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Post by Laura_in_FL on Nov 1, 2023 14:41:03 GMT -5
Since we're having a fairly cold night tonight, I am going to make chili. For the chili purists, you can call it a chili-like substance since it will contain beans.
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Post by rdback on Nov 2, 2023 10:05:49 GMT -5
Since we're having a fairly cold night tonight, I am going to make chili. For the chili purists people who haven't evolved, you can call it a chili-like substance since it will contain beans.
There, I fixed it for ya. Everybody who appreciates a good chili, knows it includes BEANS! Without beans, it's just a meat sauce.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 3, 2023 20:58:56 GMT -5
I made a dal, with my smallest one of those butternuts, which had 20.6 oz, or a little more than 4 c of cubes, once it was trimmed and seeded. I started by rinsing 1¼ c of toor dal, then soaking it, while cutting up the squash, chopping a large onion, and mincing 2 large cloves of garlic, with about a tb of ginger. I also measured out ingredients for the tarka, and the rest of the dal, to cook the dal with. I also blended 2 c of ripe tomatoes, to have ready. Just before starting to cook, I drained the toor dal, then added about 3/4 c masoor (red) dal, and rinsed them well. Then I put about 2 tb ghee in the Instant Pot, and set it on sauté, medium, and when melted, added a large chopped onion (about 1¼ c), and when golden, I added 1 tsp curry seeds (more later), the minced garlic/ginger paste (with about a tsp of salt), cooked about 30 sec, then added about a tb of Kashmiri chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1½ tsp garam masala (more of this later, too), and cooked another 30 sec., then added the 2 c of tomatoes to the pot. I let that boil about 3 minutes, scraping the pot, then added just under 4 c water, used to rinse out the VM, and lid! Then I added the drained dal, the butternut cubes, and the cut up stems of the Swiss chard (the chopped greens go in later, with some chopped mild chiles, and a few pole beans, cut up). I tasted for salt - added about 1/2 tsp (most is in that garlic paste), mixed, then put the lid on, and set on Bean mode, for 5 minutes, and let it reduce 15 minutes (only had a small amount of pressure still). Meanwhile, I prepared those veggies to be added, and when the dal is ready, I stir the veggies in, set the IP so Bean mode, for 3 minutes, and let it reduce 15 minutes again, when done. Then I took the cover off, stirred in another tsp of garam masala, and let it sit on warm, while making the tarka. In the 1 qt pot, I heated about 2 tsp ghee, then added another tsp of cumin, and 3/4 tsp mustard seed, and when it started crackling, added about 1/4 tsp asafoetida, followed by a large stem of curry leaves, stripped, until they were crisp, then I scraped it onto the dal. Then I added about 4 tb of chopped cilantro, to finish. My smallest butternut squash this season, 20.6 oz of cubes, after trimming. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The 20.6 oz of butternut cubes, plus the garlic/ginger paste, to go into the dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Butternut dal dish, about 3/4 cooked, before a bunch more veggies being added, and briefly cooked. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Chard, mild peppers, and a few pole beans, ready to stir into the butternut dal, to finish cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Cumin and mustard seeds, some asafoetida, and a large sprig of curry leaves, ready to make tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Cumin and mustard seeds, just starting to crackle, in a tb of ghee. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Asafoetida added, and finally the curry leaves, cooked just until crispy. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Tarka, just before stirring into the finished dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished butternut dal, with some crispy slices of toasted French bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by spike on Nov 4, 2023 15:39:15 GMT -5
It is feeling like a mac and cheese type of day!!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 11, 2023 1:50:17 GMT -5
Today is the first day of Dawali (11-10) - the Indian festival of lights. I made this dal, to take to some friends Sunday (besides eat a bowl today!), and an even larger bowl I'll be making with that butternut recipe I used a while back, except with nothing hot - I'll use some sweet paprika, instead of the chili. I made this using some bok choy from the garden, the greens separated from the stalks, and all of the cauliflower plants I had pulled yesterday in the garden - no heads anywhere! Here's the recipe I based it on, using my own greens, instead of spinach, and I simply mixed some cooked brown basmati with it, towards the end. www.kannammacooks.com/palak-pappu-recipe-make-spinach-dal/I also used moong dal, that was split, but not hulled - something I use a lot with these and urad dal, to keep the hulls. I cooked the rice in the IP, then removed it to a bowl, and used the IP to cook the 3/4 c of dal, in about 2½ c water - fairly thin, to add that