All Activity

I had that on a salad not long ago. Still have a can in the pantry if I'm not mistaken. Very tasty!

Yesterday was another gray Cape Cod spring day. I went out and did a little exploring while my husband worked. This is the beach that you get access to with the house. There is a lot of sand dredging happening in town right now to clear the channels for increased boat traffic and replenish the beaches before the tourist season starts. The dredger was working directly behind the beach. I found a handful of sea glass for my vast collection back home. I picked up a couple of shells too, though I usually only look for sea glass. Here's a house under construction near the beach. There is a lot of new construction happening in town, and all of the houses I have seen being built are quite large. Osprey I decided to try a different ice cream parlor. Peanut butter caramel. Too sweet and not worth eating. Oh well! We decided to go out for Mexican food. Husband had a margarita I had cod tacos And he had lobster enchiladas. Post dinner walk on another beach in town

Hainanese Chicken Rice. First had it at Hainan Jones at Urban Hawker on 50-51st Street in NYC last year. Now we make it about once a month.

Last night's dinner. My favourite Chicken Cacciatore thanks to @JoNorvelleWalker Not a pepper or tomato to be seen.

I forgot to post pics of the moussaka I made on Sunday. Moe had a piece yesterday for breakfast and decided he wanted another piece today for breakfast. Topped with a poached egg.

@Maison Rustique if you have easy access to Trader Joe's consider sub'ing TJ's lightly smoked salmon , in cans for a canned tuna Rx" very tasty stuff if you like salmon.

I did not take photo, but this is what I had last night, only instead of English muffin, it was on whole grain bread. I can't recall the last time I had a tuna melt and I really liked it with the horseradish. It was very satisfying. Horseradish-Cheddar Tuna Melt

Chicken curry salad in lettuce wraps with squiggles of sriracha.

Shrimp and squid fried noodles. I also threw in some pumpkin flowers I had leftover unused in the fridge. Chaoshan fish sauce, chilli, Chinese chives and coriander leaf.

@MetsFan5 look through their web site https://fastapasta.com I haven't looked in quite a whole , but they did have more detailed instructions for various pasta shapes https://fastapasta.com/cook-times/ good luck

Toasted bagel, half w/avocado, half with goat cheese. Served with coffee + OJ.

Back in cooking school, one of my first fun "experiments" was making crème fraîche; we made it simply, by adding a tablespoon or so of buttermilk to a cup of heavy cream, heating it gently, and letting it sit overnight. Simple yet pretty delicious. Here's the page from the course...

Tasmanian curried scallop pie. Apparently a speciality of the state. Could have used more scallops but they were insanely expensive at the grocery store. Could still taste them though. Made with Keen's curry powder, of course (originated in Tasmania).

The "Western Family" brand of chocolate-covered and yogurt-covered pretzels is being recalled for potential salmonella. Affects BC for sure, possibly/probably other provinces will be added to the recall. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/western-family-brand-yogurt-covered-pretzels-and-milk-chocolate-covered-pretzels?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23

Fried sea duck egg with locally made blood sausage.

The best tortillas I have ever had are made in Melbourne Australia by La Tortilleria. One thing I learned is that they do not dry the masa between grinding and forming the tortillas. I don't know if that is the key compared to using dried masa but I can't argue with success. I don't think they sell their masa - at least I haven't seen it but maybe at their restaurants. I want to buy some because I'm dying for some decent tamales. I used to be able to buy the tortillas in town but now have to go to a store 30 min south, if they have them in stock. Better yet is to go to one of their restaurants in Melbourne where they sell them by the kg. In that case I usually vacuum seal and freeze some then snip an end off the pack and put in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to steam them. If I'm using fresh, I put in a terra cotta tortilla warmer I made with a moist cloth or paper towel and nuke. I think getting the right steamy warmth without being soggy is the key to a good soft taco. Flour tortillas are ubiquitous and come in a large variety because wraps are popular. In terms of fillings, haven't been very inspired - your basic ground meat or chicken with cheese, salsa, guac, sour cream, salad mix. Occasionally some fish tacos made with baked frozen fish nuggets.

