What's Cooking (Take Four)

Yesterday was meatloaf, tonight will be sole, tomorrow may be ribeye (I picked up a couple that were so cheap, I think someone goofed on the prices).

[Jenise]

Karen, I would love that salad.

[Jenise]

Marinating on my counter right now are two approximately one-pounder turkey thighs. They're Mary's Air-Chilled and the marinade is white wine, sage and a powdered mixture for making a French Vinaigrette from Penzey's brand which also makes a really nice seasoning salt for something like this. Later, I'll roast them and serve them with mashed potatoes and a divine gravy crafted from the leftover marinade and pan juices. Can't wait!

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm going to a birthday party. I'm the honoree so not supposed to bring anything, but I think I'll take a room temp salad of marinated, grilled, sliced tri-tip with a fresh cherry tomato and rosemary vinaigrette. Tomorrow I'm making a prime rib just for Bob and I.

Neighbor brought over peaches from his tree this morning. Yum! So I made breakfast with peach pancakes.

... peach pancakes.

Do you like to put the peaches in the batter or on top of the pancakes?

The recipe I used had the small-diced peaches inside the batter, as well as yogurt.

I will be making Thai sua rong hai (crying tiger beef). You gotta love those colorful dish names.

-Paul W.

I've decided to postpone the crying tiger beef and do Sichuan dry-fried beef (ganbian niu rou) instead, with half of a two-pound flank steak. The other half will become crying tiger beef sometime next week.

-Paul W.

I have three center-cut, bone-in pork chops seasoned with Poultry Seasoning, salt, and pepper sitting in the Braiser, topped with thick slices of onion, and red and gold bell peppers. Farro is in the empty spaces surrounding the chops. Later, I will add a sauce made from Bianco Dinapoli whole, peeled tomatoes in juice, a
delicious California-grown tomato mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon, dried Turkish Oregano, and salt.
It is pepper, zucchini, and tomato season at Farmer's Market. Today I picked up a basket of Italian Long Sweet Red Chile Peppers, Shishito peppers, a yellow squash, and a small zucchini. These will be roasted along with three tomatoes from last week that were getting wrinkled. It was seasoned with Aleppo pepper, pink lava salt, olive oil, fresh garlic, and oregano.

[Jenise]

I don't have a meal plan yet for tonight. Last night we had leftover enchilada pie, chopped to bits and reheated to make it easy for Bob to eat. I'm not sure what I'll do yet tonight.

He would be happy to just eat cookies. On Wednesday I bought 14 rhick salad-plate sized cookies at the local C Shop--today, there are only three left.

Life is weird.

I don't have a meal plan yet for tonight.

Life is weird.

It sure is. And I don't have a meal plan, either. Plus, now two of my tongs are missing. I'm emptying the dishwasher from now on; I'm tired of things disappearing.

I'm making a pot of Creole seafood gumbo.

I have a few things to use from past cooking, so today I am making a soup for lunches this week. Celery, onion, garlic, sauteéd, then add the rest of the canned tomatoes and juice, roasted turkey breast, shredded, carrot, baby spinach, patty pan squash, crookneck, zucchini, chicken stock, vermouth, tossing in fresh rosemary, thyme, bundle. and may add a new spice mix after a taste test.

[Jenise]

Larry, if you see my white kitchen shears, pass them back over the fence. Been missing for a week now.

But at least so far as I know you haven't been greeted by fire engines, ambulance and half the town police force as you exited the grocery store with the three items you went in for, because she hallucinated that you were face down in the parking lot and called 911. Now THAT'S a treat.

Larry, if you see my white kitchen shears, pass them back over the fence. Been missing for a week now.

But at least so far as I know you haven't been greeted by fire engines, ambulance and half the town police force as you exited the grocery store with the three items you went in for, because she hallucinated that you were face down in the parking lot and called 911. Now THAT'S a treat.

Probably next to my waffle iron missing since December. She's drawn to the kitchen like a moth to a flame, which is where a lot of things disappear.

What an adventure for you! Haven't experienced that yet. Knock on wood.

I made Thai crying tiger beef yesterday. It's a very simple dish--flank steak marinated in thin soy sauce for an hour, grilled (preferably over charcoal; I used a gas grill), then s cut across the grain into thin slices. It is served with a sticky (glutinous) rice, slices of cucumber, and a dipping sauce of coriander seed, garlic, bird's eye chiles (15 of them), fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar, all pounded into a paste (I used a small food processor rather than a mortar and pestle and started with ground coriander). It's the bird's eye chiles that make this dish "hot enough to make a tiger cry". The cucumber and sticky rice help tame the fire.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

15 chiles! Them little suckers are hot! You definitely have a tolerance beyond the rest of us!

I haven't cooked the past two nights, ate at my brother's. His partner is a great cook and a southern boy who grew up on Seccession Island in South Carolina, site of the battle told in the movie Glory. He made the best home version of Eggplant Parmesan I've ever had one night, and a slightly less successful chicken Cordon Bleu the next.

Today it's back to my own grindstone. Not sure what just that it will be soft as Bobby doesn't have his chompers back yet.

Jenise, have you tried those boxed tomato and bell pepper soups? Trader Joe's has a good one and the Pacific brand is decent, as well. I doctor them up with seasoning, lemon, or lime juice, and even a good balsamic. They are great in a pinch, filling, and I have had compliments on them from guests. I keep one box on hand in the pantry. They come in handy in some other ways also. Might help you with Bob and you can eat what you want. Posting a link so you can see the varieties and reviews which are great!

https://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Organic- ... ln=73&th=1

[Jenise]

Karen, no I haven't. I tend to make my own everything as you know--but soup's a great idea. Toward that end Idid enlist Costco's help by buying some tubs of broccoli-cheddar soup which, like you, I've doctored. Last night I made chicken meatloaf with a wine-y gravy that I served over spinach taligatele (I am not spelling this right but I'm too spent on energy to figure it out). All soft enough for Bob to eat, though anything requiring the coordination to wield a knife, even on soft food, is getting problematic. We are getting closer to the day when the best food will be anything he can eat with a spoon.

I'll take a look at that link, though, thanks.

I am with you on making my food, however, when being a caregiver wears one down, it is helpful to have some good backups. If the listed ingredients are healthy and can be doctored, why not?
Your spoon reminded me of Gene. One day I noticed he was eating with a spoon, and he stopped using knives, and forks. I never said anything to him, but he managed fine with the spoon.

[Jenise]

Well that's exactly it, Karen. I need to make my own life easier so I can do more for Bob and carry the load of the things that Bob used to do. The shared excitement around a great dinner isn't what it used to be and I need more shortcuts. I do still avoid preservatives and don't consider much in the way of processed food to be healthy, but there are supplements for that. The important thing is to keep him fed. And the more calories, the better.

One of the two missing items today: a cork. I've been drinking a 2-liter bottle of cab, and I ALWAYS put the cork back in so it won't spill. Today, at dinner time, I discover the bottle sitting there12-24 hrs with no cork. Wonderful!

[Jenise]

Tonight: guests for dinner. Last minute invitations went out about 3:30. Rounded up two couples for cucumber pickles and gochujong nuts for appies, first course will be Iceberg lettuce with guacamole dressing followed by grillled cowboy steaks, mushroom and herb rice, and later some chocolates.