What's for dinner? Part #106 [old]

[linguafood]

I thought I'd start a new thread as the old one was getting over 300 posts....

What's cookin' in your neck of the woods?

We had homemade pizza last night which was devoured by our poker buddies (as we took all of their money).

I have a friend visiting for a few days, and she's been in Germany for a while now, so I think some good, red-blooded 'murrcan dinner's in order: steaks (if it doesn't rain again) on the grill, corn on the cob - the last of the season, and tomato salad. If I feel 'adventurous', I might roast some potatoes in duck fat.

[roxlet]

Time to move on over to part 107!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/807575

[onceadaylily]

Well, the clear days that were supposed to grace my 'getting-shtuff-done-while-he's-away' days haven't materialized so far. The sky is a heavy gray, and not very motivating. But it did give me a dinner idea. I'll take a few cups of the leftover soup (which was delicious, btw), puree all of the chunks out, and simmer it until it thickens a bit so that I can use it as a pizza sauce. Smoked provolone cheese with caramelized onions and green peppers will make a pretty decent pizza, I think. Salad to go with (spinach with lentils, broccoli and sunflower seeds).

I'd been feeling a little funky lately, and began to suspect that I was a little low on iron, and have been eating this salad with every meal, and feel much better. Well enough to wrestle the giant AC unit out of the bedroom window by myself? We'll see. The boyfriend, instead of his patented "You can handle it" gave me an alarmed "Oh, honey, please don't." Hmm.

[inaplasticcup]

I love the soup turned pizza sauce idea. I also love that he told you not to move the AC. :)

[onceadaylily]

I moved it anyway. Two projects down, four to go. My pizza and martini night is going to be well deserved. Along with a heating pad . . . that hunk of metal was terribly heavy.

I wish I had some mushrooms for that pizza. I think squash, mushroom, and onion would have been perfect, especially with a sharper cheese.

[inaplasticcup]

I get impatient like that too. But they get brownie points for saying it anyway. :P

[Klary]

I made a beef stew for the first cool days of fall (well the whole summer has been cool here, but there's something about those days in September when the sun is out and the air is crisp and the leaves are turning, that just makes me want to braise things). Beef simmered in red wine and tomato paste, and then I added a lot of mushrooms (chestnut and oyster) that I had dry-fried for 10 minutes until they'd given up all their moisture. We had it with rice, polenta would have been even better.

[ChristinaMason]

Sounds excellent! Do you have a favorite stew recipe?

[linguafood]

My dear friend is leaving today, so after a busy week of socializing, boozing, and general mayhem, I'll actually be preparing a meal at home just for my man and myself.

I've seen some fantastic looking eggplant at the farmer's market, and am tending towards Mediterranean/Turkish flavors.... either stuffed eggplants with ground lamb, or roasted eggplant with yogurt sauce plus X. Will have to see what the meat situation's like at Wegmans....

[buttertart]

Love ground lamb anything. So much tastier than beef.

[linguafood]

Yeah, I'm *really* craving some Turkish or Greek flavors these days. I think CM was talking about eggplant and Turkish stuff earlier this week, which is where I got the inspiration. That, and the fab looking eggplants.... psyched about tonight's dinner (whatever it may be).

[Harters]

We do a low fat version of imam bayeldi, where slices of the eggplant (or aubergine as we call them) are poached in passata or similar, rather than fried. They're then topped with a mix of fried onion, tomato, raisins, pine nuts and parsley. We'd normally have this as a room temperature mezze dish but it would work well served hot with some lamb koftas that you've butched up with harissa.

[linguafood]

Harters to the rescue! Imam bayeldi sounds just down my garlicky alley :-D.

My man will appreciate it, too. Maybe my imam will have some ground lamb with fresh mint in it and be topped with yogurt sauce....

[buttertart]

That sounds terrific, I love the simmered in passata idea. I usually brush eggplant v lightly with oil and roast it to avoid the dread eggplant sponge effect (want some eggplant witn that cup of oil?).
I make the Kochilas version of these Greek stuffed eggplants - v good too -
http://greekfood.about.com/od/groundm...

[linguafood]

I think I might try some sort of layered dish.... slices of eggplant on the bottom, then topped with ground lamb & tomatoes, more eggplant... maybe top with some kefalotiri or chasseri.

I suppose I *could* use an actual recipe, but that wouldn't be as much fun '-)

[buttertart]

Go for it, you can always consult with your man (Mr. Yuvetsi, right?).

[Berheenia]

Cleaning out the remains and getting excited about cold weather cooking- (it was in the 40's this morning). Last of the Italian sausage from the freezer sauted with the last of the roasted pepper and olives, splash of vermouth and dregs of a jar of Rao's over tube pasta. Veg was what was left from last week's csa- baby eggplant and multi- colored cherry tomatoes-skittled them around with olive oil and garlic. Heavy on the shaved parm from Trader Joe's. Already discussing whats for dinner Sunday! THere's a Pat's game at 4 so it has to be made ahead. Lasagna is a possibility.

[twodales]

Tonight was leftover Thai veggies and fresh calamari fried with lemon. Husband was out and he is not a fan of fishie things. Calamari was perfect! Yum!

[Chocolatechipkt]

Chicken thighs (bone in, skin off) sauteed with shallots, fire-roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, herbs, and chicken andouille, served over soft polenta.

[suburban_mom]

Enchi-lasagna (what my daughter calls easy weeknight stacked enchiladas) Suizas. Tomatillo/roasted poblano sauce, corn tortillas, shredded chicken, sour cream, swiss and monterey jack cheeses. Served with a salad made of diced avocado, grape tomatoes, diced red onions, and mixed baby greens. The salad was dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

[steve h.]

New York strip, green squash/tomato/onion/olive/olive oil/ fancy salt thing on the side. A cabernet sauvignon was granted parole from the wine jail. Top Gun on the panel: it was a fitting end to summer.

[JEN10]

I made a sausage and onion risotto with some saffron, fresh parsley and chives. Then I needed to use up some veggies so I roasted some squash, eggplant, onions, and tomatoes, toasted some pinenuts, and toasted it all together in a Dijon vinagareete when done. I also used up some green beans and fresh basil to round it all out. All very flavorful, and a lot of leftovers. I think I will make some focacia and do a nice anti pasti one night with cheese and sliced salumi.

[inaplasticcup]

I've got today and tomorrow to pretty much clean out my fridge of all perishables so I can start a monthlong food budget diary project, so I took the second to last ribeye, some carrots, butternut squash, onion, green cabbage, a cup of canned tomatoes, a headful of whole garlic cloves and a few bay leaves and made vegetable beef soup.

Flour tortillas left from Monday's chimichangas warmed and browned with a little butter on the side.

1 ribeye, 6 eggs and some produce odds and ends to go...

[L.Nightshade]

Wow, ina, fridge cleaning, food budget, and dinner on the table. Look at you, all domesticus maximus!

[inaplasticcup]

Oh believe me - I am feeling very JuneDonnaHarriet at the moment. The hostess apron says it all. :P

[L.Nightshade]

I *love* that apron!

[onceadaylily]

The boyfriend is heading out of town for a few days, and I'm in the mood to cook some things I like, but that aren't to his tastes. Tonight, I'm planning on using my first-of-the-fall butternut squash. I have two small ones in the cupboard that I'll roast for tomato and squash soup, with onions, carrots, garlic, butter, balsamic vinegar, stock, orange juice, with thyme and sage.

http://cooking-books.blogspot.com/200...

I like that the tomatoes are roasted and reserved until the end of the cooking time, so the soup remains a bit chunky. I have some pita on hand, and might top a round or two with roasted garlic and provolone. And can I say that I also love that I don't have to peel and cube the squash for this? Slime averted.

*Might* make some cheese bread to go with the soup? I must be in a coy mood.

[inaplasticcup]

I think I somewhat sorta copied you and didn't even know it!

[Harters]

'Tis a return to the brown gloop from the freezer. In this case, some braised steak. Easy accompaniments - Anya potatoes, carrots, steamed cabbage. Simples!

[inaplasticcup]

What are Anya potatoes, Harters?

[Harters]

A cross between Desiree and Pink Fir (which it most resembles). Bred exclusively in the UK for Sainsbury's supermarkets. One of my favourite varieties.

http://www.lovepotatoes.co.uk/the-pot...

[inaplasticcup]

All the variety - I love it! Thanks, Harters. :)

[rabaja]

Last night was a butterflied b/s chicken breast, seared in my cast iron pan. While the meat finished in the oven, I sauteed blanched chard in shallots and good vinegar (actually, leftover mignonette, that never touched an oyster) and then I pitched in the many, many sauteed chanterelles I had on hand. This was pretty much the last of the ingredients I was gifted from my last job over the weekend. Sure made prep easy, and it was nice with some plain bulgur.
Tonight I'm going out with my parents, after we hit the Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa. I really want to take them to Willie Bird for the kitsch factor, but not sure we'll want to do the Early Bird thing. Turkey fried steak with gravy sure does sound good to me right now, though.

[viperlush]

I didn't budget well during this week and I'm down to my last fresh veggies that I'm goisaving for tomorrow night. So out of laziness and lack of ideas I'm making a puttanesca sauce for tonight.

[GretchenS]

I had some unexpected time in a part of town I don't get to much yesterday so I had the chance to buy some Italian sausages the local CHers had been raving about (and I now totally get why). And my local farmstand is featuring their own red and green Cubanelle peppers (the red especially are the most gorgeous things you've ever seen). So I happily abandoned the hated hake and went with sausages, peppers, onions, garlic and fresh marjoram, started stovetop and finished in the oven, together with mashed potatoes made with olive oil and grated Pecorino. I am slightly embarassed to admit that I made one hot and one sweet sausage and tons of the vegs with the intention of eating half and saving half for today and somehow the whole thing got eaten. :) That dinner made me happier than anything I've made since probably the salmon "bulgogi" from Radically Simple. And to think, I spent my life until quite recently thinking I didn't like peppers when really what I don't like is raw green peppers, while I now know I love roasted red ones.

