What's for dinner? Part 98 [Old]

[twodales]

Seems like the whole country has a fever so what's your best cool off dinner plans?

[onceadaylily]

Hey, everyone, mariacarmen got us started on a new thread here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/798699

[mariacarmen]

thanks OADL, i thought i did that, but i guess it didn't take!

[bosswappers]

I have some veggies from this week's farm share and I made pesto last night from this recipe: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/...
A swapper at the Boston Food Swap made it so they printed it in the Globe. It is the BEST PESTO EVER!!

[Passadumkeg]

Ms Keg's birthday, a dozen lobsters and 5 gal. bucket of rock crabs, all caught this morning and sweet corn for a sweet wife. Who needs potato salad & cole slaw? Fresh picked, by moi, Maine wild blueberry short cake for dessert. The avatar photo is from my birthday last June

[inaplasticcup]

AWWWWW... That's a really nice birthday present, PDK. :)

[crowmuncher]

that's a serious b'day meal, you're are not playing games there ;)

[steve h.]

One hell of a birthday meal.
Well done, 'keg.

[Katrina_R]

I'm finally back to posting here after a long, busy week of working. Today we're enjoying mango sticky rice as a main course rather than a dessert, per the Husband's request.

Last night I made baozi and we still have some leftover, so I'll likely be serving them as a "side" to the mango sticky rice.

[crowmuncher]

finally i find your post- i lost it and had to review the thread like 3 times.... I wanted to know if you could give me some pointers with that mango sticky rice. I have to agree w/ your husband there that a fine dinner that makes ;) I had it once in a Thai restaurant in LA and I fell in love w/it, but never made it at home since i had read that the rice was a fussy thing to do. I have a huge bag of Jasmine rice that seems to always be full no matter how many times i cook rice. Do you think i could use it? Or does the dish require a special variety of rice? I just am not sure if the trick is in the cooking process or the type of rice or both? Thanks!

[Katrina_R]

Sorry I took so long to reply, we had unexpected house guests.

I’m almost positive that you definitely need sweet rice (sticky rice/glutinous rice) to get the right consistency. What I make is an adapted recipe just for my husband and myself, it’s not quite like what you’d find in a restaurant.

I use 1 cup of sweet rice with 1 16-oz. can of coconut milk. I then fill the can about 2/3 full with water and mix it all together in a pot. I bring it to a boil over medium-high and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot and let it simmer. I stir mine frequently otherwise it sticks to the bottom of the pot. In about 25 minutes, the rice should have absorbed all of the liquid and come to the right consistency. I then stir in 1 tbsp. vanilla and about 1/4 cup brown sugar. I don’t know if the brown sugar is common, but we both enjoy the sweetness.

It’s never been that temperamental for me, I’d recommend heading to your local Asian market, grabbing some sticky rice and a couple cans of high quality coconut milk (and of course, mango) and giving it a whirl. The worst that will happen is you’ll have to soak your pot, clean it up and start over again.

I hope I helped :)

[crowmuncher]

No worries, we're blogging not chatting. Thanks for the recipe and tips. My mangos are done this season but I will save this for next mango season in my book of magic :)

[shecrab]

As my tribute to my favorite night of the week, I like to go a little more elaborate ( not Sunday dinner elaborate,though) so tonight it's garlic stuffed mushrooms, Paul Prudhomme's barbecued shrimp,plenty of hot French bread, macque choux, sweet and sour haricots, blackberry cobbler and peach fried pies with the late great Edna Lewis' vanilla frozen custard. ( I may weaken at the last minute and do cheese grits instead or in addition to the maque choux.) Have a wonderful weekend cheries!

[twodales]

Midweek? Yowza! Color me impressed.

[L.Nightshade]

For a first course tonight we had grilled fennel with grapefruit from the COTM. The entree was pasta! (Big surprise.) Mr. Nightshade made pasta sheets, and I made CSA lasagne. Seriously, took a handful of everything, and just put it in layers: zucchini, spring onions, garlic greens, beet greens, mushrooms, artichokes, alternated with cream sauce, taleggio, ricotta, and topped with a bit of pecorino. I overestimated the amounts for each vegetable, so had to make two. Now I have a full spare pan in addition to the remains of the first pan. How sad, whatever will I do?

[mariacarmen]

fed ex it out to p.o. box MC IN SF, ASAP!

[L.Nightshade]

Only if I can squeeze myself into the box. I miss my old home town!

[JEN10]

Summer lovin on a plate

[inaplasticcup]

Tonight was an epic food score. We met a diver through a mutual friend who dives for uni (among other things) year round and charges but a pittance. Expecting the usual size uni, we asked him for 8, and we ended up with uni as big as the Man's head - you'll see how amazingly huge the roe clusters are.

We ate them straight out of the shell with a little lemon, and then over some sushi rice with a sauce made of soy, lemon, garlic sambal, sesame oil and a pinch of sugar, and topped with thinly sliced jalapeno and red onion. So fresh, buttery, nutty, sweet and tasting of the ocean.

But I think the best part of the evening is that the 10 yo girlchild ate fresh uni for the first time and fell in love.

[L.Nightshade]

Quite a score indeed. I've never seen uni inside of the actual urchin. Only sitting on top of sushi rice with seaweed wrapped around it. I'm impressed that you knew how to deal with it!

[inaplasticcup]

All you need is a couple whacks with a hammer and then crack them puppies open!

[Passadumkeg]

I have friend taht harvest them in Maine. Good ol' boys, who the thought of eating them say, "Jeesum Crow, Bub, imagine!" I saw a 5 gallon bucket of pure uni headed to Bangor, then to Tokyo.

[inaplasticcup]

That's funny, PDK. I posted pics on facebook last night, and a friend commented that she doesn't like how they taste, so when they go diving, they open them up for the seals to eat or something like that.

Girlfriend, the seals don't need help opening urchin, but I need help getting them, hello!!!

[mariacarmen]

that's hilarious. i love your friend helping the seals, tho i agree they probably don't need it!

[mariacarmen]

oh god, what a dream! uni's like caviar, foie, and truffles to me - decadent seductive succulence. whatta night! and great about your chow-pup!

[inaplasticcup]

Isn't that just the best? I love that she loved it!

[Passadumkeg]

Wow!

[John E.]

I have never eatren uni although I would like to try it sometime. An interesting fact I learned a wbe back, although everyone seems to refer to it as roe, it's actually gonads.

[inaplasticcup]

LOL. I've heard that too. It's urchin bawlls. But if I'd called them that, I think they wouldn't have sounded like as much of a score. :P

They really taste delicately and sweetly of the ocean. I hope you get to try some soon. :)

[rabaja]

What a fantastic score! I love your sauce mixture too. I'm still nursing my morning coffee and I'm salivating for some uni over sushi rice.

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, rabaja! This stuff was just beyond...

[JEN10]

Made pizza tonight, I used the Bobby Flay pizza dough recipe, I LIKED it. Grilled up some zuchinni from the yard and eggplant from a farm stand. Made a nice thick GARLICKY red sauce. Made two pizzas, each with half just plain cheese (Husbands preference). Made another great cucumber salad from the garden. Wish I could have eaten more.

[crowmuncher]

looks soooo good! love super garlicky sauces...

[LindaWhit]

I've done little to no cooking this week, including tonight. It was some Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken and sauteed carrots over rice for dinner. Did the trick to fill me up.

Tomorrow I go out to dinner at my favorite tapas restaurant with several friends. Seafood paella is probably one of the choices. No matter what we have, sangria is the drink of choice. :-)

I'll cook this weekend. :-)

[onceadaylily]

I'm stealing Ina's onion, potato, and cheese soup. I have a block of extra sharp cheddar calling my name. I think I might add roasted garlic to the soup, and top it with crispy fried shallots. I have a loaf of ciabatta that I'll brush with olive oil and warm up a bit to go with for the dunking that makes me so happy. Also, hmm, a salad.

Because, last night, I had just finished baking the egg dish when the boyfriend called and let me know that instead of walking through the door any minute, he was still at work dealing with a drama. After the eggs sat for a bit, and began to look a little too baked, I scooped them out, tossed them into a tupperware, dumped the sauce back into a pot to keep it warm, and then baked a new batch of eggs when I understood the boy to be fifteen minutes from home. So I have six baked eggs, with sauce clinging to the edges, hanging out in the fridge. I think I'm going to chop the eggs, and toss them with baby spinach and a vinaigrette, with grated parmesan on the boy's bowl.

Another severe storm predicted for tonight, so I'll have candles at the ready.

[steve h.]

Boiled lobsters, corn on the cob. There's a commercial seafood outlet here in Stamford that also caters to the retail market. I bought a 2.5 pound guy and a 3.25 pound guy. I'll use Jasper White's boiling/simmering timetable. This will be a stand-up in the kitchen meal with plenty of beer and napkins. Burn Notice will be on the panel. Leftovers will appear in lobster rolls on Friday and bisque on Sunday.

[inaplasticcup]

More lobster torture. Thanks, steve. :)

[steve h.]

It's a New England thing.
Pork shoulder on Monday (your photos are excellent).
Summer is too short. Go for it when you can.

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks. If I lived in your 'hood, I'd be all over the lobbie too. :)

[Passadumkeg]

You are killing the breeders, you brute, he says smiling. That's about as big as is legal in Maine.

[steve h.]

Tasty. Mighty tasty, 'keg.
This is the reward for putting up with our winters.
I'll hoist a beer or two in your direction.

[Passadumkeg]

I've got a dozen "bugs" and a 5 gal. bucket of rock crabs (Who the fuck thought of calling them "peekie toes"???) for my better half's birthday tomorrow. Steamers too?

[steve h.]

Nice.
Steamers, too?
It's good to be the 'keg's better half.
Hugs and kisses to the young lady.
How's the boy doing in Seoul? I hear there's been a little rain lately.

[Passadumkeg]

He's fine but as he posted on FB, "the worst rains I've seen since Bolivia." He's worried that it will cause another famine. The worst rains since 1907!

[steve h.]

Korea does have its extremes and that's a simple fact. Deb and I lived on Namsan (among other places).

[twodales]

You could be talking about Chicago. We just broke a record that was set in 1889 for the rainiest July. And it's still coming down with lots of lightening and thunder. 7 inches the other day.

[LindaWhit]

VERY nice birthday celebration dinner. Enjoy Passa and Mrs. Passa. :-)

[Passadumkeg]

I just got off the phone w/my "lobster hot line". A dozen shedders and hard shell mixed and a bucket of non-shedder crabs.
My wife is a wonderful sweet, beautiful woman; she puts up w/ me.

[mariacarmen]

yes indeedy, happy bday mizzus dumkeg!

[inaplasticcup]

Roasted garlic and crispy fried shallots - filing that away for the next time...

[alliegator]

I'm going to give the Banh Mi chicken burger recipe from this site a try. The one that is constantly popping up and whispering "make me, I'm delicious".

[inaplasticcup]

Listen to the chicken...

[Passadumkeg]

Kale is on sale, fresh haddock is on sale; Portuguese fish stew.

[twodales]

I'm needing my Swedish food cravings fulfilled tonight so it will be Swedish meatballs with gravy and lingonberries, potatoes with dill, pickled cucumbers and berries for dessert. I seem to be working my way through cuisines: last week Moroccan, this week Scandinavia.

[John E.]

Your description sounds just like a trip through the Ikea cafeteria.

