And leaves oil splatters all over your kitchen!

Eggplant is one ingredient that I’ve never really appreciated. I don’t hate it, and will certain sample it when it’s in family style dishes. I just find broccoli, cauliflower, green/snap peas, and carrots to be more flavorful. Some squash fall into the “not excited about” category, too. And don’t even mention baby corn. I love corn on the cob, corn soup, creamed corn, but those little baby corns are just blah.

Yes. Which is another reason why it is just better to have it when dining out.

I'd love to make this at home but I tried several recipes online and couldn't find one I liked. I used to LOVE the creamy pasta flavor of Tuna Helper, but they don't stock it in stores here anymore and the only way you can get it online is a 6-pack for $30. That's a bit nuts I think.

If I were to guess, my first guess would be that mom copied it down from some Betty Crocker cookbook. She's anything but a gourmet cook. You've probably found and tried hers, but without the nostalgia of the slightly yellowed index card.

I’m sure I’ll be cooking eggplant inefficiently and I’ll be aware of the oil risk :-)

What exactly is baby corn - is it real corn?? I’ve only seen it canned and in Asian soups.

Once again, I am curious. Did it never occur to you before March of this year that you can make things and cook meals at home? You must have really liked going out to restaurants as you ate almost all of your meals out and yet you say you don't ever want to go to a restaurant again.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1de2c038d.jpeg

I’d say you’d led a sheltered life if you never had uncanned baby corn.

I rarely had time or energy to cook basic meals pre pandemic. caviar was my online friend.
Now all has changed. My decision to eschew restaurants is offset by my spouse’s occasional desire for carryout, since I’ll end up eating the leftovers.

I’ve only had baby corn at Asian restaurants, so I’ll assume they’re canned or frozen.

I think a key compatibility indicator is each person's willingness/interest in cooking. I can't imagine getting delivery or eating out daily, but it works for some couples. But I'd hate it if my partner had no interest in cooking so it was either on me or we would get delivery. We trade off or both agree to delivery/carry out/delivery. (He's grilling chicken right now. I made a beef saag last night.)

Broiled wild salmon (previously frozen)
broiled wild cod (Costco frozen) - MSY suggestion of salt & lemon, with olive oil instead of butter...
baked potatoes
roasted beets
leftover Mexican rice
raw carrots, cucumber, radish
homemade dill sauce

Schedule logistics are also a big factor... it was easy to delegate cooking to 3rd parties :-)

Which is what I ended up doing last night from Olive Garden w/Spaghetti all covered in their meat sauce.

Gao- please stop with the nicknames, I have said it before that I don't like people making up variations of my handle. Thank you in advance.

I’m really inspired by the eggplant parm posts. Let’s see what occurs. I still can’t get over how much I loved the Costco wild cod. Total game changer like making my own guacamole.

has anyone bought the Costco pho? I love pho. I do want to try the different meat offal for it because the pho tripe & brisket are my preferred elements. Once I finish off the Costco Tainan noodles (which really aren’t great), I’ll buy the Costco pho because no way am I going to yet try making it. I don’t even own the Sriracha style sauce at the restaurants, and I Eschew Oyster sauce because of the unneeded calories; the red Sriracha lacks calories, like Tabasco.

sorry buddy (really, I’m your big fan!) - I was only suggesting that you could make eggplant but I wasn’t saying that you’re Teddy kgb. That’s someone else :-). I only refer to you as Teddybear. I’m realizing it’s not teddybear99 and I’ll try to remember better that you’re teddybear99. I think my phone is also adjusting to you being teddybear99 with the lower-case T :-)
but no offense intended!
just as an aside, my name is “gaobest” - all seven letters.

The thing with most restaurants offering takeaway is even a modestly competent cook (like moi) can make something that is as good or better. I just can't imagine eating out every night. The food is usually of poorer quality and loaded up with salt and fat.

I like eggplant. I usually just grill it then serve with oil, garlic and parsley. Easy peezy.

That's not bad. There's a local restaurant near my parents that makes amazing eggplant parm. One meal from the restaurant is easily three normal meals, whether eggplant or other meals.
This. I use very little salt when cooking.