good call, speaking as a former pastry chef, puff pastry is no fun unless you have a chilled rolling slab
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Wednesday, 4 October 2023 16:55 (ten months ago) link
waaaht can't believe WmC hasn't cooked puff pastry before! I use it in savoury tarts too, it's dead easy to make something really tasty. roasted my first butternut squash of the season yesterday. with roasted red onion, cherry tomatoes and chorizo. bit of creme fraiche and lots of parmesan all stirred into pasta mmmmm
― kinder, Wednesday, 4 October 2023 18:11 (ten months ago) link
oh and put garlic in there too
― kinder, Wednesday, 4 October 2023 18:12 (ten months ago) link
xp I know, it's weird that I went through that many years without playing with puff. I may do a creamy mushroom tart one day soon.
― WmC, Wednesday, 4 October 2023 18:16 (ten months ago) link
I have realized a dream of my adult life: purchasing half a pig from a local teenage 4H farmer, to be butchered and portioned and stored in our chest freezer. we've done local organic meat co-ops and CSA type stuff before, but this is a big step up
this will happen in February-March but we just reserved it
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Thursday, 19 October 2023 04:20 (ten months ago) link
oooh yum
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 19 October 2023 04:30 (ten months ago) link
Wow, that's awesome. Are you doing the deed or do you just get the product afterward? Do you get some sausage with that?
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Thursday, 19 October 2023 11:30 (ten months ago) link
I believe the butchering takes place separately, yes there will be sausage
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Thursday, 19 October 2023 14:57 (ten months ago) link
Sausage is excellent.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Thursday, 19 October 2023 15:08 (ten months ago) link
Tell them you want all the fat! If you don't actually want it, I will come get it and render it into lard!
― Jaq, Thursday, 19 October 2023 19:32 (ten months ago) link
duly noted!!
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Thursday, 19 October 2023 19:36 (ten months ago) link
This is the way.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Thursday, 19 October 2023 23:48 (ten months ago) link
pork jowl opportunities
― Natural Wine • Danny Devito • Virginia (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 20 October 2023 00:06 (ten months ago) link
pork wonderful pork
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 20 October 2023 03:49 (ten months ago) link
I've done this a couple times and it's pretty great - I didn't want to commit to any particular sausage so I got it all as ground meat in 1lb bags. I also try to get the pork bellies whole which took some confirmation because the processing places just assume everyone wants it as bacon (which is good too).
I also got the hams fresh once instead of cured/smoked and regretted it - they didn't break down like a shoulder would and I never quite prepared one where I was happy with how it turned out.
― joygoat, Friday, 20 October 2023 19:21 (ten months ago) link
that's all very good feedback, thank you!
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 20 October 2023 19:33 (ten months ago) link
If you get some unground shoulder, I highly recommend making this https://chiceats.com/recipe/fall-winter-mozza-home/spicy-pork-stew-butternut-squash-and-roasted-tomatillo-salsa
― Natural Wine • Danny Devito • Virginia (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 20 October 2023 19:36 (ten months ago) link
I want as many shoulder chunks as we can get!
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Friday, 20 October 2023 19:37 (ten months ago) link
I could use some soup advice. I need to be getting a lot more veggies into my diet, appetite is a problem due to a medication, and I thought soup would be my solution. I got a vitamix and I’ve made two soups so far that have been edible but v v disappointing.
1. Tossed brocc, cauli, onions in oil, a lil MSG, smoked paprika, Italian herbs and roasted. Also roasted chickpeas, carrots and potatoes in just paprika, and then a head of garlic. Blended with stock (BTB concentrate) and it was missing something so I added a little vinegar since I didn’t have any citrus. Mistake! Also added fresh spinach. It was just kind of blah. Edible mostly only because it was completely silky smooth.
2. Roasted Kabocha squash and onion with ground sage, roasted a garlic head and carrots and a little bit of Japanese sweet potato plain. Blended with white beans and some nutritional yeast and stock. Same thing! Just kinda blah.
I get that these aren’t like proper soups or whatever but as a lover of mush/baby food, I really thought I was on to a good thing and it sucks!
