Edible Leather.

Food dehydration has been a part of culinary history as far back as 12, 000 BCE.  The Egyptians used desert heat and blazing sun to suck the liquids out of fish and poultry.  The Middle Ages saw the development of “stillhouses”.  Fruits, vegetables, herbs, even meats were strung up along the ceiling, fires lit, so that the heat would dry them out.  Sounds like the invention of smoking foods can be attributed to that practice as well.  World War 2 necessitated lightweight foods that could be carried in a soldier’s pack; dehydration was the answer.  However, when the soldiers, who luckily survived “The Great One”, came home, families were not having anything to do with that “stuff”.

By the 1960s and 70s though, outdoor lifestyles surged forth; sex, drugs and rock n’ roll were the rage for young folks.  However, they had to eat too, and dehydration made a comeback with jerky, trail mix and healthy, organic, dried fruits.  Hiking and camping went hand in hand with this new lifestyle as well, so back to lightweight foods in backpacks.

While many food items can be air dried by hanging on strings (herbs, mushrooms, small peppers), you definitely would not try this with liquid rich foods.  Slicing up steak, to make jerky, would only encourage bacteria and insects when hung up to dry.   The invention of the electric dehydrator was a boon to this new type of homemade product making.  The use of low heat temperatures, dry air movement and time guaranteed a tasty food that, if stored properly, would last and last.  Now we have solar dehydrators which, like the Egyptians, use the power of the sun to heat and air dry.  No worries over air borne bacteria or insects as the solar units are enclosed, using mirrors to reflect onto the food.

This year, due to all the winter and spring moisture, the fruit trees are packed with a rich abundance of fruits.  There is canning and freezing to store, but then dad mentioned dehydration; how he loved to snack on dried apricots.  We picked several from his over laden trees; put into a water bath to easily remove the skins.  Then I pulled out the old dehydrator; mine is a Waring from 1990 with no temperature setting (standard 140 F).  It still works well for what I need it to do, so I will buy a fancier, temperature control model once it gives out.  Just because something is old, does not mean it cannot be useful anymore.

There are drawbacks to dehydration; along with the moisture, some nutrients are lost in the process.  The natural sugar content is dense and compressed, so if watching those carbs, this snack could be a no-no.  The end products can be extremely chewy and/or tough; and not always re-hydratable.  Depending on the fruit, vegetable or meat, the time to dry it out can be long hours leading to days.  For example, with my dehydrator, dried apricots can take up to 36 hours to completely dry out; that is a lot of electricity being used up!

What could I make that would take less time, yet be still be a good snacking item; fruit leather, also known as fruit roll-ups or fruit strips, can be done between 6 to 12 hours.  The time difference is dependent on how many trays being used, and how thin or thick the pureed fruit is.

Here is what I did: 80 apricots split and pits removed, put into a hot water bath to make skin removable easier (some folks leave the skin, it is a matter of taste and texture).  To keep the apricots from turning brown, I added two cups of fresh pineapple (yes, lemon juice (1/4 cup) could have been used instead).  For added sweetness, four tablespoons of raw honey; then pureed all (immersion blender, blender or food processor will work) until smooth.

Each tray of the dehydrator was lined with plastic and the puree was smoothed on thinly, but not leaving any non-opaque sections.  A half inch of empty space was left from the center opening to the puree, and the outer tray edge as well.  Plugging in the dehydrator, it immediately began to work; the scent of apricots filled the air.  Every two hours I turned off the dehydrator to check the texture.  Hour 10 was at an almost point, so checking at hour 11 I found the fruit leather to be completely done.  It peeled easily off the plastic, fit into a plastic bag which was sealed (squeeze the air out) and then sealed inside a plastic container.  The puree I had made was in a 3-quart container, and I was able to make 2 batches of fruit leather, using the 5 trays each time.

After 6 hours, too soft

After 9 hours, not yet

After 11 hours - dry, flexible, peelable and delicious fruit leather.

