Pour it on

There aren’t many rules for a successful glaze, sauce or gravy.  Fresh, quality ingredients, a nice rich and smooth mouth feel, and the best fresh flavors are key.  The liquid envelopment brings a very satisfying reception to the palate, tongue and nose (and to the eyes too).

With any of these options, apply the required dried spices into the hot oil and ‘bloom’ them, opening their deeper flavors and activating the brighter oil-based essences.  Fresh herbs should be added toward the end of the cooking process for their brighter contributions.   As for your thickener – I recommend to add ground dry mustard/powdered sugars/dried fine ground herbs and spices to the starch requirement, better dispersing, and bringing less ‘grain’ taste and more depth.  Try using wines, juices, extracts, vinegars and natural sweeteners blended with the liquid ingredients. 

For my satisfaction, there is no need to use cream or whole milk if a dairy base is desired – a choice of two-percent milk is just fine.  Or even better, canned evaporated milk – almost no fat, thinned to a personal preference as you go.  In this fashion there is even MORE mouth feel, better taste and less animal fats. 

If a broth/stock base is desired, avoid using the heavily salted bouillon cubes or processed gravy bases if possible.  Either way, salt modestly as you add each ingredient, and taste at the final before balancing the seasoning. 

No thickener behaves well with extended high heats (rolling boil), high acids and freezing – so thickening a braise/roast dish at the onset could be a bad idea (never overcook any thickened sauce). 

Choose thickeners based on liquid choice, heat options and cooking duration.

Wheat flour is the most used thickener for most dishes – giving a thick, rich texture.  It usually needs to be enveloped in fat first (or else dissolved in small amounts of cool liquid in small doses, such as in fruit/berry pie), and then added with hot liquids.  It doesn’t reheat well, so for any hot dish you prepare to be ‘left-over’, you may not want to choose this as your thickener.  It isn’t your best option for acid-based dishes, as they will react with the thickening properties.

                       

Cornstarch is a more powerful option, as it contains the most starch for its volume, so may be used in almost half the required amounts as wheat flour. Cornstarch also gives a smoother texture than wheat flour.  The resulting sauce/gravy is more suited to become clear, as opposed to the opaque quality of wheat and potato, but it can impart a more ‘starchy’ flavor if not sufficiently cooked.  It suits well for glazes, fruit sauces, and dairy/egg-based dishes (but has a low sheen), especially when gently baked or low simmered.  It doesn’t suit well with acids, but it does reheat well (but don’t freeze).

Tapioca flour is excellent for quick dishes, but has a narrower temperature range.  It can hold up to gentle extended cooking times.  It has the most gloss for glazes and sauces, keeps clear, and works well with acids (a universal option for fruit, wine and vinegar based dishes and sauces).  Tapioca thickens quickly, so it can be used to balance out at the last-minute a dish that cooked out too thin.   It may be frozen and reheated, but it can’t hold up to extended high heating.  If tapioca flour can’t be found, processing tapioca ‘beads’ in a processor or spice grinder to a powder works perfectly.

Potato flour is a gluten-free starch and is used to thicken soups and gravies, with a nice flavor boost as well.  Its main advantage over other starch thickeners is that it’s an allowable ingredient for Passover, unlike cornstarch and other grain-based thickeners.  Liquids thickened with potato starch/flour should never be boiled (simmer only) because it will compromise the thickening ability.  In a  pinch, quality instant potato 'buds' or 'flakes' may be used.

Rice flour is a good thickener comparable to wheat or corn (but is more absorbent than wheat, and needs to be altered in strength as such), and can be obtained from either white or brown rice.  It is not a gluten product, so can be used for dishes served frozen or chilled; but due to the lack of gluten makes a flakier, less ‘elastic’ product.  Because of its gluten-free properties, it is an excellent choice (whole or mixed with wheat or corn flour products) when coating foods for deep-frying.  Pasta made of rice flour has a comparable texture and use as wheat, and an excellent choice for those with gluten allergies.

