Zesty Cook » molasses

Apple Molasses Roasted Vegetables

zesty — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:00:51 +0000

Last weekend I was playing around in the kitchen and created something unique with some root vegetables and fresh grape tomatoes.

Ever get tired of tasting the same old vegetables with your dinner? I do sometimes so I wanted to kick it up a notch with a funky glaze for some plain ole vegetables. The title pretty much sums it up but I did add a few more ingredients than just apple and molasses.

Have you guys noticed how few ingredients I have been using as of late? I have not even been trying to keep it to a minimum – I guess I am just lazy!

Below is the low-down on the recipe that hopefully you will try. I realized as I was shooting this that a green vegetable would have been a nice addition. I will mention that in the zesty tip down below.

Ingredients

Carrots
Squash
Grape Tomatoes
Turnip
1/4 Cup Molasses
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Apple Juice
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
Black Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees
Prepare all vegetables ( clean, peel and chop )

Combine soy sauce, molasses and brown sugar into a bowl and mix well.

Add apple juice and black pepper and pour over vegetables

Cover and bake until fork tender – About 45 minutes.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Roasting Vegetables intensify the natural flavors. Different from boiling, roasting actually will enhance the flavors you choose to match with the vegetables. Try to combine root vegetables with this dish as opposed to leafy vegetables due to the cooking time. Green vegetables would work well in this dish as well.

I hope you have a great day and stay tuned for another house update in the near future as well as a super fun product review. Talk to you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Molasses Glazed Carrots and Chicken

zesty — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:00:52 +0000

WOW I am exhausted! I just got back from checking out the house progress for today. Garage footings are in place and things are taking shape.

I didn’t really have much time to prepare dinner as I was invited to an off site meeting for work and homemade burgers were provided. As I was checking my cooking bank – aka (all my cooked meals I have not posted yet) and I came across what I remember as a 5 ingredient chicken dish that will tantalize your taste buds.

This is definitely one you have to try.

Ingredients

Chicken Breasts
Carrots
1/3 Cup Molasses
Black Pepper
Onion Soup Mix ( low sodium)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add chicken and carrots ( cut in quarters) and place in roasting pan.
Add remaining ingredients, cover and roast for about 35-40 minutes.
ENJOY!

Zesty tip: Try not to overcook chicken, use the clear running juice technique to ensure the chicken is cooked but not dried and out and rubber-like.

Around the Blogsphere

Vote for Danica’s Nectarine Raspberry Sorbet Over Fresh Fruit! (vote here)

This is really a simple and fun recipe to try and you are stuck for time and want to try a different flavor combination. I hope you have a great day

Soft Chewy Molasses Cookies with Travel

zesty — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:00:47 +0000

I am on my way home! With that brings anticipation of snow and cold weather. Oh well that is life and I will survive. My day is action packed with 11 hours of travel so I am looking forward to getting on solid ground.

With that being said, I though I would continue the baked goods week and share with you one of my favorite soft chewy molasses cookies. As I have mentioned before, I love soft and chewy cookies similar to the chewy chocolate chip cookies and white macadamia nut cookies. However, I also love MOLASSES and everything about it.

These molasses cookies have a soft chewy texture. Growing up we called them Tuffies. Have you ever heard molasses cookies called that before?

These take no time to make and use pretty generic baking ingredients. They are also very easy to flip to Vegan cookies as well.

Ingredients

3/4 Cup butter
1 Cup packed brown sugar
1 Large egg
1/2 Cup molasses
2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Tsp. salt
2 Tsp. baking soda
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. ground ginger
1 Tsp. allspice
1 Tsp. nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream together butter and brown sugar.
Add egg and molasses and mix well.
Fold in dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Cover and chill for about an hour to firm up the batter.
Take small amounts of dough and roll them in your hand to form small balls.
Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes.
Leave on sheet one minute until set.
Cool on rack.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: when baking cookies in large batches, keep the dough chilled in between batches. To store soft chewy cookies, I keep them in a container with a lid to prevent them from drying out. You can also add a slice of apple in the container to keep them moist.

I will be back on the island I call home tonight. I will see you in the morning with hopefully another fun post to lead you into the weekend. Have a great day!

Take care

zesty

Kicked up Hoisin Molasses Ribs

zesty — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:00:30 +0000

It’s Friday again! Thursday was somewhat of a different day where I was completely snowed in. It has been snowing for about 30 hours with wind gusts of over 60 MPH. Needless to say, it would be entertaining to show you the snow drifts in front of the house but I was not able to get out to do that. Stay tuned for those pictures!

For our New Year’s Eve gathering I tried a new recipe for some pork ribs. As you all know by now, ribs are one of my favorite things to eat. I love them! Although this recipe did take a long time to prepare, it was well worth the wait. These were fall off the bone and the flavor was amazing.

Ingredients

2 Racks of Pork Ribs
1/3 Cup Molasses
1/2 Cup Hoisin Sauce
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1/8 Cup Water
1/8 Cup Apple Juice
Cracked Black Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 250 Degrees.

Prepare ribs by cleaning the silver skin on the back if visible
Season with Cracked Black Pepper

Place ribs in a roasting pan.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
Pour sauce over the ribs and cover. Cook for 3 hours.

