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Post by spike on Oct 5, 2022 16:12:10 GMT -5
Definitely picture worthy. Thank you but don't expect many food pictures from me. Now I can cook but normally my plates looks like I dropped food from 3 stories up, not beautiful like yours or pepperhead212,
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 5, 2022 16:44:00 GMT -5
spike, that's how my plating usually looks. Though honestly I practically never plate food for anyone - everything is put on the table family-style and people make their own plates. Also, since the kids have to do the dishes, they very much prefer that I serve foods in the pot, pan, or casserole dish they were cooked in. As far as they are concerned, when I transfer things to serving dishes I am just making more work for them. Boys are very practical that way. Even for holidays we serve everything family style, but at least on holidays I make the effort of putting things onto pretty serving dishes and arranging the food so the the dishes and platters look nice. So, yeah...that's why you guys don't see many food pics from me. Tonight's not-to-be-pictured meal will be beef stroganoff, buttered egg noodles, and broccoli. Not fancy, but everyone likes it.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 5, 2022 18:26:18 GMT -5
Now I can cook but normally my plates looks like I dropped food from 3 stories up, not beautiful like yours or pepperhead212, Thanks for the complement spike, but the plating does not have to be beautiful to post pics. I like seeing anybody's food. My Mom always had us sit in the dining room for dinners and food was served family style but it was always in serving bowls or on platters. I use serving bowls if anyone is visiting but when it is just the two of us I usually plate our food at the stove and serve it restaurant style at the table. It saves dirtying serving dishes and besides I usually only cook enough for two without left overs so I just divide it in half and serve it on our plates. Since I do enjoy cooking I like seeing pretty plates of food. Sometimes I tell hubby, "wait, I need a picture. This one is picture worthy". Once in a while I look through my stored photos and get ideas of something to make for dinner.
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Post by september on Oct 6, 2022 9:16:04 GMT -5
Cheap and fast supper last night, and two pieces left for breakfast this morning. Doctored up a $3.00 Aldi's store brand sausage pizza with some sliced Smiley Worm tomatoes, Dulcetta mini yellow peppers, some chopped onion and extra cheese. All for me. Jim made his own supper. I swear the cheap pizzas have lost another inch in diameter.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 7, 2022 9:29:10 GMT -5
That looks so good september, now I am in the mood for pizza!
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 7, 2022 9:33:00 GMT -5
My meals almost always include something from my garden and last night was no exception I made Moo Sho chicken patties which are ground chicken with chopped onions, soy sauce and Montreal Steak seasoning. I also cooked my first acorn squash of the season with melted butter and honey, I had home made Jalapeno poppers made from my peppers in the freezer so when I make something in the oven I usually heat up a couple of those. Last but not least, hubby brought in 8 apples from his little tree. This is the first year he has gotten any apples and he asked me to make slices in sugar syrup for the freezer. I froze 3 bags but we also had some sprinkled with cinnamon for dinner. When I looked at my plate I said "this certainly looks like a Fall meal". Of course the Fall placemats help. I change my placemats with the seasons and it's an easy way to make the meals look more seasonal and fun. 20221006_172639 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 8, 2022 17:50:32 GMT -5
Tonight was Lemon Chicken with Swiss Chard. The side dish was corn from the freezer sauteed with chopped onions and red peppers and then mixed with fresh parsley. Hubby said that it was excellent and the only thing wrong with it was that I should have made more Swiss Chard. As the weather gets colder, I try to use remaining veggies from the garden. The Swiss Chard will tolerate cold as will the leaf lettuce I planted in late August but soon it will all be done. 20221008_173102 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by september on Oct 8, 2022 21:55:07 GMT -5
brownrexx , how do you cook the chard in your dish? I needed to use up some of my broccoli and a carton of mushrooms that was getting a bit aged, so made chicken stir fry with rice.
