ROBUST discussion
Rants: OT & OTT
>
ROBUST Recipes
If you post stuff like this, I'll have to break down and buy a stove.
Mod
Everyone: please note the plural headline on this thread. The idea is that everyone will add in their recipes in this thread.
I'm a microwaver, toaster oven-er, electric skillet-er, steamer, and raw food-er. Haven't had a stove in decades. Frees up a lot of space in the kitchen. There's nothing about cooking that I enjoy, but there are some resaurants I like. I used to go to restaurants every day, but over the years that's gotten old. I'm often too lazy to go out, or I get tired of the choices, or the ratio of price to pleasure isn't as favorable as it used to be -- so I toss something together at home with the kitchen tools I have. Right now my favorite toy for the kitchen is a Fasta Pasta pan I got on Amazon. Perfect pasta every time.
Mod
http://lifesameal.blogspot.com/
Mod
Let's have a potluck and tell her she has to bring all the food.I want some of that curry, Claudine.
Mod
Hotter the better. I want it to make eyes water and nose drip.
Mod
Mod
Patricia, the curries I enjoy eating have a bit more heat than most are comfortable with. Glad to find a fellow enthusiast.
Where are all my old pix of St Patrick's Day when I need them? I'm with Patricia, my fave appliances now the microwave and toaster oven. That latter is the greatest invention of recent times. Claudine, so long as it's green curry.
For lazy cooks as I have become, just add lots of green food colouring to any old recipe for St Paddy's and keep the green drinks flowing...
But nice SEO try, Andre!
Sharon, I have a Cuisinart convection/toaster oven combo. It's wonderful. Good company to deal with, too. I called to order a new one after a mishap that was entirely my fault (I was ignoring the instructions and warming a tortilla my way, when it curled up into the heating rod and flamed, then the flames shot out of the partially-open door to ruin the painted trim), but Cuisinart wouldn't let me pay. They sent out a free replacement that day. I'd already had the oven about a year when they did that.
That's a great combo Patricia. I used to have a microwave/convection but didn't use it much. That was great service from Cuisinart. My third fave appliance is their Mini Prep Plus, very useful when I deign to actually cook...I make a mean fondue, which I blogged about here. Recipes at the bottom.
If I was clever like Andre and knew how to post a pix here I would...
Mod
Goodreads has wretched picture handling. You have to write the code from scratch or work smart. The best way is to copy the code from elsewhere, a place where the shell writes the code for you, a blog say, rather than to try writing it from scratch.
Sharon, I had a microwave/convection, too -- and used it almost never on the convection setting. My mom had one and used it for all manner of things. In fact, she had two and would turn out gourmet meals (a feat few thought possible with those appliances and no stove). Yes, neither of cluttered our kitchens with stoves.The recipes look yummy. I used to do fondue quite a bit, but stopped for reasons that now escape me. Maybe I need to get back to that.
Off to look up what a Mini Prep Plus is...
Update: Just looked it up on Amazon. I have that (if not that model, something that looks like it)! Forgot all about it. Put it in storage to make room for a blender when I fell in love with smoothies. Grew tired of smoothies, so put the blender in storage -- which means I now have space for the other gizmo.
You ever see that wand-like blender, chopper put out by Braun? It's an old product, very handy.
Another update:
I'm a 'ghetti lover, so Fasta Pasta is the best microwave cooking gismo I ever bought:
http://www.amazon.com/Fasta-Pasta-The...
Delivers perfect results every time.
I have seen that Braun chopper/blender, Patricia, could never figure out how to use the darn thing properly. The Mini Prep replaced two separate old mini chopper/grinders and works like a damn for both (which neither of the others ever really did). Don't know how you operate without a stove top though. I'm renowned for my scrambled eggs and the secret is my two prized cast iron pans (well, that and adding cream cheese and water or milk and cooking slowly).
