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TychoCelchuuu posted:It's like the story of Jack & the Beanstalk, but instead of buying 'magic beans' they bought 'magic bean cookers.' 30% faster cooking with no soaking overnight! Yeah right. I think somewhere they claim they have "weighted, sealed lids" or something equivalent, which might explain the origin of the bean claim. That seems to be the only unique claim I can find. If it pressurizes it by weighing it down, then beans might cook faster? You'd have to get a really loving heavy lid for that to work though so I bet it's also just a lie. Math time: The maximum pressure above atmospheric these lids could supposedly support are roughly p = 4*weight / pi*diameter^2. So for a 4" diameter pan, that would require over 12 lbs to pressurize it to 1 PSI. So it shouldn't really help keep the moisture in at all, once it gets above that pressure, the vapor in the pan will escape. So yes, it's probably all bullshit.
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Aug 19, 2012 16:13
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I never do canning, but would it at all be possible to just send them through a pressure canning step? Like just boil them in a pressure canner as is. The heat should destroy any botulism toxin present (if there even is any), and then kill off the spores. It might destroy the flavor or something though, I don't know.
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Aug 20, 2012 18:05
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Jenkin posted:I was going through the pantry and found bugs in the flour. We've got several different kinds/bags in various places and I threw out all the ones that had bugs that I could see. Should I throw out all of the rest of it too, even if I don't see anything in them? Define "bugs". I would say if they're buried in the flour, there's a chance you missed them when you went through your other bags. If they just really love flour and aren't anywhere else, it's best to be on the safe side and pitch them. But if they're out in the wild of your house/apartment, then it's probably time for more drastic measures. But that's coming from someone who's lived with bugs (roaches) so it might be a bit extreme. I'd buy a box of gallon Ziploc bags, since those can accommodate 5lb bags of flour (that are slightly empty) and just put the flour in the bags. I don't bother with emptying the flour into the gallon bags, I just keep it in its previous bag, that way I know what it is. That should keep bugs out.
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Aug 22, 2012 03:07
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A bit more on beans: if you forgot the pre-soak thing, don't worry too much because you can just cook them straight from dry if you wish. I've done this for pretty much every bean dish i've made recently and they still come out tasting good. This will, however, affect the cooking time. Plan for like an extra hour or maybe 2 if you forgot to soak them.
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Aug 31, 2012 22:43
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pogothemonkey0 posted:You pretty much broke my mind with this... Hell, so did potatoes and tomatoes. Where would we be without tomatoes? The new world got really shafted on that whole Colombian exchange thing.
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Sep 2, 2012 08:10
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sporkisfaster posted:Recipe request: So i haven't had these particular Thai Curry Wings, but I could make a few suggestions as to where to start for something like that. What color were they? There's like 3 basic thai curries that I know of: Green, Red, and Yellow. I'm assuming here they're based on those curry sauces. Also what was the consistency of the sauce? was it really thick, or more saucy? Was it creamy like it had coconut milk in it? I'm thinking it might just be wings tossed in a curry sauce, which sounds kind of good. From a brief googling, it looks like the sauce is based on coconut milk (I found this random list of ingredients for the sauce), which has stuff like coconut, lemon juice, ginger, garlic and chiles, which sounds pretty close to a curry sauce. I'd find a recipe that uses red curry paste and coconut milk, but then just toss the wings in the sauce instead of cooking stuff in it. But that might not be close at all. I can't see it not tasting good, but then again I have a thing for thai curries. Edit: Man, cooking videos get weird on youtube sometimes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLZrj3fKVW0 Eeyo fucked around with this message at 04:38 on Sep 17, 2012 |
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Sep 17, 2012 04:35
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So I went to the asian grocery and bought a vegetable called "okbo", any idea what it is? Google is being rather useless on this subject. Near as I can tell, the store is run by Koreans or just sells a lot of Korean stuff. It's a bright green, smooth skinned vegetable about 1 foot long, ~2lbs (1kg). It seems hollow or spongy to some extent. It's thin in the middle near the top, bigger at the bottom, and has a stem. There's no smell that jumps out at me. I don't really have a camera to take pictures with, so I've just got the name. Worst case scenario I'm just going to roast some until it looks kinda done and hope I don't poison myself!
