#mixed in some frozen spinach

[rackartyg]

i like vegetables. i want to eat vegetables. when my food is too beige i get sad. but anything colourful is so expensive this time of year and this year it's even worse, obviously

bwease i just want some fresh broccoli

[jeremyd23]

5 Healthy and Delicious Homemade Cat Treats for Summer

5 Healthy and Delicious Homemade Cat Treats for Summer: Today, the summers are getting hotter and hotter, and the average annual temperature is on the rise in many parts of the world. While sweating in your t-shirt and shorts, your cat can be found soaking up as much warmth as possible. 

Do you worry about your pet’s Cat Treats for Summer? Thinking about what to eat him? Here are a few foods vets say will keep your beloved cat healthy this summer.

Packet-type dry food is available for cats. You can eat that food on the doctor’s advice. But apart from that there are some homemade dishes. It will keep your cat cool even in hot weather. Your feline friend will thank you for it!

5 Homemade Cat Treats for Summer

Now that summer has here, feline friends everywhere are looking for tasty ways to beat the heat. As a pet owner, you may be curious about what kinds of treats are healthy. And you should appealing to your cat. Here, we’ll look at some of the top summertime treats for felines.

Spinach and Rice:

Boiled spinach and rice are good for cats. The vitamins in spinach boost the cat’s immune system. Mix 1 part spinach with 4 parts rice and let him eat. It is better to mix it with water before giving it. But whether to give this food or not, know well from the doctor. 

Eggs and Rice:

Remove the yolk from the boiled eggs and mash only the white part. Then, Mix the egg white with rice and give it to the cat. Egg protein will meet most of the cat’s nutritional needs.

Meat Water Ice Cubes:

Boiling water for chicken is good for cats. But remember, it should not contain salt or any spices. Keep this water in the ice tray of the refrigerator and freeze it. Once the frozen ice cubes are ready, give them to your cat. It is good for the stomach and nutrition.

Watermelon Slices:

Watermelon meets some of the water needs of the cat’s body. But large amounts of watermelon can harm cats. Therefore, before eating watermelon, you must consult a doctor. One more thing to remember. 

Remove all the seeds from the watermelon before giving it. These seeds are harmful to the cat’s stomach.

Salmon and Sweet Potato Treats 

Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial to a cat’s skin and coat health. And salmon is a fantastic source of these nutrients. Vitamins and fiber can also be found in abundance in sweet potatoes. 

One can of salmon, drained and mashed, one mashed sweet potato. Besides, a quarter cup of flour is all you need to make these tasty morsels. Make little balls from the dough and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 350°F. These snacks are not only nutritious, but they also taste great!

[recapitulation]

meal ideas!

low energy ("do not ask me to do any prep work at all, so help me god")

mozzerella cheese wrapped in pepperoni ("pizza tacos"!)

hummus and pretzels or naan (putting the naan in the microwave for like 10 seconds...heavenly)

canned chili (with shredded cheese and sour cream if you have it! boom done!)

instant miso soup (warm and lovely! put tofu in it for protein!)

cheese and cured meat, olives, canned fish, crackers, dried fruit, or whatever easy "charcuterie" type items you like

alternate bites of apple and spoonfulls of peanut butter (mixing honey or chocolate chips to the peanut butter is my favorite)

a "deconstructed sandwich": bites of lunch meat, pickles, cheese, cherry tomato, etc (I love roast beef and white cheddar for this)

yogurt and granola or fruit

put frozen potstickers + frozen edamame in the steamer/rice cooker, chill elsewhere with a timer set, then boom

tortilla chips + canned refried beans + cherry tomatoes + cilantro + jarred salsa con queso (or warm shredded cheese on top of the chips in the microwave for 30 seconds)

bagel + cream cheese + lox

microwave scrambled eggs (add things like green onion, soy sauce, or anything else you like!)

cottage cheese and fruit (mixed together or just on the side)

bowl of shredded rotisserie chicken + buffalo sauce + a bit of mayo + green onion (use a kitchen scissors to cut them right in!)

medium energy ("I'll boil water but don't ask me to chop shit")

boiled eggs and fresh veggies (put a little salt on top of the eggs!)

buttered noodles (my go-to nausea meal, it has never failed me. ideas of things to add: frozen peas, imitation crab, roasted garlic)

baked potato with toppings (I like cheese, bacon, broccoli, green onion, and sour cream)

quesadilla (add some canned beans, cilantro, or avocado!)

pot roast (requires a lot of time but not a lot of actual work. I love it with peas!)

cuban sandwich (bread, swiss, pickle, mustard, ham... my favorite thing to panini-ify by far)

pan-fried tofu with scallion sauce (this sauce goes well with everything and tofu is no exception)

pancakes or waffles! (I love mine with jam)

ham, pickle, and cream cheese roll-ups

fried eggs (with toast and lots of butter...so comforting)

fruit smoothie (bananas, frozen strawberries, yogurt...or whatever!)

