What's Cooking (Take Four)

I wish some of that rain would come this way...I have several chicken-type soups in the freezer. I make them in the summer to have for winter. Enjoy the rain!

[Jenise]

Karen, I wish you'd get rain too. Sure would help the fire situation.

Funny, by dinner time I decided to add whole mild red chiles to the broth and turn it into Arroz con Pollo. The leftovers will be great grazing food for Bob who will have to feed us/himself later today after my eye surgery. Really good dish--I'm not actually sure I've ever made Arroz con Pollo specifically before, though rice with chicken and choose a flavor is something I've always enjoyed.

Good luck on the eye surgery.
I was happy with a new recipe last night for chan chan yaki (salmon with miso butter). Saute cabbage/onions/carrots in dutch oven for a few minutes, put miso-butter cover fish on top, put more miso butter around on veggies, add a little sake, cover. Incredbily simple, 30 minutes start to finish, delicious.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... ter-salmon

Yes, Jenise, eyes crossed... I mean... fingers crossed for a good outcome!

I am using the rest of the chicken breast to make a couple of tacos tonight. Red lettuce, avocado, tomato, and cuke will dress the taco with Lindy's Red Taco Sauce. I am also sauteeing Broccoli Rabe, Baby bok choy, and green onions.

[Jenise]

Good luck on the eye surgery.
I was happy with a new recipe last night for chan chan yaki (salmon with miso butter). Saute cabbage/onions/carrots in dutch oven for a few minutes, put miso-butter cover fish on top, put more miso butter around on veggies, add a little sake, cover. Incredbily simple, 30 minutes start to finish, delicious.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... ter-salmon

That looks delicious and I'll probably do that with the next piece of salmon I buy. But that's not too much sugar? Or just enough to balance the miso, it's close to 1:1?

The Costco chicken carcass is bare so I'll be making room in the freezer by turning a bunch of saved wing tips, bones, etc. into chicken stock this weekend. I'll probably throw in some fresh chicken feet (our supermarket calls them chicken paws) for good measure.

-Paul W.

That looks delicious and I'll probably do that with the next piece of salmon I buy. But that's not too much sugar? Or just enough to balance the miso, it's close to 1:1?

It says 3-4 teaspoons, I did a scant 3, as I go on low end of sugar at all times. Sweetness definitely there but not overwhelming at all. Unsure what you mean re 1:1- 1/3 cup miso, 3 tablespoons butter, 3 teaspoons sugar
There was leftover miso butter, last night cut a large zucchini into planks (and a pattypan into discs), crosshatched them, and smeared butter in/on. Enjoyed, sugar helped.

[Jenise]

Well, adding equal amounts of sugar to salt tends to produce balance. My thinking was that the amount of sugar specified plus salt in the miso and butter would be about equal, so maybe it wouldn't seem as sweet as I thought at first. Not that one has to follow directions...

Well, adding equal amounts of sugar to salt tends to produce balance. My thinking was that the amount of sugar specified plus salt in the miso and butter would be about equal, so maybe it wouldn't seem as sweet as I thought at first. Not that one has to follow directions...

Of course depending on the type of miso, you also get sweetness there.

I'm having blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and peaches with balsamic for breakfast. I think I need a slice of cheese..

[Jenise]

I was busy in the kitchen all day yesterday preparing my terrine for Saturday's annual terrine event. Today I'll finish it. But such was the task yesterday (meat grinding, poaching, assembly, bain maries, clarifying consomme, setting aspics--just about every technique in the book) that my eyes were just too tired by dinner time. Bob got leftover arroz con pollo, and I just ate a tomato and a bell pepper--no salt, no fat, just great nourishment.

No plans for today yet.

Pan-sauteed sole with brown butter sauce, mini-Yukon Gold potatoes, peas. Simple, but tasty.

