Something Delicious

[Corkey]

We have a thread for that

http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/foru...ead.php?t=3932

[Sun]

Originally Posted by easygoingfemme

I've had a few requests for this recipe after posting it in the dinner thread, so I'll put it here too. This is my favorite to make. It won me a local top chef competition a few years ago. Super easy, delicious, and good for you!

Cooking greens with Tahini Dressing and Quinoa
• 1 bunch cooking greens (kale, collards, chard, spinach, or beet greens)
Sauce ingredients
• ¾ c tahini (sesame paste)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 handful fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
• Juice and zest of lemon
• ¼ c water
Quinoa
• 2c dry quinoa
• 4c water
Greens
Chop the greens up well and steam them for just a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and shock them by rinsing them in cold water to stop the cooking process, and set them aside.
Quinoa:
Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh colander. Then put 4c water and 2c quinoa in to a pot on the stovetop over medium high heat and cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer. Simmer about 12-15 minutes until water is absorbed and quinoa has a sprout shooting out of it. You can also make life easier by cooking your quinoa in a rice cooker. Measure, pour, and walk away. It will shut off when done.
Sauce: Put all sauce ingredients, just put ½ of the water for now into food processor or blender. Puree until creamy. Add more water slowly to obtain desired consistency. (Thickens in the fridge)
.
To serve: Put a scoop of quinoa on bottom of plate. Top that with greens and then pour on dressing.
(good additions are steamed carrots, raw or steamed beets, parsnips, and other sweet vegetables)

Wow that looks great. Congratulations for winning the contest now I see why you were called a Top Chef! I am not always around this site to catch all of this good stuff so I am catching up. Love love love greens. Will have to try this. Thanks for sharing

[little_ms_sunshyne]

I already love this thread! I am such a foodie!

One of my favorite meals is Chicken Mole. It brings back memories of sitting at a small kitchen table covered in a curtain as a "table cloth" watching my Abuelita stir the Mole sauce in a large pot. I still request it from my mother on my birthday. I smother the chicken and arroz a la mexicana with the sauce.

My Abuelita is having me learn how to make tamales this Christmas. She said she refuses to leave this earth without her grandaughter having the recipe. I usually help her make them but this time I will be doing the cooking. I told her I do not want to learn if this means she is leaving me! I don't think I have a choice!

[Sun]

Originally Posted by little_ms_sunshyne

I already love this thread! I am such a foodie!

One of my favorite meals is Chicken Mole. It brings back memories of sitting at a small kitchen table covered in a curtain as a "table cloth" watching my Abuelita stir the Mole sauce in a large pot. I still request it from my mother on my birthday. I smother the chicken and arroz a la mexicana with the sauce.

My Abuelita is having me learn how to make tamales this Christmas. She said she refuses to leave this earth without her grandaughter having the recipe. I usually help her make them but this time I will be doing the cooking. I told her I do not want to learn if this means she is leaving me! I don't think I have a choice!

Welcome to the thread little_ms_sunshyne!

What a sweet story! You are so lucky to have this chance to learn from your Abuelita. That is such a gift.

Mole is something that I have never made. Some of my friends make it so well that I have not even tried. If I want some I know where to go! My feeling is, go to the experts.

Maybe you can educate us on Mole and Tamales. That would be awesome.
I have had the savory Tamales and only once had the dulce but would love to know more about what possibilities exist.

Now I am hungry. LOL

That is going to be a side effect of this thread!

Again Welcome and I look forward to seeing you around here!

[Bit]

Originally Posted by Sun

Does anyone make any really interesting soft drinks?

I make ginger ale with my own ginger syrup.

Equal parts thinly sliced ginger (skin on), sugar, and water--I use 1 cup each--bring to a boil and then simmer for thirty minutes. Let cool, strain out the ginger. Use the syrup in soda, 2 oz syrup to 8 oz club soda. This makes a HOT drink, so I usually add in 2 oz peach juice concentrate to sweeten it more. Ginger and peach are a wonderful combo.

You can also spread those boiled sliced of ginger onto a bed of sugar; turn them a couple times in the next 8 to 12 hours. Voila--candied ginger, and also a gently flavored sugar for baking.

The thing which makes my ginger ale really interesting? It's the equivalent of a popular 12-hour anti-inflammatory. It WILL ease your aches and pains. (And by the same token, if you cannot take anti-inflammatories, you need to avoid drinking this ginger ale.) The candied ginger is not as strong but it also has anti-inflammatory properties.

[Sun]

Originally Posted by Bit

I make ginger ale with my own ginger syrup.

