I’m not going to do a regular post today.
I set up an open thread last night for those who want to discuss, or simply process, the Paris attacks.
For those of you who need to take a breather from the tragedy, here is an alternate open thread to discuss, well, alternate things. But let’s not talk about MRAs and the rest today. Let’s take a break from them too. (And this is, of course, a no troll, no MRA thread.)
The photograph I’ve used for this post? It’s just a picture of a man and his bunny in Paris on a happier day.
Sounds like you’re looking for a self-care thread. Or, I need self-care anyway. So I’m going to start knitting an infinity scarf today. It’ll form a part of my “present package” (I do exchanges rather than personalised gifts).
I’m having an internal debate about whether I want to go for a walk. On the one hand it’s good for me but on the other I can’t do it without severe pain so it’s a tough balance. But if I go for a walk maybe I want to get the ingredients to make meatballs in my slow cooker? I’ve been craving them for almost a week now.
Oh hey, neat. Thanks, David.
I need a distraction from this sadness and awfulness and whenever I need one, I think about cooking or baking, ’cause those are fun.
I’m thinking about making a pie.
The crust will be chocolate shortbread sort, and instead of baking the innards, I’m going to make home-made ice cream and freeze it and then serve.
The ice cream (made to my excellent custard base) is going to have pureed peaches, with a splosh of peach liquor in it, but I’m kind of lost when it comes to other things I could put into it. I have a feeling that it needs something else, too, but I can’t figure out what.
If the mammotheers have suggestions about what I could include in it, something that can deal with being lightly frozen without turning into hard chunks (chocolate chips are a bit of a hazard in that case), I’d like to hear it.
I got plans to top it with mango slices before serving, to make it all pretty, possibly with marachino cherries as well.
So this will be… ahem…
FREEZE PEACH PIE with MANgo slices.
A video that you can watch with your cat:
https://youtu.be/ZjD8FRTrDB8
I find it relaxing; my cats think it’s the most exciting thing they’ve ever seen.
If we’re going to talk about food, does anyone have a good idea for a green salad? I’m supposed to be bringing one to a friends thanksgiving later. Since there will be a lot of protein, fat, and carbs in the other dishes will be eating, I was thinking something light with no meat or cheese.
I have some really good sesame ginger dressing already, so I was thinking of imitating the Asian salad they have at this restaurant I like. It has thin almond slices, little mandarin oranges, and red pepper. I’ll have to peek at the menu online and see if I can figure out what else may be in there.
As a side note, I hate it when restaurants name a salad an “Asian salad.” What does that even mean? Asia is a huge continent with a lot of different cuisines. Could anyone see an American restaurant naming a salad a European salad?
@WWTH — for some reason I think I’d use radishes or daikon as extra boost. They give a bit of welcome kick to salads.
We’re having early Thanksgiving this year because #1 son (#2 child, #3 still lives at home) came to visit form Indiana (I live in NJ). He hasn’t been home for turkey day since 2008 (rotten kid going to college and getting a job–the nerve) so I decided to do Thanksgiving with all the trimmings today and all my kiddies will be there. Dessert includes a chocolate souffle cake which contains…1 lb of Ghirardelli’s 60% chocolate baking bars, a 1/2 lb of butter (unsalted of course) and 9 eggs. nom nom nom. I’ll post pictures later. 😀
@WWTH — I could see “European salad” being used as a name, actually. In Europe, we definitely get things like “American-style pizza” so I assume the reverse also happens.
I think “Asian salad” means it has mandarin oranges in it.
@skiriki – use nuts instead of chocolate chips?
@wwth
I have a couscous salad I like to make, but I don’t know if it counts as “green salad”. It’s basically couscous made with vegetable stock, leek, kidney beans, lots of chopped parsley, and fresh lime juice.
