Beko

<p>If you&rsquo;re shaking your head &ldquo;no&rdquo; or furrowing your brow when you think about cooking A hot summer day is the perfect time to be outside enjoying the weather. But when fall comes, some of us are drawn into the kitchen to cook and bake. For those of us who don&rsquo;t fancy themselves cooks or bakers, preparing a fall dinner can get you in the spirit. Recipes don&rsquo;t have to be complicated and they don&rsquo;t have to take forever to prepare. Here is an autumn menu that&rsquo;s easy on the cook and savory delicious for your guests.</p>
<h2><strong>YOUR SURE-TO BE FAVORITE AUTUMNAL SOUP</strong></h2>
<p><img alt="top view of a bowl of autumn soup with a thyme garnish" height="280" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/k0044-autumnsoup.jpg?w=640" title="autumn-recipes" width="420" /><strong></strong></p>
<p><em>While the kids are carving a pumpkin for an outside decoration, you can have your own fun making this pumpkin soup. But you don&rsquo;t have to worry about carving a scary or funny pumpkin. This soup can be made with canned pumpkin. If you don&rsquo;t tell, we won&rsquo;t!</em></p>
<h3><strong>Ingredients</strong></h3>
<ul type="disc">
<ul type="circle">
<li>1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil</li>
<li>3 tablespoons butter</li>
<li>1 &frac14; cups chopped leek</li>
<li>1 &frac12; cups chopped carrots</li>
<li>&frac12; to &frac34; cups chopped yellow onion</li>
<li>5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (Don&rsquo;t cheat and use chopped garlic in a jar. It&rsquo;s just not the same.)</li>
<li>&frac34; chopped fresh thyme</li>
<li>6 &frac12; to 7 cups canned chicken stock</li>
<li>2 bay leaves</li>
<li>1 large can pumpkin (Libby&rsquo;s is great!)</li>
<li>2 &frac12; tablespoons brown sugar</li>
<li>&frac14; teaspoon nutmeg</li>
<li>2 tablespoons minced fresh sage</li>
<li>Salt and pepper</li>
</ul>
<li>Add olive oil to a skillet. Add the butter and heat to melt. Add leeks, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add stock, pumpkin, sugar and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer gently for about half an hour.</li>
<li>When ready to serve, add the sage and heat over low. Serves 4 to 6.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>FALL&rsquo;S FINEST PORK ROAST</strong></h2>
<p><strong><img alt="top view of a sliced pork roast and roasted veggies around it on a white plate" height="283" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/k0044-porkroast.jpg?w=640" title="port-roast" width="425" /></strong></p>
<p><em>This pork roast is packed with surprises of flavor. It will wow your guests but you don&rsquo;t have to be a gourmet cook to make it.</em></p>
<h3><strong>Ingredients</strong></h3>
<ul type="disc">
<ul type="circle">
<li>3 tablespoons olive oil</li>
<li>1 chopped medium onion</li>
<li>3 cloves minced garlic&nbsp;<em>(If you&rsquo;re a real garlic lover, use four cloves, but as with the soup recipe, use real garlic, not what you find in little jars.)</em></li>
<li>&frac34; cup bread crumbs</li>
<li>8 ounces pork sausage&nbsp;<em>(Mild is perfect, but if you want to add a bit of zip, use medium)</em></li>
<li>1 bulb fennel, trimmed and minced</li>
<li>2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme</li>
<li>2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary&nbsp;<em>(If you want to use dried thyme and rosemary, go ahead, but use less than you would with fresh. Ideally? Use the fresh stuff!)</em></li>
<li>3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (Never use the juice in the yellow plastic lemon!)</li>
<li>Salt and pepper to taste</li>
<li>1 pork shoulder&nbsp;<em>(Ask the butcher to butterfly a boneless pork loin. Then all you need to do I untie and roll it.)</em></li>
<li>2 cups dry white wine&nbsp;<em>(It doesn&rsquo;t have to be an expensive wine but don&rsquo;t cook with it if you wouldn&rsquo;t drink it!)</em></li>
</ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 425&deg;F. Heat the oil, but do not burn, in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic. Saut&eacute; until soft but not burned. Add bread crumbs, sausage, parsley, thyme and rosemary. Cook about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir and cook three or four more minutes.</li>
