OBC in the kitchen

[whole schooner]

OBC in the kitchen 🍳

We're diving into a delicious twist on buddy reading: Cookbooks! We'll explore new recipes, discover new favorite authors and chefs, and channel our inner Gordon Ramsay.

🍴 🍳 🧑‍🍳 🍴 🍳 🧑‍🍳 🍴 🍳 🧑‍🍳 🍴 🍳 🧑‍🍳

How it works + Timeline

Now until <t:1753488000:D>: Solo Cookbooking

• Choose any cookbook you like. Let us know what you're reading! But no websites please, let's stick to books 🫶
• Pick at least one recipe to cook from your cookbook (more if you want!).
• Share in the chat:
  • A photo of the dish (or the mess, we don’t judge!)
  • A short review of the recipe and the cookbook
  • Rate the recipe (and cookbook, if applicable)
• During this time, we’ll also vote on a group cookbook to cook from next!

<t:1753488000:D> - Sept 1, 2025!: Group Cook-Along

• We’ll all read the voted cookbook and make recipes!
• You can cook as many recipes as you want!
• Keep sharing your:
  • Food photos
  • Reviews + tips (did you substitute anything? was it easy/hard?)
  • Ratings!
• Not into the chosen cookbook? No worries! You can continue cooking from your solo cookbooks

Sharing Reviews:

You can use this review template, change it up, or make your own!

Cookbook: [Title]
Recipe Made: [Name]
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes/Review: [What worked, what didn’t, anything you'd change?]
[Include photos if you want!]

Voting on the Group Cookbook:

• VOTE ON COOKBOOK YAY

[lone pumice]

[whole schooner]

LOL WTF

So quick

[lone pumice]

oop i didn‘t even see that it was just posted omg

i was just enjoying breakfast with antisocial phone time

[fluid flare]

Oh this sounds so fun!

[naive fulcrum]

I'm interested in this and how it will work out!

[sinful kindle]

Yo! This is my time to shine

I don't work in a kitchen right now but my last three jobs were in different roles in kitchens. Love cooking, I think my cookbook collection is up to almost 300 physical and ebooks combined

[whole schooner]

THAT'S SO CRAZY!!! I don't have many cookbooks but I have the Stardew Valley cookbook that I reeeaaaallllyyyy want to use!

[warm falcon]

I LOVE COOKBOOKS

I’ve accumulated so many

One of my pandemic project was to cook a book from front to back

That was one of my favorite hobby projects

[hollow egret]

Ooh, I've always wanted to do that. Like a slower, low-pressure version of "Julie & Julia". 🥄🫛

[warm falcon]

Yahhh

[whole schooner]

I've updated the starter message to include a description and how-to guide for our COOKBOOKINGGGGGG
please do let me know if you have any questions!

lastly, i need some input, please fill out the poll below (gimme a couple mins while i set it up)

[glad hamlet]

How do you prefer the Group Cook-Along to books to be chosen?

1️⃣ I'd only like to use a publicly available (free, non-copyright, available online) cookbook. (will likely be vintage, outdated, old, not published, etc)

2️⃣ I can use any cookbooks (by purchasing, borrowing from the library, already owned at home, etc)

3️⃣ I will not join the Group Cook-Along

Poll by spicycheesecake · Jul 11, 2025, 9:03 AM

[pine galleon]

i’m going out of my comfort zone here!! i’m not a specially good cook, but i need to start cooking more (surviving purposes) and my mother just bought a new cookbook that seems super nice!!

so i’ll be joining along i think hehe

[whole schooner]

HELL YEAH WELCOME
what cookbook did your mom buy?

[pine galleon]

a traditional spanish dish cookbook!

i love my country’s food, that’s the only incentive i have rn hahaha

[covert zinc]

I'm already excited

[soft badger]

This is going to be fun! I already can't wait to see what everyone makes.

[merry hinge]

This is amazing!! I haven’t cooked out of an actual cookbook in forever but I have several

[pine galleon]

yay!! fun

[left wadi]

[copper anchor]

I'm hype, i might start with my mexican food cookbook (i love mexican food it is a world wonder)

[hallow storm]

I only have Snoop Doggs cookbook that I never touched 😭 but I’m excited for an event that will push me to cook more

[burnt mulch]

I'm so excited for this!! I don't have many cookbooks, I tend to learn from youtube instead, but I love the idea of cooking from a cookbook because like @hollow egret mentioned, "Julie & Julia" charmed me and I've always thought it was such a fun thing to do! Definitely don't think I'd be up for cooking every single recipe in any cookbook, but this low pressure event is doable...hopefully

[pine galleon]

omg iconic hahahah

[naive fulcrum]

I don't have many cookbooks, but hopefully something will stand out.

[earnest flame]

Time to crack out the old World of Warcraft cookbook like a true gamer

[shadow kraken]

Time to crack out the
old World of Warcraft cookbook
like a true gamer

- Twenty One PILOTs

[earnest flame]

Thank you haiku, you get me

[whole schooner]

Gonna flip through these and bookmark any recipes that look good to make!!

So sorry for the busy tablecloth

[pine galleon]

the stardew valley one!! so cute

[solemn trench]

i have been summoned by spicy

i love cooking and I have access to my mother's massive book collection

[solemn trench]

no its so cute

the NOPI cookbook is tempting me

[short silo]

I'm in boss

[warm falcon]

Some of my cookbooks!

[whole schooner]

I have Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat as well!! Haven't read it though

[warm falcon]

I’ve only looked at the illustrations

[solemn trench]

This one is so good omg

Ottolenghi my beloved

this is my goal I think (also peep the books yall have in the back )

[halcyon kelp]

Okay, I'll be joining in because I really to work up my cooking skills. Currently I just intuitively follow my whims and fancies while cooking and call it a day with something edible

I mean I personally love whatever I cook and enjoy it too, but I want to explore some cookbooks and see if I can cook up something that I can feed others too

[whole schooner]

YAYŸYYY

[short silo]

My library is really positive about cook books so I can likely get whatever we settle on

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Tropical Curry
Rating:
Notes/Review: I wasn't expecting to like this one! It has pineapple, and I usually HATE fruits in my savoury dishes (strawberry in salad? Miss me w that shit. Raisins in stuffing or rice? Hell nah). But I liked this! Flavours felt a bit muddled, but it was pretty good anyway. I'd serve it at a dinner, but I wouldn't add it to my routinely cycle of meals I make often.

I used a jerk chicken spice blend (the recipe calls for Jamaican curry powder but I couldn't find any at the store) and 😋😋 it smells amazing while on the stove.

Looks unappetizing in the pic HAHA

[craggy storm]

the graphics of the pages are adorable?! also, hell yeah jerk seasoning/spice!

[pine galleon]

yum!!!

i never tried curry, i’m trying to get out of my comfort zone in the food aspect, I think this event and seeing all of the recipes you guys will make it’s going to help a lot!!

i love me some fruits in my dishes tho!! hehehe

apple in my salad always!!

[burnt mulch]

I love curry, I wanna taste!!! It's 2025, you'd think there'd be new technology that would allow us to taste food over the internet by now 🤤

[warm falcon]

Weeew I’m motivated to cook now!!

[copper anchor]

the description looks really good!! I have a hard time with minimalist cookbooks

[hollow egret]

Creativity in the kitchen is such a gift, Hanzy! 🎨 I bet others would like what you cooked too. 💚

[halcyon kelp]

Thank you! That’s honestly quite sweet of you to say that

[solemn trench]

Oh we cooking already?? I guess I need to choose a recipe

[whole schooner]

YESSSSS RIGHT NOW!!!!!! COOK NOW!!!!! IMMEDIATE!!! 🗣️ 🗣️

[solemn trench]

Bestie I just had dinner

[copper anchor]

I gotta book

[whole schooner]

THAT LOOKS SO GOOOODDDD

[copper anchor]

it's so hypeee, it has some really great descriptions of ingredients, equipment at the beginning too which is nice bc I'm always at the Chinese grocery store not quite sure what everything is or how I'm supposed to chop it up

and the intro goes into how vegetarian lifestyle is accepted in Chinese culture because of Buddhism, and also basic ideas of Chinese cooking

And how to maintain a wok ... I desparately needed

[whole schooner]

Oh man the wok maintenance sounds like I need that book too

[copper anchor]

bro my wok was rusty 😭🙏🏼 it's going to be loved now tho it's ok

[hollow egret]

It sounds like an awesome book! 😀 Is a wok needed to use it, or could I fumble along with a sad western pot/pan? 😅

[copper anchor]

you can definitely use a western pan!! the wok is nice bc it's big with high walls so you can stir your fry without getting everything all over the stove

[somber bear]

Would baking count or does it need to be a savory recipe?

[naive fulcrum]

I was wondering the same thing!

[whole schooner]

You can absolutely bake!!! Anything with any kind of cookbook!

^^^^ @somber bear and @naive fulcrum

I made cookies earlier from a cookbook! I'll post them later today 🫶

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Cookie
Rating:
Notes/Review: MEH
For such a lame cookie, if has a LONG prep/wait time. It's like, "oooooh burn this butter on a pan then let it sit for 20 mins" then "mix everything together and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes" HELL NAH i can make better cookies in 15 mins, ain't no way I'm making this 1hr+ cookie again. It doesn't even taste that good man

[pine galleon]

awww

i have to say I love a cookie!!

[short silo]

They look very chunky

[whole schooner]

They are SO CRUMBLY

My carpet has crumbs EVERYWHERE

[short silo]

I was considering doing baking but then I remembered that while I'm good at baking, I hate baking so I'm gonna make a savoury dutch baby instead

[soft badger]

That's too bad about the cookies! Evelyn's secret recipe was reputed to be very good.

[solemn trench]

spicy why are you making cookies at 2:30 in the morning

[craggy storm]

just made a mix of madeleine batter which has to go in the fridge overnight, will bake them tomorrow!

in defence of Spicy, i loooooove using the kitchen in the early morning hours (mainly prep stuff, nothing that'd keep others awake), it feels like a luxury to have all that quiet, free-of-interruption space

(especially if you're using cooking as stress relief)

[covert zinc]

I absolutely love madeleines Would you mind sending the recipe?

