Magazine Monday #79 (on a Saturday): Guy Fieri's Soft Pretzels

Strange cravings are upon me these days, and while going through a pile of magazines taking up space on my coffee table, this soft pretzel recipe by Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives host Guy Fieri caught my eye. I have recently become a Triple D (or, as I like to call it, D3) fanatic. I don't know why it took me so long! Where has this show been all my life! It took a while for Guy to grow on me, but grow on me he has, and now I am addicted. This is probably another reason I wanted to make this recipe.

Unfortunately, I didn't think too much of Guy's soft pretzel recipe, which came in the January/February issue of Food Network Magazine. The recipe is here.

Lately, I have been practicing making bagels, which are boiled. I have posted before (here and here) about some pretzels I've made that are also boiled. I have to say, I much prefer that recipe and the boiling method over this non-boiled pretzel by Guy. Guy's are tasty for sure, and I enjoyed the stuffed ones (I used homemade pesto and mozzarella cheese to stuff mine), but they are, essentially, a pretzel-shaped bun without that nice chewy texture.

So, I'd give this a miss. Sorry, Guy! I love you, but this wasn't my cup of tea!

Vancouver Food, Part 1

Busy times! Last week, I returned from a trip to Vancouver to visit friends & family. I have a ton of photos, so it's hard to sort out where to start.

How about Ikea?

What is a trip to the coast without a stop at Ikea? My dad loves Ikea, particularly their food section. He loves their coffee and he stocked up big time. He also likes their bread mixes, and so do I, so he bought a few of those, too. Dad really likes the Ikea cafeteria, for reasons I just don't get. Yeah, it's inexpensive, but I was at the coast - I wanted to have lunch somewhere more "coasty". We compromised by having a snack at the cafeteria (which is oddly very similar to the BC Ferries cafeterias) and going somewhere else for lunch.

So, here is what we had.

My SIL had this chocolate torte thingy that you can buy whole in the frozen section of the food part of the store. She said it was pretty good. She downed it with a lingonberry juice.

My dad had this bran muffin that had an odd shape. He downed it with some of his favourite Ikea coffee. I have been advised that when I go to Van in June (which is in the works) that should I pass by Ikea, I am go to in and buy Dad a huge stockpile of coffee and bread mixes.

I had an Ikea cinnamon bun. It was OK. I've had way better, which you will hear about in the future!

C's Caramel Corn

Oh, how I indulged this Christmas! On the afternoon of Christmas Eve we had my father's birthday celebration at my SIL's parents' place. You may recall my mentioning C once in a while; she's my SIL's mom and she and my SIL do some catering on the side that I help out with from time to time. C also put out a cookbook of some of her best known recipes, and the recipes of some of her friends and relatives. While over there on the 25th, and then again for Christmas dinner on the 25th, C had one of her huge stainless steel catering bowls on the table absolutely filled to the brim with homemade caramel corn. It was addictive. I ate way more of it than I'd like to admit to. She added peanuts and pecans to it, too, so it was more like poppycock.

The recipe appears in C's Tried and True cookbook, and is shared here on the blog with her permission.

Carmel Corn/Poppycock

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 quarts popped popcorn

Method:

In a large pot, combine both sugars, corn syrup, butter, and cream. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Wipe down the edges of the pot to ensure no sugar granules are sticking to the sides. Don't stir once it boils. Boil until the soft/chewy ball stage. Cool slightly. Pour over popped corn. Add nuts if you wish. Mix well. Form into balls if desired.

For more information on the soft/chewy ball stage mentioned, here is a good article.

Magazine Monday #58: Energy Balls

I found this recipe in Appeal Magazine, which is published by Save-on Foods. I happened to have some time to kill one day in Nelson, so I bought a copy and sat down with it and a cup of coffee while I waited for my dad to finish his walk. There are some pretty good recipes in here, and this one comes from Shelley Adams, author of the Whitewater Cooks and Whitewater Cooks at Home books (Whitewater is a ski resort is located near Nelson, BC).

Energy Balls

1 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup liquid honey
1 1/2 cups (approx.) toasted coconut, for coating

Combine all ingredients except coconut in a large bowl. Mix everything together well with your hands. You may need a bit more honey to hold it together (I didn't). Roll 1/4 cup scoops into balls and then roll them in coconut. Store in airtight container in refrigerator for up to one week or in freezer for two months.

I didn't put raisins in but instead used some of the dried sour cherries Jodi sent to me in her amazing Christmas package. That worked out most excellently.

This is a winner! Loved these! Super easy to make, and a really nice snack to munch on at work. I will definitely make these again.

Pumpkin Time!

Good old LOGS (local overpriced grocery store) actually had a decent deal of for once in a blue freakin' moon: pumpkins for 19 cents/lb. For $2.53 I got these beauties:I spent yesterday roasting them up, pureeing the meat, and freezing the pumpkin in one and two cup portions. I got exactly 14 cups of pumpkin puree from these two pumpkins! Woo-hoo!I also saved all the seeds and roasted them, in addition to the seeds my roommate gave me when she emptied out the pumpkin she bought for Halloween. I decided to have some fun with the spices Palidor sent me in her care package recently. I made three different kinds of roasted pumpkin seeds (always a favourite snack of mine at this time of year!): curry flavour, using the curry powder Palidor's dad uses; Chinese Five Spice; and just plain salted.The curry ones smelled absolutely out of this world! They needed some help in the flavour department, however. I think these would be good on a salad or as a garnish. I can tell you, though, that I am so looking forward to making a real curry with this powder because the aroma blew me away. The Five Spice were OK...They also needed a bit of help. I think, in retrospect, I should have added some sugar to them. The salted ones were great!

Thanks again, Palidor!!!

Have a great Halloween everyone!

Product Review: Wise Fries

Made by: Old Oakville Snack Company.

The package says: "Crunch different. Crunch better! Wise Fries are the revolutionary krinkle cut fry-shaped snakc with a superior crunch. What makes them even better is that they are baked (NOT FRIED), have no artificial flavours or colours and are trans-fat free. And with less fat than standard fried potato chips, great crunching has never been better!"

How do they look? Suspiciously similar to raw McCain SuperFries.

How do they taste? Kinda like styrofoam coated in a not very flavourful "white cheddar" flavouring.

Crunch factor: middle of the road at best.

Worth the $3.49 for 85g? Uh, no.