Food Confessions: We're Not Here to Judge

[Mindthinkr]

34 minutes ago, Only Zola said:

I adore Walker's "Cheese & Onion crisps" - although I do wonder if I will end up with an onion-breath!

The only Walkers I see in U.S. Stores are the shortbreads. Those crisps are good! 

[callie lee 29]

7 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I don't generally buy many canned vegetables (I usually cook either fresh or frozen), but I do buy canned tomatoes and the occasional can of sliced beets.  I try to avoid most others because of the sodium, other additives and the fact that they really don't taste very good.  However, I sometimes buy name brand (either Del Monte or Green Giant, I think) canned whole potatoes.  

I think I'm one of the few people alive who probably prefers canned vegetables. I think the only vegetables I prefer fresh/frozen are brussel sprouts (do they even have canned brussel sprouts?) and fresh peas for salad (otherwise it's canned). And I like fresh corn, but I also really like canned as well. 

[Qoass]

I like canned green beans and corn but prefer frozen peas.

[Mellowyellow]

I eat really spicey chilli potato chips and drink hot chocolate sometimes. There is something about the sweet dairy and the spicey salty chips that's awesome. 

[ennui]

On 7/30/2017 at 4:26 PM, callie lee 29 said:

(do they even have canned brussel sprouts?)

Yes. Cans and jars.

[callie lee 29]

3 hours ago, ennui said:

Yes. Cans and jars.

Well now I'm going to need to look for this!

[ennui]

Cheetos. They never appeal to me until I eat one, and think, "wow, these are pretty good."  I wonder why they don't tempt before that.

[JTMacc99]

3 hours ago, ennui said:

Cheetos. They never appeal to me until I eat one, and think, "wow, these are pretty good."  I wonder why they don't tempt before that.

I buy the baked crunchy ones to stick into kids lunch bags during summer day camp. Fortunately camp is over, because I find them to be reasonably tempting at 9:30 PM while watching whatever little TV I can sneak in between kids going to bed and me passing out from exhaustion.  

[spiderpig]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I'll start here.

I live in a community with a large Filipino population, yet I've never had the desire to try Filipino cuisine.  Maybe it's because the term "lumpia" puts me off because of its name.  Or because riding the bus means I smell really off-putting fishy odor (the driver has a pine-tree deodorizer hanging from his rear-view).  The local bakery seems to feature overly-sweet (for me) breads and rolls.

Can anyone suggest an entry-level Filipino dish that might introduce me to the subtleties of this cuisine?  I love Asian/Polynesian cuisine and would appreciate any input.

[ariel]

I don't have a suggestion, but fresh fish should not be smelly.  What area of the country do you live?

[biakbiak]

On Sunday, October 08, 2017 at 4:02 PM, spiderpig said:

it's because the term "lumpia" puts me off because of its name.

Lumpi a are just delicious spring rolls, so if you like spring rolls you will like lumpia. Pork adobo is a good place to start.

[spiderpig]

On 10/8/2017 at 4:02 PM, spiderpig said:

I wasn't sure where to post this, so I'll start here.

I live in a community with a large Filipino population, yet I've never had the desire to try Filipino cuisine.  Maybe it's because the term "lumpia" puts me off because of its name.  Or because riding the bus means I smell really off-putting fishy odor (the driver has a pine-tree deodorizer hanging from his rear-view).  The local bakery seems to feature overly-sweet (for me) breads and rolls.

Can anyone suggest an entry-level Filipino dish that might introduce me to the subtleties of this cuisine?  I love Asian/Polynesian cuisine and would appreciate any input.

San Francisco Bay.  It's really weird because I pick up the bus next to our local chain grocery, and the fragrance hits me in the face when I get on.  Who knows?  Maybe they're making lutefisk.  (Isn't that considered one of the yukkiest foods in the universe?)

Any good seafood preparations I might try at one of the local Filipino restaurants?

45 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

Lumpi a are just delicious spring rolls, so if you like spring rolls you will like lumpia. Pork adobo is a good place to start.

OK, I'll just ignore the name and think "spring rolls".

