Posted on 04/16/2011 8:07:04 AM PDT by libertarian27
Welcome to the 19th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.
Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or two - or all of them:)! for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' recipe stack of Family favorites?
Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.
I buy my barley at the restaurant supply store. I don’t know if its cheaper but it is definitely larger grains.
I keep my bulgur in the freezer. Same with flax meal. They have lots of natural oils so they can go bad quicker if you leave them out. The flaxmeal is cheaper at the health food store and the bulgur is, too. Bob’s Red Mill can be kind of pricey.
Oh, sometimes you might find certain grains in the cereal aisle. Oat bran, wheat germ etc.
I wonder if Bob’s Red Mill store would have the type of grinder you are looking for.
Keeping bulgar wheat and other things with high oil content like brown rice and nuts do keep best in the freezer. I usually take out what I need for a recipe and keep the rest in the freezer. Sometimes I don’t bother with the bulgur wheat because I use it up so fast.
They didn’t the last time I went there.
I have tried so many different grinders but the ones today are so cheap that often when the pods get stuck going into the grinder part, they break the grinding mechanism. I have one that sort of works that I am using now, that has all metal insides, but the pods still get stuck and I have to dig them out all the time.
I just prefer it freshly ground and don’t like having to get out my coffee grinder that I use for spices every time I want some allspice.
Maybe I need to find a small hand held manually operated coffee grinder!
Anything that goes well with rice is my friend.
Well, after reading the glowing reports on Penzy’s, I searched it and they have a store in Houston. We live in one of the ‘burbs about 40mi. north ot there. I have not ventured into the heart of Houston yet, just some places near the various freeways on the skirts. We may have to visit there and load up, particlarly on pickeling supplies.
I really like The Spice House. Small family run, they grind their own spices. Huge selection. Related to Penzy family, but really have a far superior product.
http://www.thespicehouse.com/?gclid=CL2Gj6q0q6gCFQQbKgodIRyeIA
Wow, thanks for posting that link. Some of their prices on the things I looked at briefly are better than the other places I have found on line.
Thanks for the link. I checked out the site and have it added to my favorite cooking sites folder.
Thanks for that link. They even have recipes at the bottom for the spice you are looking at. :)
Their pickling spice is excellent.
On pickeling spice, I have used individual spices when pickling, should I be using a ready made pickle spice? I am new to pickles and have made them for a few years by a recipe for B&B pickles from my wife's BFF and a recipe for dills from somewhere online. I just apply the same recipe to other veggies; cauliflower, asparagus, onion, garlic, baby brussel sprouts.
I am always open to suggestions from you; my wife's favorite recipe came from your desk. :)
I try to compare prices and the ingredients in the spice blend to determine which is the cheapest option. I also sometimes compare the flavors by making a batch of something with my own spices and another with a store bought blend. A last consideration I make is with regard to health issues. Some spice blends have a really high salt content, and salt intake can make your blood pressure go up. Obviously with pickles some salt is needed, but comparing the salt content in your recipe and the salt content in the prepared spice blend may also be something you want to take into consideration.
I got my Penzey order today. They tossed in a free sample of their BBQ300 or whatever. SALTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will have to dilute it down a ton to be able to use it. Plus there is something else in there that I am not a fan of. Its either too much ginger, nutmeg or allspice. Not sure which one, but hopefully the dilution takes care of that.
Ginger and nutmeg can both be really overpowering to me if they use too much, but I can never get enough allspice. I love it. A Cuban friend of mine got me started using it and I probably use as much allspice on my food as I do pepper. I don’t ever want to add extra salt to anything on my plate as long as I have pepper and allspice! LOL!
I usually don’t use much ginger in dishes because my husband doesn’t like ginger except in ginger snap cookies or ginger ale. Of course by now I have learned that what he doesn’t know doesn’t hurt him and there are a few things I can sneak things into so he doesn’t even know they are there.
Update: My wife picked up the pearl barley and bulgar wheat at another grocery store this morning on her way to work.
For sweet pickles and just about all of the other vegetables I pickle, I use the Penzey's pickling spice mix, varying the time that I soak the spice bag in the syrup. You can produce a really spicy, flavorful syrup with a long soak.
Penzey's premium pickling spice contains: yellow and brown mustard seeds, allspice, cracked cassia, bay leaves, dill seed, cloves, ginger, telicherry peppercorns, star anise, coriander, juniper berries, mace, cardamom and sanaam red peppers. I sometimes just put 1/2 cup of this stuff in a bowl on the kitchen counter as potpourri. Heavenly.
My wife likes B&B but not sweet pickles. I think that I will try some sweet pickles next time and see if what she thinks of homemade ones.
Last time I made dills, I threw some red pepper in several of the jars to see if that was good. I got a jar out a while back after they were a year old or so. They were GREAT!
I’m the same way about ginger. Right now I’m thinking that is what is overpowering the mixture, besides having 10 times more salt than needed. The only thing that should have salt as the first ingredient IS SALT.
I leave the spices in my jars.
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