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
kind of crazy your soups are bland with an entire head of garlic in them though
― 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
Is any of it smoked? Bag it in a hurry if so or everything in your freezer may be smoked soon.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:37 (seven months ago) link
thank you - the hock is def smoked
― dead precedents (sleeve), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:38 (seven months ago) link
My father raised a hog for butchering around '79-80, whoever smoked it OVERsmoked it, plus zipper seal bags and vacuum sealers didn't exist back then iirc, and we wound up tossing a huge amt of food.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:42 (seven months ago) link
Actually I think Ziploc bags were around but my parents didn't bother, which was a bad choice.
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:43 (seven months ago) link
If it's wrapped in plastic under the butcher paper, you're good to chuck it straight in the freezer.
― Jaq, Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:43 (seven months ago) link
it is!
I bagged some of the unique ones, the back rib/tenderloin/bacon end stuff
helloooo big bags of fat and bones
― dead precedents (sleeve), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:49 (seven months ago) link
https://peaktoplate.com/pork-lard/
― dead precedents (sleeve), Saturday, 27 January 2024 23:50 (seven months ago) link
Oh heck yeah. I render mine in a low oven instead of using the stove - less chance of burning/scorching imo. I also make ghee that way.
― Jaq, Sunday, 28 January 2024 02:10 (seven months ago) link
yeah I'm gonna use the crockpot!
― dead precedents (sleeve), Sunday, 28 January 2024 16:23 (seven months ago) link
t/s chest vs upright freezers
― gbx, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 21:47 (seven months ago) link
chest for me
― dead precedents (sleeve), Wednesday, 31 January 2024 22:02 (seven months ago) link
it's basically convenience (upright) vs efficiency (chest), I went w/the latter
― dead precedents (sleeve), Wednesday, 31 January 2024 22:03 (seven months ago) link
Hmmm yeah I've heard uprights will essentially 'dump' cold air when you open them but the convenience seems pretty great
― gbx, Wednesday, 31 January 2024 22:05 (seven months ago) link
chest freezers try to increase their convenience by adding various racks and 'baskets', but efficiency is their whole reason for existing. when you calculate the decrease in electrical consumption over the life of the unit it becomes a very good reason.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Wednesday, 31 January 2024 22:35 (seven months ago) link
i got a chest freezer last fall, no regrets. i just get anxious about tracking whatever is in it but that's what spreadsheets are for.
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 1 February 2024 01:39 (seven months ago) link
ha I had not considered that re: the pig above, but I should!
― dead precedents (sleeve), Thursday, 1 February 2024 01:43 (seven months ago) link
Due to limited square footage, I went with an upright freezer. Thanks to spreadsheet contents tracking, it gets opened once every week or two and I move the packages for the next set of meals to the fridge freezer. It holds 1/2 a pig and over 1/8th of a cow, 6 chickens and an assortment of Costco sausage packages.
― Jaq, Thursday, 1 February 2024 03:37 (seven months ago) link
Does queso cotija taste bitter to anyone else? I kind of ruined a chili I made yesterday by grating a block into it, I probably need to sweeten it to make it more palatable.
― Astarion Is Born (Leee), Monday, 25 March 2024 18:09 (five months ago) link
for me, cotija is sweet and umami similar to parmesan. like parmesan, I try to stay away from any strangely soft versions.
