You have roasted barley, an orange bell pepper and a well-stocked pantry. What are you making?
This is a hard mode challenge.
If you have a well stocked pantry, you can make whatever you want.
Please show that you understand the assignment.
Please show me that you know how to create clear constraints on an assignment.
This is a group for good faith conversations about cooking. Are you interested in that or would you rather be removed from it?
Your challenge was ‘you have a lot of different food, what do you make?’ and clarified nothing else and got called out for being unclear. Now you have the choice to say ‘oh you’re right, I was unclear, sorry I meant xxx’ instead you double down and say ‘well I understood what I meant, how about I ban you for daring to disagree with me’.
The more rigid the less fun.
It’s just like the challenge based cooking shows.
Use the star ingredients.
You can use other ingredients to make that happen.This is a project of imagination and resourcefulness. I’m not going to put together a list of every ingredient you should have in a pantry because that’s going to vary from area to area. If you don’t know what’s in your pantry you can literally go to your kitchen and see what other ingredients you have.
Okay, you continue to miss the point and I’m not sure if you’re doing it on purpose or not so I’ll make it as simple and clear as possible:
You said the challenge was hard mode because you had a well stocked pantry and some other stuff and asked what you could make. You were told you could make almost anything with a well stocked pantry and got upset that nobody understood what you meant. You were told politely that you could have been more clear, you continued to get upset and blame others. All you had to do was clarify and not blame everyone else and everyone (including you) would have been happy.
I said the challenge was hard because barley and peppers are two flavors that normally are put together and barley is not an ingredient a lot of people have experienced with.
The first response where I was upset was because they said if they had a well stocked pantry they wouldn’t even use the ingredients shown. That defeats the entire purpose of the challenge.
I think this comment makes it extremely clear that you are the one not operating in good faith.
Hey take it easy, it’s a page about cooking, no one has to be removed for nothing, I m sure you can get along just fine
The constraints are not in good faith.
I.e., You have two lacking ingredients and literally anything else.
Fine. I’ll pass on the ingredients and cook a steak and potato from the pantry.
Kinda with the commenter. A well stocked pantry just means you can make pretty much anything. If you specified the pantry contents, perhaps it would be more of a challenge.
I could make a sponge cake, or sushi, or curry, or ice cream, with these ingredients and my pantry. :)
Have you seen the shows Iron Chef or Chopped? Cooking challenges have pretty basic rules. You have to feature the selected ingredients. What you do with them is up to your skill and vision. If you could ignore the featured ingredients then there would be no point in playing.
You didn’t say anything about this being based on “Chopped”.
I didn’t say anything about it being based on Iron Chef either. Because it’s not based on either one. It’s based on the idea that those shows are based on. You have ingredients that need to be turned into a meal. You can use other common ingredients to make that happen.
Make a better challenge?
Not all challenges are easy.
Yeah, I’m gonna agree with the other comments here; I like the idea of this challenge a lot, but the rules are so poorly explained that I can’t begin to guess at what you’re actually looking for. Your post said this is “hard mode” which lead me to assume absolutely minimal other ingredients - presumably nothing perishable - but now you’re saying we’ve got the full Iron Chef kitchen to play with? That’s very confusing.
The idea is cool. I really hope you’ll update the post with some more info, and that you’ll do more of these. For my two cents, I think it’s a more interesting challenge if we’re working with some kind of restriction like only non-perishables plus milk, eggs and butter (maybe some basic cheeses?). I like the “Fuck, this is all you have in the kitchen, the stores are closed and you’re trying to impress your crush with a fancy meal” kind of challenge mode. But that’s just me. It’s your party. Just, y’know, actually tell us what the dress code is.
Use the ingredients that are posted. Use other ingredients you’re likely to have around the house to make that possible . Just lit every other cooking show.
It’s supposed to be fun. It’s not supposed to be a bunch of rules lawyers who can’t cook deciding to make up excuses. It doesn’t need more rules. It needs people who have ideas on how to turn the …
Wait. Is this one of those “kids today can’t function without explicit detailed instructions. They are afraid to try anything that they don’t know the results of in advance. They refuse to take chances” situations? Because it’s sounding exactly like that.
If you can’t figure out how to turn the ingredients into food then read the comments of those who can or keep scrolling. It’s not rocket science.
