shain

Ricotta and sour cream cheesecake, flavored with rose water, vanilla, lemon zest a hint of nutmeg. Bottom is syrup soaked almond basbousa. Topped with wild blackberry(? - it's Rubus Sanguineus fruits), almonds and basil.

Hi @Dakender, it is important to be exact with the ratio of ingredients in bread, so I do suggest you follow the advice of getting an electronic kitchen scale. I find them not only more accurate, but much more convenient. No more measuring cups to wash. That said, the machine settings are there to set the baking time and maybe some other similar things. Those doesn't have to be exact, so you can use the rounded values. Happy baking.

Indonesian inspired noodles - a mixture of both egg noodles and flat rice noodles. Sauce with some caramel, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, coconut, chili, turmeric, toasted coriander seeds, lime, makrut lime leaves. Marinated fried tempeh, stir fried zucchini, peanuts, Thai basil. Pickled chilies on the side.

Sorry, that was a mistype (obviously, with liang being common in both terms).

Thanks, I thought so but wasn't 100% sure if the name is based on the starch source or rather the noodle shape (since [edited] liang pi meaning "skin" might suggest the latter).

Liangpi (or should it be called liangfen in this case?). Wheat flour is separated into starch and gluten. The starch is diluted to a batter and steamed, then sliced into thick noodles (this is why I think it might be liangfen rather than liangpi - the latter having the batter steamed in similar to rice noodles making). The gluten is steamed into seitan and braised with star anise, fennel seeds, bay leaves and MSG.. Served cold - the dressing is home made chili oil, black rice vinegar, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorn, a bit of star anise. I added some silken tofu. Cucumber, peanuts. Mixed well.

Nothing special about the local beans, I don't think. The only "secret" I know of is a good long soak and and a long slow cooking time. Some flavorings perhaps? Bay leaves and garlic are commonly added, some add an onion or carrot. I like it with a really peppery olive oil, but in some African countries ghee is also common. I knew of places that add lentils, to mellow the fava taste and make it more paste like as they break down. If you like ful, do try it on top of a sharp tangy labneh, with plenty of olive oil and cumin. That's my favorite way to eat ful. Tomatoes, chilies and a boiled egg are a must. In the picture below it's a salad based on egg, pickles, onion and tahini; as well as a salad of tomatoes and chili.

More of a brunch I guess. Makhlouta (which means "a mixture" in Arabic). Made of ful (fava beans) and chickpeas, cooked very tender and served with plenty of good olive oil, lemon, spices (garlic, cumin and minced parsley in my case) and an optional dollop of tahini. I added some chopped onion, freshly made green zchug and long-cooked haminados eggs. In Israel, this version is served in hummus restaurants. I'm not sure if it is directly related to the Lebanese stew of the same name (it's also made of mixed legumes and grains) or was it just names the same for being a mixture of fava and chickpeas which are common in many Hummus restaurants (I feel funny using this term - no one here will refer to a "Humusseria", i.e. hummus-place as a restaurant). The "restaurant" version is often served with lots of oil [for example]. I prefer it less rich (it's heavy enough), using a smaller amount of really good oil instead

Were trying to finish up the supply of last year's limoncello and orangecello (in order to make more this winter). One of our recent go to combinations is 2 parts orangecello to 1 part ouzo plus a few mint leaves. Both are great simply with ice or with soda. We also have an old super-strong delicious coffee infused vodka that deserves to see more attention. It's nice with milk and syrup, or even just syrup in tiny servings. All three are great on ice cream as well. Any more creative ideas?

@liamsaunt - Nice! Where they dipped in a baking-soda solution?

@kayb Are you pruning your tree? Many fruit trees, apples included, require light pruning every year, else they fall into a two-year cycle of one bumper year and one lean year.

Thanks. I was actually careful to let them defrost untouched, but they once it reached room temp, it became even more fragile. That said, they reheat beautifully. Starches are interesting.

An Ethiopian spread. Apparently, injera is very brittle when cold... So I couldn't go with the traditional fashion of laying the various dishes over the injera. Still tasty. Clockwise: Injera (which I was given in a local restaurant a while back and kept frozen). Awaze - A spicy spread made of roasted dried chilies, berber spice mixture, tahini paste, ginger and lemon. Tzfat cheese with nigella seeds. Chopped veggies in olive oil (that was one seriously hot chili in there - this variety is a bit of a Russian roulette with heat levels). Kik alicha - Yellow split peas. Those are with added stir fried okra and chooped peanuts. The flavoring includes onion, ginger, garlic, berber, toasted coriander, lemon, turmeric, cumin. Buticha - Chickpeas flour cooked like polenta, chilled and crumbled. Mixed with cooked onions, tomato, green chili, ginger, garlic, berber, turmeric, cardamom, paprika, parsley. Ethiopian style eggs - with lightly cooked tomatoes, chilies, onion, garlic, pepper, parsley and a bit of berber. Atakilt Wat (Middle) - Cabbage, potato and carrots. Flavored with onion, garlic, lemon, a bit of sugar, cumin, turmeric, berber and hawaij spice. Served with a much needed cold beer - it was quite spicy (mostly because of the chili in the salad), and we can usually handle quite a bit of heat.

