Cooking!

Mostly I bake desserts. I make a mean apple pie, with a killer crust.

My fried chicken comes out good, though - but that probably is more the incredible quality of the chicken rather than any skills on my part.

I love to cook. It's winter here in NZ, so I'm all about slow cooking things at the moment.

Never cooked ramen, but I do some pretty mean yakitori and teppanyaki in summer.

I'm an avid bread baker and have been baking for over 20 years. I'm planning on starting a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching people how to bake bread successfully as soon as I can afford a decent camera.

As far as ramen goes, I just open the package and follow the directions.

especially few of you who live or lived in Japan

Hmm, I should be able to help with this.

for anyone who also tries to cook from time to time

L. Spiro

I do have a very good way of preparing ramen. Here is what you will need.

- 1 package of spicy ramen

- frozen vegetables

- diced onion

- vegetable oil

- coconut milk

- water

Instructions

Fry onions in vegetable oil until translucent. Add water and frozen vegetables, and bring to a boil. Add the ramen and it's seasoning, and cook until the noodles are tender. It is your choice to strain the noodles. Add coconut milk, and enjoy!

Can't help with ramen.... but I have a great instant choc sponge cake recipe written in C# for you lol

using CookingInCode.Equipment;
using CookingInCode.Ingredientes;
using CookingInCode.Qualifiers;

namespace CookingInCode.Recipes.Desserts {
    public class CakeInACup : IRecipe {

        public IContainer Prepare() {
            var flour = Kitchen.Ingredients.Get(4, Units.Tablespoon, IngredientType.SelfRaisingFlour);
            var sugar = Kitchen.Ingredients.Get(4, Units.Tablespoon, IngredientType.Sugar);
            var cocoa = Kitchen.Ingredients.Get(2, Units.Tablespoon, IngredientType.CocoaPowder);
            var egg = Kitchen.Ingredients.Get(IngredientType.Egg);
            var milk = Kitchen.Ingredients.Get(3, Units.Tablespoon, IngredientType.Milk);
            var oil = Kitchen.Ingredients.Get(3, Units.Tablespoon, IngredientType.CanolaOil);
            
            var mug = Kitchen.Containers.Get(ContainerType.LargeMug);

            mug.Contents.Add(new [] { flour, sugar, cocoa });
            You.Prepare.Mix(mug.Contents, MixType.EvenDistribution);

            mug.Contents.Add(new [] { egg, milk, oil });
            You.Prepare.Mix(mug.Contents, MixType.SmoothPaste);

            Kitchen.Microwave.ActiveContainer = mug;
            Kitchen.Microwave.Cook(MicrowavePower.Full, Duration.Minute * 3);
            Kitchen.Microwave.ActiveContainer = null;

            return mug;
        }
    }
}

Pity most complex food I can prepare is fried egg white :/

I usually prefer to do noodles in a SE Asian style, so generally use rice noodles, but ramen can certainly be used.

Boil water and cook the noodles till almost done and set aside. While you're doing that, heat up a wok (preferably, but a fry pan will do if you don't have one), and throw in a splash of oil and brown sauce (most Asian markets will sell this). Stir fry fresh vegetables for 3-5 minutes then toss in the noodles with fresh coriander, chili and Thai basil. Fry for another minute or so, then enjoy.

edit: I usually add some Nuoc cham with the oil and brown sauce. You can usually get this from Asian markets as well, but it's not too hard to make yourself.

What I make instead of ramen is udon noodles with chicken flavor Better Than Bullion. 1/2 jar of the bullion paste to a large pot of water and about a pound of noodles. It's actually not as good fresh as reheated after the noodles have at least a few hours to soak in the broth. The noodles get twice as big when properly soaked. I add shredded mozzarella cheese in the bowl before I reheat it. A variety of other things can be added to make it healthier - carrots, celery or peas, tomatoes, chunks of chicken, etc.

I cook all sorts of things - crock pot roasts, burritos, ricotta stuffed shells (pasta), pizza, cookies, brownies, pudding pie, bread... I do tend to go for low effort meals though, so even if something's delicious, if it took more than an hour to make (not counting when I can ignore it in the oven) then it's probably going on my "don't make again" list. Korma for example - delicious but waaaay too much work. :/

I'm an avid bread baker and have been baking for over 20 years. I'm planning on starting a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching people how to bake bread successfully as soon as I can afford a decent camera.

