What's for Dinner #43 - 03/2019 - the SMarch Edition

I can’t attest to it being hyper local, sadly - Trader Joe’s has the skinny asparagus for a short window at a throwaway price every year - they were quite fresh!

2 Likes

We had boneless Ribeye steaks for dinner last night. Way too large for either of us to finish in one meal. So, out comes the Cuisinart Wok to do a light stir fry tonight. Tossing in Mire Poix & huge button mushrooms to flesh it out a bit.

4 Likes

I was still hungry when I ate their meals
My son did not complaint he eats every 2 hours
they are tasty but by the time he gets to cook them, it is already 2 days old. In addition, he may be cooking but leaf a lot of mess for me…
I am trying to put a stop to it.
We had 4 weeks delivery before he left on Feb 2 bec I was sick but now, he reordered again.

1 Like

4 hour brined rib pork chops. Grilled with evoo s&p and a dash of garlic powder.
Grilled yellow onions and red pepper on the plate with some steamed broccoli. NO CARBS TONIGHT!

11 Likes

I was thinking it could potentially be repurposed in enchiladas, but every time I think about doing something else with it, it just seems to stretch the dish and prolong the eating :joy:

1 Like

I’m thinking it would act as a thickener adding flavor and texture

Of course I’ve never done that so could be way wrong

Oh, that’s what I thought. I’ve never made them, only had them from frozen or from the Indian market downtown. I haven’t really cooked much Indian at home but that’s changing. I guess I should give the packets a try to get my feet wet. My son really enjoys them, and they are a decent source of protein for him as a vegetarian.

I did have success making dosa batter from scratch (the batter fermented nicely) but cooking the dosas was a big fail. Maybe I’ll have more luck with the dhoklas.

Thanks for your help, Saregama!

1 Like

Sure! Any questions, ask away.

The instant dhokla packets are an easy way to go when you start (not the grocery items labeled “dhokla flour” - those need a different process). Look for Gits and MTR - they work reliably.

Or if you have besan/gram flour/chickpea flour, the yellow ones are easy to make without a packet too.

Not just for you - it’s really finicky. I think I mentioned this on another thread, but when in doubt make an uttapam instead - tastes the same and vastly less frustrating :joy:.

If your son likes this kind of indian food, poodas/chillas (essentially crepes) are easy and a good source of protein if you make them from any mix of lentil flours or ground lentils - no fermentation required.

1 Like

I do have besan so I can start there. Our market has a pretty large selection of MTR items, so that should work. I’ll also look for Gits. I’ll report back when I try my hand at them.

Oh, and thanks for the suggestion of poodas/chillas. I’m not familiar with them, but I’m sure he will be interested.

1 Like

The only thing I might do is what I did with my soup the other night - fish out the chicken, purée the rest, and re-spice it.

Might make a tasty, smooth black bean soup. Chicken could go into a quesadilla or on a salad.

Yes, some leftovers seem to reproduce over night and never get used up. I really hate to waste food but I’ve learned that there are times I just need to pitch it out. Like last nights misguided frozen egg-rolls. I cooked two and ate them as a snack. And realized I would never cook the remaining two. Either I throw them away then or they live forever in the freezer.

4 Likes

Here are recipes to start you off:

Khaman dhokla doesn’t usually have yogurt, but it makes them soft and ups the protein, so why not. You can buy Eno at the indian store - it’s a magical thing :joy:

Methi pooda / works with any mix of flours, and you can flavorings of your choice or skip them, like an omelette.

2 Likes

Thai green curry chicken for dinner - takeout, because I was feeling lousy earlier.

Love this version - they add a great assortment of mushrooms (king oysters!) plus asparagus, and their curry tastes of fresh herbs.

13 Likes

I personally thought it wasn’t bad, but the amount of packaging…I just couldn’t deal with it

1 Like

Late night non desk dinner! Aloo tikki Chaat, definitely not homemade but all the better for it

12 Likes

That’s where i bought mine a week or so ago! They were surprisingly good, cooked the whole package and it didn’t last 24hrs in my household of one :joy: just wished i had bought more…!

I had stopped at my neighbor friends’ apartment to say hi and chat a while this afternoon and she had just opened a bag of Trader Joe’s plantain chips, the plain ones, and they were SO BAD!! Too thick and hard and needed salt and just no. Both of us were baffled.

Therefore i stopped in at the corner bodega for some proper plantain chips! This brand is a little thicker than others but it’s salted right and the chips shatter instead of breaking into tough hard chunks.

Reheated some veggie tofu curry from the freezer, topped with cilantro, it looked waaaaay better the first time around! Turned a not beautiful color somehow… So this is the good pic

Kombucha a la carte, crazy bubby bottle that fizzed up and out! I know better and always open it over the sink thankfully

12 Likes

Whaaaaaat? I love them. But I find them very salty!

I had issue with that too. But they did provide a good solution at the time. I was helping a friend recover from surgery. Hello Fresh gave her more control over the meals I prepared, cut down my time spent shopping/prepping and served as a stepping stone for her to begin to be able to cook again. I would use them again if I were housebound and unable to stand for any length of time.

The bag with the purple label?? I mean someone likes them since they’ve been around a while but the bodega ones are soooo much better! Nothing funky in the bodega ones either (hahah I thought maybe there’s msg! Just plantains, vegetable oil, salt and garlic)