Text 16430, 93 rader
Skriven 2008-11-10 20:45:36 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 16278 av Nancy Backus (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: cookbooks  was: strawberries etc
========================================
Hi Nancy,

-=> Quoting Ruth Haffly to Nancy Backus on 11-06-08 13:55 <=-

 NB> That message about strawberries really did start getting long, didn't
 NB> it!  I saw that your reply split into two... and I purposely broke
 NB> things down a bit... :)

Good thinking.

 NB>  NB>>> Natural Foods ones are in paperback... and certainly show their

 NB> My favorite recipe for cornbread was in that one... and the book split
 NB> in 2 right about where that recipe was... I think it was shortly later
 NB> that I saw another copy, maybe at a garage sale or a library sale...

Good timing.  The book probably split there because you had made the
corn bread so often. (G)


 NB> cookbooks...  NB>> just checking recipes to get an idea of what it
 NB> should be, and then  NB>> modifying to suit our style, the ingredients
 NB> at hand, my lazier
 NB>  NB>> inclinations, and

 RH> I'll still do a fair amount from my cook books but just as often, not.
 RH> Tonight we're having "deconstructed fajitas" over rice--made fajita
 RH> "fixin's" a few months ago but didn't have the tortillas.  So, served
 RH> them over rice and liked it enough to make it a keeper.

 NB> Sounds like what I did with tacos.  Didn't have the shells once, so
 NB> made up the filling, and then added frozen kernel corn and some of the
 NB> usual toppings (like sliced olives, salsa), and then served it with
 NB> sour cream and shredded cheese.  Called it taco casserole...  :)  And
 NB> then, once
 NB> when I needed to extend it a bit in a hurry, I added some instant rice
 NB> to it...  Now, sometimes I just plan to throw in some rice... and
 NB> that's what we usually have now instead of tacos... (G)

Sometimes improvisation makes for a better meal than the original. (G)


 RH> It's fun to read cook books, get ideas, and then go for it, improvised
 RH> or "straight".

 NB> I usually go looking when I've got some ingredient to use that isn't
 NB> usually in my repertoire...  or have an idea for something that I know
 NB> has a proper recipe, but I haven't done it for ages (or at all).
 NB> Usually now, though, there's enough other stuff called for in the
 NB> recipe (that I may not have) that I just adapt from it.... (G)

It's always interesting to take a lesser used (in your kitchen)
ingredient and see what can be done with it.

 RH> Then, too, life's little unexpected surprises can make
 RH> for some interesting food experiences as well.  Remember a couple of

 NB> As above, for both of us...  (G)

 RH> weeks or so ago I talked about making a surprise birthday cake for my
 RH> mom when she was at night school?  The recipe I used called for 6 tbsp
 RH> of cocoa; we only had about 4 1/2.  I grabbed the tin of Nestle's Qwik
 RH> from the shelf and used it to make up the difference.  Nobody was the
 RH> wiser until I revealed what I did; the cake tasted the same as it
 RH> always had.

 NB> Substitutions are always fun, too... :)  Close enough a product,
 NB> probably no one will be the wiser, and sometimes serendipitous results
 NB> occur, too... :)

Yes, in this case, there wasn't enough of the subsititute to make any
difference in the taste.  The cocoa powder I had overshadowed the Qwik
used.

 RH> Cents is knot all weighs come inn hear.

 NB> Apparently not too hard to come by generally, in this echo... but
 NB> there are a few where that would be very much true.  :)

It's fun to read the post, even more fun to meet the people behind the
words.  That's why we enjoyed the last couple of picnics.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly@earthlink.net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... Multitask: make twice the mistakes in 1/2 the time.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)