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I'll happily take all your durian. And jackfruit, while we're there. IPA beer. gently caress that noise, it's way too bitter.
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Feb 11, 2012 23:15
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When we would drive to Georgia from South Florida, we'd see these little stands on the side of the roads, with farmers selling their own peaches, boiled peanuts, and those gorgeous tomatoes. My dad would always pull over, buy a boatload of peaches, or boiled peanuts, or tomatoes, and let us eat some right then and there, while talking to the farmer for a bit. I remember biting into a ripe, fragrant peach, and having the thing explode in my mouth. The juice would splash the top, sides, and back of my whole mouth, even with a small bite, and a bit would run down my hand. I can remember those peaches to this day. Never have I been able to stomach the peaches I've eaten outside of North Florida or Georgia. They're just nowhere near as good smelling or tasty. I feel you, SJury.
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Feb 12, 2012 15:40
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Ok. So I've gotten to the point where I'm settled into my apartment. I've got pictures up on the walls, we've signed a 2-year lease, and I've got a pretty nice, steady schedule at work. Our two friends who live nearby are now hanging out with us on weekends (either their apartment or mine, alternating), and I'm pretty OK with that, for sure. Unfortunately, it seems a little difficult to make new friends who are up for doing poo poo. I'm at my happiest when surrounded by people, food, and drink. Unfortunately, the people whom I used to depend on to come over on weekends and such are all moving away at an alarming rate. Apparently, there /is/ a world outside of Manhattan. One moved to Portland, and we haven't seen her since. She's very happy there, thank goodness, but flying back to New York is simply not in the stars. Aside from being painfully expensive, she does not miss the cold winters and the colder people. One of our dearest friends, who used to live two blocks away, divorced his wife, and moved to loving Brooklyn. Another one moved to Philly. Another one fell in love and moved to Jersey. I used to see her when I was just visiting New York every two or three months to get away from the hell that is South Florida. These were all people I and Puppy had known for years, and now I'm at that point where I really am ready for a new group of friends to run with. I'm not keen on that meetup website. It all feels a little impersonal to me. However, I think I need to give it a chance, because I can't really think of any other way to find people in New York city to hang out with from time to time. I'm not even talking like long five hours food orgies, like I do on weekends at home. A quick beer or glass of wine, a falafel sandwich in Washington Square Park, or a nice cuppa at one of the multiple excellent coffee shops, a jaunt down 34th to do a little shopping, whatever. I love my friends that I have, but I'd really like to make new ones too, so that I don't end up doing the same thing all the time. And the thing is, I'm not that needy with regards to contact. Half the time, either I or my husband are travelling to either Chicago or DC, because our family is scattered. I'm scared of becoming like my parents, who didn't ever invite people over except for prayer meetings, and who only had very casual friends. Thank god I have the husband, because otherwise I'd be horribly lonely. Erm. Rather, I'd be even more lonely than I feel already. I love living here. It's what I dreamed of when I was a little kid, and surrounded by hateful, bigoted people all the time. Unfortunately, when I left Florida behind, I also left behind all my friends, and it really is difficult to find people in a new place. The first few years that we were here were so busy, because we were still discovering the city, and getting used to the blistering cold. Don't get me wrong: I /am/ thankful every day to be living in such an amazing place, surrounded by people around whom I can be completely anonymous. Nobody cares what you're doing, as long as you're not bugging them actively. I adore the friends that I do have. They're incredibly kind and warm folk, whom I love being around. Ugh. Sorry for whining. I really do have a lovely life. I just wish I had more people to share it with. EDIT: White Whine snype: 
dino. fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Feb 13, 2012 |
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Feb 13, 2012 17:49
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Vegetable Melange posted:I will eat all the falafal with you, dino. Erratic schedule and willingness to go to various chinatowns a plus. Thank you all for your support. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who feels like it's hard to find and keep new friends. I guess it's time to dust off the Internets, and find interests and junk so I can hang out with people. I don't mind being the weirdo who says, "I like spending time with you, would you like to hang out?" I guess I just need to do so more often! XD @Macaroni: I get a little more when you order from PM Press directly, but not that much. If Amazon is offering free shipping, just go with Amazon. XD @Happy Hat: <3 That would be an honour.  @Halal: I often get really happy and chatty when drinking a lot, and it just highlights even more how alone I am when I drink alone. Drinking alone is depressing. All that being said, I'm really grateful to have you folks around. It's nice to know that there are intelligent, thoughtful people out there who are interested in being my friend, even if only on a cooking forum. It's even nicer to know that pretty much anywhere I go, I've got a group of awesome, kind people that I can hit up to treat for a glass of wine or something. It's odd, but I feel as connected to you all as I do to the people I see every day. I don't know what I'd do without such lovely people to come "home" to.