[inaplasticcup]

Are Cubanelles sweet, Gretchen?

[GretchenS]

Yes, the red more so of course. Here are some pictures: http://en.bestpicturesof.com/cubanell...

[inaplasticcup]

Ok. The green ones look like the ones from which they make pepperoncini. Are they?

[iL Divo]

tonight it's something light in true Turquand style:
sliced cooked beef served cold on the plate
green salad-oil and vinegar
potato salad lightly dressed
steamed peas
water for me iced tea for hub
dessert for him, none for me

[inaplasticcup]

I saw your post and was waiting for it to rhyme... :P

[iL Divo]

ummm, was I supposed to rhyme? :\
sorry no rhyming tonight, too busy staring at the gorgeous man sitting next to me *+}
no he's not my "partner" hahahhah

[inaplasticcup]

The lines were truncated and looked like poetic verse at first glance.

It is nice to stare at gorgeous men from time to time... ;)

[iL Divo]

hahahhh. it's nice to stare at him all the time.........
lucky "girl" here............

[JungMann]

Gazpacho with a generous nod towards the Orient. I kept the olive oil, but introduced some rice vinegar to the puree. Finished with a flurry of Thai basil and cilantro. A pinch of coriander was added, but wholly unnecessary, better to stick to the cumin I normally use.

[ChristinaMason]

Sounds good! Nice flavor combo.

[mariacarmen]

that sounds seriously good and refreshing.

[Luna2372]

Green peppers were .69/lbs..wow... there is no cents key on my keyboard..i must really be old!
And baseballs steaks (top sirloin) from my local butcher are the best deal going at $8.99/lbs, and he does a great marinade.

So it was peppers, onions, mushrooms with ginger, garlic, orange, chilies and soy..wok fried with grilled steak.

[LindaWhit]

On your number keypad, Alt 0162 = ¢ :-)

And I love the name "baseball steaks" - I've never heard of that, Luna! Definitely a local-to-you term. :-)

[suburban_mom]

It was supposed to be Thai Red Curry Shrimp but I just wasn't feeling it. We did takeout from the NY Style Pizza Joint that is between the softball practice fields and home. 1 pepperoni and 1 with Canadian bacon, pineapple, green peppers and onions (my choice). We also ordered a caesar salad.

Thai Red Curry shrimp will have to happen tomorrow for sure because I started thawing the shrimp.

[LindaWhit]

I'm forcing myself to pull something out of the freezer these next few days to cook, even though I've not been in the mood to do so. Tonight was grilled swordfish - seasoned with olive oil, salt, Aleppo pepper, and lime zest and tossed on the grill pan and seared until just done, drizzled with a bit of fresh lime juice just before serving. Basmati rice and peas and corn alongside. It was good. :-)

[suburban_mom]

Love that Aleppo pepper!!!!

I'm planning some freezer cooking in the next week. I have a chuck roast that needs to be cooked and will probably do it in the crockpot to make bbq beef sandwiches on one of our busy days next week.

[LindaWhit]

I love Aleppo pepper as well. I need to make a list of herbs and spices I need and head back to my local (although not as local as it used to be before I moved) Penzey's store. Aleppo is definitely on the list.

[ChristinaMason]

I made a soup dubiously entitled "Tastes Like Lasagna Soup" (http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/reci...), but, as I'm wont to do, changed the recipe considerably. Samples so far prove tasty.

[twodales]

"dubiously entitled" Ha Ha Ha! Dubiously indeed!

[ChristinaMason]

The soup was enjoyable, although it was more my recipe than Bobby Deen's by the time I was done with it. I simmered a whole carrot, celery stalk, and a parm regg. rind in the broth, and added sauteed tomato paste, pan-seared crimini mushrooms, chopped spinach, diced plum tomatoes, and "Italian" herbs. Instead of lasagna noodles, I used whole grain high-fiber shell pasta. I skipped the bell pepper, which I don't usually add to my lasagna unless it's vegetarian.

It was good! Something of a cross between minestrone and Italian wedding soup. I'm looking forward to leftovers for lunch.

btw, here's the corrected link: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/reci...

[crowmuncher]

had a huge glass of carrot juice so I'm not hungry enough to make a good dinner choice, but based on what's available- it will probably be shrimp, beans, and quinoa- i'm hoping one of my avocados will be ready when that happens (wishful thinking)...

[Luna2372]

That sounds like and awesome dinner. I love quinoa. I'd be interested to know how you dressed it.

[twodales]

Due to go down to 40 tonight...why do I live here? Something to make the Brit happy: Shepard's Pie. He will be ecstatic.

[Harters]

Tell the Brit the temp. tomorrow in north west England will be around 18. It'll go well with his pie. Good autumn weather!

[twodales]

@ Harters: Passed it on to the Brit and he had a chuckle. He oddly just returned from a British-American Business cocktail thingy. Had a good chat with a fellow from Bakewell. Not far from where my hubby comes from in Derbyshire. Turns out they knew many of the same people. Funny old world.

[Harters]

Bakewell's not far away (about 45 minutes drive) - we go to the farmers market there maybe three or four a year.

As for tonight's dinner, we swing eastwards. Caponata is made and is cooling on top of the hob. Some leftover veggie pasta dish is defrosting. That's dinner with some crusty bread. Fruit for afters.

[crowmuncher]

that's totally great for a cold night; the grass is always greener i guess- i have to rinse off a few times a day to deal with this hot muggy weather; no one's trying to make a shepard's pie here in south florida :)

[GretchenS]

Just got the email telling us that today's fish share is hake. Grumble. I believe I told you last week that the only two things we get that I don't like are redfish (which we got last week) and hake. Still, I made the redfish edible last week by drowning it out in spicy goodness so surely I can achieve something along similar lines with the hake tonight. Or there's always fishcakes with Rick Moonen's spicy remoulade sauce....

Last night I brought dinner to the big family up the street: baked ziti with tomato sauce, spinach, chicken sausage, fresh mozzarella, parm. I had made the sauce the night before and sliced the sausage into it, so it all came together pretty fast. I made three pans of it and after baking, ran each under the broiler for a minute or two. They looked gorgeous if I do say so myself. Plus a huge salad with nearly everything you can think of in it with a mustard vinaigrette. And I picked up a bunch of whoopie pies on the way hiome -- they all love chocolate and I am so not a dessert-maker. It was so fun to deliver -- they all came pouring out of the house and the kids are all such a hoot. The mom said she had never had salad dressing that did not come from a bottle. So this is a very fun and satisfying project for me. As I told them, I love to cook -- the dad said, "well we love to eat so we could work out a nice symbiotic relationship here." Really my only challenges are not enough counter space (the top of the dog's crate got pressed into service which he didn't much care for), plus the 3 kids from Africa don't eat pork (hence the chicken sausage, of which I am not a fan). But I am sure that somewhere I can find some decent chicken or turkey sausage...

[mariacarmen]

Wow gretchen that sounds great - what lucky neighbors you have. good luck with the hake!

[somervilleoldtimer]

So what's the story on this familly?

[GretchenS]

Huge family, 7 kids, 6 of whom were adopted from various trouble spots around the world and the youngest of whom is a teeny tiny baby who doesn't sleep much so they are all exhausted. Plus, the mom hates to cook so I just volunteered to bring them dinner sometimes. No big deal -- in my neighborhood everyone tends to help one another out. Just a fun project for me because I like them all so much -- a very happy, loving family -- and obviously I love to cook. I am so lucky to live in a neighborhood like mine, plenty of people helped me when I was terribly sick for months 10 or so years ago.

[mariacarmen]

you sound lucky, GS, and your neighbors even luckier. all a good thing for each other. smiles all around.

[danionavenue]

I made a hufe pot roast for Mon.night football and we had pulled pork sandwiches last night topped with coleslaw.

[roxlet]

Last night I made a recipe from the 150 Best American Recipes. It was my second go at a recipe from the book, and I was as happy with it as I had be with the first, which was the 5 hour duck that I shortened to 31/2 hours. This time I made the Spaghettini with Tuna, which was a perfect dinner for last night. Two of us ate early, and three of us ate late, and since this recipe is meant to be eaten room temperature, it suited everyone. The main difference from other pasta with tuna recipes was the use of pine nuts, which added a delightful pop of flavor. Next time I might add even more.

[buttertart]

What tuna do you use? I really should try to get over my aversion.

[roxlet]

Italian tuna is the only way to go for this dish.

[buttertart]

Any particular brand?

[somervilleoldtimer]

I love tuna salad sandwiches, with celery, onions, carrots and pickle, and mayo to hold it together. I love tuna in oil in a giant summer salad. But I'm with you on the tuna/spaghetti thing; it just doesn't sound good.

[crowmuncher]

leftover rice/black beans tossed with big chunks sauteed onions; some carrot spears on the side (been really into those lately although i've never been raw carrot fan); and some tortilla chips; the avocados are cut down, but none were ready last night :(

[somervilleoldtimer]

the only raw carrots I really like are the ones from the farmer's market, the slender ones that taste like real carrot. I realized that when my kids were growing up, baby carrots came onto the market and I kept buying them for the girls, but in fact they have no flavor at all! So I stopped, and now I buy the farmer's market one.

[rabaja]

Not sure what I made exactly, but it was good.
I had locally made tofu that I didn't want to lose, and leeks and green onions that were oldish, some ground beef in the freezer and a craving for mapo tofu. Oh, and an eggplant I'd roasted in the coals on Sunday. This all came together in a tasty, savory combo of smoky, salty, meaty deliciousness with a nice slick of chile oil over everything.
Leeks were sauteed, lots of grated ginger and garlic, browned the beef with that, and added my chile-black bean sauce. Chopped eggplant went in, sans skin, and more chile paste, with a cornstarch/fish sauce slurry.
Near the end I added some thinly sliced romano beans, which stewed until softened and had the final dish over japanese brown rice. So satisfying, and the most I've eaten in two weeks now.
Reading Tender this morning inspired this dish. I love his eggplant recipes, and will be getting more before the season ends for sure.

