The Cooking Thread

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

What store did you buy the hemp seeds at? I've been looking for them for over a year now and I cant find them in any whole food stores.

http://www.nutsonline.com/cookingbaking/seeds/hemp/

[Dr. Lufs-al-ot]

So i got a ton of fruit yesterday and i decided to make smoothies with it
my first smoothie that i made was a strawberry banana smoothie, and it was delish.

Tomorrow im making blueberry and banana

[miscorrections]

I love blueberries. I macerated two pints with lemon juice and brown sugar and I've been eating them both alone and with biscuits.

[Dr. Lufs-al-ot]

that sounds delicious.
Ive gotta say miscorrections, you make some tasty sounding foods.

[CuervoPH]

I got a Thai cookbook recently and tried a simple recipe tonight: a spicy chicken with fresh basil (also included onions, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, chopped jalapenos, and sugar). It turned out good, except that next time I make it, I'm going to cut down on the soy sauce and increase the amount of chopped jalapenos.

The recipe I used also called for two teaspoons of sugar in the sauce. I was thinking about using honey instead the next time I make the dish. Should a 1:1 ratio work or should I use more or less?

[TomAz]

jalapenos are a poor (too mild) sub for thai chiles. serranos a little better but not much. see if you can find green thai chiles as your local asian market. do they have asians where you live? if not who gives massages?

also honey seems to me like it wouldn't work in thai food. you need something to dissolve. if you are concerned about refined white sugar try unrefined raw, though, it takes more work to get that to dissolve.

[miscorrections]

Honey does work in Thai food and is a pretty good sub.

[CuervoPH]

jalapenos are a poor (too mild) sub for thai chiles. serranos a little better but not much. see if you can find green thai chiles as your local asian market.

Good idea! I went to a supermarket close to home that had a very limited pepper selection (jalapenos, serranos, poblanos, and some dried peppers).

And thanks for weighing in, Corinna. I wanted to try the honey because I thought it would provide a little additional flavor. I'm sure I would miss the sugar if I removed it from the recipe, but I really didn't get any hint of it when I ate the finished product.

[JewFace]

Having a few friends over for dinner tomorrow. Due to the warm weather here, I want to keep the meal fairly light. I already have my main course, salad, beverages and dessert sorted. I'm seeking appetizer suggestions (preferably with recipe.)

I want something that won't be too heavy, keeping with the light summer theme I've got going with this meal. Anything Italian, California or even Asian Fusion could work, I think.

Also, I already know I'm doing fruit trifle for dessert, but haven't settled on a recipe. If you have one you'd recommend, let me know.


Appetizer:
TBD

Main Course:
Spinach and Beet Fusilli Pasta tossed with baked butternut squash, red and yellow bell peppers and crumbled goat cheese. The veggies are chopped and baked with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little garlic and some basil from the garden. The goat cheese is added at the last minute and melts with the heat of the pasta and the veggies. It's very satisfying, but not too heavy.

Salad:
Pasta will be served with a mixed green salad and berry salad with a berry vinegariette i'm making tonight.

Dessert:
Fruit Trifle. Recipe TBD.

Beverages:
Home made sangria and all the usual stuff, of course.

[disgustipated]

The recipe I used also called for two teaspoons of sugar in the sauce. I was thinking about using honey instead the next time I make the dish. Should a 1:1 ratio work or should I use more or less?

also honey seems to me like it wouldn't work in thai food. you need something to dissolve. if you are concerned about refined white sugar try unrefined raw, though, it takes more work to get that to dissolve.

Honey does work in Thai food and is a pretty good sub.

Stevia extract and Agave nectar are great sugar substitutes. I keep agave nectar at all times. I use it instead of sugar in almost everything. Makes an amazing margarita.

[Courtney]

Stevia extract and Agave nectar are great sugar substitutes. I keep agave nectar at all times. I use it instead of sugar in almost everything. Makes an amazing margarita.

I concur. I have been using agave nectar to make breakfast smoothies recently, and it's great stuff.

