Thanks for the responses so far, everybody. And feel free to keep using this thread for sharing recipes or whatever.
DutchDaemon said:
Lentils are great, still packing the punch, but much lighter to digest.
I get the impression that lentils are often overlooked, I sure don't see them often. So I'll definitely give them a shot.
DutchDaemon said:
Other than that, I always have bell peppers, onions, garlic, and other 'stir-fryable' stuff around.
Same here. Bell peppers, mushrooms (champignons), spring onions (I love those!), cucumbers (which stir-fry nicely if you remove the seeds), garlic and bean sprouts (which in Rotterdam are dirt cheap at Asian grocery stores) are things that I almost always have lying around in the kitchen.
And in my opinion stir-frying is a great cooking technique: it's easy to learn, very quick, keeps most of the vitamins intact (as opposed to "just" boiling, as the Dutch tend to do) and vegetable/peanut/wok oil is a lot healthier than butter. What's more, if you put a little thought into it it's fairly easy to whip up dishes that are not only healthy and tasty but also visually appealing.
DutchDaemon said:
Have you been reading/watching Jamie Oliver again?
SirDice said:
I don't cook much, if at all. But I do like to make
nasi.
That's a good shout. Nasi (and bami) is easy to make, can be cheap if need be, can be varied endlessly and is good year-round.
It also helped me remember that
paella is a great summer dish. If anyone has any specific recipes/pointers I'm all ears.
DutchDaemon said:
Three Dutchmen discussing cooking. We must be emancipated.
Actually, as far as I can tell professional kitchens are still largely dominated by men (which probably comes as no surprise to anyone who has read
Kitchen Confidential). Also, I can name many more male celebrity chefs than female ones.
Crivens said:
Back to serious: usually I have little time for cooking. This is sad because I quite like it, but I prefer to make complete meals and do not like to be rushed with this.
One of my favorites, if it has to be fast, is cheese pancakes.
I agree with that. As much as I enjoy watching cooking shows on TV where the contestants are under time pressure (e.g.
Masterchef or
Ready, Steady, Cook), I too do
not like to be rushed.
And thanks for the cheese pancakes recipe. Like most Dutchies I like my pancakes thin, but I'm sure I can make it work somehow, so I'll try it out.
SirDice said:
Lentils... That seriously always reminds me of "The Young Ones" :e
[lame]Me too![/lame] I still dig out the DVDs from time to time, great show.
drhowarddrfine said:
I own some fast food restaurants so I can microwave and do "rip open package cooking" better than all of you.
You are just full of surprises, aren't you
Care to disclose what sort of food your restaurants serve? Are they burger joints, Tex-Mex or perhaps something else entirely?
@@break19: Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love chicken and think it's very versatile, so that's good. New ways of cooking chicken are always welcome
phoenix said:
The perfect steak (IMO, of course):
[snip]
No need for BBQ sauce, marinade, etc. Just enjoy the pure goodness of the steak's natural flavour.
I couldn't agree more. Steak really shouldn't be messed with too much. Season, fry, serve. That's it.
For what it's worth: I'm also going to look into gazpacho and other cold soups. I love soups anyway and I just remembered that (cold) cucumber soup with dill and smoked salmon makes a great starter on a warm day (I can post the recipe if anyone wants it).