[craggy storm]

i was gonna post it tomorrow once i have proof of the finished product, but give me a sec and i'll post here 🙂

honey baby madeleine recipe, and the book it’s from (i’ve made and loved so many recipes from this, one of my oldest and easiest books to use)

[rigid ridge]

Cookbook: Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan
Recipe: Pork a la Normande (Pork with apples and cream)
Rating: 4 stars

Normandy is perhaps my favorite French cuisine and I have several books that really deep dive into the region but for broader appeal, I went with the legendary Dorie Greenspan's much more casual, accessible French bible. It has 300+ recipe of authentic French dishes ranging from formal dinner party show stoppers to things to whip up after work on a tired Wednesday night.

Anything cooked with apples, brandy and cream automatically gets called "a la Normande" and this is a very simple execution of that profile. You can do this with chicken, but pork and fruit always work so well together. (also, if you are using pork, add a little sage to the seasoned flour you dredge the cutlets in, it plays perfectly with the sweet of the apples and the savory of pork)

All in all this takes a single pan, no oven and about 30 mins from prep to serve.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/01d3fbea-9c6c-412d-b776-651d37f53d19

Mise en place to prep to pan to sauce to serve.

Not pictured: I did lemon-steamed spinach (with a touch of nutmeg) and warmed a baguette. 🥖.

You could serve this over something like buttered egg noodles or some other starch but I opted to forgo.

[lone pumice]

why does your kitchen even look so professional

[rigid ridge]

LOL I am 10x more dedicated to cooking than I am to reading. My kitchen is my home.

But the hobbies do overlap, hence the custom spice labels with literary quotes.
"One must be a sage to recognize a sage" - Xenophanes

[lone pumice]

this event must be made for you then

[warm falcon]

Bas is a chef!!!

Omg would love to see the rest of your spice labels

[naive fulcrum]

I have come to realize that I don't really own that many cookbooks. Mainly grab recipes from the internet. I might need to fix this. 😅

[rigid ridge]

I have to redo them though with an acrylic cover. Too many are getting stained/smudged.

[warm falcon]

Old bay

[rigid ridge]

One of these Sundays I'll get my Cricut out for Alex's Craft Sessions.

[shadow kraken]

One of these Sundays
I'll get my Cricut out for
Alex's Craft Sessions.

- bastiat_x

[warm falcon]

The last time I was in Baltimore I was gifted 3 different packages of old bay seasoning

This is so cool bas!!

[whole schooner]

I made them at 11pm on July 11, I just posted them at a different time

[whole schooner]

LOOOOOOOVE IT!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!

[solemn trench]

I was gonna post about my 3am cookies from last week :(

[whole schooner]

Hell yeah

[solemn trench]

I am not a French food fan but this looks so good
Your description is v appealing

[solemn trench]

Also please come over and organize my spices thank you

[pine galleon]

i love french food!!

[hollow egret]

Deep dives into food culture? ✨ Is there a bookshop/website you recommend for such things? The shops I frequent seem to scratch the surface.

[rigid ridge]

Ive never a shop like this, no. I do a lot of research online and then typically buy the books of abebooks.com. Or at least I did, Ive tried to stop all cookbook buying and am actually looking to purge now.

But one trick that often worked is to NOT BUY SURVEY cookbooks that just have a few standard recipes in each category and try to cover everything from appetizers to soups to entrees to deserts to baked bread to cocktails. Those are always useless to me.

Buy entire books dedicated to ONE THING. I have 4 separate books of Normandy. 3 on Piedmont cuisine. 3 on Venetian. 2 on Athens, 2 just for Lisbon. I have James Peterson's 500+ page of Splendid Soups and Ken Haedrich's 630 tome on Pie.

The classic techniques, categorizations, ingredients and prep methods you can learn in that kind of depth are worth more than 1,000 simple books that each have a "soup" chapter.

I got Barbara Kafka's 450 page Roasting: A Simple Art in hardback for like $4 on abebooks and it has taught me more fundamental knowledge about how to treat large cuts of any and every meat than anything I ever seen on any "food blog".

[hollow egret]

Brilliant advice! Thank you so much! 🧑‍🍳

[soft badger]

I am going to hit up the library today to find a cookbook.

[shadow kraken]

I am going to
hit up the library today
to find a cookbook.

- vaydium

[soft badger]

These are so cool!

[whole schooner]

NOMINATIONS ARE CLOSED

Hello chefs, bakers, and readers! @everyone

Lowkey surprised at how many people are chill with borrowing/purchasing a cookbook so I'll take in any nominations for the Group Cook-Along cookbook now! Please reply to this message with your Cookbook nominations.

Please only

• 2 nominations per person (this is not like the BOTM poll where picks are chosen randomly, I will try to put every nomination into a poll for us to vote on later)
• nominate books with recipes, food books with no recipes will not be selected

Nomination period ends <t:1752724800:f>, in which the voting poll will begin right after!

[copper anchor]

I'll nominate the book I was planning to use ... Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food by Hsiao-Ching Chau.

[whole schooner]

You've got my vote

[earnest flame]

I think in honour of the future lotr event I shall nominate The Unofficial LotR Cookbook and The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery!

[craggy storm]

i'd like to nominate Samin Nosrat's Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30753841-salt-fat-acid-heat

[craggy storm]

a few of the best ones (of course the one time/batch i try to take a photo of is actually the worst batch i’ve ever made)

[pine galleon]

omg!!! they look so golden!!

they must be delicious!!

[craggy storm]

cookbook: French Food At Home by Laura Calder
recipe: honey baby madeleines #1392407985908613195 message
rating: 4? (but this run, my fault! 3.75)

notes: had two mishaps with eggs and running out of almond meal; I never use chestnut honey because that shit ain’t accessible, alas. Tried adding makrut lime juice to the melted butter and before adding to main mixture, thought it wouldn’t be overpowering (I’ve made the mistake before of adding too much in other things - it can get quite bitter) but couldn’t really taste it. Got a half-dozen eggs left to use up so going to up the lime juice to next batch!

[craggy storm]

Proust better be proud dammit

[lethal lodge]

Oh wait, so we have to pick a recipe and cook it and post a review by the nomination deadline?

Two recipes?

[pine galleon]

we have till july 26 to make the individual recipe

it’s in the pins i think!!

[whole schooner]

Yesss lu is right! Thanks

[whole schooner]

Thanks for sharing!! hopefully the next batch turns out even better 😋

[craggy storm]

aww thanks, fingers crossed!

[short silo]

I get ingredients on Friday

[lethal lodge]

Oh ok, thanks for clarifying

[solemn trench]

lowkey I might miss the individual recipe
unless I can pull something tonight, but I leave early tmrw morning until the 26th

[whole schooner]

That's totally fine! You can do individual recipes for like, the whole event, it doesn't really matter!

I did include this in the pinned message as well! I won't force anyone to do much tbh, there are no real rules here

[whole schooner]

SEND NOMINATIONS
10 more hours

[short silo]

What about
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39797678-ottolenghi-simple

[warm falcon]

Ohhh here are my noms: “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child
“Cravings” by Chrissy Teigen

[short silo]

I don't mind honestly I'm just excited

[copper anchor]

this looks good!! I have never heard of it but recipes designed for busy people is always a win for me 😅

[burnt mulch]

Got this from the library! Going to try making something tonight! I love Sichuan food 🤤

[earnest flame]

Cookbook: Diablo: The Official Cookbook: Recipes and Tales from the Inns of Sanctuary
Recipe Made: Bandit's Bacon Candy
Rating:
Notes/Review: PROTIP! When the recipe said it can cook up to 40 minutes, they are not talking to you, they are talking to Minions of Darkness who don't want crispy bacon, but rather crispy charcoal.

Other than that, this recipe is very simple and frankly delicious! My household tends to like crispy bacon, and I would say the tough part with that + a sugar glaze (which this sort of is) is that the sugar cooks a lot faster than anything else. So you have to find a sweet spot!

The picture makes the bacon look overly fried, but the bacon itself is a good level of crisp. The candy coating is quite tasty, a mix of sweet and spicy that balances itself out.

Will make again, as there are some real spice lovers in this house. My next batch might lean on the softer side just to see, for curiosities sake, if that would have a big difference on flavour.

[whole schooner]

That looks soooooo yummyyy

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Triple Shot Espresso 🤯☕️
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Notes/Review: decent. Tastes like a dirty masala chai (my bf says it "tastes like chai on steroids")

ADMITTEDLY i was too excited to try it so I didn't steep it the full 18 hours for the first taste. I drank it once at a 13 hour steep, and then again at the real 18 hour steep. Tbh it tasted the same both times

I will probably make it again when I'm tired of my usual tea and coffee rotation!

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Lucky Lunch
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Notes/Review: I have discovered that I do not like shrimp 😭

Yesterday I went on a full journey a few cities over just so I could purchase some vegan shrimp! I was soooo excited lol
I had real shrimp when I was a pescetarian (hated it), and was expecting vegan shrimp to be amazing.

The dish itself is cute and fun to make. Making little star shapes with tortillas, boiling shrimp, making the ceviche, etc. It's cute on the plate too, and I was so happy when I plated it. But like... I do NOT like the shrimp taste or texture. I couldn't finish the meal HAHA if I make this again, I think I'll go in a greek direction and sub feta for the shrimp, and a pita for the star tortilla!
My bf liked it though. He's excited to use the leftover shrimp for fried rice LMAO

[pine galleon]

i think i'm doing some cooking tomorrow ^^

hope it all goes well

[burnt mulch]

Y'all's presentations are so gorgeous! They all look so good and yummy!

[shadow kraken]

Y'all's presentations
are so gorgeous! They all look
so good and yummy!

- radiohaze

[burnt mulch]

Cookbook: The Food of Sichuan
**Recipe Made: ** Boiled Fish in a Seething Sea of Chiles (shuizhu yu)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
**Notes/Review: ** This isn't the first time I'm making this dish, but it's the first time I'm making this dish from this particular recipe.

What I like most about this recipe is the marinade; it made the fish so much more silky, texture-wise, and the Shaoxing wine really made the fish taste so much more interesting! I also added a LOT more chilies than I usually do - I like spice and I can take spice, I just tended to go frugal with the ingredients, but now with the extra heat it's so good I think I'll add even more chilies next time!

Oh, I also didn't make the broth from parts of the fish; on the second page of the recipe, there's a note for if you're using fillets for the recipe, you can substitute regular stock for that.

My presentation isn't as pretty as the picture's

Also, I'll just come out and be honest about it, I was hungry and greedy and was rushing to get the picture so I could start eating. By the time I realized the pic didn't look good, it was too late and the food was already half gone

[craggy storm]

that's the hallmark of success!

[rigid ridge]

"seething sea of ____" is just not something you see often in a recipe.
Its like cooking out the "From my Mordor Table to Yours" book.