Equal parts thinly sliced ginger (skin on), sugar, and water--I use 1 cup each--bring to a boil and then simmer for thirty minutes. Let cool, strain out the ginger. Use the syrup in soda, 2 oz syrup to 8 oz club soda. This makes a HOT drink, so I usually add in 2 oz peach juice concentrate to sweeten it more. Ginger and peach are a wonderful combo.

You can also spread those boiled sliced of ginger onto a bed of sugar; turn them a couple times in the next 8 to 12 hours. Voila--candied ginger, and also a gently flavored sugar for baking.

The thing which makes my ginger ale really interesting? It's the equivalent of a popular 12-hour anti-inflammatory. It WILL ease your aches and pains. (And by the same token, if you cannot take anti-inflammatories, you need to avoid drinking this ginger ale.) The candied ginger is not as strong but it also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Hi Cath! Welcome to the thread!

So glad you came by. I love Ginger Ale and make the syrup for medicinal use but never thought to add soda water! Duh. What a great idea.

The syrup also serves as a good digestive aid so anyone suffering from any digestive disorder will benefit from it.

Great tips here!

Thank you!

[Bit]

Thank you for the invite and for the welcome, Sun!

You can boost the anti-inflammatory effect of the ginger ale by adding in an ounce or two of Black Cherry Concentrate. Ginger and cherry is a good flavor combo too.

[Semantics]

Originally Posted by Sun

Does anyone make any really interesting soft drinks? [/COLOR]

All summer I made a watermelon flavored soft drink.

Blend the following up with a few handfuls of ice:

2 cups cubed watermelon
2 cups seltzer or club soda
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

It's good without any sweetener, but sometimes I added a simple syrup or just a few spoonfuls of sugar.

[Sun]

Originally Posted by Bit

Thank you for the invite and for the welcome, Sun!

You can boost the anti-inflammatory effect of the ginger ale by adding in an ounce or two of Black Cherry Concentrate. Ginger and cherry is a good flavor combo too.

Another great tip Cath!

We are going to learn a lot from you!

[Sun]

Originally Posted by Semantics

All summer I made a watermelon flavored soft drink.

Blend the following up with a few handfuls of ice:

2 cups cubed watermelon
2 cups seltzer or club soda
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves

It's good without any sweetener, but sometimes I added a simple syrup or just a few spoonfuls of sugar.

Welcome Semantics!

Oh wow I love watermelon! One of my coworkers attempted to make something like this over the summer when we were melting in a 120 degree kitchen with high humidity. It seemed like no matter what we would drink it was never enough. All I wanted was crushed ice and a watermelon drink such as this.

Excellent. Thank you!

There are so many great soft drink options out there and yet I rarely hear anyone discussing them. So glad that we are getting this conversation started.

[lusciouskiwi]

My ex and her mum are coming up to stay with me for a few days. If any of you have any questions about Malaysian cuisine, which is huge by the way, I'll see if mummy has the answers. My ex is Nyonya and one of my favourite Malaysian cuisines. I also have to ask my ex about a Haka (Chinese) dish we had last weekend. It was a brown rice green tea soup. Really good! I just found a link for Lei Cha Fan http://www.camemberu.com/2008/05/thu...i-cha-fan.html

We had ours at a Hakka restaurant so the presentation was a bit prettier than the picture in the link.

[Bit]

Originally Posted by Semantics

All summer I made a watermelon flavored soft drink.

Oh my word, Semantics, your recipe sounds wonderful!

You can also make watermelon popsicles just by mashing watermelon and then freezing it in molds, no sugar needed. Now I'm wondering if your watermelon soft drink would freeze well...

[Canela]

Originally Posted by easygoingfemme

On cold mornings like we have now I love to make a batch of tortillas and top them with eggs, beans, and hot sauce. I usually scramble the eggs and toss in some spinach with them. Warms the gal up over here!

I love those! We call them Migas (mee gas).

I cut up and saute corn tortillas, bits of bacon or ham, chopped jalapeno, scramble eggs and top that with cheese.

And coffee, gotta have coffee!

[Canela]

Originally Posted by ruffryder

Some of the best food I've had was homemade and came from my grandmother. She was from New Mexico so I got the fresh tortillas, tamales, fresh salsas, and your typical tex mex food using New Mexico fresh chiles. I remember my grandfather cooking on what is called a "disco". It is an outdoor cooking disk, fired up with charcoal or a propane tank. It resembles a giant wok. He would cook up steak with onions, tomatoes and that NM chili and we would eat it hot on warmed up corn tortillas.





I've been to North End in Boston and ate cannolis.. mmmmm!

Some of the best bbq I've ever had came from KC Missouri.

The best pizza I've enjoyed has been made on wood fire and I had some in WA. It had feta cheese on it. yum! Some other good pizza recently was in St Augustine Florida at a Meat Market called Caramelos. They used fresh deli meats and cheeses and the slices are huge! Delish!

