DerHusker

The wife and I are doing the Weight Watchers program so I’m eating quite a bit differently that I did in the past. This was cooked inside on the stove top, but thought I’d share it anyway. (As it was delicious!) Ingredients: cooking spray (I used some Red Pepper infused OO spray) 1 medium Golden Potato, Diced into approximately ½” pieces ½ cup onion, chopped 1 medium poblano chile, seeded and diced. (Mine was small so I added some Bell Pepper I had left over) 1 cup corn 1 cup black beans, drained 1 cup zucchini, Diced into approximately ½” pieces (I used a Mexican Squash) 1 tsp cumin (I used ½ tsp of Fajita seasoning and ½ tsp of cummin) 1 pinch salt, or to taste ½ cup, green variety (I used 2 Tbsp of the Hatch Chile and 4 tbsp of Herdez salsa verde - plus extra for garnish) 4 large eggs 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (for garnish) Here a pic of most of the ingredients I used. I started out by dicing up the potato and putting it in a slightly sprayed Non-Stick skillet to start cooking. Once it started to brown, I put the onion, poblano and bell peppers. Once it started to sweat, I added the black beans, corn, squash and seasoning. I let this cook for approximately 6 to 7 minutes. After that I stirred in the Hatch chilies and Salsa Verde and let that cook another minute. I then made 4 depressions in the mixture and crack the eggs in them. I covered the skillet to help the tops of the eggs cook. And afterwards I plated it up with some wheat toast. As I said, this was delicious and except for the toast, it was zero points for the Purple Program we’re on! Thanks for looking.

As both the wife and I are doing the Weight Watchers program, I looked in our fridge and pantry for something that would align with what we’re to be eating. I finally settled on Kung Pao Chicken. Chicken and Veggies plus some spice is just what the WW program ordered so that is what I went with. Now here is the kicker: We’re on a self-insolation order here in California due to COVID 19. We’re still allowed to go to the store to replenish essential supplies but obviously this cook wasn’t essential. So, I went thru what I had on hand and I came up with what I believed would an acceptable list of ingredients. Here’s a couple of pics of the Ingredients I ended up using. I ended up using the following: Marinate Ingredients: 28 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast cut in 1” cubes. (2 large breasts) 1 tbsp. Shaoxing wine. (I used Rice Wine Vinegar) 1 tbsp. light soy (I couldn’t believe I was out of soy sauce so I used Ponzu) 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cornstarch Sauce Ingredients: ½ cup low sodium chick stock. 5 tbsp. light soy (I used Ponzu) 2 tbsp. Chinese black vinegar (I used Balsamic) 2 tbsp. Shaoxing wine. (I used Rice Wine Vinegar) 2 tsp. dark soy. (I used Fish Sauce) 2 tsp. Hoisin sauce (I used Oyster sauce) 2 tbsp. sugar. (I left this out due to WW) 1 tbsp. Samba Chili sauce 1 tsp. Fish sauce 1 tsp. cornstarch Stir Fry Ingredients: 4 tbsp. cooking oil – divided 1 ½ tbsp. minced garlic 1 tbsp. minced ginger ½ red bell pepper diced into 1” pieces. ½ green bell pepper diced into 1” pieces. 8-10 dried chilies. (I used 1 serrano, 1 jalapeno and 1 yellow and heat level was just about perfect) 1 tbsp. Sichuan Peppercorns. (I added a pinch of red pepper flakes) 4 green onion stems (cut into 1” pieces) ½ cup roast/unsalted peanuts (I didn’t have any so these were omitted) 2 tsp. sesame oil In addition to the above I added the following: ½ large carrot diced into 1” pieces. ½ medium yellow onion ½ medium red onion 1 stalk of diced celery 1 ½ zucchinis diced into 1” pieces. Here is the Wok out on my Gas Grill side burner. I heated it up and added in 1 tbsp of Chili Oil and 1 tbsp of Sesame Oil. I put in the marinated chicken breasts and cooked it until everything started to brown. I removed the chicken and set it aside while I started cooking the veggies. 2 tbsp of Sesame Oil and added the diced carrot first since they would take the longest to cook. After approximately 2 minutes I then added the chili peppers, then the onions, the bell peppers, the sauce, and finally the zucchini. Once they had cooked for approximately 3 minutes, I added the chicken back in and cooked for another 3 minutes. After that I added the green onion in for the last 30 seconds. I had previously made up a double batch of half Jasmine Brown Rice and half Ancient Grains. I heated some of this up and placed it on a plate like SSV did. Here are a few pics of everything plates up. This was delicious and the wife thought it was “awesome!” Thanks for looking.

Wanted to start Super Bowl Sunday out right. I decided on Huevos Rancheros. Started out making the sauce by sautéing some onions and bell pepper. Once they had started to wilt, I added a can of diced tomato. After that had cooked for a few minutes, I added a small can of rojas enchilada sauce and let this simmer for 15 minutes. After the sauce was done, I cooked up some potatoes. (While these were cooking, I cooked up some black beans inside) Grilled up some tortillas. And finally cooked up some eggs. (these were for the wife’s dish) With everything ready, I plated it up. Here are these pics served up with some orange juice and coffee. Thanks for looking.

