I got the recipe from the Betty Crocker website.  First thing I thought was OOOH that looks so good.  Second thing, why did they use peanuts instead of walnuts?

Therefor, I waited until I could get to the store and buy walnuts before I made them.

Let me say this: I am not a wimp when it comes to rich foods.  I love ‘em.  A little too much, perhaps.  But this right here…it’s borderline death.  Mostly because of the 4 cups of powdered sugar used just for the filling.  Really good, but really, really sweet and rich.

It was like someone took the best parts of a maple bar and shoveled it onto a brownie.  Maybe with a backhoe or something.

Here’s what I ended up with:

Verdict: good stuff, but if I were to make them again, I’d make some modifications.

I’d decrease the amount of filling.  There has got to be a better way than using 4 cups of sugar to make it thick, I just have to figure it out.

I’d probably make it in a 9×9 pan or a regular brownie pan, instead of the 9×13 it calls for.  Even with a reduced amount of filling, I think it sort of overwhelms the chocolaty happiness of the brownies.

I’d stick with walnuts.  Save the peanuts for…dunno, squirrels or something.

But overall, not a bad brownie.

I don’t know what to call this, but damn, it turned out so good. It was sort of like Spanish rice, but I don’t want anyone smacking me for calling it that.

Here’s what it was:

Brown rice in the rice cooker. Water to the first knuckle. Added a can of diced, stewed tomatoes (non-seasoned). Added a tablespoon or so of fresh minced garlic (thank you, Sunrise!) Added both of these:

Put the cover on, pushed the button. If you read my last post, you’ll see that I have a very very basic, small rice cooker. So of course, some of the liquid burbled out over the top.

While that was cooking, I took some pork parts…basically a package of odd pieces I got at the grocery for cheap. Sliced them all about 1/2 an inch, poured on a little olive oil and the seasonings shown above, as well as a ton of fresh ground pepper. Let that sit for a while.

When the rice cooker popped, I left it sitting on Warm while I cooked the meat and tossed one of those steam-in-the-bag packages of corn in the microwave. The meat I cooked pretty high, since it wasn’t cut thick. I wanted it seared a bit, and it turned out great. I guess there’s enough sugar in the seasonings I used that it caramelized just a bit. When that was ready, I turned to the rice.

Into a big bowl went about half the rice, the corn and a small can of sliced olives. mix mix mix. A dollop of sour cream for me, but the roommate had it without and though it was damn good. Served up with the meat, it was one hell of a meal.

And since it was mostly cooked in the rice cooker, it didn’t heat the house overly much.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to duplicate it exactly again, but I hope so. I’m eating the leftovers today, and it might actually be better. The meat sat on the rice in the fridge, so it’s all sort of blended together. Really good.

Go eat.

My new favorite thing, especially in the heat of summer, is to make dinner in the rice cooker. My roommate looks askance at me for it, to him a rice cooker is for cooking rice.

But you know what? You can take a box of Zatarain’s, put it in the rice cooker with an extra cup of brown rice and enough water to cover your first knuckle when resting the tip of your finger on the top of the rice, push the button. Tonight I added a half-pound of sliced kielbasa, and there’s your dinner.

I’m reading now that you can make all sorts of other things with them.   An older article in the NY Times introduced me to the concept of using a rice cooker as a sole cooking surface.  It’s apparently common in hotter climates, where using a stove or oven would make heat unbearable.

Like right now, here.  So I’m thinking, as soon as is financially feasible, I’m going to be investing in a new rice cooker.  The one we have is a little 4-cup, single-button guy.  Perfect for what I’ve been doing so far, but I could do so much more…

I’ll be choosing from here, most likely:

Tomorrow is Bird’s last day at the school she’s been at for the last two years, so we decided to do something special.

Cookies. Lots of cookies. And what better way to make lots of cookies, than to use the Illudium PU-36 Explosive Space Modulator – otherwise known as The Cookie Gun.

Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator

A few months ago, I’d found a partial Wear-Ever Cookie Gun kit at a thrift store. It was actually parts from several kits, once I started going through it. There was a full icing gun set, and all of the parts from the cookie gun…except the rings that keep the disks in place and that pesky trigger mechanism.

Cool thing though, a couple weeks ago I was at that same thrift store, and found another Wear-Ever gun set – still in the box. The box was a little beat up, had a couple disks missing, but otherwise complete. And tonight, we gave it a test run.

I used a recipe from the Good Housekeeping cookbook, just a basic “Holiday Sugar Cookie” recipe. I might not use that recipe for this again, only because it did cause some initial spewing because of the “rising” of the dough inside the gun canister. But otherwise, they turned out awesome.

The Camel Cookie Disk. I don't know.

The first batch

Ready for the oven

Uncooked little people cookies

Little people cookies, Cooked

Don't piss her off. She'll kill you.

It was a lot of fun. The cookie press is awesome. I can’t wait to try this with shortbread, or maybe gingerbread. I’m going to have to do some research into how to do the colored dough as well.

