The food and drink thread

[starjots]

Red Chile 2 2024.jpg

Bought a bushel of red chile from a local farm stand.

These look sooo good!

I'm thinking I might have to start cooking some new things, I was told my cholesterol was high and that my tryglicerides are off the charts.

I enjoy cooking (and eating), so am always looking for new things to cook. One thing fairly new in the rotation is Jollof rice, which has many variations. It's basically rice cooked in a pepper and tomato sauce with a bunch of other stuff. These red chiles have now been turned into about 20 meals worth of sauce and a few will go to making Jollof in the future.

Triglycerides are a bear to manage for me too. Right now I'm loving meat a little too much for my own good.

By the way, are you in Chile or Peru? We've wondering what parts of South America might make for a wow vacation for a week or two and it's a big big continent.

[Madrigal]

By the way, are you in Chile or Peru? We've wondering what parts of South America might make for a wow vacation for a week or two and it's a big big continent.

That is awesome that you're thinking of touring South America! I am in Santiago de Chile, an unremarkable city if you want my opinion, but Chile has some lovely places. What I loved most was San Pedro de Atacama, where you can see amazing landscapes and the starriest night sky you'll find, and also fly in a hot air balloon (I was too chicken but it's recommended). Or you can do the "End of the World Route" all the way to the south if you like, although I'm personally not a road trip person, hahahah. If you come to Chile and make a stop in Santiago, it would be so awesome to meet up, so let me know!

On the Argentine side, I guess the most amazing natural wonder I've seen is the Perito Moreno glaciar. I couldn't even believe what I was looking at! And it's breaking right there in front of your eyes. If you want to do the tours around the glaciar you really need to book well in advance, and not just a few weeks earlier either. You can even hike on the glaciar. Just don't expect to find any tours once you're already there, heh. xD

Chile and Argentina have wine routes which should be a lot of fun if you like wine. And, of course, Buenos Aires is the best city this side of the equator, so you'd love it if you haven't gone. There is however a lot of poverty and economic problems right now, at least until Milei is finally ousted, or preferably hanged like Mussolini.

I haven't been to Peru but I suppose you wouldn't want to miss Machu Picchu? Keep me posted!

[HighlyIrregular II]

I bought a ball of pizza dough and some reduced fat mozzarella. I crudely shaped half the dough and pre-baked it because I don't know what I'm doing and I knew getting the crust right was the hardest part and I don't want to burn the cheese in the process. The bottom of the crust was too thin (I'll use a rolling pin next time) and I smelled it in the oven, like maybe it was burning, but it was OK. It was probably in there 10-15 at 400 degrees. Then I put on Prego pasta sauce and the cheese. About 5 minutes later I took it out, before the cheese browned. The thin center of the crust was the only thing that was really brown. The taste and texture of the thick part of the crust was like a garlic knot without the garlic or oil. That's not normal NY style pizza crust, but it's good! And no unhealthiness from burned cheese or crust. I'll be making this again.

[Senseye]

You've got a real burr under your saddle about burnt cheese/crust. Or even browned. Is it acrylamide that's got you worried? Do you also eat only bread and never toast?

I think you tend to worry too much about things you read on the internet. Just about everything people eat causes cancer to some degree or another, short of being a raw foods vegetarian type. But one has to keep things in perspective.

There's a famous quote out there that goes something like: "None of life's pleasures are worth forgoing for an extra year or two in the geriatric ward."

None might be going a bit far, but it's all about the balance. Browned crusts and toast make the cut in my mind. Compared to some of my other dietary vices (grilled meats, bacon, etc.) these are trivial.

[HighlyIrregular II]

Yes, I don't eat toast, but sometimes I make french toast. I don't even have a toaster anymore. But I do make pancakes and I made an eggplant roll (like stromboli) that I let get a little brown. The taste is fine when the cheese isn't brown. The pizza crust was good too. No big deal, and I make exceptions when I go out to eat (which is like never, but still, I'd probably just let them bring me the default toast with breakfast). If I ate out regularly, then I'd be more strict.

