10/365: If you have no willpower - look away.

10/365: If you have no willpower - look away. That's right. "Mint Thins" at dollar general... And they taste the same to me!, a photo by AuntCharChar on Flickr.

That's right. "Mint Thins" at dollar general... And they taste the same to me!

9/365: What's for breakfast?

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"9/365 Western style scrambled eggs. It's what's for breakfast!"

I'm on a breakfast kick.  I've been having a scrambled egg "Western Omelette" and I'm loving it.  Sometimes with toast and jam, sometimes without.  Always cooked well done.  

I've been thinking it would be good in a warmed tortilla with a little salsa on top too.  Breakfast has always been hard for me since I'm not a morning person.  

I've got waffle batter in the fridge for tomorrow.  We recently bought the waffle iron that was recommended by CI.  I have to say it does a great job.  I'm pretty excited for waffles tomorrow morning.  After that, I'm out of ideas.

 It doesn't have to be on the go, because I'm trying to get up earlier so I can just eat and relax with a cup of coffee.  I'm in a much better mood during the day when I take the time to do this.

What do you all have for breakfast? 

Char

5/365: White Pan Bread

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"5/365:  Breakfast bread"

This morning we went to see John's dad for breakfast.  We prepped everything last night.  He requested a Western Omlette and home fries.  We chopped the onions and peppers, cooked the potatoes, and made the bread dough.  Today we chopped the potatoes, baked the bread in our never before used pullman loaf pan and packed everything up for breakfast.  The omlette's were delicious and the potatoes were even better.  I think everyone enjoyed their meal.  

2/365: did you know that Dollar General has Girl Scout cookie copycatsthat taste the same for half the price, available yearround #thismeanstrouble

2/365: did you know that Dollar General has Girl Scout cookie copycats that taste the same for half the price, available year round #thismeanstrouble, a photo by AuntCharChar on Flickr.

Breakfast for dinner - FTW

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"What a beauty!"

My Pinterest Addiction

Have you all started using Pinterest yet?  Pinterest has apparently  been around for ages (OK 2 years), but I only heard of it a few months ago (OK Maybe 6). 

If you have no idea what I’m talking about it’s a website where you create pin boards.  You know, like cork boards of the olden days.  YOU know that you used to cut comics out of the paper and put them up in your office.  It’s like that, but the WEB is your source.  There is SO MUCH stuff out there.

If you are on Pinterest, you already know what’s up.  If you’re not, you are missing out.  Hit me up and I’ll send you an invite.

Char

Where I'm From

Where I’m From

November 8, 2012

I am from clothes hanging on the line outside, from Hellman’s mayo and great grandma’s sweet pickles.

I am from the hot, un-airconditioned SOUTH, playing in the sprinklers, getting a suntan on the boat or the back deck or the hand-dug pond in the back yard that is warmed with water that flows through a pipe that goes through a fire pit.

I am from the Aralias, Gerbera Daisies and the marijuana, the crinkly leaves, the stunning gem colors, and the curious cages.

I am from Ginnie Springs camping at Thanksgiving and Standing Rib Roast at Christmas.  I am from Great Grandma Wood and Great Grammie Glidden and across the Northeast US and across the pond.

I am from the alcoholism and deep stubbornness .

From “Don’t make that face or it’ll get frozen that way” and “Because I said so”.

I am from going to churches with friends and relatives and on special occasions. I am from Montessori School to Sunday School.

I'm from Florida, Germany and Scotland, Great grandpa’s refrigerator Velcro soup, Entenman’s doughnuts and fresh fish and lobster on demand.

From the time on the Peace River when it was “TOO DEEP”, the times the fire department was called to the house because of shenanigans that were too obvious to ignore, to cozy, fun, loving sleepovers at JoJo and Aunt Sandy’s houses.

I am from Great Grandma’s book of our genealogy, The Wood family wall in JoJo’s house, and the love that was never lacking.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake for Mom's Birthday

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"Homemade pineapple upside down cake for mommy's birthday tomorrow."

One of the best soups ever...

I had this soup (or a version of it) at my Sister in Law's house about a month ago, she made it from scratch, even using fresh green beans.  I've been craving it (and the shaved parmesan cheese that you put on top when you're eating it), so I made it on Sunday night.

I have to say, it's one of the best soups ever.  If you know anything about me, you know that I LOOOOOVE soup.  This one looks a little intimidating, but i'll tell you, if I can make it on a Sunday night, after moving furniture and doing a bunch of errands all day, ANYONE can make it.  It really went together in a snap, and is so delicious... I know I keep saying that, but it really is.  The layering of flavor is just astounding.  Of course I know the fact that it made it into the "Joy of Cooking" cookbook, is a tribute to just how fantastic it is.