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Sep 21, 2012 01:25
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Grand Fromage posted:Is it labeled in Korean? Transliterating okbo to Korean gives me nothing but god only knows if they used the correct system or not. Nope, it was just in plain 'ol english lettering. It might not even be Korean, I was saying that because I had a suspicion it could have been, but it could really be any other asian culture's vegetable. Edit: And they spelled lettuce "lettus", so maybe they messed up the name of my weird vegetable, too.
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Sep 21, 2012 02:20
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Ok here's a really tiny picture with my webcam since that's all I got: I was thinking squash, but I've never seen one so green. It's kind of like granny smith green.
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Sep 21, 2012 04:08
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It's not strictly meat based, but I think a risotto would be very easy to teach someone and also very delicious. If you can get the risotto rice there (arborio/carnoroli are the common ones), you just need to make a good stock and it'll be great. IMO, the stock will make or break a risotto, so it's kind of meat based in a sense. You could serve it with some roasted chicken to make it more of a complete meal. Edit: Oh, and thanks for all the advice about my mystery vegetable. It sounds like it might be good in a soup context, so I'll try making some thai curry type of thing with it, since a coconut milk based curry was suggested. Eeyo fucked around with this message at 20:21 on Sep 22, 2012 |
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Sep 22, 2012 20:18
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I'd bet the absence of fish sauce did lessen the flavor a bit. Vegetarian "fish sauce" does exist, I saw it a few days ago at the store, but it might not be common. Most of the pre-made curry pastes contain both fish sauce and shrimp paste, but I think some are vegetarian. The one I bought a few days ago, Maesri brand, didn't have any animal products listed and it tasted good in the end. An Amazon search suggests their Panang paste is also free of animal products, although you'd probably want to read the label to confirm that. I'd say if you want to make it again, just buy some pre-made vegetarian friendly curry paste and some vegetarian fish sauce and it might be better. But those might be hard to find. Subbing in tofu for chicken wouldn't affect the flavor that much.
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Sep 23, 2012 02:34
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Base Emitter posted:How many (milli)grams of salt are there in typical baking measurements, e.g. 1 tsp? I don't need a precise number, but since I'm supposed to be limiting sodium I'd like to know what to expect in a recipe I make. According to my container of salt, 1 tsp is ~2400mg of sodium. Flours and sugars shouldn't have salt in them. Salted butter will (obviously) contain salt in it, so buy unsalted butter for baking. Eggs do contain some sodium, but the numbers I'm finding are so wildly different I'm not sure what to tell you there. One said over 300mg for 1 egg! Another said sub-100mg for 1 egg and most of it is in the yolk. Baking soda (sodium carbonate) and powder (some other sodium stuff) will have sodium, but I don't know the nutritional implications of that. Chocolate may have salt in it, I'd imagine it'll vary by brand. To sum this up, I'd do some research on eggs and baking soda, but I can't think of anything else that's a hidden sodium bomb in baking.
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Sep 23, 2012 04:28
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Jyrraeth posted:Is there anything clever to do with leftover roasted butternut squash? I was thinking a lazy soup or just mash 'em up with some garam masala, but I was wondering if there was any cool recipes. Depending on the amount & spices/seasonings you roasted it with, you could make some squash bread. Think banana bread, but with squash instead of banana. I don't have a good recipe, but I'm sure you could find a good one real easily. Question time: anyone have a good suggestion for chana dal? I bought some a bit back and I'm trying to think of a good way to cook it. Recipes seem to be split between cooking the dal with spices/seasonings/whatever, or adding dal to some spices/seasonings/whatever. Anyone have a preferred method? I bought some curry leaves with the intention of using those with the chana, is that a good spice to use for them? Should the curry leaves smell strongly? I opened my package and they didn't really have a strong aroma, so I might have gotten an old/weak batch but I'm not sure.
