What's cooking? part 4

thanks guys
it was super easy -- i can't recommend trader joe's big flat sheets of puff pastry enough for this sort of thing

you can make sweet or savory, small or large

roast chicken, a healthy version of janssen's temptation, no cream, little bit of soy milk, and rocket salad. ready in about 5 mins.

Have been f/w Joy of Cooking's 14-in-1 cookie base recipe and this most recent time I subbed almond butter for peanut butter and added tiny semisweet chocolate chips (I like really small cookies, so the regular sized chips are too overpowering) and WOW they are good!! Almond butter cookies.

My favorite variation so far was tiny candied ginger nibs, pumpkin pie spice, orange zest, and toasted sliced almonds, but they've all been pretty good.

I usually refrigerate, then make little balls, then freeze. That way when I defrost the dough, all I have to do to make fresh cookies is squash and bake. The little balls thaw faster than a giant block of dough too.

Cookies.

In other news, is it spring yet? I am really excited about the explosion of fruits and vegetables that is about to happen.

god, i can not wait for veggies! the selection has been so terrible (and expensive!). also kind of tired of visiting 3 stores to get the correct combination of things i need because no one store carries all of my desired veggies at the right price/quality.

have been considering this veggie delivery service based on recommendations by coworkers, but i just don't know if i can justify $30 for a box of veggies that aren't even local. it doesn't seem like that great a value to me...

i bought my first ever kitchen scales! i'm super excited to use them!

also: WmC, i don't know if i ever properly thanked you for your amazing easy-rice recipe but if i didn't - OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH it is by far the most perfect-producing rice advice ever, i even posted it to my ~cooking blog~ bc i think everyone needs to hear it (i specifically credited you for it).

Justin3 I really like your cooking blog!

I forgot how smell-oriented that recipe is. That kind of shit makes me feel hopeless! (Don't actually worry abt this, I am just being a whiner.) I think AURALLY when I am heating up rice in oil, eg for starting up a risotto – when it sounds like marbles clicking around together, I assume it's reached whatever point it is when it unleashes this totally mysterious popcorn smell.

:(

sub "about 3-4 mins" for "popcorn smell". the same recipe works for quinoa too.

Ha! Like I said, srsly do not feel bad...the only person who should ever feel bad abt this is the author of some Indian cookbook I read who had several fucking smell-related instructions in every recipe. I am still afraid of cooking Indian food to this day.

The idea of putting rice in oil is to seal in its starchiness iirc? Maybe something else? Not to release a smell...so a smell-related rule of thumb doesn't bother me. My deaf friend would find my rule of thumb useless, too, dift things work for dift people. IDK why I am being so loquacious abt this.

It never occurred to me to do QUINOA this way. That could be toasty yum. I like to put lots of cumin in my quinoa!

i bought my first ever kitchen scales! i'm super excited to use them!

i had a v basic scale but when i was visiting my friend in nyc i found a sharper image digital scale at this discount store for super cheap and it has renewed my desire to weigh/measure foods (so much healthier this way!)

I use my kitchen scale mostly for weighing yarn tbh! But it is very handy for measuring actual nute facts serving sizes.

oh my desire for one was less about health and more for stupid recipes that insist on using oz for measurements. like, i'm a fucking antipodean, i don't understand ounces!

question: if a recipe calls for 2 tbsp of sesame oil, but i only have toasted sesame oil, can some sort of compromise be reached?

haha i love mine because it measures in ounces or grams! (lol metric)

i think the toasted sesame oil will be a tiny bit stronger in flavor, so maybe mix like 1.5tbsp of it with .5tbsp veg oil?
depends on how it's used though, lots of times sesame oil is thrown in at the end as a flavor enhancer (it has a very low burning point so it's not good to saute/cook with)... in that case i'd just use to taste.

it's part of a marinade for short ribs (i'm subbing in fake beef chunks). yeah, i was thinking of diluting it w/canola or even peanut oil. my TSO is in a tiny wee bottle with a drip dispenser, so i figured 2tbsp sub of that probably wasn't gonna fly.

i dunno i use tso all the time so i would just put the full 2tbsp in for a marinade, but i love the flavor.

also: WmC, i don't know if i ever properly thanked you for your amazing easy-rice recipe but if i didn't - OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH it is by far the most perfect-producing rice advice ever, i even posted it to my ~cooking blog~ bc i think everyone needs to hear it (i specifically credited you for it).

― just1n3, Sunday, March 6, 2011 11:43 AM (1 hour ago)

You're welcome! The easy rice recipe got even easier when I realized there was no need to rinse the rice. I don't know if I mentioned it on this thread or another one, but one time I made rice and left it unwashed because I wanted it starchy — I was going to make rice pudding with it. It turned out just as fluffy as ever.

