Hey good lookin', what's cookin'?

693 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2015-04-23 19:58

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Since this experiment worked I plan to make a more permanent one out of metal, But this one worked fine.

You suggested in the Vegan Challenge thread that you bought one. So you took the plunge?

Which type?

And in keeping with Vegan Challenge week, ignore the meatporn in #42, but consider the "pro-tip". That smoked red pepper jam is probably the most popular thing I've ever smoked, and it's entirely vegan. Great to do in the fall, so you can enjoy a bit of smokiness in things all winter. I just added a dollup to some lentil soup.

ed'd to add: I thought about this for a moment more and remembered that you'd already said (or suggested) that it was a "home brew" unit.

That's oddly what got me stoked about owning a smoker in the first place. As a KID I'd heard that you could make a smoker out of an old fridge, and for some reason I got really interested in doing this, even though I didn't eat that much smoked food (bacon and ham notwithstanding) and knew nothing about it. But the idea of cobbling together a smoker stuck with me for decades.

Thu, 2015-04-23 22:54

#53

6079_Smith_W

It was a freebie - a laboratory oven. A double size version of this:

It actually has working elements in the bottom, but I don't think wood chips straight on them would work too well. I'm going to put in my own heating unit, and the hole at the top should serve as a good vent, and a spot to drop in a thermometer.

Tue, 2015-09-08 21:56

#54

lagatta

Wow.

Me, nothing so technical. I'm making a turkey drunstick riff on the Senegalese Chicken Yassa, sort of sweet and sour with a lot of mild onions and lemon juice, as well as other things. Bit hot, but hotter sauces available for sterner palates.

By the way, I noticed that Asian "cooking wine" as well as "cooking saké" were available very cheap at the shop where I bought the turkey (and they chopped it into stew chunks) , while I haven't seen either in Québec for a long time. Are these useful in any way? I think perhaps they can be used stir-frying to increase the temperature a bit? I certainly wouldn't use them to braise something, with all the salt.

Tue, 2015-09-08 22:19

#55

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

My daughter uses mirin to make her own teriyaki sauce.

Tue, 2015-09-08 22:25

#56

6079_Smith_W

@ lagatta,

Speaking of not so technical, a FB friend just today posted a pic of their smoking method (they are doing peppers) - they hung the whole thing off three poles over an open smouldering fire, and wrapped it in sheets to contain the smoke. I'm sure it works just fine.

A timely return to this thread, it being fall (making garden spanakopita tonight), and a bit more pleasant than some subjects.

Tue, 2015-09-08 22:49

#57

BRF

Mr. Magoo wrote:

Anyone else ever try this cool recipe?

No-knead bread

I've made it a number of times, though not recently, and right now I've got a loaf in the oven -- we'll see how it turns out.

The recipe is true to the name, though. There's absolutely no kneading required. Just mix the ingredients until combined, leave it overnight, punch it down once, then bake in a lidded dutch oven or casserole dish at very high heat. Great, gnarly crust, chewy tender crumb with plenty of texture, and really rustic taste.

Quick warning, though: escaping steam and such will probably make a bit of a mess of the exterior of your dutch oven. If you have a fancy "Le Creuset" dutch oven or some similar, be warned that it could get uglied up a bit. And I'm also told that when this recipe was first published, a lot of Le Creuset owners discovered that the polycarbonate handle on their lid just wasn't up to the high heat, and melted. Good news for vendors of aftermarket replacements, I guess.

My dutch oven is an inexpensive one from Ikea. Not glazed on the interior, and the lid handle is just part of the lid itself.

When the bread's done, on to some bacon and lentil soup.

What's on your menu today?

ed'd to add: OK, here's that bread:

[IMG]http://i59.tinypic.com/2lw3d35.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/11khzbl.jpg[/IMG]

basically what a bread making machine does in its over night operation

Tue, 2015-09-08 23:08

#58

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
By the way, I noticed that Asian "cooking wine" as well as "cooking saké" were available very cheap at the shop where I bought the turkey (and they chopped it into stew chunks) , while I haven't seen either in Québec for a long time. Are these useful in any way?

