posted
Thanks, Tante and rivka. Things aren't really OK, but I don't know if they're merely bad or actually terrible yet. I'll most likely be pretty scarce for a while, although I'll be following the recipe challenge.
Prince Clan is working again, and the categories for rounds 2 & 3 are available for adding recipes.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Things aren't really OK, but I don't know if they're merely bad or actually terrible yet.
Well, crud. I'm sure you don't deserve that. I do hope that problems get swiftly and favorably resolved. I wish you the best.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'd be interested in playing, but not this weekend 'cause we're going camping. I have a feeling I'll be at a bit of a disadvantage - we recently moved and the pantry is a bit bare - but it still sounds like a lot of fun.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Last round, I was just coming off of Passover and a houseful of guests that ate up everything we had. I did a "regular" shopping -- not with the contest in mind, but getting the stuff that I'd ordinarily get to keep in the house.
And it wouldn't have to be before this weekend, anyway. I'd be interested in seeing what you'd make.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Research is allowed, right? I would have had no idea what to do with, say, parsnips, unless I was allowed to look them up...
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm back in Trinidad and ready to start on round three if others are.
Well actually, my house is a disaster. All my personal possessions that were lost at sea for three weeks finally arrived. I returned from the states Sunday night to find my living and dining area packed to the ceiling with boxes and furniture.
But things are starting to get in order and I've made enough progress to believe my kitchen will be ready to cook in by the end of the week. (We need a keep your fingers crossed emoticon).
I think we agreed that round three would be a starch course (i.e. pasta, rice, potatoes, polenta etc.). The ingredients we submit should not be the base ingredient, that will be a variable left to each cook.
If you want to play, submit one ingredient by Sunday and I will post the list on Monday.
If we don't get enough people, I may ask each person for a second ingredient.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
If no one submits a meat/fish ingrediant, will they all be vegi, or will we get to choose that too? (Don't care one way or another - just wondering )
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
We didn't specifically discuss that but we did decide that the 4th round would be a protein entree and we would leave the base ingredient (meat, fish, tofu . . .) up to the cook.
I think that for the starch dish, meat and fish should be subject to the general anything you normally have in you house rule.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
If you want to participate, send an e-mail with one ingredient to hatrack_recipes at yahoo dot com before Monday Morning.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Is it considered cheating to do it with someone? I'm still too new on the whole exploratory cooking thing to be brave enough to venture this on my own...
Posts: 1355 | Registered: Jul 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Sounds fine to me. When there are no winners, losers, or judging, cheating is kind of a nebulous concept.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by cmc: Is it considered cheating to do it with someone? I'm still too new on the whole exploratory cooking thing to be brave enough to venture this on my own...
I don't see any problem with doing it with someone. It sounds fun.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I've got a problem. Rhubarb simply doesn't seem to be available in Trinidad so I'm trying to find a rational substitute. I'm thinking of using Tamarind because it has a similar sort of tartness but the texture is very different. What do you think?
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'd agree that tamarind would be a decent substitute for rhubarb. And I'd be very intersted to see what you come up with - I expect you'll go South Asian given the tamarind, turmeric, sour cream, and bindi (okra).
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like all those things. I just have to find a way to make them get along. I don't think I've ever combined rhubarb with mushrooms.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm done. Should I post it now, or wait so as not to unduly influence anyone else's creative process?
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
My brain has finished its storming process, but I haven't been shopping, yet. And it looks like I won't be until Friday, when I shop and cook for Shabbos. We'll be eating the rhubarb-okra-mushroom thing for Shabbos, so I'll likely post my recipe on Saturday night or Sunday.
You go ahead and post it now, if you like, and I'll do my level best not to feel too inferior.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: Okra is a great thickener. It doesn't have to taste like anything if you just use it as a thickener...
Ok. Sample recipe, perhaps?
Um... Gumbo?
Honestly, I've never used okra in anything I measure. I just use it in saucy or stew-y things and put it in early, so it kinda dissolves into the sauciness and thickens it. It could definitely be used to thicken a rhubarb sauce, for instance, and if the two were used together could be not that noticeable in either texture or taste.
Not to "cheat," since I'm not really playing. Just thinking out loud, as it were. As a fellow non-okra-lover (usually.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Stewed okra functions pretty much the same as stewed tomatillos as a thickener, now that I think of it. (But tomatillos taste better. )
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
We both had the day off yesterday, so in between frantic bursts of sorting and packing Bob went grocery shopping and I cooked. (Then we found out that we have a house showing today and we frantically cleaned up from all the packing and sorting. And now we're so stiff we can barely move.)
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
Moan!! Having recently sold a house and moved, I can honestly sympathize.
Right now, I'm in the unpacking phase, which also goes in frantic bursts. If I didn't own so many galdang books, I probably wouldn't be quite so stiff or have so many bruises. Do other people get bruses on their thighs from moving heavy boxes. I must do something with my thighs where I prop them up or lift them as they fall, I've never really noticed myself doing it but I know I end up with a lot of bruises.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: Do you normally have lunch a 1:31 am?
Well, I usually have lunch around 2:30 or 3 AM, but I didn't eat lunch at 5 pm, like I usually do, and I was hungry, so I had lunch early.
Yeah, I eat two or three meals a day, and they're all lunch. In fact, I just got home from work, and I'm eating lunch in front of the computer right now -- cottage cheese with tomato and tumeric (yeah, I'm trying out flavors), and some canned salmon. I'll be going to sleep before very long, too.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I thought they went surprisingly well together.
I also get the bruises on my legs from moving, I think you're probably right about using thighs to balance/shift boxes.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I have made several indian dishes in the past that call for both tomatoes and tumeric so I wasn't ever worried about that one. Its the tumeric and rhubarb that has be a bit concerned.
