“I live in constant terror that someone around me might be even a little bit peckish” said Nigella Lawson once, and honestly, she gets me. My Notes app is full of recipes that look good, my counters with food experiments, and my thoughts are occupied by yumminess I remember and want to have again.
It’s very hard for me to start being health-conscious vs cravings-led, but people have started to confuse me for an adult a lot recently (only because of my age! So unfair!). That tells me I need to walk right past the trendy Dubai Chocolate and the Crumbl Cookies dupes, and into the high protein/high fibre section of the popular food scene.
Cucumber salad
The concept of Girl Dinner or as we call it in the UK, picky bits, sparked a lot of viral content.
From egg flights (a way of eating a lot of exotic-combo devilled eggs I’m absolutely on bord with) to tinned fish date night, people have been making themed plates of various yummy nibbles and moving away from the concept of cooked mains and side dishes.
And absolutely nothing has captured the public forums as much as Logan Moffitt’s intro, “Sometimes, you need to eat an entire cucumber”:
His recipes always start with slicing the aforementioned entire cucumber into a container with a lid that can be shaken (not stirred). And then, the combinations are legion: tzatziki style, cream cheese and smoked salmon with red onions, sprinkled with furikake (Mr Mod R actually licked the plate), peanut cucumber salad, chilly crisp salad… There is almost nothing you can’t add to a sliced cucumber, shake well, and Bob’s your oyster.
My favourite involves soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, kimchi (or just gochujang), MSG, vinegar. Heavy is the hand that adds the garlic in this house, but as always with aromatics, you do what works for you.
As Icarus before us, we sometimes fly too close to the sun, and discover the combinations are not exactly unlimited. Peanut butter and jelly (jam) cucumber salad? Let’s not.
Cottage cheese cheesecake
The world went a bit wild with cottage cheese, because hello, affordable high protein source! Everything was made out of it at some point, from cottage cheese sandwich wraps, to cottage cookie dough and cottage cheese pizza bowls.
This is the only recipe that stuck with me, works every time, and is so delicious my lactose will just have to be tolerated.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 120 grams of cottage cheese (that’s a cup in freedom units)
- 1 scoop of protein powder that you like (30 grams for most brands)- I always go with vanilla, they just seem to have figured out the taste of it better
- 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt, in a complementary flavour (depending on how dry my cottage cheese is, or whether I’ve used low-fat, sometimes I add a bit more)
This is the base recipe. You can blend it and bake it just as is in a 160 C degree oven for about 20 minutes and get something ok. But as with life, if you want happiness, you can start adding the good stuff in: a teaspoon of vanilla or other extracts (coconut was amazing!); grated lemon zest, my favourite; top it with berries, nuts, chocolate chips; add maple syrup, honey, other sweeteners if you like things very sweet. The cheesecake sky is the limit.
This makes two servings (one for me now, one for me later) and has so much protein if I’m not careful I could turn into Lord Swoledemort! My horcruxes would all be Christmas fruit cakes, no one touches those.
My ongoing recipe experiment: I made my own pickled pineapple spears. I’m from Transylvania, we pickle everything that stands still long enough, but I’ve only seen this from the US and never would have thought about it on my own. I used the brine recipe my family uses for zucchini pickles: 30 grams of salt and a tablespoon of honey per litre of water, 1 horseradish, 2 bay leaves, peppercorns and mustard seeds to taste. If it doesn’t work, I’ll try the green tomatoes brine next.
Next food adventures: Find/make ooey Gooey St Louis butter cake – either original yeasty version or cake mix version, probably both. Apparently, it’s life changing. Maybe if I eat it, I go to the next level? I could sure use some of that.
What have you been nibbling on lately? And did you know you can do it whilst listening to the Magic Rises Graphic Audio adaptation released today?
ModR – thanks so much! My husband is dealing with IBS so this is timely and helpful! I love your ideas.
Hooray food conversation! I just canned 1 million jars of tomatoes last night. I love listening to books on tape while I’m doing this kind of work. Next project, black garlic fermented sauerkraut, Yum!
Black garlic fermented sauerkraut?
Recipe please!
I just do a regular sauerkraut ferment and add black garlic from Aldi. This is a great website if you haven’t fermented on purpose before: https://www.seriouseats.com/homemade-fermented-sauerkraut-recipe
Thank you so much!
The website makes it sound so simple, I’m excited to try it on my day off!
Kale. I’m eating a lot of raw leafy green vegetables. Just had a heads up that I have indications of macular degeneration. Apparently greens are the answer. Dressings I find are the key to palatability. That and fine chopping. My favourite dressing is a mixture of sunflower oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and chilli
It’s amazing that Kale PR was so big in 2004, but it took at least a decade later for us to find out about massaging it first!
