I have a recipe (Curried Chicken) - a family favorite - that calls for an undiluted can of cream of mushroom soup. I don't want to abandon the dish (I like it too) but I don't want to cook with canned soup. Is there a suitable substitute that won't tack on lots of extra prep time?
grilled tube steaks (hot dogs, brats, nilgai sausage) and potato salad
Stephie - Americans waste/throw out approximately one pound of food a day per person. If you don't want to use the garlic in the jar that you bought, please donate it to a food bank (if still unopened) or to a community kitchen where they prepare meals for kids living below the poverty level or for homeless or underemployed folks?
If you decide to open it and use it - in my experience, the garlic in a jar does not taste quite as good as fresh, but it isn't awful, either. I keep some on hand for those times I unexpectedly run out and don't want to make a trip to the store for just one thing.
It works if you use a little more than you ordinarily would (to make up for the loss of allicin). I tend to throw in a bit of organic sugar to offset the loss of natural sugars in a preserved food.
Rick Bayless
"What was your first exposure to Mexican cuisine - the first dish you had -and were you an instant convert at that point or did you learn to love the food and the people?"
Austin Agrodolce
http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/
Food and fun, cooking AND eating out, adventures in CSA baskets, etc
Also - my son is a chef here and has a new blog
Gastronome
http://austingastronome.blogspot.com/
Cooking/eating out/techniques
Vinho Verde's Sonalto. A lovely light sparkling white from Portugal that generally runs around $6 a bottle here in Central Texas.
"The Butcher's' Blog" or "The Cutting Board"
Matt, I have a question for you. My grocery store has a sign saying something to the effect of "please ask us to trim your meat to your specifications - we are always happy to help!"... Only when I asked to get a tenderloin trimmed of the silverskin before taking it home, the butcher acted sort of insulted. Is there a way to ask for additional trimming without it being taken the wrong way?
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Thanks all for the suggestions. Looks like some sort of a bechamel using mushrooms - maybe some onion etc. to punch up the flavor a little. Yes some more trouble than opening a can, but worth it long run to know what is REALLY going into my recipes.
I will try this out in one of my few remaining "add a can of" recipes soon and blog on the results. Y'all be sure to check in there some time and say hello!
Buying/cooking for 2 as an empty nester is almost as hard (especially if you'd gotten used to shopping/cooking for 4). What has worked for me is joining forces with a couple of other empty nester friends. We buy and then split up bags of potatoes, apples, other produce that we couldn't otherwise use before they spoiled (especially since we are trying to stick to organic produce whenever possible).
At least I hope you are able to compost the produce you can't eat? If you are able to recycle that stuff into your garden/planter soil eventually you haven't completely lost out on your investment.
Thanks for the comments so far. Help from the group is one of the best features of SE!
renzata - thanks for the heads up to your previously posted question. It looks like lots of us are struggling with how to replace those cans of soup.
chiffOnade, I like where you are heading, but then there is that can of milk. I am trying to cook without cans for the most part, especially after learning they are nearly all lined with that BPA plastic coating.
Same thing with your otherwise good idea, buffyholic, I would like to try to get the cans out of my kitchen!
And sure, Lilartist, I could search the internet for a similar recipe but I was hoping somebody on SE has already tried something out and can assure me I won't be wasting time/ingredients on something that won't work very well. (I don't like to think of myself as LAZY - just, "efficient"?)...
OK - no perfect alternative has shown up for canned soup. There are red cans and other healthier can alternatives but all still involving cans so far. Or 1500 extra calories.
I'm not a food snob either - I cook and eat what I like - what tastes good. Tuna casserole, green bean casserole, this Chicken Curry recipe - all big comfort food favorites. I would like to keep enjoying them without having to use cans, though. Maybe this will remain a "moderation" situation.
Any other ideas/suggestions out there?
TexasDeb here - native gal happily returned to the Lone Star State after living other places with husband and then 2 kids. Totally into supporting sustainable agriculture/permaculture now - taking out almost all our lawn, creating new garden bed spaces, growing more of our own food and cooking our way through weekly organically grown local CSA baskets. I'm here most of the time trying to find recipes to prepare something new (to us) in our weekly basket, like, kohlrabi. I just didn't grow up eating anything like that. I enjoy the site and appreciate helpful comments for substitutions, hints, shortcuts. I have a food blog as well- y'all are welcome to check it out: http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/
Okay, I am search for advice on this frozen garlic thing. I have been reading information on using garlic juice diluted in water for bug spray. So, I just put a bunch of whole cloved in the juicer (eyes are burning, but smells great!), and now I have all of this minced garlic, almost pastey, that I want to freeze for recipes or others. Is there a "TO DO" or "NOT TO DO" for freezing this?
bug spray...
I think a lot of it also depends on the processor/brand of the jarred garlic you buy. There are big differences between some brands.
Like how someone mentioned that theirs tasted almost picked. Thats simply because the different preservatives they use in their jarred garlic.
I'm from Canada so I only know what we have available here but if you buy a brand called Derlea you'll find a huge difference compared to the lower brand jarred chinese garlic. Derlea uses California Garlic and different preservatives then most of the other brands you see on the shelf here in Canada.
Sorry if this almost sounds like an add for them, I'm sure there are other great brand out there, but In Canada this is the only jarred product I buy now after trying a variety of others.
But of course Fresh is best, but try having decent fresh garlic in Canada year round, its already hard enough to try and find a bulb of non Chinese garlic even when our own garlic is in season.
I think a lot of it also depends on the processor/brand of the jarred garlic you buy. There are big differences between some brands.
Like how someone mentioned that theirs tasted almost picked. Thats simply because the different preservatives they use in their jarred garlic.
I'm from Canada so I only know what we have available here but if you buy a brand called Derlea, you'll find a huge difference compared to the lower brand jarred chinese garlic. Derlea uses California Garlic and different preservatives then most of the other brands you see on the shelf here in Canada.
Sorry if this almost sounds like an add for them, I'm sure there are other great brand out there, but In Canada this is the only jarred product I buy now after trying a variety of others.
But of course Fresh is best, but try having decent fresh garlic in Canada year round, its already hard enough to try and find a bulb of non Chinese garlic even when our own garlic is in season.
Johnathan Gold: Where can I get good Mee Krob?
I would ask Alton Brown if he would come to my house to cook.
Rachel Ray
Is she ever unhappy?
Rachael Ray - Why do my 30 minute meals take longer than your 30 minute meals?
Lets see, this question really has a few different answers. I would like to interview Alton Brown just because I love his show and want to see what he is like in real life. One of the most interesting people to interviews would be Paula Dean since she is such a character. Finally, if I had to pick someone purely on good looks (and probably good food too) I'd have to choose Giada De'Laurentes.
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Website: http://austinagrodolce.blogspot.com/
Location: Austin, Texas
About: Empty nester, enjoying increased time/energies to spend on cooking, eating, drinking, and generally enjoying life. Gardener, reader, blogger.
Favorite foods: I love to eat ANYTHING I don't have to clean up the dishes/kitchen after! But my new "favorite" at the moment is arugula. I can't get enough of that stuff.
Last bite on earth: Grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. For me it just doesn't get any better than that.