Blrg - Food

Chocolate chalk cake, or why to be careful with substitutes...

keilaron@keilaron.ca (Keilaron) — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:36:44 -0500

I made a cake yesterday.
But you see, though it was a cake mix, I was in need of a small amount of flour. Really, all I needed was probably less than a quarter cup, and yet we had none. Zip, zilch, zero, nada, null, none. And all I needed it for was to flour the cake pans. Annoyed (as I'd already begun and the oven was already heating up), I quickly googled "flour substitute". The sites that came up had several suggestions, but I misread one of the lines with "corn(something)" as corn starch.
This is what I used.
While the cake parts themselves were okay, they ended up with some of it still on them, and well... they taste a little chalky. And to add to the goofs, when I icing the cake, I forgot to ice the center - so when I cut myself a piece, the top portion fell off (into my plate, thankfully), and realised why I had more icing spare than usual (i.e., about a third of the container left instead of about a spoonful). I ended up having to lift the top portion of the cake off redo the icing after having iced the center.

Grilled quesadillas

keilaron@keilaron.ca (Keilaron) — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:29:54 -0400

(I did not make this recipe, thus does not contain my name in the title. The recipe category on this blog will be used for every recipe that I've tried, along with notes or modifications I've made.)

Serves: 2-6
Preparation time: 15-30 minutes
Cooking time: 5 mintes/pair (Frypan -- see notes)

Ingredients

4-6 10-inch flour tortillas*
1 (19 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup salsa
4 green onions, chopped
¼ cup chopped green olives
2 tablespoons fresh coriander or parsley
1¹/₃ cups shredded extra-old Cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack

Preparation

Arrange tortillas on work surface. In bowl, using potato masher**, mash beans along with ½ cup of the salsa. Divide among tortillas, spreading evenly and leaving ½-inch border.
Sprinkle bean mixture with onions, then olives; sprinkle with coriander, then cheese. Fold tortillas over and press gently to seal.
Place on greased grill*** over medium-high heat; cook, turning halfway through, for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned and crisp. Garnish with remaining salsa*.

Keilaron's Notes

* I accidentally used the whole 1 cup of salsa in the bean mixture, which made for more filling (and leaving none for garnishing). I had 7-inch tortillas and used 7, I believe.
** Don't use a potato masher if you can't. That's asking for pain. You can try a large serving spoon instead, I seemed to have more success with that.
*** I did not use a grill, oddly enough! I cooked them on a large frypan, medium-low, 2 at a time, 4 minutes each side.

Keilaron's Quasi-Vegetarian Chili Recipe

keilaron@keilaron.ca (Keilaron) — Wed, 13 Jul 2005 15:01:47 -0400

Serves: 3-5, or more with optional refried beans and bread.
Preparation time: 5-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients

Metric System (Approximate!)
10 fl oz = 295 ml
14 fl oz = 414 ml
19 fl oz = 561 mlImperial System
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2-5 small chili, chopped*
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 tsp ground cumin
1-5 tbsp chili powder*
1-3 tsp cayenne powder*
1 tsp dried oregano
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
salt and ground black pepper
1 (10 fl oz) can chicken broth**
1 (14 fl oz) can chopped or diced tomatoes
1 (19 fl oz) can red kidney beans, drained
1 (19 fl oz) can red kidney beans***, drained
1 (19 fl oz) can chickpeas, drained
Optional, to thicken (sauce AND chili): 1 (398 ml) can refried beans

Preparation

Put all the ingredients in a large pot, simmering on minimum until all ingredients are in the pot. Cook on medium, uncovered. Cook for approximately 20 to 30 minutes (or until the sauce is at desired thickness) once it has begun to bubble. Mix frequently. Serve with bread, butter, and lots of water. ;>

Notes

Recipe can be doubled as-is, without any trouble. You will, naturally, need a much larger pot. Cooking time should be approximately the same.

* These are, of course, the main "spicyness control" ingredients. Vary the amounts of these with care!
** If you can find a suitable substitute for this (or perhaps even do without it entirely), this recipe could be entirely vegetarian.
*** Can be substituted for other or mixed beans.