What's Cooking (Take Two!)

[Jenise]

Ah, enjoy your rainy day...I can only wish!

Jo Ann is to be even more jealous of, they've had thunder and lightning down there!

Eggplant rollatini, homemade pasta and crusty bread.

Ah, enjoy your rainy day...I can only wish!

Jo Ann is to be even more jealous of, they've had thunder and lightning down there!

We have had dry lightening in the mountains causing fires. Nothing like So. CA is having, however.

It is cool and rainy day. My son is just back from work in Switzerland and we are making home made pasta for Bolognese meat sauce.

Tonight is a spatchcocked organic chicken done Tuscan style with lots of lemon juice, zest, garlic, rosemary, evoo, surrounded by baby potatoes dug up Saturday morning. All will go on the grill to roast. Corn on the cob and a greens salad with veggies as sides.

The thunder, lightening and cooling off caused by the rain has been wonderful. The last few days, as a result, have been perfect for me with periodic sunshine. Last night I celebrated the return of sane weather with comfort food of smothered chicken, spaghetti squash, black-eyed pea and kale salad and hushpuppies. For dessert I made Nanaimo bars. Yum!

[Jenise]

My Bellingham wine tasting group is coming over for dinner tonight. Three of the guys are bringing their kids. Since the theme is Italian wine, I'm making a big batch of Spaghetti and Meatballs. Will also make some crostini for an appetizer, and guests will bring the rest.

I'm cooking Stracotto (Italian Style Pot Roast) tonight. It has been on my mind for a long time now, but hey, it is summer and hot and I could not find the recipe I loved. I picked up a copy of Cooks Illustrated last week and there it was, and now I have to make it. Serving it with roasted garlic and chive mashed potatoes. Young carrots roasted with a little evoo, finished with a drizzle of almond oil, roasted pistachio nuts and fresh tarragon. I ordered a 3 1/2 lb. chuck eye roast from the butcher, boned and tied and I am on my way out to pick it up. Roast cooks for 4 hours at 300° Yum! House should smell wonderful later today.

I ordered a 3 1/2 lb. chuck eye roast from the butcher, boned and tied...

See? Who needs those bones, anyway?

I ordered a 3 1/2 lb. chuck eye roast from the butcher, boned and tied...

See? Who needs those bones, anyway?

I do, and I asked the meat cutter to give my the bone...after all the meat is weighed with the bone in. It is in my freezer!

Chinese Chicken Salad tonight with a yummy Asian dressing, and a crusty bread slathered with butter infused with Thai basil and galangal.

[Robin Garr]

Caprese with garden tomatoes and basil, EVOO and fresh mozzarella made by Lotsa Pasta, a local shop.

Beautiful picture Robin.....are they from your garden?

Tonight at our casa is beef enchiladas made from local beef, with my roasted hatch chiles, black olives, sharp cheddar, and a home made red sauce. A big green salad with our tomatoes on the side.

[Robin Garr]

Beautiful picture Robin.....are they from your garden?

Karen, Mary has been having horrible luck with the garden this year, and incredibly, except for some cherry tomatoes, our tomatoes have not ripened yet, more than a month past schedule.

These are the next-best thing, though ... they came from the big garden at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, where they sell the produce as a fund-raiser after church on Sundays (and, one weekend a month, give them to hungry families at the food pantry). So they came from a place we're connected with, organically grown heirlooms grown with our hands involved in the work.

Last night's dinner was pad prik gai bai krapao (Thai stir-fried chicken with bird chiles and holy basil).

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Fresh Dungeness Crab. Caught my limit today thanks to a local pal who knew our boat was in the shop offering us a mercy ride.

[Robin Garr]

Spicy Cajun-style gumbo with garden okra and tomatoes.

[Jenise]

I just threw a chuck roast on the stove to braise with just salt and fresh bay leaves. No idea what I'm going to turn it into, but beef-potato-green chile tacos (for textural complexity as well as lowering the % of animal-related calories) are on the short list.

Organic lamb chops with evoo, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary on the grill. Trying our first green beans on the grill too in a mix of evoo, cumin, smoked paprika, and charred. Orzo with a mix of oven roasted eggplant, red and gold bell peppers, red onion, garlic slivers, and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette at the finish.

Yesterday was paella night! Paired admirably with a 2012 Robert Sinskey Vin Gris, it almost made us forget the smoke blowing into town from the fire up in the Tahoe National forest!

Had to finish up the home made stringozzi so took some chicken gizzard ragu out of the freezer and made a serving for two. Still with lots of fresh multicolored cherry tomatoes and Japanese cucumbers so some type of salad incorporating these elements is daily on the table.
Tomorrow zucchini lasagna - grilled thin slices of zucchini layered with cheeses - taleggio, parm , herbs and simple marinara. Much easier than pasta lasagnas.

We smoked St Louis ribs again and they came out much better this time; tho we didn't change anything! For sides we had Farro Salad, and Wax Beans straight from the garden in butter and fine herbs. Washed it down with Harpoon Oktoberfest Brew. Yum!

Tonight we had a simple salad of fresh figs and grilled halloumi cheese on arugula with a ginger-honey vinaigrette and some pistachios sprinkled on top. Very tasty.

Tonight it is chicken leg, thighs and wings with a spicy rub, cooked on the grill. Sangre de Toro beans, with onion, garlic, red jalapeño, chipotle powder, smoked paprika, Mexican Oregano, my pickled banana peppers, and fire roasted tomatoes. Also, Romano Beans quickly cooked with evoo, lots of smashed garlic and fresh rosemary. I have lots of beans in the house right now!