It don't taste right...

You ever get the feeling that something just isn't right? I've been getting that all day today from my cooking exploits. I got a really good recipe for a lamb masala in a tomato and ginger sauce, but I thought I would use chicken instead as I was going to Aldi on the way home from the hospital.

Am gonna digress a bit now.. I like shopping in Aldi. I love the fact that I can get some really good ingredients for really low prices. Of course, there are things there I wouldn't touch with a barge pole (cereals for a start..) But on the whole, I can get some decent stuff there. Now, when I go shopping, I usually see what's in the markdown section for ideas of what to eat tonight. Otherwise, I pick up stuff I need then go to the checkout. However, this isn't the case in Aldi. I can usually plan several meals in that place. So I didn't just pick up a chicken for the curry, I ended up picking up some smoked peppered mackerel fillets (smoked mackerel salad) and some horseradish sauce too (incase I wanted to make it into a pâté). I got some beef sirloin steaks so that I could marinade them in a teriyaki sauce.. They could go with my cold soba noodle salad. I bought some Feta so that I could have a whole baked feta with some salad leaves, roast tomatoes and peppers.. Oh, I got some jars of nice bruschetta toppings - There was this great one with mixed mushrooms and another one of roast peppers. I like things like that.. The idea that I do some toast(ed ciabatta) with these toppings and that's lunch is highly appealing to me.

So yeah, I got all them bits from Aldi and I had nice plans for them all. But there were things that were missing in all the stuff I cooked today and it resulted in things just not tasting right. I didn't have any coriander so although the masala was nice, it was missing the coriander. Mebbe it's because I'm so used to have coriander in my curries, but even in a dish that wasn't supposed to have coriander, I felt that it needed it. Then again, mebbe it wouldn't have if I used lamb.. For my soba noodle salad, I didn't have any sesame seeds. Now, I know it sounds petty.. But they add an extra textural dimension to the salad - And trust me, that makes ALL the difference.

That said, this is what I love about cooking.. I love the idea that one ingredient can completely transform a dish. Actually, if I put some coriander in the soba noodle salad with some finely shredded spring onions, mebbe some cucumber, some chilli.. That would work out well with the beef teriyaki.

Yum, I know what I need to get tomorrow!