Adventures of a geeky food nut

[asylum-01]

A long time ago, I bought "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts" only to find years later that Douglas Adams lied to me. Thank goodness for libraries. Do I count the sixth part, even though it was written by another author?

#HHGTTG #DouglasAdams #books

[asylum-01]

Alton Brown’s “The Chewy” Chocolate Chip Cookie

This recipe makes a really good cookie. The catch is that it uses 1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk. If you’re wondering what to do with the extra egg white, Alton says that it can be frozen and will still behave like normal when defrosted. I haven’t tried this yet, but I’ll take his word for it.

Also, don’t skip the chilling step. It keeps the dough from spreading too much in the oven. Not chilling will net you a flat (and possibly crispy) cookie. If you actually want crispy cookies, Alton has a recipe called “The Thin.”

MY CHANGES: 1. I only used half the chocolate chips because I do not consider cookies to be delivery vehicles for chocolate. I know, I’m a weirdo who likes my cookies to be more cookie than chocolate (I also genuinely like my brownies to be cakey rather than fudgey and I resent anyone who tells me I’m doing it wrong). Less chocolate in the dough means a lower cookie yield. 2. I don’t bother with the top third/bottom third positioning and just bake everything on the middle rack, in multiple batches. It turns out just fine in my oven. Depending on the heat distribution in your oven, you should probably rotate your tray, though. 3. I baked a batch of 4 cookies in a toaster oven and they turned out well, so this is an option for fresh-from-the-oven cookies on demand. Experiment and get to know how your oven(s) behave. 4. And because just about everything I make is mini, I used 1 tablespoon-sized scoops. The reduced-chocolate version of the recipe made 37 smaller-sized cookies. If you have the TARDIS cookie jar, the second picture will give you an idea of their size.

“The Chewy” recipe can be found on Alton Brown’s web site - The Chewy chocolate chip cookie The original Toll House cookie recipe is here - Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Because I hate weighing in ounces, I always convert every recipe to grams. I even did volume conversions. This might benefit someone: 227 g unsalted butter (1 cup) 340 g bread flour (2¼ cup, using the spoon-and-level method of measuring flour) 1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda 57 g granulated sugar (~¼ cup) 227 g light brown sugar (~1¼ cup) 1 large egg (weighs ~50 g without shell) 1 large egg yolk (weighs ~18 g) 2 Tbsp (30 mL) whole milk 1½ tsp (7 mL) vanilla extract 340 g semisweet chocolate chips (2 cup)

[notabrobro]

[chromaticdragonking]

[asylum-01]

Skillet Chili Lime Corn

When you’re tired of putting the same old veggies on the plate but are pressed for time and short on ingredients, give this one a try. Actually, try the original recipe linked below; it’s much prettier and probably a lot tastier too. The dish pictured here is my make-do substitution version. It turned out to be a good side dish, even with the omissions and less than ideal substitutions. I would certainly make it again.

Recipe can be found here - Skillet Chili Lime Corn by Rasa Malaysia

THE DETAILS OF MY HACK JOB: I didn’t have any jalapeno or cilantro, and only had a handful of frozen corn (between ¼ & ½ cup) so I diced up an equal amount of bell pepper to bump up the quantity. It would have looked prettier with a red bell pepper but I didn’t have one.

To make up for the lack of jalapeno, I went a bit overboard on the cayenne pepper; I have no idea how much I actually put in (somewhere between ¼ & ¾ tsp) but it was a bit too spicy for me. Since I also didn’t have any crumbly cheese to counteract the spiciness, I chopped up some frozen potato wedges and added those in.

As for the rest of the ingredients, I used just enough butter to coat the bottom of the pan, about 1 tsp of honey, half a lime and didn’t bother with salt.

#cookingathome #cookingonthefly #vegetarian

[asylum-01]

Canada Day weekend turned out to be the long weekend of ciders and radlers. It was a pretty good selection and I would happily drink them all again except for one.

Coincidentally, and appropriately, our random selection ended up being mostly Canadian brands. Sir Perry and Somersby were the odd ones out, both because they are overseas brands and because I’m already familiar with them. Central City is located in BC, and the other breweries are in Ontario.

