1 lb dry green split peas
1 lb butternut squash, diced
1 russet potato, diced
1 large red onion, diced
3 cubes Edward & Sons LOW SODIUM Veggie Cubes
1 pkg apple and turkey sausage patties, diced
7 c water
salt
pepper
freeze dried diced garlic
thyme
cumin
chili powder
Prepare ingredients. Put them all in slow cooker. Season to taste. I used, in descending order of amount, garlic, cumin, thyme, salt, pepper, chili powder. Cook for 7 hours on high until peas have disintegrated, stirring regularly to distribute spices.

1 lb sliced carrots
1 red onion, diced
1 russet potato, diced
2 lbs frozen mixed veggies
2 cans low sodium chickpeas, drained
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 can coconut milk
8 tsp curry powder
4 heaping tsp coriander
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ginger chunks [in larger pieces than granules]
1 tsp garlic chunks [in larger pieces than granules]
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 heaping tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Prepare as directed. Cook on low for 5 hours. THIS HAD BETTER TASTE LIKE CURRY GODDAMMIT.

EDIT: Had to cook on low for 8 hours. Tasted like zilcho. I am not going to do slow cooker curry anymore until I figure out what went wrong.

Adapted from the Vegeterian Slow Cooker Curry recipe here.

I’m using a 5 quart slow cooker, just for reference.

2 lbs. frozen mixed veggies [broccoli, cauliflower, carrots]

1 lb. carrots, chopped

2 large red onions, diced

1 lb. precooked chicken strips, diced

1 large russet potato, diced

2 cans low sodium chickpeas, drained

1 container Taste of Thai green curry paste

1 can coconut milk

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

some oil

aggressive amount of garlic powder

salt

Prepare everything as directed. Put chickpeas, carrots, frozen veggies, potato in slow cooker. Mix.

Oil a frying pan. Turn it to medium heat. Sautee one half of the onions and chicken, plus one quarter of the chili paste, for 5 minutes. Add another quarter of the chili paste. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Put in slow cooker. Mix.

Sautee the rest of the onions and chicken for 5 minutes. Add aggressive amount of garlic powder. Add some more chili paste. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Put in slow cooker. Mix.

Add coconut milk, broth, and the rest of the chili paste. Mix. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Yum?

Well, yesterday’s attempt at curry came out sadly bland, so I seek alternatives. I am guessing that the problem is a failure to scale up my spices…also to somehow make the flavors stick to the food.

Slow Cooker Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew is expressly made for large slow cookers.

Here’s another Slow Cooked Vegetable Curry. I’m starting to think that I need to cook the onions and spices first to make a savory base before doing anything else. This may make the flavors stick more.

2 16 oz. cans low sodium chickpeas, rinsed

1 lb. carrots, sliced and diced

1 can low-fat coconut milk

1 large russet potato, diced

2 cups Signature Kitchens unsalted chicken broth

1 to 1.5 cups precooked chicken strips, diced

1 large red onion, chopped

1 jar Taste of Thai red curry paste

1 to 1.5 cups frozen mixed veggies to fill in cracks

Prepare as directed. Mix together. Cook on low heat for at least 8 hours. Add to 1.5 to 2 cups of rice cooked in the rest of the unsalted chicken broth. If the flavor dies out of this after 24 hours, I’m going to scream.

10 oz. sliced carrots

15.5 oz. LOW SODIUM chickpeas, rinsed 

5-6 medium beets and shoots, chunked

1 jumbo russet potato, chunked

2 red onions, chunked

6 cloves fresh garlic, diced

1 tsp salt

1 cube Edward & Sons LOW SODIUM Veggie Cubes [bouillon equivalent]

2 cans LOW FAT coconut milk

1 package S&B medium hot golden curry sauce medium hot, softened and mixed into 1/2 c. water

1 c. frozen mixed veggies to fill in cracks

Prepare as directed. Stir well to distribute spices throughout ingredients. Cook for 4 hours on high. YUM YUM [hopefully].

Modifications from first attempt noted.

