posted
Two months ago, I found out that I somehow became intolerant of garlic. I get headaches when I use it. Now, I'm kind of in need of new recipes, because for me, garlic was a really important ingredient, or rather, spice. (It doesn't really help, that my flatmate is Czech, and my neighbor from Italy. )
I need inspiration! Maybe you would like to exchange recipes and 'secrets'?
As for me, I'm especially interested in sauces, dressings, dips, marinades,... anything that goes well with with noodles or potatoes. Or rice. You know what I mean. Which spices do you use for certain vegetables? Favourite Soups?
Whatever YOU like to eat and cook when there is no special occasion is welcome.
Rules and suggestions: - You can can post 'real' recipes with ingredients and quantities and all, but it's not a must. (Luckily, I've done enough cooking in my life not to depend on exact quantities in recipes, so I think I can cope with your not-metric units of measurement. )
- Maybe you just like to share your secret of how to make the perfect meat loafs? Or tell us, which ingredients you like to combine with each other.
- If possible, the ingredients should be affordable for underpaid students, too.
- In this thread, the food value is a minor matter. If you know how to make the perfect chocolate sauce, post it!
That's all, folks.
I start with one of my favourites:
Alsatian Onion Soup
It's cheap, tasty and rather fool-proof.
You need: Onions (ca. 1 pound for 1 person; they shrink a lot in the heat), broth, white flour, black pepper, oil, maybe butter, cheese (f.e. Gouda) and white bread.
-Peel the onions, cut them in halves and then in thin slices. -Fry them in the pot in which you want to cook the soup. Low temperature, they aren't supposed to get brown! -When the onions are glassy and slightly golden and start to smell sweet, powder them with the flour. Rather take less flour than too much. It's only there to thicken the soup a little bit, but not really necessary. -Now the broth. Enough to cover the onions completely. If necessary, you can add more afterwards. -Cover the pot and cook the soup for at least an hour or two. Low temperature. Stir it every now and then. -In the meantime, you can cut the bread in croutons. I fry them in oil and a little bit butter. (The oil to fry them, the butter for the taste.) -Grate the cheese. I like Gouda, but you can take any cheese that melts easily in the oven without getting hard. Cheddar? -Taste and season the soup with black pepper. Maybe you want to add more broth or another stock cube. -Pour the soup in soup plates or bowles (more or less heat-proof), cover it with croutons and gratinate it with the cheese.
posted
You should use garlic this week. It's national headache awareness week.
I put the Stouffers meal in the oven at 350, and 45 minutes in I remove the plastic cover, so I'll just keep out of the thread for now. *smile*
Posts: 6213 | Registered: May 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Papa Moose: You should use garlic this week. It's national headache awareness week.
Nope. Not my nation, you know.
What's a national headache awareness week for, actually?
@Jeesh: Blame it on the toaster. Maybe it needs a little exorcism. (Do you mean those frozen waffles? I only know them from The King of Queens.)
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Maybe I'll think of an actual helpful addition to this thread in a bit, but for now I just have to say--a life w/o garlic, how sad! (yeah, that from Uprooted who is allergic to apples, peaches, pears and all kinds of good fruit; I'd be much healthier if I were allergic to chocolate!!)
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Breaded chicken: Pound boneless skinless chicken breasts flat, about 1/4 inch thick. Preferred method, of course is to do this between pieces of plastic wrap. (You can also use tenders.) Cut into manageable shapes and sizes. Dredge in flour, then lightly beaten eggs, then flavored dry breadcrumbs. (Progresso makes pre-seasoned Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, that's what I use; I don't think it has garlic.) Heat some oil (I use grapeseed) in a pan, and melt just enough butter to flavor it in with it. When oil is hot enough to skip a drop of water but not to the smoking point, cook chicken several minutes per side, until done.
Some other main and side dish recipes of mine that have no garlic or are garlic-optional:
posted
(You will note that most of those links go to the Jatraquero Cookbook, kindly hosted by Dags. You outta browse around, it's great! I have desserts up there, too.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Uprooted: Maybe I'll think of an actual helpful addition to this thread in a bit, but for now I just have to say--a life w/o garlic, how sad! (yeah, that from Uprooted who is allergic to apples, peaches, pears and all kinds of good fruit; I'd be much healthier if I were allergic to chocolate!!)
Fruit?! Wow. You won. I wonder what those fruits have in common? You're probably not allergic to Vitamin C! I can still be lucky, garlic is the only thing I must avoid. Worst allergy ever: water!
