What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Moonbear]

This site has some yummy recipes. I'm always looking for spicy new recipes that use ingredients I have on hand and won't break the bank. Oooh, looking around, I "love" this site!

Afriki Yakhni

500g mutton or chicken, cubed
399g cubed mixed vegetables
1 medium onion, chopped
1.2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp turmeric
400g rice
250ml yoghurt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp freshly-grated ginger
1/2 tbsp ground cloves
2 large hot chillies, chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil

Fry the onion, cumin and chillies in the oil until the onions are a golden brown. Add the meat, chilli powder, black pepper, turmeric, cardamom, garlic, ginger and cloves. Stir to mix and fry until the meat is well browned on all sides. Add the tomato and yoghurt and gently bring to a simmer. Add the rice and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes before adding the vegetables. Cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are just cooked then serve.

http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-afriki-yakhni

That sounds yummy. I just wish they'd hint at what types of vegetables are being cubed and mixed.

 

[turbo]

That sounds yummy. I just wish they'd hint at what types of vegetables are being cubed and mixed.

Just wing it, Moonie! Around this place, soup-making is a free-style event, using whatever is on hand. Taste as you go, and be adventurous. My wife does all the food shopping, and though I have a good idea what vegetables we have canned or frozen from the garden, what kind of soup I make on any given day is dependent on what I find in the pantry, fridge, etc, and I don't always know what's on-hand. No rules!

 

[Evo]

I have tomatillos and potatoes, I need a recipe idea using them together.

 

[turbo]

Tomatillos might be an interesting accent in scalloped potatoes. I like Bell peppers in mine.

 

[Borek]

Just wing it, Moonie! Around this place, soup-making is a free-style event, using whatever is on hand. Taste as you go, and be adventurous. My wife does all the food shopping, and though I have a good idea what vegetables we have canned or frozen from the garden, what kind of soup I make on any given day is dependent on what I find in the pantry, fridge, etc, and I don't always know what's on-hand. No rules!

There is one rule - you will be never able to make identical soup even if what you cooked was the ambrosia, soup of gods

 

[turbo]

There is one rule - you will be never able to make identical soup even if what you cooked was the ambrosia, soup of gods

So true.

 

[Moonbear]

Well, since we had no chat today, I spent the day canning all things apple. This is from the apples I picked a couple weeks ago when I was in MI. Several jars of just sliced apples to make pie filling. Some apple sauce (didn't can that...didn't make enough to make it worth another run of the pressure cooker, so will just eat it fresh very soon). And apple jelly. I still have about a half bushel of apples left. Some of those I'll keep using for fresh eating (they're the sweeter ones), and if they start to go soft before I can eat them, I'll make more applesauce.

 

[turbo]

Mmmm! Fresh applesauce is killer. My wife took about 1/4 bushel of apples to one of our nieces today, and she's turning them into applesauce and pie fillings. We still have a large basket of our apples left, and my wife juices them with carrots from our garden. Pretty healthy and tasty stuff. One afternoon this week, we'll take a large bag of drops (with bruises, bird damage, etc) to her co-worker to give to her horse as treats.

 

[montoyas7940]

And apple jelly.

Is apple jelly like apple butter?

A friend gave me many many apples. We are making apple butter from a recipe
we found.

 

[turbo]

Apple butter is rich and pulpy, and dark in color. Apple jelly is made with the strained juices of apples, and is generally transparent, with pink or yellowish colors, depending on the apples, and upon whether the skins were boiled along with the flesh of the apples. The extract is usually sweetened with sugar and boiled with pectin to make it gel.

My mother used to make pink crab-apple jelly that was to die for. She would can it in baby-food jars, and seal it by pouring molten paraffin wax on the top of the chilled jelly.

 

[Evo]

Well, since we had no chat today, I spent the day canning all things apple. This is from the apples I picked a couple weeks ago when I was in MI. Several jars of just sliced apples to make pie filling. Some apple sauce (didn't can that...didn't make enough to make it worth another run of the pressure cooker, so will just eat it fresh very soon). And apple jelly. I still have about a half bushel of apples left. Some of those I'll keep using for fresh eating (they're the sweeter ones), and if they start to go soft before I can eat them, I'll make more applesauce.

Wow, you have been really busy. That sounds so great.

 

[Evo]

I bought my Thanksgiving turkey yesterday. They had a nice variety, turkey, geese, ducks, and variations on traditional chicken such as capon (castrated rooster). They also had turducken. I was thinking of buying one until I saw the price, $63! And it was small! Yes it's a bit of work to bone the birds, but not THAT much, the overpriced grocery store already sells "flat chicken", a whole boned chicken, as an everyday item.

So, what are you cooking for Thanksgiving? And YES, I have my can of Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce. I LOVE IT! You slice it really thin and then suck it into your mouth through your front teeth. The ONLY way to eat it. (do not EVER let it touch your other food though, it should have it's own plate)

 

[turbo]

My wife is the cranberry nut. She buys fresh cranberries, and makes her own cranberry sauce. We will have no cranberry jelly in this house on Thanksgiving. We are planning on brining a free-range turkey prior to roasting, cooking a large squash from our cold-cellar, and making pies from some nice pumpkins from said cellar.