1 large sweet potato, diced
~4 oz. ~6 oz. shredded carrots
~1 cup ~2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 15.5 oz. can LOW SODIUM chickpeas [Garbanzo beans], rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can LOW FAT coconut milk
6 medium beets, diced, and their shoots, chopped [NEW]
1 medium red onion, diced
3 4 heaping teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ginger [in small pieces larger than powder]
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 3 generous teaspoons garlic granules [in small pieces larger than powder]
2 3 coconut milk cans’ worth of water
1 cube 2 cubes Edward & Sons LOW SODIUM Veggie Cubes [bouillon equivalent]

Prepare as directed above. Mix together in slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on high. YUM YUM [hopefully].

Adapted from a recipe on The Fitchen.

1 large sweet potato, diced
~4 oz. shredded carrots
~1 cup. frozen mixed vegetables
1 15.5 oz. can LOW SODIUM chickpeas [Garbanzo beans], rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can LOW FAT coconut milk
1 medium red onion, diced
3 heaping teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon ginger [in small pieces larger than powder]
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 generous teaspoons garlic granules [in small pieces larger than powder]
2 coconut milk cans’ worth of water
1 cube Edward & Sons LOW SODIUM Veggie Cubes [bouillon equivalent]

Prepare as directed above. Mix together in slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on high. YUM YUM [hopefully].

Adaptations depended on several factors. First, I was using stuff that I already had [sweet potato, shredded carrots, frozen mixed veggies]. Second, given my lack of measuring cups and spoons, all measurements are approximate. My “teaspoon” was a small dinner spoon. Third, I am lazy, which is why I threw the bouillon ingredients in separately. Fourth, everything can be improved by the copious addition of garlic. Fifth, I hate red pepper flakes. Sixth, the original recipe has a ridiculously gratuitous amount of sodium, most of which can be eschewed by choosing low sodium chickpeas and low sodium bouillon.

EDIT: Delicious, though flavored much more strongly of ginger than anything else because the little pieces of dried ginger root are much stronger than ginger powder. I added a bunch of rice, which cut much of it, but now I know to reduce the amount of ginger by at least half if I’m using small pieces of the root. I feel like it may need some capsaicin…

Cleveland Clinic’s overview of really cool, nutritious, and tasty salad assembly is mostly my kind of document. It suggests alternatives to traditional salad ingredients and explains their benefits. It also explains some of the things to watch out for in traditional ingredients, and it doesn’t say anything about losing weight.

I now have some ideas for interesting salad ingredients based on this list…

• Kale mix
• Peapods
• Soybeans
• Red onion
• Beets
• Avocado
• Chicken
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Raw sweet potatoes
• Olive oil and balsamic for dressing

I now want to make a salad with kale, peapods, soybeans, hard-boiled eggs, raw sweet potatoes, and balsamic and olive oil for dressing.

Notable ingredients to use in greater moderation than I have been include the following:

• Cheese
• Peas
• Croutons
• Raisins
• Cashews

Tonight’s permutation of the recipe follows:

2 chicken breasts, cooked in recaito
2 1/2 med carrots, shredded
2 1/2 tbsp recaito
honey [1 tsp?]
16 oz salsa verde
1 envelope Herbox
1 cup water
29 oz cannellini, rinsed and drained
16 oz red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 white onion, chopped
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp + 1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp cilantro
1/2 head garlic, minced
salt
frozen peas
frozen corn

Thaw chicken breasts. Slash. Place in glass baking dish in two layers of tin foil. Moosh recaito into the slashes and over the top of the breasts — a total of 1 to 2 tbsp. Wrap tin foil around them so they are covered. Cook at 450 degrees for at least 25 minutes. Shred.

Put all the ingredients except frozen veggies together in slow cooker. Fill the rest of the space in slow cooker with peas and corn. Stir thoroughly, making sure recaito and spices distribute evenly through ingredients. Cook on low for at least 8 hours. Check at least once to stir and make sure there’s enough liquid.

Notes:

Cooking chicken in recaito is my attempt to make it more flavorful. Also recaito seems like garlic — you can pretty much never have enough. There’s a lot of recaito in this version…

Carrots added per my previous notes.

Amount of honey was not measured — just enough to cut any heartburn-producing acidity.

I’m not a particular connoisseur of beans, but I’ll see if the cannellini make a difference in the taste.

