Lunch! What'd ya have? (2015–2016)

[Nicolai]

4 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

The recipe in the book Aromas of Aleppo calls them 'kibbeh nabelsieh'

The ingredients are 3 parts fine bulgur; 1 part all purpose flour and 1 part matzah meal which I understand is crushed matzah crackers.  I could not get matzah crackers so I substituted panko bread crumbs.  Some cumin, paprika, pepper, salt is added to the dough and the dry ingredients mixed together.  2 3/4 to 3 cups of lukewarm water and some oil is stired into the dry ingredients until a 'moist but firm dough' is achieved.  That's it.  Then you form the casings and stuff with the spiced ground beef filling.  It was really difficult to form the shells and I ended up adding more water as I went along because the dough dried out seeing I took so long to form the Kibbeh.  I put the formed ones on a sheet pan and they were put in the fridge for a few hours to dry out and consolidate before I deep fried them.  The frying part was easy.  Not one fell apart and they were very delicious with the crunchy crust and soft bulgur/beef interior.  I made a tahini dipping sauce for them which was perfect.  I hope that is what you were wanting. cheers

 

 

Thank you for the explanation.

[Nicolai]

43 minutes ago, shain said:

 

Most add semolina to the bulgur (regular wheat, not durum), some add flour instead, but I find it too doughy. Most use store bought fine crashed bulgur, which should be pre-soaked in water for best results. I also know a few that add egg, can't tell you the exact result, but I guess it acts a little like ground meat, but as said, this is much less common than adding meat. Then you add water to fourm a not sticky and workable dough. As Okanagancook said, the amount of water should be addjust by feel to be workable.

 

 

Thank you for your explanation.

[suzilightning]

BLT on an everything flat bread...simple but satisfying.

[BonVivant]

Lunch this weekend. Gorgeous weather again today but I couldn't sit in the garden to avoid angering blackbird fledglings and their parents.

 

Steamed razor clams. Green sauce has parsley, garlic, capers, olive oil.

 

More clams

 

I like steaming a lot of things. These potatoes were also steamed.

 

2 kinds of ham. Darker kind is beef and smoked.

[HungryChris]

Toasted pita chip with white bean hummus.

HC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shain]

Post Passover matzebrei with charoset. I could happily eat this all year long.

[Anna N]

 

Pasta with Nigella Lawson's Lamb "ragu".   Interesting additions include red currant jelly, Worcestershire sauce and dried mint.   Had no red currant jelly so used lingonberry instead. 

[shain]

17 hours ago, Anna N said:

 

Pasta with Nigella Lawson's Lamb "ragu".   Interesting additions include red currant jelly, Worcestershire sauce and dried mint.   Had no red currant jelly so used lingonberry instead. 

So how was it? Sounds really interesting. 

[Anna N]

@shain

 

It was very good.  The lingonberries and the Worcestershire sauce were not immediately detectible but definitely added some complexity. Nigella serves it with pappardelle and I think it would've been better with a different pasta than the one I had on hand.  I froze two servings.  

[HungryChris]

Crispy fried soft shell crab, cold roasted asparagus and lemon, garlic aioli.

HC

 

 

[shain]

Bought hummus from our favorite place.

This is a large 3-4 portions tub. Topped with cumin and parsley. When ordering take away, I always ask for the chickpeas and ful (fava beans) seperatly, so each of us can place them on his own serving. This place serves the hummus while still very warm. So we make sure to eat it while fresh and gently reheat if necessary.

 

Necessary condiments: Olives, onion, pickles and tomatoes as a snack. Cumin, red and green zchug (I don't like the green kind that much), parsley and lemon to be placed on the hummus. And not pictured, warm and fluffy pitas.

 

My portion, with ful and chickpeas.

 

Topping and condiments aside, hummus has 5 ingredients: chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon and salt (many use baking soda in the cooking water, but that's more of a technique then ingredients). Yet, it is fascinating to see how the change in ratios, method and source of raw ingredients effects the final outcome, with each hummus tasting so different from one another.

This one (which I grow up eating, and is my favorite), has a very nutty flavor, almost peanuty, and a thick, almost sticky texture. The hummus I make is very different, good in it's own way (I might make some next week). 

 

Hummus always makes for quite a heavy meal. I wouldn't refuse a siesta.

