#and the veggies were just mushy and overcooked

[transmascsnearyou]

Yesterday I made a lasagna for a friend of mine because I wanted her to have a warm meal ready when she'd come back from her vacation (she came back around 1am think) and this woman has NOTHING in her kitchen!?!

She doesn't have salt, she doesn't have any herbs except for dried parsley, she only has one single pot and one pan. She's been living like that with her husband for more than 2 years. Not only is this woman always bragging about her cooking she's also a trained chef. The rest of her apartment is beautiful, spacious, incredibly decorated and they have like, a lot of money. Their kitchen is beautiful and they have so much space for everything and it's all empty.

I had to bring my dishes from home so I could cook this lasagna in her kitchen (she has like double the space compared to my kitchen)

[gruffmcgrimedog]

whats it like being able to hide your true thoughts and feelings. my mom asked my what I thought about her green beans 3 days ago and I said I didn't like them and I've been thinking about it ever since

[xscsv]

Day 1

I am in desperate need of a life overhaul. 

2020 Goals

1. Keep a diary of all daily activity; exercise, food (all aspects of it including cooking and nutrition as well as the amount I spend on it), and other personal developments. 

2. Join a gym. Exercise daily, including cardio and weights. Yoga a few times a week. Wake up at 5:30 and drive to the gym and get ready there. Keep track of what exercises I do every day and take progress pics weekly. 

3. Count all calories. With precision. 

4. Track and maintain a budget. 

5. Cook every night. Keep track of recipes and what I learned. Find humor in failure. 

6. Go for a hike every weekend day. 

7. Through yoga and meditation, develop sense of peace. 

8. Solidify career goals. Go to the studio once a week. 

I guess that’s enough for now. 

The truth is, I don’t think I can do any of this. Lately, I’m more tired every day. It’s cold and dreary outside, and I’m going through a breakup. I don’t want to get out of bed in the morning. My diet is a wreck and I’ve stopped exercising. 

COOKING: 

Today I diligently tried and failed to cook. It completely proved my point that cooking is useless because you end up spending almost as much money as you would have eating out, except it takes hours a day between the planning and shopping and actual cooking, and if you’re me, everything turns out inedible. 

This time it was an especially hilarious disaster. I intended to make a stir fry with beef, broccoli, snow peas, carrots, onions, mushrooms, green onions, ginger, garlic. I spent $11.66 total on these ingredients and spent my entire lunch break shopping for them. Because I fully do not know how to cook at all, I spent 30 minutes watching instructional videos. ALL of the videos were chinese-style stir fries with a wok, but was sure a cast iron would be adequate. It was horrible. I used strips of stir fry flank steak. All of the recipes I found required you to marinate the beef in a mixture of egg, corn starch, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. I thought it seemed pretty straightforward.. egg with soy sauce and all of that seemed to be a logical mixture and in the videos I watched, the steak immediately turned into a crispy golden brown with a little gloss to it after just a couple of minutes on the wok. It took about 10 minutes of prep between mincing the garlic and the ginger, and another 10 to cook it. I tried to heat up the cast iron as much as I could, but when I put the steak on, it didn’t sear at all, instead it turned into light brown mush, and the egg/cornstarch mixture immediately hardened and started to burn to the pan, and then the burned mixture was getting into the food, meanwhile the steak was somehow raw in some places and overcooked in others. It took way longer to cook than it was supposed to, and by the time it was cooked thoroughly, it was hard as a rock. The final product was inedible. Not only was the steak very overcooked, it was coated in light brown mushy goo with bits of uncooked garlic and ginger mixed in. I laughed and literally also cried, and threw it all in the trash. 

The veggies weren’t much better. First I tried to sautee the broccoli, but I didn’t have a good cooking oil so I used mostly water, which worked ok (but I wondered, was I supposed to put a flavoring in?) Then I added the carrots, and a minute later, mushrooms. That was fine, but then I added chopped onions ( I wondered, should I have done that first? or last?), and then the snow peas. The snow peas were a huge mistake.... I bought way too many of them, not realizing the total would be $3.99 (a third of the cost of the meal) and that they take forever to de-vein. It looked ridiculous to have so many of them in the pot, and they took longer to cook than I was expecting, and by the time they were edible the mushrooms were soggy. I cut my losses and turned the stove off. I thought I could make it better by adding a store bought teryaki sauce... big mistake, it was a gross flavor. Whatever. Since i needed a protein after the steak incident, I fried an egg and put it on top. Honestly, it totally fixed the problem and made an edible meal. Thank god for eggs. 

Lessons learned: 

-Buy a few nice cooking oils 

-Buy a wok 

-Use less corn starch 

-Buy snow peas in moderation because they take a long time to de-vein and they’re expensive 

-fried eggs should always be used as toppers 

----

INTAKE

I didn’t track calories today. It was a lighter food day for me. For breakfast I ate a ton of flatbread covered in cream cheese, which probably did have a bunch of calories. Then I had half an orange and half a cookie. But I barely ate lunch, and dinner was a bowl of veggies and an egg. 

----

EXERCISE

I meant to go to a yoga class after work but time got away from me. 

I haven’t been walking at all lately. People at work have been giving me shit for it. Today I was shocked when my fitbit buzzed to tell me I met my step goal (10,000, at 10pm). Not too long ago I was doing 15-20k religiously every day. It is such a viscous cycle though, because the less I move, the less I want to. I used to get up at 6am every morning and walk for 45 minutes. Now I hit snooze until 7:30 and have to crawl out of bed. I feel ashamed of myself. 

[woodelf68]

Being a "picky" eater is not fun. You feel like a burden to others, especially when you're younger and are reliant on others for your meals -- I can still hear the sigh in my mom's best friend's voice over the phone as she asked, having invited us over for dinner -- "what can I make that she will eat?" There have always been plenty of things that I would eat, even if I didn't truly like them -- and they have always been simple things. And mom's best friend liked doing fancy stuff. I can still remember the time the salad was not a normal mix of lettuce and other veggies, but had apples and nuts and other weird things in it. (Never mind that she had been repeatedly told that I hated nuts.) Instead of kid-friendly corn, she'd have crap like eggplant. Lasagna would have been fine except it was smothered with tomato sauce. I so assiduously removed every bit of tomato from everything I was served that contained it -- not an easy task -- that it wasn't until I was around 20 that I discovered that I was full-on allergic to it. In fact, when I underwent transdermal screening for chemical sensitivities, it was discovered that most of the foods that I couldn't stand to eat were ones that I either tested as allergic or sensitive to -- and yet I was forced to sit at the dinner table until it was time to wash up for bed because I couldn't force down that disgusting pile of rice (to name one thing) that might have landed me in the hospital had I done so. IF SOMEONE IS ADAMANT THAT THEY HATE A FOOD OR THAT IT MAKES THEM FEEL ILL, DO NOT FORCE THEM TO EAT IT. I've also got texture issues; i can't stand anything mushy (like beans or squash) or that is in that state in between a solid and a liquid, like applesauce or rice pudding or yogurt. And I generally dislike adding any kind of a sauce or condiment; if you need something like that to "moisten" the meat, it just means you overcooked it! No one enjoys being a picky eater; at Thanksgiving, while everyone else was stuffing themselves on nasty tasting dry turkey and those can-shaped blobs of jellied (?) cranberry and horrible pumpkin pie (bad in both taste and texture), I never had anything more to eat than a serving of corn and couple of dinner rolls. Not fun at all, I certainly didn't choose to be this way. I'd like to enjoy a much wider range of food, but I can't.

the number of food bloggers whose husbands seem to hate food is astounding

[twocoursemeal-blog]

TCM People’s Choice: Shabu & Mein!

TCM Ramen Month v2.0: Shabu & Mein (Lechmere)

The people have spoken, and they want Shabu & Mein! We had a poll on our facebook page asking our readers where they wanted to go for our first TCM Reader’s Choice Dinner. Our readers are pretty great, because they made an excellent decision!

We ate:

Some stuff we will not talk about:

Spicy Fried Calamari (solid, a little chewy, but nice)

Bacon Wrapped Enoki Mushrooms (I hope you like bacon grease. We do, these were great)

...and some stuff we will talk about:

Steamed Crab Shumai

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen

Hell Ramen

We didn’t eat (personally), but ordered:

Lobster rangoon

Fried Soft Shell Shrimp with Miso Mayo

We drank:

Sungwa Old Fashion

Angela’s Thoughts:

I’d never been to Shabu & Mein (to be honest, I’d heard not-so-great things about it…). Matt continually tried to convince me of its goodness, but I was unmoved; I am glad that I was completely wrong! The restaurant was large and inviting, and the service was excellent. We’d requested a table for 10; 8 brave souls wanted to experience a Ramen Month review first-hand. To make it more of a special occasion, we all ordered drinks and shared appetizers.

