Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, Thoughts on February 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I have three bags of chocolate, white, milk and dark, 5.5 pounds each. (Thanks, Costco!)
Time to perfect multiple variations of that tofu chocolate pudding recipe, don’t you think?
See you on the other side!*
* * *
* Yes, I’ve been working on my taxes. No, they are not done. Yes, chocolate will help. Obviously!
* * *
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, dessert, Thoughts on February 20, 2022| 2 Comments »
It’s easy to form an opinion and stick with it. It’s arguably one of the things humans are best at. This process allows us to categorize our experiences in ways that help us move through a complex world.
We all make judgements, snap and otherwise, about topics as varied as food, ideas, books, events and people. We’re also often wrong. A lot.
Perception Is Not Reality | Psychology Today
* * *
Let’s take white chocolate as an example.
“It’s gross. It tastes like fat, and not the good kind.* It’s not even real chocolate.”
I have said all of this and more. Here’s the thing.
Sometimes white chocolate is gross. Sometimes it does taste like paste. And sometimes it bears little resemblance to what we think of as chocolate.
But sometimes, just sometimes folks, white chocolate can both surprise and delight the senses.
Once I started paying attention, I realized that my preconceptions had blinded me to something good.
Caramelized white chocolate does take more time but the flavor was a mini revelation. And now as a result I have a new ingredient in my arsenal and a new version of my tofu pudding recipe. It’s still not quite perfect but I’ll keep at it until it’s right. For me, this one’s pretty close.
Just one of the many benefits of keeping an open mind.
* * *
Caramelized White Chocolate Tofu Pudding
(a.k.a. No Preconceptions Pudding)
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes: I had leftover simple syrup so I used 1/4 cup of that, plus another 1/4 cup of juice from the fruit of Mr. Man’s orange tree. (He has a potted orange tree that produces bonbon-sized fruits with very sour yet flavorful juice. If you’re using regular orange juice tweak the sugar ratio accordingly.)
This version has a bit more chocolate than the previous pudding recipe which does a good job of hiding overwhelming disguising neutralizing that distinctive tofu flavor.
* * *
* I’m looking at you, bacon.
* * *
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #notestoself, cooking, Thoughts on February 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Note to self: Do not bake sweet potato fries, then put the half-sheet pan on top of Mr Man’s high-powered toaster oven and forget about it.
Today’s fun fact: “When oils or fats are heated in cast iron at a high enough temperature, they change from a wet liquid into a slick, hardened surface through a process called polymerization. This reaction creates a layer of seasoning that is molecularly bonded” to the pan.
Good for seasoning cast iron, bad for baking pans and the person who has to chisel scrape scrub off that bonded oil.
Go ahead, ask me how I know.
The fries were really good though.
* * *
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, experiments, fun, recipes on February 13, 2022| 2 Comments »
Today I am going to caramelize white chocolate, and then use it to make white chocolate passionfruit tofu pudding.
There are a number of ways to caramelize the chocolate, the most traditional being a 250F oven for 45–60 minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so. A second option is to sous vide the chocolate at 90C for anywhere from 4 to 12 hours, but that’s a long time and I have dessert-making to do now.
I think I’ll start with the quickest of the options I’ve found so far: the microwave.
… (time passing)… (muzak from your preferred era)… (stepped away to make a lemon meringue pie because it’s Mr Man’s favorite and, you know, Valentine’s Day)…
* * *
Success! It took seven minutes of microwave time total, plus all the opening the microwave and stirring and closing the microwave door and … you get the picture. I’m glad I tried it but next time I will test the sous vide method. It takes a lot longer but it’s all hands off.
That said, all that microwave time paid off. Caramelized white chocolate is freaking delicious.
I made another batch of tofu chocolate pudding, subbing in the caramelized white chocolate for dark, passionfruit simple syrup for plain, and lime juice for the vanilla. It is quite good but a little too sweet straight from the blender. It may balance out once it chills. If I try it again I’ll reduce the amount of syrup considerably (half? less?) and up the lime. (Actually, next time I’ll probably just toss a block of tofu in the blender with the white chocolate and go from there.)
* * *
Posted in Food and..., Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, chocolate, food, recipes, vegan on February 12, 2022| 3 Comments »
I recently tried a variation on the previously-posted tofu chocolate pudding recipe, based on Mark Bittman’s Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding. It uses simple syrup, which makes it easy to add any flavor boosters you might like. I took the opportunity to make both plain for the pudding and a batch of passion fruit syrup to try with caramelized white chocolate later. (I may also try this with maple syrup. Go Canada!)
This recipe is gluten and lactose free (vegan too, depending on your chocolate). Don’t let that deter you, the final result is rich and creamy.
Right now I’m only able to find silken tofu in Tetra Pak boxes that hold 12.3 ounces and the easily available chocolate comes in 6 ounce packages, so I tweaked the recipe to match. I also left out Bittman’s cinnamon and chili but that version’s good too.
And hark, Valentine’s Day approacheth!
If your local store has silken tofu and decent chocolate it’s hard to find a quicker, easier dessert that’s still delicious. (It’s also possible to use the pudding as pie filling with a graham cracker crust, but I haven’t tried that yet.)
* * *
Tofu Chocolate Pudding v2.0
Serves four. Or two. Or one. You’ll find no judgment here.
* * *
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, memories, Thoughts on January 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »
After a long hiatus, I have returned to the world of waffle making. They really are delicious.
My father used to make us the best weekend waffles. Even the batter tasted great. The leavening made little bubbles that popped on the tongue.
