What Are You Eating Today?

[rousseau]

Today I made African Stew for young tot, and am making Soupe Au Pistou from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking tonight with some haddock.

Child's book seems very similar to Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, but some of the soup recipes look phenomenal so I had to take a stab at the Pistou. That might be my next thing over the winter - attempting a number of soup recipes so I get better at throwing quick soups together.

 

[gmbteach]

Yesterday we had salmon. She garnished with mustard, breadcrumbs and a few other ingredients. It was soooooo good I ate it skin and all just like a grizzly. The fillets were individually frozen which made things very easy, just defrost for a day in the fridge.

I'm probably killing the planet but buying a bag of frozen, wild-caught filets from Walmart is the cheapest option with salmon.

I have been enjoying salmon lately. A 100g serving is about $3.50 here (yes about $30-$35 a kg). I buy it fresh and freeze it when I get it home. I only buy Australian salmon, Barra or snapper.

 

[Wiploc]

Two of our local grocery stores have wonderful fresh salmon, but the fish counter doesn't open until after 9 and due to the pandemic, we only go grocery shopping at 7 to avoid the crowds.

Crab cakes from King Soupers. I won't go in because of the plague, but they have curb service.

Their web site doesn't offer the good crab cakes, but I called the butcher/fish guy, and he held the crab cakes for me. And then I called the curb service people and told them the fish guy had crab cakes for me.

It worked!

Also, yum.

 

[rousseau]

Yesterday we had salmon. She garnished with mustard, breadcrumbs and a few other ingredients. It was soooooo good I ate it skin and all just like a grizzly. The fillets were individually frozen which made things very easy, just defrost for a day in the fridge.

I'm probably killing the planet but buying a bag of frozen, wild-caught filets from Walmart is the cheapest option with salmon.

I have been enjoying salmon lately. A 100g serving is about $3.50 here (yes about $30-$35 a kg). I buy it fresh and freeze it when I get it home. I only buy Australian salmon, Barra or snapper.

We've switched to mostly frozen fish due to cost. For a while we'd eat fresh salmon almost exclusively, but the lower cost of frozen lets us have it more often. So usually frozen Haddock, either breaded or unbreaded. Unfortunately the market for fresh fish is really taking a dive here and our closest superstore recently did away with it's seafood 'display' - lots of packaged basics, and that's about it. Years ago I'd often buy fresh jumbo shrimp, scallops, mussels and the like, but lately that's all frozen too.

We occasionally freeze fresh salmon as well, but I don't like letting it sit in the freezer for too long - maybe no longer than week.

 

[southernhybrid]

Two of our local grocery stores have wonderful fresh salmon, but the fish counter doesn't open until after 9 and due to the pandemic, we only go grocery shopping at 7 to avoid the crowds.

Crab cakes from King Soupers. I won't go in because of the plague, but they have curb service.

Their web site doesn't offer the good crab cakes, but I called the butcher/fish guy, and he held the crab cakes for me. And then I called the curb service people and told them the fish guy had crab cakes for me.

It worked!

Also, yum.

Glad that works for you. We are way too fussy for curb service. My husband likes to look at each piece of salmon before he chooses the ones that he wants. And, we feel perfectly safe in the grocery store at 7AM. There are usually no more than 4 or 5 shoppers at that hour and lately, all of the early shoppers are wearing masks and staying away from each other. That's our only outing and it allows us to feel a little bit normal during this difficult time. We might keep shopping early in the morning if this damn pandemic every ends. It's so nice to have the store to yourself!

Tonight it's back to grilled beef tenderloin steaks and a couple of sides. I usually eat vegan at lunch, but I'm still an omnivore. Last night we had delicious baked potatoes and a huge vegetable, fruit and nut salad with a light dressing.

 

[rousseau]

We made an Outside Round roast, spinach, and green beans tonight. Nothing too interesting, but I did try blanching the green beans as suggested in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. We usually steam, but apparently the French way is to immerse the vegetables in boiling water, then simmer and check periodically until they're cooked through, but still crisp.

