The Recipe and Food Thread

[Tobias Hilshire]

Just missed that kind of thread, so I thought it would be nice to open one.
Any recipes you just want to share.... some weird specialty you have in your area... just share it
And yeah, I'll post something useful soon.

[TA Paisley Gregg]

Stay tuned for some San Francisco faves!!!

[TA Paisley Gregg]

Ok, so here is one to start with:

Cassie's Fennel and Tomato Bake

1 whole Fennel (Anise), sliced into strips (1/2'' by 1/2")
1 lb. Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tbsp. bread crumbs or wheat germ
salt and pepper, to taste

Spread the sliced fennel bulb in a thin layer in a shallow baking pan sprayed with Olive oil or Pam. Spread the tomatoes on top. Top with the cheese and bread crumbs/wheat germ. Bake in the oven or toaster oven for 10 minutes.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Really is yummy over brown rice or with some cooked spinach. (I'm an ovo-lacto-pesci-tarian, so if you need meat dishes, don't look at me.)

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Thanks for the recipe, Cassie... I totally love fennel.

And now one of my favourites:

Ella's Pasta di Mare

1 lb. Pasta, cooked (any kind you like)
14 oz. diced tomatoes (canned, sometimes called pizza tomatoes over here)
2 small onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced (or less if you don't like garlic that much)
7.5 oz. prawns
4 oz. fish (whatever you like, I prefer mackerel), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3.5 oz. mixed seafood
Olive oil, salt and pepper
grated cheese
Shichimi Togarashi (optional!)

In a large pan, heat the olive oil at medium heat. Fry the onions and the garlic until soft and slightly brown, then add everything except the pasta and the tomatoes. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and Pasta and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Taste with salt, pepper and the Shichimi Togarashi (take care, the stuff is really hot) and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Makes about two servings.

We usually have salad as side-dish for almost everything, so if you need some inspiration...

Rocket and corn salad

4 oz. sweet corn (canned)
3 oz. rocket
shaved Parmesan
lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper

In a large bowl, mix the corn and the rocket. Add the Parmesan and sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Yeah, that's it. Easy and lazy, but still good enough for me.

Hope anyone of you is going to like that stuff

[SSA Dr. Spencer Reid]

Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower and Potato)

Yummy dish that makes your whole house smell like heaven...

Ingredients:

-Vegetable/Olive oil
-1 lrg. onion, peeled, finely chopped
-1 lrg bunch Coriander (AKA cilantro), leaves finely chopped (I use scissors) and stalks roughly chopped
-1-2 lrg. green chili's, sliced small (depending on how spicy you like it.)
-1 head cauliflower, cut into quarters
-3 lrg. potatoes, cut into small pieces(1/4 slices)
-1 lb. Roma tomatoes, grated (or you can use 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes)
-1/4" piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated (or you can used minced garlic, but PLEASE no powdered crap)
-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
-1 tbsp. Cumin seeds (crush them), or buy the ground kind
-2 tbsp. Turmeric or Mustard seed powder (Turmeric is better, but not readily available)
-2 tsp. Garam Masala powder
-2 tsp. Curry powder (unless you have a curry plant handy...)

Heat the oil in a large pan or pot (I use my Dutch oven). Fry the onions and garlic, then add the cumin. Cook until onions are translucent but not brown. Now add in the coridander stalks, along with the turmeric, and a bit of salt if you like (I don't usually, though).

Cook for two minutes, then add the chilis. Cook for a few more minutes (about two or three). Add in the tomatoes, including the juice.

Mix in ginger. Now you can add the cauliflower and potatoes. If it seems too dry, add two tbsp. of water (NO MORE-aloo gobi is a dry curry, not a saucy one). Cover the pan and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occassionally. (I usually stop to drink some wine at this point

Finally, add in remaining spices and the cilantro leaves, saving a few out for garnish.

Now comes the trick to making it SUPER yummy and smelling GREAT: Turn off the heat under the pan, and let it sit for 20 minutes. Don't stir, just let it hang out.

I like to serve it with brown Basmati rice and maybe Cucumber salad, with some goat milk yogurt on the side. It should be a really pretty golden color, and smell like Indian takeout. It's a really fun dish to serve to friends, as this recipie makes 4-6 servings. It tastes great with a red wine (I usually use a Pinot Noir) or a Mango lassi, which I will post a recipie for later.

