What's cooking?

Rispok

Eld said:

Rispok said:

If you refuse to make ghee and refuse to buy it (it's sold at whole foods among other places) just use half oil and half butter. The point of ghee is that it has a high smoke point, and by mixing oil and butter you can get a similar effect.

Or just use oil with a high smoke point. Won't have the same flavor, but how much that matters depends on the application.

Peanut oil steaks? Maybe not. Peanut oil fried peanut butter and bacon sandwiches? Yes, I think so.

Eld

Oil for steak sounds a little odd, but I think I'd count it in the category of things that would tend to swamp the flavor of the oil they're cooked in, and there are high smoke point oils with more neutral flavors than peanut. I was more thinking of cases where the ghee was actually contributing noticeably to the flavor of the dish, rather than simply serving as the cooking medium. But I've never cooked with ghee, and I only started cooking regularly around the time I stopped eating meat, so we're pretty well outside my areas of relative expertise here.

Amunet

Today's experiment: peach cake. I have no idea why; I just felt like peaches. All measurements are U.S., because I can't be bothered to learn the Metric system.

• One can of peaches (I've been using unsweetened, but I assume the syrupy sort will work.)
• One cup of sugar (I used raw sugar, but I'm sure white is fine.)
• 2/3 of a cup of something butter-esque. I used Earth Balance.
• 1 cup of whole-grain flour (or white; whatever.)
• 3/4 of a cup of almond milk (or soy milk, or regular milk. You get the picture.)
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt, according to the original recipe. I'm trying to lower my sodium intake, and baking powder is already full of it, so I omitted the salt here. The results tasted fine.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (I have no idea what this is in Celsius, and I'm not going to try to guess!) and lightly grease a baking pan. The recipe calls for an 8x8, but I only had a 9x9, and the cake still turned out fine, so I don't think it matters too much as long as you aren't picky about the thickness of your cake. 

Slap your butter and sugar into a mixing bowl, and cream them together - fair warning, this is a huuuuuge pain in the ass if you don't have a mixer. My arm is still sore from mixing with a whisk. Once the butter and sugar have roughly the consistency of whipped cream, add in your other dry ingredients, and finally, your milk. Mix like hell, until the concoction is relatively smooth - if your arm is getting tired, by now, a few lumps aren't going to kill you. Pour the batter into a lightly-greased baking pan (8x8 is ideal, but I only had a 9x9), spread it evenly, then dump in the can of peaches, juice and all. Smooth it out so that the chunks of peach are dispersed throughout.

Pop the pan into the oven and bake for about an hour, or until the top is a lovely golden-brown. Remove from the oven, let it cool, and then pig out. 

Edit: A picture of said masterpiece!

Tania

If you're just baking a cake for yourself, and aren't too fussed about it having the "perfect" texture, you can just mix the butter and sugar until they're sort-of blended. I've never in my life whipped it as much as they tell me to, with or without a mixer, and I can't lie, I make delicious baked goods.

Sybilla

That looks and sounds lovely, @Amunet, I've been hunkering for peaches myself recently. Thank you.

Your kitchen looks so homely!

I've been getting settled after moving in, and having essays, so the most I've felt like "cooking" is bananas, honey and muesli pots. I'm looking forward to starting some healthier spring recipes though, I'd like to lose some weight before I graduate this summer. Yours seem really health-conscious, are you vegan? I'm not adverse to cutting out meat/dairy but I don't think that's even the biggest culprit. Can't take pasta away from an Italian heh.

Drauka

Tequila sunrise for dinner. It has fruit juice in it.

Amunet

My kitchen is actually tiny, cramped, and disorganized - the burner covers were a gift from my mom, and the roosters on them are a relatively inappropriate inside joke.

I just moved into my new place, myself, and I'm in the middle of my end-of-quarter final exams. The peach cake was a sort of comfort food to take the edge off of all of the stress!

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, currently, but I'm trying to transition into veganism. My family has a terrible history of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Watching my dad deteriorate the way that he did has inspired me to buck the family tradition, so to speak. 

Anaidiana

Chicken in wine for dinner. 

Great to use up leftovers of chicken or turkey. 