When sealed and stored properly, this all natural, only three ingredient fruit leather can last up to one year; except in the Cokenour household.  Looks like I will be making more in the near future.

Mary Cokenour

  

Sweet and Sour Acceptance.

During the 1860s to 1890s, thousands of Chinese immigrants entered into the United States.  Landing in San Francisco, they made their way throughout the western states in search of work; focusing on mining and railroad construction.  Approximately 12, 000 Chinese workers traveled from Sacramento, California, to Promontory, Utah, in the late 1860s; working for the Central Pacific Railroad.  The joining of the transcontinental rail lines became known as “The Golden Spike” where East meets West.  Over 1,000 workers died during construction, their bones shipped back to China, and no credit was given for their labor at the completion or grand celebration.  Not until May, 2019, at the 150^th Year Celebration of Golden Spike were the Chinese immigrants recognized for their hard work, dedication, and for some, deaths.

As the immigrants traveled further south within Utah, many found themselves in Carbon County working at the coal mines, and the railway system.  While the majority were driven out by anti-Chinese sentiment, many managed to stay on, establish businesses and made a good life for themselves.  Oh my, I am beginning to see a similarity here of the pioneers who traveled from England to North America; their descendants traveling westward.  Whether due to cultural or religious differences, many a group were met with discrimination, driven away, sometimes killed for simply being different than the established norm.

As with immigrants from many other countries, the Chinese brought their recipes with them.  From the simplest sustenance of stir-fried vegetables in oil plus red chile flakes over jasmine rice; to the more complex sweet and sour made with rice wine vinegar.  Unfortunately, the Chinese cooks were not able to find all the seasonings, spices, what we see as “unusual” foods, here in the USA.  They had to adapt to what was available, and with restaurants, to the tastes of the American residents....and Americans love ketchup!

...and deep frying.  Whether chicken, pork or shrimp, the tender morsels were thickly coated in a batter, deep fried and saturated with the ketchup-based, sweet and sour sauce.  It was tangy, tart, lip smacking, face puckering delicious; the addition of sweet sugar keeping the eyeballs from popping out of their sockets.

Here is a hint for next time a vacation takes place in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, or any other city with an old, well established Chinatown; do not go to the typical tourist geared restaurant where the food is made for American tastes.  Go into a restaurant that you see the Chinese residents going into; tell them you want to experience authentic food that they would eat in their homeland.  Expect to have your mind, senses, and especially taste buds, blown sky high!  You will be thanking me for this advice, and craving that type of Chinese cuisine; trust me, would I lie to you?

Sweet and Sour Pork

(No deep frying of the meat and the sauce is toned down with pineapple juice)

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed pork (boneless loin pork chops)

½ cup flour

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 cups onion; julienned & cut into thirds

1 cups each of red & green bell peppers; julienned & cut into thirds

1 (15.25 oz.) can pineapple chunks; drain, but reserve liquid

1 cup Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Preparation:

Spray interior of 4-quart crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix together flour with spices and thoroughly coat pork cubes; place in bottom of crock pot. 

Begin layering onions, bell peppers and pineapple.  

Whisk together reserved pineapple liquid with sweet and sour sauce; pour over all in crock pot.

Cover, set on low for 6 hours; half hour before, prepare white rice (4 cups fully cooked).

Makes 8 servings.

Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup ketchup

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

6 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Preparation:

Stir together all ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to boil. Remove from heat and serve.

Makes 1 cup.

Note:  Want some heat?  Add 2 tsp. of Sriracha to the mixture.

Mary Cokenour

Alternative Fact – The Cake is a Lie!

Players of the first person, puzzle solving, video game “Portal” will recognize the phrase, “The cake is a lie.”  A supposedly sweet little girl motivates the player to continue on through a deadly maze, the promise of a cake and party when completed.  The recipe itself is seen on computer screens, often recited throughout the game.  The catch?  The recipe contains many inedible ingredients; if the cake is eaten, the player would die anyway.