The drink I ordered, the Sungwa Old Fashion, featured a Japanese Whisky front and center in a familiar cocktail. The drink was quite nice, and well-balanced. The use of Japanese Whisky made the cocktail pleasantly mild, but still complex and flavorful. It was on the seasonal menu, but I sincerely hope it sticks around for a while. We also shared a number of appetizers. Though I didn’t get to eat them all, they all looked pretty good! Lastly, I pored over the ramen menu, planning my line of attack.

The ramen at Shabu & Mein is very customizable. You can choose your broth (Tonkotsu, Miso, Soy, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, and variable specials), your style of noodles (thin ramen noodles, thick ramen noodles, udon, yam noodles, veggie noodles, and rice vermicelli), and you can add toppings (quite a substantial list). To be honest, it was all a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, Ramen Month was “only shoyu” month for me, which limited my decisions… until I saw the “Hell Ramen” on the specials menu.

It was billed as a “special spicy broth” with a number of toppings, like eggs, scallions, pork, corn, bean sprouts, and fish cake! I love fish cake! I asked our server what type of broth the Hell Ramen had, hoping it was shoyu-based. It wasn’t shoyu-based. It was pork- and beef- based. It was also $18... Despite that, at the 11th hour, I abandoned “Only Shoyu” Month. What can I say? I really missed Pikaichi’s Jigoku Ramen (RIP <3). I ordered the Hell Ramen with thick noodles, and all I can say is “No Regrets.” The Hell Ramen was absolutely delicious!

The broth was a striking red color, certainly reminiscent of the pits of hell. And wow, was it just as hot. The spice level was no joke. There were cut pieces of chili and entire peppercorns floating around the bowl, and when you tasted it, they made themselves known. The first few bites were fine, but by the end my mouth was burning and my nose was running a bit (but I still couldn’t stop eating). The flavor was very chili-forward, but the mala tingle from the Sichuan peppercorns brought it to the next level. If you’re not spice-tolerant, be careful. Otherwise, I highly recommend it!

The whites of the eggs were stained red just from their short time in the bowl. The egg is nice, though maybe a little north of ideal cooked texture. The marinade on the egg was sweet and delicious, which was a welcome juxtaposition against the spicy broth. The noodles were also well-cooked. They were nice, chewy, and tender, but not quite overcooked. I am pretty sensitive and unforgiving to noodles that end up over al dente, but the softness of the ramen noodles was pleasant, to me. The peppercorns and chili flakes tangled up in the thick curly noodles, making the spice relentless.

The pork slices were a bit smaller, but they were cooked very well. The pork was delicious, and perfectly tender. It didn’t have a strong meaty flavor (maybe it got lost in the sauce a bit), but it did have a nice, slightly sweet flavor. Mix that in with the broth, and you have an excellent serving of chashu. The corn and bean sprouts were there too, adding small pops of sweetness and relief from the spice, respectively.

Now, to what I was most excited for: the fish cake. It, like the egg, had been stained by the broth (the outside was still that bright dyed pink, but the inside was a dull red). It was delightfully springy; one of my favorite aspects of fish cake is the texture -- it’s something that you don’t often get in ramen. It had a nice savory flavor, which paired well with the fruity sweet notes in the broth from the chili. It was a nice and interesting addition to an already-great bowl of ramen.

The cherry on top was the nori sheet, soaked during my entire meal in this spicy, fruity, chili oil drenched broth. It soaked up the spice so perfectly! It was an absolutely fantastic finish to the meal! Shabu & Mein (and Matt, and my readers, whom I doubted), forgive me. I was so wrong. Shabu & Mein was much better than my expectations, and I need to go back for that Hell Ramen.

Matt’s Thoughts:

In fairness, I’d been to Shabu & Mein many times before. It’s right down the street from my work, and it’s a common stop for our company outings. But worry not, dear readers - I won’t let my previous visits influence this most recent one. Shabu & Mein had better bring their A game.

This was our first ever TCM Fan Meal, and we were so excited that so many of our readers (read: friends who put up with our constant posts about the food we already eat), set aside time on a Friday night to join us for dinner. As y’all know, big groups pair well with small plates, and we were able to order a variety of different apps and small plates. Overall, they were very solid! I’ve enjoyed Shabu & Mein’s various apps several times before, and the consistency on flavor and cook always leaves me feeling optimistic when I think about trying something different. My favorite of the small plates was definitely the crab shumai, which had the classic light, delicate shumai texture plus pleasantly soft chunks of crab meat. I’d order them again in a heartbeat, and couldn’t bear to get them cooked any other way than steamed.

At Shabu & Mein, I got what I always get, which is the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen. As an added bonus, I remembered to ask for thick noodles, since Shabu & Mein generally provides the thinner straight style of ramen noodles in this dish. I’m a creature of habit. Don’t judge me. I also asked for my eggs on the side, since I’ve had so many good eggs ruined by sitting in hot broth for too long, waiting to be taken to the table. Shabu & Mein has generally done a great job of cooking their eggs to that perfect (for me, at least) runny-yolk consistency, and I’ll be honest, I wanted them to do well (an unnamed co-reviewer on this blog had previously expressed some concerns that Shabu & Mein’s ramen was not worth considering) [spoiler alert - the yolks were a little overcooked, but the whites were nice and had a surprisingly sweet soy-forward taste from the marinade].

After a remarkably glamorous tray full of halved ajitama arrived (huge props to the restaurant for giving you a FULL egg with your ramen instead of just a half), the ramen was distributed. I’ve got to say, it was definitely one of the more underwhelming initial bowl presentations we’ve experienced during Ramen Month v2.0. Color? A little drab and monotonous (though to be fair, some of that may have been due to the poor lighting at our table). Toppings? Aside from a tangle of wood ear mushrooms, a dollop of spicy paste, and a slice of pork covered partially in an already-submerged piece of nori, largely undetectable. Things were not looking good.

Until of course, I mixed it all together and took a sip. The powerfully deep, rich, balanced tonkotsu broth flooded my palate like a porky velvet blanket (it’s better than it sounds, I promise). At least, everything was nice and gentle until the spice came in and drop kicked me right in the back of the throat. Damn, that stuff is spicy! The texture of it almost reminds me of a soy-based paste, which adds an additional thickness and creaminess to the already decadent broth. This balance of “smooth pork - kick” went on in a way that kept me going back for more every time. Broth gets too rich? Capsaicin-induced pain can fix that. Pain too much? Just enjoy some of this silky pork bone broth. Oh, you just had a sip of broth, you say? And repeat.

Of course, you can’t have a broth like this NOT get into all of the toppings. Of course, the pork fat-infused nori sheet carried the heat just as well as a strong taste of the ocean. Of course, the noodles were perfectly cooked to that springy al dente texture, and carried the broth up like some kind of bizarre reverse firehose. We’re not here to debate any of this.

What we are here to talk about (at least, what I am here to talk about) is Shabu & Mein’s chashu.

Yep. You heard me right. Congrats, Shabu & Mein! You did it. You delivered my favorite chashu in all of Ramen Month v2.0. I am impressed.

Shabu & Mein’s pork was unbelievably tender. Not “overcooked-and-mushy” tender, not “it’s-all-fat-so-how-could-it-not-be-tender” tender. I’m talking “beautifully cooked, impeccably cut, smartly seasoned, deep, eye-closing-rock-back-and-forth-in-delight” tender. It was that good. I wish I had ordered a side of it. I may still go back there just to order a side of it. If they offered a way to buy a loaf of the stuff like Yume does, I may actually just take them up on it. When you can cut through your pork with chopsticks with little to no effort, but still have no issue picking it up to eat it, you know it’s done right.

Go to Shabu & Mein. Get whatever ramen calls out to your soul (it’ll be good, I’m sure). Or don’t, that’s fine too.

But whatever you do, make sure it comes with an extra side of pork.

Overall:

Great drinks, great ramen, and great company; what more could you ask for? The first TCM Reader’s Choice Meal was a rousing success, and we can’t wait to do something similar again. We’re so glad that Shabu & Mein rose to the challenge and gave us an all-around excellent meal. If you’re in the area (and even if you’re not), we really do recommend that you visit.

We give Shabu & Mein 4 plates of breathtakingly consistent ajitama out of 5.

Waow. You made it. The end of Ramen Month v2.0. How are you two doing?

Angela: What a great way to end. To say that I am pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. After the first two or three reviews, I kind of regretted doing Ramen Month v2.0. I’m glad that all turned around. As long as new ramen places keep opening in Boston, maybe we should make this an annual thing...

Matt: Talk about ending on a high note! After the terrible winter of 2s and 1s, I really thought there would be no end in sight. Did I wake up one day and not realize I had become Job? And then we went to Little Big Diner. And then we went to Oisa! And then we went to Shabu & Mein!! It felt like Boston’s ramen had been hiding from us, testing us to see if we were truly worthy of its gifts. Well, dear readers, we persevered, and we were blessed for our suffering. And what a blessing it was.

