Breakfast/lunch/Dinner, what are you having?

Scepticalscribe said:
Poached fish (monkfish) in an oriental inspired broth (stock, fish sauce, Soya sauce, Oyster sauce, lemon grass, lime leaves, ginger, chopped chilli, a little sambal) with added vegetables (roughly chopped onions, carrots, tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, French onions), served with basmati rice.
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Though I say so, myself, it was absolutely delicious.
 
Supper was hokkien noodles w/ steamed fresh carrot medallions and broccoli florets.... and sweet hot chili sauce, the kind you can buy by the liter and grab from the fridge on autopilot when nothing else comes to mind.

Right so I had that sauce over my supper with all its added hotness and sweetness, about an hour before reading some piece in the Guardian about development of less than healthful food consumption during the pandemic, and recent efforts to undo damage, etc., and of course my eye went right to some paragraph with the word bacon in it.

The author was talking about inverting her buying habits after a consultation with her doctor, who was stern about need to lower cholesterol levels.. so at the store it was going to be far less ham and fewer sausages, and far more lentils, and immediately.

www.theguardian.com

I coped through the pandemic with a diet of junk food. Now I'm regretting it | Emma Brockes

My doctor says my cholesterol levels are insane and I have to eat healthily. My supermarket shop has changed overnight, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

"Before Christmas, I would have dropped in a block of cheese the size of my apartment, or at the very least dumped in a mountain of salt. Now it’s just the lentils, with their lentilly brown taste. The recipe says they’re great unadorned and don’t need extra flavouring. I wonder if this person has ever tasted bacon."
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Yeah. I wonder too. I mean I do love lentils but they get doctored on with herbs or spices or both and usually some onions or garlic and carrots, maybe some tomato paste. And I still once in awhile acquire some bacon or sausage and cook that up to go into the pot. Never thought add any cheese and that's just as well. I'm even less trustworthy around cheese than I am around bacon.
 
lizkat said:
Supper was hokkien noodles w/ steamed fresh carrot medallions and broccoli florets.... and sweet hot chili sauce, the kind you can buy by the liter and grab from the fridge on autopilot when nothing else comes to mind.

Right so I had that sauce over my supper with all its added hotness and sweetness, about an hour before reading some piece in the Guardian about development of less than healthful food consumption during the pandemic, and recent efforts to undo damage, etc., and of course my eye went right to some paragraph with the word bacon in it.

The author was talking about inverting her buying habits after a consultation with her doctor, who was stern about need to lower cholesterol levels.. so at the store it was going to be far less ham and fewer sausages, and far more lentils, and immediately.

www.theguardian.com

I coped through the pandemic with a diet of junk food. Now I'm regretting it | Emma Brockes

My doctor says my cholesterol levels are insane and I have to eat healthily. My supermarket shop has changed overnight, says Guardian columnist Emma Brockes
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

​

Yeah. I wonder too. I mean I do love lentils but they get doctored on with herbs or spices or both and usually some onions or garlic and carrots, maybe some tomato paste. And I still once in awhile acquire some bacon or sausage and cook that up to go into the pot. Never thought add any cheese and that's just as well. I'm even less trustworthy around cheese than I am around bacon.
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I read that article, too, and roared with the laughter of recognition.

Yes, cholesterol, and the inevitable health arguments, I see them, but there is also that awful guilt that women are (culturally encouraged, a cultural encouragement that is strongly reinforced by society) to carry re the pure, uninhibited, greedy, immoderate enjoyment (which is then seen as a "sinful pleasure") of food.

It is not just that so many diets are dreary, and self-denying, it is that the element of guilt feeds (a deliberate use of that verb) notions of deprivation of food, and regulation of food as punishment. (And sometimes reward).
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
I read that article, too, and roared with the laughter of recognition.

Yes, cholesterol, and the inevitable health arguments, I see them, but there is also that awful guilt that women are (culturally encouraged, a cultural encouragement that is strongly reinforced by society) to carry re the pure, uninhibited, greedy, immoderate enjoyment (which is then seen as a "sinful pleasure") of food.

