As much as I love crudités, they can be a bit boring. Then again, so can chips and pretzels, and so many other snack foods. There are several things that can be done to combat blandness, however. The simplest, by far, is to have some dip with your snacks.
Dips can be a snap to make, and delicious to boot. However, they tend to be made out of things like sour cream and mayonnaise, which are hefty in terms of calories and bad for people who are trying to be healthy. Since this month is about getting some healthy snack options around the table, a run-of-the-mill dip just won't do. Luckily, I know just the thing.
Equipment:
Stirring Spoon
Mixing bowl
Measuring implements
Ingredients:
1 packet French Onion Soup Mix
8 oz Greek-style yogurt
2 Tbsp Mayo (or to taste)
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients in bowl
2. Let sit in refrigerator for 10~15 minutes
Serve with crudités, or ruffled potato chips.
Possible Alterations:
Greek-style yogurt can be pricey, and while I've not tried this recipe with plain yogurt, it certainly seems like it could work. If you're willing to try it, please report back here and I'll update this post. A friend of mine has also mentioned that you can fake Greek-style yogurt by straining plain yogurt with coffee filters for a few hours, so that could also be something worth trying. Also, if you're uncaring to how healthy your snacks are, you can substitute sour cream for the yogurt. You may want to add a bit more mayo if you do, but you don't have to. Of course, there is also the Bacon French Onion dip I mentioned a while ago.
Happy gaming!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Crudités 'round the Table
Your traditional snacks for D&D might include any of following: pretzels, corn chips, potato chips, cheetos, peanuts, and maybe popcorn. All tasty things, but sometimes you need a break from the usual. Enter Crudités.
Crudités (pronounced Crew-Day-Ta) is a fancy French word for something simple; Crudités is just sliced, raw vegetables. They make a nice change of pace from your regular snacks, and they're simple to boot!
Ingredients:
4 large carrots
4 stalks celery
1~2 green peppers
1-2 heads Broccoli
Equipment:
1 carrot scraper
1 cutting board
1 chefs knife
1 paring knife
1 plate (large is best!)
Directions:
1. Prepare the carrots:
a. Scrape the carrots.
b. Chop off the tips.
c. Cut carrots into sticks
d. Place carrot sticks on a plate
2. Prepare the Celery:
a. Wash the Celery stalks.
b. Placing the celery so that it is concave down.
c. Cut off the leaves and base, and save the leaves for later use.
d. Slice down the center lengthwise.
e. Slice into sticks
f. Place on same plate as carrots.
3. Prepare the Peppers
a. Wash the peppers
b. Remove the stem using the paring knife.
c. Cut the pepper down the center.
d. Remove the seeds with the paring knife.
e. Cut into strips.
f. Place pepper strips on the plate
4. Prepare the Broccoli
a. Wash the broccoli
b. Remove the stalk, and place to the side.
c. Break up the florets (the tree-like parts)
d. Take the stalk and cut it into manageable sticks.
e. Place the florets and the stalk slices onto the platter
Serve immediately with dip or cover in plastic wrap for short term storage. Place separately in plastic zip-top bags for the long term storage.
Possible Alterations:
Different vegetables can certainly be used. Cucumber slices, or sticks, are delicious, as are asparagus stalks. Cauliflower is also acceptable, but I don't find it as tasty raw as the previously mentioned veggies. As always, suggestions are appreciated!
Happy Gaming!
Crudités (pronounced Crew-Day-Ta) is a fancy French word for something simple; Crudités is just sliced, raw vegetables. They make a nice change of pace from your regular snacks, and they're simple to boot!
Ingredients:
4 large carrots
4 stalks celery
1~2 green peppers
1-2 heads Broccoli
Equipment:
1 carrot scraper
1 cutting board
1 chefs knife
1 paring knife
1 plate (large is best!)
Directions:
1. Prepare the carrots:
a. Scrape the carrots.
b. Chop off the tips.
c. Cut carrots into sticks
d. Place carrot sticks on a plate
2. Prepare the Celery:
a. Wash the Celery stalks.
b. Placing the celery so that it is concave down.
c. Cut off the leaves and base, and save the leaves for later use.
d. Slice down the center lengthwise.
e. Slice into sticks
f. Place on same plate as carrots.
