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Home-Made Canadian Bacon, it’s easy.

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Sliced and ready for Eggs Benedict.

Canadian bacon is a cured and smoked pork loin. It is leaner than regular bacon and is typically served on Eggs Benedict, which we just made for Easter. Making Canadian Bacon at home is not hard but it does take about a week, so you will want to plan ahead.

This recipe makes for a sweet, savory, herbaceous Canadian Bacon. Seasoned with maple syrup and sage. You can play around with the herbs and spices in the brine as much as you want as long as you don’t change the ratio of the salt, sugar, curing salt, and water. I smoked this on my Traeger. If you don’t have a smoker, you can substitute some of the salt for smoked salt and cook it in the oven. Or omit the smokiness altogether. It will still be delicious.

This recipe calls for a little bit of curing salt, optional. If you want to try this recipe but don’t want to purchase a pound of this stuff, and you are one of my subscribers, shoot me an email with your mailing address and I’ll send you a little bit.

I hope you enjoy this fun DIY kitchen project. Let me know how it worked out for you in the comments and feel free to share this with others.

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Home-Made Canadian Bacon, it’s easy.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 4 days
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 100 hours
  • Yield: 2 1/2 lbs 1x
  • Category: Charcuterie
  • Method: Cured and Smoked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

Sliced thin, this Canadian Bacon is delicious with Eggs Benedict, Hawaiian Pizza or in anything you would use ham in.

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/2 lbs center cut pork loin

1 qt boiling water

1 qt ice water

80 g (1/2 cup) salt

50 g (1/4 cup packed) brown sugar

75 g (1/3 cup) maple syrup

28 g (4 teaspoons) Curing Salt #1 (optional but recommended)

8 g (1 small handful) fresh sage sprigs

8 g (1 small handful) fresh thyme sprigs

10 g (1 Tablespoon) whole peppercorns

25 g (10) crushed garlic cloves

Instructions

Add all ingredients to the boiling water except the pork loin and ice water.  Stir and simmer until the salt and sugar have thoroughly dissolved and the herbs and spices have had a little time to steep.  About 5 minutes.

Remove the brine from the heat and add the ice water.  Stir to melt all the ice.  Check the temperature.  If it is room temperature or colder, it is ready to use.  If it is still pretty warm, let it cool for a bit to room temperature.

Once cooled, place the pork loin in a gallon size zip lock bag. Pour the brine over the pork loin.  Seal it up and place it in the refrigerator (on a sheet pan in case it leaks).  

After 2 days, flip the bag and return to the refrigerator.

On the 4th day, remove the pork loin from the brine.  Submerge it in fresh water for 30 minutes.  Then remove it from the water and pat it dry all over.

Place the pork loin on a sheet pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 1-2 days to dry and form a pellicle (if you’re not smoking it, you can skip this step).

Preheat your smoker (or oven) to 200 F, place the cured loin on the center of the rack and insert your probe thermometer into the center of the meat. Set it to alert you when the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145 F.

When the internal temperature reaches 145 F, remove the loin from the smoker and allow it to cool.  Refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.  TIP: if you want nice clean slices, it needs to have cooled all the way before you slice it.

Equipment

Notes

IMPORTANT

Curing Salt #1 goes by many names – Prague Powder #1, DQ Curing Salt #1, Insta Cure #1, Pink Salt #1.  This is a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite for smoked and slow-cooked meats.  It is dyed pink so it is not confused with table salt – which would be dangerous.  Curing Salt #2 is for uncooked cured meats like salami.  It is a combination of salt and sodium nitrate.  

Do not substitute Himalayan Pink Salt or Morton Tender Quick for Curing Salt #1- they will not act in the same way.  I’m sure there is a way to use Morton Tender Quick for curing hams, but you would need to follow a recipe specific to that product.  I have never used it.  

In some products, the use of curing salt is necessary to prevent botulism.  This is not one of those products so curing salt is optional.  However, it is what gives cured meat its rosy hue, extends its shelf life, and prevents an oxidized flavor that otherwise develops after a couple of days.

The Best Water Purifiers for Home, Camping and Emergencies

berkey ceramic water filter for well water

Let’s all agree that 2020 was a crazy year.  First, there was the pandemic, then there were food and supply shortages at the grocery stores, then there was social unrest, power outages, wildfires, and extreme smoke.  Once it started raining, there were reports that our water would be contaminated by all the smoke particulates in the environment. By then I had just had it!