Pretty simple but effective technique, our green beans tonight were pretty good.

 

[southernhybrid]

I cooked last night for the first time in about 5 years. I made Basmati and nut rice pilaf, a dish that I used to make regularly, but I haven't been able to convince my cook to make for me. I was afraid that I'd forgotten how to cook, but it was pretty easy. The dish has cumin, coriander and cardamon in it, as well as carrots, and onions. My food processor finally got a work out for the first time in about a year.

 

[Treedbear]

Getting my chili adventure started. I bought some powdered ancho and some guajillo, pasilla, and Chimayo on Amazon to experiment with. I tried sautéing some white onion, garlic, with 1/3 pound ground beef in a small skillet. Then added salt, cumin, coriander, Mexican oregano, sugar, and ½ cup tomato puree. Then 2 tsp. ancho, 1 tsp. guajillo, 1 tsp. pasilla, and ½ tsp. Chimayo plus water as needed and let it simmer about an hour. Served it on some crusty homemade bread. It was pretty good for a first attempt. Good amount of heat, mostly from the Chimayo. It’s a premium variety that brings a little smoky flavor. The pasilla adds some fruitiness and the guajillo rounds things out. The ancho serves as kind of a base flavor. I don’t know, I’m just a beginner. But this should be interesting. Next time I think I’ll roast a poblano and then peel and puree before adding it to the sauce. That should let me cut back on the tomato puree a bit. I figure if I try making little changes every other day I might get it nailed down in a couple weeks. ¡Feliz año nuevo!

 

[rousseau]

I made more Traditional Garam Masala today. After trying it and a 'modern' Masala out, partner and I decided we like the traditional better. I also made Garlic Soup from Child's French Cooking. I accidentally used dried Sage and Thyme rather than fresh, but it turned out fine.

 

[Rhea]

Currently chewing on Szeschuan peppercorns. My mouth wants a snack, but my stomach doesn’t. So it’s this.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Shoo Fly Pie with whipped cream.
The finest Amish creation if you leave out windmill-powered marital aids.

 

[Treedbear]

Yesterday we had salmon. She garnished with mustard, breadcrumbs and a few other ingredients. It was soooooo good I ate it skin and all just like a grizzly. The fillets were individually frozen which made things very easy, just defrost for a day in the fridge.

I'm probably killing the planet but buying a bag of frozen, wild-caught filets from Walmart is the cheapest option with salmon.

I picked up two 1-pound packs and have been trying some recipes. First one was to saute and then make a sauce with diced tomato, garlic, onion, and wine. Next I tried a saute, then make sauce from olive oil, butter, onion, lemon juice + zest. Both of them tasted very fishy. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case but I kind of expected that with frozen salmon. So I looked up what to do on the web. The usual remedy is to soak salmon in milk for an hour or so. Others say this didn't work but try soaking in salt/sugar solution and then dry rub with the same and wait an hour for liquid to ooze out. I tried the second one but still tasted fishy, even with quite a bit of lemon. Does anyone have a solution for someone who can't afford fresh salmon even when it's on sale for $8 a pound? My go-to fish these days is frozen swai or tilapia. No problem with fishy-ness. But I love fresh salmon. BTW, the Walmart salmon pakage states: "100% Sustainability. Sustainably sourced. Independently Certified to the MSC standard for a well-managed and sustainable fishery."

 

[gmbteach]

Yesterday we had salmon. She garnished with mustard, breadcrumbs and a few other ingredients. It was soooooo good I ate it skin and all just like a grizzly. The fillets were individually frozen which made things very easy, just defrost for a day in the fridge.

I'm probably killing the planet but buying a bag of frozen, wild-caught filets from Walmart is the cheapest option with salmon.

