Yum. Can't go wrong with pasta.
Just had some cereal for breakfast, will have pastrami wraps for lunch, and then leftover moussaka for dinner. You?
Thank you!
I did salt both eggplant and zucchini for at least an hour, and then squeezed them dry (flat with paper towel)! So I even went further and baked the eggplant and potato, too. It was 100% the meat/mushroom mix because though it would have been lovely for pasta (a little bit of water that disappears when you mix it through, but comes back as a thin layer on top when the meat mixture settles again), I should have just kept simmering more water out. I was impatient because it was going to be 3h from start to finish and I was starving 😭 there wasn't much water on the bottom, maybe less than 0.5cm/1/4"? The bechemel sauce was thick, too.
It wasn't even the plan to make this, but my body just went "welp, you don't have any other plans and this eggplant isn't going to last much longer."
It's Greek! The next time you go to a restaurant, order one. If it's done right, your soul will leave this earth. 😂
Eggplant and potato moussaka. Snuck in some zucchini to the top layer, and chopped mushrooms to the meat. First time making this and I think it turned out pretty well, just a bit watery. Will simmer the meat for longer next time.
Edit for ingredients from top to bottom: Bread crumbs
Bechemel sauce
Sliced potatoes and zucchini (in place of the missing required eggplant)
Meat mix (including onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, red wine)
Layer of sliced eggplant
Yup. There are references that I don't get, and probably never will, but they're still really fun to listen to.
For Blindboy, I have to be doing something calm and nearly mindless to really focus on what he's saying.. So usually I'm either playing Slitherlink (at your own pace, just know how to count from 1 to 6), or stitching.
Gods they are so funny. They get the balance of shite talking and history down pat so you don't feel like you haven't learned anything.
I would also recommend the Blindboy Podcast as well. He does it solo, but he talks about anything and everything. Big mental health advocate so has episodes on that, some history, sometimes just what happened on the day.
I've been listening to Shite Talk: An Irish History Podcast (two friends talking a lot of shite, but also learning about Irish history), and have just listened to the first episode of The 2 Johnnies podcast (a pair of Inner city Dublin blokes, not sure what their topics are yet).
My partner has listened to Tommy, Hector and Laurita.
Lots of shite talking in all podcasts, which make them fun to listen to.
More pasta e fagioli! Leftovers from last night.
So it would have crisped up alright, then! Looks yum. Potatoes 🤤
Yup. Australia.
It only hit 28C today, and it didn't even feel warm after the 40C+ days. I was so tired today after work that I even settled for what I thought was a soup (I do not have Italian heritage nor have I visited Italy, so I apologise ahead of time for any terms I use incorrectly).
Anyway, it was one pot, and that's exactly what I wanted.
Turned out amazing. I had to tweak the recipe because I didn't have a bunch of the ingredients, but I'd 100% make this again. Threw some pastrami in for protein and flavour.
Onions, potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable stock, pastrami, cannelini beans, kidney beans, pepper, and sugar to balance the acidity.
Eaten with Irish soda bread on the side. Saw life exit Irish partner when I dipped it in to olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
And then I tried the soup (?) with olive oil drizzled on top, and it was 🤌 The risoni thickened it up quite a bit, but I thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Felt pretty healthy, and I didn't feel sluggish afterwards. No butter, just olive oil. My GP would be pleased.
Sorry for the super close up. I had to keep cropping the photo until it was small enough to upload.
Did the 40km Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail (Victoria, AUS) and had a really nice grilled chicken sandwich at a cafe in Warburton before riding back.
Grilled chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, mayo, cucumbers, cheese on a toasted sourdough bread. This bread was so fresh and so well done that you could hold on to the crust and the bread in the middle would curve around the filling. You could see the bread stretching and it had the tiniest spring when you bit in to it.
It's the most delightful sourdough I've had in a long time. Three Sugars Cafe in Warburton on a Monday afternoon at 1PM, if anyone would like to pay them a visit. $11 for this gem.
In North America, we have McCain hashbrowns that are tiny cubed potatoes you find in the freezer aisle. In Australia, hashbrowns are hashbrowns patties, and we don't have the cubes. I haven't been able to find them anywhere.
I was hit with nostalgia this morning, so I made hashbrowns. Just cut up whatever potatoes I had in to 0.5cm cubes and fried them up in the pan. Fried some onions and capsicum on the side and then added together.
Usually I put in a bit of bacon or sausage, but we're going to a German restaurant for dinner tonight, so I'm saving my fatty meat allocation for later.
Seasoned with Hy's seasoning salt.
Made a 30h slow cooker girello (~~top~~ eye of round) the other day and turned it in to a girello and cheese toastie on sourdough bread for dinner tonight. Mixed in gravy and fermented BBQ sauce with the meat. It's 39C, I'm not making anything elaborate today!
