🍓 food and cooking

[inner perch]

she made the snoopymisu as a surprise to me once

[hidden arch]

WOAH those r amazing!!! /gen

thats talent

[inner perch]

grazie kelly!!

[limpid wren]

woah those look slay

[potent drift]

Omg 🫐✨ That looks so good!

[mental hinge]

i’m giggling

looks soooo good

[inner perch]

thanks y’all

sharing about some of the culinary traditions in here is something that brings me joy and tbh i hope y’all will get to try zeppole one day

[mental hinge]

when the function has brie pizza

[abstract crag]

Omg briezza

[frank shoal]

Some chicken to the oven

[abstract crag]

https://tenor.com/view/freddy-fazbear-fnaf-five-nights-at-freddy's-gif-15838626481770486913

[inner perch]

greg pasta

/silly

[floral ore]

Genovese pesto tomato cheese pizza 🍕✨

[untold charm]

Homemade pineapple ice cream

[mental hinge]

looks absolutely incredible fr

[inner perch]

does anyone have spinach recipe suggestions ? /gen

i have some to use them but is one of those food that i do not eat so i’m a bit clueless

[mental hinge]

[inner perch]

when the function is recipe sharing on gircord

[limpid wren]

how much spinach do you have?

[mental hinge]

spinach / cream cheese / mushroom pasta

spinach brie pizza

chickpea spinach curry

spinach cream orzo

[inner perch]

a lot, like 2/3 of a bag. my mother used the rest for pesto the other day

[inner perch]

i will check if i have the other ingredients to make any of these recipes today. they all sounds really good so in meantime, thank you very much 📝👀 /gen

[inner perch]

are there specific spices combo used in this recipe? /gen

[limpid wren]

if you want to go full spinach you could try palak paneer (maybe sub tofu for the cheese if you want)

i have eaten it but never diyed so idk how easy it is

tbh i usually just want a small bowl of it so maybe a whole recipe would be a lot

[inner perch]

omg

my sister made this a couple months ago

[mental hinge]

the train internet is too bad for my recipes to load

[inner perch]

paneer is hard to come by in regular supermarkets here but she does like it

[inner perch]

no worries!! /gen
i will add them to my recipe list

[mental hinge]

wait it worked

onion garlic tomato cubes chickpeas spinach curry garam masala and cumin

and coconut milk

[inner perch]

i’m thinking i could make the chickpea spinach but i will have to postpone to tomorrow since the chickpeas are dry and need 12 hours

[limpid wren]

ooo yum

[inner perch]

i would get my sister to help me make it in case, but thank you kendall for suggestion i forgot about the recipe

[inner perch]

thank you so much marieke 📝

[inner perch]

my sister just told me we could maybe make the paneer ourselves

i put the chickpeas to get ready:

it’s literally the chickpeas rn

[mental hinge]

giggle

[frank shoal]

TORRIJASSSSS

[potent drift]

woah that looks so delicious!!

[frank shoal]

My fam said they were really good

I also made 2 other dishes today

I forgot to take a pic before cutting it but it's a zucchini tortilla, my mom loved it and that was my goal so I'm happy

I also made chicken to the oven but I didn't take a pic

[solid socket]

Do you guys like Ramen or pasta more?

[inner perch]

i am team pasta 🍝

interesting question, we could make a poll

[solid socket]

Yea

[inner perch]

[hidden arch]

EASYYYYYY

[inner perch]

|| i do also like ramen but of course i am very biased towards pasta becsuse i’ve had all my life ||

[abstract crag]

chocolate ice cream i made

[mental hinge]

looking sooo good

[keen hollow]

Chicken Wings and rice/beef (a type of chicken wings)

[potent drift]

@inner perch cena
This time a variant with elicoidali e peas 🫛 ✨

[inner perch]

looks very spring vibes

wishing you buona cena blueberry

[potent drift]

Omg true, I didn't even consider that

[potent drift]

grazie <3

[inner perch]

do y’all have any recipe ideas / traditions for easter time ? /gen

i’m curious

also for anyone who might be interested on the 6th is international carbonara day

[limpid wren]

my parents usually make a particular egg dish. we also sometimes make this bread (cinnamon + pecan filling) and shape it like a bunny

do you have any traditions?