3. Prepare the Peppers
a. Wash the peppers
b. Remove the stem using the paring knife.
c. Cut the pepper down the center.
d. Remove the seeds with the paring knife.
e. Cut into strips.
f. Place pepper strips on the plate
4. Prepare the Broccoli
a. Wash the broccoli
b. Remove the stalk, and place to the side.
c. Break up the florets (the tree-like parts)
d. Take the stalk and cut it into manageable sticks.
e. Place the florets and the stalk slices onto the platter
Serve immediately with dip or cover in plastic wrap for short term storage. Place separately in plastic zip-top bags for the long term storage.
Possible Alterations:
Different vegetables can certainly be used. Cucumber slices, or sticks, are delicious, as are asparagus stalks. Cauliflower is also acceptable, but I don't find it as tasty raw as the previously mentioned veggies. As always, suggestions are appreciated!
Happy Gaming!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A Big Ol' Bag of Salad
Salad. When people think of people sitting around a table, playing games, they don't think of salad. They think of people eating cheese doodles and pizza, and drinking large quantities of soda. And sometimes it's a true statement.
That doesn't mean it has to be all the time, however.
In this world of convenience, it's very easy to go to the store and get a large bag of salad. They make for a great side dish, or you can add extras like chicken or tuna to get a good, full meal.
Bag salads are great for when you don't have a lot of time to prepare, but I find them to be a bit more expensive than necessary. So lets make our own!
Ingredients:
1 head Romaine lettuce
3~4 medium-large carrots
3 sticks of celery
2~3 handfuls cherry tomatoes
~1/2 of a small-medium red onion
Equipment:
Cutting board
1 chef's knife
1 carrot scraper
Collander/medium sized bowl
1 Gallon zip-top bag
Directions:
1. Wash the lettuce, tear it up, and place into the gallon bag.
2. Scrape the skin off the carrots and remove the tips. Slice the carrots up and put into the bag.
3. Wash the celery, and chop off the base. Leaving the leaves on, slice the celery and place into the bag.
4. Wash the cherry tomatoes, and toss them into the bag.
5. Peel the onion, and slice off the roots and the stem. Cut in half, and dice. Place the remainder of the onion into a sandwich size zip-top bag, and store in the fridge.
6. Seal the bag and shake vigorously.
Store it in the fridge, or serve immediately.
Possible Alterations:
Salads are great, but they need a bit more than vegetables to make them filling enough to be an entire meal. This salad will store well, but storing it with things like nuts, chicken, or beans isn't going to be great. I recommend storing these things separately and then adding them before serving. This is especially handy if one needs to feed vegetarians/vegans, because then one simply does not add meat/cheese to their plate, and viola! No need for two separate salads!
I would also recommend that you store that other half of the onion diced in the zip-top bag, because it makes life easier. Having pre-diced onion means you don't have to pull out the knife and cutting board every time you want to add a little onion to something. Just pull out the bag, grab a handful, and toss it in. If stored properly, the onion can last for a good number of weeks.
Happy gaming!
That doesn't mean it has to be all the time, however.
In this world of convenience, it's very easy to go to the store and get a large bag of salad. They make for a great side dish, or you can add extras like chicken or tuna to get a good, full meal.
Bag salads are great for when you don't have a lot of time to prepare, but I find them to be a bit more expensive than necessary. So lets make our own!
Ingredients:
1 head Romaine lettuce
3~4 medium-large carrots
3 sticks of celery
2~3 handfuls cherry tomatoes
~1/2 of a small-medium red onion
Equipment:
Cutting board
1 chef's knife
1 carrot scraper
Collander/medium sized bowl
1 Gallon zip-top bag
Directions:
1. Wash the lettuce, tear it up, and place into the gallon bag.
2. Scrape the skin off the carrots and remove the tips. Slice the carrots up and put into the bag.
3. Wash the celery, and chop off the base. Leaving the leaves on, slice the celery and place into the bag.
4. Wash the cherry tomatoes, and toss them into the bag.
5. Peel the onion, and slice off the roots and the stem. Cut in half, and dice. Place the remainder of the onion into a sandwich size zip-top bag, and store in the fridge.
6. Seal the bag and shake vigorously.
Store it in the fridge, or serve immediately.
