Some thing I’ve learned cooking on the road…

Tortillas- 1. Loaf o’ bread- 0.
Tortillas have a much longer shelf life than a loaf of bread & are so versatile. Choosing flour vs corn tortillas means easier rolling for burritos & less fragile in the car/ backpack. Cut them up & grill/fry them for tortilla crisps in nachos. Quesadillas, enchiladas etc etc

Can of beans FTW!
When you’re cooking by fire you really don’t want to be babysitting a cooking-pot for hours. You also don’t want to waste all your firewood when you went to all the effort of collecting it. This is one time I really cannot be bothered with dried beans. I’d much prefer just whacking a can of beans in a pan for 2mins despite the cost, BPA poisons & environment. They can add simple protein & fibre to a dish with no effort.

Hot sauce!
See a theme developing here? Mexican food is my latest addiction; so easy, perfect for camping. Hot sauce belongs in this list due to its storage ease. A real hot sauce has so much chili & vinegar that it is too acidic to spoil in the heat. You can literally leave a bottle in the sun all day without it going off. Forget ketchup & mustard for your hotdogs, they need refrigeration. Hot sauce goes on everything; burgers, stir-fry, ramen… Find me a food that hot sauce doesn’t work with!

and that brings me to Instant Ramen.
*Sigh* While I’m so sick of ramen right now I could scream, you really cannot pack the car up without a few packs of ramen. It’s such a cheap meal at 15c that it’s hard to beat. Lightweight enough for your backpack, it’s perfect for camping.

Fruit & Veges that last on the road-

• Potatoes… of course. Super-versatile. Bake ‘em, fry ‘em, stew ‘em, mash ‘em…
• Onions. Like potatoes, you can carry them around for weeks…
• Carrots. Might last a week?
• Zucchini & eggplant. Depending on the temperature you might get 2 days- a week out of them.
• Tomatoes. Ok, these don’t last too long, maybe 3 days? but tomatoes can go in everything. Gotta have ‘em.
• Limes & lemons. Limes are super cheap over here so it’s rare that we don’t have a few lying around. They jazz up boring meals, & make gross water drinkable. They are simply neccessary.
• Broccoli. 3-4 days?

Of course this all depends on your climate. We’ve gone from below 0 to 45 degrees in the last few months & temperature is everything. If you’re closer to freezing temperatures you can take eggs, milk, cheese, everything. If you’re camping in temperatures over 30 or 40 celsius fresh foods just will not last.

Powdered & Dried Food-

• Go the powdered milk, unless you’re camping near the snow.
• Garlic powder. I know it’s not the same, but a tonne easier agree?
• Pre-mixed spices. It’s easier to make little pre-mixed spice-jars than have a 1000 little bottles in your trunk rattling around. I have a lemon-pepper mix, a chili-lime mexi mix & a basic curry powder. I know it limits your recipes, but so much easier.
• TVP/ TSP. Textured vegetable/ soy protein can be thrown in everything or made into burgers. A real handy thing to have on hand & ever so cheap.
• “Dry vege mix”. I’m not sure what to call this exactly. We bought it from Winco a few times & it’s just a mix of dried veges that can be thrown in soups, stews, ramen, everything. A very easy way to add some colour & taste to carb-based meals. It’s light-weight & lasts forever.

Peanut butter lasts forever. Honey is also a good one if you’re a fan.

The last few months I have mostly been eating-

Burritos! Tortillas are insanely versatile, but it’s hard to beat a basic burrito. You can go all out with fillings but a simple breakfast burrito with egg will keep you going for hours. Bean burritos rock. I even found some soy chorizo, awesome for burritos. The rest is up to your creativity.

Ramen.
It’s lightweight & cheap, but probably not much more. It’ll fill you up but not for long. There’s really nothing nutritious about them & can be full of fat. Read the ingredients. Throw some veges or tvp in there to fill it out.
A favourite- Ramen + soy sauce, peanut butter, lime, chili sauce = “thai-inspired noodles”

Burgers.
What’s easier than throwing a burger on the fire? Whether it be a store-bought vegeburger or one from scratch, burgers are awesome.

Hotdogs.
See above. Protein wrapped in bread & can be eaten one-handed. What could be easier?

Peanut butter sandwiches. …Man I’m sick of peanut butter sandwiches now.