White onions are nice and crunchy and juicy — good cooking onions!

Double the cumin from last time because cumin is the shit!

Increased amount of paprika, just for the hell of it.

Whoops, forgot the chili powder. I don’t feel like it was doing anything important last time, though.

Plus cilantro because cilantro is the shit, although not the the extent of garlic and cumin.

Salt to tie things together and highlight the flavors. I tend to skip salt, assuming that there’s enough sodium in everything else, but a judiciously applied amount of salt can have significant and subtle effects on the cohesion of a dish. Also it just tastes good, even if it is not as much of the shit as garlic, cumin, recaito, cilantro, etc.

The frozen veggies bulk up the chili and make it a one-pot meal, very appealing for us lazy people.

I’ve discovered that I follow recipes best when I discover why ingredients are being used. For example, if I read my recipe above and saw honey and salt, I would immediately assume that the two would cancel each other out. Thus I wouldn’t see the point of either, and I’d skip both. Knowing that honey mollifies the acidity of the salsa, while salt highlights other flavors, gives me the reason I need to add these ingredients. Also once I know the reasons for ingredients, I can get to the fun part — substitutions and experiments. Obviously, though, I clearly do substitutions and experiments even if I don’t know why certain ingredients are included.

Inspired by Tarah’s green chicken chili, I made my own version of the following:

2 chicken breasts, precooked and chopped
16 oz. frozen corn
14 oz. frozen peas
2 cloves elephant garlic, minced
1/3 head regular garlic, minced
1 packet Herbox
1 cup water
~16 oz. salsa verde [used Goya]
~30 oz. light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
~15 oz. dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, diced
2 tbsp. racaito [used Goya]
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. chili powder

Prepare individual ingredients as directed in ingredients list. Put everything in slow cooker; stir thoroughly. Cook on high for a while, stirring sporadically.

Notes: As you can see by my adaptations from the original recipe, I told the peppers, both green and jalapeno, to fuck right off, as peppers give me indigestion. [Also I’m sure there are plenty of peppers in the salsa verde and racaito.] I also increased the amount of garlic and precooked the chicken. Tarah didn’t specify if the chicken was supposed to be cooked beforehand, but I just wanted to make sure. Frozen veggies make it more like a hearty stew!

Next time I make this [and there will be a next time, if only to improve on this attempt], I’m shredding a carrot or two in there. I may also add some honey if the chili proves particularly acidic.

From Tarah. I’m a little disturbed by the presence of jalapeno, but I think the addition of salsa verde and racaito is a genius maneuver!

1 med onion (valencia), chopped
1/2 lg jalapeño, seeded chopped
1 med green bell pepper, seeded chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 t salt
1 t flour
1 c. Chicken broth
1 jar (16 oz) salsa verde
2.3 lb chicken breasts
2 T racaito
2 cans cannellini beans
1 can small white beans
(1 T) cumin, paprika, chili/cajun powder. 1 T each (I had cajun, not chili and no paprika on hand – didn’t want to use smoked paprika, which I did have)

Saute flour, onion, peppers, garlic, and salt until tender (aromatic roux). Put all ingredients in crock pot 5-7 hours on low. Chicken can be shredded an hour before complete.

Do NOT use more chicken… less will make it soupier, if you like that; 2-2.5 lbs makes it super thick and easily reheatable with a bit of water.

2 pounds ground beef
~32 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
~32 oz diced tomatoes with chilies and garlic
~16 oz tomato sauce
~16 oz salsa with garlic
2 grated carrots
1 big white onion, chopped
7 cloves fresh regular garlic, minced
1 1/2 heads roasted regular garlic
1 clove fresh elephant garlic, minced
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp chili powder
miscellaneous amounts of salt
miscellaneous amounts of grated cheese

Mix garlic in with beef; brown; drain.

Put all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook for about 4 hours on high.

Put grated cheese on the chili if you want.

I think I’ve finally hit on a good chili recipe. One of the keys is to put the garlic in with the beef so that it distributes its flavor into the meat, but does not get lost in all the rest of the ingredients. Another key is to let the salsa do the rest of the heavy lifting flavor-wise. Cayenne pepper and chili powder are just there for the burn. Another key is to add as much garlic as you can possibly stand, not just with the beef, but with the diced tomatoes and the salsa. The roasted garlic seems to punch up the fresh garlic, giving it a foundation so that the taste of the latter is more apparent.

