padkimao's Profile
""No fun, silliness, or ribbing, can be had here due to the mod removing posts."
FWIW, I appreciate how focused these boards are. I come here for info, not chat.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
My beans could have been more flavorful too. I think I would use more onion next time.
August 2011 COTM, World Vegetarian: Vegetables, Grains, and Dairy
Green Beans with Cumin and Fennel, p 202
I was attracted to this recipe because it has a double shot of cumin, one of my favorite spices.
You give a quick saute to some fennel and cumin seeds, toss in your garlic and ginger and onion and stir til lightly browned. Then in goes about a pound of green beans. After two minutes add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and cayenne. Give a few quick stirs, pour in half a cup of water, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add a bit of chopped tomato and fresh cilantro and let simmer another 5 minutes or so.
Results were very tasty. Fennel is definitely the strongest note, but there's a nice play of other flavors in the background. I'm looking forward to seeing how this tastes tomorrow.
Recipes for a Recovering Vegetarian?
I sympathize. I fell off the veggie wagon recently and it's been weird. Unfortunately I don't have any brilliant tips yet. I will say that I find chicken and turkey a lot less gross to handle and cook than other meats.
Forks Over Knives
"There is some meeting of the minds here I think in that many people trying very different diets can agree that heavily processed foods are bad for ya."
Absolutely! I suspect that is the common thread that allows both vegemites and paleonauts to experience health benefits by changing their diets. I just wish we had more convincing clinical research, and less observational studies, to narrow things down further.
(Sorry I didn't see this before. I find these boards hard to follow sometimes.)
Forks Over Knives
If you want to know what it looks like, I suggest watching the trailer at forks over knives dot com, where'll you'll find a ton more info including a press kit.
There's not much to say about its artistic merits. It doesn't have any. A very cheap looking, unimaginative, sometimes just plain dull film.
And it's weak tea as a documentary since it a) relies almost entirely on two medical experts (Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, touting their own research) while b) not asking any critical questions.
I mean, journalism this ain't. The film basically sets out to answer the question: Is Dr. Campbell awesome, or totally awesome? I won't spoil that one for you, but suffice to say the overall vibe is of a corporate video from the early 1990s.
Geez, do I sound cranky? I must need some meat. ; )
I have been trying to remember exactly what the film claimed about Norway during WWII. Thirty seconds of Googling produced a study showing that children in Norway at that time were underweight and of below average height. I guess we can blame that on vegetarianism too?
Forks Over Knives
Incidentally, the word "vegan" is only heard once or twice in the documentary. I think the filmmakers want to separate the philosophy of veganism from the benefits of a "plant based diet." It wasn't always clear if "plant based diet" means no meat, or just less meat.
Givemecarbs, I gave up vegetarianism after reading some of Gary Taubes' work, and the book Catching Fire. Really made me rethink things. I've been trying to lose weight for over two years with little success, so it seemed worthwhile to try a low-carb, higher protein diet. Which meant going back to meat-eating, since daily doses of soy protein doesn't sound too healthy.
It hasn't been a comfortable transition, but I'm seeing positive results so I'm sticking with it.
It's interesting to read what professional film critics have written about this documentary. I doubt any of them are qualified to evaluate it scientifically, but they aren't all humble enough to admit it. This assignment should go to Jane Brody, not Manohla Dargis.
Forks Over Knives
I saw it over the weekend and was surprised at how weak an argument it made. It covered the China study, some rat studies, and oh, look, happy healthy vegans! Isn't there a lot more evidence than that out there?
Though I went in with a chip on my shoulder, having recently decided to give up vegetarianism.
December Openings and Closings
Anyone know anything about this new Indian place, Masala, opening in Teele Square in Somerville, in the former Tip Top Thai space?
Late/all night dining near Tufts?
Rudy's in Teele is open late by Somerville standards...I think 'til 1 on the weekends. Kee Kar Lau is basically a storefront, but they deliver.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Vegetables
I made this last night. I liked it, but I was struck by how different it tasted from mattar paneer I've had in restaurants. I was kind of distracted while cooking, so maybe I just did something wrong.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Legumes
Chana Masala
I used Sahni's Murgh Masala recipe, substituting an equivalent weight of chickpeas.
http://maninas.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/murgh-masala-chicken-in-onion-tomato-gravy/
I used a little more than half the amount of oil suggested, which worked out fine in my non-stick pan. On a whim I threw in a few cloves with the whole spices. While the dish was cooking I was afraid it was a dud, but adding the toasted cumin at the end totally transformed it. A very tasty dish, maybe better than my usual chana masala recipe.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Relishes, Chutneys and Pickles
Looks beautiful. I'm excited to learn that pickles are easier to make than I had assumed. I think I see a lime pickle in my future.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Chicken
Ha! Yes, I forgot to mention that the oil was out of control. I will use less next time, for sure. Though, hmm, maybe I'll add a little cream at the end.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Chicken
Ande ki Kari (Whole Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce) Sahni p 233
This is halved, hard boiled eggs in a curry. Simple enough, but I managed to mess it up a bit.
It's a basic tomato-onion sauce: brown your onions, add ginger and garlic, then spices, then pureed tomato. Cook for about half an hour, let rest for about half an hour, then reheat and add the eggs.
The masala is a mix of ground and whole spices. I was out of whole cinnamon so I put in a pinch of ground cinnamon. Too big a pinch. The cinnamon overwhelmed the other flavors. I tamed it a bit by adding more coriander, garam masala, and a dash of cumin. Results weren't bad, but pretty far from what Sahni intended. I liked the combo of eggs and curry though, and will try this one again.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Chicken
"1/3-1/2t cayenne (I used 1t)"
Awesome.
That sauce sounds great.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Legumes
I prefer to use "hing" because I won't misspell it. ; )
October 09 COTM: "Indian" M. Jaffrey's Indian Cooking and J. Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking
Thanks! Looking forward to it. : )
October 09 COTM: "Indian" Legumes
A couple nights ago (I'm already cheating!) I was craving some dal. I usually wing it when I make dal, but this time I scrupulously followed Jaffrey's "daily dal" as printed in The Telegraph (http://tinyurl.com/ydhlse2) except I didn't have any hing. (But do you really need hing when the recipe calls for onion and garlic?)
I wasn't expecting the dish to be intensely flavorful, but I was still a bit disappointed with its mildness. I think this dal would be nice to serve alongside spicier dishes. But for a simple meal with rice, I kept reaching for the garlic pickle.
October 09 COTM: "Indian" M. Jaffrey's Indian Cooking and J. Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking
Can I just say, I'm stoked for my first CotM? : )
October 2009 COTM: M. Jaffrey's Indian Cooking and J. Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking.
I have been wondering if it would be OK to use recipes from my copy of Sahni's vegetarian cookbook. Don't want to buy yet another cookbook and my library has neither of the chosen ones. Of course I'll start with the online recipes but more variety is a good thing.
Ginger Preserves - what to do with them?
I like ginger preserves as a sandwich condiment, especially with a nice sharp cheddar.
They are a sublime topping for pumpkin pancakes.
