What's for Dinner #410 Spring 2024

Took a drive out to the coast yesterday. It was 71*! 72* back in town! Everywhere was really crowded! Thankfully we took a picnic!

Bought a Dungeness crab, so surf and turf tonight! Crab, steak, salad and a tiny tater for the hubs

Delicious and lucky you two above having lobster and crab.

It really is a bountiful time in the garden. There are still wonderful tomatoes on the vine, there’s capsicums, cucumbers and the figs are coming in. We had a beautiful little fig tree in our old country house which for all its youth, gave us about 3 dozen of the most joyfully sweet figs every year. Hopefully this new tree will do the same. I also made salad with potatoes and sweet potatoes all with a BBQ’d pork chop.

Also pickled some red onion in ACV …. so good.

So fresh! I gave up on fig trees. Bummer. One got so big and heavy on wheels...took it out too early one spring and killed it.

Made a quick mixed vegetable pickle for a late Sunday afternoon snack. And a nut and toasted seed humus dip. No beans.

Made some ramen eggs for the week.

Baby blue cheese burgers, 3oz.

Finally have the baked 'chips' the way we like them. Crisp and not burnt. Lowered the temp to 225ºF. Low and slow. Middle and lower oven rack. Switch after 20 minutes. Lower temp did not need as much babysitting. Perfectly crisp.

Local farm share has gigantic root crops right now. Half a potato, 1/4 sweet potato, 1/4 red beet....pleanty. Filled two sheet trays single layer.

My white mandolin is a 'fixie' now. Set/frozen in one thickness but perfect for crispy chips. Rubbed in a thin layer of avocado oil.

Shrimp, Dumplings and Dashi

A few shrimp and dumplings are under there.

DH had a late afternoon dr. appointment. So he thinks i skimped on the dumplings. I always make a bit extra for lunches. Or if we want seconds. A stack of prep bowls with extra veg and quick pickles, ramen eggs, etc. More dashi broth on low flame. Fished out the extra shrimp and dumplings....in a side bowl. He dumped the extra on his already heaping bowl like a todler that wants more before eating. "mine!, all mine!"

We don't argue about it but he can always have another bowl. And he never finishes his meal at the table. (i had more broth). Jeez. 🙃 He is not even a middle child.

I just don't like plated leftover food, soggy salad, especially soups, packed for next day lunches.

Look at this heap of food in his bowl...

He usually does the freezer shopping but got home late. "pull out 6-8 shrimp and 8-10 dumplings please"...he will pull 10-12 shrimp and a dozen+ dumplings.

6 shrimp and 6 dumplings each sounds OK to me… sorry sleeve… lol. Such a full plate of salad/ veg goodness is fine if eaten.

Use up “veg from fridge frittata.” Dessert was an avocado chocolate mousse. Hand whizz an avocado, pure cocoa powder to taste and about tbs of maple syrup… whizz till perfectly smooth and silky. I placed some fruit salad on top and DH liked it after announcing last time I made it that he didn’t want to eat it.

I agree 6+6 would be fine with just broth/side salad. Made too many ramen eggs and avocados are ripening.

I should try the avocado mousse. I seem to have a few ripening at the same time every week or two.

Ham, rice and bean soup.

Freezer shopping....master stock, packet of ham from NewYears day. Half pints of rice and beans. Garden tomatoes and corn.

Remembered the chunk of parmesan rind.

Sleve, just a quick question. Does EVERY meal you serve look like it comes from a 5 start restaurant? Do you ever have a bowl of cereal or a sandwich?

Yep good looking healthy meals from our Sleeve.

Dinner was prawn / shrimp spaghetti.

We had a lunch out at one of our local country ’pubs’ ( hotel ) near our country holiday home. I thought you might like to see the old architecture of the place as well as the meal which was pork belly with rocket salad, red cabbage and puree celeriac. The pureed celeriac was delicious and I’m going to try to replicate.

Gorgeous. A hundred years old or more?. What is the porch railing and decoration called? Here it is often called the 'dental' work. In NewOrleans it is usually cast iron.

I've never had or made celeriac puree. I just used up a big one from the farm share. Just shaved with fennel, celery and apple.

Also made a pasta with shrimp, salmon and sausage last night...

I usually stock a tin or two of my favorite tomato brand. I still have some garden frozen roasted tomatoes but WholeFoods had DiNapoli on sale last month so i stocked up for the Spring months. Usually 5-6$ per can.

Tonight we're having bbq'd thighs, sauteed chard seasoned with balsamic, carrots in Vermouth with a honey glaze, and haricots verts with roasted pecans.

Tomorrow I'm making Pad Thai. My versions have always been somewhat bastardized --- good, but not authentic. I finally have all the ingredients for the real thing. Cuke salad on the side.

