I'm a very, very strong believer in the spirit behind "You are what you eat" and have found cooking to be an incredible comfort over the years. Not only that, but the art of cooking and food handling in general has been the source of countless scientific and cultural discoveries over the course of humanity. For many cultures, the food they prepare and eat is one of the most recognizable, defining factors of their cultural heritage. I find this rather beautiful as food is one of those inescapable truths of not just humanity but much of the life on this planet. Indeed sharing food, not only individual meals, but techniques and recipes, is one of the most community-building practices I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of, it's too bad that is so hard to do practically over the internet.
On that note, I'm curious what folks like to cook, if you have any particular recipe you're proud of perfecting over time, or if there are particular styles of cooking and food that you're fond of.
For me, one of my favorite things to cook is pasta with tomato sauce. Even before I considered it one of my signature dishes, I always found great comfort in a plate of spaghetti or macaroni of some kind with a hearty helping of tomato sauce and add-ins like cheese, meat, additional veggies, etc. Where it really took off though was when COVID first hit several years ago, in the languishing isolation of the time, I decided to kick any store-bought sauce to the curb and start learning to make sauce straight from raw ingredients. Over time, I've come to find the process quite balancing and rewarding; there's nothing quite like crushing a bowl of tomatoes with your bare hands as the aroma of garlic, onion, and spices fills the kitchen. Then that sizzle of the tomato mash hitting the pan, the intermingling of the flavors as it slowly cooks down, not to mention the exercise in timing that is getting the pasta on at just the right time that they finish together. I've even taken lately to rolling out my own linguine, although that hasn't become a regular occurrence, just when I'm feeling particularly crafty.
More recently I've discovered that the same dough I make for noodles makes for a fantastic steamed bun wrapper, and as such have started to make red bean paste and meat-and-veggie mixes as fillings for buns. So many buns. I'm kicking myself for not experimenting with the concept sooner, especially given that we're on the tail end of winter so it's not quite slapping as hard as it would on a cold AF winter day. Either way, there's something relaxing of the filling and pleating process that I just can't describe. Needless to say, steamed buns check all the boxes for a nice, involved, but not too daunting recipe that yields both savory and sweet rewards in the end!
So what's cookin? I love hearing about people's successes with food, food is life, and I know I appreciate that even on the darkest days, a good home-cooked meal can bring multiple levels of joy to an otherwise dreary mood!
On that note, I'm curious what folks like to cook, if you have any particular recipe you're proud of perfecting over time, or if there are particular styles of cooking and food that you're fond of.
For me, one of my favorite things to cook is pasta with tomato sauce. Even before I considered it one of my signature dishes, I always found great comfort in a plate of spaghetti or macaroni of some kind with a hearty helping of tomato sauce and add-ins like cheese, meat, additional veggies, etc. Where it really took off though was when COVID first hit several years ago, in the languishing isolation of the time, I decided to kick any store-bought sauce to the curb and start learning to make sauce straight from raw ingredients. Over time, I've come to find the process quite balancing and rewarding; there's nothing quite like crushing a bowl of tomatoes with your bare hands as the aroma of garlic, onion, and spices fills the kitchen. Then that sizzle of the tomato mash hitting the pan, the intermingling of the flavors as it slowly cooks down, not to mention the exercise in timing that is getting the pasta on at just the right time that they finish together. I've even taken lately to rolling out my own linguine, although that hasn't become a regular occurrence, just when I'm feeling particularly crafty.
More recently I've discovered that the same dough I make for noodles makes for a fantastic steamed bun wrapper, and as such have started to make red bean paste and meat-and-veggie mixes as fillings for buns. So many buns. I'm kicking myself for not experimenting with the concept sooner, especially given that we're on the tail end of winter so it's not quite slapping as hard as it would on a cold AF winter day. Either way, there's something relaxing of the filling and pleating process that I just can't describe. Needless to say, steamed buns check all the boxes for a nice, involved, but not too daunting recipe that yields both savory and sweet rewards in the end!
So what's cookin? I love hearing about people's successes with food, food is life, and I know I appreciate that even on the darkest days, a good home-cooked meal can bring multiple levels of joy to an otherwise dreary mood!
Statistics: Posted by segaloco — Sat Feb 24, 2024 7:45 pm — Replies 0 — Views 27