Well, only really if you do stir-frys. If you see a cooking rice wine for sale, that's good stuff -- used in a lot of recipes in much the same way that a jigger of cooking wine or sherry might be used in European cooking. Shaoxing rice wine is the standard, and it's usually pretty cheap for a 750 ml bottle.

If the wine is clear then it's probably "cooking liquor" -- basically bad vodka, with lots of salt added to escape excise taxes (in other words, without adding all the salt, it would have to be sold as beverage alcohol and taxed accordingly, but with it it's not -- some people drink it anyway, despite being pretty much booze-and-brine).

Mirin is a specifically Japanese sweetened rice wine -- I recently bought a large bottle on the cheap at a Korean grocery that was going out of business, but otherwise do let me know if you find it cheap and I'll take the overnight train. If it's real mirin, a 150ml bottle will be three to five bucks. It IS pretty nice stuff though. A tablespoon or two is a great way to add a very delicate and light sweetness to a soup or sauce, and as TB notes, it's the preferred sweetner for teriyaki.

Quote:
they hung the whole thing off three poles over an open smouldering fire, and wrapped it in sheets to contain the smoke. I'm sure it works just fine.

It surely should.

Have you ever seen photos or video of Chipotle peppers being made? Basically, about 20 pounds of ripe jalapeno peppers in a large, cylindrical wire "cage" that looks like the thing they put the bingo balls in, slowly rotating over top of a slow, smouldering fire of mesquite wood.

Quote:
basically what a bread making machine does in its over night operation

Except for the part about being rectangular, having the same thin and dreary crust as Wonder bread, and tasting like not much.

Whatever happened to bread machines though? For a while they seemed almost revolutionary, but now they'd make a good "scavenger hunt" item, like a water bed or a fanny-pack.

Wed, 2015-09-09 00:14

#59

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

My mother still has hers. And yes, the bread is square, fluffy and bland. Just the way she likes it! ;)

When I was in New Mexico one fall, about a decade and a half ago, it was Hatch chile season - they harvest the chiles and roast them in these big barrels. Pretty exciting to watch! We bought a bunch, took them back to my BIL's place and (wearing gloves!) peeled them and put them in bags. So tasty fresh, and not too bad frozen, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-PuxrnU7F0

Wed, 2015-09-09 00:43

#60

quizzical

my gma used to make fantastic home made bread in a machine. she ground all her own organic grains, including amaranth, and made 7 grain bread. i sure miss it and her. :(

this is a great thread.

Wed, 2015-09-09 01:08

#61

6079_Smith_W

On mirin, I am going to try my hand at making koji this fall, once the garden is out of the ground, and it is a bit cooler. I jury-rigged a heater last year using an old heating tray and made tempeh (which didn't really turn my crank), so I am going to try again, and plan to do red and dark miso, though I'll probably keep some of it to do other koji sauces - like mirin. I have some actual tamari koji spores (Gem Cultures is the source for that stuff) but that may wait for another year.

I know you can get those rice wine balls which do something similar to glutenous rice at room temperature.

I used to do bread, though usually I just do small batches of flat bread and pizza dough these days.

And no, I never have seen those pepper smokers. They sound neat.

Wed, 2015-09-09 09:04

#62

lagatta

Yes, this thread is fun. We need more fun!

As for the rice "wines", that isn't at all what I was looking for - I needed some fish sauce and a few other things I always keep stocked. As far as I remember, other than the "cooking saké" (which seemed to be just (crappy) sake with salt added) there were two kinds - one almost 20% alc vol which is the crappy vodka, and the other was some kind of "rice wine" that was no more than 10% alc vol; that is the one I thought might actually be useful as a cooking ingredient. Yes, I know the boozy kind is just to raise the wok temp a bit for a few seconds... It must be absolutely horrible to drink, but as people drink far more lethal things than that, of course some must drink it. I think the sake was from the US; it had one of those warning stickers about harm to the foetus etc. I doubt anyone drinking that swill would stop to read it.