Is adobo pepper based like South American cuisine?

[biakbiak]

18 minutes ago, spiderpig said:

I'll just ignore the name and think "spring rolls".

It's different it refers to the cooking method which is braised in vinegar.

I don't know where you are but Patio Filipino in San Bruno is delicious.

[spiderpig]

31 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

It's different it refers to the cooking method which is braised in vinegar.

I don't know where you are but Patio Filipino in San Bruno is delicious.

East Bay, but I'm adding adobo to my bucket list.

[DeLurker]

8 hours ago, spiderpig said:

the fragrance hits me in the face when I get on.

Perhaps it is some of the seasoning or spices that are commonly used in that style of cooking.  I eat a pretty broad spectrum of Chinese and Japanese dishes, but Vietnamese, Thai and Korean are total don't for me.  95+% of the ingredients I like, but they add a couple of things that totally make the dish undesirable to me.  I've just learned to live with it.

[Blergh]

Since it's roughly a month and a half before the big T Day, I fess that I LOVE canned cranberry gel (and always smile when I hear the swoosh and gloop sounds from the can opening to it sliding into the dish). However, I can only eat the tiniest amounts of fresh cranberries or cranberry relish before I get bored with it. Isn't that odd?

[DeLurker]

8 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Since it's roughly a month and a half before the big T Day, I fess that I LOVE canned cranberry gel (and always smile when I hear the swoosh and gloop sounds from the can opening to it sliding into the dish). However, I can only eat the tiniest amounts of fresh cranberries or cranberry relish before I get bored with it. Isn't that odd?

I don't think so.  We grew up on the canned stuff - I never ate it, but the rest of my family did.  When one of my SIL's made fresh cranberries one Thanksgiving, my brothers could barely hide their disappointment that there was no canned glooped too.  My son likes canned too and has no interest in the fresh made stuff.

[Blergh]

18 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I don't think so.  We grew up on the canned stuff - I never ate it, but the rest of my family did.  When one of my SIL's made fresh cranberries one Thanksgiving, my brothers could barely hide their disappointment that there was no canned glooped too.  My son likes canned too and has no interest in the fresh made stuff.

I guess you're right! My 80 something mother to this day has to start her day with orange juice made from watering   frozen concentrate and instant coffee-  having no use for fresh squeezed orange juice or fresh brewed coffee! I guess she got to used to those WWII rations when fresh anything not grown in one's victory garden was unheard of! LOL

[rcc]

My 86 year old aunt refuses to use the Keurig machine her daughter bought for her. She still makes her Taster's Choice instant coffee every morning. Old habits die hard. My cousin uses the machine when she visits.

[callie lee 29]

2 hours ago, Blergh said:

Since it's roughly a month and a half before the big T Day, I fess that I LOVE canned cranberry gel (and always smile when I hear the swoosh and gloop sounds from the can opening to it sliding into the dish). However, I can only eat the tiniest amounts of fresh cranberries or cranberry relish before I get bored with it. Isn't that odd?

I LOVE jellied cranberry sauce!! And I too like the gloopy sound. My mother always liked the fresh stuff...ugh, nope. gimmee my cran sauce that's shaped like a can because one, it's awesome, and two, it is perfectly shaped to shove between turkey and bread.

[Mindthinkr]

7 minutes ago, callie lee 29 said:

I LOVE jellied cranberry sauce!! And I too like the gloopy sound. My mother always liked the fresh stuff...ugh, nope. gimmee my cran sauce that's shaped like a can because one, it's awesome, and two, it is perfectly shaped to shove between turkey and bread.

Oh you have me hungry for a turkey, stuffing, lettuce and cranberry (jelly) sandwich. My confession is that I like mustard not Mayo on it. I also like Lingonberries for Thanksgiving. 

[Bastet]

I hate canned cranberry sauce, and have long been totally flabbergasted that something out of a can is a staple of a special occasion meal, but I've encountered so many people deeply attached to it - even to the extent they resent the real thing because it's not what they're used to - I don't react anymore.  I wonder what the attachment is, though -- is it purely that it tastes like childhood, is it packed with extra sugar, what?

