BS: Recipes - what are we eating?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 08:26 AM

I love the occasional mouthful of crushed garlic. Dishes with minced garlic always needs more garlic, I find. Whole roasted is good too, put on toast, yum. But crushed remains my go-to for stove-top dishes. Thanks for the long explanation!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 10:14 AM

Steve, I respect your opinion greatly, but we may be talking about steaks of a different cut.

The steak I have in mind is a striploin, ribeye or (when we're rich) a porterhouse about an inch thick and stone cold, having just been removed from the refrigerator. I season it with salt and pepper, thyme and garlic, and whack it down on a cast-iron grill pan that is as hot as the strongest hob on our gas stove can get it. I give it four minutes a side, by the timer on the microwave, and then rest it for about five minutes. Result: medium-rare -- that is, pink under the char and red in the middle. Himself prefers not to hear it moo.

But I notice you do not challenge my assertions about the labour-intensive nature of a vegetarian diet.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 10:32 AM

I disagree that bean dishes (and also soups) are labor intensive on the whole. We make about 2 a week and eat on them for about 2 weeks. Prep time is usually less than a half hour, play your banjo
while it simmers, freeze most of it, auto-defrosting and nuking take about 6 minutes.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 12:44 PM

Gilly, my position is that meat is usually easier and faster, not that beans are necessarily difficult. Your mileage may vary.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 01:04 PM

Beans, beans taste fine, sang (loosely speaking) Shel Silverstein.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 01:09 PM

My point is that if you make it in fairly large quantities, as I do, and freeze separate portions of it for future use it's not all that time-consuming. I've gotten a bunch of quick and tasty recipes from 2 of my favorite cook books, Moosewood and Fast Vegetarian Feasts.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 01:21 PM

Made some chili. Its a typical recipe but then all cooked ingredients go in a slow cooker. No matter how seasoned I add some ketchup for sweetness, a few drops of picant sauce for heat and a heaping tbl spoon of whipped cream cheese that mellows everything out with a creamyness.

Anyone can make a chili that causes screaming, just add ghost pepper.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: gillymor
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 01:30 PM

I'll sometimes put a dollop of sour cream in the middle of a bowl of chili and take a little with every bite.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 03:24 PM

Crushed garlic is a very fine thing indeed, and much to be preferred in European cuisine. Asian cooks mince it, however, and cook it in very hot oil with ginger, to excellent effect. They seem not to care that its chemistry is messed up, and their food tastes wonderful.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 05:02 PM

I always use canned beans. A cinch, and every bit as good as soaked. I even use the water. I never buy canned beans that are in anything other than plain water. Your steak should be out of the fridge for at least a good hour before you cook it, exposed to fresh air. No chef worth his/her salt cooks a steak from fridge-cold. Try it and see.

I was a garlic-crusher for years before I saw the light. Martha Stewart and Elizabeth David, as well as most Italian cooks, would both scoff in your general direction for using a garlic crusher. It is the tool of those who don't get garlic, guys!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 06:21 PM

By “crushed”, I mean “whacked flat under the broad part of a kitchen knife”.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 24 Apr 20 - 06:48 PM

Then I forgive you... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 25 Apr 20 - 10:40 PM

The fan that blows cold air from the freezer into the cooler compartment of the fridge is dead, I've called a repair person who will arrive on Monday. This has gone out before. I've moved as much as possible to a small bar fridge (the larger ones people used in dorms, or put in a wet bar in the house) that I inherited from a friend. I don't use it often, but when I do, it's a lifesaver. Usually around Thanksgiving I shift shelves and put a large stock pot with brine and a turkey in.

I've turned the non-cooled part of the fridge into an "ice box"—literally stuffing bowls of ice and tubs of ice (frozen in the large upright freezer that was replaced a dying freezer last fall). The things that don't really need to be super cold but should be cool are doing okay in there for the time being. And my meals are stuff that is very easy to make and don't require going to the fridge more than once or twice. Grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 07:52 AM

Roasted, slowly, some amazing duck legs. Now I have a little jar of duck fat, so I have to buy potatoes.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Apr 20 - 10:53 AM

We are now at the time of year when I’m desperate for spring veg but Ontario is still too cold to produce any. The supermarkets have a few bunches of Mexican asparagus, but it’s poor stuff that costs the earth. Basil is strikingly absent, thanks to the virus. Everything in the veg bins looks as if it has been there since Ash Wednesday.

