What's for dinner? June 9, 2020 4:42 PM   Subscribe

We're eating breakfast for dinner. Egg in a basket, or as I grew up calling it "egg-bread". How about you? What are you eating tonight? Feel free to share recipes. Be kind & stay safe.
posted by Fizz to MetaFilter-Related at 4:42 PM (71 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite

One of the best things we did was subscribe to Milk Street magazine before the pandemic started. We've been cooking through about 80% of the recipes in each magazine, and boy oh boy have they all been great!

Tonight, we had a sweet and savory braised chickpea dish that was flavored with rosemary, bay leaves, onion, garlic, and orange zest. It's really well balanced! I made 2 beautiful boules of sourdough over the weekend, so we had some great bread to go with it too. Learning how to make great boules has been one of my crowning achievements during quarantine.

The chickpeas get better overnight. I'll probably have some for lunch tomorrow, served with a fried egg on top.

Dessert will be Ben and Jerry's!
posted by astapasta24 at 4:46 PM on June 9, 2020 [4 favorites]


Egg in a basket because that was what one of my cookbooks from the American Girls doll line called it.

I had homemade nachos just now which I ate over the stove because why bother with plates
posted by Kitchen Witch at 5:10 PM on June 9, 2020 [3 favorites]


Roasted cauliflower, I think, and maybe a sausage.

Later tonight I will make oatmeal cookies!
posted by suelac at 5:22 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


I just had porridge for lunch, which hopefully counts. Made it in my cheap ass rice cooker as an added bonus while I attempted to kill the sink monster and free my crockery from its depths. Caught a little on the bottom but that toasted brown crust was actually delicious! Four handfuls of oats, plenty of milk, unhealthily large pinch of salt, and served with chilled milk and a little drizzle of maple syrup. Yummo!
posted by ninazer0 at 5:23 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


(We called those one eyes when I was growing up)

I made a really good batch of spinach and feta scones and I had one with additional greens and feta for dinner tonight while I watch Dance Theatre of Harlem's Creole Giselle.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:25 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Breakfast for dinner is the best; I usually make breakfast tacos of one variety or another.

Tonight is roasted chicken, I was feeling too lazy for anything more adventurous.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:26 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Seasoned lentils

1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
3 cups no-salt-added vegetable broth
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
5 ounces fresh or thawed frozen spinach
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a large soup pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons water and water saute the onions, celery, carrots and garlic until the carrots are tender and the onion is translucent. Add remaining ingredients except for the spinach and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25-35 minutes, partially covered, until lentils are tender.

Add spinach and continue cooking for 5 minutes or until spinach is wilted.

OR

Kale saute with mushrooms

1/2 ounce dried mushrooms
3 cups carrot juice
1/2 cup dried lentils
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon no-salt seasoning, adjusted to taste
12 cups kale, tough stems removed and coarsely chopped (frozen kale works too)
1 1/2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons pine nuts
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put dried mushrooms in a bowl with enough hot water to barely cover and let them soak for about 20 minutes. Remove mushrooms, reserving soaking liquid. Remove any tough stems and slice.

Place mushrooms and soaking water in a large pan along with the carrot juice, lentils, garlic, onion, VegiZest, and kale. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender.

Add fresh mushrooms and simmer for an additional ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender. Add water as needed to keep from sticking. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.
posted by bearwife at 5:28 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Strawberry pop-tarts, toasted.

It’s been a day week month year score of years.
posted by kimberussell at 6:00 PM on June 9, 2020 [7 favorites]


I had a lovely sandwich of smoked turkey + homemade guacamole + bacon bits on sourdough bread this evening. In the morning, I will probably have what has become my customary breakfast -- a Trader Joe's Bambino cheese pizza, heated in the air fryer for 8 minutes. Pizza, the breakfast of champions!
posted by Kat Allison at 6:00 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


A couple days ago I noticed that my neighbourhood Chinese place has reopened! For takeout only, of course, but still. (The place I mentioned in this comment)

So this evening I went over and went HI YOU'RE BACK!!! and they went HI IT'S YOU!!! and we talked through the window while they prepared my order, and as we said farewell we spread our arms wide in a sort of theoretical distance-hug.

I hope they'll get enough business to keep going. Their street is kind of a desert these days; the things that drew people here, or meant they passed through, are mostly shut down.

