Nice. We used to do that. One mainstay for that was roast lamb and potatoes, with brown sugar carrots. Mmm. Anything fun cooked?
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lasagna, tacos, pumpkin soup...
I'm struggling with 'fun' as a filter.
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I think we have different definitions for companion lol
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Companion means friend, or another person accompanying you. At a stretch, it can mean an animal accompanying you.
Do you use it exclusively in reference to animals?
Edit: upon consulting the dictionary, animals are built into the definition, not a stretch, but persons are built in, too.
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I don't think I would use companion in place of friend, I don't go on adventures. I guess it could be fitting for D&D even though it's a made up adventure. I do take the dog's on "adventures" though, they look at anything as an adventure. Just opening the front door is like the hobbits leaving the shire, serious business.
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Upon reflection, it is less warm than "friend," so I would probably just use it during a journey such as "one of my companions didn't like Asian food, so our dining options were limited."
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Certainly, a lot of people travel with people that aren't friends but companions. Look at the military.
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Ah that brings me back to my teenage years, when we would gather on Friday evening, then spend the next two days alternating between cooking good food and playing tabletop RPGs. Such good times!
I still play TTRPGs, but dedicating every second weekend to it, and cooking, isn't really possible anymore :( Now we play on Thursdays and people will regularly bake something for the evening, but no more cooking.
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Bake as in, dessert? as in, the people gather after dinner at home?
Our game is monthly, first Saturday usually, and two participants drive 2 hours to get here, so they stay over.
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People will bake cookies, cakes or similar and bring with them for our sessions.
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Nice.
Have the goodies ever been used as terrain elements? I'm picturing brownie barricades and a Rice Crispy Treat ziggurat.
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Nah, we play theater of the mind so no need for terrain. They have been used as props though!
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I would like a few less but it's almost impossible to do anything with animals anymore in USA due to animal rights people. Which sadly means more people just dump them or worse. Most of these were just throwaways.
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What qualifies as "do anything with animals" and what qualifies as "due to animal rights people"?
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When people sit around flagging ads of other people trying to find homes for their animals so they can't this just makes a bad situation worse. You can't pour gasoline on a fire and expect it to get better. The RIGHT thing to do would be to take those animals and provide temporary care for them until they can do their little show and dance of checking backgrounds and whatever else to find them a good home. Sadly they don't do this and usually won't help even if contacted because they are already over capacity or so they say. The systems I am talking about are automated so when a few people who think they are somehow helping by flagging pet ads it just auto removes the ad and there is no way to undo it. When these people do it a few times you simply can't post anything at all anymore. Nobody is being helped, certainly not the animals. So yes "due to animal rights people" there are more animals being dumped in the middle of nowhere or worse because it's nearly impossible to post ads on craiglist and similar. When you are just trying to rehome abandoned animals paying for a ad in the newspaper is difficult to justify, especially when you don't have disposable income. Feed the dogs or take a gamble and hope someone replies to a newspaper ad. People somehow don't think there are consequences to all actions, they simply blindly do things thinking somehow they make things better. That is just not how the world works. And trust me animal abusers will get animals even if there are no ads anywhere. They will simply drive down the street picking up all the abandoned dogs and cats because people can't find homes for them or worse just snatch them out of people's yards. Hell some people get jumped walking their champion bloodline dog down the street because people know that dog is worth money and they can just take it to their cousin the next state over and get a nice chunk of change. I guess maybe the ad flagging MIGHT slow down backyard breeders a little bit but it certainly won't stop them. Just my thoughts. Thoughts from some guy stuck with a bunch of dogs he took in and can't do anything with that eat all his earnings up every month.
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I sympathize with aspects of what you said there, but I'm not seeing anything having to do with animal rights activists.
What I do see is someone with a big heart taking in dogs without having the ability to support them w/o giving up things in his own life. Have you considered reaching out directly to animal adoption centers and explaining your situation?
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I did and none of them even responded. Trust me I know unwanted pets are overflowing everywhere but whatever nutjobs are sitting around flagging everything certainly isn't helping the situation. I doubt they work for PETA but I assure you they at least think they are some animal rights heroes. Luckily I can get most things taken care of free which lets me spend everything and I mean everything on the dogs. Some of them were just meant to be temporary to save their lives and I mean that. I love dogs but I have to do something because I'm not financially stable, if I were I wouldn't care. I'd stack dogs to the ceiling to keep them out of bad places.
And yes there are these pet adoption sites out there but you have to have lots of paperwork and a vet to vouch for you and all kinds of crap, it's just not feasible if you aren't some licensed rescue. I have 10 puppies right now and I am going to have to sit in a parking on on a busy street somewhere handing them out because there's honestly nothing else I can do with them. The 2 parents got to go too then I can somehow manage the rest. Believe me I wish some rescue would actually step up and take them but around here most of the rescues are out for themselves not the animals. I've seen them steal dogs from people, let dogs have puppies so they can use that to get donations. Take donations for dogs then ship the dogs up north where they are "adopted out" for fees higher than what breeders get for papered dogs around here, what I am saying is they double dip or get paid twice for every dog. They take these donations and pay bills etc. It's ugly. And it makes real people who actually care about the animals look bad by association. People who see what's going on or get burned by these people don't want to have anything to do with rescue and I don't blame them.