[inner perch]

omg bread shaped bunny!!!!!

that sounds so cool!!! 🐰 🍞

[inner perch]

there many traditions here especially surrounding food i think one of the coolest might be the gifting/ receiving chocolate eggs things (uova di pasqua)

they usually have surprises inside and are themed so there endless kinds

[limpid wren]

ooo that sounds fun

[inner perch]

i think i have an idea on how to do that but with a twist hopefully i will be able to

[limpid wren]

like this (i added drawings to make the shape more clear)! they also have a duck shaped one we make sometimes

[inner perch]

omg

[inner perch]

looks very loafly /gen /pos
|| lovely but bread pun ||

[stable shore]

we have eggs' hunts!!

but I think that's a european thing bc they had it too in london when I was there for easter once

chocolates hidden in the gardens on easter sunday by the parents

and the kids are told that either the easter bunny or the easter bells put the eggs/chocolates in the garden

[potent drift]

We also do easter egg hunts, but here it's the easter bunny 🐰 🪺✨ Bells are interesting!! Oh what we (my family at least) also do is smash the chocolate easter bunnies to the ceiling (in the packaging) and then make chocolate fondue out of them (unless it's actually good chocolate, then we eat them as they are) (we don't buy them only to do that, it's just if we receive some)

[frank shoal]

Yess, most famous one in Spain are torrijas

And in Spain I fear more than Easter we celebrate it in a Catholic way where people dress up and take big statues of virgins for a walk with music and so on

[frank shoal]

Torrijas are these btw

[elder terrace]

We make chocolate Easter nests!!

It’s shredded wheat cereal or rice crispys then Cadbury chocolate and golden syrup mixed up and melted together then topped with mini eggs

[frank shoal]

Today's carbonara, requested by my younger brother

[static veldt]

we have something similar here called chocolate crackles but they aren’t just for easter time

[elder terrace]

Omg yummm!

Do you have a pic?! /nf

[static veldt]

it’s not my photo but they’re basically rice bubbles, coconut oil sugar and cocoa powder. so they’re similar but different

a children’s party snack

[elder terrace]

Omg yeah! They are similar yummm!

[static veldt]

we also have honey joys which are mostly corn flakes and honey

[elder terrace]

Omg yummm!

[mental hinge]

when the function has avocado pasta

[jaunty oxide]

this looks so good omg

[potent drift]

@inner perch ✨

[inner perch]

buona cena blueberry!!!
i was thinking about this recipe today

|| fork found in kitchen because i think about it often /lh /silly ||

[neat trail]

I couldn't find my tagliatelle pics but here's some other noodlesss. umm I think the mac and the spaghetti noodles are from the store but I did the cheese sauce w bacon and the carbonara myself. and then there's my homemade ramen with char siu (pork belly) and ajitsuke tamago (sweet marinated eggs), plus some seaweed and green onions

[mental hinge]

ohhhh scrumptious

[neat trail]

AH I FOUND IT, and I found some others along the way that are cute. a raspberry lemonade whipped cream strawberries on top bc it was cute, and some desert-y pancakes. the last one is my homemade tagliatelle alfredo with chicken and sauteed red bell peppers!!

I got the tagliatelle recipe from my greek friend who I sadly lost contact with but it was so good! I treasure it. if you don't know what that is it's basically a long, thin, flat noodle. like a fettuccine but a bit wider I think

[static veldt]

same dough and same temperature but two different results of cookies only difference is the second ones were in the fridge for 15 more minutes

baked m&ms do not look pretty

[hidden arch]

yum

[ivory jetty]

Had some really good food todayyyy

[frank shoal]

Not the best pic but I wanted to lay down already

They're shrimp and hake meatballs

[untold charm]

Caramel cheesecake

[untold charm]

Reese’s browniesp

[red sentinel]

sourdough bread i made yesterday :)

[potent drift]

@inner perch I almost forgot! Cena from yesterday!!

[inner perch]

i almost made it yesterday but we don’t have onions

[potent drift]

Omg 💔 That's devestating!!

Although I've been wondering how it would taste without onions

[inner perch]

you are right, perhaps i could try at least once without the onions but they feel such a key ingredient of the recipe so i haven’t yet
but also for example so far among the times i’ve made it, i have tried it with 2 different kinds of onions so far

it feels a very versatile recipe, i’ve never had it the same way all the times i’ve made it

[potent drift]

Yeah totally understandable! Especially if one likes onions! I normally don't really, so I feel tempted to leave them away (I'm already leaving away the garlic that the rest of my family likes to put in it). But you're right, it would probably taste quite different. But it would be interesting to see just for once...
Ohh interesting! Different onions 🧅 Which kind? Like red and not red ones?

[inner perch]

like wether it was adding soy sauce or chili pepper powder amd pepper or.. well one time out of curiosity i also added to the vegan smokey pasta the only kind of olives i like, which i had in the fridge i think it didn’t really work with the olives but it was still interesting to try

[potent drift]

So interesting!/gen Did you have a favorite variation?

