My Family

How to Make Eggnog (Recipe Video) | Khemists in the Kitchen, Episode 3

February 9, 2016 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

There’s a bit of a story behind this one…my brother came up with the idea for sharing how to make eggnog one day, but for several days we couldn’t make it because I was working. Finally, we were able to do it—but due to poor planning, and acting-as-you-go, the first take turned out pretty terrible. (I laughed while videoing at one stage! Bad, bad videographer!)

For a while, he was okay with the result, but then decided it should be better if we were going to share it with anyone. Below is the second version, much better than the first.

Be warned: The first 4 min, 40 sec is slightly gross, so if you have a weak stomach I suggest you skip it. It’s not bad, but it does contain rotten eggs and other like disgusting stuff. Bear in mind that the first half is and was supposed to be a spoof, and you should be okay.

Eggnog Recipe (the good kind):

Ingredients:

1 egg (as fresh as possible—we use our own eggs, preferably laid that day)
pour in milk up to the 1 cup mark on your blender
1 tsp. sugar
a few drops of vanilla extract
a couple (slight) shakes of nutmeg

Directions:
Add together in blender, and blend well. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

We make this occasionally now that the boys have discovered how simple it is to make and how yummy it tastes! Usually, we replace the sugar with stevia, because that’s better for us. However, sugar works well too.

Have you had eggnog before? What was your impression of the drink?

Our Favorite Snacks (Recipe Video) | Khemists in the Kitchen, Episode 2

February 2, 2016 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Hello, again! Today, I’d like to share our family’s two most favorite snacks. These are eaten a lot around here—as in, almost everyone has one kind or the other each day.

The nice thing about these is that they’re simple enough that with a little supervision, my six-year-old brother can make them himself! He thought he’d like to show you how to do it, too.

First, he shows how to make Cheese Bread.

Ingredients:

A piece of toast (can be untoasted—works either way)
Mayonnaise
Slice of cheese
Optional: Prepared mustard

Directions:
Take a piece of toast, spread on a thin layer of mayonnaise, lay a slice of cheese on top, and grill for a minute or two until the cheese has melted. Optionally serve it with prepared mustard—some of us like it that way, and others don’t.

Then, he shows how to make Cinnamon Toast.

Ingredients:

A piece of toast (can be untoasted—works either way)
Butter
Cinnamon sugar (we usually mix ¼ part cinnamon with ¾ parts sugar)

Directions:
Take a piece of toast, spread on a layer of butter (thickness depends on preference), sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top, and grill for a minute or two until the butter has melted.

These two are super-easy, but very yummy! Sometimes, instead of putting cheese on the cheese bread, we’ll slice fresh tomatoes onto the mayonnaise and sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. That, too, is a delicious, easy snack!

Over to you: Do you usually have a mid-afternoon snack? What are some of your favorite snacks?

Rice and Tomato Soup Recipe (Video) | Khemists in the Kitchen, Episode 1

January 26, 2016 // Esther Filbrun Leave a Comment

Want a quick and easy, but fairly filling soup? This rice and tomato soup recipe is a great choice—and one our family loves!

A few months ago, a friend of mine reminded me of the attempted recipe video series I started about two years ago (in total, I made three videos). Since then, I’ve learned a little more about how I do things, and creating a recipe video every week is not one of those things I can continue very long.

However, since at the time I was planning a trip, I decided this would be fun to schedule while I was gone. The videoing was completed fairly quickly, the videos made—but I didn’t have time to write the blog posts. Sigh.

Here is the first installment now, made by yours truly with the help of my wonderful brothers.

Rice and Tomato Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup of cooked rice
2 cups of whole tomatoes, with the juice (we use canned tomatoes)
1/4 tsp. salt
several good shakes of black pepper
slight sprinkle of cayenne powder (or chili powder, if you have it—please don’t do as much as in the film, unless you like things very spicy!)
crushed medium-sized clove of garlic

Directions:
Add everything together in a pot, and stir well. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, and serve with grated cheese. Enjoy! (And don’t burn your tongue!)

For our family (9 people, but some small children), we usually use about 6–8 cups of cooked rice, and about 2–3 quarts of tomatoes. The rest of the ingredients are put in according to the mood of the cook—some like it spicy, some don’t, some like a lot of garlic, some don’t, etc. It’s always a popular choice, often chosen for birthday meals around here!

As a way to add some quick protein to the meal, we’ll often bake sausages to go along with this. Maybe add a lettuce salad as well—usually does the trick to fill everyone up.

One interesting note on the origin of this recipe: We’re at least the third generation in our family to be making this. I showed this video to my grandma a while ago, and she said this is quite changed from when she had it as a girl. Her mom used to pull cold rice from the fridge, and dump some tinned tomatoes on top. So for her, simply heating it up is an improvement to the recipe! I’m not sure if I’ve even ever had it cold.

Hope your family will enjoy this simple, but delicious dish! And next week I’ll share another favorite family food!

Over to you: Have you ever had rice and tomato soup? If you have, was it made about the same way? If you haven’t, do you think you’d enjoy it?