Cucumbers. So many cucumbers this summer. And so many cherry tomatoes I can’t keep up and have resorted to freezing them.
Confit Tomatoes are great and preserved. Also recommend picking green ones and pickling, they’re perfect for winter salads and you can get ahead of the production curve. Tomato pie also uses a lot!
have you ever tried pickling the green cherry tomatoes? halved or quarters. they are so amazing.
pickled tomatoes rock, they are a great way to use green tomatoes that fall off or get picked with ripe ones, or what to do with the last tomatoes at end of season.
really easy too. for brine I use 2 tablespoons of salt/ quart ( i find the standard recipe of 4 TB’s too much), 2 tablespoons of mixed pickling spice and cloves of garlic from a head of garlic. pack tomatoes into a gallon jar or crock,add brine solution and spices, and I usually add black tea leaves from a tea bag ( helps keep them crisp, there is also a commercial.product you can find in the canning section ).
make sure tomatoess are covered. takes about 3 or 4 days to ferment, but sampling is the fun part.
When she was alive my Mum used to make pickles from cucumbers and red hots candies. They were very similar in taste and texture to apples. And were really great for making a table look really festive. Unfortunately I can no longer eat them. I have a very bad reaction to anything that is hot or spicy. (My throat seizes closed and I can’t breathe.) There is appearantly some long name for it that I can never remember. But these pickles are one of the things that I really miss. Them and good Cajun and Tex-Mex food. I have looked online and there are several places that have the recipe listed.
I’m mesmerized by the cucumber recipe. As a time crunched lady who’s watching her girlish figure (I can’t figure out what the hell it’s doing, but I’m watching), this seems like a guilt free binge that I can get on board with.
I’m also fascinated by the idea of pickled pineapple spears. I have soooo many questions: Is it hard to do? Do you have to bring the water up to a boil? Do you have to let it cool before you add the honey & other ingredients? How long do you have to wait for it to be ready to eat? Or simply put: More details are needed, will you please please please share your easiest pickling recipe?
So disclaimer that I’m still waiting for them, I haven’t tasted yet to know whether they’re good: but it’s not hard at all!
Peel your pineapple, remove the woody core, and cut it into spears.
In a sterilized jar, put the bay leaves, peppercorns and mustard seeds at the bottom. Place in your pineapple spears vertically, and the horseradish stick (I don’t grate it, just peel and leave it whole, it will still do its thing).
Boil the water with the salt and honey (you can also add vinegar here, but I figured pineapples already had their own acidity, so skipped this time) and pour over.
Should be ready after 2-4 days!
Thank you so much! Mod R, you’re the best!
Pineapple kimchi is also very nice. This recipe from Deuki Hong (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pineapple-kimchi-3613763) is especially beloved.
Speaking as someone who is transplanted to Saint Louis (StL) gooey butter can be done in a lot of ways. There’s a food Truck who combines it with a brownie that is mind blowing. I like it in a bar. Like a lemon bar, but not citrus sweet more butter sweet like a caramel or a butterscotch. I have no kitchen skills, or I’d give you a recipe!
Oooooh, now there’s a third option to try!
I’m a transplant to STL as well, although I moved here as a kid and consider it where I’m from/home. Gooey Butter Cake is such an interesting dessert, so many variations! And almost every local cafe, coffee shop, restaurant, etc. has a version (or several). But I haven’t had a chance to try the food truck, in fact I didn’t know it existed! Please Lisa, tell me the name so I can give its versions a try as well. 😉
I always hated cottage cheese thought it was disgusting.
Until recently I find that it is actually good and I like it even better blended. I haven’t tasted the cheesecake yet even though I have been eyeing that one but the cottage cheese brownie are so good and the queso I make with it is also delicious.
It can really depend on the brand you try. Some brands are actually tasteless and terrible. The ones with a good tang are the best IMO. I usually get Nancy’s brand now because I tried it after my usual was out at the store… now I can’t go back.
When I was growing up big curd was an option. I preferred that to the small curd. Unfortunately, I hardly ever find the big curd sold anymore.
Same! What happened to the big curd cottage cheese? I loved it!
my dad thought cottage chese should be served sweet and I hated it. Cottage cheese stirred in to sautéed mushrooms and sausage meat was yummy. Even more so if put in pasta shells, covered in tomato sauce, topped with mozzarella and baked. And my kids eat it with Frito Scoops.
I look for the 4% milkfat small curd cottage cheese. Large curds are okay for eating with Scoops but don’t pack nicely into the pasta shells.
Adding large curd cottage cheese and Fritos scoops to shopping list..I like using the scoops wit a crab salad too. spicy or not it is so good.
Cottage cheese is a great base for a lot of things. and easy protein.
You can also use the cottage cheese in lasagna. Just make sure to drain it so the lasagna isn’t soggy. Great alternative to ricotta cheese.
