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Post by spike on Jul 19, 2022 11:43:26 GMT -5
Got a pork roast covered in my pepper jelly in the crock pot!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2022 11:46:25 GMT -5
Pepperhead, that barley salad looks scrumptious! I love barley, hot or cold, and all the other things in your salad as well. Lots of good cool ideas here for hot weather eating, plus healthy too.
Probably going to make a simple lightly dredged in flour fish fillets, tilapia or catfish, with a lemon browned butter sauce, some veg microwaved or some of the cukes done in a quick pickle with rice vinegar.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 19, 2022 12:03:18 GMT -5
september Yes, that was just regular pearl barley, and I cooked it for just 20 minutes in my Instant Pot, letting the pressure release naturally. Not sure how long it would cook w/o a pressure cooker. I cooked 1 1/4 c in 4 c salted water, and it was still covered with thick, starchy water, not dry, like rice. I drained it, and got 4 c, which I rinsed, and used 2 c and froze 2 c. @imp I love barley, too! A favorite addition to any mushroom soup or other mushroom dish, and I always add more than recipes call for! Edit: This talk about how long barley takes to cook made me think of something I've been doing a lot in recent years, with things I didn't used to do it - soaking! Normally we only soak things like large beans, but soaking grains and smaller legumes can also reduce the cook time considerably. I started seeing this a lot on a favorite Indian blog, where many of the recipes with lentils or rice would call for soaking just 20 or 30 minutes. Also, when mixing things, like some brown rice and some jasmine rice, for the flavor, soak the brown for 30 min, and they will cook in about the same time.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 19, 2022 12:33:00 GMT -5
I have pork tenderloin (hopefully) thawed in the fridge. So, tonight's plan is a bacon-wrapped honey dijon pork tenderloin; this will be another cooking lesson for my youngest son. I am still pondering the side dishes.
Tomorrow will be leftovers.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 19, 2022 14:12:34 GMT -5
I only make this meal once a year but it uses fresh green beans from the garden so it's time.
This is the last of my small crop of green beans so I am making Saucy Steak Skillet which is kind of like Swiss Steak cooked in the same pan with green beans and tiny unpeeled potatoes that DH grew.
It has a brownish gravy but with the addition of Worcestershire sauce, catsup and marjoram. I really like the taste of the marjoram in this dish.
DH does not like hot food in the summer but he will eat this because he grew the potatoes and he also knows that I like this meal once a year.
He will be having tomato sandwiches soon enough. Maybe 2 weeks.
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Jul 20, 2022 17:58:28 GMT -5
Going to cut a pork loin in half, one half use Holy Voodoo rub and the other half Dez Nutz rub. The grill is heating up now.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 20, 2022 23:22:51 GMT -5
This isn't really dinner, but a dish for tomorrow's dinner. I also made up another batch of that gazpacho (a friend that was over ate the last bowl of the first batch). And finished my other leftovers today. I made a relatively simple vegetable side dish, to serve with Indian foods. I have all those bitter melons I have to use, and this will be reheatable, for me to take it to an Indian friend's house tomorrow. I can still smell that browned onion smell throughout the house! I cut open both varieties, and as you can see, the round one is definitely more developed, with fairly large seeds, while the long one is not very developed. The white pith, that I scooped out of all of them, didn't taste bitter at all, and when I sampled the different ones, in the cooked dish, neither seemed more bitter, or different at all in flavor. The finished dish was not very bitter, with a balance of sweet, from the jaggery and onion, and some sour from the amchur. They will definitely like this, and I'll make one of those chutneys to take over, too - maybe a tomato one. The dish is a little salty, but I must have salted too much, and too long (I left it while getting the onion and everything else ready, and some other things around the kitchen), with that 20 minute salting called for in the recipe. Next time I'll use just 1/2 tsp, and make sure I don't go too long. At first, the vegetables weren't browning at all, so I bumped the heat up to 3 the last few minutes, which is more like a med-low, and they started browning some. Then the last 2 minutes with the seasonings were on medium - 4 on this induction burner. I only ate a little, but it will reheat well, I'm sure. Here's the recipe: www.tarladalal.com/onion-and-karela-sabzi-7452rBitter melons halved, round Big Top, and long Number One, getting ready to scoop out seeds. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Onion and Bitter Melons for the sabzi, cooked 10 minutes, with no browning. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Onion and Bitter Melon sabzi. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by spike on Jul 21, 2022 18:46:49 GMT -5
pepperhead212, oooh that looks delicious!! I got my hands on some baby bella mushrooms so used them to make homemade mushroom soup! YUM.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2022 21:33:31 GMT -5
Becca made a nice big pot of goulash thing, burger, tomatoes, mac and onions, garlic, seasonings. Very good, be great for tomorrow when we are tired and don't want to cook.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 22, 2022 8:16:57 GMT -5
Last night we had left over grilled pizza and fresh corn on the cob from a local farm. Watermelon cubes later.
