Knicke
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Everything posted by Knicke
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BUMP! It's time for this thread again. Caught a rather nasty head cold last week and went searching for food ideas that I could stomach. I made tryska's mom's rasam (recipe is a little ways up thread) and it worked WELL. Even the process of pounding the spices helped break through the congestion. I must also add a vote for tom yum gai soup with lots of chiles. It really helped.
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eG Foodblog: rsincere - DIY cooking school/cooking therapy in WI
Knicke replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Rachel, I'm so impressed that you have the courage to do this! It will only get easier the more that you cook - you'll learn more, not only about what works and what doesn't (i.e. the amount of liquid in various recipes), but what you prefer and how to achieve those results. I am just starting to learn to do this; I've found that it also helps me be less tied to the recipe book, and less flustered, as you say. If I can eyeball stuff, both in terms of amounts and time elapsed, it is much easier to 'chop as I go' and I tend to panic less. I'm really enjoying this blog - great job! -
All I want for Christmas is? wish lists to die for
Knicke replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
buttercup, my roommate and I cut these EXACT pix out of Cosmo when this issue came out - and hung them in our kitchen! We were living in a really ugly apartment at the time, and figured that since we didn't have a kitchen window, we could at least use these fellas to improve the view... Haven't tried any of the recipes they provided yet! -
This morning: leftover cilantro polenta - cheese - pinto bean casserole thingy from last night's dinner. And a glass of milk. It was goooooooooooood.
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Hmmm...good ones...exceedingly fresh sliced cucumbers. Onions in butter (this is exceptionally common). Ripe peaches. Ripe canteloupe. Ripe pears. Most ripe fruits except bananas. Fresh dill, sage, or rosemary being chopped; I like all fresh herb smells (even cilantro), but these are my favorites. Here's a slightly strange smell I LOVE: overripe-to-rotten apples. Hey, I know it's not exactly a food, but the cidery smell makes me think of apple orchards in autumn. Bad ones: rotten garlic/onions. This is truly foul! Pretty much any spoiled food is bad-smelling (except for the example I give above). I like the smell of bread baking (even do it myself), but I hate the smell of a yeasty 'sponge' (but love the smell of yeasty beer; what gives?). Dried lima beans and soybeans boiling................YICK.
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Guilty Pleasures – Even Great Chefs Have 'Em – What's Yours?
Knicke replied to a topic in Food Traditions & Culture
Sardines. Smoked kippers. Smoked oysters. Anchovy pizza (homemade ONLY, though). -
For me, it's both a necessity (we all gotta eat!) and a tangible expression of creativity. I have a strong desire to create, but other forms (writing, sculpture, painting) are lacking in instant gratification, and frankly are 'permanent' enough to make me nervous. All I can do with a bad poem I've written, or a lumpy sculpture I've made, is look at it and wince - I want to throw it out, but feel the need to keep it for posterity...(?) If I screw up a recipe, not as big a deal. I can throw it out with little-to-no guilt (unless I've just ruined a nice piece of fish or beef), grin-and-bear-it and chow down, or find some way to salvage it. If it turns out mediocre, well, I eat it and then it's gone, and I can start afresh. Bad dishes become funny stories to entertain friends with later, not embarrassing failures to keep in your scrapbook or closet. As I've been cooking for others more recently on a daily basis (finally got my roommate and her man to share dinner w/ me a few times a week), I'm starting to appreciate the human, nuturing angle of cooking as well. I like feeding people! I like the warmth and comfort that comes from a home-cooked meal, and I like giving others this comfort. Slowly, I am getting roomie-and-boyfriend to pay more attention to what they're eating, to help with small tasks, to learn how to do things in the kitchen and feed themselves, to start to appreciate the fact that a little effort brings great results when it comes to food, to notice how much better 'real' food tastes. I think that's enough! I could go on and on.
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Viva, I believe they are called "cuy" in Peru. Let us know how you like it!
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Ahem. No... Boy, that sounds really bad upon re-reading. I left myself WIDE OPEN on that one.
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Well, I now have enough recipes to try that I should safely be able to use up all of the black bananas in my freezer - plus those that are becoming overripe on my counter as I type this. Thanks everyone for the help! Hopefully at the close of experimentation, I will have found one (or perhaps two!) recipes to add to my permanent file.