Sorry, I know I tend to ramble. Anyway it's probably these nasty people flagging all the ads because they want people to "adopt" from them not anyone else because momma needs gambling money or whatever they are up to. I think a lot of them do it because they don't have to pay taxes on donations and can right off a lot of stuff saying it's related to their rescue efforts.
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I think what you're really running in to are people who expect you to take responsibility for the dogs you've taken responsibility for. Whether or not that feels fair to you.
What you're describing with shelters, I've never seen personally. If that is true rather than an assumption, it's exactly the type of story local news outlets salivate over the opportunity to reveal once they're made aware of it.
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By interfering with me finding them permanent homes? I don't think you understand fully what you are implicating. If this were the case there would be NO rescues as they would be expected to take responsibility for their responsibility as you put it. And sadly this is the case, nobody wants to take any responsibility and animals suffer because of it. It's an absolute no win scenario with nobody pulling punches or seeming to care about the consequences of their actions. And yes I have seen it all because I worked with these nasty people. It's sad because the animals are the real losers, they can't catch a break no matter what. I mean hey if you want to "surrender" your pet there is a fee and a waiting list, at least in my area. I would never do that personally because I know they only get 7 days typically before it's over for good. I mean it may sound wrong but they stand a much better chance being dumped. Some poor shmuck like me might pick them up and get stuck taking responsibility. lol
I just want to be able to post free ads about animals I have helped without some shit-heel on some fools crusade interfering. There are so many broken systems in the world and the solutions seem straightforward and easy to implement but people seem dead set on leaving things broken, it's infuriating. Like for example why use automated flagging systems? You know people are going to abuse it. ffs
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That makes sense, too... But I'd still agree with antidaz for the first part, if someone realizes they can't keep up with their pet's needs, preventing them from trying to hand it to someone else is just going to be bad for the pet, no?
Same thing as claiming to be "pro-life" while preventing people from getting abortions, in a way... Not an exact parallel, but you get what I mean.
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I get it. But it's important to set aside feelings about ads being removed and start looking for other solutions. For example: https://almosthomeanimals.org/
Puppy mills are also mostly not a thing with shelters, and I find the claim that shelters kidnap dogs to breed even as they have problems finding homes for the dogs they have already, to be dubious at best. If there is actually one, that shelter needs to immediately be reported to law enforcement, animal advocacy groups, every local news outlet, etc...
My personal opinion is dude should not be taking in these dogs to begin with if he is unable to properly care for them. If as he has stated with some frequency on this forum, he has difficulty even supporting himself. No matter how sad that may be. He has made it clear he resents the financial burden it has presented. What are the odds that each of these dogs is up to date with their shots and general checkups? Much less actually being fed properly and being given the proper attention and affection? Or, if he is going to continue taking them in, does he have a real plan outside of just hoping someone will take them off his hands? I'd be curious to read the answer to these questions.
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I agree with the personal opinion part (not that I disagree with the rest, but they're just informational).
But I know it can be hard for some people to not do anything when seeing this kind of things, even if it means being burdened in the long term. :/
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I actually worked with these people and yes I saw text messages and emails about people they took animals from and was asked by people to go onto other people's property to "save" an animal. I've seen them take a dog knowing it's been bred and instead of having the pregnancy terminated because it's still early enough they just let the dog have puppies because puppies sell.
To expand on this with easily researchable information that I found 10 years ago when I was involved in this mess. There are places that charge $1000+ for adoption fees. These groups work with other groups in places like where I live because we are overrun with strays and our adoption fees are typically around $100. Do math. They were at one point actually using commercial vehicles and cramming 100's of animals in them, they got busted at least one time that I know of because there are actually laws concerning that sort of transportation. At any rate I am certain they still do it with residential vehicles. Let's say on the reserved side of things they use a cargo van and pickup 12 dogs and 6 cats. They give whatever group here $200 per pet to "cover costs". They spend $500 on gas to cover the trip. They spend $200 per animal on vetting which is generous honestly. They adopt out each animal for $800. That's $14,400 non taxable income. Even after expenses there's a discrepancy of $6700. Yes animals also require food and bedding and toys and whatever but a lot of that is donated at no cost whatsoever. And these are all real conservative figures. You can cram a lot more than 18 animals into a cargo van especially if they are small breeds and puppies or kittens which is what most people want, including the people I dealt with oddly enough. And yes I saw some of my animals getting shipped off and finding great homes in other states. I mean on one hand it's great because so many animals do find great homes but on the other it's disgusting that people manipulate things like that and only cute animals are benefitting from it. The sick, old and flat out ugly dogs just get left out. The only exception I saw was one dog I had that was deaf got selected but he was a puppy and he was absolutely adorable so I guess they could tug on a few extra heartstrings since he was special needs.
