Dinner tonight - or last night.

i randomly bought gnocchi today at whole foods, just had a random craving. i will prob make that with some chicken. i went out last night and had late night wendy's, which was good, cuz i hadn't eaten all day and only bought the things that cost 99c

Napa cabage slaw with sesame seeds and mandarin oranges.

Tonight: a tandoor-ish Maryland chicken piece with a roast potato, steamed flat green beans & a salad of assorted greens, lots of red capsicum strips, kiwi fruit slices, cherry tomatoes with toasted pine-nuts thrown on top.

I'm making kitchen soup again...

So far, chopped onion and chopped anaheim chile sauteed in olive oil, and then an addition of can and juice/petite diced tomatoes. Then, a fish bouillion cube, and clam juice from a can of baby clams, and some water. I'll squish in some roasted garlic, add some chopped fresh green beans and a diced red potato. Still have some leftover cooked arborio rice, so that'll go in to the pot later... I think.

Changed mind, no rice. Adding some scrunched up dried linguini, deciding on italiano as the theme... so, a fat pinch of ital spice.

But, that's not why I'm posting.

I'm posting since Dys and Diane and I went to Ta Lin, the international market to hell and gone on the other side of Albuquerque.
I went crazy and spent $27.00 and got a whole lot of stuff to play with, which I'll list here -

Gits packaged Dal Makhani
their Palak Paneer
their Dhansak
their Punjabe Chhole

I've had the Palak Paneer before. Not the same wonderful dish as at my local restaurant, but a sustainer all the same.
On dal, I've made my own large vat of Dal once, and ruined it at the end, some huge number of ingredients and amount of time later. If I could buy something I liked in a package, then, hey.

Shan Pasanda Curry Mix
for filet steaks in creamy sauce - apparently just a spice mix for a yogurt ginger garlic onion sauce...

Shan Fish Biryani Mix
also for a yogurt sauce with dill, coriander, onion, garlic, green chile...

Gits - Rava Dosai Mix - to make a batter for "crepes"

Kungsornen Swedish Pancake and Waffle Mix

Su Tah Ramen Noodle Soup package - seems to be red pepper, carrot, onion, beef thing with many chemicals

Pojangmacha U-Dong
Welsh onion, red pepper, dried anchovy, sesame, and a bunch of crappo.

Banh Tam Bi
rice vermicelli

Por Kwan Beef Flavour Paste - a soup base
ingredients -
water, salt, soy bean oil, garlic, onion, parsley, monosodium glutamate, sugar, beef artificial flavour, soy sauce powder, Chili, cinnamon, clove, spices (cardomon, pepper).


Well, y'know me, I cook from scratch, but I'd like to clue in to ingredient matches I can use.

Plus, on this purchase I also got fresh sweet red peppers, two sweet potatoes, and a pound of green beans.... and some pasta in the half aisle that is devoted to italian stuff.

I foregoed (? word) the packaged samosas... the venison sausages...





Older woman loses mind in store..

Osso, do you have a Gourmet Warehouse near you? You'd think you'd died and gone to heaven.

On another note, I'm looking for a fantastic, spicy Pad Thai recipe and I'l willing to trade a fabulous Dum Aloo for it. (I do not want any packaged food, thank you!)

Any takesr?

But isn't it wonderful fun, osso, when one succumbs to exotic wonders?
There should be more of this sort of thing!

Me, tonight: zuppa - Vietnamese style!

I don't buy packaged food ordinarily, or canned food except for canned tomatoes, and beans, and even the beans I prefer to soak and simmer the regular way. So, yes, I've gone crazy.

No gourmet warehouse around here, Mame, though I'm used to "gourmet" type stores. Just not used to, lately, a store that has aisles labelled Beijing, Hong Kong, etc. Whee!

