what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

tbh I wish I didnt' loathe anise/fennel bcz it wd make things a lot easier but welp here we are, what can ya do

parsnips are the devil fyi

hmph

parsnips are fine, they're sweet and a lil weird but they're fine

quickest way to ruin a soup imo

THE DEVIL

parsnips are good caramelized together with other vegetables as the base for a winter soup stock, they contribute a lot of complexity and are similar to carrots w/ their sweetness. im not a fan of plain parsnips though

for burly winter root vegetables i prefer celeriac

I stand with VG.

Honey roast parsnips are my secret ingredient in a veggie soup

monsters, all of u

mushroom pizza that has a bunch of rehydrated porcinis sauteed with a load of criminis and garlic, on top of fontina, carmelized onions with rosemary playing the role of sauce on some bland-o plain white dough i made

haven't had farinata in years, might attempt this recipe for saturday lunch http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/how-to-make-farinata-italian-chickpea-pancake.html

we had my brother and his family over for dinner the other night. they love cooking indian and so do we, so we made a huge feast. i haven't cooked this much food in a while:

masoor dal
benghali green beans and potatoes
tomato sambal
summer squash w/ mustard seeds
saag tofu

All the way at the other end of the vegetarian-omnivore spectrum, I'm making beef stock today.

I agree with VG that parsnips would not work well in any soup I know about, but they roast well and were quite acceptable in a beef and peanut stew recipe my wife made just a few days ago.

I really like roasted parsnips but they are such a damn awkward shape--the top fat part and the itty bitty skinny end make it diffcult to get evenly-roasting pieces.

had some oddly delicious parsnip cake last winter

I'm out. Can't take this parsnip thread. Too triggering.

I had a couple of ideas for pesto variations yesterday — roasted peanuts instead of pine nuts, and mustard greens instead of basil. I got some mediocre mustard this morning and tried that one out -- pretty good, but it needs fresher, more-peppery greens.

my co-worker's ex-husband hunted a deer and gave her a bunch of venison she couldn't use and i'm the leading consumer of meats in the office so i got some and made venison/pork chili and it's the best

niiice

My father in law used to give us venison and it was always good in chili. I don't really like chili tbh but it was ok.

i impulse bought a frozen rack of venison back around the holidays and still need to do something with it

just recently realized how freaking awesome delicata squash is. it's my new kabocha (eg fave winter squarsh). thinkin' of stuffing a couple a la http://beardandbonnet.com/delicata-squash-burrito-bowls/

Venison is awesome with mole. You're welcome.

delicata is great xp, i like it too because you don't have to peel it and it cooks faster than other winter squash

I'm also a fan of delicata. And venison! Had a discussion with a rabbi about kosher venison, which is a thing but v. v. expensive.

yeah delicata is like the french fries of squash in a good way

steely dan of squash even?
ended up making a Killer kale salad -- dino kale sliced v thinly, rubbed with salt and mashed roasted garlic, added some lemon juice and olive oil. threw in some quinoa/amaranth that i'd cooked together mixed it together and plated. topped with 1/2" slices delicata that had cumin and smoked paprika rubbed into the inside (automatic salt and pepper all around, natch) and dressed the top of salad with a simple but yum tahini/apple cider dressing. salad loving housemate was in heaven.

i have some lamb mince - it looked nice at the butcher so i bought it. not sure what to do with it.

my thoughts:

shepherd's pie
mince and potatoes cooked separately not in pie

i mean, do any recipes use lamb mince without being some celtic stodgefest?

go greek imo

you could make meatballs! flavor them however you want (i like parsley, something spicy, onion, garlic, ginger, ??) and eat with rice & vegetable of your choice. or put I guess you could also put them in soup.

shepherds pie with garlicky sweet potato mash

mince is ground meat right?

yep

actually I was looking at this keema recipe earlier, could try that?
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/461642/keema-with-peas

yeah that's right, sorry should have said!

meatballs is prob a good idea, i thought about something like a kofte tho think the spices i'd need might not have survived moving flat a while ago - could prob improvise a bit with szechuan pepper or something maybe as the spicy element.

xpost that keema recipe looks good, prob do have the spices for that. i can obv buy new ones just my cupboards are packed.

oh ok, in that case, keema meatballs?

lately my favorite meal is meatballs as described above + rice w saffron & a small piece of cinnamon + some kind of chopped radish/greens thing. colorful and flavorful but not overwhelming.

that does sound p good. i have saffron i believe. i think the meat should be quite nice so prob doesn't need too much done to it.