[twodales]

LOL! Hopefully, it will taste better though! I might add Toast Skagen as well. Small North Sea shrimp (räkor:more like langoustine or lobster in color/texture) tossed with fresh mayo, sour cream or creme fraiche, dill, lemon & preferably topped with a tiny bit of roe. So fresh and good.

[shecrab]

Shrimp po boys tonight, I'm on an inadvertent sandwich kick, remoulade, 4 bean marinated salad,muskmelon and prosciutto and oven sweet potato fries loaded with Tony Chachere's. Peach and fig upside down cake for anyone still wanting after all that.

[onceadaylily]

Oh, that sounds so good right now. I grew up eating muskmelon (lightly salted slices, mmm). I'll have to remember to look for it at the market tomorrow.

[JEN10]

Prime Rib steaks on the grill, seasoned with Penzeys Galena rub, some more salt and pepper. Fresh picked bush beans, cooked up with some sauted onions, and grape tomatoes. I had done some canning for the first time and made a summer squash relish with onions, peppers, and celery seed, perfect with the meat.

[ChristinaMason]

your relish sounds delicious! was there anything else in there? what kind of peppers?

[JEN10]

I got the recipie out of the Ball Blue Book under Zuchinni Relish. I think I would use maybe 1/2 the celery seed they call for. It calls for bell peppers, I added in some Hungarians and jalapeno. Though it really could have used more spice for my taste. First time for everything you know. I am waiting for the tomatoes to start really making a go of it. Then I want to try a tomato, pepper relish. If any one has something they would like to pass on, I am all ears.

[L.Nightshade]

Tonight we started dinner with very tasty chicken liver crostini from the COTM. Moved on to a grilled sirloin. The steak was accompanied by a sauce made by blending a bunch of green stuff in the fridge: arugula, parsley, cilantro, capers, plus a touch of grated fresh horseradish. This sauce was such a hit, I hope I can recreate it. The side was re-purposed leftover peppers, onions, and fingerling potatoes. For dessert we had a slice of grilled pineapple with fresh berries tossed in essensia.

When did I start making three course meals? Dinner used to be a salad, or a one-pot. And the kitchen was an easy cleanup. I blame Chowhound for these splurges!

[haiku.]

A three course meal on a weekday, and a good-looking one at that! Impressive :)
I think the thing I hate most about being ambitious in the kitchen is the clean up. I really need to look at investing in a dishwasher.

[L.Nightshade]

Thank you haiku!
I do have a dishwasher, unfortunately most of my implements of construction do not go into it. Now I pay closer attention to care instructions when I buy. Also, I would like to have a roomba that goes around and cleans the countertops!

[haiku.]

I have dreams of those too! Still a novelty item in this country, but one day...

[inaplasticcup]

Gorgeous meal, Nightshade! Keep splurging (and sharing!). :)

About the sauce - I now leave a notepad and pencil in the kitchen and write down measurements for everything I cook. It's one of the best things I've done for myself in the kitchen, and I would highly recommend the exercise to anyone else. It does feel kinda silly to consult your own recipe sometimes, but the efficiency is sooo worth it!

[L.Nightshade]

That is a simple, but great, idea. When I really work on developing a recipe, I make a recipe "card" in my computer. But I will place a notebook in the kitchen to record the throw-together dishes that bear repeating. Thanks!

[chef chicklet]

Writing recipes is really tough stuff. I cook pretty well, but baking, well let's just say I'm so-so. Of course I do tweak recipes all the time - I just can't help myself. One particular recipes that I've created or taken off from is the scone at Starbucks. My recipe for Better than Starbucks Scones is just one such project. and It took me MONTHS to perfect, in fact I think it was the entire summer of 2006. Either I'm really slow, or I'm such a perfectionist that I'm at the point of being ridiculous. Whatever the case, writing recipes is not an easy task and my hat is off to you brainiacs. Seriously, my dozens of yellow legal pads filled with ideas, look like cartoon drawings by the time I"m done. With all the arrows, asterisks, happy faces-sad faces and dozens of red marks, good luck to anyone that's trying to decipher it. I still think I need to use a recorder!

[inaplasticcup]

scone recipe - SHARE.

Please. :)))

[chef chicklet]

I think it's on here somewhere... let me look.

[chef chicklet]

Better than Starbucks Scones- Sharon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Large baking sheet with silpat or lined with parchment paper

Ingredients
2 Cups Flour – King Arthur’s is my preferred brand..
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 T vanilla
½ tsp sea salt
¼ cup Plus 2 T fine baker’s sugar
½ cup ice cold butter cubed - keep in the fridge
½ cup ice cold whipping cream
1 pint of fresh blue berries- rinsed and stems removed

For the topping
1 egg beaten
1 T whipping cream
Wilton’s Sugar – large crystals

Cut butter into cubes and refrigerate until ready to use

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl
Cut the butter into the flour mixture with pastry blender until resembles coarse meal
In a smaller bowl whisk the egg, cream and vanilla – add to the dry mixture mixing with a fork, and stir until just combined – do not over mix! Then add the berries gently fold in trying not to pop them.
Pour the dough mix onto a lightly floured board and gently pat into a 7 inch 1 to 1 ½ inch high disk. Cut into in half then quarters and then in eights as evenly as possible. (okay I use a ruler)

Place the scones on a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper – this ensures even browning on the bottom - space them so they don't bake into one another.
Bake on the middle rack of the oven - turn halfway through
Mix 1 egg with the 1 T of cream and brush the tops with the cream-egg mixture then sprinkle generously with the large sugar crystals.

Bake at 375 degrees for 17 minutes and no longer! This will ensure a moister scone than normally expected.

Another small tip, I keep the cubed butter and whip cream in the containers in the fridge/ everything is really cold and I work very quickly.
I make these in a dried cherry pecan, cranberry, sweet potato with toasted pumpkin seeds, a cinnamon and buttermilk and etc. Use your imagination.

Enjoy with you coffee, chai, or tea!
Sharon

[inaplasticcup]

Thank you, chicklet! That dried cherry pecan sounds sooooo YUMS.

[chef chicklet]

You're welcome! If you make the dried cherry and pecan scones, use 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup Trader Joe's dried cherries. I like the pecans chopped fairly fine. These are my very favorite. I also added small dark chocolate pieces to the mix, that's pretty wonderful too.

[L.Nightshade]

I thank you too, as I am going to appropriate your recipe. I haven't made scones in ages, about time I try again!

[chef chicklet]

Just follow the recipe. I showed a friend at her house, she forgot to set the timer, lol, and they were still good. And I was that silly to bring my ruler, oh well!

[shecrab]

I love the term "re-purposed"! Genius! My word for that is "planned-overs".

[L.Nightshade]

I like "planned-overs" too. I don't get credit for "re-purposed," I think I read it here somewhere. Either that or at the recycling center!

[John E.]

Last week in Minnesota the geat index got up to 122° with a dewpoint of 82°, talk about miserable. Upon getting out of an air conditioned car my sunglasses imnediately fogged up. Anyway, this week is better. Tonight we had Richard Blais' malta braised pork shoulder (pressure cooker), salad, grits and green beans. While the pork turned out good, the malta tasted more like burnt caramel than anything else and at a buck a bottle, I'll try something new next time.

[onceadaylily]

Tell me about it. I feel like I'm wearing the air.

I had to look up Malta, guessing only that it was related to beer in some way. Interesting, a non-alcoholic 'young beer' soft drink. I'm wondering how it would be combined with vinegar for some kind of marinade or glaze for tofu, like a sweet and sour thing. I've never seen Malta on the shelves, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it, even if I only wind up taking a sip of it.

[John E.]

Although Malta is brewed and made from malted barley it did not really taste much like beer to me. It was sweet and tasted 'thick', I suppose I mean syrupy. It tasted more like malted caramel than it did beer.

[Passadumkeg]

Malta is great for nursing mothers; John, I don't think you qualify.

[John E.]

It sure does have a lot of carbs.

[Passadumkeg]

Yup, not for me either.

[inaplasticcup]

Tonight was a roast pig shoulder escabeche-y type deal. Salt and pepper on the bone-in shoulder, roasted til the skin was cracklin', an escabeche type sauce made with onions, peppers, carrots, chili flakes, garlic, oregano and and vinegar. Coconut mung beans on the side over steamed rice.

I'm starting to think pork and vinegar are a match made in heaven...

[nomadchowwoman]

Indeed!

[mariacarmen]

pork & vinegar - my fave pernil recipe's main culprits! (and salt and garlic = two other friendly cohorts.

[mamachef]

Heee heeee! Vouchvouchvouch MC2's Pernil.....outstanding.

[inaplasticcup]

Care to share the recipe, either of you MCs? :)

[mariacarmen]

ok, here again, pernil! i can't credit it properly, as i found it using a google search a few years ago, and there are so many versions out there, but my deviations are 1) i've never, ever marinated it for more than an hour or two (way too impatient and not a good pre-planner, most of the time) and it still turns out wonderful (tho i think mamachef did the full marinating time when she made it, being the consummate pro that i am not); and 2) the trick for me is 6+ hours at 275 or something ridiculous like that.

Ingredients:
* 8 lbs picnic pork shoulder
* 12 minced garlic cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons white vinegar
* 8 teaspoons salt (or 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of meat if you are using a smaller cut of meat)

Directions:
Prep Time: 1/2 day
Total Time: 1/2 day

1. Wash the pork shoulder. With a sharp knife, make 1 inch deep cuts into the pork.
2. With mortar and pestle crush garlic, oregano and black pepper together. Add olive oil, vinegar and salt. Mix well.
3. Spoon some of the garlic mixture inside the small cuts around the pork and spread remaining all over the pork.
4. Place pork in aluminum turkey pan (skin side up) and cover with aluminum foil tightly. Refrigerate at least 8 hours. (I have marinated this for as long as two days.).
5. Bake in pre-heated 325° oven for about 5 to 6 hours. Remove aluminum foil and bake at 375° for another hour or until skin is crisp. Closely watch this so you don't burn the skin (chicharrone).
6. Pork should be well-done and tender.

AND, i've never used bigger than a 5 lb. butt or shoulder (and more often a 3 pounder, max), so adjust accordingly. really, you can't eff this up.

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, mc! This sounds amazing.

[shecrab]

MMMMMM.. Pig is king of my table

[JungMann]

If you love pork and vinegar, you would probably love Filipino food. There probably are no two more important and oft combined ingredients in their whole culinary canon.

[inaplasticcup]

I've had adobo, and I do like that... :)))

[crowmuncher]

good lord! that looks good...I was able to use part of my last mango and an avocado to make your salad, but was not able to incorporate the ideal pico de gallo because i only had onion (no cilantro or peppers left). It was really good with the onion. I made blackened mahi to go with it plus I had some leftover rice n pinto beans. It was very good and i wish i had more more mangos left to do this again :(

[inaplasticcup]

Where do FL peeps get their mango from? A lot of ours are from Mexico...

[crowmuncher]

we grow them here; i'm originally from LA so I know that mangos are one of the few things to not be excited about over there; we are lucky to be able to grow a vast variety of mangos in sofla (I have 3 trees-all different kinds) and it's practically the best reason to be stuck here in the summer ;)

[inaplasticcup]

mango trees - jealous. :)

[crowmuncher]

yeah, can't complain about that; don't think I've ever had uni- i think i'd remember something like that so i probably haven't

[inaplasticcup]

A friend described the flavor as *the ocean jumping into your mouth*. I kind of agree.

[steve h.]