I hate salad but could write essays on this copycat olive garden salad (throw it in a bowl! chopping required if you use onion)

spaghetti (controversial maybe but angel hair > spaghetti noodles)

pasta salad (olives broccoli fresh mozerella... those little mini pepperonis... yeah)

stir-fried thai garlic shrimp (I like using the mini frozen salad shrimps, it's easy! use jarred minced garlic to avoid chopping!)

tuna mayo onigiri

slow cooker ribs

buffalo chicken wrap (or any number of other wrap options! shred pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to make it easier)

if your local grocery store sells pre-cooked gyro strips, that can turn into an easy wrap with store-bought pita & tzatziki with tomatoes and onions!

couscous and chickpeas

tortellini + pasta sauce + spinach

high energy ("I don't mind chopping some things up!")

stuffed shells with spinach

chicken and roasted garlic (oh my god.....one of my all time favorites)

beef tacos (I like mine with cilantro and onion, and when I'm feeling especially high energy I love a tomatillo salsa)

chicken alfredo

tom kha gai (a thai soup and my absolute favorite! you just need access to galangal)

lasagna! (freezes well and then boom! low energy meal for later)

pad thai! (not as hard as you'd think, as long as you have access to tamarind paste!)

potstickers! (this is a lovely group activity if you want to cook with housemates!)

rice and beans

bang bang shrimp (ogughfhgfuh I love it. you can also do bang bang tofu!)

minestrone soup (so many nice veggies!)

fried rice (put whatever you have on hand in there! broccoli, peas, carrot, and beef is my favorite combo)

broccoli cheddar soup

spring rolls and peanut sauce

skewers (such as beef, onion, zucchini, bell pepper... you don't need a grill, oven works!)

roasted turkey with garlic parmesean asparagus

pork chop with mashed potatoes

panang curry

chicken gnocchi soup (use store bought gnocchi or make your own if you have a high energy day!)

bibimbap (super customizable depending on what veggies you like best)

butter chicken

plus! things that have helped me meal plan:

whenever you think of a meal you'd like to make, take 3 seconds to google search it, take a screenshot of the image results, and put it in a "food ideas" folder. instant visual menu!

the concept of "meal prepping" makes me recoil but I've learned that it can simply mean preparing shredded chicken, boiled eggs, or some other simple protein that you can customize throughout the week. shredded chicken can turn into wraps, salads, pasta dishes, etc... you don't have to meal prep yourself into the same meal all week!

when I have difficulty working up an appetite, I'll scroll through my favorite restaurant menus! there might be some foods I can't make at home, but many times they're very simple to recreate because the ingredients are literally listed!

[what-even-is-thiss]

Listen. Make pasta and rice in the microwave. Use pre-made spice mixes. Buy frozen and canned foods because you know you’ll forget about the fresh ones. Shove some carrot sticks and lunch meat into your mouth and call it dinner. Roast some veggies with spices. Put cheese on your broccoli. Put an egg in your ramen. Eat a spoonful of hummus. Drink a bunch of cans of sparkling water. Put peanut butter in your instant noodles. Make taco filling ahead of time and eat it with salsa and potatoes. Put butter on your tortillas. Dip flatbread in spinach dip. Microwave some tv dinners. Stick your hot pockets in the oven. Eat an oatmeal cookie for breakfast. Do you hear me? Get some vitamins.

[flintandpyrite]

I finally made a saag paneer that tastes as good as the restaurant kind and I had to write it down

Adapted from the serious eats vegan saag recipe except obviously it's not vegan. But trust me! tofu cooked this way tastes way better than any store-bought paneer I've tried, don't ask me why, it just does.

1 lb firm tofu

2 tbls miso paste

1/2 a lemon worth of juice

salt

pepper

neutral oil

1/2 a large red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, minced

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 dried red chili

1 cardamom pod, crushed

1/2 large tomato or 1 roma tomato, diced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

20-24 oz frozen spinach or a mix of frozen spinach and frozen mustard greens

2 tbls plain full-fat yogurt

1/4 cup heavy cream

For the tofu:

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a bowl, mix the miso paste, lemon juice, and 1 tbls oil with a fork until homogeneous.

Press the tofu between some paper towels to get the moisture out, then cut it into cubes, about 3/4" on each side. Add the cubes to the miso mixture and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place some parchment paper on a sheet pan and spread the tofu cube over the parchment in a single layer. Bake for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is firm and slightly toasted.

For the sauce:

Heat a heavy frying pan (I used a 10" cast iron) over medium heat and add 2 tbls neutral oil. When sizzling hot, add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the ginger and garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the cumin seeds and cardamom pod and stir again. Allow this to cook until it starts to stick to the pan slightly, about another 5 minutes.

Add the tomato dice and stir to unstick any of the onion mixture from the pan. Cook until there is no more liquid in the pan and the tomatoes are falling apart, about 5-6 minutes.

Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and red pepper to the pan and stir to mix. Add the thawed greens and stir to distribute the spices. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the greens are warm and cooked to your taste.

turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt, 1 tablespoon at a time, until fully mixed. This will prevent it from clumping. Then add the heavy cream and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Finally, add the tofu cubes and stir to distribute them. Serve with dal masoor chilla, rice, and turmeric chutney.

