Couples cooking 2 years on

A spices, B grills. And mostly all stove top goes to B, since A burns shit often. And B ALWAYS does air fryer. (A is so happy! Not good at figuring it out. Giggle!) A also doesn't do the Pizzass for the pizzas. Why? (giggle! Guess!)
Stove top, as A does the sous setting out the ingredients, B chops, when required, does stove top (most of the time.) Neither A nor B trust A with a sharp knife. With good reason. (A loves watching B do the stove top, like occasionally, or, a lot.)
Now, the pressure A puts on B on ingredients gets down to geography. For Pete's sake, A does Southern Comfort Food, (and TexMex and Cajun), B does navy beans and some way of cooking navy beans and ham without an overnight soak because the mid-west did that. Air pollution is really a damn THING!
Everyone please get some canned food to get you through hard times.

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janis b's picture

You don’t want to be distracted while handling a sharp knife, now, do you ; ).

[video:https://youtu.be/3wkuqRFXNvI]

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@janis b and cool video! Looks like it was filmed in NZ, right?
When B sees A wielding a sharp knife, B rushes in, "No! No! Give me that and get back before you make a mess in the kitchen!"
A is better off handling spices, for sure and certain! Salt shakers are safe.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

@on the cusp

and let you do the work.

The landscape in the video doesn't look familiar to me.

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QMS's picture

several rinses seems to reduce their swarty ways.
I usually pressure cook mine. Takes about 5 minutes.
Canned beans are ok if you get rid of the syrup.
I save a couple cups of the cooked bean water to add to
cassouletts, soups and stews.

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@QMS overnight, which means I have to plan ahead, which means B can't come up with a quick trip to go run and play. A won't leave the beans behind!
Many years ago, I concocted a recipe for baked beans. Navy beans, tomato sauce or paste, bacon, sometimes onion. That is what I would take to pot luck events. The pan was always emptied by the crowd.
Now, B is unconvinced rinsing is an effective de-gas method. Well, you can imagine the pure hell A would endure to prove, once and for all, B is full of (fill in the blank)?
One thing I always add to a pot of beans and peas is a fairly good chunk of butter.
Your method of using the liquid from the bean pot for other dishes is very clever, friend!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

usefewersyllables's picture

@on the cusp

cook pasta the old way, consider reserving the whole pot of water to make minestrone. Bean water would work too!

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables I haven't made minestrone in forever.
FWIW, the nutrients in the beans or peas is in the water. A doctor told me years ago, if I am having problems with keeping food down, or some chewing problem, drink the water from those dishes. Beans, in particular, contain high amounts of antioxidants. Beans are considered to be the essential food for cancer patients, unless the drs. are co-opted by Big Pharma, and resort to meds and only meds.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

I have a couple of thoughts.

B sounds like a pretty good guy since it sounds like he does almost all of the cooking.

Reading between the lines, since you have a proclivity to "burn shit", am I not correct in my assumption that B is a better cook than A?

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@JtC @JtC but B is a sabatuer.
Perfect example: B loves beans, will rush to check them if they are running low on water. Whereas, B believes cornbread should be fed to hogs, not humans. If A is outside, monitoring birds and armadillos, which we can all agree is of maximum importance, B gets himself a drink from the kitchen, where the scorching smell is strongest. Then, B slowly ambles out to the porch, takes a long drink of whatever, casually says, "By the way, your cornbread is burning."
A is the better cook by miles, but seldom overcomes the sabatage.
edit: Ok, sabotuer, sabotage. Now, the argument is whether A or B wins the spelling bee. It's gonna be a long day, people.
second edit: sabotEUr. Another long day. sigh...B will do the cooking today. I will wash veggies, dishes, and feast!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

QMS's picture

@on the cusp

as being the best / worst cooks in east Texas!
It is way beyond taste and smell, for what I can tell.
It is what it does to the body wholistic.
Beans should absolutely have a corn bread to go with.
And cracklins, bacon fat and cheddar cheese.
But I am a yankee. No sugar in the corn bread. No way
no how. Salt is OK!