[Courtney]

Salad #10 of 101



Arugula, grape tomatoes roasted with olive oil and curry powder, and mint, topped with freshly-squeezed lime juice (lime courtesy of my side yard)

[SoulDischarge]

So I never made a single damned recipe out of that book. It was too daunting to me and my mom's kitchen is so disgusting and understocked, the homeless people from Dark Days would refuse to eat from it. But I gave myself a diet challenge, which I do from time to time to try to change my eating habits, of not eating meat for month. This is simply to force me to find new ways of feeding myself, not based on any kind of ethical thing. It's been about a week and a half so far, but I'm still not coming up with a lot of different options. I've been eating a lot of pasta, cheese pizza, easy mexican food like burritos and quesodillas, microwaveable vegetables, yogurt, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and fruit. I'd like some recommendations on more dinner type meals I could put together. I'm not opposed to fish. I'm also a very picky eater (some things I don't like: most condiments like ketchup, mayo, mustard, sour cream, guacamole, horseradish, etc, mushrooms, peppers, onions, eggs (straight up, I have nothing against cookie batter and the like) um I'll list some more when I think of them). I like some ethnic food. Italian, mexican, thai, indian are all good. Anything that points me in the right direction helps. Thanks!

[Dr. Lufs-al-ot]

Mango Nectarine Smoothie:

1 nectarine
2 scoops of Trador Joe's mango sorbet
some ice
an eyeballed amount of apple juice

tis bitchen

[cansei de ser sexme]

My parents bought a big green egg smoker and pretty much all meat that comes out of it is delicious.

[CuervoPH]

Mango Nectarine Smoothie:

1 nectarine
2 scoops of Trador Joe's mango sorbet
some ice
an eyeballed amount of apple juice

tis bitchen

This sounds awesome! It's odd, though. Trader Joe's seems to have skipped central PA (not that I blame them) and only have locations around Philly and Pittsburgh. Closest one to me is actually in Towson (Baltimore area), MD.

[Dr. Lufs-al-ot]

Twas bitchen

It is an odd combo though. I just took everything i had left over and threw it together in hopes that it would taste good (which it did).

ahhhh Towson! I know that area! My mom is from B-More so ive visited many times in the past.

I basically live off of Traders. Everything they have is fantastic! Hell they could come out with "Trader Joes Dog Shit" and i'd probably eat it. Im sorry to hear that there isnt one really close to you! I dont know what i'd do if i didnt have one close to me.

[disgustipated]

My parents bought a big green egg smoker and pretty much all meat that comes out of it is delicious.

These things are amazing. Almost fool proof.

My dinner last night:

local grass fed filet of beef with creamed spinach from my garden, parmesan roasted red potatoes and a mushroom-soy demi.

sorry no pics

[TomAz]

Salad #10 of 101



Arugula, grape tomatoes roasted with olive oil and curry powder, and mint, topped with freshly-squeezed lime juice (lime courtesy of my side yard)

oh man. oh man.

and I totally missed that article. that all looks great.

[mountmccabe]

So I never made a single damned recipe out of that book. It was too daunting to me and my mom's kitchen is so disgusting and understocked, the homeless people from Dark Days would refuse to eat from it. But I gave myself a diet challenge, which I do from time to time to try to change my eating habits, of not eating meat for month. This is simply to force me to find new ways of feeding myself, not based on any kind of ethical thing. It's been about a week and a half so far, but I'm still not coming up with a lot of different options. I've been eating a lot of pasta, cheese pizza, easy mexican food like burritos and quesodillas, microwaveable vegetables, yogurt, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, and fruit. I'd like some recommendations on more dinner type meals I could put together. I'm not opposed to fish. I'm also a very picky eater (some things I don't like: most condiments like ketchup, mayo, mustard, sour cream, guacamole, horseradish, etc, mushrooms, peppers, onions, eggs (straight up, I have nothing against cookie batter and the like) um I'll list some more when I think of them). I like some ethnic food. Italian, mexican, thai, indian are all good. Anything that points me in the right direction helps. Thanks!

How are you on tofu or tempeh? Stir frying is rather simple... though I see you don't like mushrooms or peppers which end up in most of my stir fries. You can still use other vegetables like broccoli, snow peas or whatever.

Also I would suggest that this might be a good time to try and revisit one or two of your dislikes. I used to be rather picky but I have since realized that I just didn't like how certain things were generally prepared around my house. And because I didn't eat them elsewhere often and even when I did, I went in with the wrong attitude and wasn't in a place to even attempt to enjoy them I subsequently didn't.

At any rate many Thai and Indian dishes work well with tofu... though beyond Tom Ka soup I don't have any recipes.

Also something like Eggplant Parmigiana might be good. I also don't quite have a recipe down for this.

[TomAz]

I read a book once - and damn me I fail as a human being cuz I can't remember the name or the author, otherwise I'd cite it - in which the guy talked about a personal project he undertook to learn to like foods he disliked. He set out 10 foods he didn't like and made himself eat them. His findings were that, generally, dislike of a certain food is related to unfamiliarity and having the wrong expectations. He said that of the 10 foods, he came to like 9 of them (kim chee was the one dish he could not bring himself to like no matter what). Anyway it was an interesting well-written read, too bad I don't remember what the fuck it was.

