Food and Recipes while under Coronavirus quarantine #8

[Seni]

Back on topic! Yes @Bette we will be hosting lunch on Friday. Not too many people.

Will prepare hummus and baba ghanoush with mini pittas and olives as starter.

Then my "lucky" 7 vegetable couscous. Along with almond chicken. (Will post recipe when I have a longer moment, but its easy)

Am going to make Mutabbaq for dessert for the first time, using Ottolenghi's recipe from his Jerusalem cookbook. Will also post that.

 

[slowpoke]

I hesitated to post this meal, because it was kind of a fail. We ate it, but it wasn’t very good.

The salmon was marinated in a paste mixture where the main ingredient is “Sake Kasu” (sake lees), which is a byproduct of sake production. It was kind of sweet yet bitter. The bitterness was the disappointing part.

Sautéed Chinese spinach with garlic, cucumbers and brown rice rounded out the meal.

Oh well. They can’t all be winners, I guess!

 

[PayrollNerd]

I hesitated to post this meal, because it was kind of a fail. We ate it, but it wasn’t very good.

The salmon was marinated in a paste mixture where the main ingredient is “Sake Kasu” (sake lees), which is a byproduct of sake production. It was kind of sweet yet bitter. The bitterness was the disappointing part.

Sautéed Chinese spinach with garlic, cucumbers and brown rice rounded out the meal.

Oh well. They can’t all be winners, I guess!

View attachment 656100

When I was learning to cook or trying a new recipe, I reminded everyone at the table, McDonalds is right down the street. I think we bailed maybe once or twice. Mainly because we hated wasting food!

 

[IceIce9]

Wow, thats stunning work!! My small Incy still has a lot to learn...

I think spiders are amazing creatures. The web was so beautiful and over 8 feet in diameter. It was so strong too.

It was especially beautiful with the morning dew, when the sun was shining on it.

 

[Seni]

When I was learning to cook or trying a new recipe, I reminded everyone at the table, McDonalds is right down the street. I think we bailed maybe once or twice. Mainly because we hated wasting food!

My mother is a good cook, at least has some good recipes, but always hated to cook. We basically grew up on sandwiches.

The 4 of us love to cook, all very different, but its something that interests us. Same with my children.

Dearest mother claims this as a victory! As usual, she is probably right.

This is her beetroot, apple and chicory salad ( have posted before, its a goodie)

Beetroot must not be pickled. I buy the smallest beets I can find and leave them whole, dont remove stalks or roots. This preserves flavour and colour. If they are small, cooking time should be about an hour.

Peel, chop and leave to cool.

Take off outer leaves of chicory bulb (endive?) and slice or line dish with leaves.

Peel and chop or slice apple. I use the national variety which is very tasty (also good for cooking) or Cox. Leave the apple in some lemon juice for at least half a hour.

Peel and chop or slice beets

Serve mixed or in layers with apple/ cider vinaigrette.

 

[Seni]

Lunch today

 

[slowpoke]

Spam musubi and salad! I used brown rice, and instead of soy sauce/sugar to flavor the spam, I used soy sauce/monk fruit sweetener.

Do you eat spam?

I grew up eating it, and still have it as a staple in my cupboard.

I have a special musubi maker press to facilitate molding it to the perfect size and shape. It looks like this:

 

[iamshadow21]

I made pizzas last week. I use pre-made bases, but they're pretty good.

Salami, chorizo, red cabbage, tomatoes, pineapple. One has prawns and sweet chilli sauce, the other has a smokey barbeque sauce. Finished with a mix of vintage cheddar, parmesan and lactose free cheese, and black pepper and basil. The final picture was taken some time after, so the cheese looks a bit unappealing, but trust me, they're really tasty. (It doesn't help that the cheese flowed off a bit this time.)

 

[Curious Me]

Spam musubi and salad!...snipped to reply

@slowpoke, thank you for the great Musubi idea on how to use Spam. Weeks ago, I got it in my head that it'd been so long since I had Spam, so I put it on my grocery list. Thought I could make it with rice or even in a stir fry.

