Imma do the things that i wanna do/I ain't got a thing to prove to you/I'll eat my candy with the pork and beans - Collards, green beans and chili

On Friday nights, the Boy is usually working late and we have dinner when he gets home at 9:30 or so. Sometimes I am quite sure of what I'm making and spend the evening working on it, timing things to get done just so. Or I pick something that is relatively easy, do all the pre-prep work, and start the cooking process just before he gets home. Last Friday I started poking around in the freezer around 4:00 with absolutely no idea what I might make. The things I found that piqued my interest were a package of ham for seasoning, some green beans and a bag of collard greens. So it was going to be a pot of ham, green beans and potatoes, and a batch of collards with onions and turkey bacon. The green beans were easy - dump the beans in a pot, dice up a big potato and add that, dump in the ham, add water, onion powder, salt and pepper, cover and cook for a couple of hours (the idea is NOT to have crisp, green beans here; this is slow cooked food). For the collards I heated some oil, and sauteed chopped onion and turkey bacon, added the greens, some seasonings and water just to the top of the greens. For good measure and a little spice, I also included about a 1/4 cup of my hot pepper vinegar. After the couple hours of cooking it mellowed to a nice little heat that was more flavor than burn.

As expected, the Boy rejected the collard greens outright. I had also thawed a couple of Italian sausages which I grilled and basted with some honey mustard. It was rather an odd Friday night dinner, but I enjoyed it.

I waited till rather late on Sunday to make a decision about dinner. A call to the Boy got me a request for "something warming." It had been a rainy, gloomy and cold (particularly for May) day and a big pot of something hot was a great idea. Chili seemed like an even better idea. Because I was too lazy to probe too far into the freezer, a stumble across a package of boneless beef short ribs became the meat basis for the chili. I think I've said before that every pot of chili I make is an adventure; they rarely taste exactly the same twice, and I'm okay with that. This time I had a bag of dried red beans which I cooked in the pressure cooker (seriously, if you cook beans, a pressure cooker is an absolute must - it takes less than 45 minutes to cook a pound of beans - no soaking, no pre-boil). Chopped onion (most of a large specimen), three cloves of garlic and the cubed short ribs were sauteed in some canola oil. Once the meat was done, I added two heaping teaspoons of cumin and about four tablespoons of chili powder and let that simmer a bit. I happened to have the remains of a small can of tomato paste in the refrigerator and in addition to that I used a big can of crushed tomatoes. I drained the beans and added them to the pot, seasoned with salt, pepper and several dashes of Valentina Extra Hot Sauce. To offset the acid of the tomatoes, I find a little bit of sugar (perhaps two tablespoons) works well to meld all the flavors together. Oh, and because I had an open bag, I popped in about a cup and a half of frozen corn.

It only got to cook for about an hour, and it was very good, but I suspect the next time we eat it (probably tomorrow) it will be even better.

Been down one time/been down two times/never going back again - The I've been a blogging slacker catch up post

Yesterday when I finally had a moment to write and I wasn't bone tired and brain dead (and the kittens weren't restricting my movements by being sweet little snugglebunnies), stupid Blogger was not working. What the heck was that about? So, I'm a little backed up on the food chronicling front.

As I've noted before, the Boy rarely asks for anything specific for me to cook, so when he does, I'm pretty quick to agree. The other day he vaguely requested "fish" so I got some salmon. I thought I wanted to make it on my new indoor grill, in the open position. My favorite way to eat salmon is with a teriyaki sauce and I had a bottle of some glaze/marinade and I was feeling lazy; a perfect combination. I wanted to try my hand (again) at some sort of fried rice (mine usually goes somewhat mushy), but again I had forgotten to buy white rice (I STILL don't have any - what's wrong with me?) and had to use brown. I cooked a batch in the pressure cooker (my favorite way to cook brown rice anyway), then let it cool a teeny bit; it would have been better to completely cool it, but there was no time. I sauteed some onion, chopped carrots, and some thawed frozen peas, then added the rice, some 'medium sweet' soy sauce and regular soy sauce. It was a bit of all right.

I can't even remember what we had for Meatless Monday, other than it was definitely meatless. Seriously, I cannot remember what we ate.