Some mid-week quick meals...

This chiffonade peeler went missing a couple years ago. Nice to have an old friend back.

Had tamales with spicy white beans and a nutty/seedy sauce.

White bean and vegetable soup, and a three cheese quesadilla

Last night roasted a chicken and a sheet pan of mixed vegetables.

Cabbage was a fail and not sure why. Bland.

Made a nice pot of Dashi stock. Freezer stocks are thinning.

All great looking food there Sleeve. Judi your food sounds really good. Hope your ’real thing’ Pad Thai turns out very well.

Regarding the old building photo in the previous post, The building is about 125 years old. It used to be on the road between Melbourne and Sydney but a highway has been built and these old buildings are no longer on the main route… Thank goodness. We call the cast iron porch railing - lace work. It is very lacey I think.

Despite still getting very hot days, there is a cooling in the

air particularly in the mornings and I will be glad to get back to soups and stews.

Salad for dinner, there are sausages cooked on the BBQ under all the good salady things.

Taquitos and Mexican street corn. Wanted to avoid making a pie since I would likely eat it over a couple of days, just a candy bar.

Lace work makes sense. New highways here the past 10-20 years, road trips north and south, has cut way down on travel times but less scenic. Skirts all the small charming towns...roadside farm stands, waterfront seafood shacks.

Taco night

Loving the locally made tortillas i found last year. 20 for 2.99$. They also sell the masa. Might pick up a bag of blue to make mini tacos for the AcademyAwards.

NOT salad for dinner. We had a small steak, sauteed potatoes and sauteed zucchini…so satisfying.

Oh yes, also some of DH’s rib sticking gravy… all good.

Local grass fed farm share will be delivered tomorrow. We only order every 4-5 months. Looking forward to a steak!

Last night,... Pork, Cashew, Purple Cabbage Egg Fried Rice

at the table

A-SHA Vegetable Ramen Bowl

All delicious Sleeve, love the half avocado tucked in there … so good to hold a good amount of vinaigrette.

We had chicken thighs braised in chicken stock with lemon juice, with onion and garlic . Baked in the oven over lentils and black rice.

Creamed silver beet (garden )as a side. There was also sprigs of thyme and dollops of labneh added with 10 minutes of cooking still to come. The labneh which I make by straining Greek yoghurt is delicious for me. I love its creamy tang but it’s not as tangy as the yoghurt itself.

Edited to add that silver beet grows here all year round and will grow on the end of a muddy boot if you let it lol.

Haha. We have had chard and celery tops growing all winter up until a couple weeks ago. The temps dipped low a couple days in a row. I should have covered them. Put in some early seeds yesterday. Worth the risk as the temps are so mild. The daffodils are coming up. My planting marker.

Love a mixed grain. Just added farro back into the roster. Like to stock at least a half dozen varieties.

I'll try the labneh next week. Sounds good!

Made another batch of fish cakes.

Another hummus testing. For Sunday's gathering i'll go dark red then lighten for a pink. So i'll make six varieties. (Barbie pink)...white beans, cauliflower rice

A-Sha is the brand name. They have been getting lots of press because of the colabs with Momofuku and HelloKitty, (lol).

We prefer just the noodles without the sauce packets. Though clean ingredients...just soy and sesame oil...i prefer to use my own... always stocked in house. Miso, kombu, fresh green onions, garlic, etc.

Hard to come by recently because of demand.

We like them all but especially the wide wavy 'knife cut'.

They are air dried, not fried.

With all the veg and broth, one block is perfect for the two of us to split.

I like the seaweed snacks that include almonds and sesame seeds.

They are often 'out of stock' on Amazon but available on their website...free shipping over 25$

Of corse the 'pantry' big bag, no sauce packets, is 24.99$. 🤪

We are entertaining again...small fry. 10-12 including us Winter months. I started a 'party' photo folder. Easy 'do-aheads'. No slave to the kitchen. Enjoy my guests but make good healthy foods. SuperBowl was great. Dips and veg chips and tacos. All prepped ahead. 4 hour BoSaam pork shoulder, ...timed to pull out 1st quarter.

AcademyAwards Sunday...Dim Sum. Fresh and baked spring rolls, sushi, hummus dips, vegetable chips, quick pickled and baked. All do-aheads. If i add shrimp to the party, it will be chilled. Just saw a recipe with lots of lemon and shaved red onion, garlic, ginger, and fennel. Another do-ahead. Love chilled shrimp. Creole reumelade. (don't care for ketchup or any cocktail sauces....too sweet)...too tomato sauce forward.

That is smoked shrimp/scallops...not doing that.

Lovely to see you’re entertaining again Sleeve, me, still not so much except family, which is children and grandchildren.

