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Category: Food

update – food planning aborted due to pantry moths

So I punted on Tuesday’s dinner plans – hopefully the eggplants will still be okay by Sunday.

Did not acquire more free peaches in a rare act of prudence (even if they would have been free again, I just don’t have time to even cut them up and sugar them this week. Maybe next week)

Came home last night to realize that I had a few kitchen moths so I did a pantry purge. Luckily, I grew up with a mother who was terrified of having kitchen moths, so most of my moth-friendly staples are in the fridge (all of my flour and most of my rice). But since I am sans-internet at home these days, I got all of my moth information from Meghan and my mother, each of whom has only dealt with them once. So I threw out the spices I had in plastic bags from the indian market because they are kinda floury (curry powder, ground coriander, etc.) and no one knew for sure either way, though both guessed they’d be fine. It’s cool – they were getting old. And I threw out my baking soda (the baking powder is in a canister) and corn starch and the bag of corn meal I bought 5 years ago and only used 2 Tablespoons of. I threw out my opened, but tightly clipped, bags of legumes but I did not throw out the new bags, which I suppose are just as likely to be permeable and/or infested, but meh! I did not throw out the oatmeal in a sealed plastic container, nor the basmati rice in a screw-top plastic jug. I threw out the tail end of a box of rotini, but I did not throw out the open spaghetti or lasagne noodles. And, without opening it, I think I figured out that the one thing most likely to have moths in it was the canister of bread crumbs, which hasn’t been opened in 6 months or so. So is there anything I haven’t thrown out that you think I should? What about the string of dried chilies hanging from the ceiling? Ooh, and the internet says they eat candy – I guess I’d better polish off my two fancy chocolate bars tonight.

food planning

I have three meals of food in my fridge – if only I have three nights of energy to make them.

Meal #1 – stir fry
beef, already cut in strips (but I haven’t added a marinade)
kohlrabi
onions
snow peas
fennel

Meal #2 – quesadillas
Mexican chorizo
leftover sauteed onions & peppers
summer squash
cheese
tortillas
salsa (not yet made)

Meal #3 – imam bayaldi
eggplants
leeks
tomatoes
parsley
olive oil

food in fridge not accounted for:
chicken leftovers
the rest of the summer squash
green beans
melon
more tomatoes

Tuesday, August 4
9pm go home promptly
line a baking sheet with foil
split green tomatoes in halves and set to roasting (350F)

clear off sewing table and pull out sewing machine

turn roasting pan

get out sewing machine, plug it in, and find white thread

wash japanese eggplants. Peel in strips and place in soup pot until the base if covered, no more (if there is eggplant left over, it’s going in the stir fry). Add olive oil to the soup pot and brown the eggplant, turning as you go.

Mark up the pants, and pin them while you are standing around turning the eggplant.

put roasted tomatoes in a container in the fridge.

Microwave cooked leeks, chop up tomatoes, chop garlic, chop parsley, squeeze lemon into a teacup and mix in sugar and some water

fill eggplants, pour liquid over, close up pot, lower heat, and let cook for 45 minutes.

hem pants

Wednesday, August 5
If pants are not hemmed yet, hem them OMG!
if pants are hemmed, vacuum floor.

breakfast: slice up the rest of friend’s bread and toast it. Mix together diced fresh tomato, roasted garlic, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Eat bruschetta.

toast some blueberry muffins and top with blueberry jelly.

set out work clothing

pack to take to work: peach chipotle jam

on way to karate, see if the thrift store has a bit canning pot

10:20am – karate!

1pm-9pm work work work

2pm – pop head out to the farmers’ market and offer to trade jam for more free peaches

9pm – leave work promptly (hopefully, lugging peaches home)

wash and slice all the summer squash, sautee it with fajita seasoning

pull the green tomatoes out of the fridge and remove the skins. Make salsa out of them.

stir a marinade into the stir fry beef

Pull the squash out and sautee the sausage. Add the onions and peppers in at the end.

make a salsa from fresh tomatoes?

pre-treat laundry?

make quesadillas and eat them – nom nom nom

save leftovers bits that didn’t fit in quesadillas.

Thursday, August 5
remove pie crust from fridge

8:30am take laundry to laundromat

slice open melon and eat it.

put pie crust in pie plate and prick

retrieve laundry and hang to dry

bake pie crust

plant cherry tomato plant?

buy dairy product?

put into crust:
– leftover chorizo
– leftover cooked squash
– parsley, lovage, thyme, savory
– leftover chicken
– any leftover cooked leek
– cheese
– eggs
– dairy

Make a quiche!