So tonight I had the first dinner I didn't prepare myself since mid-March: dumplings and ma po tofu with crispy seaweed. It was the best.

(Yesterday I made an entire vat of Bolognese sauce which turned out pretty well too. It's in the freezer now. I miss cooking for company, and it's a little dispiriting to make all this delicious sauce and then ladle it into little freezer containers instead of serving it to friends. One day there'll be people round the table again, but I don't know how distant that day is.)
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:06 PM on June 9, 2020 [6 favorites]


We got our first CSA box of the season yesterday, so tonight we had chickpea and broccoli rabe soup, along with some toasted rye bread from a local bakery, and I had a salad of arugula, radishes, cucumber, and cherry tomatoes.
posted by briank at 6:31 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


I had minimal time between work and therapy tonight, so I had a cup of Easy-Mac.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:35 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


I am feeling uninspired. We have a kilo of kangaroo mince that needs using and by default it's probably going to be either bolognese or chili con carne. Any other suggestions very welcome.
posted by lollusc at 6:38 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


I made my son his comfort food: baked chicken with rice and corn.

Then baked everyone else breaded (gluten-free) zucchini.
posted by doctornemo at 7:00 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Currently baking blueberry coffee cake for dessert, since the spouse had a grouchy day and sugar fixes everything.
posted by tautological at 7:05 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Spaghetti aglio e olio, with anchovies, capers, and a pinch of red peppers flakes. It's kind of my go-to dinner when I'm too lazy to do anything else.
posted by holborne at 7:10 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


I made a rice/chicken/broccoli/cheese skillet thing for dinner. It’s fast, and even better the second day.

I also baked chocolate chip cookie bars this morning because, really, why not at this point? Ate a bunch of them throughout the day. I should freeze some but realistically I don’t think that’s going to happen.
posted by bookmammal at 7:10 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


A tuna sandwich, which is not inspiring (except to the cats, who went on immediate TUNA ALERT).

However, I then had what is currently my favorite brownie for dessert. I baked these last week and have been eating them verrrry sloooowly.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:21 PM on June 9, 2020 [4 favorites]


Egg in a hole!

Tonight our neighbor made us amazing salmon burgers. And the kids had tacos, because Tuesday of course.
posted by not_the_water at 7:24 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


lollusc: what about tiny meatballs? I'd mix it with some onion, breadcrumbs, salt, egg, and season with whatever floats your boat. Ginger, garlic and a glug of kekap manis? Dried mint, cumin and smoked paprika? Just make teaspoon size balls, or lumps or kofte if you're feeling fancy, put into a baking tray and bake until done. You can put them into pasta or wraps, tortilla's, rolls or rice. And they freeze well so do a big batch and freeze in ziploc. Tasty to just munch on, or cover with a gravy or sauce for a meal. I love roo meat - so tasty!
posted by ninazer0 at 7:37 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


I recently discovered that the deli section of the grocery store sells already-grilled strips of zucchini in little containers, so tonight was flatbread pizza with feta, tomato and zucchini. Kale salad on the side. My favourite dinner.
posted by janepanic at 7:41 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Was going to fire up the grill, but spent the afternoon deep-cleaning it instead and at the end was completely unmotivated to actually cook. Gin and popcorn it is!
posted by btfreek at 7:41 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Correction: my childhood cookbook called it a "toad in a hole."

I called it delicious and I would like one right now.
posted by Kitchen Witch at 7:42 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Growing up in my family we called them "shadowbox eggs," but I've never heard anyone else call them that and it might just be a name my mom came up with. Coincidentally, I just made them for the first time in years a week or two ago! I overcooked them slightly but they were still good.

I've been making a lot more egg dishes in general since quarantine started, especially omelettes. They're great because we were able to buy lots of random vegetables early on and chop and freeze them, and then a quick defrost and pan-fry before tossing them in an omelette makes an easy and delicious dinner. (Pre-chopped frozen veggies sold out really fast in my area during the panic-buying, but weirdly the fresh produce didn't, so we stocked our freezer up that way.) I like it because I don't need to follow a recipe or plan much: I just grab a few handfuls of whatever frozen veggies I have and throw them in the pan until they look reasonably well cooked, then scoop them out, make the omelette in the same pan, and throw the veggies in when the eggs look done. My favorite omelette so far is with lima beans, butternut squash, smoked salmon, and cream cheese. Delicious, and super easy.
posted by biogeo at 7:56 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


