Food Lush

Cookie sheets and cutting boards; Or the Things I Let Go To Pot

by Jonniker

I don't know what it is about my kitchen gear that I don't think I DESERVE to buy nice or even, in some cases, functional things. If my pants were falling off of my body, I would . . . buy new pants. When I run out of make-up, I buy new make-up.

So why is it that when my cutting boards are so sliced and beaten up that they're probably hotbeds of ambient e coli and salmonella, do I think I don't need to replace them? You guys, I have a cookie sheet that is literally black with what I jokingly call "seasoning," as though it is a precious cast iron skillet. It isn't. It's a $4 cookie sheet that I am too stubborn to replace, even though I can't even properly clean it anymore, because who knows if that's dirt or just burnt-on CRAP? 

See also: vegetable peelers. My dad visited recently and almost removed the tip of his finger with my sub-par vegetable peeler. "Do you use this thing?" he asked accusingly, leading me to confess that no, I actually didn't, and had been peeling veggies with a butcher knife instead, so far gone was my $5 peeler. 

I replaced it recently and SURPRISE YOU GUYS. I can peel carrots in half the time, without fear of removing my knuckles in the process. 

I have a $20 olive oil dispenser that I consider . . . indispensible (see what I did there?), but when it comes to basics, I just let my stuff go to pot. And this is stuff I use EVERY DAY. Every day! 

So you know what I'm doing this week, y'all? I'm buying myself some basics. Nothing fancy, just basic things that no longer harbor disease and bacteria. It's the little things, I guess. Like this:

Good Cook Non-Stick Cookie Sheets, $17. 

I can afford $17, especially since I make the expenditure once every 20 years. 

For God's sake, I can get a set of three wooden cutting boards for $15. 

There. I have solved my problems for around $30. THIRTY DOLLARS. With that price, I can even afford to buy a SILICONE cutting board set for meats n' stuff.

 

(Obvious PSA: Wood cutting boards are less sanitary because of the grain, so don't go slicing raw meat on them, ya hear? Otherwise my salmonella nightmare could be your reality.)

{Photo credit: All photos from Amazon.com}

Fruit Out of the Oven: Proof that Anything Can Be Roasted

By Jonniker

So I'm back on Weight Watchers (holla!) and frankly, I'm craving desserts. Pies. Anything sweet. But as anyone on WW will tell you, you can't DO sweet every day or you quickly run out of points OR wind up starving. 

Fruit, however, is free. Did you know that? The new system -- updated God knows when, since I last did WW in 2007 before I had children -- features FREE FRUIT. All the fruit you can stomach! For zero points! 

And you can ROAST it! And it's like PIE, you guys. PIE. PIE. PIE. CRUSTLESS PIE. 

I tried it on a whim one day, after roasting broccoli and cauliflower for lunch and eyeing the peaches suspiciously. I threw them in the oven with a little coconut oil and VOILA. DELICIOUS. 

I think I left them in for an hour? At 450? Covered? And then I looked up an actual recipe (pictured above) and realized that's not really what I should have done, recipe-wise, but whatever, I didn't use any sugar, and kept it at a one-point shenanigan. 

If you want to follow a real recipe to serve guests, here's one. If you want to just wing it, like I did? JUST KNOW THAT IT CAN BE DONE. 

Go forth and roast. 

{Photo credit: Food Network}

Reader help: Non-dairy options

By Jonniker

I'm seven months' pregnant, and it's reasonably well-documented that I don't do pregnant well. I stay on anti-nausea medication for the duration, and don't stop actually getting sick until month . . . well, I'll let you know. 

This pregnancy, as some of you know, I've also been lactose intolerant, and rather severely so. Lactaid products don't really do it for me. Lactaid pills? Forget it. Ergo, no dairy for me. Surprisingly, I miss it a lot less than I thought I would, considering how delicious dairy is. But it turns out that when something makes you feel terrible, you lose interest! HEEEY! 

