The Cooking/Baking Thread

[Fatty_Fatness]

10 hours ago, Mesopithecus said:

 

I think it's the texture.  I'm going to try it baked next time with a buffalo sauce.  I'm determined to find a way to cook it where I like it.

Not sure if it's anything along your tastes, but one of my favorite tofu dishes that I grew up with was a Japanese-style "Mapo tofu"... basically cubed tofu cooked in a sauce with ground beef or pork that I'd eat (mixed) with white rice.

[Silently]

19 hours ago, ShonenCat said:

This thread has recently be brought to my attention. As much as I love to cook, I figured why not share a few of my creations with my fellow gamers  I'll start off small, this is a plain teriyaki chicken dish over jasmine rice and garnished with green onion. Green tea and fortune cookie added for good luck

 

Bro, that looks appetizing! Great work ?I like ur plate and cup of tea.

I guess on my next meal I'll add a sprinkle spicy sweet sauce on my teriyaki chicken/beef. ☺

 

15 hours ago, Mesopithecus said:

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

 

 

 

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   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.

 

Cool! That looks yummy. Thank u for sharing ☺hmm.. maybe I can try vinegar dipping sauce for tofu? Or soy sauce with lime with cut slice of chili pepper? ☺ 

Edited February 21, 2018 by ShyLent

[ShonenCat]

Thank you all for such kind words ^^ Ooh how I wish I had some sweet spicy sauce, that stuff is amazing, sis  Need to get to the store and pick up a variety of sauces for various meals. I have another simple dish today, it's not Asian cuisine by any meals but I threw it together recently and it made for a good meal, very filling. I call them chili cheese bacon fries. Not actual bacon but turkey bacon, I had to use up what was sitting in the fridge. Kind of challenging to make anything with chili look appetizing in a picture but all of you may think otherwise, haha  

 

[DaisyVilla102]

On 2/20/2018 at 7:45 AM, Mesopithecus said:

 

I think it's the texture.  I'm going to try it baked next time with a buffalo sauce.  I'm determined to find a way to cook it where I like it.

 

I recommend (to anyone who eats or cooks with tofu) getting a tofu press.  It does does an exponentially better job of getting out the extra liquid than towels, even if you weight them down.  The texture is improved, and it will more easily soak up marinades and sauces.  The one I use is from TofuXpress, but there are other styles and manufacturers out there.

When you're still on the fence about tofu, another thing to try is freezing a whole block of it (the more firm, the better).  When the liquid in it freezes, it causes striations that change the texture of the tofu.  (Also, frozen tofu turns a weird dark yellow but will change back to its normal color when it thaws, so don't panic. ?)  After it thaws out, it has a chewier texture and will also absorb marinades even more, since the frozen liquid crystals create air pockets.

You can also freeze any type of tofu to keep it longer, but if you're doing it only for that reason that I'd say divide it into smaller pieces prior to freezing it.  It takes a while for an intact block of tofu to thaw, so to me it's only worth if I'm doing it for the texture.

[Mesopithecus]

3 minutes ago, DaisyVilla102 said:

 

I recommend (to anyone who eats or cooks with tofu) getting a tofu press.  It does does an exponentially better job of getting out the extra liquid than towels, even if you weight them down.  The texture is improved, and it will more easily soak up marinades and sauces.  The one I use is from TofuXpress, but there are other styles and manufacturers out there.

When you're still on the fence about tofu, another thing to try is freezing a whole block of it (the more firm, the better).  When the liquid in it freezes, it causes striations that change the texture of the tofu.  (Also, frozen tofu turns a weird dark yellow but will change back to its normal color when it thaws, so don't panic. )  After it thaws out, it has a chewier texture and will also absorb marinades even more, since the frozen liquid crystals create air pockets.

You can also freeze any type of tofu to keep it longer, but if you're doing it only for that reason that I'd say divide it into smaller pieces prior to freezing it.  It takes a while for an intact block of tofu to thaw, so to me it's only worth if I'm doing it for the texture.

 

Thank you for the information and recommendations, I really appreciate it and will definitely be picking up a press.

 

I have got some tofu currently marinading in the fridge with the plan of baking it (as not tried it baked yet) so I'm feeling positive.  Gone with a buffalo sauce for this one so we'll see how it turns out.  I'm definitely determined to find a way that I like it, as I know it can be so versatile.

