3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 white vinegar
1 TB catsup
2/3 pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce (optional)
2 TB cornstarch
Whisk cornstarch into liquid ingredients. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over med heat. Stir often until thickened, about 3 minutes.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
This for that
Then the need to dig up a suitable cornstarch substitute does arise, as one cannot really live without soups, cakes and other food delights in life. Cornstarch also happens to have a very high carbohydrates quotient, with only a tablespoon of cornstarch containing up to 7.4g of carbs with 0% dietary fibers. Naturally, weight conscious people would instinctively opt for healthier substitutes. So, here are some viable cornstarch substitutes for you.
- Buzzle.com
- Buzzle.com
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Cheesecake and other bad habits
I am up eating a ham and smoked cheddar with red onion, mayo and brown mustard, even though I am not very fond of ham.
It was that or eat the rest of the cheesecake sitting in the fridge. I really think eating the cheesecake was the better option, but that wouldn't have been very fair to anyone else when they woke up and the whole cheesecake was missing.
My sister brought it from work, a thoughtful thank you for me letting her babysit tonight!
It was in one of those plain, white boxes that just screams DELICIOUS GOODNESS WITHIN!
So, so soft! The kind of soft that makes you wonder how it holds shape when you cut it.
Also, it came it a variety pack. One set was boston creme. Oh, my goodness! Whoever had that genius idea is a, genius!
Parent teacher conferences were tonight. Hence me wanting to eat the entire cheesecake...
Duckie and Blue stayed home, had frozen pizza and cheesecake. Lucky came with me, and we went out to eat between conferences. I had a couple of california rolls, a mango roll and a bowl of miso soup. (Don't look at me like that! It's the same cost as going to a diner! I know, I know... but still.)
Lucky had tempura veggies and shrimp again. He loves to eat the tail!
I just finished making rice. I don't know what I'm packing for Lucky's lunch tomorrow. Probably plain rice and egg pancakes. Maybe I'll put some zucchini in the egg. I've been grating it into everything this week.
Now, back to that cheesecake!
It was that or eat the rest of the cheesecake sitting in the fridge. I really think eating the cheesecake was the better option, but that wouldn't have been very fair to anyone else when they woke up and the whole cheesecake was missing.
My sister brought it from work, a thoughtful thank you for me letting her babysit tonight!
It was in one of those plain, white boxes that just screams DELICIOUS GOODNESS WITHIN!
So, so soft! The kind of soft that makes you wonder how it holds shape when you cut it.
Also, it came it a variety pack. One set was boston creme. Oh, my goodness! Whoever had that genius idea is a, genius!
Parent teacher conferences were tonight. Hence me wanting to eat the entire cheesecake...
Duckie and Blue stayed home, had frozen pizza and cheesecake. Lucky came with me, and we went out to eat between conferences. I had a couple of california rolls, a mango roll and a bowl of miso soup. (Don't look at me like that! It's the same cost as going to a diner! I know, I know... but still.)
Lucky had tempura veggies and shrimp again. He loves to eat the tail!
I just finished making rice. I don't know what I'm packing for Lucky's lunch tomorrow. Probably plain rice and egg pancakes. Maybe I'll put some zucchini in the egg. I've been grating it into everything this week.
Now, back to that cheesecake!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tempura Batter
2 egg whites
1 cup cold water
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 baking powder
2 icecubes
Whip egg whites until they are quite foamy but not yet stiff. Sift flour and salt into egg whites and mix lightly. Add baking powder and then water. Stir very gently, only until just mixed. Batter will be very dry and lumpy. Do not overstir or batter will lose it's crispiness when fried.
Add icecubes and let sit until melted.
After ice is melted stir once more, batter is now ready for vegetables.
Salt after frying or serve with dipping sauce.
Vegetable suggestions: zucchini, onion, green beans, asparagus, sweet potatoes, baby corn, mushrooms, potatoes, green peppers
Protein suggestions: 2 inch pieces of chicken, fish, shelled shrimp, tofu
Note: this video is a very good guide to the proper texture for your tempura batter, also gives an egg-less recipe and the traditional dipping sauce recipe.
1 cup cold water
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 baking powder
2 icecubes
Whip egg whites until they are quite foamy but not yet stiff. Sift flour and salt into egg whites and mix lightly. Add baking powder and then water. Stir very gently, only until just mixed. Batter will be very dry and lumpy. Do not overstir or batter will lose it's crispiness when fried.
Add icecubes and let sit until melted.
