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. 

Flip F'Real

Breakfast, Tuesday November 14: (yogurt and crunchity stuff (yogurt, toasted pecans; honey, granola almond slivers chocolate morsels, desiccated coconut); dates.

There's a commercial product available that comes with yogurt and a separate pocket for come crunchity stuff. Alexis likes them so I decided to see how I could improve on the concept.  It was pretty simple to make a mix of her favorite healthy crunchity things. I keep it premixed in a mason jar for a quick and simple breakfast I can put together on mornings when I don't have the energy for something elaborate or sometimes she wants a super healthy meal.

Dippity Doo-Dah

Breakfast, Sunday November 12: dippy egg; toast; liver mush and Irish cheddar; fruit. 

Alexis calls this a dippy egg. Some people don't get it, but when I first heard that I knew exactly what she meant. Egg(s) cooked over easy so you can but open the yolk and dip your toast in it. I am of the other variety of soft egg eaters. I like the egg cooked over easy, but I cut it all up and mix it. My own quirk is that I have to put the egg on the toast then take a bite of the toast-egg combo. It's not the same if I take a bite of one then the other. 

I suppose pomegranates are available all year round, but I only see them around the holidays. Same goes for cranberries. I try to put pomegranate on or in everything to get my fill of them before they disappear again. 

Lima Beans Go With Everything

Supper, Wednesday November 08: stuffed pepper (ground pork, ground beef, chili spice, quinoa, egg, poblano, verde sauce); lima beans; seared tortilla.

One of the nice things about lima beans is that you can use them as a starch or as a green vegetable.

We had a nice final harvest of peppers. We had quite a few very pretty poblanos. I made a big batch of stuffed peppers. I smothered them in some of the homemade verde sauce that I made with the last harvest of tomatillos. The substitution of the more traditional rice with quinoa was a good choice. The quinoa cooked done. With rice sometimes it does not cook all the way, and you are left with meat full of crunchy rice. Not my favorite.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Supper, Tuesday November 07: barbecue; polenta and feta; sauteed mixed vegetables.

This meal doesn't look like much but man o man was it good. First we have to dispense with a few definitions. This is for you Stephen. 

First, barbeque is an acceptable spelling. I like the q. 

Second, in eastern and central North Carolina barbeque means slow cooked pork over indirect low heat with smoke. You can achieve this a number of ways, open pit to electric with chips, but the goal is the same, tender, sweet, smoky, goodness. I need to be clear on this. Barbeque is not any old meat cooked on a grill and covered in glop. Barbeque is that method, slow, low, indirect, smoky, and the meat it renders. As for barbeque sauce, sauce is something you put on barbeque. The sauce is not what makes it "barbeque." The meat and the method does. The sauce is there to enhance the experience. If you can't eat it without the sauce then you have done something wrong. 

That said, for all its lack of visual appeal, this was the best pork shoulder I have ever smoked. After I brought it in and let it rest I started to pull the meat apart and the bones came out with 2 fingers. I didn't chop the meat. I just pulled it apart with my fingers. I added some Lexington style sauce to it. There are no words.

That polenta was pretty tasty too. It was made from roasted cornmeal a great smoky accompaniment. 

Oh, and you don't need anything more complicated than a kettle grill. Next time I will document.

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. 

Wait, It's Not Friday

Supper, Saturday November 04: fried catfish; lima beans; pickle.

Fish Friday is a bit of a joke for us. We don't proscribe to any such dogma. We like fish though and I try to get it in as much as I can. Friday is as good as any other day, so I like to get it in at least on Friday. This time I missed it so Saturday it is. 

If you are not a fan of lima beans I suggest you try an experiment. Get some FRESH limas. Not canned. Not frozen. Simmer them in just enough water to cover until tender. Drain, add a little butter and a pinch each of salt and pepper. You might change your mind.