When I could eat cottage cheese, my favorite way was with diced ripe tomatoes stirred in. V8 would substitute in a pinch but good ripe tomatoes in cottage cheese is pure heaven. Celery salt on cottage cheese, plain or with tomatoes, was another family favorite.
I fell down the cottage cheese trend toward the tail end of it. I found the cheesecake recipes too salty but I have found cottage cheese/Greek style yogurt bagels are my go to. Most of the recipes is just add flour and baking powder to cottage cheese or plain Greek style yogurt. If using plain yogurt, add a pinch of salt. Form a dough snake and shape into bagel shape. I prefer everything bagel seasoning or sesame because you just have to dip bagel shapes in them, but you can also fold some cheese and microwaved green onion to dough. Bake for about 350f to 400f in air fryer or toaster oven for about 15minor until bottoms are golden brown. No proofing needed. Some recipes says egg or milk wash are good additions but I find none also works.
The result is not going to be a NY or Montreal style bagel but it does satisfy my bread cravings if I don’t want to go out to buy bagels. Plus it is higher protein.
I tried pickled okra spears (bought not made as I’m all thumbs in the kitchen) and they were delicious – especially the spicy ones!
I’ve had gooey cake and it is delicious but, fortunately for me, too sweet to eat more than a small serving.
I’m listening to the GA MR right now while having coffee! Love it!!
There is a london restaurant that makes an okra martini
It’s basically a dirty martini but made with okra brine instead of olive brine and is the best martini I’ve ever had.
I want to like Martinis so much! And Negronis. They look so good and swishy, they taste so yucky to me 😀
The one time I met King Charles (which funnily enough was back in Transylvania, not in the UK) he told us his Martini joke: you should always have the trappings of making a Martini on you when you go on a flight. In case the plane crashes and you’re the lone survivor on a deserted island, all it takes is for you to start making the Martini and someone is sure to show up to tell you you’re doing it wrong.
negronis taste like fruity ashtrays to me. Blurgh.
You asked, “What have you been nibbling on?”, Since it’s been too hot to eat anything besides sandwiches & sliced fruit, my daughter and I are having fun brewing exotic iced tea flavors. We make chocolate mint tea from our garden, rose petal tea, hibiscus with raspberry, mango passion fruit… today we’re going to try the vanilla fig tea we got from a neighbor. The scents and colors are vibrant making it a lovely way to cool down on these high humidity days.
Damn, that sounds good.
Can confirm – Gooey Butter cake is amazing! I have a friend from St. Louis who makes it occasionally.
Logan’s cucumbers are also very good. I made a kimchi one for my hubby the other day that he is in love with- I like the everything bagel one best so far.
Made pasta sauce yesterday. I love a good red sauce, it can be SO simple or you can be like me and pack as many veggies as possible into it. I’ll freeze it and use through the next year.
ooey gooey butter cake is dangerous
Because we are stuck at work the day before a three day weekend, we decided to have Fruit Salad, Banana Burritos and rhubarb upside down cake to help us get through the work day.
Let’s go back to that Banana Burrito you mention…I need to know more!
+1
re: Dubai Bar
I work at a candy store and it’s my understanding that the bar maker doesn’t (or didn’t?) ship the bar outside of Dubai. There are now a couple of professionally made knockoffs, so no need to dirty your kitchen if you don’t want to. Mod R certainly delete the link if not allowed, but https://ca.shopatshowcase.com/products/oasis-treasures-knafeh-pistachio-dubai-chocolate-bar-order-online-free-shipping-or-shop-in-store is the one I’ve tried. It’s not oozy like the photo lol. it’s quite crunchy which is nice,but the chocolate is a bit sweet for my taste. I think it would be Amazing with dark chocolate instead of milk.
as for cucumber salad, Yes, Yes, Yes. Smashed cucumber salad is the best.
I had knafeh only in the form of kataifi cake as a child- with loads of syrup, like a baklava, and whipped cream on top. Could take it or leave it, really. But I’m a slut for anything pistachio and I’m soooooooo tempted!
oh! That! Sorted did a version https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eW2043CqhKU&pp=ygUZc29ydGVkIHRpa3RvayBmb29kIHRyZW5kcw%3D%3D. and that pasta is actually in the freezer section of one of our local grocery stores.
But not the pistachio cream. Nor hazelnuts which I want for the 4 ingredient “Nutella” (hazelnuts, frozen strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.)
That cucumber recipe sounds a lot like the one I make (based on my memory of how my mom used to make it). I peel and seed the cukes, though, and cut them into 2 inch logs. Sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar. Diced or shredded carrots if I am feeling fancy. It’s like the essence of summer to me, I have a container full of it in my fridge right now. 4 cukes will last me a week or so, and they only get tastier as the week goes on and they absorb more of the yumminess.
