Cooking 101 for the single Male.

[alanjh595]

Okay, all the veggies are in and it is simmering nicely. I have all this time to wait, and maybe I should add dumplings? I Googled it and they look pretty easy. I still have not figured out when, where, and how much beer to add. I have had 5 that have nearly reached room temperature and gone flat before I rescued them. Waste not, want not.

[Queen K]

Took foods 11 boys way back in high school. For the most part it just gave me the confidence to cook and not screw up to the point it became a science project.
Ginger root....keep it in the freezer and grate while frozen. lasts forever this way.
I don't mind cooking at all. last winter took on Beef Wellington, among other interesting foods.
Good luck gentlemen and remember the way to a woman's heart is thorough her stomach without too much of a mess in the kitchen....

OHHH Seewood you may get some in box requests to prove it from the single ladies here.

[featfan]

Okay, all the veggies are in and it is simmering nicely. I have all this time to wait, and maybe I should add dumplings? I Googled it and they look pretty easy. I still have not figured out when, where, and how much beer to add. I have had 5 that have nearly reached room temperature and gone flat before I rescued them. Waste not, want not.

I`ve got a small roast in the oven.
Garlic, carrots, spuds and onions.
I use Bisquick for my dumplings and damm they come out great.
I`m adding cooked bacon and chopped green onions to the mix.

[alanjh595]

Okay, all the veggies are in and it is simmering nicely. I have all this time to wait, and maybe I should add dumplings? I Googled it and they look pretty easy. I still have not figured out when, where, and how much beer to add. I have had 5 that have nearly reached room temperature and gone flat before I rescued them. Waste not, want not.

I`ve got a small roast in the oven.
Garlic, carrots, spuds and onions.
I use Bisquick for my dumplings and damm they come out great.
I`m adding cooked bacon and chopped green onions to the mix.

Sounds just like mine but in 1 large piece of meat. I am getting to like these cheaper cuts of meat. They taste real good, but the wine bill is killing me.

[seewood]

Sounds just like mine but in 1 large piece of meat. I am getting to like these cheaper cuts of meat. They taste real good, but the wine bill is killing me

So how did it turn out? I did a roast last week, little pink in the middle and well done on the outside. ( Mrs. like well done)
last night was pan fried prawns and steak. Prawns in butter, fresh garlic and grated ginger, cap full of gin and a few chopped green onions. Just before serving a light squeeze of lemon.

[alanjh595]

Today is much simpler. Lemon Cake with Vanilla icing and Tacos. I am so sick of leftovers. I think that 1 pound of burger is probably a bit much to make Tacos for 1.

[OldIslander]

Well, today I have decided to make Chocolate Chip cookies by myself. First I must explain that I did get a "B" in cooking in grade 8, and I was the very first male to be allowed into that class in that year. YES, I am a real pioneer for others that have followed.

Many, many thanks, Allan, for a great laugh... enjoyed this immensely. And it brought back some memories.

When I was a much, much younger buck, a buddy decided he was going to attempt to make bread. So he followed the recipe on the back of the flour bag, and ended up with a ball of dough a little smaller than a soccer ball -- and looked about as palatable. This ball was cut in two, and placed in bread pans to rise. Which it obstinately, refused to do...! After a few hours, it still lay there, looking like a couple of large dead larvae of some kind. Later, we speculated that being a yet unmarried, single man, living in a cheap bachelor pad in winter, it was probably too cold in his tiny kitchen.

Out the door into the backyard, the whole gooey mess went. Where his dog found it...

A while later, his poor dog was clearly in distress, and seemed to have put on some weight. Off to the vet they went, where for several hundred dollars, somehow, the now nicely rising mass of disgusting smelling dough, was removed. The dog was fine, but slightly sheepish about the whole adventure...

As far as I can recall, that was the end of his culinary adventures. Eventually he found a wonderful but foolish woman, who not appreciating what she was getting into, took pity on him, and ended any requirement for a repeat performance.

[alanjh595]

Thanks for that story, I don't feel so bad anymore, my cooking has not yet harmed another living being (other than myself, my confidence, my pride and dignity).

I am really not sure about this taco thing though. I went to the store to get some ingredients. 1st problem, using a self serve check out while buying jalapenos. I had to ask for help because I couldn't find it on the register. WHY are they not listed under "H"? They got Habaneros and Hot chilli peppers, why not hallapenos? and When is the last time you bought Tequila? Wholly crap is that stuff expensive!

[alanjh595]

Lesson #1 for today. When making a cake, and using a motorized mixer. Be sure to unplug that thing before licking the beaters.
Lesson #2.. It might be helpful to have a friend present to help find the off button or to unplug that thing from your face.

