My father has been put on a low-as-possible-salt diet, and this throws lots of our usual holiday foods out the window. Not that they were salt licks to begin with, but I was amazed to discover how much sodium there is in my mother's banana bread recipe (for example)! Ham is, of course, right out.

What I'm thinking right now is poached salmon, boiled potatoes and the best asparagus I can find for the main meal. I'm thinking about adding a hollandaise sauce to that -- does anybody know how vital the salt is to the recipe? I might leave it in, depending on what the whole day's menu looks like.

I think I'll make some devilled eggs beforehand...or those and the hollandaise might make the whole thing too eggy. Hmm.

Anybody have good appetizer or dessert suggestions? My kids have what few brain cells they've left me with doing the hokey pokey....

Hi. ^^ This is my first post, but ive been lurking for about a year now. You guys got me through the winter here. =P I live in western australia, and we've in the middle of our summer. My garden is looking fabulous and my tomatos are starting to ripen so I thought Id post some pictures. This is my second year with a garden, although I helped my parents in theirs a lot growing up. I mostly like to grow edible things.

( Pictures! =) )

I know things are slow this time of year but I thought I'd go ahead and pose a question, even if I don't get around to planting till later. I live in north Florida, zone 8B, and I have a small area by my driveway/gate that is begging for a plant. It's a difficult spot - it's shady, sandy, and usually dry except for when it rains (the gutter spout is right next to it so I'm sure it would get overflow). Any suggestions?

Hi foodies,

I come to you in search of your favorite eggplant parmesan recipe. I'm making this for my family on Christmas Eve - and, though my mom is an eggplant addict and a connoisseur of eggplant parmesan, we don't have a good recipe in the family!

Hit me up with your faves - time consuming, fattening and elaborate recipes are no constraint. :)

I recently made a crockpot Hungarian stew that called for a half cup of chili sauce. I had two chili sauces on hand: Frank's Red Hot (a cayenne pepper sauce) and Sriracha, a garlic and chili sauce. I went with Frank's Red Hot and only used a scant 1/3 cup. The stew is okay but kind of vinegary and hot. I was wondering if maybe "chili sauce" meant something in particular that I'm not familiar with. What do you think chili sauce is? What would you have used?

Yeah.
I got some at the new Portuguese store - now I'm very curious to try them.
Any recipes or advice? (aside from the collard greens, which seems to be the only thing I can find online?
Do they need to be cooked?

thanks :)

I'm going to be preparing a steak for my meat eating boyfriend. (I don't eat meat) And I want it to be VERY yummy. I was going to prepare a sirloin but someone convinced me that I should prepare a rib-eye or porterhouse because they have more flavor. True or false? And which should I pick?

So, I don't have a grill so that's out. But I'm wondering if broiling would be better than pan-frying?

I really don't know how to prepare meat. If I want to cook the meat medium-rare how long should I cook it? Should I serve it with a flavored steak-butter or horseradish? Or something else? I was thinking of a baked potato and asparagus as side dishes. Are they good choices? HELP??? I don't cook often and when I do it's mostly vegetables which take almost zero effort. Please don't make any complicated suggestions like a soufflé.

I was planning on making brownies and the recipe calls for baking chocolate, but I picked up "milk chocolate flavoured cake covering" by mistake. I'm not sure what makes it cake covering as opposed to baking chocolate so I'm not sure whether I'll be able to use it. So, can I use it in the recipe instead or in some way? If not, how else could I use it? I don't think I'll ever use it as proper cake covering so other suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

More at my food blog HERE
or you can even join my facebook fan page for my blog HERE

 ( Read more... )

Hi everyone. I got a little problem. I picked up a big pork tenderloin at the supermarket and it's got a lot of fat in it. I've never had that problem with tenderloins I got from Costco so I don't know how to fix it because trimming it all out doesn't really work.

So can anyone recommend the best style of cooking to render out the fat? Just to clarify, I don't have a health issue about it - I just hate the flavor of fat on pork (though I love bacon and sausage and the like).

Thanks!

Hello!
I'm making my grandma's cut-out cookies, which calls for 2 tablespoons orange zest. The problem is, I have an orange, but no way of making *zest* - my grater is kaput. So - can I substitute orange juice for zest? And if I do, should I adjust the amount?

Or, alternately, is there any way to make zest using a knife or other household object that's *not* a grater?

Thanks!

ETA: Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone, i've got a plan! :)

Every now and then I get the urge to make something cute. These little snowpeople were the result of just such an urge :) They're golden oreo truffles, decorated up and served on a platter with coconut "snow."

Had some issues throughout the recipe, so it took forever to finish, but after I saw how adorable the first one was, I couldn't given up!! They were very tasty; my boyfriend's already clamoring for more.