― just1n3, Friday, 20 October 2023 21:11 (ten months ago) link
Are you looking for some thinner soup or chunkier stews?
― Jane Eyre Jordan (Leee), Friday, 20 October 2023 21:35 (ten months ago) link
Maybe lightly fry a little curry paste to kick start the base flavor profile? I like the Mae Plom brand and they last forever in the fridge
― Jaq, Friday, 20 October 2023 21:51 (ten months ago) link
Def no chunks - I like a thick sort of silky purée. It’s easiest for me to tolerate eating.
― just1n3, Friday, 20 October 2023 22:02 (ten months ago) link
I’m thinking potato leek?
― brimstead, Friday, 20 October 2023 22:32 (ten months ago) link
my approach is always the same - sautee the vegetables, add herbs/spices for a few minutes, then add stock for another 10 minutes or so, then blend
in terms of herbs and spices it depends on the veggies but ground coriander is often good, salt n pepper obv.. you'd be surprised how far a little white pepper can go
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 20 October 2023 23:25 (ten months ago) link
kind of crazy your soups are bland with an entire head of garlic in them though
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 20 October 2023 23:27 (ten months ago) link
Also salt?
― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 20 October 2023 23:27 (ten months ago) link
Everything tastes bad without salt.
i sort of assumed just1n3 was adding salt at some point but reading back yeah that could be a problem if not
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 20 October 2023 23:28 (ten months ago) link
i've made various versions of this zucchini soup more times than i can count
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/italianstylezucchini_9833
Potato leek soup can be amazing, I swear by this one: https://food52.com/recipes/87209-potato-leek-soup-with-spiced-chickpeas-recipe
Also, you can really goose the flavor with peanut butter (substitute if you're allergic -- pretty sure tahini would work too), as in this Vegan Gambian Peanut Stew: https://rainbowplantlife.com/wprm_print/5657
― Jane Eyre Jordan (Leee), Friday, 20 October 2023 23:33 (ten months ago) link
the best thing about autumn vegetable soups is that you can make them up as you go along from a base of carrots/celery/onion fried in butter and whatever veg you have. I always add sweet potatoes, chilli flakes and garlic and hope for the best!
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 20 October 2023 23:33 (ten months ago) link
yeah potato leek is great, even bog standard potato leek.
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 20 October 2023 23:35 (ten months ago) link
grated parmesan and creme fraiche added to potato leek is so good.
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 20 October 2023 23:39 (ten months ago) link
something good to add to calzino's carrot base soup is some roasted butternut squash. and i'm not gonna lie i squeeze just a lil dollop of honey into the carrots when they're cooking.. sometimes a strip of bacon if i'm feeling, as the kids say, extra
― Tracer Hand, Friday, 20 October 2023 23:41 (ten months ago) link
the point where I thought I was becoming way too much of a sophisticate here was when I started seeing bacon as more of an ingredient or a pancetta proxy than summat to be wapped in 2 slices of bread, lol
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Friday, 20 October 2023 23:47 (ten months ago) link
Lol salt is a given, guys, I’m not a heathen!!
Ugh I didn’t want to fuck around cooking stuff, I just wanted to roast a bunch of stuff and dump in the blender 😖
― just1n3, Saturday, 21 October 2023 00:07 (ten months ago) link
that's all soup is really!
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Saturday, 21 October 2023 00:09 (ten months ago) link
i don’t even roast anything usually, seems like too much work tbh
― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 21 October 2023 00:30 (ten months ago) link
i have a great simple carrot / lentil soup that is easy good -i hate all the veggie soups i make except this one, i love it so much it doesn’t look like much but its good orange lentils are key bc they’re softer & blend up really smooth. 3 carrots chopped1 onion choped3 cloves garlic 2 sticks celery chopped 1 parsnip or 1 potato chopped (i dont do potatoes) 1 diced tomato or 1/2 can drained diced tomatoes 2 cups orange lentils 8 cups chicken stock heat oil, add chopped veg except garlicsaute for 5 min on medium heat then lower heat & sweat veg covered for 10 min (don’t brown them)return heat to mediumadd tomato & garlic cook for 1 minadd lentils & chicken stockbring to boilturn to low heat & simmer gently for 45 minstir occasionally remove from heatuse a stick blender & blend until smooth finish with pinch cayenne & pinch or two of cumin
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 21 October 2023 00:55 (ten months ago) link
Thanks everyone. I gotta avoid potatoes as a main ingredient and I really need to get in more leafy greens (except I hate bitter greens). If I’m adding spinach should I be blanching it instead of just blending it in raw? I didn’t think too hard about it but I guess cooking reduces the oxalates or whatever, which is probably preferable.
