What Are You Eating Today?

[rousseau]

I took a stab at an ad-hoc pasta sauce today. I combined a few techniques I'd used in the past few months to try to pull off a sauce in the 17 minutes left for my fish to cook. The key to the recipes I'd used before was to condense the tomato just the right amount, but since I only had about half the time of those recipes I increased the heat and cooked the tomato faster. I also blanched garlic in the sauce, but I have a feeling the extra heat over-cooked it a bit (or the lack of flavour could have been because I went with minced, rather than fresh garlic)

To confuse my wife I also added oregano, and a dash of Traditional Garam Masala toward the end. Overall it turned out pretty well, but I likely could have cooked it a bit more slowly.

 

[Treedbear]

...
To confuse my wife I also added oregano, and a dash of Traditional Garam Masala toward the end. Overall it turned out pretty well, but I likely could have cooked it a bit more slowly.

That's my impression of Indian cuisine in general. Confusing. There was an Indian cooking show on PBS that didn't last too long. It seems most recipes called for at least a dozen spices. Similar I dare say to their religions. A hint of it might work though. I might add a dash of fenugreek once in a while to bring in an added dimension.

 

[rousseau]

...
To confuse my wife I also added oregano, and a dash of Traditional Garam Masala toward the end. Overall it turned out pretty well, but I likely could have cooked it a bit more slowly.

That's my impression of Indian cuisine in general. Confusing. There was an Indian cooking show on PBS that didn't last too long. It seems most recipes called for at least a dozen spices. Similar I dare say to their religions. A hint of it might work though. I might add a dash of fenugreek once in a while to bring in an added dimension.

The Traditional and Modern Masala I've made are wonderful in Curry. The dash worked well enough with spaghetti, but if I do similar again I'll stick with fresh garlic, which is what I really wanted.

 

[Treedbear]

...
To confuse my wife I also added oregano, and a dash of Traditional Garam Masala toward the end. Overall it turned out pretty well, but I likely could have cooked it a bit more slowly.

That's my impression of Indian cuisine in general. Confusing. There was an Indian cooking show on PBS that didn't last too long. It seems most recipes called for at least a dozen spices. Similar I dare say to their religions. A hint of it might work though. I might add a dash of fenugreek once in a while to bring in an added dimension.

The Traditional and Modern Masala I've made are wonderful in Curry. The dash worked well enough with spaghetti, but if I do similar again I'll stick with fresh garlic, which is what I really wanted.

Yeah, I've always resisted the convenience of pre-peeled or pre-minced garlic. I figured it must be sacrificing something. On the other hand fresh garlic goes bad quickly at certain times of the year. Spaghetti sauce is like the perfect medium for the aspiring cook. It seems like it's meant for experimentation. Something told me that allspice was needed and ever since then it's been one of the standard spices along with oregano, basil, and cumin. Not exactly like mom's anymore.

 

[Politesse]

We like watching the videos that The Gujarati Chef puts up on Youtube; we've had pretty good luck following her recipes, and Gujarati cuisine is a bit simpler than that of other regions so that helps.

 

[rousseau]

The Traditional and Modern Masala I've made are wonderful in Curry. The dash worked well enough with spaghetti, but if I do similar again I'll stick with fresh garlic, which is what I really wanted.

Yeah, I've always resisted the convenience of pre-peeled or pre-minced garlic. I figured it must be sacrificing something. On the other hand fresh garlic goes bad quickly at certain times of the year. Spaghetti sauce is like the perfect medium for the aspiring cook. It seems like it's meant for experimentation. Something told me that allspice was needed and ever since then it's been one of the standard spices along with oregano, basil, and cumin. Not exactly like mom's anymore.

We do keep fresh garlic on hand now and use it most of the time, I only reach for the minced when I'm feeling lazy (but we're at the end of our bottle so that might contribute to lack of flavour too). I'll have to see if we have dry basil on hand, that might be worth picking up. We made a fresh basil / garlic sauce a few months ago and it was fantastic.

 

[Treedbear]

The Traditional and Modern Masala I've made are wonderful in Curry. The dash worked well enough with spaghetti, but if I do similar again I'll stick with fresh garlic, which is what I really wanted.

Yeah, I've always resisted the convenience of pre-peeled or pre-minced garlic. I figured it must be sacrificing something. On the other hand fresh garlic goes bad quickly at certain times of the year. Spaghetti sauce is like the perfect medium for the aspiring cook. It seems like it's meant for experimentation. Something told me that allspice was needed and ever since then it's been one of the standard spices along with oregano, basil, and cumin. Not exactly like mom's anymore.

We do keep fresh garlic on hand now and use it most of the time, I only reach for the minced when I'm feeling lazy (but we're at the end of our bottle so that might contribute to lack of flavour too). I'll have to see if we have dry basil on hand, that might be worth picking up. We made a fresh basil / garlic sauce a few months ago and it was fantastic.

Fresh herbs would be great but they always seem to spoil before I've used half the bunch. Spaghetti sauce with fresh basil is fantastic, but basil turns brown if you look at it wrong. I wish I could grow it in my backyard but there's not enough sun. Not even chives work for me. I'm pretty much limited to fresh Italian parsley which keeps for several weeks in a can of water in the back of the fridge, but space is limited. Of course fresh garlic keeps best in a cabinet away from light and heat.

 

[rousseau]

We do keep fresh garlic on hand now and use it most of the time, I only reach for the minced when I'm feeling lazy (but we're at the end of our bottle so that might contribute to lack of flavour too). I'll have to see if we have dry basil on hand, that might be worth picking up. We made a fresh basil / garlic sauce a few months ago and it was fantastic.