There are shady sides to everything whether you want to believe it or not. Look at all the sex scandals involving the catholic church. I don't have all the answers but I do think it's sad that people that are more about business than the animals get way more help than people that are more about the animals.
I've learned my lesson though. Some other shmuck can take the responsibility from now on. I'll just help 1 or 2 here and there as mine expire. After spending 7 years in prison without ever laying a hand on anyone in any fashion I'm terrified of dealing with anyone. I'm sure as hell not going to try to expose anyone ever again. People tend to have friends and when those friends have power it can really fuck your entire life over if you aren't careful. Maybe stuff like that doesn't last long in suburbia but in rural backwaters things haven't changed much in the past 200 years.
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I guess maybe the ad flagging MIGHT slow down backyard breeders a little bit but it certainly won't stop them.
Oh. I was wondering in what situation would flagging those ads "help" in any way, I guess that sort of makes sense? Still very dumb, though, and dumber that there isn't any appeal system or something. I'm not American, sadly I can't tell you of any alternative I might have heard of. :/ My sympathy goes to you (and your companions).
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I covered the other rather weak idea as well. Supposedly they think it is to help stop bad actors from getting free dogs on craigslist and facebook. Yes there are groups for finding animals on facebook as well but again it suffers from the same auto-flagging system with no actual way to counter it, no support. At any rate people that want animals for the wrong reasons will just pick them up off the street or out of people's yards, they don't care. Certainly not slowing them down in any way.
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That's... Counter-productive? :(
Didn't read your messages below yet.
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I cook on occasion but most of the time I just eat meals from Factor75... its been helping alot to prevent overeating out of boredom eating/compulsive eating issues.
chances are that meal box has saved my life looking at all the weight I have shredded on it.
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It can be a struggle especially if you like sweets. Refined sugar is just bad. It's scary just how much is in soft drinks.
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I have ADHD, so sugar naturally makes it happy, its a real struggle at times. I keep saying I should stop letting myself buy snacks... I should just make that a reality of my world, no snacks(other than veggies).
fortunately I was able to cut regular soda drinkage out forever ago... went cold turkey when I was drinking 3x+ cans a day.
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I like fruit. Apples, bananas, applesauce, frozen or in yogurt. Whatever, fruit is a great snack and so is yogurt!
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I don't cook, I just heat things up 😃
Not TV meals, but still mostly frozen stuff.
But I don't consider that real cooking.
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Not sure what counts as companions but I cook almost daily, sadly I don't do well on a lot of food like for example milk/lactose, anything from the onion/garlic family, hot peppers, etc. which makes it basically impossible to buy pre-made food, not to mention that pre-made food from the supermarket is expensive and I can make my own food for often 1/3 of the price. I mean sometimes I get a pizza or some fries or whatever but that doesn't happen often.
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I think the broadest term is someone you travel with and most people see animals as more than property these days and tend to travel with them
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Sort of. For the easy stuff (breakfast, pasta & sauce, sheet pan chicken, tacos, burgers & fries), I can be trusted. But for anything more complex, my GF is the cook and I just try to help wherever I can.
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Real cooking is not too complicated if you have a recipe. Experimental cooking however you really need to know what you are doing.
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Cooking is great and fun. And the best most tasty things I cooked are the ones created from 5-10 ingredients. Cooking for myself and friends is nice.
I don't have dogs now but had a few during my life but I was not cooking for them as things like onion, leek, chive, and garlic is toxic for dogs. I trusted dog food or meat and bones from soups without onions etc.
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Yes.
Lately, I've been making ciabatta, sourdough, and tortillas exclusively. Regular and gluten free. I just started a sourdough culture about two months ago. And I will do gf cultures every week or so.
But, going into the holidays, there will be an uptick in cake and pie making as well. :)
Cookies is really just every so often.
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I plan to start a sourdough starter soon - splurged on a cast iron dutch oven recently!
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Very cool. It'll live forever as long as you feed it regularly. Daily when left out, weekly when refrigerated.
It's such a great thing to have available.
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there's a local baker that I was supporting by buying sourdough every week but now that the hubby is retired, it's too pricey, especially when it's so cheap to bake at home.
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Agreed. Sometimes I'll still buy loaves from other people when I'm just not feeling up to baking, but as you say, it's expensive, and making your own is so inexpensive.
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Ciabatta, sourdough and tortillas, oh my!
I just started a sourdough culture about two months ago.
My grandma kept a sourdough "mother" for years in her root cellar. As kids, we would fight to be the one feeding it. My grandma used to say "if you keep it fed, it will keep you fed"
I had one of my own but gave it away because I couldn't keep an eye on it and didn't want to freeze it.
But, going into the holidays, there will be an uptick in cake and pie making as well. :)
My gf would hate me for baking pies and cakes lol
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lol
She'd especially hate it you if you added creme brulee into your dessert repertoire. :)
Yeah. I had a mother culture for many years when I was still a chef professionally, but since hanging up my chef coat, I have not kept one consistently. Until now. I imagine I'll be able to keep this one going indefinitely.