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Post by octave1 on Oct 8, 2022 22:51:17 GMT -5
The Swiss Chard will tolerate cold as will the leaf lettuce I planted in late August but soon it will all be done. brownrexx , I still have Swiss Chard that I planted in the spring of 2021, two varieties, Ruby Red and Fordhook. In my zone 5b it made it through the winter and through the scorching summer, and I am actually surprised it never went to seed. Right now it's at its most beautiful. Too bad I don't care for Swiss Chard, so I am basically just using it as garden ornamental.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 9, 2022 10:04:09 GMT -5
octave1 , that's funny that you grow it but don't like it. Actually this recipe is the only time I ever eat it but DH likes it just boiled with butter so I only grow about 6 plants and I usually tear off lots of leaves to compost because I can not use it all. I grow rainbow chard and I think that it is really pretty. This is definitely a tough plant. Mine was decimated by blister beetles earlier this season so I got rid of the beetles and cut off all of the leaves. It has grown back nice and full like nothing ever happened. september , Your stir fry looks really beautiful. In my recipe I flour the chicken and then cook it in olive oil and remove it from the pan. Then I add chopped onions and cook them until soft and add a tsp of flour before adding 3/4 cup of chicken broth, juice of a whole lemon and the chopped swiss chard. It cooks down nicely and then I add the chicken back to the pan to re-warm it. I really like the taste of the onion and lemon added to the chard.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 9, 2022 22:32:20 GMT -5
I was thinking this too, @binnylou, which is why the time I ate was so late! And, while not difficult, the dish I made was not a labor free dish. I had a pound of creminis in the fridge I wanted to make a soup with. First thing I did, as with almost all this type of recipe, was put about ¾ oz beletus to soak in some hot water. This one was mostly in the instant pot, starting out sautéeing a simple mirepoix in some EVOO, adding some minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, and a couple tb of tomato paste at the end, to cook a minute. I added 7 c water, along with ¾ c of barley, and ½ c toor dal (some keeps its shape, but some thickens the soup, with this type), and a little light soy, for salting. Cover, set on manual 25 min (or equivalent), and let pressure release naturally. While that cooks, I clean and slice the creminis about 3/8" thick. Then squeeze the boletus around in the water, to get any grit out, then squeeze dry. Strain the water, then add a little clean water to the boletus, squeeze around again, in case there is any grit (usually gone the first time), squeeze dry again, and chop fine. Then I add this and the soaking water to a NS wok, or other pan, put the crimini in, and cover. Then steam everything, until the cremini is all cooked slightly, uncover, and boil off the water, tossing frequently. When the water is almost gone, add a couple of tsp of EVOO, and brown the ingredients, tossing frequently only this small amount of oil is needed here. And it's all ready before the IP ingredients! Mushrooms, about halfway through the browning by pepperhead212, on Flickr Browned cremini and boletus mushrooms, to put in the soup, after the first cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Mushrooms added to the barley lentil mix, pressure cooked first. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Mushroom barley soup, with some buttered, toasted slices of the rosemary whole grain bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr And that very thick slice of toasted bread, baked last night, was delicious with it!
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Post by spike on Oct 10, 2022 16:56:11 GMT -5
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 10, 2022 19:38:41 GMT -5
spike They are good - I had some of that soup for breakfast, and another bowl about an hour ago, for dinner! Don't know why I skipped lunch with it.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 13, 2022 16:43:26 GMT -5
Several months ago in cooking class we had Appalachian Cider beans and I planned on making them someday. Today was the day. I soaked some of my white, Alubia Blanca, dry beans overnight and then cooked them all day in the crock pot with apple cider, chopped onions, sorghum molasses, dry mustard, salt and 2 slices of bacon and a little bacon grease. This is a recipe from the Appalachians where hubby family is from. At this time of year they have a sugar cane festival and make a syrup very similar to sorghum. I thought that he would really enjoy something that his family may have made for generations. It was really good. The recipe called for cooking for 4 hours in the oven but they probably used wood stoves and did not have to pay for electricity so I elected to use the Crock Pot and they turned out great. 20221013_170403 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Oct 13, 2022 20:21:12 GMT -5
Street Tacos, Guacamole, Charro Beans.
