Food, Glorious Food!
 

Food, glorious food!
We're anxious to try it.
Three banquets a day --
Our favourite diet!

-- a snippet of Food, Glorious Food lyrics, from the Oliver Twist musical production

-----------------------------------------

I wanted to start a food thread where we can talk about food and really let it all hang out. My motivation is that I talk about food often enough and it seems like whenever I post about it is is in some other thread and totally off topic so, now, we have a food topic!

Everyone is of course invited to chime in with any and all food related *stuff*! Drinks and dining out all count, and dieting too if you wish. Everything goes! :D

I considered just posting to Bizi's diet thread, but that seemed inappropriate, at least right now, because although I'm freaking out about my weight after the Zyprexa, I am not dieting and I am not even trying to restrain myself! :o:eek: Also, I felt bad in the past, whenever I let too much hang out in the diet thread, because I felt like I was "tempting" others who were trying to diet or at least restrain themselves.

I would however like to remind everyone at this point that we do also have a separate thread for recipes that our Bizi started. It would be nice to keep that thread "fed" :D LOL, with any additional recipes.

FYI, the link is: Recipe Thread

Well now on to chewier items, like last night's dinner. :D

~ waves ~

Mari - reply to our posts from weather thread
 

I think I missed something.... like who all else had steak and salad for dinner... :o

My folks often have that as a starter, or a larger portion by itself for lunch. I usually skip in both cases, but last night I was hungry and did not feel like being called to the table and then staring at an empty plate while they had their starter. I prefer soups with more *stuff* in them... specifically veggiesf, and although I like noodles, if you give me a good veggie soup I'll take it noodles-free, any day.

(In part it's taste, in part it's a habit of trying to skip out on "ready carb" foods where I don't care one way or another, so that I can have them in dishes I'm more drawn too without running into excessive quantities that negatively impact my "figure."

Speaking of my figure (HA!), I am turning into a gourd:

http://images.tastespotting.com/uplo...nail/31665.jpg

:o:( Seriously, I feel like one. Yesterday when I was walking around I found myself sort of "waddling" - that sounds funny I know, but I was SO NOT laughing? :o:eek: Coloration aside the above image is quite representative of how I feel. I suppose some might be bloating or fluid retention but I don't know. It has been several days since I stopped Zyprexa and I've since gained yet another kilo for a total gain of FOUR kilo's 8.8 lbs - I did not think that was possible in just what? 10 days-ish?

:Noooo: :Sigh: :Noooo:

~ waves ~

Food!
 

Hi, Waves,

Hubby has cooked this twice in the last few days: http://www.theglobaljewishkitchen.co...een-herb-soup/
Chicken Ghormeh Sabzi Soup, Persian Green Herb Soup

He uses
~pre-cooked chicken (Rotiesserie Chicken that we cut up and freeze)
~a mix of canned kidney beans and black beans
~some dried herbs that are not available here fresh
~onions, garlic, turmeric, and other spices he has
~dried lemons

It is good. . . very green . . . and I like the flavors of the beans cooked this way.

Mari
________________________
The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.

~Julia Child

I meant something else but what else??!! I left off a few words.

I think I was thinking a long the lines of how steak and salad are good "Go To" meals because they are easy and most people like them. They are also pretty on the plate.

I have the alarm set for 9:30. 'Will talk again soon.

M

BTW,

I like the image, but you surely are not really turning into a gourd. It only feels that way with those 4 kilos.
You got off the Z just in time. It is going to be o.k. You can take care of this.

Have a good day.

Mari

yummie, great sounding/looking dish! :)
 

Thanks for this... it sounds (and LOOKS!) soooo yummy! :) My parents won't go for the "alternative" spices... but some time I'll have to try it for myself. I do not have all the ingredients. At some point I might have to make a project out of it, including an expedition to an area of town with multiple Near-Eastern stores so I can get cilantro, fenugreek, and the right kind of basil. Those are not easy to come by dried or fresh. it is good to know I can use chicken for it. I prefer handling chicken than other types of meat.

I L:heartthrob:VE this quote:
... and totally agree!! :D

I simply LOVE this thread !!!

Today is my birthday. My wife asked what I want for my dinner. PIZZA of course. I have a problem when it comes to pizza.

Happy Birthday!


Pizza is a good plan!


Mari

welcome! I love pizza too.
bizi

Happy Birthday from me also.

I had left over pizza tonight. It was so good.


STill believe we have some.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

I am hooked right now on fresh hot pretzels!!!!!

I bought some that you let thaw then bake from one of the schools....I think there was a dozen in the box.... i've eaten a few...mmmmmm.

About pizza..not so much a fan.....I think it's because mom fixes it way too much!!!!!

Hug to all,
Abbie

Hi, Abbie,

I would like to try that sometime. The smell of baking pretzels!!

