What's For Dinner - Part 2

[RachelB]

Parmesan broth with white beans and kale. Crusty bread. It smells good!

[DrPusey]

Parmesan broth with white beans and kale. Crusty bread. It smells good!

Oh! I saw that on Smitten Kitchen. You'll have to report on how it turned out.

I forgot to report back that the Vegan Hot and Sour soup in the crockpot actually turned out really well. The flavor was good and I was happy that I put extra shiitakes in it. The only catch was that, unlike most soups, it tasted best right after it was made.

[RachelB]

Oh! I saw that on Smitten Kitchen. You'll have to report on how it turned out.

I forgot to report back that the Vegan Hot and Sour soup in the crockpot actually turned out really well. The flavor was good and I was happy that I put extra shiitakes in it. The only catch was that, unlike most soups, it tasted best right after it was made.

^ Quite yummy. We each had seconds. It's a little oilier than I would prefer, but it's got impressive depth of flavor. We added some orzo when we added the kale.

I might need to try your vegan hot and sour soup. Typically when either of us gets a cold I make South Indian food (because one can taste it even with a stuffy nose), but it is nice to change it up a bit.

[RachelB]

Once more, omelets with sikil pak, radish, and onion.

Toast with blood orange/lemon marmalade for dessert. This was Round #2 of marmalade-making, and it went well. This batch and the previous one have been refrigerator jams (to be used within six weeks of making them). I'm contemplating getting proper canning gear, though I have no idea where I'd put it, because it's not twice as hard to make a batch that's twice as big.

[sparkles]

Indian spiced chickpea and potato veggie burgers with spicy tomato chutney. The burgers were very tasty but too soft and potato-y so I'll have to play around with the recipe. Mocha whoppie pies for dessert. I also made carob chia pudding and banana-steel cut oat muffin tops for breakfasts this week.

[VenusDaisy]

Moroccan chicken stewed with butternut squash and dried cherries, served over couscous.

That sounds amazing!

[RachelB]

Ravioli filled with onions and chard. White beans dressed in parsley-walnut pesto.

[RachelB]

Tomato and feta pizza. Steamed fennel.

[Arete]

Toasted sandwich of cheddar and avocado. A couple of clementines.

[sparkles]

I took the day off because of the weather so I've declared it International Cooking Day at Casa Sparkles. Lunch was bokkeumbap with homemade kimchi --awesomeness! And lots of leftovers for more lunches, woo! Dinner is palak paneer with homemade paneer (currently draining). Way more fun than schlepping 20 miles to work in an ice storm.

[Arete]

I got the call for a weather day this morning. Everyone told to stay home because of the ice storm.

So, it was Thai red curry. I used turkey cutlets, the leftover bottom half of a butternut squash, my last sweet potato, regular potato, carrot, onion, peas and broccoli florets. Thai curries have to be about the most forgiving dishes ever. You can use just about any protein and veggie combo and it is so good.

[RachelB]

Spicy tamarind sambar with rice and poppadums. It's an unusual sambar in that, instead of being thickened with dal, it's thickened with chickpea flour. And while nothing is going to replace the texture of toor dal cooked to a silky consistency in my affections, it is nice that there's a sambar that can be cooked in half an hour.

Edited to add: AreteJo, are pigeon peas the yellow peas usually used for fava? If so, they're the same thing as toor dal. I have no idea how they got to be used in such widely varied contexts.

[OkToBeTakei]

Oh I've missed this thread!

I've been on a cooking kick since Christmas, my kitchen seems to be a perpetual warzone.

In no particular order and as they pop into my head,

Last night I made smoked mackerel pate on thinly sliced toasted ciabatta. It was supposed to be a wee appetiser but ended up making some salad and we polished it off for dinner.

I attended a bring your own curry night and ever since have been on a Kerala food binge. Eventually mastered making authentic naan at home. I have yet to convince little Miss OK that a pestle and mortar is a must for masalas and banging in a food processor will not give the same result. BIG side-eye :lol:

I tried Nigella's ham in coke. Was OK-ish. Not convinced.

Salt and pepper squid, or prawn or really any fish was another January favourite.

