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My bulk of my culinary background is in slinging pizza and cooking Southern-style, plate lunch kind of stuff, but I did have a brief four-month stint working in the kitchen of a real restaurant, where I learned a few things, like how to dice an onion, how to prep a pork tenderloin, how to make a reduction sauce, etc.
Right now I'm cooking just for myself and my wife, plus the occasional dinner party.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Uncategorized2010-06-28 14:18:46I say "salad" as this doesn't have near the ratio of parsley to grains as a standard tabbouleh would have. Still, the ingredient list matches up. So far I've only made it using the Red Quinoa available from Trader Joe's. Gives it a nice, hearty color.
As for the preserved lemons, this is something I've gotten into ever since a friend with a too-small kitchen unloaded a large mason jar of them on me. I've since made my own following this guide. It's really remarkably easy and they give lots of dishes a remarkably tasty flavor. Jennifer loves them.
1 cup uncooked quinoa, cooked per usual or package instructions and cooled. I use my rice cooker.
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
2 persian cukes, diced
1/2 cup minced red onion
1 packed cup of flat-leaf parsley, minced
2 T minced fresh mint
1/2 a preserved lemon (maybe 2-3 oz?)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 good olive oil
a couple of grinds of pepper
Toss the first five ingredients together. Blend the rest of the ingredients separately in a food processor or with an immersion blender. Pour dressing over salad and toss again.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2009-08-17 11:48:37The quality of the potatoes from our farm share this year has been outstanding, especially the waxy, creamy red potatoes. Perfect for potato salads. We prefer vinegar based salads vs. mayonnaise, so I generally use a combination of mustard, vinegar, oil, dill, etc. Yesterday I had a beauty of an anaheim chile on hand and some fresh parsley, so I decided to try tossing the potatoes with a chimichurri sauce, which is a kind of Argentinian green sauce usually served with grilled meat. It was simply the best potato salad I've ever eaten.
Chimichurri Potato Salad
2 lbs red potatoes
1 pint green beans
2 cups packed parsley leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 anaheim chile, diced (optionally seeded)
1 T minced garlic
1/4 cup minced shallot
salt & pepper to taste
Scrub the potatoes clean (or peel if you must), cut into 3/4 inch chunks, and steam for about 15 minutes or until easily pierced with a sharp knife.
Trim the green beans and break into 1 inch pieces. Blanch the beans for a few minutes. If you're clever you can re-use the boiling water from steaming the potatoes. When done shock them in some ice water to stop the cooking and then drain.
Add the remaining ingredients to a food processor and pulse several times until the parsley is broken down and the sauce gets a good, saucey consistency. More than salsa, less than pesto.
Pour the sauce over the still-warm potatoes and the beans. Mix. Chill. Devour.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074CSARecipes2010-06-29 12:59:00The following set of criteria is what jjzach & I use for the purposes of clam chowder quality evaluation. This system was devised in partnership with our friends, Kelly & Erika, on the back of a napkin about a year ago.
Thicknocity - the viscosity/thickness of the chowder. Is it brothy? Creamy?
Aroma - does it give off an appealing scent?
Clam Content - This can hopefully be gauged by a good stir. Quality of the clams would also fall under this criterion.
Temperature - When served, it can be too hot as well as too cold
Flavor Balance - aka, predominant flavor. Is there one? Does it drown out everything else?
Seasoning - aka, "Zip"
Potato Quality - chunk size, peel on or off (this could be good or bad), mushy or firm
Absence of Grit - clams live in sandy muck. Proper cleaning is required. Some tasters find a modicum of grit acceptable and see it as a sign of homemade-ness.
X-Factor - the unexpected!
Digestibility - how do you feel afterwards? How about 45 minutes into the ride home in the backseat?
These are mostly subjective measurements, of course. Some folks, for example, like their chowder thick and creamy and might rate highly a variation in which their spoon stands up in the cup. Needless to say, others would give that a very low Thicknocity score.
Potato Quality
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074On The Road2009-07-20 15:22:06 Something about the smallish, red "bunching" onions that came in our farm share said, "cook me in the crockpot with some chicken", so I improvised a sweet, garlicky dish that we ended up taking over to some friends' for a "potluck".
Honey Garlic Chicken
I like my chicken legs cooked long and slow so pretty much all the fat melts and the meat falls away from the bone. This goes great over boiled brown rice.
1 T cracked green peppercorns1 t cinnamon1 t salt4 skin-on chicken legs (thigh + drumstick)1 T peanut oil
1 cup orange juice1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari3 T honey8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
8-10 bunching onions or 16-20 pearl onions2 T chopped thai or sweet basil
Mix the salt, pepper and cinnamon. Rub the mixture between the skin and meat of the chicken legs.
Heat the oil over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Sear the legs, skin side down first, for 3-4 minutes each side. Transfer legs to the crockpot, skin side up.
Add orange juice to the sauté pan and scrape up any browned bits. Add soy sauce and honey and stir until combined. Pour sauce over chicken.
Spread onions and garlic evenly atop and around the legs. Cover and cook on low for four hours.Transfer chicken to a serving dish and cover or tent with foil to keep warm. Strain sauce back into the sauté pan, reserving onions and garlic, and boil until reduced by half. Add onions and garlic to serving dish. Pour reduced sauce over everything, sprinkle with the basil and serve.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2009-07-20 15:22:22One of the shareholders in our CSA contributed this recipe to the newsletter. I haven't made it yet, but wanted to save it somewhere outside of my inbox. Our shares have included large quantities of greens, so I'm always looking for ways to use them up.
Spanikopita w/ Assorted Greens
This is a slightly non-traditional spanikopita pie made with assorted greens rather than just spinach.
2 lbs greens (any kind you have mixed together - spinach, collard greens, swiss chard)
1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs
several sheets of phyllo dough
2 Tbs butter, melted
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Saute the greens in a Tbs of water, covered, until wilted. Mix them with 2 eggs, feta cheese, and the nutmeg.
Butter a square baking dish (roughly 8x8) and put down a layer of phyllo dough. Lightly butter each layer of phyllo - if you are using standard thin phyllo put down about 5 layers on the bottom. Put in the green and feta mixture and then put several layers of phyllo on for the top "crust", lightly buttering each layer as you go.
Bake at 375 for about 30 - 45 minutes or until phyllo dough is golden brown.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2009-07-20 15:22:42Tonight I got to attend a "lecture" and book signing by Michael Pollan at the West Roxbury branch of the BPL. I'm a major fanboy so this was a pretty big treat. He spoke for about 30 minutes and then answered some questions. Unfortunately, questions had to be submitted on index cards prior to the talk--which, btw, seems like a guaranteed method for increasing the triviality of the questions--and I somehow didn't get an index card. I tried asking while he signed my copy of In Defense of Food, but I quickly got swarmed and shooed away by the hovering organizers for holding up the line. Here's what I would like to have asked:
My town, Lexington, MA, has just recently entered in agreement to purchase Busa Farm a family farm consisting of several acres. This land has been productive farmland for 300+ years. The town is now going to begin a long process to decide what to do with this land (with some restrictions due to the money for the purchase coming from CPA funds). In your experience what are the most effective arguments we can use to convince the town and town government that local farmland is more valuable and will provide more benefit to the town than the competing interests, such as ball fields, playgrounds and affordable housing?
So that's what I really wanted to hear Pollan respond to, but oh well. And, yeah, I've spent the past few weeks going to town meetings and trying to help organize a group to save this farm. That's going to be a later, longer post though.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2009-04-14 12:03:32
Oven-Smoked Spareribs
I didn't really change anything from the original Cook's Illustrated (January, 2006) recipe. They used Lapsang Souchong tea, which apparently has a very smoky flavor. I didn't feel like making a special trip to the supermarket, so I ended up using whatever chinese black tea blend I had on hand. In the end, none of us noticed a strong flavor of smoke or tea. It totally didn't matter because the ribs were awesome regardless.
stuff you need
pizza stone
large baking sheet
raised wire rack (like you'd use to cool cookies or bread)
for the wet rub
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2 T ketchup
1 T chili powder
1 T paprika
1/4 - 1/2 t cayenne, depending on heat preference
1 T salt
3 T brown sugar
the rest
4 racks of spareribs (about 2 lbs)
1/3-1/2 cup loose, black tea, preferably Lapsang Souchong
1/2 cup apple juice
Mix the wet rub ingredients and slather all over the ribs. Make a stack of the rib racks and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Before cooking, transfer the ribs to the freezer for 45 minutes. This is to chill them enough so that the initial 30 minutes at 500°, necessary to get the tea smoke going, doesn't cook them too fast. (I don't make this stuff up, folks; I just do what CI tells me.)
Put pizza stone on the lowest oven rack possible. Heat oven to 500°.
Grind tea into powder in a spice grinder or mortar & pestle. Line the bottom of a large baking sheet with foil. Spread the tea powder over the bottom of the pan. Set a wire rack in the pan. Arrange rib racks on rack preferably so that air can flow in and around them. Cover the entire pan with another sheet of foil and crimp the edges tight. I put an upside-down ramekin under the foil cover in the middle of the rack to help with the tenting.
Place the pan on top of the pizza stone and cook for 25 minutes. Then lower heat to 250°. Open up a corner of the foil cover and pour in the apple juice. Reseal. Cook for another 1.5 hours.
Finally, finish them off under the broiler for a few minutes a side to crisp up the outside.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2009-01-13 20:00:57I had some leftover meatballs from making this on Sunday night.
Meatballs were according to the recipe except I'm limited to the meat we get from our CSA so mine were made with Lamb & Pork.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2008-12-16 21:48:20The basis of this recipe came from something in the Boston Globe Mag a few weeks ago. I tweaked in two basic ways:
I didn't have any Chinese 5-spice powder so I improvised my own
I did it in the crockpot because it was a weekday and I don't have four hours to cook on Monday nights.
Five-Spice Pork Roast
For the rub:
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
2 tsp salt
Everything else:
1 4 lb pork roast
2 T canola oil
6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
5 T brown sugar
1/2 cup homemade chicken broth
3/4 cup good lager beer
1 T soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
Toast the spice seeds and then grind the spices together somehow (spice grinder, mortar & pestle). Rub all but a tablespoon of the spice blend all over the pork. You can wrap in plastic and let set overnight in the fridge if you like. The original recipe says to tie up the roast to keep it from falling apart, but mine didn't and I wouldn't have minded anyway.
Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high. Brown the pork on all sides and then place in the slow cooker crock. Turn heat down to medium, add the garlic to the pan and saute just until fragrant. Add the broth and beer to the pan and stir/scrape to get the yummy browned bits of fond. Pour all this into the slow cooker, set on low and go to your 9-5 job.