In future iterations, I will not be using elephant garlic; it’s too mild, but I was just trying to get rid of it. Looks like the final garlic count will be 5 to 7 regular cloves and 1 head regular roasted. Maybe fewer fresh cloves. Dare I say that was almost too much garlic?! GASP! Hopefully the chili will mellow over time.

Today’s version of slow cooker chili is an experiment in a) compensating for half the required amount of ground beef and b) cooking from memory. I was on the right track when I decided to put six grated carrots in for more bulk, but I don’t think the chili needs three cans of water; I think I was confusing it with the chicken tomato veggie stew. I hope I put in enough garlic… Find out tomorrow!!!

1 pound ground beef, browned in garlic and drained

2 cans [~30 oz] black beans, rinsed and drained

2 cans [~30 oz] diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano

3 diced tomato cans’ worth of water

5 cloves regular garlic, minced

2 cloves elephant garlic, minced

1 big yellow onion, chopped

6 carrots, grated

1 tbsp cayenne pepper

2 1/2 tbsp chili powder

miscellaneous amounts of salt and parsley flakes

Mince garlic. Put in with beef; brown beef; drain. Put beef and all other ingredients in slow cooker. Add preferred amount of salt and parsley. Cook on low for 10-12 hours.

EDIT: Way too much water makes this soupy and seems to dilute the flavor. There’s a lot of burn from the cayenne and chili powder, but the garlic seems to be lost in the confusion. I like the addition of the carrots, but I think this really needs another pound of beef to support the amount of fresh garlic I put in. Edible but really boring. 

Adapted from a recipe passed down from my mom’s mom to her and then to me. So named because I used an antique meat grinder to mince the fruit, and red pulpy stuff, as well as gruesome-looking drips, got everywhere. This is lots of fun to make, at least with a manual grinder, as the fruit [cranberries especially] pops and squishes in a very satisfying manner upon being crushed by the corkscrew.

12 oz. cranberries, either fresh or frozen
6 mandarin oranges
1 cup sugar

Mince the cranberries with a meat grinder or food processor. Peel oranges, remove pith, quarter, and do the same. Put the glop in a bowl. Mix in sugar. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours [up to 4 days] so that flavors can meld.

Making the stream-of-consciousness pea soup again today with some revisions.

1 lb. ground beef.

1 lb. dry yellow split peas.

2 carrots, sliced. 6 carrots, sliced.

1 white onion, diced.

2 potatoes, cubed.

3 packets Herbox bouillon in 6 cups warm water. 6 cups water.

1/2 tsp. pepper.

1/2 tsp. thyme. 3 tsp. thyme.

Somewhere between 1/2 and 1 tsp. cumin. 2 tsp. cumin.

1 tsp. parsley.

1 tsp. salt.

6 hulking garlic cloves, minced. 8 hulking garlic cloves, minced.

Brown the meat with the garlic. Do not put the garlic in the slow cooker with all the other ingredients, as this neutralizes most of the flavor.

Cook for 7 hours on high until peas have disintegrated, stirring regularly to distribute spices.

Adapted from RelatedByFoodJustAddWine’s Slow Cooker Newfoundland Pea Soup. Stream of consciousness in italics adds insight into my cooking philosophy [such as it is] and practice.
Pea soup seemed  like a good thing to make in a slow cooker. It’s dense and sludgy, so it should stand up for several leftover meals.

Nope, not putting a ham bone in, even though it would be delicious. I don’t eat pigs.
Grocery store had no salt beef in stock, so that was out too, which was probably just as well, since it’s loaded with unnecessary salt. Decided that ground beef + garlic could serve just as well.

Also celery is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. NO CELERY.

1 lb. ground beef.

1 lb. dry yellow split peas. Not sure why they have to be yellow, but there they are. Also not sure why they were in the “Mexican” aisle of the grocery store. Dividing up the grocery store along geographical and ethnic lines doesn’t make sense to me. Original amount was 2 cups, but that would have left just a little of the bag left over, so I put in the whole bag.

