Vanman wrote: ↑Sun Jul 23, 2023 4:06 pm On charcoal I like the thicker patties, on a flat top the thin ones are much better. Must be the crust to meat ratio.

There won't be any fires outside in this heat.

Here's how I've been soaking my beans lately.
This started out as 1 cup of Roman/cranberry beans.
It doesn't tie up a bowl I might need for something else.
And less space in the refrigerator.
Plus you can just rinse the bag out.
Got another cold bean salad on the menu for this week.

This was 80/20 ground beef.
The other one that shrank up in diameter more was 80/20 ground chuck.
No idea if that makes a difference or something else at play.
Results in experiments need to be repeatable.
The sweet pickles in the burger had a ghost pepper put in them some time ago to make them hot.
And hot they are.
Burger held up during the whole process of eating.
Buns toasted in butter.
White onion.
Iceberg lettuce.
Over all a good burger.
Glad I didn't make it a double.

When getting the right size and shaped I poke a hole through center,massage it somewhat about thumb size.The centers are always done .Basically a doughnut burger.

I've been finding it really hard to cook or eat with the house temperature steady 80F. So last night when it dropped a few degrees I decided to try and get some things done which have been waiting since my grocery rampage. Did not get all, but at least some.
Big bag of "naturally imperfect" bell peppers, made a big jar of quick pickles. I used some frozen jalapenos in the brine, in hopes to add some flavor, and threw some garlic scapes in with the peppers too. The remaining peppers got roasted for some further purpose, tbd. Chopped up some coleslaw, cabbage, apple, pepper, scapes. Put two loaves of bread on, which I had to bake this morning, heat or no.
Then I used my last slice of bread for garlic toast to eat my first ripe tomato. It was so delicious!! Sweet, tangy, and melting texture... Yayy!!

Jollof rice, with blended serrano pepper from the garden. I used annatto powder as coloring. Drumsticks in tomato paste and sauce.

It's Taco Tuesday for me..
At this hour it's got to be Tuesday someplace.
Heat up 12 inch cast iron skillet.
One whole large diced onion.
One tablespoon hand crushed Mexican oregano.
Two large garlic cloves.
Two tablespoons of ginger garlic paste.
One quarter cup ground cumin or maybe less I like cumin.
About two pounds ground beef.
One quarter cup of unsalted chili powder, use more if you want.
One tablespoon Knorr tomato chicken bullion powder, this is where the salt is coming from and I don't like a lot of salt.

Put onion in hot skillet with oil.
Let sweat.
Add frozen corn.
Add oregano.
Add cumin.
Let cook until onions are cooked down.
Add ground beef and the rest of the ingredients and cook and chop until you've got taco meat.

Build your own tacos, I ain't Taco Bell.

Well it wasn't too cool this morning but I baked my bread anyway... one will go into the freezer as a backup in case it gets too hot to bake again.
It was a lovely breezy day and I went out and clipped some paths that I just couldn't do in the heat, and then I went back to fridge management duties for that pack of button mushrooms, and made some scallop and mushroom chowder for dinner.
Mushrooms first in the olive oil with bay leaf, fresh thyme, black pepper, then a bit of salt, and then the scallops, followed by chopped garlic scapes, a splash of white wine, and sour cream.
Guess I should follow that with a colorful snack and... oh yeah those roasted peppers are still sitting in the pan in the oven..

Not for sure but I lost count.
It was either 9 or 10 tacos I ate last night.
I was going to stop eating at 3 but I had fixings left over and I didn't want to fool with them.
The fixings were chopped tomato lettuce and white onion.
Sriracha sauce on top.
No cheese.
It was one of those deals where the last taco was as good as the first.
I love crispy tacos.

Cordon bleu sandwich, and straight eight cucumber from the garden

Making chili beans not so much unlike the beans my poor suffering father had to endure my mom made.
She didn't have access to the spices I have but the concept is the same.
Beans so hot and flavorful my fathers head had sweat running off of it.
Mine are that 1 cup of Roman/cranberry beans soaked for what two days now in the refrigerator.
One whole handful of saltless chili powder.
One tablespoon of Knorr beef bullion powder.
One tablespoon of Mexican oregano.
One teaspoon of chipotle powder.
Two tablespoons of freshly ground cumin, molcajete.
One tablespoon of freshly busted up black peppercorns, molcajete.

Taco salad, probably the best one I ever ate. 85/15 grass fed ground beef perfectly seasoned with goya adobo seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Green leaf lettuce, tortilla chips, corn cut off the cob, sliced black olives, avocado, a little ranch dressing, and a sliced Domingo tomato. No peppers, no cheese, no beans, no onions.

Domingo is a tomato that can stay on the counter a long time looking ripe and not rot. It is almost like a paste tomato, not dry or mealy, very flavorful, but then not with any excess moisture either. Anyway, it was perfect for this salad. Meaty, substantial, firm, no juice running everywhere. Taco salad is yet another reason to grow Domingo.

LOVE a good taco salad. I am picky about the tomatoes being diced, though, or use pico de gallo. I can't pick up a tortilla chip with all that stuff on it and a sliced tomato. Oh ya, and heavy on the shredded cheese. If you want to add some sliced or pickled jalapenos, all the better. Salsa, guacamole and sour cream just because I can. Not a salad I eat for health reasons.

