Dejah

Sous Vide Lamb Chops finished on the BBQ. The only side I wanted was mint sauce, but cooked rice and corn for hubby!

@Kim ShookI don't really have a recipe for the clam chowder. Basically, I dice up several slices of bacon, brown with dice onion, and make a rue with the fat from the bacon. (I needed more fat so added butter) Added milk to make the white sauce plus a can of cream of mushroom soup. Bring all to light boil, added cooked clam meat, diced cooked potato, and corn from a leftover cooked cob. We love a sprinkle of crush chili and lots of fresh dill. Made Hot and Sour Soup tonight after @Kim Shook mentioned it in a previous post. Hubby likes a dollop of steamed rice with his. Two photos: One to show the ingredients I used, and the other bowl with more broth. I add Char Siu to the soup. Even tho' it is marinated with sugar, it doesn't add any sweetness to the final product.

Using up some of the remaining ingredients from making joongzi: Shitaki mushrooms, lap cheung, salted pork, added bell peppers, green onion, beansprouts: Chow Mein!

@TropicalseniorThose Char Siu Baos look amazing. I can make steamed baos, but baked - that is something I need to work on. @Kim Shook I noticed what you said about "sweetness" in the Hot and Sour soup at your latest restaurant dine-in. It's something I've encountered at many Chinese buffets and restaurant in our travels through Canada and USA. Why? It's Hot and SOUR, not Hot and Sweet. And sometimes it's so thick with cornstarch.

@Kim ShookGood to see you back posting your meals, and having your appetite back. It's been a flurry of activity in the kitchen the last few days. After the Char Siu Bao session, I was getting ready for my annual but late joongzi session with my cousin. June 22 was the Dragon Boat Festival when joongzi is usually made, but that's busy gardening time. Made some buttermilk scones to have on hand for breakfast and snacking, with the clotted cream I made, and rhubarb jelly. First feed was with clam chowder I soaked, washed, drained and kept moist about 160 bamboo leaves! I use 3 leaves for every packet. My cousin Leslie, who is French Canadian, came and learned to make these about 6 years ago. She brings all her own leaves and ingredients. Being a once-a-year activity, she still has a difficult time wrapping and tying the packets. The other visitor, Iris, is a former student of mine from China. She's like an adopted daughter, and it was her birthday yesterday! So she got to celebrate it with her Canadian parents:-) I boiled the first batch of 18 for 2.5 hours, so we were able to have some for supper, along with kohlrabi shitaki mushroom and tofu soup. The worker bees and the final product: Dessert was a plenty! And a strawberry cake by Leslie plus a "Tequila cake" made by Iris. My cousin Ken and I, along with a Scotsman and a French Canadian! Today, I will have 50 more packets to boil! All will go into the freezer. A couple of dozen, once frozen, will fly with another cousin on Tuesday to my 97 year old sister and the family in Burnaby, Another dozen will go to Nfld end of the month with our son after he spends time with us. The rest...some gifts to local friends, and of course for us to enjoy over the winter!

Ah...sorry to disappoint, but the plate is not a family heirloom. I love dishes and often check out the local Winners for their selection. . Might be the same as Marshalls in the states? I was only able to find two of these lunch plates. It is quite lovely. Winners is where I also picked up all the blue dishes I usually use for my food pictures. We do use them regularly. It took me a couple of years to find 24 dinner plates, several lunch plates, mugs, etc for that set. They are great when we have big family dinners.

Had a couple of friends over today to see and learn how to make steamed Char Siu Baos. I have made the char siu last week in the Big Easy. Thawed the pork and diced it up last night. For the filling, we stir-fried the meat, added some pork broth I made yesterday, Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and thickened with slurry. While the filling was cooling, we made up the first batch of the "bread". I used commercially prepared flour, so it was just adding sugar, milk, and a tbsp oil, all done in the Kitchen Aid. It took some practice for the 2 learners to get used to the tortilla presses, and pleating. In the end, we made 3 doz. Sent most of them home with my friends, and some to the neighbors and my family. Still have a few baos to put into the freezer. I also made 2 doz egg tarts, and they have all disappeared. A pic of some of the baos my friends made, and a tart. Tea went well with both!

