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Recipe Thread #2
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Alias Reader
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Jan 11, 2012 12:38PM
Yes, Shay, pudding is another good idea. It's easy to get down and not too overwhelming.
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Probably not chocolate at first though. Unless that's all the person will eat- like my grandfather. Chocolate is kind of hard to digest. I love tapioca pudding, though. I love pudding in the summer except I hate standing over a hot, boiling pot in the heat. For 20-30 minutes while it bubbles.
Ensure also makes a pudding, that is high in calories, but my dad found it way to thick and hard to swallow. Which is another problem the elderly sometimes have.Speaking of pudding, when I was a kid my mom used to make butterscotch pudding. I bought a box to make it. I wonder if I will like it as much as I when I was a kid.
How about the rice pudding in the grocery store? I forget the brand, but it is delicious. Cozy Shack brand, maybe?
I probably should have mentioned that my dad has been overweight most of his adult life & is now diabetic, so the weight isn't the problem, it's the strength. Eggs are one of his favorites, to that is where we often end up. I was thinking about the baby food idea in a different way, serving mashed items like sweet potatoes, squash and carrots, all of which he likes IF they are soft enough. However, after watching him eat an entire order of FRIED onion rings last night, i realize he's just not eating unless he WANTS it. Dare we become prison guards? I'm glad i don't live here!I appreciate all the tips. Pudding is a great idea, as he likes that. I hadn't considered rice pudding, as the family has never gotten into it but he may really like that, given his fondness for rice. My hospitalized sister is lapping up the pudding and really enjoying it, so i can see making pudding in my foreseeable future.
deb, realizing how awful some of my comments sound but yesterday was a Very Long Day
Deb, feel free to vent. We understand. What you are doing is not easy....
madrano wrote: "Oh, it was from something not cooked in the store! My presumption was that it was some of those things they "cook". I suppose the same thing could have happened from that cheese even without the fr..."I was thinking similarly...that the samples were infected somehow when they gave them away. But the free samples had nothing to do with it. The cheese on the shelf was already bad.
Shay wrote: "I thought raw milk was banned in the US? Maybe they changed it and are allowing products made from raw milk? ..."I think different states have different laws.
And some of those laws have changed in the last few years, too. The other day someone i know took out her acidophilus pills. It reminded me of the controversy when that bacteria was introduced in milk while we lived in Phoenix. I think that was when i first learned all about raw, homogenized and additives to milk. deb
Madrano wrote: "It's been almost a year since we heard the first Texas Trader Joe's is coming. STILL no word where or when exactly, but i've worked myself into a froth about it now that i know Dallas is one of the..."I love Trader Joe's! I don't buy much produce there, but when I wasn't feeling well late last year, about the only thing I felt like eating was chicken salad (go figure) and I tried all different kinds, but TJ's gourmet chicken salad was the best. I buy a lot of other stuff there too, and every year for the holidays I give my (adult) children TJ's gift cards. And it's a gift they're always extremely grateful for.
A big, beautiful new Whole Foods opened about a mile from me, but I only go in there once in a while, when I have time to explore and taste and try new things. Everything there is so beautiful, it's hard to resist.
I don't have a TJ or WW near me. :( Alias - I'll tell you the same thing I tell my customers when they tell me they don't live close to a Barnes & Noble store.......you could move!!
LOL, Connie.Re. TJ. It was heartbreaking to see a Trader Joe's all over California when i was there last month and not be able to enter one. Because i was returning by jet, i had to limit the oz. i could take, so didn't even tempt myself. Someday TJ will be here, i'm only hoping it's this year!
deb
Connie thanks for the tip about TJ's chicken salad. Never tried it.I love their frozen green beans...I would call them haricot verts. They are actually imported from France.
I suspect Connie & JoAnn are being intentionally cruel to TJ-less people. Hmmm! Actually, it's interesting you both mention items i don't usually try from them. It's the raw materials i usually purchase when i'm there. Alias told me about a product a few years ago, which i liked but, due to proximity, never tried again. AND i have already forgotten what it was.deb
madrano wrote: Alias told me about a product a few years ago, which i liked but, due to proximity, never tried again. AND i have already forgotten what it was.---------------------------------------
Traders Joe's Harvest Grains Blend
(Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red Quinoa)
Alias Reader wrote: "Traders Joe's Harvest Grains Blend(Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red Quinoa)
That sounds interesting!
RE: Traders Joe's Harvest Grains Blend(Israeli couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red Quinoa)
It comes in a bag and it's inexpensive.
It's simple to make. Cook in broth or water. Simmer 10 minutes. It makes a nice side dish. Also it's a nice change from potatoes and rice.
