Cooking: Difference between revisions

* '''4:00-4:30''' start bread maker, clean kitchen, run dishwasher if necessary

* '''4:30-5:00''' recipe is found/chosen and ingredients-to-buy list prepared

* '''5:30-7:00''' main cooking activities - chopping, frying, processing, baking, roasting, simmering, etc.etc.

* '''8:30-9:00''' initial cleanup - gather cooking-related dishes, clean counters, first batch of hand-washing

* '''9:30-10:00''' final cleanup - bowl/container remaining food, clean remaining pots and pans, clean remaining surfaces, collect unreturned dishes and start dishwasher

= Favorites =

* [http://cookieandkate.com/2015/vegan-lentil-soup-recipe/ spiced lentil soup]

* [http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Vietnamese-Bun-Cha-With-Sticky-Spicy-Tofu-1164315 Vietnamese bun cha with sticky spicy tofu]  

* [http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2014/03/vegan-cabbage-tofu-bowl-peanut-sauce.html Vegan Red Cabbage Bowl with Tofu and Peanut-Sriracha Sauce]

* [https://yupitsvegan.com/general-tsos-chickpeas/ general tso's chickpeas]

* [http://www.hotforfoodblog.com/recipes/2014/2/11/cauliflower-buffalo-wings cauliflower buffalo wings]

* [http://cookieandkate.com/2013/spicy-thai-peanut-sauce-over-roasted-sweet-potatoes-and-rice/ Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice]

* [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3238/spicy-indian-rice spicy indian rice] an incredible rice dish, 100 fold better than plain white rice :-)

= Dinner History =

* 2018-10-16 [https://cookieandkate.com/2016/thai-carrot-sweet-potato-soup-recipe/ thai carrot sweet potato soup] 5x and [https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/maple-cinnamon-roasted-butternut-squash/ maple cinnamon roasted butternut squash] a repeat 2x and [http://desserts.wikia.com/wiki/Galaxy_Bark Galaxy Bark] for dessert.  The soup was amazing - the red curry paste really spiced it up nice, so much great flavor!  Would make again.  The squash, once again wonderfully sweet.  The galaxy bark, "nailed it", the colored chocolate melts didn't melt very well (the made like a thick goo, rather than a runny liquid like the base dark chocolate).  When I tried to get them to spread like in the image, it just wouldn't do that - stuck together and glommed into the darker stuff.  Ultimately I ended up just basically dissolving the colors in the dark, which meant it all became dark - no swirling colors on the top.  But the edible sparkles and the other decorations made it look sort of OK, and of course it TASTES like chocoate, so it still got eaten (though there was so much, about half of it is left).  Anyway, need to figure out how to properly get the colored stuff to melt to a liquid - perhaps using a double-boiler would be a good idea?  Going further in the microwave was not workable, it just burns the hot spots in something that thick... maybe we could add something to thin it out, like a milk?  Need to talk to a chocolate expert.

* 2018-10-09 [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2835667/jerk-sweet-potato-and-black-bean-curry jerk sweet potato and black bean curry] a favorite 2x and [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3238/spicy-indian-rice spicy indian rice] a favorite 3x plus [https://thestayathomechef.com/the-most-amazing-chocolate-cake/ amazing chocolate cake] for Pari's birthday.  The curry & rice, incredible as always, good to know the favorites are still awesome.  The chocolate cake, indeed incredible as billed - it's was rich and moist and oh so very sweet and chocolaty.  Would make again, though, it's also huge - we had 20 people and couldn't finish it, I took some pieces home.  Also, it's not saying here, but I am making "hack bread" in the bread maker basically every week.  It's like this: 1.5 cups water, 3 cups flour (one is optionally wholewheat if you want brown bread), 2 tsp granulated sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp yeast, plus the hack: 1 to 2 tsp of a spice, I've tried pretty much all of them as this point, I can recommend cumin (and cumin seed) as being particularly well suited to bread, but lots of them are interesting and good.  I tried both adding them at the beginning, and adding them at the mid-beep, and it doesn't seem to make any difference so I've just taken to adding at the beginning since it's easier.

