What Librarians Eat! I S S U E
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M A R
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Welcome
A Short History of Peanut Butter 2 Sweets: Peanut Butter and Crisp Cookies 3 Tip of the month
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Snacks: Homemade Pork “Sausage” Rolls
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Pasta: Stefania’s Cheesy Pasta
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Sweet: Traditional Maltese Figolli
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Chicken and Mushroom Pie
picnics, comfort food, flowers and this year, on the very last week of 7
Breakfast:
March, we have Easter as well. Prepare yourselves for some feel good recipes and picnic delights.
English Breakfast Muffins
It is March already and this means Spring is finally here. The month of
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Potatoes with
As always do not forget to give us your feedback and send in your recipes.
Pesto Dressing
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Rice Salad
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Ask Us Something
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A Short history of Peanut Butter This week Daniela suggested we talk a bit about Peanut butter so here is its history and a sweet recipe with peanut butter in the end. Peanut butter, a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, is most popular in North America, Netherlands, United
Kingdom,
and
parts
of
Asia,
particularly the Philippines and Indonesia.
“One
The United States and China are leading exporters of peanut butter. Other nuts are used as the basis for similar nut butters.
cannot
Peanuts are native to the tropics of the
think well,
pasty substance by the Aztec Native Ameri-
Americas and were mashed to become a cans hundreds of years ago.
A number of peanut paste products have been used over the centuries, and the distinction between peanut paste and peanut butter is not always clear in
love well,
ordinary use. Early forms of peanut
sleep well,
nothing but pure roasted peanut paste.
if one has
butter, like the Aztecs' version, were Modern processing machines allow for very smooth products to be made, which often include vegetable oils to aid in its spreadability.
not dined
Evidence of peanut butter as it is known today comes from U.S. Patent
well.�
306,727, issued in 1884 to Marcellus
― Virginia
Canada, for the finished product of the
Woolf, A Room
between heated surfaces until the
of One's Own
Gilmore Edson of Montreal, Quebec, process of milling roasted peanuts peanuts entered "a fluid or semi-fluid state." As the peanut product cooled, it set into what Edson explained as being "a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment". Edson's patent is based on the preparation of a peanut paste as an intermediate to the production of the modern product we know as peanut butter; it does show the initial steps necessary for the production of peanut butter.
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Dr. John Harvey Kellogg patented a "Process of Preparing Nut Meal" in 1895 and used peanuts. Kellogg served the patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium peanut butter. Dr. Ambrose Straub, a physician in St. Louis, Missouri, pursued a method for providing toothless elderly with protein in the 1890s. His peanut-butter-making machine was patented in 1903. By 1914, many companies were making peanut butter. Joseph L. Rosenfield invented a churning process that made smooth peanut butter smooth. In 1928, Rosenfield licensed his invention to the Pond Company, the makers of Peter Pan peanut butter. In 1932, Rosenfield began making his own brand of peanut butter called Skippy, which included a crunchy style peanut butter. Agricultural chemist, George Washington Carver discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. He started popularizing uses for peanut products including peanut butter, paper, ink, and oils beginning in 1880. The most famous of Carver's research took place after he arrived in Tuskeegee in 1896. However, Carver did not patent peanut butter as he believed food products were all gifts from God. The 1880 date precedes all the above inventors except of course for the Incas, who were first. It was Carver who made peanuts a significant crop in the American South in the early 1900s. January 24 is National Peanut Butter Day in the United States.
Sweets
Pe an u t Bu t t e r an d
Ingredients: (Makes 16)
Cris p Co o k ie s
100g Butter 200g Brown sugar 2 eggs 200g Self raising flour 1 tsp of baking powder 100g Crunchy peanut butter 1 tsp of vanilla extract 2 bags of ready salted crisps (50g total) Handful of raw peanuts Dark chocolate (100g)
Preheat the oven to 180ยบC. Beat the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs into the butter mix one at a time and stir to combine with the vanilla. Fold in the flour and baking powder to form a dough. Mix through the crunchy peanut butter. Crush the crisps into small pieces. Stir the crisps into the cookie dough. Mould about a teaspoon of dough into small balls and place on a lined baking tray, far enough apart to allow them to spread. Poke a few whole peanuts into the top of each cookie. Place the tray into the oven and bake for 12 minutes, until golden all over. Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on a rack. Melt the dark chocolate slowly in a microwave and use to dribble across the cooled cookies.