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Post by spike on Jul 22, 2022 18:57:47 GMT -5
Made hubs, the bro and the phew catfish and tater tots. BLEH Not a fan.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jul 22, 2022 22:53:29 GMT -5
I made a vegetable dish today, using a bunch of those things from the garden, as always! The flavors are based on ratatouille, and I added some rice, to make a one dish meal. It was all in the Instant Pot, so I first cooked some brown rice in it much earlier, then let it cool, and put it into a container, and put it in the fridge. Later, I blended a large amount of tomatoes - almost to the top of the small Vitamix container, then put about 3/4 c of dried tomato pieces in it, to soak, while cutting up the onion and garlic, and started cooking the onion in the IP in a little olive oil, on sauté/high. Then I blended the softened dried tomatoes, which thickened the tomatoes considerably. Garlic was cooked with the onion briefly, then the tomatoes were added, with about 1/4 c white vermouth. Then the herbs - about 1/2 c chopped parsley, 1/4 c chopped basil (more later), 1 tb chopped thyme, and 3 fresh bay leaves. After it came to a boil, I switched to slow cook/fast, which keeps a fast simmer, covered with the splatter screen, and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, while cutting up all the rest - the eggplants, bottle gourd, okra, and large bell pepper. When it had thickened considerably, I removed it to a large bowl, rinsed out the IP, and let it dry, then set to sauté/high again, adding about 4 tb olive oil. I added the eggplant and bottle gourd pieces, and cooked about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Then added the pepper and okra, and cooked 3 or 4 minutes, then put the tomato sauce back in the pot. I put it back on slow cook/fast, and simmered another 20 minutes. Then I stirred in the cooked rice, and another generous amount of chopped basil, and let sit on warm another 15 minutes. This is the type of dish I would cook in a Dutch oven, in the oven at the end, with raw rice, but using that in the IP results in sticking, making a dish like this. But I don't turn on the oven if I can help it, in the summer! Sauce made, in IP by pepperhead212, on Flickr Cooking the eggplant and bottle gourd on high/sauté in IP, about 8 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Red bell pepper and okra stirred into the eggplant mix, and cooked a few minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Tomato sauce added to the vegetable mix, then cooked 20 min on slow cook/fast. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A generous amount of chopped basil, added to the mix, along with some cooked rice, to let sit on warm, for about 15 minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished dish, after the rest, to heat the rice through. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 25, 2022 8:50:30 GMT -5
It has been so hot that I just did not feel like cooking so we had big salads again and went out for ice cream later.
I picked my first ripe slicing tomatoes so tonight will be BLT's
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2022 18:20:22 GMT -5
BLT or tomato sandwiches sure sound good ! I picked up a bit of sushi while out for this evening so I could take my meds. Knowing that cooking would be not a high priority tomorrow with all the fruit prep and jamming, I got a quiche to do a heat and eat, the market deli makes really good ones.
Edit: Ate only 4 pieces of the sushi, enough to take meds. Just not hungry at all in the heat.
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Post by september on Jul 26, 2022 19:39:39 GMT -5
Need some frozen meals to take along on our fishing/blueberry trip so I don't have to cook some nights. Made a venison stew for tonight, ate half, will freeze the rest for a night next week. Trying to decide what to make for tomorrow night, maybe a chicken and wild rice dish. Only problem is I have no chicken at home, Aldi's has been out each time I go and I really don't want to drive to town searching just for that. Lasagna would be good, but is too putsy for my current lack of time. Too bad I didn't think to triple up on the venison stew!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2022 19:50:53 GMT -5
Do you get to pick wild blueberries, September?!
