Chauncey's Blog

White Whole Wheat/Corn Meal Pancakes

2006-08-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

A colleague at work told me about white whole wheat flour so today I tried it out. I made pancakes from a combination of corn meal and white whole wheat flour. Here is the basic recipe:

1 1/2 cups of white whole wheat flour.
1/2 cup of yellow corn meal
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter
1 large egg

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Mix the skim milk and egg together and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are well mixed, but don't overstir.

The corn meal gave the pancakes a tiny bit of crunchy texture that was surprisingly tasty. Overall, the white whole wheat flour was just as tasty to me as white flour.

Reptile Recipes

2006-06-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

My wife has been away for a few days so I did some experiments with reptile (she is not a fan of reptile :-) Here is a quick summary of my recipes:

Experiment 1: Crocodile egg and cheese sandwich (See Picture)
This morning I sauteed a thin slice of South American Crocodile, fried an egg, and made a crocodile-egg-cheese breakfast sandwich. The ingredients are:

3 ounces of South American crocodile
1 ounce of sliced Derby with cheese sage
1 whole wheat bun
1 fried egg over easy

Experiment 2: Open face crocodile sandwiches (See Picture)

Carmelize about 1/2 of a small onion
saute some thin slices of crocodile under medium high heat, but don't overcook; add some salt and pepper and a touch of Emeril's Essence.
Slice several pieces of sharp cheddar cheese
Heat some marina sauce

Put the cheddar cheese on each piece of rye bread and toast until the cheese is melted. Place the carmelized onions over the cheese toast and then add the sauteed crocodile. On the second piece of toast do the same thing, but add some hot marinara sauce.

Experiment 3: Breaded frog legs

This was simple. I just coated some frog legs with egg and then dipped the legs into breadcrumbs. I broiled the frog legs (turning once) and they crumbs were nicely brown.

Experiment 4: Frog legs with chopped spam and tomato sauce over spinach

I sauteed about 6 frog legs and some chopped spam. I heated some frozen spinach, drained the water, and spread the spinach across a plate. Then I spread the chopped spam over the spinach, put the frog legs over the spinach and poured warm tomato sauce over the meaty portion of the frog legs.

Crawfish Salad

2006-06-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

I purchased some frozen crawfish awhile ago and decided to make crawfish salad (similar to chicken salad). Since my wife is recovering from an ulcer, I opted for a mild mixture that would let the flavor of the crawfish come through - nothing hot here.

Ingredients:
1 pound of crawfish meat, thawed and drained thoroughly
1 small shallot finely chopped
1 stalk of celery finely chopped
1/2 cup of light Mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
Juice from 1/2 squeezed lemon

First, I thawed the crawfish in the refrigerator and then washed and drained them several times. The crawfish seem to retain water after being washed so I put them in some paper towels and pressed gently to remove as much water as possible. I put the thawed and drained crawfish aside.

Put the chopped shallot and celery in a medium mixing bowel. add the mayonnaise and mustard and mix thoroughly. Mix in the drained crawfish and gentley mix the ingredients. Add the salt and paper and lemon juice and mix a bit more. Taste and add the salt, pepper, and lemon to until it has the right amount of seasoning and fresh lemon flavor.

Lightly toast some small finger rolls (don't let them get too brown) and then add the crawfish salad. Don't overpack the rolls.

Chicken Salad with Roasted Red Pepper and Fennel

2006-05-29T05:52:00.000-07:00

Chicken Salad with Roasted Red Pepper and Fennel

Ingredients:
Cooked and diced dark and white meat from a 3-4 pound chicken.
2 Tablespoons of finely chopped fennel
3 Tablespoons of chopped roasted red sweet pepper
1/3 cup of finely chopped celery
1 Small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of finely chopped carlic
1 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
3/4 cup of low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup of seedless green grapes (sliced in half)
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute the chopped onion and fennel using medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Toss in the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Do not allow the onion, fennel, or garlic to burn.

