MX Linux Forum

jj1j1 wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 7:56 pm @ richb Doesn't look very sanitary all sprawled out on a varnished table like that, but that's just me...yes. I is a cook :)

Cristobal wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 12:44 pm Currently, I'm toying with spices (mainly cumin, mild Madras curry and 5 spices powder) and have been cooking for a week

Next project, baking my own bred, without kneading, in a covered cast iron pan in oven, T65 flour, salt and fresh baker yeast (don't know the exact English term).

jj1j1 wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 10:47 pm @ richb I was mainly referring to a petroleum based finish coming in contact with food. Some foods/ingrediants contain acid that can break down finishes, and mixes into the food being prepared on it. Cutting or chopping on a varnished surface can cause chips of varnish in the food being processed. Considering some finishes contain toluene which is a cancer causing substance I wouldn't chance it. When I prepare food on wood it's always bare wood, and I give it a good scrubbing with a bleach water solution, (1Tbsp bleach per gallon of water is enough to kill most germs), for good measure. Food born illnesses are a bitch. I suppose what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, but go through a case of Staphylococcal, and it will leave an impression on you that you will not soon forget. What makes it worse is preparing food for someone else, and they catch something.

richb wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 5:51 pm Home made macaroni (spaghetti). Simply eggs, water and flower..

JayM wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:26 pm
Now I'm hungry for Chinese ngohiong. (There are many places one can buy ngohiongs here, but Chinese Ngohiong (the name of the shop) is arguably the best. Unfortunately it's over an hour away. They're basically lumpia (spring roll) wrappers stuffed with sliced palm hearts that are seasoned with ngohiong powder (Five Fragrant Spices) and deep fried, served with a spicy, ngohiong-seasoned dipping sauce.

I see, it's like a battered roll, I didn't know that kind of roll. My Asian family usually does the rolls made with the Vietnamese Bánh tráng, deep fried.

JayM wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:26 pm That sounds almost like Australian damper although I believe they used cream of tartar for a leavening agent as it was easier to store and work with in bush conditions than yeast. You might want to experiment with sourdough some day instead of using yeast. Just mix some sifted flour, water and a pinch of sugar into a batter and let it stand uncovered and hope that your local wild yeasts are good ones. When it looks bubbly it's ready to use. Just mix half of it in with your bread dough, and add more flour and water to the starter to keep it going. The only thing about sourdough starter is you have to use it regularly and keep feeding it with more flour and water or else it will die. When I was young a schoolmate's mother gave me some starter that had been in their family since her grandfather went to the Klondike-Yukon gold fields in the early 1900s. He didn't come home with sacks full of gold, but he did bring his sourdough starter back. I used to make doughnuts with it. Unfortunately, being a kid I didn't commit myself to cooking with sourdough often enough to keep that starter going and it died on me.

The yeast I was talking about is baker's yeast (compressed fresh yeast)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker%27s_yeast
Isn't it sourdough? (you start the sourdough aside in a glass of water, that you mix with the dough later in the process, does it sound right?)

EDIT: after reading the French sourdough Wikipedia page, it appears that some sourdough is added to the fresh compressed yeast, so it's not totally sourdough, especially as yeast takes over sourdough during the leavening process.

Cristobal wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 3:36 am

JayM wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 9:26 pm
Now I'm hungry for Chinese ngohiong. (There are many places one can buy ngohiongs here, but Chinese Ngohiong (the name of the shop) is arguably the best. Unfortunately it's over an hour away. They're basically lumpia (spring roll) wrappers stuffed with sliced palm hearts that are seasoned with ngohiong powder (Five Fragrant Spices) and deep fried, served with a spicy, ngohiong-seasoned dipping sauce.

I see, it's like a battered roll, I didn't know that kind of roll. My Asian family usually does the rolls made with the Vietnamese Bánh tráng, deep fried.

The yeast I was talking about is baker's yeast (compressed fresh yeast)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker%27s_yeast
Isn't it sourdough? (you start the sourdough aside in a glass of water, that you mix with the dough later in the process, does it sound right?)

scottr954 wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 11:03 pm

richb wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 5:51 pm Home made macaroni (spaghetti). Simply eggs, water and flower..

I have that exact machine/maker! I've only used it once. I definitely want to get in the habit of making my own pasta.

Do you make your own sauce? Bolognese?

richb wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 5:03 am
I do not. I tried once or twice, but did not taste like Mom's so sauce comes from the grocery store. I am not really a cook. The board I have, and it is a wood cutting board, not varnished, is over 80 years old. I would think you could get one at a place like Bed, Bath and Beyond. Perhaps our real cooks have a source.

turtlebay777 wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 5:26 am

richb wrote: Wed May 29, 2019 5:03 am
I do not. I tried once or twice, but did not taste like Mom's so sauce comes from the grocery store. I am not really a cook. The board I have, and it is a wood cutting board, not varnished, is over 80 years old. I would think you could get one at a place like Bed, Bath and Beyond. Perhaps our real cooks have a source.

Is that a source for the sauce ( forgive me being saucy!) or the the cutting boards? You can buy them in large pieces from a timber supplier and saw them to whatever size you prefer. Much cheaper (and better quality!) than buying ready made ones. Most butchers buy them that way.