Nutrition facts:
serving size 1/4 cup
Calories- 170
total fat- 1g
saturated fat -zero
cholesterol- zero
sodium -zero
fiber- 2g
protein 6g
calcium- 2%
iron -6%
My niece asked me to email her this recipe. Since I had to type it out, I thought I would share it with you, too.Tuscan Cabbage Soup
1/4 pound pancetta, in one whole piece or thickly sliced.
1 medium head green cabbage -about 2 lbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion chopped - add more if you like onion
3 cloves garlic -chopped
3/4 cup cannellini beans - drain and rinse well if using canned beans
1 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes with juice- 14-oz can
pepper
1/4 cup minced flat leaf parsley
grated Parmesan cheese
crushed/rub handful of fennel seeds in your hands
low sodium can broth + water to make it the consistency of soup
I make the soup in a Dutch oven pot. The recipe says skillet because you can make this recipe without making it a soup by omitting the broth/water.
1- dice the pancetta and cut the cabbage into bite-size pieces. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the pancetta and onion. Add the cabbage and saute for 10 minutes, until the cabbage is soft and glistening.
2- Stir in the garlic, cannellini, tomatoes and their juice, fennel seeds, and sprinkling of pepper. Add low sodium broth and or water. Enough to make a soup. Break up the tomatoes into bite size pieces, cover the skillet, and simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
3- Stir in the parsley, transfer the mixture to a serving bowl, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve right away, with hot crusty Italian bread.
Enjoy. Let me know how it turns out.
madrano wrote: "I suspect Connie & JoAnn are being intentionally cruel to TJ-less people. Hmmm! Actually, it's interesting you both mention items i don't usually try from them. It's the raw materials i usually pur..."My TJ's is 20 miles away, so I do not go often.
I consider frozen green beans to be a "raw material"! LOL
JoAnn, i agree, as we do not eat frozen veggies alone, but for brevity, kept it. What probably spoiled me, as far as TJ's goes is that in Maryland it was my closest grocery store, so i became quite familiar with their products. The sole thing i didn't like buying there was, as someone else mentioned, their fresh vegetables. They were mostly prepackages and often in amounts i ended up using only moments before they went bad.Alias, thank you for the name of the TJ item. I liked it very much and will try it again WHEN ours opens. It was a fast, easy and tasty side dish.
The cabbage soup sounds good. DH doesn't like cabbage but with all the other ingredients he does like (cannellini and pancetta, particularly) he might not protest much. My sister makes a fairly uninteresting cabbage soup, so i'm sharing this recipe with her, too.
deb
When my neighbor told me she was making cabbage soup and that she wanted to give me some, I nicely said no thanks. I had never had cabbage soup. I think the only cabbage I had in my whole life was coleslaw. Well, one day I went over her house to drop something off and I said what is that wonderful smell. She said it was the cabbage soup. I always thought cabbage smelled was rotten, sulfur like. Not with this soup ! I tried it and it was nothing like what I imagined it to taste like. It was sweet!
When I told my sister about it, she too turned up her nose at it. I made it for her and she loved it. :)
Don't quote me on this because I never actually cooked cabbage myself, but I thought that cabbage smells worse if you start cooking it too long.
Julie, i have experienced that. Same with broccoli but i've made a soup with it and, for some reason, the cabbage smell doesn't permeate the air. Maybe it has to do with the vegetable absorbing other odors or, rather, the other odors overwhelming the cabbage?I like corned beef with potatoes, carrots and cabbage. However, i always cook the cabbage separately, missing out on the combo of the beef's broth mingled with the cabbage. I've never noticed that stink, either, although that may be because i not only don't overcook it but don't get it too done, either.
deb
Elsewhere i mentioned a Barvarian Rye Bread i completed yesterday. It's from Beard On Bread by James Beard. I thought i'd share it here, so i'll know where it was mentioned if i need to reference it later. I will add two notes. First, 1 heaping tablespoon was too much and 1/2 that amount was a tad too little. And i didn't have such a small loaf pan, so i improvised with a small (1 1/2 quart) Corning Ware casserole.Bavarian Rye Bread
This quite unusual bread is from a very old German recipe. Originally the dough was prepared at home and put into an airtight wooden keg for 18 to 24 hours. Then it was formed into loaves and rushed to the local baker's oven. I have worked out a version that can be done from start to finish in your own kitchen. It makes a delicious loaf of bread--sturdy, close textured, and highly distinctive in flavor. It slices very thin and is excellent with cheese, cold meats, and sausages. The finished loaf will be about 2 1/2 inches high.
1 package active dry yeast
1 heaping tablespoon salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (100 to 115 degrees, approximately), or enough to make a heavy, pastelike dough
3 3/4 cups rye flour
Combine the yeast, salt, and water in a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cup by cup, stirring with a wooden spoon to incorporate as much of it as you can. Turn out on a floured board, and knead enough to blend the ingredients. You will have a very heavy dough with little or no life, so shape it as best you can into a ball and place in a small, well-buttered bowl, turning to coat the surface with butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap to seal, and then cover with foil. Let rest in a semi-warm area for 16 to 18 hours.