[limpid wren]

what are the kind of olives you like? /gen /nf

[inner perch]

at times i’ve used red onions (i don’t remember if it was a specifc kind of red onion) or white onions 🧅 , depending on which i had. when i used the red onions it was quite interesting because when we had, it helped the smokiness of the tofu come out more, while the white onions is tamer but they are still both really good.
i understand what you are saying becsuse i used to never like at all eating onions growing up, with garlic even worse i considered my enemy. ever since i started cooking i’ve been learning and trying to find ways i can like onions more, garlic not yet there so i have not tried the recipe with garlic either yet.
|| omg i wrote a Bible i fear /silly ||

[inner perch]

i think so far it was the first one i made

[inner perch]

it’s a type of green olives recipe they make in the south of italy called “olive schiacciate”. i usually find and get at the fresh counter at supermarket.

[limpid wren]

interesting

[potent drift]

Ohhh so interesting that the red onions made the flavour stand out more! I've only used red onions so far According to my mom they're supposed to have a less intense flavour so that's why I always took those (because I really do not like onions that much, it's almost a wonder that I can tolerate them in this recipe (although I sometimes still pick them out again)).
Well then we're very much in agreement 🤝 I didn't eat onion or garlic at all for the longest time, but now I'm apparently starting to tolerate onions in some recipes. Garlic not, it's Although sometimes I think I would like garlic bread if there isn't too much of it on the bread. But maybe that's the point. I think I would like it but I probably don't. Also like, so many hummus has garlic in it and I just don't like that Luckily the bio one I usually buy doesn't have garlic in it ❌ 🧄
But that's cool that you're trying to integrate it somehow :)
||I like long messages ||

[potent drift]

The one without soy sauce?/gen

[limpid wren]

do you mind the flavor or the texture of the onions? or both

you could blend them if it is the texture

[potent drift]

Both I fear

[potent drift]

True, that's a good idea, I could try that sometime to look if it is any better then! But that feels like so much extra effort But maybe it's worth it!

[inner perch]

they’re very versatile and i like to add them in sandwiched or pasta for example

[inner perch]

yes

[inner perch]

i read about recently about the differnt onions types and how each has a specific way in which its use is more “esaltato”(?) like compatible(?). also apparently the way they’re being cut, impacts a lot.
i feel cooking can be a never ending learning experience (/pos).
|| sometimes i also pick them out 🤝 ||

[inner perch]

very giryay about the being able to find hummus that doesnt have garlic in it

|| i feel the same about pesto: the og recipe has garlic but i prefer amd like more rhe garlic free version. i fear my garlic tollerante is not yet manageable ||

i have since like last year or so started to familiarize myself more with it in terms of using it in recipes i’m cooking especially when cooking for other people because even if i don’t like it, sometimes its presence really helps in some recipes.

is very silly because there is a concept of italian food must have a lot of garlic (especially abroad) and in daily life is objectively not really the case. like even if there is garlic in a recipe, the ideal would be its flavor would end up balance itself together with the other ingredients but not overpower and take over.

with some exceptions of course becsuse for example the pasta, aglio, olio e peperoncino 🌶️ is essential ingredient the garlic

[potent drift]

Woah, molto interessante!! Especially the different ways of cutting them So true, but that's also fun because that means there will always be new things to learn

[potent drift]

Ohhh ||I have to admit that I don't like pesto It's one of those things that I would love to liste but I just don't 💔 I fear I have that with so many things...but pesto looks so fun...but I guess if I liked it I would also only like it without garlic in it||

[potent drift]

Oh that's certainly interesting! I do feel like many people associate garlic with Italian food! But that makes sense. Tbh, I generally think it's "weird" when certain ingredients just rule out all the others because what's the point of adding the others then? Maybe that's also why I don't like most sauces...

[potent drift]

Yeah that makes sense 🧄 ✨

[inner perch]

|| i understand, there have been years in which i didn’t eat pesto at all because i truly didn’t like the versions my mother/ people made
i think in my case sometimes it has been hard find the right pesto to match my taste because there can be so many different variations both of recipe, texture, consistency and taste.
recently i have started a journey in which i will try as many kinds as i can to find one i might like more from supermarkets. of course the best would always be make own at home because there is more control over the process etc but realistically isnt always an option so is nice also to find a match that would also take convenience into account||

[limpid wren]

my parents often batch prep + freeze pesto so they get homemade with less effort (after the first day)

[inner perch]

we used to do it too

recent year the climate and i fear plants feuds care in my family (/silly) didn’t make any of the basil pants thrive i fear

[limpid wren]

oh no

[inner perch]

there is two mystery pestos in my freezer a friend of my mother gifted us but is a kind i can’t eat (can be common here they use another cheese instead or in addition to parmigiano)