I made a few changes to the cookbook version.  The most notable change was the addition of the sausage.  I just love sausage in soup.  There was a time, that I would have used spicy italian sausage, but not these days.  I did add a little bit of crushed red pepper flake though, and it wouldn't have hurt to add a few dashes of Choloua or some other such hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Char

Char’s Provençal Vegetable and Sausage Soup



Adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients
1 ½ lb Italian Sausage, casings removed (I used Publix cheese and parsley flavored-use what you like)

6 T olive oil, preferably extra virgin, divided

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small leek (white and tender green parts), cleaned thoroughly and chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 large celery stalk, chopped

3 medium, ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 small potato, peeled and chopped

5 15 ½oz cans chicken stock

1 heaping T chicken base

Pinch of saffron threads (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can white cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 can light red kidney beans, beans, rinsed and drained

Small handful of thin spaghetti, broken up, or macaroni

1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 pound FRESH green beans, cleaned and broken into bite size pieces

5 cloves of garlic (minced)

1/3 tube basil paste

2/3 cup grated or shaved parmesan cheese

1 tsp black pepper

Wine for deglazing (optional)

A few shots of White Worchestershire sauce (optional)

A pinch of red pepper flake (optional)



Directions

Heat 2 T olive oil in large soup pot or dutch oven over medium low heat. Add Italian sausage and red pepper flake, if desired. Cook until no longer pink, breaking up into smaller bite sized pieces. Remove to separate bowl. Deglaze pan with a little water (or wine if you have some). Add 2 - 4 more T olive oil. Add carrot, leek, onion and celery and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, potato, stock, white Worchestershire sauce, chicken base, saffron and 2 tsp salt.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in cooked sausage, cannellini and light red kidney beans, pasta, zucchini, green beans, basil paste, garlic, pepper, parmesan cheese and more salt to taste.

Seared Tuna on the BGE

What did you have for dinner?

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"Blackened Tuna seared on screaming

 hot big green egg griddle FTW!"

Artisian Bread in Five minutes a day

I have to admit.  I'm a pretty dismal bread baker.  Before Grampy died, he took me through his whole process, which you can see here .  I'm glad I did that for so many reasons, not the least of which is that he died less than four months after I did that.  Between pictures and video, it is memories of some of the most special times we spent together in the kitchen and talking about all things food related.  I love him and miss him so much, and I really can't even look through the pictures without bawling, much less watch the videos.  But if you can, I encourage you to.  He was an amazing man.  By the by, after he died, my Grammie gave me almost all of his bread baking equipment.  I'll always treasure it.

When I heard about this recipe for making bread in five minutes a day,and no kneading was involved, I was totally all in.  For some reason, I just can't figure out the kneading!  If you watch the videos and look at the pictures, you can CLEARLY tell which bread grampy had his hands on, and which bread I had mine on.  I know I should practice, because in this case, truly practice does make perfect, but I haven't found the patience for it yet.  I will someday, and thankfully, I'll have Grampy by my side showing me how he kneaded the bread with perfection.

The recipe for Artisian Bread in Five minutes a day, is dead simple. 

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1⁄2 tbsp granulated yeast (1 1⁄2 packets)
1 1⁄2 tbsp coarse kosher or sea salt
6 1⁄2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour
Cornmeal for pizza peel
I like to add just a pinch of sugar.

The beauty is in the method.  If you want the details and haven't been able to dig it up on line, send me a message or leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do, or better yet, go buy the book!  You won't be sorry!  You get the recipe and method for the main loaf, and TONS of variations!!  People, this is so easy a caveman could do it!  REALLY! 
Here are some pictures from our most recent endeavor!

Dough in container immediately after mixing.

Dough in container after three hour rise at room temp.

Risen dough after 3 hours at room temp, about tripled.  We refrigerated it at this point.

All I had to do here was make it into a smooth silky ball by tucking the ends under... Meh...

I slashed the top for a scalloped effect in the finished product... ha

Yes, well you see,  it looks beautiful anyway!

The taste... Oh Ma Gah!  It was fantastic! 

