Foodie Thread

[gmbteach]

I have been experimenting with making cheesecakes lately and thought I had found a super easy method. Cream cheese and a jelly mix packet (I think the Americans call it Jello). Here is Australia we can buy jelly mix, best one is Aeroplane Jelly, and each packet makes 500ml of jelly. I make the jelly up with only 150ml of boiling water to melt the crystals, then add it to the cream cheese.

First one I made I used 2 packets of cream cheese - way to thick and rich. Lemon flavour.

Second one I made using 1 packet of cream cheese and 250ml of thickened cream. It was ok. Strawberry flavour

Last one I made I used 1 packet of cream cheese and around 150ml of dollop cream - cream that has been whipped enough you can spoon it out nicely. It was the best - Lemon again.

I love black forest cheesecake, cake, trifle…. Anything with cherry and chocolate so today I’ve tried something different.
The base is 8 chocolate biscuits with melted butter. Then I drained a tin of cherries, and put the cherries on the biscuits. For the filling I used the use from the cherries, added 2 1/2 teaspoons of gelatine powder, a packet of cream cheese and around 150ml of the dollop cream. Here’s hoping it’s ok.

I am wondering if the cherries will hinder the firmness of the vase I’ve been getting and the setting of the filling. But we will see.

 

[gmbteach]

I have started making our dinner for tomorrow night. I bought a topside roast and cut it into 2cm chunks tossed in flour, turmeric, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. The meat has been seared in Mama and I then sweated off onions, carrots, celery with a dash of sugar. I then added capsicum, tomatoes, potatoes, 2 chillies, zucchini and added stock, tomato paste, stock cubes and red wine and a secret ingredient, and lastly added 4 bay leaves from our own tree….

It’s going to come to the boil soon. I’ve set a timer for every 20 minutes to check and stir until it comes to the boil. Then I will turn it down to a simmer and continue to check it regularly for a few hours. I’m cooking it stove top as I have found I get a better result than when I do it in the oven. It’s more time consuming but hey…. Quality result. It’s winter here so at bed time I will turn it off and leave it overnight, and turn it on again tomorrow and resume the regular check and stir. By tomorrow night it will be amazing.

I could use a slow cooker, but I have found that I am getting better results this way and now I’m retired I have the time to put into good food!

 

[southernhybrid]

I guess I'm really weird compared to what the rest of you enjoy eating. I hate bacon and for breakfast I mix at least 3 different types of dry, high fiber cereals together and then, when in season, I top it off with fresh blueberries. I like Great Grains, Cheerios, Cascadian Farm Vanilla Crisp and some brand that has honey and oat clusters. I could live on this stuff. I add a little half and half and enjoy. We have fresh squeezed orange juice every morning as well.

I like my pizza thin, extra crispy with pineapple and onions and no cheese, other than a sprinkle of parmesan. My favorite dinner is a stir fry made by Mr. Sohy. It has bits of chicken, topped with an orange sauce accompanied by a mix of vegetables that always include broccoli, shredded carrots, green onions, bokchoy if we can find some. He recently added fresh mango to the mix. He used to make the best coconut shrimp ever, but now we just buy some frozen coconut shrimp, and top with homemade orange sauce.

I hate steak unless it's mixed in a delicious stir fry but I do enjoy a very lean burger about once a week to help keep my anemia from getting too severe. We also eat salmon once or twice a week and top with the pineapple bourbon sauce that I order from a farm that makes it.

It's not my choice to have lunch out everyday, but I've been persuaded to do it to keep my spouse happy. My favorite place is a buffet that is very low priced and has some of the best Southern food ever, imo. I always have a piece of barbecue chicken, a cup of collard greens, some kale salad, and some broccoli and maybe one piece of fried tomatoes. My weakness is their buttermilk coconut pie, so I must have one or two small slices before we go. Considering how much some people eat at that place, I don't know how they make any money. It only costs the two of us 27 bucks and a drink is included. I always have unsweetened ice tea with lots of lemon, but no refills since the tannic acid in tea interferes with the absorption of iron. I love tea but have to limit it due to my anemia. Thankfully, I never have symptoms of anemia but I have my bloodwork checked every three months and take liquid iron most of the time. That is why I can't go vegetarian.

