Just signed up. Thought I'd hang out a bit and learn some stuff. I enjoy cooking, mostly just for myself but occasionally others. I cook a lot of meats, not so big on vegetables (mommy tried :p ), and also bake cakes and breads.
The bread thing wasn't easy, especially since the directions for my first attempts neglected to mention letting them rise a second time before tossing them in the oven, but I've gotten pretty decent at it. Started with sourdough but also do dry yeast. Have a starter I made on my own that's about 6-8 months old and a start from Carl's 1840. Just now getting to the point where I am experimenting a little bit instead of just going straight from other people's recipes. Didn't like how crummy my bread was and tried a touch of glutent this last time...worked well (not the first time though since I erroneously thought it said 1-2 TABLEspoons per cup of flour - made a chunk of rubber) and I think I'll try that some more.
Also getting the hang of oils and spices....and trying to grow my own peppers but have found that less than satisfying. They're Jalepeno peppers...supposed to be hot...but taste like green peppers. It's frustrating me. Have a small herb garden with some sage, basil (that hardly grew any leaves), oregeno, and rosemary. Also some ginko but you don't cook with that, or can you?
I'll probably share a couple of recipes but most of mine come from the internet and then get slightly mutated to my taste. Have a couple of inherited recipes though so...
The bread thing wasn't easy, especially since the directions for my first attempts neglected to mention letting them rise a second time before tossing them in the oven, but I've gotten pretty decent at it. Started with sourdough but also do dry yeast. Have a starter I made on my own that's about 6-8 months old and a start from Carl's 1840. Just now getting to the point where I am experimenting a little bit instead of just going straight from other people's recipes. Didn't like how crummy my bread was and tried a touch of glutent this last time...worked well (not the first time though since I erroneously thought it said 1-2 TABLEspoons per cup of flour - made a chunk of rubber) and I think I'll try that some more.
Also getting the hang of oils and spices....and trying to grow my own peppers but have found that less than satisfying. They're Jalepeno peppers...supposed to be hot...but taste like green peppers. It's frustrating me. Have a small herb garden with some sage, basil (that hardly grew any leaves), oregeno, and rosemary. Also some ginko but you don't cook with that, or can you?
I'll probably share a couple of recipes but most of mine come from the internet and then get slightly mutated to my taste. Have a couple of inherited recipes though so...