I’m not gonna lie, having been pregnant and postpartum through all of this, by the time the autumn rolled around I had gone into full-blown prepper-survival mode🤣!  I started getting my things in order – food, supplies, evacuation kit, and water.  I started dreaming of root cellars, big gardens, collecting chicken eggs, foraging for food in the woods, and trapping small critters to eat. I’m kind of kidding, but….I’m kind of serious too and I don’t think I was the only one losing my mind a little bit. It was during these doomsday ruminations that I discovered the Berkey Gravity Fed Water Filtration System.

Aside from putting my mind at ease during the darkest days of 2020, my Berkey has truly become one of my favorite things in my kitchen and I would recommend it to you even if you are not at all anxious about impending disasters.

Berkeys are the Best Water Purifier for Everyday Home Use

10 Reasons Why I Love My Berkey Water Purifier

  • The water tastes great!
  • It’s easier than the sink for my daughter to use and she drinks a lot more water now that we have the Berkey.
  • It filters water quickly. We don’t have to prioritize our filtered water. We cook with it, make coffee with it, even make soda water with it in a 3 G keg. 
  • It looks cool on my counter.
  • The filters last 4-5 years and are not very expensive to replace.
  • If you buy water in gallon jugs (or 5 Gallon jugs), you are probably spending around $1/gallon. With the Berkey, you pay around $0.02/gallon.
  • It requires no power.
  • It filters out microplastics, trace contaminants, metals, pharmaceuticals, and pathogens.
  • It can also filter untreated water for camping trips, vanlife, and off-the-grid living.
  • It’s really easy to assemble and use.

If you live in California…

I love how much the State of California cares about consumer protections, but sometimes their regulations just get in the way of a good thing. If you live in California, you can only buy select CA-approved products from Berkey. However, you can buy whichever Berkey Filtration System you want from eBay😉.

The Best Water Filter for Camping and Emergencies

The Berkey is ideal for everyday home use. If you are looking for a water filter for camping or to have on hand for emergencies, I highly recommend Life Straw Gravity Bag Water Filter. I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent in the backcountry hand pumping water into 1-liter bottles and cleaning ceramic filters. Camping gear has come a long way in the last 10 years! With this filter, you simply fill a gallon-sized bag, hang it in your camp kitchen and let gravity do the work. The filter part can be separated from the unit and used as a “straw” for slurping up filtered water from ponds and puddles on your day hike. The whole thing is light weight, packs flat for efficient storage and easy transport and is currently under $50. I highly recommend this filter for camping, backpacking, and your emergency kit.

Mixed Berry Pavlovas – Easy, Delicious and Gluten Free

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Mini Berry Pavlovas on wooden table.
Pavlovas are light and airy, fresh and seasonal and naturally gluten free.

What’s a Pavlova

A pavlova is a meringue, crisp on the outside, soft and marshmallowy on the inside, topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruit. This is one of my all-time favorite spring desserts. Perfect for Easter and Mother’s Day. Pavlovas can be easily adapted to use fall fruit like figs, poached pears and persimmons, or coffee and chocolate flavors during the winter.

My daughter doesn’t like cake and ice cream, weird huh? But it works out great because I don’t like baking or frosting cakes. I made these palm-sized pavlovas for her recent 6th Birthday instead. She loved them! I have made mini pavlovas about 2 inches wide for wedding desserts and bridal showers and we had them on a summer menu at the restaurant at one point. These individual pavlovas are the perfect light dessert for Easter, Mother’s Day, and The 4th of July. You can also make them into a large pie-sized Pavlova for sharing. Make the meringue shell ahead of time and assembled just before serving.

I like to make mini meringue cookies with any extra. I double the meringue portion of this recipe, make as many meringue shells as I need, and then mix in some other flavorings and make a batch of bite-sized meringue cookies with the rest.

So many possible variations:

The fruit can change with the season. I’ve made Pavlovas with sliced peaches, mixed berries, sliced strawberries, cherries, persimmons, and figs with walnuts and honey. Strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries make a great red-white-and-blue combo for a 4th of July dessert.

You can also play around with different fillings. Whipped cream is traditional. I like my whipped cream just barely sweetened to balance out the sweetness of the meringue and fruit. Lemon curd is also delicious as a filling as is pastry cream and chocolate mousse.

You can flavor the meringue itself with lemon zest as I do here in this recipe. Almond extract, amaretto, vanilla extract, cocoa powder or instant espresso make great variations.

I would love to see the fruit, filling and meringue combinations you come up with! If you make this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment below or #homecooksguide in your instagram post.

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Mini Berry Pavlovas on wooden table.

