Boiled in Barley Pop before hittin' the grill, then washed down with the same; how often do you's see Circle-Of-Life-Symmetry like that...? The Gotch

About once a month we have one of my favorites, Thai Beef salad. Beef flank steak, purple onions, various lettuce, Tomatoes (here I had Black Cherry, Blush, and SS100's) cucumber, fish sauce, lime juice, jalapeno. Sometimes I'll add cilantro or thai basil.

Eggplant Parmesan. I added a layer of fresh spinach in there since we had bought some and I didn’t want to waste it. Red Sauce is leftover pizza sauce I made Monday.

I ate a chili dog last night.
Not a fan of buns that much but had one.
Then the other 2 were breadless.

Today I finished my gazpacho - 2 smaller bowls for breakfast, then lunch! Had 8 bowls out of that nearly gallon of gazpacho I made. This afternoon I made my first batch of that favorite lentil salad of mine, since I got enough ripe tomatoes. I took out a 3 c bag of freekeh from the freezer last night - this is one of the main things I use that in, and I also cook the lentils with a couple of black cardamom pods, which along with the freekeh, makes the kitchen smell almost like I'm cooking something with bacon in it! I usually add 2/3 c freekeh to a lb of channa dal, added about 40 minutes after starting the dal in the Instant Pot, on slow cook, about 120 to 130 minutes - something I use for salad, so I can check it for doneness, and not overcook it.

I also got about 3/4 c garlic chives, but I had to use some frozen habaneros from last year, as it's too early for most peppers, especially habs. And I got some sheep's milk feta cheese, a couple of months ago, getting ready for making this.
First lentil salad this summer, with about 4 c of tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I had full intentions of having a crispy taco night with sides of authentic Mexican rice and refried beans.
Not for sure now.
It's frigging hot in the house, 80 degrees.
We shall see.

I decided to get a start on it.
First the Mexican rice.
Toasted rice in peanut oil.
But this time I added about a tablespoon of whole cumin seeds to toast with it.
After toasted I added some chopped up pulla chile pods to toast a little too three of them, no seeds.
Mexican oregano 1 tablespoon.
Next and last a whole large crushed and chopped garlic clove.

Then a 10 ounce can of Hatch chiles and diced tomatoes.
Add water mixed with Knorr beef bullion powder.
In this case 1 1/2 tablespoons and two cups of water for a cup of rice.
Cook rice as usual from 15 to 20 minutes.
We shall see how this turns out.

It was like sitting down to eat at a Mexican restaurant.
4 crispy tacos topped with shredded cabbage and carrot, onion and cheddar cheese.
Rooster sauce on top.
Taco meat made with ground chuck.
Spiced with chili powder cumin Knorr beef bullion powder and chipotle powder.
I can't believe I ate everything on the plate.

Obviously if anyone hasn't figured it out.
I bought a 5 pound chub of ground chuck.
Made the taco meat with a pound and now I'm making 11 ounce hamburger patties with my tortilla press.
I'll get 4 of them and use the rest for chili along with the remaining taco meat.

A rare opportunity to glimpse my hamburger patty collection in the freezer.
Small and large.
No digging or looking around for them.
More small ones under the large ones.
I do not like smash burgers but I can get the same crust on the frozen ones by putting them soft frozen on the hot skillet.

Bacon, Onion, and Tomato Pie. Wife found the recipe, looks great. Used one Domingo, one Kellogg’s Breakfast, and a Brandywine OTV, plus a Yellow Granax onion harvested from the garden back in early May.

That is cool @worth1 using the tortilla press for hamburger patties. I like burgers and if I had a method I'd be makin em at home for sure.
Hot in the house is hard for cooking. The latest thing that I was really happy with was a chicken apple salad. Had previously made lemon pepper chicken with some boneless skinless breast and froze it. Thawed that, chopped into cubes and coarse chopped some Ambrosia apple, threw in some Hellman's and stirred it up, sprinkled in odds and ends of purple sprouting broccoli, kailan, and a green onion.
Easiest supper ever, and the apple was the star.

Besides eating more of that lentil salad, I made some guacamole today, and the strange thing was that the 3 avocados I used were the newer ones, which softened sooner than the ones I got 3 or 4 days earlier. It's finally when I can get fresh tomatoes and chiles to make it with - in the off-season I use frozen, which is still better than anything store-bought, but this is the best!

I forgot the cheese, but no one complained?

Though not a fan of frozen preformed meat, the lovely and long suffering Mrs. Gotch got her adoring husband some Bubba Burgers for his birthday and we just now got to 'em; VERY impressed! The Gotch

I had a really small bowl of my chili and Mexican rice yesterday.
A quarter of a seedless watermelon.
And a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I LOVE watermelon. Basically eat 1/4 of a melon on most days in season, lol. First one this year I just finished up yesterday. Good but they will get better. Can't pick them out myself anymore so its a bit of a crap shoot.

Sue_CT wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 10:06 am I LOVE watermelon. Basically eat 1/4 of a melon on most days in season, lol. First one this year I just finished up yesterday. Good but they will get better. Can't pick them out myself anymore so its a bit of a crap shoot.

I thought it was going to be the battle of the Alamo all over again last week when I bought mine.
There were a lot of people in that big cardboard box reaching for watermelon.
One guy even put his little kids in it to fish one out.

Bacon, Onion and tomato pie was really good. Some of these late in season tomatoes tend to be more dry with less gel and that is a good thing for a tomato pie. I peeled the tomatoes. I decided it is easier to peel them after they are sliced than before when the tomatoes are fresh.

Today, we are making hamburgers on the big green egg. 85/15 grass fed with sliced tomato to be determined at dinner time, pickles, mustard or mayo, another dinner time decision.

Yesterday it was chili that I was going to put on spaghetti.
Then I decided chili lasagna.
Nope changed my mind again.
I always have tortillas in the house so I'm making a enchilada casserole type thing.
Fresh corn tortillas.
Chili or something like it.
Mexican rice.
Chopped onion.
Shredded cheese and so on.
Probably some roasted sweet peppers too.
It's a big favorite in the Mexican households around Texas as well as mine too.