Pizza!
Pizzas of course require a little forethought if you make the dough from scratch. The sun does a good job of proofing your dough quickly however, then all you need to do is build a little fire “oven” to bake them in. I found small personal pizzas were easier. Cheese is optional depending on your climate… I guess it’s more of a focaccia minus the cheese though. We were lucky to have cold weather at that point, so we got cheese. If you don’t have a dutch oven you can build a small oven out of rocks over the fire-pit once you have hot coals. Try to enclose that heat as much as possible (pretend you’re building a cave or igloo), otherwise they won’t cook all the way through, just burn on the bottom. I was surprised how easy this was though. My friends were impressed when they came back from their hike to find little pizzas waiting for them.

Hot chocolate & coffee. I gotta say, a hot chocolate is morale +100 when you’ve had a rough day or you’re freezing your ass off in the wind & rain. It’s saved us many times.

Porridge. Especially good in the cold weather, porridge is super easy, healthy, plus oats are super lightweight.

Other camp-kitchen necessities- A good frying pan (no non-stick shit) with lid if possible, a wire grill, tongs, egg-flipper, knife & a pot large enough to heat water & boil rice/ pasta. You can pretty much get by with those basics. We have… for months.

Remember, it’s always smart to carry a bag of bbq coals with you & some liquid firestarter. You never know when it’ll rain & wet all your firewood.

I’ve still got the baking bug & I’m happy to say- today I made my best bread yet! Yeh, I’m pretty excited about it.

I tried quite a different recipe this time, a milk bread, that even called for butter in the dough. Even though it contained wholewheat, it was smooth & fluffy, the wet-dream of all breads. Another thing I liked about this one is that it was quick. Yes, I know it requires kneading, but this one you can make on a whim unlike the “famous no knead bread” I tried last week that takes hours to proof & seriously, what’s wrong with a little kneading? It’s good exercise & fun.

I split the dough up & made a couple of long rolls & a loaf of sweet chilli bread.

I had made some sweet chilli sauce a few days ago that was brewing in the fridge & today I had an idea that it might make a nice bread flavouring, so while kneading the dough I mixed in a few spoons of my spicy sauce. Now I’ve tasted the bread I know I could have put a little more sauce in, but I thought I had better stay safe on my first try. Man, it was good.

The recipe I followed was way too liquidy; by the end I used almost double the flour they called for (I was quite unhappy as I was low on plain flour). I ended up adding the rest of the flour, as needed, coming from my wholewheat stash. Y’know what? It came out grand & I would probably do it exactly the same again next time around.

So here is my adapted recipe-

• 3 cups plain white flour
• 2-3 cups of wholewheat
• 2 tsp salt
• 1Tb butter
• 2.25 ts/ 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 Tb sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water

(like I always say, the qty of flour will depend on the weather a little. It’s good to have too much flour on hand than too little. You may will need to adjust the amounts for your climate. Add more flour/liquid until you have a nice soft dough that doesn’t stick to your counter. You’ll have to do it by feel.)

1. Put the flour, sugar, yeast & salt into a large bowl. Add the butter & rub it into the flour with your fingers until it’s like breadcrumbs.
2. Heat the milk & water until it’s luke warm (not hot!) & add it to the dry mix. Get your hands in there & mix the dough until it forms a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl clean.
3. Sprinkle flour on the counter & knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
4. Add any flavouring/ grains/ nuts/ fillings/  you might want to mix through.
5. Shape it into a loaf or whatever shape you’re doing. Dust it with flour & cut slits.
6. Grease a loaf tin/ flour a baking tray & lay out your loaf. Cover with a damp cloth/ plastic wrap & put it out in the sun/ warm place for half an hour. It should rise nicely.
7. Dust with more flour if you like or brush with egg-whites for the shiny, crunchy crust & bake for 35-40 minutes at 400 degrees F, until risen and golden brown. If unsure, tap the bottom & listen for the hollow drum sound. If it sounds hollow-ish, it’s good.
8. Cool it on a rack so the bottom stays crisp.

(I’ll also add that I put a small dish of hot water at the base of the oven when I put the loaves in. Steam helps rising, but there are also stories on the internet about this method shattering bread-stones & even oven doors. I don’t know if it’s an urban myth or true, so I won’t recommend the method in fear of feeling responsible for someone breaking their stone. You can always put a lid or foil-tent over your loaves to help keep in moisture.)

