food

Hello friends! I have an assortment of kitchen tips to share with you all, the formatting may be wierd but this is me trying to keep it organized. Discuss, share your own tips, and keep poasting to help make Hexbear healthy and strong.

• Coconut Oil Cubes

Most ice cube trays have slots that measure around one tablespoon in volume. Since coconut oil is profoundly annoying to measure I will melt it down and pour into an ice cube tray and store the cubes in a container in the fridge. You can do half tablespoon or teaspoon sized portions too but that calls for actually measuring.

• Keep Frozen Bottles of Water Around

I keep about a dozen bottles of water in my freezer since it makes the appliance more efficient and helps keep things colder, longer when the power goes out. They used to be refilled 1 or 2 liter sized soda bottles but Ive since switched to those half liter bottles of drinking water for utilities sake. They make decent impromptu ice packs too.

• Frozen Water Bottle Iced Coffee Trick

When I want iced coffee I'll pour it hot into a very large cup (I use a protein shaker bottle thing) and then place one of my many frozen water bottles inside of that and place it in the freezer. This cools previously hot coffee down to at least room temperature in 3-5 minutes without watering it down.

• Soy Curl Laundry Bag Trick

Soy Curls have a wierd aftertaste if you don't squeeze them out after hydrating but I don't like doing that barehanded or wasting cheese cloth so I rehydrate them in a small mesh laundry bag after sifting out the dust in a colander. This way I can just pull the bag out and squeeze when its done. I wash the bag after every use with the rest of the laundry but will give it a rinse before using in order to take care of any lint. Pic related, its the kind of bag I'm talking about.

• Buy Big Size, Use From Little Container

Buying seasonings in bulk and then decanting into spice bottles saves a lot of money and reduces waste. Use a wide-mouth funnel for this. Same goes for soy sauce, I have one of those resturant-style pour bottles and I refill it from half-gallon jugs, the difference in price by volume is astronomical.

• Miscellaneous Other Tips

I keep a hot sauce bottle filled with water next to my stove. Its really good for dispensing a splash of water when doing that in-pan steaming thing or deglazing.

Having multiple sets of measuring spoons is really useful, helps avoid "cross contaminating" spices or measuring powders after liquids. Its also nice if youre being lazy about doing the dishes.

Baking powder expires and it expires for real.

https://thehill.com/business/personal-finance/5901378-were-having-the-worst-wheat-crop-in-decades-youll-notice-the-ripple-effects-soon-at-the-grocery-store/

(NEXSTAR) – It’s a perfect storm of terrible conditions for wheat farmers this year. Drought, dramatic swings in temperature, the skyrocketing price of fertilizer and diesel, plus multiple viruses affecting wheat have all led to one of the most challenging years for farmers in decades.

There are different classes of winter wheat, but they’re all down when compared to last year’s crop, explained Todd Hubbs, a crop marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University Extension.

The most widely produced class of wheat in the U.S., Hard Red Winter wheat, has a current production forecast of 515 million bushels. That may sound like a lot, but it would end up being the lowest since 1957, Hubbs said.

Soft red winter and white wheat varieties are also having tough years, with the lowest production volume in 6 to 10 years. Groceries just had the biggest price hike in years. It’s about to get even worse, experts warn

In all, growers will see their smallest wheat crop in terms of production since 1972, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture; 1.56 billion bushels this year, down 21% from 2025. How will this year’s dismal wheat crop affect food, grocery prices?

For an idea of how a terrible wheat crop may impact the food and grocery supply chains, we can turn to recent history. In 2023, a severe drought led to dramatically higher grain prices, “and these elevated prices rippled through the economy and raised Americans’ grocery bills,” Teresa Kroeger, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wrote at the time.

Hobbs doesn’t believe we’ll see a sudden and major price shock at the grocery store. Rather, rising wheat prices will work their way through the supply chain, joining in with all the other higher costs of producing and distributing food, from more expensive packaging to the cost of gas for truckers.

A few cents here and a few dollars there add up to ultimately mean higher grocery prices for consumers.

“A price shock to grains can ripple through the stages of goods production. When a food producer pays more for their inputs to production, such as when prices for grains rise, these producers typically pass on some or all the price increases to their buyers,” Kroeger explained.

With wheat, the most direct impacts are on flour, bread, pasta, cereals and baked goods, Hobbs said. These are America’s most ‘overpriced’ housing markets

But it doesn’t end there. Grains are sometimes used as part of animal feed, so pricier wheat can make it pricier to raise animals. “This has downstream impacts on the supply and prices of beef, pork, poultry, eggs, and dairy products,” Kroeger wrote.

Before you freak out, Hobbs emphasized that there are many cost calculations that go into making food. Any one ingredient – like wheat – likely isn’t going to make or break your family’s grocery budget. “Large changes in wheat prices see moderate changes at the grocery store,” he said.

