Cock, Just Cock

 

Breakfast, Sunday May 23, 2021: polenta and eggs: polenta (quick polenta, garlic powder, vegetable base, pepper, shredded parm ); leftover pizza sauce; mozzarella; gallus gallus 

domesticus ova.

We had corn pancakes a few days ago. Alexis likes them a lot so I made some extra for quick workday breakfasts. Something that I saw her mother do was make breakfast sammiches out of leftover pancakes, so I have done that on occasion. I used some of the corn pancakes for just that for a couple of days recently. 

On this occasion I actually asked (gasp!?) whether she wanted one. "How about something different?" was the reply. If you're gonna be different, do it fo' reals.

BTW gallus is Latin for cock.

Celery? Really?

 

Brunch, Sunday April 5, 2020: smoked sausage; french toast (whole wheat bread, milk, cream, egg, vanilla, almond extract, sliced almond, whipped cream);

banana; celery hearts.

I suppose there is nothing wrong with the celery on the plate. I do admit that it is a bit odd, perhaps not the go to accompaniment for most people. She really likes those little tiny celeries. That's all that really matters. 

I suppose also that we eat a lot of french toast. I really like it. That's all that really matters. 

That's A Lot Of Breakfast

Brunch, Sunday February 2, 2020: jerk pork chop; french toast (whole wheat bread, egg, milk, almond extract, vanilla); mole vegetables (mole sauce, onion, green pepper, baby bellas).

It really is a lot of breakfast. In our defence, however, it really was brunch. On the rare day that we actually sleep in (she sleeps in) we sometimes have a large breakfast then an early supper. We might finish the day with a late snack. Another route is that we will have a light snack in the afternoon then a normal supper. Either way it is two meals and a snack. 

The bread was some half whole wheat that was getting on. Lately I've been experimenting with extracts in french toast batter. Almond, vanilla, lemon, hazelnut, orange are all good. Just depends on your mood. (Orange and vanilla are very good together. Anybody remember Dreamsicles?

The pork chop was from the gift that the renter's parents got us. I just dusted it with a little jerk seasoning then griddled it beside the toast. 

The vegetables were leftover from the night before. Saute whatever, smother with mole, simmer. Mole makes everything better.
 

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.

She Likes Mushrooms That Much

 

Breakfast, Sunday October 13, 2019: Sausagey fungus eggs (breakfast sausage, flour, milk, shiitake, pepper, scramble, cheddar); grilled pineapple;

thick cut bacon; bananana.

I have always thought that the word "banana" sounded kinda silly. It is a sound that a toddler might make. I tried to look up the etymology, but I could not get a consistent answer. I must admit that I didn't work too hard at it. . . One source said is was from Spanish or Portuguese "mande." I'm not too sure about that. Another professed that it was from the Arabic word for finger "banan." Now that is believable 'ceptin I tried Google translate and It could not make heads nor tails of banan. 

It will just remain a mystery

Some trivia though: over 70 million people in Africa get more than 25% of their calories from bananas (the cooking type mostly). It is a major staple food in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. 

Why does the sausage gravy have shiitake in it you ask? I had soaked some shiitakes for something I did not end up making. I saw them and thought "hmm. . . more umami maybe?" (Say it with me now: "Alliteration.") Turned out it was a good idea. Then while we are eating she says, "I'd never really thought about it but we eat a lot of mushrooms. I guess I really like mushrooms."

I kinda knew that.

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.

Fried And Boiled, See Balanced

Supper, Monday June 24, 2019: shrimp and cauliflower. 

This ended up being a late dinner. I was going to make something more complicated with the shrimp. I had the cauliflower ready to bread early in the evening. Then two things happened. Alexis had a late/bad close to the shift. She had fires to put out that held her up an hour and a half. Even before that I started to run out of steam. So by the time I got the notice that she was going to be very late I didn't have the energy or the desire to execute anything complicated. 

Riffing on that I decided that I had enough energy for the cauliflower 'cause it is a gift from the angels. Plus some of the prep was already done. Boiling scrimps is quick and easy. If the fryer is hot and you have some water simmering then you are only a few minutes away from eating. This was beneficial since I did not know when she was going to get to leave. Finally, we both like these two foods VERY much. It would make us feel a little better.

No, we did not eat all of those shrimp. We saved some for breakfast. It was difficult to not eat all the cauliflower, but we managed to hold back enough for her to take for lunch the next day.

