Whatcha Got Cookin'?

[VerDeTerre]

Anybody making anything good? Please share!

I've got frozen shrimp and okra in the freezer and am thinking of making up some kind of a sautee or curry with tomatoes and spices, but I haven't figured it all out yet.

I also made some home fries out of potatoes, olive oil, onions, and paprika. I supposed they could go in with the shrimp and okra. I accidentally discovered that the home fries are amazing with just a little bit of Irish Mist mixed in.

[Riptide651]

All about Gnoccchi

[VerDeTerre]

Do you make them with potato? I've seen recipes without them.

[paksetti]

Taco night, mufuckers.

I've got some tilapia marinating in lime/chilli stuff and I'm going to put fresh red cabbage & sour cream/garlic/cilantro sauce in 'em. Homemade tortillas too- aw yeah.

[GigaRevival]

I'm making Ramen tonight. : /

Tomorrow I'm making pumpkin ravioli with my family's special red Italian sauce. Don't ask what's in the sauce (or what it even is) because I have no friggin' idea. We get it shipped to us from my aunt who refuses to share the recipe. Double : /

[frankokomando]

My mom made spaghetti. :|

[crocobaura]

I made roast pork today. I took like forever. :)

[kattenijin]

Stuffed salmon fillets w/ a lobster/crab-meat stuffing; edemame, blackbeans and peas w/a vinagrette sauce over brown rice; and a chocolate/mandarin orange bowl cake.

[HarVee]

I think I'mma just get a turkey sandwich for dinner. And for dessert, I'll have some Skittles.

[anothereyjana]

Like HarVee, I just ate a sammich (only roast beef instead of turkey), but there is some stuff I'm planning on making tomorrow or over the next couple of days, or have recently made.

Mashed Butternut squash--bake in the oven face-down and covered with cinnamon until tender, add a dash of milk and a bit more cinnamon, beat until smooth. Has a texture similar to mashed potatoes but tastes like some kind of pie filling--very yummy.

Veggie Scramble--broccoli, carrots, corn, peas, and a bit of cheese all cooked in with scrambled eggs.

Also, does it help that the sammich in question was roast beef and Colby cheese with horseradish sauce served on a roll and with a glass of cranberry-pomegranate juice?

[VerDeTerre]

anothereyjana - Thanks for including the recipe for the mashed butternut squash - I've never tried it sweet that way. I'll have to give that a go sometime. I love butternut. I usually just cook it up and mash it plain or with a bit of garlic, then put the mashed butternut on a whole wheat tortilla, put some cooked black beans on top, salsa, and Monterrey jack cheese and microwave it until the cheese melts. The sweetness of the squash offsets the beans and salsa nicely.

kattenijin - Could you share how you make chocolate/Mandarin orange cake?

[kattenijin]

anothereyjana - kattenijin - Could you share how you make chocolate/Mandarin orange cake?

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/chocolate-orange-punch-bowl-cake-recipe/1/

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks for sharing! I'll share a similar type thing back that my son recommended: http://www.supercoolfoodblog.com/2010/09/five-minute-vegan-chocolate-mug-cake.html


I haven't tried it yet, but find it interesting that it uses wine vinegar. He feels that it needs something to make it richer. I suggested butter and cream, but it wouldn't be vegan anymore.

[vhanster]

I don't have much groceries/ food ingredients stored at home, so I usually cook some grilled cheese or instant noodles if I don't eat out

[VerDeTerre]

You sound like a typical college student :)

A variation on grilled cheese is cheese melted into a tortilla wrap with a little salsa inside - delicious!

[frankokomando]

I had oatmeal this morning. Probably for lunch I will have a nutella and banana smoothie. :)

[maxon]

mmmm - some of this sounds lovely. I do like butternut squashes. Last night was chasseur (I do a veggie adaptation), roast potatoes, peas and a quorn thingy - Him Indoors had chicken instead. We're trying to clear the freezer so we can defrost it. Then poached pears with creme fraiche (yum). Tonight, it's even easier: pasta with a tomato sauce (anchovies, garlic, chilli - fish for him, roasted goats cheese for me). We always have easy meals during the week. Sundays are my cooking days though this Sunday was an easy meal.

[VerDeTerre]

Frankokomando - oatmeal is one of my favorites. I've never heard of adding nutella to a smoothie. I know a couple of teenagers that just might go for that. I'm waiting for some strawberries to thaw now for a smoothie.

Maxon - that sounds wonderful! I would love to dine with you.

I just came back from the grocery and stocked up on the veggies that were about to go over (and cost less). Oddly out of season, but still appreciated, I have the makings of ratatouille. Using Julia Child's classic recipe as the guide, I've sliced and salted the eggplant and zucchini and will start frying them soon.

[frankokomando]

Frankokomando - oatmeal is one of my favorites. I've never heard of adding nutella to a smoothie. I know a couple of teenagers that just might go for that. I'm waiting for some strawberries to thaw now for a smoothie.

Oatmeal is great on a cold morning. I add cinnamon to it and it's really good. The recipe I have for the smoothie, it's suppose to be peanut butter instead of nutella, but since I can't stand peanut butter nutella is a good substitute. It makes the smoothie taste more chocolatey, but it's still kind of healthy for you. :D

[Riptide651]

Yep w/ potatoes.

All about Kraft Mac and Cheese

[KKiryu007Joker]

Out and about with Haggis, and making sushi. And stuffing them into the haggis with lettuce. And putting sour cream onto the lettuce. That's making my teeth itch.

[VerDeTerre]

Haggis, as in sheeps' liver stuffed into an animal's stomach?

[KKiryu007Joker]

Haggis, as in sheeps' liver stuffed into an animal's stomach?

'Ju got it man! I know how to make that, but I never do, I like salad better, and pasta. Scottish people play ball with Haggis, they eat with haggis, and they talk about them, and they also write funny stories about them, and make chicken haggis and hamburger haggis! Yeah they do all that....

[lethifold]

I just made myself some bruschetta for lunch, with fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden and the tastiest artisan sourdough you'll ever find, bought at a local bakery. There's nothing like top quality ingredients to improve upon a simple dish.

[frankokomando]

I had a milkyway candy bar for dinner. :| Very nutritious.

[minimogut]

TACO!!!! And maybe a burrito, too!

[opiumgirl]

Since it is summer here and too hot to live. we will be having a platter.
French bread, cherry tomatoes, olives ,mature cheddar, goats cheese, blue, brie. With peppadews, preserved figs and fresh melon.
I think a couple of glasses of red wine will go nicely with all that :Pint:

[Sparklycookie]

Um, pizza on a baguette with cheese and tomato.

[VerDeTerre]

Since it is summer here and too hot to live. we will be having a platter.
French bread, cherry tomatoes, olives ,mature cheddar, goats cheese, blue, brie. With peppadews, preserved figs and fresh melon.
I think a couple of glasses of red wine will go nicely with all that :Pint:

It's so unfair! I couldn't press the "love" button enough times *drool*

"Cheese, Grommit! We forgot the Cheese!"

[lethifold]

I'm about to start making a big raspberry pie for a dinner party I'm going to tonight, crust and all. There's nothing like some baking to get me in a good mood!

[paksetti]

Raspberry pie? Marry me.

I went to a potluck (so technically I wasn't something that I had cookin but whatevs.) and somebody brought this really awesome banana pudding. It was layered with Nilla wafers and frozen banana slices- and the pudding itself had the consistency of whipped cream. I made some rice crispy treats with almond-marshmallow fluff and dried golden raisins & apricots. I molded them into little balls and rolled them in crushed toasted almonds- I love almonds too much.

Also, I think I've pimped Dopefish (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne-4jgG9YW0&list=PLA78D48DADB28DEB5&context=C3a74983ADOEgsToPDskKQrnXG_Hp9HKO0iqm-dS60) before, but his cooking videos are all really cute. This one, however is just fucking awesome.

[lethifold]

It still needs another 35 minutes in the oven, but:
http://i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx345/Dustmites/IMG_5237.jpg

[vhanster]

@lethifold: So that's what an oven looks like when the power is on?

Anyways, just bought pizza for dinner with some friends last night- and whoever divided the pieces must not have learnt fractions in math...

[kattenijin]

My favorite casserole tonight, basically a modified lasagna with meat, "shells" pasta, parmesan, onion, and tomato soup concentrate.

[VerDeTerre]

Pare321 - I've had that banana and nilla wafer thing before - it is pretty good.

Lethifold - Please share your recipe. That just looks amazing and I never would have thought that raspberries would make a good pie because they are so juicy. Now I want pie.

[maxon]

mmmm - now I'm hungry. Tonight I'm making vegetarian stew (with Linda McCartney sausages and dumplings). May not sound too interesting but it's one of my favourite meals. I've been making it ever since I worked in a veggie restaurant and shop back in the day. It's good for a cold wet day in England too. And it's bloody cold and wet here today <grumble>.

[lethifold]

VerDeTerre, I used this (http://www.anyrecipe.net/dessert/recipes/blackberry_pie.html) recipe for the filling and this (http://www.anyrecipe.net/dessert/recipes/piecrust_without_shortening.html) for the crust recipe. Seeing as I was cooking for a friend who is almost entirely lactose intolerant, I used vegetable oil instead of butter, which made the pastry feel a lot lighter, too. Also, I would recommend making slightly more dough than the recipe suggests, perhaps half a recipe more. I had to hurriedly make a second batch of it because the bottom of my pie was slightly too thin.

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks so much!

[Tempscire]

Just pulled a loaf of rosemary bread out of the oven to nibble with some leftover vegetable soup, smoked provolone, and some merlot. It'd be a nice winter meal, but it feels like spring outside. Oh well. The house stays cool enough inside to be worth it. :)

[VerDeTerre]

Boy, I am such a sucker for cheese, bread and wine. *drool* Any variation on that works for me.

[frankokomando]

Hot chocolate and vegetable soup. :)

[Spitfire Mouse]

Mead.

Yep, seriously, that's what's cooking right now. Unfortunately we don't get to see if it's any good for at least 3 months.

[vhanster]

Had some homemade chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts- bought from Famous Amos

... Aaand boiling some water with an automatic water heater

[frankokomando]

Veggie Burger, oreos, banana and nutella smoothie.

[opiumgirl]

A really nice, smooth butter-bean and thyme soup, with Portuguese bread. Awesome and quick!

[mollaecamera]

pancakes.. really! P:

[5M0K3]

I envy you people.

I am currently poor, so I am eating leftovers...

...FROM CHRISTMAS.

[anothereyjana]

Spaghetti with home-made garlic bread.

A few days ago I made peanut-butter-chocolate pancakes. Just scoop some creamy peanut butter into the pancake batter (helps thicken it up too--of course, I was just using the boxed mix--I don't know how to make pancake batter from scratch), then, after pouring the batter into the skillet (I am poor, so I don't have a griddle), sprinkle chocolate chips into pancake.

It's amazing what stuff (that actually ends up tasting good) you can come up with simply by throwing together the leftover crap you have in you near-empty kitchen cabinets! :lol:

[VerDeTerre]

...pancake batter (helps thicken it up too--of course, I was just using the boxed mix--I don't know how to make pancake batter from scratch)....

It's amazing what stuff (that actually ends up tasting good) you can come up with simply by throwing together the leftover crap you have in you near-empty kitchen cabinets! :lol: It does sound intriguing. You really should give making batter from scratch a try- it's the easiest thing in the world. There's many kinds of recipes out there depending on what kind of flour you want. A basic recipe that has been translated into premixes is buttermilk. They're awesome with buttermilk, of course, but you can always substitute soured milk instead (add a little white vinegar or some lemon juice to the milk and let it sit for a few minutes). We like to make a whole grain pancake around here. My boyfriend substitutes flax seed for some of the fat and oil or butter for the rest. The recipe calls for shortening but we never use it.

My son's and my favorite is German Apple Pancakes. My son usually makes them without the apple. The nice thing about them is that they bake in the oven so you can have many servings ready at the same time. I find these the easiest of all to make.

[Spitfire Mouse]

Funny this talk about pancakes. We almost made pancakes for dinner last night, but I opted to make homemade pizza. :giggler:

My mom has a wonderful recipe for blueberry pancakes. It's the only one I've used to date that doesn't call for so much baking powder that the pancakes end up tasting bitter. Ugh, I hate that! I'll have to try adding a bit of peanut butter to the base recipe and then the choc. chips. I think my husband would really like that since he loves Reese's PB Cups.


I'm making banana bread today.



An update on our mead, in case anyone was wondering. We took a class this weekend and we've done most everything right since we followed a recipe. The instructor stated a specific time for racking the mead for secondary fermentation, but my husband thinks we don't need to since the recipe didn't call for it. I really think we should follow the instructor's directions. If we don't, I'm not sure if I want to drink our mead when it's ready. :lol:

[opiumgirl]

I'm making banana bread today.

Please share your recipe since I love banana bread but all I end up making is banana mush.

An update on our mead, in case anyone was wondering. We took a class this weekend and we've done most everything right since we followed a recipe. The instructor stated a specific time for racking the mead for secondary fermentation, but my husband thinks we don't need to since the recipe didn't call for it. I really think we should follow the instructor's directions. If we don't, I'm not sure if I want to drink our mead when it's ready. :lol:

I had mead once, it was kind of like something the cat made, but sweet. :wtf: maybe it was really bad mead? My medieval self really want to believe that mead is like ambrosia!

btw would anybody like me to share my sister-in-law's blog?
When I don't know what to make for supper I always look there. She is also the best cook I have ever met and this includes a number of chefs. I live in envy of my brother :)

[VerDeTerre]

@Opiumgirl: I would love to see your sister's blog. I'm always on the lookout for good recipes and ideas which is why I started this thread :)

@ Spitfire and Opiumgirl: A friend of mine made some mead once and it was delicious! There's a local meadery nearby and their bottles suggest that there are many kinds of mead similar to the kinds of wine: fruity, dry, or sweet. There was more, but that was as much as I made note of.

@ Spitfire: Mmmm - homemade pizza! Mmmm! I wish my son was here. He does a fanatastic job with pizza, carefully constructing a crust and baking it on the hottest oven we can manage. He is fussy and particular in all the details: They type of tomatoes in the sauce, which seasonings, the quality of the cheese, and the use of fresh basil. It's a gourmet treat when he's home and cooking.

