Back. . . Again

 

 Supper, Tuesday May 11, 2021: Surf and turf (seared round steak (steak of your choosing. I choose-ed a couple of round cuts that were in the reduced section. It is what I had on hand. salt, pepper, browned butter pan reduction from the lobster); lobster (shelled and sliced tails, butter, white wine, cooked in the steak pan); kohlrabi fritters (shredded kohlrabi, egg, flour, buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper, avocado cream sauce (avocado, yogurt, sour creme,

salt lemon juice)); FGT (green tomatoes, breading of your choice, tomato chutney).

Life finds a way. . . of getting in the way. We finally moved to Savannah. I got busy with the house. Then I had a very bad run with my disease. Along the way I occasionally got lost in ennui. And so on. I am not going to even try to catch up. I haven't been taking a lot of photos lately anyway. 

Last night's meal is one of the best I have ever made. ( So much so that It inspired me to get back to writing. Yes it was literally life changing. It all just worked together so well. It was an experience to be savored, slowly. Actually I shouldn't equivocate. It was THE best.)

I had a procedure done yesterday. Let it suffice to say the procedure required fasting. I wanted a nice meal after. I originally planned on going out. I got the second shot about three weeks ago so I assumed I would be relatively safe if I went to a restaurant. Nope. I had the antibody test done a week ago. The vaccine did not take. I have no immunity. My immune suppressants are doing their job, just to well in this case. I decided to stay in.

I needed a few things at the grocer. While there the meal started to come together. The

lobster and meat were on sale. I hadn't had kohlrabi fritters in forever. The green tomatoes were be-au-ti-ful. 

We agreed, at the end, that we could not have purchased a better meal anywhere. That good.

 

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.

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.

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.

They Will Never Ask For That Again

 

Special Halloween treat: corned tongue; bread; horseradish sauce.

Alexis' workplace decided to have a themed Halloween potluck. Bring "scary" food. Well the first thing that popped into my head was corned tongue. I will let the pictures do most of the talking. Above is the original product. I corned it, braised it, bked a giant batard to carve a lower jaw out of and created a cow-pire. They will never ask me for scary food again.

I slay me.

It's an Asheville Thing

Breakfast: Saturday October 19, 2019: meatloaf wrap (tortilla. coarse spicy mustard, smoked meatloaf, cheddar, romaine).

I'm sure there was some fruit or something also, but it didn't make it to the picture. I smoked the meatloaf a few days back. I didn't talk about that. Don't know why, just didn't want to. I just mixed up some meatloaf, placed it onto a metal baguette form, and smoked it. 

The real star here though is the lowly condiment. It is a locally produced mustard. It is REALLY good. It is pricey as far as mustard goes but worth it. I could just eat it out of the jar. 

Do German Leaders Have Lumpy Heads?

 

Supper, Tuesday October 08, 2019: cheeseburgers (homemade bun, LTOMWK, cheddar, 80/20 beef).

I use the same recipe to make pizza dough (mostly) as I do to make a couple of loaves of bread. The drawback, or benefit, is that it is too much dough for the size pizza I usually make. Lately I have been making buns out of some of the dough. Two rolls reduces the dough by just enough. I have even found an easy way to make Kaiser rolls. This was one of my first attempts. Not so good. I've gotten better. 

The method is amazingly simple. I was surprised it worked. You start by rolling the dough into a rope. Then you tie a loose granny knot in the middle. You finish by continuing wrapping the ends around the loop and tucking them in/under. Google it. It's not hard to find. The key is don't futz with it too much trying to get it perfect. That is what I did to those above and it did not go so well.

I was trying to make a joke about Kaisers and oddly shaped bread. Dumb.

Captain Beefheart

Supper Sunday June 2, 2019: heart stew (beef heart, garlic, onion, celery, mushroom, roots).

If you are looking for a strong beefy flavor, look no further. We have a grocery that caters to the latin and hispanic communities. It has a large section of imported foods from spanish speaking nations. At one end of the meat counter is the "weird stuff." Chicken feet, honeycomb tripe. . , and heart. They are vacuum wrapped halfs (a whole heart is as big as your head).

I trim off the sinewy parts and fat. Just wait before you go off about fat and flavor. Cube the remains and toss with salt and pepper. 

The fat et al goes into the pot to render. I let the dogs have the rendered gobbets. At this point they are losing their minds 'cause the the house smells like beef blood. For obvious reasons the metallic odor of blood is strong.

Brown the meat in the rendered fat. Add oil as necessary. 

Add the onions and garlic to sweat.

