#beef with holy basil

[quieteating]

Speedboat Bar

It has a kind of weird name.  If I was trying to come up with a name for a restaurant, the first to come to mind would not be Speedboat.  Even if it was planning to be a sporting institution, names such as the Horse & Coaches, The Greyhound or other such names might be more suitable and acceptable in England. These are I assume photos of the Thai royals.  Something I have seen in other Thai…

[morethansalad]

Vegan Thai Pad Gra Prow – Spicy Beef & Basil – with Wide Rice Noodles & Bok Choy

[breelandwalker]

Xanodrian Beef Stew

This stew recipe was passed down to me by the Kitchen Goddess of Xanodria. (Glory be to the Provider of Nourishment, Wielder of the Wooden Spoon, She Who Wears The +5 Apron of Seasoning. Blessed are the fruits of her stove and blessed are we who sit at her table. In the name of the pasta, the stew, and the holy breakfast casserole, amen.)

And since it's a LARP kitchen, the process of bequeathing basically consisted of Dianne pausing in mid-stir to say, "I dunno, I just throw these six or seven things in a pot, add seasoning, and leave it alone until it's done. Go nuts."

Such simple words to describe the best beef stew you will ever eat.

Ingredients:

1 lb cubed stew beef (general rule: 1/4 lb per dinner guest)

1/2 lb bistec (optional, but it does make the texture more varied)

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (yellow or white)

1/2 large onion, minced (yellow or white)

10 oz bag frozen peas and carrots

10 oz bag frozen green beans

Several tsp minced garlic (at least 3)

Worchestershire sauce

Red wine (or beef stock)

Water

Beef bouillon cube

2 tbsp butter (if desired)

Seasonings - garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, paprika, basil (or to taste)

In a dutch oven or medium stew pot, brown the beef until no pink is showing (about 2-3min), but do not cook the cubes all the way through. Remove the meat to a dish with a spoon, leaving the juices and fat in the pot. Sauté the minced onion and 2tsp of minced garlic in the drippings until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are slightly translucent. (If you like, you can throw in a tbsp of butter each for the browning and sauteing.) Deglaze with a generous cup of red wine (or beef stock), stirring to get all the brown bits off the bottom and sides.

Add in the frozen vegetables, cubed potatoes, and cooked beef, followed by 2 cups of water and a beef bouillon cube, stirring to combine. Add several dashes of Worchestershire sauce (and another splash of wine, if desired). Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil, and another spoonful or two of minced garlic. (Or your seasoning blend of choice for beef and veggies.)

Stir until well-combined and let it come to a healthy bubble for about a minute. Then lower the heat to a simmer, put on a lid slightly off-kilter to vent a small amount of steam, and LEAVE IT. Allow to simmer, stirring very occasionally, for no less than two hours. Taste when stirring and adjust seasoning if needed. The stew is done when the potatoes are easily mashed, the beef falls apart when pressed with a wooden spoon, and your whole home smells like deliciousness.

Best served in bread bowls or over a slice of bread. Serves 4 people, or 2 with leftovers. Can be stretched with more vegetables or by serving over buttered noodles.

This is a super-simple recipe with very few components and very little skill required. If you can brown beef, put things in a pot, and add seasoning, and leave it alone, you can probably make this.

Enjoy! 😊🍲

[baby--charchar]

"Oh you're autistic and food restrictive? Alright, I guess you can't have literally ANYTHING yummy, and are only gonna eat cheap processed American food for the rest of your life."

Bruh that's such...a regressive take. There's so much that goes into food that can make it either sensory heaven or sensory hell. Everyone is different, and while there's nothing wrong with "typical" safe foods like Mac n cheese or chicken nuggets, that's by NO means a "default" for autistic people.

I'm strongly averse to certain textures. Sticky things like jam and honey make my mouth feel awful. I can't stand a lot of sandwich breads, it's like eating a couch. And yogurt is the absolute worst. There's no way I can dress up yogurt to make it tolerable.

But flavor? I absolutely love flavor. I'm super sensory seeking with different flavors. I love a lot of Thai, Myanma, and Lao foods because I was introduced to them from a very young age. I love laab moo, with lots of spice, cilantro, mint, red onion, burnt rice powder, all mixed into ground pork. It's a lot going on but that's exactly what I'm looking for. I also make really good pad kaprao, which is chili, fish sauce, shallots, a little sugar, and a TON of basil. I also love jeow seom, which uses fish sauce, sugar, chilis, lime, and raw MSG. Dip some beef and that and it's soooo good.

I know that I'm ranting a bit just on food but like...I just sort of realized how this one aspect of being autistic, being food aversive, is super entrenched in America-centrism and a little bit of stereotyping. So could we as a community just...not? Not make assumptions that one person's safe food is a universal holy grail of safe foods?

[prapasara]

🌟 4 Spotlight Menus of Thai Cuisine in the World’s Best List 🇹🇭🥘

🇹🇭 Thai cuisine, known for its vibrant flavors and aromatic fresh herbs and spices, has captivated both local enthusiasts and global food lovers, earning a prominent place on the international culinary stage. This article explores four spotlight menus that have distinguished themselves on the world’s best list of Thai dishes by TasteAtlas.

1. Pad Kaprao

Pad Kaprao is one of the most known Thai stir-fry dishes, and became famous for its appetizing appearance and flavor. This dish is flavored with soy sauce/oyster sauce, sugar, and fish sauce.

