#there was other stuff like roasting up a bunch of tomatoes and garlic and stuff to make up tomato paste that I can put on everything

[yesterdayscake]

a few things that worked for me was making prep and cooking two different steps.

so when I went shopping, I’d get home and be tired so I’d rest. that evening I would prep the veg for storage in my fridge, and sort of as a pre meal prep stage.

so everything got washed and put in jars, and some things would get chopped a bit.

I like jars and clear containers because I can see into them.

that night (the same night as I shopped) I’d eat a pre-made meal. generally one I got at the shops.

…

so some meals take a lot of prep, so for those I would prep everything one day, do my mis en place into little containers, and then do the actual cooking the next day.

if it took super heaps of effort, lif goes on the pot and into the fridge and I would sort the leftovers into tupperware the next day (as well as worrying about the big dish the next day also).

I’ll do a lot of meals where I can eat the leftovers cold, which minimises spoons I’m using between cooked meals. stuff like larb and rice in lettuce cups, I’d wash the whole head of cos lettuce, mix rice into the larb, and then just eat the left overs for breakfast the next few days (this one is especially a lifesaver when you’re about to have a heatwave).

I also discovered that I personally prefer to eat leftover salmon cold, especially in the summer. the coldness mutes the flavour and I can handle it better on particularly autistic sensory days.

and that’s the other major thing that literally changed my life was making breakfast the Big meal for most days. people always say ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ and then spend all their time prioritising dinner!

but personally, if I have a full, balanced breakfast, generally consisting of rice, veg and protein, then I’m eating it when I actually have energy to enjoy it and to digest it properly. by the time I get to evening, I often only have energy to eat crackers or fruit with cheese, but if I had a decent, more balanced breakfast then that’s less of an issue.

last but not least was that I found that if I went to shops that weren’t soul sucking then it took a lot less energy. so I would get delivery from the soulless awful place for the heavy stuff and then once a month or so I’d go to the markets and get the cheaper veg and fruit and nice honey and stuff. it was sort of a compromise between spoons and morale that worked out pretty well.

I don’t know if any of these things will work for other people but they helped me to learn how to cook again after forgetting it all, and to learn to love food again after having appetite issues. and I didn’t go bankrupt while paying far too much rent and living in a very high cost area so hopefully they might help someone else too

so many tips for budgeting/being frugal are just twice as hard when you have a disability

"meal plan!" idk if i'll be feeling well enough to cook every day so it's hard to plan for what to eat

"cook in advance!" i can't cook meals for a whole week at once and plus i can't count on that because again idk if ill feel okay to cook at the same time every week

"use cloth napkins and towels!" those need to be washed and folded, i already have trouble doing my laundry

"delivery is expensive, always shop in person!" going to the grocery store can wipe me out for the day.

"base your food shopping on whats on sale that week!" one, allergies are a thing and some people don't have that luxury, two, that's a lot that you have to prep for and that takes energy.

"DIY!" takes time and energy. maybe i could do it by myself but would it be worth all the time i need to take to recover?

i mean none of these are bad ideas or trying to exclude people. most of it is cutting out conveniences. but for disabled people, something that's a convenience for someone can be a necessity to others

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

TOMATO LINGUINE.

carmen “carmy” berzatto x fem!reader ��� fluff

summary. you surprise carmy with a homemade meal to welcome him home after a long, tiring day at he restaurant. you’re nervous. he’s pleased. you’re tired, and so is he. luckily the couch is calling your names

word count. 834

never wrote him before so im shitting my pants. but he’s been on my mind and needed an outlet. also no s3 spoilers

⎯ ☆ ⎯

Being Carmy's girlfriend isn't always so straightforward. It's great, but it isn't easy. He dislikes the help and aid of others, not because he doesn't like the care or the way it feels, rather, he believes he doesn't deserve it.

So over the past couple of months, you had been subtly increasing the ways you look after him - doing little things to show your love. First, you started small, preparing a water bottle in the fridge overnight, attaching a cute post-it note for him to read as a pick-me-up during service the next day. Then, you moved onto organising his stuff by the front door - lining his clogs and his commuting shoes beside his backpack, placing his coat next to it as an attempt to make his morning easier. You just wanted to help lighten his load, even if that means organising things for him that he’s bound to never forget.

You had been working up to making him dinner. It was an awfully scary thing, not because you were uncertain with your way around the kitchen, but worried in the chance Carmy were to hate it - or make a critique you couldn’t stomach.

You knew he would be tired coming home tonight, a critic in the restaurant will do that to him. You wanted to make him something to eat for when he returns, something homely and welcoming, just something comforting to make up for all of the stresses from today.

You decided on pasta, an all round dish with very little room for error. A jar of sauce would be blasphemy in his apartment, an insult almost, so you made your own simple sauce - placing tomatoes and garlic in a dish, coating it with one of Carmy’s fancy olive oils before throwing it in the oven to roast. It was one you had made a bunch of times for yourself before, so you were fairly confident with it. Sort of.

Remembering little tips he had taught you, you implemented them with everything you cooked - like right now, saving the water from the linguine to incorporate later. And to season throughout, not just at the start or end. You wanted to impress him. You always wanted to impress him.

The key in the door jingles and you rush to add the finishing touches - sprinkling on some chopped herbs, and placing a piece of homemade garlic bread on the side. 

“Hi,” you softly call out, hearing his shoes hit the skirting board - no doubt after he had just kicked them off.

He paces over to you, moving sluggishly as he wraps his arms loosely around your waist, chin hooking over your shoulder. “Hi,” he says back, voice tired against your ear. “Smells great in here.”

“Good. I’m glad you think so,” you smile, pressing a kiss into his temple. “I made you dinner.”

“You uh, you did?” he pulls back, a sheepish smile on his face.

You hum, moving aside to pick up the bowl. “But I can put it in the fridge if you’ve already eaten…”

“No no no,” he shakes his head, reaching to take the bowl from your grasp. “I– I haven’t all day, so uh, so this is perfect,” he nods faintly, reaffirming his words.

Your gaze flickers from the bowl to his eyes, growing antsy. “Please just try it, this is killing me,” you say, scrunching your face from the anticipation. 

He twirls the pasta on his fork and takes a bite, humming in a pleasant tune as he chews.

“Is it good? Is it bad? Too much garlic?” you ramble, nervous from his lack of verbal response. 

“No,” he shakes his head. “It’s uh, it’s tremendous,” he smiles, 

“You’re not just saying that?” you joke. “Not trying to spare my feelings, are you?”

“No,” he chuckles earnestly, shaking his head. “I mean it… it’s almost perfect,” his smile softens as he twirls his fork for another bite. “Did uhm, you use my olive oil?”

“Only a little bit– hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” he nods once more, chewing his mouthful. “It’s great, I love it,” he grins faintly, leaning in to kiss you. “Thank you.”

–

With full, happy bellies, each of you lay on your sides on the sofa - snug to one another to share the small space. Carmen props the side of his head in his fist, elbow bent beside your head. 

“How are you feeling?” you ask, referring to the  moment of comfortable almost silence.

You notice him hesitate, and to assure him, you copy his movement - propping your head in your hand, your other reaching to the side of his face. You stroke over his sideburn, fingers grazing back into his messy, unkempt curls.

“Tired,” he exhales, eyes closing from your touch. 

“Me too,” you murmur. You adjust, eyes silently asking him to do the same. Moving forward and twisting, you lay your head on his chest - your arm wrapping around his waist tightly. “Get some sleep, Bear. Busy day tomorrow, you need the rest.”

this is probs a one time thing btw x

[heich0e]

The lazy girls are dying to know more about this kale salad. You sounded so excited and I can’t eat kale unless I make kale chips 😂

ARIEL OK U HAVE TO TRUST THE PROCESS ON THIS. the lazy girl kale salad... is just kale.

i personally like curly kale for salads like this because it's not as ROUGH N TOUGH as something like cavolo nero. so u wash it and then chop it up into TEEEEEENY tiny little pieces and dump it all into a big bowl.

the magic here is in the dressing which is: tahini/tahina/sesame seed paste (whatever you prefer to call it), salt, black pepper, cayenne, lemon juice. RLY u can add anything here but i tend to keep it simple (tonight, for example, i didn't want to cut a lemon so instead i added a bit of lemon/garlic vinaigrette instead of lemon juice and it was soooooo good.) then you add a little bit of warm water at a time and mix it until it goes really silky and white!!

weird part: massage some of the dressing into the chopped kale to help tenderize it. the kale will go BRIGHT green so u know it worked. (you can also massage it with JUST lemon juice and salt and then add the dressing but that's just more work IMHO.)

bc this is not a very nutritionally balanced salad atm (aka just kale) i add hemp hearts (a good source of omega 3s and a bunch of other stuff!!) and nutritional yeast (listen. i know. it sounds weird and bad. if u don't already know what it is i'm just giving up and letting it remain a mystery here. it's good tho.) the beauty of the lazy girl kale salad is that it's yummy just like this (that's how i ate it for dinner tonight) OR you can add WHATEVER other veggie/fun stuff you have available to you. cucumber! tomato! peppers! radish! carrot! sliced brussel sprouts! roasted cauliflower or broccoli or sweet potato! quinoa! tofu! chickpeas! meats or cheese or whatever (not my area of expertise but i'm sure it would work!!) the world is ur salad.

[clatterbane]

With the topic of immigrant food and "authenticity" coming up, I had to get a tad amused at the relatively low spoons and incidentally fairly international spread we ended up with for tonight's supper.

I got an urge for my own take on a family version of the good old Southern US macaroni and tomatoes. Take a can of tomatoes, stew them up for maybe 15-20 minutes in a small pot with plenty of chopped onion and optional garlic (preferably first sauteed some in the fat of your choice), throwing in whatever seasonings you want. Tonight I went super basic with just the onion in some sunflower oil, and plenty of salt and mixed pepper. Meanwhile, cook about half a pound of macaroni (or other short pasta). When that's done, just mix it all together and let it sit a few minutes.

I also pulled out some grated Gouda, since he always likes to cheese his up.

Anyway, to go with that? Rummaging around, I found some of these frozen grilled chicken legs seasoned with a very Swedish take on a barbecue dry rub. Perfect! Let's thaw that shit out in the microwave, then finish them off in the oven for a few minutes while the macaroni cooks.

To go with the chicken? Some commercial ajvar! It's extremely popular, with the amount of assorted Balkan immigrant food here in Sweden. Goes great with pretty much any grilled meat! Amusingly, even though Mr. C is really not a fan of either roasted peppers or eggplant? He loves the stuff, and introduced me to it after hunting some down in London.

Now, for more vegetable matter. It looks like he already ate half of the leftover takeout pizzasallad from last night that I was thinking of having. (Itself possibly influenced by a Balkan cabbage salad. Since pretty much all of the pizza places here are still run by a variety of non-Italian immigrants.)

What else have we got on hand? OK, I can throw together some quick cucumber and onion salad, dressed with this leftover garlic yogurt kebab sauce! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

From the same pizza place, which as per local standard also serves a bunch of kebab and shawarma options. Alongside Balkan grilled delights sometimes, but not from that particular place. This one did have an Indonesian menu section, which was the first instance I had noticed. Occasionally you do see Thai food from a pizza/kebab place.

At any rate, it did all work together remarkably well in the end. Nobody went away hungry.

And I'm sure that either one of my grandmothers would have gladly eaten the hell out of that meal. My Nana probably would have also been plotting how to produce her own version of the ajvar, once her peppers and eggplants started coming in. Because that's how these things do tend to work.