Wed, 2015-09-09 20:38

#63

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
I know you can get those rice wine balls which do something similar to glutenous rice at room temperature.

A tip o' the hat for the tip! Though to be fair, I didn't really know what you meant by the above until I questioned the very possibility of a regular human making mirin, Googled that, then followed on to homemade sake, then to this.

Buddy's got it wrong -- it'll make Chinese rice wine, not sake -- but now I see what those balls are, and now I own a pack of them. Got all fired up, bought the yeast balls and some Thai glutinous rice on my trip to C-town today, and the cooked rice is cooling as I speak.

Looks like mirin is do-able, though having to add shochu or vodka is unfortunate (as I like kitchen-freak experiments like this to be on the cheap) and waiting six months could be hard too. Hard enough waiting ten days for kimchi.

Real sake seems even harder (x10), and while I could probably pick up some koji starter at Sanko on Queen, everything they sell is priced like they had to smuggle it out of Japan in a prosthetic leg. And I don't own airlocks, carboys, a racking cane, etc.

But this? $2.50 for a pack of yeast balls, a few cents worth of rice, and a jar. Wish me luck!

Wed, 2015-09-09 21:48

#64

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Good luck! We have all the paraphernalia for brewing - the laundry room doubles as a nano-meadery. We age it for about 2 years for best effect.

Wed, 2015-09-09 21:55

#65

lagatta

Sounds cool. As for the stuff at the shop near my place, the more boozy (and cheaper) stuff must be the crappy "rice vodka" but the less boozy (12%) and slightly more expensive (hey, 2,99!) stuff might be something one might want in a braise, though it is important to check on the saltiness.

Wed, 2015-09-09 21:59

#66

6079_Smith_W

Again, gem cultures is the source for all those spores. As for the ball wine, it is a bit of a challenge to get it going ahead of the mold - usually a hard white mat.

Wed, 2015-09-09 22:05

#67

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Sterilize all containers an utensils and make sure your ingredients have been heated appropriately (then cooled for the yeast) and you should be fine.

Thu, 2015-09-10 02:26

#68

bagkitty

Mr. Magoo wrote:

Mirin is a specifically Japanese sweetened rice wine -- I recently bought a large bottle on the cheap at a Korean grocery that was going out of business, but otherwise do let me know if you find it cheap and I'll take the overnight train. If it's real mirin, a 150ml bottle will be three to five bucks. It IS pretty nice stuff though. A tablespoon or two is a great way to add a very delicate and light sweetness to a soup or sauce, and as TB notes, it's the preferred sweetner for teriyaki.

Magoo: are you anywhere near a T&T supermarket (their locations are listed on their wikipedia entry)? They are carrying an 880ml bottle of Mirin for about $6 (afraid I cannot remember the exact price). It is actually an import from Vietnam in this instance, but works great for a tempura dipping sauce. It is imported into Canada by Angel Seafoods Ltd.

Thu, 2015-09-10 09:31

#69

6079_Smith_W

Timebandit wrote:
Sterilize all containers an utensils and make sure your ingredients have been heated appropriately (then cooled for the yeast) and you should be fine.

Thing is, I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad mold, since with koji, it is the mold which breaks the starch into sugar so the yeast can get to it. I have gotten some wine off my batches, and it was tasty enough, but I haven't let it go to the point where the rice is mostly liquid - where it is supposed to get to after a few weeks.

Thu, 2015-09-10 10:20

#70

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

Interesting. When we make mead, mold is the end of that batch. But then, we aren't breaking down starches, we're starting with honey, water and yeast.

Thu, 2015-09-10 11:45

#71

6079_Smith_W

I'm not sure why either, because potatoes certainly can go funky and ferment. But it is molds which have the enzymes to break it down into something which can be eaten by yeast. That is why with beer (and manna bread) you have to sprout the grain to make maltose.

And while I have read of some "sourdough" methods for rice, the traditional key for all this stuff is one fungus: aspergillus oryzae.