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Thanks, ketchupqueen. I don't know why, but somehow I never thought of making my own Chicken Nuggets. I'll try that this weekend. You flavor them with Italian herbs? Oregano, basil, marjoram...?
I usually don't know the brand names you mention. What's Progresso? Stouffer's? And: what's allspice?
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:I don't know why, but somehow I never thought of making my own Chicken Nuggets. I'll try that this weekend. You flavor them with Italian herbs? Oregano, basil, marjoram...?
These are not chicken nuggets! This is a classy entree, suitable even for serving company; it turns out very fluffy and delicious and rich. If you want chicken nuggets, try these.
Progresso (which has apparently been bought by Betty Crocker, but continues to make the best canned soup from a big brand) When they were available, I have refilled my breadcrumb canister with dry breadcrumbs from the bakery at the local store, sold for 99 cents for 2 1/2 cups, added a few good shakes of dried oregano and one of basil and one of thyme and a little bit of salt, pepper, and parsley, and then put the lid on and shook it all up for later use.
Stouffer's (who actually do make decent-tasting lasagna)
posted
I recommend buying a jar (or bag, or whatever) of garam masala (if you don't see it at the supermarket, maybe you have a local Indian grocery). It's spice mix with cinnamon, cumin, pepper, cardamom, fenugreek, and other spices. If you can't find it in a store, you can get a recipe for it via google, and mix it yourself. You can use it for marinating meat, or vegetables, or rice.
The reason I recommend garam masala is that it has a lot of intense flavor without using garlic.
In case you're in the mood for something less intense, here's how I make meatloaf:
1.5 or 2 pounds ground beef (85% or 90% lean) 1 package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you should be able to just squeeze the paper package over the sink) 1 cup quick oats 1 egg .5 c shredded carrots 1 medium onion, diced and fried .5 Tbsp dried basil 1 tsp dried thyme (or oregano, or something else, or nothing else) salt and pepper to taste ketchup
Preheat the oven to 350. Have a nonstick cookie sheet ready. Use your hands to combine everything except the ketchup in a bowl until it's evenly mixed. Shape the mixture into a loaf on the cookie sheet -- it should stay pretty much where you put it. Use a butter knife to spread ketchup over the top of the loaf. Bake for one hour.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
oh, and I just want to add: I think the fruits that Uprooted is allergic to are all in a family called pomes. It's technically the rose family.
And another recipe: Orange Ginger Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 1 Tablespoon baking powder 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup oil 1 large navel orange, peeled and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (yes, it's a nuisance, but it's so worth it) 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped a little finer than the orange*
Preheat oven to 425. Prepare muffin tin (ideally you should invest in a silicone one, but for now just do what you need to do with the metal one -- use papers, or grease it). Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and stir until well mixed. Add orange and ginger pieces. Bake for 18-20 minutes (you'll know they're ready when the tops are a pretty light-brown color).
*If you don't like ginger, leave it out, the recipe should still work fine. You can also add nuts or chocolate chips or dried cranberries.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
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quote: I believe they're all in the same family. Plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, too.
Yup, allergic to all of those, too. Only apples and pears of that list are in the pomes category; the others are stones or some other word I can't remember. Also allergic to some berries and nuts, as well as bell peppers. I can eat any of it cooked, but not raw; and it's not just a matter of taking off the skin or making sure I buy organic, as has been suggested to me. One suggestion that makes sense to me is that there's an enzyme destroyed by cooking that I'm allergic to.
Anyway, I can still eat melons and any tropical fruit I've tried, so I'm not totally fresh-fruit deprived! (sorry for the derail . . . going off to read the Bonito Madrid story on IGMS now!)
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
"These are not chicken nuggets! This is a classy entree, suitable even for serving company; it turns out very fluffy and delicious and rich."
Okay, okay. Then I call them mini chicken-schnitzel.
"I believe they're all in the same family. Plums, apricots, nectarines, cherries, too."
But apples and pears aren't drupes/stone fruits. Pomes? I don't know. The question remains: Which substance that Uprooted is alleric to, have ALL of those fruits in common?
Ha! I would never have guessed that allspice is just one spice(here, we call it Piment). I thought it is a blend of several spices. I really like that stuff.
Martha, I think I REALLY need to buy an oven! (I only have the usual cooker and a microwave with grill...) Do you leave the orange pieces with the skin? I would probably filet the orange.