I do have to ask though, as an avid chili fan, isnt there a texture issue with that many whole chilis? Are they soft? Crunchy? I'm down for the heat and the flavor but does it work with the fish?

[burnt mulch]

They're dried chilies but they get soft from the cooking. I don't usually eat the chilies though, so their texture has never been an issue for me. It's a good question because I have eaten the chilies when it's a dry, fried dish and they're crunchy in those, but I've never thought to eat them in this dish. Do you normally eat the chilies in dishes like these? I might try it next time

[median locust]

thai food has sm chilli fish

i cant wait to fully unpack everything into my new apartment so i can start cooking ive been eating out for the past week

[burnt mulch]

The actual translation is "water-boiled fish" but I guess "seething sea of chiles" sounds more metal

[rigid ridge]

Not normally if they are dried. They have that papery feel. But in the picture they looked a bit fresh/whole so I didnt know. But yeah, with dried I either crush them in a mortar & pestle and sprinkle on or mix in something or I just use them for infusion and discard.

But I do like spicy food though. I might mix a few hotter varieties to kick it up a notch maybe but that fish looks good.

[burnt mulch]

Yeah, that's what I've done with previous iterations of this dish too. I blended the chilies and mix them into the broth, but I found I didn't like them in the broth, and then I did infusions with cheesecloths so I could discard later, but I found that was more work to clean out the cloths. I am the laziest cook so putting them in whole (I cut them with scissors) has been the easiest thing

[burnt mulch]

It's so good! It's one of my favorite dishes and before I learned to cook it myself, it was one of the only dishes I would splurge on at restaurants. I still do occasionally, because I can't cook it as well as the restaurants do 😭 but at least I'm saving a tiny bit of money from satisfying some of the cravings myself!

[rigid ridge]

The saving money thing is so legit. It staggers me when I see how much young people spend eating out at shitty fast and fast casual food places. Like, you can cook SO MUCH BETTER FOOD for so so so much less.

I was very poor when I was younger and htat was one of the driving forced behind me learning to really cook.

[whole schooner]

Which Cravings book did you mean? I found 3 different ones

[copper anchor]

I'm obsessed with this stardew valley cookbook omg this is so cute

[warm falcon]

ohhh my ex had this and i cooked a recipe from it.it's lit!

[shadow kraken]

ohhh my ex had this
and i cooked a recipe
from it.it's lit!

- jpuzzle

[warm falcon]

haiku nooooo

[whole schooner]

YAYYY NOMINATIONS HAVE BEEN TAKEN
Vote for the cookbook(s) you want to read most below! You can vote for more than one cookbook (or none 👀)
@everyone

Voting ends <t:1753113600:D>

[glad hamlet]

test

1️⃣ Mastering the Art of French Cooking - Julia Child

2️⃣ Cravings: All Together: Recipes to Love - Chrissy Teigen

3️⃣ Cravings: Hungry for More - Chrissy Teigen

4️⃣ Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat - Chrissy Teigen

5️⃣ Ottolenghi Simple - Yotam Ottolenghi

6️⃣ Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking - Samin Nosrat

7️⃣ The Unofficial Lord of the Rings Cookbook: From Hobbiton to Mordor, Over 60 Recipes from the World of Middle-Earth - Tom Grimm

8️⃣ An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery - Chris-Rachael Oseland

9️⃣ Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food: Deliciously Doable Ways to Cook Greens, Tofu, and Other Plant-Based Ingredients - Hsiao-Ching Chou

Poll by spicycheesecake · Jul 17, 2025, 8:43 AM

[median locust]

oh no :( i was gonna submit one when i got home

[whole schooner]

You can still cook from your book anyway during the group cook-along period! Maybe it'll inspire other people to try out the book too

[median locust]

ill be usinf this one i like it cos its got so many different meals and its mostly vegetarian

[solemn trench]

NAUR I also missed the submission deadline

I was stuck in an airport

[naive fulcrum]

So excited that my library has most of these on the poll!

[left wadi]

hobbit cookery?! 🗣️

[pine galleon]

Hi! Sorry, I have to drop this event for personal reasons, hope you guys enjoy!!!

[outer isle]

Ooof, maybe I should try to join the group cook-along? I'm terrible at cooking because I never made an effort to learn, but at the same time I feel low-key ashamed that at my age I barely have a handle on the basics...

Idk I feel like joining a cook-along could help me develop some skills with the motivation that it's a group activity, but at the same time I'm so bad I'm probably just going to give myself food poisoning or smth

Would it be a good idea to join, or is this too advanced for me

[shadow kraken]

Would it be a good
idea to join, or is this
too advanced for me

- ☞ electropositivistic ☜

[rigid ridge]

You can totally do it.

Common misconception among the "I cant cook" crowd is that every dish/recipe/meal is a WHOLE new quest chain where you start at Step 1 at the grocery store and work your way to the end-boss of allowing someone to eat it.

Learn a handful of terms, buy $20 worth of equipment, learn like 5 or 6 basic skills and get used to your own oven and you can immediately make like 60+ dishes easy.

If you want to make it a hobby and deep-dive and try all the things, they are all there waiting.
But if you are like "I would just like to feed myself and my family without ordering food everyday or living off my microwave" it is so completely within reach. I promise.

Join. Learn. Have fun. ....and EAT!!! What could be better?

[outer isle]

My skill level is "there's a 40% chance that I will somehow burn white unseasoned ah rice", so you can understand where I'm at when I say I'm very bad at cooking and really not confident about my abilities.

You mentioned though that I should learn "5 or 6" basic skills first, what would those be? Just so I can practice a bit beforehand.

[rigid ridge]

BY FAR NUMBER ONE: Learn how to handle a chef knife. Not Competition-Cooking TV show stuff, just the how to get a consistent chop, fine chop and mince. Do it with an ACTUAL chef knife and not a paring knife or your one good steak knife that is still kinda sharp.

(Watch a YouTube video on this. Part of it muscle memory and learning the repetitive consistent knife motion but a lot of this is also how you HOLD the thing you are cutting. That is both a safety thing and a technique thing. Its hard to explain though but when you watch it, it makes sense in like 15 seconds)

Learn how to measure stuff. I know that sounds patronizing, but the measuring scoops, the graduated cups for liquids, spoons, weights, etc. Its not hard, but it has to be done right.

Learn how to saute. Shallow pan, a small amount of some kind of fat, medium high heat. Drop in some butter and practice getting a piece of toast the right shade of brown. Splash of oil and dump in a handful of frozen veg and watch how they go from ice to crunchy to perfect to soft to dog food. (this is also part of getting used to YOUR stove)

The rest would be to learn how to spot doneness for everything from meat to fish to veg even to sauces. This is a combination of color, texture, firmness and smell. But this takes time. You cant really just read up on that.

Get a good cutting board. (NOT PLASTIC!) Technically you should have two, but you can use one and flip it over in a pinch

CLEAN YOUR KITCHEN. It is estimated that about 15% of food borne illness comes from eating tainted ingredients. The other 85% comes from the kitchen, poor handling/storing, and inadequate cleaning.

And FTR.. it is VERY easy to burn rice. Even easier to undercook it.

[earnest flame]

My rice used to always be mushy 😭 it took me so long to figure that out

[rigid ridge]

Its like a ritual. Rice/water ratio, heat, time. Just balance that out and then do it EXACTLY the same way every time. The instructions are a just a guide. My stove cooks hot and I am at almost 6000 feet elevation. I used to undercook mine all the time.

Now I have my just-under 1:1.5 ratio down, I know the super low level of "simmer" heat my knob needs to be at and the time is 17minutes and 15 seconds. Everytime and I get perfect Basmati.

Change one thing and you can taste the mistake.

[outer isle]

Aye, captain 🫡. Ok last questions and I'll stop pestering you. 1) Will a wooden cutting board do? 2) How do I stop the oil from splashing on me while sauteing? Boiling oil, even just specks, hurts kinda bad.

Don't worry about the measuring part. Finally something I can use my lab skills for

[rigid ridge]

Wooden cutting board is PERFECT! That is the only kind I use. Plastic cutting board + Sharp Knives making countless tiny cuts = You are Eating Microplastic Every Day.

(And glass cutting boards are abominations. I mean, the knife damage alone is horrible but all my god that sound and the feel of steel knife edge on glass. ::shudders::)

And if the oil is splashing you, its one of two things: First and Most likely: Your heat is too high! You are not flash cooking in a wok in the back of some Chinese take out place. Turn it down and let the heat work on the food. Second, you are getting water in your pan. Water + Hot Oil = Explosion! (and if its close to an open flame, tiny flying droplets of hot oil will quickly become FIREBALL) Often this is because there was ice/frost from something out of the freezer. If you have time, let frozen food thaw on the counter for a bit and not go right from freezer to hot pan. (This also keeps the outside from getting over seared and burned)

There are some recipes where you will need a high heat sear but that will always be for a short period. For this, you need a lid. Heat the oil until it shimmers, drop in the meat/fish, slam the lid down and dont move it until the noise settles down.

[earnest flame]

Just hearing the words "glass cutting board" gave me a shiver

0/10 don't want to think about that again

[outer isle]

I can hear the sound without ever having owned one

[rigid ridge]

I think they have gone out of style again. At least in the US. Thank god.

[earnest flame]

Absolutely barbaric

[outer isle]

Anyways, thanks for the advice Bastiat 👍🏽

[earnest flame]

BUT for today I am making a shakshuka recipe from my Diablo book (again) and in preparation for that I am making garlic confit right now (which it didn't ask for but I crave it) and I am hype, I love having garlic oil

[rigid ridge]

Anytime. I guess we probably should have done this in the Food chat channel and not cluttered up Spicy's Cookbook event thread. But if it gets you to agree to participate in the group cook, I trust she'll forgive me.

[halcyon kelp]

Wait, there’s a food chat channel??

[rigid ridge]

https://discord.com/channels/811077227449286667/811095046656884746

[halcyon kelp]

ohhh

[whole schooner]

I LOOOOOVSEEEE SHAKSHUKA!!! im so excited to see the final product

[earnest flame]

Cookbook: Diablo: The Official Cookbook: Recipes and Tales from the Inns of Sanctuary
Recipe Made: Corsair Shakshuka and Crusty Bread
Rating:
Notes/Review: Oh my GOD this is so good. First of all: garlic confit is perfect for the bread. Nice subtle garlic-y flavour that really adds to the overall taste.

Beyond that, YIPPEE this was amazing. And I was so hoping it would be too, because the picture looked so delicious.