Thu, 2015-09-10 17:44

#72

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Magoo: are you anywhere near a T&T supermarket

Thanks for the 411 on this. According to Google Maps, I'm about a 90 minute walk, so I don't know that I'll do it in time to save some $$$, but I kind of wouldn't mind making the field trip sometime, just to see what they offer. My (pedestrian) luck it would be a 20kg bag of sushi rice for $10.

Quote:
I'm not sure why either, because potatoes certainly can go funky and ferment. But it is molds which have the enzymes to break it down into something which can be eaten by yeast.

I JUST threw out some potatoes that had become a bit elderly and had seemed a bit too sweet (!!) so I'm kicking myself. I'd have fermented them just to see how horrible it could be. Or, I'd build a still.

When I was 21, I bought a whack of "reduced produce" bananas at my local Fortino's, fermented them in found gallon pickle jars, and made a stovetop still out of some aquarium tubing and distilled the horrible mess into a crystal-clear alcohol that smelled a bit yeasty and was hot and tasteless on the tongue. And I kept my sight! It wasn't that I wanted to get "off the grid" booze-wise; I just wanted to see if it could be done. Didn't know about discarding the heads and tails of a distillation back then, so it's probably good that it didn't make much. :0

Meanwhile, my "rice wine" -- not yet 24 hours old -- is showing signs of getting wet, and it smells pretty good too. If the whole thing doesn't become a shag carpet of mold then I figure I should either get OK wine, OK fermented rice, or maybe OK both. I've got it sitting on the stove right now, above where one of the pilot lights is, so I'm hoping that will give the yeast the necessary advantage over the mold. I've also read that adding a bit of sugar gives the yeast a head start too, but I forgot to do that.

Sun, 2015-09-13 16:49

#73

Mr. Magoo

Rice wine diary, day 4.

It's been sitting on top of my stove since Wednesday night, and there's now nearly an inch of liquid pooling in the bottom of the jar, which I believe indicates that the yeast and mold are doing what they ought to be doing. That said, my kitchen experiments often go great for the first four or five days, then on day 6 they elect to become silage.

What's fascinating to me is that when I packed the rice and crushed yeast balls into the jar, the rice was cooked but it certainly wasn't "wet" -- if I'd put it in a colander, there wouldn't have been so much as a single drip. So evidently all of the liquid I'm seeing now was metabolized out of the cooked rice.

Found a recipe for a similar thing, but Korean. It uses a similar inoculant called "nuruk", and it involves adding plenty of water. The result isn't a clear(ish) wine, it's more of a chocolate milk consistency -- I'm thinking suddenly of the "liquid bread" served to the slaves building the pyramids, or "mudder's milk" from Firefly. But I'll probably keep my eyes peeled for nuruk next time I'm up in Little Korea.

Mon, 2015-09-14 09:29

#74

6079_Smith_W

Okay, now I have to try this again.

Mon, 2015-09-14 20:13

#75

lagatta

I did Magoo's hot water trick on six chicken legs; they are now drying out in the fridge uncovered. (No, they aren't in contact with any fresh produce, and everything else is scrupulously covered. I suppose one could put paper towel on them.

My kettle has died; fortunately this coming Saturday will see the annual arrondissement (borough) junk sale in a park east of here. Chances are good that I'll find another.

Mon, 2015-09-14 20:46

#76

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
I did Magoo's hot water trick on six chicken legs; they are now drying out in the fridge uncovered.

For what it's worth, "my" trick (actually, The Two Fat Ladies') never called for drying in the fridge. I think you just independently discovered the secret to Peking Duck.

In lieu of boiling water from a kettle, Peking Duck uses a simmering broth of water, soy sauce, star anise, sugar and some other stuff, which one liberally ladles over the duck before hanging the duck to dry, followed by more hot broth, more drying and so on, until the roasted duck has a skin like a potato chip. Apparently, eating the meat of a real Peking Duck was kind of an also-ran; it was the skin that the Emperors coveted.

