What's cookin', good lookin'? Part II

[Anastasia1999]

My mum made colcannon for me when I was visiting last week. It’s a typical Irish dish of boiled green curly kale mixed with mashed potatoes and sautéed onions. God I love it!

I also enjoyed fish and chips from the chip shop, eaten from paper bags outside while sitting on the wall and looking out at the Irish Sea

 

[seela]

My mum made colcannon for me when I was visiting last week. It’s a typical Irish dish of boiled green curly kale mixed with mashed potatoes and sautéed onions. God I love it!

I also enjoyed fish and chips from the chip shop, eaten from paper bags outside while sitting on the wall and looking out at the Irish Sea

I’ll have what she’s having!

 

[gracie920101]

My mum made colcannon for me when I was visiting last week. It’s a typical Irish dish of boiled green curly kale mixed with mashed potatoes and sautéed onions. God I love it!

I also enjoyed fish and chips from the chip shop, eaten from paper bags outside while sitting on the wall and looking out at the Irish Sea

Oh my, now I want some colcannon soup from Nine Fine Irishmen pub

 

[Anastasia1999]

I’ll have what she’s having!

It is comfort food of the highest degree and evokes childhood memories. My mum is a fantastic cook.

Sits next to you both and enjoys the breeze.

There really is no better place to be than Ireland on a summers day

space for a fourth?

Of course

Oh my, now I want some colcannon soup from Nine Fine Irishmen pub

Colcannon soup? That’s a great idea!! I’ve never had it.

 

[Orchidea73]

Parmigiana.

 

[Orchidea73]

Chicken?

No, eggplant.

 

[Primalex]

Why do you not believe in those types of devices?

For one, 95% of the work is not the cooking itself, but the preparation. All those promises of how easy your life is going to be are mostly empty. Your life got easy because due to the device you decided to follow a simple one pot recipe where you just had to dump all prepared ingredients into a pot and set a timer.

Second, a meal rarely consists of one element. What are you going to do if you need two different things?

Third, you can't scale it. You are having guests and need three times the amount of steamed vegetables...then what?

Fourth, they break.

Fifth, how often did you wake up and realize that you had to prepare a slow cooked meal and there is not enough time left for it and therefore you absolutely need a pressure cooker to get the things done in time? A pressure cooker gets things done faster, but it doesn't save time - because you wouldn't have stared at the regular pot for 2 hours anyway.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Primalex]

I’ve heard great things about air fryers but I’ve read it doesn’t really reduce the oil/calories in “fried” foods. I haven’t looked into that further, though.

I guess it comes down to what kind of air fryer you are talking about.

There is an air fryer type where you add some oil. There it might be that the amount of oil you add is in the end the same amount that would be soaked up by food during deep frying. I don't think that it's really the same amount but at least in theory it could be the case.

But there are air fryers where you don't have to add oil...and for these types, where would the oil come from? Thin air? Does not compute.

 

[ultramarineblue]

Experiment. It’s fun!

I love experimenting but sometimes I get stuck in a rut and have trouble thinking of things to create.

My mum made colcannon for me when I was visiting last week. It’s a typical Irish dish of boiled green curly kale mixed with mashed potatoes and sautéed onions. God I love it!

I also enjoyed fish and chips from the chip shop, eaten from paper bags outside while sitting on the wall and looking out at the Irish Sea

Sounds delicious!

For one, 95% of the work is not the cooking itself, but the preparation. All those promises of how easy your life is going to be are mostly empty. Your life got easy because due to the device you decided to follow a simple one pot recipe where you just had to dump all prepared ingredients into a pot and set a timer.

Second, a meal rarely consists of one element. What are you going to do if you need two different things?

Third, you can't scale it. You are having guests and need three times the amount of steamed vegetables...then what?

Fourth, they break.

Fifth, how often did you wake up and realize that you had to prepare a slow cooked meal and there is not enough time left for it and therefore you absolutely need a pressure cooker to get the things done in time? A pressure cooker gets things done faster, but it doesn't save time - because you wouldn't have stared at the regular pot for 2 hours anyway.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All good reasons that make sense. I do like cooking meals that mix together easily but I often cook the parts separately so they are the way I want them. I forget the part about how much they hold which most of the time isn't much. Thank you so much for your input.

 

[MeekMe]

I guess it comes down to what kind of air fryer you are talking about.

There is an air fryer type where you add some oil. There it might be that the amount of oil you add is in the end the same amount that would be soaked up by food during deep frying. I don't think that it's really the same amount but at least in theory it could be the case.

But there are air fryers where you don't have to add oil...and for these types, where would the oil come from? Thin air? Does not compute.

How does it work without oil? And can it still be called “frying” without it? I’ve done no research and I’m all out of ideas.

 

[Primalex]

How does it work without oil? And can it still be called “frying” without it? I’ve done no research and I’m all out of ideas.

A very good question.

What are we doing when we are deep frying vs. just baking? We are immersing the food in a hot liquid, because the liquid transfers heat so much more better than air (something we all know, because you can put your hand into an oven at 212°F, but not for a second in water at 212°F) and we remove the problem of surface contact creating uneven heating. (And we don't use water for deep frying, because our goal is to get the water out of the food, unlike boiling pasta in water.)

The air fryer tackles these two things with a basket and circulating air, so that the hot air reaches the food from the bottom, too, as there is no baking tray. And the heat transfer from air to food is accelerated by a much stronger convection than an oven.

Does the air fryer generate the same results as a deep fryer? No. The deep frying does add oil/fat to the food and fat is a flavor carrier. No technology is going to change that.

Does it generate results that are so superior to a regular oven that the difference to the deep fryer becomes negligible? Yes, for a wide selection of food.

