What did you cook today??

[Kin]

Hmm, maybe I'm going to start taking pictures.

Last night made some wild rice and ('made') frozen vegetables in my one pot (it's a sweet enamel dutch oven). Would be nice to have fresh vegetables but never know when I'll really get to use them, unless I buy on the weekend. Only half eat at my apartment, half on campus.

As for LFPs Dorito dinner, that's every time I am late on a compsci project and eat from the vending machines outside of the computer lab. Far too notorious of a position to be in (everyone has done that at some point, so much that the vending machine is known for depressing dinners).

[liveforphysics]

New York steak on the bone. (the way I like it) Seasoned and BBQ'd until seared on the outside, and rare in the center.

[Dee Jay]

New York steak on the bone. (the way I like it) Seasoned and BBQ'd until seared on the outside, and rare in the center.

Benihana flash back!

[Dee Jay]

some fine dining music..

[amberwolf]

Ok, you kids and your cookie talk made me hungry for them the other night, so I had to make some. They are:
2cups oatmeal
2cups wheat flour
1/4cup brown sugar (I ran out)
1 cup white sugar
1/2cup dark chocolate chips
1tbsp almond-roca flavoring liquid (I forget where this was saved from)
1/4cup coconut milk
3 whole eggs
pinch of salt
pinch of baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
1/3cup margarine (can't afford butter, but have almost 50lbs of margarine)

preheat oven to 350F (i use a toaster oven so I can also use it to heat the rooms I'm in while doing it, instead of the kitchen...plus my RC LiPo is in the oven for safe-keeping )

mix all dry stuff together
beat everything else together separate from dry stuff; I do it all by hand in the bowl I use to mix all the ingredients into to prevent waste of anything.
Add dry to non-dry, mixing as you go

Spoon onto recycled al pie tin as tbsp sized globs at most, and bake on bottom rack at 350F for about 15-20 minutes, until edges brown and rest changes kinda golden brown, depending on your preference for crunchy or soft.

Each tin in toaster oven only holds maybe 5 cookies, so it takes a while to cook them all. Much faster in a regular oven where you can do a couple dozen at once. If you don't mind "sheets" of cookie you can just cover the bottom of the tin with cookie dough instead, and it'll take less than half the time total, but about 5 minutes mroe to bake each group.

These would definitely taste better with butter instead of margarine, but they're still really good.

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[amberwolf]

Then tonite another batch of chili. It's still cooking right now, and my tummy is nibbling on my kidneys while it waits, cuz it smells nummy.


This batch is as usual different from the previous ones, as the ingredients I have available are different:
1/2 bag of pinto beans (~8oz)
1/2 bag of kidney beans ""
2 yellow onions, diced
1 whole garlic, peeled and diced
1/2 bag of frozen mixed veggies (~16oz, of carrots, lima beans, green beans, peas, corn) cuz I don't have any other veggies ATM.
1/4 can (restaurant sized, about 6lbs total of which I used about 1.5lbs) of tomatoes in their own juices.
2lbs or so of hamburger (in this case, pre-made pattys originally intended for Wendy's, broken up into little bits to cook more evenly in the chili).
Flavor packets from 2 packs of Maruchan Picante Chicken style
4 packets of Pizza Hut crushed dried chili pepper flakes leftover from other people at work ordering pizza for lunch
1tsp Mccormick "5-pepper blend" found on deep clearance some while back (so I got all they had)
1tsp paprika
1/2tsp black pepper


pre-soak beans with 1/2 tsp baking soda and a few cups of water for several hours. I do this with it on lowest heat setting to speed things up a little, while I'm home, then shut it off when I leave for work.

Rinse beans and refill with 3 cups water

add onions, veggies, spices, garlic, boil for an hour or so.

add everything else and stir as you add it in. turn down to medium or lower, adding water as needed to keep it soupy for now.

Turn down to low plus one or so after it's all stirred up, and cover. cook like this for a few hours more. Longer you cook it at lower settings the better it'll be.

Sometiems I can't wait and I'll cook it faster than I should, so it isn't as good. But if you recook it slowly later it can improve!

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There will be pics of it completed after a while, when it's cooked more and I go snag a bowl.

[Kingfish]

I am making a Pepper Pot Stew:

We still have this lingering cold at night and I can feel it creeping along the floor. Don’t likes that, so I am making a special heater of a stew. No pics – just use your imagination.

Started last night with 1.84 pounds of smoked pork shank; the bit that is typically used to make homemade pork n’ beans. Combined with 2.25 pounds of pork neck together into a stock pot and filled it 2/3’s full of water and boiled for 2-3 hours for deboning. This morning I completed the deboning part and pulled out the cartilage and loose fatty bits. Added more water and placed it into the fridge so the remaining fat will rise and congeal. I like some fat for flavor but too much is too rich.