Now this isn't squishy wonder bread guys, this bread has some tooth to it.  I loved it shmeared with butter right out of the oven, or rubbed with garlic and butter with some spaghetti.  It has a hint of sour dough flavor to it, because it sat for a few days before we baked it.  There's more in the fridge.  Can't wait to make the next loaf.  You know, it will only take five minutes to pop it in the oven, and fresh bread in 30 mins.  Do you remember what the house smells like when you bake fresh bread?  Do you?  Aww you should go make some now!
 
Char

The Big Green Egg and a hunk of beef two ways (Part 2 of 2) Chili!

Welcome to part 2!

So we had this beef in the fridge, and since it was a little on the dry side, but it had lots of flavor, we thought it would make good chili.  It sure did!

John slicing the green pepper

Chopping the green pepper

Chopping up the celery

Onions, garlic, celery and pepper ready to go

Sliced beef



Sliced and diced beef ready for the sauteed vegetables



All the meat, spices and veg

Tomatoes, tomato sauce, beans and vegetables... everyone in the hot tub to simmer!

So delicious!

Char

The Big Green Egg and a hunk of beef two ways (Part 1 of 2)

Almost two years ago, we decided that instead of putting a large hunk of money into another "disposable" grill from Home Depot, that we would spend a bit more money and have a grill that lasts a lifetime.  We haven't regretted a moment of it.

Last weekend, I had an eye round roast, and had planned on cooking it in the oven, low and slow a la a recipe that an old boss of mine made for Christmas parties.  The beef comes out super tender and rare.  John mentioned that he'd like to try it on the BGE, but I had a little reservations about it, because it can sometimes be difficult for me to keep the BGE very low, which is what this cut needs.  I was fretting about it, and not exactly sure what I should do, or how to go about it, and John said to just get started and it would come to me.  He was at work, and I had this hunk of meat, so here we went...

Nice sized eye round of beef rubbed with our Memphis Rub

We haven't used the BGE in a while, so it took a bit of time to get it prepped and ready, plus I had already soaked some mesquite chunks.  It was going strong


BGE Chugging along

 Ready to throw the meat on after placing the probe thermometer and shielding it from the heat

Done... It ended up being a bit too dry.  It cooked a little higher than I would have liked, and I pulled it at 130 degrees and I probably should have pulled it at 115 degrees especially considering the amount of time that it sat before we ate it.  We ended up chopping it up and putting it on a salad and had it along side of the falafel below.  It was delicious!  Nice pink smoke ring too, which you'll see in dish two.

Needless to say, we had a bunch of meat left, and we've been meaning to make chili with it all week.  We finally got it going today

I think I'm going to make this a two part series :)  Part two coming in a few minutes.

Char

Generosity

Working for generous people, is always a plus.  What's even better is working for generous people who have generous friends.

Thanks to one of my bosses, this is what we had for dinner last night, gratis... courtesy of him!

Stone crab claws with drawn butter

Fresh rock shrimp from the east coast waters

I picked up some scallops and wrapped them in bacon just to gild the lily :-)

Handmade bacon wrapped scallops with cucumber dill sauce

What a fantastic dinner.  I'm a lucky girl.

Char

Falafel you say?

I made this for the first time last night, and it was REALLY good!  I've always been a fan of falafel, but this homemade stuff is not only delicious, but the best I've ever had.  I used my cucumber dill sauce for dipping.  It's also fantastic on salmon, but you can use a classic tahini sauce if you prefer.

Falafel – Mark Bittman

Yield 6 to 8 servings

Time 1 hour, plus 24 hours

First, keep the amount of water you use when grinding the beans to an absolute minimum. More water makes grinding easier, but it also virtually guarantees that the batter will fall apart when it hits the hot oil. If this happens, bind the remaining mixture by stirring in a little flour.

The second essential step is to get the oil hot enough: 350 degrees or a little higher. If you don\'t have a thermometer, just wait until the oil shimmers and then add a pinch of the batter. When it sizzles immediately, sinks about halfway to the bottom, then rises to the top, the oil is ready. If it sinks and stays down, the oil is too cold; if it doesn't sink at all, the oil is too hot.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup dried chickpeas

• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed (I added more like 8)

• 1 small onion, quartered

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

• Scant teaspoon cayenne, or to taste (I only used a ¼ tsp)

• 1 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used half a lemon)

• Neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, for frying

Method

1. Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with water by 3 or 4 inches; they will triple in volume. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans submerged.

2. Drain beans well (reserve soaking water) and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except oil; pulse until minced but not pureed, scraping sides of bowl down; add soaking water if necessary to allow machine to do its work, but no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons. Keep pulsing until mixture comes together. Taste, adding salt, pepper, cayenne or lemon juice to taste.

