#FAFoodie time!
Sushi. I have mentioned sushi to several people. Some said "I don't like raw fish".
Sushi is seasoned short grain rice (or Calrose). You season the rice with rice vinegar mixed with sugar and salt. There's a couple of other ingredients if you can get them, but sushizu can be made with just those 3 ingredients.
Fillings are entirely up to you. I'm making cheese and ham sushi for lunch
Sometimes you battle with a recipe over years to get it to where you want it.
This recipe I was battling with for *decades*. I finally have a Filipino Adobo recipe that matches my conception:
https://lolakusinera.com/pork-adobo/
The thing that lit me up was the vinegar - a mix of commercial and home made cider vinegar, then cooked down aggressively to a thick sauce. Serve over white rice. YUM.
Time for a solemn #FAFoodie post.
What have you done to protect yourselves against the coming logistical nightmare? I have probably at least 6 months of food at our current level, but could probably nearly double that.
With the trucker convoy and the truculence of the illegitimate regime, make sure you're protected.
The Mormons have great resources where you can see how much food you need, and how you can store it at home.
time for an #FAFoodie rant
Be me. Search for "gluten free pancakes recipe".
Find one that DOESN'T have as its first ingredient "X amount of GF flour blend".
Insert very loud obscenity here
posted this with the tag but without the names because I was playing with posting pics here via my phone. Kedgeree with poached egg!
#FAFoodie bonus post! And I'm going to say 2 words that are guaranteed to strike fear into some hearts - ORGAN MEATS *horse whinny* *screams of terror*
Look, organ meats have a place in a varied diet. They are packed with minerals and vitamins, and if you cook them correctly (the key is DO NOT overcook) they taste good. Especially if you load them up with aromatics and other tasty flavourings like Sriracha. Give it a go!
I can't remember if this was a post on FA or on substack, but someone warned about the first signs of a grim logistical problem will be a lack of processed potato products.
My local Aldi only had 2 types of frozen hash browns. No other forms of processed frozen potato products.
Just FYI. Finalise your pantry stores to weather the storm.
#FAFoodie question time.
For those who have to eat a special diet - gluten free, low carb, that kind of thing - have you noticed your grocery store options becoming kind of crap? Because I have. Just circled my Aldi 3 times looking for gluten free options to no avail.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
I am fully stocked for now. I hope y'all are, too:
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
I finally managed to get the last emergency supplies - 50lb sack of oats, two 25lb sacks of AP (plain) flour. I am contemplating buying more freeze dried veg to supplement it all, but at this point I can basically jump into a hole and pull the hole in with us when / if the logistical poo storm hits.
Y'all might want to check if your local restaurant supply store allows you to buy there. If not, make friends with a restaurant...
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty something to be aware of while planning your stores is "rabbit starvation". It's linked to an excessively lean diet. Make sure you are also laying up good quality culinary fats like butter and extra virgin oils like olive and/or coconut.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
this food calculator is informative and kind of horrifying when you look at the year calculations:
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
looking at the railway strike, that's going to make the food and materials logistical problems even worse.
Hunker down, folks, while the storm passes overhead.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
There are times when the peanut butter hits the fan that you really need a hug. Rice pudding is a good hug.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/nov/18/how-make-perfect-rice-pudding
Pudding rice is really any short grain rice. You can use sushi rice or others such as Arborio to make it. I am making it with Calrose, which is technically a medium grain sushi rice but if you bring it to a boil in the pot before you bake it, you get a wonderful result.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
y'all, I am getting a really bad feeling about the food situation. More and more crop reports are coming in bad, the Mississippi river is down which is holding up deliveries of soy and corn, and of course all the food processing plants "mysteriously" going up in flames.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
what's for dinner?
Tonight I'm making "Hoover stew". See this for one example:
https://www.acoalcrackerinthekitchen.com/2020/03/29/hoover-stew/
I'll name this one "Brandon's Stew" to say thanks to the dementia patient for the way our food budget has gone *poof* over the last few months.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
here's a nice, frugal recipe. British flapjacks (kind of a baked granola bar, sorta).
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Basic_Flapjacks
Golden syrup is really easy to make. If you don't want to, use corn syrup. It won't have quite the flavour. If your store sells Golden Eagle syrup, flavour is very similar but it's mainly corn syrup & HFCS.
Extras: toss in a handful of raisins or similar. Throw a slug of bourbon as well, I won't judge,
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
what are y'all doing to frugally bulk out your meals? I have loads of rice and beans and am using them for bulking.
For the kiddo's camp this past weekend I made beef chili, 4:1 ratio of red kidney beans to ground beef. The whole batch was eaten, no leftovers!
Soups and stews are a great way to use bulk legumes. Tonight's dinner is bacon and lentil soup, incorporating leftover red kidney beans to bulk it out more.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
I don't know how reliable this source is, but it ties into other reports I have read elsewhere:
Brace yourselves for 2023. It's going to be a year of suck.
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
If y'all are finding it hard to find corn syrup, you can substitute it with golden syrup. Here's the recipe:
https://www.addictedtocanning.com/blog/2017/03/24/treacle/
BTW, if you make your pecan pie or pumpkin pie with golden syrup (or dark treacle!) instead of corn syrup, you'll probably never go back to corn syrup!
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Had a father/son bonding moment with my son just now.
We're making next year's mincemeat. The mince pies I make this month will be the last of the 2018 batch we made.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincemeat
Made it with the Ball Blue Book recipe which is suitable for hot water bath processing. (I'll write up the recipe and post it).
And yes, he managed to slice his finger and now has a band-aid :)
@Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
What culinary skill or technique do you intend gaining or improving this year? I'm getting back into pressure canning. Take advantage of sales and put up shelf stable meat or whole meals in a jar.
