Whatcha Cooking today?

[bower]

This probably never happens in warm places, but fairly often here we'll get some ripe cilantro seed on the bottom of the plant but the seed at the tops doesn't have time to ripen. I dried a little of the green seed one year and tried it as a spice in a samosa filling. Pretty awesome stuff - slightly more intense than fresh leaf, it provides a burst of that green cilantro taste, for the winter cooking when you don't have any fresh. When I was at the farm last time, there was a row of monstrous bolted cilantro with some umbels of ripe seed at the bottom and a ton of green ones. I happily came away with a huge bag of it and put to dry.
Tried a few sprinkled on pizza last week, that was different and very nice with the bacon.
Tonight it's in chicken curry.
The great thing about green cilantro seed, it retains the taste through cooking and even freezing and reheating.

[pepperhead212]

Years ago I read somewhere about how that unripe coriander seed is used a lot in Colombia, and some other cuisines in that area. I got a bunch of it from the plants, since mine always bolts to early, and I also found that flavor, similar to cilantro and coriander, combined. I don't know why I stopped growing it - I guess because I stopped trying cilantro, because it's everywhere here, now.

[Tormahto]

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Spaghetti and Meatballs. I put fresh garden basil, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, fresh grated Parmesan cheese, Italian dried herbs, and bread crumbs along with the egg. 85/15 grass fed beef. These were surprisingly light and tender and really good, I baked them on parchment paper at 400 for 25 minutes. Sauce was thawed and peeled and crushed garden tomatoes, with herbs, garlic and a little white wine.

I decided I like this way much better than a meat sauce. Same amount of beef either way, but little bits of ground beef in the sauce doesn’t do anything for me.

Now you got me thinking. I love meatballs, and my favorite sauce is bolognese. Perhaps I'll combine the two, with just a few meatballs. I don't want to overdo it with the meat.

[pepperhead212]

I was having a craving for something Indian, after trimming all those curry leaves! So today made a mixed vegetable kootu, using my smallest butternuts, and the end of my okra, plus a small sweet potato that was sprouting, and a small potato that was sprouting.

I made this in the Instant Pot, using slow cook mode, starting out with 3 different dal, and a few steel cut oats (maybe 1/3 c left when I filled the glass jar), some water, salt, and turmeric, for about 90 minutes. While that cooked, I made that raita, I got a couple of things done outside, then I got the seasoning paste ready, and the vegetables peeled and cut up. The okra went in for about 20 minutes, then that seasoning paste, and the squash and potatoes. That cooked another 20 minutes on low cook high, then I added that tarka mix, and let it sit on off about 5 minutes. Served it with some sorghum/rye bread sticks, plus that basic raita, using some of my last mint from outside.
Ingredients for the seasoning paste for the butternut kootu, fresh and dry peppers, ginger, and cumin, followed by coconut. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Ground up paste, after the coconut was added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

3 dal, plus some oats, cooked for the kootu, after cooking the okra briefly, and adding the butternut. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The tarka for the kootu, cooked in coconut oil, with shallots added at the end, to slow down the cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished mixed vegetable kootu, topped with some curry leaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Super simple cucumber raita, with just some cumin and mint, with the yogurt. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[karstopography]

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Thai Coconut Curry Chicken served with Thai Jasmine Rice.

Garlic, Onion, Lemongrass from the garden, dried chili (cayenne) from the garden, coconut cream, chicken thigh and drumstick meat, curry powder, soy sauce. Garden fresh basil to top. Recipe called for fresh grated ginger and a little sugar. Store was strangely out of ginger root. I had crystalized ginger. It worked.

[worth1]

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[Amateurinawe]

@worth1 okay , i am gonna ask. It looks like an omlette, but I know there is a hidden secret. What is it ?

[worth1]

@worth1 okay , i am go nna ask. It looks like an omlette, but I know there is a hidden secret. What is it ?

Hot dog weiners mozzarella cheese chopped onion with Steens cane syrup on top.
Po' Folks omlette.

[worth1]

That's only three eggs whipped with a wisk until they were a foamy froth with a little added water.
Dropped into my favorite aluminum omlette skillet already prepared with hot olive oil.
Once almost done tossed under the broiler for a minute or two.
The eggs puff up big time and light and fluffy.
Then take out slide half onto heated plate and fold over.
Been making omlettes for years and my omlettes were one of my wife's favorites along with my grilled cheese sandwiches.
Such a perfectionist if I messed up, one of the dogs got it.

[Shule]

I had orange juice and quesadillas for breakfast (I mean, basically grilled cheese sandwiches with flour tortillas instead of bread, and avocado oil instead of butter; I put some sweet pepper powder on one, though, but it still tasted pretty much the same). I was tempted to do something like that with tuna.

Last night, I had baked whole wheat spaghetti with mozarella cheese melted on top. I used home-canned tomatoes for the sauce (from 2017; we use our canned food for a lot longer than a year). I didn't boil the noodles first; I just baked them in the sauce, with a little extra water. There were probably some Black Beauty, Pakenham Pear, and/or Black Bear tomatoes in that sauce.

[worth1]

Showing off my new 12 inch Lodge dual handled cast iron pan.
Thing has been calling my name for months.
Sausage going in just a little later.

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[worth1]

Ready to eat.
Everything front Texas.
Sausage from down the street.

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Ev

[worth1]

I had way too much spaghetti and sausage.
Turned the ac down to 65 and slept like a baby celebrating the cold front.

[worth1]

I had this wild idea of making hamburger steak grilled onions and Krispy fries.
But I had leftovers instead so I could watch the rather long movie Dune.
The old one not the new one.
It's probably the only Science fiction / fantasy book and movie I ever really enjoyed.

[maxjohnson]

Sorry, didn't have any parmesan. Next time I have to make it a lot more spicey.

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[worth1]

Making a double burger with two patties weighing 8 ounces each.
The beef is 75/25 American wagu from Mishima Reserve.
I think I paid $6 something for it.
Got the fries twice fried and cooling for final bath in the hot oil.
First fry to cook, next for a little color and the last for the Krispy Krunchy outside but fluffy potato inside.
Going all out with Romain lettuce and Colby jack cheese too.
The patties are in the freezer because I want the outside caramelized and the inside not over cooked because they are big and thin.

[brownrexx]

I have been picking saffron from my saffron crocus so I wanted to try cooking with it. Tonight I made saucy chicken with Saffron Orzo. The orzo is toasted in olive oil and then simmered with sautéed onions, chicken broth, salt, saffron and 2 bay leaves. A pat of butter is added at the end.

It was really good and this recipe is a definite keeper.

Saucy Chicken & Saffron Orzo by Brownrexx, on Flickr

[worth1]

I don't know what I was thinking.
The thing is at least 4 inches tall.
Even went all out and put a slice of the bottom bun in the middle like the Big Mac.
All buns toasted with butter on the skillet.
I never ate at McDonald's growing up but saw plenty of advertisements on the television.
I was 19 years old in Palm Springs California when I walked into my first McDonald's and ordered a Big Mac.
Boy was I ever disappointed.
I thought it was going to look like the one I just made.
Then out comes this scraggly looking thing no bigger than a flat baseball.
I thought they got my order wrong but they didn't.

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[worth1]

So I get this sweet tooth in the middle of my hamburger and only eat half of it.

I present to you Bananas Worthster.
Bananas cooked in a little olive oil dates walnuts drizzled with vermouth and cane syrup.
All natural.

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[Amateurinawe]

@worth1 You are so right, that looks nothing like a macdonalds. That looks delicious!