[thorraborinn]

This is kind of the base-level thing to aim for but I always made it a little different, like if I had extra squash or something I'd throw it in. I don't have any measurements for anything unfortunately but it's not complicated.

The base is red lentils. When you boil them enough they start to break apart in a way other lentils don't. They makes it "feel" more like chili than like a lentil soup (also good, but not what we're going for).

I have alright heat tolerance but I was cooking for a crowd so I had to keep it mild and learn how to get the flavor I wanted while keeping the heat down. I used a little bit of dried guajillos and a whole bunch of aji panca paste. That keeps the heat within tolerance for like 75% of people and if you serve it over rice or potatoes that cools it off enough for like 85%. We always also had other totally non-spicy stuff so that was good enough.

Saute onion/peppers/garlic in a big pot. While that's happening reconstitute the (de-seeded) guajillos in hot water. When those are ready, dump them with the water in a blender with a can of tomatoes (whole, crushed, doesn't matter, they're getting blended). When the onions/peppers are ready dump your tomato-guajillo sludge in the pot. Add the lentils.

You need enough liquid to comfortably cover everything. You could probably use vegetable broth but I always used water with a glob of roasted veg Better Than Bouillon. Add a dollop of panca paste too.

Throw in whatever other beans you want.

Here's the part that brings it home: You gotta add a can (or two if you're making a lot) of coconut milk. Since this doesn't have any meat in it you need to supplement the fat content. You don't notice the coconut at all in the finished product, you just notice that it's better. I once experimented with using avocado for this part which doesn't not work but you'd need too many for it to be worth it unless you have a bunch you need to use up. If you're gonna use avocado throw them in the blender with the tomatoes.

For spices I usually did something like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika (not the hot stuff... saved that for myself), cumin, pepper, salt (but don't go overboard, it's already getting salt from the bouillon). Despite the smokiness from the panca paste I always wanted more so I hit it with some liquid smoke.

I do still make this for myself but I normally use chipotles instead of guajillos and panca.

The vegan chili I used to make for food distros was so good that a meat-eating straight guy once proposed marriage over it. This was like, I dunno, four years ago. He goes "As soon as they legalize gay marriage I'm locking you down!" and I go "Nobody tell him!"

[acti-veg]

Cheap Vegan Essentials

With everything going on right now, I thought may be useful to repost an edited version of my list of cheap vegan groceries. Most of this is standard stuff but if you’re used to ready meals and faux meats but you can’t get them with the panic buying, this post may prove helpful to you. A lot of these have a really long shelf life as well, so they will be useful if you end up isolating. You may struggle to find some of these items with people clearing the shelves, but it will hopefully help to know what to keep a look out for. Just please avoid stockpiling. It is sensible to have these items in your cupboard but you should only buy what you need.

Rice: Rice is an extremely cheap and filling staple. A cup of rice contains roughly 45 grams of carbohydrates and 4-5 grams of protein. In an airtight container it lasts at least 6 months.

Beans: Beans are one of the most accessible protein sources and have been a staple around the world for thousands of years. Just one cup of soybeans, for example, contains a massive 28.62 grams of protein, while even standard baked beans contain around 14 grams. They also contain lysine, which is missing from most other plant sources.

Chickpeas: Chickpeas can be purchased very cheaply canned, and in large bags in bulk if you’re willing to prep them yourself. Each cup contains about 15 grams of protein, tonnes of fibre as well as magnesium and folate.

Lentils: Similar to chickpeas, lentils can be bought canned or in large bags. A cup of cooked lentils contains a massive 18 grams of protein, they also lower cholesterol, improve heart health and help stabilise blood sugar.

Oats: Oats are very cheap, can be bought in bulk and have great shelf life. They are high in protein, fibre, and B12; they are even thought to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Cereals: Most cereals, especially supermarket’s own brand products are very cheap. Whole grain cereals like bran or oat based products are high in fiber, calcium and iron, and most are fortified with B vitamins.

Pasta: Pasta is another great product to always have on hand, it is one of the least expensive items in any supermarket, can be bought in bulk and has a very long shelf life. Depending on the type, pasta can be a good source of fibre and carbohydrates; it is a high energy food and is very filling.

Potatoes: Potatoes are one of the cheapest foods available in most supermarkets, at an average of just $0.56 per pound. They are versatile, filling and despite their reputation as unhealthy, they are an excellent source B6 and a good source of potassium, copper, vitamin C, manganese, phosphorus, niacin, dietary fiber, and pantothenic acid.

Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are as versatile as white potatoes, are high in vitamins B6, C, D, iron, magnesium and potassium. They’re also a more balanced source of energy than white potatoes, as their natural sugars release slowly, avoiding blood-sugar spikes.

Noodles: Many varieties of noodles are vegan, they are very cheap and last a long time. Noodles are very filling and contain high levels of B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, riboflavin, and calcium.

Nut butters: Depending on the type, nut butters can be purchased very cheaply. It has a surprisingly good shelf life, is an excellent source of heart healthy fats and is very high in protein.

Falafel: Falafel is usually cheap to buy pre-made but it is even cheaper when made at home just using chickpeas and spices. It is filling, can be used to make great vegan burgers and is a good source of protein, fat and soluble fibre.

Hummus: Though buying pre-prepared hummus is usually relatively cheap, it is far more cost effective to make your own in larger quantities, depending on the recipe you usually only need chickpeas, tahini and lemon.

Couscous: Couscous can be great in salad or as its own side dish, it is cheap to buy and is a convenient option since it is so easy to prepare. It is a good source of lean protein, dietary fibre and B vitamins.

Tofu: Tofu has an odd reputation for being expensive, quite probably among people who have never bought it. Tofu has been a Chinese staple for thousands of years, it is now widely available in supermarkets and is far cheaper than comparable animal products, averaging less than $2 per pound. It is filling and is high in both protein and calcium. If you find it expensive in your local supermarket, try a Chinese market or world foods store. It will keep for months if you freeze it.

Tempeh: Tempeh is similar to tofu in price and use, but has a different texture and slightly different nutritional properties. The fermentation process and its retention of the whole bean give it a higher content of protein, dietary fibre and vitamins compared to tofu, as well as firmer texture and a stronger flavour.

Seitan: Seitan is made with wheat gluten and is extremely high in protein, as well as being one of the cheapest sources of protein per dollar when made at home and is around the same price as low quality beef in stores. It has a steaky texture and is very filling.

Frozen fruit/vegetables: Large bags of mixed frozen vegetables can be bought extremely cheaply almost anywhere. Despite popular opinion to the contrary, frozen vegetables are almost as healthy as fresh produce since they are frozen while fresh and don’t endure the loss of nutrients associated with long travel and extended shelf time. Frozen fruit like mixed berries can be a cheap way to prepare smoothies or dessert.

Canned fruit/vegetables: Having a few cans of fruit or vegetables around is always a good idea, things like canned tomatoes or corn can be a side on their own, canned peaches or orange pieces are an instant dessert and canned tomatoes can be used to make sauces.

Bananas: Bananas are one of the cheapest fruits available and deserve a mention based on their nutritional value and their versatility. They can be used in desserts, as a healthy snack and can be used to make cheap vegan ice cream.

Citrus Fruits: Citrus fruits like lemon, orange and limes are cheap to buy in bunches, especially when in season and can be eaten as a healthy snack or used as a cheap way to add flavour to existing dishes.

Vegetable stock: Vegetable stock is good to have around for a variety of purposes; it will add flavour to any dish from gravies to soups and roast dinners. It is extremely cheap and relatively healthy if you go for a low sodium option. It is even cheaper if you make it yourself from leftovers or trimmings.

Olives: Olives are a healthy source of fat, they are thought to have anti-inflammatory properties and contribute to good health health, as well as being good sources of iron. They can be bought in large jars very cheaply and can be a healthy snack.

Olive Oil: Thought to be the healthiest oil to cook with, it is heart healthy and can be used to add flavour to a variety of dishes like pastas and salad.

Spinach: Spinach is often called a super-food in terms of nutritional content, it is is high in niacin and zinc, as well as protein, fiber, calcium, iron and a multitude of vitamins. You can also buy large bags of pre-prepared spinach very cheaply.

Kale: It has a different flavour and texture to spinach, but has similar uses. It is a great source of dietary fibre and is packed with nutrients, vitamins, folate and magnesium. Even a 500g bag should only set you back around $2.50.

Bread: Many new vegans assume bread is off limits, but many breads are vegan. Even speciality loafs are very cheap considering the amount of meals they can contribute towards, and they can be a good source of carbohydrates and protein. It will keep for 3-6 months if you freeze it.

Plant Milks: Plant milks have an undeserved reputation for being expensive, this is only in comparison to heavily subsidised dairy milks, though even then the price is comparable, in fact, some supermarket’s own brands are even cheaper. Plant milks are packed with calcium and are usually supplemented with vitamins B6 and B12.

Non-Dairy Spreads: Non-dairy spreads can be made form a variety of sources, from soy or olives to coconut oil. They tend to be comparable to dairy butter in terms of calcium, but without the unhealthy fats and cholesterol. They are usually priced similarly or cheaper than their dairy counterparts.

Peppers: Peppers tend to be very cheap to pick up in large bags, particularly bell peppers. They can be stretched over several meals, and can add flavour and texture to curries, stir fries and salads.

Nutritional Yeast: Seen as something of a speciality health food, nutritional yeast is actually very cheap, lasts a long time and is one of the best sources of vitamin B12. It has a nutty, cheesy taste, so you can use it in place of anything you’d usually sprinkle cheese on. It is also great in soups and when used to make “cheesy”, creamy sauces.

Flax seeds: Each tablespoon of ground flax seed contains about 1.8 grams of omega-3s. It is included in this list as they make a great egg substitute in baking, can be sprinkled on cereal, yogurt or oatmeal. It is cheap to buy, and even a small packet lasts a long time.

Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate is not only far healthier than milk chocolate, it is usually cheaper to buy in the same quantities and is far more filling. It is versatile for use in baking and desserts and is a healthy snack in small quantities.

Selected Produce: Fresh vegetables are not always expensive. Seasonal vegetables are usually cheap in most supermarkets, but some vegetables like carrots, turnips, onions, cabbage and cauliflower are inexpensive all year round, and can often be bought on offer or as “irregular” (but still perfectly edible) for even less.

Herbs and Spices: Having a range of spices on hand is always a good idea; things like cumin and garlic can add depth and flavour to simple meals and they last a very long time. Investing in a good spice rack and some curry powder will save you money in the long term.

Stay safe everyone, and please check in on your vulnerable friends, family members and neighbours. I am always around if you need any advice, resources, accessible recipes or just a bit of a chat to help with the stress. Take care of yourselves and each other.

[smoothcurvesinteractive]

What Makes Dad's Tacos Special

What REALLY makes Dad’s tacos special

The Meat

The Tortillas

The whole Taco Bar Spread

What really makes my tacos special is the care I put into the meat and the tortillas. I’ve been making tacos since I was a teenager, and they were one of the first dinners I could cook for myself. The technique I use for cooking the meat, and the tortillas has been developed and tweaked and improved for around 40 years.

The meat should be fine crumbles. Ground turkey and Chicken tend to turn into really fine, almost sand like texture. 85 and 90% lean hamburger also tends to crumble really fine.

This technique can also make cheap (70% fat content) hamburger much healthier.

Raw corn tortillas are just gross, microwaved with a little water, they are a bit better. My technique for preparing tortillas looks involved but takes mere seconds per tortilla, and if you cook 2 or 3 tortillas at a time you can have a batch of a dozen cooked in under 10 min.

