What did you Bake/Cook Today?!?!?! :)

[spirilis]

1 bowl cereal with Rice Milk (I'm dairy allergic; yes it tastes as bad as it sounds)
and sometimes I have a Freezee for dessert.

I have an odd taste for ricemilk, especially the chocolate kind. Tastes really good to me... at least one brand in particular (Rice Dream). The soy dream-brand soymilk is good too. Maybe I'm a freak

 

[Ivy]

Nobody's allergic to cow's milk here but I don't keep it around all the time (when I do, it's always skim). We drink some soy but I don't like to rely on that either. I love rice milk but my kids won't drink it. They love hemp milk, though. It's too expensive to buy all the time, but it's great nutritionally (lots of nice omega3s and 6s and all that jazz) so I get it when I go to Whole Foods.

For the non-dairyites among us, Tofutti Cuties are really good. I would never have guessed they weren't real ice cream.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

Nobody's allergic to cow's milk here but I don't keep it around all the time (when I do, it's always skim). We drink some soy but I don't like to rely on that either. I love rice milk but my kids won't drink it. They love hemp milk, though. It's too expensive to buy all the time, but it's great nutritionally (lots of nice omega3s and 6s and all that jazz) so I get it when I go to Whole Foods.

For the non-dairyites among us, Tofutti Cuties are really good. I would never have guessed they weren't real ice cream.

Nobody is more of a "real food" snob than me, but Tofutti Cuties are astoundingly good. Like Ivy, I cannot tell the difference between them and a run of the mill ice cream.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I do know how to cook all sorts of eggs. I don't know how to do much more than that. I hope I learn before I move out. And I made a roast once, and my mother taught me how to make Quiche. My mother and I learned that if we avoid cooking together, we are on good terms. So I've never really learned.

Does anyone know of sites with Recipes For Incompetent Cooks for when I move out next year? I have plenty of potential, but no desire to learn when people do it for me and I genuinely enjoy cleaning to pitch in my share.

The best resource I know of for easy recipes is foodnetwork.com. On their front page they have a tab "Quick and Easy" and most of the recipes are just that. Every recipe on the site is also rated according to difficulty, which most recipe sites don't do. Also, that site has a lot of tutorials that explain some basic terms and techniques. For a cookbook try the "Complete I Hate To Cook Book". It's written for people who don't want to make a hobby of cooking, but just want to be able to feed themselves.

 

[Oberon]

I do know how to cook all sorts of eggs. I don't know how to do much more than that. I hope I learn before I move out. And I made a roast once, and my mother taught me how to make Quiche. My mother and I learned that if we avoid cooking together, we are on good terms. So I've never really learned.

Does anyone know of sites with Recipes For Incompetent Cooks for when I move out next year? I have plenty of potential, but no desire to learn when people do it for me and I genuinely enjoy cleaning to pitch in my share.

You really need to get a copy of The Joy of Cooking. It's one of the very few cookbooks I can just sit down and read for enjoyment. You see, let's say you want to make pancakes, for example...you don't have to just toss open The Joy of Cooking to the pancake recipes and start cooking. Instead, there'll be a couple of paragraphs in the front of the pancake section (yes, there is one) that tell you basic information about pancakes, what to do, what to be sure not to do, how the different ingredients affect the outcome, and so on.

So by the time you DO try out the basic pancake recipe, you've already got a good handle on how to proceed. It's a great cookbook for that very reason. With that cookbook in hand, I wouldn't be afraid to try most any new recipe at home, albeit in a basic form.

I once used a copy of The Joy of Cooking to guide me through making a truly tasty batch of biscuits in an elk hunting camp in Colorado on the first try. My father was so enthusiastic I bought him his own copy of the cookbook.

 

[Ivy]

I second the move to get Usehername a copy of Joy of Cooking! It really does go beyond mere steps and directions, and gives you a good foundation in HOW to cook. I use mine all the time. I am not a huge fan of cooking, either, but if I'm going to cook something I want it to be good and well-crafted. And I want to know how I made it instead of simply being a conduit for somebody else's expertise.

 

[Geoff]

Nobody's allergic to cow's milk here but I don't keep it around all the time (when I do, it's always skim). We drink some soy but I don't like to rely on that either. I love rice milk but my kids won't drink it. They love hemp milk, though. It's too expensive to buy all the time, but it's great nutritionally (lots of nice omega3s and 6s and all that jazz) so I get it when I go to Whole Foods.

For the non-dairyites among us, Tofutti Cuties are really good. I would never have guessed they weren't real ice cream.

Much ice-cream is made with non-milk vegetable fat, in any case. Just like McDonalds fat.. sorry McDonalds milkshakes.

-Geoff

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

For a workhorse everyday cookbook with a little background, and explanations of why you're doing what you're doing, I strongly prefer "The New Best Recipe" to "The Joy Of Cooking". "New Best Recipe" is by the people that do America's Test Kitchen on PBS.

I find that "New Best Recipe" includes more thorough explanations of why you are using the methods and ingredients specified and also details why other variations went wrong. It appeals more to a scientific way of thinking about cooking, and I've never had any of the recipes fail me. "Joy Of Cooking" is homier and more reminiscent of Grandma cooling pies on the windowsill or Donna Reed making a Sunday roast. I own both, and while they're both fine, I find "Joy Of Cooking" a little bit anachronistic for my taste. It doesn't include new recipes that incorporate modern influences on the way people eat today, like ethnic flavors and small plates. "New Best Recipe" has all the old standards, plus the newfangled stuff.