Aside: the other day I was in the butcher's section of my local Metro and overheard two women shopping. One seemed to be helping the other with regard to what to look for and such (why don't schools teach this??). She said to her friend "chicken thighs represent a good value... they're affordable, very tasty, and you can just remove the skin". And I really wanted to jump in and say "NO YOU FRIGGIN' CAN'T! If you want fatless and joyless then hoard your pennies and buy chicken breast!!". But I held my tongue.

Mon, 2015-09-14 21:40

#77

lagatta

Yes, if you are concerned about excessive fat, just do the hot-water trick. They aren't greasy - but retain enough fat to have some flavour. I was horrified to read a "simplified" recipe for Senegalese Poulet Yassa by a local media star + chef, Boucar Diouf (who studied biology, oceanography and animal physiology, and is also a great storyteller) that actually featured those "chicken tofu" boned chicken breasts. I wonder if this was an elaborate prank on whitey. West African participants in "north-south schools" in Amsterdam would simmer that delight for hours, based mostly on onion, a bit of garlic, lime or lemon, chicken, spices... They always used legs and thighs, not only because they were cheaper (school budget) but much tastier.

My chicken legs aren't Peking Duck worthy, but they are nice and crisp; not easy to achieve in a countertop convection oven. They were also very cheap at Intermarché: 2,84 kg - 1,29 lb, and they are local, halal chicken. Of course I don't give a damn about religious laws, but at this branch they always get very good "halal chicken", ironically from the historically Jewish Zinman poultry.

In my neighbourhood it is no more expensive to by a roast bbq duck than to buy a raw or frozen one and cook it. They seem to be a little cheaper up here (knot of Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Cambodian groceries and restaurants around St-Denis and Jean-Talon) than in our oldest Chinatown.

Mon, 2015-09-14 22:05

#78

quizzical

oh gawd you people make me miss the city.

Tue, 2015-09-15 01:07

#79

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

I've discovered an Asian supermarket here that has an incredible variety of things. We go every once in a while to stock up and get a whole bbq duck to take out when we do. So good! It's more like a family outing than grocery shopping. In other news, made meatloaf tonight - tomato sauce, fresh thyme and mushrooms. Mmmmmm.

Sun, 2015-09-20 16:27

#80

lagatta

I'm making a tortilla - a Spanish omelette with potato and other veg, not a Mexican maize or flour flatbread. So much nicer with ALL local produce, including "microlocal", from my balcony and my neighbour's allotment garden...

Sun, 2015-09-20 18:29

#81

Mr. Magoo

Sounds great! I've only had tortilla once or twice, and I'm not even sure it was "good" tortilla, but I was amazed at how much it didn't remind me of "breakfast". Do you have a favourite recipe, or is this one of those things your hands just know how to do?

Sun, 2015-09-20 20:02

#82

lagatta

I don't really have a recipe. The ones I've seen online use a hell of a lot more oil than I do - which is easier in terms of keeping the potato slices or cubes from sticking, but not only fattening, also rather "indigeste". I used four good-sized but not huge yellow potatoes, six eggs, also long mild peppers with thin skins and one Espelete pepper (any MEDIUM-hot pepper could be substituted, or a smaller quantity of SERIOUSLY hot peppers), part of a small Kabocha type squash I had cooked (the one with the blue-green skin, similar to a potimarron, but not quite that) a couple of small, fresh juicy red onioins aond a garlic clove, and the fresh herbs I had on hand including oregano, parsley and sage - I didn't use my remainin Italian or Thai basil as I didn't think it fit the flavour profile.

You do have to sautée the potatoes - in olive oil on a medium heat, for quite a while, and trying to keep bits from sticking and burning (they will stick - I was using a Findlay cast iron pan that is probably older than I am). After that I did the same with the peppers (sweet and slightly hot), red onion, then added in the squash pieces cut into slices similar to the potatoes, and garlic. I added the parsley, oregano and sage to the egg mixture, adding in some dry grated cheese to taste - I used the Greek Mizithra cheese, as I had it on hand and it doesn't melt or stick at all, but romano and perhaps even Parmesan should work too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizithra And a bit of fish sauce, isn't a tiny bit of fish sauce good in just about everything?

