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Food Making ordinary meals extraordinary!

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by ZombieSquirrel, Aug 27, 2012.

  1. I don't profess to be a chef. I actually like the quick and easy. (Let the dirty jokes commence.) I do like to spruce up a few things every now and then.

    Today I took some macaroni cheese in a box and added a few things. After cooking it according to the blue box, I added some steamed broccoli, shredded cheddar and bread crumbs and stuck it under the broil for a bit until it browned. I then added some blue cheese crumbles. It was pretty tasty!

    What ordinary meal to you add some zing to in order to make it less ordinary?
     
  2. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Eggs over easy on toast is a quick meal for me. Sometimes, when I'm getting ready to throw the eggs in, I'll think, "Heck, it will take two minutes to chop up some veggies and throw that in, and while I'm at it, I'll toss in some shredded extra-old white cheddar."

    Not an omelette necessarily, but certainly a delicious scramble that's much more delicious than eggs over easy. I tend to throw in things like spinach, onion, mushrooms, avocado, etc. The sharp cheese certainly gives it a zing. I'll often drizzle hot sauce on top when I'm done as well.
     
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  3. Joniemack

    Joniemack Beta brainwaves in session

    Location:
    Reading, UK
    I finely chop spring onions and mushrooms, saute them in a pan with butter and throw them into cooked rice a few minutes before the rice is done.

    Rice is so bland I often feel as if it needs something to zip it up. I wish I knew what that fragrant and flowery spice is the Indians use in their basmati. I'd definitely throw some of that in too or all by itself without the onions and mushrooms.

    spaghetti bolognese - I throw in some of everything I've got in my vegetable bin, finely chopped, a cube or two of beef bouillon, red wine of course and a teaspoon of a wonderful thing I've found in the UK called Branston pickle.
     
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  4. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    Jonie you could try dropping a single whole clove in your pot of rice for flavor.
    Second thought: Are you maybe talking about saffron?
     
  5. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    cardamom seed for the rice. Never done it but that's what I get sometimes in my basmati rice and biriyani.
     
  6. Levite

    Levite Levitical Yet Funky

    Location:
    The Windy City
    If you want to make your rice into a fragrant pulao-style dish, start by tossing three or four cloves, six or eight black cardamom seeds, a small pinch of whole brown mustard seeds, a smaller pinch of whole coriander seeds, and an even smaller pinch of whole caraway seeds, and tossing them into the heated bottom of a dry pot on medium flame. Add half a stick of very high qality cinnamon, some coarsely cracked black pepper, a little sea salt, and let it cook a little, until they're fragrant, and the seeds pop a little. Add in a teaspoon of ghee (or oil), shake around, and then add in around a half a teaspoon of finely minced garlic, and a half a teaspoon of finely minced ginger, cover, and cook those out a little. Add in half a sweet onion, chopped, and a small pinch each of grated lemon zest and grated orange zest; cover, and sweat it down a little. Then add in two cups of basmati rice, stir it up, add a handful of dried currants (I prefer red, but black will do; as will raisins, dried mulberries, dried goldenberries, dried tart cherries, or barberries-- aka zereshk), and four cups of liquid-- you can use plain water, but I like to use 2 cups vegetable broth or stock plus a cup and a half of water, a quarter of a cup of dry white wine, and one quarter cup of milk (if I'm not using meat broth, if I am I'll use more water). Finish cooking as you would normal basmati rice; though I also like to add a palmful of raw pistachio nutmeats shortly before it's done.

    You can dress this up with any number of different vegetables, or with chicken, or with lamb.
     
  7. Joniemack

    Joniemack Beta brainwaves in session

    Location:
    Reading, UK
    Wow, sounds wonderful. Making it will require a trip to the market to stock up on some of these items but well worth it.

    Flowley - no, I don't think it's saffron as the rice stays white.

    Thanks!

    Thank you too, cyn. In the event I want to go more simply, I'll just try the cardamom seed.
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2012
  8. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    You can also find many of these spices in premade spice mixes at the Indian market. An Indian friend of ours cleaned out his cupboard before going back to India for the summer and gave us a whole bunch. I'm in love.