What's cooking?

I made pork lo mein last night: stir-fried shredded pork with onions, sliced shiitake mushrooms, sliced snow peas, scallions, and bean sprouts, seasoned with oyster sauce and thin soy sauce.

-Paul W.

I made pork lo mein last night: stir-fried shredded pork with onions, sliced shiitake mushrooms, sliced snow peas, scallions, and bean sprouts, seasoned with oyster sauce and thin soy sauce.

-Paul W.

I could enjoy the leftovers for breakfast...thank you very much!

[Jenise]

I made pork lo mein last night: stir-fried shredded pork with onions, sliced shiitake mushrooms, sliced snow peas, scallions, and bean sprouts, seasoned with oyster sauce and thin soy sauce.

-Paul W.

Yum. Hey, has the supply of fresh bean sprouts changed in your area like it has mine? Nowadays, no more open help-yourself containers, just citric-acid treated packages which I don't like the taste of. So I only make bean sprouty dishes when I can buy them fresher in Canada, which isn't often.

Ooh, guess what I had for dinner last night? Grilled moose backstrap.

Fridays are usually pizza, wine, and jazz nights. Plan to do a simple tomato and basil one tonight.

Hey, has the supply of fresh bean sprouts changed in your area like it has mine? Nowadays, no more open help-yourself containers, just citric-acid treated packages which I don't like the taste of. So I only make bean sprouty dishes when I can buy them fresher in Canada, which isn't often.

The bean sprouts around here all come in packages. The ones I buy come from a nearby farm in Massachusetts, and I don't think they're citric acid treated--at least, there's nothing on the package about that. The sole ingredient mentioned is bean sprouts.

Mung bean sprouts are very easy to grow at home. The toughest part is washing off the green husks when they're fully sprouted.

-Paul W.

We had some very thick and meaty lamb shoulder chops that we picked up at Whole Foods on Tuesday. We marinated them for several hours at room temp in our mint, lemon, and EVOO mayonaise; and then grilled over charcoal and pecan chips. Had glazed carrots and a half Broule (also from WF) with them. Nice and tasty for a Thursday night. We had to go out, so no wine; but did wash it down with a Wacko.

[Robin Garr]

"Africanized killer beans": Green beans and potato dice with onions, green peppers, garlic and ginger and an African-style spicy peanut butter sauce.

[Jenise]

We're going to spend the afternoon in Bill Spohn's garden. Our meals today will consist of breakfast and whatever we eat there. I'm taking my own refined modernist version of the Burgundian classic terrine jambon perseille, accompanied by a potato salad. By refined I mean that the classic is typically large chunks of ham, where I divided my ham into two fairly equal piles, one perfect 1/4" dice and the other that got ground and blended with the gelatin for a meat glue. I put that in the mold, and once chilled, turned it out and carved the sides into a perfect rectangle. I then chilled a layer of gelatin in the bottom of the mold, put the rectangle on top, and filled in the sides with more gelatin. The gelatin is full of fresh parsley and tarragon. The modernist part is that, when sliced, there will be this jumble of tiny squares within the large square, and the potato salad, which is perfect 1/2" dice tossed with wine vinegar and mustard oil, will also reference that shape.

[Robin Garr]

... when sliced, there will be this jumble of tiny squares within the large square, and the potato salad, which is perfect 1/2" dice tossed with wine vinegar and mustard oil, will also reference that shape.

Sounds spectacular, and tasty, too. I hope you get a picture of that!

[Robin Garr]

Baby eggplant from the garden prepared Sichuan-style with onions, ginger and garlic and a fiery spice mix. 

Spatchcocked chicken marinated in garlic, lemon juice, zest, rosemary and evoo. I will broil it on both sides, then roast until done. I roast lemon halves along side for extra drizzle of lemon. It comes out nice and brown and yummy. Along side is Mark Bittman's Tomato Paella which I have perfected to suit our tastes. I only make it in summer when the tomatoes are at their best. Roasted red asparagus will round out the meal.

Baby eggplant from the garden prepared Sichuan-style with onions, ginger and garlic and a fiery spice mix.

That looks so yummy Robin...do you drizzle a bit of balsamic over prior to eating? I love eggplant done right. Your ingredients sound perfect. I bet this is great cold, and would make a tasty tomato and eggplant sandwich.

[Robin Garr]

That looks so yummy Robin...do you drizzle a bit of balsamic over prior to eating? I love eggplant done right. Your ingredients sound perfect. I bet this is great cold, and would make a tasty tomato and eggplant sandwich.