I don't know where we will have lunch today, but the veggie burgers at a nearby restaurant are delicious. I wouldn't mind that.

 

[thebeave]

I always have unsweetened ice tea

You can get unsweetened ice tea in the South?

I used to go to Mississippi and Alabama a lot for business 30+ years ago. On one of my first trips there, I stopped at a small roadside cafe (in Miss) and asked for a glass of iced tea with my lunch. In California restaurants, you get unsweetened ice tea with sugar packets to add if you want. What I got there was an 8oz glass of ice water with about a cup of sugar mixed in and a bit of tea flavor. I nearly did a spit take in the cafe and asked the waitress for a glass of unsweetened iced tea. She looked at me like I was from Mars, and said, "We only have Sweet Tea". WTF?

It was also amusing how ya'll call soft drinks "Cokes". I once ordered a Coke and the response was "what kind of Coke?". I said, "What kind of Coke do you have", figuring he would say Coca Cola or Pepsi or maybe RC. Nope. The reply was, "Coca Cola, Orange Coke, Mountain Dew Coke, Dr. Pepper Coke...".

 

[ZiprHead]

I always have unsweetened ice tea

You can get unsweetened ice tea in the South?

I used to go to Mississippi and Alabama a lot for business 30+ years ago. On one of my first trips there, I stopped at a small roadside cafe (in Miss) and asked for a glass of iced tea with my lunch. In California restaurants, you get unsweetened ice tea with sugar packets to add if you want. What I got there was an 8oz glass of ice water with about a cup of sugar mixed in and a bit of tea flavor. I nearly did a spit take in the cafe and asked the waitress for a glass of unsweetened iced tea. She looked at me like I was from Mars, and said, "We only have Sweet Tea". WTF?

My wife goes through a couple gallons of this stuff every week.

It was also amusing how ya'll call soft drinks "Cokes". I once ordered a Coke and the response was "what kind of Coke?". I said, "What kind of Coke do you have", figuring he would say Coca Cola or Pepsi or maybe RC. Nope. The reply was, "Coca Cola, Orange Coke, Mountain Dew Coke, Dr. Pepper Coke...".

That's just dumb.

 

[thebeave]

I always have unsweetened ice tea

You can get unsweetened ice tea in the South?

I used to go to Mississippi and Alabama a lot for business 30+ years ago. On one of my first trips there, I stopped at a small roadside cafe (in Miss) and asked for a glass of iced tea with my lunch. In California restaurants, you get unsweetened ice tea with sugar packets to add if you want. What I got there was an 8oz glass of ice water with about a cup of sugar mixed in and a bit of tea flavor. I nearly did a spit take in the cafe and asked the waitress for a glass of unsweetened iced tea. She looked at me like I was from Mars, and said, "We only have Sweet Tea". WTF?

My wife goes through a couple gallons of this stuff every week.
View attachment 54572

It was also amusing how ya'll call soft drinks "Cokes". I once ordered a Coke and the response was "what kind of Coke?". I said, "What kind of Coke do you have", figuring he would say Coca Cola or Pepsi or maybe RC. Nope. The reply was, "Coca Cola, Orange Coke, Mountain Dew Coke, Dr. Pepper Coke...".

That's just dumb.

Just don't take that stuff down to the South and you'll be OK. It would be like taking garlic to a vampire convention.

 

[pood]

Today bok choy with white rice and oyster sauce. Yesterday (or was it the day before?) it was Singapore chow mei fun. A few days ago it was chicken corn soup.

I have been trying to eat healthy. I am good and goddamned sick of it. In the next few days I intend to gorge on ice cream, pizza, and McDonald’s. My pigeon friends love pizza and McDonald’s, especially the salty fries with ketchup.

 

[steve_bank]

I had two electric choppers that broke.

I got a Prep Solutions manual rotary chomper slicer for about $20 at Walmart. Three blades, slice, coarse grate, fine gate.

I love tomato soup

I grated Brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, peppers. Cooked to just getting soft.

Drained and added to tomato sauce and rice. Warmed it up.

I keep tomato sauce seasoned with curry and garlic powder in the refrigerator alng with

Tasted good, the mix of tomato and fresh vegetables. Caned tomato vegetable soup has little in the way of vegetables.

