What's cooking? part 4

I still crave fried egg on top of leftover thai curry p regularly. I should whip up a batch of something.

was nice, good balance i think, could possibly omit broth (mine was not that flavorful) if you want the delicacy of the eggs on the rice more. runny eggs (not what i usually eat) impt.

forgot, i used some cornstarch in the rice too, to get the broth to stick to it.

Home from Atlanta with crazy amounts of groceries -- I found almost everything I was looking for except for Szechuan peppercorns and, weirdly enough, grits. The awesomeness of the product they sell at the Dekalb Farmers Market must be getting around, because there wasn't a grit anywhere to be found in the building.

Made a mushroom ragout yesterday, served over sourdough toast with gruyere melted on top under the broiler. Tonight, my first stab at braised veal shanks. They were ok, not amazing.

hey i've got some szechuan peppercrons if yer jonesin', shoot me a email. i know they were banned for a few years from us markets for some reason. picked some up @ rainbow co-op not too long ago.....

anyone have any advice re: making chili in the crockpot? i made the best chili i ever made on super bowl sunday (it was coincidental bc i did not watch the super bowl) by adapting this recipe and i want to do it again in the crockpot. i have a 3.3 lb chuck. just brown it first, drain it?

btw my adaptations were to add 2 cans of kidney beans against the recipe writer's advice, used regular ground beef, used paste i made from soaked dried anchos, added a can of beef broth, made tomato puree in the food processor, didn't have any masa harina

i made some ramen, i added rice wine vinegar to it, so my advice is, add a splash of rice wine vinegar

mine had garlic floating in the bottom of it

just brown it first, drain it?
yeah maybe with some onions?
i add a little cocoa powder to my chili too, not sure if it does anything but i always add it

I made Mole Poblano from scratch last night for valentines and it turned out much better than I thought. I loosely followed this recipe http://www.patismexicantable.com/2010/03/mole_poblano_de_los_angeles/
Except I didn't have chiles mulatos, and I used a few chipotle chiles in adobo. Once the mole was finished I cooked boneless thighs with nopales and stewed tomatoes in the sauce, served over Tera's mexican rice.

outdoor miner, I might take you up on that! Thanks for the offer.

What were you planning on doing with grits? I was thinking of making fried grit cakes with braised turnip greens in a few days.

Through a series of lax communications I casually ended up buying a whole pig which we will be picking up today. The "hanging weight" was 130 pounds so it should be like 90-100 pounds packaged? I have no idea what this will actually look like when I see it.

I am making Beef Picadillo and spinach casserole from The Great American Cookbook. Have tried a few things from it before so have reasonable confidence that these will work out too.

I just love grits as an alternative starch to potatoes, pasta or rice. They're easy to modify with veg or meat stock instead of milk/water, good with some cheese whisked in at the end a la risotto. They spatter like hell when refried in cakes or slices unless they're dredged in egg & flower, and that's usually more work than I want to go.

My Atlanta pal who's going to Big Ears next month is dropping by DFM for me sometime between now and then and bringing me a few pounds, assuming the Atlanta Grit Famine is over.

captain obvious here but you can decrease splatter quite a bit by patting dry with a clean paper towel or whatev prior to frying. oh, and also if you are making it specifically to not serve soft you can use a fair bit (like 20-25% less water when you make it. it will finish rehydrating as it cools and sets ime. (less moisture less splatter) i LOVE that stuff when it gets a wee bit crispy, eh.

Has anyone ever fucked w/ quinoa as a breakfast porridge? Like cook it w lots of water, add butter and syrup?

Yes, and I was desperately hungry within about 2 hours even though I ate it with a bunch of nuts. Had cooked a ton of it so experimented over the next few breakfasts with greek yoghurt, etc. No difference. Ravenous within 2 hours.

I should try mixing it w/ steel cut oats for both fullness and nutrients

i've been making these little oatmeal cupcakes (that i feel somewhat ashamed about because i found them from someone's shitty link on fb and the site is horrible and stupid) BUT they are so wonderful to throw in my bag and eat for second breakfast. i can post the recipe if anyone wants to eat actual oatmeal. what's wrong with eating oatmeal? why quinoa?

Grain vs. pseudo-grain fite

LL, I would love the recipe for those!

since the subject of quinoa came up might as well mention today's lunch (even though i don't like whole foods much as a rule, this recipe rawks!):
https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/cranberry-quinoa-salad
only subs were some kinda hot red fresno chile in lieu of serranos; and a wee splash of extra virgin.
and yeah, i'm always hungry after i eat this salad, too. but it is basically fat free

Trying to make kumquat marmalade this weekend. I have this kumquat bush and I can never go through all the fruit, so, trying this!

ljub -- here's the irrationally embarrassing blog that i got the oatmeal cupcake recipe from. http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/01/08/breakfast-oatmeal-cupcakes-to-go/

i've made them a few times, and recommend using 2 bananas + golden raisins + maple syrup as sweetener, but if you are a chocolate nut, some small chips would make them pretty tasty too. i've added coconut and cinnamon too, both were good but the basic taste was the same. recommended to freeze half because there is no way to go through that much oatmeal in the time it takes them to get stale.

that said, i throw two in my bag on days that i teach (need extra energy) and as breakfast supplements, i eat one at 11 and one at 1 or so. then i'm not dying when it comes time for lunch around 2, finally. works well enough and tastes good enough.

also i have no idea what kumquats taste like, but i recommend throwing in some candied ginger because i feel like candied ginger zings up any fruit-based spread. good luck!

