any summer fruit will do in this tart recipe.

A simple, flavorful summer dessert. Perfect!

***Hey, thanks for reading! If you've enjoyed my posts or tried one of my recipes, you can support my writing efforts through Buy Me a Coffee...or tea...or flavored fizzy water. Your donation will be greatly appreciated, especially now as I deal with a chronic autoimmune disease that flared back up again. The button is located on the right-hand side of this page or you can follow the link here. If you can't donate, that's okay, too. Either way, thank you so much for reading my stuff!  

Pressure Cooker Pulled-Pork

Through the years I've made pulled pork a number of ways—slow corker, oven, and smoker. I love this dish for summer gatherings and it is always a popular meal choice.

Recently I discovered what is now my all-time favorite way to prepare pulled pork—with my pressure cooker. I tried this recipe while working on a newspaper article for the Topeka Capital-Journal about this much-maligned piece of kitchen equipment, and now it's my go-to one.  

Pressure cookers work by trapping steam inside, which in turn increases the pressure and temperature to a higher level than can be reached in a normal pan—thirty-eight degrees higher, to be exact. Food cooks faster, retains more flavors, and uses less energy. Plus, a pressure cooker is perfect for summertime, since the steam stays inside the pan instead of heating up your kitchen. (For tips on using a pressure cooker, check out my article here. You can also find the recipe I made for pressure-cooker Citrus Grain Salad here.)

This pulled pork recipe is easy! Instead of taking 6 to 12 hours to make, this one only takes 45 minutes

under pressure to cook a 4-pound pork shoulder. Including preparation, getting the pressure cooker up to full pressure, and the cooling off time, the recipe only takes about 1 1/2 hours from start to finish.

The flavor of this pulled pork recipe is amazing! The Picky Eater liked it and enjoyed the leftovers the next day. The liquid from the preparation makes a delicious sauce, or you can serve it with your favorite barbecue sauce.

Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork

Adapted from Pressure Cooker Perfection by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen

Serves 6 to 8

3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 4-pound pork butt roast (also known and pork shoulder), cut into 4 pieces

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

6 to 8 hamburger buns

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork pieces. In the pressure cooker, whisk together the cider vinegar, water, ketchup and liquid smoke. Add the pork pieces into the pot.

Seal the lid, and bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure over medium-high heat. When the cooker reaches high pressure, lower the heat to medium-low or lower, and cook for 45 minutes. If needed, adjust the heat to keep at high pressure.

Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow it to sit with the lid still locked for 15 minute to naturally release the pressure. After 15 minutes, quick release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid and place the pork to a large bowl. Return the pressure cooker to the stove without the lid. Skim off any fat from the top of the sauce in the cooker. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened and reduced to approximately 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes.

When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pork, and serve the rest on the side. You may also serve with your favorite barbecue sauce. Spoon the pork onto the buns and serve. 

Food: The Universal Language

I’m sorry I haven’t posted much this month. I've spent most of it teaching summer camp for my preschoolers at Discovery School Montessori School, where I've worked for the past three years. This is the last week of camp…and my last week at the school. Next week I start my new work life as a full-time freelance writer.

Also, I've spent time with Angela, a lovely 16 year-old from Ukraine that my sister-in-law and her husband plan to adopt. She is here for the summer and hangs out with The Picky Eater and I whenever my sister-in-law has to go into work.

The entire experience is interesting since she doesn't speak much English and I know only how to say “Hello” and “Thank you” in Ukrainian. However, there is one language we both speak…food! She loves to cook. Recently we made a rustic peach pie, which I’ll blog about soon, and these chocolate chip cookies topped with M & Ms. We also hope to make some of her native country’s dishes soon for everyone to try.

Thank your for your patience as I get through this final week. I promise there will be many, many blog posts coming soon. 

European Treats from Brits and Au Marché

I’m always enamored by European food, especially British fare, as those of you who read this blog already know thanks to my posts on a typical British ploughman’s lunch and afternoon tea. When I was in the United Kingdom, I spent a great deal of time walking through every aisle of the corner shop looking at the products offered that were different from home. And when I found the Harrods food halls, I was in heaven!

I've never been to the other European countries, but I love the food from France (I blame Julia Child), Italy (Lidia Bastianich and Mary Ann Esposito), and Germany (my German heritage.) Breads, cheeses, and cured meats comprise some of my favorite lunches, and my favorite varieties and styles seem to come from across the Atlantic.

Last Saturday, The Picky Eater and I spent the day in Lawrence, Kansas, which always includes stops at Brits and Au Marché, conveniently located next door to each other. These two shops can conquer just about any European craving.

Being a true anglophile, Brits is my first stop. The Picky Eater sits on a bench and waits while I go up and down each aisle to check out what’s new and look for old favorites.

You can find any tea imaginable...

Plus a lot of food stuffs that take me back to those little corner shops in small British towns.

There are also beverages (I love the rose lemonade and elderflower pressé), cheeses, and frozen sausages and meat pies. Recently the shop started selling take-away items from Queen Lizzy’s Catering, including scotch eggs and sausage rolls. 

Of course, there are souvenirs…

And collectibles…

Don’t forget the jams…

Plus scarves from various football (soccer) teams…

I always leave with my favorite Carrs Ginger Lemon Cremes biscuits (cookies) and Nestle Toffee Crisp candy bar, plus anything else that looks appealing. Usually that includes a jar of orange marmalade, a book on British food, a new tea, and pudding. Also, we always stock up on Airwaves menthol and eucalyptus gum, which packs a refreshing punch in each tiny piece.

Next I venture to the rest of Europe when I step into Au Marché.

First I head straight for the cheese case. Cheese is my favorite food, but the chocolate case comes in a close second.

Plus, I make a stop at the case of imported salami and hams (some were missing because the clerk behind the counter was busy slicing them for customers)…

And then I scope out all of the other food stuffs, though some of the labels aren't in English, so I have no idea what’s inside. Of course, all I have to do is ask owner Lora Wiley and she fills me in on the details.

The shop sells in-house coffee bean varieties. Also available are bags of tea in a lot of different flavors. I left with the orange-cinnamon variety, which is yummy.

The only problem with Brits and Au Marché is deciding which treat to enjoy first when I get home.