As for comfort food and my fav, it has to be Mexican! I'm always looking for a good mexican restaurant and trying to perfect my red chile enchiladas. I am a taco freak also and love anything from crunchy hard shell to traditional ones made of tripe, steak, marinated pork, and even found I love fish tacos. I also enjoy making and eating these lil things I call fresh Jalapeno poppers. includes Fresh jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. I love bacon!!




My fav meal to cook, if I have to choose is breakfast, and it can include any kind of huge spread. I like to think this is my best meal to cook and enjoy with others! Traditionally it's Eggs (omelette, scrambled with cheese, or over easy) hash browns or diced potatoes with onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, bacon cooked just right, chorizo (which is a mexican sausage, mild or spicy) I taught one of my gfs to cook bacon. She was ecstatic. It's all in not turning up the heat so high. Many people fall in love with my chorizo and egg or potatoes in tortillas.

Hi 5 to you buddy!

My grandmother (Guelita) was a very good cook. When it rained and we had to stay in was the only time she turned on the oven and baked out here. She'd make raisin oatmeal cookies. On cold mornings, she'd make atole, oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon stick chunks in it. OMG, I still love finding restaurants out here who make that...I made it for my children when they were small, but now not so much.

Tamales was a production with several women all coming together to "embarrar" (spread) the softened corn husks and catch up (gossip) then later make chocolate de la Abuelita to have with the tamales when they were ready. I learned very early to be quiet and they'd let me participate. I miss those times. I tried to get my girls involved in that, but they just didn't get it...it's alot of work, maybe that's it? LOL--of course, that's it!

The disco, my uncles used to fry fish! They were pretty good fishermen, so every weekend was a fish fry. I learned to eat huachinango (red snapper) fried, head and all in that type of disc...they'd slice it in the middle after it was all crispy and pull out the bones, then open it, squeeze lime all over it and pull the meat out and throw it in a corn tortilla with some avocado...original fish tacos! That, with a cold Tecate--ay Dios!

The other thing they made regularly in that disco was the tripas...ugh...those were gross...lol

Jalapeno poppers! You are so right! They are fantastic! A friend of mine out here makes his with fish in the cream cheese or shrimp. They are delicious! He is an incredible cook, by the way...

In Chicago, they make a cannoli cake that is amazing! I didn't even know they could do that, but the filling for cannoli is used as filling in a white cake...then strawberry glaze is piped into the cake itself, like with Tres Leches cake...it is amazing...I'd much rather have that than the cannoli dessert itself. But then again they also make Italian cakes that have the same effect as cotton candy--they melt on your tongue! As far as Italian food goes, a very sweet Italian granny taught me to make meat sauce with neck bones. Apparently, this is Sicilian? I thought it was kind of unusual but boy is it delicious!

In South Texas, fajitas are a staple. They are made to order any way you like but grilled is my favorite. With a fresh pico de gallo, as I'm not into alot of different hot sauces and until recently started using Lousiana hot sauce...that took a little getting used to. I was raised on chile piquin in a molcajete with fresh tomatoe and salt. That was the best and only chile I ate until I left South Texas and I must have been about 20 some years old...It is still the best dang salsa I have ever tried. And you can out it on anything and it's perfect!






My favorite mexican food has to be the chicken enchilada casserole I learned to make many years ago. Instead of rolling tortillas you layer them like lasagna and yes, that is so easy and so delicious and less mess....I like paella, too...but then I'm partial to rice and rice dishes. I make an effort to avoid them and now make steamed tilapia al mojo de ajo--tilapia with garlic or baked lemon pepper chicken instead of fried or guisado...unfortunately, my regional cuisine is at the root of THE largest population in the United States with diabetes. So healthy eating is important. But I will indulge occasionally in that chicken enchilada casserole or other dishes just because they ARE my comfort food.

I like Chinese food but usually opt for the grill at the restaurants to make something fresh and with no real sauce but flavor and lots of lime. I love lime on everything! lol...otherwise, dishes with nuts of any kind are the norm for me.

Gee, I am writing about all these foods and I'm not even hungry...lol...had dinner with my family and the girls cooked and I got to make dessert. Strawberry shortcake. These days I try to take shortcuts when cooking if possible so that it doesn't take so much prep or cook time and clean up is also a factor. I'm trying really hard to learn to cook smaller portions and healthier but it's coming along a little slower than I'd like.

I'm glad this thread is here. I'm learning just by reading everyone's posts! Thanks everyone!

[Sun]

Good Morning!

So glad to wake up in a nation that has restored some sanity to our political process!