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Oct 3, 2012 05:26
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pogothemonkey0 posted:I live in an area that is pretty lovely in terms of food and I find that prices are way too steep for me. I can get different deals at various locations but none is better than the other on average. My local and monopolistic grocery store charges 79c per lime and 2$ per bunch of cilantro, as an example. It's hard for me to tell if I am just being whiny or if there is something seriously wrong with their pricing. I can generally find produce on sale or at different locations for cheaper, but meat always seems very expensive to me (as a college student). As far as I've seen, most meat is fairly expensive, unless it's on sale. It seems to me that beef is the most expensive, followed by pork, then followed by chicken. For beef, I only ever buy chuck roasts when they're on sale since that's about the cheapest I can buy beef, but it's still ~$2-3 / lb or something like that. Pork shoulder tends to be cheaper, so it's usually a good buy. Sometimes big groceries will sell those vacuum packed whole pork loins for real cheap, but requires a different cooking technique. Chicken thighs can be really inexpensive (compared to pork/beef) at like $1 / lb or something. Chicken breasts are more expensive and the whole bird is usually a good way to go if you know how to roast it and make stock out of the bones, or split it up before cooking. Just watch for sales, that's the only way to buy meat in my (frugal) opinion. Sometimes hams can be really cheap too, I bought one for like $.50 / lb once. Of course all this goes out the window if you want non-factory farmed meat. So basically, there's a lot of variance in meat prices, and you'll only really get cheap meat out of a few of the cuts of an animal. Look for the roasting/long cooking time meats as they tend to be less expensive. The real answer is to just convert to rice and beans!
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Oct 7, 2012 07:03
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Lichtenstein posted:There's a thing I'd like to cook, which among other ingredients uses okra. Where I live, it's very uncommon and I'm having a hard time looking for it. What would you suggest as a replacement, in case I ultimately fail to find it? Hey this was a while back, but what are you cooking? If you're looking for a vegetable replacement, I don't know of anything that really replicate's okra's texture/shape. If you're just cooking gumbo or something and are using it for thickening, then you might just be able to use another thickener like file powder or roux. If I knew what exactly you wanted to cook, I might be able to offer an alternative, though.
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Oct 11, 2012 00:33
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Aradekasta posted:So it's pumpkin-in-everything season. Every year I'm mildly disappointed with my pumpkin things, and am thinking maybe I don't like pumpkin as much as I like the idea of it. I tried pumpkin beer bread (roughly, slate's version), pumpkin biscotti, and an attempt at reproducing the pumpkin spice latte. Meh. Any ideas on other things to put pumpkin in? Polenta is on the agenda already. As was mentioned earlier, the spice tends to be the highlight in those dishes. If you don't already, get some whole nutmeg & allspice berries. If your cinnamon is old then get a new bottle too, powdered spices don't last as long as fresh spices, and if your dishes were lacking a kick, that might be the culprit. Not only are fresh spices better tasting, but they will last longer. You'll need a grater for the nutmeg and a mortar and pestle for the allspice.
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Oct 16, 2012 00:12
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:So should I drive to the store and get some masa harina or just make it with regular flour? You should definitely get some masa harina, that's what tortilla presses are mainly for. I have in the past used one to make flour, but I think flour tortillas are usually rolled out. That said, I used http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2011/03/fresh-homemade-flour-tortillas-in-no.html and they turned out pretty good, and he instructs to use a tortilla press. They come out more like flatbreads/ghetto naan (it's not similar really to naan, it's just kinda around that thickness) than the flour tortillas that are common to the US area. I also made a variation where I replaced buttermilk for the water and it turned out decent as well. When I was in New Mexico for a spell, I really loved the calabacitas I got there, which I think translates to squashes or something. So roasted squash (zucchini especially) + cheese + roasted green chile makes a pretty decent taco, IMO.
