Shoddy Souffle

I hate souffles.

The souffle (no, no accent; I can't be bothered to figure out how to type one) is a creation that inspires well-documented fear in amateur cooks, ostensibly because experienced ones have shared their horror stories regarding the fluffy disastor-in-waiting. A "good" souffle is many things: poofy, yet rich; airy, yet filling; springy, yet cohesive; and, perhaps most importantly, challenging, yet delicious.

Inspired by my friend Shari's gentle prodding (or insistent demand, depending on who you ask) that I attempt a recipe she discovered, I took it upon myself to make my first attempt at this mysterious juxtaposition of conflicting descriptions. Naturally, I had to try a "non-traditional" souffle recipe as my first creation, and just as naturally, it was a miserable mess, and met none of the criteria I so painstakingly listed in the paragraph above. Never one to turn my back on a delightful "disaster post", I now proudly display my failed dish of banana pudding and bubbles in order that these mistakes never be made again. I must warn you, however, that some of the images (including the one at the top of this post) contain graphic depictions of unappetizing culinary creations, and as such, should not be viewed while a) eating, b) in the dark, alone, c) pregnant, or d) a master chef.

Banana Souffle

(Stolen from Tasty Eats At Home )

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas, mashed

3tbsp water

1/3c plus 1tbsp sugar

1/2tsp cornstarch

pinch of cinnamon

4 egg whites

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400F

Procedure

I like to get all the required ingredients together so I can look at them prior to starting. That way, when I forget something, I can see that it was because I forgot it in the first place and not because kitchen gnomes came in and stole the salt.

Prior to attempting the preparation, butter and sugar 4 ramekins (or, in my case, a single souffle dish) and set aside. Mix the water and the 1/3c sugar in a small saucepan and set over medium-high heat until it reaches a boil. In the meanttime, mash the hell out of those bananas (or cheat, and use a food processor, blender. Cheater.) and mix the cinnamon and corn starch into the mashed goo. Verify that the sugar has dissolved in the water and remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir the banana sludge into the syrup until thoroughly incorporated and set aside to cool.

The recipe's creator notes here, and I re-emphasize: make sure the mixture cools to room temperature before proceeding. It shouldn't take long, but if it's overly warm, it'll break apart the whipped egg whites and screw up your bubbles later on.

While the mixture is cooling, add the egg whites to a mixing bowl (ideally the bowl that goes with your stand mixer. ... What? I can cheat too. Shut up!) and mix until slightly frothy. Add the salt and continue mixing until the "soft peaks" stage is reached. Be sure not to overmix! When finished, bring the banana slime back to the equation and set it alongside the egg whites, just so they know who's boss.

Despite my intimidation technique, the ingredients didn't seem to take me very seriously, judging by my result.

Now that the ingredients have been put in their proper places, it is time to fold. Gently fold the egg whites into the brown goo, and don't over-fold: some white streaks are fine, as you want to retain that bubbly action for the rising portion later.

Hungry yet?

Pour the entire mixture into your ramekins (or souffle) and place them (it) into the oven. After it's in, reduce the heat to 375F and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until it has puffed upwards and the top has browned.

Not so ugly now, is it?

Lessons Learned

Lessons? An interesting question, seeing as how I'm not confident that any one thing went wrong. I suspect I under-mixed my eggs and had overly-soft peaks, as they did not mix well with the sludge portion of the dish. What is probably a greater problem is my use of a souffle instead of smaller ramekins; I suspect I should have modified the baking time to compensate, but even after trying that, it simply didn't want to set. I had a soup in the center and a beautifully browned exterior.

That said, I really don't have any problem eating dishes that look unappetizing, but I simply didn't care much for the flavor of this. The banana-cinnamon combination didn't work for me, and while I'm not a big fan of banana to start with (at least not as a stand-alone flavor), the combination created something that smelled particularly strong and tasted cloyingly sweet. The flavor problems I can probably simply blame on my palate, but the overall process simply didn't work for me. Next time I'll probably try a standard souffle recipe (utilizing egg yolks) and see if that causes similar problems. Given that I'm still adjusting to a new oven, uneven cooking temperature may be part of the issue as well. Long story short, I hate souffles.

