Seafood Breader Mix (Foodie Find)

We eat a lot of local fish (bass, perch and pickerel) as well as non-local fish (cod, haddock).  My husband is always picking up fish coating to try in addition to our homemade fish coating.  As a result we have been able to tweak our homemade fish coating to give a couple of different results.  We have also discovered a lot of nice fish coating mixes in the process.

One of our foodie finds from Bravo in Florida was Dixie Lily Seafood Breader Mix.  This coating can be used dry as a breading or mixed with water to form a batter for fish, seafood, and vegetables.  The 24 oz bag cost $3.19 which is rather inexpensive as fish coating goes although it is still more expensive than homemade fish coating.

The main ingredients in any fish coating is flour, yellow corn meal or yellow corn flour, and seasonings.  Other ingredients such as powdered eggs, corn starch, baking soda, sugar and preservatives may also be added.  Fish coating really is a mix that can be made at home with simple then tweaked to get the desired results.  You can even make up a couple of different versions.  It will keep nicely in the pantry.

Cod is one of our favourite fish usually enjoyed deep or pan fried.  This is such a nice thick yet tender and flakey fish.  When we have cod in a restaurant we usually order it English style (beer battered) or broiled with orange sauce.  We tried the seafood breader mix on pan fried  Atlantic cod loins.  I served the fish with fresh cut French fries. 

The mix performed nicely giving a gorgeous golden coating without being too heavy or overpowering.  It was light yet tasty.  This would be a nice mix to create a clone recipe for.  I had best get doing a bit of tinkering in the kitchen!

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Estimating Number of Jars of Home Canned Foods for Pantry

Canning is a year round activity here.  Quite frankly I will can whatever I can if it is available.  In reality canning really is comprised of two seasons here.  From May through October is my busy canning season as I process produce as it is in season and in quantities large enough to get us through to the next season.  November through April is my slow canning season.  This time is used to can foods that essentially can be canned year round (eg. soups, stews, meats, stocks, beans and some jellies).  While there is a lot of planning to be sure I have the necessary supplies on hand (eg. jars, lids, pectin, ClearJel, etc) especially for the busy well before the season starts I already have a list of the number of jars that I need of each product I intend to can.  In this week's Frugal Kitchens 101 I discuss how I go about planning the number of jars I need to keep my pantry well stocked.

I process between 1,000 and 1,400 jars of home canned foods each year.  Of that some of those jars are given to our kids and friends.  Note that this is the quantity canned each year not the number of filled jars I have in the pantry at any given time although it can get that high especially towards the end of the busy canning season.  Jars are cleaned then refilled on an ongoing basis.   Here's how I do my planning for the busy canning season:

• inventory - I do a complete pantry inventory in early April each year.  This gives me a good idea as to what my remaining stock is on certain products especially the tomato based ones.  It also uncovers any product like stock or beans that I'm running low on and will need during the summer but would rather can outside of the busy canning season.  I create a list of needed home canned products for the pantry which I divide into two groups - must can now and can wait until slow canning season.  The reason being is unless I have to can a product that could wait until the slow canning season like stock then I will hold off in order to focus my attention to the in season produce.
• the books - I scan through all of my canning books in early April as well making a list of a few different  products I would like to try.  All of these will be small batch canning worked around the bulk of the other canning.
• the list - The final list is comprised of products needed from the inventory (both groups) and those new products I want to try.
• focus on what's in season - From May through October I follow what is in season locally and in my garden focusing on what produce I will need for canning.  For example, May I focus on asparagus and rhubarb while June is strawberry month, September is tomato month and so on.  Of course there is an abundance of other produce that ends up being canned as well and they each have their own seasons overlapping the main ones. 