Mixed Berry Pavlovas

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Kara Taylor – Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: dessert
  • Method: baking
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Ingredients

Scale

For the Meringues

5 egg whites

1 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (or 1/2 Tablespoon white vinegar)

1 1/4 Tablespoons cornstarch

zest of a 1/4 lemon (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

For the Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

1–2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar

For the Fruit

2 cups fresh berries or seasonal fruit (If using strawberries, cut and remove stems.   If using grapes, halve.  If using cherries, remove pits).

2 Tablespoons Honey (or 1 Tablespoon sugar)

Optional Garnishes

Toasted coconut

Chopped nuts

Shaved chocolate

Powdered Sugar

Edible Flower Petals

Mint, thyme, or tarragon

Instructions

To Make the Meringues

Remove eggs from the fridge and allow to come up to room temperature.

In a small mixing bowl, combine sugar, cream of tartar, cornstarch and lemon zest

Preheat oven to 300 F.  Line a couple of half sheet pans with parchment paper.

Separate the egg whites and egg yolks.  Put the whites in the bowl of a stand mixer or mixing bowl (if using a hand mixer).  It is crucial that no yolks break and mix with the egg whites and that the bowl used to whisk the egg whites is completely clean of any grease.  Fat will prevent egg whites from forming stiff peaks.

Whisk the whites.  Once frothy, begin adding the sugar mix little by little, a couple of tablespoons at a time.  Once soft peaks form, add vanilla extract (or other flavoring extracts).  Continue whisking until stiff peaks form.

Meringue whipped to stiff peaks on kitchen aid whisk.

Whip to stiff peaks.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag and pipe out meringue shells to your desired size.  Alternatively, you can use a spoon to dollop the mixture out onto the sheet pans and then use the spoon to create an indent in the middle of each mound.  Approximately 1/2 cup of meringue mixture will make a nice palm-sized individual pavlova portion and this recipe will make about 6-8 palm-sized shells.

Place meringues in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 200 F.  Bake for 40 minutes for small shells, or 1 hour for a large pie sized shell.

Meringue Shells with Kitchen Aid Mixer and Lemon on Table

Cooked Meringue Shells ready for garnishing.

Let meringues cool completely and then store in an airtight container until ready to use.  If you don’t have a good airtight container, store in any container you have and then wrap it completely with plastic wrap.  This is especially important if you live in a humid climate.  Humidity will make these really sticky as they sit which is not what we’re going for.  If this happens, you can preheat the oven to 200 F, put the meringues back in, turn the oven off and let them dry in there for a couple of hours or overnight (but you may lose the marshmallow-like softness of the inside). Meringues will last for a week if stored properly.

To Garnish

Put your cut fruit into a bowl, drizzle with honey (or sprinkle with sugar) and let it sit until it becomes a little saucy.

Whisk cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Grab the meringues you plan to serve and eat, leave any remaining tightly covered for garnishing at a later time.  Spread the whipped cream over the meringue shells.  Top with fruit.  Serve and enjoy.

These are best enjoyed right after garnishing.  They do not refrigerate or freeze well.  Only garnish the ones you plan on eating.    

Equipment

Couvé: Quick and Easy Collard Greens, the Brazilian Way.

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Brazilian-Style Collard Greens are a quick, easy and versatile vegan side dish.

Collard greens are a dark leafy green in the brassica family, widely used in the Southern US, Brazil, Portugal and Spain, Africa and the Balkans. Collard greens, prepared in certain ways, can be a bitter, difficult-to-love vegetable. There are 2 methods that I have found to counteract its bitter nature and make it not just palatable but exceptional. The first is to slow cook them in a flavorful broth, as in Southern Braised Collard Greens with Bacon. The other method is to very thinly slice them and quickly sauté as in Couvé á Mineira, or Brazilian Style collard greens.

Couv̩ was my first introduction to collard greens as a college student and I quickly fell in love with this simple, fast, and easy vegetable side dish that effortlessly compliments another staple of my diet Рstewed, smoked, and barbecued meats. Despite the fact that I tend to serve this vegetable dish alongside meat, it is on its own vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Collard greens are a powerhouse of nutrition. A rich source of vitamins A, K, B-6, and C, as well as calcium and magnesium. Collard greens even contain a significant amount of protein.

Thinly slicing the collard greens drastically increases the surface area that can now be coated with salt (which balances bitter flavors), garlic, olive oil, and citrus juice. These are cooked in a flash in a hot skillet with lots of garlic. The brief cooking time ensures that all the important nutrients are retained and the color remains a vibrant green. Couvé is the typical side dish for Feijoada, Brazilian black bean stew. This is a delicious and versatile vegetable side dish that complements a wide range of meats, stews, legumes, and grains.

