In acknowledgment of the recent realisation that I wont be able to cook at college in a few weeks I have started to document some of my fun.


Chopped home grown produce and ( just two more pictures. )

We're new owners of a Wii (wii've finally found one!) and things have gotten very busy, that we've employed our teddy bear to work in the kitchen:



Haha.  And have resorted to boxed cake mixes (this is Devil's Food Cake poured into cupcakes for easier serving...emphasis on EASIER).  Our "Teddy" channeled Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade strategy and "made" this:




Very Valentine-ish.

What are you doing for V-day tomorrow?  Eating out or cooking in?  [Or having a singles/couples party?]  My boyfriend is cooking me dinner -- hurray!

I feel no shame.

Sometimes I want something that takes three minutes to cook, has almost no nutritional value, and is very, very bad for my blood pressure.

Sometimes, I really want 19c a packet ramen. And I feel no shame.

Of course, these days, I can't justify a bowl of ramen as an actual meal, so I add a ton of frozen and fresh veggies, drain off the "broth" when I serve it, and add a few dashes of chili oil over the top.

And then it's not just horrible for you crappy ramen anymore. Then it's food porn.*

*in my opinion.


click for bigger!

mm V-Day cupcakes..
but the kids should love them tomorrow. (I do day-care)
I used Betty Crocker's Silver White Cake recipe and added Imitation strawberry flavor and some thawed out strawberry's from this summer.




2 1/4 c all-purpose flour or 2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 2/3 c sugar
2/3 c oil
1 1/4 c milk
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp imitation strawberry
5 egg whites
1/2 c thawed strawberry's

For the frosting I did cheat I used store bought frosting and just added some of the strained strawberry juice some imitation strawberry stuff and food coloring, then beat the heck out of it so it was fluffy

Well, yet again I did something So You Don't Have To.

vox8 sent me...some...

And then city_of_dis--who's LJ is FANTASTIC--and I...we...

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD...



( If this isn't proof that I love you then the door's right over there, slugger... )

I made cultured butter! The story is posted on my personal journal.

So...what do I do with the buttermilk? It is true buttermilk- soured and all.

Has anyone tried King's Asian kimchi? I found some at the grocer, and am curious what the kimchi aficionados think of it. It tastes very much like the kimchi a Korean friend of mine made, but was much more bubbly and actually had a carbonated taste!

Howdy Pornistas!

I am planning what I hope will be a nice, special meal for me and my SO for this Friday, since he won't be in town for v-day. I have an entree and a dessert, but I'd also like to make something small to munch on as we cook, and have a nice drink with dinner, so I'm hoping you guys might have some suggestions!

For dinner I'm planning on making this spice rubbed steak with a horseradish & garlic cream sauce from epicurious, substituting two small ribeye steaks for the tenderloin (much cheaper!), alongside some roasted potatoes and greenbeans.

Also, somewhat adventurously, I'm going to try and make a creme brulee with rasberries for dessert.

Making the sauce for the steak sounds like a lengthy process, so I'd like to have something small and simple to munch on while we cook. I'd like to do something with brie or another cheese, but I'm at a loss for what...anyone have any suggestions?

Also, I'd like to make a nice drink to have before and during dinner. I don't drink beer and my SO doesn't like wine, and unfortunately my knowledge of mixed drinks is somewhat limited. Any suggestions as to something I could make that would compliment my entree?

Thanks so much for any ideas you might have - and thanks in general for this awesome community! I love to read and be inspired by all of your culinary adventures!

Edit: Thanks so much for the suggestions! I'll definitely try to post pictures once I get going tomorrow night!

Thank you!

Poll #1138223 Restaurant Preferences #1
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

When do you prefer to receive the Aperitif? (examples: Bread and Butter, Chips and Salsa)

Hello everyone,

I'm new here with a sort of food emergency.

So my friend taught me how to make guacamole.
So I tried making it myself and I think I added too much tomato and extra virgin olive oil. I tried fixing it up by adding more spices and avacados but it still tastes like spicy mayonnaise to me. Well, I think I'm done fixing it up. But I don't want to throw it out. I feel bad cuz I wasted enough ingredients on it so I was wondering if I could cook anything with it. Any dishes I could make with some watered down guacamole?

thanks in advance!

EDIT:

IM SORRY FOR USING OLIVE OIL!!! LOL
the reason I used it was because I was following my friends recipe, who happens to be Mexican and cooks very good/delicious mexican food. So I wasnt going to question her methods. But I'll remember next time to not use it and I since everyone says its fatty enough, I think I'll just throw it out. It's probably the olive oil that ruined it.

thanks all anywho :)

Been feeling like I haven't been eating right. Tossed a salad together and seared off a salmon filet and topped that with some sauteed mushrooms. Light, easy and full of flavor.

( Read more... )

On Saturday I made what was supposed to be a Red Velvet Cake:

As you can see, it failed in many ways. It stuck to the bundt pan even though I did my usual butter and flour coating, and it also simply wasn't red colored nor "red velvet" flavored (my housemates said it tasted "wrong" but good, but I didn't like its taste). What you can't see is that about 20% of the batter rose and overflowed my pan, pouring a ring of what soon became burned batter on the floor of my oven. It was pretty terrible.

I used the recipe here: http://www.thehealers.org/food/redvelvet.html
My bundt pan normally fits a recipe that calls for two 9" round pans, but this was simply too much batter. I also had to bake it for over 3 times as long as the recipe called for til I got a clean toothpick; it just wasn't cooking in the middle.

If any of you have good red velvet cake recipes that do not use food dye, let me know.

On Sunday I made a pound cake. I made one with butter a few weeks ago, and although it was good, it wasn't "right." I tried again but with butter flavored Crisco and it was a winner!


( My Pound Cake Recipe )