rice, later. Meanwhile, I got all of the ingredients, mise en place, as this goes fairly fast. On the stovetop, in a tb of ghee, over medium low heat, the mustard and cumin seeds are cooked until crackling, then the asafoetida and curry leaves are cooked briefly, then onion is added, to lower the temp, along with about 2 tsp garlic/ginger paste, and cooked about 5 min, or until golden, then added a cup of tomato purée. Cooked over medium heat a couple of minutes, then added a couple tsp of sambar masala, and a half tb of coriander/cumin powder, cooked another 2 minutes, then added the greens, and stirred a minute, then covered, and cooked on medium low, about 5 minutes (spinach just needs wilting). This is reduced considerably, then I scraped it into the IP, with the cooked dal, then stirred in about 3 c of the cooked rice. I let that heat up, a couple of minutes, then turned off, and stirred in the bok choy stems, and let it sit for 3 minutes, while chopping up the cilantro. Seasonings for the dal and greens dish, using the last of my sambar masala - on my list now! by pepperhead212, on Flickr Brown basmati rice, cooked before the dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About 4 c of greens, a cup of tomato purée, by pepperhead212, on Flickr Some mustard seeds cumin seeds, and a few Maui Purple peppers, cooking in some ghee. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Some asafoetida and curry leaves, added to the ghee. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Onions, and some of that garlic ginger paste, added to slow down the cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The tomatoes, and the sambar masala and coriander/cumin powder, cooking several minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Greens added to tomatoes, before mixing well, then covering, to cook 5 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Greens finished cooking with the tomatoes, before adding to the cooked dal, and mixing with about 3 c rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Cooked greens, added to the cooked dal, with some rice, to heat through a few minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The bok choy stems, added to cook with the residual heat the last 3 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished dish, with a little cilantro on top (more stirred into the pot). by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 11, 2023 19:36:52 GMT -5
I made that second dish to take to my friend's house tomorrow - like that dal a while ago, with butternut squash, except this one with moth dal, because they are her favorite legumes, and I added some chicken, about 2 c of cooked chicken (no vegetarian friends visiting them, otherwise I would have left this out). I had a small bowl, to make sure there was no heat, and there is no heat - I used sweet paprika, in place of the Kashmiri chili powder, which is usually mild enough for most people, but not her! And the baby can even try it now.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 25, 2023 12:17:27 GMT -5
Nothing from the garden in those sweets I took for Thanksgiving, but in the day after, in the soup I made with some of the broth I made with the turkey carcass, I used some onion, garlic, and a couple of small sprigs of rosemary and sage, and some parsley, and some bok choy. The bok choy I chopped up the greens from, and added that early, and the cut up stalks towards the end. The soup started with that broth, and some purple barley, along with some green chickpeas, which I cooked a couple of hours in the Instant Pot, on slowcooker regular mode. Then I soaked, and cleaned up, and chopped 3/4 oz boletus mushrooms, saving the rinsing water, and adding it to the soup (this made it even darker), and some chana dal, and some whole mung beans, along with the greens, and slowcooked another 2 hours. Meanwhile, I cleaned up, quartered (or less, with those large ones) and cooked 1½ lbs of creminis, adding a chopped up onion, and some garlic minced with a small amount of rosemary, towards the end of cooking. When the dal and mung beans were almost done, I added the mushroom/onion mix, 1/2 c black quinoa, and about 1/3 c masoor dal, to cook about another hour, and thicken it some, adding the cut up bok choy stems, and about 1 c cut up turkey, for cooking just the last 10 minutes. I served this with some reggiano grated on the top. Finished mushroom barley soup, made with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished mushroom barley soup, before topping with some reggiano cheese. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by octave1 on Nov 25, 2023 20:15:13 GMT -5
Day 3 of leftover Thanksgiving food: turkey, gravy, sausage-mushroom dressing and mashed potatoes. It was really good the first day, but it tastes even better when one doesn't have to fix it.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 30, 2023 1:41:42 GMT -5
