Bursted Seams

Red Beans 1.0

2010-01-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Intro:
I am attempting to live very cheaply. To this end I have done some calculations on fairly healthy foods and cost to serving ratio. If anyone is interested in that info, let me know. But for the most part the cheapest that I have found is beans and rice. Beans and rice work out to a whole protein that comes out just slightly more than the styrofoam bricks with msg broth that most of the recipes are dedicated to in here. Don't get me wrong. I love ramen and will have many more meals of it. But for now at $.30 / serving and including protein and green vegetables, this is more for my standard. I need to buy some non-glutinous rice for this recipe. The stuff that I had around currently was short grain and so would have done really well if I were making coconut rice or sushi, but it is not a good side for this. Serving size on this is 1/2c beans, 1/2c rice and fills nicely. Additionally, would be good to reduce the amount of celery in here, it sort of predominates the batch. If you have it available a little carrot would also be good.

Overall: Good
Cook Time: ~24h

Ingredients:
1 lb dried beans
2 onions
5 ribs celery
1 green pepper
1/2 ancho chile
1/2 t thyme
2 bay leaves
2 oz bacon
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Pick through and soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover them.
Finely dice all vegetables (food processor is fine if you aren't working on knife skills).
Render out the bacon.
Add the vegetables to the bacon grease and let them sweat until translucent.
Add the thyme, dried pepper, and bay leaves. Let this cook for another 5 minutes until you begin to smell the thyme and pepper.
Add beans and enough water to cover them.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat.
Simmer until tender. (Check every half hour but will take 2-3 hours. Check more often if your stove likes to creep, like mine does.) Make sure that water covers the beans for the duration. You may want to keep a second pot of water simmering to add if it gets low, but I really don't worry about adding cold water into this.
Mash some of the beans (most recipes I have seen say 1/4th, but I have no real idea how to tell when I have 1/4th squished, so some is good enough). If you have a blender, you could use this to pastify part of em. This will cause the beans to release more starch causing the liquid in the pot to thicken considerably.
Add salt/pepper and serve. I wait until the end to add the salt because a few of the recipes have mentioned that this could lengthen cooking time. I know that adding acid does also. If you have had different experience, let me know.

Results:
Tasty, but the celery was a little overwhelming. The recipe that I took said to chop the vegetables, not dice them. So the pieces were far too large and unless you love celery in your beans and knowing that you have celery in you beans, you probably want to take the extra time to dice these.

Grits

2009-12-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Intro:
I love grits. Anything from milk and sugar of the north to bacon, shrimp, garlic and cheese in the south. And leftovers fry up amazingly for lunch to boot. The mixing of cornmeal and water to make it more edible may have been born out of necessity, but it is elegant, versatile, and comforting. So, before I go adding a bunch of stuff to this, here is a basic recipe. Upon further research, though, I can make these even more cost effective. But that is another day.

Overall: Very Good
Cook Time: ~20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 c (125g) coarse cornmeal
2 c water
1 t salt
butter, salt, and pepper to taste

Method:

Mix salt and water.
Boil.
Add cornmeal, slowly.

Use a paper plate to measure the cornmeal then fold it in half to pour into the water.
Don't break the boil. Your water should continue to boil as you add the cornmeal. If it does not, then slow down.
Constantly stir/whisk as you pour in the meal. This will reduce clumping.

Reduce heat to lowest setting.
Stir every few minutes until creamy.
Add butter, salt and pepper and serve.

Results:
This was delicious and very filling.

Cheap Chili

2009-12-24T17:03:00.000-08:00

Intro:
It is family tradition to have chili on Christmas Eve. I went through the cabinets and came up with the following. For chili purists, this will probably be mildly offensive. I prefer to have meat and peppers only.

