Andy Berdan
@berdandy@mstdn.games  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago
@farah ok! Somehow I never got tired of these. I’ll add some sides in the next post.

Curried green lentils & rice: Rinse lentils well, pre cook them for 15 mins before the rice and drain/rinse, then add the dry rice and cook normally as if it was 100% rice. When done, add a handful of currants (or any dry fruit), and a paste of olive oil and whatever spices you want. I’d usually do some kind of madras but whatever.

Whole cumin seeds, toasted in a dry pan, then after they’re fragrant, add 2.5c water & 1c dry rice to make a super fragrant cumin rice. I use more water than my usual 2:1 because the intense flash boil in the hot dry pan extracts a ton of flavour. Some people say this shock isn’t good for the pan, but I’ve done this a LOT. Adding a handful or two of shelled frozen edamame works well here too for protein.

Quinoa cooked in mushroom stock/bullion. I usually pair with steamed or sautéed broccoli. I find I like quinoa much better with a lot of salt, so make sure stock is salted.
Andy Berdan
@berdandy@mstdn.games  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago
@farah some sides:

- chopped cauliflower, drizzled with a light oil (sunflower, canola?), then tossed with paprika and whatever other spices you want. Maybe some nutritional yeast for bonus vitamins

- cabbage, sliced roughly into “bread slices”, then brushed with oil, and sprinkled with salt and smoked paprika, roasted for 30-45 mins

- fondant potatoes. Uh. Hard to describe in a post, but they’re great. I’ve done them with traditional butter, but also oil works well too. Top with a fragrant herb like rosemary

- tofu “fries”. Firm tofu with most of the moisture patted out with a paper towel, cut into French fry shapes, in pan with oil on medium-low heat, cook until they release easily from the pan with a gentle spatula poke. Flip 3 more times to crisp up the sticks on all sides.

- sautéed greens: Swiss chard or other robust greens like Dino kale or curly kale. Chop and sauté in oil on high heat. It’ll pop and explode a lot, move quickly. 10 minutes should be enough. Drizzle with lemon juice and salt.