So more like a cucumber kimchi? That one is much better!
This doesn’t really sit and pickle at all, you eat it and it has that fresh cucumber watery crunch. The one that is deseeded and preserved for a week has a lot more complexity and the pickled crispiness.
“that’s a cup in freedom units”
Freedom units! I love that.
The question is, can you do all of that with zucchini? The comics are starting the annual “what to do with all this zucchini” stories, including the midnight anti-raid of dropping off a bag at the neighbors. (It’s not a raid if you drop OFF stuff, right?)
That was a Garrison Keillor/Lake Woebegon essay many, many years ago. There’s a lot more to it, and it was hilarious. I haven’t resorted to leaving them unannounced yet, but I’m running out of neighbors who haven’t gotten any from me. And it’s eggplant and green beans too. What the heck was I thinking to plant the whole packet of beans? I’m blanching and freezing them in quantity every other day.
I recently saw the midnight unraid/non-raid in the comic titled, ironically, “Pickles”. Except the neighbor caught them and told them they couldn’t leave their zucchini.
My brother gardens and has made a similar comment about beans and okra. Actually, it might have been about how tall the okra plant got. Can’t remember, but I think he mentioned having a lot of okra.
Split them in half, scoop out the seeds, and treat it like a bell pepper to be stuffed and baked.
Or chocolate zucchini bread/muffins.
I made pulled pork last weekend. I’ve been experimenting with different barbecue sauces to see which combinations I like. So far, the best one to me is mixing sweet and sticky sauce with original barbecue sauce. I use Head Country barbecue sauce. I am not sure if it’s available across the U. S. or not. I know you can buy it in the DFW area and in Oklahoma (where the company is located).
As for gooey butter cake, as someone originally from the St. Louis area, everyone’s cake will be a little different. However, it’s sooooo goooood.
Another two St. Louis specialties I miss are fried ravioli and Imo’s pizza. I know I can get the frozen fried ravioli in the DFW area, but it’s not the same. Imo’s pizza uses a cheese that’s not found outside the St. Louis area. It’s tangy, delicious, and the chees pulls are plentiful. Yum!
*cheese.
Yes, to all the St. Louis things.
Grew up eating gooey butter cake in St. Louis in the 1970’s, and didn’t know it was a St. Louis thing, just thought it was a 1970’s thing. All my aunts and both grandmothers made it at least once a week.
Fried Ravioli, oh my god. There used to be a place on Dunn Road in Florissant that had the BEST fried ravioli, even better than anything you could find on The Hill.
We moved to LA in the early 90’s and every time family would come visit they would ask if they could bring anything. My husband and I always said the only thing we wanted was Imo’s Pizza. So we had family-delivered Imo’s out to LA about four times a year for all the time we lived there.
I went up to St. Louis a few years ago to see what all changes, if any, occurred. I pigged out on Imo’s pizza. I also got fried ravioli at one of the Italian restaurants I went to in south St Louis.
I remember that restaurant in Florissant. Never went up there since it was over an hour long trip from where I lived.
I’m tempted to take another road trip up there just for the pizza and ravioli. 😁😂
I went home to STL for Thanksgiving one year, and my carry-on going home was an XL Imo’s pizza. I had almost 50 people come up to me and ask if there was an Imo’s in the airport.
I have a good gooey butter cake recipe, its the cake mix style. It’s really sweet, like you can only eat so much and then you need a break.
I bet carrying that pizza through the airport took some ingenuity. 😂😂😂😂😂
Yes! And Pratzel’s bakery!
Yes! And Pratzel’s Bakery.
You can buy IMO’s cheese online (look for Provel), or mix together Swiss, cheddar and provolone to “sort of” approximate it.
Also country ham (salt cured and sometimes smoked ham), though that’s more Missouri than St. Louis. This can be a bit of an acquired taste.
My family also made gooey cake, usually lemon. After my mother decided she was tired of channeling Betty Crocker, we switched to a graham cracker crust and never looked back.
I tried that alternative cheese mix since provel cheese is only from St. Louis. I didn’t like the alternative mix. It just didn’t taste right to me.
Ted Drew’s during the summer was a great way to cool down. I use to go to there (not the original store) when I was in school.
We would get a group together and drive all the way to the Grand Ave. Ted Drewes even though it was about 45 minutes away, eat our concretes and hang out, then drive home. It could take a whole evening.
Dating myself somewhat: Famous Barr French onion soup
We did the whole cucumber thing! Lol with avocado, smoked salmon, chives… it was amazing!
