The Food Thread

Moonbear

I hope it ripens before it rots. That annoys me when produce is shipped too green and never ripens before it rots. Along the lines of lisab's suggestion, have you tried placing it in a paper bag? Not plastic, but paper. It still allows some air flow so it doesn't mold/rot, but also supposedly helps concentrate ethylene gas to hasten ripening.

Borek

Good idea, I didn't think about it (thanks Lisa!). I plan to eat it this weekend no matter what, but I will try this paper bag idea.

That is, if I will find a paper bag. We are all plastic here. I think it will be easier to roll it up in a newspaper.

turbo

If you put unripe fruit in proximity to tomatoes, the ethylene given off by the tomatoes will hasten ripening. That's a good thing to know, BTW, so you can avoid putting expensive fresh fruit near tomatoes when you don't want the accelerated ripening.

Jimmy Snyder

Crackpot stew.

Note: Use organic ingredients only for the well documented health benefits.

1.38 lbs cubed Unicorn (you can substitute beef if your butcher does not carry unicorn)
1 can elixer of life (or chicken broth when not in season)
1 can sweet corn, drain the sugar water (you can cut the kernels from a fresh ear of corn if you can't get good canned corn)
5 mushrooms. Gather these from local woods. Take no heed of which kind, all mushrooms are alike.
1 bell pepper.
3 carrots.
A large potato or two. A potatoe or two if you are a Republican.
1 cup of white wine. (Red wine if you are pedantic)
Add some fairy dust, or to curry favor, favor curry.

Sear the unicorn. Cut the vegetables. Put everything into the crackpot and leave on high heat all day.

Evo

Sounds yummy! Except, I would keep it simmering all day. Unicorns are delicate.

Moonbear

Is canned unicorn okay? I have a hard time getting it fresh this time of year. And, do I need to go to the woods to get the mushrooms, or is it okay to use the ones growing in that damp corner in the basement?

micromass

I just made couscous with winter vegetables. It was good, but I made far too much. I'll have enough to eat for 3 days!!!

turbo

I can't stand canned unicorn. The quality control is atrocious. I have to go shoot my own, for a good meal.

It's getting harder and harder to find them. Plus the female virgins are getting younger all the time, it seems.

rollcast

Just because some poor sod suggested a method for creating free energy or he thinks that science is wrong, doesn't mean you have to shove some soup into some orifice of his body and then leave to bake while you go to work.

lisab

I bought a nice Italian sausage, mushrooms, and asparagus tonight for dinner. It *looked* delicious, but my first bite of asparagus was full of grit! Yes, I washed it before cooking it -- apparently not nearly enough, though. The grit got into the mushrooms, too. .

Only the sausage was edible.

Grrrrr !

rhody

Wow, this thread needs saving from crackpot stew recipes.

A friend and master chef recommended this: America's Test Kitchen He has been a member on and off for the last decade. These guys are the real deal, the more you dig into what they have to offer the more you will be impressed. I just joined 29.95$ a year and I just skimmed the science section for the past 12 years. Guess what I am using their knowledge for ? Cooking new and more healthy meals, yes, trying to create the most flavorful, memorable sauces, mild, medium, hot, extra hot sauces on the planet, most definitely, yes. He also lent me their cookbook summary of their best recipes for the last decade. Check them out.

Rhody...

Moonbear

The Girl Scout cookies I ordered got delivered today, plus a cheesecake and jalapeno cheese stuffed pretzels (frozen) from another fundraiser a former student guilted me into, and I spent tonight making fudge because tomorrow is my turn to provide snacks for my class and one student can't eat gluten, so everything I got today isn't acceptable for sharing with the group. I'm bringing them a proper lunch too, since it's mid semester when they start looking emaciated from too many exams and not enough eating. It's a class with just 8 students and isn't over until 12:30, so they decided to take turns bringing snacks so they could last the full time without grumbling stomachs.

Jimmy Snyder

Tonight we have chicken soup a la turbo.

Roast 6 chicken drumsticks (We all like dark meat. You can roast a whole chicken or just breasts, etc.)
Cut off the tips of carrots and celery and lightly boil them along with the carrot peelings to get a broth started.
Slice the carrots and celery into bite size chunks and slice some mushrooms too.
When the chicken is cooked through, remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Put the skin and bones in the broth.
When the broth is ready, strain it. Toss the bones and send the rest to the compost pile.
Put the cut veggies and meat into the broth.

Evo

Sounds good, except I add chicken bouillion to the water, 1 cube per cup of water, gives a really great flavor to the soup. You can use chicken stock instead of the bouillion and water if you have it.

micromass

I made carrot soufflé today. The taste was superb, but it was too liquid. I guess I used too much bechamel/too thin bechamel.

On another note, my new vegetarian cook book just arrived. It has 600 pages of recipes. I'm gonna have lots of fun with it.

turbo

Sounds good, Jimmy. When my wife finds sales on thighs or whole legs, she'll stock up, so I can just toddle on out to one of the chest freezers and get started. I always dust the chicken-parts with powdered sage, smoked paprika, black pepper, and a bit of salt before roasting. When it's time to to make soup, those modest seasonings really stand out!

Edit: there are only two of us here, so it makes sense to start with chicken-parts instead of a whole chicken. I don't like the texture of white-meat that has been frozen, and we both prefer dark meat, like your family. It makes a richer soup. When my wife finds a killer deal on whole chickens, we plan on making big batches of chicken soup, and try to make sure that my father has some nice home-made soup in his 'fridge.

Jimmy Snyder

Thanks, turbo, for the recipe. I owe you one. Here's the background. I'm a house husband now while my wife works. She leaves very early in the morning and is home by 4:00. I told her I would cook dinners to take the pressure off of her and I did make a few, but she is a great cook and doesn't like my cooking. Yesterday I bought a rib-eye steak and prepared some mashed potatoes. I started to prepare the steak when she took over from me and ended up doing the rest. I also bought the chicken and told her I would make chicken soup. When I said so on chat, turbo suggested the recipe above which I followed today. My wife liked the soup and said so. Then she had a second bowl. Then she said she would take some of it to work tomorrow for lunch. I'm as giddy as one of those dippy housewives in a 50's ad in Good Housekeeping. Well, that's not humanly possible, but I am glad to take this burden off of my wife. Now here's the upshot. This is what my wife would have me do tomorrow.

I have a large can of crushed tomatoes and a small can of tomato puree. I'm going to get about a pound of ground beef and an italian sausage.

Slice the sausage and sear the pieces. Fry the ground beef and pour off the grease. Put the sausage, ground beef, crushed tomatoes and paste, and some red wine into a large pot and simmer. Add Italian Spice (a brand name that she likes) and some bay leaves. When ready to serve, boil some spaghetti.

If anyone can improve on this, let me know.