I realized that I always avoid fennel bulbs because I thought they weren't compatible with keto (not sure why). I just checked the USDA database, and it seems that fennel has 4.2g of net carbs per 100g, which is about the same as Broccoli or Brussels sprouts, both of which are considered keto friendly (correct me if I'm wrong).
Do you eat Fennel bulbs? If so, what do you cook with them?
Originally, dumplings were a dish from Asian cuisine, but like many other foods from that region, they became popular in the Western world. However, I still can't figure out why they're so popular (at least based on Reddit and Youtube cooking channels).
Are dumplings sold in every grocery store chain? If so, are they expensive compared to other sources of protein? For example, can I buy a pound of meat for the same price as a pound of dumplings?
Every country has iconic dishes that it is famous for. Some foods are traditional home cooked comfort food, while others belongs to the country's restaurant scene.
I want to better understand American culture through home cooking. I realize this is difficult because the USA has many distinct regional cuisines, such as Tex-Mex, Southern, Cajun/Creole, Californian, New York City, and Pacific Northwest cuisine, and so on. However, I'm looking for a list of foods that middle class American families actually cook at home today, not historical recipes, but everyday meals.
Can you describe the foods that you cook most often at home? What are the meals that you and your family prepare on a regular basis?
I guess we all know the drill, cut a cabbage into wedges, season it with salt, black pepper, and oil, then roast it at 425–450F for 30–60 minutes, depending on your liking. That's our base recipe.
I'm curious, how do you modify this base? What spices, finishing sauces, oils, or vinegars do you use?
For example, you could use smoked paprika and cumin for a Mexican style, or caraway and fennel seeds for European style version.
You could finish it with tahini or sesame oil for a Middle Eastern profile, or with a good quality olive oil for a European style.
What are your favorite flavor combinations for roasted cabbage?
I'm interested to learn about your experience with using a laptop with Snapdrahon x2 CPU. More ore less, I have standard questions, like:
I'm looking at "HP - OmniBook X 16" 2K OLED Touchscreen Laptop - Snapdragon X2 Elite - 24GB Memory - 512GB SSD", it costs $1100, so it is crazy good deal, I am just not sure, will it work well enough for a software dev
I still can't figure out which olive oil I should buy. I'm not great at tasting olive oil, and I can't realistically buy 5 bottles at once just to do a blind taste test.
Right now I'm considering:
Most of the other oils have similar sales on Amazon (around 500–1000 purchases per month), but Atlas stands out with about 30000 stars and about 9000 purchases per month.
Is Atlas actually the best olive oil, or is there something else driving its popularity?
As people say, baking is a science (as opposed to regular cooking, where it's possible to improvise). I wonder if you have a recipe with exact weights and steps that consistently produces a super chocolatey brownie.
I imagine it should contain ingredients like:
But it's hard to figure out how to combine all of these ingredients and what proportions to use, so I was wondering whether anyone already has a well tested recipe.
Germany is famous for sausages, pork, and braised cabbage. I can't visit Germany at the moment, but I'd love to try your family's way of cooking cabbage.
Could you please share a recipe or describe how you braise cabbage in your household? Do you use apples for sweetness? Cider as the cooking liquid? Do you season it with dried caraway seeds, marjoram, or thyme? What is the non-negotiable for cabbage braise?
I have never fried cheese, but people in https://www.reddit.com/r/Cheese have suggested it many times, so this week I bought both paneer and halloumi and tried frying them (individually, not in the same pan). I tried olive oil and butter options. I also tried salting the cheeses and not salting them.
To be honest, I have mixed feelings. Both of them are kind of bland. Not something to write home about. I am a bit puzzled, why would I spend my calorie budget on such calorie dense foods as cheese (paneer or halloumi) when I taste almost nothing, and other categories of cheese have much more depth and interesting flavors (cheddar, blue cheese, Parmesan, you name it)?
Am I missing something? Are paneer and halloumi very similar (I just paid double for halloumi, like $8 vs $4)? Are these cheeses supposed to have some addictive flavor, like other types of cheese?
