What Are You Eating Today?

[Treedbear]

...
Looks good, I haven't cooked with pork much, might be worth checking out.

Yeah, pork is a challenge. Either you need to feature the flavor of the pork fat or augment it with spices and sugar. That recipe called for pork loin instead of pork shoulder to avoid any greasiness in the sauce. A bit of molasses gets added at the very end of cooking. Sometimes a plain old pork loin chop in a skillet brings out the best flavor of the meat but it doesn't seem to benefit from searing like beef does. In that regard it's a lot like chicken breast.

And speaking of spice, one other interesting development in our gastronomic world is that I added a few Thai Chili peppers to our recent batch of curry. After trying the curry out I was surprised how much the peppers added to the flavour, both partner and I liked it quite a bit. We were expecting it to be too hot, but it came out quite balanced.

I've heard that heat from chili peppers allows using less salt. And the heat can be counterbalanced with sugar. That seems to be a key combination with Thai and other southeast Asian cooking.

I made two pots - coconut milk and tomato based - put two diced peppers in each, and let them marinate for about 25 minutes. That seemed to diffuse the pepper through the curries.

Seeds or no seeds?

 

[Angry Floof]

Today I had a banana and coffee for breakfast AND elevenses. Lunch was the crab salad I made yesterday on a wrap. Later I made some hummus and had a hummus wrap and baked sweet potato fries.

Tonight I'm eating fruit pops like there's no tomorrow. So good. These are just the no sugar added fruit pops. If it weren't for the sugar, I could go through those giant packs of freeze pops that are like 1,000 for a dollar. I'd have them eaten in a weekend and probably die of hypertriglyceridemia before they were gone. I love ice pops, if you can't tell.

 

[rousseau]

I've heard that heat from chili peppers allows using less salt. And the heat can be counterbalanced with sugar. That seems to be a key combination with Thai and other southeast Asian cooking.

Seeds or no seeds?

That makes sense. I've made a number of Asian sauces in the past year, and many seem to feature both hot/sweet.

As for the seeds, I'm fairly new to hot peppers but my assumption was that ideally you remove the seeds. In these curries (and the Vietnamese sauce I made, reason I bought the peppers) I tried to remove all of the seeds, but likely a few got in to the curry.

The first few times I worked with Thai Chilis I did it with bare hands, and my hands stung for quite a while after. This time I wore an awkward pair of rubber gloves that didn't fit well, so it made it a challenge to really dice/de-seed properly. I figured letting a few seeds in to the sauce and curry wouldn't hurt much.

 

[Treedbear]

Chicken thigh in a cast iron skillet at 450F for 15 min with Chimayo chili powder, Mexican oregano, coriander, cumin, garlic powder, black pepper rub. Flip to skin side up and add Russet potatoes and carrots for another 15 min. The potatoes and carrots were great and it was all super easy with not much to clean up. Made a salad on the side with home made hummus dressing. I'm loving the hummus and tahini dressing for its creamy texture. Since I got an immersion blender I've been experimenting with adding various herbs and it's made easy work of fine-mincing the garlic.

 

[Treedbear]

...
Seeds or no seeds?

...
As for the seeds, I'm fairly new to hot peppers but my assumption was that ideally you remove the seeds. In these curries (and the Vietnamese sauce I made, reason I bought the peppers) I tried to remove all of the seeds, but likely a few got in to the curry.

The first few times I worked with Thai Chilis I did it with bare hands, and my hands stung for quite a while after. This time I wore an awkward pair of rubber gloves that didn't fit well, so it made it a challenge to really dice/de-seed properly. I figured letting a few seeds in to the sauce and curry wouldn't hurt much.

From my experience and from everything I've heard chili peppers vary in heat from one to another even within the same batch. Almost all the heat comes from the seeds and ribs. Also the heat is dissipated the longer they cook so more heat if added later. When using jalapenos I slice them down the middle and use a teaspoon to scrape out the guts. I wear nitrile gloves that are available everywhere these days, not because it makes my hands burn so much as everywhere else that I touch. And I mean everything. uch!

 

[Treedbear]

I made a large batch of the Mexican Pork Adovada and froze 6 portions. I ended up adding more Chimayo chili powder and even added a tablespoon after it cooked for 3 hours to up the heat. It was Ok along with rice, cilantro, and a first attempt at flour tortillas. But today I had it along with a baked potato and it was a natural fit. Actually very good and simpler than all the prep that goes along with tortillas. On the other hand I also cooked up some collard greens after watching a show on southern cooking, but it didn't seem to live up to everything that was promised. I suppose it needs more fat in the form of lard or bacon rather than the olive oil I used. I sautéed 4 oz. of thinly sliced greens with garlic, onion, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, salt and some fenugreek just to make it interesting. But to no avail. Collards just don't seem to bring any umami of their own.

