Risotto. Sometimes I follow a recipe, sometimes I improvise something with whatever I have in the fridge.

Sounds super fancy but it’s quite easy.

Also Pa amb tomàquet is a must with some friends.

Moksi Alesi with djar pesi or blaka ai pesi and salted fish “bakkeljauw” or salted beef “zoutvlees” with Madame Jeanette pepper. Basically beans and rice. I learned the basic recipe from a friend with Suriname ancestry.

Hashbrowns and eggs with bacon. Cook some thinly sliced bacon, almost like bacon bits, and in the grease cook Hashbrowns. Then, once they’re both cooked, crack a few eggs over everything and cook that. Serve with seasoning salt.

Household spaghetti recipe.

So happy that the spaghetti that was made for me I now get to make for my kid.

Paprika hendl! Husband told me about it from Dracula, and that he had tried to make it with no recipe and there was none online. I found a recipe online (the author removed it now, but thank you printed paper) and I don’t think it’s like what modern paprikash is like but at love it! I don’t have sour cream currently though, so none this week.

Chili. Love it every time.

I make (vegan) bolognese, chili sin carne and similar weekly. It’s so easy to mix up with different ingredients, seasonings etc. I usually use soy-based mince since it’s the cheapest but I use other stuff like tofu, mince made from peas, mushrooms etc. pretty often too. They all give different textures and tastes so it’s an infinitely variable thing. Lately I’ve been making bolognese-ish with oat milk and mushroom slices added, makes it really nicely creamy and earthy.

I cook dinner virtually every night, but probably my (and my family’s) favorite is Lemon Chicken Picatta.

I cut chicken breasts into pieces about nugget sized, then season w/ salt & pepper. Toss them in flour to coat, then pan-fry them in vegetable oil. Basically, home-made chicken nuggets (my wife says they’re very similar to Chik-Fil-A nuggets).

When the chicken is done, I use the same pan, which now has a bunch of fond from the meat. Sautee some minced garlic, then add a bunch of chicken broth and thinly sliced lemons. Sautee that for a bit while scraping everything off the bottom of the pan. Add lemon juice and capers. Cook a bit longer. Take off the heat and add butter and parsley. Then pour the sauce over the chicken.

I usually serve it over pearl couscous with a side of air-fried broccoli.

For mother’s day, I cooked a piece of fish in some of the sauce. I don’t particularly like fish, but my wife said it was delicious.

I love popcorn 🍿

Chana masala! It’s so tasty and relatively easy to make.

Burgers and fries

I make my own burgers … buy about 2kg of lean ground beef when it’s on sale … mix them by hand with salt, spice, Worcester sauce … measure out about 2oz to 3oz portions, press them in a burger press that is a bit large … it makes a really thin burger patty. I like the thin patty because it only takes about five to seven minutes to cook. If I feel like having more, I just cook more patties.

I only cook a few at a time, then freeze the rest. Always nice to have a ready made supply of homemade patties.

I also cut my own fries, cover them in a bit of oil, then air fry them. Toss them with a bit of salt at the end.

I used to work as a fast food cook at our family’s own burger joint when I was a teen. Homemade burgers and fries just seem like second nature to me at this point.

Tofu scramble, although it’s so far diverged from “standard” tofu scramble I’m not sure if I’d even call it that anymore. Basically, it’s crumbled tofu (firm or extra firm), fried potatoes (hash brown style), olives, bell peppers, onions, and tomato all thrown in a pan together and cooked on the stovetop. Seasoning is whatever the heck I feel like at the time, plus ketchup.

Burritos with baked tofu, peanuts and onions, fried and hastily squished beans, brown rice and cheese. 10 mins of work for 6 servings and then I store them in the freezer and just chuck them in the microwave as needed. Great low effort food and much healthier than most other microwave snacks.

Mini pizzas. I use the naan from Costco as the base, par bake it a few minutes first, then top with jar sauce and shredded mozzarella and make everyone come and do the rest of their toppings from little bowls I’ve prepared venue going back in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Kids like mini pepperoni and pineapple bits from a can. I like pesto, spiced artichoke from a jar, Canadian bacon, and avocado and freshly chiffoned basil (after the baking). Everyone gets two pizzas customized to their liking, it tastes better than any takeout pizza, and it’s inexpensive.

A random dish of pork belly and cabbage and/or frozen veggies, cooked in oyster sauce and kecap manis. Then pair it with rice.