thursday's Profile
Cooked chicken bones for stock
I didn't know anyone made stock from raw bones. That seems like a waste of perfectly good chicken meat! =)
Little Green Mystery Plum
I'm not going to be much help because I've never eaten one myself, but what you're describing sounds a lot like the sour plums I've seen for sale by one seller at the farmer's market. He sells them as "sour green plums" and serves them with tabasco and salt...so I assume you can eat them raw as such...?
what to do with leftover boiled chicken thighs that i find too gamey?
Go medieval and add spices and fruit - curry, pepper, cinnamon + sage are all good strong flavors that mask some gaminess. Hot or cold, you can then mix with couscous, olives and raisins for a sort of mediterannean dish, or make a chicken salad with mayo and grapes or blueberries...
But you'll love it the way I cook it!
We often hang around the stall at the market that sells beets for a few minutes just to get someone's spare greens - inevitably within 3 minutes someone will ask to cut off the tops, and we'll ask if we can take them and split their cost. Win win! Love beet greens, but it's taken two years before I can stomach beets, and only when roasted into chips with lots of salt.
Uses for fig jam
I like it with Dubliner cheese rather than cheddar, but otherwise, spot on! On crackers or in a sandwich, add arugula for a little bite.
Good recipe for sour blackberries?
I bought an 18 oz package of blackberries at the store, and they're incredibly sour. I only have 9 or 10 oz left, but I just don't want to keep eating them plain. I'm thinking some sort of slump or variation on blueberry boy bait, I just want something truly delicious. I do have some other fruit in the house and some frozen berries, so I could mix and match a bit...Suggestions?
Freezable Casseroles/meals for new mom
Vegetables!! And single-portion sizes! With my first, a lot of the food people made for us went bad because we would defrost an entire casserole, and then only get a chance to pick at it here and there...or we would end up eating lasagna for breakfast just so it didn't go to waste. My 2nd is due in August (first is almost 2), and we're planning to make everything in muffin pans - if we get the chance to all eat together, it at least saves us a few knives and spatulas from serving, and if we end up eating shifts as we anticipate, we can heat as we go.
As for veggies, everyone was very generous to bring us food, but I was CRAVING some fresh veggies after about 2 days. I think I ended up microwaving a lone freezer-burned bag of spinach in desperation one evening. So anything you can shove veggies into would be appreciated, at least in my house - with a 2 year old already at home, even more so, as I worry about his nutrition more than my own. =)
Ideas:
Small frittatas - eggs mixed with cheese and veggies
Veggie breads/muffins - carrot, sweet potato, zucchini
Shells stuffed with ricotta and spinach
Sweet or savory turnovers - take premade puff pastry, cut into squares, fill with fresh fruit and a tsp of sugar and spices (add nuts for protein), or fill with finely chopped veggies, meat and cheese (goat cheese works really well), fold into triangles and freeze. They can go in a toaster oven for 15 mins for a quick meal or snack.
Mini hamburgers - made with beef or ground turkey, can mix with 1/3 white or black beans to cut fat/add fiber, and add in some chopped green veggies like spinach or kale - freeze raw for quick broiling
Snacks would be nice too if you'll be down around when she gives birth - homemade cheese crackers/straws, kale chips, even just storebought fruit leather or other mildly healthy things for her or the toddler to snack on in a pinch
If you can find out what the toddler likes to eat, it would be very helpful, IMO, to have a few toddler meals premade to give her a bit of a break on that front as well - just things like oatmeal premeasured or precooked and in the freezer, or purees of her favorite fruits - easy foods to hand over when you're a walking zombie. I always make breakfast cookies for my neighbors when they have a baby - swap out half (or more) of the "bad" ingredients in a standard oatmeal cookie recipe for good for you stuff - yogurt and pureed fruit for the butter and some of the sugar, whole grain flour and flax meal for white flour, nuts and dried fruit for the chips...It's LOVELY to tell a toddler that they can have cookies for breakfast or a snack, and then give them something that's basically a higher-sugar form of a bowl of oatmeal. =)
One thing I swore I would do this time, because I only had about three meals worth in the freezer last time and it was great, was prepackage meal fixings - precooked and separately frozen brown rice, beans, chicken, vegetables, etc. in 2-3 size servings, along with a couple of mason jars of frozen sauce or storebought. We could take out a bag of carb, a bag of protein, and a bag of veggies, throw it in a pan to heat and pour sauce on top - it felt like I was cooking and having something a little different than the same old same old casseroles people had brought, but took no thought and left no leftovers. My only problem here was I wasn't sure how cream sauces would freeze, so we were limited to tomato sauce and jarred teriyaki - since we didn't have many meals worth it became a moot point last time, but any suggestions for other freezable sauces for this birth welcome!
