Lunch 2024

[BonVivant]

(2 weeks worth of photos/meals.)

Rehydrated 2 packages of dried boletus and then used the same water to cook the pasta . Shredded SV'ed duck leg. Garum brought back from Sicily now refilled with fish sauce from Phu Quoc.

 

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Prawns in duck yolk sauce

 

Okra and deep-fried tofu "puffs" in duck yolk sauce

 

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Lamb chops

 

Wild mint brought back from Athens. It has all its flowers intact and the smell is just aMAzing. Sweetish and minty. I'm not a big fan of mint but this is unlike all the versions of mint I've ever come across. More about the mint in the Athens thread at another time.

 

Full-fat quark mixed with loads of mint and more on top.

 

Greeks order a green dish called "boiled greens", which looks like weeds in your garden you want to get rid of asap. I had here a Chinese vegetable called "tong ho" (a type of chrysanthemum). Simply quilted briefly in a pan with some (olive) oil.

 

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And today... the wait is finally over! From the same local farm every year. The first kilo (2,5lbs) I always keep it simple. Only want to savour the pure taste of freshly harvested asparagus.

 

Vertical version if viewing on a phone.

 

 

[KennethT]

 

Old Lai Huat style sambal barramundi 

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, BonVivant said:

I had here a Chinese vegetable called "tong ho" (a type of chrysanthemum)

 

Garland chrysanthemum, glebionis coronaria, formerly called chrysanthemum coronarium. 茼蒿 (Mand: tóng hāo; Cant: tung4 hou1).

[C. sapidus]

Lately I have been digging hot pickles with kimchi (tuna salad, etc.) - so why not with fried rice? Plus kielbasa, soy sauce, sriracha, and an egg. 
 

[liuzhou]

47 minutes ago, C. sapidus said:

so why not with fried rice?

 

No reason. It's not unusual here.

[billyhill]

Home cured bacon sandwich with avocado and bruschetta style tomatoes

 

Edited May 6 by billyhill
to make it easier to digest (log)

[C. sapidus]

Patagonian scallops with roasted chile Poblano in a cilantro-lime-habanero sauce.

 

[Steve Irby]

@BonVivant that fried okra and tofu has me drooling.  What's the procedure for the tofu and duck yolk sauce? 

 

Okra was also on our menu today.  Lunch was a variation on "Meat and Three".   The okra is sliced then rolled  in cornmeal prior to frying in hot oil.  My Mom couldn't fix enough for us kids.    

 

[blue_dolphin]

A riff on a recipe in Joe Yonan's Cool Beans for roasted cauliflower served on black chickpea hummus with black garlic and preserved lemon.  The cauliflower gets rubbed first with a mix of garlic, lemon zest and olive oil. Towards the end of the roast, it’s brushed with tahini and sprinkled with za'atar and black sesame seeds, roasted further to brown evenly and served on a bed of that black chickpea hummus. 

The cauliflower is supposed to be roasted whole but I broke it up into florets and there are supposed to be crunchy spiced roasted chickpeas to garnish but I failed to allow enough time to make them and went with arugula dressed with lemon and olive oil instead.  Scooped everything up with some of the Fluffy (and crisp) Flatbreads from The Cook You Want To Be. 

 

Edited to add:  here's a photo of that black chickpea hummus which I made with Rancho Gordo's black garbanzos.  It's rather murky looking stuff but it tastes pretty good. 

 

Edited May 12 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Smithy]

@blue_dolphin, that looks lovely and delicious. I've never heard of black chickpeas, though. Please elaborate on them. 

[blue_dolphin]

37 minutes ago, Smithy said:

@blue_dolphin, that looks lovely and delicious. I've never heard of black chickpeas, though. Please elaborate on them. 

 

Thanks!  I have the black garbanzos from Rancho Gordo.  The are an Italian variety also known as ceci neri.  They are smaller than regular chickpeas, they take longer to cook and the skin remains fairly firm even after the interior of the bean becomes soft and creamy.  I think that textural contrast is their best feature so I like them in salads, etc. I'm not sure that hummus was their best use but it does use their cooking liquid which is very flavorful compared to regular garbanzos and I like the black garlic and preserved lemon mixed with the earthy beans so I'm glad I tried it. 

In the photo below, you can see the size differences. Regular garbanzos on the left and black garbanzos on the right.  In each case, the raw beans are in the top row and cooked below. Due to the lighting, the cooked black garbanzos look a bit darker here and the ones used as a garnish for the black chickpea hummus in my previous post are a better representation. 

[johnnyd]

17 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

A riff on a recipe in Joe Yonan's Cool Beans for roasted cauliflower served on black chickpea hummus with black garlic and preserved lemon.  The cauliflower gets rubbed first with a mix of garlic, lemon zest and olive oil. Towards the end of the roast, it’s brushed with tahini and sprinkled with za'atar and black sesame seeds, roasted further to brown evenly and served on a bed of that black chickpea hummus. 

The cauliflower is supposed to be roasted whole but I broke it up into florets and there are supposed to be crunchy spiced roasted chickpeas to garnish but I failed to allow enough time to make them and went with arugula dressed with lemon and olive oil instead.  Scooped everything up with some of the Fluffy (and crisp) Flatbreads from The Cook You Want To Be. 

 

Edited to add:  here's a photo of that black chickpea hummus which I made with Rancho Gordo's black garbanzos.  It's rather murky looking stuff but it tastes pretty good. 