I made a green version of pasta puttanesca the other day, with hot-house spinach wilted in the anchovy-garlic-capers-olive base of the sauce. The only olives in the house were black so it did not look quite as elegant as I hoped it would, but it tasted great so I closed my eyes. Himself inhaled a great heap of the stuff. A success.

Tonight it’s magret de canard from the freezer, with duck bought from our favourite farmer at the last market before the lock-down. I might have to improvise an orange sauce from marmalade. I’m told worse things happen at sea.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Apr 20 - 05:33 AM

My puttanesca (which we call prostitute's spaghetti) also has half a can of tomatoes and a good pinch of chilli flakes. Black olives are de rigeur for puttanesca in our house. For two of us I use just three anchovy fillets and consume the rest of the can like a greedy cormorant whilst cooking the sauce. Never any cheese.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Apr 20 - 03:08 PM

Last night I made a crustless quiche (baked it in a non-stick bundt pan) that is fabulous. I had about 12 ounces of cream and I added milk to make up the 2 cups needed and I notice that there is a lot less whey in the bottom of the pan this time, though there is a lot more fat to go on the cook!

It is Quiche Lorriane, after a fashion - I sauteed onions in a little bacon grease then added some diced up ham and 8 ounces of Swiss cheese to the bottom of the pan, then went around the ring adding small broccoli florets before pouring over the egg/milk mix. It will be wonderful for leftovers for a few days (I reheat at a lower power in the microwave to prevent it from forming hard edges or bubbling hot spots to burn myself on).

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Apr 20 - 06:14 PM

Pasta tonight. Again.

This time fusilli, with a sauce confected of cherry tomatoes, some elderly mushrooms, and a couple of sweet Italian sausages. Green salad on the side. Plonk to go with.

I have eaten the last of the minestrone and therefore must make more. I scored a big bunch of basil at Sobey's today -- Hallelujah! -- but the other thing I crave, a nice big bag of frozen berries, is apparently a thing of the past for the foreseeable future, according to a very depressing article in the Wall Street Journal.

The silver lining of the cloud is the beer section at Sobey's, which is very nice. I was afraid I would start a riot in there, however, because I could not find Himself's preferred IPA and people were obviously getting tired of waiting for me to stop hunting about so they could get in and do their own hunting about.

Shopping nowadays is all social distancing, and following the arrows, and not keeping other people waiting. Kinda tense.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 27 Apr 20 - 07:17 PM

Found some spring roll wrappers in the freezer the other day and allowed them to defrost slowly. Dinner tonight is spring rolls containing scallions, carrot slivers, basil [fresh, of course] and ground beef. The sauce is a mixture of plum sauce and low salt soy sauce. Yummers.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 27 Apr 20 - 09:25 PM

I forgot to mention that they were skillet fried in sesame oil. when doing this keep the rolls moving and cook them longer than you think you need to unless you want the meat to b very rare.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 29 Apr 20 - 10:03 PM

To return to the matter of frozen Canadian chips: six months ago my husband and I were tourists in Newfoundland, and one night we ate in a Mexican restaurant.

We got to thinking and wondered why there are no Canadian restaurants in Mexico. Just think, poutine, mashed potatoes, cod, boiled potatoes, more cod...

We soon doubted the viability of the idea.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Apr 20 - 10:01 AM

Leeneia, much local ink is spilled over the problem of defining Canadian culture in general, and Canadian cuisine in particular. Nobody can do it. Some say we haven’t any, but my theory is that we have too many. Every immigrant culture brought its food ways, and the First Nations have theirs.

Old-fashioned Newfie cuisine is all about food that will grow in a sub-boreal maritime climate and keep in a cold cellar. Before vitamin tablets and canned orange juice, people who refused to eat sauerkraut were at real risk of scurvy. If I had grown up in an outport, I would find the very idea of Mexican food positively intoxicating.