dino. fucked around with this message at 22:41 on Feb 13, 2012 |
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Feb 13, 2012 22:33
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It all depends on your budget, and your needs. Are you cooking for just you and one other person, but occasionally entertain? Are you cooking for a large family? Is it just you most nights? Do you have to make separate meals for anyone else? First thing is first, regardless of what your needs are. Buy a pressure cooker. If it's just you and one other person, you'll still want that size, because you can stack stainless steel bowls inside the cooker, and make more than one thing at a time. I wrote a blog post about this. If you're cooking for lots of people, again the pressure cooker is ideal. Next thing to get is a nice cast iron skillet. It's worth its weight in gold. That combo cooker can be used as two pans, or you can stack them atop each other and use the smaller pan as a lid. It's awesome. My friend bought one, and he uses it literally every day. Then, get one good solid sauce pan for making small pots of noodles, or tomato sauce, or whatever. It's very handy to have. My mum had one from that company for years, and she loved it. Start with those three, and you'll have a very good start. If you're making pasta, just use the pressure cooker pot. For sauces to go on said pasta, make it in the saucepan. To sautee off vegetables, use your cast iron. Chances are you're not going to be using more than 4 pots at a time anyway. Start small, and you'll notice over time that you'd like another pot/pan to fill a certain need, at which point you can get that pot/pan. This way, you don't blow your budget on a set, most of which you'll never use. These are the pots you'll find yourself reaching for all the time. Thanks for the kind words about the book! There were some lovely 1-star reviews that said that apparently, a vegan book shouldn't discourage eating animal products. I guess they missed the big honking VEGAN right there on the cover. >_< Also, apparently I have to sound like a loving robot when I write recipes. Any personality or chatting is horrible writing. God I hate people sometimes. dino. fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Feb 14, 2012 |
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Feb 14, 2012 05:36
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Yeah, that'll do you just fine, Elk. 4 people means that you'd use the pressure cooker without stacking stuff into it. The best part? If you soak your beans, or use small beans (like lentils, mung beans, or split peas of various sorts), you can have cooked beans in 12 minutes. TWELVE MINUTES, dude. That's freakishly fast. If you're making a daal, just set the beans into the cooker, make the spice blend/onion mix in a separate pot, and then combine the two. By the time the beans are cooked, everything for the spices should be done to perfection. You can't go wrong with a pressure cooker, not the least is because it's a nice big pot to cook stuff in even when you're not pressure cooking. It means you won't need to worry about having a separate stock pot, because you can more or less knock everything out in that one pot. @Mindphlux: Yeah, I don't think I'll be setting foot in a church again. Puppy's church that we got married in is open and affirming, and half gay, and has a bunch of atheists in. I still don't feel comfortable in there. However, Wrought's other suggestions are pretty solid. I think I will start teaching cooking classes again. I do enjoy it, and it's a bit of extra money.
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Feb 14, 2012 06:38
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Thanks, Squashy. <3 @Vegetable Melange or Psychobabble: hit me up on my email (altveg@me.com) if you want my phone number, so that we can make the meeting ups happen. Anyone else in the area is welcome to send me an email as well. I like doing things.