It is not just that so many diets are dreary, and self-denying, it is that the elemnet of guilt feeeds (a deliberate use of that verb) notions of deprivation of food, and regulation of food as punishment. (And sometimes reward).
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Yes, I have to remind myself when I've elected not to buy or eat some food for health reasons that it was a choice, my choice, and --contrary to those older, culturally imposed suggestions-- it's not about "depriving myself" of something, or that I was ever "bad" to have indulged in it. To hell with that. If I'm having fried white potatoes with my eggs on a Sunday morning then that's what's for breakfast, and if I'm not having them, it's not because I'm "being good" by not having them. It's because I'm not always putting my health at top of my considerations when I prepare or order a meal. It's up to me to keep track of how many exceptions I make to a general desire to eat healthfully.

I'm trying to think if I ever hear guys talking about "being good" or "being bad" when discussing food choices and the need to drop a few pounds or avoid health situations like type 2 diabetes or raised cholesterol. I think guys I know just say they're trying to drop a few pounds or eat "better" or some such. Good and bad, meh. No.
 
Yesterday, dinner took the form of a variation of the classic hot and sour (Tom Yum) broth - with vegetables - and noodles. (Fish sauce, lime leaves, chilli, ginger, lemongrass, with onion, carrot, tomato and chopped chard).

Today, I decided to try a curry inspired by Japanese cuisine, some kind of vegetable katsu curry, a mild, sweet, curry, but one without the panko breadcrumbs (which I lack); it has been well over 18 months since I last ate in Wagamamma's, and I wished to attempt to replicate some of that flavour.

I spent some time yesterday (and today) reading recipes, and did some tweaking.

Anyway, it started with two very finely chopped onions (organic, last Saturday's haul in the farmers' market has left me reasonably well stocked, for now), which were sautéed slowly in butter (and a little olive oil) - for the best part of 50 minutes, until caramalised.

Grated ginger (a thumb), and seven or eight fat cloves of garlic (minced) were added after around 30 minutes. After 50 minutes, I added a grated apple (peeled) - several of the Japanese recipes had suggested this.

Then, stock, and mirin, plus, a little soy sauce, were added, - and brought to the boil - as - eventually - were two cubes (which I grated) of S&B curry roux.

While the recipes I consulted had called for boiled vegetables, (boiled in the stock), I preferred to roast them, to caramalise and concentrate the flavour; so, a fat sweet potato (chopped into large chunks, drizzled with olive oil), a fat carrot or two (likewise roughly chopped but left in large pieces), a parsnip (that had been hiding, but root vegetables respond very well to roasting), and several large tomatoes, quartered. All of these were drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, and placed in a preheated oven (200C) for around 50 minutes, (and were turned and basted after half an hour).

The roasted vegetables were served with the curry sauce on the side.

Basmati rice to accompany.
 
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We're in the up-and-down part of March weather now, so it's all I can do to keep from ordering produce to make things like chopped veggie salads and tabbouleh and so forth, just because we are having a few days where the air temps are balmy.

But looking ahead after a weekend where the arctic winds will reach down for us again, I see forecasts for daytime temps of mid-20ºF and overnights in the low teens or single digits. So maybe I'm not going to be quite as up for cucumbers and romaine as I think at the moment. More like time to re-up for some winter veggie stew and soups. "It ain't over 'til it's over" is March's claim to fame here. That bulgur wheat is more likely to end up in a steaming hot breakfast dish than in a cool lunchtime salad bowl any time soon.
 
We went to Publix today so I picked up a can of biscuits. The kind where you peel the tube and POP it open. Honestly, I just like opening them. But it allowed me to make a most wonderful not chicken pot pie for dinner tonight.

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Alli said:
We went to Publix today so I picked up a can of biscuits. The kind where you peel the tube and POP it open. Honestly, I just like opening them. But it allowed me to make a most wonderful not chicken pot pie for dinner tonight.

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Love the copper casserole dish; absolutely beautiful.

I have something similar and love the sheer pleasure of cooking with it.
 