When I was posted to Halifax back in the 1970s, I discovered the donair sandwich, a deliciously messy variant of the gyro, a staple of Greek street food. At that time, donair was unknown in Ottawa, my hometown. I don’t know who brought donair to Halifax, but my money’s on some immigrant from Piraeus who got off the boat at Pier 23 and opened a diner.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 30 Apr 20 - 06:52 PM

How do you know there are no Canadian restaurants in Mexico? Wait, are there any in the States? Are there any in Canada?

Meanwhile has anybody made brik, it is Tunisian?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 30 Apr 20 - 08:33 PM

Ok weird... I have often made garlic-y butter by smashing garlic and putting it butter on top of the stove, just in a measuring cup, not on a burner, to melt while the oven was on cooking things for garlic butter to go onto. But this time all the garlic turned bright green. Why?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 30 Apr 20 - 08:47 PM

It was trying to tell you not to make garlic butter. Blimey, you yanks and your garlic...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 30 Apr 20 - 09:58 PM

My favorite Mexican restaurant (not TexMex) is open for take-out orders only. I picked up two chimichanga orders yesterday (it's a big messy tortilla rolled around smoky beef and cheese and I get it topped with the ranchero sauce, not the queso.) They're huge and the most prudent way to approach this is to eat half and save the rest so I have a couple more days worth of food from that pickup. Their chili rellenos are fabulous - you can get them with the beef or with cheese. The poblano pepper is singed and peeled, then a slit allows to remove seeds and stuff the contents. It's dipped in an eggy batter and fried and is to die for. And their fish and shrimp dishes are wonderful (it has the beef and chicken dishes but is mainly a seafood restaurant.)

I have a couple of loaves of homemade whole wheat bread baking. I gave bread to the neighbors and to my ex yesterday, but didn't keep any for myself. A lot of this will go in the freezer.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 May 20 - 06:31 AM

I made a Jamie Oliver lockdown fish pie last night. The result was far less than the sum of its parts, though it must have been good for us. He mashed peas and lemon zest in with the potato topping, which added nothing, and it has carrot, milk, onion, cheese, spinach, flour, mustard and lemon juice in the sauce. Everything was hiding everything else. He uses white fish and salmon, no smoked fish, which were poached in advance in the milk, which I thought was a mistake, as the flaked fish in the finished dish, which had to be baked in a hot oven for over half an hour, was definitely overcooked. And the whole thing was a real faff to put together. Oh well. I'll stick with what I know.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 01 May 20 - 09:54 AM

Fish pie is definitely a dish that requires simplicity, and is much better when it includes something smoked. I would prefer Jamie Oliver's ingredients made up as fish cakes with veg on the side.

Another round of pasta puttanesca last night, this time a tomato sauce version with a tin of tuna added at the end, and garnished with fresh basil leaves. Oh, that was good. Steve Shaw, I would never have made this without your periodic comments on the subject, so I owe you a debt of gratitude. Plus, it's a pantry dish; except for the basil, everything in it came from household staples.

For four normal servings: 350 grams rotini, large (28 fl oz) tin of tomatoes, olive oil, enough anchovies, enough garlic (smashed and sliced), half a teaspoon of crushed dried chillis, half a cup of sliced black Kalamata olives, two tablespoons of capers, black pepper fresh from the mill, a tin of tuna (drained and broken up with a fork), chopped fresh basil or oregano.

I make the sauce in a large saute pan.

Soften the anchovies in the olive oil, add the garlic and cook gently until golden, add chillis and capers, grind peppermill over all. Pour in the tin of tomatoes (juice and solids), mix well, and let the sauce simmer very gently until it has reduced to the correct consistency. Add the olives and the tuna, cook long enough to warm them through, and taste. Add salt and/or pepper if you think it necessary; if you want more salt, you did not put in enough anchovies or capers at the beginning. Add freshly drained pasta to the pan and toss. Sprinkle chopped herbs. Eat.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 May 20 - 02:34 PM

That sounds lovely. The only thing is that I don't like to colour the garlic. I watch it like a hawk so that it simmers gently for a few minutes, then the next ingredient(s) goes in before it goes brown. Also, I simmer the chilli with the garlic. I might use a bit less tomato too, but these things are a question of personal taste, not matters of principle (as with, for example, no garlic crusher and no garlic mixed with onion!)