Incidentally.. back in the day I tried one of nigella’s recipes that had you do something to the food with nylons… panty hose. I can’t remember what it was anymore but it was the one time she led me astray bc it didn’t work — the tasted like the nylons… 😂
😀 Oh my! I had to search, maybe the pasta e fagioli recipe that wants a condiment bag made out of an old popsock? https://www.nigella.com/ask/bag-for-herbs I’d stick with muslin hahahaha
Omg! Yes that was it. I’m sure I used whatever was on hand. 😂 stick with muslin. Good advice 😂
I love Gooey Butter. delicious but very sugary sweet.
Mod R
Was the St Louis butter cake a life to get the Americans to the Oasis Appreciation site?! 😂
I’m week 5 into a kitchen Reno so my next food experiment will be anything that doesn’t involve my air fryer or toaster 😂
As a fellow foodie. I note that you did not mention Flavored balsamic vinegars. I have a bit if an obsession with them. Great way to round out and develop depth of flavor. Would be great in your hi protein cheesecake
The cheesecake topped with fresh raspberries and a drizzle of balsamic glaze? Omg, heaven!
In our family, mother’s side, we make ‘bagna càuda’, that we pronounce as bun-ya-call-d-a: comprised of butter, garlic cloves, anchovies (Whole, Never paste!), and oil. Usually, a entire stick of butter is melted with some oil, the garlic cloves are made golden within that, removed so as to not burn them, then the anchovies are added to the seasoned. melted butter, stirred until they melt into the mixture; then the dip is ready for eating.
Aside from the stick of butter, amounts can vary to who’s making it- often a head of garlic, 1 or 2 cans of anchovies, a tablespoon of oil. Depending on if my husband is in the house, it might have to be 2 heads of garlic, as he will take the garlic before it reaches ‘Golden’. Our family has dipped vegetables and bread, but have read that some will also do cooked meat pieces.
I made and brought this to a Friend gathering and wouldn’t tell anyone what was in it, as there were some whiners that ‘hate’ anchovies…! After more than 1/2 was eaten, it was revealed that the ‘detested’ Fish was the main component, that wasn’t identifiable, but my then-boyfriend kept snickering while his friends raved about the dip, until they knew. If you make a big batch it will keep in the ‘frig for a while, months if a lid is on the container, if not consumed at the single sitting. -had to change my e-mail address
Lactaid makes cottage cheese as do a few other lactose free brands. Green Valley is good for that and sour cream.
+1
“picky bits”! LORD SWOLDEMORT!!
Mod R, you’re on fire today!!
“Shall we just have picky bits?” is just what we say in the UK when we don’t feel like making dinner hehe 😀
I love this so much.
Currently obsessed with Succotash after not having cooked it in probably two decades. Have been fiddling with recipes all summer until I got it just the way my family likes. Will likely eat it every week until the corn is not in season anymore. So easy and I seem to be craving it this summer.
I’ve figured out a way to make a four ingredient, single serving of dark chocolate in the microwave. This was necessary because if I get store-bought, I eat way too much, plus it usually contains contraindicated ingredients. The single serving takes a total of 40 seconds in the wave, but five minutes total prep what with stirring between ingredients etc. So it’s not practical to make any unnecessary second servings, thereby removing another temptation. It could be made stove-top if it weren’t so hot right now, but that would increase the temptation for additional servings.
Other than that, I’ve been nibbling on the usual popcorn and carrots with chunky peanut butter, plus the current garden bounty of gold cherry tomatoes, purple green beans, Asian eggplant, and good old zucchini.
Could you share the recipe/instructions for the dark chocolate, pretty please?🙏 🙏🙏
Thanks!
Gah, I do it by eye. Off the top of my head, it’s about a teaspoon of butter, a teaspoon of oat milk, a heaping teaspoon of dark brown sugar, and a heaping teaspoon of cocoa powder. Put another way, equal volumes of butter and oat milk, and double those volumes of brown sugar and cocoa powder. I use the oat milk because other milks give me various issues, but you could absolutely substitute one of your choice. You could use a different sugar as well; dark brown is just what I have on hand.
In my small but freakishly powerful microwave, I nuke the room-temp butter in a Pyrex custard cup for 20 seconds. Swirl to even the temp. Add the oat milk and swirl again, nuke for 10 seconds, swirl to even the temp. Add the brown sugar, swirl to combine with the butter/oat milk mixture until smooth, nuke for 10 seconds. Add the cocoa, stir until silky. You can adjust the texture as necessary with a little more oat milk or cocoa powder.
You may need to adjust the times for your microwave, especially if your butter is straight out of the fridge, or if you substitute ingredients. What you want is for it to just start foaming; stop the microwave each time as soon as it does, before your ingredients go all over the place. Cool to room temp before eating, right out of the custard cup.
Thank you very much! I used allulose for my sweetener and it worked out great. I can see the benefits of individual portions to keep me from going too wild. I really appreciate the instructions.
