I'm not going anywhere. ^^ I mean, I should go to sleep, but I'm not. XD

:.:.:

As a side thought-
Anyone have a curry recipe? For some reason, that sounds good at the moment. I've never had it, but it sounds good. XD

Here's the Recipe which you can make, Tell me If you can't find some Ingredient ... and I shall Tell you the substitute -

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients:
Pav Buns - 10 (If You can't find them, Use Toasted Bread, You can toast the Bread with a bit of Butter)
Onions - 2, finely chopped
Coriander Powder - 2 tblsp
Tomatoes - 2 cups, finely chopped
Cumin Powder - 1 tblsp
Potato - 2 cups, cooked and mashed
Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tblsp (If you can't Find this use the recipe for Pav Bhaji Masala I've given at the bottom)
Coriander Leaves - 1 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 tblsp
Ginger - 2 tsp, grated
Garlic - 1 tsp, crushed
Green Chillies - 2, finely chopped
Water - 1/2 cup
Salt as per taste

Method:
1. Add onions to hot oil and fry till pink.
2. Add garlic and fry for a minute.
3. Add tomatoes, salt, coriander powder, cumin powder and chilli powder.
4. Stir for a minute.
5. Add the other ingredients and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
6. Cook chopped vegetables, cover for 5 minutes on medium heat.
7. Mash well.
8. Add 1/2 cup of water and simmer.
9. When all the vegetables are well mixed, garnish with coriander and lemon juice.
10. For the pavs, slit the pav buns horizontalls from the middle.
11. Apply butter on the cut surface and fry in hot pan.
12. Remove when it is golden brown.
13. To serve, sprinkle chopped onions, coriander and pav bhaji masala over bhaji.
14. Serve hot with pav buns.

(Use the Pav cooking method only if you've got some Pav)

Pav Bhaji Masala

Ingredients
2 tbsps coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
4 dry red chillies
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp dry raw mango powder
2 pods cardamom seeds removed
6 cloves
1"piece of cinnamon
2 star anise
1 tsp fennel seeds
2" piece of dry ginger
1 tbsp garam masala powder (see recipe below)
1/4 tsp asafetida

PREPARATION:
Heat a flat pan on medium heat. Gently roast the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, the dry red chillies, cloves and cinnamon till they turn slightly darker and begin to release their aroma. Remove from fire immediately and cool.
Grind all the ingredients - including the garam masala powder - together in a dry coffee grinder, till a fine powder is formed


---X---

There...

Curry? Uh.. Which type of curry?

I've never heard of mango powder... And I know I won't be able to get cardamon pods- I've been looking for them for months now. I did manage to find ground cardamon once though... Would that work?

As for what type of curry, as long as it doesn't have seafood or lamb, I'd be willing to try almost anything.

If you don't Put mango powder, It'll be just fine, it's just to put a bit of sourness in it, I usually make my own powder and I don't put mango powder in it. Yes, Cardamon would even work.

Uh.. Okies, I'll go and try finding the recipe of some curry, BTW, If you need help with any other ingredients just ask. ^^

Soo... I went to the store today to try and get the stuff to make the Pav Bhaji... And we were out of Cilantro/Coriander leaves. Won't be in until Monday. So, I guess that is not going to happen.

(Which is kinda ok, as I don't really know what asafetida is or where I'd find it.)

Instead, I made a curry inspired chicken dish. I'll try to share the recipe, but as I don't measure... ^^; It's going to end up being more of a method than a recipe. I cannot give amounts for anything- I just go with 'what looks good'.

.:Ashen's Creamy 'Curried' Chicken and Broccoli:.
Serve's 4
4 bone-in, skinless Chicken thighs
Frozen Broccoli
Curry Powder and:
-Whole Cloves
-Bay Leaf
-Ground Ginger
-Ground Nutmeg
-Dried Ground Mustard
-Garlic Powder
-Ground Cinnamon
-Minced Onion
-Chicken Bullion cube
-Black pepper
-Chili Powder
Onion (I used a handful of the frozen chopped ones.)
Milk
Light Cream
Honey
Rice

Place chicken in a pot. Over the chicken sprinkle in some curry powder and black pepper. Add in bay leaf, 3-5 whole cloves, and bullion cube. Sprinkle in other seasonings. Fill pot with water until chicken is just covered. Cover pot. Simmer chicken about 20 mins. Chicken will not be cooked. Remove from heat. Reserve boiling liquid.

