Nesrie
4282
So most her life she’s not eaten cake? Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of vegan cake recipes online now and even some boxed varieties, but egg is the standard. I’ve tried a few of these options, and wasn’t a fan. I do remember on Cupcake Wars, a few years back, the vegan group actually won so I am convinced there are viable options out there!
I got a decent looking chocolate cake recipe from a friend on FB.
But I also need to make something vanilla, since the birthday boy wants two cakes. So if your wife has some ideas along those lines, that would really help. Thank you so much.
-xtien
Another online friend has informed us that Duncan Hines cake mixes are vegan. I had no idea. I just have to figure out an egg substitute. I assume you can buy those. (She got weirded out by the flax option @arrendek posted above, unfortunately.)
-xtien
But flax is the best option! You just have to believe me. :)
Actually in a heavy chocolate or very flavorful vanilla cake (like if there’s a bunch of stuff in it), applesauce will work but it will impart a little flavor (less than you think) and make it a little denser than flax.
Nesrie
4286
I would assume most the box cakes are that you add eggs to since you usually add the fat and the binder… Is your friend saying the other box cakes, as in the mix itself, is not vegan?
What I meant by the box cake suggestion is there are vegan varieties where I think you just add water and need nothing else.
Personally I dislike most box cake varieties so I’d be pulling out avocados, soda water, whatever to try one from scratch. Box brownie mixes though… any day of the week.
I’d really like to work with something like this. Avocado in particular. Problem is she’s got a really good palate and would suss that out in a minute. I guess I need to stop worrying about fooling people.
I’m believing arrendek on the flax option. I love flax seeds in my yogurt.
Yes. This. Totally. I make a killer from-scratch brownie recipe, but that stupid boxed blondie mix from Trader Joe’s is everybody’s favorite.
-xtien
Fish is one of the common traditional dishes at Chinese New Year. This year, I took a stab at making Cantonese style steamed fish for the first time. I picked up a green sea bass at the Chinese supermarket (which was a complete madhouse with everybody shopping for the same items for a traditional New Year meal). They gut and scale the fish which I am very glad for as I just rinsed and plopped it down for steaming. The hardest part as was all the julienning. My wife proclaimed that it looked and tasted like a restaurant dish, so success!
Nice one! I don’t do whole fish all that often, but it’s always gratifying. Steaming is a good method, too, in that fish appreciate a moist environment even when they’re being killed and eaten.
Haha, that look almost identical to my CNY fish from this past weekend, although the recipe is simple enough for any weeknight.
It’s super easy, if you have access to the right fish:
- get a round body fish from the market, have them gut and scale it
- slice about 3 slits in both sides of it. Trim the tail/fins for convenience.
- sprinkle some salt, white pepper, and minced ginger (maybe 5 slices) on it
- Bias cut some scallions, sprinkle them on.
- Pour on some soy sauce. Not too much. Couple tablespoons.
- cover in plastic wrap. Microwave. A 1 Pound fish takes about 4 minutes.
- meanwhile, heat some oil (again, maybe a tablespoon or two) in a frying pan. Add a teaspoon or so of toasted sesame oil, heat until fragrant.
- remove the plastic, and pour the oil over the steamed fish. This dries and gives the skin a little texture, but mostly creates a great sauce with the soy in the dish already.
- toss on some more bias cut (or slivered) scallions, serve.
Be careful of bones, I guess.
We did a smallish CNY this year, with just a couple fish and dumplings. My mom pan-fried the other fish, with just some salt and pepper. No sauce, as it wasn’t really necessary, although a garlic or sweet and sour sauce were considered.
Skipper
4291
I threw Kenji’s Chicken Scarpariello together tonight for dinner. It … tastes … fantastic. You cannot go wrong with his recipes.
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Timex
4293
Yeah it does. I’m gonna have to try that. And damn if you didn’t nail it. Looks like a picture from the website.
Skipper
4294
Thanks from you both, I try anyway. I flub stuff up often, but try to steer things where they need to go, this was a pretty easy recipe, to be honest.
Extreme close-up for your viewing pleasure, hopefully you’ve eaten already.
I don’t cook much because I feel cooking for one or two people is an inefficient use of time. OTOH cooking for a whole family or at a restaurant makes a lot of sense.
Depends on what you cook, how fast you are and your tolerance for leftovers. I generally cook maybe two or three times a week and that covers 4 of 5 dinners during the week and 2 meals a day over the weekend. Ideally I would also be assembling something for my workday lunches and my breakfasts but I’m not quite that ambitious yet. And most of those recipes end up being under an hour. In theory they should be significantly less than that, but I’m slow.
Skipper
4297
I cook for 1 or 2 depending on if she likes what I’m cooking. She does the same in return. We do the same as @malkav11 though. A lot of things get frozen sometimes, which is okay for the times you don’t want to cook.
I cook for two as well, one of whom doesn’t like leftovers enough to have em in the same format more than a couple of times in a row; hence my tendency to do “menus” wherein prepared recipes can be mixed and matched in different ways each day. It’s less efficient than pure batch cooking, and there’s some stuff only I’ll eat, but it still is much better than eating out all the time!
Skipper
4299
@Yack_Attack The issue I always run into though is too many things made. It’s just two of us. We don’t need a protein and 3 sides. But it happens all the damned time that we end up doing that.
Example because it’s on my mind right now:
Taco Night
Taco meat, shells and fixing for tacos.
But at least one of us will want some refried beans.
And the other will probably want rice.
And someone might also want some chips and salsa.
But hey, what if the other wants black beans instead.
Etc …
Now I’m looking at a whole shelf of the fridge just for that one meal’s leftovers. And all of that could have been avoided if we just ate the tacos as the meal and didn’t need to pepper a whole layout between the two of us.
Don’t even get me started on a grill night or when we roast something, etc. Holidays are in a league of their own, as we’re from different coasts and expect our own regional things we grew up with.
I should own stock in Rubbermaid, as that is literally half of my fridge most of the time.
Yes, I am sure they are so happy to be cooked! :)
Two recent recipes:
Chicken and Cauliflower Curry with Apricots (except not with apricots actually)
from How to Cook Everything Fast
I chopped up a bunch of chicken thighs and a cauliflower head and marinated both in plain greek yogurt w/oil and salt and pepper for a day (I had to buy way too much because nobody sells plain full-fat yogurt except in giant tubs apparently - and fuck skim). You just toss them in it for the quick version of the recipe but I had time. Then I poured the lot onto a rimmed baking sheet and broiled for like 13 minutes on high whil I made a sauce out of onion, garlic, ginger, coconut milk, curry powder, and cream in a frying pan. You’re meant to also add dried apricots but I forgot to buy any and didn’t have an appropriate substitute on hand (my closest was some raisins that were like 2 years old and opened so probably not good anymore). Then the chicken and cauliflower go in the sauce, stir up and cook a little bit longer to combine the flavors.
Sweet Pepper Queso Fundido
also from How to Cook Everything Fast
Chop up four red bell peppers, saute in olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper. When soft, turn off the heat, dump like 3 cups of grated melting cheese (pepper jack here) over them, stir it up and then broil the lot on high for 2-3 minutes. Super easy, surprisingly rich and flavorful. Serve with chips, of course. (You can also do this with a bunch of other veggies.)