Things I would change: I wanted runnier eggs, but I have never cooked eggs in the oven before like this so I was waiting for that pink film and instead it went from looking 100% runny yolk to already being cooked lol so next time I will be more aware of how that goes. I would also cut my tomatoes smaller. Recipe called for "large diced" and I think I'd want them just a hair over bite-sized next time so that they are still large enough not to vaporize during cooking but don't take up so much mouth space per bite.

Things I did change: I didn't do any yellow onion (crying about it ngl) because someone in my house cannot stand the taste of onion and I wanted to be fair. I think that it would only enhance the flavour tenfold so if I ever make this just for myself I will include it. I also halved the amount of pepper flakes called for because the onion hater is also a lil weak to spice so didn't wanna kill somebody. But I don't think it's spicy at all as it is right now, so could definitely do the full amount if you're spice tolerant. Onion hater thought it was too spicy, so anti-spicers beware.

TL;DR: Will be making again. Garlic confit = yes. Giant ass tomato cubes = no. Commit to the onion and spice next time.

[whole schooner]

That looks DIVINE

I gotta make that omg

[earnest flame]

Its so GOOOOOD literally anything I can eat with my hands also already gets a +1 brownie point

[short silo]

I legit can't wait to join in, I've found something I'm gonna cook for myself and something I'm gonna cook for my family

[earnest flame]

I can't wait to see what you make!!

[median locust]

lmao i was googling which ones are available to buy and i like and the ottolenghi is $30 and salt fat acid is $70 easiest choice

[whole schooner]

Salt fat acid heat is a BIGGGGG one

[burnt mulch]

This looks so so good, I cannot! I just had dinner and now I need second dinner. You have turned me into a hobbit (I had to double check that this wasn't from a LOTR cookbook. I don't know anything about Diablo!)

[copper anchor]

you can also get a splatter guard, it's a metal-mesh-fabric disc with a long handle, you can put it on top of what's sizzling or use it like a shield lol

[craggy storm]

heck yeah garlic confit, it's soooo good!

[craggy storm]

wait where? where is Simple that cheap? (i got my SFAH on sale for under $50 - feel free to DM me so as not to clog up this channel)

[median locust]

kmart lol

https://www.kmart.com.au/product/ottolenghi-simple-by-yotam-ottolenghi-book-42723196/?sku=42723196&region_id=800001&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Kmart|AU|NA|Home+%26+Living|NA|SEM|Google|PMax|NA:kmabrd020225&ds_eid=700000001591229&ds_e=GOOGLE&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20038499931&gbraid=0AAAAAD4f9KpFxDPCuTNU0Gti0e6qABBAk&gclid=CjwKCAjwvuLDBhAOEiwAPtF0Vra4zvf3CXOjQt7J3wB61DSik0pMoydfcr0uL0QXgvsxP58qEAKRkxoCbKgQAvD_BwE

[craggy storm]

aww hell yeah go kmart! tysm

[median locust]

i love kmart and big w books

[craggy storm]

i actually got Babel for $10 from Big W! i tend to forget about their bargains

given Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat might be a more expensive book to acquire, if it comes to a tie and it's easier to acquire Simple, am happy to concede to that instead? (i can always submit it as a BR request instead?)

[median locust]

i would be so happy if simple wins

if salt one wins im not doing it lol cos i dont got $80

[craggy storm]

https://www.bigw.com.au/product/salt-fat-acid-heat/p/9901116959 it's just over $50

[median locust]

omg i was abt to get excited and then i realised its not in my store and its a marketplace seller lmao but ty

its fine lol no biggie i can still use my personal cookbook

[craggy storm]

oh no i'm so sorry!

Cookbook: French Food At Home by Laura Calder
Recipe Made: camembert salmon
Rating: 4/5
Notes/Review: the sauce always looks so lumpy and unappetising but it's actually a good match? I added some random freshly chopped herbs because cheese and herbs is heavenly (to me)

I have no pic alas!

as the side dish, I also made from the same cookbook...

Cookbook: French Food At Home by Laura Calder
Recipe Made: fennel salad
Rating: 4.5/5
Notes/Review: it doesn't look pretty but chose to pair it with the camembert salmon (see above) to offset cheesy richness; turns out this was received much more favourably than i expected!

[whole schooner]

YUMMMYYYYYY

Camembert

[rigid ridge]

Camembert! Le Roi de Fromage.
Also from Normandy

[craggy storm]

there’s an extra wheel of it in the fridge and you bet that thing will disappear in the next few days 🤣

[rigid ridge]

Oh, that would call to me.
Get soft just-ripe fresh figs, cut 'em in half on a plate interspersed with fat chunks of that camembert. Drizzle the whole plate with hot honey and scant pinch of sea salt. Pair it with two glasses of chilled Chenin Blanc and sit outside to watch the Friday sunset. Voila!!!

There are worse ways to end a week, I tell ya.

Oh wait.. its winter there!! That may not work.

[craggy storm]

yeah, wrong season for figs alas, it's mid-winter in my part of the world and it's so cold in my house

[outer isle]

Oh, I love cheese. My favorite is Roquefort cheese, but most blue cheeses are peak imo

Also goat cheese. Extremely underrated

[craggy storm]

am polyamorous for cheese; in their defence, many varieties make it easy to love them 🧀

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Pink Cake
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ GONGEOUS
Notes/Review: This was my first cake!! I've made loaves, (banana) breads, cupcakes, etc, but never a layered cake omggggg

This was really fun to do!! AND it ended up being SO TASTY!!! 😋 My cake did not turn out pink because I was missing a key coloured ingredient lol, and the frosting overall was COOKED and I didn't feel like redoing it, but the cake and the inner jam was YUMMYYYY

I will définitely make this in the future -- I also think I could manipulate it to be a jam-filled cupcake too 😋 🧁

[earnest flame]

WHAT IN TARNATION THAT LOOKS AMAZING

It's so cute!!!!!

The layersss

[whole schooner]

OMG THANKS YAYYYY

[burnt mulch]

Your first cake!! That's incredible!! Omg I can see that you put so much work into it, it looks so good!!

[soft badger]

Looks amazing!

[solemn trench]

Four layers is insane for a first try omg

You better be baking more after this, it looks so good!

Also I see that accent on definitely….
Do u speak French

[whole schooner]

It's actually really easy!!

[whole schooner]

As much as the typical canadian-born child does

[solemn trench]

Bestie that means nothing to me

I spent many years outside of Canada as a child, and then I was an immersion French student, and now my whole group is Francophones

[whole schooner]

I don't think that's typical though

[solemn trench]

exactly

I do not know the average Canadian child

I exist as a marker for not average for my friends

[soft badger]

I am also jumping on the pop culture cookbook train. I borrowed this from the library but my family likes the recipes so I may buy this. I finally had a chance to look through it and have decided I may try the following recipes this week: ROUSes (Stuffed buns), Have you the Wing (Chicken Wings), Anybody Want a Peanut? (Candied Peanuts), Twoo Wove's Kiss (Cookies) and Miracle Max's Miracle Pill (Truffle Balls). We'll see if I get to them all.

[solemn trench]

I need that omg

[soft badger]

Cookbook: The Official Princess Bride Cookbook
Recipe: Have you the Wing
Rating: Kid rating:1/5, Adult rating: 2.5/5
Notes/Review: This was the first recipe I have seen for wings that has confectioners sugar in it so I was interested in trying it out. Instead of baking the wings I used an air fryer. I also only had 0.8 kg of wings so I was short the 2 lbs the recipe asked for. The wings could have used more salt and the rub was a bit thick and had a powdery texture. I assume if I had the full 2 lbs the coating wouldn't have been as thick. If I did this again would probably cut down on the cornstarch next time.

[short silo]

Cookbook: Comfort by Ottolenghi
Recipe Made: Dutch Baby with Roasted Tomatoes
Rating:
Notes/Review: HONESTLY AS LONG AS MY FAMILY EATS IT, IT'S A WIN. They liked it, their only complaint is that they wished I had made fries to go with it. It's very easy to make, the tomatoes get thrown in a pan with balsamic and olive oil along with a few herbs. You cook bacon, you pour batter in a hot pan with the bacon grease and shove it in the oven. Then you let it sit in the oven for it to puff up like a soufflé. It's got a very quiche'y energy but it was easy to make after a day at work.

[whole schooner]

That looks kinda fire shocked to hear your rating though HAHA

also the potato salad looks DELICIOUS

[whole schooner]

THAT LOOKS SO GOOD i might borrow the book from the library so I could make that too

✍️ make fries with it ✍️

[solemn trench]

Fwiw, we own every single ottolenghi (including NOPI) and have cooked from all of them (except nopi ) and have yet to be disappointed

[whole schooner]

HELL YEAH

I hope we do it for the group cookbook

It was a tie last time I checked

[soft badger]

They looked good and smelled great, it was the texture that was not great.

The potato salad was really good haha.

[soft badger]

I have only seen sweet breakfast dutch baby recipes before. This savoury dutch baby looks so good.

[solemn trench]

I helpfully removed my second vote

[median locust]

@craggy storm its $1 cheaper at kmart

i hope it wins cos im buying it now lmao

[soft badger]

Cookbook: The Official Princess Bride Cookbook
Recipe: Twoo Wove's Kiss Cookie
Rating: Kid: 3/5, Adult 3.5/5
Notes: This is a very slightly cinnamon shortbread with a Hershey's Kiss in the middle. I did roll the cookies in the icing sugar but I should have dusted them instead. This is a decent cookie but very rich.

[median locust]

yumm

[craggy storm]

bloody bargain!

[whole schooner]

YUMMYYYY i love cookies

The group cookbook has been decided!

We will be cooking from **Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi
**

The group cook-along is from <t:1753488000:D> - Sept 1, 2025, so there's still time to place your library holds, go to the bookstore, or steal Ottolenghi Simple from your friends house 🫶 prepare your aprons!!
@everyone

[outer isle]

Oof, why are cookbooks so expensive 😔
I'm going to have the get the ebook, as much as I'd like a physical copy.

[earnest flame]

Yaaay I'm going out tomorrow so I can see if I can't find the book in the wild \o/

[lone pumice]

i just found a copy second hand so i better actually cook something with it

[copper anchor]

there's hella copies free at my library 🔥 is Ottolenghi a famous chef?

[naive fulcrum]

Just put a hold for my library!

[outer isle]

Nevermind y'all, I talked to my dad and he said that if this is what got me to learn how to cook properly then he'd consider it an investment and chip in to help me pay for it

I usually only buy ebooks due to a lack of space, but I'd rather have something more tangible in the case of a cookbook.