I've been making my tortillas in a little Calphalon pan which I bought at Canadian Tire for 70% off, it cost about $10. http://store.calphalon.com/calphalon-unison-nonstick-2-pc-8-10-omelette-... Mine is the smaller of those, but as you can see this was a kind of promotional loss leader, and the little pan was exactly what I needed. Hence I only used half of the mixture; the rest is in my fridge in a sealed glasslock container. You can make a quite deep tortilla/frittata with that. I finished it in my countertop convection oven, but of course you could also flip it back into the pan, though that can always be messier. I ate half of it. It is very pretty, flipped upside down, browned on top and on the sloping sides.

My neighbour gave me some kind of mustard green salad from his allotment that was fine with it; arugula (rocket, roquette) would also work.

And no, it doesn't seem "breakfasty" or "crappy-brunchy" at all. It is more a vegetable dish held together with some egg. You could certianly add some bits of ham.

Tue, 2015-09-29 18:19

#83

Mr. Magoo

Three weeks later, I finally decided it was time to filter off my rice pruno.

It had been sitting in a warm spot, looking pretty good, no mold and no horrible smell or anything, so I put a couple of strainers (one coarse, one finer) over a large pyrex measuring cup and poured the rice slurry off (and finished by squeezing the rice, in batches, to get out all the liquid).

To my great surprise, I ended up with a full litre. And I say "surprise" because when I packed the 1.5l mason jar with rice and yeast, the cooked rice was "dry" as noted above. I was also surprised to see that the leftover rice lees seemed to me way less than the amount I began with. Law of Conservation of Matter, I suppose. I elected to not save the rice this time, though folk say it's great stuff for eating, or for marinating.

But the real surprise was that the wine tastes pretty damn good! It's very cloudy (see below), but it's very reminiscent of unfiltered sake. Now, to be clear, this is "sake" the way prison brew is cognac, but it's a lot closer to unfiltered sake than I'd have ever expected. I'm not sure what the alcohol content is, but my palate guesses it's probably in the neighbourhood of 10% or so. It's also still a tiny bit "fizzy", but that should shake out in no time.

It's in the fridge now, hoping some of the exceptionally fine sediment will fall out, but I might just get eager and drink it, milky stuff and all.

And for sure I'm going to give it another whirl. I've got plenty of glutinous rice left, and plenty of yeast balls, so I'd be a fool not to. Now I'm on the scour for a one gallon glass pickle jar. I used to see them all the time outside of local restaurants on recycling day, but now that I could use one...

[IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/158b1gl.jpg[/IMG]

Tue, 2015-09-29 20:15

#84

lagatta

Looking at that jar, a lot of that sediment should just fall to the bottom or filter out.

And no, I doubt it is anywhere near as gut-destroying as "prison wine"

Tue, 2015-09-29 20:24

#85

6079_Smith_W

Good timing. I just filtered and tossed mine in the fridge. It has an interesting taste, almost like sweet grapes.

Mon, 2015-10-12 17:08

#86

Mr. Magoo

So I bought my "Thanksgiving" chicken in Chinatown yesterday, and look! It came with a free pair of backscratchers!

[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/dpcxnp.jpg[/IMG]

I actually laughted with my wife about how the store was clever enough to tuck the feet into the cavity, so as not to offend the squeamish (although I could tell I was going to get some feet with my purchase). Then I laughed with myself when I lifted it off the styro-tray and found that I got a free head, too.

I'm going to roast up the feet alongside the bird. The head, I'm going to sew onto the body of a trout, and try to re-animate. You wanna see "Frankenfood"? I'll show you Frankenfood.

But seriously, though, if my chicken can be anatomically correct like this, why the hell don't producers include the giblets any more?? When I was younger, a chicken, even a headless, footless one, came with a small paper bag in the cavity, containing the heart, gizzard, possibly the liver and usually the neck. Why did they stop this? Too many people just discarding them? Some focus-group saying they were put off their feed? When I was a kid, I would have to fight my mother for the heart or gizzard. And she didn't generally roll over and let me win just because I was six.

