Cooking practice

[serenissima]

I'm fairly pleased with my productivity today. I think my medical appointment this morning got me off to a good start by requiring me to get moving early in the morning -- well, early for a weekend morning. Mid-morning really. Next, I did a little shopping, then picked up my dry cleaning on my way home. I put a load of laundry in to wash, puttered around a bit, moved the laundry to the dryer, set a pot of lentils to simmer, and went skating. I picked up the clean laundry when I got back, added vegetables to the soup, and washed the week's dirty dishes while the soup cooked. After adding a couple final ingredients, I took a long, luxurious shower. That's where my momentum stopped. I'm tired now. Really surprisingly tired. Maybe it has to do with not eating much over the course of the day?

Anyway, here's how the soup production process went.

Ingredients:
- lentils, a little less than one cup full - water, a generous amount, more than double the volume of the lentils - salt, maybe a tablespoon - chopped carrots, around half a cup full	- chili powder, about half a teaspoon - curry powder, about half a teaspoon - garlic powder, about half a teaspoon - onion, small - barbecued pork, one strip

Procedure:

1. I put the lentils in a pot, rinsed them once, then put in enough water for the soup, and a palmful of salt. I put this on the stove and set the burner to low-medium heat, with the cover on the pot. I left it there while I was out skating.
   
2. I came back to find the lentils had swelled some and were simmering nicely. I peeled the carrots that had been sitting in the refrigerator for two or three weeks now. I love discovering that vegetables keep well. I chopped some of the carrots into small pieces, maybe 2 cm cubes, a good size to fit two or three pieces in a spoon. I saved the rest in stick form for snacking. I also chopped a small onion. Only then did I put the carrots in the pot. The lentils had been cooking for an hour or more by that time.
   
3. I had a small piece of barbecued pork left from the spare ribs I brought home from a party one week ago. The day after the party, when I was eating the leftovers I'd brought home, that particular piece had seemed dry and tough, so I'd put it aside to cook with. I now cut it into slivers. Total amount = maybe one fourth cup. I washed dishes for probably around 45 minutes, then I added a scant palmful each of chili powder, curry powder, and garlic powder, as well as the chopped onion and pork. Cooking time at that point was at least two hours.
   
4. I left the soup simmering for more than an hour longer. When I checked on it again, it had changed color from greenish -- the color of the lentils -- to a definite brown hue. My guess is the chili powder did this; I have no other explanation. Another change was that the lentils had pretty much completely lost their structural integrity and were now mush. The consistency of the soup was good, thick and not runny, but not so thick as to seem like porridge.

Evaluation:
Not bad. One thing I noticed this time was that the boiling water stirred the ingredients, unlike the last time I tried cooking lentils, when they just sat. Maybe the previous time I didn't have enough water, or rather had too much solid matter.
As usual, I didn't put enough seasoning: could have used more salt, and maybe more chili powder and/or garlic powder, or black pepper. Also the onions were way too soft; I really shouldn't have let it sit for that long after I added them. But on the whole, a success. I've eaten half of it already for supper. I think I only have enough left for one more serving.

I think I shall have to find myself a cooking icon....

Comments

[pulplit.livejournal.com]

I suggest Jeff Smith (the Frugal Gourmet) for the icon.

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

I used to watch his show. I am dismayed to learn that he died.

There are way too many results from a Google Image Search for "Jeff Smith." I may still bother to look more thoroughly.

[pulplit.livejournal.com]

The search terms "Jeff Smith frugal gourmet" will summon that which you need from the depths of google's engines.

[firenightingale.livejournal.com]

I make an onion, bean and lentil soup that I'm rather partial to. I use tinned lentils as then I don't need to worry about how long to cook them, they also keep their shape fairly well.

In case you're interested here is a rough recipe for it (I'm a throw in the entire contents of the spice rack kind of cook in case it isn't obvious!) ;o)

- 2 large onions, chopped.
- 1/2 clove of garlic, finely chopped (more if you don't mind reeking of garlic and love the taste of it!)
- 1 tin of red kidney beans, rinsed
- 1 tin of brown lentils, rinsed
- lots of water (probably 2 - 4 pints depending on saucepan size)
- 1 tablespoon of marmite
- a dash of olive oil
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- Sprinkling of salt & pepper
- 1 level teaspoon of paprika

I chopped up the onions and sauteed them gently in some olive oil in a large pan until they started to soften. While they were cooking I chopped the garlic and disolved the marmite and the stock cube in around 2 pints of boiling water.

Once the onions started to soften I added the garlic and stirred for a minute or two, enough for it to warm up and start releasing its flavour but not enough to start browning. Then I added the water with the stock cube/marmite dissolved in it.

At that point you can throw in all the other ingredients, add more water if necessary (how much you use depends on how much liquid you like in your soup & whether you plan to simmer it in a covered pan that won't evaporate too much of the water or boil it to reduce the water content and intensify the flavours. Either way I'd advise simmering/boiling it for around 3/4 hr depending on personal taste.

It's strongly favoured but tasty. :o)

[copperwolf.livejournal.com]

So, what exactly is Marmite? :)
I've never cooked using stock cubes, but this recipe sounds good.

[firenightingale.livejournal.com]

Marmite is a British thing but I've seen it for sale in the foreign foods section of a super-market in the Chicago area so it's probably available somewhere near you.

Its advertising slogan is 'You either love it or hate it' and that's pretty much the case. I adore marmite on toast (tip, if you try it, spread it quite thinly at first, in fact, very thinly as it's quite strong!)

Depending on how much it costs over there, it can also be used to add extra flavour to soups or gravy (I use a small teaspoon for gravy and a large tablespoon for soups). There is even a cookbook!

Here are a couple of sites:
http://www.marmite.co.uk/love/
http://www.ilovemarmite.com/

[firenightingale.livejournal.com]

P.S. I love marmite but I don't like Vegimite so don't listen to those people saying they are the same on one of those sites! That's like saying diet Coke tastes like regular - not that I drink the stuff anymore but still!