what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

de cecco spag, raos sauce, and some gardein
wut?!

i wasn't sure if these were typos or i just didn't know what you're talking about
"fake meatballs" i understand

raos is good, quick, and easy, but i still have to complain that it's too expensive. Could buy the same amount of sauce, including a few meatballs, from a pizzaria and save $4.

gardein (i haven't had the meatballs) makes a fantastic pseudo fish nugget thingy i've been loving lately. was really in the mood for fish and chips and these guys, imo, are a sub that makes me not really miss the real thing.

their chik'n tendies are also v good

made my best ever batch of seitan last night. came out SO much more tender than previous batches. may have been due to being a little clever and going straight for a Isa Chandra recipe this time. anyways, just sauteed it lightly then brushed on a simple homemade bbq sauce. A+

tonight, since i only have one class on mondays, getting ready for https://www.veganricha.com/2017/07/methi-malai-paneer-tofu-fenugreek-greens-creamy-sauce.html
don't have fenugreek leaves so subbing a little fenugreek and some baby spinach

going to try out the butter tofu on that site, thanks.

Those look delicious. I want to try it too although I have the feeling that all the tofu dishes I have been making recently may be wreaking havoc on our digestion.

Had a try at halloumi fries yesterday, BBC Good Food recipe. Don't really "get" it, I have to say - halloumi is well heavy on its own, why douse it in oil?

I made the butter tofu from the above site last night. The sauce was very good ( I did add a couple of other things to it though and used soy yogurt). I am not sure how I felt about the baked tofu. I think I added something that made it too salty and not flavorful enough and the texture was a little like tofu-pups on the grill.

Beef rendang tonight. I love cooking with aromatics like lemongrass.

xpost, yeah the dish i made from there was fine, but didn't knock me out too much. cashew cream made it *really* thick, too, so i had to keep adding bits of water. so i tried bumping up the spices a bit, but it still could have used a bit more zip. i like the idea of baking the tofu with spices though.

Yeah, I haven't ever used soaked cashews before (although I see these vegan cheese plates online that seem wow) so I had to use what was around. I think I would've liked the baked tofu more if I had used the tandoori marinade I usually use before grilling. But I also don't know how much real flavor it adds when you are putting tofu back into a strong sauce. I feel like I could've done a lemon, oil, garlic powder, salt thing before baking and that would've been fine. The recipe did alert me that this style not using onions usually and also I got kind of got my cheap immersion blender to produce better for me. Today with some of the leftover tofu I made a wrap out of the naan that I made last night and some berros/mache, red onion and lime.

home made naan! yeah, i agree abt seasoning of the tofu getting lost in a dish with strong flavors. i take back what i said regarding the methi malai paneer dish after finishing leftovers last night. aside from sauce getting too thick the flavor actually was pretty fabulous and i def. would make it again someday

My masala butter tofu had better flavor the day after as well. Making naan from scratch is surprisingly easy. I should've been doing that for years. I am using an iron skillet though, so our forearms are getting exercise with turning it over the flame.

will keep the naan idea in mind. that reminds me, i made english muffins from scratch once. it was really quite simple, too, and they came out perfectly.

Made vegan larb and sticky rice and good god was that spicy but good

Attempted to make Philly cheese steak roll ups last night. The idea was to pound out a sirloin until pretty thin, layer grilled peppers and onions on it, then a bunch of slices of provolone, roll it up into a pinwheel held together with toothpicks, cook it up in a pan, then slice it into little rounds. Unfortunately I didn't flatten it nearly enough, and it wouldn't hold together. It turned into a literal hot mess, but still tasted good after everything.

My son and I made a southwestern chilli tonight, which came out much better.

you might think that having a rather expensive waffle iron would be silly but the overnight waffles we regularly make are a counterpoint

mr veg got me an Instant Pot for my bday & last night I made red beans & rice. It turned out great. Will cook beans a teeeeeensy bit longer next time but otherwise 😃

xpost If I had kids I would probably be pro waffle iron. You're in France, no weekend crepes?

We love crepes too but waffles are even better: the crispiness is amazing. And overnight waffles, yeast-risen ones, are tangy too. We use Bittman’s recipe.