I had some leftover dal, from a couple nights ago, and tonight I made something to go with it, using the smallest butternut squash in my collection (I was just looking them all over for any bad spots, but all look fine, so I just took the smallest). I saw a recipe recently, that I wanted to try, which called for 500g of "pumpkin", and I had just over that (537g) of butternut, once it was cubed, so I just used a little extra, of the rest of the ingredients. Here's the recipe it was based on - just used a mild Numex chile I had, since it looks like a mild pepper like the Kashmiri, in the pictures in the recipe, though it doesn't specify. www.kannammacooks.com/parangikai-kari/Other than the squash, there wasn't much prep work, besides measuring, and grinding up that paste. I used some frozen coconut, for the fresh coconut called for. Mis en plas for a simple butternut squash curry, with a masala paste, based on coconut and sesame seeds. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Coconut sesame masala paste. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Butternut squash added to the spices and ready to cover, and steam for about 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The steamed butternut, after adding the masala paste, to cook off a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Butternut ready to serve, after cooking the pasta down for 2 just minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Pumpkin curry, with sesame and coconut sauce, served on brown rice and millet. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Nov 30, 2023 23:41:01 GMT -5
I had a little of the butternut squash dish I made last night, reheated, to go with the more soupy sambar dish I made tonight, from the radishes I harvested today. The recipe I based it on called for some radish greens, but I'm not crazy about those, so they went into the compost, and I used some cabbage leaves, I also harvested some small plants of. I had about a cup of chopped greens, 1½ c of diced radishes, and a generous cup of chopped onions. I started by cooking 3/4 c toor dal, in the Instant Pot, with 1½ c water, and 3/4 tsp each asafoetida and turmeric, with a little salt. When finished, I whisked it to smooth it out some, and let it cool, while cutting and measuring out all the rest of the ingredients. I used about a cup of chopped up, thawed tomatoes, and used the juice drained from the tomatoes, as part of the water in the dish. The vegetables were sautéed in a couple tb of oil for 6 minutes, over medium heat. Then the cooled dal was stirred in, with a cup of the rice/millet mix I made last night, plus 2 1/2 c water, and once simmering, I cooked for about 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Then I made the tarka, by heating 1 tb oil with 3/4 tsp each mustard seed and urad dal, and once it was crackling, and the dal was golden, I added 4 broken byadagi peppers, cooked about 10 sec, then added the curry leaves - about 15 - and cooked about 15 sec, until crisp, then put it on the sambar, followed by some cilantro. A few radishes, plus 2 small cabbage heads, just forming, about 3-4" inside the greens. Last day of Nov. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Toor dal, after pressure cooking and cooling, and whisking until mostly smooth. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Sambar masala powder and Kashmiri pepper powder, added to the radishes, onions, and cabb by pepperhead212, on Flickr The radish sambar, after adding the cooked dal, and about a cup of the rice/millet mix from by pepperhead212, on Flickr Ingredients for the tarka - mustard seeds and urad dal, some byadagi peppers, and curry leaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The sambar after simmering 10 min, topped with the tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A generous amount of cilantro added to finish the sambar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 2, 2023 22:38:16 GMT -5
I made that Swiss chard salad - a recipe that I saw in bon apétit: www.bonappetit.com/recipe/swiss-chard-pasta-saladI had 12 oz of ditalini left from something, so I just increased everything in the recipe a little, and still didn't use all of the chard. Turned out really good, and I'll definitely be making this in the summer, when I love to make these kind of salads, with some variations, like some grains or lentils, replacing some of the pasta. This time, I used hazelnuts in place of pistachios, since that's what I had in the freezer, and they were really good. The sliced up stems from the Swiss chard, starting to cook for the pasta salad. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The chard stems cooked for 4 minutes, with the hazelnuts added, and cooked about 2 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The chard leaves after cooking about 2 minutes in the residual heat, until wilted. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Swiss Chard pasta salad. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 4, 2023 17:22:16 GMT -5
It's very pink from the chard stems. But I bet it was delicious.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 9, 2023 11:03:45 GMT -5
