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Those are the ptitim (Israeli couscous). We get them at many shapes (rice, spheres, rings, stars), and those are a new fancy type. They are also much bigger, half inch wide once cooked. I got a German / Eastern european vibe from their shape, so it made similarly inspired dishes.

A type of ptitim (aka Israeli couscous), i.e. toasted non-durum pasta. Mixed with soft scrambled eggs, Gouda cheese, lots of herbs (chives, parsley, sage, thyme, some rosemary), garlic, plenty of butter. Placed under a broiler to crisp the top. Fire roasted cabbage with sour cream and chives. Also some nutritional yeast (works great with sour cream). While already eating, I recalled we have some salted hard pretzel sticks. So I crumbled some on top of the cabbage, which worked really well. Pickles, vegetables, some more sour cream, amber lager.

Enchilada-omelet verde. Home made corn tortillas, pen fried, pressed into a spiced egg mixture and briefly fried. All coated in a salsa verde of roasted green chilies, garlic, herbs, some coriander seed and sour cream. Filled with grilled onions, feta and mozzarella(for lack of any Mexican cheeses). Heated through, topped with more sour cream and some pickled chilies. Elote. Charred over grill. Sour cream, some mayo, a little chipotle, garlic, lime zest (corn loves lime). Feta, for lack of cotija.

I envy you. What stunning pizzas. The char, the cheese level of (not) melting, and the ratio of puffed crust width are all what the pizzas in my dreams are like. ( I dream of pizzas, I'm sure of it even if I can't ever remember what I dream. One just knows )

I used to dislike melons (cantaloupes and honeydew both). They tasted like chemicals. In recent years, I found that to be a shame, since they have such a wonderful scent. So I've been sampling a little on occasions when I was served some (which is quite often at summer). I could barely swallow it at first. Last year I could finally have some and be able to say it's okish, but still didn't want a second bite. This year I could finally quite enjoy it. Actually, the most recent melon we got this yes was so good I liked it enough to reach to it rather than the other fruits. 😁 Now the only fruits I don't enjoy are for texture issues (e.g. guava, fejoya) but I do like them blended or cooked, so it doesn't count. I also dislike green bell peppers, but that's like saying I dislike green unripe tomatoes. Why even pick it green? Sad to see the zucchini hate. I love them all year round. I make sure to buy tiny ones, crunchy and tasty enough to eat raw with just salt. I love them grilled and stir fried, but they can easily be overcooked.

5 eggs. Ditalini, but any pasta will work. Here's a recpie:

100 g hollow pasta shape (macaroni, bucatini, ditalini, penne, etc.) apx 175g spinach leaves, finely chopped 2 small spring onions, sliced finely 2 garlic cloves, minced apx 100g feta cheese, not too dry apx 10-15g parmesan cheese, grated or finely chopped 8-10 Kalamata or other similar olives, sliced 5 large eggs apx 30g (2 tbsp) milk Salt to taste (I needed 1/2 a tsp, but it depends on the cheese) For quick tomato sauce (optional): 4 saucing tomatoes, finely diced (e.g. Roma, San Marzano) 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or less if you are not a garlic lover) 8 olives, sliced salt to taste you can add some herbs to you liking Cook the pasta a minute less than al-dente. Drain and wash to chill. Cook the spinach well. I just use a microwave to cook it for 3 minutes. Mix everything (but the sauce ingredients). Pour into an oiled and heated pan, or as I did, a greased silicon mold. Bake at 180dC until set through the middle, avoid overcooking. Apx 20 minutes. Serve warm. To make the sauce, just cook the tomates until slightly soften and no longer tastes raw. Add garlic and olives, and cook a little more, until sauce achieves a cooked but bright taste. It should remain quite chunky .

One of those sweet meaty figs that are in season now, cut in half. Two toasted walnuts halves, each placed in a fig slice. Perfect

Grilled ratatouille (eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, onion, bell peppers). Garlic, thyme, tarragon, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Spinach, pasta and feta frittata, olives, some parmesan, garlic, a few spices. Crisp crusted warm bread (bought).

