Profile

Mhays

It has long been my ambition in life to walk comfortably in as many worlds as possible: I explore food as the connecting thread.

  • Website
  • Location: Evanston, IL
  • Favorite foods: Avocado, 60% dark chocolate...or darker, Chewy, crusty bread right from the oven, Combinations of hot/cold, e.g. Pizza with fresh salad, hot fudge sundaes, etc. Authentic ethnic foods.
  • Last bite on earth: Perfect french fries with my homemade turkey gravy.

What To Do With Overripe Bananas (Other Than Make Banana Bread)

I ordinarily don't link my own stuff here - but I have the ultimate quick and healthy recipe for this - my Fried Elvis Oatmeal (you can also not fry it, but then it's just PB and Banana oatmeal, really...)

When our bananas get black, we toss them in the freezer for this purpose. I like the recipe because it doesn't require eggs or added sugar (we sprinkle some on top when I remember, but it isn't necessary) and it comes together very, very quickly - you don't really even need to measure, just add ingredients until it is gloppy, pan-fry and go! You can even make a vegan version by using non-dairy milk.

http://www.chicagonow.com/quips-travails-braised-oxtails/2013/04/721/

Taste Test: Muir Glen's 2012 Reserve Tomatoes

A general point - I use canned products a lot for my blog and at home, and I'm finding that no salt added products are generally higher in quality than their salted counterparts.

I can't imagine that most companies are making a totally different product for salted and NSA, so I think this is because of the salt itself. It must break down the product slightly - it's particularly noticeable in meats (tuna, for instance) where the salted products are mushier.

Do You Compost Your Food Scraps?

In Evanston, IL the City upcycled old broken garbage carts into free composters by drilling holes all over them - we use one (I added worms to mine) and it works fabulously well. (BTW, Citrus composts just fine - it's a myth that it does not.)

Protip: instead of an expensive compost-carrier/bucket, I use a large cheap stainless-steel flour canister. Works just fine, and the seal on the lid keeps out the smell.

Can You Cook A Steak By Dropping It From Space?

I loved that post, too. Now we should all get together and find a way to spam "What if" with more physics-related-cooking posts.

Taste Test: Asian Chocolate-filled Cookie Snacks

@Seeker - those are similar (the filling and brand is the same) but that version is kind of like Pirouettes on steroids; there's a little less cookie to those than the ice cream cones.

Not that I'm obsessive about this or anything...;-)

Taste Test: Asian Chocolate-filled Cookie Snacks

@seeker - Just to make sure we're comparing apples to apples, there is a gummy version that isn't the same thing. The chocolatey ones apparently come in a couple sizes/flavors, but the shells I remember were quite crunchy, but the chocolate is aerated, so it does kind of evaporate.

Taste Test: Asian Chocolate-filled Cookie Snacks

Me, too - but I can't find them anywhere!!!!

Taste Test: Asian Chocolate-filled Cookie Snacks

By far my favorite of these chocolate-filled snacky things are Glico's Caplico "ice cream cones" especially the ones shown in this flickr page (not mine) http://www.flickr.com/photos/yummyinthetummyblog/2604624575/in/photostream/

Unfortunately, I can no longer find them in the Chicago area. We used to give them out for Halloween...

Sunday Brunch: Potato and Corn Empanadas with Aji

Goya makes two or three kinds of refrigerated or frozen pre-formed empanada dough. It's not the same as homemade, but it is passable. Check your local hispanic market or the international freezer case in your grocery store.

FWIW, empanada dough (made with oil) is extremely easy to make, esp. if you have a tortilla press: make dough, divide into individual portions rolled into balls, squash balls into rounds in tortilla press, fill and cook.

Gadgets: Ninja Cooking System

I'm gonna try the cheesecake thing and see - but why wouldn't it work in a regular slow cooker? It is, after all, a custard - so low and slow in a water bath should work fine.

I want to try that slow-cooker bread. I wonder if this gadget would give it a crust (though chances are probably not.) I bet you could address the crisping issues if you got this and a brulee torch.

Might be the perfect cooking tool for a college student on their own for the first time...

Recipe Red Flags

Not a recipe red flag, but if your Pinterest page contains "Resurrection" or "Hocus Pocus' Buns, it's an immediate unfollow (marshmallows wrapped in canned crescent roll dough.) I second the comment about cake mix.

