My other thing: FOOD

molested_cow · Apr 30, 2011

Food is important to me. I know people who don't really have any standard for food. One friend said sandwich is sandwich, as long as it's edible.... by edible, he meant something that doesn't make him puke.

Everyone have their own standards for food. Some like to dine in high end places. Some like heavily flavored stuffs like BBQ. Some like simple salads.

I am for bang for the buck. I don't mean quantity, but those shady unknown places that puts a lot of heart into cooking for reasonable price. Gotta feel the LOVE man! For people in Detroit, the Vietnamese restaurant just south of 13mile road on John R is the best representation.

My mom is a great cook. I didn't grow up with my parents with me so every time I go back home, her cooking is the one thing I never want to miss. Since I am always away from home, there is only one way to get the kind of food that I want reliably, that is to make it myself, so I am quite avid in cooking. I'm not an expert, but enthusiast, just like what photography is to me.

There are many ways to look at cooking. Americans like to use sauces in everything. I bet some can eat plastics as long as it comes with ketchup. The Japanese emphasize on the pureness of the ingredients and how it tastes naturally, like sashimi. There really isn't one type of Chinese dish. It ranges from tofu with soy sauce to soups that take days to cook. I have to say, the average quality of food ingredient in the states, stuffs you can find in local supermarkets, are rather bad as compared to Asia. So eating it with little cooking isn't really good for you, and therefore sauces are used to over come the lack of quality and freshness.

For a while, stir-fry has been my staple, using different ingredients and exploring different sauces. Somehow, I always thought it's "heavy" no matter how I adjust my cooking, never quit like mom's.

Recently, my philosophy has changed a bit. I am going back to the old days, trying to find common ingredients that give good natural flavor with minimum preparation. I've been making simple tofu soups with vegetables and some seafood. It's fast to cook and requires little flavoring. Other things can be sweet corn since you just need to cook them in water for good taste ( I don't like the typical BBQ style sweet corn because most that I've had are way over cooked). Sweet potatoes are in the same category too ( no need brown sugar).

My friends call me the anti-sauce. I'd ask for sauce on the side when I go to BBQ because I want to taste the meat without sauce to see how well it's done. I rarely have sauce or dressing on sandwiches when I go to a sub joint.

One particular dish item that I am big on right now is baked salmon. With a toaster oven, anyone can make a meal in 15min. So here's an example, today's dinner. Salmon and broccoli on rice.

First is broccoli. Just put them in a glass/ceramic container with some water and salt sprinkled onto them and set it aside first.

Lay an aluminum sheet on the toaster oven tray and spread some oil on it to avoid the salmon from sticking onto the foil when done. Rinse the salmon and do light slicing on it. Sprinkle whatever spice you want. I am only using salt, white and black pepper.

Salmon takes little time to cook. I am using toaster oven so I just set it to the max. It's very efficient and typically, it's done in about 10min. It just depends on how seared you want your fish to be.

Just before the salmon is done, pop the broccoli into the microwave. I just set it to 2.5min on high, depends on whether you want it crisp or soft.

Lay them over rice and sprinkle lemon or lime juice over it. I found that broccoli tastes good with lemon juice on them. Warning is if you are not going to eat it right away (eg for next day's lunch), don't sprinkle lemon juice yet. The acid will oxidize the food and it will look stained. It's ok to eat, just doesn't look nice and the flavor won't be fresh.

In a way, I don't really have a particular style, Chinese or French or Thai etc... It's whatever I think suits my taste. In a big way, I find myself to think like my friend. Food is food, but as long as I am enjoying it as it is.
There is always room for heavy or light things. Sometimes I crave for fastfood. Sometimes I just have fruits for dinner.

What's your take on food and some recipe to share?

Josh66 · Apr 30, 2011

Food is awesome.

One of my favorite things, after beer (which could also be considered food).

I have a lot of cookbooks, but I tend to improvise a lot, so I don't think I have any recipes to share... It all depends on what is in the pantry at the moment. It's usually pretty good though.

My favorite foods are pretty simple - very little prep time and not much skill required to cook. I like to steam a lot of things too.