Get a medium size mixing bowl and add the diced chicken, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, roasted red sweet pepper, celery, and sauteed vegetables. Add the Parmesan cheese, grapes, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix carefully. Decide whether you need a bit more mayonnaise.

I put the chicken salad in finger rolls and served it with roasted cauliflower and a spinach salad with goat cheese and cherry tomatoes.

Wild Boar Bacon Hash

2006-05-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

This morning I made wild boar hash. The wild boar bacon used in the recipe came from www.exoticmeats.com, an excellent source of high-quality wild game. The recipe was simple and very tasty. This recipe is for two.

You need:

3-4 ounces of wild boar bacon, cut into a small dice
1 medium onion, medium chop
8 small young potatoes (I used Yukon gold)
Butter (or corn oil)
A few ounces of cheese sliced thinly (I used Chutter)

Warm a medium size pan (that you can put in the oven) using medium heat. Add a few tablespoons of corn oil, vegetable oil, or butter (I've used all of these with good results). Chop one large onion while the pan and oil or butter is heating.
Dice about 3-4 ounces of wild boar bacon.
Put the 8 small potatoes in the microwave for about 3-5 minutes (the time will depend on your microwave). Let them cool for about 5 minutes then cut each into quarters. NOTE: don't overcook these little potatoes in the microwave or they will turn to mush.
Put the onion in the hot pan and cook for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper at this point.
Add the wild boar bacon to the onion and cook for about another 2 minutes.
Turn your oven broiler on High broil.
Add the quartered potatoes and cook until the mixture for several minutes until you see just a bit of brown forming on the potatoes.
Remove the pan for the heat and place the cheese around the mixture. Put the pan under the broiler until the cheese just barely starts to turn brown.
Turn the broiler off and let the pan sit for a few minutes while you fry two eggs, over easy (don't break the yoke!).
Remove the pan from the oven and slide the hash onto a serving platter. Put the two eggs on top of the hash and serve.

We had this for a Saturday breakfast and it was wonderful. You could substitute thick cut bacon for the wild boar bacon, but if you have never tried wild boar bacon, you might want to give it a try (check out local gourmet stores that have wild game or have it shipped from www.exoticmeats.com).

Chauncey

French Toast Chunks

2006-03-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

This Sunday morning I took some semi-crusty dinner rolls, cut them in bite-sized chunks, and dipped them into a bowl of Egg Beater, poured some egg liquid on top of them and tossed them gently for a minute or so. Then I took the chunks out and let them drain for a few minutes. I put some salt and pepper on the drained chunks. I While I was preparing the chunks, I heated a skillet (medium high) and put some olive oil and butter in the pan. When the pan was hot, I dumped the chunks in, let them cook for a few minutes then tossed them so both sides would be cooked. Then I put the pan in a 400 degree oven and baked the chunks for about 10 minutes with the goal of a toasted exterior and a warm but soft interior. While they baked, I melted some butter, warmed some maple syrup and sauteed some mushrooms. My wife likes maple syrup and I like butter and we both enjoyed this variation on french toast. I stacked the chunks for an artistic effect.

Pumpkin-Goat Cheese-Canadian Bacon Scrambled Eggs

2006-01-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Recently, I had a pumpkin, some goat cheese, and a few slices of Canadian bacon. I cut the small sugar pumpkin into small slices, coated them with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and baked in a 425 degree oven. When the pumpkin was nicely roasted, I scooped the pumpkin out and let a cool.

The I roughly chopped some Canadian bacon and sauteed it in olive oil for several minutes. Next I added the pumpkin and cooked another few minutes. Finally, I added about 2 eggs' worth of EggBeaters, added the goat cheese, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

The recipe was pretty good with the first bite and after about five bites, it got better. It had a Polynesian or Hawaiian flavor.

Odd, but good.

Open Face Scrambed Egg/Vegetable Sausage Breakfast Sandwich

2005-12-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

Breakfast this morning was simple, but tasty. I toasted a piece of multi-grain bread, made an EggBeater omelet about the size of the toast, and sauteed some vegetarian sausage.
Than I put the sausage on the toast, then the omelet, and then a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

This made a quick and tasty breakfast.