[inaplasticcup]

I love the idea of the roasted eggplant in the mapo tofu, rabaja. I'm assuming you used Italian?

[rabaja]

Yes, a big globe I'd had sitting around. I overdid it in the coals a bit, but managed to salvage most of the smoky flesh.
Going to be hard to resist the leftovers tonight, but I'm trying to reach for something lighter.

[ChristinaMason]

A salad of chopped romaine, red and purple bell peppers, yellow tomato, cucumber, and lightly sauteed asparagus, tossed with roasted red pepper dressing (from Chow's Spanishy Cous Cous recipe). That was topped with thinly sliced seared chili-crusted steak and homemade croutons. Corn on the cob on the side.

[buttertart]

Sounds up our street too, CM.

[L.Nightshade]

I searched Nigel Slater (the current COTM) for recipes using my ingredients on hand, and came up with a few ideas I could use with minor variations or substitutions. My menu:
Salad of beets and baby carrots with a dressing of red wine vinegar, garlic, agrumato, and cilantro.
Grilled sirloin tip steak, coated with black pepper, sea salt, and olive oil, served with a sauce of grainy mustard, agrumato, mint, and egg yolks.
Youngish potatoes, steamed and tossed with walnut oil, sherry vinegar, a bit of dijon mustard, parsley, salt, and pepper, then topped with crisply sauteed serrano ham.
Well, this was a whopping success, due in part to the ingredients. Produce from the organic farm, meat from the free range ranch, herbs from the garden. Great flavors that worked well together. Mr. NS made me promise a repeat.

[inaplasticcup]

Those potatoes sound like heaven. :)

[suburban_mom]

Farfalle with sausage tomato cream sauce sprinkled with basil from our garden. Steamed haricot verts on the side.

[JEN10]

Big, Crispy, Egg Rolls, I used ground chicken, shredded carrots, sliced cabbage, celery, scallions, bean sprouts, a little ginger, and soy. I love me those crispy fat boys every so often. Served them with a spicy dipping sauce.

[inaplasticcup]

Sometimes my love of produce gets ahead of me, and I have to catch up, so I took just about all the old veg that was fixing to wilt along with a tray of shrimp and made this spicy curried shrimp and veg stoup served over steamed jasmine rice.

I put a healthy dose of cayenne in there, and right now, I'm really loving how that stuff cools you from the inside out (with the help of a glass of sauv blanc/verdejo).

Apologies in advance for the Rachael Rae-ism... :)

[L.Nightshade]

You are an artist with your produce! I'm facing a similar situation, the dregs of the CSA, and looking for something in the COTM, or in my depleted imagination, that will fit what I have. You do a beautiful job of it!

[inaplasticcup]

You should post what you have here and let the motley WFD crew have at it! :)

[L.Nightshade]

That is actually a good idea. I did pull together a dinner tonight, using all the produce that was ready to walk out. But I now have a big bag of green beans staring me down. We've gotten beans every week in the CSA, and I've had enough! Anyone have an idea for a different, tasty green bean prep?

[linguafood]

Dry-fried green beans, Fuchsia Dunlop, COTM. Awesomeness.

[Harters]

Is that the Sichuan dish of green beans & minced pork dish, lingua? A firm favourite of mine at a restaurant in the city.

[buttertart]

And do the preliminary cooking of the beans in the oven (moderate) on a lightly-oiled tray, beans tossed in a bit of oil, until wrinkled and a bit browned. Much easier than pan- or deepfrying. That and ? are WFD here tonight. (If you can't find the pickled veg for them, a reasonable substitute - not ideal, but reasonable - is finely-chopped garlic dill pickle in about half measure. Dill is used in nothern and western Chinese cooking more than one might think.)

[linguafood]

It is indeed, and also one of my absolute favorite Sichuan dishes. We often have vegetarians joining us for our weekly jour fixe, so we get the vegetarian version which is made with pickled vegetables chopped very, very finely. It was at first a fun guessing game what those tasty black specks were.... I like it just as much as the original version with pork.

[L.Nightshade]

Cool. Just found this one online, after seeing your post. Next on the list. Thanks!

[crowmuncher]

apology accepted :) your shrimp looks fantastic!

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, cm! :P

[steve h.]

Fish: Chilean sea bass is on the menu. Orzo will be on the side. Wine to be determined.

[LindaWhit]

Nothing taken out of the freezer, so cream cheese scrambled eggs and toast to the rescue for dinner tonight.

[crowmuncher]

breakfast for dinner- i love that!

[LindaWhit]

Yeah, well - all good intentions and all that rot. Never happened. By the time I got downstairs (Email issues), it was close to 9pm. So I went with a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk. :-)

[crowmuncher]

good ole pb&j- nothing more convenient than that :)

[LindaWhit]

Ummm...I was too lazy to get the j. It was just the pb.

And then, of course, I looked like a dog trying to scrape it from the roof of my mouth. :-)

[mariacarmen]

AAHHAHAA I LOVE THAT VISUAL!

[Harters]

So, months ago, we went to one of the those "secret supper clubs" - it was authentic home-style Punjabi food, by the way. I'm chatting with the guy sat next to me and he says he'll let me have his recipe for "naam tok salad". Which he does. And it's been sat in the "to cook" file until tonight.

Now I have no idea how authentic this might be or, even, if it is authentic at all. Nor do I care one jot. I care how things taste not whether they're authentic.

Anyway, some steak got cooked on the griddle pan and was then sliced and mixed with the dressing - thinly sliced onion, viciously strong birdseye chillis, chopped coriander, fish auce, sugar, lime juice. It should also have had a little rice powder - made by toasting rice and then grinding it to a powder, with Kaffir lime leaves - but, frankly, I couldnt be arsed.

Rice as carb. And just thinly sliced white cabbage and cucumber as the salad.

Thanks, Jules

[buttertart]

Sounds terrific.

[mariacarmen]

non-arsed steak over rice sounds wonderful.

[mamachef]

Many enchiladas of assorted types at work; sided with salad and rice. At home, it's a couch surf for me: Garlic triscuits, garlic boursin, salami, pepsi and Altoids. :)

[buttertart]

And Pepcid?

[mamachef]

I take two of those beforehand things in the morning. :) I'm greedy, not stupid. :)

[onceadaylily]

I think I'm about to undertake making my first batch of seitan. I've decided to bake it rather than boil it, and am still trying to pin down the seasonings, but I think I'm going with an onion, garlic, fennel, and sage combination. I'm still a bit confused, as the blogs tend to contradict each other: more than one has you roll the concoction in a log shape, wrap it tightly in foil (to avoid it becoming puffy and 'bread-like') and then bake, but for fake ribs, you press it into a pan, slice it, and bake it. Would the fake ribs not puff up? Huh. I guess we'll find out.

Barbecued strips of seitan is what's for dinner (the veggie boards call them 'ribz', but I refuse to do that). These will either be eaten with our fingers, or in a sandwich. Roasted sweet potato fries and a spicy, limey, garlicky, cilantro-heavy coleslaw will go with. A small bowl of grated onion will garnish whatever he wants to garnish. It will be a late and hurried meal. The boy is working a clopen, so food and to bed, and only three hours sleep for him, poor guy.

[inaplasticcup]

I had no idea that you're supposed to bake seitan. I think I had it once upon a time, and it was probably stir fried or something.

Good luck. Report back. :)

[onceadaylily]

When you make it from scratch, you have to either bake it or boil it to produce what you can then toss into a stir fry, or roll into sausages, or whatever. The store-bought stuff has already undergone that first bit of cooking. Most of the complaints about seitan being rubbery seem to be related to the boiled product.

Seitan is made from vital wheat gluten flour, and the process is very much like making bread. You make to mix and knead the wheat meat. Let's hope I'm better at this than I am at bread, shall we?

[inaplasticcup]

For your sake, I hope you're better at seitan than I am at bread, too.

[L987]

im waiting for the chicken thats on the oven right now. Tonight I kept it very simple, butter, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, chiliflakes. Mix and rub all over the chicken. put in the oven and pour a glass of white wine over. Im just gonna serve it with a nice salad, no carbs for me :)

[linguafood]

Well, last night was a bit of a hodgepodge dinner, as I was scheduled for a (new) band rehearsal in the early eve.

I made a shrimp salad with poached shrimp, finely diced celery, avocado & red peppers, a bit of flying fish roe, Duke's, sriracha, Cajun seasoning mix, and lemon; I also made a caprese with baby roma tomatoes, cilegieni mozza & diced avocado, and some very nice Chinese dumplings from the freezer.

Rehearsal got cancelled last minute, so we ate this strange meal and then got wasted on my scotch collection.

Tonight, as it is sunny and summery out -- quite possibly the *last* summer day before temps drop significantly -- I think burgers off the grill are in order, maybe even a few more ears of corn to go with them.

My girilfriend from Berlin is in town and seriously craving American food. Mmmmmmmmburgers.

[Berheenia]

Allrecipes to the rescue- we are recuperating from a BIG wedding and too much volunteerism on my part and were down to some neglected CSA veg and a beef kielbasa (the sell by dates are months out and this one was from early August)- when this meat and potatoes recipe appeared in my gmail!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Polish-M...

[buttertart]

My husband would absolutely adore that dish. Must make the next time I feel like being nice to him.

[LindaWhit]

My husband would absolutely adore that dish. Must make the next time I feel like being nice to him.