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You are a chef! That explains a few things :D
I am pretty sure I will be cooking for a living as long as they allow me too but when they don't, I have a feeling I'll still be cooking at the retirement home.
She'd especially hate it you if you added creme brulee into your dessert repertoire. :)
I am under strict instructions not to make creme brulee more than once a year (even though I make crema catalana as it uses milk and less eggs) but I am allowed to make the occasional crepes or soufflés because it's "lighter"... talk about mixed messages! :D
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Lol. Definitely mixed messages.
Yeah, I just really didn't want to continue the 50-70 hour weeks. So I switched things up.
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It's a crazy life, that's for sure. I don't know if I'd keep going if I had kids.
As it is, I work some night shifts so I still get to see friends and family on those days but then I only cook for a living, I'm not a chef and I don't have to run things so that adds a layer to it.
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I think it was fun for thirty years or so. A good run, as they say. :)
It can be highly convenient though. There is always a job available somewhere, and the job travels well.
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There was a hilarious article I read recently about ramekins - some had their grandmother's ramekins, some had been gifted them, some said it was something you got when you knew you were a real adult, another thought she'd donated hers but then years later wanted to make a molten chocolate cake and found them in the scary basement...
I had a few cast offs but then bought 24 of them for a dinner party I was throwing - French food was on the menu and Creme Brulee was the dessert. ZOMG, so delicious when baked at home!
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lol. Ramekins. The things you don't know you need until you need it and then find them in random spots.
Except in restaurants when you never ever seem to have enough of them. :)
Yeah. Creme Brulee is just about the best thing in existence. And quite versatile.
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Ramekins! I was supposed to make salted caramel soufflés for my gf's birthday but we were at her Mom's and she had bought muffin tins thinking it would work. Then another 5 people invited themselves over...
Try finding 8 ramekins in Portugal. They were like "what the hell is that??"
We had to go to a specialist professional store to score them and ended up buying several sizes since we were there... we went back to her Mom's with 22 ramekins lol
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My gf would hate me for baking pies and cakes lol
Why so? :o
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She has a sweet tooth like you wouldn't believe... and I don't. So if there's cake and pie, she'll eat all of it and then she gains weight and hates me for baking things she likes...
So I'm allowed the occasional plated dessert or small portions that don't last for days like soufflés, creme brulée, crepes and the likes.
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Aaah.😆 Okay, lol. Mine definitely wouldn't have the time to eat all of it. 👀
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Heh race to the finish was pretty much the name of the game when there was cake at home as a kid. To the last crumb.
Now I'm just over sugar in general. I'll eat one or two bites, enjoy them and move on.
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😅
To be fair I do have less of a sweet tooth than I used to... But I still enjoy cakes and stuff as long as they aren't too sugary! (sugary as in specifically sugar taste/texture, not just sweet in general)
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Very nice. Yeah, once you understand how these things work, they lose their mystery but always remain awesome.
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Overnight fermentation is a gift from Mother Nature we should all be thankful for. I usually make focaccia like that because it keeps longer than a baguette, with slightly different ratios of course. Who needs to knead? ;)
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Could you hook me up with those ratios, Fluffster? The recipe, I mean. Some of my companions find the baguette too crunchy.
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Sure thing, Fitzy!
I use ratios but let's say you start with 500g flour. So for the ratios, that's:
- 80% flour weight in water (so for 500g flour, 400g water)
- 1% of the water weight in yeast so 4g here (1.5% if active dry yeast)
- 2% of the flour weight in salt so 10g here
- 5% of the water weight in olive oil so 20g here
When I use dry yeast, I use body temp water and a tablespoon of honey to bloom
I just mix the dough in a very large bowl and let it rise on the counter for 12 hours.
I fold it a few times and put it in a baking dish with a tablespoon of olive oil, and let it rest while I preheat the oven, about 30 mn.
I bake it at 220 for 10 mn with a steamer tray and another 10-15 at 230 after removing the steamer.
I give it a brush with olive oil (or garlic butter when it's not for breakfast)
You can add toppings like Parmesan, sundried tomatoes (just be mindful they're not the burning kind) or even mix in some in the dough, like rosemary or fennel seeds.
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Much appreciated, Fluffster. I'll let you know how the first one comes out.
Er...um...
Now I've heard of using room temperature water...
Err....umm....
Regarding body temperature water... How many times should I coil the garden hose around myself?
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lol sorry, old habits. Body temp water should feel neither warm nor cool if you put the back of your index finger under it.
If you aim for 37-38 celsius with a thermometer, you're fine
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Thanks, Fluffster. I take back everything I've said about you and ripe bananas.
Now my last baguette didn't rise as much as previous ones. The previous were 100% type 405 flour, but the last one had 150g of type 630 flour swapped in. Would type 630 need more yeast? Or could that be the dry yeast getting a bit stale (my 4th use of the little packet)?
