So what's for dinner?

[MaryMumsy]

Chicken fajitas. Sliced chicken breast, lots of sliced onion, and sliced red bell pepper. Sauteed in a really hot pan, so they get some char. Seasoned hot pepper flakes, cumin, dried cilantro, garlic powder, and a few things in a blend I use that I don't know what they are. Some lime juice for a little moisture. Served with flour tortillas, refried beans, shredded cheese, diced fresh tomato, diced avocado, and sour cream. Yum

MM

 

[Chris P]

Teriyaki tofu with broccoli.

Now, before you accuse me of healthier-then-thou virtue signaling, it was followed by way too many Crumbl cookies.

 

[Unimportant]

Dunno what's for dinner. Probably the curry we didn't have last night because my spouse was feeling unwell (and, yep, went off for a COVID test today).

 

[bunny hugger]

I thought shrimp was a "seldom" food for cholesterol?

I'm waiting for takeout from our local Peruvian chicken place. Oh, yeah.

My diet has the extra fun element that I process omega 3s poorly (for genetic reasons) so I do need to eat oily fish shrimp etc

 

[bunny hugger]

I've lately come to appreciate the virtues of different types of rice, and the vast variety of beans out there, and the combinations.

Some of my go-tos. You might want to look into substituting some of the oils, and in most cases I have been able to cut the oil in half with no loss of flavor, texture or mouth feel.

Chickpeas and rice
Black-eyed pea hummus, which goes really well with oven naan
Spicy Ethiopian Lentil Stew
Yellow jasmine rice
Cilantro lime rice
Moroccan Soup with Kale and Chickpeas
Lentils and canned salmon. Very good on mixed greens!

Thanks! I am researching cuisines that use more spices and have more vegetarian options than ye old "contemporary American" which seems to have a love affair with cheese.

 

[Unimportant]

Thanks! I am researching cuisines that use more spices and have more vegetarian options than ye old "contemporary American" which seems to have a love affair with cheese.

Indian, Thai, and Ethiopian. YUM.

 

[Chris P]

Thanks! I am researching cuisines that use more spices and have more vegetarian options than ye old "contemporary American" which seems to have a love affair with cheese.

As it so tastily should. Well, unless it shouldn't.

I think the mistake Western food makes with vegetarian options is we keep trying to make the same things we always have just without the meat or with meat substitutes. Other cuisines started from first principles without meat to start with, and did exciting things with it. I think the options are better now than they were 30 years ago, so we're getting there.

 

[Introversion]

Assuming we don’t lose power thanks to blizzard conditions, I plan to make this barley casserole for dinner tonight:

Layered Mexican Barley Casserole - The Weary Chef

This Mexican Barley Casserole is a hearty, wholesome, delicious meal your family will love! It is a healthy meal loaded with protein, fiber, and vitamins.

wearychef.com

Have made it before. Easy, very tasty.

 

[Chris P]

Confession time: My better half is out of town for a week, so today is the first day of going hog wild on all the recipes and take-out places I normally couldn't talk her into trying or going.

If I drop off line for a while, I might be in a grease- and carb-induced stupor.

 

[Introversion]

What kind of recipes do you hoard for these precious moments, Chris? Are we talking bacon-and-cream-cheese-filled donuts, or just pasta, or…?

 

[RedRajah]

Asian bacon fried rice w/soft-boiled eggs

 

[Unimportant]

Eggs on toast. My better half is still not feeling too well (negative COVID test, though, phew!).

 

[Jazz Club]

I made carrot and coriander soup today with fresh coriander, and yesterday pesto with fresh basil... I hadn't had fresh herbs for ages before that. There's something special about them.

 

[Chris P]

What kind of recipes do you hoard for these precious moments, Chris? Are we talking bacon-and-cream-cheese-filled donuts, or just pasta, or…?

Singapore rice noodles from the local Chinese place, take-out pizza, burgers, corn-cheese chowder (with heavy cream), all the good stuff. I'm making my statin earn its keep.

 

[Unimportant]

I made carrot and coriander soup today with fresh coriander, and yesterday pesto with fresh basil... I hadn't had fresh herbs for ages before that. There's something special about them.

Yum!

I made S-balls (as we call them) last night, which is beef mince put through the food processor with a pureed mix of half a green capsicum/bell pepper, 1 T cumin, 1 t minced garlic, juice from one lemon, a pinch (or more) of chilli powder if desired, and a big handful of fresh coriander.

(Then shape into patties or small bite sized balls and cook under the broiler on a foil-covered tray till done. Serve on rice if desired, with a sauce of yoghurt mixed with a pinch of salt, a good squeeze of lemon juice, and a small handful of finely chopped fresh mint. I know mint and beef sounds weird but it really works well. I have yet to serve these S-balls to anyone who didn't fall in love with them. )

DB: Can I help?
Me: Can you go pick me some coriander please.
DB: How much do you need?
Me: Oh, lots. (Remembers that when I say that about herbs she usually brings me three or four sprigs.) I mean, a metric f*cktonne.
DB disappears. DB reappears.
DB: Here you go.
Me: !!!