Photo of the Day, November 25, 2005

2005-11-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Parliament at Night from the London Eye

This is a view of Parliament from the 32-story high London Eye, the world's largest ferris wheel. The London Eye takes about an hour to make one revolution. The ride is part of British Airways and you get get a security inspection before you enter the transparent capsules where you get a spectacular view of London. During my ride on the London Eye, we suddenly started going backwards which meant that someone got on the giant wheel and then panicked so the operators had to back the wheel up so the frightened person could get off.

Post Thanksgiving Turkey Soup (PTTS)

2005-11-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

If you want to use up some of your Thanksgiving leftovers, try this recipe for Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup (PTTS).

1. Chop up about 3 cups of leftover turkey into a medium dice. If you are in a hurry, you can just tear the meat into bite-size pieces with your hands.
2. Chop 1-2 carrots into bite-size pieces.
3. Finely chop 1 onion.
4. Dice one medium potato or 5-6 red fingerling potatoes (I used red fingerling potatoes in my soup).
5. Roughly chop about one cup of button (or more exotic) mushrooms.
5. Add about 4-6 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water to a crock pot or large pot. If you have a turkey carcass, you could create some turkey stock by simmering the carcass for 3-4 hours in a gallon or so of water (don't let it boil) with some roughly chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic (3 cloves), about 10 black peppercorns, and some herbs (I used some sage leaves and fresh thyme). There are more complex stock formulas, but this mixture worked very well.
6. Turn the crock pot on high or your stove to medium low and add the chopped/diced vegetables and the chopped turkey.
7. Add about 1 cup of wild rice to the turkey/vegetable mixture.
8. To liven the flavor up, I added two turkey necks that I didn't use the night before and two wing bones to the mixture.
8. Heat the soup mixture on high (if you are using a crockpot) for about 3-4 hours or simmer for 1-2 hours if you are using the burner on a range.

Bacon Fennel shallot Omelet

2005-11-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I had a little leftover fennel, some shallots, and a little leftover bacon so used these items to make a very tasty omelet. The rough recipe is:

1. Create an egg mixture for the omelet. I used one organic egg and about 1 cup of Egg Beaters and a few tablespoons of Half and Half. I add a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper to the egg mixture. I go light on the salt and moderate on the pepper.
2. Finely chop a small piece of trimmed fennel bulb and one small shallot. Add some extra virgin olive oil to a small pan. Saute the fennel and shallot under medium low heat until it is soft, but not brown.
3. Cut the bacon into a small pieces about 1/2 inch wide by 3/4 inch long. Cook the bacon until it is nicely crisp in a small pan. When done, drain the grease and dab the bacon with a paper towel.
4. Heat an omelet pan using medium high heat. Coat the pan liberally with unsalted butter. Add the bacon and shallots and onion.
5. Pour in the egg mixture. Let the omelet cook for 30 seconds without doing anything. Then take a wooden spoon and and push the egg in the middle outward so the egg that is still liquid can fill in the newly open area.
6. When the omelet is done, fold it in half by holding up one side of the pan and flipping the omelot onto your plate.
7. Garnish the omelet with some of the fronds from the fennel. I put some of the fronds on the top of the omelet and eat them right with the egg, but you could also use them as pure decoration.

Ham, Egg, and Potato Hash

2005-10-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

This morning I conducted an experiment for breakfast and it turned out quite excellent.
I had some ham, cooked red potatoes, and onion so I decided to try and make some ham hash. Here is what I did.

I diced about 1 cup each of ham and red potatoes. Then I finely chopped a 1/2 of an onion and mixed the diced ham, diced potatoes, and chopped onion together. Then I took about 1/2 cup of prepared creamy alfredo sauce (Bertolli brand) and mixed that in with the other ingredients.