This technique also applies to wheat flour tortillas. For flour, us a LOT less water, half as much water per side as described below, and a bunch more butter. Wheat flour tortillas bubble up really nice and fun in a pan.

The Meat

Prep

Ground hamburger, Pork Turkey or Chicken

2 Packets of taco seasoning (1 packet per ½ lb of meat)

Paprika (ideally roasted turkish)

Onion powder

Garlic powder

1 teaspoon chopped garlic per lb meat

The biggest frying pan we got (often called a sauce pan)

Optional

roasted crushed pepper flakes

Finely chopped onion

Chopped baby onion stems

Finely chopped tomato

Refried beans (no more than ¼ cup per lb of meat)

Meat cooking Technique

In a big frying pan,

turned on high,

dump 1 to 2 lbs of the meat, smash it down with a fork until it covers the whole pan evenly.

Let that sizzle for a bit, like 4 min, until the meat on the button just starts to brown

With a spatula stir up the meant and turn as much of the meat over, to try to  brown the other side

Repeat this 4 times, until a goo portion of the meat has started to brown

Now stir in ¾ pint or 2.5 cups of water for every lb of meat (this will seem like a LOT of water… don’t worry)

Keep stirring until you have a meat soup.

Once the meat soup has started to boil, add in the taco seasonings, and paprika (no more than a teaspoon of paprika per lb of meat

If you are in a hurry, you can drain off most of the water BEFORE adding the spices, do not drain off all the water or the spices won’t mix, and you’ll burn the meat.

Stir in the spices

Let boil down for 15 to 20 min, or until the meat is no longer floating in the water, and a lot of the fat has separated and starting to make a film on top.

DO NOT reduce the water all the way…

Turn off the burner

Prepare a plastic container, or a bowl, you are going to pour and spoon off the fat and the rest of the water. I usually press a bit ladle spoon down into the meat and gather up all the water and fat and ladle it into the the plastic container… This step is important we will use this stuff to make the tortillas delicious.

Once all the water and as much fat as you can has been drained out of the pan, put the pan back on the burner (that is off but still hot) stir the meat for a bit. Leave the meat in the pan on the burner to cool and slow cook as the burner continues to cool down.

The Basic idea  is to first brown the meat a bit, add a bunch of water, bring to boil stir in spices  and then boil down most of that water, in doing so separating most of the fat from the meat and turning the meat into a finely ground crumbles. This also infuses all the meat with the spice mix.

The Tortillas

Corn tortillas

2 plates

Softened butter, or Butter like substance

Bowl of water

The water and fat separated from the meat (it should be good and dark orange/brown)

Pre-Prepare the tortillas

Ladle one teaspoon of the taco meat water onto each side of every tortilla, spread a bit of butter onto each side of each tortilla let the tortilla rest for a bit so the water soaked in, fry them up until they bubble and turn a nice yummy color. Fresh tortillas from the store are crumbly, and have a white and raw texture, this techniques partially breaks down the corn flower and re-constitutes the tortilla through frying in the pan. This technique dramatically improves the taste of the tortilla and the taco. Also this technique improves the strength of the tortillas, they won’t crumble and break like warmed up raw tortillas, and are stronger and much more flavorful than steamed tortillas.

This technique is based on the technique my mom used to make tortillas. She was taught by her mexican friends to always fry corn tortillas in butter, LOTS of butter.

Dads Specific Procedure

Equipment Prep

Pan and spatula are selected and placed on a burner on the stove

A prep plate is placed on the counter beside the stove top right next to the burner you’ll be cooking the tortillas on

Butter and butter knife are placed next to the prep plate

Plastic container with the taco water is placed next to the prep plate

Teaspoon is placed on the prep plate

Tortillas are pulled out, package opened and placed next to the prep plate

A receiving plate is placed on the counter opposite side of the stove

Prepping the tortillas

Take a tortilla from the bag,

place it on a plate,

Ladle the taco meat water onto  the tortilla

Spread a bit of butter onto the tortilla

Flip the tortilla over

Ladle another teaspoon of water

Spread another bit of butter

The next tortilla goes on top of the previous tortilla

Prepping the pan

Ideally you have a cast iron, or thick bottomed stainless steel frying pan

Ideally you have a thin bladed stainless steel spatula with a lot of springy flex and a good handle .

Turn a burner on high

Get that pan and burner hot,

If you drop butter in the pan and the butter starts to burn, the pan is too hot. Water dripped onto the pan should instantly turn to steam

Frying the Tortillas

Get a frying pan really hot, ¼ of full burner power, water should sizzle and pop as soon as it touches the pan.

DO NOT put tortillas into a cool pan, they will stick, and not turn out well

With a tortilla in one hand and a teaspoon of water in the other

drop a teaspoon of water, and or a bit of butter into the pan

Immediately plop a tortilla on that sizzling hopping water/butter

With a spatula press the tortilla down, it should sizzle energetically

With the spatulat pressing down swish the tortilla around the pan in circles 3 or 5 times

Lift up the spatula.. Let the tortilla sizzle on the pan on it’s own for a few seconds

As soon as the tortilla starts to bubble flip it over.

WARNING. If this technique is working the very rim of the tortilla will start to stick to the pan. THIS IS A GOOD THING, it means the tortilla was fully soaked, and is cooking properly. BUT if you just try to shove the spatula under the tortilla like a pancake, the tortilla will rip.

work your spatula around the whole edge of the tortilla to scrape the whole rim off the pan.

This whole process takes 3 to 5 seconds per side, Each tortilla maybe takes 20 seconds.

The tortilla is done when it has a golden brown crust on each side and starts to stiffen up

Slide that tortilla off the pan onto a separate dry “receiving” plate

I will try to do 2 tortillas at a time, sometimes 3 in a big pan, I have done 6 or 8 at a time on a big griddle we use for pancakes or french toast, 

As you progress onto your 3rd or 4th tortilla, the pan may cool down, OR start to over heat, if you are doing a big batch of tortillas you will likely have to adjust the temperature several times (this is for a classic electric stove, gas burners are no problem, higher end electric stoves don’t have as much a problem

Why this works and tastes so good The perfect tortilla is a golden brown on each side with bubbles that have made dark brown spots. The tortilla has a paper thin layer of dense brown cooked corn on each side of the tortilla, and the tortilla has a soft, completely cooked center.

This is achieved because my technique is both steaming the tortilla and frying it. Basically the whole tortilla gets steamed, and the thinnest outer part gets fried.

The water dissolves the corn flower, while infusing spices and fat from the meat into the corn meal. The hot pan turns the water to steam. and re-constitutes the corn meal into real yummy corn bread that holds together and has a much better texture than raw, or plane steamed/microwaved tortillas. The butter fry’s the outside of the tortilla giving it a slightly crispy exterior and a bunch of flavor that is separate and different than the flavor of the inside of the thin tortilla.

The tortilla will LOOK COOKED, with no hints of the powdery colored look of a raw tortilla.

Storage and reheating Leftover tortillas need to be stored in the fridge. These tortillas, because they have been cooked, will keep for a really long time and retain their flavor (weeks if kept in a ziploc baggie, or covered with plastic wrap.

RE-Heating. These tortillas taste just fine if nuked for 20 seconds in a sealed container with a slightly damp paper towel. Ideally a plate with a bit of plastic wrap over the top of it.

The Whole Taco Bar Spread

The third thing about Dads tacos is everybody gets to make their own the way they like them, with as little or as much of a plethora of ingredients.

Mains:

Dad’s Special Taco Meat

Dad’s Specially prepared corn tortillas

Flour Tortillas (12”)

Crunchy hard taco shells from a store

grated Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese

Finely Chopped onions

Finely Chopped fresh tomatoes

Finely chopped lettuce

Chili (ideally freshly made, but usually we do canned)

Re-Fried Beans

The Ideal taco bar also includes

Chopped Olives

Sour Cream

Uncle Ben’s Long Grain wild rice

Black beans (cooked)

Pinto beans (cooked)

Chopped baby onions

Salsa (ideally roasted chipotle or adobo)

Corn chips

grated Medium Cheddar cheese

grated jack cheese

grated colby cheese

Velveeta based cheese sauce (made with some taco seasoning)

Chili flakes/roasted thai chilis

Non vinegar based hot sauce (like the kind they make in mexican restaurants)

The ideal taco assembly in order

This ordering is not random or by fiat, but developed scientifically through over 40 years of experimentation trial and error. The order of ingredients DOES change the flavor and mouth feel of a taco. Also this order provides some structure and hope that the whole assemblage holds together as you fold, hold it and move it to your mouth. 

Big Plate, ya need a big plate

1 to 6 tortillas laid out on the plate (if you do 6 you get the nickname el-gordo)

Spoon in refried beans down the center of each tortilla, spread it thin like peanut butter

Spoon in the meat on top of that

Chili

black beans

pinto beans

Salsa

All the cheese

Onions

Tomato

Baby onions

Olives

Cheese sauce

Sour cream 

Sour Cream Technique 

Sour cream should be closest to the lips, and the next thing after the tortillia that hits the taste buds. Sour cream is thick and sticky.Usually it can’t be labeled or spread on the loose fillings of a taco without messing it all up. Dad has discovered technique for getting sour cream on a loaded taco is to not try to blob it on top of all the loose stuff, but use a butter knife and spread it on the exposed lips of the tortilla, Sour cream is sticky, and spreads real well, you also don’t need a lot of it, spreading it on the lips of the tortilla will help hold the taco together as you take your first byte and spread out insurees every byte gets a bit of sour cream)

Dad’s Tacos DO NOT INCLUDE

Cilantro

Bell peppers of ANY kind

[recurring-polynya]

How did the sourdough turn out? ❤️ I've been wanting to do this forever but now that I'm home of course there's no flour or yeast to be found.

Here we go again, @kari-izumi asking me about my hyperfixations, lol!

I’ve been baking with sourdough since about 2007, when my now-husband’s aunt gave me a bit of her starter. Getting starter from someone else is the best way to get started with sourdough, but obviously, that’s a little tricky in these current times. An interesting fact is that starter refreshes itself with ambient bacteria from your kitchen, so there’s no point in ever trying to get “San Francisco Sourdough” starter, because it will just turn into Your Kitchen Sourdough within a few months (unless, of course, your kitchen is in San Francisco). Also, the more you bake, the more free-floating flora you’ll have in your kitchen, so as you’re becoming a better baker, your kitchen is also becoming a Better Place For Bread.

Back to the story! I baked with that for a few years, and then I guess I fell off it, and neglected my starter and it went Bad and I had to throw it out. (I don’t exactly recall the circumstances, but I am sure it had something to do with having a baby). A few years later, when I was on maternity leave with my daughter, I decided to try and make my own starter from scratch, here it is, on what is approximately its sixth birthday:

I made it using the method described in Peter Reinhart’s book, the Bread Baker’s Apprentice, which is my go-to artisan bread book. You basically mix up water and rye flour and keep refreshing it until it catches some yeast. I’ve heard of other methods using ripe fruit and stuff, I have never tried that. I know this worked (look at that bubbly bastard!), although it took several months before it became powerful enough to really rise a bread. If you have it, you can always spike a young starter with yeast until it comes into its own.

I am not the best sourdough person in the world. As you can see, I keep it in a plastic Rubbermaid instead of glass or ceramic. It usually lives in my fridge for 2-4 weeks at a time, then I take it out, remove some for baking, and refresh. If want to make a bread, I will try to take it out and refresh it a day before starting the bread.

For the last year or so, the main thing I make with the discard is pizza. My kid doesn’t like tomato sauce, so I make a lot of pizza at home and just roast garlic down to mush instead as sauce, and then throw a bunch of vegetables on to pretend its healthy. What it is, is delicious.

