Discovery of the day: Crockpot to the rescue
I ended up with a whole bunch of apples, then I went and got some more. Digging through the box the other day, I noticed some of them had gotten away from me. I had to throw a couple out, but most of the ones I culled had just one spot going bad.
So now what? I could make apple crisp, but I'm on a dessert moratorium (more on that another day.) I could make applesauce, but we don't really eat applesauce, like, ever. But I did see a crockpot recipe for apple butter a while back.... Mmmm, apple butter!
Per the instructions, I quartered and cored the apples. I was surprised that I only had to grab a few more to make enough to fill by 4 qt cooker. Threw the apples in, turned it on low, and went to bed.
In the morning I mashed it and added sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Looked and smelled like applesauce! I'd read where the original amount of sugar was w-a-a-y too much (plus I was making a smaller batch) so I cut back to about 1/4 cup, I think. Went off to work.
That evening, it looked like apple butter. I hit it with the stick blender. It was still pretty watery so I turned it up to high and took the lid off. It plopped and splorped like that for 2 or 3 hours. I turned it off before I went to bed.
This morning I jarred it up and stuck it in the fridge. I think I got about 2 pints plus some. And it tastes like apple butter, although I probably should have added a little more sugar. I might leave out the cloves next time. Maybe.
All in all, I'd call it a good use of borderline apples!
12.03.2008
12.02.2008
Tuesday
Discovery of the day: Just enough
Whew! NaNoWriMo is over and I survived! Back to real life.
Thanksgiving was fun. It's the first one we've cooked together. We were cooking for three adults and my son. I told my SO that no matter how hard we tried, we would end up with too much food. I only know this because I've been doing this for, oh, a couple of decades.
With that in mind, we sat down to make our list of 'must haves'. The goal was to make as few dishes as possible but still get just enough of what we wanted. We eventually settled on turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, waldorf salad (his), succotash (mine), cranberries, pumpkin pie.
The smallest turkey we could find at the store was 14 lbs, but that was no surprise as it was the Sunday before T-day. Then SO decided he wanted to make two kinds of stuffing, regular and cornbread. How could I say no to that? We did have a moment of conflict; he's a 'cook the stuffing in the bird' guy but I have a pretty strong aversion to that. Fortuitously enough, I had seen a recipe for cooking it in a squash half, and he agreed to that. It was difficult to talk him out of making a whole batch of each dressing for 3.5 people, but we eventually compromised.
I really wanted to make another dessert even though I knew better. I really really wanted to make two pumpkin pies but that would be inviting disaster. Instead, I made some caramel apples and dipped them in chocolate (the good stuff). I cut those into wedges and we ate them while playing board games later.
All in all, it worked out pretty well. Next year I have to get in the mood earlier so I can get a hold of a smaller bird. One thing that surprised me is that I wasn't very interested in the turkey. I had one small slice and that was enough.
Turkey aside, we had just enough of the other leftovers to last us through the weekend, although I could have made a whole batch of succotash, my favorite thing, next to cranberries. (I want to post the recipe but I left it at home. I'll try tomorrow.)
I think paring it down to the 'must haves' and limiting the amount we made saved me from myself this year. Now I just have to avoid the dreaded Cookie Baking Urges....
BTW, if you want to try an amazingly speedy way to cook a turkey, try this. And here's a video!
Whew! NaNoWriMo is over and I survived! Back to real life.
Thanksgiving was fun. It's the first one we've cooked together. We were cooking for three adults and my son. I told my SO that no matter how hard we tried, we would end up with too much food. I only know this because I've been doing this for, oh, a couple of decades.
With that in mind, we sat down to make our list of 'must haves'. The goal was to make as few dishes as possible but still get just enough of what we wanted. We eventually settled on turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, waldorf salad (his), succotash (mine), cranberries, pumpkin pie.