I made a delicious recipe today, that was definitely one of those "random recipes". I wasn't sure what I was going to make, just started with cooking some diced up bacon (just put a bunch in the freezer today, and took out the oldest, to use it) slowly in the Instant Pot. I chopped up a large onion, the last carrot in one bag, two stalks of celery, and two green bell peppers I'd had for a while. And I chopped up the last Swiss chard I had - about 3 c chopped up. That was about the last of the older veggies from the fridge (still have those two bok choy, but they look like I just picked them yesterday!), but next I checked my bean pantry, and found that one half jar of Rancho Gordo, labeled Christmas Lima Beans, so I used the end of those. After the bacon was almost crisp, I removed it to a PT on a plate, then cooked the onion first, followed by the other chopped veggies on the high sauté mode, then added about a tb of minced garlic and a couple tb of red miso - the umami flavor in this, along with the mushrooms later. I added about a half tb of thyme, a tb of smoked paprika, and 3/4 tsp of ground cloves, plus 5 fresh bay leaves - the creole/cajun seasoning I was thinking of. I also put in a tsp of turmeric, though the flavor is not noticeable here. For heat, I added about 3/8 tsp crushed datil pepper - the end of the jar, so I also put at least 2 tsp crushed morita peppers, which I figured would add more smoky flavor, with the bacon and paprika...it also added a generous amount of heat! I put about 6 c of water in with the veggies, then added the bacon and the beans, salted not quite to taste (added more later), then closed the lid, and set the IP to BEANS, when it defaults to 30 minutes, where I left it - usually, other beans cook faster, but these were a little old, and large, and this worked perfectly, when the pressure released in 18 min. Meanwhile, I cooked a half lb of mushrooms my usual way - steam them, boil off the water, then brown them in a small amount of oil, then deglaze the pan, to get most of that flavor from the browning. This got added to the beans, when those were done, then, since it had quite a bit of liquid, and the lima beans weren't going to absorb any more, I added 1/3 c each quinoa, and moong dal - the kind I use with the skins still on, but split, so they still absorb water quickly. I also added the mushrooms, and the small amount of liquid, and I salted to taste, this time, added a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, and sealed the lid again, and set to just 8 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally. This thickened it just enough, and it turned out really good. IMG_20231208_190352 by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished browned mushrooms. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished creole/cajun type soup. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Dec 9, 2023 16:57:32 GMT -5
That sounds fantastic, pepperhead212. Probably too hot for me, but sounds delicious. As for me, I have no idea what's for dinner! My boys are supposed to be surprising me with dinner tonight to wind up my "birthday week." I don't know if they are going to cook food or bring food from out. It'll be fun to see.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 19, 2023 1:02:05 GMT -5
I got everything cleaned up, and back in place in my kitchen, after making and baking the cookies, and got back to cooking some Indian food - something I was having a craving for. I wanted to use up some things I had in the fridge - a large red bell pepper, and 24 oz of sliced mushrooms I got for 79¢/8 oz, from lidl, a while ago (I usually don't buy them sliced, but couldn't pass that up!). I started with the usual chopped onion in a couple of tb oil in the Instant Pot in SAUTÉ, and after about 3 minutes, added the diced bell pepper, cooked about 5 minutes, then added about a tb of ginger/garlic paste, from the freezer, 10 curry leaves (more later) plus 3 tb malvani masala powder, and stirred for about a minute, then added 4½ c water. Then I mixed in 1 c of chana dal and 3/4 c oat groats, both rinsed, salted almost to taste, then set to BEANS to pressure cook 15 min, and let the pressure release naturally. Meanwhile, I rinsed the mushrooms, put them in a NS wok (the water stuck on them is enough to steam them), and put the lid on, over med high heat, and after they foam up, I stir once, then after the mushrooms have shrunk, and released much of their water, I removed the cover, and boil it off. Then I add about a tb of oil, and brown the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until well browned. I added a little water to deglaze the pan, leaving it stuck on the mushrooms, then added that to the cooked dal and oat mix. I added a little more salt to this, and 3/4 tsp garam masala, and stirred in about 1/4 c red lentil, to thicken it slightly, then simmered another 10 min. While simmering, I prepared the tarka - 3/4 tsp each mustard seeds and cumin seeds, cooked in a tb of oil in a small pan until crackling, then added 5 dry Thai chilis, cooking until starting to brown, about 10 sec, then stirred in 3/4 tsp asafoetida and 10 curry leaves, and in 5 more seconds scraped this onto the curry, and simmered briefly, while chopping the cilantro, which I finished it off with. A curry, seasoned with malvani masala powder, cooked with some chana dal, and oat groats. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A malvani curry, with chana dal and oat groats, pressure cooked 15 minutes in IP, with mushrooms added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About a quarter cup of red lentils added to the curry, to thicken a little. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Ingredients for the tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Tarka added to the curry, after cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The finished malvani curry, with a little cilantro added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Dec 27, 2023 22:11:26 GMT -5
