Batch Cooking

[larry_stewart]

It's really fun and easy. At least some of them are , anyway. Im just sorry I didnt start growing this many varieties sooner. I always did those little kits you get and can do indoors. They are fun to watch and experience the growth cycle, but growing out doors takes it to the next level. Everything I do is something that is easily identifiable whether it be the type of mushroom, the the medium it is growing on. I'd never grow anything that would be questionable.
I have found :

Field & Forest Products - Grow your own mushrooms!

Grow your own mushrooms! Field & Forest has superior, certified organic spawn, ready-to-fruit indoor mushroom grow kits, tools, technical info & advice.

www.fieldforest.net

A good reliable site for both education and buying products.

To date,I have successfully grown:
- Wine cap
- Almond
- Shiitake
- Oyster ( several varieties) ( indoors and outdoors)
- Chestnut
- White button, Cremini and Lions Mane( indoors, but from kits, not as productive)

Best part about growing mushrooms is they grow where regular garden stuff wont, in the shade
Disadvantage to growing outside is they could get buggy.

If he does start growing, I can give advice on my limited knowledge and experience of the above mushrooms.

BTW, I decided to make marinated mushrooms instead of freezing, but I did save and freeze the mushroom water for future mushroom barley soup.

 

[blissful]

@larry_stewart marinated mushrooms in the fridge or canning? I haven't canned marinated mushrooms yet.

Thanks for offering your experience. I let him know and if he takes it up, I'll get him in contact with you. That was so nice of you.

 

[blissful]

I made a batch of pepper relish for the fridge and freezer. We use it on salads and on sandwiches.
5 cups of red/yellow/green peppers
1 cup each: green olives, marinated mixed olives, black olives, parsley, garlic/basil.
Small diced everything, mixed it with AC vinegar and some salt added.
Put it in 16 oz plastic containers for the freezer and fridge, makes about 4.5 pints.

 

[larry_stewart]

marinated mushrooms in the fridge or canning?

Thanks for offering your experience. I let him know and if he takes it up, I'll get him in contact with you. That was so nice of you.

In the fridge. Actually finished them up already

And no problem, anything I can do to help. It's aa lot of fun, and rewarding too. Also a little unpredictable ( in a good way) . You never know when things are going to pop up.

 

[emilymh2018]

I am single and batch cooking is my main way of life. Usually make a couple of things on the weekends and freeze leftovers. Planning on making the Joy of Cooking Provincial Vegetable Soup tomorrow, huge crocokpot full.

I live in MN and very often during the winter, I batch cook chili and also old school cream of-soup hotdishes (other states call them casseroles). Trying to be frugal with the rising cost of groceries these days.

 

[blissful]

Emily, I'm all in on frugal cooking to keep the grocery price down.

This is the pepper relish for salads and sandwiches.

 

[taxlady]

That pepper relish looks delicious. Do you store that in the fridge? Or can you freeze it? I don't imagine it would be ideal for canning.

 

[dragnlaw]

Positively yummy looking bliss! Ditto what taxy says...

 

[blissful]

That pepper relish looks delicious. Do you store that in the fridge? Or can you freeze it? I don't imagine it would be ideal for canning.

Yes I refrigerate the first container, freeze the rest. I do the same with olive relish-which has more olives, celery, and onions. When serving, I strain off any excess vinegar. We had it last night on perogies (potato sauerkraut) with lemon garlic tofu cream. It's nice on top and it makes a nice little salad on the side too.

 

[pepperhead212]

Looks delicious! Looks almost like that delicious pepper and green tomato relish I used to make every fall - picalilli. That was one for canning, for using up my green tomatoes, and you've probably made that before!

 

[blissful]

Dave, I haven't made that. I'm going to have to keep that in mind this next fall. thanks!

 

[larry_stewart]

The pepper relish looks great ( and Im sure tastes great too). I assume it's vinegar based ?

 

[blissful]

The pepper relish looks great ( and Im sure tastes great too). I assume it's vinegar based ?

5 cups of red/yellow/green peppers
1 cup each: green olives, marinated mixed olives, black olives, parsley, garlic/basil.
Small diced everything, mixed it with AC vinegar and some salt added.
Put it in 16 oz plastic containers for the freezer and fridge, makes about 4.5 pints.

 

[larry_stewart]

mmm, The olives sound great In that. If freezing, do you let it marinate over night first? Or right into the freezer it goes ?

 

[blissful]

I just mixed it up, took its picture, and put it in the freezer, lol.

 

[larry_stewart]

I just mixed it up, took its picture, and put it in the freezer, lol.

Easy enough

 

[blissful]

Stocked up on produce for the week.

Reduced price grocery haul this morning.
7 bags at 99 cents/each.
3 eggplants
little tangerine/halos
larger navel oranges
apples
apples from a strange planet where they grow HUGE
3 romaine heads
1 iceberg lettuce head

Regular produce:
Carrots went down to 67 cents/lb, 2 lbs
Roma tomatoes went down to 99 cents/lb, 2 lbs

Tomato sauce, peppers, onion with the eggplant to go on ww pasta. The lettuces, apples, tomatoes for salad ingredients. The carrots for carrot/apple/pineapple slaw. The oranges for eating.

 

[larry_stewart]

When I lived in Philly, we would stock up on produce at the Italian market, and then we found a place closer to us called Produce junction. The prices were so good. The only issue is stuff was pre bagged / packaged , so you couldn't pick and choose. But you got so much for your money, even if you had a few stinkers, you still wound up ahead.

 

[blissful]

This is a regular grocery store (employee owned). It seems the prices went up too fast, people stopped buying because of high prices, these discounts are to keep from tossing them out. They'll probably manage the produce better as time goes on and prices come down and we won't have the reduced produce available.
A lot of things are back to normal last year's prices, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower.
I can't complain about carrots at 67 cents/lb, or roma tomatoes for 99 cents/lb, $2 cauliflower heads, or $1.29 for iceberg lettuce and $2 for 3 romaine hearts.
For a while there cauliflower was $6 and $7 a head--outrageous.

 

[larry_stewart]

Ive noticed the cauliflower and lettuce down by me. Lettuce is down o $2 from $4 a head, and cauliflower about the same.