What's cooking? part 4

tackling some acorn squash in about 5 min - wish me luck!

i really really miss nz scallops: nelson scallops are big and juicy and slightly sweet, not very seafood-y at all; queen scallops are small and much more salty and fishy. both are DELICIOUS.

esp in something like a pernod cream sauce

yum. i haven't had scallops in ages

I used to get amazing ones from Jack's Fish Spot, in the market around the corner from Frank's Produce. Now it's cooler and maybe fewer tourists, I might venture back there.

i was at the market the other day but i didn't buy any fish bc i'm dumb and forgot!

you are like in fish town lady!

i know!
why do i keep buying frozen fish!?

I would eat the hell out of a couple of dungeness crabs right now.

http://i401.photobucket.com/albums/pp95/tza/102_9395.jpg

i am eating the hell out of this!

i can't actually work out what it is

it is an acorn squash stuffed with quinoas and stuff!

^^^ winner!

acorn squash. i only ever saw them for the first time like two weeks ago. and this is the third time i've seen one since. are they the hip squash? what do they taste like?

similar to spaghetti squash

another thing i have only just had my eyes opened to: "onion squash". in my head they all taste pretty much like their adjectives.

I can't imagine never having seen an acorn squash! They're nice w/some soy sauce on them.

<3 winter squashes sooo much. I like butternuts the best but sometimes they're bitter, which is always heartbreaking. Any tips on how to avoid that?

I'm making a lasagna right now.

i would eat a lasagna right now

Sausages and mash and some glazed carrots.

It's bread baking day, and also chestnut roasting day.

i got some rice flour to try out some baking but now i have to work again so maybe soon.

Chestnuts! Fantastic.

CHESTNUTS AS A VEGETABLE

Peel the chestnuts and chop them coarsely inbto knobbly pieces about 1cm long. Cook onion and garlic slowly in the butter in a covered pan, until they are golden and transparent. Stir in the bacon, raise the heat slightly but be careful that the butter does not burn. When the bacon looks transparent, add the diced apple. Fry for a few minutes until the mixture looks and smells savoury and appetizing. Lastly add the chestnuts and cook until they are thoroughly heated through, and the pan juices reduced to a small amount of liquid. Season, particularly with pepper, and serve with chicken, guineafowl, turkey and game - or with pork, salt pork and veal.

from English Food by Jane Grigson. Haven't made it myself.

That does sound good. It turned into chestnut roasting day because we're having a long slow soaking rain and it probably won't go over 60 degrees.

puntas ruffinos and a corn/black bean/tomatillo/jicama/tomato/roasted ancho and pasillo/cilantro pico de gallo for dinner tonight. With roasted yam puree and corn tortillas.

holy <3 <3 <3

i made this pumpkin/black bean soup: http://showmevegan.blogspot.com/2009/08/caribbean-pumpkin-soup.html
with these modifications

• used a half pound dried black beans instead of the two kinds
• used a vegetable bouillon cube and some of the bean cooking water instead of "not chik'n broth" (ew)
• roasted butternut squash instead of canned pumpkin
• a jalapeño sauteed with the peppers and onions instead of the dried chipotle
• halved the coconut milk

Canned pumpkin. I'm always so thrown by how common this is in the US. Doesn't anyone use fresh pumpkin?

It's soup season ppl, get involved

people use fresh pumpkin, and i have, but i don't know if i'd be able to tell the difference in taste

I dont think you can even buy it in cans here! :)

Mind you peeling the stuff is a pain in the backside.

yeah, that's why i'm not into using real pumpkins if something calls for it. like in a pie i'd use canned unless i had a pumpkin i had to get rid of.

Trayce actually lives in Halloween Town and I claim my five dollars

oooh i think it's time for chickpea soup! sweet.

I made a delicious cauliflower and leek soup the other day and I have leftovers for lunch. Creamy and full of fresh thyme from my garden.

i made butternut squash and black bean soup this evening too! except i couldn't find black beans anywhere today so they got rather limply substituted with aduki and kidney beans :/

whoah i should make some cauliflower soup, that's an excellent idea

btw jaq's beef and pico and cream sauce were a+++++++

can you make a cauliflower soup w/out a cream base?

Sure can! Cauli is so creamy anyway I really dont think it needs it. I made mine by sauteeing a big pile of thinly sliced leek, then adding some thyme, cooking it all down a bit - then added half a cauliflower and a couple of peeled and diced potatoes. Add vege stock or chicken stock to just cover the lot, then simmered for about 30 mins, then pureed with a blender-stick. I actually strained of about half the liquid off, pureed then added back - that way you control the thickness. But yeah, though you could put milk or cream in, its pretty rich without.

The thyme is the real magic though.

i will try this! i can't stomach cream-based soups!

coconut milk!

Cauliflower cheese soup is gorgeous, also.

I've got pumpkin risotto on as a side to roast chicken at the mo, it seems to be going down okay.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2497/3991683762_aa29c796d6.jpg
thai green papaya salad aka som tam

yum

I love that stuff so much. Sadly I can't get green papayas here but a friend and I have a standing arrangement to buy them for each other when we go to asian groceries elsewhere.

you made that?! how? omg it looks delicious!

It's pretty easy to make, actually. My friend lived in Thailand and bought me a cheap little tool designed specifically to shave little strips off the papaya, which works much better than my mandoline or cutting by hand.

like a vegetable peeler?

It's basically a vegetable peeler with a zig-zag blade on it so it cuts a dozen thin strips at once. I've seen them in asian markets here for a couple of bucks. I think their sole purpose is to make this one particular dish.

i will check at uwajimaya when i am looking for a rice cooker :)