Back from work? Excellent. Preheat the oven to 450. Whisk together the soy sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and the rest of the spice mixture. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pull the roast out carefully (I use a big flat skimmer thing) and place it on the foil. Brush the ketchup glaze mixture over the top and pop in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, strain the drippings and skim off as much fat as you can. Mix in the remaining glaze and reduce in a saucepan about half-way.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2008-12-03 14:48:14It's taken me awhile to warm up to kohlrabi. I've cooked it a few times in the past year, always because it's been part of the farm share. If there is such a thing as a mental "image" of what something tastes like, I still don't really have one for kohlrabi, but I now have a favorite way to prepare it.Moroccan Carrot/Kohlrabi Salad2 medium kohlrabi, peeled and cut into chunks5-6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch sections1 T olive oil1/2 tsp. ground cumin1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. paprika1/4 tsp. cayenne2 T fresh lemon juice2 T minced parsleysalt & pepper to tastePlace the carrots and kohlrabi in a saucepan w/ enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and then let them cook for ~10 minutes. You're looking for not crunchy but still firm here.Drain the veggies really well. Toss with the olive oil to coat. Then add the spices, the lemon juice and the parsley, in that order, tossing each time. The original recipe said to let stand for an hour, but we were too hungry. I also halved the spice measurements when I did it; our carrots are fresh from the garden and too tasty to drown them in other flavors.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074CSARecipes2008-09-10 13:47:51Yep. I installed the OpenID WordPress plugin. Not super useful since I'm the only one who really needs to log in. But the plugin author plans to add server and delegation capabilities, so eventually I could be my own OpenID provider (not that I couldn't already if I really wanted).lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074f00die.comGadgetsGeeked2008-09-10 11:54:19
We can't stop the tomatoes; we only try to contain them.
We're getting 10 lbs a week from the farm share these days, plus nearly that much from the garden. Two weekends in a row included a peel & seed session and a batch of crockpot red sauce. Three gallons in the freezer so far, separated into 1 quart containers.
Today also involved some tomato peeling & seeding, but this time for gazpacho. That's what's going on in the background of the photo. In the foreground you see the ingredients for some salsa verde (sans the zucchini) that will be constructed later on today. Below is the rough recipe I went by. It's crimped from both Cook's Illustrated and Bittman's HTCE with adjustments for what I had and how I like it.
Gazpacho
6 lbs ripe tomatoes
4 cucumbers
4 shallots
2 garlic cloves
2 rounds pita bread
2 t salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup good quality white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
Peel, seed and loosely chop the tomatoes and the cucumbers. Preserve as much of the juice from these as you can, discarding the skins, seeds and pulp.
Chop or tear the pita bread into chunks and soak in the reserved juice plus water to cover if necessary
Working in batches if necessary (and unless you have an industrial sized Cuisinart, it will be,) load up a food processor with all the ingredients except the olive oil. Pulse a few times, then leave on for 20-30 seconds to get everything very well blended. With the machine still on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Note: since it's all going to get stirred together in the end I don't worry about perfectly divided batches; for instance, i'll do all the bread with the first batch and all the olive oil in the last
Pour each batch into a large, non-reactive container and chill for a couple of hours before serving.
There's several additional things you can do to spruce this up for serving:
chop up another pita round into bite size pieces, toss with olive oil and toast to make crutons
finely chop another cucumber and/or tomato and use to top each bowl
drizzle with more olive oil
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Growing StuffRecipes2008-08-22 10:35:25Fascinating.
My favorite is the gas range. I like how when everything is off the flat lever controls make a nice straight line, giving you a visual clue, even from a distance, that one of the burners is on. Don Norman would approve.
My least favorite aspect? Probably the submarine galley nature of it all: exposed pipes, that hulking gas hot water heater, and the 6" threshold between the kitchen and the bathroom. I hope they keep a good supply of incense matches in there.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074GadgetsOn The Road2008-12-03 14:48:31[caption align="alignright" width="200" caption="Yum!"][/caption]
Thought of another thing to add to my list: faux lump crab meat. You know, the stuff where the ingredients list consisted entirely of the vague "whitefish".I worked at a Subway briefly in college. I used to eat the crap out of those seafood salad subs. And when I was mixing up the "seafood" & mayo in the back, if any stray bits of meat were left I'd eat those too.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Don't Do This2008-07-27 22:43:582 cups home cooked crockpot black beans
1 1/2 Cups cooked corn
2 Stalks Celery
1 Medium Shallot
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
Salt and Pepper
Handful of Cilantro
Mix together and let it sit for a half an hour. Enjoy!lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2008-07-22 13:53:36As an experiment I created a Wordle word cloud from the f00die feed:
Todo: try in using a separate feed for just my Recipes category.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Food 2.02008-06-17 11:27:58Is it a green? Is it a herb? Don't care. Love it.
Arugula makes a really simple addition to potatoes of any kind. I've added handfuls of fresh arugula to smashed potatoes, but it's too hot for boiling potatoes these days. I prefer to keep the cooking outside on the grill, which means hobo packs.
Hobo Potatoes w/ Arugula
6 all-purpose potatoes, medium-sized
4 T olive oil
salt & pepper (any kind of seasoned salt works well, too)
2 cups arugula, loosely chopped
Give the potatoes a good scrubbing but don't peel. Cut them in half lengthwise and then slice into 1/4 inch thick half-circles. Toss with the olive oil and s & p.
Lay out two sheets of heavy-duty foil, one on top of the other. Spread a little extra olive oil in the middle of the sheet and pile on 1/2 the potatoes. Lay another square sheet of foil on top so that the edges line up. Fold up each side of the square to seal in the pack. Lay the packs directly on the grill over at least medium heat. They'll need to cook for ~20 minutes. Move/turn them around frequently to make sure everything's cooking evenly. You should be able to hear the contents inside sizzling.
Put the chopped arugula in a good-sized serving bowl. Pull the packs off the grill and carefully open one side. Check that the potatoes are done. If not just reseal and leave on the grill a little longer (or abort and nuke them in the microwave--but not in the foil!) Assuming the potatoes are done, you should be able to tip the contents of each into the bowl on top of the arugula. Toss the hot potatoes with the arugula and serve.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2008-06-15 14:28:12Picking up our first weekly share today. It ante's up the challenge of planning a menu for the week when you're not sure what you're getting and how much of it. Fortunately, the new CSA seems like they're going to be good about e-mailing weekly guesstimates.
The weather acts as a foil as well. I can pencil in "Grilled Chicken Breasts", but they might end up being stuffed and baked instead (and vice-versa).
Sunday
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Hobo Potatoes w/ Fennel Fronds & Arugula
Spinach or Bok Choy (in the grill basket)
Monday
Saag Aloo (w/ leftover potatoes)
Basmati Rice
Salad
Tuesday
Fish w/ Ginger & Tomatoes
Leftover rice
Napa slaw w/ Mango
Salad
Wednesday
Leftovers
Thursday
Grilled Tofu
Grilled Zucchini
Tomato Crostinis
Friday
Radish & Cucumber Salad (w/ leftover tofu)
Sauted Spinach or Bok Choy
???
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2008-06-08 13:38:43We did a mixed grill thing w/ some friends last night using several meat share items: a ribeye, a sirloin, some lamb kebabs and some garlic+cheese pork sausage. After pulling the meat I threw on a hobo pack of fresh peaches and let it sit while we polished off dinner.
6 peaches
2 T butter
2 T brown sugar
4 small shortbread cakes
1 cup plain yogurt (greek style preferably--I'm a fan of the Fage stuff)
4 T honey
Peel, pit and slice the peaches. Lay out two square sheets of foil on top of each other. Spray the center with non-stick spray or canola oil spray. Pile the peach slices in the middle. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and dot with the butter. Lay another square of foil over the top and roll up the edges to seal the pack.
While you're eating whatever it was you fired up the grill for, let the hobo pack sit over the dying coals. When you're ready for desert, pull them off. Put a shortbread in each of four bowls. Divvy up the peaches over the shortbread. Spoon a big dollop of yogurt on each and finally drizzle each with a tablespoon of honey.
I've also grilled unpeeled peach halves directly on the grill grates, and this can be good too. However, peaches are notorious for soaking up pesticides. Most of that is going to be in the skin, so I figure a hobo pack is the way to go, even though you may not get that nice, smoky "grill flavor".lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Desert2008-06-08 15:19:20I knew I wanted to make some kind of pilaf thing to go with some lamb chops. The lamb chops recipe was sort of moroccan--braised in a sauce of onions, tomatoes, coridander, cinnamon--so I wanted to complement that.
Quinoa Pilaf w/ Mint & Jalapeno
1 cup quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 jalapeno, small, minced fine
2 T fresh mint, minced
2 T red onion, minced
2 T lemon juice
1 T honey
3 T olive oil
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Cook the quinoa in the broth. Add the mint, jalapeno and red onion and toss with a fork. Mix the lemon juice with the honey, then whisk in the olive oil. Drizzle the oil mixture over the quinoa. Add the feta and toss again.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2008-05-13 14:27:59I got inspired watching Chef John Bull rock some delicious looking Jerk Chicken on Sunday. His recipe was a bit hard to follow, so I took one out of Chris Schlesinger's License to Grill and adapted for what I had on hand.
juice from 2 limes
3 scallions
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/3 cup honey mustard
1/2 t cayenne
1 T coriander seed
1 T green peppercorns
1 T ground allspice
2 T brown sugar
1 t each dried basil, oregano and thyme
1 t salt
Grind the spices your spare coffee grinder (you have one, right?), then blend everything in a food processor. Should make a saucey paste; enough for 6-8 split chicken breasts. Coat the chicken, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour, but not more than two or the lime juice will start "cooking" the chicken too much and toughen it. You want to grill the chicken slowly over indirect heat so the sugars in the marinade don't burn, maybe 30-40 minutes.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2008-05-13 19:17:08Sunday
Jerk Chicken
Quinoa w/ Grilled Zucchini
Monday
Carrot Slaw
Leftovers
Tuesday
Crustless Potato & Leek Quiche
Sauteed Asparagus
Wednesday
Seared Scallops w/ Chive-Walnut Pesto
Coconut Jasmine Rice
Glazed Carrots w/ Ginger & Rosemary
Thursday
Jerk Tofu Cutlets (had some leftover marinade)
Kale Mashed Potatoes
Leftovers
Friday
Date Night / Flatbreads?
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2008-05-05 15:41:11I haven't even made this yet but it sounded good. The idea hit me on the way to work this morning.
Chive-Walnut Pesto:
a bunch of fresh chives
1 small clove garlic
1/4 cup toasted walnut pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
a couple grinds of salt
Sear the scallops on both sides. Place on a bed of Jasmine Rice (or quinoa mabye?). Spoon pesto over the top. Serve w/ lemon wedges.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2008-05-02 16:52:00It's one of the things that got us through the winter up here. I hope I can still enjoy it as the weather heats up.
Just before you go to bed put the following in the crockpot.
2 cups steel cut oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
8 cups water
You can spray the inside of the pot with some non-stick spray oil. Mine usually sticks anyway, but I think it helps at least. Turn the pot onto low. In the morning you'll have some yummy oatmeal. Store it in the fridge all week. Each morning scoop some in a bowl, add some milk and sliced bananas and microwave.
Optional things you can add before cooking:
add 1/2 cup of raisins. Personally, I don't like the resulting texture.
A couple of tablespoons of butter cut in small pieces.
Rumor has it that Oprah loves this recipe.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Breakfast2008-04-28 14:00:40Jennifer & I went to a thing at the Natick Community Organic Farm on Saturday. It was billed as a "workshop" but really just ended up being a nice 2 hour tour of the farm and an informative Q&A session with Director, Lynda Simkins. Jennifer blogged her excellent notes from the tour.