Who knows, maybe curried rhubard will be the next hot trend in east/west fushion cuisine.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I get bruises on my hips when I move. I tend to rest boxes there (right on the bone) while opening/closing doors and such. I think I sometimes get smaller bruises on my thighs from where the bottom edge hits me when I take a step, if I can't lift it high enough to clear my waist.
Posts: 1547 | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I used sweet potatoes and spring roll wrappers as my starch base and made an South Asian style "Lasagna". The recipe gets kind of complicated but it tasted deliciousl. All the parts can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated until you are ready to serve.
This Lasagna type dish is made using spring roll wrappers with layers of stir fried curried vegetables, sweet potato puree and a tomato tamarind chutney sauce.
Stirfried Okra, Mushrooms and Cabbage
2 Tbsp Tamarind paste ½ pound of Okra ½ pound of button mushrooms ½ pound of cabbage 1 small onion 2 tsp garlic paste 2 tsp minced fresh ginger ½ tsp tumeric ½ tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander seed dried red chilli powder (to taste) salt to taste 2 Tbsp olive oil
Chop okra and mushrooms into ~ ¼ inch chunks. Dice cabbage. Thinly slice the onion. Heat oil in a skillet. Add onions and sauté until lightly caramelized. Add garlic and ginger and sauté briefly before adding remaining vegetables. Stir fry vegetables until they soften. Mix tamarind with 1 cup of water and add to vegetable mixture with remaining spices. Simmer on low heat until most of the liquid is gone. Add salt and chilli powder to taste and reserve
Sweet Potatoe Puree
2 large sweet potatoes 1 cup sour cream ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg 2 tsp ghee 1 tsp mustard seed 1 tsp cumin seed 1 tsp dried red pepper powder salt to taste
Peel and cube sweet potatoes and cook in boiling water until soft. Drain sweet potatoes sweet potatoes. In a small frying pan, temper mustard, cumin and pepper. Add sourcream, nutmeg and the tempered spice to the mashpotates and blend until smooth and reserve.
Tomato and Tamarind Chutney
4 small tomatoes 1 Tbsp tamarind 2 tsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp brown sugar 1 Tbsp green mango chutney ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground cloves
Dice tomatoes. Combine with remaining ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil for ~ 2 minutes.
For assembly
Spring roll wrappers chopped peanuts cilantro sour cream nutmeg red pepper tumeric tomatoes.
To prepare individual servings beging by softening one spring roll wrapper briefly in water. Place wrapper on plate and put ~2Tbsp of the stir fried vegetables on one half of the wrapper and then fold the wrapper over. Spread ~1 Tbsp of the tomato chutney on top. Soften a second spring roll wrapper and place it overlapping the first so that is will fold in the opposite direction. Put ~2 Tbsp of the sweet potato puree on the spring roll wrapper directly over the vegetable mixture and then fold the wrapper over. Top with ~1Tbsp of the tomato chutney. Repeat the process to get four total layers. Place aside with you make remaining servings.
Microwave each serving for ~1 minute prior to serving. Cut the lasagna piece in half and arrange the two halves to reveal the layered structure. Garnish with peanuts, cilantro, spices, tomatoes and sour cream.
[ May 29, 2008, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: The Rabbit ]
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
2 T veg. oil 20 okra, sliced 6 stalks rhubarb, peeled & sliced 10 mushrooms, sliced 1 small Vidalia onion, cut into thin wedges turmeric paprika salt & pepper 2 T flour ½ c milk ½ c sour cream dried dill
1 lb cooked potato gnocchi 1 large roma tomato, seeded & diced
Heat oil in skillet until sizzling, add okra, fry until just starting to brown. Add rhubarb, stir for a few minutes, add mushrooms and then onions. Sprinkle generously with turmeric & paprika, lightly with salt & pepper. When everything is cooked reduce heat and stir in flour until well mixed and no dry lumps of flour remain. Add milk, stir and cook until thick & bubbly. Turn heat to very low, add sour cream and sprinkle with a little dill. Toss with gnocchi, then mix in the tomatoes and serve immediately.
This was tasty, but the sour cream sauce with the gnocchi was a little heavy. If I were to do it again I’d either make it the same but serve it over fettuccini or make a lighter sauce for the gnocchi & veggies and then put a squiggle of turmeric-dill seasoned sour cream on top. *** So the next day I tried:
Okra-Rhubarb Stuffed Biscuits pic or Dumplings pic
10 okra, sliced 4 large stalks rhubarb, peeled & sliced 1 T sugar 2 mushrooms, coarsely chopped 1 c sour cream 3 c bisquick-style baking mix 1 t turmeric 6-8 oil-packed sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
Heat a non-stick pan over med-high heat. Put okra in pan and cook until just beginning to brown. Add rhubarb and ¼ c water, reduce heat to medium and cook until you have a gooey mass. Add sugar and mushrooms, leave to cook over low heat while mixing the dough. For dough, mix sour cream, baking mix, and turmeric to form a soft dough. Add sundried tomatoes. Spoon about 2/3 of the dough by large spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Form each blob into a nest and place a small spoonful of the veggie mix inside. Use the remaining dough to cover, and pinch edges to seal well. Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes for biscuits or cook in boiling broth 5-6 minutes for dumplings.
These were both yummy, but the dumplings cooked in chicken broth were definitely both Bob’s and my favorite of all three things I tried this round.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
quote:These were both yummy, but the dumplings cooked in chicken broth were definitely both Bob’s and my favorite of all three things I tried this round.
Is this the same as the biscuit recipe but cooked in chicken broth rather than baked or will we be getting a third recipe soon?
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Good luck. May it turn out to be not nearly as bad as you thought.
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
)
![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
Just thinking out loud, as it were. As a fellow non-okra-lover (usually.)