The interesting cooking today was done by my kids. They made sushi for lunch and then they tried making mochi ice cream, but sadly we all agreed the results were terrible. The mochi dough ended up with way too much cornstarch in it and was basically inedible. This was their first ever attempt at mochi so maybe they just need to try a different recipe. I'm not crazy about mochi anyway but for some reason they just love that mochi texture and they were sad that they couldn't make theirs come out right.
posted by Redstart at 8:13 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


We never had it when I was a kid, but it always looked so fancy to me. As an adult I started making it only when camping, and it's "egg in a hole" for me.

Tonight we had Boca burgers with swiss cheese, and oven-baked fries. My mom mailed me a bag of fresh ghost peppers from a neighbor's garden a week or so ago and I've been enjoying them sliced thinly on pretty much everything, so now I'm basking in the lovely fruity afterburn.

I almost burned the fries because I went outside to pluck slugs out of my garden while they* were cooking. I counted 104 slugs! The fries were a little over-crisp but still pretty good. I assured my wife I remembered to wash my hands between coming in from the garden and finishing up dinner.

*the fries, not the slugs
posted by DingoMutt at 8:18 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


I make my breakfast at dinner time by starting a big pot of rice. (Yes, I’m the kind of heathen that eats leftover rice all the time.)

Dinner, though, was tacos. Super simple ones. A scoop of canned refined beans, leftover grilled onions (+bacon and sausage), and half an avocado.

But I got the “wrong” taco shells which are way too big to fry four at a time like I’m used to, so that was a wocky adventure.

Still glad to be back on the taco train. Gonna eat two pounds of corn tortillas in the next couple weeks.
posted by itesser at 8:31 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Meyer lemon forbidden rice because it's fairly easy, it's vegan, and it keeps well. "Risotto" is, however, a vile lie. This has nothing to do with risottos.
posted by aramaic at 8:42 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


First, that's a "bird in a nest" in my house.

Second, I'll probably go with a burrito tonight. Sheltering in place has had the effect of pushing me to be more vegetarian, as I really hate cooking meat. I'm finding myself less and less able to shake the "yep, that is definitely the flesh of a dead animal" thoughts. Super excited that Costco started carrying Beyond burgers. They're still not cheap, but way better than the smaller grocery store packs. They make great veggie taco "meat" if you're cool with the grilled burger taste shining through even after piling in taco spices.

I'm still totally okay with eggs, somehow. My latest lazy cooking hack is to heat up pretty much any leftovers and toss a fried yolk-y egg on top.
posted by ktkt at 8:47 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Chard from my garden cooked with lemon caramelized onions, and chicken drumsticks with carolina-style barbecue sauce (if someone can give me a GOOD recipe for making that style of barbecue sauce, you'll have my undying loyalty). With a Space Dust IPA and a huge glass of water. Spruce-tip shortbread cookies for dessert.
posted by centrifugal at 9:17 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


A cookie and a beer. I'm not managing my anxiety well.
posted by Gorgik at 9:28 PM on June 9, 2020 [10 favorites]


Mom made stuffing and chicken!
Don’t know why she wanted to use the oven... it was really hot today!
I even ate the apples she put in the stuffing, not my usual stuffing recipe.
posted by calgirl at 9:54 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


My wife taught me about these, which she called toad in a hole growing up, so now that's what I call them. I still haven't advanced to proper home-made bread, because we have a bread maker and it makes a rectangular prism-ish loaf of bread, and those square slices are perfect for toad in a hole.

As I wrote before, grilled cheese, made with soft bread + mayo, cheddar, muenster, tomatoes, salt, and pepper was pretty fantastic.

A few days ago, it was up into the 90s (F), so my wife had the brilliant idea: ice cream sandwiches. By the time I got home, they were a bit melty, like soft serve. Perfection on a hot day.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:58 PM on June 9, 2020


OF COURSE THEY ARE CALLED TOAD IN A HOLE (high five your wife for me)
posted by pipoquinha at 10:09 PM on June 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


We called them a “hole in one” and the best part was frying up the buttered circle and eating that first.