And I am now suffering a serious craving for my friend's grandma's lumpia, which cannot be fulfilled as she's been gone a while now.  I can go get lumpia at a restaurant, as I have a couple of good Filipino restaurants to choose from locally, but memories of those long-ago days every summer when she'd come to visit and I could join in on excellent meals - and ate what should have been an embarrassing amount of lumpia, but, oh my gods, it was so good - still tingle my taste buds.

As for what to eat as an introduction to the cuisine, I second the adobo (usually pork) recommendation; also bistek (I've always had it with chicken), the soup sinigang, and the noodle dish pancit palabok.

[Qoass]

I'm the opposite. I grew up thinking I hated so many foods because I was raised on cans and freezer bags. I am still discovering that real fish isn't square, that vegetables can have texture and salad does not mean iceberg lettuce doused in bottled French dressing. I can't wait for fresh cranberries in a bag go on sale so I can make cranberry and apple relish and cranberry maple muffins.

[Spunkygal]

19 minutes ago, Qoass said:

I'm the opposite. I grew up thinking I hated so many foods because I was raised on cans and freezer bags. I am still discovering that real fish isn't square, that vegetables can have texture and salad does not mean iceberg lettuce doused in bottled French dressing. I can't wait for fresh cranberries in a bag go on sale so I can make cranberry and apple relish and cranberry maple muffins.

And I can enjoy pears without a dollop of mayo and a sprinkle of cheese. (Shudders)

[ariel]

14 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

 I also like Lingonberries for Thanksgiving. 

I love Lingonberries.

[Quof]

Qoass, did we grow up in the same house?  If so, sorry.  Since I'm the one who did the cooking starting at about age 9, and no one taught me any better.   My mother was a horrible cook, who was happy to pass off that chore, along with her collection of "recipes" that involved a lot of boxes and cans.   The only fresh vegetables, ever, were potatoes and carrots.   Everything else came from a can, not even frozen.   I didn't see broccoli until I went away to university. 

[Qoass]

Aww, I just had a mom who gave up early on trying to feed five people with different tastes and schedules on a micro-budget. Plus, it was the seventies and Hamburger Helper was the great new thing. She made the best chocolate chip cookies from scratch and I don't like butternut squash unless it's done her way.

But I never tasted asparagus until it was served at a work function I attended in my thirties.

[DeLurker]

I recently had some asparagus as a side at Carraba's - it was amazing.  I made my Mom try it and she loved it too, so we shared the rest.  We both agreed that if we could have just ordered the asparagus for our entire dinner, we would.

[Qoass]

And now, the top banner on my computer screen is advertising canned vegetables...

[Mindthinkr]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

And now, the top banner on my computer screen is advertising canned vegetables...

Oh the irony or were they tin/aluminum cans? (I know they don't package food in iron..I was trying to be funny) 

[ariel]

Until 10 years ago I never had fresh figs. Wow, I love them.

[theredhead77]

I love canned cranberry sauce and green bean casserole made with canned beans, cream of mushroom soup and a giant can of french fried onions. My mom makes a cranberry orange jello mold with the canned sauce and orange jello so we usually just have a cranberry relish. Last year I made a really good cranberry orange sauce from scratch and if my mom buys the ingredients I'll make it again this year.

[Snarklepuss]

On 10/10/2017 at 4:35 PM, Blergh said:

I guess you're right! My 80 something mother to this day has to start her day with orange juice made from watering   frozen concentrate and instant coffee-  having no use for fresh squeezed orange juice or fresh brewed coffee! I guess she got to used to those WWII rations when fresh anything not grown in one's victory garden was unheard of! LOL

Well, those things are also cheaper than buying fresh in the supermarket, so there is that.  It wasn't just a war ration thing (although it may have come out of that) because canned/frozen was all the rage after the war straight through to the '70s.  I saw a documentary that it was part of the push to free women from the drudgery of time and labor intensive cooking, and it was marketed as such.  You know, we're talking about the days when chickens only came whole and fresh peas only came in the pod and you had to shell them (if you could even find them).  Everything took forever.  I'm 59 and I remember those days!  We didn't even have fresh mushrooms in the supermarket.  If we wanted mushrooms we had to buy a little can of "B n' B" (broiled in butter) mushrooms. Jacques Pepin reminded me of this the other day on one of his shows as he says that when he first came to the US in the '60s he had to buy B n B, LOL.  So really, the canned/frozen stuff was technically part of "women's liberation".  Really!