@Nancy in Pátzcuaro @Alex I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed those

I think so, but they might end up a bit bready. You might want to brush them with some butter/oil for better browning. Let me know if you do, I might end up making them more often if they can be made lighter when needed.

Another light supper. Crostini with warm beans (flavored with bay leaves and rosemary), Grana padano, toasted hazelnuts, olive oil, a bit of garlic, fresh thyme, pepper. Served with salad, dry Syrah, pickles and Tzfat cheese. Only plated those for the picture, the rest was assembled on the table so that the beans stay warm and the bread crisp.

@Franci You are giving a fight to the pizzaioli of Napoli

A recent light supper. Thai style coconut sticky rice with mango and pineapple - both garden grown

Decided to make sushi for some reason. I'm not much of a sushi eater myself, since I think it kind of misses the point without fish. But I do like vinegared sushi rice, and tamago sushi. The natto sushi was also quite unique and tasty. We enjoyed the meal overall, but we'll let the restaurant do the hard work next time.

@KennethT Now that's the proper amount of basil on a pizza! Why can't pizzerias do it right when I ask for extra basil? @liuzhou I find your love of orzo entertaining, since back in the day (before my time) rice shaped Israeli couscous was introduced here as a substitute for the then expensive rice. It seems you opt to use orzo and couscous quite often for one living in a land of rice. Are those products often used for Chinese cooking among the Chinese, or are those usually reserved Western dishes? Are there local versions of wheat-based rice alternatives? (I'd expect something like that to originate in Northern China).

Sure:

Mts’vane lobio satsivi - green beans in walnut sauce. Satsivi sauce is used in many dishes, but most notably with chicken. This version is not the most traditional version of green beans in such sauce, but rather it is based on one I had in a restaurant in Tbilisi. Best served with soft, warm and crisp-crusted bread. 400g-450g green beans 1-2 tsp butter 1-2 tsp chopped rosemary (you can use other herbs, some of which may not require frying and can be added directly to the blender) 2-3 garlic cloves, minced Dry or fresh chili to taste 50g-60g lightly toasted walnuts 40ml-50ml milk (or cream if you prefer it a bit richer) optional: a tablespoon of grated Parmesan or another strong dry cheese salt to taste - 3-4 eggs salt to taste (1/3-1/2 tsp) - apx 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar black pepper A handful of diced brined cheese - choose one which is not too salty and creamy (rather than dry) - I use Sirene but a very mild Feta will work Blanch the green beans in well salted water, chilling them in cold water to prevent overcooking. Let them drain well. - In a pan large enough to hold the beans, briefly cook the garlic, chili and rosemary in butter - until aomatic. Add the milk along with 1/3-1/2 of the walnuts. Heat gently just until warm and allow the walnuts a few minutes to soften. Add Parmesan and blend until smooth. - Place the green beans and sauce back in the pan and gently heat. Add salt to taste. - Meanwhile, beat the eggs with salt and pepper as if for making an omelette. You can add a tablespoon of cream or milk, as well as any herbs you like. Heat a pan with butter and scramble the eggs into distinct bite-sized pieces, being careful not to overcook it (unless you prefer hard-cooked scrambled eggs). Mix the scrambled eggs into the green beans. - Add vinegar and pepper. Adjust seasoning. Make sure that it is sufficiently hot to serve. Scatter the cubed cheese and walnuts.

Should have been "milk". Thanks!

Lobio Satsivi - Georgian style green beans in a sauce of walnuts, milk, garlic, herbs and wine vinegar; with scrambled eggs, brined cheese and toasted walnuts. Beans salad with a pesto of basil and tarragon, garlic and red wine vinegar. Eggplant pkhali in spread form - made of roasted eggplants, walnuts, coriander seeds, herbs, garlic, sunflower oil and a few more spices. Store brought bread, served crisp and warm. A decent Georgian dry red wine. I feel like the pictures doesn't do the dishes justice, looking a bit brown and messy - but it was a very enjoyable meal

Those pitas look great. I have to mention that traditionally, pita breads are made without fat at all. I do however think that for home bakers adding oil is a good idea, since most don't have a super-hot tabun oven (or a pizza oven). Though maybe 13% is a bit much. Two tips for pita makers: - Use the highest heat setting your oven has. - Immediately transfer the baked pitas into a closed, insulated container (I line it with moist towel). They are prone to drying out.