The Food Thread

[ShadySands]

I've been under the weather, as is my way every wintery season, and am currently making the same soup for the second time this month.

Sopa de Fideo

• 1 bag 7 oz-ish fideo (the little thin short noodles)
• tomatoes or as I prefer to just buy a 14.5 oz can of stewed tomats, diced 
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped - just the leafy part
• small handful garlic, halved
• 1 onion, sliced
• chicken broth - however much makes a decent pot size
• oil, I prefer olive oil - enough to coat the pasta well
• salt, pepper, spices - I like to use Goya brand adobo with cumin, a dash of Lawry's, and crushed red pepper but you can taste it as you can and adjust to your liking

Throw the broth, tomatoes, garlic into a pot and bring it to a light/medium light boil *

Fry the noodles in a pan with the oil until they are nice and browned. More brown is preferable to less brown and some should be fairly dark.

Toss the onion in the pan while it's still somewhat early in the browning process, they don't need to be fully cooked through but I like the texture of lightly frying them before putting them in the pot

Dump that in the broth you have going, stir, and add cilantro

Let that cook for a bit and then you're done

 

*I like to punch it up a little bit and add a little extra chicken bullion (Better than Bullion is my go to here) and sliced fresh jalapeno 

 

 

Also made some shrimp recipe that I got from my mom, one of few dishes that she ever taught me to make. If you hate how my usual recipes are somewhat directionless then you're really in for a treat here.

• shkrimps, whatever you prefer but I go for the cooked, peeled, deveined, tail on but raw and all the same works great if you can find it
• kalamata olives chopped with some juice
• garlic crushed or chopped
• lemon juice
• parsley dried or fresh
• crushed red pepper
• an Italian spice blend
• white wine
• butter
• optional sun dried tomats finely chopped
• optional chunk of crusty bread

Everything but the shrimp and parsley (and bread if you are using it) into the pot and bring to a light boil and reduce heat a little

Taste the broth and adjust portions to your liking (sorry but this is how almost all recipes go back home)

Once you have that then toss in the shrimp and sprinkle with parlsey and cover. This cooks quick so you probably want to constantly monitor it. I think this kind of thing is somewhat obvious but my wife is the queen of walking away from the stove for way too long.

You'll want to give it at least one good stir but may need more depending on how much shrimp you tossed in there and the size of your pot

Went the shrimp start curling up then take it off the heat and give it one last stir and toss more parsley on top give it a moment with the lid on and then serve.

Edited March 9, 2020 by ShadySands

[Gromnir]

julia child and fred rogers

HA! Good Fun!

[majestic]

Having to stay home has some advantages. Not that our company's cantina would be bad, but homemade's better.

Savoy cabbage with potatoes and a sunny side up. Now onwards to flatulance.

[Gfted1]

That just reminded me, I need to hard boil all my eggs for long term storage. That and I love hard boiled eggs and salt.  

[Hurlshort]

We've been watching a lot of cooking shows during the quarantine: 

[majestic]

I feel like chewing my screen right now. Looks good.

But today's feeding time is well over and done with, so there's that.

[majestic]

Leftovers day, kinda.

Some beef, a couple of eggs, an onion, salt, pepper and majoram:

It's, uhm, better than it looks.

[Gromnir]

a couple inspired by a @Guard Dog post

the following are versions o' ubiquitous internet available recipes. these is not Gromnir recipes and am not taking credit in any way.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients
•    2 T vegetable oil
•    3⁄4 c diced white onion
•    3⁄4 c diced celery
•    1⁄2 c diced carrot
•    1⁄4 c diced green bell pepper
•    2 T minced garlic
•    4 (15 ounce) cans black beans
•    4 c chicken stock
•    2 T apple cider vinegar
•    2 t chili powder
•    1⁄2 t cayenne pepper
•    1⁄2 t cumin
•    1⁄2 t salt
•    1⁄4 t hickory liquid smoke
•    garnish
•    shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend, blend
•    chopped green onion, sour cream