On the Côte d’Azur this week, so gonna cook with prime Italian ingredients while not having to deal with Italy bullshit.

something went very right with what I prepared last night. Not sure where in the combination of rhubarb, ginger, garlic, coconut milk and all the other ingredients and so not sure how easily I can recreate it but taste was sublime.
Really going to further explore the use of rhubarb as a savoury ingredient.. seems to add a level of near citrus piquancy to things i think.

Was it fresh rhubarb? I don't think I have ever used rhubarb besides a pie once. It was growing in the backyard of my rental and it was like a weed.

I have more naan rising right now to eat with some miso marinating tuna and salmon for later. We were going to grill but now are too lazy and are just baking it.

xp well, shop bought rhubarb so not quite that fresh but recently picked. I was experimenting with it a bit last year, just bunging it into stir fries to see what the result was.
I think it tends to be heavily sugared in most English usage and that's to counter its sharpness. I think that works quite well in a savoury dish though

tried the scarpetta spaghetti tonight. the oil infused with chili, basil, and garlic is definitely great. the butter and parmigiano reggiano kind of took over the forefront of the flavor, though. I will definitely make it again, but I'll add a few extra tomatoes for the sauce. Or maybe I'll cut the cheese and butter down a bit.

chili+basil+garlic oil in spaghetti. jalapeno+bird's eye+garlic oil in nearly everything. spiced butter in ethiopian food. starting to think that infusing cooking fats with flavor is one weird trick for enjoying every meal.

I made a roasted asparagus, bacon, and egg bake that was pretty good and easy to make. Next time I'll probably use a bit less bacon fat for the asparagus, and bake the eggs a couple minutes less.

starting to think that infusing cooking fats with flavor is one weird trick for enjoying every meal.

― Tapes 'n Tapes of Osho (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, April 26, 2018 11:13 AM (twenty-nine minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i've never really done this intentionally but i think yr otm

The only time I add cheese to the scarpetta recipe is if for some reason the sauce comes out flavorless (not good basil or tomatoes) otherwise yeah, it doesn't need the cheese. That oil is sooooo good. Glad you liked it.

oh, interesting. I think I won't do the cheese next time.

added bonus of making the whole endeavor a bit cheaper

I didn't even realize there was cheese in the recipe. I had it in the restaurant once and I think the cheese was just on the table in general.

hmmm. It is a large amount of cheese. I actually picked up the book, so maybe it's only in there. Do you add butter?

Which book/recipe?

The town I’m in this week has lots of people selling fresh ravioli filled with asparagus and it’s delicious.

the scarpetta book. Yerac and I are referring to Conant's spaghetti recipe, which she brought up itt awhile ago.

I definitely add the butter but I think the early videos of this I watched have absolutely no cheese involved.

I am very curious about this large amount of cheese. I had assumed you just meant some shavings on top.

Ok, I see in the video above he sprinkles some in while it's in the pan. My spouse doesn't eat cheese so I guess we always ignored that part.

I think it was 0.5 cup, which is a pretty large amount

Yeah, I see that although in some recipes online it says 2 tablespoons.

Yeah, those seem to be for a smaller serving size, though. Also lots of unclear info about the volume of pasta. Bc 1 lb of fresh is not the same as 1 lb pf dry, before its cooked anyway.

I think we usually do a pound of fresh pasta for one large can of tomatoes (or 2 regular size cans). It's been so long since we have had good tomatoes around to use. But we also don't like a lot of sauce. We also do a large slice to the garlic and don't strain that or the basil out.

Caprese-style chicken breasts stuffed with tomato, basil, and mozzarella.

I got the Lucky Peach 101 Asian Recipes cookbook for my bday & i cant wait to try some of these recipes esp hainan chicken rice.

the design is suuuuch a nostalgia trip. My mum had a shelf full of 70’s “Asian” cookboks from when everyone bought shitty aluminium woks & a jar of msg & made sweet & sour chicken every Friday night - the book is such a throwback, it cracks me up.
The photography is spot on & the typeface, layout, even the title...somewhere between triggering & comforting, lol.

i had some good italian sausage i had to use so i just browned an onion, added the sausage, added fire-roasted tomatoes. then poured it all into some pasta i made a few days ago. it was surprisingly good.

sounds good to me

I am laughing at those Lucky Peach cookbook pics that I can find online. I Love them and am trying to think of a person to gift this to.

yeah, that book looks amazing and I will buy it eventually

It’s good, rip lucky peach