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Archive for the ‘Food and…’ Category

Writing It Down

Posted in Food and..., Writing, tagged , , , , , on October 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, I had the nice but somewhat complicated experience of having someone ask me for a recipe.

That’s right, my mushroom soup has fans both inside this house and out! And as this site frequently demonstrates, I’m happy to share my recipes. 

The problem is that in this case, I don’t actually have a recipe to share.

Like so many of the things I make, be it soup or a story, I tend to start with an idea, triangulate, course correct, confabulate and finally create a whole new version of whatever it is I’m making.

That’s fine for fiction, but more complicated when what I’m trying to share is not just the result of the creative process, but the process itself. 

This is a long way of saying that I don’t actually have a mushroom soup recipe, not exactly. 

But for this particular person, I’ll figure it out. And if it makes any kind of sense, I’ll share it with you too.

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Photo by Brando Makes Branding on Unsplash

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Groundhog Day, Again

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , on September 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Due to an upcoming event involving Mr Man and fifteen buddies, today was mushroom soup day. Imagine this day, only with twice as many mushrooms.

We did the slicing and duxelle-ing and at one point, had four of our biggest pans on the stove and two cookie sheets in the oven. The goal was to make mushroom soup and we are about 81% of the way there. Next, we just need to assemble 32 cups of stock and the roasted mushrooms and the rest, and then we have a double quadruple batch of soup. Half for us, half for Mr Man’s Manly Crew of Adventurers.

Won’t lie, I’m beat. And we didn’t make quite as much progress as we’d hoped.

Ask me what we’re having for dinner.

Indian food:)

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Photo by Andy Hay on Unsplash

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J&PB

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , on September 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I’m rushing through lunch with a quick PB&J. We use natural peanut butter that has an annoying tendency to separate and require a sloppy stirring session before said butter can be spread.

Or at least, that’s how my PB life used to be.

I ran across a comment the other day that recommended storing the peanut butter jar upside down. The author suggested it would change my sandwich life.

I did. And it has.

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Photo by Happy Jars on Unsplash

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Viscoelastic Mysteries

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , on September 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It’s starting to feel like fall here now, but still early enough that it feels right to cast my eyes back to a childhood summer treat: saltwater taffy.

Ever wondered what makes taffy both so sticky and so slippery?

The sweet physics of saltwater taffy | ScienceDaily

When measuring how the taffy responded to applied forces, Chan and their colleagues found taffy occupies the intriguing middle ground between solid and liquid material.

Ever wondered “how the ingredients and confectioning process contribute to the rheology of saltwater taffy”? Read on!

“In some sense, oil droplets and air bubbles are like rubber balls. When deformed in the taffy, they tend to return to their original, spherical shape because of surface tension. In other words, emulsification and aeration make taffy more elastic, hence, chewier.”

Also and alas, no saltwater is used in the making of saltwater taffy. 

Why is it Called Salt Water Taffy? | Mental Floss

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Photo by Sitraka on Unsplash

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Pretty Good, Actually

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , on September 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Note from the kitchen: Peanut butter and jelly with yogurt is surprisingly good.

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Photo by Tetiana Bykovets on Unsplash

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Fall Trivia

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , on September 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Ah, pumpkin spice. It’s that time of year again, and whether you are are the sort of person who loves pumpkin spice exemplars like the pumpkin spice latte or not, you might be interested to know what’s in it.

What Is Pumpkin Spice?

If it seems as if pumpkin spice season comes earlier each year, you’re not imagining things. Pumpkin spice lattes have officially arrived at Starbucks. But before you order a cup, drink this in: The flavor can be composed of more than 300 elements—and pumpkin usually isn’t one of them.

Wait, pumpkin is a fruit?

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Photo by Madison Kaminski on Unsplash

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Food You Can Make So You Don’t Die

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , on August 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I have not tested this cookbook, but it looks fun and it’s free and the illustrations are excellent and there are copious speculative fiction references, and I dig the vibe. 

The title is funny but I submit that it is too reductive. One doesn’t need to be a sad bastard to enjoy quick, easy cooking. I’ve also spent a non-zero part of my life eating versions of many of these recipes, and know them for the lifesavers that they can be.