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Haha ripe bananas are not too bad
Hm... I'm not a baker or anything but I think spelt flour would need less yeast because it already contains more natural yeast than bread flour but it might need more time to rise and a lot more hydration because it's higher in gluten but also it absorbs more water so that might explain why it didn't rise.
If you try again maybe add 10-20% more water and leave it to rise longer and see how it goes.
All this being said, dry yeast can get flat especially if it's not new. I'd test it with some (body temp) water and a little sugar ;)
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You just put a tray or a baking dish with a little hot water in the bottom of your oven. It's great to help bread and similar dough light and fluffy and it helps to get a good crust (I know it sounds contradictory but it works for science reasons)
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Aah, I see. Thanks! How much is "little", though? Or does it not matter since it'll be removed 10 minutes later?
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Planning to start this tonight for tomorrow's breakfast...
One more question...
220C for 10min, 230C for aother 10-15min... is that with the oven fan on or off?
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Ah I was going to ask if you'd tried it. Oven fan on for convection ovens. Just keep an eye on it for the last 10 mn to make sure it doesn't get too dark.
But then I have a buddy who does it at 240 the entire time because he likes a thick crust so it's a matter of preference and experimentation.
For the first time you should stick with more conservative temps I think.
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Here's the dough. It looks a bit wet to me, compared to the baguette dough.
Regarding the honey to bloom, is that directly into the dough? I put it in the water for distribution. Or, is that a prep phase?
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It's supposed to be very wet. At this level of hydration, it should not hold any shape, that's why you don't knead it.
Gluten will develop a beautiful structure though.
Honey is fine in the water. I usually mix all the wet ingredients together. Should have said that.
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No sudden movements, you don't want to scare it. And no opening windows! She needs to feel warm and cozy ;)
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The goal is 4 rolls and a small loaf.
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Tasty! I would definitely make this dough again.
Sorry, no pics of the rolls. The baking took a little longer and the rolls had to be rushed to the breakfast table, as everything else was done already.
Notes: the 4 rolls should have been better crowded together. Swapping the two baking dishes would accomplish that. Alternatively, making all rolls, no loaf.
Fluffster, do the pics prompt any advice for next time?
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Niiiiice!! Looks pretty good!
Fluffster, do the pics prompt any advice for next time?
It looks great although there should be bigger bubbles in the final product. What kind of flour did you use?
Not that it makes a big difference if the dough was not dense.
How was the underside? I can't really tell but from the second picture, it looks like there is a slightly darker line at the bottom of the bread inside which probably means the underside could have been more cooked. Was it dense at the bottom or chewier?
If that's the case, I'd heat the baking dish with a little oil before transferring the dough and letting it rest in the dish.
The texture looks good. For a proper focaccia shape you probably need to spread it in the dish and put some olive oil and indentations at the top but I'm loving the crust on that loaf so it's really not necessary. Looks more like ciabatta than focaccia but it works.
Yeah the dough is too wet for proper rolls, they'll spread out.
How did you like it? How was the texture?
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You're asking about the underside of my loaf? That's a little personal. H'rmph.
.
.
.
Flour? 405
Underside: firm, slightly crunchy, very like the top crust, see pic below
Heat the baking dish: that I didn't do. Next time, though
Liking: yeah, I found it very tasty. I got an unsolicited compliment, too.
Texture: chewy
Taste: a tad yeasty, so maybe one less gram of dry yeast next time... or give the yeast a separate bloom time step
Recap about the dry yeast:
I mixed the dry yeast in with the flour and salt, as instructed in my baguette recipe. I put a bit of honey in the water/oil combo before mixing the wet and dry ingredients together, as per my misimpression of your instructions. So, the yeast was not "bloomed" as a separate step.
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Must be the flour. I don't know much about German flour but this seems to be a lower gluten flour and higher gluten would give you bigger bubbles with a stronger structure but hey if it was good, no need to change it
You're asking about the underside of my loaf? That's a little personal. H'rmph.
lmao for a good cause I swear! It seems fine, really. That dark line is not too big and the bottom crust looks cooked so I guess it might just be the flour that didn't absorb all the water and some of it ended up getting stuck at the bottom, hence the line.Liking: yeah, I found it very tasty. I got an unsolicited compliment, too.
The best kind of compliment there is ;)
Texture: chewy
As it should be. Nice.
Taste: a tad yeasty, so maybe one less gram of dry yeast next time... or give the yeast a separate bloom time step
Could have been the fermentation that took it over the top a little. How long did it rise on the counter total?
I mean, it really comes down to taste. I don't mind yeasty but my gf dislikes a strong yeast flavor so I always use fennel seed and rosemary in the dough when I make it for her. It helps mask that.
as per my misimpression of your instructions. So, the yeast was not "bloomed" as a separate step.
Well my instructions were not exactly clear and I guess both ways work fine, depending on the yeast you use. That's the kind of things that mostly improve with each attempt so try it the other way and see which one you prefer.
