What's Cooking (Take Two!)

Tom-
I could eat that.

Tom-
I could eat that.

I got leftovers. Just sayin'.

[Jenise]

Wow, pass me a slice!

Dinner last night was 'country style' ribs, which I had a completely different plan for until I realized I had collard greens in the crisper and some inexpensive zinfandels to test for an upcoming event. So I roasted them for almost three hours with a whole sliced up onion and some homemade barbecue sauce, and served the fall-apart tender meat over the chopped collard greens accompanied by a thinly sliced cucumber salad and some grilled green onions. Homey, and perfect zin food.

Wow, pass me a slice!

Dinner last night was 'country style' ribs, which I had a completely different plan for until I realized I had collard greens in the crisper and some inexpensive zinfandels to test for an upcoming event. So I roasted them for almost three hours with a whole sliced up onion and some homemade barbecue sauce, and served the fall-apart tender meat over the chopped collard greens accompanied by a thinly sliced cucumber salad and some grilled green onions. Homey, and perfect zin food.

I'll trade you for some of yours!!

[Robin Garr]

Spicy home-style Sichuan veggies and tofu (with plant-based "beefless crumbles").

[Jenise]

Last night:

IMG_5680.JPG

IMG_2755.JPG

[Jenise]

Tonight: bulgogi. Maybe with cabbage slaw to keep it cold and green and lo-carb.

Tonight: bulgogi. Maybe with cabbage slaw to keep it cold and green and lo-carb.

Probably a stupid question, but: do you make your own bulgogi sauce, Jenise?

[Robin Garr]

Farmers' market and garden dinner: Bhindi masala, Indian-style okra with onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, served with basmati rice.

[Robin Garr]

Fresh limas poached in Parma butter and olive oil with garlic and fresh sage, low and slow until the beans are creamy and take up the aromatics. Can I get a "Yum"?

Molto Yum Robin. There is nothing like FRESH limas and they take to your method perfectly. Indeed, a meal unto itself.

I made a couple of items from "Chef on Fire" tonight in honor of the ailing Chef Carey - Sole Meuniere and Spinach and Goat Cheese Timbales. Both came out really well. The sole was a little undersauced, but the lemon-butter-parsley flavors still came out nicely with the sauteed fish. The timbales were just great. I sub'd in Swiss chard for the spinach (so that my daughter would eat them) and added some parmigiano. I had to hold myself back from eating two or three of them. Served it all with an '06 Cedarville Viognier, which is a rich and leesy take on viognier. It complemented the food quite well.

Can I get a "Yum"?

YUM!!

I made hong shao ji (red-cooked chicken) last night.

-Paul W.

[Robin Garr]

Grilled Italian-style "sausage" (LightLife "Smart Sausages® Italian Style") with sauteed peppers and onions over polenta, mmm.

[Robin Garr]

Spicy Cajun okra jambalaya with plant-based LightLife Smart Sausages™ Italian-style.

Spicy Cajun okra jambalaya with plant-based LightLife Smart Sausages™ Italian-style.

Looks great!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMMVvS_mmqE

[Jenise]

I made a couple of items from "Chef on Fire" tonight in honor of the ailing Chef Carey - Sole Meuniere and Spinach and Goat Cheese Timbales. Both came out really well. The sole was a little undersauced, but the lemon-butter-parsley flavors still came out nicely with the sauteed fish. The timbales were just great. I sub'd in Swiss chard for the spinach (so that my daughter would eat them) and added some parmigiano. I had to hold myself back from eating two or three of them. Served it all with an '06 Cedarville Viognier, which is a rich and leesy take on viognier. It complemented the food quite well.

Mike, I was taken with that timbale recipe, too. Glad to know your results were so good--I'll copy!

No idea what we're having tonight. I spent all day making tamales here with a friend--we made 102, to be exact--which was more tiring than I'd have guessed. No idea what we're having for dinner--BUT IT WON'T BE MEXICAN.

Mike, I was taken with that timbale recipe, too. Glad to know your results were so good--I'll copy!

No idea what we're having tonight. I spent all day making tamales here with a friend--we made 102, to be exact--which was more tiring than I'd have guessed. No idea what we're having for dinner--BUT IT WON'T BE MEXICAN.

The timbales really were wonderful. I was thinking that they'd work well in mini-muffin tins and in the book it's pointed out that they hold well when made in advance. They'd make very nice appetizers for a crowd.

No idea what we're having tonight. I spent all day making tamales here with a friend--we made 102, to be exact--which was more tiring than I'd have guessed. No idea what we're having for dinner--BUT IT WON'T BE MEXICAN.

Funny.

You remind me of an incident many years ago: I was helping a friend prepare for a very large picnic. We set up two huge kettles of water and we par-boiled 104 chicken quarters (so that they would grill quickly and evenly the next day on this enormous fire-pit). It was a very long day and I distinctly remember not wanting anything to do with chicken for a while after.

Though I was interested in the boiling solution because it had developed a strong chicken flavor with several inches of chicken fat floating on top!

[Jenise]

Schmaltz! It's in your blood. Similarly, after tasting and seasoning the meat mixture all day as I worked with it, on an empty stomach, (two chickens roasted and five pounds of pork simmered a long time with garlic and guajillo chiles), I ended up not desiring any meat at all. Dinner was a veggie trio of toasted fresh corn, rappini, and tomato-onion salad. With a Clos du Val chardonnay.

Schmaltz! It's in your blood..

That's what the Lipitor is for!

[Jenise]

No idea what we're having for dinner tonight. I thawed a chunk of filet mignon leftover from some event I used the rest for and have been waiting all day for some bolt of lightning or surge of appetite to suggest the best way to turn that into a satisfying dinner, but a midday onset of the blahs seems to have smothered the usual spikes of creativity that normally arise late afternoon and now it's 4:00 with nary a clever plan in sight.

Shit, I hate when this happens.

Tonite was a hearty vegetable soup utilizing garden fresh tomatoes, zukes, eggplant, onions,along with store bought potatoes. Made it in the crock pot and the veggies were not mushy at all,
As we've reaped the garden bounty this summer, I've noticed that we have just evolved into meat free days two or three times per week. Rest easy, I'm not about to go vegetarian and I'm sure we'll do fewer meat free days as the availability of super-fresh produce diminishes and our freezer empties.