Mmm, sounds good. I have an electric skillet I use for eggs, but I seldom cook them.Back when I did have a stove, I had an old cast iron skillet. I didn't know nuttin' 'bout that sort of thing, so washed it.
The Braun gizmo has attachments for its various uses. I have idea what I did with mine. Probably gave it away. I've probably given away enough stuff to stock a typical Walmart.
It really isn't hard to get along without a stove if you don't enjoy cooking, if you eat out a lot, and if you never entertain. All that describes me.
Mod
Sharon, I use water or milk in my eggs too and cook slowly. Sometimes I add cream too. Not so much the cream cheese. Kids don't eat it then and the Other Half will not eat them if they have cream cheese in.
I desperately need a decent wok. I am currently using a Bauer pan to make stir fries in because the wok I had is broken.
Kathleen, that sounds lovely! TFS the recipe.
Mod
vegetarian lasagna with spinach, zucchini and onion
a recipe by Andre Jute
Chalo Colina is a toolmaker In Austin, Texas, who was patiently
informative in helping me specify my Utopia Kranich when I recently
changed my bicycling paradigm to ultra-simple, near-zero maintenance.
He is a vegetarian; this recipe is for him.
Vegetarian dishes do not need to be bland in either taste or texture.
In this dish the texture is controlled by how finely the onion and
zucchini are chopped, whether the zucchini skins are scraped with a
fork prior to chopping, and how long the made dish is cooked. The
taste is controlled by the amounts of mustard, nutmeg, garlic, tomato
puree, cheese, herbs and spices, and by proportions of the bulk
ingredients spinach, onion and zucchini.
For six people (or fewer big appetites), empty two one-pound cans of
finely chopped, drained spinach into a large mixing bowl. Add one or
two small cans of tomato puree to taste, or a lot out of a tube. Chop
one large onion and add. Scrape the skin of a large zucchini
(courgette, if you live in Looseee-anna), slice thinly lengthwise,
then slice thinly across these flat sections so that you get julienne
stick with small bits of skin at the ends. Add to bowl. Add large
crushed garlic clove. Add choppe-up or crushed stock cube (not liquid
stock! -- dissolve in the wine if you insist). Add some of whichever
wine you're drinking (only a barbarian starts cooking without first
opening a bottle of wine); for my proof-of-the-pudding sample of this
new recipe I used the Liebfraumilch I was drinking as an aperitif on a
hot summer's day but normally I would use whatever dry white was open;
the Liebfraumilch, though not very sophisticated, further highlights
the bitterness of zucchini and the nutmeg. Throw in a good deal of
herbes de Province, fresh chopped if you have a herb garden, dried out
of a bottle if that's what you have. Add a small grind of black
pepper. Do not add salt -- that stock cube has more than enough. Mix;
do not add more liquid as the onions and zucchini will provide their
own. Do not cook the mix before assembling the lasagna -- the baking
process will provide all the heat necessary.
Make a white sauce with whatever low cholesterol butter substitute you
fancy, mustard that doesn't taste of vinegar (I used Dijon), a whole
grated nutmeg to bring out the slight bitterness of the zucchini a
little more, flour and milk. If you use skimmed or other low-fat milk,
at least start the sauce with a little full-fat milk to help the flour
bind.
Grease the lasagna dish with olive oil (rather than butter or the
butter substitute you use) for an additional flavour. Layer the
lasagna in the dish. Sprinkle generously with the nuttiest cheddar
available, coarsely grated of course. Write "Chalo" on top of the dish
with a heavy layer of ground paprika. Bake for about 30 minutes in a
pre-heated moderately hot oven (read the packet in which the lasagna
sheets came, consult your or your wife's knowledge of your particular
oven) -- I use 205 degrees, fan, 25-30 minutes. When the top starts
browning, test with a fork and serve when the lasagna is al dente.
If we have guests, I serve with a tossed salad. If not, I regard
lasagna as comfort food and make enough so that everyone can have
seconds.
Enjoy.