Uncover. You will note that little or nothing has happened to the dough. Punch it down anyway, and knead it on a lightly floured board for a minute or two. You'll find it easier to handle than the original mass.
Butter an 8 x 4 x 2-inch loaf tin and shape the dough to fit it. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven 45 to 50 minutes, or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on top and bottom.
deb
Thanks, Deb. I will pass this one on to my niece.
I hope she'll try it. My main reason for attempting it again is because i found some "lost" rye flour in my pantry this week. I vaguely recall buying it last year but don't remember using it. I like pumpernickel but haven't made any in a long time, so it's not that...A note on the above recipe. After 18 hours my dough had, in fact, risen, despite what Mr. Beard predicted. I'm not sure why. It also rose the second time but still was not a "light" bread. It was dense & soaked up our lamb liquor perfectly!
Speaking of pantries....I cleaned mine out yesterday in preparation for my "move" to the beach. I found quite a few expired items and packed three bags of groceries to take with me. I also packed a lot of teas, herbs, and spices from my spice cabinet.
Madrano wrote: "I hope she'll try it. My main reason for attempting it again is because i found some "lost" rye flour in my pantry this week. I vaguely recall buying it last year but don't remember using it. I lik..."------------
I've read that rye and pumpernickel bread don't raise blood sugar as rapidly as white or wheat.
JoAnn/QuAppelle wrote:I found quite a few expired items ===========
I did the same thing last week. Unfortunately, I had to throw away a lot of expired food. This is something I really can not afford to do. And since I live walking distance to the supermarkets, there really is no excuse for it. I have to learn to make a menu for the week or at least a few days and stick to that.
What is happening now is I go to the supermarket and buy things on sale. But come home with items that don't make a meal. So it ends up in the pantry and goes unused. So in the long run I am not saving anything. And I also end up with a year supply of shampoo because I don't know what I already have. It's crazy.
I think planning my meals for the weak or at least a few days will also help with my diet.
I am one of those people who DOES plan menus for the week (and usually stick with it for about 4-5 nights). The expired items that I had were mostly all boxed soups that are really expensive. I did not realize that they have such a short shelf life! GRRRI try to stay away from sale items at the grocery store unless they can be frozen or are paper products, cereals, etc.
Pantry clearing going on here, too. Mostly, i just wanted to make the cabinets seem adequate sized, which they are. UNLESS one is the sort who, as Alias mentioned, sometimes shops without a list. Then i forget if i have certain things for a recipe. It goes like this--Cheezits are on sale, we like them & i have a neat old favorite recipe for corn quiche using them. So, i buy them, knowing i only buy them once every 5 years or so. BUT, do i have corn? Does the recipe call for whole corn or creamed corn? Just in case, i buy both. But wait! One can or two? Save "time" by buying two of each. So, i have now have 6 cans of corn in the pantry. Same with canned soups for recipes we crave once a year, if that! I blame part of this on the fact that we shop for most of our groceries in Dallas, which is where the Cheezits were on sale. Logically, i'd just forego the recipe, i hasten to add. However, that day i went to the store before eating lunch. Everything looked great & sparked foodie memories.
ANYway, we are clearing out both the pantry (such as it is) and our freezer. We're doing better with the freezer because many of the items are for the grill or already cooked meals.
Since i've already mentioned it, i'll include the original recipe for
Corn Quiche
For the crust:
2 cups fine crushed cheese crackers
4 tbsp. butter, divided use
For the filling:
2 T. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. onion, minced (or 2 tbsp. fine fresh ones)
1 1/4 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 can (17 oz) whole kernal corn, drained OR 2 c. cooked corn (fresh, frozen, or canned)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt two tablespoons of butter and mix with the
cracker crumbs. Pat into a glass pie plate or quiche
pan, reserving 1/2 cup for later. Set aside.
Melt remaining butter (2 tablespoons)in a saucepan
over medium heat, blend in flour, seasonings, and
onion. Then add milk and cook until thickened,
stirring constantly.
Beat eggs in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add hot
mixture to eggs. Blend well and add corn.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate or quiche pan. Sprinkle the top with the reserved cracker
crumbs.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool 5
minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.
I must say that it's been a long time since i made this & my notes indicate i added a small can of green chiles and some paprika, too. We loved this and now it doesn't sound great. Better make it today! LOL!
That sounds good. I love corn. Please don't mention cleaning the freezer. Mine is packed solid with heaven only knows what.
