What's for Dinner part 8.

[KingintheNorth4]

I love it when the bbq sauce mixes with the pasta salad.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Ah, when you can't really eat for like a month and then can finally put down three or four meals a day to regain your strength. 

Tonight was breakfast for dinner:

One piece of French toast

Three pieces of thick cut bacon

Scrambled eggs with chopped up chick sausages, onions and hot peppers from the garden in it

All covered with 100% maple syrup

Washed down with a chocolate protein shake and a small glass of grapefruit juice. Yum! 

[Larry of the Lawn]

Beyond burger, marinated in garlic, ginger, terrikyaki, over salad from the garden.  Couple of Founders All-Day IPAs.  And a big pile of weed.

[Fragile Bird]

I have been trying out recipes for barszcz, which is Polish for borsht, and traditionally a vegetarian soup eaten on Christmas Eve (a meatless meal) but eaten year-round as well. There are meat broth versions too. The broth was made with carrots, parsnip, celery root, leek, parsley and dried mushrooms that had been soaked in hot water first. After half an hour of cooking, sliced beets and a sliced apple are added, as well as vinegar, lemon juice, salt, sugar and spices. I don’t know if the recipe called for too much salt or if I accidentally put the salt in twice, but I ended up adding a sliced-up potato to absorb excess salt (an old trick to use if you ever over-salt something).

The broth turned out quite well and I have four containers to freeze for future consumption. I’ve been trying out various traditional recipes while in lockdown since I certainly have the time. It was a stupidly hot day to do this, but that’s what a/c is for!

Supper ended up being the bits of boiled potato I fished out when I strained the soup (a treat, since I eat low-carb and don’t usually eat them anymore) plus a good helping of sliced beets. Along with a glass of white sangria I made. I had cucumbers from the garden to eat as well but the beets and the potato were enough.
 

 

[Larry of the Lawn]

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

I have been trying out recipes for barszcz, which is Polish for borsht, and traditionally a vegetarian soup eaten on Christmas Eve (a meatless meal) but eaten year-round as well. There are meat broth versions too. The broth was made with carrots, parsnip, celery root, leek, parsley and dried mushrooms that had been soaked in hot water first. After half an hour of cooking, sliced beets and a sliced apple are added, as well as vinegar, lemon juice, salt, sugar and spices. I don’t know if the recipe called for too much salt or if I accidentally put the salt in twice, but I ended up adding a sliced-up potato to absorb excess salt (an old trick to use if you ever over-salt something).

The broth turned out quite well and I have four containers to freeze for future consumption. I’ve been trying out various traditional recipes while in lockdown since I certainly have the time. It was a stupidly hot day to do this, but that’s what a/c is for!

Supper ended up being the bits of boiled potato I fished out when I strained the soup (a treat, since I eat low-carb and don’t usually eat them anymore) plus a good helping of sliced beets. Along with a glass of white sangria I made. I had cucumbers from the garden to eat as well but the beets and the potato were enough.
 

 

Sounds good!  Was it iodized or kosher salt?  Iodized is twice as salty

[Fragile Bird]

1 hour ago, larrytheimp said:

Sounds good!  Was it iodized or kosher salt?  Iodized is twice as salty

It was sea salt, Baleine. It is iodized, though. I just checked my box of kosher salt, and dang, you’re right, Diamond Crystal kosher salt is not iodized. I also see it’s made by Cargill, which makes me want to buy another brand. Checking my cupboard, I see I also have a box of Polish salt (big salt mines in Poland) which I think I’ll use next time. Not iodized either.

eta: I use the kosher salt for making gravlax, and now that I looked at the box I want to run out and buy some salmon and make some!

[KingintheNorth4]

I had a chicken thigh and breast from Jewel-Osco.

[BigFatCoward]

If someone is cooking you dinner, if they do something disgusting every time should you tell them? 

My MIL always pours the fat from a roasting joint into her gravy. Its gross  

[Fragile Bird]

I've made this a number of times, but not in a while - spinach pizza on a cauliflower base. It just turned out perfectly this time. I want to eat the whole damn thing, but I've only eaten half tonight and will eat the other half tomorrow. It's better than any cauliflower or keto pizza I've ordered from the local pizza place.

