Alternate Open Thread

One thing I’d recommend for someone having to do vegetarian stuff, make yourself a freezable version of duxelles – concentrated mushroom ‘paste’.

It’s also a handy recipe to make up when mushrooms are going out cheap. Best of all, the mushrooms are cooked right down, literally to a paste, so people who dislike the texture have no problem. All they get is the nice rich taste – very good for the reluctant vegetarian who misses the mouth feel/ umami taste of meat, very good for mixtures that seem to be “missing something”.

1/2 kg mushrooms, any sort but I prefer at least a few of the big flat ugly ones in the mix
1 onion very finely chopped
3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wipe the mushrooms and chop finely*.
Simmer the onion gently in the oil until translucent, then add the mushrooms, parsley and spices. Simmer the mix (fairly gently) until all moisture has evaporated. Stir consistently towards the end to prevent sticking/burning.

At this point the standard recipe advises spooning into small jars and topping with oil to seal from air exposure. What I do is to get small freezer or sandwich bags, put 1/4 or 1/2 cup quantities into the bottom of each bag. Then I flatten it so it finishes up looking like a flat chocolate bar or licorice strap in the bottom of the bag. Seal and freeze. The advantages of this are that 1) the amount of fat/oil/calorie count is reduced, 2) if you just want a bit to flavour a sauce or casserole, you can break a bit off easily, 3) if you need the whole quantity in the bag, it thaws and mixes in much more quickly than it does in a lump (ask me how I know), 4) the little flat packs are much easier to tuck into the freezer, 5) you don’t have to top up a jar with extra oil to reseal it.

* Chopping the mushrooms as finely as you can means that the moisture releases much more quickly. It’s also important to use a big-ish frying pan but over a gentle heat so that there’s maximum chance for evaporation. I use a wooden or silicon spoon-spatula to draw across the pan frequently so that the moisture is fully exposed to the air. Even then it takes a while – though I confess I prefer to do a kilo at a time.

Now hyraxes are clearly plotting something.

http://www.zooborns.com/.a/6a010535647bf3970b011571270367970c-800wi

Today, well yesterday, was super stress day of stressfulness. I ended up missing my choir’s concert, because I was still testing and fell apart a little before and after my last skill station (in the staging area)…

… But I passed.

I’ll be official once the state processes the paperwork.

I’m an EMT-2.

And the choir forgives me and the alternates did good, and…

I’m tired.

@contrapangloss
Congratulations! I’m sure that you put in lots of hard work to become an EMT-2. Sometimes I see EMTs dealing with homeless people, and I’m so glad that we have that safety net. Thank you for saving lives!

Thanks for all the recipes and links, everyone! 🙂

@skiriki

Yes, I think lacto-ovo vegetarian would be correct. Sadly I can’t see myself giving up dairy any time soon.

As for yucky foods, we’re both quite picky eaters (which makes this so much more difficult) and we both have a history of eating disorders.

My wife doesn’t like chickpeas, as I mentioned previously, but there are many other little things here and there that she would prefer not eating. Most importantly we both hate all seafood, but that doesn’t matter now that we’re vegetarian.

I have a general tendency to be grossed out by almost all cooked food. When I’m by myself I default to eating only cereal, bread, yogurt, snacks, chocolate, ice cream and candy. When I get too hungry I order a burger or pizza and then I feel like crap for 2 days. But that’s not really relevant for this discussion since I do force myself to eat normal dinners, and I often like them when I have them. It’s just the idea of eating normal food that freaks me out beforehand sometimes.

My dislikes are eggplant, tomato (by itself; I’m ok with tomato in the crushed form, or in ketchup, tomato soup, etc), excessive amounts of cheese, and probably other things I can’t think of right now.

I found an amazing recipe on youtube a while back, for some sort of spicy cabbage wraps with all sorts of good veggies and nuts in them. It’s actually a raw food recipe, but it’s really really good. It’s quite a bit of work so I haven’t made it very often, but it’s always been much appreciated.

—

First off, start by making almond butter. You can use store bought almond butter to save some time and effort, but I think home made is a lot better. You will need almonds, a food processor, and patience. Just put almonds in the food processor, blend, scrape down the sides with a knife, blend, scrape sides, blend, and keep going until it turns into a ball of almond butter. This will take time. It will seem as if it’ll never turn buttery, but eventually it will. Trust me, just keep going until it suddenly happens. For me it’s always come out semi-spreadable.

For the main recipe, put the following ingredients in a blender:

1/4 cup of almond butter
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp of minced ginger
1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 tsp of salt
2 tsp chili flakes

Mix all these up in the blender, then add 1 cup of cashews and blend a little but more until the cashews are chunky and not completely blended.

Then you will need the following:

Large leaves of red cabbage
Carrot
Green and yellow bell pepper
Mango
Bean sprouts

Take a cabbage leaf and put a reasonable amount of the filling in it. Then add carrot, bell pepper and mango, all raw and cut into small sticks. Add a little bit of bean sprouts, and then fold the cabbage up.

Use the leftover almond butter for a sandwich spread. 🙂

I have another good recipe with tofu and quinoa, for those who like that. I’m not a huge fan of tofu myself, but I love this recipe.

