LizD518
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Posts posted by LizD518
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I'm planning on picking up ingredients for ice cream on the way home as I have a craving today. I'm thinking a dark chocolate with dark rum and toasted almonds - maybe some shredded coconut in there too if I feel like it!
I have the book at home, but the only chocolate recipe I have made was the sorbet (fabulous). Anyone have a particular recommendation of which one I should use?
Made the Philadephia-style chocolate with Penzey's cocoa powder and 72% chocolate from Trader Joe's. Not super-star level indgredients, but it came out really rich and deep. I can only have a few spoonfuls at a time - which is good for my waistline! Unfortunately, I can't really taste the rum, but the amount I put in keeps the texture at just the right softness for scooping.
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I'm taking a break from reading a totally non-food-related fantasy / adventure series to read "the Omnivore's Dilemma". I feel about five years behind the times, but so far I find it absorbing - and disturbing.
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I'm planning on picking up ingredients for ice cream on the way home as I have a craving today. I'm thinking a dark chocolate with dark rum and toasted almonds - maybe some shredded coconut in there too if I feel like it!
I have the book at home, but the only chocolate recipe I have made was the sorbet (fabulous). Anyone have a particular recommendation of which one I should use?
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It sounds like you have your two items, but I love seeing all of the suggestions in this thread. To add my selection to the mix: corn, avocado & tomato salad with a bit of jalepeno, shallot (or red onion) and cilantro. Dressed with just lime juice, and salt & pepper. Summer staple, either as a side salad or with tortilla chips.
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Love it! When my mom made homemade bread when I was a kid we would take a slice and dip pieces into molasses to eat. My grandmother made molasses cookies and always had them available when we visited. Last year I found a recipe in the newspaper for molasses brownies from Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge, MA. I finally made them last month and they are going to be my standard brownies from now on. The molasses intensifies and complements the chocolate beautifully.
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Small one-bedroom apartments don't have eat-in kitchens, but my "dining room" (HA!) table is currently holding a water bottle (refillable, for running), two placemats, an empty box from amazon and the cables that came in the box. The table is mostly the province of the cat though. SHe likes to sit on it and gaze out at the alley behind my building.
Most meals are taken at my desk, also part of the same living / dining / office combo that is my main room. Currently the desk holds my laptop, a cookbook, piles of magazines, bills, books and other assorted papers, my garmin forerunner watch, speakers for my computer, an individual bag of pretzels, ear phones, the necklace I wore to work yesterday, and the modem for my computer.
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PB & J freezes very well. We used to make them at a cafe I worked at: Texas Toast, good layer of PB on each side, and Jam or Jelly of your choice in the middle. We would make a whole sheet tray with about 30 of them and freeze. Pull out a half dozen a day, cut in half, and wrap. They were displayed in a cooler case for grab & go.
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My Easter dinner is tomorrow night as I am hosting my two brothers and one sister-in-law. It is not really a traditional Easter dinner, just dinner together on easter weekend!
Arugua Salad with Pancetta, HB Egg & White Truffle Vinaigrette
Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Fettuccini Alfredo & Roasted Cherry Tomato Tarragon Sauce
Lemon Cream Tart from "Baking, My Home to Yours" with Fresh Sliced Strawberries
Lots of Wine
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Also--how long do dried rice noodles and spring roll wrappers (banh trang) keep?
I recently used some spring roll wrappers that I have had for over a year and noticed no difference from last fall, when I last used them. I also have been using rice noodles that have been around for the about the smae amount of time and they seem fine.
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My challenge ended after three weeks when I went shopping on Saturday. Although I live in the center of a small (pop. 75,000) city with plenty of grocery stores, good and bad, within a 10-20 minute drive, I tend to do one big shopping trip a week. I also live one mile from my work, with only the "crappy acme" between us.
As per usual, I brainstormed several dishes to make for the up coming week (or two, or three) and made a shopping list based on those needs. Then I went out to the local "farmer's market" (really more of an independant ethnic grocery store / flea market that has been growing rapidly and gaining in business and quality in the two+ years I have lived here) to get my produce. I usually get out of there with two good-sized bags of various produce for under $25. I must have went a little crazy from the lack of shopping for three weeks because I ended up with three recyclable grocery bags filled with produce, and a few canned goods, for $49!! I started working on the excess produce by offering to bring a side dish to a dinner party I went to on Saturday night.
Next was a trip to a local large supermarket chain to get stuff like canned tomatoes, ice cream, cereal, milk, etc. Foodstuffs from there added up to another $30!!
My weakness is that I want to make so many things, and come up with so many ideas, that I want to buy all of the ingredients at once, instead of buying stuff for one or two dishes, making those, and then moving on to something else. Also, as a one-person household, I make certain dishes, like an Indian Biryani for example, and have more than enough to eat for a week. I actually like leftovers but I certainly don't need to have the makings for three ot four of these big dishes on hand, but I usually do!
My goal (once I have worked through the current stock) is to start focusing on one, or two dishes at a time, and to only make amounts that can be consumed in one or two sittings.
