GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Category: Cooking TV

  • How to make cheese, ricotta cheese, queso blanco : GardenFork.TV

    How to make cheese, ricotta cheese, queso blanco : GardenFork.TV

    I’ve been wanting to show you all how to make cheese for a while now; basic soft cheese like ricotta or queso blanco is easy and gives you the basics to move into more involved cheeses. The homemade cheese recipe and some book recommendations are below the video.


    Click here for an Amazon search for books on how to make cheese. Plus I list the most popular books below.

    The GardenFork.TV Home Made Cheese Recipe

    Get the freshest best quality milk you can find for this. I have seen raw milk for sale now, but use it at your own risk.

    Measure out 2 cups of milk into a microwavable container, a Pyrex pitcher works well for me

    Add 1 teaspoon of Citric Acid, you can also use vinegar, if so, use 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

    Mix the milk and acid together

    Place the container of milk in your microwave and turn on high for 2 minutes

    The power rating of your microwave will determine how long to heat the cheese, you want to get the milk to at least 165F, but you can go up to 185F.

    When the milk has gotten hot enough, take it out and give it a stir, then let it set for a few minutes.

    Pour it thru a fine sieve into a bowl, this will separate the soft cheese from the liquid.

    Labradors love this liquid, called whey, by the way.

    After the cheese has drained, you are ready to eat. Add a bit of salt and honey to make it even better.

    ©2014 all rights reserved.

  • Braised Sweet & Sour Cabbage Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Braised Sweet & Sour Cabbage Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Red Cabbage is one the super foods we should eat more of, so here is a simple recipe for red cabbage. This recipe is a braise, which basically means the food is cooked, but not covered in a liquid with the cover on. Red cabbage is a beautiful vegetable to grow, and when you slice it open it looks really cool, like an art photo. Red Cabbage has large amounts of vitamin C and K, and is part of the brassica family of plants, along with broccoli and kale.


    Braised Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Recipe

    1 medium head of red cabbage quartered, cored, and sliced

    1 medium sweet onion

    1 cup raisins

    1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

    1 cup apple cider

    Cut up the onion into a rough dice, nothing fancy. Add to a thick bottomed pot with oil and cook until starting to just brown.

    Add the chopped red cabbage, and cook down the cabbage a bit, ideally you are getting all the cabbage to saute a bit to sweeten it.

    Add in the cider vinegar, apple cider and raisins.

    Bring the cabbage mix to a simmer, give it a stir, lower the heat and cover.

    Stir the cabbage every 10 minutes or so, after 30 minutes it should be cooked, but if you cook it low and slow, you can keep it cooking longer, and it will sweeten and break down more.

    Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage tastes great after its cooked, but it tastes even better the next day. Put it in the fridge overnight and pull it out for lunch or dinner. You can warm it up, or eat it cold. © eric rochow, all rights reserved.

    How do you cook cabbage? Tell us how below:

  • Paccherri Pasta with Poppy Seeds : GardenFork.TV

    Paccherri Pasta with Poppy Seeds : GardenFork.TV

    Our Pasta with Poppy Seeds Recipe comes from Joe Brancaccio of Brancaccio’s Food Shop in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, NY. You can make this recipe with other kinds of pasta, but the big round tube pasta works best. Its real good; make this and then tell us about it in the viewer forum.


    1 lb of Paccherri or other big round tube pasta

    1 medium onion  sliced thinly from top to bottom

    1 cup  chicken broth  – you need high quality broth for this

    2 tablespoons butter

    2 tablespoons poppy seeds

    small handful of basil leaves, sliced thinly

    1/2 cup mix of romano and parmesan cheese – not the stuff that comes in a round tube

    olive oil for cooking

    add 2 glugs of oil in a saute pan

    over low heat, sweat the onions in the oil, you do not want the onions to brown, but  you want them wilted nicely

    add the chicken broth and allow it to reduce, toss the onions in the broth a few times while this cooks.

    when the broth has thickened a bit, take the pan off the heat and add in the butter, stir it lightly

    add in the poppy seeds, toss to mix

    then stir in the basil and cheeses

    then eat.