The smallest turkey we could find at the store was 14 lbs, but that was no surprise as it was the Sunday before T-day. Then SO decided he wanted to make two kinds of stuffing, regular and cornbread. How could I say no to that? We did have a moment of conflict; he's a 'cook the stuffing in the bird' guy but I have a pretty strong aversion to that. Fortuitously enough, I had seen a recipe for cooking it in a squash half, and he agreed to that. It was difficult to talk him out of making a whole batch of each dressing for 3.5 people, but we eventually compromised.
I really wanted to make another dessert even though I knew better. I really really wanted to make two pumpkin pies but that would be inviting disaster. Instead, I made some caramel apples and dipped them in chocolate (the good stuff). I cut those into wedges and we ate them while playing board games later.
All in all, it worked out pretty well. Next year I have to get in the mood earlier so I can get a hold of a smaller bird. One thing that surprised me is that I wasn't very interested in the turkey. I had one small slice and that was enough.
Turkey aside, we had just enough of the other leftovers to last us through the weekend, although I could have made a whole batch of succotash, my favorite thing, next to cranberries. (I want to post the recipe but I left it at home. I'll try tomorrow.)
I think paring it down to the 'must haves' and limiting the amount we made saved me from myself this year. Now I just have to avoid the dreaded Cookie Baking Urges....
BTW, if you want to try an amazingly speedy way to cook a turkey, try this. And here's a video!
11.20.2008
Thursday
Discovery of the day: It's a crock!
I know, I've been a complete slacker. But November is almost over, then I'll be back, I promise.
I did try one new thing earlier this week - I tried cooking beans in the crockpot. I soaked 1.5 lbs of cannellini beans during the day while I was at work. (Yeah, it wasn't 'overnight', but I was hoping they couldn't tell the sun was out.) That evening I drained them and dumped them into my 4 qt crockpot and added as much water as would fit, up to probably 1" from the rim. I left it on high for an hour (or two) then set it to low before I went to bed.
In the morning, I had a crockpot full of beany goodness. They tasted great, but... they were waaaay overcooked. I had hoped to freeze them in two cup portions but they would probably turn to complete mush.
Good news is that I am no longer afraid of cooking beans in the crockpot. Bad news is the gallon of beans in my fridge that I need to use in the next day or so. I probably should make a huge batch of bean and bacon soup.
Next time, I'm guessing I'll probably just cook them in a pot on the stove, so I can keep an eye on them. Tricksy bastards!
I know, I've been a complete slacker. But November is almost over, then I'll be back, I promise.
I did try one new thing earlier this week - I tried cooking beans in the crockpot. I soaked 1.5 lbs of cannellini beans during the day while I was at work. (Yeah, it wasn't 'overnight', but I was hoping they couldn't tell the sun was out.) That evening I drained them and dumped them into my 4 qt crockpot and added as much water as would fit, up to probably 1" from the rim. I left it on high for an hour (or two) then set it to low before I went to bed.
In the morning, I had a crockpot full of beany goodness. They tasted great, but... they were waaaay overcooked. I had hoped to freeze them in two cup portions but they would probably turn to complete mush.
Good news is that I am no longer afraid of cooking beans in the crockpot. Bad news is the gallon of beans in my fridge that I need to use in the next day or so. I probably should make a huge batch of bean and bacon soup.
Next time, I'm guessing I'll probably just cook them in a pot on the stove, so I can keep an eye on them. Tricksy bastards!
11.12.2008
Wednesday
... OVERCOME BY NANOWRIMO STOP WILL RETURN SOON I HOPE STOP DON'T WORRY I AM STILL EATING STOP ...
11.06.2008
Project Weeknight: Potato & Cabbage Soup
Last night I decided I had to try to adapt one of my favorite soups. I think the original name is Peasant Soup, but we always called it Cabbage & Kielbasa Soup. I've been making it for probably 20 years. But how would it fly without kielbasa?
Ingredients list is simple: carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, cabbage, herbs, and stock. As always, the chopping took a lot longer than I thought. You'd think I'd have figured that out by now. A little sauteeing, some simmering, hit it with the stick blender, and done.
It could have used more simmering, but I ran out of time. And it's one of those soups that will be better the second day. But I think it'll pass.
