We were very fortunate to receive a gift for a month’s worth of “hand-selected premium fruit” from Harry & David from one of my wife’s friends. It is a wonderful gift especially this time of the year when you can use a perfectly ripe orange or ruby red grapefruit to get you through the cold winter days. I tell my youngest daughter when giving her a section of Clementine that she is putting a little sunshine in her mouth with each bite.

This week the postman showed up at the door with a box of extremely juicy HoneyBell oranges that came with their own plastic bibs that took me a while to figure out what they were. After browsing the Internet for a while to learn more about what some people say is the sweetest orange around, I also learned that they are not really in the orange family botanically, but are really tangelos.

In fact, when I went to the supermarket and asked the grocer if they had any Honeybell oranges, he sent me over to the Minneola Tangelo short for Minnesota Tangelo which is a cross between a Duncan grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine.

I’m guessing they get their name from their shape but to me they look like Christmas ornaments you hang on the tree. I found out from the literature sent with the Honeybells that those that “grow close to the trunk have a thicker skin and almost always have the characteristic “bell” on top. Those that grow toward the outside end of the limb have thinner skins and often don’t have the “bell.”

The box of Bells also came with a card with a couple of recipes including this one for HoneyBell Juice Cocktail that my wife decided to make. I have always been interested in photography but not very good at it so I am making an effort to take better photos of what I cook.

My kids tease me about bringing my camera to the table each night playing with the light and composition but it’s the only way I’m going to get better. I even reached out to some food photographers for some help and will share what I learn from them. If you have any tips you would like to share, my ears are open. So if you see a lot more photos on my posts, you know what I’m trying to learn and share with you.

HoneyBell Juice Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 4 HoneyBells, peeled but leave the yellow pith (I’m guessing it is good source of fiber)
• 1 apple
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 mango, peeled and pitted
• 2 slices of fresh pineapple about 1/2 inch thick with the skin removed (we used already cut up chunks of pineapple available at the supermarket)

How to Make HoneyBell Juice Cocktail

Prep all the ingredients coring the apple and cutting them into quarters. Peel and pit the mango. Get your pineapple ready depending on what you are using. Remove the tops from the carrots but leave the skin on.

To make the juice, just add everything to a juice machine (juicer). As you can see from the photo, my wife used a juice extractor and a juicer both of which pre-date our marriage. They have been sitting around in various kitchen cabinets gathering dust from New York City to Park City, Utah now back east here in Philadelphia so it was great to get them out and use them. Like old friends you haven’t seen in a while, it was a pleasure to make their acquaintance again.

Very Old Juice Extractors

We made more than what’s showing in the measuring cup but the kids and I were drinking it faster than my wife could make it. I thought the photo looked pretty good so that’s why it is included.

Yesterday we juiced up some other fruit including strawberries and bananas and the drink was equally delicious. I’m guessing if you have quality fresh fruit around, it is hard to mess up a fruit juice drink. I’m hoping to keep the juicer and extractor a little busier now that we’ve enjoyed the nutritious and delicious concoctions they create.

If you have a favorite juice combination, please be sure to share it with me.

This is a very easy to make soup that is perfect when you need a quick meal on a cold night like we are having here in Philadelphia. I completely changed this recipe around from one I found in a magazine my wife purchased at the airport on our way back from Park City, Utah.

I didn’t have most of the ingredients called for in the original recipe so I made this one up based on what I had in the freezer and pantry. Everyone, including the kids enjoyed the results and it was even better the next day for lunch.

Italian Sausage Spinach and Artichoke soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound of Italian sweet sausage
• 6 cups of chicken stock or broth
• 1 pound artichoke hearts, I used jarred in water but you can also use frozen but be sure to thaw them out before using.
• 1 pound of cleaned spinach leaves
• 1/4 pound of snow peas
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve with soup.

How to Prepare at Home

Mise en Place - prep the sausage as describe below, rinse off the artichoke hearts and cut them into quarters, clean the spinach in cold water and grate some Parmesan cheese. Please do not use the stuff that comes in a green can.

Heat soup pot over medium high heat until hot (do the water test), add olive oil and then the sausage. You can cut the sausage casing to remove the meat but I like to squeeze them out of the casing into the pot when its hot. Throw away the casings. As the sausage is browning, break up the pieces with a wood spoon or spatula.

Be sure to stir the sausage so it doesn’t burn. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to brown.

