The Lazy Gourmet

[Rusty Edge]

My mom used to have a set of Aluminum (call them baking nails if you want) that would be inserted length wise into the potato.  She (and myself when I made them) would wash the spud, cover in foil, inset nail and put into oven.  Can't remember time or temp.

The Aluminum of the baking nails would transfer heat into the spud and allow the inside of the spud to be fully cooked (for your larger baking potatoes).  Less cooking time for one thing... Skin still moist, too...

I would have one for myself with lots of butter (not margarine).  The skin was the best, after finishing the inside.  Have later used some cheese and bacon as well as a bit of Sour Cream, but it's almost always been lots of Butter to start with...  And I take lots of time getting it ready for that butter, too...

IIRC, when Rusty and his wife had me for dinner (at a restaurant in the Pointe Orlando Complex on International Drive), when he was in Orlando, I had Steak and Baked Potato.

That makes sense to me.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/File-Grip-Gutter-Spikes/38753356?wmlspartner=wmtlabs&adid=22222222222000000000&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=e&wl1=o&wl2=c&wl3=10352200394&wl4=pla-1103028060075&wl12=38753356_10000005350&wl14=aluminum%20gutter%20spikes&veh=sem&msclkid=e619eb41a8bf18a54603b191b172e1b7#read-more

I can't remember what you ate, except that you enjoyed the asparagus. I don't know what we ate at all that particular visit.

[Rusty Edge]

Still on diet food. Tonight I made a tasty salmon salad. Much like a tuna salad. In this case it was salmon, eggs, pickles, avocado, and avocado mayo. Served in Iceberg lettuce wraps. EDIT - romaine, not iceberg.

[Unorthodox]

2 months-ish of systematically removing all traces of corn from the diet, aggressive portion control and trying the many small snacks as opposed to large meals approach to eating and I’m down a size of pants, and they are loose.  No real numbers. 

[Buster's Uncle]

Pants is really the best progress measure, I always thought.  Hits the right balance between the measurable -actual weight, which can be a misleading and unhappy detail to dwell on- and the unmeasurable how-do-yo-look-now...

[E_T]

Congrats

[Rusty Edge]

2 months-ish of systematically removing all traces of corn from the diet, aggressive portion control and trying the many small snacks as opposed to large meals approach to eating and I’m down a size of pants, and they are loose.  No real numbers.

Good for you!

[Rusty Edge]

After dinner ( pork parmesan and corn )  , while the kitchen was still dirty and I had stuff in the refrigerator that needed to be used soon, I decided to make a soup in the Instapot, a computerized pressure cooker with sensors. (Elok spoke of this appliance early in the thread).

Zuppa Toscana, and Olive Garden favorite. https://www.thechunkychef.com/slow-cooker-zuppa-toscana/?utm_content=buffer7f4e7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer  I did the cabbage sausage chicken broth on the pressurized soup setting for the standard half hour. Depressurized, added some almond milk mixed with almond flour and the kale, let it on standby temp for half an hour. The kale texture was perfect.

Being on a diet, potatoes are on my "no" list. So I substituted diced cauliflower stems and stalk. Instead of milk or cream and flour, I substituted almond milk and almond flower.  From a texture standpoint it was like Zuppa Toscana with overcooked potatoes. Maybe I'll shorten the pressure time when I do it again. As for flavor it did have an almond milk aftertaste, but without the oiliness. So it was really pretty great diet food, and good as a soup, too.

[Unorthodox]

I think you hit just about everything I hate there.  That's an accomplishment in itself. 

Nothing BAD mind you, just a lot of mental blocks I have:

Soup in general.  I can't stand what most people call soup.   I think this stems from childhood and soup being one of the go-to we're out of money, water it down some more meals. 

I see (broth based) soup, and I just can't help to going back to 'this isn't going to fill me up, it's another hungry night' thinking, thus I hate it. 

Doubly for the cabbage, same reason.

This is really weird as I love more chowder or Chili styled soups, or even a good (read I made it) tomato soup. 

Then, I tried the almond milk. Just couldn't get there.  Though, admittedly, I was trying it over cereal rather than as a cooking ingredient. 

Edit:  Off the allergy meds that were causing me problems, took one homemade stomach remedy and my gall bladder symptoms aggravated by the meds cleared up immediately.  So, Uno's stomach problem remedy:     

1 tsp soy sauce (check which culture they are using and avoid things you're allergic to)
Dilute with just enough with water you can get it down.   

[Rusty Edge]

Sometimes it's fun to see a menu item that combines a food I hate, a food I can't stomach, and a food I'm allergic to. D.O.A.

For me soup, including Campbell's  is a comfort food. It's always been a great way to warm myself up ( it's been 50's and raining here ) and open my sinuses. I understand it's a poverty go-to food, but I usually think of it as an appetizer or side dish. I agree, the hearty chowders are best.

I bought the almond milk as an alternative unsweetened beverage, but after drinking the first glass, I couldn't bring myself to open the carton again. I eventually threw it out. Since I bought a box of six at COSTCO, I was looking for a way to use the rest of it. Making soups from scratch creamier works for me.  If that didn't work, I was going to drop them off at the food bank.

I'm glad you are finding a way to balance your allergies and meds. It sucks when the stuff that's supposed to make you better makes you worse, but in a different way!

[Rusty Edge]

We had people over for grilled burgers. Since bread is on my "NO" list, I substituted full size portabella mushroom caps as a hamburger roll for myself. Extra moisture to drip out the back depending upon how you hold it, but no more than adding a slice of tomato or lettuce.

I could get used to this as an alternative to lettuce wraps and sandwich rolls.

[Unorthodox]

We did our annual tradition over the holiday and went out to SLC for a little party.  This brought on another bout of the gallbladder issues (which hadn't fully cleared from the last one). 

On return, I had decided to try some Kombucha, but the label of every one in the store listed Kiwi Juice as an ingredient, which meant certain death to me.  I settled on a different fermented probiotic drink that is cabbage, beet, and ginger based.  Mostly because Ginger has helped me in the past to a degree.  My lord, this stuff is working better than the soy, and likely better for me as well. 

[E_T]

good to hear

[Rusty Edge]

Tomorrow I am going to attempt to re-create a meal from our favorite restaurant, Jiko, in Orlando. Filet Mignon with 4 cheese pasta and a red wine reduction. It may sound a little odd at first, until you realize that wine and cheese pairs well. It's a favorite of my wife's and her family. You can no longer order it, but the recipe is online. I'll report back.

[Unorthodox]

The wine reduction on the steak or pasta?

I imagine filet with red wine done au poivre would be great/easy

[Rusty Edge]

On both. It should be thicker, like a sauce, and it does have 6 peppercorns in it. The woman who blogged the recipe never tried the tuff in the restaurant, either because she's not much of a drinker, or she doesn't do 50 dollar dinners. So her approach isn't quite right.

It would be done with South African wines, because that's all Jiko serves ( the yeast there is different. The wines tend to be dry, fruity and complex. Bordeaux-like) .  Jiko made me a South African wine convert, so I have some in the cellar. I imagine it was open bottles rather than a specific wine or region. But if you're looking to substitute, think red blend. It was originally described as a "36 hour red wine reduction." So the alcohol was cooked off. It was the signature dish, but as the head chefs changed over the years they cut some corners. It was presented like an au poivre sauce,  with the steak and the macaroni on the plate, and the sauce poured over each. My wife normally asked for some sauce on the side.

Here's the link - http://www.thedisneychef.com/2013/02/mac-and-cheese-with-red-wine-sauce.html

I'm doing the reduction in my instapot.