Whatcha Cooking today?

[brownrexx]

Super easy summer meal last night. Lettuce and spinach from my garden, grilled asparagus for me and Swiss chard for hubby, pear chutney from our pears last fall and some shrimp marinated in Italian dressing on the barbie. An easy, healthy and very satisfying summer meal.

No tomatoes ripe here yet but everything except the shrimp came from my garden.

20200614_170405 (2) by Brownrexx, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I have always liked boiled peanuts, and when I was a child, and we would travel down south in the summer, to visit relatives, was the only time I could get them - no raw peanuts up here, back then. They had the shells on them, which I still can't find here, but they are still good.

I made another delicious version of boiled peanuts yesterday. I've made Mexican, Thai, Indian, and Chinese flavored versions before, and yesterday, I got an idea for a new Chinese type, when I saw the Lapsang Souchong tea in my cupboard - something that I rarely use, except when I make tea eggs. So I made a batch of strong tea, using enough water to cover the peanuts by about an inch in the Instant Pot, strained it into the IP, then added some dark soy sauce, palm sugar, cassia sticks, star anise, and a few whole cloves. This time, I cooked it in the high heat slow cooker mode, for about 5 hours (sometimes I pressure cook them for 30 min., then finish on slow cook; 40 min on pressure cook is a little too long), then cooled for an hour, and chilled.
Tea cooked boiled peanuts. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Donnyboy]

I didn't grow up eating boiled peanuts, but I learned to like them while living in Louisiana. I've never known anyone who actually cooks them, so I usually bought some from a guy who cooked them in his former bread truck and sold them in styrofoam cups on the shoulder of the road. I've never seen them cooked outside the shell. All I've eaten were cooked in the shell. The shells were removed while eating the peanuts inside.

[brownrexx]

Tonight was a new recipe in my Instant Pot - Chicken fajitas. I had to use frozen peppers so I am really looking forward to harvesting some fresh ones.

The recipe turned out really well, only had a 4 minute cook time and the chicken was super tender. It's a keeper.


IP Fajitas by Brownrexx, on Flickr

[brownrexx]

OK, today we ate something that we have never eaten before!

Yesterday I cooked some beet greens and hubby remarked at how good they were and that so many people just throw them away. That got him thinking and he asked if carrot tops were edible too.

Today is Father's Day so I decided to surprise him with a Salisbury steak, gravy and potatoes meal which he loves and I lightly boiled some carrot pieces from the freezer and then drained them and added butter, lemon pepper and chopped carrot tops that I picked today. I sautéed this all together for a few minutes until the carrot tops were soft. I have to admit that it had a really good flavor. I was expecting them to be bitter but they weren't. It tasted sort of like an herb but not one that I have ever tasted before. Hubby requested a repeat of the carrots for tomorrow night's dinner.

Have you ever eaten carrot tops?


carrots with tops by Brownrexx, on Flickr

[worth1]

I have chewed on some raw ones before.

[Sue_CT]

Chicken Salad Veronique with green grapes and walnuts, and dill potato salad.

[worth1]

Take a wild guess what this is.
Not for today but soon.
I'm just a little embarrassed to say what it is.

20200627_073018.jpg

[Sue_CT]

Bamm-Bamm's rattle

[karstopography]

Bacon and fried egg breakfast. Skipped lunch. Pork back ribs on the BGE. Reheated Pinto beans, roasted new potatoes in the oven for dinner. Made some refrigerator pickles for tomorrow or the next day. Tomorrow’s dinner, the rest of the ribs, sliced tomatoes and maybe some green beans. Maybe some brownies, too.

[Donnyboy]

Tonight was a new recipe in my Instant Pot - Chicken fajitas. I had to use frozen peppers so I am really looking forward to harvesting some fresh ones.

The recipe turned out really well, only had a 4 minute cook time and the chicken was super tender. It's a keeper.


IP Fajitas by Brownrexx, on Flickr

Instant Pot's and induction cookers and microwaves and air fryers are like magic to me. We had thick pork chops and fried okra cooked in the air fryer with corn on the cobb cooked in the microwave for dinner today. Delicious!

[MissS]

Yes. I really enjoy my air fryer. Everything is crisp when you want it and tender on the inside. Cooks quickly too without heating up the house. I think that it's a marvelous invention.

[arnorrian]

Finally got myself a rice cooker. Works great, and not expensive at all (25$). But instructions provided were wrong. Made egg-fried rice.

[worth1]

I had 7 pieces of hot wings from yesterday for breakfast today.
Just put them in a skillet and heated them up in the oven at around 350F till crispy again.
Even the thin lime slices were crisped up and a very flavorful snack along with the wings.

[worth1]

The mystery package is a giant over three pound USDA prime tomahawk roast.
Couldn't resist.
Need help eating it.
I lightly salted black pepper and garlic powder on it and wrapped in plastic wrap.
Then wrapped tightly back in butcher paper.
Probably going to freeze it for next weekend.
After I rinse the salt and spices off.

20200627_071404.jpg

20200627_071351.jpg

[Nan6b]

Is "tomahawk roast" politically incorrect? Is that why you were embarrassed? Looks yummy.

[worth1]

Is "tomahawk roast" politically incorrect? Is that why you were embarrassed? Looks yummy.

PC me no way.
No it is the extravagance of the thing that is sort of embarrassing.
Like a child ever since I saw one of these things I just had to have one.
Besides the thing cost less than a weeks worth of fast food hamburgers I didn't buy.
I have split deer down the middle like you would beef and made them from it, very tasty hot roasted over an open wood fire cooked rare.

[worth1]

I need to get a bottle of Madeira to soak and cook this critter in.
Madeira is a popular historic wine made popular due to no tax on it in the colonies.
I have read a favorite of Thomas Jefferson and was used to toast the declaration of independence.
Fitting for this coming fourth of July.
Cooked a huge standing rib roast with it years ago.
It was to die for.

[brownrexx]

Never heard of that but it sounds good.

[worth1]

Never heard of that but it sounds good.

I like sweet Madeira but be careful it is a fortified wine.
About 20% alcohol.
40 proof.
Sucked down two glasses while cooking on an emty stumac onetime before I realized I had made a mistake.