Not much to report... no fun or even interesting anecdotes came from today. Woke up, showered, treated the kiddos, grabbed a hot tea, did my thing at work (not as well as a lot of days, but definitely better than many lately!), came home, watered my greens, chilled for a bit (I know people don't "chill" anymore, but I absolutely do)... then came something I almost always get excited about - dinner! :)
Tonight I constructed my own take on a Bean bowl - so named not just for the beans within, but for the restaurant that made this beaut for me to discover as one of the most delicious, filling, and comforting dishes I've had. And with my tweaks, it's pretty damn nutritious, too! It starts with sticky jasmine rice, then some seasoned red beans (I used dark kidney, but the original is made with light), steamed kale, sweet potatoes (the half left from Beedo's dinner, air fried for a little crispness), and cauliflower (air fried on 390* for 15ish minutes) in teriyaki sauce, all topped with ranchish and sesame seeds. It's a pretty beautiful thing.
Air frying can be tricky, especially without oil. It takes some more manual effort to unstick and shake your fryee in the basket, and a little more elbow grease is definitely required at the end for clean up (or soak it for a while... I end up leaving the basket for a day or more, but that's just cuz I'm lazy and I often embrace that), but I do it all the time. Oil's no bueno. I think this time was better than some because 1) I got the right consistency in the batter and 2) the cauliflower was steamed on the stovetop for 6ish minutes, which meant it didn't need the air fryer to cook it through (that can take a while!). For the batter, I improv'd, as usual, but this was definitely a winner. I used half garbanzo bean flour and half TJ's gf flour, salty/spicy seasonings (lil datil pepper dust, of course), and almond milk. I need to try to remember the texture/consistency because I think that's key. I want to say it was like slightly thin pancake batter... which of course is super subjective, but I'm sure I'll get it right the next time... or, more likely, I'll end up with yet another version of this-but-not-this, as is the way in the Improv Kitchen. :)