[short silo]

I already have a hold from my library

[short silo]

Omg that's actually wonderful

[earnest flame]

That's so rad!! Dad W

[short silo]

Queue number 3
Status Reserved

Hurry up now

[solemn trench]

He’s pretty well known yeah! He’s got a ton of books, and I got to visit his fine dining restaurant in February and it was genuinely some of the best food I’ve ever had

[somber bear]

I'm a really excited to buy the book. I had a look inside and I really liked the recipes!

[sharp kindle]

My library has a copy of Ottolenghi Simple on the shelf! Can I join in on the group cook-a-long if I didn't do the solo portion?

[whole schooner]

Of course! Anyone and everyone is invited 🫶

[hollow egret]

Cookbook: Energize Your Life, by Kirsten Hartvig & Nic Rowley, 2002
Recipe Made: Crispy Lettuce Rolls
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes/Review: Refreshing and delicious!
I made it as a salad, rather than rolls, as the freshest lettuce at my local grocery store is often the baby kind. Bell peppers are amazing this time of year, and I felt they were the star of this particular rendition.
Photo: in-process
Book notes: Something I really appreciate about Energize Your Life is that it has zero "Aren't I fabulous?" vibes.
The second half of the book is about qigong, yoga, and other breathing and body exercises.

[whole schooner]

OOOOB I LOVE BELL PEPPERS

[outer isle]

It is sad that I'm allergic to such a random assortment of things, everyone tells me bell peppers go well with salads but they just make me break into hives

[craggy storm]

you have my sympathies! i love peppers/capsicum but alas my gut cramps to high heavens if i do, particularly with red ones. so tasty, so painful

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Bruschetta
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐️
Notes/Review: holy moly this is the first time I've ever had bruschetta and it's SOOOO GOOOD!

I was too lazy to go out to get basil so I subbed it w italian seasoning lollll and the garlic is STRONG

i will def make this next time I have guests over! I just think it would be better to chop the tomatoes smaller (maybe even differently sized for fun)

o my feet r there

[rigid ridge]

FTR, Im not paying for these feet pics.

juss sayin'

[hollow egret]

-# Me: looking up FTR because I am terrible with abbreviations of all kinds. || First entry was a wrestling team. 🙈 10,000 entries later: For The Record.||

[burnt mulch]

Yayyy, it's available from my library! I'm excited to see what the hype is all about!

[solemn trench]

Def dice the tomato’s if you can! You can pile more on that way, and it’s easier to eat imo

[whole schooner]

YES OMG all the tomatoes were falling off the bread and onto my arm and my couch and the plate and the floor and everything WAH

[solemn trench]

You’d probably also really like caprese salad, or do the bruschetta with mozzarella added

[somber bear]

I found this one at my local bookshop. I hope it's the correct edition because it was half the price of the hardback that I found online.

[lone pumice]

told my mom about this idea and her eyes lit up lmao

[shadow kraken]

told my mom about
this idea and her eyes lit
up lmao

- rin! at the disco

[whole schooner]

That's so cute

Invite her to the server (or post her cooking on her behalf)

[lone pumice]

my mum with her broken english „yes i cooking this “

[whole schooner]

Im ready

[solemn trench]

Mines at home waiting (my moms really but)

[whole schooner]

Damnnnn she got all the Ottolenghis

[earnest flame]

Store and physical library didnt have it, shall wait and see if my digital hold goes through before making the B&N trip

[earnest flame]

Cookbook: Diablo: The Official Cookbook: Recipes and Tales from the Inns of Sanctuary
Recipe Made: Coveted Glass Noodles
Rating:
Notes/Review: WELL I did not do it right. It still tasted good! But although The Internet™ told me Korean vermicelli noodles were functionally the same as glass noodles (as the recipe required), they did not cook the same.

The meal was supposed to include a delicious saffron-steeped broth but instead the noodles sucked up every drop of broth in its entirety. So flavour-wise it was still fantastic, but I would have liked a more ramen-y consistency rather than the almost alfredo-like texture it had instead.

I will have to try again, and maybe soon because I bought an entire jar's worth of saffron for $20 dubloons and I still have 75% of it to use. I believe using the correct noodles will give it a proper 4 or 5 in the Pilot Scale.

Likely will be my last free-range recipe for the event and will hopefully soon do a Simple recipe!

[solemn trench]

If you want saffron variety, saffron rice is so so good

[somber bear]

Cookbook: Cookies & Crumbs
Recipe Made: peanut butter and cinnamon cookies
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes/Review: Thus was the first time I baked something from this cookbook and I'm honestly pleasantly surprised. The cookies were delicious and chewy. The book is in Swedish but maybe it's published in English as well? I've been to the author's bakery in Stockholm and her cookies are crazy good!

[lone pumice]

these look BOMB

i‘ll see if i can get this book as well

[somber bear]

Yeah, i had to force myself to not eat the whole lot 😓

[lone pumice]

you‘re so strong /gen

[soft badger]

The noodles look tasty! Saffron is so expensive. I am glad the dish still turned out well. Overall was the Diablo cookbook a winner?

[earnest flame]

I think so! Mostly easy recipes and well flavored and unique :D

[burnt mulch]

I swear I've gained a few pounds just looking in this thread

So many yummy recipes and talk about food!

[short silo]

Queue number 2
Status Reserved

Come on you bastard

[whole schooner]

TOMORROW WE COOK

I bookmarked a few recipes I'm interested in, but I also want to try out recipes that everyone else tries

[craggy storm]

i'll do be doing 2 recipes from my solo book for dinner tonight, one of which i've never tried before!

hoping to pick up Simple on Mon 🎉

[outer isle]

I am ready

If I don't answer within 15 minutes of posting my results assume I died from food poisoning

I think I'll try to make one recipe a day for the duration of the cook-along

I also already chose which ones I want to try, in no particular order (or no guarantee that I will do these either, they're just the ones that caught my eye):

• Portobello mushrooms with brioche and a poached egg
• Spring onion and herb salad
• Carrot salad with yoghurt and cinnamon
• Aromatic olive oil mash (really want to do this one)
• Jacket potatoes with egg and tonnato sauce
• ALL THE POTATO CHIPS/SKINS I LOVE POTATOES

Brooo but I'm gonna bulk like crazy if I eat too many potatoes...

[rigid ridge]

All doable.

[outer isle]

I'm supposed to cut rn :(

[rigid ridge]

Poaching eggs is a lil trick but you can do it.

[outer isle]

Hopefully

I was just checking the meat dishes but lamb is beyond my means and I'm allergic to pork, I think I'll stick with the chicken dishes

[rigid ridge]

Never heard of a pork allergy but okay, yeah that’s off the table then. (Literally)

I’m not seeing much meat on your list though

[outer isle]

Yeah it's decently uncommon. The problem is that I'm not allergic to pork per se but to a group of porcine proteins that pork meat of course has, but these are sometimes also used as agglutinants for meds/med capsules and stuff

So I sometimes get allergic reactions to meds when it's not actually the medication, just what the dissolvable capsule was made of

Pretty weird

[rigid ridge]

Damn that sucks

[outer isle]

Oh yeah I'm still browsing that section, I just picked the non-meat dishes first because 1) meat is kinda intimidating to cook and 2) haven't picked any dishes definitively yet

Ok for meat/fish dishes:

• Roasted trout with tomato, orange and barberry salsa
• Coconut-crusted fish fingers
• Chicken with miso, ginger and lime
• Spring roast chicken with preserved lemon
• Ricotta and oregano meatballs
• Spiced shepherd's pie with butterbean crust (I really like the sound of this one but idk if I can even find lamb, it's not a common or affordable type of meat here. Closest I can get for a respectable price is kid (goat) mince)

I'll skip dessert though, it's either that or potatoes

[rigid ridge]

You can use goat for that pie. It will work. Also for meatballs you always need 2 meats. Typically it’s beef and pork but for you, go beef and goat. Do not use chicken, the meatballs will have a weird texture at best and fall apart at worst.

those fish fingers will probably be fried. Go with a cheap dense fish: tilapia, catfish, etc. Don’t lay out cash for cod, haddock or whitefish for a fried fish stick.

[outer isle]

Yeah I can get tilapia, it's common enough

[earnest flame]

There's lamb dishes in this book?

[rigid ridge]

Perfect. That’s my choice of fish for fish tacos too. Bland on its own but it’s works in these recipes.

[outer isle]

Yeah, 8 or so of the meat dishes in my edition are with lamb

[rigid ridge]

“Ricotta and oregano” is weird. Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from byproducts of other real cheeses; oregano is a gift to humanity from the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Strange combo. Cross-cuisine.

Can you get preserved lemon? That’s very pricey for me in the US. That’s Moroccan (or Indian/Sri Lankan)

[outer isle]

Maybe in the bigass Asian market in my area, if not I'll just leave that specific recipe out, I have more recipes than days anyway

[rigid ridge]

Cool

[whole schooner]

WOOHOOOOOO WE ARE CHEERING YOU ON

[solemn trench]

He has a lot of similar ones! He was born Middle East and spent a ton of time in Italy iirc so makes sense there would be some diff regional influences

[craggy storm]

dinner tonight! used basa instead of sole, and served with following side dish:

Cookbook: French Food At Home by Laura Calder
Recipe Made: almond sole
Rating: 4/5
Notes/Review: substituted basa for the sole; I think more butter is probably needed if you don’t want to burn the dredge mixture the fish is coated in - my first time making this, and dredging so it felt a bit haphazard but was told it was fine (next time I use more butter!). The almonds, parsley and lemon juice together was so good!

Cookbook: French Food At Home by Laura Calder
Recipe Made: pistou zucchini ribbons
Rating: 3.5/5
Notes: i've made this before but still haven't got the process down, i think it could probably do with more cheese than recipe states and less pine nuts? the rating reflects my preparation rather than the actual recipe - it's a wonderful way to eat and prepare veg! (i forgot to get a pic, sorry!)

[soft badger]

The fish looks good! I am interested in the zucchini ribbons. I hadn't thought to use a vegetable peeler to make zucchini strips. I always thought you needed a mandoline.

[solemn trench]

You can also get ones that do like a julienne on veggies

much smaller than a mandoline and safer

[somber bear]

Wow that looks very tasty! The almonds look like a great addition

[shadow kraken]

Wow that looks very
tasty! The almonds look like
a great addition

- afroditi32

[somber bear]

I have to admit I already made two recipes from the chosen cookbook but forgot to take any pictures.