[limpid wren]

interesting

[inner perch]

now i’m randomly craving trofie al pesto

[limpid wren]

ooo that looks good

[inner perch]

in theory is like f the original amd traditional pasta shapes to have with pesto

liguria core 💚

[potent drift]

|| Oh no, that sounds unfortunate. But yeah true...I never considered that I might like a different type of pesto...although, idk.
That sounds like a very good quest tbh! I'm kind of trying to do that with vegan joghurts atm! And yes of course making it yourself would mostly be the best thing, but like you said, that's really just not always realistic
that you'll find a very good one soon! ||

[inner perch]

omg joghurts are a very interesting field to venture in, i wish you luck and hope you will find many nice ones in your journey
i’ve started a similar kind of journey last year inspired by a conversation here in gircord, exploring marmalade / jams etc it is indeed an interesting process amd like a challenge too in a way because is like breaking out of habits(?) i used to only get the same exact one for years ( a specific brand of apricot marmellata which was my favorite)

[inner perch]

|| sometimes can also be pesto (for example but can be any other) is a food one doesn’t like and that is also okay. there are usually many options (this time in a positive sense, but i know the many choices can unfortunately also be overwhelming ) ||

[queen bough]

asparagus, mashed potatoes, and chicken meatballs with gravy

[potent drift]

Thank you snoopy! 🫶🏼 I have actually already found a good one! The alpro Mango yoghurt
Oh yes I remember your jam/marmelade journey! And yes, true! I feel the same, because I always eat the same things so it's really nice to try new things sometimes (and a bit "scary" but that's probably the point of stepping out of one's comfort zone)...

[inner perch]

omg i think i’ve tried two differnt kinds of alpro mango yogurt

[potent drift]

There are different kinds?

[inner perch]

yes i think i can find pictures of the ones i tried becsuse i kept digital track

[potent drift]

Omg thank you! And that's so smart...I should be doing that too so that I don't forget which ones I've already tried!

[inner perch]

okay need to make correction, one was only mango the other was greek style mango and maracuja

[potent drift]

Still cool! I think I've seen little maracuja/banana ones before, but not the greek style ones

[limpid wren]

omg i like the alpro mango one too

[potent drift]

🤝 🥭

[neat trail]

I love the detailed food conversation omg. onions are so good!! I love cooking with them! someone (I forget who ) said they didn't like the texture of them but I wanted to ask if they meant the crunchiness of raw or lightly cooked onions or the softness they get when they're sauteed?

oh it was berry 🙏

[potent drift]

Yes I don't like both of those textures Ifear But I feel like I would like the crunchiness of the raw onions if they weren't onions😅 Idk if that makes sense...How do you usually cook them?/gen Or do you have a preferred way?

[neat trail]

I have a common way I do them for most dishes! and I almost always use yellow or white onions (sweet onions). typically I'll fry them in a pan with oil on low-medium heat so they sizzle very slightly, and I sprinkle them with salt. I stir or toss occasionally and taste test as they start to brown. I usually go until they're tender instead of crunchy, and sweet instead of bitter (or whatever raw onion flavor is). I use them on burgers, with steaks or roasts, in stir fry or fried rice, Mexican food, soups... lots of things!

for burgers I would slice the onion into strips or rings, for stir fry or curries I'll quarter them so they're similar in size to other ingredients, for soups I actually like to use white pearl onions (saute to brown the outside and add flavor, then cook with the rest of the soup)

it's nice to try lots of different ways to cut and cook onions but for me it always involves oil and salt. oils I like to use are bacon fat, peanut oil, or olive oil!

I haven't used red onions all that often. I think I did substitute them once when I had no white onions on hand, and they did pretty well but the flavor wasn't quite the same

[inner perch]

@potent drift pranzo

tried the version without onions since my father keeps forgetting to buy them anf my sisters keeps asking me to to make her the vegan smokey pasta also switched it up the pasta shape, so far i’ve always used linguine but tried with strozzapreti, fresh pasta shape i like. i think next time i might try with trofie

the onions really make a difference in the recipe both in taste and olfactory factor.

but it was still nice

[potent drift]

Woah you're an onion expert! 🧅
That sounds really impressive! And it makes sense that you're adjusting them to the individual meals! I've never heard of yellow onions before I think Although those might just me the "normal" not red ones (?) Next time I'm at the grocery store I need to check what their name is! Although it could of course be that they are named differently in German. Thank you so much for this long description, this was very insightful!/gen
I have also never considered adding salt directly to the onions And I think I've never seen peanut oil before! I usually use Rapeseed oil!

[potent drift]

Omg This looks very interesting with this pasta shape, almost like Späzli Excited to see the trofie version! I think I want to try it out with farfalle the next time!

