Whatcha Cooking today?

[Danny]

Looked up the recipe(s) for that, it looked so gorgeous with the pom seeds looking like jewels spilled across it. How do you make yours?

[Danny]

Worth, grandmother used store lard to make her refried beans almost always and they were always wonderful. Never ate nothing she made that wasn't good. Not that anyone lipped off to her, she is the one who smashed a fella in the face/head area with a very hot iron skillet, then had him cleaning up the mess from her floor until the police showed up. Story in the family was that he sure was glad to go with the police as she had put the skillet back on the burner and threatened to whop him again. Little old mexicano lady, but you didn't cross her.

[karstopography]

Looked up the recipe(s) for that, it looked so gorgeous with the pom seeds looking like jewels spilled across it. How do you make yours?

https://gypsyplate.com/moutabal/
This one. Has Yogurt in it, I used whole milk Greek.

I grilled the eggplant instead of baking it like in the recipe. Everything else, I pretty much followed the recipe faithfully. This was served the day after I made it so it was chilled.

I’ve made a few eggplant dips sort of along these lines now, this one was probably the best thus far. It’s been sort of difficult to get the flavors balanced where I want so that nothing dominates or overwhelms and the flavors harmonize.

The pomegranate definitely is a nice addition. So is parsley and so is the sumac.

[GoDawgs]

Today's lunch was a slow simmered chuck roast with onions, carrots, fresh mushrooms and garlic in the pot with it. Simple steamed and buttered cabbage on the side. Tossed salad with the last cuke of the season, some porch-grown arugula and the next to last Daniel Burson tomato in it. And yes, I saved the Burson seed.

The liquid in the chuck roast pot contained the broth generated from the last pot roast and frozen "until next time". After being the result of several pot roasts, it's now very rich and wonderful. And yes, today's will go back into the freezer for cooking the next one.

[Sue_CT]

The "use or freeze by" date on my ground pork is 10/24. Not sure the chilis I ordered from Amazon will even be here by then, so I will probably make Pepperhead's recipe for Chorizo first. Assuming it is clost to or on the the use or freeze by date but looks fine, how much will the vinegar help presevere it? Think I will be able to let it rest for a day or two and then cook part and freeze part of it safely? Never made sausage before and never added vinegar to raw meat. I have too much food and ingredients to use up to make it now!

[pepperhead212]

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 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

[rxkeith]

tonight it was chuck eye steaks in the cast iron skillet accompanied by the last of the gina/steve cross beans
from the garden, a very late picking, and some garden potatoes. we have been liking the chuck eye steaks lately.
they are small, single person size, always tender, and taste very good. dessert eaten before hand because life is
uncertain was sticky buns from tonys country kitchen, a neighborhood joint with decent food, low prices, that all
the locals go to.


keith

[karstopography]

Taco soup, for some reason it was extra good, maybe it was because wife made it. Dessert was left over pineapple upside down cake from the day before, she made that too.

[Sue_CT]

Need a really good recipe for Taco soup. Never made it. LOVE tacos and taco salad, so it sounds like a good meal on a cold day.

[worth1]

Never heard of it.

[worth1]

World famous spaghetti sauce made with diced tomatoes and crushed canned carrots peppers basil paprika and other select ingredients.

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[karstopography]

@Sue_CT I’m going off memory for the taco soup recipe, but I’ll do my best. It’s an easy type of deal with a lot of canned things so definitely nothing gourmet, just relatively easy and tasty for a cool weather evening. Well rinsing off the beans and hominy helps remove any less than desirable canned tastes.

We use 1# grass fed 85/15, brown that up. I generally add some chopped onion at this point and sweat that, but I don’t believe my wife adds any onion. Then a pack of taco seasoning gets added, McCormick or you’re favorite, then a big can of yellow hominy, well rinsed, two regular sized cans of pinto beans, well rinsed, a can of green chiles and tomatoes, Rotel, Red Gold, Hatch, whichever type you like, and a can of creamed corn. She might add part of a pack of hidden valley ranch seasoning, the stuff to make the ranch dressing.

Spice level can be adjusted up or down based on the add ins. They have hot, regular and mild version on taco seasoning, pinto beans with jalapeños added, mild, medium and hot green chiles and tomatoes.

Serve over broken tortilla chips and top with your favorite shredded cheese, and onions if you like. It’s pretty thick for soup so add a little water during the cooking to make the consistency where you like.

I’m not huge on canned this and canned that, I don’t generally like very many commercially canned soups, but this recipe doesn’t hit my taste buds like it’s a canned soup.

[karstopography]

https://www.skiptomylou.org/easy-taco-soup/
The one we make is sort of like this one. There’s a bunch of variations online.

[Danny]

Chuck eye steaks are used often here, and you are right they are just the right size. The taco soup sounds good too.

Today is slow simmered lamb breast in stock with some added beef marrow bones for more flavoring. Will add veggies and such after the meat is tender and curry seasonings. Have it with some rice when it is ready, good cooler weather meal.

Got a new wonderful Japanese knife the other day and was using it to cut up and trim the lamb breast. Really like it a lot and man, it is sharp, sharp, sharp right out of the box. I was telling my Partner In Crime to not mess with this one as it is wicked sharp and then, of course, promptly sliced my right forefinger. Palm side, just above the line for the end joint. Did not even hurt, but I sure do bleed good. Took almost 8 minutes to make it quit bleeding, then finished cutting the lamb up and got it started, washed my knife and put it back in the box carefully. I still really like it, best money I've spent on me for awhile, but will remind myself in the future to be more careful, LOL.

Sharp knife.

[worth1]

With the weather cooling off I can dive into all the stuff I cooked during the:heat we had.
Like all the braised meats.
But tonight I'm going for seconds with the spaghetti sauce.
Of which the carrots made so sweet I had to add a pinch of citric acid to offset the sweetness.
Go figure.
Turned the AC up to 80 and the heat is set at 60.
Came home and it was 66F in the house.
Makes me happy as a clam because it's perfect for me.

[Tormahto]

Catfaced pancakes.

I'm still working on getting the buckwheat pancakes right. I forgot that immediately after the first flip, you do not attempt to move it on the griddle.

[worth1]

Nothing says Oktoberfest like schnitzel.
This one is pork schnitzel made from a pork ribeye pouned out and used panko.
Cooked to my perfection and thicker than traditional.
Sour cream on top.

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[Sue_CT]

That looks AWESOME, Worth!

[Danny]

Catfaced pancakes.

I'm still working on getting the buckwheat pancakes right. I forgot that immediately after the first flip, you do not attempt to move it on the griddle.

Love buckwheat pancakes, so yummy. And yep, where it flips you gotta leave it be, LOL.

The pork looks good, worth, only two things I'd change - I am not crazy about peas and corn together ( or worse, peas and carrots together !!), and for fried foods with a crust I always use a paper towel right after I take it out of the oil and daub or squeeze gently it to get any extra grease off.

No picture cause we all know what stew or curry looks like, LOL. Defatted* the lamb broth after it cooled ( lamb breast is fatty but good) and added small whole mushrooms along with 8 ounces more of sliced ones that needed to be used, onions cut chunky, a bit of frozen okra I had left over, ditto on some corn, and added 3 handfuls of barley. Will add chunks of carrot and some more barley tomorrow, had it tonight and it was very good. May make some homemade rolls to sop up the broth tomorrow.

* spell check does not this word, offered several choices, the nicest being "defeated", LOL!!

[Sue_CT]

I will eat peas, carrots and corn all mixed together without a problem. I would enjoy it, lol. I suspect you are not the number 1 customer for those frozen bags of mixed veggies, Danny.