After ice is melted stir once more, batter is now ready for vegetables.
Salt after frying or serve with dipping sauce.
Vegetable suggestions: zucchini, onion, green beans, asparagus, sweet potatoes, baby corn, mushrooms, potatoes, green peppers
Protein suggestions: 2 inch pieces of chicken, fish, shelled shrimp, tofu
Note: this video is a very good guide to the proper texture for your tempura batter, also gives an egg-less recipe and the traditional dipping sauce recipe.
Kitchen Supplies
We are still eating gluten and casein. This is really an all or nothing deal. I haven't quite wrapped my head around it, yet. I picked up rice flour at the store today thinking I could try to make tempura from it, then put it back. How will I know if I don't try it?
Friday night the two bebes had vegetable, shrimp tempura out to dinner with their father and I. Lucky had less than half cup plain rice, Duckie shared my Yukkisoba (glorified teriyaki? I looked up the recipe later, I am trying something of the sort later this week. Out, it was very greasy, but sweet and tasty enough.)
I have been wanting a wok, for-ever! There's really no room for it in this kitchen, so I keep telling myself I don't need it. I started scouting them out.
I also decided I need a rice steamer. A few weeks ago Dman decided we needed to replace the blender that broke a year ago. It seems I underestimate how important smoothies are in our lives. I was more convinced a rice steamer would fill a need while the blender would take up space.
I was wondering what I could make smoothies with now if I'm not using cow's milk . . . I have had the stuff for making rice milk here for over a week now . . . just wondered if I could make kefir with rice milk . . . and . . . look what I found!
A fantastic new fooding blog with a recipe on dairy-free yogurt!
I'm overloaded with thinking about the way rice milk will react to kefir grains and probiotics! Oooh, I'm going to have to try this! I wonder if it will work?!
Where was I? Blenders, steamers. . . I bought a rice steamer today. In fact, the universe really blessed me today by making available to me a fancy multi-purpose kettle! It steams, it deep fries! It roasts, it browns, it boils! I linked it because it really is that cool. So cool, in fact that I could afford to buy a toaster oven big enough for a chicken! How's that for no room in the kitchen?
I am so thankful for these not so little things.
And that was the point of this post ;)
Here's to looking forward to the oncoming week!
Friday night the two bebes had vegetable, shrimp tempura out to dinner with their father and I. Lucky had less than half cup plain rice, Duckie shared my Yukkisoba (glorified teriyaki? I looked up the recipe later, I am trying something of the sort later this week. Out, it was very greasy, but sweet and tasty enough.)
I have been wanting a wok, for-ever! There's really no room for it in this kitchen, so I keep telling myself I don't need it. I started scouting them out.
I also decided I need a rice steamer. A few weeks ago Dman decided we needed to replace the blender that broke a year ago. It seems I underestimate how important smoothies are in our lives. I was more convinced a rice steamer would fill a need while the blender would take up space.
I was wondering what I could make smoothies with now if I'm not using cow's milk . . . I have had the stuff for making rice milk here for over a week now . . . just wondered if I could make kefir with rice milk . . . and . . . look what I found!
A fantastic new fooding blog with a recipe on dairy-free yogurt!
I'm overloaded with thinking about the way rice milk will react to kefir grains and probiotics! Oooh, I'm going to have to try this! I wonder if it will work?!
Where was I? Blenders, steamers. . . I bought a rice steamer today. In fact, the universe really blessed me today by making available to me a fancy multi-purpose kettle! It steams, it deep fries! It roasts, it browns, it boils! I linked it because it really is that cool. So cool, in fact that I could afford to buy a toaster oven big enough for a chicken! How's that for no room in the kitchen?
I am so thankful for these not so little things.
And that was the point of this post ;)
Here's to looking forward to the oncoming week!
With a Grain of Salt
My focus for this blog is what I feed my family.
As much as I would love to step into a fully formed food blog, full of fantastic pictures and fabulous recipes, this is not that blog.
This is where I write about what we are eating, where I write about the frustrations of them not eating and express the joys of what we do eat.
I forget that.
I really wanted this blog to be something that I would do every day, some place where I could freely lament the trouble I am having. A place that would hold all the trials and all the triumphs.
But, I got very discouraged.
I want this to be interesting, and fun to read. I want this to be helpful to others, or at least entertaining.
I don't want to talk about white rice and eggs every day. I don't even want to eat white rice and eggs every day.
One of the reasons I started this is so I could clearly see what my kids do eat and then use that information to break out of the mold.