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Oct 17, 2012 04:15
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RazorBunny posted:I'm trying to clear out the small fridge downstairs so it can fit the bucket I'm brining the Thanksgiving turkey in. There are a dozen bottles of Miller Lite in there. I have no idea how they got there - I'm sure someone brought them to a party at my house, but I don't know who. Should I just throw them away? I can't imagine they're good for any cooking applications, and on the very rare occasions I drink beer, it's better stuff than this. You could use the beer to make beer bread, I've usually used cheep beer in the past when I've made it. I've only ever used the non-light macro beers though. Although that might be a waste of flour and butter, since you might gain a lot by using a better beer. However I think you should just drink the beer. You could polish off a dozen bottles yourself no problem right? With Miller Lite, I suggest shotgunning them so that you avoid the actual taste of the beer and proceed straight to inebriation so that you can actually enjoy drinking Miller Lite. However, it's a bit trickier with a glass bottle, so you'll need to get a bendy straw so that you can get airflow into the bottle. Bend the straw and put the long end into the bottle with the bend hanging over the side. When you start drinking the beer, the straw will allow air to flow into the bottle, thus allowing you to maximize your beer throughput. You should only need to do this one or two times before you can stand the taste of Miller Lite by itself.
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Nov 17, 2012 23:55
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So I ended up with a bunch (I'd estimate 1/2 cup but maybe a little less) of ganache after making macarons (The ganache wasn't very thick so I couldn't spread a bunch on and I think the recipe asked me to make way too much). Is there anything clever to do with the rest? Other than find another recipe that needs ganache, I guess.
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Dec 9, 2012 00:05
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bringmyfishback posted:What are some uses for ranch dressing besides as a salad dressing/dip? You could always put it on Pizza! Ranch goes on everything don't you know.
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Dec 11, 2012 21:56
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I've got another mystery ingredient question (because I know you love them oh so much). I bought a little baggie of mystery spice at an international grocer in the mexican section labled "Tilo Estrella" or "Tilo Star". It smells faintly of dried chilis. Any idea what to use it in? Google suggests it's supposed to be a medicinal herb for helping sleep, but I can't find any mention of culinary uses. It looks like this: http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/6894788/il_170x135.334771449.jpg. Anyone know of a culinary use, or is it just a mexican sleep herb, or should I just put the whole bag in a cup of water and sleep for a few days straight?
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Dec 18, 2012 23:00
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NerdyNautilusGirl posted:The weirdest thing was that it actually almost tasted like melon when it was done. I don't know if it was the strawberries I used or what, but it tasted almost melon-y. Which made my sister quite happy, as she is allergic to melons but loves the taste. That's not so strange, I think there's a melon that tastes like cucumbers (Casaba melon), so it's only fair that cucumbers should taste a bit like melon. EVG posted:Ham And about ham, I'd say invite some people over, that ham could probably feed like 20 people or so. I think 1/2 lb per person could work easily, it sounds like you got a monster on your hands. Isn't the definition of eternity a ham and two people or something? There's no way you could plow through 10lbs of ham by yourself before it goes bad in the fridge, so maybe look into freezing some of it. You can use the ham bone for some beans, too. I put ham in mac & cheese before, too. Ham can go in a lot of things, be creative I guess. And on a side note, why would someone buy a ham and then waste it like that? I'd understand never buying a ham again, but to just throw it out is worse in my mind than eating it, regardless of their new ethical imperative. The drat thing's been killed already and you might as well eat it because you can't unkill it.
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Dec 28, 2012 20:47
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Personally I'd go with the lodge pan, it would probably last a lifetime. Seriously it's the kind of thing you could hand down to your grandkids if you treat it well. Unfortunately it's easy to damage, so I'd recommend just storing it under a bed or something so it's out of the prying hands of roommates. The price for the bare cast-iron doesn't mean anything to some extent. Lodge is a well-known brand and I wouldn't spend any more than what they charge for a new pan. The other alternative to buying a lodge pan is to hunt for one in an antique store or a goodwill or something like that, but they might be a bit expensive. I think Griswold and Wagner were the old brands that are common. On a related cast iron note, I've got this little cast iron pan (like a one-egg type of pan) that I've been cooking eggs in a lot. It works pretty well for over-easy eggs and there's little to no sticking, but sometime when I do other styles some black stuff comes off the bottom. Is that dangerous? Can I avoid it somehow? I figure my alternative is to strip it down and re-season it.
