Gourmet Everyday

Change the amount you eat with the dishes you use!

See page 10

Five great Thanksgiving recipes for everyone to enjoy!

See page 18

Three Sweet Treats to add to your recipe book!

See page 22

Take a look into the foreign foods changing the way Austin eats See page 8

Go back to the 70s!

Lots of Options For Everyone

Kids Eat Free Everyday From 3-8 pm

Come In For Speciality Days Monday: Seniors Day

Seniors get free desert with any order

Wednesday: Couples Day

Couples get two free sides with any order

Friday: Teachers Day

All teachers eat free all day

Buy one entrée, get one free Not valid on already reduced-price specials. Do not try to combine with other offers, you will be caught. Don’t do anything stupid in the Groovy Grill, we are not liable for any physical or mental damage caused. EXPIRES 12-31-12

Table of Contents 4 Letter to the Editors 5 About the Editors 8 Cross My Heart and Hope to Thai With so many different cultures in the United States, and Austin especially, it’s important to take a background glance into their origins, the themes found consistently in their meals, and some of the greatest places to find authentic restaurants in Austin.

10 Chill Out for November When it’s 85 degrees outside in November, you know this winter is going to be baking. These recipes can help you keep cool throughout the long, ‘winter’ months.

16 Color Contrast What if there was a way to affect the amount you eat just by changing your tableware? With more research done everyday, there might be an answer that can help you out.

18 Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving: Then and Now Thanksgiving changes more and more every year and so do the recipes. Now, not every recipe has to start with a stick of butter.

Pictured above, one of Tataya’s vegeatble stir fries. See page 10 for more information on the Thai food in Austin. Photo credit to Lynnsey Martin.

22 Sweet Treats New great and easy dessert and pastry recipes for upcoming holidays.

24 Styled Meals Meals that can drag the attention to your food. Football game snacks, book club treats, simple party delicacies and seasonal meals.

26 Fit to Pick Some of the best health foods are also the most unusual or unknown. The recently rediscovered produce that give the best health results.

Pictued above, Spiced Kobacha soup garnished with parsely, sour cream, and cotijlla cheese. See page 26 for more information on Kobacha. Photo credit to Lynnnsey Martin.

To All of Our Readers...

T

he search for a reliable food source in Austin is over.

As fellow foodies, we appreciate all of the work in the search for a perfect restaurant, and in our magazine we can try to help you find what you’re looking for.

In this issue, we will give you some sweet recipes, create an altered, modern menu for the Thanksgiving enthusiasts.

For those intereseted in the truly gourmet, we will compare the first Thanksgiving to modern Thanksgiving . With the usual quick recipes, we’ve also given new ideas that vary from the familiar meal plans, including the most recent health foods that everyone’s raving about. Our new magazine takes points into play from cultures around the world that could be interpreted and blended in every aspect.

With this simple introduction, we hope you can enjoy reading our magazine as much as we loved writing it.

Your Editors, Lynnsey M. Star W. Riley R.

About the Editors Lynnsey M. Lynnsey has loved cooking for years, and will not hesitate to go across town to find a great restaurant. As a vegetarian, her favorite types of food include thai and mexican. In her free time, she marches the tenor saxophone with the band and plays soccer for Lonestar. At LASA, Lynnsey participates in Student Senate, Cake Club and LBJ Cares.

Star W. Star has lived in Austin all her life.

She went to Kealing, along with the majority of the LASA population. Her favorite foods include pizza and almost anything else Italian. Her favorite restaurant here in Austin is Olive Garden.

She is also a first year member of the LBJ band, playing mellophone during marching season and French horn during concert season.

Riley R. Riley is a freshman at LASA. She went to Murchison Middle School and has lived in Austin her whole life. Riley’s favorite foods include pesto, strawberries, and almost every type of pasta. In her free time, she plays with her two chocolate labs and hangs out with her friends.

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Cross My Heart and Hope to Thai An introduction to the foreign foods influencing American cuisine.

By Lynnsey M.

T

he United States is growing more and more populated every day, and as our population grows, our ‘ethnicity’ as a nation becomes less definitive.