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Post by september on Jul 27, 2022 9:16:27 GMT -5
Yes, @imp , we pick in recent logging cuts, best in 2-4 years after the cut, then the regrowth tends to get too brushy to push through. We actually go for the fishing, a wilderness lake with only one small camp on it, and all returning visitors. We were on a waiting list for about 5 years before there was a cancellation. They will roll you over to the next year's schedule, same week, if you plan to be back. No switching of dates or cabins. Simpler for them all around and they don't really need or want new clients. We usually fish in the early morning, after the dew dries we may go berrying around 10-11AM for about 3 hours, back to cabin for afternoon nap, then fishing again in the late afternoon or evening, or possibly another berry run for a couple of hours depending on the weather. I love picking wild blueberries, but it's getting harder to squat and kneel every year! We clean them back at the cabin and bag up in quarts and freeze in the camp's huge chest freezer, ready to haul home in coolers.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 27, 2022 9:47:49 GMT -5
That sounds like a great vacation, september! I hope that you have a great time and pick lots of berries and catch lots of fish.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 27, 2022 11:49:44 GMT -5
september, we get a few wild blueberries at our cabin and one year I made blueberry pancakes which were fabulous. Our berries here are small though. Yours are probably a lot bigger.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2022 16:09:36 GMT -5
Oh, September, what a wonderful time for ya'll !! As Laura said, get lots of fish and berries. The wild ones are so very good.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 27, 2022 17:13:52 GMT -5
I thought that tonight's dinner was going to be a failure and it turned out to be a big success! I grew Poblano as well as Anaheim peppers this year and it was the first time for Anaheims. I decided to try stuffing some for dinner to go along with herb stuffed zucchini and BLT's I had not made stuffed Poblanos in years and I kind of forgot how I did it so I oiled the peppers and blistered their skins on my gas grill. I peeled the peppers and they seemed more limp than I expected. I thought that I would be cutting them in half and stuffing the halves but when I cut one it just laid flat and was unstuffable so I removed seeds and stuffed the rest of them as whole peppers. I covered the whole stuffed peppers as well as the flat halves with shredded sharp cheese and baked in the oven for a few minutes until hot and melty. DH absolutely raved about the peppers and said that he could have eaten about 3 more of them and skipped the sandwich. The peppers really did have a good flavor and not much heat so they were perfect for me. It was kind of labor intensive to peel the peppers and make the stuffing but the flat pepper halves with just cheese were so good that the next time I am going to just use flat ones and add some cheese and Panko crumbs on top of them. 20220727_171340 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by september on Jul 27, 2022 18:33:33 GMT -5
brownrexx , now THAT is a meal!! Sounds scrumptious, and I like the degree of heat. I can't ever envision myself peeling peppers though, so I'd have to leave the skins on. I suppose that might add bitterness? Or is it just a texture thing? Pepperhead probably knows.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 27, 2022 18:58:23 GMT -5
september the skins are said to be tough and they did seem like cellophane when I peeled them off.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2022 23:28:36 GMT -5
Sounds very good, Brownrex, what did you stuff the peppers with?
September, blister the peppers and put in a plastic bag for a few minutes, then the skins will pretty much slip off and any bits can be rinsed off easily.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 28, 2022 7:28:41 GMT -5
what did you stuff the peppers with? Panko crumbs, olive oil, a chopped tomato, fresh parsley, basil and oregano, S&P.
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Post by september on Jul 28, 2022 9:31:17 GMT -5
@imp , Nah, remember I HATE cooking, so if it's an extra time consuming step, I'll pass. And live with less than perfect results, not a fussy eater. I consider an extra 15 minutes a burden. Anything to stay out of the kitchen!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 28, 2022 9:44:59 GMT -5
Tonight is leftovers. I let my boys talk me into making lasagna for them and their friends tomorrow night - there will be 11-12 people eating here tomorrow, most of them teens to early 20s males. So I am making a REALLY BIG lasagna and a bunch of garlic bread. Plus I will be making a much smaller salad, since only one or two of them said they would even taste a salad.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2022 11:15:20 GMT -5
LOL, I did forget your kitchen aversion September.
Laura, that is a wrecking crew to cook for !
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jul 29, 2022 17:00:42 GMT -5
Yes, my house is overrun with young men! There are 9 young men here, including my boys (I had expected one more, but he couldn't come) plus DH and myself. But everyone was impressed with the size of the lasagna - most of them paraded into the kitchen to see it before we put it in the oven a little while ago. It's in 19 1/2" x 11 3/4" x 4" tray that will be pretty full by the time it expands during cooking. Even with all of those young men, no one is going home hungry.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 29, 2022 20:51:42 GMT -5
Laura_in_FL, we love lasagna and at least once in the summer I make zucchini lasagna. I think it's time to do that now that you got me thinking about lasagna and I have fresh tomatoes. I slice the zucchini thin and then grill it to remove water, NOT that your young men would have liked that but we like it and I make my usual homemade fresh tomato sauce but without the meat. Tonight I made one of my favorite meals - chicken shish Kabobs on the grill. The marinade is oil, honey and lite soy sauce with fresh garlic and Montreal Steak seasoning. I usually also add some horseradish but ran out so I skipped that and it still tasted great. I put an ear of my fresh corn on the grill for myself. DH does not like grilled corn and I must admit that steamed corn is more moist and I think that I like it better too. 20220729_172351 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr 20220729_172755 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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