[potent drift]

Oh very interesting, thank you for the report! 🫶🏼

[neat trail]

ohh yes I use salt on everything!! I found that you can do that method to many vegetables and it makes them taste amazing. my wife didn't like bell peppers until I tried sauteeing them like that and she thought they were delicious 🥰

carrots too!

and yeah the onions I was talking about are probably the normal ones to you.

[inner perch]

i’ll be curious to hear what you think about the recipe with the farfalle /nf /gen

[potent drift]

🫡 I'll tell you about it! I'm kind of worried that it won't really "fit" with that kind of sauce tbh but we'll see

[inner perch]

if it can be of any reassurance, farfalle are traditionally often used for similar recipes here

[static veldt]

i made biscuits ‼️ big ones are raspberry and white choc, small ones are red velvet and white choc

[elder terrace]

Omg yummm!

[potent drift]

those look really good!

[potent drift]

@inner perch From yesterday evening I ended up making it with spaghetti because I was too lazy to go to the basement to get farfalle😭

[inner perch]

i almost made it with trofie yesterday but i’m still out of onions and now also run out of the smoked tofu so i had to reschedule

[inner perch]

also that is a really beautiful plate!!

[static veldt]

(first photo is raw dough, not the most appealing looking thing)
came out a bit darker than wanted but. bread garlic and herbs

[queen bough]

cheesy seasoned potatoes

[hidden arch]

omg yum

[limpid wren]

those look so good

[queen bough]

TY BOTH!

[onyx lake]

i love double cream with tomato pasta

ok bye

[untold charm]

mango cake i spent 7 hours on

[potent drift]

@inner perch From lunch today

[inner perch]

[potent drift]

[inner perch]

finally tried it with trofie yesterday

trofie approved for vegan smokey pasta

[red sentinel]

i gotta ask - are you using cashew or almond butter? or is it some sorta vegan cream?

looks absolutely scrumptious by the way!!!

[inner perch]

it’s a soy cooking cream
which surprisingly enough for here, i am able to find at my local supermarket

i can’t find soy sauce as easily here which is one of the key ingredients from blueberry’s recipe, so i often can’t add it when i make the pasta but is also very good without luckily

[red sentinel]

aaah i see!! that's how i've been making my vegan carbonara as well until my partner gifted me this vegan italian cookbook with a carbonara recipe in it that uses cashew butter - it's not as creamy as yours but tastes sooo awesome!! i think they also add some white wine and other stuff. last time i used smoked tofu and this vegan bacon made out of mushrooms i found at the store - that's was probably the best carbonara sauce i've made as of today :))

[red sentinel]

ooh soy sauce sounds really good as well :0

[limpid wren]

interesting that smoked tofu is so common there i don't think i have seen it at my grocery store

[inner perch]

i remember seeing some videos of italian vegan people making vegan carbonara when it was around carbonara day in april, but i am yet to attempt myself
also wow!! an italian vegan cookbook sounds like a very cool gift

[inner perch]

here usually isn’t either
except lidl has 3 staple tofus all year around: a simple tofu, basil tofu and the smoked one

[limpid wren]

ooo those are nice options

[potent drift]

Omg amazing I cheer! And noted 📝

[potent drift]

Oh my I have to try that out (adding white vine and vegan bacon) because that sounds amazing

[inner perch]

i think my favorite pasta shapes i tried with it so far are: linguine and the trofie

[red sentinel]

i found that too when i visited the us!! i was very surprised

[red sentinel]

i can give you the whole recipe if you want! :)

[potent drift]

That would be really nice <3

[red sentinel]

there you go!

[potent drift]

Oh thank you so much Tonia!🫶🏼

@red sentinel Here would be "my" recipe for the vegan smokey tofu sauce:
Ingredients:
-smokey tofu
-vegan cooking cream
-onions
(-garlic)
-soy sauce

Procedure:
Cut the onion (and garlic) and slice the tofu in small cubes. Fry the onion with some oil, add the tofu cubes, fry them until you are content with their taste/look. Turn down the heat and add the cooking cream and the soy sauce, mix until homogeneous. Wait until it is a bit less liquid. Put it over pasta (Spaghetti, Linguine, and Rigatoni work very well) and enjoy.

[red sentinel]

thank you !! 🫶

[queen bough]

im being indecisive
will post what i cook here when it’s done LOL

[queen bough]

i’ve decided to do the green enchilada !!! will post when im done with it tomorrow :3

[queen bough]

green enchilada soup !!

(that turned out a little more orange due to my seasoning blend)

[limpid wren]

ooo that looks good!

[potent drift]

@inner perch From yesterday and today for lunch

This time I did it without onions and I have to say that I didn't miss them

[inner perch]

[mental hinge]

who cheered (me)

[limpid wren]

ooo yum

[potent drift]

that looks really good! 🌿

[queen bough]

my friend came over and we made breakfast together !