2 carrots, sliced.

1 white onion, diced. Or a big onion of any type, really. I’m not picky.

2 potatoes, cubed. Any kind of potatoes, except for sweet.

3 packets Herbox bouillon in 6 cups warm water. Original recipe calls for 6 cups, more or less, of chicken broth. The water part of the broth is obviously a necessary addition, but the chicken part seems to be there just for flavor. I mean, this recipe certainly doesn’t need any more sodium, which is why I go for Herbox, a salt-free chicken boullion powder. 6 packets Herbox + 6 cups water seems like chicken broth overkill, so I halved the bouillon.

1/2 tsp. pepper. Or just crank the pepper mill over the slow cooker until it looks like enough has been ground in.

1/2 tsp. thyme. All measurements start off with the intention of exactitude, but then err in either direction, depending on how messily I pour the spices into the measuring spoons.

Somewhere between 1/2 and 1 tsp. cumin. A large hunk of cumin jumped into the pot when I was measuring. Cumin was not in original recipe, but I added it because, after my experience with tomato-based chicken veggie stew, I realized that cumin improves lots of dishes!

1 tsp. parsley. Parsley, on the other hand, is of dubious value, unless fresh.

1 tsp. salt. Just salt until it’s well salted.

6 hulking garlic cloves, minced. I was trying to use up a head on the verge of turning green. Also you can never have too much garlic!!

Thaw ground beef. Mince garlic; mix in with beef. Brown beef; drain.

Put all ingredients in slow cooker; cook on high for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Poke soup after three hours; taste and realize that peas have not disintegrated and flavors have not mingled.

Add more salt, pepper, and thyme. Turn down to low; cook on low for 5 more hours until peas have disintegrated. Get up at 2:00 AM; discover that soup has reached state of optimum sludge. Sample approvingly. Put in plastic storage container; wash dishes; go back to bed, looking forward to soup the next night.

Entry will be updated after serious taste testing tonight.

EDIT: This stuff is really good. It can be eaten hot or cold, and it’s especially good with savory bread — we ate it with garlic and cheese breadsticks last night, and tonight I’m going to pair it with a rosemary chive roll. It starts out porridgey, but then, as the excess water evaporates, it turns to the consistency of [delicious] cement. If you look up “hearty” in the dictionary, there is a picture of my pea soup. The flavors, like the peas themselves, disintegrate and blend over the course of cooking, so I could probably put more garlic and cumin in it without harming the taste. I was right in my assumption, however, that other spices compensate for a lack of salt; this soup needs no additional salt.

APPLESAUCE by Lucille V. Allen — deli 10/2015!

Macintosh apples, peeled, cored, cut into quarters

5 oz. water

3 q. saucepan

Fill saucepan with apple parts and water. Cook for 20 minutes on medium with lid on. Stir. Poke. Cook for 20 more minutes on medium. Applesauce results.

Last week’s experiment in slow cooking still delights my taste buds, even five days later, so I’m doing it again this weekend, with the following improvements:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chunked

various amounts of salt, pepper, cumin, EDIT: olive oil for chicken [didn’t taste any spices on chicken, waste of cumin]

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion

EDIT: 1 can [~10 oz.] tomato sauce [for thickening]

sprinkling of red pepper

one big yellow onion, diced

1 jar Green Mountain Gringo medium garlic salsa

14-16 oz. chicken broth made with Herbox

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon each of cumin and chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cilantro

2 cups water EDIT: 3 cups water

8 oz. frozen corn EDIT: increase to 12 oz.

10 oz. frozen mixed veggies EDIT: increase to 12 oz.

6 cloves garlic, minced

various amounts of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper for the soup

Thaw chicken. Line glass baking dish with foil. Cut chicken into 1″ chunks. Drizzle with olive oil until covered. Add salt, pepper, cumin to taste. Cover baking dish with more foil. Cook in middle rack of oven preheated to 400 degrees F for ~25 minutes.

Remove chicken from olive oil; shred. Put chicken and all other ingredients in slow cooker. Cook for 3 hours on high.