[Volvenom]

I made sensa glutine pancakes today. Had almond flour, african jytte flour, italian panacotta, milk and eggs. It tasted like :rolleyes: shit :( . Need to do some serious changes for next time I make it. Like having more milk and egg, and less blabla ... or something.

[opiumgirl]

here you go!
http://thefoodfox.com/
As for mead, that is good to know, because I cannot believe what I tasted is all there is, but I live in wine country and mead is not known here.
We tend to be, wine olives and cheese

[AlexandraSpears]

Grass-fed lamb liver and onions (oh, Peni--!) and cauliflower.

My 10-year-old likes it. We both like liver with ketchup.

Trying to make it so my family eats better...a store opened up recently that's like an indoor, year-round farmers' market.

[VerDeTerre]

@Opiumgirl - thanks for the link! I checked it out. Those are some amazing recipes! The photography is rather spectacular too.

@Alexandra - That's great that your 10-year-old will eat that! He has unusual tastes!

I don't eat liver anymore since I'm a vegetarian, but when I did, I found that no amount of ketchup would ever cover the taste of it. My friend and I used to try to eat it once a week when we first left home to live somewhere else (we were on an adventure). We found that sour cream covers the taste of everything and we enjoyed liver and onions smothered in the stuff.

Farmers' markets and similar stores are great! I buy a share in a local organic farm every summer which means I am challenged to make something out of the bundles of vegetables that we pick up each week. I've not only learned to love greens, I start to crave them when I don't have them. Every week is an adventure.

[AlexandraSpears]

I've loved liver and ketchup since childhood myself...and got made fun of for it once! :lol:

I get the grass-fed beef, bratwurst, chicken patties...good stuff. And raw-milk cheese...I've been eating that and I haven't had a cold so far this winter, haven't even had my usual fall allergies (they can sell it so long as it's been aged a certain amount of time).

[Spitfire Mouse]

@ Spitfire: Mmmm - homemade pizza! Mmmm! I wish my son was here. He does a fanatastic job with pizza, carefully constructing a crust and baking it on the hottest oven we can manage. He is fussy and particular in all the details: They type of tomatoes in the sauce, which seasonings, the quality of the cheese, and the use of fresh basil. It's a gourmet treat when he's home and cooking.

I have to admit I'm a bit of a food snob at times and will do the same thing. Unfortunately it's not always easy to find good tomatoes so I usually stick with canned when I make my sauce.

However, I do often use Fleischmann's Pizza Yeast and the recipe for the crust on the back. We rarely actually plan to make pizza so a standard crust recipe will take too long to rise. The only time we do plan is when I make lasagna because there's always sauce left over. :D


here you go!
http://thefoodfox.com/


Ooo, foodie blog! Wonderful!!


Yes, mead is no longer only sweet. It's very much like wine or champagne, it can be sweet or dry and anything in between. It depends mostly on the honey you use as well as the yeast. Even the same honey from year to year can be different depending on what the bees have been harvesting from. If you add fruit or use fruit juices instead of water, spices or herbs the outcome and what it's called is also different. There was a LOT of information packed into our 2 hour class.

We have a number of meaderies in CO and it's been nice to try some different flavors. We're hoping once we're able to buy a house that we'll be zoned for beehives. Then we'll at least be able to consider having our own hive(s) since honey isn't exactly cheap in bulk. But for now, we're only making 1 gallon batches so it doesn't require a lot of honey. I'm not much for the real sweet versions and I like a bit of carbonation. The instructor had samples of a prickly pear mead that was excellent in flavor, but the texture was thicker like a liqueur which I didn't care for. It's going to be fun just to try different combinations. Too bad it takes such a long time to get your final product.


Here's the recipe I use for Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350°

2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, unsalted and softened
3/4 - 1 cup Sugar
1 Egg
5 Tbsp Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
3 Bananas, medium size and mashed
1/2 - 1 cup Pecans or Walnuts, chopped (optional)

Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until well blended.
Add the egg and vanilla, mix well.
Stir in the bananas.
Fold in half the dry ingredients, then the milk, then the remaining dry and nuts.
Spread batter in a well greased loaf pan.
Bake 40-60 minutes or until a toothpick or tester comes out clean or with very few crumbs.
Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove carefully and let cool on a rack.




Some notes:
- The sugar amount varies depending on how sweet your like your bread as well as how sweet the bananas are. I usually let my bananas go until the skins are completely brown and starting to go black, so they're very sweet. I also prefer brown sugar to white in my bread. dark brown or light, either one works fine.

- The spice amount can be changed depending on your own taste. 1 tsp of cinnamon is a good amount to start with, but sometimes I make it a very generous tsp. Nutmeg is optional. Some people don't like it in their bread. I always use fresh grated.

- I always hate when a recipe says "small", "med", or "large" and how many as a form of measurement. This recipe uses that and I honestly can't remember the actual measured amount. To me a medium banana is one that's about 6-7 inches, which is pretty standard in the grocery stores. So 3 of those is what I use. It might work out to about 2 cups. Don't quote me on that. :p

- I rarely put nuts in my banana bread since my husband isn't a huge fan of nuts in baked goods. 1/2 to 1 cup is just a guideline. I always use pecans if I'm going to use nuts and toast them lightly.

I have the America's Test Kitchen recipe for banana bread and I really want to try it. It's more involved and requires more bananas, so I stuck with my standard. If I get around to making it, I'll post results.

I just pulled my bread out after about 52 minutes and it's perfect. I think that's my dinner. If my husband hurries and gets home, I might let him have a piece. :giggler:

[opiumgirl]

@ VerDeTerre: She does her own photography. I am always hungry after seeing all that beautiful food!

@ Spitfire Mouse: Thank you for the recipe!

[DrowningFishy]

People who eat chex mix find this gross but Iaugh in their face. I melted some butter in the nuke (mircrowave) mixed in some spices mixed in corn flakes till it coated them thinly waited for them to turn kinda soft threw them on tin foil then put them in the toaster oven toasting them till they are nice and crispy agian. Also good to do with cheerios NOM. It honestly is a really good eat if poeple would stop being so judgemental. Look at how much sodium is in usual mixes it's nuts. This way you can limit the level of salt and add nummy flavors like onions, garlic, bazil. The possibilities are endless.

[VerDeTerre]

Drowny, it sounds good to me. What spices do you use?

[DrowningFishy]

Drowny, it sounds good to me. What spices do you use?

Look what is in your cabinet there is no boundries. Some nights I mix curry spice, teeny bit of salt, and onions, and a little garlic to make like a curry flavor. Other nights I add pramasan cheese (the stuff you shake out of can) parsley garlic and just a smite of italian dressing to create a italian flavor. Other nights I mix spicey pepper powder, cilatro, little bit of salt of course and add a bit of lime when it's cooked for a mexican flavor. Most times though I just open my cabinent and say HM what looks good. Tonight I had Pepper, Roasted Garlic and Herb, and spicy pepper powder.

That's the sheer joy of making it this way to, you don't always have to end up cooking the same thing over.

Here is a recipie that I feel is dying out because it's really only a one state recipe.

Booyah

4 Ham bones (some use beef)
1 1/2 lb beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes (not going to kill it if you don't have it)
2 cups approx. of pearl onions
5 ribs of celery, chopped (you can leave this out many people do)
1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
5 large carrots, trimmed, chopped
2 cups of green cabbage, shredded
2 cups of fresh green beans, chopped
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2 cups of corn kernels
1 cup of peas
10 red potatoes, skin on, chopped
1 large lemon, juiced
1/2 tbsp worchestershire sauce (optional more current add-if you used ham probably not)
1 tbsp soy sauce (same as above you don't NEED it-again ham probably not)
12c Water
Chopped flat leaf parsley

In a large (make sure it can easly handle 12 cups and leave some room above the rim do not make my mistake) soup pot put in your bones and start to brown them over medium high heat should only take a few minutes. Add HALF the onions and your bay leaves stir for about a minute then time to add the water. YAY! Add a pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add in the stew meat and the chicken peices, then simmer for two hours. If your meat is not covered then you should add a little bit more water. As the meat boils skim off the sh-t that floats to the top.

Two hours is up remove all the meat, and just the meat and skim off any thing that has floated to the top. Leave in the bones though. Add your patatoes and carrots for about 15 minutes. Me personally I like to do carrots 15 patatoes 10. Then toss in your peas, carrots and green beans for cook for about 10 minutes then add the tomatoes season with a bit more salt and pepper cover and simmer for about another 10 minutes as you begin to deskin and pull the chicken meat off the bone.

Add the meat back to the pot and give it a good stir continue covered on low heat for 30 minutes. After time is up add the lemon juice and if you so desire whoreshiresauce and soy sauce. You also want to add yoru cabbiage here give it a good stir and let it stnad five minutes off heat (covered) then serve. Well, most don't like to add cabbage that late but where i am from that's what we do because we don't like mushy gooshy cabbiage. You can remove the bones now, again some people do some people don't.

It's a Wisconsin reciepe and over the years people keep mixing up what is in it. Anyway as you can tell it's a recipie to feed and army. Some people add a can of beer that's okay same with hot sauce. :-) It's rare to see two people make Booyah the same. :beer:

[Lawli-Lawli]

Spaghetti and meatballs w/ garlic bread.
:lovestruc

[VerDeTerre]

...It's a Wisconsin reciepe and over the years people keep mixing up what is in it. Anyway as you can tell it's a recipie to feed and army. Some people add a can of beer that's okay same with hot sauce. :-) It's rare to see two people make Booyah the same. :beer: That's one meaty recipe, so I probably won't be making it in the near future, but it was interesting to learn about. I found this definition on Wikipedia:

"Booya or booyah is a thick soup of unknown origin made throughout the Upper Midwestern United States.[1] Booya often requires up to two days and multiple cooks to prepare; it is cooked in specially designed "booya kettles" and usually meant to serve hundreds or even thousands of people. The name also refers to the event surrounding the meal. Alternative spellings include bouja, boulyaw, and bouyou."

[DrowningFishy]

That's one meaty recipe, so I probably won't be making it in the near future, but it was interesting to learn about. I found this definition on Wikipedia:

"Booya or booyah is a thick soup of unknown origin made throughout the Upper Midwestern United States.[1] Booya often requires up to two days and multiple cooks to prepare; it is cooked in specially designed "booya kettles" and usually meant to serve hundreds or even thousands of people. The name also refers to the event surrounding the meal. Alternative spellings include bouja, boulyaw, and bouyou."

Yes there is long ways to make booyah. But this is the short way. XD As for it's orgin well I was only told it was because of the Belgin, German, Polish, Welch, and Irish puttinng together in a pot what they had. LOL which is probably another reason why the reciepe keeps changing but the general basis is there. Great soup for cold blistery months.

Bouyah kettle never herd of that. But I know of people who take a giant ol' pot out side and cook booyah over an open fire for several hours (God it's the best like that).

Okay I shut up now, I'm making myself hungry.

[KKiryu007Joker]

Okay I shut up now, I'm making myself hungry.

BOOOOOOYAAAH!

[VerDeTerre]

Tonight's dinner, quick and light (since I slept this afternoon and wasn't up for a big meal nor cooking lots): plain yogurt, frozen raspberries, and maple syrup.

[maxon]

Giggle - love the spellings of Worcestershire there Drowning, especially this one: whoreshiresauce

Amused me anyway.

Tonight we're just going to have garlic and mushrooms, probably on toast. I love mushrooms - possibly my favourite thing.

[anothereyjana]

Oh, that food-blog looks wonderful opiumgirl, and with so many different types of dishes!
Thank you for the recipes Spitfire Mouse, VerDe Terre, and DrowningFishy; haven't actually tried (or even really heard of, honestly) booyah, but it sounds interesting.

[minpinz]

bosco pizza sticks, stick them in the oven for 14 mins, ta-da dinner is served.

[quayse]

@opiumgirl: I totally bookmarked that page.

I'm a terrible cook. My fresh hash browns come out like glue, and I make evil out of ramen. I once thought it would be a good idea to put red wine vinegar in my ramen...I recommend never, ever doing that unless you're already bulimic. Once I made 'breakfast ramen'...okay, I actually thought that tasted good, but I have the worst palate in the world.
HAaaaaa ummm here's the recipe:

Top Ramen
some eggs
some cheddar cheese
a couple of those pre-shaped, frozen hash browns (like the kind they cook at McDonald's)
some sausage and/or ham
and the secret ingredient: ketchup!

Directions: you just boil some water, throw everything in except for the cheese and ketchup. When the noodles or the hash browns are done, top with ketchup and cheese, stir it all together...ENJOY!

My boyfriend hated me for that. I am never allowed to cook!
Luckily he does an awesome job, especially when it comes to Asian cooking. He makes a lot of hot and sour soup, stir-fry, teriyaki chicken (etc.) and he smokes ribs n' bakes them (we have a somewhat limited kitchen). Also, he makes a holy steak. Holy are his sauces, too.
I'm hungry.

[quayse]

Actually...anyone have any tips for cooking fresh-grated potatoes?

[DrowningFishy]

Actually...anyone have any tips for cooking fresh-grated potatoes?

Squeeze out as much moister as you can, heat thin layer of oil or butter in a pan. Spread them out in a thin layer and make hash browns.

or you can grate 1lbs about of pataters squeeze out moister as above add egg, dried onion flake, salt, pepper, and nutmeg (to taste usually apinch or two). Use a half cup to scoop up mixture flatten on hot frying pan. Fry as above and you have german patater pancakes.

-Edit- to the german patater pancake you can add half of a large fresh onion chopped if you want to use fresh onion instead.


Patater=patato sorry bad habit.

(you can squeeze out moister in a garlic masher or squeeze out in a towel.)

[VerDeTerre]

Actually...anyone have any tips for cooking fresh-grated potatoes? As Drowny said, you can make German potato pancakes (or latkes , a traditional Hanukkah dish, ;) they are the same thing, really.) But my question to you is why did you grate them in the first place?

