Forfeng’s Blog – Page 2 – Forfeng's Food Blog

One thinks of Chia, and one has a flashback (if you are old enough to remember this) to the Chia Pet craze of the late 70s and early 80s. I admittedly had a chia pet that my cat used to decimate regularly.

Chia seeds were vaguely on my horizon as one of the “happening” food trends and the “new” superfoods a few years ago, even though they have been around for a long, LONG time. No pun intended.

Chia seeds came on my horizon when the pandemic started hitting, and stores ran out of staples, like eggs. Thankfully the shortages didn’t last long, but it sparked my curiosity with what else can we use in baking and cooking as an egg substitute? Even powdered eggs were in short supply for a time. I’d used egg replacer in the past but never really investigated alternatives before.

In my quest to find and try egg replacers that actually tasted good, were at least semi-good for you, and worked well as a binder, I tried quite a few things.

Applesauce, Ground Flaxseeds, Commercial Egg Replacer, Tofu, Vinegar and Baking Soda, Yogurt, Buttermilk, Arrowroot Powder, Aquafaba (the liquid left from canned beans and chickpeas, Agar-Agar, Gelatin and Chia seeds were all egg replacements I have experimented with over the last 6 months.

Some replacers had mixed results, and some I found were better for replacements than others. Most of these replaced eggs well for baked goods but were poor substitutes for eggs in other mediums. I tried them with savory (and some sweet) recipes like Caesar dressing, hollandaise (yes that too), puddings, mousses, or breading a product (i.e. dipped in egg, then flour, then breading product) or used as a base for a batter for frying.

I know there are several others I have not yet gotten to (and may), but these are ones I’ve tested so far:

Chia Quick Bread — Chia (whole seed) Quick Bread (left) with apples and dried cherries. Same recipe on the right without chia seeds. The chia loaf took a little longer to bake, but also rose considerably higher than the recipe without chia seeds

Applesauce; use unsweetened or add less sugar for baking. Not a good replacement for thickening savory dishes or a replacement for breading or batters (for frying).

Ground Flaxseeds; not bad as a binder for baking; I found you needed to add more moisture to any baking recipes plus, I did find even small amounts had a flax taste to it, not bad if you like flax seeds but not my favorite. Flax seed ground does make a nice breading material for chicken though, adding a nice, slightly nutty flavor. Not a good replacement for thickening savory dishes or a replacement for breading or batters (for frying).

Banana, great as binder, adds a bit of a banana flavor to any baking (not a bad thing unless you don’t like bananas), makes baked goods moist and a bit denser than recipes with eggs. Not a good replacement for thickening savory dishes or a replacement for breading, but it is a good substitute for eggs in batter dishes for frying (again, as long as you don’t mind the slight banana taste) make sure the banana is pureed well.

Commercial Egg Replacer; I’ve used this in the past for baked goods and had a little bit stocked in the pantry for the imminent (but thankfully never happening Zombie apocalypse). Bob’s Red Mill and Ener-G were the two I’d most frequently baked with. Egg replacer works fine as a replacement for baked goods, not so much for savory items. Not a good replacement for thickening savory dishes or a substitute for breading or batters (for frying).

Tofu; Silken soft tofu pureed up makes a decent replacement for baked goods but tends to make the final product denser than recipes with eggs. I use tofu in cooking, but firm tofu cubed or baked in slabs. This works “ok” pureed to thicken savory dishes but it doesn’t thicken quite enough to my taste.

Vinegar and Baking Soda; Apple cider or distilled white works the best. Use with cakes, sweet or quick breads. Not the best for substituting in cookies. Not a good replacement for thickening savory dishes or a replacement for breading or batters (for frying).

Yogurt; Similar to Vinegar and Baking soda, Use with cakes, sweet or quick breads. Not the best for substituting in cookies. This is a good replacement for thickening savory dishes (whole milk plain yogurt) and is a good replacement for breading or batters (for frying).

Buttermilk; same as yogurt.

Arrowroot Powder; I love arrowroot; I use it as a thickener for soups and sauces frequently, its great for breading (especially Chinese food), and it is an excellent replacement for eggs for pretty much any use.

Aquafaba; (the liquid left from canned beans and chickpeas); best used as a substitute for egg whites, also a great replacement for breading savory items to bake or sauté. It does do some odd things with batter for frying, I’ve found though.

Agar-Agar; A decent replacement for eggs in baking, it will create a denser and stiffer texture in baked goods. Great as a thickener for savory dishes (be leery of using too much though, or you end up with a big gloppy mess.) Not recommended as a replacement for breading or batters for frying.

Gelatin; see the Agar-Agar comments

and last but not least

Chia seeds….

