Eating cheap in America (or any where).

[Ramo]

You should give lentils and split peas a try - specially lentils, since they cook so quickly. Just take some lentils, water, a bouillion cube, and some carrots, celery, onions, salt, and pepper and in half an hour you can make enough good lentil soup for a week. With rice, a complete meal.

Lentil soup and rice

The way I cook lentil soup (dal) is boil lentils in water with turmeric, tomatoes/mangos, chili powder, and chilies. On the side, fry up some onions, garlic, and ginger. Combine them, and then add cilantro. And salt to taste...

You can do this with very little effort (a lot of this stuff you can get preserved if necessary, i.e. tomatoes, garlic, and ginger), and a large batch could last for quite a while.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Asher


Oh, you've no idea do you?

Tell yourself that if it makes you feel better.

My self esteem isn't linked to Poly, unlike yours of course.

But you and Winston can share happy anti-me stories as you make, sweet, sweet love.

[Asher]

Originally posted by GePap
My self esteem isn't linked to Poly, unlike yours of course.

Yes, I am acutely sensitive to what people think of me on Apolyton. That's why I go out of my way to make friends and be nice to everyone.

What is wrong with you?

[Dinner]

I forgot about an American stand by... The good old turkey. Turkey is cheap in America any time of the year but from October through mid January many super markets simply give away turkeys as part of a promotion; buy $50 worth of groceries and we'll give you a free turkey. If you have the freezer space then it is easy to collect three, four, or even five of these birds each weighting 10-20 pounds. That's a lot meat with is good eaten carved right off the bird, or on sandwiches, or in stews, and may other things. Also don't just throw away the carcass and instead use it to make a nice flavorful soup stock. It's an excellent way to deal with the carcass, gizzards, kidneys, heart, and neck which come in the bird.

[GePap]

Originally posted by Asher

Yes, I am acutely sensitive to what people think of me on Apolyton. That's why I go out of my way to make friends and be nice to everyone.

What is wrong with you?

Actually, as such an accomplished troll, you must obviously link your self-worth to your ability to bait people. So yes, you do seem to put a lot of stock in what people here think of you, only your misanthropy makes you seek rejection.

[Asher]

Originally posted by GePap


Actually, as such an accomplished troll, you must obviously link your self-worth to your ability to bait people. So yes, you do seem to put a lot of stock in what people here think of you, only your misanthropy makes you seek rejection.

I thought I was a flamer, yet now I'm a troll. You guys can't get your labels correct.

Perhaps most importantly is I don't give a **** what people think of me here? And that's why I'm willing to tell people off.

Apolyton is a terrific distraction for somebody like myself who has trouble concentrating. It's always on in the background of something else (a game, a TV show/movie, work, etc). I don't give a **** what people think here, and anyone with an ounce of intelligent would know that somebody seeking approval on an online forum would take a persona more like your own ("I am an ELITE INTELLECTUAL and I am even-balanced and fair") than someone who ends up antagonizing a lot of people by speaking without an internal censor.

Just a thought...

[GePap]

A very shallow thought, yes

If you didn't care what people though, why post at all and seek so much attention? Yeah, keep telling yourself you don't care....maybe one day it will become true.

[snoopy369]

You're a flaming troll ... not that hard

On the crockpot issue ... you can definitely make some great food in a crockpot. You don't need to watch over something every five seconds to get a good result - when I make my roast (whole) chicken, I season it, put it in the roasting oven, and come back an hour and a half later (two hours if I forget to set the timer... ) and it's done. Very flavorful, moist ... it's all in how you prepare it.

Making a roast of beef in a crockpot can be a great experience, if you know how to season it ... the fact that it cooks so slowly means that you effectively marinate the meat over three or four hours, and you never get a dry roast (unless you forget to put enough water/veggies in there... ) Adding veggies means your meat is more flavorful, far more so than you can get in any other method of cooking (roasting, frying, etc.) and it's healthier, also, since you can use a much leaner cut of meat and still end up with a great tasting, moist product (fat is usually what provides the moisture in a roast).

I think you mistake 'easy to use and convenient' with 'lazy', GePap. The fact that it's ideal for the lazy person does not mean that's the crockpot's purpose... slow cooking is an art, and one that can produce amazing results with relatively little skill required beyond following a recipe. It can't produce everything, of course, but for meat roasts, stews, and soups, it is definitely the best appliance.

[Asher]

Originally posted by GePap
A very shallow thought, yes

If you didn't care what people though, why post at all and seek so much attention?

It keeps me occupied to have many back and forths. I can only make so many drivebys, it's the dialog that eats up the time.

Seems to me the logic you're using is a bit flawed. You're saying everyone who is posting is seeking attention, yes? Including yourself?