ISO Fresh Morels
+1 on Hollywood Farmer's market - saw them this morning for $4.95 - I assume the mushroom, but I'm not sure of the unit.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 2nd quarter 2012
Yea to Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits - I'm not a big fan of chocolate, and don't like to keep snacks in the house, but oh my!! I honestly could have eaten the whole bag in one sitting; the only thing that stopped me was my husband sitting nearby with a raised eyebrow... Perfect amount of crunchy nuts with just enough dark chocolate to hold it togerher, but what really makes them is the little bite of fleur de sel. I may have to go buy another bag just writing about them.
Woman suing Nutella over false nutrition claims
Yup, that one. =) Thanks, ghg and HillJ - looking forward to letting out my pants a few notches after this one.
Woman suing Nutella over false nutrition claims
Honest question - is the money divided evenly between all filers, or does the woman who originally filed get a certain percentage? Basically I want to know if my filling out a claim would mean she gets less money...because if so, I'll fill out a claim just to spite her for clogging our courts with such ridiculousness. Otherwise Nutella can keep my $5.
Woman suing Nutella over false nutrition claims
HillJ, I want that recipe please... =)
Discontinued at Trader Joe's - January thru June 2012
It's not that I CAN'T drink any other cocoa, it's that TJs cocoa ruined all others for me... ;) but thanks for the suggestion! I may check it out-
Discontinued at Trader Joe's - January thru June 2012
The Hot Farina cereal has been discontinued (TJs version of Cream of Wheat) - so disappointed! It was pretty new and we'd only had time to get through one box before they pulled it. I would have stocked up if I'd known.
Also, the Sipping Hot Chocolate was a regular item a few years ago, became seasonal 3 years ago (so last year I bought 5 tins to get me through the year), and this season? Nada. This one really crushes me. I can't drink any other cocoa at this point except homemade, and who has time for homemade? =.(
Dim Sum at Elite Restaurant
Reviving this thread because Elite is where we were going to go, but feel free to break off into new if necessary, mods...
What's dim sum etiquette if there are no carts? I've only had dim sum once, with experienced dim summers, and there were carts, so we just pointed at pretty stuff. The husband and I have never been by ourselves and don't quite know the protocol - I take it from reading above that you order in stages so that you're served in stages?
Green Veggie Snacks that will keep?
My toddler likes fresh spinach with garlic (not frozen, the snob) and veggies mixed in eggs or pureed into dips with yogurt, but otherwise he won't eat them - not unusual, and I'm glad he likes the ones he does, but since he absolutely refuses to even try snap peas, snow peas, cucumber, etc., I'm at a loss on days where we're out of the house all day. He ends up having PB&J or a cheese sandwich for lunch and snacks on cereal or dried fruit, which isn't awful, but it means at least a couple of days a week he goes completely without any green veggies whatsoever, and I don't like that all his midday snacks are sugary, even if it is natural sugars.
I made homemade spinach and cheese crackers once that went over pretty well, and I'm looking for other ideas like that - things I can make in advance, put in ziplocs, and keep in the diaper bag in case we're stuck out of the house. They don't need to keep for weeks, just a few days at most; they just need to be things that don't require flatware, refrigeration, or a massive mess. How long do you think kale chips would keep? We prefer them hot, but if they'll stay crisp that might be my next attempt at healthier midafternoon snacks...
