Cookability

Potage Paysanne

2012-03-03T18:21:21Z

Posted by: zdashamber

I found this in "The Blender Cookbook" from 1961, but I think it's better unblended. Since it all gets simmered, I don't see any reason why it couldn't start from frozen prechopped stuff. I like potato skins when baked or mashed, so why not when boiled?

It's one of the simplest recipes I love, and I think it only involves peeling/chopping, assembling, and then eating once the simmering is done. There is a lot of flavor for so few ingredients.

__Ingredients__

-2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
-1 medium onion, sliced
-1/2 pound (~1/4 kg) fresh spinach
-3/4 cup (180 ml) water
-2 chicken boullion cubes
-1/8 tsp pepper

__Instructions__

Simmer for 15 minutes

They also suggest adding 1 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp nutmeg, but I think the chicken stock/boullion is salty enough, and I'm not a fan of nutmeg. They suggest blending when it has simmered and then adding 1 cup cream, but when I tried, that seemed to unnecessarily mash the flavors. Their other suggestion is to chill the blended potage and serve it with a sour cream topping. It's supposed to serve 6, but my recollection is that it serves 2. Maybe I usually make it smaller. I've tried it with veggie stock, and that is also tasty, though I like it less well. I upped the number of boullion cubes from 1 to 2 since more is better there, IMO.

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Cracker Crumb Tilapia

2010-11-05T03:05:16Z

Posted by: amadi

Pros for this recipe:

Prep is relatively simple and quick.
No fiddly cutting or chopping, and no time standing over a hot stove or grill.
Can be prepped as much as 8 hours ahead of time.
Easily adaptable to various dietary needs such as egg-free or gluten free by substituting ingredients as needed.

To make this recipe you'll need:

The dexterity to crush crackers, spread mayo on (raw) fish, measure spices and sprinkle cracker crumbs onto fish with a spoon.
The ability to move a baking sheet into and out of a hot oven.

~20 Buttery Crackers (I used 3/4 of a sleeve of Town House) coarsely crushed, some crumbs, some larger pieces
1 tablespoon dehydrated onion flakes
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) granulated garlic
1 pound tilapia fillets
Salt & Pepper
~2 tablespoons Mayonnaise

In a small container or bowl, mix the cracker crumbs, onion flakes, parsley and garlic together until well blended.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper/silicon mat/aluminum foil. Place the fillets on the baking sheet and dry each piece by patting with paper towel. Salt each fillet lightly and pepper to taste.

Spread each fillet with a very thin coating of mayonnaise. Cover each fillet completely.

Using a spoon, sprinkle the crumb topping over each fillet, covering completely in a generous coat. (You will have crumb spill over around the fish. That's okay, it'll taste good too.)

Refrigerate uncovered or very loosely covered, for at least two hours.

Bake for 13 minutes in a preheated 350° F/175° C oven.

If a crispy crust is desired, switch the fish to the broiler/switch the oven to broil for no more than 2 minutes at the end of the baking. Enjoy!

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Chocolate Pie in a Microwave Oven

2010-10-15T14:04:21Z

Posted by: neqs

This is a quick and easy chocolate fix for one person (or two if they’re really friendly).

Ingredients:
3 tbs milk
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs butter
3–4 tbs flour
1–2 tbs starch (ETA: by this I meant potato flour, but you can use regular flour instead.)
1 tsp baking powder
1–2 tbs cocoa

Equipment:
ceramic/microwave-proof bowl
small cup to melt the butter in
bowl to mix ingredients in
tablespoon
teaspoon
microwave oven

Instructions:
Melt the butter in a microwave oven. Mix the sugar and milk in a ceramic bowl. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine all ingredients and mix well. Heat in a microwave oven for about 40 seconds or until the top looks nice and ‘melty’. Since it’s egg-free it doesn’t matter if it’s not completely done, I think it tastes better that way! In its melty stage it’s easiest to eat straight from the bowl.

Pros: Easy, quick, delicious, chocolate-y. Ingredients are cheap and easily available.
Cons: Not the healthiest thing ever. May get stuck in your teeth and the roof of your mouth.

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Microwave Bread/Muffin

2010-09-13T00:19:17Z

Posted by: neqs

First time posting here, hi! *waves nervously*

I call this bread, but some parts of the world would call it a muffin. It's is very quick to make and IMO delicious, but pretty it ain’t, so I’m not sure how well kids would like it. Serves one person (or two if they’re not very hungry).

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of butter
4-5 tablespoons (0.7 dl) of dry ingredients of preference (I use one part flour, one part bran, one part wheat germ, one part flax and sesame seeds)
¼ teaspoon of baking soda
1 egg
(salt)

Equipment needed:
ceramic/microwave-proof bowl
tablespoon
teaspoon
fork
microwave oven
(rack for drying)

Instructions:
Melt the butter in a ceramic/microwave-proof bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix well with a fork. Heat in the microwave for 60 to 70 seconds. Remove from bowl (just upend) and let dry for 5 to 10 minutes. Halve and eat like a breakfast muffin or a roll.

There’s a lot of room for variations. I originally found this recipe at a low-carb forum, where they used flax seed meal, soy flour, almond flour, and protein powder instead of all the carbs I use.

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Porridge in the microwave

2010-09-10T02:47:43Z

Posted by: fred_mouse

The post by mathnerd about cooking pasta in the microwave reminded me of my microwave porridge recipe. I don't use it anymore, because I can't stomach oats, but hopefully it will be useful for others!

ingredients - oats, water.
equipment - microwave, microwaveable pot/jug (I use a 4L pyrex jug with nice chunky handle), spoon.

pros:

quick - less than 10 minutes if you can do it without forgetting it is there.
good for those with attention issues - you can afford to forget and come back.
childsafe - my microwave is set on a low table, and the then 4 yr old could make it without mishap.
oats digest reasonably quickly, so it is good when blood sugar goes wrong

cons:

carrying the pot may require two hands (I wouldn't lift it with one, but then I have a tendency to unexpectedly drop things)
needs stirring multiple times, which may require moving pot out of the microwave
needs a large pot or it boils over and then sets like concrete.

take one part 'quick cook oats' to two parts water - I recommend 1/2 a cup oats to 1 cup water for two average adults for breakfast. For a family of 5, we used to use 16 fluid ounces of oats to twice that of water, but this is because eldest just eats until it is all gone, and this was how much we needed to ensure ze wasn't grouchy.

put oats and water in pot. If you have time, or get distracted, leave to soak. this can be hours - no harm will come. put pot in microwave. cook for 2-3 mins (this is to heat the water). Stir. cook for a minute. Stir. Repeat last two until you like the texture (forgetting to come back and check just means that you need to do this more times). Wait to cool, eat.

I've never tried this with milk, but I know that other people believe that porridge should be made with milk. We pour the milk on afterwards, so it wasn't a problem. We've added bits of fruit, dried fruit, and cooked it exactly the same way. We've used rolled oats when we didn't have quick cook oats, and they take longer, and the texture isn't as smooth.

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