trying to impress a new friend of the human female species so am gonna try and pull off homemade ramen noodles, which i've been considering for awhile. http://luckypeach.com/recipes/fresh-alkaline-noodes/
and gonna use a couple bits from that cool recipe someone posted above for "the ultimate rich and creamy vegan ramen" like the soy shiitake tare and the mushroom-scallion oil

I've had an Instant Pot for a week now. I've tried steel cut oats, soft-boiled eggs (one batch overcooked, one batch undercooked -- I'm zeroing in on the sweet spot), pork loin roast, and potatoes and carrots to make hash out of the leftover pork roast. It's an interesting tool, worth the money I think. Going to try yogurt in the next few days.

xposts
Bifteki. I usually make it with ground beef, but sometimes a mix of beef and lamb; all lamb would probably be awesome. Especially if you could grill it over an open flame.

One of my favorite Indian restaurants does their lamb rogan josh with minced lamb. It is reminiscent of a bolognese sauce and is divine.

A lamb burger with feta and/or tzatziki is easy and tasty, too! Lately I really like dill with lamb.

my dad sent me a bunch of fancy beefs for valentine's day (??) and now i have ground beef for the first time in....many years? i never buy it

do i make chili or meatballs or

make yrself a kickass hamburger for a start

ooh yeah

i got some sodium citrate a couple months ago with the intention of making fancy velveeta cheese and then never did, this is as good a time as any for fancy burgs

Nothing says "romantic love" like beef from dad

Once my college friend sent me and everyone he knew 5 lbs of cheddar (each!) for Christmas.

lol

I sometimes add a dash of Braggs at the end just to pump up the umami even more.

I've got my first ever microwave oven arriving tomorrow. If there is another heatwave this summer I'm only using the instant pot or the microwave. And also cooking becomes absolutely exhausting at times. It can be a really stimulating activity when you are learning new tricks and recipes, but doing it routinely for years without a break it becomes like too much work. Perhaps ultra-processed dross in plastic boxes is a necessary evil that I'm going to have to get into for a bit.

I never had a microwave until a couple years ago. Use it pretty regularly to heat rice/grains/soups/etc. Also think it's perfectly acceptable for steaming veg.
Have fun with it!

I've not really got into anything other than warming up chicken chow mein ready meals yet. It's quite liberating having the option of taking a day or two off cooking and just warming up some ultra processed food in a carton, which has actually turned out to be much more substantial and decent than I was expecting.

just made some rice in a microwave steamer pot. It wasn't really any quicker but an easier washing up job and creates less heat and gas is so expensive. So yeah that's one thing I'm into now.

Those microwave rice steamers changed my life. So much easier and zero guesswork.

This certainly broccoli soup is epic, and pretty easy!

https://rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-broccoli-soup/#recipe

xp

yep, just filled it rice with a 2:1 water ratio and pressed the button on 12 mins. The 20th century was pretty neat in some ways!

calzino do you have an immersion blender? it's great for things like humus and gazpacho when it's too hot out too cook on the stovetop.

something like this is a good option during a heat wave:

https://thewoksoflife.com/cold-skin-noodles-liangpi/

i can't be bothered with making the noodles from scratch. i just make the dressing and the toppings. i live next to a Korean super mega market but you could cook some rice noodles or something in the microwave if fresh ones aren't available.

I have to cook for a young autistic guy with multiple sensory issues with food and trying new things can be difficult and unpredictable. I can't explain the heartbreak I feel when I've been working on a culinary masterpiece for hours and he coldly pushes the plate away and says "bin". Lol it's funny really, but at that moment it really fucking isn't.

aw man, now that's a tough critic <3

feel for you. how many things do you have that are accepted easily?

he generally errs towards spicy food, it's hard to nail anything that he will reliably accept. Some days it takes him 2 to even 3 hours to eat a meal and I'm never sure if it will end up in the bin or be eaten. I'd say the most reliable one is any curry with chick-peas and some other protein with some rice. At his college he frequently misses the afternoon program because by the time he has finished his dinner it's time to go home!

this trend is what has driven me to get a microwave oven and say bollox to 7 days a week cooking for a bit. I still made a curry for dinner today though, just a basic one with jarred spice paste. And it was much more successful than ones I have planned and spent hours on marinating and following instructions pedantically from an Indian food cookbook.

successful = he ate it within half an hour of being served!

that's quite a responsibility and sounds very challenging emotionally and everything. if processed or packaged food gets the job done and gives you some relief, awesome. i also hear you about cooking becoming a drudgery when you have to do it all the time. i've been feeling that way lately.