Cooking

Too many tomatoes from the garden. So I made some tomato butter to use instead of mayo. I regret not putting more of it on. But I’ll use the leftover for some pasta dish.

Life is crazy right now. I had to rebuild my cell phone today and my wife is craving comfort food with no nutritional value.

Since my wife had to work today I tried to make a nice dinner with no pretense of vegetables. I sous vide the lobster at 140f for 45 minutes (luckily I was given some frozen lobster tails a few weeks ago) and cooked the steak on a hot cast iron pan for about 6-7 minutes each side. We shared the single steak since we had so much lobster to eat.

Grilled on the flattop, burger inside bell pepper with provolone cheese and pulled pork on top. Dope.

I know it’s supposed to be baby ribs, but these were on discount so I knew I gotta do it!

Pati Jinich really opened my eyes to guacamole's full potential. In the states, a lot of food people have an incredibly rigid idea of what is and is not guac. Pati revealed to me that in Mexico there are no rules with guac. Makes the purists here freaking out look super silly. Guacamole is a mole. And like all moles, there are infinite variations, the only necessary thread being the aguacate.

Or if you’re from there, “Sahth Shawh Bah Pie.”

Plums at the farmers market looked great so we made a tart! Some almond extract and orange zest in the batter complements the plums beautifully.

I made muesli bars. I actually love these and will be making more and with variations to the recipe. So much cheaper and so much tastier than store-bought. I love knowing exactly what is in them. I think I few coconut flakes will go in to my next batch.

In the foreground you have microwave burritos. Cost per person $5 at the Family Dollar General Tree.

Two different protein based leftovers. Neither enough to make a meal for two out of. So I pan fried some potatoes as a base for each. Hers is the Italian roast beef on butter fried golden potatoes with late edition onions. Mine is chili and cheddar topped bacon grease fried golden potatoes with intentionally burnt early edition onions.

She said she is finally ready to eat rey food. But she wanted soft fries. Yesterday’s lesson with the golden potatoes told me they would be perfect.

Golden potatoes were only $2 for 5 lb. I should have used russet to make them more crispy. Lesson learned. But it is definitely tasty.

Braised twice, two day recipe with cooling and slicing. No rolling method, just straight-up. My ramen this week is going to be on point, if I can get the eggs just right.

Smoked for 1.5 hours then deep fried until crispy. Tossed them in a classic buffalo sauce and served with smoked green beans, tater tots and carrot sticks. Pic is pre-sauce, I think they look gorgeous fresh out the fryer.

What if you 1. Don’t drink 2. Need to get rid of your roommate’s beer for reasons?

Two kinds of home grown tomatoes from public library seeds, Italian seasoning from mostly the same source, scratch made semolina pasta, olive oil, a splash of lemon juice. Leftover bread, some butter. Some Parmesan I’ve been holding onto for 12 years.

Do you love to assemble a casserole? Is filling dumplings your happy place? Could you knead dough all day? What genre of dish is endlessly enticing to you?

I found clearance pork chops yesterday and today she wanted salad. We stopped by a farmers market and got some cucumbers to go with the carrots and red onion I already had. Some apple cider vinegar, olive oil and Italian seasoning and we have our salad.

I’ve been all out for a while and been mixing it as I go.

My buddy wanted to cook the end of their venison from last year, mostly consisted of ribs and shank. Popped them in the instant pot for an hour with mirepoix, aromatics, red wine and chicken stock. Strained the braising liquid to make gravy. Basic mashed potatoes and roasted honey thyme carrots. Came out delicious and quite economic with the gifted protein!

Sweet Italian sausage cooked with jalapenos, tomato sauce, sauteed bell peppers, mozzarella, pepperoni,

Using giant red wild caught pacific pawns in place of lobster. Quite a nice substitute at $7/lb at Freddy’s!

My wife is still unable to eat regular food after a week of ailments. So I’m left cooking things I want but she can’t eat even on a normal day.

Time to make more. This will make one cup for less than a dollar. Salt free and zero fillers.

Focaccia but with naan dough. What I paid for: pepperoni, flour yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, mozzarella, olive oil, sugar.

Three years ago I made some basic Italian beef with pureed tomatoes and red wine. I had leftovers and canned them for later.

Mashup of whatever I had in the fridge, which included pork broth, pork chops (diced), nappa cabbage, one very sad looking leek, and a misc mushroom mix.

