Gary
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Posts posted by Gary
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Again, I really appreciate all the info and moral support. I was living the perfect life (beautiful wife, great kids, nice house, good job). Now everything is being turned upside down. My wife had no interest in my repeated request to get into marriage counseling. She probably had her mind made up a year ago and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I dutifully went to the therapist to discover what made me so unappealing to my wife. The end result was nothing more than a penchant for avoiding conflict. I sure wish there was a better reason for ending this marriage. I could have accepted it more readily if there was infidelity, abuse, drugs, laziness, etc... but there was none of this (on my part anyway).
Now my therapy consists of pastry and baking. Bless all of you for the tips and tricks to stretch my dollars even further.
I've never really used my freezer for bakery item storage. I think that I'll start wrapping and freezing quality butter that I find on sale. I might even make up a bunch of cookie dough and freeze it too... in cookie size balls or logs. Fritattas with leftovers may be on the horizon too.
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Many thanks for the outpouring of support. Much appreciated!
I'm a good guy who wanted to work things out but found out my wife is having a serious mid-life crisis. I can't save the marriage so I am exacting my revenge by fattening her up on baked goods while the process unfolds. She and I are still in the house together (with 2 kids).
I can just imagine her complaining to her friends that her "evil" husband is making too many baked goods. Ha ha ha (sinister laugh).
The suggestion on Trader Joe's is a good one. I'll have to look beyond their great cereal aisle for all my bakery supplies.
By the way, the divorce diet is a good one. I'm baking like mad and have dropped 7 pounds. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
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I'm in cost-cutting mode these days. Gone are the times where I buy groceries without looking at the prices. Such is the life of a soon-to-be-divorced guy with a serious baking addiction. Too much money is going to lawyers... not enough to grocery stores.
OK... I need some advice here. I've been looking at these trade-offs:
- Store-brand chocolate chips instead of Nestle's or Ghiradelli
- Imitation vanilla extract instead of Nielsen-Massey
- Margarine instead of Land Of Lakes butter
Where have you had baking success with less-than-optimum ingredients?
Gary
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EllenC,
Thanks for the kind words. Please post the brownie recipe ASAP. I don't drink, smoke or swear. Chocolate is the biggest vice in my life right now.
Gary
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Divorce proceedings are starting. My wife filed for divorce on Sept. 1st. Can't quite figure out the real reasons why. Maybe she's got a mid-life crisis. Maybe she's been too deeply changed by her immersion into the world of alternative medicine and holistic healing. She said that she has "changed" and that she wants "more". As if a good dad, good provider, devoted family guy like myself isn't enough.
I started on e-Gullet and LOVED the thread about "Self improvement through pastry and baking". I got hooked to this great community. Marital problems started flaring up and I completely suppressed my cooking desire... doing anything to please my wife. That mindset ended the day she signed off on the divorce complaint.
As of Sept. 1st, I have baked two trays of brownies and one batch of chocolate chip cookies. It is making me happy. It is making my wife fat. It is just a way to occupy my time before we have to tell the kids and start dealing with their emotional rollercoaster ride.
I've been through counseling. My wife won't go. The next step in my therapy is cooking... and LOTS of it. Thanks to everyone for providing the inspiration.
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Patricia,
I made your bran muffin recipe today. I had no molasses so I substituted dark corn syrup. I ran out of vegetable oil so I made up the difference (1/4c) with olive oil. My kids don't like raisins or dates so I didn't put them in. Instead, I soaked some prunes in hot water, drained them, then pureed 'em in a food processor... just to add a bit more fiber and perhaps some more moistness.
They turned out just OK. They are certainly better than the bran muffins my wife has been making recently (shoe leather comes to mind).
I think store-bought "muffins" these days are mislabeled cupcakes. Their moistness and texture is cake-like.
Am I fighting a no-win battle to duplicate this moistness/texture in a bran muffin?
Thanks,
Gary
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My recent kitchen remodel included a roof-mounted blower, stainless steel ductwork, and a "Best by Broan" hood. Don't remember the CFM rating.
I was expecting near silence in the kitchen with the hood in action. In reality, the sound of the blower echos down the ductwork into the hood. It is much better than a blower mounted in the kitchen but not the perfection (silence) I had hoped for.
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Add me to the list of Shapiro lovers in eGullet land. I ate there this week. Had the corned beef on rye with mustard and cheese. A side order of a potato pancake, pickle, and an iced tea. YUM.
How do they make the potato pancake so good? Is it deep fried? It seemed very cake-y to me. I was expecting a mass of shredded potatoes bound by some egg. Very delicious with some applesauce on the side.
I even stopped by the next day for a dozen bagels for the office.
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My wife has been taking nutrition classes. The teacher is a PhD and published a book on the Vegan diet. As a result, she is avoiding dairy (calling it "cow pus") and sugar. Chocolate has both. I suppose this is why the unsweetened carob chips making it into her shopping cart.
I've already ranted about her irrational food choices on another thread so I'll restrain myself from jumping back up on my soap box.