[mousegirlheart]

You might have to drop your egg toast recipe because I am hungry and need to know how you made it, please.

its pretty simple, i just mixed a couple eggs in a bowl with feta and some other cheeses i had as well as paprika, garlic paste and onion powder. once it was thick enough i spread it on some frozen bread and baked it in the oven at 175c for 15ish minutes. when it was nearly done i sprinkled mixed italian herbs and pepper on top and let it finish. SUPER yummy and easy to make.

if i made it again i might include baby spinach or spring onion

[ms-demeanor]

I remember you posting about freezing avocados back when your MIL ripped out the trees. What do you do/make with frozen avocado?

Thankfully she kept that tree, she just trimmed off a whole bunch of branches all at once so we had hundreds of ripening avocados. She actually gave us a bag of avocados a couple weeks ago that are finally ripening (they taste so good, I'm glad she didn't rip out that tree and the lemon tree).

If you're storing just frozen plain avocado, the texture and color get a little weird when it thaws so it's not ideal for stuff like guacamole, but it can work well for pudding (and I know there are many vegan recipes for avocado pudding out there; I haven't tried them personally so I don't have one to recommend). Avocado bread can be a good option for this thawed stuff too. And being real, even though the texture isn't *ideal* for guacamole and it can oxidize and turn brown, I will totally make guacamole for myself out of frozen avocados, it's just not a dish i would serve to guests or take to a potluck. (guacamole is great on chips but I also like it on the easy summer work lunch that I make, which is black beans, steamed broccoli, and rice mixed with salsa)

But mostly I put frozen avocado in smoothies. I like it in smoothies with frozen banana, spinach, and berries blended with almond milk and fruit juice. It's especially good if you're looking to add some creaminess to a vegan smoothie and aren't using dairy.

[gothhabiba]

hello I am one of those people for whom coriander tastes like soap. depending on the thing I'm making/my feeling on the day I usually swap coriander for mint or parsley (not bc they taste similar really but just because they produce something different that is nice) but I was wondering if you had any other suggestions I might not have thought of. my aim isn't really to replace coriander taste but just to make my tongue happy so I'm pretty open

for sure you can't go wrong with mint or parsley. I would probably favor mint in Indian dishes and parsley in most Mediterranean dishes (Moroccans, for example, consider both cilantro and parsley in the same category of "greens" "rbi3," and when they say "rbi3" it could mean either one or a combination of both).

for a similar flavor to cilantro, if you're willing to go to a speciality store:

Vietnamese coriander (rau răm, Vietnamese mint) gives the citrusy, peppery taste of cilantro, but isn't botanically related. people with soap gene report no soap effect from this herb.

culantro may or may not produce the same soapy effect--it depends on the person. you might chuse to find some and try it. it would work as a substitute for cilantro, but here are some recipes that explicitly call for culantro.

other leafy herbs to consider for general use:

dill (mix with spinach, green onion, mint, parsley, and cumin as a stuffing for an herb flatbread; blend or pulverise and mix with mayonnaise and spices to make a salad dressing; mix with mint and parsley and add to falafel batter)

Vietnamese fish mint and other southeast Asian herbs. if you have an Asian grocery store near you, go and see what they have, especially in the spring and summer. (they may also have culantro, "ngo gai.")

a south Asian grocery store may have fresh or frozen fenugreek leaves (this is the same plant whose seeds constitute the spice fenugreek). they're mild, slightly bitter, and slightly sweet.

dried ukazi (or "okazi" or "afang") leaves will give a peppery, bitter, earthy taste to soups and stews. you may be able to find some at an African speciality store.

[anti-gluten-homemaker]

POTS Meal Plan 1🧂

Meal One: Chinese Steamed Egg 🥚

This meal can be made with a lot of salt! Plus it has practically no carbs, can be made wheat free, and has protein!

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 cup broth of choice (this adds more sodium)

1/2 tsp gluten free soy sauce (soy sauce often has wheat as a filler so buy gluten free options)

1/2 tsp maple syrup

Chives or green onion if feeling fancy✨

Pre cooked small shrimp 🍤 if feeling up to it! (This adds extra protein and salt. Frozen shrimp actually has a good amount of salt!

Instructions:

Whisk your egg and broth together

Pour through a sieve into a microwave safe bowl. I learned that a wider shallower bowl makes it more silky. The pictured dish was when I used a cereal bowl and it was tasty but not as good.

Cover with Saran Wrap and poke three holes

Microwave on 50% power for 5 minutes

Let it sit in the microwave for a minute if two when done cooking

Once you remove it run a knife through it in a grid pattern

Top with soy sauce, maple syrup, and chives and shrimp if using

Meal Two: Tuna Salad 🐟

This is a salty option that requires no cooking!

Ingredients

1 small can tuna (canned tuna contains a good amount of salt and protein)

Some mayo

Some mustard

Relish or chopped up pickles for extra salt

A pinch of salt. I use Baja Gold mineral Salt. Sea salt is supposed to increase blood pressure slightly more than table salt. At least that was what I was told by a registered dietitian

Just mix together and eat or serve on gluten free crackers or celery sticks.

