NulloModo

Suzi - Thanks for that site. I have tons of stuff I have been wanting to cook this week, but I have been trying not to overstuff the fridge with leftovers at the same time... ah, that delicate balance. Sometimes I simply enjoy the cooking more than the eating. Today the farmer's market will be open again, so I will go and see what I can pick up. I'm not sure about taking my camera there however as it is always a quite crowded, bustling place on a saturday, and I don't want to drop it or do anything else unsavory. Also time for more swimming today. I'm up to a little over three quarters of a mile per session this week, which will get bumped a little higher for the next week. This morning was also my official weigh-in for the week. I have to say I was a bit worried as I normally don't eat as many faux-grains and low-carb convenience foods as you have seen me chow down on this week. However, Mr. Scale has me down another 4 lbs, so yay, I must've done something right. Brunch is going to be Moka and leftovers today. Have to clear out some fridge space in anticipation of some produce from the market.

Simple - See, I would have never thought of Denver as a spicy town, I've always mentally categorized it into the midwest, even though I suppose it is more just 'west' in culture and atmosphere the more I think about it. I have never heard of a Hatch chile, so, unfortunately I can't say I have enjoyed them roasted anywhere. I use a lot of dried because they are easier to come by and store than fresh. I can easily get thai, serrano, jalepeno, habanero, anaheim, and poblano fresh, but other than that it starts to become a luck of the draw type of thing. With regards to my tastes, I haven't lived out here for all of my life. I have been here for a number of years, but before that I resided in Alabama and New Hampshire. I suppose my taste for the spicey stuff developed from a neighbor who used to always come by my parents' house for big holiday meals, and would always bring a bottle of crazy hot-sauce with him. I think it started out as a macho or 'try to prove I don't have to sit at the kiddie table' thing, but I actually just grew to appreciate and enjoy the flavors.

Thanks for the basil tips everyone. For supper tonight I thought it would cook up one of the Frugal Gourmet's recipes. In keeping in the spirit of Mr. Smith, I decided to do something for which I already had the ingredients: Beer and Cheese Soup. I had to make two changed to the recipe: no carrots, and no flour. I figured no carrots was no problem, I don't particularly care for them, and I would just add some scallions for an extra layer of flavor. The no flour didn't strike me as a problem either until I started to add the cheese and visions of Alton Brown suddenly popped into my head, whispering 'when you make fondue, you must add starch to the cheese to keep it from getting clumpy and stringy'. Well, thankfully this wasn't fondue, and perhaps enough starch cooked out of the onions into the broth to take care of my anti-clumping needs, because the recipe worked just fine. In fact, it worked more than fine, this is one of the tastiest things I have tried to cook in a while (IMO) I will certainly try this recipe again sometime. Now, those little things next to it that look sort of like crabcakes, and sort of like burnt chop steaks, are neither. They are a result of a thought process that took too many side-steps combined with my inexperience at baking (err, frying breadlike substances in this case). I wanted to make Irish Soda Bread to go with the soup, but I soon realized from looking at recipes that it just wouldn't work with the flour substitutes I had availible. No problem I thought, for I had found this recipe for Scotch Soda Pancakes that looked mighty tasty as well. So, instead of flour in goes the whole Oat Bran, and since there are Scotch Pancakes I figured a shot of Scotch Whisky would be a mighty fine addition to boot. Well, what flavor goes better with whisky than licorice? As it turns out the answer is: virtually anything. But alas, in had gone some star anise. They weren't horrible, but they certainly weren't good. I ate one, and threw the rest out, as if I won't eat it, I'm certain my roomates won't. At least the beer soup was good.

You know, those scraped toast ashes have a very distinctive taste/texture/aroma. I wonder if once collected they could have any culinary use...