Arrowroot like cornstarch is stronger than flour and requires less quantity.  It is very neutral flavored and cooks out clear with a glossy sheen.  It has the lowest thickening temperature so is excellent with delicate dishes, but won’t fare well with dishes that are baked or extended simmered (not for braises or pies, and carefully with gravies) – and maintains the gentle thickness in cooled dishes as well (salad dressings and cool sauces).  It doesn’t mix at all well with dairy based liquids, but holds up well with acid based liquids.  It may be frozen and reheated. 

Kudzu is reputed medicinally more than culinarily and can be found in health food or Asian sources.  Its alkalinity aims more for sweet dishes.   Like cornstarch, it is dissolved in cold liquid before being added to the hot.

Gelatin is an animal-based product, so cannot be properly used with vegan or vegetarian dishes.   Gelatin is preferential with liquids and batters that do not involve egg or starch leavening/thickening (milk, as with panne cotte; pies, as with key lime etc; and water, as with dessert gelatins).  I use gelatin modestly in broths and stocks to enhance the rich ‘mouth feel’, which is normally obtained by long-term braising of cartilage and bone/marrow ingredients.

Liquid assets

Brunch Bloody Marys

If you’re having that toast and avocado brunch, then a similar Bloody Mary bar may be considered as well.  For the adults, set out tall but roomy glasses with ice and the portion of vodka (yes, try the flavored vodkas described below).  For the kids, as much as they tell you they’re adult, leave out the alcohol and use a broader plastic drinking glass they can easily and safely stir the mix up in.  They’ll love concocting their special favorite versions.  There ain’t nuthin like a good BM.

Offer a variety of tomato drink presentations – spicy (Snappy Tom or processed canned tomato/pepper like Rotelle), peppery (Bloody Mary mix), fresh (fresh tomatoes, processor or blender mixed), and V-8 or your favorite tomato/ vegetable drink. 

Set out the flavorings, very similar to the avocado offerings – hot sauce/Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, lime and lemon wedges and zests, any of the salsas in this book, horseradish/wasabi, coarse and/or flavored salts, fresh ground pepper, fresh minced herbs/spices (mint, tarragon, dill, thyme, chives, parsley, cilantro) – and then the swizzle stick:  cucumber/carrot/celery sticks, long green beans, zucchini or daikon radish sticks etc. 

You can salt or salt/herb the rim of the glasses, plus freeze the glasses with alcohol in with the ice for the coldest presentation.  Happy brunch!

SMOOTHIES

Supplementing nutrition, or replacing the mass of meals, is not a bad option – especially when the weather is hot, one is on a diet, or time is at a limit.  For this, you’ll have to make a trip to your health food store, although some well-stocked supermarkets now carry supplemental fortified protein powders.   Be sure to read the label and acquaint yourself with protein sources, freshness dating, sugar content, preservatives and stabilizers, and salts.  Talk to the pharmacist or qualified sales person.  For one serving, follow the instructions and add in the middle of the ingredients going into the blender jar – no dust clouds!

Ice is usually one of the main ingredients, but freezing some softer fruits is a great alternate option, or to use along with part of the ice content.  Bananas, strawberries, sliced apples, peaches, pineapples, grapes and other fruits work well, and they don’t ultimately dilute the drink with water.  It will be thicker as a result, so stock up on the wider straws.

Freeze the chosen fruits, diced to no larger than an inch to an inch and a half, in a single layer on a sheet pan, and when frozen, move to a sealable container (or our ever faithful zip-lock bags).  Store your individually frozen fruit bits in an easy to access place in the freezer.  Just grabbing a handful when assembling the smoothie is a sensible trend.