It’s some of the best pasta I’ve ever had, up there with authentic carbonara and amatriciana. I should have cooked the sauce without a lid to thicken it more, but otherwise it went very well. I like the detail about mixing the pasta with cream, it makes it less sticky and gives a gentle background for the flavour of the sauce

Worked much better this time, as last time the meat was sliced thin, and therefore was difficult not to overcook. I used brioche buns to save time, since I didn’t feel like making marraquetas

Tastes 1:1 with the best braised beef noodle soup I’ve had at restaurants.

Yesterday’s leftover bread makes the best french toast.

Without the egg this is a vegan meal. It is difficult to overstate just how tasty shakshuka is.

I made dark roasted crunchy peanut butter with Achill Island sea salt tonight. Blend in the back to show that I didn’t just buy peanut butter and call it homemade.

“I’m probably not going to be that hungry for dinner. You should just make something for yourself.” Which meant I could use obscene amounts of cilantro, heat and something else. I decided on sardines.

Tried to make karaage today. Dipped in the delicious soy sauce based sauce.

I like to make meatloaf lately because I get free ground beef from a friend that has one of those monthly meat box plans.

I wanted tacos. I had tortillas and potatoes. I wanted latkes. I decided to make something that should not exist. Was it tasty? Yes. Was it a pleasant texture? Yes. Was it a bit much oil? Yes.

In the middle: egg salad, sliced tomato, ham salad. “Frosted” with whipped cream cheese. From Better Homes and Gardens cook book ca. 1968.

I heard you like badly fried rice around here?

Made shredded pork with garlic sauce (top left), salt and pepper tofu (top right) and some random cabbage recipe (bottom).

It’s that time of the month. Chicken and dashi based broth shoyu ramen style. Kids were delighted.

Doing these on a pizza steel in my oven (cast iron technically), getting okay results. But if you leave it a minute too long, they’re crispbread. It’s literally and figuratively touch and go. Sure beats the stuff at Asda though, say that much!

Posting another “fried rice” as is again!

Guest starring, “Whoops, I forgot to take a picture first!” levels of crema.

The pantry cleanup continues with baked potatoes as the whole meal. This started with pierced potatoes slathered in bacon grease and salt and moving the air fryer outside so I wasn’t heating up the house.

It was a little too strong and sweet this time, so I dialed down the hibiscus and sugar for next time

Slow toasted pork tenderloin, instant potatoes, corn and pepper sauce. All store bought, cook and serve. The pork was roasted in foil for 90 minutes at 275f and then opened up and broiled until crispy.

It feels similar in vibe to dutch baby pancake. Both use a preheated pan or dish, some fat, and a dough that is quickly poured in and baked in the oven. It tastes better this time than last I made it, but the consistency is the true star of this dish. It’s both crunchy and chewy, and the bits of meat add some variation. Though I would love to add some spices or sauce, or vegetables on the side or something

Mexican themed seasoned rice with whatever I had on hand (half an onion, carrot, peas, black beans) etc.

Row 1: Aleppo Pepper, Allspice, Basil, Bay Leaves, Cayenne, Celery Salt, Celery Seeds, Cinnamon, Chinese Five Spice, Chili Powder, Chives, Cloves, Cream of Tartar

I’ve been working on a variation of a simple Chinese dish (Tomato Egg stir fry) to make in the morning for a single person and I think I have something usable and repeatable by others at this point.

It has a very safe taste. Feels like it’s connected to mac n cheese (but it has potatoes). Apparently they often serve it with apple compote, which works ok, but I like it better without

Rolled oats, craisins, apple, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, butter honey. The apple is the first one I’ve ever eaten from my own tree that I planted years ago. Normally they went bad before ripe and I’d give them to the chickens.

Turkish doner I made from ground pork. Grilled onions with cheddar and sour cream topping. Side of rice.

Hummus and tzatziki with homemade naan (I didn’t want pitas), and a cucumber, carrot and tomato salad.

I’m not sure I’m so much a fan of this. Maybe the recipe isn’t the best there is but it felt not that creamy and lacked acidity despite my attempts to adapt with some more apple cider vinegar.

I always liked coffee based desserts so I decided to try my hand at tiramisu. It was much easier than I expected and the results are pretty good. I will be making this more I think.

No. The egg did not fry this rice.

And why should I keep them?

Pasta and beans in a tomato, onion and carrot sauce with rosemary and a whole lot of homemade turkey stock.