Best Home Cooking from Best Home ImprovementContact Us at (434) 245-9811 or email horse8pony@aol.com
At Best Home Improvement we believe that good food is the heart of the home. It reflects the care we feel for our family and guests. The most humble dwelling is richer than the grandest house if the hearth is warm and the meals inviting. The following are recipes we have honed through the years together and apart and we present them with the hope that your family will enjoy them as much as ours. Shiitake Happens: Crowd Pleasing Mushroom Gravy from Best Home Improvement
Shiitake mushrooms have a robust flavor and pleasing texture; their nutritional benefits easily outstrip other mushrooms. The scientific name for shiitake is lentinus edodes, which roughly translates “one that puts forth slowly”. Shiitake, and all “take” mushrooms are known in Japan as great sources of Chi energy. Chi is power or fortitude. In ancient times the emperor alone was allowed to consume these mushrooms for fear that if someone else developed sufficient Chi that person could oust the emperor. The Chi derived from shiitake develops slowly over the course of consuming them for months and years, in other words, it is put forth slowly and it is more long lasting.
In western terms, the health benefits of shiitake are their protein content, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, vitamins, calcium and other minerals. They have anti-cancer effects derived from their positive impact on the body rather than a negative impact on tumors (as with chemotherapy or radiation therapy). For this reason they are known as Host Defense Potentiators (HDP). You can find supplements that contain shiitake derivatives and claim these benefits, but always fresh sources are to be preferred to processed.
The growing season for shiitake is year round and these days almost every super market stocks them. However they are not difficult to grow at home and kits containing shiitake logs are available at many health food stores and online distributors. The logs can produce for up to four years, but you will probably want to start a new one each year to keep a good supply going. They can be stored dried or cooked and then stored frozen.
Ingredients:1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, 1 medium onion chopped, 3-4 cloves garlic minced, 3T olive oil, 2T butter (leave out for vegan), 2T flour, 4c vegetable broth & milk (more or less of either to taste), 1c nutritional yeast, salt & pepper to taste
Slice shiitake and saute with onion and lots of freshly ground pepper in olive oil/butter until golden. Add garlic and saute until translucent. Add flour and toast for a few minutes (the longer you toast the flour, the thicker your gravy will be). Add vegetable broth/milk. Stir until smooth. Add nutritional yeast. Add more broth or nutritional yeast to acheive the desired thickness. Do not allow the gravy to boil after adding the nutritional yeast as it may break. If it does break whisking it vigorously will restore it somewhat. Season with salt. Serve over mashed potatoes or biscuits.
Savory Tofu Fritters with Thai Style Peanut Sauce
Of course the most important part of this dish is the tofu. A really good tofu has about the same consistency as Indian paneer: substance, texture and bite. Shop around your area for a local, artisan style tofu, but if there is none to be found this recipe will work with an extra firm supermarket tofu.
Ingredients1 lb Extra Firm Tofu, cut into ½” cubes, 4 or 5 scallions, chopped (include green tops for color), 1 Cup Green Peas, 1 Cup Mushrooms chopped, 1 Cup Cornstarch, Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper to tasteMix tofu cubes, scallions, peas and mushrooms in a large bowl. Stir the salt and pepper into the cornstarch with a fork. Mix well and don’t be shy with the amounts of salt and pepper, the cornstarch will deaden them somewhat. You will need more or less cornstarch depending on how wet the tofu. The result will be sticky but will not hold together tightly. Heat vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a skillet to medium hot. Gently drop handfuls of the fritter mixture into the hot oil and using a spoon flatten them a bit. Cornstarch makes a light, crispy brown crust on the fritters that looks exceptionally appealing and doesn’t interfere with the flavor of the dish. As the fritters brown they will stick together better but you will still have to turn them gently with a spatula and a fork for extra support. Once the fritters are browned on both sides, drain them on paper and serve immediately with Thai Style Peanut Sauce. Thai Style Peanut SauceIngredients2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, 4 or 5 Cloves Garlic rough chopped, 2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter, 2 Tablespoons Thai Green Curry Paste, ¾ Cup Canned Coconut Milk
Heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic in the olive oil for a minute or two until it is just translucent. Add the peanut butter and let it melt. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Add the curry paste and whisk again. Then add the coconut milk. Canned coconut milk varies widely in thickness so you will need to add more or less and maybe thin it with a bit of water or vegetable stock to achieve the proper consistency. It should be thin enough to drizzle and thick enough to coat a spoon. Drizzle over tofu fritters and serve immediately.