* 2018-05-08 [https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/165190/spicy-vegan-potato-curry/ spicy vegan potato curry] 2x (with extra veggies) and [https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lemon-brown-rice-garlic-and-thyme lemon brown rice] 3x plus [https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/11/29/chocolate-chip-marshmallow-cookies/ chocolate chip marshmallow cookies] and bread from the bread maker.  The curry was spicy for sure, but a bit bland until we added extra cumin, some garam masala and some lemon juice to brighten it up.  The cookies, somehow failed to set timer, when we got them out, the marshmallows had actually melted into the dough, I think saving the cookies from burning, but also disappointing us!  Delicious anyway.  The rice, subtle but excellent, comboed well.

* 2018-04-10 [https://www.hummusapien.com/vegetarian-chili/ vegetarian chili] 4x but only 3x on the tomatoes and beans plus [http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/vegan-cornbread-115929?ftab=reviews#activity-feed vegan corn bread], which we made twice.  The chili, added mushrooms, and had to sub swiss chard instead of celery, plus we added some apple cider vinegar to brighten it up.  After all that, it was actually great - for a chili.  Too spicy by half though, 4 jalapeño's was too many, I think 2 would have been sufficient.  The corn bread, amazing, incredible, would make again for sure!  We also had bread in the bread maker again, great as always.

* 2018-03-27 [https://jessicainthekitchen.com/thai-green-curry-vegan-gluten-free/ thai green curry] 6x a repeat and [https://damndelicious.net/2014/06/25/pineapple-fried-rice/ pineapple fried rice] 1.33x.  The curry, spicy and great as usual.  6x was totally the right call - just fits, after things boil down, though with that much veggie there sure is a LOT of chopping!  The rice also delicious, but we think the extra freezer frost on the frozen peas/etc added moisture, which resulted in it being a bit mushier.  I liked it, but other people apparently think it should have been crisper / more "fried".   

* 2018-03-06 [http://www.ilovevegan.com/cheesy-vegan-potato-broccoli-casserole/ cheesy vegan potato broccoli casserole] 4x and [https://lucysfriendlyfoods.com/2013/06/27/doughnuts/ vegan donuts] 2x.  Both excellent, would totally make the casserole again, a bit of work but not as bad as you'd think with the food processor to do all the slicing.  The donuts were actually easy to make - just get the oil to the right temp.  Rolling in the sugar was a bit tricky, injecting the jam surprisingly easy.  [https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-make-castor-sugar-substitute-4137095 Caster sugar] was just a few dozen seconds in the blender.

* 2017-03-14 [http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/sweet-potato-carrot-and-ginger-soup/ sweet potato ginger and carrot soup] 3x with garlic bread.  Plus [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/12682/apple-pie-by-grandma-ople/ apple pie] and [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/12468/old-fashioned-strawberry-pie/ strawberry pie] for Pi Day! The soup was good, even great actually, but we think it could have been made better with some lemon juice to brighten it up.  The apple pie we've made before and is good.  The strawberry pie was out of this world, incredible, would totally make again.  We added 4 cloves (ground) and 1/4 tsp. nutmug to the recipe, and made two open-top pies rather than one closed pie, but otherwise, as written.   

* 2017-03-07 [http://www.crazyvegankitchen.com/vegan-roasted-red-pepper-pasta/ roasted red pepper pasta] 8x with garlic bread, and [http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chewy-oatmeal-raisin-cookies chewy oatmeal raisin cookies].  The pasta was good - spicy!  We added extra nutritional yeast, since it needed something.  Not as good as the previous red pepper pasta, I think.  The cookies are excellent, nice and chewy!