Wow! That trout knife is beautiful. The Zwilling brand used to have a lot fewer knife series to choose from. When we purchased them, the store only had 3 choices. (Before the internet) I believe they were the Four Star, the Twin Signature and the Professional "S". We went with the Professional "S". The are very heavy duty knives and they still make them. They will last me for my lifetime and then for whoever gets them after me and after them. The only thing I don't like about them (now) is that they have a full bolster. At the time, the store talked this up as a great feature. (and I didn't know any better) There are some that might feel that it is, but when I go to sharpen them on the whetstones, I have to be careful as it gets in the way. It's so much easier to sharpen my knives that don't have a full bolster. I can get all the way down to the heel and not have to worry about the bolster hitting the whetstone. In the picture above they are all the Professional "S" series except the middle one. It is a Zwilling Pro series rocking Santoku. From the side it looks virtually the same as the Professional "S" knives. (except for no bolster) That is until you flip them to look at the blade thickness. Professional "S" knives are almost twice the thickness as the Pro series. Having said this, they are still thicker than most (if not all) of the stamped knives out there. I have no doubt they will also last me my lifetime. As for the Nexus knives, I did like the first two I bought enough to want to buy 5 more that were on sale. If you want a knife that isn't on sale at this time, try to wait for it to go on sale. I've seen them go on sale many times. In fact, if you sign up for their email alerts, they sometimes send you special sales info just for those that get the alerts. Happy shopping.

Wustoff's are good knives. They will be on par with my German steel Zwillings. I've had them for 28 year now and still use them for many tasks. Not trying to talk you out of them but you might want to check out Cutlery & More's website. I just purchased two of their Nexus brand knives with the BD1N steel at 63 HRC. They are offering some of them at very reasonable prices right now. Example: This 6" cruved boning knife is going for $24.95. (Might be different up in Canada) After I purchase 2 of their knives and saw how they are made, I went back and purchased 5 more at these sale prices. Example: This 7" Santoku is just $34.95 They aren't the very best quality knives you'll ever buy, but they are good quality and value for those prices.

Thanks Family_cook. Yes I'm aware that the 320 is too aggressive for normal sharpening. Just thought I should have one in the arsenal. I'm right handed. The Japanese knives already have a 9 to 12 degree bevel on both sides so they are already razor sharp. (Seriously! See my video below) The BD1N steel knives have a 15 degree bevel on both sides although came from the factory needing to be touched up. I am thinking of getting a strop but haven't done so yet. I'll keep this thread going to update everyone with the results of my first sharpening attempt. The German knives don't need to be resharpened at this time but the BD1N knives could use some more attention. http:// https://youtu.be/tTF6S255POE

I'll try to leave them out longer but may run into resistance from SWMBO. Note: What I've been doing has worked for the cheaper stones just fine.

Thank you UTVol. I'm really looking forward to trying this out. I may have to break some out for the Superbowl next weekend.

Jeffie, I've never heard of that brand of knifes so can't really comment to much. What type of steel do they use? I have both softer German steel knives (57 HRC) and harder Japanese steel knives (SG2 - 63 HRC) and US steel (BD1N - 63 HRC). They both have their place, and depending on your cutting style, the softer steel may suit you better. I was able to get a fairly sharp edge with the old whetstones on the German steel knives and the BD1N steel knives. So far I haven't needed to sharpen the Japanese knives. Great name by the way!

Thank you Ben and thanks for the tip. I do not want to leave them lying around for a few days as they would be in the way. (I don't have a workshop) I do let them dry out for a around 4 to 6 hours and then wrap them in plastic wrap so as not to soak the cardboard packaging.

Thank you Ron. The pellets were from a bag that said they were Maple, Hickory & Cherry. I believe fruit should be fine but since I've never done this before, I don't know for sure.

I’ve been using these basic whetstones that I purchased a few years ago. I believe both stones ran me under $55.00. They work fairly well, but are a little on the small side, so I’ve been wanting to upgrade. I had a mess of Amazon gift cards so I looked to see what I could get. The first thing I purchased for my kit was a pet food mat that will serve as my work station. If I want to sharpen in the house, I need something to contain any water or slurry from making its way onto the countertop. This is a 24” x 16” silicone mat with a ½” lip and little raised nubs to keep things from sliding around. Next were the stones and a holder. The Suehiro brand of whetstones seemed to have excellent reviews on both Amazon and Youtube so they are what I purchased for most of them. From left to right they are a Suehiro Cerax 320 grit, Suehiro Cerax 1000 grit, Atoma Diamond 140 coarse flattening stone, Suehiro Rika 5000 and a Kiyayama 8000 grit finishing stone. This picture shows the stone holder in the middle. Here’s a size comparison shot between the old stones and the new stones. Here’s a close up picture of the Kitayama 8000 stone. Here’s a picture of my soaking pond with the mat rolled up next to it. And finally all the stones and the holder in the container. I just sharpened most of my knives on the old stones. I’m now going to try sharping one on the new stones to see if there is any difference. I’ll let you all know what I find out. Thanks for looking.

Thank you donatello. No I haven't tried it yet. It's only been a week so far. I'll try it after 3 weeks and give an update on the results.

Thank you Family cook. It was fairly clean to start out due to my last cook being a high temp. pizza cook. That burned the soot off. I then cleaned what ever ash was left so nothing else would be able to fly around and stick to the cheese.

Thank you Chris. The kamado seemed to work out just fine. The outside temperature was 43 degrees and the temperature in the kamado was approximately 75 degrees. Putting the blue ice in the kamado to cool it down really worked out well.