  • Rugelach – Roll Up Treats : GardenFork.TV

    Rugelach – Roll Up Treats : GardenFork.TV

    My Grandmother and Mom made Rugelach for the Christmas holiday. We also called Rugelach ‘roll-ups’ not sure why, maybe it was easier to say. But, Rugelachs are easy to make, and with Eric’s recipe for rugelach, you can too. Our family’s version of rugelach used the classic nut – sugar mix, but we also used jam or jelly. Its important not to use too much jam or jelly; when you bake the rugelach, some of the jam may seep out and burn you cookie sheet. Not a good thing.

    Eric’s Rugelach Recipe

    2 cups all purpose flour

    2 sticks butter – cold – cut into 1/2 cubes

    3 teaspoons sugar

    8 ounces cream cheese – cut into 1 inch blocks

    1 teaspoon salt

    2 cups chopped walnuts

    1/2 cup brown sugar

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    lemon zest – optional

    Preheat oven to 350F

    In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together until the flour coats the butter and the mix starts to look like large cornmeal.

    Add in the cream cheese and pulse to mix it all together, it should start to form small marbles, and also just some fine powder as well. ( it never looks like it does on the food TV shows, don’t worry )

    Put the flour mixture into a large bowl, and start to add small amounts of ice water, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Mix the water into the flour until you get a dough that is wet, but dry enough to handle.

    Shape the dough into a big disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the freezer for about 10 minutes, or the fridge for 30 minutes. You can also leave the dough in the fridge until the next day if you want.

    Mix the walnuts with the brown sugar and cinnamon. You can also add lemon zest to the nut mix.

    On a floured counter or plastic wrap, or whatever you like to use for dough, try to shape the dough into a big circle, like a pizza. If it isn’t perfect, don’t worry, use a pastry scraper to cut out a rough circle, save the extra pieces.

    Pour the nut mixture onto the circle of dough

    Cut pizza slices into the dough. the outside of the slice should be 1.5 – 2″ wide.

    Roll up the slices so they look kinda like croissants.

    Place on a greased baking sheet, bake at 350F for about 30 min. The crust should be slightly golden, you can bake them more if you like, just don’t burn them.

  • Halloween Treat Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups : GardenFork.TV

    Halloween Treat Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups : GardenFork.TV

    A great snack recipe from Karen Solomon, author of Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It . I saw this book at the MakerFaire and requested a copy from the publisher, and the rest is history. Watch as Eric works with chocolate.

    What are your favorite snack recipes? let us know below:

  • Remove Rust From Cast Iron Video – GF TV

    Remove Rust From Cast Iron Video – GF TV

    I found a badly rusted cast iron pan, and wanted to show you all how remove rust from cast iron in this video. Rusty cast iron can be brought back from the dead, to clean the rust off the cast iron, it takes some elbow grease, and the pan will never be brand new, but old cast iron is great. [Note, I have posted some updated info below the video, thx!]

    Update: Use vinegar at full strength. If this method does not work, watch our video on how to strip cast iron using oven cleaner, or with a simple battery charger tank method. Plus it will be a great cast iron pot with a good story of where you found it. Let us know your tips for seasoning cast iron below the video.

    You can remove rust from cast iron, but it can take some time. Take it easy and it will work well. Check out our other cast iron videos, how to season and clean cast iron, and learn more about cast iron pots and fry pans, and all the great reasons to use them.

    We are  now using Flax Oil to season our cast iron, the result is a much harder finish than just using vegetable oil or shortening. so save the vegetable oil for the deep fryer. Watch our Best Way To Season Cast Iron video.

    remove rust from cast iron

    You can watch us use a cast iron dutch oven doing some campfire outdoor cooking in these two videos, the first is us making a banana bread recipe in a cast iron dutch oven over charcoal, then we made the classic Toad in a Hole cooked outdoors in a cast iron dutch oven as well.
    cast-iron-seasoning-instructions-7

    Soap On Cast Iron? Video               Remove Old Seasoning From Cast Iron Video

  • Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder with Beans : GardenFork.TV

    Slow Cooker Pork Shoulder with Beans : GardenFork.TV

    With a recipe idea from Chef Robert Newton of Seersucker in Brooklyn, NY , we make a braised pork shoulder in our slow cooker for friends from France. Watch what happens, and enjoy the Labrador Retrievers.


