What's For Dinner - Part 2

[OkToBeTakei]

MorbidAwe- My view is that if he gets hungry enough he will come get his own food.

OkToBeTakei- here's my naan recipe

1 tsp dried active yeast

½ tsp sugar

½ cup warm water (about 110°F)

1 cup flour + more as needed

½ tsp salt

¼ cup + 1 tsp clarified butter or vegetable oil (I typically use olive oil)

In glass measuring cup, combine yeast and sugar. Add warm water and stir, let rest until foamy, about 5 minutes. Sift together flour and salt, make a well and add yeast mixture and oil. Mix together with your fingers until a smooth dough forms. Knead for 3 minutes. Place remaining oil and dough in a small bowl, turning to coat. Let rest 1 hour, until doubled in size. Divide dough into six pieces and gently roll out. Bake on a baking stone or lightly greased baking sheet, until just golden brown and puffed, about 12 minutes at 400°.

edited to add what we had for dinner, oops. We went to the fish dinner at a local Catholic church, baked whitefish, mashed potatoes, roll and coleslaw.

I'll give that a try, the taste I get is good, it's the cooking I get wrong. Just nothing like my local Indian makes :(

No snarking MorbidAwe. But just because he is a great guy does not mean you serve him his food when he is well able himself. Might just be a bad habit you guys got in to. Maybe even just telling him it bugs him might help. I quite like if there is a big match on making Mr Ok a tray. He makes me breakfast in bed same way. But in the main we all eat together.

[MorbidAwe]

Thank you all for your input. What we are doing is certainly out of habit, but if it's bugging me I need to put on my big girl pants and just tell him about it. (Dang, those big girl pants do so chafe me!)

Bethella--We love Naan bread, I never realized that it was something I could make, myself. Is it terribly difficult? Thanks for the recipe!

Rachel B.--This Okonomiyaki sounds a lot like what my former boss (who is Korean) used to make, she called them kim chee pancakes. Surprisingly, they were absolutely delicious, the pancake batter would take some of the sting out of the kim chee. Do you have the Okonomiyaki recipe? I'd love to give it a try. What kind of veggies do you use for it?

[happy atheist]

Tonight we had eggplant with goat cheese and pine nuts, along with crispy mozzarella packets with figs and honey.

I'm stuffed!

[DrPusey]

We had a really nice meal out. I had an apple and beet salad, crunchy wok-fried green beans in plum sauce, and tiramisu. Oh, and a lovely sidecar for a cocktail.

[RachelB]

Thank you all for your input. What we are doing is certainly out of habit, but if it's bugging me I need to put on my big girl pants and just tell him about it. (Dang, those big girl pants do so chafe me!)

Bethella--We love Naan bread, I never realized that it was something I could make, myself. Is it terribly difficult? Thanks for the recipe!

Rachel B.--This Okonomiyaki sounds a lot like what my former boss (who is Korean) used to make, she called them kim chee pancakes. Surprisingly, they were absolutely delicious, the pancake batter would take some of the sting out of the kim chee. Do you have the Okonomiyaki recipe? I'd love to give it a try. What kind of veggies do you use for it?

I'm typing from memory here, but the recipe is in Annie Somerville's book Fields of Greens. Basically, the batter (2 eggs, 2 Tbsp. flour, and a handful of chopped cilantro) should be enough to just coat the vegetables. A variety of vegetables will work-- Somerville calls for I forget how many cups of nappa cabbage, 1 carrot, and 1/4 lb. shiitake mushrooms, plus 4 scallions, 2 Tbsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes if you like heat, 2 Tbsp. tamari, 1 Tbsp. mirin.

Last night I subbed 2 c. roughly chopped bean sprouts for the cabbage (chopped cress would be scrumptious, if you like bite-y), left the carrot out entirely, subbed sake for the mirin (because I prefer the unsweetened version of anything).

Stir fry the vegetables (I use peanut oil with a little sesame oil for flavor) starting with the ones that need the most softening. Add the ginger and scallions, along with the tamari and mirin/sake and pepper flakes once the mushrooms are tender. Let the vegetables cool a little bit, then mix them together with the batter.

At this point The Partner takes over, because I have zero griddle technique. But the goal is to make pancakes that are 3 inches across.

Somerville recommends a dipping sauce (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger), but I think they don't need it.

[MorbidAwe]

I'm typing from memory here, but the recipe is in Annie Somerville's book Fields of Greens. Basically, the batter (2 eggs, 2 Tbsp. flour, and a handful of chopped cilantro) should be enough to just coat the vegetables. A variety of vegetables will work-- Somerville calls for I forget how many cups of nappa cabbage, 1 carrot, and 1/4 lb. shiitake mushrooms, plus 4 scallions, 2 Tbsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes if you like heat, 2 Tbsp. tamari, 1 Tbsp. mirin.

Last night I subbed 2 c. roughly chopped bean sprouts for the cabbage (chopped cress would be scrumptious, if you like bite-y), left the carrot out entirely, subbed sake for the mirin (because I prefer the unsweetened version of anything).

Stir fry the vegetables (I use peanut oil with a little sesame oil for flavor) starting with the ones that need the most softening. Add the ginger and scallions, along with the tamari and mirin/sake and pepper flakes once the mushrooms are tender. Let the vegetables cool a little bit, then mix them together with the batter.