Also started last night was the soak of about ½ pound of black-eyed peas. I will probably cook these separate before adding to the stock. Starting a few years ago, beans of any sort just hit me hard. I’ve read that cooking them in acidic concoctions inhibits the reasons for cooking which is to break down the complex starches into simpler forms that the body can digest. I’ve not tried cooking beans separate before but it sounds reasonable considering what I aim to do with the pot.

With the meat nearly ready to go, the rest of the bill will go like this:

• Peppers – Green Bell (sweet, 2x), Anaheim (mild round heat, 1x), Serrano (spicy Tex-Mex heat, 1x). Also augmenting is Fresh Black Pepper (whole and cracked) and Red Chili flakes. Lots of heat of various types to warm my bones.
• Squash – Yellow crooked neck and Zucchini, 1 each.
• Carrots
• White Walla Walla Onion, 1x
• Parsley bunch
• Broccoli head
• Fresh garlic cloves
• Option: Stewed tomatoes, 2 large cans

Years ago I tried to make a pork-stewed tomatoes-pepper pot with beans in a crock-pot, but it didn’t turn out at all and seamed instead bent on fermenting. Now that I know a bit more what acid does to beans I am not surprised.

So if I add the stewed tomatoes, it will be at the end when the beans go in. It’s been a while since I cooked with Serrano, though never a Serrano and Anaheim pepper at the same time before; however I enjoy one by itself in a pot.

Looking forward to kettling-up this rib-sticker grub. Hmmm, now I’m thinking I should bake some cornbread to go with it!
~KF

[amberwolf]

I’ve read that cooking them in acidic concoctions inhibits the reasons for cooking which is to break down the complex starches into simpler forms that the body can digest.

Supposedly that's also what some baking soda added to them when cooking will help do, too. It does appear to make at least a difference in softening the shells of various beans, making them cook better (especially pinto and black beans). The longer I cook them on lower heat, the better it seems to work.

[StudEbiker]

I made another stir-fry today but it looked just like the last one.

I did however make a pecan pie.

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[Zoot Katz]

I’ve read that cooking them in acidic concoctions inhibits the reasons for cooking which is to break down the complex starches into simpler forms that the body can digest.

Supposedly that's also what some baking soda added to them when cooking will help do, too. It does appear to make at least a difference in softening the shells of various beans, making them cook better (especially pinto and black beans). The longer I cook them on lower heat, the better it seems to work.

My chili beans are cooked in lots of tomato so it takes around six hours and then is even better the next day.
I'll freeze about half of it so having the beans not get too mushy works better.

Today I finally got around to shopping for chili.
Today's batch is two lbs. of meat and two lbs. of beans. That makes about eight hearty servings.
I've a few friends who happily eat my chili.

Brown the local, grass fed, non-medicated, lean ground beast with the onions in olive oil.
Add it to the pot of washed beans and water, spices and one can each of low sodium, diced, crushed and strained tomatoes.
Put in the Bell peppers, celery and cilantro.
Spices not shown in the pic: cayenne, chili powder, cumin, cardamom, fennel, whole black pepper.

Cook it covered until the beans don't crunch.
Then chop half of head of garlic and the can of chilpotle peppers.
Mix them in and leave it all slowly simmering on low heat, uncovered, stirring frequently to drive off the excess water.

all goods acquired by ebike

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almost done

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[Kingfish]

Oh man Zoot! That does look good

Mine came out alright, just a touch on the sweet side. I was out of wine vinegar, but I had some white and splashed in two cap-fulls to tweak it back to the middle. Earlier I had lifted out nearly all of the fat… maybe too much, but not complaining. Spices used:

My fresh clove of garlic that I bought last night was moldy! Had one clove left of last weeks’ so it was thin on garlic. The peppers came out pretty good, not nearly as hot as I thought it might get. Next time I’ll throw in more Serrano. Added Basil, Celery Seed, Sage, Fennel, and a bag of Mexican Sesame Seed: Adds great texture! The Black-Eyes were cooked for three hours. After all that time of cooking, I should have done up the whole bag!

Enjoyed two bowls with a movie; every bite was full of meat and not at all oily from animal fat. Normally I can eat three bowls but this was thick and heavy; I am stuffed. Tomorrow I’ll do like you and freeze off a portion, else it would take me a week or ten days to reach the bottom

Bon Appétit, KF

[Dee Jay]

Oh man Zoot! That does look good

That does look good! Hook it up with some fresh chopped onions, sour cream, shredded cheddar and you are all-kinds-of-set!

Looks like we gonna have us a chilli cook off here I'm gonna have to try your recipe, Zoot
But will use a Coleman dutch oven which I'll buy soon...

