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I'm glad you enjoyed it. Just to share some info, this is actually not the flower, but rather the "base" that held it (Google tells me that it's called receptacle). It will become the crown of the fruit. The flower looks like that.

Gado gado. Peanut-coconut sauce with plenty of tamarind, kaffir lime, lime zests, chili, garlic and a few more spices. The egg, noodles and crispy tofu are served warm. Couldn't find any rice crackers, so toasted popped rice did the job.

Yes, what Duvel here said. AFAIK, noodles cooking water are not used as often in Asian cooking. Soba noodles soba-yu being drank being a somewhat extreme exception.

Gnudi di spianci / Malfatti in brown butter with crisp fried sage, thyme, lemon zest. Parmesan and pumpkin seeds. Pan seared mushrooms in butter, garlic and thyme. Toasted sourdough, 30% rye, IIRC (store bought). The gnudi are made with ricotta, semolina, parm, eggs, nutmeg, pepper, flour. Gnudi is short for ravioli gnudi, i.e. nude ravioli.

The original article/recipe calls for one hour of baking. I had good results with 30 as well. It works okish even raw, it's just not as alkiline so the texture and flavor are not quite as authentic. Chemistry wise, it breaks down into sodium carbonate. I add salt as usual.

Well, I dry heated it over the stove, low flame, before adding in water. 2-3 tsp per liter of water for boiling dry pasta, or 1 tsp per kg of flour for making fresh pasta. I suggest making the powder in batch. It's nice even in Italian pasta, on occasion (just make sure to wash the noodles and don't use the water).

Fruits in progress. White mulberries. Mango I don't recall ever having the mango still in bloom when some fruits are already at this size. Hopefully, we'll have a long fruit season. Avocado. Pomegranate.

Ha ha, we had similar ideas. Sesame noodles for us as well. I didn't make noodles from scratch this time, but rather added the baked baking soda to the boiling water of plain old spaghetti. From my experience, both methods are quite effective, but the fresh noodles are bouncier. Also, if the soda is in the water, it can't be added to the dish (it's an italian technique, but I often utilize it to asian noodles), Sesame noodles obviously require no extra thickening, so no problem here. My sauce sounds similar to yours. I used a darker tahini (Al Jamal) that is more similar in flavor to Chinese sesame paste (I like to use this brand for sweets, when I find it). Black vinegar, chili oil, garlic, ginger, five spice, Szechuan peppercorn, soy sauce, sugar, a pinch of MSG. Added some blached spinach, scallions and zha cai.

Eggs with purslane (righalle'h), tomato, onion, spring onion, garlic, olive oil, sumac. Pita breads, labneh, and the usual chopped salad.

@Burmese Days Thanks for looking into it, I really appreciate it. I had it from a street vendor in Taipei a year ago. It was quite late and we were a bit tipsy on the way back to the hotel. I remember us not being hungry at all, but the scent was intoxicating. The cake itself was OK, but I'm sure there's a lot of potential to it.

English style beans (with lots of bay leave, some malt and a little smokey). On rye toast, soft boiled egg, cheddar.

I love this salad, though I make it with silan rather than dates.

Spicy tteokbokki with tofu, eggs, cheese. A somewhat Thai salad of glass noodles, cucumber, chili, coconut, basil, scallions, mint, fish sauce, lime juice and zest, palm sugar, sesame oil, peanuts.

Tortilla chips, guac and salsa. Good Japanese beer.

We picked the last of our Afghan mulberries, they will be missed until next year. But fear not, as we were gifted almost 3 kg pounds of short mulberries, of tow varieties, which are now in peak season. Our white mulberry fruits is also starting to ripen. There's also loquats, though I'm not their biggest fan. And lovely pitanga (Suriname cherries). The anonas are close to ready. There are plenty of tiny mangoes which are getting bigger every day.

Nachos. With a sufficient amount of vegetables, beans and cheese, it's dinner enough for us.

Frittata with vegetables (tomatoes, pepper, spring onions, mushrooms, parsley), mozzarella, Parmesan, garlic. Baked mashed potatoes with cheddar, malt syrup and chives.

Roasted cauliflower with tahini sauce, tomatoes, mint, parsley and chilies. Yemeni style beans in tomato sauce and rice (onion, hawaij, schug, paprika, garlic).

Spiced banana bread / cake. With walnuts and raisins. (I love raisins when cooked / soaked, I don't get why all the hate )

Hi, I'd be grateful if someone could point me at some recipe for the following Taiwanese/Chinese steamed cake: image - specifically, a dark colored version flavored with a spice mix that include anise, fennel or licorice. I believe the cake to be "Malay sponge cake" (ma lai go / 馬拉糕) or "black sugar cake" (黑糖糕). There's no shortage of recpies for this cake, but none that includes a spice mix / anise / licorice. I might try guessing the spice blend (star anise, ginger and clove and pepper, perhaps?). Thanks

Saag paneer, with onion, some tomatoes, spices. Mushroom bhaji. Chickpeas and mushrooms, with yogurt, coconut and warm spices. Spicy carrot chutney (not sweet). Flatbreads. Yogurt.

Miso soup with tofu, wakame, carrot, dried shiitake, kombu and toasted sesame. Fried rice with eggs, peas, chili, garlic, onion, scallions, sesame oil, light soy sauce.

Alivenci Disclaimer - I have yet to try and make this recipe. - 500 ml whole milk - 100g cornmeal (fine cornmeal is prefered) - 80 g butter - 150g sugar (can be adjusted to taste, it can even be made savory, with some additional salt, and adjustments to flavorings) - 1/2 tsp salt (my suggested addition) - 1/8 tsp baking soda (my suggested addition, to slightly reduce the acidity. Skip this if your farmer cheese is not acidic) - 6 eggs - 500g farmers cheese - aka quark, kash, tvorog - a very dry and acidic cheese, apx 5% fat - 150g lean sour cream (15% fat) (you can substitute yogurt or full fat sour cream) - 2 tsp vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I would have added more) - Bring milk to a boil and add cornmeal, butter, sugar, salt and baking soda. - Cook while mixing until thickened. - Cool a little then mix in farmers cheese, sour cream, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon. - Taste and adjust. - Pour into a well greased baking pan. - Bake in medium heat (180d C, I believe) for 40-50 minutes, until the top is well browned. - Serve while slightly warm. With sour cream, whipped cream, fruits or preserves. - Can be stored in the fridge and reheated.

A small omelette with chives. Bialy, reheated in the oven. Cream cheese, Tzfat cheese and tomatoes.

Forest themed pasta. Hand cut pasta, boiled with green pine cones (for piney aroma) with shiitake and champignon mushrooms, lightly browned. The sauce is made with a little onion and garlic, sauteed in butter, thickened with egg yolks and flavored with rosemary, thyme, chives and tarragon. Finished with toasted pine nuts and some mulberries (I usually use blueberries or dried cranberries).