3. Put the oil in a large, deep saucepan to a depth of at least 2 inches; more is better. The narrower the saucepan the less oil you need, but the more oil you use the more patties you can cook at a time. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil to about 350 degrees (a pinch of batter will sizzle immediately).

4. Scoop heaping tablespoons of batter and shape into balls or small patties. Fry in batches, without crowding, until nicely browned, turning as necessary; total cooking time will be less than 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Cucumber-Dill Sauce:


Comments: This sauce is amazing. I made it with some Salmon the other day and it's so good, I wanted to just eat the sauce when I ran out of fish.

1/3 cup peeled, seeded, cucumber

1/3 cup low fat sour cream

1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons chopped fresh dillweed (or more to taste)

1 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Take the cucumber, dillweed, garlic, salt and pepper and process in food processor. Mix in sour cream and plain yogurt. Taste for seasoning. Chill or serve immediately over your favorite meat.

My favorite way to make salmon is to rub it with a little olive oil, garlic salt and cajun seasoning and bake/broil until crispy and done.

Char

Calling it in today

I found these awesome baby carrots at BJ's today.  I didnt' buy them, because I already have like a million pounds of carrots at home, because I keep saying I'm going to make some Carrot Ginger soup, and then I don't get around to it.

I'd love to get these for when we have guests coming to dinner*.  They'd look so cute on the plate, don't you think?

Char

*If you haven't been invited to my house for dinner in a while it's because I haven't been much of a housekeeper and I'm at the point that sometimes I really don't give a shit.  So that's why I'm being antisocial.  Except for my parents, because my dad gets three time outs and he uses one if he mentions it and then I send his ass home, and my mom loves me and knows me and doesn't give a crap what my house looks like because I'm a kick ass bartender :)

Malaysian Black Pepper Shrimp

Completed Dish

This is the recipe, I switched shrimp for the clams (John rightly decided to do the Shrimp shell off, and that was brilliant. We get the ones from publix that are ez peel and peel them off easy). It is absolutely freaking awesome and REALLY easy!

I added extra pepper, a little red pepper flake, a little extra water and extra butter when I made it this time so I got more sauce.

Char

*******

Malaysian black pepper clams or shrimp

With this endlessly variable formula and technique, you can be a shellfish genius in minutes
Francis Lam

Clams are the strong, silent type of shellfish. They're not sexy like oysters and they're not dying to be everybody's friend like scallops. (And, believe me, when seared scallops are your pride and joy, it's hard to feel cheaper than the moment you realize that a one-armed monkey can make them as delicious as you can.) But what clams lack in scallops' melodic sweetness and oysters' ringing finesse, they make up for in rich, earthy minerality and bass-drum brininess. They're versatile, great on their own and pairing beautifully with both subtle and blockbusting flavors.

And as a bonus, they're about the easiest things on the planet to cook: They take just minutes, they tell you when they're done, they make their own broth, and you can dress them up or down. And if you just remember a basic framework, you can make them in any number of variations.

Below is a phenomenal recipe, clams hot and fragrant with more black pepper than you ever thought possible, rounded out with a touch of sugar and Chinese oyster sauce. It's a presentation inspired by a traditional Malaysian way to serve crab, a dish I learned from Susan Feniger and Kajsa Alger, the chefs of Los Angeles' wonderful, globally inspired restaurant Street.

But the lesson of this recipe is in its basic elements: fat, aromatics, liquid, acid and fresh herbs, each of which does its own trick with the saline, earthy flavor of clams. The fat rounds the edges of the saltiness, the aromatics give fragrance and context, the liquid creates steam to cook the clams and dilutes their salty brine, the acid cuts through the heavy earthiness, and the herbs give the dish freshness, a brightness that lifts the flavor. In this case, we're using oil and butter for fat, garlic and black pepper for aromatics, water for steam, lime juice for acid, and cilantro for the herbal note.

But you can sub in whatever ingredients you want. A classic Italian way to steam clams, for instance, is to go with olive oil (fat), garlic (aromatic), white wine (liquid and acid), parsley (freshness), and sometimes a touch of hot chilies for more of the fresh, elevating effect. The dishes taste continents apart, but both follow the same basic principles. Once you read through (and, I hope, make!) the recipe below, you can pretty much make amazing steamed clams however you want, using this framework.
One last note about flavor: Like any bivalve, clams will taste different depending on where they're from, how much rain there's been, how they've been purged of sand after harvest, etc. One batch might be very mild and another very salty. So, while I usually believe in adding a little salt all through the cooking process, with clams I try to keep as much salt out of the dish until after they've given up their liquid and I know how salty it's going to be. If "Cuisine or Death" is the chef's motto, "taste and fix" is the cook's.