Ok I am sipping a huge cup of Espresso roast coffee and trying to recover from only getting 3 hours of sleep. Good coffee is something that I love and take very seriously.

I just want to thank you all for your stories and willingness to share them with us. This is the kind of thing that I love to read and learn from. This thread is only 2 days old and is already so rich in fabulous information and inspiration. So thank you!

How very cool for me that my love of Mexican and southwestern food is being indulged by you fabulous people as well. Surely many will enjoy reading these posts.

As my brain is waking up I can not help but be so happy for those couples in the states of Maine, Maryland and Washington DC, who can now marry legally. I am so glad that Minnesota defeated an anti marriage equality initiative that would change the constitution. I let all of my friends know that I expect to see wedding invitations arriving soon! After all that work there better be some great celebrations!

Canela I find it charming that tacos and cannoli can wind up in the same conversation. Love that. I also put lime on everything. Well, almost everything.

When I was a kid my Italian Nana would have me help her mix the cannoli filling then fill a pastry bag and pipe it into the cannoli shells. What I created was quite a mess but she was so charming and kind about it. Very patient with me and never seemed to mind. The filling is very simple but requires good riccota cheese that has to be beaten into a lighter consistency which occurs as air is incorporated. Sugar, vanilla, a little milk. Some add cinnamon. My family liked chocolate chips in the filling, me not so much. The shells can be made by hand but a lot of people just buy them from a bakery. Very rarely have I come across a sweet that so many people love so much. A platter of cannoli brought to the table at my Grandparents home always created such excitement. Sweet memory. Literally.

As much as I love to cook I am not enjoying cooking alone or just for myself. I had become used to cooking for my little family. That made the separation that much harder on my spirit. How I loved making dinner at home and having that time together to talk, check in about the day. Discuss homework or whatever went on at work for us. Sitting down to a meal together is so important to me. It is probably the most essential part of my day. Or was. This bachelor life is not so much fun. And my ex was a great cook. What a blessing.

So onward and into the future. I am eating a lot of raw vegetables these days and making a lot of simple soups. Rice and beans are a staple for me. As is fish. I'm always looking for new ways to grill and bake things. Marinating is a favorite technique to add flavor and its so easy to do.

Ok back to coffee and email.

I am so grateful for you all and for this thread that is turning out to be so much fun!

Good morning foodies!

[Sun]

Paula Deen posted on Facebook that she is taping "Best Dishes" all week and would like to know what yall would like to have her make. I love that word yall. Love "all yall" even more. I love the south. Minus the racism.

So what do you all want Paula to make?

You know how she loves her some butter and bacon! lol

[Sun]

Here is a link to the Barrio Cafe, Phoenix menu that I like so much. You have to download the file to read it. Not a great web page, sorry.

Has anyone is this thread made Salsa Verde? I am wondering what you can add to the mix if using Tomatilios and jalepeno as the base. Thinking garlic, lime, cilantro. Any ideas?

[Sun]

Originally Posted by lusciouskiwi

My ex and her mum are coming up to stay with me for a few days. If any of you have any questions about Malaysian cuisine, which is huge by the way, I'll see if mummy has the answers. My ex is Nyonya and one of my favourite Malaysian cuisines. I also have to ask my ex about a Haka (Chinese) dish we had last weekend. It was a brown rice green tea soup. Really good! I just found a link for Lei Cha Fan http://www.camemberu.com/2008/05/thu...i-cha-fan.html

We had ours at a Hakka restaurant so the presentation was a bit prettier than the picture in the link.

Ok I will come up with some questions. Mostly I want to know how Tamarind soup broth is made over there and how we can replicate it here if we cant get fresh tamarinds.

[ahk]

Originally Posted by Sun

Welcome ahk!

How cool that you are in New Mexico! I saw that Hatch was offering to ship frozen roasted chilis but I really wanted to do my own. Sometimes we can get them around here for a little while after the season but not if the season ends early. What caused that to happen?

I am looking forward to you sharing more with us!

probably just weather related-- not enough rain for the crop. it happens from time to time.

if you do get the chance, order some til they run out completely, though I heard it was way more expensive.

505 chili is really good and really fresh too-- I enjoy their green chili, roasted chili, and enchilada sauce -- really all of it. 505 <-- clicky clicky

and for Red Chili powder this who I enjoy the best, makes some really good red sauce RED

I will be back soon--

[Daywalker]

Originally Posted by Sun

Paula Deen posted on Facebook that she is taping "Best Dishes" all week and would like to know what yall would like to have her make. I love that word yall. Love "all yall" even more. I love the south. Minus the racism.

So what do you all want Paula to make?

You know how she loves her some butter and bacon! lol

Something riddled with Linguica!