* 2017-02-21 [http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/baked-leek-and-sweet-potato-gratin baked leek and sweet potato gratin] doubled and [http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-rutabaga-chipotle-soup-100959 rutabaga chipotle soup] doubled and [http://www.saucygirlskitchen.com/2011/04/03/chocolate-meringue-cookies-with-peanut-butter-cream-centers/ Chocolate Meringue Cookies with Peanut Butter Cream Centers].  The gratin was great - a little light on the leek (would make twice as many leeks for same scale next time), but super tasty - also, we used about 4x the breadcrumbs it calls for as well, anyway, would make again, not as much work as you'd think, and turned out well.  The soup: worst thing I have ever made at hacklab.  Had a very nasty bitter taste, which we attempted to fix using olive oil, sugar and salt (all three of which helped), but it wasn't sufficient to get it to even "OK", it was still basically inedible IMO - we ended up tossing 2/3 of it, though a few people did say they liked it.  Not sure what the problem was, really, but perhaps subbing tofu for cream isn't a great idea?  Or maybe we just got unlucky with the celery, which can sometimes be pretty bitter?  The cookies, excellent, but crazy fattening.  Gone in 60 seconds :-).  But, lots of left over peanut butter cream, about 2x as much as a recipe actually needs - and I'm pretty sure that Panter actually doubled the cookie recipe itself, so that means the peanut butter is actually 4x what you need, which is crazy... 2 cups DID seem like a lot, and it was...

* two missed weeks, Eric was sick.  Panter and Roberta did made something in the second week, I think it was a curry?  I don't think anything was made in the first week.

* 2016-10-18 [http://www.theinventivevegetarian.com/pumpkin-mac-and-cheese/ pumpkin mac and cheese] 3x and [http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spicy-coconut-noodles spicy coconut noodles] 4x and [http://hellyeahitsvegan.com/vegan-pumpkin-bread/ vegan pumpkin bread] 2x.  The mac and cheese was hearty and good, also HUGE, 3x made the 2 13x9 dishes and 2 of the 9x9, all quite deep.  The coconut noodles were excellent, would make again.  The bread, I made 3 subs, the most important was oats instead of the whole-wheat flour, then also sunflower seeds and cashews instead of walnuts.  Given that, it was delicious and perfect texture, best bread I've ever made here actually, obviously would make again, though it seems like it might be partially miraculous that it turned out so good.   

* 2016-10-11 For Thanksgiving: [http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/butternut-squash-with-whole-wheat-wild-rice-onion-stuffing/ Butternut Squash With Whole Wheat, Wild Rice, & Onion Stuffing] 2x and [http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/glorious-grains/quinoa/red-quinoa-pilaf-with-kale-and-corn/ Red Quinoa Pilaf with Kale and Corn] 2x and [http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/vegan-roasted-garlic-mashed-potatoes.html Vegan Roasted-Garlic Mashed Potatoes] 3x with [http://minimalistbaker.com/deep-dish-apple-crumble-pie/ deep dish apple crumble pie] and [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/12682/apple-pie-by-grandma-ople/ apple pie by grandma ople] (a repeat) for dessert.  The squash was good, not great, but very hard to make (scooping half cooked squash while it's hot?  Are they insane?), and took forever, I would not make it again.  Also, we couldn't even FIND wild rice, so we subbed some awesome black rice that we found.  The pilaf was excellent and much easier to make; 2x made less than half a pot so if I do make it again I'd scale it up more than that - 5x would probably fill the pot.  Both pies were good and lasted about 3 minutes :-).  The mashed potatoes we served because you can't have thanksgiving without mashed potatoes, but actually we didn't roast the garlic, just put it in with the potatoes while boiling, which was not as good for sure.  Next time I'd do it proper...

* 2016-09-27 [http://www.food.com/recipe/butternut-squash-and-roasted-red-pepper-soup-131936 Butternut Squash and Roasted Red Pepper Soup] 3x and [http://holycowvegan.net/2015/06/golden-roasted-curry-mustard-potatoes.html Golden Roasted Curry Mustard Potatoes] 2x, with garlic bread for the soup.  Both dishes were *excellent*, would make again.  The soup, should have made 4x, it would have fit, and we needed the extra - all the food gone today at 8:15!  The potatoes, 2x already filled all four trays in the oven, so not really possible to make more easily.  The potatoes, we used way more mustard than they called for - perhaps double, otherwise as in recipe.  The soup, we fried the onions and added garlic too, I can't imagine why the recipe doesn't fry the onions!

* 2016-09-20 [http://minimalistbaker.com/mediterranean-baked-sweet-potatoes/ mediterranean baked sweet potatoes] doubled, a repeat and [http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/kale-and-apple-salad-recipe.html kale and apple salad] also doubled.  The potatoes awesome as always (and as always, we used at least 3x the sauce, just double the potatoes).  The salad was good, but not as good as the previous kale salad (IMO, other people loved the apple in it).