That said, because we grew up on so many canned things my husband and I still buy them as now they are pretty much comfort food for us.  Like LeSeur Peas, LOL, and Deviled Ham.  Oh yes, and of course canned tuna fish and Hormel corned beef hash.  I love having food nostalgia conversations with people in my age bracket because we all ate a lot of these things and have fun remembering them.  And yes, I love canned jellied cranberry sauce.  Wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it!

My father is 90 and he's just as happy with Folgers instant as any drip coffee.  The instant coffee thing was yet another "less work for mother" invention and of course people without the money for fresh coffee or were lazy or just not particular were happy with it.  And of course older people like it because they may not want to go to all the trouble to make it fresh.  Even the Keurig is more effort and money.  But we were all seduced into the push towards convenience foods back in the day.  In fact, I remember my parents and grandparents used instant coffee exclusively from the '60s through the mid '80s when everyone started getting more into fresh foods again.  Then they went whole hog into grinding their own beans every day and using a Chemex.

Edited October 15, 2017 by Snarklepuss

[auntlada]

I made Filipino pork adobo in the slow cooker not long ago. It was pretty good, although very salty. I don't know if it tasted the way it's supposed to, though. It was a very easy recipe. The talk of adobo made me think of this that my husband found and made him want adobo:

[Lovecat]

On 7/30/2017 at 11:51 AM, BooksRule said:

I don't generally buy many canned vegetables (I usually cook either fresh or frozen), but I do buy canned tomatoes and the occasional can of sliced beets.  I try to avoid most others because of the sodium, other additives and the fact that they really don't taste very good.  However, I sometimes buy name brand (either Del Monte or Green Giant, I think) canned whole potatoes.  I love to cut the larger ones in half, leave the small ones whole and arrange them in one layer (after draining) in a baking dish.  I daub some butter (or butter-like spread) on top and sprinkle with paprika.  I then bake them in the oven until they start to brown up a little, turning at least once to coat with the butter.  Sometimes I get a mushy one, but they usually stay nice and firm and have a good potato-y buttery taste with a little hint of spice from the paprika.  When I mention to others that I like canned potatoes, I get some 'ugh!' looks, but I think they taste really good.

I make a Spanish tortilla once a year, for my friends' annual 4th of July party (it's quite the multicultural event), and a few years back I decided I had had enough of peeling and slicing the potatoes, so I used a couple of cans of pre-sliced spuds.  I rinsed them a bit to get rid of some of the salt and starch, fried them up in a little oil, then proceeded with the rest of the recipe.  No one noticed, and it's less cursing on 4th of July morning for me!

[festivus]

On 10/10/2017 at 6:01 PM, callie lee 29 said:

On 10/10/2017 at 3:01 PM, Blergh said:

Since it's roughly a month and a half before the big T Day, I fess that I LOVE canned cranberry gel (and always smile when I hear the swoosh and gloop sounds from the can opening to it sliding into the dish). However, I can only eat the tiniest amounts of fresh cranberries or cranberry relish before I get bored with it. Isn't that odd?

I LOVE jellied cranberry sauce!! And I too like the gloopy sound. My mother always liked the fresh stuff...ugh, nope. gimmee my cran sauce that's shaped like a can because one, it's awesome, and two, it is perfectly shaped to shove between turkey and bread.

I LOVE canned cranberry sauce. I wouldn't eat Thanksgiving dinner without it. My family ate it, but my husband's family does not. My MIL would buy a can every year just for me. Now we have Thanksgiving at my niece's house and I usually bring my own but she sent her husband out on a special run this year to buy it for me even though I told her she didn't have to. A few days later I found a jellied cranberry server set from the 60's at the Goodwill still in the box. I can't wait to bust that puppy out next year. I used to wouldn't touch real cranberry sauce with a ten foot pole but I can eat it now. I still must have my canned though.

