No more considering Lolita cheese! Surcie from Sleevendog!
3 years ago
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3 years ago
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A wonderful visit with a CF friend!
Comments (13)LOL - my beautiful gift bag - can you tell I was makeup shopping? We had such a wonderful visit - it was way too short and I know you all will NOT believe that - especially considering that it was Alexa and ME involved - there was NO alcohol. none. zip. nada. OK, pick yourselves up off the floor...we still had a 6 hr drive ahead of us, so Scott definitely couldn't and we did arrive at 10:30 AM...we considered bloody mary's but the visit was so short, we never got to them. :-) First Alexa gave me a wonderful basket filled with some of her home canned goodies! I got some of the gingered holiday chutney! YEA! Also some yummy looking apricot chutney, and some pickled asparagus! I appreciate these so much because I know what it takes to can - and I also am skeptical as to whether anything I have done this year is going to be edible - LOL! also in my basket were some green bean crisps that she got at the local farmer's market - these things are addictive. We can't figure out how they make them. They're crunchy but light green beans. (Sammy had one in the car and she likes them too.) Also some beautiful little wooden serving dishes - Alexa knows that sometimes my "entertaining" involves cocktails and assorted nuts - LOL. For lunch she made bbq'd pork sandwiches and following Alexa's lead, we put our coleslaw right on the sandwich - mmmm! We also had a yummy salad with lots of veggies and fresh cheese She had also made some great tortilla roll ups - we loved the red ones which had jalapenos in them. Here we are in Alexa's picturesque back yard with Sammy (who was a bit of a pain) Here are the texting buddies (LOVE that hair!) And here are all of us minus Scott who was taking the pic... Alexa's boys are adorable and friendly - and Scott and I both found Alexa to be charming, intelligent, funny, interesting, and a wonderful hostess. She was able to do all of this without having a car to get around - with her DH's vehicle issues this week! We all were so at ease together - we plan to get together again when we had down that way. I don't think the boys will let us forget it, either - LOL. Sorry it took me so long - we were on the road til almost 8 last night...long day but very fun. And I forgot to say that she lives in a beautiful beautiful area... Stacy...See MoreSoups that freeze well
Comments (4)Oh wow, just noticed you are making all of these yourself? They all would benefit from a few things waiting until the heat and serve time...a half hour before party time. (keeps cooking during the party even on a simmer) Cheese, cream/milk, coconut milk, herbs, etc. Basically anything that is added last in the recipe that says "add last and bring to temp and serve". Canned corn is kinda dead tasting and usually full of sugar. Frozen, added morning-of, would be better. Puree half of it for creamed corn. Side bowls of fresh herbs, limes, cilantro, grated cheese, croutons, toasted slices of baguettes, tortilla chips...even if it is already in the soup, folks like to customize their bowl, :) (tortilla added to the soup gives a nice flavor and breaks down in the broth and really good, but adding half later is nice for the texture) Almost all soups freeze just fine as leftovers cooked all the way as a recipe even with a pasta or rice...but do taste like a leftover. Holding off an ingredient or two will give it some freshness, like the chopped kale or fresh chopped tomatoes. When i thaw leftover soups, i always dig in the fridge and look for something fresh to add, like a fresh frozen salsa, pesto, shelled edamame... You are on the right tract by holding off what makes sense. Keeping the list and menu planned and organized for what goes into where and when can be tricky. (imagine what a restaurant chef goes through all day, every day! yikes) -don't mean to be anti-canned goods, but most of those recipes passed around are coming from the big manufacturers of processed foods, so the same flavors can be made with much fresher ingredients without the chemicals and fake flavors....See MorePellet Tube Smoker in Gas Grill Review for ann_t, or anyone else
Comments (23)2Many, I was thinking about how to use the 12" tube for shorter smokes. First thought was to loosely crumple some aluminum foil and stuff in as a space filler and then add pellets to fill. (Except getting foil out would be a bit of a pain.). Thinking that a partial loose fill might cause the pellets to burn too fast? After I ended up with that huge 40# bag of pellets decided not to worry about it; I'll just fill it up and let 'er burn out past the time I remove the food. With pricier pellets, yeh, I'd try conserving the fuel. Course this then strengthens the argument for adding a 6" tube...for shorter smokes and adding part way thru longer smokes. Then again, I was pondering last night why something like a tomato paste can or two with a bunch of holes punched in it wouldn't work... (from a brand with a removable paper label.) Pulled a couple of chicken halves out of the freezer last night. Going to brine overnight and smoke 'em tomorrow. Thinking I'll try to confine the smoke a bit better with the chicken going on what you learned with your bird. I bought the chicken already halved (was in the reduced 'Use today or freeze' bin--perfect, I thought for experiments!) so the halves may be a little more receptive to smoke than a whole bird? Also, more prone to drying out but brining ought to help offset that... This is actually kinda' fun to do. Needed that cause I get burned out on cooking!...See MoreChamber vacuum - Anyone bought, or considered?