* 2014-12-09 [http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Aloo-Matar/Detail.aspx?evt19=1 Aloo Matar] Quadrupled.  Pretty good, would make again.  Tried to use the new wok with wok ring, but not enough heat - ultimately had to do the onions in the frying pan and the mix in a large pot, as usual.  The potatoes, even though we pre-cooked them in the microwave, ended up undercooked - a little firm, but still good.  Would pre-cook them a little more next time (7 min x 2 instead of 5 min x2?, maybe with stirring half-way through).  Halved the paprika, as recommended in a comment - great idea, still fairly spicy!   

* 2014-12-02 [http://us6.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2b9bdc6a1a3b8cc791be76fb3&id=c16006e911&e= Vegan Japanese Curry] Tripled.  Good.  A lot of extra fluid (6 cups!!), which we just bailed out before serving.   

* 2014-11-18 [http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/panang-cucumber-curry/ Panang Cucumber Curry] [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spicy-cucumber-soup/ Spicy Cucumber Soup] - curry is great, the soup is *super spicy*.  Tripled both.  Used 7 large english cucumbers total :-)

* 2014-11-04 Korma, hot and sour soup, naan bread, [http://sachachua.com/blog/2014/11/cooking-hacklab-coconut-barfi/ coconut barfi], homemade peasant bread, store-bought cupcakes - Chris, Alaina, Eric, Sacha, Max, Gabriel, Will

= Wishlist (future potential dinners / desserts / etc!) =

* [http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/outback-steakhouse-honey-wheat-bushman-bread-272815 honey wheat bread]

* [http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/zucchini-pepperoni-pizza/ vegan zucchini pizza] from scratch (cheese and bread)

* [https://www.foodfaithfitness.com/moroccan-cauliflower-soup-with-carrots-apples-and-pistachio-cream-vegan-paleo/ cauliflower soup with carrots, apples and pistachio cream]

* [http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/vegan-and-gluten-free-tempeh-meatballs/ tempeh meatballs and spagetti]

* [http://ohsheglows.com/2014/03/12/6-tips-for-flawless-kale-chips-all-dressed-kale-chips-recipe/ all-dressed kale chips]

* [http://acozykitchen.com/baked-beet-chips/ baked beet chips]

* [http://ohsheglows.com/2010/10/02/pumpkin-gingerbread-with-spiced-buttercream/ pumpkin gingerbread with spiced buttercream]

* [http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/baked-leek-and-sweet-potato-gratin baked leek and sweet potato gratin]  

* [http://minimalistbaker.com/roasted-beet-hummus/ roasted beet hummus]

* [http://cookieandkate.com/2013/west-african-peanut-soup/ west african peanut soup]  

* [http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/carrot-and-beet-slaw-with-pistachios-and-raisins Carrot and Beet Slaw with Pistachios and Raisins] - once we have a machine to julienne veggies!

* [http://thehairpin.com/2011/02/i-made-my-own-soymilk-and-i-hate-myself-for-it-or-how-to-make-soymilk-from-scratch/ soymilk from scratch]

* [http://ohsheglows.com/2012/07/16/falafel-with-a-twist/ falafel with a twist]

* [http://pinchofyum.com/quick-homemade-ramen homemade ramen]

= Kitchen Robots=

* Stand Mixer

* Blender

* Food Processor

* allspice

* berbere spice mix (ethopian)

* cardamom pods

* cayenne, hot

* cumin, ground

* cumin, seeds

* curry powder

* garam masala

* garlic, powder

* jerk seasoning

* mustard, seeds, yellow

* nutmeg, ground

* nutritional yeast flakes

* paprika, sweet

* paprika (normal/spicy)

* pepper, ground

* pepper, white

* sesame, seeds

* turmeric

* basil  

* bay leaves

* thyme

* oregano

=kitchen equipment wishlist=

* stainless steel drink mix set

* microplane grater

* scale & thermometer (both liquid and oven).  We borrow them from DIYbio right now, so not urgent.

* spiralizer, like [http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/paderno-sprializer/ this one]