[SoulDischarge]

Thanks John. I've never been much into tofu; I don't really like the texture. I hear fried tofu is a whole different ordeal, so maybe I'll check that out some time. As far as re-trying food I don't like, I'm pretty comfortable with my dislikes. Changing my eating habits is a slow process, so one step at a time. I've accidentally eaten stuff I absolutely hate over the years and I always recognize it and don't like it any more, especially onions. Besides, not liking condiments is probably better for my health anyway.

[canexplain]

I happen to like Kim Chi but maybe because I was in Korea. Now head cheese, no thanks. If you use dried peppers much, Costco actually carries a pretty good variety. Support Trader Joes!!!!!!!!. cr****

[mountmccabe]

On friend tofu I stole/edited this from a post from elsewhere, which is what I use as a guide.

Extra firm tofu. A quart of vegetable oil. Moderately deep pot.

1. Cut tofu into chunks, maybe 1.5 by 1 inches or so.

2. Roll tofu chunks in cornstarch with a bit of salt and pepper added.

3. Throw into sizzling hot oil for a few minutes.

4. Remove when golden brown.


- Make sure the oil is hot enough by flicking in a bit of cornstarch. If the oil bubbles all around it and goes "TSSSSST", you're good.

- After the oil cools down afterwards, you can save it and re-use it the next time you deep-fry. I've been re-using the same oil for at least the past year, stored in a 1.5 Liter wine bottle. Pour most of the oil into the bottle, and for the little bit of oil at the bottom of the pot with crud floating in it, put a coffee-filter or thin piece of paper towel in a funnel, put the funnel in the mouth of the bottle, and filter out the crud.

- Oh, and for good tofu consistency, you can freeze it, then thaw it, then squeeze the water out. It makes it all more crumbly.

Also I would note that tempeh is similar but not as spongey/watery/blobby.


If I was doing the no meat thing - you're including poultry as contraindicated as well, right? - I would be eating fish nearly every day so as to try and get enough protein. And that's even if I liked eggs and tofu, etc.

But, hey, good luck. It's good to challenge yourself like that. You may end up finding a lot of non-meat food you like; you may end up with good reasons that you eat the meat that you do.

[Courtney]

Thanks John. I've never been much into tofu; I don't really like the texture. I hear fried tofu is a whole different ordeal, so maybe I'll check that out some time. As far as re-trying food I don't like, I'm pretty comfortable with my dislikes. Changing my eating habits is a slow process, so one step at a time. I've accidentally eaten stuff I absolutely hate over the years and I always recognize it and don't like it any more, especially onions. Besides, not liking condiments is probably better for my health anyway.

Aside from tempeh, as John mentions, you could also try pressed tofu. Both have a firmer texture than normal tofu. Pressed tofu is easy enough to make or buy.

[JebusLives]

Thanks John. I've never been much into tofu; I don't really like the texture. I hear fried tofu is a whole different ordeal, so maybe I'll check that out some time. As far as re-trying food I don't like, I'm pretty comfortable with my dislikes. Changing my eating habits is a slow process, so one step at a time. I've accidentally eaten stuff I absolutely hate over the years and I always recognize it and don't like it any more, especially onions. Besides, not liking condiments is probably better for my health anyway.

You can try training yourself to like things. It really does work. Many flavours are aquired... olives for example. I used to hate them, now I could eat a jar full of them. My parents took me through europe when I was 4, and I think it really opened up horizons food-wise. For example, I hadn't yet been socialized into thinking escargot was "gross", so I ate them daily!

About the only food I still do not like is mushrooms, though at this point i can certainly stomach them if required. They just don't improve receipes, in my opinion.

-------------------------------

I haven't contributed to this thread, though I have been cooking up a storm lately. Will type up a few good receipes later.

[TomAz]

You can try training yourself to like things.

truth.

[canexplain]

Jebus, If you don’t like shooms at all this might be a bad suggestion but if you get a chance, try a grilled portabella sandwich sometimes. When I was a vegan that was my “hamburger” substitute and they can be quite tasty. Cr****

[TomAz]

Patrick, If you don’t like tofu at all this might be a bad suggestion but if you get a chance, try a tofu sandwich sometimes. When I was a vegan that was my “cheeseburger” substitute and they can be quite tasty. Taz*****

[djandrews25]

Properly grilled tofu can be sooo damn good. Im an avid meat eater as well. If anyone lives in OC try the tofu burger at taco loco.