Thanks, I will try this with tomato purée instead of the paste and water. Or maybe the pressure cooked version as I really like that thing.
the paste is really good! provides a rich umami with the parmesan and anchovy. and it’s thicker so it won’t soak into the dough. i know it reads like it won’t work, but it does.
fresh tomatoes are so good! i only have covid tomatoes (from a can)
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since i had a starchy lunch, plus afternoon snacks, dinner was just 2 dishes:
first was a bowl of steamed broccoli seasoned with olive oil, soy sauce, and brewer’s yeast.
then the protein came in the form of dessert: a huge scoop of strained yogurt (“greek”) with blueberries, honey, and ceylon cinnamon. it was a thick gooey blue glorious mess. almost as tasty as ice cream but infinitely more satisfying.
for dinner there was a boxed mac & cheese with the last of the tomato sauce and we added parmesan and olive oil it was good and weird. my wife said “smells like pizza hut”
didn’t have vegetables (lest you count the tomato)
splash of boxed wine to wash it down
dessert was fresh made yogurt with chia and honey and frozen raspberries.
for dinner cooked some jasmin rice in sour whey (from strained yogurt), then added a bunch of cooked spinach, nice sprinkle of parmesan, it was delicious! also rich in protein, plus calcium to bind the oxalates in spinach.
dessert was the custardy strained yogurt, so thick and creamy, packed with frozen raspberries and mixed with a heavy dollop of honey. spectacular! and full of protein and vitamin c.
Cooking seems to be an "It-topic" these days, so here are my "baked veggies" - basically you cut up what your garden produces, coat it liberally in oil, spices and herbs and put it in the oven for 45 - 60 minutes. I like to do the potatoes on an extra baking tray since they take longer than most other veggies. We eat this twice a week in summer. Apart from the aubergine all veggies are straight out of our garden.
I'm going to put any leftover baked veggies into my blender for a vegan spread, to eat on toast and bread. I've not tried this so far, but I guess it might be tasty!
It is the best :)
The beans are called fire beans or "beetle beans" (no kidding!). The botanical name is Phaseolus coccineus. My MIL makes a mean bean salad out of them, with finely chopped onions and pumpkin oil.
I have to take a photo tomorrow, they grow spectacularly - we have a steel rope hanging between our roofs and I threw a rope up to let the beans grow 6m high. It's like the bean stalk in the fairy tale :)
This was actually the first time I tried that with simply chucking them in the oven fresh from the stalk. They tasted great! So far I have always cooked them like other beans.
The result was disappointing. I'm not sure if the different type of rice made the biggest difference or if the bay leaf is really important, but it didn't come out tasty (nor like the restaurant food I was trying to capture). I'm going to try again another day with a bay leaf and maybe also get some basmatic or jasmine rice.
Tips or guesses on what went wrong/what to try are welcome.
bay leaf has a sneaky underground piney that sort of brings the dish together like the dude's rug in that apartment.
but if you want to add restaurant goodness... add msg ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
lol seriously i'm not joking. also tbh butter is nice but i'm not sure that dish needs butter? seems out of place.
also i would not add garlic at same time as onion. garlic burns before onion even begins to sweat. but also, i wouldn't use onion? i don't like "oniony rice". i love onion though. just not like this. just fry some garlic in olive oil till it's golden but absolutely no longer. if using onion then darken the onion first then add the garlic to avoid burning it. a little toasted goes a long way.
also don't know what the deal is with "low sodium chicken broth". did you use boxed? did you make your own chicken stock? if none at hand i recommend better than bouillon. also, for a restaurant taste, don't skimp of salt.
turmeric in and of itself gives nice color but not great flavor. seems to me you need more flavor there but i don't know what you're going for. me i'd add cilantro maybe but that would take it to a certain other place (plus, some people hate cilantro: it's genetic). double up on the bay leaf if necessary? i'm at a bit of a loss for seasoning here. turmeric is particular. like, i'd like to say "add some oregano" but i don't know that it would match. hmmm... turmeric.... idk.
jasmine rice is a beautiful thing however, but not sure how "greek" it is? i don't know what rice is traditional o'er there. hmmm...
basmati is nice for indian dishes but the perfume of jasmine is extraordinary and i prefer it for that reason in most things.
maybe ask the restaurant what seasoning they use?
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eta: i just googled "greek rice" and a lot of returns say "with lemon". that might be nice... bit of acid (i use citric acid crystals in a pinch because i'm a barbarian)
Oh, I forgot. I also used water instead of chicken broth. Would that make a big difference?
MASSIVE. umami is the core of rich protein flavor. often, it’s used to fake protein (eg doritos)
i wouldn’t try cilantro by itself: i was just thinking maybe it pairs with turmeric (it pairs with lemon). sounds more indian than greek, that way.
the recipes i spotted use lemon and parsley and dill for example. i can see that in the mediterranean. but added at the end, not cooked.
*never burn the garlic* is #1 (but inaccidentally made “garlic chips” once: not bad.
garlic just a light gold not a dark one, must add liquid immediately after.
cinnamon and ginger....hm, why not. but in that case it’s maybe not greek? and i’d add a small dash of worcestershire (tamarind +anchovy in it... oh yeah anchovy is umami and umami is everywhere).
anytime! you’ll have to experiment a bit and see wht you like.
btw enough cilantro will make your rice green (which is great), but add it with the liquid, don’t fry the cilantro (heavy digestion that way).
also hm i was thinking garlic and lemon and a bit of oregano could be nice.
lemon and basil also go great together, but if using fresh basil a light steam is best, too much heat kills it. dry basil can take a boil but it’s a different kind of flavor, more of a deep note.
paprika will tint your rice a nice red and give you a really nice flavor btw.
in a small coffee cup or whatever place 1/2 cup berries*, a few crushed toasted pecans**, 1tsp tubinado sugar.
microwave somewhat. eat warm.
the berries and sugar make the “filling” and the pecans act as “crust.”
*i buy exclusively frozen berries because they’re cheap and i can’t forage. so, i defrost them slightly before i add the pecans, in a medium microwave power.
** i get pecans from costco and toast a whole bag at a time in a small convection oven (“air fryer” as they’re also called). so they’re always ready for whatever.