The reason for this is that most of my bread recipes take a 2-3 day build and I’m just not that organized. But I’m home all the time now, so I have been doing it.

Here is the first one I made, which is just a very standard white sourdough loaf (there were actually 2, a lot of recipes make multiple loaves):

It was, as our friend Paul Hollywood would say, massively underproofed, and this picture was strategically taken to hide the huge rip in the bottom. I made those nice slashes, but noOOOOooo it had to explode itself from the bottom. It was also delicious.

A few days later, I decided to make a sunflower rye (both these recipes are in that Reinhart book). I had the sunflower seeds, I just forgot to put them in:

This one was supposed to be in the shape of a couronne (crown) which is supposed to be a ring with four creases, but it outrose its creases. Also delicious.

I then remembered that I used to make English muffins with discard all the time, so I did that, too. If I owned a proper biscuit cutter, I would have made nice circles, but I usually just cut the dough into 12 squares and then they get all funny shaped when I try to scrape them off the counter. I am lazy and life is too short to re-roll scraps, just avoid making scraps in the first place. These make excellent egg sandwiches, but I also ate a few with beans and cheese on them.

The other thing we do with discard a lot is that my husband makes waffles. I don’t know why this has become his thing, but he is waffle guy (for the record, he does the lion’s share of cooking in general, I do the baking) Sourdough starter is a really useful thing to have around the kitchen! I don’t really care for carrot cake, but my husband and son do, and this is probably the best carrot cake I have ever made.

I just want to say, I’ve seen a lot of people on Twitter making fun of folks who are trying out sourdough for the first time, and I strongly disagree: I’m really proud of anyone giving it a go! My philosophy toward things that sound hard has always been, “Eh, why now, what the worst that can happen? I’m bad at it?” So you’re bad at something, and then you work at it, and then you get better. I was real bad at sourdough when I started and I am so, so grateful to my friends and husband who ate so much of my bad bread, especially this one guy I know who would eat ANYTHING, no matter how much of a brick it was. I am a pretty mediocre baker, but I will try anything, and mediocre homemade bread is still really delicious, and it honestly doesn’t take a whole lot of skill to impress your friends. (I have also found this to be true for drawing, gardening, hockey playing and computer programming)

If you’re looking for baking resources, I learned a lot about bread baking from the Fresh Loaf and that Reinhart book that I mentioned. For all-purpose baking, King Arthur is my fav. I took a cinnamon rolls class at their Vermont Baking Center once, and it might have been the best day of my life.

[drewwwbydoobydoo]

If you're feeling up to it, why not just answer all of the 65 questions from the ask list?

Ok here goes haha

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? Yeah for sure, but at this point I just figure I can’t do a whole lot about it so I’m just rolling with whatever is the truth (basically the same thing as us maybe being in a simulation, I don’t think the answer really matters)

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? Like 4 or 5, I’m very scared of the dark tbh I get super paranoid sometimes

3. The person you would never want to meet? Mike Pence

4. What is your favorite word? Exuberance or effulgent

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? A maple tree

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? Bleh

7. What shirt are you wearing? A gray shirt from a hackathon I did last year

8. What do you label yourself as? A creative, a student, a future teacher, a lesbian, a human

9. Bright room or dark room? Bright room

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? Talking to my dad about child psychology

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? 18

12. Who told you they loved you last? My mom

13. Your worst enemy? The US government

14. What is your current desktop picture? A drawing that someone did of a mountain landscape

15. Do you like someone? Yeee my partner!

16. The last song you listened to? Rollercoaster by The Orion Experience

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? The dictator of the US

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? Same as #17

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? Same as #17, and I would just try to fix as many things that he’s done as I could lol

20. What is your best physical attribute? I really like my eyes! They’re gray and I think that’s pretty cool

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? I feel like honestly I would look approximately the same, or like my brother lol though we already look pretty similar. I’d just continue existing, idk I don’t think I’d do anything differently cause gender is funky

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? Yes! I can write in a whole bunch of different fonts by hand really easily (like I can switch between fonts without having to write slower or think too much about it)

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? Ok so like I’m really afraid of small heights but not big heights. For some reason heights like doing a ropes course or trapeze absolutely terrify me but I’m totally fine like on a tall mountain or in a plane

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. Maple tempeh with hummus, avocado, tomato and lettuce on wheat bread sounds 10/10 rn

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? I’d donate it to the Transgender Law Center

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? Hmmmmm I wouldn’t go on a plane because we’re still in a pandemic but theoretically if this were a normal time I’d probably go somewhere in Canada

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? I don’t drink alcohol so I’m good!

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? Freedom of speech (with the exception of hate speech)

29. What is your favorite expletive? Asshat, mainly cause I think it’s kinda funny

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? My laptop, I have too many photos and files that I don’t want to lose

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? Getting blackmailed by my brother

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Canada here we come!

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? My cat, Clara. She was the absolute sweetest being that has ever graced this planet, and she was my only true friend for many years

34. What was your last dream about? The commune that I lived at last summer

35. Are you a good listener? I think so? I try to be, especially since I took some workshops in nonviolent communication and how to be a better listener and I think those were really helpful!

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? No but I probably should have been

37. Have you ever built a snowman? Yeah

38. What is the color of your socks? Light blue

39. What type of music do you like? Idk a lot of stuff I guess? Musical soundtracks, indie rock, pop-rock, etc.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets!!!

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? Vanilla (boring, I know lol)

42. What football team do you support? Idk any sports teams :/

43. Do you have any scars? Yeah, many

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? I mean like theoretically I would love to be a painter but realistically I’m gonna become an elementary school teacher

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Bruh how tf do I choose just one??? Uhhhhhh honestly I would get rid of my uterus I don’t want it and it just causes pain

46. Are you reliable? Yeah, very

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? Which career path do I end up on?

48. Do you hold grudges? Yeah, only about big things though

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? I’d breed cats and rabbits together to create: cabbits

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? One time me and one of my friends were laying on the floor of our dorm’s common room and we were talking about a bunch of fucked up stuff we’ve done (like not necessarily bad things, but just like those weird, “are you ok?” kind of things)

51. Are you a good liar? Yeah actually! I don’t know how, but I'm a really good liar if I genuinely want to lie about something. 

52. How long could you go without talking? A very long time. Singing would be a drastically different answer though

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? When I first cut my hair short when I was 16, it was just a very awkward length and I didn’t know what was happening

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? Yeah I actually baked one yesterday

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? I can kinda do a southern accent

56. What do you like on your toast? Vegan butter and roasted garlic mmmmm

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? Roman Sanders lol

58. What would be you dream car? I’ve always wanted a light blue convertible, like as long as I can remember I’ve had this very specific car in mind that I know I’d never actually buy but in theory would be very cool

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. Sometimes I sing in the shower, also I used to sit down while showering lol

60. Do you believe in aliens? Yeah, I don’t have any specific theories but I think there’s probably some other intelligent life out there

61. Do you often read your horoscope? Not really

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? E

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? Dragons

64. What do you think about babies? Amazing, I was one once

This was fun! Kinda therapeutic tbh lol

[mariacallous]

Hey! So you seem to know a lot about cooking, and I can barely fry an egg. Any book recs (or general tips) for beginners? I'd really like to eat something besides Campbells soup. Thank you!

I genuinely loved getting this anon. So thank you, first of all :D

I’ll start with general tips and then move on to book recs. This will probably be long and I apologize in advance if it is, but I love talking and thinking about this stuff!

General tips:

-Always start out by thinking about what you like and don’t like - it makes shopping for food, cooking food, and eating out and eating your food that much easier. Nigella Lawson once said that the only true thing is our palate, and she’s right. If you know you don’t like tomatoes, you’re not going to worry about buying them or whether a recipe will turn out okay involving them (and regardless of the source and/or how much you like the person giving you the recipe, if you don’t like something, it’s not going to really change). If you really enjoy Chinese food (Or Mexican, or Italian), make sure you have enough ingredients or flavorings so that you’ll be more inclined to want to make food, and more importantly, food that you know you’ll enjoy and want to make more often. I love Asian and Eastern European flavors, so I’ve always got a supply of soy sauce in particular and various other fixings to use and throw into whatever I’m making. I don’t like tomatoes, and so I don’t buy them and don’t use that many things which involve them (I am a white sauce person, so I buy jars of that to have to add to pasta or other dishes).

-Always factor in the amount of time you have available, for both shopping and cooking (and eating) because that helps you tremendously - if you only have a half hour lunch break and you were going to get groceries then, you’re going to be (or need to be) more focused and selective on what you’r’e buying. If you only have 20 minutes before you have to leave to go somewhere, you’re not going to try to roast a chicken and potatoes. But you can cook shrimp, say, and have a pasta dish ready in 10 minutes (not necessarily counting prep time) and enjoy a proper meal. Depending on how you like your beef, if you like beef/meat, you can have a steak done in just a few minutes and some green beans steamed in the same amount of time.

-Have enough basic supplies and equipment - wooden spoons, pots and pans, seasonings and oil, etc. Fancy and expensive equipment or supplies won’t make for good food, and you don’t need that much stuff in the kitchen, all things considered. Also know how long things last and when you want to use them - olive oil, and all oil, spoils after both too much time and being around heat. Vegetables and fruits, even when put into the crisper drawer or trying to stretch it out, go bad super quickly and so that bunch of zucchini you bought in a burst of hopeful energy will become muddy sludge if you just let them sit there because you may feel like using them. And don’t be afraid of your freezer (if your fridge has one) - I always have chicken thighs or breasts or ground beef, plus bags of frozen veggies, so that I can always pull something together. I try to keep dried noodles and broth/stock cartons in my cupboard so I can make a soup or stew without any hassle. I buy already minced garlic, stored in water, or frozen minced garlic, so I can just get a spoonful and add it to whatever. And canned tuna or chicken to add to bagged salad mixes or to make a salad when I’m too tired or hot to want to do anything super strenuous. Salami is one of my favorites because it keeps well, can be frozen, refrigerated, or (within reason) left out on the counter (protected by a wrapper or in a bag, obvi). I am terrible about bread - I usually don’t have room for it in my freezer or I use it up quickly because all I make for meals is sandwiches of some sort and then when I’ve got something I want to make that needs it, I’m out. And veggies tend to lurk in my crisper drawers in my fridge which can involve triage and attempts at saving.

-Know your appetites and preferences. If you know that you tend to snack more and only have one or two larger meals, adjust your shopping accordingly. If you know that you don’t like to eat until 7:00 pm at night, think about recipes and foods you can make and eat that won’t stress or tire you out but also won’t make you feel uncomfortable when you go to bed. I’m a snacker, so I always make sure I have cheese (of various kinds), crackers of some sort (usually Wheat Thins, flavored, or Cheez-Its), a bag or two of potato chips (usually BBQ flavor) and various microwavable things like Hot Pockets or taquitos or lean cuisine type meals. I try to keep a balance, so that it’s not all processed microwave or all bought raw materials needing work to combine. And I try to not eat after 8:00 pm, but that’s often not a successful battle. Do try to eat enough in one meal so that you don’t snack at 1:43 am (that’s just something I feel obligated to throw in after having met with my dietitian and bariatric specialist - I am, as I said earlier, a snacker)

-There is nothing wrong with buying premade meals or food so that all you have to do is open the container from the deli or wherever and, using fork, apply to face. Some nights you just have to let someone else do the work for you. They are going to be more expensive, obviously, than if you buy the ingredients separately to make a dish, and so you just have to do that calculation/trade off in your head. They’ll also go bad quicker, so be sure you really want to buy that sushi roll and that you’ll eat it that night.

