A few basic and not-so basic  terms you will see written up in recipes or when talking about cooking and what they mean,

• Agar agar -is a setting agent made fom seaweeds and is used in jellies, icecreams and for clarifying the japanese rice wine sake.
• Aspic is a clear jelly ued to coat cold foods. It is made by clarifying stock with egg whites and sometimes egg shells. Gelantin may be used to set it but if at all possable, the stock that sets it should be natural.
• Bake-to cook by Dry heat in a oven
• Bake Blind- is the term used for baking unfilled pastry without the sides falling in or the bottom rising. The pastry is lined with foil then filled with rice or dried beans, or Pie chains, the filling is removed once the pastry is set so that it can become crisp and brown.
• Balm is a herb that is seldom used in cooking but a large handful of fresh or dried balm can be infused in boiling water to make a herb tea.
• Barbecue -is to broil or roast on a rack normally over charcoals or propane.
• To Bard- is to cover lean meat or game with thinly sliced fat before cooking to prevent the flesh from drying out. the fat is usually tied on with string and barding can be done with strips of bacon or with thin even slices of pork fat.
• Basting-is the process of spooning hot fat or liquied over food as it roasts to keep it moist and juicy.
• To beat-is to stir vigorously with a circular motion using a spoon or whisk to give lightness to a mixture.
• To Bind- is to moisten with liquied such as egg to keep a mixture together.
• To Blanch-meats to whiten meats or to remove strong flavors from vegetables by immersing in boiling water, then into cold water and draining before further cooking.
• To Blend- is to stir a mixture until it is completely combined and smooth.
• To Boil-is to immerse food in water or stock when the liquid has reached 212 f and is bubbling vigorously.
• To Braise-ist he process of cooking meat, poultry, game, fish or vegetables in a small amount of liquied in a pot with a tight fitting lid so the food cooks in the steam from the liquid. First the food is browned in fat, then the cooking is continued on a bed of veggies tradionally.
• Brine is a salt and water solution used in perserving food.
• To broil-is to cook meat, fish or poultry by direct heat, unsally under an oven broiler or over a fire.
• Casserole is a stewpan or Dutch oven in which stews of meat, game, fish, poultry and vegetables are cooked very slowly in liquid or sauce. The pot and the food cooked in it are both referred to as casseroles.
• To Chill-Means to cool food in the refriderator or over ice without freezing.
• Chowder usually refers to a soup based on fish but there are also meat and vegetable chowders.
• To Clarify- To remove impurities by melting used fat, such as beef drippings with one third quantity of water, then boiling, straining and cooling the mixture. When set, scrape any sediment from the base of the solidified fat. or  to clarify butter by heating gently until foaming, skimming well then leaving to set to a solid cake, the sediment (milk solids) at the bottom taken off. or to clear cold stock with egg whites by whisking while bringing to a boil then cooling and straining.
• Consistency-is the degree of the thinness or thickness of a mixture, expecially important in batters, cakemaking and pastry.
• To deglaze- means to dissolve congealed juices from the bottom of a pan, first the food is removed, and excess fat saved, then the remaining sediments are heated with stock and wine to make a gravy or sauce.
• To Dice means to cut food into small squares.
• To Dissolve means to melt a solid substance, sometimes over heat, usually by mixing with a liquid.

What do you think, did you know all the above, anything new in it?

Breakfast DH- Waffles, Chocolate Cranberry Loaf and One Cookie FG- 2 biscuits with turkey meat with tea.

Lunch-Took the leftover taco meat with beans and turned it into a pot of Taco Soup served with biscuits, enough for lunch for two, plus Leftover soup for DH’s Lunch for tomorrow.

Supper-Corn Beef* with roasted cabbage, onions with herb bread, Strawberry/pinapple dessert.

*My first small cornbeef is ready and I wanted to give it a try and see how it turned out, so its currently simmering away in a lovely spiced pouching pan for the next few hours. My larger Peices are currently still in their lovely salty brine solution curing till next week.

Drinks -Water, Tea

Extra’s- Bread, Biscuits, Cookies, Chocolate Cranberry Loaf and Watermelon Cake

So what do you typically put in your corn beef pouching water, I went with  Whole Black Pepper, a stick of cinnamon, Bay leaf, Hot Chili Flakes, Whole Cloves, a pinch of Kosher Salt, two whole garlic Cloves and a onion peeled an sliced in half.  The house smells heavenly at the moment. I am finding it very interesting that the meat is pinking up as its cooking to a lovely rose red color by the time its finished.

I have enough being done so that we can have one for fresh use, and one to be slowly smoked and used for making Rubins.. will need to make some fresh sour cabbage to go with.