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Post by spike on Oct 13, 2022 20:34:47 GMT -5
The bro sent over 2 baked potatoes, garlic rolls and 2 cooked to road pavement quality T-bone steaks. The potatoes and rolls were yummy but nothing could save those steaks.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 13, 2022 21:53:35 GMT -5
I made another one of those one dish pastas in the Instant Pot - this time, a version of puttanesca sauce, this time made with some of my last cherry tomatoes of the season, halving a little over a quart of them. I sort of crossed one recipe using this many cherry tomatoes, with garlic and herbs, and a puttanesca sauce, using canned sauce. Turned out great, and definitely something I will do again! BTW, this dish doesn't need anymore salt added! Puttanesca pasta in Instant Pot 4 tb EVOO 4 large cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste) 3/4 c pitted and chopped kalamata olives 3 tb kalamata paste (or another 1/4 c olives) 1/2 c salted capers, soaked, and chopped 2 tb anchovies, or to taste, chopped 1 qt cherry tomatoes, halved, or quartered, if larger 3 c water 1 lb linguine, or regular spaghetti, broken in half At least 1/2 c chopped fresh basil Grated reggiano for serving Heat the olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes in the IP on sauté/high, stirring about a minute. Add the chopped olives, olive paste (if used), capers, and anchovies, and stir frequently about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir to coat everything, add 3 c water, mix well, and hit STOP. Add the pasta, mix well, to coat with the water, then put the cover on, seal, and set to MANUAL 3 min. After the 3 min is up, hit stop, release the pressure manually, then remove lid. Set to sauté/high again, and toss the pasta, to separate any that may have stuck, and to evaporate the excess water. Stir and toss about 3 minutes, or until boiled off enough, then remove pot from the base, and set it on the stove, or another spot. Stir in the basil, let it sit a couple of minutes, then serve, with the reggiano, or other grated cheese. garlic and hot pepper flakes, ready to cook in olive oil, for the puttanesca. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Olives, capers, and anchovies, chopped up for the puttanesca. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Over a quart of fresh cherry tomatoes, halved for the puttanesca. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Linguine, halved and added to the puttanesca mix. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The puttanesca, after the linguine was pushed under the water, and ready to pressure cook by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished puttanesca, after tossing the linguine a few minutes, to absorb the excess liquid, then the basil is added last. by pepperhead212, on Flickr I didn't even take a photo of the bowl I ate of this - I couldn't wait to eat it, and I think my friend was ready for his second bowl when I sat down! I could have eaten more, but I refrained, not that the serving was small, by any means.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 16, 2022 14:06:07 GMT -5
Last night I used the first jar of this year's homemade pasta sauce and I added some of the meatballs I made last month and froze. Store bought coleslaw. 20221014_174824 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 17, 2022 16:57:45 GMT -5
Today I pulled out my remaining tomato plants but first I picked some green tomatoes for frying.
So tonight I made one of hubby's favorite meals, fried green tomatoes and mashed potatoes. I tasted a slice but my meal was ratatouille from the freezer.
He really liked his tomatoes and asked me to freeze some so I cut up and breaded about 6 more tomatoes for the freezer. They work out really nice if you don't defrost them before frying.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 18, 2022 17:36:11 GMT -5
I didn't take a picture of last nights fried green tomatoes but these are the ones I made for the freezer. Breaded Green tomatoes by Brownrexx, on Flickr Tonight was pork chops, orange cranberry salad, baked homegrown potato, and the last of my garden green beans. It was a very seasonal meal. 20221018_165906 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 18, 2022 21:01:16 GMT -5
I made some chili, due to the cool weather starting up again. I used some frozen venison - a friend called me up to see if I had any room in my freezer (he got a very early deer this morning), and I told him it's packed, and that made me realize I had to start using what I have! So I thawed 1 1/2 lbs he gave me last season, and made some chili in the IP, with standard ingredients - onions, garlic, maybe 5 different dried chiles, a couple chopped jalapeños, Mexican oregano, and about half a disk of Mexican chocolate, before pressure cooking the meat 30 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally. I also added a large can of pintos, after the meat was cooked by itself, and simmered it with some masa harina added to thicken it. And some corn tortillas, as always! Venison chili, 1 1/2 lbs meat, with 30 oz pinto beans. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Venison chili, with a couple of charred corn tortillas. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 20, 2022 8:59:56 GMT -5
I knew that frost was coming so I picked the last of the bell peppers and sun sugar tomatoes. I made a marinated tomato salad (no picture) and chicken quesadillas. My brother bought me a quesadilla maker about 10 years ago and I thought "I'll never use that thing" but I love it. It makes really nice quesadillas and browns both sides at the same time. They were yummy. DH likes some thin tomato slices so I sliced one of my remaining orange ones for him Chicken Quesadillas by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 22, 2022 17:46:15 GMT -5
