Foodgasms

[leZilla]

I've never seen red carrots before. I must be living under a rock! They are beautiful.

 

[Saint Peter]

hummingbird nectar


2c water
1/2c sugar

boil water. turn down heat and add sugar, stirring until dissolved. will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

What about the red stuff?

 

[Collette]

hummingbird nectar


2c water
1/2c sugar

boil water. turn down heat and add sugar, stirring until dissolved. will keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

Oh! Thanks for posting this. I needed the reminder to get my feeder out and make up a batch.

What about the red stuff?

No red stuff. The hummingbirds don't need the dye (nectar isn't red, anyway) and you can attract them with a bright feeder.

 

[tortoise]

i get red carrots like that from a nearby farm and if i peel them i lose the red. are yours the same way or are yours red all the way through?

Yes, the red is only skin deep, although the flesh is a different golden color than regular carrots.

 

[tortoise]

Here you can see the flesh of one of the carrots. Very similar to the color of the golden beets, actually:

http://tortle.com/lit6/IMG_8588.jpg

(also: mmmmmmmmm, nectar...)

 

[Saint Peter]

No red stuff. The hummingbirds don't need the dye (nectar isn't red, anyway) and you can attract them with a bright feeder.

Not for the birds, for me!

:koolaid lips:

 

[tortoise]

Hummingbirds are incredibly territorial creatures. Their mean streak is inversely proportional to their size. If they see you sipping on their nectar, they will drill your ass. No fooling. I've had the little buzzards dive bomb me before, coming within inches of my ears, just because they reckoned I was encroaching on their turf.

Tiny, but fierce. I love them.

 

[Collette]

Here you can see the flesh of one of the carrots. Very similar to the color of the golden beets, actually:

(also: mmmmmmmmm, nectar...)

Nice flesh there, baby.

Not for the birds, for me!

:koolaid lips:

Leave Hester's nectar alone!

 

[tortoise]

Nice flesh there, baby.

Likewise, Dangerbottom.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Tati]

We had a blast and he's excited to go to another one. The one we attended doesn't have another class until winter (adult school with occasional kid's classes), but the chef from his class has one of these franchises in the area...
http://www.youngchefsacademy.com/pages/home.html I'm going to try to get him in a few there.

Oh I'm so glad you had fun! Did you get to taste the food?

As much fun I had with my Mom teaching me to cook/bake when I was a child, I SO would have loved to have a kids class like that...alas, the closest thing I had to a cooking class was 4-H...while fun, just not the same thing.

 

[Tati]

I loooove spinache, and tonight I experimented a little with making creamed spinach. This turned out to be really tasty. I was going to use onions, but when I looked in my basket where I keep onions, potatoes, garlic and shallots I noticed I have TONS of shallots that I need to use up. The shallots really made a difference in the creamed spinach. Yum! This makes about 4 servings.

Creamed Spinach

*Preheat oven to 450

2 bags frozen spinach
3 large shallots, minced
1 tbl garlic, minced
3 tbls butter
3 tbl flour
3/4 c heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2
¼ c chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Minced zest of ½ a lemon
S&P
1 c fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbl melted butter

Boil the spinach and press out as much water as possible.

Sautee garlic and shallots in 3 tbl butter over medium heat until shallots soften. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Wisk in cream and broth. If sauce is too thick, thin it with broth. Stir in spinach.

Remove from heat and add lemon zest, parmesan salt and pepper. Mix well and pour into 2 qt baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs with 2 tbl melted butter. Sprinkle over spinach and bake until hot and bubbly with breadcrumbs golden brown, 10-15 minutes.

leZilla, I made your recipe for creamed spinach tonight...HOLY CRAP that is good! I swear I could have eaten the whole thing and my company loved it. I didn't have any shallots on hand, so I used some of a vidalia onion finely chopped and instead of fresh breadcrumbs I used panko breadcrumbs and it got super crunchy on top...SOOOOOOOO good, thank you for sharing, it's a winner!

 

[Recidiva]

I just got my copy of the tastebook!

I love it!

Thank you so much for putting it together, it looks gorgeous and I can't wait to have names and dishes connected, some I missed and I really want to put together...SOON.

I've got biscuits in the oven, but the oven is going to be busy for a while.

 

[thør]

I've got biscuits in the oven.

And I have some unpasteurized honey. We should meet in your kitchen when those biscuits are ready.

 

[Recidiva]

And I have some unpasteurized honey. We should meet in your kitchen when those biscuits are ready.

Oh yeah baby - lunch for me is biscuits with butter, cold slab of roast beef cut into strips and sprinkled with kosher salt.