So glad you enjoyed it!
My son has a grass allergy and would get violently ill every visit to a park ; our answer? Living room picnics. Tinned sardines, cheeses, grapes, crackers, pepperoni sticks, whatever we had in the cabinet or could find at the farmers market. Almost 30 years later we still lay a blanket on the floor and nosh on days we just don’t want to cook.
Experimenting with a blackberry/vodka infusion, still in the infusing stage.
Almond bars made with almond paste, NOT extract, are a go to.
Enjoy whatever calls you!
I used to make a cake with Milky Way bars those was awesome, but alas, the amount of sugar is just too much these days.
PS, I like that Cucumber guy’s t-shirt -^..^-
lol. freedom units…. I’m going to use that at work. just adding it to my daily Andrews catchphrases. I am constantly having to convert between metric and imperial and this makes my day 🙁
Ooey gooey cake IS life changing and will take you to the next level. When I go off the health food wagon that is one of my faves. Don’t know if you get Jeny’s ice cream in the UK but if you do try their ooey gooey cake flavor, love it!
I used to live in Saint Louis and Gooey Butter cake is amazing. It’s good I moved or I would probably weigh 300 pounds. And now I want something sweet … 🤣
I sometimes need carbs (migraines) but want some sort of nutritional benefit. macaroni and cottage cheese with ground black pepper is a really quick and easy dish that helps me feel full and gives my brain the carbs it needs.
My latest nibble is mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, basil, and balsamic vinegar on a tomato and basil rice cake.
Burrata cheese-experimenting with.
Miso, garlic, and green onion marinade- trying out on chicken. Got to play with the measurements more, but very delicious.
Oooo. The St. Louis style ooey gooey butter cake is soooooo good. And so many flavors. I like orginal and chocolate chip.
There is a cucumber recipe that I want to try. Now I can’t remember her name. She uses a lot of Asian inspired and chop sticks.
Anyways. Good luck on your snacking
I eat a lot of throw-together soup. I start with bone broth (chicken for my personal preference) and add some of whatever I might have in the cupboard in the way of dehydrated veggies (which is usually a fair amount) and frequently noodles of some variation (ramen, mostly, at the moment). I usually add one or another of the variations on soy sauce I have – sometimes harissa.
Always edible, sometimes downright delicious.
I usually *try* to eat properly so I can be ridiculous on those few occasions I have dessert. The next time it’s cool enough to risk turning on my oven I’ll make machurros again (https://kevinhearne.com/machurros/). I can confirm they’re delicious but the ingredients may cause some raised eyebrows on the other side of the pond, given that many of them are kind of “food adjacent.” 😆
Has anyone purchased a $10 streaming membership to Dragon Con? Where the author lords are? Just saying. 😶
I’m about to try to make lemon white chocolate truffles for the first time. The recipe looks oh so easy so hopefully I won’t mess it up. I made a sort of chocolate truffles last spring. It involved melting dark chocolate and then whipping it over an ice bath. I whipped it too long and had to use a 1 inch cookie scoop to turn it into balls, then I rolled them in cocoa powder and froze them. It was supposed to have a mousse-like texture. Oh well. Company is coming so I’m cleaning like crazy and the lemon truffles don’t use an oven! It is still hot here. I had planned to make a simple coffee cake, baking I’m familiar with. Candy making- not so much.
There’s an easy way to make chocolate truffles. Choose whatever chocolate you like. If you choose a chocolate bar, chop up the chocolate. If you use chocolate chips, you don’t have to do any chopping. Put the chocolate in a bowl. Then heat up heavy cream in the microwave or on the stove in a pot. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Wait a few minutes to let the chocolate melt. Start whisking the cream and chocolate. Add whatever flavor you like. Continue whisking until the mixture looks shiny and smooth.
Refrigerate until hard. That might be a few hours. Use a small ice cream scoop or a spoon to scoop out the truffles. If the mixture is too hard, leave the mixture out to soften it out. Roll the truffles is cocoa, melted chocolate, or no coating.
Thank-You! The white chocolate lemon truffle recipe is close to yours. It has a cup of chips, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into bits, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and the zest of 2 lemons. ( less than a tablespoon) Combine in a bowl and set aside. Heat 1/4 cup heavy cream until bubbles form and pour over the other ingredients. Stir until smooth, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Scoop out truffles and finish with white chocolate coating, powdered sugar or whatever you want. You could probably leave out the lemon and use other flavors. The ones I made came out all right. They are very rich and quite sweet. I think I like dark chocolate better.
The cottage cheese recipe we swear by is cottage cheese pancakes: 2 eggs, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp vanilla and I add 1/2 cup almond milk. If you let it set 10 minutes and allow the oatmeal to absorb the almond milk, you get thicker, fluffier pancakes. I fry them up on a ceramic crepe pan and serve with peanut butter and a fruit compote. We have this every Saturday, and since they freeze well, I do four weeks worth at once!