Logic never was your forte, was it?

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by GePap


You should give lentils and split peas a try - specially lentils, since they cook so quickly. Just take some lentils, water, a bouillion cube, and some carrots, celery, onions, salt, and pepper and in half an hour you can make enough good lentil soup for a week. With rice, a complete meal.

I have done that, well, just lentils and some canned tomatoes (the other stuff is complicated).

I made enough lentils for two-four meals (I don't remember, has been a while) and I eat like five meals per day. I had enough lentils to completely fill my pot.

I should probably try that again.

JM

[GePap]

Originally posted by snoopy369
I think you mistake 'easy to use and convenient' with 'lazy', GePap. The fact that it's ideal for the lazy person does not mean that's the crockpot's purpose... slow cooking is an art, and one that can produce amazing results with relatively little skill required beyond following a recipe. It can't produce everything, of course, but for meat roasts, stews, and soups, it is definitely the best appliance.

A lot of flavor comes from the kind of breaking down of subtances or carmelization you don't get from the low heat of a crockpot. You can get amazing soups or stews in a third of the time in a dutch oven. There is a lot more cooking versitility in a regular pot over heat than in any crockpot.

[Asher]

Originally posted by GePap
A lot of flavor comes from the kind of breaking down of subtances or carmelization you don't get from the low heat of a crockpot. You can get amazing soups or stews in a third of the time in a dutch oven. There is a lot more cooking versitility in a regular pot over heat than in any crockpot.

No one is ****ing saying that crockpots replace regular pots. They supplement.

You've clearly no idea what the hell you're talking about.

You can at least spell the most basic words correctly. Caramelization is fantastic in some cases, but you don't always want that, for instance.

Open your ****ing mind, GePap.

[Dinner]

Crock pot cooking is definitely an art form. Done poorly and you end up with mush but do it right and you end up with a tasty meal for very little work. It especially lends itself to the tougher cuts of meat (shoulder, brisket, etc...) as the slow cooking and long simmer melt the tendons and fat leaving you with some moist tender meat and an excellent stock to go with it. The potatoes, carrots, and onions help to round out your meal.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by GePap


A lot of flavor comes from the kind of breaking down of subtances or carmelization you don't get from the low heat of a crockpot. You can get amazing soups or stews in a third of the time in a dutch oven. There is a lot more cooking versitility in a regular pot over heat than in any crockpot.

Certainly a crockpot is not versatile in that sense - you cannot make, as you say, caramelized onions in it (except when you can... some crockpots go fairly high on the temp if you ask them to). However, there are a lot of kinds of flavor... and the fact that a crockpot only does some of them well doesn't weaken the premise that a crockpot is an excellent way to cook quite good meals. The fact that it can't cook a particular meal is of no consequence...

In any event, a crockpot gains in slow breaking down of substances more than it loses in the lack of quick breaking down of substances There's simply no way to get a nearly as flavorful roast of beef without a crockpot. A dutch oven on the stove will come close, but only if you are VERY careful with it, and keep the heat at about the crockpot temperature - in which case you might as well have a crockpot (as it's easier).

[Dinner]

A good recipe my mom used to make is roast chicken with potatoes. Buy a whole frozen chicken (costs a few bucks) and allow it to defrost in brine water (just fill a pot with water put a lot of salt in it then put the chicken in), this helps the chicken defrost faster plus the brine water helps get salt into the chicken meat. Once the chicken is defrosted butterfly the chicken by cutting the backbone out using meat shears or a knife. Just cut the ribs on each side of the backbone and lay the bird out so that the inside lays down and the top skin is up. You'll likely have to break a few of the bird's bones to make it lay flat but you can do that easily with the palm of you hand.

Trim off any extra fat off the bird and push your hand up under the skin so that the skin is slightly lifted off the rest. Mix some thyme into some butter and then evenly spread the butter-thyme under the bird's skin then rub some olive oil on the outside of the skin as this will help make the skin crispy. Finally crack some fresh pepper on the outside of the bird. Next slice a few potatoes in a food processor and season them with your favorite potato spice mix.

Get a broiler pan line the bottom with tin foil then put the potatoes on top of the tin foil. Put the top plate on the broil pan and then put the whole prepared chicken on the broiler. Put the whole thing in an oven pre-heated to 500 degrees and cook it for 10-12 minutes. The high heat helps crisp the skin giving the chicken a nice brown color plus it melts the fat on the chicken so that the oil, butter, and spices drip down and help season the potatoes in the broiler pan. Pull the chicken out and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

To serve cut the chicken into portions and turn the whole broiler pan over on a cutting board and just peel back the aluminum foil to find perfectly done potatoes. You might want to dab off any excess oil or grease from the potatoes but they will taste wonderful as will the chicken.