All in all kudos on a successful first attempt. I gave the same (vague) instructions to colleagues who bake way more than I do and they ended up with a mess lol
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Thanks!
It was a 12-hour rise initially, and probably 45 minutes from de-bowling to into the oven. I did more than 2 folds, so I may have de-gassed it too much. I was fiddling with it as I decided rolls v. loaf and then compromised.
Hold on a moment... does yeasty taste come from rising/fermenting too long? I guess I was thinking of the yeast getting used up in the rise. Is that idea backwards? Now I guess the honey gets used up, and the yeast flourishes, making a bigger impact on the taste...
So, to keep the 12-rise for planning, I think I should... reduce the dry yeast by a gram and see how that goes. The same conclusion I came to when I had the backwards understanding of yeast.
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I was fiddling with it as I decided rolls v. loaf and then compromised.
Maybe but I still think it's the lower gluten content in the flour. It's all good though
Now I guess the honey gets used up, and the yeast flourishes, making a bigger impact on the taste...
That would be my guess although 12 hours is really not that long. I have left it longer on the counter but it's probably smarter to do a cold ferment if longer so in the fridge instead.
I would try to reduce the yeast yeah. 1 gram is a good start and I don't think that would have a big impact if you use bread flour.
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I cook frequently - and usually make a huge pot of soup for our monthly game nights. We don't have any pets but when we did I used to make my elderly dog a combo of eggs, cheese and steak-ums. It's all he would eat.
To save money, I use a pre-made costco chicken and chicken broth for the base of a lot of my soups. then add other ingredients depending on the specific cook. Avgolemono is a super cheap meal!
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Almost nobody I know eat soup anymore, which is a shame. Soup is a super comfort/healthy food combo. Soup and a cheese sandwich are my go-to winter dinners.
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Plus if you have freezer space you can make a large batch and freeze lots of quick dinners for the future on nights when you don't feel like cooking!
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I definitely don't have any freeze space lol (I have so many bones for stock in there, sauces and condiments) but when I go to my gf's, I fill her freezer because I know her dinners are cheetos and yoghurt when she works.
If I had room, I'd have an extra fridge and an extra freezer for all my food experiments, fermentations and sourdough
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Oh me too! fortunately we have a 35 year old freezer that is still chugging along so I usually have some space. I make soup enough that the bones get used up pretty quickly but I def need to remember to use all the duck fat I have on hand!
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When my thumbs were in better shape, I used to make flaky dough with duck fat. Then mixed in some roasted duck scraps (all the crunchy bits of skins and shredded meat that was left over) and baked it as a sort of flaky foccacia.
These days I just use it for confit or give it to a buddy that fries a lot.
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Yes, but I dont enjoy cooking for others tho....u know cz people with their fake feedback, opinions and preferences!
Grrrrr...gets on my nerves...Like do u know It took me 2hrs to make this dish!?
Its not easy to find people who are actually thankful for your effort. Especially when you overthink feedback🫣
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Everybody's a critic. If you cook for someone who has seen Top Chef or Masterchef once, they're all Michelin guide writers now.
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Hehehe Yea! and the joy of impressing these 'critics' does feel special😅
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I cook most of the time at my home. I mostly enjoy it. But it's huge time consuming effort(in my case) especially if you count cleaning
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Same here. Cooking is a real chore, but I really enjoy the cooking part, and the eating of course
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Years ago, I had a roommate and we had a rule. If he ate what I cooked, he did the clean-up. It motivated me to cook something he'd like, and if he didn't go for it, I had leftovers for a future meal.
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A cleaning roommate... I got to get me one of those. I was thinking of getting a monkey and teaching him out to wash dishes but my gf says it's not legal.
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Tell'er she's plan B so she'll see plan A in a whole new light.
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lmao she actually loves to clean (no Portuguese stereotype or anything :P) but she only lives here about 1 week out of 3 so I still need to figure out the monkey situation. I trust her on the legal side since she is a lawyer but I still checked... for my own education and dammit she's right, it's illegal.
Maybe I can get a goat and feed it the dirty dishes?
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Updates notes:
Subject Fluffster expressed surprise at not thinking of an idea remarked as genius level. Therefore, subject Fluffster believes themselves to be at or above genius level. Warrents further study. Calling Dr. Dunning, Dr. Kruger, Dr. Dunning...
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lmao. I do alright when I get a good night of sleep but that hasn't happened in a loooong time.
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I am happy enough to cook.
At the start it is harder because you got to learn things as in how to manage and prepare but you learn fast as with anything new.
Also rice is life and with rice it is easy to get something ready fairly quickly.
Also also, I usually prepare food for my 2 little shih tzu's
dont trust dry kibble.
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I added "rice" to the grocery list and my hubby came home with a 25 pound bag! Now I make 4 cups in a batch and use it with most meals. A quick lemon, butter, onion, garlic and white wine sauce is awesome over rice - add a protein like pork, chicken or fish and voila! dinner in 20 minutes ;-)
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And when the rice gets a bit old, you make fried rice out of it. :DD
A 25 pound bag of rice that is huge, you are going to be able to have rice for quite some time now.
hubby is going all in.