Susan - I have to say I am always blown away by your seafood (and other) dishes in the Dinner! thread. Let me know how the crabcakes turn out. Breakfast today was non-existant, no classes today (they give the kids fridays off) so I slept in. The pot of Moka and playing video games till 3am last night aided in my desire to do this. Speaking of Moka, here are the two pots next to each other: The new one is aluminum, the first one (the smaller one) is stainless steel. I think I actually like the flavor of coffee from the first one better, but it could all by psychosomatic. I have heard that the aluminum ones need a breaking in period however, and I plan on doing this. Lunch today was simple: burrito (was overstuffed) based on leftovers. Carnitas, fresh tomato, onion, fresh basil, havarti (out of queso fresco), crema mexicana, and some Valentina Salsa Picante. Oh, some chopped fresh serranos as well. My tortilla is a green onion low-carb tortilla from La Tortilla Factory. These things totally rock: as long as you don't try to cook it, it is identical to a regular flour tortilla, taste, texture, the whole nine yards. I am in an ongoing battle to keep fresh basil in my kitchen. I absolutely love the stuff, but when I buy bags of it at the market, it goes rotten within a couple days. I say this thing at the grocery store however, that may be a solution. It is a huge bag of basil, roots and all, in a water tight sleeve. The idea is that you fill the bottom with water and just leave it out on the counter, and it should stay fresh for a long time. I hope it works. Dinner tonight will be a tribute to Jeff Smith. I'll keep you posted.

Basil makes near anything better, then again, so does bacon, so combining them almost like messing with pure essence of lust and goodness. I love fresh basil on burritos...

I absolutely love macadamias. Brazil nuts always come off as dry and chalky to me, where do you get yours that are greasy? (I might like to try a more moist Brazil nut). The spiced cashews that they sell at Indian grocers are also awesome. Oh, I Also positively love pecans and black walnuts for baking. Least fav - hmmm, can't really think of any I dislike...

And tonights supper: I figured it was about time to bring the blog to the bay (heh, I just reminded myself of one of my favorite broadway shows... " The bong of the bell of the buoy in the bay,And the boy and the bride and the boat are away!" but I digress). Crabcakes are easy, fast, and delicious (some of my favorite things!). My recipe is pretty par for the course with one obvious change, here is what I used: 1 lb blue crab claw meat (some swear by jumbo lump, I say not for crabcakes, I like the claw taste, and it is cheaper) 2 Eggs 2 tablespoons Mayo 1 tablespoon dried mustard powder 1.5 tablespoons old bay seasoning 3 green scallions chopped fairly small 1/4 cup powdered whole oat bran So yeah yeah, traditional crabcakes use breadcrumbs instead of whole oat bran, but I had to make the one minor concession. And guess what: they come out just as unbelievably tasty, you just have to be careful when flipping. My roomate (who is chile-phobic and therefore refuses to eat much of my cooking, but is nothing if not a direct and blunt critic) even agrees that the oat bran does not change the overall effect from the breadcrumbs. I served it up with some spicey horseradish roumelade, and broccoli rabe prepared super-simply: just boiled al dente in salted water with some crushed red pepper and garlic (pat of butter crumbled over for serving). This was the first time I've had this stuff, and I like it. Just a hint of bitter in the flavor, but nice and full taste, I will have to enjoy it again sometime. King of Prussia was pretty cool too. I avoided the Williams Sonoma, just because there is one in the local mall and I can go there anytime. There is an overly crowded (but loaded with cool stuff) store called Kitchen Kapers there, however. I didn't really plan to buy anything, but I left with a new (bigger) Moka pot. So that makes two Moka pots in one week. They had a good price and I have been so into the great coffee coming out of my itty-bitty one that I have tended to drink it all as soon as the cup comes off the unit, standing right over the stove. The new one is a big bad voodoo Moka pot, so should give me enough of the good stuff to last me at least until I find a place to sit and enjoy it ;).

Wow, thank you for the offer Foodie. You are actually the second person who has offered to mail me dried chiles ;). I am blown away by the generosity of eG members. There are a couple local mexican grocers I want to check out that I haven't made my way to yet, they may have them there, I will have to check. Lunch: Tuna sorta-sushi handrolls: Fresh tuna, seared briefly on high heat for a little crust, mung bean sprouts, wasabi, fresh grated ginger, some sesame seeds I just toasted, and a dash of soy. Served up like this: The veggie is Bok Choy, sauteed with a little sesame oil, some ginger, soy sauce, and again toasted sesame seeds. This is the first time I have tested grocery store wasabi, the brand looked fairly authentic, and I didn't even think to check the box before i tossed it. The Wasabi itself is in a little tube with only japanese lettering, so who knows, maybe it is authentic. It is certainly _very_ strong.

I usually pan-fry it till extra crispy and serve it up alongside eggs and etc. Breakfast today was leftover pizza. Sorry no photo, but it looks a lot like it did yesterday. Lunch: I'm feeling ambitious. I stopped by my favorite seafood hut on the way home from school and picked up a nice tuna steak. I am going to try to make a sort of sashimi roll with a side of seasoned bok-choy, I'll post more when it is done. I also picked up a tub of crabmeat while I was there, I'm thining crabcakes are going to happen soon. I have acquired some Broccoli Rabe. I've never cooked it before, but I hear it's tasty, so, look for that to make an appearance at some point as well. Other than that I think I might be going up to King of Prussia Mall today, I think there is a kitchen store or two in there, perhaps I'll find something fun to play with.

