One would think that hobbitses would be smarter than to pack boring Lembas to go. See those cookies? Way tastier, and so calorie dense, one of those would feed you for a day just as well.

I butchered a whole one but didn’t really plan what to do with it, so this came out kind of on a whim because I had ingredients lying around. First is a Chorizo Cordon Bleu and second is a deboned chicken thigh confit served on a salad of fried beans, cucumber and radishes. The confit combined with the beans was great, way better than I expected. It’s rare these days that I manage to cook something that surprises me.

Playing the classics, but also refining technique. I still haven’t decided what kind of toppings I like the most.

Another one of those “oh, what’s been sitting in my pantry for too long” type of things. Turned some old breadcrumbs into something edible with the help of egg, bacon, onion and cheese.

I had chickpeas and tahini at home for quite a while now, why have I never even tried to make this? Because it’s pretty delicious and not exactly hard. Even better served on some homemade bread.

The fun bit about not making sushi in a bajillion years is the ongoing inner monologue of “Oh no, how much rice do I need? How did the rolling work? Oh no, rice sticking everywhere”. It worked out in the end, but there’s two failed rolls that didn’t make the picture.

Veering off my taco trip a bit, the ingredients are technically the same, but this time I put the braised beef into the dough and rolled it like scallion pancake, creating a nicely layered savory pastry.

I know, I know, I’m wondering myself, will there be an end to it? Will there come a day where I’ll get fed up with this? No more rolling tortillas, no more braising a big chunk of meat low and slow for hours until it’s fall apart tender? The careful arrangement of ingredients? You know what? The day hasn’t come yet. I’m sure to let you know when it does. Until then, nom.

I was in the sudden mood for gyoza. Which is silly, because making gyoza, especially when you are hand rolling the dough, is not sudden at all. But the crunchy bottom made it worth it.

What is Bánh Xèo if not a Vietnamese Taco? The thing that bothered me about my past versions of Bánh Xèo was that I was worried it would fall apart or wouldn’t get crispy enough, so I resorted to a mix of flours and the texture never ended up being quite right. Turns out just rice flour works just fine if you are patient enough to get it crispy.