Mise en Place

Chopped Cilantro

Shrimpys

Malaysian black pepper clams or shrimp

Serves 2 as a main course with steamed rice or noodles


1 - 1 1/2 lbs peeled, deveined shrimp or 2-2¼ pounds small clams, like little necks (If you're using little necks, that's about 2 dozen)

4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)

2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly and finely ground. Measure after grinding. Yes, it's a workout

½ cup water

1 tablespoon sugar (palm sugar is great, if you have it)

2 teaspoons oyster sauce (usually available wherever you get soy sauce)

1 lime, halved

1 tablespoon butter, cold, cut into 2 pieces

4 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil

 

Sauteed Zucchini

Shrimp, garlic and ginger (an embellishment) sauteeing, next time I'll pull the Zuch before this step and add it later.

Saucing it up and finishing it off with the cilantro

1. First, clean the clams: OK, so after I did my best on selling you on clams, I have to tell you that I live in constant fear of biting into one and finding sand. It's harrowing. Luckily, most commercially harvested clams these days are already purged of grit, so you can forget all those bits of advice like soaking them with cornmeal. But there will likely still be grit on the shells; soak the clams in cold fresh water for a few minutes, scrub or rub them with your fingers to get them clean, and pour off the water. Rinse a few times, and drain.  If you're using shrimp, add about 3T salt and 3T sugar to a bowl of cold water and add the shrimp and let them sit while you get everything else ready to go.  Drain before adding to the pan.

2. Choose a heavy pan with a snug-fitting lid, wide enough to fit most of the clams in one layer. In it, heat the oil over the highest heat until it's shimmery and nearly smoking-hot. Add the garlic and stir or toss. As soon as it gets golden, which will happen in a few seconds, add the pepper, stir to release its flavor to the oil, and right away add the clams or shrimp. The water clinging to the shells may sputter for a moment, but be brave and toss the clams until they are all coated and glistening with oil.

3. Add the water; it should sizzle and come to a boil very quickly. Add the sugar and the oyster sauce. Cover with the lid and shake the pan. Give the clams about two minutes in their sauna, uncover and remove any wide-opened clams to a separate bowl; they're cooked, and letting them steam further would turn them rubbery. (If they are just barely open, give them a little more time until they really pop.) Cover the pan and give it a shake, which helps the shells open wide. Uncover again after 30 seconds and repeat until all the clams are opened. If there are any really stubborn ones, like, the rest are done and these are just straight loungin' in the steam for minutes, throw them out; they probably died before you started cooking, and aren't safe to eat.

4. Turn off the heat, squeeze half a lime into the sauce, and stir in the butter, giving the sauce a nice sheen. Give it a taste. How is it? Delicious? A bit heavy? Squeeze in more lime. Too salty? Try a little more butter or dilute it with a little water, or add a touch more sugar. You want a sauce that tastes balanced, where no one flavor dominates the others, with a seawater note and a lingering, warming burn of pepper. When it's ready, add the clams back in and stir to sauce them up. Finish with the cilantro and serve with plenty of steamed rice or noodles.

Char
------------
1-11-11

I tried Sauteing Zucchini in the oil before the shrimp. It was good but next time after the Zuch gets tender I’ll pull them out and then add them back in at the end with the cilantro, otherwise they get too well done and fall apart.

My Cheat Sheet:

Chicken with Indian Spices and Yogurt

For a self professed foodie, I sure don't put many recipes on my blog!  That picture at the header, I made that.  I actually created it from taste after I got it from a local specialty market in town.  I love love love to cook, I love to eat, and I married a chef!  :)


Here's the first of hopefully many recipes with pictures to appear on the blog.

Chicken with Indian Spices and Yogurt
(Adapted From Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything)

Sweet, saucy and warming. Wonderful over rice pilaf, white or brown basmati rice. For extra flavor, start with whole cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon and toast and grind them yourself.

Ingredients:
¼ cup peanut, grapeseed, corn or other neutral oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4-6 chicken thighs or other parts, rinsed and patted dry
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste (I used ¼ tsp.)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups plain yogurt
Minced cilantro leaves for garnish


Directions:
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven, or casserole. When the oil is hot add chicken skin side down to oil, and brown it well, rotating and turning the pieces as necessary; the process will take 10-15 minutes. (You can skip this part if you like, as noted in the Braised Chicken Parts section; heat a T of oil and go directly to cooking the onions.)

