Cooked up my version of Ratatouille , with pasta and a homemade meat sauce.

Edited May 30, 20197 yr by kevvy

8 hours ago, CLW said:

10 hours ago, grollies said:

My missus reckons you can get yellow lentils anywhere. The Thais use them for making Thai sweets (puddings)?

Aren't those split and hulled mung beans?

Yep, you're quite right, as my missus will find out tomorrow when she comes back from the shop with mung beans and tells me they're 'big green lentils'. ????.....until they sprout into beansprouts.....which she didn't realise either.....sorry for the wrong info.

 

BUT, she does great mushrooms in garlic, soy, oyster sauce and sweet basil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 5/30/2019 at 1:11 AM, tutsiwarrior said:

lentils are great when ye can find them...I've only been able to find them recently at the indian grocery shop at the Rembrandt Hotel...found some once many years ago at foodland soi 5 but then later nothing...always preferred the green/brown ones as the red ones are only good in a dal...usually use split mung beans for that available everywhere...cooks up the same way...

 

Regular brown, large whole dry lentils are pretty regularly available in 500g bags at Foodland Soi 5 in BKK. They come from the same U.S. supplier and brand that provides their very similar looking 500g bags of dry pinto beans. Both on the shelf directly opposite the freezer section where peanuts and grains and such are located.

 

I just cooked a bag of the lentils last week for a dish of Indian dal, and they came out super...  I boil/cook those lentils, and other similar varieties, in my electric rice cooker, and just leave the lid slightly ajar so they don't overflow when boiling.... By leaving the lid slightly ajar, they don't boil over. And in the rice cooker, they don't take long to cook at all.

 

On 5/30/2019 at 1:04 PM, CLW said:

By the way, Big C for example has canned brown lentils from Italian brand.
Saves you the hour-long cooking and can also be used to make some lentils salad quickly.
Pressure cooker is good investment in case one likes to eat a lot of pulses.
Works also great for the tough beef here.

 

Two reasons I like to cook my own from the dry variety are:

1. the dry variety you cook yourself are considerably less expensive for the same portion.

2. when you cook yourself from dry, you can avoid the added salt that the canned varieties tend to add.

 

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Regular brown, large whole dry lentils are pretty regularly available in 500g bags at Foodland Soi 5 in BKK. They come from the same U.S. supplier and brand that provides their very similar looking 500g bags of dry pinto beans. Both on the shelf directly opposite the freezer section where peanuts and grains and such are located.

 

I just cooked a bag of the lentils last week for a dish of Indian dal, and they came out super...  I boil/cook those lentils, and other similar varieties, in my electric rice cooker, and just leave the lid slightly ajar so they don't overflow when boiling.... By leaving the lid slightly ajar, they don't boil over. And in the rice cooker, they don't take long to cook at all.

 

 

last time I was at foodland a couple of years ago I found the pinto beans easy enough in the location you describe but no lentils so I sorta gave up (some falang probably got there before me and grabbed them all)...you're able to cook the brown/green lentils in the rice cooker with no soaking? in the past in the US they always needed a bit of a soak, a couple of hrs would do, overnight not necessary...in those days I'd just do a big stove top pot with onions, garlic, celery and carrots with a ham hock, eat with a nice crusty sourdough, only been interested in dal, curries and etc in the past few years...

 

now that we no longer can get income affidavits from the embassy who knows when I'll get there next...maybe mail order from a galaxy far far away...

 

 

7 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

now that we no longer can get income affidavits from the embassy who knows when I'll get there next...maybe mail order from a galaxy far far away...