 

If this doesn't work out today, then I think freezing might be my next thing to try

[ShonenCat]

I've got another one today, probably Onee-chan's favorite  This is fried rice! It's hard to tell but there are plenty of ingredients here. Chicken, shrimp, egg, broccoli, carrots and corn. I drizzled some oyster sauce on top cause I wasn't sure how dry it might of been  A little parsley for color. Normally I'd use pineapple but I didn't have any so I substituted for tangerines instead, it turned out amazing you can trust me  You need a little sweetness with the rice, it's heavenly that way.

[SlaveBeastTaka]

Can someone show me how to cook. O.O I can cook roman noodles lol. 

[Silently]

20 hours ago, ShonenCat said:

I've got another one today, probably Onee-chan's favorite  This is fried rice! It's hard to tell but there are plenty of ingredients here. Chicken, shrimp, egg, broccoli, carrots and corn. I drizzled some oyster sauce on top cause I wasn't sure how dry it might of been  A little parsley for color. Normally I'd use pineapple but I didn't have any so I substituted for tangerines instead, it turned out amazing you can trust me  You need a little sweetness with the rice, it's heavenly that way.

That's amazing! I should try adding tangerine or mango next time, thank u, bro.. ☺?

[MidnightDragon]

Made some breakfast fried rice. Call it that since it has bacon and eggs. I also have onion. Didn't use quite enough rice this time, but it was still delicious.

 

[Kittens Are Awesome]

1 hour ago, MidnightDragon said:

Made some breakfast fried rice. Call it that since it has bacon and eggs. I also have onion. Didn't use quite enough rice this time, but it was still delicious.

 

 

That looks amazing. I'm figgin hungry rn too. Not a fan of those pans though. I call them scam pans. Anodized aluminum is the only true non-stick, light pan. Heavy non-stick would be cast iron. Stainless steel for reactive ingredients and/or saucy dishes or searing meat then using the fond to make a sauce....

...damn, I'm hungry. 

[MidnightDragon]

2 hours ago, Phil said:

 

That looks amazing. I'm figgin hungry rn too. Not a fan of those pans though. I call them scam pans. Anodized aluminum is the only true non-stick, light pan. Heavy non-stick would be cast iron. Stainless steel for reactive ingredients and/or saucy dishes or searing meat then using the fond to make a sauce....

...damn, I'm hungry. 

It was a Christmas present for someone in the house. Might as well use it.

[Kittens Are Awesome]

28 minutes ago, MidnightDragon said:

It was a Christmas present for someone in the house. Might as well use it.

 

Free is free, right?

[MidnightDragon]

21 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Free is free, right?

Yeah, but it's still a pretty cool pan, even if it's not as neat as the TV commercials make it out to be. 

[Mesopithecus]

Ignoring the mess in the background - this is a BBQ Pulled Jackfruit sandwich with cauliflower wings.

 

BBQ Pulled Jackfruit is kind of like pulled pork - the recipe was loosely based on this - BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich - only I didn't make the avocado slaw and instead used chopped pieces of avocado, shredded red cabbage and shredded carrot.  The BBQ sauce also contained habanero so it was pretty spicy.

 

The cauliflower wings were really simple.  I mixed one cup of flour, a cup of water and a packet of hot & spicy jalapeno wing mix.  Dipped bite size pieces of cauliflower in the batter and put them on a tray in the oven at 425 degrees for 30 minutes (turning once about halfway)  They are not much to look at but they have a crisp texture on the outside thanks to the batter and have a spicy kick to them.  I contemplated making a dipping sauce but, as it turns out, was unnecessary.

 

 

[ShonenCat]

I think now is another good time to share some food here ^^ Today I have prepared spicy shrimp ramen with actual shrimp and fried egg. On the side we have tempura shrimp and chicken egg rolls! I may have prepared too many side dishes, I think one of each is plenty. Used sweet chili sauce for dipping even though it's not pictured

 

March 27th Update:

Would love to share more cooking with all of you, but I feel it would only be polite to let someone else have a turn first

Edited March 28, 2018 by ShonenCat

[Kittens Are Awesome]

Let's dust off this old ass thread. I've pretty much kept all my food sharing pictures to the Discord group I'm in. Imma right selfish bastard.

 

Now, it's not a very pretty picture, but what's been made is a first for me and it came out so amazing, I had to share. The bowl to the left started the day off. I've been saving chicken carcasses in the freezer just to make a heaping helping of chicken stock. After about 12 hrs on the simmer with some herbs and spices and the standard mirepoix, ran it through a sieve, I had a lovely chicken stock.