Things I went away excited about:
Planting some early season stuff, like spinach, kale and chard
Expanding our garden for next year by tarping over the future areas during this summer.
Building some small hoop-house structures with wire or PVC and something called "remay". These can be used to protect against frost and bugs.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Growing Stuff2008-04-28 10:31:38
Sunday
Pan-seared T-bone Steaks w/ Shallot & Red Wine Sauce
Kale & White Bean Cassarole
Banana Cream Pie
Monday
Eggs in a Nest
Leftover Cassarole
Tuesday
Pizza w/ Pineapple & Tomatoes (1/2 Mushrooms)
Wednesday
Black Bean Quesadillas
Roasted Paprika Potatoes
Thursday
Pasta w/ Fresh Tomato Sauce
Steamed Broccoli
Friday
Kung Pao Tofu
Notes:
It's already Monday morning as I'm writing this up so including some updates here. Yes, I made a Banana Cream Pie. It would have been better served in a bowl. The filling just didn't set all the way, but not sure if I needed a bit more cornstarch or just more time in the fridge.
The steaks were amazing. It was actually the first time for us having actual steaks from the CSA share. We were warned that they would be very unlike traditional, corn-fed and thoroughly marbled beef. This was true. There was some additional chewing effort involved and the taste was more... earthy? Delicious.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2008-02-29 17:30:46 I'm just impressed with how much thought actually went into this. Click for the punchline.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Hate It2008-02-17 21:20:46I came across what I thought sounded like a good "Web 2.0" foodie site today: Cookthink.com
After a couple of search attempts I'm wondering if maybe I'm missing something. The UI is not immediately grok-able. And no matter what I indicate I'm "craving" I end up at a recipe for Avocado Crostini. Setting aside the fact that I really love Avocado Crostini, I don't see the connection to the terms I was putting in--gnocchi, italian. I can only assume that the site hasn't collected enough tag information to give reliable recommendations. That or it just knows me better than I think.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Food 2.02008-02-17 21:21:47
Sunday
Pork Chops w/ Soy-Orange Glaze
Mashed Potatoes & Carrots
Salad w/ shaved fennel, walnuts and oranges
Monday
Gnocchi w/ Marinara sauce
Leftover salad
Tuesday
T.J.'s Tamales
Tomato Rice
Roasted Green Beans
Wednesday
Leftovers
Thursday
Broccoli & Cauliflower Dum
Quinoa
Friday
Dinner @ a restaurant TBD
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2008-02-11 15:49:08
Sunday
Ecuadorian Potato Stew w/ Chicken
Monday
Tofu Tacos - tofu scram w/ garlic, cumin & chili powder in tortillas
Carrot Slaw
Tuesday
Rotini w/ Broccoli Rabe & Sun-dried tomatoes
Salad
Wednesday
Leftovers
Thursday
Heart-shaped Pineapple Pizza
Friday
Moosewood Mac & Cheese
Braised Kale w/ Tomatoes
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2008-02-17 21:23:28Picked up our Chestnut Farms cooler last week. It's like being in a meat-of-the-month club. This months share included:
1 rack of lamb
4 pork chops
4 beef short ribs
1 lb lamb sausage
1 lb lamb stew meat
2 lbs ground beef
4 lbs chicken breasts
Update: one more item I forgot -- 1 1b. baconlbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074CSA2008-04-29 15:33:49When I saw the pack of country-style pork ribs in the CSA cooler last month I was a bit nervous about what I'd do with them. The smoker is covered in snow, plus Jenny isn't into ribs anyway. I figured some kind of braise would be best, but the thought of exactly how to cook them kicked around in the back of my mind for several weeks. A search of the inter-tubes turned up something on Epicurious.com that sounded good. With one major modification it definitely was.
Heat the oven to 325.
In your favorite braising pot, bring to a boil:
1 3/4 cups orange juice
2 T grated, fresh ginger
1 T grated, fresh garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
2 T sugar
I only had about 1 lb of ribs, but you could do as much as 2 lbs probably. Once the sauce is boiling, sprinkle the ribs with some black pepper and lay them into the pot. Roll them once or twice to coat. Cover the pan and put it in the oven. Cook for 2 hours.Take the pan out of the oven and carefully remove the ribs to a serving platter. Put the pan over high heat and reduce the sauce down to 3/4 of a cup. Pour the sauce over the ribs.
Notes:
The original recipe called for 1/2 cup soy sauce plus salting the ribs before putting them in the pan. Ouch. Nearly all of the recipe comments indicated it was too salty so I skipped the extra salt and used low-sodium tamari instead. It was still pretty salty. Reducing the sauce is really going to concentrate the flavors so I think 1/4 cup is totally enough.
The soy + ginger + garlic + sugar is basically how you make Teriyaki sauce, so conceivably you could just use OJ + 1/3 cup Teriyaki if you had a brand you really liked.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2008-01-28 18:16:39This is a really simple recipe that's help me recently get over the intimidation factor of working with whole chickens. I've done this twice now; once with a kosher bird from Empire and more recently with a whole chicken from my January Meat CSA share. I'll let you guess which one was tastier.
What you need:
2 T butter
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 whole lemon
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs.
1 cup chicken broth, white wine, water or combination of any
Preheat the oven to 375.
Rub the bird inside and out with some salt & pepper. Cut the lemon into eighths. Stuff the lemon, garlic and rosemary into the cavity. Use a couple of toothpicks to secure the skin flaps over the cavity; this serves to keep the stuff from falling out when you turn the bird later.
Set the bird breast-side down in a well-oiled v-rack inside a roasting pan. Brush the top with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
Roast for 40 minutes. Take the bird out and flip it so it's breast-side up (I use wads of paper towels in either hand to grab it). Add the broth/wine/water to the roasting pan. Back in the oven and roast "until done", about 45-50 minutes.
Note that the roasting time is going to depend on several things: size of the bird, your oven, etc. I've got a convection roast setting that probably reduces the time for me. When in doubt use a meat thermometer.
You can make a sauce with the pan drippings but I've been saving mine to make a chicken soup later in the week.
Bonus: here's a video showing how to carve your yummy, roasted chicken.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074CSARecipes2008-06-06 18:11:41The recipe is here, so no need to repeat it. I thought I had some coconut milk, but I didn't. Doh! Ended up substituting almond milk + some butter (to kick up the fat a little). It was awesome anyway, but I still stocked up on coconut milk for next time.
To accompany it I fried up some tofu slices coated in a mixture of panko and thin-sliced scallions. Went great with a bottle of Bonny Doon Pacific Rim Riesling.
Thanks to Angela for the recipe heads-up.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2008-01-08 16:16:36We picked up our 1st Chestnut Farm CSA meat share yesterday. 10 lbs of neatly wrapped yummy in a little red Playmate cooler. The share contained:
1 whole chicken
2 lamb shoulder chops
4 country-style pork ribs
1 lb lamb stew meat
2 lbs ground beef
2 beef rib steaks
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074CSA2008-01-01 16:35:22Great book. Probably you've heard of it. Deservedly one of the NYT Review of Books Top 10 for 2006. I also recommend browsing Michael Pollan's site where he links to lots of online lectures and podcast interviews.
So here's some decisions/ideas that came about as a result of reading The Omnivore's Dilemma.
No more supermarket eggs for me.
Maybe wild mushroom hunting isn't really so scary.
I will always love corn, but it is difficult now to look at a delicious, grilled ear of corn or a slice of cornbread or a bowl of corn chowder the same way.
Those .99 cent cheeseburgers don't really cost .99 cents--spread the word.
How does eating local scale to feed more than just an elite handful of the relatively wealthy and/or an extremely dedicated and hard-working subset of the population? Is "local" and "scale" actually an oxymoron?
Next on my list is a similar book, Against The Grain, by Richard Manning. What I think was an excerpt from the book was published in Harper's as The Oil We Eat, and I'm really looking forward to the full length treatment.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading ListTop 5ives2007-12-26 14:48:02
The Menu:
Baby Arugula Salad w/ Shaved Fennel Slaw, Black Grapes, Gorgonzola & Arkansas Pecans (Cook's Illustrated)
Pan-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes (Gourmet Next Door)
Glazed Carrots w/ Ginger & Rosemary (Cook's Illustrated)
Basmati Rice & Braised Cabbage Pilaf w/ Tarragon (Vegetarian Planet)
Baked Ham w/ Vermouth & Dijon Mustard Sauce (Cook's Illustrated)
Dinner Rolls (from Wilson Farms)
Dark Gingerbread Cake, Chocolate Espresso Cake (from Dancing Deer Bakery--thanks Carol & Tony!)
Coffee & Tea
The Guests: Me, Jennifer, Mom, Hunt, Aunt Marillyn & Bob C.
Locally Grown: Potatoes, Carrots, Cabbage & Onions from Waltham Fields Community Farmlbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2007-12-24 17:08:07Like most enchilada recipes, this one has more steps than I typically prefer for a weeknight meal. I was, however, perfect for a pre-holiday vacation day. The recipe is slightly tweaked from the original in Didi Emmon's Vegetarian Planet.
For the filling:
4-5 medium russet potatoes
1 medium butternut squash
2 T olive oil
1 t dried oregano
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
Peel and slice the potato and squash into 3/4 inch cubes. Toss with the oil, oregano and salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, until browning and easily pierced with a sharp knife.
For the mole sauce:
1 T olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 handful of almonds (about 16)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 ripe plantain, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds (I used a banana instead, but plantain would be better)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch ground cloves
1 jalapeno, roasted & peeled (I used a chipotle packed in adobo sauce--it rocked)
dash of salt
Saute the onion, garlic and almonds until onion is softened and translucent. Add the tomatoes, plantain and spices and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add jalapeno and salt, and puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender.
The rest:
8 flour tortillas
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 bunch scallions, chopped thin
sour cream
Spread some of the roasted potato & squash mixture on each tortilla. Top with some of the cheese. Roll them up and load them into an oiled rectangular baking pan. Spread the sauce over the top. Cover with foil. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the chopped scallions, bake for another 10 minutes.
Serve with big blobs of sour cream on top.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2007-12-24 15:34:48We're on the 2nd winter share from our new CSA. As you might imagine, it's been lots of potatoes, turnips, squash, carrots and parsnips. Excellent dishes made from this include:
Braised turnips & greens
Veggie Shepherd's Pie
Roasted Potato & Squash Enchiladas
Carrot Slaw
Beef Stew & Chicken Stew (in the crockpot)
Veggie Stir-fry
The greens in the first distribution were awesome--chard, kale, collards--and were all cooked and consumed within the first week. The 2nd distribution only had bok choy (delicious bok choy). We ended up giving away some rutabegas and parsnips. Because seriously you can only eat so many rutabegas.Keeping the bin in the garage where the average temp is around 45 degrees seems to make for a serviceable "root cellar".lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074CSA2007-11-13 19:16:47We've signed up with a new CSAthat will be providing a couple of winter share distributions. The first is set to hit the bin this coming Saturday. According to the newsletter it will include the following:
* Sweet Potatoes
* Potatoes
* Parsnips
* Turnips
(nice!)
* Rutabaga
* Carrots
* Beets
* Celeriac
* Collards
* Kale
(stop it, you're spoiling me)
* Winter Squash
* Brussels Sprouts
* Cabbage
* Leeks
* Salad mix
* Radicchio
* Spinach
* Kohlrabi
(OMG, more?)
