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Ooh, I love to cook even if these days it's mostly simple things as I don't have the energy for much less.

So I figured I'd share a recipe for relatively simple pasta dish.

(My picture ^-^ )

image.jpg

Ingredients:

- serving of pasta of your choice, I prefer linguini or angel hair.

- water

- spinach

- salt, pepper, garlic (powder or minced)

- 1/4th cup oil (vegetable or olive)

- Parmesan.


1. Get a large pot of water boiling.

2. Put the pasta in and wait for it to get soft enough to stir around if you're cooking a long pasta.

3. Place two handfuls of spinach on top of the boiling pasta water per serving. (ie 4 handfuls for 2 servings, 6 for 3) don't mix it in with the pasta, mix it gently in the water above the pasta until it's soft.

4. While spinach is cooking pour the boil into a blender or food processor.

5. When spinach is soft, place it into the blender as well, press 'liquefy' or 'pulse' which ever your blender has until the mixture is 'liquid' which shouldn't take more than a 10-15 seconds.

6. Pour in some salt, pepper and garlic into the blender, blender for a couple seconds.

7. Drain the pasta.

8. Pour sauce from blender into pasta, mix.

9.
Plate.

10.
Top with Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Extras: You can add in chicken, sausage, or any meat if you desire. Chicken is likely the best choice taste wise.

Tip: if you find the sauce too watery, next time let the spinach drip a little longer before putting it in the blender.
I haven't got the chance to make these recently, but I loved to make it late at night when I have to get some homework or revision done and desperately need something to keep me awake and sane through the exam season...or when I am just craving something sweet really, without too much guilt.


Toast, but using the crust, and its sliced, also it has sugar

I save up the cut off bread crust for this very reason! The topmost and the bottom slice is the best really.

Ingredients:
  • Any amount of bread crust, sliced (no need to be too neat)
  • Any butter
  • Brown sugar
  • Cinnamon (optional)


Steps:

(1) Melt a scoop of butter in the pan, I don't have an exact measurement but just enough to let all the crust slices absorb a little of the butter and prevent it from burning.

(2) Toast until it turns a bit more brown.

(3) Take it out and sprinkle as much sugar or cinnamon as you want while its still hot.

Note:
-Better get those paper towels- or whatever that thing is called, for absorbing excess oil.
-I just like it because its more crunchy than regular toast, and it is kind of like crisps, the kind you eat without thinking and before you know it its gone.
-Anything sweet goes well with black coffee >:)


Candied...anything, really

Its just a quick, maybe-not-so-easy snack that usually satisfies my craving for sugar after too long without anything sugary.

Ingredients:
  • Sugar, but white sugar preferred
  • Water, lots
  • Any type of fruit, usually tangerines, strawberries, blueberries or kiwi.


Steps:

(1) Process the fruits, stab a skewer through the fruits or just throw it on a plate if you are feeling lazy. Make sure you wash it first though.

(2) Just fill up the saucepan with...about 500ml of water? Ish?

(3) Add sugar.

(4) Maybe have a glass of water nearby in case you add too much.

(5) Let it simmer, don't stir, just let it bubble and let the water evaporate.

(6) Maybe turn on the lights, if sunlight is unavailable. Or the phone's flashlight. Watch the mixture, until the bubbles get smaller-ish and it becomes slightly caramel brown.

(7) Here is the optional choice of covering a spoon with it and dipping it in the glass of cold water you prepared beforehand to check if its crispy and crunchy or not.

(8) If no, so sad, maybe continue and maybe it will turn out right. If yes, quickly dip the fruits in. and coat it.

(9) Nothing much, just plate the fruit.

Note:
-after you are done, pour boiling water over the saucepan to dissolve the sugar. Or just submerge it in water if you aren't in a hurry.
-actually its the same with every utensil you used in making it so yeah.
-the end result should be crunchy. if it sticks to your teeth, you probably got the ratio wrong. Just adjust it next time until you get a feel for it. Its a learning process.


Fancy...Jelly, I guess, but for drinks.

Ingredients:
  • Patience
  • Black tea tea bags
  • Dried chrysanthemum
  • Something I am not sure how to say in English but I think its agar agar?
  • Water, lots
  • Sugar, obvsly
  • Milk


    Steps:

    (1) Boil the dry chrysanthemum (in a tea bag, please) and black tea (tea bags, or loose leaf, if you want to bother with filtering it later) for...I'm not sure, almost an hour? Half an hour ish, until it is very saturated.