The origins of this iconic Thai dish are believed to date back 334 years ago, based on references from the La Loubère archives (in the year 2230 B.E.), which mentioned that Thai people adopted holy basil from Brahmanism, where it was used in worship rituals.

The version of Pad Kaprao that we are familiar with nowadays is speculated to have emerged during the reign of King Rama VII, adapted from Chinese cuisine brought by Chinese immigrants who sold it in local diners. Others claim that the Chinese cooks modified the Thai dish "beef stir-fried with tree basil," reducing its spiciness to create what is now known as Pad Kaprao.

🍴 How to enjoy - Serve with Jasmine rice, topped with a fried egg. Firstly, add a few drops of fish sauce with chili. Then, let's mix the yolk with the rice.

2. Khao Soi (Thai Curry Noodles)

Khao soi, a signature dish of Northern Thailand, features flat egg noodles in a creamy coconut curry broth. Typically, crispy fried egg noodles are added on top for a crunchy texture, while the dish is served with condiments such as shallots, chilies, pickled mustard greens and lime.

"Khao Soi" derives its name from the ancient method of making noodles by hand, before the advent of machinery for noodle production. To make the noodles used in Khao Soi, wheat flour, eggs, salt, and water are mixed together and kneaded until well combined. The dough is then pressed and rolled out into sheets, which are subsequently sliced with a knife into noodles. This manual slicing of the dough sheets is why the dish is called "Khao Soi," which translates to "sliced rice" in English.

🍴 How to enjoy - Before eating, add lime juice and chili paste to adjust the sourness or spiciness of the broth. Then, mix the condiments well with the curry and enjoy the Noodles.

3. Panaeng Curry

Panaeng curry is a rich and mildly spicy broth with a harmonious blend of coconut milk and panaeng curry paste. This curry is typically enjoyed with various types of meat such as pork, chicken, beef and duck, and is garnished with shredded kaffir lime leaves and red chili peppers.

The original recipe for Panaeng curry was made using a whole chicken, prepared by rubbing the legs together before placing it in the curry pot, mentioned in Siam Rat Newspaper (2515 B.E.) written by M.R. Kukrit Pramoj. This method of preparing the chicken, referred to as "legs rubbing," is believed to be the origin of the name "Panaeng," which means 'cross-legged sitting' in meditation.

The traditional Thai recipe for Panaeng curry is believed to have started during the reign of King Rama V, considered a royal court dish, and has been documented by M.L. Nueang Nilrat.

🍴 How to enjoy - Serve with jasmine rice on a separate plate, add the curry to the rice and scoop it up!

4. Tom Kha Gai

Tom Kha Gai is full of savory and satisfying taste from Central Thailand. Galangal's pungent flavor adds an intriguing counterpoint to the creaminess of coconut milk, bursting in a delightful aromatic dish. The broth is typically cloudy white in color and is seasoned with various herbs, similar to those used in Tom Yum soup.

‘Tom’ means to boil, ‘Kha’ means galangal, and ‘Gai’ means chicken. So, chicken is the original protein used in Tom Kha Gai, but you can replace it with other options such as meat or white fish. Alternatively, you can make it vegan by using only mushrooms.

🍴 How to enjoy - Serve with Jasmine Rice; paired with other Thai dishes (e.g. Thai omelet)

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⭐ ชวนรู้จัก 4 เมนูอาหารไทยที่ติดอันดับอาหารที่ดีที่สุดในโลก 🇹🇭🥘

อาหารไทย เป็นที่รู้จักกันดีในเรื่องของรสชาติที่จัดจ้านครบรส ผสานด้วยความหอมของสมุนไพรและเครื่องเทศ จนได้รับการยอมรับในเวทีอาหารระดับนานาชาติ ในบทความนี้ เพจ Thai SELECT ขอพาทุกท่านไปสำรวจ 4 เมนูอาหารไทยที่โดดเด่น ติดอันดับเมนูที่ดีที่สุดในโลก จัดอันดับโดยเว็บไซต์ด้านอาหารชื่อดัง “TasteAtlas”

1. ผัดกะเพรา

ผัดกะเพรา เป็นเมนูอาหารไทยประเภทผัดยอดนิยม โดดเด่นด้วยรสชาติที่อร่อยจัดจ้าน รับประทานง่าย เป็นเมนูที่พบได้ในทุกร้านที่มีอาหารไทย ส่วนมากนิยมปรุงรสด้วยซีอิ๊วขาวหรือซอสหอยนางรม น้ำตาล และน้ำปลา

จุดเริ่มต้นของเมนูที่มีชื่อเสียงโด่งดังที่สุดของอาหารไทยนี้ สันนิษฐานว่า มีที่มาตั้งแต่เมื่อ 334 ปีที่แล้ว อ้างอิงจากหลักฐานจดหมายเหตุลาลูแบร์ (พ.ศ. 2230) ซึ่งได้มีการระบุถึงใบกะเพราไว้ว่า “ผักลางชนิดที่มีกลิ่นดี เช่น กะเพรา” โดยชาวไทยในสมัยนั้นน่าจะรับเอาต้นกะเพรามาจากศาสนาพราหมณ์ที่มักจะใช้ใบกะเพราในการบูชาเทพเจ้า