I'd be interested in:
A) An excellent sourdough loaf recipe
B) Hoagie rolls / sub sandwich rolls
C) Sliced bread

My mom makes excellent french bread, which is fine for things like split pea soup, or smothering it in butter and jelly. But it can't be sliced thinly enough for everyday use like peanut butter and jelly or sandwiches or toast.

I've made English Muffins in the past, which came out fine. They molded over way too quickly, though - like three days; I should've froze them.
Pretzels (like the large festival kind) came out "decently" as well, but could've used some improvements.

Pity most complex food I can prepare is fried egg white :/

I can't even make fried egg.

Off the top of my head: noodles, rice, fries, boiled eggs, burgers, sausages, toast. This doesn't count stuff that doesn't need cooking (like sandwiches), although once I managed to make a tortilla by accident o_o (I was trying to reheat some noodles and I had added some eggs, but I left it too long since I wasn't keeping track of the time... mind you, the result was great at least =P)

I'd be interested in:
A) An excellent sourdough loaf recipe

This one is tought and I have only mastered it over the past two years. It requires a mature sourdough starter and the recipe will take several days to ferment and then about 12 hours to rise. It's not an easy task to do in the home, but it is worth it! The best sourdough recipe that I have come across is from Peter Reinhart's book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice".

I'd be interested in:
B) Hoagie rolls / sub sandwich rolls

Any sandwich bread recipe would work here. It is just a matter of shaping.

I'd be interested in:
C) Sliced bread

What do you mean? Typical sandwich bread? Wheat or white? I have a 10 grain whole wheat recipe I've come up with that I can share:

That looks fantastic.

We've tried sourdough once before, and are willing to wait for sourdough starter, but it came out too mild. We probably didn't wait long enough for the starter to ferment.

I'd be interested in:
C) Sliced bread

What do you mean? Typical sandwich bread? Wheat or white? I have a 10 grain whole wheat recipe I've come up with that I can share:

We usually bake white bread (just because we usually don't bother stocking anything except white flour in our house, unless we have a use for it - whereas we're always using white flour), but buy wheat bread from the store for sandwiches because we can't figure out a good sandwich bread that is easy to thinly slice. When slicing that thin (~5/8th inch), it tends to follow some seam in the bread and fall apart into two or more pieces.
We usually bake it on cookie sheets instead of bread pans (though we have bread pans, we mostly only use them for banana bread), so maybe it's not getting compressed enough by the constrained sides of the breadpan?

Do you use your bread to make sandwhiches? Can you cut it thinly? If so, I'd definitely love the recipe!

When slicing that thin (~5/8th inch), it tends to follow some seam in the bread and fall apart into two or more pieces.

This is because you are not shaping it properly. Form it into a ball and flatten it into an oval the length of the pan, assuming you're using a loaf pan, and roll TIGHTLY away from you pressing down with your fingers to seal as you roll. You are trying to make a solid log of bread dough, not a laminated "jelly roll". If it isn't sealed tightly, you'll get that internal seam.

Do you use your bread to make sandwhiches? Can you cut it thinly? If so, I'd definitely love the recipe!

Yes, that is typically what I make bread for. I really do recommend a loaf pan. It helps give the bread structure.

I love to cook. I spend far too much time watching recipe videos and reading recipes. Although I never actually make the recipes. They all just add to my knowledge so that later I can combine the different parts in some way. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But thats the fun part for me.

That, sir, is one Mighty bread.

I've burned spaghetti.

That, sir, is one Mighty bread.

Thanks!

I've burned spaghetti.

Then you should probably stay out of the kitchen. Just saying...

I've burned spaghetti.

Aww man. Spaghetti was one of the first things I learned to cook on my own. I remember reading the directions on the back of a box of rice or something that said, "Bring the water to a boil...reduce to simmer." Searching my oven for a "Simmer" dial... nope. I was like, "What the fuck is simmer. I know what boil is, but simmer?????" Yes I had to google and found a 15 page dedicated to the science behind simmering vs. boiling.

I also tried to be cool making meatballs out of Soy Milk. My kitchen was stuck with this sour milk smell for almost a week and I threw away 3 lbs of ground beef

:(