Salt of the Earth

The Underground Salt Museum in Hutchison

Salt is so common and available we forget that it has a long history. Salt is necessary for survival, but in past times scarce and valuable enough that it was important in war, religion and trade. A visit to the Kansas Underground Salt Museum in Hutchison is a unique look at deposits of rock salt that were formed 275 million years ago. Of the 15 salt mines in the United States, this is the only one open for tours, definitely worth the trip!

Salt is now a popular culinary ingredient now with several choices besides the common table salt. Often recipes list kosher or sea salt to be used in preparations, and we may wonder why or what the difference is. All three commonly used salts are the same chemically, but the texture and density differ. Here is a brief explanation.
Table salt consists of fine, evenly shaped crystals, which makes it denser than other salts. Its typically mined from salt deposits underground and may also contain anti-clumping agents. It may also be iodised to prevent iodine deficiency a preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is the most commonly used in cooking or seasoning at the table.
Kosher salt is less refined than table salt. Its larger flakes don't compact together as neatly, and it is a little coarser and not as dense. It is also very versatile. It works well for seasoning before, during and after cooking.
Sea Salt undergoes the least processing. The flakes are collected from evaporated seawater and may be multicolored and unevenly shaped. Because it is more expensive, it is best used for finishing.

Speciality seasoned salts

Recently salts have become a popular flavoring additive with seasonings added. I recently purchased a sample pack of 5 different packets. These add a special flavor to the foods and are fun to use. The pack includes Rosemary Salt (for spring vegetables, tomatoes, eggs, pasta, fish, meats, vanilla ice cream, grilled corn, and popcorn); Mushroom Salt (for vegetables, soups and stews, pasta, eggs, meat, and salads); Pink Peppercorn (for vegetables, soups and stews, salads, eggs, seafood, and marinades and fresh sauces);Lavender Salt (for spring vegetables, potatoes, pasta, omelettes, and meat); and a blend called Friends Forever (for popcorn, sweet potatoes, lemon chicken, spinach salad, carrots and fancy drinks. I've enjoyed using these with vegetables and meats, especially the extra flavors that they bring to potatoes. I've not tried them on popcorn yet - we're such 'popcorn snobs' it must be Orville Redebacher popcorn with Lawry's Seasoned Salt.

We Do Salads

This seems to be salad luncheon season. Our UMW recently had it's annual Guest Day - bring a salad luncheon. There was quite an array! One new one that caught everyone's attention was a frosty looking grape salad. It looked like dark orbs covered with a creamy glaze. When my sister-in-law brought it to a family dinner, I took another photo and got the recipe.

Creamy Grape Salad                                                            

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pounds seedless red grapes
2 pounds seedless green grapes
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans

Instructions: 
In s large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until blended. Add grapes and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving bowl, Cover and refrigerate until serving. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans just before serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

Yesterday (May 15) was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. Or - as my family said "Any day is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day". And it was a good day to bake cookies to treat my helpers for staining the deck.
The story of chocolate chip cookies is now well known. In the 1930's, the owner of The Tole House Inn decided to add pieces of broken chocolate to her cookie dough to give it a special flavor. Chocolate chips cookies have been a favorite ever since.
Cookie dough has common ingredients and preparation steps. Too often we throw it all together and hurry through the process, but there are some reasons for the ways the ingredients are mixed. The first step is usually creaming the butter and sugar. This isn't just about combining ingredients, it aerates them. This builds a network of sugar crystals, fat, and air; in pastry-speak, it is called 'mechanical leavening'. This gives the cookies more lightness and fluffiness and they bake and the air expands. Creaming can add five extra cookie to the batch! Five minutes is not too much. Add eggs, one at a time and continue to beat. We've heard that room temperature ingredients are best, but the ideal temperature for creaming butter and sugar is 60 degrees. Butter that has been removed from the fridge as you start the preparations will be good. After about 10 minutes is will be pliable enough to use, add the sugar and friction heat of the electric mixer and it will do well, at about 67 degrees. A cold egg ensures that the butter never tops 68 degrees. Scrape the bowl frequently to completely incorporate the ingredients.
Baking is actually a science and other tips can give you desired results. Nicely browned cookies are baked at 375 degrees, caramelization occurs above 356 degrees. Want a crispy cookie with soft center? Use 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. For a chewy cookie, substitute bread flour for all-purpose flour. Chilling the dough for at least 24 hours before baking depend all flavors. Bake cool dough for a higher standing cookie with less spread.
Ready to bake now? Here's may favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe:

CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

1 cup butter, softened  (I use 1 stick butter, 1 stick margarine)

¾ cup white sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups quick-cooking oats

1 ¾ cups flour

1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (1/2 bag) chocolate chips

Combine the oats, flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream fats and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool.

Restaurant Crawl - Tallgrass Tap House

We all know that Kansas the known as the Wheat State, but usually when we think of wheat products it would be bread, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and other baked products. Those are certainly favorites of mine. But at the Tallgrass Tap House in Manhattan, they also serve a wheat beer.

This was the third and last stop on our Restaurant Crawl with the Kansas Nutrition Council and Kansas Farmers and Ranchers. It was a perfect ending to a great evening of food and beverages. Here we were served soft and flavorful breadsticks and Rooftop Radler beer. This beer is a wheat beer blended with lemon lime soda, similar to a shandy. This restaurant is on Poyntz Avenue and had a familiar location but different look - it is the site of the former Joann's Fabric Store! Now the location is the restaurant-brewpub-test kitchen for the Tallgrass Brewing Company.

The brewmaster told us of the history of Tallgrass Brewing Company,

which was founded in 2006 when the owner's wife asked "what do you want to do with the rest of your life", and the home brewing hobby turned into a microbrewery. The idea and the business grew rapidly and is the largest craft brewer in the state. In 2015 Tallgrass moved into new, much bigger facility and is pushing for production to distribute nationwide. The brewmaster explained that beer is water + yeast + hops + grain. Two practices are unique to Tallgrass. One, it is one of the few craft beers packaged in cans. They believe the quality is retained better as there is no light or oxygen to reach the beer. Also, it is easier to ship. The second interesting practice is the names of the beers. Buffalo Sweat is the top seller. Others include Wooden Rooster and Bert's Berried Fruit.

Beer wasn't the only wheat fact we learned, though. The Kansas Wheat Commission was the co-sponsor of this stop. A wheat farmer from
Chapman was on hand to explain wheat growing in Kansas from fall planting to summer harvest. He also told the history of Turkey Red Wheat, the variety brought from Russia by the Mennonites to start Kansas' Bread Basket of the World claim. This hard red wheat makes an excellent all purpose flour and can be used for a wide variety of baking products. It has a higher protein content and stronger gluten than other types.

Wheat fields around here aren't turning golden yet, it is still early for that. But Rancher Husband predicts an early harvest this year. Harvest usually happens in southeast Kansas mid-June (a good Father's Day activity for many families). Driving through the country side you will see beautiful green waves of heads of wheat, waiting for the ripening by sun and wind.

So concludes our Restaurant Crawl. I enjoyed the food and the facts we learned. And of course, I'm anxious to go back to Manhattan to visit my favorites again!