It’s still terribly cold and rainy in Oregon, so I’m making soups and stews every day. Normally, when I’m not working from home, I can only manage that on the weekends. It’s no great trade-off for a pandemic, but being home to cook is kind of nice.
posted by Knowyournuts at 10:26 PM on June 9, 2020


Kung Pao seitan. Extra extra spicy. The thing about restaurants is that no matter how spicy you ask, they are afraid to over spice it. I always have to ask for chili oil on the side. At home, I substitute seitan for chicken and put beaucoup spice in it. I am happiest when my teeth and hair are sweating.

Oh, at the diner I worked at very briefly 3.5 decades ago, we called them birds nests. But a fried egg on a burger was, a one-eyed bacon cheeseburger. Go figure. Diner shorthand fascinates me. I still call a grilled cheese with bacon a GAC-bac pronounced "jack back" with tomatoes, a gac and Tom. One gal called that "two friends" (jack and Tom) but I think that was unique to her.
posted by AugustWest at 10:47 PM on June 9, 2020 [2 favorites]


Falling back on old standbys this week. I made Smitten Kitchen's one pan farro with tomatoes last night (we double it for leftovers), pasta with sauteed asparagus and bell peppers tonight, and tomorrow I'll do a tortilla de patatas (we're big Smitten Kitchen fans at my house) and probably a green salad with it. I also made a lazy man's curry the other day with tikka masala sauce from Costco and paneer, potatoes, and bell peppers. I was surprised by how good the sauce was!

I need to go to the fruit market around the corner soon and see what summer produce is coming in. As soon as it stops raining we'll go strawberry picking and canning season can officially start!
posted by mollywas at 12:14 AM on June 10, 2020


We went to Invercargill for the afternoon, and had an early dinner at Waxy O'Shea's, our favorite southern bar. Due to Covid it was our first meal out together for nearly three months. I had my usual bangers and mash - they do it so well I've never bothered exploring rest of menu! And my SO asked for bread and dips and received a whole very fresh loaf - Waxy's don't do things by halves.
posted by unearthed at 1:16 AM on June 10, 2020


For me, toad in a hole is sausages in an eggy sort of batter. I always called the egg in bread thing "egg in a hole".

We did decide to go with bolognese for the kangaroo mince in the end. I like the idea of meatballs, but my husband is Swedish and won't condone meatballs made to anything other than Mamma's special recipe (sigh). Kangaroo meatballs would be an abomination to him, and since he's the chef, that was that :)
posted by lollusc at 1:20 AM on June 10, 2020 [4 favorites]


I haven't been cooking much recently, but last night I made Ottolenghi's Red rice with feta. Should last me for a while and I can add things to it if I want to.
posted by paduasoy at 2:12 AM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


I was going to cook up an omlet, only to discover that we only had two eggs midway through cooking.

So: a one egg "pancake" each, topped with cheese, bacon, mushrooms, broccoli, corn, grated carrot and lettuce, as a kind of burrito type thing.
posted by freethefeet at 2:30 AM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


My CSA kicks up right around the time that I start feeling "screw cooking", and all I want to do for dinner is to be able to open a fridge, grab a serving of something pre-made, and eat. I spend a couple hours on the weekend making a couple big batches of salads and then just leave them there, and eat through them all week. (That's why I initially got the famous Moosewood "Daily Special" cookbook I recommend all the time.)

Last night's salad was a salad of barley with mushrooms, sliced bell pepper, steamed green beans and carrot. I also use these salads for bag lunches - today's lunch is homemade cold sesame noodles with some cucumber, grated carrot, and some seaweed salad. I think for tonight's dinner I may rally and prepare something - there's a salad I know where you just take a can of drained chick peas and add an herby vinaigrette and some chopped olive; I may have that tonight with a green salad on the side.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:27 AM on June 10, 2020 [3 favorites]


I pick up groceries on Tuesdays now so last night's dinner was good - I sauteed mushrooms, asparagus and garlic in a little olive oil and a little butter with salt and pepper and a dribble of sherry vinegar, threw in some frozen peas, mixed in some whole grain rotini, added parmesan and green onions. The asparagus was so good and fresh and happy and I still have half of the bunch.
posted by wellred at 4:37 AM on June 10, 2020


Spaghetti and meatballs for us last night, with a pretty barebones green salad on the side, just some nice crispy red lettuce from our CSA.

