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January 1, 2021December 28, 2020

Gym and fitness during a pandemic

With gyms closed, or at a limited capacity, many people have begun
to work out at home or outdoors. Even though this lets you work out when you want with no set time frames, it is often harder to get a good workout without proper equipment.

We always recommit ourselves to achieve our ideal selves every new year, and fitness and health are often a priority. Without a gym or crazy fad diet, is it possible to stay on track?

“When it comes to exercise, keep it simple,” says Nick Miller, a certified
personal trainer. “Just stay active, especially if you are not too familiar with programming your own workouts. Choose activities that you know how to do and keep you out of pain.”

If you are looking for a wide range of home workouts that will work every part of your body, explore YouTube.

With a click of a button, you can find great alternatives and exercises that do not require equipment.

Want to do an upper body workout? No problem. Search terms such as “upper equipment” or “arm workout no equipment” and a plethora of work out options will be available.

With no end in sight for our new normal, the new year is an excellent time to recommit to our goals and shed some excuses, along with pounds.

According to Miller, “The shutdown gave a lot of people an excuse not to work out, but since the economy opened back up, we have actually seen steady growth in the number of clients looking to improve their lifestyle.

“Being that we’re not a gym, clients are very comfortable in our private facility working one on one with their trainer or therapist.”

It all starts with you. An individual needs to be in the right mindset. Practice mindfulness exercises to focus on the mind and reduce anxiety.

If you fear going to the gym alone or have health restrictions, grab household items, and get creative with at-home workouts. By using items like a chair or couch, you can move your muscles and body in more ways than none.

If a person is looking to make a change to their well-being, they have to want it. Working out is only part of the plan. What a person puts into their body every day weighs more. There needs to be a balance of eating well and keeping active.

“Nutrition can get pretty involved. And every other week, there’s a new fad diet out there that doesn’t work in the long run.

“Sure, you can lose a lot of weight in the short term, but as soon as you start eating normally again, the weight starts coming back,” Miller said.

In the end, it depends on the individual, on what they want to do, and what they are comfortable with. By setting realistic goals and creating a consistent routine, individuals will be on their way to a healthier and happier 2021.

“My advice for someone looking to lose some weight without a fad. Eat less more often and keep it clean. Stay away from processed foods and refined sugars,” Miller said.

December 2, 2020December 4, 2020

Holiday treats, savory and sweet

Holiday and New Year celebrations may be more restrained this year but you can still enjoy a treat or two, savory or sweet.

One of my favorites is rumaki. It’s a combination of chicken livers, bacon, and water chestnuts marinated in a soy, brown sugar, and garlic sauce with fresh ginger.

I know, I know. Many of you are already making a face at the word, liver. But just give this a try. In all my years of cooking and catering, rumaki was always a favorite among my clients.

My mother would make it New Year’s Eve if they were entertaining. My sister and I weren’t invited to the actual celebration, but a special plate of appetizers was always prepared for us.

Rumaki
1 lb. chicken livers, deveined and fat particles cut off , cut into 1” pieces
1 lb. good quality bacon, sliced in half length wise
2 cans whole water chestnuts. Cut each chestnut into half rounds
1 cup soy sauce
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced through a garlic press
1⁄4 cup dry white wine ginger. If using whole, peel a piece about 1⁄2” in length and cut that into 4 pieces. If using ground, about 1⁄2 teaspoon.
Round, wooden toothpicks
Frilly toothpicks for presentation

Lay out each bacon slice onto a wooden board. You may have to do this more than once, depending on the size of your cutting board.

Starting at the bottom of the piece of bacon, place one water chestnut. On top of that add a piece of liver.

Using a toothpick, start at the end of the bacon, just under the chestnut and liver, and begin to roll up the bacon, as tightly as possible. Skewer each piece and set aside.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, wine, garlic, and ginger. Mix thoroughly and put into a heavy-duty plastic, sealable bag. Put each piece of rumaki into soy mixture and seal the bag.

Marinate at least six hours to overnight. I usually always do the overnight method. That way they are ready to go into the oven at any moment.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. This just helps with clean-up.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. You want the bacon to cook completely. At this point, I exchange the toothpicks for the frilly ones and plate. Some people heat the soy mixture to a boiling point and serve alongside the rumaki. Personally, I think they have lots of flavor as is.

Moving on, desserts were seldom on our menu growing up. I’m not sure why, except dessert, unlike other foods, is an exact science. You can’t just throw anything you want into desserts because it will change the texture and cooking time.

However, as I got into my catering career, I realized that dessert was always on the menu. Most of my customers would ask me to make desserts that they didn’t normally make themselves. Desserts require time and attention. I began experimenting, on my family of course (husband and two daughters) and they were always willing tasters. Here’s one of their favorites.

