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.

 

That's Gonna Take Some Heavy Duty Rolling Paper

Supper, Monday February 11, 2019: eggplant parmish kinda thing (fried eggplant, bolognaise, parmesean, smoked cornmeal polenta);

pickled artichoke.

Where Alexis is from, north central Ohio, there is a very kool bulk foods store that is almost also a tourist attraction. For me the beauty is that I can find items that are rare in regular groceries AND at very reasonable prices. A good example is rye flour. I can get it at our regular grocer but it is from a specialty mill and is kinda pricey. In Ohio I can get five pounds for the same price as a pound at home. When we visit family I like to stock up. 

On the last visit I came across roasted corn meal (not really smoked but it is smoky) . I thought "This might make good polenta." I was right. Pretty damned good.

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?

One Of The Greatest Combos Ever

Lunch, Monday July 16: lox bagel (sesame bagel, cream cheese, smoked salmon, tomato, 
lettuce, onion, capers).

I didn't put this together. There is a new coffee shop down the street that I really like. They have a small menu of sammiches and other tidbits. Most importantly, they always have shortbread, one of my favoritest thingses.

This is also a nice example of the penchant for Americans to create culinary mash-ups. Scandinavians devised the method of preserving salmon in salt. Native Americans smoked it. The capers are Italian. Cream cheese probably originated in Britain. The crusty chewy ring of manna probably started with Uigher merchants on the silk road.

New Yorkers put them all together.

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. 

Life Gets In The Way

Supper: Friday October 13: pasta? primavera and shrimp (poblano, cherry tomatoes, leek, wild rice, olive oil, parsley, basil, shredded parm, shrimp, pepper, spaghetti squash, loofah); seaweed salad.

I haven't posted in a while, not that anyone reads this.  Life does get in the way though. I have, however, decided on a course of action. I am going to pick up starting today and back post at the same time. There are a few really good meals I have skipped so I am going to dig them up. 

I grew spaghetti squash for the first time this season. I had moderate success. I harvested a few nice gourds. This one has been in the fridge for a couple of months, They keep well if refrigerated. Once the stem borers destroyed my vines I planted another pair just to see if I could sneak another harvest in before the end of the season. Whadaya know, I might get 3 or 4 new squash.

Yes that ingredient list says loofah. I have come to realize that nearly everyone thinks a loofah is a sponge. It's not, it's a squash. Not only that, when they are young they are edible. There are LOTS of varieties. The Romans perfected them for use as sponges. Alexis uses them in soap. She incorporates a loofah in a soap batch so that when sliced the soap has a built in exfoliating sponge.

Fancy Sardines. . . Is That A Thing?

Supper, Tuesday July 11: fishy cheese bagel (everything bagel, smoked habanero cheddar, fancy sardines, capers); beet and rutabaga salad; cucumber, radish. and tomato salad.

Sardines are in right now. Multiple studies have shown that there is a good correlation between consumption of fish, particularly oily varieties, and better health outcomes vis a vie heart disease, longevity, stroke. . . The problem is that we have gotten way too good at fishing. Modern vessels and techniques have seriously depleted the oceans of the most sought after fish. So we have authorities telling us to eat more fish, but doing so is potentially harmful to the ocean ecosystems, plus fish is 'spensive. ( I admit that this is a relative notion. Beef is 'spensive sure, but the Surgeon General isn't telling us to slam down more Krystal burgers.) So what is a concerned citizen supposed to do? Enter the sardine.

Sardines have become a hot item because they are 1) an oily fish 2) not particularly expensive and 3) a potentially sustainable resource. There is some disagreement over #3 but I suspect that if properly managed the sardine harvest could be sustained. It may even do some good for the ecosystems. considering that we have depleted many top tier predator fish. By harvesting more sardines we might be able to help balance predator-prey ratios.

Nevertheless I have a special fondness for the humble sardine. When I was a child, my father would occasionally indulge in a tin of sardines with some saltines. When I was old enough to appreciate them, about 5 years old, he began sharing his treat with me. My mother did not partake of this repast, she did not like "fishy" fish. She would eat varieties such as flounder, pollock, and perch. We lived near the coast and my father was an avid fisherman so we did eat a lot of fish. Even though my father was responsible for scaling, dressing, and filleting the catch, my mother would carefully inspect each piece for any stray scale or bone. There was no way that she was going to eat a fish complete with scales, bones, and entrails. 

This was, I think some of the fascination I may have had with the little salty, oily treats. The only thing missing was the head. Eating all of the parts normally eschewed was enticing for me at 5. Weren't boys supposed to like gross stuff? I was stereotypical in that sense. So when I opened the tin of these "fancy" sardines and saw fillets the 5 year old looked up and said "Hey, where's the bones and guts and stuff?" He would probably also noted that capers look like rolled up boogers.

Anyhoo, the sardines were good. Yeah, its a thing.

The Leaning Tower O Maize

Supper, Sunday July 09: mediterraneanish platter (heirloom greens, beets, grilled zucchini, olives, hummus, shrimp, rye toast).

OK, I was just being silly. We just got back from our beach condo. When we are there, we tend to eat a lot of seafood. Generally speaking, it's good for us, but we often make 2 mistakes: we eat too much; and we take in too much salt. Often when we get home we get back on our normal habits of watching our salt intake, scaling back on meat, and putting more veggies and grains on the plate.

This was no exception. When we got home, and after we got settled in, I went into the garden to pick some beets, lettuce, and squash. The corn and shrimp came from the coast. They were part of the leftovers from a big pot of low country boil I made for us and my very good friend who lives in the area. I whipped up some hummus and threw a few olives on the plate and voila, a healthy supper.

If you have a blender or a food processor, then you should make sure to find a good hummus recipe(s), something that suits your taste. It is a wonderfully malleable dish. Just the plain-Jane version, the basic recipe, is a tasty snack or side. When you start playing with variations a whole world of flavors opens up. Switch out the chickpeas with lima beans. ( I know that suggestion might induce retching in some, but if you like limas, this is heavenly.) Toss in a few pitted kalamatas at the end for little tidbits of salty goodness. Roasted chilis, pinenuts and basil, black beans, and on and on. Plus it's good for you: legumes; olive oil; garlic; sesame. The ingredient list is a practically an FDA healthy eating guideline.