I think we call that dish “toad in a hole” or “egg in a frame” or “egg in a basket.” I didn’t grow up with it at all, so I’m pretty flexible about what to call it. :)

Today is going to be almost all web meetings. I looked at my calendar and groaned inwardly. I think I need more coffee.
posted by eirias at 5:28 AM on June 10, 2020


While we were all at home for the last three months, we fell into a routine where my husband cooked and I cleaned. And he is not a clean-as-you-go kind of person. He works from home full time and I was just cobbling together bullshit to keep busy so that was okay by me. But now I’m back to work full time out of the house so...

Anyway, that’s not what you asked. Yesterday he made baked farfalle with sauce, sausage and lots of cheese. Tonight we are having chopped Thai chicken salad which is already prepped so yay for no after dinner dishes!
posted by lyssabee at 5:48 AM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


Finally got my mapo sauce just right last night (just right for me; I have no claims regarding the authenticity of my cooking or this dish). Turns out a little corn starch is essential for that cheap takeout experience at home.
posted by aspersioncast at 7:20 AM on June 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


The local Aldi stocks frozen Gino's East deep dish pizzas every now and then, and I lay in a supply of 2 or 3 every time they do. The PITA daughter decided that last night was the night for one. Tonight's my birthday and I don't know what I'm going to do to celebrate. There are places nearby that have patio dining but I sure as hell am not going to sit out on a patio when the heat index is 100.
posted by drlith at 7:31 AM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


I eat so many Fritos. So many Fritos.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:36 AM on June 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


Not dinner, but yesterday for lunch I finally tried the much-vaunted chicken sandwich from Popeye's. The spicy one.

It was damn near perfect.

Today I made myself a roast beef and swiss sandwich on toasted rye, with lettuce and sliced cucumbers, a little salt and pepper, and a lot of horseradish. To go with it, I have some Dirty potato chips, pepperoncini flavored.
posted by emelenjr at 10:23 AM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


Yesterday’s dinner was leftover Mushroom Bolognese I’d stress cooked the day before over penne. Easily one of the best sauces I’ve ever made. Really pushing how far I could caramelize the Tomato paste to fill my time instead of doom scrolling Twitter paid off.

Today will be fried rice that will stick to the wok and be annoying to clean because it always is, but it will taste very good because there will be crispy garlic on top and basil and an infused garlic oil I make to cook everything in. So a win.
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 11:34 AM on June 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


I got some tempura shrimp at Trader Joe's, and I made some oven-fried buffalo cauliflower. I ate a bit more than half of the cauliflower, not the best idea, but it sure was tasty. BLT for breakfast, and for lunch, and I happily remembered I had a ripe avocado and added slices. Tonight, TJ's gyoza.

I love the fresh fruit of summer, but I have cherries, mango, and nectarines all perfectly ripe; nice to have this particular problem.

I got my sourdough starter from CarlsFriends, thanks to a MeFi post, and am enjoying sour bread. I'd better because I had to buy 25 lbs of flour to get any at all. Southern Mainers, need white flour?
posted by theora55 at 11:49 AM on June 10, 2020


Did anyone mention that this egg bread thing is the breakfast Olivia Dukakis as Rose is cooking up in the dramatic climax of Moonstruck when Cher (Loretta) comes downstairs with the love bite on her neck? I believe she put pimientos (wtfsp?) in. Or that could be from something else.

I always meant to make that! With more rustic bread like she used. I'll never have the dramatic morning she had, or sitting around a table with so many generations or that many family really, but I could make that egg thing.

Is pandemic-times rambling a thing? Asking for a friend.

Finally, in answer to the question (a day later), I plan to order from Jennifer's Edibles, maybe catfish!
posted by Glinn at 12:15 PM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


We had fried elderflower fritters dusted in sugar for pudding. It’s an amazingly abundant year for them. Tomorrow if the rain holds off I will gather more for cordial, and we already have some drying for tea. Elderflower is one of my favourite flavours so I am very happy!
posted by Balthamos at 12:27 PM on June 10, 2020 [3 favorites]


We have had a lot of work stress that leaves us unable to think dinner thoughts lately, or most other meals. But the grocery store I prefer to order from sells dozen-sleeves of english muffins and restaurant supply bags of cooked frozen sausage patties, and after some experimentation with molds I found some silicone mini tart pans that will make round egg patties (scrambled, as per my preference) in the air fryer that are too big until they cool a smidge and shrink. I already have a dizzying array of sliced cheese for sandwiches, so in about 12-14 minutes I can make us open-faced breakfast sandwiches (which I have decided are called MsMuffins) that are not jawbreakingly tall and don't feel/taste like McD's nasty tough english muffins.