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My wife brought home a bag of unsweetened carob chips this week and baked them in some bran muffins. I grabbed a small handful of chips and popped them in my mouth thinking they would taste something like chocolate. The package made some reference to a "fourth generation chocolate maker" who was involved in the process.
YUCK!
I think they are inedible. Maybe a sweetened version would be better but for some reason my wife is in a "low sugar" mentality these days.
Is carob a legitimate substitute for chocolate cookies or muffins?
What is "carob" anyway?
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My favorite thread is in the Pastry and Baking section. It is Mel's New Bakery. It is a fascinating diary of how a bakery business is brought to life.
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I've tried the technique of slicing and dicing veggies into julienne. The amount of work -vs- the amount eaten (by my wife) doesn't justify the effort. We agree that "juicing" carrots and apples is good so at least she gets her veggies in a liquid form. I doubt it has much in the way of fiber but at least the vitamins get in her gut.
I'm gonna have to learn to avoid the "shock value" fat exhibits. I'll sneak it in elsewhere. The list of "OK foods" is pretty limited so my trick bag is nearly empty.
Maybe my next diversion will be a deeper dive into flavors (sherry, garlic, onion, curry, etc). The broccoli recipe in the New York Times got me started.
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My wife wears a size 10 (or an 8 sometimes). She has never been "obese" even after 10 years of marriage (and my cooking).
I think Mizducky has it right. These are idiosyncracies. I'm no nutrition expert so the news has to come from an "expert".
I resolve to make some adjustments in my menus. No more braised short ribs. I'll substitute a brisket instead and shred it up and serve it on buns (sloppy joe style).
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To give you a sense of my wife's diet, I offer up here a list of Good -vs- Bad foods in her book:
WILL EAT:
Hummus
Baba
Pita bread
Falafel (baked, not fried)
Pesto sauce (canned)
Pasta
Cream sauce
Rice (brown, white)
Risotto
Salmon, tilapia, whitefish
Broccoli
Spinach (salad)
Yogurt
Guacamole
Mashed potatoes
WILL NOT EAT:
Tomatoes (fresh, canned, chopped, sliced, etc... all are bad). May occasionally eat tomato sauce on pasta. Pesto sauce would be preferred.
Peas (too smelly)
Carrots (bad texture) Will drink carrot/apple juice out of the juicer.
Eggplant (OK only in baba gannougj)
Cauliflower (no nutritional value. tastes bad)
Beans (Navy, black, kidney, lima, etc... tastes bad)
Green beans (tastes bad)
Zucchini (except when made into bread)
Fatty meats (see multiple descriptions previously listed)
Catfish (weird psychological aversion)
Greens (collard, mustard, etc... tastes only of vinegar)
Pears (weird texture)
Peaches (too fuzzy)
Squash (needs too much butter/sugar before it tastes good... defeating nutritional value).
My wife's eating habits are affecting the kids. They love all the starchy foods (so do I) and are avoiding most green vegetables (except broccoli which gets served 4 times a week).
I don't want to turn my kids into a super-carnivore like their grandpa (3 eggs + 4 slices of bacon every day). I just want them to try a lot of stuff... including animal fat once in a while. It's not like I sit around and eat pork rinds all day. I've got some sense in me that tries to offer a well rounded meal. I come to eGullet and get humbled every day when I see what others served for dinner. My stuff looks like crap and is pretty basic. I'm hoping to elevate my skills this year and 2 out of my 3 guests for dinner each night are finicky (God bless my 3 year old boy... He will eat most anything!!).
I'm not buying a preconceived aversion to spices either. Lots of kids in India eat curry every day. Why can't mine eat pepper?
Harrumph.
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Thanks to everyone for all the replies. 2005 was supposed to be my year to develop my cooking skills. It was my one and only New Year's resolution. So far I've done marshmallows, tarts, lemon curd, braising and some other stuff. 99% of the efforts have been met with "you are cooking stuff that will make me fat".
My wife has a decent interest in health. She shops at Whole Foods. She takes yoga classes. Her favorite foods are Middle Eastern (ie. Hummous, baba, pita, shawarma, etc).
I'm fighting a battle here. My side is based on Julia Child's principle that you can eat anything you want in moderation. My wife says she wants low calorie and low fat stuff... and NO visible fat on meats.
I do 75% of the cooking and grocery shopping. I've got a big sweet tooth too so most of my "fun" cooking is biased toward dessert.
In the spirit of marital bliss, I will try to alter my menus to meet her demands. The problem comes in trying to avoid boiled boneless skinless chicken breasts every day. Maybe I'll try an Asian theme and serve steamed fish for 2 weeks and see what kind of reaction I get.
I guess that I'll have to injest animal fat secretly while on business trips.
I'm open to suggestions from the forum on how to revise my menus. Any ideas that have worked for you?
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Another classic example is the pork chops I serve. I get the thinly sliced ones that are labeled "brown and serve" pork chops. They are no more than a half inch thick and the fat is trimmed to 1/8". What's not to like about a tiny slice of fat on the edge of a piece of meat? Nice and juicy in my book. Nope... definitely a horrible thing in my wife's opinion.