Thus far, products I love include:

Organic Valley Soy Milk. I know I'm supposed to prefer almond because of the estrogenic effects, but after doing research and doctor talk and all that, I'm good with soy. Frankly, I don't drink that much of it, but in cereal, it's delish. But for my coffee?

This is rich, creamy, and in coffee, I can hardly taste the difference between this and half and half or even cream. Plus, if you like flavors, the hazelnut and vanilla are delicious (though I prefer plain). 

For yogurts, Jen and I are one with O'Soy fruit on the bottom, although I also like the options she presents (Whole Soy is pretty good). Coconut and almond yogurt are pretty awful, and the coconut in particular has no protein, and thus is sort of . . . pointless for the pregnant ladies. 

And that's where my discoveries sort of ended. The stuff I miss? Cream cheese and sour cream. Any . . . well, any suggestions? Or do I just need to live life without them? What are your favorite vegan/dairy-free foods?

{Photo credits: Organic Valley and Turtle Mountain dot com}

Best of the Archives: What to Get at Trader Joe's

Originally posted July 2011

***

By Jonniker

Reader Dawn wrote us with the following question:

Hello to some of my favorite food writers! I've thoroughly enjoyed your site for some time now. The blueberry-oatmeal pancakes from Jen's repertoire are beyond awesome (what I had for breakfast in fact!). We always make a double batch, and freeze them for yummy weekday breakfasts.

I write today with a question of the utmost importance. Trader Joe's is slated to open a location a mere hour from my house on July 15th! I'm planning on 'visiting relatives' that weekend or the next, and would like recommendations for products we MUST buy. OK, who am I kidding -- the trip is solely a pilgrimage to TJs, with some fun relatives thrown in on the side. I'm looking for somewhat healthy items, with a few indulgence items thrown in for good measure (chocolate and carb calories are therapeutic in my house). I hope the entire crew (and the ever fabulous readership) will be able to help me craft a 'Best of TJ' list so I know what is worth elbowing through the massive crowds.

 

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

 

(Pizza salad featuring TJ's frying cheese. YUM.)

Oh, Dawn. We put this to the group at large, and it is without hesitation that I tell you that the best answer seems to be to just buy everything. Buy out the store! Take out a personal loan for thousands of dollars and BUY IT ALL. 

Is that ... impractical, you say? Well, then, be prepared to be simultaneously overwhelmed and excited by our staff picks for favorite Trader Joe's products:

Let's start with Laurie, who had the simplest, yet most specific, advice:

"Please include the vegetable samosas, because there are days I have to go buy them or I start twitching. I eat them with curry powder mixed in apple cider vinegar. It's the most disgusting and delicious food thing I do these days."

Jennie's a fan of the "cheap sparkling wine" (all of them, I suppose), but her husband, Mike, declared the orange juice the best he's ever had.  

Nic is a girl after my own heart, and has a list for you to peruse. A list, by the way, that I wholeheartedly cosign:

100 Calorie Chocolate Bars

Mediterranean Hummus (the one with the oil and pine nuts on top)

GUACAMOLE (ALL CAPS!!!1!!!)

Pineapple Salsa

Frozen pizza and flat bread

Mini chocolate peanut butter cups

Blueberry or cranberry goat cheese

Pastry Bites with Caramelized Onion and Feta

Turkey meatballs AND meatless meatballs

Caitlin, too, has her favorites and must-trys, and adds a few secrets: 

Chocolate covered caramels, and little peppermint pattie/Junior Mint knockoff things.  Frozen veggies

Pot stickers

Coffee ("Cheapish and good!")

Frozen orange chicken ("Tastes like Chinese takeout!")

Elissa brought her own list to the table:

Dark chocolate, sea salt and turbinado sugar-covered almonds ("I think they may include crack")
Gold label balsamic vinegar
Frozen chocolate croissants

Sarah had some enthusiastic product-recommendations, too:

Chocolate-covered cashews (mix of dark and milk chocolate)
Three-layer torte thing in the fancy cheese section ("It's got sun-dried tomato spread, pesto spread, and some kind of white cheese spread and it. is. awesome.")
Pizza dough! The garlic pizza dough!