Also a few weeks ago I finally got fed up with my awful cramped side-by-side refrigerator and our taxes weren't as much as we anticipated and Lowes was having a good pre-Memorial day sale. I had planned to move the old fridge to the garage, but when the time came to do the moving I just said fuck it and put it in the dining room (which is largely storage overflow for gadgets and supplies anyway) and now I have TWO refrigerators and can SEE and FIND and MANAGE several weeks of pandemic/curfew groceries and CSA boxes at a time. This also means I had to spelunk through the shit in the freezer and I unearthed a bunch of frozen prepped meals and major components and steamer veg, which has helped with me not being able to really cook.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:58 PM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


I got a bunch of veggies to oven roast but it's too hot now. Hopefully they'll keep until the weekend because I have to return to the office tomorrow and probably won't have the spoons to try that new Buddha bowl recipe I found.
Tonight I'll have to decide between hot ramen or cold ramyun. Then saute some chicken and mushrooms, nuke some spinach, and mix everything together with some kimchi.
I also started a batch of fire cider. Should be ready at the end of the month if all goes well.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 1:44 PM on June 10, 2020


We had a lovely thing today: long red and green sweet baked peppers stuffed with a kind of cheesy (but not too cheesy!) custardy (but not too custardy!) sort of thing, with I'm not even sure what inside: some sautéed pepper bits, bacon bits, some other unknown yummy bits. It's from our fave neighborhood restaurant that just recently reopened, and they let my husband know they were making these today, since it's a big favorite of ours, and we haven't had it in months. Unlike most dishes, which I can usually at least sort of half-ass recreate, I have no idea at all how they make this delight. If forced to try, for the stuffing I'd sauté some minced pepper, maaaabye a bit of onion, crispy bacon bits, and mix with a sort of toothy béchamel with parmesan and maybe a bit of some other cheese, maybe kefalotiri or graviera. That sounds cheesier than this turns out. And the texture of béchamel doesn't seem quite right. Anyway, we picked it up to eat at home, and it was glorious with some fresh baked bread.
posted by taz (staff) at 1:57 PM on June 10, 2020 [1 favorite]


