![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pax_athenaLJ-people - do me a favor and don't use the like function, OK? It's just - LJ is all about communication to me. Liking is great on twitter and FB (which I both only use professionally, incidentally) but on LJ ... I know this is not how you mean it (really; I know you mean it well and I know that my reaction is not logical, I'm just ... irrational), but it annoys me because it feels like the opposite of the kind of communication that made me fall in love with blogging and stay here and not wander over to other kinds of platforms. I would turn it off if I could.
Anyway - food. A lot of these dishes are, uhm, from the summer. I definitely don't eat cold soups in winter :D But given how cold Dutch summers are, it's not too bad. And yes, I keep cooking, even when stressed. I just need this. And maybe I'm also a bit worried about where my body is going to go to if I do not - I'm not that young anymore and we do have a good cafeteria; too good one, actually. Recipes, as always, on request.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chinese noodles with beef, napa cabbage and bell peppers. A very Germanized version of something that may have Asian (Chinese?) roots in the past, but also easy, yummy, filling, and healthy. Oh, and it heats up really well for lunch.
Kimchi fried rice is amazing. But with real kimchi, not the Russian version of it (which is nice in it's own right, but definitely not the same dish as the Korean one). It was worth the try, though - at least I know that kimchi fried rice is not an option until I move somewhere with a proper Korean store again.
Beans, tuna, onions, arugula. Perfect quick protein bomb combo for summer.
Pork with bell peppers and onions. This started out as skewers but I do not have the patience plus it tastes just as well pan fried. And what can I say - I love bell peppers. And onions.
Favorite pasta salad - I don't make this one too often because I just can't stop eating. It's also my favorite for when people visit because it's so versatile (actually, this one I made when a friend visited; the reason why the photo is from the leftovers I took with me for lunch next day).
Corn on the cob. I have corn on the cob for lunch/dinner twice every week during corn season. (Grilled corn is the best but I'll happily settle for oven baked since I usually don't have access to a grill.)
Another summer pasta salad: pasta, tomatoes, feta, onions, fresh basil. Good ingredients are key as always with dishes that simple.
Soups and stews never ever look good, at least not on my photographs. That's the omnia soup that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
advdiaboli introduced me to: lentil, veggies, a lot of cumin. Best with a piece of good German sourdough bread but also works with Dutch bread.
Yeah, I'm one of those people. But avocado sandwiches just are good!
Kefir-based okroshka: cold summer soup. OK, this version was ayran based because I could not find kefir in any of my two usual grocery stores (and later found it in a third one that is really far away) - it's better with kefir XD Although I do love ayran as a drink a lot.
Mustardy cabbage with chicken, walnuts and sesame. I think it wasseidenstrasse whom I convinced of that particular combo. Never would have thought I would like it, but it has been on heavy rotation for almost ten years now.
Random salad of cucumber, radishes, onions, dill, egg and yoghurt. Sour cream tastes better but I do not usually just have it in my fridge while yoghurt (usually Icelandic skyr) is a total staple.
The idea was good - but it turns out even though I can now enjoy them occasionally in curries or mixed with other sides, I, in general, still really dislike green beans D:
Quinoa pancakes - cooked quinoa gets mixed into the batter. It gives the final pancakes a nice, slightly crunchy structure.
And strawberry jam to go with the pancakes. Or something jam-like with little sugar and a lot of fruit.
Aubergine chips with feta.
Mexican inspired ... thing. That I absolutely love. Mince pan fried with corn and beans and onions with copious amounts of cumin, add to this fresh tomatoes, bell pepper and avocado. And some yoghurt or sour cream on the side.
The recipe sold this one as Nepalese inspired: pasta with cabbage and tomatoes. I liked the idea but the taste was meh ...
The repeat of the salad from above, without radishes but with scallions. And with sour cream this time.
Hot sandwich with pear and cheese. Goat cheese is somewhat better but normal cheese also works and if it's what one has in the fridge ...
A former colleague of mine brought this tuna bread to her goodbye party - I'm pretty sure I would have turned up my nose at the idea of tuna bread before. But oh gosh, was this good. So I asked for the recipe, made it and fell in love. The only problem is that, next to being super yummy, it is super nutritionally dense. I could eat half a loaf in a sitting but I really should only eat a few slices.
(The other "problem" is that it needs to cool before it tastes best. And I just. Don't. Have. The. Patience. :D)
A simple side salat. I have not been doing these often enough but I do love them, made with whatever I have on hand in terms of greens with onion and tomatoes and/or bell peppers an/or carrots.