::::Giggle::::: That's just freakin' brilliant, bt. :-D

[buttertart]

If it involves kielbasa, I really have to feel like it :^)

[inaplasticcup]

<giggles>

[LindaWhit]

:::double giggling:::::

We can be so juvenile sometimes. :-D

[buttertart]

Or adult! ;-)

[crowmuncher]

made a blackbean dip (w/cheese) last night and some guac; had that with chips and leftover veggie rice- that's it

[BananaBirkLarsen]

Tonight was an impromptu burrito night. The kind where nobody feels like walking to the store, so you make do with whatever you can find in the fridge.

Onion, garlic, green bell pepper, pre-cooked cilantro-chipotle turkey sausage and a can of black beans, sauteed with cumin, paprika, lime juice and home pickled jalapenos (my first try, and they came out great, if I do say so myself). Sort of fajita-like, actually -- heavy on the peppers, not so heavy on the protein. All in a flour tortilla with salsa, guacamole and some grated cheese (muenster, 'cause that's all we had).

A glass of iced earl grey tea, with lime on the side, as well as some of the carrots and onions I pickled with the jalapenos. All in all, very satisfying (although I wish the sausages had been a little more closely related to chorizo and a little less closely related to hot dogs).

[crowmuncher]

love anything taco or burrito night :)

[L.Nightshade]

Pasta dishes seem to be the fallback for busy days in the Nightshade house, and tonight is no exception.
First course was roasted cauliflower with olives and capers, next we had grilled zucchini with basil and lemon (from the COTM).
The main course was simply pasta (orecchiette) tossed with several varieties of farm fresh tomatoes, garlic, wonderful Italian sausage from our local ranch (also grilled), parmesan reggiano, and herbs from the garden. Now, I'm pretty much a black thumb, but we've suddenly got huge pompoms of basil, parsley, and oregano (among others) so they all got trimmed and tossed in. We're finally having warm sunny days, so I have to indulge in summery foods.

[buttertart]

Pompoms. Like it, can see them.

[ChristinaMason]

Tonight we made a riff on Turkish beef and eggplant moussaka, using this recipe as a jumping off point: http://www.turkishcookbook.com/2005/0...

Some tiny purple and white eggplant were halved, salted, drained, and browned on both sides in batches in a bit of olive oil. Those went onto the bottom of a large glass casserole dish. Then a finely diced onion and two cloves of garlic went in for a sautee, joined shortly thereafter by 1 lb. of ground beef, red and purple diced bell peppers, and half a can of pureed San Marzano tomatoes. Salt, pepper, hot pepper flake, garlic, onion powder, and paprika oomphed up the flavor of the sauce before it was poured over the eggplant. Into the oven at 350F for 20 min. and served over white rice with a slick of cucumber-dill-yogurt sauce, it was a fine meal.

Homemade hummus with cukes and carrots to start and a palmful of chocolate chips for dessert.

[buttertart]

Yum. Madhur Jaffrey has a similar recipe (beef more spiced-up) with tomato slices on top of the eggplant and the top covered with slices of boiled potato, a bit of butter, and some thyme (if you like it, I don't particularly). Mr. No More Casseroles Please likes this one.

[ChristinaMason]

I like the sound of that. Funnily enough, I nearly added potato and skipped the rice.

[buttertart]

It's really quite nice (even if my formerly-macro dear friend's head revolves on her neck at the thought of 3 count them 3 nightshade vegs in the same dish).
It's from one of MJ's UK books*, suggested as an after-theatre supper with a lemony green salad (you can prep it and heat it up later).

* my first step on the slippery slope to perdition, it was the first cookbook I ordered from overseas.

[suburban_mom]

Deviled chicken legs, baked beans, salad. Simple, quick, tasty

[mariacarmen]

WHAT are in deviled chicken legs?? i'm so very intrigued.

[inaplasticcup]

I was wondering the same...

[suburban_mom]

They arent anything fancy. Recipe is on Epicurious. Chicken legs (I took the skin off because I had time), toss them in dijon, dredge in mixture of panko, parmesan, cayenne, melted butter and bake at 450 for 30 minutes or so (mine took a little longer because I had some big ones). They were really good and relatively quick to make.

My high school aged boy ate 4 and the middle school aged boy ate 3.

[twodales]

Summery hot day here in Chicago so it was Salade Nicoise tonight. I added olives, anchovies and a boiled egg to my bit and compromised with chicken instead of tuna to please you know who. A lovely bit of artisan baguette on the side to mop up the juicy bits. Perfect meal as far as I am concerned.

BTW I used an old Julia child recipe for the French potato salad, with a little bit of vermouth and chicken broth. Just the way I like it made.

[onceadaylily]

Perfect meal for the beautiful day we had here yesterday, twodales. Could you give more details for the JC potato salad? Was it served warm?

[twodales]

Hi lily! Here is the Julia recipe in my own words. I generally serve it room temperature-ish as a part of this salad.

The amounts are rough so feel free to adjust as you see fit.

Pommes de Terre ala Huile (French Potato Salad) for about 3 cups

3 red potatoes

2 t dry white vermouth

2 t chicken broth

1 and a 1/2 oz of the vinaigrette

1 T minced shallots (or scallions)

1 T minced parsley

Boil or steam the potatoes in their jackets until just tender. Peel and slice while still warm. Toss gently in the mixing bowl with the wine and broth, and after several minutes, toss again. Don't worry if they fall apart a bit. When liquid has been absorbed by the potatoes, toss with the vinaigrette, shallots or scallions and parsley.

The vinaigrette has a bit of dry mustard, tarragon and shallots in it too. The original recipe came from The French Chef from the 60's. I inherited my copy from my Grandma.

Link to the cover so you can see what the book looks like. http://www.amazon.com/French-Chef-Coo...

[onceadaylily]

Oh, that looks lovely! The perfect year-round potato salad. Thank you. And lucky you are to have inherited that book! You must just treasure it.

Stay warm, td. I am stubbornly *not* putting on socks (though I do have the heat on).

[twodales]

Enjoy the potato salad. It's so simple and can be adjusted for different herbs. I happen to love tarragon. That little bit of broth (could do veggie broth too) and the vermouth make a difference.

Can you believe this weather? 2 days ago I wrote that it was 85. 40 tonight. No heat yet but do have a sweater on.

Tempting to bring out last years glogg!

[JungMann]

Today was a diet dinner. In the olden low-carb days, that might mean one of my favorite meat salads: fuqi feipian, a hodgepodge of beef bits in a slick of spicy chili oil with doubanjiang and cooling studs of Szechuan peppercorn. The heat has the spice fiend in me positively buzzing in such a way that even a small serving can be exhaustingly orgasmic. It's the light meal to end all light meals. Tonight, though, I am relying on calorie-free konnyaku/shirataki to stand in for beef tripe. Sliced thinly and dressed with a pre-made sauce doctored with doubanjiang and chopped cilantro stems, it sings, it burns, it cools and, best of all, it is low calories. Dessert was 2 beers. For a bit of a carbohydrate lift after the gym, of course.

[mariacarmen]

vicarious spasms here.... need a ciggie. i have been so completely lame in STILL not purchasing/cooking with Szechuan peppercorn. MUST try. i'm going back to low-points land, and need something that wakes up the mouth but leaves little dent on the bod. a little more detail, if you could? or am i just being lazy to not look up fuqi feipian? it is almost 3 a.m. tho....

[JungMann]

Fuqi feipian is typically made of chewy bits of beef: tongue, tripe, shin, tendon, poached with aromatics (star anise, cassia, ginger) and then cooled. Arranged on a platter, they are served with a complex dressing that I can't quite place. There's plenty of fiery red chili oil, perhaps some ginger, lots of Sichuan peppercorn, Chinese celery, chopped peanuts and cilantro so that it burns and cools and every bite pops and slithers in your mouth. It's a great introduction to ma la and if you don't like offal, the konnyaku has just as much texture without the calories.

[buttertart]

The konnyaku is a great idea - does it taste of anything? Must confess I cop a feel of the packages when I see them, love their slippery firmness.
Reminds me somewhat of the Lijiang doufu I had in Beijing - mung bean starch curd/thick gel with basically mapo doufu seasonings and some pi dan (preserved egg) bits...that'd be up your street, JM, I should think? I bought the mung bean starch but am stumped on how to make the curd.

[JungMann]

White konnyaku is generally tasteless, but you can buy a greyish konnyaku with seaweed that has a very light marine flavor. Is lijiang doufu the same as liang fen? There is a Sichuanese liang fen dish made with largely the same dressing as fuqi feipian that served as the inspiration for my salad, although there are obviously more calories and carbohydrates in liangfen than konnyaku.

While I have never made liangfen, your recipe might have given me the encouragement I need. I think all it takes is hot water added to the starch and some time to set.

[buttertart]

Very similar (if not the same exactly), light purplish color (but no taro flavor, I was told it was mung bean). Served hot. I love that liang fen dish (Szechuan Gourmet 39th?) too.

[inaplasticcup]

The Man's been craving one of his favorite meals lately so I took the rest of the boiled chicken from lunch to make baked chimichangas with Monterey Jack. Fresh pico de gallo and avocado to go with...

[buttertart]

Was up for therapeutic cooking yesterday and decided to recycle some cooked pork shoulder into a simulacrum of a Joyce Goldstein recipe for braised pork with red peppers that I had made with raw pork several years ago (also had some red peppers in that needed using up).

Browned an onion, added about 7 cloves of minced garlic and the pork (about 1 1/2 lb, I'd say), cut into roughly 1 inch cubes, a half bottle of Chablis that was left over from a week ago, enough water to cover, a bay leaf, and a Knorr chicken bouillon cube.

Halved 2 large field tomatoes and put them skin side down to simmer a bit so I could peel them. Fished them out, peeled them, and cut them into smallish cubes which I chucked back into the pot.

Banged it into the oven to cook at various temperatures while I baked an apple pie (KA Baker's Companion "Favorite Apple Pie", a very nice one with cream in it - I added a very few currants)and roasted a passel of green beans to be used in dry-fried green beans tomorrow night (this worked very well, I hate the frying step because it always triggers my smoke alarms).

