As a kid I would extract the cake part and leave just a big slab of cream cheese frosting
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Foods you may have been told are popular, but that you hate (or love!)
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As a kid I would extract the cake part and leave just a big slab of cream cheese frosting
So one can be trolled even here LOL... (jes' kiddin')
In fact I've moved on to something else today, fighting July heat with spicy heat in the kitchen. I got up early while it was still cool and cooked up a Punjabi dish, chole chaat, a kind of spicy chickpea stew, makings of which can apparently vary as much as one’s Indian spices cabinet and stash of chiles permit. Or anyway that's how it works in my house.
I’m on a roll w/ Punjabi food lately, yesterday it was a spicy cabbage dish that I usually serve into pitas just because I have them around. It’s summer and I’m also being fairly lazy, so picking the simplest of the hundred or so offerings from my coffee table worthy recipe book (A Little Taste of India).
The book has some recipes from all over India, not just one region, wonderful photos of not only food but markets and locales. The recipes translate measurements into Americanese for those whose kitchen equipment is not attuned to the metric system. There’s no index... which for me just represented an invitation to sit down and read it from the front to back and stick bits of ribbon in as bookmarks for later revisiting in the kitchen. Must have used up a yard of the ribbon by time I reached the last page.
In winter one of my favorite dishes from that book is saag gosht, a curry-spiced lamb (or beef) and spinach dish also containing carmelized onions, yogurt,tomato paste and tomatoes, served with Basmati rice. The book is out of print now I think, one must round up a used copy that's only been used as coffee table book, although I don't know how anyone could leaf through that thing and not end up in the kitchen.
So one can be trolled even here LOL... (jes' kiddin')
In fact I've moved on to something else today, fighting July heat with spicy heat in the kitchen. I got up early while it was still cool and cooked up a Punjabi dish, chole chaat, a kind of spicy chickpea stew, makings of which can apparently vary as much as one’s Indian spices cabinet and stash of chiles permit. Or anyway that's how it works in my house.
I’m on a roll w/ Punjabi food lately, yesterday it was a spicy cabbage dish that I usually serve into pitas just because I have them around. It’s summer and I’m also being fairly lazy, so picking the simplest of the hundred or so offerings from my coffee table worthy recipe book (A Little Taste of India).
The book has some recipes from all over India, not just one region, wonderful photos of not only food but markets and locales. The recipes translate measurements into Americanese for those whose kitchen equipment is not attuned to the metric system. There’s no index... which for me just represented an invitation to sit down and read it from the front to back and stick bits of ribbon in as bookmarks for later revisiting in the kitchen. Must have used up a yard of the ribbon by time I reached the last page.
In winter one of my favorite dishes from that book is saag gosht, a curry-spiced lamb (or beef) and spinach dish also containing carmelized onions, yogurt,tomato paste and tomatoes, served with Basmati rice. The book is out of print now I think, one must round up a used copy that's only been used as coffee table book, although I don't know how anyone could leaf through that thing and not end up in the kitchen.
And how does one prepare this spicy chickpea stew that sounds so appetising?
Not everyone would agree, but for those who do... this is roughly how chole chaat goes from that book and about how I usually make it. But like any dish that doesn’t involve baking something leavened, I tend to approximate measurements and be guided by personal preferences on the amounts of spices (and types of chilis). I don’t live near an Asian or Indian market so I settle for what I’ve rounded up last time I found some chilis worth bringing home, or resort to using dried ones as I see fit. Worst case... green jalapeño sauce has been pressed into service for this dish once in awhile lol. Don’t tell anyone. Anyway in real life the dish has migrated to street food variants, so I’m giving it a leg up in that direction from my kitchen, probably, i.e., variety is the spice of life.
Ingredients:
about 2 cups of cooked chickpeas - they should be about as soft as you like them as they will not cook much more during prep of this dish (can use a can of them, but i prefer to cook up dried ones in advance and keep them in fridge as I use them often).