[hidden arch]

marieke made me this exactly one year ago today at gircord hqs

[red sentinel]

botw (bread of the week) is a sunflower seed bread :)

[mental hinge]

omg she’s stunning

[potent drift]

I'm so impressed!

[hidden arch]

yum

[mental hinge]

list of things i make when i have no idea what to make for dinner @elder terrace

• veggie burger on a bun with baked sweet potato or sweet potato fries
• orzo with spinach and fried zucchini
• orzo with tomato sauce and burrata
• pasta pesto (fun kind of pesto, sometimes mixed with cream cheese)
• pasta with tomato sauce and ikea veggie meatballs
• pasta with cream cheese, spinach, and mushrooms
• gnocchi baked in pesto with goat cheese
• gnocchi alla sorrentina
• zucchini soup
• carrot/pumpkin/sweet potato soup
• brie/spinach/walnut pizza

i have more detailed recipes for any if desired

[elder terrace]

Omg thanks girl!!

I’m really intrigued by the Brie pizza

[mental hinge]

it really is so easy and sooo tasty!! just use premade pizza dough, add tomato sauce, slices of brie, and (very well drained) cooked spinach and chopped walnuts!!!

in da oven and then add a little honey after, scrumptious

[elder terrace]

Omg yay! Thank you! I’m deffo gonna try!

[elder terrace]

@mental hinge Saw this and thought of the pizza recipe! I got the flour today to make the pizza soon!

[red sentinel]

flammkuchen with spinach, pesto, dried tomatoes and feta :)))

[mental hinge]

omg yay!!

i always get the premade dough because i am lazy i bet itll be even better with own made dough

[mental hinge]

looks increeedible

[jaunty oxide]

slayyyy

[limpid wren]

ooo yum

[untold charm]

Icebox cookies

[inner perch]

lunch date with greg, we had the famous socca 🇫🇷

which is vegan

[hidden arch]

nobody can ever say i’m not a good oomf bc i got this giant ass dunkin bucket (48 oz / 1.4 liters) for @abstract crag /silly

[abstract crag]

DUNKINNNNNNNNNN

[potent drift]

@inner perch I made it with orecchiette for the first time yesterday I prefer other pasta forms though but it was interesting!

[inner perch]

oh wow orecchiette !! i think this will be the next on my list of pasta shapes to try the recipe with i’m really curious and it could be interesting to try the recipe with orecchiette since in theory the pasta shape could gather the tofu pieces etc. thank you for the idea blueberry !! and as always

[inner perch]

did you use dry pasta orecchiette or the fresh kind? /curious

because i know there is a slight difference in texture and like spessore between the too so i’m curious

[potent drift]

Yes that was what I was thinking too (that one tofu cube can fit into int) but the problem was that many orecchiette were sticking together so I had to first draw them apart, which was a bit annoying. But it was interesting!!

[potent drift]

Dry ones

[inner perch]

oh no yes unfortunately can happen very easily the pasta sticks together, especially with orecchiette because of their impilabile(? like stackable ?) shape
i don’t know if are obvious things or not so i will say just in case: usually to prevent the pasta sticks to itself, i make sure to stir it often while it’s cooking. after the pasta has cooked and after it has been strained of all the water, usually adding some olive oil / similar will help a lot prevent it sticks together before adding a sauce to it etc.

if i’m not mistaken the “science” / explanation of the sticking is because as the pasta cooks it releases starch (?) and that is what makes it sticks to each other especially as it cools down (?) it sticks more together

another thing that helps with avoiding the pasta to stick together is like as soon as it’s ready, strain it and then add it directly to the sauce intended (if that is also ready) because then the pasta can’t bind to each other but will bind to the sauce. as far as i know usually is not a culturally common thing to do abroad to mix pasta and sauce before plate, but i thought i’d mention in case it might be of help to anyone idk

[potent drift]

Yeah ifear It looked very cool though. That just gave me the idea of either

1. Christmas tree pasta
2. gir beanie shaped pasta if one were to add tomato sauce/red food colouring

But yes, the thing is, I don't add oil because I don't like pasta with oil but I was hoping that the sauce alone would do the job

[potent drift]

Yeah that makes sense!!

[potent drift]

Oh grazie <3 But yeah, I feel like that's not really common here. But (in our household for example) also because I just don't like most sauces, so yeah. What I usually do is keep a bit of the pasta water in the pan because then it also does not stick together as much

[inner perch]

could vegan butter/ similar be alternative for a more neutral flavor? /gen
in theory it should give the same results

[inner perch]

also omg about the pastas ideas !!!

[potent drift]

I don't like that either But it would be better probably...

