Impulse buy

[magid]

I went to Russo's, and they had flats of mangoes on sale. Nine large mangoes for $4, even you-must-use-me-now mangoes, is a great deal. So I bought a flat.

I decided on mango chutney, since that's the easiest way to process a lot of mangoes at once.

• a largish sploosh of vinegar (I'd planned to use cider vinegar, but am apparently out, so white vinegar instead. *reminds self to get cider vinegar*)
  
• half a head worth of garlic cloves, crushed into chunks
  
• a diced Vidalia onion
  
• a large knob of ginger, grated (Every time I use the ginger grater I'm glad to have it.)
  
• six red hot cherry peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
  
• hot sauce (the end of the bottle of Frank's, and the beginning of the bottle of Louisiana)
  
• four peaches, diced
  
• two thirds of a box of brown sugar
  
• nine mangoes, diced (I always forget just how long it takes to deal with mangoes. It's lucky they're so yummy, or the inconvenience wouldn't be worth it.)
  
• cayenne powder, ginger powder, cinnamon, nutmeg

I filled two pint jars, three half-pint jars, and four quarter-pint jars, with a bunch left over in a bowl (If I'd just remembered to bring the new box of canning jars in... Ah, well.). Which means that if someone wants a bit to try out, I have jars to part with.

Note: chutney tends to be better after a month or so, which lets the flavors meld together into a more unified whole.

Comments

[arfur]

So I bought a flat.

I thought you already owned your place? Getting into the real estate business?

-bb, does it show that my new cow orker is a Brit?

[magid.livejournal.com]

*giggle*

The mangoes are paid off well before the flat will be, though.

No, it doesn't; I got my Brit-speak through zillions of kid books and lots of BBC shows on Channel 2....

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Yum!

I should stop reading your LJ and have dinner.

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

Makes sad-stray-feed-me face. Chutney?

[magid.livejournal.com]

No need to make sad face. Chutney is waiting for you.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Hope it was a good dinner :-).

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

Makes happy-fed-stray face. Yay!

Let's get together, do dinner sometime real soon? When are you free?

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yay!

I'd like to do dinner. (From your journal,) Sounds like you've got this week filled already. How about Tuesday next week?

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Actually, I got so bored with what I was having (fake chicken sandwich, grapefruit, and some mango slices (which were the highlight)) that I decided to just stop eating dinner. Generally, I have a few things planned for dinner then wing the rest of it. I need to put more exciting things in my fridge, otherwise I don't eat enough. It's hard, though, to find things to eat that fit sort of my criteria of being uncomplicated and quick. I end up eating a lot of soy products this way.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I have a different approach to dinner, I think, since I assume I'll cook something (usually a one-pot sort of thing) in quantities large enough for not only dinner but part of breakfast/lunch the next day too.

I definitely hear you about having stuff in the fridge, though. Mine was getting rather empty a week or two ago, and it was hard figuring out something I could cook that I wanted to eat.

How uncomplicated, btw? And does quick mean "must eat within 5 minutes" or "only 5 minutes of hands-on prep" (ie baking something, or soup, or something that takes time, but not active time)?

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

There is basically two problems with my cooking these days. I'm rarely home, so I no longer cook anything that takes time or lasts longer than one meal. Also my eating schedules is a bit whacked with TKD. I end up eating half of my dinner early, so that I have energy for TKD but not a full stomach. Then I eat the other half after dinner. This usually takes the form of a PB&J before TKD and grapefruit and veggies after TKD. Something needs to change, though, because I can't take too much more of the PB&J. I think I really need to carve out some time to cook something that will last me a few days, because I've gotten progressively less happy with what I am eating. I was eating a lot of humus and pita, but I've gone off of that recently.

As for uncomplicated, I don't own many spices or stables. Often I usually only have oregeno, basil, red pepper, salt, black pepper, taco seasoning, wheat flour, sugar, and nutrasweet on hand. I know I should just buy more spices, so that I could do things like make a curry that will last for a few days. I've been even out of wheat pasta and brown rice for weeks now and keep forgetting to buy more. Basically, I am living off of soy burgers and fruit these days.

