Baking With Honey

Honey is a great substitute for sugar in many recipes.

Honey is better for you and has a lower glycemic index than sugar so it won't cause as much havoc with blood sugar- especially if you need to be watching it for health reasons such as diabetes.

Raw honey is better for you than pasteurized, since the heat will destroy many of the healing properties in raw honey.
So, baking with raw honey may destroy some of the healing properties. But, maybe not all.

So raw or pasteurized in baking doesn't really matter much.
Just your preference.

The taste of honey in baked goods is a bit different, but it is very good.

You can find recipes calling for honey or you can choose to substitute.

When a recipe calls for sugar, you can substitute 3/4 cup honey for every cup of sugar called for.
You may also need to reduce any other liquid in the recipe by up to 1/4 cup.
If no other liquid in is the recipe- like for cookies-, add up to 1/4 cup flour.

Grilling a Great Bacon Cheeseburger

There is nothing like a grilled burger or a bacon cheeseburger. So, why not cook it all together on the grill. No more cooking the bacon separate and putting it on after the hamburger is done and cheese is added.
Here is my method for making a great grilled bacon cheeseburger.
By the way, this is the way I cook them on the stove too.

Preheat your grill to high.

First of all, divide one pound of hamburger into 3-4 patties.
You will need two strips of bacon for each patty.
One slice of your favorite cheese per burger.
Salt and pepper to season.

Making a criss-cross wrap two strips of bacon around each hamburger patty. This is how your bacon wrapped hamburgers should look.
Season each side with salt and pepper.
Lay the burgers on the grill and cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on the patty size.
Turn occasionally so the bacon doesn't burn.
The hamburger should be done when the bacon is nicely browned.
Lay a slice of cheese on each bacon wrapped burger and let it stand for a minute or so.

Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Storing Flour

Some flours need different storage than others.

For example, pastry flour should be stored in the freezer.
It will not go bad, but pastry is best made with cold ingredients so keeping it cold in your freezer is only good sense.

Whole grain flours, such as soy or wheat should be stored in the freezer also.

Whole grain flours have a tendency to go rancid unless used up quickly. So, by keeping them in the freezer, they will last a lot longer.

All-purpose flour( both bleached and unbleached), cake flour, and bread flour are fine if they are stored at room temperature.
They are not going to turn rancid.
And if you use your flour for making bread, you don't want your flour cold.

Grilled Potato Packets

This is my absolute favorite way to do potatoes on the grill. Yummy!!!!!

Preheat your grill to high.

You will need heavy duty aluminum foil or double thickness of regular foil. You need enough to encase a sliced up potato.

To make one potato packet:

1 medium sized potato- peeled or not and sliced thinly
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
garlic powder
kosher salt
pepper

Arrange your sliced potato on a rectangle of aluminum foil.
Add the butter and season with the garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Bring up the edges of foil together and seal tightly.
Lay the packet on the grill rack and cook 20-30 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time.
The potatoes are done when the packet has puffed up.

It is also great to add other fresh vegetables to your packet. Ideas are onions or green peppers.
Fresh herbs are great to add, if you have any on hand.
Parmesan cheese is also good.

Cocoa Powder- Dutch Vs. Natural

Cocoa powder comes from chocolate that has had most of the cocoa butter removed from it.

There are two types of cocoa powder.

The first kind is Dutch processed cocoa powder.
Dutch processed cocoa has been processed with alkali and is usually slighter darker than the natural cocoa powder.
It has a more delicate flavor.
It is also more readily absorbed into liquids, such as hot water or milk.
When baking with dutch processed cocoa you must use baking powder as your leavening.
Since this cocoa is neutral or slightly alkaline it will not react with baking soda.

The second type of cocoa powder available is natural. It can also be referred to as Non-Dutch processed cocoa.
It is more acidic so it can be used with baking soda as your leavening agent.

So, always make sure to follow the recipe.
If it says to use Natural cocoa, don't use Dutch due to the type of leavening agent needed.

If you are lucky, you may be able to find a cocoa powder brand that combines both Dutch and natural cocoa so you always have the right kind on hand.

Resting Your Grilled Meat

Grilling out or barbecuing is a sure sign of summer.

Some people grill in any weather, but everyone loves to once the weather starts warming up.

Grilling good food is more of an art than some people think.
You don't want to take the food off too soon or it will be undercooked.
You don't want to leave it on too long either or it will be charred to death.

When it comes to cooking meat over a hot grill, resting before serving makes a big difference.

Grilling involves cooking at very high temperatures and while the meat cooks great that way, the high heat also pushes all of the juices into the very middle.

So resting the meat allows the juices that have been forced into the middle to flow back throughout the piece of meat.

Once you have the meat done to your liking, take it off the heat and let it sit 5-10 minutes before you cut it.

I guarantee that you will end up with a moister cut of meat, than if you just simply served and cut it right away.

Lemon Squares

Lemon squares are yummy bars. They have a shortbread crust with a lemon curd like filling over the top, similar to the lemon filling in lemon meringue pie.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You will need an ungreased 8" or 9" square pan.

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Filling-

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoon grated lemon peel, optional

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour, powdered sugar, and butter. It will be crumbly.

Press that into the square pan. Build the sides up slightly.

Bake for 20 minutes.

While the crust is baking, beat the filling ingredients until light and fluffy.

As soon as the crust is done, pour the filling over the top of the hot crust.

Return to oven and bake another 25 minutes.

It is done when you touch lightly and no indention remains.

Cool on a wire rack completely before cutting.

Makes 16 bars.