It's Not Really Black

 

Supper Wednesday April 29, 2020: blackened mahi; farfale a bella (farfale, baby bellas, cream, butter, garlic, parmesan, black pepper).

The grocer we use has had whole mahi filets (frozen, cryovac) on sale for some time. (When does a sale time out and just become the new price?) We keep going in expecting the "sale" to be over but it doesn't end so we have been eating a fair amount of mahi. It works really well blackened. I'm not sure what about it makes that method turn out so well but it does. By contrast I tried cutting it into strips then breading and frying it. Fried fish right? Anggg! Try again. It is not good that way. The texture and flavor just don't work with frying. But hey, blackening is easier anyway. 

The thing to keep in mind about blackening is that it is not really black, in other words burnt. It is more like black-ish. The spice coating should be very browned. It looks at a glance as if it is burned but not quite. If truly burned the spices will turn bitter. The pan should have a little oil and hot enough to shimmer the oil well, but not quite smoke it. (If it's smoking just a little go ahead, but drop the heat just a skosh.) A cast iron or other heavy pan works best because it is more temperature stable from its large mass. 

Nice Buns

 

Supper Sunday April 19, 2020: cheeseburger (with all the stuff); sweet potato chips; italian green beans. 

I'm beginning to get much better at the bun thing. Ya gotta make the loop in the knot really big, bigger than you think it needs to be. That also means that the dough rope needs to be a lot longer than you think it should.

I have got to get my raised beds put together soon. We are beginnning to get low on some of the canned goods that we regularly eat. This might be the last jar of Romas. I have to create some garden space for next season.

Like I Said

 

Breakfast, Thursday April 16, 2020: dippy eggs and home fries.

This is just the bowl version. Scallions work too.

Some Things Never Get Old

 

Breakfast, Tuesday April 7, 2020: dippy eggs and

home fries. 

It's amazing what just sprinkling a little parsley on a plate can do.

Celery? Really?

 

Brunch, Sunday April 5, 2020: smoked sausage; french toast (whole wheat bread, milk, cream, egg, vanilla, almond extract, sliced almond, whipped cream);

banana; celery hearts.

I suppose there is nothing wrong with the celery on the plate. I do admit that it is a bit odd, perhaps not the go to accompaniment for most people. She really likes those little tiny celeries. That's all that really matters. 

I suppose also that we eat a lot of french toast. I really like it. That's all that really matters. 

The Mayo Has Not Spoiled

 

Supper, Friday March 26, 2020: burger; fruit; fries.

I like homemade fries, for about 30 seconds. After that they go soft and rubbery and greasy. Boo. 

I finally solved the problem, at least for us. I suppose this works also for julienne fries but we like disks. I slice them a quarter inch on a mandolin. I usually leave the peels on unless they have gotten too much light. The trick is temperature and timing.

Get the oil to 325f, cook the fries to done. When you pull them they will immediately go soggy. Let them rest at least a good five minutes while you bring the oil to 375f. Now drop them again and cook to desired color. They will last a lot longer.

The green stuff is not turned mayo. Avocado, mushed and spread.

Sure Beats The Foam Cup

 

Supper, Saturday April 18, 2020: ramen (homemade noodles, shiitake/chicken broth, shrimp, roasted chicken, egg, shiitake, bellas, scallion, cilantro, fish sauce, soy).

When the pre-packaged ramen in the cello bag and the version in the styrofoam cup flooded the US in the 80s I was a teenager and my mother found that buying them by the case was a good way to keep me and my brother fed. During my college years (a lot longer than they should have been) I would have starved if I didn't have a microwave and cases of salty chewy noodles. (I paid my own way through college. Long story.)

Fast forward to nearly the present, about three years ago. I still have a place for those chewy noodles in my heart, but I really shouldn't eat them on account of the salt. Plus my tastes have changed. I know there is a movement(?) that loves to show how to dress up the plain Jane noodles, and better versions are available at specialty stores. I've just never been motivated to explore that. 

Then I went to a conference in San Diego. When we visit new cities we try to take in regional flavors and independent restaurants. Up to that point I had been to noodle houses but none that had ramen. I was only vaguely aware that ramen houses were even a thing. So when I saw one in downtown SD I was intrigued. Long story short: I had to figure out how to make that sh*t.

The broth is negotiable. Traditionally a rich, slowly and carefully crafted extraction of beef, pork, or less often chicken is used. Also seafood stocks or something akin to a nabeyaki broth are enjoyed. I suppose miso? Whatevs. If you look at a ramen house menu the central philosophy is choice. It should be what you like. The same goes for the other ingredients aside from the noodles.

The noodles are easily purchased. Making them at home is not difficult BUT it requires a speciality ingredient - kansui. It is a solution of potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. It is quite alkali and responsible for the yellow hue and springiness of the pasta. It is a little hard to get. Not all Asian groceries carry it. It might seem expensive online BUT a little goes a long way so it is worth the investment. To my knowledge it can't "go bad" (as long as the bottle is closed and the water doesn't evaporate).

Initially on the interwebs I found some sites that proclaimed it is possible to make ramen noodles with homemade sodium carbonate (made by baking baking soda (LOL, cooking sodium bicarb in the oven for four hours)). My experience with this method was:

Nope. Buy the kansui.

Miscellaneous

Thoughts and observations.

Produce is cheaper in Savannah than it is in Asheville. Sometimes it is WAY cheaper. I am quite fond of artichokes, Alexis of asparagus. They are often half the price in Savannah as in Asheville. In Asheville a good price on a pineapple is 2.99, that is a deep discount. In Sav I can buy them at my neighborhood grocery anytime for 2.50.

 

On Tybee in the winter some restaurants will offer an AYCE oyster roast. You can get them raw or steamed. I would go raw but I cannot anymore (immunosuppressed), but she can. We went to one in January, had a great time. We ate a lot of mollusks. 

