Taste budsology

I tried boiling the beef first to see how that affects the taste and texture. For the chow mein, I sauted a whole cut up onion in golden ray. Then I added my beef slices. I seasoned it with garlic, celery, parsley and chives. Then I added my veggie pieces - cauliflower, sweet pepper, green cabbage and pimento. I cook for about 20 minutes on low heat, adding water halfway through. I served it with my goodly stovetop bread.

It is Eid al Adha so our neighbour gifted us some beef. A nice piece of meat without any fat perfect for stir fry. I thaw it half way to make it easy to cut into thin slices. Good for stir fry in golden ray with carrots that I precooked. I added some water and cooked it down for about 20 minutes. I tried my best to make the slices thin. The beef came out medium soft. If I could cut it thinner that would be better for the softness. Maybe some meat tenderiser and some pounding. Even pressure cooking is a possibility. I served it with my stovetop homemade bread and it was most delicious.

I used what I had to make a mush. Cut up the veggies into small pieces and cookdown covered on low heat with golden ray for about 30 minutes. Seasoned with fresh seasoning, Italian seasoning and maggi seasoning. Served with homemade stovetop bread with garlic butter. Same bread recipe as yesterday but without the cookeen and used less cooking time and it came out perfect. I drizzled some tamarind sauce on the mush. Man this tasted so good.

Oh the nostalgic smell of homemade bread baking in the house. To go with some garlic butter and wash down with coffee. First time I was doing this and I was not sure it would work out. I saw others doing this stovetop bread online so there was hope. My mom told me she made stovetop bread when I was little using a three burner countertop stove. An oven stove was a luxury in those days. Any bread dough recipe will do. Knead and rise the dough. Oil the pot. Knead the dough again and rise again, this time in the pot. Cover while cooking on the very lowest heat for about 25 minutes. Next time I will try 15 to 20 minutes because this time the bottom was too charred. I cut out the charred bottom before serving. I ate some of it as it tasted like a crunchy bread cracker. I think this needs fine tuning and I am up for the challenge. The insides were most delicious though. *I tried it again using less time and it was perfect

Today was provisions and stew tomatoes. For provisions I used blue dasheen, sweet potato and green fig. The green fig was boiled with skin on and that make it easier to peel. I also boiled some plantain. The tomatoes were sauteed in golden ray with celery, chive, parsley, shadon beni and garlic. I added water so I would have enough sauce for the provisions. I like cooking in the early morning when the place is quiet and cool. I also have tamarind sauce as a condiment. Ital is vital.

I decided to make a medley for lunch of the things I had available. First was roasted baigan or baigan choka. Then chow mein using a chow mein pack I had. This had carrots, sweet pepper and cabbage. I added parsley, shadon beni and celery and garlic and cooked on low heat in golden ray butter. Then I boiled some plantain and made some curly pasta. Pasta was served with parmesan and tamarind sauce.

The dough consisted of cookeen, flour, water, salt, sugar and baking powder. Maybe too much cookeen and why it came out like a french fried pastry. I did not mind because it tasted so delicious. The stuffing was boiled and mashed potato with parmesan, parsley, shadon beni, black pepper and minced garlic. I made 7 balls that I rolled out and stuffed with the aloo and folded. Fried in oil and voila. About a minute on each side.

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and Italian seasoning. Add some cookeen in small chunks. Crumble while mixing to get even spread. Add enough water to get soft dough and knead plentiful. Add small amounts of water until you get the right feel. I formed 6 small balls. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes. That was enough time for me to put the laundry on the line to dry. If you want and what I might try in the future is adding milk and yeast. Heat pot on high but you will need to lower the heat as time goes by. Roll out dough. The size I went for was the size of pita pockets. Use dry flour to avoid sticking. Cook on each side for about 1 minute. Cut each roti in half and create a pocket in each half. Store wrapped in foil to remain moist and serve with your favorite talkari. My mom made chorai bhaji or local spinach.

I knew the ingredients I could get and I had some ideas and I was inspired by recipes I found online. I cut up a small carrot into small chunks, two cloves of garlic and then one leaf shadon beni, some celery and some parsley. I drained and rinsed a can of black beans. I started my pot and added some kerrygold butter and golden ray butter. I added the garlic and fresh seasoning. I added the carrots and some Italian seasoning (oregano, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, savory, basil and sage). Then some black pepper. Saute nicely. Then add enough water to cook down the fettuccine which was about half a pack. I broke the fettuccine into thirds. I then added a small pack of coconut cream. Takes about 12 minutes to cook down. I served it with parmesan cheese on top.