Since the recurring thread here is about recent changes you make to your diet or events where you eat things you usually don't eat these threads tend to be kinda empty so I made this post.

(Bonus question: When you first began buying your own food did you try new stuff or stuck to the diet you already had?)

Anyway:

The breakfast is usually "Hokkaido milk bread" (this loaf but less tall which we just call "Pão de leite" or "Milk bread" here) with mayonnaise and a slice of bologna.

The lunch and dinner are the 2 Brazilian staples of Rice and Beans with the "mix" (at least that's the translation of what my parents call it) which is just the third food, usually either meat, eggs or chicken, the meat and chicken being in a more often flattened or less often more cubical shape. (I'm not sure how to describe this.) and more occasionally sausage and nuggets, and strogonoff. Sometimes there's also usually screw noodles. I cook the eggs and nuggets myself and basically try to get them to be crunchy without them getting burnt.

Often around 5 PM I will eat a few guava barrinhas.

On Saturday the dinner is instead either Sfihas (That's what they're called in English? That's the weirdest anglicization I've heard of. If you don't know, it's just a smaller pizza that's usually not eaten in slices.) from which I usually pick the ones of chicken with catupiry but increasingly more pepperoni with catupiry or Whoppers, which I prefer without Pickles or tomatoes.

After a meal I'll usually drink either juice in they sell in sachets or cartons or I'll drink guaraná soft drinks if they're there. After a snack I'll drink strawberry yogurt.

If I bought my own food I would try a lot of different vegetables to see if any of them are any good and I would try to see if there's a healthier replacement for basically putting the oil you use to cook on my plate, since I've heard consuming that oil is quite unhealthy.

I'm a person of expensive tastes. It's very hard to make me happy foodwise. I love fancy stuff. I'd probably be happier with three star fine dining than street food. I actually like tinned cavier. What about you? What's an expensive luxury food you splash out on to make you feel fancy?

(with apologies/thanks to @mrbig - also most of the above isn't true, I love cheap food as well as haute cuisine)

I'm a person of simple tastes. It's not hard to make me happy foodwise. I don't need fancy stuff. I'd probably be happier with tasty street food than in a pricey restaurant. I actually like pizza from the grocery store. What about you? What's some super cheap food that makes you instantly happy?

It's time for another round of "name your favorite mixed drink, and how to make it". Or describe an outlandish, ill-considered, or random mixture and how it turned out.

Right now, I'm drinking an unnatural experiment made with odd drams to get rid of a couple of near-empties prior to moving.

2 oz. jack pine gin (freezer cold, local product, could use any botanical gin)
1 oz. peony baijiu (gift from a friend's visit to China)

Shake with ice, serve in a coupe glass with a very small amount of ice. It's good enough that I'll try making peony-infused vodka next spring.

[I don't usually enjoy mixed drinks because so many are too sweet - that's the spouse's domain. But some combinations of herbal, floral, spicy, bitter, or sour flavors work for my taste.]

Feel free to share what's working for you.

Right now I'm making pizza for me and bae. Thought I'd spring the question.

I'm proud of my oven falafels, they usually never fail. I'm also proud of my hummus game, that was a journey.

Something that I came across on yt was cheese potato pancakes... so easy and delicious! I recommend this guy, the closed caption is *chef's kiss: https://youtu.be/10MDo9o_wrY

I know it sounds like a weird question to ask, but I feel like everyone is much more likely to be cooking at home at the moment.
I know that Bon Appetit gets a lot of love around here and there’s been a few times where I’ve just watched one of their videos and said, “That looks good...I should just make that for dinner tonight. I’ve got the time!” I did that a few days ago with their Lamb Dumpling recipe and it came out amazing.

I’m currently using my leftover lamb and pork mixture to make a rice dish.

I’ve also been working on perfecting my cast iron pizza cooking skills.

I'm now T-1 to 2 days from having my sourdough starter that was created from nothing but natural yeast around where I live (and obviously generous amounts of flour or water) to being ready to bake/cook with. This is my first time working with starters, and dough in general, so I'm really looking forward to baking my own sourdough bread in the oven, or making a classic sourdough pizza with mozzarella and a marinara sauce (this is first on the list!).

I've been feeding it twice daily for several days now, and am getting close to the doubling-within-a-day metric many use as a baseline for when it's "ready", although I haven't tried the float test quite yet It's got an almost fruity, alcoholic aroma to it—with no funky, displeasing notes.

Here's the first recipe I'm planning, unfortunately our oven barely goes above 500°F, and I don't have any handy sources of thermal mass to properly cook a pizza, so I'm hopeful a cast-iron approach to really crisping the base on the stove first will pay dividends.

Seamus Blackley has also been a bit of an inspiration.

Anyone got any tips? Recipes to share? Surely I'm not the only person on Tildes trying this (for obvious reasons).

There are a million sites with postings on this theme right now, but this seems like an interesting opportunity to survey the Tildes community's collective wisdom.

I'll share one of my own pantry baking recipes to kick off - the only fresh ingredient required is eggs.

Patience Limited's Honey Cake

(based on original "Majestic and Moist Honey Cake" from smittenkitchen.com)

This is a simple, one- or two-bowl quick bread-type recipe which has a dense, cake-like crumb. (I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for faster and more uniform results, but it's a forgiving recipe if you measure instead.)