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.

Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo Dat

Supper, Friday March 22, 2019: nibbles again? (sardine fillets; olives; artichoke heart; corned beef; hummus; goat cheese; grape tomato; blueberry).

I was thinking about how this evolved, why do we eat "nibbles" frequently? (You don't see all the meals, obviously, and nibbles often mundane, not worthy of comment.) I came up with two primary reasons.

It's easy. "What? Easy? Who has all that crap ready to go? Ain't nobody got time fo dat." Lemme 'splain. This is an exceptional example, but I really did have all this stuff just "layin' around." Some are staples in our pantry. Others were purchased for another meal and here are the leftovers repurposed. I keep tinned fish, olives, and interesting cheeses on hand. The corned beef was for reubens. I just make hummus periodically, we both like it a lot. We use it in some capacity for several meals. Blueberries and grape tomatoes were on sale. If blueberries are on sale I shoot first and ask questions later. I will figure out what to use them for. So yeah, I really did just throw this together. 

It's slow. It works well with our evening routine She gets home. I finish supper. She cleans up. We talk about the day. She decompresses about work. I nod and make the appropriate expression. We do the crossword. Oh, and we nibble.

Demon Squid From Hell

Multi-meal entry circa Tuesday January 22 2019: variations on a squid.

I like shopping at the little asian grocery near our Asheville home. It is fun to poke around looking at the odd (for the western palate) ingredients that would not normally be available in our "normal" grocery. I have also found that some foods are substantially cheaper. Sesame oil for example is much less expensive than if purchased from our usual grocery. We also like trying some of the weird snax, garlic shrimp chips, say no more. 

On this visit they had squid. A lot of squid. So I bought a lot of squid, in the form of one really big squid. 

I made some nabeyaki with some of it. We had squid and grits the next day for breakfast. I also made a seafood stew not pictured. 

My initial concern with a squid this large was that once cooked it would take on the consistency of a wet rawhide. It CAN do just that if not cooked properly. Overcooking is the best way to ruin a good squid. For fried calamari you want to pull it from the oil just as it starts to brown. Unfortunately this means that the breading is sometimes not well bonded to the squid. A bit of lost breading is just the price you have to pay. 

For the stew and the nabeyaki I add the squid after I turn off the stovetop. The latent heat in the liquids are enough to cook til tender. 

Happy Sushi Day!

Supper, Tuesday December 25, 2018: sushi;

das it.

I've probably already mentioned this but I'm too lazy to look. Alexis and I aren't so much into the Christmas thing. I'm not certain I could explain it fully. There are a lot of reasons. The big ones are: It's a set of rituals that people (gentiles perhaps more accurately) are expected to participate in while so few have a deep understanding of its history and origins. The holiday as celebrated in the US is a  weird blending of incompatible theologies. The consumption thing is out of hand. It's grotesque. Oh, and don't get me started on the decorations.

I did not grow up that way. It was celebrated with gusto in my family, but here's how not into it I am. Last holiday season I had to look up when it was. I don't mean the day of the week. I had forgotten that it is on the 25th. That might be a little embarrassing, but it does demonstrate just how little I give a. . .hoot. 

We do take advantage of sales to make some purchases. This time we got a wicked good deal on a washer/dryer combo. Multiple discounts and and rebates. We don't "Christmas shop." We lurk online cynically looking for deep discounts and make in person purchases only if necessary. 

Point is, Alexis volunteers to work the holiday so somebody else can be with their kids or whatever. (We are not so nihilist that we do not recognize that nearly every nominal Christian, and even a few others, place some value on the holiday.) Also for the last fifteen years give or take, Christmas dinner has been sushi.

I suppose it is our personal version of the orange on the seder plate. 

Toad

Breakfast, Friday December 14, 2018: toad-in-the-hole; bacon; ring bologna; fruit.

I'm not making that up, that is what it is called. It is just an egg fried in the middle of a piece of bread. Cut a hole, heart, triangle, whatevs in a slice of your favorite bread. Butter a pan. Add the bread and crack an egg in the middle. give it a couple of minutes. Flip to toast the other side. I like toasting the cut-out for dipping.

You Got A Salmon Thing Happenin' There

Supper, December 9, 2018: bagel with cream cheese and lox.

I normally don't show meals that I did not prepare but this one had to be celebrated. 

