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.

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.

They Just Sploded!

Supper, Thursday October 24, 2019: pea soup (bacon, onion, carrot, celery, split peas, stock, salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne); mashed potato balls (leftover mash, cheddar, egg wash, breadcrumbs).

There is a little bit to look at here. First let me comment on the soup. Whether it is ham, bacon, smoked turkey. . . I like to brown the meat first, add oil if necessary. Then I set it aside to saute the mirepoix. When it is beginning to get tender I add some stock. I will use chicken stock I have canned or vegetable base and water depending on my mood. Simmer until the veggies are soft. 

At this point I have added a lot of flavor with the vegetables but split pea soup should be smooth sans bits of the seasoning meat. So I use a hand blender to puree the veggies. That is why I set the meat aside. Now add the peas and spices and simmer til the peas fall apart. 

What I want to say about the balls is that I made them too well. I am very good at breading things. These were so well breaded that the coating formed a hermetic seal around the potato and cheese filling. The coating cooked hard then the inside began to melt and finally boil. Those suckers started ejecting their contents like Kilauea. Seriously, they were spewing. I had to get them out as quickly as possible. I haven't attempted that again so I don't know what to do. Poke holes in them?

They were tasty though. 

Soul Food. . . Ish

Supper, Friday February 22, 2019: fried catfish; sweet potato; bok choy with lemon and feta.

If you told someone you were having soul food for dinner and they asked what specifically. The answer "Catfish, sweet potato, and greens" would be received with a nod of approval. (By anyone who knew soul food.) If you replied, "Fried catfish, sweet potato, bok choy with lemon and feta" you will likely get a different response. 

Call it soul fusion.

Rut Roh Raggy

Supper, Monday February 4, 2019: mystery dish (rice, I think, with verde sauce) grilled shrimp 

and pineapple.

The biggest problem with getting behind on this has been forgetting exactly what some of the meals actually were. This is a case in point. That is a homemade verde from tomatillos that we grew but I am not sure what is under there. 

A trick I learned many years ago in the restaurant biz was to skewer shrimp then marinate in cheap italian dressing. It provides a little acidity and fat along with the flavors so lemon juice and butter are in my opinion not necessary. 

I Can't Believe It's Not Barbeque

Supper, Monday November 19, 2018: "barbeque" platter (creamed corn; slaw; pineapple tidbits; *pork with sauce).

* I think of this as pseudo-barbeque. Real barbeque is meat smoked over a low temperature heat source (the best is wood) slowly over an extended cook time. Cooking a chicken breast over a hot fire is not barbequing. It is grilling. Putting barbeque sauce on cooked meat does not make it barbeque. Barbeque sauce is just what the name says: sauce for barbeque. 

That said, braising some pork and serving it with a healthy portion of your favorite sauce might very well be quite tasty. Please, just call it what it is: braised pork. 

What's the best sauce? That is actually not an answerable question. Seriously. There are LOTS of different styles. It's like asking, "What's the best fruit?" "What's the best dog?" The choices are so disparate that they are incomparable. If anyone says something to the effect of "X is the best barbeque sauce" You should ask "What style?" If they can't say then they are full of s...auce. 

I happen to favor Lexington style in general, but I have had that sweet, dark north Texas stuff and it is admittedly pretty good on brisket. Memphis dry rub ribs? Not my thing.

That stuff in the picture is some home-canned pork with a healthy portion of a sweet bourbon sauce on it. It's damned tasty. It's not barbeque.

Boredom

Breakfast, Friday October 26, 2018: deconstructed breakfast sandwiches (whole wheat biscuits, egg, cheese, sausage avocado cilantro);

pickle (okra, beet).

Nobody wants to be bored. In the first world*, and some of the third world, it would seem that there is no reason to be. There is access to the web through a cell phone. Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Ashley Madison ;) easily provide something to fill available time. It turns out though that there is a reason.

Creativity.

Yeah, it turns out that boredom is useful and may even be required to inspire creativity. Google it: boredom and creativity. 'Cause if you are reading this then you are probably bored. 

As a young man Sir Isaac Newton went on a self imposed exile from London fleeing the plague. While ensconced alone with few visitors in a small rural cottage he created or discovered no less than: the calculus; optics and the theory of light, the laws of motion, the law of gravity. . . 

Sir Isaac I am not, this will have to do.

*What exactly is the second world? Mississippi?

It's Good For Ya

Supper, Monday October 22, 2018: med-platter (hummus, mixed pickle, baba ganoush, tabouleh, goat cheese). 