I hope you have a rice cooker at home for ease :DDD
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25 pounds is a lot! But I am steadily working my way through it! I tend not to make more than we plan to eat in any given week but fried rice cooked in the wok I got earlier this year with some sesame seed infused oil is pretty awesome!
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I do not have a rice cooker (my kitchen is over-flowing with way too many pots/equipment). Four cups of water and two cups of rice in a pot works beautifully enough for me! Are there other reasons to own one?
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To feel more Asian :DDD
Pots and water works just as well as you said.
The rice cooker is more for convenience and set it and forget it.
Enjoy the rice, the 25 pound will be gone before you know it.
Are you going to ask the hubby for another one? :D
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Probably! As he said, the 25 pound bag was cheap in comparison to buying smaller bags and since we're now living on retirement funds, every dollar counts ;-)
Plus it's good and filling!
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I do, 2-4 times per week. We do share that task. Sometimes we cook together, sometimes it's just one of us.
What I enjoy most is creating something new. Over the years I created 3-4 meals that are now considered "family secrets".
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Signature meals! Nice. Don't feed them to pros, they love to figure secrets out.
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True. Though I enjoy teasing friends with my version of raclette. Every winter it's high in demand but so far nobody managed to figure out what is unique about it.
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It's a pretty tough dish to make special because there's not a lot of room to slip in secret ingredients so kudos to you. I won't ask just in case one of your friends wander here ;)
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I have several "secrets" up my sleeve now that I started reading good cookbooks like "Salt, Fat, Acid & heat". Mostly they are easy umami-boosting secrets like adding a little lemon juice at the end of a cook to brighten up the flavors, or adding some miso paste (I keep white and a dark in my fridge), or buying a huge bag of dried shiitake mushrooms and grinding a few into a powder (they add an awesome umami flavor boost without actually tasting like mushrooms!).
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Umami bombs FTW. They also work in dessert. Caramelizing white miso and white chocolate makes for a killer ice cream.
Salt, Fat, Acid & Heat is an awesome cookbook. Too many cookbooks are just recipe lists with instructions from which you learn nothing new. Books like these are great at giving you tricks and expanding your techniques to help you learn and try new things of your own. Like a great grandma would ;)
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I highly recommend checking out "The Flavor Bible", if you aren't already familiar with it. Instead of being about recipes or techniques, it's a huge index of flavor combinations. You look up an ingredient, such as chicken, and it gives you a list of other ingredients that work well with it (which in this example includes things that might be obvious, like garlic or thyme, and things you might never have considered, like bananas). It's fantastic for opening up ideas for creating your own recipes (or just using up ingredients you already have on hand when can't/don't want to make a trip to the store). It doesn't cover every ingredient on the planet, obviously, but it does a pretty good job of representing most major cuisines from around the world.
And I am right there with on the umami bombs! Miso, black garlic, ryorishu (cooking sake), and mushroom powders are all permanently stocked in my kitchen. Shiitake is awesome for powder, but if you REALLY want to crank things up, try tracking down black trumpet or some matsutake (pine mushroom). They're both a little pricey, but a little goes a long way.
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I cook for friends, my sister, her kids, my gf, her family, and sometimes her dog... although that dog is a very picky eater and loves bread, pizza crust and fruit more than she loves meat...
It's kinda like a fun challenge to remember everyone's likes and dislikes, diet requirements and everything you have already cooked for them.
At home I tend to be a "let's see what is in the fridge" type of cook but when I cook for others at their homes, I try to plan.
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I do the "Hello, refrigerator" meals as well! Also, soups and omelets are very forgiving for whatever is leftover in the fridge.
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I always have eggs in the fridge. If I see I'm not going to use them, I separate and freeze them or cure the yolks to grate over other dishes.
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For the last game night, because I had a bunch of lemons that were starting to turn and some eggs that were getting very old, (and the aforementioned 25 pound bag of rice), I made a gigantic batch of avgolemono soup. With over 30 people and many requests for "take-home soup", it wasn't gigantic at the end of the night!
The trick with this soup is to take half the rice, some stock and blend it with the immersion blender (best freaking kitchen gadget I ever bought myself!). It thickens the soup. Oh and mixing the eggs with the lemon juice "cures" them and helps them not split into egg drop soup!
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Nice! I didn't know that trick. I usually just use the tempered egg yolks but it's still a bit runny for me. I'll try that next time because I made an attempt with corn starch once but it made the soup very glue-ey
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Oh, you still need to temper the egg/lemon mixture with hot broth whisked quickly but the pureed rice adds an awesome thickening agent.
Potatoes make a nice thickener as well but they need to be cook well before being pureed and added.
Cornstarch is awesome to coat meat when you're stir-frying or deep-frying. If you like home-made Chinese food, I highly recommend the website "Woks of Life"! they recommend a coating of soy and cornstarch to "velvet" sliced meat.