Here are more dishes I like cooking:
http://coolmainpress.com/andrejutefoo...
Here you'll find the Utopia Kranich Chalo helped me choose and specify:
http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLING.html
Copyright © 2009 Andre Jute. No reproduction without permission.
And nary a pic of the Bandon golf course at Castle Bernard.Golfed at Bandon Oregon this spring. Was paired with a bloke from Bandon Ie, from which Bandon Or got its name. Got this from Wikipedia: 'Bandon (Ie) has a twin city agreement with Bandon, Oregon in the United States. That city was founded in 1873 by Lord George Bennet, a native of the Irish Bandon who named the American one after it, and who is known especially for having introduced gorse into the US ecology with some disastrous results'.
As a result of the gorse, the US Bandon golf course is listed by some sources as the best course in America, (grin). It is certainly challenging!
Looks like a great start for your cookbook, Andre.
Mod
Golfed at Bandon Oregon this spring. Was paired with a bloke from Bandon Ie, from which Bandon Or got its name."
Small world. I'll take photographs the next time I ride through Castle Bernard (we take a loop between a new hole of the golf course and the old house to avoid a steep hill on the road) and publish them for you.
Sounds good, Andre. I'm picturing one of you riding along on your fabulous bike, one hand holding a tray on which rests some marvelous 'golf to-go fare' and the other catching an errant golf ball. Could make a good cover...
Mod
WARNING: DO NOT EVER ADMIT TO YOUR DOCTOR THAT YOU ATE THISKosher Bacon:
Take the skin off of a chicken.
Get your flavoring agent.
(Example Pepper Maple Rub: 1 part maple sugar, 1 part salt, 1/2 part pepper. Or buy bacon salt/bacon pepper. Or use a smoky-sweet barbecue rub. Have fun and be creative.)
Rub the flavoring agent into your chicken skin. Use enough to really cover it.
Let sit ten minutes.
Shake excess rub off.
Turn your oven on lowish (300F or so). Put the skin directly on the rack. Put a tray under to catch the drippings. (Potatoes roasted in the drippings are excellent!) Cook until fat is rendered off and chicken skin is crispy.
This is delicious anywhere you'd use bacon.
And since a bunch of you like curry...
Take the skin off the chicken. Use the chicken in the curry. Apply a 1 part salt, 1 part curry spice mix rub to your chicken skin. Cook the same way. Crumble and sprinkle over your curry for a bit of intensely flavored crunch.
Mod
You'll have to excuse me now. My wife is cooing curry and I must be in the kitchen before the skin is disposed of...
Yes, this is the least healthy thing in my repertoire. (And I've got something called Chocolate Frosted Artery Clog on the list.)In the last few days of pregnancy with my second son, my blood pressure shot into the dangerous range and they made me limit my salt. Those were the longest three days of my life.
In the meantime, your doc needs to do some reading. The newest research is showing that unless you've already got one of a few very specific issues, salt isn't a problem.
Mod
One Saturday years and years ago I surrounded myself with all my cookbooks that had a chili recipe in them. I compared them all, mixed and matched and came up with this which has served my friends and I well. Enjoy on a chilly day.Margie’s Turkey Chili
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
1 large sweet onion diced fine
1 large green pepper diced fine
3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
3 teaspoons cumin
4 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon of thyme, sage, red dried pepper, oregano
1 bay leaf
16 oz. Tomato sauce
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
16 oz. can of cannellini beans
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions:
Brown meat until no longer pink, then onion, pepper and garlic first just until tender. Then mix everything together (except beans and parsley) and cook until done over medium heat. Add beans just prior to serving to heat them through. Add parsley in the last few minutes. Make sure you remove bay leaf before eating.
Top with grated cheese, diced pickles or other favorite toppings.
Homemade bread and a simple salad are great compliments to this dish.
