Food again - the Dyes cooking thread.

**oldredfordette** · June-19-10, 12:59 PM

LodgeDodger,
Use quinoa as you would any other grain [[rice, barley, bulgar) in a salad. Cook and cool the quinoa then mix with chopped vegetables, mix lightly with a dressing [[some kind of vinegarette).

When I cook quinoa, I first rinse it then toast it in a dry pan before I add liquid. I find it takes some bitterness away. Add the liquid right when you start to see some browning. It will burn quickly so you have to watch it.

I also like to mix it with lentils and brown rice for a nice hearty change. Serve hot or cold.

**oldredfordette** · June-19-10, 01:04 PM

BTW, if you like reading about food and enjoy a smart-ass attitude [[I'm looking at YOU) try Chow.

chow.com

Make sure you look up "The Ten", very funny and helpful.

**jams** · June-21-10, 07:14 PM

Thanks ORF nice site

The lentil burger recipe was a BIG hit yesterday One of our customers suggested we use it as a veggie alternative for sausage so since I have so much sage in my garden I"ll try adding that to the recipe

So next Sunday our brunch menu will include Lentil "sausage"

**GOAT** · June-22-10, 12:47 PM

Thanks everyone.

**oldredfordette** · June-26-10, 07:56 AM

I love those little black french lentils. Cooked, cooled, topped with carmelized onions and a simple vinegarette.

**oldredfordette** · July-04-10, 09:10 AM

I was at Eastern Market yesterday and came home with bags of vegetables. I think I'm going to be chopping all day but man oh man. Everything looked and smelled so good.

**jams** · July-04-10, 01:40 PM

I so miss my Saturday excursions to Eastern Market, buying way too much, and having to find recipes to use the stuff up, as well as my afternoons upstairs with friends at Vivio's.

Good news though. The State passed a bill allowing us to sell jams and jellies made in our homes, just awaiting Granholm's signature.

My screen name came not from my love of music, but the love of making jams and jellies.With this new law I hope to develop my own line, now I just need to find an outlet to sell them. This week I plan on making tarragon wine jelly, if I can find enough fresh tarragon.

**oldredfordette** · July-04-10, 04:04 PM

I made a pesto from garlic scapes. I'm buzzed from the aromas.

Jams, the Redford Township Market at the Marquee will probably be happy to have you. They are new [[only 1 year old) and are wide open to new products.

**sumas** · July-05-10, 04:07 AM

Jams, check East English Village newsletters for the open air market on East Warren. That is where I get my Eight Mile Honey. Also you could try West Park Market, Check GPP website for info. Last I looked it was pretty inexpensive to rent a table and umbrella. That is where I sell my herbs for the 1st six weeks every year. My church which is in the middle of this Saturday market and lets me set up for free. I donated about 70 plants to Georgia Street at the end of my selling cycle. I know there was a few French and Russian Tarragon in the lot. It is hard to find. If you are serious about a homemade jam business going into next year contact Kaltz Nursery out of Stover Michigan and request a few flats be grown for you for next year.

Just out of curiousity, have you ever made rhubarb or gooseberry jam or jelly?

**jams** · July-05-10, 01:32 PM

I have made strawberry-rhubarb jam.

I'm making rhubarb sauce this afternoon, since it is too hot to do much outdoors today.

**sumas** · July-06-10, 10:37 AM

Grow a few gooseberry bushes, big crop, harvest green or red, tastes much like rhubarb. If you have rubarb strawberry jam available, I'll buy.

**Jimaz** · July-06-10, 03:43 PM

In the "Waiter there's a hair in my soup" department:

Jam said to be made from Princess Di's hair

Eeeuuuwww!

**jams** · July-06-10, 08:17 PM

Thank you for the support.
I enjoy making jams and jellies and sharing them with friends and family, nice to see the State will allow me to make a few bucks on it.

BTW since I love to eat my jams and jellies, I make sure that my work areas are very clean I would hateto sit on the potty due to some nasty bacteria I let into my work.

**jams** · July-13-10, 07:16 PM

Not exactly food, but I harvested almost a quart of chamomile flowers today for tea.

I wonder how a chamomile wine jelly might taste?

Hmmm, it will only cost me 2 cups of wine, some sugar, and pectin to find out,

**gazhekwe** · July-14-10, 12:13 PM

That chamomile wine jelly sounds pretty good. Other herbs in wine jelly might be good too. Mint is already pretty commonly used, but how about lavender, or rosemary [[wouldn't that be awesome with a pork chop?)

I have been home on the res taking care of my Dad who had knee replacement surgery a couple weeks ago. While I was there, I made pot roast, anybody like pot roast? It turned out pretty good, and a couple days later we had the best beef stew made with it.

Pot Roast in the Crockpot [[slow cooker)
3 pound chuck roast, trimmed of most fat, but leave a little bit
Enough small red Michigan potatoes to cover the bottom of the crockpot, about 20, scrubbed
2 stalks celery, scrubbed and cut in 3" chunks
Lots of those baby carrots,. maybe 40 of them
1 medium size Vidalia onion, peeled and cut into thick slices
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/2 cup burgundy wine

Layer the veggies into the crockpot, then the meat. Sprinkle the soup mix on top of the meat and pour the wine over. Cook on high about 5-6 hours or Low 9-10 hours.