The more we change and our population varies, the more our culture, and especially our food, is influenced. In this issue Gourmet Everyday takes a look at the most common ethnicity based foods in Austin, how they’ve varied from their start, and their origins.

Indian People all over Austin have found food they love in different Indian restaurants.

While the cuisine varies widely based on the region of India the food is from, in general, Indian cuisine is well known for its flavorful curries and flat bread called naan.

While the recipes and taste have changed according to the consumers in the regions and the level of availability of some of the products, the basis has remained the same even across the ocean.

In general, the culture and religions in India encourage vegetarianism, and little to no meat is found in most Indian foods.

Although in the United States, where a taste for meat is much more common, restaurants often serve dishes with poultry and other types of white meat. Today, you may still find that the most authentic restaurants avoid using meat where they can.

Indian cuisine has also helped shape history in Europe. The strong connection between India and Europe through their spice trade is often cited as a cause for the British Age of Discovery.

The strong curries most well known from Indian food have affected the multiple cultures they come in contact with, and while similar kinds of food can be found, nothing quite matches the intense flavors given from the common spices. Because the spices play such an important role in trying to cook great Indian food, it’s important to know the basic flavors. Powdered chile peppers provide the kick popular in most curries. Cumin, cardamom, black mustard

Spices play such an important role in trying to cook great Indian food, it’s important to know the basic flavorings.

At top right, red cauliflour curry with parsely.Like most Indian curries, it’s plant based.

At bottom right, Tataya’s tofu Gang Kiew Warn.

Tataya’s is a relatively new Thai food restaurant in Austin. Given multiple awards in Austin for its popularity, Tataya’s has continuosly grown more popular amongst families and younger students alike. Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

seeds, tumeric, ginger, and garlic give each food varying flavors as they are applied and cooked in the varieties of Indian cuisine.

Thai Around the 1970’s, Thai food’s popularity began to grow around the world. The wide variety of influences on Thai culture strongly affect the flavors and ingredients found in the most common recipes. The spiciness of a majority of the ethnic foods comes from different kinds of chilies integrated into the meal. With ingredients that change so greatly from each individual region in Thailand, it’s hard to label this kind of cuisine with a specific kind of style.

While many kinds of food have been

adapted to fit the culture, the cuisine for the most part is completely original. Rice, noodles, seafood, and produce play major roles in the diet of most families. Jasmine rice, an sweet smelling grain native to Thailand, has recently been used more often for staple dishes where it gives its aromatic flavor to curries. Fish sauce is used quite often in most dishes, and is in fact used almost interchangeably with salt.

Laos, one of the countries sharing a border with Thailand, also shares major traits in their cuisine and culture. Like Laos, Thailand has a strong food culture with sticky rice and other small dishes. Another thing popular sold with street vendors are

Pictured above, Tofu tacos with jicama salad and pickled red onions. Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

different bugs cooked in various ways.

The kinds of meals and foods served around Thailand are diverse and flavorful, but the more we discover about the original cuisine, the more we can see the changes in our own culture.

animal product heavy.

Although queso, a melted cheese appetizer meant to be eaten with chips, was not originally made in Mexico, the dish has now become extremely popular in TexMex restaurants. There are many variations across the United States of different kinds of Mexican food, but the essence of Mexican cuisine remains strong.

Mexican Mexican cuisine is arguably one of the Italian Contrary to common belief, most of the strongest food influences on Texas, and especially in Austin. The influence is in Italian foods aren’t strictly pizza or pasta. fact so strong that a new brand of Mexican In fact, pizza we know in the United States cooking, now called Tex-Mex, has been would be unrecognizable to most Italused in any different restaurants across ians eating the traditional cuisine. While Texas. While our interpretation of Mexi- aspects of Italian food have spread across can food may be more similar than most, the world changing with the culture it inthe original flavors and impressions of habits, it just as strongly changes our own ideas of meals today.

Mexican food are completeOne of the most popular ly distinct from all kinds of The more we and well known staples in imitation. the Italian diet are tomatoes.

