i found out that potatoes absorb a lot of oil when being fried, but sweat out some out at the end, that is, when they are fully cooked. they are fried best at high heat and do not stick to a well seasoned cast iron pan. just a couple weeks ago i mastered the art of frying potato shreds and proceeded to eat fried potatoes every morning for a week. my potato obsession has cooled off but i am still a fan of the starchy root.
yesterday i made Perfect looking pancakes, as opposed to burnt ones. and that was done on medium with a cast iron pan again. the first one got poured into a cool pan while the electric burner was set to high, and when the pan started smoking a bit i set the burner on medium, which is what the other pancakes were cooked at.
i like to combine whole wheat flour and oatmeal when i make the pancakes, it makes them feel healthier. but the last batch of pancakes did not taste good the day after … i must find a better combination of ingredients.
Also, i am officially in love with home made yogurt. the day after i made the second batch, i ate the yogurt with wheat germ for breakfast And lunch before craving vegetables for dinner. the first batch was a bit watery, the second batch was more firm, and this third batch is the Exact same texture as store bought yogurt. it also tastes Very similar, with the Exact same tartness. i do prefer the mildness of the first two batches but i like the texture of the most recent one. I think this texture came about from boiling the milk a bit longer and letting the batch sit out longer the the previous batches.
yesterday i watched andrew zimmerman’s ‘bizzare food’ taking place in a morrocan port and i began craving seafood. i love seafood .. i just don’t buy it often, thus i do not consume it as much as i’d like. But since the ocean supposedly has serious pollution issues, i guess consuming less seafood is a good thing. but non-organic veggies and meats already have pesticides and chemical run off in them … whatever … i just have to find a nice balance between the two. i made some meatloaf with organic ground beef layered on top of rappini on tuesday, it was good. last week was the first time i bought rappini, it was on sale at publix. it tastes like a milder chinese broccoli and looks just like it.
my daughter refuses to eat both mild italian sausage And the meatloaf i made which was Also mild … i seasoned it with italian herb mix, fresh parsley, paprika, ketchup, diced onions and garlic + salt&pepper And added some milled flax seed and oat bran for health factor. i think the meat loaf was Delicious, and so does the father, but my daughter disagrees. she Does eat pasta, tortellini, along with pieces of tomato, carrot, onion etc though, i guess she’s more pickey about meat.
i am making joy’s giant vanilla sugar cookies tonight.
i made what i call ‘fried potato salad’ along with stir fried italian sausage and bouquet garni type veggies for dinner. my daughter’s dad had to leave before i finished cooking though. he had to work to do on campus. he shall be back later …. and we will microwave the left overs for him.
musings of a home trained cook 