Bread Machine Hamburger Buns

In Japan, I can't buy hamburger buns unless I go to an import shop. There are a few Japanese-made buns, but they are also only sold in the "gaijin ghetto" areas. For the record, the "gaijin ghetto" in Japan isn't some poor area with disadvantaged people. It's a very wealthy area full of people who are here on expense accounts and can afford maids and cars and to buy food from home all of the time.

My husband bought a bunch of American hamburger (you can't buy all-beef burger in my local markets - it's a pork/beef mix) and we've been waiting for the serendipitous appearance of the proper buns for him to eat them. Unsurprisingly, the burgers have been languishing in the freezer and the bun genie hasn't shown up to grant our wish.

If you don't have access to hot dog or hamburger buns, you may not realize how important they are to enjoying these foods. A good burger bun has to be soft, but not so soft that it squashes. It also can't absorb too many juices and turn all pink and icky. It also can't be too hard or the burger will tend to squish out or be hard to bite into. Finally, it can't be too sweet. One problem with all of the Japanese buns and rolls is that they're all noticeably sweet, even when they're designed for sandwich-making.

I decided to give in and try to make my own buns, but I'm also lazy so I wanted to do part of it in the bread machine and I didn't want to go shopping for special ingredients. I found a well-reviewed recipe on Recipe Zaar, but I didn't have bread flour so I decided to modify it to suit what I usually have on hand. Mainly, I had to use all-purpose flour and whole wheat.

The recipe as modified for my needs is:

• 1 1/4 cup slightly warm milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. Canola oil
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten (can be reduce and replaced with flour)
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• melted butter for brushing

Put all of the wet ingredients into your bread maker's pan then the whole wheat flour. Add the remaining dry ingredients except the yeast which should be placed in a well in the flour. Use the bread machine's "dough" setting to prepare the dough.

When the dough cycle has completed, roll the dough out (divide if necessary to accommodate your rolling space) and cut using a glass or biscuit cutter about the right size for your buns. Brush with melted butter. Allow to rise until doubled in size and bake at 350 degrees F./180 degrees C. for about 15 minutes. Note that my oven tends to be slow so your time may be shorter. I also use porcelain baking sheets which are slow to heat.


These made buns which were tender and soft, but I think they puffed up too much. I added 1/4 cup of vital wheat gluten to offset the fact that I wasn't using bread flour (which is higher in gluten) and the fact that I was using wheat flour (which often needs gluten to boost its rising power). I think I'll use the same recipe in the future, but roll them thinner and cut them smaller.

The texture is actually very much like what you'd get from a good commercially made hamburger bun. I was really quite pleased with how they turned out (except for the size).

by Shari (Orchid64)

Best Pancakes Ever

Sometimes I just want to eat something because I like it rather than it being good for me. This is pretty much the case all of the time for my husband when it comes to things like pancakes. While I will compromise and eat whole wheat pancakes at least half of the time to make sure that I'm not overdoing the white flour, he has no interest in such compromises. Honestly, I don't blame him.

For quite some time, I've had a print-out of a recipe from Joy of Baking that I've used for pancakes. The printed recipe is starting to seriously show its age, and I have no confidence that the Joy of Baking site will remain forever (though it has been around for a very long time!), so I'm going to repeat my version of the recipe (which is slightly modified) here for posterity. I have more confidence that Blogger will be around for ages rather than an individual cooking site.

The main changes I've made in the original recipe are for expedience and to make thicker pancakes. The Joy of Baking version calls for melted butter as the fat component and I just use Canola oil. Since pancakes are always buttered anyway, I just don't see the point of fussing with using melted butter in the batter. I'm sure it would lend more flavor, but not enough for the added effort. It also calls for a full cup of milk and I reduced that to 3/4. In fact, I think it might be better if your like thicker pancakes to drop that down to 2/3. Sometimes, I also add about a 1/4 tsp. vanilla or a dash or two of cinnamon to the batter, but the syrup I make (yes, I make my own syrup) now contains vanilla so I haven't been bothering.