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Jan 5, 2013 05:08
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Jyrraeth posted:What do you eat apple butter with? I rarely eat bread. I guess I could plop it on my oatmeal. Fried biscuits and apple butter go together really, really well. But fried biscuits might be a pain to make.
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Jan 24, 2013 05:06
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Doom Rooster posted:So, I am temporarily back to the bachelor lifestyle. The girlfriend has been looking for a job for forever, and finally was offered one, but it is far enough away that living at the house during the week is really not feasible. This leaves me by myself 5 nights a week. I'd say beans are a good choice, they can be frozen and can be cooked in large quantities. You could make just boring beans and then use them like canned beans, or cook them with spices and stuff (like more of a bean stew) and eat them with some rice. It's not speedy in the sense that they'll take a few hours, but it's speedy in the sense that you really don't have to put much effort into it. You can even do it in a slow cooker and have them cook while you're working. Also on an unrelated note: Today is the Superbowl? Man, I think being a grad student without a TV has seriously destroyed my ties to the outside world. I legitimately feel like I've been living under a rock now. I'm going to be working while everyone is just loving around watching some game.
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Feb 3, 2013 07:46
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My favorite grilled cheese is swiss cheese/emmental. It's got a nice nutty flavor as opposed to a cheddar's sharp flavor, and it melts well to boot. And I usually use a multigrain type of bread (with the little bits & pieces in it), but I use multigrain bread for everything.
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Feb 6, 2013 03:23
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Grand Prize Winner posted:If you're whipping up pancake batter from scratch, how many days does it stay good after you mix it? I've got some in my fridge that's four days old; will I be able to cook it tomorrow? I've done this in the past (cooked pancakes after refrigerating the batter), and they definitely cook, but I've noticed they can be a bit gooey on the inside if the batter is cold. I'd suggest warming it up a bit for the best results. Unless you like gooey pancakes (I kind of do...).
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Feb 18, 2013 02:58
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. I mean, will I be able to eat it without poisoning myself after I've cooked it?
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If it was a thin pot that would also compound the issue. A really thin aluminum pot meant for steaming/boiling cans or something would burn stuff easier than a thick dutch oven.
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Feb 19, 2013 07:31
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As for green stuff for St. Patrick's day, you could do Colcannon, which is a mixture of mashed potatoes and greens, so it's green (and cheap and easy). It's not 100% green though, just white with green in it.
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Feb 22, 2013 17:19
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C-Euro posted:A recipe that I found and want to try calls for "Spanish rice". What's that? A certain kind of grain, or rice seasoned in a certain manner, or...? The recipe makes it sound like something you can buy in a I've always known Spanish rice as the rice you get served in americanized Mexican restaurants (aka Mexican rice). It's basically rice that's been toasted in fat, and cooked with chicken stock and some tomato paste and garlic/onions. Some times peas/carrots are put in it. You can either use medium or long grain rice, based on preference. The packaged stuff is usually over spiced with weird taco seasoning stuff and is pretty terrible, so please don't use that.
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Mar 4, 2013 05:10
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With rolling the pizza dough, I think letting it rest for a good while in the fridge after kneading and growing will help out a bit too. A longer rest will make it easier to shape. Let it rest and don't re-knead it or work it too hard since that will make it tough again. Try to form it out with as little work as possible.
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Mar 6, 2013 17:53
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I just made some coconut milk (note: use a blender when you do it, it took forever to do it with my microplane...), what is something good to make with it? It's a bit watery, but tastes distinctly of coconut. Because it's not thick enough I wasn't going to use it for curry since I like those a bit thick. I have about a quart maybe.
