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What's For Dinner 3: Cook Hard With A Vengeance


Inigima

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Going gluten free has made me realize how bloated and crummy I felt after eating gluten. I don't have as bad a reaction to gluten as many people do, but I do feel it. I went GF because thyroid disease is an auto-immune disease and I was hoping going GF would help me in some way. In fact, I had a blood test done last week, since it was more than 6 months since I made the move, I should call the doctor and find out if anything shows up in my numbers.



I'm careful, but at the last couple of the birthdays we celebrated at Sunday dinner, I did have a small piece of cake (very small), but I did feel bloat.



ETA - Sis, Yagathai's post just came up, lol, just ignore him. :p


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I tried out a Lebanese chicken recipe I got from my Grandpa's girlfriend. it went pretty well - I'd use a bit more spice next time, but it's definitely one I'll be trying out again. (this time on people other than me).


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SWS, I think what Inigma is saying is that you're not good enough to be included in his little treehouse makeout club.

Meh... they'll be sorry! :P

I bought some chickpea and bell pepper salad from a ridiculously expensive organic deli. It had the ingredients listed on the label so I tried to re-create it. The first time was pretty okay, the second time I tweaked it some more and it was YUM.

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Sis, you are more than welcome in the treehouse makeout club. :P It sounds kind of gross (the club, not the stew), but what the heck? I'm sure we'll cook up some good stuff.



I kind of like the idea of us all trying out a recipe and sharing how it goes.


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That mushroom stew sounds delicious. I picked up a big old Lion's Mane mushroom at the farmer's market this weekend (a got a tip on a good spot to harvest them). I am irrationally excited for this Westerosi Diner's Club and can't wait for more.



Will report back on what I do with this freaky looking 'shroom.


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Ini, I'm curious to know why you aren't inclined to 'root around' for ingredients specific to a regional/ethnic cuisine. Particularly when you are interested in trying out new and unknown cuisines. I mean, a lot of those ingredients are what make Thai food Thai food, or Indian food Indian food.



Also, an Asian market like H-Mart or Lotte is going to have fantastically priced regular everyday produce;.


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I was speaking specifically to learning/trying Thai and other cuisine as opposed to your Two Birds Cooking in a Tree thing. ;)

But if that's why, then that's why.

Haha, yes...gotcha.

Can't speak for Ini, but I'm open to learning new techniques, it's just that I'm limited on the more exotic ingredients that are right around the corner in more metropolitan areas.

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Haha, yes...gotcha.

Can't speak for Ini, but I'm open to learning new techniques, it's just that I'm limited on the more exotic ingredients that are right around the corner in more metropolitan areas.

And that makes absolute sense! I just misread the post and thought it was cooking independent of your joint venture. :)

Because we have some fabulous Asian markets in the area. Not to brag. Sorta. Heh.

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You're both half right. ES does live in a food desert, but I'm also hoping to avoid having to do it, principally for time reasons. It's nearly quarter to 11 at night here and I literally just walked in the door after being in an outdoor lead climbing clinic all night. I still haven't eaten dinner. I've been at the rock gym every night this week except Tuesday, and I'd have been there Tuesday except I had to work late that night. I'll be there tomorrow night as well. I schedule myself reasonably heavily, and I would rather not make more shopping trips than I already do if I don't have to. I also don't know where all of them are; I know a tiny -- and i mean tiny -- Indian grocer that I can use, although they're out of my way. The closest HMart (giant Korean megamarket, for those not in the know, but often featuring many products from other cuisines) is in Catonsville, which is not especially convenient for me, and if there's traffic -- which there will be if I go after work -- could easily take me an hour to get to. I imagine there are other Asian grocers of various types around, but I don't know where they are. So maybe cut me a little damn slack.



At any rate, I am in close range of several superb grocery stores, including Wegmans and not one but two very good gourmet grocers, one of which is owned by the family of a high school friend and the other of which I could walk to. So in many cases I don't need to add another trip to somewhere less convenient. I can buy chapati flour at Wegmans, for Christ's sake, along with just about every kind of dal I know. (For more obscure ingredients in some of the Indian recipes I have (black salt? asafoetida?) I would have to go to an Indian grocer. Them's the breaks.) If I can get what I need there, and I often can, then I don't have to go somewhere else.



That said, I may have to add the occasional extra trip in anyway. None of my regular haunts -- and I've been to at least four different grocery stores in the last two or three weeks -- seem to carry Thai chiles, and I'm not sure that other kinds of peppers will be a good substitute.



The other factor for me is that as things stand I just don't know what a lot of this shit is. That blog has links to some products on Amazon, but if I had to go buy them in a store I wouldn't have much clue what I was looking for unless they had those exact brands. I have two Indian cookbooks that have extensive details on the ingredients they call for; I would expect a good Thai cookbook to do the same, which is one of the reasons I'm hoping to get a book recommendation rather than just browsing that blog.


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My favorite local sandwich place makes a tasty thing they call the EB Melt, a chicken salad sandwich with bacon, cheddar and Franks Red Hot. I made my own variation, with homemade curry chicken salad, and sriracha instead of the Franks, between two slices of thick cut toasted rye. Decided to skip the cheese, cuz I'm on a diet.

It was quite good.

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Making short ribs tonight (they were on special). Got them into the slow cooker at 9:30. Splurged on a decent bottle of wine to cook them in. However could not find my bay leaf anywhere. I am going to try to buy some and throw it in "late" and hope for the best.

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Makin' that stew now. I couldn't find barley in the store I went to (and forgot to ask before I left), so I substituted quinoa, which I had on hand. We'll see how it turns out!


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Eating now, I think it turned out pretty well.



https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7358/13518547153_ddb23dfc6d_c.jpg



edit: man, Bittman is dead on with the mushrooms. Usually I don't mind mushrooms but don't love them, but they absorb the flavor perfectly here. I cannot imagine this without them.


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