Snot What It Looks Like

 

Supper, Thursday July 15, 2021: cod fingers; limas; okra 
and tomatoes; rice.

A couple of years ago most of this meal would have been from the garden. At least this year we got the tomatoes. They are tasty. Unfortunately it looks like we are about to have a stinkbug problem. We hates them. I have found no control method other than squishing them by hand. A propane torch tends to damage the plant. Then again, you don't have to kill them with the torch just maim them enough. . .

Enough of that. I wish that okra didn't have the snot thing. I really like okra. I REALLY like fried okra and it is indispensable in gumbo. Like many people (most?) I just have a problem with the mouth feel unless it is cut by cooking with tomatoes for the acidity. (I think that is what makes it better.) At least we can fry it. I suppose that will have to suffice.

Is That A Corncob On Your Plate Or Are You Just Happy To See Me

 

Supper, Thursday July 1, 2021: blackened chop

and garden vegetables.

I first have to admit, as much as Alexis would like it, we do not have an avocado tree. In the past I have planted a massive home garden. At the peak of harvest we have taken in literal mounds of produce. We do not have a large sunny space in our yard in Savannah. I have shifted to small garden beds. I will add a few more this winter. In the end I want to grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, greens, and green beans. That would be enough. We did grow those pretty little tomatoes and the peppers this year though.

But Wait There's More. . .

Supper, Sunday July 28, 2019: super salad (romaine, avocado, blackberry, red onion, cucumber, sprouts, blood orange olive oil, balsamic); fried blue potatoes; fried cauliflower.

This started out as an attempt to make something for the oil we bought. We were visiting family and while there went to one of those indoor markets that are popular in big cities right now. Big open converted space. Lots of food vendors, particularly international. Some specialty shops and groceries. One of the shops was a purveyor of infused oils. Like more than a few people I am on a little bit of a blood orange kick. We bought a couple of gifts and then treated ourselves. 

I was just going to post the picture of the salad, but then I decided that the potatoes looked too good to pass up.

Round And Round. . .

Supper, Sunday March 17, 2019: round stuff (salmon croquettes; fried green tomatoes; peas; carrots).

Round stuff on a square plate. Whatever shape, it's yum.

Burn Baby Burn

Supper, Sunday February 17 2019, roasty grilly smoky stuff (cranberry beans with smoked habanero cheddar; roasted butternut; grilled corn).

Alexis likes bitter and earthy flavors. she likes the earthyness of beans. Here are some cranberry beans, one of our more recent favorites. What we have even more recently discovered is red cargamantos. They are the mother bean of the cranberry bean. Instead of the cream with red flecks of the cranberry bean the cargamanto is deep red with cream flecks. The flavor is similar but the skins are thinner and the texture is creamier.

I had not thought of it until now: Alexis likes smoked things because smoke is bitter. If you don't believe taste the very outside of smoked meat. Unless there is sugar of some form applied the smoke flavor is very bitter. Is that why so many BBQ sauces are super sweet? I think so. We are trained to overpower bitterness with sugar. Think cola. There is an obscene amount of sugar in a regular cola, a little over 9 tsp in a 12 oz can. Without that sugar, cola is just NASTY. We normally think of coffee as bitter. I only put about a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee. By comparison coffee is downright sweet compared to cola.

Bitter flavors are important though, and when balanced properly they lend a great deal of complexity to foods. Gouda and cheddar are yummy. Smoked gouda and cheddar are suuuper yummy. There is just enough sweetness and lots of saltiness and umami to balance the bitter.

For Pete's Sake I'm Finally Into 2019

Supper, Saturday January 12, 2019: mole pork 

(braised pork, carmelized onions, mole sauce); cornbread; quinoa and corn;

avocado and cilantro.

We really like the off the shelf mole sauce that comes in the little jars. I like the little jars for juice glasses. It's wonderfully kitch, and reminiscent of the jelly jars of my youth that my mother bought. It is just great on chicken or pork. We have even used it on shrimp. Take a light touch in that case. Thin it out a bit. A lot of sauce on the shrimp overwhelms the shrimp.