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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6 (or so) Bosc pears, as hard as you can find (if you use ripe ones, they'll fall apart) 1 lemon about 2 square inches of fresh ginger root 1/4 cup honey 3 cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon, or both about 15 whole cloves handful cardamom pods (optional) water
Put an inch of water into a large pot on the stove (it needs to be wide but not particularly tall). Peel the pears, cut them in half, cut the cores out, and put them in the pot. Peel the lemon, cut the peel into thin strips, and add them to the pot; juice the lemon and add the juice to the pears' mixture. Throw in the honey, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Peel the ginger root and slice the insides so they're a similar size and shape to the lemon peel (the idea is that when you're done cooking, the ginger and the lemon rind will look the same, but it's not important). Cover the pot, turn on the heat and simmer for a long time, turning the pears over with a wooden spoon every five minutes or so. You'll be able to tell they're done when they either (a) fall apart at the edges or (b) become sort of translucent.
These pears taste good hot, warm, or cold. I like them best warm over vanilla ice cream.
Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
Re the orange pieces in the orange ginger muffins:
You peel the orange and throw away the peel (or keep it for candying, but I don't know how to do that). Then you cut the pulp into little pieces. It's a nuisance, but slightly less so if you use a navel orange. There'll be a lot of juice -- it's okay to let some of it get into the batter, but mostly it'll get all over your cutting board and table. Posts: 1785 | Registered: May 1999
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: (You will note that most of those links go to the Jatraquero Cookbook, kindly hosted by Dags. You outta browse around, it's great! I have desserts up there, too.)
Thanks for the plug. Anyone can sign up and post recipes. Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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quote:But apples and pears aren't drupes/stone fruits. Pomes? I don't know. The question remains: Which substance that Uprooted is alleric to, have ALL of those fruits in common?
It doesn't have to be a specific substance common to all of them; aren't apples and pears a related family to stone fruits? Not sure. Anyway, it could be two seperate allergies to the two seperate families.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
BTW, I have no non-garlic suggestions. In fact, I'm trying to think of a savory recipe I don't add garlic to, and can't come up with one off the top of my head.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
One of my favorite things to make is roasted vegetables. In a big, flat baking dish I combine chunks of red potato, bell peppers, carrots, onion, etc. (you could use other sturdy veggies like winter squash, eggplant, parsnips, turnips, etc.). I add a little bit of olive oil (just enough to lightly coat) and a ton of herbs - rosemary, sage, thyme, savory, oregano, salt, black pepper, celery seed, red pepper flakes - basically anything tasty (sometimes I add salad dressing or bbq sauce or lemon juice) - you could have fun and experiment with adding other flavors like star anise, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger - the skies the limit! Then I bake the whole thing at about 400F for at least an hour (stirring every 20-30 mins) - basically until the carrots and potato are tender (you should have some nice browning and crispy bits too, which makes for a nice textural contrast). It makes your whole house smell marvelous and can be a good base for another dish (add some meat, turn it into a stew, etc.), a side dish, or just eat it as the main dish.
quote:Originally posted by martha: Re the orange pieces in the orange ginger muffins:
You peel the orange and throw away the peel (or keep it for candying, but I don't know how to do that). Then you cut the pulp into little pieces. It's a nuisance, but slightly less so if you use a navel orange. There'll be a lot of juice -- it's okay to let some of it get into the batter, but mostly it'll get all over your cutting board and table.
Okay. I filet the oranges when I make a fruit salad, though. Especially if it's hard to chew. I don't want to spit out the skin all the time.
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: BTW, I have no non-garlic suggestions. In fact, I'm trying to think of a savory recipe I don't add garlic to, and can't come up with one off the top of my head.
Haha, you see - I HAD to start this thread!
@Ludosti: Now I know what to cook when I visit my family in August. My mom always prospects for nice vegetarian meals and new recipes, just for a change, and she, at least, has an oven. AND, most important, a whole shelf with spices of all kinds! Hi hi.
posted
Pinky - I'm so glad the roasted veggetables have inspired you! You'll have to be sure to tell me what spices you experiment with and how it turns out.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Jup. And I'm sure, I can grill it in a pan, too, as long as I don't have an oven right here. You know, in one of those teflon-coated pans, so I don't have to use a lot of oil. Like fried potatoes.