The gadget is great. The crank attache to one end of the blade, no gears to get clogged or break. Easy to clean. No electricity.









.

 

[thebeave]

I had two electric choppers that broke.

I got a Prep Solutions manual rotary chomper slicer for about $20 at Walmart. Three blades, slice, coarse grate, fine gate.

I love tomato soup

I grated Brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, peppers. Cooked to just getting soft.

Drained and added to tomato sauce and rice. Warmed it up.

I keep tomato sauce seasoned with curry and garlic powder in the refrigerator alng with

Tasted good, the mix of tomato and fresh vegetables. Caned tomato vegetable soup has little in the way of vegetables.

The gadget is great. The crank attache to one end of the blade, no gears to get clogged or break. Easy to clean. No electricity.

View attachment 54573







.

It looks a lot like the Whopper Chopper.

 

[southernhybrid]

I always have unsweetened ice tea

You can get unsweetened ice tea in the South?

I used to go to Mississippi and Alabama a lot for business 30+ years ago. On one of my first trips there, I stopped at a small roadside cafe (in Miss) and asked for a glass of iced tea with my lunch. In California restaurants, you get unsweetened ice tea with sugar packets to add if you want. What I got there was an 8oz glass of ice water with about a cup of sugar mixed in and a bit of tea flavor. I nearly did a spit take in the cafe and asked the waitress for a glass of unsweetened iced tea. She looked at me like I was from Mars, and said, "We only have Sweet Tea". WTF?

It was also amusing how ya'll call soft drinks "Cokes". I once ordered a Coke and the response was "what kind of Coke?". I said, "What kind of Coke do you have", figuring he would say Coca Cola or Pepsi or maybe RC. Nope. The reply was, "Coca Cola, Orange Coke, Mountain Dew Coke, Dr. Pepper Coke...".

I've lived in the South since the 70s and not once have I had a problem asking for unsweetened tea. A lot of people ask for half and half tea, a mix of sweet and unsweetened tea. I've never heard anyone refer to sodas as Cokes, but I've only lived in SC, NC, Va and Georgia. I lived in Texas in the early 70s, but that's the Southwest, not the South. Southerners usually refer to soda as soft drinks, not soda, and the Southern accent is dying out, probably because people from the Northeast are taking over the South.

Northern Florida is more like the South and we lived there for a coupe of years as well. Parts of Northern Florida are sometimes referred to as lower Alabama if you get my drift. I've never eaten in Mississippi and maybe unsweetened tea wasn't available there over 30 years ago, but I bet it is now. I've never liked sweet ice tea and they make it way too sweet in the South which is why so many people ask for half and half tea. Must I educate you about current Southern culture? A lot has changed since 30 years ago, including the fact that our neighborhoods are mostly racially integrated and mixed race marriages and relationships are very common. That wan't true back in the day, but it is now.

I grew up in New Jersey, one of the most racist, segregated places I've ever lived, although some parts of that state are making progress, or so I've read. My sister still lives there in a small town that probably doesn't have single Black resident in it. What do people in NJ eat? Lots of great Italian food, or at least that's what they ate in the area where I grew up, as it's full of people of Italian heritage. The best Italian restaurants are in Northern New Jersey, imo. I could just never finish half of the portions served. People in NJ would be disgusted with me for loving thin crust pizza with pineapple and onions. That's kind of California style, I think.

 

[thebeave]

I always have unsweetened ice tea

You can get unsweetened ice tea in the South?

I used to go to Mississippi and Alabama a lot for business 30+ years ago. On one of my first trips there, I stopped at a small roadside cafe (in Miss) and asked for a glass of iced tea with my lunch. In California restaurants, you get unsweetened ice tea with sugar packets to add if you want. What I got there was an 8oz glass of ice water with about a cup of sugar mixed in and a bit of tea flavor. I nearly did a spit take in the cafe and asked the waitress for a glass of unsweetened iced tea. She looked at me like I was from Mars, and said, "We only have Sweet Tea". WTF?

It was also amusing how ya'll call soft drinks "Cokes". I once ordered a Coke and the response was "what kind of Coke?". I said, "What kind of Coke do you have", figuring he would say Coca Cola or Pepsi or maybe RC. Nope. The reply was, "Coca Cola, Orange Coke, Mountain Dew Coke, Dr. Pepper Coke...".

