What did you cook today?

[mgoetze]

Fry 250g minced beef in olive oil in a large frying pan, adding some pepper near the end.

Remove beef, reduce the heat, and add a little more oil if necessary.

Put 1 dried chili, 2 chopped onions, 2 chopped bell peppers, 50g chopped leek in the pan and fry.

Add 1 cup basmati rice and fry for a little bit longer.

Fill up the pan with 2 cups vegetable stock, 70g concentrated tomato paste, salt (unless your stock is already quite salty), curcuma and paprika powder. Stir well so that the tomato paste disolves.

Put a lid on the pan and let simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the rice has soaked up the liquid.

Put the beef back in at the end.

[Vampyr]

I made wonton soup and then went to the Women's Institute where we learned to make sushi rolls.

[Trinidad]

These recipes are extremely easy to make and taste excellent.

 

Tip: Add a little lime juice and fresh coriander

 

Rik

[Fluffy]

I put oranges on the squeezer and got some juice. My plan for lunch is to boil water and put spaguetti on it for 7 minutes :P, but I will preparece the sauce a tiny bit, open a tuna can, squash it, add tomato and cheese.

[Cyberyeti]

I put oranges on the squeezer and got some juice. My plan for lunch is to boil water and put spaguetti on it for 7 minutes :P, but I will preparece the sauce a tiny bit, open a tuna can, squash it, add tomato and cheese.

 

I cook less than this unless you include use of a toaster and a microwave to steam vegetables.

 

Am trying to lose some weight and generally eat more healthily so my lunch will be granary toast, pickled herring, beetroot, bean salad and red peppers.

 

Odd fact (source an NHS dietitian) - Tuna has plenty of omega 3 acids in it, canned tuna has virtually none, something in the canning process removes them, this doesn't happen with other fish.

[hrothgar]

(Dinner party on the 28th which means I am trying to avoid cooking as much as possible before then)

 

Today's dinner will be leftover saag sarsoon and some trout...

Tomorrow's dinner will be leftover saag sarsoon and some trout...

[mr1303]

Today is Tsagaan Sar, so in Mongolia, it's steamed buuz

 

for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[kenberg]

My wife is going to love this thread. Before we got married twenty years she took note of the fact that I knew how to cook. In the twenty years since then, she has taken note of the fact that I seldom do it anymore. I actually enjoy it but (here is my excuse) I was very much raised with the idea that the man's role in the kitchen is to stay the hell out of the way. I think Becky would not object at all if I were to get in the way a bit more.

 

Who knows where this could lead? Possibly Becky will later be reflecting on the need to be careful what we wish for.

[helene_t]

Gosh13 is making sour milk. I put a frozen salmon steak on the pan. Oddly it tasted better than the same batch did when fresh. fizz brought a baby shrew from the field but only at a small part of it. Last time she buried it in the divan which had to go to the refuse as it was impossible to clean the smell out of it. This time I just had to wash a few blood stains from the bookshelf.

[billw55]

We cook salmon in a maple syrup and soy sauce marinade sometimes. Really delicious, and really easy too.

[Winstonm]

A favorite pasta dish of mine that is quite simple and quick: 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 cloves garlic crushed, and a 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and some fresh basil. Cook the garlic on medium heat in the olive oil until the garlic is lightly browned, while a thin pasta (such as angel hair) is boiling in salted water to al dente. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the water used in cooking the pasta. Drain the pasta in a colander then add the pasta to the sauce over medium heat. Pour in the reserved water, toss, and heat for another minute or two over a medium heat.

 

Dish into pasta bowls, sprinkle with shredded basil. (Parmesian cheese can be sprinkled on top but is not necessary)

[Vampyr]

Wonton soup pretty self-explanatory but here are directions:

 

You need pork mince (not a lot; 1/2 pound will make 20 or more wonton).

Add any or all of the following: garlic, ginger (paste or mashed well), soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, spring onions, chili oil, minced prawns, and anything else you want.

 

Put small balls of the meat mixture onto prepared wonton wrappers. Fold the wrappers so all of the corners come together. I keep a cup of water nearby to wet my fingers to make them stick better.

 

Boil soup (eg beef stock with water and soy sauce added, and spring onions, chili oil and/or anything else you want to add). Drop in wontons, pak choi (no need to cup up the leaves), plus sliced fish balls, or again, whatever you want.

 

Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

[jjbrr]

http://i.imgur.com/yuc5rFNl.jpg

[mgoetze]

That looks good, jjbrr.

 

I tried something new today. I considered the experiment a failure, myself, however my girlfriend loved it, so I shall present it anyway:

 

Mix 150g Creme Fraiche, 200g Ajvar, 70g Tomato Paste, 100ml vegetable stock, chopped parsley and chives together to form a sauce.

 

Cook 300g pasta, fill into a baking form and mix with much of the sauce.

 

Cook 2 Chicories (AKA Belgian Endives) for 3 minutes, cut them into halves, remove the top part of the leaves and some of the strunk (unless you really like it bitter), and wrap each half in a large slice of cooked ham. Place on top of the pasta, cover with the rest of the sauce and as much cheese as you like (I used Gouda). Bake for 20-30mins at 200°C.

[Vampyr]

What is Ajvar?

[cherdano]

Here is my favourite meal when I just have 10 minutes to cook for the two of us.

