Happy Mutants food and drink topic (Part 1)

This works very well with either quickly scrambled egg or tofu, to boost the nutrients to a full meal.

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So true. And Bravetart is well worth the price of admission as well.

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You know, I like being an expat here in Germany, but Germans really cannot make chili! It’s always with canned corn in it, or even bell pepper chunks! And kidney beans! And worst of all, it’s the wrong kind of chili peppers, lacking the dark and rich smoky taste that makes chili different from, say, Hungarian dishes.

Ancho chile powder, Mexican oregano. those, my friends, are the secret to chili. And instead of kidney beans, try pinto beans… or leaving the beans out entirely and serving refried beans as a side.

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Sounds like you would have liked my mole poblano.

Just FTR, I think Germans are willing to learn new culinary things. I’m so glad the 70’s and 80’s are over, receipe-wise…but there’s still way to go.

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I have friends who occasionally travel to Germany for work, and they complain that the only kind of spice that Germans seem to know is paprika. Even for their version of Mexican food.

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those are good recommendations, as is the one about dumping the beans. of course, as a native texan i’ve never regarded any sort of beans as an ingredient in chili. i have three or four chili recipes but my personal favorite takes my two favorite versions of chili–texas red chili stew and new mexican green chili–and blends them into a unified pot of chili.

the texas red starts earliest because it takes the longest cooking time.
in a crock pot set to high, i have
1 large can diced tomatoes, 2 medium white onions, coarsely chopped, i jalapeno pepper finely diced, and 2 medium carrots cut in half lengthwise and then thinly sliced into semicircles, 1 package of williams chili seasoning, and 1 scant teaspoon of sugar.

then i take a top sirloin roast which i trim and cut into half inch cubes, around 1.5-2 pounds. i liberally coat the cubes with coarse cracked black pepper, white pepper, and salt and then sear the cubes in a dry skillet until it gets a nice brown color. i generally split the meat into thirds to make the searing easier. i pour each pan of meat into the crock pot. after adding the last of the meat i pour a quart of beef stock (i tend to use kitchen basics brand) into the skillet and turn up to high until the stock is boiling and reduced by about 10% constantly stirring and pulling any bits of meat off the skillet. Pour into the crockpot and stir well. Then take 4-6 dried ancho chili pods, destemmed and wrapped in cheesecloth and place so that they are completely submerged in the crock pot. leave on high for one hour then turn to low. this can cook 4-6 hours as desired. remove the cheesecloth pouch with the pods and empty the pods into a blender. blend to a smooth looking puree adding stock from the crockpot as needed to achieve texture. pour the puree into the crockpot, stir well, and cover.

on to the green chili–

in a very large dutch oven or boiler add one large can of rotel diced tomatoes, 8 cans of chopped green chiles, 2 heaping tablespoons of ancho chili powder, 1 heaping tablespoon of paprika, one heaping teaspoon of roasted cumin powder, and one finely minced clove of garlic. stir well, bring up to a boil then turn down to medium low for a simmer.

next, take a little more than one pound each of ground chuck and ground sirloin and mix together. i salt and pepper the meat in similar fashion to how i did the cubed roast and then brown the meat in a skillet. depending on the leanness of the ground chuck is i will either add a little beef tallow or kidney suet to the pan or i will dab up some excess fat with a couple of folded paper towels. when the meat is thoroughly browned pour it into the pot with the green chiles. then take 2 cups of a mexican lager beer (i generally prefer corona familiar) and pour into the skillet. bring to a boil and reduce by about a fourth then pour into the pot. stir well, then make sure you have a low simmer and let cook for 2 hours. about an hour into this turn off the crockpot and let stand for an hour.

the meeting of the white nile and the blue nile . . . wait the meeting of the red chili and the green chili.
correct seasoning of each pot to taste. at this point you have a perfectly acceptable pot of new mexico style green chili and a pot of texas style red chili. what comes next combines them into a dish that i find extraordinary.

to the green chili pot add 4 tablespoons of cornmeal, 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder, and 1 teaspoon of kitchen bouquet vegetable browning. then pour the contents of the crockpot into the green chili pot and stir until everything is completely mixed–about 10-15 minutes of stirring. cover and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes although an hour is usually better.

serve hot. i like mine garnished with minced scallions, chopped jalapenos, and a little grated sharp cheddar cheese. saltine crackers and plain tortilla chips (my favorite is plain, toasted corn doritos). it freezes beautifully and when reheated a day or two later has has an amazing flavor.

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What is your favorite brand of instant ramen? (Providing package photos is a plus.) Any tips on fortifying it?

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If I’m in the mood for something spicy, my favorite by far is Shin Ramyun Black. Spicy but not challengingly so, with big chunks of veggies and tons of flavor.
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My other favorite is Sapporo Ichiban Kitsune. It’s actually an instant udon, with big thick noodles (still all curly) and a dehydrated sweet fried tofu chunk that’s totally delicious when soaked in broth.

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I usually drop an egg in while cooking and whatever veggies I have laying around – frozen corn is good.

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I can’t say I have a favorite, but the Shin Ramyun Black nungesser mentioned is up there. Mama shrimp tom yum is also absolutely delicious too. Lemon grass & kaffir lime are wonderful bright notes in it.
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I’ll add IndoMie Mi Goreng to these recommendations. There are different flavors but I think this one’s the best:

It’s a little different from most instant noodles because, in addition to the flavor powder, there are little squeeze packets of oil and sauce, and another packet of dried onions. Slightly messier to make because the squeeze packets invariably get on my fingers.