I sliced a chunk & immediately spread some butter on it for the taste test & realized it doesn’t even need butter on top. You can taste the butter already in the dough. This is a bread that I can quite happily eat just plain, especially the chilli loaf. Hurrah for spring!

Custard Buns

This is something I’ve wanted to try making for a long time. Living in Brisbane I would routinely stop at the Asian bakery in Chinatown. I loved their custard buns. I’d guess it’s not a very traditional Asian dessert, but so simple, insanely cheap & my gods they were yummy (I can thank my brother Nathan for introducing me to them one day in my teens we were feeling particularly poor). I wonder if that place is still open these days…

Anyway, with the big yeast purchase this week I was trying to think of recipes to try, so I sought a sweet dough recipe online (actually used one from a cream cheese bread recipe that I’d like to make one day, but since I didn’t have cream cheese I thought I’d replace it with a custard filling). I then found a simple custard recipe that looked good & here we are making custard buns!

The mixture makes a good amount of dough so I split it in two & for some fun made one twisty loaf & 3 small buns.

For the dough-

• 2 1/4t instant yeast
• 1/4 C warm water
• 1/2 C warm milk
• 1T butter
• 1t salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 C Flour

For the filling-

• 4T flour
• 2/3 C sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 C milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1t vanilla
• 1T butter

I started the prep work last night:

First I did with the custard filling, cos I’ve never made custard.. & if I screwed that up I didn’t want to have already started the dough.

Mix all the ingredients except the vanilla & butter. Whisk until smooth.
Then put the mixture over a low heat & keep whisking. Now, you’re meant to do this in a bain marie but I don’t have suitable bowls & pots. I used a medium saucepan over a very low flame & it worked fine.

After ten mins or so it started to thicken up. Since I didn’t want the custard gooping out of the buns, it needed to be quite thick, so the whisking continued an extra few mins until it held a nice form. Once it’s thick you add the butter & vanilla.

Then I wrapped it up tight in a bowl to sleep overnight in the fridge, getting ready for its busy day ahead tomorrow in the oven.

Onto the bread dough-

The sugar, milk, water & yeast gets mixed in a pot & let to rest a while for the yeast to react.
Go brew some tea, have a bath or something…

Come back & mix in the remaining ingredients. Mix until it’s a wet, gooey dough.

Oil the base of a pot & tip your dough mixture in. Throw it around so the oil coats the dough-ball & cover it to rise overnight.

Goodnight! … . . . zzzz  -_-

The next morning I find the dough almost exploding out of the pot. It’s looking really good.

I punched it down, flipped it onto the floured counter & worked out the large bubbles. It was a bit too wet (like the onion cob (previous post)) so I had to add more flour, but unfortunately only had wholewheat. It messed with the texture.

(then I divided the dough to make various shapes)

I started with a big twisted loaf, rolled the dough out &, like a palm leaf, made diagonal slits along the sides.

Then the custard was plopped in the middle. I was a little scared of overfilling it but now know I could’ve put a lot more in.

Then the ends were simply folded up, followed by the diagonal strips, alternating each side until the dough was pretty much covering all the custard. It doesn’t matter if there is filling showing (in fact it would look pretty if there was a colourful filling like berries or something showing through the strips.)

Then it got an egg wash, some sprinkled sugar & it was ready for the oven.

Now to try some buns..

I screwed up the first one (so don’t look at the ugly one hiding in the corner of the group picture below) & then decided on this method-

Flatten out a small ball of dough, dollop the custard in & bunch up the sides like a parcel.

Twist the top to seal it. Couldn’t be easier, huh?

I left them twisty side up cos I though it looked kinda pretty, like a steamed bun, but if you want smooth buns *chuckles* just put them upside down on the baking tray so the twist becomes the bottom of the bun.

And that was it. They got an eggwash, a sprinkle of sugar & went in a 350F oven for ..hmmm ..maybe half an hour? 40mins? To be honest I lost track of time & just took them out when they looked nice & golden on top.

They came out looking really pretty.

And they tasted pretty good too. The custard was a little floury for my liking, so I’ve tweaked the quantities above to combat that. Apart from that they’re a pretty yummy, relatively low fat (well, compared to cookies & cake) & a very cheap munchie.

Next time I might add some apples..