Since this whole thing kicked off I've just gone total simple on food. High quality protein shakes. Organic peas, organic corn, frozen. Eggs, tons of eggs. I've been "going to" start sprouting stuff for over ten years -- since this thing, I've been eating broccoli sprouts every day, it's easy and it's fun and it's great food that's actually alive, once set up it's super-inexpensive, esp considering the high quality greens I've been eating. I'm looking into What's Next as far as what else to sprout, think I'm going to go with sunflower sprouts, they grow fast and easy and it's damn good food. Coffee, with limes squeezed in it. In fact, limes squeezed on most anything. Bananas are so easy, so simple, they hold in the fridge. Beans. Brown rice. About every ten days I break down, get two medium pizzas delivered. About every ten days I break down and buy a snickers bar. Organic blueberries, frozen, one of the best deals from out local grocery chain, these things are huge and they are great, they're not cheap but who cares, it helps me keep in line, helps keep pizzas and snickers bars outside the door.

~~~~~

I am breaking into pieces, I am very used to be alone and I'm good at it -- not something I'd ever hoped to need to learn but I did need to learn it and I have done so, kicking and screaming a lot of the way. So, that's alone. But this goddamn thing, I am lonely. I'm am breaking down. I've pretty much gone barking mad. I want to take every mask I own and burn the goddamn things -- it's clear that many others have done that, people just can't stand being alone, much less lonely. I've made two big mistakes, put myself in danger of exposure in a big way with two different people, both times just complete carelessness, I'd prepared yet just walked in like nothing is going on. And one of these two people I *know* has been exposed to this shit, the other person I just don't know, but I do know that he's careless. So it could be worse I know, two slips (that I'm aware of) but what the fuck, I really am looping the loop. There are only so many books to read. There are only so many movies to watch. I meditate, and that is something I hold to and probably that's the center I have, for whatever it's worth. (It's worth a lot.) But. To reiterate. I am breaking into pieces. In short -- I'm fuct.
posted by dancestoblue at 4:59 PM on June 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


dancestoblue-- I'm also on my own and I... sort of know the feeling, or a similar feeling. I think you've just gotta keep the faith while acknowledging that a certain amount of emotional chaos is going to happen. And the chaos doesn't negate the faith, it's just a completely understandable response to how things are right now.

Keep faith in what? That's a question I don't really have an answer to. Better days? Or better than this, anyway.

It's been weeks, and my faith is fraying, but fraying and brokenness are human qualities too. Broken me is still me. Broken you is still you.

You mentioned that meditation is a center for you. That sounds like a good thing, and potentially a place where you may be able to have a look at the breakage and the pieces and how that feels and what it looks like from where you're standing. (You are standing. You are here.)

More and more I feel the old world receding from me, both the good and the bad, and my connections to it dissolving, both the good and the bad. I hope we come through this and out of this, but if we do, we'll emerge into a changed world, and we'll be changed too.

Dan Sheehan on Twitter said:
The quarantine state of mind is having 3 solid days where you feel pretty well adjusted, followed by a sudden, unexpected dip into what we call "the hell zone"

The hell zone is an anxious, semi-agitated state where you're just sorta "off" for the whole day and time flows like you're wading through chili and your hell zone will NEVER sync up with other peoples hell zones and that'll always make you feel weird and stressed out
And that resonated with me. For me it does feel kind of cyclical. And I've come to trust that after a certain amount of getting buffeted by unfathomable waves and submerged and half-drowned, eventually I'll wash up on shore and be able to breathe again and jury-rig myself together into something that can walk and talk and be warmed by sunlight.

Just, I don't know. Keep breathing. Talk to anyone you can talk to. Look at the sky when you can (I don't know, it helps me). Whenever anything positive happens, maybe look at it for a while and absorb it. Just... be here, somehow, through this.
posted by Pallas Athena at 6:32 PM on June 10, 2020 [4 favorites]


That's an "Angela egg" in my house. When I was a kid my mom owned a Montessori school, where I was also a student, and for a while we lived at the school too, not that it matters. One of the other kids was named Angela. Angela's mom was always running frantically late and would drop her off in her pajamas with "egg in a basket" in a Tupperware, only we didn't know that's what it was called, so we called it "Angela egg." Half a century later and it's been a breakfast staple for me all this time.

Anyway, for din we had perciatelli with pecorino and crushed red pepper and black pepper and olive oil, and broccoli cooked with anchovies and garlic, and an arugula salad, and a Chianti, and then for dessert I made a chocolate mug cake with lots of good whipped cream and we shared it and a glass of bourbon while watching A French Village, which is very very good.
posted by HotToddy at 7:55 PM on June 10, 2020 [4 favorites]


I marinated some chicken thighs in a spicy soy-ginger mixture, then covered them with kimchi and braised them. We ate them in lettuce wraps with rice and more kimchi. Tomorrow I’ll turn the leftovers into fried rice. Keeping the menu tasty, varied, affordable, and somewhat healthy has been a challenge, but a worthwhile one.
posted by Tuba Toothpaste at 8:45 PM on June 10, 2020 [3 favorites]