Fresh herbs would be great but they always seem to spoil before I've used half the bunch. Spaghetti sauce with fresh basil is fantastic, but basil turns brown if you look at it wrong. I wish I could grow it in my backyard but there's not enough sun. Not even chives work for me. I'm pretty much limited to fresh Italian parsley which keeps for several weeks in a can of water in the back of the fridge, but space is limited. Of course fresh garlic keeps best in a cabinet away from light and heat.

I never thought to store our garlic outside the fridge. We've been keeping it in a ziploc bag in our fridge and that seems to work fine, although we only buy three bulbs at a time and usually go through them within a few weeks.

 

[Treedbear]

...
I never thought to store our garlic outside the fridge. We've been keeping it in a ziploc bag in our fridge and that seems to work fine, although we only buy three bulbs at a time and usually go through them within a few weeks.

Actually you should do whatever works. I have my winter thermostat set at 56F so it might be more similar to your fridge than to your kitchen cabinet. The main thing is to maintain low humidity, and the ziplock bag should take care of that. I buy a mesh bag of 5 bulbs that comes from China for about $2 and they last for about a month without sprouting. But that's just me.

 

[spikepipsqueak]

One of our local grocers sells basil and parsley at the same price as a harvested bunch, but with the roots.

You can chop off what you want and then separate the roots and plant them in a pot next to the kitchen window.

Fresh basil and parsley when you want.

 

[WAB]

My dear friend in Oz says she and some others are selling chocky bilbies as a conservation effort. She says that if I'm a good boy she might send me one, so hopefully soon I can boast about eating an upside down chockie bilby.

 

[Tharmas]

leftovers

 

[TV and credit cards]

Eating the last piece of pumpkin cake/cream cheese roll. I haven't had cream cheese in a coon's age. Just as I suspected, it's still good.

It looks like this:

 

[Old Woman in Purple]

Yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner consisted of: a Salmon & Asparagus w/ lemon, prepared by Husband; a Shredded-Chicken with Broccoli in Jumbo Pasta dish prepared by Daughter; a Corn Casserole, by me.

Dessert: "Butterfinger Lasagna" prepared by Daughter.

Intentionally made enough for leftovers, so we could enjoy it (and resulting food-comas) for days!

 

[Angry Floof]

We've got some leftovers for a couple days even though our holiday dinner was fairly small. But there's two of us and I'm the only one who likes leftovers of any kind and I'm also the only one who remembers that they are there in the fridge to begin with.

But today I'm eating the last bowl from my latest pot of chili. The other leftovers are tempting but I didn't want the chili to go bad so I'm finishing it off now. I'll have turkey leftovers for dinner tonight.

Yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner consisted of: a Salmon & Asparagus w/ lemon, prepared by Husband; a Shredded-Chicken with Broccoli in Jumbo Pasta dish prepared by Daughter; a Corn Casserole, by me.

Dessert: "Butterfinger Lasagna" prepared by Daughter.

Intentionally made enough for leftovers, so we could enjoy it (and resulting food-comas) for days!

Lovely!

 

[Treedbear]

Yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner consisted of: a Salmon & Asparagus w/ lemon, prepared by Husband; a Shredded-Chicken with Broccoli in Jumbo Pasta dish prepared by Daughter; a Corn Casserole, by me.

Dessert: "Butterfinger Lasagna" prepared by Daughter.

Intentionally made enough for leftovers, so we could enjoy it (and resulting food-comas) for days!

Outstanding! I can smell the salmon and asparagus from here!

 

[gmbteach]

How do you know a gorgeous butternut squash when you see one? They're my favorite squash and this time of year the price is right. They also keep a long time. I just cut one in quarters and bake at 350F for 1 hour with some olive oil, brown sugar, and allspice. But what makes one better than the other?

Well, they're good all year. But a really good one will be bright and vibrant inside, with seeds that look like they could still turn into a plant given the chance. It will likely be more full and sweet in flavor as well. If there's any way to tell ahead of time what kind of squash you've got just by looking from the outside, I don't know it. Provided it's ripe, they all look the same to me until they're opened.

Apparently you need to knock on it. If it sounds hollow, it’s a good one.

Just like watermelons, the best pumpkins to pick have a deep, hollow sound when you tap them. To test for a good one, hold the pumpkin with one hand, place your ear next to the pumpkin, and knock on its side with the knuckles of your other hand. If you hear an echoing, hollow sound, it's a good one

 

[gmbteach]

We do keep fresh garlic on hand now and use it most of the time, I only reach for the minced when I'm feeling lazy (but we're at the end of our bottle so that might contribute to lack of flavour too). I'll have to see if we have dry basil on hand, that might be worth picking up. We made a fresh basil / garlic sauce a few months ago and it was fantastic.

Fresh herbs would be great but they always seem to spoil before I've used half the bunch. Spaghetti sauce with fresh basil is fantastic, but basil turns brown if you look at it wrong. I wish I could grow it in my backyard but there's not enough sun. Not even chives work for me. I'm pretty much limited to fresh Italian parsley which keeps for several weeks in a can of water in the back of the fridge, but space is limited. Of course fresh garlic keeps best in a cabinet away from light and heat.

We can buy semi dried herbs here. All the goodness and flavour of fresh, but the packet lasts 4 weeks.

 

[gmbteach]

Junk food. Which I shouldn’t have as we are supposed to be having crackling and roast pork tonight.

 

[southernhybrid]

We finished up the left over TG food for lunch. As soon as it's finished we will be enjoying grilled pork tenderloin with a balsamic cherry sauce, corn and steamed fresh zucchini for our dinner. As usual, I will bring a plate to the lonely neighbor, who would practically live off of sweets and Boost if we didn't share our food with her. She pays for her share and she loves my husband's cooking, so it's all good. Plus, sharing food is a human universal, but I digress.