Waste not, want not – I’ll eat almost anything, but….

broccoli, personal, vegetables, veggies | October 27, 2013 | By

So there are seemingly three main perspectives I’ve had over the years when it comes to eating foods or parts if foods that I don’t like. 
1. Hating the food as a kid and not understanding why I had to eat it anyway.
2. Hating the food as an adult and understanding why it was important to eat it anyway.
3. Hating the food as an adult and being able to say “screw it, I don’t have to eat that!”
For example, I don’t like eating the crust on a basic sandwich. As a kid, I didn’t understand why anyone would want to eat them in the first place. As an adult, I knew it was silly to waste food and that there wasn’t muh texture difference so I shouldn’t be so childish.
I don’t HATE the crusts any more and sometimes even enjoy them on the right kind of bread. If I’m alone, though, and have the choice of throwing the crusts to the squirrels instead (this is how I justify it as not wasting food…I’m sharing!), then I definitely will. If I’m not enjoying it, then why force myself to eat it anyway?
So what’s with the broccoli picture? I don’t really enjoy eating the stalks. Normally I buy fresh and can cut off as much as I want. When I buy frozen, I go with florets….and then cut off the excess. 
But this time, I ended up with “cuts” and half the bag was chalky, flavorless broccoli stalks. Instead of avoiding the bag in the freezer for months or using the whole thing in a dish and ultimately shuffling the bits around my plate later, I promptly picked out the bad stuff.
Why? Because at stage 3, even with understanding, it’s my money and my taste buds, and if I want to torture the squirrels with stale bread or the garbage disposal with tough veggies instead…I can. :p

Homemade crescent rolls stuffed with broccoli, cheese, ham

broccoli, cheese, ham, pastry, pork, recipes, tips | June 3, 2013 | By

Homemade croissants recipe

Broccoli and ham cheese stuffed crescent rolls are one of the earliest recipes I remember learning how to make.

We would’ve used canned crescent rolls, so as a kid, it was pretty easy for me to cut the packaged ham into tiny squares, shred the cheese, and mix the broccoli in with my hands.

Chopped broccoli with ham, cheese, and mustard

Unfortunately, it’s also another one that I don’t have a real recipe for either. (Kinda funny how this one involves broccoli, too.)

The basic breakdown?

  • A head of broccoli with florets chopped and boiled or steamed to be tender
  • A couple packages of cheap ham – In terms of ham bought from the deli, I’d call it about an inch stack, diced, give or take several bites
  • A half a block of cheese (about 4 oz?), shredded
  • A very large squirt of mustard….plus a couple small squirts after you taste-test and realize you still want it a little tangier

Stuffed broccoli croissants rolls with cheese, ham, and mustard

Mix it all together and pile onto 8 croissant rolls, canned or homemade. If the broccoli is still a bit warm, all the better because it’ll melt the cheese some and help it stick together.

How long to cook croissants
 
Bake at 375F for whatever the standard package says. If you want to make your own, I used a recipe similar to this one, I’m sure.

    Flaky stuffed croissants
 
Tip – My choice of using a pizza stone that you see in the first picture is not by chance. When working with pastries, it’s often key to keep the fat cold while working with it in order to create a flaky texture. That’s why it’s always best to chill pie crust before you use it.

With these croissants, I put the pizza stone in the fridge while I prepared the rest of the ingredients and then worked directly on the cold surface as much as possible before putting everything in the oven.

Maybe broccoli doesn’t like you either (Wordless Wednesday)

A cartoon drawing of broccoli that looks angry with the caption that says "Maybe broccoli doesn't like you either." Touche.

Did you ever think about that? :P