When the chicken is nicely browned, remove it from the skillet and pour off all but a couple of tablespoons of oil. Turn heat to medium, and add the onion along with some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until they soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger and spices along with an additional 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cook with the onions, stirring, until very aromatic, about 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in the yogurt, then add the chicken pieces back to the pan.

Cover and cook over medium-low heat so that the mixture doesn’t boil, turning the pieces every 5 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through 10 to 20 minutes (longer if you skipped the browning step); It’s ok if the mixture curdles a bit. The chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 155-165 degrees F, 20 to 30 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Bittman says: Boneless chicken breasts are an undeniably convenient weeknight diner choice, but bone-in chicken parts are just as simple to prepare and infinitely more favorful (and less expensive!). When you braise chicken parts in a seasoned liquid, you get a comforting meal with plenty of sauce for rice, noodles or bread – with very little effort, in less than an hour. Chicken with Yogurt and Indian Spices takes only 45 minutes to cook, yet tastes like it’s been braising for much longer. And if you’re really pressed for time, don’t bother to brown the chicken first; just skip Step 1 and proceed with the onions as described in step 2.

Char says:  If you find that your sauce has curdled, puree it to smoothness using a stand or immersion blender. I also ended up adding about ½ cup milk and cream to smooth the mixture out. 1-9-11 John and I really liked this, I think some coconut milk would be a good addition also.



Char

Food inconsistency when dining out, which turned into a lap band thing...

While reading through GreenYogurt's archives about her experiences trying new foods and some of her commenters talking about inconsistent foods when dining out, it inspired this rant.  Yay!

I hate incorrectly prepared food. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. Of course it doesn’t help that both my husband and I like to cook (he’s a professional for heavens sake) so nine times out of ten when we go out to eat we are like “Damn we could have made this better ourselves and saved the money.” He and I both agree that the most important thing for a restaurant or any food service establishment to have is *consistency*.


I probably shouldn’t admit this in public, but I’ve sent food back because it wasn’t prepared the same way I had it “last” time I was here.  At TooJay's I love to order their brisket dinner plate.  The first time I went there and ordered it, it was thinly sliced and heavenly.  As it was for the next few times we went. Around the third or fourth time, it came out and it was very thickly sliced, and in my world (Lap Band World) it was indigestible.  So I called the waiter over and asked him if they changed it, he said no, I said well it seems very different, they usually slice it thinner and while I hate to say this, I have to send it back.  I did, and the manager came over later and asked what was wrong.  I told him.  He went back to the kitchen and realized that the first few times, I was getting the brisket sliced "sandwich style" which was thinner, and this chef in the back was now slicing it regular and that was the problem, so he told me from now on when I come in to order it, to just order it sliced "sandwich style".  Glad that worked out, because their brisket rocks!

Also, I like my eggs over medium. There’s a reason for that; A) I like my yolk runny. B) I am completely GROSSED OUT if the white is runny at all and C) If it comes out over cooked, or it is over cooked because they left it under the heat lamp too long, I’ll send it back. See (A).  D) I can only eat the yolk of an egg most of the time, so it's that much more important to me that it's cooked correctly.  I explain that more down yonder.




Image of Perfect looking over medium fried eggs borrowed from allfavoriterecipe.com


Due to my lap band, I have a lot of issues with texture and consistency of food.  For example, I usually can't eat the whites of the eggs even if they are cooked perfectly, they get stuck. If it’s something like that, it's my problem and it happens that I can’t consume a certain meal because of my body, but it is good and prepared properly, I’ll have the meal packed up and I’ll take it home where I will try to eat it again, or I’ll just throw it away. Sometimes I can hardly even touch a meal, and inevitably I’ll have to excuse myself, and go “PB”* so I am not in pain. I’ll return to the table and the wait staff will come over and ask if everything is ok with the food. I’ll say yes and just have them box it up.

You would think after having this band for so long, I’d have I figured out by now. But that is NOT the case. Well not really. It seems I’ve outsmarted the band. You see, I’ve gained a significant amount of weight back. I’ve got to figure out how to reverse this y’all. I’m working on it.


Char


**Productive Burping – It’s kind of like throwing up, in that food is coming up like when you throw up, but it feels differently. I don’t really know how to explain it. You can probably google for an explanation far better than mine.  I did that and this girl seems to explain it better than I can.  Basically something gets stuck and it has to come up.