Rogers Yums!

Thai Mango Sticky Rice Rice 1 cup (200 g) Thai sticky rice (a.k.a. glutinous rice or sweet rice) ⅔ cup cold water 1 cup full-fat coconut milk from a 14 ounce (400 ml) can ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar ¼ teaspoon salt Sauce Remaining coconut milk from the can mentioned above 2 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons cornstarch ¼ teaspoon salt Toppings 2 mangos, preferably the Ataúlfo variety Sesame seeds Equipment An Instant Pot (I use an 8 quart model) An Instant Pot trivet An oven-safe bowl (stainless steel or glass) large enough to hold all the ingredients, but small enough to fit in the Instant Pot. Instructions If the coconut milk has separated, blend it well to incorporate the fat. I like the Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk from Costco. It doesn’t separate nearly as much as some brands, so you just need to shake the can a bit before you open it. Put 1 cup cold water and the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Put the bowel on the trivet. Put the rice and ⅔ cup cold water in the bow...

The Effect of Applesauce in Cookies As you may know, some people use applesauce in baked goods instead of fat.  I wanted to see how well it works in cookies, so I tried a couple of experiments.  Here's what I learned. Fat is essential for the texture of a cookie.  I would not recommend replacing more than half the fat with applesauce.  Even replacing half the fat has a profound effect on the texture.  It makes it chewier, and gives it a texture somewhere between a proper cookie and a dense muffin.  It's still recognizable as a cookie, but it's definitely not the same cookie. When replacing fat with applesauce, using an equal amount by volume. Even unsweetened applesauce adds sweetness.  For every 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce, reduce the recipe's sugar by about 1/4 cup. Applesauce adds flavor, but it's subtle because of the small amount you would use. Cookies with applesauce (replacing half of the fat) don't spread much in the oven.  You shoul...

I was going to make simple chocolate chip cookies, then decided to add some dried apricots.  Cutting the apricots into small bits with a knife was tedious, so I experimented with other techniques.  Along the way, I started adding other ingredients.  After weeks of experimentation, I settled on this recipe as my favorite version. I found the dried apricots, dates, and mango at Costco.  They don't always have them in stock, so get them when they're available.  They're very good quality and also make excellent snacks by themselves! It may seem odd to use butter with butter flavored shortening, but this really gives it the best combination of flavor and texture, in my opinion. While the cookies are good warm, I prefer them cold.  After they're cooled enough to hold their shape, I bag them and stick them in the freezer.  They stay fresh for a long time that way. Feel free to make substitutions.  For example, you can use pecans instead of almonds, dried...

Costco stopped carrying Nestle Toll House chocolate chips a while ago. They now offer two different versions of Kirkland chocolate chips, with confusingly similar names. One is called Kirkland Signature Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, and the other is Kirkland Signature semi-sweet Chocolate Chips. The white bag has Semi-Sweet capitalized, while the red and off-white bag keeps that part of the name lower case. When you see them in the store, you'll likely notice that the white bag (capital S) version costs slightly more. Are they charging more for bigger letters? If you look at the ingredients, the price difference makes sense. The cheaper one has more filler ingredients. The flavor, texture, and baking performance are pretty much identical to Nestle Toll House chips. This isn't surprising since the two brands have very similar ingredient lists, and the new Kirkland chips were introduced about the same time that Costco stopped selling the Nestle version. For comparison...

Flakey Buttermilk Biscuits   3 C Bread Flour                                                       2 T Sugar 4 t Baking Powder                                                   1/2 t Baking Soda    1-1/2 t salt                                         ...

I like Impossible(TM) brand plant-based burger "meat." But working with it isn't exactly the same as working with ground beef. Some differences to be aware of are: 1. It browns a lot faster than beef, so keep a close eye on it. You might also want to use a slightly lower temperature. 2. Since Impossible burger can be consumed raw, all you're really doing is browning it for color and cooking it enough for the burger (or meatball or whatever) to hold its shape. I'm finding that if you don't overcook it, it cooks up to something that's much tenderer and juicier than beef. (Yum!) This is one reason I like making my own Impossible burgers instead of ordering them from, for instance, Burger King. Undertrained cooks often treat the Impossible burger the same as regular hamburger patties, and cook them to death. Then the patties come out tough and charred. Cooking them myself is way better. 3. Impossible burger doesn't shrink as much as beef when it coo...