<li>Untie the pork roast and top with the stuffing. Retie the roast or bring the sides together as much as possible, then turn the roast over. Roast 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350&deg;F and continue roasting for 1 &frac12; to 2 more hours. (Toward the end of the roasting pan, use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. It should reach 160&deg;.)</li>
<li>Remove the roast from the oven and place on a platter. (The roast will cook just a bit more.) Wait about 10 minutes before carving into thick slices. Serves 6 to 8.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>A MELANGE OF VEGETABLES ROASTED TO PERFECTION</strong></h2>
<p><strong><img alt="top view of a white bowl full of roasted veggies including carrots, brussel sprouts, and parsnips" height="266" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/k0044-veg.jpg?w=640" title="veggies" width="399" /></strong></p>
<p><em>If you think every meal should include one starch and one vegetable, this recipe is for you. Even if you don&rsquo;t plan your menus to feature both a starch and a vegetable, this recipe is also for you. If a beet hater is planning to join you for dinner, you can omit the beats. But they are so yummy in this recipe that you may convert a beet hater to a beat lover.</em></p>
<h3><strong>Ingredients</strong></h3>
<ul type="disc">
<ul type="circle">
<li>3 sweet potatoes</li>
<li>2 parsnips</li>
<li>1 rutabaga</li>
<li>2 turnips</li>
<li>2 beets</li>
<li>1 Yukon Gold potato</li>
<li>4 carrots</li>
<li>3 shallots</li>
<li>3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil</li>
<li>1 &frac12; cups chicken stock</li>
<li>Salt and pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
<li>Peel the vegetables, then cut into 1 &frac12;-inch pieces. Toss the vegetables in the olive oil. Lightly coat a baking pan with just a tad more olive oil. Place the vegetables in the pan. Roast the vegetables about 15 minutes, then stir and turn them over.</li>
<li>Roast for 15 more minutes. Pour the chicken stock over the vegetables. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover with foil and roast 30 minutes. Remove foil and stir the vegetables. Continue to roast them, covered, for about 30 more minutes or until they are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Serves 6 to 8.</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>HEIRLOOM APPLE PIE</strong></h2>
<p><strong><img alt="top view of an heirloom apple pie in frame, next to a pecan pie slightly out of frame on a light blue tablecloth" height="312" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/k0044-pie.jpg?w=640" title="pie" width="468" /></strong></p>
<p><em>An apple pie baking in the oven is one of the best aromas of fall. But, with this apple pie, the best is yet to come. Cutting and serving it is a true delight. Eating it is a glorious finish to your autumn dinner.</em></p>
<h3><strong>Ingredients</strong></h3>
<ul type="disc">
<ul type="circle">
<li>1 unbaked pie shell&nbsp;<em>(You may use your own recipe or buy a refrigerated roll-out crust.)</em></li>
<li>2/3 cup brown sugar</li>
<li>2/3 cup all-purpose flour plus &frac14; cup flour</li>
<li>2 teaspoons cinnamon</li>
<li>Dash plus &frac12; teaspoon nutmeg</li>
<li>&frac12; stick butter, softened</li>
<li>&frac14; teaspoon salt</li>
<li>1 1/3 cup sugar</li>
<li>3 eggs, beaten</li>
<li>2 cups sour cream<em>(Don&rsquo;t use low-fat unless you absolutely insist on it.)</em></li>
<li>1 &frac14; teaspoons vanilla</li>
<li>6 medium apples, diced</li>
<li>2 tablespoons bourbon (optional)</li>
<li>Vanilla ice cream</li>
</ul>
<li>Preheat oven to 375&deg;F. To prepare the topping, mix together the brown sugar, 2/3 cup of the flour, cinnamon, dash of nutmeg and butter.</li>
<li>For the filling, mix &frac14; cup of the flour, salt and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Stir well. Add apples (and bourbon, if desired.) Stir gently to mix. Place the filling in the pie shell. Bake about 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread topping on pie and bake 10 minutes more. Serve with vanilla ice cream.</li>
</ul>
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Autumn is in the Air and On the Table