RE roasting - that’s my favorite way to cook: chop, toss in oil then bang in the oven and wait. My minimal soup research before this said that roasting was a great base for soups. I roasted a whole head of garlic and a whole medium onion (along with the other veg) thinking that would really up the flavors, but both soups were seriously the most blah soups I’ve ever made.
I like being able to blast it in the blender because then I can add beans or lentils, which I normally can’t deal with the texture of.
― just1n3, Saturday, 21 October 2023 03:57 (ten months ago) link
― Tracer Hand
I’m roasting it so maybe that’s why it’s not adding enough punch?
― just1n3, Saturday, 21 October 2023 04:02 (ten months ago) link
Kabocha is by far my favorite squash/pumpkin but I don’t cook it often because it’s so hard to cut. During my soup research I discovered you just microwave it for like 2-3mins and then it’s super easy.
― just1n3, Saturday, 21 October 2023 04:06 (ten months ago) link
I do think the key is getting some pan browning going on your mirepoix or whatever yr base is, like frying the curry paste etc, then going to the blender
― out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Saturday, 21 October 2023 04:06 (ten months ago) link
― just1n3, Saturday, October 21, 2023 12:06 AM (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink
Best method for cooking winter squashes like butternut for soups is cut in half lengthwise, place cut side down in a rimmed baking dish, pour about 2 cups of water in the baking dish (the water should be about a quarter or a third of the way up the side of the squash), and bake in the oven at 350F for 45 minutes. Take it out, flip over or remove the squash to cool, then you can remove the roasted flesh from the skin with a spoon. You won't even need to puree it.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Saturday, 21 October 2023 12:53 (ten months ago) link
My favourite is a curried parsnip, lentil and apple https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/curried-lentil-parsnip-apple-soup
I do it in the slow cooker but you can also just simmer for 30 mins. You gotta have the yogurt, cilantro etc with it!
kind of crazy your soups are bland with an entire head of garlic in them though― Tracer HandI’m roasting it so maybe that’s why it’s not adding enough punch?
I made a pasta sauce that had loads of roasted garlic in it and it was still not very garlicky. Disappointing - need to find the perfect amount because roasted garlic is so nice.
― kinder, Saturday, 21 October 2023 13:26 (ten months ago) link
I don't know if there are nutritive or even taste reasons for blanching, but I never do it because it's an extra step for what I think is just an aesthetic thing (it makes the spinach look brighter green).
― Jane Eyre Jordan (Leee), Saturday, 21 October 2023 14:23 (ten months ago) link
started off making a basic ragu today and fancied some heat so threw some chilli flakes and green/red chillies in there. Added some bacon because why not. Added some lentils for that nice texture. Added some capers and olives then some fresh basil/parsley. It was haphazard make it up as you go along cooking that was sort of like puttanesca but I didn't have anchovies, but it worked out beautifully.
― vodkaitamin effrtvescent (calzino), Saturday, 21 October 2023 16:21 (ten months ago) link
Restaurants blanch to help expedite servuce imeXpost
― matcha man (outdoor_miner), Friday, 3 November 2023 20:06 (nine months ago) link
hi dere I now have 91 lbs of pig parts in the chest freezer
I thawed out a pound of the bacon but it's a lot to sort through. anyone have thoughts on how long I can just leave it in butcher paper vs bagging it all in freezer/storage bags?
― dead precedents (sleeve), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:16 (seven months ago) link
so much ham
― dead precedents (sleeve), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:17 (seven months ago) link