I picked up two 1-pound packs and have been trying some recipes. First one was to saute and then make a sauce with diced tomato, garlic, onion, and wine. Next I tried a saute, then make sauce from olive oil, butter, onion, lemon juice + zest. Both of them tasted very fishy. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case but I kind of expected that with frozen salmon. So I looked up what to do on the web. The usual remedy is to soak salmon in milk for an hour or so. Others say this didn't work but try soaking in salt/sugar solution and then dry rub with the same and wait an hour for liquid to ooze out. I tried the second one but still tasted fishy, even with quite a bit of lemon. Does anyone have a solution for someone who can't afford fresh salmon even when it's on sale for $8 a pound? My go-to fish these days is frozen swai or tilapia. No problem with fishy-ness. But I love fresh salmon. BTW, the Walmart salmon pakage states: "100% Sustainability. Sustainably sourced. Independently Certified to the MSC standard for a well-managed and sustainable fishery."

I am very lucky in that a fillet of salmon is around $5 here - fresh - which means I can freeze it. It is caught in Tasmania, and how it gets here fresh, I am not sure, but the supermarket sells fish as either ‘fresh’ or ‘thawed for your convenience’. The latter cannot be frozen again.

$5 may sound a lot, however, it’s no more expensive than equivalent steak value, so feel okay about it.

I can also get fresh Barra or snapper. I avoid fish that is ‘thawed’ or from Asian countries and have been ok so far.

With most fish, my go to is a little extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice and some pepper. I keep it simple.

 

[Treedbear]

Yesterday we had salmon. She garnished with mustard, breadcrumbs and a few other ingredients. It was soooooo good I ate it skin and all just like a grizzly. The fillets were individually frozen which made things very easy, just defrost for a day in the fridge.

I'm probably killing the planet but buying a bag of frozen, wild-caught filets from Walmart is the cheapest option with salmon.

I picked up two 1-pound packs and have been trying some recipes. First one was to saute and then make a sauce with diced tomato, garlic, onion, and wine. Next I tried a saute, then make sauce from olive oil, butter, onion, lemon juice + zest. Both of them tasted very fishy. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case but I kind of expected that with frozen salmon. So I looked up what to do on the web. The usual remedy is to soak salmon in milk for an hour or so. Others say this didn't work but try soaking in salt/sugar solution and then dry rub with the same and wait an hour for liquid to ooze out. I tried the second one but still tasted fishy, even with quite a bit of lemon. Does anyone have a solution for someone who can't afford fresh salmon even when it's on sale for $8 a pound? My go-to fish these days is frozen swai or tilapia. No problem with fishy-ness. But I love fresh salmon. BTW, the Walmart salmon pakage states: "100% Sustainability. Sustainably sourced. Independently Certified to the MSC standard for a well-managed and sustainable fishery."

I am very lucky in that a fillet of salmon is around $5 here - fresh - which means I can freeze it. It is caught in Tasmania, and how it gets here fresh, I am not sure, but the supermarket sells fish as either ‘fresh’ or ‘thawed for your convenience’. The latter cannot be frozen again.

$5 may sound a lot, however, it’s no more expensive than equivalent steak value, so feel okay about it.

I can also get fresh Barra or snapper. I avoid fish that is ‘thawed’ or from Asian countries and have been ok so far.

With most fish, my go to is a little extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice and some pepper. I keep it simple.

That's the advantage of living on an island. Or maybe it's the kind of pepper you've got. You call it 'paypa', right? At least that's the way Annabelle Langbein the Free Range Cook says it. I saw a cooking travelogue show on tv yesterday and they were at an olive grove in Victoria. They were using an herb called "saltbush" on their fish. Couldn't find any on Amazon though or I wooda tried some.

Prices of certain foods have been dropping lately such as olive oil. Beef and pork are pretty stable. I still have to buy the leaner and therefore cheaper cuts of beef that go for ~$3.49 per pound when on sale. A good neutral olive oil can be had for $10 for 3 liters, where it use to be $15 before covid. But fish is continually going higher. I dismiss stories that swai from Vietnam is unsafe and think it's just that since they refer to it as catfish it gets the catfish industry down south all tied up in knots. From what I've seen on TV if I want really fresh fish I should move to either Japan or Norway. Actually, I did just buy 20 5 oz. cans of solid white tuna for $.84 each. Haven't seen them at less than $1 for years. And the coffee I like best (Chockful O'Nuts half-caff) usually goes for $5 per 10 oz can and on sale for $1.99. But recently on sale for $1.49 ea. That's what it was maybe 6 years ago!

