Whatcha Cooking today?

[Sue_CT]

LOL, divorced. How about Phenominal? She has made some awsome cakes but I think this is her best.
She made it for me even though most of my family doesn't care for chocolate and peanut butter together, including her. So when we got together most of them, including my mother, whose 83rd birthday we were also celebrating, ate cheesecake, lol.

[Tormato]

A few days ago, the electricity was out in the evening, so I couldn't cook. As it would be, the local WalMart had just started stocking cans of Banner sausage. I heard the rumors about this "food", so I bought 1 can. I popped the top, and ate it at room temperature.

I've survived to type about it. It was quite possibly just about the most hideous thing that I've ever tried.

[worth1]

I've never even heard of banner sausage.
The stuff looks like a greasy disgusting nightmare in a can.
God only knows what kind of ingredients are in it besides fat and meat.
Looks like Spam gone bad in a most horrific fashion.

[worth1]

Outside the charro beans I had a salami and Swiss cheese sandwich with mayonnaise.
That was it.

[worth1]

2.250 pounds of gulf shrimp cooked to perfection in highly salted water for 1 minute or less and then dumped into ice water to stop the cooking.
The kettle I did it in was huge.
The water the shrimp were cooked in will not go to waste.
Several things I'm going to do with it.
Mexican Shrimp cocktail.
A shrimp clam chowder.
Shrimp clam fettuccine Alfredo type thing.

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[Cornelius_Gotchberg]

The lovely and long suffering Mrs. Gotch outdid herself with another coupla her signature Designer Tomato Pies...of the Pizza variety....our Zukes for the crust, our Kale, our Tomatoes (Yaqui, and Mountain Merit Hybrids), our Garlic, our Herbs (we had to sub out the Mozzarella) at the start:

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¡Paraíso! FTR, The Gotch ain't responsible for that purloined slice:

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The Gotch

[worth1]

Several things happened while we were down.
I made the shrimp cocktail and made the chowder.
Way too many ingredients to list.
The chowder was served on spaghetti.

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[worth1]

Mexican theme tonight.
I haven't had Mexican food in a very long time.
Probably close to 48 hours.
Charro beans.
Mexican shrimp cocktail.
Possibly a simple tostada or two.

[pepperhead212]

I made a Keralan okra curry last night, to use up a good amount of the okra I had in the fridge. I first set some brown basmati rice to cook, then started cutting up the ingredients. As soon as the okra was cut, I started sautéeing that in a little coconut oil, in a wok, for about 10 min, stirring frequently. Minced some garlic and ginger, and a small onion (recipe called for 1/2 c), and when the okra was done, removed that, and started cooking the onion, for a minute, then the garlic and ginger, plus the seasonings, for just 2 minutes, then added the okra back in, and cooked another 2 minutes. Then the coconut milk was added - the Keralan signature - and simmered another 2 min. That was it! The rice was not even done yet! It sat about 2 minutes, waiting for the rice, and thickened some, due to the okra. It wasn't at all difficult, and since it didn't have a lot of ingredients, it wasn't as complex as a Thai curry - my favorite thing in coconut milk - but it was very good, and not hot. Here's the recipe I based it on - only thing I did different was more garlic. Next time probably more green peppers.
https://www.tarladalal.com/bhindi-mappa ... ipe-32908r

Here are the photos, showing how easily it went together.
Seasonings for the Keralan okra curry, cooking briefly, before adding cooked okra briefly. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The cooled okra added back to cook briefly with the seasonings, before adding the coconut milk. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Keralan okra curry, simmering briefly with the coconut milk. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Some cooked brown basmati rice, ready for the Keralan okra curry. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished Keralan okra curry, served on the brown basmati rice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[karstopography]

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Dining al fresco here at 7,100’ asl in delighful Northern New Mexico.

[Sue_CT]

Picked the hottest day of the year to cook a pizza at 550 degrees in the oven, lol. But the tomatoes dictate when I can make it, and I finally had enough garden tomatoes, 2 large ones, to make one. Thank goodness for AC.



First tomato pizza of the year 2023!

[worth1]

Best mastodon loaf ever, very juicy too.
And no hot oven.
Salsa Macha on top optional.
No fresh mastodon, use ground chuck.

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[CrazyAboutOrchids]

@Sue_CT That looks marvelous! I did a fresh tomato galette last weekend... puff pastry smeared with dijon mustard, sprinkled with a mix of gruyere and asiago cheese. I sliced a GGWT and a Kellogg's Breakfast, topped with S/P/G, laid on a paper towel, flipped - to get rid of some of the juices. I fanned them around on top of the cheese, sprinkled with a tad more cheese, topped with a tad more pepper and fresh basil. Folded the puff pastry up and around the edge of the tomatoes, sealed with an egg wash. Baked on a parchment covered pan at 375 - 400 for about 30 minutes and then let rest. Did drain a bit more juice off as it rested so the bottom wasn't soggy.