Comments (39)FOAS, I have a couple of boxes of cooking grade rolls branded Sous Vide Supreme (competing circulator) because I couldn't remember for awhile where I put the first box. I'm still working my way through them. I couldn't find any at the time that listed the plastic type, but these are marked BPA and phthalate free, and the Food Saver ones didn't used to be. The rest of my research back then said these were a good choice. They're smooth, though one roll has some wrinkles where the tube was obviously a bit askew when filled, and I think it vacuums better if the wrinkles are kind of worked out. They don't mark the food, though. I actually like the texture of the Food Saver bags for storage. I think it helps both with pulling out the air and taking the food out. I haven't had the cheese issue, but I've only sealed pretty hard cheeses (parm, gruyere and emmenthaler) and they had plastic wrap on them. I don't know that the Food Saver bags are unsafe to cook in, though I think you have kids you're feeding regularly, and it's better to be extra cautious with the young. Good, nutritious homemade food is more important than plastic residues and breakdown chemicals, but good to make sure that it's as safe as you can get. So it occurs to me that I could just try the Food Saver cooking grade bags for less than a new vacuum sealer, but then I thought it's the power, not just the seal quality, so I think I'll go forward with finding a new one. Much as I might like to have Freddy and Zero (Irinox) there's nowhere to put them. :)...See More
3 years agoDH grabbed, sealed, and took it to the mailbox before i had a chance to add labels.
The spice blend ingredients are UmamiBomb. Excellent on a burger or steak. Any protein really. I press in a good amount--2tBs, on the top side of burgers, on a plate with a p-towel. A few hours uncovered in the fridge as a dry brine. Brine side down in a medium heat cast iron or non-stick. I like to cook 80% on that side, flip and done in two minutes for med-rare. A bit more for medium.
- 3 years ago
Note no salt. Salt draws out moisture from proteins and makes it wet on the surface. Then they tend to steam in the pan instead of adding a nice maillard reaction sear.
I took the lead from TJ's umami spice blend (first ingredient is salt), and MRH spice blend ingredients. Their mesquite blend. I also make a version of CacaoChiliPowder for Oaxcan black beans. Good prices on their spice blends. Especially the 4oz gusseted bags.
Oh, almost forgot. I add the UmamiMesquite i sent you to my meatball mix. But about 2 tBsp to a pound of mince.
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
3 years ago- 3 years ago
Happy birthday month Sooz. Mine is August month.
Pllog. not that interesting in my method for spice blends. Very fresh and toasted and will last a long time from whole spice seed. Toasted and put through my spice grinder. My Fall order came last night via Oregon hippies on mules. Joking, as many suppliers are low on possible employees having some out with covid, seasonal flu, etc.
Took three weeks to deliver.
My spice mix jars are 8 ounces. I made two jars this morning. I go through through it fast. I use sometimes a 1/4 cup at a time. Pork shoulder, lamb ribs, etc.
4 pounds of sesame seeds. Surprised they are still 5.25$ a pound.
- 3 years ago
3 years ago
plllog