1. heat 2 T of oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat. add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic to the oil and simmer slowly, for 15 minutes or until the onions are translucent. don't brown.
2. while you cook the veggies, pour the canned beans into a strainer and rinse them under cold water.
3. measure 3 c of the drained and strained beans into a food processor with 1 c of chicken stock. Puree on high speed until smooth.
4. when the veggies are ready, pour the pureed beans, the whole beans, the rest of the chicken stock, and every other ingredient in the list (down to liquid smoke), to the pot. bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until soup has thickened and all the ingredients are tender. serve the soup topped with a couple T of the cheese blend and a t or so of chopped green onion

T=tablespoon, t=teaspoon, c=cup

and

monastery lentils

the lentils, in particular, is a staple for us which contains most o' the stuff we need to survive and thrive. we prefer with beef stock as 'posed to chicken for the recipe, but vegetable stock would be fine for any hardcore vegetarians and/or catholics during lent. is also noteworthy how this is perhaps the only recipe for which we use brown lentils. have tried with green and even beluga. cheap brown lentils is our favorite for this, and only this recipe.

it freezes well. 

when we were taking care o' our sister, she insisted on doubling the sherry, and then she would add a bit o' sherry whenever she microwaved a bowl o' the lentils.  she liked the sherry. we would use amontillado for no other reason than whimsy factor.

HA! Good Fun!

ps forgot to mention, but the lentils is one o' the few recipes for which we frequent use diced tomatoes. canned diced tomatoes is always treated with a preservative which affects taste and prevents the tomatoes from breaking down as does whole tomatoes. we avoid diced. that said, at the recommended cooking time, even if you thoroughly hand crush tomatoes in a glass bowl as part of prep, chances are you get a few annoying large and stringy tomato fragments in your monastery lentils. so our advice is to use diced or to consider cooking substantial longer and only adding parsley with ~30 (or less) minutes cook time remaining.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Gromnir
added ps

[Guard Dog]

That sounds really good. The one I made was not nearly so complex. But it has jalapenos in it. 

[Gromnir]

our baked beans is heavy on the jalapeno. the recipe is also heavy on bacon-- 1lb bacon:1lb beans.  as healthful as is beans, with bacon, molasses and brown sugar making major contributions, our baked bean recipe deserves a surgeon general warning label.

beans need soak overnight and then takes 'bout 6ish hours at 250 to fully bake, so is not a 5PM decision for a 6PM meal kinda thing. positive side: 'tween the plentiful bacon and jalapeno, the house smells delicious whilst cooking continues.

is one o' our more popular potluck offerings. maybe not quite on par with our mac and cheese, but is in the tight group o' potential second bests.

am assuming folks have an overabundance o' legumes n' such at the moment, so later we might post recipe... gonna head to store for 6AM opening.

HA! Good Fun!

[Gfted1]

Hoo boy Ive had my fill of egg and tuna salad but it was delicious! My wife made some stuffed cabbage and marinara sauce out of boredom and we froze them for later.

[Bartimaeus]

I was gifted a bottle of hot sauce (...same person). Dragon in the Clouds by Hot Ones. One: it's really hot. Two: it tastes like trash (super bright and fruity, which I don't really like for hot sauces). I made some fried rice with yesterday and I've had heart burn since - must've really screwed up the chemical balance of my stomach or something for it to persist this long. Nearly ruined the rice with it flavor-wise, too. I asked the person if they would take it back - turns out they got two bottles of it and have barely used the one they opened, hence why they gave it to me. Threw it directly into the garbage after I learned that. I like spicy food, but I can do without that, thanks.

[Keyrock]

I figure I might as well make one of my last meals, before The Covid kills us all, a good one:

From a BBQ place 150 yards from my company's terminal in Florida. The sausage was good, the ribs were terrific. The best part is that it fits my carnivore diet, on the off chance I survive and wander the desolate streets of what was once civilization.

