What's cooking? part 4

like a vegetable peeler?

It's basically a vegetable peeler with a zig-zag blade on it so it cuts a dozen thin strips at once. I've seen them in asian markets here for a couple of bucks. I think their sole purpose is to make this one particular dish.

i will check at uwajimaya when i am looking for a rice cooker :)

yeah, while i like thinking that it impressed someone (anyone!) it was not hard to make. slice slice slice, mix the dressing, crush the peanuts, combine, eat. lots of easy recipes available online, i kind of made mine up because i didn't have enough limes and only had garlic chili sauce and not actual chili peppers.

things i added that were not part of the recipes i saw online:
shredded carrot
shredded zucchini
one almost bad red pepper
green beans

the more the merrier, yknow

making trayce's soup now!

Yay! Let me know what you think tza! <3

came out v tasty!
i think i used too many potatoes, though (obv you can never have too many potatoes! but i mean in terms of it being a 'cauliflower' soup probably too many).

Yeah I think you need the cauli to be the dominant veg in the soup... Still, its one of those tings you cant stuff up, just experiment with :)

i have a feeling i will go through this batch quickly, so next time! more cauliflower!

also i did a recipe calculator thing on this and it came out to like 80 cal/serving! woah.

hey scallop fans: i think i might get some fresh scallops tomorrow at teh farmer's market, but i need a simple way of cooking them - i've never cooked them myself!! i have an empty pantry, so something pretty minimal on ingredients would be awesome.

PAN SEAR

raw, or with some garlic butter & lemon

the two times i have made scallops: fresh dill, olive oil, light cajun spices

the thai store had just got in a massive bunch of green papayas (wasn't sure what they were at first) and i got all excited at the idea of making papaya salad then remembered i'm moving out this weekend and don't have time :|

i actually need some really specific cooking instructions, i.e. the temp i should have the pan on, how long, etc. i really have no clue!! (NB i have a gas stove)

This would also be usedul to me! I've only ever cooked them from frozen in a cioppino.

This is a good tutorial: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/fishseafood/ss/searseascallops.htm

i've done:

1 minute high heat w/vegetable oil
2-4 minutes med heat
flip
another couple minutes, keep an eye on 'em

After I take them out, I like to deglaze the pan with just a bit of white wine and toss in some fresh thyme (I have a ton of it out back so it's my go-to herb), reduce a bit, drizzle over scallops, PROFIT.

ur next level, dude

that sounds like MAJOR PROFIT!

it's so lol. in my youth, i was always so scared of ANYTHING sticking to a pan bc i hated the thought of trying to clean it off later. then i discovered the joys of deglazing!

ehhh i missed out on going to the farmer's market today, and won't get there next weekend cuz of big event thing, but DEF the week after.

I know, right? I used to be terrified of any cookware that wasn't nonstick. xpost

now i'm getting more and more terrified of nonstick cookware! i am concerned about it overheating and seeping nonstickiness into my food.

yeah, i need to deglaze more

to do list
- deglaze

i need to buy a cast iron pan still! i keep staring at things like BEEF in the market but not buying it bc fuck if i'm gonna waste it on a nonstick pan. guess i could do it on stainless steel if i was doing a stew or something but...

to do list:
stew

i don't have a cast iron pan either! what the heck!

omg guys here is a complete list of cooking gear that we own:
1 x very small nonstick frypan
1 x large stewing pot
1 x baking tray
1 x roasting dish

my husband hadn't even used that frypan before i moved here

i need to buy a goddamn wok

never understood the super tiny frying pan thing---every dude i've lived with seems to have one and it's like uh are you gonna fry exactly one egg in that? i mean, i've had a couple, i guess, and i'm not sure why??

i chalk it up to the fact that most ppl's initial cooking stuff is inherited/garage sale/second hand. at least mine has been

I kinda want to get a 2nd cast iron skillet because I want to keep the one I have for cornbread only, but I'm not sure how much use another one would get because I have the grill outside for steaks/burgers and a cast iron dutch oven for braising and stews and such.

Just1n3, you don't need a LOT else...maybe just a good saucepan or two and a big frying pan.

i wanna eat at yr house WmC

Don't get a wok...home stoves can't generate enough heat for really good stir-frying.

Come on over! Downside: you have to enter the state of Mississippi.

tbh i kinda want to go to mississippi

I will cook for all visitors 2 my humble adobe.

I just realized tiny nonstick frying pans accumulate because of 3-packs of assorted sizes.

oh totally! hence the garage sale pickups

i have had a cheap ikea wok for years. i used it a lot in college but in the past few years i've rarely used it at all. i don't know why i even brought it with me cross country!

i use my baby skillet a lot! but i cook for one, so. it's perfectly sized for a corn tortilla, too.

i would really like to have a wok. i use my tiny skillet a lot too. it fries two eggs perfectly and you can use it to saute a small amt of vegetables if you need for a recipe.

my mom gets points at work she can buy things with but she never uses them (because they also pay her in real u.s. dollars), that's how i got le creuset dutch oven, skillet, and saucepan and good knives. otherwise i'd have just inherited/garage sale crap.

god i reallly want a le creuset dutch oven! love my parents'!

i bought a knife sharpener the other day and i think i somehow lost it in the zip car!!!

i inherited a lot of crap when i had my 1st apt but when i left roch i gave it all to goodwill bc i did not feel like moving it.

the little frypan is okay for cooking single meal things, but if i'm cooking - like, actually cooking - it's usually a big big thing that i'm planning to eat for lunches over the course of a week, so i def need something bigger.

husband's mum wants us to have a wedding shower so that we double up on gifts - i think because she's had to fork out so much on her friends' kids' engagement showers + weddings - so i've just registered on target. this is good, because i don't actually want to spend my own money on this stuff!

also: the only thing my husband EVER cooked on the stove top was pasta.