Married Food » Cooking Tips & Tricks http://marriedfood.com Great Food, Together Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:46:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Testing and Making Small Batches of Beers http://marriedfood.com/testing-and-making-small-batches-of-beers/ http://marriedfood.com/testing-and-making-small-batches-of-beers/#comments Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:39:38 +0000 Elle http://marriedfood.com/?p=2012 So we’ve been brewing quite a bit since we got started. I just finished a batch of Smoked Wheat last week and this past Saturday we went ahead and bottle our first batch, a Maple Brown Ale. Maybe you’re interested in getting started, but perhaps you don’t want to jump all in and put that much money down. There is another option that may work well for your budget.

Brooklyn Brew Shop Kits

Besides getting the equipment to make 5 gallon batches, I also got a small all grain equipment kit from Brooklyn Brewshop that allowed us to brew an all grain recipe quickly and easily.It’s $40 (free shipping with my amazon Prime account) and the kit includes most of what we needed for the brew, with the exception of 4 chestnuts, a funnel, strainer, honey, and a brewpot.

We had picked up a funnel and strainer at the store and already had the pot and the honey at home. (Alas chestnuts were nowhere to be found. )brooklyn brew shop beer kit

  • beer making mix (grain, hops, and yeast)
  • 1 gallon glass fermenter
  • chambered airlock
  • glass thermometer
  • racking cane,
  • tubing, tubing clamp
  • screw cap stopper
  • packet of sanitizer

The kit is usable so you can simply order another mix bag from them or you can go to your local brew supply shop and assemble your own ingredients. I think it’s an affordable to get started and it is easy to prepare. If you want to simply get the recipe kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop, it’s $15 and it comes with the grain, hops, and yeast that you need.

If you’re more handy with recipes, you can use all grain recipes that are available online and go to a local brewing shop to get your supplies. Either way, using the kit is a lot of fun, very easy to store, and very affordable. I’ve been using it both with my husband and by myself. One gallon brews are much lighter to move around than the buckets we use for the 5 gallon brews.

Thoughts on Small Batch Brewing

How many of you have used Brooklyn Brew Shop’s kit for brewing? What are your thoughts on it?

]]> http://marriedfood.com/testing-and-making-small-batches-of-beers/feed/ 0 Getting Started with Homebrewing http://marriedfood.com/getting-started-with-homebrewing/ http://marriedfood.com/getting-started-with-homebrewing/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:32:20 +0000 Elle http://marriedfood.com/?p=2006 We have recently added another kitchen activity to our cooking list – we brewing our own beer. after taking so many tours of breweries around the area, we thought it would be fun to try it out ourselves. We’ve busy this month with 3 brews fermenting right now. Getting started with brewing wasn’t expensive and we discovered there are some great local and online resources to help us.

Picking Up the Beer Brewing Supplies

The first thing we needed to get started with brewing was grabbing the supplies at an affordable price. We went to American Brew Masters, a local brew supply shop right here in Raleigh. They had some great deals that were lower than what we saw online and having people we could talk to in person to ask questions definitely made it a worthwhile trip. We decided to grab a deluxe brewing kit and added a second fermentor to it so we could both brew a batch.
homebrewing raleigh

  • 2  6.5 gallon heavy duty fermenters with drilled and gasketed lid.
  • Bottling spigot
  • 3 feet of bottling tubing
  • 2  Three piece fermentation (air) locks
  • #2 drilled stopper
  • Deluxe double lever bottle capper
  • Bottle cleaning brush
  • Automatic bottle filler
  • Triple scale hydrometer
  • 6.5 gallon heavy duty food grade bottling bucket
  • Auto siphon with 5 feet of 5/16 tubing
  • Lab Thermometer
  • Heat Resistant Spoon
  • Home Beermaking guidebook
  • Extract Recipe Kit

In addition to equipment that comes with this set up, we also got a second recipe kit so we both can make a batch that we love. We grabbed a Traditional Stout and a American Amber Ale. We already brewed the stout and we did smaller smaller batches of an Indian Pale Ale (IPA) and a Chesnut Brown Ale.

The kits at American Brew Masters start at $80 and move up according to upgrades and additions. With everything that we got, the total came out to $230. Besides getting the basics and getting the extra bucket, we also wanted to get some equipment now rather than wait and upgrade. We plan on using this quite a bit.

Is this cheap? No, but with every batch that we make the cost per use will decrease as we only need to get ingredients for our batches. We’re sanitizing and reusing old beer bottles for our brews.

Are You a Home Brewer?

As the brews are bottled and tasted, I’ll share my reviews right here. We’d love to get your tips and stories if you have home-brewed in the past or are brewing now.

]]> http://marriedfood.com/getting-started-with-homebrewing/feed/ 0 How to Cook Dried Beans and Make an Awesome Meal http://marriedfood.com/how-to-cook-dried-beans-and-make-an-awesome-meal/ http://marriedfood.com/how-to-cook-dried-beans-and-make-an-awesome-meal/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2012 14:37:50 +0000 Elle http://marriedfood.com/?p=1955 Once with cooking at home is to optimize our spending and still have great meals. I don’t want to go cheap on ingredients and sacrifice taste just to save money. Instead I’d like to learn ways to prepare meals that

How Much Do I Need

One of the first questions I had before preparing the beans was figuring out much I need to use to make the right amount for the 3 of us. I found a handy guide online that I used as my reference point.

1/3 cup dry beans = 1 cup cooked beans
1/2 cup dry beans = 1 1/2 cups cooked beans
2/3 cup dry beans = 2 cup cooked beans
1 cup dry beans = 3 cups cooked beans
2 cups (1 pound) dry beans = 6 cups cooked beans

Soaking the Beans 

There are different schools of thought when it comes to soaking beans. Some let them soak for 6-8 hours or overnight. I prefer the ‘quicker’ method of bring a pot to boil, adding your beans (boiling them for about 3 minutes), removing them from the heat and letting them soak for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  You then cook them as usual.

