poptart's Profile
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
Rick Bayless' Slow-Cooked Achiote Pork from "Mexican Everyday".
This was a excellent. Super easy; plenty of leftovers.
Pork shoulder is cooked in a mixture of lime juice and achiote seasoning (I couldn't find the kind he recommended so used Goya instead) with sliced onions on top. It is served with some red onion pickled in salt and lime juice.
New Whole Foods, what should I buy?
Keep an eye on their sales flyers and coupons (both on websites). You can get some very good deals because they often have sales + coupons.
Bulk items are good quality and inexpensive. You can buy spices by the ounce and save $ by just getting what you need and not paying a lot for a whole bottle.
Their prices at my local store are very comparable with the Trader Joes across the street and in my experience their produce, meats, deli items, dairy and nuts etc are fresher and better quality than TJs.
Brown versus white rice
yes; I think I may have been too focused on their findings in brown rice syrup and rice bran to be "very high". The brown rice, especially from California, seems to be less of an issue.
It seems like as always the "everything in moderation" rule applies.
Brown versus white rice
Today I read this article about the findings of arsenic in brown rice and brown rice syrup; a shocker to me:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/02/23/147294466/in-rice-how-much-arsenic-is-too-much
The study found that arsenic levels were higher in rice grown in the southeast/south central areas where cotton was grown previously (and pesticides used there with higher levels of arsenic).
Scary....I would love to know more about this because I love brown rice!
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
"Lazy Day Pot Roast" from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker.
Made it this weekend, was worried it might not be so great because this is truly a lazy recipe, no browning involved. Put roast in pot (I used chuck roast) and season. Add cut up potatoes, onions, carrots, 2 bay leaves. Pour 1:3 mixture of apple cider vinegar to water over all. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
It was very good and I would definitely make it again! It made a nice broth as well.
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
In "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker" there are a couple of dal recipes.
One I've made numerous times is her Kitchari (pg 51) ; it's very nice "as is", and versatile. I have it with brown rice, or you can change up the leftovers to have other nights and add meats to it, or greens, other veggies.
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
alkapal, I am not sure about the canned pumpkin; it is not mentioned as a sub, but I will say the soup is a good balance between pumpkin-y and coconut milk-y. The color is pale pumpkin and while the texure is smooth it has less of a heavy-sweet pumpkin flavor than canned would have ( I imagine, anyway). It calls for 8 hrs on low. You saute the onions, garlic, ginger and lemon grass with the toasted cumin seeds then cook with pumpkin and stock. Don't add thai red curry paste and coconut milk till the end, which you do by first mixing the paste with some coconut cream skimmed off the top of the can of coconut milk then incorporate all (plus coco milk and lime juice) into the pot; let heat through about 20-30 more minutes. I think adding these things at the end keeps it much more fresh tasting than it otherwise would be; and the lime juice in particular gives it a nice clean taste.
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
This sounds worth trying, thanks for the review. Chicken salad with tahini/yogurt sounds fantastic!
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
Today I made Thai Pumpkin Soup from "Healthy Slow Cooker" by Judith Finalyson.
It uses raw pumpkin, coconut milk, lemon grass, corainder seed, garlic, ginger, onion, stock thai red curry paste, lime juice and zest. It's a winner! I blended it with a stick blender and it all came together nicely.
This coming week I'll add shrimp and/or spinach to it to change things up a little.
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
The same was true for me; hadn't cooked with liver in many moons but figured it sounded pretty effortless, and a unique recipe for the slow cooker, the first I've seen for such a thing!
:-)
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
Harira (red lentil and chickpea stew) from Healthy Slow Cooker, by Judith Finlayson p.72
http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/harira
This recipe has become a staple for me. It's so easy and tastes wonderful and refreshing.
Leftovers are good as well, and it's easy to vary leftovers by adding ingredients, such as lamb or beef chunks, greens, etc.
Bonus: can be made vegan if desired.
Ingredients are red lentils, celery, onion, garlic, tomatoes, lemon zest, turmeric, chick peas, stock, fresh parsley.
This is a wonderful thread, I am enjoying reading about everyone's slow cooker results and looking forward to cranking up my slow cooker again tomorrow!
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
I too recently picked up "French Slow Cooker" and the one thing I tried was the recipe for silky chicken liver pate. What I liked about it: easy, easy easy! Not overly heavy (no cream or butter). It didn't knock my socks off but was decent. I'd make it again if I had a craving.
Cooking from SLOW COOKER Cookbooks
Thanks for this review; I have the Italian Slow Cooker book as well and have never cooked with oxtails! This sounds like a winner!
Favorite Mollie Katzen recipes?
It never fails to get raves and is so simple. I'll have to try the carrot loaf, sounds great! Going to get Moosewood off the shelf right now... :-)
Favorite Mollie Katzen recipes?
Same here. I appreciate that she makes them tweak-able to be less sweet or have more protein. These are muffins I can actually eat (no sugar crash!).
She had a cooking show a number of years back on PBS, too bad it didn't continue.
Favorite Mollie Katzen recipes?
In Sunlight Cafe, I've tried a number of her muffin recipes which were all great: pumpkin, bran, ricotta, chocolate....all very good and I liked the suggestions for variations of sweetness (I prefer not as sweet).