 

Now, I also had a butternut squash in the fridge that was in desperate need of souping...so that's what I did. Roasted the squash, carrots and onions in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper at 400°f for an hr. Made a sage infused butter. Threw all of that plus about 7 cups of the stock, 2 tablespoons of honey and about 2 teaspoons of salt back in the pot for another hr. Hit that bitch with a stick blender and through a sieve it went.

 

I had to have a bowl...ya know, to see if it was seasoned right. The instant it hit my lips, I chugged that soup like it was the first liquid I've seen in days. Holy crap, it was yummy yummy yummy to my fat ass tummy. So glad my first attempt at both came out so good. 

 

Le sigh. Now I have to pack it all up in the fridge and wash the dishes. Luckily, there aren't too many dishes.

 

[ShonenCat]

It's time to bring back the cooking thread! Let's fire up those stoves! ? @Phil @Silently @Mesopithecus @Spyro

 

I have two dishes to share today! One of them is healthy and the other not so healthy  The first being this robust spring salad. Not sure what else I would call it, but I started with a dark green and red leaf mix. I added turkey, cherry tomatoes, olives, avacado, grated carrots, parmasan and cheesy crouton bites. Also drizzled "Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian" dressing on it. It's really good stuff and it even has romano cheese in it!

Next up is the really heavy one! I call them turkey bacon chili cheese hot dogs! It's a mouthful to say and a mouthful to eat  Start off by buttering the inside of the hot dog buns and sprinkling garlic powder in them too. Toast them in the oven for a short while. Begin frying the turkey and bacon and set aside once fully cooked. Use the bacon grease in the pan to fry your all beef hot dogs. Add meats to the bread and top with chili and cheddar cheese! Fries make for a good combination, I ate mine with homemade barbecue ranch. This meal could make you very tired but very happy, it's great soul food. It's pretty satisfying to take something as simple as a hot dog and turn it into something much more... dreamy? Yeah, we'll use that word ?

Hope to see new dishes from you all, till next time! ?

[Kittens Are Awesome]

@ShonenCat

Oh lawd. Help me from the meat sweats

 Jeebus...

Well, you sure went all out on both. Awesome job.

[Silently]

On 6/7/2018 at 2:45 AM, ShonenCat said:

It's time to bring back the cooking thread! Let's fire up those stoves!  @Phil @Silently @Mesopithecus @Spyro

 

I have two dishes to share today! One of them is healthy and the other not so healthy  The first being this robust spring salad. Not sure what else I would call it, but I started with a dark green and red leaf mix. I added turkey, cherry tomatoes, olives, avacado, grated carrots, parmasan and cheesy crouton bites. Also drizzled "Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian" dressing on it. It's really good stuff and it even has romano cheese in it!

Next up is the really heavy one! I call them turkey bacon chili cheese hot dogs! It's a mouthful to say and a mouthful to eat  Start off by buttering the inside of the hot dog buns and sprinkling garlic powder in them too. Toast them in the oven for a short while. Begin frying the turkey and bacon and set aside once fully cooked. Use the bacon grease in the pan to fry your all beef hot dogs. Add meats to the bread and top with chili and cheddar cheese! Fries make for a good combination, I ate mine with homemade barbecue ranch. This meal could make you very tired but very happy, it's great soul food. It's pretty satisfying to take something as simple as a hot dog and turn it into something much more... dreamy? Yeah, we'll use that word 

Hope to see new dishes from you all, till next time!

That looks so good bro??? let's bring our friends to ur place and have a big food festival? thank u for sharing these awesome food might try this menu later.. I'll check what I can make an easy one..

[AJ_Radio]

I thought about reviving this old thread to get some ideas from others as to what foods they are eating, notably healthier foods that don't complete sacrifice good taste.

 

On 9/29/2016 at 7:06 PM, --Deleted-- said:

 

Nah. You'd eat healthier. Processed foods are terrible for your body. Even if that we cook at home looks bad for you, its why our previous generations live in their 80s and 90s. They had country gravey on chicken fried steak every weekend instead of once every 9 months. I guarantee you that strawberry soda i made is healthier than even a modern day juice box.

You'd definitely be happier if you were a sandwiched neighbor.