After an hour or so added the red peppers, cut in 1" squares, and let it continue to cook.

Made a pizza caccia nanza (Beard on Bread), pizza dough stretched out, studded with garlic slivers, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, to go with it. That plus the stew, a Belgian endive salad (with the sempiternal walnuts) and the apple pie for dessert made a dinner that was both therapeutic in the making and soothing in the eating.

Tonight is going to be tacos with chicken stewed with red chiles, pico de gallo, guacamole, chips, etc. If it's Monday it's amost always Mexican(ish) here.

[L.Nightshade]

It all sounds great. I love reading your posts. I belong to the simulacra school of cooking myself.

[buttertart]

Thank you! It was just nice being holed up in the kitchen avoiding the news as much as possible.

[ChristinaMason]

That stew sounds perfect for this cooler weather, especially with the garlicky flatbread.

[inaplasticcup]

That's the kind of day in the kitchen that makes you feel accomplished. I am specially intrigued by the apple pie. Do you make your crust by hand or processor?

[buttertart]

I use the CI vodka crust - fat cut into the flour with the FP and the water/vodka in by hand. Pastry has always been my bugaboo (my mother's was terrific, mine has really only gotten better since this recipe). The filling is 5 c peeled and diced apples, 3/4 c sugar, 1/2 tsp (I used 1/4) cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 2/3 c cream (half and half or heavy cream, I used the latter), 1/2 tsp salt, added 2 tb currants; double-crust 9" pie, 15 mins at 450 deg F and about 50 more at 350 (I'd go with 375 the next time, this didn't brown as much as I'd like).

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks for this. I've heard lots about the vodka crust. Think I might try to make some apple pie this year. I'm a horrible baker.

[somervilleoldtimer]

Now would you please tell me more about the beans? My daughter, born in January, always asks for dry-fried green beans for her birthday. Can't open the windows because we live in Massachusetts (cold!!!!!) and we don't have a hood. So I would love a no-smoke trick, please.

[buttertart]

Is easy, somervilleot. Line baking sheet with foil, spray w PAM. Top and tail the beans, cut the big ones in half. Toss in a bowl with a tb of oil, make sure they all get covered (this amount of oil did for 2 lb+ of beans). Turn out on baking sheet (I used half-sheet, they were not all in 1 layer but it mattered not). Baked at 325 deg F, then 450 deg F, then 350 deg F (because other stuff was baking at those temps) for about an hour (I'm sure you could do them at 400 for 30-45 mins, just keep an eye on them and stir them up once about halfway through. I'll be making the dish tomorrow night and will take their pic before I use them, but they came out wrinkled and slightly browned as they are supposed to be.

[LindaWhit]

I've been remiss in posting WFD....mostly because I was eating out a larger portion of the weekend. Went out with a group of friends on Friday night - pretty damn bad chicken tenders for a nosh. At least the wine was good (albeit damn expensive at $12/glass!) Breakfast out with a friend Saturday morning - meh.

Dinner out with *same* friend at a local-to-me Italian restaurant - pretty good and a wonderful pumpkin cake for dessert. Breakfast out on Sunday just after noontime at a local-to-me waffle house - SUPERB! LOL This is a place I'll go to again and again - even on my own. Love sitting at the counter with fresh OJ, a good cuppa joe, and a hearty breakfast. :-)

ANYWAY....I finally got to cook last night - it was late, and I had taken out chicken thighs, so Chicken Paprikash cleared out some sour cream and Greek yogurt from the fridge. Works for me. I served it over basmati rice and with steamed asparagus on the side.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7409...

[inaplasticcup]

I made some Vietnamese steamed chicken today (which was actually boiled because I wanted the stock). A ginger nuoc cham dipping sauce on the side, which is typical. Steamed jasmine rice, also typical. Pickled peppers/carrots/onions in lieu of the pickled cabbage you usually get. And a green cabbage, onion, celery, cilantro and avocado salad for roughage.

If I make dinner tonight, it'll be a shredded chicken something or other to use up the leftovers...

[GretchenS]

Ina, as usual, gorgeous pics of gorgeous food! I seem to remember that you had instructions for making lightly pickled veggies in a Japanese pickle box. I finally acquired one of those over the weekend but I can't seem to find the instructions (although I sure had a good time poking around looking for them). Did I remember wrong about where I saw those? Or could you give me a hint about what to search on? Thanks!

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, Gretchen! Did you mean the stuff pictured below? That's Korean bahnchahn, and if you search "bahnchahn", it should be the only post that comes up.

But if you're sure it was Japanese style pickles, you might have seen them on another blog... I'm asking around to see if I can find you a good recipe. :)

[GretchenS]

I guess it was another blog but I'm glad I misremebered and got to spend a bunch of time on yours! I did see the bahnchan post and thought it looked yummy, as indeed all your food always does....

To stay on topic, I made a simple late summer meal last night of grilled swordfish, with steamed green beans tossed with lightly roasted Sungold cherry tomatoes and grape tomatoes. For that application, I prefer the tomatoes roasted till just softened a bit, rather than caramelized. Served with a crisp New Zealand sauv blanc.

[inaplasticcup]

That made me smile, Gretchen. Thanks. :)

This may or may not be the one you were looking at, but BombayUpWithATwist wrote on J-pickles:

http://www.myhomecookedmeals.blogspot...

I am now also drinking some SB (+verdejo). Cheers!

[GretchenS]

You are absolutely correct, that is what I was thinking of, how kind of you to dig it up for me! It makes me sad that BUWAT doesn't post on these threads anymore.

[inaplasticcup]

Me too. :(

[L.Nightshade]

Just beautiful, everything looks so fresh and bright.
My work load has multiplied, and so much else is going on. I feel totally off of cooking right now. But looking at your photos almost inspires me to run into the kitchen!

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, Nightshade! Hope the workload backs off a bit so you can get back inspiring us.

[JungMann]

I am trying to eat lightly and steamed chicken seems perfect. How do you make yours?

[inaplasticcup]

JM, while the dish is traditionally steamed, since I like to get the stock from the chicken, I just simmered a roughly 3.5 pound whole chicken over medium heat in enough water to cover by an inch with about a tablespoon of kosher salt for about 30 minutes after bringing it to a boil over medium high heat.

You can steam the same size chicken for 35 to 40 minutes and use the salt to season the chicken directly rather than the water. The traditional sauce is usually a basic nuoc cham with a little bit of fresh ginger and garlic.

[JungMann]

No marinade or seasoning in the steaming dish? I'm no expert on Vietnamese, but the recipes and techniques I do know seem so rich with herbs and spices, I have to admit I'm surprised by the simplicity, though this is probably sheer delight with a well-raised chicken.

[inaplasticcup]

Just salt! All the flavor is in the chicken and the dipping sauce. It really is deliciously simple. I like to put a little fresh julienned ginger and scallion on top of the chicken and that mixed with the sauce, plus a bite of steamed rice is how it's typically served.

I always like a little bit of the tang and crunch of some kind of pickled veg on the side. Usually they serve a little bit of quick pickled green cabbage and carrot in a basic salt/ sugar/ white vinegar brine.

[weezieduzzit]

Yesterday I used "We're out of bones for the dog" as an excuse to make two large slabs of beef back ribs (rubbed, slow cooked in the oven until pulling right off the bone, then sauced and finished on the grill with a side of grilled zucchini.

Today I'm making stock that will be used in tonight's white chicken chili to be topped with jalapeno cream cheese and served with cheddar/green chili cornbread and kale if we have any, a big spinach salad if not. Its 10:15 am and I'm already hungry for dinner....... its going to be a long day....

[twodales]

Beef ribs are such a treat.

[HillJ]

This recipe for egg in a hole grilled cheese http://acozykitchen.com/egg-in-a-hole... is definately a part of the lineup.

[inaplasticcup]

<drools...> Runny yolk and gooey cheese in the same sandwich...

[HillJ]

The egg/grilled cheese combo was so comforting and easy. I served it with homemade pear sauce and chai lattes.

[Harters]

I’m writing this sat on the patio of the villa, surrounded by pots of Mediterranean plants. A few hundred metres away, the northern Mallorcan own of Pollensa is set before me, rising up the hill that’s topped by a small chapel that, in previous times, played a greater part in the spiritual lives of the population, the more religious of whom still climb the 365 Calvari steps on Good Friday.

We’d decided to eat in tonight. It was Pollensa’s weekly market this Sunday morning, so we knew we’d be making everything at its very freshest.

On the table in front of me, an aperitif – Bitter Kas – vivid pink, non-alcoholic, not sweet, it’s my drink of choice in Spain. I’m picking at a dish of marinated anchovies – bought at the market – full of sweet, fishy flavour. The guy who sold me them also sold me local olives. He scooped up a big ladle full into a plastic bag and gave me a quizzical look. “Mas, por favour”, I said. Another big ladleful went in. I love these olives. They just give them a bash to crack the flesh and leave them to marinate for months. It leaves them salty, bitter and “al dente”. Perhaps there’s a term for “al dente” in the local dialect of Catalan or even in Castilian but, if there is, I don’t know it.

As I’ve been writing, the sun has disappeared behind the mountains that form the backdrop to the town. There’s a warm glow still there, but dusk has fallen quickly and the lights of the town are starting to come on........

......It’s now later and dinner has been cooked, eaten and the crockery washed and stacked.

We’d bought several red peppers at the market. Big, uneven ones – the sort you’d never get in a north European supermarket, where consistency in size, colour are more important than taste. You known these are going to taste fantastic. I’d roasted them till the skins were black. I peeled off the skin (yes, it was a faff) and tore them into pieces. Dressed with olive oil , garlic and parsley, these formed our starter – eaten with the chewy, slightly underflavoured “pan integral” that we’d bought from a little baker’s shop in town.