Just back from a long weekend in Washington, D.C.. Southern New England is mighty cool (temperature wise) in comparison.
Deb will be pounding pork chops into submission then breading the bad boys and pan frying them on the stovetop. Egg noodles on the side, tomatoes from the garden.
Wine will be a modest 2009 pinot noir (La Crema). Patsy Cline will be on the box.

[mamachef]

Sounds like a killer mellow tasty evening to home. Enjoy, y'all. :)

[suburban_mom]

Zucchini stuffed with ground lamb. I sauteed an onion, a couple of garlic cloves and the zucchini flesh that I scooped out. I'm going to add lamb, an egg, some allspice, maybe zatar or salt and aleppo pepper and stuff the zucchini shells. I will bake it over diced tomatoes mixed with half the onion, garlic, zucchini mixture. I bought a demi baguette at Whole Foods today so we will have that on the side.

[suburban_mom]

I forgot, I also added pine nuts and ended up using cinnamon, allspice, aleppo pepper and salt to season the meat mixture. And now that we have eaten, the meal was a winner. The baguette was perfect to soak up the pan juices. Unfortunately, this is a meal my children would not eat so I guess suburban_dad and I will have to wait until next summer when all the kids are away at camp again.

[lapelosa]

I just had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch -- I bought a small chicken from a local farmer, so I have that along with some chicken feet simmering in the slow cooker to make stock. As soon as the breasts were cooked, I took that out and used that as the basis for my salad (not a lot of breast meat -- as I said, it's a small chicken, and heritage free range to boot, so not with the giant breasts we're used to).

Anyway..... I made a quick mayo using avocado oil, and eggs from the same farmer, and it was the first time I made mayo on my own! Successfully, that it. I made it about a month ago, only I used olive oil and dumped all the oil in at once.... So now I know what a failed mayo looks and tastes like, vs. a successful one. I like the successful mayo. And as I thought it would, avocado oil makes for a mild and especially silky mayo.

Added some chopped up vidalia onion and celery, and flavored with lime juice and lime zest -- limes were going for five for a dollar at the Hispanic markets. Also liberal amounts of chopped dill, pulled from my grandmother's garden (for free, natch). I had the chicken salad sandwich on a piece of toasted sprouted bread, bought from Trader Joe's.

I'm following that up with some gouda cheese and cherries, before I leave to run errands. And grade papers.

[onceadaylily]

I was craving puttanesca again, but have been eating quite a lot of starches lately. And then I had one of those moments when the solution suddenly seems so clear that you feel a little stupid for not seeing it right away. Puttanesca-style eggs in purgatory. I have some spicy cracked green olives, lowly canned black olives, a tin of anchovies, onions, garlic, peppers, a basil that needs pruning, and what I call, cooking tomatoes. When the boyfriend stopped at the store to pick up tomatoes for me, he bought large, too pale, and, I suspect, mealy ones. Cooking tomatoes. The boy just can't pick a good tomato for his fear of them in a raw state.

Poking around online, I saw that Giada puts her eggs and sauce over potato cakes. I'm really trying not to go there. But I might go there. And serve it with toast too.

[inaplasticcup]

I think starch is the enemy of mine wardrobe... I like the egg idea.

[haiku.]

That sounds really good. Hmmm... May have to steal the idea for later this week :)

[onceadaylily]

It was the perfect meal for such a stormy night, and the boyfriend loved it. *But* I wound up baking it this time, which I'd never done before . . . and won't do again. When I make shakshuka, the eggs are poached in the sauce, and I wish I hadn't punked out last night, because it really is much, much better that way. But the lights were flickering terribly, and I didn't want to wind up poaching in the dark.

I contented myself with rye toast, and didn't do the potatoes, but I wish I had. I can't stop thinking about how fantastic fried potato cakes would have been with the spicy sauce. Oh, and I wound up adding a little cumin and paprika to the sauce. And a few shakes of red wine vinegar. I know, blasphemy, but it worked.

[inaplasticcup]

Shakshuka? 'Splain, por favor.

[onceadaylily]

Eggs in purgatory is an Italian take on Shakshuka (a dish that, I believe, hails from Israel). Or maybe shakshuka is a Jewish take on the Italian dish. ;) They are very similar, but shakshuka tends to be a simpler base (with a bit of arguing over which peppers--roasted--make for an truly authentic dish, and a bit of sniping about the use of onions), but, whatever you do, don't you *dare* bake those eggs.

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, lily! I'm not a big fan of baked eggs, so no worries there.

[L.Nightshade]

Last night I did the pork with Negroni vinaigrette from the COTM, so I had to start the meal with an actual Negroni. Actually, it was a Negroski, as I had vodka but no gin. For an appetizer, we ate the caponata that I made for Sunday, flavors now nicely merged and matured. The grilled pork and green bean dish was rather a disappointment, which I won't go into here, as I'll be posting on COTM, and don't want to double-post. The accompanying grilled fingerlings were tasty, but funny looking. Like a handful of oily in-shell peanuts on the plate.

I'm at a complete loss as to what to cook tonight. It's CSA day, so, hopefully, I will draw inspiration from our box contents.

[inaplasticcup]

I think there's a Negroni virus going around CH. Seems like everyone's doing Negronis these days. :)

That caponata is making my mouth water...

[L.Nightshade]

Thanks, ina pc!
That virus is one I don't mind contracting.

[nomadchowwoman]

I've had it for a while--and the other night, out of gin, DH made me one w/vodka--and believe me, I didn't turn up my nose. We've also made them w/dry vermouth rather than sweet when we're out of that; no complaints about that variation either. We're off on vacation tomorrow, and my cousin tells me we'll be greeted w/Negronis made w/a sweet vermouth he's discovered that he says makes a sublime version ( guiseppe carbano antica formula, or something like that). Can't wait.

Your food looks good too--but I'm truly impressed by your very long orange peel

[mariacarmen]

i was so excited at the beginning of your post - negroni AND pork???? i've deemed this The Negroni Summer, myself, and of course, eveyr season is pork season... so, together at last? sad to know it didn't work out. tho i'm fine them being separate but equal at the table.

[mamachef]

Throwback night.....we're having Eggs Foo Yong, made with chopped prawns and some shredded chicken I had left over. Jasmine rice to soak up the good garlicky sauce. And a side of the most beautiful haricot vert I've seen in years, with some sliced almonds on top. Matcha ice cream for dessert, with pirouettes cookies.

[JungMann]

How do you get your egg foo yung to form the football? I'd not turn down your instructions on how to make the brown sauce, either.

[mamachef]

I had to get myself schooled on that one too, JM. Turns out the secret is in adding a heaping T. flour to the egg binder. Then, you use way more oil to fry than you ordinarily would - at least an inch. You know; keep temp up and it won't be greasy. Get the oil nice and hot, but not smoking and then add a few generous T. per patty, making sure to spoon over some of the egg because as you know it'll go to the bottom. Then, spoon the oil over the patties as they cook, so they're basically almost deepfrying. It's what makes them puffy and footbally instead of being whiny little insipid patties that just......lay there and look up at you. The brown sauce, I just do the usual Asian mirepoix, gingergarlicsoy, and build a little fond, which I deglaze with beef stock and a tot of Scotch or Sake, just for medicinal purposes you understand. I don't love the cornstarchy feel, so I use arrowroot to thicken - and am making panfried rice noodles with sesame oil instead of the rice.

[Phurstluv]

Well, it was a busy weekend filled with sleepovers, then tantrums b/c the sleepover didn't happen, (I will be really happy when this phase passes!) then an unexpected date night w the hubby, since the kids were invited to dinner & a movie, so I was like, I'm not cooking this weekend!!

Now I have my parents in town visiting, so the kitchen will be fired up again. First night was just leftover grilled chicken thighs that I had marinated in a Hawaiian luau type marinade, ginger, pineapple, soy, etc. They were pretty good. Served w rice pilaf w ginger, some corn on the cob, steamed broccoli & an herb salad.

Last night was a CH recipe from former 'hound KChurchill, her lemon basil chicken recipe, which is really tasty. I split b/s breasts in half to make cutlets, since they are so huge and fat these days. Sauteed the cutlets, then deglazed w white wine, add whole milk, lemon zest, then return cutlets to pan, add lemon juice & basil off heat. Served over fresh linguine, and I also roasted some baby red, white & blue potatoes, halved mushrooms, haricots verts and baby yellow cherry tomatoes. It was all pretty delicious.

Taking the crew to the marina & pier for lunch. Dinner will probably be a Mexican shepherd's pie, made w ground turkey, since it's thawed out in the fridge. Fresh corn and salad served along side. If I ever get around to making a plum-raspberry crisp, I will let you know!

[chef chicklet]

As always I have a craving for Asian food... I'm thinking Japanese fried chicken marinated (for several hours) in grated ginger root, garlic, mirin, etc. and then tossed in seasoned flour. Maybe shrimp and veggie fritters with my favorite jasmine rice sprinkled with sesame seeds or toasted terriyaki nori ( I love those things plain to munch on!). And then a little crispy salad with slivers of tart apple dressed with my citrus and rice wine dressing.
Thank the Lord, I think my taste buds are finally waking up.

[inaplasticcup]

Man, that fried chicken sounds tasty.

I love the idea of the homemade furikake. It's kinda spendy down here. Well,it's not THAT spendy, but I can easily go through one of those little $6 dollar bottles in a couple of meals.

[mariacarmen]

that chicken is making my mouth water.... do you use breast meat?

[mamachef]

Your chicken is KILLING me, chef chicklet. I mean really, how can you beat that? Poultry. Spices. Dry marination. Fry. fryfryfry. I love it. Had a fried chicken last week at a little Korean place here - she makes little stabbies all over the pieces, and then loads them up with a gremolata of sorts; batters it and fries it on up. Ummmm...you crunch in, and get a bursting mouthful of perfect juices juxtaposed with these little popping flavor pockets of garlic, parsley and lemon. This is dream-chicken, but I think your recipe sounds pret' outstanding too, and i'm gonna try it your way.

[mariacarmen]

where where where is that korean place?

[shecrab]

Banh mi was a pretty big hit. KingCrab declared it a little dry ( I was not chintzy with the chili mayo) and doused his in Newman's honey mustard dressing (!) I served it with macaroni salad (all the talk about Hawaiian plate lunch got to me) and broccoli salad. Tonight it's all garden. Roasted beets with a simple warm Dijon vinaigrette, squash casserole, fresh okra and tomatoes, macaroni and cheese (yes, it is a vegetable), a pan of hot cornbread and watermelon sherbet.

[chef chicklet]

Now that sounds delicious! What rolls do you favor?

[ChristinaMason]

how do you make your sherbert? just blend and freeze in a pan in the freezer? or are you using an ice cream machine?

[shecrab]

4 c. melon, 1 c. sugar,3 T lemon juice. 1 cup whipping cream whipped with 1/4 c, water and 1 envelope of gelatin, then plopped into a hand crank or electric ice cream maker. It doesn't need to ripen, you can dig in immediately! I do ices in a pan in the freezer, but they come out icy and slushy. Not a bad thing, necessarily, but I wanted creamy.

[haiku.]

Last night was Prawn Thai Red Curry with some brown rice and naan (adding a bit of Indian in there ;) ). Dessert as mixed berry frozen yoghurt with fresh cherries and a wedge of some perfect meringue - the combination really worked.

[inaplasticcup]

That dessert sounds light and lovely. Was it the tart yogurt?

[haiku.]

It was quite tart, which is why the combination worked (the meringue was sweet and the cherries were quite sweet as well).