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Couvé: Quick and Easy Collard Greens, the Brazilian Way.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Sauté
  • Cuisine: Brazilian
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This healthy, easy, quick, and versatile side dish is vegan and gluten-free.  

Ingredients

Scale

2 bunches of collard greens

2–3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

10 garlic cloves, sliced or minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 lime, halved

Instructions

De-stem the collard greens and rinse them really well in a bowl of water.  Shake off the access water and tightly roll the greens into a tight log (you will need to do this in 3-4 batches for this amount of greens).  As thinly as you can, slice the collards into little ribbons.  Set aside.

Slice collards in thin ribbons to increase surface area for salt and oil.

Mince the garlic cloves and halve the lime, (see note below)

Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the oil.  If the pan is hot enough, the oil will begin immediately dancing around the pan.  Add the garlic and after just a couple of seconds (before the garlic turns brown or burns), add the collard greens and about 1 Tablespoon water.  Stir. 

Add the salt.  Stir.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Squeeze half the lime juice and taste.  Add more lime juice if desired.  

Equipment

Notes

TIP! Once you start adding things to the hot skillet, everything moves really FAST.  Make sure you have everything sliced/minced and nearby before you start adding ingredients to the skillet.  This is one of those recipes where it is important to “mis-en-place” your ingredients.

Demi-Dehydrated Beets on the Smoker (Smoker optional)

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

Partially dehydrated beets in a mason jar.

These beets are poached in a vinegary brine and then smoked until semi-dehydrated. They take on a rich dark color, with mysterious smokey notes, a pleasant pickle-ness, and a chewy candy consistency.

Now, you might be thinking, what on earth would I do with these? Well… you could put them in a salad with goat cheese or feta and they wouldn’t bleed all over everything and turn the cheese pink (I hate it when that happens). Or you might mince them real fine and mix them with capers, lemon zest, onion, olive oil and herbs and serve as a “beet tartare” appetizer to amuse and surprise your dinner guests.

It’s been a long time since I’ve stumbled upon a new cooking technique that really got me excited until I stumbled upon “demi-dehydrated” things in the The NoMad Cookbook.

This is a beautiful cookbook from The NoMad Restaurant and Hotel in New York City. I was given this book as a Christmas gift right around the time I had my first child and decided to open a restaurant. This is to say I was given this book right around the time that I stopped reading books. This discreet black tome of a book sat unopened on my shelves for years until the other day when I picked it up for the first time and started reading recipes. Several of the recipes call for demi-dehydrated fruits and vegetables, and it was like a whole world of new culinary possibilities suddenly popped into my mind.

The NoMad’s Process for Demi-Dehydrating

  1. Cook the ingredient in a vinegary liquid in a sous vide bag set in boiling water.
  2. Shock the ingredient in an ice bath, while still sealed in the bag
  3. Remove the ingredient from its liquid and dry in the oven at 200 F for several hours until dry and shriveled.
  4. Cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

I don’t have sous vide bags at home and I have a feeling many of my readers don’t either. I fiddled with the process to make it more user-friendly for home cooks and then I thought: “Hey if I’m going to dry this at 200 F for hours, why not do it on my Traeger smoker and make these even more interesting?” I was very pleased with the result. If you don’t have a smoker, you could make these in the oven which is how the pros do it at The NoMad.

Home Cooks Guide Process for Demi-Dehydrating

  1. Simmer the ingredient in a vinegary liquid.
  2. Transfer to a ziplock bag with some of the liquid. Submerge this partially sealed ziplock into the ice water up to the zipper seal to push out any air. Finish sealing the bag. Be careful not to let water into the bag.
  3. Once cooled, remove the ingredient from its liquid and dry in the smoker (or oven) at 200 F for several hours until dry and shriveled.
  4. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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Partially dehydrated beets in a mason jar.

Demi-Dehydrated Beets on the Smoker

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 10 servings 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Oven/ Smoker
  • Cuisine: New American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

These partially dehydrated smoked beets have a funky concentrated flavor, and a candy-like texture.  Use them for salads and garnishes.  The best part – they wont bleed all over your plate and make a mess of your presentation.

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/2 lbs beets (about 5 large ones)

8 cups white vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

3 cups water

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup peppercorns

1 bunch dill

Instructions

Combine all ingredients except the beets in a pot that will fit the beets tightly.  Bring to a boil and dissolve the sugar and salt.  Add the beets, cover and simmer on low for 30-90 minutes depending on the size until the beets are fork tender.