[paleorecipecookbook]

The Expert’s Guide on How to Cook Mouth-Watering Vegetables

Overcooked, stinky Brussels sprouts seems to be the culprit of every veggie-fearing adult I know. If you were a victim of being served overcooked, boiled-to death, sulfuric, canned, bland, or soggy vegetables as a child, you never stood a chance. It’s not your fault that you have no idea what vegetables are capable of. Vegetables are actually tasty—really tasty.

Real Food Tastes Great

Most folks, even if they weren’t tortured by mushy broccoli, can find themselves in a rut with veggie preparation. Steamed green beans day in and day out is less than inspirational.

Vegetables are nutrient dense and a vital part of a healthy diet. The more vegetables you eat, the better you look and feel. The trick is to learn to love them. There are so many varieties, textures, flavors, and preparations—there is something for everyone’s tastes, even if you don’t know it yet.

While there are tricks for sneaking veggies into your meals when you’re convinced that you hate them, like hiding them in smoothies, how many pureed beverages can one take before insanity sets in?

Choosing produce seasonally and preparing it properly will highlight natural flavors and make your vegetable dishes delectable, desirable, even craveable. The goal is to actually enjoy eating your veggies so you don’t even want to mask them behind that protein powder!

10 Ways to Cook Mouthwatering Vegetables

Vegetables can taste great without hours of cooking or prep work. Here are 10 simple ways to get the most out of your produce, and some of them don’t even require cooking.

1. Blanching

When you do cook your vegetables, it should be done gently. Boiling tends to get out of hand and quickly turns your vegetable into flavorless, dull mush. Instead, give blanching a try!

Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt well.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. This ice bath is an important step in the blanching process.

To blanch, gently simmer your veggies, never more than a few minutes, sometimes even just a seconds, and then immediately stop the cooking process by plunging the veggies into the water bath.

Under blanching can stimulate vegetable enzymes and over-blanching will leave you with the colorless, flavorless, less-nutritious mess like over-boiling can, so it is important to check out proper blanching times for each veggie. When you blanch rather than boil you will find it easier to control the final outcome.

Once blanched, you can properly freeze for later use, sauté on the stove top in desired fat to enjoy warm, incorporate into omelets and frittatas, create salads, add to casseroles, or simply dress with a vinaigrette!

The best vegetables to blanch are:

Broccoli, Broccolini, and Broccoli Rabe (with lemon and olive oil, or chili flake, garlic, olive oil)

Asparagus (with orange and garam masala)

Cauliflower (with paprika and olive oil, or with capers, lemon, garlic, chili flake, and olive oil)

Collard Greens, Broccoli leaves, Cabbage leaves (use as a wrap or stuffed woth ground bison, chicken, pork, or turkey)

2. Steaming

Steaming vegetables is similar to blanching in that this method will maintain the brightness and yummy texture when done properly. Steaming has been made popular by dieters who shun fats. Steaming allows you to cook without added calories yes, but to me, this is not the point of steaming.

Creating delicious vegetables means creating appetizing textures, and steaming is just another great way to achieve delectable vegetables. You can use a steam basket or purchase a steamer with a fitted lid to steam your way to tasty dishes. Steaming also takes very little time, seconds for more delicate leafy greens like spinach, and just a few to several minutes for sturdier veggies like sweet potatoes, depending on the shape and size of your cuts.

Check out vegetable cooking time charts to get an idea about different veggie steam times, but it also doesn’t hurt to use a glass lid so you can see when items, like leafy greens, are steaming. Once they are wilted, they are done! Keep a fork on hand too for checking items like beets and hearty squash. Once they are fork tender, you are good to go.

The best vegetables to steam are:

Eggplant (use with a marinade, like coconut aminos, ginger, and avocado oil) Spinach (with lighly pickled red onion) Carrots (with a little orange and thyme or sweet basil)

3. Roasting

Roasting is one of the best ways to prepare vegetables because it involves zero to little processing beforehand, and then you just throw it all in the oven and forget it until the timer goes off.

Cruciferous veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts often get the brunt of vegetable hatred due to common association with egg and sulfur vibes. Veggies like these contain a compound called sulforaphane, and when overcooked, that stinky smell and taste is released. The ideal method for preparing items like these so that they are delicious is to gently roast them.

Roasting creates yummy caramel and nutty flavors and delightful textures. Be sure the vegetables are clean, dried, and cut into like-sizes to ensure even roasting. Lightly toss your Brussels, broccoli, or cauliflower in a high smoke point oil—like avocado oil—and season and roast right away in a preheated 350ºF oven, agitating once or twice every 5-10 minutes or so, until golden and with crispy edges. Pro tip: once oiled up, roast right away. Leaving cruciferous veggies out once coated with fat will make for a soggy final product after roasting.

Roasting root vegetables is popular, too. I love to roast my roots by lining a sheet pan with parchment paper, loading it up with chopped sweet potatoes, butternut squash, beets, and the like, rub with coconut oil, and season. Pop in a hot 400ºF oven and 20 or so minutes later you have amazing roasted roots, with no clean up thanks to the parchment paper.

The best vegetables for roasting are:

Kabocha or acorn squash with cinnamon and coconut oil

Whole sweet potatoes, stuffed with steamed spinach and coconut butter or manna

Brussels sprouts with bacon fat and hijiki

Shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly and roasted in avocado oil

Beets, roasted whole with coconut oil (the skins peel right off after roasting)

4. Braising

Another popular root vegetable cooking technique is braising, when you sear an item stove top and then stew it slowly, covered. This can happen all on the stove top, or use a dutch oven and transfer from stove top to oven.

Braising vegetables along with meat roasts is super tasty. The glory of a one-pot-meal, like a braise, is that you can get a ton of different veggies into one dish, and a richer flavor for both the meat and the vegetables. If you are making a pot roast, see how many different veggies you can braise along with your beef, or add to a vegetable soup, or even toss in your morning egg scramble.

The best vegetables for braising include:

Leg of lamb with beets, parsnips, and celeriac

Pork shoulder with acorn squash, carrots, and apples

Beef roasts with turnip, rutabaga, and collards

5. Seasonal Eating

Choose your veggies seasonally and organic when possible. Tomatoes in the winter taste like mealy mush because they do not typically grow in the cold. When you eat produce without chemicals and pesticides, and from nutritious soil in the proper corresponding season, the produce just simply tastes better. Choosing to purchase from small batch and sustainable farmers is also a great way to experience the optimum potential of vegetables!

Once you are hooked on a particular vegetable, you can take a deep dive into varieties of early season, late season, and heirloom varieties of any given vegetable. When veggies taste amazing on their own, less processing or cooking is needed.

6. Knife Skills

Learning knife skills is one of the major building blocks of becoming a better cook, especially when it comes to vegetables. Knife cuts can seriously make all the difference. Whenever I am asked for tips on how to eat better, I always encourage taking a knife skills course. Consistent cuts create more even cooking, can speed up your prep skills, and creates surface area when you need it for marinades and more.

I once brunoised (1/8’’ dice) eight butternut squashes for a Thanksgiving dinner for my family. I was in culinary school and up for the practice, and these tender little, teeny tiny dices of orange flesh were just titillating! My mom has asked for them every year since. When you have specific knife cuts under your belt, you can reach higher levels of cooking.

7. Mouthfeel

We eat with our eyes first. If the dish in front of you is beautiful and appetizing, your brain will want to eat it! We are similarly triggered by images and cravings, but mouthfeel is also important. Using different knife cuts, tasty fats, dressings, marinades, and cooking methods will change the mouthfeel significantly. You have the power to make your veggies more delectable by finding the mouthfeel that appeals to you.

8. Dressing

Vegetables are made for vinaigrettes. If you are hip on simply prepared vegetable dishes by way of blanching, steaming, or raw, you must up your vinaigrette game! Lightly dressed, steamed asparagus, or blanched broccoli, will elevate your dining experience. Flavor is also in fat, so try sautéing in bacon or duck fat, or drizzling olive oil or nut oils like hazelnut over your veggies. With a little salt and pepper, this can make for melt-away and yummy textures, in a flash.

The best vinaigrettes for vegetables are:

Raw apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and avocado oil, and whisk

Lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper, and whisk

Avocado, basil, spinach, lemon, olive oil, and blend

Carrot, ginger, coconut aminos, sesame oil, and avocado oil, and blend

9. Raw

Raw preparations are perfect when you purchase produce in the peak of their season. My favorite tool for raw vegetable prep is the mandolin.

But aren’t mandolins scary to use? You should be cautious as they are sharp and definitely not the tool to use while catching up on Game of Thrones. Focus and go slow.

