Quoted from lola

I would definately marinade a roast or whole pieces of anything.

the appropriate time would be around an hour at least, if not even over night.

for ground beef, I d first do my hamburgers or sausage or whatever shape I want, and marinade those instead, for half an hour maybe.

I might try it again, marinating for only a short time.  The juice was so absorbed into the meat that it wrecked the taste of our meat.  If I had known the taste would have changed so much, I would have tried to squeeze more of the cherry juice out of the beef.

I would have made a 'picadillo' out of that ground beef.

you basically just fry onions, peppers, herbs, maybe some celery......
then add the ground beef, and let it fry, separating it all the way........almost like preparing a stuffing........at the end, you can even add some raisins and chopped up almonds.

it s very tasty, you can stuff any veggie with that.....like zucchini, or bell peppers, eggplant........
whatever!
the raisins give it a nice touch.......since your beef was already 'sweetish' from the cherry juice.

Quoted from KimonoKat

Many people may remember my posts on the old board where I didn't even know how long to steam veggies.  I'm a little better now, but not by mch.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to marrinade (sp?) beef with cherry juice?  Dr. D. recommends this, but we have no clue how, how much or for how long.

Not knowing anything about marrinading, we soaked a pound of frozen hamburger over night in the fridge.  It soaked up like 75% of the cherry juice! :falling down laughing here:

Then I tried to fry it. :hysterical laughter here:  Hamburgers were not possible, so, I added chopped onion broccoli and ginger, and just kept trying to burn off the cherry juice.  We had to add some rice vinegar to the mix try to improve the taste (not much; maybe 2 tblsp)

So, is the marinading only for like roasts and stuff?  And can you marinade chicken in cherry juice?  Are you supposed to dilute it?

Really, really need some help here!

For burgers you could also try adding finely chopped blueberries, similar action.  One of the fast food companies was experimenting with adding blueberries to their burgers, but never heard more of it, probably too expensive.

Quoted from cherylhcmba

 One of the fast food companies was experimenting with adding blueberries to their burgers, but never heard more of it, probably too expensive.

Probably too healthy!

Quoted from lola

I would have made a 'picadillo' out of that ground beef.

you basically just fry onions, peppers, herbs, maybe some celery......
then add the ground beef, and let it fry, separating it all the way........almost like preparing a stuffing........at the end, you can even add some raisins and chopped up almonds.

it s very tasty, you can stuff any veggie with that.....like zucchini, or bell peppers, eggplant........
whatever!
the raisins give it a nice touch.......since your beef was already 'sweetish' from the cherry juice.

Sounds delish Lola, but raisins and peppers are "Infrequents" on the Arthritis program. :sigh:

I'd love to eat more zucchini but Mr. KK does't care for it unless it has mozzarella & butter on it, so, he doesn't fix it.

Lola is this only if the meat of chicken has been frozen, or also when it is fresh?(Marinate in cherry juice)

also when fresh......)

Quoted from Serena

I also added arrow root because commercial "icing sugar" has cornstarch, so I figured I needed to add some starch to it. .

The starch was originally added as an anti-caking agent, but as its cheaper than sugar...

TO get it more like icing sugar you'll need to sift thru a fine screen (I use a tea strainer).
Otherwise its still too gritty for a fine caster sugar.

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Quoted from KimonoKat

Not knowing anything about marrinading, we soaked a pound of frozen hamburger over night in the fridge.  It soaked up like 75% of the cherry juice! :falling down laughing here.

Breadcrumbs...and/or egg.

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For dried beans, always change the soaking water several times to prevent the "music". Soybeans should have the water changed every hour...

Black cherry marinade
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archiveb/config.pl?read=96338

adding prunes or black cherry concentrate to ground meat
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archivec/config.pl?read=118580

Roasting peppers can be done on a gas range burner OR on a gas grill, instead of heating up your entire oven.  Same technique.  Just be sure to keep turning them as they char.

I roast eggplant either on the gas grill or under the broiler (my electric range still hasn't died).  Love that smoky flavor in baba ganoush.

Dried beans are so much cheaper than canned, that I just cook a pound at a time in the crockpot.  Then I freeze them in 2 C portions in freezer bags/containers.  It's very easy to thaw them later and throw them into whatever you're making.

You can grind flax seeds in a clean coffee grinder and store the ground meal in the fridge or freezer.  It's easy to just scoop some out and throw them into oatmeal, salad dressing, etc.

One of the best purchases I made this year was a lime juicer.  Looks a bit like a giant round garlic press.  I'd always used a reamer on limes and lemons.  Not any more!  This thing is great and was at the grocery store.  It squashes lime halves in nothing flat!  I wanted to see how it would handle lemons, and was a bit concerned because they're so much bigger.  I found that if I ream the lemon first, then use the juicer, I'm getting a lot more juice out of the lemon than reaming alone.  Given the skyrocketing price of lemons, it's worth the extra effort to me.

I keep hearing people praising hard boiled egg slicers/mandolines for cutting mushrooms, but have not tried one myself.  For a few bucks, if you use a lot of 'shrooms, that would be a great time saver.

You can also grind flax seeds a cup at a time in a blender, then store in an airtight container in the freezer, as Lily says.  I prefer this to a coffee/spice grinder because the flax seeds are oily, and the blender can be washed -- but a friend of mine is adamant that it's easier with a coffee grinder.