Tonight, I dined on my own version (inspired, to a certain extent, by that of Gordon Ramsay) of Indonesian fried rice, the classic Nasi Goreng.

First, for this dish, it is important to use "old rice" (in this instance, yesterday's left over basmati - I deliberately made extra yesterday when preparing dinner).

Finely diced onions and carrots (organic) sautéed, to which a cup of peas (from the freezer, but defrosted earlier) are added, and sautéed until soft; .

Then, the spices are added: a grated thumb of galangal, and a finely diced chilli pepper plus a the best part of a full head of minced garlic, all sautéed, and a little brown sugar. And finely chopped French onions.

Eggs (free range, organic, three or four) have already been whisked; then, they are added to the pan and scrambled briskly.

This is when the old rice is added, and fried, and sautéed (even toasted); at this point, I made a well in the rice, and added some sambal oelek paste, and some rendang paste into the well, - I tend to have a generous hand in such things - and fried them off, and then stirred the rice through them. Once that has been done, a dessertspoon (or two) of kecap manis, sweet Indonesian soy sauce, is added and fried off, and stirred and mixed through the rice.

Accompanied by a tasty salad of chopped cherry tomatoes, and some thinly sliced cucumber (skin peeled, and centre removed), dressed with freshly squeezed lemon juice, and olive oil, seasoned with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, brown sugar, coriander leaves and parsley.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Tonight, I dined on my own version (inspired, to a certain extent, by that of Gordon Ramsay) of Indonesian fried rice, the classic Nasi Goreng.
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You definitely eat far better than me. :ROFLMAO: My exciting fare for dinner tonight is homemade chicken enchiladas.

Speaking of Gordon, once I treated myself to a Disney+ subscription, I ended up watching his Uncharted series. Found it very interesting and made me intensely hungry, lol.
 
shadow puppet said:
You definitely eat far better than me. :ROFLMAO: My exciting fare for dinner tonight is homemade chicken enchiladas.

Speaking of Gordon, once I treated myself to a Disney+ subscription, I ended up watching his Uncharted series. Found it very interesting and made me intensely hungry, lol.
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Not always.

Actually, in general, I'm not a massive fan of Gordon; however, I came across this particular recipe on an Asian comedy piece where a Malaysian comic (Nigel Ng, who goes by the stage name of "Uncle Roger") did a hilarious review of Ramsay's Indonesian rice video (and has done several other, hysterically funny, reviews, including a scathing review of Jamie Oliver's Indonesian rice recipe video).

That prompted me to take a look at Gordon Ramsay's actual video, (for Indonesian fried rice/Nasi Goreng), and I realised that it met my two key requirements when I read a recipe (or watch a video of the preparation of a recipe), and I thought it astonishingly good, and very doable, and - as I can attest - very tasty.

Mind you, it takes me a lot longer to do it than it does for Gordon (who is, after all, a professional chef).

So, I plan it (you need to cook the rice a day or two in advance; I prepare a large amount of basmati - serve some with whatever curry, or chilli I am having that day, and reserve the rest for a dish of Nasi Goreng, or Chinese egg-fried rice, a day or so later), and spend a happy hour or so pottering around, relaxed, while preparing it.

And this is a dish where you do need the correct ingredients (sambal oelek, galangal, rendang, etc), and where you need to take the time to set out everything you will need for the dish, in advance. Otherwise, you may run the risk of forgetting - or over-looking - something.

These two key requirements for any recipe I prepare are:

1: It must look, or sound, or read, as though it is doable, in other words, when I read it, (or watch it), I must be able to think immediately afterwards, "yeah, I can do that, yeah, that's doable": I'm a good cook (actually, an excellent cook), but life is too short to struggle to master some skills, or fight with some details; and, I don't bake, and don't have a food processor, (or a microwave), so recipes that call for these skills, or equipment, are not a part of my skill set.