-Seafood cooks incredibly quickly, which makes it perfect for those recipes and dishes you need fast. Lamb doesn’t take that long to cook, and beef is, in my opinion, best when medium rare or rareish (your tastes, obviously, may vary). Pork and chicken will take longer because they must be fully cooked. Game meat (pheasant, venison, rabbit, etc.) you either need to cook for a very short time or for an very long time, or it’s not going to turn out that great. Potatoes (and turnips and others like it) will need a good amount of time, particularly if they are kept whole and not sliced or diced or chopped into cubes or fries. 

-Marinade and flavor your meat if/when you can, particularly things that need to cook for a while. Sometimes it’s about when you have the time and energy - if you can chuck some chicken into a ziploc with some olive oil, lemon, garlic, and like half an onion on a Wednesday night but decide you don’t want to cook, come Thursday evening you’ve got something that all you have to do is put in the oven or on the stove and you’ll be good to go. Also, try to let your meat rest for a few minutes (letting it it on the carving board or plate away from an active heat source) before cutting it and serving it (if you can) - this helps it from becoming dry and tough.

-Distinguish between things that take a lot of time, and things that take a lot of energy and work (stealing this from Nigella again) - a stew, for example, can take 2-3 hours to cook but generally you just put everything in the pot and let it sit on the oven or in the stove and you don’t have to do anything else if you don’t want to. A stir-fry can only take 10 minutes to cook, but you may have 10 minutes of chopping and prep and so forth which can sometimes be too stressful. Know your energy and know your days so that your cooking helps take away from your worries rather than adds to them.

-Start out trying to make things you like and that are easy - pasta is a good one, because it can usually be done in a fairly short amount of time. Roasting or baking things too, because after the prep you just need to let it sit in the oven and you aren’t being asked to constantly check on it usually. Keep it as simple and basic as you want - the important thing is to be comfortable in the kitchen and cooking. Do try to have some variation, just so that you can start to branch out, but only if you want to.

-Once you get comfortable with cooking a dish a certain way, ABSOLUTELY modify it. Or hell, even modify it after one time. If you made a shepherd’s pie (ground beef, usually - though lamb is “traditional” and if it’s ground beef, it’s technically a cottage pie - with some sort of veggies like peas and carrots and onions in a gravy and topped with mashed potatoes and baked) and want to see if garlic mashed potatoes adds to it, go for it! Or if you like Sweet and Sour Chicken but without bell peppers and spicier, then add the red chili flakes or preferred choice of heat. The more you experiment, the more you’ll end up trying and doing, and the more fun you can have, and the broader your palate and tastes.

-Watch YouTube videos, buy cookbooks (or food books), explore new shops and stores and restaurants - go to places, see what’s being made there, and then come back home and try to make what you saw that looked good, but always modify it to suit your tastes, budget, and facilities. It expands your knowledge, gets you to try new things and go to new places, and it can be a ton of fun.

-If/when you get comfortable cooking and you want to start doing things for other people, keep it simple for yourself and make things you know that you’ll like and that they’ll like. It’s not about showing off - that can be too much pressure on you and them, and you want to (and need to) enjoy the occasion as much as they do. There’s nothing wrong with a mix of store-bought and homemade dishes, in any circumstance. If you’re comfortable with cooking some beef (like a rump) or maybe some ribs, but can’t/don’t/won’t make sides, feel free to buy them! Sometimes all you need with a roasted chicken is some rice (bought, made the traditional way, or in a rice cooker) and a salad. And don’t ever be afraid or embarrassed about buying dessert instead of making it - no one’s going to complain about ice cream or cupcakes or a cake or what have you. If you’re doing the multi-course thing, just keep your wallet, your space (to cook, to store, to eat), and you and your guests’ tastes in mind and adjust accordingly.

-Remember that there are no guilty pleasures with food - embrace the things you like and enjoy them. Food is never just fuel, although sometimes we can feel that way. The point is to make it a positive part of your life.

BOOK RECS!

I’m limiting it to either what I’ve read and/or own currently, simply because I know them the best.

-I’ve said this elsewhere and repeatedly, and there’s a reason she’s my icon (literally and otherwise) but you can’t go wrong with Nigella Lawson. Honestly, all her books are good but if you’re just starting out, I’d go with:

How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food

How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking

Nigella Express

Nigella Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home

She has such a wide range of recipes and options, each book lists what she thinks are kitchen standards you should have/use (but always suit it to your own kitchen and tastes and budget!) and her stuff is designed for someone to be able to just come in and cook without too much effort or experience. The first rec is the most encyclopedic of the books, the second is pretty heavy on baked goods and sweets, and the last two have everything in them.

-Clarissa Dickson Wright’s Potty! One Pot Cooking is another good option because, as the name says, it’s about things that can be done in one cooking container. (Really, any of the cookbooks by Clarissa Dickson Wright, one of the Two Fat Ladies, or her counterpart, Jennifer Paterson - but these are not always simple recipes, and their tastes are incredibly varied and sometimes a little odd, but it makes for a fun read)

-Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat is an incredibly good book, both because she goes into detail explaining the hows and whys of things, but also because she has a whole range of recipes to go along with it.

Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) and her Back to Basics and Foolproof are both pretty good, although also not always simple or inexpensive.

Rachel Ray and her 30 Minute Meals books are a bit like an American Nigella (but vastly different) and also a helpful place to start.

She’s become kind of a joke, but Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade Cooking is another one that’s not bad to start out with.

-More for reading than using to cook, I like Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson - they’re older books now (upwards of 50 years) but still solid and enjoyable, particularly if you like French, Italian, and British food. Unless you’re up to it, you don’t need to buy and/or read Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, really.

-Nigella Lawson also recommends Anna Del Conte and her Gastronomy of Italy (and other books). Lidia Bastianich is another really good Italian writer.

-I also like Fuchsia Dunlop who goes into a lot of regional Chinese cuisine.

-Yasmin Khan’s books on Persian/Iranian cooking are also quite good, from what I’ve seen and read (and you also may want to try Claudia Roden’s cookbooks on Jewish and Middle Eastern Food).

-For Mexican food, Rick Bayless is probably one of the go-to writers and cooks.

-Vincent Price. No, seriously - the well-known horror/suspense/thriller icon was also a really good cook and lover of food, and his Treasury of recipes is amazing.

Enjoy!

[edgewaterfarmcsa]

CSA WEEK 10

P I C K L I S T

TOMATOES! - CHERRY TOMATOES  - SWEET CARMEN PEPPERS - PURPLE PEPPERS - CARROTS - CABBAGE - OREGANO - CILANTRO - EGGPLANT - MELON - CAULIFLOWER -SHALLOTS 

This newsletter is written from my house, where I will be all day today, tomorrow and the foreseeable future as I am currently posted up with a sick kiddo and a perfectly well (and wild) 3 year old.  We are all bumming pretty hard over here and fingers crossed will make it to the Cornish Fair by the weekend.  Meanwhile the field crew is coming together and providing the CSA team with ample support.  Just last night they were in the fields bunching all your carrots and we are all so lucky they had already swept the cabbage and cauliflower field on Saturday.  I continue to be grateful for both Mrs. T on early morning oregano duty and Claire on all the other duties.  While I was painting my nails for the 16th time, pondering all the popsicles I should be making with the melons and pushing liquids into this young blood next to me, she was bunching all the cilantro, picking all the tomatoes and peppers and counting out 215 one million times while simultaneously texting me v funny notes from the field.  Another hero of this week is my sweetheart and team mate, Ray Sprague- who is keeping it all together while non-stop pivoting.  He has not made it home before 9pm the past few days- and I like to think he is hitting up the west leb strip and partying super hard, a la applebees, kotos and icecream 4U.  But the truth is, he is labeling, washing, boxing up, and attempting to stay on top of field crops and farm organization while the farm is out 4 people (2 people on vacation, 1 person still in Jamaica, and me with the sickies).  

ALSO, kuddos to Ray and Roy for calling it on blueberry season- it’s been a great run with awesome fruit, but goodness gracious, it was time to walk away and pick melons and cherry tomatoes instead.  

 In conclusion, this week has been a challenge but the fields overfloweth, therefore the CSA parties on.

Pro-tips:

CLAIRE’S FIRST IMPRESSION 

AKA WWCD (WHAT WOULD CLAIRE DO WITH ALL THIS VEG?): STIR FRY AND/OR RATATOUILLE

This salad is only worth making when tomatoes are in season and full of flavour. It should be acidic and tangy, and will taste amazing alongside a piece of slightly charred meat from the barbecue.

crustless rustic bread (stale or fresh) - sourdough or ciabatta, for example - cut in 2-3 cm cubes

Salt and pepper

2 small cucumbers, cut into 2cm pieces

3 tomatoes, cut into wedges

½ red onion or shallot, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, cored and cut into large pieces

1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

2 tsp sumac (optional)

Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

1 garlic clove, crushed

1½ tsp red-wine vinegar 

3 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 325F

 Spread out the bread on a roasting tray, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with some flaky salt. Bake for 20 minutes until crispy and golden, then leave to cool.

Mix all the other salad ingredients and adjust the seasoning to taste. Just before serving, mix in the toasted bread, using your hands.

 Chimichurri: 

The following recipe was provided by my best friend, Natanya, who says this chimichurri  i’s so good you could drink the stuff… Also, there are a few ingredients you are missing here- no parsley or garlic this week, but I highly recommend picking up these extra ingredients to make said condiment.  Farmstand folks, this will be particularly easy for you.  

 As for what to do with chimichurri, people love it on meat and fish, but i think it's awesome on everything.

 1 whole bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems

1/2 bunch parsley, leaves

3 stems fresh oregano leaves

1 large shallot

2-3 cloves garlic

1 small red chili (fresno or jalapeno, seeds removed)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2-1 cup olive oil

Salt to taste

 Instructions: put everything but olive oil in food processor. With the motor running add olive oil until everything is incorporated and reaches the desired consistency. 

Enjoy!

Jenny’s note: the recipe calls for mint, but i think it would be insanely good with cilantro and or oregano!

 This is like eggplant bruschetta, except the eggplant is the bruschetta, topped with a Mediterranean summer salsa of a salad.

Feta is a great alternative to ricotta salata. If you’re put off by the sharpness of fresh onion, pour the red wine vinegar over it in a dish, and let it sit for 10 minutes, tossing it from time to time, before adding it to the salad. No need to add additional vinegar if you do. If you don’t like capers, you can substitute green or black olives. If you don’t care for mint, you can substitute flat-leaf parsley. If you don’t care for eggplant, well, thank you for reading along anyway! Ahem, or brush pitas or flatbreads with olive oil, grill them and dollop this salad/salsa on top.

 1 to 2 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 pounds eggplant (about 2 medium), in 3/4- to 1-inch slices

2 ounces (1/2 cup) chopped or crumbled ricotta salata

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1/3 cup finely diced red onion

3 seeded, diced medium tomatoes (1 1/2 cups)

3 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves

2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper.

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat a large baking sheet generously with olive oil, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Arrange eggplant rounds in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast, without disturbing, for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully flip each piece: the undersides should be blistery, dark and a bit puffy and should release from the pan with no effort. If they’re not, let it cook longer. Once flipped, sprinkle them with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper and return the pan to the oven for another 10 to 12 minutes or so, until the undersides match the tops.

[Alternatively, on the grill: Brush eggplant slices with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill eggplant slices until slightly charred and tender when pierced with knife, about 5 to 7 minutes per side.]