Here's the recipe:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp. white sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. Canola oil
• 3/4 cup milk

Beat the egg, oil, salt, sugar, and milk (and vanilla if using) together until completely blended. Sift (or sprinkle) the flour and baking powder (and cinnamon if using), over the wet ingredients. Mix it until well-incorporated, but not necessarily until lump-free. A few small lumps are fine. You don't need to over-mix.

Heat a non-stick griddle or skillet over medium-high to high heat. Make sure it is thoroughly heated then add sufficient butter to coat the bottom of the pan. You can make any size pancake you like, but I usually use 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. The important point is flipping them at the right point. If you flip them too soon, they will break apart. If you flip them too late, they won't be fluffy. If you flip them twice, they will be tough. Flip them when the edges are slightly dry and bubbles just start to pop through the top of the center.

This makes about 10 pancakes that are 4 inches in diameter. It's usually more than my husband and I can eat in one sitting so I either put the remaining batter in the refrigerator and use it the next day or cook up all of it and put the remaining pancakes (usually 3 of them) on a wire rack to cook then reheat them in foil in the toaster oven.

You can also make homemade "pancake mix" using this recipe by putting together all of the dry ingredients and using about 1 1/4 cups of mix with 1 egg, 3/4 cup of milk and 2 tbsp. oil. I usually mix up the dry stuff the night before and leave it in a covered plastic bowl and just add the wet ingredients in the morning, but I only do one back at a time rather than prepare a lot of mix.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Cardamom Vanilla Coconut "Jelly" (Gelatin)

Quite some time ago, my husband picked up a case of coconut milk at Costco. I occasionally use coconut milk in curries or stews, and I've been wanting to try it in other types of dishes. Unfortunately, I've not done much experimenting and the cans are not getting any younger. Through link hopping, I ran across a recipe for coconut jelly. In the U.S., "jelly" is what we spread on our toast, not what we call a gelatin-based dessert like this. However, in Australia and Japan, it seems, they call them jellies.

No matter what you call this, it's a wobbly, almost pudding-like dessert which is pretty tasty. I should note that I haven't exactly tried the recipe as I'm going to list it here because my result was far too sweet. I'm placing the modified recipe here so that, when I repeat this in the future, it'll be at a more appropriate sweetness level. I made a mistake when modifying the original recipe and used half as much coconut milk but the same amount of sugar, so mine is actually twice a sweet as it should have been! I used a full cup instead of a half cup, as should have been the case when scaling down the recipe.

Cardamom Vanilla Coconut Jelly:

• 1 can coconut milk
• 5 grams gelatin powder (about 1.5 tbsp.)
• 1 green cardamom pod
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar or granular Splenda (or 12 Splenda packets)
• 1 cup cold water
  

Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan and add the sugar (or Splenda) and cardamom pod. Heat the coconut milk until quite hot but not boiling. Crush the cardamom pod with your spoon after it is softened (to release more flavor). Pour the hot coconut milk into a bowl (making sure the pod goes with it). Cover the bowl to keep the liquid warm.

Wash the saucepan and add 1 cup of cold water. Add the gelatin powder and allow it to sit and dissolve for about 10 minutes. Heat the water and gelatin until quite hot (again, do not boil) and make sure the gelatin is dissolved. Add the coconut milk mixture and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally. Heat it for about 10 minutes (making sure it does not boil).

Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Allow it to cool until you can comfortable handle it. You can now pour it into whatever mold you want to use. Note that you will either need to skim the mixture with a mesh scoop to get out the cardamom bits or pour into your mold through a strainer (I just used a tea strainer for mine). I just used a silicon muffin pan and a couple of very small ramekins. Refrigerate overnight before unmolding.