1 lb chicken (boiled, if raw), then cut/torn into bite-size pieces

16oz sour cream

1 can cream of mushroom soup (healthy request has VERY low sodium)

1/4c white cooking wine (sherry)

1 box cornbread stuffing

1/4c butter, melted

heat oven to 350 degrees

homogenize the first four ingredients. dump into casserole dish. mix stuffing and melted butter, pour over top of chicken mix. bake for 30-45m or until it bubbles. I usually serve with green beans (woo microwave steamer bags!) and/or pilsbury biscuits of some sort (they cook at the same temp so you just pop 'em in on the top rack 15m from 'end time'

nomtacularishness!

Drauka

Had to fight a shark to get these. No pearls though

Sybilla

@Drauka, you miserable sod, that's making me cry at the sight! It's so beautiful, I can almost smell them. I hope you enjoyed them. 

Lucky for me there's a local farmer's market in the posh part of town that sells them for £1 each, I'll be going there this Saturday.

We had hops sausages with boiled potatoes and green beans tonight. Nothing fancy but tasted great nonetheless.

@Anaidiana, I've never heard of cornbread stuffing, or pilsbury biscuits, but that does sound really simple and warming regardless. Thanks! 

Eld

Well, the Tabasco and the crackers look tasty, anyway.

Tekk

Surf and turf burrito w/ no tortilla. Best post workout meal I've ever had. 

Eld

If there's no tortilla, what makes it a burrito, as opposed to just a pile of shrimp and steak?

Melodie

Do not care about if burrito or not.

Looks delicious.

Tania

I made a banana cream pie!

I used this recipe, but I would recommend reducing the sugar, because it is very sweet. Luckily for me, my bananas were underripe, so they should balance out the excessive sweetness (the whipped cream is also sweet. I was pouring in a little powdered sugar, and a big lump of it plopped out and exploded all over the top meaning I couldn't scoop out the excess. ).

Trevize

Tania said:

I made a banana cream pie!

I used this recipe, but I would recommend reducing the sugar, because it is very sweet. Luckily for me, my bananas were underripe, so they should balance out the excessive sweetness (the whipped cream is also sweet. I was pouring in a little powdered sugar, and a big lump of it plopped out and exploded all over the top meaning I couldn't scoop out the excess. ).

We believe it. Sure. Uh huh.

Tekk

Eld said:

If there's no tortilla, what makes it a burrito, as opposed to just a pile of shrimp and steak?

The lettuce I wrapped it in, obviously not pictured. I knew I was missing something. 

Tania

Trevize said:

Tania said:

I made a banana cream pie!

I used this recipe, but I would recommend reducing the sugar, because it is very sweet. Luckily for me, my bananas were underripe, so they should balance out the excessive sweetness (the whipped cream is also sweet. I was pouring in a little powdered sugar, and a big lump of it plopped out and exploded all over the top meaning I couldn't scoop out the excess. ).

We believe it. Sure. Uh huh.

It exploded into a big cloud of sugar!

Berenene

Tania said:

I made a banana cream pie!

I used this recipe, but I would recommend reducing the sugar, because it is very sweet. Luckily for me, my bananas were underripe, so they should balance out the excessive sweetness (the whipped cream is also sweet. I was pouring in a little powdered sugar, and a big lump of it plopped out and exploded all over the top meaning I couldn't scoop out the excess. ).

This is why you must always sift powdered sugar *sagenod*

Tania

I should have just used a spoon, but I was thinking "Oh, I only need a little bit, I'll just shake it in!"

Siena

I just wanted to put out a request here. I'm considering removing fast food from my diet possibly most dairy too. (I can't EVER stop eating eggs so I doubt I could ever be vegan >_>) However I was considering to eat only fruit, veggies, fish (not shellfish) and grilled chicken. I'm getting to the point where I'm scared to eat out or eat much processed of anything. (This happens whenever I have a bad migraine and have to go to the ER) Any recipe ideas or cooking advice? By the way I love almond milk!