Do you have a recommended recipe for golden syrup, hon? I’ve seenthat ingredient mentioned in British recipes, but never quite knew what to make of it.
@TXHolly absolutely! Here's the recipe on my own food blog!
https://www.addictedtocanning.com/blog/2017/03/24/treacle/
I use the same technique as a basis for making pancake syrup, too!
@TXHolly I'll add: when making the starter syrup, use your eyes more than the thermometer. The starter syrup goes through a really ugly phase where it looks all mottled and disgusting, like it's gone wrong, but once you get the other side of that it suddenly smooths out and is a lovely golden brown. Once it hits that stage, continue with adding the hot water and the rest of the sugar.
@sjc #SJCRecipeBox #FARecipesIndex
How to Make Golden Syrup (for Treacle Tart) and Dark Treacle
@sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
I have dehydrated potatoes and lots of pasta.
@Katrina_Fights @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
dried potato is an amazing ingredient. I make a cheese pie with dried potato flakes. It is very filling!
Also shepherd's / cottage / fish pie.
@sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty
I’ve been shredding and sautéing generous portions of cabbage to extend Asian noodle dishes and soups.
Haven’t tried dehydrating cabbage yet to keep some on the shelf....
@TXHolly @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty cabbage, potatoes, rice and noodles are all good extenders.
@sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Yes, much is looking dire right now and may go to the worst, yet much is fixable once the 'elites' are stripped from thinking they can dictate power.
Recipes for Golden Syrup & Dark Treacle (tip: use in place of corn syrup in pecan pies and pumpkin pies)
@sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
So my bestest is coming in on the 19th to stay with me through Xmas. She is a Brit.
Is it too late to make a mincemeat pie? Does your recipe have beef in it or just suet?
I know it's too late for pudding.
@MMA @sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Why is it too late?
@StephanieAnneLR @MMA @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly MMA, mincemeat is like a lot of things, it needs to mature. The batch we made today is for next year and subsequent years.
Your local store will have Nonesuch brand. It's quite good!
My recipe is technically vegan, because it's designed for hot water bath processing. Apart from the suet I rendered myself, the commercial ones are cut with wheat which is a Bad Thing for my allergies. You can substitute butter.
@StephanieAnneLR @sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Pudding has to rest for quite a bit. It needs to be started long before Xmas.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/traditional-christmas-pudding-recipe-435070
@MMA @StephanieAnneLR @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
We make our Christmas pudding on the first Sunday of Advent, which is the Sunday that follows Thanksgiving. Our Christmas pudding is in the basement, well wrapped in plastic wrap, ready for the day.
@MMA @sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
I must try this some time. Do you have a good recipe MMA?
@sjc @StephanieAnneLR @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
That's the ticket.
It sounds great. I am not sure where to find suet though.
@MMA @StephanieAnneLR @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Some fancy stores sell tallow which is similar, or you can substitute butter.
@Bleukitty @sjc @StephanieAnneLR @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @TXHolly
I have never seen it there. Do I ask the butcher?
Or somebody that works there, I know I've seen it. Typically near the meats.
@MMA @Bleukitty @StephanieAnneLR @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @TXHolly if you have a good butcher they could probably supply you the raw suet which you may not want to mess with. If you have a fancy grocery like Whole Foods or Sprouts they will probably have jars of beef tallow.
Or use butter
@sjc @MMA @Bleukitty @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @TXHolly
I'll do butta!
@StephanieAnneLR @MMA @Bleukitty @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @TXHolly butter makes it better!
@sjc @StephanieAnneLR @MMA @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @TXHolly
Butter is the bestest!
Suet
soo͞′ĭt
noun
The hard fatty tissues around the kidneys of cattle and sheep, used in cooking and for making tallow.
The fat and fatty tissues of an animal, especially the harder fat about the kidneys and loins in beef and mutton, which, when melted and freed from the membranes, forms tallow.
Just get Tallow. You'll find it near the cooking oils.
@Bleukitty @sjc @StephanieAnneLR @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @TXHolly
@MMA @sjc @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
This may hael and this,
https://youtu.be/HaXon-Y5AWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22TtC0_Mhmg
I can't remember where what you're asking is at the minute mark, but fun to watch the whole thing anyway.
@cully45 @MMA @Blackbirdearth @NancyFancyPants @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly have a look at the Heston Blumenthal video on puddings on YouTube. You will Shudder (significant capitalisation)
@sjc @CONSERVATARIAN @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Yes, God rest her soul, about a month and a half ago.
@CONSERVATARIAN @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
end of last year I was hit by arthritis so bad I nearly fell down the stairs at church. After several weeks of physio I am in a much better, and more stable, place. This is what's allowing me to do more food processing.
@sjc
for your continued improvement. @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly
@CONSERVATARIAN @DrFell @MMA @Bleukitty @TXHolly thank you kindly
Another that will be missed.
@sjc @Blackbirdearth @DrFell @Bleukitty @TXHolly
Nobody should use corn syrup!
It is horrible for you.
I agree that golden syrup or cane syrup is much better.
@sjc #SJCRecipeBox #FARecipesIndex
Basic British Flapjacks (dessert, often for a packed lunch)
Quoth @sjc: They’re also awesome as a snack with a nice cuppa tea or coffee. Don’t have them with hot chocolate, it can get a bit overwhelming.
@sjc #SJCRecipeBox #FARecipesIndex
Hoover Stew (renamed Brandon Stew due to inflation)
@sjc #SJCRecipeBox #FARecipesIndex
Rice Pudding