Kitchen Tools

I am into useful kitchen gadgets and have a few random ones, such as a french fry slicer, which I have used a grand total of once, that one time I mae french fries. One of my favorite websites, Cracked.com recently discussed "amazing" kitchen gadgets: Kitchen Gadgets

Nekot Cookies

More Fatty Fantasticness

Here are some more of my entries on This is Why You're Fat:

• The Cookie Cake Pie - My friend Kim and I actually came across this recipe a while ago. Since I am not much of a cake person, I think my interpretation will be cookie brownie pie.
  
• The Cheesy Mac n Rib Melt
  
• Hamburger Pie - This isn't so bad. It reminds me of my mom's cheeseburger casserole. Or a Jamaican beef patty.
  
• Adjaruli Khachapuri - This just looks delicious.

Cinnamon Rolls

I attempted this cinnamon roll recipe tonight with the follow adjustments:

• I halved the recipe because one of the reviewers said it could be easily done
  
• I used one part condensed milk and one part soy milk because one reviewer used all soy milk with no problem
  
• I used whole wheat flour
  
• I used only margarine-like spread

The results were pretty disastrous. The dough ended up being too sticky, a problem others had. I tried to add more flour during the kneading process. Sometimes it seemed I added too much flour but then I would keep kneading and it would get sticky again. This made it impossible to roll the dough out the way it needed to be rolled. And then the measurements for butter and cinnamon and brown sugar just didn't seem right. There was too much of everything but this may have had to do with my inability to roll the dough out all of the way.

I had a feeling I hadn't given the dough enough time to rise but I went ahead and put it in the oven. When they were finished, they were not chewy and nor did they look anything like that photo. They were still good, except for the brown sugar/cinnamon filling, most of which came out onto the pan b\c they were so misshapen and which was too sweet and buttery, as I predicted. And I didn't even use all of it!

Next time I won't half the recipe...and will use more flour. Maybe open a fresh packet of yeast. And actually include frosting. I don't like cream cheese frosting...and I wanted to show some restraint.

EDIT: I thought it was worth noting that these became much more delicious when reheated in the microwave. They were still not quite what I was looking for, but I have half of the batch in the freezer and I look forward to eating them soon.

99¢ Only Stores The Cookbook

Inspirations

I am in the middle of trying to adjust my current eating habits to return to a healthier state of being, but I still find myself drooling over food porn. These are some of the items on This is Why You're Fat that will be inspiring future meals:

• Chili Cheese Corn Dog Fries
• Poutine Rolls
• Corn Cheddar Bacon Pancakes
• Breakfast Pizza
• Dessert Lasagna

Blue Cheese

Me: [extensionofbob] wonders how one knows when bleu cheese has gone bad.
Jay: @extensionofbob is it nasty and crumbly and smell really bad? cuz then it should be okay.

Homemade Pizza

I've taken to making pizzas, as a quick, cheap and delicious meals. I am not quite at the point where I can make the dough from scratch but a pack of Kroger pizza dough mix costs a whopping 85¢. I tend to make my pizza sauce using tomato paste, water, and tomato soup. A good recipe can (as usual) be found on All Recipe. (FYI: a can of tomato paste cost me only 44¢.) Here are some other ingredients I generally use:

• Shredded Cheddar - I usually always keep shredded cheddar, which I can get for under $2.
• Jalapeños - I also usually keep these on hand, as I love spicy foods. I buy them jarred in nacho slices, as they keep longer than fresh ones and cost under $2.
• Curry - One day it came into my mind that a curry pizza would be a good idea, so I added some curry and cinnamon to my pizza sauce, with very good results.
• Oysters - A can of boiled oysters can be very cheap and make for a delicious topping.
• Onions and Peppers - The two fresh veggies I try to always have on hand appear on pretty much every pizza I make.
• Spices, spices, spices

Food Week

This past week was Food Week over on Lifehacker. I recommend checking out almost all of Lifehacker's food related articles, but these are my favorite from this week. (I avoided the ones about fast food because I pretty much love anything about fast food.):

• Eating Ethically on a Food Stamp Budget
  
• Store Brand vs. Name Brand—When to Go Cheap
  
• Top 10 How-to Cooking Videos

Hot Places-I've-Never-Been Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 2.5 Tbls NESQUIK® Chocolate Powder
  
• 1 Cup Boiling Water
  
• 3 Tbls Condensed Milk
  
• 2 Tbls Triple Sec
  
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  
• .5 Tsp Paprika

Instructions:
Combine ingredients and drink. Feel free to make any substitutions and adjustments for taste.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies

In my never-ending quest for new cookie recipes and ideas, I came across a number of recipes that used cake mix to make quick, easy cookies. I decided to give it a try. (Note that I somehow think using a box mix to make something other than what it was intended for makes using box mix less like cheating. I would never use box cookie mix to make cookies. Haha.)

The base recipe I decided on was the Cake Mix Cookies VIII recipe from AllRecipes.com.

My modifications:

• I used Pillsbury® Devils Food Cake
  
• I added approximately two tablespoons of Peanut Butter
  
• I added around one teaspoon of imitation vanilla extract
  
• I also added a tablespoon of brown sugar

Since I started writing this post (a couple of weeks ago), I have actually used this basic Cake Mix Cookie recipe to make a variety of different cookies. I used the Pillsbury® Classic Yellow as a base for a delicious, thick chocolate chip cookie.

