I’m baking less these days but was thinking that over the years I baked many delicious breads here. One thing I learned about baking bread is that all recipes for bread are not accurate. I know almost every time I follow a bread recipe I always have to make adjustments. Every brand of flour is ground different and produces different results. Also when you measure some people pack more flour into a cup than other people. There are other factors that also produce different results such as altitude, humidity, different ovens. The good news is that once you make your first really nice bread you almost don’t need a recipe for bread because you will learn quick what the dough should feel like. He are the breads. My apologies in advance if the recipe isn’t 100% accurate because of different brands of flour or other factors.
Up top is a beautiful classic boule bread.
Next one is dukkah feta cheese and barberry bread.
We do take out food during the coronavirus pandemic because experts say that take out is safer than dining in. All restaurants are struggling these days and there is little to do safely so we do take out as much as possible.
One take out we did was from Banh Mi Bistro in North Phoenix. They are a small Vietnamese Eatery that offers most of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho.
Today I got the curry chicken with rice and my husband got the noodle bowl with grilled pork and shrimp. The food is always delicious, prices are very low and portions are very large. Not all but many of the meals can be two meals for some people. The owners are also very nice all the time. This is one of our regular spots. My dogs always love sharing the food from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
Next take out was from La Piazza Al Forno in Old Town Glendale. They specialize in serving certified Neapolitan Pizzas. They also offer Roman Style Pizzas, American pizzas, Italian food and MORE!
Today we got the Tavola Mista (meats and cheeses, vegetables and more plate) an Italian Stallion Pizza (house made mozzarella, San Marzano Tomatoes, sausage, pepperoni, prosciutto di parma sopressata) and a Bianco pizza (house made mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, fresh basil, Sicilian oregano and extra virgin olive oil) with added Calabrian peppers. Everything was delicious and we shared some with the dogs.
I haven’t been to Little Saigon in Old Town Glendale in a long time. It’s a charming little Vietnamese restaurant that offers a long menu of many different Vietnamese foods. Decided to do take out there. The owners are family with the Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix.
We tried some things that we haven’t tried here before. We started with the beef wrapped in grape leaves. It’s something like Vietnamese fajitas. You take a grape leaf that is stuffed with beef. You add a variety of vegetables, fresh herbs shallots, peanuts and rice noodles. You stuff them in a rice paper and wrap with lettuce and dip it in fish sauce.
They are very tasty……lots of good flavors here! It’s a treat!
For my main I had the Ga Xao Xa Ot (spicy chicken onions vegetables in lemon grass soy fish sauce. The dark meat boneless chicken was tender and tasty. The sauce was funky and kind of sweet. It was different but good to me. I never had anything that tasted like this before. But it wasn’t too spicy…just mild with slight heat. My husband enjoyed the tom xao thap cam cay (spicy shrimp stir fry with vegetables). It was good but also mild heat. My dogs enjoyed the food from Little Saigon too!
It’s restaurant week so we thought we’d try Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale because they were offering fresh truffles.
A few things were forgotten (including the truffles) but the mains were very good. I had an excellent Faroe Island Salmon. It was cooked to perfection. It came with carrots, roasted celery root, a salad of purslane and crispy sun chokes with truffle vinaigrette and this amazing barigoule (artichoke) sauce. My husband enjoyed the Prime Flat Iron Steak. It had this special black pepper crust, It was delicious and came with lots of seasoned fries and a complex sauce. My dogs sure enjoyed some meat scraps from Zinc Bistro.
P.S. my husband called to let them know they forgot the truffles so they would remove the truffles from our bill. They were extra generous and removed my whole meal from the check.
We decided that we could squeeze one more restaurant in. Our last take out of the week was from Squid Ink Sushi in Peoria/#UpperWestSide.
I haven’t tried their sushi yet but I did notice that they offer many dishes besides sushi that sound interesting. I wanted to try their Scottish Salmon because Scottish Salmon isn’t found anywhere in the Upper West Side. The salmon was prepared reasonably well and came with a variety of vegetables, LOTS of sliced avocado and tasty sushi rice. I think it’s a great find to find Scottish Salmon like this for only around $15.00. My husband tried the Beef Yakisobsa. It was also reasonably well prepared. It was made with very tender filet mignon and also came with a nice assortment of vegetables and Asian flavored soba noodles. As per usual my dogs couldn’t wait to try some.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”
That was week 27 of take out during the coronavirus pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ.