The high amounts of discover about the While they play a large part meat such as beef, pork, original cuisine, in many areas of Italy; like and chicken combined with the more we can most countries, the diet varlots of tomatoes and chiles see the changes in ies greatly by region. Prolead to the kinds of recipes duce and all kinds of meat most often found in tradi- our own culture. and fish are used all across tional Mexican foods. While the area, but Italians are also wheat can be found in many recipes, more often corn is the important very well known for the wide use of pastas starch in meals. Most often, meals are ac- in varieties of dishes.

No two are the same and they each have companied by corn tortillas in different ways. Cheese is also a very common ad- different kinds of counterparts. There is dition to dishes in all regions of Mexico. usually a fresh and dried variety of each Even in the United States, where cheese is pasta. The fresh type is made with eggs and as popular, the cuisine has remained very tends to be more time intensive. The dried

pasta is the kind we typically see in stores, where it can be colored anywhere from a dark yellow to a light brown; and has a hard texture before being cooked.

Most pastas tend to be boiled ‘al dente’ in the traditional way, but some aren’t or can’t be cooked as such. Across the world, pasta today can vary as greatly as gnocchi to gramigna. Each one is individual and serves different purpose for flavor and contributes different things to the dish.

Another important ingredient in many Italian foods is olive oil. While it is often underestimated, it can be useful for many different kinds of preparation.

Italian food in general has had a major effect on the United States because of its versatility and flavor. The extreme, constant popularity of Italian food has lead to hundreds of thousands of restaurants introduced into our cities.

tortilla- a round mexican flatbred made from corn or flour gnocchi- small italian dumplings usually made of potatos gramigna- a thin pasta shaped like a half circle with one end curled in al dente- literally ‘firm to the bite’; a way of cooking pasta until cooked, but As the foods across the world evolve, important changes are affecting all kinds of cuisines. As Austin changes to absorb the new influences and ingredients as they’re introduced, foods and recipes fuse.

Chill Out for November With temperatures in Austin around the high 80’s throughout this month, recipes that can help you cool off are a must have.

By Lynnsey M.

Camp Cupcake!

Camp Cucake is a fun learning experience for kids!

Here they will learn how to make their own batter, correctly bake the cupcakes, make delicious frosting, and most importantly, have fun!

If interested please call 880-CUP-CAKE (800-287-2253)

Ever wanted to learn how to learn how to bake?

Well now you can, at Camp Cupcake!

E

ven though temperatures in Texas are still hot, you don’t have to be! Some foods can make you feel cooler just through their ingredients and flavors. You can take advantage of the great ingredients of the fall and still rarely turn on the oven or stove. With these recipes, you can cool off all throughout the heat waves without having to blast the air conditioner! For every drink and pleasantly cool treat, remember that these simple ways of beating the heat can save you both time and money.

An important part of making summer foods is to keep them light and chilled. A great entrée for the hot months is soup, which can be served both warm and cool. You are constantly losing water throughout the day, but these thin soups will help you restore it and will fill your stomach. Using fresh, liquid filled fruits and veggies can bring flavor to your table and keep you hydrated.

Below are some recipes from punch to a delicious and simple soup that will help everyone chill out this November!

Cucumber and Avocado soup, garnished with tomato and cilantro. Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

Cucumber and Avocado Soup An easy recipe for a light soup best served cold, this is an idea to remember. For the hot summer days, there isn’t even a need to turn on the stove and raise the temperature of your house. Great for parties, give this soup a little time to mingle and cool off in the fridge before serving.

Servings: 4 Approx. Time: 1 hr. 15 min.

1. Put the cucumbers, avocados, lime juice, water, salt, and pepper in a blender.

2. Bend until smooth.

3. Mix in additional salt and pepper as needed.

4. Chill in fridge for at least one hour before serving.

5. Garnish with tomatoes and cilantro (optional)

Ingredients: 1 lb. roughly chopped cucumbers 2 small avocados cut in small pieces 1/w4 c. lime juice 3/4 c. water 1 tsp. sea salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper Tomatoes and cilantro for garnish (optional)

Cucumber Limeade Punch The perfect balance of fizz and flavor, this punch combines cucumber and lime with a sweet tanginess. An amazing drink for parties and warm November days alike, keep this recipe in mind for any occasion.

