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Post by spike on Jun 29, 2023 16:42:00 GMT -5
Snagged some fresh peas off the Amish! So fresh peas and something else lol
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 30, 2023 9:59:40 GMT -5
Hubby's birthday was yesterday so I made him a lemon cake which included a cup of my recently made Instant Pot yogurt. He loved it and is eating it for breakfast this morning. He said that lemon is fruit right? He wanted to go out for cheese steaks for his birthday dinner so that's what we did. He's a cheap date! Edited to add cake photos so that you can get a laugh. I think that I am a decent cook but not so much when it comes to baking mainly because I hardly ever do it. Yesterday I wanted to make that lemon cake and I decided on a Bundt pan so that I could make a drizzle and it would be really pretty. I greased the Bundt pan well with shortening but I didn't flour it. Maybe I should have done that. I also tried to dump it out while hot and maybe I should have let it cool first. I always though that letting it cool in the pan would lead to sticking but dumping it out hot didn't work so well. The whole cake ripped in half and I was so disappointed but the crumbs sure tasted good so I decided that a glaze might hide some of the bad areas. I have never made a glaze before so I mixed powdered sugar and milk and put it into a bag with the tip cut off. It was sort of OK but by the end I just glugged the rest onto the cake. Hubby did love the cake and it's the thought that counts right? 20230629_135144 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr 20230629_142029 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 30, 2023 11:44:53 GMT -5
I am a better cook than baker so here is what I made 2 nights ago. It is called pork Pepperonata and is made with my peppers from the freezer, onions, capers, garlic, fresh parsley and red wine vinegar. There is a seared boneless pork chop under all of those peppers but actually the peppers are the star of this dish and were our favorite part. 20230628_175523 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 30, 2023 16:27:41 GMT -5
Both the cake and the pepperonata look tasty, brownrexx. Greasing and flouring are both really important for getting cakes to release from the pan, as you learned. You have to be careful to really get inside every crevice and corner thoroughly. Which makes Bundt pans aggravating, but the results can be really pretty. Alternatively, you can buy "Baker's Secret" spray, which is cooking spray mixed with flour, and use that to grease and flour pans in one step. (You'll find it in the grocery store either with Pam and other cooking sprays, or sometimes with the cake baking supplies.) Baker's Secret is not really necessary if you make a layer cake or sheet cake every once in a while. But it can be really helpful for Bundt pans and shaped cake pans with lots of nooks and crannies, and is a time saver for high-volume bakers, or bakers in a hurry. It works pretty well. Don't grease cake pans with normal cooking sprays or oil. Even with careful flouring, I have always had poor results with liquid fats for greasing cake pans. Always grease cake pans with a fat that is solid at room temperature such as butter, shortening, lard, or tallow. Oh, and although I have never used it, coconut oil should work. Cooling the cake just the right amount before tipping it out of the pan is also important. For most cakes, the cake needs to partially cool in the pan so it can firm up - cakes fresh from the oven are very soft and will break or tear apart under their own weight. But if you let the cake cool all the way to room temperature, the fats will start to solidify along the outside edges of the cake, causing the outer layer of the cake will often stick to the pan no matter how carefully you greased and floured. So you want to tip your cake out of the pan when it is still pretty warm. Ideally, partially cool your cake in the pan, with the pan sitting on a baking rack so air can flow underneath the pan for more even cooling. For a layer cake, cool 10-15 minutes before turning it out. A Bundt cake probably needs longer. If in doubt about how long to cool your cake, the cake pan should be cool enough to rest a finger on for a couple of seconds without burning you, but still too hot to comfortably grip. Unless you have asbestos hands, you will probably want pot holders or mitts to hold the pan while tipping out the cake. Before tipping out of a layer cake pan or a sheet pan, check to see if the sides of the cake have pulled away from the sides of the pan. If not, carefully loosen the cake from the sides of the pan by running a butter knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. (Unfortunately, that's another tip that doesn't work well with Bundt pans or shaped cake pans.) Some cake recipes are just prone to sticking even when you follow those procedures. I have noticed that recipes that have a really thin, liquid batter as well as other recipes that make a very moist, dense cake seem extra-prone to sticking. Avoid baking those kinds of cakes in Bundt pans...it's almost impossible to get them out in one piece. Use either layer cake pans or a sheet pan, and line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper. Grease the bottom of the pan to get the parchment paper to stick to the bottom of the pan, then grease and flour everything with the parchment in place. When you tip out the cake, the parchment normally comes out with the cake. Peel the paper off right away - it should easily peel off the cake without damaging it. And some cakes are by their nature pretty much impossible to get out of the pan in one piece. If the recipe calls for frosting and serving right in the baking pan, it's probably a good idea to do it that way. Last, a few cakes have totally different procedures, like angel food cakes. So it is always good to read your cake recipe carefully for any unusual instructions for pan preparation, cooling, or tipping out. Source: Have baked many cakes, and stuck and/or broke a whole bunch of them over the years until I learned the above.