Burger made by DH. I wanted to mention those are beetroot crisps and there is beetroot and those little pickles in the burger.

Small gatherings. 10 max including us.

Shopping our local market on-line yesterday, noticed so many beet items and 40+ different hummus varieties. A half dozen different brands but many with various spices and vegetables. Most of the pickles have sugars and too many spices.

Shrimp Salmon Sausage Pasta

...olive, artichoke heart, leeks and greens

This “tomahawk steak” spent two weeks dry aging in my fridge, not intentionally but I bought it without any imminent plans and couldn’t come up with any, SWMBO being out of town for a month, so I salted it and called that dry aging. She came home today so I sous vided it with dill, thyme, peppercorns, and butter at 129F for three hours, then seared it. Searing was difficult because it wouldn’t fit in any pan. I ended up heating oil in a wok, holding the wok at an angle over the burner, and using the bone to hold the steak in various positions in the hot, then bubbling, then outright flaming oil to get it all seated. It looked pretty impressively scary, and I have some blisters from splashed oil, but it worked. I didn’t love the cut, as it turns out. The meat was nicely rare, but this cut is rather lean, not marbled at all. Still, it was fun. Served with butter, fingerling potatoes, salad, sauteed lion’s mane mushroom.

Neely, I love that pub/hotel. It reminds me of an antebellum in the southern states.

Sleeve, I particularly like that meal with your pasta.

Cold and rainy yesterday, snow today. So last night I made comfort food, sloppy joes. I had mushrooms and spinach that needed used up so I added them.

We were just talking about some childhood comfort foods. Tamale pie, shepard's pie and sloppy joe night. I did a loose freezer inventory and have a lb of bison mince. I would also add some greens. Steak fries look good!

We had a Local farm share delivery.

A heap of a plate. Tenderloin at 12 o'clock. On a fresh shaved salad...fennel, celery, red onion, apple. Crispy shallots. Smashed potatoes at 3 o'clock. Garlic chips.

Braised cabbage at 6 o'clock. (much better than the roasted slab i made a few days ago)

Local farm share we order just every 3-4 months. Nice to witness a success story. A new venture fall 2019 with a rental van. NYTimes article lock-down 2020 we signed up. They now have a fleet of vans. So great for the NY state small pasture raised farms. The wild Maine blueberry sausage was a free gift. Three choices but the others were 'out of stock'. Not something i would order but i'll taste test anything. Especially quality ingredients. Thinking egg and sausage breakfast sandwiches on english muffins. 8 patties so may wait for house guests. (or try two next week). Breakfast for dinner...

We don't purchase bacon anymore but like the 'ends' at 5$ a pound. 2 ounces cubed for a crispy chowder garnish...

Went out for lunch with two ”old” friends. I had the calamari, I always have the calamari unless it’s a posh place with more interesting things on the menu. Anyway, calamari was tender and was served with, pickled ginger, nori and wasabi mayonaise. I used the nori sheet to make a little wrap with the other things. Also had a beer, a lager which was lovely ( I never drink beer )

Just like this time last year, our local farm box is full of root crops. And lots of greens. Just in time for a Sunday gathering. AcademyAwards.

(not the avocados).

I ordered the small box. Half the box is still downstairs in cool storage.

Made lots of pickled veg and various hummus.

Bo Saam lettuce wraps...(pulled pork)

Made this last night but will not post...tried three times.

(forbidden word?)...🤪

Just tried to post the recipe link from BonAppetit....will not post

It is a no-knead focaccia recipe. Divided into two steel sheet pans...instead of one 'mile high' focaccia.

Every time I open this thread, I want a lobster roll. And, of course, I don't get one, LOL.

Neely, I very much like calimari too, so double whammy on this thread!

Sleevendog, I got my first Misfits box since June, they gave me $25 off and I just couldn't pass it up. So I have a lovely fennel and some red beets to roast, and 4 baby artichokes that I haven't yet decided what to do with.

We had a roast chicken over the weekend, Elery's middle son and Granddaughter came up for dinner.

I made some no bake cookies so she could take them home with her, I didn't want to make an entire dessert like cake or pie for just 4 of us.

We had sandwiches made with the roast chicken leftovers along with some fries and home canned green beans.

Last week Elery smoked some chicken which we had with a wheat berry salad and baked white sweet potatoes. It's a thing for him, that's what he had when he was a kid instead of the orange sweet potatoes, and he likes them better. They sure are hard to find, though, I happened upon them on my very occasional (like once a year) trip to Whole Foods.

I made a nice batch of bean soup which I forgot to take a picture of, but I remembered to take a picture when I had nearly finished a piece of the cornbread I made to go along with the beans. I like my cornbread with sorghum molasses and butter, makes up for those healthy beans. (grin)

My neighbor across the street is trying to keep her iron levels up, so I made some pate. I really like Jacques Pepin but I think this needs more liver and less butter!

