What did you cook or Bake today? (2018)

[Val]

Last night I made lasagna using the recipe from the veg*n restaurant that serves the best lasagna ever. It took forever to make, but it turned out really well. And there's enough left over for dinner again tonight!

Aaah, lasagna!... If only i had enough patience and skills to make my own veg*n one! When i was an omni, me and my ex husband used to eat a lot of fast preparation lasagna with beef, ham and cheese, and we do have lasagna noodles in some grocers now, but i'm too faint-hearted. Do you bake it in the oven, or somehow else?

 

[Katrina]

Aaah, lasagna!... If only i had enough patience and skills to make my own veg*n one! When i was an omni, me and my ex husband used to eat a lot of fast preparation lasagna with beef, ham and cheese, and we do have lasagna noodles in some grocers now, but i'm too faint-hearted. Do you bake it in the oven, or somehow else?

Yeah, I boil the noodles for a few minutes before adding them to the lasagne. Then put it all in the oven, and the noodles finish cooking that way.

 

[Tom L.]

I made rice successfully in my slow-cooker over the weekend. This time I used short-grain brown rice, not white rice- and although it was a bit sticky, the grains had not melted together- they remained separate and a little chewy. I preheated the water in the pot and added the rice after it was quite hot. I cooked it on high for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then turned the pot off, leaving it covered so the rice could absorb the rest of the water.

 

[Mischief]

I bought some baby eggplant when I stopped by the Indian market for ginger root the other day. I'm not particularly fond of eggplant, but the baby eggplant are always so cute that I can't resist buying them.

Then, a couple of days ago, my sister and I stopped at Penzey's spices. We both really liked the scent of their Rogan Josh seasoning blend, which we had never encountered before.

So today I made a tomato sauce with sauteed onions, garlic, Rogan Josh seasoning and fresh ginger, and poured it over the baby eggplant and mushrooms and baked it. I made gingered rice, with carrots and peas, to eat with the eggplant dish. We each had seconds.

Now I've just taken a loaf of sourdough out of the oven.

 

[silva]

I made pepper tofu and zucchini. Fresh Thyme has their own organic brand now and has super firm! It's much like Trader Joes!

I need to go to Penzys Spices. That Rogan Josh sounds good! My co worker I eat with had a dish with berbere spices he got there. Smelled so amazing! He apologized that it was chicken and I couldn't taste it..
@Mischief -can you taste the cinnamon in that or does it meld with the others? I dislike it savory dishes if it's pronounced- like I'll never use garam masala by itself

 

[silva]

I bought some baby eggplant when I stopped by the Indian market for ginger root the other day. I'm not particularly fond of eggplant, but the baby eggplant are always so cute that I can't resist buying them.

Then, a couple of days ago, my sister and I stopped at Penzey's spices. We both really liked the scent of their Rogan Josh seasoning blend, which we had never encountered before.

So today I made a tomato sauce with sauteed onions, garlic, Rogan Josh seasoning and fresh ginger, and poured it over the baby eggplant and mushrooms and baked it. I made gingered rice, with carrots and peas, to eat with the eggplant dish. We each had seconds.

Now I've just taken a loaf of sourdough out of the oven.

I like using eggplants to make sauces

 

[Mischief]

I made pepper tofu and zucchini. Fresh Thyme has their own organic brand now and has super firm! It's much like Trader Joes!

I need to go to Penzys Spices. That Rogan Josh sounds good! My co worker I eat with had a dish with berbere spices he got there. Smelled so amazing! He apologized that it was chicken and I couldn't taste it..
@Mischief -can you taste the cinnamon in that or does it meld with the others? I dislike it savory dishes if it's pronounced- like I'll never use garam masala by itself

I didn't taste the cinnamon - like you, I dislike it in savory dishes, although I love it in baking, oatmeal, etc.

To me, the rogan josh from Penzey's has a lot of depth and delicacy. My sister and I both liked it a lot.

ETA: Penzey's has open jars of most of the seasonings, including the rogan josh, so you can smell before buying.

 

[Tom L.]

Yay forbidden rice! It's tasty, nutrucious, beneficial, dense and chewy. It can hardly be overcooked. I guess a year or so it was very common in our grocers, and we were eating tons of it, but nowadays i can't find it in my home town. I'm still hoping to find it, and as tomorrow we're going to "Spar" in the surburban town close to our village, i'll be looking for it. What about red rice, it is as common as black beans or something, and pretty affordable, but it's hard to cook it .

I did a bit of googling and found out how Forbidden Rice got its name. Its yield per acre is very low- I think my source said only about 10% of other rice varieties!!!- which means the farmers had to charge more for it to make it worth their while to grow, and only the rather well-to-do could afford it. But it's quite high in anthocyanins, which give it its dark color and are supposed to have health benefits.

I stopped off at the health food store about a week ago and they still had Forbidden Rice, as well as at least one other variety of blackish rice. They also had a pink rice and I think a green rice, but I got the impression that these rices were mixed with something that gave them their color. I didn't see any red rice though.

I'm another one who has trouble getting used to cinnamon in a savory dish, even though many Indian recipes use it that way. I'm stuck in a "cinnamon=sweet" mindset.

 

[Val]

I did a bit of googling and found out how Forbidden Rice got its name. Its yield per acre is very low- I think my source said only about 10% of other rice varieties!!!- which means the farmers had to charge more for it to make it worth their while to grow, and only the rather well-to-do could afford it. But it's quite high in anthocyanins, which give it its dark color and are supposed to have health benefits.

I stopped off at the health food store about a week ago and they still had Forbidden Rice, as well as at least one other variety of blackish rice. They also had a pink rice and I think a green rice, but I got the impression that these rices were mixed with something that gave them their color. I didn't see any red rice though.

I'm another one who has trouble getting used to cinnamon in a savory dish, even though many Indian recipes use it that way. I'm stuck in a "cinnamon=sweet" mindset.

Forbidden rice is as rare as Wild rice (Zizania), which is also blackish and it is strictly not a rice at all, but it is always mixed up with forbidden rice. Zizania is even more beneficial, but rediculously expensive (i saw it at the grocer two weeks ago, and i was happy about it, and was ready to get it, but then i noticed the price: $9.5 for lb). Screw wild rice!I'm eating peas now and i'm satisfied.
What about cinnamon, there is nothing weird in not loving it,- i hate it since childhood.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

Frittata muffins are done! They look & smell like they turned out great! I won't be able to find out personally.



The pan on the right is awesome (from the new-ish set). They just popped right out, no problem!



Anyhoo, the small round container is for my friend Bobbi, the big plastic one is for Jerry....

 

[Val]

Frittata muffins are done! They look & smell like they turned out great! I won't be able to find out personally.

View attachment 14205

The pan on the right is awesome (from the new-ish set). They just popped right out, no problem!

View attachment 14206

Anyhoo, the small round container is for my friend Bobbi, the big plastic one is for Jerry....

View attachment 14207

I demand a bite!

 

[silva]

Frittata muffins are done! They look & smell like they turned out great! I won't be able to find out personally.

View attachment 14205

The pan on the right is awesome (from the new-ish set). They just popped right out, no problem!

View attachment 14206

Anyhoo, the small round container is for my friend Bobbi, the big plastic one is for Jerry....

View attachment 14207

You should do that with tofu next!

 

[silva]

Just sauteed mushrooms, peppers,onions, garlic, TJ's sprouted tofu and long green beans. Stirred in a bit of hoison at serving

 

[MadamSarcastra]

You should do that with tofu next!

I'm waiting for Just Scramble to be available.... Then I'm going to make every eggy-type thing I've been craving. I can't tell ya how many times I opened up that container in Jerry's fridge tonight, just to take a whiff... those things smelled soooo good!!

I prefer tofu for, say, a spinach/artichoke dip or a vegan ricotta filling, but not much else. I made a tofu quiche last year... it was very good... but tofu just doesn't cut it for me, I'm afraid. LOL


And before anyone else mentions black salt again.... No. Just no. I'm a low-sodium b*tch. I will not use salt as a flavoring.

 

[Tom L.]

Forbidden rice is as rare as Wild rice (Zizania), which is also blackish and it is strictly not a rice at all, but it is always mixed up with forbidden rice. Zizania is even more beneficial, but rediculously expensive (i saw it at the grocer two weeks ago, and i was happy about it, and was ready to get it, but then i noticed the price: $9.5 for lb). Screw wild rice!I'm eating peas now and i'm satisfied.
What about cinnamon, there is nothing weird in not loving it,- i hate it since childhood.

YIKES- almost $10/lb for rice (or, rather, something often thought of as rice?)... Yup- peas for me too, please...

I do generally love cinnamon; it's one of my most favorite spices. I just don't like it in something savory. But I definitely get why someone might not like it. It comes on rather strong, both in taste and aroma.

 

[silva]

Speaking of cinnamon- do all garam masalas feature it? It seems like curry powder with cinnamon! I ruined a Rajma with it once. Won't buy it again, sticking to curry powders, cardoman, cumin seeds, curry leaves

 

[MadamSarcastra]

IMO, cinnamon is only good in sweet stuff (which I don't like) or as a room fragrance.... LOL

 

[Val]

Speaking of cinnamon- do all garam masalas feature it? It seems like curry powder with cinnamon! I ruined a Rajma with it once. Won't buy it again, sticking to curry powders, cardoman, cumin seeds, curry leaves

I'd bought a big box of prepacked garam masala from India in a vegan shop, and it didn't contain cinnamon. I still have a part of it in my pantry, but i can't eat too much of it, - it's TOO spicey. What about curry powder,- on daily basis, we have only curry prepacked seasonings without cinnamon. I do read labels, and i wouldn't have bought anything containing it.
P.S. Maybe there are different types of garam masala?

 

[Tom L.]

Nothing much... just some plain slow-cooked white beans. I'll divide them into 3 portions and freeze 2 of them, then i'll use them in other stuff I'll be making... like slow-cooker brown rice tomorrow.

And before anyone else mentions black salt again.... No. Just no. I'm a low-sodium b*tch. I will not use salt as a flavoring.

I don't even have salt in my house. I know it's a necessary nutrient, but it's so common in almost any food I don't prepare from scratch that I just know I get plenty of it without trying.

 

[MadamSarcastra]

I don't even have salt in my house. I know it's a necessary nutrient, but it's so common in almost any food I don't prepare from scratch that I just know I get plenty of it without trying.

Good for you!