My mom used to make pizza once a week (every Friday for a while) but it was pretty good.

Mari

I'm hooked right now on the pizza, because we got to bring it home from
the party. So we are eating left overs.

I love those pretzels you are talking about. I need to find some of those too.

Donna:grouphug::hug:

NOM NOMM NOMMMMM Good stuff!!!
 

MMMMMM-mmmmm!!!! All of this food you guys are talking about sounds really yummy! :) NOM NOM!! Thank goodness I'm not hungry or I'd eat my laptop screen.

Hey, Abbie! :):hug: I have no notion where I can find baked pretzels but I am going to keep my eyes peeled! Pretzels are probably not even fattening, and mustard certainly isn't! :D

Mari, your mom used to make Pizza, EVERY WEEK??... oh my! My mom was just not that into doing those sorts of things... but now, my aunt, whom I'd vacation with from time to time... she made Pizza at times. And boy was that ever a treat. :) She used to get the dough from the bakers - in those days all bread came from bakeries, fresh every morning, so they would also let ppl buy dough to make other things themselves too!

Donna, I LOVE left-over pizza of most any kind or style. I like it for breakfast lunch snack dinner or midnight foray... Just put left over pizza in my fridge and *POOF* I just turn into a hog! ... I hog it all!:D ... scarf it down faster than you can say Jack Robinson! Ok granted, not that fast, I do like to savor it before I swallow. :)

BillSStL, Happy Belated Birthday, fellow pizza lover! :yahoo:

Ahoy there, Bizi dear, looks like we'll ahve to have to have a a pizza party here I can see. :pizza:

... and ....

my dear sister Majo, would you like to share your favorite food(s) with us? OH wait, don't get me wrong... ;) i would not have you part-out your lunch with everyone here... we'd love a tasty treat but you'd not have enough to tide you over for dinner. I just meant if you'd like to tell us about what you like... ? :D

:grouphug:

I am glad to see y'all are part-taking so vivaciously, I am in seventh heaven reading everyone's posts right now. :)

~ waves ~ who had a hot-dog with cheese and ketchup for lunch :p ...

oh so very
non-dietary

LOL

i'M having a snack of cashews right now.

Donna

Cashews! Yeah!
 

Oh wow... My mom is nuts about cashews! (ohhh yes, bad pun intended ... sue me! :p:rolleyes:;)) .... even though, the pun is not "technically" applicable - did you know..... ?

.... that cashews are not actually nuts, but seeds?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew#Habitat_and_growth

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...lanzen-010.jpg

Anyway, they are very healthy for you, Donna! :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashew#Nutrition

:hug::hug::hug:

~ waves ~

I think they make wine with the cashew apple.
did you know that peanuts are not nuts either they are legumes!
bizi

Hi,

I learned to bake from Mom. She made her own dough by hand. When I was a teenager she made pizza (no meat during lent) every Friday and was still doing it for a while after I left home.
For a couple of years, she commuted to a really intense job so she did the prep ahead of time and Dad made the pizza so it was ready when she came home.

Mari

Cashew apple wine
 

I know about the peanuts but not about the making wine with the cashew apple... that is news to me! I saw in the wiki article they make some juice/drinks from i didn't read all of it mostly wanted a reference for the not-nut bit. :)

That's pretty wild, cashew apple wine... hmmmm... :Scratch-Head:

:Heart:

~ waves ~

ok confession time. I tried and failed to make pie bar on a stick. :eek: The biggest problem was the frozen key lime pie wasn't good..maybe you can only get good key lime pie in Florida but I had fun and learned that dark choc does not melt as well as milk choc. Also learned that a pointed wooden stick is a necessity! !! Did I me tion that I had fun. :D

knowing how to bake... esp. bread from scratch
 

Dear Mari

That is really cool! :)

Does that mean that you know how to make bread from scratch, Mari? ... with the whole mix then knead then let rise knead again let rise etc repeat so many times then you're ready to roll...? (no pun intended ROFL.)

Baking takes incredible skill imho. Just one little messed up thing and the whole lot goes in the garbage.

My aunt made her own dough sometimes (not just for pizza) but where she lived everything in the bakeries was hand made no such thing as bread machines and such... LOL. I watched her do bread dough and other things a few times but not enough to repeat it. I was only vacationing and was quite little.

She also used to bake a lot and make different seasonal treats. She made cakes all the time... there was basically always fresh cake (between her two kids and me, it disappeared pretty quick!) Now I really wish I'd learned more from her. I guess if I think hard, I mostly remember the process, but not the sense of proportion and such. She was good enough she didn't use recipes - she eyeballed things which, in baking, is hit or miss coz you can't adjust as it cooks, but she never EVER missed! I maybe got involved in spooning out some flour or such like, just enough to make me feel like I was participating. When she baked cakes she ALWAYS let me taste the mixture before it went in the oven, and then lick the spoons and bowl before they got washed up.