I haven't been baking much lately, but I used to always have some sort of bread in the oven. I once went for like 2 years without ever buying bread... It was awesome bread, but it's a lot of work. ...I need to start baking again.

edit
I'm taking about breads that take a few days to make... Time consuming, and you will sweat - but it is so damn good.

analog.universe · Apr 30, 2011

I love cooking! I have only a few creative pursuits... Photography, music, and food, and I take them all very seriously!

I'm actually in the process of starting up a recipe blog, which will let me play with food and photography at the same time :bounce:

So here is a Thai Yellow Curry I cooked the other night. I haven't done the raw processing on the step by step stuff yet, but you can see the finished plate.

This is a fairly elaborate recipe, so I'll run through it quickly.

Cut 3 yukon gold potatoes into cubes, dress lightly with veggie oil and roast at 325 for an hour. Place the potatoes into a large bowl. Cut a pound of tofu into triangles and press dry between towels for half an hour, then bake at 325 on a nonstick surface for 25 minutes and set aside. Boil half a pound of rice noodles for 5 minutes and then rinse thoroughly with cold water. Stir fry the noodles with a little sesame oil until golden and a little sticky, and then add a few shakes of double black soy sauce. Continue to stir fry until browned and place in a serving dish. Stir fry about 2 cups of sliced mushrooms in veggie oil and add them to the bowl of potatoes. Stir fry about 2 cups red chard in veggie oil and add to the potatoes and mushrooms. Get a handful sized bunch of cilantro and separate the leaves from the stalks. Add the leaves to the bowl of veggies. Begin the sauce with a little veggie oil over medium-high heat in a wok. Add a small handful of curry leaves to the pan, followed by half a teaspoon of coriander seed and 2 lemongrass stalks which have been cut into chunks and then lightly smashed. When the lemongrass get their first color, add a diced red onion and the stalks from the cilantro. When the onion is golden, move everything to the ouside of edge of the wok, pour a little sesame oil in the middle and add to it the following: 2 tsp crushed ginger, 5 cloves chopped garlic, and 3 red bird chilis, finely sliced. Stir briefly and then mix with the other ingredients. Add 1 tbsp of palm sugar, 2 tsp turmeric, and a few shakes of soy sauce, stir, and then add a can of coconut milk. Boil the sauce 5 minutes, taste test for sugar and salt and adjust accordingly, and then strain, reserving the liquid and squeezing all you possibly can out of the aromatic bits. Return the wok to the heat and stir fry the tofu in veggie oil until you like the color, and then add the reserved sauce. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, and then mix the contents of the wok into the bowl of veggies. Serve with the noodles and garnish with fresh cilantro!

CCericola · Apr 30, 2011

I'm headed to analog's place for dinner. Set a place for me. I'll bring the wine. :lol:

PerfectlyFlawed · Apr 30, 2011

the final result looks awesome! I love food photography~!

Village Idiot · May 2, 2011

My roommate is the assistant manager at a somewhat high end restaurant. We're in Shepherdstown, WV, so we're by some pretty cool places. We've been debating on trying places like Volt in Frederick, MD and Jose Andreas's Minibar in DC, but they're just so hard to get in to. I think we're going to try to get into Momofuku Ko in September and stay up in NYC for a couple of days.

Roommate's butter poached lobster on polenta:

My grilled veggies:

My roommate with some dry aged steaks:

Roommate at work:

Derrel · May 2, 2011

M-C...the white goo on top of your salmon fillet is comprised of soluble proteins from within the fish, which migrate out of the cut of fish when the fish is introduced to too high of a temperature change, too quickly. THe loss of those soluble proteins costs both flavor,and moisture. To avoid that, try allowing the fish to warm to room temperature before introducing it to the heat; going from refrigerator cold to a raging, full-blast toaster oven cranked to max heat is almost guaranteed to cause the soluble proteins to migrate out of your salmon. To mitigate that, as I said, allow the salmon to come up to room temperature, and also, you can try NOT closing the door on the toaster over for at least 5 to 7 minutes after you slide the fish into it.

molested_cow · May 2, 2011

Sounds like we have an expert here!

Well the salmon was not cold when I put it into the oven. I usually thaw it in the water hours before I cook it. My oven won't turn on with the doors open. Furthermore, I don't think the thermostat is working, so it's max or nothing. I guess I just have to cook it on the pan if I want it perfect.