As usual on Tuesday, I guiltily crave a big chunk o' meat. And since it was horrifically warm outside, pork steaks and corn on the grill were just the ticket. I didn't marinate this go round, for lack of time, and possibly I noticed a bit of difference. Marinating in ale was better, for sure and I'll do it when I have time in the future. I had a big ass sweet potato so I stuck that in the microwave for 12 minutes and mashed it all up with some butter and pepper to go alongside.

Wednesday was another scorcher of a day. A day in which I worked outside till my skin was tingling and red. Have I mentioned the giant fever blister on my lip procured last week when I neglected to wear SPF lip balm for a mere two days? Anything I've eaten for the last seven or eight days has been tempered by this bastard. I'm sure it would have gone away faster had I not been in the sun every day since, but what's a working girl to do? At any rate, I was tired and cranky on Wednesday and didn't feel like cooking, nor eating anything hot. I believe that it was still 84F at 10pm that day. Ugh. Since the Boy had to go to the grocery store on his way home from work anyway,  I had him pick up a chunk of cheese, some shrimp and a baguette. Add a salad (with still more home grown arugula!) and we had a lovely summer dinner. Plus I got to use my new (to me) 70s apple-shaped cutting board. Gotta get vintage whenever you can.

Finally yesterday I was somewhat uninspired, and it had been another hot day. I had various ideas for dinner, but most of them required a shopping trip and that was out of the question as I wasn't going anywhere (which also means that Thai coconut red curry is on the menu as soon as I buy some coconut milk). Some talk on Facebook of pancakes and johnny cakes had me thinking of using the new grill as a griddle, so corn cakes with whole corn became the basis for dinner. I thawed some turkey burgers, crumbled them up and cooked the meat with cumin and chili powder, then added onion, poblano pepper and a big orange bell pepper and let it all cook together. It didn't look quite right at that point so I stirred in a bit of tomato paste and some water and let it simmer. It ended up rather tasty and the corn cakes were especially yum. The photo, however, has the lurid orange hue of a vintage 60s recipe booklet.

How, can he tell her he loves her/He, would just give his heart gladly - Steak and yellow rice

I didn't make any preparations for a Cinco de Mayo dinner (honestly, I didn't even think of it all day), but after I got a piece of sirloin out of the freezer to thaw, I eventually came around to making a yellow rice with corn and alcaparrado (pretty much my favorite briny product of all time). In the midst of making a salad, I came across a big poblano pepper that looked ripe for the grilling (along with some sweet onion).

I love yellow rice and I was a little distressed that I only had risotto rice, but I decided to use it anyway, albeit without the risotto-making process. I heated some olive oil and added a little chunk of achiote and cooked it a bit until it mostly dissolved and turned the oil bright orange yellow. I added the rice and thoroughly coated it with the oil, then chucked in some frozen corn before adding water about two fingers above the surface of the rice (a trick learned from Daisy Martinez) along with some salt. I turned the heat to medium low, put on the lid and left it alone for about 15 minutes. At that point it was almost done; I added a couple of heaping spoonfuls of alcaparrado, put the lid back on and let it cook for another 5 minutes or so.

The steak was simple, as usual; I sprinkled it with Durkee beef seasoning and stuck in in the new grill. Sadly I overcooked it a bit, but it still tasted nice. Just not as nice as it could have, though the addition of grilled poblano and onion on top was a nice touch.

Meatless Monday - White pizza and pork steaks

I  knew several days ago what I wanted for Meatless Monday this week; a repeat of the ricotta and roasted tomato pizza we had a few weeks ago. I strongly encourage you to, if you have any inclination to cook at all, make this pizza. It's incredibly simple (remember, you can use a pre-made crust, or a refrigerated Pillsbury crust, a box mix or whatever kind you'd like and is easiest for you) and seriously delicious. All you have to do is thickly slice a couple, three, roma tomatoes and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350F, drizzle the slices with olive oil and sprinkle with sea or kosher salt, reduce the oven temp to 300F and roast for  45 minutes to an hour. You want some browning/caramelization on the slices. In the meantime, prepare your crust (even if that just means popping open a can), spread about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil around the crust, then top with about 2/3 of a container of ricotta (I guiltily used the whole milk variety because the richness tastes so damn good), spread evenly across the crust. Top with 8 oz. or so of mozzarella or a pizza cheese blend. I also sprinkled with a bit of an Italian herb blend, for a little extra flavor. Bake at 425F until the top is slightly browned and bubbly. Really, do this. And oh yes, for a little extra ooomph, after baking I scattered some rocket leaves on top. I'm still getting a little thrill from growing this stuff from seed. My food gardening exploits are usually big fails, so it's exciting to be eating stuff I grew!