[Catoptric]

Found some things on clearance:

The original Huy Fong Siracha "rooster sauce" brand on clearance for a dollar alongside a Dragon brand (not the Underwoods one that are now using the original farm that Huy Fong used) has been popping up recently at Asian markets. Huy Fong has been getting a reputation for brownish sauce, and I suspect they resorted to using alternative peppers from usual, though it's still pretty good (and is almost always better than any stuff you normally find in Asian markets who often have a much sweeter taste along with tons of MSG; the Dragon is better than a Flying Goose (found in Thai places?) siracha sauce, and I ended up buying a replacement for the dragon sauce I already have, though will take brown Rooster any time over the other stuff.

Something I find more interesting (I actually bought two different ones, this one has a mix of 3 flavors, whereas the other one was just a peppercorn hotpot flavor

'Silly Second Brother' 'Pot Time' Guoba (Rice Crackers) that have a very strong Communist propaganda look (when google searching, this is mostly the kind of thing that pulled up.)

This is the exact product
https://my.world.taobao.com/item/620100 ... 1d60FHThLr

See the resemblance?
https://www.instagram.com/woodysullende ... mg_index=1

I recently posted a video of someone that went to China and bought a Communist pin with Kim Jong Il on it, and stared out over a walking bridge that connects the countries. . . In a weird way I am feeling more patriotic (it must be the MSG.)

To describe the flavor, it's similar to Chex party mix, and aside from the peppercorn hotpot, prawn and crab flavor are fairly mild, similar to "lobster chips" that resemble fries, which were also available to buy for a reduced clearance price, though I passed on some. If searching for the name description, some pot references also pulled up. The other box has the commie star on a drinking cup, but also strangely, a boy is climbing into the bunk bed and has a heart shape on the rear of his undies (I guess they do that stuff when at summer camp? One of the animated boys is going "Oh!?" in bubble text while looking at playing cards, and has strands of kanji written and stuck to them like think strands of noodles, one of which is streaming down from the eye as if they are crying about their bad cards. On the opposite end of the room bunk bed, the person could just be resting his arm on the edge of the bunk, or he could be pointing down to the ground as if to say, "You are all going to hell!")

The box looks the same as this bag: https://www.sayweee.com/zh/product/Guow ... hips/12151



********

I'm wondering if they serve the rice crackers for good behavior in Chinese torture camps?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upC8hjr2b4g

[Catoptric]

Midcentury America’s Most Scandalous Salad
According to Betty Crocker, Candle Salad was even “better than a real candle.”
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/w ... F27%2F2025

Lettuce with a ring of pineapple, with a banana sticking inverted out of that, topped with a cherry and whipped cream. . . A common "treat" given to children, though to originate as a recipe by a former iteration of Dole in the early part of the 20th century.

The obvious innuendo and the thought that it wasn't considered a gag, makes you question if people are even self-aware or conscious in any way.

[HighlyIrregular II]

I wanted to make a cherry pie

Finally got around to it, but the crusts expired so I mixed the filling with plain yogurt. I recommend it. And take a whiff of the can of cherries! I love that smell! I haven't smelled that smell since I was a kid and smelled a jar of maraschino cherries.

[Madrigal]

Time to do a 180 with food, so I ordered a Mediterranean cookbook that I have high hopes of liking.

This will be quite a change from grandma's cooking, which is what best describes my style until now.

Also, has anyone noticed we, as a society, are poisoning ourselves with salt? One teaspoon is already more than the WHO recommends per day.

Stay tuned for the next episode of Life in the Middle Age.

[HighlyIrregular II]

I went through a few different stages with salt. I used to not add it to anything. That was in the mid 80s when I was using paper packets of mixed grains called Kashi. They may still make it. It tasted pretty bad with no salt. Not long before or after that I was using kosher salt (no iodine) because a nutritionist I used to listen to said to use it. Then I decided iodized salt was probably best. ChatGPT told me that the salt in canned food isn't iodized, so I make sure to eat enough home made food that I add iodized salt to. I switched to Papa John's unsauced chicken wings recently to cut down on salt, and I get the plain breadsticks instead of the greasy garlic ones.