Me too.  I used to leave home to get to Foodland soi 5 at around 0530, about a 220 kilometer drive.  I'd park on the second floor of Foodland, shop and have breakfast.  I'd then drive to All Seasons on wireless road and oark e=and continue shopping at Tops.  I'd then hobble to the Embassy.  When finished I'd hobble back and get a sandwich at subway and then head to Nakhon Sawan to do the yearly extension.  I missed the traffic on the way in and out and would get to Nakhon Sawan at around 1200 and finish shopping at Makro and get to immigration when they opened at 1300.  No more Income Affidavit so no more trips to Bangkok.   This year will be fun trying to get the small BBL branch in Takhli to write the required letter showing monthly FFT transfers for the last 12 months. My extension is not due ubtil NOvember so maybe by then BBL will have a form letter on their server.

1 hour ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

last time I was at foodland a couple of years ago I found the pinto beans easy enough in the location you describe but no lentils so I sorta gave up (some falang probably got there before me and grabbed them all)...you're able to cook the brown/green lentils in the rice cooker with no soaking? in the past in the US they always needed a bit of a soak, a couple of hrs would do, overnight not necessary...in those days I'd just do a big stove top pot with onions, garlic, celery and carrots with a ham hock, eat with a nice crusty sourdough, only been interested in dal, curries and etc in the past few years...

 

now that we no longer can get income affidavits from the embassy who knows when I'll get there next...maybe mail order from a galaxy far far away...

 

Not that it's likely to help you any, but I've seen the same U.S. brand of both bagged dry lentils and pintos at both Foodlands and Villa markets in BKK....

 

As for soaking, yes, I'm sure you could... But I haven't been doing that, and instead, just rinsing to clean them and then pop into the rice cooker just like they were rice...except for leaving the lid ajar.... The whole lentils cook up pretty quickly...and the split dal from the Indian markets cook up even quicker...

 

I cook one whole bag in my electric rice cooker, which I believe is the 8 cup size... And fill it full with water, along with the bag of lentils.... Once boiling with the lid ajar, stir periodically just to mix the pot.

 

 

 

My white bread came out of the breadmaker looking nice this morning.

 

Here's the lentils package/brand I was referring to above...seen both at Foodland and Villa.... CookQwik 69b for a 1 lbs bag.

 

Edited May 31, 20197 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

Snack-time is, homemade yogurt, diced fresh mango and longan honey.

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Snack-time is, homemade yogurt, diced fresh mango and longan honey.

Very tasty.
Can you tell me how  you make your homemade yogurt?

Just now, BertBert said:

Very tasty.
Can you tell me how  you make your homemade yogurt?

I buy a big pot of Yolida yogurt (50bht), then when it gets near the bottom, top up with pasteurised milk, a quick stir, and leave out overnight. Next morning the new 'full' pot of yogurt goes back in the fridge. No need to clean or add anything else, just cover to keep the creatures out.

Usually works for two months, maybe three, before something goes wrong, then I just go out and buy a new pot.

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

Snack-time is, homemade yogurt, diced fresh mango and longan honey.

Me too mate and thanks for the yoghurt recipe on the other thread. It's great with mango. I forgo the honey.

 

Your bread looked fantastic, our oven packed-in last year, no homemade bread since ????

 

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Here's the lentils package/brand I was referring to above...seen both at Foodland and Villa.... CookQwik 69b for a 1 lbs bag.

 

 

yeah, looks like the same brand as the pintos I got at foodland and the green split peas that I mistook to be lentils as I described before...made some passable refried frijoles outta the pintos...OK with homade flour tortillas...mash up the beans with a potato masher...

 

 

Anyway, my poor missus drove a 60km round trip and came back with split soybeans. Going to give them a go tonight with chicken dopiaza. Pics to follow.

7 minutes ago, tutsiwarrior said:

 

yeah, looks like the same brand as the pintos I got at foodland and the green split peas that I mistook to be lentils as I described before...made some passable refried frijoles outta the pintos...OK with homade flour tortillas...mash up the beans with a potato masher...

 

Indeed, I buy both their bags of lentils and pintos...and make nice batches of dal and frijoles with each, respectively...

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Indeed, I buy both their bags of lentils and pintos...and make nice batches of dal and frijoles with each, respectively...