I'm doing Gennaro Contaldo's stay-at-home pasta sauce tomorrow. It's on YouTube. I love Gennaro. It's onion, chilli, red and yellow peppers and bacon. I'll keep you posted!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 01 May 20 - 05:27 PM

Imma make those duck legs again:

https://www.thecitycook.com/recipes/2010-04-01-slow-roasted-duck-legs

I don't use cherries and with only 2 legs, it doesn't take a full 2 hours for the basic roasting time. Still a half-hour before and close to an hour after, though.

Soooooooo good.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 01 May 20 - 07:33 PM

I've had good duck in restaurants but I've never got on with it in my kitchen.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 02 May 20 - 09:39 AM

I've got pretty good at duck breast, which I treat a bit like a steak, but I need more practice with legs. Around here, ducks are usually sold frozen, and whole, which is inconvenient (at best) when you have only one or two people to feed. Our only reliable source of cut-up duck is Mrs McIntosh, our favourite farmer, who raises them for the restaurant trade. But the lock-down means no markets, so Mrs McIntosh and her duck particles are out of our reach.

Mrrzy, do you have access to the New York Times cooking app? I found a gonzo recipe for duck with blackberries there ... and all kinds of other great stuff. One of its benefits is the comments function, where people who have cooked the dish write about what worked for them and what did not, and what changes they made to the recipe for their tastes and kitchen equipment. Like the rest of the NYT content, it's not free, but I find it well worth the money.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 May 20 - 03:58 PM

I get my sis who subscribes to send me NYT recipes.

Meanwhile what about the garlic turning green?

Also trying taters, hobbits, in duck fat. Have heard they are amazing.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 02 May 20 - 05:20 PM

Well, they were good, but not amazing. Where did I go wrong?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 02 May 20 - 05:50 PM

I've enjoyed Mexican takeout this week while I'm making twice-daily trips past the business on my way to an empty house to feed the cats. (I'm wearing a mask yesterday, today, and tomorrow to not breathe anything into the house should I be a carrier). My friend is back home tomorrow night after a visit with elderly parents who have been isolated for the last couple of months.

The last order was beef fajitas and they reheat nicely and stretch for several meals, though next time I'll ask them to hold the rice. I don't really care for the Mexican style rice (it's like my Mom's version of Spanish rice) with tomato sauce and such. Refried beans are okay.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 May 20 - 08:07 PM

Gennaro's stay-at-home pasta sauce, which we consumed with tagliatelle, was a joy, and I'm not normally an aficionado of cooked peppers. We'll be doing it a lot. Just google it. He's a sweetie. I had a fresh red chilli to use up, but it didn't give us enough of a chilli hit. I'll stick with dried chilli flakes in future, as I know where I am with those.

We had a lovely lump of brisket tonight, pot roasted in the oven for over four hours, with celery, carrots, onion and a bit of leftover bacon, and a bunch of fresh herbs all tied up (I had bay, parsley and thyme). I used some soaking water from dried porcini for stock and (confession time) a stock cube. I browned the beef in butter then used the same pan to sauté the veg and bacon for five minutes. The meat then went on top of the veg, seasoned, and in went the herby bundle and all the stock. I turned it a few times. I could just pull it to bits with a fork, no carving needed. We had it with mashed spuds and greens, though we did reflect that it would have worked equally well as a roast with all the trimmings. It was a definite success. I'm going to try to make a chilli con carne with the leftover bits of meats. I'll let you know...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 04 May 20 - 11:45 AM

Per the google it was the copper in the butter.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 05 May 20 - 01:24 AM

Tagine this evening, using rice as the starch. Plenty of figs and dates, a tablespoon [from grandma's old silver set] of coriander, cut up pork, two medium oranges and some bok choy greens. Tomorrow we will add zucchini to the left overs.

I'm getting the urge to make more matzoh balls. Perhaps in a chicken soup. Found Nyafat in the back of the fridge and added a teaspoonful to the last batch. The matzoh balls were so light we had to anchor them so they wouldn't float away. Grandma's tablespoon was just the right measure for them.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 05 May 20 - 09:18 AM

I test-fired the barbecue on Sunday with a boned pork shoulder, the gas turned down as low as it will go, a large smoker packet, and a pan of water on the tiles. It took forever; good thing it doesn't matter these days if we eat late. Delicious, and that's us fixed for ready-to-eat animal protein for the rest of the week.