Are you newly parted from the parental homestead? Newly parenting? Only have half an hour before you have to log on for a Warcraft raid? Are you just really, really freaking tired? 

This may be the cookbook for you.   

The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food you can make so you don’t die

By Rachel A. Rosen and Zilla Novikov

Illustrated by Marten Norr

This cookbook is all the recipes you already make, when you’ve worked a 16-hour day, when you can’t stop crying and you don’t know why, when the eldritch abomination you woke at the bottom of the ocean won’t go back to sleep. And hopefully, this cookbook gives you some new meal ideas. Even Sad Bastards have to eat.

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This photo is not the best photo for a book on quick and easy cooking, but I’m out of energy so I’m going with it. Photo by Calum Lewis on Unsplash

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Surprise of the Day

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , on August 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Wait, Fritos and Triscuits have about the same amount of sodium? 

Triscuits: 170mg per 28g = 6/g

Fritos: 300mg per 50g = 6/g

Excuse me while I go get some more Fritos.

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I’ll Take It

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , on August 19, 2023| 1 Comment »

Good news, Peoples of Earth! I am happy to report that the recent chocolate cheesecake experiment was a success.

Difficulty rating: easy, except for questions around the pan and the ingredient updates, but now I’ve got the process figured out. Also, my current pan makes cutting difficult.

Appearance: not terrible, despite the cracks caused by over-baking. Next time I’ll stick to the temperature guides and ignore the jiggle factor. The 9” x 3” pan made that less than reliable. Also, next time I’ll fancy it up with whipped cream and fruit.

Flavor: Mr Man’s assessment, and I quote, “F’ing delicious.”

I’ll take it.

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Again, here is the original recipe and my version of the updates, recorded here for posterity (and by that I mean the next time I make this, which will be soon!):

Epic New York Cheesecake From BraveTart

Chocolate Version

Crust:
225g Biscoff cookies
57g melted butter
pinch of salt

Cheesecake:
905g full-fat cream cheese, brought to about 70°F/21°C
112g fresh goat cheese (not pre-crumbled), brought to about 70°F/21°C
32g Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tsp espresso powder (didn’t have this so I steeped 6 coffee beans in the cream, remove after boiling)
15g vanilla extract
1g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume or the same weight
250g plain sugar
300g/6 large eggs
170g heavy cream
225g semi-sweet chocolate, added to the cream after boiling and stirred until melted

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Photo by American Heritage Chocolate on Unsplash

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Adventures in Baking

Posted in Food and..., tagged , , , , on August 17, 2023| 1 Comment »

I am trying something new today: cheesecake. I am sure that I have made a cheesecake at some point because my lizard brain remembers the pain of a hot water bath slopping up against my forearm, and the annoyance of a leaky springform pan. That said, I don’t remember many other details because I’ve been avoiding this kind of cake for years. 

But I had a special request. Mr Man wanted a cheesecake. And not just any cheesecake, he wanted it to be chocolate.

Ok, I said. I can do that. (Pretty sure I can do that.)

After much research and a number of modifications, I am doing it. 

If you are unfamiliar, cheesecake is typically a multi-day affair. It requires a bake and then a cool and then a chill, preferably overnight. If you’re in a hurry, you can try some of the no-bake variants out there, but they still tend to require significant time in the fridge.

Here’s the base recipe I’m using: Epic New York Cheesecake From BraveTart. (No water bath! My forearms are thanking me. And how did I not realize that there is no flour at all in cheesecake?)

Modifications are required because my pan isn’t quite the right size and the original formulation is for a lightly citrus-flavored version. For Mr Man’s chocolate extravaganza, I’m using some of the changes posted by GregLasky in the recipe comments, along with most of his ingredient list: Chocolate Cheesecake.

The bad thing about a recipe like this is that I have to wait before I know if it worked. The good thing about a recipe like this? I have a whole day to imagine how great it’s going to be. 

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If I’m lucky, my cheesecake will look something like this. Except not as dark chocolaty. Or as well plated. And what is that tasty-looking beverage? Photo by Allen Rad on Unsplash

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