  • Eric Visits The Shake Shake in New York City : GardenFork.TV

    Eric Visits The Shake Shake in New York City : GardenFork.TV

    Jessica Rossi, aka @burgerbaroness , said on Twitter:

    I need a double cheese burger. Oh a Double Shack burger would be perfect. #nycistoofarrightnow #shakeshackplease #teleportationdeviceneeded

    And I made a GardenFork video about the Shake Shack a while back, and it ends up I blanked on posting it to the new site. So, Jessica, here is your vicarious trip to the Shake Shack:



    Jessica is a Food blogger, burger club leader, librarian, maxfunster and KCBS certified BBQ judge, check our her food blog: http://frieswiththatshake.net

    [full disclosure: my sister works in the library industry as well]

  • Black Bean Corn Salad Picnic Potluck Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Black Bean Corn Salad Picnic Potluck Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Here’s a recipe that’s perfect to make ahead and bring to a picnic or a potluck. Black Bean Corn Salad, super tasty, easy to make, and its made from ingredients you have at home.

    Do you have a variation or similar recipe? Please share it below:

    Black Bean Corn Salad Recip

    1 can Black Beans

    1 package frozen corn

    1 small red onion, chopped fine

    1 clove garlic, crushed

    1/2 cup olive oil

    3 tablespoon red wine vinegar ( or to taste )

    1 tablespoon brown mustard

    1 tablespoon honey

    1 teaspoon pimenton

    Mix together the corn and beans and onion.

    In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard and garlic and honey.

    Pour dressing over corn and beans mix, allow flavors to meld in the fridge for a bit before serving.

  • Jiffy Mix Cornbread Recipe Hack – GF Video

    Jiffy Mix Cornbread Recipe Hack – GF Video

    Super easy cornbread recipe that’s kinda cheating, hence the name, Jiffy Mix Cornbread Recipe Hack. Lets take a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and throw in a can of creamed corn to create a not-original recipe for pretty a darn good Creamed Corn Corn Bread Recipe. I’ve heard about different Jiffy Corn Mix hacks, and I wanted to try out one I had heard of from many people. The Creamed Corn Recipe Hack.

    Full Recipe at the end of this post. Here are some of our other cornbread recipe videos:

    I have a few corn bread recipes, but this one works for me and many people have commented that it works for them as well. There’s something in that comfort food vein that is evoked with Jiffy Corn Bread Mix. Hope they never change the box, who knows what the uproar would be? The idea for this recipe hack comes from my friend Charlie Shaw, and it sat in the back of my head for several years until I had the lightbulb moment to put a can of creamed corn into a box of Jiffy Cornbread mix. And you see what happened here. Cornbread Splendor.

    Do you use Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix in your cornbread recipe? What do you add to mix it up? Let us know in the comments below:

    Jiffy Mix Cornbread Recipe Hack – GF Video
    Cuisine: American
    Author: Eric Rochow
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Total time:
    Ingredients
    • 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
    • 2 eggs
    • 2/3 cup milk
    • 14oz can of creamed corn
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    Instructions
    1. Put a #8 – or 12″ cast iron pan in the oven at 375F for about 15 minutes
    2. Mix together the 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix with the eggs, milk, creamed corn.
    3. Pull the cast iron pan out of the oven, drop in the butter and swirl it around, make sure it gets up on the walls of the cast iron pan.
    4. Pour the batter into the cast iron pan, and bake for 30 minutes.
    5. Check for doneness, the edges of the crust should be starting to brown.
    6. Let cool for a few minutes, run a spatula up under the pan to loosen the corn bread. Flip onto a plate

     

     

    Thanks for watching, eric.

  • How to Make Applesauce Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    How to Make Applesauce Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Learn How to Make Applesauce as fall starts and apples ripen. We get apples from our local pick your own orchard or from our neighbors who have a very nice apple orchard. After you’ve made applesauce, you can can it, watch our hot water bath canning video.

    How to make applesauce the GardenFork way

    Making applesauce is not rocket science. It does take some attention, making sure you don’t burn the bottom of the pan, but is easy to do. This is something you can do with your children, get them involved in cooking.

    How to make applesauce

    Your first choice is are you a skin on or off kind of person. I leave the skins on when cooking down apples to make applesauce. The skins add the red-pink color to the sauce and also thickens it a bit more. I think there’s also a nutritional benefit to the fruit skins.

    Next up is do you want to remove the seeds and core before or after cooking down the apples. You can core the apples before adding them into the pot, or just put whole apples in to the pot and deal with the cores later. You can also just quarter the apples and remove the seeds later.

    If you are leaving the skins on, you’ll need a food mill. These are great tools to have around anyway for other projects. You can use it to make tomato sauce and de-seed other fruit pulp.