"Alternative Fact", a term spoken by Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (American political activist currently serving as Counselor to President Donald Trump) in January 2017.  She claims the US media developed a definition which was not necessarily the meaning that Conway intended. A politically declared "fact" that does not match reality; a fiction, a falsehood, a lie, not a fact.  In other words, a politically correct term that means "it's a lie" without being nasty sounding.

In other words, you have this seemingly intelligent, pleasant looking, woman telling you one fact, while the players (American public) are believing a lie and continue on with the game.  Or that is what the media is intending for us to believe; are they trying to get us to follow the cake?  Main problem is, people are too ready to be sheeple; to follow the shepherd without questions; without bothering to do research to figure out what is true, what is the lie. 

Anyway, I do not have the time nor patience to get into political fights, not debates, not arguments based on facts, but knock-down, drag-out fights, mostly based upon “alternative facts”!  Whether it is for or against our new President; whether it is for or against the Bears Ears National Monument; people are ready to fight, verbally and physically on social media.  I have seen family, friends, virtual strangers blast with cruel words; threaten to kill; unfriend, block and refuse to speak to each other ever again.  I, myself, have been unfriended and blocked for refusing to pick one side or the other 100%; I’m either with the “correct” crowd, or I’m an enemy.  I have even heard from several sources that I have declared whether I am pro or con on an issue.  Really?  Would be so nice if these “gossips” would have the politeness and courage to outright ask me before signing me up to their cause!  Why having me on their side is so important leaves me clueless.

Now that the venting is out of the way, let me get to the true purpose of this article, “the cake is a lie”.  Recently I found, again on social media, a recipe for a “poke cake” (poke holes in cake, pour liquid frosting over top) called “Do Nothing Cake”.  Personally I am not a fan of poke cakes; the flavor seems to be concentrated at the “hole” sites, doesn’t seem to infuse the entire cake.  Other folks love them as they are quick and convenient to make, especially when going to a social event; to each his own and I applaud that.  For a test, I made one cake according to the recipe, using all-purpose white flour and granulated white sugar.  The second cake I used coconut flour and unrefined coconut sugar; often used in gluten free cooking and baking.  If you remember one of my previous articles, I made coconut pancakes with these products and they were quite yummy!  How could I go wrong baking a cake then?

After both cakes were baked, frosted and ready to eat, Roy and I decided to taste test first, before asking others for opinions.  The “Do Nothing Cake” was moist, slight pineapple flavor in the cake; the chopped pecans were a bit overwhelming for both of us.  Now the cake made with the coconut products, oh dear; the batter had been more like a soft cookie dough. While moist the cake was very “gritty”, had a terrible mouth feel, and was simply downright awful!  Poor Roy and myself, we couldn’t get that one bite out of our mouths quick enough; and the entire 9” x 13” cake went immediately into the trash bin.  My usual guinea pigs couldn’t be put through this horrible ordeal; Roy took the first cake to his mom’s house, and she’s loving it.

Now the point of me telling you of my baking failure is to help you realize; you can’t tell the lie from the truth if you don’t investigate it yourself.  By the way, social media is for socializing, so start being nicer to each other; less stress that way.

 

Do Nothing Cake

(www.cakescottage.com)

 Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour (had ¼ for high altitudes)

2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt (1/8 tsp.)
1 large can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple with juice

Frosting:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup sugar
1 can (5.5 oz.) evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded coconut

Preparation:

1 - Preheat oven to 350°F.
 

2 - In a large bowl, Whisk together all the batter ingredients until just combined.

3 - Pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish, and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick, inserted in the middle comes out clean. Don’t over bake.

4 - While cake is still baking, prepare the frosting.



(Note on Photos:  Coconut Products on Left; Regular Products on Right)

5 - Heat the butter, sugar, and evaporated milk in a small saucepan until boiling.

6 - Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

7 - Remove from heat and add in the coconut and pecans.

8 - Remove the cake from oven, and using a kabob skewer or wooden spoon handle, or some similar-sized object, begin poking holes in the cake.