I also make turnip hash. I’m not a turnip fan but I’m getting there. At this point, I prefer turnip hash to potato hash. I dice turnips, radishes, onion, mushrooms, and bell pepper. Hot peppers work, too. I cook it in a healthy drizzle of olive oil and salt to taste until it’s soft and lightly seared. Then, I add chopped ham or pork sausage and tomatoes. After a couple minutes, I plate, top with shredded cheese and an over easy egg. It’s a self- saucing hash. Again, the chopped ingredients freeze well so I generally do for weeks worth at a time.
And, since breakfast is my favorite meal, I also make no-bake cookie inspired oatmeal. Just add a little almond milk, peanut butter, a few Lily’s chocolate chips, nuts of choice, and diced banana to oatmeal and stir.
Healthy food can be crave-worthy.
“This makes two servings (one for me now, one for me later)” ~ my new life mantra.
😅 It’s how I would always divide thing when I was a kid. Things haven’t changed much hehe
Summertime calls for lots of fruit cobblers, vine ripe tomatoes and cucumbers on sourdough. Tomatoes in any form-salsas, caprese salads, or just handfuls of fresh grape tomatoes. Peaches. Plums. You get my drift. Love summer fresh stuff.
My favorite snack. Good salsa over cream cheese and tortilla chips.
I miss food… I was diagnosed with alpha gal – allergy from ticks – which means no mammal protein or by products like dairy. It also eliminated red seaweed (it’s in about everything) because it has the same sugar molecule that causes the alpha gal reaction to meats.
Then allergy testing found 40+ additional allergies including wheat, corn, eggs, garlic, onion, tomato, sesame, peanuts, tree nuts, shrimp, seafood, oats, squash, nectarines, avocado, chocolate, carrots, and the list goes on and on and on and on. Some days just thinking about trying to cook safe food just makes me cry. All eating out at restaurants or otherwise is out of the question due to all the different restrictions. Even vegan isn’t safe for me between the red seaweed, wheat, and corn allergies it eliminates all the vegan “meat” and pre made options.
I’m waiting on an allergy specialist appointment now to see if I have developed MCAS – Mass Cell Activation Syndrome. If so, even more foods will be restricted including frozen fish, fermented or pickled foods and all the high histamine fruits and vegetables.
I just really miss food….
You have my sympathy and wishes for a full recovery.
I totally get this, navigating multiple health conditions for the past three years, not including the food allergies I already had. At one point it was lean fish and greens. That was pretty much it. Now very cautiously adding things back to the diet, and occasionally having to backtrack for several days. Any kind of spice is still no-go.
At the beach with family, we went to a restaurant one night. I ate raw celery and carrots. No dips. There were literally no other gluten-free, spice free options anywhere on the menu. I hope you can get to a point where you can have at least an occasional serving of something reasonably good tasting at home. It definitely helps.
Oh, boy, I’m so sorry! My niece has Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, plus anaphylactic allergic reactions to corn (including anything made with corn starch or just having an ear of corn in the same room with her), fragrances, and too many other things to list them all.
“I miss food” is something she says, too.
That sucks. I have a bunch of allergies, garlic being by far the most severe. My husband doesn’t eat anything with a lot of garlic because if he does, for the next 3 days it comes out of his pores. You can see his fingerprints(in hives) if he touches me. Also, I recoil from across the room, just at the reek coming from his breath/skin. If you can smell garlic, I’d b getting hives on all exposed skin. It has become hard to go anywhere hot food is served. A recent trip to a previously safe restaurant w our party of 8 ended w my glass of ginger ale being the only safe thing in the place. They had added garlic fries and garlic something else to the menu. It was a burger place, which now has garlic all over their kitchen, making everything unsafe for me. Since everyone had long-since ordered, they ate dinner and I went for a walk in the zillion degree heat. My visiting brother was really sweet and offered to cook something for me when we got home.
Anyway, it sounds like you are at a tough stage. But hang in there! As you figure out what foods you can have, you will find ways to cook and combine them into some tasty and safe options. Sometimes, just adding a squeeze of lemon or cooking it a different way, can make your day. And I feel your pain at the chocolate restriction. No caffeine for me. And having to make all your own meals gets very tiresome. I didn’t appreciate being able to just buy a jar of sauce. We now make a big batch of tomato sauce and freeze it in smaller portions. Once you figure out a couple things that work for you, it will start to make life just a bit easier. Hopefully you will have answers soon, and things will start improving. Sending (hugs) your way.