For reasons of health and convenience, when I hanker for potatoes, I typically do this:
Scrub potatoes, but leave the skin on. Pierce the skins in a few spots with a fork.
Microwave them in a casserole dish in short bursts (2 to 3 minutes at a time) turning and checking that they cook evenly.
Once cooked, cut them into cubes, drizzle with olive oil, grate fresh pepper over them and salt. (Sometimes I melt cubed cheese over them in the microwave afterwards.)

They are delicious this way and satisfy all potato related cravings I may have. Occasionally we make home fries by precooking them slightly (I use the microwave), cutting them into cubes, frying them slowly in a cast iron pan with onions and olive oil, season them when soft with paprika and pepper.

Olive oil is healthier than most other oils. Limiting oil overall is considered a good practice for health. I leave potato skins on because I don't want to bother with taking them off and because that's where the flavor and the vitamins are. However, it's important to remove any green that you see and that may lie just under the first layer of skin. This is especially true of yellow potatoes. The green shows that the potato has been exposed to light and has produced chlorophyll. Green potato skins and potato leaves contain traces of solanine (http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/potato.asp) that can harm you over time. This is probably why people started peeling potatoes in the first place, but if you just remove the green parts, the rest of the potato and any non-green parts are fine. Here's a link to a picture (http://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-why-potatoes-turn-62174) of what the green skin typically looks like beneath the first brown layer.

[simbalena]

Well first I thought I would make Moussaka, but then I realised that was too much work so I thought I would make cottage pie with eggplant in it, but that was too much work so I thought I would make the sauce and have mashed potato on the side, but that was too much work so I decided to make the sauce with potatoes on the side. And I did, and it was so delicious!

[VerDeTerre]

Simbalena, what sauce did you use? We've gotten into making Taiwanese three-cup with eggplant lately. Served over brown rice, it's sublime.

It's basically this recipe (http://browncatbakery.blogspot.com/2009/06/three-cup-eggplant.html) , but my boyfriend likes to saute tofu squares and add them to the eggplant. We've had it served this way at a restaurant and are totally addicted now. The one caveat to the dish is the saltiness. I'm thinking of trying low sodium soy sauce next time.

Last night I roasted eggplant slices with herbs just to have on hand for snacking or for other dishes.

[opiumgirl]

very boring,
we had hot dogs.
with chicken and cheese Vienna's, tomato and onion sauce,and peri-peri spice.

* sorry, I forgot to add that the tomato sauce need:
oregano
basil
sugar/substitute

[VerDeTerre]

I had to google peri-peri spice. Cool - another type of hot spice! I wonder if they sell that here...?

[opiumgirl]

I had to google peri-peri spice. Cool - another type of hot spice! I wonder if they sell that here...?

really? what a wonderful
world we live in :lol:
I am very surprised, I always thought that herbs were local and spices were sort of universal!

[anothereyjana]

really? what a wonderful
world we live in :lol:
I am very surprised, I always thought that herbs were local and spices were sort of universal!

I still get surprised by stuff like that at times too. Here I am under the impression that everyone had, knew about, or at least had heard of this or that, only to find out that it's something completely new to them. An example, for the longest time, I was unaware that Toasted Ravioli (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/st-louis-toasted-ravioli/) was actually a dish that (for the longest time, anyway) only existed in the St. Louis area (kind of a misleading name too, since they're actually fried, not "toasted," and the recipe calls for cheese ravioli, but the way I've always had them has been with beef, and my dad lived in St. Louis, so I half grew up there--they also tend to be served with marinara as a dipping sauce as well, by the way).

As for myself, I made a slight twist on chicken tacos for dinner. I took some pieces of fresh chicken, cut off the fat (which I saved to use for a different recipe), then put some left-over steak rub (McCormick's brand if I remember correctly--I just figured it might add some extra spice, and I've had the stuff since forever, so I thought "why not?") on the chicken while waiting for the pan to heat up. Add the taco sauce after the chicken is mostly/partially cooked, wait for sauce to simmer, then add corn kernels.
Top the chicken with guacamole, lettuce (I got lucky and saw that fresh leaf lettuce was on sale, cheaper even than the bags of pre-shredded iceberg lettuce that I'm personally not a huge fan of [I usually just use spinach in place of lettuce for things like this], so now I have some greenery to put on future tuna sandwiches as well, yay!), and shredded cheese. I also served them with rice and some of the sweet-style mashed butternut squash I posted on page one (I thought it would make a good accompaniment).

[GigaRevival]

I made pumpkin curry last night - and it was surprisingly good. Much better than the last time I attempted to make it. However, I can never seem to cook rice correctly. It's either too soft or too hard. : /

[quayse]

But my question to you is why did you grate them in the first place?
I'm just a huge sucker for hash browns. I only sometimes like a chunk of potatoes squishing around in my mouth. Cheese, onions, bacon and eggs all taste much more delicious to me than a big piece of potato...trust me, I don't mind potatoes. Ham, sausage, tomatoes, garlic...mmm...even toast with butter...English muffins...and most of all:

KETCHUP
and country gravy
and sour cream

All those ingredients are just, I don't know, more satisfying than a chunk of potato bursting onto my tongue.

SO, when they're shredded, I get more of an equal amount of ingredients, I guess.

I have another question about potatoes. Are red potatoes good for breakfast? Simple one, but, really, I've only tasted them at dinner. They're my favorite 'tatoes :llama: .

Squeeze out as much moister as you can I definitely only lightly wrapped them in a paper towel, so I will try that for breakfast tomorrow!

Thanks for both of your tips! UhH...Yum!

I'm so out of my league right now.
This is great, though, I'm learnin' a lot.

[opiumgirl]

I made pumpkin curry last night - and it was surprisingly good. Much better than the last time I attempted to make it. However, I can never seem to cook rice correctly. It's either too soft or too hard. : /

Try making rice in the micro-wave. Just pop it in for 30 minutes and it is perfect!. To this day I can't make rice on a stove

[DrowningFishy]

@ quayse I forgot depending on the amunt of grated pataters you can make pasties (man that word means differnt things to differnt people XD) just by or make some pie crusts. For normal size store bought pie crusts you can make two pasties... Just cut in half. Put down some pataters, diced or very thinly cut onions, and some thinely cut beef, just a smite of salt and pepper, dab of butter on half of the pie crust leaving room to seal the edge. Then when yoru done fold and seal the edges. Making a small hole on top to prevent BOOM from happening (trust me that sucks). For a browner crust you can take an egg and put a light layer over the crust. Depending how cruddy your oven is cook on either 375 or 350 till the pastery is golden brown approx. 30-40 minutes (note I cook from store bought pie crusts since I can't seem to make it on my own)

Give virtual cookie to who ever recognizes the exact type of pasty it is based off of.

[VerDeTerre]

I made pumpkin curry last night - and it was surprisingly good. Much better than the last time I attempted to make it. However, I can never seem to cook rice correctly. It's either too soft or too hard. : /

Oooo! I would love to see your recipe. I love curries! I used to bake a seasoned and spicy rice in a pumpkin, but it's been a few years and I can't remember what I put in there to make it taste good.

I'm just a huge sucker for hash browns. Ah, I see! That explains it. You're right, if you want hash browns, cooked and cubed potatoes aren't going to cut it. I thought of a couple of other things that can be done with cooked potatoes, not sure about grated, but definitely cooked, and those are Indian somosas and Polish perogies, both of which I love.


KETCHUP
and country gravy
and sour cream
When I read this I swore you were from the midwest and had to look up your profile. :P
Have you ever listened to Garrison Keillor's A Praire Home Companion radio show? Ketchup shows up in quite a few of their skits, always sponsored by the "Ketchup Advisory Board" and always as the solution to whatever ails you. Ketchup has "natural mellowing agents."

An example of one:

"TR: All we need to ease our transition back to non-Christmas is ketchup, Barb. You know that. Ketchup contains natural mellowing agents that help you get over the post-holiday blues. And its festive red color really brightens up almost any dish.

SS: No doubt about that. (THEME)

RD: These are the good years, faces all a-glow,
Smoke from the chimney, the moon across the snow.
Ketchup is flowing on the escargot.

GK: Ketchup. For the good times.

RD: Ketchup...ketchup... "

Here's another example: YouTube Clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrgK3M6qTio).

[maxon]

Last night I made kulfi - we were invited out to dinner for a curry and I made the kulfi for afterwards. It's the easiest thing to make if you use condensed and evaporated milk with cream and totally lovely stuff. We ate it with fruit salad - yum.

[GigaRevival]

Oooo! I would love to see your recipe. I love curries! I used to bake a seasoned and spicy rice in a pumpkin, but it's been a few years and I can't remember what I put in there to make it taste good.

THIS (http://thaifood.about.com/od/vegetarianthairecipes/r/pumpkinsweetpotcurry.htm) was the recipe that I used this time around and it turned out friggin' amazing. Two thumbs up, would eat again.

There's also THIS (http://www.food.com/recipe/indian-lamb-curry-27864) that I've been dying to make. However, the unfortunate side of being a vegetarian means having to find adequate substitutes for the meat portion. Tofu? Not so sure with this one. :|

[VerDeTerre]

@Giga,

Thanks so much for the links! Both recipes look lovely! I'll have to try the pumpkin one soon - I have a couple of butternut squashes left over from last summer's CSA (community sponsored agriculture) share. I agree about tofu not being exactly right for a lamb substitute, but I don't think that recipe really calls for lamb anyway. How about some other vegetable or combination of veggies? I'm thinking something with a fair amount of texture like cauliflower, green beans, carrots. The good part about that recipe is really the sauce. One of my absolute favorite of all Indian dishes is Malai Kopfka. I've never made it myself because it seemed so complicated, but the kopfka balls are made with paneer. Maybe paneer balls could go in the lamb curry recipe? (Here's a recipe (http://www.indianfoodforever.com/vegetables/malai-kofta.html) that looks right, but I never tried it.

[VerDeTerre]

Last night I made kulfi - we were invited out to dinner for a curry and I made the kulfi for afterwards. It's the easiest thing to make if you use condensed and evaporated milk with cream and totally lovely stuff. We ate it with fruit salad - yum. Ooo! Must investigate! Lovely!

[maxon]

Ooo! Must investigate! Lovely!
This is quite the easiest recipe I've come across on the Internet - a Hugh FW recipe (usually reliable) - and this is more or less what I do. It's lovely with orange zest and the cardamons and warm milk stuffs make you want to eat it before you freeze it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/06/cardamom-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall?INTCMP=SRCH
(last recipe on page)

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks, Maxon! I'm enjoying all of the recipes on that link. I've never heard of kulfi before and want to give it a try.

[frankokomando]

Cookie dough.

[minpinz]

I made chocolate chip cookies..........for dinner

[malfunction]

Old world Ukrainian stroganovi (its called stroganov but when it is made with a thick broth and thicker meat I call it stroganovi) made with hand made noodles, mutton and beef cuts, fresh vegetables and "ash spices" hehe.

[5M0K3]

Popcorn.

[DrowningFishy]

Random recipe:

This is a reciepie I got form an ol' asian lady in Asian supermarket after standing in the produce isle looking utterly confused. I of course was looking to try some asian mushrooms.She surgested beech mushrooms to fry in a thin layer of oil till just turning nice and brown. Remove from heat add just a smidge of soba sauce and serve. Best yet, they go awesome with curry. Cooked mushroom haters don't hate, these are actually awesome. I hate cooked mushrooms too but you can't go around judgeing every mushroom by some other 'shrooms cover. Mushroomists I swear. Have one bad mushroom and everyone judges all the mushrooms on just that one. Also white mushrooms are good raw, some asian mushrooms are not. Frack I have to sneak and cook them because if I dont as soon as I turn my back someone will nom em all on me. Even more nommy for one bundle of Beech mushrooms add a large sliver or two small slivers of garlic. (I call each sectoin in a garlic clove a sliver; prevents misunderstandings-sorta)

[opiumgirl]

Random recipe:

This is a reciepie I got form an ol' asian lady in Asian supermarket after standing in the produce isle looking utterly confused. I of course was looking to try some asian mushrooms.She surgested beech mushrooms to fry in a thin layer of oil till just turning nice and brown. Remove from heat add just a smidge of soba sauce and serve. Best yet, they go awesome with curry. Cooked mushroom haters don't hate, these are actually awesome. I hate cooked mushrooms too but you can't go around judgeing every mushroom by some other 'shrooms cover. Mushroomists I swear. Have one bad mushroom and everyone judges all the mushrooms on just that one. Also white mushrooms are good raw, some asian mushrooms are not. Frack I have to sneak and cook them because if I dont as soon as I turn my back someone will nom em all on me. Even more nommy for one bundle of Beech mushrooms add a large sliver or two small slivers of garlic. (I call each sectoin in a garlic clove a sliver; prevents misunderstandings-sorta)

I LOVE mushrooms! I find an exuce to put them in almost everything I cook, my friend even put them in a dessert once :blink:

I will definitely give beech mushrooms a go, never heard of them before, thanks!

We have a wholefood market here in my area every Saturday and they have a stall that just sells all sorts of exotic mushrooms. You can buy them to take home or you can just make a selection and they will stick it on a skewer and roast it over coals for you right there! I am in love with that stall.

[DrowningFishy]

I LOVE mushrooms! I find an exuce to put them in almost everything I cook, my friend even put them in a dessert once :blink:

I will definitely give beech mushrooms a go, never heard of them before, thanks!

We have a wholefood market here in my area every Saturday and they have a stall that just sells all sorts of exotic mushrooms. You can buy them to take home or you can just make a selection and they will stick it on a skewer and roast it over coals for you right there! I am in love with that stall.

You can cook Shitaki mushrooms the same way just make sure there cooked throw or they'll taste nasty. Just basically wait till ther e browning and really bloody hot to the touch. You'd want to add a smidge of soba sauce once the browing starts and defently cook it with garlic.

I found my grandma's ol' time cook book to, so if anyone is looking for any YUMMY recipies let me know/ XD there's a few ways to cook carrot cake in here with out nuts or raisons. LOL there's also a reciepe for beer cake. It's not the largest know all cook book but still some awesome ol' and I mean VERY old recipies

[paksetti]

The pantry's a bit bare right now (save for metric tons of junkfood:( ) so I made box mac and cheese with 2lbs. sautéed button mushrooms, 1/8 lb beef sausage, 1 vidalia onion, and half a bag of frozen broccoli. It's pretty damn good given that it's essentially junk. It's so salty though, ugh.