What's the address for your cooking blog? I don't know if I've seen it before, and haven't looked at many food blogs other than Tep's in the last year or more.

I think the main reason to saute the rice with a bit of oil is the reason to use oil in any cooking — it conducts the heat evenly around the food and keeps it from scorching. I wonder how rice would turn out if I dry-toasted it instead of sauteing? Might try it.

I have never sauteed regular old rice before cooking it! Something I only do when making risotto, pilaf, etc. I only started rinsing when I got a rice cooker bcz it helps stop it from boiling over.

www.vegantester.wordpress.com is my blog.

i've decided to convert to brown jasmine rice, but is it true it takes way way way longer to cook? would yr method need to be modified for it?

Hm that rice tech is basically what I already do with basmatic rice - except for the sauteeing! Interestng. Must try.

it is by far the most perfect-producing rice advice ever

???

My perfect-every-time-rice (no sticking, even in stainless steel):

1. wash a cup of rice if it’s basmati, don’t bother if it’s generic long grain (rinse it in a strainer until the water runs clear)
2. saute the rice in your saucepan with olive oil (or canola I guess) until the rice starts smelling like popcorn
3. add 2 cups of water and a good pinch of salt
4. cover and drop the heat down to VERY LOW
5. set a timer for 20 minutes and fuhgeddaboudit
6. when the timer goes off, turn the heat off, don’t take the lid off, set the timer for 10 more minutes and fuhgeddaboudit
7. PROFIT

― WmC

making this http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/chana-masala/ for the 100th time + half can of coconut milk (had available from pumpkin custard this morning) + chopped kale

hmm i don't know about basmati - i accidentally bought basmati awhile ago and it was def NOT cooked in the above-specified 30mins.

i never feel like i can follow the cook time on any instructions! most things take me like twice as long

Seriously? I cook basmati all the time and after bringing it to the boil, I absorbption-method simmer it for only 10 mins, sit/stea, for 10, and mines cooked and fluffy.

sit/steam, that should say.

Like if I simmered it for 20 it would catch and burn, or turn into a mush.

well for rice i just use the rice cooker, i don't even keep track of how long that takes. just most recipes seem to give the wrong times for me

roasting some chickens w/ a spice rub
made a chimichurri sauce
also roasting potatoes
maybe make kale salad too

hmm i don't know about basmati - i accidentally bought basmati awhile ago and it was def NOT cooked in the above-specified 30mins.

― just1n3, Sunday, March 6, 2011 6:42 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

weird i just made basmati according to that recipe and it worked a charm

Basmati's all I use in dishes that call for long-grain, and I've never had any problem with doneness.

But I have had the rice come out a bit crunchy due to not putting enough water in.

Basmati's a rice you want a little on the dry/toothy side anyway, I reckon.

(whats the rice equiv of al dente?)

...al dente

slow-cooked pork belly, currently chilling in fridge all scored with salt, olive oil, coriander seeds and some herbs rubbed into it

in a few minutes it will be quick-roasted 4tha crackling and then slow-roasted 4tha tenderness

btw I now cook sanely

i love cooking breathes a collective sigh of relief <3

i was always gonna turn to the light. my best friend is a ridiculously good cook - the best home cook i've ever tasted in fact - and i frequently go to his house and assist with his cooking, so a few things have rubbed off. time to get the pork out of the fridge...

Epic. The garnish had plenty of salt in it and most of it had to be scraped from the crackling, but the crackling itself was near-perfect and the pork was absolutely perfect, tender-cooked and flavoursome. My gf made a lovely pasta salad (with olives and apples) to accompany it and the whole thing was wolfed down with some white wine. :D

i have been living in this house since last june and only discovered today that we have thyme growing in our front garden!

i made zucchini fritters tonight and they were a complete disaster - i couldn't seem to get the temperature of the oil right and the salsa i made to go with them was just awful, thanks some really foul olive oil :/

Yeah I could see fritters going quite greasy if the oil wasnt hot enough :(

I just made this awesome potato & leek soup that was pretty basic, but then I added some honey roasted parsnips and ham fried a bit in butter with garlic and it was epic. Somehow it was really rich despite only having a little cream in, and I could only eat a small bowl, dunno why. Anyway that plus homemade multigrain bread with super crusty crust = :D

ok so i really want to try this vegan pate recipe BUT i hate cilantro so i'm wondering what a good sub would be:

2 lb. fresh spinach, thoroughly washed
3 unpeeled garlic cloves
⅔ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
~ Pinch of cayenne
⅔ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
⅓ cup Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup grated onion, rinsed and squeezed dry
3 tsp. rice-wine vinegar
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

mint!!

alternately
basil?
maybe watercress?

arugula?

anything green and flavorful

could prolly just axe it altogether and up the parsley a bit, too