[inner perch]

if the pasta water method works for you then yay!! i fear i didn’t realize it can be hard find neutral flavors that do same purpose

i’m not that familiar with vegan butters and alternatives to olive oil for example, but i’ve seen them in cooking videos

[hidden arch]

why this yall core

[abstract crag]

we’re all autistic without the capability of making our own decisions without first consulting The Council

[elder terrace]

Fr 😭

[mental hinge]

@woven mortar @wispy tiger i will make pesto pasta tomorrow but today i put a bit of the pistachio pesto into my salad and life has already changed lowkey

[wispy tiger]

YOU LIKE IT?

[woven mortar]

omg i’m omw to the netherlands RN

i need that pesto

[mental hinge]

yes

its nice in the salad too

[wispy tiger]

YAY

[wispy tiger]

it’s just nice in general

[mental hinge]

true

its too warm to make proper dinner i just threw things in a bowl but it highkey slays

[woven mortar]

omg i’m craving a really good cold noodle salad rn

[wispy tiger]

[inner perch]

last night dinner and first time i cook something in a very long time
my mother saw these at lidl as part of like weekly supermarket section and i tried them last night with glass noodles and vegetables

i always make mistake of making noodles instead of rice when making vegetables this way even if i know the result is better with rice

the texture of this tofu was very very nice in my opinion, i think the sauce / marinade (?) wasn’t like enough probably (?). but overall it was positive and pleasant try of new vegan product which unfortunately is kinda rare experience (many vegan fails)

i’m about to try for lunch a new (to me) vegan product i saw at lidl for whicb i’m both kinda nervous and excited about: vegan pesto

lately i’ve been trying many kinds and brands of pesto and this is only the second ever vegan pesto i find at a supermarket here. the other one wasn’t even a like regular product was only temporary here (it was also as part of the weekly things lidl brings sometimes)

[inner perch]

the ingredients list seems promising becsuse it has basil as first ingredient which is very important to have

if in the ingredients list there are potatoes is also okay because in the pasta al pesto alla genovese recipe (which is the original recipe, then there is pesto sauce which is the most commonly known way and like the regular pesto ) i hope i said correctly. anyway the pasta alla genovese recipe can have both potatoes and green beans in it which i think is something interesting to mention because isn’t as known and if they can appear in ingredients lists of pesto that is why?

[mental hinge]

ooooo

[inner perch]

it’s interesting the swap between traditional cheese (parmigiano / grana and /or pecorino) with tofu which is a cheese yes but i never thought about putting tofu in pesto sauce

[inner perch]

review: || not approved ||
i could go into detail if anyone is curious /nf

[mental hinge]

oh no

[potent drift]

Ohh intriguing

[potent drift]

Oh 💔

[potent drift]

I am curious

[inner perch]

|| i will start by saying it didn’t taste of basil at all like flavor not found despite it being first ingredient then another main issue is it had a very acid tending flavor despite in the ingredients list also being acidity correctors things. so i think the result is a sauce that is not balanced at all.. doesn’t taste like pesto either in my opinion. it’s like an impostor… and the cashew nuts used probably didn’t help either i think they push through too much. i think it doesn’t leave a pleasant aftertaste… at the end out of curiosity i tried some of the pasta with some grated grana on top… it defeats the purpose of eating vegan pesto but it did improve a tiny tiny bit 🤏
summary: this pesto was a vegan fail and a pesto fail for me. it was very disappointing ||

[potent drift]

Thank you so much for the report! But so sad 💔 It could have been so good

[inner perch]

weirdly enough the algorithm brought me a post on store bought pesto in meantime and there is a plotwist || apparently the lidl vegan pesto is the 3rd best on market ||

[potent drift]

||Oh...either the other two are amazing or there are simply no good vegan pestos out there 💔||

[inner perch]

|| it was about pestos in general but they did also say (i don’t know how to translate exactly but they pretty much said there aren’t actually good store-bought pesti on the market becsuse they don’t pass certain standards(?) of like ingredients / nutrition values etc ||

it was like the consumers association who made the ranking / analysis (?)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYVA7VUlAby

the post

it’s in italian the images but there should be a caption translate things if anyone is curious

[potent drift]

[potent drift]

Help, this somehow looks so agressive, poor pestos " ❌ Nessun pesto raggiunge la sufficienza" But I think it's a bit weird that they do not really rate it by taste but just by ingredients. Maybe not everyone cares about salt and whatever😭

[inner perch]

i think probably they do becsuse if they were to rate by taste alone that is a more subjective metric while nutritions /ingredients are more objective one?

probably has to do also because sometimes brands can ingannare the consumers by taste but it’s not actually respectful of recipe? i think it is a factor with pesto unfortunately. i’m not good at explaining things but is like interesting the timing of the post and my pesto tasting journey

i’m also pretty sure there used to be better products on shelves

[potent drift]

Fair enough...