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Feb 14, 2012 16:58
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Daeren posted:Edit: technically those honey bun things might not count if people count honey as non-vegan, but I knew a ton of vegans who said honey and only honey didn't count for some reason SEE ALSO: Assholes who are inconsistent. Honey is loving not vegan. @Mindphlux: Do Roman beans! Heat a generous measure of mustard oil in a large skillet, and add black mustard seeds. Wait for them to crackle and pop, and then add cumin seeds. Add (topped and tailed) green beans, and stir to combine. When cooked through, stir in Roman Mustard. Roman mustard is made by soaking mustard seeds in verjuice and water overnight, and then grinding it with flaked peeled almonds, pine nuts, and a bit of extra water to get it going. It is most delicious even without the Roman mustard. Same goes for any dish that involves popping spices in hot fat. Mustard oil is most delicious.
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Feb 16, 2012 00:52
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Yawgmoth posted:This is the chili with/out beans argument but for vegans, isn't it.  Off-topic from getting Dino's blood pressure up: I never had that box macaroni and cheese that the guy from newb thread mentioned. Is it that bad? Isn't it just like pasta that you add cheese to? Or is it like those instant cup a soup things with all kind of dehydrated stuff in? I've had cousins who said it's lovely. I thought all pasta (that's dried) came in boxes anyway. Surely that doesn't count as boxfood. It's not like you can minute-rice pasta, is it? Someone fill me in plz. dino. fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Feb 16, 2012 |
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Feb 16, 2012 02:04
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And more on that boxfood thing. My nephew loves that Kraft Easy-Mac and asks his mum to make it all the time. Is that the same stuff? If so, that doesn't look so bad. OK, it looks bad. But still. I'm not familiar with how you make it, because while the mother's making said easy mac, I'm usually entertaining said kiddo.
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Feb 16, 2012 02:13
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Iron Chef Ricola posted:Some people are vegan because it's a matter of consent. What about abandoned hive honey? How 'bout we talk about something more interesting than idiotic hypotheticals? Pic related. 
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Feb 16, 2012 02:18
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Eeyo posted:The box mac & cheese is usually (unless you buy the expensive stuff) a box of noodles with powdered cheese sauce mix. You just add milk & butter to it. Only good thing about it is that it's cheap. If you buy the cheap stuff it's like $.50 for a box of it. O_O Is there any relation to that powdered cheese like they put on popcorn and stuff? I used to like that cheese popcorn they'd sell in those giant boxes with the caramel, butter, and cheese popcorn. Those boxes are rather tiny. I see pasta on sale for like $1 for 2 lbs. I guess it's because the sauce comes with it? Still, if you're adding your own butter and milk, why not just add some cheese to the thing and have done with?
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Feb 16, 2012 04:27
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Iron Chef Ricola posted:Kraft Dinner really, really is that much cheaper than buying your own cheese.
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Feb 16, 2012 04:38
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Wroughtirony posted:I have a feeling the doc might want to repeat the study.
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Feb 16, 2012 14:04
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EVG posted:Can I have a link to the book page on amazon?I know it's been posted in the past but not sure when. http://www.amazon.com/Alternative-Vegan-International-Straight-Produce/dp/1604865083 There you go, EVG. I'm not sure why the Kindle edition is priced almost the same as the print edition. Odd. In a totally unrelated note, the chattists may remember that I left my Kindle on a subway on Tuesday. I filled out the MTA online lost and found thing. I got an email last night, saying that something with my name has been turned in, and to please come retrieve it. I have my kindle back. Words fail me. Seriously. dino. fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Feb 17, 2012 |
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Feb 17, 2012 16:59
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pnumoman posted:As amazing and heartening that is, I have to wonder if you would have gotten a more popular electronic item back. Say, an iPad or something. I think it's mainly the fact that it was more or less turned into a doorstop, with a bunch of really bad smutty romance novels, Mercedes Lackey, Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony, and other various cookery books in that made them return it.
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Feb 17, 2012 17:50
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pnumoman posted:Well then. At least you got it back, so that's good.