A propos fried potatoes: I think, they are delicious when you fry 1/2 inch big cubes of raw potatoes together with tiny carrot-cubes, seasoned with salt, pepper and marjoram.
Uhm, are there any units of measurement that are shorter than an inch? Millimeter?
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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But one thing to consider is dill. American's don't cook with it much, but it works really well with a number of meats and vegetables and can add a kicky, fresh flavor on top of some of the less powerful flavorings you could use.
Edit to add: I also have a lot of success with coriandor as the dominant flavor with lentils, potatoes, rice, beans -- anything starchy.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
Mmm, the raw potatoes and carrots and the roasted veggies reminded me of one of my favorites (garlic free):
Slice carrots into slender sticks, add about the same amount of sliced onion, and slowly saute in a mix of butter and olive oil until tender. Good w/ zucchini sticks in the mix as well. If you're patient enough, it's great if you can carmelize the onions--yum. (but add in zucchini after the carrots have already gotten a bit tender)
This is also a delicious way to cook sweet peppers--I love to do a mix of red, yellow, and orange peppers sliced lengthwise and slowly sauteed in butter, no other ingredients needed--sweet and really pretty. Don't do the peppers as long as you would the carrot/onion mix, though; you don't want them completely limp.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Zal, do you mean coriander as in the seeds you buy in the spice section, or fresh (cilantro) leaves?
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Green leafy vegetables and nutmeg are magic. There's some weird combination that happens with the two that is much greater than the sum of the parts.
Cumin and coriander (the seed) work very well together on dark meats.
Lamb, I can't imagine without garlic and rosemary.
Paprika and sage could do a lot, too. Fresh paprika, of course.
Also, I've been experimenting with mustard somewhat. Mustard (whole seed dijon is very good), capers, black pepper, and flat-leaf parsley can be good, but I don't think I've done it without garlic.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Oh yeah, nutmeg on cauliflower is really good too, believe it or not! Just a tiny bit. I'll have to try it on my spinach/chard/turnip greens.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
1-2 lb chicken (depending on how meaty a person you are) 1 can tomato bisque soup (the concentrated campbell's stuff works fine) 1 can black beans 1/2 an onion 1 bell pepper (pick your color based on your flavor preference) 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 1 tbsp oregano 1 tbsp flour Salt & pepper Chili powder
Prep: Rinse beans. If using frozen chicken, defrost; cut into bite size bits. Chop veggies to desired size; set aside. Prepare soup with the flour in a small saucepan as per the instructions on the can - make sure it's well combined, chunks are naaaasty.
Cookin': Saute chicken & veggies until onions are transluscent using a very little bit of oil (I use whatever's on sale) with salt & pepper to taste. Add beans, soup, oregano and red pepper flakes; let simmer uncovered until the soup is thickening noticebly. Add chili powder (this part's important) and more salt/pepper to taste. You can also use your favorite brand of hot sauce; avoid tabasco as it's a lot of hot for not a lot of flavor. Serves four or more, depending on portion size.
You can serve it any number of ways; I usually serve it over steamed white rice because that's the starch I always have available. You can also let it condense more (or use less soup) and serve it in tortillas with a bit of cheese.
Posts: 4313 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I meant the ground kind. And, yes, I use it a lot with ground or whole cumin as Dag mentions. I also toast both in a bit of whatever fat I'm using (usually butter or olive oil or butter and olive oil).
I've been experimenting with fish, capers, butter and lemon (fresh Meyer lemons from my grandparents' trees) lately. Yeah, it's cliched -- but for good reason. Awesome.
kq mentioned grapeseed oil. That's another way to mix up flavours -- to use more flavoured and/or more exoctic oils. Not something I've done a whole lot with, but enough to know that they really can change the flavour of foods. Nut oils, avocado, grapeseed, etc.
Oddly enough, I've found that the best oil for fying falafel in (I like the Telma brand best) is peanut oil. I rarely use peanut oil, but it happened to be the only frying oil I had at one point and it really added a nice dimension to the falafel patties (I like to do croquettes rather than balls).
One more idea: I again have limited experience with this but thinking about nutmeg reminded me of cardomom and cinnamon. I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon with meat, but it can work in some dishes. Cardomon I know the least about, but I've had it in some dishes and have tasted it infused in hot water as a sort of tea and it has flavour that I could see working with certain meets and in certain sauces or soups (not sure what). Of course, the key with that, though, is that you have to get the beans in the pods for the flavour to really work. But any Indian store should have it in that form.