The restaurants we did take out from this week –
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Bistro – North Phoenix
La Piazza Al Forno – Old Town Glendale
Little Saigon – Old Town Glendale
Zinc Bistro – Scottsdale
Squid Ink Sushi – Peoria/#UpperWestSide
Every THING is subject to change and we HOPE it DOES CHANGE for the better.
Fry’s had a buy one get one free sale on ground turkey and I had two heads of cabbage. I was thinking cabbage rolls…then I thought maybe they’d come out if I just made them in a bundt pan. The recipe might come out slightly better if you can find a very large head of cabbage. I had two small heads that have smaller leaves so I used around one and a half small cabbage heads..I don’t know if one large cabbage head is enough. Your cabbage bundt roll will taste better if you use left over rice that you made from stewing a chicken with some vegetables but many rice dishes will work here. I recommend to make this the day before you are serving it because it needs to chill over night and set. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. For me this makes 8 portions that I would serve with vegetables or a salad.
Ingredients for around eight servings
2 heads cabbage – remove cores (I used around one and half small heads the rest I just roasted till crispy in the oven with a little oil salt and pepper)
splash vinegar – (I used rice wine vinegar but my next choice would be apple cider vinegar)
1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon vegetable soup base (instead of salt in the meat. Adds more flavors and cuts salt content a little)
6 garlic cloves – ground to paste
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons Aleppo pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 pounds ground turkey (93%)
1/2 medium onion – fine chopped or minced
1/2 cup parsley leaves – chopped
3 eggs – slightly beaten
3 cups rice – (any kind of leftover rice but preferably from a stewed chicken dish)
neutral non stick spray
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion – fine chopped or minced
3 small Calabrian chili peppers – fine chopped (or to taste any hot pepper you like)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
14 oz crushed Italian tomatoes
3/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
Directions
In a big sauce pot add the cabbage leaves. Cover with water. Add a splash of vinegar and a tablespoon of sea salt. Boil cabbage leaves for 15 minutes. Drain cabbage leaves. Put them to the side and let them cool a little.
In a BIG mixing bowl add the soup base, garlic, 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, Aleppo pepper, paprikas, ground coriander, ground turkey, 1/2 minced onion, parsley, eggs and rice. Mix well.
Spray a bundt pan with non stick spray.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Cover pan well with cabbage leaves and place leaves in a way so that they will fold over the meat.
Add more cabbage leaves and fill with meat mixture.
Cover with more cabbage leaves.
Spray some aluminum foil with non stick spray and cover the pan tight and squish the cabbage down so you don’t have big spots that are empty.
This is very full so you need a pan under it so you don’t get spills in your oven.
This goes in a preheated 350 degree oven on the middle rack for ninety minutes.
While the Cabbage Bundt Roll its cooking make the sweet and sour tomato sauce.
Heat up 2 Tablespoons of olive oil bon medium high heat. Add the remaining onions, hot pepper, tomato paste, sea salt, ground black pepper. Cook til onions are transparent. Add crushed tomatoes, water, balsamic vinegar and honey. It’s done. Take off heat and let cool and then refrigerate.
The cabbage bundt roll also needs to cool on the counter and get refrigerated over night so it can set. Squish the top down carefully because you want the bottom cabbage to lie flat as it cools and sets.
The next day heat them together. (whole or in sliced portions…I do sliced portions)
Bundt Turkey Cabbage Roll With Sweet And Sour Tomato Sauce
The Forking Truth is that It seems like my local Costco (a paid membership grocery/warehouse) in Phoenix Arizona doesn’t care about the pandemic anymore. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am NOT talking about shopping at Fry’s or Safeway or any of the other local supermarkets. Shopping at regular places is different because they don’t pay people to stand at the entrance to check for masks. I am only taking about my visit to Costco because they are different. They are a paid membership grocery/warehouse that PAYS people to check for membership and for entering the store wearing masks. Last week many people entered my local Costco and didn’t wear masks and some people wore masks improperly. Costco used to have the highest standards. They’ve installed plexiglass walls between the cashiers and customers.