I have one ripe tomato on my micro tomato!

Most of our snow has melted, but it's still too cold to put those tomatoes outside so I'll have to repot the three micro tomatoes so they can stay inside. These visitors would probably eat them outside anyway...

And I saw this visitor this morning, I still think it's too early but spring is coming.

And I think that's all I took pictures of, although we did have a Motor City frozen pizza one night. Not as good as sleevendog's focaccia but not bad for frozen pizza.

Annie

I also prefer the white sweet potatoes Annie, and like you mentioned they aren’t always available. The orange ones are always available.

I braised some sliced chicken fillets with soy, ketchup manis, honey, garlic and ginger. Sides of black rice and broccoli. I made some yeast flat bread but left them in the oven too long so they became crispy, reminiscent of some eastern bread but I don’t know what it’s called…tasted OK.

Nice looking golden roasted chicken Annie. Just put cornbread on my list. I've been writing a loose list of possible meals every few weeks. I have a couple packages of chicken livers in the freezer. I've not made paté in a very long time. Had an excellent one from a local restaurant supply during lock-down made in Montreal. A cross between a smooth creamy and country style.

We both have mixed feelings about all sweet potatoes except the Japanese white. I just randomly buy singles of a couple varieties for roasting. I did purchase a full bag of the white over the last holidays.

DH is not feeling his best. Achy, no fever. Made a mixed grain and toasted seeds that sounded good to him...topped with parmesan.

Makes 4 pints so made a vegetable and egg fried rice last night. Two pints of rice for the freezer for quick meals.

Annie this winter and spring is nuts! We've got crocuses up and I was talking to a lady yesterday who makes maple syrup. We haven't been getting the below freezing temps at night, needed to make good syrup.

I cooked a roast on the weekend and finished it up earlier this week.

Your roast looks very good Jasdip.

We were having hot weather last week and I missed putting photos on this thread of some salads we were having.

Both have my favourite pomegranate seeds and one also has sliced figs which we are also enjoying.

Now we are visiting relatives in another city and enjoying taking them out for treat lunches.

The below was a delicious soup of pumpkin with coconut cream and other spices served with warm wholemeal rolls … Yum

Pretty salads. Reminds me of Sweetgreen. A dozen+ all over the city. They also do seasonal salads or create-your-own. Pomegranite, fig, peaches, berries.

My friends and co-workers that don't cook and do not at all have knife skills live on their salads. A life saver during covid. (this location, the city closed off an intersection that used to be chaos for cars.) A few dozen restaurants benefit from the shared outdoor seating.

After a few days of salads and meatless meals, we had baby burgers last night. 3 oz. PatLefreida short rib blend. Pat is a well known legendary butcher that makes custom blends for restaurants. He did the original blend for ShakeShake. My local market has a few of his blends. Four six ounce burgers. We split one. Two 3ounce burgers.

Big shared salads. Arugula and microgreens. Shaved fennel-and-friends.

St Pat's Day brunch

Braised cabbage and greens

Root crop casserole, sausage and the braised cabbage to the table

turnip, yellow beet, japanese white sweet potato, russet, purple sweet potato, two different varieties of sweet potato, red beet, under the cabbage...a massive purple carrot

Plated

Dim Sum Fun

Really good St Pats day food Sleeve.

We had some delicious lunches while i was away from home.

Lunch starters included

arancini, burrata and duck terrine, all delicious.

I was away on St Patricks day but didn’t want to miss out on the corn beef meal so finally cooked it at home 2 days late. There’s mustard sauce to accompany.

Nice lunch. Would be a festive brunch starter for Easter. Thinking of having a 1-2pm brunch, then a rack of lamb later. Or a full crown roast of pork if we have guests.

Mustard sauce...yum!

Noodle bowl. Dashi/miso broth.

prep

We've had spurts of winter all week. Right now it's snowing good with poor visibility again, as it has been on and off all week.

I had the urge for a lasagna today.

Halibut is on sale this week, unfortunately I killed it a bit overcooking it, but still edible.

My daffodils got the memo that it is the first week of Spring. But it seems to be Winter again, at least for the weekend...brrr.

Tacos al Pastor

Sleeve - Those fish tacos are calling me! Looking for La Milpa de Rosa I’m finding a lot of buzz but no place to buy it locally. I see Baldor sells it - on their home page in fact - but I’m not up for one of those orders. Do you see them locally at any bigger chains?

I order FreshDirect about every 5-6 weeks or so. In rotation with Misfits. A shocking price of 2.99 for 20 tortillas. (they freeze great). ---if i order Misfits tomorrow for next friday delivery, that will be exactly 3 weeks since my FreshDirect order. Keeps my crisper drawer stuffed with vegetables. Lots of dinner choices.

