Cooking and Recipes IV, Hosted by Oiseau

I am trying to get around to doing more actual cooking. For so long it has been what can I throw together.

Baked the Sinkerdoodles today. They had been chilling in the ref waiting to be baked.

I just browned some Brats with some onion. Removed them from the pan and set them aside. Sourkraut, brown sugar and onion added to pan and stir up the browned stuff from pan. Heat through, add brats. Cover and simmer till brats are cooked through. The longer they simmer the better the flavor, so give them 45 minutes. Right now it is cooking and I am getting hungry:)

Does anyone have any special early autumn recipes? Found this at Allrecipes Finding the Perfect Apple for Your Pie
Crisp, juicy McIntosh. Fresh, tart Granny Smith. Smooth, mellow Golden Delicious. The tremendous variety of flavors, colors, and textures of apples make them a great favorite for snacking, baking, juicing, or saucing. But how do you choose which apple to use?
When making pies, choose an apple with good flavor and a firm texture that holds up well when baked. Find apples that are firm, with no blemishes or bruises, and that feel heavy for their size. To make one 9-inch pie you'll need about 8 or 9 medium-sized apples, or approximately 3 pounds.

Here is a starter list of some of the varieties of apples that make wonderful pies. Don't be afraid to experiment with the more exotic varieties available at farmers' markets. These apples sometimes have a shorter shelf life but the flavors can be quite enticing. Keep in mind that some of the best pies are made with a combination of apple varieties, so mix and match apple types to suit your taste.

We Are the Apples of Your Pie!

Cortland: The Cortland is juicy and slightly tart. Works great in double-crust pies, cobblers, and crisps.

Golden Delicious: The Golden Delicious is sweet, with a rich, mellow flavor. An excellent all-around cooking apple.

Jonathan: The Jonathan is moderately tart, with a rich, slightly spicy apple flavor. Holds its shape well. Try in open-faced tarts and pies.

McIntosh: The juicy and crisp McIntosh tends to break down when cooked, so it's best suited for double-crust pies, cobblers, and crisps.

Rome Beauty: The Rome Beauty is one of the best baking apples. It is a richly flavored hard apple. Perfect for all kinds of baking.

Baldwin: The Baldwin is fairly tart apple that has just a touch of sweetness. A good all-purpose cooking apple.

Northern Spy: Firm and sweetly tart, the Northern Spy is especially suited for open-faced pies and tarts.

Granny Smith: One of the most popular apples used in baking and cooking. The Granny Smith is tart and crisp. Makes a good all-purpose cooking apple.

Winesap: The Winesap is very firm and aromatic, with a spicy bite. A great combination of tart and sweet flavors.

Jonagold: A blend of Jonathan and Golden Delicious apples, offering a unique tangy-sweet flavor. With a yellow-green base and a blush stripe, Jonagold is excellent both for eating fresh and for cooking.

Arkansas Black: A medium to large apple with a deep purplish color. Firm, coarse texture and good flavor. Good for sauce, pies and baking.

Ida Red: The much under-appreciated Ida is a cross of the Jonathan and Wagener varieties. Bright red with a distinctive tangy and tart Jonathan-like flavor, the Ida is bigger than the Jonathan and can be relied on to keep its shape during baking.

Empire: A red, medium sized McIntosh-type fruit. Firm-textured and slightly tart, the much underrated Empire is a fine all purpose apple good for sauce, pies, baking, salads, fresh eating and freezing.

Liberty: The Liberty is a small to medium sized McIntosh type also. It is tart with a coarse texture and red over green color. It is good for sauces, pies, baking and freezing.

Mutsu (Crispin): This large, yellow-green fruit is very juicy and has a mostly sweet flavor. It is great for fresh eating, salads, freezing, sauce, pies and baking.

Ozark Gold: The Ozark Gold is a large, yellow fruit resistant to russetting and fine for eating fresh, baking in pies and cakes and making sauce.

Spartan: Also a McIntosh type, the Spartan is a semi-firm, medium-sized, dark red fruit. It has an aromatic, fine flavor and is well suited to sauce, pies and baking as well as fresh eating.

York: Firm, crispy and juicy, the shiny red York (also known as York Imperial) has a winy flavor and firm texture that make it a good candidate for baking. This apple is medium to large sized and also great for eating fresh, as well as sauce and pies.

The following varieties are better suited for making applesauce or eating raw:

Fuji: The Fuji was developed by crossing the Japanese Mutsu (Crispin) with a California Winesap. Its spicy, crisp sweetness makes it excellent out of hand or as applesauce. Varies from yellow-green with red highlights to very red.