Now that I'm prepared it's time to figure out how many jars of each product to make.  This really is not as difficult as it sounds.  Here's what I do:

• small batch new products - My rule of thumb if 4 jars as a test batch.  If the product is a jam or jelly then I usually use 250 ml jars.  If it is a new sauce I use 500 ml jars.  
• tried and true products - This includes products like salsas, vegetable based soups, tomato sauces, vegetables and etc.  My calculation is [#of jars per week X 52] + 24 for each product I make if using 500 ml jars.  The additional 24 jars is to take into account extras for entertaining and gift giving.   For example, on average we go through 2 jars of roasted tomato sauce per week.  That works out to:
  
  
  

  [2 X 52] + 24 = 128 (500 ml jars)

  
  
  If I'm calculating for a product that we don't use as much of like a condiment then I usually plan on using a jar per month so the total needed is 12 jars (125 or 250 ml) or for something like dill pickles I reduce that down by half the number of jars but packed in 1 L jars.
  

The slower canning season is a bit more sporadic and relaxed with canning products as the ingredients become available.  I try to keep anywhere from 12 to 15 cases (144 to 180 jars) of empty jars on hand at any given time.  As we use filled jars from the pantry they are cleaned then put back into their cases ready to be called into action when the opportunity presents itself.  From time to time I have to buy a box of jars to replace jars that are temporarily at our kids, friends or vacation home but both Canadian Tire and Home Hardware carry canning jars year round so that is never a problem.

I don't do a lot of actual planning as to total number of jars needed for any product I can during the slow canning season.  This tends to be canning necessary to keep the pantry well stocked with products that can be canned year round.  If the product is low acid (eg. beans, soups, etc) I aim for 16 - 500 ml or 7 - L jars so I can run a full canner load.

How It's Made - Frozen Fish Sticks

Fish is a delicate meat that quickly spoils after being caught.  For that reason hobby anglers and commercial fisheries know the sooner the fish is cleaned and frozen for longer term storage the better.  Commercial fishermen clean the fish aboard the ship then it is rapidly frozen.   Depending on the variety it may be minced and rapidly frozen into large blocks that will later be cut at the processing plant into logs and finally sticks.  Other fish is rapidly frozen as fillets on the fishing vessel. 

Frozen fish sticks are the fish of choice for many families.  They come conveniently packaged,  breaded and ready to pop into the microwave  or oven for a quick meal.  Most kids like fish sticks so moms tend to buy them.  Have you ever wondered how fish sticks were made?  Here's a video that shows the process.  Enjoy!

A Simple Tuna Sandwich Using Fill'ems

A good portion of the breads we eat at home are homemade but that doesn't stop me from checking out what is new in the bread aisle.  Sometimes I even buy a new item just to see how it is supposed to taste and create a recipe clone if we like it.  About six months ago I noticed a new flat bread that was available in burger bun size except much thinner.  When I was shopping for our Christmas celebration I bought a package of 100% whole wheat Fill'ems that are elongated.

This bread choice is thicker than Greek pita but thinner than regular bread slices or buns.  It is available now in round and oblong shapes meant to replace hamburg and hot dog buns.  They come in a variety of flavours as well.  Each piece will make one sandwich but at about half the calories of 2 slices of bread.

The nice thing about this bread is the versatility.  I wasn't impressed with the price tag though at $3.50 for a 16 count package (22¢ per sandwich) verses $1.69 for a loaf of 24 slice bread (14¢ per sandwich).  I used the bread to make basic tuna sandwiches.  What I really did not like was the flavour.  This bread was sweet beyond belief!  I'm sure other flavours are not as sweet but whole wheat bread should only have a hint of sweetness that accents but not distracts from other ingredients in the sandwich.  That was a definite con for this bread.

While this may be the newest range in commercial bread offerings, I'm quickly formulating a way to make this bread at home.  I will start with a Greek pita recipe then work with that to get the shapes I want.  In perspective any yeast bread dough can be used as really this is only a shaping issue.  In fact you can even cut yeast bread dough with cookie cutters for a unique shape and I have two Pampered Chef shaped bread loaf pans.  So the possibilities really are endless when it comes to homemade breads!