The tacos have got me really worried now.

Cake is in the oven, timer is set. according to the directions on the box, I had to put the batter into 2 pans. I figure since I am the only one eating it, one is enough. I'll let yet know in about 22 minutes.

[alanjh595]

Okay, cake made it out without and appliance damages. Smells good but looks like the biggest cupcake I have ever seen.

[alanjh595]

Okay, started prepping for tacos. All the big starrs on youtube, Jamie Oliver and Gorden Ramsey.....say taste test the ingredients as you prepare them. I DON'T suggest doing that when doing tacos.
1st. Jalapenos are very HOT in raw form. They will make your throat, mouth, and esophagus burn like hell!
2nd. Don't grab the first thing you see to try and wash that pain away, stay calm. It just might be a bottle of $73. Patron Tequila. That just makes things worse. AND water just moves the pain down your intestines, and all of a sudden, you feel like your face is melting. (I never had given any thought to my eye brows before today). Running outside into a colder climate just creates steam and accentuates how HOT your face and head are right now.
3rd. After cooling down and coming in from the cold, WASH YOUR HANDS. This is very important before you wipe the tears from your eyes or taking a pee. I'll let you know how the shower turns out.

[Lady tehMa]

Lesson #1 for today. When making a cake, and using a motorized mixer. Be sure to unplug that thing before licking the beaters.
Lesson #2.. It might be helpful to have a friend present to help find the off button or to unplug that thing from your face.

The tacos have got me really worried now.

Cake is in the oven, timer is set. according to the directions on the box, I had to put the batter into 2 pans. I figure since I am the only one eating it, one is enough. I'll let yet know in about 22 minutes.

I'll share my kitchen mixer disaster . . . just so you'll feel a little better.

Many years ago (before children, before cheap digital cameras even!) I decided I was going to make Divinity. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, here's a recipe http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/perfect-divinity-84828#activity-feed But it is basically a whipped candy. Very, very tasty whipped candy.

I cooked my syrup to the required stage, all the while whipping the egg whites in my sunbeam stand mixer. When the syrup was ready, I gently poured into the mixed of egg whites. I put the pot in the sink with hot water (easier clean-up) and then suddenly I could smell smoke. I wasn't sure where it was coming from, and suddenly I had a horror that it would be my mixer. I leaned down to smell - sure enough I could smell the smoke. I should mention at this point that I have longish hair. At the time I had fairly long hair - shoulder blade level. Can you see where this is going? Yes, my hair got caught in the beaters, I was reeled in like a fish on a hook. I managed to turn the mixer off before it ripped out of my scalp - but there I was, cheek to the stand mixer, hair wrapped in the beaters and coated in rapidly cooling candy. I hollered until my husband came running. It took him a while to stop laughing and help me though. Fortunaley for me we had no film in our camera and t his was 1992=ish, so no digital in our home. After he composed himself enough to help, he ejected the beaters from the mixmaster and then held the gooey mass of hair, candy and kitchen implements under hot water until the candy melted off. I haven't tried to make divinity since! And I always put my hair up now when I'm working in the kitchen. Some of us have to learn the hard way, I guess.

[alanjh595]

If you are thinking about making tacos, my way. Don't!!!! It hurts......a lot. Next time I get the urge, it's going to be Taco Bell.

The cake is great though.

[Bsuds]

3rd. After cooling down and coming in from the cold, WASH YOUR HANDS. This is very important before you wipe the tears from your eyes or taking a pee. I'll let you know how the shower turns out.

Gloves work better.

[alanjh595]

Well, today is started out poorly again. I was rooting around my freezer and took out a container of Baked Beans. Thinking...I haven't had beans in a long time, that looks like a change. Put the frozen container of beans in a pot to let them thaw, found a weiner in the freezer too. BONUS! Weans and Beiners! Just need to add mashed potatoes and I am good to go! This is going to be easy..........so I thought.
Got the spuds all peeled and in the pot, stir up the beans and the sliced hot dog, now that they are no longer frozen............wait a minute that doesn't look right. Smell test it......that ain't beans, that's spaghetti sauce, and now it has weiners in it. Pick out all the weiners and put the pot back on low heat, maybe I will just add some more red wine? Put another large pot of water for spaghetti on the stove. I guess I am having spaghetti and mashed potatoes tonight.

Tomorrow I am going to write a letter to Health Canada and ask if they could modify their food guide to accommodate the single males. I am going to ask that the four food groups be changed to: Bottle, Box, Can, and Carton.