 

Edited May 11, 2016 by shain (log)

[HungryChris]

Cold pizza, marinated gigante beans from Whole Foods and pickled zucchini ribbons.

HC

[HungryChris]

 Cucumber, avocado and chopped green onion salad (leftover from last night) with a few marinated bamboo shoots and hazelnut stuffed olives. 

HC

 

 

[liamsaunt]

Naan pizza made in my little office toaster oven

 

[scubadoo97]

@shane  I think the sticky texture is from the baking soda.  I find it makes my hummus pasty so after trying I leave it out 

 

Nice you can get fresh anytime.  If I don't make my own I'm stuck with Sabra which I really don't like 

[shain]

13 hours ago, scubadoo97 said:

@shane  I think the sticky texture is from the baking soda.  I find it makes my hummus pasty so after trying I leave it out 

 

Nice you can get fresh anytime.  If I don't make my own I'm stuck with Sabra which I really don't like 

 

Interesting idea. I am quite certain that they do use plenty of soda. Many people frown upon baking soda, but I find that it can improve flavor if used correctly, as it fastens milliard browning and extracts sweetens, which can be desired in some hummus. Long cooking time also effects hummus similarly. 
Having fresh hummus is indeed a joy. You should try to freeze your home made hummus. If thawed carefully yo avoid over-heating in spots it retains it's quality very well. I prefer to freeze portions already measured, but not yet blended.

[suzilightning]

Finally got John off to Poughkeepsie with a roasted chicken breast sandwich, turkey burger and German potato salad as he can NOT ride in a car without asking "What do we have to eat?".  During the road trip last month the shortest time before this question was 5 minutes; the longest almost an hour (and the 5 minutes was just after eating a breakfast that was included with our room in the attatched restaurant).  

While making the sandwich I trimmed off the odd ends of the two chicken breasts I had roasted.  Minced, I combined it with some Rome apple, chopped pistachios, the white of a green onion that was chopped, chopped dried cranberries and Cain's mayo with some celery salt.  I softened a whole wheat tortilla then made a Waldorf chicken wrap for lunch.

[liamsaunt]

More office toaster oven cooking: sweet potatoes, black beans, salsa verde, chicken, Monterey Jack cheese and scallions in a tortilla.  

[sartoric]

Cream of tomato soup. The manager of this hotel knows I've been sick, so comped me the fruit platter and the fresh OJ. Nice one. 

 

First time I've had enough bandwidth to upload photos, yee haa !

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Get well soonest @sartoric

 

Lovely lunch!

[shain]

Bucatini in pesto with cherry tomatoes and sweet peas. Extra pine nuts.

[sartoric]

19 hours ago, suzilightning said:

Finally got John off to Poughkeepsie with a roasted chicken breast sandwich, turkey burger and German potato salad as he can NOT ride in a car without asking "What do we have to eat?".  During the road trip last month the shortest time before this question was 5 minutes; the longest almost an hour (and the 5 minutes was just after eating a breakfast that was included with our room in the attatched restaurant).  

While making the sandwich I trimmed off the odd ends of the two chicken breasts I had roasted.  Minced, I combined it with some Rome apple, chopped pistachios, the white of a green onion that was chopped, chopped dried cranberries and Cain's mayo with some celery salt.  I softened a whole wheat tortilla then made a Waldorf chicken wrap for lunch.

 

Ha ha, men and their stomachs. I have a FB page called "what's for dinner" because that's the question I get asked everyday, sometimes as early as 7.00 am.

[robirdstx]

Inspired by the Ramen Cook-off Topic, I used up some leftover grilled pork from dinner last night.

 

 

[scubadoo97]

5 hours ago, sartoric said:

 

Ha ha, men and their stomachs. I have a FB page called "what's for dinner" because that's the question I get asked everyday, sometimes as early as 7.00 am.

Funny.  It's the question I ask in the morning but "it's what do you want for dinner"

[suzilightning]

6 hours ago, sartoric said:

 

Ha ha, men and their stomachs. I have a FB page called "what's for dinner" because that's the question I get asked everyday, sometimes as early as 7.00 am.

Funny but John has a problem when I talk about food too early....he finds it something that upsets his head and stomach.  I have the problem that I have talked about before of when working with food or even reading about it NOT being hungry because of how I process information and my brain thinks I have already eaten.  NOT a good thing....