Katie, a girl after my own heart, had a bunch MORE to say:

Chicken stock concentrate: It comes in a small box, and each box has 12 little pouches of goo. Each pouch is equivalent to one cup of stock (though I sometimes stretch them further with more water). So good, so much better than canned, so much more space-efficient than boxed. Great for those recipes that call for just a tiny bit of chicken stock, too.

Pretzel slims (regular and dark chocolate covered)

Chocolate cat cookies (also acceptable: ginger)
Dark chocolate mini peanut butter cups
Fruit leathers (so cheap!)

Personally, I am having a hard time deciding what to tell people to buy, because I love so many things. If I had to choose three FINE FOUR, however?

Belgian Butter Thins: ultra-light, thin, buttery cookies covered in dark, milk and white chocolate

Candied (or spicy) pecans: Crunchy, delicious and perfect for topping salads 

Masala simmer sauce: Throw it in a slow cooker with some boneless chicken thighs, a little bit of chicken broth and some yogurt or light cream and you have delicious, delicious chicken tikka masala for half the cost of takeout. 

Canned corn. I know, canned corn, you're thinking? CANNED CORN? But theirs is the sweetest, crispest corn I've ever found outside of a fresh cob. It has ruined me for all corns, frozen or otherwise.

Katie also brings up an excellent point that was met with a hearty, "Hear! Hear!" from the FL staff: 

"TJs is also my go-to place for certain high quality ingredients that can be stupid expensive elsewhere: capers, kalamata olives, parrano cheese, vanilla extract, pine nuts (any kind of nut, really), high-quality honey, applewood smoked bacon, and decent olive oil."

To illustrate her point, you can get a jar -- a BIG jar -- of capers for $2.99 there. The same price will get you a thimbleful elsewhere. 

And finally ... 

Booze

Not all Trader Joe's have liquor licenses (in our state, there are ten or more TJ's, but only two have liquor licenses), but if you're lucky enough to live near one, you'd be a fool not to pick up some cheap wine & beer. At rock-bottom prices, you can afford to take some risks, but here are some staff picks:

Zarafa Sauvignon Blanc  ($3.99!)

Espiral vinho verde (crisp, clean and light, it's effervescence in a bottle!)

Charles Shaw, AKA Three-buck Chuck (any varietal, but I'm telling you, their white zinfandel is something to behold. I find most white zins to be disgusting, cheap-tasting and super-sweet. I am not a drinker of white zin, I promise. Theirs, however, is fresh, crisp, fruity and bright without being syrupy or off-putting. Try it. For $3, why not? Even if you dump it down the drain, that one taste is cheaper than a bottle anywhere else. 

Epicuro Salice Salentino (a gorgeously smooth, drinkable red that is just the right balance of dry without a trace of bitterness)

Does this ... help? So sorry, Dawn. I TOLD you. JUST BUY THE WHOLE STORE. 

{Photo credit: Trader Joe's dot com}

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Anything to add to the best-of Trader Joe's list? Jonna -- co-founder and co-editor of Food Lush -- is always bringing the awesome with her posts, so check out her archives here. (My favorite post of Jonna's was actually her very first post on effortless Dulce de Leche!) 

Beyond the cole slaw: Cabbage. Yes, cabbage.

By Jonniker

I think cabbage gets a bad rap. Smelly, stiff and heavy, it doesn't have the cute appeal of its cousin, the petite brussels sprout. You can't really eat a lot of it in a salad, lest you have ill side effects, so it FEELS less versatile than lettuce. And cole slaw! What if you hate cole slaw? You don't have to hate cabbage!

Here are a few uses/recipes for cabbage that I love. Try them! Try ONE. 