    (2) Take out the tea bags obviously. Also, maybe filter the mixture anyways, just in case.

    (3) Continue boiling....but don't actually let it bubble? Kind of like that, science experiment, where you try to evaporate out the excess water to saturate it.

    (4) Add that maybe-agar-agar thing I mentioned. I don't have a measurement, but...around one tablespoon ish? Well, I won't take responsibility for whatever that comes out anyways.

    (5) Add what you are looking forward to the most, sugar. Or honey I guess, if you want to be fancy.

    (6) Stir, stir, stir until it is almost gonna boil. (Like there is bubbles, and a bit of foam, but not too much) Turn off the fire.

    (7) Throw it into any container and let cool in the fridge...for x amount of time. Just wait until it solidifies...and if it doesn't, well, you made it so don't waste food, just drink it, it won't kill you.

    (8) If you succeeded, yay, you can now scoop the jelly into another cup and pour in milk.

    Note:
    -I like to pretend that it is the slightly healthier version of milk tea.
    -The jellies are really nice, if you figure out the ratio. Sorry I don't have the habit of measuring though.
Rogue-Scribe

Noice! This thread makes me hungry!

So.... my culinary subject for today is.... pizza....

Sanne, who started this particular thread back in March 2011, posted her pizza dough recipe in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to Really Good Pizza thread. Here it is:
Sanne wrote:
My Pizza dough recipe

350g all-purpose flour
200-220 ml lukewarm water
1.5 teaspoon instant yeast
1.5 teaspoon sugar
1.5 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil (olive or sunflower)
Optional: additional seasoning, e.g. 1 tsp garlic powder, 1-2 tsp of italian herbs mix

Don't 'start' the yeast, just mix all dry ingredients, then add oil and water. Use dough hooks with a hand mixer and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes to develop gluten. If you're doing it by hand, knead at least 5-10 minutes. The dough should come off the edges of the bowl cleanly, if it sticks add about 1 tablespoon of flour and knead until it's tacky but not sticky.

Coat the bowl with a little bit of oil and put the dough back in. Cover with a folded kitchen towel and place in the oven for 30 minutes, with the heat turned off and the pilot light turned on. The pilot light will be warm enough to help the dough rise without using the heat.

Take the dough out of the bowl and cut in two even pieces for two pizzas (or use the whole thing for a mega pizza!). Place leftover dough in the fridge.

You need to roll out the dough, I usually place a baking paper sheet (NOT WAX PAPER, IT MELTS AND CATCHES FIRE!!) on the counter, flour it lightly, then roll out the dough on the sheet with a rolling pin, but you can roll it out on the counter and then transfer it over to a sheet lined tray. Remember it rises slightly so make it slightly thinner than you want the final pizza to be. Transfer the sheet onto a flat oven tray. I wet the edges and fold them over to create a raised crust, but it's optional. Prick all over the pizza dough with a fork, then top with your sauce and toppings of choice.

Bake on the lowest rack in the oven with upper and lower heat elements at 230-250C until the crust is golden brown. 230 is safer if you want to avoid a charred bottom on the crust. The crust will be crispy on the bottom without the toppings being burned. :D

For sauce:
It's as easy as getting a tomato paste and adding water, or pasteurized tomato sauce, whichever you prefer. Add salt, pepper, garlic (powder), italian herbs, and whatever else you fancy in your sauce. Spread a thin layer on the crust, top with grated cheese, then top with whatever you want. Boom done.

Now I have some fav styles, one is the very thin crust with a few toppings which Sanne's dough recipe is wonderfil for. But another style I like is the 'Chicago' deep-dish pie. Usually they are over-the-top artery-clogging extraviganzas, but I found the ones with the bready, toasty, buttery crust really awesome! So I made this lovely monster but I used some of Sanne's methods... yes it took a lot of time, but the result was wonderful!