We call this or any slightly different knoshing meal a med-platter, as in Mediterranean. (I must thank the FSM in his noodly visage for the gift of spell-check. If I haven't learned to spell Medi-whatever by now I am pretty sure it ain't gonna happen.) We have it with crackers, flour tortillas, baked pita or toast points. Depends on what we have and what is available. 

The tabouleh looks a little funny because it has sun dried tomatoes. I'm kinda cool on them in this case. I don't think the texture works. Mama likes them so dey in dere. 

Ever notice something odd about the way we say "goat cheese?" For examples like cheddar or kuminost (it's a real thing) we say "cow's milk cheese." For manchego or pecorino romano we say "sheep's milk cheese." Then there is "goat cheese." Cheese made out of goats? Eehh?

I Meant To Put It Inside

Supper, Tuesday March 13: salmon quesadilla (tinned salmon, green pepper, scallion, feta, smoked habanero cheddar, cilantro); chard with feta and lemon juice; salsa; avocado; salsa yogurt.

I actually meant to put the avocado inside the tortillas, but I simply forgot. I was looking to give Alexis a normative experience. See, there is a local mexi-cali place we like and she frequently gets the avocado quesadilla. She really likes avocado and they put a LOT on, but the last couple of times the avocado has been sliced so thick so that the tortilla was browned but the cheese inside wasn't melted. I had hoped to put the avocado inside and ensure that everything was all melty. 

Oh well, inside, outside, upside down, doesn't matter it made for a decent presentation. 

Where's The Cranberries?

Lunch, Saturday March 10: cranberry beans (home canned cranberry beans, salt, pepper, ground habanero, roasted garlic powder, horseradish cheddar, yogurt); onion strings; slaw.

That's cranberry BEANS. They are awesome. Earthy like a pinto (which they kinda look like), creamy like a cannellini, with some floral high notes. They can be found with dry beans in a store that has a large selection. We grow them every year. They are a great producer and the fresh beans have more of the floral and grassy notes. (Who'da thunk you could talk about beans like wine).

I've made my yogurt routine more complicated. I had been straining plain nonfat yogurt to make "greek" yogurt. I read recently that a moderate amount of dairy fat is a good thing. So I decided that Low Fat yogurt would be the ticket.

NOPE.

Not available, at least for a reasonable price. So now I get nonfat and whole milk, strain and blend. Tadarrrr. Low fat "greek" yogurt.

Jalapeno Relish is Da Bomb

Breakfast, Friday February 23: french toast (home made multi-grain, egg, milk, cream, toasted pecan); yogurt and marmalade swirl, apple, jalapeno relish.

Two important things to emphasize: orange marmalade and jalapeno relish. Orange marmalade is not like other jams or jellies. Its preparation is even easier. That is a little surprising in that jellies are not that complicated. I will allow that they are tedious, timing is important, but the steps require no special skill. Just follow that instructions in the pectin pack. The instructions for marmalade on the other hand are basically: slice; boil; sweeten. Obviously I am oversimplifying, but the point I meant to make is that precise timing and measurement are not as much a concern. Making marmalade is not as tedious as other jams. A great treatment of the details is delivered by Chef Brown. Just follow this link.

I wish I could claim the jalapeno relish 'cause it is REALLY good. It is a gift from the mother of dear friends of ours. Sweet, but not overly, a touch of heat but accessible to nearly anyone, big pepper flavor, deep rich color. I used it for the first time last night to make thousand island dressing for reubens. Best Dressing Evar! I only hope that she is willing to share the recipe. 

If It Weren't For The Picture

Lunch, Tuesday November 16: Plowman's (mixed pickles, pineapple, mixed cheese, baguette).

It's kinda a crappy picture but I like it (very J. J. Abrams) otherwise I wouldn't have posted it.

It Doesn't Look Like Leftovers

Lunch, Thursday November 02: re-task enchiladas (left over burrito filling from the previous nights restaurant, seared corn tortillas, verde, cheddar); mexi-rice; pickle.

The problem with a leftover burrito is that the tortilla transforms in places, particularly on the bottom, to a mushy goo. Technically edible, not palatable. I like to transpose the filling to seared corn tortillas for enchiladas. Much better.

I've said it before and I will keep on saying it, we, as in most Americans, throw away too much perfectly good food. Not just from the table, it starts in the field. According to the NRDC about 40% of the food grown here is doesn't make it to the table, mostly because it isn't pretty enough. 50 million Americans are food insecure and we are tossing millions of tons of food mostly because of unreasonable expectations vis a vie appearance. 

