ND Food & Travel Posts

Meals

Coconut Jammy Anda Masala

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPLpAN4fxtM&ab_channel=rootedinspice

I was able to make everything at once and then save half plus two of the eggs for later. The first day I had it with fresh chapati from Patel Bros, second day with rice.

Cookies & Cream Babka

https://mikebakesnyc.com/cookies-n-cream-babka/

What if chocolate babka but with Oreos? Used vanilla extract. One issue that I didn't anticipate is that when you cut the log into two parts to make braids, you want the filling to be flat and sticky enough to keep the layers together, but for me these tried to open up like a book/accordion. So Oreos are not great for pastry construction.

This is a great example of when to go ahead and bake something complicated: when you could get a babka or other bakery item from the store, but no one is going to sell you an Oreo babka.

Escalope Salmon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuBUEVDw9IU&ab_channel=ANTI-CHEF

Right after I saw fish stock at the store, fish broth popped up on the Anti-Chef channel! I know stock and broth are not the same, but that's how I do the recipe without fish heads.
Dishes on the channel usually are often too complex or too large (like a whole duck) for me to replicate for a one-off meal, but this looked right.
My variables: didn't dry-fry the salmon, using apple vinegar in place of the alcohol.

Mie Gacoan / Mie Setan

Recipe in Bahasa Indonesia - video description includes English text

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Vqb-cRn4s&ab_channel=DevinaHermawan

This noodle restaurant was across the street from me in Surabaya and turns out to be a national favorite (local video short, tourist video) . There's even an ASMR mukbang with a million views.

Fresh wonton noodles and Thai chili were available at the Asian grocery. In the recipe video it's a meal prep recipe with probably palm or peanut oil. I used leftover ground bison, far fewer chilis, and a limited amount of Zero Acre's sugarcane oil. Initially I had tortilla chip strips and had to order wonton strips. I was a little surprised to discover that the "Setan" is a reference to the fiery devil and not the vegan protein.

Steak Diane

https://www.sipandfeast.com/steak-diane/

This is another YouTube recipe! I think the first from the Sip and Feast Channel that makes it into my recipe posts. Made mine with ribeye (I dunno what recipe I thought I was getting this for) and apple cider vinegar.

Turkish Eggs / Cilbir

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/277194/turkish-eggs-cilbir/

Multiple components and poached eggs so it feels fancy, comes together pretty basic and tasty.

Fails

Masala Mac and Cheese

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5Rezeuuup1/?igsh=bWxxdTJiMmQzZHU4

I'm not sure the proportions are right here.

Salmon Quinoa Bake

https://www.crumbtopbaking.com/fiesta-quinoa-salmon-bake/

My variables: I used a bell pepper as my mixed vegetables, crushed tomatoes in place of diced, and cotija cheese. This was good initially, but not as leftovers.

Asides

I tried Bored Cow milk. I heard about the Brooklyn-based company through Anne's Cafe, a newsletter of NYC oddities and interviews. The milk uses a cultivated whey protein making it animal-free, lactose-free, milk. I haven't tried soy/almond milk, so I can just say this was convincingly milky in cereal, made maybe a little too thick pancake batter?

Dom's and Foxtrot, two deluxe grocery store brands based in Chicago, closed suddenly. Dom's was the place where I could find Bored Milk, fish stock, chocolate chip pretzel-bit cookies, and Foxtrot would have Milk Bar ice cream, burek, dan dan sauce. Both places had a coffee shop culture and are retroactively being adopted by "third place" discourse. The details of this are somewhat confusing, especially since new locations were planned and the companies had merged 6 months ago.  https://www.chicagobusiness.com/retail/doms-foxtrot-closing-stores

Meanwhile, Trader Joe's is challenging the NLRB in court. The emerging union (Trader Joe's United) has never called for a boycott, but I have been shopping there less. A location further north of me has begun forming a union, so I should plan a trip. In the meantime I ordered a Chicago-themed tote from the union website.

Natto: I remember happily eating this for breakfast on a Japan trip - maybe twice? - but it isn't something I would find at a restaurant. In the present, eating it from the container with no egg or rice is a challenge. Though it's fair to talk about it as a probiotic, some grandiose health claims were included in the packaging.

Illustrated guide to types of Malaysian cakes: https://www.reddit.com/r/MalaysianFood/comments/1c23ab7/whats_your_favourite_kuih/