( recipes and photo )


To read more about this recipe and see more sweet snowpeople (including a college graduate snowman and my favorite exuberant snowman), please head over to my baking blog, Willow Bird Baking!

x-posted to food_porn, cooking, picturing_food

I got my very first seed catalog yesterday in the mail.  I didn't have time to do much more than flip through a few pages but I can see how gardening can become an addictive hobby quickly. I'm excited to be able to sit down and ooh and ahh over all those bright, colorful, glossy pictures.

Note to self: You're still poor.  You cannot buy a bunch of stuff, no matter how pretty the pictures are!  lol  :-)

Wood Blewits are mushrooms that are commonly hunted and eaten in Western Europe, and are even cultivated there. They occur all over North America as well, and can be found during colder months growing on leaves, pine needles or garden mulch. They're pretty distinctive--you don't see a lot of violet mushrooms! They typically occur in small clusters or in fairy rings, have a very distinct, fruity aroma and leave a pale pink spore print.


So I was in a park on Friday and I found a dozen or so. As I was pulling them up, I had an idea...
( More pics and whatnot, and THE PLAN. )

My grandmother in law is dying--very unexpectedly. :*(** She is a truly spectacular woman who I spent Thanksgiving sitting with as we moved her into assisted living... She gave me the warmest welcome when I first met my now husband's family 6-7 years ago. She has never intimidated me and loved me like her own grandchild. Many family members are coming to my in-laws for Christmas due to this big change in events... due to my mother-in-law taking care of my grandmother-in-law (complicated I know!) I have volunteered my cooking abilities, if needed, to help in any way I can. My mother-in-law told my husband there is a turkey for cooking in the fridge. However, I have never cooked a turkey. HELP ME COOK A TURKEY. I'm going to guess 15-20 lb. bird. How do I prepare/dress a bird? Do I spank it? dance it around the kitchen? sing to it? I don't know how to cook a BIG bird....just chickens. I am very good at following directions, if you could guide me on how long to cook it? what seasonings? I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm kind of hoping my...sister in law comes and swoops in on this one, but I doubt that will happen. I may not have to cook at all, I just need to prepare if this happens. I appreciate your help.

Also, what goes well with Turkey? what else should I prepare to cook?
-K

This weekend I tried my hand at homemade chocolates. I used Ina Garten's recipes for fleur de sel caramels, which I covered in melted chocolate, and chocolate truffles. The caramel recipe is a little off (the quantities for sugar and cream are reversed - read through comments and use your best judgement when making). I thought the caramel came out a little harder than I would have liked, but very tasty. If anyone has any candy making tips I'd love to hear them!

I have a friend who is in a very difficult financial situation this holiday season. She and her partner, to preserve what little money they have, eat really cheap food (Mr. Noodles, Kraft Mac n' Cheese, dry pasta and canned tomato sauce, a lot of tuna, hot dogs, etc...)

I'd love to help out in the form of a gift, but I'm not as flush as I'd like to be either, otherwise I'd just go to the grocery store and purchase a gift card.

What I'd really like to do is put together a "meal in a box" for them. Once upon a time, my brother gave me a "romantic dinner for two" package that contained a box of spaghetti noodles, a jar of good-quality tomato sauce, a small container of parmesan cheese, a sample-size bottle of white wine, and a tablecloth and two plastic wine glasses from the dollar store. He assembled it himself in a gift-basket format. I loved it because it was cute, had everything I needed to make a meal, and it literally cost him less than ten dollars.

I'd like to put something like this together for my friend, but not the pasta and tomato sauce since, well, I think they're eating plenty of that already. What I'm looking for are suggestions for recipes that wouldn't require refrigerated ingredients, or would only require inexpensive add-ins that people generally have on hand (margarine, milk, eggs, etc). I'm open to casseroles, crock pot meals, stews, etc!

I'm also going to pick up a big bag of lentils or pulses from the bulk store and share my favourite curry recipes with my friend - great protein!

Thanks in advance!

I'm stumped! I want to make cookies for x-mas this year, but I don't know what types to make. I don't want to make the same old stuff like sugar cookies or butter cookies. What are some of your favorites?

I'm vegetarian, and the only one in a house full of meat-eaters.
I've been running empty of ideas for dinner, and I need something to add a bit
of diversity to my meal plans. Lately it's been bean salads, but I'm looking for something
a bit more adventurous. Any suggestions?

This delicious dessert was on a cookie plate that I received this season and it was SOOOOOOO good! I had never heard of them before. I found a good website with pics and a recipe, although I haven't actually used this recipe. If you're wanting to try your hand at a different holiday treat this year, try a Nanaimo Bar!!

http://www.squidoo.com/nanaimobars