Three really stood out for me. All three are seasonal products, so they won’t be around very long: Grapefruit Radler - very light and refreshing, doesn’t taste at all like beer. Grow A Pear - extremely delicious pear cider. Queen Street 501 - very tasty blend of 8 apples and not too sweet for those who like less sugar. A close runner up in the apple cider category is Ernest, which is not seasonal. The honey and the 7 apple blend create a nice flavour. I do not recommend Hopping Mad Cider Radler. It was overly tart with a slight bitter note.

My go to apple cider is still Somersby because I’m a fan of alcohol that doesn’t taste like alcohol and Somersby is basically sparkling apple juice with a hidden booze kick. That said, I still appreciate other types and will definitely stock up the fridge with these other brands.

Featured in the picture: Double Trouble Brewing Co. Grow A Pear (pear cider) Brickworks Ciderhouse Queen Street 501 (blend of 8 apple varieties) Central City Hopping Mad Cider Radler (apple cider + grapefruit juice) Ernest Dry Cider (blend of 7 apple varieties + honey) Pommies Cider Waterloo Brewing Co. Grapefruit Radler (beer + grapefruit juice) Brickworks Ciderhouse Batch : 1904 Sir Perry Pear Cider Somersby Apple Flavoured Cider

[asylum-01]

I blame anime for last night’s dinner, specifically episode 10 of Flying Witch. Makoto, Kei and Nao prepare a meal in their Home Ec class. One of the dishes they made was hamburg steak (a Japanese version of Salisbury steak). While watching, I realised three things: I’ve never made hamburg steak; I’ve never eaten hamburg steak; I had all the ingredients to make it at home.

One scene included a very clear view of the ingredients, which I copied down. Unfortunately, the directions weren’t clear so I had to piece that together from the on-screen action combined with my own knowledge of Japanese cuisine and cooking in general. It wasn’t a difficult task since hamburg steak is actually quite easy to make. The trickiest part was figuring out how to make the sauce because the ingredient list is open to interpretation (you’ll see what I mean). I had to experiment a bit to get something I liked.

Hamburg Steak Makes 4 patties

INGREDIENTS: MEAT PATTY: 600g ground beef 1 clove garlic, minced 1 onion, finely diced 1 egg 60 g panko (I used regular breadcrumbs) 6 g salt (1 tsp) 10 Tbsp milk nutmeg (I used ¼ tsp) pepper to taste vegetable oil for sauteing onions and frying patties ¼ cup white wine or water * * This was not originally part of the recipe; I added it in based on other recipes.

SAUCE: (makes a lot, I cut this in half) 300 g tomato sauce ** 20 g butter 4 Tbsp white wine 4 tsp low-sodium soy sauce 4 tsp balsamic vinegar sesame seeds to taste (I omitted this) ** Even after making it, I’m still not sure if this means plain tomato sauce (no other ingredient), pasta sauce (includes herbs and other vegetables and is unusual for this type of recipe), or ketchup. A good number of hamburg sauces use ketchup as the base flavour, however, I think 300g of ketchup would make the sauce too sweet. Conversely, the flavour wouldn’t be right with only plain tomato sauce. In the end, I used 3 parts (i.e. 225g) plain tomato sauce + 1 part (i.e. 75g) ketchup and added a dash of Worcestershire sauce as well.

DIRECTIONS: Saute onions. Season with salt and pepper. When onions start to soften, add garlic and stir in. Remove from heat when onions are translucent. Cool completely. In a large bowl, mix milk into the panko to soften it. Add beef, spices, sauteed onions and egg. Knead the mixture until fully combined. Divide mixture into 4 portions and form into oval shaped patties. Toss each patty from one hand to the other several times to remove the air pockets; the surface should become smooth after this. With two fingers, make a depression in the middle of the patty so it will cook more evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up the patties. On medium high heat, cook the patties until nicely browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the patties, pour in wine or water, lower heat to medium low and cover. Cook until the inside of the patties are done. Then uncover and increase heat to medium high until the wine has evaporated. Remove the steaks. Pour out any oil but keep the brown bits in the pan. Add all sauce ingredients, stir well. Cook until the sauce has thickened.

#cookingathome #japanesefood #animefood #FlyingWitch #anime #geek

[asylum-01]

The Great Vegan Cake Hunt (OH! The HORROR!)

Or: A sugar-loving carnivore’s foray into sugar-free vegan baking (The baby made me do it!)