If you want to create your own challenge then go for it. It’s a community. Anyone can post food related topics.
Dude’s only posted this twice and is mad people are asking questions for something that hasn’t caught on yet.
If you want people to play your game, you have to explain the rules sometimes, and if you’re going to dish out rudeness, people aren’t going to play with you.
I had a great idea for it but seeing how you treated people asking about how this works put me off.
So clearly you don’t understand one of the core principles of cooking- presentation.
Yeah, it’s genuinely amazing how badly OP has managed to destroy a fun premise by just being unbelievably toxic.
exactly! I mean, define “well stocked”.
to me, a well stocked pantry has soups, canned meats, and other “meal ready” items.
at that point the two main ingredients just become ingredients.
It’s a challenge, not a competition. It doesn’t need formal rules. Fun, not a contract.
Any rules or explanation at all would be nice, though. In all the time you’ve spent being uppity to people asking genuine questions, you could have explained what you consider to be a well-stocked pantry a dozen times over.
Use the ingredients shown. Use other things you might have to make that possible. The more detailed the rules the less fun it is.
That sounds like better instructions.
I don’t have a pantry nor really grew up with one, so my idea of one is that huge one from The Shining
Pantry: The collective term for the things in your kitchen shelves, cabinets, fridge, freezer and and spice rack.
Why are you saying “anything and everything”… without recognizing how lame your challenge is by saying “anything and everything” ?
Because I’m not saying anything and everything. I’m saying stuff you generally have.
Okay. So what’s in there?
Duh everything in your kitchen!
What part of “all things in your kitchen, shelves, cabinets, fridge, freezer, and spice rack” sounds vague?
Challenge: “do something with a well stocked pantry”
What’s the challenge? Are you sure you don’t mean: “create a dish with no limitations but focus on X ingredient.”
Don’t be so vague. If you know cooking… then uh… “a well stocked pantry” = anything…
thinking
No competition. No rules. No contracts. Just fun.
If you’d like, I can create a list of ideas for more games.
Then why are you being a jerk to people? If there’s no rules but people ask for clarification about things that doesn’t mean you should be rude to them. You can do better than that.
The rules are at the bare minimum. 17 people had no problem with the concept. 6 people did decided they needed more rules. Despite the complaints about a lack of rigid and formalized rules that sounds like a success. I responded to rudeness with rudeness using the tit for tat rules of game theory. I can only do as good as I can do. It’s a tautological certainty.
Nah man people just ask a simple question and you serve cunt. They aren’t even being rude. Social interactions aren’t beholden to game theory and rudeness doesn’t have anything to do with that.
You’re floundering trying to justify being an asshole, and the ratio seems to agree.
If you can’t do better then do us a favor and go away.
The first person to respond negatively said they would make steak without the barley that is the required ingredient because if they had a well stocked pantry they wouldn’t bother with the barley.
Does that set the stage for you to understand where things went south?
No, the problem is definitely with your communication.
All this time, you had the rule that you have to use barley. But instead of communicating that, you only wrote that you HAVE barley.
Having something doesn’t mean that you are required to use it. I have rice, it doesn’t mean I have to use it in my next meal.
If somebody makes a steak from the pantry without barley, they have not followed your hidden intention, but they have followed your instructions.
So… it just seemed like your challenge was “tell me a food you like” in an unnecessary roundabout way.
There is pedantic and then there is abusing language. The context was clear to nearly everyone except those operating in bad faith.
Things went with with your reaction to that and other people.
no guidelines? great!
I’ll just make a steak and baked potato with steamed broccoli.
the best challenges have zero guidelines.
Stuffed pepper soup with barley instead of rice
I’m thinking a tomato sauce base? What kind of seasoning?
For a tomato based sauce I’d use basil, oregano and garlic, pinch of sugar and a little heavy on black pepper. For a chicken stock based broth I’d go sausage and salt and pepper for flavor and seasoning
Fennel seed with the cooked barley would somewhat mimic Italian sausage if this is a vegetarian application.
You could use that as a base for a porketta styled soup
Rosemary, sage, and fennel. A winning combo. I’d stick to just pork belly and nix the loin for the sake of fat content and texture.
I like that idea. Fennel seed doesn’t get enough respect.
I was considering saying this in the last one, but I think it might be good, or at least make for a fun discussion thread, to get into what makes a well stocked pantry.