 

-- Soggy lettuce in tacos got you down? Shred some cabbage instead. The hearty texture stands up well to the warmth of the filling and never gets gross and wilty the way lettuce does. See also: burritos.

-- Ever had halupki? (Pictured above) The Noble Pig has a glorious recipe I've been dying to try. 

-- For a quick, tasty slaw that's crunchy, sour and delicious, shred up some cabbage, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and salt generously. Refrigerate for an hour or two, and BLAM. Low-calorie, high-flavor salad topping, snack or side dish. The ratio is one lemon per head of cabbage, so if you shred up a quarter head, use a quarter lemon, etc.

-- Halushki! Or, if you're not Hungarian, cabbage noodles. Yes, it's simply fried cabbage with bacon served over egg noodles (with sour cream!), but it's shockingly delicious, fast, and super-inexpensive. 

Cabbage! Your new best friend. 

Eating While Pregnant: Aversions and Cravings, Ahoy!

By Jonniker

Elissa already did a great post on following (or ignoring) pregnancy culinary taboos, and for the record, I eat sushi, soft cheese AND lunch meat while pregnant, SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE, but I can't even BEGIN to tell you the bizarro cravings and aversions I've had this go around and I . . . well, I can't be alone. Can I?

(Humor me.)

Bananas. I hate bananas when I'm not pregnant. Now, I'm all, WHERE ARE MY BANANAS? I NEED BANANAS. Four-a-day habit, people. 

Chicken salad. CHICKEN SALAD. Normally, I'm all, EW. Now, I'm making LOTS AND LOTS of chicken breasts in the slow cooker for the sole purpose of making this Whole Foods recipe. 

Tuna salad. This is unfortunate, as I AM monitoring my mercury intake, but you know, I still fantasize about a daily scoop of tuna on my salad. Which! 

Salads. SALADS. With olive oil and vinegar. 

Reubens. This is well-documented, but I went through a hardcore THREE WEEK reuben phase. Every day. For three weeks. And now I . . . do not want to look at a reuben. 

 

Perhaps baby bananas would be a welcome change.

So tell me: how do YOU eat while pregnant?

Yorkshire Pudding: Fancy! Easy! Delicious!

By Jonniker

In my family, every big meal is accompanied by Yorkshire pudding. Now, it's not really a pudding in the traditional sense. Or any sense. I don't know why it's called pudding, really, because it's more like a popover, but no matter what you call it, it's delicious. 

{Photo credit: Martha Stewart}

Traditionally, it's made with beef drippings, but frankly, I find that to be really gross. No thank you, in other words. Beef drippings make it bitter and a little . . . just ick. 

Martha's recipe says to use beef drippings, vegetable shortening or lard. Which, you know what I think? No. 

Butter. You want to make it with butter. That way, it can be both savory or sweet, depending on what you top it with (butter! jam! gravy!). Plus, the butter just makes it very rich and delicious-tasting, without being BEEFY. Beefy bread! No one wants beefy bread!

And honestly, it's so easy to do that one of my culinary resolutions is to make it more often in the new year. There are a thousand recipes out there, just substitute butter (salted or unsalted) for the fat involved and go to town until you find one that speaks to you. For the record, I find that making it in a glass baking dish vs. individual muffin pans is MUCH more foolproof. 

Pantry pasta

By Jonniker

Surprise! I was a broke college student. With no car, no money, and pretty much nothing but a kitchen and two pots, along with maaaaaybe ten dollars a week to spend on food. Granted, this was 1998, so ten dollars went pretty far, but not as far as you would think, given that my lack of car also meant I had to buy most of my groceries at the corner convenience store. 

To survive, I came up with this recipe, and it's so delicious, I still make it to this day. It's made almost entirely from non-perishables, save for the onions, which can be omitted if you must, although they're so cheap and so readily available, even in drugstores, that why not? 

