unprofessionalcookery's Profile

I say ALWAYS make yogurt. For what seems so simple, there's so many variations based on cultures alone. For example, Chobani makes a very mild yogurt while Ronnybrook Farms turns the lemony funk up to 11. I like both for entirely different purposes.

I eat A LOT of greek yogurt and its also way more economical this way- and easy. Just strain the finished yogurt to your desired thickness and its good to go for about half the price. As an added bonus, one you have the culture you like, its even less expensive to make as you don't have to buy a new starter again!

Also, you don't need fancy equipment to make this- essentially just a pot, a thermometer and mason jars.

The only downside is the preplanning for culturing time, but that's just a minor technicality.

Unprofessional Cookery

I love it! I tried doing this once in an old apartment of mine (which previously didn't have a range hood)- looks infinitely better than my attempt at diy carpentry.
Unprofessional Cookery

So this isn't a recipe or suggestion per se, but I've found that a great source of inspiration for me has come from this website called Food Pairing. If nothing else, you can see what flavors compliment lentils and create your own recipes from there.

www.foodpairing.be

Interesting stuff!
Unprofessional Cookery

Things I'm going to make this weekend:

1) FREEKEH. Its. So. Freaking. Good! I'm thinking a salad featuring it prominently.
2) Wilted radish greens from the French Breakfast Radishes I got at the greenmarket.
3) Smoked eggs. Medium boiled eggs+smoker=cholesterol laden heaven
4) Chilled Asparagus soup. (Unfortunately I forgot I bought it.)
5) Fennel blueberry salad
6) Arugula Pesto.

This week is going to be good eating.
Unprofessional Cookery

I love that site! I remember the first thing I saw on there was watermelon infused with coffee, I still think of it... Both for somewhat of the "ew, no way" factor and the "Maybe I should try that" factor.

http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2011/01/watermelon-and-coffee.html

Unprofessional Cookery

I personally prefer my coffee black, but I interviewed a barrista recently who also noted that they actually make soymilk just for coffee pros- as standard soy milk is really gritty and almost impossible to steam. (Not to mention, IMO, one of the least appealing nondairy milk choices out there.)

Pacific Foods makes its own Barrista blend of soy milk. I don't think that they have stabilizers in it to prevent curdling, but more that the key is to heat the soy milk first- like the article said- gradually.

Unprofessional Cookery

I adore haloumi! I would have never thought to put it on the grill though, great idea...

Unprofessional Cookery

YES! There's two variants of this- I also suggest that you roll them into little balls as they're pretty calorie dense (like 1" or so) and eat about 4-5 per shot. These are about single serving sizes, and they also stay kind of soft, so make and pack accordingly to your needs.

Recipe 1: 1 scoop protein powder (I like ON Vanilla Ice Cream Gold Standard Whey) and 1-2T natural peanut butter. Cinnamon if you like.

Recipe 2: 1 scoop protein powder, 1 T pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix), 1 T Natural Peanut Butter. You can see an example I made
here. (you just have to keep scrolling down.)

Or just go with packets of peanut butter- Justin's makes a bunch of them, or just a handful of almonds. Forget all the sugar, it'll just make you hungrier later because it burns quickly in your system.

Unprofessional Cookery

Personally, I LOVE getting kitchen gadgets- but I'll usually just tell people what I want. Just this week a friend unexpectedly gave me a Henckels knife- it was just what I had been pining over for about six months. I liked it so much that I even gave it its own blog post.

But, I do also highly recommend gifts such as regional coffee and non-perishable foods.. or just something that the gift giver makes themselves, that's the best of all.

Unprofessional Cookery

I have to say that I agree with @meskarune- Bananas are pretty high on the glycemic index, which essentially means that they're not really all that "sugar free"... I mean, no fruit is really, but if you're looking to cut out sugar in your diet, this may not be the best bet.

However, it is tasty. And it probably is healthier in some regards to regular ice cream. :)

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