It's better than the "spaghetti" my dad made last week with a jellied mash of penne, fusilli, angel hair and fettuccine. He used cut up frozen hamburgers for the "meatballs", that tasted like McDonald's, and for the sauce he just mixed ketchup and salsa with all my fresh basil and mozzarella.

I was such a happy camper.

[opiumgirl]

I found my grandma's ol' time cook book to, so if anyone is looking for any YUMMY recipies let me know/ XD there's a few ways to cook carrot cake in here with out nuts or raisons. LOL there's also a reciepe for beer cake. It's not the largest know all cook book but still some awesome ol' and I mean VERY old recipies

Old recipes? I love it! I make a lot of my grand mother's and great-great grandmother's recipes and I will share one right now.

It is my favorite pea soup, you can have it with the meat if you are not a vegetarian but if you are it tastes great without it. It is super cheap and full proof.

You need:
2 packets of dried split peas (the kind you don't soak over night, just rinse before hand)
an onion
4 carrots
dried marjoram
you can add a bit of garlic of you want (I never do)
de-boned beef shin

Method:
I use a slow cooker, but you can use a regular pot on a low heat, just a simmer (not dead), it takes about 3-4 hours to cook. Use a big pot!! 3,5-4 liters big, if you don't have one use only one packet of peas or you will have a disaster!
just fry the chopped onions in a little oil until they are see-through
add the meat, cut in to small cubes (or not) and brown slightly)
add the rinsed peas, one teaspoon salt/ cup of peas
scrape the skin off the carrots and cut them into wheels and add
add the marjoram, I usually use about as much as sits in my palm when I cup it, I guess 2 table spoons?
Now add a lot of water, fill your pot. Put the lid on.
Bring to the boil and leave it for about 40 minutes to an hour.
Turn your heat right down and stir every now and then because the peas will just get thicker and thicker, until you think it is done. time will not hurt this soup.
Enjoy!

When you serve it you can add freshly ground black pepper or Worcester sauce if you want.

Btw I find it so weird to type a recipe that I have made for 14 years! So forgive me if it sounds incomprehensible! :lol:

[DrowningFishy]

Here is something of use:

If the recipie calls for 1 cup of oil you 1 and 1/4 cups of margarine or butter.
1 tblsp oil = 1 1/4 tablespoons of margarine or butter
1 C Margrine = 3/4 C oil
1tblsp of margarine or butter = 3/4tblsp of oil
1/2 cup oil = 2/3 cup of margrane or butter



Also crisco can be used in subsitute of butter or margrine

Here's an easy peasy carrot cake recipe

2 c. Flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2. c surgar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda

Mix. Add 1 1/2 cups oil, minus (and that is underlined) 3 Tablespoons or 1 cup. Then add 3 C. carrots (grated fine or ground); cake will be thick until carrots are added. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Pour into a 13x9 inch baking ban. Do not grease pan. Bake at 350 degress for about 35 to 40 minutes

Frosting:

1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 stick of softened butter

mix and add

2 C. powdered surgar
2tsp vanilla

[VerDeTerre]

Popcorn. 5MOK3 - I often make this for dinner too :)


@ Opiumgirl - I love split pea soup! I make mine without the meat or bayleaf and add celery and bayleaf. I even love it cold and it makes me think of the old rhyme: Bean porridge hot, bean porridge cold, bean porridge in the pot nine days old.

@ Drowny - That recipe looks delicious. There are a couple of other substitutions that would work to replace the shortening. Shortening is so bad for you; I try to never use it. Oil is ok and so is butter as long as you aren't eating things rich in it all the time. Very often in cake or quick bread recipes you can substitute apple sauce or yogurt for some or all of the fat in a recipe. My boyfriend also uses ground flax seeds as a partial substitute for some of the fat in a recipe. I also prefer to use whole grains in my baking and cooking as much as possible. With cakes, it doesn't always work, but with carrot cake you could probably substitute some of the white flour with a whole wheat white flour (it's from a different type of wheat and has a lighter color and flavor) or with a whole wheat pastry or cake flour.

[Misanthrope]

Ramen noodles.

It's like the only thing which I know how to make... but goddamn, I can make the bestest ramen noodles ever D:<
But yeah, I wish I knew how to cook real food.

[paksetti]

There are actually some cool things you can make with a block of ramen. Granted, a lot of them are really simple like "just put some fucking chicken in it or something", but the grilled ramen looks interesting.

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/12/01/100-awesome-ramen-recipes-for-starving-college-students/
http://www.budget101.com/frugal/ramen-noodle-recipes-1548/

[malfunction]

Today, I will cook goulats (or goulash, depending on where you're from) for my fiance in celebration of her birthday and in honour of her always nagging me to cook "some of that tasty slav food" I always talk about.

[opiumgirl]

I love Stir-fry.
So tonight I'm making a pseudo oriental stir-fry of my own invention.
I will be using: spinach, carrots, sweet-potato, butternut, mushrooms and fresh coriander
with a chilly plum sauce on Chinese noodles :)
I will let you guys know how it went.
I think the trick will be to get all the ingredients cooked properly without the butternut, sweet-potatoes and spinach turning mushy.

* edit: it turned out all right- not earth-shattering but tasty nevertheless.
In the end I used green beans as well because it wasn't green enough for me with just the spinach. I also added ginger.
I'm not sure I will make a stir-fry with butternut and sweet-potatoes again though. It is nice but too much hassle.

[VerDeTerre]

I love Stir-fry.
So tonight I'm making a pseudo oriental stir-fry of my own invention.
I will be using: spinach, carrots, sweet-potato, butternut, mushrooms and fresh coriander
with a chilly plum sauce on Chinese noodles :)
I will let you guys know how it went.
I think the trick will be to get all the ingredients cooked properly with out the butternut, sweet-potatoes and spinach turning mushy.
. Vegetable combinations with sweet potato and/or squash are great as a Thai curry. Add things like coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, garlic, Thai basil, fresh ginger, and fish sauce. I think the mix also needs some onions.

[DrowningFishy]

Ramen noodles.

It's like the only thing which I know how to make... but goddamn, I can make the bestest ramen noodles ever D:<
But yeah, I wish I knew how to cook real food.

Add about a Tablespoon of Hoisensauce, half of a lime, fresh mint and some bean sprouts and you have generic pho (vietnamese soup). Don't underestimate the power or Ramen.

Add chili mix, place on a flour totilla and you got prison burritos.

[opiumgirl]

Vegetable combinations with sweet potato and/or squash are great as a Thai curry. Add things like coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, garlic, Thai basil, fresh ginger, and fish sauce. I think the mix also needs some onions.

Thanks for the tip! I love Thai.
I think I am going to have to give your idea a go soon. :)

What about green curry paste? I love the very clean taste of green curry (I also have some sitting in my fridge), would that work as well as red?

@ malfunction: Could you give the recipe please?

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks for the tip! I love Thai.
I think I am going to have to give your idea a go soon. :)

What about green curry paste? I love the very clean taste of green curry (I also have some sitting in my fridge), would that work as well as red?


You're quite welcome. I don't know about green curry paste because I don't have as much experience cooking with it, but I don't see why not. Let us* know next time you try it which way you go and how it turned out. Drowny's recipe for ramen reminded me that lime juice is a good addition to Thai curry.

@ Yes, malfunction - please spill!


*Not an attempt at being royal, I meant "we" the forum posters. :)

[frankokomando]

Cookie dough, some bread, and hot chocolate. So much for trying to eat healthy >_>

[maxon]

Tonight veggie wontons with sweet and sour sauce and prawn toast. Didn't make it though - bought it from the local Chinese takeaway. Delicious though.

[VerDeTerre]

Massaged kale salad tonight. It's so garlicky! Someone shared this at the CSA I belong to last summer and I finally got around to trying it. I think I'll probably use less olive oil and lemon juice next time.

[Spitfire Mouse]

I found a great alternative to Rice Krispie treats last night.

I had a sweet craving that no apple or banana was going to get rid of, so started digging through the pantry for some stray chocolate. I was about to dig into one of my bags of chocolate chips when I found about 1/3 of a bag of marshmallows that was rapidly drying out. I usually have Rice Krispies on hand, but what was left wouldn't have been nearly enough for the amount of marshmallows I had.

What I did have was the new Peanut Butter Cheerios. Now, when we make rice krispie treats we usually put peanut butter chips and chocolate chips in them, sometimes butterscotch chips. I started thinking, why not the Cheerios? Then all I have to do is add chocolate!

So that's what we did! Yuuuuuuuuuum!!! It took a lot more Cheerios than it would have with Rice Krispies, but that was ok. Best part is that there's enough left over for tonight! :D

If anyone wants to try it, you'll have to eyeball your cereal. With rice krispies, it's a 1:1 ratio of cereal to marshmallows, so 1 cup marshmallows to 1 cup of cereal (we make small batches this way instead of an entire recipe).
I'm pretty sure we almost doubled that with the Cheerios since they're a bigger cereal. We had just over 2 cups of marshmallows and I think we added about 4 cups of Cheerios. Added a couple good handfuls of chocolate chips and called it dessert!

The best part? Cheerios are good for you, so we had a "healthy" dessert! :giggler:

[anothereyjana]

Don't underestimate the power or Ramen.

Add chili mix, place on a flour totilla and you got prison burritos.

But I was led to believe that they liked delicious tuna (http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi733585177/). :(

[DrowningFishy]

But I was led to believe that they liked delicious tuna (http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi733585177/). :(

Which reminds me you can beat a pack of ramen to mulch add mayo, dab of ranch, tuna and refidgerate till the noodles begin to soften. The tuna don't squeeze drain it, just drain it till all the juices run out then add it.

makes yummy tuna salad without having to boil the damn noodles.

Oh and add peas YUM.

[StardustX]

There are actually some cool things you can make with a block of ramen. Granted, a lot of them are really simple like "just put some fucking chicken in it or something", but the grilled ramen looks interesting.

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/12/01/100-awesome-ramen-recipes-for-starving-college-students/
http://www.budget101.com/frugal/ramen-noodle-recipes-1548/

:|
I want to buy a grill just so I can make that.


Bah. I could go on for aaages about cooking but I won't because ... well because I know no one really cares. XD
I love cooking, I've been cooking for my family since I was only 10 years old (8 years).

So here's two things:


http://i44.tinypic.com/104q3gl.jpg

I'm making this soup for dinner tonight. My in-laws and husband are obsessed with it, though they were reluctant to try it since they're all huge meat lovers, lol. It's just something I came up with off the top of my head a few weeks ago and it turned out amazing. It's vegetarian friendly, unless you count bullion as a meat thing (personally I don't count it as meat). Worcestershire sauce has anchovy in it, I think, so that can be considered unfriendly to vegetarians I guess.

1/2 each red & green bell pepper
1 chopped zucchini
2 chopped celery stalks
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup edamame (soy beans)
1/2 chopped red onion
~1tbsp each fresh dill and parsley
1 16oz can drained/rinsed black or kidney beans
1 4oz can tomato paste
1 12oz can tomatoes and chilis (not drained)
water (as much as you want, I prefer it thicker)
1/2 cup milk (varies, I use about 6-8 cups of water but you might need to add/reduce)
1tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)
4 bullion cubes
2tsp sugar
salt, pepper, Italian seasoning mix, garlic powder, and chili powder to taste

Cook the veggies and herbs (excluding edamame and onion) in about a tbsp of oil for about 5 minutes and then add the tomato paste and tomatoes/chilis. Cook it for another 2-3 minutes and add water. Bring to a boil, and then add onion and reduce the heat. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add milk, edamame, and spices and remove from heat. Stir and serve. :3
We usually throw some chopped spinach and a little bit of shredded Muenster on top after it's done cooking. Or sometimes I'll throw some silken tofu in with mine. :3




And then something else I don't have a pretty picture of...
1 stalk chopped celery
10 pitted and sliced cherries
5 (1/4th) baby carrots
handful romaine and/or spinach
1/4 block steamed extra-firm tofu
____
Dressing: 1/2 hand-mashed avocado with 1tbsp lemon juice, 1tbsp water, pepper, Italian seasoning mix and a little bit of salt

[Spitfire Mouse]

Saturday I made beer bread. Love the stuff!
Yesterday I made pancakes with a new twist: added apples and cinnamon. Yum!


Today I'm about to become glued to my oven.

I'm making Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Sea Salt and Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Tomorrow for Valentine's Day I'm making individual Fallen Chocolate Cakes with Bailey's whipped cream. :lovestruc

After tomorrow I'm not touching the oven again! Until March.

[Honeywell]

A slightly modified version of this stuffed cabbage recipe (http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/01/kalyns-stuffed-cabbage-casserole.html#more). I can't get enough of this stuff. I found the recipe a month ago and I've made it every week since then it's so delicious--and healthy--which is always a plus. :)

[insertuserhere]

Probably make some lipton noodles - or eat some smarties.

[paksetti]

Should I make a thread for terrible food?

Tilapia- for some reason it was baked at 300 degrees straight from the freezer with oil, lemon, curry, basil, fennel, thousand island dressing, cheese, and a bunch of random shit and drowned in lemon juice and water. Somehow... I think he ended up boiling it because of all the excess liquid...? I really have no idea. It had the consistency of waterlogged mashed potatoes. The rice was hard in the middle and drowning in Worcestershire and strong fermented fish sauce. I tried to eat it but ended up sneaking it into the garbage can and ate girlscout cookies instead. haha.

For some reason... my dad decided he wants to cook for everyone now- and it's almost always some brown sludge that's somehow overcooked and undercooked at the same time. I've been cooking for my family since I was a kid... now to tactfully insist that I start doing it again.lool

[DrowningFishy]

I always stare at the toaster oven and wonder what I could get away with. After all it, the rice maker, and the nuke (microwave) are the every day sources of my cooking. For awhile now I have been pondering whether or not you could cook buiscets (those ones in a can in the fridge aisle that pop when opened) in the toaser oven. Having found buiscets for 50 cents my curiosity had gotten the better of me. For anyone who knows about cheapy brands they can taste like crap. And I do mean crap.