If I can get my beans tasting well and ready to go in a shorter period of time, then that’s method I’ll use. However there are many who feel strongly about soaking their beans longer before cooking, so try both and see what works best for you.

Espresso Black Bean Chili

How can I have a post about preparing beans and not share a fantastic recipe that uses them in bold way? I came across this wonderful Espresso Black Bean Chili on Bittman’s site and instantly fell in love with it.

Time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours, largely unattended

  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 3 cups chopped ripe tomato (about 1 1/2 pounds whole; canned is fine; don’t bother to drain)
  • 1/2 to 1 cup freshly brewed espresso, 1 to 2 cups brewed coffee, or 2 tablespoons espresso powder
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar or 3 tablespoons molasses
  • One 3-inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 pound dried black beans, washed, picked over, and soaked if you like
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  1. Put the oil in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  2.  Stir in the tomato, espresso, chili powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, and beans and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the liquid bubbles steadily but not violently. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are beginning to soften, 30 to 40 minutes. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper.
  3.  Continue cooking until the beans are tender, anywhere from another 45 minutes to 11/2 hours. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more sugar, salt, or pepper. Serve or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

With colder days already here in many parts of the country, this recipe is even more appealing to me.

Thoughts on Cooking with Dried Beans

I’d love to get your cooking tips and tricks. For those who’ve cooked with dried beans before, how you like to prepare and season them? What are some of your favorite dishes that you use them in?

Photo Credit: ohbernadine

]]> http://marriedfood.com/how-to-cook-dried-beans-and-make-an-awesome-meal/feed/ 0 Freezer Essentials http://marriedfood.com/freezer-essentials/ http://marriedfood.com/freezer-essentials/#comments Tue, 06 Nov 2012 08:17:48 +0000 Elle http://marriedfood.com/?p=1945 Last time I shared some pantry essentials that help us whip up healthy and tasty meals quickly and easily. Today I want to share some of our essentials that we stock in the freezer. We have a side by side model, so space is a bit awkward and limited for the freezer. However for us, it fits our needs.

What to Stock Your Freezer With

With that in mind, if you’re looking for ideas on what to pick up for your freezer here are some of my picks: cook and free meals

Meats

For those looking at keeping costs low, grabbing and freezing meat when it’s on sale can be a great savings. Costco usually has some fantastic deals on items like pork chops and ground beef.

Vegetables

Sometimes getting frozen vegetables is the best solution, I tend to keep mixed vegetables bags for stir-fry nights. It’s a really hassle free way to get meal on the table in about 20 minutes and with some herbs and seasonings, it’s usually no leftovers.

Fruits

With the produce deliveries this year, we’ve had some great weeks where we were overflowing with fresh fruits. Since we couldn’t eat all of it, we saved a portion of the fruit for us later.

Desserts

Yep, I use the freezer to pack unhealthy but tasty desserts like ice cream. Besides topping it with fruit, you can also make floats or smoothies depending on your preferences.

Emergency Dishes

When I was pregnant we pre-made a few dishes for the first couple of weeks since we knew we’d probably be too tired to make meals from scratch. Having some frozen pre-made meals can be a lifesaver on the really busy evening when you’re both too tired to cook.

Thoughts on Freezer Essentials

What do you like to have in your freezer for preparing meals at home? What can you not live without? Where do you grab your supplies? How often do you restock them?

Photo Credit: armigeress

]]> http://marriedfood.com/freezer-essentials/feed/ 0 Keeping a Stocked Pantry http://marriedfood.com/essential-pantry-items/ http://marriedfood.com/essential-pantry-items/#comments Sat, 20 Oct 2012 23:50:34 +0000 Elle http://marriedfood.com/?p=1926 Years ago, one of my biggest excuses for not cooking more at home was that there was nothing to make. I’d try to think of something to make with what I had around in the kitchen, but I couldn’t think of anything most of the time. If I did finally come up with something, it would be something that would take too long to make. (Yeah I was an impatient college student who didn’t plan out meals.)

Fill Up Your Pantry 

I had a few friends who were savvy around the kitchen – no matter whether they had 20 minutes or a couple of hours, they always had something delicious cooked. When I asked their secrets, most of them mentioned that they stocked their kitchen with some go to ingredients that allowed them to whip up something quick if need be.

I decided to follow their example and copied what they had in their pantry. For one thing, it did help with dinner as many times I could grab a meat from the freezer, some vegetable and something from the pantry.

I noticed however that some ingredients didn’t get used often enough. I discovered while there are some items that are universally necessary for a pantry, there is a bit of personalization that comes with the list based on individual taste.

What to Stock Your Pantry With

With that in mind, if you’re looking for ideas on what to pick up for your pantry here are some of my picks:

  • Olive Oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Sea Salt
  • Pepper
  • Goya Adobo
  • Cinnamon
  • Garlic
  • Ground Cumin
  • Paprika
  • Dijon mustard
  • Canned beans (I prefer black beans and light red kidney beans)
  • Tomato Sauce
  • Tomato Paste
  • Rice
  • Angel Hair Pasta
  • Egg Noodles
  • Potatoes
  • Onions
As far as herbs go, I’d also include whatever you have in your home garden. For us right now we have some rosemary and mint. Having a home garden can also spruce up your options depending on the season.

Thoughts on Pantry Essentials

What do you like to have in your pantry for preparing meals at home? What can you not live without? Where do you grab your supplies? How often do you restock them?

Photo Credit: grammardog

 

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