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Post by octave1 on Jun 30, 2023 16:50:25 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, I was going to mention Angel Food Cake, which is nearly impossible to remove from the pan intact. But since you mention it, and it's strawberry season for me, I will try making it again, on a warm, dry day, because eggwhites are temperamental too.
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Post by brownrexx on Jun 30, 2023 17:54:42 GMT -5
I should have talked to you Laura_in_FL, before I baked that cake. It seems that I did just about everything wrong, except for the actual making of the batter. The cake tastes wonderful and lemony and hubby even ate some for breakfast. He didn't care about the appearance at all. I used Crisco and thought that I had really even coverage on the pan and it was even a non stick Bundt pan which was a joke. I remember Mom always using shortening and flour in her pans but I never knew if it was necessary so I skipped the flour step. Mistake! Live and learn I guess.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 30, 2023 18:11:32 GMT -5
If you don't bake, you'd have no reason to know all of that stuff, brownrexx. For years my kids were on a restricted diet, so I had to make all of their birthday cakes and baked goods from scratch. I had no choice but to learn!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jun 30, 2023 18:15:39 GMT -5
I have never dared to make an angel food cake. I have always been afraid that it would collapse either during baking or cooling.
Also, warm AND dry days are a rarity here! I have dry days, and I have many, many warm days - but rarely do I get both warm temperatures and low humidity together. Only occasionally in spring and fall.
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Post by paulf on Jun 30, 2023 22:46:00 GMT -5
Son-in-law and granddaughter are coming here for the 4th. Granddaughter will stay with us for a week. She is 14 and has a summer job instructing younger kids at a summer-long hockey camp. They have a week off so we get to have her with us. Dad is bringing shrimp for the Barby to go along with the steaks we have. Green beans and new potatoes from the garden along with sweet corn from the farm and lettuce, onions for salad from the raised beds. He does all the cooking on the grill...I burn stuff too often. We even got a new (to us) Weber Grill last week for a real bargain. A very lightly used $1000 grill for $200. Used like maybe three times. Not even any scorch marks. I may even try my hand at chicken just to see if it is the grill or me that is the problem.
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Post by octave1 on Jul 1, 2023 8:30:04 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL , Angel Food Cake (AFC) is very easy to make in terms of putting the ingredients together, and if you have the right kind of tube pan (the one that sits on supports when flipped upside down), the cake should come right off without collapsing. I made my first AFC in a bread pan, and that was probably the one that turned out best. The real trick is using older eggwithes, because any amount of moisture--including what is in the air, will negatively affect the result. Same for grease, and that is why the pan must not be greased at all.
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Post by september on Jul 1, 2023 9:54:45 GMT -5
I can make an angel food cake - have my mom's old two piece aluminum pan where the center funnel with base lifts out of the bottomless pan part and you can put it upside-down over a glass bottle to cool. The sides are straight, so you can run a knife around the edges to loosen first if needed. Then lift up holding the funnel part. Run a knife around the inside funnel part, and the flat base piece and there is very little waste. I not yet made a successful Bundt cake. They all get stuck and look like brownrexx 's or worse. I'm pretty sure I did the grease and flour at least the first time, and a very thick crisco smear the last time. I threw the pan away in disgust, and will ask for a new non-stick for my birthday. I thought the old one was non-stick, but it was also my mom's and very old and scratched up. Her bundt cakes turned out perfect, of course. My sister has luck with the cooking spray with added flour. I don't make many cakes so it will be a while before I try it.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 2, 2023 10:11:40 GMT -5
In my experience, a non-stick cooking pan with scratches is often worse for sticking than a regular pan that is unscratched. (Not to mention the chance that bits of the coating end up in your baked goods - yuck!)
