What are you having for dinner? (wanna share your recipe?)

[Friday]

Have never cooked or worked with sumac before though! I am intrigued. We have sumac that grows here but it might be different

VERY different, unless it’s an import. Most of the sumac growing wild in the US / North America is poisonous. Much like hemlock, where one variety is not only all-parts-posionous, but even the rotted canes -and anything they’ve leached into- are deadly for up to 3 years; whilst another variety is a great source of vitamin C and trace minerals, and makes a lovely and refreshing tea!

It’s just like…. argh! People! Can we work on naming things that kill us differently from things we eat?!? Please?!? And why don’t we, already O.o

The sumac used in middle eastern cooking is a red super citrusy/bitter combo that I’ve cheated for by mixing radicchio & citrus pith & lemon…. Or Cuban style green oranges. Middle eastern sumac is just so vibrant/dry/bitter/tangy it’s hard to emulate, but not impossible.

 

[Friday]

My fave cream of asparagus soup

Recipe: Pea and Asparagus Soup

 

[Rose White]

Had Bakwan Sayur, which is an Indonesian cabbage and carrot fritter. Reminded me of an egg roll without the meat and wrapper. I dipped it in ketchup to which I added sriracha, honey, and chili garlic vinegar. Crispy, chewy, yummy!

 

[Friday]

Total Cheat Tomato Soup (1 : 12,000 variations)

- 1 can of V8
- 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken or veggie Demiglaze (better than bouillon, or similar) or bouillon cube, or granules, etc.
- half a cup / half a can of fire roasted chopped tomatoes

Zap in microwave.

Finis.

(Optional) 11,999 things. Fresh basil. Cream. A can of salsa. Lemon pepper. Red peppers. Chicken sausage. Kielbasa. Mire poix. Melty cheese or cheese-like substances. Seafood. Cilantro. Fines Herbs. Noodles. Beans. Hot sauce. Tortilla strips. Rotisserie chicken. Whatever.

My back is f*cked up right now, and name brand soups in a can all have things I’m allergic to in them. So this is one of my core “winging it with what’s on hand with zero effort” soups. Well. Almost zero effort. If I can twist of the lid of ‘better than bouillon’ demiglaze, and operate a can opener? Voila!

 

[Friday]

On the same subject? As I expect this will be most of my week?

When I’m sick or just want something hot & savory instead of tea, ‘soups’.

Teaspoon of Better than bouillon + squeezy tube or fruit shaped juice vessel
- chicken & ginger
- chicken & lemon
- beef & lime
- beef & lime & cilantro & onion
- beef & red wine & mushrooms

Boil water in kettle
Add teaspoon of demiglaze, & juice, & misc to big ole mug
Add boiling water and stir.
Sip at leisure.

 

[nursenurse]

@OliveJewel, my Mom would make creamed mushrooms on toast as a treat for us when I was a kid, for lunch, my brother was not a fan, and fresh mushrooms were expensive way back in the Stone Age. So not a family meal thing. But if my dad and brother were MIA, I would get that sometimes. Also veal kidney, which was magical the way she cooked it. And don’t get me started on the corn meal mush that got mixed with crispy bacon and fried onions (fried in bacon grease, of course) baked until crispy on top and served with sour cream. Now you have me thinking and salivating.

 

[Friday]

Stewed Tomatoes / Creamy Stewed Tomato Soup

EVOO
Couple cans of tomatoes
A few stalks of celery, diced.
An onion, diced
A small green bell pepper, diced
A couple cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
Salt & White Pepper to taste
Water to cover

Ring a sauce pan with olive oil, and cook celery/onion/peppers/garlic until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes & water. Simmer for half an hour to an hour, or bring to a roiling boil for a few minutes, then cover, turn off, and nip into the fridge overnight.


^^^ This is going into the Beef Barely Stew I’m making later tonight or tomorrow. So for tonight, I’m just saving some out, adding some cashew cream & chicken stock, and hitting with the immersion blender until it’s whatever consistency I feel like, at the time. Anywhere from garden fresh chunky to luscious silky. Even better, toast up some crusty bread with olive oil & fresh cracked black pepper for dunking.

 

[Rose White]

Cabbage soup based on this recipe

Which ended up being more like potato and bean soup, but still good. I like how you don’t need a stock because you’re making the stock as you go. I ate it with balsamic syrup and bread.

It’s interesting to me that the way Julia says to make it is with big pieces of vegetables and meat, that you would need to cut as you’re eating it. I always thought of soup as having bite-sized pieces, and I did cut mine that way but I might try it that other way some time—makes it more like dinner cooked in liquid (not explaining myself very well). Big pieces of vegetable and meat in soup that need to be cut while eating is a concept I’d like to try! (That’s it. )

 

[Friday]

Sweet & Sour Pork

- Pork Shoulder/Butt bite sized, and marinate in soy sauce & cornstarch for at least 15 minutes up to overnight.

- Dip/Drip/Dunk in tempura batter & deep fry.

- Toss in sweet & sour sauce, pineapple, peppers, onions.

- Guard jealously from housemates on a mission to snitch “just one”.

ETA.. I think next time I’m going to try marinating the pork in pineapple juice, instead of shoyu.

 

[Rose White]

sweet & sour sauce,

Do you make it?

 

[Friday]

Do you make it?

Yes & No.

I’ve tried dozens of different versions with various degree of liking, but nothing I’m swooning over, yet.

Basically it’s:

Ketchup
Soy Sauce
Vinegar of some sort (rice wine, apple cider, white)
Sugar of some sort (white, brown, turbinado, corn syrup, molasses)
Pineapple Juice
Corn starch
Red &/or Yellow food colouring

But??? Until I find the right ratio I keep a bottle of “It’s not great, but it’s also zero work“ for when I don’t have the time/energy/patience to deal with disappointment! Even if the not-quite-right versions are better than the bottle… it’s the “Aaaaargh!” Factor.

 

[Freddyt]

Do you make it?

Sauce
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion minced
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
2 1/2 cups apricot preserves (jam will do in a pinch)
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worchestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

As a side note - the first time I made it I was convinced up until all the ingredients were in the pot that is wasn't right and suddenly - perfect.

This was to pair with meatballs so it should have the right profile to work well with any meat dish. You can also make it and freeze it for a couple weeks before use.