They used to sanitize the shopping carts. They used to only let in a certain amount of people at a time.
They used to have 6 foot spaces marked on the floors. Costco pays employees to check people entering for membership cards and also for wearing masks.
It seem like things have changed. I saw all this on my last shopping visit last week. I tried to block out part of the customers faces for privacy.
The Forking Truth is that It seems like my local Costco stopped caring about the coronavirus pandemic. They pay people out of our membership dues for people at the door to screen for mask. They can’t control the people who don’t care about using their mask correctly but they should control the amount of people they let in that don’t wear masks. They can and help stop the spread and should. I also note that I don’t know if all Costco locations are similar. I am only talking about my local Costco in North Phoenix AZ.
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
Here are the most delicious $5. or less foods from restaurants around north Phoenix that I have tasted in no particular order.
Pictured above is the $3.00 delicious Beetroot Salad from a little casual restaurant called Skewers Mediterranean Grill in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide . Next is their fresh herby delicious $3.00 tabouli.
My next favorite is the $3.00 Eggplant salad pictured below on the right. But everything is tasty. They also offer hummus and eggplant dip at similar prices.
All these reasonably priced goodies come from the small casual Skewers Mediterranean Grill in Glendale/Arrowhead/#upperWestSide.
Also in Glendale is Taco Fusion. They offer very good tacos on hand made tortillas. The tacos are smaller sized but are bigger than street tacos and are stuffed generously. They make a variety of house made sauces. If you can do spicy ask for the interesting flavorful but very (FORKING) hot black salsa. Get the regular salsa, the pico and the pineapple salsa if they have them. Our favorite tacos here are the mild chicken habanero (with pineapple salsa), carne asada, jaas, Lorenzo, fish (ask for corn tortilla here) and my husband likes the shrimp and barbacoa. We also like both beans they offer. Depending on what tacos you pick you might be able to get two tacos for around $5.00.
Below are 7 mostly different tacos and a container of black beans.
Wraps ‘N’ Curry is located in North Phoenix. They offer a $2.99 Naan Menu.
I’ve had their naan on a wrap sandwich but more recently I did try the stuffed chicken naan ($2.99 on the appetizer part of the menu). It was stuffed with boneless chicken breast, cilantro and Indian spices. It was different and also very tasty.
On my last visit we tried the Onion Kulcha $2.99.
This was very tasty!
I’ll try another one next time.
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix really kills it with the $5.00 or less food and offers 9 tasty options. My favorite $5 meal is the chicken and cabbage salad.
It’s a good size for me and has a good amount of deliciously seasoned chicken in it. I also like the tasty $4 chicken potstickers.
Here is a better picture of the potstickers.
My other favorite salad is the $5. lotus root salad. (lower right)
I love the refreshing flavors in it. It comes with shrimp but I gave up shrimp a long time back and I don’t eat shrimp. I already gave the shrimp to either my husband or dogs. Their papaya salad is also good. I added that picture because I didn’t remove the shrimp yet.
This is a collection of the most delicious $5. or less food that I have tasted in North Phoenix AZ.
Experts say that take out is a safer health option during the pandemic than dining in so we do take out. This week we did take out from Tarbell’s The Tavern in Phoenix. This restaurant is by chef Mark Tarbell. He is a highly decorated multi award winning chef and wine expert. The tavern offers elevated bar foods in a rock n roll man cave atmosphere. They offer the safest option curbside pick up. We took out the seared salmon, Scotch beef, a salad and coconut cream pie.
WOW! This salmon is really great! It’s so silky. Very few restaurants prepare salmon this well. This one is very different with sides of tomato broth and AZ honey mustard. It’s delicious! The curry potato cake is a really nice treat. It taste like it came from an Indian restaurant. I did taste the Scotch beef. WOW great flavors there and it was made with good wine too! The coconut cream pie was also very good. I think they accidentally gave me extra. It’s a large portion and we are getting 4 servings out of it but it very rich and delicious with this chocolate surprise coated crust. Treated the dogs so some salmon from Tarbell’s.