 

[Treedbear]

Left-over chicken breast with angel hair pasta, collard greens, red bell pepper, and jalapeño.



Finally found a way to make collard greens work. I rolled up several leaves and then sliced cross-wise making about 1/8" wide ribbons. First sautéed the red peppers, garlic, and a bit of jalapeño. Then tossed in the collards, minced fresh ginger, salt, ground black pepper, and ground fenugreek and covered while tossing occasionally. When the collards softened I added the sliced left-over chicken breast and some tahini (unroasted). Let that simmer and then added the al-dente angel hair pasta. Very good. The heat from the jalapeño worked better than crushed red pepper flakes. I've tried mixing other greens with pasta such as broccoli, broccoli rabe, spinach, kale, or Napa cabbage and I think this worked the best. Next time I'll try it with shrimp instead of chicken and maybe garnish with cilantro.

 

[Politesse]

I love collard greens! We usually fix them up with ghee (what they call Gomen) and serve alongside other Ethiopian goodies like Doro Wat.

But I was lazy tonight and ordered in from our local Afghan kabob place. No complaints.

 

[Treedbear]

I love collard greens! We usually fix them up with ghee (what they call Gomen) and serve alongside other Ethiopian goodies like Doro Wat.
...

I had to look up gomen and interestingly it sounds a lot like my recipe which was very much of the moment. Except that I've never tried ghee and use olive oil and added some tahini for a bit of creaminess to the pasta. The gomen recipe calls for something called niter kibbeh which is ghee plus some very hard to get spices. Interestingly one is fenugreek, so I guess I was on the right track. You might want to try gomen with pasta. With the collards cut into thin ribbons they blend in well with the angel hair.

 

[Politesse]

I love collard greens! We usually fix them up with ghee (what they call Gomen) and serve alongside other Ethiopian goodies like Doro Wat.
...

I had to look up gomen and interestly it sounds a lot like my recipe which was very much of the moment. Except that I've never tried ghee and use olive oil and added some tahini for a bit of creaminess to the pasta. The gomen recipe calls for something called niter kibbeh which is ghee plus some very hard to get spices. Interestingly one is fenugreek, so I guess I was on the right track. You might want to try gomen with pasta. With the collards cut into thin ribbons they blend in well with the angel hair.

Pasta is not is not in our diet, alas...

Niter kibbeh is the best stuff! But we do fine with just Indian style ghee and a bit of Berbere.

 

[Treedbear]

...
Pasta is not is not in our diet, alas...

Rice noodles then?

 

[Treedbear]

Shrimp and Swai fried with ginger, cilantro and bread crumbs + broccoli, Vidalia onions and rice.



Angel hair pasta would have worked better. The cilantro seemed out of place. At least the broccoli wasn't overcooked.

 

[Treedbear]

Good to see everyone is eating out lately.

Me, I've been making do with my current repertoire:

• Oven fried chicken thigh or breast in a cast iron skillet with potatoes and carrots.
• Spaghetti with ground turkey meatballs.
• Angel hair pasta with collard greens and chicken breast or shrimp.
• Mexican pork adovada with baked potato and broccoli.
• Fried swai fillet with rice and broccoli with a side of shrimp and asparagus soup.
• Top round Angus steak plus baked potato and broccoli.

I usually have a salad too just because I really love the the dressing I came up with that uses hummus instead of mayonnaise along with added tahini, rice vinegar, and olive oil, plus lots of fresh garlic and whatever other spices come to mind.

Along with either focaccia or homemade bread plus yogurt and fruit for breakfast ... that's about it. I've been tempted to perfect the beef chili I started on but the only way it seems to work is with ground beef, which is never very lean (as in low cholesterol) or inexpensive. But it tastes seriously good and ground beef is on sale this week so I might just go for it.

 

[steve_bank]

Dinner

Ground beef cooked with peppers, onions, and asparagus topped with a tomato sauce.

 

[Treedbear]

Adventures with beef steak.

About a week ago I tried something that I saw on Steven Raichlen's "Primal Grill" called hay-smoking. He placed a handful of hay on a bed of coals in a grill. Then placed the steaks on a rack over a pan of ice cubes at the cooler end of the grill and closed the top for about 5 minutes. Then he went ahead and grilled the steaks. I happened to have a steak defrosting in the fridge and a bale of hay in the basement. I placed some hay in an old colander inside my grill and suspended the steak on a rack over that, with a small pan in between to shield it from direct flames. (Didn't see the point of the ice cubes.) Lit the hay with my blowtorch and closed the lid. Anyway, it produced tons of smoke for about 5 minutes. Then into the oven at 275F for 30 minutes and seared it with the blowtorch, per my usual procedure. Tasted very smoky. And yet something was off. Not exactly grassy, but not like wood-smoked either. Not worth repeating. That's the problem with cooking shows. They have to have something new each episode whether it's good or not.