Anything that will create noodles is also perfect when it comes to preparing raw items, like a spiralizer. A bowl full of noodles, no matter what the kind, is always fun! Dress them with pestos, add meatballs, or even eat as a salad and use your favorite dressing. If you don’t want to eat your vegetable noodles raw, you can quickly blanch.

The best vegetables for eating raw are:

Beets and zucchini (either paper thin or spiralized, marinated in a vinaigrette, with fresh and chopped herbs)

Heirloom tomatoes (slice or eat like an apple)

Daikon radish (do a quick pickle in a bit of raw apple cider vinegar, turmeric, and fresh pressed apple juice or a touch of maple syrup for sweetness)

Cucumbers

10. Herbs

Herbs can offer buckets of fabulous taste to your veggie dishes. Grow them yourself with minimal space and gardening efforts for a whole new level of enjoyment! Some herbs have detoxifying qualities, soothe digestion, and can even be anti-inflammatory. They also taste amazing!

Making a pesto is a great way to utilize your herbage.

The best pestos are:

Parsley, arugula, walnut

Basil, spinach, pine nut

Dill, caper, almond

Oregano, pistachio, garlic, chili flake

Bottom Line

Eat your vegetables. There is no way around it. Veggies are nutrient dense and good for you. You need to learn to love them, and a variety. Vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, fiber, and tons of essential nutrients. If you start with quality veggies, you don’t have to be a wizard to make them tasty. Get creative, make friends with local farmers and other veggie lovers, bend their ears on their favorite ways to make them tasty, plate nicely, make them beautiful, or grow them yourself. And if all else fails, go ahead and throw them in that smoothie.

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[thedemonconstantine]

adventurepunks​:

“I will wear an apron and nothing but an apron next time we are in a private enough kitchen. I doubt it would end well for Cuba should someone gaze at my naked buttcheeks for a second too long” Nick retorted but perhaps John wasn’t as jealous as Nick thought him to be.

No, he was. Nick was certain on it that the man that threw his book across the room in envy that he wasn’t getting attention would not react well to such an occurrence.

“You tell me sugar..plum?” Eh whatever it was an attempt. He tucked into his own steak and already criticized himself for the carrots. Stupid carrots had stewed and were mushy and overcooked.

“Steak is nice, the vegetables are a disappointment and I apologize.It’s been a long while since I had to cook on a barbecue” Nick apologized and took a sip of water, then some Irish liqueur and then more food.

The kettle whistled and Nick was about to remove it from the heat when a tendril beat him to it.

“Thank you” Back to his food, Nick looped his arm with John’s and took a sip of his drink like people did at weddings. Silly human rituals to John’s eyes probably.

“How’s the steak?”

“I have summer fruit with a coulis and custard for dessert.” Something easy to heat up and serve.

“I hope it was a proposal worthy of your dreams” As simple as it might have been. “Worthy of you”

“Yeh mine,” John’s husky voice deepened to a guttural note, made so just from the notion of having to share even the sight of his husband alone, and the shadows responded with a rolling boil, lifting off the sandy beach, from beneath the table and chairs and staked torches to accentuate his point.

Perhaps for a moment, that part of Havana beach dropped a Celsius or two.

“I quite likes mushy veggies, texture’s like a gud brain.”

Good to know.

John cut into his steak and tried another piece with slow deliberation. Nick seemed to take joy in cooking and eating so he as a dutiful husband would grow to like it as well. It was after all, something they could spend time as a couple together.

It was quite the distinctive human trait to gather about a bonfire and feast. He had seen on occasion several hellions who had the tendency to do the same, and those that shared the same fires and broke bread seemed to have a certain bond that lasted longer than those who did not.

Perhaps this was a subtler form of the Arcane at work.

That industrious and ever-attentive tendril slithered over Nick’s wrist to spider over an arm and shoulder, then poked at the man’s cheek in what would seem to be the equivalent of a kiss, then it dropped back into the shadows to lurk as before.

“Yeh nearly gots it on th’ table,” John tutted though he was game, for any reason to interact with his husband was a good one, silly or mundane as it may be. Perhaps humanity was starting to get to his head. Perhaps Nick was right and he was more human than he thought.

John thumbed a dribble of Irish cream off his lips and chin and suckled it, he could still enjoy the taste of a good spirit, that’s for sure.

“Steak’s alrite. Setup’s brilliant. Me company’s e’en be’er. Proposal...” John let his words trail off for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought.

“Adequate.”

He chuckled after and leaned over the table to take both Nick’s hands, running thumbs over knuckles and squeezing digits just once, lifting them to his lips to kiss kiss kiss them.

“Adequately perfect.”

It was Nick. It was genuine.

They were real.

“Wouldje sit next ‘ta me instead? Yeh too far away.”

And perhaps feed him some of that dessert and the night would be perfect.

[foodtrails25-blog]

Chowmein, the stir-fried noodles with the veggies of your choice. Who doesn’t love Chowmein?? A lip-smacking and scrumptious meal favorite among all age groups that can be had just as it is or with side dishes like Veg Manchurian or Chilli Paneer. In India, it has become one of the most popular street food and ordered item at dine-ins. A must-have item for kids birthday parties or get-togethers. Even in US, I see Chinese Cusine is quite popular. But it is little different from Indian Chinese or Indo-Chinese as it is popularly called due to more heat added as we Indians love spicy food and we can give an Indian makeover to any cuisine of the world. 🙂 Chowmein is noodles stir-fried with veggies like bell peppers, cabbage and with or without any kind of meat(as per one’s choice),  in Chinese sauces like soy-sauce, tomato ketchup, and vinegar.

Making Chowmein at home is very easy and we can control the amount of oil used and the veggies can be added as per one’s choice. I like my Chowmein or noodles in less oil, coated with evenly with sauces and with crunchy vegetables. For moms with fussy kids, sometimes it can be a good way to sneak in vegetables along with noodles. I used Ching’s Noodles(an Indian Brand of Noodles available in Indian/Asian Grocery stores) for making Chowmein that are quite popular in India. But here in US, I use angel hair spaghetti to make these as we like thin noodles for making chowmein. Any other kind of noodles of your choice like Soba Noodles, Whole wheat noodles can also be used for making chowmein.

The commonly used vegetables for making are any color of bell peppers( red, yellow or orange), green capsicum, cabbage any color and carrots. These veggies not only add color to the blend and plain boiled noodles but add the much-needed crunch. Veggies are stir-fried at high heat to retain the crunch. If we are careful while frying vegetables, we can have the nice crunch in our noodles. For me like many others, adding garlic and spring onions is a must is must in my Chinese dishes as it imparts a characteristic taste and aroma to the dishes.

I still remember the first time I made Chowmein when I was around 14 years old. We were introduced to these delicious noodles by our Masi(aunt) who liked trying out new recipes and whenever we met her treated us with her delicious treats. The Eggless, Gelatin-free Chocolate Pudding on my blog and is her recipe only. So when I thought of trying these noodles by myself (I started cooking and trying out new dishes from an early age), I added only the vinegar and tomato ketchup as totally forgot to buy soya sauce from the market.  My younger sister’s few friends were home that day and we all happily gobbled up everything bit of the noodles. The result was not that bad but I know something was missing :). I remembered what was missing the ingredient. Soy sauce is one of the main ingredient used in Indo-Chinese cooking. Later I saw many versions of the this humble Chowmein on TV shows like Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khana Khazana and many others. And now here I am sharing my version of Chowmein.

To the get the perfect non-sticky noodles we can keep a few pointers in mind while boiling the noodles and frying the veggies.

Take sufficient water in a big pan to boil noodles.

Add noodles to high boiling water.

Cook noodles al-dente we read many times that is cook noodles till these are little uncooked. After 10 minutes of boiling or as per instructions on the noodles pack, with some take out a noodle and press between the index finger and thumb. I should be little uncooked.

Drain the noodles in a strainer and run under cold water. The cold water stops the further cooking of noodles. Overcooked noodles get sticky.

Spread the noodles in a plate or on chopping board and coat noodles with 1-2 tsp of oil. Use your hands to evenly coat the noodles.

Stir-fry the vegetables and noodles on high heat.

Keep everything ready before starting to cook the noodles.

Let’s see how I make this yummy chowmein.

Vegetable Chowmien

Servings: 4-5

Time: 15-20 minutes

Print

Stir-fried Noodles and vegetables in hot Chinese sauces. Learn how to make vegetable Chowmein

[recipe-ingredents]

Hakka Noodles- 1 Packet or Angel hair Spagethi-

Onion(thinly sliced)- 1/2 Cup

Mixed Colored Bell Peppers-1 Cup

Cabbage(green/purple)thinly sliced- 1 Cup

Spring Onions- 2-3 sprigs

Garlic Cloves- 2-3

Soya Sauce- 2-3 Tbsp

Tomato Ketchup- 2 Tbsp

White Vinegar/Apple Cider Vinegar- 1-2 Tsp

Chilli Sauce- 1-2 Tbsp or as per preferred spice level

Black Pepper- 1 Tsp

Oil(Peanut/Sesame/Olive) – 3-4 Tbsp

Salt as per taste

Directions

In a pan boil 6-7 glasses of water. When the water starts boiling, add the noodles and cook for 7-8 minutes as per the packet’s instructions, till al-dente or little uncooked, not soft and mushy.