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Feb 17, 2012 18:23
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Vegetable Melange posted:For your peel problems, try using a vegetable peeler to get the minimum of pith; we use y-peelers at one of my jobs to cut twists, and sometimes I feel they don't give enough pith to keep from damaging the oil cells and reducing how much oil you can spray over the drink. I think it's an Amazon thing, and they more or less set the price. It still makes no sense. That being said, a very unexpected side-effect of having a kindle version is that I've been getting emails from folks with visual difficulties. One lady is even blind, and was appreciative of how I describe what the food should sound like/smell like at various stages in the cooking process. I was absolutely floored and humbled at the same time. While I'm bitching about having to cook after a shift at work (which I rarely do, but there are some nights that I'm feeling self-indulgent and lazy), there's this lady who's blind and not only taking the effort to cook for herself, but to use fresh ingredients and do it from scratch. And then, after all of that, had the kindness to reach out to me and tell me that she appreciates my work. It never ceases to amaze me what an adaptable, creative, wonderful species we really are, and what an fantastic time it is to be alive. I know that even 20 years ago, getting a cookbook for a person who's blind would have involved all kinds of annoyances. Now, she just had to go online, press a few buttons, and she has it in no time flat! And she was able to cook from it! I guess it's times like these that I understand why I love people so much, and enjoy hearing their stories.
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Feb 17, 2012 19:05
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I used to be the same way, until I started reading a lot of bad smut. It's less sketchy to have an e-book version of some dude with rippling muscles on the cover than to have an actual smutty romance novel in your hands. Makes the others on the subway less creeped out at a tall, brown man standing in the subway with filthy smut. Also, it helps that while Puppy is sleeping, I can read for a while until I fall asleep. He's a fairly heavy sleeper once he gets started, but getting him to sleep takes a bit of time, so I tend to prefer the lights out until he falls asleep. The regular e-readers require some kind of lighting rig. Also, when I'm at home, and Puppy is watching his animu on the big TV, I can watch Julia Child on the small screen via Amazon Prime video. Her show was broadcast over tiny screens anyway, so the Fire doesn't look half bad.
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Feb 17, 2012 23:32
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mindphlux posted:jus gonna bump dis lil question ~_~ dino. fucked around with this message at 13:47 on Feb 19, 2012 |
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Feb 19, 2012 13:35
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XD It's the Internet, and I don't have an avatar or any other indication as to what my sex is. Honest mistakes happen, eh? I enjoyed my trip to Haymarket (or should I say, hay-mahket), because it really was a lot of fun to wander around, and see that level of wheeling and dealing of produce, and people watching is primo. Sweet Custom Van is freaking not joking about the watch what's going into your bag thing. Keep a hawk's eye on everything, so that the vendor doesn't try to sneak poo poo past you.
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Feb 20, 2012 01:23
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Rule .303 posted:My house was built with the "Home and Gardens Dream Kitchen of 1963" with the blond wood, trim and glittery formica. The only modification that was done was when they removed the "bronze" stove and refrigerator, and left the original stove hood. I have a bunch of my mother's Club cookware, as well as some other really old pots from that era, and I'd not trade them for anything. I like my cast aluminium pots. They've all got so much character.
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Feb 24, 2012 02:26
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Aside from feeling physically ill at the way some folk view their fellow humans, what else should I be reading? It never occurred to me that the online fulfilment happens in such high-stress conditions. I would have thought it was automated or something. I don't know /why/ I thought this, but there you go.
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Mar 3, 2012 20:03
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pnumoman posted:Every time I wash out a ziploc bag and hang it to dry, I feel more like a poor immigrant than someone saving the planet. I wash my paper towels in the kitchen sink and reuse them as well; one time my friend saw me doing that and told me to stop being such an immigrant, and I was all like, "These things are expensive, I ain't gonna stop just to feel like a wasteful American, dude." Your family does this too? I can't bring myself to do it, but every time I see the paper towel in the rubbish bin, mostly unused, I die a little on the inside. Same thing with ziplock bags. If it weren't for the size of my tiny apartment, I'd totally reuse the paper towels and foil and ziplock bags.
