Quarantine Cooking
- Thread starter GreenDragon
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Sourdough Mufflets
Each Tuesday, I feed my sourdough starter that is kept in the fridge. This usually involves tossing out half of the starter (or using it in a planned loaf of bread), adding more flour and water, then returning the starter to the fridge. Yesterday, I chose a different path. I added more flour and water, and bit of sugar and salt, then removed half. The removed starter was apportioned into the wells of a mini-muffin tin.
I allowed the "discarded" sourdough starter to rise in the muffin tin for about 36 hours, then baked them at 400°F for 17 minutes.
They pop right out. Tasty and substantial. What is in there? Heaven knows. The starter is a multi-month project to which I've randomly added white bread flour, whole wheat flour, masa harina, sugar, molasses, brown sugar, and probably stuff I've forgotten. And of course, there are assorted, random yeast beasties.
Turning the otherwise discarded portion of the starter into mufflets seems like a better way to go.
Bob
Each Tuesday, I feed my sourdough starter that is kept in the fridge. This usually involves tossing out half of the starter (or using it in a planned loaf of bread), adding more flour and water, then returning the starter to the fridge. Yesterday, I chose a different path. I added more flour and water, and bit of sugar and salt, then removed half. The removed starter was apportioned into the wells of a mini-muffin tin.
I allowed the "discarded" sourdough starter to rise in the muffin tin for about 36 hours, then baked them at 400°F for 17 minutes.
They pop right out. Tasty and substantial. What is in there? Heaven knows. The starter is a multi-month project to which I've randomly added white bread flour, whole wheat flour, masa harina, sugar, molasses, brown sugar, and probably stuff I've forgotten. And of course, there are assorted, random yeast beasties.
Turning the otherwise discarded portion of the starter into mufflets seems like a better way to go.
Bob
It tastes like a cross between peach cobbler without peaches and sweet potato soufflé without soufflé. It’s good.
Chicken Salad
Recipe
1 can of chicken
2 boiled eggs - finely cut
3 - 4 heaping tablespoons of Miracle Whip
1/4 cup sweet pickles - finely cut
1/4 cup white grapes - finely cut
Stir together
Recipe
1 can of chicken
2 boiled eggs - finely cut
3 - 4 heaping tablespoons of Miracle Whip
1/4 cup sweet pickles - finely cut
1/4 cup white grapes - finely cut
Stir together
the mercury dog
Roast some cheap hot dogs until they get grill marks and split. Toast buns.
Spread toasted buns with buffalo wing sauce, place dogs, lay in celery tips, and top with blue cheese dressing.
Haute cuisine? Nope
Try and eat just one though..
Roast some cheap hot dogs until they get grill marks and split. Toast buns.
Spread toasted buns with buffalo wing sauce, place dogs, lay in celery tips, and top with blue cheese dressing.
Haute cuisine? Nope
Try and eat just one though..
In all seriousness, these things are so good they're addictive.
Saw the picture again and had to make a few more for a very late lunch. You know, just to make sure they're OK and all.
Now I'm eyeing how many dogs are left in the pack..
Saw the picture again and had to make a few more for a very late lunch. You know, just to make sure they're OK and all.
Now I'm eyeing how many dogs are left in the pack..
My first jar of cuke pickles has been fermenting on the countertop for a week. They have been slightly bubbling for the past two days. I made up another batch today, not so much because I want lots more pickles, but because otherwise I can't keep up with the cucumber production. Man does not live by raw cuke alone.
Bob
Bob
PressuredLeaf
Well-Known Member
Back in college I used to work at an Italian restaurant. One of my regular jobs was rolling tray after tray of meatballs everyday. I ate so many meatballs during my time at the restaurant that I never made them again. Well that changed today, because I happened to have ground pork and beef. I went after an east coast style meatball without the veal.
Meatballs:
1lb ground pork
1lb ground beef (was called "american wagyu" from Costco... whatever that means)
1 egg
~1/2 cup freshly grated parm
1 head of coarsely chopped parsely
~1/2 cup bread crumbs
~1/2 cup whole milk
~2 tbsp salt
~1 tbsp pepper
4 cloves of fresh garlic - diced
Bake @375 for 20 mins. Finish with the broiler
Next step was the sauce:
Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 qts peeled San Marzano tomattoes - crush them by hand
1 medium yellow onion
6 cloves fresh garlic
~8 oz of low tannin red wine, I used Beaujolais
Fresh basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste.
The onions and garlic were coarsely chopped, and sweated in a saucepan for about 10 mins. Next the red wine is added and allowed to reduce for ~10 minutes. The onion wine mixture was pureed and returned to the pot. Next the crushed tomatoes were added along with some salt and pepper. Once the sauce was boiling the fresh basil was added. I like to only cook the sauce for 10-15 minutes, that seems to preserve the bright tomato flavor.
Final step:
1. Slice meatballs in half
2. ladle some sauce
3. Top with homemade cultured mozarella
4. Broill
5. Enjoy!
The nice bright tomato really goes well with the rich cheese and meatballs. I think I need a cigar.