I was having a craving for one of my Szechwan dishes, so I made that Szechwan eggplant, using some dried eggplant, that I soaked in hot water, about 3 hours before I started the rest. I started the one dish meal in the IP on sauté high, and cooked the garlic and ginger, followed by the chili paste with garlic. When cooked several minutes, the ground pork with onion (if it hadn't been raining, I would have harvested some scallions!) and soy sauce mixed in, and cooked about 3 minutes. Then I added the drained, soaked eggplant cubes - about 2 lbs equivalent - and cooked, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Then I added 4½ c water, and brought to a boil, and added a lb of pasta, and pressed it under the surface, as well as I could, then hit OFF, followed by MANUAL and set it for 5 minutes. After it finished the 5 minutes, I released the pressure - takes a while after this - then re-set it at sauté, and stirred just a couple of minutes, and then took the pot out of the IP, so it could cool faster, after I had my first bowl of it. Szechwan eggplant, with pasta, cooked in the Instant Pot. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by octave1 on Dec 28, 2023 11:26:39 GMT -5
Haven't been cooking since Christmas. I made too many ravioli on Christmas following a new recipe that I doubled just in case , plus a vat of chicken stock, and we are still eating those
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 5, 2024 0:49:05 GMT -5
I made a rasam, with that new batch of rasam masala I made last night. I started in the afternoon, soaking some dried vegetables, starting with the equivalent of 3/4 lb tomatoes. In another container, together, I soaked 3/4 lb worth of eggplant, and 1/2 lb worth of green beans. While all this was soaking, I cut up an onion, a carrot, and a green bell pepper, and chopped up the greens from some bok choy, and cut the stalks up, separately. Eventually, when soft, the tomatoes, and about 1/2 c of thawed coconut, I blended it all totally smooth (and eventually rinsed the blender out with the 5 extra cups of water used). I started with about 4 tb oil in the Instant Pot, on sauté, and cooked the onion about 3 minutes, before adding the bell pepper and carrot, and cooked about 7 or 8 minutes, then added a tb of that garlic/ginger paste, I keep in the freezer, plus a generous 3 tb of that rasam masala, and sautéed it about 1 min, before adding 2 c water, the tomato/coconut paste, and rinsed the VM out with 3 more c of water. Then I added the drained eggplant and beans, masoor and chana dal, some leftover, cooked brown rice, and the chopped bok choy greens. I added some salt, then set on BEANS 15 min, and let the pressure release on its own. The thickness turned out just right with the 5 c of water. I then added the bok choy stems, and let them cook 3 or 4 minutes, while preparing the tarka, to tempering the rasam. For this, I heated about 2 tsp coconut oil in the small pan, along with a tsp of mustard seed and 3/4 tsp, and when the mustard seeds started crackling, the broken up byadagi peppers were swirled around briefly, then the curry leaves and asafoetida were cooked about 10 seconds, and it was quickly added to the rasam, along with a quarter cup of chopped cilantro. I ate the last (at least from that jar) of those pickled green beans with it - something I took a jar of to an Indian lady, who liked them so much she now wants to grow the beans next season! Her garden might be bigger than mine next season. Some coconut blended with about 3/4 lb equivalent of soaked, dried tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About 3/4 lb of dried eggplant, and 1/2 lb of dried green beans, soaked and drained, and added to the rasam, with 5 more cups water. by pepperhead212, on Flickr 1/2 c each of masoor dal and chana dal, plus about 2 c cooked, leftover brown rice, added to the rasam. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About 2 c of chopped up greens from the bok choy added to the rasam (stalks go in last). by pepperhead212, on Flickr Rasam, after pressure cooking 15 min, and released naturally. Perfect thickness, from the dals and rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A generous 2 c of bok choy stems, added to the rasam, to simmer 5 minutes, while preparing the tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The tarka ingredients ready - the mustard and cumin seeds, 3 byadagi peppers, broken up, and a stalk of curry leaves, and a half tsp of asafoetida. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The cooked tarka, ready to stir into the rasam (after I had stirred in about 1/4 c chopped cilantro). by pepperhead212, on Flickr The finished rasam, with some pickled beans, with cumin and garlic - good things with Indian dishes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 5, 2024 11:16:25 GMT -5
Mmm, sounds tasty!