Overall, I would not recommend an air fryer if your primary goal is to replace deep fried french fries. Potatoes just need fat to be good. There is a reason we are using milk and/or butter for mashed potatoes and not just water.

 

[MeekMe]

A very good question.

What are we doing when we are deep frying vs. just baking? We are immersing the food in a hot liquid, because the liquid transfers heat so much more better than air (something we all know, because you can put your hand into an oven at 212°F, but not for a second in water at 212°F) and we remove the problem of surface contact creating uneven heating. (And we don't use water for deep frying, because our goal is to get the water out of the food, unlike boiling pasta in water.)

The air fryer tackles these two things with a basket and circulating air, so that the hot air reaches the food from the bottom, too, as there is no baking tray. And the heat transfer from air to food is accelerated by a much stronger convection than an oven.

Does the air fryer generate the same results as a deep fryer? No. The deep frying does add oil/fat to the food and fat is a flavor carrier. No technology is going to change that.

Does it generate results that are so superior to a regular oven that the difference to the deep fryer becomes negligible? Yes, for a wide selection of food.

Overall, I would not recommend an air fryer if your primary goal is to replace deep fried french fries. Potatoes just need fat to be good. There is a reason we are using milk and/or butter for mashed potatoes and not just water.

Thank you for such a thorough response. It seems an air fryer is not for me but works for others quite well.

 

[Primalex]

may i add something to the fryed conversation? isn't fat an important nutrient too? isn't the question rather which fat (animal or vegetable or omega3)? for a heaklthy diet without any special conditions shouldn't there be a healthy mix of the three such as less animal and more vegetable and enough omega3?

Another excellent question.

The answer is:"healthy fat/oil" is always heat unstable. Whatever oil you are using that is designated for deep frying definitely does not contribute to a healthy diet and intake should be minimized.

You get the important nutrients by the olive oil you've drizzled over the caprese salad.

 

[IrisAlthea]

but don't W/we also need a (small) amount of 'unhealthy' fat? just wondering

Fat is really just glycerol binding to different combinstions of fatty acids. Two of those fatty acids are essential, meaning we can not produce them ourseves.
As long as we get enough of the essential fatty acids, linoic acid (an omega 6 type) and alpha linoic acid(an omega 3 type), we can build the other fats we need.
The thing is that we need a good balance between omega 3 type fatty acids and omega 6 type fatty acids and we tend to get way more of the latter.
The other problem is that a lot of the fat we eat today is processed in ways that produce trans fats in much greater quantities than would normally occur.

Also, most of us are well adjusted to living with food scarcity. We tend to be fond of a yummy combination of carbs and fat, that is now to be found whenever and wherever, for many of us.
That is why we have to try a bit extra to make the healthiest choices. The rest is going to end up in our mealplans anyway.

 

[MeekMe]

Another excellent question.

The answer is:"healthy fat/oil" is always heat unstable. Whatever oil you are using that is designated for deep frying definitely does not contribute to a healthy diet and intake should be minimized.

You get the important nutrients by the olive oil you've drizzled over the caprese salad.

Or having some fatty fish, nuts, avocado or soy.

Fat is really just glycerol binding to different combinstions of fatty acids. Two of those fatty acids are essential, meaning we can not produce them ourseves.
As long as we get enough of the essential fatty acids, linoic acid (an omega 6 type) and alpha linoic acid(an omega 3 type), we can build the other fats we need.
The thing is that we need a good balance between omega 3 type fatty acids and omega 6 type fatty acids and we tend to get way more of the latter.
The other problem is that a lot of the fat we eat today is processed in ways that produce trans fats in much greater quantities than would normally occur.

Also, most of us are well adjusted to living with food scarcity. We tend to be fond of a yummy combination of carbs and fat, that is now to be found whenever and wherever, for many of us.
That is why we have to try a bit extra to make the healthiest choices. The rest is going to end up in our mealplans anyway.

I have to control aspects of my diet like this because trans and saturated fats are everywhere and I’m susceptible to health problems these types of fats exacerbate. I love fried foods as much as the next person but I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t limit the amount in my diet.

 

[Wonderer67]

Blueberry stew. It’s a breakfast concoction my wife and I have a few times a week.

Blueberries most of the year, but this time of the year, I add peach, strawberries, banana etc. on top of that, I put in about a cup of granola, 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter and a little bit of chia seeds.

I only eat two meals a day and this will keep me full from mid morning till 7pm dinner.

 

[IrisAlthea]

Or having some fatty fish, nuts, avocado or soy.



I have to control aspects of my diet like this because trans and saturated fats are everywhere and I’m susceptible to health problems these types of fats exacerbate. I love fried foods as much as the next person but I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t limit the amount in my diet.

Yes, inflammation can wreak a lot of havoc.

 

[Amaraa3593]

Salad from a local place today! It was REALLY good!

 

[gracie920101]

Hmmmm, I had taco salad for dinner.

 

[gracie920101]

Never mind

 

[Jd192235]

My meat

Smoked a small pork shoulder and ancho Chile lime corn
https://imgur.com/a/IVpKXrO

 

[sally_sparrow]

I don't care that it isn't Fall yet. I made applesauce today from all the apples that have fallen off the tree so far. My house smells like October.

 

[Anastasia1999]

Barbecued pork sausages, pork chops, small new potatoes and mixed salad.

Easy peasy and very yummy.

 

[seela]

It's cold, I can start cooking more again!

Everything posted here sounds great.

 

[Wonderer67]

Not cooking per se, but made a really good tomato salad from the garden. Use cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, mozzarella cheese and some olive oil.