Cooking Conservatively in Tough Financial Times

Vanity | Feb, 18, 2008 | JRandomFreeper

[Patriotic1]

For those of us with freezers looking into reducing freezer burns, can you recommend a vacuum sealing foodsaver?

[JRandomFreeper]

Some of the best sea salt I've ever tried is Redmond RealSalt(r). It's pricey though, and for now, I'm stuck with Mortons. Maybe after the next contract comes through I can restock my 'essential luxuries'.

Lots of times, baking recipes are given in 'Baker's %' where the weight of the flour =100% and the other percentages aren't true percentages, but a percentage of the flour weight.

I run about 12 grams of salt for 480 grams of flour, or somewhere around 2.5% of the flour weight.

When I get a chance, and my brain is really working, I'll convert my standard bread recipe to normal kitchen measurements and post it here.

/johnny

[JRandomFreeper]

I don't use one, but I know someone that does, and he's gone through several I can ask him tomorrow.

Anybody got any suggestions?

/johnny

[kitchen]

Sounds like it’s Mel Tappan time.

Now there's a name I haven't heard in some time. RIP, Mel.

[Petronski]

If you’ve really never seen Top Chef, I envy you: you get to see it all, fresh, not knowing.

Start with Season 1, arguably the best season of them all.

Find a way to see this show. If you have a semi-modern or modern computer, it can play DVDs. Get the first season of Top Chef.

[GOPJ]

Raccoon and Opossum are thick this year, although I prefer not to eat those, but would, if TVP were the alternative.

What's "TVP"?

[JRandomFreeper]

"Textured Vegetable Protein". A bad fake-meat substitute. A few national mexican food chains use it. It's better than it was when it first appeared on the market. It's just horrible and disgusting now.

I would, quite literally, eat possum before I would eat TVP.

/johnny

[Don W]

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

I disagree strongly with you about Alton Brown’s “manic” (your description) presentation manner. It is charming, amusing and makes watching him easier for the ADDled youth of today.

Then again, what are the odds of some SK8r punk watching Food TV?

Nonetheless, *I* like him, and have incorporated many of his hints into my cooking.

[newhouse]

you can use a pressure pan to do that...

There is the smaller pressure pan, as compared to what you use for presssure canning vegetables, that will cook beans or tougher cuts of meat in a short time...and there is always the standby slow cooker. The toughest piece of meat will be totally tender in either the pressure pan or the slow cooker.

If you peel the stem of broccoli, the stem is tender and very good in vegetable dishes or soups.

[newhouse]

racccon and opossum are thick...

My father-in-law used to run trap lines for beaver, to sell the pelts. Mom-in-law used beaver meat in mincemeat pies and yes it was very good.

[Freedom56v2]

Great food thread. Thanks for posting!!!

[JRandomFreeper]

I intend to keep it going as a resource where anyone can ask questions about food, particularly very good and economical food, and get some serious answers from the pros, semi-pros, and really talented home cooks that grace FR.

/johnny

[newhouse]

Another way to get away from the gas of beans is to use them as sprouts-they go into soups and meatloaf etc with no problem.

And beans (check to see what your flour mill does not like, such as oily nuts) run through the flour mill can be added to anything. Meatloaf, soups, casseroles, thinking in terms of adding some protein, although as mentioned, incomplete. But it adds nutrition.

[Plutarch]

A bread machine converts very cheap flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil and egg into a homemade delight. We have bread about every night. It is real nice to come home to the smell of it baking.

Flour is around 80 cents per pound. A pound is 453 grams. Four calories per gram of carbohydrate/protein = 1812 calories/lb. Moderately active adult male of average size requires 2300 calories, which represents 1.27 pounds of flour, or roughly a dollar. So too does canola oil represent about $1 for 2300 calories. So, to the extent you are having fresh homemade bread, you are subsisting for a dollar per day.

[thecodont]

I don’t have a bread machine, but I love baking bread. There is something deeply satisfying about punching down the first proof of the dough: it’s more fun than popping a balloon.

[oldtimer2]

Easy peanut butter ch chip cookies
1 c sugar
1 c peanut butter
2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
mix thoroughly
add
1 c ch chips
drop 1 spoonful on baking sheet 1 1/2 inch apart. flatten slightly
bake for 9-10 min at 350 degrees

[newhouse]

Also to cut down on salt, I use medium coarsely ground wheat for a home version of shake and bake for baking chicken. For my taste it completely eliminates the need to use salt and really tastes good.

[Plutarch]

I don’t have a bread machine, but I love baking bread. There is something deeply satisfying about punching down the first proof of the dough: it’s more fun than popping a balloon.

That's right. No bread machine needed. What is real handy is a dough whisk to get it started before the dough is smooth enough to take in hand. It requires a little work, but do more stuff like this by hand, and a gym membership isn't needed so much.

[Tamar1973]

I pay only $10 for a gallon of the cabbage kimchi. Yum!

[neb52]

Here is a good site for varied bread types.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/