Cover with water and/or vegetable stock/bullion. There is plenty of beef going on here. Toss in a little thyme and parsley. I like a tiny pinch of tarragon - been kinda into tarragon lately. Now heart is tough (duh). It needs to simmer a bit. This is why I don't flour the meat to make the roux with the browning meat. I don't want to chance the gravy sticking during the extended simmer. Time? Depends on the simmer heat, the age of the meat. . . It can take a few hours. It's like cooking goat curry. Simmer until it is starting to get tender then add the veggies. Whatever vegetable you like. I didn't have parsnips this time. I like them in this. A little barley is good too. 

Finish with a light brown roux salt if necessary.

Soul Food. . . Ish deux

Supper, Saturday February 23, 2019: oxtails; roasted vegetables; wild rice blend; lima beans.

Oxtails*, couldn't get more soul food. OK, shiitakes and wild rice? 

See previous.

*Aren't they steertails?

Because Okra

Supper, Tuesday November 27, 2018: cheeseburger sans bun (grilled beef, swiss, avocado); fried okra; roasted mixed roots; onion strings.

For more on okra or onion strings.

The Comeback King

Supper, Monday November 5, 2018: Meatloaf (ground beef, egg, spinach, rolled oats, pumpkin seed kernels, onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper); baked sweet potato; mixed pickle.

Way back in the day Alexis would cook. This was before we had established our roles as a couple. For me cooking is enjoyable. Usually I lose myself in the moment. This is a really helpful thing now that I have a chronic pain condition. For Alexis not so much. She can cook. In fact the dishes she has made were alway good, but for her the act is anxiety provoking. She will cook if she has to. I cook because I want to. 

One of the things that she made back in the day was meatloaf. She liked to make comfort foods. She stepped it up a notch by using an interesting recipe she found. It was spinach and pine nut meatloaf. I really liked it. The whole pine nuts added a crunchy texture and the spinach lightened an otherwise heavy dish. 

Since then I have made a number of variations on the original recipe. In this case I used pumpkin seed kernels instead of the pine nuts. This was borne out of necessity, we had no pine nuts. Here I used a little spinach but in the past I have used the leafy parts of chard or boc choy finely chopped. One other difference my version has it that I use rolled oats as the liquid soaker-upper. Again, this is a texture thing. I like the little toothiness that the oats bring. 

Comfort foods like this have made a comeback recently. The difference being that the recipes are like the one here. New takes on old standards. I like to think it is in great part due to the maturing of the american palate, at least in some regions. Take your favorite meatloaf recipe, sub oats for the breadcrumbs, add a small bag of frozen chopped spinach, and pine nuts or pumpkin seeds or almond slivers? Idunno, play with it. (Frozen peas? Diced parsnip?)

Oh yeah, thaw the spinach then squeeze the everlivin snot out of it. You need to get the excess moisture out. 

Where's The Psgetti?

Supper, Saturday May 26: stir fry pods (snow peas, garlic, chopped cashews, soy sauce, mirin); meatballs (ground beef, ground pork, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper); marinara; shredded parm.

I REALLY like pasta. The low carb thing is a little difficult for me. I can see the logic of it: lower the thing that is most of your diet. That doesn't make it easier though. This was a good combo though. Meatballs and sauce with a side of something that is chewy and saucy itself. 

I do have an admission: it's not really parm. There is a local creamery that makes fantastic cheese. This selection started as a cheddar process then was further treated and aged so that it came out similar to Argentine Parm. I tasted it at the shop and knew immediately that I needed some for the meatballs I had recently made. (Actually we are just suckers for cheese, but that is my story and I am sticking to it.)

Just Half

Breakfast, Saturday March 10: salsa eggs, bagel, apple. 

I'm s'posed to cut back on the carbs. I am not eliminating. I'm not into that level of self-denial. So HALF a bagel and HALF an apple. Plus I'm going to the gym after breakfast.

Lima Beans Go With Everything

Supper, Wednesday November 08: stuffed pepper (ground pork, ground beef, chili spice, quinoa, egg, poblano, verde sauce); lima beans; seared tortilla.

One of the nice things about lima beans is that you can use them as a starch or as a green vegetable.

We had a nice final harvest of peppers. We had quite a few very pretty poblanos. I made a big batch of stuffed peppers. I smothered them in some of the homemade verde sauce that I made with the last harvest of tomatillos. The substitution of the more traditional rice with quinoa was a good choice. The quinoa cooked done. With rice sometimes it does not cook all the way, and you are left with meat full of crunchy rice. Not my favorite.

