What are you cooking now?

[Jonathan]

Just baked a Victoria Sponge for our "Pot Luck lunch" on Wednesday. It's been a while since I last made a cake and it looks good (so far, need to decorate it tomorrow)

[french frank]

Romanian ciorba with two sorts of cabbage (red and pickled) and all the many vegetables that need to be eaten before I buy new supplies tomorrow. I think I shall listen to Enescu's Symph No 1 on Youtube while eating.

[teamsaint]

Last night a quick fish curry that worked out quite well given modest ingredients.
Beer to go with, of course.

[HighlandDougie]

Romanian ciorba with two sorts of cabbage (red and pickled) and all the many vegetables that need to be eaten before I buy new supplies tomorrow. I think I shall listen to Enescu's Symph No 1 on Youtube while eating.

Today's rabbit hole: Ciorba. Now I know. I had some "local" soup when last in Prague 18 months ago which bore a distinct resemblance to that on wot I've just been mugging up.

[vinteuil]

Today's rabbit hole: Ciorba. Now I know. I had some "local" soup when last in Prague 18 months ago which bore a distinct resemblance to that on wot I've just been mugging up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorba

... many etymological tentacles here : Hobson-Jobson [not always reliable... ] under sherbet offers among others -

Ital: sorbetto, Fr: sorbet, Sp: and Port: xarabe, axarabe, Arab: ash-sharab, Ital: sciroppo, Old Fr: ysserop, Mod. Fr: sirop, Eng: syrup, and from Spanish shrub, sherbet
(quotations supplied from c 1334 to 1863)

.

[Barbirollians]

Jerk cod ( instead of chicken) with rice and peas .

[french frank]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorba

... many etymological tentacles here : Hobson-Jobson [not always reliable... ] under sherbet offers among others -

Ital: sorbetto, Fr: sorbet, Sp: and Port: xarabe, axarabe, Arab: ash-sharab, Ital: sciroppo, Old Fr: ysserop, Mod. Fr: sirop, Eng: syrup, and from Spanish shrub, sherbet
(quotations supplied from c 1334 to 1863)

I think the spelling ciorba is possibly specifically Romanian where pronunciation/spelling has features in common with Italian (cf Celibidache). But the etymology seems to come from sor- = salty rather than any of the sweet desserts. Ciorba is said to have a typically 'sour' or 'bitter' taste from adding vinegar, lemon or a briny liquid,. I had a jar of pickled cabbage so added some of the cabbage and brine. I also added some left over spicy red cabbage and the clove taste was probably less authentic and I'd leave it out if starting from scratch. But it was jolly tasty: onion, celery, cavolo nero, red cabbage, pickled cabbage, potato, cauliflower, parsley, thyme, paprika, black pepper.

[french frank]

(cont'd from elsewhere)

I'd never thought about it but, of course, rhubarb is a vegetable not a fruit. My salted rhubarb sticks might have been blanched or parboiled, but I actually had them raw, sprinkled with salt, chopped red chilli and oil. Then I added two chopped spring onions. I could have added herbs but didn't.This was the side salad. The asparagus was quickly charred under the grill with Cornish butter and the salad potatoes were cut in small pieces and briefly boiled separately.

I then cast about for some 'meat' to go with it: Wookey 'Ole chedder was the only possibility as a) there was no meat and b) the cheese needed eating up. The big surprise was the Co-op Côtes de Provence which I would NEVER have partnered with the cheddar, under any circumstances. But in extremis, the lightness of the salad lifted the cheese into a different realm. 4/5 (with the proviso that the rhubarb, if not forced, could do with a touch more prior preparation).