Apple Cream Cheese Tart
(For the crust)
1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose fl our
1 1⁄2 sticks unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
(For the apples)
3 Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons Cointreau
1⁄4 cup sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons cinnamon
(Cream-cheese filling)
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1⁄2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
9, or 10, inch tart pan with removable bottom

Place butter, flour, sugar, and vanilla into a food processor and process until completely combined. Remove and wrap in plastic wrap while you mix the apples. Don’t clean the processor. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, Cointreau, and lemon juice.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Peel, core, and slice apples thin and add to cinnamon mixture. Continue until all apples are done. Mix apples thoroughly with cinnamon mixture.

Take the pastry out of the refrigerator, and by using your hands, place pieces of dough over the tart pan. Begin to press down on dough until the entire bottom of tart pan is covered. I usually go up the sides as well.

Mix the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla in the processor and process until completely combined.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the entire pastry.

Begin, on the outer edge, to place apple slices. After you have the first row placed, begin the next layer and start again where the apples meet. You want the apples to look pretty. Continue until you reach the center. I will usually add some of the apple juice mixture. You will probably have apple slices left. Enjoy!

Bake tart for 35 to 45 minutes. I usually put the tart pan into a larger pan to catch any juices. You want the tart to look beautifully golden. Take out and cool slightly.

Melt apricot or peach jam along with some Cointreau. Bring to a boil and brush the whole tart with the apricot glaze.

Once the tart is cool enough to touch, I begin to play with removing it from the bottom. Sometimes it will get stuck in places, but usually comes out easily. Place the tart, with bottom attached, onto a platter to serve.

November 8, 2020October 23, 2020

Whiskey primer for budding aficionados

For many, the different styles of whiskey often confuse and scare off newcomers. The wide variety of taste profiles and the almost snobbish vocabulary aficionados use turn away many who want to learn more about whiskeys.

First, some history. Whiskey is a distilled alcoholic beverage that likely originated in the monasteries of the British Isles. The word Whiskey is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word for water. Though if you tasted one of the original whiskeys James IV of Scotland greatly admired, you would find it very raw. Renaissance era whiskeys are not aged or diluted.

Over the years, the process was refined, and the drink became more refined, as we now know today. Along the way, different styles started to take shape, often based on where the whiskey is produced.

The first main difference is what is used for fermentation. The monasteries in Scotland and Ireland used barley, which grows well in the area’s cold, wet climate. Barley is allowed to malt, which is the process of soaking the barley in water, but is halted from germination by drying with hot air. This process causes the carbohydrates in the grain to be broken down into sugars, then fermented and distilled. When you see terms like single malt, it means the whiskey is made fro malted barley from a single distillery.

The fermented grain mixture is called mash. Mash traditionally uses a portion of a previous fermentation as the “starter,” similar to the sourdough process. It helps to ensure a proper pH level for the yeast to convert sugars into alcohol.

Starter mash whiskey, rather than that made with only yeast, is called a sour mash and the process creates acidity. Once distilled, you will not taste the acidity. You will find the Irish differ from the Scottish in distillation, where the Irish distill the mash three times, the Scottish only do it twice. Some like the cleaner taste of the Irish whiskey, while others enjoy the flavor of Scottish, especially those of the Islay style, where the peat moss is used to dry the malt, which gives it the unique smokey flavor many enjoy.

As European settlers came to the Americas, they brought their love of Aqua Vitae, meaning Vital Water, from their homeland. They adapted the recipes to the abundance of corn in the Americans to make their mash, which results in a sweeter product versus barley. Bourbon was likely started by Scots and Irish settlers in present-day Kentucky. It’s believed Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister, was first to age the distilled alcohol in charred oak barrels, giving it the unique, bold flavor profile. To this day, by law, all bourbon must be aged in new charred oak barrels and made with a 51% corn-based mash.

Back in the British Isles, whiskey distilleries traditionally used old wine and port barrels to age their whiskeys. As Bourbon became more popular in recent years, many whiskey makers switched to use old Bourbon barrels. Thus, you will find many Scottish labels stating the type of barrels used for aging, impacting their taste profile.

Lastly, the longer you age a whiskey, the more of the barrel’s flavors are imparted into the drink. You will find the Scottish and Irish whiskeys to be aged longer than those in warmer climates. Part of that is, the evaporation process is slower in colder temperatures, resulting in a slower aging process. This is often referred to as the “Angel’s share.” You will find some fine Whiskeys like Kavalan, aged in Taiwan, or Bourbons in Kentucky, to have a shorter age duration, as the angel’s share is collected faster than in Scotland.

Hopefully, this gives you a basic understanding so that you can pick out a great gift this holiday. Or be dangerous in chatting with your local aficionado.