Overall: Outstanding
Cook Time: 1-1.5 hrs

Ingredients:
1 can tomatoes (pureed)
2 cans chili beans
1 ancho chile
1T garlic salt
1t curry powder
1 slice bacon
pinch of dried basil
1/4c corn meal

Method:

Heat pot on high and add bacon and chile, Let is render down until the pepper smell comes out.
Puree the tomatoes.
Add tomatoes, beans, and spices to the pot.
Let this cook for about 30-45 minutes.
Add the corn meal.
Cook until it thickens.

Results:
Not quite as good as my memories of Christmas past, but very tasty.

Pizza Dough 1.0-rc1

2009-12-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

Intro:
So I am trying to make pizza. I like pizza, I like to bake, so I guess I should be able to make pizza. The title is a bit of a misnomer. I grew up on homemade pizza, but do not have my mom around to ask for the recipe. If I recall, the dough was not always consistent, and knowing how my mom cooked, I doubt seriously there is a recipe. I also have made several breads and invented a few of my own, so I know what the bread should feel like. I have been working on repeatability, so, I am writing all this down for accuracy and tracking purposes. If it helps someone else out, too, the world is a better place.

Cook Time: Min 8hrs, preferable 24-48hrs
Overall: Inedible

Ingredients:
149 g (100% hydration) Sourdough Starter - 5 days old
123 g AP flour
1 T Salt
2 T Oil (preferably Olive, but only had veg at the time) + enough to oil the bag.

Method:

Add oil to the starter.
Mix the AP flour and the salt together.
Add this slowly to the starter while mixing with a nonmetal spoon or spatula.
Once it is smooth, but still sticky (just barely still wants to stick to the bowl) put on some rubber/vinyl gloves and knead enough make it look uniform.
Oil a zip-type bag and put your dough in.
Allow this 24-48 hrs to ferment in the fridge.
Take it out 4-6 hrs prior to beginning your pizza.

Results:
Looks and feels right, will have to post how it tastes/cooks after the first pizza is done. FOLLOWUP: Well finished the pizza. . . this was bad, really bad. Way too much salt. as a result, zero rise on this. I am not sure if I misread or mis-measured.

Deep Dark Family Secrets

2009-12-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

Intro:
So my grandfather made a unique style of pancake that I have not encountered outside of my family. I have asked my dad for this recipe and a few years back he gave it to me. These are not light and fluffy pancakes. They are more akin to crepes in texture, but slightly thicker. They do not absorb large quantities of syrup, and are better served with more savory applications. They are very chewy and not very porous.

Overall: To quote Abe. These are the types of pancakes that people who like this type of pancake would like. I love em.
Cook Time: variable

Ingredients:
2c AP Flour
2c Soured Milk
1 egg

Method:

If you are not in possession of soured milk, add some acid (vinegar, lemon juice, sour cream) to some regular milk and let it set for a few minutes.
Mix the milk and egg and add it to the flour.
The batter that is created will be very thin.
Heat a skillet and put a little butter, oil (or nothing if using nonstick and you are very trusting) or similar in to it.
Turn the heat to medium. When the fat starts to sizzle, add a 1/2 cup of the batter to the pan.
Watch for bubbles to start to set. The batter will look mostly dry and the bubbles will not fill back in.
Flip and cook for 30-60s on the second side.
If the first side is too pale, raise the heat a little, if it is too dark, lower it a bit. We want them to be golden brown.

Results:
This will make 6-8 pan-sized pancakes which will feed 3-4 people well. These are very dense and flavorful. I like mine with a bit of ricotta or sour cream.

Where the Wild Things Grow

2009-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

Overall: Unknown
Cook Time: 3-5 days

Ingredients:
1.5c flour
.25c sugar
2c Water

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together. I use a half-gallon plastic pitcher with a lid.
Let it set.
Every day remove 1 c of the mixture and replace with equal parts water and flour.

Results:
This developed into a very good starter, nice yeasty/winey smell, but unfortunately molded. Back to square one.

Spicy Salami Ramen

2009-12-13T14:49:00.000-08:00

Intro:
I have been excited to try this one out since the first time I read it on Matt Fischer's. It seemed like every time I brought in a beef stick however, it would be so busy at work that I did not have time. Finally, I had some change on hand so I got a vending package of salami.