All but one of mine popped perfectly out of the mold. I'm mainly annoyed at myself for making them so damn sweet that I'm not getting the full subtle flavor effect that I'm sure is masked by the double sweetness. I'm still going to eat them, or at least try to. Mine made 8 servings at about 80 calories each (if made with Splenda). Because I used full fat coconut milk, there was a little waxy "crust" on the top which helped give the jelly stability when I removed it from the mold. If you look closely at the picture above, you can see it as a slightly whiter disc on the bottom. This separation is likely fattier than the rest of the jelly and you can choose not to eat it if you want to save a few calories.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Taco Salad

Sometimes I want to eat a little lighter than a burrito when I make Mexican food for my husband. I also don't mind saving a few calories by eliminating a huge tortilla from the meal. So, I opt for a taco salad, and I realize that this is more about assembling than cooking, but it's Shawn's blog and I'll write whatever I want to. So there.

Anyway, you can use any sort of Tex-Mex seasoned meat that you like, or you can follow my recipe. The main thing is that you don't really use much meat in this meal so it's best used as a healthier alternative to burritos or tacos or to use up small portions of leftover meat. I make the following for the meat portion:

Burrito meat filling:

• 1/2 medium onion or whole small onion, diced
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 1 fresh tomato, diced
• 1.5 lbs (about 700 grams) ground chicken or turkey
• 1 tbsp. oil
• taco seasoning packet (or whatever seasoning you favor - about 3 tbsp. is good if you use a bulk mix)
• 2 cups water

Heat a skillet and add the oil. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan with oil and add the onions. Cook them until they've softened just a bit then add the green peppers. Cook until the peppers are slightly wilted. Add the tomato and cook until it disintegrates. Push the vegetables off to the side of the skillet and cook the meat until slightly brown on the other side of the pan. Note: if you use a fatty meat like beef or pork instead of chicken (or turkey), you will want to remove the vegetables, cook the meat, and drain the oil. After the meat is cooked, add the taco seasoning, and water and cook until all of the liquid has cooked off (or do whatever the packet instructs you to do).

For the salad:

• leafy greens (about 4 large leaves), washed and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 medium tomato, cut into 8 wedges
• *green onions (not scallions!), chopped
• 1/4 can re-fried beans (about 3-4 tbsp.)
• 6-8 tortilla chips, roughly crushed (I used chili lime Guiltless Gourmet)
• 2-3 tbsp. meat mixture (as described above)
• salsa as desired
• 2-3 tbsp. grated cheese (any type with a strong flavor like Cheddar is fine)

Place an even bed of greens on a dinner plate. Mound the re-fried beans in the center of the greens. Evenly place the tomato wedges around beans. Spoon the meat mixture on top of the beans, allowing it to tumble off naturally. Sprinkle cheese in the center and then scatter the chopped green onions all over. Drizzle salsa over the tomato wedges and greens. Salt the tomatoes if desired, then scatter the crushed tortilla chips around the bean mound in the center.

To eat this getting the full benefit of all of the ingredients, use your fork to grab some of the beans, meat and cheese in the center and then spear the vegetables and chips from the sides.

The main point of eating this instead of a taco or burrito is that you only use enough meat for flavor and the beans add texture and fiber. You also have a much lower fat meal if you use baked chips instead of fried ones and get in a ton more vegetables.

*Green onions have a small bulb which is not much bigger than the long slender green portion. It has a distinct, but not overbearing flavor which adds a lot to Mexican dishes when sprinkled on them.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Chickpea Shepherd's Pie

About 8 months ago, I bought a case of chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) because it was about 50% cheaper to get them by the boatload. This was a case with 24 cans and I knew I'd have to eat them all myself because my husband won't eat any sort of bean. I've used them in a lot of recipes (though the majority have gone into hummus), and this is one of my favorites.

I didn't base this on any existing recipe, but was inspired to give it a try after reading a review for vegetarian shepherd's pie on the "Heat and Eat Review" site. I figured that I'd just do what I normally did for the same dish with meat with possibly a few alterations to make up for the lack of savory flavors, so this was essentially made up on the fly, but worked very well.