My aunt also made her own preserves - store them for winter and I would "help" with those too - from picking out the fruit at the market, to prepping it, to stiring the pot...
:stirthepot:
Her plum preserve was my favorite just the right sweet-tart balance.
~ waves ~

awwwwww
 

Dear AlffeAWWW... I'm sorry your experiment flooped, or flopped or wilted or otherwise did not turn out the way you had hoped. :o:hug::hug: Did anything edible come of it? I would consider that a partial success! ;)

I don't know about substituting a frozen pie for a fresh one that might be a very tricky endeavor... or maybe the "pie on a stick" requires pie with a specific consistency... it can vary from one pie to another.

I am glad you had fun! :) and good to see you here...

Welcome to our Glorious Food thread! :D

~ waves ~

Waves,

Yes. I used to make bread with yeast (had to check the expiration date on the yeast in the grocery store -- a few times I forgot and I ended up with a batch of flat bread.)
When hubby and I first met, I made a couple batches of bread. He was impressed because he observed how many steps were invovled. (Now we buy gluten free bread in the freezer section.)
True, but you learn to anticipate where the tricky steps are. And you learn to go with the flow. I used to keep extra ingredients around if something went wrong and I had to do it again.
Or if it did not come out right, I could do it again some other time.


Mom liked baking and was better at it than anything else. She often made cakes or cookies to have them ready for us when we came home from school. By the time I was a teenager and she was working full time, I did a lot of the cooking.
In the summer time I liked picking blackberries and making cobbler for the siblings.

Those are good memories. :)

I observed Mom doing that when I was little.
Later she preferred skipping having to use the heat to preserve fruits and veggies . . .
(I think she felt it was a lot of work for the pay off: equipment had to be sterile, the fruit had to be cooked to the exact right temp.) Instead, she packaged fruits and veggies in an extra freezer we had.

Mari

Crock Pot Oatmeal with Canned Peaches
 

Last night I planned something to eat for breakfast that would be easy.

I put steel cut oatmeal and canned peaches with cinnamon and vanilla and some almonds into the crockpot. It smells good.

M

sounds delicious!
bizi

This sounds goooooooood!
 

It sure does sound delicious and for that matter, the sound of it smells delicious too if that makes any sense! :p

So.... curious minds want to know: have you had any yet?

How'd it turn out?

~ waves ~

HI,

The oatmeal was wonderful. I had some before work with two cups of tea.
I put the rest in the fridge.

Mari

fridge raiding and... crock pot substitute?
 

Boy, that wouldn't last long if I were around...
I am a major left-over raider. :rolleyes::o

------------------------

Hey I have a somewhat related question for you. Many times you've mentioned crockpot cooking. I don't have a crockpot and I am wondering if I might be able to get the same results with one of our "regular" pots? We have different kinds and I thought the one we use to steam might work based on its characteristics...

I am thinking a crock pot basically retains heat very well, so that food can be cooked very slowly on very low heat, for a long time... is that about right? Are there other aspects to it as well?

The pot we use for steaming is a large stainless steel pot with heavyweight walls and a double bottom. For steaming, the procedure is always the same - heat down below minimum so the water below the steam tray does not bubble. It could be left to cook for hours provided there were enough liquid that it wouldn't all evaporate. When steaming for a an hour or longer it needs topping especially if one loses steam when checking the food.)

Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

~ waves ~

Crock pots
 

Waves,

Yes, I am pretty sure that you can do the same thing with your set up.

I am trying to think this through even though I am barely capable even on good nights. I figure you can do some of the thinking for me because you know more science than I do:

Here is a description of a crock pot:
http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_...t_cooking.html
A low oven with a casserole type dish with a lid would work. Or maybe a double boiler. Or maybe an iron skillet with a lid (heavy pot with heat distributed on sides.) According to this description low heat is important but so is the part about no hot spots. If you do have a hot spot, you have to check on it and stir it once in a while. When you take the lid off to stir it, you lose heat that can take about 20 mins to recover. (So although most of the time the crock pot can provide hours in leeway for cooking, removing the lid needs to be part of the consideration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crock_pot_parts.jpg
Here is a pretty good fascimile of my crock pot -- the metal outside with the "crock" inside. My controls only do 1 off, 2 low, 3 high (unlike the fancy controls in the picture.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cooker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cooker
I wrote more than I needed to in hope that something in here is useful.