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My quinoa. I haven't even thought of using it. I was all excited when I bought it, after having tasted it in a greek salad-type dish that a coworker made. That was last summer. I think I made it twice after that, once it came out okay, but not insipring, and the other time it was way over-salty because I added the salt to the cooking water and I think it just sat on top, instead of getting absorbed in like pasta. Or I added way too much, I don't know.
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Thursday was the last day that I posted, and I wasn't sure I was going to start a second week, but I realized I still had a lot of things to use up, including leftovers, so I am still in.
Friday - I don't actually rememebr what I had! I know it wasn't pasta, as I had that each of the previous two nights. I think I just snacked on some GS cookies because I wasn't really all that hungry.
Saturday - I had the last of the cereal for breakfast. No problem, Ihave plenty of steel cut oats and I haven't made oatmeal in months. For lunch I made vegetable-lentil soup, using a great deal of the vegetables I had on hand, including the last onion. I had a date Saturday night so I was out.
Sunday - Made oatmeal for the first time in ages. I made a big batch and will reheat it throughout the week. Added dried cranberries, brown sugar, and some dried orange peel for flavor. I went out to run errands during lunchtime and stopped to get a sandwich at a sub shop I like. My late afternoon plans fell through because of the impending snowstorm, so I decided to use the extra time to make bread. A couple of slices of fresh baked bread accompanied a pasta puttenesca similar to the one on Thursday for dinner.
Monday - snowed in, yay! Breakfast was another thick slice of bread, no butter or garnish needed. A small bowl of oatmeal topped with a splash of the last of the milk was needed to augment an hour or so later. Lunch was a bowl of the lentil soup, also accompanied by homemade bread (the reason why I try not to bake bread too often is becoming apparent). I had a mid-afternoon treat I had a cup of hot chocolate based on coconut milk instead of milk milk. I can't remember what blog I got the recipe from, but it is a fabulous, rich treat. For dinner, I was inspired by sme packets of duck sauce in my cupboard to look up a recipe for something Chinese-inspired to make with the shrimp in my freezer and most of the rest of my vegetables. Served over rice, my "Szechwan Shrimp" with carrots, bell pepper, and chayote was pretty delicious.
For the rest of the week I only have about a pound of carrots and half a heart of celery left for fresh vegetable. But I still have frozen leftovers to use up, as well as plenty of lentil soup. Lunches will be salads at work and breakfast will be oatmeal. Plus, Wednesday night there will be leftovers from the dinner we are producing at work (I am a catering managet) and Thursday I have a class and will pick up something out. I don't think I'll have any problem getting through to Saturday.
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Saturday, as part of the "a week without shopping" challenge, I finally used up the last half cup of lentils that have been sitting in my pantry forever. I have to face it - I don't really care for lentils... It was a basic vegetable soup: carrots, onions, celery, red bell pepper, garlic and diced (canned) tomaotes, sauteed in a little bacon fat, then add water and the lentils and simmer, and add the crispy bits of bacon back in. I also added a bay leaf and several hot dried chilies. I usually make a soup just like this with black beans and I love it, but i found the lentil version to be insipid.
I pulled the leftovers out today and had a bowl, along with a nice big hunk of fresh bread that I made last night. What a difference a couple of days made! Still not my favorite dish, but at least I won't be tempted to just chuck the remainder!
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I have actually been trying to stay away from the items in my freezer this week, because those are the things I usually turn to. Instead I have been trying to use up some of the pantry items I have but rarely use. So far I have used two types of rice noodles and I WILL use the last of the lentils tomorrow night.
Last night and tonight though I was tired, and resorted to regular pasta both nights. Last night was pasta with some homemade bolognese sauce that I have in the freezer. Tonight, though I used pasta as my starch, I also used up a bunch of other items that are rarely used. I made a puttanesca-type sauce with the last fresh plum tomato, some artichoke hearts, a couple of really good kalamata olives, capers, pepperoni and tossed in some fresh mozzarella left over from making pizza lat weekend. It was one of the most outstanding things I have made in weeks! On the side I used up a couple of carrots and the last of the cucumber. I still have a bell pepper, half a package of celery, about a pound of carrots, one onion, and more artichoke hearts for produce. Some of it WILL go into the lentils. If I keep telling myself I will use them, then I will!
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Tonight I used yet another variety of noodles that have been sitting in the pantry for far too long - rice sticks such as the kind you would find in pho. I stirfried a carrot, bell pepper, and half a chayote, along with garlic & ginger in a sauce I created out of some homemade tamarind chutney, oyster sauce, a dash of soy and sesame oil to finish and tossed with the noodles. It wasn't too bad! And since I am trying to use up what is on hand, I actually am actively trying to use up the vegetables instead of just having pasta with bolognese and forsaking the veggies!
Tomorrow I'm going to make a pot of my favorite black bean and veggie soup using the chayote, bell pepper, celery, carrot, onion and a can of diced tomatoes from the pantry. There will be plenty left to freeze for next week as well.