The lime juicer sounds as though it works like those counter-top citrus presses that cost an arm and half a leg -- but cheaper, I'll bet!  Nice tip about squeezing out the last bit of juice after reaming a lemon.  They always look like there's a fair amount left.

Hi guys, great thread.

In my former life when I ate red (kidney) beans and rice regularly, I learned this tip from an old cajun woman.  If you don't have time to soak your beans, put them into a pot with water as you would normally cook them.  Bring to a boil.  When they just start to boil, remove and strain.  Put the beans back into the pot with fresh water and return to the stove.  They cook just like they've been soaked.  

Works for me because I forget to plan ahead.

that s a great tip, thanks!! )

I've used a similar method, but was under the impression that the beans had to sit and soak for an hour after being brought to a boil.  That's quicker than soaking them overnight, but your old Cajun method is even quicker and easier!

Quoted from geminisue

I like to take the stalks off the brocolli, cut into smaller pieces and throw in the food processor, and pulse into slaw.

Sue -- I've been meaning to try your tip ever since I first saw your post.  Today, I was craving fresh, raw veggies, and had a bag of stems from kale and collards in the fridge, so --

It turned out great!  It's crunchy, like cabbage slaw (which Hubby and I miss), plus it uses up all those stems that I remove when I stir-fry greens (our new favorite method).  I'm thinking this might be even better if I throw in one carrot for a little sweetness, and maybe a stalk of celery, too.

Mmmm, I can just taste Spring coming!

Yes -- the Stem Slaw is even better with a little carrot and celery added!

I'm not a big fan of oil-based salad dressings (something about being an A nonnie, I think), and since I started the BTD, my old favorite low-fat dressings are off my list -- so I had to come up with something to put on all that slaw.  I am ridiculously proud of myself for inventing a simple yet tasty dressing that I can make with things I always have on hand.

Simple Salad Dressing

(makes enough for about 1 pound of slaw-type salad)

3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp "red" (dark) miso
1 Tbsp honey

1/4 Cup tahini (optional)
pinch of dill weed (optional)

Just mix it all together.  It's easier to incorporate the miso and/or tahini if you put it/them into the bowl first, then gradually stir in the liquid ingredients.

I add either the tahini (for a creamy-style dressing) or the dill weed -- don't think it'd be quite right with both at once (but then I've never tried it that way, so how do I know?).

One thing I really like about this recipe is that each of the three main ingredients is in charge of one basic flavor.  If it's too sour or not sour enough, adjust the amount of lemon juice -- or adjust the miso for saltiness, or the honey for sweetness.

Those of you who can use apple cider vinegar could try that in place of the lemon juice.  I assume that tahini or soy sauce could be substituted (same amount) for the miso.  The honey is there mostly so the dressing doesn't taste kinda grim, so I suspect that you could substitute any compliant sweetener without affecting the taste very much.  Other nut/seed butters would definitely affect the flavor, but I bet they'd all be good.  And of course, other herbs and spices can be used to taste.

If I could delete the preceding post, I would (except for the part about carrot and celery), because I have discovered something that I like a whole lot better, namely an

Even Simpler Salad Dressing

Juice of half a lemon
1/8 tsp salt

Add both ingredients to about half a pound of slaw-type salad.  Stir well.  That's it!

There's been a good bit of talk here on the forums about using lemon juice as an emergency substitute for "real" salad dressing.  I was amazed to find that lemon juice has a hint of sweetness that nicely balances its sourness.  The salt compliments the clean, fresh taste of the lemon.  The resulting salad tastes exactly like Spring!

Here's how to make gingerale  Video and all...(until I have to use my video space for new videos)

http://www.dadamo.com/bloggers/4/archives/00000270.htm

Melissa, great video! Thanks so much! Jayney-0

Peeling ginger with a spoon is easier than using a peeler AND it doesn't waste as much of the ginger...also, if you peel your ginger first, then put it into a ziploc baggie, it will store in the freezer for a long time. I find it easy to grate or process even when it is frozen.

Thanks, Drea.  I'll peel mine before freezing after this.  That way, even if it stays in there till it shrivels, at least I won't have to peel it then!

Quoted from Carol_the_Dabbler

Thanks, Drea.  I'll peel mine before freezing after this.  That way, even if it stays in there till it shrivels, at least I won't have to peel it then!

Peeling frozen ginger is no fun! And it doesn't shrivel when it's frozen. It also doesn't sprout! I had some ginger sprout on me last summer, so I stuck in some dirt and it grew into a plant...but alas, it died at the end of the growing season. It was cool looking, though!

You can grow ginger AND eat the root.  When you buy a gingerroot just stick it in a pot of soil on the windowsil.  It will grow and when you need some, just dig it out, break off a bit and put it back in the pot.  It will continue to grow inside the pot.  

always fresh, I bet!!!! )

Quoted from mikendomsmum

You can grow ginger AND eat the root.  When you buy a gingerroot just stick it in a pot of soil on the windowsil.  It will grow and when you need some, just dig it out, break off a bit and put it back in the pot.  It will continue to grow inside the pot.  

I had no idea! Thanks!