[magid.livejournal.com]

As for finding time, well, that's something I can't help with (will it get easier after the black belt examination?).

The spices you list sound ok for doing basic stuff. If you made ratatouille, fr'instance, it could be a side dish one night, put over pasta another night, served with cheese melted in or eggs poached in another night (if you're not vegan; I don't know. Are you?), or used in a lasagna, or something. Plus it freezes well. I guess it comes back to time, though, both for shopping and cooking. I hope your schedule opens up a bit soon.

Sometime you could come over for dinner. More time, but less cooking :-).

[cellio]

Ooh, that sounds yummy! (Is there a cooking step in there, or do you just combine everything and then wait?)

Oops!

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yes, there's definitely cooking in there. I put the vinegar on to boil, then added each ingredient as I finished prepping it, then turning the heat down so it simmered for a while and all the component parts got friendly with each other (though the month wait afterward completes this process).

If it hadn't been cooked, I think it would've been more like a salsa, rather than a chutney (and I wouldn't've been so aggressive in putting in spicy things...).

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I don't know if the time thing will get that much better after the test. The big thing is that I need to go grocery shopping more regularly. If I had the stuff for lasagna at home, I could have made one tonight. Alas, I didn't and had to scrounge instead. Maybe I should start peapodding my groceries to me.

The ratatouille idea sounded wonderful, but I hate zucchini and eggplant. :( I need something like that -- polymorphic dinner menus. I'm not actually vegan. I was a vegetarian for years, but still haven't figured out how to make anything more complicated than a few stuff with ground beef (hamburgers, tacos, lasagna) and stew. I tried chicken a few times and have since given up eating chicken for the most part (too bland). I've been meaning to try my hand at fish at some point. pinkfish taught me how to poach fish last summer, but I've forgotten how to do it since then.

I would love to come over to dinner sometime. Even if it is more time, the more company makes it more than worthwhile.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yeah, getting groceries on a regular basis makes it a whole lot easier to make dinner on an average night. If you're home long enough for a peapod delivery to show up, then sounds like a plan.

Since you hate eggplant and zukes, you could put in more mushrooms and peppers in the 'ratatouille', or substitute some other veggies (cauliflower? broccoli?) instead. Really, all that matters is coming up with some melange of veggies you like.

I don't use ground meat much (usually turkey, since it's cheaper, and I can get it kosher on this side of the river without going to Brookline), but for me it's meatloaf, meatballs, or something Chinese-y. I don't know if it's worth trying to make chicken with spicy condiments (with chutney, for instance) to make up for the blandness. I've never poached fish myself; I tend to roast it instead, with a layer of something moist on top (wasabi dressing, or chutney, etc) if it's pink fish (NOT Pinkfish!), or sautee it over a bed of veggies (onions mushrooms and spinach, for instance) if it's a white fish. Some day I need to expand my fish horizons and try something new...

Maybe some sausages would be useful: easy to sautee, many options for flavors. My current meat favorite is turkey thighs.

You flatter me :-). Next week is filling up already. How about I email you about dinner?

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of making the ratatouille with other vegetables. I will have to try that!

I tend not to eat turkey because it makes me comatose, although if I ate it for dinner then I could just go to bed. The thing I might need to do with the chicken is spice it up and brown it before I do anything else with it. Right now I am just getting these pale, bland thingies. I should look for some healthy sausage alternatives. My nutritionist is not a fan of nitrates, and I would rather not get the nitrate lecture again.

Emailing about dinner would be good. I tend to not be free M, W, and F nights, just so you know.

[magid.livejournal.com]

A later thought: add a can of chickpeas or black beans or white beans or corn to the other veggies.

There are sausages out there without nitrates (I just bought some today), though it may be a pain to find them.
Oh, and I tend not to use white meat chicken much, which I do find bland and easily overcooked to unpleasantness. Dark meat has more flavor (er, more fat, too), and is easier to cook.

OK. Next week is really full enough, so I'll look towards a Tuesday (that being better for me than Thursday) after the 15th.