Ground-up chia seeds; 1 Tablespoon to 3 Tablespoons of water for about 5 minutes = one egg.

If you don’t grind them but still soak them, they will look like frog eggs. The seeds will be surrounded by a gelatin-like coating. If using whole, you need about 4 Tablespoons + water to equal one egg.

Chia is a great replacement for eggs, both ground and unground for baking goods. Not a great replacement for breading and “interesting” but not a bad way, ground as a substitute for eggs in batters.

I think I’ve primarily fallen in love with them because they add a great extra added flavor and texture to baked goods (whole chia seeds), and I’ve experimented with putting them in granola bar mixes and chocolate brittle/barks. Cracked black pepper, chia seed (whole), and lime are an amazing combination in chocolate brittle/bark. Hot, tart and crunchy at the same time. And I’ve made a really good energy bar with Chia as well (recipe coming soon).

In savory recipes, I have been adding them to my veggie burgers (not formerly a fan of veggie burgers prior either, but I am now) and it is great for using as part of a breading crust for chicken, the afore mentioned veggie burgers, and fish.

Just be careful if sautéing with it and using it as part of your breading, chia seeds POP when they get really hot. So I either mix with other ingredients for a crust and bake or sauté off on medium heat until the product is lightly browned and then finish in the oven.

Some additional perks of using Chia seeds:

High in fiber, about 5 grams of fiber per Tablespoon.
1 oz of Chia seeds has about 1/2 grams of protein.
Chia has one of the highest sources of Omega-3s of almost any food.
Chia contains calcium, more than skim milk.
Chia is apparently great for weight loss, but that’s a great additional benefit after the taste, texture and versality of it have come first in my book.
You can use it to grow microgreens. They are extremely easy to grow and actually healthier and safer to eat than sprouts. (using chia pet seeds, though for this is not recommended as apparently they have probably been sitting around for awhile).

I’d also recommend checking out an article by the Harvard School of Public Health which has some additional information about chia seeds, and there are literally hundreds of other articles touting the superfood if you do a little browsing on Google.

One thing to note, I’ve read this in several places as a suggestion, and I’ve seen how much Chia expands with moisture; it is very much NOT recommended to just pop handfuls of chia seeds as I’ve seen several articles recommend just chowing them down as a snack.

That is not unless you prefer a visit from the local rescue squad.

One additional thing I’ve found as I’ve researched the history and uses of chia seeds. Cats (and dogs) can eat the greens (same as with humans, please don’t mix directly with food if you are not going to soak it first!), and when planted outside, the flowers are a great nectar source for bees and butterflies!

What more could I ask for? Delicious, Nutritious, and good for pollinators! The perfect top off to my chia obsession would be a Baby Yoda Chia Pet. Oh wait… they have those too! And two different zombie chia pets as well. (I had mentioned the zombie apocalypse did I not?). Not a big fan of zombie movies (although Shaun of the Dead IS awesome), but from a food standpoint, apocalypse food prepping has a strangely fascinating aspect to me.

The pandemic with people hoarding toilet paper always made me chuckle, I’d rather horde Chia seeds, at least they are edible and multiuse. Somehow sautéed toilet paper with a nice garlicky marinara just doesn’t have the same appeal.

****Photo top right has a picture of Better Body Foods Chia seeds, this is not an official endorsement or paid product placement, merely the fact that I’ve tried a bunch of different brands since first falling in love with chia seeds and it’s the best one I’ve found so far out there. Plus from Amazon (sorry but no one local has it that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg) it’s more cost effective. I’ve apparently bought over 20 containers since March so that’s probably saying something, both about the product and the fact that I’m apparently chia crazy.

: HT Then and Now (Left, circa 2001, Cape Cod American Culinary Federation (ACF) photo) a decade later (Right, circa 2011, Michigan Lake 2 Lake Conference, session on Plate Presentation)

So the world probably doesn’t need another food blog. But it’s also people’s personal choices to read blogs, so if this isn’t of interest, they can browse elsewhere. No one’s going to hold a potato peeler to their heads and threaten to peel them if they don’t cooperate.

As you’ve probably guessed from the second line, I tend to be snarky and sarcastic (which I’m told sarcasm is actually not the same thing as being snarky, that sounds good, so I’ll take their word for it. When I asked for the difference, I was told, “you tend to be sarcastic about things but snarky regarding yourself (i.e., self-mocking) occasionally.“) That totally works for me, so here you go.

How did this food blog come about? Well, first of all, please don’t ever call it a foodie blog or me a foodie. Please! Just don’t. I take that as an insult. The term foodie is complementary to most people, but when someone calls me an expert or guru, I tend to get a bit, well, snarky. I don’t feel I am an expert at something that changes on literally a daily basis.

