What's cooking? part 4

I never peel ginger, is the skin really that bad?

usually what I do (learned via my parents) is to cut one or two big slices, and just toss it in at the beginning in the oil, ginger is pretty resilient to high heat I find. I kind of like eating big slices of cooked ginger after the dish is done, it makes me feel tough.

if it's a big stew type thing then yeah I'll just cut it into matchsticks, then tiny cubes, and I find that I can't even find it at teh end.

I guess if you're used to eating the skin it'd be fine.

I peel before freezing. The thing to remember is that if you use a microplaner or need to slice it, you need to do it while it's still mostly frozen. Thawed ginger is very squishy.

If you want to juice the ginger, though, freezing it and then thawing it makes it really easy. Mmm, ginger juice.

ginger seems like a miracle root to me. I love how it 'self-heals' after you cut off a slice.

ginger skin isn't even a thing - it's not like garlic or onion skin that's still papery and tough and impossible to chew even after you cook it.

African peanut stew

I have a recipe for something of this nature!! I think it calls for peanut butter.

I thought the bamboo ginger grater were p effective - though I've never used one. Is this true or no?

Microplane is ok but I find I end up with more schmutz on my side of the grater than on the grated side, it kinda comes out like ginger juice

that's why i use a cheese grater! it's more like a pulp and loosens with a little tap tap tap.

That's it, Veg! The fibers clog the teeth, it sticks inside the curved-over back side, blah. Remy is prob right and I should set aside 30 mins once a month and just dice a whole bunch and freeze in an ice cube tray.

xp or buy another grater. :)

maybe I will investigate a bamboo hoonja doonja

speaking of ginger, my favorite thing when I'm sick is to make a hardcore ginger/lemon/cayenne + honey infusion. I love ginger in citrus juices, god it's so good and zingy

xps Yeah, I've started using the finest-mesh of my 3 graters for ginger. I've also started using it for garlic -- 1 large clove grated brings as much flavor and pungency as 4-5 slivered or chopped.

I just read a short story that mentions a dinner of fettuccine with a pesto and cream cheese sauce. I need to figure out how to make that.

Like I kept rereading it and salivating more and more each time.

i dunno, pesto and fettuccine sounds great but ... cream cheese?

made my french lentils today, nothing pretty enough to take a picture of but totally yum

Has anyone cooked curry butternut squash soup? I've got two large butternuts and thinking of making soup with them tonight.

Yeah lentils are not photogenic, but they are delicious! Had soup for lunch. Will also have soup for lunch tomorrow. May freeze the rest, because I'm about to leave town for two days on business and venture into the wilds of PA where everything will be covered in dairy products or sugary icing.

yes, it's delicious. i make the one from the williams-sonoma vegetarian cookbook (only difference is using vegetable stock)

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/roasted-butternut-squash-soup.html

xp

yes, it's delicious. i make the one from the williams-sonoma vegetarian cookbook (only difference is using vegetable stock)

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/roasted-butternut-squash-soup.html

― the late great, Monday, October 22, 2012 6:14 PM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh i'm so making this

yeah that looks good!

So the grocery store had no hazelnuts at all, any idea of another garnish in it's place?

walnuts

im making the nigel slater warm mustard/vinegar potato salad that is like the only recipe i've ever made from the book i have because it's so good

that sounds so good! i love vinegar potato salads, especially warm omg yum

My grandmother's german potato salad is vinegar based with cucumbers and onions, served warm reminds me being a kid.

i can type it out pretty fast bc none of the things in this book (tender) are actual recipes brb

24 new potatoes
a bulb of garlic
olive oil
rosemary or thyme - a few sprigs

dressing:
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T smooth dijon mustard
5 T olive oil

400º oven. put the potatoes in a pan. break the garlic into cloves, don't peel. add to potatoes. drizzle a little olive oil. add some salt and leaves from rosemary or thyme. bake 45 min to an hour until puffed and golden and insides are fluffy.

mix dressing. press down hard on each potato with a spoon, then pour over the dressing. mash the garlic as u eat it :)

i usually use more mustard and vinegar and less oil because i love vinegary things

On Saturday I made this:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8192/8114494154_c428ec5fc7.jpg

A Pavlova. I feel much better.

But next time, slicing the strawberries thinner.

i love pavlova, it's our (new zealand's) national dessert. yours turned out great.

harbly, i'm going to make your potato salad, it looks so good.

it's nigel slater's and i'm eating it right now! i got these potatoes yesterday when i bought 100 vegetables and they taste like clouds

i just made up a thing that tastes really amzing: apple pie baked between two layers of yogurt gingerbread

also vegan

Thank you, estela!
Harbl: Sounds delish!
Soda:Yum! I still want gingerbread....

soda, how is yogurt vegan? :)

Vegan yogurt has the grossest smell

Taking butternut squash out of the oven gives the kitchen the best aroma! Just blended caramelized onions with sage, roasted garlic, the squash, and now heating the soup with stock and spices. Looks and taste great so far!

That warm pot salad recipe combines everything I really love except maybe tomatoes and steak.

mmmm pot salad

Tonight I'm making a Rick Bayless chili that I found online. really simple and actually pretty quick to make. am usually suspicious of quick chillies because they're kinda think and quick-tasting, but this one has lots of body. So far have only made it with Ancho powder bcz havent' managed to find anywhere that's selling anchos, but I def want to do the roasted method at some point

http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=54

xpost lol *deep inhale*

*think? thin, I meant to say.

Sounds like it could be good, seems pretty basic other than the anchos!

I make a pork chili that I cribbed off a recipe a while ago, but I just kind of wing it. It's usually:

1 red onion / several cloves garlic, brown
1 lb ground pork, brown it in the above
2 cans diced tomatoes, sometimes I puree one can if I'm not willing to wait for it to cook down as long
Good chili powder (I use some from penzey's spices) or a mixture of spices you like. Have thrown in chopped, dried chipotles before
1 bottle mocha porter. I have also used Dos Equis amber and some cacao powder (cocoa, sugar-free)
Simmer for a long time, seasoning as necessary. If you feel you can reduce the temp enough, add:
1 can precooked black beans
1 can kidney beans
I usually rinse the kidney beans and reserve/dump in a little of the black bean juice.
Simmer longer

serve w/trad chili toppings

I buy a can of ancho chilies whenever I see one, then when I open it, I pour it into a take-out container and freeze. Ime it seldom freezes completely solid so I can always scoop out as much as I need for a recipe and rough chop to break it up before stewing.

My freezer is full of little Saran-wrap twists of 6 anchovies, 1.5C of frozen ancho chilies in sauce, 2 chunks of ginger, ends of bags of lentils...it's like an ingredient mortuary.

both of those chilis sound way better than my french lentil salad :-(

:( sorry frenchie

Tonight we're making Cilantro Pesto with Pumpkin Seeds on chicken tacos.

*californian head explodes*

I'm making falafel. Nothing exciting.

Heh butternut pumpkin soup is incredibly common in our country (no one here eats the canned stuff), so its good to see other ppl likeing the idea of the soup.

I think I'm making miso soup with chicken, soba noodles and greens tonight.

or just our normal chicken and a few veggies.

I bought proper miso paste for the first time and I'm v excited to try it out.