Does using my leftover burrito filling make a difference. No, but it is the principle. I don't get to bitch about food waste and then throw away half a burrito. 

A little more moral consistency in the world would make it a better place.

It's Cranberry Time!!!

Breakfast, Wednesday November 01: toast and sausage gravy; cranberry salad; banana, pickled okra.

I really like that cranberry salad. There is a recipe here. I won't belabor the point.

We both enjoy sausage gravy. Here I stumbled on some bulk store sausage that was deeply discounted, It is a little bland to I added dome of my sausage spices and some crushed red pepper for some kick, I usually make it in a pound batch. We will get a couple of meals out of that much. This is an item that reheats very well

Yin-Yang

Breakfast, Sunday October 26: black beans (olive oil. onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, feta); mexi-rice (wild rice, arborio, tomato paste, onion, garlic, vegetable base); scramble (eggs, parsley, chive, cilantro); fried plantain.

I have a bit of insomnia now and again. Sometimes I wake up WAY to early and then there is no going back to sleep. I think this time it was about 4 am. Alexis slept in so I had a lot of time to spend on this.

It's Tomato Time!!!

Supper, Tuesday July 25: farfale and mackerel (farfale, garden tomato, olive oil, garlic, tinned mackerel and the juice, parm); mixed pickle.

No need for broth or bullion, or additional salt for that matter. Just use the fish juice. (Yeah, that sounds really awful doesn't it? MMMM. . . fish juice! Broth? Canning water? Squeezin's?) Whatevs. It's good. Really.

It's Not A Fish

Supper, Wednesday June 28: cuttlefish, vegetables and farfale ( cuttlefish, farfale, zucchini, patty pan, red onion, garlic, parm, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, fresh basil, thyme, oregano ); turnip greens.

We really like cephalopods. Octopus, squid, cuttlefish are always on the menu when we run across them. The Asian store we shop at has frozen, cleaned, cuttlefish in vacuum packs. This is a typical meal I prepare, red sauce, maybe some vegetables, and pasta. I also use them for Thai or other Asian fare. 

When I started this post I thought "Cuttlefish. . . cuttle? What's a cuttle? Is it a thing?" Yes Virginia it is a thing. The precise origin of the cuttle in cuttlefish is uncertain but there are three related linguistic candidates: Middle Low German küdel meaning container or pocket; Old Norse koddi which refers to a cushion or testicle; and my favorite Old English codd or scrotum. 

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

Breakfast, Saturday June 24: roasted roots; scramble (onions, spinach, cheddar, eggs); shredded beef gravy; toast.

I'm including this one because it is an example of trying to put something together for a crowd that has odd tastes with limited ingredients. We were visiting family.

The previous evening I needed to whip up something quick. Meat is kind of a requirement but the supply was limited to some home canned beef. I suggested making something like chipped beef and gravy since there was also an abundance of fresh bread. We had some root vegetables from the garden. Throw in some salad greens and it was a reasonable supper. 

In the morning there were just three of us from the previous evening. There was a bit of the roasted roots and the shredded beef gravy. A little bit of scramble and a decent, if not attractive, repast was had. 

Fritter Away The Hours In An Offhand Way. . .

Supper, Monday June 19: mexi-rice (arborio rice, veggie bullion, peas, tomato sauce); kinda verde pork (onion, squash, shredded pork, verde sauce, chili powder to taste); kohlrabi fritter; sour cream; lime.

Kohlrabi was still in season. The garden gave up the last few bulbs. Alexis likes these little pancakes. It's like eating a potato pancake but with less starch and more fiber. In fact you get pretty good results from just substituting in a potato pancake recipe.

I home can meats. With pork I like to get a Boston but or two when there is a sale. I trim and cube the meat then pack it in jars. Follow the recommendations in the "Blue Book" (the Ball company canning bible). When it is done I also have enough trimmings to make a little sausage with the stand mixer grinder attachment.

The larger point is. . . I have home canned meat on hand that allows me to whip up something tasty like the above verde pork quickly. I didnt have to braise the meat in tomatillo sauce for 6 hours. Now is it as good as a traditional verde? No. was it close and easy to prepare? You betcha. Saute the veggies til just starting to get tender. Add the rest. Simmer a little. Yum.

Next time I make up some jars I'm gonna post it.

But It Looks Like A Sausage

Breakfast, Saturday June 10: blueberry whole wheat pancakes; fausage; peaches.

I've written about fausage before. Though I am an avowed omnivore I like it occasionally. I will even admit that it is likely better for me than the real thing.

Bacon is good. Sausage is good.