Drain the noodles in a strainer and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Spread the noodles on a plate or board to cool.

Add a tsp of oil and toss noodles with hands to coat oil uniformly on the noodles and keep aside.

Chop finely or coarsely grind garlic in a motor pestle. along with green chili (if you are adding). I didn’t use any green chili.

Keep all the other veggies and sauces ready. I usually mix all the sauces in a bowl, but here I have added one by one just for the demo pics.

In a wok or pan, add oil, when the oil hot add garlic, saute for a few seconds, add onions.

Saute onions till these start turning pink, add the bell peppers and keep stirring. Cook for 1-2 minutes. I didn’t add carrots this time as I didn’t have any, you can add julienned carrots along with bell peppers.

Add cabbage at last, as it cooks very fast. Keep stirring the veggies.

Add sauces and mix well. Add salt and a sugar. Add salt carefully as the sauces also contain some amount of salt.

Add noodles and stir fry on high flame, stirring continuously.

Once the noodles are coated with sauces and mixed nicely with veggies. Add black pepper. Take off the flame and garnish with spring onions/scallions.

Serve hot.

Boil Noodles in sufficient water

Once cooked, strain noodles, wash in running water

Coat noodles in a tsp of oil and keep aside

In a pan heat oil, add coarsely crushed garlic

Add thinly sliced noodles

Add colored bell peppers

Add cabbage(green and purple)

Add soy sauce

Chilli Sauce/Sriracha sauce

Add Tomato ketchup

Add some sugar/brown sugar

Stir Nicely

Add noodles and black pepper

Srit fry it nicely on high flame

Once done, take way from flame and add spring onions

Chowmein can be enjoyed just on its own or with any of the sides likes Veg. Manchurian, Chili Paneer. The recipe is adaptable to one’s preferences you can add the veggies and adjust the sauces. Kids love to take these for their lunch and an ideal dish for potlucks and parties. Veg. Chowmein vegan and you can make the gluten-free version by using the soba noodles or any gluten-free noodles. Replace soy sauce with a gluten-free soy sauce.

Today 14th Nov. in India is celebrated as Children’s Day, I treated my kidoos with their favorite Chilli Paneer and Chowmein after they came back from school. I also made their favorite Chocolate Pudding and served with strawberries and blueberries with chocolate shavings. Both the kids happily finished off everything in their plates.

Hope you liked my Chowmein recipe. If this recipe takes you back in time or have some cherised moments attached to it do share with me.

Do give feedback in comments and whenever you make these do share the pics on my FB page or tag me on Instagram. You can also Pin the recipe for later use.

Join me in my food trails by following the blog and on my social media accounts. Click on the icons on the sidebar for joining in. If you like my work do share my blog with your loved ones.

Thanks for stopping by. Keep coming back for more such yummy recipes 😋!!

  Chowmein Chowmein, the stir-fried noodles with the veggies of your choice. Who doesn't love Chowmein?? A lip-smacking and scrumptious meal favorite among all age groups that can be had just as it is or with side dishes like…

[middletuna7-blog]

grilled zucchini

<![CDATA[.tasty-recipes-quick-linkstext-align:center.tasty-recipes-quick-links apadding:.5rem]]>

Easy Grilled Zucchini with balsamic glaze is such a simple but delicious summer side dish and great way to use up garden fresh zucchini! I love to make it as a side dish for company during the summer because it is vegan, gluten-free, low carb and healthy, so everyone at the table can enjoy it. This technique is super simple, and the balsamic vinegar glaze makes it seem special but is so easy to do! 

As the temperatures climb and it gets harder and harder to keep ourselves indoors, I cook fewer and fewer meals inside, and more and more on the grill. One of my all time classic favorite sides for this time of year is grilled zucchini. It was actually one of the first things I ever made for my husband when we first met. It’s as close to a “go to” as you can get for me. I find it so entirely satisfying, but still clean and light for summer. I don’t think it’ll ever get old.

I picked up these zucchini from the farm stand here in my town. It’s a new farm stand that is only in its second year, but the farm itself (which is in the next town over) is well established, and has hoop houses etc. Their crop is already producing and I’ve already picked up two bags of zucchini from them. I love it when the zucchini are not too big and seedy. They’re so good!

I usually grow zucchini in my garden, so we often rely on this grilled zucchini technique to help us make our way through the bounty as it comes in fresh from the garden. But actually, this year I am growing yellow summer squash instead because that’s all they had for seedlings when I went to buy plants for my veggie garden. But that’s okay, now I have the farm stand in town, and actually this recipe works exactly the same for summer squash as it does for zucchini!  

What size zucchini is best for grilling? 

The ideal size zucchini for grilling is what I call “medium large.” That would be 7 to 8 inches long. 

But you can grill zucchini that is bigger (or smaller) if you happen to have it. 

I don’t recommend grilling the mega zucchinis that you left for too long and are the size of a chiuaua. They are too punky and seedy. Instead use them to make zucchini soup. Note to self, add zucchini soup to my editorial calendar asap.

How thick should I cut the zucchini before grilling?

Take your zucchini and lay them on the cutting board and cut both ends off.

Then cut them into slabs that are about 1/3-inch thick. I find it’s the perfect thickness for grilling. Any thinner and they’ll overcook very quickly. Not only that, they will be hard to remove from the grill without breaking apart. If you were to cut them into thicker slabs, the final texture is too slippery and mushy. 

If you have small zucchini, you can cut it in half lengthwise once and grill it just a little longer per side to reach the ideal doneness.

For thicker larger zucchini, cut them in half crosswise, then into 1/3-inch thick slabs. 

How Make Grilled Zucchini

Preheat your grill to medium heat. The reason you want to grill over medium (and not hot) is that zucchini cooks very quickly, and it is super easy to burn it or cook it until it becomes mushy. I find grilling over medium heat is easier to control.

Prepare the zucchini while the grill heats. Cut the zucchini as directed above, then you’ll need to coat it in a thin layer of oil. Here I brushed on extra-virgin olive oil. You could also use a neutral cooking oil such as organic canola oil, avocado oil or grapeseed oil. Since this is such as simple preparation, I prefer the flavor of the olive oil the best.

Add dried seasonings before you grill. Here I used garlic powder and dried Italian Seasonings. I like how the garlic makes the zucchini taste more savory, but it is not a brash garlic flavor that takes over the meal. If you prefer another spice mix, try that instead. Mexican flavors would also be lovely on the grilled zucchini.

Next grill the zucchini. Make sure to lay it on the grill horizontally across the grates so that it doesn’t slip down into the fire. I do a slight bias, and then do a quarter turn. Doing this isn’t as important as when you’re grilling steak, but it does help to make the zucchini slabs grill more evenly, and when you pry them up with the spatula, you’ll be able to get a sense of how tender they are getting. 

Drizzle with Balsamic. You can either use really amazing aged balsamic vinegar (which is super pricy but so amazingly good. You only need a little bit of it so a bottle will last literally years. Read more about the difference between vinegars here.) Or you can buy balsamic glaze. I admit, this isn’t the cleanest ingredient, but it’s not going to negatively affect your health in the amounts eaten, so I am a fan of it. Not only is it so easy, I particularly love the way it brightens up dishes. I’ll let you decide which you’d prefer to use. 

Additional Flavors: If you prefer, you can also add on fresh herbs at the end, or skip the balsamic glaze and use lemon juice salad dressing instead. 

9 More Easy Zucchini Recipes To Try

One way to use up leftover grilled zucchini is to make Grilled Zucchini and Onion Naan Pizzas with it! 

My Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread recipes is one of my favorite ever baking recipes, and if you haven’t tried it, you simply must! 

I like to make zucchini into spiralized noodles, then top them with Chicken Paprika. It’s a lighter way to enjoy comfort food in the summertime. 

I always seem to have an abundance of fresh eggs at this time of year with all of my farmers’ market trips and stops at farm stands. We try to use them up for dinner with a simple Zucchini Frittata every couple weeks. 

My daughters are all about pita pizzas. Adding in ribbons of zucchini give them a bit more healthy balance. 

I also love serving this shaved zucchini ribbon salad as much as possible. It is so fresh and clean and just what I want on a hot summer night. 

This Healthy Zucchini Oat Bread is a great healthy snack for the kids, and in the end of the season, I’ll make it for lunchbox snacks. 