Since Thanksgiving i've been ordering one of the local farm share boxes.

This time of year they are very generous. Probably 60cents a pound. And also lots of greens. Just brought up the rest of the box from cold storage. May not need Misfits at all this week.

Tacos are pulled pork but do like a fish taco.

Lancaster farms is a collective of 80+ small organic farms. I also like the box with yogurt, cheese, mushrooms and pasture eggs.

FreshDirect has many favorites like GoodCulture cottage cheese 12 pack.

I no longer order from Baldor. That was good at the time and they needed the help without restaurants ordering during lock-down.

I could go on and on about FreshDirect. Their commitment to local. TwinMarquis started in ChinaTown, then needed more room and moved to Brooklyn. Good noodles and dumplings. We started making our own and have their wrappers in the freezer. Misfits had lumb crab for 22$ a pound over the holidays. After testing one pound i purchased two more. Made shrimp and crab shumai. Then stopped by HMart for more varieties of dumplings....DimSum is the best easy hands off do-ahead party foods.

Funny, I must just have fish tacos on the brain. I have pulled pork languishing in the freezer, I could do that, too.

I did see Fresh Direct selling them, but as common as that name is, I have no idea what the company is. I was assuming another instacart or similar, but I guess not. With your recommendation I’ll check it out. Misfits wasn’t for me, too hit or miss.

Don’t you just love Good Culture? I’m addicted to it and eat a lot. Plain, dollops in my green salad, mixed with beans, as a dip or mixed with any vegetables, in lieu of mayo for chicken salad... I do generally eat the low fat which is not quite as good as full, but still good. Seems to fly off the shelves at the grocery store so I’m always looking and buy when I see it.

I have the low fat GoodCulture at the moment. Stiil great. Unlike most low fat products, GC does not have weird thickeners and emulsifiers... 'Skim Milk, Whole Milk, Cream, Celtic Sea Salt, Live and Active Cultures.'

We don't buy/stock any milk or cream. Just some cheese varieties and yogurt. I just made a very 'vegetable heavy' roasted tomato soup. After blendering and removing most of it, i added some GoodCulture to the blender to make a cream sauce to add at the table. I have been using it for everything 'cream'. (powdered milk, buttermilk, goat milk in the freezer). A small tin of evaporated in the pantry if house guests like cream in their coffee.

FreshDirect you are not familiar with? They just celebrated 20 years. Business Insider has a good short documentary on YTube...FreshDirect

I like that you can pick a delivery window that has a 'truck' icon. That means a truck will be in your area delivering others. During lock-down our neighborhood picked a common delivery window for that reason. 25-30 cars off the road wasting time and fuel.

I never had reason to pay attention to delivery services until covid. And even then, I used whole foods once or twice and baldor once. Loading up on groceries is not how I grew up and I guess that’s why it’s just not a comfortable way for me to operate. Half goes to waste, which was one part of my problem with misfits. But I may put an order together just to get some tacos into the freezer, if you recommend them as worth the effort. They’re certainly cheap!

Before covid, delivery never crossed our minds. I have friends that have used FreshDirect since the beginning. 4th floor walk-up with two todlers, (what were they thinking?). Since moved but still use delivery. Could not get a delivery window all 2020 but started using them once vaccinations were available.

I always did the once-a-month grocery shopping. DH did the weekly, 15 items and under, usually thurdays, without much complaint...until we started delivery.

I still like to hit HMart in person every few months.

Always frustrating for him having trouble choosing cilantro and greens not looking so fresh sitting out at too warm temps. FreshDirect is always fresh kept at the best temps for each produce item. Just used the last of the cilantro now two weeks since delivery.

Same with Misfits. They got the kinks out. No longer mystery boxes. Just order what you want. I did not order for about 5 months over last summer. Then started again just before Thanksgiving. No shipping fees over 90$. every six weeks that is easy. We like so many of their cheeses. VermontCreamery, CypressGrove, JasperFarms...

Great prices. The GoodCulture is 3.99. 16ounces. Out of stock but usually back in a day or two. We never have any waste like traditional grocery produce. Always a buck or three less than a grocery on each item. 90% less packaging and orgainic.

So worth it for us to have a variety of good cheeses. Every 5-6 weeks. A great variety of greens, vegetables that last for weeks and pantry staples like a shelf stable organic tofu, etc.

Made a comfort food last night, late brunch. Wanted corned beef hash but did not make that for St. Paty, so made a scrapple, egg, roasted vegetable hash. Scrapple is a childhood hometown acquired taste...but even DH loves it.