Oh & I had some leftover custard so I threw blobs on some buttered & sugared bread slices & shoved them into my little star tins. They made nice little snacks while we waited for everything else in the oven. Aren’t they cute? How’s that for an easy munchie?

Yesterday I had the baking bug. I caught it when we went to Winco & bought a generous bag of bulk yeast from the big vats (I love scooping the big vats). Up until yesterday I’d only used the little sachets of yeast, forcing myself to ration the portions & plan recipes carefully. This time I felt liberated, free to experiment on new recipes with a jar of yeast at my disposal.

I actually made two different recipes while I was getting down & dirty with the dough so I’ll have two posts for you today.

Firstly, I wanted to try the famed “no knead bread” recipe that’s been passed around the internet a kazillion times, originally from the NY Times I believe. Now, I didn’t find the original post, so no doubt this has had a few changes.. & I’ve already added changes myself. I am making a caramelized onion cob, or more acurately a “coburg” with the dough.

The other recipe which I’ll post after is a custard-filled bread, so stay tuned if you have a sweet tooth.

Ok team, let’s get to work!

Caramelized Onion Cob Loaf

Dough-

• 3 cups flour (Bread flour is recommended, surprise surprise, but I used plain flour cos I had it on hand)
• 1/2 t instant yeast
• 1t salt
• 1 1/4 cups warm water

Onion mixture-

• 1 large onion
• garlic to taste
• olive oil for frying
• 1T sugar
• herbs/spices to taste (recommendations- cardamom coriander/ basil oregano/ thyme)

You have to prep the dough the night before you want to bake, to let the dough prove 12-24hrs.

At midnight I started by mixing the yeast, salt, flour & water in a big pot.

It all looks pretty goopy & ugly, not a smooth dough at all.

I put the lid on, with plenty of room for the dough to rise while I slept. It even came into the bedroom with us to stay warm through the night.

…zzzzzz….

The next morning…

I awoke to the yeasty smell of a busy dough. It’s now a bubbly mess. (Mine was actually too wet so I’ve changed the liquid amount above. I needed to add more flour, but only had wholewheat left in the pantry. It really changed the consistency unfortunately, but it was my only option.)

So I started by caramelizing the onion over a low flame & then mixed it though the dough.

Floured up the countertop, flopped my dough on top & started working it in.

Eventually it all came together as a ball, but I can’t help but think the kneading really overworked the bread when it needed the captive air.

When it came out of the oven (450F for 45mins) it was a little doughy & hadn’t risen with large bubbles like I had hoped for, but still pretty good. Maybe also the wholewheat flour contributed to the heaviness. The flavour is good & the crust has a nice crack to it. I’ll definitely try it again.

It was great with grilled cheese. The sweet onion & salty cheese was magic.

Most of the dangers in these foods are poisonous PCBs in fish & pesticides on fruit and veggies. Last year, the National Institutes of Health linked long-term pesticide exposure to diabetes amongst other illnesses.

Farmed Salmon

It’s no shocker that salmon tops the lists. If you eat salmon, you are most likely eating farmed salmon, & these poor fishies are fed crazy amounts of contaminants. The average dioxin level in farmed-raised salmon is 11 times higher than that in wild salmon.

Non-Organic Peaches

This one was number 1 according to Environmental Working Group. Peaches are magnets for pesticides, often topping the Organic Center’s consumer’s guide for pesticide-riddled produce too. “Their skins get soft at the end of their season on the tree and the last pesticide spray can move right through that skin and get into the tissue of the fruit in a matter of hours. That’s why it’s easy to find peaches with ten different pesticide residues in them.”

Makes sense really, I guess that’s one I’ll only be buying organic from now on..

Non-Organic Capsicum

This one is very disappointing to me. I’ve bought plenty of non-organic capsicum over the years.

It was in the top 3 most “toxic” produce on a couple of tests. Small levels of pesticides are found in most foods unless it’s organic, their health risks are well documented these days, but capsicum holds a greater risk based on the variety of pesticides used. In a report done by the Environmental Working Group, sweet bell peppers were the vegetable shown to have the most pesticides (as many as 11 were found on one sample). In addition, bell peppers are the vegetable with the most pesticides overall with 64 different pesticides found on samples.

Another I’ll definitely buy organic, with those figures.