Transfer the beets to a large ziplock bag, add a couple ladlefuls of the cooking liquid and submerge the bag in ice water.  Keeping the zipper part out, open a corner, push the rest of the bag under the water to push out the air, and reseal.  

When the beets are cooled, peel them and break them into irregular 1 inch pieces by hand.

Preheat your Traeger, or another smoker (or oven) to 200 F (see note below).

Lay the beets out on a sheet of tinfoil.  Transfer to the smoker (or oven) and poke holes in the tinfoil to allow the smoke to penetrate it.  Cook at 200 for 3 1/2 hours or until the beets are smokey, and dry but not hard.

Equipment

Notes

SMOKER TEMPS: Some smokers, like my Traeger, have a temperature setting of 180 F and 225 F so I spend half the time at 180 F and the other half at 225 F for an average temperature of 200 F.

METHOD VARIATION:  If you have heat-proof vacuum seal bags/ sous vide bags, go ahead and scale the brine ingredients by 1/4 and cook the beets with the liquid in the sous vide bags.

YOU WILL HAVE EXTRA BRINE:  This recipe (without sous vide bags) will result in a lot of extra vinegar solution.  You could save this for your next batch of demi-dehydrated beets or use it to pickle carrots, little tokyo turnips, onions, cauliflower, or anything else you want that would look nice with a pink hue added.

Southern Braised Collard Greens with Bacon: American Comfort Food At It’s Best!

Braised Collard Greens with bacon in a pot.

Southern slow-cooked collard greens are the perfect accompaniment to fried chicken or catfish, smoked meats, stewed black eye peas, and pure and simple grits. These salty, porky, sweet, spicy collard greens are melt-in-your-mouth tender. The nutritious “potlikker”, the flavorful savory cooking liquid, is worth sipping on its own and sopping up with your cornbread. This is American comfort food at its best. And it’s worth noting here that, like many of the South’s most iconic dishes (gumbo, okra, sorghum, watermelon, and black-eye peas…), collard greens were first introduced by African slaves and their place in American Southern cuisine represents the melting pot of our cultural and culinary food heritage.

I’m a big fan of bitter greens. Quick and easy-sauteed swiss chard and kale is one of my go-to dinner sides. I put escarole in chicken soup. Grilled endive drizzled with an anchovy-lemon-garlic dressing makes me really happy. I know that these bitter cruciferous and chicory greens are an acquired taste. And I believe if you haven’t already acquired it, it’s worth putting in the effort to appreciate these ingredients. Collard greens, like many of these vegetables, are rich in vitamins A, K, B-6, C, calcium, iron and magnesium. They also contain a significant amount of protein (rare for vegetables) and fiber, making them a great choice for vegetarians (though this recipe is not vegetarian). Of all the greens, collards fall on the bitter end of the spectrum. They are also tougher than most. This opens up the door to slow braising, a technique that wouldn’t be appropriate for more tender greens like swiss chard or spinach.

The slow gentle heat used to braise collards leaches out the bitterness of the greens into the potlikker and transforms this cooking liquid into a nutritious, sweet, and earthy broth over the duration of the cooking time. Bacon adds porky goodness and salt which balances everything out and makes your kitchen smell amazing. I use my Dry-Cured Bacon for this, an ingredient that makes everything better and one that I try to keep consistently stocked in my freezer. You can certainly use store-bought bacon or substitute ham hocks or a leftover ham bone.

You cannot really overcook braised collard greens. You can however undercook them. This recipe here is a relatively quick preparation, 45 minute boiling time. You could easily throw this together in a crock pot and let it go all day. It may be tempting to stop cooking them 5-10 minutes in, when they are still a beautiful bright green color, but trust me, to experience this dish you want to let it go.

Foods that Compliment Braised Collard Greens

Another way to use collard greens

Braising collard greens is one way to mitigate their bitter flavor. Another way to combat the bitterness is to slice them very very thinly (“chiffonade” in culinary-speak), and quickly sauté with salt, olive oil, and lots of garlic. By thinly slicing the greens you are drastically increasing the surface area available to coat with other flavors. Cooking in this manner allows you to retain most of the nutrients of the greens, it is also vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free and makes for a very quick side dish, assuming you have the knife skills needed to slice it thinly. This method is popular in Brazil and was my first introduction to collard greens as a college student. Brazilian Collard Greens (Couve á Mineira) are typically served with Feijoada or Brazilian Rice and Black Beans.

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Southern Braised Greens in Pot.