Sue_CT wrote: ↑Tue Jul 25, 2023 8:32 pm LOVE a good taco salad. I am picky about the tomatoes being diced, though, or use pico de gallo. I can't pick up a tortilla chip with all that stuff on it and a sliced tomato. Oh ya, and heavy on the shredded cheese. If you want to add some sliced or pickled jalapenos, all the better. Salsa, guacamole and sour cream just because I can. Not a salad I eat for health reasons.

It's probably still more healthy than a tuna salad with all that mercury.
Turning us into human thermometers.

Lettuce leaf basil from the garden. That was some amazing balsamic vinegar.

maxjohnson wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 4:45 pm PXL_20230726_202624576.jpg

Lettuce leaf basil from the garden. That was some amazing balsamic vinegar.

I'm sure it was because I've had the aged balsamic vinegar myself.
Nothing compares.

I had eggs pancakes bacon and breakfast sausage last night.
I've perfected the process of making only two small pancakes.
Each pancake is equal to one handful of flour tortilla mix.
Add a dash of baking powder and water and your good to go.
2 pancakes about 6 inchs in diameter.
Can't make my mind up today.

Chicken and rice soup. Yes, we like soup in the summer. Soups like these aren’t at all heavy and there’s something comforting about chicken and rice soup. Celery, Onion, Carrot, pretty basic stuff. Still have plenty of onions from my 2023 crop.

karstopography wrote: ↑Thu Jul 27, 2023 6:38 pm Chicken and rice soup. Yes, we like soup in the summer. Soups like these aren’t at all heavy and there’s something comforting about chicken and rice soup. Celery, Onion, Carrot, pretty basic stuff. Still have plenty of onions from my 2023 crop.

I ate soup all year long growing up.
I would cool beef vegetable soup with cold milk.
You don't have to eat hot steaming soup.

Tonight I decided on a pasta dish the mini penne pasta.
Ingredients are.
The pasta.
Water.
Knorr tomato chicken bullion powder for the required salt.
Fiesta brand chili powder.
2 sliced hotdog wieners.
2 whole fresh jalapeno peppers seeds removed.
Dash of cumin.
Olive oil or oil of choice.
Handful of chopped cilantro.
Fresh stuff added after pasta cooked halfway in a cast iron skillet.
There isn't a true working Mexican/American on the planet that hasn't had some variation of this dish.
I don't even know the name of it.

Not cooking, really, but I just made another favorite snack today, though technically, I have never made this exact smoothie before, as it is with the first kajari melon I've had. I cut this one open, and immediately thought about saving the seeds, to make some horchata - a Mexican drink I've been making for years, since I got the recipe in one of Diana Kennedy's books. The seeds from cantaloupes are blended, then strained, and some water, sugar, and a little lime juice is added. And sometimes some other fruits are added. This time, I also blended the melon, after the seeds, and added the last few cubes of pineapple I had in the fridge, a small orange, and a few drops of coconut flavor (always good in these things!), and after blending all those smooth, I squeezed in a half of a lime, and added the other half a few dropsat a time, until it was just right. Then I removed half of it, a little over 375 ml, and put that in the fridge, and put ice in what was left, and blended that smooth. I usually add some chia seeds to it, but forgot, but I'll do that with the other half. Absolutely delicious, and only gave myself one brain freeze!
Seeds and liquid from the Kajari melon, blend in VM, until smooth, and strained. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Strained Kajari juice, going into the trimmed melon, to be blended. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished smoothie, with the Kajari melon, pineapple, orange, and some lime juice. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Now I'll go in and make some gazpacho, with a bunch of those tomatoes and cucumbers I have in there! Also not cooking, which is good in this heat!

I got the gazpacho made, and chilling now! Only took about an hour and a half, much of that was cleaning the tomatoes I had harvested the last couple of days. As always, I filled the Vitamix with just tomatoes, the first time, blended it briefly, with a generous tb of chia seeds, and let it sit to gel, while I trimmed and cut the rest of the things up - 2 cukes, a large bell pepper, one large clove of garlic, a medium sized shallot, and about half as many tomatoes. Then I finish blending the tomatoes, and the chia seeds thicken it just about right. I then blend the second batch of veggies up, with another tb of chia seeds, and let it sit, while I dice up some cukes, a large bell, and some more tomatoes, and put those pint containers in the fridge. Then I finish blending the second batch, until the chia seeds are totally ground up, then I add an oz of sherry wine vinegar, then, with the VM running on high, slowly add 2 oz of olive oil to the veggies, and it will emulsify. Then I mix the 2 together, and chill a few hours, before serving with those diced vegetables, and some croutons.
About 40 oz of tomatoes, and some chia seeds, for the first batch. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The second batch to mix in has 20 oz more tomatoes, and the cukes, pepper, shallot, garlic, and olive oil. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished gazpacho, ready to chill. Not bright red, due to the green bell, and cukes, but still delicious! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The only heat from making this is from the motor on the Vitamix!