What did you cook today?

Bring extra carrots!

I didn't get to make the caramelized onions in the crockpot. I only had one onion! I'll wait until I pick more up. I'm going to try it with sweet onions. Vidalia would be optimum but I'm not sure they sell them now being out of season.

Dinner was enchiladas and a very tasty coconut pudding. I didn't make it so I shouldn't even be mentioning it. Theprodu will be after me with his cane!

 

I cooked this today. Thanks to Heat for the recipe!

Indian herbs and carrots.


Now that I know what "halving" carrots actually is, the next time I make this, I'll do it right.

It's still a delicious recipe, funky looking carrots or not.

 

Looking good and glad you enjoyed them

 

Even with my imagination, my baby carrots will help little

 

What kind of hashbrowns are you working with? The little nugs, or the pucks? The pucks are pretty easy, you just put them in the oven on a pan and flip after 12 minutes (temperature will be on package) and keep them in for a few extra minutes if you like them crispy.

With the nugs, I find the trick is to let the oil in the pan get really really hot. If you don't let the oil heat up, they tend to get mushy and take forever to cook.

Hope this helps. I have a lot of experience with hashbrowns (although I haven't had any in months and months), and once you master the art of cooking them, you've got the skill forever.

 

Do you use a press on your hashbrowns, to get excess moisture out, or does having hotter oil negate the need?

 

I've never used a press on my hashbrowns. I find hot oil negates the need.

I've never made hashbrowns from scratch though, so a press might be necessary when working with the raw potato (if going the scratch route).

 

I'm not sure what you mean by nugs and pucks. Do you mean packaged hashbrowns? I think Mattekat meant from scratch. I just shred a couple of potatoes, salt and pepper them, then put them into a hot pan with oil and moosh them down to make it as flat as possible. I think people fiddle with them too much. You have to let it sit and crisp up, then just flip the mass over and wait again for the other side to crisp up. After a few minutes, I turn down the heat so that the potatoes get cooked through.

ETA: You answered my question in your last post. I don't care for packaged hashbrowns, I find them too flavoured. Gotta be homemade! And I don't use a press, I just press them down with a spatula. I make it the size of the pan, so it's very thin, that may be the trick.

 

I made this weird shit:
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=2134523
Literally because it was easy and so weird that I was intrigued and couldn't pass it up. I made 5 rolls out of it and they are currently sitting in the fridge like the recipe says. I did sneak one and it was... Weird... Like an eggy, crumbly white bread? I've got some ground turkey that I'm going to turn into burgers to try with them tomorrow. We'll see if they're a little more bready and less crumbly then.

I also made chicken sausage carbonara with rotini pasta. That was dinner and will be lunch the next few days at work.

I'm going to make some herbed butter tomorrow. Plans to make pumpkin cheesecake, avocado pudding drops, avocado-lime ice cream, jalfrezi curry and vegan sushi later on. It's going to be a fun week. I love grocery day.

 

When you mash them down the oil can't get through.

I sprinkle the shredded potatoes into plenty of very hot oil, almost smoking.
Then I kind of skootch the edge in with a spatula so there aren't stray shreds hanging out but thats it. The hot oil bubbles up through the shreds and it only takes a few minutes before it's browned on that side. If they are not old potatoes they will stick together enough to flip when it's time. when the second side is browned I hold the patty in the pan with a spatula while I drain the excess oil into a cup, (to be recycled). It all drains easily from the patty because it's not all pressed together. There's actually a lot less residual oil in my hashbrowns than the store-bought pucks or nuggets when they're finished.

 

The man makes good hash browns.

 

The oil still gets through because the potatoes are shredded, so there are open pockets. I don't really mash them down hard, I just mean thinning out the mound. I bring in the edges too, or else the stray shreds of potato end up burning. It sounds like we make them very similarly. I don't think it's healthy to reuse oil though.

 

Oh, ok I see. leveling out the mound so the pattys a relatively even thickness.

I think it's ok to reuse it once, if its just potatoes or something that doesn't leave much residue, and just for high-frying. I wouldn't use it except to cook potatoes again.
They deep fry stuff in the same oil sometimes for days at restaurants, lol
I wouldn't re-use any oil in which meat was cooked. Though I do sometimes save bacon fat from the pan, it's a tasty addition for soups and chowders.

 

You can fry potatoes in oil to clean it up, like after your fried fish or something.

 

Right. That's why I said moosh and not mash. :-D

I don't remember the specifics, but it had something to do with changing the chemical composition of the oil after frying in high heat. It's been a while I heard it, it could have been a fallacy. My parents reused french fry oil all the time. Might be why I'm so dozy!

 

WOW! That looks wonderful! Is Heat's recipe on this thread somewhere? I must have missed it....Can you tell us again what the recipe is?

 

Heat linked me to a recipe that she has used.
Heat mentioned that she used olive oil, instead of canola oil - so I did too.

Here is the link:
http://www.hannaford.com/recipe/Recipes/Side-Dishes/Vegetables/Carrots-with-Indian-Spices/pc/22280/c/29035/sc/29047/10129.uts?refineByCategoryId=29047#

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons Grated fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh jalapeno, minced (about 1/4 of a small pepper)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons Mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup water

2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 cup Chopped fresh cilantro

directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix ginger, jalapeno, cumin, coriander, curry powder, mustard seeds, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

2. Add oil, water, and carrots to a large nonstick skillet or saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover pan and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until carrots are just barely tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and carrots begin to sizzle in the oil, about 2 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and carrots are tender, about 2 more minutes. Add lime juice and cilantro and toss to distribute. Transfer to a large bowl and serve immediately, adding lime wedges as a garnish if desired.

 

Thank you so much.
I have to get some of the ingredients first, but I am going to try this.....

 

Well how did they turn out? I am curious as it looked interesting and might be a fun way to have "bread" that is different.

 

tired making breaded scallops and just made a mess and my hands still smell like spicy today