Adapted from AllRecipes’ Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chunked

various amounts of salt, pepper, cumin, olive oil for chicken

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion

sprinkling of red pepper

one big yellow onion, diced

1 jar Green Mountain Gringo medium garlic salsa

14-16 oz. chicken broth made with Herbox

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon each of cumin and chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cilantro

2 cups water

8 oz. frozen corn

10 oz. frozen mixed veggies

6 cloves garlic, minced

various amounts of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper for the soup

Thaw chicken. Line glass baking dish with foil. Cut chicken into 1″ chunks. Drizzle with olive oil until covered. Add salt, pepper, cumin to taste. Cover baking dish with more foil. Cook in middle rack of oven preheated to 400 degrees F for ~25 minutes.

Remove chicken from olive oil; shred. Put chicken and all other ingredients in slow cooker. Cook for 3 hours on high.

Really yummy this way! Salsa [instead of originally prescribed enchilada sauce, whatever that is] and fresh garlic give it a kick without it having a burning spiciness. I.e., this soup does not make my nose drip, which is fine with me. Mixed veggies add more variety than just corn. Could use a little tomato paste to thicken broth. Almost a stew with all the stuff I added. :d

Adapted from AllRecipes’ Spicy Slow-Cooked Chili.

2 pounds ground beef
2 cans [~16 oz] black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cans [~10 oz] diced tomatoes with chiles, drained
1 can [~16 oz] tomato sauce
1 big yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
miscellaneous amounts of chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt

miscellaneous amounts of grated cheese

miscellaneous amounts of  non-fat plain yogurt

Brown beef. Drain.

Put all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook for about 10 hours on low.

Put grated cheese and yogurt on the chili if you want.

—

Note to self: It really tastes more like chili if I remember to put the chili powder and cayenne pepper in before cooking it. Also needs more garlic.

Here is a quick and easy cake recipe.

The one time in my life that I didn’t want frozen yogurt, that’s exactly what I got. The aggressively chilly fridge at work froze my yogurt. I tried thawing it in the microwave, but 30 seconds left it still semisolid, while another 30 turned it into a runny, unpalatable mess. Pas de yaourt pour moi. 

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Do NOT get three weeks’ worth of burritos at once. They don’t keep well in the small freezer at work. 🙁 

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These little shits have been everywhere in our pantry recently. In our attempt to evict them, we jettisoned 25 lbs. of rice and 10 lbs. of pancake mix. This incredible waste of food seems to have removed their source, though several of them are still flying around, waiting for me to hit them flat with a blank book. We need airtight storage for our cereal-based foods.

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Based on 2009’s invention, cold chili glop.

The following makes 4 to 5 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of beans [~14oz.] — black, red, pinto, etc. [black or pinto recommended]
• 1 cup uncooked rice — brown, white, basmati, long-grain, etc. [brown or white recommended]
• 1 jar of salsa [~16oz.] — any type [Green Mountain Salsa recommended]
• 8-12oz. sour cream or plain yogurt [low- or full-fat recommended]
• salt to taste

Optional:

• shredded cheese [sharp cheddar recommended]
• browned meat [which obviously makes it not vegetarian] [lean ground beef or turkey recommended]
• hot sauce
• tomato paste

NOTE: I have never included browned meat, tomato paste or hot sauce in my own experiments, so I just stuck them in the recipe at what seemed like the appropriate point. I claim no responsibility for any disgusting results you may incur by following my instructions.

Steps:

• Start rice cooking. Put x cups of rice in at least 2x cups of water. 2.5x cups is even better, as you can always drain off the excess water later. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. 
• While rice is cooking, open beans. Rinse and drain to get rid of slime. Put them in a clean pot large enough for at least twice, if not thrice, that amount of beans.
• Simmer rice for a while [40+ minutes], stirring regularly and sampling occasionally. Rice is done when it is soft, but not mushy, and has absorbed almost all the water. Usually these two events coincide, but not always.
• Remove rice from pot when done and put in with beans. Mix thoroughly. Put hot water and soap in rice pot to soak so leftover rice doesn’t congeal.
• Open salsa. Dump in with beans and rice. Mix thoroughly. Sample. Add salt if desired.
• If adding meat, hot sauce or tomato paste, these ingredients should go in at this point.
• If preparing for later consumption, add enough sour cream or yogurt  to make the chili gooey, but not sloppy. Mix; sample; salt.
• Add shredded cheese if desired. Mix; sample.
• If preparing for immediate consumption, heat rice, beans and salsa until they are all hot. Then add sour cream or yogurt, then shredded cheese.
• Eat it.
• Store leftovers in sealed plastic or glass container. Chili nukes really well, but can also be enjoyed cold. Good for at least 5 days, it actually improves flavor with age.