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Tip of the Month Imagine a superfood, not a drug, powerful enough to help you lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, and, for an added bonus, put you in a better mood. Did we mention that there are no side effects? You'd surely stock up on a lifetime supply. Guess what? These life-altering superfoods are available right now in your local supermarket. "The effect that diet can have on how you feel today and in the future is astounding," says nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, author of Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, and The Essential Guide to Vitamins and Minerals. "Even people who are healthy can make a few tweaks and the impact will be amazing," Somer says. "I'd say that 50% to 70% of suffering could be eliminated by what people eat and how they move: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension can all be impacted." You don't need specific foods for specific ailments. A healthy diet incorporating a variety of the following superfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer. One thing they all have in common: "Every superfood is going to be a 'real' (unprocessed) food," Somer points out. "You don't find fortified potato chips in the superfood category." Superfoods in this category include: Beans
Pumpkin
Tomatoes
Blueberries
Salmon
Turkey
Broccoli
Soy
Walnuts
Oats
Spinach
Yogurt
Oranges
Tea (green or black)
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Ho m e m ade Po rk
Snacks
“S au s age ” Ro lls Cook the minced meat in a pan and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Let it rest and cool down before starting the rolls. Spread the Puff pastry and cut it into halves. Spread half of the minced meat along the longest side of the pastry into a long line. Add the cheese on top and finish with the apple sauce.
Ingredients: 1 pkt pre-made Puff Pastry 100g Pork minced meat 100g Brie Cheese (or any melting cheese you prefer) Apple Sauce (Pre-made) 1 Egg (beaten used for colour) Sesame seeds for decoration Thyme
Pasta Ingredients: (Serves 2) 100g Pancetta cubes (bought ready from supermarkets in containers) A big handful of Mushrooms 100g Smoked cheese A handful of Walnuts or Hazelnuts ½ tbsp flour
Roll it all up into a big long cigar shape. Use the beaten egg on the edges so that the pastry sticks together. Do the same with the other half and cover with the egg wash. Sprinkle the Sesame seeds on top and bake it at 160 degrees for 20 minutes until the pastry turns a golden brown colour. Once ready chop them up into small bite size chunks.
S t e fan ia’s Ch e e s y Pas t a This is a simple recipe created by Stefania with some left over cheese. Unfortunately she forgot to take a picture so we can’t show you the end result. Chop up the Pancetta and mushrooms. In a pan fry the Pancetta first. (No need to add oil as the pancetta will start to fry in its own fat) When the cubes starts to colour add in the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms for a couple of minutes. Add in the Cream and the smoked cheese. The cheese will start to melt and infuse with the cream. If the sauce is too runny add the flour to thicken it. If it is too tick add some water. Add the nuts to the sauce and before plating add some chopped parsley.
1pkt cooking Cream
Boil the pasta.
Chopped parsley
When cooked add to the sauce and mix well.
Pasta of your choice (100g per person)
Plate up, garnish with parsley and serve with a nice glass of white or red wine.