Almost a year ago, I went on a month-long search for dessert recipes that were suitable for a diabetic. I didn’t want to use any kind of artificial sweeteners or sweeteners that were an acquired taste (like stevia). Since the diabetes would go away after giving birth, my friend had no reason to learn to like alternative sweeteners.

After gathering a few recipes, she informed me that while it’s safe to eat certain fruits raw, it’s a different story once they’re cooked because the sugars change. The rabbit hole of Google lead me to countless diabetic, vegan, gluten-free and Paleo recipes with weird ingredients and complicated preparations but none were suitable. I finally came to the conclusion that there were no recipes that I would consider acceptable from both an ingredient and taste standpoint and so, I gave up.

Well, I’m diving right back down that rabbit hole again, but this time, it’s in search of a smash cake recipe. The baby in question is currently sensitive to eggs and has not yet been introduced to dairy, sugar or sugar equivalents. So I’m looking for a sugar-, dairy- and egg-free cake (essentially vegan) with something colourful to use as frosting.

It boggles my mind what some people consider to be a sugar-free recipe (honey and maple syrup count as sugar, people!) and it goes doubly so when searching for baby-friendly recipes (babies don’t need agave nectar in their food). I don’t want “natural” sweeteners, unrefined sweeteners, low-glycemic sweeteners, or any kind of “healthy” sweeteners at all. If its only purpose in life is to sweeten things, meaning you wouldn’t consume it as actual food (like bananas or applesauce), then it counts as an added sugar in my book. The point is to not blow out the baby’s palate since she hasn’t had anything sweeter than a mashed up banana; you can feed her a bland cake and she really won’t know the difference.

As a dairy-eating, gluten loving baker who believes in the magical properties of refined sugar and eggs, it has been a frustrating experience to find recipes that are appropriate for the baby. I have expectations of what a birthday cake should be but I also know that eggs and sugar are necessary to achieve that. Finding a compromise between my expectations and what is possible has been quite the feat.

I’ve found only two vegan cake recipes that meet my requirements and they also taste pretty good. There are multiple variations but the basic recipe is the same. I tested these two plus a couple of variations. These recipes produce dense, dark coloured cakes (think banana bread) with very little rise. My test cakes were also a bit wet in the centre. It was fine once the cakes cooled, so I think that might be the norm for these kinds of cakes. One of them (banana cake) can be fed to the baby as is, the other (carrot cake) needs some adjustment before it’s good to go. I think the currants in the carrot cake make it far too sweet and also too chunky for a baby who’s only eaten purees.

I’ll probably go with some version of this vegan cake - baby’s first smash cake {healthy no sugar banana cake} which is a modified version of this recipe (this version’s made an appearance on numerous blogs) - Healthy Smash Cake for Baby’s 1st Birthday which is copied directly from a comment in this discussion thread - alternative to smash cake And who knows where the original recipe came from?

This is the carrot cake recipe (I’ve seen other versions as well) - wee’s 1st birthday healthy vegan carrot cake muffins

At this point, all requirements are based on a 9 month old’s dietary restrictions. I realise that her diet is likely to change in the next few months but I’d rather err on the side of caution. Now that I’ve met those requirements, I’m expanding my search to include recipes that use eggs, in case she overcomes her sensitivity. Is a fluffy white cake even possible with just eggs and no sugar?

And I haven’t even tackled the frosting yet.

A picture and a better description of the test cakes can be found here - http://moby.to/5iehl8

Mar 31, 2016. #cookingathome #baking #quickbread #cake #birthdaycake #dessert #vegetarian #vegan

[asylum-01]

The Shannara Chronicles (TV series)

I found The Shannara Chronicles to be very disappointing. MTV has done a great disservice to both the source material and fans of the Shannara series. It was beautiful to look at and the effects are great but that’s where it ends.

There was an inordinate amount of teen drama, superfluous scenes and so many changes that I barely recognise the original story. I’m sure they thought this was what their audience wanted but that’s complete bull.

I was 14 when I read the first book in the Shannara series and 20 when I picked up the seventh book. The books kept me coming back for years without all the extra drama or extremely overt sexual tension injected into every scene. I feel that the TV series is an insult to my teenage self.

Full disclosure: I watched my fair share of 90210 and Dawson's Creek back in the day, so I'm not against shows like that. But I don't want to see that kind of dynamic mixed into my epic fantasy. This holds as true when I was a teenager as it does now.