    Also important when making applesauce is a pot with a thick bottom so the sauce does not scorch, or you can use a heat diffuser. The key here is to cook down the apples, but not burn them, low and slow works well.

    So there you go, some pointers on how to make applesauce, below is the recipe.

     

     

    How to Make Applesauce Recipe : GardenFork.TV
    Recipe Type: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Author: Eric Rochow
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Total time:
    Serves: 32 ounces
    This recipe makes it easy to make your own applesauce.
    Ingredients
    • 3 lbs ripe apples
    • 1/2 cup water
    • 1 tablespon Cinnamon
    Instructions
    1. Core and cut the apples into quarters.
    2. Add cored – cut apples and water to the pot, put pot on high heat.
    3. When the water and apples start to sizzle, turn down the heat to low, cover, and let the apples cook down.
    4. Add the cinnamon.
    5. Mash the apples down occasionally, until the apples become sauce.
    6. If you like a smoother sauce, cook the apples down longer, taking care not to burn the apples.
  • Poached Egg, Bacon & Escarole Salad Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Poached Egg, Bacon & Escarole Salad Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Its been on my mind for awhile to make this Salad Lyonnaise recipe, the Eric way. We had this dish at Franny’s a while back, then out of no where, Mark Bittman puts it in the Food Section of the NY Times. So it was time for us to show you all the GardenFork Salad Lyonnaise Recipe. watch out!

    Do you have a version of this you do? Or another salad that uses egg as a dressing? Tell us below, thx!

  • Sardines, perfect portable food.

    Sardines, perfect portable food.

    Take the Labradors, a canoe,  some sardines, and you have the perfect afternoon. Today we talk about sardines and have a sardine sandwich while watching the Labradors enjoy the water.

    How do you use sardines? please tell us  below:

  • Wild and Urban Foraging for Lambsquarters : GF Video

    Wild and Urban Foraging for Lambsquarters : GF Video

    Today we forage for wild edible food in our own yard, forgaing for Lambsquarters, also called Pitseed Goosefit or Pigweed by some. Lambsquarters is all over our cities and yards, so whether you are doing urban foraging or wild foraging, you can learn in this GardenFork.TV show about Lambsquarters.



    Do you forage for wild plants? What edible plants have you eaten or found? Let us know below:

  • Salted Caramel Strawberry Recipe GF Video

    Salted Caramel Strawberry Recipe GF Video

    Home Made Halloween Treat or decadent dessert, this salted caramel strawberry recipe is good. And you don’t have to make the caramel from scratch.

    I asked Jaden Hair, author of the cookbook Steamy Kitchen and the website SteamyKitchen.com, on Twitter which of her recipes I should make on GardenFork.TV and her answer was immediate: a salted caramel strawberry recipe.
    Caramel Strawberry Recipe

    I asked that the recipe be simple, ( this is Eric cooking after all ) and this is super simple and super good. wow. yum

    I used popsicle sticks for this recipe, but you could also use bamboo skewers, ideally cut in half. Or use what you got, if you have something that will work for you. You could also dip the strawberries using a skewer and then lay each berry on wax paper to cool, and be finger food.

    At times, I’ve found supermarket strawberries to be under-ripe on the inside. There’s really no way to see if the strawberries are ripe inside even though they look red. If you can press on a berry, if they are hard, you know they are not ripe inside.

    caramel strawberry recipe-2

    Be very careful with the caramel. Its hot and its sugar, and it can burn you. Slow and steady wins the race here. Start out with a small batch of the caramel to get the hang of melting the caramel if there is some trepidation.

    this recipe is based on the Southern Living Farmer Market Cookbook

    Salted Caramel Strawberry Recipe GF Video
    Recipe Type: Dessert
    Author: Based On Jaden Hair
    Prep time:
    Cook time:
    Total time:
    Serves: 10 Treats
    An easy dessert or Halloween treat recipe
    Ingredients
    • 10 large fresh strawberries
    • 20 caramels
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons whipping cream
    • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 
1 cup coarsely chopped mixed nuts (peanuts and almond slivers)
    • 
Wax paper
    Instructions
    1. Soak strawberries in a ice bath for 5 minutes to restore their perky leaves
    2. Pat strawberries completely dry with paper towels
    3. Microwave caramels, whipping cream, and salt in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM(50% power) 2 minutes or until smooth, stirring at 1-minute intervals.
    4. Dip each strawberry halfway into caramel mixture.
    5. Roll in nuts, and place on lightly greased wax paper.
    6. Let stand 15 minutes.
    7. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 8 hours.
  • Easy Cake Recipe Peach Dump Cake – GF Video

    Easy Cake Recipe Peach Dump Cake – GF Video

    I’m not a great baker, so this easy cake recipe appeals to me. This is called a Dump Cake Recipe.

