Tasty consolation prizes
Aug. 28th, 2021 07:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lucymonsterAKA every gustatory itch I want to scratch right now is either a FAS risk or a listeriosis risk so I'm having fun with substitutions!
- Bitter lemon soda tastes nothing at all like gin and tonic, but when served in a really nice glass with a garnish, it does similar emotional (if not intoxicatory) work. 2 cups water to 1/4 cup sugar to 2 lemons, sliced up, skin and pith included. ~15 minutes at a simmer, cooled and watered down with sparkling water. I like it so much better than too-sweet storebought fizzy drink that it's in danger of becoming a staple.
- Most cooked sushi is a bit disappointing when what I really want is raw salmon, but tamago and avocado both turn out to have the right mild taste and creamy texture! I'm starting to get quite good at tamagoyaki, so I might start making sushi at home again, which I haven't done in forever.
- Camembert on pizza, oh my god. Pear and camembert is a delicious combination, but pears are out of season, so I've been making do with very thinly sliced apple. It works fine. Caramelised onions are another obvious addition - I haven't tried it yet, because I'm still a bit scared of onions after weeks of intense food aversions lol, but caramelisation makes them so much milder anyway that it's probably a good way to ease back into my normal palate.
- Sally Wise has been keeping me good company with her biscuits. I love how no-nonsense her baking style is - all short, simple techniques and instructions, minimal faffing about, feels very much like cooking with my dear departed Gran. Her book Sweet has three different recipes for fairly basic jam biscuits, which realistically could have survived being streamlined. But I so like the idea of being the kind of person who can always produce a plate of homemade jam biscuits for unexpected guests that I can empathise with her choice to sacrifice page economy for maximum jam aesthetic. (Not that I'm enjoying many guests, expected or otherwise, in the current climate. Maybe that's the ultimate substitution. If I bake enough biscuits, it'll sorta-kinda-maybe-almost feel like having a social life again!)
- Bitter lemon soda tastes nothing at all like gin and tonic, but when served in a really nice glass with a garnish, it does similar emotional (if not intoxicatory) work. 2 cups water to 1/4 cup sugar to 2 lemons, sliced up, skin and pith included. ~15 minutes at a simmer, cooled and watered down with sparkling water. I like it so much better than too-sweet storebought fizzy drink that it's in danger of becoming a staple.
- Most cooked sushi is a bit disappointing when what I really want is raw salmon, but tamago and avocado both turn out to have the right mild taste and creamy texture! I'm starting to get quite good at tamagoyaki, so I might start making sushi at home again, which I haven't done in forever.
- Camembert on pizza, oh my god. Pear and camembert is a delicious combination, but pears are out of season, so I've been making do with very thinly sliced apple. It works fine. Caramelised onions are another obvious addition - I haven't tried it yet, because I'm still a bit scared of onions after weeks of intense food aversions lol, but caramelisation makes them so much milder anyway that it's probably a good way to ease back into my normal palate.
- Sally Wise has been keeping me good company with her biscuits. I love how no-nonsense her baking style is - all short, simple techniques and instructions, minimal faffing about, feels very much like cooking with my dear departed Gran. Her book Sweet has three different recipes for fairly basic jam biscuits, which realistically could have survived being streamlined. But I so like the idea of being the kind of person who can always produce a plate of homemade jam biscuits for unexpected guests that I can empathise with her choice to sacrifice page economy for maximum jam aesthetic. (Not that I'm enjoying many guests, expected or otherwise, in the current climate. Maybe that's the ultimate substitution. If I bake enough biscuits, it'll sorta-kinda-maybe-almost feel like having a social life again!)
no subject
Date: 2021-08-28 01:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-28 11:22 am (UTC)On the other hand, I'm allowed and encouraged to exercise, which apparently my mum was quite strictly banned from. Medical progress giveth with one hand and taketh with the other.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-29 12:17 am (UTC)Yep, it's only the things you don't want to do, right?! I remember scrubbing the kitchen floor three times in one day in my third trimester and being like "what is wrong with me?" XD Nesting is real!
no subject
Date: 2021-08-28 11:05 am (UTC)I love sushi but the idea of making it at home is kinda scary haha, we tend to order in and cross our fingers that it's good— it often isn't. Avocado sushi and cream cheese ones are among my fave in the fresh-fish-free department!
Now I'm hungry, so I guess you did a good job of getting back at me for that cake vid last night 😂
no subject
Date: 2021-08-28 11:33 am (UTC)Ugh, disappointing sushi is the worst! I'm bracing myself for more regular disappointment once my house move comes off - Sydney has beautiful fresh fish, but we'll be going inland where the pickings are naturally a whole lot slimmer. As long as I can still find somewhere that serves salmon roe, I'll be happy. The little tiny whatsitcalled eggs are all well and good, but I'm obsessed with salmon roe sushi and even in this city it's not a staple on many menus.
And loool, sorry not sorry. That cake still haunts my appetite.