Then we wanted a day two corned beef/sauerkraut sandwich. (i even have NY Jewish rye bread). Bummer. Note to self....make holiday favorites.

Ham and Bean Soup

prep

We have been working hard on country holiday home projects and I have been forgetting to take a photo of WFD.

Last night we had a scrappy spaghetti from canned tuna, and Brie on toast… quite tasty but not pictureworthy. Love all your food and photos as usual Sleeve. You are a wonder for healthy fresh food.

Don‘t faint at the unhealthiness of this meal. Fried fish and chips / fries. I ordered them in. I usually never buy fish and chips and this reminded me why. The startling yellow chips were very off putting. The fish is OK, the usual gummy shark.

Fish and Chips is one thing we have out once/twice a year. Delicious but maybe it is the oil used that does not agree. Or maybe the portions are so large. DH needs a nap and not such a great thing on a road trip.

Fortunately the same road trip is peppered with lobster rolls.

Making another batch of focaccia. One third in my 9x9 brownie pan for panini. Then two thin crust pizzas.

Maybe the link will post this time, bon appetit easy no-knead focaccia

Last nights Shrimp/Cod Stir Fry. Recipe is shrimp/scallops. I have a dozen scallops that have gone into hiding in my freezer. An easy weeknight meal, a DH favorite, having pints of grain in the freezer.

Still too much food but DH likes it for next day lunch.

Miso/seaweed salad garnish

prep...lots of greens and bok choy

Made a batch of chili crisp. A container goes to my neighbor that makes chocolate 'everything'. Nice exchange.

Yum for the chilli crisp. I’m going off Laoganma or maybe just a not so good jar last time.

One lunch over Easter saw us having pepper crusted salmon, over a mild dahl.

When i purchased a couple different brands of chili crisp a few years ago, i did not like the cheap oils and 2/3rd's of the jar were oil with not much flavor. I up the 'crisp' and just barely cover with avocado oil. Organic ingredients.

We have salmon about once a week. Last week...shrimp and salmon rolls. Fishermans stew tonight.

Last night, Vegetable Won-ton Soup

Full crisper drawer, so lots of vegetables

Shrimp, chorizo, vegetable fried rice

a DH favorite

mise en place

We have been entertaining again since last summer., August/September... A dozen times but baby steps. Just a few close friends.

Easter Sunday we had an early dinner/late brunch. Just for four including us. First sit-down meal in a few years. (excluding Thanksgiving that is so easy after hosting 25 years)

A bit rusty timing a sit-down meal. Thankful i scratched the seafood starter and a rack of lamb main.

Made a big seafood fishermans... Chioppino/Stew/Bouillabaisse...clams/mussels/shrimp/salmon/cod/swordfish...

Two saute pans on the cooktop and a back burner seafood stock. Not my favorite meal for 'timing'. Prep ahead but too much baby-sitting.

Excellent meal but prefer a casual gathering like Dim-Sum...not a delicate timed sit-down meal.

Friends since covid prefer social 'casual'. Nothing formal.

So this pushed my buttons a bit with three burners on the stove-top and a bit of baysitting so all cooked at proper temps. Fine and delish but prefer the recent DimSum, BoSaam, social snacking we have been doing...nothing formal timing...

We just want to snack-n-chat.

Dim Sum

Snow flurries. Soup weather. Shopping the freezer.

Chicken/rice/beans and greens

The dim sum steam baskets look delicious.

This past Fall, 2023, i started a 'entertaining' photo file. Baby steps how many people we have at one time. Dim Sum with various quick pickles, spring rolls, vegetable hummus...is an easy do-ahead simple 3-4 hour social late brunch/dinner. No one really wants a sit-down meal these days. (and i don't want the babysitting of a formal meal and all the timing)

Our Korean market has 5-6 dozen Dim Sum choices...frozen. Extra credit and also easy prep-ahead is a pound or two of chilled seasoned shrimp. And/or a BoSaam pork shoulder roast. Lettuce wraps and a choice of roti and tortillas for those wanting taco style. Such an easy please for all dietary needs. Steamed from frozen.

I like to make my own fresh spring rolls and shrimp/crab shumai but if time gets away from me i have purchased frozen.

Last night made a ham/cabbage soup. Black beans, various vegetables. Kimchi, etc.

We been so busy back and forth to our little holiday home that buying fresh food and cooking has been really neglected.

Not having shopped for a while and forgetting about deliveries, I’ve been ’cooking’ out of fridge and pantry.

Lentil and quinoa stir fry. The green veg was swiss chard/ silver beet from the garden

Jar of pickled herring in mustard sauce, leaves from the garden, crisps.

Quinoa fritters with garlic chilli sauce from a bottle.

I can’t say I really enjoyed any of these meals and good grief I’ve actually lost 2lbs weight.