Also Ottolenghi uses some rare ingredients so I had to make an order to an online deli as my local grocery store doesn't carry anything other than what a middle class swedish household typically uses.

[craggy storm]

yeah same! it's easier to do with this type of peeler: https://www.procook.co.uk/product/procook-peeler-blue rather than the slimmer shaped ones (for ref https://www.procook.co.uk/product/procook-swivel-peeler-16cm)

[sharp kindle]

There's a recipe in my copy of Simple for raspberry ice cream that doesn't seem to need a special churner... I'm going to give it a try!

[outer isle]

My excuse for not starting yet is that I haven't gone to the market in a while

[covert zinc]

@whole schooner Is it alright if I cook out of my solo cookbook tomorrow? I forgot today was the deadline and was travelling all day

Imma make the waffles out of the cookbook

but tomorrow

Now sleep continues to elude me

[whole schooner]

Yes! I made sure to include in the pins that you can keep cooking out of your solo books throughout the end of the event! It's not a hard deadline, cook however you like!

[covert zinc]

Batter is done now

Didn't see it

Now it's late night waffles

[lone pumice]

hi!! is it possible you could DM me the table of contents from this book please?
i‘m thinking about buying it but cannot find more detail on the variety of recipes inside

[covert zinc]

I made it into normal waffles. Substituted butter mil with normal milk. It was good 4/5 would use again

It's 22:40 Imma call them "late night waffels" perfectly satisfied my craving

[somber bear]

Hmm my copy is in swedish and the table of contents does not list the recipes, only what type, as in brunch meat desserts etc. Would you still want a piicture?

Alternatively you can also look up the free preview on Google. Its only the first 40 pages I think.

[solemn trench]

If you give me like 3.5 hours I’ll be home and can!

Assuming baggage claim doesn’t go to hell but

[lone pumice]

yes that would be lovely bryn

[solemn trench]

My plane is already going late lmao

but at some point in my day

I left Germany uhhhh
14? Hours ago?

[lone pumice]

i‘m gonna go to sleep soon anyways so there‘s no rush from my side!!

[shadow kraken]

i‘m gonna go to
sleep soon anyways so there‘s
no rush from my side!!

- The Last Rin Party

[solemn trench]

or I started travel then

good bot

You’ll have it when you wake up then

[lone pumice]

arrive safely at home bryn and thank you

[solemn trench]

[burnt mulch]

I'm still on this cookbook for now, haven't gotten my ingredients for the Ottolenghi Simple cookbook yet.

Cookbook: The Food of Sichuan
Recipe Made: Mapo Tofu
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes/Review: I didn't use fermented black beans because I didn't have any, and I also used ground pork instead of beef. I pretty much followed the rest of the recipe by ingredients but not by measurements, I mostly just eyeballed the measurements 👀 It's pretty easy to make and it turned out great and I'm definitely doing this one again!

Also, I'm a horrible food photographer, please just use your imaginations for a beautiful cookbook worthy picture

[whole schooner]

TOFU 🗣️ 🗣️ 🗣️

That looks sooooo good I might make that

[burnt mulch]

I hope you do! It's so good, I am loving the recipes in this book so much!

[short silo]

Omg this is my man's favourite I might need to steal this recipe

[burnt mulch]

Let me know if you need clearer pictures of the recipe!

[lone pumice]

The Cookies and Crumbs book has meat recipes inside? I'm confused
I can't find a preview of it anywhere either because there is no digital version

[somber bear]

Sorry, I thought you meant the Ottolenghi book. I'll Take a pic and DM you

[lone pumice]

thank you

[short silo]

It's perfect actually

[copper anchor]

ok I'm gonna cook from my Chinese cookbook tn

[copper anchor]

ok so I didn't fully read the instructions !!! like I didn't know what julienned meant so I guessed. I also didn't read the part where it said to presoak the noodles, so I threw them in raw, realized something was wrong, went back to the recipe and had to go back and pluck them out loool

BUT overall easy dish, well described if you read

the flavor is not as developed as I would like but I might chalk that more up to skill. but also I feel this could have a bit more going on than housin and soy sauce

I'll go 4/5!! it was good

[covert zinc]

Julienne is a cutting style

[copper anchor]

yesss I knew that, but I didn't know which style it was. so I went with these long flat discs

[covert zinc]

Here I found a photo

[copper anchor]

that is a perfect stir fry prep pic !!

I think it should be pretty easy to cut that way next time

[rigid ridge]

Damn! Look at the knife skill flex!!! That is a flawless julienne.

Oh... "found a photo". LOL. I was about to be very impressed.

[somber bear]

I made this from the chosen cook book. It's gigli with chickpeas and za'atar.

I was afraid that it wouldn't be so good but it was actually very very tasty! I overcooked the spinach so it doesn't look that pretty bit I prefer it that way. If anyone is wondering which recipe to start with I recommend this one 100%

[halcyon kelp]

This is one of my bookmarked recipes too!

[somber bear]

Cool! Let me know how you like it if you make it ☺️

[halcyon kelp]

I’ve yet to get all the ingredients I need for all recipes I plan on trying but I’ll definitely try this one first as I think I have everything except some spinach

[halcyon kelp]

will do! 💜

Btw, I haven’t been too active on this thread but I kinda went on a bit of bg research of the author when I figured most of the recipes seemed to strongly suggest cuisine from a place I know and when I found out where he’s from, I was this close 🤏 to not participating and it has definitely dampened my mood a little but he does emphasise a LOT on how his cooking is basically influenced by Palestinian cooking and seems to not have very strong takes on the matter so I decided to stick with it

[somber bear]

I know, I read about where he's from after purchasing the book and felt a bit disappointed but then again I don't know his personal views on the matter, so i got over it. Also, the recipes are what I would call middle eastern and that type of cuisine is bomb.

[whole schooner]

Same! I noticed that too after I reserved the book and I was like but I think

(Sorry gonna get a little political, mods might ban me)
it's unfair to discredit a guy who has passion and intelligence in something unrelated to the crimes of their government/military. Ottolenghi has also spoken up and says he does not support what his government is doing

[median locust]

oh damn i thought he was iranian not israeli

[somber bear]

That's good to know!

[median locust]

bummed out i do not like his answers at all (on wbur)

[solemn trench]

I agree with this, you don’t choose where you’re born
Re the wbur article, unless there’s one in missing, it’s from May 2015, before all the latest stuff happened

[copper anchor]

oh yeah knowing he has denounced everything makes me feel a lot better

my country has definitely committed many crimes against humanity, it's about a person responds not just their own nationality

[sharp kindle]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe: No Churn Raspberry Ice Cream
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Notes / Review: First off, for a cookbook called "Simple", I would not describe this recipe as simple! There were several steps that required equipment I definitely did not have when I was learning to cook and needed simple recipes (stand mixer, it even called for an extra bowl! I just washed mine) or some skills that I would not consider simple (whisking steadily over a source of steam).
That said, I've been daydreaming about buying an ice cream maker, and with this recipe I am thrilled to save the kitchen space! The ice cream came out delicious!!
Reviewing the recipe itself, I found the steps to be clear and logically laid out. I will definitely be making this again. I used frozen raspberries, defrosted, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with other frozen fruits.
The half star is knocked off the rating because some steps were unnecessarily fiddly (ex. the scraping of purée to remove seeds! My daughter helped me with that step and did not have the patience to do it thoroughly so we had a lot of seeds in the final product, I don't think it was a detractor to our enjoyment in the slightest.)

I think I'll try that baked gnocchi recipe next...

[somber bear]

Yeah i also thought that some of the ingredients were hard to come by and therefore making the meals wouldn't be so simple. Your ice cream looks delicious though and makes me want yo try making it too!

[whole schooner]

That looks so good!!! I want to try it now

Lil spoiler alert for my upcoming recipe review BUT i made the pasta from pg 184 and I was cooking the chilies in oil and it started SMOKING and now my whole apt smells so spicy my bf is upset HAHA

[earnest flame]

omg that was the one I was gonna do

I shall beware the oil

[whole schooner]

OMG IM SO EXCITED

it'll be like we're cooking together

[earnest flame]

[median locust]

cookbook: ottolenghi simple
recipe made: seeded chicken schnitzel
rating:
notes/review: this was so good. first recipe from this book was ofc a schnitty, had my bfs mom over tn when i made it and she loved it too so it made me very happy, she n bf both asked for two and i had one.

went out to buy a rolling pin just for this lol anyway i didn’t use coriander seeds cos i couldnt find any, substituted cayenne pepper for chili powder and used extra virgin olive oil instead of sunflower oil. Added some garlic powder to the crumbs mixture as well.

did not need to put the meat between cling wrap that part was just annoying and wasteful. rolled it on the chopping board and it was okay.

i served it with a side of delish ratatouille (not a very authentic one but good, dont come for me bas). the first bite was funny cos i thought i didnt like the texture of the seeded coating but after that i was like this is bomb. 100% gonna become a staple considering how fast, delicious and easy it is to make.

[somber bear]

Ooh looks delicious. I made this one too and my boyfriend really liked it.

[outer isle]

After 3 days of doing nothing due to being kind of a dummy and putting myself in the hospital, I will finally go to the market to the best of my ability and cook something today

Doing the carrot salad with yoghurt and cinnamon for a late morning meal, and if the floor kitchen is not too crowded I'll also try my hand at the chicken with miso, ginger and lime, otherwise I'll leave that for tomorrow and do the aromatic olive oil mash instead.

[earnest flame]

@whole schooner

Spicyyy I need your assistance

The library didn't have Simple available so I got it in French on Libby and translated it online but the ingredients list says "1 to 2 dried sweet peppers" and I am wondering if the English version specifies what that is

since we are doing the same recipe I was hoping you know

[whole schooner]

LMFAOOOOOOOOO WHAT THE HECK

Ok ya one sec

This one, right?

[earnest flame]

Desperate times call for desperate measures

YES

CHILES.