One of my favoritest things - the humble rump roast with olive oil, salt and pepper. I make one a week, it never goes to waste.

 

[Tinkersquash]

Koldskål & Kammerjunker

The roasted veg looks great, Tort

I've been having koldskål and kammerjunker the last couple of days. It's a Danish food item that starts showing up at the grocery for the Summer season. It translates to "cold bowl" and it's sort of like a yogurty soup with quarter-sized Nilla-wafer-like cookies floating on the top. The base is actually buttermilk.

About 1½ liters buttermilk
Half a cup whipping cream or half and half
2 eggs
100 grams sugar
juice and zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla

Blend together until completely mixed and then eat chilled, with the kammerjunker (cookies) on top. I like sliced strawberries on mine.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1268/573407707_dd36e7446b.jpg?v=0

 

[thør]

Oh yeah baby - lunch for me is biscuits with butter, cold slab of roast beef cut into strips and sprinkled with kosher salt.

One of my favoritest things - the humble rump roast with olive oil, salt and pepper. I make one a week, it never goes to waste.

Yummmm......

Maybe some sliced beefsteak tomato?

 

[Recidiva]

Yummmm......

Maybe some sliced beefsteak tomato?

I had baby carrots and a banana along with them.

We've got great organic tomatoes down here, but I go shopping tomorrow...and the tomatoes are the first thing to go in the week. Well, that and the ribeye steak. I sacrifice the air quality of the kitchen to smoke the hell out of it by searing in a cast iron pan.

Tomatoes get diced up and marinated in basil from the windowsill, olive oil, garlic and kosher salt and thrown into everything, sauteed dishes and pizza through the week. They're so yummy they are GONE, baby.

I tried growing little baby Roma tomatoes down here, but just as they're ripening...the bugs are descending. Bastards.

 

[thør]

I had baby carrots and a banana along with them.

We've got great organic tomatoes down here, but I go shopping tomorrow...and the tomatoes are the first thing to go in the week. Well, that and the ribeye steak. I sacrifice the air quality of the kitchen to smoke the hell out of it by searing in a cast iron pan.

Tomatoes get diced up and marinated in basil from the windowsill, olive oil, garlic and kosher salt and thrown into everything, sauteed dishes and pizza through the week. They're so yummy they are GONE, baby.

I tried growing little baby Roma tomatoes down here, but just as they're ripening...the bugs are descending. Bastards.

I need to build another greenhouse for growing tomatoes and cucumbers. It's not fiscally sound to grow that type of food here, but it sure tastes good.

 

[Recidiva]

I need to build another greenhouse for growing tomatoes and cucumbers. It's not fiscally sound to grow that type of food here, but it sure tastes good.

I'm in Florida, so there's good produce.

The drought and insects here are not so good for veggies. I'm sure I could...poison the hell out of them, but then I don't want to eat them...

 

[Collette]

Oh I'm so glad you had fun! Did you get to taste the food?

As much fun I had with my Mom teaching me to cook/bake when I was a child, I SO would have loved to have a kids class like that...alas, the closest thing I had to a cooking class was 4-H...while fun, just not the same thing.

Oh, I definitely managed to sample the food. During the class he was a little bummed that he couldn't do more (they divided up the tasks amongst the kids), but I told him that he could make all of it at home and do everything himself.

Yes, it would be great if more things like that were available. I don't know about other schools, but the ones in this area don't even have home ec. classes any more.

I just got my copy of the tastebook!

I love it!

Thank you so much for putting it together, it looks gorgeous and I can't wait to have names and dishes connected, some I missed and I really want to put together...SOON.

I've got biscuits in the oven, but the oven is going to be busy for a while.

I'm so glad! I ordered mine a few days ago so I'm anxious to get it. It looked great on the site, but I was a little nervous about how it would turn out. It makes me feel better to know someone has gotten to look over a hard copy of it.

 

[thør]

I'm in Florida, so there's good produce.

The drought and insects here are not so good for veggies. I'm sure I could...poison the hell out of them, but then I don't want to eat them...

Our local produce is very good in summer. Still, walking into the greenhouse, and eating a nice ripe warm tomato off the vine is a great pleasure.

 

[Saint Peter]

The red may not be required for humming birds to find the feeder, but you cannot tell me that it would not make for better presentation of the sugar water for the little guys.

Think of it as parsley for birdies.

 

[Collette]

Why do you hate the hummingbirds?

 

[thør]

Why do you hate the hummingbirds?

Don't they make a nice little appetizer?