Now tell me my food is delish and that squashed ugly chef ego raises its ugly head, and I’d say, “Yes, I know!” But marketing self-labeled experts, mavens or gurus fall into the same category as foodies to me. I think I’ll just not go there right now. Um yeah, no, did I mean I was sarcastic about labels? Now why pray tell, do I dislike the term “foodie.” I’ve probably managed to insult people who call themselves foodies, and please don’t be insulted. You can call yourself a foodie all you want; just don’t call me one.

I am a food professional. I was trained professionally, mentored by many very knowledgeable professionals, and worked professionally in kitchens for over 20 years. To me, a foodie is the guy who knows about the different regions that produce olive oil in Italy but can’t tell you how to properly cook with it to save his life. As my husband likes to say about me when I have my ugly chef ego rises occasionally (only regarding food), “Once a chef, always a chef.”

So I digress as I am wont to do (you’ve been warned), the food blog is coming about for various reasons.

One: I’ve been blogging since about 2009, marketing posts mixed with restaurant advice, operations posts, food advice, and the occasional recipe. I started out on a WordPress.com blog originally (still up at https://chefforfeng.wordpress.com), and when I redid my website a few years ago and moved from straight HTML to WordPress.org, I incorporated the blog in it for future posts. It really is time for me to separate it out.

Two: I’ve been getting emails recently inviting me to do contests for recipes using products, not something I previously had any inclination to do. I won some culinary competitions way back when I was at CIA for a seafood contest, and I think there was a cheese contest (it was a long time ago), but I never really had any interest in doing them otherwise since then. These new ones sound like a ton of fun, though, and one of the requirements is to have a frequently updated food blog (i.e., “just” a food blog).

Three: I recently did a level four elective project for Toastmasters (member since 2009 and working on my third DTM) in the Motivational Strategies path; the project was to use a current blog or start a new blog and do 8 posts in a month. Yeah, that wasn’t happening (and it didn’t, but I’ll be doing the elective again in another path because it did not hit my time goal), and I thought it would be a good kick in the arse for me to be more consistent with my blog posts again. When I first started blogging, I was actually terrific about doing at least several posts per month. In the last couple of years, meh….. not so much.

Four: Since Covid hit, I’ve been doing an awful lot of baking and since weekends since March consisted of not being able to go do much with friends, let’s experiment and muck around in the kitchen. I used to hate baking. I really, really, REALLY did. I think CIA brainwashed me (apologies to my wonderful, knowledgeable instructors in baking and pastry), but I didn’t enjoy having to measure things to exact amounts. I loved playing with chocolate and fondant, but ye gods, have to measure everything precisely? Yikes! Give me an excellent savory sauce to mess with any day!

I worked in restaurants for many years, where I was the cook, baker, and candlestick maker. I did not like to bake. “I do not like to bake, I’d rather have a steak.” I think there is a Dr. Seuss rhyme in there somewhere. Since Covid, there were only so many stews I could make, pot pies I could bake, and stocks that I could slake (sorry meant strain, apparently a Police song just went running through my odd little brain). So I decided to go online and find some recipes to torture my husband and neighbors with.

Needless to say, after much experimenting and finding, HEY baking IS fun, and no, you don’t have to follow the ever begotten recipe exactly. I’ve been enjoying the new adventure. Part of the adventure and the challenge is being out of ingredients and finding, figuring out and testing what can be used as substitutions. In the mid-nineties I worked as a chef at a restaurant in Stowe, Vermont that had challenges to beat the band in terms of having to substitute things in a pinch, more on that in an upcoming blog post.

Five: I really like to write. I freely admit I am not the best writer; being dyslexic with an odd sense of humor tends to make things, well, a bit odd, especially the grammar (thank you, Grammarly for catching most of my oddities) at times. But I do like to write, so this is good therapy along with the mucking around in the kitchen. I find cooking, and now baking, very therapeutic, and so is writing, and in this new year, I am resolving to try to write more.

To date, the only new year’s resolution I’ve managed to keep in many decades is to never buy a lottery ticket, but I figure this one is a good one to at least try to be more consistent with writing because it’s fun and it’s a tie into my one true love (besides my awesome hubby and pups)… my love of food.

So I’ll try to keep this blog food-related, some desserts, some savories, some miscellaneous snarky and sarcastic commentary about food and the food industry, and hopefully a few cooking tips that may help you along the way. Requests and questions are always taken.

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you in advance for putting up with me through this intro/rant to my new blog. Let’s have some fun, shall we?

If you missed the last two recipes from other blog, check them out: Chocolate, Coconut and Barberry Biscotti and Chocolate Chip Bourbon Cake

Ch-ch-ch-chia! Cooking with Chia seeds

Welcome to My New Blog