สำหรับเมนูผัดกะเพราในแบบที่เราคุ้นเคยกันนั้น สันนิษฐานว่าน่าจะเกิดขึ้นราวสมัยรัชกาลที่ 7 โดยดัดแปลงจากอาหารจีนที่คนจีนนำเอามาขายในร้านอาหารตามสั่ง บ้างก็ว่าชาวจีนได้ทำการดัดแปลงเมนูกะเพรามาจากเมนู “เนื้อผัดใบยี่หร่า” ของชาวไทย แต่ลดความเผ็ดร้อนลง เท่านั้นเอง

🍴 วิธีการรับประทาน - นิยมทานคู่กับข้าวหอมมะลิร้อน ๆ เสิร์ฟร่วมกับไข่ดาว มีน้ำปลาพริกเป็นเครื่องปรุงเพื่อเพิ่มรสชาติความหอมและเผ็ด

2. ข้าวซอย

ข้าวซอยเป็นหนึ่งในเมนูอาหารพื้นเมืองทางภาคเหนือของประเทศไทย เส้นมีลักษณะคล้ายเส้นบะหมี่ แต่มีลักษณะแบน ใส่ใน��้ำซุปที่มีความเข้มข้นนุ่มนวลจากเครื่องแกงและน้ำกะทิ โรยปิดท้ายด้วยเส้นที่ถูกนำไปทอดจนกรอบ นิยมเสิร์ฟคู่กับเครื่องเคียงต่าง ๆ อาทิ หอมแดง พริกคั่วน้ำมัน ผักกาดดอง และมะนาว

โดยชื่อเรียกของเมนู “ข้าวซอย” นั้น เริ่มมาจากกรรมวิธีในการทำเส้นในสมัยโบราณ ที่ยังไม่มีเครื่องจักรในการผลิตเส้นบะหมี่ที่ใช้ทำข้าวซอย ดังนั้นคนสมัยก่อนจึงใช้วิธีการทำเส้นสด ด้วยการนำแป้งข้าวสาลี ไข่ เกลือและน้ำ มาผสมกันแล้วนวดคลึงจนเข้ากันดี จากนั้นกดรีดให้แป้งเป็นแผ่นใหญ่ แล้วเอามีดมาซอยแผ่นแป้งให้เป็นเส้น จึงเรียกว่า “ข้าวซอย” นั่นเอง

🍴 วิธีการรับประทาน - ก่อนรับประทาน ให้บีบมะนาวสักเล็กน้อ�� และใส่พริกคั่วน้ำมันเพื่อเพิ่มรสชาติ จากนั้นคลุกเคล้ากับเครื่องเคียงให้เข้ากัน

3. แกงพะแนง

พะแนงเป็นแกงที่มีรสชาติเค็มหวานมันและเผ็ดเล็กน้อย เนื้อสัมผัสมีความข้น สามารถใส่เนื้อสัตว์ได้หลากหลาย ทั้งเนื้อหมู เนื้อวัว ไก่ และเป็ด เวลาเสิร์ฟโรยหน้าด้วยใบมะกรูดฝอยและพริกชี้ฟ้าซอยเพื่อเพิ่มสีสัน

สำหรับต้นกำเนิดของแกงพะแนงนั้น มีกล่าวถึงโดย ม.ร.ว คึกฤทธิ์ ปราโมช เขียนไว้ในหนังสือพิมพ์สยามรัฐ ตีพิมพ์ในปี พ.ศ. 2515 ว่า แต่เดิมนั้นแกงพะแนงปรุงโดยใช้ไก่ทั้งตัว โดยจับขามาขัดกันก่อนที่จะเอาลงหม้อแกง ซึ่งการขาขัดไก่นี่เอง จึงเป็นที่มาของชื่อเรียกว่า “พะแนง” ในความหมาย ‘ท่านั่งขัดสมาธิ’ นั่นเอง

สำหรับสูตรแกงพะแนงต้นตำรับของไทย เชื่อกันว่าเริ่มต้นในสมัยรัชกาลที่ 5 ซึ่งถืออาหารตำรับชาววัง ที่มีการบันทึกไว้โดย ม.ล.เนื่อง นิลรัตน์

🍴 วิธีการรับประทาน - นิยมรับประทานคู่กับข้าวหอมมะลิ

4. ต้มข่าไก่

ต้มข่าไก่เป็นเมนูขึ้นชื่อในภาคกลางของประเทศไทย ด้วยรสชาติที่มีทั้งเปรี้ยว เค็ม หวานมัน มีการใส่สมุนไพรต่าง ๆ คล้ายกับเมนูต้มยำ แต่เพิ่มการใส่กะทิซึ่งให้รสชาติที่นุ่มนวลกลมกล่อม และน้ำซุปสีขาวนวลเป็นเอกลักษณ์

ต้มข่าไก่ มีส่วนประกอบหลักคือข่า ทั้งข่าอ่อนและข่าแก่ และเนื้อไก่ แต่ในบางครั้งมีมีการใช้เนื้อสัตว์อื่น ๆ เช่น เนื้อวัว หรือ ปลา (ต้มข่าเนื้อ/ต้มข่าปลา) แต่ไม่ได้รับความนิยมเท่าเนื้อไก่ สำหรับผู้ที่ไม่รับประทานเนื้อสัตว์ ก็สามารถใส่เห็ดทดแทนการใส่ไก่ได้เช่นกัน

🍴 วิธีการรับประทาน - นิยมเสิร์ฟพร้อมข้าวหอมมะลิ และเพิ่มความอร่อยด้วยการรับประทานคู่กับเมนูอื่น ๆ เช่น ไข่เจียว

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#Thaifood #ThaiSELECT

#DITP #กรมส่งเสริมการค้าระหว่างประเทศ

# ThaiCuisine #อาหารไทย #PadKaprao#KhaoSoi #Panaeng #TomKhaGai

[ncsasp]

So this is going to be a post about AI. I know that’s a bit of a controversial topic on here so I’m going to start by saying that I hate AI ‘artists’ who steal other people’s works just as much as the next guy, but boy is AI getting good.