2: It must read (or look) as though the final result will be delicious.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
These two key requirements that any recipe I prepare are:

1: It must look, or sound, or read, as though it is doable: I'm a good cook (actually, an excellent cook), but life is too short to struggle to master some skills, or fight with some details; and, I don't bake, and don't have a food processor, (or a microwave), so recipes that call for these skills, or equipment, are not a part of my skill set.

2: It must read (or look) as though the final result will be delicious.
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Thanks for mentioning your "not always" comment. Makes me feel a tad more less inadequate. But I did come to learn cooking late so always have more to learn. I do enjoy it. Your two requirements sound approachable and doable. Two smart things to keep in mind.

Re: Ramsey
I wasn't a huge fan so was pleasantly surprised to enjoy his series more than expected. I like learning new flavor profiles and his series definitely touched on several. Although I hate how he bugs out at the end of the show just after the meal is served. Seems a tad rude. But I did enjoy when he spent time with locals showing their traditional cooking methods.
 
shadow puppet said:
Thanks for mentioning your "not always" comment. Makes me feel a tad more less inadequate. But I did come to learn cooking late so always have more to learn. I do enjoy it. Your two requirements sound approachable and doable. Two smart things to keep in mind.

Re: Ramsey
I wasn't a huge fan so was pleasantly surprised to enjoy his series more than expected. I like learning new flavor profiles and his series definitely touched on several. Although I hate how he bugs out at the end of the show just after the meal is served. Seems a tad rude. But I did enjoy when he spent time with locals showing their traditional cooking methods.
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Actually, his Indonesian series was excellent, and he was very respectful of the locals and their traditions, which both surprised and impressed me.
 
St. Patrick's Day, so a nod to the Irish part of my ancestry: having a simple version of traditional Irish colcannon, just strips of steamed kale mixed into mashed potatoes with some chopped green onions added in along with plenty butter, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Salmon patty along with that since I made some for the freezer today.
 
lizkat said:
St. Patrick's Day, so a nod to the Irish part of my ancestry: having a simple version of traditional Irish colcannon, just strips of steamed kale mixed into mashed potatoes with some chopped green onions added in along with plenty butter, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Salmon patty along with that since I made some for the freezer today.
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Sounds delicious.

Dinner tonight is a simple, but tasty tweak on a store cupboard classic: Pasta and (homemade) tomato sauce:

That is, a minced head of garlic and around eight to ten anchovies dissolved in olive oil, followed by the contents of a tin of splendid Italian San Marzano tomatoes (which have been chopped and seasoned - sea salt, black pepper, a little brown sugar - by me), and let simmer, and splutter, and bubble away for around 30 minutes on the stove; then, pasta added to stock which has been seasoned with olive oil.

And finally, the two meld and marry and smile at one another when mixed, just before being served together in the final dish.
 
My own meal this evening was a fusion of the most heretical sort, should one seek to be guided by notions of purity of the palate.

Earlier today, - not least when I spotted new potatoes in a store - I realised that it has been months since I last dined on potatoes (apart from ordered in chips - fries, to Our Transatlantic Cousins).

Classic boiled potatoes - boiled in the stock which played host to yesterday's pasta - and adorned with sea salt, black pepper, and lashings of butter - seemed a good idea.

While, initially, I had planned to serve that with (organic, free range) eggs, fried eggs, sautéed eggs, inspection of the vegetable rack yielded promise.

Thus, I sautéed diced carrot, celery, leeks, and tomato, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, to which was also added the best part of a head (or bulb) of garlic, roughly eight or nine fat cloves of garlic chopped and sliced.

When that was ready, I added a little mirin, oyster sauce, (roughly a tablespoon of each), some kecap manis (again, a tablespoon), and around a teaspoon of sambal oelek to the vegetables, and stirred it through.

Despite the culinary culture clash - and, these days, as I am dining tout seul, culinary consistency matters not - it was rather tasty.
 
Another sign of almost-spring showed up in my kitchen this morning: hesitating before making oatmeal for breakfast. It's the time of year I end up switching that out some mornings in favor of some fruit and yogurt. Well winter fare won out today but yogurt and blueberries or strawberries are on the grocery list.
 
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