It has been a point of debate whether I can cook anything more complex than a microwave burrito or a box of generic mac and cheese. (I do make a mean microwave burrito, tho.) This and other circumstances have finally compelled me to try my hand in the kitchen. My first recent excursion saw me foregoing my oft-revered drink of choice... for another bourbon. Thankfully, it was a cooler head then mine that led me to Knob Creek instead of Old Crow for the Thanksgiving Candied Yams with Bour...

Modified from a recipe found in Muscle&Fitness magazine, three issues ago: This time, I kinda doubled it to a 2-lb meatloaf, way too much for me to even think about eating all of it tonight. I'm trying to train myself to save food for leftovers, and I bought a microwave today. 1lb extra lean ground beef 1lb lean ground turkey 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs 2 eggs, whole (the recipe called for 2 egg whites, but I'm going full fat on these bad boys) 1/3 cup BBQ sauce 1/2 an onion 3 ...

1 cup non-fat milk, 1/2 cup blackberries, 1/2 cup strawberry non-fat yogurt... one scoop chocolate flavored whey protein. Blend. Blagh. On the bright side, my balance was a little better today. I think I need to get some snacking vegetables or some cans of V8 for an afternoon snack, because I only got one serving of vegetables again today (2 yesterday, 0 the day before). And I had been doing so well with the salads over the weekend, too... Oh, the can-of-tuna-on-what would've-otherw...

I've been slowly and quietly acquiring a collection of spices for my little apartment. My usual procedure is just to wait until I have a recipe that requires an ingredient I don't have, and then I pick it up... But I'm paranoid. Is there something I don't have that I *should*? Something that an adult shouldn't be without? So far, I have: Pure Ground Black Pepper Iodized Salt Garlic Powder (essential!) Ground Cardamom (I love just a little in a steak marinade) Paprika Chili Po...

Peeling hardboiled eggs is one of the most tedious activities I've faced in a long while... and I'm an occasional online gamer. *grind* *grind* *grind* They turned out alright, these Damned things. They could stand just a smidge more mustard, and I could've used more filling in the first few eggs I filled. I had leftover filling... I can gauge it better next time. The Banana Bread is baking now, but if it's as good as the uncooked batter I'm good. Thanks go out to the two spec...

I figured I could get some of my fiber requirement for the day in an easy and tasty way by getting some instant oatmeal. Of course, Muscle&Fitness magazine told me I wasn't being good enough. They rated the kind I was getting (Quaker Oats Fruit & Cream) as one of the worst due to all the extra sugar. I knew I wasn't ready to switch to their "best" rated oats. If it was something that they didn't think tasted good, it probably wasn't. But I was encouraged by their "middle of the road" c...

I bought an Arabic language cookbook recently, and have started to read over it as a way of getting in some light practice. "The Complete Cooking Guide for the Modern Woman, More Than 560 Arabic and international recipes." There are some weird things in there... like this. Ingredients: 1/2 kilo of ground meat 1 cup of dried "Afgani" bread crumbs 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup tomato juice 1 well-beaten egg 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Method: Mix all ingredients well and shape ...

From Men's Health, JAN/FEB 07. Not sure if I had posted this, but the Lady Cleve asked about it when it showed up in one of my accountability logs a few days back. Ingredients: 1 small acorn squash, about 2lb 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 Tbsp mild yellow curry powder 1 Tbsp olive oil Salt and pepper 1 medium yellow onion, choped into 1/2" pieces 1/2 c milk or heavy cream 1/4 c golden raisins 1/4 c chopped cilantro Directions: ...

I have a gas grill that I "inherited" in a somewhat convoluted way... On a side note, it is apparently Canadian, which substituted, for a while amongst my friends, for the common derogatory "gay." As in, "That's so gay," which could also be, "That's so stupid," or more correctly, "I don't like that but don't want to try to come up with a rational reason to dislike it." So we would say, "That's so Canadian," or, "Dude, don't be so Canadian." We intended no disrespect for our friends north ...

So, I've been clipping recipes when I can find them, wanting to stretch my range of preparing food. Most of what I eat is frozen->nuke->eat, so occasionally I like something with a little more effort. The double-edge of that sword is that it then, by definition, requires more effort. I sit typing this with two sinks full of dishes right now... I cut this recipe out of Parade magazine a few months ago (fuck you, yes, I get recipes out of Parade magazine) and kind of shuffled it aside for...

I've been feeling pretty domestic this week. I've made banana bread (because I had near rotten bananas), bourbon yams (for a Company holiday party) and cookies (because my sons are here). These are all things I'm pretty familiar with making now... so come January I'll need to branch out. Heck, I've almost gotten these recipes memorized I do them enough. And I'm not even counting dinners, grilling meat or making casseroles. I do need to whip something up in my underused crock pot s...

Just a minor note from this weekend. Actually, I've been doing this for some time and just hadn't mentioned it. Substituting thawed frozen pre-cooked shrimp for the canned tuna in Tuna Helper is a bit hit. Also, adding in a portion of frozen peas doesn't seem to faze them at all. Other food bits: I've been tearing through Lean Cuisines and fresh pears all week. I need to always have a can of low sodium beef broth on hand. I'll run through the milk I buy if I also buy kids' cereal. ...

Question: "Hey, do any of you other geeks have a chocolate chip cookie recipe?" Answer: "Dude, just use the one off the back of the package of chocolate chips." So: 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2 cups chocolate chips 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans in this case) These things have virtually NO nutritional value... I was actually looking to make the...

Man, that was huge . Salad: 2 cups of 50/50 "spring mix" (spinach and other "baby" leafy greens), 1/2 cup red bell pepper slices, 1/4 of an onion cut into slivers, 2 Tbsp olive oil viniagrette 113 calories, 6g fat, 50 fat calories, 2g protein, 15g net carbs, 3g fiber Spaghetti with meat + veggie sauce: 1 serving whole wheat angel hair pasta, 1/4 lb super lean ground beef, 1/2 cup Ragu Robusto 4 cheese spaghetti sauce, 1/4 cup cubed red bell pepper, 1/4 of an onion diced, 1/4 cup of ...