Overall: Very Good
Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pkg beef ramen
2T dehydrated onion
1pkg trails' best double salami
splash of sriracha

Method:

Place onions and seasoning into bowl.
Lay the brick of noodles on top of this.
Slice the twin salamis and toss this on top.
Microwave for 3 minutes.
Add sriracha to taste.

Results:
For this inaugural batch, I sliced one of the sticks into 1/4 in. rounds. The other I cut in half and sliced as thin as I could. I believe the rounds work much better in this case. Next batch, I will try all one way or the other to see the impact. Additionally, I need to try partially cooking the salami prior to adding it to ramen. This is not the best I have had, but better than stock by a good bit.

My favorite spot

2009-11-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

Two hours after the road ceases to be passable by all but the most foolhardy of motorized transport, the goat trails give way to a small clearing. Twin oaks stand sentinel over the most meager of dwellings. One room, wood panel floor, central heating/cooking (well actually about three quarters of the way back heating/coking). A shelf holds the necessities: Sugar, some coffee, a few matches, a harmonica and a slouch hat. Warm, dusty, earthy smells beckon the world-worn home. Two bunk beds stretch to less than 2 feet of the roof. Milk crates stacked in the corner serve as stool and card table alike. A coal oil lantern sets the night alive. Music drifts out on the faint breeze rustling the pines and sweetgum.

JUDAS!!

2009-11-26T21:20:00.000-08:00

I don't believe you.
You're a liar!

Spin my wheels,
Noise, stench, lurch, catch.
The musics of my youth speed past
ignoring the rhythms of now;
It beckons me to rejoin it.
Begging, pleading,
Tripping,
Cursing, bleeding,
Regaining steam, rushing headlong,
insatiable, inexorable
Slipping, sliding No control
the pure joy of experimentation.
Scurrying, sprinting trying to keep up.
Time outstrips me.
No. I leave time. .

And another hobby posseses me.

2009-11-24T21:15:00.000-08:00

I like to learn a lot of stuff. I tend to hobby hop regularly (weeks if not days) and so I have added another to the rotation. Well not really new as I have drawn for years. I am horribly out of practice, and need to force myself to sit down and work through this stuff again. The focus stems from me trying to figure out the basics of life. Who am I, what is truly important. I believe that it is part of the human id that requires him to create. To attempt to leave some mark against the futility that seems to engulf everyday life. So I started sketching again you can see the results here. It is not much, but it is a start.
This is a part of a story that has been rattling around my oversized noggin for a bit. Most of it has been largely episodic narrative that is so disjointed still that I cannot seem to get it quite get it together. Space, pirates, weirdos, corner diners, random battles and treasure, it's got it all. . . except a cohesive plot. It is just so huge that I don't know where to begin. I have tried the beginning. But that is too slow, the middle requires too much info dump and who did what to when where symptoms, the end gives it all away. I am so afraid that it will make no sense that it is better to not start that give it an undeserving telling. Meh! Well I have work to do. Later all, hope you are doing better than I :)

Cold Sesame Noodle #2

2009-09-08T15:16:00.001-07:00

Overall: Outstanding
Cook Time: 2.5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pkg ramen
1 T Sunflower Butter*
1 T Sesame oil
2 t Soy Sauce
2 t Sugar
2 t Sriracha
* I am alergic to peanut butter, else that would work fine here.

Method:

Cook the noodles slightly hard.
While it is cooking, mix 1/2 the flavor packet with 1 c. hot water.
Combine sunflower butter, sugar, sriracha, oil and soy sauce. Use the broth to thin the sauce until it just coats the back of the spoon.
Drain the noodles and mix in with the nut butter mixture.
Chill and serve.

Results:
Much better than the other version. While warm the was tasty, but as it chilled, the sauce thickened just enough. The chilled version was a velvety summer treaty. The only thing it needed was some sesame seeds added at the last minute.