For whatever reason, this week I got it in my head to make waffles. We had a cream-based seafood stew and as I pulled it out of the fridge I thought, “Chicken and waffles!”
For the uninitiated among you, chicken and waffles is a thing. A delicious, savory, creamy Pennsylvania Dutch dish that etched itself in my culinary memory from childhood.
The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch version consists of a plain waffle with pulled, stewed chicken on top, covered in gravy.
— Chicken and waffles – Wikipedia
Obviously, seafood is not chicken, but hey, I thought, close enough. I want waffles! Crispy outside, fluffy inside, what’s not to love? After a deep dive into the long-term storage situation I excavated the waffle maker from the bottom shelf of the basement cupboard. A not-so-quick cleaning* and dinner was served.
I made extra because waffles freeze well and if you want a quick dessert, say, don’t need more than visit to the toaster and a healthy dose of maple syrup.
Have we taken advantage of that fact?
Maybe!*
* * *
* * *
* Sadly, in my experience waffle makers tend to be plagued by poor design and are difficult to maintain. Our current version is no exception.
* * Um, yeah. Hundred percent yes.
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, food, inspiration, learning@lunch, Thoughts on January 6, 2022| 1 Comment »
I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but studies have found evidence that temporal landmarks can help overcome motivation problems. You may have seen it referred to as the fresh start effect. It’s not a panacea (as gym members everywhere can attest) but whatever, if it helps me to rethink my process in a productive way, great.
As New Year’s rolled around I started thinking about trying new things. Today I’m thinking about new recipes.
Be it bread, brownies, cake, yogurt, or a magic wand, I like working out the best way (for me) to make something. And knowing that my birthday cake is going to come out exactly as planned? Priceless.
But I also like working on new projects, triangulating resources, experimenting with techniques or components. Making something new.
So far this year I’ve tested new ways to make cinnamon sugar bread, lemon cake, and mushroom soup. Next up? A quick trip to the tropics.
* * *
Mr Man brought home a box of fresh passion fruit yesterday. I’ve tasted it before, most recently in a collection of holiday Chocolates by Enid.* Passion fruit also appears frequently on the Great British Baking Show, where bakers treat it like your average ingredient but might go bonkers for recipes I consider excellent but everyday, like Key Lime Pie.
My lack of experience means I have questions. Why are the fruits I’ve got two completely different colors? How can you tell when they are ripe? Do you just scoop out the pulp or is there bitter pith to be avoided? How do I keep from thinking about runny noses and other gelatinous goop while engaging in said scooping? Does the goop need to be strained? And why are those seeds looking at me?!
So much to learn, and all of it sounds like fun. Wish me luck!
* * *
* * *
* These chocolates appeared as a temporary holiday treat at a local farm store but the source is otherwise mysterious. Who is Enid? Where did she come from and why won’t she make chocolates past December? Has she now retreated back to Choclandia with the other chocolate fairies? And where can I find more of those passion fruit cream-filled chocolates?!
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, #MaybebitoffmorethanIcouldchew, cooking, home on December 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today’s numbers: 18, 6, 4, 2.
I made cream of mushroom soup, fresh bread, plus pears poached with lemon, cinnamon and cardamom. And that was pretty much my day:)
* * *
* That was a lot of mushrooms.
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, family, memories, recipes, Thoughts on December 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Today, a recipe that has an important place in our family history.
* * *
Swedish Pancakes
(Mike Johnson)
Mike: The history of this recipe begins with Olga, my father’s father’s (far far in Swedish) sister. For most of her life she was a live-in maid and nanny for a rich family across town, from the time when Swedish girls were brought over to replace other ethnicities in the service industry. She also cooked for her brother and his children, and later grandchildren on the weekends. After that she took care of her son. She worked all her life, living with the same family for 30 years and only retiring at 85. She died at the age of 99, tired and more than ready to go.
Jen: My father often spoke of Olga and how she would stand at his grandfather’s stove flipping seven thin pancakes at a time in the special cast iron pan, piling plates high on Sunday mornings. She didn’t have a recipe, just mixed the ingredients together until they “looked right.” Dad finally made up his own and still uses it to play the role of Swedish grandmother, eating over the stove as the rest of us spread butter and sugar and lemon or lingonberries on the pancakes,* then roll them up to eat. Delicious!
Ingredients:
* * *
* We do the dishes after so Dad can relax. We’re not monsters!
Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2021, gardening, home, inspiration, Laura Ingalls Wilder, memories, Thoughts on December 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Here’s a memory that would have been perfect for Halloween or Thanksgiving, but just came to me when I ran across the video below.
The first thing I planted in a garden (aside from myself) was okra. I’d never eaten it but knew that it was a staple in the South by way of some African food traditions. Once grown, I didn’t know how to cook it. The resulting dish was… ok. (If you’re wondering, I recommend using okra in stew or breading and frying the bejeezus out of it. Very good.)
The first thing I grew that I was really proud of was a pumpkin. This was a year or two later and I was still vertically challenged. That may explain why the pumpkin remains a giant in my mind, but maybe not. I’d read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and somewhere in there, probably Farmer Boy, they discuss milk-fed pumpkins. Well, who wouldn’t want to try that?
And it worked. Huge, that’s how I remember this pumpkin. Between the vines and the body the plant took up a whole section of the garden. I would ease down the little hill, through the tall grass and into the tilled area, basking in the hot summer sun while hoping to raise a monster.
A strong, bright, delicious monster, of course. A girl’s got to have standards.
* * *
J.R. Johnson 
You must be logged in to post a comment.