[twodales]

It was quite a bit cooler today and we could actually turn the air off and open windows to enjoy the lack of humidity and pleasant breeze.

I sauteed some scallopine and lovely shitake mushrooms. Sauce was shallots, garlic, madiera, broth and cream. A big change from the Mediterranean food I've been making lately.

[inaplasticcup]

I rarely make stuff like that too, but it sounds really, really good. I think I'm going to try that on a cool night here. The thought of shiitakes in that Madeira sauce....

[ChristinaMason]

madiera is so lovely with mushrooms. that sounds scrumptious. did you have it over pasta?

[Barbara76137]

I think after reading all of these posts I've gained at least another 10 lbs. I've been out of town for the past 3 days and in my travels from Fort Worth to Tulsa I've eaten very little. Tonight I basically did prep for a lot of salads for the rest of the week. I need to lose weight and since it is so hot here I just want to concentrate on fresh, fun salads. I think I chopped and sliced and diced as much as I could so I have no excuse for not creating a good salad to take to lunch every day and then maybe another salad and some pasta for dinner.

Cooking for one has its challenges, so I hope that I can make my life easier for having containers of already prepped salad ingredients in the fridge. I can grab a handful of this or that and make a beautiful salad in minutes.

Sunday night in Tulsa after doing a 3.5 run I ordered a cobb salad from room service and realized that with the hot weather I can be perfectly satisfied with salads.

[shecrab]

More power to you Barbara! I was in Eufaula 2 weeks ago and it was all I could do to walk! SO HOT! I can't imagine running miles. A Cobb salad is a beautiful thing, isn't it?

[mariacarmen]

a mish-mash of ground pork, scallions, shallots, garlic, sambal olek, basil, thai red chiis, jalapenos, a tiny bit of black bean sauce, cilantro, xiaoling wine, lime juice, tamarind paste, a sprinkling of sugar.... over cold bun. and i threw in some fresh corn kernels too, cuz i had them ... on the side, steamed zucchini spears in a chili garlic and vinegar sauce. what are we calling this? dinner!

eta: with a little hoisin sauce and sriracha to add at the table (to further mish the mash), it was quite delish.

[inaplasticcup]

I would call that dinner in a heartbeat. :)

[inaplasticcup]

Today was one of those really cohesive and organic fridge cleanout days.

Took the Vietnamese noodle salad (bun) dressing from two weeks ago, the habanero coconut salsa from the weekend, some produce odds and ends including a mango and avocado that needed eating, a couple of tilapia filets coated in the toasted rice powder made three weeks ago and fried, and came up with this.

I love it when leftovers make this much sense.

[crowmuncher]

wow- too bad you can't just email us some of that...
Never thought of eating the mango together with the avocado-genius!

[inaplasticcup]

Morning, crowmuncher! You should try throwing some mango and avocado into pico de gallo. That's superyummy. :)

[crowmuncher]

Funny cuz i eat those three things but have never put them all together. I think i have 2 mangos left so i should try it soon. My fl avocados wont b as tasty as yours though

[inaplasticcup]

You know, there's another thread here about those FL avocados and how they're being marketed as slimcados, but the way I first read your comment - *flavocados* - might be a better name for them! I like the whole double entendre thing... :P

I didn't know what was being referred to when they called them slimcados, but I've had those before, and I like them quite a lot! They have a greener flavor than the Hass, and they're not quite as nutty, but I still find them to be buttery in their own way.

How do you eat them?

[crowmuncher]

yeah, i think i was the first one to respond to that post. "slimcado" is just a moniker for a fl avocado. They're just marketing to people who may be interested in buying a lower fat avocado. As I stated in that thread- it's like "microwavable potato"- just a potato but if they call it something else and wrap it in plastic, then they create this whole other market. And it works-people buy it! I personally prefer the Hass, but they don't grow here in sofla, we get the "slimcados" ;) I eat them sliced with oil and salt, mashed with garlic powder, salt, and lime, or sometimes I'l add some diced red onion. If I make salsa il throw some in it too sometimes. During peak season, you can't eat them fast enough or they start to go bad- and their sooo big. There's no time to prepare them and you cut them in half and mash them right in their skin (using skin as a bowl) mix in some spices and scoop them out with chips or just eat it by itself with a spoon. The season is just beginning for me so they're still at that stage where you have to wait for them to ripen, but soon it will be like a tsunami of avocado. I like them but to me they don't compare to that rich creamy texture of the Hass. I'll let you know how my pico de gallo turns out :)

[Phurstluv]

I love mango guacamole!

[mamachef]

Your leftovers put my proper dinners to shame. Wow, girl. Just...wow.

[inaplasticcup]

Thank you, mama! I'll take that as a huge compliment coming from you. :)))

[chef chicklet]

You're killing me. I want to eat at your house!

[inaplasticcup]

chicklet, If you ever venture south to SD county, I hope you'll swing by for a bite! :)

[ChristinaMason]

you *are* the leftover queen :)

[inaplasticcup]

LOL. I think I like that distinction. :)

[ChristinaMason]

it's meant as a compliment :) if leftovers don't make it into our lunch boxes, they tend to languish in our household. so wasteful!

[inaplasticcup]

I took it as such. Thanks, Christina! :)

[rabaja]

Seared scallops over a bed of sauteed corn, zucchini and oyster mushrooms. I will slip in some basil too, and one or two peeled diced Early Girls. Maybe with some arugula from the garden too. I hope I don't putter out after class tonight and follow through on this dinner. I really need to use up the scallops and shrooms. Someone should come help me.

[Matahari22]

I'd volunteer to help on that one. Scallops and mushrooms are favorites. :)

[ChristinaMason]

That sounds fantastic.

[nomadchowwoman]

Sunday night, we had my mom, sister, and niece over for a dinner my family never tires of: Roasted pork loin (w/a garlic-herb-mustard "crust"), sweet corn "risotto" (not really risotto at all--just corn, parmesan, cream, stock, sliced shitakes, and some peas sprinkled in for color); lettuce, tomato, and cucumber salad w/blue cheese dressing; peach cobbler w/vanilla ice cream. A highly caloric meal that I justify so Mom doesn't waste away.

Last night, we had a grilled strip steak (which DH discovered in the freezer, quite triumphantly after I'd said I wasn't buying meat and we were going to "eat down" the freezer) w/sauteed wild mushrooms, fresh green bean and tomato salad, smashed new potatoes w/butter and chives.

Tonight it will be more pork, from the dadgummed freezer--this time, boneless chops pounded thin, breaded and pan fried, accompanied by linguini w/uncooked tomato sauce, and a simple lettuce salad.

[rabaja]

Pounded meat, breaded and fried. My favorite weakness.

[mamachef]

I think it's a food group all it's own, rabaja. And with gravy, well, there's a full balanced meal. :)

[shecrab]

I don't think I would ever tire of that meal either!

[chef chicklet]

Wonderful meal, it all sounds so delicious, and I am so jealous!

[Phurstluv]

Looks delicious, ncw, very nice!!

[Matahari22]

Don't really know what to call my creation tonigh so, I'm calling it a Summer Squash & Lamb 'Cassoulet.'

Zucchini, yellow squash, a few varieties of baby potatoes, onion, carrot, boneless leg of lamb, tiny white beans, chicken stock, and dill. Cooked in my little slow cooker, and served over polenta.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...

[onceadaylily]

How annoying can I be? I step away for awhile, and then come back to talk about tofu. That's at least a little annoying. But I forgot to get cilantro at the market yesterday, and the black bean burritos I had planned for tonight are going to have to wait, no matter how seductively those guajillo chiles call to me.

Barbecued tofu sandwiches with peppers and onions. I've never baked tofu like this before (with a stern and extended pressing, and then a baking time of an hour with high heat), but I've read it makes for a chewier tofu. I have a thinner spicy barbecue sauce that I thought I would thin a bit further with rice vinegar, and then add ginger, a touch of mirin, and a drizzle of chili oil (made with a blend of chile de arbol and crushed red pepper flakes, vegetable oil, and sesame oil). To go with, stir-fried green beans (in a sauce of soy, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and sesame oil) sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. I think what I'm doing with that sauce is less fusion, and more 'oh, fush it'. Excuse my language.

And if I wouldn't have forgotten to get cabbage, I could have whipped up a crunchy something to tuck into the sandwiches, but the peppers and onions will have to do.

[rabaja]

Not at all annoying, I love tofu.
If I wasn't compelled (beyond my control) to make Dunlop's ma po dou fu everytime I have tofu in the house I would try the pressed/baked tofu idea.
I know the Flexitarian Table has a highly appreciated recipe I think about trying from time to time. But then I make Dunlops' dish. Or, I cook some meat. Ha, just kidding!

[onceadaylily]

Way, way, way, way back when I was an omni (all those months ago), I'd find a recipe that called for tofu . . . and substitute pork or beef.

I found the Dunlop recipe online, and think I could swing it I left out the ground beef, and subbed in BTB vegetarian beef (but think it would lose something--animal fat makes for a silkier dish, for sure). Requires a trip to HMart though, especially for a better grade of tofu than I can get around here.

And when my mom brought me home from the hospital, my older brother attacked me every chance he got. But he got over it (once my mother trained him not to bite the baby). Your cat might as well. Good luck!

[rabaja]

I've made the Dunlop recipe without meat, it is still crave worthy. It's all about the tofu and chilies for me. Over some steaamed rice with lots of chopped scallion on top. You won't miss the meat.

[mariacarmen]

just glad you're back! How did the boy like the tofu? mine won't do it. oh, i snuck in a mapo dofu dish once,and he ate it, but it had pork mixed into it, so i didn't really count.

[onceadaylily]

Thanks! We both loved it this way, and I am so glad I tried it. The boy usually cooks the tofu, but he never presses it, and usually just cubes it and cooks it in a sauce. He makes a very *wet* tofu, and I've never been a huge fan of his 'method'. But this was delicious. I had to cook it for longer than I thought, but it did finally crisp up on the edges (and shrank quite a bit). He ate his two sandwiches very quickly, and then kept making comments about how good it was, and how much more tofu I had put in mine, and how next time I needed to use two bricks of tofu. I finally pretended to be full, and gave him half of one of my sandwiches to shut him up. I'll definitely be making this again soon.

[shecrab]

Ok, for some unknown reason I'm attempting banh mi tonight. I've never had one, hell, I've never SEEN one (except in photos) and I have a strong aversion to anything's liver. The baguettes are proofing, chicken is grilled and sliced, my carrot, onion and cuke are pickling in rice vinegar. I had to chuck the daikon, it really stunk, yeesh! and I have no earthly idea what to serve as a side to this.Helpful tips are welcome and appreciated. Eat til it ouches!

[JungMann]

Normally I am a meat and two veg type of diner, but banh mi is such a complete meal that I never feel like I need sides. You have your pickled daikon and carrots, not to mention the cucumber spears and cilantro for your vegetable along with the stach from the bread and whatever protein you're using. I suppose if one were to stay classic, one could serve this sandwich with some sort of chip: lotus root, yucca or taro fries.

[ChristinaMason]

You can always skip the pâté. Our local joint is happy to leave it off for anyone who asks.

[tracylee]

Let's see...the last few days:

Strawberry Jam with Gelatin

Herbed Salami and Cheddar Quiche (no crust, just biscuit mix in the egg mix)

Chicken Quesadillas - a cooking demo for my Mom who had never attempted quesadillas.

Today was leftovers.