I’d change from ‘well stocked’ to what is in your pantry.
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Easy mode : What is in your dream pantry.
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Normal Mode : What is in your pantry after a typical trip grocery shopping.
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Hard Mode : What is in your pantry right now (pics or it didn’t happen).
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Nightmare : Only items in your pantry you haven’t used in the last 2 weeks.
lol, you should see my pantry. I cook foods that have originated from all over the world. I have way too many “basic” ingredients stocked at all times.
Just a couple of days ago, I started to make a Thai curry, and then I was shocked to find that we were out of coconut milk. How can we be out of coconut milk?! We always have coconut milk!
So, I made a Japanese curry instead.
Also, having survived a natural disaster has left me with a tendency to hoard food. All of my cabinets are jam packed at all times. My house is the place to be if the next Big One hits and they are no groceries available.
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Yeah. A well stocked pantry could be anything from oil, salt and spices to like condensed milk, noodles, other vegetables or even prepped sauces.
I have thought about doing posts on that. There is a problem of regionalness. My pantry in Lesser Carolina is very different from my pantry in San Diego. But there are strategies of stocking a pantry. That are universal that people can find useful.
One thing I had to adjust is potatoes. In San Diego I could buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes and it could last two months. Here in the humidity of The South a 5 pound bag will start sprouting in two weeks.
I never had pantry moths in San Diego. But here everything that can be moth food has to be put into moth proof containers.
Sample pantry shelf picture for tax.
My proposal below for different rulesets depending on how much of a challenge you want.
Hard mode: Only the very basics
Water, table salt, neutral cooking oil, white sugar, white vinegar
Normal mode: Non-perishables only
Dried stuff (beans, white rice, pasta, mushrooms, flour, starches), honey, spirits
Includes the very basics.
Normal mode: Staples only (perishable or non-perishable)
There may be certain items that you would purchase with most grocery trips to ensure you always have some on hand. Only consider sets of items that are very cheap where you’re located (or at least, somewhere on earth). As an example, I might include milk, eggs, garlic, and onion. List the ingredients that you consider to be staples.
Includes the very basics
Easy mode
Just come up with something tasty that includes the required ingredients.
The problem is that not everybody would agree with what you consider to be basic. To me, you would absolutely have to include soy sauce, for example. And I mostly use white vinegar for cleaning. Replace that with rice wine vinegar, however…
The point of the basics list is that they’re isolated components covering different tastes. One salty (NaCl), one sweet (sucrose), one acidic (acetic acid).* If your proposed dish isn’t flexible with regards to the type of salt/sugar/acid, then I don’t think it fits the bill for this category.
~* I considered an umami too (msg), but I had a feeling that’s less accessible compared to the others. Maybe that’s just my Western bias though.~
Succession: Just call the first two Nightmare Mode and Hard Mode. That way you don’t have two Normal Modes.
Nightmare and hard imply a difficulty ordering. I used normal twice because I don’t think either are strictly easier or harder than the other. They’re just different.
Idk, I’m feeling lazy, risotto?
Saute some mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, then fermented bean paste in the instantpot, throw the barely and broth in, cook high pressure like 10 minutes, throw mix of milk+parm in to thicken, if I didn’t use fermented bean paste earlier, maybe miso paste with the mix, stir as it cools and thickens.
Nicely detailed.
Though with that user name I fully expect something fermented.
Well of course it’d be served with a glass of red. And whatever cooking wine will be used to deglaze before adding the rice and broth.
Is the hard mode that there isn’t enough nutritional value to sustain me until the next meal, or is the well stocked kitchen going to provide me actual fat and protein?
If you don’t understand how a cooking challenge works you can just keep scrolling. I don’t pester you about circle jerk etiquette.
I literally could not survive on meals like that at my size.
Your cooking “challenge” may well be butter and small sticks.
What meal did you envision that includes, but is not limited to, those two ingredients?
I totally get the concern on calories. What if you boiled the barley, and added it to some canned tomato sauce, chili powder and ground beef to create a chili? Use the pepper with some onion as your sauted veg base for the chili. All your nutrients and calories and both ingredients used.
At this point the challenge is basically meaningless.
If I can literally select anything that I want to go with an ingredient or two there’s unlimited possibilities.