Non-Organic Strawberries

Wow, this one is really scary. I love strawberries, but like the capsicum, I’m only buying organic from now on. Check this out- In order to increase sweetness, some growers of non-organic strawberries irrigate the plants with water laced with the artificial sweetener NutraSweet!! And that luscious red color is caused by the fungicide Captan, recognized by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen.

It never ceases to amaze me the crazy & dumb things humans will do. Strawberries are beautiful just the way they are! Why do we have to poison & colour them with cancerous toxins?! It’s not even pesticides, it’s just totally unnecessary poisoning.

Chilean Sea Bass

Chilean sea bass lives to an old age (if lucky) and a large size before killed. Warning bells for mercury.

As you’d no doubt guess, I don’t eat the fishies, so I don’t care beyond the fish’s health. If you eat fish regularly, then you really should be worried about your health … & karma. Our oceans just aren’t that clean anymore. I’m wondering about the quantities I eat of nori now..

Genetically Modified Corn

This one is so obvious it’s been screaming Americans in the face for years. A big “Duh!”

The scariest thing about corn is the sheer amount found in the American diet. Corn is in everything from frozen yogurt to ketchup, from mayonnaise and mustard to hot dogs and vitamins. Unless specified as organic, if you live in the US the corn you’re eating is likely genetically modified. Genetically modified produce has not been tested thoroughly enough for long-term consequences, but a series of studies has found significant health risks in animals tested, and an increase in certain allergies for humans, possibly even asthma.

Bluefin Tuna

Once again it’s the mercury, but there are many reasons to not eat this guy. He’s going extinct firstly. ..Actually, I can’t be bothered listing the other reasons… Just stop eating the poor fishies! The fact they’re going extinct should be good enough reason for people to stop, .. but still people order plate after plate at the sushi bar.

Industrially Farmed Chicken

Arsenic. They feed the little dudes arsenic. Can you believe it? Arsenic has been linked to cancer and contributes to other diseases including heart disease, diabetes and mental illnesses.

Plus, The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy “found multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria in brand-name poultry products . Scientists believe antibiotic use in animals raised for food contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria transferred to humans, mainly through contaminated food, resulting in drug-resistant infections. In order to avoid poultry that’s been dosed with antibiotics or given feed laced with arsenic, better to opt for an organic chicken at the grocery store” ..or just don’t eat the little feathered dudes at all!

Non-Organic Apples

Apples are a red flag based, like corn, on the sheer amount of apple in American foods and their reliance of pesticides in certain climates. Apple skins contain higher pesticide residues than the flesh, so it’s good to peel it. Unfortunately, approximately 1/3 of the nutrients come off with the peel.

Cattle Treated With rBGH

I’m sure no one needs to be told about growth hormones imposed on cows & absorbed by carnivorous humans. The use of genetically engineered drug rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) is common in the cattle industry in the US. Banned by all European nations and Canada, U.S. dairy farmers continue to use the synthetic hormone which escalates production of the cow’s own hormone ICF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1). This hormone is passed on when humans drink milk from those cows and has been linked to cancers and hormonal disorders.

All this makes me realize how safe food was in NZ with their GE ban. Organic food was plentiful & affordable thanks to the farmers market. The US really has screwed up a bit with food production. Pesticides & chemicals have been linked with so many health issues including diabetes, & it’s intriguing that many of these illnesses have dramatically increased over the years in sync with the use of chemicals in farming.

I’ve only made limited efforts to eat organic over the years, cost being a major hurdle, but with organic produce becoming increasingly affordable & available I think it’s time for me to make the switch. It’s hard to ignore the facts, & not worth the risk.

Other foods that unfortunately make the lists- celery, kale, lettuce, carrot, imported grapes, pears.

*I am in no way a scientist so I cannot vouch for any of these claims. I’m simply sharing my thoughts after doing a little reading. If you have anymore info on this subject I’d be really interested to hear it. Please comment below if you have anything to share. I’m obviously very interested in the topic right now & am keen to learn more.

This recipe was for a flatbread cooked on the stovetop, similar to roti.

I tried it a week ago & for my first attempt I was pretty happy with the results.

I tried it again last night… but thought I’d experiment with it. I wanted to make a stuffed flatbread..

Making mistakes is how we learn, right? Yeh, well keep that in mind. Mistakes are a plenty in this post.. I must be a genius by now.