Jan 6, 2016. #TheShannaraChronicles #Shannara #review #tv #books #geek

[asylum-01]

In the wee hours of the morning, I suddenly decided that the cream in my fridge and peanut butter in my cupboard needed to be turned into fudge. I’d never made fudge or any kind of candy before but I figured: I have a recipe which is supposed to be an easy version, I’ve seen videos on how to do this, I rarely fail at a recipe and I just successfully baked a souffle cheesecake. How hard can this be?

My first batch was extremely unsuccessful. Instead of a smooth mixture, I ended up with a lumpy paste swimming in a large pool of oil. No amount of mixing would get it to incorporate. Luckily, I was able to fix it by cooking it again (works for jams) and adding more sugar and cornstarch. It looks and tastes good but I couldn’t get the smooth texture I expected. There were also a few tiny puddles of oil at the corners and edges. I don’t quite know what I did wrong. It could be the substitutions I made (kind of on the fly) or use of inadequate equipment, but it really boils down to a lack of preparation on my part.

Whenever I tackle something new, I look up professional articles, read blog posts, view multiple videos and scour forum discussions for all the dos, don'ts, fixes and the science behind it. By the time I actually get around to making something, I have a general idea of how to fix most mistakes and enough knowledge of the theory to alter a recipe. Obviously, that didn’t happen here.

There’s nothing wrong with the recipe; I just don’t have a knack for it. I might attempt to fix the graininess tonight, however, success is not guaranteed.

The recipe is here - Peanut Butter Fudge

Jan 1, 2016. #cookingathome #candy

[asylum-01]

I had so much kale and Polish sausage left over after making Alton Brown’s Christmas soup that I’ve thrown them into every meal for 3 days straight. Luckily the SO likes both these things.

If you’re curious about the Christmas Soup, see my previous post - http://asylum-01.tumblr.com/post/135942551228/christmas-soup

Dec 29, 2015. #cookingathome #cookingonthefly #onepotmeal #AltonBrown

[asylum-01]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

!!! Warning for spoilers !!!

I finally saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens yesterday and was not disappointed.

It totally met my expectations: A space opera with a straight-forward hero plot, no cringe-worthy elements, lots of explosions and pretty effects, decent use of 3D, a good hit of nostalgia, in-jokes, a thoroughly enjoyable 2 hours.

I’m not opposed to a rehashing of Episode IV: A New Hope for new audiences. I actually welcomed it after the mess and ridiculousness of the prequel movies. They get a pass on an unimaginative plot for the first one, however, I do expect them to build on this and advance the plot in future movies.

What I did not expect: A complete break down of the damsel trope. Rey can take care of herself and actually does so consistently, not just at the beginning. Her clothes are practical, she reacts the way normal people react, she rescues herself and she doesn’t revert to pinning maiden over a guy (*cough* Padme *cough*).

Is Rey too kick-ass?: For those people who complained that Rey was too OP, here’s my take: Kylo Ren (the emo Sith) dropped out of Jedi school due to emotional imbalance and totally failed Sith school (probably because of said emotional imbalance). When was the last time you saw such an unhinged Force-user actually succeed? He’s got raw potential but obviously doesn’t have a very good grasp on his abilities or emotions. Rey, on the other hand, is pretty damned focused and doesn’t normally fly off the handle, which means better control of the Force. This all results in an evenly matched battle.

Everything can be explained in gaming terms: RPG gamers out there will appreciate this absolutely brilliant assessment of Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Comment by Haar on Dec 23 at 2:20pm … And in case you need definitions: SWEU (Star Wars Expanded Universe): All of the officially licensed material up to the Disney take over. This includes novels, comics, video games, toys and other media. Disney has rebranded this as Star Wars Legends.

OP (overpowered): A gaming term that means a character is extremely powerful; it is usually used in reference to imbalanced game play. You’ll see this term used in anime discussions as well, referring to a character (usually hero or villain) that is much, much stronger than his peers.

Dec 29, 2015. #StarWars #TheForceAwakens #review #movies #tropes #geek

[asylum-01]

Maybe they'll finally stop the hand-holding

Thank you Star Wars: The Force Awakens for this line: “Stop taking my hand! I can run on my own.”