My sister, who lives a half-mile from me, has a really old freezer and a not-so old extra refrigerator. I gave her the fridge when I moved 10 years ago. My part of the bargain was being able to use freezer space (and fridge space if I needed it). We finally decided the old freezer had to go - I am sure it used immense amounts of electricity. So she emptied it out and we are buying a small chest freezer. I will pay for half of it and half of whatever the tag says the annual energy costs are.
I used to do a lot more freezing when my kids were at home. I would make big vats of soup, chili, etc.and lots of casseroles.
We got rid of our stand-up freezer when we moved here & i've missed it. For the most part i've kept this one (a side-by-side) rather full. What i miss is being able to make & freeze pizza dough, stored already rolled, awaiting toppings. And same with pie crusts. The SxS isn't wide enough.
Deb, my sister and I just got a small chest freezer for $159 at Sears. It is going to be big enough for our needs.I hated my side-by-side refrigerator. Neither side was wide enough for anything. The new French-door refrigerators are terrific, with the bottom freezer.
My grandmother had one of those back in the '60s and i loved it. Of course a kid with grannie's popsicles within reach probably would, right? ;-) Enjoy your new chest, JoAnn. deb, *smiling big!*
My niece has the freezer on the bottom. To me it looks like a big junk draw. I use my freezer a lot and prefer more organization.
Though the bottom freezer is very popular now. So I guess I am once again in the minority. :)
My MIL has one with the freezer on the bottom now. I don't think I would like it. I just seems like things could get lost buried on the bottom easier than in the back of a regular freezer....and harder to dig out when you know they are there.
It's only a "junk draw" if you let it be or if you are disorganized. My bottom freezer is very organized. I know exactly where everything is and can see everything when I pull out the drawers.
The "lost" aspect is my fear of chest freezers, too, Julie. How much would be "lost" & how much is me being too lazy to reach all the way down are two different categories for me. ;-)
My mom has a big chest freezer. One time she asked me to get something out of it and it was a pain. I tried to move the stuff on top over and it kept falling back down on top of the area I was trying to clear to find what I was looking for so I ended up taking stuff out and had no place to put it. Probably why I have that feeling about the bottom freezers even though they aren't as deep.
My sister and I are getting a really small chest freezer. I think the big ones are kind of .....creepy!
They are creepy but handy. DH had an aunt with five children and they all enjoyed fishing. Their freezer was full of all sizes of fish, so they could always offer fish. As they were barely above the poverty level most of their lives, it was truly a life saver. My mom never had a freezer, other than what came with the refrigerator. When we got ours (stand up, not chest) she was dismayed, as we only had 2 children vs. her 4. But when she'd visit & see how useful it was, she understood. My MIL took hers with her until their move into a retirement home, where she has yet to cook a meal. She used it as back up for all her cooking.
I miss a freezer & hope you & your sister enjoy yours, JoAnn. If i were to get one again, it would be one of the small chest ones. I'd probably still fear i'd fall in...or, perhaps, just have nightmares about it.
Deb, we have been sharing a 35+ year-old stand-up freezer for ten years, so this little chest freezer will seem like heaven! Neither of us have children at home any longer, so we do not need the big one. Plus, she also has an extra full-size fridge.
We bought a small freezer just over a year ago. It actually holds a lot and comes in handy especially when the holidays are approaching, and I start buying items ahead to keep the final cost down. We love ours.
DM, holidays are when i most miss our freezer. Part of that is storing baked goods but the other part is having frozen pizza on hand for our visiting son, who gets the munchies in the middle of the night. Our side-by-side won't hold a pizza flat & the toppings slide off if stored on the side.JoAnn, i didn't realize that you two have been sharing a freezer already. Neat. We used to buy a quarter of beef & that filled more than 1/2 my freezer in the beginning. Those days are gone, so i could see the share thing working if we lived closer than we do. Particularly since neither of my sisters use their freezers as much as i do! LOL!
DM, I know what you mean about the holidays. That is the time I need extra freezer space the most. But I never, ever put cookies into the freezer. I put the things I bake into airtight cans (a separate can for each kind of cookie), which is what my mom did. She would come back and haunt me if I ever froze cookies. She kept hers in cans for as long as three months.
Deb, I well remember those days of buying large quantities of beef for the freezer. No more.A few weeks ago I found a local source for organic, pasture-raised beef and pork. The price is double what I pay at the grocery store, but when I calculated how little beef we now eat, the price really is not that much of a factor.
I did some research first and found out that organic does not necessarily mean "pasture-raised", nor does "cage-free" when it refers to eggs. Those eggs can come from chickens living in a warehouse who never go outside.
Madrano wrote: "DM, holidays are when i most miss our freezer. Part of that is storing baked goods but the other part is having frozen pizza on hand for our visiting son, who gets the munchies in the middle of the..."--------------
Why not cut it down the middle and freeze each half separately ?
You could make the pie rectangle size.
Make small individual pizza's instead of one big one.
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