Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Share recipes, menus, and kitchen hints.
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Harriet
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Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Harriet » Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:55 pm

What's capturing your imagination in the kitchen?

From chow to cuisine to culinary science... .. what have you been interested in preparing lately? What are you learning (or perfecting) in ingredients, cookbooks, equipment, or making precious old recipes better.

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Harriet
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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Harriet » Tue Feb 26, 2019 12:26 pm

I'm perfecting my tofu scramble lately for a different breakfast sometimes, "shredding" the extra firm tofu by pulling a fork through it - HRH gets a kick out of watching a plain block turn into a scrambled block. The colors of diced peppers and red onion make it attractive. Turmeric powder gives that rich, yellow color to the tofu and black pepper makes the turmeric more available when we eat it, so that's a healthy combo.

Always some chopped mushrooms of some kind. So happy that several of our ordinary local groceries now carry oyster mushrooms in addition to shitake, so I don't have to buy the same bella/crimini variety just because I'm not at a healthy-foods place. When I remember, I put cilantro leaves on top to please HRH. Usually I do all water saute for frying, but for this dish I do that plus coat the pan slightly with the Earth Balance margarine that Harmony recommended, for a little buttery flavor.

My dmil's recent gift of a new square frying pan has been useful. I was surprised because I was thinking either the heat distribution wouldn't be good or it would be harder to cook in. Turns out the heat is fine and because my favorite utensil for it is a heat-proof rubber spatula that's square, I've had no trouble with cornering! :) It does a very good job.

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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby blessedw2 » Fri Mar 29, 2019 10:00 am

i love kitchen experimentation and learning. oooo the tofu scramble sounds so interesting! very cool!!!!

I just gave away my jacques pepin techniques. I am hoping a young cook will pick it up.
I haven't had a lot of time for learning lately - when cooking becomes burdensome then I know it is not a time for learning (which I love!!!).

I bought a new cookbook by donal skehan (uk version), Meals in Minutes, that I plan on trying once a week. I loved his last cookbook for the layers of flavours so i am looking forward to trying this out. one recipe at a time. There are 90 recipes in the book so it will take me awhile. I don't like pork, lamb/mutton so I am sure the numbers will be less. I don't eat beef, much, as well.

thank you d harriet for sharing.
So interesting.
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Nancy
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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Nancy » Fri Mar 29, 2019 10:24 am

Changing out chicken plates a few at a time.

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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Harriet » Sat Apr 06, 2019 1:39 pm

Nancy, hope you enjoy the changes.

Have a good time going through the Skehan book, blessed. I remember you got a lot out of that previous book by the same chef.

We usually look at cookbooks as pick-and-choose. HRH is picky in the first place and now as he restricts his diet, even more so.

The new cookbook I bought, thinking mostly of HRH, but really all 3 of us, is Straight Up Food by Cathy Fisher. The emphasis is on avoiding salt, oil, sugar. He doesn't have to worry so much about sugar as he does salt and oil, but it's all a good idea. He heard about one of the recipes, beefless stew, from a review of a cooking demonstration with it, and how everyone loved it. So we'll probably start from there, and branch out suspiciously! :lol:

This book's cover sure can take hard wear in the kitchen, in that it has the metal coil binding to lie flat, but has a continuing part of the waterproof cover wrapping around the coils, too, to give the pages more protection. I do think it makes a book a little pricey, but in another way, you do feel confident with it - bring on the spatters!

On another youtube video, I saw more about the concept of baggie-ing in advance the veggies you expect to want for the next several days, even if cooking for one. A sandwich-size baggie of little veggies (stuffed full) is about right for one person, to grab for a recipe. Trying this for HRH's personal-servings of noodle soup. Broccoli florets, carrot curls, shredded cabbage, bok choy, celery and red onion. He can just stir in one whole baggie's contents as soon as his noodles are boiled with spices, and the veggies will cook as he gets ready to eat. I didn't put his cilantro and bean sprouts in, so he can garnish the soup with those still crisp.

Dstepdil has been emailing back and forth with us about this as she prepares meals for her dmother who has recently been hospitalized. Noodle soups seem to be just what the doctor ordered for that home, simple and easy to digest. She suggested purchasing already-shredded cabbage, which hadn't occurred to me.

Interested to hear what HRH thinks about seeing the baggies in the fridge - I predict he will like the fresh look.

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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Nancy » Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:06 pm

Meat loaf recipe tweaking has my attn this week. I got ground beef on sale made a large batch of meat loaf, I baked some meat balls made with ice cream scoop. Cooked while the meat loaf baked. I chilled it and hubby sliced it later for me to use as sandwiches next week. Froze them individually before bagging them up. Some g. Beef only was pressed into patties and frozen no spices or amything added to them, froze them on a cookie sheet before I bagged them up.
Checked the net for a traditional meat loaf recipe, it was missing worstichire sp? sauce.

Today tried something new, got chicken thighs at the store, with rub on them. I added a bit of low carb. Bbq sauce to one side. Served w cooked veg. It was great.

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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Harriet » Tue Apr 16, 2019 12:01 pm

Have you guys heard of a "Kitchari"?

Since I lost some serious water weight overnight, I obviously became impressed with a recipe I ate a BUNCH of yesterday, and for the first time. It's a Kitchari (Indian word that means mixture) of rice and beans and this one has sweet potatoes). I've never made one before but I'm glad I did. I picked this recipe, from Lyndi Ouellette, because it's so easy - fast, low-sodium. It probably let me drop that water-weight because there are so few additions, and the ones there are don't affect me :

3/4 cup brown rice(s)
3/4 cup lentils
1 small cut-up onion
curry powder to taste
salt substitute to taste
a couple cut-up sweet potatoes
3 cups water

You can certainly make it on the stove, adding in potatoes you cook however you like, baked, etc. I used the Instant Pot, so cut them up first. I just mixed everything BUT the potatoes, then laid sweet potatoes over, cooking at Manual 22 minutes, release pressure for 10.
You can serve with the potatoes intact, or mix a little to break them up and get that color all the way through - whichever seems prettier. The Benson's Table Tasty salt substitute is still the favorite here.

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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Nancy » Tue Apr 16, 2019 6:49 pm

I am still experminting ith meat loaf I will put ground turkey and ground beef in the one for this week.

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Harriet
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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby Harriet » Thu May 23, 2019 2:33 pm

I'm going to carry a large serving of the above recipe with us tomorrow as we go to HRH's last treatment. I know of no way to warm it up there, but it will still make a good, substantial lunch for me. Probably can use a cold-pack to keep a big salad I'll premake tonight cool. Romaine, kale and sprouts. I can have a baggie of some substantial ingredients in the container with the greens, to sprinkle in at the last minute - maybe an ear's worth of cut corn, and some drained green peas, some chopped walnuts. I feel confident.

it occurs to me I could make my quick one-person guacamole recipe in the morning, and with the lime juice mixed in well and the air pressed out of a baggie, it would probably stay bright green and could serve as a topping over salad, too.

1/4-cup finely chopped red onion,
mixed in to half a small avocado, mashed,
a splash of lime juice
salt substitute mixed in

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Re: Cookery - Sharing What Interests Us

Postby blessedw2 » Fri Jun 07, 2019 7:14 pm

that one person guacamole sounds delicious d harriet
hello d nancy as well.
it is always a joy to be here with you!


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