 

 

I am so doing this...

[johnnyd]

Blue Fin Poke, Scallops in black bean & garlic sauce

 

 

[BonVivant]

Pasta with asparagus and beetroot marinated Matjes.

With smoked salmon for the other one who doesn't like Matjes.

 

-------------#2---------------
Cold cuts (my favourite here is the liver)

Prawns, raw rhubarb slices, and quark. Cheese is cremeux de Normandie.

Dry-roasted poppyseeds added to warm honey and butter. Kumquat marmalade. Mango and blueberries.

I got these in Düsseldorf last time, hoping they would be more like crumpets. Turns out they are not like crumpets but not quite bread.

I know what "Toastbrot" (toast bread) is, but my first time seeing it looking a lot like crumpets.

The whole country was shut down on Thursday. An opportunity to enjoy a long, relaxing lunch.

 

------------------------#3-----------------------
Chewy, seedy sourdough bread from the countryside bakery.

A new-to-me small farm that makes cheeses using their own cows' milk, in a village near here, only 15 minutes away by bicycle. Costs twice as much as supermarket stuff but I do want to support our small(er) (local) producers.

----------------#4------------------------------

 

It's half way into May and I'm still eating squashes from last year! They keep so well that's why they are the last ones.

Watery, fibrous but very sweet. I made a soup with it.

Last one. To be cooked next week.

I think this pattypan is meant to be a decoration. I have actually eaten it a few years back. Tasted like a super dense courgette but more flavour than worthless courgette.

 

Blue Dolphin, I have a kilo of black chickpeas. Haven't got round to cooking them. Still waiting to finish some other grains and pulses in the cupboard first.

[BonVivant]

On 5/7/2024 at 12:49 AM, Steve Irby said:

What's the procedure for the tofu and duck yolk sauce? 

 

Thanks, Steve. Super easy to make.

Roughly how I make the sauce: steam the eggs to soften, grate or pulse in FP (I grate each yolk using a coarse strainer), warm butter in a pan on a low heat and add the grated yolks. Stir until smooth, don't let the sauce burn. Experiment with some extra ingredients, too. Garlic, Laoganma, stock powder, chillies etc.

I use the sauce in all kinds of dishes. Goes well with white meats, firm tofu, (green) vegetables, prawns, crabs, noodles, steamed savoury buns. Or sweet custard buns. 

Speaking of salated eggs, why not have fun with your own salt-cured yolks directly, too!

 

 

And if you ever come across these... (I like both. Bought them in Hong Kong but I think it's probably easier to get hold off now. If not, try the knockoffs. The original products come from Singapore, IIRC.)

 

I have this lying round.

 

[rotuts]

@BonVivant

 

everything looks so interesting 

 

and delicious.

 

what is this ?

 

 

oysters ?

 

you and @Duvel

 

end up w the most plump herring

 

Ive ever seen.

 

congratulations.

[BonVivant]

17 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@BonVivant

 

everything looks so interesting 

 

and delicious.

 

what is this ?

 

 

oysters ?

 

you and @Duvel

 

end up w the most plump herring

 

Ive ever seen.

 

congratulations.

 

Thank you.

Yes, oysters. I removed the top cover of 1 box to quickly make some photos. I eat them every week. Used to shuck them and have them ready with the rest of the food but no longer do that. They release a lot of water once shucked and it drips everywhere.

Got 8 boxes of 6 (in each, like these below) this week! So this week I eat a box a day, usually just 2 at weekends. Some people would rather take zinc pills.

 

[BeeZee]

Scored some very ripe marked down fruit at an Asian supermarket near my office, mango with skyr and toasted cashews for lunch.

 

[blue_dolphin]

Today is International Hummus Day so lunch was this Roasted Beet Hummus Bowl with Turmeric Tahini and Peanut Dukkah from Joe Yonan's Cool Beans, made with Little Sesame's Creamy, Fluffy Hummus from the same book, served with the Fluffy (and Crisp) Flatbreads from The Cook You Want To Be. 

 

[Neely]

Husband’s and my basic lunch of Australian beef sausage in a piece of baguette with green tomato pickles. 

I am always trying different bakeries in the hope of finding the true tasting French baguette. (Made in France) It is the flour, it’s different from French flour over here but I live in hope I may one day find a bakery, of which there are many, that imports French flour to make their baguettes. (Of course ‘why would they’ )It is quite a few years since I’ve been back to France but having spent quite sometime there, the memory of true baguette stays with me. There is a particular chain of bakeries here that I had high hopes for, Laurent Bakery which has very good bread and French cakes but alas still not the flavour, texture I remember. 
 

All that said, this particular lunch bread was good, made with a sprinkle of semolina for extra crunch. 
 

I would like to be able to make bread like our AnnT but so far I haven’t been able to. 

[C. sapidus]

Chorizo, green beans, and roasted chile Poblano with the last of the chipotle-tomatillo salsa

 

[C. sapidus]

Tacos with leftover guajillo shrimp and a relish of cucumber, tomato, shallot, chile serrano, lime juice, and a little sugar.

 

[MaryIsobel]

Skipped breakfast this morning to get to the garden center in good time. Starving when I got home so a couple of Christmas tourtierre tarts from the freezer with some peach ginger chutney cuz we are out of HP sauce!