Add the chicken stock/broth, artichoke quarters plus 1 cup of water. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.

Add the spinach and snow peas, cover and cook for a few minutes until the spinach wilts and the snow peas are tender.

Serve in large soup bowls, garnish with Parmesan cheese or serve the cheese on the side and let your diners add to taste.  Some good crusty Italian bread would be nice too. I served it with white rice to make a meal out of it but it would be a good started too.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Stirring:

Peter Hertzmann is the author of Knife Skills Illustrated, instructor at Sur La Table and owner of à la carte cooking website. You may have seen my interview with Peter on Novice2Pro Chef Interviews. His website is very informative with tons of articles, recipes and videos.

His video titled “Stirring Conclusions” struck me as interesting, because it is something I don’t often put much thought into. You may think you know everything there is to know about stirring, but after watching the video, you may be wrong.

The video, broken down into chapters, answers all of our basic questions about stirring such as: Why is it Necessary to Stir? and Which Utensils are Best for Stirring? The video also answers more advanced or overlooked questions about stirring such as: How to Stir and Flip With a Frying Pan? and Where in the Pot to Stir?

Here are some highlights from the video and some do’s and don’ts of stirring:

There are three main reasons to stir. This may seem common sense, but many people stir only because the recipe tells them to and don’t think about the reasoning behind it.

Reasons to Stir

• To create a homogenous mixture
• To evenly disperse temperature
• To alter the viscosity of a liquid (thicker or thinner)

Tools for Stirring

You may think you know which tool is best for stirring. Or, you may just grab the first thing you see and use that. While this may work, there are some tools preferred over others. Typically, we use spoons, spatulas and whisks in the kitchen to stir.

DO

• DO use a wooden spoon for stirring. These are helpful at getting in between corners.
• DO use a wooden spatula for stirring. This is the preferred tool for stirring because it is comfortable in your hand and the flat sides are good for scraping. You can also reach the sides and corners of a pot or pan easily.
• DO use a plastic or nylon flat spatula for non-stick surfaces, such as pans that you would use to make omelets, etc. The plastic spatula is also great for stirring, spreading and scraping. Be careful though, these tools will melt at high temperatures.
• DO use tongs to stir. They can also be used to turn your food simultaneously.
• DO use chopsticks when stirring foods that can easily stick together.
• DO use a whisk, not only when whisking something, but also when you need to stir dry ingredients together.
• DO use your hands when mixing things such as meats with seasoning. You may get a little messy, but it’s all in good fun.
• DO use your pan as a method for stirring. Practice the flipping motion first with dried beans or rice!

DON’T

• DON’T use a metal spoon for stirring. The point on a metal spoon is much smaller than its wooden counterpart, meaning it comes in contact with less at the bottom of your pan. This can cause some of the ingredients in your pan to burn more easily. Metal spoons should be saved for serving.

Methods of Stirring

Stirring can seem like a simple concept, and it is. As long as you know when and where to stir.

DO

• DO make sure that the utensil you’re stirring with touches the bottom of the pan when stirring liquids over heat. Don’t forget the corners as well. For thin liquids without any solids mixed with it, stirring in the middle of the pot or pan should be good enough.
• DO hold your stirrer just like a pencil. This is the most comfortable and natural way to stir. For stirring stiffer ingredients, hold stirrer in a less comfortable grip and stir more vigorously.
• DO shake your ingredients in a frying pan after stirring with a spatula or spoon. This allows you to turn all of your ingredients at once. Watch the video for a detailed description of how to do this.

DON’T

• DON’T shake ingredients with frying pan if too much is in the pan. Use tongs to flip instead.
• DON’T use the shaking with frying pan method without practicing first with rice or dried beans in a cold pan.

Frequency of Stirring

When a recipe says, “stir occasionally” or “stir frequently” what does that even mean? The more you know about stirring and understanding what you’re stirring, the better off you’ll be.

DO

• DO stir continuously when thickening a liquid with a starch or protein.
• DO stir frequently when solids are added to a liquid.
• DO stir occasionally when thickening sauces by reduction.
• DO constantly stir ice cream. You don’t want to end up with a mixture of ice cream with large ice crystals in it.

DON’T

• DON’T constantly stir ingredients that are being deep fried in hot oil.
• DON’T forget to stir when it’s needed. You don’t want anything sticking to the pan, burning, or not mixing properly.

And DO check out Peter’s video on the Technique of Stirring