 Meanwhile, mix your ricotta, capers, onion, tomatoes, mint, vinegar and remaining 4 teaspoons olive oil in a small bowl. Taste for seasoning; ricotta salata tends to be quite salty so I don’t find that this dish needs more than a pinch of salt, if that. Add more vinegar, if desired. Add freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

 When the eggplant discs are done, arrange them on a serving platter. Scoop a spoonful of the salad over each round. Eat immediately.

[foodhackery]

Chicken Tikka Masala

A lot of my cooking is born of necessity.  When I don’t have access to a particular cuisine that I or the family enjoy, I tend to make more of that cuisine.  We’re on Maui this summer, which has many delightful culinary things we can’t get in California.  But one of the things that there isn’t much of here is Indian food.  And that’s a problem because we love Indian food.

I have had chunks of time in the past where I’ve cooked a lot of Indian food.  It was one of the first cuisines outside of my Southern repertoire that I got super interested in as a young adult.  A bunch of good Indian friends in college were generous and patient enough to teach me about their food, and I’ve been hooked ever since.  Although I will have to confess I had gotten rusty in recent years because most of the Indian I ate had been from excellent restaurants and friends.

So, this summer, with our lack of proximate restaurants and good take out, I’ve been trying to get my mojo back.  I’ve been reading a bunch of cookbooks, watching a bunch of cooking videos, and practicing a lot.  One of the things in particular I’ve been trying to dial in is Chicken Tikka Masala.  (And yes, I know that CTM may not even be an authentically Indian dish.  But it is delicious nonetheless, if not authentically Indian at least Indian adjacent, and most importantly, my two kids who once only ate mac & cheese and Dino Nuggets can’t get enough of it.)

One of the very interesting things about Chicken Tikka Masala is that like many of my favorite Southern dishes there is no one right way to cook it.  Everyone seems to have a slightly different take, which means there’s lots to explore, and lots of opportunity to find a variation that is faithful to the idea of CTM, but that’s dialed into the tastes of the loved ones for whom you’re preparing it.  What I’ve zeroed in on is a richly-spiced, tangy, bright Chicken Tikka Masala that has a strong gingery finish.  It’s good enough that my kids demanded I write it down so that they can use it one day as a jumping off point for their own experimentation.

So, here it is:

Ingredients

2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder

1 tsp hot Indian chili powder

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp whole cumin

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp fenugreek leaves

3 green cardamom pods

1/2 cinnamon stick

2 cloves

1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and stems

20 Unsalted, whole cashews, preferably raw

1/4 c milk

1/4 c heavy cream

1/2 c Greek yogurt

1 diced onion

1/2 frenched onion

1.5 inch of ginger cut into fine julienne

4 tbsp ginger garlic paste**

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 400g can diced tomatoes

1.5 - 2 lbs of Boneless, skinless chicken thighs (can substitute tofu, mushrooms, paneer, etc., for a veggie option)

Neutral oil

Honey

Salt

Combine yogurt, 1 tsp each of Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, garam masala, 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste and 1 tsp salt and place over chicken in either a ziploc bag or a sealable container.  You can add 1 tbsp of mustard oil if you have it, but not necessary.  Let the chicken marinate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place marinated chicken flat on a baking sheet.  (I use a silpat so that the marinated chicken doesn’t stick.)  Roast chicken until deep golden brown.  The marinate may get very dark, which is ok.  This will take about a half hour.

While chicken is in the oven, place a heavy skillet or Dutch oven on a high flame.  Coat the pan with a generous film of a neutral oil.  When the oil is shimmering hot, toss in the whole cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cloves, and cinnamon stick and reduce heat to medium.  Cook the whole spices for a few minutes until the cloves puff up and the cumin seeds are dark brown, but not burned.

Toss diced onions and a pinch of salt into the oil and over that medium flame cook until the onions are a deep golden brown.  This may take 15 minutes or longer.  Be patient.

When the onions are golden brown, add the remaining 2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste and cook until it begins to caramelize.  This shouldn’t take long in a hot pan, and you’ll know you’re done when the paste starts to leave a sticky, caramelized film on the bottom of your pan.

Add 2 tbsp of tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add 400g of diced tomatoes and the rest of your spices / herbs: 1 tsp of Kashmiri chili, 1 tsp hot chili, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp of salt, diced cilantro stems, and 2 tbsp of fenugreek leaves.  Stir to combine and add chicken and any of the pan drippings.  Scrape any of the yummy caramelized bits from the baking sheet and add to the curry.  Cook for at least 10-15 minutes.

Combine cashews and milk in a blender and blend on high until you have a smooth paste.  Add paste and heavy cream to the curry and stir until the color becomes a bit paler and the sauce thickens.

Toss in frenched onions, julienned ginger, and chopped cilantro leaves.  Adjust salt, and add honey if your tomatoes are more acidic than sweet.  And you’re ready to serve!

This is some damned good stuff, and totally worth the effort, which honestly isn’t that much.  You can substitute a number of other things for the chicken because the sauce would make drift wood delicious.  And you can make big batches of this to either freeze or to have for leftovers the next day.

** Ginger garlic paste

Place equal amounts of peeled ginger and garlic by weight to a blender with a splash of water.  Blend until you have a super smooth puree.  Add more water if necessary to get a smooth texture.  I make jars of this at a time because it is the base for so many Indian dishes.

[liu-lang]

I made palak paneer (amongst other things, post w/ tiny kitty coming up !) yesterday ! I thought I’d share some photos documenting the process as I find it actually lends itself to a wonderfully flavoured final product. And I have my own method of cooking it. By no means am I a cooking expert. I cook from memory of my childhood, things close to my heart tt make me feel at home. The measurements I’m using are for food for a week for my boyfriend to share w/ his Dad too. I save some for myself as well throughout the week.  It makes quite a large batch by my standards. I also like things spicy so feel free to omit any of the chili I include.

A few more additionally things to address. I prefer to use whole spices when I can. Growing up, your family blended their own spices and rempah then stored it for later use in various dishes. This allowed you to control the flavour you wanted and you could create any blend you wanted. And families developed their own recipes and blends to pass down and share. But I know spices are expensive. To simplify the list of ingredients and reduce the steps, you can use pre-made garam masala spice blend. Essentially you can boil the ingredients down to : spinach, onion / tomato paste, yoghurt, garam masala and paneer. 

Also I have the privilege of time, transport and the existence of Asian grocery stores to get these ingredients. Food is a lot cheaper there but also a lot of it comes w/o packaging and is not pre-prepared. So it does take time, effort and energy to prepare the ingredients even before cooking them. I cook once a week on weekends. I go to the grocery store on Saturday morning and spend pretty much the whole Saturday afternoon cooking. The cooking involves cleaning in between esp. if I’m using the food processor for multiple things. Then there’s the final kitchen clean up. If you guys have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out !

Ingredients for palak puree (spinach puree)

4 bunches of spinach

1 bunch of coriander 

1 bunch of mint

6 bird’s eye chili (you can de-seed if you want to reduce spiciness - I just split it down the middle then I use scissors to snip them into tiny bits straight into the food processor)

Half a garlic bulb (more to taste if you’d like)

2 cm of ginger (I peel the ginger then slice on the thinnest setting on my mandolin then I roughly chop the slices)

Water and ice for the ice bath

Ingredients for the onion / tomato paste

2 to 3 chopped tomatoes (I used roma tomatoes bc they’re cheaper @ the store, any tomatoes would do, you can even use tin tomatoes if tt’s easier for you. Make sure to drain excess liquid from tinned tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes and you want to ensure the paste is not too watery, you can omit the seeds and more mushy chunks)

1 small to medium onion (I quartered them then sliced the quarters w/ my mandolin then chopped the slices, white or yellow onion is fine)

Ghee or oil or butter to fry tomatoes and onion

150 ml of tomato sauce or paste from a tin

2 tablespoons sambal pedas (this is more spicy stuff so omit if you’d prefer. you can use from a bottle or prepare from scratch which is another recipe for another time. I always had some prepared from scratch growing up from my mum’s side of the family)

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate 

More garlic cloves sliced thinly if you’d like

1 or 2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon of cumin powder

½ teaspoon fenugreek powder

¼ teaspoon of tumeric powder

¼ teaspoon galangal powder

¼ teaspoon cardamom 

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 to 2 teaspoons of chili powder (I used lal mirch but don’t worry if it’s not available to you)

1 tablespoon caraway seeds 

1 teaspoon black pepper 

50 ml water or broth (you can add more if you’d like to thin it out more)

Ingredients for yoghurt

64 g of whole milk, full fat yoghurt (greek yoghurt is good and seems to be the most accessible. I like to use goat milk yoghurt. not a yoghurt but you can use dahi too)

60 grams cashews (dry roasted or raw)

Zest from 1 lemon

1 tablespoon honey

Some heavy cream if you’d like to thin it out more

Ingredients for paneer

450 g of paneer (cubed)

Ghee or oil or butter to fry paneer in

Paper towel and plate to soak up excess oil

Method

Spinach puree

Rinse the spinach, coriander, mint. Chop off the stems from the bottom. Roughly chop the leaves so they fit in the pot better

Fill up your pot about ½ way w/ water. Bring to a boil, add a pinch of salt if you’d like. 

Add the leaves in stages if you don’t have a big enough pot. The leaves cook down and become smaller. I did everything in 2 batches. Add more water if necessary.

 Cover w/ lid and periodically check on it and smoosh it down more to make space for more leaves. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes or until blanched (not too soggy but not raw either)

Strain the leaves and immediately add them to the ice bath you prepared in a big enough bowl. Let them chill out for a few minutes. A mixing bowl works well. The ice water helps them keep their bright green colour. 

Drain the leaves and put them in a food processor or blender with the chili, garlic and ginger. Process until smooth and well blended. Make sure to scrape the sides. If it’s not blending well enough, add some water but not too much or the end product could be runnier than intended. 

Onion tomato paste

Dry fry the bay leaf and all the spices. Then take the spices and grind them together into a fine powder. (My roommate has a mini coffee grinder thing she uses for whole coffee beans. It works well for spices, just be sure not to put too much in at once which could jam the blades and affect how finely ground your spice mix will be)

In the same pan, heat oil or ghee or butter and fry the chopped tomatoes and sliced onions. Add in the sliced garlic.

Once everything is softened and you see tiny bubbles popping up and the fat is separating (as in the above picture) add the ground spice mix. 

Dump the tomatoes / onion / spices into the food processor. Don’t forget to take out the bay leaf. Add the sambal and tamarind. Add the water / broth to the consistency you’d prefer. Blend everything together. 

Yoghurt

Soak the cashews in small bowl of hot water until soft (usually 30 minutes is good)

Spoon yoghurt into food processor. Add lemon zest, honey and cashews

Blend until the cashews are in tiny bits. Add heavy cream to thin out and blend again. 

Paneer (if you want it to be healthier or you’re scared of oil, you can skip the frying. just cube the paneer to the size you’d like and continue to “putting everything together”. when you buy paneer I think it’s ready to use)

Cube the paneer (some places do big chunks but I like smaller cubes)

Heat the ghee or butter or oil to fry the paneer until lightly browned or golden brown (I love a super crispy exterior and a soft, chewy interior) You can put a lid on the paneer and reduce the heat to let it fry w/o splattering hot oil everywhere. Make sure to move the paneer cubes around so tt one side doesn’t become too burnt. But don’t move them so much tt they don’t brown

Once it’s fried to your preferences, the paneer will be super hot so carefully remove it onto a plate w/ a paper towel. (I used a slotted spoon thing to scoop them out in batches. You can also dump it into a strainer but hot oil is scary)

Putting everything together 

In a big enough pan start by adding spinach puree. Push it around until it’s heated up

Then add in the tomato / onion paste. Cook together for about 5 to 7 minutes on low to medium heat.

