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Umami Days

Umami Days

Meaty with a dash of veggies

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        • Appetizers
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        • Cold weather drinks
        • Cocktail hour
    • By Main Protein
      • Chicken, duck & turkey
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Eggs
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      • Tofu
      • Vegetables
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        • Rice bowl
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          • Stir fry
        • Pasta
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Garlicky sausage mac and cheese

Garlicky sausage mac and cheese

I’ve cooked mac and cheese with sausage in so many ways I’ve lost count. How the sausage is cooked depends on the variety. Dried sausages are best sliced and cut into small pieces. With fresh sausage, I prefer to press the meat out of the casing and cook it like it was just ground meat that did not …
Read moreGarlicky sausage mac and cheese
Spaghettini aglio e olio with bread in shallow bowl

Spaghettini aglio e olio

Creamy shrimp broccoli spaghetti in white bowl

Creamy shrimp and broccoli spaghetti

Bacon macaroni salad with bananas in background

Bacon macaroni salad

Bacon spinach cream cheese macaroni

Bacon, spinach and cream cheese macaroni

Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

Read more about me and Umami Days »

What do you want to cook?

Chicken
Meat
Seafood
Vegetables
Rice
Noodles
Chicken salad sandwich with fries on the side

Not my mother’s chicken salad sandwich

My mother didn’t add vegetables to her chicken salad sandwich filling. Just mayo, salt and pepper. I like to add celery, bell peppers, onion and sweet …

Read moreNot my mother’s chicken salad sandwich
Moussaka with Mornay sauce

Moussaka with Mornay sauce

Among all variants of moussaka, this is closest to the Greek layered eggplant and meat dish. But the white sauce has cheese. And more cheese is added …

Read moreMoussaka with Mornay sauce
Chicken soup with mustard greens (leaves)

Chicken soup with mustard greens (leaves)

Make this tasty soup with unwanted chicken parts. Backs or necks, or a combination. While you may always scrape the meagre meat and skin, it is the broth …

Read moreChicken soup with mustard greens (leaves)
Mornay sauce

Mornay sauce (French cheesy white sauce)

It’s French but it isn’t among the five mother sauces. It’s white but it’s not the same as Béchamel sauce. To make Mornay sauce, you need Béchamel sauce …

Read moreMornay sauce (French cheesy white sauce)
Garlic butter noodles with honey and gochujang

Garlic butter noodles with honey and gochujang

Sweet, sour, salty and packed with heat, this spicy meatless mushroom and noodle dish can be cooked in 15 minutes flat. Enjoy for breakfast, snack, lunch …

Read moreGarlic butter noodles with honey and gochujang
Tilapia braised in spicy coconut cream garnished with sliced chili and cilantro leaves

Tilapia braised in spicy coconut cream

Ten minutes to prep and ten minutes to cook. Simple to make but exceptionally tasty. Serve over rice (don’t forget to drizzle sauce over the rice) for the …

Read moreTilapia braised in spicy coconut cream

Outside the (recipe) box

Dining
Gardening
In the Kitchen
Food Stories
sea salt

What’s the difference between sea salt and rock salt?

When researches say that microplastics have been found in commercial salt originating from different parts of the world, which are they referring to — sea …

Read moreWhat’s the difference between sea salt and rock salt?
Gravy in pink Noritake gravy boat

Where was the gravy boat first used?

It’s that tableware that looks like a squat pitcher. A shallow oblong bowl with a spout on one end and a handle on the other. It’s been in use long before …

Read moreWhere was the gravy boat first used?
cutting / slicing blanched and squeezed spinach

Is blanching spinach a must?

Of course not. It always depends on the dish it is meant to go into. If the dish won’t benefit from the high water content of spinach, here’s how to blanch …

Read moreIs blanching spinach a must?
Japanese-inspired carbonara with bonito flakes and furikake

Are katsuobushi and bonito flakes the same?

Fine curly shavings that dance in the heat of the steam of takoyaki or okonomiyaki. They’re shaved fermented fish. The Japanese name is katsuobushi but …

Read moreAre katsuobushi and bonito flakes the same?
Shio ramen with beef and scallions

How to make broth for shio ramen

It’s all about the broth. The clarity. The lightness. I make broth by simmering meat and bones. Then, I drop a teaspoon of salt into a bowl, pour in broth …

Read moreHow to make broth for shio ramen
Vietnamese lotus tea (tra sen)

Is Vietnamese lotus tea real tea?

It depends. Trà sen is real tea. Trà tim sen is an infusion. Both are sold as Vietnamese lotus tea.

Read moreIs Vietnamese lotus tea real tea?
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