Southern Braised Collard Greens with Bacon

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Braise
  • Cuisine: Southern
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

These braised collard greens are American comfort food at its best.  Salty, porky, sweet and spicy.  Even the kids will be going back for seconds.

Ingredients

Scale

1 standard bunch collard greens (about .75 lbs on the stem), stem removed, and torn into 1-2 inch pieces

1/3 cup bacon, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 Tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 pinch red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy)

1–1 1/2 Tablespoons Honey

1 1/2 cups water or broth 

Instructions

Melt the butter in the braising pot, sauté the bacon until it renders out most of its fat.  Add the onion and sauté until transparent.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Cover and simmer over very low heat for 45 minutes or longer.

Remove from the heat and serve with the braising liquid.

Pure and Simple Grits

Grits, greens and duck confit.

Grits are a southern staple. They are the American version of polenta. A porridge of coarse ground cornmeal that is high in iron, B vitamins and contains fiber and protein. Grits make the perfect vessel for spicy grilled shrimp, poached egg, braised collard greens, slow-cooked barbequed and stewed meat, and gumbo.

When you think of grits, you probably think of cheesy grits first. And don’t get me wrong, I love cheesy grits and you could certainly add cheese to this recipe if you wanted. But these grits are grits in their simplest purest form. This recipe proves that Southern food need not be excessively indulgent. It proves that grits are an ingredient worth showcasing for their own merit. These grits require only a handful of simple inexpensive ingredients and this side dish is dairy-free, gluten-free and can easily be made vegan. The cost per serving for this hearty and versatile side dish is less than 25 cents. If this dish isn’t part of your regular weekly meal plans, it should be.

Its worth making a big batch of these grits for leftovers. The next day, you can enjoy grits topped with a poached egg and bacon lardons or sausage, one of my favorite breakfasts. Aside from being incredibly economical they are also efficient for the home cook. Leftover grits can be transformed easily into an entirely different side dish for an entirely different meal later in the week- grilled grits cakes. Simply pour the porridge out in an oiled rectangular dish 1/2-1 inch thick and cool overnight in the fridge. The next day (or days later) the grits can be cut into “cakes” and grilled or pan-fried.

Because this recipe is all about highlighting grits, it is important to use the highest-quality grits you can find. I use white corn grits from Early Bird Farm and Mill out of Nevada City, California. It’s worth seeking out the best grits you could possibly get your hands on for this recipe. But if you are not motivated to do so (no judgement here) and just want to pick something up at the store, Bob’s Red Mill makes a pretty good product that is widely available all over the U.S.

Grits Variations

  • Cheese Grits. Once the grits have finished cooking, remove from the heat and stir in grated cheese one handful at a time to your liking. I like a good sharp cheddar for this.
  • Grits cooked in whey. Whey is the clear protein-rich, slightly sweet liquid byproduct that is left after making ricotta, and other cheeses. Whey and corn is a magical pairing. I recommend adding whey to creamed corn, cornbread and corn chowder if you have it. Cornmeal cooked in whey is one of those things that I enjoyed making at the restaurant with one of our kitchen byproducts. I realize that this is less practical for the home cook… but if you try my Home-Made Ricotta + Whey recipe, you too can have some whey on hand to play around with.
  • Sweet grits. A sweet breakfast porridge (or dessert). Simply omit the garlic and bay. And add sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, or sorghum syrup. Serve with fresh fruit.

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Pure and Simple Grits

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 8 passive hours
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 0 hours
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Boiling
  • Cuisine: Southern
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

This classic Southern staple is made with just a handful of inexpensive ingredients and can feed a group for just pennies per person.  It’s worth making extra for grilled grits later in the week.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup grits

7 cups water 

1– 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves or Smoked Garlic Cloves

1 Tablespoon fat (butter, oil, duck fat, chicken fat, or bacon fat)

Instructions

In the morning, combine the water and grits in the pot you will use to cook them.  Stir them and let sit until dinner time.

Using a fine mesh sieve, skim the surface of the water to remove the …….

Stir the mixture and turn on the burner.  Bring the grits and water to a boil, stirring often.  Add the salt, garlic, and bay.

Turn the mixture off and let it sit, covered, for 30 minutes.

Bring the pot back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring the pot and scraping the bottom frequently for 30-45 minutes.  If you would like the grits thicker, continue cooking and stirring until thickened to your liking (beware of molten splatters).

Serve the grits right away.

