|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 17, 2024 23:20:45 GMT -5
Later today, a friend visited me, because she came out here from Arizona for the first time in 6 or 7 years (?), and a Niece of hers was married last week. When asked if there was anything she wanted me to make, there were two things I make countless times, that obviously made an impression on her - that lentil salad, and that pasta salad, both made with raw tomatoes in large quantities. I made the simplified version of the dish, without the olives, capers, and anchovies, because I wasn't sure if she was "watching her salt", and those would not be good for anyone doing that! Turns out she is, but not too much, so I gave her some of that kalamata olive paste, to stir in what she could handle. She liked it so much, she wanted to buy some from me! I gave her a jar of it, but told her I can't be blamed for any future salt problems she has! We had some of that lentil salad earlier, then I made the pasta salad later, and some brownies for dessert. I only ate a couple, and gave her the remainder to take with her - what I always do with brownies, otherwise, I would eat them quickly. 3 more lbs of tomatoes cut up, for the simpler version of that hot pasta on the raw tomatoes - my friend visiting requested this, too. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A cup of chana dal, and half cup of whole oats, cooked together, like I did for the last pasta salad by pepperhead212, on Flickr Simplified raw tomato pasta salad, requested by a visiting friend, along with that lentil salad. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by september on Aug 18, 2024 10:07:44 GMT -5
pepperhead212 , did you previously post the recipe for the raw tomato pasta salad? That looks delicious! I think I see some pictures from around a July 7th or so post, but not sure if there is an actual recipe somewhere?
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 18, 2024 11:51:11 GMT -5
september The basic raw tomato pasta salad was simply 1½ lbs tomatoes, cut up larger ones or the halved cherries, 4 chopped cloves of garlic, a generous handful of fresh basil, chopped up, 6 tb of a good olive oil, with salt, and some freshly ground black pepper, which I like better in this, than pepper flakes. This is all mixed together, and let sit, while preparing the pasta - a lb of spirals, shells, or whatever you like, for trapping those salad bits - and when the pasta is done, drain it well, then mix the hot pasta with the mix. That's it! For the leftovers, a little red wine vinegar helps, plus I put a bowl of cold leftovers in the MW for just 10-12 sec, to take the chill off. As you know, I frequently add some legumes and grains to the dish, to make for a more nutritious dish, and what I do is drain the mix in a colander, and since it is cold, by the time I boil about half as much pasta as usual, I drain the pasta by pouring that over the legume/grain mix, to reheat it, then drain, and mix with the tomatoes. This way, it's all hot again, when mixed with the tomatoes. I used to sometimes stir canned red or white kidney beans into it, which I had drained and rinsed, and poured maybe 12 oz of cooked pasta over that, but the price of canned goods went up, by more than 50%, when the pandemic hit, and I never saw the sales anymore, so I stopped buying them!
|
|
|
Post by september on Aug 18, 2024 14:48:37 GMT -5
Perfect! Thank you!
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 26, 2024 23:22:19 GMT -5
Yesterday, made a creole type dish, to use up that okra I had been accumulating for a while. I was originally going to make some Szechwan eggplant - something I've been having a craving for, and something I'll have when I'm finished with this! Not a one dish meal, though it does end up in one dish. I started by cooking a lb of chopped up andouille sausage, then setting it aside in a bowl, then starting 1¼c of parboiled basmati rice in some salted water, in a saucepan, and turned that of after 20 minutes, to add to the dish at the end. Meanwhile, I cut up a large onion, and started sautéeing that in the Instant Pot, adding 2 diced green bell peppers, and cooking those while chopping up the end of my celery and the leaves (about 2 c total), and adding this, and cooking, while mincing up 6 cloves of garlic, and cooking this about a minute, with a half tsp of cloves, a quarter tsp of ground bay, a tsp of ground Thai peppers, and 2 tsp thyme. After a minute, I stirred in a little over a lb of tomatoes, puréed coarsely, and brought to a boil, while getting the okra washed, trimmed, and sliced into 1/2-3/4" pieces. This is stirred into the sauce, I added a little more salt, in the form of soy sauce, and a little more Thai pepper powder. I covered and sealed the IP, set on Manual/4 min, then let pressure reduce naturally (cooks quite a bit more before and after). While this was cooking, I cooked a lb of sliced mushrooms - washed and drained, then steamed them briefly in a wok, with only a tb of water (more comes out of the mushrooms, from the washing), and as soon as the water is almost gone, 2 tsp oil is added, and they are sautéed about 7 minutes, and they browned very well. When the okra was done, this is stirred in, along with the sausage, then about 2/3 of the rice was stirred in, then the rest (turns out, I guessed right!). The salt I put in the rice was enough, and it didn't need any more salt or heat. I let it sit 5 min, to absorb some of the liquid, and this made it just right. About 3 cups of okra, trimmed and cut up. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Some onions, garlic, and 2 bell peppers, cooked together, then a pound of puréed tomatoes, and a lb of sausage added, to cook with the okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished creole type dish, with okra, andouille, mushrooms, tomatoes, and rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 27, 2024 22:04:57 GMT -5
Mmmm, that looks yummy!