Serving: 8 Approx. Time: 10 min.

Ingredients: 1 can frozen concentrated limeade 1 qt. carbonated lime water 1/2 of a cucumber cut into slices 4 sprigs of fresh basil 1. Mix frozen limeade and lime water until limeade is dissolved.

2. Mix in and garnish with cucumbers and basil, serve immediately.

Icy cucumber limeade punch ready to serve. Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

Lemon and Mint Sorbet Chilly fruity alternative to homemade ice cream, this addicting icy treat tastes great, but doesn’t contain all the fats of dairy.

With the childhood reminder of lemonade dominating your taste, the cool mint helps control the tartness of the citrus.

Servings: 12 Approx. Time: 1 day 40 min.

Ingredients: 1 c. water 1/2 c. sugar 2 zested lemon peels 4 chopped sprigs of mint 1/2 c. of lemon juice 1/2 c. carbonated water (lime works great) Lemon peel for garnish (optional) 1. In a saucepan, stir together water, sugar, zested lemon peels, and mint. Raise to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. In a heat proof container, stir together simple syrup, lemon juice, and carbonated water. Place in an ice cream maker for 30 minutes using manufacturers’ instructions, or until a sorbet consistency.

3. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, place mixture in freezer for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then remove and stir thoroughly.

Replace it into the freezer and stir at least once every hour, for four hours. The more you stir the mixture while in the freezer, the thinner the consistency will be, which will result in a lighter finished project.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee Even in the summer, there’s no need for you to skip out on your favorite drink. This can be a great alternative to the usual extra hot beverage you drink in the morningthat still gives you the kick of caffeine you need to start the day. The one thing to be wary of is the sweetened condensed milk, which adds the sweet flavor iced coffee is most known for, but also carries the calories. Even so, this substitute is a great way to start off a hot day.

Servings: 2 Approx. Time: 5 min.

Ingredients: 2 c. of dark coffee (make it stronger than you normally get, the ice will dilute it) 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk Ice At top, lemon and mint sorbet decorated with mint leaves. Pictured above, vietnamese iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

1. Stir together all ingredients. Some condensed milk may pool at the bottom. Stir often while drinking.

Your pantry away from home!

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Come on Wednesdays and kids eat free!

GOOD FOR A FREE ENTRÉE WITH THE PURCHASE OF A ‘MONSTER’ SIZE MEAL! All purchases don’t apply. Only under participating resturants. Ask your server if you are unsure of the legal status. Eating a ‘Monster’ size meal may not be good for your health. Be wary of fake restaurants trying to fool you with tempting coupons. This coupon doesn’t really exist; the Patio Pantry doesn’t accept any coupons. Expires on 10-25-12. Receipts will not be given.

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TOPPERS $5 OFF A 12’’ PIZZA This coupon is not valid at all locations. Check with your local Toppers manager before using coupons. This coupon is only valid in some states. Not approved by the FDA. Please contact your local Toppers if you have any questions or concerns.

Color Contrast Find out how different colors will affect your appetite.

By Riley R.

C

olored plates, food, and decor can affect your appetite for better and for worse. An example of this is that some colors will suppress appetite because it is not the color of many natural foods. This is because it gives you the feeling of having a slow metabolism and therefor will make you less hungry.

But other colors will stimulate you appetite because they are more commonly found in natural foods found in nature.

A dish with lots of contrast will almost definitely increase you appetite. For example, if you had a red sauce on a white plate, that would make you more hungry because the red sauce would stand out quite a bit. But if you had blueberries on a blue plate, the berries would blend into the plate and you would seem to lose your appetite.

The contrast doesn’t only apply to plates though. The color of and the contrast that the food has to side dishes also affect appetite. If you have lots of different colors of food on your plate, it will increase your appetite.

The decor of the room that you are eating in will also have effect. A blue room or furniture will make you eat less, than if you have a red room and furniture.

A plate with no contrast at all on it will suppress you appetite. If the colors would have normally stimulated your appetite, they still will, just not as much as they would with contrast.

Colors that suppress your appetite typically aren’t found as healthy and safe foods in nature, and are often poisonous berries that are best not to eat.

