Text 22030, 162 rader
Skriven 2007-10-30 18:12:24 av Carol Shenkenberger (1:261/1466.0)
Kommentar till en text av Daniel Prather
Ärende: Rice 329
================
-=> Quoting Daniel Prather to Carol Shenkenberger <=-
> Mom used the occasional packets you get at the grocery store. She grew up
> on not very spicy foods. I recall rare times when she'd make 'fancy' with
> nutmeg or cinnimon but mostly we kids prayed for TV dinners <g>.
DP> Well, we didn't pray for TV dinners. :) My mom made a lot of good
DP> stuff, but was just really light on the seasoning. On my father's side
Mom was so bland, we liked school lunches <g>. Naw, thats not fair. She was
a decent but very *plain* cook with a small budget and a smaller recipe list.
The only time we went hungry, was when we just didnt want to eat it or the one
time she fixed me liver and then insisted I eat it. I threw up at the table.
Yes, I hate liver taste that bad. If you even look at liver then look at me,
I start gagging. (Chicken liver is the only exception and even then, I hate
almost every version I've ever had).
DP> of the family, though, they were all from Alabama and such, and they
DP> really, really know how to cook. But it was all good, I just learned
DP> to expand my horizons (and my waist) once I moved out. :)
> Same here, but I still liked the fancy stuff my friends had. Michelle
> Groger, lived next door. Her family was Jewish and they had some of the
> best food!
DP> Yep, I remember eating at some friends' houses, and it was always so
DP> different than what we had. Though, my mom also didn't allow sodas and
DP> such in the house, but my friends always had them.
I recall lots of soda types. I got past those as I grew older. I do stock
a 12pack of soda every 2 months for me. Don, he likes his pepsi (1-2 a day).
> I got a rude awakening the day I moved out from home and my new roomates
> relegated me to bottle washer for the remainder of our time <g>. They were
> fancy cooks and showed me quite a bit at that start time.
DP> Yeah, that'd be a little disheartening, but at least they
DP> taught you new stuff!
True! I needed much toodling at that stage. I made just that first meal and
they didnt let me cook again. Then one day I borrowed a crockpot from one of
them and made a really simple beanpot with hamhock. It had lookedso simple, I
thought even i couldnt mess that one up and i didnt <g>. Genesis of the
crockpot cooker of this echo.
> By the time I met Don, 7 years later, I was able to catch his attention on
> our first date by making him a home cooked meal with nothing but a Navy
> barracks microwave and a single cassarole dish. I made him a curried
> Jamacian style adobo, braised green beans with butter and mushrooms, and
> some sliced fruit. I think that was what I made anyways <g>. I made him
> dinner several times.
DP> Wow. I'd imagine that takes some skill and talent. :)
Simpicity has it's good parts. Yu'll see my adobo recipe here and there. Add
curry powder and just let it do it's thing. You end up with a very usable
broth
for soup. I flipped the lid of the cassarole over and while the adobo cooled,
cooked the beans on that. Fished out the adobo-curry chicken to a plate and
added the beans and fruit and we were eating high!
> Same here. I have never been able to equal her annual beef stew pot and
> it's not just memory. It really is that good. I've even helped her make
> it but cant
> seem to get it that 'perfect way' on my own. One of the important parts
> though was it had to be a big batch in the stew pot (practically a
> lobsterpot but not quite). She said it never worked right in smaller
> amounts. She'd freeze up tons of it and we'd have it all the rest of the
> year.
DP> One thing my mom seems to make better than anyone else is corn bread.
DP> Even my southern grandmother, who is an *excellent* cook, doesn't
DP> quite make corn bread
DP> the same way.
I learned one way that works but it's not heart healthy. You drop the dough in
a cast iron pan with 1/4-1/3 cup bacon grease (melted) then put it in the oven
to bake.
> Giggles, we all have our failures. Don was worried I wouldnt like the
> first meal he made me (first night after I moved out of the barracks). He
> made me rice, sauteed mushrooms, and sashimi (Ahi tuna) with a 50/50
> soy/worstershire dipping sauce. I fell in love with that meal. Invited
> him to move in that night <g>.
DP> Hahaha! Well that sounds good! Simple, but very appetizing. Your
DP> posts and this echo are making me want to be a bit more adventurous
DP> hehe.
Hey, try something and tell us what you find? Need not be 'wierd eats' like
the
TV show, but just something new.
If you can get really _fresh_ fish (was swimming the day before) and it's a
type
that leads to raw eating (salmon, tuna, sea bass, many others) try slivering
just a little off and tasting it. Now, pour about 1TB brown lea and perrins
worstershire then about the same of soy sauce in a dish then take a sliver of
fish and let that marinade about 30 seconds and eat it.
You have just discovered sashimi. The cuts do not have to be perfect. You can
use a fork if you like.
> Whats a 'pluot'? Starfruit make wonderful soup garnishes BTW. Very
> pretty.
DP> A pluot is kinda like a combination between a plum and an apricot.
DP> They're usually a sort of mottled color (like red/pink/orange,
DP> blue/purple/white), and sometimes are also called "dinosaur eggs". To
DP> me, they almost taste like a pear and an apple put together. It's a
DP> really strange fruit, but is pretty good. :)
Ok. I know many fruits but that is a new one. Dragon-fruits are cool looking.
> I did get a little tired of 'new' though at times in Sasebo, because so
> *much* was new. Of course, I learned favorites from those things too <g>.
DP> Sometimes a good, old fashion standby is all that's needed. I'll
DP> always be a fan of some good, homemade macaroni and cheese.
Me too. But cheese types were very minimal there.
> Oh, if you arent sodium restricted and get olives, peel some garlic and add
> that to the jar before you put it in the fridge. Makes the cheap
> manzanillas much better. Also save the brine. It's very useful in
> cooking.
DP> That's a really interesting idea. I'd never thought of anything like
DP> that before.
Don thought of it but later I saw upscale olive jars with garlic instead of
pimento. It's super easy to just peel a few cloves, open the jar, add them,
then
put the jar in the fridge.
DP> Eggplant is a bit of a weird one. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I
DP> don't, and sometimes anything I make from it just comes out horrible.
I finally adapted a really simple way with asian eggplant which isnt bitter
and you do not have to peel it. I slice longways then oil it with olive oil
then put a few bacos and parmesan cheese on and bake it.
DP> My wife and I experimented with spaghetti squash a while back, didn't
DP> prepare it right, and hated it. But then on a whim, we decided to try
DP> it again, cooked it properly, and made some really awesome pasta-like
DP> dishes with it. I'm not a squash person myself, but this stuff was
DP> good. :)
I got a butternut squash again. I'm looking at uses for the pumpkin flesh
though besides pies and such. We make the seeds up in the oven as lightly
salted snacks.
xxcarol
... "Yield to temptation, it may not pass your way again." - L. Long
___ Blue Wave/386 v2.30 [NR]
--- Maximus/NT 3.01
* Origin: Owl's Anchor (1:261/1466)
|