What's Cooking (Take Two!)

The B sprouts looked so lovable that I had to adopt them, but as it turned out, they were little but not tender. I had to cook them to the point of funky and they were still chewy. But I loved the idea of them.

I love baby veggies Robin and buy a lot of them at the FM. For some reason the growers here grow Broccoli but not Brussels Sprouts. I tried growing them one year and apparently aphids love them. I wonder if the ones you bought are a type of sprout, or, if simply picked much too early?

I'm in love with the Pak Choi (looks like baby Bak Choi) and want to grow more of those this year....they are addicting. I grew them last year with great success, bugs do not like them and they are a power house of antioxidants.

[Robin Garr]

I wonder if the ones you bought are a type of sprout, or, if simply picked much too early?

I'm in love with the Pak Choi (looks like baby Bak Choi) and want to grow more of those this year....they are addicting. I grew them last year with great success, bugs do not like them and they are a power house of antioxidants.

Karen, I wish I knew more! The Somali farmers were friendly and full of smiles, and soooo proud of their veggies, but there was a serious language barrier working there.

The sprouts did not appear immature, though. They were tiny but fully formed, looked just like full-grown sprouts with a full complement of leaves, but tiny as peas. Probably, now that I think of it, it was a mature, miniature variety. I just don't know if there would have been a better way to cook them, but the gentle, long moist braise that serves the limas so well, puffing them up tender and filling them with flavor, didn't work for the teeny sprouts at all.

Maybe I'll Google, and if I learn anything, check back in with the Somalis next week.

Dinner last night was gaeng khiao wan nu (Thai green curry with beef), made with Thai eggplant and green pepper, with some fresh Thai basil (bai horapa). Served with jasmine rice.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yum, Paul.

Tonight I'm doing a braise called Ligurian Chicken. Involves olives, tomatoes, anchovies, etc. Kind of Puttanesca-ish. I'm also starting a spatchcocked chicken in a marinade of buttermilk, garlic, rosemary and maple syrup that I'll roast tomorrow night. The result should be chicken with a skin like thin glass. I'll use up the rest of the buttermilk to make little individual buttermilk spoon breads and serve that with fried cabbage. Can't wait!

Funny, read your post for dinner tonight Jenise. I just made a marinade for pork chops we are grilling, which has honey, apple cider vinegar, balsamic, fresh rosemary, garlic, evoo. I also had Napa cabbage to use up and have it sliced up along with some onion and garlic and have plans to fry it with crushed red pepper. I will have another side, not sure what yet.

[David M. Bueker]

Latest thing was a take on ratatouille. I adjusted a bit by adding some diced chicken for protein, and using my fresh, home made tomato/basil sauce in place of diced tomatoes. I figured since I had made the sauce less than 24 hours prior it was close enough.

[Jenise]

Funny, read your post for dinner tonight Jenise. I just made a marinade for pork chops we are grilling, which has honey, apple cider vinegar, balsamic, fresh rosemary, garlic, evoo. I also had Napa cabbage to use up and have it sliced up along with some onion and garlic and have plans to fry it with crushed red pepper. I will have another side, not sure what yet.

I love pork and rosemary! I'm also a fan of sweet heat--my go-to pork chop marinade (we especially like the wafer thin cuts for this--more flavored surface) is soy sauce+Chinese chile oil+sugar+rosemary. Divine.

Using leftover pork chops tonight and making a Chinese Fried Rice dish. Serving with pickled cukes and red onion. Story about this dish is that when Gene returned home from the Navy he had lost his tastes for chicken, beans, and a few other things. After we married, I knew I could fix that, so asked him what dishes he really like traveling in Japan, China, etc. He said he fell in love with a Chinese Fried Rice dish, but could not tell me what was in it, except rice! So, I tried different ones, created and recipes, and finally hit on the one he remembered.

[Jenise]

Funny to consider the aversions military food can create for you. I just asked Bob if he has any aversions from his stint which took place long before I knew him. The answer was forceful and immediate: Chipped beef on toast. Which I've never tried to serve him, hence my not hearing about this before. Good on you for persevering.

Dinner tonight is hamburgers. We haven't had our green chile burger fix yet, so tonight's the night.

Btw, Karen, my chiles were mediums and they're perfect mediums. Not hotter than expected for a medium, and certainly not hot in the way they were two years ago. I can load up a lot of green chile flavor and have a good, lasting chile heat just the way I want it. Tonight's burgers? Four chiles each.

Jenise, mine were medium, as well, and like you, I think they are great. Just the right amount of heat. I noticed yesterday they have them at .69 cents a lb. now. They are the hot ones, however. The hot ones do not sell as well as the medium because they always have those left at the end.