Mod
Baked Potato Soup from Cooking LightIngredients:
4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds) (I used five)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups 2% reduced-fat milk (I used organic)
1 cup reduced-fat shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, divided (I used a blend of cheddars that were not no fat)
1 teaspoon salt (I avoid salt)
1/2 teaspon black pepper (I used garlic, rosemary and some thyme instead of this)
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (I left this out)
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash. (I did lightly coat the potatoes in olive oil before baking.)
3. Lightly spoon flour into a dry-measuring cup; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until the cheese melts. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions, and bacon.
Ricotta Orange Pound CakeIngredients:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 1/2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 large eggs ( I used 3 cage free vegetarian feed brown eggs; I probably could have used four due to their size)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I always double the vanilla)
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons amaretto
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend.
2. Using a mixer, cream the butter, ricotta and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest and amaretto until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. To wrap, return to the pan and dust with confectioners' sugar.
Mod
We eat baked potatoes as a wholesome meal with salad. People add butter and grated cheddar to taste.
For a variation I sometimes stuff the potatoes. Halve the almost fully baked potatos, scoop out the flesh, mix with a little cream, shopped spring onions, sweet pepper or capsicum, halve green or whole small black olives, or both, strips of sundried tomato, grated cheese, spoon back in, put a small knob of butter on top, sprinkle with paprika and finish baking. Serve with a green salad. If the potatoes are smaller, they can be served as a side dish to a lightish protein course.
[image error]
Er, I wrote the recipe first and then went looking for the illustration. The illustrated version is slightly different, made with black olives and purple onion. Second pic and description from the top of http://coolmainpress.com/andrejutefoo...
Andre Jute wrote: "That sounds delicious, Margie.We eat baked potatoes as a wholesome meal with salad. People add butter and grated cheddar to taste.
For a variation I sometimes stuff the potatoes. Halve the almos..."
Well, now I'm going to have to go and get some more potatoes!
Dan's Seriously Wicked Hot Cocoa8 medium heaping teaspoons of Hershey's Cocoa Baking Powder (Unsweetened)
1 cup of water
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup of organic sugar
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt (not the processed small granules in a cardboard box, the larger granules in the smaller more expensive glass bottles - yes there is a difference!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (no imitation, must be real deal)
8 cup or larger saucepot
Directions:
Pour in the water first, then the sugar into the large 8cup+ saucepot. Then add the Hershey's Baking Cocoa. Important: Do Not Stir It! Now add the Vanilla Extract and the Sea Salt.
Put the heat on high and have the whole milk on standby. As the water gets hotter, the cocoa and sugar will begin dissolving down. Before it boils, just as the water starts steaming, now it's time to stir it. Keep stirring while having the cold 4 cups of milk in the other hand.
Just as the water boils, it will 'rise' quickly towards the top even while stirring. Pour in the cold milk while stirring. It will resettle. Once all the milk is in, stir it gently once every 30 seconds or so. Just as it starts steaming, turn the heat off. Do Not Let It Boil A Second Time. This is Hot Cocoa, not Boiled Cocoa, hehehehe.
Pour and Serve. You'll get pissed off that it only makes enough for four to six people, depending on the size of your cups. Double the doses and use a bigger pot if you want to drink more in one sitting.
On Edit: The larger sea salt granules has 25% less sodium than the white processed salt. Plus, all the vitamins and nutrients are not processed out.
Yes, organic sea salt that is unprocessed has a huge amount of vitamins in them. In fact, those are the same vitamins they put into pill form and sell to you under name brands like One A Day and Centrum. The process that removed the vitamins and reforms the sea salt into white bleached granules is what ends up being known as table salt. That is bad. It's almost pure sodium. Hence the reason to insist upon the larger .17 caliber sea salt granules that are organic and unprocessed. Drinking this hot cocoa is also getting a vitamin boost.
Mod
8 medium heaping teaspoons of Hershey's Cocoa Baking Powder (Unsweetened)
1 cup of water
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup of organic sugar
1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt (..."
