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The Cooking/Baking Thread


CasaDeBen

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YES to reviving this thread!! :awesome:

It's certainly been a while for me and food-photos... (not that they're ever that exciting, heh...) hoping to have something to post here soon-ish!

That bean soup recipe does look delicious though, and with black beans being the only kind I can digest without being... ermmm... gassy :blush:, maybe someday I'll try to follow that one.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Gjy1jNj.jpg

 

All homemade. I should have used more apples. They shrunk a lot. Also, should have used 5 egg yolks instead of 3 for the ice cream. It would have been a bit more creamy. All the flavors were awesome though. Ice cream was a rich vanilla. Apple pie was spiced perfectly with freshly ground nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom. Almost a perfect start to the baking season.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

I think it's time to finally give up ordering food from the outside....

 

I don't know if it's just me or if food in general in most restaurants has really taken the shitter in the past decade or two. Chinese food especially has gone downhill, I used to love that stuff back in the 1990s and even the early 2000s but in the past number of years there's hardly any good Chinese restaurants left. All the old people are retired or are dead, and the kids, the 20 somethings who took over have absolutely no experience or discipline when it comes to the food. I've seen this firsthand in a couple restaurants I used to frequent, what was decent 10 years ago is now shit. So I stopped ordering food from them.

 

A Skippers opened up not far from where I live a year ago. In the past I've been to various Skippers, and while it's fast food I've tasted better fish at these Skippers. But this particular Skippers that opened always has a couple 16 year old kids behind the counter working the small kitchen space. They look like they just hit puberty and they act like they've never been out in public much. Every time I've ordered food from there my fish and fries are always soggy and the service is lousy. Furthermore they have to charge high price for most of the food there, and it tastes every bit as medicore as any other fast food joint I visit that has a bunch of kids working in the back.

 

The town I frequent (Vancouver) here in Washington has some very piss poor service and I've been seeing more kids getting jobs as cooks and/or order takers. I'm not being stereotypical against younger people, I'm just saying they don't know jack shit when it comes to preparing food.

 

Then there's companies like Subway making cheap crap for their ingredients to try to lower prices for subs, Panda Express which is absolute garbage as Asian food, McDonalds which never had anything authentic, and yeah. It's all crap.

 

I'm going to take some advice from you guys who have been posting here and see what I can come up with.

 

I can make real Orange Julius drinks for roughly a fifth of the price Orange Julius charges for the same thing.

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3 hours ago, Spaz said:

Snip.

 

I always encourage people to cook for themselves. I've been doing it forever. Although, you can still make bad food at home, generally, cooking for yourself is going to be healthier. Even if all you do is cut out the preservatives that are heavily used by the food industry, you are doing yourself a favor. 

 

I look forward to pics of some of your concoctions. 

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2 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

I always encourage people to cook for themselves. I've been doing it forever. Although, you can still make bad food at home, generally, cooking for yourself is going to be healthier. Even if all you do is cut out the preservatives that are heavily used by the food industry, you are doing yourself a favor. 

 

I look forward to pics of some of your concoctions. 

 

It was going to come eventually.

 

All I did as a kid and teenager was eat out. Ate way too much fast food for my own good, ended up paying the price for it not too long ago.

 

Used to be able to eat a Double Quarter Pounder, Quarter Pounder, Large Fries and a Large Chocolate Shake without gaining a single pound and without getting sick. Now I can get about as far as the Quarter Pounder before I can't take any more.

 

In the past couple years I've been cooking for myself mostly as well. Most of the food I eat now is straight from the grocery store and health stores. I finally know how to make proper stir fry now, although I borrowed a lot from my dad and whatnot.

 

In the coming months I may post a few pictures...

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On 12/26/2017 at 7:50 PM, Mesopithecus said:

Before I slip into a food coma, I wanted to share my Boxing Day creation - home made giant Yorkshire Pudding filled with potatoes and vegetables.  First time I've successfully made a giant Yorkshire Pudding (although I'm a pro at smaller ones)

 

UqizUfG.jpg

 

That looks delicious. I would like to  make some. I might add other ingredients, too☺hey if u don't mind if u can share what other type of ingredients in there pls? Thanks. 

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1 hour ago, ShyLent said:

 

That looks delicious. I would like to  make some. I might add other ingredients, too263a.pnghey if u don't mind if u can share what other type of ingredients in there pls? Thanks. 

 

Of course ^_^

 

Ingredients

 

8 teaspoons of vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

6 medium eggs, beaten

1 1/4 cups of skimmed or semi skimmed milk

Salt and pepper to taste

 

These ingredients should serve 4.