Unfortunately, many of those other costs are also going up. Many grocery staples saw the biggest price spike in years this spring, and experts warn it’s about to get worse.

Title. I'm arroz con frijoles pilled, but I'm wondering if there's a good sauce that can go on it to make it even tastier? Right now I've just been using hot sauce.

Also, wow, is rice and beans filling! I ate like 3 hours ago and I'm still really fully, off just one cup of rice and one can of black beans.

Transforming the pantry to resemble a store to regain that which was lost from buying everything online

Hiya, I started tirzepatide recently and am just collecting easy prep high protein meals I can make and forget about until I need them. It's also a good opportunity since I'm getting my diet in order to try to shift more vegan - and I know this place is a treasure trove of vegan recipes.

Anything high protein, easy to batch prepare, and vegan would be much appreciated!

i’m LEGOOMING

I really don't obsess over veggies so I do canned stuff and it's not very tasty half the time. Flipped it up with fresh mushrooms I washed and sliced, so good.

Decided not to cook today and checked on a whim on doordash and my favorite local pizza place is finally on it. They do neapolitan pies but their sauce is much sweeter than anything else around here and it never fails to make my mouth water. At $15 it's not bad, (closer to $25 with taxes and tip).

Anywho try it out sometime if you want something different in your pizza.

Celebrating labor day/may day/vappu always starts on the eve here so been fully into it all day today already and made some vappu donuts to go with the sima (mead) we made last weekend. These are THE treats for labor day around these parts.

The donut dough is nothing like the donut dough in US of AmeriKKKa. This is basically the same yeasted dough that is used to make pulla (sweet bread), it has lots of cardamon in it. I make these with sourdough as the levener.

Along with the donut shaped ones I also made a few of these square ones that are literally called porkies because of the shape. Put some homemade apple jam in them.

Finished "porkie donuts".

Finished vappu donuts.

This here is the combo. Ate this while listening to old commie songs.

Happy May Day comrades!

Recipe

Soya Chunks (Baked):

• 1 cup dry soya chunks
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt

Marinade/Coating:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions:

1. Boil water with salt in it.
2. Pour over soya chunks in a large bowl.
3. Let the soya chunks sit for roughly 20 minutes.
4. Drain soya chunks, rinse them with cold water, and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands.
5. Add soya chunks to marinade after mixing all ingredients (except cornstarch) together.
6. Sprinkle cornstarch on top.
7. Toss soya chunks and let the marinade coat.
8. Preheat oven to 375°F (~190°C).
9. Put soya chunks on the baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes after the oven is done preheating, flipping halfway through.

Pasta Sauce (Microwaved)

To be clear, this is something I made from a big-ass 29 oz can of tomato sauce, and of course, I just then scoop it out and add some on top of the dish when it is ready.

• 29 oz can of tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp agave (I like it a bit sweet!)

Instructions:

1. Mix everything together in a big container.
2. Microwave for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Pasta

• 2 cups dry shells pasta
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions:

1. Boil shells with salt in water according to the package instructions.
2. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, drain the pasta, and then mixed the cooked pasta with the olive oil, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and plus the 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water.
3. Serve with the soya chunks and spoon whatever amount of pasta sauce you want on top, sprinkle parsley as a garnish, and nooch it up!

Ice cold water at the ready though, it's still pretty hot.

I did this without any cornstarch coating on the chunks, but if you want a crispier texture, cornstarch coating sprinkled over the soya chunks before coating it with the marinade is definitely recommended. It'll taste great either way.

Recipe

Soya Chunks (Baked):

• 1 cup dry soya chunks
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt

Marinade:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Boil water with salt in it.
2. Pour over soya chunks in a large bowl.
3. Let the soya chunks sit for roughly 20 minutes.
4. Drain soya chunks, rinse them with cold water, and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands.
5. Add soya chunks to marinade after mixing all ingredients together.
6. Toss soya chunks and let the marinade coat.
7. Let the soya chunks sit for at least 15 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 375°F (~190°C).
9. Put soya chunks on the baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes after the oven is done preheating, flipping halfway through.