It can be eaten alone like a sweet bread if baked in loaf pans, or used as layers for other desserts if baked in loaf or sheet pans. The recipe is so versatile that it can also be easily scaled up or down, and portioned as mini-loaves or cupcakes with appropriate adjustments to cooking time.

This honey cake recipe is fantastic by itself with a cup of coffee in the morning, and will keep for days if lightly wrapped.

[Not gluten-free, but contains no nuts if optional almond topping is omitted, and is vegetarian and kosher.]

3 1/2 cups (440 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons (about 8 grams) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger powder
1 cup (235 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (340 grams) honey
1 cup (300 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (95 grams) brown sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 cup warm (235 ml) coffee or strong tea
1/4 cup (60 ml) rye, whiskey, or rum
1/2 cup (45 to 55 grams) slivered or sliced almonds (optional)

Fits in three loaf pans, two 9-inch square or round cake pans, one 9 or 10 inch tube or bundt cake pan, or one 9 by 13 inch sheet cake.

[I make my batch in two full-size 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pans (8 cups each), and it makes two perfect loaves.]

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Generously grease pan(s) with non-stick cooking spray. For tube or angel food pans, line the bottom with lightly greased parchment paper, cut to fit.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cardamom, and ginger. Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee or tea, orange juice and rye or whiskey, if using. (If you measure your oil before the honey, it will be easier to get all of the honey out.)

Using a strong wire whisk or in an electric mixer on slow speed, stir together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.

Spoon batter into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle top of cake(s) evenly with almonds, if using. Place cake pan(s) on two baking sheets, stacked together (this will ensure the cakes bake properly with the bottom baking faster than the cake interior and top).

Bake until cake tests done, that is, it springs back when you gently touch the cake center. For angel and tube cake pans, this will take 60 to 75 minutes, loaf cakes, about 45 to 55 minutes. For sheet style cakes, baking time is 40 to 45 minutes.

Let cake stand fifteen minutes before removing from pan.

In an attempt to get somewhat back into shape, I've recently taken up meal prepping again. I love cooking but my previous job was ~60 hour weeks, and some things had to be sacrificed because there just wasn't enough time in the day. However, I have a somewhat more normal job now and I can get back into the things I love(d) to do.

I made some teriyaki salmon and veggies for the next week: https://imgur.com/a/GCFPeJS

Recipe: https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/one-pan-baked-teriyaki-salmon-and-vegetables/

I'm not good with fish and I rarely try to cook with it (landlocked state so it's hard to get it fresh), l but I found that fish-based dishes very generally tend to be healthier and dairy-free (lactose-intolerant).

What are your favorite foods to prep for a week? Got any recipes? Any tips for a fledgling beginner?

This question popped up between my friends and I when we were discussing the possibilities of lab grown meat. When discussing lab grown meat, one of the arguments for it is that it is far more ethical to consume as it didn't originate from a living, conscious being. But if you replace the meat being grown in a lab to human meat rather than fish or beef, is it still less ethical? Or is it something that will be seen as incredibly taboo to the point where it should be outlawed?

I would be curious to read your thoughts and points of view on this!

For me, it's going to be a hard no that it shouldn't it be done. But to be honest, I feel like my feelings regarding it come from an emotional perspective rather than a logical one.

Edit: Let's throw in lab grown human organs as well. Say these are the organs that aren't suitable for transplant, but are perfectly edible.

I'm sitting here eating a pan crust pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella+romano cheese, and easy mushroom and basil. I feel that this is an ideal pizza with it's mixture of crunch, spices, and sweetness. The leftovers are perfect for reheating in a skillet the next day. The crust has softened but is soaked with enough grease that the skillet makes the crust have an almost puff pastry style crunch/crumble. This is probably my ideal pizza.

What piece of kitchen equipment do you regret buying? Why?

I bought a garlic masher. (I don't think it was anywhere near £26 when I bought it!) https://www.amazon.co.uk/royalvkb-VP303-370-Royal-Garlic-Crusher/dp/B000OW58D8/ It looks really heavy, but it actually isn't. I regret it because it's not nearly as much fun to use as it looks. It's safer than mashing garlic with a knife, and it's easier to clean than a press. But other than that it's not worth the money. The garlic cards (credit card sized bits of plastic with embossed letters) that you rub garlic over are better.

Coming up to Christmas and gift-giving is on my mind and I wondered if you've ever been given food or a food-related gadget that you liked? I guess we can also talk about the misses too.

I like chocolate, so small amounts of nice chocolate are something that I like.

Lately I've been trying to be better about cooking a decent breakfast for myself every morning instead of grabbing sugary stuff at a coffee shop, blowing money for something fancier, or wolfing down a breakfast bar.

I'm also trying to be a boring adult and limit my sugar intake, avoid gluten on account I'm apparently at risk for celiac disease, and would like to try and be vegan whenever possible.... couple this with me being incredibly lazy and us not having a dishwasher in our apartment, and I've got what feels like very few options.

For the past two months, every weekday I've been crumbling firm tofu over a heated pan set to medium, throwing in some paprika, turmeric, salt, garlic & onion powder, nutritional yeast, stirring that up a bit for five minutes, and then ripping up a cup of pre-packaged kale/spinach leaves over it before taking it off the heat and tossing in a tablespoon of oat milk. I'll then eat half and leave the other for my wife.

It's been OK, but I'm trying to look into other options just to add some variety, and was curious if someone else has found something that works for them that I might be able to piggyback off of for inspiration.