There aren’t really any quantities to pass on here. You can do it all by feel-

You start with a small bowl of flour. For my first try I used plain flour. This time I used wholemeal. Traditionally chapati flour is used & that’s like 50/50 of each, so.. they both work, it’s up to your preference & your pantry stock.

Let’s say … almost a cup of flour per flatbread?

Add a pinch of salt & then some water, slowly. Add enough to make a dough.

Flip it onto the counter & knead it until it’s smooth & elastic. It won’t be too elastic-y like a yeast dough however. Keep adding flour as you knead so it becomes a firm-ish dough.

This (below) is enough for 2 massive flatbreads.

Ok, here’s where I start the experiment-

“Book vs Blogger”

There’s only one way to skin a cat, but apparently two ways to stuff a flatbread.

I read a foodblog lately that claimed the “traditional way” to stuff a flatbread is flawed, difficult.. and pretty much sux.  She offered a new method that did indeed seem pretty darn easy.

The “traditional” way is what was shown in India With Passion, so I thought I’d try both methods to test-drive them myself. I’ve divided my dough into two & am gonna make one of each.

This is the blogger’s “easy” & “non traditional” way-

Divide the dough into two & make two very thin sheets (try to make them approximately the same shape cos you’re gonna sandwich them together eventually, but who cares if they’re round, right?)

Start flattening with your hand & then finish it off with a rolling pin.

Yep, real thin. Make sure your surface is floured.

Spread a little filling on one sheet. I chose a spicy onion & garlic flavour for my first attempt. You could do paneer or potato or whatever you like.

Grab the other sheet & sandwich it on top. Get the air bubbles out with your hands & then use the rolling pin to flatten it (try not to tear it though). The filling will show through, but hopefully not spill. Straight forward, huh?

Done. That worked really well.

Verdict- I like that method.

____________________________________________________

Now, lets try the “traditional method” from India With Passion-

Don’t split the dough in two like the other method. Simply flatten the dough out with your hand & spread your filling in the middle.

Pick up the sides like a bundle to seal it all in & start patting it flat with your hand again.

Grab your rolling pin & roll it flat again.

Mine didn’t work out exactly. It tore & became a horrible mess.

… I don’t like the traditional method already, even after just one try & I understand exactly what that blogger was talking about. The blogger’s method is a big improvement for a novice like me.

Ok, now before you look at the butt-ugly picture below, let me explain the next thing I tested..

The blogger  also claimed that “you don’t need oil in the pan”. Now, when I made roti last week I used oil & it blackened in spots nicely & slid right off the pan like magic, but I was keen to try it without oil.. y’know, to make it healthier.

Nup.

Didn’t work. Hence the fugliness you see below. This was the “traditional” rolled one, so it was already weak & when it stuck to the pan, it stuck hard. A nightmare to chisel off.

I oiled up the pan for the next one & success. It was the pretty one, so it went on Nik’s plate.

So, experiment complete, my findings are:

Use the sandwich method for rolling/filling them, not the traditional method. Blogger- 1, India With Passion- 0.

Oil the pan. You must oil the pan. Blogger- 1, India With Passion- 1.

It’s a tie.

I suppose pancake day is just like any other day for me since I’ve been eating pancakes like crazy lately. Every few days is “pancake day” for me. They’re a cheap treat & it’s all too often we’re having midnight pancake feasts in our household (no wonder there’s an extra jiggle to my jog these days).

A couple o’ weeks ago I tried making crepes for some variation. Strange, I hadn’t made crepes before, I don’t know why. Now I’m all crepe-crazy & have made them a few times since, trying to perfect the thin batter & flipping the darn things without tearing them. I’m far from perfect still..

So, my favourite thing to do with the finished product is make cheese blintzes. I only ate cheese blintzes for the first time last year at a casino smorgasbord in Vegas & instantly fell in love. I love anything with cream cheese.

I’ve been mixing it with jam to make strawberry cheese blintzes.

Then I just spoon a big blob on the crepe & fold little pillows.

… I know, I’m getting slack with the photos lately. Notice all my photos are of the cooking process & then no pics of the final product? Yep, at that stage my hunger usually takes over & before I know it there’s an empty plate in front of me again. I’ll make an effort to be more disciplined & take photos …while my food goes cold & soggy.

Whenever we order Indian food it’s easy for me to make a selection if they have a kofta curry or sorts. Malai Kofta is my favourite. I get it every time.

