stuffed
Slowly I am able to cook again as deadlines are met and responsibilities spread out to a more manageable level once more. I didn’t cook very much this week as these three weeks (last week and the next two) are when everything comes due. I did, however, cook a little from my recent cookbook purchases.
For Shabbat, from Flavors of Korea: Delicious Vegetarian Cusine, I made Kongnamul Bap or Bean Sprout Rice… mostly. I had a can of stir fry vegetables which I used instead of fresh bean sprouts. Of course I’d rather fresh local ingredients, but sometimes you have to use what you have on hand. I also substituted brown rice as I need to cook up the pantry in preparation of the new cabinets (no I do not know when they are coming). The Sesame-Onion sauce was made without green onions as I had none. In any case, E and I enjoyed it and I will make it again.
From The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen I made Cheddar Corn Bread. This turned out yummy. I will probably put in more cheese next time as I couldn’t really tell this had cheese in it. I also finally broke out one of the silicone pans I was given years ago since my kitchen is now “mostly-new”. I refused to use them until we fixed the kitchen. They’re kinda fun and I didn’t notice any difference using them over a traditional pan. It did feel a bit weird putting plastic into the oven. I also need to do more research given all I’ve heard [especially recently] about carcinogens and plastic (I have sworn for years that water stored in plastic tastes weird but that is writing for another day).
Tonight we ate stuffed grape leaves. 
My FIL has been after us to purchase a certain brand of canned stuffed grape leaves available at our local supermarket. He’s been raving about them. I decided to turn them into a full meal by sautéing diced chink’n strips with some garlic, onion, and turmeric and then adding in some tomato sauce. I placed the stuffed grape leaves in the sauce to warm them slightly. This was a pleasant surprise. It saddens me greatly that I grew up with grape leaves in my back yard and I don’t think we ever thought to cook with them. I will attempt to make my own some day. I think this would be a very pleasant shabbat lunch. It does make me miss pita, but I’ll find something by this summer. Yes, I am thinking toward summer already, I don’t mind winter but we missed Autumn this year so I’d like it to be summer so we can try again.