Karen, I didn't think about balsamic, I guess because I made it with Asian flavors. Not that I'm afraid to mix ethnic flavors when I think it will work! We just ate it hot over rice and were very happy, but there's really nothing in there that wouldn't be good cold the next day - or, as you say, piled on a thick tomato slice for a great sandwich. Seven-grain toast, maybe? Mmmmm.

[Robin Garr]

SMark Bittman's Tomato Paella which I have perfected to suit our tastes. I only make it in summer when the tomatoes are at their best.

Have you posted that recipe, Karen? If not, will you, please?

The tomatoes, purple basil, summer savory, oregano, Cattawissa Onions, are from our garden. Tonight I'll put evoo on a baguette, grill it and toss chunks in with the salad. Some sort of vinaigrette...maybe a hazelnut oil, with champagne vinegar, a little mustard, and garlic. Puppy ate the oregano I dropped on the way in...have to go pick another stem.

[Robin Garr]

Fresh garden okra cooked with onions, tomatoes, garlic and spice, served over whole wheat pasta to make a healthy dinner in a dish. 

That is beautiful Robin!

We had Gazpacho last night.....it had shrimp, onion, cucumber, olive oil, red wine vinegar, celery and celery leaves, garlic, dill, clamato juice and tomato juice, avocado, Tabasco, jalapeño pepper, lime juice and served very cold. Very tasty stuff. Tonight is Carne Asada, with red an orange bell peppers, onion, Cubanelle peppers, garlic. I think I am going to layer it all into a crispy taco bowl, with some heirloom tomatoes and shredded lettuce. Carne Asada came from Trader Joe's, it is very good. Gene will grill it, and it will not take long as it is already precut but only part way through, so it holds together.

Robin, do you pick your okra young and small? I notice at the Farmer's Market many folks are looking through the piles of okra for a particular size they prefer. I like okra, but Gene is not fond of it so I rarely buy it.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, do you pick your okra young and small? I notice at the Farmer's Market many folks are looking through the piles of okra for a particular size they prefer. I like okra, but Gene is not fond of it so I rarely buy it.

Karen, Mary does most of the pickin, but I'd say we go to the medium-to-small. They get big really fast, especially in a wet, hot summer like we've been having, which probably reminds the little fellers of their ancestral home in equatorial Africa.

Short answer, though, we definitely like to get them picked before they get big enough to turn stringy or woody. For efficiency in slicing, I'd jrather have them 3 to 4 inches long than the little bitty guys, but better to have a bunch of small ones than to have to toss the oversize ones back in the compost.

[Jenise]

Six pounds of fresh sockeye is on the smoker right now, and I just put up four quarts of new kosher pickles. Not sure what's for dinner, but it will probably involve the next evolution of terrine that I'm perfecting for the big Terrine event on Sunday.

Six pounds of fresh sockeye is on the smoker right now, and I just put up four quarts of new kosher pickles. Not sure what's for dinner, but it will probably involve the next evolution of terrine that I'm perfecting for the big Terrine event on Sunday.

Jenise, what kind of smoker do you have? Some of the best smoked salmon I've had was at Linda Stradley's. I'd really love to get a smoker and hopefully Gene would take an interest in it. Also, what do you do with all the terrines you have been making? Do the neighbors benefit from your efforts?

[Jenise]

Jenise, what kind of smoker do you have? Some of the best smoked salmon I've had was at Linda Stradley's. I'd really love to get a smoker and hopefully Gene would take an interest in it. Also, what do you do with all the terrines you have been making? Do the neighbors benefit from your efforts?

It's a brand that's no longer made. Cost just $80 new at Lowe's about 8 years ago--proof that you don't need anything high tech or expensive. It's a cylinder shape, not very big but I can do four large salmon filets weighing 2.5-2 lb each, each cut into three pieces, at a time. Bob lusts for an electric cabinet-type model. Think "set it and forget it". At least, kind of. With propane and alder sticks, the fire is variable and one had to keep a constant eye on it in case of flame-ups so you don't dare wander off for more than about ten minutes. Bob enjoys it though, even then. Have a feeling Gene would, too.

[Robin Garr]

For tonight's dinner, I thought it would be fun to post a picture of my mise en place, followed by the two finished dishes. First, a Caprese salad with tomatoes and basil from Mary's garden and fresh mozzarella from our lovable neighborhood specialty shop, Lotsa Pasta. Then, a veggie Thai red curry with coconut-curry tempeh.

Robin, I think doing mise en place is one of my favorite things in cooking. Makes for great photos too. I thought you might like to view the link below, so I attached it.

I think we need to do a shout out to other forum members to submit their cooking pictures too. Would love to see them! How about it gang?

http://whatscookingamerica.net/KarenCalanchini/TomatoSpanishRice.htm