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I had been thinking about doing something like this for a while, and since I was away for a quick weekend trip, I didn't see this until I returned yesterday afternoon. Perfect timing - I last shopped Sunday the 16th and had only picked up a quart of milk, a cucumber and some fresh mozzarella to get me through this coming week! Too bad I bought the milk - I could have used up some of my oatmeal.
Last night was homemade pizza - utilizing half a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, a bit of homemade sauce, one of the two plum tomatoes I had, a few pieces of pepperoni, and the aforementioned fresh mozz. Soo good! I still have all of the ingrdients left so it could actually reappear - or also morph into a pasta dish with all of the same toppings. Or, add the various olives and some cuke I have in my fridge and become a salad (with out the sauce or pepperoni).
Tonight I plan on using the carrots, cuke, frozen shrimp, cilantro and some of my many rice noodles and make imperial rolls (summer rolls). I may experiment with the tamarind chutney in my freezer as a dipping sauce, or use some of the various condiments I have to create something.
Later in the week, I have a cup of lentils I have been determined to use for a while - they may become a soup; two bell peppers that I have to do something with - probably one at least gets roasted; frozen edamame, with fresh carrots, bell peppers, onions and maybe even celery can become a stirfry - with or without shrimp; homemade bolognese sauce exists in my freezer if I really don't feel like cooking. The truth is, I could probably go two more weeks without shopping as long as get most of my veggies at work (I run a small cafe so I don't prepare a lunch).
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YESSSSSSS!!!!!
I was holding my breath hoping that Stefan would not be going home. It was a horrible time for him to have a screw-up like that! Overall, I am very happy with the final four.
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There is a type of seeded flatbread cracker that my chef at work serves. They come in a foodservice-sized case and I haven't seen anything in stores that look like what I want. Basically they are a flat, crispy, fairly neutral-flavored cracker that is not flakey and doesn't indicate yeast (to me at least). The topping is much like what you find on an "everything" bagel (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, toasted onion, toasted garlic, salt). Does anyone have a recipe for something like this?
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Celery Salt is the primary seasoning in my mom's chicken and rice soup. She would make a simple stock by using the bones from a roast chicken, add rice and the shredded, cooked meat, maybe some onions and carrots, and celery salt. Serve with saltines or oyster crackers...yum!
I use lots of celery seed in my coleslaw, along with salt, but celery salt might be too high a proportion of salt to substitute.
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Has anyone used quinoa in a soup? I am trying to use some of the various grains, legumes and starches in my pantry and one of the things I don't know what to do much with is the quinoa. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Deborah Madison (Vegetable Soups) has a "comfort food" soup that uses quinoa (1 cup uncooked). Other ingredients are: two potatoes, a bunch of spinach, 1/4 lb or so of feta cheese, corn (a cup or so, the recipe calls for 2 ears of corn) and a jalapeno pepper. Some salt & pepper to taste.
I really like the soup. It's fairly fast to make & not complicated. You can vary the ingredient proportions somewhat depending on what you've got on hand & still get a tasty soup. She includes an earlier version of this soup in "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone." Ms. Madison suggests rinsing the quinoa before you cook it, to rinse off any remaining saponins (bitter).
Probably there are other recipes around, maybe a search of epicurious.com would yield some interesting recipes? I'd guess you could substitute quinoa for rice or tiny pastas in some soup recipes, particularly the tiny pastas as quinoa cooks fairly rapidly.
azurite
Thanks - that sounds good, and hearty - I'll put it on the list!
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I am a Penzey's fan. I love that I can get just a small 1/4 cup jar of most things, as well as bulk sizes of the things I use most often. I have bought a few things at the Indian grocery, but I ended up taking out about a half cup and freezing the rest because I have so much. These are all whole seeds like cumin, coriander and fenugreek so I think they should be ok on the freezer.
It's a little more expensive to buy the smallest size, but still cheaper and better quality than the grocery store. Plus, even though I don't buy a lot of spice blends, the two or three I do buy I am devoted to (Pizza Seasoning, Mural of Flavor, Peppercorn dressing blend)
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I made Waldorf Salad from The Waldorf Astoria Cookbook (a Christmas present). It's an updated recipe that uses yogurt and creme fraiche (I used all yogurt) instead of mayo, as well as white truffle oil. It was really light and delicious - and I may have to have some for dinner tonight!
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Hmm.
After a very long,hard battle, I am joining the ranks of millions of people who are walking away from a mortgage and going back to renting.
My goal is to shop at Aldis and make everything I possibly can myself, buying little or no Made Goods.
Christine, do you ever go to the West Side Market for produce? When I lived in Cleveland I found that prices were very reasonable there (although the hours make it a little difficult to get to. Unfortunately, protein prices at the stalls inside were generally the same or higher than the supermarkets - albeit the quality and variety were usually better.
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Has anyone used quinoa in a soup? I am trying to use some of the various grains, legumes and starches in my pantry and one of the things I don't know what to do much with is the quinoa. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cabin Food -- think compact
in Cooking
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To save precious refridgerator space - how cold is the lake? Is there a shady spot where you can stash canned beverages and maybe a whole watermelon in the water? These items normally take up way too much refridgerator space.