Then I heated a non-stick (and oven proof) pan to medium heat and added 2 tablespoons of butter. After the butter melts, I added all the remaining ingredients and salt and pepper. I left the hash to cook for 10 minutes and then placed the pan under the broiler (on high) until a light crust started to form on the top of the ham hash.

While the hash cooled for a few minutes, I fried two eggs over easy. Then I spooned some of the hash onto a place and slipped one of the eggs on top.

The result was a crispy and creamy (I know that is an odd pairing, but the alfredo sauce was creamy in between the crusty portion) and delicious.

Total cooking time is about 25 minutes. 5 minutes to prep and cut things up, 10 minutes on the stove, and 10 minutes under the broiler.

Reptile Pizza

2005-02-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

Last night I marinated a pound of alligator, chopped it up into small bites, sauteed it and then rushed the meat to a local pizza place where the manager knows me pretty well. He put the alligator on a veggie pizza (mostly sauce and only a little cheese) and put it in the oven. My dog and I enjoyed the alligator pizza.

Food Fun, January 29, 2005 - the Pancegg

2005-01-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

My food experiment for the day was to stuff a pancake with a scrambled egg. I call this experiment the "pancegg". It is easy and passed my wife's taste test. Here is what I did.

I mixed up a normal batch of pancake batter using Bisquick Lowfat mix (2 cups), 1 1/4 cups skim milk, and about 4 tablespoons of egg white.

Then I put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small, non-stick saute pan and heated it to medium heat. Then I put 3 pieces of extra thinly sliced ham in the pan, cooked it for about 15 seconds and then added about 1 1/2 egg's worth of Egg Beaters and put 2 tablespoons of part skim cheddar cheese on the egg. I cooked the egg-ham-cheese mixture until it was almost set and then placed it aside while I started the pancakes.

Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a medium sized non-stick pan and turn the heat to medium high.

Spoon enough batter in the pan to make a thin pancake about 5 inches across. Let the batter cook for 15 to 20 seconds and then place the almost-cooked egg-ham-cheese on the top of the pancake. Press lightly to embed the egg into the pancake batter. Take a few spoonfulls of batter and pour on top of the pancake. Let the pancake cook for a minute or so until the base is set and then flip the pancake over. Press very lighly to flatten the pancegg out and cook until it is golden brown.

Put some butter (or healthy substitute) on top of the pancegg and enjoy a tasty meal.

There is a restaurant in Ontario that offers a Pancegg breakfast, but the egg is not inside the pancake.

Photo of the Day, January 29, 2005

2005-01-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

Wild Turkey in Flight

Photo of the Day, January 27, 2005

2005-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

New York City is Quiet at 6:30 AM, Jan 27, 2005; Temp is -1 F

PolentEggs for Breakfast

2005-01-28T06:16:00.000-08:00

You can make a tasty and colorful breakfast using pre-cooked polenta (the type that comes in cylinders), Egg Beaters (R), thinly sliced ham, cheese, and bits of sweet peppers. I call this recipe, polenteggs. Here is what you do.

Assemble the ingredients. You need:
1. Egg Beaters(R). About two egg's worth per PolentEgg.
2. Finely chopped red/green pepper (about 1/4 cup for each PolentEgg).
3. Some olive oil for the saute pans.
4. Pre-cooked polenta in those cylindrical containers.
5. Very thinly sliced ham.
6. Low-fat (part skim) cheese (I like cheddar).
7. Salt/pepper
8. Miniature slices of rye bread (4 per PolentEgg).
9. Strawberries (4 per serving).
10. Butter or healthy equivalent for the rye toast.

