Lunch! What'd ya have? (2014–2015)

[BonVivant]

Picnic in the park (in Berat) today. The little wedge is sheep's cheese (quite strong).

 

 

 

Yesterday in Tirana. Byrek is Albanian version of Turkish Börek, which is popular snacks in cuisines of former Ottoman empire.

 

(Also in the photo is 9 bags of seeds I got at the market in Tirana)

 

 

Posting from Berat, Albania.

[IowaDee]

I love the effort you put into each photograph.  They are tiny travelogues in themselves.  And I come away from each one having learned something new.  Thank you for that.

[cyalexa]

Figs and Gorgonzola on chocolate current levain. Bread recipe slightly modified from the one on this site:

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/tag/chocolate-sourdough-bread/

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Wheat Berry and roasted kale & onion salad from Bon Appetite.  Very easy and the charred veggies make a nice flavour combo with the rustic wheat berries...just a little garlic/oil and lemon as a dressing.

[blue_dolphin]

Figs and Gorgonzola on chocolate current levain. Bread recipe slightly modified from the one on this site:

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/tag/chocolate-sourdough-bread/

 

I adore fresh figs and gorgonzola!  I could eat that for breakfast, lunch or dinner…..with a nice red wine…..or for dessert with a glass of port….. mmmmmmmm!  

[Okanagancook]

Nicolai:  That burger! Wow and yum, yum.

Big lunch as dinner will be light while watching the Baseball Wildcard Game.

Bake-Steamed centre cut pork loin chops with Bon Appetite's cauliflower, arugula, pine nut, currant, feta salad and A Girl and Her Pig roasted peppers in sherry vinegar.  The pork chop was only just slightly over cooked.  I posted about it's journal over in the Steam Oven thread.

[hummingbirdkiss]

shrimp and pork chow mien on sourdough spelt ..sounds awkward but tastes so good it hits every tastebud with a wonderful blast of texture and flavors …reminds me of my childhood favorite 

on steroids (we used to make chow mien sandwiches from Fall River chow mien and Italian bread  then piled the crispy noodles on top .. I think it was a "thing") still really good and so is sourdough spelt made the 5min technique  in a Dutch oven on a grill ..came out perfectly it is just full proof that recipe I swear and still goes around often because it works so well!  ..longing for an oven and a settled life  ..soon I hope soon 

[Okanagancook]

Potatoes, sausage and cherry tomatoes out of the Steam oven.

[hummingbirdkiss]

 yesterdays lunch 

we found our first flush of chanterelles in the morning on the way to somewhere else! then the day got derailed and it was mushroom foraging for us

I think mushroom season is going to be epic this year and am getting the fever to put off everything  and just go wander the woods before it belongs to the hunters...

 

so mushrooms and some fresh goat cheese curd…. tipping my hat to my father's Montreal home … and the "crap you should not be eating" he called poutine "junk food" … he was an anesthesiologist who was obsessed with healthy eating his entire 93 years and when he died he was "healthy" LOL just old and "done" … he had a huge " love hate" with poutine .  He loved steeling bites  until half my plate was gone, while he told me "do you know how bad that shit s for you and why are you eating it!!!"  he said this as he was  saving me from a lifetime of obesity and heart disease …by eating mine … but NEVER ever would he have a plate of his own!  

 

Dad this one is for you!!! I made the gravy exactly the way he loved it ..loaded with butter and garlic …does it get better? I think not 

cheers dad! 

]

 ..usually chanterelles are so soggy here but even with the rain the past few days these were super dry and easy to cook 

looks kind of like SOS huh? t

sorry I love eating on regular plates and hate disposable …  but really have to bite my tongue and suck it up … just use them for a while … the whole kitchen is gutted now and we are rebuilding sloooooooowly very very slowly

 

OY!

 

[spipet]

Croque madame and crispy fried egg

[kayb]

spipet, that is one more lovely croque madame!

[Norm Matthews]

I had some chili left over from dinner the other day, so I made myself a chili dog on a toasted bolillo roll.

 

[BonVivant]

I did recently cross into northern Greece from Albania. Beautiful and is a lot more developed here. Having just spent 18 days in Albania almost everything hits me in the wallet here in Greece. However, it is still cheaper than some other European countries.

