The Kitchen: all things delicious and disastrous

Just a note: if you have leftover pizza, don't microwave it. Microwaved pizza gets rubbery and all-around awful. Instead, preheat the oven to 350 F, and bake the pizza for three to four minutes. This way, it's as good as it was freshly delivered.

Call me an awful slob, but I actually prefer leftover pizza cold.

Yum, kale sauteed in olive oil and garlic.

First, banana bread.

Banana bread sank a bit, I probably needed more flour. But it tastes good.

Also, kale shrinks to about half its size when sauteed. Not that I mind buying and eating more kale. But I do mind using and washing a larger pan than necessary.

Mr. b has been complaining about spasms in his shoulder blade since he tore his rotator cuff in January. Then his hands started cramping up. We did a little poking around and his diet has been deficient in potassium so we are actively trying to fix that.

I made a pizza with high potassium ingredients: mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, spinach among other things. He's claiming he is cured. I think he just wants more pizza.

Hmmm....pizza is worth it!

Torn rotator cuff and spasms could also be nerve damage, so definitely keep an eye on it. Hopefully it's just the potassium. I'm glad you guys didn't put bananas on that pizza.

I still have some residual nerve damage from tearing my radius muscle underneath my shoulder blade.

...and i just realized this is the kitchen thread, not cobbies. Something something food and stuff.

You had bananas. You safe.

Just to make people extra safe: here... a fire recipe: hot bananas in their skins... with chocolate.

Plenty of potassium, there.

...Can also be done with the bananas peeled and wrapped in lightly greased foil with chopped Milky Ways (for Americans) or Mars Bars (Europeans and others) or good, old Bar Ones (Africa)... and marshmallows. To be served with ice-cream once that what's in the foil is cooked to softness: must be on a cooler fire, though.

Perfect Scout food, by the way: best set up near a river, though. It can get gooey.

edited 10th Jul '14 2:42:29 PM by Euodiachloris

My mom asked me why I got three packages of kale today. "One: They were on sale. Two: You know that small bowl of kale I gave you the other day? That was one bunch."

Friend and I tried to make blueberry pie today.

It boiled over. I didn't even know pies could do that.

Yup. Jam tarts and pies of all stripes do that if you overfill them.

Closed pies will also explode if you don't remember to give them air holes and have overfilled them.

It's like with Yorkshire puddings: always remember to leave room for expansion. Or face cleaning a very mucky oven.

edited 11th Jul '14 11:24:11 PM by Euodiachloris

I made prawn cocktail and steak diane for a dinner party yesterday. Hadn't made steak in years, so that was good. Bit disappointed with the prawn cocktail though - I ballsed up adding the avocado, so the glass looked dirty. Grrr.

I decided to give my parents a treat tonight and made lobster thermidor. But just with tails, not live lobsters. I'm not that dedicated. This was an exercise in why it's important to have all your ingredients lined up ready to go, because yeesh, trying to chop up something while making sure a cheese sauce doesn't burn is tiring.

It turned out very good, but next time I gotta stick the mess closer to the broiler so it browns better.

Want to make popovers. Don't want to turn on the oven in his weather. Dilemma!

At least bread comes out well in the toaster oven without heating up the whole apartment.

So since this summer I've actually started cooking something other than eggs for the first time in my life. This including learning how to boil water. It's definitely been an experience, although I am quickly learning that I miss having all of my mother's pots and pans at my disposal.

The cucumbers have taken over the world. After some preliminary investigation, I don't think I want to make fermented pickles, although I haven't completely rejected the idea. The Ball Blue Book of Canning always makes things sound so potentially hazardous.

Something from Sri Lanka to think about?

I totally need to make Bearnaise more often.

edited 20th Jul '14 7:44:09 PM by HersheleOstropoler

I have taken to adding fresh spinach leaves to almost everything I cook. It has great nutritional value and helps make food more filling than without it.

Like today I added shredded leaves to my brown rice and tilapia. It was wonderful!

Funnel cakes for lunch, sauteed kale for dinner as penance—complete with stems.

Kale stems remind me of very thin, tough broccoli stems.

Tomorrow will be experiment with berbere and harissa day. I think there will be lamb and chicken and rice and pita and hummus and perhaps inexplicably, perilla.

Anyone have a favorite tilapia recipe to share with me? I like the fish because it is so economical on both my nutrient intake and my wallet, but I'm getting a stuck on new ways to cook it. I have a skillet and an oven. I would love to invest in a George Foreman eventually, but alas, tis not an option quite yet.

Saute onions and garlic with a few tilapia filets. Add chopped tomatoes with a bay leaf and a little bit of water to cover everything. Simmer about 10 minutes into a quick sauce and add some salt and pepper to taste. It's a quick Filipino entree.

Made my favourite chocolate cherry muffins to take in to my rotation today. They went over pretty well! I bought myself a square cupcake pan, on the grounds that I already have a round one back home, so this way I'm not duplicating. They fit much better in the tupperware this way.

The only thing better than muffin bribery is... muffin bribery with cherries on top.