Probably the best way to use up a ton of zucchini is to make Zucchini Casserole. I like to add in a few corn tortillas to soak up the juices. 

And you really can’t go wrong with this ever popular no-cook zucchini noodles with pesto recipe. I always get great feedback on it.

Thanks so much for reading. If you make this recipe, please come back and let me know how it goes by leaving a star rating and review. I love hearing how it goes. 

Happy Cooking!

~Katie

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Description

Simple and easy grilled zucchini with dried herbs and olive oil and finished with a simple balsamic vinegar drizzle. A super easy and healthy side dish for the summertime.

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

1.75 pounds zucchini, about 3 zucchini measuring 7 or 8 inches long

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning

½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon best quality aged balsamic vinegar, or balsamic glaze

Instructions

Preheat grill to medium heat.

Trim stem and blossom ends off zucchini. Cut lengthwise into long slabs about 1/3-inch thick. Lay on work surface. Brush oil over the zucchini with a pastry brush. Combine Italian seasoning, salt and garlic in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the zucchini.

Grill the zucchini until the charred on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip over, avoiding letting the zucchini go through the grates, and continue cooking until just tender but not breaking down, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a large platter. Drizzle with balsamic and serve hot or at room temperature.

Notes

For smaller zucchini that is less than an inch thick, it is better to cut them a little thicker that a quarter inch or less thick. So I recommend that you remove the ends, then slice in half lengthwise. Grill until tender.

For large or giant zucchini, cut into five inch lengths, then into 1/3 inch slabs. Because they’re seedy, they will become tender faster without browning as much, so keep an eye on them!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 slices

Calories: 75

Sugar: 5 g

Sodium: 216

Fat: 5 g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Carbohydrates: 7 g

Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 2 g

Keywords: grilling,zucchini,grilled zucchini,vegan zucchini recipe

struggling with weeknight meals?

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Source: https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/grilled-zucchini/

[healthbolt-blog]

New Post has been published on Health bolt

New Post has been published on http://www.healthbolt.net/cooking/healthy-cooking-classes-charlotte-nc/

Healthy Cooking Classes Charlotte Nc

Contents

Healthy mexican comfort

Broccoli rabe. meal prepping

City – charlotte

Cook delicious grilled vegetables

Vegetables cook quickly

Fayetteville Technical Community College Public 2-year Fayetteville, NC $2,528 Basic Skills Education Program (BSEP), Military Certificate Programs, Online Flex Courses, Military training credit, Degr…

Healthy Cooking Youtube Cooked Chicken Casserole Recipes Healthy I’m pretty sure you’ll love this Chicken Chilaquiles recipe with corn, spinach and baked (not fried) corn tortillas as much as I do. It is healthy mexican comfort food for the whole family! After a bit of confused blundering around in my archives and getting distracted, I settled on using leftover chicken. I mean who hasn’t had leftover chicken in their fridge at one time or another? This dish, which originated in southwestern France, may date back as far as 1350 A.D. But the secret to a good cassoulet — wh… Healthy Home Cooked Food How To Cook Beef Healthy Healthy Ways To Cook Brown Rice Rice is a healthy food when prepared properly … If you don’t have any, then green or brown will do. Definitely do not use r… Brown rice, once the darling carb of the health conscious, is often overcooked and mushy … and ripe for reinvention. Here you’ll find 17 recipes that’ll take brown rice to another level. With generous amounts of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates per serving, brown rice is certainly a healthy food to have in your … try adding calories to the rice in another way. You may want t… How To cook healthy roast Potatoes How To Cook Healthy Cube Steak No matter how you cook it, you’ll love this inexpensive and versatile cut of beef. Click “Launch Gallery” to see six easy cube steak recipes that I know you’ll want to try! How do you cook yours? I was going through my freezer and have two packages of cube steak. I’d love to go ahead and cook them but I don’t think I’ve ever made it before. I’d love to see any recipes yo… Cook until the meat is as done as you like—about 10 -20 minutes Cut in thin strips against the grain on a 45-degree angle to the cutting board. Serve with vegetable and carb of your choice. Season eac… crock pot cubed Steak with Gravy I think my love for my slow cooker is pretty well known (well, at least to my family). It really is one of my most favorite kitchen appliances. It’s right up there with my stand mixer. It is the busy parent, busy worker, and beginner cook’s best friend. It can take a rather tough cut of meat, like what I am using in this Crock Pot Cubed Steak with Gravy recipe … Cube steak is a tougher cut of meat pounded to make it tender. We like it because it cooks quickly and is inexpensive–perfect for a weeknight dinner. Look for presliced mushrooms to save even more time on prep. Serve with: Mashed potatoes and grilled broccoli rabe. meal prepping just means planning your meals in advance and cooking them in one big batch. It’s a simple tool that can make h… Cube steak is cooked for 2 hours until tender in this simple recipe. cubed pork steak is made by pounding a pork cutlet with

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Top 5 Healthy Cooking Oils Healthy Way To Cook Collard Greens chard and collard greens. leafy vegetables are rich in carotenoids, which are beneficial to keeping eyes healthy. With this in mind, I’ve gathered 13 Epic Leafy Greens Recipes to help you eat your way … Kale may be the trendy green, but collard greens are my favorite dark, leafy greens. They are hearty and delicious; I love them raw and cooked. How To Cook Beef Healthy Healthy Ways To Cook Brown Rice Rice is a healthy food when prepared properly … If you don’t have any, then green or brown will do. Definitely do not use r… Brown rice, once the darling carb of the health conscious, is often overcooked and mushy … and ripe for reinvention. Here you’ll find 17 recipes that’ll take brown rice to another level. With generous amounts of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates per serving, brown rice is certainly a healthy food to have in your … try adding calories to the rice in another way. You may want t… How To cook healthy roast potatoes How To Cook Healthy Cube Steak No matter how you cook it, you’ll love this inexpensive and versatile cut of beef. Click “Launch Gallery” to see six easy cube steak recipes that I know you’ll want to try! How do you cook yours? I was going through my freezer and have two packages of cube steak. I’d love to go ahead and cook them but I don’t think I’ve ever made it before. I’d love to see any recipes yo… Cook until the meat is as done as you like—about 10 -20 minutes Cut in thin strips against the grain on a 45-degree angle to the cutting board. Serve with vegetable and carb of your choice. Season eac… Crock Pot Cubed Steak with Gravy I think my love for my slow cooker is pretty well known (well, at least to my family). It really is one of my most favorite kitchen appliances. It’s right up there with my stand mixer. It is the busy parent, busy worker, and beginner cook’s best friend. It can take a rather tough cut of meat, like what I am using in this Crock Pot Cubed Steak with Gravy recipe … Cube steak is a tougher cut of meat pounded to make it tender. We like it because it cooks quickly and is inexpensive–perfect for a weeknight dinner. Look for presliced mushrooms to save even more time on prep. Serve with: Mashed potatoes and grilled broccoli rabe. Meal prepping just means planning your meals in advance and cooking them in one big batch. It’s a simple tool that can make h… Cube steak is cooked for 2 hours until tender in this simple recipe. cubed pork steak is made by pounding a pork cutlet with a meat tenderizer or a specialized cubing tenderizer. The result leaves cube-shaped indentations on the meat’s surface. The process allows the p… Is easy cook rice Healthy I love to give leftovers a

