It’s probably tzatziki, which is a yoghurt-based dip.
I haven’t tried making the balloon bread yet, but it looks like you just have to make it really thin and use a very hot oven, and it inflates by itself. Come to think of it, I’ve seen the same effect with store-bought pita breads if you reheat them in the oven.
Exactly. And if you grab it from the oven then, before it’s too crisp, you can cut it in half horizontally and make two very thin and yummy pizzas.
Tip: use an oven-safe container of water to create steam; that plus the high heat will cause the balloon effect.
Again with the “faux dal”: barley, farro, green and orange lentils. This time, I mixed the garam masala and curry spice blends, and added some chili powder for a little heat. Threw in a handful of pistachios and topped with fresh delicious avocado. It’s really craptastic outside, so this bowl of yum is especially satisfying right now.
Dandelion ‘capers’.
Dandelion bulbs in a little bit sweetened, salted, some herbs, vinegar. (Apple vinegar, I have more than I want) 
The space underneath is because I also cook/pasturise the whole. You give a bit of pure taste, you get rid of some real nasty stuff.
Northern China: noodles, dumplings.
Southern China: rice.
Generally. Geographical destiny, what grows locally is what one ends up eating, cultivating a taste for.
My Chinese dad liked both. He grew up in Shanghai, one of China’s biggest cities. Spoiled for choice, those city dwellers.
A preference for nori could also mean a hunger, a taste for important micronutrients. So many things (including the fifth flavor: umami ) nutritionally packed into seaweeds.
My fave for sourcing excellent high-quality seaweed:
http://www.ironboundisland.com/
It takes a long time for them to process your order, but soooooo worth it.
Good luck! I love seaweed more than cake too!
Have you considered cookie cake? There was a period of time in my daughter’s life where this was a favorite. I think because they worked well with the bring it to school thing and that was important to her at age 8.
Funny you say this. At our household, with not that many meat, or fish. I always keep a vew tins of sardines and a vew packages of roasted nori. If I or others are craving, ones in a while, and not know what, and grabbing that stuff I know enough.
BTW, roasted seaweed is a threat at itself.
He is from northern China, but he wasn’t eating solid food until he’d been with us for a while. His throat was too narrow to eat rice until he was about 3, which is probably where he got that idea - we had plenty of rice in northeastern China, although it wasn’t as common as in the south. It was an interesting challenge a couple of years ago to give him enough food for his nutritional needs, that was interesting and varied enough for him to actually want to eat and for the rest of the family to enjoy, but that was soft enough to swallow without chewing (he only had about five teeth until a couple of months ago). We had a lot of soup and slow cooked stew. Everyone is very happy to see new teeth coming out at the moment!
@ChickieD I’ll have to try that, although I’m not too disappointed that he doesn’t have a very sweet tooth. He mostly just likes anything that looks like a toy or TV show he likes.
Love the picture - what a cutie! and the pancakes!
My dad and my MIL have been on soft food diets due to dental issues - both have lost a lot of weight. Too much for my taste. Because I’d seen my MIL go through the weight loss, when my dad started having all his dental issues I bought him this book, which had some particularly good suggestions about meat and protein.
Ever since they have gone through this, I feel like the whole soft food diet thing needs more support. We focus a lot in our culture on losing weight, but for people who are struggling with these soft diets, there just doesn’t seem to be much good information. I’m sorry you are having to deal with that. I know it must be a source of worry for you.
Looks a lot like my didi (“little brother”) about… 42 years ago! Adorbs. Good on y’all!
Sometimes, the body will just demand what it wants, nutritionally. I’d be inclined to vary the seaweeds (rotate them? wakame, dulce, kombu, kelp: they all have differing nutrients) and try to source them from a vendor who as access to as clean a patch of ocean as possible (yes yes I know that’s all relative and am reminded of Jacque Cousteau’s many cautions).
There’s a tradition of making soups and stews in China using “old water.” Literal translation. It means keeping a soup-stock-base going on, infinitely, on the back of the stove or crockpot. Never hurts to fling a chunk of kombu in there as well, even if it never softens up. I usually puree it or shred it, and use it for hot-sour soup or egg drop soups.
Good luck. You have a big heart. I hope all goes well.
Drooooool…
Do they taste like capers or is that more about the shape? I have a lot of dandelions coming up in the yard but I’ve never eaten them.
If you pick them small enough, and prepare the brine sour, it’s not that far away from capers. There is a bit bitter in the taste that makes it different.
The reason why I put a little sugar, and herbs, in the brine, is to make it something else than capers.
Next week when they are flowering and I can make the time I’m going to make dandelion flower yelly.
Congee? Congee! Congee. I swear to god, congee is literally the best breakfast food ever! Does he like Congee? Do you like Congee? Doesn’t everyone like Congee?
We always knew dad’s cold or flu had taken a turn for the worse when he demanded congee 24/7. With Thousand Year Old Egg slices, pickled mustard greens with chiles, and/or fermented spicy tofu. Of all those things, the fermented tofu was to me the most… difficult to acquire taste of acquired tastes. Not to be confused with “stinky tofu” (which is really not that stinky).
Don’t forget the shredded scallions!
Maybe a few drops of toasted sesame oil if you aren’t putting in pork.
ETA: forgot the garnish
Off on a small journey. I am making Miso, bit in addition I was to use lobster or crab shells. I may have to Google an honest to god fish monger 
Me too, except for the weight thing. Thanks for the book reference, I’ve been making up my own soft meals but there are only so many ways you can combine mashed potatoes, canned tuna, and chopped spinach.
One good thing in the book that I know helped my dad a lot was some options for meat he had not considered. Like chopped liver - I like it but it’s not everyone’s bag. There are some good real foods like that with protein.
My MIL’s nutritionist has her add Whey protein into her breakfast shakes, which has been a godsend for her. I’m not real big on adding supplements to things; I prefer to eat whole foods. However, in her case, it’s been a good thing.
My brother’s daughter is on a feeding tube and adding a tablespoon of olive oil into the mix has been good at helping her to gain weight.
One thing I noticed with people on liquid diets is the hard time adjusting to thinking about maintaining and gaining weight vs. losing it.
You can also add nut powders to shakes for even more of a protein and nutrient boost.
Dungeness crab is too subtle. It’s light sweetness is overwhelmed by the umami.
I need like a crayfish, or even mackeral.
