A big departure from my last posts - guys, who here loves to cook?

[Denninmi]

I do, it's something I have always enjoyed ever since I was quite young. My mother was always a great "farmhouse cook", growing up on the farm literally, she had to learn cooking skills at a young age to help out the family, and she learned to cook simple, comfort foods, stews, roasts, big breakfasts, that sort of thing, not fancy but satisfying, unfortunately not healthy.

All I will say about dear old dad was that he was extremely sexist, never cooked anything in his life, viewed it as feminine, as "woman's work", he of course persecuted me about the fact I enjoyed cooking as well as everything else. Never the less, I picked up great fundamentals and then expanded on them by broadening my horizons in ingredients, cuisine, and technique.

Ok, I'll go so far as to say this is at least one thing in my favor in terms of being good boyfriend-husband material, I can cook, clean, whatever, have no macho hang ups about doing any of it, and would take good care of any wife or girlfriend.

I would like to hope that boys today in general are taught fundamental life skills like cooking so they can be self-sufficient, and that sexist views of what is not "manly" doesn't interfere with this education.

I had an assignment from my dietician for my group fitness class - buy two exotic vegetables and create two healthy recipes with them.

I used an Indian vegetable known as Oppo squash, aka bottle gourd, to do a Thai style hot and sour soup:

[IMG][/IMG]

I used a mix of exotic mushrooms to make a quinoa "risotto" with just a little Parmesan and topped with toasted black walnuts:

[IMG][/IMG]

[elleng]

1. Den, please x-post @ Cooking&Baking,

and include recipes if possible!!!

[Denninmi]

2. Hi there.

I can do that, but give me a couple of hours to come up with recipes - I know how I made them and rough amounts of ingredients, but I am a very much "seat of my pants" cook ... Or as I refer to it, my style of cooking is "start dumping stuff in a bowl".

It usually works out.

[elleng]

3. That's great, and Cooks&Bakers are creative enough

to follow along w the seat of your pants, I promise, so no worries about lack of exactitude.

[elleng]

5. P.S., Dad made great pancakes!

[Warren DeMontague]

4. You'll have to excuse me while I lusteth after your Tom Yum Goong.

I absolutely LOVE that stuff. Went to Thailand with my then GF now wife years ago, had quite possibly the hottest batch ever while we were there...

She's the cook in the family; I do a few things pretty well, she's got more of a repertoire. Like you, I am more of the experimental "throw things at the wall and see if it works" school.

Please allow me to second the request for recipies!~

[Denninmi]

7. Here is the soup recipe:

Thai Oppo Squash Hot and Sour Soup

1 “average” Oppo Squash (bottle gourd), roughly 10 inches long – about 1 lb, cut into 1/3 inch slices (Any summer squash will work fine, the Oppo squash tastes just like zucchini)
2 T oil (I used canola)
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups water
1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic
1 stalk lemon grass, trimmed and peeled to yield a roughly 4 inch piece
1 cup cooked chicken breast, shredded
1/3 cup lime juice
½ cup Silk coconut milk (could probably substitute ¼ cup of canned)
4 ounces exotic mushrooms, sliced
2 ounce package of enoki mushrooms, stem ends trimmed
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into thin strips
½ lb large shrimp
1 teaspoon or more Thai red curry paste (1 teaspoon yields mildly hot soup)
Cilantro to garnish.

Start by heating the oil in a stock pot or kettle, and briefly saute the onion and garlic until just wilted. Add the sliced mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes until partially cooked. Add the stock and water, the lemon grass, the red curry paste, the chicken, and the squash. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Allow to cook for 20 to 30 minutes until squash is soft but falling apart. Add the lime juice, coconut milk, and pepper strips and cook until peppers are cooked through, approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove and discard the lemon grass stalk. Add the shrimp and enoki mushrooms and allow to cook for about 5 minutes until shrimp are fully cooked. Serve topped with Cilantro.

[Warren DeMontague]

9. NICE!

Thanks!!!

[Denninmi]

10. De nada.

Any time. I posted on Cooking and Baking and said that the level of lime juice and curry paste I used are mild, more can be used if you like it hotter and more sour.