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 28, 2024 17:45:29 GMT -5
Today I made one of my absolute favorite dishes, that I was craving recently - that Szechwan eggplant dish. I just bought some cheap pork loin, and ground it all up - only had to trim a little over 8 oz of thick fat off one - the rest, were so thin with fat, they wouldn't even be good for sausage! I saved a pound, from the 10+ lbs of ground pork, for the eggplant dish. The rest I sealed in the Foodsaver bags, 4 half pound, a 12 oz, and the rest 1 lb bags. I made a double recipe today (as usual), and I used a very large amount of garlic chives, and about a half cup of regular chives, in place of chopped scallions - not traditional, but works great in these things, and I have large amounts of those things out there. And in place of the minced garlic and ginger, I start most of these dishes with, I start with that garlic/ginger paste, I keep in the freezer, mostly for Indian dishes, but I start the oil at a lower heat, then add the Szechwan chili/garlic paste first, then the garlic/ginger paste, and the Szechwan peppercorns and whole peppers, to keep that from browning too quickly. After choking temporarily, I added the meat mix, cooked that about 2 min, then added the eggplant, and SFd that about 2 min, added the sugar, and SFd another 2 min. Then I stirred in 3/4 c water, and loosened anything off the wok, covered, and cooked on medium, stirred a couple of times, for 13 minutes. Meanwhile, I put about 3½ qts of water on to boil on Sauté/high in the Instant Pot (puts out less heat, which I'm doing enough in that wok!), and when I cover that eggplant, I put in a little salt for the pasta, put about 20 oz of pasta (a good amount for this dish, as you'll see), set it to boil for just 2 minutes, then stop it, and cook it 6 more minutes, then drain it, and rinse it. When the eggplant is finished, I rinse the pasta briefly (to add a little more water), then dump in on top of the EP, and SF it another minute or so, to absorb the sauce. After a large helping (!) I have a 2 qt and a 1 qt container of leftovers! The kind of things I often eat for breakfast! About 3 c of garlic chives and and regular chives, in place of scallions, for the Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Other ingredients ready for the Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The ground pork, with the chives, soy, and sesame oil, cooking with the garlic, ginger, and hot ingredients. by pepperhead212, on Flickr A little over 2 lbs of eggplant, cooking with the meat and seasonings, sugar added the last two minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Here's the pasta, ready to fold in finished Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Szechwan eggplant dish, mixed into spiral pasta. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 29, 2024 12:09:17 GMT -5
Sounds tasty! But I assume a traditional Szechwan version of this would be mixed with use rice or noodles, rather than spiral pasta?
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 29, 2024 13:16:33 GMT -5
Yes, it is normally eaten with rice, and spirals aren't traditional with Chinese dishes, but those spirals are great to serve things like this with, as they trap all those bits and pieces of food! Much better than those slippery noodles much of the stuff just slides off of, IMO.
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Aug 30, 2024 15:36:30 GMT -5
Makes sense to me!
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Aug 30, 2024 21:49:14 GMT -5
The other favorite pasta of mine are the shells, for the same reason.
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 3, 2024 23:15:49 GMT -5
Besides that gazpacho I made a couple days before, to take to my friend's place on Labor Day, I took that Thai sweet and spicy dipping sauce, for the grilled chicken and I made a batch those Mahogany fire noodles, that I used some ground pork in, instead of chicken, and only about 8 oz of the dried rice noodles, so 3 of us ate all those up. All that gazpacho is gone, too! Here are those fire noodles - not the hottest I've made, so those Thai Dragons I grew this year weren't as hot as most. A variation of the Mahogany fire noodles, I made for 3 of us today, only one other person tasting it, despite the warnings. :lol: by pepperhead212, on Flickr And that gazpacho, I took a couple of cups out of before, because I couldn't resist. Another batch of gazpacho, but too late to cool for today. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 4, 2024 9:36:48 GMT -5
I made crockpot pulled pork yesterday. I didn't put BBQ sauce on all of the meat, so tonight I am planning to use some of the leftover pork for pork enchiladas with salsa verde. (It'll be made with grocery store salsa verde, but it should still be good.)