Here you go:

This is an improvised recipe that uses leftover rice.I made a few adjustments made after first having it, but by nature it is open for modifications and adjustments. If you are up to it, I think those will be amazing battered in a thin (tempura like) batter and deep/pan fried. apx 340g cooked cooled short grain rice (about 2/3 cup, I think) that's how much I happened to have, no need to be accurate. Fresh rice can be used, but maybe under-cook it by a couple of minutes 4 eggs 50g water (1/4 cup) a large bunch of young garlic chives, chopped 3 scallions, chopped 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or minced apx 3 tbsp worth of finely chopped ginger 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp oyster suace 5 tsp soy sauce (roughly 2 tbsp) black pepper, generously optional MSG, a couple of sprinkles, to taste chili flakes, to taste I haven't used any, but I suggest adding some Sichuan peppercorn, maybe 1/2 tsp, toasted and ground apx 2/3-1 tsp salt, to taste. Even less if your rice is already salted For dipping sauce: 3 tsp oyster sauce 2 tsp black rice vinegar chili oil Prep: Mix everything. Divide across 12 cups of an oiled muffin tin. Bake at 200dC until set, apx 15-20 minutes. Serve with dipping sauce.

That should be Clafoutis... 😬 Thanks for pointing it out.

Yes, pad see ew is all about technique, it's not trivial to get a good char on the noodles and keep a good bite. They served it at the restaurant, but only with beef, so I didn't get to try. They also have a garden where they grow many ingredients, some of them are hard to get in here: morning glory, Thai basil and holy basil, "Thai celery", even the tomatoes (which are obviously not hard to source). Last time they also had long beans and Thai eggplants.

Thai. Returned to a place we visited a two months ago. Yum won sen. Mung bean noodles salad. Sweet-spicy-acidic, plenty of herbs. Phad phak bung. Stir fried morning glory and shrimps. Oyster sauce, fermented soy beans, soy sauce, nearly whole garlic cloves, chilies. Lots of "wok hei". With sticky rice. So good. Pad thai with eggs and shrimp (mixed it all up before remembering to take the picture). Really good, nice wok hei, well seasoned, not sweet or overly sauce. I'm always hesitant of ordering pad thai, it's often overly localized, but this place got my trust the last time. Still needed some extra chili sauce. Massaman curry with tofu, onions, potatoes, peanuts, fried shallots. A little too much tomato to my taste, but it was OK.

Thanks, maybe firm / having more bite is a better way to describe what I'm after.

Mango and coconut cream shake.

Rice-frittata-muffin-thingies with scallions, garlic chives, sesame, chili, oyster sauce, pepper. Those are fun to eat. Could have been amazing if battered and deep fried. Korean cucumber salad with spring onion and onion, garlic, Korean chili paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, toasted sesame. Home made kimchi. I'm happy with the fermentation flavor and acidity level, but in the next batch I'll ramp up the aromatics. It could have been crispier, any tips? Maybe a shorter salting period for the cabbage?

True, it's seems a fun project. Then I'll also be finally able to make kao fu. I can't understand why all of the seitan here is as dense as a rubber boots. I guess people expect it to resemble imitation meat (and have the texture of the toughest of overcooked steaks...).

Looks great. It's been on my list for a while, but there's nowhere to get the noodles or any good seitan. One day I'll get to making it from scratch

Those are often better, just make sure they are heavy and dense enough to apply strong, even pressure.

Clafoutis of lightly roasted zucchini and blistered cherry tomatoes with chevre, Parmesan and herbs (thyme, oregano, tarragon, rosemary), garlic, pepper. Green beans sauteed in butter, lemon zest, a decent amount of garlic, some vinegar, nutmeg, pepper and finished with toasted almonds and walnuts. Semi-dry rose.