* Red Onions
* Fennel
* Arugula
* Braising Mix
* Bok choi
Can't wait to find out what Braising Mix is. Next week's menu is going to be a blast to write up.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-11-13 19:16:57
The Weekly Menu Board
Originally uploaded by jayluker
A shot of our new weekly menu chalkboard from earlier this week.
Things don't always go as planned, however. {en:Shephards_pie|Shephard's Pie} ended up on Tuesday, and Wednesday dinner consisted of {en:Fenway| Fenway Franks} and $7 beers. Yep, that's right--we managed to score tickets to Game 1 of the Red Sox vs Angels playoff series. Thanks Doug & April!
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-10-05 17:40:53
PB & Homemade J
Originally uploaded by jayluker
This one's been stuck in the Flickr queue for a couple of weeks. Also it wasn't truly Peanut Butter, but Sunflower Butter. It just seems so awkward to call it a SFB & J.
The jelly is grape and was made by my neighbor Leah from {en:Concord_grape|Concord grapes} growing on a trellis right out her back door.
The pile 'o' orange in the foreground is some delicious carrot slaw made with honey, walnuts and dried cranberries.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-09-18 18:40:21Apparently some folks are genetically predisposed to dislike {en:cilantro}, possibly my favorite herb.
In case you're wondering, ilovecilantro.com is also registered but domain-parked.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Don't Do This2007-09-19 17:43:26
Mine doesn't look like this
Originally uploaded by jayluker
It's actually been a few months since I made {en:Chilequiles}, but Pam was asking for recipes for good, healthy, week-long-leftovers dishes. This one's a staple. For the greens I've used both spinach and chard. I also really like it with the addition of poached and shredded chicken breasts which wasn't in the original {en:Moosewood_Restaurant|Moosewood} recipe.
What follows is somewhat approximate (since I'm pulling it out of memory). Also, I know it's a little can-o-this, can-o-that, but it's a casserole for cryin' out loud. Get over yourself.
Note: for the chicken, I usually simmer a couple of boneless breasts in just enough water or chicken broth to cover until done (about 10-12 minutes). For the cooked greens I clean and loosely chop them and then steam in a steamer pot.
* 2 T canola oil
* 1 medium yellow onion
* 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
* 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 2 cups corn kernels
* 1 t black pepper
* 3 T fresh lime juice
* 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 cups cooked spinach, chard or other greens
* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 2 cups crushed tortilla chips
* 1 jar salsa
Preheat oven to 350°.
Dice the onion and sauté in the oil over med-high heat. When it becomes translucent add the tomatoes and sauté for another five minutes to let some of the juices cook off. Stir in the beans, corn, black pepper and lime juice and cook until heated through. Off heat toss in the shredded chicken and cilantro.
Spread 1 1/2 cups of the crushed corn chips on the bottom of a casserole dish, saving the rest to sprinkle on top. Spoon 1/2 of the tomato/corn/beans mixture into an even layer in the dish. Top with half the salsa and then half the shredded cheese. Spread the cooked greens for the next layer, then, in succession, the rest of the tomato/corn/beans, the rest of the salsa, the rest of the corn chips and finally the cheese on top. Bake for 25 minutes.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2007-09-12 17:34:54
Caprese Sandwich
Originally uploaded by jayluker
Tomato from the garden, {en:mozzarella} from Fiore Di Nonno, whole wheat {en:baguette} from Hi-Rise. Slathered with homemade {en:pesto}.
Bread could have been better. It was fresh from yesterday, but I think it stiffened up while the sandwich was in the fridge this morning. That plus it being such a huge sandwich made it tough to eat.
Confession: I originally had some slices of salami on here too (picutred), but it just wasn't working and I eventually took them off and ate separately.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-09-10 17:58:51
Meatball Sandwich
Originally uploaded by jayluker
From the Corner Cafe in Netwon Corner, MA. With extra sauce, please. Yah, it's messy. But so good.
This place is run by a nice Greek family. The menu is your basic breakfast/deli place, including omelettes, subs, wraps, salads, etc. But they also have a few excellent Greek items, like {en:Spanakopita} and {en:Avgolemono} soup.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-09-10 17:54:51Why do I try so hard to eat better these days? Because I've got a lot to atone for. I'm from Arkansas and grew up almost full-time as a latch-key kid. So right there you're combining a built-in hankering for salty crap, plus a dearth of nutritional supervision.
My Top 5
# {en:Saltine_cracker|Saltine crackers} spread with {en:margarine} - {en:Trans_fat|trans fat} on top of trans fat
# Canned tamales - it's funny, because tamales (the real ones) are actually my all time favorite food.
# Steak-Ums - just horrifying
# {en:Flintstones_Chewable_Vitamins|Chewable vitamins} - like candy, baby!
# {en:Fritos} dipped in {en:Miracle_whip} - believe it or not, possibly the least unhealthy thing on this list
Any hey, why not; let's try to kick start a blog meme! I hearby tag a bunch of my fellow Boston-area food bloggers: Beyond Salmon, Off The Bone, Urban Drivel, Food on the Food, Sunday Night Dinner & Eat and Destroy.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Top 5ives2007-09-10 17:54:12
Turkey & Salami Sandwich w/ Tomato Marmelade
Originally uploaded by jayluker
I made some Tomato Marmalade last week but haven't had many things that it seemed appropriate to put it on. I had the notion that it would be good on a sandwich with salami and red onion... and wah-lah [sic].
{en:Challah} bread from Hi-Rise. Bibb lettuce and red onion from the farmer's market. A slice of roasted turkey breast and a couple of slices of hard salami. Swiss cheese. A slathering of Tomato Marmalade.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-09-05 16:17:55
Tomato & Black Bean Quesadillas
Originally uploaded by jayluker
Leftovers from dinner last night. These {en:quesadillas} feature refried black beans, tomatoes from the garden and grated jack cheese. They were "grilled" in a fantastic {en:Cast_iron_cookware|cast iron} pan I picked up at the Todd Farm flea market several years ago.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-09-10 17:55:13{en:l10n} is geek shorthand for localization, which is what the Eat Local movement is all about (...except in the context of food and not software).
Anyway, you better fill up the tank and hit the farmer's markets early this week: the local-vores will be swarming! Well, maybe not those particular vores, unless you're within 100 miles of the bay area.
Yep, today marks the beginning of the month-long 2007 Eat Local Challenge. Apparently it's the third year in a row. Depending on your level of commitment, you can participate in many different ways and at many different levels of effort; everything from "take photos of local food", to "Can, freeze, or dehydrate your local summer bounty".
First on my agenda is roasting 10 lbs of {en:San_Marzano_tomato|San Marzano} tomatoes, just procured from my farm around the corner as part of my CSA share. lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Ingredients2007-09-01 11:07:14Béa asks for favorite eggplant recipes. I only have one way I like to cook it these days. It's a recipe shared verbally by an Israeli co-worker.
Simple Grilled Eggplant
I've got no measurements for you, but it's simple enough. The ratio of lemon juice to tahini is the only part that took some experimentation. And it's really best to use the fat/round varieties, like Dusky or "Italian", rather than the long/skinny kinds--unless you're really into eggplant skin, which I am not.
* Eggplant
* Olive Oil
* Lemon Juice
* Tahini
Slice the eggplant crosswise into discs about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle both sides of each slice with a pinch of salt and toss them into a collander to sit for half an hour or so. Go fire up the grill while you're waiting. You can also prepare the dressing/drizzle: whisk together in a bowl 2 parts lemon juice to one part tahini. For 2 good-sized eggplants this means about 2 T Tahini + 1/4 cup lemon juice.
By the time your fire's ready, the eggplant should have weeped out some of its slightly-bitter moisture. Wipe both sides of each slice with a paper towel to dry them and also remove some of the salt. Brush them with olive oil and spread them out in a single layer on the grill. Grill on both sides until they've developed some good grill marks and have lost their firmness. Pile the slices on a plate and drizzle with the lemon + Tahini mixture.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2007-09-10 17:55:52Too awesome not to share:
(via getcha grub on)lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Food 2.02007-09-10 17:55:24
Pinnaple Fried (Brown) Rice
Originally uploaded by jayluker
Taking a break from the tomato sandwiches today due to the free lunch provided during the monthly, lunchtime {en:Hebrew} lessons offered at my place of employment.
Pictured is possibly my favorite of several, much-loved dishes from Amarin of Thailand: Pineapple Fried Rice w/ Brown Rice. This ain't your typical fried rice; in addition to pineapple, it includes crab meat, shimp, chicken, snow peas, green peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and some kind of dried, shredded pork stuff on top.
Mmmmmm... ani b'emet ohevet Amarin Thai.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-08-31 11:17:54Coming soon to a student center near you: Wonder Pizza.
5 years and 6 million dollars of R&D went into this design and subsequent manufacture of WONDERPIZZA of Italy and the product is now beginning worldwide distribution.
(Discovered via Tasty Thinking)
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Gadgets2007-08-30 16:57:44
Sardine & Tomato Sandwiches
Originally uploaded by jayluker
Mmmmore tomatoes... from the garden, of course. This time accompanying some sardines mashed with a little mustard and lemon juice. Burger buns would not be my first choice of bread for this (maybe some olive {en:Ciabatta} or {en:Focaccia}), but I hate letting bread go to waste.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-08-31 18:15:23
Guacwich
Originally uploaded by jayluker
Same Potato & Dill bread from The Biscuit as yesterday. Tomato from the garden. Avocado mashed with a little lime juice and salt. Bread toasted and rubbed with a garlic clove. The extra avocado spread on a third slice of toast.
And yes that's the same banana from yesterday. I let it ripen another day.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-08-29 16:27:57
Tomato & Grilled Halloumi Sandwich
Originally uploaded by jayluker
(Pardon the crappy photo. It's taken with my now-ancient Treo 600.)
Potato & Dill bread is from The Biscuit by way of the Belmont Farmers Market. Tomato is from the garden. {en:Halloumi} cheese, nicely grilled, is from last night's leftovers. Tomatillo Salsa (top left) is from this weekend's batch.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-08-29 15:16:06
The Frigidaire Flaire Imperial
Originally uploaded by jayluker
Our trusty Frigidaire Flair. It came with the house and was used from August, 2002 until the remodel in Fall, 2006. It's a joy to look at and always prompted comments from visitors.
Cooking with it was a mixed bag. The dual ovens were nice, but neither were large enough to cook more than a medium-sized broiler chicken, much less the Thanksgiving turkey. The slide out burners were also a cool feature, although the front-left one never worked and the front-right had the strange glitch of having only two settings: Off and Extremely High. Great for boiling water and for stir-fry.
The under-cabinet stored pots, pans and baking sheets. Several other "creative" uses of space can be seen in the photo, such as the hanging pan rack, the knife rack, the pot lid rack. The square, basket-ish thing in the middle shelf of the wood cart was the "spice drawer".
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074The New Kitchen2007-08-27 21:35:29I've been working on this one for a few years and I think I got pretty close to perfection yesterday afternoon with the latest batch. I'm only using homegrown {en:Tomatillo|tomatillos} which makes for for a limited number of chances to evolve the recipe.