For ppl in the Northeastern US with food allergies, I recommend 110 Grill restaurant. They do an amazing job with food allergies- and one opened 10 minutes from my house. I can have things there that I haven’t found safe in many years. And they can b trusted to tell you if something would not b safe. Mod R, if naming the restaurant isn’t ok, pls just delete this paragraph. Thanks!
Also if you’re anywhere with a Jose Andres restaurant, like Jaleo in DC, you can ask for an allergy menu – there’s a separate one that divides the menu up by ingredients. They make sure to have gluten free and dairy free options at least, and are super accommodating about allergies in general. It would be really nice if more restaurants would get the memo.
My current dessert obsession is custard cookie cups. It’s basically a sugar cookie that you bake until it’s almost “set” inside a cupcake pan and then you push it down with a cup (I use a medicine cup that comes on my children’s medications lol). Fill it with custard and you’re good to go. I’ve made the base recipe, which is vanilla cookie and vanilla custard, vanilla cookie and chocolate custard, and I’ve now branched out into chocolate sugar cookie with vanilla or chocolate custard. My newest variation will be chocolate cookie with raspberry custard. I’m trying that one this weekend and hopes it turns out well because they’re super easy to make, if time consuming, and I can make like 72 if I use mini cupcake pans so they work great for work functions and potlucks. Not exactly health conscious though 😆
oh really yummy!!!
I eat extremely healthy. Boring healthy. Mostly raw, mostly vegetarian, all organic.
But when I want a treat, I want real chocolate, real sugar, real flour and lots of them all. Ditto bread. I believe butter is a superfood.
Life is too short for rigidity, so keep up the notes, Mod R! I love when people share their fave indulgences. Mine, currently, is Kouign-amann. YUM. Luckily for my budget (and waist), I can’t even get it unless I travel close to 300 miles.
😀 My yogi SIL says, “Yes, I’m theoretically vegan. But I’m not giving up butter.”
“One for me now, one for me later. “ I’m dying here ModR. And you might also be tempting me to cook (even though I would describe myself as an “avid non-cooker” – although I’m a pretty decent cook).
Ok so recently I am ALL about the lemon pasta! But I try to minimize low nutrition density foods and know pasta- even the really good kind- with parm cheese and tons of lemon juice and zest and butter and more cheese is delish but not nutrish! After about a year of experimenting I have settled on adding to the boiling pasta when there is 3 or 4 minutes left a bunch of finely sliced yellow onions, a bunch of thinly sliced cabbage, celery and mukimame . If I have it after mixing the pasta with the yums to make the sauce and taken off the warm cooktop I fold in some raw spinach . I also love a side of roasted grape or cherry tomatoes.
It is so good – I also replaced the butter with a little homemade chicken “demi-glace.” I really like lemon so I usually at least double the juice and zest in the standard recipes. I make about a half pound of pasta with about 4-6 cups of veg. It is equally good leftover cold and that also lowers the glycemic load. I am pretty sure the recipe I started with was The Barefoot Contessa one .
My family is from Scorea so I understand pickling everything!
Earlier this summer we ate so many tomatoes confit, but right now I’m obsessed with “sushi cucumber” – cucumber, avocado, spicy ponzu and soy sauce. Perfect afternoon snack.
My go to snacky things for the ridiculous temperatures right now are a cup of cottage cheese tossed with either taco sauce or salsa and 4 crumbled ritz crackers. Or home made refrigerator pickled onions and cucumbers. 1-1 nice vinegar and sugar brought to a boil then poured over layered spices and salted and sliced cucumbers and peppers. (Spices =twist of mint and enough dill to look like seaweed) I eat it on everything but especially homemade toast with soft cheese spread.
Speaking of eating an entire cucumber-here in West Texas we use some magic powder called Tajin. A sliced cucumber with a squeeze of lime and a generous sprinkle of Tajin is pretty wonderful. Although spicy (or as we say picoso) a little hot!
Now that heat advisories are over in the Houston Metro area, fingers crossed, I can hopefully cook again. Right now I have a thing for tomato sandwiches. Thick sliced tomatos, preferable home grown, on bread of your choice with flavoring of your choice. I just add a bit of salt & pepper. It is so good.
I still remember my grandmother making cottage cheese on the back of the stove. It sat in a metal 8×8 square pan and once it was set, she would take a butter knife and cut it into small curds.
I haven’t tried making cottage cheese but do make my own quark (got that from Germany) and yogurt. I love messing around with the fermentation process.
Your stories about pickles made me think about my trip to England this year. I was at a pub in Hutton le Hole and was offered some piccally as a side to my sandwich. I asked what it was, and the bartender said he had no idea but it was good. And it was! Still couldn’t figure out what was in it, though, although there were definitely pickled items in there.
Maybe “piccalilli”? A traditional British mustard pickle, here’s one version https://culinaryginger.com/piccalilli-recipe/
That’s it! And thanks!