I’m a food fan, obviously.  In fact, everyone in my household is a food fan.  Including the dogs, cats and chickens.  Of course, we all have our favorites, and these are a few of mine:

• Tillamook Fan Club

Despite being somewhat disappointed in the quality of their colby-jack over the last few years, I still love their ice cream, and the other cheese are great.  Maybe because I’ve been a consistent buyer of the colby-jack, I’ve noticed the change while not noticing it in other types, I don’t know.  But I love their aged white cheddar for making mac & cheese, and the ice cream is fantastic.   They can also be followed on Facebook.

• Red Vines

Their fan club is on Facebook, and they actually make posts to it!  Not everyone uses that power, and they use it in a way that is a little more fun.  I’m not the type to “fan” a group on Facebook and then block it when they start getting annoying – I just unfan.  But Red Vines does well – posts comments relevant and often funny, pictures of fans with their Red Vines, a while ago even a video from their plant, showing their new robot arms.

• Moonstruck Chocolate

These were a local favorite of mine when I lived in the Portland area, not in small part because they had one of their chocolate cafe’s there.  It was a favorite place to meet with my best friend from high school, sit and relax and indulge.  Now, I live 100 miles away, but I can still torment myself with updates via email and Facebook.  Yay!

I guess that covers the main food groups (cheese, sugar and chocolate).  There are many, many websites for food products, but they must not have fans.

It was shopping day, and many foods were bought, hauled home, and tried out.

• Doritos that taste like Cheeseburgers.  The first joke was, I should have gotten them with pickles.  Second joke was, You should have gotten them with Baconaise.  Here’s the thing though – they actually taste like a cheeseburger – with pickles.  A touch of mustard. Mayo, ketchup.   Cheese and bun.  Meaty, I don’t know how.  Crunchy and yet still that satisfying cheeseburger mélange that makes them so good.
• Flings chocolate bars.  By Mars.  Victims of horrible marketing.  But really damn good.  They are directed towards women – naughty women. Not really naughty, just a little naughty.  WhateEver.  In my opinion, there are only two confections that need to be gender specific:  Yorkie and Pocky Men’s.  But back to Flings:  they are like chocolate meringue and chocolate truffle and chocolate coating and mica.  Yes, mica.  Like the mineral.  I get the impression that they failed in their test market, and that’s how they ended up at the Grocery Outlet.  But they really are good.   I’ll be going back for more of those.
• Wensleydale with Tiptree Marmalade (cheese).  It isn’t shown on the site, but that’s who made it.  I got it because I always like to try new cheeses.  I love cheese.  Cheese is wonderful.  Anyway, it’s an odd thing.  It’s like, gritty, but smooth and sharp but yes, it has orange marmalade in it.  It’s odd.  I think I’ll like it.  I think I’d really like it on crackers, but I don’t think I have any crackers that would be good for them.  Maybe Ritz, or something similar.

I love going to the Grocery Outlet.  But it can be dangerous.

Wu-Mu Spicy Flavor Tomato Ramen. It is non-fried and no any other preservatives added. The quality is health and satisfaction. You can set your mind at ease, because we can guarantee your expenditure.

First off, this product comes in a package of 4 bricks, with seasoning and oil packets separate.  You boil your water, cook your noodles, add your packets.

Now, the packets.

I should learn to check the ingredients on the packages, rather than just reading the somewhat humorous translations, huh?  Instead, I waited until I’d had somewhat of a shock at the first bite.

Yes, it was spicy.

Now, understand that I learned many years ago that when you eat in an Asian restaurant, don’t trust that cute little bottle of brightly colored oil that they so casually place on the table.  I’m not a complete wimp when it comes to spicy food, but I do rather like to taste it, rather than have my face concentrating on that heat.

Point is, after eating that first bite, I checked the ingredients.  Oil packet includes: Soybean oil, sesame oil, capsicum oil.

Gee, wonder if that’s going to be spicy?

So, for this wimpy white girl, the oil packet will probably be left out in future preparations.  Overall, it is some good stuff though.  The noodles are firm, the seasonings pretty tasty.  I can imagine additions such as pork slices, boiled egg, I can see it making a good cold noodle dish for the summer as well.

Overall score: Ease of use, quality and tastiness; I give it a thumbs up.

so, this blog is going to be about food. this seems like a very open ended topic, and it was ment to be. food is something everyone can agree on, everyone has an opinion, and everyone has something to say. everybody eats, and if it is something everyone does, everyone should have a say.

i have very… particular views of food, and truely it is what i love.  i developed my love of food young, and it may have to do with my stress eating genetics. a good portion of my family is on the hevier side due to stress eating and a love of sweets and bread. i have gotten lucky with a matabolism that never stops and an immune system that is nearly invincible. people often dont belive me when i say i eat as much as a full grown man, but i have proved it many times over.

i have often been offended by the way people eat food. as a general rule, defiling food makes me annoyed. a few guidelines: never ask for any portion os a persons meal. it is way rude. on the other hand, giving someone food, is a special gesture, especialy if you made it yourself. its… i spent the time, energy and recorces to make something for you.

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