Gastro's Nummys

take a portobello mushroom cap and massage it (delicately) with oil [olive i’m assuming], salt & pepper on both sides; lay it on a bed of aromatic herbs and add a couple garlic cloves; put it in the oven for about 30mins at 200ºc

cut a red onion [he uses a tropea red onion but i’m not sure you can find those abroad] in half, peel it and cut in little strips; in a pot melt some butter, add some olive oil and then the sliced onion; after a couple minutes add salt, apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of cane sugar

in a little pan cook tomino cheese [it’s basically fresh cow milk cheese i’m sure there’s similar ones in other countries too] with a tiny bit of olive oil (3mins per side); lay it on the mushroom (elegantly) and put it back in the oven for a couple of minutes [at least that’s what i think he’s saying???]

prepare the secret sauce: mayonnaise + mustard + tabasco + worcestershire sauce [that how you spell it???] + smoked paprika

cut the bun in half and toast it a little. now it’s time to assemble (in the following order): bread, sauce, fresh rocket salad/arugula, mushroom + tomino cheese (mamma mia!), caramelised onion, bread

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-

Tasting History has a video and static page with a recipe for Posca (Ancient Rome).

Some historical context on Switchel from Gastro Obscura, and a recipe as part of a teaching plan from America's Test Kitchen.

Read Mary Randolph's 19th century recipe for Cherry Shrub (and other cordials) on page 171 of The Virginia House-wife. Or here's a more recent recipe for Currant Shrub.

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-

Take a cake mix from a box. Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, whatever the hell is on-sale.

They usually ask for you to add in some water, some cooking oil, and egg whites. 

Fuck that bullshit. 

Instead, replace water with milk (or buttermilk), use butter instead of oil, and use the whole goddamn egg. Toss in some extra vanilla extract. 

If you want to make it a bit spiced, add in some cinnamon/nutmeg/allspice

Want to make it gently lemony? Zest some lemon peel into the batter. 

Want it extra dense and moist? Add another fucking egg, half a package of vanilla pudding powder mix, and make sure to whip that batter extra hard and long. 

Welcome to rich, moist cakeland, entrance fee: $5

Lost Kitchen Scrolls

It has a huge variety of historical recipes from different regions, taken from manuscripts, transcribed and translated, and a whole section of notes about the context for the recipe. It's really fun and I AM going to try a couple of these recipes.

Look at how this lamb recipe is presented:

This is just such a fun way to learn more about historical foodways and discover traditional cuisine.

Look at all the filters you can use:

Maybe if I can forage some good blackberries this year, I can make a 300 year old recipe for blackberry wine!

It tastes like a pumpkin gingerbread cake! Great treat for fall and winter!

Tim Cain's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins -- They're the shadow king's favorite!

1 and 2/3 cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup pumpkin (half of a 16 oz can)

1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted

ingredience:

lemons/limes (this needs to make up the bulk of the fruit being used, like at least 80%)

whatever other fruits or fruit scraps you want, plus any herbs/other flavorings you want to try. by fruit scraps I mean things like cherry pits, apple peels, pineapple cores, strawberry ends, things like that.

granulated white sugar, the coarser the better, 50% by weight of total citrus rinds + 100% by weight of any additional fruit. you'll measure this after you prep the fruit.

water as needed

equipment:

a few nonmetallic mixing bowls

a mesh strainer

a chinoise, ricer or some cheesecloth

a kitchen scale

a citrus juicer or reamer (manual or electric)

a potato masher

juice the citrus through a strainer - saving all rinds -  and refrigerate the juice for the time being. dice the rinds and other fruits if any, keeping the rinds separate. make note of weights, and measure your sugar.

 Place sugar in a large nonmetallic bowl. If using non-citrus fruits and/or any other flavorings, mix them in with the sugar and mash with potato masher. add diced citrus rinds, mix thoroughly, and mash again. cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 4 hours. this allows the sugar to draw out flavors that would otherwise get discarded with the rinds, and the rinds' acids should be enough to dissolve the sugar into a syrup.

Afterward, mash one last time, then collect the syrup by pressing the macerated mixture through a strainer/chinoise or ricer, or squeeze it through cheesecloth. if you want, this can be saved as a standalone syrup at this point, for use in cocktails or desserts. if not, slowly pour the reserved juice through the solids to to help get the remaining syrup out, and squeeze/press again. do the same thing one more time with warm water (roughly the same amount of water as juice). discard solids (or try making sangria with them!).

taste the mixture and add more water if necessary. a stronger mix is totally fine if you anticipate serving over ice on a hot day, or adding booze, or if there was a lot of non-sour fruit. keep in mind that it will taste a bit less sweet once it's chilled. pour into a pitcher and refrigerate.

citrus oils will float to the top, so stir/shake before serving. love you. enjoy.

some tried and true flavor combos:

straight lemon or lime, or any combination of the two, is of course an untouchable classic

lemon & strawberries (that's pussy babe!)

lemon & orange with a hint of vanilla (creamsiclemonade...?)

lemon & apples or apple peels with cinnamon/ginger/allspice (for late summer)

some cocktail type combos, booze optional:

lemon or lime & berries with basil + gin

lime & mint + white rum

lime & ginger + dark rum

lime & cucumber + gin

lime & orange (berries optional) + tequila

10lb bag of potatoes (like 10-15 full meals) - $3, $0.20 to $0.30 per potato depending on size Butter spread - $2 for the whole bag of potatoes, about $0.13 per potato Shredded cheese - $1.50 tops about 10 potatoes (more if you don’t like a lot of cheese) $0.15 a potato Sour cream - less than $1 for about 15 potatoes ($0.13 a potato) For protein, a rotisserie chicken is usually $4 and it tops 10 potatoes, and diced ham is $2 a pack and tops at least 5 potatoes

Other things you can do with a baked potato:

Put pasta sauce on it (a cheap jar of sauce is good for quite a few potatoes)

Mix a fried egg in with it (eggs can be really cheap, usually around $0.20 each? I don’t know I’ve been buying eggs from aldi for like 8 cents each for a year)

Buy spices from the dollar store to mix in with the butter and sour cream

Salsa - you can get a 64oz jar of salsa for $6 and it will keep a long time in the fridge and will top dozens of potatoes and goes really well on potatoes with eggs and sour cream and cheese, that is basically nachos but more filling

Get frozen broccoli florets - it’s like $2 a bag and you use like a handful at a time just warm them up then put them on the potato with a handful of cheese and you have broccoli cheese potato and it’s good and you have eaten a green thing 

most substitutions work just fine

also these recipes make more than 12oz and 24oz, especially of you're heavy handed