I like a nice, fresh-tasting salsa, but I also learned recently from a few sources that heat really brings out the flavor of tomatillos. So I compromise by lightly {en:sautéing} them in a little canola oil. I've found that this has the added benefit that the oil and lime juice will partially {en:Emulsion|emusify} leaving you with a less watery salsa. At least I assume that's what's happening. Maybe there's something in the tomatillos themselves that acts as an emulsifier as well? Anyway.
* 2 T canola oil
* 3 pints tomatillos
* 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2-3 limes)
* 2 medium yellow onions, roughly chopped
* 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
* 2-3 {en:Habanero} peppers, cored, seeded and minced
* 1 t salt
* 1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
Core the tomatillos and cut them in half widthwise. Heat 1 T of canola oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Place as many of the tomatillo halves as will fit in the pan cut side down (you'll probably need to work in batches). Let them cook without moving or shaking the pan around for about 4-5 minutes, or until they start to form a little {en:fond}. Remove from the pan and set aside and do the next batch, adding another T of oil if necessary. When finished with any/all batches you could can optionally take the pan off the heat and {en:deglaze} with a one or two tablespoons of the lime juice. My fond had gotten a bit too dark by that point so I skipped it, possibly wasting a good bit of carmelized tomatillo goodness, but oh well.
OK, so now all that's left is to throw everything in the food processor and pulse several times to the desired level of chunkiness. Add more salt to taste or another minced habanero for extra heat.
Note: special thanks to neighbor Zach for his supervision and for helping me press the Pulse button on the cuisinart.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2007-08-22 11:15:10h5. Sunday
* Burgers @ the Salem Willows Boat Club with Betty & Dennis
h5. Monday
* Quick Gazpacho
* Grilled Swiss & Tomato Sandwiches
h5. Tuesday
* Grilled Tofu & Mushroom Kebabs
* Grilled Corn
* Leftover Gazpacho
h5. Wednesday
* Tomato/Corn Salad
* Insalata Caprese
* Black Beans & Rice
h5. Thursday
* Leftovers
h5. Friday
* Date/Movie Nightlbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-08-13 18:15:47Made this on Saturday with the first of our harvested habanero peppers. The recipe called for any type of hot pepper to suit your heat preference. I used about 1/2 of a seeded habanero and it was hot. An excellent, gradually building heat; the kind where you almost don't notice your mouth's on fire until you push the plate away.
* 2 t grated fresh ginger
* 1 t grated fresh garlic
* 1/2 habanero pepper, seeded and minced
* 1/4 cup rice vinegar
* 1 T thai fish sauce (nam pla)
* 2 sizeable cukes, seeded if you prefer
* 2 medium carrots
* a couple of ice cubes
Mix the first six ingredients together in a large bowl. Peel and slice the cukes and carrots (I used my mandoline to get them pretty thin). Add the veggies to the dressing and toss. Before serving, add in a couple of ice cubes and toss some more. According to the original recipe this is supposed to crisp up the veggies, and I can attest that they were crisp. :)
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-08-13 18:16:07Although it's rare I don't tweak something here, or substitute something there, when appropriating a recipe, it's still good to give credit where due.
I dig the way JB over at Urban Drivel credits the source of her recipes in the post title, e.g. Basil Risotto | Bon Apetit. I intend to be a copy cat.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2007-08-07 17:55:23Leftover grilled corn-on-the-cob is a great thing to have in the fridge when the volume of ripe grape tomatoes in the garden starts to increase. Possibly inspired by a great-looking striped bass recipe, I threw this salad together last night.
* 4 leftover, grilled ears of corn
* 1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
* 1 minced jalapeno
* 1 T minced curly parsley
* juice from 1/2 a lime
* salt & pepper
Over a wide plate, saw the corn off the cob with a serrated knife (a steak knife works well, or you could get yourself one of these gadgets). Quarter the tomatoes. Toss with the minced jalapeno, parsley, lime juice and s & p.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-07-27 14:52:21Burned by bad chicken from Wilson Farm again! I love Wilson Farm. It is 5 minutes from my house. I do all my weekly shopping there. But. They seem to have some chronic issues keeping their chicken breasts fresh.
The latest incident involved a package of split breasts purchased on Monday, July 23rd with an expiration stamp of July 27th. I opened the pack last night (July 26th) all set to make Grilled Chicken w/ Tomato Tarragon sauce. MMmmmm... smelly chicken!
Fortunately, I had a pack of extra-firm tofu in the fridge. The tweaked-recipe result was delicious.
* 1 package extra-firm tofu
* 3 roma tomatoes
* 1/2 clove of garlic
* 2 T minced fresh tarragon
* 2 T lemon juice
* 4 T olive oil
* salt & pepper
Get the fire started in the grill.
Drain the tofu and press out the excess water by wrapping in paper towels and setting something mildly heavy on top for several minutes. Cut the tomatoes in half and grate them on a box grater. Mix the tomatoes with the tarragon and lemon juice. Use a microplane to grate the garlic into the tomatoes. Whisk in two tablespoons of the oil. Add S & P to taste. That's the sauce.
Slice the tofu lengthwise into three slabs, then slice crosswise once so you have six pieces. Sprinkle with S & P and brush with the remaining olive oil (or spray each side with some of that aerosol canola or olive oil). Make sure the grill grates are cleaned and oiled. I keep an old kitchen towel and a can of spray canola oil near the grill just for this purpose; spray the oil on the towel and quickly wipe down the grate. Repeat. Don't burn yourself.
Grill the tofu "cutlets" for 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with the tomato sauce spooned over the top.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Hate ItRecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-07-25 16:08:54Got this recipe via my CSA newsletter. It works for all kinds of greens--spinach, kale, chard, etc.-- but my favorite is with broccoli rabe (aka, rapini). I've tweaked it a little and added a bit of acid in the form of lemon juice or vinegar towards the end of the cooking.
* 2 T olive oil
* 1 medium onion
* garlic to taste (or not--I've actually been leaving this out)
* 2 medium carrots in 1/4 inch dice
* 1 bunch broccoli rabe, coarsely chopped
* 1/2 - 1 cup chicken or veggie broth or water
* 1 can diced tomatoes or 3 or four medium tomatoes peeled and chopped
* 2 T lemon juice or red wine vinegar
* 6 medium-large eggs
* salt & pepper to taste
In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, saute onion until translucent. Add garlic (if any) and saute 30 seconds more. Add carrots and stir. Add the greens. The greens should have some water clinging to the leaves from when you rinsed and drained them in a collander. If not, increase the amount of water/broth you add. Toss the greens with the onions and carrots. Saute until the greens wilt enough that you can fit the lid on the pan.
Turn the heat to low and braise for 5-15 minutes depending on the type of greens you're using. i.e., 5 minutes for spinach, 10 for rabe. For tough collards you may have to go as long as 30 minutes (and increase the amount of liquid). Uncover and stir in the tomatoes and the acid. Cover and cook another 5 minutes.
Ok, now we're going to add the eggs. Uncover the pan. With the back of a spoon make six depressions in the vegetables. There should still be enough liquid in the pan at this point that the eggs will poach. If there's no liquid in the bottom of your depressions, add more and put the lid back on until everything is back to as simmer. Carefully crack an egg into each depression. Cover the pan and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the eggs are mostly set (they'll continue to cook and harden a bit more even after you turn off the heat).
Serve over rice or quinoa.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-07-23 20:28:51h5. Sunday
* Flatbread's
h5. Monday
* Eggplant w/ tahini and balsamic vinegar (grilled or broiled, depending on rain)
* Angel hair w/ green beans and pesto
* Tomato toasts
h5. Tuesday
* Collard greens w/ poached eggs over rice
h5. Wednesday
* ???
h5. Thursday
* Grilled Chicken w/ Tomato Tarragon sauce
* Hobo potatoes
* salad
h5. Friday
* Fish, fish, fish
* leftover potatoes
* salad
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-07-25 16:03:52We came home with a few pounds (at least) of pick-you-own green and wax beans as part of our Busa Farm CSA. So you can guess what's going to be featured this week.
h5. Sunday
* Cous-cous w/ dried apricots and pecans
* Grill-roasted green/wax bean medley w/ sun-dried tomatoes
* Fresh peas w/ mint
h5. Monday
* Beans X3 w/ Lemon & Tarragon (grill-roasted, of course)
* Grilled Corn-on-the-cob
* Leftover cous-cous
h5. Tuesday
* Greek-style green beans w/ tomatoes
* Rice
* Italian sausage (leftover from Sat.)
* Salad
h5. Wednesday
* Turkey Burgers
* Patio Fries
h5. Thursday
* Take-out? Flatbreads?
h5. Friday
* Grilled Garlic Shrimp
* Hobo potatoes
* salad
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-07-15 19:09:30"Patio Fries" is a name I came up with because it sounds better than if I were to say "frozen Trader Joe's fries cooked on the grill." For a long time the fries of choice were sweet potato fries. Trader Joe's has recently discontinued that product (doh!) and so lately I've been using their crinkle cut wedge fries. I suppose I could make my own, but I really don't have time for the necessary par-boiling of the cut fries before roasting them on the grill.
One bag of frozen fries
1/4 cup of peanut oil
salt & pepper to taste, or seasoning salt--I like to use Penzey's 4/S
Toss the fries with the oil and seasoning. To cook them I use an old roasting pan that has become my trusty grill pan. Put the fries in the pan and put the pan on the grill over a hot fire. Cook for 10-15 minutes, tossing every three to five minutes. I find that I still have enough fire left in the coals at this point to cook burgers or chicken or one other thing.
The length of cooking time will depend on the type of fries. The sweet potato fries used to take longer and if you didn't cook them long enough there would be a few that would still have a tiny bit of crunch (ick). The crinkle cut wedge fries don't seem to need that long.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2007-07-15 19:09:44Ended up stuffing ourselves at Woodman's in Essex on Sunday afternoon. Yummy big bowls of chowder. The red tide has resulted in local clams being rather dear ($18 for a 1/2 pint), so we settled for haddock sandwiches.
My only complaint about that place is I think there's something wrong with how they store the beer in the upstairs bar area. It always tastes a bit skunky. My advice, which I should heed myself more often, is to go with the margaritas.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2007-08-29 16:22:02h5. Sunday
* Wraps w/ Grilled Sirloin Tips and Avocado
h5. Monday
* Grilled Celeriac Spears
* Grilled Eggplant w/ tahini & lemon
* Tomato Toasts
h5. Tuesday
* Farmer's Market Surprise*
h5. Wednesday
* Grilled Portobello Po'boys (-cream cheese, +ricotta)
* Patio Fries
h5. Thursday
* Fenway Franks and/or whatever else is available in our luxury suite :)
h5. Friday
* Pasta w/ Tomato Sauce with Fennel and Orange
* Salad
* whatever looks good at the local farmer's market that day.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-07-15 19:11:17h5. Sunday
* Tofu Mushroom Kebabs
* Grilled eggplant, drizzled with lemon & tahini
* Salad
h5. Monday
* Whole-grain spaghetti w/ Poached Eggs
* Salad
h5. Tuesday
* Leftovers
h5. Wednesday
* Pulled-pork BBQ
* Sweet & Sour Slaw
* Multi-bean Salad
h5. Thursday
* Leftovers
h5. Friday
* Grilled Celeriac Spears & Asparagus
* Tomato Toasts
* Salad
h5. Notes
* Since we're hopefully having the BBQ meat-fest on the 4th, we'll try to go veggie the rest of the weeklbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Weekly Menu2007-06-29 16:11:29The other day, in response to a Chow.com post requesting suggestions for good eats near the Cambridge/Belmont line, I received the following message from the moderators at Chow.com:
bq. *Subject: Chowhound - Note from Moderator*
Hi lbjay, you've been sent the following by a Chowhound moderator:
We are not currently accepting postings about Craigie Street Bistrot. Please refrain from posting further about this place while we investigate a problem with some postings about this restaurant.