[Denninmi]

6. Here's the first one:

Exotic Mushroom and Quinoa “Risotto” with Black Walnuts

12 ounces mixed exotic mushrooms, cut into slices or small pieces – I used a blend of shitake, oyster, enoki, beech mushrooms, and King oysters from a local supermarket.
½ cup raw quinoa (yields 2 cups cooked)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T butter
2 cups chicken broth
Additional broth or water if needed
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon rosemary
2 T heavy cream or sour cream
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds (I used black walnuts)

Melt 1 T of the butter in a non-stick skillet or saute pan with a cover (you will need to cover the dish at the end of the process). Add the onion and garlic, and cook on medium heat until transparent and golden. Add the mushrooms and saute until fully cooked and all moisture has been reabsorbed. Add the quinoa, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes until it begins to brown slightly. Add the thyme and rosemary. Begin adding the chicken broth in ¼ cup increments, stirring in each addition and then covering with the lid until liquid is fully absorbed. Continue adding broth as needed to ensure that the quinoa cooks and expands properly (same technique as for making a risotto with arborio rice). If you require additional liquid, continue to add in small amounts as needed to allow quinoa to cook and expand, but not so much the dish ends up with excess liquid. When fully cooked ,stir in tthe cream or sour cream and the Parmesan, heat through, and serve by topping with toasted nuts.

Yields 8 side-dish servings of approximately 1/3 cup each --still not low calorie.

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving

Calories: 266.4 kcal

Water 102.05 g

Carbohydrate* (49%) 32.01 g

Protein (12%) 9.04 g

Total Fat (40%) 12.22 g

Monounsaturated 3.31 g

Polyunsaturated 2.68 g

Saturated 4.97 g

Cholesterol 25.47 mg

Dietary Fibre 3.2 g

*
Note: USDA factors are used in calculating certain foods and do not necessarily follow the "4-4-9" method. Percentages may not always add up to 100.

Data source: USDA Nutrient Database, R17

[Bonobo]

8. I do. I cook 5 dinners per week and spend about 2 hours in kitchen each time.

Plus dishes.

That recipe looks awesome.

[Denninmi]

11. Thanks. I'm washing dishes right now ...

Well, I should be ...

[HuskiesHowls]

12. I cook for myself, whenever I can

My wife thinks its her "duty" to cook all the meals, so I don't often get the chance. When I do, I very much enjoy it. I get to cook (and eat) what -I- like, and oftentimes, its stuff that she doesn't care for, or can't eat. She is diabetic, but will eat any sweets that are around the house, so I wait until she's away visiting her family to bake. I learned from my mother many years ago how to bake, and bake well, so I like to make cakes from scratch, pecan rolls--all kinds of great, fattening sweet stuff!!

My son has been ass't manager for several of the more popular restaurants around here, so he's been exposed to a lot of good cooking by hanging around the kitchens. Any time there is a family get-together at his house, he's doing the cooking. He and his wife pretty much split the cooking at other times, so those are his times to show off a little.

[TreasonousBastard]

13. Me, too. That stuff looks great and...

I've tried along those lines with various degrees of success. Throwing a bunch stuff in a pot and seeing what happens is one of my primary "recipes", too. Doesn't everyone does that at some point? Look in the fridge, see what's there, and play a game to see what we can come up with.

Living alone now, cooking is part hobby, part saving money, part healthy eating, and part scientific experimentation. It's also the occasional shameless showing off at potlucks and parties. And, I'll admit to the shameless luxury of not being required to cook. I've known a number of men who were the primary cooks in their families, and while few, men or women, complained and most seemed to be comfortable with the role, I have a problem imagining being responsible for feeding a family.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. Damn!

I mean, "damn!" in a good way!

I used to *like* to cook, but picky-yet-ravenous kids kind of got me out of the habit... but never anything as good looking as this.

Eventually "dinner" kind of morphed into "feeding time at the zoo".

[lumberjack_jeff]

15. Now that the youngest isn't quite so picky

I need to get back in the kitchen making better stuff.

[Behind the Aegis]

16. I cook quite a bit.

Since it is just my partner and me, I end up with lots of leftovers. Thankfully, he loves leftovers (I have to be in the right mood). I am branching out to different things, but my staples are Cajun foods (jambalaya, red beans and rice, jalapeño cornbread, and rich desserts). I also like to make pot pies, and Jewish penicillin (chicken soup). I also make a killer Chocolate Bourbon pecan pie.

[Denninmi]

17. I like to make matzoh ball soup.

Especially this time of year, when I can sneak parsnips into the mix.

I don't, however, like the flavor of commericial matzoh crumbs -- tastes kind of play-dough like to me. I prefer to just grind up my own, that works out better.

The chicken needs to be on the old, large size as well for best flavor.

In fact, that sounds SO good I should make a pot of it this weekend.

[Behind the Aegis]

18. I make that on occasion.

I make mine from matzoh meal, and roll my own matzoh balls and soak them in the broth. I also like to make chicken and dumplings; the good Southern boy that I am.