Note from the kitchen: Peanut butter and jelly with yogurt is surprisingly good.
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Archive for the ‘Food and…’ Category
Pretty Good, Actually
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, breakfast options on September 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Fall Trivia
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #thebeverageindustrialcomplex, Thoughts 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.
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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Food You Can Make So You Don’t Die
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, cooking, food, free 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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Surprise of the Day
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, food, guilty pleasures, Thoughts 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 #365Ways, #365Ways2023, food, recipes on August 19, 2023| 2 Comments »
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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Adventures in Baking
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #fuelforwriters, baking, home on August 17, 2023| 2 Comments »
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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Lime Sublime
Posted in Food and..., Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #frostyadultbeverages, #notwriting, home on August 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I’m on a day job vacation at the moment and I’d hoped to get to some actual writing today. Instead, we juiced limes. Lots and lots and lots of limes. Eight pounds of limes, in the end, which is what happens when one shops at Costco’s Business Center.
On the plus side, our Lime Freeze future is assured, and the Breville Citrus Press is still one of the best presents Mr Man has ever given me. Spendy and single-use, yes, but worth it.
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Mmm, Tastes Like Garum
Posted in Food and..., Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #foodforwriters, fun with history, inspiration, Writers, writing on August 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »
I love food and I love history, so imagine my excitement when I ran across this article:
How recreating ancient recipes helps one food buff bring the past to life | CBC Radio
I explored the linked video channel here:
Tasting History with Max Miller – YouTube
The recipes include a lot of interesting food, like medieval mead, garum, pirate rations, and the fascinatingly named “Hardtack and Hellfire.” Some of these items are still familiar, others not so much.
I am so down with this.
Previously, I’ve mentioned Krista Ball’s What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank, on how to feed your fantasy adventurers, but seeing these recipes come to life takes historical food to another level.
Enjoy (or at least feel happy that we have more on tap these days than sweet potato coffee)!
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Happy Father’s Day!
Posted in Food and..., Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, Thoughts on June 18, 2023| 2 Comments »
When I was a child, my father discovered a lime freeze drink that I absolutely loved. I don’t have the recipe and only remember that it was frothy, creamy and sharp with fresh lime juice. I’ve tried to replicate the drink a few times but never quite managed it, until now.
This recipe is based on a Brazilian limeade recipe. The original version is very good but it’s harder to find organic limes than I’d like, and it can be a little fiddly to balance a thorough blending while avoiding the bitterness of fresh pith.
Using sweetened condensed milk makes it quick and easy with no risk of curdling. Being me, I also wanted a recipe we could make with frozen juice. This is the result.
Lime Fluff
- 700g/just under 3C water, whey, or a combination* (we’re using 1C yogurt whey, the rest water)
- 1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (~190g)
- 1 to 1 1/8 C+ / 250–275g lime juice (to taste, fresh or frozen)
Blend and enjoy.
* I know that grams (mass) ≠ milliliters (volume), but it’s close enough. We also make a lot of strained yogurt so we have whey on hand; ours is tangy enough that we use 250g of lime juice.
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Wildly Optimistic, Or, This Is What Happens When I Caffeinate
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, creativity, Thoughts, whee! on June 12, 2023| 1 Comment »
Today, for reasons, I am attempting to put in a full day’s work, work out, edit a story, and make not one not two but three different desserts. I don’t usually drink coffee or tea but decided that if there is a time to caffeinate, this is it.
Will I achieve my goals or watch my plans careen into a topsy turvy tower of uncompromising reality?
(cue dramatic music)
Tune in tomorrow to find out!
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