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Healthy Way To Cook Plantains Footnotes Editor’s Note; We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount may vary depending on cook time and temperature, ingredient density, and the specific type of oil used. Black-ripe plantains are the sweetest. They can be peeled like a banana and make wonderful desserts. When peeling less-ripe plantains, you’ll have more success by cutting it in two to four sections, t… Batista remembers fondly how she would make … has her way, everyone will soon be eating healthier foods from ethical farms. … How To Cook Frozen Vegetables Healthy If you feel untethered eating-wise and uncomfortable in your clothes, and if you’ve sworn to yourself that you’d start gettin… We love this bright, healthy main-dish salad for … easy to put together when you have a stash of frozen shrimp at the ready … Who doesn’t apprecaite the convenience of frozen produce every once in a while? It’s ready to cook, requires zero prep, and there’s no risk of losing a finger while choppng away. Since it’s … Grilling vegetables is an easy way to add amazing flavor to the humble plants. Use these tips to cook delicious grilled vegetables. Move over, meat: it’s time to grill some vegetables. vegetables cook quickly and are so delicious with just the hint of smoke from the grill. Plus, you don’t have to … Place a sieve, steaming pot or bamboo steaming basket over the simmering water. add the frozen vegetables and cover them with a lid. Allow the hot steam to cook the vegetables all the way through. Frozen Vegetables Are Hot! Chill out: Veggies from the freezer are fast, easy and convenient Starchy vegetables. First, let’s talk about starchy vegetables. These are the veggies that will be the most forgiving as they often need a longer time to cook, but not all starches are created equal. Healthy Way To Cook Collard Greens chard and collard greens. Leafy vegetables are rich in carotenoids, which are beneficial to keeping eyes healthy. With this in mind, I’ve gathered 13 Epic Leafy Greens Recipes to help you eat your way … Kale may be the trendy green, but collard greens are my favorite dark, leafy greens. They are hearty and delicious; I love them raw and cooked. How To Cook Beef Healthy Healthy Ways To Cook Brown Rice Rice is a healthy food when prepared properly … If you don’t have any, then green or brown will do. Definitely do not use r… Brown rice, once the darling carb of the health conscious, is often overcooked and mushy … and ripe for reinvention. Here you’ll find 17 recipes that’ll take brown rice to another level. With generous amounts of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates per serving, brown rice is certainly a healthy food to have in your … try adding calories to the rice in another way. You may want t… How To cook healthy roast potatoes How To Cook Healthy How To Cook Frozen Vegetables Healthy If you feel untethered eating-wise and uncomfortable in your clothes, and if you’ve sworn to yourself that you’d start gettin… We love this bright, healthy main-dish salad for … easy to put together when you have a stash of frozen shrimp at the ready … Who doesn’t apprecaite the convenience of frozen produce every once in a while? It’s ready to cook, requires zero prep, and there’s no risk of losing a finger while choppng away. Since it’s … Grilling vegetables is an easy way to add amazing flavor to the humble plants. Use these tips to cook delicious grilled vegetables. Move over, meat: it’s time to grill some vegetables. Vegetables cook quickly and are so delicious with just the hint of smoke from the grill. Plus, you don’t have to … Place a sieve, steaming pot or bamboo steaming basket over the simmering water. add the frozen vegetables and cover them with a lid. Allow the hot steam to cook the vegetables all the way through. Frozen Vegetables Are Hot! Chill out: Veggies from the freezer are fast, easy and convenient Starchy vegetables. First, let’s talk about starchy vegetables. These are the veggies that will be the most forgiving as they often need a longer time to cook, but not all starches are created equal. Healthy Way To Cook Collard Greens chard and collard greens. Leafy vegetables are rich in carotenoids, which are beneficial to keeping eyes healthy. With this in mind, I’ve gathered 13 Epic Leafy Greens Recipes to help you eat your way … Kale may be the trendy green, but collard greens are my favorite dark, leafy greens. They are hearty and delicious; I love them raw and cooked. How To Cook Beef Healthy Healthy Ways To Cook Brown Rice Rice is a healthy food when prepared properly … If you don’t have any, then green or brown will do. Definitely do not use r… Brown rice, once the darling carb of the health conscious, is often overcooked and mushy … and ripe for reinvention. Here you’ll find 17 recipes that’ll take brown rice to another level. With generous amounts of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates per serving, brown rice is certainly a healthy food to have in your … try adding calories to the rice in another way. You may want t… How To cook healthy roast potatoes How To Cook Healthy Cube Steak No matter how you cook it, you’ll love this inexpensive and versatile cut of beef. Click “Launch Gallery” to see six easy cube steak recipes that I know you’ll want to try! How do you cook yours? I was going through my freezer and have two packages of cube steak. I’d love to go ahead and cook them but I don’t think I’ve ever made it before. I’d love to see any recipes yo… Cook until the meat is as done as you like—about 10 -20 minutes Cut in thin strips against the grain on a 45-degree angle to the cutting

Registered dietitian Katherine Shavo, will lead "Whole Grain Holidays" a healthy cooking and nutrition education class on November 12, 2013 at Let’s Cook Culinary Studio. More information at www.kshav…

Lining up plans in Charlotte? Whether you’re a local, new in town, or just passing through, you’ll be sure to find something on Eventbrite that piques your interest.

[thesoggychef-blog]

Cooking With Vegetables

New Post has been published on https://simpleeasycooking.com/cooking-with-vegetables/

Cooking With Vegetables

With more and more people nowadays becoming concerned about the different heath issues and the different new diseases that have been discovered recently without any chances of cure as of the moment, majority are trying to incorporate more into their meals vegetable dishes while others are turning themselves into die hard vegetarians.

Everybody is aware of the fact that eating vegetables is very good for our health but sad to say people would prefer to have a burger and fries over a bowl of salad. It is also difficult especially for parents to let their children eat veggies partly because they don’t find them as tasty as other food types. You have to admit that there are really certain vegetables that even you would abhor to eat.

I suppose the only solution to making people eat vegetables is to prepare them using recipes that would enhance their taste. It is important that you mixed the right ingredients with it so that your family most especially the kids will love its taste. It is important also that we know how to prepare vegetables to get most out of the nutrition that it will be providing.

The first thing you need to do before cooking any vegetable is to clean them thoroughly. You may never know that there is bacteria lingering on the fresh vegetables and we definitely cannot see them with the naked eye. It is also important to wash them for we also may never be aware if chemicals were sprayed on them. Without proper cleaning some of the chemicals maybe mixed into our food with the possibility of intoxicating us that could lead to health problems.

It is important not to overcook your vegetables so that they would be crunchy and not mushy. Cooking it just right would also enhance the dishes especially if you are using bright colored veggies that could make any dish look so tempting to eat.

For example, if you are preparing broccoli remove the hard part of the stalks to enable the florets to cook evenly with the stems. Broccoli would go well with beef and even a simple salad.

Cauliflowers basically cook in almost the same way as broccoli since its stems are also edible. You should cook both broccoli and cauliflower in just the right time to make them still crisp and not soggy. For asparagus, remove also the thick part of the stem to allow even cooking for there is a tendency for the softer tips to cook quickly compared to its stems.

It is important to eat healthy to lead a well balanced life. Cooking vegetables as part of any meal would definitely prove to be a good choice.

[lenaglittleus]

How to Meal Prep Without Getting Bored

When you’re trying to eat healthier, meal prep can make it easier to stick to your plan — just cook a big batch of nutritious food at the beginning of the week, and you’ll always have a healthy meal ready when you get hungry.

But eating the same few foods, day after day, can get old pretty quickly. And once you feel like you’re stuck in a salmon-and-steamed-broccoli rut, you may lose interest in meal prep altogether. “If you get bored with what you’re eating, sooner or later you’ll give up,” says Benjamin L. White, PhD, MPH, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian at the weight-loss center Structure House. Here’s how you can keep meal-prep burnout from getting in the way of your healthy eating plan.

Think streamlined, not boring.

Okay, this might sound like a “potato, po-tah-to” thing — but while eating the same thing every day may sound dull, the upside is that it can keep you from having to rely on willpower every time you open the fridge. (Social psychologist Roy Baumeister believes willpower is a limited resource and you can suffer “decision fatigue” when you make too many decisions in a day — this is why Mark Zuckerberg wears the same gray tee every day and Warren Buffet eats the same breakfast every morning.)

“Very few people want to spend a lot of time thinking about — or preparing — every meal, every day,” Dr. White says. “Having some simple, quick building blocks for meals can really help.” And just because you cook a pound of chickpeas on Monday, for example, it doesn’t mean you have to eat plain chickpeas every day — you can make chickpea curry on Tuesday, chickpea burgers on Wednesday, homemade hummus on Thursday, and roasted chickpeas on Friday.

Add color to your meal prep.

Photo by @meowmeix

Picture a plain chicken breast on a bed of brown rice. Drooling yet? No? We don’t want to hate on beige — plenty of important staples come in blah colors — but let’s be honest, bright colors just make a meal more enticing. (You’ve probably heard the saying “eat the rainbow.”) When you’re grocery shopping, add more color to your meal prep with brightly-colored produce like red berries, yellow peppers, dark leafy greens, and purple onions. Even carbs can be colorful — try sweet potatoes, yellow corn, or purple yams instead of the usual grains.

Stop overcooking your food.

If culinary skills aren’t exactly your strong point, it can be hard to get excited about a week’s worth of overcooked meat or mushy veggies. (Not surprisingly, research shows a lack of cooking skills can be a major barrier to healthy eating.) But you don’t need to be a sous chef to prepare meals you actually want to eat — with a little practice, anyone can master the basics. Here are a few links that can help level up your cooking skills:

Avoid the most common cooking mistakes.

Brush up on basic cooking terms so you won’t feel intimidated by new recipes.

Learn to bake a chicken breast the right way — no more dry, chewy meat.

Use your freezer wisely.

After you batch-prep, stash one or two servings in the freezer — you can rotate them into your meal plan whenever you feel like you’ve hit a rut. So if you make a veggie lasagna or slow-cooker chili on Meal Prep Monday, set a portion or two aside now and you’ll have a backup meal when you need it. “It’s also helpful to keep a few frozen meal starters around for quick cooking,” Dr. White says. “Two good examples are frozen cubes of pesto or tomato sauce — combine one of these with fresh whole grain pasta and salad greens, and you have a healthy meal.”

