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.

 

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.

Green Soup Is Always A Little Intimidating

Supper, Sunday November 07: nasturtium and leek soup;* wilted greens salad, whole wheat biscuit.

*We had a friend over for dinner. Traditionally this would be made with chicken stock. Our friend is a vegetarian so I made this with vegetable base instead. Truth be told that is what I would normally use. I make my own meat stocks but I use a commercial vegetable base concentrate. I use it whenever anything needs a little flavor boost and or some salt. Rice, add a little base. Polenta, add a little base. Soup a little weak, add a little base. 

It's All About The Sauce

Supper, Sunday October 09: tofu verde (seared tofu. garden tomatillos, onion, garlic, roasted chilis, chili powder, olive oil); mexi-rice (long grain rice, tomato sauce, chili powder, pinto beans, corn); olives; grilled pineapple; toast.

We had a decent tomatillo harvest this fall. I was pleased to have anything. I had trouble with my seed starts back in the spring. I finally ended up with 4 good plants. Of the 4, 3 were good producers. I canned some and I made verde sauce. We had a vegetarian friend join us for dinner so I seared some tofu well in a pan then smothered in in the verde and let it simmer a bit. It was great. I think verde sauce is to Mex/SW cuisine as vindaloo is to Indian. The protein is of little consequence, It could be braised possum, but no one would know otherwise. So, the tofu was great. 

Using fresh tomatillos is easy. Remove the husks. Rinse well. Quarter, Put in a sauce-pot with just a couple ounces of water. Simmer til they have broken down. 

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.

Squee!

Supper, Sunday May 21: artisanal radish canape (mushroom pate, capers, celery leaf).

I wanted comfort food. I wasn't feeling well. For me, the best comfort food is chicken and pastry. That was the main course. I wrote about my favorite food in a previous post so follow that link if you're interested in my blatherings. 

As a funky side we had mushroom pate, but with a twist. Just that day I was chatting with my friend and neighbor across the street. I showed him the lovely daikon radish I had just harvested. He related a story of a relative (uncle?) who used daikon slices like crackers. Alexis and I had been eating them sliced as nibbles already. This just got me on the question of what to eat on a daikon cracker. Mushroom pate popped in my head. I hadn't made that in forever, and a quick look in my recipe box showed I did not have a recipe. 

Yay interwebs! I scanned a few recipes, fused and modified to come up with something to my taste. (Been on a tarragon kick lately. Don't know why, I used to hate tarragon.) I will give the recipe at the end but first I need to comment on the radish. Clearly the picture above is not of a daikon radish. The radish pictured is a variety called "Sweet Baby." It is purple, cylindrical, and about 3 inches long. Perfect for slicing. The name comes from the flavor. Cut a slice, lay it on the tongue, a subtle sweetness pops out, then when you bite you get that good radish burn. That little second or two of sweet is a little surprising and fun. 

Anyhoo here is the recipe.

5 medium portabella caps coarsely chopped
5 dried shiitake caps coarsely choped
2 shallots diced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup pinenuts lightly toasted 
1 tsp rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 heaping Tbsp capers
1/4 tsp each of salt and freshly ground pepper

Soak the chopped Shiitakis  in a cup of boiling hot water until tender.
Sweat the shallots in the olive oil over medium heat.
Drain the shiitakes, reserve the liquid.
Add the portabellas and the drained shiitakes and saute 5 minutes. 
Add the reserved liquid, spices, and 2/3 of the pinenuts.
Simmer until liquid is mostly reduced away. 
Process with the sesame oil to a paste. 
Fold in the capers and the remaining pinenuts.

For A Friend

Supper, Sunday May 7: sweet and sour tofu.

I will start by coming clean on something. I used to be a tofu scoffer, but for reasons not important here I had to start eating it. Now I like it. Really. I voluntarily eat it. 

In this case Alexis invited a friend from work over for dinner. She is a vegetarian. I had been thinking about sweet and sour something for a few days. Don't know why. This was the perfect entree.

Bluuuuuuuuueberries

Breakfast, Monday January 30: pumpkin walnut oatmeal; peanut butter toast.

Alexis like peanut butter on toast. I'm indifferent. When we have toast I might have some or I might stick to one of our jams. As for oatmeal, "old fashioned" rolled oats, period. Not quick. Not instant. just old fashioned rolled oats. It really doesn't take that long. I gather together lunch while the oatmeal simmers. The texture is the most noticeable difference. The old fashioned has little chewy bits that go well with the walnuts. These are nestled in a creamy matrix of oat starch. The quick and the instant are just blobs of paste.

Oh, yeah, the title comes from this video.

It's Just A Matter Of Having A Well Stocked Pantry

Lunch, Thursday January 23: Thai thingy (tofu, snow peas, black fungus, kelp, sesame seed, sesame oil scallion, water chestnut, rice noodles).

Got home from errands and whipped this together in a few minutes. It was just a matter of chopping the veggies and boiling the pasta. By the time one task is finished the other is ready to go. I have had friends comment on the dishes I make at home, specifically about the ingredients and the hassle of getting this or that. I tell them that a great part of what I do in making meals is the management of the pantry. (I mean that in a metaphoric sense. I don't have a walk in larder.) You have to be willing to stock ingredients, rotate them, plan meals around items that need to be eaten or else they go to waste. Example: You will see a lot of fried squash, green tomatoes, eggplant and okra. moving forward. I made a lot of those, breaded and frozen at the end of the growing season last year. We need to eat that up before the next harvest. I have a tremendous amount of food in the kitchen and basement. Our friends joke about coming to our house for the zombie apocalypse. Despite this I waste almost nothing. I doesn't hurt that Alexis will eat just about whatever I put in front of her. I often ask her what she might want or like and her reply is along the lines of "I don't care" or "how about something with feta." I have a lot of leeway

Childhood Memories

Supper, Monday December 19: blackeyed peas; mexican cornbread (cornmeal mix, scallions, jalapeno, cheddar, corn, turnip greens.

It seems to me that we ate something like this once every week or two. The beans were more often navy beans with a ham hock. The cornbread was just plain but there was always butter or honey. sometimes we didn't have a lot but I did not go hungry. 

Nothing Special, Just A Quick Lunch

Lunch, Wednesday December 14: fried rice (leftover rice, frozen peas, carrot, onion, sesame seeds, soy); beets; greens.

Alexis got home from work early. I needed to whip up something quick. I threw together some leftovers and retasked some rice. Really I only show this because leftovers are a bit of a thing with me. I know some people who just don't do leftovers. It astounds me.