2 teaspoons oil for cooking
-- i use canola, can use coconut oil or ghee as desired
1 onion, peeled and chopped
garlic, peeled and minced, amount as desired, I use 2 cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
an inch or so knob of fresh ginger, either grated or fine julienne
2 red or green chilies, heat of your choosing, finely chopped
part of a 14oz can of petit diced tomatoes or a fat fresh one, chopped
about a cup and a half of water or vegetable stock more or less as you see fit
steamed Basmati rice to serve it with (but i sometimes use fine couscous instead)
chopped fresh cilantro for garnishing
-- i use canola, can use coconut oil or ghee as desired
1 onion, peeled and chopped
garlic, peeled and minced, amount as desired, I use 2 cloves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
an inch or so knob of fresh ginger, either grated or fine julienne
2 red or green chilies, heat of your choosing, finely chopped
part of a 14oz can of petit diced tomatoes or a fat fresh one, chopped
about a cup and a half of water or vegetable stock more or less as you see fit
steamed Basmati rice to serve it with (but i sometimes use fine couscous instead)
chopped fresh cilantro for garnishing
Preparation:
Sauté the onion until translucent.
Raise heat a bit to medium high, add dry spices, cook for a minute or so until fragrant.
Reduce heat to medium, add the chilies, ginger, garlic, cook watchfully for a couple minutes.
Raise heat, add tomatoes, chickpeas, water or broth, stir to marry up the flavors.
Bring just to boil, reduce heat, simmer for about 20 minutes.
Raise heat a bit to medium high, add dry spices, cook for a minute or so until fragrant.
Reduce heat to medium, add the chilies, ginger, garlic, cook watchfully for a couple minutes.
Raise heat, add tomatoes, chickpeas, water or broth, stir to marry up the flavors.
Bring just to boil, reduce heat, simmer for about 20 minutes.
Serve with the Basmati rice or couscous, garnish w/ the cilantro.
The dish needs something green to make it nice, I think. So if I don’t happen to have cilantro around to garnish it with, then I incorporate some chopped “herb salad mix” greens or something like that --dandelion greens, spinach etc-- into the dish in the last ten minutes of simmering. The spices are such that it's not going to matter what the greens are really, but the coriander leaves (cilantro) are a traditional garnish.
This really does sound delicious.....and I think even I, pretty much a non-cook, could manage preparing it! Going to print out the post with list of ingredients and prep method; I have some of the ingredients already at hand but not all of them so I’ll add what I need to the list for the next time I go grocery shopping. Wish I had everything on hand so I could try it this evening, but that’s not going to happen.
Heh, there are those who might you've gone round the bend to want to cook this in July anyway.
It all depends if you're used to cooking and eating highly spiced foods in hot weather... have fun.
Actually, I find that eating highly spiced foods in hot weather has an interesting impact....I don’t feel overheated after the meal, there is some intriguing and mysterious balance going on there! Usually I will have Indian food accompanied by cold beer, and that helps, too.
I’m sitting out on my deck with my iPad and have copied the ingredients and prep info, which I pasted into Pages and then printed with the wireless printer that is in the house, so when I go back inside, it will be waiting for me. This sort of synchronicity with devices once again reinforces my love of Apple and its products.....
I’m sitting out on my deck with my iPad and have copied the ingredients and prep info, which I pasted into Pages and then printed with the wireless printer that is in the house, so when I go back inside, it will be waiting for me. This sort of synchronicity with devices once again reinforces my love of Apple and its products.....
Well consider that many of the the spiciest cuisines come from countries with hot climates, (though to be fair India has a very varied climitate from the north at the foot of the Himalayas to the tropical south) and it seems that use of chili peppers has an effect of making the body cool itself.
Sometimes, (or so it was explained to me) the development of spicy cuisines in hot countries (and cultures) with hot climates may have been to do with the challenges of preservation in the days before refrigeration was widely available.