It's What's For Dinner. . .

Supper, Monday October 10: pot roast (ginormous ribeye, English roast spice blend, carrots, potatoes, cardoon, onion, parsnip).

Yes I said Ribeye. Hear me out. I was at the store scanning the meat dept for deals and spotted this ribeye reduced for quick sale. It was huge, nearly a pound and a half. That is way more meat then Alexis would eat at one sitting. Steak is good. Leftover steak is not. Then I got a funny idea, "That thing is the size of a small pot roast." I bought it. I put it in the crock for about an hour with a spice blend we got at some novelty spice store, a little garlic, a little water, and a bit of marsala. I added the vegetables save the potatoes then let that simmer til they were just tender then added the taters. It was scary good AND ALSO THE NEXT DAY.

Remember that "It's what's for dinner" campaign for beef back in the 90s? A couple of different voice actors worked on that, eventually Sam Elliot got involved. he was the voice of beef. Listening to him made you want to run out and rope a steer, start a fire, and cut out a slab right then and there. 

Just Like Mama Used To. . .

Supper, Thursday July 13: meatloaf (ground beef, ground lamb, egg, cracker crumbs. pine-nuts, spinach, onion, black pepper, garlic powder); green beans (beans, olive oil, sliced almonds, garlic, soy sauce); garlic and parm mashed potatoes.

OK so maybe not just like mom's but the intent is the same. All the basic ingredients are there but this has the flavors turned up a bit. If you are like me your parents had relatively simple tastes. A dish was "spicy" if there was too much black pepper in it. Affluent tastes have filtered down the socioeconomic ladder. The mention of eating raw fish would make my mother shudder. I'm not exaggerating, a genuine physical reaction. Alexis and I have sushi for Christmas dinner. Really. Been doing it for years. 

So embrace your comfort food. Just update it a little (not too much) and make it your own.

Oh yeah, meatloaf. Say meatloaf today and most people think ground beef. There's a reason it's called meatloaf not beefloaf. Look for older or more traditional recipes, they often call for some combination of beef, veal, lamb, and pork. MEATloaf. Using just ground beef means missing out on the complexity and depth of flavors provided by the other cuts. Just sayin'.

I Swear There's Greens Under There

Supper, Wednesday June 14: BAS.

Big. Ass. Salad. 

The cheese and the meat obviously did not come from the garden, but most of the rest is from the backyard. I love those little heirloom cucumbers. 

Mmmhhmmm. . . some folk calls it Mexican sour. I calls it mouse melon. Mmmhhmmm. 

Either way they are tasty. It is an heirloom variety that is very suitable for a container. I have four plants in pots with a stake for the vines to climb on. This actually works better than growing them on the ground. It is uncomfortable and tedious searching for tiny green balls smaller than grapes amidst the leaves of the plant. Better that they grow on a stake or even a fence.

'Cause That's What You Do

Supper, Friday June 2: corned tongue; bubble and squeak (cabbage, carrots, potatoes, broth).

I know this is wrong. Bubble and squeak is a British side made from leftover vegetables and mashed potatoes. I've always called the above collection of vegetables boiled in stock or even just plain water bubble and squeak. I don't know where I picked it up but to me the name makes more sense. Food can sometimes be fun not just when you eat it but also for hours later. Bubble and squeak, 'cause that's what you do.

It's A Bit Chewy

Supper, Friday April 15: seared flat steak; mixed vegetable; asparagus; avocado; quinoa and beets.

I don't have this happen often but here is one of my failures. The meat looks pretty but it was so tough as to be almost inedible. It was very tasty but, man, it took some chewin'. I need to figure out what to do with this. 

I Think It Is Still Kosher

Breakfast, Thursday April 14: roast beef hash* (leftover brisket, potato); mixed fruit; tomato juice.

*Here is another example of re-tasking. Sure the brisket is leftover, but it's not being used it the same way as it was yesterday. Instead of slicing it up I shredded it with the mandolin along with some potato. Now it's not "leftovers" it is something new entirely. 

I know I've commented on our tomato juice before, but I want to give the ingredients. I buy the tomatoes by the case at the farmers market in 25 pound boxes. Now check this out: second grade tomatoes AKA #2 are perfectly good tomatoes but they are blemished or oddly shaped so they are cheaper. They are fine for juice making and get this, in season a case will be as low as 8 dollars.  

To every case of tomatoes I add 2 jalapenos, a fist full of parsley (half a bunch), 4 garlic cloves, and 3 tablespoons of salt.

I think I will show the process later, after I get caught up.