General Tso's Sauce (Microwaved):

• 1/2 cup water (vegetable broth is good, too)
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1.5 tsp sriracha (chili garlic sauce should work, too)
• 2 tsp agave (maple syrup should work, too)
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Slurry:

• 1.5 tsp cornstarch
• 1.5 tsp water

Instructions:

1. Mix all ingredients (except the slurry) together in one container; stir everything together.
2. Create a cornstarch slurry by mixing together the cornstarch and water until there are no "lumps."
3. Heat up the mixture in a microwave for about 2 minutes.
4. Add about 2 spoonfuls of the heated sauce to the cornstarch slurry, and mix it together until everything is totally combined. Add the slurry mixed with the 2 spoonfuls of sauce to the main container and stir it in thoroughly.
5. Microwave for 30 seconds.
6. It should have a "glossy" texture when it is does, meaning you should be able to see the back of a spoon in a transparent kind of way when you coat the sauce over it. If it does not have that texture yet, heat it up in 15 second bursts until it reaches that point, stirring every time.
7. Add the soya chunks to the container, toss the sauce all over the chunks, and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

"Lo Mein:"

• 4 oz (112 g) whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sauce:

• 0.5 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 0.5 tbsp soy sauce
• 0.5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 0.5 tbsp agave
• 1 tbsp reserved pasta water
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Boil spaghetti with salt in water according to the package instructions.
2. Reserve 1 tbsp of pasta water, drain the spaghetti, and mixed the cooked noodles with the sauce mixture plus the 1 tbsp of reserved pasta water in a container. The sauce does not need to be heated up and should coat the spaghetti just fine.
3. Serve with the soya chunks. I added sriracha and sesame seeds on top, as you can see.

Like the title says, I found that my (thankfully not huge) bag of rice has bugs in it. They don't look like rice weevils to me, they honestly look more like suuper tiny flies or something with wings, but idk. I found a couple dead ones and then when I found a live larvae I poured the entire bag out into a pan and put it in the oven where it is now.

Its kinda gross but I assume if I kill them all in the oven I can put them in a fresh airtight container and still use the rice? Any idea what kind of bug they could be? Should I deep clean the whole kitchen and bleach the cabinets and sprinkle diatomaceous earth and make a sacrifice to the bug gods?

Does anyone bother with the whole "freeze it before storage" process to kill them? I assume in this case they got into the bag somehow, didn't come from the factory like that, otherwise I would have noticed sooner (I go through rice slowly)

edit: yeah it doesn't seem to be very many bugs, I went through it after it cooked in the oven a while. going to let it cook longer at a low temp to be sure and then do the new container plan

it's a sweet and sour dessert soup, really quick and simple to make! my grandmother would make it as a treat when i was young and now i make it vegan 😈

the ingredients are one jar of sour cherries (you can use fresh cherries i just don't), water, coconut milk, some flour for thickening (save some juice from the cherry jar to mix the flour into before adding to the pot), some whole cloves and cinnamon stick (i put the cloves in a metal tea strainer so i can take them out easy after), sugar to taste, and lemon juice to taste (if you like it more sour like me)

if you like it more sweet or more sour you can do that, if you want the soup to be super thick or thin that's all fine too (just adjust how much flour you add). basically make it however you'd best enjoy!

we prefer to have it chilled (really refreshing on a warm day) so after getting it to a boil and infusing the flavors, you can let it cool completely and chill in the fridge.

when cold, keep in mind that any sourness added while cooking can taste stronger. and when serving sometimes it's tasty to sprinkle some ground cinnamon on top if you like that!

There has to be some elite grandma tech for this.

Where I live even with all the precautions in the world my onion and garlic powders in particular absorb moisture very quickly and turn into rocks that I have to chip at to use.

strats?

"Fried" optional I suppose, but I would love to get a couple of peoples' favourite recipes for ways to cook beans for eating with rice.

I would prefer not just re-posted recipes from the internet if that isn't too snooty.

Bonus points if it requires me to add more spices to the cupboard.

i've been preparing mine the same few ways for a while and i'd like to get some more ideas and make a change. how do you prepare yours?

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7991236

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7985434

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7985432

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7985431

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7979520

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7975174

I just hope to reach my goal; you are my only hope. https://chuffed.org/project/150674-support-umm-mohammeds-family-to-rebuild-their-future-and-to-survive-amidst-the-genocide https://chuffed.org/project/150674-support-umm-mohammeds-family-to-rebuild-their-future-and-to-survive-amidst-the-genocide

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7999827

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/7996125

https://chuffed.org/project/150674-support-umm-mohammeds-family-to-rebuild-their-future-and-to-survive-amidst-the-genocide

(vegan) A Tahine made with eggplant, red and yellow bell peppers, carrot, tomatoes, cilantro, parsley and garlic. there is also a little thyme and oregano in the sauce. The basmati rice was cooked with roasted vermicelli noodles.

I'm gonna retract some of my statement's about Gammon food.

Playing with a new ingredient. No CW because they're both vegan

"The Solitary Gourmet" is about a businessman who travels all over Tokyo for work. This is a drama series that depicts a man quietly touring the town's restaurants alone.

There is no flashy story development or narration. He just quietly enjoys his meal. The film carefully depicts the indescribable "joy of eating" that comes with such moments.

Recently been turned on to the goodness and versatility of this ingredient. Aside from the obvious dishes, what should I try it on?

Made this all myself and I think the most expensive part was the chutney which was a little pricey