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Mar 6, 2012 18:30
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It's not like anyone can /explain/ why they reuse paper towels. It just kind of happens. My aunt, who works for World Bank, and just retired with a fat pension, reuses paper towels. Her dad, who worked for the UN, and also made seriously decent money, reused paper towels. It's not that you don't /have/ kitchen towels. I do. My aunt does. My grandpa did. It's just that sometimes, only a paper towel will quite get the job done in the exact way you want it done, and you realise that it really didn't get gross and dingy, and can just dry it out to reuse. Also, has to be taken to the laundromat. When the paper towel gets gross enough, you throw it out. EDIT: I don't actually reuse my paper towels. I don't have space for that. Also, my husband would kill me in my sleep. His parents and mine are severely hoard-ey and we're both assiduously careful about not walking down that rabbit hole.
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Mar 7, 2012 01:54
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ulmont posted:5 o'clock shadow, which starts at about 10am.  I have the same exact issue. I'll go to the barber for a shave, and he'll do a damned fine job with the straight razor and the foaming and the HEY LADY. And then a couple hours later, there goes my inner monkey, showing its ugly hair again. I must be part werewolf or something.
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Mar 7, 2012 02:41
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Allahu Snackbar posted:Solution: never shave
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Mar 7, 2012 02:52
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Vegetable Melange posted:I am going to write the most scathing yelp review of this post. Speaking of Yelp reviews. Wasn't there some thread about retarded yelp reviews? Yes, I realise saying "retarded yelp review" is redundant, but you know what I'm getting at, right?
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Mar 7, 2012 04:51
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Rythe posted:Since this thread is about culinary chat I had a cooking related question I was hoping some of you all could help me with.
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Mar 9, 2012 02:16
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Rythe posted:Thanks dino I was going to give it a shot anyways and see how it comes out, the recipe actually calls for 250 degs for 6-8 hours. Would that be the same as low heat on the slow cookers for approx the same amount of time?
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Mar 9, 2012 03:04
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I'm not going to google Blumpkin. Ever. Out here, even Modelo is like $9 for a 6 pack of the cans. And a 6 pack of bottles of Presidente is like $9 standard anywhere you go. I haven't bothered looking at the other beers, because I don't see the point in spending over $1/bottle for Budweiser. I have not seen any beer less than $9 for a 6-pack. Ever. In Illinois, however, it's not so bad at all.
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Mar 15, 2012 01:11
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I made adai and some veggies for a couple of friends who came over for lunch. One of the ladies took a picture: http://instagr.am/p/ISL5sOk6f9/ And then she uploaded it. Unlike certain Pilipino boys who come over with their fancy pants cameras and never send me the photos. >:| YOU HAVE MY EMAIL, GRAVI. SEND THEM ALREADY. Or upload them and send me a link or something. Every picture you take is a work of art. <3
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Mar 17, 2012 21:27
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Dear LJ, Was at a gay wedding last night. Both the men are actors, so they had a showtunes thing going. Ugh. Showtunes. However, the festivities were truly a celebration of life and love. It was a wonderful thing, and I had a fantastic time. We've got another 4 weddings to go to this year. Here's hoping I don't go broke trying to get gifts for all of those people.
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Mar 18, 2012 17:23
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Halalelujah posted:Showtunes own. I brought down the house at karaoke last night singing "Diamond's are a girl's best friend."
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Mar 18, 2012 17:51
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I loved Some Like it Hot. I thought Ms. Monroe was absolutely charming in it. Unlike in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, she didn't quite steal the show, but provided a nice backdrop, which was lovely, I think. I don't know; I guess that even though I preferred her /range/ in Some Like it Hot, I really adored how they dolled her up in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. How could you not fall in love with an actress who has the audience captivated with such poise and glamour? I wish I'd discovered her films earlier. It would have given me something to look up to as a kid. I didn't watch them sooner, because I thought she played a sultry sex symbol, rather than a comedy role. She had the whole package: looks, personality, and a gorgeous voice. And those dresses.  So beautiful. @Jury & TheRattle: Funny thing is that I've always been the same level of ... fabulous, and yet my dad was still shocked when I came out to him at the age of 25. Seriously, dude. You've spent hours a day with me. How could you /not/ know?