My dinner was not exotic - the last of the leftover blackeyed peas and some leftover ham from New Year's Day. Still gotta figure out how we're going to use up the rest of that ham!
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 5, 2024 12:11:14 GMT -5
Something I used to make for the family, after my Mom would save a bunch of the hams we would have, for the TG, Christmas, and Easter dinners, was Jambalaya! I made that stuff so many times, I probably have the recipe memorized, though it's been a long time since I've made it. I thought about it when I saw shrimp @acme this week for $4.99/lb.
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Post by september on Jan 5, 2024 14:53:40 GMT -5
That reminds me I ordered some Zatarain's Gumbo File (due to the song) a while ago, but really have no idea of what all I can use it in. Now stuck somewhere in back of the spice shelf.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 5, 2024 17:38:56 GMT -5
Something I used to make for the family, after my Mom would save a bunch of the hams we would have, for the TG, Christmas, and Easter dinners, was Jambalaya! I made that stuff so many times, I probably have the recipe memorized, though it's been a long time since I've made it. I thought about it when I saw shrimp @acme this week for $4.99/lb. Ooh, good idea. I really like Jambalaya. I usually make it with Andouille sausage, but I bet it would be yummy with ham; I just need to kick up the spices in the rest of the Jambalaya enough to compensate for not having the spiciness from the sausage.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 13, 2024 23:10:34 GMT -5
I was having a craving for something Mexican, but I made this one vegetarian, since I didn't want to thaw anything else for it. I soaked some of those eggplants I use in all sorts of things, even though they are not traditional in these things, and some black beans. I also pan toasted 4 large moritas and 2 guajillos, and soaked them, while getting the onion and garlic cut up, and started cooking in the Instant Pot, in a little oil. The chiles were ground in about 1 c of water, then poured that into the IP, switched it to sauté/high, and cooked, stirring frequently, to concentrate the flavor, then I dumped in the can of tomatoes, blended, then rinsed out the VM with some water, and poured that in. Then, I added the softened EP, the black beans, added a little Mexican oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, and salted to taste (though it didn't need much, due to the tomatoes), then sealed the IP, and set to Beans - 25 min, then let the pressure release naturally. I ate it with some jack cheese, and some corn tortillas. A bowl of vegetable chili, with some black beans and dried eggplant, seasoned with morita and guajillo peppers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 17, 2024 23:55:41 GMT -5
I made a Creole type dish, based on the Jambalaya recipe I use, but used 1¼ c whole oats, instead of white rice. And the seafood I used, instead of shrimp, was canned salmon - something I get dirt cheap, from Ocean State Job Lot every few months, and they have a 20% off food for elderly, early every Monday. Most of the salmon I use in salads, but I broke it up into large chunks, and added it late, to heat through. I started it like any Creole dish, with an onion, stalk of celery, and a green bell pepper, diced up, and cooked in a little olive oil, adding last some garlic, dried thyme, ground cloves, and powdered bay leaf, along with a little hot pepper, and cooking the spices about 3 minutes last. I added a half pound of diced up ham, cooked that 3-4 minutes, then added about 8 oz of thawed tomato paste, 1/2 c white vermouth, 2½ c water (I drained the salmon into this), then 1¼ c oat groats. I was ready to add some salt, then I thought of fish sauce! Why not use this, I though? Took about 1½ tb to get the saltiness I wanted, but it needed more heat, so I added some crushed morita flakes, to get a little more heat, as well as smoke! I simmered it 40 min, then another 10 min, before it got thicker, before stirring in the chunks of salmon, and cooking 4 minutes longer. The onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic, cooked with the spices, and the ham added last. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Creole type dish, based on the Jambalaya recipe I always use, but with oat groats, in place of rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr 2 cans of salmon steaks by pepperhead212, on Flickr Salmon steaks, broken up into large chunks, to be added at the end, to heat just a few minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr After stirring the salmon into the oats, to cook 4 more minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished dish, oats cooking 54 minutes total. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 18, 2024 10:01:35 GMT -5
I am having a hard time imagining salmon in a jambalaya-type dish instead of shrimp. The flavor of the two are very different.