Ooh! The marinated chicken thighs mention reminded me of a family staple when I was in high school, from a recipe we discovered in a magazine - chicken thighs marinated in an italian-style dressing and then grilled. For whatever reason we all loved it both hot and cold. I may do up a batch this weekend and keep them in the fridge on reserve for future meals for next week.

Tonight was a batch of the chickpea-and-olive salad. To make it, you just mix together:

* A drained can of chickpeas
* 1/4 cup of olive oil
* 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
* 1/4 onion, minced
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* A tablespoon or two of minced herbs, like rosemary, thyme, or parsley, or a combination
* 1/4 black olives, pitted and chopped.

Technically you're supposed to mix the olive oil, vinegar, onion, garlic, and herbs into a dressing and toss, but I just threw everything all into a bowl and mixed it up because why not. Some of that with a huge green salad topped with cubed ham, cubed cheese, a hard-boiled egg, some chopped mushrooms, boiled new potato, and shredded carrot.

I even had a fancy beverage! I am one of the volunteer beta-testers for someone who's writing a cookbook of non-alcoholic cocktails and I had one tonight; something with a combination of juices spiked with tea.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:10 PM on June 10, 2020 [2 favorites]


Yesterday I made a big pot of carrot, lentil, kale & coriander soup, which was perfect given that the weather here has been unusually cold and rainy for early June. I've also been doing a lot more baking since I've been at home, with these vegan brownies falling into a pan/the oven/my mouth at least once a month (they're easily the best vegan brownies I've ever had, so soft and fudgy that if you undercook them by a few minutes and then put them in the fridge they're almost closer to ganache bar/chocolate tart filling texture than a brownie, which I love).

The panini press has never seen more use since I got into a toastie groove a few weeks back. Current favourites are sliced gouda with either caramelised onion chutney or thin-sliced beef tomatoes that have been marinated overnight in salt/pepper/garlic powder, either on multiseed loaf bread or sliced sourdough.

My next baking/sweet treat plans are oreo cheesecake truffles, malted chocolate chip cookies and the Smitten Kitchen hot fudge sauce over my favourite vanilla ice cream.
posted by terretu at 2:29 AM on June 11, 2020 [2 favorites]


I've finally learned and put the effort into efficiently batch-cooking meals that freeze and reheat well (after 8 years of not living with a partner) and it's been life changing. InstantPot/Crockpot + reusable containers + a few hours of prep and I have several meals I can grab at a whim without thinking in the moment.

Last night was carnitas and I think tonight will be chicken noodle soup.
posted by Twicketface at 4:38 AM on June 11, 2020 [3 favorites]


I accidentally stumbled upon (or maybe created?) my new favorite veggie dish.

It's a Green Bean Thoran done in an Instant Pot. The recipe is a traditional Indian one that features green beans, shredded coconut, garlic, chiles and curry leaves.

However, I was making it last week and realized I had run out of curry leaves and so on a whim substituted them with kaffir lime leaves that i had stored in the freezer.

It was an instant transformation from an Indian-style dish to Thai-style and has become my favorite side, it holds up well the next day as a cold dish also.
posted by jeremias at 4:44 AM on June 11, 2020 [3 favorites]


The quarantine state of mind is having 3 solid days where you feel pretty well adjusted, followed by a sudden, unexpected dip into what we call "the hell zone"

To me its Tuesday. Not as a film reference, I just find Tuesday's much more miserable for some reason. I'm sure there was a cartoon in one of the comics when i was a kid who wanted to ban Tuesday's, so maybe they had something.
posted by biffa at 7:50 AM on June 11, 2020


I was inspired/guilted by all the CSA veggies on my fridge and made two Ottolenghi Simple recipes for dinner: stuffed zucchini and broccoli with kale. The two year old even ate some of the broccoli! And we had sausages as well.
posted by carolr at 8:05 AM on June 11, 2020 [2 favorites]


I have eggs and toast for breakfast every morning. Those type of eggs are egg in basket. I'm generally too lazy for that so I just soft boil mine.

Dinner is flammkuchen, a german pizza-ish thing. Pizza dough topped with fried pancetta, carmelized onions, and garlicky yogurt with lots of nutmeg. Unusual but very delicious!
posted by ananci at 3:01 PM on June 11, 2020 [1 favorite]


Dinner last night was eggs, spam and potato chips (the disc shaped ones, not fries), a bit of a throwback to my childhood, when we used to have that both for lunch or dinner semi-regularly.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:07 AM on June 12, 2020


Last night was brown rice, shredded roast chicken with shallots and tatsoi sauteed in sesame oil, topped with soy sauce. Nthing the CSA veggies, which are both wondrous and also kind of intimidating with their relatively short shelf lives.
posted by grumpybear69 at 7:58 AM on June 12, 2020


Imma late to this party! Pan-fried salmon with miso glaze and first ever attempt at onigiri , also basted with miso glaze.
posted by lemon_icing at 8:23 PM on June 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


We had pork crown roast that was rubbed with Penzys Bicentennial rub and then slathered with grainy mustard and baked dry at 325F for 3 hours. It was so amazing, especially with the resultant sauce. Also roasted potatoes and home grown salad greens with Green Goddess dressing. We haven't been eating much meat lately so this was quite extravagant.

I used this rub on our Thanksgiving turkey last year, sans mustard, and it was also v good.
posted by waving at 3:22 PM on June 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


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