BTW, none of this was difficult. The cornbread was left over from beans and cornbread night. The pork was also leftover. The beauty of sauces is in the transformation of the mundane. 

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.

Happy Turkey* Day

Thanksgiving Dinner: smoked turkey; taters; red cabbage; roasted vegetables; graaaavy.

I love smoking a turkey on my kettle grill. I need to document that next time. 

* There is some small controversy over the claim that the plymouth colonists had turkey at their harvest festival of 1621. While there is no specific mention of turkey at the meals during the 3 day celebration, William Bradford, who was present, notes that around that time that "And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many. . ." As far as I am concerned this is a settled topic.

Everything Is Better With Pizza Sauce

Breakfast, Wednesday September 05: pizza omelet (egg, jalapeno, red pepper, onion, mushroom, bacon, mozzarella, pizza sauce); garden tomato; banana.

As far as Alexis is concerned everything is better with pizza sauce on it (coleslaw?). So when I said I would saute some veggies for eggs her demand was "As long as mine has pizza sauce on it." We had sauce on hand because I was out of town for a few days. "What's that got to do with it?" you ask. If I am not going to be home I usually make sure she has stuff to make herself flatbread pizza. It's not that she is incapable of cooking for herself. She works 12 hour shifts. When she gets home she is tired, but usually has some chore(s) to tend to in my stead: pick beans; water plants; tote boxes upstairs; other housework; etc. So I try to make it easy for her to make herself some comfort food.

Ed's Diner

Supper, Tuesday September 04: meat and three (pork barbecue, sweet corn, yellow Italian beans, cauliflower and cheddar).

Over the years I have had many people tell me "You should open a restaurant!" I always graciously thank them. What I don't tell them is that I worked for some time in that industry in both the corporate and independent versions.  I've done more or less every job in the restaurant business. (No I can't say that I have been officially a Poissonnier, but very few restaurants in the world have one). I can therefore say with all certainty, it is really hard work. I mean REALLY hard. Not only that, the hardest job is owner/chef of an independent restaurant. 

I cook at home or for guests for my own amusement. I do not want it to be my job. Beyond that I would also note that just about the only thing that cooking at home and running a restaurant have in common is that both use food somehow. That's about it. 

What Is So Sublime About Cheese And Eggs?

Breakfast, Friday August 17: cheesy eggs 

(eggs (DUH), medium cheddar, salsa); 

hash browns with salsa; tomato, avocado, 

Hawaiian sea salt, ev olive oil.

Seriously, take gooey eggs, mix in some cheese til it's all melty and gooier. What we should say is "Wow! This has the texture of Rhinoceros snot." We don't. Pourquoi pas? I guess it just tastes that good and we have learned to accept that texture.

I saw a news story recently on specialty ice creams. One featured had the property that it stretched like melted mozzarella. I'm not sure I could do it. The texture would be too foreign.

I Gotta Get A New Phone

Lunch, Monday August 13 homemade lunchable (grilled squash, yellow Italian beans, 

Ohio sharp cheddar, 

beer and mustard cheese, Trail bologna).

The glass over the camera on my phone has gotten badly scratched. It is making all my pictures very blurry. 
Did I mention that Alexis just adores her little bento style lunch box? Yeah, she does. She is also a fan of nibbly things. Win, win.

I Got Inspired

Supper, Friday July 13: ceviche (scallops, shrimp, yellow fin, lime juice, scallion, cilantro, salt); cucumber salad (cucumber, sun dried tomato, miracle whip, rice vinegar); yellow italian beans; swiss.

We visited St Augustine FL recently. The main reason for the visit was to attend a concert there, but really we will take just about any excuse to visit there. Our favorite activity is what we like to call the "Sangria and ceviche tour." We walk about window shopping and duck into any place that looks like they have sangria and ceviche.  

So, I got inspired.