Thanks for that, Daniel. My physician is convening a firing squad for you.
I remember as a boy visiting salt pans belonging to relatives one the Namaqualand coast. They were next to the sea, and were made by running seawater into pans pickaxed into age-old rocksolid salt. When the seawater evaporated, the new salt would be scooped out and bagged. Very hard work, and the salt would irritate you eyes and other membranes.
In addition to the vitamins in sea salt, there's a wonderful burst of flavor. I never tasted it until a few days ago and now I'm hooked -- and I'm not a big fan of salt. Or rather wasn't until I tasted the sea salt.
Mod
I learned to drink my coffee with a pinch of salt when I was in the navy. Adds a bit of flavour. Will have to try the hot cocoa though.
Andre, my son decided to become a vegetarian a few years ago. His favourite meal (besides eating chicken and fish and sausage) is baked stuffed potatoes. Yes, he is a vegetarian who eats some meat, go figure. He's 10, I don't ask questions anymore.
Ok so who likes cheesecake?
Basic baked cheesecake :
Preheat your oven to 150C
200g wholewheat digestive biscuits (I cheat and use any biscuit that can be bashed into crumbs)
1/3 cup melted butter
Crush the biscuits, mix with the melted butter and spoon into a cake tin pressing down the mixture. Push it up the sides too to form a crust. Place in fridge.
For the filling :
3 extra large eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar (any sugar works just as fine)
1 tablespoon flour
500g cream cheese/cottage cheese (smooth plain flavour)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whipped cream
Mix it all together except for the cream. Fold the cream into the mixture and pour carefully onto the base. Place the pan on a baking tray and in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Variations :
I mix a tsp of cinnamon or allspice into the crumb mixture.
I have also used sour cream instead of whipped cream in the cheese mixture.
Toppings :
Make the basic cheesecake. Mix together 1 1/4 cups creme fraiche or thick sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Spread over the baked cheesecake (do not cool it down before spreading the mixture over the top). Return to the oven for 5 minutes then cool it completely before refrigerating until the topping is set.
For a cherry topping, drain a large jar of pitted sour cherries in syrup. Keep 2/3 of the liquid. Heat 3/4 of the reserved liquid in a pot and mix in 1 tablespoon of cornflour with the 1/4 reserved syrup until a smooth paste is formed. Add to the pot and bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of Kirsch liquer or brandy. Add the drained cherries and stir through. Once the topping has cooled down sufficiently, spoon the cherry mixture over the top of the cooled cheesecake. Chill until time to serve.
I just can't wait to try Dan's Cocoa. Claudine I love cheesecake and the mixture in your grinder is an interesting blend of flavors. I,too, am a fan of sea salt.
Andre - As long as the bullets are bacon flavored, I'll stand against the wall with my mouth open. Then the justice will be well deserved. ^_^Claudine - Wow yes! I'm making me some cheesecake tonight!! I'll let you know how it turned out. :)
Margie - Wish I could make it for everyone here and do a round of serving. But then you would all have to tolerate hearing me sing like the Swedish Chef on the Muppet Show. I got his routine perfect, all the way up to "mork mork mork!"
Mod
Claudine, don't you know that Americans (well, okay, me) don't know what to do with C and g in recipes?
Mod
g = grams = 200g = 7.05 ounces
500g = 17.6 ounces
1 cup = 250ml = 8.45 fluid ounces
http://www.convertunits.com/from/ml/t...
Thank you, Claudine. That's a handy link for all Americans (but when I came back here to tell you, your post was gone).
Andre Jute wrote: "Ve dint zink ze jokes about food are funny!"Jahvol, heir kommandant!
(Forgive me, all the German I know is mainly from watching Hogan's Heroes.)
Now her post is back. I think Robust is haunted.
Mod
Daniel, don't forget to click the heels.
Mod
Und bow from ze vaist. Abruptly!
http://coolmainpress.com/ajwriting/ar...