What's cooking? part 4

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 :)

yeah, while i like thinking that it impressed someone (anyone!) it was not hard to make. slice slice slice, mix the dressing, crush the peanuts, combine, eat. lots of easy recipes available online, i kind of made mine up because i didn't have enough limes and only had garlic chili sauce and not actual chili peppers.

things i added that were not part of the recipes i saw online:
shredded carrot
shredded zucchini
one almost bad red pepper
green beans

the more the merrier, yknow

making trayce's soup now!

Yay! Let me know what you think tza! <3

came out v tasty!
i think i used too many potatoes, though (obv you can never have too many potatoes! but i mean in terms of it being a 'cauliflower' soup probably too many).

Yeah I think you need the cauli to be the dominant veg in the soup... Still, its one of those tings you cant stuff up, just experiment with :)

i have a feeling i will go through this batch quickly, so next time! more cauliflower!

also i did a recipe calculator thing on this and it came out to like 80 cal/serving! woah.

hey scallop fans: i think i might get some fresh scallops tomorrow at teh farmer's market, but i need a simple way of cooking them - i've never cooked them myself!! i have an empty pantry, so something pretty minimal on ingredients would be awesome.

PAN SEAR

raw, or with some garlic butter & lemon

the two times i have made scallops: fresh dill, olive oil, light cajun spices

the thai store had just got in a massive bunch of green papayas (wasn't sure what they were at first) and i got all excited at the idea of making papaya salad then remembered i'm moving out this weekend and don't have time :|

i actually need some really specific cooking instructions, i.e. the temp i should have the pan on, how long, etc. i really have no clue!! (NB i have a gas stove)

This would also be usedul to me! I've only ever cooked them from frozen in a cioppino.

This is a good tutorial: http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/fishseafood/ss/searseascallops.htm

i've done:

1 minute high heat w/vegetable oil
2-4 minutes med heat
flip
another couple minutes, keep an eye on 'em

After I take them out, I like to deglaze the pan with just a bit of white wine and toss in some fresh thyme (I have a ton of it out back so it's my go-to herb), reduce a bit, drizzle over scallops, PROFIT.