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Have you Ever wondered about Series?

Fun with Pomegranates

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Confident Kitchen Series

What is the best way to eat and/or use pomegranates?  I have heard many versions and most people talk about struggling to get to the juicy gems (called arils) that are well hidden inside the dry pithy fruit.   I thought it might be a great idea to tell you about one of the easiest (and neater) ways of tackling this unusual fruit.

A beautiful pomegranate

A beautiful pomegranate

Did you know that Pomegranates are considered a Super Food?  They have sources of Vitamins A, D and B-12, and Calcium, Protein, Potassium and fibre, as well as it is a powerful antioxidant. And, they are delicious!

CHEF TALK: The two common methods of extracting the arils from the pomegranate is to score the outside of the pomegranate as shown in the first photo.  Pry the fruit in half.  Using a medium to Large size bowl, hold the pomegranate half (or pieces) over the bowl and use the back of a wooden spoon to tap firmly against the fruit and the arils will fall into the bowl.

The second method, which is a technique that I prefer, is as follows.  If you try this technique, you will have a minimum of pink speckles all over your kitchen (and little faces if your children or grandchildren are helping you).

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Filed Under: Food Fun, Have you Ever wondered about Series?, Learning Tips Series, The Confident Kitchen Series Tagged With: Confident Kitchen Series, Dairy Free, Fruit, Gluten Free, Grain Free, How To, Learning Tips, Tips and Techniques

How to Caramelize Onions

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Confident Kitchen Series

Well, it was a sad day in the UrbnSpice kitchen when I realized I had developed a sensitivity to onions – not eating them, thank goodness – only for cutting and chopping them! There was a time when I wore contact lenses for years and years and didn’t have to give cutting onions a second thought. I would smugly chuckle at my teary-eyed colleagues as they prepared their daily mise-en-place. After having laser eye surgery, I now stand before you, adorned in goggles – teary eyed from all the cutting and slicing and dicing. However, this has not stopped me from one of the most important flavour booster processes in the world of cooking – caramelizing onions.  So, in this post, I will share with you How to Caramelize Onions.

Caramelizing Onions

Caramelized Onions

The result of caramelizing onions is so worth the time it takes to make them – the tears are an added bonus – or so I am told. It takes very little effort to make them – it is a great technique for the novice or seasoned cooks. For those cooks who ‘love to hover’ over their speciality dishes, making caramelized onions is intensely gratifying.

Bacon and Onions | urbnspice.com

The process of caramelization of bacon and onions will have people coming into your kitchen to see what’s cooking!

The versatility of caramelized onions or shallots alone makes it one of the best flavour enhancers to any dish. It is definitely worth your time to make enough to have on hand for other recipes and uses. Take a lamb burger to epic heights with the addition of caramelized onions. French Onion Soup would not be French Onion Soup without this important ingredient in the process. A bowl of plain onion soup just doesn’t have the same appeal.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
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License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Appetizers and Small Plates, Grain Free Recipes, Have you Ever wondered about Series?, Making Sense Series, Sides, The Confident Kitchen Series, Urb'n'Spice Tips and Techniques Series Tagged With: Appetizers, Caramelized Onions, Caramelizing, Dips, Gluten Free, The Confident Kitchen Series, Tips and Techniques

The Definitive Dessert Dilemma

By Denise Pare-Watson

I have a Dessert Dilemma. A question that is often presented to me as a pastry chef is:

“If you could choose only one dessert, what would it be?”

Have you given much thought to this? Depending on the situation, circumstances, and the environment at the time, I have a list of answers ready (actually, I have a few favourites!). My decision would have to be based on what I enjoy making as much as I enjoy eating (well, actually, I have a few of those favourites, too!)

Quadruple Chocolate Brownies | urbnspice.com

From the Cookbook Series: Gluten and Gluten-Free Quadruple Chocolate Brownies 

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
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Filed Under: Brownies & Squares, Desserts and Sweets, Have you Ever wondered about Series? Tagged With: Chocolate Desserts, Desserts, Pastry Chef

Making Sense: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Confident Kitchen Series

Today’s post will concentrate on, what exactly is the difference between Baking Soda and Baking Powder? In my day-to-day life as a chef, I am presented a lot of interesting questions regarding all kinds of stuff, such as:

1. What is the difference between baking soda and baking powder?

2. What does it actually mean when the recipe calls for “creaming” ingredients?

3. What is the difference between a conventional oven and a convection oven?

But first, I need to start with a story or two. Growing up in a family of five girls, there were lots of learning “incidents” in the kitchen. For example, there was the time that one of my sisters decided to make a cake. Her cooking experience up to that point was limited to scrambling eggs. That was exactly what she did when the cake recipe called for eggs! The addition of a leavening agent in this cake would have been helpful. None-the-less, the end result would still have been the same – the cake did have an “interesting” texture with all the yellow particles.

