Category: Condiment

Boiled Apple Cider Syrup - Reviving an Early American Tradition for Flavoring Apple Pies, Baked Beans and More

Boiled Apple Cider Syrup - Reviving an Early American Tradition for Flavoring Apple Pies, Baked Beans and More

Boiling fresh pressed cider into a thick syrup, much like the sap from maple trees, was common in colonial New England. Hardly a pantry was without this sweet-tart ingredient used for sweetening and flavoring dishes from baked beans to pies and fruit cakes.

Enjoy the syrup drizzled over pancakes, waffles or corn bread. Use some to sweeten mashed yams or sweet potatoes. Brush winter squash or carrots with it as a glaze. Try it in vinaigrettes and as a sweetener in barbecue sauce. Drizzle some in a mayonnaise based dressing for a knockout Waldorf salad. And it pairs ever so nicely with vanilla ice cream.

December 18, 2013 | 0 Comments More
Drunken Fig Preserves with Rosemary, Lemon and Port Wine

Drunken Fig Preserves with Rosemary, Lemon and Port Wine

What do you do when life gives you figs? Frankly my dear, who knew that life even gives a fig?
I would never feel surprised to open my front door to find an orphaned bag of, say, zucchini. Even other garden surplus wouldn’t surprise me. But figs? This is clearly in the realm of a blessing.
Drunken Fig Preserves with Rosemary, Lemon and Port Wine

December 21, 2012 | 2 Comments More
Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread or No No Nutella

Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread or No No Nutella

I wonder how many Americans-Yanks, that is-discover Nutella for the first time while visiting Europe. That’s where I enjoyed it first. Lovely stuff and like much lovely stuff, it can be addictive.

Homemade Nutella or Chocolate Hazelnut Spread is no less addictive, just fresher, and the use of freshly roasted nuts along with a premium cocoa powder raises the bar for flavor. It’s a simple list of ingredients: hazelnuts, sugar, vanilla, hazelnut oil, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt.

Every time I roast fresh hazelnuts and grind them in a food processor, the perfume emanating from the bowl is almost levitating, like when the aroma of cooking bacon or fresh-hot coffee pulls cartoon characters out of bed and floats them down to the source.

February 17, 2011 | 2 Comments More

Oregon White Truffle Oil Contest Winner: Tom Warnock

Tom Warnock was the lucky winner as selected by www.random.org. Congratulations Tom!

December 15, 2010 | 21 Comments More
Inglehoffer's Wasabi Horseradish Sauce Takes Seared Ahi to a Whole New Level

Inglehoffer’s Wasabi Horseradish Sauce Takes Seared Ahi to a Whole New Level

Beaver brand, made by Oregon-based and family-owned Beaverton Foods, is the largest producer of non-refrigerated horseradish and specialty mustards in the U.S. The company also makes a wide variety of best-selling gourmet sauces, garlic, spices, and other unique specialty condiments packaged under these labels: Beaver, Inglehoffer, Napa Valley and Tulelake.

July 28, 2010 | 1 Comment More

Toasting Sesame Seeds and Life

Larry insisted that the salad would not be complete without some toasted sesame seeds. We all agreed and I scooted over to the range for a lesson. Larry explained that toasting sesame seeds took about as much concentration as performing. If you don’t remove the seeds from the heat at just the right moment, they burn and become bitter, he pointed out. I was mesmerized watching him swirl the seeds in the hot, dry skillet and occasionally tossing them up and catching every one of them on the fall and then casually depositing the perfectly toasted seeds onto a cool plate. Bravo again, Larry!

May 22, 2010 | 2 Comments More
The Cooking of Joy ♥ Savoring the Flavors of Life

The Cooking of Joy ♥ Savoring the Flavors of Life

I have been pondering writing an article on “cooking with intention” for The Taste of Oregon for some time now. For those of us who enjoy cooking passionately, is it always entered into and experienced with a feeling of joy and excitement? Where is our mind? Nothing can spoil a pleasurable experience more than chatter between our ears, nagging us: “You didn’t start early enough, you don’t have all the ingredients, you’re out of your league, no one will like this, pickled pork is so passé,” etc., etc., etc. Fortunately, I learned some methods for silencing that chatter. After a brief “negotiation” with my mind’s voice I hear it whimpering, “OK, you win, I’ll shut up.”

January 1, 2010 | 13 Comments More
Oregon Rose Petal Jelly

Oregon Rose Petal Jelly

The temperate Willamette Valley climate in Oregon makes it a great place to live, especially for gardeners. Winters are relatively mild if you can stand the dreary rain and gray weather. The springs are glorious, with clear skies, cool dry days and cool nights. In the summer, it can get warm, but come sundown it […]

December 22, 2009 | 2 Comments More
Homemade Holiday Gifts — Spicy Brown Mustard with Oatmeal Stout and Home-brewed Worcestershire Sauce

Homemade Holiday Gifts — Spicy Brown Mustard with Oatmeal Stout and Home-brewed Worcestershire Sauce

Mustards and Worcestershire sauce are always on hand in our house but I couldn’t resist the idea of making my own. This mustard is fiery and capable however it mellows as it ages. Both recipes recommend storing in the refrigerator with a shelf life of 6 months for the mustard and up to 8 months for the Worcestershire sauce.

The Worcestershire alone is amazingly complex. Now - good as it is, will you ever want commercially made sauce again?

December 16, 2009 | 17 Comments More