Yorkshire Gingerbread

This is one of my most favorite cakes to have with my afternoon tea. It is Yorkshire Gingerbread, and it is popular in the British Isles. It is not a cookie, which is what most Americans are familiar with during the holidays (gingerbread cookies). The taste has spices that gives a 'warmth" that one usually does not get eating a cake.

This recipe is adapted from the Two Fat Ladies, and I modified it slightly to my liking. the biggest difference is adding fresh ginger, which I think makes a significant difference. You may chop the fresh ginger till very fine, but I prefer to pound it in a mortal and pestle. This breaks down the fiber and allows for the ginger juice to come out.

1 2/3 cups flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, pounded till pulverized (you may also mince it into very fine pieces)
1 Tbsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift the dry ingredients together .

Cream butter and brown sugar till soft and color become lighter.

Beat eggs and add one at a time to the butter mixture. The mix in the molasses and vanilla extract.

Fold in gently the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. Stop when you no longer see any flour streaks.

Pour mixture into a greased and parchment-lined 8-inch square pan. Place in preheated 325 F oven.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then take it out, remove the parchment paper, and let it cool on a cooling rack for at least 1 hour.

Cut into squares (I usually do 16 squares), and then lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar. You may serve it slightly warm, and it goes quite well with a shmear of salted butter and a nice hot cup of good tea.

This is preparing to pound fresh ginger in my mortar and pestle.

The gingerbread has just come out of the oven, and it is cooling in the pan.

It is now out of the pan and cooling on the rack. I will wait for at least an hour, or two, before I cut it into 16 squares (8x8) and then sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

It will make for a good dessert with coffee after Easter dinner today.

Zz.

Disney And McDonalds Will Team Up Once Again!

McDonalds will team up with Disney once again to offer Happy Meals that includes Disney movie characters.

After more than a decade, McDonald’s and Disney will once again team up on Happy Meal toys. The newly announced collaboration follows the Golden Arches’ recent decision to scrap cheeseburgers as a part of its kids’ menu offerings. The last time either megabrand worked together was back in 2006, after Disney officially passed on renewing a 10-year-deal allowing McDonald’s to offer Happy Meal buyers Disney-licensed toys. The split was a result of Disney’s decision to associate both its characters and its brands with more nutritionally balanced foods as it became the first major media company to establish nutrition guidelines.

It has been interesting to see how the presence of McDonalds at Walt Disney World has been diminishing for the past few years, starting with the removal of the McDonalds french fries at various parks, and then the removal of the wildly popular McDonalds restaurant in the former Downtown Disney.

Maybe this deal is the start of a whole new, beautiful friendship between the two once again.

Zz.

Roast Chicken On A Weeknight?

Why not?

I made this 2 weeks ago on a Monday, or all days. Had the chicken fully thawed, made sure the chicken is dry by mopping the outside and inside with paper towels.

Then I made an oil rub which consisted of olive oil, fresh rosemary, lemon zest, paprika, salt and pepper. I loosened the skin from the flesh on the breast and the thighs/drumsticks. Carefully, without tearing the skin, I rubbed the meat with the oil rub, basically covering the flesh underneath the skin. You may have to use the handle of a wooden spoon to reach the far crevices of the legs.

Then I put two springs of rosemary and the two halves of the lemon that I used for the zest into the chicken cavity.

I roasted the chicken on a rack in a preheated oven at 425 F for the first 10 minutes, and then reduced it to 3:50 for the remainder of the cooking, about 50 more minutes. But all ovens are different and your chicken will be of a different size than mine, so check carefully after 45 minutes total cooking time for temperature in the thickest part of the chicken for 165 F.

Once it has hit that internal temperature, remove from oven and the pan, and let the chicken rest for 15-20 minutes. If you leave the chicken uncovered, the skin will remain crispy.

After that, it is just a matter of carving it out, or simply pull it apart, and enjoy!

Zz.

Dog Meat In Spotlight During 2018 Winter Olympics In South Korea

The issue of dog meat trade and consumption come under international spotlight with the upcoming Winter Olympics in S. Korea.

Around 2 million dogs each year are bred on dog meat farms for human consumption in South Korea, according to the Associated Press. They are often raised in cruel conditions, beaten or left without food before they are slaughtered. It’s a practice deeply ingrained in South Korean culture, with many believing that eating dog meat increases virility and energy.

First of all there are two separate issues here in that paragraph. The first is the cruel treatment of dogs. It doesn't matter whether the dogs are for pets or food. Cruel treatment of them is not OK. And it also doesn't matter if they are dogs, cats, cows, lamb, chickens, etc. The standard is the same. So protest against the cruel treatment has nothing to do with the animals being dogs.

The second issue is more important, i.e. the disgust certain people have with the consumption of dog meat. This is also true on why here in the US, we can't eat horse meat. People associate dogs with pets, cuddly and lovable, and thus, such animals should not be eaten.

This is what I have a problem with, because we seem to forget that (i) many cultures and religions do not allow eating ANY type of meat and consider these animals' lives to be of value, (ii) in Hinduism, a cow is a sacred animal. Yet, we disrespect Hindus by not only killing these animals, but also eating them, and eating them in massive quantities!

So which is worse? Killing and eating animals that someone considers as a pet, or killing and eating animals that someone considers as sacred, to be worshipped?

We seem to be quick in finding what is wrong with someone else, without realizing that someone else also finds a lot of things wrong with what we do. If we wish to impose our standards and moral high ground on others, then why aren't we letting someone else's standards and moral grounds on us? Isn't that only fair?

You don't want to eat a dog and find it disgusting. Fine. Someone else finds your consumption of a cow equally disgusting. You find a Guinea pig to be cuddly pet, yet it is historically an important food source for the people in Peru and Chile.

So before you think of calling the kettle black.....

Zz.

Lamb Chops For Monday Night Dinner?

Why not?

I roasted a rack of lamb, rubbed with salt, pepper, and cumin. I served it with English peas, oven-roasted potatoes with Rosemary, and served the lamb chops with Chimichurri.

It was a very satisfying Monday-night dinner, especially when it was cold and snowy outside.

Zz.

Sukiyaki At Home

During the cold, winter months, nothing is more comforting than having a homemade Sukiyaki with all the fixings.

Setting up the table for the feast.

Platter is hot and cooking of the Sukiyaki has begun.

Plenty of ingredients and a flavorful broth simmering together.

Topping it off with spinach towards the end. It is time to eat!

It was a delicious and wonderful evening.

Zz.

Riots Over Nutella Sale

There were riots and serious commotion at a French supermarket chain when it slashed the price of Nutella spread by 70%.

In ugly scenes evocative of Black Friday in the U.S., some customers at Intermarché supermarkets brawled in a bid to bag cheap jars of the chocolate-hazelnut spread, according to multiple media reports.

Police were reportedly called to deal with outbreaks of violence after the chain slashed the price of a 950-gram jar by 70 percent, to 1.41 euros (about $1.76) from 4.50 euros (about $5.61).

“They are like animals,” the BBC reported one customer at an unidentified store as saying. “A woman had her hair pulled, an elderly lady took a box on her head, another had a bloody hand.”

Nutella? Seriously?!

Still, it shows one thing. The more we think that we are different, the more things like this shows that we are not THAT different after all. Things like this happen all over the world. At one point or another, we shake our heads at many things happening in different locations.

Zz.