The base is made with 3 cups of shredded cauliflower (I shred it myself instead of buying a package of riced/shredded cauliflower), an egg, half a cup of shredded mozzarella, half a teaspoon of salt, oregano and pepper (I only use 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, it's too sharp for me otherwise). You cook the cauliflower in the microwave for 8 minutes, stopping to stir once or twice, and then let it cool before adding the rest of the ingredients. Then you pat the 'dough' into a greased 10" oven-proof frying pan and cook on the stove over medium heat for a few minutes to brown the bottom, then put the frying pan in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes (I find 10 minutes is enough) to cook it. Take it out, let it cool for five minutes, then put your toppings on: 3/4 of a cup of shredded mozzarella, about half a cup of cooked spinach. Make sure you squeeze the water out of the spinach very well.  I also use sliced mushroom (literally one mushroom) and tonight added a very thinly sliced bit of red bell pepper. Top with a 1/4 cup of parmesan (or just wing it). I sprinkled a bit of salt on top. Back in the oven for 5 minutes. My lord it was good!

The recipe comes from Dr. Steven Grundy's book, The Plant Paradox.

eta You need at least 3 cups of cauliflower. I used a bit more. I have used as much as 4 cups, it just means the base is thicker. I've also forgotten to do the 8 minutes in the microwave, which I think makes the base thicker. I still have lots of cauliflower, the store only had largish ones (3 cups is a small cauliflower) and I might make another pizza, or I might make "fried rice" with cauliflower, which is also very tasty.

[BigFatCoward]

16 hours ago, Soylent Brown said:

Maybe have your better half suggest to her mum that allowing the fat and the meat juices to separate, then adding only the latter to the gravy might be an idea?

She has asked her not too, but the MIL is sure she saw a chef doing this once (she didn't, like you say you separate the fat and use the juices). 

its getting to the point now that I'm seriously considering making my own gravy and taking over in a container and heating up, but how f'ing rude is that.

 

[RhaenysBee]

Let’s see if joining this conversation inspires me to cook and not waste money on food delivery. 

For dinner there was acidy white wine and a terrible coconut chocolate bar yesterday. And two pieces of chocolate biscuit. 

For breakfast there was cereal. 

For lunch, there’s going to be salmon with carrots and Brussel sprouts and maybe rice, I feel like dealing with it. 
Update: yesterday’s wine sufficiently chilled and with real food that has nutritional value isn’t all that bad. 

[KingintheNorth4]

Third straight day of eating cheesy enchilada bake. I'm still not tired of it.

[KingintheNorth4]

A whole chicken teriyaki sandwich from Panera Bread.

[ithanos]

I've discovered sauerkraut late in my life. Oh where has this food of the fermented gods been? The supermarket sauerkraut I'm able to get in my location are all from Poland. For some reason I always thought sauerkraut to be a product of Germany or Austria, but I'm not complaining. This Polish sauerkraut is delicious. Started off enjoying cabbage only, but my latest jar is cabbage & carrot - what an indulgence! So I've been adding condiments to my sauerkraut meals to enhance the culinary experience.

Dinner tonight is going to be sauerkraut (the one with carrot) and last nights leftover roast chicken. But past meals have been delights such as;
- Sauerkraut with a tablespoon of hot English mustard.
- Sauerkraut with some spicy Italian sausage.
- Sauerkraut with a T-Bone steak.

So I'm curious, is Polish sauerkraut the be all and end all of sauerkraut varieties? Would I be sullying my palate if I sample a German or Austrian variety? Has anywhere else in the world perfected capturing nature's transforms of the humble cabbage?

[maarsen]

7 hours ago, ithanos said:

I've discovered sauerkraut late in my life. Oh where has this food of the fermented gods been? The supermarket sauerkraut I'm able to get in my location are all from Poland. For some reason I always thought sauerkraut to be a product of Germany or Austria, but I'm not complaining. This Polish sauerkraut is delicious. Started off enjoying cabbage only, but my latest jar is cabbage & carrot - what an indulgence! So I've been adding condiments to my sauerkraut meals to enhance the culinary experience.