A roasted chicken now sat before us – the smell of garlic and tarragon and olive oil wafting towards us. The skin had crisped wonderfully. The flesh had stayed moist. This was roast chicken of dreams! Alongside, the potatoes were the ones we always call “little crispies” – 2cm cubes tossed in oil and roasted, with whole cloves of garlic, alongside the chicken. And the final purchase from the market – green beans – judias as the Mallorcans call them, as they seem to call all beans. Simply boiled. Properly boiled – none of this modernista “al dente” nonsense with beans for us.

And there was dessert. “Fet a Soller” orange and fig ice creams. That’s “Made in Soller” ice cream. Twenty miles away, over the mountains, this is the brother-in-law’s home town. In amongst the inevitable tourism, fruit is still grown as a sizeable business and the local enterprising farmers co-operative has now branched out into making these premium products. I just know a bottle of “Fet a Soller” olive oil will be coming home with us.

So there it was. Our first “at home” dinner of the fortnight. There’s only one decision left – should we drive to the beach, ten minutes away, for walk? Or should it just be a moonlight dip in the pool? Or just coffee in front of the TV?

(PS: There was lots of leftover chicken and green beans. That was lunch next day, along with some fresh crusty bread from the bakers. Everything dunked in a fiery allioli, sharpened with the last of the tarragon. For “afters”, a few figs and one of those flat “doughnut” shaped peaches. The locals call them “Paraguayans”. It wa

[Harters]

A few days have passed and we’ve been out and enjoyed some nice dinners and lunches. It’s time to cook again. We’ve scored some charcoal from the supermarket, so I’m going to BBQ a couple of steaks. Now I know it’s unmanly to admit this – but I’m crap at BBQing. I just don’t think it’s in the genes of north European men to cook over fire. Perhaps, our climate means that we get no practice. Certainly, this is the first time in at least two years that I’ve cooked outside. And, even by the probably generally poor standards of north Europeans, I am particularly crap at this.

Along with the steaks , some big slices of red pepper and courgette go on. We dress them in oil, lemon juice and parsley. The steaks are fine, if more than a little overcooked but, at least, I have managed to keep them looking like steaks and not lumps of charred “stuff”, which is my usual offerings from the BBQ. They taste OK as well. Meanwhile, my companion in life has wedged some spuds, tossed them in oil and bunged them in the oven. They come out perfect – crispy outside, soft & fluffy inside.

Next to the house is a huerto. Now I don’t know if it belongs to this house or to a neighbour. But a forage found “afters” – sweet red grapes, a few blackberries and juicy ripe figs. We had a mixture with some ice cream.

There’s leftover courgettes and leftover figs. They’re coming with us tomorrow when we drive up the mountains for a picnic lunch.

Bon profit!

[inaplasticcup]

That is so truly lovely, Harters. Thank you. :)

[Harters]

It’s the start of our second week here, but we’ve got ideas for several restaurant dinners before we come home, so this may be the last time we do any serious cooking. And, even then, tonight the starter is coming straight from the fridge. We still have some marinated anchovies from last weeks “hunter gathering” at the market. They’ll probably get draped over a little bread to form a tapa. And there’s the olives we bought at this morning’s market trip. The stall holder said they were the new season’s and were strong tasting.

The centrepiece of the main course is tumbet. Now this is one of the staples of Mallorcan cuisine. It crops up on all the restaurant menus amongst the “traditional”favourites. And it’s so versatile – you’ll see it as a starter, as a vegetarian main course or, as we’re having it, as an accompaniment to meat.

You take potatoes (the small waxy kind), courgette, red peppers and aubergine. Slice them and fry them, individually, till they’re cooked. The individual frying is important to make sure they don’t become a mush. This isn’t ratatouille – although it’s a damn good to prep ratatouille. You then put them into an ovenproof serving dish – keeping everything in the layers (it doesn’t matter which order they go in). Meanwhile, you’ve cooked your favourite tomato sauce – ours was just onion, garlic and some of the plum toms that were in the market – looked manky, tasted delicious. Most of the sauce goes on top. A layer of foil covers the dish and it goes in the oven for 20 minutes or so to heat through . We’ve kept a little sauce back and will add this when we serve it up by way of presentation.

And then there’s the meat. And because this is Spain, it’s piggy. Thin slices of loin, no more than 5mm thick, bought from the supermarket. A quick fry; pan deglazed with white wine; squeeze of lemon.

Ice cream and fruit for “afters”.

Later on, we’ll drive down to beach and join the paseo along the Pine Walk, ogling at the expensive properties that line it. Well, you can dream about winning the Euro lottery, can’t you?

[ChristinaMason]

Loving the travel/eatlogue!

[roxlet]

How can you torture us all this way, Harters? This sounds like a vacation you'd have in a dream.

[buttertart]

It surely does.

[LindaWhit]

I'm LOVING the food travelogue, Harters! You and Mrs. H are having a wonderful holiday - thanks so much for sharing with us on the WFD board. Sounds heavenly. :-)

[twodales]

Harters, I am of course happy for you but so envious that I can say no more.

[onceadaylily]

Well, you've managed to push every button I have for a complete jealousy, Harters. Anchovies not from a tin, beautiful olives, creamy beans, chicken with tarragon, fresh bread, freshly made ice cream, and figs. You can dream about the expensive properties if you like, but where you are sounds like heaven to me. What a lovely account.

I can't grill very well either.

[GretchenS]

Harters, great to hear from you, sounds like you are having a wonderful holiday! My stomach is growling over your descriptions of food and I already ate lunch....

[Harters]

We had a great time, Gretchen. Arrived back in north west England on Saturday. It's cold, windy and I am beyond miserable.

Tonight, sea bass tacos - a Valentine Warner recipe (from "What to eat now?". http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/cri...

[L.Nightshade]

Glad you are home safely, but it must be hard to return. I loved reading your narratives. The way you described the food created a picture of your entire experience there. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[somervilleoldtimer]

Can I please come live with you?

[Harters]

This might depend on your gender, oldtimer. Mrs H says I already spend too much time with my "chow chicks". LOL.

[LindaWhit]

:::Harters has a harem, Harters has a harem::::::: :-D

[somervilleoldtimer]

And for good reason!

[mariacarmen]

ahahahahahaha! i love it.

[mariacarmen]

oh harters, so good to have you back. i knew within the first few syllables it was you. Bon profit y buen provecho!

[crowmuncher]

since my brunch was so satisfying (quinoa cakes w/melted munster cheese on top and an egg on top of that), i didn't make an event out of dinner; i was making a pot of black beans and a pot of brown rice for the week and i just took a little on a small plate and had it just to say "i had dinner"

[ChristinaMason]

Those quinoa cakes sound fantastic.

[crowmuncher]

they were way more than i even thought they would be; thinking of making more quinoa tonight just so i can have leftovers for cakes :)

[ChristinaMason]

Try a mushroom ragout on top and a little grated parm in the quino cakes---great combo.

[crowmuncher]

i did use some parm in the quinoa cakes, but have yet to explore combining it with mushrooms (which i love)- sounds likes a good plan to me

[BananaBirkLarsen]

Hamburgers tonight, on toasted, crusty sourdough, with melted muenster, caramelized onions, guacamole, ketchup and dijon. Lots of garlic and cumin in the meat.

Tomato salad on the side, with mushrooms (sauteed with lime, cumin and garlic, then chilled), black olives and the end bit of blue cheese from a package I found in the cheese drawer. I used a bottled honey french dressing, doctored up with lime juice, cider vinegar and spicy Chinese mustard. The dressing mixed with juice from the tomatoes and mushrooms was perfect for dipping the burger in right before taking a bite.

[somervilleoldtimer]

Hmmmm.

[somervilleoldtimer]

Oh, tonight I can brag! I made the most delicious seafood risotto, based on the shrimp risotto from Bagliella's (??) cookbook. And zucchini from the garden, although I really prefer summer squash.

[JEN10]

Seafood risotto sounds delicious, what did you put in it?

[somervilleoldtimer]

Sea scallops and shrimp, from the freezer (would normally have started with fresh, but trying to clean up the freezer, and it was great anyway!) And mussels, fresh. Also parsley, garlic, rice, white wine, butter, olive oil, and lemon zest at the end. Had never made it before, was cautious, but it was absolutely delicious!

[JEN10]

Thank you I will give it a try. I love lemon zest, it just does it for me.

[inaplasticcup]

How did you prepare the zucchini?

[somervilleoldtimer]

The same way I do summer squash. More or less peeled it, cut into slices about 1/4" thick, put in pan with a good glug of EVOO, high heat, shifting it around and flipping it so it carmelizes on both sides, then toward the end adding lots of chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Good, but not as good as summer squash which gets that delicious nutty flavor.

[inaplasticcup]

Simple and delicious. Thank you for sharing your recipe. :)

[inaplasticcup]

We went to the beach, and the ever intrepid girlchild found a single, live clam, which I naturally got super excited about. So I brought it home and made a broth with some ginger, onion, jalapeno and a little fish sauce to steam it in. Squeeze of lemon, too.

Actual dinner was from the Golden Arches.

[ChristinaMason]

Fun! Did she like it?

[somervilleoldtimer]

Sweet!

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks! We'd previously established that she doesn't like clams (yet), so she told us to share it, and we did gratefully. It's rare to spot live clams where we are.

I don't know what type of clam this was - reminded me of cherrystones. The shell was smoother than most cherrystones I've had, but the texture was similar.

[crowmuncher]

i was just going to ask if that has happened to you before since i've never been lucky enough to find a live clam at the beach :)

[chef chicklet]

wow! in comparison to your thumb (or who's thumb) that is one big clam! Beautiful, I would be scouting that beach from now on. Too bad you didn't find a bed of them.