Let’s talk about chatGPT.

Most of the people who follow me know that I run the @oneshotcafe blog on here, and one of the things that I do is make the “weekly lunch specials” that is probably the main gimmick of the account. And I’ve actually been running out of ideas recently, I’m grasping at straws. And I was playing around with chatGPT and I’m like “hey, what if chatGPT could make my lunch specials for me?” so on a whim, i type in

Hello ChatGPT. In this conversation I would like you to roleplay as the owner of a cafe in the universe of the video game OneShot. I would like you to generate a list of “Lunch Specials” for use in the cafe themed around the video game OneShot.

And it did not disappoint.

"The Solstice Special" - a sandwich with turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing on a soft roll, served with a side of sweet potato fries.

"The World Machine Wrap" - a chicken Caesar wrap with lettuce, Parmesan cheese, and croutons, served with a side of pasta salad.

"The Tower Burger" - a hearty burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion, served with a side of onion rings.

"The Prototype Panini" - a grilled panini with mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil, and balsamic glaze, served with a side of garlic parmesan fries.

"The Barrens Bowl" - a vegan bowl with quinoa, roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and tahini dressing.

"The Refuge Roll" - a sushi roll with tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and spicy mayo.

"The Glen Gourmet Grilled Cheese" - a grilled cheese sandwich with cheddar and Swiss cheese, tomato, and bacon, served with a side of tomato soup.

"The Silverpoint Salad" - a salad with mixed greens, grilled chicken, dried cranberries, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Like, holy shit it makes better recipes than I do.

Anyways, I’m not going to take any ideas from chatGPT directly, but only use it for inspiration. For example, one of the ones it came up with was “Tower Tacos”, but it was a normal taco. It didn’t have any flair themed around the tower. Instead of the “seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream, served with a side of tortilla chips and salsa.” That it came up with, I would say maybe a breakfast taco. My idea would be “ground beef, and scrambled egg.” to be more reminiscent of the tower and the sun at the top. Perhaps with a few more details, but that’s the point.

In my opinion AI is a useful tool when you’re not just copying off of it. The AI is able to come up with good ideas, but they lack the flair of a human being, and the theme. An AI would never be able to think of the idea to theme a drink around reigen once you’ve run out of sans drinks, however it is a good idea tool.

Don’t know what i was trying to get at here by posting this, but i think it’s interesting.

[thedosianexplorer]

Hagging Out - Veneration

This is a prose-only entry this month (click here for the adorable prequel image) and it is late because, well, *gestures at this human existence in 2022 America*. I haven’t shared my writing in some time but it is one of the many ways I venerate privately. Content mentions for US current events re: the Club Q/Pulse shootings, Supreme Court rulings, the general experience of being a queer American and former Catholic. Other relevant content mentions are in the tags below!

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Veneration used to mean a holy water font booked to the door, laminated prayer cards, statues of Mary that were given to the students who learned their catechism the fastest, the clack of rosary beads. Plastic, wood, metal, semiprecious stones. Clouds of incense wreathing our church calendar and our photo of Pope John Paul II. These things were in my childhood home to remind me that down the road was the church, and we had to show that we acted like we were in that church always. God, the Son, the Spirit, Mary, all the angels and saints, and the host of beloved dead. The Church Triumphant trumpeting loudly onto focus on every room. I made my first shrine this way, to Mary. Besides the obligatory Precious Moments crucifix nailed to my wall (yes, really, these exist), my shrines were to her, my prayers to her, and besides her, the saints, the Spirit, and the angels preoccupied me. I am proud to be an apostate of my old faith, but I was born on a Marian feast and she of any of them can find me still. Now she just has to share space.

My shrines are one of the first things you see walking into my home. They’re like comfortable seats for surprise visits from friends or older relatives. Veneration is still an act, but it no longer feels like a graded performance. This is my home and my temple. My gods know where to find me.

It is the first day of November and my partner is in the worst pain I have ever seen him in, which is saying something about a man for whom subluxations are a frequent enemy. Frigg finds me in the medicine cabinet pulling together the medications that can stand in for the stronger stuff in a pinch. Her light is a thrum across my shoulders as I call dentists, wrangle insurance, make sure there is enough food in the fridge. I often ask Her to help me find abundance and work with it. Patience yields a lead, an open appointment later in the week when every other clinic won't be open until March. The clinic opens doors with a referral, a consultation just five weeks away. The medications start to work. At Frigg’s altar (my kitchen) I mash up leftovers of beef stew and stir in dried basil I grew for Her.