First, prep the tofu. You will need a tofu press, or if you don’t have one you can press the tofu with paper towels and whatever weights you can find. For example cans of beans, which is what I’ve used in the past. Basically, put a block of tofu down on a few layers of paper towels, then put another few layers of paper towels on top. Then place a heavy bowl on top of that, and fill the bowl with more heavy stuff. Replace the paper towel if it gets soaked. Leave it like that for about 30 minutes and it should be good.

Now bake the tofu:

Preheat oven to 400F. Put the tofu blocks on a baking sheet with cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes. Then flip the tofu and bake for another 20 minutes. I’ve made this “marinated” in Sweet Baby Ray’s hickory and brown sugar sauce before. Just marinate the tofu for an hour or so in the fridge before baking, and then use the leftover sauce to brush onto the tofu when you flip them halfway through.

Now for the main recipe:

1/2 cup quinoa
Vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper
1 head of broccoli
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp water
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp minced ginger
2 tbsp chopped peanuts

1. Make the quinoa like normal, with vegetable broth.
2. Sautée the bell pepper in olive oil, just a few minutes.
3. Steam the broccoli by putting it in a hot frying pan with 2 tbsp of water. Cover the pan and steam for 2 minutes, then move the broccoli to a bowl with the bell pepper.
4. Mix ingredients for a peanut sauce: peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger, 1 tbsp of water, sugar, ginger.
5. Transfer the quinoa, veggies and peanut sauce to a large bowl and mix it all up with some salt and pepper.
6. Serve in bowls, and add pieces of the baked tofu and chopped peanuts.

My last recipe for now, kale and potato gratin:

1 1/2 lb potatoes
Lots of kale (I prefer Chinese kale for this)
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan (grated. or fake parmesan)
Fresh thyme, and other herbs if you have them
1/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Peel and slice the raw potatoes 1/4 inch thick, then boil them for 3 minutes and drain.
3. Chop kale into ribbons. Combine kale, olive oil, pressed garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with a spoon or your hand.
4. Put down layers in a casserole dish: potatoes, then kale mix, then bread crumbs and parmesan, potatoes, kale mix, bread crumbs and parmesan.
5. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and pour the milk over the top, then bake for another 15 minutes without foil.

@dhag85 — you can cut some of that, BUT, this makes it ideal very-cold-weather food, such as when there’s snow up your arse and you still gotta go outside.

@autosoma
Hey, I can relate! I’m still trying to find the answer, and there’s always some external pressure to do it fast. Keep at it, maybe try to find a nice psychologist if you can afford it. You don’t need to have any mental health issue to see one, it’s a healthy thing to do when you have those kinds of problems in life and it might even help prevent the development of those issue later.

@everyone
Since you’re all sharing some recipes, here’s my family’s secret sandwich, the Botucatu:

Ingredients
French bread (enough for everyone you’re cooking for)
Mayonnaise
2 slices of the best bologna you can find for each sandwich you’re preparing
2 slices of cheese, I recommend mozzarella, for each sandwich
A lot of onions! depending on how many people you’re cooking for I’d say take at least five
Soy sauce
Vinegar
Tomatoes (optional)

How to prepare

Chop up the onions in whatever shape your heart desires.
Use a frying pan to start frying the onions. As soon as they are sizzling, put some soy sauce in the pan. There’s no official measure, most of it will evaporate, but what we want is for the colour and taste to stick to the onions. When the onions are getting a little soft and soggy-looking, sprinkle them with vinegar and then remove them from the pan, putting them aside in a plate.
Now, we want to fry the bologna and the cheese in this same pan, but the cheese will stick to it and burn, so there’s a trick! Take two cheese slices and fold them into a nice little square. Then, wrap that cheese square inside two bologna slices, and put that package in the pan. You want to fry it until the bologna is a little black from the soy sauce remnants and the cheese has melted completely.
Now take the bread, slice it open, coat it’s insides in mayo, then put the bologna+cheese package inside, covering it with the fried onions. Add the tomatoes, if you’re using them.

That’s it! IMHO it’s delicious, quick and easy to make, and at least here in Brazil, it’s also cheap. My father was the one who started doing it this way and it’s something I love preparing for guests and such.
Be warned though, it’s a little messy on the pan, it might take some effort to get rid of the soy sauce burn marks on it 😛

I read everyone’s replies. I appreciate the kind words and thoughts.

Hopefully, this week coming will be better for all of us.

Late to thread! Hope the people in Paris that comment here are okay and safe; I hope that the rest of Paris is as safe as they can be, and my condolences to those who lost people.

I was going to comment last night but I have a massive toothache. I got drunk, because even the Extreme Orajel did nothing for me. I slept with ice on my face and that helped some.

I can’t get into the dentist until tuesday. The first dentist couldn’t get me in until Mid-December and that was way too far away, because oh people’s Gods does my mouth hurt. And of course it happens the week where I have to work double-shifts, too.

I’m done for today, though, so I’m going to drink some more. Good for my teeth, no. Good for pain, hells yeah!

Ace — I’ve never tried it, but clove oil supposedly works. Also, advil, preferably not while drinking though.