We also did take out from CHZBURGR in Glendale. They also are still offering the safest option that is curbside pick up. They serve the greatest cheeseburgers and fried chicken sandwiches in town. We ordered the crispy chicken thigh sandwich with pickled jalapeños. We also ordered a triple cheeseburger with tater tots.
I thought my sandwich was a little different today but everything still was delicious. My dogs were happy to help me with the chicken sandwich.
We love Taco Fusion in Glendale. They serve the best tacos closest to me. They serve Sonoran Mesquite Style Tacos that are slightly bigger than street size tacos on hand made tortillas that really taste good.
My favorite taco is the chicken mild habanero taco. I think I like it best on a flour tortilla with pineapple salsa (if they have it). I also like the fish taco and the carne asada. (I don’t like carne asada at most places but it’s always tender and flavorful here) My husband likes all the beef tacos and especially likes the shrimp taco here. They opened just before the pandemic and used to offer a salsa bar packed with many delicious salsas…Now they cut it down to a few salsas a day and you have to ask for them. My dogs are always excited to try some.
Last take out of the week was from Fabio On Fire in Peoria/#UpperWestSide. This is a place for Italian Food, Neapolitan Pizzas, fresh baked goods and the best gelato maybe on earth. They offer curbside pick up here.
We got the ravioli ai funghi porcini, strawberry gorgonzola salad, and gnocchi sorrentina. Everything was delicious. Have different dog friendly leftovers for my dogs.
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food!”
Week 26 restaurants we did take out from –
Tarbell’s The Tavern – Phoenix
CHZBURGR – Glendale
Taco Fusion – Glendale
Fabio On Fire – Peoria/#UpperWestSide
Everything is subject to change and we hope it does change for the better.
The last time I made a delicious butternut squash I did it two ways that was a mixture of pan seared and mashed that we really enjoyed. I did it in a southwest style that I winged and didn’t publish yet. So I did a similar recipe but with an Italian kind of twist that also came out really delicious. My guess is that this makes around six servings but my idea of serving size might differ from your idea oof serving size. It makes what you see in the picture. My picture is of the dish cold and did look better all melty but I did that in sections and didn’t think it would look good that way….I was wrong I guess….
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 red onion – slice extra thin on a mandolin
1 cup white vinegar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 bay leaf
2 lbs butternut squash – peeled, seeds removed, cut in 1 inch cubes
2 oz sweet butter
big pinch sea salt
big pinch ground black pepper
big pinch dried rosemary
big pinch dried thyme
big pinch granulated garlic
splash sherry vinegar
2 oz sweet butter (this is for whipped squash)
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 dried hot pepper crumbled (I used a Calabrian peri peri pepper)
a few grates fresh nutmeg
4 oz walnut halves (this is really more than you need I discovered afterwards..use rest for salads or snacks)
1 Tablespoon sugar ( I used turbinado…any sugar will be fine)
1 Tablespoon oil (I used walnut oil but would use canola in a pinch)
2 dried hot peppers or to taste (I used two Calabrian peri peri peppers)
big pinch sea salt
1-2 oz gorgonzola cheese – crumbled – to taste
8 amarena cherries in syrup cut in half (plus around 1/4 cup of the syrup to add on just before serving…..If you aren’t using amarena cherries then a little drizzle of honey or date syrup would be good) If I was substituting cherries I’d use golden raisins or chopped dates)
garnish with a little fresh chopped thyme or rosemary
Directions
Put a sauce pot on medium high with the vinegar, kosher salt, bay leaf and 2 Tablespoons of sugar. Bring to boil and when it’s dissolved you can pour it over the onion and let it sit to the side. (This is best if down the day before) Leave on counter till it gets to room temperature and then refrigerate.
Melt two ounces of butter in a big fry pan on medium high heat with big pinches of sea salt, black pepper, rosemary, thyme, granulated garlic and a splash of sherry vinegar. Add squash and brown it up a big
Set oven to 350 F.
Get out sheet pans. You squash might not be cooked all the way so put the squash on sheet pans on top rack for about ten minutes or until cooked though and then remove from oven.