Then, I wasn't sure if I wanted a whole can of it, too much maybe. Come to find out they make one slice pkgs. of Spam! I might use it to try to make Masubi for the first time.​

So many flavors including Pumpkin Spice, Figgy Pudding, and Teriyaki, Kimchi, but my store only had more classic flavors.

Press to Enlarge

Had to get a closer look at that maker press mold and figure out how you'd use it, so I found these instructions, and filed it under @slowpoke's Musubi in my recipe folder.

Good photos of using the press mold or even the can, but I don't have a Spam can because I bought only the slice. lol​

How To Make Spam Musubi (Easy & Delicious Recipe!) - Hungry Huy

Spam musubi is a rich, savory snack that always hits the spot. Seen at shops everywhere in Hawaii, but easily made gourmet in your kitchen!

www.hungryhuy.com

 

[slowpoke]

@slowpoke, thank you for the great Musubi idea on how to use Spam. Weeks ago, I got it in my head that it'd been so long since I had Spam, so I put it on my grocery list. Thought I could make it with rice or even in a stir fry.

View attachment 656384 Then, I wasn't sure if I wanted a whole can of it, too much maybe. Come to find out they make one slice pkgs. of Spam! I might use it to try to make Masubi for the first time.​

So many flavors including Pumpkin Spice, Figgy Pudding, and Teriyaki, Kimchi, but my store only had more classic flavors.

Press to Enlarge
View attachment 656385View attachment 656389
View attachment 656392View attachment 656390View attachment 656388

Had to get a closer look at that maker press mold and figure out how you'd use it, so I found these instructions, and filed it under @slowpoke's Musubi in my recipe folder.

Good photos of using the press mold or even the can, but I don't have a Spam can because I bought only the slice. lol​

How To Make Spam Musubi (Easy & Delicious Recipe!) - Hungry Huy

Spam musubi is a rich, savory snack that always hits the spot. Seen at shops everywhere in Hawaii, but easily made gourmet in your kitchen!

www.hungryhuy.com

In the ooold days, we used to use the can for a mold! Remember when some cans had a key to open it?

The bottom of the can had a rim that we’d use a can opener on to remove the bottom. So, with the top and bottom parts removed, you now had your musubi mold!

Today’s with the pull top has a rounded can bottom that you can’t latch a can opener on. We had a real dilemma when they changed the can. What do we do now, we wondered. Fortunately, we started seeing products marketed, like the one I pictured, for making musubi. Convenient and much safer, too. (No sharp can edges!)

Cutting up Spam into cubes and putting it in fried rice is really tasty. Koreans like to sometimes put kimchi in there with the Spam.

It’s crazy how many flavors they have. I stick to the less sodium one. Once I tried the teriyaki one, but didn’t care for it. I prefer to fry the plain one, then add the soy sauce and sugar mixture to the pan to flavor and glaze the Spam slices.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I made pizzas last week. I use pre-made bases, but they're pretty good.

Salami, chorizo, red cabbage, tomatoes, pineapple. One has prawns and sweet chilli sauce, the other has a smokey barbeque sauce. Finished with a mix of vintage cheddar, parmesan and lactose free cheese, and black pepper and basil. The final picture was taken some time after, so the cheese looks a bit unappealing, but trust me, they're really tasty. (It doesn't help that the cheese flowed off a bit this time.)

View attachment 656376View attachment 656377View attachment 656378

These look like the pizzas that we make with Stonefire Mini Naans. Original Mini Naan Our favorite version is Pizza Margheritas with fresh plum tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and chopped fresh basil. If we have olives and/or marinated artichokes, we add them.

 

[slowpoke]

We call this Cocido, but others call it Caldo de Res. It’s a Mexican soup made with chunky pieces of beef and vegetables. The vegetables include carrots, zucchini, cabbage, celery, corn, and potatoes. Flour tortillas eaten on the side. Came out great!