Freyja has another cat for me and this one looks like he’s here to stay. I take care of the outdoor cats as a devotional act because She has kept mine safe. I’ve rehomed many strays over the years and gotten young ferals used to human company. Cryptid came to me just before Samhain two years ago, and this year the Sunday after Samhain my partner found a little black kitten curled against our porch. Within minutes, my partner decided. “His name is Zagreus.” It was the afternoon before the temperatures would drop below freezing at night, and he was barely weaned. His eyes were still blue and he clung to us immediately. I brought him up to Her shrine to say hello, and to ask for help getting him to the vet. As it happened, there was an opening at the same time I had to drop Cryptid off for surgery (this is an exceptionally rare occurrence at my vet). He is healthy, and the other cats have accepted him and taught him their catlore with a readiness that surprised us both veteran cat owners. He’s sleeping next to me now, and his eyes are turning a brilliant amber.

Cryptid’s surgery comes on a Wednesday, Odin’s day. I offer strong coffee for safe travels and our Lyft drivers are swift- they even wore masks! I am wrung-out with anxiety but of all my gods he understands that. Even though I ache through with stress and the toll of new kitten energy I feel cajoled to a Wednesday night walk, my usual ritual with him. I go, and go, and walk farther than I expected, and the old man smiles with a gift: a pristinely kept, solid wood and wrought iron coffee table the perfect height for my reading chair just… placed under a streetlight by the dumpster. He has left other gifts this way- a natural quartz point smoothed with years of rain, a solid copper candle-holder, and now this ideal replacement for the table that just broke. I whisper, “Odin give me strength” and somehow I can heft this heavy thing all the way home.

Macha is who I turn to when I am tired of running or being beholden to the whims of unjust rulers. She knows the burdens of both well. Until February (or longer), all of my student loans are forgiven now but a single Trump-appointed judge in Texas just decided to derail the already delayed day that forgiveness comes to pass. Now it’s up to the Supreme Court who have already decided to curtail my rights in other ways to decide. I didn’t have much to talk about with Her besides that coming right after the midterms, but I was glad to have Her shrine to stop at and catch my breath. 

The Transgender Day of Remembrance falls on a Sunday, Hel’s day in my home. Each year I write the names, light the candles, sing the death songs, and this year it comes early. The news from Colorado Springs finds me in 2022, about to sleep, and in 2016, in the memory of too-bright hotel sunlight. The way of the gods is not linear and neither is grief. In my bedroom my partner and I check on friends and pray. I remember the Sunday morning when the joyful frenzy of AnimeNext fell silent with 49 names from Pulse. Hel is there as I walk the convention floor and listen to a mother’s worry that she wants her teens to be safe wearing those flags with their costumes. I do not tell her that my family doesn’t know I’m queer, that this is the first time I have heard a mother want her children to be out and proud. I tell her something but the words are lost with the sight of her daughter watches the doors behind her friends’ backs and fidgeting with the flag draped over her shoulders. Hel guides me home, bone-white and corpse-blue, cloaked in late autumn fog. She is with me, cemetery silent, in the late hours of grief. For hours I weep for people I will never know. She is much larger than I, and shoulders the weight of what I cannot. I make crockpot applesauce spiked with red wine and honey to warm us both. 

Badb is never far. She found me first, before I knew Her by name. I can find Her in rage, in fear, in triumph. This month has brought it all in plenty. I offer pomegranate wine and angrily wrest my peace back from all that subdues it. She is with the part of me that is left when I think there are no more logs to toss on the fire, the choice in every ember to catch or snuff out entirely. She guides the discernment to see which is needed. 

Mórrígan shares war wisdom and cold comfort as I wait on hold with insurance to remind them that, yes, I do still need the medication I’ve been prescribed since birth and yes, that medication I have taken every day for the past twelve years too. I pour out the acid in the pit of my stomach and imagine it full of the chilly cave water that runs through Her fit abode. I drink my ice water and the panic attack passes. A crow flies overhead as I walk the several miles to the pharmacy. I spoke up and my medication is the cheapest it’s been in years. I honor Her with the victory.

Loki popped in the last Tuesday of November to tell us that if we didn’t take a fucking break we’d keel over. By which I mean, we found ourselves with a massive Postmates coupon, a rainy drizzle, toasty pajamas, our massive beanbag chair and five cats that want nothing more to hibernate with us. I usually bake with them but as tired as I am, I know he enjoyed the heaping portion of tiramisu and cannolis. Even though we only had a few free hours that night it felt like a whole day of rest. 

[kr1g]

Today I made a stew with beef and pork mince, king oyster mushrooms, pickled bamboo shoots, hot holy basil seasoning mix, coconut milk, and a whole thing of fresh cilantro

It's yum (:

[thai-secret-cooking-school]

It was a hot day in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We cooked and ate the entire menu and still had room for fun!