It’s a movie damsel trope that bugs me to no end. She’s able-bodied and not injured. Imagine how much faster she could run if she could pump both of her arms and didn’t have to concentrate on synchronising steps with a running buddy. The only thing that hand-holding while running achieves is compromised speed and maneuverability.

Dec 29, 2015. #StarWars #TheForceAwakens #movies #tropes #geek

[asylum-01]

Alton Brown’s Christmas Soup

The SO showed me this recipe last week and I thought the timing was perfect. What could be more appropriate to bring to a Christmas Eve gathering with the family? And because I never met a recipe I didn’t tweak, I altered it to suit my preferences and intended purpose. Alton would be proud.

The recipe, as published, makes a very hearty meal, what with all the meat and beans. I do think the liquid to solid ratios is a bit off – I prefer my soup to be more soupy. Next time I make it, I would add more stock.

As this was going to be part of a turkey feast, I opted to make a lighter version with no beans and more vegetables. I also mixed in some vegetable stock and used less red wine vinegar. I imagine the full ¼ cup of vinegar would help to cut the heaviness of all the sausage and beans if I included them. The vinegar does give it a nice punch so don’t omit it entirely.

The recipe is here - Christmas Soup Recipe

I made the following changes on my version: » Used ¾ lb Polish sausage and cut them into smaller pieces that can fit on a spoon. » Added 1 diced onion and fried it along with the garlic. » Omitted the kidney beans. » Used white potatoes. » Added carrots with the potatoes. » Used only half the amount of red wine vinegar (2 Tbsp).

Dec 25, 2015. #cookingathome #cookingonthefly #onepotmeal #AltonBrown

[asylum-01]

Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (shortcut recipe)

To prove that I wasn’t lying when I claimed in a previous post there were plenty of recipes that are just as convenient as Campbell’s soup kits, I found one to compare. This was actually the very first Google hit for “Thai chicken soup” and gave me really good results. The skill level is the same as a soup kit while giving you full control over the ingredients. The process is slightly more involved but not more complicated than chopping a couple of extra vegetables and frying some of the ingredients first. Recipe - Thai Chicken Soup

You’ll get about two-thirds more soup with this recipe than the soup kit, which translates to 4 meal-sized servings. Scale it up or down to meet your needs. Customise it however you like: use less fish sauce to lower the salt, substitute a red or yellow curry for a different flavour, throw in extra vegetables, decrease the coconut milk to reduce the fat, thicken it to make a sauce instead of soup, make it vegetarian, some people even add peanut butter. The possibilities are endless. In fact, I’ve included links to vegetarian recipes at the end.

I made this using reduced sodium broth with a full fat coconut milk and it was creamy and delicious. The flavour was better than the soup kit with a nice heat. Be sure to stir really well before serving; the first two bowls I ladled out were very spicy while the last two were mild. IMPACT ON THE POCKETBOOK: The soup kit already requires you to supply chicken breast, chicken broth, coconut milk, lime juice and cilantro. The recipe uses 3 times the chicken but I don’t consider this an extra expense since I recommended using more chicken with the soup kit, and the recipe does have a larger yield. This recipe also uses a higher proportion of coconut milk than the soup kit (66% more), which means the entire can is used and not just two fifths. Bell peppers replace mushrooms as the fresh vegetable, so I’m disregarding this as an extra expense as well.

Of the remaining ingredients, some are things I keep around all the time, so I’ll only cost out the portions used (oil, onion, garlic and rice noodles add up to $0.71). That leaves fish sauce and curry paste as items I have to buy specifically to make this soup. In total, I paid $3.19 in addition to the ingredients listed above. Compare this to the price of a soup kit at $3.99.

The recipe, as published, costs out to $14.03 in ingredients and yields about 2.5 L of soup. Scaled down to match the 1.5 L that the soup kit makes, the cost would be $8.42 as opposed to $11.21 for the soup kit with an equivalent amount of chicken. I’ve included a full cost breakdown at the end of this post.

Food Network recipe (as published) = $14.03 Food Network recipe (scaled to match soup kit) = $8.42 Campbell’s Thai soup kit (as directed, with 160 g chicken) = $10.03 Campbell’s Thai soup kit (with 270 g chicken) = $11.21 BRANDS THAT I USED: Since I’m making a Thai dish, I decided to choose Thai brands of fish sauce and curry paste to get the most authentic flavours. The product must also be readily available to me at my local stores. I relied on blog reviews and message boards to help me decide.

