FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD (3 Viewers)

[Buzzo]

Possibly because the FunBuzz is on hiatus due to a plethora of minor health complications, I'm getting ridiculously excitable by food again. Whatever the reason, I've had some interesting revelations regarding food over the past few days, so I'll share em, and would love to hear those of others.

It's a nice time to have these conversations, I think, because people are probably being health conscious and thinking about what goes in a bit more, and people who are off the booze might need ways to occupy their time. I strongly suggest cooking. Cooking ROOLZ.

My hot discoveries for this week:

Cranberries:
They have bags of fresh ones on the cheap in loads of supermarkets after the christmas. They're normally quite pricey or difficult to get. Buy loads and stick em in the freezer. You can make all kinds of things with them then whenever you want.
Fact fans: fresh cranberries are way better for the chilly winter UTI buzzes than juice because the juices have lots of sugar in em, and there's a higher concentration of piss goodness in fresh cranberries, or so I'm told.

Food presentation:
I've never been a particularly visual person when it comes to what goes in my gob or the gobs of others, but I've been swayed by magical food forces. Vol-au-vents, ramekins as rice moulds, sprigs of parsely, swirls of fake cream. It's very 80s, but it's a recession so nobody will be able to afford pre-fancified food in a couple of months.

Homemade fake shit:
Fake fried chicken, fake cheese sauce, fake feta cheese ! (I haven't tried this one yet). Fake meat and dairy substitutes can be really expensive. It helps, when you restrict your diet, to find that you can expand your options to include greasy crap that actually tastes good and doesn't cost a million quid, as is often the case with factory made mock meat and dairy products.

Salad related gems:
- toasted seeds make everything taste and feel awesome in your mouth
- capers are incredible
- instead of going to the hassle of making dressing, sprinkling a really good vinegar and oil over the salad will do equally well. Don Carolos olive oil infused with basil is something else. It tastes aniseedy or some shit, but there's only basil and oil in it, and it goes miraculously with a good quality sweet balsamic I had lying around. Also, raw olive oil is so good for you.

Swoon. Food.

 

[Space]

I fuckin love food.

 

[jane]

I just spotted some amazing-looking olive oil at the Temple Bar market yesterday, and I should have bought it. Real cloudy looking, dark, just the way it should be. OH GOD.

I keep salads simple -- just good olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Or I make a concoction from garlic puree, tahini, yogurt and lemon juice. Gorgeous. Adding nuts to a salad is fabulous, as are some sliced and chopped pears (and blue cheese, but obviously, that's not vegan). They really round it out and make it even more flavourful.

I made this really colourful salad a couple of times recently, the first time because it was all that was in the fridge/presses. Yellow peppers and orange peppers done on the George Foreman grill (greatest invention ever), chopped up. Delicious cherry tomatoes, a tin of sweetcorn, cubed feta, spicy lentil sprouts, a handful of rocket, spring onions, and just olive oil and sea salt and pepper.

Delish.

I'm also not concerned with what things look like, but I might try the little rice mould thing. Sounds kinda cool.

Cranberries rule, but I'm a sucker for blueberries. Blueberries are my favourite food, hands down. I just ate a whole punnet of them, even though I know they had to travel a great distance. I just couldn't resist them.

Back to cranberries: I should dig up a cranberry cookie recipe from last year. It used fresh ones, not dried. Deadly.

 

[mr pharmacist!!!!1]

this belongs in food.

 

[broken arm]

real beetroot.

i just bought some real beetroots and hadn't realised how sweet they are. I just made a beetroot and lentil salad with red onion, mushrooms some coriander and cumin and it was nice.

with it i fried chopped veggie sausage in freshly chopped tomato with some cayenne pepper.

looked weird but it was great

 

[shower another shower]

capers and anchovies wit parmesian. Stick it on a cracker or whateva'.

 

[nofunchee]

Food presentation:
I've never been a particularly visual person when it comes to what goes in my gob or the gobs of others, but I've been swayed by magical food forces. Vol-au-vents, ramekins as rice moulds, sprigs of parsely, swirls of fake cream. It's very 80s, but it's a recession so nobody will be able to afford pre-fancified food in a couple of months.

you mean these?

food is all about presentation.

 

[minka]

real beetroot.

i just bought some real beetroots and hadn't realised how sweet they are. I just made a beetroot and lentil salad with red onion, mushrooms some coriander and cumin and it was nice.

with it i fried chopped veggie sausage in freshly chopped tomato with some cayenne pepper.

looked weird but it was great

ooh, must try that salad, as i love beetroot and love lentils. goats cheese might work in there too, methinks.

my usual thing to make with beetroot is borscht. kind of like a hot bloody mary with more root vegetables...

recent food discoveries: homemade lentil dhal with lemon and fried spices (tarka) stirred in at the end. omg, the nyom. this and rice and a green salad == super delicious, super inexpensive.

oh, and because we have rosemary in the garden, i have been making rosemary roast potatoes a lot. mmm. potatoey.

buzzo, how do you toast your seeds for salads? if i need to toast anything (almond slivers, pine nuts) i normally just use a dry frying pan and toss til they're brown. do you add any seasoning?