In an earlier existence, when I was teaching and my brother was studying law, we rented a very nice flat in the centre of the city and, while there, we also rented a car parking space from a lovely Indian couple who also had a flat in the same building but who didn't need parking facilities.
The aromas from their flat were incredible, - my mouth watered anytime we were there - they pointed out that the food they liked would be far too spicy for a western palate, even one (such as mine) that thought it liked things "spicy". However, when they left, they gave me a lovely Indian cook-book as a gift, and there is one recipe for a vegetable curry that I must track down and post here, as it was delicious.
In an earlier existence, when I was teaching and my brother was studying law, we rented a very nice flat in the centre of the city and, while there, we also rented a car parking space from a lovely Indian couple who also had a flat in the same building but who didn't need parking facilities.
The aromas from their flat were incredible, - my mouth watered anytime we were there - they pointed out that the food they liked would be far too spicy for a western palate, even one (such as mine) that thought it liked things "spicy". However, when they left, they gave me a lovely Indian cook-book as a gift, and there is one recipe for a vegetable curry that I must track down and post here, as it was delicious.
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Yes another good point about preservation, also explains the widespread acceptance of alcohol, expecially the lower strength "near-beers" and watering down wine at the table.
Lucky you and your brother by the way, when my father first emigrated to Canada he lived for a time with a friend, also an immigrant who had married a local - this gentleman was from Goa and my dad had fond memories of their cuisine.
And my shopping list got just a little longer this week!
Blasphemy! Spam Musubi is Hawaii's single greatest contribution to food culture!
And for those who are not familiar, "Spam Musubi" is essentially a large/thick "spam sushi". It's a sushi except that you get a large slice of Spam rather than a fish. So delicious!
Only maybe... but the blasphemous part of that post was about avocados! I probably use up to 5 a week in assorted versions of guacamole or just sliced and then put with a slam of lemon juice, cold rice and nori wrapped around.
They are lazy California rolls I guess. Sometimes so lazy I just stand there with the lemon, the avocado and a knife and "lunch happens". If I lived where lemons and avocados grow I'd be sitting in the grass with the knife and waiting for them to fall off the trees.
I’d love to have an avocado tree. I would so be under it at certain times of year.
My SO, on the other hand, is not a fan. Neither is the younger of my two daughters.
If I was religious, I’d pray for their souls. Come to think of it, I may do so anyway.
My SO, on the other hand, is not a fan. Neither is the younger of my two daughters.
If I was religious, I’d pray for their souls. Come to think of it, I may do so anyway.
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Blasphemy! Spam Musubi is Hawaii's single greatest contribution to food culture!
And for those who are not familiar, "Spam Musubi" is essentially a large/thick "spam sushi". It's a sushi except that you get a large slice of Spam rather than a fish. So delicious!
View attachment 771044
That would actually be Mahi-mahi tacos
Excellent topic of conversation, @LizKat. A twist on the "what foods do you love" threads with the added challenge of evaluating how popular a given food is compared to how little you like it.
Isn't it interesting when a narrative sets up a certain archetypical scene based on some sense—usually taste—that sort of goes over your head because your opinion of it is unpopular? I remember thinking Turkish delight sounded delicious after its use as a temptation in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but once I found out what it actually contained… eh, not so much.
Many of the foods discussed so far, while popular, aren't eaten that frequently. If there were a food one disliked that was consumed by many people multiple times a day…
Same here. It has a soapy and smokey taste that registers as NOT FOOD whenever I encounter it. I've been told that I just need to add a bit of sugar and milk, but I'd just as soon drink those two alone than use them to dilute an acrid taste I don't like.
I had many courses with a professor who shared my distaste—to the point that the smell gave them headaches, so everybody, as a courtesy, would keep the lids closed on their coffees or just abstain from brining them to class. It was such a nice reprieve from the usual early morning nausea. It really perked me up.