FISH SAUCE: There’s a wide range of quality and pricing but in general, the less ingredients on the label, the better: you basically want fish and salt. Stronger sauces hold up well to longer cooking times, while the milder sauces are better for dipping or adding at the very end. It’s also best to match country of origin to the cuisine; for example: a Vietnamese fish sauce is very different from a Filipino one. I chose Cock Brand since it’s a natural fish sauce (no additives or preservatives) and it’s a mid-quality sauce that is good for cooking. A 200 mL bottle of Cock Brand fish sauce sells for $0.99 at my local Loblaws.

CURRY PASTE: Different brands of curry paste have varying levels of heat from “wimp  friendly” to “burn your tongue off” so choose one that’s appropriate for you. I chose Maesri brand because it’s apparently the least salty and least spicy of two very popular brands. That does not mean this curry paste is mild; it’s simply less spicy than the other one. As a bonus, it’s a completely vegetarian product (contains no shrimp paste or fish sauce) and it’s available in 4 oz cans as opposed to 14 oz tubs. A 4 oz (114 g) can of Maesri green curry paste costs $1.49 at my local T&T (there is approximately 6 Tbsp of paste in the can). I also picked up a 112 g jar of Thai Kitchen green curry paste, which I suspect is geared towards the North American palate, but have yet to use it. Curry paste freezes well if you can’t use it all up.

COCONUT MILK: At my local grocery stores, a 400 mL can of coconut milk can cost anywhere from $0.99 to $3.59. Aroy-D brand was on sale last week for $1.29 but is normally $2.29 a can at my local T&T. I have no experience with coconut milk and my internet research has been confusing but I did manage to get some tips: -> For cooking purposes, the full fat products (20-29% fat) yield better results. -> It’s normal for coconut milk to separate like oil and water; shake the can well before opening or use the separated top layer as an oil to fry your spices. -> Be aware that along with stabilisers and preservatives, many brands add emulsifiers to keep the coconut milk from separating. This is probably desired for desserts and drinks but unnecessary for cooking. -> Stay away from “Lite” coconut milk because they reduce fat by adding extra water, emulsifiers and flavouring, which isn’t good value for your money. If you want to reduce fat in your dish, use less coconut milk; leftover milk can be frozen.

RICE NOODLES: I buy noodles all the time but have absolutely no preference for brand. I honestly just buy whatever brand is on sale. Last week, I paid $3.00 for two 500 g bags that are normally $2.50 each. These noodles are divided into 50 g portions which makes them very convenient to use. HELPFUL LINKS: The recipe - Food Network Kitchens: Thai Chicken Soup

A quick run down of ingredients: ● Can I Get A Good Premade Thai Curry Paste? ● All About Fish Sauce (Nam Pla) ● Vegan Alternatives to Fish Sauce, Shrimp Paste and Oyster Sauce in Thai Cuisine

Tips on buying Thai curry paste: ● Basic, Pre-Made Thai Ingredients for Curries and Soups ● Thai Test Kitchen: Which Brand of Curry Paste is Best?

How to choose a fish sauce. Note the country of origin and choose an appropriate sauce for the dishes you wish to prepare: ● Fish Sauce ● Thai Fish Sauce Taste Test ● Fish Sauce Taste Test, 13 Brands Compared

Vegetarians can substitute soy sauce and shiitake for the umami, or make your own vegan version (I have not tried any of these): ● Vegetarian Fish Sauce Substitute (scroll halfway down the page) ● Vegan Fish Sauce

Vegetarian Thai coconut soup - three completely different and very customisable recipes (I have also not tried any of these): ● Thai Coconut & Veg Broth ● Thai Curry Vegetable and Tofu Soup ● Vegan Lemongrass Thai Green Curry Soup with Zucchini Noodles DETAILED COST BREAKDOWN Full Food Network recipe: • $0.10 vegetable oil ($4.77/1.42L bottle) • $0.25 onion ($2.00/3 lb bag) • $0.06 garlic ($0.77/pkg of 3) • $1.49 bell peppers ($2.98/pkg of 4) • $3.18 chicken broth, 1.42L ($1.99/900mL carton) • $4.88 chicken breast (1 lb, 454g) • $0.63 cilantro ($1.25/bunch) • $0.30 rice noodles ($1.50/500g pkg) • $0.50 green curry paste ($1.49/4oz can) • $0.15 fish sauce ($0.99/200mL bottle) • $2.29 coconut milk (400mL can) ** • $0.20 lime ** 15 fl. oz. converts to 443 mL, the cans I purchase are 400 mL, so it’s short by 43 mL. I see no reason to purchase and open a second 400 mL can for such a small amount; the recipe can handle a missing 10% coconut milk.