After roto tilling, raking and mulching 2 gardens with straw DH and I had Extra Strength Tylenol and a pizza for dinner.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 22, 2022 22:53:24 GMT -5
I was in the mood for an Indian dish, so I put together a one dish meal in the Instant Pot - a sambar, using my last butternut from 2021(!), my last small eggplants and the last Indian cucumber of this season, some kale and senposai from today, plus a potato. I used a cup of toor dal, plus 2/3 c oat groats, and started with an onion, sautéed a few minutes in a little oil, with 6 cloves of minced garlic, cooked briefly, then 4 tb sambar masala added briefly, followed by some finely chopped tomatoes - a little over a cup. That was cooked a few minutes, then I added the diced veggies and greens, stirred to coat them, then the dal and oats, with 6 c water. Added just enough salt (added a little more later), set it on manual, for 14 minutes, and covered. Let the pressure release naturally (about 17 minutes), then stirred in some tamarind, and a little more salt and sambar masala, and checked for seasonings. I let it simmer while fixing the tarka (OK, so it's not really a one dish meal), which actually takes longer to measure out than to cook! The tarka was stirred in, then 1/2 c chopped cilantro. Absolutely delicious! Last butternut squash from 2021, to make a sambar with, along with several other veggies. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Butternut cubes, stirred in with onions, garlic, and sambar mix. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Greens added to the mix - kale and senposai. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Ingredients lined up for the tarka - mustard seed, peppers, urad dal, and cumin, then the asafoetida with the curry leaves. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished sambar, with tarka added. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished sambar, with butternut, kale, senposai, eggplant, potato, and cucumber. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 23, 2022 15:08:51 GMT -5
I am making a "clean out the refrigerator" meal mainly because I forgot to thaw anything.
We have 2 slices of pizza left from last night so I am heating those up and adding coleslaw and some fresh tomato soup.
I had about 10 red tomatoes left from my final harvest so 5 of them will become creamy Tomato soup.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Oct 23, 2022 21:05:13 GMT -5
I had some leftover sambar, from last night, but I also made a few roti, to have with it this time. I used a heaping tb of golden flax seed, and a heaping tb of sorghum flour, blended together, until seeds were ground up. Then I mixed that with 1/2 c of WW atta flour, and a little salt, then added 1/4 c yogurt, and just enough water to make a dough with it. I let it sit 20 minutes or so, then rolled out 3 balls, and pressed them into about 6" roti. I cooked them in a CI skillet, over medium heat. First roti, just put in the medium hot CI skillet. by pepperhead212, on Flickr First roti, just flipped. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Second roti, flipped a second time, to show the browned second side. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Post by september on Oct 24, 2022 10:15:17 GMT -5
We had fried fresh walleye fillets, a rice pilaf thing, sweet corn and garden salad for supper.
I fried more fish than we could eat, so I ate a couple more fillets this morning, cold on open face toasted bagels with garden vegetable cream cheese spread. I don't mind cold fish alone or on sandwiches. Or I could make fish tacos with the rest.
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 24, 2022 16:31:00 GMT -5
Tonight was shrimp scampi over Basmati rice. It looks a little pale because it was raining and I didn't feel like getting wet picking some parsley to sprinkle on it. It tasted good with that lemon, garlic and white wine flavor though and DH already mentioned that I should make it again soon. Shrimp Scampi over Basmati Rice by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Oct 25, 2022 13:14:51 GMT -5
Tonight we will be going out for son #3's birthday - he wants us to take him to a Japanese place so he can have sushi. Most everyone else will have hibachi or katsu. I am the only other one in the family who might have sushi with him. (That depends on whether I'm in the mood for sushi or hibachi when I am staring at the menu tonight - I like them both.) Gah, I can't believe that son #3 is 18! In less than four years my youngest will turn 18 and all of my kids will be grown up. When did I get this old?
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Post by brownrexx on Oct 28, 2022 9:41:31 GMT -5
I went to the grand opening of a new store yesterday and picked up a nice piece of fresh cod as well as a small piece of salmon to try it. We have never liked salmon but DH wanted to give it another try. I was not thrilled with it but he actually was surprised that he liked it. I broiled the fish and the brussels sprouts were blanched and then sautéed in butter. The fruit is from our Asian Pear tree and the slices were frozen in light syrup. Sometimes I heat them, like last night, and sometimes I serve them cold. Both are good. Last night I sprinkled then with cinnamon which is why the color is brownish. 20221027_170438 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
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