I've lived in the South since the 70s and not once have I had a problem asking for unsweetened tea. A lot of people ask for half and half tea, a mix of sweet and unsweetened tea. I've never heard anyone refer to sodas as Cokes, but I've only lived in SC, NC, Va and Georgia. I lived in Texas in the early 70s, but that's the Southwest, not the South. Southerners usually refer to soda as soft drinks, not soda, and the Southern accent is dying out, probably because people from the Northeast are taking over the South.

Northern Florida is more like the South and we lived there for a coupe of years as well. Parts of Northern Florida are sometimes referred to as lower Alabama if you get my drift. I've never eaten in Mississippi and maybe unsweetened tea wasn't available there over 30 years ago, but I bet it is now. I've never liked sweet ice tea and they make it way too sweet in the South which is why so many people ask for half and half tea. Must I educate you about current Southern culture? A lot has changed since 30 years ago, including the fact that our neighborhoods are mostly racially integrated and mixed race marriages and relationships are very common. That wan't true back in the day, but it is now.

I grew up in New Jersey, one of the most racist, segregated places I've ever lived, although some parts of that state are making progress, or so I've read. My sister still lives there in a small town that probably doesn't have single Black resident in it. What do people in NJ eat? Lots of great Italian food, or at least that's what they ate in the area where I grew up, as it's full of people of Italian heritage. The best Italian restaurants are in Northern New Jersey, imo. I could just never finish half of the portions served. People in NJ would be disgusted with me for loving thin crust pizza with pineapple and onions. That's kind of California style, I think.

My experience in the South with the use of the term "coke" is entirely consistent with the "Soda, Pop, Coke Map":

Soda, Pop, Coke Map

This is from data up to 2003, which may be before you came to the south, but it does show Georgia as a primarly "coke" region back then. So, its a little surprising you have never heard its usage before. My southern experience in the early 90's was between Huntsville, AL and Iuka, MS (i.e. extreme northern border) which is hard core (80- 100%)"coke" usage. I'm sure things have changed somewhat everywhere over the years due to migration, etc. My comment about sweet tea was somewhat tongue in cheek. I'm sure lots of places provide unsweetened ice tea.

Let's hope the racism has gone by the wayside in the South since I was there. I'll never forget driving along a residential area with a fellow engineer from our Mississippi office pointing at a couple of black people sitting on their porch and saying, "Just look at those niggers sitting there". I was speechless. He did sorta apologize, but it was along the lines of "Sorry, you probably don't hear talk like that in California."

ETA: OK, I read up a little on Sweet Tea. The sugar is added while the water is boiling. So, you make a big batch of it...its not like you brew regular tea, cool it down and add a few teaspoons of sugar afterwards. Which probably explains why they didn't have unsweetened ice tea. You'd have to make two separate batches, and there just wasn't enough demand for the unsweetened type in this podunk part of the state.

Found this reddit post about Sweet Tea. Lots of people with the exact same experince as me. A good, fun read if you're interested:

 

[ZiprHead]

Just don't take that stuff down to the South and you'll be OK. It would be like taking garlic to a vampire convention.

They make a sweet iced tea too.

 

[southernhybrid]

I've lived in Georgia since 1994 and I never heard anyone refer to soda as Coke, but I've always lived close to ATL so perhaps it's more of a rural thing. Besides most of the places we eat at serve Pepsi, not Coke. I stick to water or unsweetened tea. Things vary a lot depending on whether you're in a rural, urban, exurban or suburban area. It's just like voting. Urban people usually vote for Democrats while rural voters usually vote for Republicans and suburban voters are a mix. I've always lived in the burbs, but never more than 40 miles from ATL. I even worked in ATL for almost a year back in the 90s, but the commute was so awful that I quit to take a job closer to where I was living at the time.

It might have been more difficult to get unsweetened tea back in the 70s when I lived in Greenville, SC, but I'm not sure. It's never an issue now and has never been an issue here in Georgia at least not since the 90s. I do have Southern friends, both black and white, who think I'm nuts for liking unsweetened tea and oddly enough I do like a tiny bit of sugar in hot tea. My late mother was the opposite. She liked her hot tea unsweetened but made ice tea with sugar, adding it when the tea was hot. She spent her entire life in New Jersey with the exception of one unhappy year in Florida.