Molcajete but not using a pestle
Are you sure it wasn't a pestle that looked like an avocado? I only ask because we own a molcajete (with pestle) and have repeatedly tried to cut into the pestle when making guac. Even in a pile of avocados, it looks just like one.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 2nd quarter 2012
+1 we keep these on hand for quick lunches. Also the veggie dumplings - not a new product but SO good and easy to make in a flash.
"Hitting" on the Waitress (server) Is it OK?
As a former server that got hit on ALL the time, do NOT hit on her while she is waiting your table. If you want to ask her out, I would go back to the restaurant, have another meal, be very flirty to get the vibe, pay your check, start to walk out the door, and then turn around and go back very casually to ask her out. Something along the lines of, "Listen, I know you're working, but if you'd ever like to grab a drink sometime, I'd love to take you out." If she's interested, she can give you her number or set a time to meet. If she's not, she can get out of it quickly by saying how busy she is at work right now (don't go during the rush hour). This allows both of you to save face so you don't have to abandon the restaurant all together, and plants the seed in case she's slightly interested but wary of going out with a complete stranger. If she hesitates, take the hint and leave quickly: "No big deal, I just think we have a lot in common. I'm sure I'll see you around again."
The only time I ever dated customers is when the above occurred. Anybody that asked me out while I was in the middle of serving got immediately rejected and possibly even switched to another server because I felt awkward. Anybody that couldn't take the hint that I was wary and got pushy got rejected and possibly banned from my area if they creeped me out (I never told them this, just asked the manager not to seat them at my tables.) People that understood the awkwardness of the situation and kept it light got considered, and a few got dates. One or two became close friends, though I ended up marrying a coworker instead of a customer. =)
"Cooking" with a toddler?
I'm loving the other suggestions as my little guy has just started getting obsessed with the kitchen - I think he likes climbing on the stool more than anything, but honestly, dishes are his favorite thing in the world! He literally cries when I make him stop doing dishes to go to the park - to the park! So I recommend: dishes.
Other things he loves:
- He helps me scoop the dry ingredients, I measure them off, he pours them into the mixer. For wet ingredients, I do the measuring, but he loves to hold the handle of the measuring cup and pour them in. I often measure in smaller increments so that there's more to do (use 1/4 c measure 4 times to get a cup for example, instead of using the 1 c measure).
- He tries to help stir. He's only 20 months, so he's a HUGE messmaker at this, but if it's something that's not a big deal, I let him; if it's already measured, etc. I guide him so it's neater.
-He loves to hand me the ingredients, especially things like eggs that he can pick up easily. I'll put the bags of flour, etc. on the floor even so that he can go get them and bring them over. Loves it.
-Obviously, if it's sweets, he loves to taste the dough - I always let him have a lick of the spatula or spoon when we're finishing up so he gets what we're doing. Licking the bowl was always my favorite part as a kid!
-He is "in charge" of the timer and checking the oven. I set the clock, he presses start, and then he turns on and off the oven light for a good ten minute stretch. When the timer goes, he often yells "done!" and gets me the oven mitts.
-Turning on and off the appliances is always a big hit - he's in charge of the mixer, the food processor, etc. For the food processor, he gets to stuff the food down the chute as well, which he giggles at every time.
-Lastly, a good mortar/pestle is a great distractor for when you're doing things that require a little more care than you want to entrust. I put herbs or nuts in there and let him bang around for 5 or 10 minutes while I do the delicate work on the real recipe. He's happy as a clam and I can toss the herbs into something else later or the nuts into his granola.
Making a layer cake without enough pans, help!
+1 This is what I always do, but I use sewing thread instead of dental floss to split because my floss is minty...and I made that mistake once. ;)
Recipes from Smitten Kitchen blog.....what are your favorites??
I made the apple sharlotka (sp?) the other day using pears instead and it was fantastic. Chock full of pears, so it's basically a healthy breakfast...right?? ;)
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 1st quarter 2012 [old]
Yes, the multigrain. Maybe there's rye flour or something in there? Such a weird aftertaste, like bad overly hoppy beer.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 1st quarter 2012 [old]
I'm a big nay for the English muffins - they have a very strange bitter aftertaste IMO. I couldn't even finish the bag; fed them to my unsuspecting toddler instead.
What makes a crumb?