[Dee Jay]

I made another stir-fry today but it looked just like the last one.

snow peas :thumbs up:

[amberwolf]

Pic of the "finished" chili from above:

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Thru the morning and afternoon, it was doing it's cool-down processing, sitting in the microwave (to keep the dogs out of it); now the rest is in teh fridge. Had a bowlful last night when i posted cuz I couldn't wait, but it didn't yet taste as good as it does now.

[Zoot Katz]

Oh man Zoot! That does look good

That does look good! Hook it up with some fresh chopped onions, sour cream, shredded cheddar and you are all-kinds-of-set!

Looks like we gonna have us a chilli cook off here I'm gonna have to try your recipe, Zoot
But will use a Coleman dutch oven which I'll buy soon...

Thanks gents, it did turn out good. Much better than when I was putting the garlic and chilpotles in at the start of cooking.
It's basically my granny's recipe but spicier.
It leaves a tingle on your lips and a bit of after burn the next day.

With a batch this size I have to use the big stainless pot.
A five liter, cast iron, Le Creuset, dutch oven is what most does of my cooking.

[Kingfish]

Oh boy, an ebike chili cook-off; wouldn’t that be fun!

Pots: I used a stainless steel stock pot. About a year ago or so I bought my first cast iron skillet on advice from a new butcher in town and I have used it nearly every day since to cook my dinners. It took a long time for me to figure out how to break it in properly. A Dutch Oven sounds intriguing.

Corn: I do like corn in some stews, although I have some rules about it, and carrots for that matter, but I’m digressing. I found that fresh corn has by far the best flavor and texture. The problem is that my local rarely has corn singularly; if available it’s in a 4-pack. I’ve had good luck with frozen corn as a faithful backup, but don’t use canned corn because I hate the smell of DMS (Dimethyl sulfide) which is a classic beer fault; canned corn odor is used to teach fledgling beer judges, and even as a kid – I never liked it. For some reason I don’t have the same issue with canned beans; go figure.

Pecan Pie looks so awesome! I’ve been hooked on PP ever since reading Michener’s Texas and followed it by living in Austin for a year. Nothing like a slice of Pecan Pie with a scoop of Amy’s Ice Cream after a bowl of 3-Stars from the Texas Chile Parlor.

Cilantro: I have never tried that; used Parsley normally. I shall keep that in mind for next time.

Chilpotle Peppers: Thanks for reminding me; I had forgotten about that type. Seems to me that there is a fest in Albuquerque where they flame Chilpotles. Best breakfast burrito is in Albuquerque. Best breakfast Migas is in Austin. Now I’m hungry…

BTW – the 3-hour cook on the Black-eyes worked out perfect
Starvin’ for Migas, KF

[REdiculous]

I made/make a killer 2 egg omelet.

2 eggs, dash of milk, pepper and salt mixed well.
Several slices of quality lunchmeat, shredded.
Cheeses...mostly real cheddar.
Veg to taste (olives, green onions, etc).

One of the big things is to use a 6" cast-iron skillet that's been fully coated in real butter. The other big thing is to cover the pan almost immediately after adding the egg, but you have to use the plate that has the meat w/ the cheese sprinkled over it because when the cheese starts sweating and melting, it's time to add the filling and fold the egg over. After folding it over you have to stay on it...like, it's already done and now it's burnt.

The result should be a thick, meaty, cheesy, taco-shaped omelet that has a sort-of thin crispy outer layer....perfection.

[Dee Jay]

A five liter, cast iron, Le Creuset, dutch oven is what most does of my cooking.

Ohf**k, Le Creuset... man a good sized one sets you back about $300. Coleman is no more than $30 plus a little TLC on your part.. meh...cast iron is cast iron enameled would be nice tho.. maybe I'll try to win a whole Le Creuset set at a game show like The Price is Right

[Dee Jay]

I made/make a killer 2 egg omelet.

2 eggs, dash of milk, pepper and salt mixed well.
Several slices of quality lunchmeat, shredded.
Cheeses...mostly real cheddar.
Veg to taste (olives, green onions, etc).

One of the big things is to use a 6" cast-iron skillet that's been fully coated in real butter. The other big thing is to cover the pan almost immediately after adding the egg, but you have to use the plate that has the meat w/ the cheese sprinkled over it because when the cheese starts sweating and melting, it's time to add the filling and fold the egg over. After folding it over you have to stay on it...like, it's already done and now it's burnt.

The result should be a thick, meaty, cheesy, taco-shaped omelet that has a sort-of thin crispy outer layer....perfection.

2 eggs huh.. sounds like a serious omelet...nice tips, thanks,my omelet never turn out right.. I'll add a cast iron skillet with a lid to my shopping list.

[REdiculous]

yup, it is a pretty hearty meal - might want some fruit on the side.

For breakfast burritos I add apple and pear chunks to the potatoes - I know it's there, but I feel like I'm sneaking the fruit in.