Also, a mixture of salt, pepper and cornstarch rubbed into steaks, then put in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before grilling results in a fast, cheap "aged" steak!
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I can't be bothered anymore, especially when you are alone why spend 20 minutes in a kitchen to eat it in 5 minutes, much easier for other people that depend on you. I am basically on a bread diet for over a year and to add a-z vitamins.
Not to mention the ridiculous increase of grocery costs these days. Even if i wanted to do healthy and eat a salad each day, the cheapest is 4 euro x 365 days, over 1200 alone per year, when you got 400 left on groceries and extras per month, that's 3 months and 1 already gone on healthcare costs.
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For starters instead of getting bagged/chopped salads from big markets, one can get cheaper - plus way better quality and fresh ingredients from farmer's markets and prepare them on their own, in just a matter of minutes.
And aside from that, we shouldn't put a price on our health and well being, because we are going to pay that multiplied in the future for medical related costs. Stay healthy!
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I don't think we really have them and most people go directly to a farmer but they are remote offcourse, but i also dont have a car so i am very limited to where i can go, i believe not until this year we got 1 farmers store in town but i always been in town when it was closed.
And supermarket stuff often is very bad, like how tomato's (or chicken) are just mostly water, they try season fruit to have it all year and get it from all across the world yet try to close down our farmers "for co2 / nature reasons".
But you are right, it's very important to take good care of your body (why it's probably giving problems right now) you stay healthy too!
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We have food banks here. I can't afford food at all, I just stop by a food bank when I am in town and eat whatever they give me. I buy some tuna, mayo, relish and crackers to pamper myself. I get around $450 a month donating plasma and I got to live off that. It's not easy for sure.
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Yeah technically i can also make use of a food bank (and have to) last year when i moved in here, i had a bit more money, 800 euro for energy compensation (but they stopped doing that this year, and also no holiday money upcoming year) that's a big gap.
But i am a picky eater and if they would give me that stuff (or i can't muster the energy to cook properly) then yeah it just goes to waste.
But all that money is rent excluded, more grocery money, bills or? Crackers for sure doesn't sound like a good way to live off. :x
Try atleast to get some a-z vitamins to get those in atleast.
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This is what the tuna is for, meat has basically everything you need. It can be expensive but you don't have to eat it every meal or gorge yourself on a 72oz steak. A can of tuna is less than $1 and with a little mayo, relish and some crackers makes a good nutritious meal. The food banks usually give milk too and milk is great nutrition, don't care what anyone says. They also give a lot of peanut butter, which is great. I just get the tuna to round things out and it's cheap.
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Mayo and relish hides the taste, this is why they make so much off tuna salad which is just the same ingredients basically. And they get to charge more for less fish. I just do the smart thing and buy bulk off-brand tuna, mayo and relish and mix it myself. Maybe a dollar per meal and it's a solid and filling meal. Between tuna, peanut butter and milk I'm pretty sure that covers my needs and sometimes they have fruits and vegetables.
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Canned fish is great for you. And so is milk. You probably need more in the vitamin C and vitamin A side of things though
Canned tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C and if you can find canned or dried beans, you can also cover the potassium/magnesium basis. And they both go great with tuna.
Carrots are also pretty cheap and very nutrition-dense if you can get them. And so are bananas so if you can't get them from food banks, try buying them once a month to get some extra vitamins
It's cheaper than supplements and vitamin supplements are not absorbed as well by our system as vitamins contained in food.
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I make sure to keep juice around, lasts a lot longer than fresh fruit. I like Mango Peach flavor
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Yes I mostly do BBQ. I am pretty good at making grilled food.
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I cook for my wife, especially now when she's pregnant and can't cook as much. She is a better chef than me.
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Aww cooking for mama and baby is a great thing. I'm sure you are not bad or she'd tell you. Pregnant ladies don't mince words lol
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There's a funny moment where she thought I messed it up, got mad at me and said she didn't want to eat it. The next day she tasted it and told me she is sorry as it's better than she thought it would be. 😅
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I like to cook but I don't cook that often anymore. I used to live in a shared student apartment/dormitory where we often cooked together.
When I cook, I cook a lot, sort of like meal time prep and it almost always involves meat. I want reduce my meat consumption, but it's not easy to break the habit. :)
Sneaky Giveaway for Cook Serve Forever, just for fun.
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Me and my wife have both gotten more into cooking this past year, we've come to enjoy making small at home dates involving us cooking together. Last week we made homemade pepperoni alfredo pizza, made the dough and everything for it together and it turned out really good. Also tried a copycat Raising Canes chicken fingers home recipe last week and it turned out really good too :)
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I like when I cook together with my girlfriend. I like to cook sometimes for her, but on daily basis, I have no pleasure cooking and just do it in order to have something healthy to eat. If I'm eating alone and not making anything for the next day I'll do a lazy meal like cereals and milk or pizza xP
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For your companions? Sometimes I do, like tonight everyone is getting pasta. Normally though it's just kibble, cooking human food everyday for 500+ pounds of dogs would just be a financial nightmare.
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