Favourite food you've discovered recently

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  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    GRITS!....oh Honey don’t say that in the Southern USA.....LOL....it’s boiled corn meal and a staple on a true southerners breakfast plate and with shrimp or with cheese in them...they are an acquired taste and many people in our Northern and Western States have never heard of them!....I LOVE them and they are so good...made by Quaker and a lot like Cream of Wheat!
  • hansep0012
    hansep0012 Posts: 385 Member
    I think of grits as the USA's version of polenta...….sweet or savory, creamy or solid, oh, the poor-man's go to staple. Humble and delicious for sure.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    I'm trying German foods tonight. I found a recipe for Austrian Goulash that I've got slow cooking now, though I won't actually be able to eat it until at least tomorrow - the recipe says the long it sits (reheating once a day) the better it gets. The only thing is that the recipe called for 4 Tbsp of paprika, and all I had was 1 and didn't have time to go out for more. I KNEW I should have bought that paprika when I was in the grocery store getting the caraway seeds today, but I thought I had enough!

    I'll let it cook tonight, cool it down, then warm it back up tomorrow evening and try it out. I think I'm going to try making Spaetzle, too, since the website I got the recipe from insisted that you need that to make it really authentic :)

    I also came across a recipe for Powidltashen which I had never heard of but which looks really, really good - I love plums, so I want to try it and the plum cake, too. The Vienese apple strudel looks divine, but I despise working with phylo dough. She gives directions on how to make the dough, but I don't think I'm brave enough to try it lol
  • maiomaio71
    maiomaio71 Posts: 231 Member
    GRITS!....oh Honey don’t say that in the Southern USA.....LOL....it’s boiled corn meal and a staple on a true southerners breakfast plate and with shrimp or with cheese in them...they are an acquired taste and many people in our Northern and Western States have never heard of them!....I LOVE them and they are so good...made by Quaker and a lot like Cream of Wheat!

    Ha ha sorry....we don't have grits in NZ but we do have polenta. Except it's very yellow, not at all like the picture in the previous post. I wondered if it was similar to the ground maize meal we had as a staple in Zambia called Nshima. (We don't have cream of wheat either as far as I know.)
  • maiomaio71
    maiomaio71 Posts: 231 Member
    @bmeadows380 make the dough! It's awesome. Stretching it out so it's really thin. I've done it a few times and really enjoyed it. It's ok if you get a few holes because when you roll up the strudel it covers it up.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    @maiomaio71 I may have to give it try eventually, after I make all the other stuff I want to try (I AM trying to watch calories, here, and finding all these wonderful looking recipes isn't helping me at all lol) The one and only time I ever really worked with phylo dough, I had bought the frozen stuff from the grocery store, and I hated it with a passion. But I also know homemade stuff can be worlds different, so I may try it.

    My mother bought me a pasta roller for Christmas, and I've discovered the joys of homemade pasta recently, too :) I've made ravioli so far and loved it, and also make a half batch of spaghetti and a half batch of fettuccini. I love the stuff, though I find its chewier than store-bought. It seems to me to be more filling, too, so even though a serving is still small, it seems to last a whole lot longer than the equivalent in store bought. I dried the spaghetti and fettuccini by hanging the pasta strands from wooden spoons spaced out on the tiered light in my dining room lol The next batch I plan to make is lasagna noodles for my sister's birthday dinner, but I'm playing with my basic recipe to see if I can get the calorie count down. It called for 1 egg and 2 egg yolks per cup of flour, but I've seen all kinds of recipes, so I'm going to see what comes if I drop the egg yolks and just use 1 egg per cup of flour.


    Grits would be similar to Polenta, but i think the difference is the type of corn used. Grits is made from hominy, which is corn that has been treated with alkali (what I've read says this is to loosen the hull and soften the kernel, and it also releases the corn's niacin) before its ground up, cornmeal has no such treatment, so this is the difference between grits and cornmeal. Grits can be yellow or white, though white is what I've typically seen.

    From what I read, Polenta is not treated, but is slightly different than American cornmeal because its made from a different kind of corn called flint that is harder. Sounds like Polenta can be served like a porridge as grits is, or it can be cooled down and sliced up, then fried.

    I've never had polenta, but the Bob Evans chains of restaurants used to sell something called cornmeal mush years ago, that would have been very similar, as it was a dense cornmeal product that was formed into a loaf, then sliced and fried.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    so far so good with the Austrian Goulash; after it finished cooking up last night, I had trouble staying out of it lol The one thing, though, is I'm noticing the missing paprika; the caraway was a bit stronger than I liked, and I'm thinking that if I had had the right amount of paprika, it would have balanced it out.

    since this is my day off, I may run out to the store (we apparently aren't getting the ice, after all) and pick up some paprika, and add it in during the re-heating time today to see if that helps.
  • maiomaio71
    maiomaio71 Posts: 231 Member
    My pasta recipe is 1egg for 1cup flour and it's always worked well.
    I do like polenta and often make it instead of rice, I just make it with a stock instead of water. I have made it into chips and fried it, bit I prefer it loose...a bit like a mashed potato consistency.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    @maiomaio71 thanks! I'll try that!

    Since I like grits, I'd probably like polenta, too. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

    The Austrian Goulash was a success, and I even tried my hand at spaetzle, too, though let me say now that the "if you don't have a spaetzle machine, you can push the dough through a calendar" was NOT easy, and I eventually just gave up and dropped the remaining dough from the spoon. Tasted, good, though!