Those ingredients you’ve listed have literally become meaningless based on the lacking constraints of the problem.
… you have a well stocked pantry. So I guess we are having tacos and then some beer made from barley?
If it were ground I’d try sandwiches with slices of bell pepper added after making some barley bread with molasses and honey:
3 cups flour
1 cups water
1 or 2 tsp salt
1.5 tsp active or instant yeast (from a brown glass jar works best)
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Molasses
Add ground barley to taste preference, adjust waterRise for 2 to 3 hours, knead at least once in the middle and again before shaping on a pan with parchment paper and a thin layer of oil that you can roll your final shaped bread for a thin coating; for the final half hour of the rise
Bake 405F for 30 to 40 minutes, place wet cloth overtop for 15 minutes after removing from ovenbut it’s not ground. TF does somebody make with whole barley? Gonna have to search for medieval peasant recipes.
In theory I could grind it in my spice grinder but it would take a while to get three cups.
It’s used in a lot of soups. You could make beer and use the spent grains in cookies or muffins.
No no no
The 3 cups flour is just plain wheat flour, then you add the ground barley to taste, up to like 1 cup max without needing to adjust the other ingredients aside from water. If you don’t use wheat flour as the base then it will likely have trouble rising because the storebought yeast strain isn’t as suited to barley, it would take longer to rise and that will sour the taste considerably. 100% barley also has a bit grainier texture. If you want to do a 100% barley bread then I recommend adding some flax seed and sugar, up to a tbsp of each, for binding and rising.
I have used store-bought yeast to ferment barley. It will definitely work. You’re going to get a lot of off flavors from the fermentation though. These flavors can be mitigated by using a longer and colder fermentation process. It’s going to easily get all the simple sugars but the maltostrios Is going to take more time. You’re probably looking at a 4 day rise at something like 50°f. Even then it won’t grab it all.
But yes I did misread that thinking it was going to be three cups of barley.
Buttermilk barley porridge is very good. I like it with anise and apple chunks.
This I’m going to try!
Move the barley, I need to scan the end grain to see where the QR code goes.
It takes you to the spawn point after a loud boom.
I’m trying not to go back to spawn until after the mods ban Donald Trump for camping it.
Hardcore mode
Don’t worry, spawn would take care of him in a few seconds once the weird fetus demon was handled.
I think it goes by the name JD Vance.
Pepper and barley soup all day long.
But that’s toasted barley.
I’m not much of a chef, but here goes…
Stir the barley into some yogurt to make a pseudo-granola.
Slice the pepper into strips and eat it as a snack.
That sounds pretty good to me!
I definitely recommend at least boiling to barley. Otherwise you’re going to have a very disappointing yogurt because yogurt’s not supposed to break your teeth.
“Well-stocked pantry” is a bit vague, IMO, but probably stuffed peppers. Filling would be barley and some kinds of beans or lentils, in a tomato sauce (ideally I also have some balsamic vinegar to add to the sauce), which seems safe to assume for a well stocked pantry. Ideally I’d be able to add some rehydrated dried mushrooms and chopped walnuts as a faux ‘ground beef,’ add appropriate Italian seasonings, then top with a vegan parm (almond flour + garlic powder + nutritional yeast are pantry staples for me, at least), some salt and pepper, and a drizzle of EVOO.
I’ve never had roasted barley outside of barley tea, so not sure if I’ll get the flavors right, but I’m thinking hearty salad. Roast a pan of bell pepper and kabocha (or similar squash) with a clove of garlic. Cook/drain a little toasted barley (not a ton, just a pleasant amount for texture/flavor) while that’s in the oven. Greens, roasted veg, cooked barley, conveniently leftover chicken, thin-sliced green onion, sprinkle of dried cranberries. Roast garlic goes in the vinaigrette.
Hmm. Maybe I’d make chilled barley tea with the toasted barley, and a simple chickpea salad with slices of bell pepper to accompany it – or, alternatively, hummus with the bellpepper to dip in it. Would be good for hot weather.
If the weather’s cold, maybe lentil and barley soup with the bellpepper added in as an extra ingredient along with any other veggies I have on hand that seem like they’d be good in a soup. (Edit: Maybe experiment with the Cajun “Holy Trinity” – celery, bell pepper, onion – as the base? I haven’t tried that for lentil barley soup before, but might be interesting.)
