My wife makes killer zhug (and constantly corrects my terrible pronunciation of the same). I hate to let any of it go to waste so I end up eating on bagels with cream cheese, etc.
Maybe Iām wrong but I feel like some of those dishes must suffer from being takeout?
Happy National Fig Newtons Day folksā¦I havenāt had fig newtons since Iāve had fig trees, 20+yrs agoā¦but we do make our own and we call it fig bars.
Thatās an interesting question you pose, @yardgrazer, and one I donāt feel qualified to answer. This was the first time I had had either of the sauces (zhug or amba), so I donāt know what they āshouldā taste like. Iām not confident the quality of the product is diminished simply because itās takeout.
Mrs. mota and I talked about our meal and agreed that each item seemed to be properly cooked and seasoned. Nothing was raw/under cooked, overcooked or tasteless/unseasoned. Veggies all were al dente, with nice tooth. It was really about the flavor profile, we agreed.
Thankfully, we have lots of choices as we live in an urban area known for itās restaurants.
Last night was a slight variation on a regular theme in my evening meal. Usually it would be a red Diane yam rather than Frenched blue lake green beans. The beans were particularly nice, and itās been a lot of yams of late.
It was delicious.
I was mostly thinking about the Mujaddara and the fried brussel sprouts dishes, just reckoning things that involved frying often arenāt that great if they arenāt piping hot.
Zhug is just a thick Yemeni cilantro hot sauceā¦ though TBH the one local middle eastern place we have it isnāt spicy (itās usually quite spicy).
I wonāt lie Iām envious of your optionsā¦ we have a lot of awesome local ingredients, but our takeout options are so incredibly slim itās pretty sad. Downside of living someplace rural I guess, but then, it could be worse I guess.
This morning was huckinā fuckleberry pancakes for me. With and without maple syrup. Delicious.
Mrs. mota had Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip. She loves the ācookie dough,ā which is basically chickpeas and cashews, aka humus. Banana chips in the upper right corner, pretzels (gluten free, made from cassava flour) upper left, cookie dough in the lower left, and missing are the fresh strawberries. The Mrs. isnāt a real fresh strawberry fan, so those get frozen and put into green smoothies, which she has one of every day. Her green smoothie routine made a huge difference in her skin, and that is no shit!
@yardgrazer, the delivery service we use carries only one order at a time, so there is no waiting for another item to be delivered elsewhere first. While itās true weāve never had a piping hot meal delivered, they are always at least warm and more generally bordering on hot. We try to order from places relatively close to our house, which helps keep the food warmer.
Yeah, the zhug was far too spicy hot for my mouth.
Yeah, I think itās really about tradeoffs. After living in small towns (and outside small towns) for years, thereās a lot to miss. One of those things, however, is not lots of options. Gotta have lots of people to have lots of options. I would be okay returning to a more rural setting, but I have definitely become acclimated to so many choices.
glad you liked them. you did well if you stopped at 1. lol. most people that like these cookies, cannot stop at 1 and if like me 3-4 easily consumed. then the richness puts me right into sugar shock / overload. i am gonna be 63 this year and started making these since i was 13 and introduced to them when i was hanging out with the kids from the rich side of town. i thought at that time that it was the best cookie ever and had them show me how to make what they called seven layer cookies. and here we are 50 years later still enjoying and sharing them.
Happy International Hot and Spicey Food Day folksā¦Spicey Ramen is all gots in such a short notice.
Nachos again for us tonight. Mine is with a 1/8 lb hamburger crumble and black olives, Mrs. motaās is cheese and beans alone.
Lastnights meal was a sauted garlic onion and mushrooms cheese omlet with airfried small potatoes and beans.
This morning it is berry berry pancakes. Huckelberry with mixed berry syrup. Thankfully not beri beri pancakes! HA! I couldnāt get out of my own damn shadow in that first picture.
