#104 - Great Expectations

Beanless Chili
Finally a sighting of my chili!  It's been a bit like the search for Bigfoot or a Yeti - this is the first time a sighting has been made (less the fresh jalepenos, cilantro/coriander and spring onions/green onions).  My ever reliable food chronicler sent this one through a couple of days after I left.

See post #103 for more about the chili - and my sister sent me a message tonight saying it still tops the list of things she wants when I come home, followed closely by the veggies below.

Passover
I have been invited to a Passover Seder on Tuesday night.  See this link for more information about the seder - http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1751/jewish/The-Seder-in-a-Nutshell.htm.

Zucchini "spaghetti"

No pressure, but my invitation to seder made a point of challenging my cooking skills in requesting a vegetarian side dish which complied with requirements to be Kosher for Passover.  Surprisingly enough, the thing that took the longest amount of time was the tomato sauce - especially since I had to look up the recipe because I forgot it and had left out the garlic and tomato paste.  It took forever to pass it through a sieve because I don't have a chinois here.  It was easier to make everything from scratch than to have to doctor something from the correct Kosher section or to check I didn't breach any rules (except the tomato paste, which I ran past my hosts).

Vegetarian "spring" roll - named by my sister

I can't get people to choose between the variations but hopefully some tasting by independent third parties will tell me if one of them is better than another.

The vegetarian "spring roll" and the veggie stack are both wrapped in savoy cabbage leaves, which were surprisingly hard to get in Hawaii for the family Christmas dinner and a previous attempt at something like this.

Veggie stack (aka vegetarian stuffed cabbage)

The veggie stack will somehow need to be changed slightly because it's meant to serve 26 people.  So far the Mise-en-place consists of 9 red bell peppers, 8 tomatoes,8 shallots, 2 bouque garni, I'm not sure how many zucchini, 1 savoy cabbage and...I think I forgot something.

Everything needs to be cooked just a bit more but I think it may just be a matter of getting the balance of the different vegetables and the sauce right.  There may not be enough sauce for the zucchini spaghetti so that may or may not make it to the dinner.

So until next time, happy Easter / Passover and food in good company.

#103 - Comfort food

Not your stereotypical chicken noodle soup
There's something about comfort food when it's cold and dark outside or when you're not feeling your best...or sometimes, just because.  In this case, it was a combination of nostalgia, laziness and a photo on Facebook.  A classmate of mine had made chicken long rice for her sick husband.  Chicken long rice is basically chicken stock, some seasoning (ginger, garlic and onion) and bean thread noodles - they say just enough stock to make the noodles float.  I didn't have bean thread noodles but I had everything else.


It's hard to get motivated when you're cooking just for yourself.  I have no problem making things for other people but somehow I often can't be bothered to do the same for myself - probably because it's always more impressive when someone else does it so it's hard to impress yourself.  Anyway - this is easy, tastes good and has a fast clean up!  No shiitake mushrooms so not quite as delicious looking as the one my high school classmate made, but good enough to inspire several rounds of the same over the next week or so.

Eating with family and friends
And then of course there's the obligatory cooking for family and friends because sometimes you just feel like it.  Or they request it.  Or someone knows how to make something you've always wanted to learn.  Or you go out somewhere and everyone has favorites they want to have...lucky for me, we happen to know who's quite good at documenting our foodie forays - when she manages to get the photos before people all dig, anyway!  A sample of a Friday night out with the girls (and B).  I think the pesto pasta was a bit of a disappointment because we had all expected there to be more pesto (can you see it in the photo?  I can't) - we were kind of looking for the pesto in the midst of all the cream.

For instance, the same friend who is so good at the food documentation also happens to be an excellent cook.  She made things which I never learned (sometimes you just have to learn these things from your Mom and this isn't what mine makes, although my Mom makes excellent roasts).  So we actually had a Sunday night in which we both contributed - some more (her) than others (me).  The result was very satisfactory though and we were all very, very full at the end of the meal.  I'd like to say it was an "elegant sufficiency" as my Mom and grandmother say, but there was nothing elegant about how we felt at the end of this dinner.

By request...
Despite having studied French cooking, the most requested item when I come home is beef chili.  I got the recipe from a cooking classmate - see the link below for her recipe - http://thefeastingfoodie.com/2012/11/07/let-it-snow/.

My parents are gluten free so instead of beer I use red wine (about 1//3 bottle or 250ml per 4 lbs / 2 kgs of beef) and no beans.  My sister and I don't like beans so we just make up the difference in weight with more meat, although I suggest 1 small can of tomato paste per 4 lbs / 2 kgs of beef.  We have yet to take a photo of the chili in its many incarnations as it always gets eaten before anyone manages to run for a camera.

The rest of the time we tend to do easy things for family meals because when you're cooking for kids and they have a bedtime, you can't fuss around too much.  We needed something a little more substantial than chicken noodle soup but the flavoring is very similar to the Chinese cold ginger chicken so I just did a quick stir fry instead.  Broccoli with the same flavorings and of course, evidence of some snacking also made their way onto this plate.  I didn't happen to have the bread or the cheese because I had been cooking at the time but I am told it was very good.  French bread from a bakery run by Japanese people - might sound weird but it's some of the best bread I've had outside of France.  And any time babies and little children like the chicken and broccoli is a cause for celebration since they can be such picky little eaters.

They say better a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.  We had a very happy and contented dinner, complete with laughter and finishing with hugs and kisses.  So until next time, happy eating with family and friends.