I got a super-sized one. I had her model it.

Then she got a redonkulous one. That is a normal one for comparison.

BLTAs are the bomb.

Anytime I find Brussels sprouts sold like this I get them. If I were king this is the only way you could sell fresh ones.

We like cranberry beans. We found something maybe even better. Their mother bean, the cargamanto. They look like a cranberry bean that is almost all red. The skins are thinner and the flesh is creamier. The color, alas, simmers away like the daughter's does.

That's A Lot Of Breakfast

Brunch, Sunday February 2, 2020: jerk pork chop; french toast (whole wheat bread, egg, milk, almond extract, vanilla); mole vegetables (mole sauce, onion, green pepper, baby bellas).

It really is a lot of breakfast. In our defence, however, it really was brunch. On the rare day that we actually sleep in (she sleeps in) we sometimes have a large breakfast then an early supper. We might finish the day with a late snack. Another route is that we will have a light snack in the afternoon then a normal supper. Either way it is two meals and a snack. 

The bread was some half whole wheat that was getting on. Lately I've been experimenting with extracts in french toast batter. Almond, vanilla, lemon, hazelnut, orange are all good. Just depends on your mood. (Orange and vanilla are very good together. Anybody remember Dreamsicles?

The pork chop was from the gift that the renter's parents got us. I just dusted it with a little jerk seasoning then griddled it beside the toast. 

The vegetables were leftover from the night before. Saute whatever, smother with mole, simmer. Mole makes everything better.
 

It's What's For Dinner

Supper, Wednesday January 15, 2020: blackeyed 

pea falafel.

I'm quite fond of this recipe for a couple of reasons. I really like blackeyed peas. The same goes for any of the beans in that family, cow peas, field peas. . . Some of these were once considered fodder so found their way into the diet of poor southerners (historically, read some whites and most blacks). My father fit the bill so I learned to like cow peas. 

Blackeyes are easy to cook. They do not require soaking and they do not take a long time on the stove. Solves the problem of "I'd like some beans for dinner. . . well I guess tomorrow." Most other beans require a much longer time investment.

Broad beans, favas, are a pain in the butt. You have to peel them. The alternative, box mix falafel is WAY too salty. OK, that's three, or maybe four. Anyhoo, I like this falafel mix.

Poop. I don't know where the recipe is. It's mostly just falafel sub blackeyed peas, but when I started writing this I was gonna put up the recipe. I'll have to look and post later. 

BTW Brass does not like January.

 

OMG, OMG, OMG!

Supper, Wednesday January 1, 2020: cod nuggets; fried cauliflower; caesar salad.

I finally caught up to this year.

It's That Time Of Year

 

Supper, Friday December 27, 2019: gnocchi and oysters (onion, broccoli, shiitake, portabella, parsley, parmesan, cream, gnocchi, salt, pepper); stuffed mushrooms (goat cheese, baby bellas, paprika).

Oysters are available all year now, but there is still something a little special about having them over the holidays. My father loved oyster stew. My mother, who would have died before eating an oyster would nonetheless make it for him. I'm not as big on the stew as he was, but I will eat them any way they come. I am especially fond of them raw. Alas, I am immunosuppressed. No more raw seafood for me. 

Boo.

  

I Don't Feel Petite

 Christmas dinner: petite filet, roasted roots,

broccoli casserole.

We're not big on Christmas. Not judgey just not our thing. However, I hate to miss the opportunity to make a special meal. Particularly when the most expensive part is free. 

We have a young man who rents the apartment in the upstairs of our house. We cut him a sweet deal in trade for help with maintenance. He helps cuts the grass, helps with projects, . . . He just graduated from college. That is where I met him from my former life. 

What's this got to do with anything? I think his parents are appreciative of our offer (and maybe the fact that he didn't have to move back as many Millenials have). They were very sweet and sent us a small kit from one of those frozen cryovac steak companies. They were PFG.

Sometimes Simple Is Better

Supper, Friday December 27, 2019: stuffed mushrooms (baby bellas, goat cheese, paprika, salt).

Whatever you decide to put in them stuffed mushrooms are a sublime treat. Crab, crab and cheese, spinach and cheese. . . They are all good. They are not difficult. Mix up the stuffing, mush it in there, bake. 

Most recipes call for a little short of a dozen ingredients, many of them just spices, so they really are not a burden. Despite that I wasn't in the mood. I had surplus mushrooms, and a lot of goat cheese. Both of them can go bad quickly, so I decided to use them together. The two most important things that started me on this path were: I had a lot of goat cheese so filler (breadcrumbs) was not necessary; Alexis really likes goat cheese. 

Wash and stem the caps.

Sprinkle with a little salt

Mush in a ball of cheese.

Sprinkle with paprika (or cayenne, or tarragon, or. . .).

Bake.

Das it.

We did have other stuff for dinner but it all paled in comparison.

 

Oh, I'm Thankful All Right

Supper, Tuesday November 19, 2019: Sunday Roaster.

I should really remember to smoke things more often. So what is stopping me? I think it is a paradigm that I have manufactured about the task. I tend to always go big. Pork shoulder, brisket, turkey. . . They are all a big time investment. Plus there is the whole "How are two people going to eat this before it turns" problem.

There is s simple solution. Just go smaller. Half butts are available or most grocers would be happy to cut one for you. There's turkey breast or a duck. I smoked a meatloaf recently. What's above is not a turkey but one of those plump little roaster hens. It was our Thanksgiving dinner since Alexis always works over the holiday.

We had some roasted taters too. I love those purple guys.

Remember, if you roast potatoes, got overboard a little. Leftover roasted spuds turned into home fries in the morning are sublime. (Under the eggs.)