51 recipes down, 183 days to go
Saturday, November 28th.
Four recipes today. Whew!
Savory Ginger Green Onion Crepes + Miso and Turmeric Chickpea Scramble
The First Mess
I was actually planning on making these crepes and scramble on Tuesday morning. The reason I'm now making them 4 days later is that when I'd got down in the kitchen to make them, I realized I had missed the step in the recipe instructions that said, "allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes."
30 minutes. Holy moly! I was not waiting that long, I was already hungry from just working out. I thought the sitting had something to do with the consistency of the batter. Nope. I think it has to do with the marinating flavor. There was grated ginger in it.
I made the batter first thing this morning, and while it rested, I stretched my back. The relief I felt was short-lived, because I was back in the kitchen soon enough, and it was time to cook them. One at a time.
The first crepe was stubborn, and wouldn't spread out very much in the pan, no matter how ferociously I tilted and turned the pan. I added more water to the remaining batter.
The next crepe was still a tad too thick, not spreading out entirely in the pan either. I added more water.
The fourth crepe was perfect!
That was the halfway point; the batter made eight crepes total.
Despite the first couple being a little too thick, all of them turned out quite nicely. They flipped and came off the pan easily. Not a single bit got stuck. Even when I forgot to spray canola oil on the pan before cooking one. That was certainly nice after the spectacular failure of a crepe recipe I had tried making before this challenge.
I put the crepes on a baking sheet to keep warm in the oven at 275 degrees F, while I made the scramble. Per her advice.
The crepes had taken a minute or two per side, so I'd already sliced the green onions, minced the garlic clove, and mashed the chickpeas. It was easy sailing from there. In a matter of minutes it was done.
Then was a bit of tidying up, taking the crepes out of the oven, and making a plate for a picture. Holy moly: it was 11am when I was finally sitting down to eat. This turned breakfast to lunch. I'm surprised I made it that long. A handful of blueberries turned out to be my breakfast.
My dad had a crepe by itself because chickpeas upset his stomach. My brother got the full deal. Both thought it was good! My first savory breakfast I've made. Leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow! Whoop!
This evening I zoomed with my grandma again, this time to cook dinner together...
Spice-Crusted Cauliflower with Walnut Sauce + Roasted Carrots with Ginger Maple Cream
The First Mess
My grandma had gotten The First Mess cookbook for herself a month or so ago. She had wanted to get one of them to cook with me, and I had recommended this one out of the three.
It turned out to be difficult finding a recipe that worked. My grandpa has a very restricted diet, and we kept finding at least one no no ingredient in each recipe. I probably wouldn't have made either one of these two recipes if it wasn't that these both had ingredients that worked.
Finding a time to make it together turned out to be another difficulty. I mentioned previously that her time is 3 hours ahead of mine. I ended up having a very early dinner so that it could work.
We got on zoom at 4pm (my time). It felt a little out of whack making dinner that early. I had decided I wouldn't have an afternoon snack so I would have an appetite to eat. I crashed right at 4, and ended up slicing a persimmon to eat whilst cooking.
Making two recipes at one time is draining. I don't know if it will ever get easier. I really shouldn't put myself up to this anymore. I was still making the sauces for each by the time the cauliflower and carrots were done cooking. The kitchen was a complete mess by then. My grandma had my aunt and grandpa to help her. I was stranded, by myself. They had already finished eating both dinner and dessert by the time I was on to making the final sauce for the carrots. She'd had to start the recipes earlier because after dinner my aunt had to drive back to her place—an hour or so away. So they had to be finished eating at an earlier time than otherwise.
They were letting me know how delicious everything was. I was mad scrambling to finish. The cauliflower and carrots weren't going to stay hot for long.
The cold truth: Even going as fast as I could, I didn't get there in time. When both dishes were on the table to eat, it was to cold carrots and room temperature cauliflower and sauce. What a shame. Dinner was at 5:40pm tonight. I was hungry.
The ginger maple sauce for the carrots was INCREDIBLE. Between my mom, dad, and I, they were all gone in a matter of minutes. I licked the serving spoon clean. The cauliflower steak and walnut sauce did not uphold the same standard, disappointingly. It was supposed to be served hot, for one thing. There was WAY too much sauce, and I found it only mediocre. The "steaks" were practically swimming in it.
I was glad to have tried these. I definitely want to make them again, but this time on different nights so I get to eat them warm at least. Probably won't happen until after this challenge.
One thing I learned: I've been whisking wrong! All this time. My grandma caught me at it. I'll have to practice the proper technique she showed me of holding the whisk sideways in my hand. I'm hopeful with practice, this way will tire my wrist less.
I have goal for myself of being kinder to my family member when I'm cooking. I have to admit, I've been rude and short quite a lot. Being hungry and rushed is no excuse. It's not my best self, and I'll be holding myself up to it from now on. I also need to just screw on a different attitude when cooking, more positive and in the moment. That might help me enjoy it a little more, not make as much of a mess, and have my body hurt less afterwards. When I'm in such a bad state after each endeavor, I'm also not able to enjoy eating it as much. Something to improve.