Oh, and we've barely gotten into the high '80s, so summer hasn't quite hit yet.

[Passadumkeg]

Seventeen pounds of steamed clams. Time is running out. Back to NM next week.

[nomadchowwoman]

OMG; that spells heaven.

[chef chicklet]

ooooooo wish I had this problem, steamed clams can't be beat.

[Passadumkeg]

There were a few clams left over. Shucked they will go into a Portuguese fresh hadock and kale stew.

[Matahari22]

I had a super crappy day, and got home late, and didn't feel like cooking dinner.  I got a couple of huge lovely peaches today, so I chopped one up and made a oatmeal topping for it and baked it.   Just ate it warm and yummy with a spoonful of marscarpone on the top, and a big huge glass of milk.  

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/262506_253549031322073_100000009333642_1045693_3737718_n.jpg?dl=1

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...

[roxlet]

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. The perfect end to a crappy day!

[suburban_mom]

I made this chow recipe: http://www.chow.com/recipes/29784-gri.... Served it with a romaine salad with tomatoes, avacado, cucumbers and blue cheese dressing. It was just suburban_dad and I since all the kids are at camp this week.

[ChristinaMason]

Yum, that recipe looks good (remove the period at the end of the link to fix). How did you like it?

[suburban_mom]

It was tasty. I added extra blue cheese and onion, probably too much blue cheese according to suburban_dad but it didn't bother him too much. The marinade was great.

Thanks for the tip on the link. It doesn't look like there is an edit function here so, here is a repost of the link:

http://www.chow.com/recipes/29784-gri...

[ChristinaMason]

Oh, sorry, just to clarify: I meant that if others had trouble with the link, they could remove the period. It sort of sounded like I was ordering YOU to. :-)

[suburban_mom]

No worries ! I did not take it that way at all. I appreciate your suggestion. It seems that message boards have their individual quirks as far as links are concerned and you pointed out something I wasn't aware of. I've probably had bad links on all kind of things I've posted so far.

[mamachef]

So bossy, you. :)

[LindaWhit]

Just an FYI - the edit function remains for about 45 minutes, I think, and then the post becomes permanent.

[inaplasticcup]

Tonight I took the hair of the dog approach to the heat and made my adapted version of bun oc, a Vietnamese noodle soup dish with vermicelli, a rich tomato-ey broth and sea snails. I subbed tilapia for the sea snails because 1) that's what I had on hand and 2) to give the Man a break. He's pretty open minded, but not big on the texture of sea snails. :P

Some fresh cabbage, lettuce, cilantro, mint and jalapenos on the side to be eaten with bites of noodle and soup. (Lettuce, sprouts and mint is typical.) Lime and sambal for zip and heat.

[JungMann]

Wow! How do I make a Vietnamese tomato broth? As for the snails, what do you normally use? The little black ones or the big whelks?

[inaplasticcup]

JM, Here's a cut and paste jobby from the thing I'm not allowed to mention, which includes fish, not snails, in the recipe. But when using snails, the lil black ones usually, but I think whelks would also be pretty darned tasty. :)

This recipe just uses what I had on hand, but if you have lemongrass handy, it would be a great addition.

CANH BUN CA (KKANG boohn KKAH)
Serves 4

- roughly 11 oz. of bun tuoi (Vietnamese rice vermicelli) cooked per package instructions, 4 servings of al dente angel hair will work in a pinch, but nothing thicker

- 1.5 to 2 pounds of white fish cut into 1" chunks, or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

- 1 medium yellow or white onion, peeled and cut into sixths (or smaller if you like)
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1 inch segment of fresh ginger root, sliced into 1/8" thick pieces
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil (vegetable or canola is fine)
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 Tablespoon red chili flakes
- 2 pounds tomatoes (beefsteak or plum), peeled and quartered OR one 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, drained and cut into quarters
- 8 cups unsalted pork or chicken stock (or some combination of stock and water, but try to do at least half stock)
- 3 Tablespoons fish sauce

- a plate of thinly sliced fresh herbs and vegetables to eat with bites of noodle and soup (sorta like the herbs and sprouts that come with pho): lettuce, fresh sprouts and spearmint are typical. Last night, I used red lettuce, green cabbage, green onion, cilantro, spearmint and fresh jalapeno)
- 2 limes, cut into 12 wedges

1) In a large pot, bring 1 Tablespoon of oil to medium high heat and saute the onions, ginger and garlic until the onions just begin to turn translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.

2) Turn the heat down to medium and stir in the tomato paste and red chili flakes and saute for another minute or so. The resulting caramelized tomato paste gives the soup its color as well as some of the tang you would get from using tamarind.

3) Add in the chicken stock, tomatoes (I used fresh) and fish sauce and bring the soup to a boil.

4) Once the soup comes to a boil, turn down the heat to medium low and simmer, partially covered (leave about 1/2" crack to allow steam to escape) for 20 to 25 minutes. While the soup is simmering, you can boil the noodles, prep the fresh veg, and put the noodles in noodle bowls, about 1.5 cups cooked noodles per serving.

5) After 25 minutes, put the fish or shrimp in the soup and adjust the seasoning, adding a pinch or two more salt if needed. Stir in the fish and simmer until the fish (or shrimp) *just* turns opaque. As soon as it turns opaque, no more than 3 or 4 minutes usually, turn off the heat.

6) Ladle enough soup into the bowls to to cover the noodles and then some. You want a healthy ratio of broth so the noodles don't absorb too much.

7) Serve with the fresh veg and mint garnish and lime and sambal on the side.

I like to add a squeeze or two of lime and a dollop of sambal to my soup. I also like to add some lime juice and sambal to the mix of greens. It adds brightness and zing to each bite.

[onceadaylily]

That sounds so delicious, Ina. Thanks for the recipe (and the phonetic hand-holding--always appreciated on my end).

[inaplasticcup]

LOL. Thanks, lily! I had to consult my mom on the phonetic thing first as I often do with Vietnamese. It's not as straightforward as the Korean. :)

[mamachef]

Yay-uh, the Lily's back! :) regards, dahling.

[onceadaylily]

I have the vapors no longer. ;)

[ChristinaMason]

Tonight I made a summery shrimp, corn, and basil linguine. I sauteed 2 ears of fresh corn with a minced shallot, a sliced zucchini with seasoned salt, and seared some brined shrimp with garlic and fresh thyme. I cooked one of the corn cobs in a cup of chicken broth, strained, and used that and a bit of white wine to deglaze the pan. The whole pasta-shrimp mess went back into the pan along with copious amounts of fresh parsley and basil chiffonade. A sprinkling of pecornio romano and lots of salt and pepper, and it was dinnertime.

DH made a cucumer-tomato salad for a side.

[L.Nightshade]

Your dish definitely appeals. I always thought pasta and corn was a weird combo. I didn't like the idea of mixed starches (potato sandwich?). A pasta and corn dish with mild white cheese at Chez Panisse Cafe many years ago changed my mind. Add shrimp and herbs? It sounds like you've hit on a lovely, summery combination here.

[ChristinaMason]

Thanks. Shrimp and corn really is a great combination, and I love summertime veggies and herbs. Hard to go wrong with so many fresh options.

[inaplasticcup]

I love the sweet and crunch of corn with so many things. That combo sounds delicious.

[mamachef]

Gawd, Christina: you ALWAYS make him do all the work.
Baaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!

[ChristinaMason]

LOL. To be fair, he played sous chef. He asked what needed to be done, and I ordered him around. We switch roles every so often.

[mamachef]

Ah, that'll keep a marriage alive...whether you're cookin' in the kitchen. Or elsewhere. :)

[GretchenS]

I found some thin cut pork chops that actually had marbling (too good to be true?) and they are marinating in a Penelope Casas-style marinade of lots of chopped fresh herbs, garlic, paprika, white wine and olive oil. To be served with salad of romaine, radishes, red cabbage, scallions, tiny cukes and mustard vinaigrette. If I get home in time maybe some potato salad too although the number of potato chips I had at lunch means discretion is probably in order on the potato front tonight... :)

[twodales]

Tonight it will be zucchini and baby eggplants stuffed with lamb with moroccan flavors...maybe a bit of manchego sprinkled on top? Not sure what else I will be serving with these yet. Maybe some gazpacho? Some greens on the side with couscous or a spanish rice? Or Patatas Brava?

[shecrab]

We had lazy weekend food (my favorite Trader Joe's chicken chili lime burgers and guac and a psuedo Nicoise salad), so tonight it's back to business as usual. I have frozen phyllo taking up valuable real estate in the freezer so we'll have a caramelized onion, fig and goat cheese strudel,grilled lake trout, marinated veg. salad, butterbeans with bacon and green onions. Found some overbaked brownies in the freezer as well so I crumbled up, transformed them into a pie crust and made a coffee mallow pie with some leftover Jamaican Blue Mountain from breakfast. Waste not, want not! Stay hydrated honeys!

[GretchenS]

It all sounds great, what time did you say? ;)

[JEN10]

You are amazing, how do you do it?

[inaplasticcup]

That strudel sounds amazingly delicious, sc...

[Katrina_R]

I made dinner for my mother today, but things were moving so quickly I didn't get a chance to snap pictures. We had a freshly picked spinach and lettuce salad with tomatoes, chicken breast, slivered almonds and a balsamic vinaigrette to start. Followed by a lemon-chicken stir-fry with chocolate pudding for dessert.

Everything was homemade and it came out wonderfully. Well, almost. The pudding I made wasn't quite thick enough for the Husband's preferences, so he gave it to me to finish. Who can complain about that though?

[Floridagirl]

Today is my mom's birthday but she passed a few years ago. Make dinner for mom whenever you can. It sounds great.

[MAH]

Lobster tails finished with curry/shallot/garlic butter, couscous, roasted asapragus and steamed broccoli. Champagne to go with. a lovely belated birthday dinner.

[mariacarmen]

happy belated, MAH! those lobster tails sound divine.

[MAH]

thanks. the experiement went well. very easy -- the recipe will go in the special occasion rotation. I have a bunch of the compound butter with sauteed shallots, garlic and curry powder leftover to add in to veggies, top grilled chicken, etc.

[nomadchowwoman]

Yes that sounds like a great BD dinner. I've never had lobster w/curry flavors--but I know I would love it. Belated best wishes.

[Rella]

Here are the 1st long beans from my garden. I used this recipe and it was very good.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sich...

[shecrab]

Those are beautiful!

[crowmuncher]

nice!

[nomadchowwoman]

OK, I am going to try cooking long beans soon, only mine, unfortunately, won't be homegrown. Those are beautiful, Rella.

[rabaja]

I woke up feeling like I just didn't want to leave the house today, so after cleaning and getting some sun time wfd had to be comprised of what was in my fridge.

I sliced up the last of the aged rib eye, very thinly. Salted it and let it sit while I made a quick lemon cucumber, peeled Early Girl tomato and blanched green bean salad with cilantro and roasted poblano.

I had some sliced levain which I made into toasts and smeared with a mixture of smashed avocado, cilantro, s&p and espelette. Crumbled queso fresco on top continued my little theme.

I am tempted to sit on the front lawn and have a picnic, but a dvd awaits. That, and I need to keep an eye on the gift I got the Cat this week. A four month old kitten, which he seems to hold equal amounts of disdain and aggression for. I can return it if need be, but it's breaking my heart a little bit. A gin martini should help.

[mariacarmen]

sounds like a perfect night with perfect company! kitty!!