Yeah, the toughness is my issue. The ones I make with my best recipe thus far have a good flavor if you grab one right out of the oven, but quickly get to be hockey pucks and are a little too dense even from the get-go. I'm not a big fan (personally) of the scones that flake like biscuits, and this seems to be what happens when I try a lighter recipe.
What makes a crumb?
Definitely not looking for English Muffin/Crumpet crumb...more like crumb cake, I guess, but denser, not as buttery, and not as sweet. The stickygooeycreamy...recipe below looks quite promising though! It's very similar to a recipe I got from a friend when I lived in Ireland - I think my flour may be a big part of the issue. They use graham flour, which is quite different than the AP or whole wheat pastry flour I use here...
What makes a crumb?
I suppose I should clarify; sorry. I mentioned the scones more as background (though I do appreciate the tips! I'll have to try the beer!) but I'm really sort of interested in what makes a crumb in general...I love a good crumb on a scone, a crumb cake that slices too smoothly is simply coffee cake in my book, and even quick breads like banana are better if there's a little more crumb in a slice for the butter to melt into its pockets...
I guess I'm just trying to figure out what makes crumb in baked goods overall - I always thought it was butter content, but that doesn't seem to do it.
What makes a crumb?
I've been on the hunt for the perfect scone recipe for probably 15 years now. What I'm really looking for is some combination between the Rock Buns at the old Bewley's in Dublin before it went chi-chi and the scones at Fortnum & Mason...but I digress. Everything I seem to try is either much too dry (despite copious amounts of butter) or basically a buttermilk biscuit. I tried a recipe that gave me hope the other day in preparation for St. Patrick's Day - the dough was nice and soft, and it was a nice throw-it-all-in-the-mixer kind of recipe which beats freezing grated butter any day of the week - and when they came out of the oven they split in half quite nicely and begged for clotted cream...but they were smooth and biscuit-y. Tasted fine, but I want that bit of crumb that leaves a mess on your shirtfront.
So what makes a crumb? I get that there's crumb in bread loaves and that's going to be different than crumb in scones, and I'm definitely still in the advanced beginner stage of baking...but if I'm going to be experimenting, I need to know what it is I'm trying to achieve! It's not just butter. Is there a certain ratio of butter to flour? Or milkfat?
Carbonara
No one else mentioned garlic?? Or wine? It's one of our favorite dishes to make, but we use a ton of raw garlic - more than whatever the original recipe called for, I'm sure, but we're garlic people.
Raw garlic crushed or minced fine, mixed with an egg and fresh grated parmesan - in a skillet, minced pancetta cooked to almost crispy and a splash of white wine to clear the pan and stop the cooking - hot pasta in a hot bowl, quickly toss with the egg/garlic/cheese, then toss in the contents of the pancetta pan. Top with chunky salt if it needs any (usually doesn't, or not much) and pepper. Our absolute go-to when we both work late!
Woman suing Nutella over false nutrition claims
But Nutella's claims that it would lead to a specific outcome were correct. Nutella claimed that it would be a good way to get your kids to eat whole wheat toast, and so it is. Melting a snickers on top of toast would also get them to eat it. You may disagree with the parenting choice of slathering things in sugar to get your kids to eat it, but it doesn't make the benefits of the whole wheat toast disappear, and it's not a lie by the manufacturer of Nutella.
IMO, encouraging government regulation for this type of thing is a dangerous and slippery slope. I love Nutella on toast. I do consider it "part of" a healthy breakfast as I have a spoonful of Nutella on toast, an egg, fruit, and milk. When there is no Nutella in the house, I use butter and honey or jam - other choices that are pure fat and sugar. I do consider Nutella a healthier option than a Snickers bar, frankly, because though it's full of crap, it's not as much fake crap as a candy bar and I do eat it with toast, not just by itself, so I am getting fiber, etc.
If people are worried about their health, they should take the time to learn what's healthy, not make it the government's responsibility to follow them around like children checking up on their choices. "Are you eating your Nutella in moderation? Can you be trusted with this product? Oh good! Your BMI is a good range. Go ahead. No, not you, you don't exercise enough!" Bullocks.
