WOYWW 479 Cooking Again

I wasn’t intending to join in WOYWW today because nothing had changed on my desk after another busy and tiring week and having a headache every day, probably due to the heat, but it’s cooler today and I decided to move my “desk” to the kitchen and be creative in there instead.

Last Friday we went to another Shabbat meal and again I offered to make the challah. This time I divided the dough into three, as it made two absolute whoppers last time – I took two, and kept one back for ourselves.

I didn’t make sourdough this week because we’ve still got enough in the freezer.

It’s been a hive of industry in the kitchen today!

On the hob I’ve got my stock pot with two packs of chicken thighs with veggies (offcuts from the bag in the freezer) making stock, and I’ll also end up with some lovely tasty cooked chicken and cooked veggies ready to make soup with when I want. At the back is a pan of plain boiled brown rice – so easy – I just covered it with water and simmered it with the lid on until all the water was absorbed. Nicely chewy and fluffy, ready for supper tonight. In the wok I am sauté-ing veggies with no oil. It takes absolutely ages and in the end I added a bit of water and put the lid on and let them steam a bit before increasing the heat again. They came out very dark as they were pretty much caramelised. Very tasty.

Ingredients all ready for curried parsnip soup – chopped onions and parsnips, veg stock from the freezer, and spices. I couldn’t do this until the chicken stock was done as I needed the stock pot.

Making the sauce for supper. This morning I discovered a Youtube channel belonging to “Chef AJ” who is pretty radical, vegan, no oil, no salt… I’m not going that far, but she’s got some brilliant recipes! This is her “Yummy Sauce” in the making, with cannellini beans, lemon and mustard.

The completed sauce. This is absolutely scrumptious!!! Yummy indeed!

The components of our supper, ready to throw together when my hubby comes home. The Yummy Sauce, brown rice, and sautéed veggies. They will make a nice couple of bowls of goodness.

Sorting out the chicken stock. The chicken in the pan waiting to be boned, the stock, and the veggies.

The curried parsnip soup on the hob.

The cooked chicken with the bones removed. I had skinned them before boiling, so it wouldn’t be so greasy. On the right, some home-made Coronation chicken in an old pot from Tesco. I’ve decided not to keep buying this, but to make my own – much cheaper, and more delicious!

The chicken spread out on baking parchment, ready for the freezer. This will stop the pieces sticking together. Once it’s frozen, it will go in bags.

The curried parsnip soup after going through my high speed blender, cooling, ready to be frozen.

We’ve got plenty of food for the week now.

Finally, the aliens have landed!!

Our neighbour gave this to us today. I have no idea what it is, whether it’s an actual alien, or an alien spacecraft. I think there should be flashing lights on those bumps around the bottom.

I think it’s a sort of squash. I am sure I shall find something to do with it, as long as little green men don’t hop out when I cut it open.

Fermentation

I am still doing my fermented foods. This week I made some kimchi which isn’t ready yet – it smells pretty amazing, though, and it’s fairly fiery too with lots of Korean chilli spice in it. I discovered a very simple recipe for an Indian fermented drink this week, which I am trying, called Kaanji, made from carrots and spices in water, and of course, I am continuing to make my kefir.

At the back: kimchi. Tall jar: kaanji. Front left: kefir.

I have decided to try my hand at kombucha (fermented tea) so I have some stuff on order – a gallon jar and some bottles, and a kombucha scoby (this is an acronym for “Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeasts”) – you need this to convert the tea into kombucha. It looks pretty revolting, a bit like a dead jellyfish. Oh well, the kombucha is supposed to be delicious!

Esmeralda, my sourdough starter, is asleep in the fridge.

I need more room in my pantry.

Kitties

Ruby has decided she’s gone off the hammock, and gone off sleeping with Lily at all. I really don’t understand kitties. She’s now adopted a soft cushion on the settee. Before she abandoned Lily, I got this picture of her with one leg over.

Last night there was a bit of a mystery with Ruby. My hubby got them in for supper, and shut the back door so they wouldn’t go out again. Next thing I knew, Ruby was out again! The previous night I’d left the door open by mistake and they both went out again, but this time I was sure I hadn’t let them out. My hubby managed to bribe her in with kitty biccies. Five minutes later, she was out again!! We couldn’t understand it. Then I remembered… when my friend came in the afternoon, we decided it was a bit windy to sit outside, so we sat in the flat which is nice and sunny, and brighter than our sitting room, and I’d opened the window and forgotten to shut it! Mystery solved.

We’ve been out for lunch this week as well, and I’ve been working on last month’s accounts (not yet finished) and various other activities too, so I haven’t had a chance to go in the studio. Hopefully this coming week…