*Your post:*
_I bet you're within walking distance of Craigie Street Bistro, just over the Cambridge line. Follow Mt.Auburn until it crosses Rt 2/3/16 (whatever the heck that is at that point) and becomes Brattle Street. It's maybe another 1/4 mile past there? http://www.craigiestreetbistrot.com/_
Huh, ok.
Undaunted, I returned to the discussion thread and posted a second time, this time suggesting that the person check out a "bistro" nearby on a street that "rhymes with _Graigie_". This post was apparently yanked as well, although I didn't receive a second notification from the moderators.
The mystery to me is, are the chow.com moderators really so dumb that they can't distiguish between a legitimate post and comment spam? I'm assuming they have some kind of automatic flagging system that catches comments that contain references to "Craigie Street Bistro". But once these messages are caught it shouldn't take an Einstein to assess whether they are spam or not spam. Idiots.
PS, Craigie Street Bistro rocks.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Hate It2007-08-29 16:21:41I just had the best lunch. I call it the *Open-Faced Guacwich*. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture (even if it would have been with my crappy phone cam.)
* 1 avocado
* 1 tomato
* 1 lime
* Two slices of sourdough
* small garlic clove
* pinch of salt
Toast the bread. While it's toasting, mash the avocado with 2 tsp of juice from the lime and a little salt. When the bread is done rub it with the cut side of the garlic clove. Spread the mashed avocado on the toast. Slice the tomato and lay the slices on top of of the mashed avocado.
Mmmm, scarf-alicious.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Lunch2007-08-06 17:50:30I spent several years in college working for Iriana's Pizza, the best pizza joint in Little Rock, AR. Some might think that's not saying much, but Little Rock actually has pretty wide variety of good, independent pizza. There was also Vino's, U.S. Pizza, Pizza D'Action (my afterhours stomping ground), and Olde World Pizza.
OK, so first off, the new oven is awesome for pizza. Heats up real good, got the convection going on. Plus, unlike our previous unit, actually has enough room for a pizza stone. For the past several years I've been limited to grilling pizza, an endeavor that produced mixed results.
So anyway, I'm making pizza. I had the cheese, the dough, the pinapple and thought I had the sauce...
But I had no sauce. :(
The oven was already pre-heating so I had to think fast. Operating on the belief that pizza sauce is just a sweeter, basic tomato sauce, I threw together the following:
* 1 T olive oil
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
* 2 T tomato paste
* 2 T sugar
* 1/2 tsp salt
* pinch of dried oregano
* 1/2 tsp dried basil
That simmered for about 10 minutes. Then I spread it, still hot, on the stretched out dough, added the cheese and pineapple, and slid it into the 550 oven and onto the hot stone. Eight minutes later it was done. The result was really outstanding
Iriana's had--sorry, has the best sauce. The sauce and the dough were the only "secret recipes" that were used, and there's just not much to a pizza dough that would deserve or require secrecy. I remember John Iriana would, once a week or so, measure and mix together sandwich baggies with the correct combination of spices for the sauce. I'm guessing it was a blend of salt, dried basil, oregano, pepper, maybe a little sugar. When it came time to make the sauce, we workers would add the spice baggies to cans of crushed tomatoes and lots of fresh chopped garlic sauted in olive oil.
I realize just now while thinking about this that, other than the garlic, there was no cooking involved in making the sauce. As good as it turned out, maybe I shouldn't have cooked my emergency sauce either. I guess I'll find out next time.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-07-25 16:04:41Do you work at Google? I think I'm beginning to hate you. In addition to all the other well documented perks, you also get guest speakers on campus, like Clotilde Dusoulier? It's just really starting to feel unfair, as though you're just rubbing our noses in it.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Food 2.02007-07-25 16:04:52I had a couple of pork tenderloins rubbed with some seasoned salt and pepper all set to go on the grill last night. But the weather didn't cooperate. The situation called for a last-minute recipe switcheroo, so I dug out an old fave that I haven't made in awhile.
Rub each tenderloin with about 1 Tbsp of dried sage.
Sear the tenderloins in a some butter in a saute pan that has a tight-fitting lid.
Once browned on all sides, cover and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat
Uncover, remove the tenderloins and set aside
Turn the heat back up to med-high adn deglaze the pan with a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Pour in a mixture of 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup cider vinegar and 2 tsp dijon mustard
Let the sauce reduce and thicken a bit
Add the tenderloins back and roll them around to "glaze" them with the sauce
Remove from the heat, slice the tenderloins thin (about 1/2 inch) and serve, spooning some sauce over the slices
I think the original source for this recipe was Epicurious, but I'm sure I've tweaked it since then (as usual). Simple, quick and tasty. Went great with some oven-roasted asparagus.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-04-01 09:47:17Make my own cat food? Sounded a little extreme when I first heard about this practice, but the recent recall of tons of pet food tainted with what was first thought to be rat poison, but now is being called melamine, has got me seriously considering it.
The photo is from a pictorial/recipe at catnutrition.org. I fist came across it almost a year ago but dug it up again today after reading even more headlines about foods being added to the list. Looks yummy, huh?
Kitty Kelly eats a combination of dry and wet food. The wet food she eats, Iams Chicken something or other, isn't on the recall list. But the same "flavor" in a pouch form is on the list, and she did eat a few of these pouch-packaged things a while back when we first started giving her wet food early last year. Supposedly the recalled food was produced after she would have eaten any (only since December 6, 2006), but there was a mysterious by frightening incident that required a visit to the vet that roughly coincides with when she ate the Iams pouch food.
The thing that disturbs me the most about the whole tainted food recall is learning just how many different brands and varieties are all manufactured in once place by some anonymous supplier (Menu Foods). Pretty much dispels the illusion that when you buy Iams or Science Diet or Eukanuba you're getting something distinct and "better" than the generic Stop & Shop brand.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074KKM2007-03-30 05:31:49It ain't like at a restaurant for sure. Partly due to lack of a good source of some of the key ingredients, like dried radish and dried shimp. Partly due to I like to throw extra stuff in there. Mine is more of a noodle stir-fry with a tamarind sauce, but oh well.
This is one of those dishes where there's seemingly a ton of prepwork and then it all cooks really fast and comes together quickly in the last five minutes. The mise-en-place includes the following:
Rice noodles, cooked accordingly. Maybe a little undercooked even. Just don't overcook or the end result will be textureless.
2 eggs, scrambled and set aside
1 medium shallot, minced
1 garlic clove minced
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut matchstick
2 broccoli stalks, peeled and cut matchstick
1 pkg firm or extra firm tofu, as much water pressed out as possible, cut in 1 x 1/2 inch chunks.
1 cup of bean sprouts
2-3 T chopped fresh cilantro
lime wedges
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, put into a freezer ziplock and beat them with a meat tenderizer just until the look coarsely chopped (don't make them peanut butter)
And for the sauce:
2 T tamarind paste
3 T sugar
1 T rice vinegar
3/4 cup veggie or chicken broth
1/2 t cayenne pepper
I've started using just a plain, largish, stainless steel fry pan for this. I've tried a wok but it's just not suited to my current gas range. For a while I was using a really big non-stick fry pan but I got rid of all my non-stick stuff several months ago.
Saute the tofu in some peanut oil over med-high heat until it starts to brown up and then remove and set aside. Add a little more oil and saute the carrot and broccoli for another three minutes. Make a space in the center of the pan, add another splash of oil and then add the shallot and garlic. Saute for another minute. Add the noodles to the pan and then the sauce and toss together to mix the veggies and the nooodles. Then add the tofu, egg, bean sprouts and cilantro, tossing the mixture a bit after each addition. Use tongs and a big spoon to scoop into bowls. Sprinkle a handful of the chopped peanuts over each bowl and serve. Makes enough for dinner for two plus one or two brownbag lunch leftovers.
I made this last night and it was pretty good. I used 2 T of brown sugar instead of 3 T of normal sugar and I think it suffered a bit; came out a little sharp tasting. Also I think my tamarind paste isn't as fresh as it should be.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-02-14 11:28:38Just upgraded to a McMansion and looking for things to fill your restaurant-sized kitchen?
Yes, that's right: Onion Goggles. They look like plain old safety glasses to me, but I guess it's all about how you market things.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Gadgets2007-02-06 12:34:53What f00die.com aspires to be: Cooking for Engineers.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2007-02-01 07:58:04I started with a recipe from here, but I left out the butter and added two slices of pancetta, diced. Also, in addition to the porcini I added some fresh, sliced criminis. It came out really rich and dark looking from the liquid used to soak the porcinis. It was good, but not fall-off-your-seat good. I think next time I'll use butter.
There's this perception (myth?) that to make risotto you basically have to be standing over the pot stirring constantly as the rice absorbs your broth in small batches. But I remember a section of Bill Buford's Heat where he says that's basically bunk and that so long as the heat is low you can dump all the liquid in the pot, cover it and walk away, and still get the expected result. I did a little of both--stirring a lot, but also walking away to work on a salad occasionally.
Speaking of mushrooms, Wilson Farm now has an array of oddball varieties, but I was too afraid I wouldn't know what to do with them. For instance,
I probably would have cooked these velvet foot mushrooms, but Cook's Thesaurus (which calls them enoki) says, "They're usually served raw."
The dried morels were about $16 for a 1 oz package. Yum but ouch.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074IngredientsWhat's for Dinner2007-01-22 07:43:17For the Pats vs. Colts AFC Championship game we wanted something hearty but also easy to serve in case some neighbors made good on their intention to drop in for the first half. So I threw together a beef stew from a recipe in Fistful of Lentils, a cookbook of "Syrian-Jewish recipes". The translation of the name is something like, "Layered Sweet-and-sour Beef Stew".
2 yellow onions, sliced in strips
2 lbs ground beef, mixed with:
2 t allspice
1/2 t cinnamon
2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 russet potatoes, peeled and chunked
3/4 cup pitted prunes
1 large eggplant
1 28oz can of crushed or chopped tomatoes, drained
Start with 3 T olive oil in a large stew pot. Then, in the order listed above, layer 1/2 of each ingredient in the pot, pressing down to compact each layer. Then repeat the layering with the 2nd half of each ingredient. i.e., a layer of half the onions, then beef, then potatoes, prunes, eggplant, tomatoes; then repeat.