Meal Three: Cottage Cheese and fruit 🍎

Ingredients

Cottage cheese

Fruit of choice (I like apple the best)

Optional - dark chocolate chips

Just mix and enjoy! 😉

Meal Four + Five: Tuscan Salmon 🍣

So meal four and five are the same dish. Simply cook and divide into two small portions.

Ingredients:

2 slices bacon

One 4 oz salmon fillet

1/4 yellow onion, diced

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 C chicken broth

1 Tbsp sun dried tomatoes

1 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream

A sprinkle of spinach (just eye ball it)

Instructions

Chop onions and bacon

Cook chopped bacon in a sauce pan over medium heat. Over from pan when done but leave fat in pan

In bacon fat, cook onions until translucent.

Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds

Add broth, sun dried tomatoes, and bring to a boil then add cream

Add salmon skin side down, bacon, and sprinkle spinach around it. Cover and cook for 4-8 mins. Salmon should be 145 F or 63 C

Meal Six: High Protein Chia Seed Pudding 🍧

Ingredients

1 C Greek Yogurt

3/4 C milk of choice

1/4 C chia seeds

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cinnamon (it’s anti inflammatory!)

Instructions

Mix in a large bowl and cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. It will make many servings.

Topping ideas! Nut butters, fruit, jam, dark chocolate chips, nuts 🥜

If you are on the go, here is my travel snack list! 🏃‍♀️💨

[auckie]

Ok no actually I wanna hear your Trader Joe’s opinions I’m really into the orange strawberry banana juice, the bruschetta sauce, the cranberry lime juice sparkling water and cinnamon schoolbook cookies

You and I agree on the CLSW (cranlime sparkling), haven’t tried the others but I’ll look into them. The normal lime one is also amazing on its own, as well as a mixer for both alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Summer must!

There’s so much shit I’m obsessed with, I’ll try and list the most important ones

English crumpets

Mango kefir

Brown sugar oat creamer

Chocolate oat milk

Simpler wines brand sparkling white canned wine

Pfeffernüsse

Chocolate babka

Brioche sliced bread

Danish Kringle

Pinks and whites shortbread cookies

Joe Joe’s gluten free classic Oreo knock off cookie

Madras lentils (boxed kind is good too)

Canned giant baked beans in tomato sauce

The non joes brand oat milk coffee and kombucha but you can get those anywhere

Their candles, two in one grapefruit mint hair wash (I despise two in one products but this one doesn’t foam and is more of a cleansing conditioner I use in between shampoo and regular conditionings), and many other non food items. I’ve bought their towels, seasonal decor (usually those felt garlands), face lotions and oils. Loved all of them. Usually I only restock on the lotion, hand soap, and lavender laundry bags. Their detergent is nice tho, and I’ve also gotten their wool laundry balls but you really only ever gotta buy them like once. They also usually have pretty cute cards at the checkout! I like their cheaper flowers too, but there’s also a lot of very cute seasonal items they carry that I just can’t justify buying bc of price (have you seen their felt sunflowers? So adorable)

Simpler times potato chips

Crispy Crunchy Champignon Mushroom Snack

Fruit leather bars

Dried orange rings

Lox (labeled as smoked salmon iirc)

Both their Tunisian and kalamata olive oil

Vodka sauce

Roasted red pepper and tomato canned soup

Canned vegetable soup

Gone bananas chocolate covered frozen bananas (gone berry crazy strawberries are good too but like a dollar or two more expensive)

Jasmine rice in the frozen isle

Lime popsicles

Steak and stout meat pie

Pastry Bites Feta Cheese & Caramelized Onions

Canned tuna*

*especially with the gluten free microwaveable mac n cheese (I’m not gluten free if you’ve noticed, I literally just prefer some of their gluten free products. Same with the oat milk. I’m not lactose free but I just really like it)

Most of the frozen wontons I’ve tried

Chimichurri rice (goes great with the aforementioned roasted red pepper box soup, and chopped onions, green peppers, and spinach cooked in a wok)

Chicken sausage

Butternut squash gnocchi, iirc the potato gnocchi is good too

Most of their dried pastas

Almond and chocolate filled frozen croissants

The bars of chocolate you find at the check out that come in packs of threes

The weird meat sticks at the checkout too

Frozen hashbrowns

For whatever reason, their frozen green beans and asparagus is so much better than other generic brands I’ve tried

Any of the canned olives but esp the kalamata

Sun dried tomatoes

The produce is okay, a little pricey but they had brown Mexican tomatoes once that fucked hard. The herbs trustworthy too but really where is it not

Any of their chocolate covered nuts

Their fucked up chocolate covered chips, sometimes found in their snack mixes

Peanut butter pretzel snacks

Their dried seaweed isn’t my fav, but it’s not bad. I think it’s overpriced tho but tbf I usually get huuuge, less flavored packs from Costco

Pine nuts but good Gd are they expensive

They have cute, weird heirloom hybrid squashes during the fall a lot too that are pretty tasty

Things I’ve gotten from there that I hated? I didn’t like their orange chicken, ANY of the cereals I’ve gotten from there oddly enough, their pecorino Romano only comes grated and mixed iirc and I didn’t care for it. Some of their beers have made me scowl but also those are all random brands. But their wine (yes, even SHAW. But shoutout to coco bon red blend and blue fin moscato RIP!) has never does me wrong…except for any other flavor of the simpler wines canned ones. I can only do the sparkling white and literally no else I've forced to drink it has liked it! some of their salads have done me wrong. the canned chickpeas and dolmas were off. and some of their pricy juice mixes left me a bit disappointed.