<p><img alt="front view of a woman and two children in a traditional kitchen. The woman is demonstrating how to cut the cookie dough on the counter in front of her, as one of the girls watches and the other eats the dough!" height="640" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/k0044-cooking-with-kids.jpg?w=640" title="cooking-with-kids" width="640" /></p>
<p>with your kids, think again. It can be fun for them and for you. All you need to do is keep a few things in mind&hellip;and keep an open mind.</p>
<p>First, why even bother when you could probably cook and bake more quickly without the help from your children? Well, in addition to that fun we mentioned, cooking and baking can be educational and can introduce them to new foods or might even convince them they like foods they previously hated. And, let them know that cooking and baking as both art and science.</p>
<p>Talk with them about the versatility of foods and let them sample the same food in various ways, such as carrots served raw, baked, in soup and in cakes. Or, have a Month of Potatoes. Once each week feature potatoes, perhaps baked, mashed, or as hash browns or French fries.</p>
<p>Cooking and baking are great ways to teach kids math as you introduce them to measuring cups and spoons. You&rsquo;ll be surprised at how quickly they catch on to fractions when they&rsquo;re measuring. Be sure to measure dry ingredients with measuring cups and wet ingredients with glass or plastic measuring cups that have a spout and amount indications. Forget those fancy measuring cups when the kids are learning the ropes. Simple is better. And, a kitchen timer is math at work and can be watched during the countdown to finish.</p>
<p>Start with cute aprons for you and your mini chefs. The aprons add a special touch to the adventure and save that new t-shirt from chocolate smudges or the occasional tipped over bowl. Speaking of bowls, plastic bowls are a better idea than glass ones for the kitchen newbies.</p>
<p>How to choose dishes that are kid friendly and will spur their interest? Make the next trip to the grocery a participatory outing. Let them choose a few ingredients they like. Then, go online together to find easy recipes that use those ingredients. Stick with recipes that call for only a few ingredients and aren&rsquo;t terribly time consuming. Or, you could buy a kids&rsquo; cookbook that will have done that work for you.</p>
<h3>GETTING STARTED</h3>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Talk about the importance of not only taste, but also color and texture.</li>
<li>Have the kids give the fresh fruits and vegetable a water &ldquo;bath&rdquo; before using.</li>
<li>Read to them or help them read through a recipe before beginning.</li>
<li>Have all the ingredients measured and ready. (This is called mise en place, if you want to use the fancy term.)</li>
<li>Safety first. Choose small knives that fit small hands. Plastic knives may be a good option. Demonstrate how to roll your fingers under the palm of the hand that&rsquo;s not holding a knife when you&rsquo;re chopping or slicing.</li>
<li>Explain the importance of using different cutting boards for fruits and vegetables, and meats. Let them choose colorful ones in a store or online so they always use the right color. To prevent the cutting board from slipping, put a damp cloth underneath.</li>
</ul>
<h3>BAKING</h3>
<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s bake&rdquo; may be the perfect way to switch kids&rsquo; interest from the television or computer, even if in the beginning they&rsquo;re more interested in the end product than in the process!</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Not all cakes are round, so why not let the kids choose round, square or even heartshaped pans?</li>
<li>Cakes and cupcakes may be as simple or as complicated as you want. Sure, there&rsquo;s always the box mix, and there&rsquo;s nothing wrong with that, especially for a novice. It still has the fun of cracking the egg (have them crack each egg separately into a small so that you can remove any tiny shells), measuring the water and oil, and, the best part---mixing everything! Lesson #1: Don&rsquo;t turn the mixer on high until some of the ingredients are blended. Otherwise, you&rsquo;ll have a countertop, wall and yourselves covered in what is to become the cake.</li>
<li>Who doesn&rsquo;t love chocolate? But your kids may not realize there are different kinds of chocolate, such as milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet, white and cocoa. Bittersweet may be a bit strong for their taste buds but it can taste complexly different to them in a recipe.</li>
<li>Ok, so you&rsquo;re graduating or maybe just leaping into making a cake from scratch. Good for you! The kids will enjoy tracing the cake pan circle on waxed paper, if you&rsquo;re using it in the pans, flouring the pans (sure, you know not all of it will stay in the pans), and spraying the pans with cooking spray.</li>
<li>It will be hard for them not to peek, but tell them not to open the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mybudgetappliance.com/catalog/ranges" title="Shop our ranges, cooktops, and ovens">oven</a>&nbsp;before the desired baking time is up. Otherwise, the cake could be a flat flop.</li>
<li>Cutting a lattice top and weaving it across the top of a pie is oodles of fun.</li>
<li>After frosting the cake, kids rarely say no to dressing it up with sprinkles, chopped candy or caramel sauce. Here&rsquo;s a hint everyone will like: mix some chopped up candy bar (Butterfingers and Nestle&rsquo;s Crunch are oh-so good) in the frosting. Yum! You can also melt chocolate in molds of various shapes (available online or at stores such as Michael&rsquo;s.) Freeze them, then flip them out and use as cake decorations.</li>
<li>Show off the new baking skills by presenting surprise gifts to family and friends.</li>
</ul>
<h3>AND, SOME EXTRAS!</h3>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Take photos or videos of the kids while they&rsquo;re cooking or baking. The messier, the better! You&rsquo;ll have sweet memories and plenty of shared laughs.</li>
<li>Keep copies of all the recipes they prepare and compile them in a one-of-a-kind cookbook. Pictures would be a delicious bonus.</li>
</ul>
<h3>MOST IMPORTANT!</h3>
<ul type="disc">
<li>Not every dish turns out perfectly, and every dish needs a few giggles, oohs and ahhs. The best result? When they say, &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s do it again!&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
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Cooking with Kids: Yes, You Can and Yes, They Can, Too!