 

1.  Preheat the oven to 430 degrees F.  Add 2 teaspoon of oil to a round cake tin and put them in the oven to heat up 

2.  Measure the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center.  Beat in the eggs until smooth and then gradually add the milk, beating until the mixture is smooth and free of lumps.  You should also see some small air bubbles start to form

3.  Remove the hot tins from the oven and pour a quarter of the mixture into each tin.

4.  Bake them for 20 minutes, or until they are well risen and golden.

5.  Serve with whatever meat and vegetables you like

 

 

Using the pans with the hot oil is one of the keys to getting them to rise in this way.  Hope that helps and hope they are successful for you if you decide to make them ^_^

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5 hours ago, Spaz said:

I think it's time to finally give up ordering food from the outside....

 

I don't know if it's just me or if food in general in most restaurants has really taken the shitter in the past decade or two. Chinese food especially has gone downhill, I used to love that stuff back in the 1990s and even the early 2000s but in the past number of years there's hardly any good Chinese restaurants left. All the old people are retired or are dead, and the kids, the 20 somethings who took over have absolutely no experience or discipline when it comes to the food. I've seen this firsthand in a couple restaurants I used to frequent, what was decent 10 years ago is now shit. So I stopped ordering food from them.

 

A Skippers opened up not far from where I live a year ago. In the past I've been to various Skippers, and while it's fast food I've tasted better fish at these Skippers. But this particular Skippers that opened always has a couple 16 year old kids behind the counter working the small kitchen space. They look like they just hit puberty and they act like they've never been out in public much. Every time I've ordered food from there my fish and fries are always soggy and the service is lousy. Furthermore they have to charge high price for most of the food there, and it tastes every bit as medicore as any other fast food joint I visit that has a bunch of kids working in the back.

 

The town I frequent (Vancouver) here in Washington has some very piss poor service and I've been seeing more kids getting jobs as cooks and/or order takers. I'm not being stereotypical against younger people, I'm just saying they don't know jack shit when it comes to preparing food.

 

Then there's companies like Subway making cheap crap for their ingredients to try to lower prices for subs, Panda Express which is absolute garbage as Asian food, McDonalds which never had anything authentic, and yeah. It's all crap.

 

I'm going to take some advice from you guys who have been posting here and see what I can come up with.

 

I can make real Orange Julius drinks for roughly a fifth of the price Orange Julius charges for the same thing.

I have noticed this as well. Thankfully the Japanese restaurants in our area aren't bad at all, love me some yaki udon. But chinese restaurants? Wayyy downhill.

I haven't had general tso chicken in like a decade. I don't trust the cleanliness anymore. Not to mention bang for buck has taken a huge hit. You barely get much of anything. I've noticed small portions with the thai restaurants as well now. 

 

Omg orange julius! All ours shutdown. 

Post recipe!!! Post pictures!! 

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Glad to see this thread get some love today. I may as well post a few new pics. First one is American pigs in a blanket. Made the bread part pretzel and the dogs are turkey dogs. Bread part is 100% from raw materials. It was even my 1st time doing pretzel bread. Turned out really good. Second one is chicken parmesan. The cheese mix on top is a monterrey jack and cream cheese mix with some spices thrown in. The marinara sauce is also homemade. Both dishes were really freaking good.

 

jQZW1cZ.jpg

 

ZrjBG0C.jpg

Edited by Phil
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@Spaz I look forward to seeing some of your creations :)

 

As Phil already mentioned, you can cook a lot of junk food at home that is actually better for you than places like Burger King, McDonalds etc.  There are so many good home made burger patty recipes and if I remember correctly, Phil posted a great recipe for some home made burger buns earlier in the thread.  Same with Subs, you can make your own bread and then fill them with whatever tickles your fancy.

 

Nothing beats getting creative in the kitchen though - I've tended to make a lot of the same things lately as January was more of a comfort food month - so home made soups, black bean and sweet potato chili, broccoli and cream risotto etc.  I made a jambalaya too which ended up being me throwing a lot of different vegetables in a pot;  also tried out a new recipe for Moroccan style chickpeas with quinoa which was really delicious.

 

Linking a couple of the recipes below if anyone is interested - I do make my own personal changes to the recipes (like for the chili I use red onion and habanero)

 

Broccoli Risotto

Black Bean Soup

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

"Scrabble eggs with tomatoes"

 

Ingredients:

Preparation time 20-30m

Note: 

-2 eggs = 1 person

-12 eggs  if u have 5 or more people

serving.

----------------

1 table spoon of Salt

Two tomatoes. Cut into smaller pieces or cut as what size u desire. 

2 table spoon of Vegetable oil. U can use any cooking oil or butter

 

N1EIfZu.jpg

Cracks the eggs open, add tomatoes, garlic salt, salt, pepper, Cajun etc. Mix until blended.

Optional: Feel free to add these stuff onto ur scrabble eggs, onions, steam broccoli, carrots and corn or etc.