<----- also needs to start experimenting with dried chiles.
Posts: 3423 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:Originally posted by breyerchic04: Centimeter and Milimeter are both shorter than an inch.
I know. 1 inch = 0,0254m = 2,54cm = 254mm... But do you guys who don't use the metrical system USE shorter units than inch, too? I mean, it doesn't seem to be practical to say something like 1/20 inch.
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Uprooted: Oh yeah, nutmeg on cauliflower is really good too, believe it or not! Just a tiny bit. I'll have to try it on my spinach/chard/turnip greens.
I can't even imagine to cook fresh spinach without nutmeg (and salt and pepper and a bit of Gorgonzola cheese). Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: We generally say 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch, 1/8 inch, 1/16 inch, etc.
Uff! Well, I think that's something you have to get used to when you're still little- this system, I mean. It seems to be a bit awkward. I know, those units, inch, foot, yard etc, are very old. We too have still terms like "ein Gros" (=14 times 14) and a "dozen" ("Dutzend") instead of twelve, but I'd probably go mad if I had to cope with your units all the time. Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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1) Cookie recipes are almost always better with both shortening and butter and with both brown and white sugar.
2) I always use onion powder when seasoning meat. You may find it a decent substitute for garlic, actually.
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Pinky, we use dozen and gross (144-- 12 squared) here, too. Then there's the whole acre/mile thing...
quote:to use more flavoured and/or more exoctic oils. Not something I've done a whole lot with, but enough to know that they really can change the flavour of foods.
Grapeseed oil doesn't actually have a flavor, really. It has less taste than canola oil. It also has an extremely high flash point, higher than peanut oil, I believe, so is excellent for frying, and is of more benefit to your heart than olive oil. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
It's quite frightening- I even know some people who have problems with the basics of the metrical system! How hard can it be to remember that, f.e., 15 meter are 0,015 kilometer, 150 dezimeter, 1500 centimeter etc.? Whatever.
I like to use Walnut oil for green salads, especially the slightly bitter ones. Peanut oil to season pseudo-chinese food like chicken with rice. Also, I like to put fresh herbs in the bottle with olive oil. Usually basil (and garlic, in the past).
I'm not that fond of dill, but I like to take some of it, quite traditionally, to season steamed fisk and cucumber salad.
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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I'll just add I've come to enjoy a bit of cumin for eggs. Especially since I sometimes cut a yolk or two, depending on calories.
(I do this thing where I try to eat a certain number of times a day, but keep each meal under a certain number of calories . . . oh, never mind. Just try a little cumin.)
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
That's exactly what I thought of, Theca. The ability to eat cooked fruit certainly strengthens the case.
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
A propos cooked fruits. Here, venison is traditionally served with cooked pears and stewed cranberries. And spaetzle. Or as a dessert ("Coup Denmark"): Vanilla Ice Cream, cooked pears and hot chocolate sauce.
Posts: 262 | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Theca, that does sound a lot like me--thanks for the link! The cross-reaction part is interesting, because my food and pollen allergies all arrived in the same year, when I was 13 years old. I've never heard the syndrome described before, and never had an allergist tell me anything helpful other than "don't eat those foods, then--there's nothing we can do for you."
My symptoms affect my thoat mainly--I get what feels like a really itchy rash in my thoat. The stronger my reaction is, the more it spreads, although it's never affected my lips--but it will spread to the ears and nose, cause me to sneeze, have a runny nose, itchy eyes, etc., if it's bad enough.
Like the person who wrote in, I will also react to apple juice in a cut or eyes and so forth, but it's still a local reaction--the cut or my eyes will itch. I don't have the gastrointestinal symptoms he/she described. And antihistamines do help -- for example, my reaction to strawberries is milder than, say, apples, so on occasion I will take an Alavert and go ahead and eat some strawberry shortcake. I'll have some symptoms, but not too bad.
The lists of related foods/pollens don't seem to be too exact, or maybe they just vary from person to person. For example:
quote: Alder pollen allergy cross reacts with celery, pears, apples, almonds, cherries, hazel nuts, peaches, and parsley.
I don't know if I'm allergic to alder pollen, but probably so because tree pollens in general (especially oak) are my worst allergies. Anyway, I'm allergic to every food on that list except celery and parsley, to which I have no reaction whatsoever.
Anyway, thanks again, I'll definitely be bookmarking that page and studying the links!
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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