I also like to make a salad with mixed greens (arugula, spinach, frisée, mâche, etc), red beets and chopped walnuts + a dressing made of olive oil, lemon juice and honey. I usually have this with chevre chaud, but I think it could be nice by itself as well.
anemonierosie: I have that same problem. I’m often in a lot of pain when I walk, but Meatballs on the other hand are very well worth it. Think of them as the treat at the end of that painful walk, maybe.
I just started learning knitting. I’m not good yet, but I hope to get there.
I’m thinking if changing career totally, and I;m trying to work out how to do it as I’m half a year shy of 50. I’m thinking something along the lines of economic analysis, I’m fed up of working in web development sweatshops (I feel that it help fuel my diagnosed depression).
On a second note, I served tea to some old folks from the Jewish ex-servicemen and women’s association with my kids, 1 paratrooper, 1 Guards Regiment, 1 Marine, 2 WRAC’s 1 WREN – so Mike Cernovice and your shitty veterans day statement, here are some you can meet and talk to. Also my Grandad was RAMC and part of the first medical team into Belsen.
Sinjar’s been liberated and the YPG/PKK are advancing further.
It was my daughters 7th birthday this week.
And I binge watched Masters of None on Netflix – brilliant, pity they’ve removed Portlandia.
@anemonerosie
You have my sympathies. I also deal with chronic pain although it’s infinitely less severe now since spring when I started getting the right treatment. I was in that dilemma many times, knowing I need to exercise but just couldn’t do it because of the pain. Now that I’m not in much pain I still don’t exercise enough, because it’s more fun to do other stuff. :p
dhag, do you toast your couscous first? I find frying it in nearly smoking peanut oil and then simmering it better than steaming for loose fluffy grains also have you tried Ptitim couscous in your salad?
No more Portlandia on Netflix? Dammit… I kept meaning to get back into that… too much entertainment to consume, not enough time…
@anemonerosie — I think walnuts might go nicely on top as decoration. 😀
I am doing couscous tonight – with onions, peas, green beans, stock and steamed salmon with lime and mild chilli marinade. I will try toasting first. oooo I’m hungry now!!
eyes open I toast by getting the oil searingly hot, dump in couscous or ptitim or bulgur (I’ve fine it with buckwheat, quinoia, various types of rice) really stir hard and fast to get it all coated in oil. Then pour in stock so it comes angry boil, then simmer (autocorrect wants me to put either summer or sinner) obviously they don’t cook at Google
On the subject of Portlandia (I have watched it twice right through, but I know I would have been happy to have watched it again) I have found that on ebay you can buy stamps for 65-85% of face value, thereby saving me money as I sell stuff on ebay. One one of these stamps, probably from the 70s, there is a woman who bears a stunning resemblance to Carrie Brownstein!
I am currently eating at least a kilo of little grapes that I got at the market today for £1. Bargain! This gives me less incentive to make the cheesecake I was planning.
@autosoma
Interesting idea, maybe I will try it. Sadly I don’t get to have couscous as often as I would like to because of calories reasons, and soaking them in oil definitely won’t help. :p Although it does sound delicious.
I’ve tried toasting rice in sesame oil before boiling it, and then re-frying with vegetables. I didn’t notice much of a difference that time, possibly because there was already so much sesame oil in the thing.
also this afternoon, I wrapped my kids up in a brown and red fluffy fleece blankets, used Kirby grips and hair bands to turn them into a little brown bear and red flying squirrel, so they could run around being bonkers-nutbags
Can this be a recipe sharing thread? My wife has been vegetarian for about a year and a half and I just went vegetarian this summer. We have a few great recipes we like to make, but I would love more ideas for vegetarian dinners reaonably low on calories but also tasty and filling. It’s tough finding that balance.
Wow, first I stay up till five in the morning with a friend that drank herself sick, and then I wake up and see the news. This has been an all around shitty 24 hours.
dhag, its a thin film of oil, not a big puddle. I’ve never tried with a non stick pan, but you could probably toast with one of those and no oil… it’s probably better thinking about it