While I'm on my rant, what is up with my wife's hypocracy over vegetables? The list of "exceptions" I listed before was an abbreviated one. There are a lot more "no-nos" I left out. Anyone else have the same thing in their house?
Tonight's dinner was salmon (baked), roasted cauliflower (leftover from yesterday) and rice pilaf (from a box). She choked down the cauliflower by eating it mixed with salmon. Maybe this is it's own thread. Just want to know if I'm alone in this fight or if there are others like me out there.
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Was the only reason they turned down the short ribs dietary, or was this an unfamiliar dish that they were leery of because they'd never seen it before?
The only reason the short ribs were refused was that there was visible fat embedded in the meat. It was the first time I made short ribs so there was some fear factor in trying a "new" dish.
My wife trims every spec of fat off the edge of pork chops too. Only a perfectly lean cut will make it in her mouth. A pile of trimmings are left on the plate.
My wife is on a mission to avoid any "visible" fat. Her crusade has affected my daughter and instilled a fear that caused tears last night.
Chicken nuggets are OK
Microwave taquitos are OK
Kraft Mac & Cheese is OK
Crazy!?!?!?!?!?
I'm even getting pressured to stop sauteeing in EVOO. I've been asked to bake fish in the oven (no problem... I just put EVOO on top and bake away!!).
Complicating matters further is a general aversion to all spices and sauces by the kids, as well as a wife who says she likes lots of vegetables (except tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, cauliflower, peas, cucumber, celery and beans).
I feel like Jack Sprat... in reverse.
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Inspired by the braising lessons on eGullet, I made braised beef short ribs on Monday. They sat in the fridge overnight and I methodically removed the coagulated fat layer that formed on top of the broth.
Tuesday evening I reheated the ribs in the oven. Prior to serving, I trimmed the top layer of fat off the ribs.
I ate mine. Delicious. Juicy. Salty. Fatty. Yum!!
The other three servings went in the trash. My 8 year old daughter was in tears... afraid to eat the fat within the meat. My wife refused to eat them too... preferring to microwave some "taquitos" from Trader Joe's and eat them with a side of sour cream.
I'm so pissed off right now that I'm considering serving the family boiled skinless bonless chicken breasts from now until eternity. No salt. No butter. No pepper. Bah humbug!!
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My latest attempt at chocolate marshmallows came out better this time. I added a 1/4 cup of cocoa powder when the sugar/syrup mixture was about 220F. The mix bubbled up a bit after adding the cocoa... so next time I'll do it in a bigger pot.
This was a definite improvement over last time when I dissolved the cocoa powder in boiling water and put it in with the gelatine. It resulted in undissolved specs of cocoa powder. Yuck.
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I made my first rice pudding last night. Stovetop version, using Jasmine rice. It tasted pretty good out of the pot (hot & creamy). The problem is that it seemed to dry up too much overnight in the refrigerator. The creaminess was gone. It seemed to "ricey".
Is there some "know-how" involved in the process in terms of when you stop cooking? How do you know when it is done "just right". Do you stop cooking when it is a bit thick but still kinda liquidy?
Do you need to quick cool it in a jelly roll pan to stop the rice from absorbing more liquid?
What's the secret?
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Thanks everyone for the replies. I guess that I'll go back to Land Of Lakes and use up my last stick of "Roundys" brand butter for something else besides baking.
Now I'm tempted to go the other way and try the super premium butters. They are nearly double the price. I wonder if they are double the taste.
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I made sandies tonight... those powder sugar covered treats usually made around Christmas time. They are sometimes called Mexican wedding cakes or Russian Tea cakes or Pecan Sandies.
Anyway, I used grocery store brand butter instead of Land Of Lakes butter... to save a few bucks.
The dough never mixed that well. The batter is usually stiff and sticky. Tonight's dough was the texture of raw oatmeal. I packed it into balls and baked them anyway. The cookie taste/texture was OK but I suspect the butter was to blame for the difference in the dough.
Are there big differences in butter? Should I stay away from off-brand butter and go back to Land Of Lakes?
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Arbuclo,
My loaves baked at 450 for about 35 minutes then at 400 for another 15 minutes. I threw in a half cup of water in the oven and closed the door to create some steam... right after the loaves went in the oven. I did it again at the 20 minute mark.
The oil on my pizza stone smokes at 450 so I can't use it anymore. I baked these on a cookie sheet and the crust came out pretty good.
Gary
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Maybe I didn't add enough liquid to the mix after the spill on the stovetop. I made a guesstimate of a half cup. Maybe insufficient cream was the reason the hardened.
They sure tasted soft and delicious right after they cooled for an hour. Twelve hours later they were hard. I will try making them again... without my assistant.
Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Last night's dessert for us was a "chip-eroon". That's a chocolate chip cookie sandwich with Nutella filling. Not quite as fancy as the macaroon but the kids (and I) thoroughly enjoyed them.