To me, it's the ultimate cheap comfort food. And as comfort foods go, not too terrible for you. The whole thing costs less than $5 to make, and feeds a flipping army. For me, one batch would go for at least four meals, usually five. You can't beat a filling, reasonably nutritous meal for $1 when you're in college. Or any other time, really.

1 can black pitted olives
1 onion
1 pound pasta
If you have any herbs or garlic powder or fresh garlic, great. If not? No biggie. 

In a large, deep skillet or dutch oven, saute the onions over medium heat in a little oil until they begin to caramelize, about ten minutes. Turn the heat to medium-high and throw in the olives and herbs, if using. Break up the olives with the back of a wooden spoon or your fingers, if you're feeling lazy and it's just you. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is almost completely reduced---really, you should have maaaaybe 1/4 cup of liquid left. Remove from heat. Warning: if you taste the sauce without the pasta, it will be so salty, you will die. Over the bland pasta, it is DELICIOUS. Trust. 

In the meantime, boil up the pasta of your choice, drain and add directly to the skillet and toss until completely combined. If you've got parmesan, add it now. If not? Eh, pepper is fine. The cheap pasta does not care what you do to it. It's even good cold! 

Cooking with fruit . . . I am unconvinced

I was cat-sitting for a friend recently, and while lounging on the couch with a feline all up in my grill, I caught a few minutes of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, particularly the episode called "Cheap Cuts." 

Now, I am a fan of inexpensive meat, and the lowly chicken thigh is my go-to meat of choice. It's flavorful, moist and can be cooked to death without fear of drying it out and making it taste lousy. 

This recipe for apple-braised turkey thighs was really, really appealing to me. I love apple cider and apples and they seem like such a delightful autumn flavor, um, palette? But I'm not sure how I feel about fruit and meat. 

Can we talk about fruit and meat? I am game for sweet/sour combinations like braised stuffed cabbage, and I'm down with raisins in strange places, but I don't know about the idea of braising turkey thighs next to some apples . . . it sounds a bit gross. Garlic and apples? Onions and apples?

Talk to me. Do you do any apple/meat combinations this fall? Am I being ridiculous?

 

(Photo credit: Ye olde Martha Stewart)

Potent, but delicious: easy marinated grilled eggplant

Eggplant is one of those foods that I always think I don't like, then I have it again, and I'm all, wait, I LOVE eggplant! Believe me, there are not many of these foods, and it usually goes the OTHER way. But I digress.

If you're an eggplant hater, this won't convert you. If you like eggplant, however, you will LOVE this, I promise. Well, assuming you also like garlic. I made this recipe up after having it at a dinner party many years ago. I don't think this is the actual recipe -- no, I I know it isn't -- but it's good. 

I've broken this down by individual eggplant -- so, this recipe works for one medium-size eggplant. If you add more, double, triple or whatever as you need to. 

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3-4 fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes OR hot sauce of your choice, to taste
3 T sugar

Peel and slice eggplant lengthwise -- or, as I like to call it, the tall way -- and place in a single layer between OTHER layers of paper towels, salting each layer generously as you go. Let sit for about an hour. Yes, really. Yes, it will be fine unrefrigerated, I swear. 

In the meantime, bring all remaining ingredients to a boil for about two minutes, then remove from heat and let it hang out for a little while. 

Now, grill the eggplant. You could do this on a grill, but frankly, I think it gets too mushy and is a pain to do that way. So, I just throw them on a grill pan -- it still provides the lines! -- on high heat until they lose that spongy look and appear, well, cooked. 

Put them into the container of your choice, pour the marinade over the slices and refrigerate. As for what you do with it once it's done in a few hours? Well. You put it alongside salami, sharp provelone and other ingredients on an antipasto. You top salads with it. You eat it on a sandwich with some really good Italian cold cuts or some buffalo mozzarella and fresh-sliced tomatoes or just on its own on top of a crusty baguette, and you die happy, THAT IS WHAT YOU DO WITH IT. 

 

{Photo credit: Cookthink dot com}