Don’t stop at fruits either.  Non-frozen tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, shredded carrots, dandelion greens/roots and spinach work very well in a smoothie, and they add considerable nutrition and moisture plus they remain consistent with the overall taste.  Spices can also be considered, such as the ever-successful cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, but don’t forget minced fresh ginger, mint (both nutritious), cayenne, cardamom, fresh cracked pepper and citrus zest.  Prepared leftover rice, barley, legumes and lentils are a healthy add plus a good texture, without noticeably altering the flavor.

You’ll want to include non-frozen liquid ingredients as well, for thinning and to avoid that always popular ‘brain freeze’.  Fresh, quality, non-flavored, live culture yogurt is THE perfect and very healthy ingredient.  Fresh juices, un-sweetened iced teas, diced fresh juicy fruits and vegetables, and leftover purees like applesauce and baby food can be used.  If you have them, you can use a small portion of non-sugar frozen ice creams or yogurt desserts, but don’t get into the habit -- this is, after all, a meal for you, not a dessert/reward thing.  

For this ‘meal’, avoid processed sugars – stay with small amounts of honey, molasses, maple and corn syrups or stevia for sweetener, if at all, as the less the better.  You WILL become accustomed to the unaltered fresh flavor offered by the natural sweetness offered in fruits and vegetables.

In the processor, add your ingredients with only enough liquid to get things moving, and add more as you go.  Replace no more than one meal a day with this refreshing friend, and keep your daily water and liquid intake always in check.

The love of the roast.

COFFEE - WAKE UP AND G’NITE

In brewing fresh coffee, the real thing to remember is acids and oils -- the two things that can bitter coffee worse than anything else.  You’ve heard of cowboys adding eggshells to the grounds.  Well, the calcium and porosity in the shells and residual egg albumen does aid in absorbing some of the acids and oils, and holds the grounds together.  Nope, not just a prairie tale. (Sorry for the pun)

In the morning, for a slight bit of ‘zing’ to help wake you up, add merely a sprinkle of cinnamon (if you have the sticks, then fresh broken up bits are excellent) and/or nutmeg and/or even just a hint of cayenne in the grounds before brewing for a bright yet subtle background to the sip.  Try also in the grounds, powdered ginger or fresh cracked pepper.

In the evening, as for after-dinner, you may add an unusual spice to your common conception, cardamom.  Use either ground, or in cracked seed form – just a small quarter teaspoonful of ground (or double that of cracked full pods) into the coffee grounds (consider de-caf) before brewing.  Nutmeg, cayenne pepper, cinnamon could be considered alone or with, but sparingly as a background to the cardamom, but most of all you have to try cocoa nibs here for a perfect finish, just decadent. The rich, earthy taste of cardamom with the subtle chocolate is wonderful, almost like a nice brandy. 

A perfect end to an incredible meal.

YELLIN'

WATERMELON
ICED TEA

At that wedding where everyone cleared the food table, I made this beverage.  It worked in my head, so it made sense to try it in reality.

The groom did not drink alcohol, so the bride asked me to provide something refreshingly classy, different tasting from what anyone would expect, and something appropriate for Texas.

Watermelon (in Spanish, sandia, san-dee-ya, like the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico, at sunset they are the color of yes, watermelon) is a hugely refreshing creation. 

When in season and affordable, buy these liquid ‘happiness carriers’, chunk out the rich red flesh, chill to ice-cold in zip lock bags, and puree in a blender or processor.  Strain the seeds in a coarse strainer, if necessary, and pour all together with an ice-cold prepared ice tea – equal parts of each. 

I had found a great ‘tropical’ flavored instant tea mix, but you can use whichever tea you care for.  It can be caffeinated or herbal, brewed or instant, sugared or sugar-free.  I just go for simple when preparing for a crowd.  The freshness of the watermelon overrides any ‘powdered’ flavor the tea might contain should you choose instant tea. 

Bright thirst-quenching watermelon renders such a complete refreshment joy that just can’t be imitated.