Pizzeria Uno's Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Makes One 12-inch Chicago deep-dish pizza
Total Time: about 7 hours (6 hour dough rise, 30 to 45 minutes baking)

CRUST:
  • 1 ¼ cups (10 oz) (scant) Water (room temperature- about 20°C/68°F)
  • 1 teaspoon (0.38 oz) White Granulated Sugar
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons (0.25 oz) Active Dry Yeast (or 1 packet)
  • 3 ½ cups (18 oz) All-Purpose Flour (don't use bread flour, we want a biscuit like dough)
  • ½ cup (3.5 oz) Yellow Cornmeal
  • 1 teaspoon (0.25 oz) Table Salt
  • ½ cup (3.5 oz) Cooking Oil ( 7 Tbsp Corn oil and 1 Tbsp Olive Oil) – (Corn oil adds a buttery flavor to the crust)

- Add sugar and yeast to water, stir well. If not using instant yeast, allow the yeast to bloom in water for about 15-minutes. (If using instant yeast, you can use the water mixture right away.)
- Stir in flour, cornmeal and salt. Mix well.
- Stir in cooking oils.
- Mix for 1 minute then knead for 2 minutes. You can use a stand mixer or by hand. Add more flour or warm water, a Tablespoon at a time, as needed, to make a workable dough.
- Don't over-knead, we want a biscuit like dough for deep dish pizza.
- Form dough into a ball, place in a large mixing bowl, coat dough lightly with oil, cover bowl and let dough rise in a warm place for 6 hours. This long rise time develops a rich flavor in the dough that comes through in the baked crust. You can use the dough after about 1 hour of rise, but it won't have the deep flavor.
- Punch down dough and allow it to rest 10 to 15 minutes.


PIZZA FILLING:

Bottom Layer: Cheese
500g/approx. ½ lb sliced mozzarella cheese


Middle Layer: Toppings
    500g/approx. ½ lb Italian Sausage, hot or mild, crumbled
  • ½ pound Pepperoni, sliced thin
  • ½ Yellow Onion, cut into thin rings
  • ½ Green Bell Pepper, cored and cut into thin rings
  • ½cup Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
  • ½ cup Black Olives, thinly sliced (Optional – I don’t put olives on my pizzas)


Top Layer: Sauce (makes 3 cups)
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Garlic, minced
  • 1 Tablespoon Dried Basil, crushed
  • 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano, crushed
  • ¼ teaspoon Anise Seeds or Fennel Seeds
  • ½ teaspoon Table Salt, (or to taste)
  • ⅛ teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground
  • ⅛ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, (or to taste)
  • 1 (28 oz) can Italian-style whole peeled tomatoes, lightly squished (use "6 in 1 Brand - All Purpose Ground Tomatoes", if you can find it)
  • ½ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon White Granulated Sugar
  • ⅓cup grated Parmesan Cheese - to sprinkle on top
  • ¼ cup Olive Oil - to drizzle over top

In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the herbs, seeds, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.


Assemble Pizza:
  • - Roll out or press dough into a 12-inch deep-dish pizza pan. Press dough evenly onto bottom and up inner sides of deep dish pizza pan.
  • - 1st (Bottom ‘cheese’ layer)- Add a layer of sliced mozzarella as the bottom layer, on top of the dough. Place the cheese in tile-like layers covering the dough on the pan bottom.
  • - 2nd (Middle ‘Topping’ layer)- Add toppings, evenly distributed across pizza, as the middle layer.
  • - 3rd (Top ‘Sauce’ layer)- Finally, ladle the sauce over sliced mozzarella cheese and toppings as the top layer on the deep-dish pizza. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake the deep-dish pizza in an oven preheated to 235°C/455° F until the top is golden and gooey and the crust is a light golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. (Keep an eye on it after 30 minutes as ovens vary in their cooktimes)
MercyInReach wrote:
Ooh, I love to cook even if these days it's mostly simple things as I don't have the energy for much less.

So I figured I'd share a recipe for relatively simple pasta dish.

(My picture ^-^ )

image.jpg

Yeesssssssss, that looks stellar.
Rogue-Scribe

MercyInReach wrote:
image.jpg

Ingredients:

- serving of pasta of your choice, I prefer linguini or angel hair.

- water

- spinach

- salt, pepper, garlic (powder or minced)

- 1/4th cup oil (vegetable or olive)

- Parmesan.


1. Get a large pot of water boiling.

2. Put the pasta in and wait for it to get soft enough to stir around if you're cooking a long pasta.

3. Place two handfuls of spinach on top of the boiling pasta water per serving. (ie 4 handfuls for 2 servings, 6 for 3) don't mix it in with the pasta, mix it gently in the water above the pasta until it's soft.

4. While spinach is cooking pour the boil into a blender or food processor.

5. When spinach is soft, place it into the blender as well, press 'liquefy' or 'pulse' which ever your blender has until the mixture is 'liquid' which shouldn't take more than a 10-15 seconds.

