ADA Aware Week in your Flour Product

There is no ADA Aware Week, of course.   Nowhere in the world.  I made it up.
But if you have not caught on or even aware that your local market's 'Fluffy' bread / flour products may contain this additive ADA - Azodicarbonamide in it, then, you should be curious enough to check into it.   And if you love to bake, be aware of the flour manufacturer's process.   Find out what Dough Conditioner chemicals are being used to manufacture your Flour -- Bromated vs Nonbromated, Bleached vs Unbleached;  Find out about market's Artisan bread vs Fluffy stay on the shelf well French Bread vs Home Baked Bread, etc.  These are all worth the research.

If you live in the parts of the world where ADA is not banned from the food:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-27/how-a-rubber-chemical-found-its-way-into-500-food-products   << this site has a pop up Ad that pops up.  Just don't touch the pop up Ad for about 5 seconds.  It should go away from the screen.  Or go to any other site that has ADA info.  In the search engine, type>  "ADA in flour" 

In this Businessweek site, it explains ADA as:  (straight copy from the site)
"Underlying the concerns are two chemicals released  when bread is baked with ADA: urethane, a recognized carcinogen, and semicarbazide, which causes cancers of the lung and blood vessels in mice but poses a negligible risk to humans, according to nonprofit advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest."
"The Food and Drug Administration approved ADA as a food additive in 1962, according to research by the Environmental Working Group. The additive gained popularity as a substitute for another common dough conditioner, potassium bromate, that was banned by California authorities in 1987 after it was found to cause cancer in test animals. etc, etc."

Here is the info in our very own FDA - But guess who those decision makers are and who did they work for before joining FDA.  
http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm387497.htm

After all, we all foodies who love to bake depend on these flour manufacturers to provide us with 'Flour' but as they are not required to label non-food items on the label (at this time yet in many places), then, let's be aware.  

I think those home made HOKKAIDO Soft Loaves and TANG ZONG bread are the best.  Try some of these recipes found and posted by bloggers.  But please purchase Flour without the ADA for your family's health sake.

Easter Bunny Sugar Cookies on a stick

Being with grand-children are such a blessing.  Even when you cannot move anymore, they can keep you going.  
Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, Wish Everyone a Great Remembrance of Communion, Fellowship, and Maranatha.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies On-A-Stick recipes found on the wrapper of the Bunny cookie mold.  This cookies taste so delicious that I was so tempted to eat them before icing them. 
Ingredients:
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2-3/4 C AP Flour - Shifted 1 one time, then, measure them out to 2-3/4 C, then, add 2 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt and shift 2 more times.  If you don't have a Shifter, just use the hand WHISK and mix everything thoroughly.
Prepare the cookie mold - spray or rub vegetable oil or thinly run butter or Crisco oil and coat the mold with flour.
Shake excess flour off the mold.
**If the cookie molds are coated with butter and flour, the bottom of the cookies will turn brown fast.
To avoid burnt cookie, stay close to the kitchen when baking. 

Tip:  Hand mix soft butter and sugar before turning on the electric mixer to avoid sugar from flying up into mixer's motor.
With Beater attachment - Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy... pale yellow. 
Add egg and extracts.  Beat well until egg disappears.  Scrape the bowl often with spatula. 
Preheat oven to 400'F
Add flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Hand mix them together thoroughly.   *No need to chill the dough.
Eye guess the amount of dough per mold - form into a ball and flatten it between your palms.
Place on top of the cookie mold and shape into bunny form.
Fill the dough 1/8 below the mold.
Insert cookie/cake pop stick 2 inches of end.
Press the top of the cookie with something flat -- like plastic pastry bowl cleaner.
Bake on middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on your oven's BTU.
Bake only one sheet at a time.
Visually check the cookies at 5 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes.   Press the cooling rack against the cookie sheet and carefully invert the pan over.
Tap gently on the mold, the cookie should dislodge itself onto the cooling rack.
Cool completely before decorating.
Wash pan and repeat the process.

FROSTING:  Crispy and Shiny
1 Cup Powder sugar
1 tsp milk
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp Heavy Corn Syrup
Food colors or make your own natural food color
Mix all together.  Divide and add food color.  Make parchment paper piping bag and decorate the cooled cookies.
To fill the face of Bunny, pipe an outline then add more frosting to the middle.  Smear the frosting smooth with slightly moistened finger tip.   You need to work with the frosting a little bit when you try to smooth them across the cookies.  Some of it will lift off.  Just move your finger round and round gently with the frosting at the same time to spread it over the cookie to cover.  The motion is very slight and very very gentle.  The surface of the finger is 'floating' over the frosting to spread.
Leave the cookies out for the frosting to harden.

Woops!  someone ate their ears!

Homemade Tortilla for Taco Night

Taco is one of my favorite lunch at the office.    But it has not been one of the item to cook at home.  You would agree - just go eat at the Taco Bell or at your favorite local taco joint.   Well, the time has come to roll up the sleeve and enjoy them at home.  At first, I bought crispy taco shell, etc. out of box, then, I ran out.  I could easily just make the crispy taco shell, too, but... taco is something I enjoy eating out.  Until the price per Meal value jumped to a price that is just about the same as a sit down Chinese, Japanese or Vietnamese restaurants for PHO noodle or UDON or fried noodle... then 'me' start thinking.... Oh my goodness!  there goes my favorite treat that I really enjoy.  The taco joint at the corner of Olson drive has lost a bunch of customers, I bet, after Panda Express opened up a block down the road; then the Koreana Plaza opened up the "International Food Court".   I love Nashny and all the goodies that I can taste.   But I still want to eat TACO, taco, taco!!
Ingredients:  
1 lb Organic Ground Beef
1 C chopped Onion
Freshly cut iceberg lettuce
A bowl of Tillamook shredded Cheddar Cheese - cool room temperature
Gluteless and preservative free jar of Salsa - yes, you should make it fresh, but Tomatoes are not growing yet in my garden.
Salt to taste
Packet of Taco seasoning or make your own:
a Couple of shakes of Cayenne Pepper
a good pinch of ground cumin
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili powder
Option:  cut tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, etc.

Saute chopped onion over medium low heat till they are translucent; Add ground beef.   Stir and press and separate ground beef to make chunks into individual ground state.   Add all the spices and add salt to taste.  Add anything else you like.

Ingredients for Soft Taco Shell:
1 C flour
1 Tbsp vege oil
pinch of salt
about 6 Tbsp of water

Mix flour and vege oil together first - thoroughly.   Then sprinkle salt over it.   Add water and mix with hand and knead until a smooth ball forms.  About 10 min.   Cover and set aside and rest for 15 min.
Divide the dough into a good size ball that you can roll into a 6 inch soft Tortilla.  Thickness is up to you.
Heat a flat pan.  Rub some vege oil, if you wish, on the pan ... place the tortilla dough to cook. 
It would puff up.  Turn it over to cook the opposite side when the bottom side turns slightly brown.
Remove from heat and place it in a Taco stand while warm, if you have one.
Spoon ground beef, ... and all the goodies.
Enjoy!