Monday, January 24, 2022

Change of plans

 I originally was going to make a lasagna for Handsome Son's monthly dinner-with-Mom event. Then, the noodles made and stored in the freezer, logistics intervened.

His free evening is Wednesday, and some of the lasagna ingredients are in my Misfits box which arrives Friday.  They've extended their range to include dairy and eggs as well as fish and meat. This is good, if it works, organic food at reduced prices, at the door, saves me a big shop as well as $$.

I do like to get out and shop for a few items, since for a single older lady, it's a chance to see other humans, always a good thing. But a longer list means more exposure and more waiting at the checkout, which I'd rather not do 

So I took advantage of the chance of ordering eggs and dairy in addition to the produce,and changed my Wednesday plans. When the ingredients arrive, I can make the lasagna and freeze it for a future dinner.

Meanwhile here's the new plan:












To learn to pronounce it, go to the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen YouTube channel. The cook starts with how to say it. It's a recipe from Bahrain, where she's from.

It's also, like a lot of Ottolenghi, quite a performance to produce. Many ingredients, many lovely spices. 

I don't have access to prawns, so it's going to be the rest of my Misfits shrimp, smaller but okay. And I will add in halibut, diced.









Today I started with a vegetable stock I made from my frozen bag of peelings from recent Misfits boxes. There's enough over for a future soup. And specially for this recipe, it included a stick of cinnamon. The house smelt very savory today.

Here's the fridge shelf getting ready for the Big Cooking Caper


Left to right, stock, measured ahead, ginger, almond slices, golden raisins, cooked baby Bella mushrooms.

Then on today's abbreviated shopping trip, the all important basmati rice base





So posh it comes with its own recipe sheet and philosophy of life.







Tomorrow I'll get the fish organized.

What this is about is,: rice with onions, garlic, tomatoes and various spices, with heavily spiced and marinated shrimp, and here halibut, heaped on top of it.

This includes a lot of my favorite things. And I suspect it will make plenty. It will involve a lot of the contents of my three, count them, spice shelves. Including whole cardamom pods, a big fave.

It's just not for the faint hearted. 

Meanwhile I'd run out of bread, while I was organizing this fancy exotic stuff. So  I  made a batch of walnut biscuits 













while I was hanging about in the kitchen trying to conclude that this Bahraini adventure was a good change of plan. Some biscuits went next door, hot from the oven.

Whatever comes of it, and I have had good results from Ottolenghi recipes, I can always quote my mom: it's all good ingredients!

Dessert, in case you wondered, is that dish of handmade chocolates you saw yesterday.

It's all good, even while I'm wondering why I am incapable of just planning a simple, easy dinner for handsome Son. Since it's only once a month, it's an event, I guess.



20 comments:

  1. Mom always said, Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I think nothing is a "venture" for you. You've done it or its approximation somewhere in the past.

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  2. That's a point. There's a history.

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  3. That's a lovely exotic meal you're making for your son! I've made Basmati rice before. That's the closest I've come to it, LOL!

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  4. Well it wouldn't be anything without the rice!

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  5. Sounds divine, hope you both enjoy it and your visit, too.

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  6. Heart palpitations here from all those wonderful ingredients. Can't wait to hear the post-prandial report.

    Also I loved yesterday's explanation of embossing.

    Busy here putting together (for the last couple of weeks) and presenting a Community Ed course (over Zoom) tonight. It went great, despite my non-proficiency with hosting Zoom classes. Whew!

    Chris from Boise

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  7. Looks like a terrific menu.Lucky Son to have such nice meals dished up to him! And walnut cookies is a wonderful idea. In fact, I am now wondering if I should make some myself...

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  8. Chris, I need to hear more about the community ed course, such as the subject matter. I applaud your fearless attitude to conducting a zoom presentation.

    Jenny, these are hot biscuits American style, more like scones than cookies. But either way, walnuts are a good addition. Somewhere I blogged the recipe which I've changed so much from the original I had to put it in here for people wanting to try them.

    E, thank you. I hope the food works out. The company will be fine anyway.

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  9. What a treat you two will share! It sounds like a great recipe. I imagine the halibut will be a great addition.

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  10. I like what your mother said. I've always said something similar- use good ingredients and don't burn them and things should be okay.
    That is going to be an interesting and delicious dish and I, myself, would have a lot of fun making it.

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  11. She also said "God sends food, and the divil sends cooks!"

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  12. It's nice to make something a little involved and exotic now and then and a once a month dinner seems like as good a reason as any.

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  13. That's pretty much my reasoning too.

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  14. Misfit shrimp sound yummy, at least the way you're preparing them!

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  15. I may do a lasagna for grandson’s birthday next week. I’ll have to see what everyone is thinking for a celebration. I am timing of a chicken one.

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  16. At this stage on life I consider it an event when our adult sons come for a meal, so I understand. Your meal sounds wonderful. Looking forward to reading your report.

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  17. Is Ottolenghi a she?

    You have great patience. I am put off by long lists of ingredients.

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  18. Yotam Ottolenghi is definitely a man. His cookbooks, such as Plenty and Jerusalem, are artworks in themselves, even if you never cook from them.

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