One caveat: "Joy Of Cooking" is a fairly easy book to work with physically, while "New Best Recipe" is a weighty behemoth that resembles an unabridged dictionary.

 

[Ivy]

I have an old copy of Joy of Cooking, and it has some delightful sexism in it.

I'll check out that book. Thanks!

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

P.S., I just found out that the same authors of "New Best Recipe" have a new book called "Best 30-Minute Recipe". It's not as comprehensive, with only 300 recipes compared to the original's 1000 recipes, but it emphasizes quick and easy stuff for everyday cooking.

 

[Oberon]

"Joy Of Cooking" is homier and more reminiscent of Grandma cooling pies on the windowsill or Donna Reed making a Sunday roast. I own both, and while they're both fine, I find "Joy Of Cooking" a little bit anachronistic for my taste. It doesn't include new recipes that incorporate modern influences on the way people eat today, like ethnic flavors and small plates.

From reading the writeup on Amazon, the 75th Anniversary Edition of JoC apparently addresses some of those issues, though perhaps not to the degree you would prefer.

 

[Shimpei]

And Shimpei, can I ask what goes in between the chicken breasts & at what temp & for how long you cook it? (You bake that in the oven, right?) (And the bacon strips go on top while they're still raw?)

That one looks very do-able for me. I might even put the cheese on it and have a minor allergic reaction it -- looks like a real meal I can create.

You look like a genius. I wish I knew already how to cook; my first year out is going to be not so tasty.

It goes like this: You put bacon strips in two "columns" on the bottom of the oven pan so when you finish layering you can put the ends of the stripes together with baking pins on the top.
Then come one layer of chicken strips (two-three chicken breasts without bones and skin), then one layer of shredded cheese, then another layer of chicken strips etc. Then come the bacon strips.
You pour a cup of water beside the chicken "bum", cover it with aluminum foil and then put it in the oven. You cook it on medium heat for around one hour.
Enjoy!

 

[Oberon]

Hey Shim, have you ever had Rumaki?

 

[Geoff]

Geoff's Turkey Chilli Burgers (I really ought to come up with a better name for this...)

500g or 1lb of healthy lean turkey breast slices/steaks (sometimes called escalopes), chopped finely
2 red chilli peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh chopped leaf coriander (also called cilantro)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh chopped mint

Mix all ingredients together and form into about 5 or 6 burgers. Squeeze each handful tightly to make it stick. Optional : refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Heat a grill/pan/bbq to a med-high heat... cook burgers about 6 or 7 minutes each side.. when turning, turn the heat down to a low medium to avoid it burning before it's cooked through.

Made this one up/cooked it over the weekend. Absolutely delicious... and about 90cal and 0.5 g of sat fats per burger. Pretty decent in a toasted pitta or bun with something like fat-free blue cheese dressing as a sauce.

Enjoy!

 

[Geoff]

Geoff's Easy Rogan Josh curried beef.

1/4 jar of patak's rogan josh curry paste
1 large onion
1 cup of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
300g (10oz or so) of extra matured lean beef (21 days matured is perfect)
200 ml / 1/2 pint of top quality beef stock
1 large tin (500g or so) of premium chopped tomatoes

Gently fry the onions until softened.
Add the beef and the paste and fry at a higher heat until beef is just cooked through
Add the stock, tomatoes, and coriander.
Simmer for a good 30 minutes, or if time allows a few hours in a slow cooker/crock pot, on a low heat.

Serves 2, over boiled rice. Serve with mango chutney and naan bread.

It really is that simple, but the matured beef just makes for a fabulous rich curry base.

-Geoff (posting a very english recipe!)

 

[Ivy]

Geoff's Turkey Chilli Burgers (I really ought to come up with a better name for this...)

500g or 1lb of healthy lean turkey breast slices/steaks (sometimes called escalopes), chopped finely
2 red chilli peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh chopped leaf coriander (also called cilantro)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh chopped mint

Mix all ingredients together and form into about 5 or 6 burgers. Squeeze each handful tightly to make it stick. Optional : refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Heat a grill/pan/bbq to a med-high heat... cook burgers about 6 or 7 minutes each side.. when turning, turn the heat down to a low medium to avoid it burning before it's cooked through.

Made this one up/cooked it over the weekend. Absolutely delicious... and about 90cal and 0.5 g of sat fats per burger. Pretty decent in a toasted pitta or bun with something like fat-free blue cheese dressing as a sauce.

Enjoy!

I'm printing this one out.

Except I'll omit the cilantro

 

[alicia91]

That sound great Geoff. Do you think it's important to use the escalopes of turkey or would ground turkey be easier?

 

[Geoff]

That sound great Geoff. Do you think it's important to use the escalopes of turkey or would ground turkey be easier?

I use the real turkey breast/escalopes because they are tastier - but you can use the ground turkey - it would be quicker I would advise just checking the label first as ground turkey is often much fattier!

 

[alicia91]

Ok - I'll use the escalopes then!

I've noticed that ground turkey now comes in two fat levels - 85% lean and ?? 91% (I think). But the latter is significantly more expensive.

 

[Geoff]

Ok - I'll use the escalopes then!

I've noticed that ground turkey now comes in two fat levels - 85% lean and ?? 91% (I think). But the latter is significantly more expensive.

Oh! Lucky you. In the UK there doesn't appear much choice in ground turkey, so I avoid it.

Good luck with the recipe. The trick to it being delicious is for it to be just cooked... don't over cook it