Isn't it interesting when a narrative sets up a certain archetypical scene based on some sense—usually taste—that sort of goes over your head because your opinion of it is unpopular? I remember thinking Turkish delight sounded delicious after its use as a temptation in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but once I found out what it actually contained… eh, not so much.
Many of the foods discussed so far, while popular, aren't eaten that frequently. If there were a food one disliked that was consumed by many people multiple times a day…
Same here. It has a soapy and smokey taste that registers as NOT FOOD whenever I encounter it. I've been told that I just need to add a bit of sugar and milk, but I'd just as soon drink those two alone than use them to dilute an acrid taste I don't like.
I had many courses with a professor who shared my distaste—to the point that the smell gave them headaches, so everybody, as a courtesy, would keep the lids closed on their coffees or just abstain from brining them to class. It was such a nice reprieve from the usual early morning nausea. It really perked me up.
^^ Your tale of the professor who hated coffee is a kick!
We are not glued too very closely to the "popular... but that you dislike" part of the thread topic, I guess... or else more people may have engaged with the idea of loathing coffee more often in this thread. It's a very popular brew in the USA at least but it has plenty of detractors or at least abstainers even here.
Coffee is on autopilot with me first thing in the morning, or at least with respect to that first (and, speaking of blasphemous) Keurig brew to get me conscious enough to figure out how to make breakfast and assemble the parts of my French press for a cuppa the real thing later on.
I'm aware now that a lot of the coffee I drank while I was still working had to do strictly with caffeine intake as opposed to savoring the brew. There was no sludgy stuff I wouldn't at least sample first before deciding to do the mainframe computer operators a favor and brew up a fresh pot in their pantry back when I was in my 20s. I used to raid their lounge in the wee hours while waiting for some long running job to finish. I'd even swill the stuff down at room temperature if there was enough to fill a cup. Should have done instead like they were usually doing, having a cold one scarfed up from under the false floor where they kept six packs of beer well air-conditioned.
We are not glued too very closely to the "popular... but that you dislike" part of the thread topic, I guess... or else more people may have engaged with the idea of loathing coffee more often in this thread. It's a very popular brew in the USA at least but it has plenty of detractors or at least abstainers even here.
Coffee is on autopilot with me first thing in the morning, or at least with respect to that first (and, speaking of blasphemous) Keurig brew to get me conscious enough to figure out how to make breakfast and assemble the parts of my French press for a cuppa the real thing later on.
I'm aware now that a lot of the coffee I drank while I was still working had to do strictly with caffeine intake as opposed to savoring the brew. There was no sludgy stuff I wouldn't at least sample first before deciding to do the mainframe computer operators a favor and brew up a fresh pot in their pantry back when I was in my 20s. I used to raid their lounge in the wee hours while waiting for some long running job to finish. I'd even swill the stuff down at room temperature if there was enough to fill a cup.
Should have done instead like they were usually doing, having a cold one scarfed up from under the false floor where they kept six packs of beer well air-conditioned.
Why bother? They will eventually go to an avocado-deprived hell. And you will live the life eternal in Guacamole Paradise, where you don't have to share your avocados with any of them. So more of it for you!
Salted caramel is a favourite of mine, but not everyone shares my pleasure in this combination of flavours.
We eat quite a bit of avocado, besides being delicious, it's fantastically healthy!
This combination of sweets and salty presses my gustatory buttons.
As a child, one for the very few sweets (candies to Our Transatlantic Cousins) that I liked was butterscotch, and I love shortbread.
Indeed, this is the main - not quite sole (as I also love good artisan sausages) reason that I am not vegetarian.
I get the arguments, understand them and even agree with some of them. And, when I eat meat, I ensure that it is ethically sourced and has been properly reared - I usually buy it from the individuals who reared it.
However, do I wish to live in a world where I will never again taste that exquisite sweet and salty hit of Iberico Bellota ham - which comes from rummaging pigs that roamed, hunting acorns? No, I don't.