Last night was all about monster pork steaks. I marinated them for hours in coriander ale along with spicy steak seasoning. I'm not completely certain you can really taste the difference when pork steaks are marinated, but they did seem to cook better on the grill. Alongside I sauteed then steamed some onion, broccoli and carrots with a little garlic and soy sauce.

A very meaty Sunday, necessitating today's meatless Monday.

Kokedama or string gardens or just plain cute

I'm not sure where I came across the idea for kokedama or string gardens today, but there is was, in my head, eating away at my resolve to just stay home on such an icky, gloomy day. I researched materials for making them the official, traditional way, then decided to go an easier route that seemed to work for people just as well. I gathered: smallish plants, sphagnum moss, sheet moss, and a couple of different types of twine. Oh, and kittens to "help."

I started by taking the plant out of its pot and shaping the soil and roots into a more spherical shape. The sphagnum moss was looser than I expected, so I had to sort of chuck it on the ball of soil and quickly wrap some of the twine around it to secure it in place.

Then, I shaped large pieces of the sheet moss around the ball, and secured with more wrapping of the twine. Once it seemed tight and secure, I knotted it and that's all there was to it.

I think that if you don't like the idea of the visible twine, you can use cotton thread that matches the moss. The finished products:

Oregano, that is going to hang outside.

Irish moss, also hanging outside.

And the two houseplants that shall be kept on saucers.

The oregano and rosemary, hanging outside.

I have high hopes for these pretty little green objects. I hope they flourish.

What I want/I want now/And it's a whole lot more/Than anyhow - Panini, tuna casserole and tiny pies!

Here we go with another catch up post...

A couple weeks ago my George Foreman grill, which I have loved and used thoroughly for a few years, just up and quit on me. I have relied on that grill for cooking steaks, chops, fish and more, particularly in the colder months so I had to have a replacement. I did a little amount of research and decided to look for a new grill that would be a little more versatile so I settled on a panini-maker style and found a GE model for a reasonable price. So far so good, though I've only made a couple of different sandwiches on it so far. But it does have temp control and it also opens flat to be used as a griddle or an open grill, so I'm happy.

The Boy actually requested a panini the other day (actually a Cuban sandwich, which has still to be provided - stars must align for the right ingredients to be about for a Cuban sandwich), so I finally made him one with leftover grilled chicken, tomatoes, and provolone cheese. Oh and pumpernickel bread seemed like just the ticket. Some corn on the cob on sale inspired me to make a roasted corn and tomato salad. I didn't want to fire up the grill just for the corn but the gas burners on the stove did a mighty fine job. Once the roasted corn was cool I cut it off the cob, mixed in some halved grape tomatoes, chopped onion, and drizzled on some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The corn was almost obscenely sweet; actually a bit too sweet for salad, but good.

 

Yesterday evening I didn't have any ideas for dinner, but was willing to make anything the Boy requested. I think he kind of hates when I ask, though I figure if I keep doing it, he will eventually get used to it and actually have a list of things he'd like me to make again. I was thinking of an evening spent in the kitchen whipping up whatever it was he wanted and what did he come up with? Tuna casserole. I have no objection to tuna casserole, but it's something I'd think of more when I'm in a hurry or out of fresh ingredients. But hey, I asked and he answered, so I felt obligated. I couldn't go the traditional route, as I don't generally have any canned cream of mushroom soup (or any other canned soup for that matter) on hand. Instead, I made a bechamel and added a quarter cup or so of grated parmesan to sub for the soup. I mixed cooked egg noodles, sweet peas, canned tuna and the sauce, and put in a baking dish, topping it with French fried onions, a little more parmesan and some jack cheese. A quick turn under the broiler in the toaster oven (have I gushed how much I LOVE my vintage $4 toaster oven?) and it was ready. I added a salad and we had a dinner that made the Boy and me happy.

