What's Cooking (Take Four)

[Jenise]

Sounds like a great celebration, Walt, congrats to the kid.

Three types of tortillas? Beyond the obvious first two, what was the third?

Hard shell, which were the only kind of tortillas used for tacos when I was a kid. The youth enjoys them, layered underneath the usual tortilla de maís.

sounds like a great (and delicious) celebration, congratulations to your kid AND their parents,

[Jenise]

Hard shell, which were the only kind of tortillas used for tacos when I was a kid. The youth enjoys them, layered underneath the usual tortilla de maís.

Ah! When I was a kid our tacos were made with panfried tortillas and I was the one who got the job of frying them. Tedious work, and I don't do it now for health reasons, but they were the best!!! Store-bought hardshell didn't enter my life until Taco Bell moved into town.

I used to fry the corn tortillas when I made tacos, UNTIL my Mexican housekeeper, who ate healthy, told me not to fry them, but put them into a non-stick pan, folded, then browned on both sides. Sometimes it worked, sometimes they split. I think frying is the best method for white corn torts. Funny thing is, my mom learned how to make tacos when we lived in Casa de Oro, very near the Mexican border, and we had a lot of Mexican neighbors in our little neighborhood, and frying is what they did.

[Jenise]

No Mexican housekeeper here, Karen, but I've always heated corn tortillas in an iron skillet. It eventually just made sense to crisp them off that way for healthier tacos, and I love the taste of a few black spots. To shorten the time it takes to do many, I pre-heat the tortillas in the microwave. Modern grocery store tortillas are so full of preservatives and softeners that they don't brown well, need to buy them plain from a tacqueria.

[Jenise]

I'm having dental surgery and will be unable to chew for a few days, so I have invited friends over tonight for cowboy steak (chuck eyes dredged in coffee, sugar and salt). Those will be accompanied by carrots sauteed with parsley and onions, and there will be a starter salad. Going to be 70-something today--perfect for outdoor dining!

So did I And I'm on two kinds of antibiotics. I can't eat anything with nuts or seeds or popcorn for ten days. But I'm eating plenty of yogurt to keep my gut happy.

Yesterday I made gongbao jiding (aka Kung Pao chicken), but with cashews instead of peanuts. Following Taylor Holliday's (of Mala Market fame) suggestion I bought raw cashews and browned them myself in a bit of oil. It came out a bit better than using dry-roasted cashews, but IMO not enough to be worth the extra work.

-Paul W.

I agree, there are several excellent nuts and nut mixes out there. I love Planters, cashew, pistachio, and almond mix. It is addictive. I keep a little crystal bowl on the corner of my granite counter in the kitchen where family and close neighbors enter the house. They always stop for a bite or two, and everyone loves it.

https://www.amazon.com/PLANTERS-Pistach ... _ec_i&th=1

[Jenise]

So did I And I'm on two kinds of antibiotics. I can't eat anything with nuts or seeds or popcorn for ten days. But I'm eating plenty of yogurt to keep my gut happy.

Have no idea what I'll eat, but I can promise you it won't be yoghurt!

So did I And I'm on two kinds of antibiotics. I can't eat anything with nuts or seeds or popcorn for ten days. But I'm eating plenty of yogurt to keep my gut happy.

Have no idea what I'll eat, but I can promise you it won't be yoghurt!

Yogurt's better than diarrhea.

I like Planters dry-roasted peanuts. When making gonbbao jiding I use Planters unsalted dry-roasted peanuts if I'm going the traditional peanut route. The local grocery store (Market Basket) sells unsalted dry-roasted cashews and I normally use those when making the dish with cashews. Yesterday I instead used Market Basket's raw cashews and fried them myself. As I said, IMO not worth the extra bother.

-Paul W.

It may sound weird, but I got a deal on a packaged brisket (with spice packet), so I made corned beef and cabbage. Yum. I used a pressure cooker, and the beef came out very tender. Now I don't have to worry about what to cook for a few days.

[Jenise]

Paul, have you ever eaten raw cashews? I buy them to eat raw--it's a great protein snack. And sometimes I pan cook them to add to Chinese food, and I deliberately let them just start to scorch. The flavor and appearance is unconventionally and interesting.