Options:  try other melons, which have more dense fruit ‘meat’ (which will need added water, tonic, seltzer, juice etc), and strain if necessary of the coarser fibers that may be in the flesh.  Try adding choices of the flavored alcohol homemade ‘extracts’ from this book for a light spritz for flavor, or generously add more, as a cocktail or adult punch.

LEMONADES  with a twist

I think of lemonade when I think of Mom, apple pie, and summer swims in the river.  As American as we’d like to think lemonade to be, it sure isn’t ours to claim.  The lemon infused beverage, usually made with water, mineral/carbonated water, wine, and liquors goes so far back there is no real ‘birth’ date.  And the lemon fruit itself began more in India and the Middle/Far East, so you know those cultures had that drink claimed centuries if not millennia before Uncle Sam drew his first breath. 

Regardless, fresh-made lemonade is a summer – and anytime -- classic.  There’s really no need to mess with the best, but if you’re up to it, I have a few ‘tweak’ suggestions. 

With homemade lemonade, the ingredient proportions are usually

one part fresh squeezed lemon juice, with or without pulp
                    is up to you, I love a toothy lemony smile!
four parts water (aim for pure, filtered, de-sulphered, de-
                    chlorinated if at all possible – not distilled)
one part sugar, or thereabouts 

Dissolve the sugar into the water first, either by using a finer grind sugar (put your cup of table sugar in the processor and whirl away), and/or lots of stirring/shaking; or heating an equal part of the water to dissolve, then add the rest of the water in chilled and/or ice form.  But remember, re-aerate the boiled water afterward, it tends to go ‘flat’ (Boy Scouts did pay off) – so give a good shake in a bottle or pour back and forth from one pitcher to another.  Any of these lemonades may be mixed wonderfully with a favorite iced tea, other fruit/citrus juices, colas/soft drinks or sparkling cider/wine – delicious!

As a twist from the ‘norm’, try using half white sugar and half light brown sugar in the mix instead of all white.

Perhaps using a favorite sparkling water instead of regular H2O.

Just a quarter part of one part of an alternate flavoring -- such as a deep, dark fresh-blended and strained berry juice, honey, molasses, maple syrup (the pure, good stuff); a tablespoon or two of cinnamon ‘red hots’ candies dissolved; any of the listed flavored vodkas (see below) – or a great brandy or rum; or a personal amount choice blending of another fresh juice such as cherry, pomegranate, strawberry, grapefruit, apple, sparkling apple cider, peach, orange, cranberry etc – or the tropical offerings such as mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut milk, passion fruit, guava etc. – or at the least, you can try one sixteenth of one part of freshly minced ginger and its related juice – excellent!  (One tablespoon is one sixteenth of one cup).

My fave?  Raspberry-ginger lemonade with a splash of pepper vodka, incredible!  (see below)




Handle with respect

FLAVORED VODKAS   to sip, to flavor and to savor

The making of vodka goes so far back in history, that there isn’t a sure date for it, but most likely from the Polish/Russian/Ukraine region around the 14^th century seems to be a general consensus.  Flavoring vodka goes back just as far.  Technically, gin is enhanced vodka (with juniper berries, lemon and bitters), although it is erroneously considered by most to be a liquor option separate from vodka.  Who knew?  Flavoring vodka is relatively easy because pure vodka carries no unique flavor to collide with other additives.  Because of this, most folks find it to be a great flavoring foundation favorite and use it more than one would think for cocktails, seasonings, pastry making, ice creams/gelatos/sorbets, marinades, sauces, vaporous deglazing aromas and back bite for many foods and drinks.

Funnel 3-4 tablespoons to half a cup (as you prefer the strength of the flavoring) of ‘gravel’ to ‘pea-sized’ flavoring bits (try to find organic, chemical free ingredients, if possible; wash all related skins/zests well; oven-dry moist or watery diced bits at low temperature; freshly mash/crush dried bits to expose volatile oils) into 1 liter bottle of vodka.  Allow bits to steep for at least five to seven days in a cool, dark, consistent temperature area.  Shake or swirl every day or so.  Don’t open and close the top, just be patient until at least five to seven days.