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Mar 22, 2013 01:04
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I'm skeptical about how good pre-roasted marshmallows could be compared to the real thing, but I guarantee they're "sanitary". Kraft wouldn't put out a product unless it was shelf-stable for at least a while. That said, I would be tempted to put some caramel (burnt sugary kind of stuff), and some dried coconut in liquor instead of those marshmallows. I think the burnt sugar (and maybe a bit of smokiness) and coconut would be the major flavors you want from them and those would probably be better if you started with more basic ingredients. It would be less thick though, since the gelatin from the marshmallows would probably thicken the liquor somewhat.
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Mar 30, 2013 05:06
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Pizza Dude posted:What are some good things to cook with yogurt. I bought a lot of yogurt. There's french yogurt cake (Gāteau au Yaourt), which isn't too bad and fairly simple. I like just eating it plain, but I bet it could work for cupcakes as well. I've put yogurt in mashed potatoes and it works fairly well. Also you can serve some alongside some curry, or even in some curry depending on the recipe. Kadhi Pakora (fritters in a gram flour and yogurt sauce) is the first one that comes to mind.
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Apr 5, 2013 03:55
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MinionOfCthulhu posted:This is The zest wouldn't really add any tartness, but adding more lime juice might work. Key lime pies have a bunch of sweetened condensed milk/other things so the lime juice might not add too much extra liquid. It might mess it up though, I can't say for sure. Something you make yourself might be more sour than the purchased pie so taste it before adding more stuff. That said, I much prefer meringue pies over key lime pies, and they are tarter in my experience. They are totally different though, but as far as citrus pies are concerned they're my favorite. It has a lemon (or lime I guess) curd topped with a meringue in a basic pie shell.
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Apr 6, 2013 18:09
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SurreptitiousMuffin posted:If I'm an incredibly lovely cook who really wants to improve but has no idea about cooking at all, what are some good threads to dive into? If you're in Indonesia, you could get some tempeh pretty easily. I've made sandwiches with tempeh before and they're pretty tasty. You basically par-cook the tempeh for like ~10 minutes at a simmer in water (this is supposed to remove some of the bitterness), then marinate it for ~10-30 minutes. Then you just fry them in a pan and put them on some bread with whatever toppings suit your fancy. You could make the bread yourself assuming wheat flour isn't too expensive. Here is the bread thread for more reading on bread. I'm sure there are lots of more traditional Indonesian tempeh recipes out there too, but I know nothing of those.
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Apr 7, 2013 18:42
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Allahu Snackbar posted:I do have me some corn starch. What's the ratio to cheat it? The acid in the cream of tartar helps to whip up the egg whites all nice & proper, so you can substitute white vinegar or lemon juice at the same amount. Howver, one thing I read suggested twice the amount though, so it might take a bit more.
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Apr 15, 2013 04:42
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ulmont posted:More like 200 calories, but yeah, just use the butter, it's going over around 2240 calories of rice. It's teaspoons not tablespoons, so it'd be closer to 2/3 of 100 calories (1 tbsp is ~100 calories). That said, no salt and butter are not necessary for your rice to cook, so if you'd feel better skipping them then just do that. I think it would taste better with salt and butter though. I don't know for sure, but I don't think it will turn out right if you exchange brown rice for white rice. The cooking times/ratios of ingredients are different for the two, so the likelihood of it coming out properly is a lot smaller. Typically brown rice is cooked with a bit more water, but these automatic cookers are a lot different from stovetop cooking, so I don't know how much extra you should add.
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Apr 17, 2013 18:56
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Anybody have advice about cleaning a silpat mat? I've just been using sponges, but it still looks like it has cookie imprints and feels slightly greasy. Should I just not care? Also I'm paranoid my roommates will think it's a chopping mat and go to town on it.
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Apr 24, 2013 03:07
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EAT THE EGGS RICOLA posted:There isn't anything you can do in a dutch oven that you can't do with, say, a cake pan or large thin pot and aluminium foil. In this case I think a cake pan or an pot with aluminum foil would work well enough for a braise, but I think those would be sub-optimal if you wanted to sear food first or saute things in it. But I tend to use my dutch oven for more than braises since I don't have a skillet, so I'm biased. You should totally buy a cast iron dutch oven, they're worth it.
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May 3, 2013 04:05
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