What's cooking? part 4

it's really toasty in the city so we made a cold soup yesterday that is pretty good, didn't knock my socks off though. watercress/spinach/leek are the main players, with some lo-sodium veg stock and a bunch of unsweetened soy milk. didn't have nutmeg that the recipe called for, that might've elevated it a notch.

i FINALLY mastered good hummus (it's all about using home-cooked chickpeas, not the canned, apparently), so i've been making huge baguettes, stuffed with some variation on red pepper, sweet onion, radish, sprouts, mixed baby lettuce, finely grated carrot, avocado and about a half inch layer of hummus. so good.

i made the best ever raspberry muffins for breakfast - they were so fluffy and moist, they were falling apart, but so good, and that a delicious crunchy brown shell on the top and the bottom. it's a vegan recipe that uses fake yoghurt (i used coconut-based vanilla), but i didn't have ground flax seed so i added an egg instead.

i'm making VG's dill pickle dip tonight or tomorrow ^_^

xp OM - i don't know what it's like in the city today, but it's hot as fuck over here in the east bay :/

oooh dill pickle dip yay

Hummus as a baguette filling/sandwich spread is something I need to investigate.

I made a coconut chess pie today in honor of that secular food holiday thing.

mmm yum

Alton Brown hummus recipe?

Smitten kitchen's ethereal hummus - except I don't peel them and I sub a tablespoon of cumin for the garlic.

got a couple of small corned beef briskets, slow cooking them in beer
because it's too hot to turn on oven or stove

mainly i just want leftover corned beef hash for dinner tomorrow & a few corned beef sandwiches, is that so wrong

the smitten kitchen recipe is similar to the AB one if you use a slow cooker. Surprised that the SK recipe has no olive oil in the hummus.

always wondered what the baking soda was for

and VG, that is not wrong at all!

salty beef is god's way of saying i love you and you will die soon

lol

the baking soda is supposed to help with digestion, but i just use a piece of kombu instead (which makes the cooking chickpeas smell so fucking disgusting). oh, i do add olive oil while processing - i don't serve it on top, bc i prefer it as a sandwich spread than a dip.

welp i had to abandon slow cooker for stovetop :( oh well as long as it cooks who cares right

slightly dry in places, but for the most part success! hello corned beef hash dinner tomorrow night, hello early grave :D

i made giant muffin-sized versions of these 101 cookbooks quinoa bites - not that amazing tbh, BUT i think the concept is great. i don't really like kale, and i find greens don't really stand up to being reheated (i'm making these as a lunch snack for the week). also the feta i used was too light and totally untraceable. some sweet thai chili sauce saved them, though.

might try them next time with peppers, cheddar some other kind of veg. suggestions are welcome!

peppers, cheddar and roasted tomatoes

I made some irish soda bread to go with the vegetable beef soup for supper tonight, it being St. Patrick's Day and all. We will also knock back some Guinness. I hear it's good for you. I put cabbage, kale and carrots in the soup, but had no potatoes atm, so couldn't add any. A terrible thing.

VG, i did not like the dill pickle dip! :(

oh no :(

you'll be hearing from her lawyer.

lately been doing this thing where I put all the lemon juice in bc fuck hangin on to part of a lemon but also fuck throwing it away. So all my food is too lemony and it tastes bad.

on deck: http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/lentil-shepherds-pie-with-rustic-parsnip-crust/

Sufjan can't you just prick the lemon with a skewer or something and use only the amount of juice that you need that way? or just freeze juice in ice cube tray idk

Half a lemon is a useful measure ime. The other half will keep fine in the fridge for a few days.

integer lemons only

but really, the lemon flavor calmed down after the hummus was in the refrigerator over night. I made just1n3's rec'd hummus recipe, and it is super smooth indeed.

i always use more than the 2tbsp of lemon juice in that recipe - but i like it pretty lemony.

I made green beans w miso butter tonight. Yum city!!

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/green-beans-with-miso-butter

wooo gurrrrrrrl

smita chandra sour cream tomato chicken curry i haven't made in a while. curry chronicles.

guys

i got a foodsaver

!!!!!!!!

what do I do with this thing????

what's a food saver?

vacuum sealer rite?

marcos!!!!

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4135aGDex7L._SY300_.jpg

ahhh ok

for sous vide and similar right?

yeah, sous vide for sure

you need a big pot/cooler, a heating element, a sensor, and a temperature controller to sous-vide, though

oh i hear you can do sous vide p easy w/ a cooler tho right?

yeah you just need something to hold all of the water

it is important to get a precise bath temperature for some stuff though, and it can be more expensive to make that happen

I have only used a foodsaver for developing northern and southern blots in a laboratory, sorry :(

I always got a kick out of it, tho.

Thought about using it for food experiments and then realized it was probably radioactive from lab use.

I envy you your non-radioactive (OR IS IT) foodsaver.

food irradiator

Will save you from wasting food from freezer burn! Buy in bulk, portion into 1 meal increments and vacuum seal.

But don't try to seal liquids up in it, just solid things. But that means already frozen things - I freeze lime and lemon juice in ice cube trays then vacuum seal 6 together. (I end up with a lot of citrus juice when I make bitters)

Also, I have upped my sous-vide game and have a heater and temperature controller available if anyone is interested. The temp controller is a DSV, works with basic crockpots too.

I buy raw peanuts in huge quantities from a local processor, so I vacuum seal those in 2-cup and 3-cup quantities and freeze. Also after the last batch of beef stock, I picked off a lot of good meat from the neckbones and sealed it in big handfuls for the pets. I don't want it for people food, but it's great for the dog and cats. Vacuum sealers are great if you have the freezer space.

marinade
marinade

seriously you can marinade meats in like half an hour with a foodsaver, super easy

and we always foodsaver leftover ribs: reheat them in a pot of cold water on the stove; once water is boiling yr ribs are done. way better than microwaving etc

That's a great idea re leftover ribs!