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Got more trail mix today in different combinations of ingredients than before. No carob chips this time, as they really make the mix taste funny. 🙁

• raisins x 1.96 lbs
• peanuts x 2.18 lbs
• cashews x 1.33 lbs
• cranberries x 0.87 lb

I know that the cranberries will make the mix SOUR, but hopefully the saltiness of the peanuts and the sweetness of the raisins will offset this flavor.

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I put some I Can’t Can Easily Believe It’s Not Butter on a slice of Anadama bread last night, then put Nutella on top of it. This was probably a waste of a perfectly good Great Harvest loaf, but it tasted like cake! The oil in the non-butter spread made the Nutella smoother and sweeter, like cake + frosting.

I promise to use this knowledge only for good. :p

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I am eating frozen yogurt from SoYo, a local shop. Their yogurt base is light and slightly icy [but not crunchy], with obvious notes of dairy and a definite yogurty echo of sourness. This gives all their flavors much more depth, texture and gustatory interest.

I’m currently eating ginger flavor, which is like eating yellow fireworks, and cassis [black currant], which is like eating a delicately scented perfume. This is the best frozen yogurt ever. It’s extra yummy when it has fresh, locally grown fruit on top! :9

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I was all proud of myself this weekend for a) finding my Swiss Army knife and b) restoring it to smooth working order by lubricating it with 3-in-1. I aired it out for several days in an attempt to get rid of the oil smell, but it did not work, so I took it to work, cut up an apple with it and ate the apple. I also ate some 3-in-1 residue. It doesn't taste very good. On the plus side, I must have licked all the residue off because my jackknife no longer smells like lube.

Mint chocolate chip Klondike bars give me indigestion. Too bad because I love "green ice cream."

Dammit…I just spilled my spaghetti all over the kitchen floor and part of the kitchen rug, so then I had to clean it all up. Rugs should not exist in kitchens anyway.

I've been taking some supplements for a while now: women's multivitamin, calcium, omega-3 fish oil, vitamin D. There's no definitive evidence that omega-3 fish oil supplements or vitamin D supplements have any health benefits, so I'm eliminating them. Time to save some money and rid my nightstand of smelly useless pills!  I'm sure that I get enough vitamins and minerals from my food to stop taking the multi, but I'm not confident enough in the calcium distribution of my diet to stop with the calcium, though. Hmmm…

…Tabasco green pepper sauce makes almost everything better!!

Verdict: Creamy, sweet, milky chocolate mixes well with chewy small bits of salty-sweet bacon. These flavors really complement each other, providing an overall depth of flavor that, while not sophisticated, is robust and pleasurable. It’s not worth the ridiculously high price that I paid for it, but it is a very good bar. If someone else buys it, you should ask to try some squares.

Verdict: Dark chocolate with an afterburn. The cinnamon and chilies combine to leave one’s mouth pleasantly tingly and warm after eating. Other than that, it’s a regular bar with the usual taste of dark chocolate overwhelming any tastes contributed by the cinnamon and chilies. Not worth the inflated price I paid.

I’m not a food connoisseur, but I like good food. I went to Cardullo’s in Harvard Square today and returned with $mumble$ of specialty chocoate: two Ritter Sport milk chocolate bars with strawberry creme [favorably reviewed by all the candy blogs I was drooling over yesterday], a Vosges Red Fire Bar [ancho and chipotle chilies, cinnamon, 55% cacao] and a Vosges Mo’s Bacon Bar [bacon, smoked salt, 45% cacao]. Here is a picture of my haul. Tasting reports later. Continue reading Gourmet chocolate

I baked a sweet potato this evening! I cut it into quarters and nuked it for 6 minutes. Then I put some margarine equivalent and sea salt on it, and it tasted good. I am pleased at my success.  Continue reading Yummy sweet potato

It makes sweets taste foamy and insubstantial in a bad way, and it makes my knees feel brittle. I much prefer my sweets with cane sugar, maple syrup, fruit juice and other sweeteners not made by torturing corn. That said, I do consume some HFCS, such as in today’s candy bar [Milky Way], which, much like fast food, I immediately regretted eating after I finished the last bite. People in my cohort, class and income bracket can be so conditioned to consume junk food without thinking about it that we’re sometimes startled when we realize, Hey, this tastes bad.