Campbell’s Thai soup kit: • $2.90 chicken breast (270g @ $4.88/lb) • $1.99 Campbell’s chicken broth, 900mL • $1.00 mushrooms ($1.99/227g pkg) • $0.21 cilantro ($1.25/bunch) • $3.99 soup kit • $0.92 coconut milk ($2.29/400mL can) • $0.20 lime

Dec 23, 2015. #cookingathome #onepotmeal #thaifood #review #ingredienthelp

[asylum-01]

Finally figured out how to do a text cut on Tumblr so that I don’t inundate people with a wall of text every time I post. It only took me 6 months to get around to it but I really didn’t have the patience to deal with it until now. I get the feeling Tumblr doesn’t care much for HTML editing. Tutorials reference the rich-text editor, which I don’t use, and the HTML code I tried didn’t seem to work. That’s because you can’t preview the text cut so you can’t tell if you’re doing it correctly the first time around.

It’s frustrating enough working in HTML on the mobile app without adding uncertainty from a lack of preview. On top of that, the Tumblr app is really finicky on my tablet but my phone screen is too small for the task.

Dec 22, 2015. #blogging

[asylum-01]

Pepperidge Farm Chili Lime Cracker Tortillas

Continuing the journey of product discovery through steep discounts, I recently acquired a coupon for $2.50 off a bag of Pepperidge Farm Cracker Chips, which made it practically free (still have to pay the tax). I bought the Chili Lime Cracker Tortillas and finished the whole 140 g bag in one sitting (okay, the SO helped eat about 30% of it).

In order to give you some perspective, I need to explain my snacking habits. Once upon a time, I had to throw out half a bar of almonds in milk chocolate (which I liked) because I took so long to finish that the almonds went bad. A 200 g bag of my favourite potato chips can take me several months to consume; I’ve never finished a bag in less than a week, my average time is two months. That’s how much I liked these light, tangy tortilla snacks.

Now I have a dilemma: I’m half addicted this product but I generally don’t buy snack food that I can finish in one sitting. Also, eating an entire bag of anything isn’t a habit I should form. Luckily, there’s a promotion this week on Checkout 51 for the same discount ($2.50) so I can defer budget conscious decision making for another week.

P.S. Just picked up the Zesty Ranch and the Nacho Cheese flavoured cracker tortillas to feed my addiction (thank you Checkout 51 and Campbell’s). Hope they’re just as good as the Chili Lime flavour.

Nov 29, 2015. #snacks #trynewproducts #review

[asylum-01]

Campbell’s Thai Chicken & Rice soup kit

I’ve been curious about Campbell’s new soup kits because of the ads, which play up the healthy and homemade aspects. The kits are basically flavour packs that you cook with meat, broth and a fresh vegetable or two. I held off on trying due to the expense but opportunity presented itself in the form of a $2.50 cash back offer from Checkout 51.

I chose the Thai Chicken & Rice kit. The package contains most of the flavourings essential to Thai cuisine and some dehydrated vegetables (carrot, bell pepper, shiitake) but you still have to supply your own lime juice, coconut milk and cilantro to round out the flavours. It made a pretty tasty soup, although not as hearty as it looks in the product picture. I prefer noodles over rice in my Thai soup but have to admit that rice is easier to deal with; noodles wouldn’t hold up to the cooking time.

The package says it serves 4-6; the two of us ate the whole thing and still had room for some of the dinner I made. It would make a decent lunch for two or a starter for four. If preparing it as a meal for two, I suggest using at least twice the amount of chicken (directions call for only half a chicken breast). PROS: The directions are easy, the additional ingredients is a fairly simple list and not hard to find. You don’t have to worry about combining spices, making the broth, or buying a ton of ingredients that you might only use once. It’s significantly faster than cooking from scratch but there are a lot of quick cheater recipes available so it might not be much of a time savings over those.