Salad was a mix of cos lettuce, grated carrots, capsicum, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions. Papaya seed vinaigrette dressing.
Pretty yum and super easy.
I used this recipe for the girello: https://www.craftbeering.com/beef-eye-of-round-roast-slow-cooker/
This for the gravy: https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/beef-broth-brown-gravy/
And this for the papaya seed dressing: https://houseofnasheats.com/papaya-seed-dressing/
Edit: Too many types of rounds. I meant eye of round, not top round.
What it says in the title. Toasted girello and cheese on sourdough bread.
Talking about cheese earlier today and yesterday made me cave... So I had some low fat tasty cheese to satisfy the craving.
Low cholesterol spread and a sprinkle of Achill Island flaked sea salt on the outside, and mixed in gravy and fermented BBQ sauce with the meat.
Had a salad on the side so it balanced the bread, meat and cheese. 😁 Might make the same again tomorrow, this was a pretty good toastie.
Edit: Too many types of rounds. I meant eye of round, not top round.
I hope this makes the sandwich cut. Lunch today.
Cucumber, lettuce, tomato, capsicum, lettuce, red onion, 30h slow cooked pulled girello 🥵, and some gravy made from the drippings. Dijon mustard and Mayo as the sauces.
Managed to keep most of the filling between the buns while eating.
Edit: I should share the recipes. For the girello/top round pulled meat: https://www.craftbeering.com/beef-eye-of-round-roast-slow-cooker/
And the gravy (admittedly not my favourite, but here it is): https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/beef-broth-brown-gravy/
It doesn't look like eggplant curry, let's be honest 😂, but it tasted incredible.
I also replaced the coconut cream with cashew cream. Saw a 1.2kg bag for sale at Australia Aldi for 19.99 and said why not. It makes me feel way less guilty about eating creamy foods, which I love. My partner couldn't even tell that I'd replaced the coconut cream/milk. He can stop crying for creamy foods now because I've found an adequate coconut cream/milk replacement (I'm supposed to cut down on saturated fats...).
I doubled the eggplant recipe, and it turned out really well.
Also made some pulled girello yesterday, so I'll post a photo for the sandwich fiends once I get around to making said sandwich.
Eggplant curry: https://www.recipetineats.com/eggplant-curry-south-indian/
Cashew cream: https://detoxinista.com/cashew-cream/
Made chickpea curry with potato last night. Recipe called for less potato, but my potatoes were starting to become sentient beings so I had to put them to use.. And who doesn't love potatoes?!
Definitely on the spicy side, so I'd start with less cayenne and add more to taste. Probably didn't help that I used Malaysian curry powder, but it was still delicious and not painful. I'd consider using a bit of coconut cream next time to make up more sauce and mellow the spice for a nice creamy texture.
Highly recommend using a waxy potato so it holds together.
It makes a lot of leftovers. I think the recipe says 5 servings, but it'll do far more than that.
https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-chickpea-potato-curry-chana-aloo-curry/
Lemongrass rice bowl. Made it last night, and will have it again tonight and tomorrow. Chicken has got incredible flavours, and it'll definitely be in the rotation now, just with whatever veggies I have on hand.
Lemongrass chicken breasts, basmati rice, cos lettuce, carrots, cucumbers. I also made the nam jim jaew fish sauce, too.
https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-grilled-chicken-gai-yang/
https://www.recipetineats.com/thai-dipping-sauce-nam-jim-jaew/
Edit: Finished the post. Accidentally hit submit, and then Thunder/server crashed on me when trying to edit.
Toasted sourdough pastrami sandwich, with spinach, red onion, avocado, red capsicum, homemade pickles, mayo and mustard. It was decidedly too big to eat in typical sandwich form, so this was how it was consumed.
Wrap form (cos lettuce instead of spinach):
I made a giant couscous salad, and some pastrami last night in preparation for 40C+ heat this week. There's no way I'm turning on the oven or stove, and I'm not standing outside to BBQ in what feels like a hair dryer on the hot setting.
This will be for things like open-faced sandwiches and wraps. Shaving off the fat in the centre, though. I'm not sure how they managed that, unless the purpose was to "hide" it.
Delicious, regardless. Thanks again, to Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTinEats.
I'm left handed, and I grew up in Canada, currently living in Australia. I don't drive differently at all.
I guess if I were to nitpick, I prefer driving on the left side of the vehicle solely because of where my cup holder is (centre console), but that's a non-issue if I had a car with a cup holder by the vent at the side window here in Australia.
You get used to driving in your "non normal" side pretty quick. I like to sit as passenger in a car or bus a few times before I start driving in my "new" side again so my brain can readjust.