Early last month, 5-6 weeks ago, i overshopped. I had some freezer space so loaded up with bones and frames for a big Spring master stock or two. Freezing half pints and quart zips of mixed beans and mixed grains. Seafood choices, lobster and lump crab, etc. Farm veg boxes are mostly root crops that last a long time in cold storage.

Still having some variation of soups 3-4 times a week. We only eat one meal a day but lunch snacks are plenty. DH likes cottage cheese with kimchi and maybe a ramen egg.

Last night steamed some tamales and made a Peruvian aji green sauce and a couple vegetable hummus for the weekend...thawed a pint of chick peas.

Many NewYorkers call it PioPio sauce. A popular Peruvian restaurant with now 7 locations. A new one on LongIsland, GlenCove.

Nice menu. I roast chickens at home, but they have great seafood options...PioPio menu

Freezer shopping. Arancini from the last wild mushroom risotto. And a shared humus plate.

I’ve been mildly obsessed with an orange vinaigrette lately. And goat cheese and SV beets and candied pecans. And the salads fhat they together create. Here are a couple.

(I ran low on arugula for this one!)

But I do break it up. Here was last night’s dinner:

Perfect steak. Looks like you are grilling outside? Finally nice weather.

Oven braised pork ribs. With colcannon.

Had colcannon a couple times in an Irish pub. I've never been impressed being pretty bland with just a small amount of overcooked cabbage.

This recipe has leek and lacinato kale. Started with a miropoix of celery, onion, garlic, butter and white wine. Then the leek and kale, finished with a big handful of green cabbage. Braised until just tender. Celery seed.

The recipe included bacon but that is just the red skin from the potatoes. Made extra for some cast iron seared potato cakes.

Made beef stew Sunday and had it last night. (always better next day)

Quart for the freezer.

Wonton Dim Sum Dashi

Added a blurb of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil to the steamed chili crisp

DH really likes pasta. A good pantry selection of all shapes, rice ramen, gluten-free, etc. A dozen choices. Once/twice a month. Most recipes are just carb, sauce, and cheese.

I prefer dumplings, vegetables and broth.

Refika has a recipe using cabbage in place of pasta. I'm cabbage rich at the monent. But DH does not care for carb replacements like zoodles.

So i made a vegetable/cabbage heavy 'pasta' dish with olives and artichoke hearts. Garlic chips.

Still amking way too much pasta, even 1/3r'd a pound.

Turning this into a pasta, vegetable lasagna/fritatta bake tonight.

Love this mini mandolin for garlic chips.

My inspiiration. DH would probably like this one...

My ”beef stew” is also day 2, though unintentionally so. Made beef rendang for Eid, a NYT recipe that several reviewers warned needed at least twice the simmer time but I didn’t listen. It was worth the wait!

Another second day meal. Made too much pasta with a nice homemade vegetable/tomato sauce. Topped with a layer of blendered cottage cheese, lacinato kale, parmesan, mozzarella,cherry tomatoes, prosciutto.

Like a second day lasagna.

I’m interested in that use of cotrage cheese. My experience has been that it quickly separates into liquid and a rubbery mass of cheese when heated. But I see a lot of cottage cheese lasagna recipes out there. Hmmm.

Not something i recall ever doing before. I'm a 'no recipe' cook. Use what i have on hand and try things. I may have used cottage cheese blended with ricotta and parm(?) before on a layer with mushrooms or spinach/greens. A good cottage will blend fine i just found out. Not one with thickeners and emulsifiers. You have recently found the 'Good' brand like i found 6 months ago.

I had other plans for dinner but had the pasta leftover.

All these wind and rain storms made for a nice comfort meal...did not want to waste good food and trying to avoid freezing anything pasta.

Spring cleaning the freezer this weekend making room for a Sunday master/kombu stock. (roasting two chickens tomorrow)...the freezer 'stock' shelf is pretty empty. Should not need to make stock until August/Sept.

Another YeOdle stir fry. Seems once a week these days. Making a bit extra rice and freezing in pints makes a quick one pan meal. A link of merguez, lots of greens, and a couple side shared salads. Beet, red onion, turnip. Shaved fennel, celery, onion.

This is What’s for lunch which was beef curry made by DH. He added coconut milk to a Rogan Josh beef curry and it was creamy and delicious

Rainy day roasted two chickens.

Made an overnight rich MasterStock. Chilled down this morning. 4 pints and 16 1/2 pints. ...20 soup stocks in the freezer.

Chicken and Dumpling (Won Ton) Soup

Creole Shrimp Roll

Homemade chips

Good old Spaghetti Bolognaise and a small salad

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Costco is carrying dried wild again after about ten years absent. The porcini and the carnaroli rice from big 'A'.