Recently, I was presented with a few recipes that had been used for quite some time in a bakery with a loyal clientele. One of the recipes was a bran muffin. While it was not a particularly extra-ordinary muffin, it was a regular on the list of items offered. I set to organizing the ingredients for the batter. The verbal instructions were: “you will have to overfill the muffin cups because these muffins do not rise at all”.  My inquisitive nature kicked in, so, I asked myself these questions, “Why is this muffin not rising to the occasion?” What is preventing it from becoming a star attraction?

One of my mentor culinary instructors, Chef Maxwell, always ingrained into our heads that we should first read any recipe for balance and accuracy. He was the first to say, “just because a recipe is printed in a book does not mean that it is correct, in balance, or makes sense.  So true, Chef, so true!

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda: Happiness is working with Children | urbnspice.com

Making Sense: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

My Chef Mentor gave us very good advice.  Checking a recipe for balance and accuracy is now something I do with every recipe before I start.  When analyzing this particular recipe, I noted a few things:

a. There was baking soda listed as the only leavening agent in the recipe which had a lot of “heavy” ingredients (wheat bran, etc.)

b. The recipe had a good balance of acid (molasses and buttermilk) to counter the bitter effect of the baking soda. This balance is necessary to prevent the batter from tasting “soapy”.

c. When using baking soda, keep in mind that as soon as a liquid is added to the batter, the reaction is immediate (this reaction is caused by the acid); meaning, you should get the muffin in the oven quickly or it loses its effectiveness.

d. Baking powder is often used in addition to baking soda in a muffin recipe to give the muffin batter “lift” and tenderness. Baking powder is actually a combination of three ingredients and they all play an important role in the result.

e. You need to be careful when adjusting leavening products because if you use too much, you have a batter that will likely taste bitter – not very pleasant.

Here is a leavening formula that I use when assessing recipes similar to this one. It depends on the ingredients used, but as a general rule of thumb:

For every two cups of flour in a recipe, use:

a. 2 1/2 teaspoons double acting baking powder, or

b. 1/2 teaspoon soda plus 1 cup buttermilk (for the acid) and 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

Making Sense: Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda

There are a few things that could affect the overall result of your recipes:

1. Was an error made in the preparation of the recipe? In other words, even though you may be diligent about gathering all of your ingredients before you actually start the recipe, did all the ingredients listed actually end up in the prepared item? (i.e. were you distracted by phone calls, doorbells, children tugging at your jeans or chocolate in the pantry? They can affect the overall result.

2. Was there an error made in writing the recipe? Many recipes are not triple-tested or edited for accuracy of ingredients and method. I have a recipe from a professional reference book for a spectacular lemon mousse recipe that completely omitted the sugar in the list of ingredients!

3. Is it inexperience or over-exuberance that affected the overall result of your recipe? I remember when my daughters (youngsters at the time) and I made “The Best Ever Muffin Recipe” together, as we had done many times in the past. This particular time, the muffins were quite inedible. We discovered that the baking soda had been “helpfully” added twice and the baking powder had been inadvertently omitted.

4. Is your oven temperature accurate? A simple and inexpensive internal oven thermometer ($ 5 – $ 10 in a hardware store) can help determine if your oven temperature is accurate. If your oven is set to 350oF and the internal oven temperature is 50oF higher or lower, it can be detrimental to the result of your recipe. Adjust the oven temperature accordingly, and you will be pleased with the results. Money well spent for peace of mind.

Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda: Best Ever Banana Muffins | urbnspice.com

This is an example of a perfectly baked muffin 

As for the problematic bran muffin recipe – it went through a transformation with the addition of baking powder which made a big difference to the end result. The muffin was no longer dense and flat, but tender and light with a nicely rounded top when baked, as it should be. (Go to Muffin tips and Techniques)

In summary, baking soda and baking powder are powerful leavening agents, and when used properly and accurately, will result in excellent baked goods. The “cooked egg” method of making a cake is not recommended! No amount of leavening agent could improve that particular cake.  However, it is interesting how this one particular baking misadventure has developed into an over-blown/inflated tale even after all those years ago!  Fun in the Kitchen – what are your baking stories?

You Might Also Like These Urb’n’Spice Posts:

The Best Ever Banana Muffins

Convection vs Conventional Ovens – What is the Difference?