Dinner tonight is going to be sauerkraut (the one with carrot) and last nights leftover roast chicken. But past meals have been delights such as;
- Sauerkraut with a tablespoon of hot English mustard.
- Sauerkraut with some spicy Italian sausage.
- Sauerkraut with a T-Bone steak.

So I'm curious, is Polish sauerkraut the be all and end all of sauerkraut varieties? Would I be sullying my palate if I sample a German or Austrian variety? Has anywhere else in the world perfected capturing nature's transforms of the humble cabbage?

My mother was Dutch and she made her own on occasion. I loathe the stuff. 

[Inkdaub]

I had some soup with some cheese and a pickle and two rolls on the side.

I also have been craving Red Lobster all week.  Red Lobster!

[Fragile Bird]

On 8/20/2020 at 12:35 AM, ithanos said:

I've discovered sauerkraut late in my life. Oh where has this food of the fermented gods been? The supermarket sauerkraut I'm able to get in my location are all from Poland. For some reason I always thought sauerkraut to be a product of Germany or Austria, but I'm not complaining. This Polish sauerkraut is delicious. Started off enjoying cabbage only, but my latest jar is cabbage & carrot - what an indulgence! So I've been adding condiments to my sauerkraut meals to enhance the culinary experience.

Dinner tonight is going to be sauerkraut (the one with carrot) and last nights leftover roast chicken. But past meals have been delights such as;
- Sauerkraut with a tablespoon of hot English mustard.
- Sauerkraut with some spicy Italian sausage.
- Sauerkraut with a T-Bone steak.

So I'm curious, is Polish sauerkraut the be all and end all of sauerkraut varieties? Would I be sullying my palate if I sample a German or Austrian variety? Has anywhere else in the world perfected capturing nature's transforms of the humble cabbage?

Germans make excellent sauerkraut as well, look for it in cans. They can compress and pack one heck of a lot into a can, btw.

Polish people make some excellent dishes with sauerkraut. Look up Bigos (Hunters Stew). Or Kapusta, a mix of cabbage and sauerkraut. I really got into experimenting with various recipes these last few months, I don’t bake bread! Always rinse sauerkraut when you use it in cooking, too much acidic will affect other ingredients. 

[Maithanet]

I'm going to make "real" lasagna for the first time this weekend.  Here's the recipe if you're curious.

By real, I mean making the marinara and bechamel sauces myself.  I'm not going to make the pasta myself, I've never had a lot of luck making pasta.  Making the sauces is definitely more work than just using jars, so I'm curious how it'll turn out, but one of my friends made a lasagna that was just dramatically better than mine (and mine isn't bad), so I really want to push myself to learn a better way to do this.  I'm going to at least mostly follow the recipe, something I rarely do.  The only exception is I'm going to use turkey sausage and ground turkey, since our family doesn't eat beef or pork. 

I'll check in on monday to let everyone know how it goes!

[ithanos]

On 8/20/2020 at 10:05 PM, maarsen said:

My mother was Dutch and she made her own on occasion. I loathe the stuff. 

I guess if it I had been introduced to it as a kid I might not enjoy it as I do now.  Coincidentally I was in my local Aldi store and came across a jar from The Netherlands - will have to give this a go sometime.

 

14 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Germans make excellent sauerkraut as well, look for it in cans. They can compress and pack one heck of a lot into a can, btw.

Polish people make some excellent dishes with sauerkraut. Look up Bigos (Hunters Stew). Or Kapusta, a mix of cabbage and sauerkraut. I really got into experimenting with various recipes these last few months, I don’t bake bread! Always rinse sauerkraut when you use it in cooking, too much acidic will affect other ingredients. 

Bigos sounds delicious. It's also possible I've inadvertently been making a similar variation with leftover meats.

 

[kairparavel]

On 8/20/2020 at 12:35 AM, ithanos said:

Has anywhere else in the world perfected capturing nature's transforms of the humble cabbage?

Kimchi would like a word with you!