You can also purchase some Naan or Chapati bread to serve it with, and roll it up, Taco-style. When it is time to serve it, sprinkle the top with the left-over Coriander leaves.

[TA Paisley Gregg]

Mango Lassi (Other fruits can be subsitiuted, like Pomegranate and Pumpkin-actually, yes, Pumpkin *is* a fruit)

Ingredients
-1 c. plain yogurt/kefir
-1/2 c. milk (use non fat if calories are a concern-I use soy milk, though)
-1 cup Chopped Mango, pit removed, peeled
-4 tsp. sugar or 2 pkts. of the fake stuff (if watching your calories)
(Optional, but fun:)-1/2 c. sparkling water.

In a blender, pulse mango, sugar, milk, and yogurt for two minutes. Pour the sparkling water into a glass, and top with the fruit puree. Stir and sip. Otherwise, drink like a milk shake.

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Calpirinha

1/2 fl oz. Calpis/Calpico (concentrate, often sold at Asian markets)
1 fl oz. Peppermint Cordial
a lime, cut into chunks
crushed ice

Put the lime pieces into a glass, add the ice and everything else. Then, it works the same way as normal "Caipi". Just my typical non-alcoholic caipirinha version. And take care, it might be extremely sweet.

[TA Paisley Gregg]

Click me for Cassie's Indian Food blog: gettingcurried.blogspot.com/

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Panda-Toast

Definitely nothing a panda bear would eat, but it (hopefully) looks cute and like a panda's face.
You'll need:
Beetroot
Cream cheese
Worcestershire sauce
Black olives
Mozzarella cheese
Toast
(sorry for the lack of amounts, didn't ever measure it)

Cook the beetroot (if that's not already done when you buy it, we usually have packages with pre-cooked beetroot over here) and cut it into 1/2 inch slices. Mix the cream cheese and the Worcestershire sauce (the mixture should be slightly tan coloured) and spread it onto the toast. Slice the mozzarella and the olives. Put the beetroot slices on the toast but set one slice apart for each face, since you'll need these to make the ears. Cover the slices with the mozzarella. Cut the remaining beetroot slice into halves and put them on the "top" of every mozzarella slice. Ad the olive slices as eyes and some small olive pieces as mouth.
That's it, hope everything didn't sound too complicated.

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Birnen, Bohnen und Speck (pears, beans and bacon in English, but it can't be translated in this case since it's a name )

You'll need...
4 round pears (though not traditional, nashi pears work perfect)
500 g green beans, frozen
400 g pork belly (since the German kind of bacon is a little different compared to your version)
Salt and summer savory

Cut the pork belly into large (about 3-5 cm) chunks. Put them into a pot and add salt and water until the meat is fully covered. Heat the stuff until it's cooking. After 3 Minutes, set the pork aside. Add the beans and the savory to the water and cook for about 30 minutes. Cut of the "blossom" part of the pears, add them to the beans and set the heat to low. Let it simmer for ten more minutes (until the beans are soft). Serve with the bacon and cooked potatoes.

[solidus]

Ham sandwich.

Ingredients:

• Ham
  
• Sliced Bread
  
• Butter
  

First butter two slices of bread. Then put ham on the buttered side one of the slices of bread. Finally put remaining slice on bread on the other. Enjoy.

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

LOL... the ham sandwich somewhat reminds me of an explanation I've found at some German dark alternative scene board

[SSA Dr. Spencer Reid]

Dinner:

1 large head of lettuce
1 large eggplant (that's Aubergine for you, Ella )

Cut lettuce. Smother with vinegar and olive oil. Steam eggplant in the steamer. Smother in the same dressing. Eat.

(See, I can be a smartass, too. Also, I am a bad cook)

[SA Sandra Hilshire]

Mutti's simple and easy chickpea salad

A family favourite that we usually have as snack or as one of the side dishes for grilling.

You need:
1 large can (about 500 g) chickpeas, drained (they should be pretty cheap at oriental markets)
3-5 long green onions or 1-2 shallots
a bunch of parsley
200 ml lemon juice
75-100 ml olive oil
salt and pepper

Cut the onion into thin slices or mince the shallots. Chop the parsley and put it into a large bowl together with the onions. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Whisk everything until the oil and lemon juice is combined (or at least looks like it is combined). Now just add the chickpeas and toss to coat. Ta da!

[TA Paisley Gregg]

YUMMEH.