While colors that will stimulate your appetite are often bright and exciting colors, like apples, oranges and bananas.

These are all healthy things that are found naturally in the world.

Since the different colors can make you either eat more or less, that means that they can help you and your family eat better by using colors that make you eat less or healthier. You can use then to help you diet by choosing appetite suppressant colors for plates and decor.

If you needed to gain more weight, then you could use the colors that stimulate your appetite, but it would be best not to use those that cause mindless eating or overeating. Good colors for dieting would consist of green, blue, purple and grey. Colors that you would not want to use when trying to eat less would be yellow, red, orange, white and blue.

Colors like blue, purple, grey and black will

typically suppress your appetite because they are very rarely found as a healthy, and non-poisonous, food in nature.

Blueberries are one of the few exceptions with it’s purplish blue color.

More often than not, the suppressant colors are dark.

Red, orange, yellow and green will stimulate your appetite because they are bright colors which are often found in nature and bright colors will typically stimulate your appetite. If you think about those colors in the form of food, you will most likely think about fruits and healthy things. As opposed to if you think about darker colors, you probably wont be able to think of many healthy and natural foods.

Some colors that don’t suppress your appetite don’t necessarily stimulate it. Take the color white for example. It doesn’t necessarily stimulate or suppress, it just puts you in a state of mindlessness and overeating. It is similar as to when you are eating while doing something else. It distracts you and you forget that you are eating. So you will just continue to eat until the entire meal or snack has been eaten. When this happens, you will usually still feel hungry afterwards, so it is best not to eat off of white plates often.

Look at the circles below for a quick way to find out how colors affect your eating habits!

Blue: This color will suppress appetite and not let you overeat.

Yellow: This color will stimulate your appetite, and you will most likely eat more.

Purple: This color will suppress your appetite.

Red: This color will stimulate your appetite and make you eat more.

Orange: This color will typically make you eat with caution.

White: This color causes overeating and mindless snacking.

Green: This color will tell you that it is healthy and to eat without risk.

Grey: This color will suppress you appetite and calm anxiety.

Turquoise: This color will stimulate your appetite.

Thanksgiving Then and Now What are the differences of the 1612 Thanksgiving verses modern times?

By Riley R.

S

ince the first Thanksgiving in 1612, the food, the things that we are thankful for, and the traditions have changed.

Although we eat turkey now just as they did back then, most of the other dishes served have varried. For example, we typically will have things like cranberry sauce, potatoes and pies because we have access to the ingredients, and it is tradition to have them. But during the first Thanksgiving, they didn’t have these things.

Sugar was too expensive to make cranberry sauce, potatoes hadn’t been introduced yet, and they most likely had pumpkins, apples, and pecans, but not pies.

Their turkeys were also boiled, not roasted because it would take far too long.

A big difference between the two, is that today, we have stoves

and ovens, and at the first Thanksgiving, they only had fires. This would have made it hard to cook so much food in so little time, and be able to keep it all warm. There were probably only a few cooks to make food for the whole colony, so this made the cooking and preparing of food even more difficult.

Somethings that they had then that you probably wouldn’t see at your table at Thanksgiving today would be lobster, rabbit and cod fish.

These foods were more commonly found in the bodies of water, and surrounding land, and they just had a different diets. than we do in modern times.

What we are thankful for on Thanksgiving has also varried quite a bit. In 1612, they were thankful for a success in growing crops that season. They celebrated by

catching animals to eat such as turkey, eel, cod fish and rabbit among many others. They also fed on the food that they had harvested. The feast of the first Thanksgiving lasted for three days.

But, you and your family probably don’t eat rabbit, eel and cod fish on Thanksgiving.

And you probably aren’t thankful for a successful growing season. You are probably thankful for things like friends, family, good health and common things in the modern world.

And you probably eat things like turkey, potatoes, cranberry sause, vegetables, and a variety of pies.

These changes to Thanksgiving traditions have occured over many years as technology has progressed, and as our life styles have changed.

Ham (as seen on the top) as well as Green beans (bottom) can also be found at a typical Thanksgiving dinner. But some families chose to have ham or chicken instead of turkey as the main part of their Thanksgiving meal.

