Food thread

[John Henry]

A very dear friend of mine lost his wife a few years ago. He is 71 now and doesn't know how to cook and this is more common than a lot of people realize. Elderly men (especially those who have lost their wives) are often eating canned soup and fast food. If they have friends or family who will bring them homemade meals it's great. My grandmother also got meals on wheels and she loved it.


My friend asked me recently about what oil you're supposed to cook with. Canola or vegetable, etc. I went to the grocery store for him and bought him the oil and vegetables because he wants to learn how to cook stir-frys and learn how to make a spaghetti sauce. I like that he is asking me for help. Not everyone learned this stuff when they younger and if their spouse is now gone, they are a bit lost.

You are so correct about men . Different situation with my neighbor who is 72 . He knows how to cook . Used to make all of the big family dinners ( Christmas and what ever ) . His wife passed away 5 years ago and he still morns her passing away . Has Mc breakfast every day . Dinner maybe curry and French fries or KFC . He also spends his time drinking beer on the front porch and smoking cigars . He goes though 2 cases , 28 bottle cases a week. Summer and winter .

He has a neighbor on the other side of him who will bring a nice home cooked meal once in a while and a long time lady friend who also brings him meals . He throws them out ( the food that is ) after the visitors have gone .

Incidentally what is the best oil to cook with ? I'm learning how to cook myself . It's very hard to shop and cook for 1 person . I used to shop for 4 people and now just for 1 . I always end up throwing out a lot of food because I over buy . Sometimes I'll buy something and plan a meal but many times I don't cook it and end up throwing it out .

Yes , I know I'm weird at times .

 

[John Henry]

How hard is it to educate yourself about food ? WTF is the matter with people?

You could say the same thing about people who abuse drugs and alcohol everyday.

 

[SirWanker]

Incidentally what is the best oil to cook with ? I'm learning how to cook myself .

Depends on what you're cooking. I find that a light olive oil is great for a general all purpose use. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) is best left for salad dressings and as a finishing oil. More info here.

It's very hard to shop and cook for 1 person . I used to shop for 4 people and now just for 1 . I always end up throwing out a lot of food because I over buy . Sometimes I'll buy something and plan a meal but many times I don't cook it and end up throwing it out .

You can always portion and freeze the leftovers for most dishes. Just remember to date the item.

 

[Insidious Von]

John Henry: If you're making a sauce then classic olive oil is best, if you're frying then it's canola oil. Peanut and grape seed oil are better but more expensive. Use a deep skilled or semi wok and bring the temperature up to 180 Celsius. If you're frying fish anything below that and you'll end up with a greasy mess. Don't overload the pan or you might burn the kitchen down, two pieces at a time.

Any kind of sauce I make, I start with the basics: olive oil, butter and anchovies. Since we live in Canada and can't get them fresh, always buy choves packed in olive oil, NEVER in salt.

 

[John Henry]

Thanks guy's for the great advice

 

[MissCroft]

I use canola oil for frying. Sesame oil is good for stir-frys.

 

[John Henry]

I use canola oil for frying. Sesame oil is good for stir-frys.

Thank you .

 

[Insidious Von]

I did some grillin and chillin this afternoon. I made a Maple/Habanero BBQ sauce, it had been sitting in my pantry for two days waiting to make it's arrival. So I bought a tub of deli cole slaw, soft tortillas and flank steaks. I marinated the flank steaks in garlic salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Then I made tacos with the sliced flank steak, the BBQ sauce and the cole slaw. It was absolutely delicious. Scoville units doesn't tell the whole story. Habaneros have several more 000 in heat than Jalapenos. But Jalapenos are more acidic than Habaneros and will hurt you in the morning. After three bites my mouth started to tingle but I'd made an almond milk/mango smoothie to deal with that. I still have to perfect the BBQ sauce but I'm happy - and sweaty - with the results.

I won't reveal the recipe but I'll tell you how I got it started. I made a olive oil/ butter emulsion, when the butter browned I melted 3 anchovie fillets in the emulsion. Unless you know what you're doing don't brown butter on it's own, more often than not it will burn.

 

[K Douglas]

I use canola oil for frying. Sesame oil is good for stir-frys.

Quite often I'll use peanut oil for frying. It's got the highest smoking point and it's actually a neutral flavor. Sometimes I find canola oil adds a strange taste to food. I like sunflower oil too for frying.

