Wednesday, October 27, 2010

basic what'cha'got italian soup

This is a canned-food based soup, just so you're warned. Because that's what I got this week.

1 can condensed tomato soup + 1/2 can water and 1/2 can milk
1 can ham-flavored green beans and potatoes
1 can peas
drizzle of olive oil
few tablespoons of fried onions
some italian herbs with extra oregano and basil
1 bay leaf
cracked black pepper
1/4 c shaky-cheese-- we had a parm-romano-asiago blend
1 beef bullion cube

Throw everything in a pan, stir well and heat until cooked.

Modifications:
- I think any ham-or-bacon-flavored thing could go in instead of the greenbeans-- maybe bacony beans? Bean with bacon soup? Hoppin' John? Something like that. Maybe even bacon-or-ham-cooked greens, and then add the potatoes separately.
- Peas could be subbed with anything sweet to cut the acidity of the tomato soup.
- More flavor could be added by using broth instead of the water.
- Garlic could go in stead of onions-- or both.
- Any sort of leftover meat, veg and/or most starch could be thrown in to make it more of a meal, I think.
- I might add a can of condensed veggie soup next time to add more vegetables and the flavor that comes from them.
- Could add extra liquid, and then cook pasta right in there-- or cook the pasta separately and add it, but then there's two dirty pots to clean afterward.

Review:
- I think next time, I'll use a higher quality tomato base-- this way-off-brand stuff is too acidic AND too sweet
- I'll plan for it next time and have protein to throw in.
- Overall, a good experiement, though, a sort of creamy tomato-bisque based minestrone.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

link: wendy's calorie counter!

http://www.wendys.com/food/Nutrition.jsp
How neat is this? Wendy's doesn't just tell you what their food's calories are, but they also tell you what's in everything and let you build a meal to get a total count! Apparently, my meal was about 700 cals, which is higher than I'd like, but about what I expected, since I had it with a sweet tea, even though I'm supposed to be avoiding caffeine and sugar. Which I mostly am, but I refuse to give it up entirely because I love my tea. So I just make sure I drink it before 5, when it's less likely to keep me up and make me worry.

Anyway. I had the BLT Cobb, and it was really good. Bacon, Eggs, Chicken, Blue Cheese and Tomatoes on Mixed Baby Greens with Avocado Ranch. Now, I thought I didn't like blue cheese or ranch, but something about the way they do it here, they're both awesome. The half salad is generous enough for lunch, and if you get the PIck Two thing, and make your second item the snack wrap thing, you get extra chicken (protein!) for your salad! It's 340 cals including the dressing, minus the additional chicken, and that's really pretty amazing for fast food. I mean, the McDonald's yogurt and apple thing has as many calories as the chicken nuggets!

It's almost what I would do if I were making it myself. I'd probably add corn or beans (or both) and olives, maybe some banana peppers. I'd definitely add more chicken. But then, I've always been more about the stuff that goes on a salad than the salad itself!

I've also had the Pecan-Apple salad, and it's also pretty amazing. Next, I think I'll try the baja one.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

foodpickle question: decaf tea

Quick! Your favorite non-gross decaf teas that are actually made with tea!

asked by Sami about 24 hours ago
Category: Technique



7 Answers

45 Views

3 Likes

lavenderblue says: I like Stash decaf black chai tea. This would be a cozy nighttime treat with a little sugar and milk.

Answered about 23 hours ago

1 Like

Ophelia says: I like Twinings decaf English Breakfast and Earl Grey (except bergamot gives me leg cramps). They have a slightly richer flavor than the Stash equivalents.

Answered about 20 hours ago

1 Like

mrslarkin says: Twinings.

Answered about 20 hours ago

1 Like

pierino says: What's next? Dericeified Rice? Green tea is pretty low caf to begin with. I like to begin my day with genmaicha, which is green tea with toasted brown rice. Lovely aroma. But could we just stop taking the good parts out of everything?

Answered about 15 hours ago

0 Likes

Sami says: pierino: I totally agree-- except that even small amounts of caffeine have been setting off my panic attacks and keeping me from sleeping since I started grad school, and I needed someone to point out actual tea that doesn't taste like crud that's lacking in that stimulant!

Answered about 14 hours ago

0 Likes

mtrelaun says: Are you looking for a decaf version of some type of Builder's tea? I love PG Tips decaf. When I can't get my hands on that, I drink Barry's decaf, Typhoo decaf or Tetley's decaf (though this is a last resort tea as it's a tad toothless in the taste department.)

Answered about 3 hours ago

0 Likes

ninadora says: i love decaf layt gray, its my favorite. All the Twinings decaf teas are good. I also love Yogi teas decaf chai, its a real treat with milk and sugar.

Answered about 2 hours ago


Read more: http://www.food52.com/foodpickle/543-quick-your-favorite-non-g#ixzz11K8o003r

foodpickle question

Is there a non-HFCS equivalent to Del Monte's Fruit Chillers? Are they just frozen, sweetened puree? They're really tasty, but I've given up HFCS and I miss them!

asked by Sami 1 day ago
Category: Substitutions



4 Answers

24 Views

0 Likes

Savorykitchen says: According to the Del Monte website Fruit Chillers don't contain HFCS at all.

They don't publish ingredient lists online, but maybe they contain "regular" corn syrup and not high fructose corn syrup. They are actually different products (HFCS is corn syrup that's been processed to change its composition so that it contains more fructose). Corn syrup hasn't been linked to same issues as HFCS.

Answered about 24 hours ago

0 Likes

Sami says: Well, that's good news! I looked up the ingredients on a non-delmonte website because it wasn't listed officially and I didn't have the box, and they said there was HFCS; I guess I'll look for myself when I get to the grocery store next!

Answered about 24 hours ago

0 Likes

Savorykitchen says: oh yeah - I meant to give you the link to their website: http://www.delmontefruitchillers.com/faqs.aspx

Answered about 23 hours ago

0 Likes

drbabs says: Sami, do you have freezer space? If you do, I'd suggest you get an ice cream maker (The Cuisinart one is decent for around $50.) and make your own sorbets so you can control the ingredients. Making sorbet is really easy and using fresh ingredients makes it very tasty.

Answered about 23 hours ago


Read more: http://www.food52.com/foodpickle/542-is-there-a-non-hfcs-equiva#ixzz11K8MCWQ5