For this I have a genertic cannot set the heat toaster oven. You got toast, broil, and bake (warm) that is it.

Step one remove rack from toaster oven put on bake
Step two line the rack with tin foil for obvious reasons.
Step three: Cram all the busicets unto the rack
Step three add a dash of garlic powder and black pepper.
Step five: Put in oven and bake till buns are warm and turning gooey about three minutes.
Step six: Turn toaster oven to toast and toast till the tops start to darken, then lower to bake again and bake for five minutes.

It actually worked, NOM!

[kampffenhoff]

At this moment my Husband is occupying the kitchen. He told me he would make lunch. This is not good news. Anyhow, he is being helped by a 5 year old, a 4 year old and three 2 year olds, so anything could happen. I have retreated to the living room with the baby and our 2 oldest have retreated out of the house completely to next door.

[VerDeTerre]

My sweetie is on his way over with some bean soup (I tried it and it's delicious). I'm trying a new recipe tonight to go with the soup: no-knead wholegrain bread rolls. It's quick (about an hour including the two risings). We'll see.

[RoseCity]

This week I decided to try to make some things I never made before - because I usually make the same 10 things that I know how to make over and over. My cooking is usually based on an effort vs result matrix where I'm looking for the best result for the least effort.
But tonight I made Mushroom Asparagus Bread Pudding and it wasn't too bad.

[VerDeTerre]

It's hard to imagine a bread pudding as a savory dish, although I don't know why. After all, mac and cheese is really a pudding at heart. So, the recipe turned out ok? Was there cheese in it?

[RoseCity]

It had a layer of toasted bread cubes, a layer of asparagus, mushrooms and onion and then poured over it, milk, eggs and either chevre or feta and parmesan on top. The recipe said to use 4 cups of bread cubes, and I tried to follow that, but it baked a lot faster than the recipe said it would. If I ever make it again, I'll probably play around with the measurements.

[VerDeTerre]

The ingredient list sounds like it would make a good combo. I wonder if it would be equally good with rice or potatoes instead of bread crumbs?

[paksetti]

Rootbeer glazed ham with broccoli cheese casserole and home-bake buns.

[frankokomando]

I made vegan vanilla pudding. :D

[AnnaBubblegum]

I just made crepes! Nothing special but they were delicious with cookies and chocolate :D And now I ruined my apettite for actual food xD

[VerDeTerre]

I thought crepes were actual food :)

[RoseCity]

I made sweet potatoes stuffed with broccoli and feta cheese. They looked kind of bad, but they tasted good. So ends my week of trying new recipes.

[simsaretheone]

Cooking baked potatos with sour cream and chives yummy

[Riptide651]

You know whats good w/ sourcream and chives? Sour cream and chive potato chips.

[frankokomando]

Vegetable soup. :D

[minpinz]

chicken quesadillas <3

ingredients: diced chicken, pico de gallo & cheese lots of cheese yummy

[joecity7]

Beef stew :)

[maxon]

Tonight a favourite: Gruyere and red onion tart with broccoli. Have I mentioned that one before? We eat it a lot. Think I might tart up the broccoli with something but not sure what yet.

[VerDeTerre]

No, you haven't mentioned that one at all. Anything with Gruyere has my attention. Sounds delicious!

[maxon]

No, you haven't mentioned that one at all. Anything with Gruyere has my attention. Sounds delicious!
Yes, it is yum isn't it? The tart is based on a recipe from the ever-reliable Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall, here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/11/caraway-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall?INTCMP=SRCH
Last recipe on the page. I always thought HFW was a bit of a dick but he's a damnably good chef and his recipes are usually worth the effort. Some of the other Guardian food writers are also excellent, especially Yotam Ottolenghi (yum, yum, yum, yum, yum is usually the response to one of his recipes).

For the tart recipe, I don't always bother with the pastry (and won't today) but the caraway in with the onions is lovely. It goes brilliantly with a green salad and nice dressing (lemon-based or balsamic) and some cherry tomatoes though we'll have more suitable-for-winter broccoli tonight. I would have had asparagus but that's not good in winter and expensive at this time of year.

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks so much for the recipe and all of the tips. Your suggestions for sides make it sound so lovely and balanced for colors and flavors. I could see serving it to company. :)

[Riptide651]

You know whats good? Steak Chateaubriand

[opiumgirl]

It is one of my favorites :)
I love it but always have to wait until we eat out, since I have no idea how to make the mustardy sauce. My steak also sucks but my husband can do great steak on a Weber

[VerDeTerre]

I've never had chateau briande, not even when I ate meat. I used to like steak au poivre and tried it with fish, but it wasn't quite right.


Tonight's supper was sauteed codfish with mushrooms, onions, and wine, steamed broccoli tossed with olive oil, escarole salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, onions, garlic, and basil and cheddar-cauliflower cream soup. Everything was delightful, especially the escarole.

[paksetti]

^
I'm fairly certain that fancytalk refers to a food of some sort.


I made pan-fried swai with a really light lemon pepper dredge, buttery jasmine rice and fresh broccoli. Simple, but really satisfying.
I swear, the smell of rice cooking is intoxicating.

[Riptide651]

I am such a steak person, I swear ask me any question about steak and I will give a full lecture on why it is so.

[opiumgirl]

I am such a steak person, I swear ask me any question about steak and I will give a full lecture on why it is so.

So please, please give me the lecture on how to make the mustard sauce to go with Chateaubriand! My husband will love you forever. :)

[VerDeTerre]

I made pan-fried swai with a really light lemon pepper dredge, buttery jasmine rice and fresh broccoli. Simple, but really satisfying.
I swear, the smell of rice cooking is intoxicating. Our meals were fairly similar. I had to google "swai". The dredge sounds interesting.

I love the smell of cooking rice too and jasmine rice is some of the most fragrant. I also love basmati. I can eat rice (brown) plain with just a hint of salt.

[DrowningFishy]

So today I stared at my not to healthy patato thinking I want to nuke* this. My german side looked at the patato and was like just cook it, then you can weed out the bad parts who cares if you take out a lot of the good parts. The Irish side of laughed and said your irish you can deal with this; after all Irish are masters of the patato. Skin it and cook it that way.

Now anyone knows that a patater with out it skin and uncooked WILL turn brown. Just nuking it would have undesirable effects. So what I did was wrap it up in a wet paper towel nuke for six minutes take it out, whiped out the nuke that was by now very steamy. FYI a steamy nuke is a great oppertunity to clean it without any work. Then I rewet the cloth and put it in for another three minutes.

Before hand I diced some green olives and mixed some chopped garlic and sour cream. Slit the patater add green olives and sourcream then put on some pramasian cheese. YUM!



*Nuke as in microwave.

[paksetti]

I love the smell of cooking rice too and jasmine rice is some of the most fragrant. I also love basmati. I can eat rice (brown) plain with just a hint of salt.

Wild black rice is awesome too- chewy and really nutty. I'm lucky enough that I can find a bag of just wild black rice all on it's own in the store for relatively cheap as opposed to a mix that's mostly low quality instant brown rice.

...I usually mix it anyway, but still.

[VerDeTerre]

Wow - Roasted up one of the last butternut squashes from last year's farm share with onions, curry powder and garam masala. Sauteed up more onion and garlic and added chopped kale, the squash, red lentils, and vegetable broth. Seasoned with cayenne and lemon juice. It was nice - hot, spicy, and satisfying nice. Mmmmm!

[Tempscire]

That sounds amazingly delicious, VerDeTerre!

[maxon]

I made pan-fried swai with a really light lemon pepper dredge, buttery jasmine rice and fresh broccoli. Simple, but really satisfying.
I swear, the smell of rice cooking is intoxicating.
mmmm - that sounds nice and I don't even know what it is. Do you want to explain more?

Wow - Roasted up one of the last butternut squashes from last year's farm share with onions, curry powder and garam masala. Sauteed up more onion and garlic and added chopped kale, the squash, red lentils, and vegetable broth. Seasoned with cayenne and lemon juice. It was nice - hot, spicy, and satisfying nice. Mmmmm!
Oh I know, butternut squash are the biz aren't they? I love 'em. I do a simple thing with that that's always a really nice meal: chop and roast the squash (30-35 mins) with olive oil and seasoning. Cook some corn (on the cob), de-corn the cob and add the corn kernals to the squash along with garlic and a chopped chilli put back in oven. 5 minutes later, add crumbled goats cheese. Put back in oven till cheese starts to brown. Serve - works REALLY well with smoked haddock.

Sigh. Now I'm hungry. Tonight is veggie chilli - easy enough and a long-standing favourite.

[paksetti]

mmmm - that sounds nice and I don't even know what it is. Do you want to explain more?

Swai pretty much tastes like catfish+, in my completely bullshit opinion. It's not "dirty" tasting like channel (American river) catfish, which I personally think has an undertaste of burnt hair.
It's just a Vietnamese whitefish we 'merkins have in pretty much every frozen fish isle. I'm not sure about it's availability in other countries. Here's (http://www.chefs-resources.com/Swai-Vietnamese-Swai-Fish) a bunch of junk about swai from a chef's perspective.

-
Butter and heat up a skillet.

Get two saucers long enough to hold one fillet and deep enough to hold about a quarter cup of liquid. One with the juice of a lemon and a lime, the other with just enough flour to lightly coat the fillets, salt and dried lemon pepper. Pat the fish with a paper towel. Place the first fillet in the juice, flip. Move it to the flour, flip until it has an even coating then move to the skillet. Depending on the size and thickness, they'll take around 5-8 minutes. Don't flip until about 3 minutes in (or halfway through) or the crust will come off.

And I just cooked the broccoli and rice in my rice cooker/steamer.
:beer:

(Sorry if I come off as a fish snob. My parents just kind of raised me on Friday fish frys, and trust me, they're much worse.)


edit: I just looked up "merkin"... I'm not a pubic wig. :(

[Zela]

Every Friday my family make home made pizzas. (With help with a packet of 'make it yourself dough'. Just add water.)
We get everything out of our fridge that NEEDS to be eaten and chuck it onto the Pizza.

[VerDeTerre]

We used to catch catfish from a lake in Wisconsin where I spent my summers as a kid. It never tasted like burnt anything to me - it was delicious! Dad had to use the pliers to get the skin off of it, though. We usually caught it at night by either sitting out (bad idea - too many mosquitoes) or by wedging our poles between the slates of the pier and checking the lines in the morning. I loved catfish - both the way they tasted and the way they looked. The little babies were so cute and I could find them by the rocks at one small little outcrop in the lake. Thanks paksetti, you brought back a lot of great memories.

Zela, I love homemade pizza! Homemade crust is really tasty and there are some easy recipes that don't even require much in the way of rising or kneading. You should try it some time.

Maxon, what kind of spices do you start with on the squash? The recipe sounds delicious.

[maxon]

(Sorry if I come off as a fish snob. My parents just kind of raised me on Friday fish frys, and trust me, they're much worse.)


edit: I just looked up "merkin"... I'm not a pubic wig. :(
Oh no - not a fish snob. We don't get that fish variety here but that sounds lovely. I'm a huge fan of lemons in cooking. Lemons do fabulous things to food. My husband is a huge fish fan. He eats fish more or less every day. We do have a good fishing industry here (under threat of course) and we can get quite good fresh fish where I live. But I think we don't get so much imported fish (though we do get some) - at least if you buy fresh and not frozen. Fish doesn't keep after all and is at its very best when it comes straight off the wharf onto your plate.

There's nothing I can do to ease the merkin business. It doesn't help that you sometimes hear certain American accents describing themselves as Amerkin. I'm afraid it makes us laugh. <sorry>

Zela, the best pizzas are homemade - I've never tasted a bought one I liked better than the ones I make myself. I make the base too with olive oil and yeast. I'm not being fussy - I just love yeast cooking. I love the smell of it. I love making bread even though my bread maker has bust now and I have to do it the old fashioned way.

Maxon, what kind of spices do you start with on the squash? The recipe sounds delicious.
I don't particularly, though you could add anything you fancy. I just salt and pepper it and swizzle over some olive oil and bake it then add the garlic and chilli a bit later (because it would burn since the butternut takes quite a while to roast).

[Spitfire Mouse]

I just love yeast cooking. I love the smell of it. I love making bread even though my bread maker has bust now and I have to do it the old fashioned way.



Me too! It's funny that I've always been afraid of baking yeast breads even though my mom used to make rolls and brioche a lot when I was little. When they got a bread maker we made bread a lot just to try all the different recipes.

I've always liked quick breads like beer bread and Irish soda bread, but not biscuits because I seem to be completely incompetent in that regard. My grandmother would be ashamed to hear me say that. :D

But yeast breads didn't even come into being in my kitchen until last year! And of all places to start making them, try high altitude locations! My husband jokingly said he wanted lasagna (which I had never made either) for his birthday dinner last year. So that's what I made. And I figured that if I was going to go that far and make homemade lasagna, that I might as well go all the way and try my hand at rolls. We'd been doing pizza crust for a while so I figured it couldn't be that different. Let me tell you, the rolls I made were ENORMOUS because I didn't realize that rise times at high altitude don't need to be as long. But, they were delicious!

So I'm hooked on yeast breads. I love the smell, I love the feel of the dough, and the finished product gives such a feeling of a job well done (if you don't burn them!).

I was going to make rolls for tonight, but I have some buttermilk that needs to be used so am going Irish soda bread instead. I think it'll be a better match with the beef stew I've got going.

Tomorrow is pizza night! Gotta make some sauce.

[RomerJon17]

I can smell a Hungarian food just 30 metres away from me =D

[VerDeTerre]

What's that? I've never had Hungarian food. (Tell! Tell!)

[RomerJon17]

What's that? I've never had Hungarian food. (Tell! Tell!)

Hungarian Goulash:
http://0.tqn.com/d/easteuropeanfood/1/0/w/_/-/-/hungarian-gulyas-leves-3-600.jpg


Hungarian Pancake:
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4102/4883121176_f83448e8d3_z.jpg

Hungarian Cabbage with mince meat inside:
http://www.bestdietmenu.net/pictures/Hungarian-Cabbage-Rolls.jpg

My apology for posting these wonderful food and makes you to lick the screen... :lol:

[VerDeTerre]

LOL, Thanks for sharing. I think the goulash was the only thing I had heard of before. The pancakes seem to be covered in some type of a berry sauce? I think I would be drooling if the main dishes were vegetarian ;) but otherwise, it does look yummy.