I cannot figure out exactly what cut of beef it is. It is labeled as a beef brisket, but it is not what I usually see in grocery stores, where it is a rectangular piece of meat consisting of the flat and point sections.
Of course, it depends on which grocery stores you buy from (e.g., Waitrose and M&S vs Lidl and Aldi), how your spending is distributed between produce, meat, and dairy, and so on. But still, it is interesting to know what the expected monthly spending per person would be after all the COVID inflation.
For example, is it reasonable to budget £400, or is it more than that (if we want to eat meat and fish, fresh vegetables and fruits, and decent cheese on a daily basis)?
I grew up watching American movies and TV series, where a lot of things happened inside diners, where the main characters ate their eggs or pancakes.
I am trying to understand, is a Diner something from the good old days that doesn't happen anymore, or is it still a thing in your region?
I googled Denny's, IHOP, Cracker Barrel, and Cheesecake Factory. So, in theory, diners still exist today. But these places look like corporate chains, not anything close to what I see in movies. I don't think that here I could sit at a bar counter, get free coffee refills, and talk about my life with a waitress.
Let's consider a classic ragu Bolognese style lasagna. The meat sauce is keto friendly (unless we use too much tomato product or onion, but that is under our control). A white sauce (e.g., cottage cheese, or ricotta based) is fine as well. The main problem is finding a replacement for the pasta sheets.
There are several options for keto lasagna sheets:
What is your preferred way to make keto lasagna?
It should be 5 minutes, right? Take it out of the grocery bag, pat it dry, remove the spine, press on the breast, break a bone, add salt, pepper, spices, done. But every step takes seconds to minutes.
You need to wash your hands 100 times, you need to take out each spice and open each bottle. You need to cut fresh herbs, mince garlic. Then you need to rotate the chicken and repeat everything again. Finally, you need to wash your table because it has drizzles of chicken juice/blood on it. Today I spent 25 minutes on it.
Just to understand your experience:
I just want to align with people in our community. What is the best way to make keto meatballs? Bonus points if you can suggest some sides for them.
My recipe is:
I can serve them with roasted vegetables.
What is your way of making American-Italian meatballs? How do you serve them?
A classic white lasagna sauce is Bechamel. However, it requires cooking skills, time, and an additional dish. So, I am looking into alternatives.
What do you use for a white sauce in your American lasagna? I see that people suggest combining ricotta, eggs, and Parmesan cheese. Do you prefer this option over bechamel? Should I add something else to this sauce?
If you prefer Mashed cauliflower, do you use cream, butter or Greek yogurt?
If you make cauliflower rice or roast cauliflower in the oven, what spices do you use before cooking, and what do you use to finish the dish (e.g., lemon juice, herbs, garlic, or maybe even tahini)?
It is BBQ season, and of course meat is the main player on the grill. However, it might be a good idea to have some BBQ vegetables as a side. Usually, I grill zucchini or eggplant.
I have a problem. My grilled vegetables are bland and don't have much flavor or a great texture. Usually, I just use oil, salt, black pepper, and grill them for a few minutes. Sometimes I also salt them in advance to draw out water before grilling (not sure if it helps with the final result, though).
What is the best way to improve BBQ vegetables? I don't expect them to be as delicious as meat, but they should still be tasty, right?
Pecorino Romano is required for cooking a lot of dishes, such as meatballs or Carbonara. I feel that the US versions (non-PDO) of Parmesan are widely available in grocery chains (brands like BelGioioso or Boar's Head). However, I don't see many affordable options for Pecorino Romano. Mostly, it is Italian (PDO) cheese, which is good, but pricey.
What do you use for cooking when you need a strong sheep's milk cheese, like Pecorino Romano? Have you found any domestic Pecorino (if so, what is the brand name), or have you decided to pay for the imported version?
Is Tea bread (e.g., lemon loaf cake, banana bread, carrot loaf, or Bara brith) a thing in your household? Do you make it (please share a recipe), or do you prefer a store bought version (from which grocery store, and which exact loaf)?