Today is an Ottolenghi recipe that I love. Chicken pieces cooked in Arak or Ouzo, olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, grain mustard, and brown sugar. Orange slices, thyme, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper with a garnish of parsley. A side of Jasmine rice mixed with a sauce made with cilantro, onion, green onions, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, and olive oil. The salad is a mix of fresh corn, sweet onion, cherry tomatoes, and avocado, with a dressing of sour cream, fresh lime juice, chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chives, salt, and pepper
Comfort food for me as it has been a stressful week getting a new roof, loud noise starting at 6 am until 1:30 pm has me and my dog stressed. Dog does not understand what is going on, she is small but a great watchdog dog and all those people up on HER roof are totally unacceptable..she is right under my feet all day long!

[Jenise]

Karen, I don't have the Ottolenghi books but may just have to break down and buy. I'm so impressed with the dishes you and many friends produce from them. His mediterranean/vegetarian slant really speaks to me.

Today's the 21st annual Great Western All Terrine dinner at Bill's. Will report back!

Is he still decorating the plate with two olives and a gherkin?

Karen, I don't have the Ottolenghi books but may just have to break down and buy. I'm so impressed with the dishes you and many friends produce from them. His mediterranean/vegetarian slant really speaks to me...

Food is clearly very interesting and vegetable-forward. And maybe up your alley if you like 'projects'. I always found his recipes too involved and with too many ingredients for my sensibilities. But they make nice photos!

I am not as concerned about the amount of ingredients as I am about adding good seasoning, color, and recipes that do not take hours to make. I have Jerusalem and Plenty. Yes, there are lots of veggies, which is OK. The chicken recipe I made yesterday is a one-pan recipe.
https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes/ ... tines-arak

I have added potatoes to this dish and bell peppers a few times. All are good. Yesterday, it was served with Cilantro Lime Jasmine Rice,

Karen, I don't have the Ottolenghi books but may just have to break down and buy. I'm so impressed with the dishes you and many friends produce from them. His mediterranean/vegetarian slant really speaks to me.

Today's the 21st annual Great Western All Terrine dinner at Bill's. Will report back!

I like the idea of Ottolenghi but not the reality as much. I have three of his books and find them to be needlessly complicated and time consuming. Even his book “Simple” (which presumably was a response to my kind of beefing) routinely has 10-12 ingredients per recipe

Here is another link to the recipe with excellent photos.
https://www.domesticgoddesswrites.com/b ... nd-oranges

Summer lunch today: one Striped German, one Purple Brandywine, and one Green Zebra, sprinkled with flaky sea salt and plated with half a La Tur cheese. My favorite cold lunch.

I'm going to a wine dinner tonight but making Chicken Bohemian for Pumpkin (and for leftovers): thighs and drumsticks braised in a sweet-sour orange sauce with caraway seeds.

[Jenise]

Is he still decorating the plate with two olives and a gherkin?

They were cherry tomatoes not olives, but same idea. And no, this year he didn't!

[Jenise]

Karen, I love the look/sound of that chicken dish. I love those flavors--printed it out, will try it soon.

Last night we had lamb shoulder chops with grilled squash and my first bowl of lemon cucumbers this season. Heaven! I would have happily foregone everything else to eat the whole bowl myself. I just tossed them with mint, garlic, oil and vinegar.

Tonight we're having friends over. I'm making ribs (to demonstrate/teach the method of oven-roasting without smoking to a cooking/clueless friend) and will throw together a couple salads.

[Jenise]

Now I've done it. On Monday evening as I was preparing to take food out to the table for our guests, I saw this 120 foot long, 30 feet tall-above-the-water-line yacht on approach to our marina, which we're only two houses away from the entrance of. It very recently moved into the neighborhood marina where the average large boat is 28 feet. It belongs to a chocolate magnate from Vancouver, and I've only ever seen it coming in like that once before. I wanted a picture, and I rushed for my cell phone but tripped, landing on the thick square tubular frame of a Barcelona chair and ripping the hell out of my upper lip and left cheek.

I had big plans to gather the groceries to try Karen's Ottolenghi recipe last night, but I spent the day at the hospital instead. I'm now full of stitches, and there are many lacerations inside my mouth as well. All drinks have to be delivered via a straw and I cannot tolerate salt or acidity. Even water stings.

SHIT SHIT SHIT.

Not sure how I'm going to get through this. In normal times, not that my life is normal anymore, I struggle to find the balance of low calorie for me and high calorie for Bob. It just got a whole lot harder.