[maxon]

LOL, Thanks for sharing. I think the goulash was the only thing I had heard of before. The pancakes seem to be covered in some type of a berry sauce? I think I would be drooling if the main dishes were vegetarian ;) but otherwise, it does look yummy.
You can make a reasonably convincing veggie goulash - it's essentially just a stew with paprika. I mean it's not the same or traditional but you can have a go at it. BTW, I think that's gravy on the pancakes. Now a recipe for a good veggie gravy ... that's what I need.

Spitfire Mouse, you have reminded me. It's Him Indoors's birthday tomorrow. I suppose I better see what he'd like for his dinner. Also cake. I made a stollen at Christmas that was gorgeous but I think it's now the wrong time of year for that (sad). oooo - I saw a baked cheesecake recipe not long ago.

[opiumgirl]

I bet that the sauce on the Hungarian pancake is dark chocolate, that is what I would do ;)
I would also kill for the recipe on the 3rd pic, I love cabbage stuffed with anything!

[RomerJon17]

And also Morello cherry cake my dad always make them every month or two months =D

http://0.tqn.com/d/easteuropeanfood/1/0/_/f/-/-/rye-bread-torte-5.jpg

[paksetti]

I made Chokladbollar.
They looked almost exactly like this:
http://i.eho.st/pji83w1w.jpg
Except I used darker chocolate and my plate isn't as nice.
I used almond extract instead of vanilla because of course I did and I froze 'em.

[Spitfire Mouse]

I made a stollen at Christmas that was gorgeous but I think it's now the wrong time of year for that (sad). oooo - I saw a baked cheesecake recipe not long ago.

It's never the wrong time of year for ANY kind of cake! Plus if you make it "in secret" and don't tell anyone outside the house, you don't have to share. :D

I usually make Pineapple Upside-Down Cake for my husband's birthday. I have a great recipe that's been scaled down for 2, so it's perfect for us. On occasion, he'll ask for yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Unfortunately, I don't know a good scratch recipe for yellow cake so it's always a box mix. He doesn't mind since that's his "childhood" cake.

I haven't made cheesecake in years! I have a spring form pan I haven't used yet and a recipe for Turtle Cheesecake.....hmmm. I wonder if he'd like that. :lol:





Tonight we made pizza. I had a little left over dough since our pizza stone is too small. So I made garlic butter & Parmesan cheese knots with it. YUM!

Tomorrow is chicken potpie!

[VerDeTerre]

Romerjohn17 and paksetti - Please share recipes (and include your variations)! Those are beautiful!

[RomerJon17]

Romerjohn17 and paksetti - Please share recipes (and include your variations)! Those are beautiful!

Well my Dad keeps his recipe in his kitchen but the problem is the sentence is Hungarian language.. :/

But I will find something =D LoL sometimes I can't understand it and it's hard to translate it XD

[maxon]

STOP WITH THE SWEET STUFF!! STOP!

The cherry cake looks to die for. Wheedle your dad RomerJon. And I like nuts and chocolate - 'nuff said.

I asked Him Indoors what he wanted for his birthday dinner today - he said (and I can't believe this), Macaroni Cheese and and Coffee Cake (like the ones my mum used to make). Sigh - he has me: who likes cooking, likes being creative and is even good at it and he wants Macaroni Cheese (with roasted tomatoes and broccoli and smoked haddock). <sigh>

[VerDeTerre]

Wait...tomatoes, broccoli and haddock in the mac 'n cheese? That could be an interesting mix although it's highly unorthodox. I love homemade macaroni and cheese. My mom used to make it the old fashioned way with cooked noodles layered in a buttered casserole dish with flour, cheese, salt, and pepper and then mild poured in until it just reached the top. It was baked slowly until the top was bubbly and brown. I still love it this way and have a hard time eating the premixed stuff or the recipes that start with a cheese sauce first.

[maxon]

Wait...tomatoes, broccoli and haddock in the mac 'n cheese? That could be an interesting mix although it's highly unorthodox. I love homemade macaroni and cheese. My mom used to make it the old fashioned way with cooked noodles layered in a buttered casserole dish with flour, cheese, salt, and pepper and then mild poured in until it just reached the top. It was baked slowly until the top was bubbly and brown. I still love it this way and have a hard time eating the premixed stuff or the recipes that start with a cheese sauce first.
Oh no, the broccoli and tomatoes as vegetables with it and the haddock as the protein. The M&C is basically the starch (though with the cheese as well). It's making a meal of it, not just the M&C on its own.

[paksetti]

Romerjohn17 and paksetti - Please share recipes (and include your variations)! Those are beautiful!Sure.
STOP WITH THE SWEET STUFF!! STOP!Nope.

Well, I'm not Swedish. My family is just European a smoothie as far as I know, so it's as much of a "family recipe" as it is just this recipe (http://honestcooking.com/2011/06/08/swedish-chocolate-balls/) off the Internet. All I did was change the flavor of the extract, and I used crushed walnuts instead of coconut, as my dad's allergic. Apparently it's not "inauthentic" to use crushed nuts or pearl sugar, but coconut seems to be the most common topping.

Come to think of it, I actually do have a "family recipe" in German... I really have no idea where it came from. I've got a friend that took German for three years in high school and I had her translate it. It's a really simple layered apfelkuchen.

That birthday meal sounds really good, maxon.

[crocobaura]

LOL, Thanks for sharing. I think the goulash was the only thing I had heard of before. The pancakes seem to be covered in some type of a berry sauce? I think I would be drooling if the main dishes were vegetarian ;) but otherwise, it does look yummy.

The stuffed cabbage rolls are usually made with meat and rice but they taste great even if they are made with rice only. I've seen variations where people cook them with rice and mushrooms.

[VerDeTerre]

Tonight's dinner was sauteed salmon with onions and garlic in olive oil and white wine. I'm also repeating the squash/lentil/kale curry stew because it was so amazing and I had one last butternut squash from the CSA (community sponsored agriculture). If anyone is curious, the basic recipe I followed is here (http://www.healthyfoodforliving.com/?p=30387) with the difference of increasing the garlic to three cloves, the kale to a bunch (it cooks down so quickly, which I sauteed with the onions and garlic, and 4 cups of broth, not two.




*Edit* I forgot to add: It is a thousand times better with fresh squeezed lemon juice - about a half a lemon - added in at the end.

[mustluvcatz]

Nothing. I was kind of hoping someone from this thread would drop by and offer to cook supper. :) I am soooo sick of cooking- we ate out last night because I just couldn't face the thought of standing at the stove...slaving over a meal that my kids (all boys, all teens) would devour in 2 minutes and not even taste.

I actually am cooking tonight. Never mind the "nothing" up there. One of my favorite, quick meals: skillet lasagna. Not Hamburger Helper lasagna, lol. My kids love my lasagna. I started using no-boil noodles a long time ago to speed up the making of..then switched to regular noodles when I realized they would cook just fine. (I use a lot of sauce so the noodles cook in it.) Then I discovered skillet lasagna. You cook whatever meat you're using (I prefer no meat but it doesn't work well made this way), add 2 jars sauce + 2 jars water (it has to be really soupy). Let that mixture come to a boil. Break up 8 (or more if you'd like) lasagna noodles into pieces- I usually break them up into 6 or 8 pieces. Drop all of the pieces into the sauce mixture and stir it all up. Reduce the heat to a simmer- stir often so the noodles cook evenly. When the noodles are thoroughly cooked, turn off the heat- top with spoonfuls of ricotta cheese...sprinkle all of that with shredded mozarella cheese. Cover and let the cheese melt. It sounds like a lot more work than it really is. My kids love this. Of course, they're boys and prone to eating anything that's not nailed down or locked up.

Btw, that's the quick version. The long version involves making your own sauce. Since making your own sauce takes more time than opening up some jars, I usually save my homemade sauce for real lasagna. A really good sauce to use is Francesco Rinaldi- I really like the Sweet Tomato one.

[VerDeTerre]

That's an interesting way of making lasagna and does sound like a good solution for busy nights. Have your boys shown any interest in meal prep themselves? Perhaps they would enjoy planning for and preparing the occasional family meal? It would give you a break from feeling like you have to do all the thinking and it would be good practice for them for when they are on their own. It would even be more interesting if they came up with a shopping list and went to the store before they made their meal. Just a thought.

[maxon]

My friend just lent me this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plenty-Yotam-Ottolenghi/dp/0091933684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331245697&sr=8-1
At the moment, I love her.

[opiumgirl]

I think i love your friend too ;)

[lipglosschaos]

Hey, everyone! I am in no way trying to take anyone away from this thread, but if you've got a cool recipe you'd like to share, please post it in the thread linked to in my signature! We're compiling a book filled with recipes submitted by MTS members just like you that will raise money for MTS.

[VerDeTerre]

Hey, everyone! I am in no way trying to take anyone away from this thread, but if you've got a cool recipe you'd like to share, please post it in the thread linked to in my signature! We're compiling a book filled with recipes submitted by MTS members just like you that will raise money for MTS. Um...it does feel like you are trying to hijack this thread since we've been sharing recipes here. If you see a recipe here that you like, why don't you just feel free to copy it into your book that you are assembling? I don't see why you would need a new thread for that.

On the topic of that book and raising money, how would that work? Where would you be marketing it?

[lipglosschaos]

Um...it does feel like you are trying to hijack this thread since we've been sharing recipes here. If you see a recipe here that you like, why don't you just feel free to copy it into your book that you are assembling? I don't see why you would need a new thread for that.

On the topic of that book and raising money, how would that work? Where would you be marketing it?

I'm not trying to hijack anything! I just don't want to copy these recipes without anyone's permission so I'm saying if you would be willing to have one of your recipes in the book, you could put it over there so no one has their recipes stolen.

Not sure about the how-it-would-work part, I was thinking it'd be sort of like the calendar: inexpensive to buy and all the money would go to MTS as a big donation.

[maxon]

You better ask me if you want to use any recipe I've posted since some of them are adaptations of recipes published elsewhere.

[VerDeTerre]

I'm not trying to hijack anything! I just don't want to copy these recipes without anyone's permission so I'm saying if you would be willing to have one of your recipes in the book, you could put it over there so no one has their recipes stolen.

Not sure about the how-it-would-work part, I was thinking it'd be sort of like the calendar: inexpensive to buy and all the money would go to MTS as a big donation.

I appreciate what you're trying to do - collecting recipes and supporting the site - and I basically like the idea, but I wish you had gone about it another way. By starting a new thread of the same kind as this one, you have hijacked some of the people who would participate here. We've had a very nice discussion going. Mod-the-Simmers are a unique bunch layered with quirks and differing tastes, all of which becomes evident as they share what they're cooking. I've enjoyed seeing people post recipes here in the course of talking about their food. Now that there are two threads about cooking, posters are presented with a dilemma - where do they post? Why would anyone put a recipe in this thread and then post the same thing in the thread you started? It's double the effort. Plus, you've offered the incentive of helping out the website where we hang out. Do you see how that makes it less desirable to keep this thread going?

It would have been better if you had posted here to ask people to share their recipes as you initially asked people to do in your thread. When the idea hit for the cookbook, you could have asked people to pm the recipes to you or directly contacted those whose recipes you wanted and asked permission to put them in a book. Then you could have started a thread with updates of the titles of the recipes without all the details. That would have intrigued people and wouldn't have duplicated this thread. As it stands, there hasn't been much activity here since you started your thread.

[opiumgirl]

You better ask me if you want to use any recipe I've posted since some of them are adaptations of recipes published elsewhere.
I agree, the recipes I have shared are from my own adaptions of other published recipes and my sister-in-law's case I asked her permission before I even posted here to share her work as this is her job.

Now tonight I made chicken fillets cut length wise, wrapped them in bacon and brushed with olive oil. I grilled them in the oven.
A home made mushroom sauce , baby potatoes just cooked. With some butternut roasted with cinnamon and ginger. Awesome! :)

[maxon]

Even as a non-meat-eater, Opiumgirl, that sounds yum. I could eat the sauce (LOVE mushrooms), 'tatoes, and butternut. It would make a lovely meal in itself.

[crocobaura]

You better ask me if you want to use any recipe I've posted since some of them are adaptations of recipes published elsewhere.

Aren't they all? :rofl:

[VerDeTerre]

@opiumgirl - I agree with Maxon, your meal sounds yummy. I used to love the flavor bacon adds to dishes, although I never cared for bacon itself. I love soy bacon! One of the things I used to make when I was a meat eater was a chicken salad that had bacon and broccoli (lots of broccoli) in it. It was very tasty. Now that I'm thinking about that, I need to give it some thought about how I can adapt that for vegetarians.

Could you share the recipe for the mushroom sauce? For that matter, how do you roast your butternut? Is that fresh or powdered ginger? Sounds intriguing.

My son is visiting and it's so fun to learn about the foods he's been trying and cooking with him. He was a very fussy eater as a child. I think he ate about five foods. Since he's been at college, he's widened his palate and has become a very good cook. He hasn't tried much fish and has never figured out how to cook it. Yesterday we went to the grocery and got about a half pound fillet of halibut and Pacific wild salmon. I sauteed them in two separate pans to keep the flavors separate, starting with sauteing sliced onions and chopped garlic in a little olive oil until soft, adding the fish and turning to cook both times, then adding a little white wine and cooking until the wine is reduced and the fish is cooked. He loved the salmon and asked me to send him the instructions for it. He also liked the smell of the wine as I poured it and cooked with it and tried that as well. It wasn't anything expensive, just a run-of-the-mill pinot grigio, but still, that was fun. Steamed broccoli and sauteed mushrooms with garlic completed the meal.

Tonight he's making pizza. He started the dough yesterday, modifying his usual bread making technique of two days ahead of time to one.

[opiumgirl]

Could you share the recipe for the mushroom sauce? For that matter, how do you roast your butternut? Is that fresh or powdered ginger? Sounds intriguing.