Try a new recipe every week.

Obviously you’re going to have a few standbys you rely on every week — hello, Taco Tuesday! — but try to incorporate one new recipe each week to keep from getting burnt out on your go-to foods. Switch up your daily smoothie, try a new one-pot meal, or make over a favorite meal with a new flavor — like swapping out your Southwestern black bean salad for a tangy white bean salad (or vice versa).

Switch up your fruits and veggies.

Research suggests eating a variety of veggies may help you squeeze more veggies into your diet than simply sticking to your tried-and-true faves. In one study, participants were given half a plate of veggies — either a blend of veggies, or just their favorite. The group who got the variety consumed more veggies overall than the group who got their veggie of choice. Try adding a veggie you don’t usually eat to your grocery list this week — or change the way you use your favorite fruits and veggies, like adding strawberries to a spinach salad or blending kale into your breakfast smoothie.

Try a new protein.

When you think of lean protein, chicken and fish may be the first foods that come to mind, but there are plenty of other healthy protein sources. If you need a change, skip the meat aisle this week and get your protein from eggs, quinoa, tofu, beans, cottage cheese, or yogurt.

Spice up your staples.

There’s no reason to eat bland meals when you can usually add flavor without making a dent in your diet. “Almost all spices, peppers, and herbs are low-calorie, as are most vinegars, citrus zest, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and even dry wine after it’s been cooked,” Dr. White says. Get to know the spices in your pantry, and use them to keep your pre-prepped meals from getting monotonous.

Add sauces.

Sauce is a game-changer — can you imagine zucchini fries without marinara, or salad without dressing? And while many sauces are loaded with hidden sugar and Frankenfood ingredients, it’s usually easy to whip up a healthy homemade version (like this recipe for non-syrupy barbecue sauce.) “It’s also easy to make different delicious sauces out of plain Greek yogurt that go with many styles of cooking,” Dr. White says. “Add minced garlic, chives, salt, and a little mayonnaise for a good dipping sauce or sandwich spread. Or make a Mediterranean version with chopped cucumber, mint, lemon juice, and salt, or a Latin version with blended chipotle peppers in adobo.”

Stock up on meal prep containers.

Nothing screams “boring leftovers” like storing your meal prep in empty takeout containers you found in the back of the kitchen cabinet. Using drab, random containers can make meal prep feel like a chore — especially if you’re constantly rummaging around for a clean container. Stock up on functional meal prep containers that make the meal prep process more visual and organized. (And it never hurts to keep an extra set or two handy, especially if you like to store portions in the freezer.)

Meal Prep Recipes You Won’t Get Tired of Eating

Need some new meal prep ideas to shake up your usual routine? These recipe ideas can help you get inspired:

15 Healthy Breakfast Ideas 5 Lunches You Can Make Using Portion Fix Containers 15 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes Meal Prep Ideas from the Pros Buffet-Style Meal Prep 21 Snacks for Easy Meal Prep Mexican-Inspired Meal Prep 19 Quick and Simple Meal Prep Recipes

from News About Health https://www.beachbody.com/beachbodyblog/nutrition/how-to-meal-prep-without-getting-bored

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How to Blanch and Freeze Peas Fresh from the Garden – GettyStewart.com@|how to freeze peas from the garden@|https://www.gettystewart.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/gorgeous-peas-to-freeze-peas.jpg@|21

The straight up goods on how to freeze peas. You’ve worked hard to get those gorgeous shelled peas, so keep them tasting like they’re fresh out of the garden by freezing them properly.

Also Read: Guide to Blanching Vegetables , Cauliflower and Peas with Dill, Ham and Peas Mac and Cheese

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Please don’t be tricked into thinking you can freeze peas without blanching. They may be okay for the first two to three months, but after that they’ll start to taste starchy and bitter. Have you ever eaten peas from a big, fat bumpy pea pod, like in the photo below?

Overripe peas taste starchy and bitter.

Yuck, right? As peas age and become overripe, sugar turns to starch and they start to taste bitter.  They lose that sweet tender flavor we adore. That’s exactly what happens in the freezer if you don’t blanch them first. The aging enzyme continues to age the peas and even though they’re frozen, they turn starchy and bitter. You don’t want that.

So here’s what to do…

How to Freeze Peas to Capture Their Sweet Flavor

1.Harvest Time

Harvest peas when the peas inside the pod are a nice round form but aren’t so big that they’re crowding each other and straining the sides of the pea pod. When you’re checking your peas, compare the feel of a small, medium and large pea pod and then do a taste test to get a sense of the difference in flavor between the different sizes. If in doubt, err on the side of underripe rather than overripe. 

If you’re getting peas from a farmer’s market, have a good look at the pea shells and see what stage the peas are at. You want about 90% of them to be like the ones in the middle in the photo above. If there are a lot of shells that are tight and bumpy, leave them as they are overripe and will taste starchy not sweet. If there are too many that are too small, you’ll get good flavor, but you won’t get much volume – consider waiting until next week’s market.

In the photo below, notice how big the peas in the first pea pod are. Notice the color difference too, they’re a pale green compared to the juicy, sweet tender peas in the bottom pod. That top pod is overripe.

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2. Handling Time

Shell,  and freeze your peas as soon after picking or buying as possible. Peas will continue to age once picked. They’ll also start to lose moisture and get limp. Process them right away to capture that fresh sweet flavor. 

3. Proper Processing

I wish I could tell you that you don’t have to blanch peas. But you do. Even if you find tons of internet sites that say you don’t have to – you really do! I know this both from my schooling as a Professional Home Economist and from first hand experience. Yes, despite knowing better, I was lured by internet posts that promised I didn’t need to blanch peas. I got suckered into freezing several bags of peas without blanching.  BIG MISTAKE! When I took those peas out several months later, their color and flavor were not pleasant.  The peas tasted starchy and bitter.  Just like my profs said they would, the aging enzymes in the peas continued to age the peas, even in the freezer. So my young, tender peas tasted as bad as those big fat peas we hate.

So please, DO NOT freeze peas without blanching first – no matter what you might find on the internet!

To stop the aging enzymes and properly preserve flavor, color, texture and nutrient loss, you need to blanch veggies first.

If you choose not to blanch your peas, use them within two to three months before the effects of aging become noticeable and your peas start to taste off.

How to Blanch and Freeze Peas

Step 1 – Shell & Wash

Wash shelled peas in a big bowl of cold water.  Simply swish about and scoop out with your hands.

Wash peas.

Step 2 – Bring to Boil & Blanch

Bring a large pot of water to a hard boil.  Add peas to boiling water being sure not to overcrowd the pot.  There should be plenty of room for peas to move and the water should be able to come back to a boil within 1 minute.  If there are too many peas in the pot, some will get over-cooked and some will be under-cooked.

Blanch peas in a hard boil for 1 1/2 minutes.

Once the water and peas return to a hard boil, watch the timer carefully and boil (blanch) your peas for only 1 1/2 minutes.  That’s all you need for blanching, but only start the timer once the water has returned to a boil.

 Step 3 – Cool in Ice Water

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Immediately scoop out your peas and cool them instantly in an ice water bath. The ice water will help ensure the peas don’t continue to cook from their own heat. Overcooking the peas will leave them too mushy once you reheat them to serve later on. Once all the peas are cooled, drain the water well.

Step 4 – Freeze 

There are two options for how to freeze your peas – freeze as individual peas or freeze as a meal-sized bunch.

If you want to be able to open a bag and have individual peas roll out, you’ll need to freeze the peas individually by placing them in a single layer on a large tray. Place the tray in the freezer for 1-2 hours and then transfer frozen peas into a freezer bag or container.

Freeze peas on trays to avoid clumping.

If you have a lot of peas, lack of freezer space, want to finish the job quickly or like freezing meal sized quantities, skip freezing the peas on a tray and put peas directly into a freezer container. Because of the water on the peas, they will stick together, but once thawed it won’t make a difference.

Remove as much air from the freezer bag or container as possible. Use a straw to suck out air of freezer bags.

That’s it. You now have delicious peas that will last until next year’s pea crop!

What’s your favorite way of using your frozen peas? A pat of butter? A sauce? In soups?

We like putting frozen peas in hot chicken noodle soup. We don’t even thaw them, we just add them at the very end just before serving. By the time we get eating, the peas have heated up and the soup has cooled down just enough.

Sign up to get seasonal recipes, preserves and tips by Getty delivered to your inbox.  Getty is a Professional Home Economist,  speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas.  She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener. [external_footer]

source https://livingcorner.com.au/how-to-blanch-and-freeze-peas-fresh-from-the-garden-gettystewart-comhow-to-freeze-peas-from-the-gardenhttps-www-gettystewart-com-wp-content-uploads-2014-07-gorgeous-peas-to-freeze-peas-jp/