Baking Dilemmas & the Fix  – See this Post

Additional resources:

David Lebovitz wrote recently about how to tell if your baking powder still works in this post

If you enjoyed this article, please leave me a comment below with your feedback.

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

Denise Pare-Watson - The Urb'n'Spice Chef | urbnspice.com

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
License Type:Commercial
License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Have you Ever wondered about Series?, Making Sense Series, Muffins & Quick Breads, The Confident Kitchen Series Tagged With: Baking, Baking Ingredients, Baking Tips

Gluten for Punishment – The Challenges of Cooking for a Rock Star

By Denise Pare-Watson

The Challenges of Cooking for a Rock Star

I love my daughter to pieces – one might say that I am seriously addicted to her. When she first started to experience the challenges of having to adopt a completely gluten-free, grain-free diet, I welcomed her challenges of cooking as mine.  We called it the summer of Gluten for Punishment.

We spent the better part of her summer holiday experimenting with recipes that she could easily reproduce at home and would be able to tolerate with her dietary restriction challenges.  It was a challenging time for her, as well, trying to adapt to approaching food in an entirely different way so that her body would not punish her in the end with discomfort and reactions.

As a chef, I found this to be an exceptional challenge due to labelling inadequacies and a lack of viable recipes to build upon at the time.  As her Mom, I felt empathy towards her as she experienced difficulties when invited to dinner or on restaurant outings. She wrote    “Gluten Free Rock Star”  which discusses, from her point of view, some of the anguish and perceived punishment that she and others like her, face on a daily basis.   As a chef and her Mom, I was inspired and determined to pursue the task of making her life just a little bit easier by providing nutritious and delicious recipe options – she was growing weary of salads!

Gluten Free, Grain Free chicken & vegetable dinner | urbnspice.com

Gluten Free, Grain Free chicken & vegetable dinner

I am happy that we were able to create a few dishes that have worked for her.  We have also experienced a few pleasant surprises in the process.  For example, when creating a recipe for a gluten-free veggie burger, I rehydrated and pureed vegetable flakes to use as a binder for the burger mixture rather than using breadcrumbs. The complex flavour that this technique introduced into the mixture was wonderful and provided a much-improved texture when compared to the typically utilized bread crumbs.  We have been using this technique ever since.   Furthermore, we have adopted this technique with our meatloaves, regular hamburgers, and meatballs.

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burger Mix | urbnspice.com

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burger Mix

We sure have come a long way since that initial cooking spree that my daughter and I shared that summer.  There are so many products available now that make the choices for gluten free and grain free dietary restrictive shoppers so much easier.

You will also find many recipes on my blog that address gluten free, grain free and dairy free dishes, and I have listed a few below. Try making my recipe for Rock Star Veggie Burgers whether or not you are restricted to a gluten-free diet.   They are delicious, flavorful, wholesome and healthy. Make tiny bite-sized versions of this burger to use for small plate events.  Gluten-free buns are now available for sliders and burger sized versions. Even grain free diets can be accommodated by serving the Rock Star Veggie Burgers in lettuce cups or grain-free buns.

Rock Star Veggie Burgers | urbnspice.com

Rock Star Veggie Burgers made for Kid of a Chef – Gluten Free Rock Star

The Challenges of Cooking for a Rock Star

There are many things to consider when cooking for someone with dietary restrictions or food intolerances.

  1. Expect that some experiments will be successful and others that may prove to be disastrous!
  2. Expect that some experiments may not be tolerated despite the fact that ingredients used were on the “okay” list.
  3. Expect that some unique ingredients may be difficult to source in some areas.
  4. One thing that will become readily apparent is label reading. There are many hidden sources of food intolerant ingredients and one must be ever vigilant in the “learn and determine” stages of sourcing, buying and preparing food for anyone with food restrictions (allergies) or intolerances.

Some links that I have found proved useful in my research for these particular food intolerances are:

Grain Free Living: http://www.grainfreeliving.com/home

Canadian Celiac Association: http://www.celiac.ca/

There are many books now available that focus entirely on eating gluten free and grain free.  Many of these books are written by someone who has personally had to either cook for someone with dietary restrictions or they themselves have had to adopt this way of eating.  They also understand the challenges faced by their patients, clients, family and friends.   They are also passionate about providing clear and concise information and recipes to help those needing to adopt a similar dietary lifestyle.

The challenges of cooking or baking gluten-free does not have to be a punishment.  With so many people adopting a gluten-free lifestyle, it is a dietary challenge that many of us will encounter in one way or another.  Think of it as your life’s next learning adventure.  You, too, will become a gluten-free rock star.