Possible Alterations:
Salads are great, but they need a bit more than vegetables to make them filling enough to be an entire meal. This salad will store well, but storing it with things like nuts, chicken, or beans isn't going to be great. I recommend storing these things separately and then adding them before serving. This is especially handy if one needs to feed vegetarians/vegans, because then one simply does not add meat/cheese to their plate, and viola! No need for two separate salads!
I would also recommend that you store that other half of the onion diced in the zip-top bag, because it makes life easier. Having pre-diced onion means you don't have to pull out the knife and cutting board every time you want to add a little onion to something. Just pull out the bag, grab a handful, and toss it in. If stored properly, the onion can last for a good number of weeks.
Happy gaming!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Product Review: Kool-Aid
Soda is expensive. At a dollar and 25 cents for a two liter and 3~4 dollars for a twelve pack, it can sometimes be prohibitively expensive. I like Coke just as much as the next guy, but I'm not made of money.
Enter Kool-Aid. At 20 cents a packet, it's reasonably priced, and it's actually fairly healthy as far as drinks that are not water are concerned. And since you add in the sugar yourself, you can add less, or cut it with zero calorie sweetener (or just use zero calorie sweetener for it's entirety).
There are threefold issues I find with Kool-Aid. Firstly, one has to provide their own plastic or glass pitcher. Secondly, one has to provide their own sweetener, either sugar or zero calorie. Thirdly, it can stain skin and wooden utensils in its concentrated form.
For me, however, these are mostly non-issues. If you don't have a pitcher, you should buy one. They're great for juices from concentrate, home-made lemonade, Sangria and other mixed drinks one makes in large quantities, as well as kool-aid.
As for providing your own sugar, you should probably have some already. It lasts forever, and it makes all manner of tasty things available to you. Like cake.
I'd also hope that you have something other than wooden utensils. I love wooden utensils to death, but I also make sure to keep some plastic spoons and spatulas on hand. There are just some applications where it makes sense to have them.
So, really, if you're looking for a way to save money around the table, skipping the soda and going with Kool-aid would be one way to get the job done.
Arbitrary product score: 8/10 (Go and get some. It's tasty business!)
Enter Kool-Aid. At 20 cents a packet, it's reasonably priced, and it's actually fairly healthy as far as drinks that are not water are concerned. And since you add in the sugar yourself, you can add less, or cut it with zero calorie sweetener (or just use zero calorie sweetener for it's entirety).
There are threefold issues I find with Kool-Aid. Firstly, one has to provide their own plastic or glass pitcher. Secondly, one has to provide their own sweetener, either sugar or zero calorie. Thirdly, it can stain skin and wooden utensils in its concentrated form.
For me, however, these are mostly non-issues. If you don't have a pitcher, you should buy one. They're great for juices from concentrate, home-made lemonade, Sangria and other mixed drinks one makes in large quantities, as well as kool-aid.
As for providing your own sugar, you should probably have some already. It lasts forever, and it makes all manner of tasty things available to you. Like cake.
I'd also hope that you have something other than wooden utensils. I love wooden utensils to death, but I also make sure to keep some plastic spoons and spatulas on hand. There are just some applications where it makes sense to have them.
So, really, if you're looking for a way to save money around the table, skipping the soda and going with Kool-aid would be one way to get the job done.
Arbitrary product score: 8/10 (Go and get some. It's tasty business!)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sweet Potato Fries
Last week we covered how to make Salmon patties. They're very tasty, but on their own they don't make a really filling meal. So, you serve them with some Sweet Potato fries! They're pretty easy to make, but can take a while, so prepare them in advance.
Ingredients:
Water
Kosher Salt (or Sea Salt)
1~2 Sweet Potato(es)
Olive Oil
Equipment:
1 plastic container/bowl large enough to fit the sweet potatoes
1~2 cookie sheets
spatula
Directions:
1. Peel (optional) and slice the sweet potato(es) into fry-shapes. (If unpeeled, make sure to wash them!)
2. Place them into the bowl and cover with water.
3. Add kosher salt to the water, and mix until dissolved.
4. Cover and allow sweet potato(es) to sit in the salt water for at 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Preheat oven to ~450 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Place the sweet potato pieces onto the cookie sheets.