The short version is that I have a friend who likes to use his air miles to visit states. He has been doing this for years. I started going with him the last few trips (usually one a year). One of the stops on this trip was Mystic Connecticut. I was excited because they have an aquarium that has beluga whales. I've never seen them in person.

One of the whales, Juno, paints. I'm not making it up, Google it. I was so enthralled I bought one. 

It's called "Ocean Sparrow." It hangs in my library. (Really just a nice den/reading room.) When I look up from this convertible It is right in front of me. It makes me happy.

Something else that makes me happy:

That's not sand. That's gravel. That sucker is about a foot long. Pure nightmare fuel. Don't look too long or it will haunt your dreams. Forever. 

It'll probably eat your feet too. 

Also in Mystic was a diner. They had lox. I hadn't had that in a while. I was glad that I was a hankerin' for some salmon 'cause they did not scrimp on the lox. Seriously, look at the picture. There are actually two slabs of salmon one atop the other that are thicker than the tomato slices. It had to be a third to a half a pound of fish. It was almost to much.

I managed to choke it down. 

I had to see it was a fluke (lol) so I got it again for breakfast. No fluke (lol).  I managed to choke it down.

OK,That Was Kinda Weird

Lunch, Wednesday, November 21 2018: Nibbles: creamed corn; crackers; mixed cheese; olive tapenade; turkey heart.

Yup, turkey heart. I always take the bag-o-stuff that comes with the poultry and simmer it for a little broth. Sometimes I will add the stripped bones and skin later. I always pull the heart out before it gets cooked t death. Alexis likes the heart. So do I for that matter.

We call this sort of meal "Nibbles." Anything that is a collection of a variety of hand foods is nibbles.

The cheese on the left is a 10 year old cheddar. It's scary good.

I Win The Internet

Best lounge pants ever! Not food but
totally awesome!

*Only one small error. I think the rainbow is supposed to come out of the unicorn's ass.

Cold Pizza In The Mornin'. . .

Breakfast, Wednesday November 7, 2018: Focaccia (pizza dough, olive oil, italian herbs, feta, parm); mixed fruit salad; bacon.

When I bake bread, sometimes I will make one loaf then use the dough intended for a second loaf for something else. The choice of "other" thing depends on the dough. With whole wheat I might make some rolls. In this case I was making "artisan" boules so I went with focaccia. 

Kinda pizza? 

See What Brown Can Do

Supper, Monday October 29, 2018, Fryday on Monday: fried chicken livers; fried sweet potato chips; cranberry beans w/ sour cream

and scallions.

This is an acquired taste if ever there was one. If you like organ meat however this is a cheap way to get your fix. It's also good for making dog treats. Seriously. A  one pound tub of these things is usually under two dollars.

Put them in a colander or strainer and rinse. The whole liver is comprised of two pieces held together by a ligament.  There is a larger piece that has three lobes and a smaller piece with two. I like to separate them by cutting the ligament out. So I go through the washed livers separating the pieces and inspecting for quality. 

The first thing to look for is any gall bladders. They shouldn't be there but sometimes they get missed. They are green and about the size of a butter bean. Cut them away carefully. They are full of bile (why they are green). It tastes horrible and will ruin everything it gets on. I have been told this and never tempted fate. 

There are sometimes livers that look like they were pulsed in a blender. I pitch these. I just don't like the look. Some livers will look anemic. I don't know the reason. I've not noticed a quality difference. It just may be a difference in the amount of exsanguination. (I love that word and there are so few opportunities to use it that are not really creepy.)

After clean up I sprinkle on some salt (or seasoned salt) and then black pepper. Depending on my mood I might do a full on egg wash and breadcrumb coat, or like this time, I just rolled them well in flour. Fry them at about 350 a minute or so after they are forcing out blood. (The tissue shrinks and eventually the fluid trapped inside gushes out. Or splodes) Be careful, these things can pop violently and spray oil. 

Yeah, you have to be a pretty dedicated carnivore to go through that.

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?

Whadya Mean Too Much Cilantro?

Breakfast, Saturday Oct 20, 2018: verde eggs (eggs, verde sauce, cheddar, mushroom, scallion); goat cheese grits; side meat;

lots of cilantro.

Alexis likes cilantro. 

And goat cheese.

And mushrooms.

Yeah, pretty much all of this stuff. 

'cept the grits themselves. She's kinda cool on them. 

That's why I put on the goat cheese. 

Yeah, that's a lot of cilantro.