 

A couple of lunches I had in Meteora. The most memorable thing about Meteora is its monasteries atop sheer cliff walls. All the tourists flock here for that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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IowaDee: many thanks! I still have photos from about 4 previous trips to sort out when I have time and inclination. For now you might want to have a look at my food (and more) photos taken in Porto, Portugal. (04:21m, has sound)

[IowaDee]

Wonderful slide show,  A photo of Porto happens to be my husband's screen saver.Hope your cute little rooster enjoyed the trip as much as I did.  The various cheeses tempted me more than anything else

[liuzhou]

 

A nice bowl of Liuzhou Luosifen (螺蛳粉 luó sī fěn), the local noodle dish of choice. Eaten in a small shack near my home in the countryside. Very spicy.

 

 

It is a dish of rice noodles served in a very spicy stock made from the local river snails and pig bones which are stewed for hours with black cardamom, fennel seed, dried tangerine peel, cassia bark, cloves, pepper, bay leaf, licorice root, sand ginger, and star anise. Various pickled vegetables, dried tofu skin, fresh green vegetables, peanuts and loads of chilli are then usually added. Few restaurants ever reveal their precise recipe, so this is tentative. Luosifen is only really eaten in small restaurants and roadside stalls. I've never heard of anyone making it at home. from this thread.

[suzilightning]

Leftover onion soup with half a blt with cheese.

simple but satisfying.

[liamsaunt]

sandwich made with leftover mushroom-provolone frittata and roasted peppers from Saturday's antipasto platter.  There is some spinach and thinly sliced onion on there too.

 

[Anna N]

President's Choice brand mulligatawny soup with a slice of bread and butter. Not as good as many mulligatawny soups I have had but it was hot and nourishing on a rainy, cold, horrible day.

[Okanagancook]

I love, love Mulligatawny Soup.  I used to be able to buy the soup paste made by Bolts I believe but have not seen that brand anywhere in years.  This is the combo of spices I am currently using which is pretty nice but not the same as the Bolts.  Does anyone have a recipe for the soup paste?

 

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 1/2 teaspoons madras curry powder
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, ground
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, ground
8 whole cloves, ground
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
15 whole black peppercorns, ground
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, ground
200 grams onions, chopped finely
20 grams ginger root, chopped finely
15 grams garlic, minced
4 cups stock, chicken or lamb
1/2 cup tomato sauce
lemon juice to taste
salt to taste
coriander leaves chopped as garnish, optional
rice or lentils about 1/4 cup optional
lamb or chicken pieces, browned optional

Directions:

The paste  Combine the turmeric, curry powder, coriander, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper and cayenne.  Toast in a dry pan until fragrant.  Set aside.  Saute the onions and ginger in 1 tablespoon ghee or oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce and saute 2 minutes.  Add stock and simmer until onions are done, about 20 minutes.  Add lemon and salt to taste.  To serve put a thin slice of lemon in the bottom of each bowl and add the soup.  Garnish with coriander, optional.

[Anna N]

Forever and forever, right or wrong mulligatawny soup will include apple. That is the way I first enjoyed it.

[excv_]

Simple salami sandwich- lots of sliced salami, fresh mozarella and romaine lettuce with whole grain mustard and tomato pesto. Sorry for the bad photo. Also, notice my extremely attractive(I know, right) plate.

[naguere]

Fired on by news reports that liver is good for you, I called in at my local Waitrose (UK), and asked for some calves liver, the serveuse commented that lambs liver was very good and a lot cheaper.

I chose lambs liver, enough for two portions came to 70Pence. 

'Would you like to know how much it would cost if you had chosen the calves liver?' She pressed a button on the scale and told me it would have been £7.70.

The liver lightly cooked with kashka and mushrooms which i deglazed the pan with a dash of red wine.

 

 

[Anna N]

I thought lunch might be challenging today. I knew I wanted mushroom soup and that it would have to be the canned variety but really wanted something a little more than just soup. A quick scrounge around the fridge unearthed the last of the dry fried green beans from a Chinese take out. I searched my brain for something similar and recalled that American Thanksgiving necessity of green beans and mushroom soup casserole! Not quite a soup and not quite a casserole but very satisfying.

[liamsaunt]

Congee

 

[liamsaunt]

I just made a huge pot of this 14 bean soup with kale for lunch this week.  I'll give half to my sister.  We make a pot of soup each weekend and then split it between us.