Even without scratches, non-stick coatings wear out and things can stick even when the surface looks okay. Plus non-stick pans are generally dark colored so you have to adjust oven temperature, and even then cakes and cookies can over-brown.
I eventually got rid of all of my non-stick bakeware and use light-colored plain metal pans. Plus parchment paper when needed.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 2, 2023 22:07:56 GMT -5
I made an Indian dish with those 5 eggplants I picked yesterday - a one-dish sambar, with 2 dals and some steel cut oats, which isn't traditional, but a good combination with the dal. I started with a chopped purple onion sautéed in a little olive oil, and when lightly browned, I added a tb each of minced garlic and ginger, and stirred for a minute, then stirred in the cut up eggplants. I switched it to sauté/high, and stirred frequently, about 7 minutes, until a lot of the eggplant pieces were browning. Then I stirred in 3 tb of sambar masala powder, about 30 seconds, then added 5 c of water, and stirred to release anything on the bottom of the pot. Then I added 2/3 c steel cut oats, 2/3 c channa dal, and 1/3 c masoor dal, about ten curry leaves, 3/4 tsp turmeric, and salt to taste. I then hit OFF, then MANUAL and set it to 13 min. After finished, I let it release naturally. Meanwhile, I measured out the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, dried peppers, asafoetida, and a dozen or so curry leaves, and made the tarka, and added that at the end, along with some chopped cilantro. Eggplant sambar, with tarka on top, ready to stir in by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished eggplant sambar, topped with cilantro. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 3, 2023 9:39:53 GMT -5
Looks yummy!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 4, 2023 11:13:00 GMT -5
Bought our first corn of the season. Mine has not even tasseled yet. This corn is from Delaware and was good. I also made a new marinated shrimp recipe. The marinade contains shredded garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and Old Bay seasoning. It was a "keeper" recipe. The fried potatoes were made from the potato cubes that I blanched and froze last Fall. I love having these in the freezer and sometimes add them to soups. It is so easy and a great way to preserve my excess potatoes when they start sprouting in storage. 20230703_172846 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 4, 2023 21:30:24 GMT -5
I made some gazpacho today, surprisingly with frozen tomatoes from 2021! I went to my freezer yesterday, to pull out what I thought was the last bag, that I had taken a few tomatoes out of already. But way in the back, there was another bag, that somehow I had missed, but it was still in good condition. I had just over 60 oz of tomatoes, which I split into two batches, and made it in 2 parts in the Vitamix. I put a small cucumber, a half of a large pepper, half of a small garlic clove, half of a shallot, 2 tb EVOO, 1 tb sherry vinegar, salt to taste, and blended it briefly. Then I added 1½ tb chia seeds to it, let it gel about 5 minutes, then blended on high each time, until totally smooth. I mixed these two together, then refrigerated it all day. I got close to 4 qts of gazpacho! I diced up some more cucumbers, plus some fresh tomatoes and some chives to serve with (didn't have any more peppers), along with some croutons. Frozen tomatoes, from 2 years ago, ready to use for gazpacho. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Here's the soup, before I topped with the croutons. Gazpacho, made with frozen tomatoes, everything else from this season. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Earlier in the day I cooked the only thing I "cooked" all day - 3/4 c toor dal, which I cooked 13 minutes with 2 c water in the Instant Pot, which I cooled some, then ground in the food processor with some oily dried olives, pitted, along with some olive paste - both things I get all the time at Lidl - and added about 2 tb nam prik pao to it. I used this for a dip, for carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, and celery sticks.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 7, 2023 17:28:30 GMT -5