We are definitely seeing supply-chain problems now. During my last foray at the supermarket, I saw large vacuum-sealed packets of instant yeast, the kind your local pizzeria should be using but isn't, on the shelf where the household-appropriate jars of active dry yeast should be. The products are not interchangeable; a fair amount of boring technical adaptation has to happen before an old-fangled bread recipe will work with pizza yeast. Worse, the 250-gram commercial packet of instant yeast had a supermarket sticky label on it that said "Dry Active Yeast". Which it ain't. Instant yeast is far more concentrated than the dry active kind, so 250 grams is a hell of a lot. Good thing I read labels.

But the people who make the household-appropriate little brown jars have been laid off. Likewise the people who make egg boxes that hold a dozen, and the people who print the Robin Hood trademark on paper flour bags. So the yeast companies don't have little brown jars to fill with dry active yeast to sell to Sobey's to sell to me, and farmers are dumping their eggs because they can't get boxes that hold a dozen and Sobey's is reluctant to stock up on flats of 30. The Robin Hood flour company recently laid their hands on some plain white flour bags, which explained the literally no-name flour I saw on the shelf.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Donuel
Date: 05 May 20 - 10:04 AM

The supply of chain is fine. I can buy all the chain I want.
Food is a different matter. Yep, lotsa ham and turkey. If you combine them just right you can make pigs fly...
Strawberry pancakes made with strawberry yogurt sour cream and whipped cream in the batter was good with great strawberrys on top. It was very strawberry and drowned in whipped cream.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 05 May 20 - 10:08 AM

Shades of Portnoy's Complaint there, Charmion? Bwahahahaha!

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 05 May 20 - 12:22 PM

Things do seem to be running more and more in the Soviet mould. It is also reminiscent of stories our mother told us about rationing in the Second War, with a main difference being that we do not have to surrender any ration coupons to buy what is available, although stores are taking to rationing the amounts of some products that each customer can buy on a given day.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: leeneia
Date: 05 May 20 - 03:48 PM

We are still in the renovation stage, with small appliances on top of the filing cabinet.

Yesterday we returned to childhood. In the old days, all seven of us would go to the grocery store on Saturday and stock up for the week. Back at home, we all helped put the food away. Then we would have hamburgers and potato chips for a casual dinner after all that hard work. There would be a vegetable or a salad, too.

We didn't have much money, but we did have the full array of condiments which an American has the right to expect: ketchup, mustard, pickle relish and onions, either raw or fried. Buns were toasted in a 250-degree oven, a gourmet touch.

The idea of putting lettuce and tomato on a hamburger came later.
I don't care for it - too squishy. When a restaurant serves me that, I turn the lettuce and tomato into a small, surreptitious salad.
==========
So yesterday we had hamburgers, potato chips (the smallest package), asparagus, avocado and strawberries.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 06 May 20 - 09:19 AM

Sorry, Mrrzy, you lost me. I never read Portnoy's Complaint; wherefore the Bwahahaha?

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 May 20 - 09:43 AM

Sexual reference to "boned pork shoulder" - you didn't miss much not reading it, Charmion.

Ordered out yesterday to support my local. Prefer my own cooking though...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 20 - 11:22 AM

Yesterday I made a grocery run for my ex and myself - it usually happens when I've gone too long without fresh produce. I found flour on the shelves for him (I recently gave him 3 pounds out of a bag a neighbor scored for me a few weeks ago) and bought huge T-bone steaks (Product of Mexico) on sale. I'll cut them into portions and freeze the bones for making soup later. I think the meat in some of my bean recipes in the future will be ground chicken. I usually grind up pot roast (cut up and frozen in 1-pound portions) to make my hamburger for tacos, nachos, bean dishes, etc. I don't buy pre-ground beef because there can be serious health risks with multi-sourced ground beef.

Dinner last night included rice cooker basmati rice and 4 ounces of sirloin pork chop. I used to eat much larger portions of meat than I do now; age and wisdom have something to do with that change. I find the combined fork of rice and a small piece of pork to be most satisfying.

One way to clear more room in the freezer is to take out a large jar of steam-juiced mustang grape juice and make jelly. I was out of jelly after sending a care package to a friend in New York City (along with 2 boxes of vinyl gloves and 2 homemade face masks).

