<p>I was in a cooking class with a chef who made creamy asparagus soup. Where it called for heavy cream, he substituted half-and-half for half the cream, and Honey Greek yogurt for the other half. It was good. He said he used Greek yogurt all the time for stuff.</p>
<p>I’ve got to find this honey greek yoghurt.</p>
<p>we had chili for dinner tonight too. I add a can of Rotel chiles along with fresh thyme and garlic. No sugar or salt. Chili powder, red pepper flakes and venison burger 
it was belly-warming.</p>
<p>When making chocolate cake I add a cup of (cooked/brewed) coffee. Keeps the cake really moist.</p>
<p>What kinds of things do you add tumeric too and how much. i have read tumeric has excellent anticancer properties and would like to experiment. i am so envious of your cooking abilities.</p>
<p>So interesting! I want to eat at many of your houses. </p>
<p>Kimchi juice! Salty/fishy/garlicy/spicy. Fixes quite an array of bland foods. But I don’t tell many people.</p>
<p>Juice from Gus’s full sour pickles (Lower East Side tradition, now moved to Brooklyn, I hear)-- goes in the BBQ sauce.</p>
<p>DH puts kahlua in the to-die-for chocolate mousse.</p>
<p>S2 maintains our rosemary shrub for his cooking. Puts dried ****akes in his boeuf bourgignon (which is always cooked in a cast iron pot). They absorb the liquid and are fabulous. </p>
<p>I put nutmeg in the apple pie, almond extract in the cherry pie and lemon zest in the blueberry pie. </p>
<p>DH uses milk instead of water and butter instead of oil when using cake mixes.</p>
<p>French toast: add vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon.</p>
<p>****akes !!! That’s funny!!</p>
<p>*When making chocolate cake I add a cup of (cooked/brewed) coffee. Keeps the cake really moist. *</p>
<p>Is this in lieu of water? Do you sub coffee for water in equal amounts?</p>
<p>It took me a second to realize that the forum won’t let the word shiitake mushrooms get spelled out correctly.</p>
<p>My favorite add-in to chili is coconut. (In the bowl, not the pot)</p>
<p>I put Adobo and lemon or lime juice in all meats including poultry and fish…</p>
<p>****akes is a kind of mushroom…love the bleeping!</p>
<p>CountingDown - 
:D</p>
<p>adobo: I have always made my own paste. (Is paste the right word? not sure.)</p>
<p>For those who are adding “adobo,” what are you using?</p>
<p>took me a while to figure out what ****akes were… </p>
<p>Loving hearing everyone’s ingredients. Kimchee sauce is something I’ve got to try immediately.</p>
<p>*My favorite add-in to chili is coconut. (In the bowl, not the pot) *</p>
<p>?</p>
<p>Are you saying that you sprinkle shredded coconut onto a bowl of chili?</p>
<p>What is Adobo?</p>
<p>[Adobo</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobo]Adobo”>Adobo - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I also like to make an ancho chile paste. Fantastic in chili!</p>
<p>It occurs to me I should mention my method for cooking oatmeal: I use milk instead of water. It tastes much richer. I also make it in the microwave, in the bowl I’m going to eat it in. You have to do it in stages, because otherwise it becomes an oatmeal volcano and makes a mess–if you want to cook it for two minutes, do one minute, let it sit for a bit, then 30 seconds, then let it sit, then watch it and make sure it doesn’t boil while you finish it.</p>
<p>Garam masala. I’m still working on ideas. Start by adding some to soup or chili.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids - yes, I sprinkle shredded coconut on my bowl of chili. Odd, but it really seems to smooth out the flavor. My kids are now converts!</p>
<p>Mafool: adobo is a combination of salt, pepper,garlic, onion,oregano, tumeric…in the old country my mother used to add each fresh ingredient separately …with our busy lives, I thank “Goya” for having everything in one container…it is “cheating” but it does add great taste to everything without the extra work.</p>