I'm sure this the fourth or fifth time I've told this, but I once roasted a chicken, believing there were no giblets inside, but when I scooped out the dressing, there they were, just tucked further back than I'd reached, I guess. Nicely cooked up in their little wax paper bag. #embarrased

Fri, 2015-11-06 21:51

#87

lagatta

Cold remedy soup. I have some kind of nasty respiratory disease... felt as if I had a cold or flu coming on since just before the elections (I was volunteering a bit for Alexandre Boulerice) and have been really ill since. Bad cold or mild flu over (I had some, but not all, of the signs of flu) but I have lingering bronchitis. Remembering when election campaigns (and union organizing drives) meant smoky rooms and bars?

So, I poached some chicken legs to make soup. A question, I dozed off a bit and the leg meat is a bit more cooked than I would have liked, but not tasteless or nasty. I suppose it can go in the soup? I removed the legs from the pot and put the meat in a separate glass container; everything else is back in the crockpot for overnight. I'm thinking of putting some (frozen) German wine sauerkraut in the soup; would you? I also have some mushrooms and mushrooms + sauerkraut are a nice combination.

The sauerkraut comes in fairly large tins, and I can't use all at once, so freeze most of it in ziplock bags.

There might well be some very non-Mitteleuropäisch fresh ginger added in upon serving...

Fri, 2015-11-06 22:04

#88

Mr. Magoo

If I were to add the 'kraut -- which I might -- I'd probably also take a page from Thai cooking and add just a wee bit of sugar (brown or white) as a counterbalance. And not a fair fight, either -- I'd let the sauerkraut win by a nose.

Many years ago, when I was still in school, I came down with a nasty cough that turned dreadful. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with pnuemonia (and given a prescripition and all that). After my visit to the doctor's office, I met up with some school friends for some Thai food, and chose to have Chicken Coconut Milk Soup. It's basically some chicken, some coconut milk, and a whack of Thai aromatics and it was the most amazing thing ever. Thin galangal slices, lime leaves, lemongrass, a few split chilis and a smooth, thin coconut milk soup broth. I won't claim that it cured me -- time or the meds did that -- but I got up from that table with a strength I hadn't known for a week. Chicken soup, baby!

Fri, 2015-11-06 23:20

#89

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

I have been sans kitchen for 7 weeks now. Less of a pain at the moment, though, as I'm now on the road for work. We will see how close to done the construction is when I get home. 4 to 6 weeks, they said....

Sat, 2015-11-07 06:23

#90

lagatta

Oh, that is problematic with a family. At least they aren't little any more. I do imagine you have a fridge somewhere in the house...

Sat, 2015-11-07 09:39

#91

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

The fridge is in the front hall, and we have a microwave, crockpot and barbecue (gas grill). It's getting cool out for outdoor cooking, but I did thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and pumpkin pie on the bbq. It will be at least another 2 or 3 weeks before we have a functioning kitchen. We're getting a little tired of the adventure. :)

Sat, 2015-11-07 09:41

#92

Timebandit Timebandit's picture

PS - I did do a chicken and dumplings stew in the crock that was pretty awesome, though, so it's not all bad!

Sun, 2015-11-08 17:56

#93

pookie

Tonight I am making Robert Rodriguez Breakfast Tacos from the Sin City vid (also on Youtube).

Flour tortillas from scratch, with potato and egg filling.

Divine.

Sun, 2015-11-08 18:22

#94

Mr. Magoo

I used to buy flour tortillas when needed, but in the last year have taken to just making them. They're so easy. The only thing I can't -- evidently -- do is make them perfectly round. You win, this time, store-bought!! :0

Sun, 2015-11-08 19:09

#95

pookie

Tortilla presses are awesome Magoo. Dirt cheap and last forever.

Great for flour and corn tortillas.

Sun, 2015-11-08 19:15

#96

Mr. Magoo

I've been tempted. But the best I've seen so far has been, like, $18.

And then I'm, like, "but dude, you have THREE rolling pins...". So I've channelled my energies into learning to love the imperfect.