Today I did steak again the usual way. But besides olive oil, salt, and black pepper, I added some Spanish smoked paprika. That was just enough smoky flavor for me. And as it happens there was an episode of "Milk Street" tv on today that featured a salsa made from a good amount of cilantro, roasted jalapeno, roasted garlic, olive oil, sugar, salt and lime juice all done up in a food processor. I had everything on hand! Turned out very well with lots of flavor while still letting the beefiness shine through. So I'm thinking I'm done with beef stews in favor of keeping it simple and experimenting with different salsas.

 

[Treedbear]

Following up on the cilantro-based salsa. I didn't want to cook tonight so I decided to go with sardines. Yeah, I've been avoiding them ever since I stocked up during a Costco sale last year. But the salsa I made last night was pretty amazing and thought it might work to cancel some of the over-powering fishiness. Well it turned out great! No fishy, just savory. I spread some plain hummus on 3 Wasa rye crackers, placed the sardines on top, and spread on the salsa. Really good along with a glass of chardonnay. And no lingering aftertaste. Along with a salad it makes a nice warm-weather meal.

And I got to have dinner while watching a rerun of one of the early Star Trek NG episodes in which Michele Phillips appears as Picard's former lover. Doesn't get any better than that.

 

[Treedbear]

I made up a big batch of the cilantro-jalapeno salsa and was looking for other salsa recipes to try with steak, fish, and veg. Was watching a Milk Street tv episode about Vietnamese dishes so I tried their scallion-ginger salsa. Lots of minced scallions, salt, and black pepper. Heat some oil to almost boiling and pour over the top so that it sizzles. Add soy sauce, sugar, and a good amount of fresh ginger. It seems most recipes for Vietnamese scallion sauce just use scallions, and it's supposed to be good with almost anything. This recipe with the soy sauce and ginger is probably best with meats. That said I tried it with rice, and sauteed fish and shrimp and it was OK. Looking forward to trying it with a steak though. While having that for dinner I was watching a rerun of CNN's "Stanley Tucci, Searching for Italy: Naples". He covered an impoverished suburb called Scampia that's home to many immigrants. One of the recipes that's popular there is chopped meats wrapped in savoy cabbage and sauteed. Hey, I think I've got some savoy cabbage in the fridge (that's been there for about 3 months). Yep, still good. So while eating the fish I steamed a couple leaves and then wrapped some leftover rice in them along with some scallion-ginger sauce and sauteed them until browned on two sides. Not bad at all! Savoy cabbage doesn't have much flavor, but it works great as a wrapper.


Sorry for the bad focus.

 

[rousseau]

Last night I wanted to make Hamburger Helper but also Kraft Dinner, so I made an ad hoc Hamburger Helper with KD. I browned ground beef with about an eighth cup of chili powder, a dash of cumin, salt, pepper, and oregano. Then with about 5 minutes left added diced Roma Tomato, and with two minutes left added some garlic. Once done I transferred it all to a bowl, along with it's juices, and stirred in a pot of Kraft Dinner. It turned out surprisingly well.

I seem to have gotten a little more competent with spices and seasoning in the past year, although still don't have a wide range of spices I know. Lately I'm typically using one or more of Oregano, Dried Basil, Salt, Pepper, Cumin, Chili Pepper Flakes, or fish sauce. And garlic, lots of garlic.

In the past few weeks I've also gotten back into experimentation somewhat, but I plan to go through my cookbooks and try some easy ideas out. Really not in the mood for any grandiose dishes that take an hour or more.

 

[crazyfingers]

We have a problem.

My daughter has started working at Dunkin's (Donuts) and has several closing shifts. They have to throw out all the bagels, muffins and donuts left over every evening. So she's bringing home like 36 donuts, 12 muffins and 12 bagels each night. She can't limit herself. So we are all eating this stuff.

Because of how crazy insurance is, they can't donate the food to a food pantry or anything like that. Anything night shift staff don't take home is thrown out.

 

[Rhea]

We have a problem.

My daughter has started working at Dunkin's (Donuts) and has several closing shifts. They have to throw out all the bagels, muffins and donuts left over every evening. So she's bringing home like 36 donuts, 12 muffins and 12 bagels each night. She can't limit herself. So we are all eating this stuff.

Because of how crazy insurance is, they can't donate the food to a food pantry or anything like that. Anything night shift staff don't take home is thrown out.

Yikes, that could get out of hand.