The Quest for the Perfect TacoIn Jitterbug Perfume Tom Robbins introduces the idea of the search for the perfect taco, something that Best Home Improvement has taken very seriously. While it wouldn’t do to declare that search is ended, the following recipe definitely approaches the goal asymptotically. The secret is the practically perfect pico de gallo, which takes this recipe over the top.Ingredients
1 dozen taco shells, corn or flour, soft or hard or a combination,
4c cooked black beans & pinto beans,
2c shredded cheddar cheese,
1c sour cream,
4c pico de gallo (recipe follows)
Pico de GalloIngredients2 large or 3 medium tomatoes, 1 large red onion, 2 jalapeno peppers, 2 tomatillos, 1 avocado, 1 lime, 4 cloves garlic, 1 bunch of cilantro
Rough chop the tomatoes and onion and place in a large bowl. Cut the jalapenos in half, remove the seeds if you prefer a milder pico, retain them if you prefer a spicy pico. Rough chop the jalapenos and tomatillos and add them to the tomatoes and onion.
Cut the avocado in half. Place the half with the pit on the counter top and stab the pit with a small sharp knife. Leveraging the knife, you should be able to remove the pit easily, then knock it off of the knife by hitting the blunt side of the knife on the edge of the kitchen can. Peel the quarters and rough chop them. Place the pieces in the bowl with the other vegetables and squeeze the lime over them.
Peel and mince the garlic and fine chop the cilantro; add them to the bowl and toss everything together. Perfect pico for perfect tacos.
I will add that you should do this chopping by hand. A food processor releases too much liquid from the vegetables and you’ll end up with salsa instead of pico. We make a ritual of it in our home. We pour out some wine and everyone is required to have a cocktail and keep me company while I chop.
Warm the taco shells and the beans and serve everything buffet style. It makes for a light,festive, can't-get-enough-style meal. Sangria de mi Corazon
Of course what would the purpose be of consuming perfect tacos without washing them down with a truly exceptional sangria? The fruity, light, smoky taste of this sangria is the perfect foil for salty, spicy tacos. The foundation of the recipe is a sturdy red wine. A chianti will work or an Argentinian table wine. The best wine I have used in this recipe was called Sangre de Toro; it was ostensibly from Spain and had a tiny plastic bull dangling from the bottle neck. Unfortunately I am now unable to find this wine, but perhaps you can. Mostly I miss the little plastic bulls.
Ingredients750 ml sturdy red wine,1L club soda,12 oz Curacao,2 grapefruit,2 oranges,2 lemons,2 limes,2 c sugar,2 c water
The secret ingredient of this sangria is a bitter citrus syrup that you make yourself. First zest the grapefruit, oranges, lemons and limes. The easiest way to do this is with a small bore grater. Just scrape the very top colored layer of the fruit peels off with the grater into a small saucepan. Avoid the white skin underneath as this will make the syrup too bitter. Add the sugar and water to the zest and bring to a boil. Scrape the sugar crystals off the side to be sure all the sugar gets dissolved. Boil the mixture for about two minutes. Strain out the zest. Set the syrup aside to cool. This makes about 3 cups of syrup and will keep in a glass jar in the pantry for several months. It can be used over ice cream, to flavor icings or to sweeten tea.
Chocolate Orange Oatmeal Cookies
Anything that’s worth doing is worth doing well, and that includes self indulgence!! Dark chocolate and orange is always a winning combination and these cookies go a lot farther than that. The oatmeal, nuts and raisins bring a chewy texture. The butter brings richness and savor and the black pepper and cardamom bring a touch of the exotic that will have your audience musing “What is that flavor?” as they eat one after another to try and sort it out.
Ingredients
1c butter softened,
3/4c brown sugar,
½ c granulated sugar,
2 eggs,
1t vanilla,
1 scant teaspoon orange zest,
1 ½ c all purpose flour,
3T unsweetened cocoa,
1 t baking soda,
1 t ground cinnamon,
½ t cardamom,
4 or 5 turns of freshly ground black pepper,
½ t salt,
3c oats,
¾ c fine chopped pecans,
1c raisins,
1 ½ c semi sweet chocolate chips
In a large bowl cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and smooth. A potato masher works great, makes no noise and doesn’t add a lot of fluff to the dough—maintaining the chewy. Work in eggs, vanilla and orange zest. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper and salt. Add to butter mixture. Work in oats, pecans, raisins and chocolate chips. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate as long as you can wait. Overnight is best but sometimes your audience is not practicing delay of gratification so a couple of hours is the best you can do. I keep the dough in the refrigerator and just bake off a dozen each morning. It fills the house with an incredible aroma that gets them out of bed even if it means going to school. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. 
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