Test taste the final steep of flavoring.  If satisfied, strain through a barely damp, clean kitchen cloth or lint free paper towel (likeViva brand) or a coffee filter which would be lining a strainer (the dampening limits alcohol from wicking very far away from the pour area of the paper) into a pitcher.  Then replace to the original re-sealable bottle with a funnel, seal well, and chill/store in fridge or freezer (chilling isn’t necessary, but a chilled vodka makes using ice less necessary for some drinks). 

Read through the following suggested mixes and see what you think.  If it sounds good, then there y’are:

Spices/seeds/pods - Peppercorn, anise, celery seed, cardamom, cocoa nib, sesame, cinnamon, sassafras, nutmeg, vanilla bean, tamarind pod, rose hip, pumpkin pie spice (which would be ginger bits, cinnamon stick, crushed nutmeg nut, whole cloves - in ratio of 1-2-1/2-1/4) freshly crushed.

Herbs - mint/peppermint/spearmint, lavender, dill, cilantro, herbs de Provence, lemongrass, hibiscus, prepared tea selections (herbal or caffeine) - carefully dried in low oven or food drier (quickly).

Fruits - Dried tree or vine fruits - apple, apricot, cherry, pear, grape (raisin), date, fig, pine-apple, mango, guava, berries - any you can find (just think), cranberry, peach, banana, pomegranate, olive (black or green).

Vine vegetable/rhizome - cucumber peel (unwaxed) with non-seed flesh, sweet potato, melon, ginger root, wasabi/horseradish, sun-dried tomato (non-oil packed) - carefully oven dried to less moist.

Dried peppers - ancho, guajillo, de arbol, pasilla, Tabasco, mulatto, cascabel - with or without       seeds as heat choice dictates.

Citrus - peel/skin in peel/strips or fresh zest: orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, tangelo

Nuts (unsalted) - coconut (fresh open nut, grated), pistachio, hazelnut/filbert, peanut, walnut, macadamia, almond, walnut, cocoa nib - use fresh nut, fresh roasting before use, at a medium to medium-fine chop/crush.

Prepare chosen flavoring(s) in as waterless/oil-less a fashion as possible.  If fresh herb (or root/tuber/rhizome), separate leaves or slice thinly the ‘meat’ of root/tuber/rhizome/vine vegetable/fruit and allow to slow dry as much as possible in warm/low oven as soon as possible prior to immersion in alcohol; also with nuts and peppercorns, roast freshly split chunks briefly in hot pan/oven till you can just smell them and remove right away from heat to avoid excess heating or scorching – and just prior to immersion in alcohol.  Don’t use powdered spices, but use freshly medium-chopped, rough-cracked or crushed, zested, diced, or peeled items – so as to be able to strain completely from vodka after steeping.

As a refreshment or aperitif, your vodka may be chilled (or even kept in freezer for a maximum cold) and mixed with effervescent neutral waters (tonic, seltzer, soda), champagne/wine, fruit juices, colas or other sodas, other liqueurs, cream/milk, iced tea, iced coffee.

As a digestif (after dinner drink) or cold weather toddy with hot coffee/cream, hot tea, hot cocoa, heated cider and juices

As a flavoring for desserts, gravies/sauces, meats/shellfish, marinades, salsas, chutneys, soups, salad dressings, grains, and as part of the liquid content in pie crusts and pastries as well as batters and tempuras.   

In college, a buddy turned me on to cocoa and vodka.  Whether hot or cold, each ingredient played up and slightly altered the other.  With this in mind, I can only imagine the flavors that could play well with chocolate milk or hot cocoa.  Hey, I just love peppercorn vodka simply as that, while in chocolate milk, I’m sipping away – but it’s great as a splash in fresh salsa – or in the way I prefer a martini.  

