Miscellany et varia

[mousme]

I went food shopping today, stayed totally within budget, and now have the makings of sandwiches and chili, along with a few basics like milk and all that. Go me!

Am currently in the process of making egg salad (to go in the sandwiches, right?), and I shall be making chili sometime in the next few days.

Can someone tell me the difference between crushed tomatoes and tomato paste? I couldn't tell just by looking at the labels on the cans. Colour me perplexed. Tomato paste, perversely, is more expensive.

My leg is asleep, which is most annoying. I suspect I shall survive the ordeal, mind you.

For all that things are sucking financially right now, I am in a revoltingly good mood this evening. The same can't be said for this morning, as evidenced by my previous post (which was written around 9am). Work just pissed me right off for a while, and then I pretty much got over myself and got on with my day. As it stands now, I am a happy camper. Couldn't tell you exactly why, I'm just in a good mood, and I'm grateful for small mercies.

I'm currently reading China Miéville's "The Scar." For once, I find that I have to take this book slowly. I feel like a dog rolling around in the grass, reading this stuff. C'est jouissif. I don't know how to say that in English in a way that conveys the expression properly. He's only a year older than I am. I'm going to choose to take hope and inspiration from this. I am a talented writer, so if he can do it, then so can I.

Recommended reading for the sci fi fans on my flist out there. Definitely worth picking up.


Using a "me" icon, just 'cause I can and I hadn't in a while. I should try to find a more recent picture of me to use. That one's nearly two years old, not that I've changed all that much since it was taken.

Comments

[joane.livejournal.com]

Crushed tomatoes are just that - crushed into a uniform mess. Tomato paste is concentrated crushed tomatoes; more tomato (and therefore flavour) per unit of volume, less liquid. It's really good for thickening tomato-based sauces and soups.

Crushed Tomatoes vs. Tomato Paste

[blackbuffet.livejournal.com]

Tomato Paste has texture that reminds much more of Tomato Sauce or Tomato Soup where as Crushed Tomatoes actually looks like pieces of the real fruit chopped up in "cubes" somewhat.

Re: Crushed Tomatoes vs. Tomato Paste

[joane.livejournal.com]

Crushed Tomatoes actually looks like pieces of the real fruit chopped up in "cubes" somewhat.

Really? I'm used to seeing that as "diced" tomatoes. Crushed, when I've bought the can, is a smooth tomato slop.

[swestrup]

Tomato paste is concentrated. Unless you are making a huge batch of chili for freezing (which is what I usually did), you'll only need half a small can or so, whereas you'd need all of a large can of crushed tomatoes to get the same flavor (but you end up with a waterier chili that needs to be reduced more).

If you're not going to make huge batches, its recommended to buy tomato paste in a tube, so you can squeeze it out as needed. Your other option is to freeze the unused half of a can as blobs on a cookie sheet, and then store them in tupperware in the freezer till you need them.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

It comes in tubes? Weeeeird. ;)

Good to know. As it is, I bought a small can, so I'll do as you suggest and freeze small blobs of the leftover stuff. I'm going to make a reasonably large batch of chili and freeze most of it, but I'm not going to be making industrial quantities of the stuff either.

Thanks for the tip!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Good to know. Thanks!

Re: Crushed Tomatoes vs. Tomato Paste

[mousme.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought.

I saw "cubed" tomatoes and "diced" tomatoes as well as "sliced" and "crushed" and "paste" (my tomato is pastede on, yay!), and the ubiquitous "whole" tomatoes, of course. Enough to break my brain, let me tell you. :P

[grimmwire.livejournal.com]

There are moments in The Scar when his prose, always gorgeous, flies right off the scale. Once or twice I actually found myself forced to get up and pace around the room, reading the stuff aloud just to enjoy the richness and rhythm of the words and imagery.

I need to amend my answer to swestrup's recent query: if I were a zombie, I'd eat China's brain first.

Re: Crushed Tomatoes vs. Tomato Paste

[baronscartop.livejournal.com]

The experience of someone whose gag reflex cannot tolerate the texture of tomato:

In "crushed," you will still get a piece now and again, of varying size, and about half of those are just the skin.

In "diced" the pieces are more uniform, and the result is akin to "pieces in sauce," where the former is "sauce derived from crushing."

Results vary by brand, natch.

t!

[toughlovemuse.livejournal.com]

You know Tamu would never let you get away with that.

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

Oooh I love China Miéville - well at least the one book of his I've read (and the only one that the library had). Yes, words to savouring and disturb!

Crushed tomatoes are essentially ground tomatoes. They are good for making tomato-based sauces and usually don't contain salt so they are good for folks watching salt intake. Tomato paste is like condensed tomatoes and is good to add tomato-flavour to stuff and for thickening tomato-based sauces. A little goes a long way.

[alcinoe.livejournal.com]

Well, you seem to have gotten your answer here, so I won't bore you with another explanation of how the canned tomato world works. :) I am just really glad that you are feeling a little more together. I think that getting things done really contributes to my overall sense of wellbeing.

Re: Crushed Tomatoes vs. Tomato Paste

[blackbuffet.livejournal.com]

Now that I relook at my description, I did indeed describe "Diced" Tomatoes (which I actually use in my version of Chili) rather than "Crushed" Tomatoes which Baron Scartop and Joane have provided a more than adequate description of...

One should note that the Black Buffet is much more skilled at Eating than Cooking. That is why I want to go to Hell's Kitchen so that Chef Ramesay (if you know who that is) can teach me the True Art.

However, Mousme... since you fail to send me mail... I shall request you send me YOUR recipe of Chili by E-Mail. (And, Yes, that is a Challenge just to get you to write me! I know you don't refuse those... :o)