How did you like it?
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 18, 2024 10:03:27 GMT -5
Oh, and to follow up, I thought the ham was okay in the jambalaya. I did add extra spices to try to compensate for the lack of spice and heat in the ham. It was a good way to use up leftover ham, but if I were just out to make jambalaya I prefer sausage.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 18, 2024 11:55:40 GMT -5
I am having a hard time imagining salmon in a jambalaya-type dish instead of shrimp. The flavor of the two are very different. How did you like it? I actually liked it very much, and will definitely do it again! I heated up some for breakfast, this morning! The fish flavor is stronger than with shrimp, but then, I used the little bit of liquid from the cans, plus that fish sauce, so that's what I was looking for. I'm thinking of adding some Thai basil to some of it - partly because I have to trim my overgrown hydroponics plant, but it seems it would be a good mix.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 23, 2024 18:00:04 GMT -5
Nothing new today, but was going to eat some more of those black beans, from a couple of nights ago. But after eating the last two tortillas I had (thought I had more in the freezer, but I had eaten them all!), I trimmed a bunch of the overgrown epazote in my hydroponics, and took it up to the Mexican shop in town - the owner loves getting that stuff! I got 3 large cans or chipotles (just opened my last of those), two large bags of corn tortillas, maybe 2½" thick, and something I always check to see if he has in the freezer - some tortillas, made with nixtamal, not masa flour, which has an incredible flavor. He doesn't always have it, but I get it, when it's there. Only 2 bags of them, only a little over an inch, but worth the extra price. I'll use some with these beans I have left, and the rest I'll Foosaver, and freeze them. Here's one of the bags of corn tortillas, made with nixtamal. The tortillas made with fresh nixtamal, not masa harina. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 27, 2024 22:11:50 GMT -5
I made a batch of pasta, using 2 lbs of creminis I had, and I found a recipe for it in an Instant Pot cookbook. It uses an onion, some garlic, and some white miso, and I changed the herb to fresh rosemary - something I always like with mushrooms. Stirring the pasta after initially cooking it 3 minutes, it absorbed much of the liquid the mushrooms gave off, and the starch gave it a coating, along with the miso. It went well with those medium shells I cooked in it. Pasta dish with 2 lbs of creminis, white miso, and rosemary, made in the Instant Pot. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished pasta dish, after stirring in the parsley and grated Romano. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Feb 1, 2024 10:11:10 GMT -5
Last night, I made a dill leaf curry, with some butternut and sweet potato, and some greens. I served it with one of those WW bread sticks, in place of a flat bread on the side. I started it in the Instant Pot, sautéeing a diced onion and about a tb of minced green Thai peppers, a few minutes, then I added about a tb of garlic and ginger, and cooked about a minute, then added about 3 c diced butternut, and 1 c diced sweet potato, 1 c chana dal, soaked about 30 minutes, 3/4 tsp turmeric, and 3 c water. I added about 1 tsp salt (more later), then set on MANUAL for 15 min, then let it release naturally. While that was cooking, I cut up the kale and bok choy greens, then steamed it with just the water on the leaves, then blended the cooled leaves with about a half cup of dill leaves, until almost smooth. When the butternut was finished, I removed the lid, then stick blended the mix until all the cubes were gone, leaving some of the dal, for texture. Then I added the greens/dill, and let it simmer, while I prepared the tarka. I heated 2 tsp oil, and added 3/4 tsp each mustard seed and cumin. When it started crackling, I added 3 byadagi chilis, broken in half, cooked a few more seconds, added a dozen curry leaves, cut in half, and 3/4 tsp asafoetida, cooked about 10 seconds longer, then scraped this into the curry, then added a little more salt. I simmered it about 3 minutes longer, then served, with a WW bread stick, halved both ways. The butternut, sweet potato, and chana dal, pressure cooked 15 minutes.. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The cubes and dal, stick blended, ready to stir the greens and dill purée in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A good amount of Russian kale and bok choy greens, ready to steam. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Greens, steamed down to about a cup, ready to blend together with the dill. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About a half cup of dill leaves, to blend with the greens. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Green purée stirred in, and now the tarka added, to simmer about 3 minutes longer. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished curry,, with a WW bread stick, cut into quarters. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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