[whole schooner]

What does it say in french

[earnest flame]

"dried sweet peppers" peh

it says "1-2 piments doux seches"

[whole schooner]

Oooohhhh

[earnest flame]

also good to know it's plum tomatoes WITH juice, that didn't come through in translation either

I guess lesson learned not to do that

[whole schooner]

LMAOOOOOOOO

Pilot's french lesson

[earnest flame]

I am a fraud of a Canadian fr

[pine galleon]

That’s okay, for OBC you’re still one of our all time favourite Canadians

[shadow kraken]

That’s okay, for OBC
you’re still one of our all time
favourite Canadians

- plato0866

[earnest flame]

🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

[solemn trench]

Sweet peppers are just poivrons so it does want mild peppers but the literal word to word translation will be off yeah

I can translate the French one if you want as well

Piment is the general term for all spicy peppers

also here’s one of the front pages of the book with common ingredients for anyone who doesn’t have it yet! I know some people mentioned not having niche ingredients and it didn’t occur to me most of these aren’t pantry staples so hopefully this helps

[earnest flame]

All good! I've got it now, but thank you

just finished shopping so can cook tonight

[outer isle]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe: Carrot salad with yoghurt and cinnamon
Rating: no idea how to rate cooking in terms of stars so instead I'll just say I rate this as 5 "I love carrots" out of 7 "tablespoons should be abolished"
Review: Besides my hatred and frustration for having to measure half of everything in fucking tablespoons, I actually enjoyed this recipe and found it easy to do and tasty. I especially liked the... Sauce? Topping? No idea what to call it but I mean the potpourri of cinnamon and garlic and a bunch of other random stuff during which I really had to trust the process while mixing because I honestly didn't know where that was going.
I also had to replace the crème fraîche because I don't know where to find that stuff, and I ended up using the local equivalent of suero costeño, which turned out well I think. I have as much taste as a racoon digging in a trashcan, so I have a hard time judging when something is alright.

I'll show a photo if y'all really want to see it but please don't laugh, I suck at plating

Used my leftovers and my prettiest plate to make an attempt at plating it again because originally I just threw everything together in a random bowl forgetting that I was supposed to take a photo to show y'all

[whole schooner]

What do you normally measure in if not tablespoons?

[outer isle]

Metric system 👍
Either in grams if mass is more important or in ml if volume is a more significant factor.

[whole schooner]

How do you do it

With a scale?

My tablespoons and cups are measured in ml

[earnest flame]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe Made: Pasta alla Norma
Rating:
Notes/Review: SO GOOD! Oh my goodness, I am obsessed and will be making this again. I loved the simple sauce and the CHEESE oh my goodness it adds so much flavour. Eggplant of course pops off and I did a lil extra S&P on em cause I didn't think I coated them enough by swirling them around in a bowl, so just sprinkled more on when they were on the pan and they were packed with more yummy flavour.

Some things that I changed:
• Added chicken. Picky eater in my house doesn't tend to care for all veg meals + someone else needs lotsa protein 💪 for their physically demanding job. All I did was add it in to step 2 after garlic and pepper but before tomato sauce.
• Used poblano peppers. Despite phoning a friend, I still think I didn't quite get what was in the vision. They were the only thing available at my local grocer that could be considered a mild pepper, but they certainly weren't dry. But they were really good anyway! While the eggplant was in the oven, I broke them up into square inch pieces and then dry cooked them in a pan for a minute or so so they were roasty toasty.
• Didn't use fresh basil or oregano. Genuinely distraught but the store was all out of BOTH because they hate me personally ig. Used dry seasoning and just followed my gut on what would be enough.

-# Image spoilered cause for some reason I feel weird food revealing before Spicy get tee hee'd

[whole schooner]

Sttoooooppppp yours looks sooooo good omg

[earnest flame]

We have excellent taste fr

[outer isle]

(US) Tablespoons are 14.78ml and cups are 236.59ml, how is that a worthwhile measuring system. This also becomes even more confusing when you take into account that US cup/tablespoons ≠ Imperial cup/tablespoons, while milliliters are an internationally standardized unit of measurement.

You can also just... Buy measuring tools with ml/g as standard? I have no tools to measure cups or tablespoons of any kind because my country uses exclusively metric for everything, so I had to approximate using conversions. Regarding the scale question, yes, I do own a scale.

Anyways I did the aromatic olive oil mix even though it's way too late to be eating a meal that heavy, but I said I would do two meals today so here I am

[solemn trench]

The UK uses a hybrid measuring system so it reflects in the cookbooks ig

Same with Canada

The tablespoon is equated to 15ml on my set

Unless you’re doing pastry it’s close enough, and pastry should be by weight anyway

[whole schooner]

Yes mine too! So I don't have problems with recipes using either metric or imperial systems, which is why I was confused why Lionel didn’t like tablespoons LOL

Idk it might be just me but the conversions between both systems are quite easy when baking, it doesn't feel to be non-worthwhile (but I can see now that's just a me thing)

[solemn trench]

I use mine for baking both imperial and metric and have had no issues, and have done the same recipe by weight as well as a control

Was testing for a friend but

[outer isle]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe: Aromatic olive oil mash
Rating: 3 "this 100% will give me a heart attack if I eat it in one sitting" out of 6 "my roommates keep trying to steal my potatoes"
Review: Wayyyy too much oil for my liking, but I trusted the process and it came out... decent . Added some extra salt towards the end because I missed it by a bit. I would have also thrown some mushrooms in there had I had any. Good as a side dish, but since I'm a dummy I instead chose to eat this alone.

I have no idea why it looks so shiny in this photo, it looks nowhere near that shiny irl.

RIP my caloric deficit for today. Guess we bulking now.

[solemn trench]

roommates are protecting you from the heart attack I see

fwiw I do typically reduce oil, salt, and cream when I cook literally anything

[outer isle]

My problem is less the tablespoons tbf, and more the fact that I have no way to measure those entirely precisely because next to nobody uses imperial here, and so the tools aren't sold unless you're in like La Macarena or smth where all the foreigners live

[solemn trench]

Call 15ml one tbsp and it works out well enough I think

Won’t be 100% exact but cooking works well with it

[somber bear]

I'm Greek, I cook everything with olive oil and I love it, but I still never use as much as it says on most recipes because I find it too much.

[median locust]

hi guys i want to make this today but i dont have a stand mixer e a paddle attachment or whatever, i just have my whisk do u think its fine to just mix/whisk? or any other recs?

[craggy storm]

you can use a spatula? also i think not having a stand mixer just means it takes forever to when whisking by hand?

[earnest flame]

Because its butter and sugar, which is quite dense, Id actually recommend a fork or wooden spoon if you have it

And then when adding wet ingredients you could either stay on the fork or switch to the whisk of its light enough

[whole schooner]

<----- has a stand mixer but never uses it because I'm too lazy to take it out of storage so I use a whisk all of the time

Yes you should be fine, for SOME recipes it might fuck up the batter but I don't think this is one of them

+1 to the spatula and wooden spoon

[median locust]

i have no clue i havent baked anything since yr 9 cooking class

[shadow kraken]

i have no clue i
havent baked anything since
yr 9 cooking class

- naya minaj

[median locust]

okay this sounds like a good idea! ty pilot!

[somber bear]

Are you going to whisk it by hand? Or do you mean you have a mixer with a whisk attachment?

[median locust]

yeah by hand, i dont hv a mixer, will that work?

should i melt the butter first

[somber bear]

Personally, I would not do it because it will take you a long time and effort to make the butter fluffy just by hand. But maybe you are stronger and have more patience than me.

[median locust]

would this change much

idk i dont bake

[somber bear]

No, don't melt the butter. It won't come out as intended.

Can you borrow a mixer from s friend or relative? I'd say it's needed for this recipe.

[median locust]

i can buy a $20 hand mixer

but it doesnt have the paddle attachment

[somber bear]

Eh that's good enough

[median locust]

okay ty! ill see if my bf can get it from the store tn otherwise ill make it tmr

[somber bear]

No problem! I hope your cake comes out good ☺️

[median locust]

[craggy storm]

yeah you need to cream the butter rather than melt it

[rigid ridge]

You can do it by hand. Creamed butter/sugar does go back a lonnnng time in France. Soften the butter, use a fork to mash it into the sugar to make a paste, get your sturdiest wooden spoon and prepare for an invigorating upper body workout. LOL

It will take a while, but its doable.

[outer isle]

After letting this rest overnight because I couldn't eat all of it by myself, I ate what was left for lunch today and also called my go-to second opinion (dad) to share it with. He said it tasted nice and that I should make it again someday, so I already got all the approval I needed

[sharp kindle]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe: Gnocchi alla Romana
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Notes / Review: This is my second recipe from this book and I loved it! I have never made gnocchi from scratch and ended up doing a Google dive into this "Roman style gnocchi" because the steps and ingredients looked different from how I would normally expect. I'm glad I did, because my first thought on reading the recipe was "isn't the whole bit about the rolling into tubes unnecessarily fiddly?" and it seems like yes, it would have been perfectly fine to set in a tray and cut into squares!
Still, I wanted to make it as written for my first attempt, so I did the whole tube thing. It came out both delicious and pretty! The recipe itself is going into my keeper shelf, but future preparations will be less pretty (I will stick to setting the dough in a tray and cutting it into squares).
I made a half batch and it was the perfect amount for two hungry grown-ups and a school aged kid with salad on the side. I loved that the dough was so quick to come together, and I did the whole assembly a few hours before dinner (in between meetings...) and left it in the fridge after assembling it in the baking dish, then just stuck it in the oven when it was time! Very convenient, perfect for comfort food weeknights.

I should note, I skipped the broiler step (my oven does not have a trustworthy broiler and it's not high priority to fix 😂 ) so it's much less golden than the book picture!

[earnest flame]

[outer isle]

Looks absolutely scrumptious

[median locust]

cookbook: ottolenghi simple
recipe made: blueberry (almond) & lemon cake
rating:
notes/review: this was okay but just hard to make cos i didnt have the equipment or the experience. its the first time i have baked anything in 5 years.

i didnt add almonds cos i genuinely could not find “ground almond” anywhere and im not a big fan anyway. i think i added too many blueberries and left it in the oven a tad too long.

also couldnt be bothered making the icing cos i made such a mess of everything and didnt realise i needed to leave some lemon juice for it, i added it all to the cake lol. i used honey as a drizzle and cut up some strawberries to have w it.

i used a normal mould not a bread tin and it was aight. i think it would have tasted better if i had the right equipment but overall me n bf liked it so 3 stars. not too bad for my first bake in ages.

[somber bear]

I think your cake still looks good and those strawberry plates are really cute!

[shadow kraken]

I think your cake still
looks good and those strawberry
plates are really cute!

- afroditi32

[median locust]

aww tyy!

[whole schooner]

I'm baking bread from scratch from the stardew valley cookbook

and man oh man oh man oh man this is such a HARD recipe

I've baked so many different bread recipes before and none of them were as complicated as this

[soft badger]

What is making it complicated? Weird process or too many ingredients or something else?