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 6, 2024 21:16:25 GMT -5
Last night I made an Indian dish, that I got a craving for the night before, when I made a batch of sambar masala, since I had run out of that, plus I have all that curry tree that I have to trim. I used about 1/2 c packed leaves, for the masala, then 2 more stems, of stripped leaves in the tarka, for the tempering of the dish. I just made a typical sambar type dish, starting by cooking about 2 c of okra, cut into 1/2-3/4" pieces in the Instant Pot sauté mode about 5 min - this sort of cooks the slime on the okra, and it doesn't get like when put right into the liquid. That is removed to a plate, then an onion in a little oil in the Instant Pot, then a little of that garlic/ginger paste I keep in the freezer and that fresh sambar masala, cooked about a min, then added about a lb of puréed tomatoes, and cooked it down, while I got other things ready. Then, I added about 1/2 c chana dal, and 1/3 c each toor dal and whole oats, plus about 5 c water, some salt, and 1 large potato, diced, and covered the IP, and set to 8 min Manual (more to come). When pressure was down, I removed the lid, stirred a little more water in, as it was thick, and added the 2 diced eggplants, simmered about 5 min, then added the okra back to it, set the IP to 2 min manual - with the heating up time, and the release time, this worked out to be just right, for the legumes, oats, and veggies. I then tempered it, using some mustard seeds and cumin seeds in a little oil (I usually put a good number of dried hot peppers in, but I was sharing this with someone who didn't want those), followed by the asafoetida and curry leaves, until crispened, then poured onto the curry. That's stirred in, with about 1/4c chopped cilantro, to finish the dish. The tarka added to the dish, with 2 dal and some whole oats, mixed with several veggies, plus some new sambar masala. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished sambar style dish, with a large potato, 2 eggplant, and about 2 cups of cut okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 6, 2024 23:59:17 GMT -5
Today I was trying to use up a good portion of those smaller tomatoes, in a pasta/lentil dish, using up some more of those garlic scapes, in place of the garlic (amazing how long those things store in a fridge!). I pre-cooked those chana dal (I usually replace a lb of pasta with 1 1/3c legumes, pre-cooked) in the Instant Pot, in slow cook, so I could watch them, and catch them just at the right time, and stop them. I cut up well over 3 lbs of mostly those Bronze Torch hybrids, and about a third of it the red Juliets, and a few of those Sunsugars, for color and sweetness. I stirred some salt into those, in a colander in a sink, to drain a little of the water out, while I was getting the rest ready. The garlic scapes I cut the tips off of, then sliced through the fibers, before putting about 1/2c of this into the food processor, to chop up finer, then added some salted capers (soaked from the beginning, then rinsed and drained), and a bunch of anchovies, and made a paste out of it. I stirred this into the tomatoes, along with that kalamata olive paste, and about half that of the green olive paste, and a little more good olive oil. The medium shell pastas are my favorite for this, or anything else that will trap those pieces. I cooked that, and poured it over the chana dal, to make it hot again, then stirred into the tomato mix in a large bowl, along with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Definitely didn't need any more salt! Over 3 lbs of the smaller tomatoes, cut up for the pasta, with the 2 olive pastes, and the paste of scapes, capers, and anchovies, before mixing. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Over 3 lbs of tomatoes, with the pastes, some olive oil, and a lot of chopped up basil, mixed in. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Pre-cooked chana dal, drained, to pour pasta over, to re-warm. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The finished pasta dish, with the pasta and chana dal mixed with the tomato mixture. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished pasta dish, ready to eat! by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by brownrexx on Sept 12, 2024 14:18:43 GMT -5
I am finally settled enough to start making some decent meals. I don't have a freezer full of home grown veggies like I did in PA but I am doing my best and hopefully I will soon have some home grown things. Last night I cooked shrimp with red and green peppers and onions over veggie linguini. I purchased some cut up fruit and it was really good. I have not been impressed with the store veggies so far but the fruits are really good. Since summer is not a good growing season in Florida, I am hoping for better veggies in the winter which seems weird to think of but that is prime growing season for many things here. 20240909_173800 by Brownrexx, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 13, 2024 11:06:32 GMT -5
It's nice to hear that you're getting settled in! Wait 'til the week before Thanksgiving and you should see trucks full of greens (collards and turnips, mostly) parked along the roadsides. Then again when Christmas is approaching. But I bet you'll have your own home grown greens by then. And in Florida you ought to be able to find good seafood year round, though it might take a bit of searching for the best local markets. (You're not that far from Tampa Bay, which is a good place for shrimps and scallops, plus of course there are lots of tasty fish in the Gulf and in the rivers.)