But I don't want to talk about white rice every day.
"Write the book you want to read". Have you ever heard that?
Well, the foodie book I want to read is about the mom who doesn't have a lot of extra money, a mom who is working with the same eating restrictions I deal with. I want to read the book about the mom who doesn't smile a fake smile, who won't tell me about how her children eat six servings of vegetables every day, never eat fried food, never throw food. I want to read the book about the mom who cried after dinner every night for eight weeks before leaving the dishes for tomorrow and sitting around with a tub of forbidden ice-cream.
I want to read about the mom who is creative and struggling and who conquers meals one mustard seed at a time.
The one that that always has "and then everyone had a delicious meal, felt filled with great energy and went about their business" in every chapter!
And, you know what? I am being unfair to what I really want this blog to be about by wishing that it was something else.
I ramble. I get frustrated. I get discouraged. I feed my kids foods I don't want them to have because I am frustrated and discouraged.
I cook less than I ought to and order far more than I should.
I don't like it. But that's how it is, right now. And I am here to keep track of all of it. Not just the yummy stuff.
Whatever this blog may not be, it is definitely about food.
This blog is purely for myself and my own purposes. I have never kept online journals to connect with others.
It's an incredible tool for doing so. Don't get me wrong. Of course I would love to have many readers and lots of comments. But that is not my motivation, nor the goal of this project.
Right now, I just want to watch what we eat. Andtalk write about it.
Beside, I must remember, if I do hope to reach someone else through what I am writing, I must be extremely straightforward about what we are eating, how we like it or not. Going to write about what I really use to cook, how I could do it differently.
I do love to talk about tastes and what I thought went right or wrong in cooking!
So, here's to figuring it out from scratch; to taking the lumps, and the burnt bits and eating it with a smile!
Here's to writing it all out in it's messy glory and not feeling bad when mine doesn't look as good as yours.
Here's to practice makes perfect. Nobody's looking, anyway!
As much as I would love to step into a fully formed food blog, full of fantastic pictures and fabulous recipes, this is not that blog.
This is where I write about what we are eating, where I write about the frustrations of them not eating and express the joys of what we do eat.
I forget that.
I really wanted this blog to be something that I would do every day, some place where I could freely lament the trouble I am having. A place that would hold all the trials and all the triumphs.
But, I got very discouraged.
I want this to be interesting, and fun to read. I want this to be helpful to others, or at least entertaining.
I don't want to talk about white rice and eggs every day. I don't even want to eat white rice and eggs every day.
One of the reasons I started this is so I could clearly see what my kids do eat and then use that information to break out of the mold.
But I don't want to talk about white rice every day.
"Write the book you want to read". Have you ever heard that?
Well, the foodie book I want to read is about the mom who doesn't have a lot of extra money, a mom who is working with the same eating restrictions I deal with. I want to read the book about the mom who doesn't smile a fake smile, who won't tell me about how her children eat six servings of vegetables every day, never eat fried food, never throw food. I want to read the book about the mom who cried after dinner every night for eight weeks before leaving the dishes for tomorrow and sitting around with a tub of forbidden ice-cream.
I want to read about the mom who is creative and struggling and who conquers meals one mustard seed at a time.
The one that that always has "and then everyone had a delicious meal, felt filled with great energy and went about their business" in every chapter!
And, you know what? I am being unfair to what I really want this blog to be about by wishing that it was something else.
I ramble. I get frustrated. I get discouraged. I feed my kids foods I don't want them to have because I am frustrated and discouraged.
I cook less than I ought to and order far more than I should.
I don't like it. But that's how it is, right now. And I am here to keep track of all of it. Not just the yummy stuff.
Whatever this blog may not be, it is definitely about food.
This blog is purely for myself and my own purposes. I have never kept online journals to connect with others.
It's an incredible tool for doing so. Don't get me wrong. Of course I would love to have many readers and lots of comments. But that is not my motivation, nor the goal of this project.
Right now, I just want to watch what we eat. And
Beside, I must remember, if I do hope to reach someone else through what I am writing, I must be extremely straightforward about what we are eating, how we like it or not. Going to write about what I really use to cook, how I could do it differently.
I do love to talk about tastes and what I thought went right or wrong in cooking!
So, here's to figuring it out from scratch; to taking the lumps, and the burnt bits and eating it with a smile!
Here's to writing it all out in it's messy glory and not feeling bad when mine doesn't look as good as yours.
Here's to practice makes perfect. Nobody's looking, anyway!
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