[mishafletcher]

i wrote a book called cooking is terrible, which you can buy on amazon, or at any of the retailers here, or pretty much anywhere you can buy books.

the main post was getting pretty long, and the faq was also pretty long, but people often ask what kinds of recipes are in it, so here are some example recipes!

butter bean salad

Rinse and drain a tin of butter beans. Add crumbled feta and capers. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, and a little bit of mustard.

Variations: Add quartered marinated artichoke hearts. Add chopped red onion. Add fresh chopped parsley, or fresh or dried thyme. Add sumac to the dressing. (If you do all these things, you have a main course salad that is fancy enough to serve at a party, or to grudgingly take to the work potluck.)

Keeps in the fridge for three to five days.

shitty soup

This soup isn’t actually shitty—it’s actually nice, and I eat it a lot—but we started calling it shitty soup, and the name’s stuck.

Bring enough stock for one person to a boil.

Add about 2 Tbsp of pastina. When the pasta is nearly done (which is only like, two minutes), crack in an egg and turn the pot to a simmer. After about two minutes of simmering, add some sort of veggie—shredded carrots, fresh or frozen spinach, frozen peas—and let it cook for another minute or two. Tada! You’ve made soup.

You can change this up, and don’t have to include all three bits—pasta and a few veggies, or just an egg boiled in stock, is great, and totally a meal. I give all three components mainly so there’s a note about timing. There are a million variations on this—add tomato paste or sesame oil, add other veggies, cook the egg to different degrees of doneness, etc. You can add a little cheese at the end, or a handful of (rinsed) tinned beans, or shreds of previously cooked meat. But at its most basic, broth + something else = soup, which is a meal that you can totally manage to make for yourself in under ten minutes, and then you can smugly tell the internet that you’re sure that what they’re having is nice and all, but you’re having homemade soup. And let’s be honest—most nights, this soup is not good enough to justify that, but who cares. Sometimes you gotta take what you can get.

things you can put on top of cottage cheese or yogurt to make them feel more like an interesting meal

this is just a list of ideas. the things in parentheses are optional extras, though you can use—or not use—whatever you'd like.

Peach or pineapple chunks

Jam

Pumpkin or apple butter

Berries

Cantaloupe/rockmelon

Granola or muesli

Apples, cinnamon, and honey

Literally just honey

Cinnamon sugar

Sunflower seeds + raisins + shredded cheese

Chili powder + black beans + avocado

Chopped tomatoes + garlic (+ spinach) (+ steak seasoning)

Cut-up spinach and chopped green onions (+ tomatoes)

Sundried tomatoes and olives

Chopped cucumber and olives (+ za’atar)

Salsa or hot sauce

Chopped radish, ready cooked beets, or cucumber + dill (+ garlic)

Mix in a bunch of Milo, Nesquick, or other sweetened chocolate powder. (You might want to add a splash of milk.)

Mangos + cardamom (+ honey or other sweetener) (+ pistachios)

Balsamic vinegar (+ strawberries if you wanna get fancy)

Basically any fresh herbs you have + salt

A spoonful of nut butter (+ chocolate)

Dried meat (like pork or mushroom floss, or that weird shredded jerky) + green onion

if you think all this sounds terrible, that's cool—this is not the cookbook for you.

if you're like, 'oh shit, i could make that soup in less than fifteen minutes,' maybe pick up a copy.

[johannestevans]

always curious what people's like. staple meals and regular meals are

like the meals you regularly cook a few times in a month, for yourself or your family as well

bc for me it's like

bacon sandwiches. basic.

garlic bread

baked feta with peppers & tomatoes, oregano, olive oil, a bit of lemon juice

the lidl potato gratin with peppers, tomatoes, and spinach mixed in, again normally with olive oil and some cheese

roast chicken with roasted potatoes and root vegetables, normally carrots and parsnips

pork souvlakia, chunks of usually belly pork or chop on kebab sticks and oven grilled with or without chunks of pepper and tomato

dolmades, vine leaves stuffed with stewed rice

chicken risotto made with chicken stock on a base of butter with spring onions and bacon to toast the rice with

pasta with chicken pieces with a tomato-based sauce w more cheese and vegetables

a "greek salad" with some modifications - chunks of cucumber, tomato, red and yellow pepper, spinach leaves, red onion or spring onions, garlic granules, and then olive oil and feta chunks

parchment pastry scrolls, a spread of pastry smeared with tomato purée or similar chutney, cheese, bacon, vegetables, or mushrooms, and then cut into discs and baked