― 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 25 March 2024 18:48 (five months ago) link
I only buy the Nuestro Queso version at TJs
― 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine (Sufjan Grafton), Monday, 25 March 2024 18:49 (five months ago) link
This is barely cooking, but sourdough toast with lots of butter and salt and pickled watermelon radish is such a satisfying breakfast.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Saturday, 6 April 2024 12:00 (four months ago) link
Spring makes me want to eat all the radishes
― 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine (Sufjan Grafton), Saturday, 6 April 2024 16:24 (four months ago) link
if any of y'all have been thinking about rendering your own tallow i can recommend that you don't
had a lamb leg in the freezer from '22, trimmed the fat before roasting it, mentioned all the gnarly leftover fat to mr. cat who got excited because one of his ayurvedic physicians recommended him lamb fat once, for to help him sleep. can't be too hard to melt out the tallow, i figured, and it'd be a shame to waste any more of the poor critter than necessary. so i looked up some how-tos and yeah, turns out it's a simple thing to chop up the fat and toss it in the slow cooker w/ some water for a spell but ho.lee.sheeeeeep. does the process ever stank. nevar again, ugh ack barf puke
he really likes the tallow tho so maybe we can find some cute cuddly hippie shepherds nearby who raise their lambs with all the ethical whatnots before they ice them, mebbe buy some lamb tallow already made like proper consumers
― senseless Icelandic salsa slander (cat), Friday, 3 May 2024 02:29 (three months ago) link
I've always found lamb fat has a funk that beef and pork don't.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Friday, 3 May 2024 02:33 (three months ago) link
you bet your bippy there's funk, that's why i trimmed it off the meat (then used olive oil & ghee in its basicasfuck garlic/rosemary/lemon zest rub)
― senseless Icelandic salsa slander (cat), Friday, 3 May 2024 02:51 (three months ago) link
Nice!
My parents live in rural PA and have tons of ramps on their property every Spring. I made ramp pesto with ramps I dug out 10 days ago - still great.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Friday, 3 May 2024 02:55 (three months ago) link
oooooo rampy pesto sounds ridiculous delish!
we ain't there yet but if squirrel ever starts popping up in our diet i might try my hand at squirrel lard.
https://i0.wp.com/practicalselfreliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/rendered-squirrel-fat-for-cookies.jpeg
i'll have to give the brains a miss though on account of those pesky prions
― senseless Icelandic salsa slander (cat), Friday, 3 May 2024 04:16 (three months ago) link
is ramps wild garlic? if so I made some pesto with it the other week, it was really good! We have tons of woodland nearby where it just grows like a sea of it.Love lamb fat, it does the best roast potatoes.
― kinder, Friday, 3 May 2024 16:31 (three months ago) link
"ramp pesto" should be in tony hawk pro skater
― 145 feet up in a Jeffrey Pine (Sufjan Grafton), Friday, 3 May 2024 16:43 (three months ago) link
Ramps are wild baby leeks, I believe, though I see the wiki says that wild garlic is another name. I always thought that was a separate plant. They look like mini leeks to me.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Friday, 3 May 2024 18:14 (three months ago) link
ah yeah it's wild garlic, I just picked the leaves, but the stems look good too!
― kinder, Friday, 3 May 2024 18:28 (three months ago) link
They bring me a lot of joy - digging something wild out of the ground and eating it.
My market had shad roe, so I made shad roe breakfast for dinner: roasted potatoes, shad roe dredged in flour and sautéed in butter, brown butter caper sauce with lemon, with a fried egg on top.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Saturday, 4 May 2024 01:50 (three months ago) link
I need some advice:
I’m making this cauliflower pasta dish tonight but I have to swap out the anchovies for something vegetarian. I have red miso but I’m not sure when’s the best time to add it - for anchovies, I’d add it to oil and garlic and fry till melted. Should I add the miso the same way or am I better off dissolving it in the reserved pasta water I’ll be adding to make the sauce?
― just1n3, Sunday, 5 May 2024 19:11 (three months ago) link
dissolve in pasta water imo
if not vegan you can also add parmesan rind to the sauce and pull it out later for more umami type notes
― I painted my teeth (sleeve), Sunday, 5 May 2024 19:19 (three months ago) link
I think you could fry the miso briefly just as you would for the anchovies, though it won't take as long. 30 secs at most.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Sunday, 5 May 2024 19:34 (three months ago) link
But sleeve's way is fine, too.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Sunday, 5 May 2024 19:35 (three months ago) link
frying it does sound good actually!
― I painted my teeth (sleeve), Sunday, 5 May 2024 20:04 (three months ago) link
quick update for y'all, don't keep your lamb tallow in a jar identical to the one you use for ghee + lamb tallow on toast tastes baaaaaaad
― the innocent beeves of our youth (cat), Monday, 13 May 2024 22:01 (three months ago) link
any interest i had in tallow has been removed thx to this thread lol(not really, i was not interested in tallow)
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 13 May 2024 22:19 (three months ago) link