43 New-to-Me... #7 Peeps Mystery Chicks

On the same day that I learned that I hate galangal, I tried my 7th new-to-me food. My mom had brought along Peeps Mystery Chicks. After we finished our stir fry that was gloriously galangal-free, we opened the Peeps. I'm not a huge fan of Peeps, but these were much better than the originals. They were sweet and fruity and delicious.

I tasted cherry, strawberry and maybe some citrus. Trevor said strawberry for sure. Mom agreed that there was berry, but also tasted some pineapple. Strawberry lemonade? Cherry limeade? It definitely tasted like a blend. We all rated it an 8.

We had to wait until Easter morning for Peeps to reveal the answer.... fruit punch! Yep. That's exactly how it tasted.

43-New-to-Me... #6 Galangal

I discovered my 6th new-to-me food at an amazing Asian grocery store nearby. I strolled amongst the produce hoping to find something I'd never tried. I found two items, including galangal, which looked a lot like ginger. When I got home, I looked up galangal and learned that, while it is nicknamed Thai ginger and it is related to ginger, it's harder than ginger and has a different taste. 

I've eaten a lot of Thai food over the years, in both restaurants and in Thai friends' homes, so chances are good that I've actually had galangal in things. But I certainly had never had it on its own, nor as the main component of a dish. I read that it is great in stir fry and can even be sliced into matchsticks and added raw to salads. My mom was in town visiting while Steve was on a business trip, so I decided I'd make a simple stir fry for dinner using the galangal. I never got that far. Mom and I each tasted a tiny sliver of it raw before I added it to the pan. Oh. My. Gosh. The best way to describe it is: nothing, nothing, nothing, FIRE! And not good-tasting fire. Trevor had the same reaction.

I had a lot of fun making this layout. I knew I wanted to use the color red (as in, STOP!) and toyed with the idea of using a no symbol somewhere on the page. Then I noticed a pack of love-themed die-cuts. I dug out a heart with plans to add a no symbol over it, but then I discovered the "do you like me?" die-cut piece. Perfect. Sorry galangal. I do not like you at all.

My mom asked what the bottom of my rating scale was. I told her that it was 0-10. Her answer? "OK, on a scale of 0-10, I give it a -2." Trevor and I both opted for the 0.

43 New-to-Me... #5 Dry-Roasted Black Edamame

My fifth New-to-Me food for my birthday challenge was dry-roasted black edamame. We love the warm, green, slightly-salty, boiled edamame that are (is?*) frequently served in Japanese restaurants. In fact, we love them (it?*) so much that we planted soybeans last summer and made edamame at home. I like a wide variety of soy products, so I expected to like this dry-roasted black version.

It was actually one of the 4 items Steve and Trevor put in my latest Chopped basket.

I liked the edamame out of the bag and incorporated into my dish. I rated them (it?*) an 8.

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*Different websites vary on whether to treat edamame as a plural (edamame are) or collective (edamame is) noun. I found countless pages of discussion (quite interesting to a grammar nerd like me!) but nothing definitive. What's your opinion?

43 New-to-Me... #4 Chat Pats Dilli-Style Papdi

Time to share #4 from my 43 New-to-Me birthday challenge, Chat Pats Dilli-Style Papdi. I found it at an Indian grocery in town. The ingredients listed gram flour, flour, oil and salt. I didn't know what gram flour was, but I was intrigued, so I bought the package.

When I got home, I looked up gram flour and learned that it is made from chickpeas. Yum! Chickpeas (aka garbanzos), flour, oil and salt sounds pretty good! I was really looking forward to these crackers. 

Alas, I did not like them. There were seeds throughout the crackers that I didn't like at all. They weren't listed amongst the ingredients, which is really irritating. It doesn't seem right to list only four ingredients when there clearly is at least one more major ingredient. Determined to identify the seeds, I used a knife to carefully scrape some out of the crackers in hopes of identifying them. Then I talked to an Indian friend of mine, Hemina, for help. She told me that "dilli-style" refers to the spices of the Delhi region. Unfortunately, that is not her region and thus not very familiar to her. After a bit of research, I've decided that the seeds were most likely ajwain (technically fruit pods, not seeds) or possibly cumin.

When I ate the mutilated cracker crumbs that didn't have any seeds (fruit pods?) in them, I really liked the chips. So thumbs up to gram flour, but thumbs down to the mystery seeds (fruit pods?). I rated them a 2 at first, but then reconsidered and bumped them up to a 4. I didn't hate them nearly enough to justify the 2, but I don't plan to buy them again (unless it's solely to unravel the mystery of the seeds (fruit pods?) that aren't listed in the ingredients.

Omelet in a Bag

Years ago, we were visiting relatives for Christmas and my Aunt Vickie introduced us to Omelets in a Bag. It was the perfect breakfast for a crowd- quick, easy, delicious, and with virtually no cleanup. Since then, we've made Omelets in a Bag for large family gatherings or for camping trips. We also have made them as a way to use up leftovers and not generate dishes on the final day of a trip to the cabin.

To make Omelets in a Bag, you need eggs (rice-dyeing optional), quart-size ziplock bags, a Sharpie, a pot of boiling water, and any omelet toppings you like, such as cheese, bacon, ham, chicken, broccoli, avocado, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, olives, etc.

Have each person write their name on a bag. Crack the desired number of eggs into the bag (2 works beautifully), then add whatever toppings you like into the bag. Seal the bag, making sure to remove as much air as possible. Massage the ingredients together until everything is thoroughly combined with no visible streaks of white or yolk. Then drop the bags into simmering water. Try not to crowd them too much. There are six bags in this pot and that's definitely the maximum for this size of pot.

Let the bags cook for 11-12 minutes, then check on them. The omelets should be soft, yet firm, with no traces of goo. Allow a few extra minutes for a 3-egg omelet. Then simply open the bag and roll the perfectly-cylindrical omelet onto a plate. Or, eat them directly out of the bag for even less cleanup. Delicious!

I'm sure some of you are concerned about heating food in plastic bags. If that worries you, then do not make these. I don't worry about the effects of having these once or twice a year. 

Edited to add: A friend asked me if I had an "after" photo of the omelets. I didn't take one on this trip (too eager to eat my own warm, delicious omelet to stop and take a photo), but I did find one from a previous camping trip. This is a 3-egg omelet and apparently we used gallon-sized bags instead of quart. With the quart-sized bags, you tend to get a more perfect cylinder without the ragged edge that this one has. 

Even if it isn't as pretty, it's still mighty tasty!