Steak with oven baked veggie side. Proper steak is not something I actually know how to do. Here, I admitted it. Maybe I should learn, but I also don't often make steak home even though I love it when eating out.
Making scallion "fries" was a nice idea from a blog; I thought they would go well with the meat and they did. And oven baked carrots are always a win. I like with with a bit of thyme.
Simple tomato sandwiches. I bought several very pretty tomatoes at the market and still had some of the German bread a friend brought when visiting so this seemed the best way to use them :) I have very fond memories of eating tomato sandwiches withel_moofo and the grandfather of one of her friends in his house in Rockport, MA (a small, pretty seaside town North of Boston). Those were his homegrown tomatoes that no other can surpass, but the market ones were nice.
Oven-baked yoghurt-chicken (with copious amounts of cumin and coriander) with veggies and couscous. This is another of those recipes that morphed with time. It's more than 10 years since we cooked it first (back in Augsburg) - it's one of the recipes that ♥ picked out originally and modified it and then it went on from there ... It's a bit more work since the three things get cooked separately, but each one of them is actually comparatively easy. And once again, this one reheats well.
Anyway - food. A lot of these dishes are, uhm, from the summer. I definitely don't eat cold soups in winter :D But given how cold Dutch summers are, it's not too bad. And yes, I keep cooking, even when stressed. I just need this. And maybe I'm also a bit worried about where my body is going to go to if I do not - I'm not that young anymore and we do have a good cafeteria; too good one, actually. Recipes, as always, on request.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Chinese noodles with beef, napa cabbage and bell peppers. A very Germanized version of something that may have Asian (Chinese?) roots in the past, but also easy, yummy, filling, and healthy. Oh, and it heats up really well for lunch.
Kimchi fried rice is amazing. But with real kimchi, not the Russian version of it (which is nice in it's own right, but definitely not the same dish as the Korean one). It was worth the try, though - at least I know that kimchi fried rice is not an option until I move somewhere with a proper Korean store again.
Beans, tuna, onions, arugula. Perfect quick protein bomb combo for summer.
Pork with bell peppers and onions. This started out as skewers but I do not have the patience plus it tastes just as well pan fried. And what can I say - I love bell peppers. And onions.
Favorite pasta salad - I don't make this one too often because I just can't stop eating. It's also my favorite for when people visit because it's so versatile (actually, this one I made when a friend visited; the reason why the photo is from the leftovers I took with me for lunch next day).
Corn on the cob. I have corn on the cob for lunch/dinner twice every week during corn season. (Grilled corn is the best but I'll happily settle for oven baked since I usually don't have access to a grill.)
Another summer pasta salad: pasta, tomatoes, feta, onions, fresh basil. Good ingredients are key as always with dishes that simple.
Soups and stews never ever look good, at least not on my photographs. That's the omnia soup that
advdiaboli introduced me to: lentil, veggies, a lot of cumin. Best with a piece of good German sourdough bread but also works with Dutch bread.Yeah, I'm one of those people. But avocado sandwiches just are good!
Kefir-based okroshka: cold summer soup. OK, this version was ayran based because I could not find kefir in any of my two usual grocery stores (and later found it in a third one that is really far away) - it's better with kefir XD Although I do love ayran as a drink a lot.
Mustardy cabbage with chicken, walnuts and sesame. I think it was
seidenstrasse whom I convinced of that particular combo. Never would have thought I would like it, but it has been on heavy rotation for almost ten years now.Random salad of cucumber, radishes, onions, dill, egg and yoghurt. Sour cream tastes better but I do not usually just have it in my fridge while yoghurt (usually Icelandic skyr) is a total staple.
The idea was good - but it turns out even though I can now enjoy them occasionally in curries or mixed with other sides, I, in general, still really dislike green beans D:
Quinoa pancakes - cooked quinoa gets mixed into the batter. It gives the final pancakes a nice, slightly crunchy structure.
And strawberry jam to go with the pancakes. Or something jam-like with little sugar and a lot of fruit.
Aubergine chips with feta.
Mexican inspired ... thing. That I absolutely love. Mince pan fried with corn and beans and onions with copious amounts of cumin, add to this fresh tomatoes, bell pepper and avocado. And some yoghurt or sour cream on the side.
The recipe sold this one as Nepalese inspired: pasta with cabbage and tomatoes. I liked the idea but the taste was meh ...
The repeat of the salad from above, without radishes but with scallions. And with sour cream this time.
Hot sandwich with pear and cheese. Goat cheese is somewhat better but normal cheese also works and if it's what one has in the fridge ...