At this point The Partner takes over, because I have zero griddle technique. But the goal is to make pancakes that are 3 inches across.

Somerville recommends a dipping sauce (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and ginger), but I think they don't need it.

Oh, Yum!!! My mouth is watering, already! Thank you!

[LillyCat]

Those sound amazing RachelB!!!!! i'll need to figure out a flour sub as we can't have gluten, but in one form or another, those will be on the meal plan for next week :)

[RachelB]

Those sound amazing RachelB!!!!! i'll need to figure out a flour sub as we can't have gluten, but in one form or another, those will be on the meal plan for next week :)

Rice flour, maybe?

Tonight we had a lentil and chickpea salad with toasted spices, pickled onion, preserved lemon, and tahini. (Not much to look at, but tasty.) We had salad greens underneath, toast alongside, and spearmint chocolate chip ice cream to close.

[RachelB]

Omelets with cheese and green garlic. Steamed artichokes.

[LillyCat]

Curried tofu + cashew salad in lettuce leaves, sliced mango, and maybe chocolate tofu silk pie for dessert- if i'm feeling ambitious later.

[Kitty]

Some penne shit I found on Pinterest.

Basically, you heat up some penne pasta in a pot of water for 6 minutes, throw in some broccoli florets, boil it all until the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pot, add olive oil, garlic, onion, lemon juice and zest, and parmesan cheese.

Except I didn't have any lemon juice or parmesan cheese handy and I wasn't paying attention to the pasta. Instead, I added the broccoli florets when I felt like the pasta had been cooking long enough, and added oregano. Turned out great, I will be trying this again, and next time I'll put in the parmesan and maybe some more stuff, like more veggies and possibly ground beef.

[Bethella]

Sloppy joes on whole wheat buns, steamed carrots and potato chips.

[happy atheist]

Some penne shit I found on Pinterest.

Basically, you heat up some penne pasta in a pot of water for 6 minutes, throw in some broccoli florets, boil it all until the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pot, add olive oil, garlic, onion, lemon juice and zest, and parmesan cheese.

Except I didn't have any lemon juice or parmesan cheese handy and I wasn't paying attention to the pasta. Instead, I added the broccoli florets when I felt like the pasta had been cooking long enough, and added oregano. Turned out great, I will be trying this again, and next time I'll put in the parmesan and maybe some more stuff, like more veggies and possibly ground beef.

I make something similar, but with roasted garlic and pinenuts in addition to the broccoli. It's awesome.

[LillyCat]

Carb binge! Pad Thai w/ tofu, fresh spring rolls, and sauteed cabbage.

[Bethella]

Baked Chicken, steamed asparagus and whole wheat noodles with a "clean-out the fridge" sauce made from mushrooms, cranberries, shallot, white wine and cream.

[RachelB]

We'd been planning to have a pizza with marinated artichoke hearts. The Partner is dealing with a wicked cold, so instead I made a double batch of rasam (spicy tomato soup with tamarind and dal in it), which he refers to as "elixir of health."

[LillyCat]

Tonight i am making a gluten free version of the savory veggie pancake recipe RachelB posted a few days ago. i'm excited to try something new that sounds so yummy. not sure what i will serve it with; maybe tofu satay w/ peanut sauce.

[samurai_sarah]

Cullen Skink (smoked haddock chowder). Got cold, want soup. :)

[RachelB]

Cullen Skink (smoked haddock chowder). Got cold, want soup. :)

What a great name for a dish.

We are having odds and ends tonight-- The Partner is having more rasam; I am having the last of the mustard greens, with some marinated chickpeas, plus bread and herby goat cheese.

[happy atheist]

Mr Atheist helped his mom move some furniture today, so she sent him home with a lasagna, garlic bread, a salad, and tiramisu.

[Bethella]

I'm not cooking but it smells like pancakes and eggs, I may need to go find out...

[Jenny]

I'm trying two new things tonight. Baby bell peppers filled with Philadelphia Cooking Creme and topped with bacon and veggie balls.

Yes, I'm mixing bacon and vegetarian meatballs. I was too put off by the list of ingredients on the bag of frozen meatballs and didn't have time to make some from scratch.

[samurai_sarah]

I'm trying two new things tonight. Baby bell peppers filled with Philadelphia Cooking Creme and topped with bacon and veggie balls.

Yes, I'm mixing bacon and vegetarian meatballs. I was too put off by the list of ingredients on the bag of frozen meatballs and didn't have time to make some from scratch.

That made me smile. I made creamed spinach, boiled potatoes and Nurembuger sausages yesterday. And Quorn (vegetarian) sausages. Yes, I mixed vegetarian and pork products too. :) Tonight's dinner will be Thai. Laap Gai (Larb Gai) from my freezer's "I made way too much of this" section. It's basically sour-hot chicken with lots of coriander/cilantro and red onions.

[happy atheist]

I think that tonight will be quiche. One with cheddar, ham, and sun-dried tomatoes, the other with spinach, artichokes, roasted red peppers and maybe some romano.

[RachelB]

Gray Kunz has a gratin recipe (peas with pea greens, tarragon, chives, and pistachios) that The Partner and I decided a few years ago could be adapted into a good sauce for pasta. We've been fiddling with it once or twice a year ever since. That's what we're having tonight.

Early Burlat cherries for dessert. (They're similar in flavor to a Bing-- maybe slightly tarter?-- and in between crisp and tender in texture.)