    And since I was having an Austrian dinner, I finished it off with Powidltaschen for dessert, and man, did I like those! I was amazed at how, even though the dough had no sugar in it, the peach and plum butters I used for the filling gave it a pleasant, mild sweetness that really worked. by using low sugar plum and peach butters, the overall sugar content was only 5g per pastry. I really liked them and will be making them again for sure, as well as the goulash!

    But I do gotta ask - how is this mountain hillbilly America supposed to pronounce "powidltaschen?" lol
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
    I have been cooking with radishes! For almost my entire life I thought of a red radish as something I sliced up and put on top of a salad.

    But mid December I was looking for recipes for roasted vegetables. And came across one that stated to slice up and roast radishes with turnips, parsnips, carrots, onions. And I was like well I have some why not. I was amazed they turned out nice and tender, a bit of zip. So now I often use them when roasting/baking in the often.

    Today I am doing a slow cooker Chili, and have chopped up some radishes along with the onions, and celery.

    Later in week, making a huge pot of Vege soup on stop, think will throw some radishes in with that as well.
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    I am going to try the radishes cooked...I have been seeing this in more magazines lately...
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    its my Sunday to cook this coming Sunday, and I had bought a cajun brining mix on the sale rack at Lowe's and plan to use that on a whole chicken. When thinking about what to serve with it, I was thinking mashed potatoes, but wondering if I could slip in cauliflower in with the potatoes to lower the calorie and carb count and not have my parents notice..... lol
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,105 Member
    I've discovered brown rice done in my vegetable steamer is perfect!
    Usually I boil it to death as brown always tends to take a bit longer, 75g raw weight = 214cals according to the packet and comes out really fluffy and cooked just right.
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 850 Member
    You know how sometimes we just have to be saved from ourselves? I fall under that category at times. I have never liked coconut in anything ever. Which in turn kept me from trying coconut flour, coconut milk, coconut cream, and coconut oil.
    All of which for low carb which I do follow.
    Being a diabetic for 20 years. Part of my mission this time is not just weight, it is to be healthy which means getting all my diabetes truly into controlled state. I am in the diabetes groups as well.

    So I decided to be brave and bought a carton of better half creamer a combination of almond milk, and coconut milk. Non Dairy 15 calories for 2 T. and comes in different flavors. I bought in hazlenut. It was great.
    I have also used coconut oil, coconut cream in some recipes as well. The coconut was not overwhelming at all.
  • merph518
    merph518 Posts: 702 Member
    I have issues with food that are more mental blocks than anything, too. I can't handle anything with mayo or mustard in it, even if I can't taste it. I know it's there!

    Good job overcoming that @maureenkhilde
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    rutabaga french fries - not a bad substitute, though next time I slice them by hand and not with the mandolin. Sprayed a little cooking spray on them, tossed with french fry seasoning, and then put them in the air fryer.

    Yet another way to cook rutagaba that I like! Too bad my attempt this summer at growing them failed :(
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    edited January 2020
    and I'm trying something for dessert tonight. I've been on this kick for sugar free jello, which is a really low calorie dessert, but I was looking for something other than basic strawberry or raspberry. I remembered from a few years ago where I saw you could make your own with kool-aid packets and unflavored gelatin, so I'm attempting tropical punch with splenda to sweetened.

    And better yet? when I built the recipe, I got 4 servings to be 39 calories per serving and 4g protein! I didn't know unflavored gelatin was such a good source of protein!
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    and I'm trying something for dessert tonight. I've been on this kick for sugar free jello, which is a really low calorie dessert, but I was looking for something other than basic strawberry or raspberry. I remembered from a few years ago where I saw you could make your own with kool-aid packets and unflavored gelatin, so I'm attempting tropical punch with splenda to sweetened.

    And better yet? when I built the recipe, I got 4 servings to be 39 calories per serving and 4g protein! I didn't know unflavored gelatin was such a good source of protein!

    You can also use sugar free unsweetened soda to make jello....Shasta soft drinks use to make great jello....try Mountain Dew!.....I am enjoying your posts!

  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    and I'm trying something for dessert tonight. I've been on this kick for sugar free jello, which is a really low calorie dessert, but I was looking for something other than basic strawberry or raspberry. I remembered from a few years ago where I saw you could make your own with kool-aid packets and unflavored gelatin, so I'm attempting tropical punch with splenda to sweetened.

    And better yet? when I built the recipe, I got 4 servings to be 39 calories per serving and 4g protein! I didn't know unflavored gelatin was such a good source of protein!

    You can also use sugar free unsweetened soda to make jello....Shasta soft drinks use to make great jello....try Mountain Dew!.....I am enjoying your posts!

    ooh, now that's an idea! Though I"m thinking perhaps sugar free ginger ale mixed with my kool-aid packet or even just in regular sugar free jello? Payday was this weekend, so I've got jello to play with, and I have sprite 0 in the fridge! :)
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    edited January 2020
    so the kool-aid jello was a success, though it took longer to set so I didn't get any last night after all. I used 2 packages of unflavored gelatin, 1 package of kool-aid, 1 cup of splenda, 1 cup of cold water, and 2 1/2 cups of hot water. You make this backwards from a typical jello mix, though - you sprinkle the gelatin over cold water first and stir in the kool-aid and sweetener (I used granulated splenda that measures 1:1 so adjust as needed for what you are using), then stir in the boiling water.

    Mine set very well; the above set up to close to jiggler thickness, so if you prefer your jello a little softer, add another 1/2 cup of water, either cold or hot.

    I'll eat half today and half tomorrow, but I'll try it with the sprite next week and see how it goes.

    @conniewilkins56 Question: if I'm using sprite or ginger-ale, do you think I still need to add sweetener, and if I do, cut it back by how much?