Cold Sesame Noodle #1

2009-09-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

Overall: Very Good
Cook Time: 2.5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 brick ramen
1 T Sunflower Butter*
1 T Sesame oil
2 t Soy Sauce

* I am alergic to peanut butter, else that would work fine here.

Method:

Cook the noodles slightly hard.
While it is cooking, mix the sunflower butter, oil and soy sauce.
Drain the noodles and mix in with the butter mixture.
Chill and serve.

Results:
This was very good flavor-wise and while warm was great. Once chilled however, the sauce congealed a little too much. It was still tasty but but had the consistency of nutbutter on noodles. so the were a very dense mass.

Special Combination Ramen #1

2009-06-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

Overall: Good
Cook Time: 3.5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 brick ramen
1 pkg chicken seasoning from maruchan
1/4 pkg beef seasoning from maruchan
1 can chicken
1 can mushrooms
1 T dehydrated chopped onion
2 t garlic powder
1 T soy sauce

Method:

Drain mushrooms and chicken into a 2c container.
Mix chicken, mushrooms, garlic and soy sauce.
Add the beef seasoning to the chicken seasoning and place this in the bottom of the cooking vessel.
Place the dehydrated onion on top of this followed by the noodle brick.
Fill the 2c container the rest of the way with water.
Place the chicken, mushroom mixture on top of the noodles and cover the whole deal with the water.

Results:
_Very_Salty_! The extra seasoning and soy sauce was a potent combination that had me downing a litre and a half of water while dining. Other than that, the broth and chunky stuff was delicious. The noodles were great. While using canned ingredients, I think that adding the liquid from them to the cooking liquid deepens the flavor a good bit with out adding much tinned flavor. Granted, I would much rather have a fresh grilled boneless thigh to add to this, but all told, the canned chicken is very good. I am looking at some dried mushrooms and spices from here. They also have dried honey and varied collection of peppers available which could be fun to play with.

Mushroom Shrimp Ramen

2009-06-29T12:11:00.001-07:00

Overall: Very Good
Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:
1 brick ramen
1 can mushrooms
1 can shrimp
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c sugar
2 T dehydrated chopped onion
2 t garlic powder

Method:

Drain the shrimp and mushrooms into 2 c measure.
Mix mushrooms and shrimp and marinate them in soy sauce, sugar, and garlic.
Place onion into the bottom of cooking vessel and place noodle brick on top of this.
Fill the 2 c measure holding the liquid from the shrimp and mushrooms with water.
Dump the shrimp and mushroom mixture on the noodles and cover the whole thing with the liquid.

Results:
The noodles were on the firm side. I would say about 97% done. 3.5 minutes will probably be about perfect for this microwave. The flavor was very good, nice shrimp flavor combined with the sweetness, could possibly cut back the sugar to 3 T. Would probably also work very well with fish cake or imitation krab thrown in after cooking. The main issue is buying these in sufficiently small amounts to make them feasible for the workplace.

New Baby Pics

2009-06-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings all. Bit of a picture heavy post today. Katie and I got to take a trip up to Michigan to meet up with my sisters' families
.

Gage's first card game.

The badminton game is on. . . .

And a beverage break.

Anne and Gage

Trouble. . .

Katie torments Kiki.

Creamy Garlic and Mushroom Ramen

2009-06-20T16:10:00.001-07:00

Overall: Poor
Cook Time: 2 min + 2 min after mixing

Ingredients:
1 pkg ramen (no flavor)
1 can mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom w/roasted garlic
1 t garlic powder
2 T dehydrated onions
dash of soy sauce

Method:

Drain the mushrooms, then place a dash of soy on them to marinate for just a moment.
Heat the noodles in the microwave with the mushrooms, garlic powder and onions.
Dump the can of soup on top and continue heating for about 2 minutes.
As the soup called for about 3/4 can of liquid to reconstitute, the cooking liquid was left in.