    Watch here as we make this peach dump cake that tastes good and is quick to make.

    This all came about as I had a can of peaches and wanted to make a dessert with them. So I asked on Twitter for a peach dessert recipe, and @writersinthesky answered with this peach cake recipe.

    What I like about this cake recipe and dump cakes in general is that they’re a great emergency dessert. If you forgot to plan a dessert or you just decide that you want to add a simple dessert to your dinner, you can make it happen. Because you, like me, always plan ahead, you can keep a can of peaches or a can of pears or other fruit (ideally in a light syrup not the heavy syrup) in the kitchen. Pull it out, add flour, and boom you’ve got a cake.

    This easy cake recipe comes together in minutes. All you really have do is remember to preheat the oven. I like to use a glass cake pan, I think the crust is more crunchy, but you can use a metal pan as well. Use what you got is what I say. You can do this, it’s easy, it’s quite good and it’s wicked simple. So go ahead make this and tell me your thoughts.

    Peach Cake Recipe

    1 cup self rising flour
    OR 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt

    1 stick of butter

    1 cup milk

    1 cup sugar – you can use less sugar, this cake is pretty sweet

    1 can of peaches, drained, light syrup preferred, 20-24 oz

    Preheat the oven to 375F

    Put the stick of butter in a 9×9 baking dish, preferably a glass dish, and place in the oven to melt the butter.

    Mix together the dry ingredients, then add the milk and mix.

    Pour the batter into the heated baking dish with the melted butter, then add the can of peaches.

    Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. The cake is done when a knife comes out clean.

    recipe ©2014 Eric Rochow all rights reserved

  • Fireplace Grilled Salmon : Eric’s Recipe

    Fireplace Grilled Salmon : Eric’s Recipe

    Grilled Salmon done with Fireplace Cooking, neat. Fireplace cooking means you don’t have to fire up the stove and your house doesn’t smell like fish or steak the next day. Watch as we grill salmon steaks with this simple recipe .

    Do you cook in your fireplace? Please come tell us about it below!



    Fireplace Grilled Salmon Steak Recipe:

    4 Salmon Steaks, as fresh as possible

    Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper

    Start a fire in the fireplace a few hours before cooking, allow the wood to break down into coals, kinda like charcoal.

    Place your cooking grill over the coals in the fireplace – be careful doing this.

    Allow the grill to heat up and clean the grill with half an onion rubbed over the grill.

    Drizzle olive oil and then salt and pepper to each side of the steaks.

    Place the steaks on the hot grill, and let each side cook about 5 minutes. This time may vary depending on how hot the coals are.

    Flip the fish, and check in a few minutes for done-ness. The flesh will flake easily when its done. Ideally you will take the fish off the grill just before the desired done-ness.

    Please let us know your fireplace cooking recipes here:

  • Beans and Toast Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    Beans and Toast Recipe : GardenFork.TV

    I had Beans on Toast for the first time last month, at Fort Defiance in Red Hook, Brooklyn. After the first bite I knew I had to make the Beans on Toast recipe for GardenFork.TV .

    Super simple, yet tastes great and is healthy as well. Lots of protein here, and it tastes even better with toasted multigrain bread. The recipe is below

    Eric’s Beans On Toast Recipe

    1 can of UK Heinz Vegetarian Beans

    or

    1 can of American Baked Beans

    or

    a pot of freshly cooked red kidney beans – i cook them with sauteed onions and cumin

    Bread for toasting – multigrain is best i think

    Eggs

    Grated Cheddar cheese, or the cheese of your choice.

    Toast your bread, and warm up the beans.

    Fry the eggs, how many depends on how many people you are feeding. Sunnyside up or just slightly cooked over easy are best, as the yolks run over the beans that way.

    Place the 2 pieces of toast on a plate, cover with 1 cup of beans, top with the fried eggs, top off with some grated cheese. The heat of the egg should melt the cheese a bit.

    Then eat. and tell us here how it is. ©2010 Eric Rochow all rights reserved