[potent drift]

Oh I see, yeah Thank you for explaining!!

[static veldt]

chocolate cake 🍰 🤎
2 layer with raspberry jam and chocolate buttercream

[woven mortar]

a lightning mcqueen cake i made as a birthday present

[potent drift]

@inner perch cena from earlier And I have the other half left for tomorrow No onions

[inner perch]

this evening i went to supermarket and i got the orecchiette and vegan cream to make it

[potent drift]

Omg Excited to hear your opinion on this combination!/gen/nf

[inner perch]

i’m so curious about orecchiette crossover

there was only one kind of fresh orecchiette today becsuse the others were sold out

like sold out of the packs things (?) idk so i hope the ones i got are like compatible

i almost considered getting the dry version but they raised the price a lot compared to the fresh ones it was like a bit :

[dull kelp]

okay- listen to me

hersey chocolate bar dipped in peanut butter.. ITS SO GOOD

[inner perch]

@potent drift

thank you for telling me about the orecchiette version /gen

the orecchiette i got are also surprisingly really good pasta quality like consistency wise etc

snoopy approved

[potent drift]

Omg Yours look more fun than mine did And yay, I'm glad that they are snoopy approved!
Maybe I need to try it again with a different kind of orecchiette!

[inner perch]

in my experience orecchiette they can be hit or miss really easily

[potent drift]

Well in that case I really may have to try different ones! And cook them for a bit longer, they were a bit too al dente last time

[inner perch]

in theory being them traditional pasta, the best way to assure nice result (?) would be to make them from scratch but at the same time supermarket ones are so convenient becsuse are already made etc

[inner perch]

i accidentally cooked them slightly more than package time because somehow the timer set 1h instead of only 4 minutes

[potent drift]

Ohh, I have never made pasta from scratch (other than Spätzli)

[inner perch]

also i was very surprised it didn’t stick to itself

[potent drift]

Were yours precooked in that case?

[inner perch]

like i didn’t need to do any of the usual things.. it was because i got distracted but i was

[inner perch]

as far as i know it is not precooked, it’s like fresh and must be kept refrigerated

[potent drift]

Ohh I see, that's nice as well!

[inner perch]

i tried googling and it seems the make the impasto, shape it, then they need to do some kind of thermic (?) treatment to prevent bacteria and then they need for it it to reach cold temperature(?) and then is kept refrigerated (?)

[potent drift]

Ohh interesting Makes sense though! I feel like "fresh" pasta isn't that common here, or only with Tagliatelle and Tortellini/Ravioli

[inner perch]

interesting!!

here usually in the fresh pasta sectors the majority are like paste ripiene (like tortellini, ravioli etc) because there are like endless kinds and flavors
then there are like different gnocchi styles usually in same area, fresh lasagne sheets are aso typically found, tagliatelle and similar of course too (for example spaghetti alla chitarra 🎸 ); and then the rest is kinds of traditional pasta shapes like trofie, orecchiette etc

[abstract crag]

Honey gelato I made @inner perch

[limpid wren]

ooh that sounds very interesting

[inner perch]

i’ve been yearning for gelato ever since seeing this earlier /lh
it looks and sound very buono

[abstract crag]

Italian stamp of approval wowee my first time making it

I used irish farm honey

[inner perch]

was it a specific honey flavor profile? /nf
like for example flowers, chestnut (?) etc

[abstract crag]

uhhh I don’t think so

If I go to that cupboard again I’ll send you a pic of it

it was funnier than store bought so more natural and stuff

[potent drift]

@inner perch With fusilli even though I normally don't like them, but we only had worse pasta left. It was actually better than I expected it to be

Also, I have been continuously leaving out the onions and I have to admit that I don't really miss them...

[inner perch]

i’m glad for you /gen

i was thinking the other day that probably in my case since i already usually have to leave out the soy sauce part (i have been out for awhile since the supermarket i got it from closed 💔 ) if i leave the onions too it doesn’t feel the same to my taste unfortunately

[limpid wren]

is soy sauce hard to find where you live? /gen

[inner perch]

yes, and usually they only sell one kind in a type of dispenser thing which i struggle to open alone and well then unfortunately the one they have are also very unnecessarily expensive

the one i got at the supermarket that unfortunately closed was very good value and in like a bottle thing which was also accessible to open

[limpid wren]

that is interesting

[inner perch]

here becuase there are less options they feel justified to rise prices while in bigger cities because the situation is different, is more likely to find more competitive prices

of course depends on product, here generally yhe fruit and vegetables can be more reasonably priced on average

[limpid wren]

ohh that is nice at least