Well, gosh golly wow. If I were to put this coriander into water like a flower bouquet, I'd need three vases each the diameter of a coffee mug.

Happily, I had heaps of green capsicums (which I'd liberated from plants that were falling over under their own weight) and a dozen lemons. I discarded the tough coriander stems and made ten batches worth of spice mix, froze nine of them in ziplocks, and used the last one with half a kg of beef mince to make dinner.

 

[Jazz Club]

Well, gosh golly wow. If I were to put this coriander into water like a flower bouquet, I'd need three vases each the diameter of a coffee mug.

Good thinking t0 freeze the spice mix.

I always have a smug 'beating the system' feeling every time I use something prefrozen! You get a freshly-cooked meal without having to do all the work that day. I like to make my own pizza bases and freeze a few at a time, or puff pastry since it's such a pain to make.

The S balls sound great. I can imagine mint would go well with beef; I know it's more common with lamb but why not beef? I'll have to give them a try.

 

[MaryMumsy]

For some unfathomable reason, I am making lasagna. This is not a "pantry pull", this is an "order ingredients you have never purchased in your life" endeavor (ricotta, I'm looking at you). When I lived at home, I'd help my Mom. She did not use ricotta, she used mozzarella and colby. After I was married I occasionally helped my Italian MIL (who did use ricotta) make it.

I'll report tomorrow if it was edible. At least I was able to get the noodles you don't have to boil. Otherwise I would have just forgotten the whole thing.

MM

 

[mrsmig]

Making a "little" Thanksgiving dinner tonight: roasted turkey breast, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me, and my husband has been an absolute champ throughout. Now that I can focus again, I wanted to make him a lovely meal.

 

[RedRajah]

Beef back rib as kalbi

 

[Chris P]

Confession time: My better half is out of town for a week, so today is the first day of going hog wild on all the recipes and take-out places I normally couldn't talk her into trying or going.

If I drop off line for a while, I might be in a grease- and carb-induced stupor.

I'm already regretting my food choices for the weekend. I feel foul! I don't have the stomach I once did.

*goes in search of something leafy and green*

 

[Unimportant]

BEANS FOR EVERYONE!! My beans have gone berko. And MARROWS! Not only have my courgettes sneakily got away on me, but the neighbour gave us 8 marrows, each well over a foot long, for me to try and get rid of at work. I froze down another kg of beans over the weekend and dumped two more kgs of beans on my unsuspecting students this morning, along with the marrows. I wish I could send them round to all you winter folk!

Tonight is burger and fries for my better half, and nachos for me, and beer for us both: lamentably low on veggies and high on carbs compared to our usual fare, but tonight we are celebrating 23 years together.

 

[Chris P]

tonight we are celebrating 23 years together.

Congrats!

What's the difference between marrows and courgettes? I know courgettes = zucchini (more or less) but by googling marrows I don't think I could tell the difference.

 

[Unimportant]

Congrats!

What's the difference between marrows and courgettes? I know courgettes = zucchini (more or less) but by googling marrows I don't think I could tell the difference.

courgette = zucchini

marrow = courgette or zucchini that hid under the leaves so you didn't notice it until it is the size of a baseball bat. Yes, even the bright yellow ones. Sneaky little buggers. I've excavated marrows that were up to eight pounds.

Marrows will have developed tougher (often inedible) skin, and a lot more seeds/pith down the middle, and the flesh is slightly drier. Marrows, unlike zukes picked at a small/normal size, often store well for months.

And because their skin is tougher, and they store long enough for the summer heat to pass, they hold up better if you want to make stuffed marrow (cut it lengthwise, scoop out the icky seedy bits, fill the core with a mix of ground beef, minced veggies, rice, herbs, etc, put in a foil lined and covered pan, and cook on low for like three hours, which obv you don't want to do in the summer when it's a zillion degrees).

 

[Chris P]

courgette = zucchini

marrow = courgette or zucchini that hid under the leaves so you didn't notice it until it is the size of a baseball bat. Yes, even the bright yellow ones. Sneaky little buggers. I've excavated marrows that were up to eight pounds.

Yikes! Actually, my grandparents would purposely let them get that big. Whenever they would visit we would get half a dozen of those monsters and never know what to do with them. Zucchini bread, now that I think of it, but that would be A LOT of zucchini bread.

And because their skin is tougher, and they store long enough for the summer heat to pass, they hold up better if you want to make stuffed marrow (cut it lengthwise, scoop out the icky seedy bits, fill the core with a mix of ground beef, minced veggies, rice, herbs, etc, put in a foil lined and covered pan, and cook on low for like three hours, which obv you don't want to do in the summer when it's a zillion degrees).

Ooooh, you've reminded my of stuffed pumpkin! I've not had that in ages. I might have to correct this.

 

[RedRajah]

Tonight will be Black Beans & Brown Rice.