Meatballs:
1lb ground pork
1lb ground beef (was called "american wagyu" from Costco... whatever that means)
1 egg
~1/2 cup freshly grated parm
1 head of coarsely chopped parsely
~1/2 cup bread crumbs
~1/2 cup whole milk
~2 tbsp salt
~1 tbsp pepper
4 cloves of fresh garlic - diced
Bake @375 for 20 mins. Finish with the broiler
Next step was the sauce:
Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 qts peeled San Marzano tomattoes - crush them by hand
1 medium yellow onion
6 cloves fresh garlic
~8 oz of low tannin red wine, I used Beaujolais
Fresh basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste.
The onions and garlic were coarsely chopped, and sweated in a saucepan for about 10 mins. Next the red wine is added and allowed to reduce for ~10 minutes. The onion wine mixture was pureed and returned to the pot. Next the crushed tomatoes were added along with some salt and pepper. Once the sauce was boiling the fresh basil was added. I like to only cook the sauce for 10-15 minutes, that seems to preserve the bright tomato flavor.
Final step:
1. Slice meatballs in half
2. ladle some sauce
3. Top with homemade cultured mozarella
4. Broill
5. Enjoy!
The nice bright tomato really goes well with the rich cheese and meatballs. I think I need a cigar.
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
Do you burp you jars or leave the lid loose.My first jar of cuke pickles has been fermenting on the countertop for a week. They have been slightly bubbling for the past two days. I made up another batch today, not so much because I want lots more pickles, but because otherwise I can't keep up with the cucumber production. Man does not live by raw cuke alone.
Bob
I have always left the lid loose but this batch I’m burping them once a day.
I wonder if the pressure in the jar would infuse the cucumber with more taste.
I always leave my lids ever so slightly loose when I make kimchi or ferment peppers. If I had a jar of stinky kimchi blow up in the kitchen I would never hear the end of it from my wife
You need to either burp the jar or leave the lid slightly loose, if you are using sealing lids. Enough pressure will burst the jar. My plastic lids don't hold a vacuum (or pressure), so it doesn't matter. Every few days, though, I do open the lid to smell it, and to remove any yeast scum that may form at the top of the liquid. (The yeast is not toxic, but it can make the pickles feel slimy, if I leave it growing.)
Bob
Bob
Cucumber, Squash and Bacon Casserole
My garden has been producing ample cucumbers and yellow pattipan squash, and not too much else. I decided to bake my way out of the overflow. This casserole recipe is completely ad hoc. I just grabbed stuff and put them together.
I know from experience that 3 or 4 raw eggs, a bunch of cottage cheese, and some milk, when well mixed, will bake into a firm, mild, cheese casserole, almost regardless of what else is in there. If the egg whites are beaten separately, then blended with the yolk, then added to the rest of the ingredients, it puffs up as a souffle. But I'm too lazy for fussing with that, so I usually just dump everything together into a large mixing bowl, and hand-mix it.
I usually don't add bacon, since it is one more set of steps, but for this casserole, I diced 1 strip of raw bacon, then fried it first. The fried bits were then added to the bowl of stuff, prior to mixing. The cucumbers and squash (both with peel on) were chunked, then finely chopped in a food processor.
Main ingredients (sorry, quantities and proportions are mostly futile):
Mix well. Bake at ~375°F for 60 minutes, then check. How quickly it bakes depends on the quantity you bake, as well as the depth of it within the dish. It's done when golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean. It took me 90 minutes altogether to bake it perfectly. (Because both the squash and cucumber give up water as they cook, check the side of the casserole, and continue to heat at a lower temp, if there is still much liquid showing.)
This is tasty when served either hot or chilled. The cucumber aroma is dominant over the squash aroma. And the hidden bits of bacon come as unexpected flavor bursts. No need for a sauce or topping.
Bob
My garden has been producing ample cucumbers and yellow pattipan squash, and not too much else. I decided to bake my way out of the overflow. This casserole recipe is completely ad hoc. I just grabbed stuff and put them together.
I know from experience that 3 or 4 raw eggs, a bunch of cottage cheese, and some milk, when well mixed, will bake into a firm, mild, cheese casserole, almost regardless of what else is in there. If the egg whites are beaten separately, then blended with the yolk, then added to the rest of the ingredients, it puffs up as a souffle. But I'm too lazy for fussing with that, so I usually just dump everything together into a large mixing bowl, and hand-mix it.
I usually don't add bacon, since it is one more set of steps, but for this casserole, I diced 1 strip of raw bacon, then fried it first. The fried bits were then added to the bowl of stuff, prior to mixing. The cucumbers and squash (both with peel on) were chunked, then finely chopped in a food processor.
Main ingredients (sorry, quantities and proportions are mostly futile):
- Cucumbers
- Summer squash
- minced, cooked bacon
- 3 eggs
- cottage cheese (~¾ of a 16 ounce tub)
- grated parmesan/romano blend (~¼ cup)
- milk (didn't measure)
- lemon juice (~½ tsp)
- salt
- pepper
- chives
- oregano
- garlic powder (a ton)
Mix well. Bake at ~375°F for 60 minutes, then check. How quickly it bakes depends on the quantity you bake, as well as the depth of it within the dish. It's done when golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean. It took me 90 minutes altogether to bake it perfectly. (Because both the squash and cucumber give up water as they cook, check the side of the casserole, and continue to heat at a lower temp, if there is still much liquid showing.)