So, after a quick search online I mashed together a gist-recipe & put plan into action.

I fried up the kofta balls in the pan while I put together a quick tomato cream sauce & at the last minute I dumped the sauce on top. I have to say, my first attempt was pretty promising. It was a lot easier than I thought. I’m going to write out a recipe with tweaks now & try again.

This week we got a membership at our local library. It’s only has a small selection, but I found a few things worthy of coming home with us on the first shelf-scan..  

I honestly haven’t read a cookbook in a while. Most of my foodie-reading comes from online communities these days. Books can become outdated pretty quickly with fast-moving food trends, but I found this gem- India With Passion. It’s a stunning book filled with some of my favourite foods.

It’s beautifully illustrated with photography that immerses you in Indian street culture & real home kitchens. I can’t wait to stock up on spices & dig into some of these recipes.

I’ve copied so many out of it already. There’s tandoori paneer & aloo gobhi & flatbreads…  I’ve never ventured into making Indian breads despite being a big fan of them at restaurants.

I think I’m about to take the plunge.

That book was definitely the pick of the bunch.

I also found an Anthony Bourdain title, which I wasn’t familiar with. I was looking for Kitchen Confidential, his highly praised title in foodie communities but the library doesn’t stock it, so I grabbed this one instead. It’s typical Bourdain so far, but less of his food-snobbery & more nostalgic kitchen stories, reminiscing of his early days working his way up in the chef trade. Therefore it is filled with culinary horror-stories, & not the book to read for hungry daydreams.

On an earlier visit we spotted something at the helpdesk that caught our eye. A graphic novel of Labyrinth released by Tokyo Pop. So as soon as we had a library card in hand we went in search for it on the shelf. While I couldn’t find Labyrinth in stock I did however find Dark Crystal vol 1! I haven’t read it yet but a quick flick through shows nice graphics & I’m hoping the story translates nicely. It’s scary when an old favourite is released in a new format..

I also found a book about home canning & preserving foods. While it was a great book it was a bit of a tease since I don’t have any canning equipment at the moment. Why do I do that to myself?

Apart from the usual carbs like pasta, rice & flour, we always keep a pretty good stock of beans & grains in the pantry. Pinto, navy, kidney, various lentils, split peas…

I’ve expanded my repertoire of bean & lentil stews, chillies, soups, curries & taken a lot of influence from the cuisines I’ve recently learned here in the US, like Mexican & Cajun, plus my old favourites like Indian, Thai, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Himalayan, Tibetan & Indonesian.

With just a limited selection of spices you can pull recipes from all these cuisines to make grains a meal. They often have the shared ingredients of cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, lime, chili… By tweaking the quantities & shifting the emphasis you can keep a repertoire of dozens of meals while keeping only a handful of ingredients in stock.  …I’m sure my husband must be getting tired of the cumin+coriander combo though. I’ve already destroyed cinnamon for him with the frequency of snickerdoodles, pancakes & other budget munchies..

So, apart from the spices listed above, here are a few of my favourite pantry flavours this season…

Lime! I put lime in everything. We go through them like we go through eggs. From my lime & ginger beer to Thai & Malaysian dishes, instant ramen, & pretty much everything Mexican. Yep, lime goes in everything. It brightens up a dull meal & adds a freshness in these wintery meals for only a few cents.

Ginger. Like I mentioned, my homemade ginger drink is a regular in our fridge. I love the stuff as I don’t drink soda & juices are often too sweet for me. Ginger also goes in a tonne of our Asian meals & a few Mexican. I’ve recently found ginger is a cheap flavour for sweets since we haven’t bought cocoa in a while. Last week I made gingerbread for the first time & I totally dug it. I’ll be doing that one again.

It’s legend that vegetarians eat far more chili than carnivores & there’s a lot of truth to it judging from the veges I know & blogs I follow. We eat a lot of chili, cayenne & black pepper. I love heat in my food. Look at these beautiful chilies, translucent enough to see the ominous seeds inside, just waiting to punch you in the tongue.

..And the staples of course. I can’t think of many meals we eat without onion & garlic. However, in the US I’ve been buying the spanish red onions over the brown & white varieties. The white & brown are not as sweet over here in America, just strong. My eyes just can’t handle the heat & I end up crying a river chopping them.