Chickpea Shepherd's Pie

• 1 can chickpeas, drained and thoroughly rinsed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1/3 large carrot, sliced and diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 beef or vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 cup very hot water
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch, dissolved in 1-2 tbsp. cold water
• salt (to taste - about 1/2 tsp., but it depends on your bouillon)
• 3-5 cups mashed potatoes (I used instant mashed potatoes)
• 1/2-1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp. Canola oil

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is warmed and coats the bottom of the pan evenly, add the garlic and onions. Saute them until the onions are softened then add the pepper and carrot. Cook the vegetables for about 5-10 more minutes until the pepper is a little wilted looking. Stir in the chickpeas and allow it to cook for about 5 minutes to get the temperature of all of the ingredients to about the same level.

Add the water with the dissolved beef bouillon cube and the Worcestershire sauce. If you want to add tomato paste (I didn't, but mainly because I forgot to do so), add it now. Stir, cover with a lid, reduce the heat, and allow to simmer until the carrots are cooked. Depending on how much liquid remains, you'll have to either remove the lid and allow some of it to boil off or just use it as is. The liquid amount factors into how much "gravy" you get. If you want less, let more boil off. If you want more, add in more water.

Reduce the heat to low and slowly add about half of the dissolved cornstarch. As it heats, it will thicken. Stir in as much of the cornstarch as seems necessary to get the desired thickness. If it becomes too thick, add more water. If it is too thin, pour in more cornstarch. Taste and salt as necessary.

When the chickpea mixture is done, spoon it into a lightly greased baking dish. Spoon the mashed potatoes on top of the chickpea mixture and sprinkle with cheese. The quantity of potatoes you'll need varies based on the size of your dish and how thinly you want them layered. If you use glass, you can heat the pie in the microwave until the cheese is melted. If you use metal, you'll have to bake it at 350 degrees until the potatoes are hot and the cheese is melted.

by Shari (Orchid64)

Baked Oatmeal

I have a love-hate relationship with oatmeal. Actually, it's mostly a "hate" situation, to be honest. My main consumption of oatmeal comes from hiding it in baked goods like bread so that its gluey, gloppy nature does not have a chance to manifest itself.

Yet oatmeal still beckons to me on several fronts. It's dirt cheap when you buy it in huge boxes of the plain stuff at Costco. It's also better for you than most other things you can eat for breakfast because it has a low glycemic index and good amounts of fiber and protein. If it just didn't feel like gruel or prison food, I'd try to choke it down more often.

To that end, I've tried various baked oatmeal recipes on occasion and found that they were lacking. I finally came across one that works (for me at least), but I don't remember exactly where it came from so I can't credit the creator. Of course, all of the recipes you see scattered around the internet are hardly unique. Most people are just taking other people's work and passing it off as if they just whipped it up off the top of their heads, so I don't feel too guilty about not linking to the recipe.


Don't get me wrong about the desirability of this dish. It's still oatmeal. It's in no way going to compete with a doughnut or a danish, but it is less disgusting than conventional oatmeal. It has a somewhat "cakey" texture to it and the oatmeal isn't gluey. It's nice enough, mind you, but mainly it's a delivery method which is far less objectionable than usual.

Baked Oatmeal:

• 1.5 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp. melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 packets heat stable artificial sweetener (optional - I used Splenda)
• 1 tbsp. honey or syrup (for serving)
  

Mix everything together and pour into a lightly greased baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. (180 degrees C.) until firm and set in the middle. Serve with about a tablespoon of honey or syrup drizzled over the top. Makes 3 modest or 2 large servings.

I didn't actually use a greased dish. I just tossed everything into a glass baking dish, stirred, and baked. I wouldn't do that with a metal baking dish though, and I did have a bit of a hard time getting the residue off of the top part (though it didn't stick to the glass at all on the bottom). You can make this ahead and just keep it in the refrigerator for a day or so. I just warmed mine up a bit in the microwave for about 30 seconds before eating and it was quite good.

by Shari (Orchid64)