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Mar 19, 2012 17:52
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The Macaroni posted:Is your family cool with you and your husband, dino? My Jewish family cut me off for marrying a non-Jew. Couldn't imagine if I'd had to come out to them. Funny enough, his mum and I (when she was alive) got along famously. She would frequently ask Steve to leave me back when he returned to Florida. XD
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Mar 20, 2012 16:19
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Phummus posted:Does anyone have a link to, or the recipe for the One True Hummus? At work, we generally do 3 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked and then boiled. To which it's 1 cup of tahini, 1 cup of x.v. olive oil, 3/4 cup lemon juice, 1 1/2 TB salt, 3 TB of minced garlic (not the stuff in the jar; you take a bunch of peeled garlic, and then mince it), and roughly 3/4 cups water. Mind you, this goes in the fuckoff huge food processor, so if yours is less than 14 cups, scale back a bit. It ends up making around 5 lbs of hummus.
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Mar 20, 2012 22:47
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Dane posted:To me, that sounds like a lot of tahin (and no cumin?). I guess hummus has about as many variants as chili, though. The creamiest hummus comes from having a /lot/ of tahina. Cumin is for sprinkling over top. Just when you're done making the hummus, you spread it onto a plate, and sprinkle on a bit of parsley, paprika, or cumin. For cumin, you toast the seeds in a dry pan over medium high heat until the pan smokes a little, and the cumin pops. Immediately throw it into your pestle and mortar, and give it a quick bash. You want the seeds broken, but not powdered. You don't generally put cumin into the grinding thingy. My friends Israeli BF tends to actually not add olive oil to the grinder at all, and only drizzles the olive oil over top of the finished hummus. That being said, 3 cups of chickpeas cooks up into almost 9 cups when it's been soaked and boiled. Yeah, it's a lot of tahina, but you're not talking about a recipe where you can taste a strong taste of tahina. There's still plenty of other stuff going on that it works out in the end. For the record: this does /not/ work with tinned chickpeas. For good hummus, you need to soak your chickpeas overnight, to get full hydration on them, then cook them until they're completely soft. Tinned chickpeas never get as soft as properly cooked dried ones, and your hummus will end up more grainy and mealy rather than creamy and smooth, as it should be. There's also all kinds of variations, including kinds with slivered almonds, fava beans, cooked whole chickpeas, and any number of spices you can think of.
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Mar 21, 2012 00:42
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Phummus posted:I'll do pics when I make it. I'll do the soak tonight and the hummus tomorrow night as long as nothing goes haywire in the ol' domestic life. It does thicken up. Also, the more tahina you add, the thicker your hummus will end up. What I will frequently do is hold back about a small handful of chickpeas as insurance, because I invariably end up adding a bit too much liquid for the whole mess to stand up properly on the plate. The chickpeas I have on reserve tend to thicken up the hummus quite nicely. If you're juicing your lemon fresh anyway, might as well throw in some of the zest too. It brings up the lemony flavour without making things too tart.
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Mar 21, 2012 15:03
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I stopped drinking on weekdays, because it was starting to get expensive. I realised yesterday that I haven't bought a bottle of liquor in a couple of months. This means that with all this extra money lying around I was able to go nuts and splurge on some frozen berries and such for smoothies this morning. You barely need any at all to give the smoothie lots of the taste, and the bananas are relatively cheap anyway. The taste difference between the frozen berries and the godsawful out of season ones is huge. The excitement I got from buying them, and the enjoyment I'm getting from drinking the smoothie this morning was well worth the creeping sobriety. Yes. I have officially become An Old Person. I felt so indulgent and naughty for spending around $20 on frozen berries. But /man/ did it feel good.
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Mar 22, 2012 14:00
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