[Gromnir]

made split pea soup

am not having a specific recipe for this...

we use a stock pot, but isn't particular copious amounts so the pot is unnecessary. real reason we use the big pot is it requires less cleanup-- we start by crisping a couple strips o' thick-cut bacon. big pot means splatter from bacon stays in the pot rather than getting... everywhere. we cut up our bacon into smallish pieces ahead o' time, but isn't necessary. 

remove bacon from pot and then add classic mirepoix and 1ish teaspoon caraway seeds to hot bacon grease in pot. over medium heat, saute veggies 'til translucent. am personal using 'bout 1C each o' fine chopped onion, celery and carrot. however, 'bout 1/3 o' the carrot am not chopping fine 'cause we like healthy sized chunks o' carrots in our "soup." sue us.

once veggies is tender, add stock and split peas. chicken or vegetable is good stock choice. we used chicken only 'cause we recent made chicken stock. 6ish C. if you cook w/o a lid, the peas become tender quicker, but you need keep adding fluid frequent. can add water or diluted chicken stock to keep hydrated. we use a 1lb bag o' green split peas-- picked and rinsed. bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. typical takes more than an hour, but after 'bout 45 minutes you may start checking to see if peas is suitably tender. am not certain why peas often take forever to get soft, but is just a fact o' life. don't assume 45 minutes or an hour will be enough time.

while soup is simmering, make rye-bread croutons. butter. pan. rye bread cubes. is not rocket science.

once peas is tender, add 1ish T worcestershire sauce and a C of frozen peas to your soup. season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. promptly remove from heat once boiling. yes, frozen peas. may not be able to find any frozen peas in stores at the moment, but give it a try. adds nice color and flavor to what is admitted a kinda bland soup... though the carraway, worcestershire and rye bread "croutons" is gonna make this more flavorful than typical split pea soups.

get a bowl and add a bit o' your cooked bacon and rye bread croutons, then pour in as much soup as desired.

might wanna consider a bit o' italian parsley

fluid will evaporate from your soup almost magical regardless o' how airtight is your container for storing. chances are your remaining refrigerated soup becomes a paste or gel by next day. gonna need add fluid to make edible when reheating on day two or three or four or five. 

if you do not like caraway and rye bread flavors, skip the caraway seeds and croutons. 

HA! Good Fun!

[ShadySands]

Potato chips drizzled with hot sowse

and about 11 fingers of the cheapest Port I've ever seen

[Gfted1]

Homemade pizzas (pepperoni and margarita) and tequila shots here.

[Keyrock]

Just got home from the road. It's late, my fridge is mostly empty, and I don't feel like cooking today, so I heated some premade, frozen shrimp scampi and I'm drinking bacardi and diet cheerwine. #LivingTheDream

[ShadySands]

Cheerwine, now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

[Keyrock]

1 hour ago, ShadySands said:

Cheerwine, now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

I had no idea the stuff even existed until I moved down south 4 years ago.

[ShadySands]

5 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

I had no idea the stuff even existed until I moved down south 4 years ago.

Yeah, when I lived in North Carolina I used to drink it all the time.

[Keyrock]

After just over 2 months of the carnivore diet I went from 215 lbs to 193 lbs and I feel great. I'm going go back to a more balanced diet now, but I'm not going completely back to how I was eating before. Refined sugar is definitely out, that's enemy number one. I'm fine with naturally occurring sugars, such as the lactose in milk and the fructose in fruits, but anything with added sugar is no bueno. I'm still going to try to keep my carbs fairly low. Bread and pasta are still out. I'll allow myself potatoes, rice, and some of the other grains, but I'll try to limit them to small quantities. Right now I want to see if I can keep the 22 lbs I lost off now that I'm off the carnivore diet. If and when that's successful I'd like to eventually get down to 180 lbs, which is my ideal weight.

[majestic]

Moar food!

Homemade cookies (my mother's uncle is 80 and bored while having to stay home, so he's baking sweets... all the time):

 

Pork with zucchini.

Home made sweet bread

And lastly, some zander with parsleyed potatoes:

Edited April 10, 2020 by majestic

[ShadySands]

Last night I made pork chops and mac and cheese

[Gfted1]

Were going to build a lasagna tonight, but first were pregaming with wine and Voodoo Rangers.

[Gorth]

Found some simple recipes I might give a try. All according to the "kiss" principle and explained in plain Australian (warning, lots of swearing in the video)

(he has a number of different dishes which I might try out over the next few months)