| THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
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cook more requires thought. planning. cunning. and a realization that if i'm walking a half-mile to get to the store, cooking food won't take that much longer. on saturday i walked to the library and the lao market, a mile and a quarter each way. lao market is amazing and i also allowed myself a bowl of pho chay. on the way home, i got a call from my neighbor about a semi-impromptu potluck dinner party that evening. i waltzed home dreaming of peas and onions in coconut milk. peas and onions in coconut milk with mint frozen peas pearl onions, halved with outer skins removed coconut milk mint, minced lemon pepper (or perhaps next time, salt and pepper and lemon juice) saute onions until the edges look burnt. add frozen peas. realize your pan's a bit small but proceed anyway. break up the lumps of peas frozen together and heat through. dump in coconut milk, heat through again. sprinkle with plenty of lemon pepper. transfer to oversized serving dish add mint and mix. let sit for a bit before you eat. also good for breakfast the next day. what have you been cooking? do you improvise? do you think about eating what we normally decide unpalatable? i am contemplating growing a tea bush and raising crickets. |
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I learned an important thing so far: use herbs in hot oil first, before adding thickeners like onions or nuts (never use flour as it is bland, tasteless and burns too easily). Herbs added after the thickeners or at the end of cooking have en entirely different strength and flavor from those added to the oil first and stir fried lightly. Had hard boiled egg, salmon (cajun with pepper and smoked) and bella cheese a good healthy lunch before devouring some (a whole pan) of brownies. Double chocolate chip brownies from the bakery: not good for me. I rationalized I needed the sugar since my bs was 80 after eating an english muffin with butter and cinnamon sugar on both halves for breakfast hours ago. Gott alet go of the cofee. Obviously. I'll be in Tacoma on Thursday and Friday. And coming to Portland area Sept 18. |
Ingredients: * 1/3 c. coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts * 1 c. all-purpose flour * 1/2 tsp baking powder * 1/4 tsp baking soda * 1/2 c. granulated sugar * 1/2 c. packed brown sugar * 1/4 c. unsalted butter, softened * 1 tsp. vanilla extract * 1 large egg * 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips * 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt*** * Cooking spray ***It must be coarse sea salt. If you use table salt, you will regret it. Do not tempt fate. Preheat oven to 350°. (Optional step: place peanuts on a baking sheet and roast for about 8 minutes. Cool.) Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in one bowl. In another bowl, mix sugars and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, and mix. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, and mix until well blended. Stir in peanuts, chocolate chips, and salt. Drop dough onto baking sheets sprayed with cooking spray, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 10 min. or until golden brown. Cool. That said, next time I make these, I'll add more salt and fewer chocolate chips. |
For dinner, I took sliced portobello mushrooms and sauteed them in white wine and butter. To this I added slices of roasted red peppers, left over pot roast, and about 2-3 TB goat cheese. Salted to taste, spooned over naan bread. It looked hideous but, goddamn, it was good. |
Yep, I improvise. This is why I love cooking and regard baking with trepidation. Unpalatable? I was raised by the High Priest of Unholy Food Combinations, and I've learned that a lot of seemingly frightening ideas actually taste pretty good, but I try to avoid things that I believe will make me ill (e.g., blending acidic foods and chocolate, or acidic foods and dairy). I don't think about eating what I would deem non-food items (e.g., crickets). I tend to stick to European foods, and I'd like to branch into other cuisines. I cooked with ginger for the first time a few weeks ago, and now would like to explore the uses of ginger more adventurously. |
last night it was fusion. rubens on sprouted rye, with tempeh (instead of beef) and kimchee (instead of sauerkraut). i put more kimchee (chopped) into the dressing, along with sesame oil and cider vinegar in addition to more traditional items. swiss cheese for me, none for the vegans. yesterday i finished reading extreme cuisine by jerry hopkins, today it was how to cook a wolf by m.f.k. fisher. despite being vege for ten years now, i still read about preparing meat. most vegetarian cookbooks are so focused on that purpose to tell me anything really interesting. on to alice b. toklas' cookbook. |
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i've heard salma hayek talk about eating roasted crickets on corn tortillas with guacamole. que sabor. i almost bought a whole pig's head over christmas. they were on sale at the latino market because they're good tamale fillers. but i figured i would probably just end up with most of the head going bad in my refrigerator. |
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sometime recently i saw a picture of a man with the skin off a pig's head draped over his own. in an old issue of gourmet, i think. it was eerie. |
last year i started noticing that i had developed an intolerance to certain kinds of nuts. i think the cashew is the biggest offender, but i started avoiding all tree nuts after i had to leave a party last christmas in pain. they had a big dish of mixed nuts. vomiting and diarrhea ensued. apparently peanuts don't affect me. my breakfast this morning was trail mix (peanuts, raisins, chocolate) and coffee. i went to my job where i drank some cranberry juice. when i got home at 8 o'clock i didn't have much food in the house except two boiled eggs and a bag of mixed nuts leftover from this christmas. stupidly, i poured a little of it in my hand and popped it in my mouth. immediately, the first symptom hit. it feels like the soft tissue in my throat gets tight and hard; it feels like shards of the nut are lodged in my throat. then i start feeling sick to my stomach. for the next 3 hours i'm lying in bed in a fetal position and cursing myself. my cat jumped onto the bed and curled up next me, so that was nice. there's still a little tightness in my throat, but it's mostly gone. i still feel a little sick. no diarrhea...yet. |