Bread and Butter Pudding....

So for a while now, I have been obsessed with bread puddings and bread and butter puddings. They really do make great desserts and my creativity with developing new recipes has been unbelievable...so since I'm on a roll....what is bread and butter pudding? Bread and butter pudding is typically made by buttering the bread slices before saturating them in the milk, sugar, and egg mixture. Just like traditional bread puddings, bread and butter puddings may be served hot or cold with a cream or dessert sauce.

Bread Pudding...

What is it??? Traditionally bread pudding was made with day old bread but now at Lucia and Company we make it with fresh bread using different varieties depending on the desired finished product. Bread pudding is a very simple and delicious baked dessert made with bread that has been saturated with a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and spices. Fruits, nuts, and raisins can also be added.

The Foodie's Fortune

You are only as successful as you want to be.

Ask The Chef...Salad dressings? Emulsions?

Q. How do vinaigrettes get so creamy? And how do I get mine that way?

A. Vinaigrettes get that creamy, thick, satiny texture when they are emulsified and that is accomplished by slowly adding in the oil as the vinegar is being rapidly whisked. You can do this with salad dressings, mayonnaise, and hollandaise sauces to name a few. An emulsion is really nothing more than the mixture of one liquid with another which wouldn't normally combine such as oil and water (or vinegar in this case). You do it slowly as described above which disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout the other.

The Foot

The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.
~Buddha

Ask The Chef...

If you have a food question, recipe question or a tip you'd like to share please submit it to Ask The Chef and we will do our best to include it in our blog and/or newsletter! Happy Trails!

Ask The Chef...Elderberries??

Q. What is an elderberry?

A. An elderberry is a purple-black tart fruit that comes from the elder tree. Although they are quite sour, elderberries can be eaten raw but are better used for jams, pies and homemade wine. The creamy white elderberry flowers can be added to salads or batter dipped and fried like fritters.

Honey Don't Go!

So what exactly is honey? By definition it is a thick, sweet liquid made by bees from flower nectar. Contrary to what many people think, a honey's color and flavor does not come from the bee, but from the nectar's source. And the darker the color, the stronger the flavor. Most of the honeys are named for the flower from which they originate with some of the most popular ones being clover, orange blossom, and sage. Other honeys which are mostly available in limited quantities come from these blossoms: alfalfa, buckwheat, dandelion, heather, linden raspberry, spearmint and thyme.

Thoughts Become Things...

What we think, we become.

~Buddha

Honey Bees

So why all this trivia about bees?? To raise awareness about them and how we can help them...Did you know that the honey-bee population in the West has declined more than 25% in the past year? A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is one of the cause of the losses and no one knows exactly what causes CCD. In 35 states across America and all over the world, honey bees have been abandoning their hives and dying. Honey-bees pollinate more than 100 different crops from fruits to vegetables to nuts and seeds. So how can we help? Start a garden with bee-friendly plants in your backyard. Lavender, glory bushes, rosemary, violets and sunflowers are just some of the plants and flowers that attract honey bees. Please visit helpthehoneybees.com for more ideas on how to help!

Support

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of others.

~Charles Dickens

Produce Lessons...Cantaloupes...

Okay, so not my favorite fruit at all...but definitely everyone else's...
Picking it Ripe: Use your nose to select cantaloupes - the best ones have a sweet fragrance. choose melons that are heavy and look for raised netting on the skin.
Keepin' it Fresh: keep ripe cantaloupes refrigerated and in a wrap to prevent them from absorbing odors of other foods
Trivia: One study suggests that heavy bee activity produces sweeter fruit.

Produce Lessons...Strawberries...

Season: The peak season for strawberries begins May through September. The best berries are brightly colored, uniform in size and plump!
Keepin' it Fresh: Store strawberries for up to three days in the refrigerator in an air tight container that either keeps out moisture or at least keeps the condensation away from these gems! Always wash before eating...
Trivia: Strawberries are covered in seeds that must be pollinated by bees...

Produce Lessons...Apricots

'Tis the season for some of my favorite fruits! So let's start with apricots...
Almost all U.S. apricots come from California...did you know that? Look for apricots that are plump and firm. They should have a uniform color that ranges from pale yellow to dark orange.
Keepin' it Fresh: Keep apricots in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. They are highly perishable but should keep for a few days.
Trivia: Did you know that bees are the chief pollinators of apricots???

Imagination

First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.

~Napoleon Hill