Photos by Star W. Modern Thanksgiving meals oftern have bread or rolls served with butter, to go with the meal, just as they had during the first Thanksgiving.

Photo by Star W.

Pecan Pie

1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan.

1 Cup sugar

2. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and butter melts; let cool slightly.

1 Cup light corn syrup 1/3 Cup butter

3. Add eggs, vanilla, and salt to mixture, stirring well.

4 eggs, beaten

4. Pour filling into pastry shell, and top with pecans.

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 Teaspoon salt

5. Bake in preheated oven at 3250 for 5055 minutes.

1 unbaked, 9-inch, pastry shell 1 to 1 and 1/4 Cups of pecan halves (Chop slightly to make pie easy to slice)

Apple Pie 1 Cup of sugar 2 Tablespoons flour 1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 Teaspoon nutmeg

1. Combine sugar, flour, spices, salt and lemon juice in a bowl.

2. Add apples, toss to mix.

3. Roll out pastry, line pie pan. Trim off overhang.

Roll pastry for top, cut vents near center.

1/4 Teaspoon salt

4. Add half the apples, pack well. Dot with butter.

Add remaining apples. Moisten rim with water.

Adjust top crust.

1 Teaspoon lemon juice

5. Bake at 4000 for 50-60 minutes.

5 Cups of thinly sliced apples (Granny Smith) 2 Tablespoons of butter or oleo

Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish

1. Wash Cranberries, and remove any stems and discard any blemished berries.

3 Cups fresh or frozen cranberries

2. Cut orange into 1-inch pieces with peel.

1 seedless orange, unpeeled

3. Place sugar in bowl of food processor, add half of the cranberries and orange pieces.

1 1/2 Cups sugar

4. Cover. Process about 15 seconds, using short on and off motions, or until evenly chopped.

5. stir cranberry mixture into sugar. Repeat with remaining cranberries and orange pieces.

6. Cover. Refridgerate at least 24 hours, but no longer than a week.

This page photo credit Star W.

Green Pasture Cotillion Rolls

1. Melt oleo.

1/2 Cup oleo (melted)

2. Beat eggs.

1/2 Cup milk

3. Combine milk, eggs and oleo in a bowl. Set aside.

2 eggs

4. Mix together water and yeast.

3/4 Teaspoon salt

5. Put dry ingredients in a bowl.

3/8 Cup warm water

6. Add yeast, milk, eggs, etc. (Blend with dough hook - after pulling away from bowl, use hook another 5 minutes.)

2 Packages of dry yeast

7. Blend in Cuisinart for 30-45 seconds. Continue processing dough until it begins to form a ball. Let machine run another 60-90 seconds until surface of dough is smooth, barely sticky and clears the sides of the bowl.

3 Cups white flour 1 Cup whole wheat flour

8. Put in buttered bowl and cover. Let rise to double in size (about 1 1/2 hours)

3/8 Cup sugar

9. Divide into 3 equal parts. Roll out each ball into 14 inch round (on wax paper or floured dough cloth).

10. Cut dough into 16 equal parts (like pizza slices) (use a pizza cutter).

11. Roll from wide side into center. Form croissant. Let rise again (about 1 hour) 12. Bake at 3500 until brown - about 10 minutes - on greased cookie sheet.

13. Before letting rise or after baking coat tops of rolls with melted oleo.

Photo credit Star W.

The Perfect Centerpiece

By LynnseyM.

With Thanksgiving so near, a great decoration for your table is a centerpiece. You can use simple and natural objects to bring out the color and texture of your dinner. We consulted with Central Market floral advisor Karen Williams to see how to best bring an excellent centerpiece to your table. An important point she emphasized was to keep the centerpiece short.

“Usually you want something low for a centerpiece because you’re entertaining people,” Williams said, “You want to be able to see over it.”

Another important thing to remember about making your own centerpiece is to try and use objects and natural items that you can get really easily.

Williams says “I’m always encouraging people to use what they have already.”

Some great natural things you can use in the fall are gourds dried flowers. Branches you find lying outside can bring a dramatic look to your centerpiece.Now, no matter how your Thanksgiving dinner ends, you can have an incredible centerpiece to match.