Btw, the last time I was in Jersey, which was over 10 years ago, they had sweet ice tea on the menu in some diners. It used to be you could only get ice tea in the summer in Jersey, but I guess the South and the North influence each other when it comes to food. Still, I'm not sure if they had grits in NJ. Oh wait. There is one restaurant chain that initially started in the ATL area that serves grits in NJ. One never knows. The weirdest thing is that a chain here in town named Gritz, has the worst grits I've ever tasted. I'm not really a fan of grits, but if they aren't soggy, I can stand them. A native of the South agreed with me that Gritz has the worst grits she ever tasted.

Regarding the races, let me quote a former Black coworker. "I'll take a Southern racist over a Northern racist any day of the week because at least I know where I stand with the Southern racist. The first Black family moved into my neighborhood around the year 2000, and some assholes painted KKK on the front of the house. It was a rental and the landlord fixed that quickly. But, in 2003, the first Black homeowner moved two doors down and now the neighborhood is very racially integrated, although we do need some Asians to increase the diversity. My favorite neighbors are a sweet mixed race couple. So, yeah, while there are still some asshole racists, things have changed drastically over the past 30 years.

 

[thebeave]

The weirdest thing is that a chain here in town named Gritz, has the worst grits I've ever tasted. I'm not really a fan of grits, but if they aren't soggy, I can stand them. A native of the South agreed with me that Gritz has the worst grits she ever tasted.

Reminds me of another story of the South. I had long heard of the Waffle House restaurant, but they are not on the west coast. So, when I saw a Waffle House on my travels I jumped on the chance to try it out. Holy crap.., Worst. Waffles. Ever. These days, I think they're more famous for their fights and skirmishes. They should rename it to Rumble House.

I gotta admit, I do like grits though. My mom used to cook them sometimes, but you rarely see them on the menu in restaurants around here.

 

[bilby]

My experience in the South with the use of the term "coke" is entirely consistent with the "Soda, Pop, Coke Map":

Soda, Pop, Coke Map

OMG, New England seems to have dropped a massive Soda bomb on St Louis, MO, leaving an almost perfectly circular crater.

 

[Tharmas]

I've lived in the South most of my life and my experience is like SoHy's - I've rarely if ever heard "coke" used for a generic soft drink. However I would like to mention that in the South, in my experience, and that of Mrs. Tharmas (who is sixth generation Texan), "tea" means Iced tea. Mrs. Tharmas, who is a tea junkie, learned long ago to ask for "hot tea." Also, in most places I've frequented, if you ask for tea (meaning iced), you will be asked "sweet or unsweet?"

 

[southernhybrid]

I've lived in the South most of my life and my experience is like SoHy's - I've rarely if ever heard "coke" used for a generic soft drink. However I would like to mention that in the South, in my experience, and that of Mrs. Tharmas (who is sixth generation Texan), "tea" means Iced tea. Mrs. Tharmas, who is a tea junkie, learned long ago to ask for "hot tea." Also, in most places I've frequented, if you ask for tea (meaning iced), you will be asked "sweet or unsweet?"

Some restaurants in the South don't even serve hot tea, although the chain restaurants do. I love lots of ice in my tea or water, which I drink with lemon. I mostly drink water and I use a lot of lemons since I drink water all day long. Tea is just my breakfast drink, watered down due to the iron problem I mentioned. Since I'm not a fan of red meat, it's hard for me to not be at least mildly anemic. We went out tonight and while the Mexican vegetarian wrap was tasty, it was very overpriced. Now I recall why we stopped going to that Mexican restaurant. We have 5 others to choose from, all in a small city with about 25k people.

 

[Toni]

I remember as a kid when we stopped at a diner for lunch in the south, that coke was a general term, the way soft drink or pop was where I lived. Somehow I knew this or figured it out really fast. In college I discovered that soda or pop or coke was very regional and people had strong feelings about which was proper. I stayed away from all of that stuff and stuck with milk, orange juice or water.

My favorite aunt was from Kentucky andeven as a child I found her iced tea way too sweet.
She also referred to green peppers as mangos. I have no idea why, I just figured it was a Kentucky thing.