From looking at the ingredients by fat/sugar/calorie ratios on Trader Joe's products, especially coconut milk, they do dilute their products a lot. I suspect that their soy sauce, now priced in this area at $3/bottle is just half soy sauce watered down by vinegar (news to me too!) and water. I swear I did not notice the vinegar on the ingredients list of Trader Joe's soy sauce until recently. And then, I ran out of it.
Which brings me to wonder if I could recreate the ingredient ratio based on per tablespoon sodium and calories. This is a ratio that I have refilled the TJ bottle with:
1 c Kikoman gluten-free tamari soy sauce (that's right, no wheat)
1/4 c Marukan rice vinegar (at 0 calories and 0 sodium, it's all flavor)
3/4 c filtered water
Shake it all together in the bottle. I have no idea if these liquids separate at all, e.g., if one is heavier than another. Seems to taste ok. A little watered down in appearance; but that's to be expected since wheat (gluten) is really a thickener in soy sauce.
Makes 2 cups.
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
As I ponder the grammar of the recipe's title, I had other notions about this recipe; which, if you look around on the Net seems to be someone's copycat rendition of a Subway's chocolate chip cookie of the same name. These are much smaller than what you can get at a Subway's and probably not much cheaper by ingredients either. These are soft and sweet and would pair well with ice cream or a glass of cold milk.
Makes: 3 dozen
Ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c unbleached granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 c unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz (by weight) white chocolate chips
6 oz (by weight) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F
1. In a small bowl, beat together butter and vanilla extract. Mix in eggs, one at a time.
2. In a separate, larger bowl: sift together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir in butter mixture into dry mixture.
4. Fold in white and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a Silpat-lined or parchment-covered baking tray.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on rack. Unleash your inner cookie monster.
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| TheFoodening Blog: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies |
Ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c unbleached granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar, packed
1 c unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 oz (by weight) white chocolate chips
6 oz (by weight) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F
1. In a small bowl, beat together butter and vanilla extract. Mix in eggs, one at a time.
2. In a separate, larger bowl: sift together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir in butter mixture into dry mixture.
4. Fold in white and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a Silpat-lined or parchment-covered baking tray.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on rack. Unleash your inner cookie monster.
Gluten-Free Vegan "Oyster" Sauce
Cooks Illustrated would have you believe that oyster-flavored sauce is "a rich, concentrated mixture of oyster extractives, soy sauce, brine and assorted seasonings. The brown sauce is thick, salty, and strong." But it doesn't have to be that way when rehydrated shitake mushrooms offer a similar depth of taste and umami. Oyster sauce is typically sweet and savory, and is a popular brown sauce in many Asian recipes.
This seems to be a roundabout way to make a condiment where my next recipe project only calls for a tablespoon of it; but I have all the ingredients on hand and I wasn't about to shell out $5 for a jar of questionable contents.
Also, while 1 cup of water is sufficient to rehydrate 1 oz of dried shitake mushrooms, there was less than 1/3 cup of soaking liquid leftover. I had to fill the balance of liquid with filtered water. A toasted sesame oil will have a slightly nuttier flavor than sesame oil. This recipe ratio comes from the Clean Dish.
Makes: 1.5 cups
Ingredients
1 oz dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tbsp gluten-free tamari soy sauce
1/2 tsp organic maple syrup
1 c mushroom dashi (the water the mushrooms rehydrated in)
Directions
1. In a sauté pan, fry sesame oil, ginger and mushrooms together until fragrant, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat. Combine mushrooms and mushroom dashi (can add water if liquid is not enough) in a food processor and purée until smooth.
3. Return purée to sauté pan and simmer over low-medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequenlty.
4. Remove from heat and pour into a clean glass jar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
This seems to be a roundabout way to make a condiment where my next recipe project only calls for a tablespoon of it; but I have all the ingredients on hand and I wasn't about to shell out $5 for a jar of questionable contents.
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| The Foodening Blog: Gluten Free Vegan "Oyster" Sauce |
Makes: 1.5 cups
Ingredients
1 oz dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 tbsp gluten-free tamari soy sauce
1/2 tsp organic maple syrup
1 c mushroom dashi (the water the mushrooms rehydrated in)
Directions
1. In a sauté pan, fry sesame oil, ginger and mushrooms together until fragrant, about 4 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat. Combine mushrooms and mushroom dashi (can add water if liquid is not enough) in a food processor and purée until smooth.
3. Return purée to sauté pan and simmer over low-medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequenlty.
4. Remove from heat and pour into a clean glass jar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
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| The Foodening Blog: Ready to use "oyster" sauce |
Dairy Free Tapioca Pudding
I might be imagining things but I think full fat coconut milk has an after taste. It's not the watered down taste that you might get from buying a can of Trader Joe's version of coconut milk. But there's definitely an after taste, like how game meat has a twinge of extra flavor with every bite. On buying coconut milk or coconut cream, there really should only be one ingredient on the label besides water. In today's modern age of food preservation via canning, preservatives and color additives aren't necessary. Also look for BPA-free cans or cartons. Savoy and Aroy-D are both Thailand products; and Trader Joe's comes from Sri Lanka. For this recipe, I used Savoy coconut cream. These all cost about the same, roughly $2/can, in the Pacific Northwest.
In my pantry, I have three varieties of coconut milk/cream:
Onto the recipe...