In Still Life With Menu: broiled marinated eggplant is one of my summer staples. Have won over some eggplant-haters with it! Also, balsamic roasted green beans, wilted spinach salad, southwest black bean salad, her Thanksgiving recipes....many good other ones I can't recall at the moment.
Japanese Cooking
This is a wonderful blog with lots of great Japanese recipes:
http://www.justhungry.com/
The author has another site about bento and has written a cookbook, "Just Bento".
Weight Watchers Foodies: What are you Cooking? Part 3 [old]
Thanks for the link to the recipe. I love larb and it's a great warm-weather dish, will definitely use this. Do you use ground chicken breast, or plain ground chicken?
Weight Watchers Foodies: What are you Cooking? Part 3 [old]
Thanks for your encouragement. The meatloaf was SO good! I think adding the chopped zucchini worked well to add volume but also to keep things moist. It kind of melted into the meat.
And, cooking in the slow cooker was so easy and also cooked the meat perfectly, it was just melt in your mouth! Going to have leftovers tonight with spaghetti squash and a salad.
Weight Watchers Foodies: What are you Cooking? Part 3 [old]
That sounds wonderful! I like the idea of the sauce made with the asparagus water, taking advantage of every molecule of flavor in the cooking water.
Weight Watchers Foodies: What are you Cooking? Part 3 [old]
I am new to the ww thread, been doing ww for a few months and was scared at first because I love food and cooking, but now am feeling a little more comfortable with experimenting.
Tonight I mixed up some salsa meat loaf to put in the slow cooker for tomorrow: 1 lb very lean ground beef, half a shredded zucchini, onion, 1 c.. salsa, oats, cumin, oregano. Never made this before but hope it's ok.....suggested at ww meeting today.
Weight Watchers Foodies: What are you Cooking? Part 3 [old]
This might sound strange, but cold steel-cut oatmeal is actually good with fresh fruit on it. I do the same as you, make a batch that lasts the week. Often I'll eat it cold with sliced strawberries or other juicy fruit on top, and/or you can add a splash of fruit juice (I've used cherry) or honey on top to sweeten if needed. If you put the fruit/ juice on it the night before, it partially soaks into the oats. Eating it cold is somewhat like eating a pudding.
What were your last three cookbook purchases? - [Old]
Yesterday I picked up more cookbooks:
Prairie Home Cooking
Swedish Feasts
Plenty (by Ottolenghi)
And in previous weeks:
Nordic Diet
Chopsticks Diet
Seaweed
The latter three are actually quite delightful and un-diet-y (diet books can make me testy but these don't), because they focus on the food, health and traditions rather than "you can't have this" and "you should feel guilty if you have that".
That said, the top three must look like "Binge reading"in comparison :-).
In addition to those, I have a big stack of cookbooks checked out from the library. It certainly is an obsession, but such a fun one!
What were your last three cookbook purchases? - [Old]
I also bought Slow Cooker Revolution recently.
Have you tried cooking from it yet?
Made my first soup from it; a minestrone which smelled incredible while cooking, and was excellent! Looking forward to trying more from this book.
What were your last three cookbook purchases? - [Old]
I'm another La Place/Kleiman fan. Bought Cucina Fresca back in the 90s and wore it out. So many good summer recipes...plus I have Verdura, Pasta Fresca, Unplugged, My Italian Garden, Mare, and Kleiman's Angelini Cafe.
I agree these books are a joy to read and inspirational.
What, no sodas? -- Boston to ban sugary drinks on city property
Too bad they couldn't just agree to have a range of drinks available: juice, water, AND sodas, rather than soda-only machines. If this is really meant for schools, then omit diet and regular sodas from schools and just offer water, juice, spritzers, milk, soymilk etc....
It can be argued that diet sodas (with artificial sweeteners) are just as bad (or worse) for many people.
Typical American breakfast foods you don't enjoy at breakfast?
Amen! Those things are better as lunch of even dinner, not for breakfast for me.
What do you eat when dining at Whole Foods?
It does vary from location to location,but one thing i got recently which was excellent in their sushi area: rice bowl with eel, egg, edamame and veggies. It was excellent.
Some locations have great roasted teriyaki chicken, roasted brussels sprouts, roasted sweet potato/root veggies. Kale/seaweed salad. One location I used to go to had great breakfast item of poached egg over spinach on an english muffin. The spinach had a nice lemony flavor. Yum.
That said, you can't count on these things being at all locations, and if so, sometimes they aren't cooked as well as others. If only we could know when the chefs who cook with care are turning out the good stuff! :-)
Whole Foods' kvass is not kvass. Can anyone explain?
Could it be beet kvass? That's the only kind of kvass I've ever tried (and made).
Here is a recipe, which is more similar to the type I am familiar with:
http://www.feelgoodeats.com/anytime-recipes/beet-kvass.html
What vintage of used Slow Cooker should I look for?
It is so disappointing that the newer slow cookers are so problematic. 2 years ago I purchased a cuisinart slow cooker, and this past weekend the crock insert began making pinging noises. Fortunately I was at home, because it turned out to have several fissures running up the length of the crock.
While I was reasonably happy with this cooker, it is disappointing that these newer ones don't seem to last very long. I have contacted Cuisinart a second time to inquire about this (no response yet) because I am not interested in buying their $40 replacement crock if this is going to happen again.