 

[gmbteach]

I am very lucky in that a fillet of salmon is around $5 here - fresh - which means I can freeze it. It is caught in Tasmania, and how it gets here fresh, I am not sure, but the supermarket sells fish as either ‘fresh’ or ‘thawed for your convenience’. The latter cannot be frozen again.

$5 may sound a lot, however, it’s no more expensive than equivalent steak value, so feel okay about it.

I can also get fresh Barra or snapper. I avoid fish that is ‘thawed’ or from Asian countries and have been ok so far.

With most fish, my go to is a little extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice and some pepper. I keep it simple.

That's the advantage of living on an island. Or maybe it's the kind of pepper you've got. You call it 'paypa', right? At least that's the way Annabelle Langbein the Free Range Cook says it. I saw a cooking travelogue show on tv yesterday and they were at an olive grove in Victoria. They were using an herb called "saltbush" on their fish. Couldn't find any on Amazon though or I wooda tried some.

Prices of certain foods have been dropping lately such as olive oil. Beef and pork are pretty stable. I still have to buy the leaner and therefore cheaper cuts of beef that go for ~$3.49 per pound when on sale. A good neutral olive oil can be had for $10 for 3 liters, where it use to be $15 before covid. But fish is continually going higher. I dismiss stories that swai from Vietnam is unsafe and think it's just that since they refer to it as catfish it gets the catfish industry down south all tied up in knots. From what I've seen on TV if I want really fresh fish I should move to either Japan or Norway. Actually, I did just buy 20 5 oz. cans of solid white tuna for $.84 each. Haven't seen them at less than $1 for years. And the coffee I like best (Chockful O'Nuts half-caff) usually goes for $5 per 10 oz can and on sale for $1.99. But recently on sale for $1.49 ea. That's what it was maybe 6 years ago!

Ummm, our ‘island’ is bigger than the USA! To get from Tasmania to here is a good 2 1/2 days drive! They must fly it in.

Hmmm my husband corrected me, apparently mainland Australia Is a smidgeon smaller than the USA!

But we still have the biggest state!

 

[gmbteach]

This was our dinner tonight!

 

[Angry Floof]

Stunning! You have indeed mastered roast pork and crackling.

 

[southernhybrid]

Last night's dinner was a disaster. We had some frozen yellow fin. tuna steaks that Mr. Sohy grilled. It wasn't his fault that it was so awful, tasteless and dry. Frozen yellow fin tuna just doesn't meet our high standards regarding what fish should taste like. But, my two dogs aren't nearly as fussy, so they had yellow fin tuna for breakfast with their dry food and they will have it again tonight.

I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch with an apple and a few potato chips. It was a gourmet delight compared to last night's tuna.

I know. I know. I should be ashamed for being such a spoiled first world brat.

 

[gmbteach]

Stunning! You have indeed mastered roast pork and crackling.

After I have made Bilby’s lunches for three days, the rest will get blitzed up with carrot, capsicum, onion and other veg to make a pasta sauce.

 

[ZiprHead]

I made a pot roast in my instant pot (not one of the name brand ones but works the same). I love that thing.

What I loved more was the gravy that came out of it. I got eccentric with the juice seasonings. Beef broth with lots of garlic, fresh ground pepper, a little seasoned salt, lots of Worcester sauce, and one of those small bottles of sauvignon blanc wine. After cooking the roast, the juice went into a pan for making the gravy, boiling and mixing in lots of beef gravy mix you get from any grocery store. Holy shit was it good. And enough left over to freeze a couple cups worth for later use.

I know it's not good for you but damn. No matter, I'll probably never be able to recreate it again.