Join me at my Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

www.Chiang-Mai-Cooking-School.com

On the menu this day was:

Papaya salad ~ Som Tam Thai

Fried Thai spring rolls ~ Po Pia Tod

Fresh & Spicy beef salad ~ Yum Nua Yang

Thai Style Noodle ~ Pad Thai

Chicken with cashew nut ~ Pad Met Ma Muang

Minced chicken with holy basil ~ Pad Ka Pao

Hot & Sour Prawn soup ~ Tom Yum Gung

Chicken in coconut milk soup ~ Tom Kha Gai

Green curry with chicken ~ Gaeng kheaw Whan Gai

Red curry chicken or pork ~ Gaeng Ped with Gai or Moo

Panaeng curry chicken or pork ~ Gaeng Panaeng Gai

Deep Fried Banana ~ Gluey Thod

Sweet sticky rice with mango ~ Khao Nuaw Ma Muang

Bua Loy ~ Colorful ~ Glutinous rice ball in coconut milk

[bitternest]

Ingredients 1 small-medium yellow onion 1-1.5 sticks of celery 1 carrot 3-8 cloves of garlic 500g of ground beef 100ml of passata some red wine chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, salt and pepper to taste Changes from OP's: - Sofrito (celery) rather than holy trinity (bell pepper), sorry I will fight you on this one, holmes - Passata because it's genuinely game changing if you can spring for it. Rinse the bottle out with some red wine (or cooking wine if you live somewhere other than France or the home of the single largest purchaser of alcohol on the planet). That or 1 can san marzano-style tomatos (squoosh them by hand) - finish the sauce with a pad of butter, finish cooking the pasta in the sauce - fun spice substitutions/additions include basil, hot hungarian paprika (sofrito might not hold up against this, consider brown sugar/ketchup if you do), worchestershire sauce

Sorry for the hijack, I literally make this on the weekly.

go in there

Go in the pasta sauce

[johnwilliamm]

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[seksipomminpurkaja]

I made a horrible mistake

[sophrosyneadrift]

Soup’s Up

So...it’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted any of my own actual words on here, but I’ve been inspired by @bomberqueen17’s series on casseroles and my thinking is that, according to the season, I will try and manage one of my own about soup.

(Yes, yes, I understand that soups aren’t NEARLY as exotic as casseroles to the vast majority of people who don’t live in the parts of the world that eat casseroles, but as someone who DID grow up eating casserole on the regs they are both about as equally exotic. I.e. Not At All. And they’re both Cold Weather Foods and soups heat up the house when cooking too. So yeah.)

(Also independent of whatever else happens and whoever else reads this my current recipe collection is 1) in shambles and 2) soup-wise, largely dependent on a cookbook that’s disintegrating (Bakery Lane Soup Bowl my beloved) so this will, at the very least, serve as a good collection for my constantly ailing memory. Assuming this hellsite doesn’t croak forthwith. Whatever.)

SO, all that said...I think it’s best to start with a cheap, easy, and solid old standby: Tomato Soup.

This is a wonderful recipe because it’s not only incredibly fucking easy and fast in the world of soup, but ALSO requires at most three main ingredients sans spices and add-ins, and involves extremely little cleanup. This is the holy trifecta I look for when cooking, as I am 1) hypoglycemic, and thus short-tempered and often bewildered by recipes when hungry, 2) constantly forgetting things that are not staples at the grocery store, and 3) very much NOT into cleaning up after I’ve cooked, so the easier that process the more likely it is to happen.

But PLEASE get to the recipe, Kat, you say, and thus I will say you need these things: 

- some form of crushed tomatoes or sauce. I use canned crushed tomatoes usually. Whatever brand will work. You can use the type with garlic or other flavors thrown in. You can even use canned chopped tomatoes instead, if a chunkier tomato experience is what you like! I am not a picky cook. I AM fond of expediency.

- some sort of cream. Heavy or light or half & half is fine. I usually have half & half on hand so that’s what I use. 

- some sort of stock, or stock-forming substance with an appropriate amount of water. Beef or chicken or veggie will work. Bouillon cubes will work. Boxed broth will work. From scratch will work. My preference is Better Than Bouillon, chicken flavor, which is a paste type of thing you add to water. Knock yourself out. 

- flavorful add ins. You can be as fancy or simple as you want here. I, personally, enjoy just salt and black pepper to taste, with a good few shakes each of dried basil and oregano, and a couple of shakes of red pepper. Sometimes I add garlic powder if I remember but usually I don’t.

Now, for directions:

Take your tomatoes and put them in a pot. I’m not going to give you an amount that will work for you if you’re only cooking for one or two people, because I have only ever cooked this for minimum 4 hungry people, usually more. So I take a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and whack it in an appropriately-sized pot. 

Add broth or water&bouillon combo until the tomatoes are about as watered down as you want them. This depends on what kind of tomatoes you’re using. If you’re using crushed tomatoes you’ll usually need about half as much broth as there are tomatoes (14 oz for a usual batch for me, so...a little less than 2 cups). If you’re using chopped tomatoes you’ll have to cook them down a bit & add a little less broth or equivalent. If you’re using proper tomato sauce (like a can of Bertolli’s) you’ll need to add a little more broth...like a little less than half a cup, maybe?? Idk. Depends on how you like your tomato soup. I like mine more tomato-ey. I also add more bouillon to my water than the package says to, because they can’t tell me what to do.

Heat this up on a little less than medium heat until it’s JUST barely at a boil. Keep an eye on it. Stir occasionally. Tomatoes are a bitch and a half to burn. 

When it’s heated, turn it down about two notches (!!) and add your cream. You want a good pour, that gets the color to about the point where it looks like Tomato Soup you may have had from a can at some point in your life. I never measure this part, but for my large recipe purposes I would use probably about...a quarter cup?? Maybe a little more?? Idk. If you like it creamier put more. Put your spices in too, at this point!

Keep this on the lower heat setting (and continue keeping an eye on it and stirring occasionally) until it’s thoroughly warmed through. Do NOT boil it; dairy is fragile. I usually stick my finger in to see if it’s warm enough, but I have a lot of heat tolerance and very few nerves left in my hands and can’t recommend you try this at home.

