The Kitchen

The Kitchen Beef Madras ... again [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Same ... Take Bad Pics [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Steamed Banana Ground Cashews & Yoghurt Self-Saucing Chocolate Pudding Tokyo Invention | Result Pending [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] TURNED OUT PUDDING [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] DONE ... CHOC PUDDING Oooops, untidy [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Yes, curry again.  I'm boring.  I could probably eat curry every day. Improvised pudding.  Should be interesting to see how this turns out.  Been craving chocolate pudding all day long.   Maybe an hour and a half wait for pudding.  -------/\/\/\ LOL ... been playing with pictures again, & I forgot about the pudding. Turned out OK but I'd left it in the slow cooker for something like 3.5 hours.  Lucky it was steaming.  It was in a bath of water and it was prepped with a huge amount of chocolate sauce ingredients. Did something like 1.5 cups for slow cooker sauce.  Waaaaaaaay too much sauce for a slow cooker.  Probably 2/3 of a cup would do for steamer/slow cooker preparation.  Might need to experiment with that.

Planet Tokyo - The Kitchen

Planet Tokyo The Kitchen Dahl, Aloo & Jeera Rice (with own modifications) [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Think I fried my brain yesterday.  Too much loud music, too much messing with pictures and whatever I get into at the time.  Gets me too wired to sleep until I'm exhausted, so it was also too much of a stretch without sleep. I'm slow to recover.   Everything is failing me.  Even my knee's gone.  Keep meaning to go for medical, but I forget. 'Fried brain' makes everything feel really strange, like putting your shoes on the wrong feet.  Everything is taking me a million years to do, there's frustrating mistakes, things are forgotten, and there's mounting frustration because I want to do about three things at once and I can't.  LOL Entire dinner isn't from scratch.  The dahl was prepared in advance and frozen.  It should have taken me no time to put together the rice and the fried (spiced) potato side serve, but it seemed to take forever because I'm uncoordinated.  It's also hard to shift focus from head space (or whatever I'm interested in), to practical space. I can't even spell 'dahl' today.  Assume that's it.  Looks like it is. Meal was nice.  But I'll probably have a heart attack.  I'm craving salt.  Things don't taste right without lots of salt.  But as I can feel the salt linger on my tongue, it's probably too much salt.  Have Yoghurt #7 (or so) fermenting on the heat pad right now.  So, I ought to have 2lt of yoghurt in less than 3 hours.  Mmmm. Best version is yoghurt and sour cream starter.  Very good result.  If all goes according to plan, it's another Chicken Korma tomorrow (yoghurt's an ingredient). Korma was on today's to-do list, but I stuffed up my body clock. Body clock seems to spring back to normal if I stop listening to loud music while I'm online.  But it's hard to stop once you start.   No cigarette today (although I'm craving a little), but I'm addicted to playing the same loud music over and over again (yes, usually the same one or two songs I like on the day), semi addicted to playing with and arranging images I like, and semi addicted to summarising things I'm interested in ... which sounds really autistic. Uh-oh.  Maybe it was better when I was addicted to cigarettes and long walks.  PS  ... Announced that I've maybe 'got' autism.  Reply was that I've got many 'isms'.  LOL Some woman on TV with massive tattoo job, inspired me to declare I'm getting a full chest tattoo. Was told 'no'.  At no point did I indicate that my agency/choice is up for negotiation, so that was rather amusing ... in  an annoying way.   I was only half serious at the time, but now I'm more keen.  Thinking European tribal markings of some kind.  However, as I'm not even motivated to go see about my leg or anything else, think the ink job may be a long way off.  LOL Interaction followed up by senseless bickering.  Can't even remember what about.   Seriously.  It was just nasty, oppositional, inconsequential crap flung my way, for no reason aside from maybe petulance.  [ Feel mean putting that in here. Maybe I over-dramatise when I'm offended ... ? ] No wonder I like being Lost in Space.  LOL