Soba - The crust was Wheat Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Isolate, and some other goodies. I don't mix it myself (Although I could probably come up with something similar, possibly better if I experimented enough) it comes from a box, made by CarbSense, sorry if I posted in such a way that that was unclear. Here is a source of the stuff though: http://www.store.honeyvillegrain.com/index...PROD&ProdID=622 And here is an article that tells a little more about it: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=23139 I am not sure on a technical level on how it differs from vital wheat gluten, or even if it does, 100% pure vital wheat gluten may be the same thing as Wheat Protein Isolate. The jug you saw in the earlier post was Whey Protein Isolate, which I also use in baking, but I doubt it would work in a pizza crust. Whey protein can give bulk and a light fluffy texture to some baked goods. I really need to pick some unflavored stuff up, I just have this jug because I stumbled upon it on sale (eh, I pick up a lot of things that way).

Hmm, so ribeye it is... I know my knife won't slice a frozen steak, but my food processor has a cool new spinning slicing blad I've been dying to try out. Cheesesteaks here I possibly come...

Supper from tonight: Had some leftover spam, wanted to use it up, so.... Spam Fritatta. Thin sliced the spam and fried it till very crispy, tossed in some chopped serranos till they got a little soft, in went the whipped egg/cream/tomato/salt/pepper mixture, some fresh dill on top, a little cheese, under the broiler, and voila.

Hmm, I might have to give that a try. I am not against paying for Ribeye, if that is what the places actually use, I didn't want to give the wrong impression. I just never thought they took actual good steak quality meat and chopped it all up for cheesesteaks...

Shogun - You bring up a good point about drink prices. Another reason I am hesitant to order mixed drinks many places is that you never know how much it is going to cost. Food prices are always listed, so why not drink prices? I'm sure the waitress/bartender could tell me, but I feel cheap asking. I ordered a double Jim Beam on the rocks once on the Spirit of Philadelphia, and was charged 18.50 (yes, that's right, eight-fucking-teen dollars and fifty fucking cents) for it. I could have bought a whole bottle for that much. Now, I had in mind to just have a nice evening and not worry about liquor tabs, etc, but getting raped in the ass as soon as I set foot on the boat sort of put a damper on the rest of my evening.

Hiya, So, if I wanted to prepare an authenticish cheesesteak at home, what kind of steak should I buy to do it? I have googled and seen Ribeye, top round, and sirloin all mentioned. The general consensus (and I agree) is that Steak-um is not an acceptable solution. However, cheesesteaks tend to use a good deal of meat, and aren't that pricey. Ribeye is pricey, so I am wondering if that is what the places up in Philadelphia really use. Anyone want to shed some light on this for me? What type of steak, and how to slice/chop/etc to get that really authentic result?

Why thank you Susan. I am going to try to incorporate some regional cuisine ala Baltimore/Philadelphia (eh, or if I could figure out what Delaware's distinctive cuisine is I would do that) before the week is up. However, today I used my Moka pot again, this time with the espresso grind Mexican Double Dark coffee I purchased at TJs last night. Definate different, far stronger, more flavorful brew than my Chock-Full-O-Nuts (what is up with that name? Is it nut flavored coffree? I didn't notice a nuttiness...) I like it. I like it a lot. I wish I had splurged and spent the extra $15 on the bigger pot now....

Whats wrong with selling on volume? If you boil it all down, if lowering your margin results in higher net profits due to higher sales, isn't that better?