Don’t have time to eat the quiche, so pop it, loosely covered, in the fridge

go to work

work work work

9pm – come home promptly

remove clothes from line and put away

make stir fry!

read book for book group

Friday, August 7
cut a slice of quiche and take it to work for breakfast! Be smug.

pack to take to work: exercise clothes, grey yarn, roma tomatoes, a few regular tomatoes

9-5 work

5:30-6:45 yoga

7pm – dinner – of quiche!

8-11pm book group

come home and cut up some peaches and sugar them – put in refrigerator

Saturday, August 8
wake up early and cut and sugar the rest of the peaches

10-11:30 yoga
11:45-12:45 pilates

1pm go home and bathe, OMG! (yes, theoretically this has happened a few more times in the schedule, but still)

possibly eat – bagel and cream cheese? With a fried egg? Or maybe, just maybe, there might be some quiche left.

get character sheet and take a jar of peach sauce over to gaming group for hanging out and experimental food.

~*~

Chances of all of that happening with none falling by the wayside? Approaching 0%, but we’ll see.

Jam update

Peach Chipotle Jam

Ended up including:

4 cups of cut up yellow peaches
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 lemons (zest and juice)
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp (dipping the spoon in gently twice) adobo sauce with chipotle peppers
1/4 tsp (2 generous shakes, really) ground chipotle
8 whole allspice berries
once boiling – 1/2 packet of liquid pectin

Directions: Cook cook cook. Stir. Stir. Cook Cook Cook. Remove allspice.

Take sanitized jars, fill with jam, clean rim, add lid, return to boiling water for 30 minutes, remove and let cool.

Jam of awesome!

yield: 4 – 8oz jars

result: Has a loose consistency, but still holds together enough to be called preserves. Tastes delicious! Tingles my tongue without burning – must remember, however, not to offer to my more heat-sensitive friends.

Ginger Peach Jam with lime

Ended up including:

4 generous cups cut up white peaches
2 cups white sugar
4 limes (zest and juice)
pinch of salt
2 healthy glugs of ginger juice (1-2 Tablespoons?)
3/4 inch of fresh ginger, minced
4 – 2″ stalks of lemongrass (for cooking, and then stood up in each jar)
1/2 packet of pectin

Directions: Cook cook cook. Stir. Stir. Cook Cook Cook.

Take sanitized jars, fetch out a lemongrass stalk and put it in the jar, fill with jam, clean rim, add lid, return to boiling water for 30 minutes, remove and let cool.

yield: 5 – 8oz jars (yes, I was 1 lemongrass short)

result: Didn’t jell at all. It makes a very tasty sauce/syrup, but it’s not jam. I am considering popping these back open and recooking them – possibly even turning them into chutney.

Plum and Nectarine Jam

Ended up including:

1.5 cups of assorted plums and nectarines (and one white peach that was in disguise as a nectarine)
3/4 cup of sugar
juice of half a lemon
pinch of salt
10 black cardamom seeds, ground
the last squeezings from the pectin packet

Directions: Cook cook cook. Stir. Cook Cook Cook. Go, “Oh shit! It’s burning to the bottom! Best can it right away!”

Take sanitized jar, gently fill with jam without scraping the bottom, clean rim, add lid, return to boiling water for 30 minutes, remove and let cool.

yield: 1 – 8oz jars (and just a wee bit extra)

result: Firm and solid like real jam (like you can buy in stores). Managed to take it up without getting any burned bits in – so it still has a nice, clear flavor. The cardamom, which I was expecting to be nigh overwhelming, it only faintly noticeable if you are looking for it. I think this is the one I’m giving to my parents because they like a fairly traditional (i.e. simple flavors) jam.

The two people who kept me company and loaned me a big pot each took home a jar of jam. One opted for the chipotle one, and the other wanted the ginger peach one even though it was loose: she plans to put it over ice cream.

Windfall of peaches – prep for jam

Canning! (as inspired by all of the lovely posts by Food in Jars)

Yesterday, I had a bit of a windfall in peaches, with the adorable berry boys, who sell orchard products at the farmers market across the street and are objectified by half of my co-workers, looking all befuddled when I asked to buy their defective fruit – and instead giving me the lot for free.