 

[Buzzo]

you mean these?

Foooooooooooood pooooooooooorn!

buzzo, how do you toast your seeds for salads? if i need to toast anything (almond slivers, pine nuts) i normally just use a dry frying pan and toss til they're brown. do you add any seasoning?

Exactly what you do! Depending on what they're going into, I might add a little salt or soy sauce at the end (if the dish is already salty, or if it's a sweet dish I won't).


Beetroot- I'll eat it if someone else puts it in something, but I won't go lookin for it.

Another amazing thing that happened over Christmas was my rediscovery of the 'traditional' dinner. (fake) Meat, spuds, veg and gravy. You could put any old crap on a plate if you've got the right gravy. I still can't do cooked carrots though.

We made home-made veggie gravy a couple of times over Christmas- used mushrooms, onions and broccoli stalks for the stock (blended to thicken too), and then yeast extract for the browning. Swoon.

 

[minka]

I still can't do cooked carrots though.

oh oh oh i have the awesomest way of cooking carrots, from the cranks bible cookbook! you peel the carrots, cut them in half if they're big, then put them in a casserole dish in a single layer. add in olive oil, crushed garlic, cumin seeds, salt and pepper, little bit of veggie stock, splash of tabasco, pinch of saffron. mix around so everything is covered in oil, stick the lid on, and put over a lowish heat until the carrots are tender - stir them around every so often and give them a prod to see if they're done. it is super delicious.

i'll check in the book for the exact quantities of everything if you like. it's a top book generally - fab veggie stuff, not all vegan but a lot of it is.

she does put tabasco in everything, mind.

 

[broken arm]

oh oh oh i have the awesomest way of cooking carrots, from the cranks bible cookbook! you peel the carrots, cut them in half if they're big, then put them in a casserole dish in a single layer. add in olive oil, crushed garlic, cumin seeds, salt and pepper, little bit of veggie stock, splash of tabasco, pinch of saffron. mix around so everything is covered in oil, stick the lid on, and put over a lowish heat until the carrots are tender - stir them around every so often and give them a prod to see if they're done. it is super delicious.

jaysus, that's sounds amazing. would you get away with cumin powder?

 

[Buzzo]

she does put tabasco in everything, mind.

Tabasco is a wonderfood. It's incredible. It makes everything taste like so much fun.

Cooked carrots though..... as beautiful as that recipe sounds, I dunno if it's gonna happen. They just feel so wrong in my mouth.

 

[magicbastarder]

real beetroot.

beetroot turns your shit black.

 

[minka]

jaysus, that's sounds amazing. would you get away with cumin powder?

i reckon you would.

 

[MARYJANE]

here, apparently its a bad idea to toast your seeds and nuts because it converts the good oils into bad oils. like how olive oil is good for you if its raw, but if you heat it up its not so good. its a bit of a buzzkill though.
but anyways, poppy seeds are great. and red cabbage salad.

 

[Buzzo]

here, apparently its a bad idea to toast your seeds and nuts because it converts the good oils into bad oils. like how olive oil is good for you if its raw, but if you heat it up its not so good. its a bit of a buzzkill though.
but anyways, poppy seeds are great. and red cabbage salad.

Harbinger of Buzzkills!
Fuck it. They taste nice, and they're hardly bad, like say, m&ms or pork scratchings.

Poppy seeds- little tiny heroin balls

Red cabbage salad- do go on....?

 

[MARYJANE]

Harbinger of Buzzkills!
Fuck it. They taste nice, and they're hardly bad, like say, m&ms or pork scratchings.

Poppy seeds- little tiny heroin balls

Red cabbage salad- do go on....?

yeah, i guess maybe if u did half and half, toasted seeds/raw seeds, u get the nice taste and the good oils, that hadn't occurred to me until just now.

nothing much to say about red cabbage salad, only that i was trying to eat green cabbage and it kept ruining everything i put it in. then today i had some shredded red cabbage with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, baby spinach and baby potatoes and it was nice.
anyone know anything to do with green cabbage thats not gross? like something that will mask the taste but not overcook it?

 

[Space]

yeah, i guess maybe if u did half and half, toasted seeds/raw seeds, u get the nice taste and the good oils, that hadn't occurred to me until just now.

nothing much to say about red cabbage salad, only that i was trying to eat green cabbage and it kept ruining everything i put it in. then today i had some shredded red cabbage with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, baby spinach and baby potatoes and it was nice.
anyone know anything to do with green cabbage thats not gross? like something that will mask the taste but not overcook it?

A few cherry tomatoes added to that is lovely. Never had baby potatoes with it, must try them, same buzz with pasta/pesto is great. Dunno much about green cabbage.

 

[ernesto]

A few cherry tomatoes added to that is lovely. Never had baby potatoes with it, must try them, same buzz with pasta/pesto is great. Dunno much about green cabbage.

i have a weird feeling lemon juice would go nice with cabbage and cherry tomatoes.

i dont know why.

 

[Space]

i have a weird feeling lemon juice would go nice with cabbage and cherry tomatoes.

i dont know why.

It does.