[nomadchowwoman]

For you, or the Cat? ; )

[rabaja]

Oh, for me. The Cat is more of a whiskey kind of guy.
Must be helping because he's finally warming up to the little bugger!

[LindaWhit]

The Cat was just asserting his ownership over the household. He'll grudgingly given in to Little Kit soon enough. :-)

[LindaWhit]

I wanted something quick cooking for tonight's dinner, so I took out the duck breast in the freezer. It'll be pan-seared in a skillet and finished in the oven to medium-rare. A mango-orange-brandy sauce to drizzle on top.

Sides will be the Israeli couscous recipe I made last weekend but without the chopped dried apricots - just the radishes and green onions. Steamed green beans for the other side (I bought a LOT of green beans at the farmers market! LOL)

[JEN10]

Tonight it will be fried green tomatoes, cucumber salad, and squash parmesean. All from my garden, I have lemon cuckes and regular cuckes for the salad that I will dress with rice vinegar and fresh herbs. The tomatoes will get fried up in bacon drippings and topped with the crumbled bacon. Not sure on the squash yet need to do a little thinking on that one. I am having trouble keeping up with them, pickling is in my future.

[L.Nightshade]

What a beautiful looking garden, and love that basket of squashes. I'm a little bit jealous.

[JEN10]

I have plenty to share LN, stop on by.

[L.Nightshade]

Mmm, would that I could!

[nomadchowwoman]

Lovely garden. Do you ever pick the squash blossoms?

[JEN10]

This is my first year having a garden, so I have been reluctant to pick the blossoms. Plus I can't eat cheese and I am not sure how else to use them.

[crowmuncher]

try...

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes...

[JEN10]

Thank you muncher.

[nomadchowwoman]

I bought some beautiful crabmeat at the FM, and we had an early and light dinner before going out to hear music--crabmeat on a bed of lettuce, tomato, and avocado, dressed lightly w/a lemony vinaigrette.

[L.Nightshade]

Yesterday someone asked what to make with shrimp in hot weather, and I suggested shrimp tacos. Then I realized I should make shrimp tacos. I used a combination of shrimp and snapper, rubbed with a cumin-adobo mixture, cooked in baskets on the grill. Other fillings included cilantro-lime-sour cream sauce, mango salsa, avocado, red cabbage, some extra cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Made a cocktail of vodka with muddled cilantro and lime (can you tell I like cilantro?). Nice dinner for our "scorcher" today, think we hit 73°.

[mamachef]

Do you like cilantro, Nightshade? J/K. Just wanted to say, that's visually stunning, and you set a very pretty table. Nice.

[nomadchowwoman]

Spectacular colors in that dish. Wow.

[JEN10]

INSPIRING!!!

[L.Nightshade]

Thank you mama c, ncw, and Jen! Such kind words.
Sharing my menus here, looking at pictures, reading posts and the exchanges that follow, it's almost like we're all sharing dinner together. What a great group!

[inaplasticcup]

We attended a potluck BBQ tonight, so I took chocolate chunk cookies, garlic/chili/lime shrimp kabobs, and some habanero coconut salsa to go with them.

[L.Nightshade]

Habanero coconut salsa? I want that! Sounds lovely, and perfect for the shrimp kabobs.

[suburban_mom]

Burgers with extra sharp cheddar and grilled onions. Asian broccoli slaw. Grilled locally grown corn on the cob. The kids head to camp tomorrow so tonight's meal was all about them.

[mamachef]

Oooh, busy around here. What with all the upheaval I completely entered a catering date WRONG, and only realized it early in the week, thank ya jesus I found it at all. So because I am busy cooking for other people's parties (which I love!), Mr. is doing for our party of two. Tonight's fare was pretty darn delicious, after my weeks of puddingy, slidey concotions: he spatchcocked Cornish hens and stuffed them under the skin with gremolata, and let them sit all day. Then he torched up the grill and oiled dem boidies lightly with olive oil, and dusted them with salt, pepper, thyme and chives and grilled 'em up. One of the dishes for tomorrow is a (tomatoless) caponata agrodolce that I put together with baby eggplants, zucchinis and pattypans, with some balsamic in the dressing and a good handful of golden raisins and pine nuts, so that's our side dish this evening, and with some grilled sourdough.......dinner is ON. And happily enough, for tonight's dessert excitement, we have an entire 24-pack of Schwan's caramel pecan drumsticks. Not that we're planning on eating 24 - but I love knowing we have them, in a way that excites me like no case of canned peaches EVER will.

[mariacarmen]

MC - love the sound of that caponata. i had all those ingredients earlier this week, but still have some FM zucchini that i think i'll copy you with for tomorrow's pulled pork dinner.

[mamachef]

Oh, the sweet/sour would be perfect with pork, girl - almost the flavor equivalent of a slaw, right? But the crisp/tender vegetables are such a beautiful change, and the little pops of flavor and texture from the pignoli....the glisten-y, glossy marinade.......not only delicious, but really pretty to look at, and better to eat. Girl, this could be SUCH a WW staple if you just kept a bowl of it around, for omelet filling, for a soup base even, stuffed into some good, hearty-crumbed bread, tossed with pasta. I say go for it, you sure won't be sorry. And you know what else I just thought of, w/ regard to the soup base? What about adding strong beef stock, and shredded cabbage and beets? Whoa.....insta-borscht!!
Thank you roxlet. And to think I was going to make a funky little ratatouille.

[mariacarmen]

Mamachef, i ended up making a much simpler version. i had fresh raw sweet corn which i scraped off the cob, and we grill-panned some white zucchini, tossed it with some cilantro and minced shallots, and then mixed it just with my favorite spanish olive oil and sea salt, and a little pepper. my "mom" for the pork was already so vinegary that we wanted something a little more neutral for the veggies. it was delicious, and i agree, i'll make lots of that this summer, and next time try it as agrodolce with a more neutral meat offering. i also made shecrab's lemon/basil potato salad, and threw in some capers. it was divine. i didn't love my mop (tho the BF did), but the pork came out wonderful, and the whole thing was slopped onto grill-panned halves of Milton's soft hamburger buns. a really good summertime meal!

[mariacarmen]

um, that was "mop", not "mom".

[mamachef]

Oh YUM on the vegies. I LOVE the combo of corn and zucchini, don't you? And I'm glad someone made the potato salad; I'd been thinking about trying it, and now I know I have to!

[ChristinaMason]

dinner sounds good!
link to that potato salad recipe?

[L.Nightshade]

Funny to read this as I made caponata tonight for an event tomorrow. Mine did have tomatoes, however, along with eggplant, olives, raisins, onions, cocoa, and balsamic. Letting the flavors marry overnight.

[nomadchowwoman]

Now, that caponata sounds like one I could love. I don't usually but that sounds wonderful.

[ChristinaMason]

mamachef, i drooled the first time i read about your caponata. could you please 'splain a bit more in detail?

[mamachef]

Sure, dolly!I lucked out twice that day: one, roxlet steered me in the direction of agrodolce instead of just plain vegetal ratatouille, and then I was lucky enough to get baby vegetables - Japanese eggplants, pattypans, zucchini: so beautiful and tiny-perfect that I WANTED to be comfortable cooking them whole, just for appearence's sake, you know? But then I worried about the absorption factor, so ended up just slicing them lengthwise; few cuts as possible.

1/3 c. olive oil (don't waste the evoo on this, too delicate)

3 smashed, minced garlic cloves (you can use less - we love the allium, though.)

2 cups sliced white onions

4 ittybitty baby zucchini, sliced lengthwise

2 small japanese eggplants, lengthwise

3 ittybitty pattypan squash, lengthwise again.

3 T. ap flour

1 red and 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips

Because of the no tomato thing, I actually scaled up on the eggplants and added 3 total.

Heat oil in lg. skillet; add garlic and onions and saute until transparent. Toss all your veg. lightly with flour and add to skillet. Cover; cook over low flame for a half-hour. Taste the juices, and now stir in a half-cup golden raisins and a healthy slug of balsamic, the best you've got. It's going to need a pop of sweetener; I've been using agave nectar lately and love it a lot, but any sugar, syrup, or nectar will do just fine. I think with the flavor profile, I could've even used apricot nectar, but didn't. Leave it to simmer for another 20 or so, taste again for salt and pepper. Let come to room temp, and garnish with a big handful of toasted pignoli (and I know you know this, but just as a friendly reminder, taste the nuts to make sure you've got a good batch. One rancid nut will wreck the whole dish, and that would be a serious bummer, because this stuff is SO great to have around - tossed into pastas, stuffed into a good roll with some mild cheese, wrapped and baked till melty, as a soup base....or just eaten straight up from the pot, as-is. This recipe is scaled to feed 5-6 people, but I guarantee it won't, because you could make a full meal of it, with some rice and good bread, or as a side to kebabs. Yumyumyum. Oh, and the reason for the no tomatoes was appearence's sake: I wanted to keep it a little more monochromatic - but surely you could add some beautiful plummy 'maters to this and it would be tart, mellow, tangy and delicious - even w/ best-quality imported canned ones. (Edit) Forgot: 1 heaping T. capers.

[ChristinaMason]

Thanks!

[mariacarmen]

I feel for all y'all in the sweltering heat, i do.... but i'm a bit jealous. oh it was nice enough here earlier today, sunny and breezy, but now it's all gray, foggy and windy again.

Lunch today was a light and yummy patty pan squash, parm regg, shallot, basil and thyme frittata. It was good, but so light i'm really hungry for dinner, which the BF is working on as I write this. Inspired by a clean-up job in our spice drawer, having unearthed some nigella seeds, the BF went through our Spice Bible and found a spicy eggplant saute that's smelling wonderful right about now. the sauce is made of chopped canned tomatoes, turmeric, garlic, ginger, the nigella, and a few other things. just came back from the gym and am ravenous!

also have a pork shoulder waiting for me to start after dinner. i'll do some version of pulled pork for dinner tomorrow night and leftovers for the week.

i feel a Negroni coming on tonight....

edited to add: the spicy eggplant was PHENOMENAL. the nigella has a slightly bitter, tangy taste and melded and yet set off so well the other flavors - cumin, fennel, coriander, ginger, turmeric, garlic, tomato.... it sounds like any other indian spice mix but it was so much more flavorful. i'm going to make this again, with anything. the BF accompanied this with sausage rolls which were totally second fiddle to the eggplant, and a lovely manila mango salad with sliced chilis and cilantro. but oh my that eggplant....

and in the oven now for the next 5 or so hours is the pork butt, with a rub made of a coffee rub i had, to which i added garlic & onion powders, sugar (out of brown) , paprika, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, celery seed & s&p. i prepped the butt they way normally would pernil, by cutting slits all through it and stuffing them with a slurry of kosher salt, minced garlic and thyme (we were out of oregano, and i thought the thyme would go well with the rub.) i also have a mop in the fridge made of apple cider vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, salt, ketchup, cayenne and a hot rocoto sauce for a little more kick. we shall see how it all turns out, tomorrow....

[BananaBirkLarsen]

I'm not sure that it's a cool off dinner, per se, but we're making "quickie" red chili burritos tonight.

Browned beef, onion, garlic, pasilla chili powder, reconstituted-and-pureed dried California chilies, some canned tomatoes, possibly a touch of bottled mole sauce. All cooked up and served on tortillas with rice and sour cream.

[Matahari22]

Still was hot today, so I quickly browned some sausage, then an onion, deglazed with chicken stock and threw it in the crockpot with bell peppers. Oh, and a cup of edamame. Kinda random, I know, but I needed to use it up. Served over Orzo for a starch.