[Rubee]

Last night was Mexican. Camarones con chile guajillo (with garlic and dried chiles, butter, olive oil, shrimp stock, tequila and a little lime juice) with tortillas, and romaine salad with cilantro-caesar dressing. The cocktail was "And to All a Good Night" with tequila, bourbon and Cherry Heering:
http://www.imbibemagazine.com/And-to-...

I fed the football-watching guys nachos earlier, and tonight will be turkey pot pie.

[Rubee]

Turkey pot pie was a hit, especially with E's son. I ended up cheating when I found a can of Pillsbury Grands in the garage refrigerator, so used them for the top instead of making my own crust (cut the biscuits into quarters, brushed them with butter, and sprinkled with shredded cheese and black pepper).

[GretchenS]

That looks completely amazing Rubee, would you share the recipe please? Just undertook to cook once a month for the very large (7 kids) family up the street and that looks like just the ticket for next month. (This week it's baked ziti.)

[mariacarmen]

jeeeez gretchen, that is quite an undertaking! i know you've already got your dad.... so very generous of you.

[GretchenS]

Like everyone here, I love to cook and the mom up the street HATES to cook so it seems like a no-brainer. Can you imagine how awful life would be if you hated to cook and had all those kids to feed??? And speaking of dads, how did the big move go over the weekend?

[mariacarmen]

suffice to say, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. (we're talking flat tires, people who flaked on bringing over a fridge, something bursting in the bathroom so there was gushing water everywhere, AT&T not doing their thing so my dad STILL has no phone, no t.v., and no internet, etc., etc., etc. to top it all off, i did get laid off. VIA TEXT. but the bright side is he's in the house, all the work on it was worth it, and i think he's starting to like it. AND i had an interview today and think I'm getting hired to start Monday. so... i have a few more days left to work on that house! Thanks for asking GS. It also means very soon I'll be cooking again, I hope. me and the boy (he's been doing most of the work on the house with me) are sooooo very sick and tired of take-out pizza, thai food, burgers, sushi (that was the healthy night), rinse, dry, repeat. i actually did cook for my dad tonight - nothing fancy, just pounded chicken breast dredged in herby breadcrumbs, fried til golden & crispy but still very tender for his teeth, salad, and rice with Aji Panco (I found these packets of the stuff in my nearby latino grocery store - it's the chile flavoring without the heat - turns the rice a deep orange and gives it that certain latino something.) he liked. i came home and had take-out pizza.

[GretchenS]

I'm so sorry to hear all that went wrong in the move. We had some issues too but nothing like that! Sounds like a fantastic meal you made your dad, big-time yummy, at least you had the fun of making that, sorry you got stuck with takeout pizza. And wowser, that might be the shortest job search I ever heard about, you seriously rock, mc!

[rabaja]

So sorry you had such a rough time with the move, MC, and your job too, damn! That all sounds like it sucked so much, at some point I hope you started laughing.
Here's to deep breathes and a better week ahead.
Oh, and thems sure sounds like boca burger nights to me! Or maybe that would make it more depressing...

[LindaWhit]

OMG, mc. All of that *and* getting laid off (by TEXT? SERIOUSLY? How freakin' rude is THAT?) I'm glad your dad likes the house *and* that you had an interview and are *hopefully* starting Monday.

[sunflwrsdh]

Oh, no, mariacarmen! Sounds like a terrible move and so sorry about the layoff as well. Glad to hear things are starting to look up a bit for you! And getting back to cooking is always a good thing!

[mariacarmen]

thanks everyone! i GOT THE JOB! AND A RAISE! i am seriously expecting to be hit by a truck on the way to my first day of work since this much luck in one day is just too much for any one person - the gods WILL be pissed. i will have literally been laid off for 3 whole days - i am starting work on Friday! whoopee!

and tonight, while it's not COOKING, per se, we were just gifted some frozen Filipino goodies - lumpia, some banana wrapped tamale looking things, and empanadas, so the BF is at the stove now, frying, baking and steaming away. (and rabja, if i'da thought far enough ahead to purchase boca burgers, that would have been great!)

[L.Nightshade]

Congratulations dear! I'm so happy for you!

[rabaja]

WoooHooo! So happy for you! The job/raise, yummy Filipino food (so jealous of the lumpia!), you get one more good fortune MC. These things come in three's! The Gods are smiling on you, my dear.

[LindaWhit]

YES! Congratulations, mc!

[JungMann]

Filipino food is perfect for a celebration. It's fiesta time!

Were the tamale-looking things bananas wrapped in lumpia wrapper? If so, those are called turron. If it was a tamale-like item wrapped in banana leaves, depending on the filling it could be anything from suman to Filipino-style tamales.

[mariacarmen]

they were longish, tube-shaped, and banana leaves, and inside was a gelatinous, sticky sweetish-rice (I think) - kind of reminds me of those big fat bundles you see at Vietnamese places. they were pretty good. The empanadas should have been fried along with the lumpia, as they were too crackery when baked. there was also some thick banana slices, which the BF fried up. we ate all with a mixture of hoisin and sriracha, and a bit of mexican crema drizzled over. yum.

[JungMann]

Sounds like your banana leaf-wrapped bundles were suman. If they had been savory and filled with shrimp, pork, chicken and peanuts, you would've had the rare treat of Filipino tamales which you almost never see round these parts.

I'll have to try empanadas with hoisin!

[mariacarmen]

just googled suman, that sounds about right. the other version you describe sounds wonderful. every thing we tried was wonderful with the combo of hoisin and sriracha!

[ChristinaMason]

congratulations, mariacarmen. i'd say it's about time the winds of good karma blew your way! i hope when you finally do make it back into the kitchen, it's to cook a celebratory dinner.

[GretchenS]

That is AWESOME, congratulations, mc. I think the gods have rewarded you for all your hard word helping your oldster, and your luck is very well-deserved.

[twodales]

Congrats! Hope you love the new position. That's the crazy thing about life, you never know what's around the corner.

[mariacarmen]

thank you all!!

[rabaja]

Slow-roasted salmon, summer vegetable tian. I finished roasting my case of Hatch chiles today, and took advantage of the coals to do a couple eggplant. The tian shoule be extra tasty tonight.
I'm pulling out a nice local Cab my Dad gave, and will be having a martini to start things off. Happy Sunday. Wishing peace, love and happiness all around.

[sunflwrsdh]

Home made pizza for us, too. With 5-year-old grand-daughter's help. DH made us home made whole wheat pizza dough before leaving for work at 2:30. We minded the dough, and divided it, and then rolled it into pizza shapes ( gd was entranced at first, but not patient enough to keep rolling till the dough magically turned into a pizza crust,) Homemade tomato sauce from our tomatoes, supplemented by some from my favorite farm stand, topped with garlic and low fat Italian mixed shredded cheeses. Washed down with a wonderful Italian red wine (that someday, I will learn the name of...I select if by the bottle, which has this raffia twisted cork-holder on the top....and the name is Italian, abruzzio something, maybe????) Dessert was also something I'm not sure of the name of.... a peach/plum/claflouti thing from Skinnytaste.com, only she featured it with mixed berries. Anyway, it is delicious and it ap-peas that it can be made from any kind of fruit. I'm going to try apples next.

[inaplasticcup]

I'll bet your granddaughter thinks it's so special that she gets to cook with you. :)

[crowmuncher]

good for you sunflower-i always tell myself that i will make my own crust since it's so easy and i have a recipe- i just never do it for come reason; maybe it's that period of time u must wait til it rises or something? i must be impatient because i've spent way more time preparing meals than that

[sunflwrsdh]

I know, crowmuncher, I seldom make my own dough either, although I would be perfectly capable of doing so. Spoiled by my wonderful husband, who started making all of our bread about a year ago. I just ask for pizza dough, and it appears, bless him!

[HillJ]

It's Sunday, there's football and movies and a toast to friends we lost 10 years ago.

I made portobello fries and basil aioli from, http://acozykitchen.com/portobello-fr...
tossed greens, grilled chicken and eggplant sandwiches and a big, lovely
chocolate cake inscribed with the names of the people we honor today (& everyday).

[sunflwrsdh]

So sorry for your ( and all of our) loss. What a nice way to remember your friends.

[somervilleoldtimer]

I took cookies to the fire fighters at the station around the corner today, to thank them. Such incredible bravery . . .

[twodales]

Thanks for being so thoughtful. It's a nice way to commemorate the day.

[JEN10]

Chicken Satay with an extra kick of Corriander, Spicy Shrimp fried rice, and a cucumber salad with jalapenos, red onions, cilantro, lime juice, and rice vinegar. My mouth is ooooHHHHHHH so satisfied right now.

[somervilleoldtimer]

Mmmmmmmmm.

[ChristinaMason]

In a bid to quickly cool down some homebrew wort, DH used about 1/3 of the meat in our freezer as cooling packs. Thus we're heading into a carnivorous week, starting with tonight's hamburgers.

I've got some 1/4 lb. 80/20 beef patties resting in a light coat of kosher salt, pepper, Montreal Steak Seasoning, a little worcestershire, and minced garlic. They'll be grilled up and served on potato rolls along with baked beans and a marinated cuke-tomato-dill salad. Should have another veg., probably, but I'm not sure what. A long bike ride this afternoon has worn me out :)

[JungMann]

"In a bid to quickly cool down some homebrew wort, DH used about 1/3 of the meat in our freezer as cooling packs. Thus we're heading into a carnivorous week, starting with tonight's hamburgers."

Everything about these two sentences is absolutely brilliant!

[ChristinaMason]

aw, shucks ;)

[sunflwrsdh]

Wishing CH had a "like" button:)

[inaplasticcup]

What are you guys gonna do with the wort, CM?

[ChristinaMason]

DH is brewing a made a fresh-hopped IPA. The yeast was super-active and it's bubbling away like crazy. Hope it turns out well. I'll be doing the drinking.

[inaplasticcup]

Cheers to our homebrewing men, CM!