Market Tour: Joong Boo Market in Chicago

OK, @Grace. Keep in mind that I am of Latin American descent, have been asked that question my whole life; your experience is not unique. Still, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Market Tour: Joong Boo Market in Chicago

If YOU were born in Cincinnati, YOU might be a native. I am an Evanstonian, through and through. Just because someone is born in a barn doesn't make them a horse.

Whatever. I have heard native used to refer to where someone lives at the moment, rather than where they were born - but if we're getting out the dictionary to prove there was an intentional slight here, so be it.

Market Tour: Joong Boo Market in Chicago

@Grace - well, OK - but I think you're taking the meaning of the word "native" a bit literally. I consider myself an Evanston native, but was born and raised in Cincinnati, and confuse people when I say "please" instead of "excuse me."

College Tours: Where to Eat Near Northwestern University

@likeoneanother - JK Sweets closed, but is now the Korean place I mentioned upthread - slightly more upscale, no bakery and no short-order burgers, etc. (but they do have coffee and ice cream for late-night dates!)

I was so sad when Bop N Grill closed. Sniff. Their Loyola location is very nice. (We do have an Evanston tradition of Korean/burger joint hybrids, don't we?)

College Tours: Where to Eat Near Northwestern University

Like many of us who live in Evanston, I am a Hecky's fried chicken girl. Chicken Shack is OK, but I think Hecky's chicken (right across the street) is better. Ignore the word "ribs" in their title.

There is a brand-spanking new Korean place called Koko Table at 720 Clark St. near Sherman - tried it for the first time yesterday and liked it. (It's more authentic than ethnic food in Evanston usually is, if not adventurous.) For other pan-Asian cravings in town, I'd recommend Lulu's at 804 Davis.

For killer sandwiches and cookies, slightly northwards is Al's Deli (almost no place to eat inside, though) at 914 Noyes, and for more adventurous sandwich-eaters, there is Soulwich at 1634 Orrington, kind of Vietnamese, kind of Burmese - but good, cheap, healthy and filling.

I have a soft spot for the Evanston Grill at 1047 Chicago - a standard greasy-spoon breakfast place with my favorite Ruben in the area...but also featuring BiBimBap and one or two other Korean dishes.

Most of these places have a discount for students, too - make sure to ask.

Thanks for the reminders of all the other good places, Nick!

Market Tour: Joong Boo Market in Chicago

@Grace, there are hundreds of thousands of Chicago natives who don't speak English, which is part of the charm of Chicago. Most of the ethnic stores where I shop have purveyors that speak all kinds of languages but who struggle with English - I don't think it was meant as a slight. I think it speaks more to the fact that native English speakers in Chicago are just now waking up to the incredible wealth of food culture we have, and until recently, it just wasn't necessary for ethnic store owners to speak English (shame on us English speakers!)

Thanks for doing this, Nick! I have never made it to Jong Boo but always gaze at it wistfully when I'm on the highway (I'm too close to HMart and all its cousins on the northside.) I need to get into the cafe - grocery-store cafes are the best!

Do You Agree with New York City's Soda Ban?

@Cheryl, there are actually dozens of studies from well-respected sources on the subject of the relationship between sugar-sweetened drinks and obesity. If you disregard the first entry in this google journal search, you can see for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/9uor3tb

To address your underlying concern, I don't disagree that fat-shaming should be removed from this discussion, and my own preference is to discuss lifestyle-related disease rather than body type (there are plenty of skinny people with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease) but the truth is that changing your lifestyle to eat better and move more frequently results in both weight loss and improved health. You are also right in that NYC does not have a good track record when it comes to fat-shaming.

I also don't think this issue has anything to do with gluttony or control - but with normal human responses to behavior-modifying marketing tactics. Ever noticed how electronic companies make televisions progressively bigger and bigger, and consumers buy more and more of them? The same principle is at work with supersizing sodas.

Do You Agree with New York City's Soda Ban?

I've written about and followed this ban, and I think the biggest problem with it is the way it was presented.

It is NOT an attempt to restrict soda drinker's access to soda. You can still buy a 2-liter bottle (same size as a Double Gulp,) or buy two, or buy a refillable cup - or bring your own cup of whatever size in many places.

This ban SHOULD have been presented as restricting SELLERS of soda from misrepresenting four to eight servings as a single serving of soda. This kind of size manipulation on the part of marketers has been proven to get people to purchase exponentially more product (think about it, why else would they do it?) - and soda (as it's mostly HFCS or sugar) is cheap!