I've tried using brownie mix as a base, but I found the resulting textures to be less enjoyable. (I did, however, come up with a great taste combination when I added cinnamon and paprika to the brownie mix.)

Today, due to my lack of butter and my lack of funds, I attempted my original peanut butter chocolate cake mix cookies with a substitute of 7/16 cup of blended oil (canola + vegetable) for 1/2 cup of butter. I found that this gave the cookies a long-lingering bitter aftertaste and a less pleasant consistency. However, the cookies are still good. I've eaten more of them in one sitting than I did of the first batch (which I think has more to do with the less filling texture).

Peanut Butter Cookies

With no money to my name and very few sweets in my apartment, I rummaged through my cabinets to see what I could do about the problem other than pouring sugar down my throat. I realized I had most of what I needed to make peanut butter cookies. I followed this recipe for Classic Peanut Butter Cookies on AllRecipes.com. Here are the modifications I made:

• Since it's just me, I halved the recipe.
  
• I don't have any baking soda or baking powder (or money to acquire any), so I did without. While this of course affected the texture of the cookie, if I didn't know they were missing, I wouldn't know they were missing.
  
• I added a drop of cinnamon extract. It was just enough to add a hint of complexity to the flavor without distracting from the peanut butter.
  
• I also added a bit of honey. It's fairly dark honey. In the future, I would add less honey or add a lighter honey.
  

Overall, these cookies are delicious. I can't stop eating them, which could be a good or a bad thing.

Pretty Girls Use Knives

A friend of mine, along with some of her peers, have created a website/blog with kitchen tips. It covers everything from baking to kosher eating to party planning. Check it out.

The Hot Brown

This was so incredibly good. I defer to the Wiki page for the history and description of this amazing sandwich. I am also proud to say that I ate it in its birth home, The Brown Hotel.

Bananas

From World of Monkey. I personally go for 4s or 5s because I hate any sort of blemishes on the banana. I've only recently been able to eat bananas again, as I find their texture to be slightly unpleasant.

Hard Boiled Eggs

I love hard-boiled eggs because they're tasty and full of protein. I will often have one as part of my breakfast or a post-work-out snack. Here's how I usually make my hard-boiled eggs:

1. Put 1 large egg in a pot with water. Most people recommend covering the egg with an inch of water, but since the only pot I own deep enough to cover the egg that much is quite large and would take forever to boil, my eggs are not usually fully submerged and it's never been a problem.
   
2. Bring water to just boiling.
   
3. Remove from heat before the water starts really boiling. Cover with a lid.
   
4. Leave egg in covered pot for 15-20 minutes.
   
5. For softer boiled egg, remove from pot sooner. Otherwise, after 15-20 minutes, place egg in ice water until cool. (This prevents the green coloring around the yolk.)
   
6. Remove shell. Slightly older eggs are the easiest to de-shell.
   
7. Eat! (This is the shortest part of the whole process.)

Doritos Late Night Last Call Jalapeño Popper

I was hoping for something as spicy as Doritos Fiery Habanero when I decided to pick these up from the snack machine. I was slightly disappointed after the first bite, but the heat picks up slightly with the more chips you eat, and the overall flavor is still much more pleasant and subtle than regular Doritos.

Recipe: Jiffy Chocolate Muffin...Brownies!

I found a package of Jiffy Chocolate Muffin Mix at the grocery store and picked it up out of curiosity. Once home, I realized that I didn't have a muffin tin, and decided to go for a more dessert type dish instead. It was a smash with my friends.

Ingredients:

• 1 Package of Jiffy Chocolate Muffin Mix
  
• 1 Large Egg
  
• 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
  
• 1 Tablespoon Instant Coffee
  
• ¼ Cup of Milk
  
• 5 Oreos, Crushed
  

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine dry ingredients until evenly distributed. Add egg and milk. Continue to stir until batter is fairly consistent.

Grease a small pan (mine was approx. 10" long x 6" wide x 2" deep) and then pour in batter. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. (Note: the box calls for the muffins to be baked 11 - 13 minutes. It took my dish considerably longer to finish.)

Chili

Deep Fried Oreos

Today I found my first street fair of the season, which meant my first fried Oreos of the season. Mmmmmmm. No surprise it made the unhealthiest carnival food list.

Young Coconut Water

Tonic Water

Swiss Cheese

Red Onions

Chipotle Cheddar

Mimosas

Cinnamon Rolls

Brownies

Bell Peppers

Scrambled Eggs

Softshell Crab

Quesadillas

Edy's No Sugar Added Fruit Bars

Hot Chocolate

Hot Cross Buns

Ice Water

Celery

Corn Dogs

Coffee

Pierogi

Honeydew Melon

I actually found this image on an awesome website: What Does 200 Calories Look Like?. Some of what you see will shock you!

Poutine

York Peppermint Patties

Curry Puffs

Amy's Nacho Cheese and Beans Snacks

Fiber One Oats and Chocolate Bar

Chocolate Chip Scone

Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice with Some Pulp

Stiles Apiaries Cream Honey

Cheddar and Sour Cream Baked Ruffles