It’s often served with a little Mexican rice you can add to the broth, but I didn’t make it this time. Squeezed lemon and added a few shakes of Tapatio hot sauce.

Certain things just taste best with this particular hot sauce, like Cocido. We also like it on fish tacos.

 

[iamshadow21]

These look like the pizzas that we make with Stonefire Mini Naans. Original Mini Naan Our favorite version is Pizza Margheritas with fresh plum tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and chopped fresh basil. If we have olives and/or marinated artichokes, we add them.

Yeah, they're stone baked mini bases by Toscano. They look similar to naan or pita.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

We had dinner at Picano's last night. We like going on Thursdays because bottled wines are half off or 25% off wines more than $60. Our favorite is the Santa Margherita Chianti which we had last night, and we also like the Righetti Amarone. DH had Mama Assunta with chicken instead of veal (chicken breast with artichokes and mushrooms in a luxurious wine sauce). I had stuffed pasta shells with meat, cheese, and spinach in tomato and Mornay sauce. Delish, as always. I set recorder for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! in case we didn't get home in time for either/both, but we were home in time for Jeopardy! and watched Wheel afterwards. Both game shows are must-see TV in our home

Niece and her family aren't sure they're coming for dinner on Sunday, so we didn't get a whole beef tenderloin. My sister will be here later today to stay the weekend. She'd prefer ham, so we got a spiral-sliced honey glazed ham. I'll still make fondant potatoes and roasted asparagus. Sis will make devilled eggs, and I'll make my cocktail sauce to accompany chilled shrimp. Shortbread cookies and jellybeans for dessert. I look forward to making ham with Great Northern bean soup next week.

Wishing everyone a blessed and happy Easter weekend.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I've had fondant (melting) potatoes in restaurants and on cruise ships and always thought they must be difficult to make. Had them at friends' home and found out that they are really quite simple. I've made them a few times since last fall and will make them on Easter to accompany spiral-sliced ham. Here's a simple recipe for fondant potatoes that I try to replicate. I haven't used whole garlic but use Kerry Gold Garlic and Herb Butter with a little olive oil and sprigs of fresh thyme. I start them in the cast iron skillet on top the stove until they are browned on both sides then put them in the oven to finish. The "melting" potatoes were a hit with our Christmas ham - a fancy potato dish that is really quite simple to make

Melting Potatoes

Get Melting Potatoes Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

 

[PayrollNerd]

I’m going to my friends place for Easter dinner. I didn’t even ask what was on the menu because she knows my allergies. I’m in charge of homemade macaroni and cheese. I’ll put it in my big crockpot.

I’m making lemon cheesecake with blueberries because her Dad, the grumpy old man, loves lemon. I am making chocolate chip cookies too.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I made the veggies again today. Most of my tomatoes are the yellow ones now.

I used a container of plain mashed potatoes and turned them into twice baked potatoes. I added cheese, sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

 

[snooptroop88]

Made the ham glaze. Honey, mustard, chili crisp, brown sugar, lil rice vinegar, shredded ginger. Little lime juice, too. Tastes pretty good, going with that. Pretty daring stuff for me with a ham glaze using the chili crisp, lol. Not gonna add the soy sauce, good as is. Defrosting carver's ham. (Never had a carver's ham, but it's Fricks and I like their hams generally.) Making the ham yorkshires this year, just love those with the ham drippings.

Think mac n cheese goes quite well with ham, so doing that. Roasted broccoli, probably pretty basic with some cheese and garlic, red chili flake. Mash n gravy. Dressing, try to infuse some of the ham drippings. Think I might do deviled eggs. I wish I had arugula for a salad. Maybe I can still get some. Otherwise, just plain ole lettuce. Might try a panzanella this year, dunno.

Need some dark chocolate chips for the dessert to make a ganache, although I have a strawberry one already made. Probably ice cream, but maybe with fry bread or a waffle. If I get the chips, should make some candy, too.