Some of my favorites:
  
Peppercorn, cucumber and/or celery seed vodka for salsas,
                Bloody Mary‘s, martinis and Ceviche
Hot cocoa with vanilla, cinnamon and/or de árbol pepper vodka
Coffee with macadamia, berry and/or cardamom vodka       
Orange juice with hibiscus/ginger vodka
Tonic with honeydew/almond vodka
Olive oil/red wine vinegar salad dressing with ancho/lime/walnut vodka
Cola and cherry/almond vodka
Hot tea with lavender and/or lemon vodka
Shellfish marinade with tangerine/tamarind vodka
and of course  ancho chile and/or pistachio vodka with marinara –
               it’s worth the experimentation! 

Suggestion: you and friends all can each do different liter-sized extract flavors and trade out pint or half-pint portion bottles to create a wider selection in your pantry.  Store wisely away from curious smaller hands.

Have fun, but remember, be safe and wise with when, where, how old your buddies are, and how much you experiment and who is driving.  Taste test with spoons or droppers, and NOT cups (!) and don’t blame me!

Just think of that Tupperware party! 

I’m purposefully not including a margarita recipe(s), as there are mucho many out there, and everyone has their favorite (I bet by now you’ve come up with a dandy yourself) – the original Margarita recipe was simply equal parts tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime juice.  In this book I’m including drink recipes that more than likely may not be in most folks’ recipe boxes, and that pretty much is the basis for all the recipes in this book.

HOMEMADE COFFEE LIQUEUR

Yes you can buy it, but aside from time, it isn’t all that hard to make on your own.  Twist and enhance this delicious liqueur to your White Russian little heart.

                        1     liter Vodka, decent quality  
                                          Optional:  try chocolate-flavored
                                          vodka    Yowza!
                  1    cup dark rum

                      1½   cups light brown sugar

                        ¾   lbs fresh coarsely ground coffee beans –
                                         most grocery stores now have a coffee
                               department offering ‘self-grind’ presentations. 
                                         If not, pulse the beans in the food processor
                                         till ‘chunks’.   Use a fresh, rich, dark blend

                        ¼    cup good vanilla, or one split vanilla bean pod (the
                                        vanilla bean is incredibly delicious, but will
                                        ensure that the recipe must sit for easily a
                                        month, choose carefully)

                Preparation:  Chill the ingredients separately well.  Hot liquids will extract more oil and acid from the coffee grounds – which we definitely don’t want.  You could make this in a half-gallon sealable glass container (like a clean wine jug or large warehouse sized mayonnaise or condiment jar etc) adding the ingredients through a funnel (ground coffee and sugar first) giving a good shake when through.  Shake all the ingredients well to dissolve the sugar and help to absorb liquid into the grounds.  Store in a cool, dark place (but not back into the fridge) for at least two weeks (shaking from time to time), but the longer the better – just see if you can wait a month.  Strain the liquid when you can’t stand it any longer through a fine cheesecloth-lined funnel or colander back into a safe, clean container(s), dark glass is best (you can re-use the original vodka bottle eventually, after you drank your fair share of the Kahlua), and keep stored in a cool dark place.

My mom also had a quicker version that worked almost as well.  Pretty simply, take 3 3/4 cups sugar and mix that with 4 cups of water and 10 tsp (3 tbs plus 1 tsp - or 1/4 cup minus 2 tsp) quality instant coffee - simmer for an hour.  Let cool completely then add 1 quart of vodka and 4 tsp of good vanilla (like as if there were a bad vanilla), bottle it, shake it well and store in a cool, dark place.

HOMEMADE VANILLA EXTRACT  top grade

This is no quick make -- but just for fun, take a half pint or pint of good whiskey or bourbon (as you prefer).  Split open a vanilla bean or two (depending on the size of the bean) and place inside, seal well and just forget about the bottle for about five years.  No, really, just put it in the back of the cupboard and leave it alone, maybe shake it from time to time.  Put the date on the label and have a senior moment.  As a suggestion, make another one every year or two, so they come up ready to be used in sequence. 