Gala: Has a similar shape to the Fuji, but a more polished look. Although the skin may be thicker and more leathery than that of the Fuji, the flesh is just as inviting. A crisp, sweet taste that can't be beat. Heart-shaped and medium sized, the Gala has a distinctive yellow-orange skin with red striping. Great for salads or as an 'out-of-hand' snack!

Braeburn: High impact flavor. The sweet, crisp, aromatic Braeburn blends sweetness and tartness just right for snacks and salads. Its color varies from greenish-gold with red sections to nearly solid red.

Red Delicious: America's favorite apple, right up there with baseball and hot dogs for all-American popularity. A five star snacking apple. Mild-flavored, sweet and juicy. Red Delicious has a deep ruby skin and a classic heart shape.

This article written by Sivan Steffens

Oiseau -you will be in my thoughts and prayers.

I found out something I didn't know yesterday from the Kraft food website that I didn't know, so I thought I would pass it along.

The tubs of cool whip, I buy often, can be refrozen up to five times, the Kraft people say.

I always thought if you thawed a product it wasn't wise to refreeze it. With just hubby and I here now, this is good to know. Hubby only likes a small dollop of cool whip when I do serve it over something like strawberry shortcake. Now I can just use what we want and refreeze for later, instead of throwing out the half tub cause it's been in the fridge too long.

GinnyAnn, I just love your cute little creations. I do try to encourage my grandchildren to read. Reading is not only educational, it's also a pleasant escape to new places, etc. Even if your grounded in your bedroom, most parents will still let you read!

Foods To Avoid On The Acid Reflux Diet
Food Group Foods To Avoid

Fruit
• Orange juice
• Lemon
• Lemonade
• Grapefruit juice
• Cranberry juice
• Tomato

Vegetables
• Mashed potatoes
• French fries
• Onion, raw

Meat
• Ground beef, chuck
• Marbled sirloin
• Chicken nuggets
• Buffalo wings

Dairy
• Sour cream
• Milk shake
• Ice cream
• Cottage cheese, regular

Grains
• Macaroni and cheese
• Spaghetti with sauce

Beverages
• Liquor
• Wine
• Coffee, decaffeinated or regular
• Tea, decaffeinated or regular

Fats / Oils
• Salad dressing, creamy
• Salad dressing, oil & vinegar

Sweets / Desserts • Butter cookie, high-fat
• Brownie
• Chocolate
• Doughnut
• Corn chips
• Potato chips, regular

I have ate my share of organic foods growing up, as in eating the green beans, tomatoes, peas, etc my Pappy planted, I helped raise, and later picked.

After we picked, everything was throughly washed, and then enjoyed.

No pesticides used in the family garden....just good ol manure worked into the soil before the seeds and plants were put in.

I pass up the organic veggies and fruits at the supermarket, simply because they are higher in price.

I have been buying the prewashed packaged greens simply for the ease of making a quick salad for myself. I have also many times thrown a triple washed bag of packaged spinach into a pan, and enjoyed with some bacon crumbles,some sliced hard boiled eggs and a sweet and sour dressing.

My Baltimore Sun paper said this morning 14 people got seriously ill from eating the pre-packaged spinach, and one died. Course the number of those being just "ill" was quite higher.

I have often heard there is no such as a thing as a 24 flu bug. Most times it's a case of mild food distress/poisoning. If immodium AD doesn't work after twenty four hours for me, I would have to figure something isn't right.

David sounds like your Father knew what he was talking about. I can imagine how very proud you must be of him.

I myself am not giving up on healthy greens. Might forgo the packaged greens for awhile, and stick to the iceberg lettuce, and go with frozen or canned for my spinach, collard greens etc.

Get out the veggie brush for fruits and other veggies. I have a few tomatoes in the kitchen that need to go in some boiling water for a bit, to peel off the skin for stewed tomaters. I need to use em up.

Salmon cakes and stewed tomatoes tonight, unless I can get my steamed crabs I am hungry for. The stewed tomatoes will keep.

Dangerous greens

David the ribeye steak is one of my favorites. Delmonico is #1 with me. I like my steaks on the grill with just salt and pepper. I never use steak sauce but worchestershire always hits the spot!

Your Italian potatoes sound delightful. How are you and Eloise doing? I always say she is lucky to have you cook for her, but you are so lucky to have a woman you want to please with your culinary skills. Wishing you both the best!

new letter DG, they have featured YOUR Banana Cake recipe from March 2005