Over this, pour the sauce made from:
1 6oz can of tomato paste
2/3 cup lemon juice (aka, the sour)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T tamarind paste
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (aka, the sweet)
1/4 t salt
2 1/2 cups water
The recipe says to simmer on the stovetop for 1 hour then transfer to a 350 degree oven for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This is what I did, but I would also imagine you could simply bring the stew to a simmer and then transfer to the oven for a longer period of time, like 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
The stew, served over rice, was excellent. The neighbors thought so too--even their "finicky" 14-year-old. My only complaints would be that the ground beef gave off a lot of grease. I skimmed off as much as a could but it was still a little greasy. Next time I might try using stew beef and brown it a bit beforehand. Also, I wish I'd cooked the rice with some chicken broth; it tasted a little bland alongside the stew.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-01-21 09:57:38I knew I had the makings of a shephards pie (except the lamb) but couldn't find an exact recipe to match what I had available, so I ended up taking ideas from two separate recipes. One was from Didi Emmon's Vegetable Planet, the other from Allrecipes.com.
For the veggie base, use 2 tbs olive oil to saute:
1 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. curry powder (I used something from Penzy's called Maharajah
1/2 t. fresh ground cumin
The curry will brown a bit on the bottom of the pan which is ok, but don't let it blacken. When the onion has softened, add:
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 medium zucchini, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
salt & pepper
The curry acted as a bit of a thickener, so I added more chicken broth occasionally to keep it somewhat stewish. This cooked for about 20 minutes. Then I added about 2/3 of a cup of cooked coarse bulgar. I think the idea here is that the bulgar cooks a bit more during baking and help absorb some of the additional liquid from the zucchini. At least that was my intention; it seemed to do the trick.
For the topping I mixed
4 smallish russet potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
2 tbls olive oil
salt & pepper
1 cup frozen peas
The veggies went into a cassarole/pie thing. Spread the potato mixture over that, then I grated a couple of tablespoons of romano on top. Baked at 400 for 15 minutes, then switched to the broiler for 5 more mintues to get the top nice and brown.
For a last-minute throw-together meal, we were both surprised by how good this turned out. Which is why I figured I'd better make a note of how I did it.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-01-08 09:41:11A strangely warm and sunny weekend for New England in January. Patriots vs. Jets playoff game on the tube. How could I not throw some meat on the grill?
I bought a bunch of bone-in chx breasts in the morning. During halftime I rubbed them down with a mixture of:
black pepper
paprika
sugar
chili powder
salt
ground mustard
allspice
cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
After the game (Pats won!) I got my fire going on in one side of the main chamber, put the chx on the other side and tossed some well-soaked hickory chunks on the coals. 1.5 hours later: bbq chicken. I kept the temp at around 275-300 which is hotter than I would normally go, but I didn't have all day at that point. There was still plenty of good smoke flavor and the meat was super-moist.
We had this with an excellent arugula salad recipe from C's.Il; make a vinagrette from:
1 T apricot preserves
3 T white wine vinegar
3 T evoo
1 T minced shallot
s and p
Toss with half a bulb of thin-sliced fennel (including chopped fronds), a couple handfuls of sliced red grapes and a bunch of arugula.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2007-04-26 12:24:25I'm sure Tufte could improve upon the graphics, but I still thought these charts showing the corporate ownership structure of the organic food industry were pretty interesting.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2007-09-15 13:31:14While in Israel a month ago for work, some of my co-workers took me for a lunchtime humus adventure to a place called Taami. It's a hummus-slinging hole-in-the-wall in downtown Jerusalem. The owner is infamous for rushing customers through their meal once they've been served so that he can turn the table. "Don't chew--swallow!" and "What's taking you so long? There's no bones in hummus!" are were frequently heard examples.
I think the atmosphere has calmed a bit since those days and we were allowed to take our time. Each of us was served what would be a largish salad-plate sized mound of hummus, covered with whole chick peas and swimming in a moat of luscious olive oil. We also finished off a shared dish of beans w/ rice, a plate of stewed okra and a couple dozen falafel. I skipped dinner that night I was still so stuffed.
I'm not the only one who enjoyed their visit. And googling for "Taami Jerusalem" turned up this writeup in the Globe that I somehow missed.
Sorry, no recipe available. Also, I didn't have a camera and I couldn't find any authentic pictures of Taami; the photo above I found online and it is actually from a place called Lina in the Old City where I'm sure they also have excellent hummus.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074On The Road2006-11-15 11:07:29Well, technically whey, which I sort of knew what that was, but looked it up on Wikipedia anyway to make sure. It is "the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained."
I was reading this Slashfood post which linked to this article on how the pickle industry may be in decline (yikes!) when I noticed in the comments someone linked to this article on an interesting description of the process of lacto-fermentation. Apparently the use of a vinegar brine is a recent development brought on by the industrialization of the pickling process.
Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Starches and sugars in vegetables and fruits are converted into lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid-producing bacteria.
Sounds tasty! Be careful though: "results are not always predictable."
There are lots of other interesting food-related articles on the westonaprice.org site, but I'd never heard about this organization. Something about the site seemed slightly... odd. I got curious and decided to dig a little to make sure I wasn't linking to some weird cult or something. The Wikipedia entry on them is intriguing but pretty tame. The most controversial thing about them seems to be an aversion to soy. :)lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2007-04-26 12:24:43Yes, that's right: you can help "save Britain's vegetable heritage" by adopting a vegetable at GardenOrganic.org.
I seem to remember a similar "seed bank" organization on this side of the Atlantic but I can't find the link right now. And I don't remember them having such a novel method of raising funds. Reminds me a little of the Heifer Project.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2006-11-13 12:03:06A great Op-Ed in the Globe yesterday by Christopher Kimball, the founder of one of my favorite recipe sources, Cook's Illustrated.
"[...] human interference no longer makes food cheaper, more plentiful, and safer. It is now more dangerous, more expensive, and less in our own interests to consume it. What consumers should want -- good flavor and good health -- has been replaced by what the industry wants -- an addiction to expensive, highly processed trademarked brands that will burden our health system and lead to a much lower quality of life."lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2006-11-01 15:20:40
Been living with this setup for about a week now. It's not so bad really. So far we subsisted on prepared stuff from Wilson Farm and takeout.
The coffee pot and toaster oven by themselves will dim the lights when warming up. And don't even think about trying to use more than one at a time or the circuit breaker will trip. The fridge is still plugged in in the dining room on the other side of the house.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074The New Kitchen2006-10-12 13:05:41We recently ate for the first time at an Indian place in Somerville called The Kebab Factory. The word of mouth was that the food was great (it was) if a little overpriced (also true).
The service was just OK. Mostly little things, like we asked for a table for five, waited for 30 minutes in a pub across the street, and then were given a table for four. Fortunately some other diners were just finishing, so were were able to move to a larger space after a few more minutes. Our waiter was very pleasant, but the girl who was assisting him was kind of... hmm, brusque?
My primary issue was that a good 20-30 minutes after everyone at the table had clearly finished eating, no one on the staff bothered to clear a single item from our table. I finally had to make this kind of awkward, irritated sweeping gesture to communicate that maybe it was a good time for them to clear some plates. This really, really drives me nuts. Also, I asked that the leftovers from Jenny's and my meal be wrapped up but I guess I was misunderstood and they ended up in the trash because I was never brought a "doggie bag".
In case this seem a little harsh, let me remind you that this was no mom-and-pop Indian joint (like the excellent India Palace). The Kebab Factory is getting $15-25 for an entree.
But wait, there's more.
Afterwards we strolled down to Harvard Sq. for some ice cream at Toscanini's. We were served by two dudes in dreadlocks. I bought my ice cream and ate it and it was good and I'm sure it didn't have any cooties in it, but thinking back on it, I'm kinda grossed out. Last time I checked, one of the steps involved in forming dreadlocks is not washing your hair for several months. Surely there's some kind of health dept. regulation that requires food workers to wash their hair? Honestly, I'm not anti-dread; I'm pro-hair-washing.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Hate ItWhat's for Dinner2006-09-26 10:07:43I've always stuck with a pretty basic salsa fresca recipe when using tomatillos in the past, but this time I decided to try more of a sauce-ish preparation. We had a little impromptu patio, grill-fest with our immediate neighbors and the consensus was that it came out excellent.
about 20 medium sized tomatillos
1 small shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove
3 chipotlé peppers (smoked jalapenos)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Put everything in a non-reactive saucepan, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool a bit and then zap it with an immersion blender until mixed (but still slightly chunky).
This was great just as a salsa w/ chips, and also with various grilled meats that were on hand, including chicken, sirloin tips and swordfish.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2006-09-19 14:53:43Some guy spent six years and probably tons of $$ trying to replicate the pies from his favorite pizza shop. He finally succeeded apparently (you may have to follow the "mirrored by" links at the top). It's hard to blame him; it looks like a pretty damn good pie.
The key things, according to Jeff:
High heat, preferably 825F
Proper kneading technique
The right kind of yeast
I (unintentionally) got my grill up to about 650 degrees during our recent block party. I wonder if that would be good enough...
Bonus: there's a link to an online shop called Sourdo that sells sourdough starters. I've made a couple of psuedo-starters by leaving some yeast, water and flour in the bread machine overnight, but always been on the lookout for the real thing.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2006-09-18 09:17:14Our neighborhood had it's 5th annual block party yesterday afternoon. Jenny & I have been fixtures since year one. It takes place in the park right across the street from our house, so it's almost like having a big party in our front yard.
Our contributions included a big dish of pulled-pork BBQ (saved and frozen from the previous weekend) and some hot dogs with Sweet Jalapeno Relish. An unidentifed attendee brought some really excellent baked beans that went well with the BBQ. Both received very good reviews.
One of my neighbors is a member of the New England Barbeque Society (NEBS) and an experienced BBQ judge; he gave the pork very high marks. The consensus on the relish was that it was really tasty but not hot enough, which is suprising considering how many jalapenos went into it. :)lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-09-11 16:04:00Get a pork shoulder (or two). You can get them from the butchers at Costco, but you have to ask. I haven't tried asking at Whole Foods yet, which is where I prefer to get my meat, but maybe there too (for 2x the price, I'm sure, but sans the anti-biotics and such).
The Rub (enough for two 7-8 lb shoulders):
2 T black pepper
3 T paprika
2 T chili powder
3 T kosher salt
1 T ground cumin
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground allspice
The night before the Q-ing, massage the rub into the meat all over, pressing hard to make it stick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put back in the fridge overnight. I'm no food scientist, but apparently a rub acts simliar to a brine in that the salt will slowly work its way into the cell structure of the meat, carrying the spices along with it.
The cooking process takes 6-8 hours, so I usually get my fire going by 10am. I have an old Brinkman Pitmaster, so once the coals are going I dump them in the side compartment. The meat goes on a large rimmed baking sheet, but you can also use disposable aluminum pans. Then it's just a matter of keeping enough coals going to maintain a temperature around 230-250 degrees in the main chamber. The smoke comes from handfuls of water-soaked hickory chunks (from Home Depot, if I remember right).
After smoking for 3-4 hours, I bring it all back inside, wrap the meat in loose foil packets, and put it in the oven at 325.
After two hours, remove the meat from the oven and slide it sideways, pan and all, into a paper grocery bag. Let it sit for one hour more.
Finally, take the meat out of the pan onto a big cutting board and pull it apart into shreds. It's usually still too hot to do this with my hands, so I'll use either a couple of forks or spoons. Toss the "pulled" pork with a cup or so of whatever barbeque sauce you're using and/or some of the juices reserved from the pan.