7. Sprinkle olive oil onto the sweet potato pieces.
8. Place in oven until cooked all the way through.
One large sweet potato should make plenty for a party of 5~6.
Possible alterations:
This recipe could easily be adapted to using regular potatoes. One can also add spices on the fries after they come out of the oven, or possibly bake them in after the olive oil is applied. I've seen recommendations of using taco seasoning, but I haven't tried it. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Happy Gaming!
Ingredients:
Water
Kosher Salt (or Sea Salt)
1~2 Sweet Potato(es)
Olive Oil
Equipment:
1 plastic container/bowl large enough to fit the sweet potatoes
1~2 cookie sheets
spatula
Directions:
1. Peel (optional) and slice the sweet potato(es) into fry-shapes. (If unpeeled, make sure to wash them!)
2. Place them into the bowl and cover with water.
3. Add kosher salt to the water, and mix until dissolved.
4. Cover and allow sweet potato(es) to sit in the salt water for at 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Preheat oven to ~450 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Place the sweet potato pieces onto the cookie sheets.
7. Sprinkle olive oil onto the sweet potato pieces.
8. Place in oven until cooked all the way through.
One large sweet potato should make plenty for a party of 5~6.
Possible alterations:
This recipe could easily be adapted to using regular potatoes. One can also add spices on the fries after they come out of the oven, or possibly bake them in after the olive oil is applied. I've seen recommendations of using taco seasoning, but I haven't tried it. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Happy Gaming!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Salmon Patties
Salmon patties are tasty, and a great way to have burgers while still catering to people who follow the pescetarian* lifestyle. The problem with salmon patties is that, when bought preformed, they are quite expensive. Just like hamburgers though, one can make them at home for a much more reasonable price!
Ingredients:
1 can (~15 oz.) Salmon
1 package (8 oz. ) Sour Cream
1 stick butter or margarine
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups corn flakes
1 stick celery, diced
~5 mushroom stems
Equipment:
1 spoon (for mixing)
1 bowl
1 gallon zip-top bag
1 large frying pan
measuring cups
Directions:
Possible Alterations:
The celery and mushroom stems are just fillers. The recipe has too much liquid without them. They could easily be replaced with something else. The reason one doesn't add water to the pan because then the patties will just fall apart.
Happy Gaming!
*Pescetarianism is the practice of maintaining a diet involving fish, dairy, and eggs while excluding other meats.
Ingredients:
1 can (~15 oz.) Salmon
1 package (8 oz. ) Sour Cream
1 stick butter or margarine
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups corn flakes
1 stick celery, diced
~5 mushroom stems
Equipment:
1 spoon (for mixing)
1 bowl
1 gallon zip-top bag
1 large frying pan
measuring cups
Directions:
- Open and drain the can of salmon.
- Place the salmon in the bowl. Pick out any large bones, such as the spine.
- Pre-heat the pan.
- Measure out the corn flakes and place in the zip-top bag. CRUSH THEM!
- Combine all the ingredients in the bowl. Mix well.
- Form into patties, and place in hot frying pan. DO NOT ADD WATER TO THE PAN.
- Let the patties alone. Once the patty is brown on one side, flip.
Possible Alterations:
The celery and mushroom stems are just fillers. The recipe has too much liquid without them. They could easily be replaced with something else. The reason one doesn't add water to the pan because then the patties will just fall apart.
Happy Gaming!
*Pescetarianism is the practice of maintaining a diet involving fish, dairy, and eggs while excluding other meats.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Flash Frozen Bacon!
A few weeks ago, some friends and I got to play with some liquid nitrogen. Flash freezing bacon seemed like a good idea at the time, which is mostly because it is! We also flash froze some tomatoes, which was also a pretty good idea.
Make sure that if you ever work with liquid nitrogen to be very careful. Make sure to wear safety goggles, gloves, and shoes while handling liquid nitrogen. Liquid Nitrogen is VERY cold, and can do nasty, horrible things to you if you aren't careful.
Also, work outside or with the windows open. While nitrogen is in the air, as it boils off can displace the oxygen in a room. The oxygen that is important for your body to breath in. So, windows open or outside!
This is the first in a series of videos, where we mix science with noms!
Happy gaming!
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