Today I finished my gazpacho - 2 smaller bowls for breakfast, then lunch! Had 8 bowls out of that nearly gallon of gazpacho I made. This afternoon I made my first batch of that favorite lentil salad of mine, since I got enough ripe tomatoes. I took out a 3 c bag of freekeh from the freezer last night - this is one of the main things I use that in, and I also cook the lentils with a couple of black cardamom pods, which along with the freekeh, makes the kitchen smell almost like I'm cooking something with bacon in it! I usually add 2/3 c freekeh to a lb of channa dal, added about 40 minutes after starting the dal in the Instant Pot, on slow cook, about 120 to 130 minutes - something I use for salad, so I can check it for doneness, and not overcook it. I also got about 3/4 c garlic chives, but I had to use some frozen habaneros from last year, as it's too early for most peppers, especially habs. And I got some sheep's milk feta cheese, a couple of months ago, getting ready for making this. First lentil salad this summer, with about 4 c of tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 9, 2023 22:02:11 GMT -5
I haven't made a Thai curry lately, but I had the red curry paste made and in the freezer, and after hearing someone mention Thai curry, I had to make some! I made a 50/50 mix of jasmine rice and millet and set that to cook, then started the curry. I cut up the vegetables, while the coconut milk was cooking down, then added the rest of the milk, followed by the fish sauce, palm sugar, and lime leaves, and the first veggies were the okra, onion chunks, and bottle gourd. This was cooked 10 min., then the eggplant pieces, and cooked for 10 more min. Then I fished the lime leaves out, corrected the seasonings with a little more palm sugar, then stirred in the basil leaves. Then I served it on some of that cooked jasmine rice and millet mix. The millet has such a mild flavor that the jasmine is still the main flavor. First thing I did was set some 50/50 jasmine rice and millet to cook, before the Thai curry. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Starting the Thai curry, cooking down some of the coconut milk with the curry paste, until the oil separates. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The rest of the milk went in, then the lime leaves, fish sauce, and palm sugar, and mixed. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Cut up bottle gourd and onion, in chucks, is cooked 10 minutes, then eggplant chunks, and cooked 10 more minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Lime leaves removed, then lime juice added, and Thai and Italian basils added last. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Thai curry, with bottle gourd, okra, onion, and eggplant cut up, served on the jasmine rice/millet mix. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by september on Jul 9, 2023 22:42:31 GMT -5
pepperhead212 , I never knew fresh lime leaves could be used for cooking! So do they impart a bit of a bitter lime taste? What other things could you use them in? I do know that when I vacuum up fallen lime or lemon leaves, it sure imparts a nice smell to the room!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 9, 2023 23:12:42 GMT -5
september Those things are the Makrut lime leaves - a.k.a. kaffir lime leaves. The leaves have an incredible aroma - I'm sure they are different aroma than regular lime or lemon trees, but it is definitely an essential flavor in a lot of Thai recipes. When I started growing that Kaffir lime tree 22 years ago, they had made it illegal to import the lime leaves into this country, due to citrus canker being brought in on it (same with Szechwan peppercorns, back then), and it wasn't a commercially grown item yet in this country. Eventually, by the time I had the tree growing a few years when they started getting the lime leaves in stores, though they were never in very great condition. The fresh ones right off the plants are so intense that the amounts called for in recipes in books I reduce by 1 or 2, when I make them.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 10, 2023 15:27:52 GMT -5
september, here is an article comparing and contrasting the use of lime leaves and Makrut/kaffir lime leaves: dwellbymichelle.com/kaffir-lime-leaves-vs-lime-leaves/. Also, here is an article on using lemon leaves in cooking: www.emikodavies.com/cooking-with-lemon-leaves/. Last, here is a shorter overview of ways to use all sorts of citrus leaves in cooking: www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/citrus/are-citrus-leaves-edible.htmTL;DR version: Regular lime leaves are not a substitute for Makrut/kaffir lime leaves, since they have a different flavor and tougher texture. However, leaves of limes, lemons, and other citrus have culinary uses, too. Most commonly they are used for wrapping foods or are used between foods on kebabs to impart flavor and aroma during cooking. They are also used like bay leaves in soups and stews. But in most of these uses, the citrus leaves are not eaten because they can be bitter and tough. Citrus leaves can also be finely cut or crumbled and then brewed to make teas.
