Joe's Kitchen

09/15/2024

Didya Know?™
Barbecue originated in Haiti.

The word 'barbecue' derives from the Taíno word 'barabicu', found in the language of the Taíno people of the Caribbean, and entered European languages in the form barbacoa.

Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, a Spanish explorer, was the first to use the word "barbecoa" in print in Spain in 1526 in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española (2nd Edition) of the Real Academia Española. After Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, the Spaniards found native Haitians roasting animal meat over a grill consisting of a wooden framework resting on sticks and a fire made underneath so that flames and smoke would rise and envelop the animal meat, giving it a certain flavor. Strangely enough, the same framework was used as a means of protection against the wild that may attack during the middle of the night while at sleep. The barbecue not only survived in the Haitian cuisine, but was introduced to many different parts of the world and has numerous regional variations.
Thanks, Haiti!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_cuisine -colonial_cuisine

03/17/2022

Soda Bread - from my Hy-Vee cooking class back on March 15, 2012

Soda bread came long after St. Patrick – in the mid 1840's – when bicarbonate of soda (bread soda or baking soda) as a leavening agent was used in Ireland to work with the "soft" wheat grown there. Soda bread became popular in Ireland after the Famine years. It’s traditionally made in a Bastible Pot – essentially a Dutch oven.

3 cups Stone Ground Whole wheat flour
1 cup White flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp Salt
1 3/4 cups Buttermilk
1 Preheat the oven to 425 F. degrees. Lightly grease and flour a round cake pan.

2. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients.
3. Add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. Place on floured surface and lightly knead (too much allows the gas to escape)
4. Shape into a round flat shape in a round cake pan and cut a cross in the top of the dough.
5. Cover the pan with another pan and bake for 30 minutes (this simulates the bastible pot).
6. Remove cover, reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
7. The bottom of the bread will have a hollow sound when tapped to show it is done.
8. Cover the bread in a tea towel and lightly sprinkle water on the cloth to keep the bread moist.

03/05/2022

02/10/2022

The Gazpacho Police are armed with thermometers and tasting spoons.
Now you know. 😁

07/04/2015

Many to choose from, and they all have various roles in your cooking.

Ever wondered which cooking oil is healthiest? There’s canola oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil — even hazelnut, avocado and apricot kernel oil. Each oil has a unique composition of fats and is manufactured in different ways. Some cooking enthusiasts will say that the healthiest oil is the one with the most omega-3s. Others warn against too much chemical processing and opt for “virgin” oils. What's a person to do?

03/27/2015

Our friends over at the Iowa Poultry Assoc have some useful tips to make your Easter Egg eating easier...check 'em out!

Pack hard-boiled eggs for lunch, slice or cut into wedges for tossed salad, dice for egg salad, orolor and decorate for Easter. For easier peeling, use eggs that are 7 to 10 days old.