Contributing Writer

I’d like to share this shortcut to delicious, simple meatballs with you. When I first heard about it, I wasn’t sure if it would work, but after I tried it, I couldn’t imagine why I hadn’t done it sooner. While there is still a place in my heart for classic, bread-soaked-in-milk, fresh herbed, onion and garlic meatballs like my mother used to make, these are a great time-saver. You can have textbook-perfect meatballs ready in half an hour, ready for a sandwich or spaghetti (with a jar of sauce). Customize these meatballs with whatever pesto you happen to have in the pantry!

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. ground beef
• 3-4 tbsp pesto (traditional basil or sundried tomato)
• ½ tsp salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
• ½ cup bread crumbs (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 425 ° F. Mix the ground beef with your pesto, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using). Use a teaspoon to evenly portion out meatballs of about 1 inch and roll to smooth. Dip your hands in water before rolling to keep the meat from sticking to your fingers. Drop them into the breadcrumbs to coat and lay them on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes. Alternately you can brown these in a saucepan or poach in a tomato sauce for 10-15 minutes over a low heat.

The post Here’s an easy way to make meatballs appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Contributing Writer

I’ve carried this recipe around with me for decades and only started making this dish recently, partly because I didn’t think I could make it live up to my memories and partly because I couldn’t find Golden Syrup, the secret ingredient.

This is a cookie my neighbor’s mom used to make every year when I was little. As it’s an old-school South African recipe that makes a ton of cookies (this is probably why we were always lucky enough to get a plateful).

Nothing beats ginger in the winter months. It transforms an uncomfortably cold day into a snug, cozy one as if by magic. 

These are ideally crunchy outside and chewy inside, but you can bake them to whatever texture you like. Also, no nuts were harmed (or even used at all) in the baking of these cookies!

Ingredients

200 ml butter

1 C Golden Syrup *

5 C flour

20 ml baking soda

20 ml cream of tartar

1 tsp salt

50 ml dried ginger

625 gr brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

*Many grocers now carry Lyle’s Golden Syrup in the international aisle. If all else fails, you can use honey. Maple syrup will not yield the same results and is not recommended. That’s for another cookie on another day.

Method

In a small saucepan, melt together the syrup and butter. Set it aside to cool. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, ginger and salt. In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter and syrup with the brown sugar, then the eggs and vanilla.

When the mixture is uniform, add the sifted dry ingredients and work into a smooth dough.

Set the dough aside covered with a towel to rest for at least 2 hours in a cool spot or overnight in the fridge. 

When you are ready to get baking, set the oven for 350 degrees convection and roll the dough into ½-inch to ¾-inch balls. Set them on your baking sheet spaced about 2 inches apart, in alternating rows of 4 and 5. This size cookie will be crunchy outside and soft inside at 8-10 minutes. 

All batches are different and sometimes it takes a tray or two to find just how you want them to come out. If this freewheeling baking spirit is anathema to you, bake a single tester and time it! My 10-year-old son likes them barely cooked and I like them crunchy enough to withstand a good dunk in my coffee.

For a slightly larger cookie, roll into 1- or 1 1/2-inch balls and bake for 10-12 minutes. If you’d like them an even brown, rotate your baking sheet halfway through.

The post Gingernuts are crunchy outside, chewy inside appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Contributing Writer

Probiotic-rich foods have had their moment in the food-trend spotlight, and while we’re all familiar with the myriad of health benefits associated with adding them to our diets, I’d like to point out that they are also just plain good eating.

Case in point, the superior crunch and zest of a traditionally fermented pickle as opposed to their vinegar brine counterpart. Pickles are an easy place to start in learning to preserve your own foods through natural fermentation, a gateway to sauerkraut and kombucha — if you’re in to that kinda thing.

Known also as Kosher dills, full sours or deli-style pickles, these are pickled (fermented) in an anaerobic salt brine that prevents the formation of bad bacteria while allowing beneficial lactobacillus to thrive. The natural fermentation process gives an almost carbonated zing to the cucumbers. 

This is a great way to preserve the last few cucumbers from the garden (or your friendly neighbor’s garden) and will liven up any sandwich or cheese plate.

Ingredients

2 qt filtered water 

6 tbsp kosher salt

12-14 small Kirby cucumbers (if using larger cucumbers, slice into discs or spears)

2 Grape leaves

3-5 cloves of garlic

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp coriander seed

A bunch of fresh dill

If you cannot find grape leaves, two or three bay leaves, raspberry leaves or an equivalent amount of black tea leaves will suffice. The tannins in the leaves help to keep the pickle crispy.

Special equipment

Canning jars (this recipe makes 2 small or one large jar)

Method

Clean and trim your cucumbers. Any blossom or bud left is said to make the pickles mushy. Clean and sterilize your canning jars. I run mine through the dishwasher on the sanitize cycle.

Dissolve the salt in the clean filtered water. Make sure the water is chlorine free. I’ve had success using distilled water instead of tap water. 

Pack your grape leaves, garlic, dill and spices into the jar, topping off with the pickles. Pour over your salt brine, ensuring that everything is submerged. If the cucumbers will not stay submerged, you can put a small dish over the top, inserted under the lid, to keep them under the brine.

Once the lids are in place, the pickles are ready to do their work. Leave them in a cool, dark area for at least two weeks. Check on them every two days, opening the lid slightly to allow any gasses to escape. The brine will become cloudy, and that’s exactly what you want! Your pickles will be ready to eat or move to the refrigerator after two weeks.

The post Traditionally fermented pickles are the real deal appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.