There is a loaf of homemade bread in the freezer that will come out soon; it takes me a week to eat a small loaf by myself so the first couple of days are sandwiches or toast, after a couple of days the container goes into the fridge to keep longer and I make breakfasts of French toast. Most of it is gone but I might pop the end in the freezer so when I get near the end of the next loaf I'll have enough to make some bread pudding.

At the store yesterday a man in a mask with a toddler in a mask asked about yeast and I sent him to my favorite restaurant supply store where a one-pound vacuum packed brick costs $3.15. It will be a lot of yeast, but it keeps well in the refrigerator or freezer.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Charmion
Date: 06 May 20 - 12:12 PM

I like home-made hamburgers with nothing but HP Sauce and a slice of red onion. In restaurants, I'll eat them dressed with all manner of clag, but never ketchup, mustard or that sweet green pickle relish. My life-long dislike of ketchup has me wondering sometimes if I really am a true-born Canadian ...

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 06 May 20 - 05:02 PM

My burgers are made with the best minced steak I can lay my hands on and nothing else. Pure beef. For the barbie they are 150g each. I mould them with my hands, being very careful not to over-compress, and make a hollow in the middle, so it's the shape of a giant red corpuscle. I do baste it on the barbie, with a home-made concoction of tomato sauce, mustard, a drop of red wine, some Worcestershire sauce, a splash of oil and seasoning. It goes in a toasted bun with some wild rocket and caramelised onion chutney. If we're having burgers just fried on a cold night, I'll make six small ones out of the pound of steak. No seasoning, no onion, no nothing. They are fried in a tiny amount of groundnut oil in a very hot pan for 2 min 30sec a side, then allowed to rest in a warm oven for at least ten minutes while I get my chips, greens and baked cherry tomatoes sorted. No bun. If my burgers aren't ever so slightly pink in the middle, I've failed.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 07 May 20 - 12:44 AM

Don't knock the green stuff. It's a useful ingredient.
Do you like seafood with tartar sauce--just mix a bit of relish and some mayo.
Lobster sauce--melted unsalted butter with lemon to taste. A good Maine lobster has a touch of salt already. If you want it saltier and the sea near you is clean enough, put kelp or other seaweed in the steaming vat; or you can just add salt to the solution.

Salad dressing--catsup mixed with mayo, relish optional.

Cocktail sauce--some catsup and freshly ground horseradish.

Catsup--tomato sauce, either homemade or commercial and a good vinegar; if you like it sweet, add some sugar to taste.

Mayo--plenty of recipes on line.

When I grind up a batch of horseradish, I wet it down with balsamic vinegar for a taste that's rich and powerful. No need for salt.

By mixing my own basic sauces I find no need for preservatives or salt and make them to my taste. I also get to control the amount of sugar.
None of the ingredients are exotic and there are no unpronounceable chemicals involved.

Subject: RE: BS: Recipes - what are we eating?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 May 20 - 05:40 AM

You can dress salads however you like, but if that salad has lettuce and/or slices of cucumber in it, or big chunks of bell pepper, I'm going home. And heaven forfend that anyone should serve up one of those seventies horrors that had peanuts or bits of tinned mandarin orange in them. Or cold rice...

A very nice salad that's almost a full meal if you eat enough of it is one that I saw printed on a box of Sainsbury's cherry tomatoes. It's like a caprese but with testicles (not real ones). Slice up a ball or two of mozzarella (can't be arsed with that expensive sloppy buffalo stuff - Galbani's finest will do me), slice up two avocados thinly (they must be perfectly ripe: paramount) and chop some of the best cherry toms you can get your hands on in half, about 200g mebbe. You can layer the avo and cheese artistically in a shallow serving dish of some kind by alternating the slices in a swirly pattern, or you can just chuck it all together. Throw the tomatoes on top. Season with a bit of freshly-ground black pepper. Sprinkle your very best extra virgin olive oil over it all and finish with some freshly-torn basil leaves*. Simple. The box calls it tricolore salad, because it has the three colours of the Italian flag. As they hardly use avocado at all in most of Italy, I doubt its authenticity, but it's delicious of a warm summer's evening.

*I said fresh. Put that pot of dried basil down and walk away slowly. Tomorrow, it will make the perfect partner for your kitchen waste bin...