Friends, Link for Slash Writers, Cooking, Sour Cream, Tivo

[thistlechaser]

In the subject line's order:

* It's amazing. On Monday, I logged on to three pages of friends posts (mostly HP100 stuff). Today I logged on to three /posts/, none HP100-related. Maybe we need a new topic twice a week, to give me something to read in the mornings. :P

* I stumbled upon this at work yesterday. I opened it before I knew how utterly not-work-safe it was. Link to a LJ entry. As a woman, the thought of even attempting to write m/m makes me nervous, but links like that one help. (It's one guy telling (sweetly and hotly) about sex with his new-to-gayness lover.) Very, very detailed, very interesting. Also, again, very not work safe. You've been warned.

* Two things I learned last night, though I sort of knew them already:

1) Cooking for yourself tends to be really cheap.
2) Cooking for yourself tends to take a lot of time.

I got a pot roast for $3 yesterday, and it'll likely be good for three meals. Add a potato and a couple of carrots, and you're still not much over $1 for a meal. I wish I had remembered to get some wide noodles though... Need something to go with it.

However, on the downside, I dealt with cooking/food for three hours last night. That's half the evening. Wrapping up the meat I bought, cutting and washing the (godlike, giant, wonderful, sweet) strawberries, getting the pot roast ready for this morning, cutting the potato up into bitty little pieces, washing the pot, all that.

* Oh, sour cream. So I'd never tried it before putting it into my chicken/cream of chicken meal thingie. Since I didn't even know if I liked it, I didn't buy anymore to put into the meal. Last night was my first time having the chicken-in-cream of chicken soup thing without it. Pretty sucky. However, I suspect lemon juice could replace it (it needed an edge of flavor, something sharp). I'll need to pick some up to try.

Until I have lemon juice, there was an interesting looking recipe for "orange chicken" using frozen orange juice concentrate. Can't wait to try that, though I suspect it'll make a burnt mess in the pot.

* Tivo's getting so full that I'll need a week off just to catch up. It's recording this fake-anime cartoon for me (Reign the Conqueror). It's by the people who did Aeon Flux for MTV a decade or two ago. It's got that really, really funky but sort of keen art style. I also set it up to grab all Yu Gi Oh eps. That's two a day, I think. Since I don't have much time to watch TV, I really don't have it record much for me. Some HBO stuff that plays in the middle of the night (Def Poetry, Real Sex, things like that).

I almost use the Tivo more like an alarm clock or a reminder than a recorder. I program the shows in that I like (Survivor, Six Feet Under, Whose Line is it Anyway, whatever) and then even though I'm not watching the TV or thinking about it, it will change the channel to it and then I notice and watch. (I leave my TV on all the time for background noise.)

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

* Two things I learned last night, though I sort of knew them already:

1) Cooking for yourself tends to be really cheap.

It's something that we all tend to know, but also tend to forget because, gosh, it's just so more convenient when you're hungry RIGHT NOW to go out and grab takeout or nuke some frozen meal.

I'm using that 'we' to include myself. I'm just as guilty as that. Actually, you talking about crockpotting your meals has got me on a similar kick, because I like having the food cooked and ready when I get home. Equally convenient.

2) Cooking for yourself tends to take a lot of time.

In terms of what you described, yeah, it can. Especially clean-up. Especially in the number of dishes I tend to produce when I cook a 'balanced' meal (protein, carbs, and vegetables).

* Oh, sour cream.

I never had sour cream growing up. I think my mom thought it was fattening. I have since discovered that I like it, and in many recipes, you just can't beat it. I couldn't eat it plain, but *in* stuff...however, if you're wanting to try to avoid sour cream for the fattening aspect, you can substitute it a lot of times with soft cream cheese or pureed cottage cheese.

I'm trying the cream of chicken/mushroom/cheddar cheese chicken recipe for tonight. It sounds wonderful, looking over the recipe. I'm going to serve it over whole wheat pasta, and see how it goes!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

It's something that we all tend to know, but also tend to forget because, gosh, it's just so more convenient when you're hungry RIGHT NOW to go out and grab takeout or nuke some frozen meal ...I like having the food cooked and ready when I get home. Equally convenient.

Exactly. If I had to cook from scratch when I got home, I would still be eating frozen and fast food. However, when all it takes is a little prep work the night before and then maybe 5-10 minutes in the morning to put it all into the pot, I can handle that. And in truth, even something that didn't come out overly well in the crock pot is better than fast/frozen food. Likely better for you, too.

I never had sour cream growing up. I think my mom thought it was fattening.

It's not? (I meant to look at the container, but threw it out before remembering.) My mother thinks it is as well, as she sort of gasped in distress when I mentioned I was using it.

I couldn't eat it plain, but *in* stuff

I can't imagine eating it plain. I could be totally off, but it seems to me that that would feel/taste like eating mouthfulls of raw fat off meat. Blech.

I'm trying the cream of chicken/mushroom/cheddar cheese chicken recipe for tonight.

Let me know how it turns out!

[tersa.livejournal.com]

And in truth, even something that didn't come out overly well in the crock pot is better than fast/frozen food. Likely better for you, too.

Of course, depending on what goes into it. ;) But, since you *know* what goes into it...

It's not? (I meant to look at the container, but threw it out before remembering.) My mother thinks it is as well, as she sort of gasped in distress when I mentioned I was using it.

Well, if you ate too much of it, sure, it's fattening. But, it's no more fattening than any other fat or oil (butter, margarine, mayonaise, olive oil, etc.) The nice thing about it is that it doesn't take a lot to go a long way.

it seems to me that that would feel/taste like eating mouthfulls of raw fat off meat

More like very rich, very tangy, thick yogurt.

Oh, right! That reminds me--I think you can sometimes use plain yogurt instead of sour cream, too, but I would be careful with using it because yogurt is protein, not fat, so I'm not sure I would substitute it in anything where the sour cream would be cooked. In the cream of chicken, it'd probably be safe since the sour cream is mixed in only just before serving.

Let me know how it turns out!

I've been making myself hungry all day just thinking about it. :)

[quasilemur.livejournal.com]

Sour cream is a strange and wonderful beast. It is one of the greatest complementary substances there is. Few substances (except, of course, for basic staples) can be so easily used in so many varied dishes. It can take the edge off of acidic or salty foods, it can add zing to protein and vegetables, it can thicken sauces, cool spicy substances, and add a pleasing roundness to many things. Heck, even desserts can be tastily augmented with it, provided your skills are up to snuff.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

provided your skills are up to snuff.

My skills, as we both know, have not even informally been introduced to snuff yet. I will, however, buy more sour cream and keep it on hand (though not literally) in the future.

...though heck, with everything else it can do, maybe it'd make a good skin cream as well.

[quasilemur.livejournal.com]

Not only that, but it makes great engine coolant, provided you can stand the stench, and is one of the key ingredients in successfully initiating cold fusion.