This is not food, but I have no idea where else it could go, so... I’m making soap out of this year’s Yule log ashes!!! I dissolved the ashes - a big mason jar-full, everything that wouldn’t fit in the little jar we use to store the ashes between christmases - in water, then let it settle and poured off the above liquid which should contain mostly potash if Ryan North and the internet have steered me right. Once it’s evaporated into crystals apparently I just have to boil it in a lipid and then add salt to precipitate out Decent Soap. I haven’t looked up any proportions because I want to try to make it only using the directions from How To Invent Everything. I’ve never made soap before! Wish me luck!
good luck! do your instructions have the egg float trick? that's apparently how people used to judge the ph of their lye water.
Thank you! :D Ryan north’s book mentioned the egg float trick, but I thought that was just for lye, not for potash? I’m going to be evaporating the potash down to crystals in any case, since i need it easily transportable to take back to my apartment. Then... I can’t remember if you’re supposed to dissolve it in water again before boiling it with fat, or if you can just toss it in as is. Should probably look that up. I may have to use some washing soda to supplement as well, since I doubt I’ll get a ton of potash out of that one jar of ashes. Whatever I end up doing, it’s been fun so far! And an appropriate New Years activity too, it feels like.
You do need to dissolve it in water, salts don't easily dissolve in fat. Also, as usual with strong bases (though I think it might not be as much of a problem with the low concentration of potash), don't forget to add the crystals to water and not the opposite - it heats up when dissolved and could cause splashing.
Potash! Isn’t it pretty? Meant to let the last bit air dry but I sort of forgot to turn it off, so it spattered. I think potash is supposed to be much less basic than lye and therefore not nearly as caustic, but I’ll wear gloves anyway. And judging by the amount of potash up there it looks like I’ll probably have to use some washing soda too. As is, I think any solution concentrated enough for an egg to float in would be too shallow for the egg to get off the ground.
Made some brownies using this recipe: https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/e...=yummly&utm_source=yummly&utm_campaign=yummly
So I used this recipe (https://tasty.co/recipe/caramel-pretzel-chocolate-chip-cookies) and I think I may have done something wrong. It says it’s for 12 servings which means 12 cookies right? Except I’ve got over 24 cookies.
Sometimes people count servings as two or more cookies, or by weight rather than amount. I feel like you might have run into something like that.
So, long story short, Sibling and I are both sick of all our usual cooking staples and are having a lot of trouble thinking of other things that sound like food. With our combinations of food restrictions and things we're hopelessly sick of, it basically boils down to wanting hearty, filling vegetarian dinners with strong flavors that don't involve pasta or tomatoes. (Chicken is potentially also acceptable, though we're getting sick of it too; fish is not. Primarily dairy-based food is also on the way out due to overexposure.) I'm probably going to try making vegetable shepherd's pie, but since the biggest barrier is ideas, this is a general call for any and all further suggestions anyone might have.
have you looked into chinese and japanese foods? HUGE tradition of vegetable-based dishes with strong flavors. a lot of them use fish sauce or fish broth, but if you don't eat fish you can generally replace it with something maybe a bit less authentic but equally good. for instance, traditional vietnamese fish sauce adds mostly salt and umami, so you can up the soy sauce and add mushroom or a pinch of msg, that kind of thing.
Most of my vegetarian food suggestions involve lentils, which I know can be an issue for some people. Are you two okay with them?
I’ve been using an app called yummly that might help. It lets you edit your food preferences so you wont get recipes with certain things. It’s still a bit hit or miss, I put no pasta in and the first recipe had pasta. But I’ve been using it for my most of my recipe ideas along with tasty.co
In the meantime, some non-lentil vegetarian dishes I love: black bean enchiladas, saag aloo, roasted chickpea gyros
I actually grew up on a fair bit of Indian and Chinese food (when I was little and my parents still cooked, at least). My problem with looking for X Culture I Know Has Lots Of Good Food recipes is that I usually end up at, like, a massive, varied list of recipes of all difficulty levels for all occasions and I go "those sure are recipes" and leave because decision paralysis. In moderation; things where the main ingredient is lentils are often Bad Texture, especially if it's on the bland side.
Fair enough; I'll skip them, then. If you can find a decent falafel mix in a box (usually at an Indian grocery where I live) and you're not scared of frying, falafel is excellent either on its own with tahini or in a wrap with spicy sauce or tzatziki. I also love aloo gobi and vegetarian korma, although the latter might be too much tomato? Basically I eat a lot of Indian food when I want hearty, well-spiced vegetarian.