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 17, 2024 21:30:32 GMT -5
I threw together another one of those Creole style dishes today, using a bunch of things from the garden, plus a few other things I had in the fridge, to use up. And I started by browning some bacon in an 8 qt pot, eventually removing it to a PT to drain, then removed most of the fat. Then I added a large chopped onion, cooked until golden, then added about 2 c of diced green bell peppers, 1 c of finely chopped carrots, and 6 cloves minced garlic, and the spices, plus 7 fresh bay leaves, and cooked on medium for about 5 minutes, or until I got all the okra cut up - a little more than 2 c - then while that was cooking, I cut up 2 Ichiban eggplants - a little more than 2 c again - and cooked that, stirring frequently, then added 5 c of tomatoes, puréed coarsely, and rinsed the blender out with at least 2 c water, and added the drained bacon. I brought it to a simmer, and added 1 c whole mung beans, and 3/4 c whole oats, and added salt to taste, and set to simmer on low for 40 min. Checked after 30, but definitely needed more, ending up to about 55 min, and could have used a little more, but I left it slightly al dente, so re-heating won't make it mushy. While that was cooking, I cut up, and cooked the lb of mushrooms I had for a while, and put them in for the last 10 min. This was the only thing that kept this from being one of those one dish meals, though it finished in the one dish. And I would have done this in the Instant Pot, and much quicker, but I have a batch of yogurt in there! Creole dish started, with all the veggies, except for the tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Creole type dish, using some bacon, onion, garlic, bell peppers, carrots, okra, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, mung beans, and whole oats. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Creole dish, with a lot of okra. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 24, 2024 23:48:49 GMT -5
I made a longtime favorite of mine - something made with Swiss chard, which I harvested about 15 large leaves from yesterday. It's a recipe from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen - Veracruz-Style Greens And Beans, with Red Chile and Dumplings. It's made by simply cooking a lb of black beans, cooked in salted water until almost totally done, and preparing the rest, while doing this. This was a seasoning paste, using toasted chiles, blended with garlic and onion, cooked down, and added to cook 30 more minutes with the beans. The dumplings are made with some masa harina, cilantro, oil, crumbled queso fresco, and a little water - I made a note next to recipe that dumplings were a little soft, so I've always used a little less water. I've also used different greens - kohlrabi greens, cauliflower greens, senposai, and others, besides chard. The dumplings are cooked several minutes, the chard is stirred in and cooked about 5 more minutes, another half cup of cilantro is stirred in, and it's finished. Served with some toasted corn tortillas; good, but not necessary, with the dumplings. Chiles toasted for the Veracruz beans - 5 moritas, and the bottom of the ancho jar. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Sauce from the moritas, anchos, garlic, and onion, ground up with a little water, ready to cook down. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Chile paste, cooked down about 7 minutes, in just a little oil, then added to the cooked black beans, to cook about 30 minutes, while getting the rest ready. by pepperhead212, on Flickr One of the many Swiss Chard leaves, to be cut up, for the Veracruz black beans. by pepperhead212, on Flickr About 6 c of Chard leaves, cut up, washed, and spun dry. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Dumplings made of masa, cilantro, and queso fresco, with a little salt and oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr The Chard, ready to stir into the Veracruz black beans, after simmering the dumplings briefly. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Finished Veracruz black beans, with greens and dumplings. by pepperhead212, on Flickr Veracruz black beans, served with two toasted corn tortillas. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 25, 2024 8:10:32 GMT -5
Looks delicious!
My cooking is even less imaginative than usual right now with son #2 staying with us. We are having spaghetti tonight. Not original or exotic at all, but tasty.
|
|