I'm pretty curious about it. (Especially if it has a self-clean cycle) 🤣

Given that the current Anova Steam Oven still has bugs (I've had two replacements under warranty - so far) and the internet is rife with complaints about this oven, I wouldn't touch the new "Pro' version with a 10 foot pole.

In my quest to avoid ordering take out, but make the least amount of effort and mess possible, the Fasta Pasta arrived at my door today. Orzo and pastina are generally my go to pastas and straining them is messy, so I will be trying this thing out (despite it lacking cooking info for tiny pasta).

Manado is the main city of Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. In general, the people from this region like their food really really spicy. They love to say that their food is the spiciest in Indonesia, which is saying something. Personally, while I like spicy food, eating it the traditional way is quite a bit much for me, bordering on unpleasant, so I've altered it to still have a lot of chilli flavor, but with an overall heat level that won't induce hallucinations. You can adapt my adapted recipe to make it spicier if you prefer. Serves 2 Ingredients: Spice paste (bumbu): 6 cloves garlic 5 candlenuts, roasted at 350F for 10 min. 4 big red chillies, sometimes called prik chee faa in Thai or Holland peppers in my local Hmart 2 red Thai chillies (to make spicier, use 4-5 Thai chillies) 3 inches fresh turmeric, peeled 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled 4 skin on chicken thighs, trimmed and cleaned 6 shallots, sliced fine - about 1/8" wide 1 inch galangal, smashed 1 stalk lemongrass, pounded 2 salam leaves 6 kaffir lime leaves 2 big red chillies, halved and chopped - large dice (to make spicier, add a small handful of Thai chillies, chopped) 1/2C chicken stock + some water if needed 2 plum tomatoes, large dice 1/2 fresh turmeric leaf (optional) 1 pandan leaf (optional) 1t salt 1t sugar 1/2t chicken powder 1 large bunch Thai basil, leaves picked - maybe 30 leaves? 3 green onions, chopped in 1" lengths Method: 1. In a small food processor, grind the spice paste ingredients until finely minced. Remove to a mortar/pestle and grind until it is a smooth paste 2. In a braising pan with some neutral oil, brown the chicken thighs and remove 3. In the same oil over medium to medium/low heat, fry the sliced shallots until softened and slightly browned 4. Add the spice paste and fry until the oil separates out and bubbles through the middle 5. Add the galangal, lemongrass, salam leaves and kaffir lime leaves and fry until fragrant 6. Add the chopped chillies and fry for a minute or two until slightly softened 7. Add the stock, tomatoes, turmeric leaf, pandan leaf and seasoning, then add the browned chicken - add water until the liquid reaches about halfway up the chicken 8. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes 9. Remove the cover, turn the chicken pieces over and simmer for another 5 minutes 10. Turn the chicken pieces again and simmer until cooked fully 11. Remove the chicken and reserve 12. Simmer the sauce until quite thick, then remove turmeric leaf and pandan leaf, lemongrass and galangal if desired 13. Turn off the heat and add the Thai basil and green onion and mix thoroughly to wilt and return the chicken to the pan to coat, then serve. It should look similar to this:

Andrew Janjigian at Wordloaf is selling his (clean) Anova Precision Oven for something really cheap. See here. Noteworthy because he says "As you may know, I’ve been developing recipes for and testing the Anova Precision Oven for the last few years, and have loved it. I use it for bread all the time, both for proofing and baking, with and without steam, and it works great. I also use it for sous vide, “air fryer,” and traditional cooking; it comes in handy when I need extra oven space or simply don’t want to fire up my main range for something small. (It’s great for reheating pizza, for example.) "Anyway, Anova has a new version in the works; not a replacement for this one, but rather a Pro model, with a touchscreen and some updated design. I just got sent one to test out, and I need to make room for it, so I’m going to sell this one at a deep discount." I can find NO information about the new model online. But I'm interested. (Do you think it has a self-clean cycle 🤣 ? )

I use buttermilk culture for cultured butter as per New England Cheese Making supply Co - here

I succumbed to reports of Bella Copper copper heat diffusers, and have discovered that these plates work well as a baking steel. Amazing results for puff pastry tarts and baguettes!

Mrs. C fried the trout and made the sauce. I stir-fried bean sprouts with shallot, garlic, sliced jalapeno, and chives.

Well, this is called consistency in the restaurant business!