[callie lee 29]

4 hours ago, festivus said:

I LOVE canned cranberry sauce. I wouldn't eat Thanksgiving dinner without it. My family ate it, but my husband's family does not. My MIL would buy a can every year just for me. Now we have Thanksgiving at my niece's house and I usually bring my own but she sent her husband out on a special run this year to buy it for me even though I told her she didn't have to. A few days later I found a jellied cranberry server set from the 60's at the Goodwill still in the box. I can't wait to bust that puppy out next year. I used to wouldn't touch real cranberry sauce with a ten foot pole but I can eat it now. I still must have my canned though.

An actual serving set just for our beloved jellied cranberry??? That sounds amazing and will now be looking on ebay. My grandmother always served it in a carnival glass dish. When I have Thanksgiving dinner at friend's houses now I bring the sauce and it. 

[Mindthinkr]

The best part about canned cranberry sauce is all those ridges that appear on it after it comes out of the can. I use them as slicing guides to get equal portions. I usually just do 2-4 slices so it looks pretty, but not all hacked up laying flat. I am curious as to what your cranberry dish looks like @festivus

[festivus]

I got a new tablet for Christmas. I'll try to figure out how to take and post a picture here. I've never done it before. Stay tuned!

[UYI]

I put mayonnaise on my hot dogs. 

And when I get hot dogs at Dairy Queen, I not only have mayonnaise put on them, I also dip them in the honey mustard I dip my french fries in. SO GOOD!

I eat my spaghetti with tomato sauce on the side. Yes, like Sally would eat in When Harry Met Sally. I prefer dipping my spaghetti in the sauce as I eat it. Putting sauce directly on top of the spaghetti just overwhelms everything to me. 

[Bastet]

51 minutes ago, UYI said:

I put mayonnaise on my hot dogs. 

So do I (on my hamburgers, too).  Otherwise, I'd have a dry bun; I don't like ketchup or mustard.

[UYI]

Just now, Bastet said:

So do I (on my hamburgers, too).  Otherwise, I'd have a dry bun; I don't like ketchup or mustard.

Me too! Mayonnaise, cheese and (sometimes) bacon is all I need on a burger. Sometimes honey mustard, too. 

[Mindthinkr]

My confession is that I love yellow mustard. I eat it on my Thanksgiving turkey. My mother once threatened to disown me as we were having company and she was too ashamed to put mustard (in a small bowl) on the table. 

I don't understand all of you who love mayonnaise. My granddaughter loves it on everything but I just can't. I hate fat and it tastes fatty to me. I even do mustard on a BLT. 

[ariel]

I put some salt on my watermelon.  It seems to make it taste sweeter.  

[Spunkygal]

1 minute ago, ariel said:

I put some salt on my watermelon.  It seems to make it taste sweeter.  

Ditto! And on my Texas Ruby Red grapefruit! 

[FormerMod-a1]

My grandma also salted her watermelon, and sometimes other fruit like apples, for the same reason.  It never tasted sweeter to me.  It tasted like watermelon with salt on it. :-P  

Of course, I like celery with salsa, so...

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, ariel said:

I put some salt on my watermelon.  It seems to make it taste sweeter.  

We salt all our melons. 

[auntlada]

I always thought most people salted their watermelons.

9 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

My grandma also salted her watermelon, and sometimes other fruit like apples, for the same reason.  It never tasted sweeter to me.  It tasted like watermelon with salt on it. :-P  

Of course, I like celery with salsa, so...

Something has to give the celery flavor.

[auntlada]

It took you three days, @forumfish? I'm impressed with your willpower.

[Zola]

Its 4:40am here in England, and I've been awake for about an hour after failing to get to sleep. I came across this thread and all this talk about food has given me the munchies!

So right now I am dunking McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits into a mug of hot tea whilst reading these posts. 

 

Absolute Heaven!