Will try those next week LL, thank you!

i used to eat quinoa for breakfast. i cooked it normally, then added butter and milk and some jam or fruit. better texture than oatmeal but less filling. i'm making barbacoa.

iirc, quinoa got its big boost in the US from Diet For a Small Planet, Frances Lappe's book that emphasized the idea of maximizing plant-based protein by balancing the amino acids present in a meal. Turns out that one of the amino acids (lysine?) is hardest to get from plant sources, but quinoa is stellar at providing it. Before that, quinoa was almost unheard of in the USA. Afterward there was a growing demand and health food stores started to stock it regularly. Now it's popular.

Cmon, I didn't say 'what is quinoa' I said 'Why prefer quinoa to oatmeal as a breakfast fuel'
Geez

p much any whole grain is going to give you some complex carbs, so purely considered as fuel, one's about as good as another. there's some minor distinctions among them in terms of protein and fiber, but nothing major. after that it's just personal taste.

btw, I didn't think you'd asked 'what is quinoa'? that whole 'lysine powerhouse' aspect is about the only thing that sets quinoa apart, imo, and that only applies if you're doing the complementary amino acid thingie. sorry if I offended, tho.

not offended! i think i'm allergic to people comparing the minutiae of scientific attributes of food and that is totes my problem.

oooh LL kumquats are interesting! you eat them whole; the fruit is sour and the peel has a zesty, perfumey sweetness to it. They were expensive enough to be an occasional rare treat before I had this bush; now I can't figure out how to use them. If the marmalade turns out, I will mail you some. I have never made jam before but I guess kumquat seeds provide their own pectin so you don't need to add it in! My mom, who makes the world's best preserves, knew that before I told her because she knows everything.

We had a really good conversation about how to make preserves; she made it seem easy as hell.

ME: I am intimidated by everything I read about canning because they all make it seem like –
MOM: – it will kill you?
ME: Yes!

She got VERY intrigued by kumquat abundance and kind of went down a pinterest rabbit hole while I was talking to her, just exhaling "oh how cute" between long pauses. At the end she said, "If it works, out, it WOULD make the best gifts. You know EVERYONE would appreciate and love it," and I was like, "You know I'll mail you some, Mom!" So I learned all my non-asking from her.

the woman who writes that blog is unusually/unconventionally thin and gets a lot of nasty comments and/or concern-trolling over it xps

well no one deserves that
her oatmeal cupcakes are tasty and effective at delivering energy, that much i can say for sure

If the marmalade turns out, I will mail you some. I have never made jam before but I guess kumquat seeds provide their own pectin so you don't need to add it in!

I still owe you a package!! Maybe someday I will get around to doing that. Sorry!! The only jam-like thing I've ever made is cranberry sauce -- are kumquats like that? I bet the jam is going to be delicious!!

Oh no worries whatsoever. In fact I always have felt embarrassed about that facebook thread because of my friend so blithely being like 'hey mail me some too.' Such bad manners imo but I did not want to be rude and call her out, either; instead I have spent a year just feeling privately very embarrassed and transitively gauche the rare times I think of it.

haha, me too!! every time i eat rose petal jam i simultaneously am like "uuuuuuugh this is so good/why did i not send this to crabbits yet what's her address oh yeah she probably moved oh well maybe later mmmmmmmm"
so selfish! no harm done, amiga. we'll exchange jams when the jams need to be exchanged and we'll know when that moment comes. i forgot about your friend, who i never intended to send anything to tbh.

barbacoa came out awesome in the crockpot. i got a food saver so i can freeze half of it. i used this recipe incl the oxtails http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/04/tender-beef-barbacoa-chipotle-tacos-recipe.html

I think I wayyy overcooked this marmalade. I accidentally "caramelized" it a little – accidentally burning things a little easier, I think, with no sense of smell. Also far too thick. It is practically gummi bear texture. !!!

Somehow, though, fucking up a type of food the first time I prepare it makes me REALLY obsessed with getting it right. And then once I do get it right, I get obsessed with making it often.

harbl, that's my fave barbacoa recipe too!!! Unbelievably good even tho I don't do my peppers the complicated way he does, and I use a bottle of beer for the braising liquid. Glug of apple cider vinegar in the end stage suits my tastes too.

It freezes perfectly btw. I'll make a 5-lb brisket and eat it for ages.

I'm so tired and I have two days off and a bag of chicken breasts and very little money. What's good to do with chicken, I need something new...I like garlic, salt, tomatoes, saucy things, soupy curries, citrus... Not to make ilx do my work of thinking about how to put food in my mouth but I'm just tired of everything.

Actually let me narrow that down even. I think I want to make some kind of pulled chicken that will freeze for TACOS. What is best way?

Do you have a crockpot?

Indeed!

I'm starting to not have a great relationship with food and cooking. I don't want to be nauseated and bloated, working on my feet and needing to be physically able doesn't give me time to go to bed when I have stomach pains or reflux or feel fatigued, and I'm trying to be really economical without eating legumes or dairy or wheat.

Defaulting to apple wedges dipped in peanut butter for about 4 meals a week tbh.

Nah girl you're gonna need to feed your body (and soul!) beyond that.

Tep had a great vinegar chicken recipe that I did in a crock pot and would be great for tacos and other applications (add rice, add beans, add pasta, add potatoes and change up the spicing with whatever you have onhand). I'll try to dig it up! Really tender and tasty chicken that you could apply in different ways over the week.

This post has a good default slow cooker chicken breast technique: http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2012/02/03/buffalo-chicken-chopped-salad-other-super-bowl-recipes/
Put taco seasonings in (cumin, Mexican oregano, cayenne, garlic, etc).

Just throw the chicken in there with something flavorful (cheap BBQ sauce + sriracha makes a pretty good combo ime) and wait 6-7 hrs, then you'll have chicken to shred and eat.

You need to eat more than apples! You know that.