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...

[LindaWhit]

Well, I took the easy way out last night - no cooking - just reheating of leftover green beans and Israeli couscous with chipped radishes, apricots, and green onions from earlier in the week and called it good. (And it was good - I really like the couscous with the mix blended in!)

Tonight will be teriyaki sirloin tips I picked up at my local butcher. They were having a special of buy a set dollar amount of sirloin tips, get a free pound. So I got garlic and cheese (which I've had before and loved!), burgundy, sweet Asian, and the teriyaki. Most will (obviously) go into the freezer in small batches for easy meals later on.

I'll grill the sirloin tips on the grill pan and finish in the oven. Also will have a baked potato with sour cream and chives, and steamed green beans. Rocky Road ice cream for dessert. ;-)

The heat wave continues today (I *am* looking forward to much cooler weather tomorrow, however!), but the A/C is on, so I'm about ready to start the living room painting. Or, considering the hour, at least the 2nd coat on the one wall I painted before I moved in several months ago. :-)

[Berheenia]

The heat wave has broken and today was Farmers Market so am making ratatouille with eggplant and zuke from a farm and peppers and onion from Trader Joe's freezer. We have some italian sausages we brought from the city and now it's cool enough to grill outside. If I get really organized I'll open the COTM by Mario and and post something in that thread. My problem is being on vacation restaurants call to me!

[crowmuncher]

I always try to keep a watermelon in the fridge so there goes a third of my space. I also juice starfruit since i have a couple of trees and make i make a pitcher of iced tea. Cannever b 2 hydrated in sofla summer

[Katrina_R]

Tonight we're having meatloaf sandwiches with chocolate ice cream for dessert. Simple and tasty...

[Rella]

Yesterday I made meatloaf for the first time in maybe 35 years. I had an abundance of ground beef from the farm and had run out of a quick ideas. To use 3 lbs. I made

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...

Alton Brown's recipe with a few minor changes.

I actually don't know what chili powder is, so I combined ground Hatch chili, cumin, and cayenne, for the chili powder. I left out the cayenne as called for.

I used Costco's organic spiced-up croutons which made the meatloaf quite spicy - good thing I left out the cayenne.

Today, DH had a slice for breakfast. I sliced the rest and packaged it in singles for meatloaf or meatloaf sandwiches at a later date.

Served with mashed potatoes, and roasted garden squash and peppers.

I'm still not crazy about meatloaf after all these years, but it was a hit with DH after all of these years.

[Katrina_R]

Mmm, I love spicy meatloaf, I bet it was delicious! It's my favorite way to use up ground beef.

I'll have to try that recipe, thanks for sharing!

I make my own chili powder with:

2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. oregano

[Rella]

Thanks so much for your recipe for chili powder. I've seen "chili powder" called for so often in recipes," but I don't keep commercial chili powder on hand, but just wing-it.

I think there are more spices on the rack that are now-a-days called for in recipes, such as 'cajun spice' and others. That certainly makes it easier for some cooks.

[Floridagirl]

Love meatloaf and still crazy after all these years.

[L.Nightshade]

Super simple tonight, and a bit lighter than the pasta and COTM dishes I've been doing lately.
Salad with mixed CSA lettuce, chicken, red grapes, red onion, stilton, and toasted hazelnuts, with shallot-raspberry vinaigrette and a scattering of crushed pink peppercorns. A little bit of baguette on the side and that was dinner.

[rabaja]

Steak torta with some leftover ribeye. I stopped by my local tienda for the roll and a perfectly ripe avocado and went home with lots of ideas of what to put into this beauty.

Sliced avocado, salt and pepper, tomato, roasted poblano pepper, more salt, thinly sliced ribeye, a few romaine leaves and quite a bit of queso fresco.

I got my cast iron smoking hot and put the open faced sandwich in, without the romain. Once it was charred I sandwiched it up with the lettuce and sat down and enjoyed every bite.

Something about those torta rolls when they get griddled, so cunchy and flaky.

Not so diet friendly, but really, who cares?

[mariacarmen]

sounds so great rabaja. diet-schmiet. splurge, enjoy, regret nothing and then get back to it. repeat. that's our ticket!

[rabaja]

Diet-shmiet! Love that. I'm down 18 lbs., and it's been with good food all along the way. My Levis were a little loose today, even. Of course the braised duck and sformato I had at work probably solved that problem.

[mariacarmen]

i'm so with you - good food ALL the way.

[L.Nightshade]

Congrats on the 18 pounds, assuming that is the direction you wanted to go! I fear I may be approaching the opposite problem, with daily inspiration for all this good food.

[Phurstluv]

Continuing on with the theme of Ps, I made a double batch of Pizza dough, once the Power company had done its thing and shut off Power again for an hour and a half - hopefully fixed the Problem.

So I Planned on grilling them, though I'm looking at a TyFlo recipe where he just does 'em at 450 in an oiled Preheated Pan, and tho I know you all have a heat wave, that sounds less stressful to me here, where the doors are wide open and letting in a cool breeze. I love the taste of the grilled Pie but it's such an exercise in advance Prep and energy, neither of which I've got at the moment.

So dough is Proofed in the oven, and now I will Prep some early girls with basil & fresh mozza for two and a Potato-Pancetta & Fontina one and a Gold Zucchini & Asiago one as well. Hopefully, Pics to follow.

[Matahari22]

Oh man. The potato, pancetta, and fontina, and the zucchini one sound realiy good. I think I need to make a potato and fontina one, but I would have to sub proscuitto for the pancetta. I'm writing those down. Next shopping trip. I need yeast. Can't wait to see the pix. What do you do to prep the potatoes, anything?

[Phurstluv]

I'm using super tiny baby heirloom (I think) spuds from the farmers market so I'm using my mandoline on them to get them super thin so I don't have to parcook first. Okay, I'm off to roll out dough now!

[Matahari22]

Ooo. Awesome. I have some of those potatoes right now. Maybe I will walk up and steal some yeast from my stepmom tomorrow. :)

[Phurstluv]

Here ya go:

[sedimental]

That looks delish! Did you par cook the potatoes or did you not have to? How were they?

I did a quick pizza on the grill tonight. Feta, fresh tomato, olive, fresh oregano and salami- with lemon olive oil - whole wheat dough. It was just me and I ate the whole thing :)

[Phurstluv]

No, they were such small babies, I just thinly sliced them and mixed w olive oil & salt, they came out great!

[L.Nightshade]

Beautiful photos Phurstluv! Inspires me to do some pizzas.

[JEN10]

You have inspired me to make some pizza tonight. I picked some squash from the garden and grilled them along with some eggplant from a farm stand. I am going to slow simmer some diced canned tomatoes with garlic and fresh oregano. My mind is still thinking on this; I have some mozzarella and fresh basil, let the dough start rising.

[Matahari22]

Made lasagna earlier this week when it wasn't so darn hot. Instead of the meat layer, I breaded and fried eggplant and put that in as my 'meat layer'. Added lots of onion and a carrot to the marinara sauce this time, and I think this recipe is the way I will be making my lasagna from now on. Made a quick zucchini sautéed in garlic oil with some chopped dill. Just plucked the zucchini from the garden.
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...

[Floridagirl]

I will stay inside in the air conditioning, down here in Florida I do my main outdoor cooking in the winter when the weather is nice. Nothing today but my BFF is going to rehab next week. So, tomorrow, I'm making a good luck dinner for him and his family. His faves are Cajun and anything with cherries. So, here goes: Deviled eggs for pre dinner munchies. Then, cucumber salad with sour cream and dill. Then chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo with white rice with homemade french bread and cherry yum yum for dessert. Hope it turns out ok.

[Phurstluv]

Sounds like a great meal, FLAgirl.

[Floridagirl]

I hope it turns out ok I don't know the people who are coming, thanks

[nomadchowwoman]

Sounds like you can't go wrong w/that one, FG. I had one of the best chicken gumbos I've ever had at a funeral reception recently. Because the of ungodly hot temperature outside, my aunt said she hesitated before making it, but decided in the end that the comfort food factor would have to trump temp considerations. And indeed it did.

[Floridagirl]

supposedly hot food cools you off and that's why people in the south like hot food. I wonder if that's really true. I come from NYC but moved down south when I was right out of high school then back to NYC for college then down south forever. That would be a good discussion I guess.

[vafarmwife]

I bought a rotisserie chicken today and I'm using some of it in an angel hair pasta dish with broccoli, peas, and carrots. Will make chicken salad for tomorrow's lunch with the rest of the chicken.

[nomadchowwoman]

Last night it was fresh limas from the FM, cooked w/onion, garlic, speck, and chicken stock , over brown rice; served w/ a supermarket rotisserie chickn, steamed broccoli and lovely ripe (FM) tomato slices w/a slug of creamy blue cheese dressing.

Tonight it will be pizzas on the grill. If I muster up the energy, I may make a big tossed salad.

[Breadcrumbs]

ncw, I haven't done the tomatoes w blue cheese dressing in ages and you've reminded me just how amazing that is! I'm adding that to my menu tonight!! Thank-you!

[nomadchowwoman]

DH loves blue cheese dressing (well, so do I, but he makes for a good excuse!), and I had a hunk of Maytag I need to use up before we head off on vacation so I made a quart of the stuff. Nothing beats that tangy sharp creaminess on good ripe tomatoes! A sprinkle of crumbled crisp bacon on top doesn't hurt either.

[vafarmwife]

Yum love blue cheese

[Breadcrumbs]

Sadly, we can't get Maytag here. I always pick some up when we're in Buffalo.

[twodales]

I love speck, but it's not always easy to find. It makes me think of Northern Italy (Bergamo, the old town) where I first had it in a lovely pasta dish.

[nomadchowwoman]

Me, too. I can get it here now, but I always appreciated it when my GF would smuggle it in from Austria for me. I now keep a piece in the freezer and use it as seasoning meat for so many different dishes--but I too love it in pasta.

[twodales]

Some cold Pineau des Charentes and olive bread with a sun dried tomato, goat cheese and garlic spread. to start.

Moroccan chicken with olives and raisins. Served with couscous (for me) and rice for the picky one.

Really enjoyed the flavors on a hot summer's night. Sliced oranges for afters.

[mariacarmen]

that dinner sounds like a dream from start to finish. i love making that kind of chicken and couscous dish.

[Popkin]

Last night was comfort food despite the heat. Oh well, it's one of those meals that tastes GREAT re-heated by all parties here and is generally eaten right up, so it's not so bad; I cooked once for about three meals.

It was "lazy porcupines" a play off of my mom's "real" porcupines. Mom's "real" porcupines involve making meatballs with garlic, oregano, rice, and meat. "Lazy porcupines" involve skipping the meatball step lol.

So in a skillet I cooked up the ground beef and rice. Then I tossed in some garlic, oregano, tomato sauce, a little water, salt, and pepper, and let it simmer until the short grain rice was nice and soft. I still haven't picked up my mom's knack of making BIG meatballs that she managed to keep in one piece, cook on the stove, in the rice/tomato mixture. I seem to end up breaking mine, and/or over or under cooking them. My mom, non-Italian as she is, is GREAT at making huge meatballs that come out perfect.

Now that I mention it, I think I need to reheat some of that "porcupine roadkill" [hey I think I'll keep that name for it!] for breakfast.......

[Breadcrumbs]

I LOVE the "lazy" porcupines Popkin, good for you for carrying on the tradition in your own way, that's what it's all about. Real or lazy, they sound delicious!