Lower the heat and add the cashew yoghurt mixture (you don’t want it to be too hot, risking the dairy curdling, also add in small amounts, don’t dump the whole thing in. I think I did it in 2 steps here). Depending how much yoghurt you’re adding, the colour will change. 

Slowly stir until fully blended on low heat

Add in the paneer cubes

Stir together a final time and enjoy !

[adins-bejoty]

December Dinner Discussion - Day Two

Okay, so I'm going to be an elitist prick here for a second and polish my monocle while I tell you about the trip I took to Mexico two years ago...

See, my best friend's sister was getting married in Cancun and they had a bunch of rooms reserved at one of those all-inclusive resort deals, so they asked me if I'd like to come along, play violin at the service, and hang out in Mexico for a week, all expenses paid. Naturally I struggled with my decision.

After a week of Mayan ruins, street vendors, snorkeling, and Hemingway levels of constant intoxication, we were having our last dinner at one of the restaurants at the resort and I ordered the chicken carbonara which was prepared table-side to my specifications and remains one of the five best things I've ever put into my mouth.

So, I wonder what we’re having for dinner tonight?

Ohhhh shit son! You see how I tried to class this joint up doing the half-moon thing with the veggies all presentational like? Sheeee-it. Making it rain Michelin stars up in here!

Now let’s nuke that sucker...

THOUGHTS: Hrrrrmmmmm... not Rivera Maya levels of sensational, but not terrible. I’m conflicted on this one. Like I said in my last review, I think most people (myself included) are conditioned to expect huge portions, overly rich textures, thick sauces, and massive amounts of oils and spices in their meals. The sauce here is on the thinner side, but you’ll notice there’s no cream or eggs in there fattening it up. This is closer to a gravy than any sauce you’d find at the Olive Garden. Not that it’s bad, but it’s definitely a step away from what most people would be familiar with when they think chicken carbonara. There’s a slight spice, but nothing worth popping a sweat for. And man, where’s the garlic? Like, I see it in the ingredients, but come on dude! Stand up and be counted!

Okay, elephant in the room... Why the hell are there peas and mushrooms in my carbonara? Seriously, I already said the sauce leaned more towards the gravy side of life and now you’re forcing me into this stew situation? Not a great play. It took me a second to place what was going on, but in the end I concluded that what probably happened here is two chefs in the BistroMD kitchen were walking down separate hallways and collided with each other at an intersection. One of them was carrying pasta, one of them was carrying chicken pot pie filling. They just sort of looked at each other, shrugged at the co-mingled mess, and continued on their way.

The penne pasta was fine and the roasted vegetables were whatever. I mean, you can’t really screw that up. Pan. Oil. Veggies. Done. (I did manage to keep the microwave from going full Ark of the Covenant on my vegetables this time!) The tomatoes added some nice acidity, but I’m not really a fan of pairing that with cauliflower. Maybe that’s just me. Anyway... I don’t hate this dish, but I also don’t love it. I mean, I’d eat it again*, but I’m not going to be over the moon about it. I was expecting some creamy, garlicy, bacony goodness and instead I got chicken pot pasta.

IMPROVEMENTS: Get the garlic out in front, kill that peas & mushrooms program and maybe spice the whole situation up with some red pepper or cayenne.

VERDICT: 3/5 - We don’t need ROME telling us what to do.

* So a quick note as to how this program works: I can preview my weekly shipments and make changes to my menu, but I usually don’t. I want to be surprised and, like I said, get food I might not otherwise try in the wild. However, I can tag specific foods that I flat out don’t want ever again. So if I really hated this, I could take it off my approved menu list and I’d never see it again. Thankfully I only have about a dozen things that I’ve flat-out denied, but it’s either stuff I’ve tried before and hated, or things I just can’t get down with. Like lamb. Can’t do it.

[gethealthy18-blog]

Simple Batch Cooking Meal Plan

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Simple Batch Cooking Meal Plan

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As a busy mom, I sometimes feel like I spend hours in the kitchen each day and that I finish cleaning up from one meal just in time to prepare the next.

I’ve learned that a little careful meal planning can greatly reduce the amount of time I spend figuring out what to cook and buy at the store. Plus, it’s saved a lot of time in the kitchen!

Here’s how I’ve started batch cooking on the weekends so I spend less time on dinner during the week. Here’s how you can do the same.

What Is Batch Cooking?

The idea of batch cooking is as simple as the name suggests: it’s just doing a week’s worth of meal prep in one go, so that serving individual meals does not take as long to prepare.

I prefer to do a big batch of meal prep on Saturdays, when the kids are happily playing in the back yard with friends and I have a few hours to spare.

In addition to saving time, I’ve found that batch cooking really increases the chances of sticking to a meal plan. You definitely won’t want to waste those healthy meals you spent time preparing!

Note: I did not include breakfast on this list, since we have a simple 4-day rotating breakfast meal plan that involves various proteins and vegetables and I make those each day.

Batch Cooking Meal Plan Menu

Batch cooking takes a little trial and error to get used to, but once you give a try, you’ll love the time you save and the simplicity. Here’s a sample meal plan to get you started!

Day 1

Lunch: Chicken salad over lettuce with carrot sticks Dinner: Shrimp stir-fry

Day 2

Lunch: Leftover stir fry wrapped in romaine leaves Dinner: Sliced chicken breast served with sliced peppers, onions, and baked butternut squash, reheated on a greased cookie sheet. Serve with a salad.

Day 3

Lunch: Reheat leftover chicken from last night, wrapped in romaine leaves and served with avocado and cilantro. Dinner: Chili with sour cream and cheese (both optional) with a side salad

Day 4

Lunch: Leftover chili Dinner: Eggplant pizza with a side salad

Day 5

Lunch: Leftover eggplant pizza or chicken salad Dinner: Fajita salad

Day 6

Lunch: Fajita tacos (using leftover fajita meat) wrapped in romaine with avocado, salsa, cheese and sour cream Dinner: Reheated meatballs and salad

Day 7

Lunch: Tuna salad on spinach or carrot sticks. Dinner: Whatever is leftover!

Snacks

When you’re in need of a quick snack, reach for one of these ready-to-eat nibblers:

Nuts

Deviled eggs

Sliced cucumber, celery sticks or carrot sticks with cream cheese or a healthy hummus

Tuna salad

Fruit

This grocery store shopping list will give you a rough idea of what to buy for a week. Adjust as necessary. It is designed for two people, so just double (or triple or quadruple) depending on family size.

Produce:

2 avocados

2 heads romaine lettuce, kale, or other greens

1 big bag spinach

4 large sweet peppers, any color

1-3 lb bag onions

Fruit, like berries or grapes

2 zucchini or summer squash

1 bag carrot sticks

2 cucumbers

1 large eggplant

1 butternut squash

Cilantro

Dairy:

2-3 dozen eggs

1 lb butter

1 container (8 oz or bigger) of full-fat, plain organic yogurt (either Greek or regular)

1 package cream cheese

1 block of your favorite cheese (this is optional on everything, so just get what you want)

Sour cream (optional)

(If you’re wondering where I draw the line on dairy, see this post.)

Nuts:

Canned Food:

1 can (organic) diced tomatoes

1 BIG (15 oz or bigger) can of tomato sauce

1 can salmon or 2 cans tuna

1 jar of pasta sauce (check ingredients, no added sugar or grains)

1 jar salsa (check ingredients)

Spices:

Meat:

1 lb frozen shrimp (or fresh, just pre-cooked)

1 package bacon (optional)

2 lbs ground beef or turkey

5 chicken breasts or boneless thighs (I get all meat I can’t get from local farms from ButcherBox)

Frozen Aisle:

2 (1 lb) bags frozen broccoli

Batch Cooking: Prep Day Instructions

It will simplify your life tremendously (and make it easier to stick to a healthy eating lifestyle) if you can pre-cook your family meals in one or two big batches. I try to prep everything on Saturday so it is ready for the week, but you can do simple ingredient prep first and save meal assembly for later.

Single-Step Prep:

Cover the chicken breasts in butter and spices and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cube two of them and slice three.

Hard boil 6-8 eggs (per egg eater in family).

Pre-cut zucchini, squash, onions, peppers, cucumbers, and other veggies. Store in separate containers or bags.

Cut the butternut squash in half and discard the seeds. Cover in 1-2 tablespoons of butter and spices. Bake open side up on a cookie sheet at 325 degrees until soft (usually about 45 minutes). Store in foil for re-heating.

Peel the eggplant and cut into ½ inch slices. Cook on a greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees until well browned on both sides.

Make the salmon or tuna salad by mixing well-drained fish with ½ package of cream cheese and spices like dill. Store closed in fridge.

Meal Assembly:

Shrimp Stir Fry. Heat butter in a skillet and add 1 pre-cut onion and 1 pre-cut pepper, cook 2 mins. Add pre-cut zucchini or squash and cook 2 mins. Add 1 lb frozen broccoli, cook 2 mins. Add frozen shrimp and cook until veggies are tender and shrimp is heated. Add desired spices (garlic, basil, salt, pepper, etc). Right before eating, add ½ package of cream cheese and stir until melted (optional). Here is the full recipe.

Chicken Salad. Use part of the cubed roasted chicken and combine following this recipe. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Chili. Combine 1 pound of the ground meat with 1 can diced tomatoes, ½ can tomato sauce, 1 chopped onion, cumin, and other spices to taste. Find the recipe here.

Eggplant Pizza. Top the cooked eggplant slices with a small amount of tomato sauce, spices, cheese, chopped onions, peppers, or whatever other toppings you like. Store in foil to re-heat. This is also fast to make fresh if you don’t want to make it ahead! So simple I don’t have a recipe for it!

Meatballs. Roll up the meatballs using 1 pound ground meat, Parmesan, garlic, basil, or whatever you prefer. You can also try these Greek meatballs. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350, then coat in pasta sauce. Store covered in the fridge.

Fajita Salad. This one you can prep right before you eat! Heat your remaining sliced chicken breast with remaining sliced onions and peppers in a greased skillet. Season with cumin and serve over greens with avocado, salsa, cheese, and sour cream (optional). Save the recipe to use again and again here.

Deviled Eggs. Carefully slice the hard boil eggs lengthwise and remove the yolks. Mash the yolks with ½ an avocado and season with mustard, dill, or other spices to taste. Scoop the filling back into the eggs and top with bacon crumbles (optional). You can also follow this easy deviled eggs recipe.

Note: The above meal plan is great for any time of year, but I recommend sticking to whatever is in season whenever possible. I talk about my seasonal meal plans in this podcast.

How to Customize Your Batch Cooking Meal Plan

The sample meal plan menu above has worked great for me, but you might not be a fan of all of those options. In that case, you can always customize to create a meal plan you’re excited about! The more you enjoy the meals you’re making, the more likely you are to stick to the plan.

Here are a few other ideas for batch cooking for those busy weeknights:

Make use of your slow cooker or pressure cooker. You can set these up the night before, or have dinner ready super quick in the pressure cooker. Try adding this chuck roast or meatloaf to the rotation! You can also check out these freezer-friendly slow cooker recipes. (If you haven’t tried an Instant Pot yet, you should!… I give my full review here.

Grab a bunch of sweet potatoes. Roast them ahead of time, and then you can slice them for breakfast, stuff them with avocado, of even whip up this sweet potato casserole.