A former colleague of mine brought this tuna bread to her goodbye party - I'm pretty sure I would have turned up my nose at the idea of tuna bread before. But oh gosh, was this good. So I asked for the recipe, made it and fell in love. The only problem is that, next to being super yummy, it is super nutritionally dense. I could eat half a loaf in a sitting but I really should only eat a few slices.
(The other "problem" is that it needs to cool before it tastes best. And I just. Don't. Have. The. Patience. :D)
A simple side salat. I have not been doing these often enough but I do love them, made with whatever I have on hand in terms of greens with onion and tomatoes and/or bell peppers an/or carrots.
Steak with oven baked veggie side. Proper steak is not something I actually know how to do. Here, I admitted it. Maybe I should learn, but I also don't often make steak home even though I love it when eating out.
Making scallion "fries" was a nice idea from a blog; I thought they would go well with the meat and they did. And oven baked carrots are always a win. I like with with a bit of thyme.
Simple tomato sandwiches. I bought several very pretty tomatoes at the market and still had some of the German bread a friend brought when visiting so this seemed the best way to use them :) I have very fond memories of eating tomato sandwiches with
el_moofo and the grandfather of one of her friends in his house in Rockport, MA (a small, pretty seaside town North of Boston). Those were his homegrown tomatoes that no other can surpass, but the market ones were nice.Oven-baked yoghurt-chicken (with copious amounts of cumin and coriander) with veggies and couscous. This is another of those recipes that morphed with time. It's more than 10 years since we cooked it first (back in Augsburg) - it's one of the recipes that ♥ picked out originally and modified it and then it went on from there ... It's a bit more work since the three things get cooked separately, but each one of them is actually comparatively easy. And once again, this one reheats well.
Tags:
no subject
Date: 2018-02-15 04:04 am (UTC)I also love my mom's Chinese dry-fried green beans (something like this: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/chinese-dry-fried-green-beans-50054525 ) but I can never replicate it.
Those tomatoes look good. I'm starting to crave summer tomatoes, fresh from the vine. The last time J bought tomatoes from a grocery store (a month or so ago?) they were the nastiest things I've ever tasted.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-16 08:59 am (UTC)For the moment, I am happy that I stopped intensely disliking grean beans when they get served somewhere - it used to be sad if the veggie side turned out to be half green beans.
Yeah, grocery store tomatoes usually aren't great. I usually stick to the roma cherry kind; those tend to be OK even in winter. But they are super expensive in the USA from what I can remember. (They are still expensive here, but not quiet as crazy.) Nothing beats fresh ones from the vine, though - my downstairs neighbors in Somerville had several giant pots and sometimes would offer me to pick some when they could not use up all the ons that were ripe. Tomatoes, still warm from the sun ... Hmmm ...
no subject
Date: 2018-02-22 02:39 am (UTC)I'm trying to get our youngest to like snow peas. For some reason she doesn't like them. But she likes veggies that turn a number of people off, like Brussels sprouts, eggplants, ...!
Yeah, tomatoes are expensive here, esp the heirloom ones. Growing your own is definitely worthwhile. I learned you can freeze them whole!
no subject
Date: 2018-02-15 06:57 pm (UTC)How do you make the corn in the oven? We cook ours for ten minutes in hot water and eat it with butter or cream cheese.
Your favorite pasta salad looks good. What are the ingredients apart from tomatoes, onions, olives and, is that basil or rocket?
And pancakes in every variation are the best!
no subject
Date: 2018-02-17 07:59 pm (UTC)Pretty much same way as cooking - just put it in at 200°C (I like to do so as high as possible, in the hope that it will char a bit on the side) and wait until it reaches the degree of done-ness you want and that will highly depend on how young the corn is. I love the cooked version, too, but the oven made one seems mostly less work.
Rocket it is. There is also chicken - both chicken and salad benefit from a very generous use of basil, majoram and oregano. Usually dried, I have to admit, but fresh would be good. The rocket does look better on the first day, but tastes just as good on the second.
They are :D
no subject
Date: 2018-02-18 03:21 pm (UTC)When doing it for vegetarians, I substituted chicken for feta. It's different, but also good.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-24 05:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-02-24 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-02-16 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-02-17 08:00 pm (UTC)Und das mit irgendwo schön essen gehen müssen wir ja wirklich machen, irgendwo in der Mitte zwischen uns :D Also, wenn ich dann bald näher an dir dran bin.
no subject
Date: 2018-02-18 02:22 pm (UTC)Und ja, das machen wir, das steht fest!
no subject
Date: 2018-02-18 02:55 pm (UTC)