homemade burgers with beef or lamb mince, tiny chopped onions, egg, honey as a binding agent, and then fried hopefully to eat with slices of cheddar or leerdammer, bacon, and pickles/cornichons

i made a kouneli stifado a while back (whole rabbit cut into chunks, slow cooked with potatoes and root vegetables, onions, red wine, stock, etc) that i want to do more regularly bc a whole rabbit is a fiver and it feeds a LOT of people

then obvs like. various oven cooked things i don't modify, like prawn tempura or frozen calamari, etc

because i've moved and haven't set up my rice cooker or got my short grain rice again, and bc i don't have a new deep fat fryer yet, i'm not cooking like, my fresh cut chips, or maki rolls and onigiri, or a meal i'd regularly do of just like. fried eggs on rice and stuff

i used to make lasagnes more regularly and i'd like to go back to that, esp bc like... i love making latkes and once we have a nice wide frying pan it will be nice to do that more regularly, and my big thing atm is that i want to learn to cook with some new ingredients

i want to learn to do more and more interesting stuff with coconut and pineapple, i want to do more like. kormas and other diff curries, i want more green vegetables, esp asparagus and broccoli

i want to cook more with different fish and sea food bc i know i desperately need the oil for my fucked up joints and brain, i want to break more breads and savoury things, esp garlic and tearaway breads

esp bc like. my body's capacity for red meat is fucking terrible lmao, i want more fibre and less heavy protein from red meat at once so i don't just utterly eviscerate my guts lmao

[goodnessandgrief]

When I’m feeling depressed, it can be nearly impossible to take care of myself, and that includes eating. Here’s a list of some foods that require little to no effort (aka: can be eaten right out of the package or just need to be microwaved), mainly for my personal reference, but also so others can find easier alternatives when they’re struggling.

Water bottles or canned water - stay hydrated!!

vegetables - green beans, peas, corn, black/kidney/pinto beans, chickpeas (all canned or microwaveable frozen bags) - I’ve also tried Harvest Snaps, which are baked snap peas & they’re v good

Fruit - grapes, raisins (or any other dried fruit like apricots/dates), mandarin oranges, apples, applesauce cups, bananas, pears, peaches, etc. (most fruits require no prep anyway, but especially if they’re canned - you can also buy frozen bags)

Canned soup or chicken, beef, or veggie broth

Pasta (ramen, spaghetti, mac and cheese, chow mein) or instant rice are my go-tos. You can buy these in individual cups or bulk packs.

Any microwaveable food - frozen/tv dinners, burritos, toaster strudels (they make an egg bacon & cheese version too!), mini pizzas, breakfast sandwiches… there’s a lot you could do here :)

Dairy - Yogurt, cheese sticks, (or just straight up eat cheese slices, there are no rules here), cottage cheese, almond/oat/soy milk, powdered milk (if you want something shelf-stable)

Grains & carbs - cereal, crackers, chips, popcorn, toast or bagels (I’ve eaten plain bread before tbh and it kinda slaps), Oatmeal (these packets are dinosaur themed & have little sugar eggs!! - https://www.quakeroats.com/products/hot-cereals/instant-oatmeal/dinosaur-eggs)

Nuts - peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, cashews, walnuts, trail mix, etc.

Meat - deli turkey, trail bologna, spam, jerky, frozen chicken strips or nuggets, Morningstar vegetarian corn dogs, canned tuna

Eggs

Fast food or take-out is also a good option if you don’t feel like making anything yourself.

A little tip - most foods you would take on a camping or hiking trip are great! for some, all you need to do is add water & heat it up. they are usually on the expensive side, though!! here’s some I’ve found that are decent:

https://mountainhouse.com/

Things to keep on hand for particularly bad days:

⁠Boost/ensure/Soylent - liquid meals for when the idea of chewing or mixing anything is too much.

⁠disposable cutlery/bowls/utensils so you don’t have more dishes to worry about.

Multivitamins

Liquid IV, Gatorade, or some other form of electrolytes. It’s too easy to get dehydrated!

If you do have a little energy to cook or make something, here’s some ideas:

If you have a blender: frozen spinach + frozen banana + shelf stable almond milk + peanut butter makes a great smoothie.

frozen fruit + frozen spinach/kale for smoothies

Adding whey protein makes it more filling.

⁠dried pasta + jarred pasta sauce (Rao’s is low sugar and awesome, but pricey) + frozen meatballs

Boil tortellini on hand. Its as easy as boiling water. You can eat it plain, add a spoonful of pesto, sprinkle with a little olive oil or butter and some garlic salt, or pour it back in the pan after draining and add a little pasta sauce

⁠frozen fried rice + frozen stir fry veggies

⁠favorite frozen protein and veggies for sheet pan meals

⁠canned refried beans with a tortilla and some cheese to microwave, can add extra toppings too

⁠oatmeal + pb + dried fruit of choice

⁠rice cakes + pb + jam (or substitute bread if you have it)

Rotisserie chicken in a salad, soup, sandwich or wrap

Frozen salmon with some veggies

air fryer foods - chicken nuggets, tenders, fries, etc. You can also toss different vegetables (baby carrots, Brussels sprouts, etc.) in a little olive oil and throw them in there

chicken broth & frozen dumplings - you can dress it up a little with some miso, soy sauce or other seasonings. You could also add some frozen vegetables.

snack type food - a combination of canned Garbanzo beans and black olives. The olives are salty enough that you can get low sodium beans and it will still taste good.