Grab a head of cauliflower. This is another great versatile veggie perfect for meal prepping. Pulse it into cauliflower rice, or roast it in spices ahead of time.

Get basil and make pesto. It only lasts a few days in the fridge, but it makes a great accompaniment to whatever you’re cooking up. This is my basil pesto recipe and I also make pesto with cilantro. Bonus, as a pesto these herbs lasts for up to two weeks without going bad, unlike fresh herbs on their own which only stay fresh a few days in the produce drawer.

Make (and freeze) a big batch of pasta sauce. It’s great for veggie pizzas. You can also use up some ground meat by making it into a bolognese! Get my homemade pasta sauce recipe here.

Got a hodgepodge of food leftover? Make burrito bowls with cauliflower rice, meat, avocado, cilantro, or whatever you have on hand.

Make grain-free paleo muffins! They’re great to have on hand for breakfast, as a snack, dessert, or even as a side dish. I make these grain-free apple cinnamon muffins regularly as well.

Cookbooks That Help

A good cookbook is worth its weight in gold. I use a combination of the following for batch cooking:

The Wellness Mama Cookbook: These are my best 30 minute, 1 pan meals!

Cook Once, Eat All Week: I love these recipes. It gives adaptations for grain free, gluten free, or dairy free diets and has shopping lists and step by step prep lists that my husband or kids can follow. (Have kids take the Kids Cook Real Food e-course first for knife skills, etc.) Tip: I usually double the veggies called for when I use this cookbook.

Real Plans: This app takes the place of my cookbooks most weeks, since it contains all of my recipes and other healthy recipes from some of the bloggers and chefs I love most.

I’ve found batch cooking to save me hours of time each week. If you’re as busy as I am (or even if you’re not but still want to save time!), I definitely recommend giving meal planning and bulk cooking a try!

Also try my batch cooking meal plan for vacation!

Have you ever tried batch cooking? Do you know any time-saving cooking tips? Share below!

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/1106/batch-cooking-meal-plan/

[toranj]

Low Budget Recipes

As requested, my favorite recipes/how to cook (vegan) on a low budget! 

In good times I have about 50€ a month for food for both me and my cats (and alcohol), which boils down to about 1€/day. I’ve been vegan for over five years now, and have never had any kind of vitamin deficiency or what have you.

The instructions may be a bit vague because I don’t use measurements when cooking, I just add stuff on instinct. If you’re not very experienced with cooking and are not sure how much to add, feel free to hmu! Also most of these recipes are more or less ground recipes, you can add (or leave out) whatever you like! 

All of the recipes are vegan. Very long text under cut, but here is the gist of it:

Basics:

Emergency Bread

Cream Sauce

Hot Pepper Sauce

Recipe for mayonnaise and all kind of dips

And:

Goulash

(Sweet-) Potato Stew

Chili Stew

Tarte flambée / Flammkuchen

Tabbouleh Salad

Noodle Salad

Flädlesuppe (A very German Soup)

Pudding

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Goulash

(It doesn’t really taste like goulash. Still amazing!)

What you need:

Potatoes

1 red paprika

1 onion

1 can of sieved tomatoes (or anything resembling it)

Vegetable broth

Tofu (Optional, since expensive)

Spices: Pepper, salt, cumin powder, paprika powder, curry powder (very little)

Take 1 potato, 1 onion, 1 red paprika and cut them into small pieces. Put them into a pot with some oil and steam them at a low temperature for about 10 minutes. Add the vegetable broth (water mixed with vegetable broth powder) so the vegetables are just about covered. Add the sieved tomatoes. Cook for another 10 minutes until it’s boiling, then take it off the stove and blend it with a blender until it is smooth. If it is too thick, add some more water. If it’s too liquid, no worries: Now you cut the potatoes into very small dices – this way they cook faster – and add them into the pot. Cook until the potatoes are done. Now add the spices – and done!

(Sweet-)Potato Stew

This one originates from South Africa, if I remember correctly. It’s usually done with sweetpotatoes, but since they are rather expensive I use normal potatoes.

What you need:

Potatoes

Onions

Garlic

Ginger

Chili peppers (ideally fresh ones, but canned ones are cheaper)

1 can of sieved tomatoes

1 table spoon of peanut butter

Spices: Pepper, salt, cumin powder, cucurma powder, fenugreek powder, curry powder (very little)

(Fresh mint)

Cut the onions, garlic and chili peppers and a bit of ginger in very tiny pieces and roast them in your pot with some oil. Add the can of sieved tomatoes with a bit of water and heat it up until its boiling. Add 1 table spoon of peanut butter and cook for about 10 minutes. Cut the potatoes into small dices, add them into the pot and cook until they are done. Add the spices. It’s even better with a bunch of fresh mint leaves as topping.

Tastes even better with couscous as side dish.

Chili Stew

What you need:

1 can of kidney beans

Red paprika (Optional, since expensive)

Corn

Onions

Tofu (Optional, since expensive)

1 can of sieved tomatoes

Spices: Pepper, salt, vegetable broth, chili flakes, paprika powder, cumin powder (very little), curry powder (very little)

Cut the onions into small pieces and roast them in your pot with some oil. Add the can of sieved tomatoes with some water and vegetable broth. Add the spices and heat everything up until it’s boiling. Add kidney beans, corn, more cut onions, and whatever else you want to add. Cook for a few more minutes until all ingredients are done.

Emergency Bread

(A bad version of arabic bread, it’s probably insulting to even call it that. It’s really great if you have no food at home or no money left though and it tastes way better than it sounds!)

What you need:

Water

Flour

Salt

Mix water and flour in a bowl until you have a liquid substance. It should not be thick-ish since you want to spread it very thin! Add salt. Heat up a pan, add a bit of oil – just a few drops. Add the water-flour-mix until the base of the pan is barely covered with it. Remember, it has to be as thin as possible! Fry it for a few minutes until one side is done. Turn it around and do the same with the other side. You know it’s perfectly done when it’s no longer doughy inside!

Flädlesuppe

Can’t translate this one into English since it’s a very (Southern) German dish. It’s basically pancakes cut into stripes and put into vegetable broth. Probably sounds weird, but it tastes better than you think!

What you need:

Emergency bread (see recipe above)

Vegetable broth

Spices: Pepper, salt

(Onions)

You want to make some emergency bread first, except this time spread the dough a little bit thicker so it’s still soft inside after it’s done. Like a pancake! Cut the pancakes into small stripes and put them into a pot of hot vegetable broth. If you like onions, add some of those too. And done! You should eat it fast before the pancakes soak up all the broth though.

Recipe for mayonnaise and all kind of dips

When I have enough money left for milk, I usually make mayonnaise, but you can also use recipe this for e.g. a curry dip or salad dressing.

What you need:

1/3 of soy milk (Doesn’t work very well with other milk)

2/3 of sunflower or rapeseed oil

Spices: Salt, pepper, mustard, vegetable broth powder, lemon juice

Mix the soy milk and the oil (e.g. 50ml of milk and 100ml of oil) and use a blender to mix it for a few seconds. Ideally it has now the consistency of mayonnaise, but no worries if it doesn’t, we can fix that. Just add the spices and stir it, that will make it more solid.

For a curry dip, just add some curry powder, salt and pepper instead. Or other spices, whatever you fancy! Basically you can use this for any kind of dip that you can think of.

For the salad dressing use the same spices as for the mayonnaise, but add a little bit more milk in the end.

Tarte flambée / Flammkuchen

What you need:

Emergency Bread (see recipe above)

Mayonnaise (see recipe above)

Onions

Tofu (Optional, since expensive)

You can either use the emergency bread and put warm ‘mayonnaise’ and roasted onions on it.

Or you can use 250g flour, 20g yeast, 150ml water, salt, sugar and olive oil to make a dough and let it rest for at least 45 minutes. Roll the pastry so it’s very thin, add mayonnaise and cut onions and put the whole thing into the preheated oven for around 5 minutes.

Cream Sauce

This one is a classic and great for any kind of noodle recipes, or vegetables like potatoes. Or, if you have the money, broccoli, cauliflower and tofu.

What you need:

Margarine

Flour

Hot water

Tofu (Optional, since expensive)

Spinach (Optional)

Spices: There are many versions for this recipe, I listed them further down

Heat up a pot and put margarine in it – at least two table spoons. When it’s fully melted add about the same amount of flour, little by little. Stir it with an eggbeater. Now add hot water, again little by little and constantly stirring until you have a thick sauce. If it’s too thick, add more water. If it’s too liquid, add more flour.

For the classic version, add only salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg.

It’s important to eat green vegetables too. :P Add some (frozen) spinach and done!

I also like to mix it additionally with oregano and parsley for “Italian” noodle dishes. And if you have the money, take half a block of classic tofu, mash it with a fork and add it into the pot to cook for a bit. (No spinach in this version.)

Hot Red Pepper Sauce

What you need:

Hot Red Pepper Paste (I always buy it at Turkish grocery stores, but I heard Korean grocery stores have it too)

Water

Spices: Pepper, salt, vegetable broth, paprika powder, chili flakes

Heat up water in a pot and add hot red pepper paste until you have a smooth sauce. Add the spices and you’re done! Tastes especially great with rice and, if you can afford them, fresh vegetables.

Tabbouleh Salad

The perfect thing for hot days! Plus the vegetables you need for this are usually cheaper during summer too.

What you need:

Bulgur

1-3 Onions

½ Cucumber

2 big tomatoes

A big bundle of fresh mint leaves

Salad (Optional)

Spices: Salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil

Take about 150-200g of bulgur and soak it in cold water for an hour, then put it in a sieve to drain off the water. Put the bulgur in a big bowl or pot. Cut the onions, cucumber, tomatoes and mint leaves into small pieces and add them. (The original recipe has 3 big onions, which is a lot. Most people I know are more than happy with only one.) Add salt, pepper, a bit of lemon juice and 4-5 table spoons of olive oil. Optionally you can add a bit of fresh salad too.

Noodle Salad

What you need:

Noodles

Kidney beans

Onions

Corn

Paprika

Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

Cook the noodles and let them cool. Add everything else. Done!

Pudding

Sweets are expensive too. So whenever I have money left for milk, I make pudding. I have two versions for you:

1.) Chocolate or Vanilla pudding

You know pudding powder? Every grocery store has those for a few cents, so go get some. The instructions are on the back. Takes about 5 minutes to make!

2.) Semolina pudding

You need:

200g semolina

200ml vegan milk

2 table spoons sugar

Heat up the milk in a pot. Add sugar. Add the semolina and stir for about 5 minutes until you have gooey substance. Fill it into a bowl of your liking, let it cool, then put it into the fridge for a few hours. Add some nuts, if you can afford them!

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And a bit of advice:

If it’s too liquid, add more spices or a bit of flour

If it’s too spicy, add sugar, syrup and/or lemon juice

Don’t search for vegan recipes since they usually include super fancy and expensive ingredients. Instead take normal, simple recipes you already know. You can turn literally anything vegan. Usually it’s enough to replace a few things, most commonly:

Soy/Almond/Rice milk instead of cow milk

In many cases you can even replace yoghurt with milk

Half a banana instead of an egg Or vinegar mixed with natron instead of an egg (Baking only)

Every household needs at least one mint plant. :P You can add them to every kind of spicy dish as topping

Get more spice plants!! They are cheap and you have a seemingly endless source of fresh spices

I don’t know about other countries, but here in Germany spices can be really expensive, at least in most German grocery stores. And they aren’t even good or spicy. I always buy them at Turkish grocery stores – the spices are affordable and actually spicy. Arabic, Korean, Chinese (etc.) stores have great spices too!