What are frijoles?

2 minutes ago, grollies said:

What are frijoles?

 

Mexican refried pinto beans... a staple of Mexican / Tex-Mex food....

 

Edited May 31, 20197 yr by TallGuyJohninBKK

 
Mexican refried pinto beans... a staple of Mexican / Tex-Mex food....
 

Not to be argumentative, but frijoles is just Spanish for beans isn’t it?

My mom used to cook pintos and ham-hocks with big yankee-style dumplings.

Big scoop of chopped onion on top with some vinegar and Tabasco...that right there was some good sheeeat!

40 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Not to be argumentative, but frijoles is just Spanish for beans isn’t it?

 

 

Mexican refried beans are commonly referred to just by the term "frijoles," which is the Spanish word for beans...

 

To be more precise, the exact Spanish language term for refried, mashed (typically) pinto beans would be "frijoles refritos."  Although there's also "frijoles negros" made from black beans, and "frijoles de la Olla," which is more of a Mexican bean stew.

 

10 hours ago, mogandave said:

Not to be argumentative, but frijoles is just Spanish for beans isn’t it?

i'm adding that that the frijoles refrito are neither fried nor refried.

13 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

yum... yum...

On 5/31/2019 at 11:06 AM, BritManToo said:

I buy a big pot of Yolida yogurt (50bht), then when it gets near the bottom, top up with pasteurised milk, a quick stir, and leave out overnight. Next morning the new 'full' pot of yogurt goes back in the fridge. No need to clean or add anything else, just cover to keep the creatures out.

Usually works for two months, maybe three, before something goes wrong, then I just go out and buy a new pot.

Thank you very much

Not all that exciting as not much in the fridge for dinner this evening.

Roast pork steak with baked potato, fried bell pepper and onion gravy.

Had the new “Double Down” at KFC, not bad...

I also looked in the fridge to see what I had and cleaned out the vegetable bin, a kilo of tatties, some eggplants, a kilo of tomatoes and some greens that I got from tescos and a couple of cans of borlotti beans that I got from makro about 2 months ago...onoins and garlic then add the peeled toms with cumin and paprika and a half tsp of flaked red chile (gotta watch that stuff), simmer and mash up then add the diced tots, cover with broth and simmer...drain and rinse the canned beans then chop the eggplant, toss in the beans and simmer then toss in the eggplant and simmer until just softened...wash and chop the greens then add and turn off the heat, just want it to wilt...

 

the greens were a bad choice but all them thai greens look the same, these were too bitter...so just removed them and kept on rockin'...had made some bread and good with the remaining mixture...

 

 

10 hours ago, tutsiwarrior said:

I also looked in the fridge to see what I had and cleaned out the vegetable bin, a kilo of tatties, some eggplants, a kilo of tomatoes and some greens that I got from tescos and a couple of cans of borlotti beans that I got from makro about 2 months ago...onoins and garlic then add the peeled toms with cumin and paprika and a half tsp of flaked red chile (gotta watch that stuff), simmer and mash up then add the diced tots, cover with broth and simmer...drain and rinse the canned beans then chop the eggplant, toss in the beans and simmer then toss in the eggplant and simmer until just softened...wash and chop the greens then add and turn off the heat, just want it to wilt...

 

the greens were a bad choice but all them thai greens look the same, these were too bitter...so just removed them and kept on rockin'...had made some bread and good with the remaining mixture...

 

 

sounds yummy. I too buy the borlotti beans from makro and I put them into my food processor with black olives for a great Mexican sauce . 

I love cooking , and my wife loves eating ...a perfect match ..

Last night I cooked salmon , i cooked the skin first in a hot pan, then put the pan into a 170c oven for 2 minutes .. Then take it out for 2 minutes , back in again and take out again . The salmon comes out so moist and soft . I made a puree of peas with a jell sauce and the made cauliflower puree with cream cheese . Added some fresh beetroot .