<p><img alt="aerial view of various kitchen gadgets laid out on a white surface" height="280" src="https://d6y5eqdcxq8w3.cloudfront.net/assets/blog/k0044-kitchen-gadgets_blog-tn01.jpg?w=640" title="kitchen-gadgets" width="420" /></p>
<p>Gadgets have a way of taking over your kitchen. But some are definite time savers and many make your life much easier. So, what are super cool kitchen helpers and what are just plain nonsense and a waste of space?</p>
<h3>I WANT THAT! I NEED THAT!</h3>
<p>When a recent recipe called for two teaspoons of thyme, I let out a distinctive ugh because I hate peeling the leaves from the stems. After finally doing it, I realized my kitchen was lacking a smart little device I should have bought a long time ago. An <strong>herb stripping tool</strong>. I wouldn&rsquo;t stop what you&rsquo;re doing, since you&rsquo;re reading this article, but as soon as you can, jump in the car and go to a kitchen supply store and get one for yourself. Feel free to send your hugs and kisses to me.</p>
<p>Knives are dangerous things, especially when they&rsquo;re not sharp. Contrary to what many people think, a dull knife is much more of a hazard than a sharp one. It may take you a few tries to get the hang of a <strong>sharpening steel</strong>, but once you do, you&rsquo;ll be on your way to chopping and slicing like a true chef. Having said that, here&rsquo;s advice to live by (well, at least cook by): invest in good quality knives. They work better and last longer than the cheap stuff.</p>
<p>Do the edges of your pie crusts brown before the rest of the crust? No? Well, you know a secret I don&rsquo;t. But if you share my crust edge problem, the solution is a <strong>pie crust shield</strong>. It easily slips over the top of the pie plate, so that your lattice crust looks pretty as a picture.</p>
<p>Chefs have an innate sense that tells them when meat is cooked to perfection. For the rest of us, a <strong>meat thermometer</strong> is crucial. No more underdone, no more overdone. All done just like you want.</p>
<p>Whether you&rsquo;re making a sauce, a dessert or just adding a bit of flavor to whatever you&rsquo;re whipping up, squeezing lemons isn&rsquo;t much fun. And you usually end up with seeds in the juice. A <strong>citrus juicer</strong> is quick and easy, giving you juice without the seeds.</p>
<p>Spuds can be down right dirty. Scrubbing them is a pain. Unless you have a <strong>potato brush</strong>. Not rocket science, to be sure, but it&rsquo;s sure a handy helper.</p>
<p>The person who invited the <strong>microplane grater</strong> comes close to the top of all-time-great inventors. Use it for zesting oranges, grating cheese, almost anything you would usually let the box grater do.</p>
<p>When a recipe, especially for baking, calls for an ingredient in ounces, it&rsquo;s best not to guess. Too little or too much could ruin the recipe. A <strong>digital food scale</strong> takes the guess work out of measuring. You&rsquo;ll use it more often than you think you would.</p>
<p>Wrap your fish herbs in <strong>cheese cloth</strong> and tie it with <strong>kitchen twine</strong> and you&rsquo;ll have a bouquet garni all ready to flavor lots of dishes. (Or, buy the small cheesecloth packets that come with their own tie.) When you&rsquo;re finished cooking, you won&rsquo;t have to poke around to remove the herb stems. Just pluck out the little packet and voila!</p>
<p><strong>Whisks</strong> are utilitarian not only for whisking eggs but for many things for which you might normally use a spoon. And, the very act of whisking makes you feel like you&rsquo;re in Julia Child&rsquo;s kitchen!</p>
<h3>THINGS TO THROW AWAY, GIVE AWAY OR DON&rsquo;T BUY IN THE FIRST PLACE</h3>
<p>Count the number of people who like to chop or slice garlic and you won&rsquo;t get far. If you&rsquo;re not one of them, the answer is not a garlic press. It&rsquo;s not very efficient. Garlic gets stuck to it and it can be hard to clean. And there&rsquo;s something about hand chopped or sliced garlic that just tastes better!</p>
<p><strong>Avocado, egg and apple slicers</strong> take up drawer space. Are you really so busy you don&rsquo;t have time to slice an egg or avocado? Probably not. And apple wedges have a way of sticking in the slicer. Get out a good knife and slice away.</p>
<p>We&rsquo;re including the <strong>fish turner</strong> because we think it&rsquo;s just so silly. Other than being able to say, &ldquo;Oh, let me get the fish turner for that salmon&rdquo; to someone you want to impress with your gadget collection, the turner is a waste of money. A versatile silicone turner is better and makes more sense.</p>
<p>Fancy <strong>ceramic measuring spoons</strong> are rarely accurate and they break. Stainless steel is your friend.</p>
<h3>BEST ADVICE EVER</h3>
<p>It may not be a gadget or an appliance, but the smartest of smart cooks know that the best thing they can have in the kitchen is someone to clean up the mess!</p>
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Gadgets Galore: Some You Gotta Have and Some You Can Forget

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Autumn is in the Air and On the Table

Cooking with Kids: Yes, You Can and Yes, They Can, Too!

Gadgets Galore: Some You Gotta Have and Some You Can Forget

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