 

[K Douglas]

I did some grillin and chillin this afternoon. I made a Maple/Habanero BBQ sauce, it had been sitting in my pantry for two days waiting to make it's arrival. So I bought a tub of deli cole slaw, soft tortillas and flank steaks. I marinated the flank steaks in garlic salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Then I made tacos with the sliced flank steak, the BBQ sauce and the cole slaw. It was absolutely delicious. Scoville units doesn't tell the whole story. Habaneros have several more 000 in heat than Jalapenos. But Jalapenos are more acidic than Habaneros and will hurt you in the morning. After three bites my mouth started to tingle but I'd made an almond milk/mango smoothie to deal with that. I still have to perfect the BBQ sauce but I'm happy - and sweaty - with the results.

I won't reveal the recipe but I'll tell you how I got it started. I made a olive oil/ butter emulsion, when the butter browned I melted 3 anchovie fillets in the emulsion. Unless you know what you're doing don't brown butter on it's own, more often than not it will burn.

Habaneros are a great flavorful pepper. Mixed with a sweet element such as maple or mango it's a delicious accompaniment particularly to grilled fish.

 

[K Douglas]

Since I'm such a shawarma fanatic I'm thinking of making my own at home. Has anyone tried? What were the results?

 

[Insidious Von]

Since I'm such a shawarma fanatic I'm thinking of making my own at home. Has anyone tried? What were the results?

Exactly...and I've never had a thunderbucket in the morning. Anthony Bourdain expression, he must have done the thunderbucket quite a bit going through Bhutan.

 

[K Douglas]

Exactly...and I've never had a thunderbucket in the morning. Anthony Bourdain expression, he must have done the thunderbucket quite a bit going through Bhutan.

I'm sure he's had it through many of those countries. Dude loved his spicy and exotic flavors.

 

[Insidious Von]

With the runaway success of Hot Ones, Sean Evans has a new YT show called Sean In the Wild. Not a poutine fan myself but I understand why its become so popular.

 

[MissCroft]

Golden gazpacho! It's normally chilled but you can also eat it warm.

 

[MissCroft]

The corn is great this year. I usually just eat it with butter and salt but I also love the Mexican way. Some people think it's weird but I think it's delicious - Mayonnaise, Parmesan, and a little chili powder. In Mexico, they use Cotija cheese. There are different toppings you can use.

 

[essguy_]

Speaking of "worth some extra time on the thunderbucket" - my very first trip to Singapore I had spicy food for breakfast lunch and dinner for about 5 days before it all caught up with me. Nothing like spending a good part of the morning on the "thunderbucket" when the thunderbucket is a traditional Asian squatter, your future Mother-In-Law is in the next room and the toilet is all tiled with acoustics like the Mormon Tabernacle. Yikes. After a couple days, I lost all shame and would strip completely before entering the toilet (which had a sprayer to wash all debris into the squatter (as well as my legs, and feet... ) I can still hear the echoes...

 

[Insidious Von]

My worst thunderbucket moment happened in Copenhagen - of all places.

I went for dinner at an Indonesian restaurant. The Sambal sauce was unlike anything I had in Toronto, my tongue went numb and could no longer taste it. I drank lots of beer with my meal, without any coconut rice or dairy products. I next morning I felt fine - until I had my first coffee. Then the rumblings started and I barely made it back to the hotel room. It was a rocket thunderbucket for the ages, it felt like razor blades were projectile spewing from my ass. It was so bad that I was covered in sweat, toilet paper made it worse. I had to shower three times.

My love of spicy food continues but I've realized I'm not invincible. I keep my fridge stoked with milk and yogurt.

 

[Insidious Von]

Warm gazpacho soup Missy - yuck!

 

[essguy_]

The corn is great this year. I usually just eat it with butter and salt but I also love the Mexican way. Some people think it's weird but I think it's delicious - Mayonnaise, Parmesan, and a little chili powder. In Mexico, they use Cotija cheese. There are different toppings you can use.

Another great topping is lime butter. Fantastic with corn.

Another crop that’s looking really good this year are peaches. The sunny weather has been great as long as the farm could irrigate the crop every now and then. Peaches love hot dry weather. I grow apples at my cottage and they’re all stunted so far because of the lack of rain (I don’t irrigate my orchard).