Once it’s warmed through, turn the heat ALL the way down to low and let it sit for about five minutes to let the flavors mingle even more. You can take this time to contemplate why it’s so fucking cold outside, or why the fuck you waited so long to eat something. You can also take this minute to make a grilled cheese to eat with your soup. I usually do a mix of those three options.

(My preferred quick grilled cheese is an everything bagel with pepper jack and ham, thrown in the toaster oven with the two halves open until the cheese melts and then taken out and squished together. I am a man of simple tastes.)

And finally: Eat!!! I recommend eating the whole thing. This soup was not necessarily made for leftovers, sadly (its only real weakness), although you CAN reheat it in a pinch.

And that’s all she wrote. I hope you enjoyed this! If not then please take appropriate measures, as I will probably be posting about soup intermittently for the foreseeable future. Please fasten your seatbelts for the rest of the soup journey. 

[southeastasianists]

For a restaurant serving what was until recently a Class 5 narcotic substance, the clientele appeared older than one might expect: a couple of extended families, including grandma and grandpa; a woman having a quiet lunch with a man who appeared to be her father; a low-key middle-aged couple. Even the decor—cheesy knick knacks, thick curtains, antimacassars, antique crockery—was far from edgy.

The setting was Ban Lao Reung, a restaurant in Prachinburi, Thailand, that recently became the country’s first to serve dishes made with cannabis. On the day I visited, customers were digging into omelets garnished with marijuana leaves and sipping soups seasoned with dried cannabis-leaf powder. But only a few months ago, possession of these menu items would have led to a lengthy jail sentence, or a hefty bribe.

Thailand’s drug penalties are notoriously strict: The country has one of the largest prison populations in the world. Many are locked up because of drug offenses, and the death penalty remains a punishment for drug trafficking. But in 2018, the country’s military-led government surprised just about everybody when it announced that it would decriminalize marijuana for medical use, becoming the first country in Asia to do so. More recently, in late 2020, the junta announced that the parts of the cannabis plant that contain less than 0.2 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana), which includes the roots, stalks, stems, and leaves, could legally be used in cosmetics and food.

In Thailand, it’s possible to regard these recent laws as rectifications rather than revolutions. Marijuana became illegal in Thailand in 1934, but only as a result of international pressure, and Ban Lao Reung’s older clientele may be due to the fact that Thais have been using cannabis in their food for a very long time.

“My mom is 94, and she said that [cannabis] was used in the family since she was a kid,” says Sombat Kowtraul, the director of the community-outreach program linked to the restaurant. “Her parents used to send her to buy it at the market!”

Indeed, “tender ganja leaves” are called for in an eel-curry recipe in Mae Khrua Hua Pa, generally considered Thailand’s oldest cookbook, first printed in 1908. But it’s likely that the use of the plant goes back much, much earlier, with origins in medicine rather than food.

“Cannabis has been used as an herbal remedy as far back as the Sukhothai Kingdom [1239 to 1438],” says Dr. Waleerat Kraikosol, Deputy Medical Director of Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, the country’s premier institution for traditional Thai medicine. “We used the entire plant—the leaves, the roots, the stems,” she says, adding that in the days before capsules, dried, ground up marijuana leaves were mixed with honey and eaten to encourage sleep. “Much later, people used cannabis in food such as noodle soups. It’s fragrant and it’s kind of like MSG, it improves taste.”

Mention marijuana to a Thai, and it’s quite possible she’ll think of noodle soup rather than blunts or bongs. Cannabis has been contraband for nearly a century now, but it’s still talked about in hushed tones as a secret ingredient in central Thailand’s famous boat noodles, and many a popular noodle soup vendor has been accused of adding “addictive” levels of the ingredient to the broth.

“My dad said that he used to use [cannabis] in the soup when I was a kid, at least 40 years ago,” says Sittichan Vuttipornkul, the second-generation owner of Rod Dee Ded, a noodle-soup restaurant with multiple branches in Bangkok. Was it for flavor? I ask. Aroma? Buzz? “I don’t think he understood what he was doing,” he says. “But science tells us that parts of the plant, especially the roots, have glutamic acid. This gives our tongues the ability to taste more flavor in food.”

Glutamic acid is an essential element in monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG. The amino acid enhances savory taste-active compounds, providing foods with a boost of umami, the pleasantly savory, “round” taste sometimes referred to as the fifth flavor. Research has revealed that the marijuana plant, in particular its leaves, contain a higher concentration of glutamic acid than Parmesan cheese, a food generally considered to have high levels of umami.

With the government’s recent announcement, Sittichai has been able to reintroduce marijuana to Rod Dee Ded’s noodle-soup recipe. He adds dried cannabis roots and branches, which were previously considered trash but now command sky-high prices, to the beef broth, while marijuana leaves, dry-roasted and ground to a subtly fragrant powder, are added to the optional condiments. “In the past, people didn’t have MSG, so they used [cannabis],” he tells me.

Similarly savory flavors are also headlining at Ban Lao Reung. Collaborating with traditional Thai medicine experts at Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital, the restaurant’s manager, Amara Akamanon, has created a menu of dishes that allegedly don’t include MSG, but that are positively packed with umami flavor: a savory stir-fry of minced pork, holy basil leaves, and dried marijuana leaves; a savory, tart, tom yam-like soup of pork, Thai herbs, and dried marijuana-leaf powder; and a downright meaty dish of fresh marijuana leaves, battered and deep-fried tempura-style, and served with a Thai-style dip.