I use both mushrooms in a dry brine/rub. A good years supply.

Wagyu burgers under all the quick pickled vegetables...carrot,celery, fennel, cucumber, red onion

side of fresh chips

froze two packets of mushroom risotto for arancini. Soaking beans for the weekend...

Pasta with sausage, olives, and artichoke hearts

Yes, we're eating. Today I made something new to me, sopes. I liked them, fried the shells until they were crispy and not mushy. I had mine with beans, a queso with hatch green chilies, lettuce and tomatoes, a bit of salsa. Elery added chorizo to his.

I baked a loaf of maple oatmeal bread for my morning toast.

It was also nice to have with some of my home canned corn chowder one of the rainy nights. I can it, then add cream when I reheat it, it's pretty good but I forgot a picture until after I was done and could only take a picture of the rest of the soup in the pan, LOL.

Taco salad, which Elery likes enough that we have regularly.

I helped Amanda make some freezer food. This is meatballs, cheeseburger bacon hot pockets and some dog food made with chicken, brown rice, green beans and dry milk powder.

And I think that's it!

Annie

My first thought Annie, was ”what in the world are sopes”? Anyway looked it up and found a recipe. Yours looks better. (than the recipe)

DH has put our little country holiday home on the for sale market. I don’t know if I’m happy about this or not. Maybe it won’t sell.

A lunch I quickly made was pickled herring. The best thing about this is that the pomegranate is off my own little tree, I got 3 this year.

Below was a chicken korma and two samosas for dinner, no rice.

I had to look up sopes as well. I just stocked up on flours....00, AP, gluten-free blend, corn flour, grits, white corn masa and some grains. Looks really good Annie.

I haven't made arepas in a while. Then just came across tetelas...

Mostly savory but did see some with a fruit filling like apple caramel,

Added sopes, arepa and tetelas to my 'party food' file.

Have had a few days of Mexican meals. Just listed a half dozen meal choices. Mostly seafood throught the weekend. Corn chowder sounds good. Dim Sum. Maybe a seafood or lobster roll Sunday. Might be able to avoid any shopping until Monday.

Neely, I'd be a little sad about selling your vacation home too, those are usually just associated with vacations and family events and mostly good things. Life changes, though, so I hope whatever happens works out well for you and your family. I don't know what is happening there with you but here real estate is selling like crazy in spite of the interest rate increases and the big price hikes, I'm not sure why.

I'd need some rice for that nice saucy korma, though!

Sleevendog, I need to stock up on flours and things too, I"ve been diligently working to use up or discard old/outdated items or those that have just deteriorated in quality enough that they need replacement. But it's gardening time, and I'm busy babying my little plants, fertilizing asparagus, pruning grapevines and spraying fruit trees for fungus with our weird weather. Anyway, Elery likes Mexican food a lot and we are surrounded by farms and orchards, so a lot of Hispanic workers come seasonally and many more stay year round. Authentic (and cheap) grocery stores are plentiful, although there are just as many that are neither cheap nor authentic, so those have to be weeded out, usually by a bad experience!

Lobster rolls sound good, but I'm driving our neighbor to a nearby town as her car is out of service. She says she'll take me to dinner, there's a local pizza joint that is known for their breadsticks and she loves them. So, it'll probably be soup and breadsticks.

Annie

'Sleevendog, I need to stock up on flours and things too,'

I have a pantry pull-out full of various small batch flours...tight seal from pests but it stunk a bit rancid. Spring cleaning tossed it. Just small bits and miscellaneous. Not worth using/risking being from 2020-2022. We use so many different flours, one or two pounds each i purchase now. Keep it all fresh or freeze. Some i like to stock we just don't use that often like rice flour and buckwheat.

I had to look up pomegrante trees. Similar to an apple but the flowers are large and gorgeous.

I made a few humus blends for the weekend. So we snacked on those and had some dumplings.

Recently found the best pan in my arsenal to get a good steam/sear without sticking.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Uncle Roger would not approve, "why you put salad in fry rice?"

I don't care. I want the whole food value in a quick weeknight meal. One pot meal.

Knife-cut Noodle Bowl

prep

My favorite knife cut noodle brand, A-Sha, have been out of stock for a few months. I like the 'pantry packs' without the flavor packets. These noodles are slow air dried not fried like the cheap ones. The replacement knife cut packs are good. But come with the little packets of soy, sesame oil, dried chives. (not the salt lick chemical powders)

From the A-Sha website...

All looks delicious as usual Sleeve and with your good home made broth/stock as well no doubt.

100 posts… think I’ll start the new thread.

I started the new WFD thread several hours ago and it hasn’t appeared yet. Perhaps I‘ll start it again, not sure what to do