Food pics and ideas #40 - YouLookFab Forum

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Food pics and ideas #40

Runcarla

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Restaurants where I live were given the go-ahead to open up in July - with outdoor dining and very spaced out indoor opportunities. A couple of city trips for family business became occasions for dining out.

#1 salmon on pea coulis with a vegetable ‘goulash’
#2 delicious fare from a vegetarian place
#3 simple salad with baked goat cheese

No photo, but I had ginger duck at a Tai restaurant, and two different style risottos (I’m a fan.) The interesting fare (and cooler weather) has got me fired up about cooking again. I made lamb (#4) for Sunday dinner, with a salad and potatoes from my garden! Processed a 3rd harvest of basil (from the same plants!) and (#5+#6) made frozen pesto cubes for a bright taste of summer in winter. I’ve got Angie’s Cilantro Lime chicken marinating in the fridge! Dinner will be the chicken, green beans from the garden, and wide egg noodles.

Has anybody made gnocchi from scratch? Any hints?

Hope you are enjoying good food and inspired meals! Please share what you’ve been enjoying - bonus points for photos and recipes!

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Latest reply was from elpgal

Anonymous

Lots of spinach lately!
This pic was a doctored up Trader Joes pasta arrabiata- added frozen pepper strips and spinach. #STslazylatinacocina

I also made a lazy palak paneer. Paneer from Whole Paycheck not from scratch! I don't keep cream in the house so used cream of celery soup, chili powder, curry powder, Cavenders, and cumin.

The other thing was stir fried local zucchini, 2 types of squash, spinach, portabellas, olives over couscous with Italian herbs and balsamic vinegar.

*carries off pesto*

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Sloper

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Good grief - all so colorful and savory! Pesto is one of my favorites - DH doesn't get it though ("What is THAT") so it's a sometime treat for me.

Kinda bland this week at my house - beef stew and boiled potatoes, roast chicken, sauteed zucchini. I got a nice Italian herb blend from Penzeys Spices - a mix of Oregano, Basil, Marjoram, Rosemary and Thyme. Really perked up the zucchini. We had a bit of relatively normal summer temps over the weekend but it's over 100 now - and no air-con in the kitchen. I'm outta there!

Last week made bread - a white sandwich bread that made very nice loaves. No dairy or eggs needed. Uses olive oil for richness. Toasts up nicely. My loaf looks just like the picture - so proud.
https://www.thetasteofkosher.com/dairy-free-bread/

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

We went to Solvang this weekend, and now I'm obsessed with Danish Waffles (the crispy, thin kind with raspberry jam and buttercream frosting inside- google it). So delish!!

rachylou

Veteran

What is the secret to such vigorous basil, Carla?

I am all about cheaters cooking, lol. I’ve been eating stir fry green beans from the garden and noodles - package ramen cooked and then thrown in the wok. Steak and basil sandwiches (with the little bit of basil from the garden). I’ve done cheaters red peas and rice (rice done in the rice cooker and then transferred to a pot to add canned kidney beans and coconut milk). And microwave molasses cake (I’m pleasantly surprised that baking cake in the microwave works!)

I had big plans to eat strawberries, which are doing well this year. But I forgot the basket outside and something ate them all before I came back!

Also an aside: everything inside my vegetable cage has been gnawed on, and everything outside is flourishing. What gives?!!

Sloper

Veteran

Rachylou - I hear you! And great ideas - I have the simplest rice cooker but should experiment more - the farthest I’ve gotten is tomato rice. I love ramen too - with a beaten egg. And then you put a slice of American cheese on top - yummy salt bomb.

rachylou

Veteran

Oh yes, with egg is excellent. It’s good done with milk too - saw that on the webs. Kooky, but tasty and fortifying.

Runcarla

Veteran

@ racheylou - heat! Like, bake-an-egg-on-the-pavement hot sun. The sun on my deck is merciless! Good soil in the planter box, and careful (not too heavy) watering at the base - not on the leaves. When I. cut them back, I cut them down hard to about 4 inches, but leave some leaves on the branches.

rachylou

Veteran

Omigosh. Ok. Lol. Exactly the opposite of what I’ve ever done… lol

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Cornbread with the blackberries we picked by the path, made immediately after our trip, was a delicious combo.

RL, when you pick just a little, you know to take the buds at the ends of the stems, not the leaves further down, right?

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rachylou

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I pinch the flowers… but I don’t cut them back hard… which I will now try…

Runcarla

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These were cut down 4 days ago at about 15 inches height. Already coming back as you can see.

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rachylou

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Oh thank you for the pics! Pics tell you everything!

Sally

Veteran

We are in lockdown so no eating out and no takeaways for going on nearly a month now. I couldn't even buy rotis from the local indian shop so forced to make my own. My son who is half Indian wants Indian food so I made him rotis and chickpea curry and dosas with peanut chutney. Excuse the odd looking roti but apparently they taste better than the bought ones so wants this to continue after lockdown ends.

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rachylou

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Ok… it’s a theme now: your roti secrets, Sally?

Anonymous

*carries off roti and curry*

Sloper

Veteran

Sally - that looks so good. Recipe/technique to share?

Sally

Veteran

For the rotis I just get whole-wheat atta (flour ) from Indian shop. Add water and knead a bit to make a dough then put into small balls and roll out thin. I was told the softness depends on how much water is added. You have to let the roti blow big bubbles to make sure it’s cooked through.
The curry is just a recipe online. I’ll go and look for it.
I just buy fresh dosa batter from Indian shop and you just spread it on pan like pancake. The pickle is lime pickle..I like patels brand.
The peanut chutney is a recipe from my mother in law so I’ll come back later in the day and write it out here in a few hours after my online yoga and supermarket visit.