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I was a fast-and-furious Slurpee drinker - though slow enough to avoid ice cream headaches most of the time. I also routinely sucked the 'juice' from popsicles, etc. YUM. Still do sometimes.
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You know...what would be GREAT would be to have two decent banana bread recipes...one that is more cake-like (dessert bread) and one that's more bread-like (for toasting and whatnot). Loafing (or anyone else that's made it): is the CI recipe cake- or bread-like? Too bad the Cook's Illustrated recipe post got deleted - remember folks, links good, cut-and-paste bad. However, I wrote down the CI recipe already. To be faithful to copyright law, I should probably tear it up into little pieces. Hmmm...a question for the New York Times' Ethicist...
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Either the texture is weird; or it's too sweet; or it's too oily; or it's too heavy; or... Banana bread would be my preferred method for dealing with all of the inevitably over-ripe bananas that are hanging out in my freezer...sometimes you just get tired of banana smoothies. However, I still have an overabudance of these bananas because I can't find a recipe that I like. Does anyone have suggestions?
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jgarner, that's sooooo wrong. I frown on your behalf!
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I think either is appropriate! I don't pick things off. However, I do have a ritual for peanut butter or ham or cheese sandwiches made on store-bought bread: 1. Nibble off the crusts. 2. Take an equal-size bite from each corner. 3. Trim the edges so the sandwich resembles a plain rectangle again. 4. Take a bite from each corner....etc. Until the end, when all you're left with is a 1-2 bite-sized square of filling and soft bready goodness from the very middle. I don't always do this, and it happens more frequently when I'm alone...but I'm not embarrassed by it, and would do it in public. I've been doing this as long as I can remember. I will occasionally scoop pumpkin pie filling out of the crust then eat the crust - if I know it to be good crust.
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They all have their place - although I will take a cake cone over a bad sugar cone any day. Truth be told, I'm more of a sundae girl. Syrups and nuts are important!
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Another one-line groaner: My best friend reached for the eardrops and picked up the vinegar instead. Now she's got pickled hearing.
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I've only had one Quizno's sub - in an AIRPORT. I had the Italian, and it was actually pretty good, considering. Then again - maybe I was just enamored with the set-up - the sub shop shared a space with a bar, so I sat at the bar and had a cold one and waited for my sandwich instead of standing in the long line. Plus I was ravenous and a mite "buzzy" by the time the sandwich came. That said, it's GOT to be better than "Sub-par-way"!
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Hmmm, being alone is usually my chance to throw caution to the winds. And also my sense of proportion; I'm kinda a hog when there's no one around to shame me into curbing my appetite - plus I think I just get bored and cook/eat to entertain myself. A big ol' bowl of stove-popped popcorn with butter AND parmesan. Cream cheese with anything you can imagine. I will sometimes bother with actual COOKING, but usually it's a "stand in front of the fridge and shovel it in" affair. When I actually DO cook alone: Salmon, and lots of other fish. My roommate is a nice gal, she just hates fishy smells. And while she doesn't complain about them (much), I just feel bad about cooking something she hates when the smell permeates our whole apartment. Shrimp and mussels, because she won't eat them. They're not smelly, but I like cooking for both of us, and feel a bit self-centered if I make a big dish that only I will eat. Anise and fennel-related anything - because again, she won't eat it. I'm going to have to make mussels with fennel next time she goes on a trip!
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Thanks, y'all! Under $20 is exactly what I was looking for. You've been a big help, folks.
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The title of the thread pretty much says it all. I don't want to spend a bucket of money, but I'd like to make some paper-thin slices of...what-have-you. There's a lot of cheap-looking mandolines out there - anyone find one they really like?
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Probably a pet store is your best bet, Stone. You know: the ones the reptile and amphibian owners buy as food for their pets. It's likely that they won't be organic - maybe there are some pointers somewhere for 'cleaning' them out? Feeding them on a diet for a certain period of time, until you're sure they're digestive systems are...ahem...flushed? Surely there is some wacko posting on the Net that has already tried such an experiement! I'm gonna go Google it now...
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This week: Tomatos, peaches, celery, herbs, and a 1/2 lb. of mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster?, and hen-o'-the-woods). I'm going back next week, of course!
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Dirty martinis also put brine to good use. It doesn't have to be olive brine; anything salty works.
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NancyH, I'm almost positive he meant "EVOO", which is extra-virgin olive oil. But please, chow guy, correct me if I'm mistaken!