[outer isle]

As someone with a grandfather who was a traditional baker for all of his life and also baked bread from scratch, props to you for giving it a chance because that stuff is HARD

Hope it comes out well

What kind of bread are you making?

[whole schooner]

It had four different proofing steps! With a lot of kneading in between! I've done breads with 2 proofing steps at most, and they all came out better than this

[whole schooner]

Baguette

[covert zinc]

I am gonna make the seasoned apple cake

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe Made: Pasta alla Norma
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Notes/Review: ok omg time to get rid of this recipe review backlog lol

OK FIRSTLY holy molyyyyy one of the first steps was to heat up chili and oil on a pan.... the air in my apt was SO SPICY it hurt to breathe 😭😭😭 had to open the windows and turn on all the fans LOL

I overcooked the eggplants though so I didn't like it too much HAHA I will do better next time.

I made mine tooooooo tomatoey 🍅 but I like the tomato tang so this was good! My bf is not a fan of tomato though so he didn't like it too much -- I had to add more sugar and oil to his to combat the sourness

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: (Fish) Taco
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Notes/Review: SO FIRE i loved this

One big alteration is that I made this with tofu instead of fish. I was going to make a fish one for my bf but the thought of me cooking fish made him nervous LOLLLL

I've never made coleslaw before; it was cool to see exactly how it's done!

Overall, like, idk what to say other than this was GOOD and I recommend it to everyone YAYYYY I will make this again some day (and cook an actual fish too!)

[covert zinc]

For purposes of it being Sunday and not wanting to spend money, I did some alterations.

sour cream - yogurt
butter - margarine
not enough flour so I used vanilla pudding pulver for the rest
a weird combo - normal apples
baked it higher because of my oven
3/5 Would bake again.
The ginger bread spice was a pleasant suprise, although I would have preferred cinnamon. Adding pudding pulver, since I did not have enough flour was also a good idea, my mom had. Only negative thing is, that the apples on top made the bottom soggy and take longer to cook. Cake photos in a moment.

@whole schooner (you wanted photos, milady)

[whole schooner]

YUMMMMMMMMMY

[somber bear]

I saw somewhere that instead of sugar you can add baking soda (obviously not too much) to cancel out the sourness in tomatoes. I never tried it but I think it would work since baking soda is alkaline and all

[somber bear]

Apple cake is such a comfort food and yours looks lovely.

[whole schooner]

Cookbook: Stardew Valley Cookbook
Recipe Made: Bread 🥖
Rating: ZEROOOOOOOO
Notes/Review: what the actual, exact, true, genuine, mathematical, philosophical, literal, legit, academic, geometric, combinatoric, statistical, topological, differential, integral, graphical HECK is going on in this recipe?

Absolute trash. Brb ripping this recipe out of the book. Terrible. I'm deleting my stardew valley saves and my steam account. /j

Ok first of all, this recipe unecessarily requires so much time and skill. It has 3? 4? 5??? proofing stages that are 45 mins minimum. I don't have enough time in the day to do all those proofing stages at once, so I baked this bread over the course of 3 days. There are SO MANY good bread recipes out there that take less time & turn out tasting so much better. Dafuq???

Taste was ok. Definitely bread, texture was giving... sourdough-ish, with a really freaking hard crust. I watched a video on YouTube of another person trying the bread recipe, it seems we both followed the steps as the cookbook said, but even her bread turned out with a crunchy af, hard crust, and a good taste.

[rigid ridge]

lol. Baguettes, the greatest pieces of art you can buy for $4.00.

A noble effort, but best left to the professionals.

Next: Stardew Valley Croissants.

[whole schooner]

I hate that the most basic recipes they have are stupidly complicated. For what reason??? i saved a handful of bread recipes online that look so much better and are much easier.

Adding to my to-do list "Publish Stardew Valley Cookbook 2.0 (with recipes that actually work)"

[short silo]

Cookbook: Ottolonghi Comfort
Recipe: Linguini with miso, shiitake and spinach
Rating:
Notes/review: I'm still waiting for Simple but this recipe was simple at least! The problem is that it makes SO MUCH and I cannot peddle this to the rest of my family so it's a lil wasteful. DELICIOUS THO, I am really into savoury food and it's so aggressively umami and I'm very proud to have a full vegetarian meal every now and then. Bonus is that it took no time to make and I'm having a lot of pain standing today so that won major points. I'm also trying to sort of force myself to enjoy mushrooms? Because I really like the taste but the texture always makes me averse to them. I like shiitake a lot because they're particularly meaty and I can force my brain into thinking its something else.

[earnest flame]

Vaude Im omw to deal with those leftovers dont you worry

taking the digital highway rn

[somber bear]

I love miso so I would definitely like this! Hmm I wonder if my library has this

[short silo]

If you can't get a hold of the book, I'd be happy to share the recipe!

[somber bear]

Thanks! I'll ask you in that case ☺️

[solemn trench]

Cookbook: Falastin
Recipe: chicken shawarma pie (very modified)
Rating:
Review: we’ve been making some variant of this for over four years now, and it remains a fav. The full original recipe is good, but super rich and filling between the potato and pastry; it’s definitely a family meal (with leftovers!)
We normally just make the chicken and marinade, and that’s what’s featured here. The recipe comes together really fast, and the chicken is so versatile. I think it would also be really good with a vegan alternative, but might be heavy with red meat.
Not a new recipe by any means but a new variant so posting anyway (it deserves the hype). The chicken from the recipe, plus veggies (plain cucumber slaps with this every time, plus shallot and jalapeño this time round) and harissa yogurt. I much prefer this with a bread over rice (pita especially, not featured because I had a late lunch)

[burnt mulch]

Cookbook: Ottolonghi Simple
Recipe: Garry's stir-fried cabbage with garlic and chile
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes/review: Trust me to pick the recipe that has Asian roots! 😂 I love napa cabbage, and this recipe seemed really simple so I went with it. I used bird-eye chiles and cooked the cabbage longer than the recipe called for because I prefer it soft, but it was still crunchier than I like it. It tasted really good though!

[left wadi]

CABBAGE 🗣️ I love cabbage

[hollow egret]

Cookbook: Energize Your Life, by Kirsten Hartvig & Nic Rowley, 2002
Recipe Made: Aloo Gobi
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes/Review: Sweet, densely spiced, and yummy! I will definitely be making it again.
I used sweet potatoes instead of white rice, which added creaminess. I also added beans, which made it into a one-dish meal.
Photo: Barely had time to cook, so no time for pics while cooking, but I added a picture of the local spice shop where I bought some of the ingredients.
Book notes: I used the same book as in part one of this event (the rules said that's okay ), because I had been travelling too much to reliably get the Ottolonghi book from interlibrary loan.

[whole schooner]

OOOOOH I LOVE ALOO GOBI

[solemn trench]

Im intrigued by whatever recipe for aloo Gobi uses rice 👀

unless I’m stupid and it’s a side

[hollow egret]

It was just my odd wording. ☺️ The rice was included in the recipe on the page as something like "serve over rice".

[solemn trench]

interesting

IVe never had it with rice since ours normally has potato in it!

[craggy storm]

but also, aloo gobi served over potato sounds like a win-win 😋

[solemn trench]

My fav Indian cauliflower is actually a fusion dish; it has a ton of diff names but it’s an indo-chinese fusion that batters and fries cauliflower

[whole schooner]

Manchurian?

[solemn trench]

Yeah!

A diff restaurant here just calls it mango chili Gobi, which is the same thing but diff flavour

So ymmv on naming but

[naive fulcrum]

Cookbook: Ottolenghi Simple
Recipe: Blueberry, almond, and lemon cake

First recipe from a book that I've made in a while! Overall I like it. I think might use water instead of lemon juice for the icing next time, as it was a much stronger taste there than in the cake, which is what I would want.

[left wadi]

Omg

I’m drooling

[earnest flame]

holy heck

[naive fulcrum]

Did I have that end slice at 11p when I shouldn't have? You bet I did!
I really wanted to try it before I take the rest in to the office tomorrow to share with my colleagues.

[median locust]

LMAOOOOOO yours looks soooo much better so this is what its supposed to look like

it looks so good

[naive fulcrum]

Thank you so much!

[whole schooner]

hiii @everyone
the event is naturally becoming less active, I think we can safely schedule it to end sometime soon!

I'm going to close this thread on <t:1757340000:D> (at the earliest)!
Feel free to continue cooking and baking until then (and use #health-fitness-food after!) 🫶 I think this event went well and maybe we can do it again (maybe in nov/dec around the holidays? holiday meal cooking!!)

do feel free to ping me with any suggestions or ideas you might have if we do this again ❤️ thanks everyone who joined, I had so much fun seeing all your dishes 😋

[naive fulcrum]

I think around the holidays would be great! And a lot of fun to share recipes.

[burnt mulch]

Thank you so much for hosting the challenge, spicy! I had so much fun and ended up checking out so many new cookbooks from the library and even buying one!

[short silo]

I FINALLY got my hold for Simple I just need to pick it up

[warm falcon]

Ughhh I couldn’t cook this month since I’ve been traveling but will definitely join the next event!! Love this idea

[halcyon kelp]

I wish I could keep up too like I was so excited and all and then found that I’m always reverting to my own versions of stuff and can never follow a recipe Or maybe because I was just not into them idk. I’m the kind of person who would have the exact same breakfast everyday and never tire and like find comfort in the sameness or the familiar

And then there’s this other side of me that is all hyped and excited to find my hold on this finally here. Will this inspire to step out of my comfort zone and finally follow a recipe?

Guess I’ll have to try and know

[short silo]

Okay Simple acquired, I will read it and get groceries on Saturday

[halcyon kelp]

The odds of both Studio Ghibli inspired cookbooks being ready in the same week

Idk, guess I really have to now

Spicy, is it possible to keep this thread open and not have it closed when the group cook-along ends? Like we continue sharing our cooking/ baking here even if they’re not part of the group cook-alongs until the next one gets decided?

[whole schooner]

I was thinking about this too, but I thought it'd be good to send all that traffic to #health-fitness-food to not take away from that channel + any excitedness for the next cook-along gets posted there for more publicity, but your idea is good too! Is anyone else interested in doing one of the other?

[solemn trench]

I’d be down to try another book!

[covert zinc]

Same

[halcyon kelp]

Oh, I get that! I honestly didn’t think of it that way but makes sense the more the merrier if folks get to know of this through #health-fitness-food

Also, yes! I should be down for another too