Serve on hamburger buns or bulkie rolls w/ slaw.
Note: this "recipe" is mostly taken from the July/August '97 issue of Cook's Illustrated.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2006-09-10 14:50:00Last week, when Jenny & I were in Little Rock, there were several conversations concerning where do we eat tonight? One suggestion that kept popping up was, how about the Italian couple, some new restaurant that was receiving lots of buzz. During all these conversations Jenny & I assumed this "Italian couple" label was just some kind of shorthand or nickname because no one could remember or pronounce the actual name. Well, that was the actual name, The Italian Couple. Aaaaaand we never ended up eating there.
Anyway, last night we at at our own personal Italian Couple: Stefano & Grazia, some newish friends of ours, originally from Roma & Napoli, respectively. Stephano is probably more of a foodie than I'll ever be, and the two of them treated us to a fantastic dinner.
We started with a plate of cold, poached shrimp w/ avocado, follwed by smoked salmon served w/ the usual accompaniments. The main course was a pork tenderloin wrapped in puffed pastry w/ sauted mushrooms and a big bowl of some of the best green beans I've ever had. Much thanks to both Stefano & Grazia.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-09-07 09:00:08Jenny & I had the pleasure of attending the opening game of the Arkansas Razorbacks football season in Fayetteville, AR last weekend. If you've never experienced the tailgate scene surrounding Razorback home games, it looks something like this:
Except imagine that crowd spread in a radius of 1/2 mile around the stadium. Our seats, FYI, were about 10 rows down from the top, right below that middle light pole.
The huge Razorback smoker pictured sits at a point above the north rim of the stadium and is visible from just about any seat. When the Hogs score a touchdown, it emits a blast of smoke from the snout, like this:
I wish I could say I got to try some of those ribs, but we'd already feasted on some delicious tailgate fare provided by a friend of my Dad's.
Final score: USC Trojans 50, Razorbacks 14. Thanks to Uncle Joe & Melva for the tix.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074On The Road2006-09-07 08:42:39Introducing a new category: Don't Do This
I read somewhere recently that the juice from a sweet relish makes a tasty salad dressing. This sounded reasonable, but in practice maybe not so much. I tried to transform some late season garden extras into a side dish:
Toss together:
A couple of chopped roma tomatoes
A handful of tomatillos, also chopped
One cucumber, chopped
Minced fresh cilantro
The liquidy leftovers from last week's relish canning (about 1/3 cup)
Not sure what was wrong, but the concensus between Jenny & I was that it was "interesting" but definitely not a keeper.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Don't Do ThisWhat's for Dinner2007-04-26 12:25:08In response to a challenge at The Traveler's Lunchbox, these are in no particular order really
Fried Clams @ Woodman's, Essex, MA
Meatloaf w/ Creole Sauce @ Your Mama's Good Food, Little Rock, AR
My Granny's Biscuits & Gravy
Calf's Liver & Onions @ Trattoria ai Cugnai, Venice, Italy
Tasmanian Oysters @ Prosser's on the Beach, Hobart, Australia
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2006-08-29 13:10:42Preserving is not an endevour to be taken lightly, since messing it up is potentially deadly. That said, it's really a very simple, hard-to-screw-up kind of thing, and there is a wealth of information online to guide you.
Here are some photos taken by Jennifer of Operation: Jalapeno Relish.
Loading the relish into the jar. After filling the first jar I remembered to look around for my special canning funnel (looks like this).
You're supposed to secure the lids, but not too tight because the air needs to be able to escape when they sit in the boiling water bath.
Bathtime!lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Kitchen Adventures2006-08-29 12:31:27Spaghetti w/ Raw Tomatoes & Arugula from a recipe linked to here, but with about 2x the tomatoes and arugula and the addition of 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-08-29 12:20:11Last weekend's relish was my second attempt at preserving.
Attempt #1 (several years ago) went awry in the recipe department. I'd had the brilliant idea to start a homemade pickle company (kinda like what this guy did,) but first I needed to get just the right recipe. My pickled cukes weren't going to be your boring, run-of-the-mill pickles; I used fresh and interesting ingredients, like fancy champagne vinegar, ginger root and kumquats. I remember spending a day in the kitchen preparing a dozen variations of a basic recipe. Then packing the jars and numbering them, keeping a written list of which number corresponded to which recipe variation.
I'm not sure where that list is anymore, but it doesn't matter because it all ended up in the trash anyway. Jar #1 came out waaay too vinegary. I don't remember what was up with jar #2. Jar's #3-12 were still in my basement until a few days ago, some furry mold beginning to form around the outside of the lid. So sad.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Kitchen Adventures2006-08-28 07:20:00This year we have two jalapeno plants doing very well. Too well, in fact. And big bunches of jalapenos aren't something you can just easily pass on to the neighbors, co-workers, etc. Who needs more than one or two at a time?
Fortunately I came across a recipe for Sweet Jalapeno Relish. After some tweaking, the final reciepe looked like this:
1 quart jalapenos
1 pint tomatillos
1 quart pickling cukes
2 large onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons salt
5 1/4 cups sugar
3 cups cider vinegar
4 teaspoons pickling spice
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Chop the jalapenos, tomatillos cucumbers and onion in a food-processor. Mix together with the 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons of salt in a large glass or ceramic bowl; cover with cold water and let stand for 2 hours. Drain thoroughly, pressing on the vegetable to remove excess liquid. Combine the sugar and vinegar in a large pot; tie the pickling spices in cheesecloth and add to the liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the vegetables along with the cilantro and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove spice bag. Pack into hot jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. This produced four, regular sized (12 oz?) jars of relish.
I'll update with how the canned relish turned out in a few days, but the pre-packed result was very, very good. Hot and sweet. Hopefully perfect for adding to tuna salad or slathering on a burger or hot dog.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2006-08-27 19:18:04Inspired by a fresh head of romaine from our CSA, I tossed together a caesar salad. Instead of crutons we had this odd flatbread called Torta de Aceita. I was trying to find something crouton-ish at Wilson Farm and it looked intriguing. Turns out it's like a crackery, olive-oil shortbread, with anise seeds and sugar sprinkled on top. Very tasty, but not exactly something you would toss with a ceasar salad.
Dish #2 was just some chopped roma tomatoes tossed with Mozzarella Di Buffala, basil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-08-27 06:00:43The blurb read: "the result of a marriage between Southern Italian Cuisine and Peruvian Cuisine." Sounds scary, no? Well, when your only possible complaint of an evening is that your water glass sat empty for a bit too long, I'd call that a winner.
After a stroll on the Pru SkyWalk with Dad & Myra, we all headed for the North End for dinner. Fearing a crush of fellow Friday night diners, I had made reservations through OpenTable at Taranta, a place I'd never heard of. In retrospect, the neighborhood was uncrowded and we probably could have gotten in at Maurizio's or (are you kidding?) Giacamo's.
It was the final day of Boston Restauarant Week, and we were presented with the prix fixe, $30.06 menu. I won't detail everyone's meal, but I had a caesar salad, skirt steak with peach chutney, peruvian asparagus (just like regular asparagus as far as I could tell) and roasted potatoes, and for dessert, a chocolate hazelnut mousse thingy.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-08-26 19:23:05Grilled chicken/apple sausages (from Whole Foods), grilled corn, and a mixed veggie dish with grilled eggplant, yellow sqaush and onions, all from our CSA share, tossed with olive oil and fresh thyme.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-08-25 11:49:07Tabor is an ex-co-worker of mine from Smarter Living. He and his wife, Rachel, just happened to pull up in front of my house last night at the exact moment I was pulling some Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries off of the grill. He was just dropping off a letter of recommendation for my application to the CompSci masters program at Tufts, but the timing was just too perfect so Jenny & I pounced on them and made them come inside and eat dinner with us. Much fun was had, but it was probably a bit of a shock for them to go from thinking they were just sticking something in the mailbox, to sitting down for dinner, wine, dessert and their first ever shot of Grappa.
Turkey Burgers:
1 lb. ground turkey
3 T ricotta cheese
zest of one small orange
1-2 T chopped fresh basil
salt & pepper
peanut oil
Mix the turkey, ricotta, orange zest & basil. Form into four patties. Make a puddle of the oil on a small plate and turn the patties over in the oil to lightly coat them. Sprinkle on the salt & pepper. Grill. I serve them with toasted buns, sliced tomatoes, lettuce and dijon mustard.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074RecipesWhat's for Dinner2006-08-25 09:18:06Thanks to Danielle at Habeus Brulee for posting about these tasty looking thing-a-bobs. They look a bit like tomatillos, which Jenny & I have been growing successfully for a few years, but taste more like a tropical fruit I guess. I'm pretty sure I've never seen seedlings for sale around here, so I'll have to look into getting some seeds.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Ingredients2006-08-24 12:29:09We took Dad & Myra to the Summer Shack in Cambrindge for dinner. It's certainly not our favorite seafood place, but it's great for when you've got folks from out of town and a limited amount of time. Normally we would head to Woodman's or maybe The Barking Crab.
We think they liked it but we were a little suprised that the menu/specials seemed a bit overwhelming. There's lots of "fancier" items that get top-billing, but the basic stuff can be hard to figure out. You can spend a lot of time searching for something simple like fish & chips--it's under Fried Food as "beer battered native fish and chips". Not sure if that's intentional.
I had wood-grilled striped bass and it was really excellent. It was a great antidote for my failed attempt to grill some red snapper a few days earlier.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner2006-08-24 11:53:03There's still a month or so of good outdoor cooking weather (in Massachusetts, that is). So I figured I'd post a top-10 reading list of sources for grilling-related stuff.
[grazr height=350 width=430]http://www.toptensources.com/topten/Grilling/?display=.opml[/grazr]
(Trying out this Grazr OPML browser thingy. What do you think?)lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Reading List2006-08-23 15:43:56This was a keeper I threw together a couple of weeks ago. I'm doing a good job this summer of keeping up with the cherry tomato production, and quick, cold salads like this are part of the reason. Ours are Super-Sweet 100's. Their skins are a touch on the tough side when I've used them in "cooked" dishes, like Spaghetti with Raw Tomatoes and Arugula, but they definitely live up to their name.
A bunch cherry (or grape) tomatoes. I used about a pint.
Some leftover corn-on-the-cob
4-5 medium tomatilloes
2 T fresh basil
2 T lemon juice
1 T red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Quarter the tomatoes. Cut the corn off the cob (I use a steak knife). Dice the tomatilloes. Toss all that together. Add the lemon juice and vinegar and toss some more. Chop the basil and add that with the s & p.
lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074Recipes2006-08-23 04:58:32Last night the plan was to hit the Farmer's Market for dinner, but Jenny reminded me that the lawn could use a mowing before the AR parents arrived today. So I fired up the ol' Briggs & Stratton and gave the crabgrass a trim.
Instead of some fresh cod braised over succotash, we had frozen Trader Joe's tamales. I threw together a little side-dish made of leftover brown rice from the previous night's Thai takeout, a rinsed can of black beans, and the remnants of some homemade salsa verde. It was pretty tasty.lbjayhttps://me.yahoo.com/lbjay_reallywow#06074What's for Dinner