Perfectly Practiced Preservation, aka Homemade Hamburger Helper

So, I had a friend of mine ask a question about phyllo dough, why does it have to be frozen? And I started looking around for the answer. For those of you who don't know what phyllo dough is it is a dough of turkish origin, made of flour, water, oil, and either raki or white vinegar which is then rolled out until it is paper thin. It's name means leaf in greek. It is layered to make a whole slew of foods from baklava to spanakopita and is often filled with nuts, cheese or vegetables to make appetizers. It is extremely difficult to make (there are stories about whole dinning room tables full of rolled out dough), but you can buy it frozen at some supermarkets. There are a couple of reasons why it is frozen, first is to make sure that the super thin layers can withstand shipping. When a liquid dips below a certain temperature (freezing point) the molecules slow down and start sticking together to make a solid. Solids are less likely to move around in shipping, so the layers are less likely to tear. The more important reason for freezing phyllo dough is to keep it from spoiling.

Freezing and refrigeration are two natural forms of food preservation (others include drying, heat, salting, and vacuum). How freezing and refrigeration work is that all organisms, including bacteria and mold (which cause spoiling by eating the food), tend to work best at warmer temperatures. Think of a bacterium like you. When it's a nice warm spring day you are really really ready to move. You walk, skip, jump, work in the yard, whatever. But when it starts to get cold, like a Minnesota morning in ... well, October - March, you are pretty much just going to sit inside and stay warm. Bacteria and mold are the same way. If you get them cold enough they start eating slower and slower, making your food last longer. Hence freezing food to keep it fresh.

Sometimes, however, freezing isn't enough. This is where humans stepped in and invented these chemicals called ... dum, dum, dum... artificial preservatives. These chemicals work in one of three ways. 1) they create a really bad environment for bacteria to grow in. 2) The slow the oxidation of fats and lipids (aka they keep fat from breaking down into goo) or 3) They stop enzymes (natural proteins that speed up stuff like the break down of cells) from working as quickly. It all seems great, but in a large enough quantity they are really bad for the body because they disrupt the body's natural balance and can kill cells that are important for regulating the body. They can also cause tumors and cancer. Yuck.

So, in honor of avoiding these nasty little chemicals, and for nostalgia, I made Hamburger Helper not from the box (actually I was going to make an asparagus phyllo dough appetizer, but apparently phyllo dough hasn't made it to Minnesota yet, and as adventurous a baker as I am, I'm not about to attempt making this one on my own). I am happy to say it was as good as the original, not much harder, and even passed the test of a kid who's favorite food is none other than Hamburger Helper out of the box. The original recipe is from John Mastro (http://www.johnmastro.net/2009/09/cheeseburger-macaroni/), I made a couple of small tweaks, and it's better for you than the box, so eat up!

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 cup ketchup

2 3/4 cup water

1/2 lb any shaped pasta (I used penne)

2 1/2 - 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a large skillet with a lid, brown the hamburger and drain. Stir in the black pepper and the onion powder. Add the ketchup. Pour in the water and pasta. Bring to a boil, stirring everything together. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer until the water is absorbed and the pasta is tender (~15 min if you are using penne pasta). Remove from the heat, stir in the cheese until it is all melted and even through out. Enjoy!!

(I hope to get pictures into this post eventually, but the uploader thingy is acting up, so soon)

Marvelous Mixtures Part 3, Wonderful Whipped Cream (and the stuff that goes under it)

So, I know it has been a long time since you've heard from me, and even longer since you eaten with me. Sorry about that. Graduation is hard work. Traveling across 10 states to get home is even harder. Word to the wise. Visit Nashville, it's HEAVEN. Oh, and drink the sweet tea.

So far when it comes to mixtures we've talked about sol and gel. To recap: three phases (solid, liquid, and gas), they can mix together. Sometimes the mix really really well and make a colloid. One of these colloids is created when a gas is dissolved in a liquid, it is called a foam. Not to be confused with styrofoam of course. Whipped cream is an excellent example. As you whip heavy cream two things happen. 1) air bubbles get trapped inside and 2) the proteins and fat in the cream create a network of bonds that keeps them there. Simple enough.

I have suddenly found myself transported back a few weeks produce-wise. Here in Minnesota the farmer's markets are just starting to open up. Which of course means berry season. Unfortuanately it is still a little early for blackberries in this part of the country, so thank GOD for California. This blackberry cobbler recipe is from Pioneer Woman (thepioneerwoman.com/cooking) and it is amazing. The homemade sweeten whipped cream is a must (though the store bought stuff will work too if you are in a crunch). If you can't find fresh berries where you are from, frozen works too. Try other flavors (raspberry, cherry), let your imagination run wild.

Blackberry Cobbler w/ Homemade Whipped Cream

Cobbler

Ingredients

1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, melted

1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tablespoons sugar (divided)

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 cups blackberries (preferably fresh, but frozen will work)

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of sugar with the dry ingredients and milk. Whisk in the melted butter. Rinse the blackberries and pat them dry. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle the blackberries evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the blackberries. Bake for 50 minutes. Sprinkle the last 2 tablespoons of sugar over the cobbler and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Serve with homemade whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip the cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla, and whip until cream holds stiff peaks.

College Confessions from a Chemist's Kitchen

For those of you who don't know, I am graduating from college today with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. I am so very thankful to everyone who helped me get this far. Thanks to the Sunday Dinner group for keeping me sane and my kitchen busy. To my parents who supported me every step of the way, even when the steps led me half way across the country. To all of my professors for expanding my mind. And to those at the 11 am mass for expanding my soul. But most of all I would like to thank my research advisor Professor Timothy Warren. You opened my mind to new possibilities, you helped me find a place in a world I never thought I would fit into, and you taught me more in a year and a half than I could have ever imagined. Thank you.

And now that I have that off my chest, I have a couple of confessions, now that my diploma no longer hangs in the balance. It was me. Sophomore year, Henle Village, no fewer than three fire alarms. It was me, sorry. My kitchen skills have gotten better since then, not that the smoke detector goes off any less often.

It was me. All those missing samples in the glove box that turned up later in a broken vial grave yard. It was me, sorry. I am a klutz in the normal world, put me in space aged super thick gloves with a limited range of motion and we were all asking for trouble.

And finally, it was me. Remember that time in Orgo lab? The last experiment of the year and the fire alarm went off right at the critical moment in a timed experiment. The entire Basic Science Building had to evacuate. You all complained as we stood on the esplanade waiting for the all clear. Of course you do. My experiment was smoking, I had slammed down the fume hood window. It was me, sorry. I haven't caused an evacuation since, not that my lab mantra has changed. "At least I didn't blow anything up. At least I didn't blow anything up. At least I didn't blow anything up."

So for these, and any other sins I may have forgotten, I beg your forgiveness. But, at least I didn't blow anything up.

Photography Final

So, at the very beginning I talked about how this all started as a photography project that snowballed into an even bigger project. I also said I still hadn't finished my final portfolio. Well, here it is in all its black and white glory. The goal of this project was to show, in a single set of images, that the Chemistry lab isn't all that different from your average kitchen, and I think it turned out pretty well. Enjoy!