Hey Grandpa, What's for Supper? Part 2

[donrae]

Well, for the first time in a long time, I Burnt The Dinner. Yep, put the soup on to cook, turned it up so it would reach a boil, and went outside. Got sidetracked by this project and that project and cleaning out some stuff, and next thing I knew it was two hours later. My soup was burnt to the bottom of the pan and the house stank. How did those boys not notice the smell? They were all inside.....who knows. Anyway, it was creamed chicken over biscuits to the rescue. And as a bonus, I talked Honey into buying a new set of pots and pans. This poor pot is I-don't-know-how-old, but could be pushing ten years. All the non-stick has been gone for a long, long time and now it's been burnt on the bottom several times. My smaller saucepans are cheapie mismatched jobs and finding lids is a challenge sometimes. So, a new set is on it's way! I was waiting for a new kitchen to put them in, but since that's not going to happen anytime soon, it was time to treat myself.

 

[sourland]

Rachel you just gave me a flashback to the 'early marriage' meals. When we first married, the Princess could burn water.

Last night I made a steak, fried mashed potato cakes, and creamed spinach. Spinach was a little strong.

We got some heirloom tomatoes from a S Jersey 'farm stand' so we also had tomato/mozzarella/Bibb lettuce salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Any idea what they charge per pound for those tomatoes? Figure I raised $10,000 worth of tomatoes last year.

 

[Blooie]

Sounds good!

You get some salt from the Sausage?

Yep, and after eating it I don't know why the original recipe even called for added salt! I left out the salt, pepper and garlic it called for and used Mrs. Dash herb and garlic instead. But with the smoked sausage on there, even that was almost too much! Of course, I've never been a smoked sausage fan anyway, but Ken loves it. So when I find a way to fix it that's different and that I might even like, I give it a shot. He loved this stuff last night - I didn't mind it but think I would have preferred just the crisp, roasted veggies in it. So much fat in the SS that they didn't really crisp - just got soggy. Blech...

But we'll have it again, with some major changes, since he liked it and he lives here too.

 

[ronott1]

Yep, and after eating it I don't know why the original recipe even called for added salt! I left out the salt, pepper and garlic it called for and used Mrs. Dash herb and garlic instead. But with the smoked sausage on there, even that was almost too much! Of course, I've never been a smoked sausage fan anyway, but Ken loves it. So when I find a way to fix it that's different and that I might even like, I give it a shot. He loved this stuff last night - I didn't mind it but think I would have preferred just the crisp, roasted veggies in it. So much fat in the SS that they didn't really crisp - just got soggy. Blech...

But we'll have it again, with some major changes, since he liked it and he lives here too.

They do sell some low sodium Sausage.

I have been reading a geek cooking book and it talks about different pan material. Cast iron is what you want to fry with. It is a bad conductor of heat but once it gets hot it tends to stay hot. Cast Iron also puts out radiant heat and will cook a quarter to a half inch above the pan surface. Hi carbon steel does this too. All other pans, the food has to be in contact with the pan surface.

Good job on figuring out low sodium recipes!

 

[Blooie]

They do sell some low sodium Sausage.

I have been reading a geek cooking book and it talks about different pan material. Cast iron is what you want to fry with. It is a bad conductor of heat but once it gets hot it tends to stay hot. Cast Iron also puts out radiant heat and will cook a quarter to a half inch above the pan surface. Hi carbon steel does this too. All other pans, the food has to be in contact with the pan surface.

Good job on figuring out low sodium recipes!

Yep, I love my cast iron - it's all I use and for dishes kinda high in acid I have some enameled cast iron pieces too. Don't know if it's me or not but acidy stuff in regular cast iron, even as well seasoned as mine is, still tastes funny.

Thanks....it's been a struggle but gives me something to think about every day! Hmmmmm, grapefruit without salt??? Gasp!!

 

[3goodeggs]

My grandfather ate watermelon and cantaloupe with salt.
I could not understand why he did not like the taste by itself. I would gasp wide-eyed and horrified that he was ruining such a fine piece of melon.

He did die of congested heart failure, so ...Blooie, I am here to tell you that fruit without salt really does taste good. You need to retrain your taste buds, but it is like people who stop smoking always say, they never knew food could taste so good.
Keep at it.
You are worth it.

 

[ronott1]

Yep, I love my cast iron - it's all I use and for dishes kinda high in acid I have some enameled cast iron pieces too. Don't know if it's me or not but acidy stuff in regular cast iron, even as well seasoned as mine is, still tastes funny.

Thanks....it's been a struggle but gives me something to think about every day! Hmmmmm, grapefruit without salt??? Gasp!!

You are correct! Acid food is not recommended for cast iron. Enameled cast iron is great for acidic food.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
Me too! One of my favvs.

 

[donrae]

My grandfather ate watermelon and cantaloupe with salt.
I could not understand why he did not like the taste by itself. I would gasp wide-eyed and horrified that he was ruining such a fine piece of melon.

He did die of congested heart failure, so ...Blooie, I am here to tell you that fruit without salt really does taste good. You need to retrain your taste buds, but it is like people who stop smoking always say, they never knew food could taste so good.
Keep at it.
You are worth it.

My mom's folks salted and peppered their melons until you could hardly see the fruit. They were both heavy smokers, so that probably had something to do with it. But

.

Blooie, I don't like the sausage either. I haven't tried it with the roast veggies like you did, we usually cook in onions and cabbage on the stove top. I just eat the veggies and let the guy have the sausage. I think in your case, I'd roast the veggies separate and cook the sausage on the stovetop, would that work?

I will say I do like to stick a piece of sausage in a bag with some pieces of cheddar cheese, let that set for a few days. The smokey flavor from the sausage gets on the cheese and makes it yummy!

 

[donrae]

Yesterday Honey asked for " A Real Piece of Meat". Dug in the freezer and found some rib steaks. Roasted a huge batch of yams and butternut squash to go with and we felt like royalty!

Tonight will be zucchini casserole.