In agreement on the thank goodness for A/C... I stayed indoors yesterday and process 36+ lbs of tomatoes (I pulled all soft tomatoes off the vines and added them in after I got my allotment for the recipe). Made 6 quarts and 9 pints of marinara. Pressure canned. Got a great meal served with baked, fresh garlic from our garden and have about another pint as leftovers in the fridge. Last year I started tossing tomatoes that I will process into the freezer and doing batches of them on my time instead of doing little batches of things here and there as the tomatoes are ripe and ready. Next up.... crushed tomatoes, then cowboy candy and jalapeno jelly with some of my massive harvest of jalapenos.

[maxjohnson]

Corn smut, quite tasty actually, after you get past the way it look.

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[pepperhead212]

Here's that dish I made last light, and put in the fridge to soak. Only had to boil 2 qts of water for the pasta, and that was it!

It was the dish I make a lot in the summer, with fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil, 2 types of olives, pitted and chopped, some olive paste, some chopped anchovies, and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, all to be added to the hot pasta, after draining. A friend stopped by, just before I was ready to cook the pasta, and ended up eating more than I did, but then, I have 4 qts of it leftover!

Black eyed peas, corn, tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive, and anchovy dish, with hot pasta added at the end. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[rxkeith]

everything for dinner today was raised right here.
roast chicken with yukon gold potatoes, green, and wax beans, and greens.
cucumbers on the side, and apples for dessert. everything was good.


keith

[worth1]

Something I don't often do.
A black bean chili with ground chuck.
Practically everything is from powdered ingredients.
The black beans were soaked in salted water for about 3 days in a plastic sandwich bag in the refrigerator.
Then removed and rinsed.
So far ingredients are.
A little over one cup of dried black beans soaked in salt water.
Makes about 2 cups or more of soaked beans.
2 teaspoons of ground cumin.
2 teaspoons Knorr tomato chicken bullion powder.
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder.
2 teaspoons garlic powder.
2 teaspoons onion powder.
A little over 1 quart of water probably 6 cups.
Just make sure you have a lot of water over the beans.
This is what the beans will cook in and could be used as is.
If vegan or vegetarian just don't use the bullion powder.
Bring to boil for about 15 minutes cover and reduce heat to low simmer.
The boiling kills the poison in the beans the soaking and rinsing helps in reducing digestive problems.
At least it does for me.
The reason is soaking in brine water helps soften the bean skins.
Hard to digest bean skins cause indigestion.

[worth1]

After beans have cooked awhile add...
One bunch of finely chopped cilantro stems and all.
1/4 cup of freshly ground coriander.
2 tablespoons of Mexican oregano ran through a coffee mill or something to cut it up more.
2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper.
1/2 teaspoon of sugar to offset any bitterness.
Put cover back on and simmer some more.
Pull apart chunks of ground chuck 2 pounds worth and place on top of beans and in the juice put cover back on and let cook until beaf is cooked.
Stir into beans and put on low.
Next add..
About 1/3 to 1/2 yellow masa harina mixed into water to make a slurry and stir into the chili.
Add another cup of water to clean out measuring cup.
Stir in and bring to a low simmer for awhile until the masa has cooked and absorbed the flavors.

First picture shows the oil in the chili.
Next picture shows the chili after it has simmered awhile.

At this stage I don't see any need for anymore spices or anymore salt.
Except for I added a tablespoon of ground cumin because I love cumin.
It is now turned off to let sit and get more flavorful with the extra cumin.

((Note this chili is not spicy hot in any way.))

Except for the cilantro and the ground beef this could be cooked at any campsite..dried cilantro could be used.
A freshly killed deer or any other critter could be used for the meat if cooked like you would regular chopped up meat to make a stew or chili.

Chili before masa harina and extra cumin.

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Chili after masa harina and extra cumin.

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[bower]

I seriously depleted my stash of ready frozen meals in recent weeks and only managed to restock one chicken curry and a couple of single serving roasted things. So I have work to do... just so I can enjoy a quick fix dinner of my choice, right?
I have ground beef to cook today. Not enthused but, well, food laziness. One foot after the other will do it. It's about 2 lbs so I'll split it and make jamaican patty filling to bake patties on the next cool day, and looks like the other will be a pasta sauce. Missing a little can of tomato paste for the "chili" that I usually make, but I do have some red wine and that is a plus for doing the pasta sauce instead. Plenty of fresh tomatoes to cook into it and some great smelling garlic that's half cured. Regretting I didn't buy mushrooms though, not paying attention. Just grabbed the ground beef that was on special.

[worth1]

Put the last quart of chili in the freezer.
Last 22 ounces of the ground chuck is now in the oven at 250°F.
It's a small meatloaf made with freshly chopped onion dash of soy sauce ketchup Knorr beef bullion powder black pepper 1 egg and cracker meal.
Nothing fancy.
Can of Kentucky Wonder style green beans and bacon heating in a small kettle.