Well, I am on the Atkins plan, so regular pizza is straight out. Normally I don't go for many low-carb convenience products either, preferring to just eat natural things I can make myself, but I had a hankering for something pizza like, and the mix I purchased (Carbsense Minicarb Pizza Mix) could only be made all at once, and made enough for two crusts. One was over the weekend, the other day. I didn't want to start the blog off with a bit bout of Atkins evangelism however, I figure I'd show people that you can eat very well balanced tasty meals low-carb without cramming it down their throats ;). Speaking of the pizza: This one was much tastier than the last. The crash and wiggle of the various flavors I tossed on actually balanced out into a nice pleasing whole. The creole spice mix gave it depth, the sausage a nice meaty mouthfeel, the shrimp and sauce a fresh taste, and the habanero a great kick and a little mouth tingle. Not a traditional pizza by any means, but something I might make again in the future. One of the biggest benefits is I now get to clear up fridge space by taking leftoveres which were taking up several containers, and now have them all in one on top of the pizza ;). On the beer: I'm surprised, this is not bad at all. Usually light beers taste like crap. While this isn't anywhere near as good as the Dogfishhead 60 minute IPA or Magic Hat Heart of Darkness, or even a Victory Hop Devil I would be enjoying if I had my druthers, this fits into my dietary restrictions and has (gasp!) taste! I like it. Definately worth the 33 cents per bottle.

oooh, I didn't know you were trying to replicate the drawl though those words ;). The use of all caps led me to believe she was spouting out some acronym I wasn't familiar with....

Lunch! That blob seen above turned into this: Leftover Pizza! Well, sort of. The 'dough' is made out of pure wheat protein isolate (similar to what gluten I imagine) with a bit of pure fiber thrown in to add bulk and doughlike characteristics. It tastes... well, not too bad actually. Texture is not bad either if you cook it till crispy. However, it is not quite like regular dough. LAst time I used this crust I made a standard neopolitan style pie, and the flavors of the dough just didn't mesh with the pure basil/marinara/mozerella. So, this time, since I had some stuff I needed to use anway (some cooked shrimp, sausage, a bit of onion, etc) I just tossed a ton of stuff on for a not-quite traditional pizza. This one has a creole spice blend, shrimp, a little sauce, italian sausage, habanero peppers, onions, and cheese. Since I Am enjoying sort-of pizza, and since I realize that my subtitle for this blog hasn't been completely true yet (cooked with beer yesterday, but I typically don't drink much alcohol during the week, just wait till the weekend for the good stuff there though....) I decided to have a sort-of beer. Haven't tried it yet, hope it doesn't suck, I bought a whole case (eh, for $8 for the case it was hard to go wrong....).

I knew there was something I meant to enter into this thread, and I completely forgot it when I moved to post. Now I remembre. I absolutely, positively, can not stand the use of the word 'brekkie' instead of 'breakfast'. It makes my skin crawl.

I would lose a lot of faith in DQ if they pulled the product or changed the same for something as silly as this. It is obviously a take off of Moo, as in cows, and Latte, as in the drink it is trying to emulate, and obviously not meant as a racial slur. There are many people who try to get offended at things, and look for any excuse to cry foul, they make the world rotten. On the same note, I would be similarly pissed if Aunt Jemima syrup changed the name or bottle (as is mentioned in the article) simply due to PC reasons.

I don't watch Paula Dean often, what do OL and FOL Stand for?

Rushina: I will try to go into more detail about the chiles and sauces as I use them more. Trust me, the week will have more instances of chile-use ;). The ones I have been using so far I have not been doing anything special to, just grinding them up and tossing them in so as they end up being like a slightly fresher chili powder. I should really toast them for maximum flavor, but I didn't. I have been playing around with ideas from the Mexican Table Salsa's eGCI course, so you might see me do more from that later on. If I do, I will explain in more detail. As far as favorites go, I love the smokeyness and heat of the Chipotle, but unfotunately around here all I can find is the canned ones in adobo, no dried ones. I also love the fruity heat of the habanero, the cool refreshing kick of the serrano, the almost sweet overtones of the roasted jalepeno, and the mild but full flavor of the anaheim and poblano. Some of my favorite pepper sauces are Blair's line (when I want a lot of heat), some Datil pepper sauces I brought back from St. Augustine (that pepper has an interesting taste, hot, but not too hot, but tons of flavor. It is almost like tabasco with a fuller pallete and greater testicular fortitude. Green sauces are great, and even your basic louisiana style cayenne sauces (like Crystal/Wal-Mart/Frank's) are good. Frank's new Chili and Lime is great for flavoring dishes for others who won't eat strong hot sauce ;). Foodie - That sounds wonderful. I wish I had that variety here. Luckily the veggie stand I like to go to at the farmer's market is run by a group of Mexican/Asian folks (looks to be half and half) and they stock a great variety of certain types of chiles, I just can't find certain ones I really want (dried chipotle, dried habanero, ancho). I really want to have a chile/herb/veggie garden, but I live in an apartment, and alas the idea of community gardens is not popular here.