 

Cook fish in a microwave. Sounded disgusting when I first heard it, but it actually works superb. The trick is to add enough fluid - use any of lemon juice, orange juice, soy sauce, a bit of water, maybe some oil; the fish should be covered in it. Then just throw it in the microwave. The duration of course depends on how strong your microwave is, how much fluid you added, how big of a piece it is etc. so you may have to experiment a little bit. E.g. 3 min at 800W for 350g of salmon seems to work about right.

 

Add whatever sides you fancy.

[cherdano]

Wow, never disagreed with Winson that much before.

 

A favorite pasta dish of mine that is quite simple and quick: 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 cloves garlic crushed, and a 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and some fresh basil. Cook the garlic on medium heat in the olive oil until the garlic is lightly browned, while a thin pasta (such as angel hair) is boiling in salted water to al dente. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the water used in cooking the pasta. Drain the pasta in a colander then add the pasta to the sauce over medium heat. Pour in the reserved water, toss, and heat for another minute or two over a medium heat.

 

Dish into pasta bowls, sprinkle with shredded basil. (Parmesian cheese can be sprinkled on top but is not necessary)

Parmesan is necessary!

[blackshoe]

A favorite pasta dish of mine that is quite simple and quick: 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 cloves garlic crushed, and a 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and some fresh basil. Cook the garlic on medium heat in the olive oil until the garlic is lightly browned, while a thin pasta (such as angel hair) is boiling in salted water to al dente. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the water used in cooking the pasta. Drain the pasta in a colander then add the pasta to the sauce over medium heat. Pour in the reserved water, toss, and heat for another minute or two over a medium heat.

 

Dish into pasta bowls, sprinkle with shredded basil. (Parmesian cheese can be sprinkled on top but is not necessary)

I do something very similar - and I think Parmesan cheese is wasted on this dish. If I want cheese on my pasta I replace the oil and garlic with melted butter and Parmesan. A while back I made angel hair with oil, pancetta, and anchovies. My friend was leery ("Anchovies? Yuck!") but he admitted after he tried it that he liked it. B-)

[MrAce]

I cooked my most favourite American food today. Mac & Cheese. by Kraft!http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif

[y66]

I've had good luck making tomato sauce and a few other dishes using Bob Brinig's approach:

 

On his Tuesday day off from the Eccentric, Bob Brinig would get up about 2pm, have a drink go into the kitchen, maybe fry a few onions than return to the lounge and watch TV, then back to the kitchen many times over the course of the day, adding different ingredients to the meal, followed by a glass of his favourite sauce. By 10pm a great meal would emerge, sometimes completely different from what was "planned" at the beginning of the session.

I never met Bob but I think of this description often and I highly recommend his approach to cooking.

 

Baked, spatchcocked chicken is easy and reliable. My dog gets to eat the back (raw) which he loves.

 

We made 2 pans of lasagna in December that we froze and thawed out later for ease of cooking over the holidays. That's probably the smartest thing my wife and I have ever done in the kitchen. Probably not as good as jjbrr's lasagna but still quite memorable.

[mgoetze]

What is Ajvar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajvar

[onoway]

Once had a neighbor who worked full time and spent much of her off time in the winter cooking huge batches of whatever she was making for dinner and freezing meal size portions of it. They also did most of their dinner parties and such during the winter. Come summer, her husband bar-b-qued and she made salads but other than that they pretty much took the summer off from cooking. They did have a garden in the summer but it was set up to look after itself, once planted little needed doing but harvesting. It seemed quite a sensible way to proceed, summer here is woefully short and meant to be enjoyed. She must have been REALLY well organized though, not to end up with a host of packages of the same thing in the bottom of the freezer.

[ggwhiz]

She must have been REALLY well organized though, not to end up with a host of packages of the same thing in the bottom of the freezer.

 

My father bought a good sized freezer and a side of beef and was not at all pleased to find out we were down to eating hamburger for the next 6 months. :huh:

[mikeh]

Wow, never disagreed with Winson that much before.

 

 

Parmesan is necessary!

I used to make more elaborate sauces and still do.....one recipe to be read below....but in 2006 we went to the WC in Verona, and ate lunch frequently in one of the piazzas near our hotel. I had a pasta dish that was simply garlic and olive oil, with a side of parmesan.

 

Now, the atmosphere and company were both great, which always makes food taste better, but I have made it at home several times and it is an excellent, inexpensive, tasty and quick meal.

 

A little more elaborate: two or more cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly, sauted in olive oil until they just start to turn a golden brown. Remove the garlic.

 

Saute some red pepper (optional) and then add chopped up prosciutto ham (the real stuff if you can find it). Meanwhile drain a large can of Marzano tomatoes....saving the juices, but dicing the tomatoes to extract as much juice as possible.

 

Add the tomatoes to the pan.....cook over medium high heat for several minutes....as it dries out add modest amounts of the juices.

 

I always add flaked chilies to taste, and often diced basil

 

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti (my usual) or linguine, or even penne etc in a large pot for the appropriate time. Add the garlic to the sauce a couple of minutes before the pasta is ready.

 

Drain the pasta, place on heated plate and add sauce....and, of course, parmesan....and for dog's sake use the real deal, grated at meal time, not by the store.

 

Enjoy with a robust red wine.

[Winstonm]

Something I almost always make with my garlic and olive oil pasta is bruschetta. I use Tuscany Italian bread from Aldi's. Toast the bread. Peel and split a large clove of garlic in half and rub the garlic all over the toasted bread, squeezing the garlic gently as you do so. Slice a Roma tomato into thin slices. Add the tomato slices to the top of the bread. Salt, pepper, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Chop a little fresh basil and garnish.

 

That's all there is to it - a wonderful addition to a pasta meal.