What you need to do:

1. Heat two small saute pans to medium heat. Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into each pan.
2. Finely chop about 1/4 cup of fresh green or red pepper (I like to use both red and green for color). Place the finely chopped pepper into one of the small saute pans and cook for a few minutes until the pepper is tender, but not mushy.
3. Cut three 1/4 inch slices of the prepared polenta and put it into the middle of the second hot saute pan. Saute for about a minute and then flip the polenta. It should be slightly browned.
4. Place 2-3 slices of the thinly sliced ham over the polenta and then spread about 2 tablespoons of shredded low-fat cheese on top of the ham and polenta. I like cheddar, but you can use any cheese that you would put in a cheese omelet.
5. Pour about 2 egg's worth of Egg Beaters over the polenta-ham-cheese pile. Add a bit of salt and pepper. Let the eggs cook for about 30 seconds and then lift and tilt the pan to spread the uncooked egg to the edges. Place a bit more cheese over the entire egg and add the cooked pepper. Cover the saute pan and cook for a few more minutes.
6. Slide the eggs onto a plate. For an aesthetic and healthful touch, I add 4 fresh strawberries around the PolentEgg and also toast 4 slices of the miniature rye bed that is used for hors d'oeuvres dorves, add a little butter or healthy equivalent, and place the small rye toast between the strawberries.

The different textures of sauteed polenta, ham, cheese, pepper, and egg mingle exquisitely and make this breakfast recipe one that is likely to generate serious compliments for the chef.

Portabello Breakfast Recipe

2005-01-25T05:19:00.000-08:00

I like to experiment with food. I had some large portabello mushrooms and decided to combine scrambled eggs with the mushroom. The result was was great. Here is the recipe.

1. Clean two large portabello mushroom caps by wiping with a damp cloth.
2. Coat the mushroom caps lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.
3. Roast the mushrooms until they are warm and juicy. I did this in a toaster oven set at 400 for about 10 minutes. I took the mushrooms out and placed them on a paper towel to drain a bit of the moisture away.
4. Cut several thin slices of your favorite cheese and place on the warm mushrooms. Place back in the toaster oven to soften the cheese and keep the caps warm.
5. Heat a small saute pan with some olive oil using medium heat.
6. Saute some chopped scallions and tiny bits of thin, lean ham in a small saute pan for just a minute or two and then add Egg Beaters (or real eggs that you have scrambled). As the egg starts to harden, shape it to fit on top of the mushroom cap. Just before the egg is done to your taste, add some grated cheese to the top of the egg.
7. Place the egg on top of the warm portabello mushroom and enjoy the "portableggo".

Photo of the Day, January 25, 2004

2005-01-25T05:17:00.000-08:00

Dogs Don't Like 28 inches of Snow!

First Impressions: Netflix

2005-01-21T13:36:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, I signed up for the Netflix, unlimited monthly DVD movie service. For $17.95, I can watch as many DVD movies as I want, with the limitation that only 3 movies can be in my possession at any time. I was prompted to try Netflix when I discovered that the "no late fee" policy of Blockbuster was quite complex and not a friendly as the signs on the stores or on the Web made it out to be. I think that I read any article in the NY Times or Wall Street Journal about the Blockbuster policy of converting a rental to a sale after you have the rental for 8 days and an undefined "stocking fee" if you brought it back after the 8th day. You can read about the details of the blockbuster policy at

http://www.blockbuster.com/corporate/displayFAQDetails.action?faqId=1090566

Netflix states in their terms of use that they will not charge the user for an occasional lost DVD, though they will charge the account if too many DVDs get lost (or eaten by a 100 pound Airedale Terrier). I've lost a video every now and then over the years and I recall Blockbuster charging me around $75 once for a tape that was probably 2-3 years old. I like the Netflix policy which assumes that people occasionally lose small, thin silver things.

Sign up for a 30 day trial period was simple. The first screen was simple with 4 tabs: Welcome, How It Works, Browse Selection, and Start Your FREE TRIAL. The fields for email address (which serves as a username) and for creating a password occupied center stage and there was a phone number with the support hours available if you had questions. There were also a prominent "secure server" icon. The password field had a hint that passwords were case sensitive and could be from 4-10 characters long. After entering your email and password you fill out an address form. Required fields were bold with an asterisk. The system validates addresses according to US Postal Service standards. If you forget to enter a required field the label and border of the field is highlighted in red.

