BeeZee

Agree, the lighter colored purple skin variety is better for those who don’t care for the bitterness. The flesh is sweeter and there are no nasty big seeds. When braised, it becomes quite soft and I like to cut it in to chunks and simmer in thai curries. The skin is thin and becomes quite soft.

Pan seared tuna, crusted one side with everything bagel seasoning. Salad. TJ’s cauliflower gnocchi, these had been hanging out in the freezer for a while. I cooked them from frozen on a lightly oiled sheet pan, turning as they browned. Tossed in a bowl with some butter, pepper, parsley, and roasted garlic powder. The texture was chewy like regular gnocchi, they did crisp nicely in the oven, but there is a cauliflower aftertaste. DH liked them and I will make them again, but with a more strongly flavored sauce.

thanks for the suggestion, will look for one of Paula's books in my local library. Recipegullet has a chicken tagine recipe and two using lamb, which I don't eat. I need to find some non-traditional uses since it is a fairly large packet and I want to use it before it gets stale.

Mom brought me a gift from Morocco, some ras el hanout. It looks like it has a fair amount of turmeric, the color is dark gold. I know I could use it to marinate/season chicken, but what have you used it for (I saw Liuzhou’s posts in the dinner thread)? Also got some really nice saffron, for that I have future plans for paella (she shopped with a local guide to ensure she didn’t buy garbage).

Someone in my office brought in a pack of the carrot cake flavor Oreos today. The cookie part was softer than the usual chocolate wafer cookie (not sure if these were stale, or this is normal). They do taste like very sweet carrot cake. Not horrible, just very sweet and I couldn't eat more than one.

"Flavor Promise" grapes purchased from WF - sweet and the skin is thinner than red grapes usually have, crunchy/firm texture. Bagel with provolone.

“elaborate”

I wound up hosting unexpectedly, Mom found out she had a fractured foot on Friday. She directed Dad on making brisket on Saturday, chicken on Sunday, and brought them to my house...brisket sliced in her crock pot for transport and reheat. I made a simple salad heavy on the radiccio, garnished with some orange sections. Tahini-maple dressing. Challah. Steamed green beans with butter and everything bagel seasoning. Noodle kugel made with dried apricots and ricotta (everyone agreed it was better than cottage cheese). Uncle brought chocolate babka and rainbow cookies (Jewish/Italian bakery!).

I have this very tile, my parents brought it back for me several years ago!

First thing that comes to mind for me, regarding "ultraprocessed" vs high calorie/high salt. Consider McD's chicken nuggets. Compare to the same weight or volume of homemade fried boneless chicken. I'd venture a guess that the nuggets, being "ultraprocessed" were more calorie dense (and higher in sodium) than the unprocessed chicken with breading. Processing, to me, is where you take a bunch of food products and chemicals and combine them to simulate a natural product.

Interview in today’s Inquirer with the family who makes Sweetzels...they also make Ivans for Acme!

Moon drop grapes

Getting to the end of grilling season for us, made Eggplant salad...I make some version of this a lot...it is nice served warm or room temp, a crumble of feta on top goes well also. Eggplant (thickly sliced, grilled, then chopped), red bell pepper (blackened skin removed, then chopped), diced roma tomatoes, minced shallot. Oregano, balsamic, red wine vinegar, s&p, olive oil, a squirt of honey because one of the eggplants was bitter. Leftovers for lunch, it is good with hummous and pita.

Found this amusing.

Spotted at my local ShopRite today.

Diner classic last night, tuna melt. Made with swiss cheese (which I actually prefer vs cheddar), thin tomato slices under the cheese (which allowed the tomato to warm up when the cheese was broiled), and bread properly grilled so it didn’t get soggy. It’s one of those things I’ll order maybe once a year, so I can appreciate when the elements come together like they should.

I have a box of Sweetzels in the pantry (courtesy of Acme Market), ate about half of a sleeve over the past couple of days. I keep thinking that the tub-o-cheesecake filling might be pretty damn good to dip them in. Although I've never eaten that product, so maybe it's really foul and processed tasting and I'm setting myself up for disappointment (the dream is better than the reality).

Lunch at home...leftover salmon that we had cooked on a cedar plank on the grill, drizzled a little sesame/ginger dressing over and sprinkled everything bagel seasoning on top. Open face on wheat bagel.

Made my summertime standby today, corn, avocado, black bean salad. 4 ears of corn, grilled with husks (I pulled half of the husk off so there was a thinner layer). I like the kernels to stay tender for the salad. 3 Roma tomatoes, diced. 2 mini avocados, diced. Small can (5-6 oz?) black beans, rinsed. One lime, juiced. Salt, pepper, aleppo pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, cilantro, couple of shakes chipotle hot sauce, tbs of olive oil. I pretty much just add seasonings and mix/taste/adjust until I like it.

I love apples...in the Fall/Winter I will often make a big batch of baked apple chunks (I like Macoun for this) and portion/freeze for snacks/desserts. Nothing says Fall like the smell of apples baking!

Enjoyed reading this very much, thank you.

If you use more tahini than oil, it will freeze better, but I've not frozen it for more than a month.

@liamsaunt, I so enjoy the seafood-centric meals. I did notice, and it is a huge pet peeve for me, the fish tacos swimming in liquid. Last time I had that kind of situation I wound up having to knife/fork them because the tortilla disintegrated.

I am finding I am getting more skeeved out by textures. I may come to a point that I go 100% vegetarian because if I have a bite of a protein that is the wrong texture to me, I start to feel a gag reflex and it puts me off the rest of it. At this point I don't eat beef, pork, or lamb. I eat poultry, fish, and shellfish (average 2x a week). Crispy bug, like chapulines, I would try, since I already eat soft shelled crab. If I had to survive in the wilderness I would guess instinct would over-ride aversion. I hope not to test that.