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Sweet Tradit io n al Malt e s e Figo lli These iced pastries, made in a variety of figurative shapes, are given as gifts on Easter Sunday. The word figolla is a corruption of the Sicilian/Italian figura or figurella (which means ‘figure’), as the liquid consonants are frequently interchanged in Maltese. Figolli are made of pastry filled with an almond mixture. The whole is then iced to create a picture. Ingredients for the pastry: 250g Castor sugar 750g Flour 350g Butter 4 egg-yolks only Ingredients for the filling: 600g Almonds (finely ground) 600g Castor sugar 4 egg-whites For the Dough Rub the butter into the flour and sugar. Make a hollow in the centre and put the yolks into it. Mix until you have smooth dough, adding a dash of water or Martini Extra Dry if it is too dry. For the filling Stir together the dry ingredients and then add the egg-whites. Carry on stirring until you have a fairly dry paste. Roll out the pastry and cut it in any traditional shape. You will need 2 pieces of the same shape for each figolla. Spread one piece fairly thickly with the almond paste, leaving a free space all round for sealing. Moisten this fillingfree edge and place the identical piece on top. Seal all round by pressing with your fingers. Bake them at gas mark 5/190 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Place them on a rack to cool. Ice and decorate them with little silver balls and a small chocolate egg pressed into the centre.
A Special Message
Help a good cause and buy some delicious home made Figolli this Easter in aid of Equal Partners Foundation for only 6 euros!
Equal Partners Foundation is a parent-run, non-profit foundation which supports children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. Join up together with your colleagues and order some Figolli by calling us on 21250400 or email us on info@equalpartners.org.mt. Orders will be taken until 18th March 2013.
https://www.facebook.com/FigolliForEqualPartnersFoundation
“We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a
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pie.” ― David Mamet, Boston Marriage
Ch ic k e n an d Mus h ro o m Pie This is the queen of comfort food. You can have it for lunch, dinner or even a picnic. I bet it is one of your favourite food and it is such a simple humble recipe that one can not dislike such a dish. Here I have Jamie Oliver’s Version. Ingredients: 1 pkt Pre-made Puff pastry
2 tsp English mustard
500g free-range chicken (you can use breast or thigh)
1 tbsp crème fraiche
a knob of butter
a few sprigs of thyme
1 bunch of spring onions
1/2 a nutmeg, grated
150g button mushrooms
1 egg
1 heaped tsp plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
salt & pepper
300ml chicken stock
extra virgin olive oil.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Chop up the button mushroom and spring onions and slice the chicken into strips or bite-sized chunks. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and spring onions to the pan with a tablespoon of plain flour and give it all a good stir. Mix in two teaspoons of English mustard, a generous tablespoon of crème fraiche and 300ml of good chicken stock. Finally add some picked thyme leaves and a good grating of nutmeg, season with sea salt and pepper. Leave simmering on the stove whilst you sort out your pastry. When I say “sort out your pastry” I simply mean get it out of the fridge and unroll onto a dry lightly floured work surface. Once your chicken filling has thickened up slightly, tip it into a ovenproof baking dish slightly smaller than the sheet of pastry. Cover the filling with the sheet of pastry; don’t worry about the edges, just tuck them in around the filling. Lightly beat the egg with a fork, then brush it over the top of the pie. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for around 15 minutes, or until gorgeously browned.
If you want to go all the way Jamie, serve alongside peas and smashed carrots.
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Breakfast
English Breakfast Muffins
Ingredients: (Makes 4 muffins) 2 Eggs Bacon Strips 1 Large chopped Tomato Grated Parmesan Cheese Chives 1 Small chopped Sausage (optional)
I love Muffins and I love an English Breakfast every now and then. So Why not Combine the two together. Here is a recipe for a special breakfast. These are ideal for people on the go and who like to have a big breakfast. They can be made in advance and heated in a microwave for a filling breakfast in the form of a muffin.
In a muffin mould tray place the bacon strips at the bottom in the form of an X. (you might need to cut the strips so that you won’t have big chucks sticking out. Cook the bacon in the mould in the oven for 5 minutes at about 180 degrees. In the mean time, beat the eggs, season with salt and pepper, add the grated cheese, the chopped sausage and tomato. Add the chives and beat vigorously. The more air you get into the mixture the more the eggs will rise. After the bacon has crisped up pour the mixture into the moulds and cook for about 15 minutes. If the muffins look wet after 15 minutes check them out by using a knife or a skewer. If the knife or skewer comes out wet after inserting it in the middle of a muffin, then they need more time. If not they are ready. Pop them out of the moulds and enjoy your breakfast.