This is tasty when served either hot or chilled. The cucumber aroma is dominant over the squash aroma. And the hidden bits of bacon come as unexpected flavor bursts. No need for a sauce or topping.
Bob
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
I’m Really impressed with the burping method.
This batch smells so much more aromic than the other batches I made with the lid loose.
One thing I do is put the last 2 cucumbers horizontal in the jar and they will be submerged also in the brine. No bobbers here.
Attachments
Brown Thumb
Well-Known Member
I think some broccoli would kick her up a notch.Cucumber, Squash and Bacon Casserole
My garden has been producing ample cucumbers and yellow pattipan squash, and not too much else. I decided to bake my way out of the overflow. This casserole recipe is completely ad hoc. I just grabbed stuff and put them together.
I know from experience that 3 or 4 raw eggs, a bunch of cottage cheese, and some milk, when well mixed, will bake into a firm, mild, cheese casserole, almost regardless of what else is in there. If the egg whites are beaten separately, then blended with the yolk, then added to the rest of the ingredients, it puffs up as a souffle. But I'm too lazy for fussing with that, so I usually just dump everything together into a large mixing bowl, and hand-mix it.
I usually don't add bacon, since it is one more set of steps, but for this casserole, I diced 1 strip of raw bacon, then fried it first. The fried bits were then added to the bowl of stuff, prior to mixing. The cucumbers and squash (both with peel on) were chunked, then finely chopped in a food processor.
Main ingredients (sorry, quantities and proportions are mostly futile):
To this, I added:
- Cucumbers
- Summer squash
- minced, cooked bacon
- 3 eggs
- cottage cheese (~¾ of a 16 ounce tub)
- grated parmesan/romano blend (~¼ cup)
- milk (didn't measure)
- lemon juice (~½ tsp)
- salt
- pepper
- chives
- oregano
- garlic powder (a ton)
Mix well. Bake at ~375°F for 60 minutes, then check. How quickly it bakes depends on the quantity you bake, as well as the depth of it within the dish. It's done when golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean. It took me 90 minutes altogether to bake it perfectly. (Because both the squash and cucumber give up water as they cook, check the side of the casserole, and continue to heat at a lower temp, if there is still much liquid showing.)
This is tasty when served either hot or chilled. The cucumber aroma is dominant over the squash aroma. And the hidden bits of bacon come as unexpected flavor bursts. No need for a sauce or topping.
Bob
If you add broccoli or other "hard" vegetable, you will need to cook the veggie first (boil or saute or fry), since the cheese/egg/milk custard cooks at a relatively modest temperature--just enough to cook summer squash or cuke. The fresh mushrooms sauted in butter is awfully good, but that's getting too fancy for me to prepare just for myself. At first, I was going to add the diced bacon raw, but then thought better of it.
With strong flavors, like broccoli, a more aromatic cheese, like Muenster, works well. For a quiche, just pour it all into a lightly baked crust.
Bob
With strong flavors, like broccoli, a more aromatic cheese, like Muenster, works well. For a quiche, just pour it all into a lightly baked crust.
Bob
Yeast! I found packets of yeast at the gas station quick shop this morning. I haven't seen any since March. No heavy cream or yogurt, though.
Bob
Bob
Left to right: tobacco brine experiment, 2 jars of sauerkraut, kimchi.
Not pictured is the 6 gallon bucket from the wine making kit my wife surprised me with for a birthday recently. Not sure what she was thinking given our previous attempts. She bought 4 pounds of regular grapes thinking that would be enough... Wound up going with the the four pounds of grapes plus about 5 gallons of welches grape juice (Concord grapes). Bet that's going to turn out wonderful. On the plus side the wine making stuff can be repurposed for beer making after this failed attempt.
The kitchen is going to smell great, 6 gallons of fermenting wine, sauerkraut, tobacco, and kimchi. Should make some cheese while I'm at it.
Not pictured is the 6 gallon bucket from the wine making kit my wife surprised me with for a birthday recently. Not sure what she was thinking given our previous attempts. She bought 4 pounds of regular grapes thinking that would be enough... Wound up going with the the four pounds of grapes plus about 5 gallons of welches grape juice (Concord grapes). Bet that's going to turn out wonderful. On the plus side the wine making stuff can be repurposed for beer making after this failed attempt.
The kitchen is going to smell great, 6 gallons of fermenting wine, sauerkraut, tobacco, and kimchi. Should make some cheese while I'm at it.
Oldfella
Well-Known Member
Interesting
Oldfella
GreenDragon
Well-Known Member
I made the mistake of running an empty mason jar used for homemade kimchi through the dishwasher earlier this year. The dishwasher and kitchen reeked of kimchi for a week!
A comforting aspect of eating kimchi is that your body naturally clears away all those smelly sulfones and thiol-compounds by releasing them into your sweat and your breath.
Bob
Bob
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