You might also Enjoy:

Gluten-Free Tips & Techniques

Gluten Free Rock Star

Gluten Free Rock Star Veggie Burgers

Potato Crusted Quiche

Smashed Potato Pizza

Gluten Free Chocolate Desserts by UrbnSpice 

You can find me on social media (see links below) – be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

Denise Pare-Watson - The Urb'n'Spice Chef | urbnspice.com

 

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
License Type:Commercial
License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Dietary Restrictions, Experiments, Gluten Free Recipes, Grain Free Recipes, Have you Ever wondered about Series?, Inspiration of Urbnspice Series, Making Sense Series Tagged With: Dietary Restrictions, Gluten Free, Grain Free

Have you ever wondered about ………..?

By Denise Pare-Watson

Kids in the Kitchen – I love it, actually.  They are such willing little helpers.  It all started when my two daughters were very young.  The ‘wonder’ in a child’s mind is a beautiful thing.  It was my challenge to nurture that curiosity and provide opportunities for them to have sensory experiences both in food and play. One of the questions I would often ask them is, “have you ever wondered about…..?”  The answers that they gave me always inspired me to continue asking the same question over and over again.

Making Edible Playdough with Kids in the Kitchen | urbnspice.com

Making Edible Play Dough with Kids in the Kitchen 

Being the curious souls that they were with active minds and adventurous palates, it was always exciting going for a visit to the local greengrocers (Longo’s) to help Mom to shop for “vegables” and “foooots”.  It was their special job taking turns each week to help find something new that we had never, ever tried before to buy and bring home.

Kids in the Kitchen: Beautiful Strawberry Tomatoes

Beautiful Strawberry tomatoes

The staff at the greengrocers made my task easier, with excellent signage describing each item, how to pick the best one, and how to cook or eat it.  The girls enjoyed this responsibility thoroughly.  The other highlight of this visit was spending time (lots of time) at the display station where the staff would be busy at work carving fruits and vegetables into flowers, animals, people and other whimsical creatures.  The demonstrations captured the attention of my then three and five-year-old.   They stood beside me completely mesmerized by the carving talent displayed by the staff together with the other amazed onlookers young and old.

We had some interesting treats (daikon, dragon fruit, star fruit, kiwi, passion fruit, blue potatoes, striped tomatoes, baby vegetables, to name a few) – some were very popular, some not so much.  Yet, it was still an experience that we all enjoyed from start to finish.  As parents,  we always thanked the girls for trying every item with enthusiasm, or for even it giving it a hesitant little nibble.

Have You Ever Wondered About? | urbnspice.com

Gorgeous Purple potatoes

My daughters are now grown.  They have developed sophisticated palates, excellent cooking and baking skills and possess the same spirit of adventure they acquired as youngsters when it comes to trying new foods, ideas and recipes.  I like to think it had something to do with our “buy it and try it” greengrocers adventures at Longo’s.

Have you welcomed Kids in your Kitchen?  What interesting foods have you purchased and investigated?  I can give you lots of tips on where to start your Kids in the Kitchen Food Adventures.

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN:

Here are a few activities to get you started with Kids in the Kitchen:

Purple Potatoes:  Make some Purple Gnocchi

A fun cookie to make with Kiddies:  Vanilla Bean Poppers

And here is another fun cookie to make with kiddies:  Rainbow Vanilla Bean Poppers

 

“Cooking with kids is not just about ingredients, recipes, and cooking.

It’s about harnessing imagination, empowerment, and creativity.”

Guy Fieri

Invite Kids into Your Kitchen and enjoy experiencing cooking and baking again through the eyes of a child.  Ask them the question, “Have you ever wondered about……?  I am excited to hear the answers that they give you.

Happy Cooking with Kids in the Kitchen

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy! 

Denise Pare-Watson - The Urb'n'Spice Chef | urbnspice.com

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

Follow me on Social Media

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017-2018 Urb'n'SpiceAll Rights Reserved
Original content here is published under these license terms: X 
License Type:Commercial
License Abstract:You may read the original content in the context in which it is published (at this web address). You may make other uses of the content only with the written permission of the author on payment of a fee.

Filed Under: Have you Ever wondered about Series?, Kids in the Kitchen Tagged With: Baking with Children, Cooking with Children, Kids in the Kitchen

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Meet Denise – The Urbnspice Chef

Welcome to Urbnspice - A Taste of Heart and Home. Inspiration in my kitchen is often a trip to the market or an experimental coincidence! Come and join me on this culinary journey where I share my passion for the creative, technical and teaching components of the profession and unravel culinary quandaries for you with fun and easy to follow user-friendly recipes, tips & techniques.
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