A fall centerpiece that can highlight your Thanksgiving should be short. Using the things you can find in your yard is also great and easy. Decorations like this one are cheap and simple to make, but will bring all kinds of admiration to you table. Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

Sweet Treats

Need some dessert ideas for this holiday season?

By: Star W.

A

lthough the holidays are a time of celebration for most, it can be extremely stressful for those cooking those extravagant family meals. From prepping to cooking to cleaning, a chef’s job can become a three-ring circus muck quicker than anyone expects.

To make this holiday season a bit less stressful, here are five desert recipes that are sure to please your family, with a full list of ingredients and step-by-step directions.

Photos by Star W.

Buckeyes

Originating from Ohio, these tasty treats can be easily adapted to almost any holiday with a bit of creativity. These can be frozen and stored for months at a time, so go ahead and make these in bulk!

Ingredients

Tools Needed

1 1/2 Cups Peanut Butter

Wooden Spoons

1 lb. Powdered Sugar 1/2 Cup Margirine 1 12-oz Pkg Chocolate Chips 1/2 to 3/4 Bar Paraffin 1 Tbls Vanilla

Directions 1. Mix peanut butter, margarine, sugar and vanilla together

4. Melt chocolate and paraffin together in a double boiler

2. Shape into balls

5. Insert toothpick into chilled peanut butter balls

3. Refrigerate overnight or place in freezer for 2-3 hours

6. Dip into warm chocolate and place on wax paper to cool

Tool Substitutes

Double boilers can be replaced by placing two pans ontop of one another, leaving a small gap for steam to escape

Wooden spoons can be replaced with plastic spoons. It is safer not to use metal, because the handels can get dangerously hot

Large Mixing Bowl Large Tupperware Container Double Boiler Toothpicks Wax Paper

P e c an P r a l i n es

Although often sold at grocery stores, these treats are, like most things, are better homemade. They don’t require a trained hand, and can be made while other things are cooking.

Ingredients

Tools Needed

2 Cups Pecans

Meduim Mixing Bowl

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

Square Baking Dish

4 Tbls Heavy Cream

Cooking Spray Wooden Spoons Wax Paper

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350o

4. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring once

2. Mix pecans, brown sugar, and heavy cream.

5. Remove from oven and stir once more before serving

3. Spread into bottom of baking dish coated with cooking spray

Zucchini Bread

Although this sounds odd, this bread can stand on its own. It makes a wonderful dessert after a full meal, or a simple snack to grab on your way out the door on the way to work. Plus, this bread can be made in the microwave, so it’s quick and easy.

Ingredients 3 Cups Flour

1 Tsp. Baking Soda

2 Cups Sugar

(Opt.) 1/2 Cup Nuts

2 Cups Grated Zucchini 1/2 Cup Oil

Tools Needed

3 Eggs

Microwave

3 Tsp. Vannila

Large Mixing Bowl

3 Tsp. Cinnamon

Wooden Spoons

1 Tsp. Salt

Glass Baking Dish

Directions 1. Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda

4. Grease and flour glass baking dish

2. Mix eggs, zucchini, oil and vannila into dry mixture

5. Microwave for -4 1/2 minutes on high -2 minutes at 60% - 2 minutes at 70%*

3. Add nuts if desired

*depending on microwave wattage, you may need to continue with 2 minute increments at 70% until toothpick can be inserted at center and comes out clean

Need Some Help?

Thanksgiving is a stressful time for chefs, so here’s 10 tips to make things a bit simpler.

By Star W.

1 3 If you’re only cooking for a few people, consider purchasing a rotisserie turkey, like the one picture.

Photos by Star W.

Don’t underbuy turkey

One of the most common questions asked by chefs at Thanksgiving is what size turkey to buy. The recommended amount is about a pound per person.

2

Know how many people are coming

Don’t let your Thanksgiving end up like an out of control party. Know who all is coming, and who they plan to bring. It’s okay to cook enough for a few extra people, but not an extra family.