Makes: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
1 c non-dairy milk (e.g., unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/3 c dry tapioca pearls
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp liquid sweetener (honey, golden syrup), or sweeter to taste
14 oz full fat coconut milk
Directions
1. In a 2-cup measuring cup or bowl, soak tapioca pearls in non-dairy milk for an hour.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Let simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent the starch from burning. It will thicken considerably as the tapioca cooks.
3. Remove from heat and pour into small bowls. Let cool before eating.
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| The Foodening Blog: Dairy Free Tapioca Pudding |
- Trader Joe's organic coconut milk, 110 calories per 1/4 c serving (660 total calories for 13.5 fl oz with 48% coconut extract)
- Savoy coconut cream, 200 calories per 1/2 c serving (900 total calories for 14 fl oz with 70% coconut extract)
- Aroy-D coconut milk, 170 calories per 1/2 c serving (765 total calories for 14 fl oz with 60% extract)
Onto the recipe...
Makes: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
1 c non-dairy milk (e.g., unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/3 c dry tapioca pearls
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp liquid sweetener (honey, golden syrup), or sweeter to taste
14 oz full fat coconut milk
Directions
1. In a 2-cup measuring cup or bowl, soak tapioca pearls in non-dairy milk for an hour.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Let simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent the starch from burning. It will thicken considerably as the tapioca cooks.
3. Remove from heat and pour into small bowls. Let cool before eating.
Homemade Harissa
Ever since I read Marcus Samuelsson's cookbooks Yes, Chef and Marcus Off Duty, I've come to respect the preparation and style of cuisine that includes ingredients such as teff (used to make fermented injera bread) or harissa (an African spice paste made from fresh or dried chiles).
Harissa made from dried chiles is not hard to make; though if you want to live vicariously, you can de-stem and unseed the chile pods before soaking them in hot water. The suggested chili ratio comes from Smitten Kitchen. When I was collecting dried chiles for this recipe, I just got whatever the store had -and- I had to check several local stores for them. I'm not a big fan of spicy hot foods; though damp and/or humid Pacific Northwest weather is often a good combination to spice things up.
As a spicy condiment, use it where you'd use ketchup or other savory sauces.
Makes: 2.5 cups
Ingredients
2 oz dried negro chiles
1 oz dried California red chiles
1 oz dried ancho chiles
2.5 oz sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1 large red bell pepper, roasted and skinned, stem and seeds removed
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp ground coriander or 1.5 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground caraway or 1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin or 1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kosher sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for storage
Directions
0. Preheat oven to 350 F and roast a red bell pepper for about an hour. You could rotate the bell pepper every 15 minutes, but I've found this is a waste of time.
1. In a small cast-iron pan, toast whole coriander seeds, caraway seeds, and salt together over medium heat (1-2 minutes, or until coriander seeds become lightly browned). Transfer salt and spices to a coffee grinder and grind into a powder. Set aside until ready to use.
Don't just eyeball chiles by what you think they weigh. Use a digital scale and measure them as their dried de-stemmed weight. Then unseed the pods.
2. In a large 2-quart (or larger) metal or glass bowl, add dried tomatoes and dried chiles. Pour boiling water on top and let sit for 30 minutes or more until the items have rehydrated.
Use a colander to drain out the excess water.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine red bell pepper, tomatoes, chiles, spice blend, garlic and olive oil. Pulse until it looks pureed.
4. Transfer paste to a clean glass jar and top with olive oil. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Harissa made from dried chiles is not hard to make; though if you want to live vicariously, you can de-stem and unseed the chile pods before soaking them in hot water. The suggested chili ratio comes from Smitten Kitchen. When I was collecting dried chiles for this recipe, I just got whatever the store had -and- I had to check several local stores for them. I'm not a big fan of spicy hot foods; though damp and/or humid Pacific Northwest weather is often a good combination to spice things up.
As a spicy condiment, use it where you'd use ketchup or other savory sauces.
Makes: 2.5 cups
 |
| The Foodening Blog: Making Harissa |
2 oz dried negro chiles
1 oz dried California red chiles
1 oz dried ancho chiles
2.5 oz sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1 large red bell pepper, roasted and skinned, stem and seeds removed
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp ground coriander or 1.5 tsp whole coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground caraway or 1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp ground cumin or 1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kosher sea salt
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for storage
Directions
0. Preheat oven to 350 F and roast a red bell pepper for about an hour. You could rotate the bell pepper every 15 minutes, but I've found this is a waste of time.
1. In a small cast-iron pan, toast whole coriander seeds, caraway seeds, and salt together over medium heat (1-2 minutes, or until coriander seeds become lightly browned). Transfer salt and spices to a coffee grinder and grind into a powder. Set aside until ready to use.
Don't just eyeball chiles by what you think they weigh. Use a digital scale and measure them as their dried de-stemmed weight. Then unseed the pods.
2. In a large 2-quart (or larger) metal or glass bowl, add dried tomatoes and dried chiles. Pour boiling water on top and let sit for 30 minutes or more until the items have rehydrated.
Use a colander to drain out the excess water.
3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine red bell pepper, tomatoes, chiles, spice blend, garlic and olive oil. Pulse until it looks pureed.
4. Transfer paste to a clean glass jar and top with olive oil. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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