Pictures of ingredients and results below. Note: I only used one of the containers of yogurt, but, even with all the rice, the glop was definitely gloppy and a bit on the runny side. I could probably cut the yogurt down to 2/3 of what I used. In any case, it's a mild, filling meal. It should last me at least 4, if not 5, lunches.Continue reading Cold chili glop II

Anyone who knows me knows that I can cook, but think it a waste of time. I am, however, perfectly willing to mix things up and assemble food. In fact, if I can put my major source of dinner in one bowl [e.g., bowl of pasta with veggies, bowl of salad, bowl of soup], I consider in a triumph. These tendencies inspire my cold chili glop, detailed below. Continue reading Cold chili glop

There is a yummy concoction common to many countries in southwest Asia ["the Middle East"] and far northern Africa in which stewed tomatoes, sauteed onions, peppers and garlic are put on brown rice with loosely poached eggs on top. Andala Coffee House, right near my apartment, calls it shokshokeh, but the dish is also spelled shakshuka, chakchouka, etc. Since I first tasted shokshokeh at Andala, I will spell it Andala’s way and tell you about Andala’s ingredients.

Now shokshokeh is a recipe that varies depending on what you put in it. The only constants are eggs and tomatoes. The Andala version has stewed tomatoes, sauteed onions and garlic on top of fluffy brown rice. On top of the tomato sauce are two poached eggs seeping into the tomatoes [but not too much]. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it’s a good amount of food, neither too heavy nor too filling.

As I mentioned, recipes for shokshokeh vary. Here’s one from Jewlicious that eschews onions. The one from MoTV calls for scrambled, not poached, eggs. The one from Mediterrasian.com has a lot of fiery red spices in it, but the version I have experience with is mild and savory. Maybe I will try to get the recipe from Andala!

It is entitled "I Do Not Like…"  Continue reading This photo is an homage to Dr. Seuss.

Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, also known as two gooey oatmeal cookies stuck together with sugar paste, are delicious. I think the soft, chewy texture appeals to me the most; I have a peculiar affinity for glutinous foods. They’re like oatmeal cookie whoopie pies, but without overmuch whoopie.

Verdict: A dense, moist, fluffy cake, substantial, but not as heavy as pound cake, this lightly flavored grapefruit cake is perfected with a grapefruit glaze that cuts the sweetness with a zippy bit of citrus flavor.

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Made by my wife!!  Continue reading Grapefruit yogurt cake, now with pictures!

…tastes like corrugated cardboard impregnated with glue.

Right here. Mmmmmmmmm.

I had a mini-misu for breakfast. It looked like tiramisu, smelled like it, behaved like it and, importantly, really tasted like tiramisu! When I next try the recipe…

I adjusted my tiramisu recipe. I reduced its size to make two little tiramisus, each in a ramekin, or mini-misus. Pictures and recipe alterations below.

I checked out my tiramisu made from the improvisational recipe mentioned earlier.

It looked like tiramisu, smelled like tiramisu and behaved like tiramisu. It didn’t taste quite like tiramisu, though. Things to change when I make it again:

One of my favorite desserts is tiramisu. I do not eat it frequently, though, because it’s expensive [involving Mascarpone cheese] and complicated [involving egg whites and other daunting things]. However, in the wake of a truly tasty birthday tiramisu for a coworker last week, I sought online for tiramisu recipes. Inspired by the recipe section on Heavenly Tiramisu, I combined several recipes to create a tiramisu-like dessert for the culinarily challenged. Best of all, it involves no raw eggs, no Mascarpone cheese and no liquor!Continue reading Tiramisu for the culinarily lethargic