Yes, I do like raw cashews.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Tonight I am planning chicken schnitzel with a shitake mushroom/sherry sauce on a pile of wilted pea vines.

[Jenise]

Last night's chicken schnitzel was fantastic. For tonight I have to choose between a cold plate of smoked salmon and asparagus or tacos in which romaine lettuce will stand in for a tortilla with a spicy ground turkey/rice filling.

Catching up...

I spent the weekend in L.A....

I got the willies just reading that description, Jenise. I'm a city mouse, and while I may shop too much, I have zero patience for things that are bad/dead/useless.

Love the spontaneous ahi dressing; still don't understand what's so yum about romesco. Anyway, great story.

Something simple tonight: Cantonese stir-fried beef with snow peas.

-Paul W.

I stopped by the local Thai grocery this afternoon and bought some fresh holy basil (bai krapow). This is a rare find. Fresh ordinary Thai basil (bai horapa) is easy to find, as is dried holy basil. But fresh holy basil starts to wilt almost from the moment you harvest it. Most stores don't regularly carry it because of its short shelf life.

So change of plans for this weekend. On Saturday night I will make pad prik gai bai krapow (stir-fried minced chicken with hot chiles and holy basil). I usually make it with ordinary Thai basil with some dried holy basil added to give it some of the distinctive bai krapow flavor. I don't get to make this dish very often with fresh holy basil.

-Paul W.

Today I am going to roast the other half of a six lb chicken I had. It has been in a mixture of low-fat buttermilk and Honey Crisp apple cider with Greek Seasoning since yesterday. I have a package of baby red potatoes that will be turned into a potato salad with green onions, creamed horseradish, low-fat sour cream, and a bit of whole mustard with fresh parsley. Fresh green beans to be cooked with onion, garlic, a bit of crispy apple smoked bacon, fresh rosemary, and homemade tomato sauce will be the veggie side. Tomorrow, I will add a tomato bread salad to the menu.

[Jenise]

Paul, I'm happy for you! I know that feeling of finding treasure. And Karen, your roast chicken sounds terrific. I frequently use apple juice/cider as a chicken marinade--the flavor is superb, and the way the skin browns to a deep mahogany brown is exciting.

No dinner plans here. A friend is coming over for lunch, and she just had a tonsilectomy, a fairly dangerous procecedure for adults. The surgery was on May 25th, and she had to stay in a hotel next to the hospital for a few days because one can apparently bleed to death in an instant should anything go wrong. Only today is she allowed to talk for the first time. So soft, low-acid food is on the menu: a cream of asparagus-leek soup with a side salad of butter beans, roasted artichoke hearts and a lesser amount of lightly marinated tomatoes for color.

Paul, I'm happy for you! I know that feeling of finding treasure. And Karen, your roast chicken sounds terrific. I frequently use apple juice/cider as a chicken marinade--the flavor is superb, and the way the skin browns to a deep mahogany brown is exciting.

No dinner plans here. A friend is coming over for lunch, and she just had a tonsilectomy, a fairly dangerous procecedure for adults. The surgery was on May 25th, and she had to stay in a hotel next to the hospital for a few days because one can apparently bleed to death in an instant should anything go wrong. Only today is she allowed to talk for the first time. So soft, low-acid food is on the menu: a cream of asparagus-leek soup with a side salad of butter beans, roasted artichoke hearts and a lesser amount of lightly marinated tomatoes for color.

I remember my tonsillectomy well. I was six years old. The anesthesia was a cloth soaked with ether over my nose, and I had to count backwards from 100. To this day, if I smell ether (such as starter fluid), it whisks me back to that day. Naturally, I was miserable when I got home to my grandmother's house. I remember lying on a couch under her crank telephone, listening to them eating spaghetti in the adjacent kitchen while I couldn't even swallow. And, for my benefit, my uncle kept saying loudly, "This spaghetti is sure good!"

Fast forward to when my youngest brother had a tonsillectomy. After he came home, he was discovered bleeding profusely and had to return to the hospital.