shain

Kaiserschmarrn happen to be on my menu this weekend as well Already got a few over ripe plums in the fridge waiting to be sauced.

@sartoric thanks!

Ciceri e Tria - Home made sagnarelli pasta (with some whole rye flour) with rich vegetable stock, chickpeas, some blended smooth, garlic, chili, rosemary, crisp pasta fried in butter, parmesan, pepper, nutmeg.

Looks delicious as always. Would you mind sharing the recipe?

I was the lucky receiver of a box of baklavas. They are of quite good quality for boxed baklavas, which tend to be poorly made and stored. This one was made with good quality nuts, not skimping on pistachios with cheaper nuts. Although I believe it was made with margarine, as I'm missing the butter flavor. You can see that each kind was made slightly differently, some are crisp and flakey, some are tender and some are made with crisp chewy kadaif noodles instead rather than filo. There is also a variation of flavoring, other then using different types of nuts, some are flavored with rose water, some with cinnamon, some plain. The cigar shaped one in the middle is quite salty and is as savory as it is sweet.

Fried rice. Chinease style stir fried cauliflower, carrot and cabbage with beans paste and vinegar. Smashed cucumber salad with garlic and sesame oil.

Powdered pectin should be boiled for about one minute if I remember correctly. However, for a slightly thick drinking yoghurt you shouldn't really need it. 1. Make sure that you use a good whole milk (about 3% fat and at least 3% protein) - a leaner milk will result in a watered down yogurt. 2. Make sure that you let it ferment long enough. 3. Heating the milk to about 60 deg C for about 10 minutes will also thicken it. It is also a good thing to do, since it will pasteurize the milk and the pot. 4. Use a different brand of yoghurt as starte, different brands uses different cultures. Choose when which you find tasty and thick but does not contain pectin - the fact that it contains pectin means it is not naturally thick.

@Anna N Looks tasty! I really like this recipe. Squash or sweet potato with tahini is a great combo.

Pizzas. See this thread for more pictures and info:

When of the things I dislike most about baking pizzas in my home oven is that it takes a long time to heat up (especially with a baking stone), which is made even worse during summer, when it really heats up the kitchen. I was excited by the pita oven since it can be used outside and is fast heating to boot (10 minutes of preheat). It's higher temp also allows baking more Neapolitan style pizzas (Neapolitan pizza texture is a lot like this of a good fluffy pita). I baked 3 pizzas this time. Classic margarita - fresh crushed tomatoes, mozzarella. Olive oil and basil post bake. This one got a little torn when I removed it from the oven. Tomato curry and chickpeas with mozzarella, coconut cream, red Thai curry paste, cardamom, ginger, garlic, chili, cumin. (Yum!) Parmesan, pistachios, onion, rosemary. Lemon juice and pepper post bake. Bake time was about 2 minutes each. I'd like them to char more, but the cheeses and toppings were threatening to get overcooked, so I preferred to take them out a tad pale (overcooked fresh mozzarella is a sad thing). The bottom of the pizzas was more charred and had a nice smokey flavor from the semolina that fell from the pizzas and burnt. I think I'll try to set up a deflector to aim the heat away from he center and towards the rim.

Clafoutis

Lunch from a few days ago, mixed grilled vegetables. Served with tahini sauce and a couple of simple salads.

A while ago I tried stir frying in it. Worked OK.

Palacsintas with mushroom pate. French black lentil salad with celery, Roquefort, onion, charred cherry tomatoes, arugula, wine vinegar and olive oil. Classic cheesecake with vanilla and sour cream.

Yesterday's brunch: Fava and mixed beans (in PC) flavored with rosemary, cumin, chili and lemon. Labneh with zaatar. A salad of boiled egg, pickled cucumbers, fresh green chili, tomates, parsley and onion. Not pictured are charred pita breads and a generous drizzle of EVOO just before serving.

Home made (flat) udon, with pumpkin and peanuts, soft tofu, anise, miso, sesame oil, scallion.

@sartoric Thai green curry with snow peas and eggplant is one of my favorite dishes. I once grew bitter gourds, beautiful plants and fruits, but I couldn't manage to eat it, it definitely stands to its name. I did found some culinary and ornamental value in its ripe form. The red seed coat is quite tasty.

Fire roasted potato focaccia, smoked paprika, malt syrup, dry onion flakes. The potatoes suppressed the flour content by weight. Cold fermented one day. Topped with olive oil, rosemary, sage, sesame. Baked until dark and crisp. Crumb is tender, yet slightly chewy. Nice earthy flavor with slight smokiness. Not much of potato flavor. Served with salted ricotta, tahini sauce, chopped vegetable salad and olives.

Creamy lemon curd, very brightly flavored. Milky strained yogurt, with a hint of vanilla and very lightly sweetened. Crunchy anise seed flavored streusel. Mint and basil infused olive oil. Any resemblance to a fried egg, was honestly completely unintentional, and I found it quite amusing when plating. I'll also admit that we added all of the remaining streusel right after taking the photos

Beet gnocchi - roasted beet, ricotta, anise, thyme, pepper, parm, egg yolk, flour. Ricotta smear, medium-sharp gorgonzola, basil, toasted walnuts. Not that it was bad, but the pureed beets with the cheeses and spices were so tasty, that I couldn't help but be disappointed by the flavor dilution due to the flour and eggs. Expect to see beet puree with anise and ricotta on my plate sometime soon.

Leftovers frittata - spinach, mushrooms, cheese, olives.

Saag paneer, dal makhani (sans cream, I only used browned butter, and made it drier than is common), basmati rice with a hint of peanut paste and allspice, home made fresh turmeric and ginger chutney. Yogurt.

I've been knee-deep in work since last week, this weekend I finally had some time for cooking. English-Indian curry mini pies, flakey and crisp pastry, peas, carrots, beans, lentils, mushrooms, onion, light cream, spices (mostly cumin, turmeric, chili, cinnamon, pepper, a tad of cloves and fenugreek), parsley.

@Anna N That's a lovely looking loaf!

@sartoric Your Indian (and all other) meals are stunning. I'm inspired to kick up my own Indian cookery. It's much to ask, but I'm sure many here will be happy to know what are your favorite recipes and techniques. Todays dinner was homemade hummus, with tahini and sharp olive oil (from our own tree). Accomplished with freshly baked pitas, made with my new pita oven (checkout the thread about it).