So this morning I cleaned away the bad spots and chopped up the good parts, and ended up with a decent haul:

  • 4 cups of yellow peaches, which I have packed up with 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup white sugar as well as both the zest and juice from two lemons and a pinch of salt. I am thinking of adding allspice and chipotle when I go to cook this into jam – what do you think?
  • 4 cups of white peaches, which I have packed up with 2 cups of white sugar, the zest and juice of 4 limes, and a pinch of salt. For this one, I am thinking of lots of ginger and some lemon grass (because I happen to have a bunch in my fridge right now). And then if I am doing that, then maybe a wee little stir in of my thai green curry paste.
  • 1.5 cups of assorted plums and nectarines (and one white peach that was in disguise as a nectarine), which I have packed up with 3/4 cup of sugar and the juice of half a lemon (and a pinch of sugar). And I have no fancy ideas for this one.

And then I had to wash up and go to work.

I think I won’t have time to cook the jam until Sunday, but that should be okay. I’m planning to spend the time in between looking for a wide-mouthed funnel.

Oh, yeah, I also quested for canning jars at both of my local supermarkets and two of the small grocers with no success, but I did luck out at the local hardware store, and he’s going to order some of the wee, cute 4oz jars for me. They won’t be in for a week or so, and by then I’ll know whether or not the jam thing works for me. If not, they are still cute, versatile jars.

Vegan Cream Cheese Experiment

So I volunteered to help some friends make food for a Vegan Bruncheonette thing they are doing this weekend to raise money to go off for yoga teacher training.

Only I won’t be around this weekend, so I had to think of something on the spot that I could make ahead, and I said to my self, “Hey, I know there’s vegan cream cheese – it must be better with stuff in it than plain. I could make flavored cream cheeses.”

And the guy said, “Why, yes, that’d be wonderful.”

So I said, “Where’s the best place in Philly to buy vegan cream cheese?”

And he gave the wrong* answer – “I have a recipe.”

note: after checking recipes online, I did go back to him and say, “Do you really think this sounds like appetizing food?” and he was still pleased with the idea.

Right.

So.

Yester morning (Monday) I ran around shopping for silken tofu and cashew butter. Last night, I borrowed the use of a friend’s food processor at 10pm and tried out a couple recipes.

I have to say that the results were kind of nasty.

But they did firm up into a more cream cheese-esque firmness this morning (Tuesday), and I figure it’s as good as any other homemade vegan cream cheese. Blech.

Check.

So the next stage of the plan will be to flavor the hell out of them tonight Tuesday night.

Here’s the list of things I’m thinking of adding. Let me know if you have any other ideas/suggestions.

The first batch was made with: silken tofu, cashew butter, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and white sugar

  • Korintje cassia cinnamon, cinnamon, brown sugar, toasted walnuts, and buckwheat honey**
  • bronze fennel, black pepper, Japanese pepper, black cardamom, lemon zest, nutmeg, and clove
  • black olives, green olives, and toasted almonds

The second batch was made with: silken tofu, canola oil, rice vinegar, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and white sugar

  • roasted garlic & herbs from my garden (chives, parsley, rosemary, thyme, savory, and lovage)
  • pesto (Genovese basil, purple basil, toasted pine nuts, roasted garlic, and black pepper)
  • chipotle & adobo, garlic (roasted and fresh), brown mustard, and molasses

*Only wrong in that I hadn’t expected the extra layer of complication and uncertainty of results. IN fact, the whole experiment was rather fun.

**Great Vegan Honey Debate is discussed at length here.

~*~

Results as each was made –

So far, the pesto one has turned out surprisingly well.

The chipotle one, however, is not for the faint of heart. I ended up adding dijon mustard in order to get enough bulk to make my mini food processor happy, and then a tiny little bit of molasses for sweet. But I still had to add the entire portion in the food processor before it stopped tasting of ick, and that might be too spicy for a lot of people. I’ll add a little warning on the label, and no one will believe me, but that’ll be fine.

have just made the garlic and herbs one. Right now it is very disappointing, but I yet have confidence that it will turn awesome over the next couple days as the flavors mingle.

Olives – I don’t know, since I don’t like olives. I ended up buying ones with pits in my quest to get only 6 olives per color, so I wasn’t able to mark the container with a pretty olive slice.

fennel – meh. It’s flavors did suit the tofu concoction well, but you’d have to like the tofu concoction in the first place to enjoy this one.

honey/cinnamon/walnuts – winner! This one was tasty. I wouldn’t put it on a bagel, but I had no problem just eating the spoonful that wouldn’t quite fit in the container.