6. Pour in some salt, pepper and garlic into the blender, blender for a couple seconds.

7. Drain the pasta.

8. Pour sauce from blender into pasta, mix.

9.
Plate.

10.
Top with Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Extras: You can add in chicken, sausage, or any meat if you desire. Chicken is likely the best choice taste wise.

Tip: if you find the sauce too watery, next time let the spinach drip a little longer before putting it in the blender.

So I made this using chicken mince. Lovely! :)


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Also made this fav of mine.... I used the BBQ outside as I don't have a smoker.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers!

Ingredients:
10 fresh jalapeno chilies
10 bacon rashers, cut in half
6 Chorizo sausages (or just the chorizo meat if your butcher supplies it that way)
1 cup cream cheese (Philadelphia, or if you feel like it, triple cream Brie)
1 cup grated cheese (Manchego, Monterey Jack, Colby, or whatever preference you
1 tsp chipotle or chili powder
2 shallots, minced

Instructions:
1. Slice the jalapenos lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove the seeds and membrane. If using bell peppers,
quarter them after they are seeded.
2. Mix the cream cheese, grated cheese, chipotle powder and minced shallots. Fill the hollowed out portion
of the peppers with the cheese mixture.
3. Place the chorizo meat on top of the cream cheese. Wrap the half slice of bacon around the jalapeno. If the
bacon is not staying tightly wrapped, it may be necessary to use a toothpick or baking twine to hold it in place.
4. Smoke them in a smoker, set at 225°F (108°C), for 2-3 hours, or until the bacon is browned.

If you don’t have a smoker handy, a BBQ will suffice. Use the high grill on a low heat (gas) or not too many briquettes.
Also, an oven will work too.
Shadow-Ranger wrote:
Sanne, who started this particular thread back in March 2011, posted her pizza dough recipe in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to Really Good Pizza thread. Here it is:
Sanne wrote:
My Pizza dough recipe

350g all-purpose flour
200-220 ml lukewarm water
1.5 teaspoon instant yeast
1.5 teaspoon sugar
1.5 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil (olive or sunflower)
Optional: additional seasoning, e.g. 1 tsp garlic powder, 1-2 tsp of italian herbs mix

Don't 'start' the yeast, just mix all dry ingredients, then add oil and water. Use dough hooks with a hand mixer and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes to develop gluten. If you're doing it by hand, knead at least 5-10 minutes. The dough should come off the edges of the bowl cleanly, if it sticks add about 1 tablespoon of flour and knead until it's tacky but not sticky.

Coat the bowl with a little bit of oil and put the dough back in. Cover with a folded kitchen towel and place in the oven for 30 minutes, with the heat turned off and the pilot light turned on. The pilot light will be warm enough to help the dough rise without using the heat.

Take the dough out of the bowl and cut in two even pieces for two pizzas (or use the whole thing for a mega pizza!). Place leftover dough in the fridge.

You need to roll out the dough, I usually place a baking paper sheet (NOT WAX PAPER, IT MELTS AND CATCHES FIRE!!) on the counter, flour it lightly, then roll out the dough on the sheet with a rolling pin, but you can roll it out on the counter and then transfer it over to a sheet lined tray. Remember it rises slightly so make it slightly thinner than you want the final pizza to be. Transfer the sheet onto a flat oven tray. I wet the edges and fold them over to create a raised crust, but it's optional. Prick all over the pizza dough with a fork, then top with your sauce and toppings of choice.

Bake on the lowest rack in the oven with upper and lower heat elements at 230-250C until the crust is golden brown. 230 is safer if you want to avoid a charred bottom on the crust. The crust will be crispy on the bottom without the toppings being burned. :D

For sauce:
It's as easy as getting a tomato paste and adding water, or pasteurized tomato sauce, whichever you prefer. Add salt, pepper, garlic (powder), italian herbs, and whatever else you fancy in your sauce. Spread a thin layer on the crust, top with grated cheese, then top with whatever you want. Boom done.

Sanne gave me this recipe a few months ago and I legit make it all the time now. Side note....it works for making breadsticks too (I usually make mine cheese filled)
That spinach pasta thing looks really good.

Normally I wouldn't have anything to post on a recipes thread. Making Ramen and Rice 'R Roni is normally the max I do in the kitchen.

But it just so happens I tried something today. I'm not sure if it will turn out well or not, but...it's interesting.

I've got these sliced apples that taste too sour for me to enjoy. I am trying to get myself to eat more fruit, so I'm trying to think if a way to make it appetizing, without making it too high-calorie or processed.