We plan to roast a lot of garlic (instead of boiling it with the potatoes) and introduce that to the potato just before mashing.

 

[hypatia]

I'm having a outdoors Thanksgiving. I was able to find a 3 sided canvas Bakers tent, in case the weather should get nasty.Turkey roasted on a spit, fried squash, corn pudding, apple fry bread{yes moonbear those ever so great apples} and pumpkin custard. Some of the people joining us will bring venison, other side dishes and a small keg of their home brewed ale. I'm very excited about it.

 

[Evo]

I'm having a outdoors Thanksgiving. I was able to find a 3 sided canvas Bakers tent, in case the weather should get nasty.Turkey roasted on a spit, fried squash, corn pudding, apple fry bread{yes moonbear those ever so great apples} and pumpkin custard. Some of the people joining us will bring venison, other side dishes and a small keg of their home brewed ale. I'm very excited about it.

That sounds wonderful hypatia!

Spit roasting, my mother used to make the best spit roasted leg of lamb with garlic cloves inserted all over.

I forgot to get my pumpkin pie ingredients. Don't let me forget.

 

[hypatia]

Evo, don't forget your pumpkin pie ingredients. You should get them tomorrow

 

[wolram]

Cooking long grain rice.

What is the best way, and how long can it be kept after cooking, i want to make egg fried rice but have been confused by the various methods used on the web.

 

[turbo]

I use a Black and Decker steamer to cook rice. Since it doesn't use an open heat source, you can cut the water back really close without fear of scorching the rice, and end up with light fluffy rice. I always use Basmati rice - it has a nice nutty aroma.

Cooked rice keeps well in the refrigerator, though I usually use it up within a few days.

If you're going to cook rice regularly, you might look into buying one of these cookers. They are also really handy for steaming vegetables like brocolli, string beans, etc, when you want to preserve the texture of the food. There must be similar appliances (operating at appropriate voltages) in your market.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005OTZ6/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Evo]

Evo, don't forget your pumpkin pie ingredients. You should get them tomorrow

I'm so glad you put this reminder here!

 

[Astronuc]

An interesting recipe was posted in the NYTimes Fitness & Nutrition section, Nov 20, 2008.

Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/health/nutrition/20recipehealth.html

This silky fall/winter puree tastes rich, though there is no cream or butter in it.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and diced

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium-size Yukon gold or russet potato, peeled and diced

6 cups water, chicken stock, or vegetable stock

Salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and stir together until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the squash, sweet potatoes, regular potato, and water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes, or until all of the ingredients are thoroughly tender.

2. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup (or you can put it through the fine blade of a food mill or use a regular blender, working in batches and placing a kitchen towel over the top to avoid splashing). Return to the pot and stir with a whisk to even out the texture. Heat through, adjust salt and add pepper to taste.

 

[Moonbear]

I'll be baking an apple and pumpkin pie on Wednesday to bring for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm going to the same friend's house as I did last year. I told her she was NOT allowed to let the sugar-free person make anything in the dessert category. Last year, the pie was sugar-free and DISGUSTING! We've assigned the sugar-free person to make the green beans. Even if she does nothing but boil some plain green beans, they'll be perfectly fine; it's really hard to ruin a green bean.

 

[lisab]

What sort of things do you love in stuffing?

My favorites:

Fresh sage
Toasted sourdough bread cubes
Hazelnuts
Pecans (mayb not together with hazelnuts...?)
Apple (not sweet - maybe a Grannysmith)
Celery (a must-have!)
Onion

 

[Evo]

What sort of things do you love in stuffing?

My favorites:

Fresh sage
Toasted sourdough bread cubes
Hazelnuts
Pecans (mayb not together with hazelnuts...?)
Apple (not sweet - maybe a Grannysmith)
Celery (a must-have!)
Onion

Everything except the apple sounds good. I can't believe that people put oysters in dressing. I *love* oysters, but oysters would make the dressing wet and fishy. I would eat apples in my dressing before I'd eat it with oysters. So in other words...NEVER.

Not that I have an opinion, or anything.

 

[turbo]

Just polished off a bowl of hot turkey soup (made with stock from the carcass of the Thanksgiving turkey). For those of you that like to top your soups with crackers, run right out and buy some Nabisco Saltine Minis. I like Saltines, but when you crumble them in soup, they soak up the stock and make the soup really starchy, unless you add them a bit at a time. The Minis have all their crusty surfaces, and absorb less liquid, and contribute to a really nice soup "experience".

 

[Evo]

I haven't used my bread maker in awhile, so I was reading the instructions. All was going ok until I came to this part -

After the buzzer sounds, press the STOP button.

Remove the bread case with oven mitts.