These dishes are not edibles—you’d have to eat enormous portions to feel any kind of high. And the minute levels of THC in marijuna leaves only become active when exposed to heat, meaning that there’s absolutely no risk in slamming the restaurant’s refreshing (and highly Instagramable) drink that combines tea, passionfruit, and freshly juiced raw cannabis leaves, the latter with a vibrant green hue and a flavor like a milder wheat grass.

In the months since Ban Lao Reung debuted its menu, a handful of restaurants across Thailand have started serving marijuana-laced dishes ranging from mini pizzas to cannabis bubble tea. There’s inevitably a thrill in eating something that was only recently contraband, and that could potentially get one high. And medicinal marijuana proponents tout the alleged health benefits of cannabidiol, or CBD, present in these dishes. But when it comes to cooking with marijuana in Thailand, the main goal seems to be flavor, and there might be nothing more Thai than that.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Being Spoilt for Choice

The past couple of days have been made of Effort, and there’s still more to come. So I’m sitting waiting for painkillers to kick in and trying to decide what to do first.

A fairly quick summary of the Stuff:

The garden: The marjoram is not-so-slowly taking over one of my windowsills, but the chamomile’s also getting pretty big. My parsley and chives are flourishing, as are both pots of basil - I have one that’s indoors sharing a shared planter with my parsley and chives, and an outdoor pot that I fought assiduously to save from what I think was root rot through accidental overwatering. I succeeded, too - lost a lot of the older leaves but new ones are growing in sturdy and dark green like they’re supposed to, and not that pale washed-out colour. The mint is ... well, everyone tells me that mint just grows like crazy and they’re right. The thyme and oregano is also doing well, and I seem to have somehow managed to get a last coriander seed in with my rosemary plant, somehow. I guess that means if I want more coriander, I can just go ahead and plant it - it doesn’t seem to mind growing wherever and also seems to grow very fast. (I also have some coriander seeds from the first plants. Thinking of drying and powdering those for cooking later.) I’m having to restake the tomatoes with longer, thicker stakes because they’ve got so tall now, though the couple of flowers one plant had didn’t last. My peas are still producing, and while I’d like to do some repotting to give the roots more space to spread (because the biodegradable propagator bag doesn’t seem to be biodegrading as fast as I’d like and the roots are kind of cramped), I can’t really, because ... well, the cucumber’s living next to it and decided to wrap a couple of runners around my pea plants for stability. I don’t want to damage them, so... I mean, I’m having thoughts about at least moving them up a little ways and cutting through the bag with a good-sized pair of scissors if I can do so without damaging the roots... Anyway, the courgette plants are significantly flowering now - the flowers haven’t opened yet, but there’s two big ones that are about to. As everyone has warned, I’m going to end up with a lot of courgette. Good thing I like courgette, and that B Dylan Thomas provided a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread that I can make if I figure out how to make it work with gluten-free flour - I understand xantham gum is involved. Anyway, then there’s the strawberries; they’re not 100% aphid-free so I’m going to need to spray with the essential oil blend again, but they’re mostly aphid-free and not only are they producing flowers, a couple of them have already lost their petals and started looking like the fruits they will one day be! So exciting!

Cookery: Since at least some of my ground beef needed using owing to lack of space in the freezer, I made another lasagne yesterday. I used fresh basil, chives, and oregano from my various bits of garden and holy hell, you can so much taste the difference with fresh herbs! The red sauce was gorgeous, all full of fresh herbs and garlic and bits of courgette and mushroom and onion and a bit of beef stock for thickening and richness and a couple of teaspoons of sun-dried tomato paste to fill out the regular tomato paste as well as the beef spiced as I generally like it. While I probably will dry some of my herbs just to keep them, and some I have to for ease of use in teas and such, mostly I’m just going to keep them because if that’s the difference fresh herbs make, it makes all the work worth it.

Sorta-Cookery: Some of the major oof of the last couple of days involved my dehydrator. Yes, I ordered one, after a lot of comparison shopping for what would best suit my needs at a decent budget point. Also a hand mixer, because as I understand it, I need a mixer if I want to make fruit leather in the dehydrator and space is at something of a premium in my kitchen. (Also there’s a smoothie attachment, so that’s another thing.) Anyway, the issue was that while the hand mixer got delivered to my door, the dehydrator went by another delivery service and they delivered to one of the local corner shops instead. Which meant I had to haul it home myself. It’s not heavy, exactly, but it’s ungainly, particularly if you’re lugging it in one arm because you’re using a cane. But I did manage to get it home in the end and today ... well, today was more lugging because I brought home fruit. I’d been doing a fair bit of reading on the best fruits to dehydrate since it seemed a good place to start, and while I had a list in my head, there were other things I found while shopping that I also decided I wanted to try. So now there’s fruit everywhere and a dehydrator to put it in...

................and I don’t know what to start wiiiiiiiiiiiiith...

So, okay, here’s the list - I’ll arrange it by shelf life, least to most, because that does make a difference:

Raspberries

Cherries

Strawberries

Bananas (they’re perfectly ripe now)

Mango

Plums

Kiwis

Pears

Apples

Heeeeeeeeelp!