Start your rice- the kind I use takes about one hour to make. If your rice takes less time, start it later.

In a saute pan, saute your onion with butter. When the onion just starts to become golden, add a couple ladles of the chicken's boiling liquid/stock. Stir, and add in some milk (about the same amount as the water you just added). Pour in about half a pint of cream. Add a swirl of honey- a tablespoon at the most. Sprinkle in curry powder and additional seasonings. Adjust to taste.

Place chicken in pan. Keep some boiling liquid in case you want a thinner sauce. Coat with sauce, cover, and cook at a simmer. Flip chicken occasionally so it won't stick. If your sauce reduces too much add some more milk/cream and stock. About 50 mins later, add broccoli. You may need to add more liquid at this point. Cook broccoli to desired doneness.

Eat.

:.:.:
This is what I had for supper tonight. It is yummy. ^^

Oooh~! Looks good~!

It was good. ^^

I just really wish I was able to approximate the amounts. But the spices are really better if they are adjusted to individual tastes anyway. What I like may not be what someone else likes.

I still have rice left over from it though... Is there anything I can make with leftover rice? I also need to find a better way to cook rice- I kinda burnt the bottom bit of rice. ^^; Oh well.

Quote:

Love everyone of those dishes

You're right~! <3

I made this the other day with my aunt. They are chicken roll-up things, and they are pretty tasty. Also made some stuffed mushrooms. It was pretty yummy. ^^ I'm not sure where she got the recipe. I also made it tonight for me and my gram, with some pasta.

Chicken Roll-ups
-Chicken Breast, pounded thin
-Spreadable soft cheese (We used Laughing Cow brand spreadable cheese wedges in garlic and herb, but I think any soft cheese will work)
-Roasted Red bell Peppers
-Mushrooms
-Garlic

Saute your mushrooms with garlic.
Cut your peppers into strips.
Spread the cheese on one side of the chicken breast. Layer in a few peppers, mushrooms and garlic at one end of the chicken. Roll the chicken up and hold it together with toothpicks. Bake in the oven at 400(?) degrees until done.

Chicken Cordon bleu roll-ups (This is the one I made tonight)
-Chicken Breast, pounded thin
-Spreadable soft Swiss (Laughing cow again. I mean, you can use normal Swiss cheese to, but this came out well.)
-Sliced deli ham (Depending on how thick you have it sliced/how big your chicken breasts are/how many chicken breasts you have. And, I got smoked Virginia ham for mine.)
-"Italian Blend" Shredded Cheese(What I used has mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, and provolone.)
-Bread Crumbs/flour/egg (I used Panko)

Spread Swiss cheese on chicken. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese on, top with ham. (Make sure the ham is the smaller than the width of your chicken.) Roll up the chicken, use toothpicks to hold. Dust the top of the chicken with flour, then an egg wash, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Put in the oven until cooked though. Mine took about 40 mins at 400. (Actually, I likely -could- have pulled them sooner.)


Stuffed Mushrooms
-Mushrooms of your preference (We used baby portabella)
-Onions
-Leeks or Scallions (Or both, whatever, your choice. XD)
-Summer Squash or Zucchini(This is the main part of the 'stuffing' )
-Garlic
-Parmesean shaker cheese
- Shredded cheese of your choice. (I used the 'Italian blend' again.)
-Bread crumbs
-Egg
-Olive Oil

Finely chop onion and scallions/leeks. Grate or finely chop squash. Place these in a bowl and salt. Set aside for at least a half an hour- we're 'sweating' the vegetables in a way.

Prepare your mushroom caps- take out the stem and kind of 'hollow out' the mushroom. Set aside.

Squeeze the water out of your squash mix and discard the water. Add in an egg, a drizzle of oil, minced garlic, and breadcrumbs. Now, the meat of this 'stuffing' should be your squash- it is not breadcrumbs. Next, add in the shaker Parmesan cheese and some of the shredded. The stuffing should loosely hold together. If you think it is too loose, you can add another egg.

Stuff your mushrooms. Place in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 mins.

Are mushrooms necessary? Can't stand Mushrooms

For what- the roll ups or the stuffed mushrooms?

The roll ups, no. You don't have to put them in. For the stuffed mushrooms... I suppose you could use the stuffing in something else, though I'm not sure what. I just was thinking about a pepper, but I'm not sure how it would taste with the squash...

I never used to like mushrooms either, but now I think they are pretty good, as long as they are cooked. I don't like them raw.