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Don’t leave a frozen turkey on the counter to defrost

Leaving meat out on the counter is a major health hazard. Parts of the bird may thaw and begin to develop bacteria while others are still frozen. The best method is placing the bird in a bowl of water in the refrigerator, changing the water every half hour.

Know everyone’s preferences

Most everyone cooking for a large group will end up cooking for at least one vegetarian. Make sure that they have plenty of non-meat options for them so that they don’t feel left out.

Because yams are such a simple a dish, they are very common. They can be made by baking some sweet potatoes and brown sugar.

Sprinkle some mrahmalows on top just before it finishes to brown them.

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Don’t overwork yourself

Although it is true that homemade things are better, don’t feel guilty about buying some dishes! If you’re going to serve a few pies for dessert, consider buying one in the frozen food section of your grocery store instead.

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Have a plan

Don’t try to cook everything all at once. The stove only has so many burners, and the oven can’t hold the entire meal. Cook some things that can be warmed up again earlier in the day, then make the main course right before the meal.

Don’t leave food out for too long

Food left out for long periods of time can quickly develop many forms of bacteria. For meat, the longest recommended time is around two hours.

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Don’t put hot leftovers in the fridge

Placing hot food directly into the fridge will heat that part of your fridge, exposing all the food in that area to the formation of bacteria.

Use leftovers quickly

Don’t let your Thanksgiving leftovers go to waste!

Leftover ham and turkey can be used everyday in sandwiches for lunch. Veggies can frozen and stored for a bit longer if needed.

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SMILE!!!

When you smile, you help everyone else feel welcome in your home. A light, cheery mood will ensure that everyone if thankful for their family, and maybe keep some old family arguments hidden away where they belong.

Fit to Pick

A simple guide to the latest phases of health foods and how to prepare them.

By Lynnsey M.

Top right, an indian Chickpea Yellow Curry.

Bottom left, Pistachio and Date Quinoa Salad with a lemon vinaigarette.

Bottom right, Pomegranate and Passion Fruit Salad with hearts of palm and avacado.

See page 3 for picture of Spiced Kobacha soup.

Photo credit to Lynnsey M.

R

ecently, foods with different health benefits are being rediscovered on a regular basis, and as more foods are unearthed, it’s hard to tell which foods are the best and how to prepare them.

As a review for all those unfamiliar grains and tubers, we’ll give you recipes for some of the weirdest, best health foods we’ve got.

Chickpeas originated in Turkey, and are commonly found in many of the popular foods there. Chickpeas provide high protein and fiber content, and have a very low glycemic index, which is good for those with blood sugar problems. Around the world, Chickpeas are often used in recipes for cold salads, stews, curries, falafel, and hummus.

Quinoa has recently become more popular for its calcium and iron content, and its flexibility as a food. Aside from common belief, while quinoa can be prepared like rice and most other grains, it’s a chenopod, similar to beets and spinach. Quinoa is often very popular with vegetarians for its ease to prepare and high protein content, but beware of its slightly bitter flavor. You can often use Quinoa as a base for entrées instead of rice, or create a salad without lettuce.

Kabocha is a kind of Japanese winter squash with a green rind and a sweet orange center. Shaped like a pumpkin, kabocha is grown in temperate climates with a long growing season, but are typically their best up to 3 months after they are harvested. Kabocha has a strong sweet flavor that is most commonly used in recipes with other squashes or sweet potato varieties. Originally and most commonly used in Japanese tempura, Kabocha is also used in some soups.

Pomegranate is a popular fruit originating from Iran.

Each pomegranate can contain anywhere from 200 to 1400 of the edible seeds. The seeds are white with a red or pink surrounding flesh, and tend to be time consuming to separate from the inedible, astringent pulp. Their flavor is naturally tangy and sweet, but varies based on the ripeness of the fruit. The seeds are known to have be very high in antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin B5 and fiber content.

Chia Seeds are most commonly grown to make chia oil or to be added to nutritious drinks for their high level of omega-3 fatty acids. Studies are still currently being conducted on more potential health benefits, but today the seeds are popular among athletes for their nutrition. Chia seeds are most often used as toppings for smoothies or yogurt, but they can also be made into gelatin substances.

Knife to Meat You!

est.

1997

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