In a few days, you can make stew out of whatever is left. Hopefully you have some nice au jus gravy left. Skim any fat off, put the gravy in the pot, then cut up any leftover meat and veggies and put them in. If you need more you can add a can of mixed veggies, or nuke some carrots and potatoes for awhile then cut them up into the pot. Add enough water to cover the meat and veggies, and then stir in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Heat and serve. This is just wonderful with biscuits. Dad and Granddaughter were both lavish in their praise of this dinner.

**sumas** · July-14-10, 01:11 PM

I love to make pot roast much the same as your recipe. Usually, we make vegetable soup out of the left overs though.

One thing we do, is that it always seems we have left over vegetables. I take the leftovers and keep a small covered container in the freezer and put the veggies in, that we don't eat. Consequently, our soup varies each time depending on whats in the bucket. Also like to add cumin for a slightly spicey flavor. Sometimes we use, barley or egg noodles or potato gnochi in the soup.

I love casseroles or an almost one pot meal. Anyone have a really good recipe for rueben casserole? I have had it and it is good but lost my recipe.

Tonight is swiss steak

Hope your Dad is healing well! Your recipes are always great so don't over feed him, extra weight does not help the knees.

**gazhekwe** · July-14-10, 02:43 PM

You got that right. Dad was great at self limiting his portions, so he lost quite a bit of weight over the last two and a half weeks. He is inspired to keep going. I left him with one baked potato, some hard boiled eggs, two servings of stew, two biscuits, some slices of roast beef, bread, butter and cheese and a drawer full of veggies all ready to eat, so he should be fine til I get back Friday afternoon.

On the way home from town, right on the res, a new little shop opened up that serves fish and chips to go, and it is wonderful FRESH whitefish and home cut skin on fries.

**stromberg2** · July-14-10, 04:00 PM

Sumas, How do you do your swiss steak? It seems like there are alot of variations.

Stromberg2

**sumas** · July-14-10, 06:09 PM

Actually, I make it many different ways, but any way you cut it, it is beef, green pepper, onion and tomatoes. Sometimes I use the oven, crockpot or stove top.

I almost always slow cook but if you want a quick meal use cube steak. [[note: my husband says he refuses to eat "pre-masticated" meat.But it does cook quick)

Tonight I wanted lots of sauce for mashed potatoes. Used cubed stew meat this time but any cut of beef will do as long as it cooks long enough to be tender.

Flour/salt/ pepper beef and seer in pan in small quantity of oil. I used fresh tomatoes and a small can of tomato sauce and added onion soup mix and a little water. Cooked covered on super low for two hours then added fresh green pepper, mushrooms and onions and cooked another hour. Didn't get creative tonight but sometimes use fresh minced garlic, worchester sauce, parsley, horse radish even sour cream etc in any order.

Craig Claibourn, a noted chef, said he liked meatloaf best since it was so versital. Swiss steak is a bit like that.

A neat variation on meatloaf is add some shredded cheddar cheese to your meatloaf mix and top with bacon. Then bake as usual.

**sumas** · July-14-10, 06:20 PM

What are peoples favorite cookbooks? I got a copy of "Joy of Cooking" for a bridal gift and still use my copy although it has been updated and reprinted many times since.

I laugh a little when I read some of the recipes. If you did everything by "The Book", it would take three days to cook anything. For example, use beef stock, then you are given a reference on how to make beef stock, I think hummm, and substitute 1 can of beef broth. Still a great reference though I take those short cuts.

**sumas** · July-14-10, 06:42 PM

Another favorite cookbook of mine is from a self published catholic polish parrish. It rarely gets better than that.

For others, my age and older, my Mom has the complete set of the gas company cookbooks from the time she was married until the company discontinued the program. It is great fun reviewing those recipes and wondering how so many of our elders continue to live to such a ripe and satisfying old age. Seems every recipe called for butter, butter and more butter.

**oldredfordette** · July-15-10, 07:12 AM

I love Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything", not so much for the recipes but for the information and the very good writing. His blog markbittman.com is also worth reading.

**jams** · July-15-10, 10:53 AM

Jacques Pepin Guide to Everyday Cooking>

Mom left me a plethora of cookbooks after she passed

**jcole** · July-15-10, 11:06 AM

I've got hundreds of cookbooks; some are just for reading, some for cooking. I probably use more recipes from Betty Crocker than any other one cookbook; I find a lot of things online or use things handed down through my family.
For reading enjoyment, I have two favorites. One is a 1960-70s copy of recipes from the world's Holiday Inns. The other is linked here: Recipes from America’s Restored Villages

**stromberg2** · July-16-10, 02:26 PM

Thanks, Sumas. One of my favorite cookbooks is the Cook's Country books. Part of PBS's Americas Test Kitchen. Currently hopped up on some of the best tacos ever. I'll try to post the recipe.

Stromberg2