 

(I understand this guy is long gone, but I want to make a point here anyway)

 

Not entirely true.

 

Previous generations didn't have the fast food venues and cancerous Monster Energy drinks that we do today. But a lot of people back then smoked cigarettes. No amount of smoking is ever good for you. Plus there were less vaccines and people worked under harder conditions, as my grandparents did back in World War II and afterwards from the 1950s thru the 1970s. A good majority of people back then never exercised. Athletes like baseball legend Mickey Mantle rarely ever did any exercise. Good healthy eating and daily exercise goes a long way in having a longer life expectancy.

 

People had country gravy on chicken fried steak, that is true.

 

I will agree on processed foods. The problem is not only are they bad for your body, they warp your sense of thinking. A college aged kid who has suicidal tendencies may be drinking too many Monsters and going to McDonalds too much. I remember a study I read online years ago that people in Japan, a country that has one of the highest life expectancys, had some people with suicidal thoughts because of how they were dieting and eating on a daily basis.

 

Here in the United States there is so much processed crap being made it's not even funny. A majority of people don't seem to care how many grams of sugar and calories are just thrown in cereals and candy. Dollar Tree sells their low quality shit at $1 each, practically every food they have is processed crap and very little of it is healthy for you at all.

 

Using actual fruit and vegetables from a grocery store, you can make good and tasteful drinks and recipes that are more healthy for you than the crap sold in boxes. A modern day juice box still contains a lot of calories and has lots of grams of sugar stuffed into the drink itself. We like to think it's healthy because it's juice and not soda, but truthfully it's really not.

[Mesopithecus]

My husband bought me a Kitchenaid mixer for Christmas so I've been putting that to good use - mainly making a lot of sweet things like pavlova, lemon meringue pie, almond biscotti etc.  Not exactly the healthiest of foods.  I did make an amazing Garlic Rosemary Herb Focaccia Bread recently that turned out brilliantly - different bread types are something I always love to make, homemade pizza dough can be whipped up pretty quickly and is super delicious and you can decide to top it with whatever toppings you like.  Jalapeno and cheese bread is another favorite of mine, I've followed this recipe and always had great results.

 

Last summer our habanero plants went crazy and gave us a bumper crop, so I made a lot of it up into habanero jelly which is delicious and surprisingly simple to make.  That's something I definitely recommend gloves and caution for though as the first batch I made I scalded my hand pretty bad.  We still have a few jars of that left, so paired with some bread and cheese is delicious.

 

For a special meal recently I made mushroom ravioli and homemade pasta is so good, with the Kitchenaid I also got the pasta roller attachment so makes it much easier to roll it all out nice and thin.  Definitely labor intensive, probably not helped that the same day I made this I also made biscotti so I was probably in the kitchen for most of the afternoon.

 

Last week I made a spicy rice with peri peri chicken that was super simple and absolutely delicious.  I followed this recipe for the rice, but I halved it for us, used vegetable stock instead of chicken and also added in some extra seasonings like cumin and chilli powder, and when I tasted it and decided it wasn't spicy enough I threw in some habanero hot sauce too   On that same page she also has the link to the peri peri chicken recipe and the sauce is so simple to make using olive oil, paprika, oregano (I used italian herbs mix instead) chilli flakes, garlic and lime juice.  Then last night I made this butter chicken recipe and served it with a big handful of fresh spinach, I did halve the recipe but there was still a lot of sauce so good leftovers for another meal.  I should probably also disclose that my husband and I are vegetarian, so when I say chicken for us I mean Gardein chik'n strips or scallopini.

 

Outside of that there are a lot of staple recipes I make that I've been doing for so long - sweet potato & black bean chili; broccoli asiago risotto; vegetable pot pie; sheet roasted vegetables; tofu & vegetable stir fry with homemade sauce; lentil bolognese; gigantic salads; vegetable lasagna etc.  Of course I still cook some lazy meals, like burgers and fries, burritos, pasta and sauce - but everything in moderation

 

I have wrote a lot  but I'd put cooking and baking as one of those things I love more than gaming.  Cos I've talked enough - here are some pictures:

 

Homemade Pavlova

 

 

Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Mesopithecus

[NonsenseOblige]

It's currently six in the morning where I live, I spent my late/early hours working on an essay for my textual theories class and then I cooked some liang mian (peanut based sauce) and tossed some lao gan ma on top of it. It tastes like heaven but looks like ass, so no picture.