Posted: January 12th, 2012 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: On the Basics | 1 Comment »
Today, we’re going to talk about those little measuring tools that come in a set on a ring. I have about five sets of measuring cups (two new ones from Christmas) and three sets of measuring spoons. I use all three sets of measuring spoons separated from their rings corralled in a shallow plastic dish in my utensil drawer. I keep two sets of measuring cups (nested together to save space, naturally) in my utensil drawer, another set is dual-purpose as decoration
because it’s so cute, yet another set is relegated as scoops in certain canisters of ingredients (flour, sugar, popcorn, etc.), and, finally, I have one for household measuring. Wait…you don’t measure things around your house? I’m not interested in reusing a set in the kitchen after it’s come in contact with a chemical so they live in their respective places for their respective uses.
- I keep the 1 cup measure in the laundry room to measure bleach.
- I keep the ½ cup measure in the dog food. Two scoops, twice a day for two dogs.
- I keep the ¼ cup measure under the sink to measure the dishwasher cleaner. We have hard water that causes problems sometimes, but the cleaner should never come in contact with the food preparation process.
Why do I have so many measuring spoons? When you’re cooking 398374 dishes at the same time, like I do over the weekend prepping meals for the week quite often, you just need this many. You can’t measure honey and then turn around and measure flour. I try my best to measure less messy dry ingredients first then on to wet ingredients to keep from having to wash so many, but sometimes you just need several. I also don’t want to contaminate some containers of an ingredient. I use salt in sweet and savory dishes so I usually measure out salt first. For my marinara sauce, I use 1 T of Italian seasoning and 1 T of brown sugar, but I don’t want herbs in my sugar so I measure the sugar first. (Note: You’ll notice I use t for teaspoon and T for tablespoon around here. I just like the abbreviation.) If you measure oil first (or spray the measuring cup/spoon with cooking spray) before sticky ingredients like honey and peanut butter, it slides out easier. Planning out your measuring order is important!
My favorite is my ⅛ teaspoon. I didn’t even realize I had such a jewel for the longest time, and now, I cherish it. I halve recipes a lot, and it bugs me to estimate. I use this one quite often, and as far as I know, it isn’t common for this one to come in a set.
Do you have a favorite measuring spoon? Is that weird? How many sets of measuring cups and spoons do you have?
Posted: January 11th, 2012 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: Long Dog Diaries | No Comments »
Tucka and Oscar at Christmas.
Posted: January 9th, 2012 | Author: bettybecca | Filed under: Try Something New | No Comments »
Brussels sprouts are one of those foods with a bad rap. Broccoli, too. Personally, I love them. A while back I picked up a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts from Publix, and they’ve been hanging out in the freezer waiting for some inspiration. I decided tonight that I wanted to bust them out with a balsamic glaze. The results were amazing.
I cooked the sprouts according to the package directions to get them thawed and softened. The end results from this method might be a little mushy for some tastes, but I liked it just fine. Once they were done cooking, I spread them out on a baking sheet to cool just a bit. From there, I cut them in half lengthwise with a dinner knife. In a cast iron skillet, I added 1 T of olive oil and set the stove to medium-high. I added the cut up Brussels, and let them hang out. This is the hard part…leaving them alone. Getting the beautiful brown…almost caramelization…is key. You don’t want them to burn, of course. Once the Brussels start to brown, mix them once or twice to let another side brown.
At this point, it was time to get going on the glaze. It’s really complicated…wait for it…I measured out 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar and added it to a small saucepan on medium-high. Then I let it do it’s thing, bubbling away, until the liquid was reduced by half. That’s it!
To the Brussels, I added 2 T of unsalted butter, 1 t salt, and 1/2 t black pepper for seasoning. When the vinegar is reduced, add it to the Brussels, and stir to combine.
Enjoy! They’re so good!!!
It would also be good to cook a little bacon in the pan before throwing in the Brussels sprouts, and a few chopped walnuts or pecans would really take it over the edge. I’ll just have to experiment and report back!
Oh, and I was surprised to find out what Brussels sprouts look like when they’re grown. I saw them on the “vine” at the Farmers’ Market one day, and it totally freaked me out. I couldn’t believe it.