Remove lid, baste ribs and cook for 40 minutes without lid

Let sit for 15 minutes, cut ribs.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: To ensure tender ribs regardless of the method of cooking, cook them slowly. Ribs are very fibrous so you need the slow temperature cooking to break the meat down. In addition, always check the back of the ribs for the silver skin. If visible make a small cut in the skin and pull it off with your hand.

The flavor of these ribs were very rich and dynamic. They were not too sweet despite all the sugar in the sauce. By cooking them for the last 40 minutes with no lid – the crust formed on the outside paired with the juicy tender inside was a match made in heaven.

I hope you have a great Friday! Any big plans for the weekend? It looks like I will be shoveling for a while.

Take care

zesty

Easy Whole Wheat Bread Recipe with Molasses

zesty — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:00:09 +0000

Happy Thursday everybody! Today’s post (like the rest of the week) is dedicated to super easy to prepare food that tastes great. I was talking to my great friend yesterday and I asked him what I should make and post about for Thursday. He said “Zesty, why don’t you make a killer loaf of homemade whole wheat bread that is super simple to make”. I said “JT, that is an awesome idea!” So here I am, getting ready to share with you a quick and easy version of whole wheat homemade bread.

This is a great and versatile recipe that is open for variations and additives of your favorite flavors.

Ingredients

2 Tsp. honey
2 2/3 Cup lukewarm water
4 Tsp. dry yeast
3 Tbsp. Molasses
5 Cups whole wheat flour
1/2 Tsp. salt
1/4 Cup wheat germ
1 Tbsp. Oatmeal (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F.
Stir 2 teaspoons honey into 2/3 cup lukewarm water.

Sprinkle yeast over the mixture. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Combine 3 tablespoons molasses with 2/3 cup warm water and combine with yeast mixture.
Stir into flour. Add salt, wheat germ and 1 1/3 cups warm water. Dough will be sticky.

Pour dough into a non-stick loaf pan.

Smooth top with wet spatula.

Sprinkle Oatmeal over top of loaf, if desired.

Allow to raise to top of pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes on a rack, then turn out of pan.
Cool before slicing.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When working with Yeast – it is very important that the yeast is still active (therefore not expired) so be sure to check your labels. Also make sure to dissolve all the yeast in the liquid before adding dry ingredients.

Wow, I must say I really do love homemade bread and it really does not get any easier than this recipe. As well, look at the ingredients… so healthy and natural - it really is that simple. Give this loaf a try and let me know how you do. Would you suggest any ingredient substitutions or additions?

Have yourself a great Thursday!

zesty

Slow Roasted Cajun Ribs

zesty — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:00:15 +0000

Yes it’s true!! Slow Roasted Cajun Ribs were on the menu last night. I was going to do them in the slow cooker but I totally forgot in the morning to put them in so I decided we would have a late supper and I would slow roast them after work. This process takes a bit of time but like anything…. good things are worth the wait! I have a previous post sharing tips while cooking ribs, all the tips still apply however these ribs will utilize the oven as well as a two step basting process.

Ingredients ( Dry Rub)

3 Tbsp Dried Thyme
2 Tbsp Paprika
2 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
1 Tbsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tsp Salt

Ingredients ( Sauce)

1/4 Cup Molasses
1 Tbsp, Soy Sauce
1 Tsp. Sweet Chili Sauce

Method

Prepare the meat and remove any silver skin to allow the meat to breakdown and become tender while cooking. Preheat oven at 250 degrees.

Add dry rub mixture all over and meat and ensure you rub it in well. This will allow the flavours to penetrate the meat as it cooks. If you have time you can leave the rub on all day or even over night. I just let it sit about 20 minutes.

After 90 minutes of cooking – I add the sauce to the top of the meat. Brush the glaze all over the meat and make sure that it is evenly distributed over the meat. This will form a nice crust to the top of the ribs.

After 2 hours and 20 minutes in the oven at the low tempreature. I like to blast the heat to 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes and really build the crust on the meat. By this time the meat has already pulled away from the bone and is very juicy. The higher tempreature for the short burst just adds more flavor to the surface of the ribs.

Once out of the oven – I like to let the ribs sit there for about 10-15 minutes so that the juices will travel back to the center of the meat and ensure the succulent flavor you come to expect from pork ribs.

A great side dish with ribs is a nice coleslaw. I just grated some cabbage and some carrot then sprinkled in some cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes and used a store bought dressing and called it a coleslaw. Yesterday’s french fries would also be a nice treat beside this ribs. Now the only thing left to do is grab your favorite drink, a handful of napkins and ENJOY. Let me know your favorite sauce that you use when you make ribs.

Spicy Molasses Glazed Chicken Legs

zesty — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:00:49 +0000

I just had a craving for chicken legs tonight so I thought….. lets roast them for a change.

Ingredients

12 Chicken Legs
1/4 cup Molasses
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Dry Thyme
1 Tbsp Red Chili Paste
1 Tbsp Basil Paste
1 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Black Pepper

Method:

Set Chicken in Roasting Pan.
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well together. Sauce should be fairly thick in consistency. I like to spoon the sauce over the chicken legs and make sure they are completely covered. If possible save a little sauce for basting

Cooking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. I like to cook covered for 30 minutes and then baste the chicken and cook uncovered for another 30 minutes. Once complete it should look similar to those in the picture. I hope you enjoy!