Planet Tokyo

Planet Tokyo The Kitchen [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Beef Madras [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Beef Madras (again) with Vegetables [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Minestrone [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Steamed Pudding [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] COMMENT Noodles in the Minestrone are huge, because I underestimated how much the 'scrap' noodles I had in pantry would swell.   That's on the dense side, because I like Minestrone like that rather than runny.  But this is probably a tad denser that I normally like. Madras Beef Curry is from scratch, using Martha Stewart's 'Madras curry powder' recipe as basic guide/inspiration for the 'paste' (ie  curry gravy/base).  Adjusted it to my taste. In the curry itself, I threw in loads of tinned tomato, some tomato paste, and once I had a curry powder and tomato 'paste' cooked down, I threw in loads of coconut cream and hot water, before letting the entire thing cook down.   Yes, coconut cream.  Just water it down to taste. This is just improvised 'Madras' curry, rather than the real deal.  It tastes good to me, whatever it is.  LOL I'll have to remember to go a bit easier on the spices next time.  Was rather heavy handed in my very loose by-feel estimates. Yes, the dinner serves above are enormous and the presentation is shocking.  It's just how I've slopped things on plate.  Very basic.  LOL Beef Madras with vegies is my dinner few nights later, in front of computer.  Enormous again.  Probably won't get through this.  Think I need to be banned from serving up food, because I serve food like a hungry shopper shops.  LOL The batch of curry I cooked was enough for something like 5 or 6 frozen meals on standby, which is cool.  Makes for very easy (and economical) dinners. Steamed pudding was made in the slow cooker, in a greased metal bowl that then gets slotted into the ceramic bowl of the slow cooker (along with hot water, for the steaming).  Works very well.  Nice puddings, although mine tend to be dense and heavy.  Need to work on getting lighter results ...  LOL.  Still taste good with vanilla ice-cream.  :) This is just some of what I've been up to.  But mostly I'm slack, shamefully useless, and reading history or playing with pictures, or whatever pointless activity absorbs me for hours on end, on any given day.

The Kitchen

Planet Tokyo The Kitchen Poached Chicken, Fondant Potatoes, Jeera Rice [CLICK TO ENLARGE] Sugar Wax #2 [Did not strain lemon flesh] [CLICK TO ENLARGE] Tuna | Rice [CLICK TO ENLARGE] Sugar Wax #2 - FAILED *DID NOT USE STANDARD MEASURE 1 cup sugar 2 TBSP lemon juice 2 TBSP water 1 tsp salt Failed.  Too sloppy.   I've just realised that the recipe probably relies on standard tablespoon measures, which would be less than the dessert spoon measures I use routinely for my own measurements.  So it was probably too much liquid. Might need to find my standard measuring spoons, or try on a one dessert-spoon basis.   Will try with vinegar next time I'm in the mood for a shot, as this trial and error sugar paste making is just a waste of lemon.   Tasted kind of good.  I could get addicted to melted sugar.  Oh, wait.  I already am.  Made a massive batch of caramel sauce, which I'm trying not to consume.  LOL Dinner was poached chicken, on jeera rice (with fried onion and zucchini), caramelised carrots and stove-top (Hairy Biker's style) fondant potatoes.  I threw fresh rosemary in mine and a splash of white wine. It was OK, but too many competing flavours.  Malt vinegar instead of red wine vinegar for the caramelised carrots wasn't as nice as red wine vinegar, but they were OK.  Been told my Indian-French inspired hybrid was too weird.  LOL Favourite part of the meal was poaching the chicken the night before and having it on hand.  It was really yummy, as well.  Martha fusses around too much:  I just threw in some white wine, generous amount of peppercorns, smashed garlic, salt and bay leaves.  But I used her timing and method. For dinner, instead of pouring sauce on the chicken as I first planned, I threw sliced poached chicken in the white wine, capers and Parmesan cheese white sauce, with some mushrooms, zucchini.  Yes, more zucchini.  Down side was the fussiness of it.  Had something like 4 pans going, but I'm more of a one-pot chef, if I can help it. No burns since the last batch of forearm burns, which look revolting and sort of scabbed over. Doubt I'll do much news catching up.  I'm too tired and sleepy now.  Might watch YouTube videos, as that's not really taxing.