A lot of these ideas I stole from the good people of Reddit (particularly r/depressionmeals)!Here’s the post I referenced if you’d like to look further into it:

[my-little-loverboy]

@avocado-writing’s tav + Charlie enjoying some birthday soup bc it’s their birthday today and mine is in 5 days so!! Soup!! (My actual birthday soup recipe is under the cut)

Birthday soup

Don’t forget to get silly w it. That’s like, required. It’s your BIRTHDAY (or someone else’s birthday) you deserve to get silly.

I stole this from my mom btw, also make sure you know the difference between a herb and a spice.

Oh yeah also it includes soup dumplings.

Kitchen items:

Big pot w a lid

Cutting board

Knife

Ingredients:

2 tbls Butter

1pkg Stew beef (or chicken hearts, that’s the original ingredient I just don’t like em)

2 medium onions, one diced, one quartered (keep separate)

1 whole head of garlic, minced (jarlic works very well here)

3 cups of stock (beef if you use beef, veggie if you use chicken, do not use chicken stock it fucks up the taste)

3 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium potatos, chopped

1 celery stick, chopped

1/4 head of cabbage, chopped (optional, I just like cabbage an unreasonable amount)

1 whole package of frozen spinach, defrosted (do this in a bowl this shit is WET also keep the water)

Can of green beans (you could probably use fresh, I don’t like fresh tho so, idk)

Can of diced tomatoes

Rosemary

Thyme

Fennel

Mustard seed

Celery seed

Sprinkle of Cloves (ground)

Sprinkle of Nutmeg

5% Vinegar or lemon juice (or your favourite other edible acid, tomato juice would in theory work, lime juice is mid.)

Salt + pepper

1 tbls Paprika

Steps:

Butter in that pot, medium

Spices, add em, leave ‘em until they smell good, it won’t be long.

Beef and a splash of your acid in that pot, cook until 1/4 done

Carrot and celery in that pot, get em hot but don’t cook em too long.

Diced onion, spinach, and paprika + salt n pepper to taste in that pot, med-low

Stir, cover, leave it alone for 5ish minutes

Uncover, add garlic to that pot, cook until it smells like garlic

Stock + the canned bean and frozen spinach water, add it.

Canned tomato, add it.

Potato, add it.

Cabbage, add it.

All them herbs, add em to taste (I use roughly a tablespoon each of em dried, but I like my shit strong.)

Bring it to boil on high

Let that bitch simmer, you may need to periodically add water if he’s goin too hard. (START MAKING THOSE SOUP DUMPLINGS RN IF YOURE DOING THAT)

When the potato is 1/2 done that quartered onion (and the dumplings)

Finish the potato.

Bam. Soup. I like it more cold, but it is intended to be eaten hot.

Soup dumplings

I stole this from my roommate and add em to most soups tbh

Kitchen items:

Bowl,

Wood spoon,

Your Hands,

You could probably do this in a stand mixer but I don’t have one of those so, you’re on your own man.

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour

Water, hot as you can handle touching, volume required varies,

Salt

Pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Whatever fresh herbs you like (dried don’t work here unless they’re ground absolutely tiny)

1 tbls of your favourite liquid fat (I use olive oil, canola and sunflower also work for sure)

Steps:

Flour, into the bowl

Seasonings, into the bowl

Mix well.

Add the fat

Slowly add water, mixing often until you get a slightly sticky ball.

Knead for a bit, I don’t really know how to describe the texture bc I’ve been making bread since I was a kid (and this is just a yeastless bread dough) but its finished when it stops really sticking to your hands (it’ll be tacky, not sticky)

Divide into 1 inch balls

Drop into the soup roughly 30 minutes before it’s finished.

Serve in the soup

Congrats, soup balls.

[antirepurp]

fuck it it's been eons im sharing my funny little recipe for making instant noodles not suck

Stuff you need

your favorite pack of instant noodles. or the next best thing whatever works

frozen spinach leaves (or alternative veggies)

egg :)

1 mushroom (optional but very recommended)

soysauce (abt 1-2 tablespoons)

fish sauce (5-10 drops)

lime juice (5-10 drops)

1-2cm fresh ginger (ginger powder's fine in a pinch)

Stuff you do

boil the spinach. add a generous amount of salt into the water as well as butter! shit's tasty. other veggies also love being boiled in salt. as an alternative you can fry the spinach if you'd like

prepare egg. i prefer to fry mine sunny side up in some oil bc it's quick, but you can also boil it. usually the point is to keep the yolk/yellow part soft so it mixes nicely into the broth and noodles but if you don't have to do that if you wanna do something else

chop/crush ginger and chop mushroom. crushed ginger releases more flavor than chopped but i like having little ginger pieces in my broth, and you can add more of it when it's chopped.