 

Preparation:

In a skillet, add vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When oil starts to bubble due heat add eggs and let it cook. U will see the eggs starting coagulation. Stir gently, fold edges of eggs and continue stirring.. until it turns yellowish color. 

 

Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Note: I'm not good at explaining things. I'm actually very shy while recording myself on these clips. I usually just cook without worrying about the time, ingredients I add. Hey cooking is an art fun. And the taste is magically amazing.?✌

 

The final touch. A plate of scrabble eggs with 2 graham crackers and 3 pieces of kisses on top and healthy half a glass of orange juice. ? weird combo lol?

 

3ahYdvF.jpg

 

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I should probably get into cooking more... but as a single guy who lives on his own, it's tough to dedicate the time required to prepare a decent meal (not to mention learning how to make it not taste like s**t lol) in single portions.  And while I could make a meal for 2-4 people (which is more common and typically more worth it price-wise) and save the rest for other days, I'm not really the type to eat the same meal 4 days in a row... which means it tends to get forgotten about or spoils.

 

I'll do a nice scrambled egg breakfast from time to time, and something simple like spaghetti and meatballs.  Never ventured far beyond those. xD

 

Open to suggestions though. :)

Edited by Dreakon13
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1 hour ago, Dreakon13 said:

I should probably get into cooking more... but as a single guy who lives on his own, it's tough to dedicate the time required to prepare a decent meal (not to mention learning how to make it not taste like s**t lol) in single portions.  And while I could make a meal for 2-4 people (which is more common and typically more worth it price-wise) and save the rest for other days, I'm not really the type to eat the same meal 4 days in a row... which means it tends to get forgotten about or spoils.

 

I'll do a nice scrambled egg breakfast from time to time, and something simple like spaghetti and meatballs.  Never ventured far beyond those. xD

 

Open to suggestions though. :)

 

Well, you could focus on a central idea and work your week around that. Say Monday you cook 8 chicken breasts with Italian type seasoning in the oven. Make sure you pummel them so they are the same thickness through. You can even use a hammer wrapped in plastic wrap to smash them. Cook for like 20-30 mins at 425 f. Have a meat thermometer always. As long as they're near 160, you're good. Then you can use that chicken throughout the week. 

 

That monday, after baking the chicken, make a 50/50 mix of cream and monterrey jack cheeses. Mix in some cayenne pepper and maybe garlic. Mix that together well. Spread over one chicken boob and broil under direct flame for a couple minutes. Just until the cheese is a little blistered and browned. Pour over pasta sauce from a jar and bam! A fairly healthy chicken parm on crack. 

 

Next day you could use the chicken by chopping it up and making bomb ass chicken quesodillas.

 

Next day, you can make some strange ass tacos with it.

 

Day after, bread, onion, tomato, mayo, sriracha, salt pepper...bam!! Chicken sammie on crack. 

 

Sky is the limit my friend. You can get creative with lots of stuff.

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9 hours ago, Dreakon13 said:

I should probably get into cooking more... but as a single guy who lives on his own, it's tough to dedicate the time required to prepare a decent meal (not to mention learning how to make it not taste like s**t lol) in single portions.  And while I could make a meal for 2-4 people (which is more common and typically more worth it price-wise) and save the rest for other days, I'm not really the type to eat the same meal 4 days in a row... which means it tends to get forgotten about or spoils.

 

I'll do a nice scrambled egg breakfast from time to time, and something simple like spaghetti and meatballs.  Never ventured far beyond those. xD

 

Open to suggestions though. :)

 

Let your freezer become your friend. Cook up a big pot of chili, eat how much you want that week and freeze the rest. A few months later when you don't feel like making an effort for dinner, pull out the chili and you have an easy, homecooked meal. Of course, this works for most meals you cook, not just chili. Most things freeze rather well as long as you use correct storage bins that seal tightly. 

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My husband really liked this one, but after trying to cook it a few different ways I've found that I'm not not a huge fan of Tofu (however the sauce I made was pretty good)

 

Spicy Tofu with rice and broccoli

 

jcVrhTD.jpg

 

 

For the Tofu, I cut it into quarter inch thick pieces around an hour before cooking and dried it between some paper towels.  I then put it into a well oiled (3 tablespoons) frying pan and cooked it for 8 minutes on each side to crisp it up before turning it out into a small tub.

 

For the sauce, I used the oil that was left in the pan to fry half a finely chopped onion and a crushed clove of garlic.  Whilst that was cooking, I mixed together one tablespoon of soy sauce, one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of sugar, a tablespoon of chili powder and half a cup of water.  I decided that wasn't spicy enough so I added some cayenne pepper and habanero hot sauce to that mix :D  I then poured that in the pan with the onions and garlic and let it reduce down a bit before adding the Tofu back in and thoroughly coating it.

 

Once cooked I served over some long grain rice, with some lightly steamed broccoli on the side and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

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