Yesterday there was a rummage sale in a school just around the corner and we ran over as soon as I got home from work and supervised the mowing of the front yard (the Boy doesn't always notice growing things that are decidedly not grass). At one half hour from closing, I suspect that most stuff was sold and gone, but we managed to find a few things: four tiny pie tins, a teeny roaster (it would barely fit a whole chicken but it might work for two game hens), an apple shaped cutting board with a '60s tile inset, and a few books, including a book of Spanish fairy tales.

Since I had tiny pie pans, I had to make tiny pies, right? I happened to have a refrigerated pie crust left over from Easter quiche and today I found a container of blackberries for only a dollar, so that decided two of the pies. I love the flavor of blackberries but I cannot abide the seeds, so the Boy gets those. I also got an apple to make the other two for me. To both fruits I added lemon zest, a bit of lemon juice, nutmeg and a bit of corn starch for thickening. For the blueberry I used white sugar and for the apple I added cinnamon and brown sugar. I didn't have enough pastry to make top crusts, so I very lazily cut strips from the leftover dough to make lattice tops. They are terribly sloppy and certainly not uniform, but I never claimed that presentation is my thing. Hopefully they taste good.

We were talking/about the love we all could share/when we find it/To try our best to hold it there/with our love - Tacos and grilled chicken

I don't have a lot to say about these last two meals, really. Earlier this week I had no idea what I wanted to make for dinner and I started thinking about what was in the freezer, in the pantry, and in the refrigerator. I realized I could make tacos, albeit with French lentils rather than any other beans. So, I browned some ground beef with chili powder. When it was cooked, I added about a tablespoon of masa and little bit of water to make a thick sauce around the meat. Because I was feeling lazy, even about assembling the tacos, I mixed the cooked lentils into the beef. We had soft flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, grated sharp cheddar, and homemade salsa verde. They were pretty satisfying.

On another day, I didn't have an overt cravings, but the Boy was headed to the grocery store so I looked up the Schnucks add online and saw that whole chickens, cut up, were on sale for a very charming 99 cents a pound. As it was finally a nice day, weatherwise, it had to be grilled chicken, and unlike usual, I wanted it slathered in barbecue sauce. The Boy has an aversion to getting his hands messy while eating, but sometimes I just make him deal with it. I also made a quick potato salad (steamed red potatoes, diced onion, celery, mayo, salt and pepper) and grilled some corn on the cob. Really, there's nothing like barbecued chicken. Sticky and delicious.

I know you respect me/You won't reject me/And the arrow of our love is straight and true - grilled steak, peanut sauce roasted potatoes

It was such a fleeting instance that I can't even remember what put me in mind of spicy peanut sauce today, but suddenly I knew that it would make an appearance at dinner, somehow. Since it was, finally, a nice day with warm temperatures plus no rain, I wanted to cook something on the grill. After rooting around in the freezer, I pulled out a piece of sirloin. Mmmmm...beef! I usually want some kind of potatoes with steak so I started thinking about how I could incorporate peanut sauce into a potato dish. A quick Google of "potatoes and peanut sauce" didn't really return any results that were relevant (most of the recipes seemed to be made with sweet potatoes) except for a link to a blog entry about a Thai salad. It involved many more ingredients than I wanted or needed, but it did inspire me a little. First I made a little bed of greens (hydroponic lettuce and rocket/arugula from my own container gardens - woo hoo, I love using stuff I've grown!), then topped the greens with potatoes that I had cubed, tossed with a little canola oil and steak seasoning and then roasted at 425F for a short while. After that I drizzled on peanut sauce that I had made from a couple tablespoons of chunky peanut butter, rice vinegar, sesame oil, siracha, garlic and some hot water (until it got to the desired consistency).

The steak was simple and the corn even more so. I sprinkled the steak with grill seasoning (I love all those litle jars of grill seasoning mixes, but the steak seasoning is really, really good) and threw it on he grill. I like my corn on the cob as simple as possible, so I just husk them and but the naked cobs right on the grill. I like the bit of charring that gets on the corn. It turns sweet corn so delicious with this mixed taste of traditionally cooked corn on the cobb with an almost popcorn taste.

I'm so glad the rain has finally stopped, though I fear it shall be back tomororw. At any rate, it was nice to see some blue sky today. Perhaps there will be more grilling tomorrow.