Soup, soup and more soup. Usual cast of veggies and pulses, the maligned yellow split pea being a packed lunch favourite with child. Mulligatawny a real warmer.

Tonight I am cooking with kidneys, am looking at recipes, my child will eat liver so I'm not too worried about putting her off :lol:

Seriously tempted by the Hot and Sour soup! Something for the weekend I think.

[sparkles]

Last night was a chicken, quinoa and broccoli casserole from http://www.pinchofyum.com. It's a lovely little blog I found recently (it's been around for a while though) and so far, I've made about 10 recipes, all of which have been excellent. The creamy cauliflower sauce is awesome.

Tonight is leftovers, last night's casserole plus the bokkeumbap and palak paneer from a couple of days ago--and still going strong. Eep.

[RachelB]

OKTBT, do you have a favorite source of Kerala recipes? I have a mostly Tamil cookbook I love, then a couple less-focused Indian cookbooks, but I maintain that there is room for more. :D

Tonight, we're trying another recent Smitten Kitchen recipe: warm potato and lentil salad with pickled shallots and cornichons.

[Arete]

RachelB,

No, pigeon peas and yellow favs are two different species.

I love Smitten Kitchen. Sassy Radish was also a great NY cooking blog until it's author decided to turn it into a platform for her navel gazing. Sad.

[RachelB]

Thanks! I don't know Sassy Radish at all and might need to look at the pre-navel-gazing archives. :)

We made penne with peas and yogurt/feta sauce, topped with sauteed pine nuts, garlic, and Aleppo pepper.

I've been invited to another futurist dinner this month and am thinking about what to make (and what ritual to design to go with it, because that's part of every dish). My current thought involves The Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which should be both sweet and pungent. (A little apple with a horseradish center? A mandarin orange spiked with green peppercorn vodka?) And once you've opted to eat of it, you add at least one sentence to The Book of Wisdom That People Really Ought to Have.

[gypsygirl22]

We're having hamburgers. It's way to cold to grill them outside though. I think we'll have sliced fresh veggies & dip also.

[sparkles]

Shredded kale and Brussels sprouts with soba noodles and sesame soy dressing.

[RachelB]

Toasted cheese sandwiches (using a salty, creamy goat cheese) with tart apple, bitter greens, and onion jam.

[DrPusey]

Here's the link to the crockpot vegan hot and sour soup recipe I used:http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/10/kathys-slow-cooker-hot-and-sour-soup.html. I made it as written, with the exception of about doubling the shiitakes called for. Oh, and I wound up adding about another 3/4 cup of water.

Tonight's dinner was nothing fancy - whole wheat spaghetti with mushroom pasta sauce, grated Parmesan, and meatless meatballs.

[PennySycamore]

Beefless stew made with Gardein Beefless tips. I browned the tips in a little oil with chopped onion and a crushed clove or two of garlic. Set that aside when it's browned. Then I deglazed the dutch oven with veggie broth, add two Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into sixteenths, some carrots, a large onion (quartered and sliced) and tonight I added a parsnip, peeled and cut into sticks. Finally I season the stew with some freshly ground black pepper and a few herbs. When the veggies are done, I add back in the beefless tips to warm up.

One of the dishes I really miss with being vegetarian is beef stew and this is a good approximation. It will be good on this snowy evening.

ETA: I'd rather use white potatoes, but I can't just get the few I need of white potatoes so I get Idahos.

[sparkles]

Kimchi pancakes with soy dipping sauce

[doggie]

Orange or other flavor chicken. This is dirt easy chicken pieces of your choice a can if frozen juice we have used orange or pineapple or a mix of any type you like. Some type if lemon pepper we use penny's California blend. A few dashes of soy and if wanted lemon or vinegar to get more sweet and sour. I sprinkle the chicken well with the seasoning add the juice right from the can and the soy and cook it at a slow simmer till it is coming off the bone turn it at least once since it is not enough liquid to cover it. I reduce the liquid till it is think and pour it over the chicken. Very simple and easy. I am sure it would work in a slow cooker.

[Aerial312]

Tonight I had last night's black bean soup, which was better as leftovers than it was the first time. The flavors got to meld.