M

crock pot story
 

Hi,

My mother liked to the story of a tennis player friend who used the crock pot often. Her husband threw it out because he got "tired of soggy chicken."
The friend told my mother that her husband did not know she had a second pot in a closet. My mother enjoyed telling this story for a long time . . . i think she likes the idea of throwing in food and leaving it alone until she is ready to serve.
But some more sophisticated recipes do require steps with the food that needs longer a cooking time going in first.

People sometimes use a crock pot as a kind of warming tray at a party to keep chili warm, or cheese sauce, or anything. It is easy to put one on a table because people can do self-seve pretty safely.

M

140 degrees F
 

Hi,
http://busycooks.about.com/od/slowco...rockpot101.htm
Here are some tips on temperature. Apparently there is some consideration for cooking meats or foods that start off cold.

I like using the crock pot for lentils and beans. They do not need watching this way. If I put them in a pot on the stove with lots of water I would check on them once in a while. And hubby would have an absolute cow (A COW I TELL YOU) if I let a regular pot cook on low on the stove all night.

I have not really cooked with meats because hubby cooks with meat often enough so I do not have to but I might have to consider the temperature of the meat whereas I feel that temperature is not as important for beans.

Mari

thank you for all the useful info Mari
 

Hi Mari

Thank you for all the info on the crockpot...

tempwise i think our pot would work. the double bottom makes it so the heat spreads out and up the sides since the construction is so heavyweight.

only ours we'd have to leave on the stovetop and could not use overnight - occasionally when the flame is very low, it will go out. so someone does need to keep an eye on it periodically. that mostly happens when windows are open or a fan is on, but you never know.

i never knew that the crockpot you were referring to was not a stovetop thing but had its own heating element... sort of like a lined hotpot! wow. nor did i realize they were so economical in terms of energy use.

see, in summer we absolutely canNOT use the oven... even in winter we don't use it often because of the sheer expense of it. in summer we try not even to use the stove during daytime, because too much heat is generated. it isn't because it works against the AC exactly... it's worse - we don't have AC and our apartment gets awwwwwwfully hottttt!!!

if we had space in the kitchen to put it, i'd suggest one to mom. dad could make his lunch soups in it without heating up the whole house (which is what inevitably happens). we'll see. i might see if this kind of thing is available here, and if so, talk to dad about it and see if he'd be willing to use it.

he does often use 2 pots though, which may be a problem... sigh. and one of them has to cook on high because he boils pasta or rice separately (this is his system, period.)

anyway, for my purposes, i can probably use some crockpot recipes on the stovetop when i am at home, using a very low gas setting which still produces low heat. our pot is fairly big so i can make a nice batch of something....

thanks for finding/posting all the information... all good stuff to know.

:):hug:

~ waves ~

Our crock pot is different. It is a hot plate with a separate metal pot (with a lid) that sits on the hot plate. the separate (4 quart)pot can be cooked on top of the stove first or used as a regular pan then simply placed onto the plate where it will cook on low for all day. We love it. It has a very thick bottom which has an interior layer of oil that is sealed to promote an even temperature. The lid handle can be vented open or closed. This crock pot or hot plate came with our cook ware when we got married as a set.
I will put a 2 pound pork roast in there with a can of cream of mushroom soup and onions and peppers and spices and then let that cook on low all day and it is delicious. With a beef roast I might add some burgundy wine to give it some more flavor. I love this cook ware. It is called luster craft and they sell these kits at fairs using cooking demonstrations. I am sure they call them something else today.
You could probably order one on line waves.
bizi

Bizi,

That is some quality cookware. So neat!!
But I have never heard of a "crock pot" like that. That is so neat too.

Mari

I looked at the plate and it is called a famille slo-cooker.
I will try to find a picture of it.
bizi
this is alot fancier than ours but you can see the basic idea our lid vents if you want it to.

http://www.lustrecraftcookware.com/w...met_Cooker.png

Dear Bizi,


Thanks for the explanation and the visual. I have never seen anything like that except for something that maybe looks like a pressure cooker. What did you say you cook in it?

Mari

Waves,

That is why I sent you so many links ---- in case I accidentally hit on something relevant. I was not sure what I needed to convey to you.
Beautiful. Use it in the day if you cannot leave the stove on at night.

I use the crock pot because I generally am not safe near the stove --- I leave stove things to hubby as much as possible. (I am generally o.k. with the microwave and the simple toaster. Occasionally I can roast or bake something but I do not like to use the burners) --- mostly because I hate to watch them and get impatient and burn the food or myself.


Mari

mostly big pieces of meat like pork roast or beef roast with veggies, I have cooked it on such a low heat that even the carrots are not quite cooked but the meat is done.

Bacon Taco
 

HI,

How about a Bacon Taco? Here are pictures of how to make it.
The cheese taco would be pretty good too.
(They are both low - carb ;) )


http://thehungrydudes.com/bacon-and-fried-cheese-tacos/

Mari