Leftovers should be poured into a shallow dish while still pretty warm and liquidy.  The next day, or whenever you plan to use them, you will be able to cut into squares or rounds and pan fry or grill the grits cakes.  You can also reheat as a porridge with more water (or milk/broth) and whisk until smooth.

Notes

Variation:

1) For a special treat, substitute all or some of the water for whey, a byproduct of making ricotta and other cheeses.

2) For cheesy grits, after the grits are finished cooking, stir in grated cheese one handful at a time until it reaches your preferred level of cheesiness.

3) For sweet grits, omit the garlic and bay and add sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple or sorghum syrup.

Healthy-ish Carrot Beet Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

The links in these recipes are for products that I use and recommend.  

This Carrot Beet Cake may look humble on the plate but it is anything but plain. This cake is moist and delicious, laced with vegetables, nuts, and dried fruit, and topped with a whipped and weightless maple cream cheese frosting.

I developed this recipe for my daughter’s second birthday. It was her first bite of cake and I wanted to make it as “healthy” as possible. This recipe is relatively low sugar. It was so good that I went on to serve it at the restaurant for years, dressed up with a sprinkle of chopped nuts and edible flower petals.

This recipe makes 1 large cake (4 rounds/ 2 rectangles) or 2 medium size cakes. I make 2 cakes and freeze one for later.

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Carrot Beet Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: two 9“x13” cakes 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This delicious carrot cake is loaded with vegetables, dried fruit and nuts and topped with a delicious buttery cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

Scale

3 3/4 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking soda

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

2 1/2 cups vegetable/canola oil

8 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

eggs?

2 cups chopped nuts (pecans/walnuts/pistachio work best)

2 cups grated beets

4 cups grated carrot

2 cups dried fruit (any combination of raisins, craisins, currants, dried cherries)

For the frosting

2 lbs cream cheese, softened

2 2/3 cups butter, softened

2/3 cup maple syrup, room temperature

6 cups sifted powdered sugar

Instructions

To Make The Cake

Grate the carrots and beet into a bowl.  Chop the nuts and measure out the dried fruit into the bowl with the grated veggies.

Preheat your oven to 350 F, non-convection.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and sugar.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and using a wooden spoon, stir for 1-2 minutes until fully mixed.

Sift the flour into the wet ingredients.

Add the grated carrot, beets, nuts and dried fruit.  Stir with the wooden spoon until well incorporated.

Prepare your baking pans. (See Note Below)

Spray the baking pans with oil.  Cut out a piece of parchment and press it into the pan.  Spray that with oil as well.

Line pans with parchment and oil well.

Evenly divide the batter among the baking pans.  Rotate the pans every 20-30 minutes.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean 30-50 minutes depending on the size and shape of the baking pans. (two 10-x12″ rectangle takes 50 minutes).

To Make The Cream Cheese Frosting

Soften cream cheese and butter and bring the maple syrup up to room temperature.  You can actually leave these out on the counter overnight (that’s what professional bakeries do 😉).

Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl.

In a standing mixer or using a handheld mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes.  Slowly add the maple syrup and continue whipping for another 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is light and airy.  Slowly add the powdered sugar, little by little.  

Once the frosting is made and the cake is cooled all the way- frost the cake. This recipe makes enough frosting to frost all around 4 layers of 8 inch round cakes.  If you are making sheet cakes (like it did in these images) there will be some frosting leftover.  I’m sure you’ll be able to find a way to use it😉.  

Equipment

Notes

For the frosting – it is really important that all the ingredients are the same temperature, otherwise the frosting with break.  

This recipe makes four 8 inch round cake pans or two 1/2 hotel pans (10″x12″ or 9″x13″).  You could make one 4 layer round cake or two 2 layer round cakes.  Or 2 sheet cakes.  I make two sheet cakes and freeze one.  You have lots of options here.

Rustic Home-Made Egg Noodle Recipe for Soups, Sides, and Stroganoff

These rustic egg noodles are a fun and easy kitchen project. Perfect for a side dish, stroganoff or Chicken Noodle Soup. This dough recipe uses a dozen eggs for 6 servings and makes rich noodles, dense in calories and nutrition. Who says pasta is full of empty calories?

I like to roll these out by hand, leaving the sheets fairly thick, and cutting them in a way that accentuates their “rustic-ness” and calls out “These are home-made, damn it!” When rolled out this way, they are toothy and sturdy and can hold up to prolonged cooking. For a more delicate noodle, use a pasta machine or roll out into thin sheets 1mm or less (that’s harder to do by hand).