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enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

but I can't imagine eating frijoles refritos with the stuff. Corn tortillas, however, are a different matter.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

janis b's picture

@JtC

and let the audience decide ; ).

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@#3.11 in east Texas is where A and B walk off with the prize, then have an argument about which one deserves the most credit.
I am a huge fan of sweet cornbread, whether with sugar or honey.
I add sliced jalapeno peppers and shredded cheddar cheese to unsweetened cornbread.
Here is something interesting a neighbor showed me: prepare the filling for beef taco. Place in a baking dish, pour on unsweetened cornbread mixture, then bake. Shredded cheddar cheese either in the cornbread mix, or sprinkled over the top. Jalapenos also work well in it. That casserole is especially good on a cold winter's night.
I resort to it when I am out of taco shells and tortillas.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris It is a good cross up of Southern/Mexican cuisines to make something TexMex.
I had an uncle who was sent to Mexico to work for an engineering contractor. Upon his return, he had learned how to make genuine tamales. He would get up early in the morning, and they were not finished and ready to eat until dinner. I have never tackled that dish.
We had leftovers tonight. I ate first, washed dishes while B heated up his dinner. This is the tune he played:

Now, I will wash up his dishes, see what he plays for me.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp
appears to have an exquisite taste in music.

But, then again, I may be biased.

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@JtC

I can waltz all over the kitchen, still get the dishes clean, because I am just all that!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@on the cusp
there's no fiddle or steel guitar.

I thought you lived in Texas.

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enhydra lutris's picture

@JtC

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

Needs more cowbell pistol

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris I wish I knew what happened to the cowbells we kept in our barn. I was away in college when my family moved from the 17 acre spread to some monster house on a hill. First home we ever occupied that didn't have a barn and feed lot.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

@on the cusp

'B' is for Bojangles.

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@janis b @janis b I didn't meet him in a jail cell, at least!
I saw this guy in person many times...more Texas stuff.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

janis b's picture

@on the cusp

reminded me of Harry Belafonte, my mother's heartthrob, and if I'm honest, one of mine as well. After listening to the Charlie Pride song I thought it wouldn't take too much of an adjustment to make it sound Caribbean. Interesting.

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@janis b He does remind me of Belafonte, now that you brought it to my attention.
I gotta say, the guy was playing in all these local red neck dance halls, full of white cowboys and gals, and he was just adored, put on a great show every time. He was on the cutting edge, a real game changer in country music.
BTW, I only washed some knives this evening, did not cut or chop anything, including my fingers.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

for later and have them on xmas day, we cheated by picking up pre-made bulk masa at a local mercado. Waaay too much work and time given our meagre skills and lack of practice. Only did it a few times, but good eating.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris More Texas stuff, a place where it is easy to buy tamales:

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

essay that didn't address all the current crises that could kill us all in an instant, or worse, slowly. We need a break, maybe a bit of humor, just every so often.
One thing I hope I never have to share is A and B experimenting with ways to cook insects. May we all cook the foods we have lived and thrived on all our lives.
(B is cooking. A is having beer(s), bird watching, awaiting the feast. (Giggle!) A did wash the cutting board and that bell pepper B chopped up with that knife A will not touch!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

usefewersyllables's picture

needs to be savory, not sweet. Saute up a bunch of onions, garlic, and Hatch peppers, and add them to your cornbread along with some finely chopped cooked bacon (and a good dollop of the reserved bacon fat, of course). The complaints will stop toot sweet...

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

@usefewersyllables to line the bacon pan. And a big dollop of bacon fat right in the middle of the cornmeal mixture before you put it in the oven is exactly how we were taught to prepare it in a home economics class.
If I am going to make a savory cornbread, no sweetener, fer shure.
It has been years since I added green onions to the batter. Thanks for refreshing my memory and taste buds!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981