CONS: You still have to shop for a fair number of additional ingredients and it requires a bit of work from you. You don’t have any control over the salt, spices and sugar as that is all mixed into the powder. It’s not cost effective if you plan to make this often, especially if you already stock a lot of the base ingredients in your kitchen. A cost breakdown is provided further down the page.

For those expecting all natural ingredients like cooking from scratch, this particular soup kit contains maltodextrin, “spice extracts,” silicon dioxide. To be fair, the Spiced Vegetable Medley & Orzo soup kit contains no suspect ingredients, while the Spicy Chicken Tortilla soup kit is the worst offender with “spice extracts”, silicon dioxide, “natural flavour”, corn syrup solids, lime juice solids.

VERDICT: SHORT ANSWER: This is a product for people who own very few spices/seasonings, who don’t cook very often or who don’t cook using the flavour profiles presented in the kits and therefore won’t have the base ingredients in their kitchen. Cooks who already own the base ingredients for a particular soup may consider the soup kit to be an unnecessary expense. Those who cook regularly won’t gain any significant time savings because there are plenty of short-cut recipes online that achieve that goal.

LONG ANSWER: Campbell’s produces four different soup kits. For the amount of work and additional ingredients required, I don’t consider the Hearty Beef & Barley or the Spiced Vegetable Medley & Orzo kits to be a good value to me since the base ingredients are things that I either buy often or always have in my kitchen. I’m more likely to make these soups from scratch with fresh ingredients than pay $4 for dehydrated veggies because I still have to buy and wash and chop and cook everything. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of recipes that cut down the prep/cook time but still allow full control over the ingredients.

At a discounted price of $1.50, the Thai soup kit was worth trying for curiosity’s sake. I might buy this product again for the same price but I definitely wouldn’t pay full price and wouldn’t buy this often. For $4, I can buy my own fish sauce, lemongrass and Thai curry paste or chili paste and make more than just one pot of soup. In fact, the SO liked the dinner I made with the leftover coconut milk so I might buy fish sauce and curry paste after all.

Based on my experience with the Thai Chicken & Rice soup, I did go back and buy the Spicy Chicken Tortilla soup kit (also at a discount). It’s a good, low stress way to get a feel for cuisine that you’re unfamiliar with. WHAT THIS ACTUALLY COST: My ingredients cost came out to $5.81 ($7.30 including the soup kit). Everything except the cilantro was purchased from No Frills the week I made the soup (Nov 20-26). The breakdown is below; the last 3 items were purchased specifically to make the soup and are not things I normally buy.

If you happen to find better sales or are more efficient with your ingredients, you could get the ingredients cost under $5.80. You are probably not going to find the soup kits for $1.50 after this promotion period, so a more realistic total cost would be around $9.80, depending how frugal you are.

Cost breakdown: ● $1.75 chicken breast (~160g @ $4.88/lb) ● $1.99 Campbell’s chicken broth, 900mL ● $1.00 mushrooms ($1.99/227g pkg ÷2) ● $0.21 cilantro ($1.25/bunch ÷6)* ● $1.49 soup kit ($3.99-$2.50 cash back) ● $0.66 coconut milk ($0.99/398mL can x2/3)** ● $0.20 lime * The cilantro was left over from other meals I made and I probably didn’t use $0.20 worth in this soup, but the rest of it is likely going to rot before I can use it up. $0.20 is the purchase price divided by the number of portions I’ve used. ** I actually used 2/5 of the can for the soup, then made something else with a bit of the leftover. The rest is sitting in my fridge and might be thrown out so the cost is divided among my two uses.

For comparison, I priced this out at non-sale prices from Loblaws. So on the higher end, you’ll be paying $13.38 just to gather everything together, providing you actually use up the coconut milk and cilantro (I assume most people can find a use for extra chicken breast and mushrooms). Take this however you like.

Cost breakdown, expensive version: ● $3.17 chicken breast (160g @ $8.99/lb value club pack) ● $2.99 Campbell’s chicken broth, 900mL ● $1.35 mushrooms ($2.69/227g pkg ÷2) ● $0.34 cilantro ($1.99/bunch ÷6) ● $4.39 soup kit ● $0.64 coconut milk ($1.58/400mL can x2/5) ● $0.50 lime

Nov 29, 2015. #cookingathome #thaifood #trynewproducts #review