Sometimes I drink the sweet wort because it reminds me of this Korean rice dessert drink thing called shikhae.

Enjoy your beer, my dear. :)

[linguafood]

Ended up getting a nice 1.5 lb tri-tip steak that is currently marinating in soy, Maggi, and Worcestershire sauce as well as a dash of balsamic vinegar, along with thyme, rosemary, and hot paprika.

Tomatoes are cut up, onions are sweating out their stinkiness with some salt, parsley still needs to be chopped.... the potatoes are diced and ready to be covered in duck fatty goodness before they go in the oven..... and if it stops fucking raining soon, we may be able to light the coals in an hour or so, as planned. Cobs will be boiled.

[ChristinaMason]

YUM! Wish I had some of those taters.

[linguafood]

Yah, they didn't really come out the way I hoped. I diced 3 large russets, tossed them with duck fat, herbs de Provence & sea salt, but they stuck to the foil and got all mushy. There were only a few cripsy bits, and I had envisioned super-crispy browned potato dice.

Perhaps a too starchy choice? I even ice-watered them for an hour or so. Meh. A bit of a waste for the awesome duck fat.

[ChristinaMason]

I'm thinking that maybe the foil packet steamed them to mush. Next time maybe try just roasting on a sheet, so they can get nice and brown?

[buttertart]

I have best luck with duck fat and raw potatoes frying them in a pan on top of the stove. For roast ones, I think they need to be at least parboiled to get crisp (that's how my mom did them, I haven't roasted potatoes in forever).

[mariacarmen]

i agree with this - and i've only done them once (shame on me) - stove top, in a pan. tho i don't remember par-boiling.... they came out crispy, with a cararmelly goodness from the duck fat.

[linguafood]

thx, ladies. i'll do stove-top next time. low and slow?

[buttertart]

High to brown initially and low to cook through.

[inaplasticcup]

I like the sound of that marinade, lingua. (And I had complete faith that you'd clean 'em out! :) )

[Breadcrumbs]

Yesterday I took a trip to the butcher to pick up something to grill as the hot summery days are soon to come to an end however, all intentions of grilling were cast to the wind when I eyed some absolutely scrumptious looking beef short ribs. I brought them home with absolutely no idea what I was going to do with them but I did know that whatever it was, I also need the dish to include mushrooms since I couldn't resist a big bag of creminis and shitakes at the Farmer's Market on Friday.

A quick search in EYB narrowed the contenders and in the end, I decided to make Pasta hankies and brasato al Barolo from "On Top of Spaghetti…: Macaroni, Linguine, Penne, and Pasta of Every Kind" by George Germon and Johanne Killeen. This is the first recipe I'm trying from this lovely book that's new to me - an Abe's purchase on the recommendation of another Hound.

I must say this dish grabbed our attention hours ago as the onions were cooking away in some evoo and the caramelized juices of the meat that had just been seared off in the same pan. It's now been simmering away for almost 3 hours and having just come inside after an afternoon outdoors, this dish sure smells incredible. I hope it doesn't disappoint since Barolo doesn't come cheap!! While I don't have time or the energy to make fresh pasta tonight, I do have some Pappardelle from Italy so that will have to suffice.

I'll let you know how it goes! Happy Sunday dinner everyone!

[Breadcrumbs]

Ok, just me back w an update. If you happen to have this cookbook on hand, please run, don't walk to mark this recipe. . . what an outstanding, decadent pasta this turned out to be! Though we were stuffed, we managed to squeeze in a slice of Peach Crostata from the Zuni cookbook. I'll have to add a review of that dish to the old COTM thread later. At the moment, we're all en route to the couch wishing we were wearing loungers!!

[sunflwrsdh]

Wow, looks and sound amazing! Thanks for posting!

[Rubee]

Looks delicious. I do have On Top of Spaghetti, thanks for the recommendation!

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks sunflwrsdh and Rubee!

Rubee, have you tried any dishes from that book? I was flipping through it last night and there seemed to be a lot of delicious-sounding dishes.

[Rella]

I made an apple pie today and applesauce for the freezer. I wanted to make a crostata, but DH wanted a full pie.

I am wondering if you put your crostata on a baking pan.

Today I started out with a baking pan under the pyrex 10" pie pan, but pulled the baking pan out from underneath the pie pan after about 5 minutes, thinking that the pan would keep the bottom crust from browning.

I know that a crostata needs a surface to sit on, so am wondering have you ever put the crostata into a pie pan, or do you put it on a baking sheet, or have you done both, and which do you prefer.

[Breadcrumbs]

Hi Rella, I always make mine on a jelly roll pan on a piece of parchment paper. There's always lots of space between the crostata and the sides of the pan which I think is important to prevent the pie from steaming. Using this method my bottom crust has always come out well-cooked and crispy. I hope that helps.

[Rella]

Oh, I see. I didn't think about the 'steaming' aspect. That certainly makes sense. Thanks so much.

[Breadcrumbs]

Good luck Rella, let us know how it turns out next time.

[inaplasticcup]

OMG. You're killing me with that pasta...

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks ina, just in case you're tempted to make it, I happened to find the recipe online:

http://www.rimonthly.com/Rhode-Island...

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, Bc!

[LindaWhit]

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Oh yeah - the food looks great too! ;-)

[Breadcrumbs]

Why thank-you Linda, you're lookin' pretty fine yourself!! ; - )

[crowmuncher]

in the pick the pasta looks fresh; i was thinking u would say u made it yourself after i saw it- looks soooo good

and Crostata too; nothing like more carbs to wash down your carbs- yum :)

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks crowmuncher. . . .you're so right!! Needless to say we all slipped into food-induced comas shortly thereafter!!

[crowmuncher]

just noticed i meant to type "pic"... yeah the carb coma is not joke; i can barely make through an hour tv episode when i eat like that- it's pretty embarassing

[onceadaylily]

Congrats on the win. :) Tonight we're either cleaning up the fridge and eating leftovers, or, if the boyfriend is hungry for something else, I'll make a batch of Post Punk Kitchen's ancho lentil tacos. It's the first time out for me with this dish, so I'll follow the recipe fairly closely, but I'll add a diced poblano to the onion and garlic mixture, and serve it with the cilantro lime crema, shredded cabbage, with sharp cheddar on offer. See what I did there? A fake meat taco treated like a fish taco. Two hungry birds with one stone. Simple salads (spinach, chopped boiled egg, broccoli, and cucumber) to go with. I do hope I like this taco. If I do, PPK's 'Snobby Joe's' might be my next lentil foray.

http://www.theppk.com/2011/05/ancho-l...

(And I just used a animal-killing cliche to describe how I am adding dairy to a vegan recipe. I'm not very good at being a veggist, am I?

)

(And I've decided to call myself a veggist, in order to avoid the people who tell me that I can't call myself a vegetarian. I'm starting a new movement.)

[Breadcrumbs]

oadl those tacos sound and look so enticing. I love lentils and this looks like a delicious recipe. Love PPK's idea of lentil sloppy Joes too!! I may have to give that a try.

[onceadaylily]

Thanks, BC, and welcome back to WFD. But I hit a snag. I was in a hurry at the market, and grabbed what I *thought* were brown lentils (the bag was labeled as whole baby lentils, and they were, well, brown). But, on the BACK of the package, under ingredients, it says: crimson lentils.

Not only do I already have red lentils in the pantry, but I doubt very much that these are going to hold their shape enough for tacos. I think I'm still going to give it a go, but brown lentils have an earthy quality that is going to be missed, even if I can manage to get the lentils to hold their shape.

And your dinner sounds truly amazing, BC.

[ChristinaMason]

I've made lentil tacos with red lentils, and they turned out very well. IMHO, their breaking down slightly isn't a bad thing.

[JungMann]

OADL, while you use cliches, I actually added meat to a vegan soup I made last Friday. Purslane cooked in salsa verde was delicious for a light meal over the weekend, but so much more satisfying after stewing with cubed pork shoulder and spices to make a chile verde con verdolagas.

[inaplasticcup]

Well it's a meagan soup now, ain't it, JM? ^-

[mariacarmen]

meagan soup! love it!

[crowmuncher]

"Two hungry birds with one stone." oh that is the worst one of all lily ;) those tacos sound good. i've had numerous bean tacos, but have never tried lentil

[onceadaylily]

We're actually going to make the tacos tonight. Last night, I had so many leftovers that the boyfriend pointed out that I didn't have to cook a thing. So, we made a nice dent in the tupperware tower (curry with rice, pasta, fried corn, hummus). I'll use vegetarian beef BTB to cook the lentils in, to fortify the faux. *crosses fingers*

Christina, I feel better knowing that someone on WFD has used the red in this way. Thanks! The internet chatter about whether or not these could be used in the same way as brown was scant and contradictory (one website described the baby crimsons as: meaty mushy. WTH).

[crowmuncher]

"vegetarian beef"? that is so funny; if i had tortillas i would totally make blackbean tacos tonight; hope you enjoyed those tacos :)

[onceadaylily]

Haha. It's actually called 'no-beef base'. Better Than Bouillon put out two vegetarian bases, and I was a fan of them even before I ditched the meats. They don't taste as salty as their meat-based offerings. I use a little bit of the no-chicken base when I make vegetable stock, and it makes a big difference. The funny thing is that neither the vegetable nor the mushroom base (which you'll see vegetarians and vegans talking about on blogs all the time) is labeled as vegetarian on the Superior Touch website, which makes me think that there's a lil meat in there.

And I now have a crush on petite crimson lentils (they are *nothing* like the reds I have in the pantry). They taste very much like baby black beans, but just a little nutty, and with an extra savory something. And they held their shape perfectly! I kept sneaking spoonfuls of them while my onions were cooking down. And I liked the tacos quite a bit, especially after I added a little chili powder, worcestershire sauce, and a drop of liquid smoke. The man ate five, with a review of "Damn, these are really good, honey."