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Rustic Home-Made Egg Noodles

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Kara Taylor- Home Cooks Guide
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Boiling
  • Cuisine: German
  • Diet: Low Lactose
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Ingredients

Scale

2 eggs

10 egg yolks

3 cups flour

1 Tablespoon oil

2 Tablespoon Water

Pinch of saffron (optional)

Pinch of salt

Instructions

If using saffron, heat the water in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  Add the saffron and let steep while you begin your prep.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk salt and flour together.  Make a well in the middle of the flour.

Crack the eggs into the well, separating out the whites from the 10 yolks and putting the whites in a separate bowl for another use and the yolks in the well.  Add the oil and saffron water/water to the well.

Using a whisk, whisk together the eggs, oil, and saffron water/water, gradually incorporating the flour little by little until all the flour has been incorporated.

Kneed the dough with your hands until it forms a ball.  Cover and refrigerate for 1-24 hours.

Using a floured cutting board and a rolling pin, or a pasta machine, roll the dough out to about 1 mm.

Cut the dough to your liking.

At this time you may cook, freeze or dry your noodles.

To cook the noodles

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop the pasta in, stir, and cook until it reaches desired doneness.  If rolled out thin, it will cook in 3-5 minutes.  For thicker pasta, it may take 10 minutes or longer.  Check every couple of minutes.

To dry the noodles

You may dry your pasta by leaving it out at room temperature for a couple of days.  Spread it out on a towel-lined sheet pan, moving the noodles around every half-day until completely hard and dry.  Or you can drape the noodles over a clothes hanger or something similar.

To freeze the noodles

Sprinkle the noodles with flour (ideally semolina) and let dry for an hour or so so they don’t stick together.  Portion the noodles in amounts that work for your family and freeze in a ziplock bag.  Thaw the noodles in the fridge and when ready to cook, stir into boiling water and cook like you would fresh noodles.

Stock Your Freezer with these Smoked Garlic Cloves

Smoked Garlic Cloves in hand.
These smoked garlic cloves make everything better!

Smoked garlic is a little sweet, a little earthy, and adds a subtle smokiness to any dish you add it to. It lies somewhere between sweet and soft roasted garlic and punchy pungent raw garlic. This is a kitchen staple at my home. Something I always have on hand in my freezer. It’s easy to grab one or two cloves at a time and mince them directly from frozen. Add these convenient peeled smoked garlic cloves to any dish you would use regular raw garlic and be amazed by how it transforms your cooking.

How To Make Smoked Garlic

  1. Buy a 2-3 lb bag of peeled garlic cloves. You could peel your own, but trust me, you don’t want to! Peeled garlic cloves are available in quantities like this from Costco or Sams Club. Some grocery stores now carry smaller quantities of peeled cloves which you could also use and just make a smaller batch.
  2. Preheat the smoker to 180-200 F.
  3. Place the garlic cloves in 1-2 tin foil pans. You don’t want to pile them up too high. Using the flat side of a rolling pin, or a can, or a mallet of some sort, gently crush the cloves. You want to make some cracks in them to increase surface area and smoke absorption but you don’t want to pulverize them. It’s ok if some escape the mallet. This sounds easier than it is. You may want to place them on a cutting board to crush first and then transfer them to the pans. Whatever works for you.
  4. Using a skewer or toothpick, poke holes all over in the bottom of the tinfoil pan.
  5. Place the garlic cloves on the smoker and smoke for 2-4 hours until desired smokiness, stirring every 45 minutes or so. Cooked at a low temperature, these garlic cloves will still be pretty hard and retain some of the kick of raw garlic. If you would like softer, sweeter garlic cloves simply drizzle the cloves with a little oil and raise the smoker temperature to 350 F for an additional 20-30 minutes.
  6. Remove the garlic cloves from the smoker. Allow the garlic to cool all the way. Place them in a zip lock back and freeze. Turn the bag every hour while freezing so cloves don’t stick together. If you have an abundance of freezer space you can place the pans in the freezer and then transfer them to a bag once completely frozen for convenient “IQF” (Individually Quick Frozen) Smoked Garlic Cloves.
Smoked Garlic for Freezing and Using in Everything!

Here’s a tip…

I like to load up the smoker for max efficiency, especially when doing long low-temp smokes. In this batch, I have 5 lbs of The Best Dry-Cured Bacon with Maple, Garlic, and Thyme and a whole chicken (which is just out of the picture), plus 2 pans of smoked garlic which I gave away as holiday presents and used to stock my freezer.

Notice the bacon is dripping onto the garlic? Because why not…bacon drippings are delicious! What better way to capture and use them?

I’d love to hear how you use these smoked garlic cloves in the comments section!