Runcarla

Veteran

Thank you for sharing Sally. I bake bread on the regular once the weather cools down, but now I’m wanting to try roti! Maybe tomorrow, since I’m planning on making a curry with some left over lamb!

Sally

Veteran

The chana masala curry is the one from minimalist baker. https://minimalistbaker.com/easy-chana-masala

The peanut chutney
cook about 6 cloves of garlic till a bit brown then add about 3/4 cup of raw peanuts and 5 dried red chillies (tear them in half before you add). Fry them all together until peanuts are slightly then turn off the heat and add a teaspon of dalia (roasted chana dal - you can easily buy at indian grocery...just tell them you need for chutney).
prepare some tamarind juice by adding a handful of the tamarind block (also from indian shop) to warm water so it soaks.
when the peanuts, garlic etc have cooled down, blend it together in a blender with the tamarind juice and some salt. You do have to play around with the consistency and how much salt you want. My son loves this with dosas. Cheap healthy breakfast or lunch. The chutney can sit in a sealed container in the fridge for about a week. It is a very easy meal for me because i have the dosa batter in the fridge. I often make myself a dosa with pickle like others might make an omelette for dinner.

Sally

Veteran

Runcarla I want to try and make bread. i think I need to buy a bread maker don't I. I spend a small fortune on bread from a specialty shop...they have wholegrain keto bread and this fruit bread that is paleo but it takes like you are eating hot cross buns. If I could work out the recipe I would save myself money and it would be lovely to have hot bread.
Good luck with the rotis. I use a flat skillet to cook them on.

rachylou

Veteran

Maybe i have failed to add enough water. My rotis always turn out tough. Thx for the recipes! Dosa batter seems like an endeavour to me… to get started in any case. But I love them!

Joy

Veteran

I need help with low salt, low carb and low fat recipes for DH and I. It seems like reading the fine print in the grocery store takes forever.

Tonight we had Cole bean salad with canned tuna chunks. It was a bit more salty than I eWorld nave liked, but I soaked the beans and tuna in water to get out some of the salt a d added a mixture of fresh herbs from the garden, chopped to add extra flavor. It was a hot day so the cold salad was a hit and satisfying. One could add bread or crackers but we did not. Thank you for any ideas you may have. I have done low fat for years but cutting fat often means adding more salt and/or sugar. I add herbs and hot sauce or chili powder for flavor.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Joy, cutting out fat *and* carbs is hard—means you’re basically eating straight protein, like a paleo diet. Try some crepes, maybe with a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar. If some carbs (like the beans) are ok, how about salad Nicoise?

Sloper

Veteran

Sally - thanks for sharing!

Cardiff girl

Veteran

All that food looks yummy,you have reminded me that l must save all my basil by making it into pesto and freezing it before the weather turns cold.l don’t like too much raw garlic so make pesto using a big bunch of chives instead of the garlic clove,l also vary the nuts l use.Cashew,walnut and macadamia all make a nice change from pine nuts

Sloper

Veteran

Joy - I hear you on the challenges of managing restrictions and still eating "happy." The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association websites have recipe ideas and tips that I've found helpful.

When my care team has me on a certain extra restrictive diet, I've found it easier to just cut out the packaged foods. Easy to say, harder to do! And the healthier packaged stuff is more expensive. Doing all fresh produce and proteins can mean more time in the kitchen.

Mrs. Dash brand makes various salt-free seasonings. Also, I found some mixes at Penzey's Spices - they label the salt-free blends.
https://www.penzeys.com/shop/s.....goryId=166
The Italian Mix is very good.

I've also found a few things on Thrive Market - but they charge a monthly membership fee. You can filter and search by various dietary needs.

Things I've tried:
home-made salad dressing: olive oil and balsamic vinegar with some dried herbs. Add a tsp. of dijon mustard. Oxo makes a clever glass dressing bottle with oz/ml markings.https://www.oxo.com/salad-dres.....html#black

Poached chicken or salmon - add onion, lemon, celery, carrots, peppercorns, bay leaf, a splash of dry vermouth to the water.

Baked Salmon - brush lightly with olive oil, sprinkle with herbs, layer thin lemon slices on top - they keep it from drying out.

Trying the different salad greens mixes at the grocery store - different textures and flavors make salads more interesting (spinach, kale, arugula, etc.)

Japanese soba noodles - makes a nice cold salad with sliced carrots, snap peas, cucumber. Low sodium soy sauce.

I roast a lot of veggies - like a roasted ratatouille with zucchini, bell peppers, eggplant, red onion.

Pasta sauce - saute the onion, then add chopped garlic, some red pepper flakes, thyme for another minute. Then a big can of whole tomatoes (the San Marzano brand is really good), mash up the tomatoes as it simmers.

Hope these help!

Sally

Veteran

Joy I eat a low carb diet because I can't eat sugar. The way I make it low carb is by making pancakes with buckwheat flour and having brown rice. My rule is to use the high protein grains which have a lower carb value as I'm mainly vegetarian so need to up my protein where I can too.

Sloper

Veteran

Sally’s comment reminds me - Bob’s Red Mill makes lots of different grains and flours. Some products are in grocery stores, and you can order online. Their thick oatmeal is really good! Barley and kasha are good as healthy sides instead of white rice or plain pasta.

elpgal

Veteran

Joy, one way to compensate for low salt is by using herbs and acidity. Are sodium free ‘salts’ ok?

I hear you on dietary changes being hard. I am currently avoiding gluten, dairy and I am vegetarian. Shopping and cooking are exhausting with reading all the fine print. I am considering hiring a nutritionist to help.