What's cooking? part 4

pure kalamata i will totally have to try that

and pretty much all the olives we buy tend to be greek

olives are also some dope shit.

alphonsos are probably my favorite, mostly b/c my dad had them all the time growing up (he'd buy a few pounds of alphonsos and that bulgarian feta i mentioned in the other thread from the same greek market every month or so)

that is a fairly big bottle and it's only like $8 or $9, it's v inexpensive for the quality. It's got a really nice fruity and peppery notes. I always stay way from, well, most brands of olive oil bcz a ton of them are adulterated w/ other oils even if they say 100% olive oil; apparently this one was tested and is up to snuff.

http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/2012/09/toms-supermarket-picks-quality-oils-good-prices

^ useful

yea totally! that TJ kalamata is mentioned there as being very good

I like the TJ's Californian olive oil for things where taste is more important. It comes in a tall, cylindrical 1/2 liter bottle, but I can't remember the exact name. I use Bertoli for frying.

yes good question when you are frying things does it matter too much if you are using a compromised or adulterated oil? that said i usually use olive oil for low to medium heat frying. high heat frying i tend to use safflower oil which has a higher burning point iirc.

thanks for that link, carl

Very useful! Apparently I've been using basically the worst olive oil of all and hadn't even noticed.

oh with cooking it will make absolutely no different. For mixing with herbs and dipping bread in, however...

does anyone else cringe a little when you visit somebday and they have all their oils and spices lined up on an open rack above 3 inches above the stove? don't want to me a snob b/c i guarantee there is plenty of shit that more seasoned cooks would scoff at in my kitchen but still, all that constant heat, vapor, and temperature change is gonna burn out all your shit.

i mean it's not idea but i don't hang w/many ppl who have ideal kitchens.

I don't understand anybody who puts anything nice and not machine-washable in their kitchens. Art? Paper goods on display? Whatever dudes, everything in my kitchen is covered in a thin layer of grease and Victorian home dust, so

Haha, yes and in my case not just the kitchen but the area just outside the kitchen door gets that grease/dust film on it (stove is next to the door).

oh yea definitely. the hood over the stove is just very gross

does anyone else cringe a little when you visit somebday and they have all their oils and spices lined up on an open rack above 3 inches above the stove? don't want to me a snob b/c i guarantee there is plenty of shit that more seasoned cooks would scoff at in my kitchen but still, all that constant heat, vapor, and temperature change is gonna burn out all your shit.

Yes!! I think about this sometimes!!

We're moving to a new flat on Saturday and already I'm worried that there is only one cupboard which isn't immediately next to the cooker. So I need to work out which foodstuffs will take a little warmth without being affected. Rice/pasta/noodles? Cans of tomatoes maybe?

canned anything shd be ok, i would think? rice pasta lentils etc too
our storage cupboard gets blasted in summer bc it's in the back part of the house & we haven't had any exploding cans or anything perish

Making sourdough starter for the first time. Science is p cool

oh yea i need to make some sourdough. i was inspired to try an all-rye flour sourdough after reading about it in sandor ellix katz' wild fermentation but it sat in my pantry for too long and i didn't store it properly and some moths got into it. need to restart.

but it sat in my pantry for too long and i didn't store it properly

lol meaning the rye flour, i never got around to actually starting the sourdough!

with cold weather coming i am eager to start making sour porridges again. i was doing a steel-cut oats sour porridge past few winters and it is very tasty. much creamier and richer than any regular steel-cut oats porridge.

my sister-in-law made these yeasted waffles last year on a trip to VT at my wife's folks cabin/house. we let the batter sit at room temperature and took from the pot each day for breakfast, and by the fourth day the waffles were deliciously sour. we put some whole milk yogurt and some VT maple syrup on top and they were just incredible.

man, what's up with your crazy perfect life?!
i have never even heard of sour porridge

yeasted waffles are the BEST!!! I swear by Marion Cunningham's recipe.

xp i never heard about it either until i got katz' book, but it is super easy to make! you basically just let any kind of grain - oats, millet, cracked wheat, a mix if you want - soak in water for at least 12-24 hours and then cook it the same way you would oatmeal (on the stove, in a slow cooker, whatever). soaking at room temperature for a while will allow it to ferment and the sour-tasting cultures to proliferate. optimal taste for me is maybe 2 or 3 days in winter but it will vary on the temperature of the room. after a while it smells terrible and then it's done. in summer or in a warm house it will ferment much faster.

fall inspired kale salad ruled today: roasted kabocha chunks, roasted, sliced shiitakes, sliced bosc pears, toasted chopped hazlenuts, baby kael, balsamic/agave vinaigrette and smoked salt judiciously sprinkled on top
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152375457127890&set=p.10152375457127890&type=1

all that constant heat, vapor, and temperature change is gonna burn out all your shit.

my cheap grocery store spices get all caked up to shit just from the steam they get when i'm dumping them into what i'm cooking : /

ooh i might try sour porridge

i made some tortilla soup in the crockpot and man is it good
the recipe i use calls for 1 chile but i went crazy and put in 2
the difference is amazing! so much richer and more delicious.

I keep reading "chile" as "child"

it's just how it's spelled! it's a chile pulla (which i realize is lol but also accurate and i'm not sure what else to call it)

la lechera what is your tortilla soup recipe. i love tortilla soup

one of my favorite dishes to make is posole which is pretty similar -- a very rich brick red broth, corn flavor, fun garnishes. i've made it with a green broth too that relies on a pumpkin seed mole for its base

which chiles are pullas? are they the small and round ones?

no they're large and dark -- http://www.mtysanmiguel.com/english/images/chiles/images/chiles_03.gif

i'll have to type it up later -- send me a msg and i'll email it to you!

Had an idea, but will have no chance to try it for a couple of weeks -- a chocolate cake that subs Coco Lopez for some or all of the sugar.

You could totally use my kitchen for this experiment. I made ice cream from pure Coco Lopez once and it was amazing.

I bet it was! I think coconut is in my top 3 favorite flavors. This would be a stealth German chocolate cake, totally spring it on the unsuspecting.

I've been going bonkers with macaroons. The most recent ones had pine elixir and lavender sugar on top. Delicious IMO.

ysi?

lavender sugar i understand but how does one make a pine elixir? sounds incredible.

a friend of mine makes large batches of pine salt fairly often, surprised pine flavors aren't more common tbh

It's in a jar, a honey-like consistency. VG brand I think?! It's like $3.79.

I've put it on fruit, yogurt, granola, oatmeal

decent price! i'll have to keep an eye out for that

i was experimenting for a while with topping macaroons with a dollop of pineapple curd, with tasty results

Pineapple curd! That is a must-try.

I had a huge plate of buttered spinach with feta just now and it was heavenly.

spaghetti with roasted vegetables (cauliflower, romanesco, celery root), pancetta, lemon zest, thyme

Bought the TJ kalamata and used it on roasted beets and winter squash. Tasty!