I made some more bao tonight. I can't pleat them worth crap, but they taste good. I'd rather win there and lose on looks. :)

Anyhoo, though, how were the tacos?

Sun, 2015-11-08 23:34

#97

pookie

Mr. Magoo wrote:

I've been tempted. But the best I've seen so far has been, like, $18.

And then I'm, like, "but dude, you have THREE rolling pins...". So I've channelled my energies into learning to love the imperfect.

I made some more bao tonight. I can't pleat them worth crap, but they taste good. I'd rather win there and lose on looks. :)

Anyhoo, though, how were the tacos?

Hee. I have three rolling pins too! One handled and two French style. Including one I bought from Disney World with a Mickey Mouse theme. But I really do find the press worth it. Especially if you are working with masa. I don't find the flour dough as much of a challenge - maybe that's my Indian heritage kicking in from the speciality breads my parents would make.

The tacos were awesome. It is one of my fave meals - I've made it now maybe eight times.

Rodriguez also has a kick-ass recipe for pork with achiote.

A very cool guy.

Sun, 2015-11-08 23:59

#98

quizzical

hope you're better soon lagatta.

coconut chicken soup sounds marvellous. and do get a press magoo they're great.

for any cake decorators out there they also work well if you rolling fondant. start it out with a press then go to a french pin and it ends prefectly round.

the only thng i've "cooked" this week is 5 batches of jam. 3 wild and tame strawberry mix and 2 wild raspberry.

Mon, 2015-11-09 08:53

#99

lagatta

Yes, I'm feeling considerably better; slept through the night without coughing and slept until about 7 a.m. - late for me, but I needed the sleep.

But it is taking me so long to recover from this thing, and usually I recover quickly. At the small pharmacy around the corner, they said a lot of people were ill.

All I cooked yesterday evening was some plain basmati rice (but done in the water I blanched Swiss Chard in), some sliced of roasted potimarron squash, and some of the chard sautéed with garlic. We bought the BBQ duck that was the centre of the meal. Nice meal, I was just a bit disappointed that both of my friends brought dépanneur (corner store) wine, though they knew about the planned supper days before. So I have a leftover bottle of doubtless undistinguished to downright crap dépanneur rosé in the fridge. Grumble, grumble.

Mon, 2015-11-09 17:11

#100

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Hee. I have three rolling pins too! One handled and two French style. Including one I bought from Disney World with a Mickey Mouse theme.

Mine are:

1. a big ol' wooden pin with handles

2. a smaller wooden pin whose handles are held on with large nails -- this was the rolling pin that my parents owned when I was a kid. The wood is now fully saturated with oil. Every time I use it I have to knock it on the counter to drive the nails back in.

3. an Asian rolling pin. Picture a 14" piece of broomstick.

Oddly I rarely use #1. I use #3 a lot, but then later I'll notice how the bones of the palm of my hand are sore, and I resolve to use #2 next time.

Quote:
We bought the BBQ duck that was the centre of the meal.

There's a butcher in Chinatown that sells a Peking GOOSE for $25.

That's about 6x the amount of food that two people need, but I can't deny I've been sorely tempted.

Quote:
So I have a leftover bottle of doubtless undistinguished to downright crap dépanneur rosé in the fridge.

At the risk of being obvious, cook with it. :)

Mon, 2015-11-09 18:28

#101

Mr. Magoo

We've been feeling the need for something new lately -- all the staples of fall are already boring to us, or just not right yet, or whatever -- so we're going with this.

I'm already predisposed to like anything with a gratuitous egg on it, and it seems both novel and virtuous. I lack any Salsa Lizano, but I'm about to stake my reputation on substituting Japanese Worcestershire sauce for it. It sounds to me like they're similar enough. And I'm going to serve up with some flour tortillas (because I have no masa harina right now), and I'll still be making them with a rolling pin, so instead of round circles they'll be shaped like Rex Murphy's head. Oh, and I bought two ripe avocados for a dollar the other day so I'll be rewriting the script a little to give them a part.

Hey good lookin', what's cookin'?

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