Cooking Question ~ help!

[Guest guest]

-

~ PT ~

 

> Oh good. I kind of suspected it was more the part of

> the water and the sauce baking that would cause the

> pasta to soften, but it is always nice to get another

> opinion. Thank you.

 

It's fine. I know this, btw, from leaving pasta sitting in cold water

without thinking about it - it goes soggy fast. After all, dried pasta is,

well, dried. Also, when one boils spaghetti or whatever, there isn't any

oil added to make it soften (although some people might to avoid it boiling

over).

 

> I just can't imagine putting raw burger in a pasta shell

> to bake it in there! Blech! How greasy a dish this one must

> be when prepared the meat-eater way; and how unhealthy.

 

It would depend on what percentage of fat there was in the mince in the

first place. As I have said before, we are not actually vegetarian at this

point in our lives - although I do still cook a fair amount of vego stuff -

so we do have things like mince available. The " diet mince " I bought the

other day was something like 3% fat and the standard mince I have in the

freezer is 15%. I don't need to drain either one when cooking - and there

isn't enough fat cooked out to be able to be drained without running hot

water or something through it.

 

My problem with it is that I would want to be sure that the mince was cooked

through properly which doesn't always happen in dishes where the mince isn't

pre-cooked, I don't think. Mind you, it might clump together in a specific

way done like that - the way it does if it isn't broken up when frying - and

that is something you wouldn't be able to replicate.

 

Lee-Gwen

[Guest guest]

I found this recipe for a dish called Mexican Manicotti.

Of course it was a meat-dish, but I want to try and prepare

it using Yves veggie ground instead. However, in the original

recipe it tells to mix the raw hamburger with the refried beans

and to stuff this mixture into the uncooked pasta shells. Then,

you are to pour the sauce over, cover and refrigerate overnight

to bake the next day. I really liked the idea of prep-ahead and the

ease of stuffing the uncooked shells over the cooked shells.

 

My question is, do you think it would greatly affect the end product

since I am not using grease-laden raw meat and using a lighter

soy-based protein? Do you think this will cause the pasta shells to

not soften, or do you think it won't matter since it isn't the grease

doing the softening but the sauce and added water?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

~ PT ~

 

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself,

and you are the easiest person to fool.

- Richard Feynman

[Guest guest]

Oh good. I kind of suspected it was more the part of

the water and the sauce baking that would cause the

pasta to soften, but it is always nice to get another

opinion. Thank you.

 

I just can't imagine putting raw burger in a pasta shell

to bake it in there! Blech! How greasy a dish this one must

be when prepared the meat-eater way; and how unhealthy.

I think we will enjoy it way better made with the TVP. I will

be sure to type up the recipe with my alterations when I have

made it.

 

~ PT ~

 

One of the elements of a happy home is a careful attention to

courtesy.Ê Family affection may be strong and devoted, but it is

hard to realize it when the manner is hasty, the speech sarcastic

or fault finding.

~ The Old Farmers Almanac

~~~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~~~*~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

, " Lady Sappho " <

ladysappho@a...> wrote:

> I can't see a reason that it wouldn't be fine. I have made all

sorts of

> veggie pasta dishes using TVP. The fat is only minimally involved

in

> softening the pasta, I would think. The sauce ought to do it just

fine.

>

> Lee-Gwen

[Guest guest]

, " Lady Sappho " <

ladysappho@a...> wrote:

 

> It's fine. I know this, btw, from leaving pasta sitting in cold

water

> without thinking about it - it goes soggy fast. After all, dried

pasta is,

> well, dried. Also, when one boils spaghetti or whatever, there

isn't any

> oil added to make it soften (although some people might to avoid it

boiling

> over).

 

Yeah, I sort of knew this, but I also had a room-mate once

who had a cooking disaster with a recipe of this nature. She put

whole wheat lasagne noodles (uncooked) in her lasagne she

was making to serve to guests. They didn't cook nicely at all.

They got soft and mushy, like paste, instead of firm al dente

like she was expecting. It was aweful, but funny in retrospect.

 

 

> My problem with it is that I would want to be sure that the mince

was

cooked

> through properly which doesn't always happen in dishes where the

mince

isn't pre-cooked, I don't think.

 

Yes. I was wondering about that too. Especially given this recipe

called for the raw ground beef to be mixed with the refried beans.

I thought to myself that if I were a meat eater making this, I

wouldn't be so apt to trust the meat would get cooked through

properly. One has to be so careful with raw ground beef and certain

bacteria that cooking it through is quite literally a life and death

issue.

 

Mind you, it might clump together in a specific

> way done like that - the way it does if it isn't broken up when

frying - and

> that is something you wouldn't be able to replicate.

 

I don't think this will be a problem so much give the mixing

the TVP with the refried beans. Pixx suggested to me offlist

that I might want to add a tablespoon of olive oil for moisture

as well. I think I am going to do that. Thanks again for your help.

 

~ PT ~

 

Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the

imagination.

~ Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher (1889-1951)