If you're not one to have a five year attention span, you can certainly minimalize the prep time, with a 'quality' exchange in the process.  By upping the number of vanilla beans to five or six, then the time may be reduced to a month or two, and re-using the beans again for the next batch is a way to lengthen the lifespan usage of the expensive beans.  This vanilla extract will not be as rich or full-flavored, but def better than what can be purchased in a processed form.  And always, the finished beans NEVER should be thrown away, but placed in the sugar container to perfume the stored sugar as it's being used.  So nice!

Just as a thought, you may want to do several and give them out as gifts to the friends who actually believed you’d wait for five years!

My theory of how and why we determine taste

 

The human brain can store ten thousand different scents!

 The human tongue has the ability to distinguish merely four (some now say five) taste responses to what it touches:  Sweet, bitter, sour and salt (and ostensibly umami, or savory, being categorized as the fifth).  That, in a nutshell, is basically IT for the literal sense of what we call ‘taste’. 

Spice-heat ‘taste’ is experienced when one of, or a mix of, the delicate tissues of the tongue, palate, sinuses and/or mouth interior (the membrane flesh) reacts to the acids, vapors and essential oils found in those ‘spicy hot’ foods.  Although it technically isn’t actually a sense of taste, but rather of touch.

Thermal hot and cold ‘tastes’ are detected in varying degrees throughout the mouth, throat and lips, as with the rest of the body.  Falling also under the sense of touch, they also technically aren’t actual tastes.

What we ultimately perceive as ‘taste’ is fundamentally a co-op sort of thing between the tongue’s senses of taste and the aromatic sense of smell, utilizing that handful of tongue assessments compounded with thousands of scents perceived through the olfactory system.   In French, the word for ‘smell’ and ‘sense’ is the same.  The two work in strong association.  Spice heat and thermal heat, however, compound our senses intake and do in fact affect our initial reception of these incoming flavors, manipulating them deeper or lighter, more rapidly or restrained.  

And finally, any combination of a couple, a few, or all of those four or five tongue assessments commingled with thousands of potential aromas -- themselves blended in any multiple of combinations that the nose can inhale – and, oh brother, we have an almost infinite number of resulting potential tastes.   

It is said that the brain can store ten thousand smells.  If you would like to therefore envision the number of possible taste options, then try 5 X 5 (tongue taste combinations) X 10,000 X 10,000 (sensory smell combinations) equaling somewhere around two and a half billion; yes the big ‘B’.  That’s my guess.  OK, just to be fair, not all those individual smells that can be stored are ones that would work at all well with flavor (I won’t even go into a sampling of descriptive smells here), but that’s getting technical.  We can easily see that the potential flavor combination offerings are reaching way more than we can taste in a lifetime. 

You can be sure I’m giving it my best shot.

Smell is the strongest of the senses to re-enforce memory.  The sense of smell is the only of the five senses that deposits sensory information immediately and directly into the brain without transmission via nerve cells.

Fortunately, the brain actually can remember those many thousands of smells and therefore tastes, a vestige survival response developed in ancient man – continuous protection as to what was safe, healthy, poisonous or pleasant to consume, touch, stay away from, or sense the nearness of.  That’s why we may find ourselves smelling something, and then suddenly experiencing an amazingly clear memory from our remote past -- completely baffling us.  Well, that’s the smell-memory thing in action.  That’s why ‘comfort food’ is such a big deal – it’s those oftentimes childhood era food aromas and flavors that evoke loving, delicious, happy and secure moments. 

Memory.  It’s approaching personally pathetic, but I can’t remember what I did two weeks ago.  However, my brain will precisely remember that intricately mingled chlorine/vinyl/coconut-suntan-lotion/BBQ swimming-pool birthday party smell memory from when I was ten.