Results:
Not sure how to describe this other than unappetizing. The flavor wasn't bad, and it was the first time I actually hit the right consistency with the noodles. I am not sure why I don't like it but it was the first batch that I have had to throw out. I think it is just the texture of the creamy sauce that just struck me as off. I will try this one again without the soup to see if it works better.

A mess mostly

2009-06-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back from Michigan. The baby appears to be well and has a good set of lungs. We had fun, but are exhausted. Currently have 1 bag to finish up and then my father's day gift to get done also. So, on with today's trial.

Ramen with Clam Sauce

2009-06-13T15:39:00.000-07:00

Overall: Very Good
Cook Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pkg ramen (no flavor)
1 can chopped clams (reserve liquor)
2t extra virgin olive oil
1T garlic powder
2 oz garlic jack cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Cooked the ramen in 4 cups of water attempting to replicate pasta conditions. Salt the water prior to boiling. 2 cups of water would have been fine for the cooking. Cook time could be down around 4-5 minutes.
While the ramen is cooking, drain the clams into a dish and rinse them to remove any trapped sand.
To these I added the the oil, garlic powder and a very little of the clam juice.
After mixing this crumble the cheese in also.
Drain the noodles and place them on a plate.
Add the clam sauce and allow this to heat through.
Add Salt and pepper to taste.

Results:
The noodles were overcooked again. Also forgot to add salt to the water prior to cooking so they were a little bland. In spite of these two issues, this was still delicious.

ChiliRam

2009-06-12T16:18:00.000-07:00

Cook Time: 6 minutes + 2 for chili
Overall: Very Good

Ingredients:
1 pkg ramen (no flavor)
1 15oz can hormel chili
dehydrated onions
sriracha to taste
garlic jack cheese

Method:

Place onions into a 1/4c of hot water and let them sit while the rest of the cooking process continues.
Drain noodles and let rest on a plate.
Add sriracha to chili and heat in the same bowl as you cooked the noodles in.
Re-add noodles to the chili mixture and top with onions and cheese.

Results:
Noodles cooked relatively soft and starched up the water pretty well. Would probably be ok at 4.5-5 minutes. There was too much chili for the amount of noodles, also. I will most likely run with a 10.7 oz can of chili or double this and have leftovers. The sriracha adds a nice kick and the onions add freshness.

Ramen, Continued

2009-06-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

Overall: Decent
Cook Time: 4.25m

Ingredients:
1/4c crushed pineapple
2t sugar
2t soy sauce
1 pk sopporo ichiban ramen (no flavor)
1T dehydrated onions

Results:
Noodles still absorbed nearly all the liquid. There was a Slightly dusty odor and flavor which leads me to think these may have been just past their prime. The sweet/sour pineapple flavor was fairly well balanced, but needed more savory. May include half a pack of the flavoring next time through.

Ramen Electric, Part 1

2009-06-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

Introduction:
I started experimenting with ramen noodles back in college and came up with a few worthwhile recipes. I have long since forgotten these, so I must now begin all over again. But I will be posting how the trials go here.

Overall: Very Poor
Cook Time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:
Sopporo Ichiban Ramen - Original w/flavor pack
2C water
2 tsp crushed pineapple
1 tsp soy sauce
6-10 bamboo shoots.
Dehydrated onion

Results:
All of the liquid was absorbed by the noodles leading to an overly salty dish. The shoots should be added after cooking, else it all tastes like wood.

Back to Work

2009-05-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

I did my first weekend back at my full-time gig this week after having to take nearly 2 months off. It was a little odd being back in the place, but everyone was very supportive. I think it will all work out ok. Now it is time to set up a workspace for my sewing, leather and knot work. I will post some pics after I get done.

Monkeys Everywhere!

2009-04-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Katie and I have 7 monkeys (well 6 monkeys and a bear that thinks he is a monkey). This is Pooh, the most dangery one. He is ever cute and deadly.
For the full effect, click the pic.