[Zoot Katz]

A five liter, cast iron, Le Creuset, dutch oven is what most does of my cooking.

Ohf**k, Le Creuset... man a good sized one sets you back about $300. Coleman is no more than $30 plus a little TLC on your part.. meh...cast iron is cast iron enameled would be nice tho.. maybe I'll try to win a whole Le Creuset set at a game show like The Price is Right

yeah, it's a luxe item but it has quality built in. I bought it for my French wife, 20 years ago, and ended up with it when we split.
Granny's cast iron dutch oven wasn't nearly as fancy and it never got rusty either.
Neither was it the type made for banking in live embers like "real" dutch ovens with a bail and recessed lid..
The thing that puts me off buying a new one today is wondering what third-world mystery metals might be included.

[Dee Jay]

My favorite Jamie Oliver show

To hell with this radiation we gonna hit up a rave at a camp ground up in the mountains and will cook my ass off

[Dee Jay]

"Niku Jaga" Literally translated, Meat and Potatoes, Japanese Stylee...

Soy saucey, oniony, sweet and meaty, served with rice. Very simple and very "oishee" deee lish, tho requires four oriental ingredients that can be found in most oriental shops.

details soon.

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EDIT
Ingredients listed in MY order of cooking appearance..

-onion, 1 large, sliced sauteed till translucent with enough oil for it and beef

-marbled beef, thin sliced about 300 to 500 grams, added and sauteed with onions.don't over cook beef

-water, enough to cover everything including potatoes (and carrots if you like)
bring fire up to simmer till beef scum rises, scoop out scum

-dashi, 1 tsp,added to water,

add the following in "sweet to salty" order :

-sugar, 2 to 3 tsp

-mirin, 1 TBSP

-rice wine, about 1 to 2 TBSP

-soysauce, 4 to 5 TBSP, more if you like it soysaucey, onions soaks up soysauce

-potatoes, peeled, cut in chunks, enough to go with beef portion

simmer and stir occasionally to cook potatoes evenly. Reduce water to thick and slightly oily juice and potatoes soft all the way through, poke with a toothpick. add water if reduced too fast till potato is DONE

let potatoes cool and serve with rice!

takes no more than an hour depending on potato quality and thickness

was watching another fantastic Jamie Oliver series "Jamie Does" and WOW! "Jamie Does- Morocco just blew my mind... never had Moroccan food but now I gotta hit up a restaurant and spice shops here for some research. Japanese food just pales in comparison to Moroccan food. Also the street food culture in Japan is so tame... and spice shops are rare which is surprising since japan adopted indian curry as a staple dish but even curry has been tamed with the smelly pungent stuff omitted.. I guess this is what happens to industrialized nations.

definitely gotta try Jamie's Moroccan burger, too.

[StudEbiker]

Pecan Pie looks so awesome! I’ve been hooked on PP ever since reading Michener’s Texas and followed it by living in Austin for a year. Nothing like a slice of Pecan Pie with a scoop of Amy’s Ice Cream after a bowl of 3-Stars from the Texas Chile Parlor.

The pecan pie is actually really simple. If I am making it for a special occasion, I will make the crust from scratch, but if I'm just doing it for myself then I use a store bought crust. I personally prefer the kind that are not preshaped in a pie dish. I like the kind that come rolled up.

After that it's just:

4 tbls. butter (recipes almost always call for unsalted, but I always use salted.)
1 cup of brn. sugar (you can use light or dark but I almost always buy & use dark.)
3 lg. eggs
3/4c light corn syrup
1 tbls. vanilla
1 tbls. flour
2 cups pecans

There are lots of intricate recipes online, but this is what I have found to consistently work.

put the butter, brn sugar, & corn syrup in a pot and melt it and bring it to where it is just starting to boil, then remove from heat & add & mix the tablespoon of flour and the tablespoon of vanilla.

I keep my pecans in the freezer and I think this is a good practice, but it also helps for when I add the eggs.

While I am waiting for the sugar mixture to get hot, I scramble the eggs in a bowl and measure out my pecans. DON'T add the eggs to the hot sugar mix as it will cook your eggs. Immediately after you mix in the vanilla and flour, add the pecans (they should still be cold from the freezer and will drop the temp of the sugar mixture low enough that it will not cook the eggs) and then add the eggs. Stir it all up one more time until the eggs are completely incorporated into the mixture.

Pour it all into your prepared pie crust and put it into a 350 deg. oven for 20 minutes, after 20 minutes lower the temp to 250 deg. and cook for another 20-25 minutes.

Remove pie from oven and let cool COMPLETELY. If you cut into it too soon, it will run. After it has cooled, then cut into it and enjoy.

[boppinbob]

Tofu and bean spouts. (I have to reconcile for the fact that I work for a Fortune 500 oil company) So I'm a mercenary if you want to call a spade a spade. Hey this hobby requires money ya know.