Even though I doubled the original amount of potatoes, my son probably would have appreciated more. And as much as I wish it was a weeknight meal, the only way it'll qualify is if it's bagged in the freezer. Or maybe if I made half a batch - enough for one meal - that might cut back the chopping time enough to make it work.
I forgot to bring the recipe with me today, but I'll try to do it from memory.
My SO, a former student of the Russian language, suggested beets. I'd never had borscht, but the idea intrigues me. We figured a can of beets, cut up, could be added near the end. I may have to give that a go.
Ingredients list is simple: carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, cabbage, herbs, and stock. As always, the chopping took a lot longer than I thought. You'd think I'd have figured that out by now. A little sauteeing, some simmering, hit it with the stick blender, and done.
It could have used more simmering, but I ran out of time. And it's one of those soups that will be better the second day. But I think it'll pass.
Even though I doubled the original amount of potatoes, my son probably would have appreciated more. And as much as I wish it was a weeknight meal, the only way it'll qualify is if it's bagged in the freezer. Or maybe if I made half a batch - enough for one meal - that might cut back the chopping time enough to make it work.
I forgot to bring the recipe with me today, but I'll try to do it from memory.
Peasant Soup, Veg Style
Adapted from some book whose title I've forgotten...
(I'll remove this note when I've double-checked the recipe at home)
1 Tblsp oil
1 Tblsp butter
2 med. onions, chopped
2 cups carrots, diced
2 cups celery, diced
2 quarts stock (I used half chicken, half veg)
4 cups cabbage, thinly sliced
4 cups potatoes, diced
1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp marjoram
salt & pepper to taste
Heat fats in pan, add onions, carrots, celery, and saute until soft. Add stock and cabbage, simmer 15 minutes. Add potatoes and herbs, simmer 15 minutes. Puree half of the soup in a food processor, or just hit it with the stick blender for a couple of pulses.
Goes great with cornbread.
My SO, a former student of the Russian language, suggested beets. I'd never had borscht, but the idea intrigues me. We figured a can of beets, cut up, could be added near the end. I may have to give that a go.
11.05.2008
11.03.2008
Monday
Discovery of the day: A salty tale
We spent most of the weekend doing home improvement-type stuff, and that does not exactly lend itself to home cookin'.
Friday night we had to go pick up a thing at Best Buy (grrr... I'm not even going to go there) and decided to try the middle eastern (Lebanese?) restaurant nearby. I'd been there years ago and had vague memories of it being mediocre and way overpriced. But that was years ago. Unfortunately, it was still mediocre and overpriced. And salty, holy cow!
Saturday we spent painting and had to run out to get more stuff. Conveniently, it was lunchtime so we decided to get something. Which happened to be something at our favorite sandwich place, where I always go for the one heavy with cured meat. Salt, much?
We were good Saturday night and enjoyed some leftovers that were not too salty, thankfully. But Sunday evening somehow we found ourselves at the Thai place, which I'm sure is full of hidden salt even though it tasted wonderful.
Oh well. Lots of water (and trips to the bathroom) for me today.
We spent most of the weekend doing home improvement-type stuff, and that does not exactly lend itself to home cookin'.
Friday night we had to go pick up a thing at Best Buy (grrr... I'm not even going to go there) and decided to try the middle eastern (Lebanese?) restaurant nearby. I'd been there years ago and had vague memories of it being mediocre and way overpriced. But that was years ago. Unfortunately, it was still mediocre and overpriced. And salty, holy cow!
Saturday we spent painting and had to run out to get more stuff. Conveniently, it was lunchtime so we decided to get something. Which happened to be something at our favorite sandwich place, where I always go for the one heavy with cured meat. Salt, much?
We were good Saturday night and enjoyed some leftovers that were not too salty, thankfully. But Sunday evening somehow we found ourselves at the Thai place, which I'm sure is full of hidden salt even though it tasted wonderful.
Oh well. Lots of water (and trips to the bathroom) for me today.
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