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
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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).