The Kitchen - Yoghurt #4

The Kitchen Yoghurt #4  [CLICK TO ENLARGE]   [CLICK TO ENLARGE]   [CLICK TO ENLARGE]   [CLICK TO ENLARGE] RESULT:  Good (but took 7 hrs to set firm) COMMENT Formula for this version: just shy of 2ltr milk (used some for porridge); 2/3 cup pouring cream; 1/3 cup natural yoghurt; milk and cream brought to boil (whisking) soak in cold water bath to bring down temperature (7 mins); combine some of temperature-ready milk with starter; combine the starter/milk mix into main body of milk; whisk thoroughly & pour into setting dish; place on heat pad, wrap & wait ...  :) Shouldn't have had that semolina & jam porridge, just before.  Feel kind of queasy.  Too much of a good thing.  Fingers crossed.  :) RESULT took 7 hrs to get good set.  Try adding 1/2 cup starter next time.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen Chicken Korma ... again [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] That's dinner.  Prepared another huge batch of korma for freezing. Not sure I can eat it.  It's another round of standard arguments here. Same sh*t, different day. I feel like the Peter Dutton of this household:  I'll point out a fact; my having done so becomes 'reason' for uproar (but, really, a means of distracting from the subject at hand).  A 'melodrama' ensues.  Insults are exchanged.  Same sh*t.  Different day.   That's entertainment. How much mileage can there be had out of exchanging the same insults?  Plenty, apparently.  It's kind of like those public 'debates' that go on and on and on and on and on, year after year after year ... without ever resolving anything. Right now, I feel like knocking him out.  But, of course, I can't.  I'm not physically capable.  LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UigR_AAP97Q

The Kitchen - Yoghurt No. 3

The Kitchen Yoghurt Project #3 Yoghurt as Starter Milk Cooling in Cold Water Bath No. 1 - commercial yoghurt as starter + sour cream. Good result. No. 2 - prior (No. 1) yoghurt as starter  + powdered milk. Not so good.  Rather runny result, as well.  But drained it in cloth. Suspect that 200ml starter was insufficient for 2ltr batch. No. 3 - commercial yoghurt as starter. Going with 375ml per 2ltr starter, which may be overkill. UPDATE Turned out crap.  Separated, with loads of whey at bottom.  Too much starter: "Too little starter makes runny yoghurt, but too much ... makes things separate into whey and thick cheese." [source] I'm so jacked off.   -------/\/\/ Drained off, the result is cottage cheese (sort of) or something like an Indian paneer: [CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE] Tastes nice.  And it can be thrown into omelettes and whatever else.  If I want a cheese result next, I can follow the Indian method to do it on the stove top (with vinegar). I'm so excited. Now I can make two dairy products.  LOL Watched a video on butter making, but I'm not sure that one is worth the bother. Next projects: Yoghurt No. 4  Arabic sugar wax paste massive chicken korma for freezing Been watching waxing videos and wax recipe videos galore.   Aiming to make the Arabic wax paste.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen Coleslaw Chicken Wings in Yoghurt Marinade  Chicken Wings Crumbed Chicken, Mash & Coleslaw This seemed like it was going to be fun. But having to handle raw chicken wings, pulling at bone from joint and cutting each wing into three pieces made me sort of ill.  It was slimy and horrible. Marinade/batter contained:  yoghurt, egg, flour, small portion semolina, paprika, chilli, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper & crushed garlic.  Refrigerated for a few hours. The crumbing was done just before frying.  Crumb mixture contained commercial breadcrumbs and a little gram flour (chickpea flour).  Turned out nice and crunchy. Frying was a nightmare.  The first three pieces were binned because the oil was too hot.  It took forever to get the oil to a reasonably  slow-cooking temperature, so that the chicken would cook through.  Very time consuming also, as I did an enormous batch. Timing was wrong.  Potato mash went cold and had to be microwaved.  Kitchen looked like a disaster zone.   Not a fun meal.  And I didn't get into eating this one because the memory of chopping raw chicken was a lasting deterrent to pigging out. It was well received though.