add ginger, mushroom, flavor packets into a pot with water. i paid for the flavor packets and im fucking using them ok. taste a bit to check the base taste before adding the good stuff:

soysauce, fish sauce, lime juice. that's my recommended order, anyway. taste frequently and start adding them carefully to adjust the flavor more precisely! the amounts i gave are generous estimates because i tend to just wing it

boil noodles. it's probably better to boil them separately, but im lazy and just add them into the broth. this will taint the broth with the forbidden noodle particles, so if that's not your thing take out another pot for them

add everything into a bowl and enjoy. wahey :)

Other tips I guess

you can go apeshit with veggies, and you can absolutely use fresh ones as well, though you should add them to the broth instead of prepping them separately. i think. idk i prefer to work with frozen stuff bc you can get a lot for cheap and they last for a long time

if you want to prepare protein that isn't an egg for this, go for it! i love adding leftover chicken whenever we have some, and things like tofu are pretty neat too

a lot of this recipe or whatever relies on the flavor packet as a kind of base for the broth, hence why i recommend picking a noodle thing you can eat as is for this. i've also noticed that this works particularly well for seafood noodles, but i've done it for other kinds as well and had cool results

[mariacallous]

Little did I know growing up that when my family made what we called “tomato rice,” we were actually fixing a dish with a long history. I just knew that my father ate it as a child, and it was simple to make by mixing some tomato sauce into the rice pot, along with water and salt before cooking. Sometimes we also added a box  of defrosted frozen spinach if my mother or I had remembered to take it out the freezer in advance. 

This beloved and seemingly simple dish, like so much food, has a complex history. The Moors introduced rice to Spain in the 8th century, making it part of the cuisine that the Jews shared. In the early 16th century, conquistadores brought the tomato back from the New World to Spain. From there it spread eastward across Europe, reaching the Ottoman Empire and beyond, although when is disputed, ranging from the 16th to the 19th century. 

Since all the modern countries that were part of the Ottoman Empire — including Turkey, Greece and the rest of the Balkans, Lebanon, Iran and Italy – have some form of rice with tomato as part of their cuisine, I’m with those that say the tomato traveled eastward from Spain with the conversos or secret Jews who fled Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact, when the tomato reached Italy later in the 16th century, one name for it was “the Jew’s apple.”

So it’s no wonder that tomato rice, most often called arroz kon tomat in Ladino, is very much a part of Sephardic cuisines. Jews were welcomed into and thrived in the Ottoman Empire as they fled Spanish persecution beginning in the 14th century and in great numbers following the expulsion in 1492. Stella Cohen, writing about Jewish food from the island of Rhodes in “Stella’s Sephardic Table,” notes that “for the Sephardim in Turkey this pilaf made with ripe fresh tomatoes is also known as arrosito a la Judia (rice the Jewish way).

There are variations, of course, from country to country and family to family. Fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce? If using fresh, are they chopped, crushed or grated? Onions or no onions? Peppers or no peppers? 

Versions of the Italian recipe are made with tomato paste, sauce or crushed fresh tomatoes and might add garlic, bell peppers, fennel seeds and/or capers. A Persian version called “dami gojeh firangi” is made with diced potatoes and turmeric in addition to crushed fresh tomatoes. Turkey’s iconic dish of tomato pilaf is often made with medium or coarse bulgur instead of rice. And then there’s the recipe in Vefa Alexiadis’ “Greek Cooking Kitchen” that uses fresh tomatoes and ketchup, clearly an Americanized version.   

For Aylin Edelman, who grew up in Izmir on Turkey’s western coast, it’s her favorite comfort food. Her mother uses grated fresh tomatoes cooked oil to intensify their flavor before adding the rice.

“It’s a dish that brings back childhood memories of hot summers with juicy tomatoes grown under the Aegean sun. Whenever I go back to Turkey, this is the dish I ask my mother to make.” 

Ninety-year-old Paulette Nehama also has fond memories of the dish they called “summer rice” in her childhood in Volos, Greece. 

“It was most often served cold or at room temperature in late spring, summer and early fall. although my family ate it year-round.”   

In my family, too, tomato rice was always in season, warm in winter but cold or room temperature the rest of the year, making it perfect for summer cookouts and picnics. It’s a dish that makes me feel connected to my family’s Sephardic heritage, with both of my father’s parents coming from the Ottoman Empire. 

Recently I decided to try making an updated version of the dish incorporating roasted tomatoes because I so love them, along with onions and roasted garlic. Instead of the tomato sauce of my childhood, I use tomato paste cooked a bit for richer flavor. I also added cardamom, a popular ingredient in many rice dishes, and thyme for a more complex flavor. In fact, it has so much flavor, I recommend making it with water instead of broth so you can really taste the tomatoes and other ingredients. 

As good as this dish is freshly made, it is delicious leftover and will last in the refrigerator for five or six days, so make the full recipe even if you’re not serving eight people.