Wow
@picastoc - you should be a food writer - what a love letter to middle Eastern cuisine!
Of course I know Tahini - my gluten-sensitive gal has introduced me to all kinds of exotic sauces and foods over the years - but I am going back to basics. I am eating very little at the moment and feeling pretty good in this hot weather with a fast slimming body and an almost empty stomach - and I barely notice it. The heat helps, of course.
Those dips to me are only a social thing - I wouldn't dream of having it as a 'dinner' - maybe the odd snack or two, but essentially it spells out 'shared food and drinks with friends' - I also always keep something made from liver in fridge and pantry; atm I have a French pate as well as 2 tins of genuine cod liver, which are totally delicious. Must go and get those tiny toast things - they are perfect for such delicate flavours, but I always put a thin smear of butter over them, then a slice of pate or liver, and a dusting of pepper - and then there should be a sprinkling or two of caviar - but must order some from my newly discovered on-line Russian shop in Brisbane.
Last evening though, I cooked myself a steak - fast - in a hot pan, with lots of roasted onions and little else - yes a glass of red later on.
the fatty bits from the steak went to a blue-tongue lizard which has taken up residence here and I keep moving it out of Lillecat's vision - yesterday I even picked it up with my bare hands - no rubber gloves . . . . anyway, it did eat the fat and also the few cat biscuits I put out for it - and I splashed a little water round.
My fridge has been freshly cleaned out and is almost empty and I have transferred any nuts (almond, walnut, usually, sometimes hazel) which are normally stored in a kitchen cupboard into tallish containers and they are now in the fridge. I have still got one tall glass of
@NoBoDe's concentrated pear jam (more like a thick paste) - which i find hard to use as jam, but have used it to thicken the now fairly thin plum butter (Powidl) made in various European countries - and I discovered 2 tubs of cottage cheese (from ALDI) in the fridge, so will find something to make from this, maybe try a glutenfree pastry for an apple pie. . . . an yet again I decided to keep the 2kg bag of glutenfree bread flour (mostly made from maize) in the veggie drawer of the fridge - am seriously determined to use it - it's been there for 1 year, at least.
I also experimented with a kind of gnocchi my Mum used to make from Semolina as a delicious addition to beef tea called: Griessnockerl - and this time I made it from Polenta (which is glutenfree) and it worked - I cannot wait to try it on eldest daughter, as I used to love this as a child. - it's so simple to make: you weigh 80g if Semolina or Polenta - then melt 50g of Butter, add an Egg to this and beat egg and butter until foamy, then you add the semolina or polenta mix well and allow to stand at least 10 mins - enough time to heat up your clear soup (a few veggies in it are o.k. too) - take spoon and make oblong shapes from that mix and drop it into the soup, turn heat down a little and wait for the gnocchi to float on top - wait a bit longer and you almost have a light meal. that mix makes enough for 4 people, as they swell up.
The butter i used was salty, if not, then a tiny bit of salt and maybe a scraping of nutmeg improves the gnocchi - I also added a tiny bit of potato flour, just to make sure the mix sticks together when cooking.
I am invited to dinner tonight at a local restaurant and I have been trying to cancel with my friend, who does not respond to SMS messages, mainly because she is deaf and does not hear notifications - so I may have to trudge along tonight. Bush Fire danger is extremely high in this heat and I prefer to stay home at night. so there is hoping . . . .
Still reeling a bit from this continuing pandemic - seems our decision to ban Djokovic has wider implications in Europe, too - several clubs there have instituted more stringent measures also, above all the French.
Bon appetit - it's lunch time over your way;
stay safe!
X
Taurisk