Make seasoned walnuts. Set oven to 250 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon oil, 2 dried crumbled hot peppers, and a big pinch of salt. Mix well and add walnuts and mix well. Spread out the walnuts on a sheet pan. Put them in the oven on a middle rack till fragrant. (about 10 minutes) leave on counter to cool.
Half the butternut squash gets whipped with 2 oz butter, I dried hot pepper, a few grates nutmeg and three tablespoons heavy cream. Whip or mash well.
Everything is done so just put together to serve.
Put the mashed or whipped butternut squash on a plate for in a bowl. Surround the squash with the seared squash. Top with pickled onions, amarena cherries, spiced walnuts, gorgonzola cheese and a small amount of fresh thyme or rosemary and the cherry syrup (not pictured because I figured this out after I snapped picture).
Butternut Squash Two Ways with Spiced Walnuts, Pickled Onions, Amarena Cherries and Gorganzola Cheese
It’s kind of fun to try different flavors of potato chips. A few are really great. Some are beyond terrible and most fall in-between. I really enjoyed the regular Lay’s Seaweed Chips from Taiwan so I thought the Spicy Roasted Seaweed Chips could be another winner.
The bag is small and only weighs around one and a half ounces.
Here’s the back of the bag.
Here are the ingredients.
There are many ingredients and these chips also are made with milk and fish.
I open the bag and take a whiff.
These chips smell strange. Kind of like something fried like pastry and tea…..
Now I am afraid to taste them……
I go and do the duty not expecting much.
PHEW!
They don’t taste as bad as they smell.
I eat a chip the way I’d normally eat a chip.
They are small chips with a powdery surface. They have a pleasant crunch to them. A slight sweetness, but more salty than sweet and more than anything they have a medium heat to them that builds a little. You do taste seaweed but it isn’t the dominate flavors.
I try to eat a chip very slow to taste it differently.
YUK…..can taste the fish this way and something that taste like burnt tea….
WOW they aren’t horrible if you just eat them but they aren’t great either.
They aren’t even as close to as good as the regular Lay’s Seaweed flavor is.
Not the best….but not the worst either
Don’t eat slow. You need to munch them down to skip over some of the flavors.
I got the idea to make Asian Style Vegetables. I thought they’d be healthier with the sauce on the side. That way I don’t use as much sauce. That means less fat, sugar and salt. The vegetables are very easy to prepare. Just set your oven to 500 degrees F. Spread out a single layer of the same kind of vegetable on a baking sheet spray with neutral or peanut oil. Most vegetables go on the middle rack. Depending on the vegetable and size of cut they usually take either 10 or 20 minutes. Vegetables I used were cauliflower, shishito peppers, celery, shallot and a red bell pepper. You can use whatever vegetables you like.
1/2 teaspoon granulated ginger (you can substitute about an inch of fresh grated ginger……I didn’t have)
1 Tablespoon chili paste (or to taste..the different brands taste different)
2 Tablespoons honey
pinch allspice
pinch ground star anise
hot pepper flakes to taste
neutral or peanut oil I think I used around a quarter cup of oil (for spraying vegetables)
cauliflower – cut in florets
3 shallots – cut in slices
8 oz shishito peppers – trim off stems
4 stalks celery – cut on diagonal around one inch pieces
1 red bell pepper cut in strips
2 Tablespoons scallions – for finishing
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds – for finishing
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro – for finishing
sea salt – to taste
ground black pepper – to taste
Directions
Set oven to 500 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl mix together the shaohsing wine, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame paste, black vinegar, hoisin, ginger, chili paste, honey, peanut butter, allspice, star anise, and hot pepper flakes. Set to the side and use when ready.
Each kind of vegetable that you are using gets done at a different time. but they all get sprayed with oil and go on their own baking sheet. Your results might differ from mine.
Cauliflower I put in the middle racks. Mine took 20 minutes. Celery took close to 20 minutes to but I cooked my celery on the low rack.
My shishitos, bell peppers and shallots got done pretty fast. Around ten minutes at 500 degrees F. I cooked them on my lower rack of the oven.
Season vegetables with fresh crushed sea salt and ground black pepper.
Serve with sauce and finish with scallions, sesame seeds and cilantro.