If you want to buy eight single servings, go to it - but, like the olive or cherry pits left on your plate, your empty cups will make sure you know exactly how many servings you have had. Just multiply by 100 for the calories...

If you don't believe that you've been manipulated by marketers' super sizing, go buy an 8-oz single-serve soda and see if it looks preposterously tiny to you.

Twisted Root Burger Company Offers Discounts for 'Best Butt,' 'Best Looking'

I find it creepy - and I think I would have found it creepy back in the day when I might have qualified.

The real question, though: is it legal?

Chips Hack: How to Make BLT Chips

Meeean, I thought this was going to be an all science-y post on how to flavor plain potato chips yourself. Am bummed, and now I'm gonna have to find a way to do it myself!

(Srsly, tho - nice snacking.)

Summer Pudding

You know, I have looked at summer pudding recipes skeptically for years. This is the first version that I think I might try!

I especially like that it is layered, rather than molded; molded summer puddings always look to me like a preschooler squished their PB & J. The fact that it's cooked is a plus, too: I bet I can use frozen berries!

Chicago Battles Chick-fil-A

BTW, did you see this post on Eatocracy? http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/07/30/opinion-why-im-celebrating-chick-fil-gay-appreciation-day/

In short, the Hearty Boys will be selling fried chicken sandwiches to benefit a GLBT charity on Aug. 1.

We Chat With: Nicolas Ibarzabel of 5411 Empanadas

There will be a Food Truck Festival/Starlight Concert in Evanston (Brummel and Elmwood - 1 block W and 1 block N of the Howard/Damen bus stop) tomorrow (July 26) at 5:30pm. This truck is one of the ones that will be there! Thanks for the profile, SE!

More info here: http://www.cityofevanston.org/events/2012/07/starlight-concert-20/

The 10 Best Jibaritos in Chicago

@phillamb168 - I'm not sure if it was included in that one, but it's in the Foods of Chicago video: http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,37

Any possibility of getting "digest" notification on comments?

I love wading into a controversial topic as much as the next guy, but the sheer volume of email notifications I get when I do makes me reluctant to participate. While some may consider that a side bonus, I think maybe there are others in the SE community who feel the same way.

I do like having a notification system, because oftentimes I'll forget to check back - but is there some kind of middle ground? A once-a-day or weekly digest roundup? Usually, I wind up clicking the "opt-out" link at a certain point - not because I'm not interested in what people have to say, but because I can't keep up with all the deleting.

Thanks!

Suggestion for Photograzing

I'm a big fan of Photograzing, appreciative that I've got some links up there, and also that y'all focus more on the food than on the photo styling because that's why I'm here. I also appreciate that a slightly smaller proportion of the links are desserts than on other sites - and that you don't tend to offer boxed-mix "recipes." Thanks, and keep up the good work!

I've just started using Pinterest, and wanted to suggest that you include a "pin" button on each photo that links to the photo's link-through page - I wanted to make sure I credited both Photograzing AND the linked post, and it took a little noodling to get there (for anyone else looking for this, click on the post title and not the picture, when the single photo comes up, pin that.)

Thanks again!

Michele

Help! Hamantashen-style mini-pie crimp fail!

OK, so I got rhubarb at the market, and happened to have a pineapple laying around, and decided that instead of pie, I wanted to make little tartlets kind of like the breadier Hamantashen (was hoping for lower fat in the crust)

I found this terrific ricotta-cheese dough recipe that gave me the desired lower fat, yeasty qualities I was looking for. In the photo on the recipe site, the end result has corners drawn up not dissimilarly to Hamantashen, except square.

So I made my filling, rolled out my proofed dough (I added a bit of Chapati flour and the dough was beautiful. Just gorgeous.) and cut it into circles. Added filling, crimped three corners with a hard pinch, baked as directed...and took flat circles of pastry with a lump of filling on them out of the oven. Sort of like ugly pineapple-rhubarb pizzas. Tasty - the dough is exactly what I wanted, tender, lightly bready - but ugly.

OK, so I thought maybe a double-crimp on the corners. Nope. So I thought maybe an egg wash before crimping. Nope.

The dough is nontraditional and extremely soft, but I have to think I'm missing something here. Any ideas how to keep my little triangle corners crimped?