“Man is the only animal that can remain on friendly terms with the victims he intends to eat until he eats them.” ― Samuel Butler
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Side Dish
Boiled New Potatoes with Pesto Dressing and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Ingredients: New potatoes (as many as you want)
A simple easy recipe for a side dish or a potato salad for a picnic.
A Jar of Pesto Sauce (you can make your own) Sun-dried Tomatoes Boil the potatoes until cooked (20 mins) Drain While hot, pour the pesto sauce on the potatoes and lightly dress. Chop the Sun-dried tomatoes and add them to the Potatoes.
Side Dish
Rice Salad with Peppers and Pickled Onions
Another simple side dish or a main on its own. This recipe can be served hot or cold. I love to have this in a small container while on a picnic. Instead of nibbling on junky food snacks I prefer to eat this during small intervals
Ingredients: 1 Mug Basmati Rice Bell Peppers Small Pickled Onions Chopped Tomatoes Pour the rice in a pan and add 2 mugs of water. Season with salt and pepper and cover. Cook over a medium heat until the rice fluffs up. (20 mins) Grill the Peppers on a griddle pan on high heat. When the rice is ready pour it into a bowl and add the grilled peppers, tomatoes and pickled onions. Give it a good stir and the rice salad is ready.
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“Ask Us Something!� Thank you again for the positive feedback and the positive comments. Keep giving us suggestions and send in your questions. This is the space of the foodletter where we can answer your questions about everything related to food so ask away!
How do I make different kinds of pastry dough? Carmen wants to know the differences in pastry doughs and how to make them. First of all lets look at the most common versions of pastry dough Short crust pastry Short crust, or short, pastry is the simplest and most common pastry. The process of making pastry includes mixing of the fat and flour, adding water, and rolling out the paste. This is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche or pie. It does not puff up during baking because it usually contains no leavening agent. Short crust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savoury pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie.
Here is a basic recipe for the Short crust pastry:
Add 200g butter to 400g flour and a pinch of salt. Blend it for 15-20 seconds until you have a breadcrumb mixture in a food processor. In a bowl add the mixture and slowly incorporate just under 100ml of water. Start by adding 2/3 of the water and slowly mixing it together. Add the rest of the water and keep mixing until you have incorporated everything into a dough. Kneed the dough on a flat surface dusted with flour. Place the dough in a bowl cover with clean film and store in the fridge. (to be used within 2 to 3 days.
Flaky pastry Flaky pastry is a simple pastry that expands when cooked due to the number of layers. It bakes into a crisp, buttery pastry. The "puff" is obtained by beginning the baking process with a high temperature and lowering the temperature to finish.
Choux pastry Choux pastry is a very light pastry that is often filled with cream. The pastry is filled with various flavours of cream and is often topped with chocolate. Choux pastries can also be filled with ingredients such as cheese, tuna, or chicken to be used as appetizers.
Puff pastry Puff pastry has many layers that cause it to expand or “puff” when baked. Puff pastry is made using flour, butter, salt, and water. Pastry rises up due to the combination and reaction of the four ingredients and also from the air that gets between the layers. Puff pastries come out of the oven light, flaky, and tender. Nowadays you can buy good quality premade Puff pastry from
supermarkets.
Professional
chefs
themselves do not recommend making puff pastry as it involves a lot of time and work to create the layers of butter that puff up when baking. Phyllo (filo) Pastry Phyllo is a paper-thin pastry dough, used in many layers. The phyllo is generally wrapped around a filling and brushed with butter before baking. These pastries are very delicate and flaky. Hope you enjoyed this month’s foodletter. We are starting to receive recipes and requests but we need more. Create your own recipes and share them with us. In Next month’s issue expect to find more amazing recipes including a delicious rabbit pasta.