Well, here's one Pad Thai recipe. Most of the Pad Thai recipes at the top of the list on google were very similar. I've seen shrimp listed instead of Tofu, and cashews instead of peanuts. (I have no idea what Banana flower is.. unless it's a type of banana)

http://www.recipezaar.com/196219

Authentic Pad Thai, 2 servings
25 min 20 min prep

3 1/2 ounces rice sticks
1/3 cup extra firm tofu
1 1/2 cups chinese chives, green
1 1/3 cups bean sprouts
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons peanuts, crushed
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
1/2 teaspoon dried arbol chiles, ground
1 tablespoon preserved turnip
1 egg
1/3 lb shrimp
1/2 banana flowers, sliced lengthwise
2 lime wedges

Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients, for 10-15 minutes.
Julienne tofu and cut into pieces 1 inch long.
Cut up Chinese chives into 1 inch long pieces. Set aside a few fresh chives for a garnish.
Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh.
Mince shallot and garlic together.
Heat the oil in a wok on high.
Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok.
Add shallot, garlic and tofu and stir them until they start to brown.
The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking.
Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, chili pepper and preserved turnip. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if it is the case.
Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles.
Add shrimp and stir for a minute.
Add bean sprouts, chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.
Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with the fried peanuts. Serve hot with banana flower, a wedge of lime, raw Chinese chives and raw bean sprouts.

Thanks for that, osso. I'll try that when I'm feeling a bit more energetic.

An early dinner/late lunch today, on my way home from gadding around here & there all day. (Nice day! ) Almost home & I suddenly had an overwhelming desire for one of those scrumptious fetta & spinach pides that one of the Lebanese places (just near me) makes! Fantastic! I think I'm developing an addiction. Lovely to sit outside in the sun when I got home ... with a glass of sav blanc & a pide to munch on. All Fridays should be like this!

... So, are you folk in the US going to report on all your feasting on turkey & other assorted goodies?

Gits packaged food is great. I use it all the time but not for vegetables or curries, but for snacks...

.. um, I seem to be in the wrong country, G.
What is Gits packaged foods?

ms - Gits is a range of prepackaged indian food - ready to cook

See Here

I am sure it is available in Oz, given the large Indian population there - check out yr local Indian grocery store...

Ah, I see!

I just checked my cupboard to see what brand of similar goodies I have here, G, & I have something called Pattu brand. Very similar sorts of products, though I think the quality of yours might be better than mine.

Good morrow.

Goin out for dinner tonight and I've ordered duck spring rolls, sirloin steak and vanilla baby pineapple with ice cream.

x

Mr. M. loves perogies. We have a large Ukrainian population in Winnipeg, so good perogies are readily available, either through churches or a couple of Ukrainian restaurants/caterers. I tried to prepare them once, many years ago, and couldn't get the edges to stick. Too frustrating, so never again.

If you want the taste without the fuss and can't find perogies in the UK, try this recipe for lazy perogies.

15 lasagna noodles

2 cups (500 mls) cottage cheese
1 egg
dash of onion salt

1 cup (250 mls) cheddar cheese
2 cups (500 mls) mashed potatoes
salt to taste
dash of onion salt

1 cup (250 mls) or less butter or margarine
1 cup (250 mls) chopped onion

Cook noodles; drain and towel dry.

Mix cottage cheese, egg and onion salt. Spread over a layer of noodles in a 9 x 13 pan. Cover with another layer of noodles.

Mix potatoes, salt and onion salt, pepper and grated cheese. Spread over second layer of noodles. Top with third layer of noodles.

Melt butter/margarine and saute onion. Spread over top layer of noodles.

Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), covered. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with sour cream.

That looks a damn sight simpler than the real thing, mac!
(I could never get the little blighters to stick, either.)

Tonight I cooked a spinach pie, consisting of lots of ricotta, eggs, spinach (of course), fresh chopped dill .... & a layer of cherry tomatoes (cut in half) on top, with some fetta crumbled over it. The top came out nice & crispy & browned. Not bad for a rushed job!

Many thanks Mac. You know what? I might even try doing that.

Dinner last night was not very good really. Starter was ok. Steak was over cooked and the "baby pineapple" turned out to be just the middle bit of the pineapple which was rock hard and pretty much inedible! Still, couldn't really complain as I wasn't paying for it.

x

You can get packed frozen pierogi here in any (larger) supermarket, due to the large population of Germans from Russia and the Polish.

I remember that in the 50's, when more than 25 German refugees from the East lived in our house, a family from Silesia made "Pirogges" quite often - the only time, I had them "hand- and homemade" ... Didn't like it.

(By know I've learnt that there is a huge variety how to made them - from the original Baltic receipt to the more southern variations.)