The main page for choosing movies after you sign-in is on the Browse tab. You can browse movies by clicking on links to 18 genres of movies and then choosing from subgenres or you can use a search feature in the upper right. I tried searching for movies with robots and was surprised when I got only 3 hits (that didn't include the Invisible Boy, Forbidden Planet, or Colossus: The Forbin Project) but then I noticed that the search also displayed "genre matches", in this case, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Cyborgs, & Robots (I will call this subgenre, Cyborgs & Robots). I started browsing through the Cyborgs & Robots results, but had no idea how many movies were there. It would help to provide feedback on how many items there were. I clicked about 7 times to look at all the robot movies and still no Invisible Boy or Forbidden Planet where the robot is a key figure, but not the whole thrust of the movie. So if you want movies with robots in them, you might struggle a bit to find the movie you wanted. I typed "Fobin Project" into the search field to find the movie "Colossus: The Forbin Project". The movie appeared in the results list even though I misspelled it, a good thing.

After experimenting a bit, I decided to order three movies so I added them to my queue. The way Netflix works is that you create a list of movies that you want to see and Netflix sends you three at a time. When you return moves, they send you the next available items in your queue. Netflix reminds members to keep their queue filled. You can even set up separate queues for family members (I haven't done that yet). Netflix shows you the items that are "At Home" and those that are "In Your Queue". You can delete items by just clicking on a check box and then clicking and Update Your Queue button. You can also change the priority of movies for shipping if you decide that the 10 movie in your queue is the one that you really want now.

I ordered my first three movies and got an email that my order had been received and then an email when they had shipped with the expected arrival date. The movies appeared in red envelopes about 3 days later, right on schedule. I live near Boston and noticed that the movies were shipped from Worcester, about 30 miles away. Netflix has distribution points (29 I believe) around the country and they try to ship from the site nearest your address.

The envelopes with the movies are also used to return the movies (there are postpaid with return labels already pasted on). The first time assembling the return envelope was just a little tricky and you should know that you have to remove an adhesive strip to seal the envelope -- I licked the edge and realized that was not the correct procedure. There is a picture and instructions on the envelope that describe how to insert the disk and send it back. You get an email for each movie when it is returned so you know if there is a problem. The email feedback engenders trust in the system.

So far, I would give Netflix 4 stars.

Photo of the Day, January 21, 2005

2005-01-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

Sunflowers

Photo of the Day, January 19, 2005

2005-01-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

Tire Snake, Bradford, PA

Useful Tools: Google's Picasa 2

2005-01-19T09:54:00.000-08:00

Google offers a free tool called Picasa2 for organizing, modifying, and presenting digital photographs. The tool organizes all the images on your disk (this may take some time if you have thousands of images). I take many pictures of interesting designs, usable and unusable products, and odd instructional signs, but am often in a rush and don't organize my photos for easy access when I am getting ready to do a presentation or put together notes for a class. I installed Picasa2 yesterday after reading a review in the Wall Street Journal (Technology Section, January 18, 2005). The features for "fixing" problems with digital photos seem to work as well as higher end photo and graphics products and there is a cool feature called "collage" that allows you to select a set of photos and create several types of collages. When I started to work with the Picasa, there were times when I had to search for a way to exit from a particular mode. The various "Back" buttons were in different places and sometimes there was no clear exit.

Some interesting features in Picasa are:

1. Batch edit where you can modify a bunch of selected pictures. For Example, if you have a bunch of pictures that are all too dark, you can modify them simultaneously.
2. Timeline which allows you to view all or some of your pictures in sequential order.
3. Movie which allows you to create an AVI file of selected pictures
4. Easy captioning and keywording of pictures and the ability to search on captions
5. The ability to search on: Filenames, captions, keywords, picture color, camera maker and settings, and dates.

I've run into a few bugs that require restarting the product and there are lags during some operations, even on a fast PC.

The product is free and quite useful for anyone with large numbers of digital photos. You can download the product from Google at:

http://www.google.com/downloads/