The recipe for the best batter.

Right now, I'll go ahead and tell you that I KNOW that this is not the healthiest recipe that I'll ever share.

And it ranks right up there with strange things that work out very well....  recipes that you look at and say "what?!!!".

You know how sometimes you need a batter for things that you want to fry?

Like those first tender, sweet squash, or stuffed squash blossoms, or green tomatoes or okra or onion rings...
 I could go on.

This recipe makes onion rings that I promise you, are unrivaled.

And it doesn't require any special tricks or equipment.

It does require that you do NOT taste one as you're cooking,,, unless you're home alone and you expect to eat dinner while standing at the stove.  They're addictive and quite, quite yummy.  If that IS the plan for dinner, then go ahead... knock yourself out... you have my permission.

When I make onion rings, as I did this evening, I peel and slice up a couple of large white onions. Separate them into rings. Get some oil screaming hot!   Toss the onions into the batter. Use a fork to grab one and toss it into the oil.  Very quickly, it should sizzle and 'float' to the top.  Flip it once and let it turn a nice golden brown, then take it out to drain on a paper towel.

I don't have a deep fryer... I simply put a cup and a half or so of cooking oil into a saucepan.  I don't fry food often enough to use a deep fryer, and when I did have one, it required an awful lot of oil, that I had to store and reuse, and it made such a mess.  Better a saucepan and an occasional 'frying' event.

On to the recipe:

Batter for Frying

3/4 cup of plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt  (depending on what's being fried, I might make this 1/2 teaspoon of salt)
2 Tablespoons of corn starch
3/4 cup of water

Whisk all ingredients together.  Will make a very watery batter.  So watery and thin, in fact, it will not look like it's going to work,,, but go ahead and do it anyway... you'll see!  Dip your veggies, which have previously been prepared, into the batter, let the excess drip off and put it in the hot oil.  It should pop up off the bottom and start to float pretty quickly.  Turn the battered veggie and let it cook until it's a beautiful golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.    Try HARD not to eat one... really hard... and try to keep the boys/girls/spouses from starting in on the goodies before you get them on the table, because otherwise, you're gonna need to go cut up some more veggies and mix up some more batter....

... ask me how I know.