losthighway wrote: Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:34 pm Goes well with:

Fried plantains (don't cook them until they start turning brown)

True if you're going for almost dessert-like sweet plantains, which are pretty damn great. But squashed into little fritters or in a dish like mofongo you want green. Any Mexican/Puerto Rican market worth a damn will carry both.

I used to spend hours cooking, now I am in dad mode pretty much all the time. I used to also have time to watch movies! I basically gave that all up when my daughter came along so that I could still make time for music.

I need recipes w/ minimal cooking where you mostly cut up a bunch of fresh stuff and put it on the table.

We do that with riffs on pho, rice bowls, and tacos but I need to add more to the repertoire.

Due meds messed up taste I’ve had to make changes to my diet and inadvertently rediscovered the joy of incredibly simple pasta recipes. Like just oil, garlic and cherry tomato with spaghetti. It’s amazing how much you can get out of one ingredient with aromatics. I’ve been kind of going through single ingredients and different types of aromatic. It’s very quality dependent, you really want fresh and best.

I really recommend.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Mon Feb 05, 2024 8:07 am I need recipes w/ minimal cooking where you mostly cut up a bunch of fresh stuff and put it on the table.

This is not how I usually cook currently but it's an interesting challenge, and may need to do more of this at some point. Ideas I can think of that you may already have covered:

-Crumbled anything on hand: meat, fake meat, block of tofu crumbled up, finely chopped vegetables (make big batches in a food processor and freeze perhaps).. basically anything that can be browned in a pan in 5 minutes.

-Liquid egg, or the vegan kind (never tried). Always an easy thing you can serve individually, or add to the above in the last minute of cooking for some extra substance. Sometimes it's nice to make a thin omelette, roll it up and slice it, and use that as a topping.

-Spinach on hand, always. Not only is it one of the healthiest things you can eat, it cooks almost instantly and can be added to nearly anything last minute.

-thin breads that can quickly be pan fried or steamed. Tortillas are pretty obvious, but chapati, bao, rice crepes, etc. can make the ordinary seem less so.

-kraut/pickled anything on hand. I wish I took the time to make it more often, but it's easy enough to buy and it's always healthy, versatile, and delicious.

penningtron wrote: Sun Feb 04, 2024 1:05 pm

losthighway wrote: Sun Feb 04, 2024 12:34 pm Goes well with:

Fried plantains (don't cook them until they start turning brown)

True if you're going for almost dessert-like sweet plantains, which are pretty damn great. But squashed into little fritters or in a dish like mofongo you want green. Any Mexican/Puerto Rican market worth a damn will carry both.

Yinz can do'em in the air fryer in no time.

Goddamn is there anything the air fryer can't do. Will try that, as I hate actual frying at home.

rsmurphy wrote: Sun Feb 04, 2024 9:30 am Being a longtime oatmeal fan since childhood lately I've been adulting my oatmeal intake by way of overnight oats. First I started experimenting with market brands like Oats Overnight Shakes and Wella grain-free cereal oats substitute, and dolling them up with fruit toppings and/or a bit of maple syrup. Do you have a favorite brand, or can you share your own overnight oats recipe/process? I'm a stubborn cow and it took a long time to shake the minute-oats-brown sugar-ton of butter-milk habit. I see a lot of online chatter but it's impossible to get a definitive answer that works for your personal tastes, so I'm just looking to experiment with a range of your preferences. Thanks!

Avoid chia seeds in overnight oats. They'll turn it to jelly. Okay to add at the last minute, or even a couple of hours before you eat, but not overnight.

Other than that, I just use fruit, cinnamon, ginger. Pretty boring

Pembs wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 11:54 am Avoid chia seeds in overnight oats. They'll turn it to jelly. Okay to add at the last minute, or even a couple of hours before you eat, but not overnight.

Other than that, I just use fruit, cinnamon, ginger. Pretty boring

Heard!

I've been thinking about biscuits a lot, in addition to a side discussion in these forums about homemade being the way to go. Personally, I don't mind Pillsbury biscuits from the can. They taste fine and I like the audible pop sound that comes from opening a tube. Such a thrill! Anyway, I came across a few videos about going the homemade route. Most of them said not to use a rolling pin, but I then saw this grandma use one. Thoughts on a rolling pin? I'm also in love with her flour sifter - that shit looks antebellum

rsmurphy wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 3:51 pm

Pembs wrote: Thu Feb 08, 2024 11:54 am Avoid chia seeds in overnight oats. They'll turn it to jelly. Okay to add at the last minute, or even a couple of hours before you eat, but not overnight.

Other than that, I just use fruit, cinnamon, ginger. Pretty boring

Heard!

I've been thinking about biscuits a lot, in addition to a side discussion in these forums about homemade being the way to go. Personally, I don't mind Pillsbury biscuits from the can. They taste fine and I like the audible pop sound that comes from opening a tube. Such a thrill! Anyway, I came across a few videos about going the homemade route. Most of them said not to use a rolling pin, but I then saw this grandma use one. Thoughts on a rolling pin? I'm also in love with her flour sifter - that shit looks antebellum

I don't know if you can buy White Lily self-rising flour in Chicago, but if you CAN, it will make the best biscuits, and you can leave out the cream of tartar and the baking powder.

If necessary, I can of course mail you five pounds of White Lily. It really is the best flour for biscuits.

(and where it says shortening, let me just say that lard is the way to go, if you wanna do it like grandma did it.)

Oh, and I have that same flour sifter, shortening cutter, and sugar container, because Grandma.