Roll ups. I think it would be hilarious if someone asked it for stuffed mushrooms xD

...You don't know the people I do... They -would- ask. XD

Anyway...

I had some uncooked 'stuffing' left over from my mushrooms last night, so tonight I added another egg and more breadcrumbs and made little patties with them. I was inspired by crab cakes. (Well, actually, I was inspired by a recipe for thanksgiving leftovers that was inspired by crab cakes. XD) I fried them up so they were crispy on the outside. The texture of them really reminded me of stuffing, actually.

Easy Carrot Soup
- 1 carrot
- Margarine
- Salt
- Sugar (optional)
- Water
-----------
1) Slice up the carrot. Thinner is better.
2) Heat some margarine or butter in a pan. If you like it buttery, put in lots. If you don't, a tablespoon is enough.
3) Put the carrot slices in.
4) Cook until slightly soft.
5) Pour in water. The amount is up to you, depending on how thick you want the soup to be.
6) Lower heat and simmer until carrot is soft, unless you want the carrots to be crunchy.
7) Add in the salt. If you want it to be slightly sweet, add in the sugar. You can also put in pepper if you like.
Done.
---------------------
0> You can add other stuff in it too, if you want. Sausage, minced meat, other veggies, etc etc etc.
0> I have NEVER tried cooking this with butter, so you can try that if you want. At your own risk.
0> I personally find that it taste better if you leave it to sit for a few hours then reheat it. The flavour of the carrot mixes into the soup and I thought it made it taste better.

Quote:

I find that most soups/stews/sauces/etc. taste better if they've sat and "rested" for awhile. The flavors mix better and get more pronounced.

You all have posted some wonderful recipes! I'll have to go through with a pad and pencil to jot some of them down. I've got a stack of cookbooks, but it's always nice to have more, isn't it? Especially when it's something that you know has been tested.

I haven't been cooking too much lately, but now that the weather is getting a bit cooler, I'm looking at my bread maker (yes, I "cheat" a bit), shopping around for a small slow cooker (something in the 1-1 1/2 quart size, I think), and busting out my new butter churn (the mason jar method was getting a bit old!). One of my favorite breads is a whole wheat buttermilk maple. If I make butter first - really easy if you start with heavy whipping cream - a pint of cream produces just enough liquid to make a 1 1/2 pound loaf. It isn't as tangy as cultured buttermilk you'd buy at the store, but it does give a nice flavor. Use a little maple syrup as the sweetener and it's a great thing, especially slathered with homemade butter and a bowl of hot soup/chowder.

Alright, so, I need some healthy recipes. Particularly things that don't use meat. (Ashen is cutting out the amount of meat she eats. Along with fat. And calories. And lots of other things that are yummy but is bad for you.)

I'm up for pretty much anything, unless it has sea-food/fish. I don't really like those... though, I guess, if the fish doesn't taste fishy, I might be willing to try it...

Anyone have some that they are willing to share?

My favourite is soup, and I think corn/veggie soup could help this.

My mom usually has corn soup, added with carrots and potatoes. The carrots and potatoes are cut into little pieces. And they're always get me stuffed.
My friend ever cooked the same thing, the difference is that he made the soup a bit creamy. It's called cream soup, I guess. Nah, I think this won't do because it has so much milk

And I think healthy foods are always easy to make, sometimes you can just eat them together. Like salads and fruits.

Yeah, been having a lot of salads. I could try to make soup, but...it's been so warm...though, I have a whole bunch of veggie odds and ends that need to be used up before they go bad, soo... that might work.

I did make myself a lighter version of a potato salad the other day. (The family was having a cook-out, and I didn't want to be left out.)

So I took some of the cooked potatoes before they added anything to them (well, they added vinegar. But yeah, nothing else.) and chopped up some onion and scallion and celery, added one hard boiled egg, some fresh ground pepper... Then, instead of a ton of mayo or miracle whip, I put in less than two teaspoons of mayo and then some plain greek yogurt (that chobani 0% stuff), and a small swirl of spicy brown mustard. Oh my goodness, it was so yummy.

Was it particularly 'healthy'? Eh~ Probably not, though it was a lot better than a normal potato salad. And it had a lot less mayo/dressing... like you know if you buy potato salad at the store and it seems to be almost swimming in mayo or whatever it is they use? Yeah, mine was more of a coating of stuff rather than a drenching.

Ok, so I've been reading some food blogs to find ideas, and I keep seeing people talking about poaching an egg in tomato sauce. Has anyone here tried that? It seems...odd, to me.