So what I did was put these sliced apples in a contained full of sugar water and cinnamon. I guess...I am trying to marinate them with something that will make them not sour, and tasty? I need fruit to taste as appetizing to eat as potato chips, with each bite. Otherwise, I will probably eat the potato chips. So, if anyone knows a trick for making fruit taste good while still being healthy, I'd welcome the advice!

I'll let y'all know if this marinating apple slices in sugar cinnamon water thing does the trick.
Rogue-Scribe

How about a Mother's Day Roast this coming weekend?


Blackened Rib Fillet Roast
With Buttered Lemony Greens & Mustard Cream


(SERVES: 6-8 PEOPLE | PREP TIME: 15-20 MINS | COOK TIME: 1 HOUR)

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1.5kg/3.3lb rolled rib fillet roast
  • 50g/1.8oz Your preferred BBQ Rub (I use Barbecue Mafia Steakout BBQ Rub)
  • 500g/17.6oz brussel spouts
  • 200g/7oz frozen broad beans
  • 100ml/6.8f-oz sour cream
  • 2 tsp hot English mustard
  • 5 sprigs of thyme leaves
  • 10 fresh sage leaves
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g/3.5oz salted butter
  • Juice & zest of 1 small lemon
  • Salt & pepper to season

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F fan forced.

- To prepare the rolled rib fillet roast, place the spice rub onto a plate and roll the beef to coat completely.
- Place onto an oiled roasting tray and into the hot oven.
- Cook for 50 min to 1 hr depending on how you like it cooked.
- Cook closer to 50 mins for medium-rare or closer to 1 hr for more well done. A digital meat thermometer is a great tool to have in the kitchen to help alleviate any guess work.
-Meanwhile, to prepare the buttered lemony greens, bring a medium pot of water to the boil.
- Place the brussel sprouts into the boiling water and cook until softened but still firm (approximately 5-6 mins).
- Remove with a slotted spoon and allow to cool slightly.
- Slice in half length ways. Into the same boiling water, place the frozen broad beans and cook for 2-3 mins.
- Drain. The broad beans need their outer coating removed after cooking to reveal the bright green beans. Set aside.
- To make the mustard cream, mix together the sour cream, English mustard, thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Set aside in the fridge.
- When the beef is cooked to your liking, remove it from the oven and rest for 10-15 mins.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the sage leaves and fry until just crisp. Remove onto paper towel.
- In the same frying pan, add the brussel sprouts and cook until the edges are just charred. Remove and toss with the broad beans, butter, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, slice the meat into 6-8 slices and place on a platter and serve with the mustard cream. For the buttered lemony greens, place onto a plate and scatter with lemon zest and crispy sage leaves.

Enjoy!


SCu6o90.jpg
Rogue-Scribe

I'm not sharing any links but I have been busting a gut watching 'Nat's What I Reckon' cooking show on youtube. He tends to swear a bit more than Gordon Ramsey... well, much more in his Aussie style which may be hard for Americans to take, but his 'Quarrantine Dish series cracks me up! Favs are 'End of Days Bolognese', 'Quarantine Spirit Risotto', and 'How To Make Quarrantine Sauce', and 'Wham Bam Thank You Lamb'. My wife used his 'End of Days Bolognese' 'recipe' for tonight's dinner! Tastes Awesome!
Rogue-Scribe

Pico de Gallo

Commonly served at Mexican restaurants with some tortilla chips as an appetiser.
Make it fresh! It is awesome for dipping or adding as a topping to tacos or other dishes.

Ingredients
  • 6 Roma tomatoes - coarsly chopped (or the truss tomatoes... I prefer them)
  • ½ cup white onion (or red onion, or the lower part of soring onion... whatever)
  • ½ cup coriander/cilantro (a split personality herb... cant get just one name and is either loved or hated)
  • 1 jalapeno, finely chopped, (remove the seeds and membrane to reduce heat. Add a few seeds to give a sporadic kick, or leave them in...)
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice (fresh squeezed from a lime is best. Limes are the 'green' ones)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (I recommend starting with very little and add to taste. You can always add, but once it's too salty, there is no going back)
Instructions
Chop the tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and jalapeno.
Place the chopped ingredients into a large bowl.
Pour in the lime juice and sprinkle in the salt.
Mix well and refrigerate. Keeps up to 5 days.

pico-de-gallo-recipe-3.jpg

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