No problem! I started making all my own sauces years ago because I am a type 1 diabetic and store sauces are just so unhealthy. Also I hate the fake taste.
The mushroom sauce is very basic:
In a medium sauce pan brown mushrooms and onion in a bit of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and some salt.
Reduce the heat and simmer until all the moisture is gone from the mushrooms and the onions are cooked.
Add low fat milk and a little flour to thicken and stir until it has reached boiling point again. Add some grated cheese or smooth cottage cheese and stir until you have a smooth, thick sauce. :) A small bit of paprika also works great with this.

For the butternut I just cut it into thick wedges, with the skin on, brush it with olive oil.
Sprinkle a little salt and some sugar substitute. Sprinkle some cinnamon and a little ginger
(I am lazy and just use ground ginger for this). Roast until cooked.
For a nice, more adventurous version I also add all spice and some chopped garlic.
Enjoy!

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks so much! The mushroom sauce sounds perfect for so many things - potatoes, tofu, squash, spinach, thick rounds of toast, or pasta come to mind immediately. The butternut sounds good too. I think I would especially like the all spice with garlic - yum!

[opiumgirl]

Thanks so much! The mushroom sauce sounds perfect for so many things - potatoes, tofu, squash, spinach, thick rounds of toast, or pasta come to mind immediately. The butternut sounds good too. I think I would especially like the all spice with garlic - yum!
It is also great for fish, just make it a bit runnier, pour over fresh white fish and bake in the oven until the fish is cooked. This is my winter fish recipe ;)

[maxon]

Aren't they all? :rofl:
Hah, very funny though I have to say, in fact, no - I have been known to invent my own recipes. In fact, sometimes, that's what I like doing most.

[lipglosschaos]

As it stands, there hasn't been much activity here since you started your thread.

I honestly don't think that has anything to do with my thread... If you take a look over there, it's not super busy. Maybe it's just that there aren't a ton of people posting?

And I don't really see how my thread would take people away from yours. It's not like there's a limit on how many threads you can post in, and it would take about two seconds to copy/paste your own recipe into my thread.

And they are different: yours is just about what you have right now, mine is about specific recipes (although someone did put in a recipe on how to make ice XD)

[crocobaura]

Hah, very funny though I have to say, in fact, no - I have been known to invent my own recipes. In fact, sometimes, that's what I like doing most.

I like to "invent" my own too, but chances are they've been done before. Adding or taking away a couple of ingredients or replacing one for another doesn't exactly make it a completely new receipe, but just an adaptation, call it a personal preferance if you want. Besides, receipes have been around since human kind, you can't just come and put a copyright claim on what people have been cooking for dinner for ages. And most importantly, the magic lies in the cook's skill, not in the receipe.

[paksetti]

That's all well and good, lipgloss and verdeterre, but I won't be posting in either ever again out of protest. Why do you make me choose!?

Teamwhatyou'recookingrightnow or Teamrecipebook
ohemgee, i don't even know!!1. :wristcut::cry::cry::cry:

--
cut it out you silly billies. It aint even matter.

[maxon]

I like to "invent" my own too, but chances are they've been done before. Adding or taking away a couple of ingredients or replacing one for another doesn't exactly make it a completely new receipe, but just an adaptation, call it a personal preferance if you want. Besides, receipes have been around since human kind, you can't just come and put a copyright claim on what people have been cooking for dinner for ages. And most importantly, the magic lies in the cook's skill, not in the receipe.
You know, I've no idea what you're talking about. When I say invent, I mean invent from scratch not adapt. I know your first language isn't English but please believe me when I say mine is and I use it accurately. And I also said nothing about copyright only that some of the ideas I'd put up in this thread are adaptations of other people's recipes - professional other people - and that that could be a problem if whatever-her-name-is does something with them that isn't part of a conversation on a message board.

[VerDeTerre]

It's been that kind of a day - all sorts of crankiness going around.

Lipgloss has already said that she didn't want to take any recipes without express permission, so there are no worries with posting recipes here if you have that concern. If anyone wants to share a recipe for the cookbook she's putting together, please post it in her thread or email her.

@cocobaura - You would think by now everything has been done, but I still think people are coming up with news way to prepare food and new combinations, especially when you consider the new technologies and new produce and products available.

@ maxon - No wonder all the food you describe is so amazing.

All - Let's get back to talking about food....I need more ideas! All week I've been eating left overs. I need more ideas for combinations of things to put into smoothies with a kale base.

[paksetti]

No, I don't care if she takes everything I've posted here and puts it over in the other thread or vice versa. (not that she would, as she's said she wouldn't.)

Besides that's not even what I'm talking about
What I'm saying is having two similar threads isn't such srsbzns. Yeah, it's a bit redundant, but that doesn't really matter. The threads are different enough, and I, along with some others have posted in both. As it stands, this forum isn't incredibly busy. No one's hijacking and no one's gonna just stop posting in yours altogether because there's another similar thread.

(and even if they did, as I said, internet isn't such srsbzns.) :beer:
--

Lime/Garlic Chicken and stuffed roasted tomatoes.

[crocobaura]

You know, I've no idea what you're talking about. When I say invent, I mean invent from scratch not adapt. I know your first language isn't English but please believe me when I say mine is and I use it accurately. And I also said nothing about copyright only that some of the ideas I'd put up in this thread are adaptations of other people's recipes - professional other people - and that that could be a problem if whatever-her-name-is does something with them that isn't part of a conversation on a message board.


Professional other people get their inspiration form elsewhere. No one invents anything new, they just collect the receips from their various sources, adapt them to their own tastes and then put them in a book.



@cocobaura - You would think by now everything has been done, but I still think people are coming up with news way to prepare food and new combinations, especially when you consider the new technologies and new produce and products available.



Yes, they come up with new ways like replace butter with margarine, or add water to some store bought podery mix that replaces natural ingredients from their grandma's receipe. Maybe you haven't had access to some exotic ingredients and they seem new to you, but in places where they are native people have been using them for centuries.

[VerDeTerre]

You mean you've never just started with a bunch of items on hand and put them together without a recipe or an exact notion of what you're going to do? That's not adapting a recipe, that's invention. At least, to me it is. It may be that where I see innovation, you see variation on a theme.

I see the influences of trade and technology as allowing for something new, not just adapting old items. I'm not talking about replacing margarine for butter (something I would never do, cook with margarine, that is), but rather the fact that we microwave, blend, food process, etc.... We prepare and preserve foods today in ways that are different than they were 25 years ago, 50 years ago, 100 years ago. Chefs also come up with new ways to get the most flavor or performance out of foods using new techniques. For example, in the time of Julia Child and the classical French chefs, everything was done with butter based sauces. Now, because of an interest in health and fresh taste, many chefs use reduction sauces. That's more than a variation on an old theme, in my opinion. Also, when you consider what some chefs do with sugar, foams, and sauces, it's art, it's innovative, and it's mind-blowing. They look at food in a way the rest of us have never dreamt of. For example, this by De Godevaart (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinasozio/5510183162/).

Foods from other locals were known to the people where they came from, but to combine ingredients from one local to another is new. Also, to apply the concepts of one culture of cooking to the ingredients from another culture creates a new product, at least from my perspective.

[VerDeTerre]

Lime/Garlic Chicken and stuffed roasted tomatoes. What did you stuff the tomatoes with?

[paksetti]

Sesame/Garlic Couscous, mushrooms, green onions and the leftover bits of tomato. I topped it with "italian blend" cheese. The tomato shell itself could have used more salt, but other than that it was pretty damn tasty. I've made stuffed peppers a million times before, (the ones that are just essentially a homestyle meatloaf & rice on the inside), but never stuffed tomatoes, and I was so paranoid about squishing them or poking a hole in them when I scooped out the guts.

It was about half vegetable half couscous on the inside, and I ended up having way too much to fit in just four tomatoes, so I just had the rest as a side dish and ended up making a cucumber salad with fresh basil, lemon juice, olive oit and a teeny bit of basil/romano whatever dressing. Also toasted some french bread in the broiler with the tomatoes and chicken at the last second.

Apparently I'm going to make some mystery meat on Sunday. My mom called and told me she bought some ribs. They come preseasoned, she doesn't know with what, and she doesn't know what animal they came from. Judging by the size, I'm guessing pork. Dunno if I'm ready to tackle that.

[maxon]

I'm feeling a bit uninspired atm I'm afraid. But it's the weekend. I like cooking at the weekend. I did make a mushroom sauce for pasta last night:

olive oil in pan
slice up some spring onions (I think you call them green onions in America) and garlic
add mushrooms (Portabello or flat in my case)
cook for a bit
add wine - gloop
cook a bit more to reduce the wine
add soured cream before serving

Quite nice. I like adding mustard seeds with cream sauces and mushrooms. Works quite well. I didn't last night because I'm out.

[crocobaura]

You mean you've never just started with a bunch of items on hand and put them together without a recipe or an exact notion of what you're going to do? That's not adapting a recipe, that's invention. At least, to me it is. It may be that where I see innovation, you see variation on a theme.



No, it's not invention because you don't invent things like bread or chocolate. You just cook according to the cooking principles you've become accustomed to and mix flavours that will please your taste buds.

[maxon]

No, it's not invention because you don't invent things like bread or chocolate. You just cook according to the cooking principles you've become accustomed to and mix flavours that will please your taste buds.
Ah right - so when I write music or improvise, I'm not inventing anything or being creative, I'm just playing according to the musical principles I've become accustomed to and am mixing chords and sounds which will please my ears.* Thanks for clearing that up.

(* which, of course, is true, but I always thought there was something more to it. I wonder what that could be?)
BTW - bread and chocolate in this instance will be ingredients rather than meals, which is kind of what we're talking about.

[VerDeTerre]

Thanks for sharing, paksetti and maxon.

I like the stuffing ingredients list for the tomatoes. I don't typically stuff veggies, but I'd like to try that sometime, especially since I'm a fan of couscous. I think I once tried a crabmeat/avacado combo that was inside of fresh tomatoes. That was decent, but I haven't tried it in years. Good luck with the mystery meat. If there's bones, at least you know it isn't pink slime.

Pasta supper with mushroom sauce sounds delightful, maxon. What's not to love when there's wine and mushrooms in something? Sour cream added guarantees a hit. I would not have thought of adding mustard seeds to that. I use mustard seeds in curries but it looks like I need to expand my use of them. :)

[crocobaura]

Ah right - so when I write music or improvise, I'm not inventing anything or being creative, I'm just playing according to the musical principles I've become accustomed to and am mixing chords and sounds which will please my ears.* Thanks for clearing that up.

(* which, of course, is true, but I always thought there was something more to it. I wonder what that could be?)
BTW - bread and chocolate in this instance will be ingredients rather than meals, which is kind of what we're talking about.


Bread and chocolate are no different from any other fancy meal. There's hundreds of receipes for bread and for chocolate, the receipes differ, but they are still called bread and chocolate, which brings us to the initial argument, that receipes are actually just adaptations.

[VerDeTerre]

Bread and chocolate are no different from any other fancy meal. There's hundreds of receipes for bread and for chocolate, the receipes differ, but they are still called bread and chocolate, which brings us to the initial argument, that receipes are actually just adaptations.

This has been an interesting topic. Thank you for clarifying your position. I try to keep open to others' ways of conceptualizing and I believe I can see your point; no one has recently invented anything like bread or ice cream, for example (that I know of). I would venture, however, that the ideas you put forth for what constitutes invention when it comes to cooking are not widely or commonly held. I've always heard it referred to as "inventing" a recipe when one comes up with all of the ingredients, when one fashions a food without the benefit of an existing recipe, or when one so heavily modifies a recipe by amounts, methods, or the serious substitution and addition of ingredients so that the original recipe is no longer present or recognizable. Adaptions or modifications are the results of substituting a couple of ingredients. I can't decide if this has become a discussion of semantics or concepts. It's probably both.

I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that, while this has been an interesting discussion, at times it felt more like a debate and this is not a debate thread. Further, we've been straying from the topic which has to do with what we are cooking now, what we like to cook, and how we do all of that.

Let's get back to our regularly scheduled program. Thanks.

[maxon]

Pasta supper with mushroom sauce sounds delightful, maxon. What's not to love when there's wine and mushrooms in something? Sour cream added guarantees a hit. I would not have thought of adding mustard seeds to that. I use mustard seeds in curries but it looks like I need to expand my use of them. :)
The mustard seeds add a nice bite - I use the black ones (did I say that?). For me they go particularly well with the creamy sauce. I love pepper and mushrooms too - I obviously like a kick with my mushroom. Black pepper, freshly ground with mushrooms is probably my favourite thing of all. Oh and garlic. You have to have garlic. My husband makes a really good mushroom omelette with garlic. ... ... now I want that for breakfast. NO EGGS!! Curses! :mod:

I bought a butternut squash this afternoon. I'm eying it up and thinking. Definitely roasted but what with?

[VerDeTerre]

You mean for a side or for seasoning? There are so many choices, it depends on what you want and how much time you're willing to spend. I always like butternut squash paired with black beans or kale. It also makes a delicious creamed soup after it's been roasted.

I'm glad you said black mustard - I'm pretty sure that's the same mustard that goes in curries too.

[VerDeTerre]

Damocles - share! Anything with chocolate has my attention. Lucky girlfriend.

I just finished up the last of my vegetarian pot pie - so very tasty. It's made with seasoned tofu strips in a gravy made from butter, flour, milk, and vegetable stock in the pan that was just used to sautee onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil. Frozen peas are stirred in and the filling is seasoned heavily with thyme and lightly with pepper. I use a frozen puff pastry crust, although phyllo dough makes a good crust too.

[maxon]

Frozen puff pasty is one of the greatest inventions of man. Saves sooooooooooooooooo much time. Pie sounds good. I'll try your gravy. A friend of mine made me a vegetarian gravy once which was delicious - d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. When I asked her how, she said, infuriatingly, 'oh, I it's nothing really - simple.' <grinds teeth> I am usually able to recreate tastes fairly accurately (good sense of smell which is why I like cooking) but I have never been able to remake that, though god knows I've tried. I've been searching for a really good vegetarian gravy recipe for years. It would go nicely with my nut roast.