[Pata_Negra]

not sure if it's ok to participate in this thread if i don't cook dinner myself....

i had frogs, not the first time but the first time i had frogs with the body intact although without the head. and it's quite a big frog, too, complete with webbed feet!

PN who's currently oinking in northern Taiwan.

[chef chicklet]

of course you can! and me either, only had frog legs. I think you just might be braver than me.

[GretchenS]

Last night one of my favorite no-cook meals: lentil salad. TJ's steamed lentils (cryovac'd in the produce section) with beautiful baby kale I had blanched a couple days ago, pickled red onions, and some fab very spicy smoky andouille, all mixed together with a very mustardy vinaigrette, and served with goat cheese on crackers (crostini would have been better but would have required the use of heat which was not happening). Leftovers for lunch, can hardly wait.

Tonight in air-conditioned splendor at my father's it will be the Olive-Olive butterflied cornish hen from Around My French Table, local corn and salad. While on vacation I learned that any tossed salad is better if you put some shredded red cabbage in, what a neat trick and pretty too.

Stay cool, everyone, and have a great weekend!

[Katrina_R]

Rices fritters for breakfast... Is that breaking the rules? I couldn't resist. No idea what's for dinner yet, though.

[inaplasticcup]

I am so okay with that kind of rule breaking. :)

[JungMann]

Belles calas!

Dinner last night was an inaplasticcup inspiration: roast chicken on a bed of namul made from nettles, garlic chives and carrots. Very easy prep for so much flavor. Definitely going to incorporate more Korean into my summertime repertoire.

[inaplasticcup]

I've never had nettles, though I saw a pic once, and they reminded of me perilla. What do they taste like?

And have you had mool naengmyun? That is one of my favorite Korean summertime dishes...

[JungMann]

Nettles are often described as having a spinach-like flavor, but I think there is a very strong savory backbone to its flavor, somewhere between sesame and nori. It's very tasty.

I have to admit I haven't had or made much Korean soup. In my home kitchen, the deep flavor of the clear broths seem so difficult to master.

[L.Nightshade]

More snowy treats, very appetizing! I make corn fritters on occasion, haven't tried rice fritters. I make both sweetish and savory corn fritters, but I imagine with rice, they are even more adaptable to different additions and flavors.

[Breadcrumbs]

Those look and sound delicious Katrina. Are they made w leftover rice? I seem to have that in abundance w my new rice cooker!

[Katrina_R]

Yep, I make them with leftover white rice. I always make too much simply because my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I blend:
2 cups cooked rice (I've only made them with white rice, but I'm sure brown rice would work too.)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

in a bowl and fry them :)

[Breadcrumbs]

Katrina, thanks so much for sharing! These sound wonderful, I'll have to give them a try. When I do, I hope I remember where to find this post so I can let you know. I've added the thread to my favourites. Thanks again!

[LindaWhit]

Bleah. I seriously just DON'T want to cook in this oppressive heat, even with A/C, much less THINK about cooking!

I made tuna salad for work lunches for these past few days, so that's out. I might just stop at the local butcher on the way home and get a few sirloin tips and grill them on the grill pan - that won't heat up the kitchen. A baker can go into the convection toaster oven (also won't heat up the kitchen), and I think I've got some green beans I could quickly steam. We'll see what I feel like doing when I'm driving home.

Otherwise, perhaps a PB&J will work. :-/

[chef chicklet]

Yeah me either....so I made tuna casserole. What the heck was I thinking? It's been a nice lunch and breakfast these past few days however!

[shecrab]

Sweet sweeet Friday! Garden is on full production mode (overdrive,really), so tonight it's eggplant and roasted pepper frittata, balsamic roasted new potatoes ( these babies look like marbles), a simple hearts of palm salad, and some blueberry streusel muffins. Have a great weekend shugs~

[inaplasticcup]

I have garden envy now. :)

[Phurstluv]

me too. least we have good mexi-markets ;p)

[inaplasticcup]

Si. There is that. :)

[Barbara76137]

I'm sooo jealous! Do you find that often you need to pick twice as much veggies because you eat half before they even make it into the house?

[shecrab]

No, my garden is 2 flippin acres. Sometimes I have to force myself to go out there. Saturday I dropped off bags at the fire stations because the food banks won't take perishables. I've put up mixed vegetable pickles,pepper relish, corn relish, green tomato sweet relish, green tomato-blueberry preserves,chowchow, onion relish, muscadine jelly,peach chutney, blueberry jam, strawberry preserves, blackberry jam, raspberry vinegar, tomato-herb vinegar, basil vinegar, dill green beans, etc etc. I'M TIRED! lol

[LindaWhit]

Wow - I'm sure the fire stations appreciated the food, but another thought is donating the perishables directly to a senior center or a homeless shelter where it could be used immediately, instead of a food bank where it sits until it's distributed. A few phone calls should be able to determine whether they can take the bounty from your garden.

[shecrab]

I did and they won't. It's harder to give food away than to sell it!. I had to put up flyers at church to see if anyone attending has friends or relatives in residence so I can "visit", but the amounts I can bring are very limited. The employees I speak with are sympathetic but adamant about their rules and when asked about a large anonymous donation left on their collective doorsteps, each and every one said they would have to dumpster it. Doesn't that just make you sick?

[Rella]

Yes, it makes me sick! It's not easy to give anything away. Keep on truckin' !!

[inaplasticcup]

Sickening, indeed.

But I think it's wonderful what you're doing, shecrab. :)

[LindaWhit]

I'm really sorry that they cannot establish a "home grower" network where they know the food is safe and acceptable for the senior citizens or homeless group. But I do understand they have restrictions on what they can accept from a health issue standpoint. Really too bad.

[L.Nightshade]

This is one of those things that makes me think "what is this world coming to?" Isn't it part of the definition of a community that those who have an abundance share with those who might be lacking? Grrr.

Besides, how many people who work to create productive vegetable gardens are going to be bioterrorists?

[mamachef]

It's why our local hero Novella Carpenter can't stay out of trouble for producing her beautiful vegetables and honey here at Ghost Town Farms in Oakland. The powers that be (City beaurocrats) actually charged her with "growing veg. for SALE" within city limits.......which was bullshit, because Novella has ALWAYS given that stuff away. Poor gal actually had to raise money, 5-10 dollars at a time, by putting out a facebook appeal, for her defense money. She got it a dribble at a time.....but she got it, and she defended herself, and she WON.

[mamachef]

Right? I feed about a block's worth of folks from the veg. patch in back, and the whole time I'm weeding, and spading and hoeing, I'm really thinking of subversive ways to take over the world! Right after lunch, next Tuesday!!

[Matahari22]

Two acres! Wow, shecrab! That's a lot of work! I have tried to donate some food when I worked at a restaurant. You would think it would be easy, it's not. Sad, but true, that no one will take it.

[crowmuncher]

I'm jealous too...must be awesome to be able to grow all that and still have enough to give away to whole fire stations

[shecrab]

The senior centers and rehabs get USDA commodities. If they don't use these in a year, the next year they won't get as much. That's what they're most afraid of. They also told me they have staff with "limited abilities and experience" dealing with "regional produce". I took this to mean maybe staff doesn't read English well enough to interpret a written recipe and are only there to open cans? Not one mouthful will go to waste though, I assure you. I can always open it up as a you-pick. The little kids really dig that.

[Barbara76137]

That is horrible, but I guess bureaucracy at its finest. I commend you for being so diligent in growing everything! So the fire stations are open to you but the food banks/senior centers aren't?

[crowmuncher]

what a shame!

[Katrina_R]

Tonight I made shredded chicken BBQ sandwiches for an early dinner and no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies for dessert.

I just got a new chef's knife, so in my urge to try out the razor-sharp blade, I'll be making a trip to Whole Foods tomorrow to purchase some fresh veggies, fruit and other things to cut... :)

[sedimental]

I made some broccoli beef with a side of yakisoba and spicy veg (that wasn't very spicy, but still good).

I used some homemade chili oil and it is not hot enough. If anyone knows how to save it (make it hotter) let me know. It was the simple prep of hot oil, thai chili and a bit of sesame oil to finish. It is red colored but not hot :(

[inaplasticcup]

Do you have any of those red chili flakes that come with your pizza? (Or that you actually bought? :P)

If you heat them up just a bit (pan or microvave) and crush them down a bit further or give them a quick whirl in your coffee grinder and add them into the oil, that might do the trick.

Or a couple strips of habanero infused into the oil would do it for sure.

[Breadcrumbs]

I agree w ina sedimental. I just made a chili oil from the COTM. You warmed oil on the stove w some chili flakes, coarsely chopped jalapenos and some paprika and let that steep for a bit before removing from heat and refrigerating overnight. The next day you strain and you're good to go! It made for a really fresh tasting oil w a nice kick.

Here's the link to my review if you want more info and a photo:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7932...

[Phurstluv]

I am in my P-phase: I made pie crust, pudding, potatoes, pasta salad & pork chops for dinner. Pizza crust is tomorrow. Here's my strawberry pie with chamomile & raspberry glaze.

[shecrab]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[inaplasticcup]

Nice work on the luscious pie, girlie...

[Phurstluv]

Thanks, Girls, the pie was delicious!! I hadn't made a strawberry pie in ages. I used the crust recipe in the Aug BonApp, and got the idea for the glaze there too. The berries are just amazing, now I understand why this particular stand at the Wed FM in Santa Monica sells for twice the others. Tiny ones were so sweet, no sugar needed!

[L.Nightshade]

Chamomile for the strawberry pie glaze? As in tea? What a cool idea, a calming strawberry pie! It all looks lovely.

[Matahari22]

Phurstluv that strawberry pie is droolworthy. Looks lucious, and a chamomile glaze is genius. I love tiny strawberries. At my old farm I had a patch of tiny wild ones. I miss them!

[Phurstluv]

Yes, Ladies, chamomile as in tea. It had some mint in it too that worked. I just steeped one tea bag in with some hot water and red raspberry preserves, heat them up then reduced. Yes, these tiny berries were perfect for a pie, starting to crave some for breakfast now!

[twodales]

Funny Phurstluv!

[chef chicklet]

nice work!

[Breadcrumbs]

Phurst everything looks spectacular but those potatoes are making me hungry! Are they double stuffed? What's in there if you don't mind me asking?

[nomadchowwoman]

Lovely pics Phurst; can't imagine how Phab it all tasted.

[Phurstluv]

Thanks, and long time no see, ncw!! Nice to have you around!

BC, those are baked stuffed, not sure what double stuffed means, but I bake them first, then hollow out, crisp up shells, then add butter, bacon, cheese, scallions, pepper and milk to the pulp, and stuff back in the shells. then bake again until hot and browned. My boys really love them now, they love baked potatoes period and this way is a bit more special.

[Breadcrumbs]

Thanks Phurst, those sound fabulous. Honestly I'm not sure why but that's what we refer to as a double-stuffed potato.

[Barbara76137]

Wha???? You cook alphabetically? :)) That sounds like something I'd do.

[mariacarmen]

Wow, PL! beautimous!!

[inaplasticcup]

Egg salad sammich & potato, onion & cheese soup...

[chef chicklet]

very good looking sandwich inaplcup!!! that soup looks wonderful too!

[inaplasticcup]

Thank ya, chicklet! :)

[L.Nightshade]

You even make egg salad sandwich look good! So fresh and colorful.

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, Nightshade! :)