Iocun

Siena said:

I just wanted to put out a request here. I'm considering removing fast food from my diet possibly most dairy too. (I can't EVER stop eating eggs so I doubt I could ever be vegan >_>) However I was considering to eat only fruit, veggies, fish (not shellfish) and grilled chicken. I'm getting to the point where I'm scared to eat out or eat much processed of anything. (This happens whenever I have a bad migraine and have to go to the ER) Any recipe ideas or cooking advice? By the way I love almond milk!

Veggies and chicken made me think of something super simple I sometimes make which is also really tasty. Take some slightly chopped up chicken (wings, breast, whatever), halved or quartered green onions, halves of small potatoes, and perhaps some other veggies if you like, and throw them all on a baking tray. Add some olive oil, mix it up, and add a whole load of rosemary (I tend to put in whole twigs of fresh rosemary). Put it in the oven at some medium temperature. Leave it in until it's done (the time mostly depending on the size of your potato chunks), occasionally turning it all over. Take out the rosemary twigs if you used them, and serve. Yum!

Siena

@iocun ooooh that sounds very yummy! I will have to try it this weekend. Thank so much!

Sybilla

@Siena, you might find some interesting recipes from Whole Foods Market, I don't really shop there myself because it's so expensive for me, but I love to take their recipe cards and look around other local markets for ingredients.

Pulses are incredibly good to have, they're a slow releasing energy food and an alternative source of protein. If you add them to other dishes you can quickly bulk up a meal in a way that's healthy and still satisfying, without the ensuing guilt. Plus they're great to snack on as they fill you up pretty quickly. Get yourself a tin of chickpeas, drain and wash them and throw them on a baking tray. Sprinkle a bit of salt, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, chilli powder and oil and roast them in a ~200°C oven for about 30-40 min, until they're nice and crisp and there you go. Munchy food without the nasties of packs of crisps.

I'm not sure if you like whole fish (you know, with the head and tail and everything still on, as opposed to fillets) but one of the easiest ways to cook it in a way that results lovely and tender is "al cartoccio" which is wrapped in a foil parcel. Get your fish cleaned and prepared from a fishmonger, (or do it yourself), then you'll need a tiny bit of olive oil, some lemon, garlic, and whatever herb you'd like to use with it (dill is always good with fish, but some fish also works well with bay leaves, or even parsley). Lay out a piece of foil big enough to fold over the entirety of the fish and seal. Spread a teaspoon of oil on the base, add some salt and pepper and rest the fish on top of it. In the cavity of the fish, add some thin slices of lemon, garlic and the herb you're using. If you like, you could add a dash of white wine here too. Lightly oil and season the top of the fish, then seal the parcel tightly so that the fish will steam in a 200°C oven for 30 min. Fish always goes nicely with green beans and potatoes. 

As for tips, always know what's in season in your area and shop accordingly. You'll find the ingredients should be much cheaper when they're in season and taste far nicer than when they're not. Butchers and fishmongers are also a great resource, they're very knowledgeable about what they sell and can tailor to your needs depending on what's good/fresh. 

Sena

I had 3 pounds of bacon that I needed to use, and felt like doing something more interesting with it than just eating it all plain. So I decided to make bacon toffee.

It's not quite done yet, still waiting for it to cool and harden, but it seems to have turned out okay so far. Here are the preliminary results:


I'll give updates as further information becomes available.

Trilliana

@Siena I make my own pizza crust and you can make your own BBQ sauce and make BBQ chicken pizza. I like pineapples on it too, hubby isn't a fan of fruit, but my kids and I love it... same for all of my homemade pizza.

Siena

@trilliana what your recipe for BBQ sauce?

Trilliana

That's one of the few things I haven't made myself unfortunately. I never have everything for it... except once when I decided to make whole wheat bread with molasses instead 

Sena

The bacon toffee didn't turn out right. Maybe I didn't cook the toffee long enough (I don't have a candy thermometer, so I just used cold water to check it), maybe the bacon wasn't drained well enough and was too greasy, maybe because I used salted instead of unsalted butter, maybe all three. But instead of hardening like toffee should, it stayed soft, somewhere between the consistency of taffy and fudge.

It still tastes okay, though it's extremely sweet, and sort of greasy and buttery.

Tvistor

I did not know bacon-toffee was a real thing.

I love the whole world, boom de yada, boom de yada.