I think all of the IndoMie varieties are vegan (in spite of “chicken flavor” etc.) in case that’s a concern, and they’re halal as well. Neither of which means that this stuff is any good for you, but as far as instant noodles go, they are very, very tasty. Amazon sells them (six 5-packs in a box) for about $20 and (around where I live) some of the grocery stores sell them.

ETA:

I used to like the Annie Chun noodle bowls, but they’ve become harder to find, and the places that do have them are pricey. Trader Joe’s used to have them.

And speaking of TJ’s, they used to sell Trader Ming noodles, which were pre-cooked noodles with a sauce packet in a box shaped like a take-out container. (For example) But I have not seen these in at least a year or two, and no one at TJ’s had any idea if or when they were coming back. The good thing is that they were more filling than other instant noodles. (I also liked to throw in a handful of frozen broccoli when I cooked them, which automagically made it completely healthy, of course.)

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this afternoon i’m slowly smoking some baby back ribs on my grill. i build a small charcoal fire on one side of the grill, put an aluminum lasagna pan in the middle next to it, and then put the ribs in a boat of foil and make a baste of vinegar, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, and water which the boat catches and helps everything stay juicy. i make a dry rub which i cover the ribs in the day before i cook them.

3 T paprika
3 T smoked paprika
1 T ancho powder
3 T adolph’s
1 T lawry’s season salt
2 t black pepper, ground
1 t white pepper, ground
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t garlic powder
2 t onion powder
2 t sage, ground

whisk thoroughly until uniformly mixed.

i’m also going to make a batch of my citrus/ghost pepper barbecue sauce. the base of the recipe started out as a citrus/ghost pepper hot wing glaze.

4 cups orange juice (10-15 tangelo or large navel oranges for fresh squeezed juice)

One-half cup light brown sugar

4 fresh ghost peppers, de-stemmed and cut in half or 3 dried peppers

2 garlic cloves, whole

3 Tbsp. smoked paprika

2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar

5-6 juniper berries

Place the above ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer/boil over medium-high heat. Stir often, about every 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced to two-thirds to 0ne-half cup and has formed into a thick glaze. Strain the liquid into a container and return it to the pan. The glaze can be used as is to coat cooked chicken wings. To make into a barbecue sauce add the following:

1-2 cup ketchup

2-3 Tbsp. Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce

2-3 heaping Tbsp. whole grain Dijon mustard

4 tsp. ancho chile powder

1 Tbsp. smoked paprika

Return to a simmer over medium-low heat and continue to simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 15-30 minutes or until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated and mixture has reduced by 10%. Let stand covered for at least 20-30 minutes before using to allow flavors to blend. The addition of some fresh grated orange zest can be added at this time if you want to emphasize the citrus flavor.

The second set of ingredients can be doubled to create a sauce less spicy but still carrying some of the characteristic citrus and ghost pepper notes of the basic recipe. If doing this I would recommend adding a further teaspoon of smoked paprika along with the ketchup, etc. to give it a little more of a smoky note.

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Just made our deadly blue cheese dressing. The blue cheese grows over time, best after a week, and from then on. Use a blue cheese you love to eat, with lots of blue:

2 cloves garlic
8 oz blue cheese, in chunks
1/2 cup milk boiled and cooled
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbs fresh lemon
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
black pepper to taste

Add the vinegar and lemon juice to the cooked milk.
Put the garlic in the food processor and chop.
Add the rest of the ingredients, and blend smooth.
Add some water if it is too thick, pour into a mason jar, give it a name, store in the fridge.

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Lots of superfood ingredients in there. Nice!

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I forgot to mention the 2 tablespoons of lime juice, so there’s even some nice vitamin C as well!

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Cheese fondue.
Get 3 different hard cheeses, one dry and old, one not so old and one drawing threads when you heat it (like gruyere…). Slice, don’t grate.
Rub a clove of garlic on the pot.
Pour a glass of dry white wine in the pot and heat it to a boil. Add the cheese while drawing figures of height with a wooden spoon.
That is it. Takes 15-20 min. Count about 1 kg for about 4-6 people.

Never re-add wine to the fondue. Never grate the cheese. Never draw circles with your spoon.

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I’ve never added garlic - great idea. We make this with a good beer instead of wine, and plenty of sharp cheddar.

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Adds to the Vitamin C of the jalapenos.

I’ve been cooking like this a long time w/o even knowing the particular benefits.

I’ve been experimenting awhile with barley (helps the body metabolize carbs and fats) as a general replacement for rice; it’s worked well so far as long as it’s not hulled barley (which doesn’t absorb other flavors well). Sacrilegious (for me), but one day – with enough courage – I’m going to attempt a paella… but with barley replacing the rice !!!

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Don’t forget the splash of Kirschwasser.

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how about some healthy depression food recipes? simple beans and rice or something? i suspect my funk would go away if I took better care of myself but that’d take effort

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Spaghetti alio et olio.

Dice a few cloves of garlic to taste. Fry in olive oil. Add a small chili.
Add spaghetti cooked al dente. Grate some hard cheese on top (officially: parmigiano).

You can also add diced tomatoes at the end. Not the same dish, but just as good.

Don’t use the cheapest spaghetti, spend the 20c more for durum wheat.

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