Brunch. A friend made us a Kubaneh bread. It's a rich "pull apart" bread of Yemenite Jewish origin which is baked overnight. It's very pretty and delicious, she is very talented. Flavored with butter, slowly caramelized sugar and fenugreek, it has a delightful savory-sweet aroma of butterscotch and brioche. Served with haminados eggs, raw tomato sauce, home made zchug, cheese, veggies and pickles, ouzo. I also made Yemmani style split pea soup, flavored with celery, onion, chili, garlic, hawaij, dried mint and a few more spices. Served with strained buttermilk. Also had some Kubaneh with honey and salt. Recipe for my version of Kubaneh here:

Kubaneh is a rich "pull apart" bread of Yemenite Jewish origin. It is baked overnight and served on the Sabbath for lunch or breakfast. Flavored with butter, slowly caramelized sugar and fenugreek, it has a delightful savory-sweet aroma of butterscotch and brioche. While it has a decent amount of sugar, it's no sweeter than a dinner roll, as the long baking time breaks down the sugar into aromatic caramel. It is actually most often served with savory sides. That said, my favorite serving options is with s drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of salt. It's really no harder to make than a simple brioche or challah. Since the baking time is long, consider doubling the recipe, it can be frozen quite well. Actually, in some ways it is better reheated, since the outer crust can be crisped. My recipe uses dark brown sugar, which is not traditional, but gives it a striking dark color that I love, and further butterscotch notes. You can use white sugar. Some recpies uses date molasses or plum/apricot jams. Ingredients: 6g dry or instant yeast 240g water 60g dark brown sugar (or other sugars, see note above) 375g flour 8g salt 1 tsp 1.5 tsp fenugreek seeds, finely or roughly ground (don't worry if your not a fan of it, it mellows while baking and leaves a lovely fruity-spicy maple-like scent) optional: 1 tsp nigella seeds ~~~ 40 to 60 g soft butter, for rolling 15 to 30 g soft butter, for covering the rolled dough ~~~ optional: nigella or sesame seeds for decoration. Prep: Two to three days ahead: In mixer bowl, mix yeast, water and sugar. Add flour, salt and spices. Knead for ~7 minutes until a firm dough is formed. Let the dough relax for apx. 10 minutes. Knead for another ~7 minutes or so until strong. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight and up to 2 nights. Evening/night before: Transfer the dough onto a lighlty oiled surface. Flatten and roll into an elongated rectangle, try to get it to be 80cm (2.5 ft) wide, but don't worry if it is shorter. Spread 40 to 60 of butter over the dough. Roll it tightly in order to receive a long log shape. Divide the "log" into 12 segment. Roll each segment against the surface to elongate it to apx 12-15 cm (~5"). Spread remaining 15 to 30 g of butter on the rolls, covering them well. Place the rolls standing in a pot wide and deep enough to contain the bread once risen. For this amount, I use a pot with a 20cm diameter. Optionally scatter some nigella or sesame (just a sprinkle, don't over do it). Cover tightly with a tin foil, followed by the pot's lid. Let rise for ~ 30 to 45 minutes. Place in a preheated 210C oven (410F) for ~20 minutes. Lower the heat to 100C (210F) and bake overnight. For haminados eggs - place raw or leftover boiled eggs (unpeeled!) in the oven along the bread (I usually leave them in their cartoon). Morning/noon: Before serving, drizzle ~1/5-1/4 cup of water onto the bread. Cover and return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until ready to eat. To serve, remove from the pot. Eat while warm. For serving: Traditionally, it is often served with: Haminados eggs, baked all night long Fresh tomatoes blended or grated into chunky sauce and flavored with zchug (chili paste) and salt Pickles Fresh veggies Some fresh salty or acidic cheeses Arak or ouzo It can also be eating with honey and a sprinkle of salt. Leftover eggs are great in a sandwich with tomatoes, tahini sauce, pickles and zchug. My shaping skill is still not great (rolled to thick), but it will taste great regardless.

What are you using as a blind bake filling? Many use beans,but I find that they are too big and don't press enough, so I use sugar. Are you docking them well? Many holes are important for releasing air. I'm not family with GF flour. But maybe try reducing the amount of liquids. More water results in more puffing.

I'm making a savory clafoutis with chevre, zucchini and roasted tomatoes for dinner. I'll probably add mixed herbs, garlic and parmesan.