Ceviche is really easy. Prep the seafood (peel, dice, whatever) combine the ingredients. let it steep for an hour or two (this depends on the seafood and the size of the pieces.) Enjoy! The acid in the lime juice "cooks" the seafood and does a good job of killing bacteria.

This was a hot day and I had no intention of eating hot food, so even the beans are cold. Eaten this way they are yummy with a little ranch.

Too Much Lettuce

Lunch, Sunday June 24: bean soup; cheese, lettuce, and cucumber wrap; olive; stuffed pepper.

Not much to say. We have a lot of lettuce from the garden so instead of a salad "how about a wrap.?"

It Doesn't Get Any More Southern Than This

Supper, Saturday June 16: smoked pork; mixed greens; fried squash, fried taters.

I have ranted on BBQ before. I don't need to right now. I'll come back to it later. 

The greens of my youth were chopped, and boiled with smoked pork, jowls or hocks, until you could almost eat them with a straw. 

I exaggerate, but they most certainly were cooked until soft. Now if that was mustard or turnip greens then that would not take too long, but if it was kale or collards then it could be an all day affair depending on the season (winter collards ate more tender, and sweeter to boot). As for now I tend to cook greens with a little tooth left, but that does depend on the culinary context. In this instance we have a very traditional accompaniment so I cooked them a little soft. On the other hand If I were going to serve them as the centerpiece under a salt block seared piece of grouper I would likely leave them a bit al dente. 

I play around with seasoning too. Traditional is OK. A little chopped onion is good with a little vegetable base. Sometimes I will add a little crushed tomato or crushed red pepper. Coarsely chopped kale sauteed in olive oil with garlic and sesame seeds is great. 

There are a bunch of new approaches to be found on the interwebs. Greens are a "superfood" dinja know? Who knew? We've been eating healthy in the south all along.

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.)

When Life Gives You Lemons. . .

Lunch, Saturday May 5: spinach and carnitas enchiladas (leftover burrito filling, corn tortillas, habanero cheddar verde sauce); mixed greens; avocado; yogurt.

When life gives you a burrito, make enchiladas! I like it when I can re-task some leftovers so that I end up with something at least as good as the original. The mexi-cali restaurant we frequent has, like most of its kin, burritos bigger than your head. When we get our plate (it is tempting to call it a platter) the first thing we usually do is cut the burrito in half. We eat half there then take the other half home. 

The problem is that the flour tortilla turns into mush from the moisture in the filling and topping. I've been avoiding this by removing the filling(s) and placing them in new flour or corn tortillas. It's no longer leftovers but a new dish as good as the original.

Spring Means Greens

Supper, Friday May 17: salad-n-stuff (mixed garden greens, avocado, mustard and ale cheese, mixed olives, marinated mushrooms, boiled shrimp, 

poached salmon).

Greens are coming in so we are going to be eating a lot of salad.

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.

When The Sauce Is The Star

Supper, Wednesday November 15: pumpkin and nasturtium sauce* over 3 cheese tortellini; multi-grain toast.

This is a good example of experimenting with ingredients on hand. The sauce came about in a "stone soup" fashion. I just kept adding things until I was satisfied with the result.

*Here's kinda how it went. It started with a healthy portion of cooked garden pumpkin and even healthier portion of nasturtium leaves and flowers. I sauteed these together to use later in a sauce because a frost was coming that would kill the nasturtiums. When I finally got to it I added chopped leek, minced shallot, and minced garlic. I sauteed this mix for a bit with some olive oil whilst pondering the rest of the ingredients. I decided to spice with harrissa. That was the most important choice. It really worked well well with the other ingredients. I finished with some vegetable base and half and half. This simmered for a bit, til thickened. 

As I was tasting while creating the sauce I began to realize that it was morphing into something more like a side dish, say heading toward creamed spinach. So rather than the sauce accompanying the pasta I wanted to think of it the other way. That is why when plating I put down a larger portion of sauce then the pasta and then more sauce, surrounding the pasta. A little paprika and done.