[VerDeTerre]

The gravy works in the pot pie, but probably because of the celery and onion. By itself, I always think it needs something. The gravy alone is this: melt 3 Tablespoons butter and make a roux with 2 T flour (I use white whole wheat) and 4 T corn starch. Add 1 cup of milk, a little at a time until mixed. Ad 1 3/4 cup broth. Season to taste (lots of thyme!).

Nut roast?

[maxon]

The gravy works in the pot pie, but probably because of the celery and onion. By itself, I always think it needs something. The gravy alone is this: melt 3 Tablespoons butter and make a roux with 2 T flour (I use white whole wheat) and 4 T corn starch. Add 1 cup of milk, a little at a time until mixed. Ad 1 3/4 cup broth. Season to taste (lots of thyme!).

Nut roast?
Ah, American measures but, yes, I get it, a roux sauce basically. We tend not to use corn starch though we can get it. You can use cornflour which I would guess is similar and is something I use for thickening too.

Nut roast - don't you get it there? Well, it's a roast - made of nuts. A lot of people just do nuts (ground up, not too fine) and breadcrumbs bound together with egg but I find it boring that way. I like to add onions, tomatoes and mushrooms with lots of herbs (marjoram and thyme usually but it can vary). Maybe leeks also if I have them or anything you fancy - courgettes are nice too. This column can give you the sort of accepted ideas about it but mine is nicer than any of those. In fact, you might find me in the comments section saying 'you fail' if you look hard enough.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/dec/15/how-cook-perfect-nut-roast
Basically it's a traditional stuffing that's made it to being the main event instead of chicken, turkey or ham. I do serve it with the traditional sage and onion stuffing or even something like apricot and chestnut stuffing if I really want to go mad.

[VerDeTerre]

Wow! Thanks for the link. No, we don't have this here, that I know of, although there are the occasional specialty stores that are starting to make the scene that have a lot of vegetarian and vegan items. This looks like a big improvement over tofu loaf at Thanksgiving. I love the idea of a stuffing with apricots.

Funny that you mentioned "American measurements". I couldn't remember if the British used the same measurements as the rest of Europe or if they had stuck to the older ones. I often measure with the spoons out of my utensil drawer, for example. The measurements don't have to be exact anyway; it's not cake.

I'm not overly excited about cornstarch, but it works. The recipe was adapted from a chicken pot pie recipe for those with gluten allergies and calls for rice flour and no crust.

Thanks again.

While were sharing, I found another way to cook kale that I enjoyed: Sautee sliced onions in a little olive oil, add handfuls of chopped fresh kale and sautee until softenend, add a sprinkling of dried cranberries (it's ok if they are sweetened). Serve with fresh ground pepper. The cranberry offsets the kale beautifully.

[maxon]

OK - didn't know Americans don't do nut roast. Just a quick guide if you like - you can change most parts of it to suit yourself.

Fry onions - I use olive oil
Once they're starting to go translucent, add any veg you want. Typically I add sliced courgettes (zucchini?); mushrooms and tomatoes. I used to add a can of tomatoes but I prefer fresh. Cook for a bit more. Add any herbs you like. I generally use garlic, marjoram and thyme. You might not like the marjoram, it's a personal favourite of mine. Season with salt and pepper to taste (personally, I avoid the salt at this stage).

In the meantime, grind (not too fine, you want textures here) a whole batch of mixed nuts - doesn't matter much but I think it's better mixed rather than one sort. I don't like peanuts which a lot of recipes use (they're not nuts really anyway) and I don't think cashews work in large quantities. I generally use brazils, hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts and sometimes chestnuts (the sorts of nuts traditionally available in the UK) but you could add anything else you like.

Put nuts in a bowl. Add an egg (or two if you prefer). Mix in the veg. It should be a sort of paste texture - not too wet but not too dry either. It should stick together. If the eggs don't bind the whole thing, you can add a little stock. Then you need to bake it for about 40 minutes. I sometimes wrap it in pastry but usually put it in a casserole dish or lined bread tin. Sometimes I will make a sage and onion stuffing and put that in the middle of the nut roast to bake. You can do what you like with it. Goes wonderfully with traditional Christmas veg - roast 'taters, parsnips baked as fat chips in the oven in butter, brocolli (not sprouts, I hate sprouts), honey roast shallots (honey and butter) - ok maybe not traditional but delicious anyway. The chestnut and apricot stuffing is very nice with it.

The even better thing is it makes brilliant sandwiches when it's cold with brown bread and butter - one of my favourite things. mmmmmmm

On another note: I don't think we ever used the cup measurements or at least not for a long time. I did learn to cook using spoon measurements but it was related to lbs and ounces. We use metric now, of course.

[VerDeTerre]

It all sounds like a wonderful feast. My boyfriend throws a veggie Thanksgiving every year after Thanksgiving for his friends. The feature is a stuffed hubbard with a chestnut, mushroom, and crouton stuffing. It's a fun tradition and there are some great dishes that show up. I don't think I'd try the nut roast for that because the crowd is big and I think I'd want to save that for a family meal, but I could see adding the sides you mentioned as they would compliment the feast beautifully.

I got confused about which metric measurements were used and which weren't. Don't the British still use yards, feet, and inches? Also, hasn't England kept their old currency instead of changing over to the euro?

It seemed logical to me that cups and spoons would have been systems of cooking measurement that came to the states with the first British settlers. I looked it up and found this at King Arthur Flour website (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/measuring.html) :

Our American system of weights and measures were based originally on the British system although they have developed differently from each other in the last two centuries. Although in 1959 English-speaking scientists agreed to use the metric system for scientific and technological purposes, that’s been of little use to bakers.

In the early 1800s Americans began to substitute volume measurements for weight, probably because a “teacup” or an “egg” as bases for measurement, were easier to come by than an accurate scale, especially on the trail west. A “knob” of butter, “butter the size of an egg,” even “alum the size of a cherry,” are measurements that are sprinkled through old cookbooks...

[maxon]

I got confused about which metric measurements were used and which weren't. Don't the British still use yards, feet, and inches? Also, hasn't England kept their old currency instead of changing over to the euro?
No, we use centimetres and kilometres, litres and (kilo)grammes now. People my age still struggle with it but younger people don't. The packaging in supermarkets has all gone over to metric though you can still see pounds and ounces in markets. Some things are still sticking around (like miles on the roads) but the conversion is well underway. Good thing too in the longer term, I think. The metric system is easier to use. We did keep the £ though.

[VerDeTerre]

Ok, so only the money has stayed the same.

It makes sense to adopt the metric system. As you pointed out, it's easier to use, if you're used to it. It also makes communication and trade between nations who adopt it easier. I see the advantages and want them on the one hand. On the other hand, I am sad to see the names of measurements, with their quirky origins, disappear. The inch was the distance between someone's knuckle and nail tip on the thumb. In French, it is "pouce" which is the thumb. The French no longer use that, it's all cm's now. The foot was the king's foot, the yard the distance between his nose and the length of his arm if stretched out. There are glasses for beer that can be a "yard". I find all of this very charming and wish it didn't have to get lost.

Oh well. The world keeps changing.

[VerDeTerre]

Ah! I discovered that okra, sauteed in olive oil, is delicious when mixed with a little fresh tomato sauce.

[maxon]

Yes, delicious in curries too. And in various other ways. Tonight: baked aubergine (eggplant) with chermoula, mint, coriander and bulgar wheat salad and what Him Indoors calls bike tyre cheese (halloumi). Yum, yum, yum. It'll be ready in 10 minutes.

[paksetti]

I made a cold rice salad that's sort of like a modified waldorf, except nothing like that.

2c Jasmine rice
1 diced fuji apple
handfull of golden raisins, chopped
1 diced cucumber
a cup(ish) sweet corn
2 strips of bacon, chopped
diced sharp cheddar
mayonnaise and salad vinegar for the dressing
a pinch of salt and cinnamon.
Served on a red-tip lettuce leaf because I'm fucking classy as shit. I got the idea because I saw a bag of corn in the freezer. pfff. and I was about to eat a frozen burrito.

Also, did anyone make anything good for Easter? I made a rootbeer glazed pork roast, homemade scalloped potatoes au gratin, homemade biscuits, ginger carrots, fresh salad, deviled eggs and homemade blueberry pie for dessert. Fuckin holiday meals, man. Everything has to be big and homemade.

[VerDeTerre]

Your Easter feast sounds wonderful. I didn't celebrate Easter or Passover this year, although we're lightly entertaining the idea of having a Seder this weekend, but since we haven't planned for it, I have my doubts. In past years, my favorite dish was a baked combination of layered spinach, cheese, egg, and matzoh.

I've been in a bean soup mood. I made white beans and kale soup and it was delicious. Then I made red beans and rice and it lacked something. I think I needed to throw in more carrots and celery than I did (yes, I know it's not overly traditional to do it that way, but it's a vegetarian adaption to begin with).

[DigitalSympathies]

Hard-boiled eggs, nutella out of the jar, and fail!sausage that burnt on me. Yep. I fail at cooking.

[Ixyavi]

I'm making baked tilapia with garlic butter and onions :o Nothing so awesome today.


Yesterday I made homemade Shepherd's Pie though that turned out amazing ^o^

[KiaraRawks]

Not that I cooked it, but had it delivered I am eating Chinese Curry tonight. :)

[opiumgirl]

Roast chicken in a red wine and tomato sauce with roast vegetables and couscous

[frankokomando]

Fake chicken nuggets and some vegetable harvest cracker things. :D

[VerDeTerre]

Not that I cooked it, but had it delivered I am eating Chinese Curry tonight. :) Fascinating! I realized that I don't know what Chinese Curry is. Please tell me what you had.

I had Chinese take out on my birthday. My favorite restaurant makes the best low mein with a thick, flat wheat noodle - yum!


Dinner tonight was red beans and rice, although I was craving popcorn instead....

[paksetti]

I had black beans and rice, you poser.

I added tomato paste and it made everything taste gross and ketchuppy after I put some really good sage sausage in there :(

[HarVee]

Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

[VerDeTerre]

I had black beans and rice, you poser.

LOL - are you calling me a poser? :) Red beans & rice is a Creole dish from Louisiana, although I associate it more with the Cajuns. They must have their variation in there somewhere. Sometimes it's called 'Washday beans'. Black beans and rice is...Cuban or Puerto Rican (according to Wikipedia).

My black beans and rice recipe is incredibly simple and vegetarian. No tomato paste, but whole canned tomatoes and a cut up orange for extra flavor.

[maxon]

Ratatouille tomorrow - special recipe.

[missU]

tagliatelle with a cream sauce :Pint: .. YUMMY

[DigitalSympathies]

Water, y u no boil?!

[maxon]

Water, y u no boil?!
Did you apply heat?

[VerDeTerre]

The morning started off with blueberry buckwheat pancakes using a mix from Hodgson Mills. I do love their products, but I think the pancakes need some work. They were too fluffy. I think I actually like my pancakes a bit rubbery. Maybe more egg would fix that. Also, the recipe called for only enough blueberries to give the pancakes color, but not enough to make them gooey with lots of blueberries. I could easily have tripled the amount of fruit. Next time. In the meantime, I have a many frozen pancakes for other mornings when I don't have time.

Lunch was a salad of escarole, avocado, and plum tomato slices.

I roasted eggplant slices again. I love these as a snack or for adding to pastas, salads, vegetable sautees or sandwiches.

And, I tried a new split pea curry made with yellow split peas, sweat potatoes, and kale. My house smells heavenly and my eyes are itching from the scent of cumin.

[paksetti]

Didn't eat breakfast or lunch today, (unless you count a tortilla folded in half with nutella inside) but I made some really nice candy apple porkchops for dinner, blackened to perfection.Just had a simple green salad and some sauteed potatoes with ground mustard and vinegar for a little twang.

[VerDeTerre]

"Candy apple"? Does that mean apples that are caramelized?

[crocobaura]

I roasted eggplant slices again. I love these as a snack or for adding to pastas, salads, vegetable sautees or sandwiches.



Have you tried eggplant salad? :P

http://poppyplanet.blogspot.com/2009/07/romanian-eggplant-salad.html

[VerDeTerre]

That looks fabulous! I love how simple it is. Next time I get my hands on a couple of eggplants, I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[nonstopjuly]

Chinese takeout tonight. feeling too lazy to cook.

[maxon]

Yesterday - Fajitas. Yuuuuuuuuuuum!

[paksetti]

"Candy apple"? Does that mean apples that are caramelized?

Yeah, sorta. The apples aren't really "candied" more like glazed, but it's a cute name for it. I just sear & bake the porkchops then sprinkle the top with brown sugar and a sauce made of sliced apples, applejuice, apple cider vinegar, a squeeze of honey, and cornstarch to thicken. Then I broil it until the top is just blackened. It's a really nice sweet and sour thing.

It's just a variation of this (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-glazed-pork-chops/). I'd been making it for a while and got bored of it.

[simbalena]

I have to eat smoked salmon because it expires today. Maybe a smoked salmon wrap with cream cheese, mustard, lettuce, etc.

Not even hungry though.

[annoainthere]

A few nights ago I had some spinach, so I made some spinach and cheese puffs (goes well with sweet chilli sauce), which worked out a real treat - they were HUGE (unlike the shop bought kind), with extra crunchy pastry, oozy innards and tasted delicious (way better than shop bought). I think I managed to get the cheese combination correct this time :)

Tonight I had steak out, so I made red wine & garlic braised steak (the left over braising sauce was made into gravy) and veggie fritters, a good combination of the rich flavour from the braising and the savoury fritters, just wish I had left overs for lunch... it was so good everyone had seconds before I could set aside my lunch :(

[simsample]

annoainthere, you are making me very hungry!

[annoainthere]

annoainthere, you are making me very hungry!

Haha I just made myself hungry by re-reading that, if only tonight's dinner will be as tasty (which I know it won't be, just plain roast chook and salad roll for me).

[DigitalSympathies]

I always post at breakfast, haha!

Life Savers candies from the imports shop down the block (oh how I missed you), as well as these American candies called Air Heads which are like nothing I can describe except colourful. Also, a side dish of bottled water and The Fault in Our Stars. Damn it that book is making me cry.

Did you apply heat?

Um. :|