Never set the bread case on the counter OR ANY OTHER SURFACE. So I am supposed to just stand there holding it?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Why she tried this I have no idea, but Tsu came up with a very tasty combo the other night. So took some very good, very hot salsa [finely diced], and added it to some black-bean soup. Mmmmmmmm! Most excellent!

I never would have thought to try that one but it is reeeeealy good.

 

[hypatia]

Its been a while sense I've had some good black bean soup. Thanks for giving me the notion to make some with salsa!

 

[physics girl phd]

Mmm... you're making me happy we still have leftover bean soup in the fridge... it certainly the season for this. I made it a few days ago to get rid of the bits remaining from our thanksgiving ham. Adding some additional "umph" will make it taste even more warming! (Fingers crossed that my hubby won't throw it out... we have a guest arriving this afternoon, so he's expected to enter a cleaning frenzy today while I'm out doing outreach... perhaps I'll send a quick email saying NO!)

Geez... one should not open the food thread. Hunger always ensues. It's worse than the cooking shows!

 

[hypatia]

Geez... one should not open the food thread. Hunger always ensues. It's worse than the cooking shows!

It really is, Michigan is in a Alberta clipper {very cold, lots of snow}, right now driving is not good. AND I have no beans!

 

[turbo]

I just had hot soup for a late breakfast. Hot Italian sausage with chopped jalapeno peppers, diced potatoes, carrots, and string beans with lots of black beans and some whole-kernel corn in a tomato-based sauce with onion, garlic, and herbs. Mmmm! We make lots of soups based on black beans, but lately, my wife has gotten in the habit of making these vegetable-medley soups with hot peppers and sausages. I'm not complaining - every batch seems better than the last.

 

[jowjowman]

Indonesian currysoup with shrimp.​

Serves 4.

I admit this sounds a bit peculiar, but it's easy to brew and surprisenly good.

Youll need:

1 large onion.
1 - 2 spoonfull curry ( with chili if you like it strong turbo style )
1 clove of crushed garlic onion.
1 can of chopped tomato.
1/4 of a liter cream.
200 grams of small shrimp.
1 small can of peaches.
1 bouillon cube.
salt and pepper.

Cut the onion into small cubes and fry using oil in a pot.
Add the crushed garlic and curry (fry it but don't let it brown)
Add the tomatos and 1/5 liter water, the bouillon cube, cream and the juice from the peaches.
Let it barly boil for about 10 min.
Add salt and pepper as you please.
Cut the peaches into small cubes and add.
Add the shrimp.
After you added the peaches and crimp the pot may have lost it's boil.
Let the pot heat up to boil again and serve (hot). Do not let the pot boil for any
period of time before serving, the shrimp will turn "funny"

 

[Evo]

My "food network" is expanding. My deer hunter has promised me some good cuts. Today I got a "nut" connection. Nuts for a fraction of the cost! I got some Amish bread dough starter for free. And now a fruit connection for fruits from a wholesaler!

WOOHOO!

I wonder what else I can get my paws on?

 

[Borek]

Recipe is copied from recipezaar, I think someone mentioned pepper cookies during chat and I have googled them - and tried the recipe this week. Wow

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sweet unsalted butter, softened (don't fall into trap of using all 200 g box - too much)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
extra sugar, for dipping glass

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients (except for the extra sugar for dipping the glass) together well using a heavy duty mixer.
2. Roll into 1/2 inch size balls-you will need three large ungreased cookie sheets, 16 balls per sheet.
3. Use the flat base of a drinking glass that has been dipped into sugar to flatten each dough ball on the cookie sheets.
4. Bake in a preheated 350 F (or 180 C) oven for 8-11 minutes or until lighly browned on the edges- do not overbake.
5. Remove to wire racks to cool.

With 1/2 inch balls I got much more cookies, close to 100; could be my half inch was metric Egg was too small so I have added a bit of cream. No vanilla extract, but so called vanilla sugar did the trick.

 

[turbo]

My wife took her sister's shift taking care of their mother on Christmas day so that she could be with her own children and grand-kids. We are spreading our holiday celebration out over the whole weekend and we just had the most wonderful late lunch/early supper.

Cut big baking potatoes into quarters, and cut out most of the center potato flesh, leaving a fairly thick layer of flesh on the skins. Season the potato skins as you like, coat in olive oil and bake until they are browned. Remove the pan of skins from the oven and top the skins with sauteed onions, canned black olives, hot peppers (I used my dill-pickeled jalapeno rings) and shredded cheese. We used a blend of Mexican-style cheeses. Bake those until the cheese is browned and top them with home-made chili con carne.

I'm about to bust, I ate so much. As we have a thousand times, my wife and I said "if we had a lunch-only diner with no menu, just specials, people would break the doors down".

 

[Math Is Hard]

I'm about to bust, I ate so much. As we have a thousand times, my wife and I said "if we had a lunch-only diner with no menu, just specials, people would break the doors down".

You should open one. There is a place here that serves only lunch and breakfast and they have lines of people waiting almost every day.