Funny to consider the aversions military food can create for you.

The "Ham and Motherf*ckers" C-Rats put me off lima beans for life. For me it is waaaay beyond aversion.
Shit On a Shingle ranks right up there as a close second. My step-dad stopped ordering SOS, his favorite, when we went out for breakfast because I couldn't sit at the same table as he ate that vomit.

I just asked Gene about Shit on a Shingle and he said it was OK. He was on a destroyer during the Korean War. When the weather was bad, the meals were crappy, but usually they were not that bad. His complaint was that chicken was served almost raw and they ate way too many beans. When we got married he told me, he did not want to eat chicken or beans ever again. Since I never take NO for an answer it was all I needed to become a very good home cook. Now he loves chicken, beans and yes, he will even eat lima beans. I never knew about chipped beef but it sounds awful.

I just asked Gene about Shit on a Shingle and he said it was OK.

Karen-
I'm confused. SOS is creamed Chipped beef on toast, thought Gene hated chipped beef??(Maybe the Navy had a different riff on the dish?)
BP

I just asked Gene about Shit on a Shingle and he said it was OK.

Karen-
I'm confused. SOS is creamed Chipped beef on toast, thought Gene hated chipped beef??(Maybe the Navy had a different riff on the dish?)
BP

Don't think so, not sure where you got that idea. Just mentioned it to him tonight.

Pasta sauced with those shishito peppers, chopped and fried with garlic, olive oil, parsley and shrimp. Washed down with some Albarino. A quick put me together.

I just asked Gene about Shit on a Shingle and he said it was OK.

Karen-
I'm confused. SOS is creamed Chipped beef on toast, thought Gene hated chipped beef??(Maybe the Navy had a different riff on the dish?)
BP

Don't think so, not sure where you got that idea. Just mentioned it to him tonight.

Sorry, Got Jenise's Bob and your Gene mixed up. Like I said, I'm easily confused.

FWIW - When I was a kid, my Mom made creamed chipped beef on toast occasionally, and I liked it. However, when I was in the Marines, creamed beef was a mess hall staple, but it was made with ground beef, not dried, chipped beef, and more resembled sausage gravy that is often served over biscuits.

[Robin Garr]

However, when I was in the Marines, creamed beef was a mess hall staple, but it was made with ground beef, not dried, chipped beef, and more resembled sausage gravy that is often served over biscuits.

When I was in the Air Force, probably around the same era, we called the "mess hall" the "dining hall." Flyboys were pretentious that way.

I'm pretty sure that SOS was available, but nobody other than overweight old NCOs ever chose it.

[Jenise]

I just asked Gene about Shit on a Shingle and he said it was OK.

Karen-
I'm confused. SOS is creamed Chipped beef on toast, thought Gene hated chipped beef??(Maybe the Navy had a different riff on the dish?)
BP

You're confusing me and Karen. It's my Bob who named SOS.

This week while on a trip to our local grain mill, I came across a display of BBQ sauces made in CA. The Peach, Jalapeño combo caught my eye. It is awesome, with just the right amount of smoky flavor. So I am putting it on chicken legs, thighs and wings today for a trip to the grill tonight. Chicken has been marinating in buttermilk and Tabasco since yesterday, and is sitting in the fridge now to air dry the skin a little. Along with that is a cheesy cauliflower dish, with the addition of Jalapeño and Serrano peppers, garlic, shallots, and a combination of very sharp cheddar and Parmesan cheeses. This has a wheat Panko crumbs, and butter topping. On the grill will also be Italian peppers from our garden,coated with a little evoo and salt, getting a nice char. To brighten this up will be a baby spinach salad, with mandarin orange slices, red onion, and blue cheese.

I just asked Gene about Shit on a Shingle and he said it was OK.

Karen-
I'm confused. SOS is creamed Chipped beef on toast, thought Gene hated chipped beef??(Maybe the Navy had a different riff on the dish?)
BP

You're confusing me and Karen. It's my Bob who named SOS.

I aleady 'fessed up to that above. So, now who's confusing who(m)?

Dinner tonight will be Chinese stir-fried beef with snow pea pods.

-Paul W.

Today I am making Cuban roast pork and black beans for dinner.

[Jenise]

Jenise, mine were medium, as well, and like you, I think they are great. Just the right amount of heat. I noticed yesterday they have them at .69 cents a lb. now. They are the hot ones, however. The hot ones do not sell as well as the medium because they always have those left at the end.

I'd think so! One of the stores near us who has never had Hatch chiles before had them this year. Only hots, though. The store's central buyers don't understand the nuances of Hatch chiles at all. When I complained, the produce guy said "well just use less" as if the only reason to use them is to add heat. He clearly doesn't understand Hatch chiles either!