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Post by september on Jul 10, 2023 21:16:34 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL , thank you! Verrrry interesting! I may use the tea idea, I have lemon, lime and orange trees in pots. I use bay leaves all the time in soups and stews, maybe lemon or lime leaves in a chicken Mexican style stew? Orange leaves for something sweet and sour with pineapple? I don't attempt much true ethnic cooking but got to wondering if lime or lemon leaves could impart some kind of interesting flavors. Even boiling them in a simple syrup which could be whipped into a flavored frosting?
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 12, 2023 7:07:55 GMT -5
A nice summer meal last night. I picked my first green beans so I made a crock pot PA Dutch meal for hubby. It is called ham and green beans and it is very plain and boring in my opinion but he really likes it so I made a nice fried chicken salad for myself. Yes, I know iceberg lettuce has no nutrition, but I like it. I also made the first Caprese salad of the season with my fresh basil but I had to buy a tomato. 20230711_174611 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by paulf on Jul 12, 2023 10:33:01 GMT -5
Today will be green beans with new potatoes, sweet corn and roast beef slow cooked in a crock pot.
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Post by rdback on Jul 12, 2023 10:37:17 GMT -5
...It is called ham and green beans...
...and don't forget the potatoes. YUM!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 12, 2023 14:01:22 GMT -5
For lunch the past two days I've had this salad: www.themediterraneandish.com/mediterranean-chickpea-salad-with-zaatar-fried-eggplant/For simplicity, I skip the eggplant and just make the salad. The only modifications I make to the salad are (1) using sweet onions - raw red onions are just way too strong for me, and (2) more lime juice in the vinaigrette - I just keep adding more until I like it. But I do really like lime. For those who aren't real lime lovers, it makes sense to make the vinaigrette per the directions and taste it to decide if you want it more lime-y. The real key to making this salad sing is the fresh herbs, especially the fresh dill. I know it sounds like a LOT of herbs, but don't skimp! This salad keeps for a few days in the fridge before the veggies start getting too mushy. Which is good, because for me, this salad makes four satisfying meals. So when I make this salad I have lunch taken care of for most of the week. It's nice for hot summer days when a cool lunch is refreshing. Rather than serving it with pita chips, I just crumble some feta on top. Once I tried it with Tzatziki sauce dribbled on it, which was also pretty good.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 12, 2023 14:04:11 GMT -5
rdback, yes it had cubed potatoes and I really spiced it up and added a chopped onion!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 12, 2023 15:13:21 GMT -5
I made a late lunch today - an omelette, to use up those 2 Numex peppers that had bad tips on them, then I also cut up the largest of the 2 Pumpkin Spice Jalapeños, figuring that would add more heat to it. However, after tasting small pieces of the veins, and getting no heat, I chewed up a half of that jalapeño, and I didn't get even a hint of heat! I only got a very slight bit of heat from all of the peppers in the omelette, and they were still good. Starting an omelette, with some Numex peppers and one jalapeño. by pepperhead212, on Flickr I cooked the eggs most of the way, then put some Monterey jack cheese on it, and covered it, and let it melt, off heat. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished pepper cheese omelette. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 12, 2023 20:36:43 GMT -5
I had more than enough tomatoes to dice up 2 lbs of tomatoes, to make that pasta dish I make every year, with a bunch of basil, some minced garlic, and some EVOO, and this is mixed with the hot pasta, and this is the only cooking the tomatoes get in this. Other batches I will add other things to, for variations, but the first time is always the simple batch. 3 kinds of basil, plus the garlic and EVOO, before adding the tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Tomatoes mixed in with the other ingredients, after draining some of the clear juice off. by pepperhead212, on Flickr 4 oz Kamut, soaked, then cooked with 6 oz of channa dal in the Instant Pot, then mixed with 6 oz ditalini, after cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The finished dish, with the drained pasta, Kamut, and channa dal stirred into it, the residual heat the only cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by september on Jul 12, 2023 21:38:58 GMT -5
I've been having this same salad for lunch for the last three days. It reminds me of what we ate growing up. My potted greenhouse cucumbers have been producing well, have given away many to neighbors and my son, can't keep up with production. My quickie salad is two cut up cukes, and two sliced young slightly bulbing onions, treated like green scallions. Salad dressing of equal parts of kefir and sour cream with a dab of mayo, salt and pepper and some chopped dill. Bread is Lithuanian dark rye, with just butter.
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