 9 - You need holes so that hot frosting has plenty of room to get down and soak the cake. 

10 - Pour frosting over the hot cake, spreading it out to make sure it’s all evenly dispersed.

11 - Allow cake to cool for a bit before cutting.

 

Notes:

For the “alternative fact” cake; used equal amounts of coconut flour and sugar in place of all-purpose flour and granulated sugar.

Add one cup of coconut milk to the coconut product cake ingredients; otherwise “batter” is crumbly.

Looks good enough to eat, but the cake is a lie!

A large rubber spatula worked better, for both cakes, than a whisk.

Heat butter, sugar and evaporated milk on medium-high heat.

Minutes baked: took 45 minutes for original cake recipe; 40 minutes for coconut products.

Processed Cake Batter vs. Coconut Product Cake Batter Before Baking.

Mary Cokenour

Asian, Hawaiian, Mexican...Well it's a Crock Pot Chicken Recipe.

As many recipes I keep seeing on Facebook about Asian Chicken in the Crock Pot, Hawaiian Chicken in the Crock Pot, Chinese Chicken in the Crock Pot, Mexican....well you get the gist of it.  There comes a point where it's simply, I've got these ingredients in the pantry and chicken; what do I do with it all to make a meal?

That's exactly what happened last week after I pulled out chicken and simply stared at it.  I was totally clueless as to what to make with it.  Do I fry it, bake it, make a casserole?  I saw a jar of pineapple chipotle salsa, cans of pineapple and a plan began to take form.  I pulled out green bell peppers and onion from the refrigerator and began dicing.  Then came the crock pot into which I dumped it all, set it on high and said to myself, "Good Luck!".  Four and one half hours later on, the chicken was tenderly cooked; the sauce looked thin, but was quickly fixed with an addition of cornstarch whisked in.  Served over white rice, it was amazingly delicious; score one for the "throw it all in and good luck" technique.

Pineapple Chipotle Chicken

 Ingredients:

6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 (16 oz.) jar pineapple chipotle salsa
1 (15 ¼ oz.) can pineapple slices, drained  (drink the juice, it's tasty!)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 cups cooked rice

Preparation:

Spray interior of 4 quart crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.

Line sides and bottom of pot with chicken; place bell pepper and onion in center.  Pour salsa over all; cover with pineapple slices.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours; until chicken is thoroughly cooked.  Carefully remove pineapple and chicken; mix cornstarch together with remaining ingredients in pot to thicken sauce.  Serve chicken breast and pineapple slice (s) over rice; spoon sauce from pot over all.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Another Asian Chicken in the Crock Pot Recipe.

First it was Hawaiian Chicken in the Crock Pot recipes that kept popping up on the sidebar or newsfeed of Facebook. Now it's Asian chicken recipes; just because you add soy sauce to a recipe, that doesn't necessarily mean its an Asian recipe.

So here I go creating my own version, but while the others use boneless, skinless chicken breasts; I used bone-in chicken legs and thighs.  I tried to remove as much skin as possible, but the 10 hours cooking time took care of what did remain.

 

Savory Pineapple Chicken

 

Ingredients:

 

8 chicken legs, skin removed

8 chicken thighs, skin removed

1/2 cup light soy sauce

1 (15 oz.) can pineapple chunks, reserve juice

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. ground ginger

2 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce

 

 

Preparation:

 

Spray the inside of a 6 quart crock pot with cooking spray; layer the chicken legs and thighs inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a small mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, reserved juice from pineapple chunks, garlic, ginger and Hoisin sauce.  Pour over the chicken; top with pineapple chunks; cover, set crock pot on low and cook for 10 hours.

 

 

 

If the sauce is too thin, remove the chicken and whisk in a tablespoon of cornstarch; add more until your desired thickness achieved.  I left mine just the way it was after cooking; next day's leftovers, the sauce had thickened on its own.  The chicken does come right off the bone, so makes it easier to serve over rice.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour