What's Cooking in Sophia's Kitchen ?

We need to introduce U to OmSigDavid.

fruits makes me fat and i dont eat rice except occasionally, but the yogurt is a plan for tomorrow-with raw spinach and maybe chopped boiled eggs. we will see how much work gets done on the tooth tomorrow morning and what time i get home. i dont think we have parsley, i used to love tabouli salad-in fact i am not sure there is really anything here comparable to bulghur, but other than that purpose parsley is not really indispensable to me.

the one thing i love so much that i cant get here is tarragon...even if only for a few things, it is fabulous-especially potatoes which i only eat once in awhile because of the starch and sugar issues.

say pepijn, maybe you would know this...i dont know what jamun is in english, i am not sure it is available outside of india-a purple fruit of some kind, not a plum...anyway, i have this vinegar...jamun vinegar. well that is what they say here but i say it is wine-and not the cooking kind. three times now when i drank it (just an ounce or two) i got a terrible stomachache and had to go to bathroom right away... but i think when i cook it i dont have any problem...i hope so, because it really tastes good.

my question is, (actually i know the alcohol disappears after cooking) can there be something wrong with this 'vinegar' or is there something wrong with me? do you know of any vinegar being like a wine that you can drink...?

I love home-made pizza's ! Just the fun of selecting the toppings... You make the dough yourselfs ? I use foccachio dough but I am curious how others make it. Enjoy your day ! Nice to meet you on this Forum.

Thanks Pep (may I call you that?). Welcome to you.

Alas, I do not make the dough (I know I should!). Boboli these days -- we are busy folk. I've never tried it with focaccia dough and I do, at times, make focaccia.

Today will, alas, be mainly commercial fare but tomorrow will be whole wheat pasta with various vegs. I'm a serious dieter so the fare is mainly peasant-ish but don't tell anyone I kinda like it that way.

Salima, hi, I wonder if the fruit you're thinking of is a sloe. Is it very tart?

PS Welcome if I have not yet welcomed you. If I have, well, then, welcome again.

Waiting for my chicken from the oven. Made it with lemon-tyme, onions, white wine and some salt & pepper. Side-dishes: aubergine and potatoes with tomatoes. Really Mmm ! Can not wait...

Why ?

He's our resident phonetic speller.

(Hees r resident fonetic speller.)

Ooh. I am just a confused Dutch who can't spell either US way or British. On the Continent we speak Euro-English now...

Too hot here for anything from the oven. It's roasted vegs and whole wheat pasta tonight; it's all already made so it just needs to be zapped. Plus homemade tomato sauce to throw over it. It's 92 F here right now, that's something like 33 C, yes?

Hello Salima ! How are U ? I thought about the vinegar... They do make vinegar from wine so there might be alcohol involved in making the product. I never heard of getting tipsy on vinegar yet though.

Eating fruits with lots of fibre and less sugar should be alright; breaking down the fibres will take care of the calories/fruit-sugars and still U get the vitamines and anti-oxydants (spelling...). Avocado is a healthy fruit U could eat. It contains good fats, vitimenes B & E and is easy to use in salads.

I can't find the fruit U mention. I don't think we have it in the market I go to. Tomorrow I look again, also in the Asian toko. Maybe a good fruit for a chutney... Now I am curious !

Ciao belle from sunny Amsterdam

Amsterdam is getting pretty warm now. Made a banana-apple chutney and a shrimp-egg curry today. Served with boiled potatoes; it was nice, but not spectecular. Still difficult to cook spicy meals !

I wonder if chutneys exist out-side of India...

Hi Pepjin, the particular chutney and curry you describe sound much more Indonesian in origin than Indian.

Given that you're posting from Amsterdam that'd make a great deal of sense.

It sounds like you made a good meal - though not something I could eat on a hot day.

The chutney probably is half-indonesian. After the de-kolonalisation lots of people from Indonesia came to live here. The curry is an adaptation of a curry with chicken with curry madras and grass lemon. I like a bit specie but keep thinking it difficult to get it right...

Thanks, Arjuna. I'll stop worrying about butting in here then! Good thread, I'm interested.

I found a cooking-book from 1974 decribing preserves, chutneys etcetera. Chutneys are originaly a Indian side-dish. They were usually prepared fresh, lots of times with parsley and koriander.

The sweet-and-sour preserves are more of a kolonial invention. The Indonesian rice-table is another exemple of kolonial cuisine. "Indian" chutneys were also cooked in Indonisia. When Dutch people returned from Indonesia they adapted the receipes to local produce like apples.

Nice to show interest; you are informed about Europe and it's past I guess...

i dont believe i have ever seen an avocado in india...but i dont think they would suit me anyway. i am particular about fruit-no bananas, no on melons except watermelon, no mangoes, keri i love though-keri chutney is fantastic, both sweet cooked or onion raw. i love oranges, lemons, pineapple, grapefruit, pears, grapes, strawberries...but more i dont like than i like.

fresh fruit is too expensive and not practical for a single person to buy. if i buy a 2 kg watermelon (smallest available) i have to eat lots of watermelon for four days. so i do, but only once or twice a year. sometimes the fruit vendors wont sell me one or two pieces, depends on their attitude. i had one refuse to sell me a small amount even though i said i would give him the price of whatever amount he wanted me to buy-maybe he didnt understand me.

i love spices, the more the better, and hot enough to make a native indian cry.

i have determined it was not the eggs that got me in the stomach...maybe i will have a nice glass of vinegar before i go to bed tonight and test out my theory for sure...

can i make a quiche in a microwave? or eggs florentine? bought 1 kg spinach today...mummy loved my potatoes with spinch (and jamun vinegar).

Hi Salima; if you like specie I have some Indonesian receipies for U. The most simple hot, hot dish is a sambal called oelek. U cut 10 lomboks (spanish red peppers) very, very small pieces (or use a machine) and mix with a dining-spoon of salt.

Another one is a sambal with tomatoes. Cut 4 to 5 tomatoes to small pieces. Mix 2 spoons of cut onions and 3 finely cut lomboks, with some salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmag. Fry this mix in some oil. Add tomatoes and 10 cc (half a cup) of vinegar. Cook till it's a jelly. Add sugar to taste. Salt intensifies the taste.

I found more sambal receipes; with shrimp or soy-beans, but I am not familiar with the other ingredients. I will check in an Indonesian shop.

Thinking of Ur vinegar

i will try the vinegar one-what kind of vinegar do you use?

of course i am a vegetarian, so shrimp is out of bounds. we use soy bean oil here for cooking mostly, i am not sure soy beans are available raw...if they are, let me know if there is anything i can do with them but not in a sort of tofu way, something like a bean soup or veggie dish, does that work with soy beans?

no bad effects from the vinegar last night as yet...going to the dentist today for my second twin root canal. food will be better when my teeth are closed up and the sharp pointed edges smoothed out...

Hope the dentist was OK... Was this your last visit ?

I use different vinegars. For cooking and preserves a very plain one, but for salads and side dishes I have white and red balsamico, a Spanish vinegar called Xeres (made in the sherry-region) and a fruity one. I do the same with oils... Results in a full fridge; but I think you taste the difference and can stay economic.

Hi Pepijn, nice to see you again !
Well, I go around my business as usual...it seams enough for me !
Eating is part of the deal of course...