The Food Thread

Holy shit, your new av! I want a cut of the royalties.

I did smoothies for breakfast for about a month last year. Spinach was easier, but I was able to get frozen kale to work (I know, frozen's not as good as fresh, WHATEVER). It was so annoying, neither appliance was strong enough on their own, I had to use both the food processor and then the blender in order to get everything properly pulverized. And goddamn my blender is loud as FUCK at 7 in the morning.

Might have to try a few spinach leaves in the next one just to see if that breaks down easier. But yeah, I got a new Ninja blender for Christmas and it's great but holy heck is it loud.

a) buy cheaper wine. Like, the 9.99 jugs you can get at Kroger or something.
b) Freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays
c) Make some kind of robust braise, like beef bourguignon or coq au vin.

a) I already buy pretty cheap wine, for the obvious reason
b) I'd have to acquire ice cube trays, but yeah that's a thought
c) That was first on my mind. Now just trying to decide if I want to go that route. I guess if I shop tonight and do beef, I can soak the meat in the remaining wine over night, then build my braise at lunch tomorrow.

d) Yuck!

It is delicious, but I always get stuck on the fact that moco is "booger" in Spanish.

More random food thoughts:

1. Ever on the hunt for a healthier way to eat her favorite things, Mrs. Snape made quinoa chocolate chip cookies on Sunday. They were very soft and crumbly; really they didn't hold together at all, despite being thoroughly cooked. She cooled them before stacking them on the plate, but after a couple hours we had what she called a "rat king" situation with the cookies. We ended up eating them with spoons. Despite the flaws, I thought the cookies were fan-freaking-tastic. The bite of the quinoa added awesome texture, and the whole thing had a dense, roasty flavor. Flavor-wise some of the best she's ever made. Now if only she can replicate that in, ya know, actual cookie form.

2. Returning to my wine woes. I see things like this every time I go to the store. Hell, they sell them in gas stations. Is this stuff cook-worthy, do you think? Since most dishes which call for wine rarely need more than a cup or so, this might actually be a solution to my leftover problem.

I agree with PET on point 2. They're probably gonna be sweet.

Well, I suppose you could try a cup and see how it goes. I still think a four-pack of those little airplane bottles would be better, though; some decent wine can be found that way.

Just two more hours 'til dinner, just two more hours 'til dinner, just two more hours 'til dinner...

Coconut oil. Pop the corn in a few tablespoons of coconut oil on the stove and just add some salt, SO GOOD (if you like coconut.) Nutritional yeast is also good on popcorn, as is any kind of fragrant pepper/chile like aleppo or sichuan. And really, vinegar powder sounds amazing on popcorn too!

I love popcorn with super fresh extra virgin olive oil. The first draw off a new bottle when it's still at its fruitiest, pepper-iest best. I'll pop in a neutral oil, then after it's popped but still in the pot I'll toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh cracked black pepper. My favorite preparation by far.

I also love chili powder with just an eensy bit of white sugar.

I also love popcorn salt. You won't find it at most grocery stores. I mean, you'll find "butter-flavored seasoning" and stuff that calls itself popcorn salt, but it won't be what I have in mind. I mean this stuff: assets.farmandfleet.com/p600/586541-20121004232520-spice-meister-popcorn-salt.jpg  Radiant orange, outrageously salty, alluringly delicious. There's a theater in Dallas that has the stuff at their self-serve seasoning stand, and in a single night I became addicted to it. Unless buying online, it's weirdly hard to source. I ended up buying it at a restaurant supply store. Which if you didn't know, restaurant supply stores which are also open to the public are awesome!

Being a big fan of "everything" bagels, I once made an everything mix for popcorn consisting of dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and salt. That one was a little out there for Mrs. Snape, but I really liked it. Shake didn't stick too well to the kernals, though, and you'll get righteous garlic breath.

Another tip: use pickling salt. Kosher salt is my go to for all basic salting functions, but the finer grain of pickling salt holds much better.

Uh yeah, I really like popcorn. It's my snack of choice.

So glad I asked!