Kristine's Crafts & Cooking

Last night I was eating some mozzarella sticks. As I was sitting there tearing them apart I was asking myself….why am I doing this?!

When I eat mozzarella sticks I eat the breading off of them one by one. Then I leave the cheese behind to cool and get hard. Then I go back and eat the cheese. I don’t know why I started doing this or when but I can’t eat mozzarella sticks in any other fashion. I started wondering if there were any other foods I am that way with.

Oreos. I can’t eat an Oreo with out taking it apart and then discarding the white part (I can’t stand how that stuff makes the top of my mouth feel like an oil slick!) and eating the “chocolate” pieces one at a time.

Another cookie I have a ritual with is the keebler rainbow chips deluxe.

They usually have three “M&M” pieces on the top of the cookie. I take the cookie and eat all the cookie around the outside the three pieces. As close as I can possibly get. Then I eat one “M&M” at a time leaving the cookie between the “M&M’s” intact. Then all that’s left is a little piece of regular cookie that gets eaten last! I find that if the cookie is a deformed creature with only two “M&M’s” on it…I just shove it in my mouth. Don’t know how that one started either. I wonder why we have weird little rituals with food. hmmm

that the “dehydrated” banana chips you buy at the store are everything but!?!? I decided to look it up because my husband found some sweetened banana chips at sun harvest, and I figured that I would learn how to make them since I am getting a food dehydrator soon. They are by Henerys Farmer Market.  So taking in to account that I am at sun harvest (in short a hippie health food store) and the package says “farmers market” you would think that it was “healthy”…

“Unfortunately when dehydrating bananas they lose a lot of their flavour and you are often left with a faintly sweet, spongy feeling disc of fruit.

But those bananas which have been dehydrated commercially are beautifully crunchy and taste great. However, the way they are produced is not good for those who are extremely conscience about what they eat as they are deep fried. What happens is that the slices of banana are deep fried in coconut oil and then dipped into sugar water to provide that glistening sheen to them.”

As soon as I read this a little bell went off in my head…I had read the ingredients and I seemed to remember reading coconut oil on the package. I went back and read the package and sure enough coconut oil was on there and also vegetable oil!

About a year ago I was at a store called Gardenridge. It is sort of like a GIANT Ross, but mostly garden stuff. I was perusing the book section and was delighted to find a cooking/crafts section. I bought a few cook books, fondue, scones and other various ones. I came across this book called “Mustard” by Janet Hazen. That’s it…”Mustard”. Personally I loathe mustard, but I figured that I would get it to try some things out for my husband who LOVES mustard. Like most of the things I intend to try, it got lost in the shuffle of things and forgotten about.

            The other day we started packing for our big move and I found it sill in the bag with the other books I bought. I picked it up and started reading it. Never in all my life did I think I would enjoy anything about mustard. There is a long Introduction and mustard compendium, and I found it absolutely interesting! I know there are copyright rules and things but im going to type out a few things I think every one should know! 

• The English word mustard comes from the Latin mustum ardens, which translates to “burning must”.
• The Romans may have made the first prepared mustards by combining fermented grape juice (must) with mustard seeds to form a spreadable paste. 
• The mustards we make today are from the Cruciferae family: black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown mustard (Brassica juncea), and yellow mustard (Sinapis alba).

•  The near and distant culinary relatives of mustard in the Cruciferae family include brussel sprouts, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, turnips, and watercress. 
• All three of the mustard plants are annuals. 
• All of the mustard plants produce seeds; the black mustard plant produces the smallest seeds, the brown seeds are larger than the black, and the yellow seeds are just a bit larger still. 
• Ironically, the size of the seed relates to the intensity of flavor in reverse order- the smaller the seed, the bigger the flavor. 
• The heat in mustard comes from the enzyme myrosin, which is released when the seed is crushed or bruised and mixed with liquid. 

The rest of the introduction is about where each of the three plants come from and how they were used in each of the regions. I love geography and history so I found every bit of it fascinating!  

The mustard compendium talks about the differences in using mustard powder, and mustard seeds, how to buy mustard seed and powder. 

• When purchasing mustard powder, I recommend buying it in a tin rather than bulk. It’s difficult to determine how long a bulk jar of mustard powder has been sitting on a shelf and, like most spices, once ground it loses some of its strength and character. Chances are, ground mustard is sold in tightly closed tins (such as the 4 ounce boxes of Colman’s mustard) is fresher. 
• Mustard seeds stored at cool room temperature can last up to one year and can therefore be safely purchased in bulk. 

The rest of the compendium goes on to talk about how store, prepare, and cook with mustard powder and seeds. 

            I would recommend that all of you go and buy a copy of this tiny little book. It has made ME of all people excited about mustard! I of course will not be sampling any thing that I do make from this book, but I will let you know what my husband thinks! I will of course post any of the recipes I decide to try here for all of you to try as well! Does any one want a recipe to try, before i post one?

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