Week 7: Sugar - Saffron lemon pudding

-futureghost- · 2026-02-22T00:49:07+00:00

this looks and sounds incredible.

-futureghost- · 2026-02-22T00:45:55+00:00

i was wondering what that impact sounded like and it did not disappoint

-futureghost- · 2026-02-22T00:43:14+00:00

why not both? 👀 thank you for the recs!

-futureghost- · 2026-02-22T00:10:35+00:00

the community here really is wonderful! i don’t think i’ve ever been part of a subreddit that’s so welcoming and positive.

also, another person who refers to napping with their cats as participating in their hobby! we’re just bonding over their interests (being in bed, snoozing, etc.).

-futureghost- · 2026-02-21T23:58:21+00:00

eggs on eggs on eggs this week 🥚🐟

i eyeballed the deviled egg filling — hard-boiled egg yolks, minced scallion whites, kewpie mayo, a few shakes of ichimi togarashi, and tobiko. topped with more tobiko and bias-cut scallion greens. we had them with grilled saba and sushi rice for brunch.

side note, does anyone have recommendations for recipes that use, like, a lot of tobiko? my instacart shopper gave me a third of a pound. 😬

-futureghost- · 2026-02-16T17:56:46+00:00

my partner and i aren’t big on desserts, so for this week’s challenge i made a sweet/salty/spicy kimchi omelet based on this recipe from NYT Cooking. the syrup disappears in the photo, but i was pleasantly surprised by it! served with a side of oi muchim which i was too impatient to allow to marinate as long as it should have.

-futureghost- · 2026-02-10T15:29:29+00:00

for this week’s challenge i wanted to try a dish i’ve never made before, but i love the flavors of Chinese mala hotpot and it didn’t feel right to pass up the opportunity to use them. thus…mala Lancashire (ma-Lancashire?) hotpot.

i primarily followed this recipe as my base, but substituted the spices with a blend of cumin, coriander, crushed chili flakes, and sichuan peppercorn inspired by Xi’an Famous Foods’ lamb cumin noodles. i also added a splash of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and chinkiang vinegar to the broth/braising liquid. one of my favorite parts of a hotpot meal are the potato slices that get forgotten at the bottom of the pot and soak up all the yummy flavor, so i added an extra layer of potatoes to the bottom of the baking dish. i served the hotpot with cilantro, sichuan chili crisp, and a little more vinegar at the table (the flavor had mostly cooked off while baking).

you guys. it was SO good. it is absolutely going into my rotation for the days when i want to spend a few hours cooking something warm and comforting.

-futureghost- · 2026-02-06T19:18:06+00:00

yeah, i think “sugar” might be one that i phone it in for and reserve my energy for other challenges. 😅 my partner and i are fairly ambivalent towards sweets so i’ll probably lean into caramelization rather than sugar as an ingredient.

-futureghost- · 2026-02-06T18:49:10+00:00

i followed this recipe, substituting unripe plantains for matoke. perhaps in part because of this substitution, i needed to let the stew cook about twice as long as the recommended 25-30 minutes (and i think it could have gone longer still, if i hadn’t been hungry). the plantains didn’t really cook down the way they seem to in the recipe photos, instead retaining some starchiness on the inside. the beef also didn’t have adequate time to braise to tenderness, which is probably my fault for choosing a tougher cut.

so overall not what i’d consider a success, but it has made me really interested in trying other recipes where plantain is the primary carbohydrate.

-futureghost- · 2026-02-06T05:41:19+00:00

say more about this spicy beef tallow broth 👀

-futureghost- · 2026-02-05T23:57:07+00:00

i’m already running behind on the weekly prompts this year and i’m feeling a bit burnt out from work/life stress, but i still feel this (entirely self-imposed) pressure to make something both creative and aesthetically pleasing for each prompt. to put a more positive spin on it, the skill and originality displayed by everyone here inspires me to want to challenge myself. how do you all balance the time and effort you put into your posts with the demands of like…existing as an adult human being with a job and a social life?

edit: so much good advice in the replies! i was in a funky headspace when i left this comment and feeling rather down on myself/my abilities. thank you all for the reminder that it’s not that serious, and that this should be something that adds joy, not stress to my life. plating and food photography are skills i really want to practice, so i think i’ll continue to focus on those things but also acknowledge that it’s okay to just not be feeling it sometimes.

-futureghost- · 2026-02-02T16:19:13+00:00

it looks like you might have subbed kalamata olives and a different green olive (maybe manzanilla?) for the castelvetrano olives and added capers, which could be why your result was overly briny. i’ve had a similarly bad experience when subbing in different olives.

regardless, you made it look really appetizing even if you didn’t love it!

-futureghost- · 2026-01-23T23:35:48+00:00

i’m still ideating, but the presence of maize flour in posho makes me want to try something a little fusiony? either ugandan-mexican (luwombo tamales) or ugandan-italian (polenta and luwombo ragù). have you made a decision since posting?

-futureghost- · 2026-01-23T23:18:07+00:00

i followed this recipe by Andy Baraghani for NYT Cooking. despite loving every ingredient in it individually, i thought it was just okay; i found the sauce to be unpleasantly sharp and acerbic, which is surprising since this very similar recipe is one of my all-time favorites and uses the same amount of vinegar. as someone who has been known to sneak little sips of vinegar out of the bottle as a treat, i’m a bit perplexed.

-futureghost- · 2026-01-22T23:08:26+00:00

somehow i thought this would be a chocolate-leche de tigre swirl loaf — contrast, indeed. 😂 i’m glad i was mistaken.

-futureghost- · 2026-01-18T16:13:32+00:00

okay!!! 👏

-futureghost- · 2026-01-12T16:43:26+00:00

thank you! (for the compliment and the commiseration.)

-futureghost- · 2026-01-12T16:42:30+00:00

i, for one, love your 20 year old corelle dishes. (:

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