What better coincidence than to take advantage of this incredible memory storage capacity than to use it to maintain a library of culinary aromas -- savories and sweets, piquants and subtleties – aromas that can be mixed to enhance flavor and texture, right there when we need it. 

And it’s built in!

Another absolutely smashing AVOCADO edibility




Like buttah!

 TOAST WITH MASHED AVOCADO

As a kid, I grew up with my Gram being in our home.  In those days, just about everyone you knew had grandparents closely involved in the immediate family.  It was just the way it was.  Her world influenced the family.  In the thirties, when my mom was an adolescent, they lived in southern California, and my mom grew up swimming in the ocean and eating avocados.  Those wonderful habits got passed along to me.  So in my childhood world, we always lived a few hours at the most from the ocean.  And sitting at the breakfast table didn’t always mean eggs and bacon or French toast (which I love dearly). Often, Gram and Mom would be sitting there eating mashed avocados on toast and I’d join in happily.  What a treat.

It’s not really the ‘recipe’ I’m passing along here, because it isn’t all that much, but it’s the concept I want to promote – a healthy, rich, delicious something new and different for all your senses to enjoy.

Toast your bread of choice and then a hint of butter or heart-healthy margarine.  Russian rye, San Francisco sourdough, whole wheat, pumpernickel, rye crisp, melba toast, raisin bread (!) – the list is basically a good, hearty and substantial bread.  It’s fun to try various combinations, especially the French toast sandwich idea, oh la la! 

Halve the avocado, remove the pit, and separate the skin from the flesh (sounds barbaric, doesn’t it?). 

For those of you who aren’t sure about how, first remove the stem cap.  This should be in place when you select and purchase the avocado.  The flesh should be firm yet slightly giving when gently pressed.  It’ll feel the way a cube of cold wrapped butter feels, resistance wise.  Next, simply cut to the pit with a kitchen-sized knife a circumference from pole to pole of the avocado.   Twist each half in opposite directions to separate.  Holding the half with the pit in one hand, firmly yet very carefully, rap the pit with the sharp edge of the knife and embed the blade into the pit enough to wiggle the knife and the pit as one.  Gently twist and remove the pit.  You can carefully squeeze -- with your thumb and forefinger -- the knife blade on either side of the pit where they are joined to expel the pit from the blade.

Cut both of the halves in half, and then it will be easy to peel the skin away from the quartered pieces – or scoop out from the half the avocado meat with a large spoon.  Slice, and either lay the slices on the toast-- or one can place the bits in a bowl to prepare the fruit with a little more flavor.  As a kid. I’d concoct my own mix.  I’d mash very slightly and add a few drops of hot sauce (yes, even then), lots of fresh cracked pepper, a bit of garlic salt  and then I’d place this mix on the toast with the fork I’d used to mix.  Avocadoes do need both salt and pepper.

This was a special treat, and we’d lavish a little extra time over the making and eating.  Not a lot of talking, just happy chewing.  In fact, it's the chewing that is a great part of the enjoyment.  Finding a great chewy and/or crusty bread is a big deal, as the creamy luscious avocado itself doesn't have much of a resistant texure.

As a Saturday or Sunday brunch, it is fun to create an ingredient ‘bar’ of offerings that go well with the avocado for combinations.  Laying out a varied selection of breads and crackers is a good start.  Then bowls of ingredients:  first the avocado preparation, then meat offerings like shellfish (shredded or chunk crab, diced shrimp, bits of lobster), chicken or turkey bits, slivered flank steak/London broil type meats and the always lovely shredded pork in this book; chopped hard boiled egg, bacon crumbles, chopped cilantro, diced sweet onion, sweet corn, tomato bits, fresh or dried herbs, flavored salts and peppers, hot sauces, any of the salsas in this book, Worcestershire sauce, grated radishes, sliced cheeses and cream cheese, sliced celery and cucumbers; wedges of lemon and lime . . . mmmmm.  I think I’m headed for the kitchen right now.