WHEW! Finally got through the chicken breasts from 2 nights ago. @lindag's post about Skillet Pot Pie came just at the right time. The biscuits were amazing, SO good that I am going to make a pan of just the biscuits. The Parmesan cheese in the biscuits will work beautifully with the clotted cream that is being made in the oven right now! For the clotted cream: p Preheat the oven to 175 to 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). Pour cream into a shallow glass or ceramic baking dish (an 8- or 9-inch square pan is ideal). Cream should be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 hours. Do not stir. Carefully remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely chilled, 8 hours to overnight. Push aside a corner of the top layer of thickened cream; carefully pour liquid into a container for baking. Pack thickened (clotted) cream into a ceramic crock or canning jar. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Picked up a package of bone-in chicken breast. Cooked all 4 as Spicy Oven Baked Chicken Breasts. Turned out well, and there's enough for 2 more meals! One breast was enough for 2. There was another the same size, and 2 smalerl ones. The meaty breasts remind me of the 10 lb chickens that were raised at a Hutterite colony for our restaurant. The first meal with corn, baked potato and beets :: I was glad I had cooked all 4 breasts 2 days ago. Hubby and I got our Covid and tetanus boosters yesterday, and by night time, my arm was pretty sore. Thur' the night, I had the same reaction as I've had with previous shots : fever, chills, aches, pains. Slept most of the day but lacked energy. Did up a curry gravy with a block of Glico curry paste, cooked rice, frozen veg, and that was supper. Hubby enjoyed the chicken. I had the rice and veg as appetite was not up to snuff yet.

Sous vide followed by a sear in cast iron pan - strip loin roast last night. A hasty version of the crispy roast potatoes @Shelby? had posted. Yorkies, peas and green peppercorn gravy complete the meal. Had 2 slices of the roast left. Did a redux into Beef Stroganoff over Pappardelle pasta. Dessert was another new find at the little Chinese grocery store: five-nut moon cake is a favourite, more enjoyable than the usual lotus paste and salted egg yolk variety. I bought 3 tins of 4 cakes each. They keep well in the freezer, but I will be gifting some to the Chinese elders. Only one of my kids like moon cakes, so he will have some to take back to NFLD when he comes to visit end of the month.

The shrimp look amazing! The shells like crunchable...

Rainy day all day from 11 am onward. I got up earl;y enough to beat the rain as I had plans for the Big Easy! Haven't used it for quite a while, so I had to burn off the cobwebs and a bit of my hair! Had pork butt strips marinating for the last 2 days for char siu. Will need lots to make baos with a friend visiting from New York. The set up: 45 minutes later: All packed and into the freezer as my friend's schedule changed and she won't arrive in town until the 13th. Char siu baos will be her lesson on the 15th. It's quite chilly today with the rain, so I made a huge pot of Borscht. Delivered a big container to a house bound friend after we had some for lunch.

Something new for me: white bitter melon. Taste the same. Not sure if it was more expensive as it was given by a cousin who found it at a Chinese supermarket in Winnipeg. Cooked it the same way as I usually do with the green melons: fermented black bean garlic sauce. Used pork instead of beef this time as I was prepping a huge amount of pork for Char Siu.

Grandson wanted to learn how to cook fish that isn't dry, so we teamed up and cooked up pickerel and new taters (parboiled then finished in Ninja toaster oven. We just did my usual, brush the fillets with mayo and coat with fine cracker crumbs. He took home leftovers and a package of frozen fillets to cook another day on his own. Breaded pork loin chops in mushroom gravy. I find lean pork chops often dry cooked "naked", but this way, always tender and juicy. A can of Campbells mushroom soup with added fresh sauteed mushrooms work great. The pan is finished in the oven. Corn is lovely at this time, and I have an over-abundance of green beans. I think green beans, purple ones and Romanos have taken over the mysterious zucchinis that appear on door steps. I have been finding bags at the door as well as harvesting from my small patch in the glower bed - the only edible i plant! LOL! Steak, leftover noodles, and Romano beans with fuyu Walmart had chickens on for $1.97 / lb! Cut up 2 and did up a tray of Citrus Marinated Roast Chicken. Shared with our very helpful bachelor neighbor, and some leftovers for lunch next day. Was given 3 Kohlrabi, so made soup with pork bones. Opened the last can of Fried dace, added some lapcheung to stir-fried Shanghai Bok Choy Dessert was the most expensive Dragon Eyes I have ever eaten! I didn't realize they were 12.98/lb! I bought 2 bundles to share with my brother, and realized when I got to the car, I paid $44.00! But they are a rare treat here, so I kept them and savoured every one!

I'll be making Ukrainian Borscht as well later today. The recipe I use is similar except I add a can of Pork and Beans at the end, something our Ukrainian Baba friends did. And of course, LOTS of dill added while cooking and before serving.

My Scottish/English hubby will only eat green beans if stir-fried with spicy tofu. He also likes a couple of cubes when we have roast chicken and also with congee.

Tofu and Gai Lan in Oyster sauce - lunch for vegetarian granddaughter: Luncheon with my CPLS( Crazy Plant Ladies). Picture after attack with chopsticks! Yaki Udon Noodles - no meat so good for vegetarians Quick stir-fry shrimp in spicy tomato sauce Wonton Soup for a couple of friends driving from Brampton, Ont. to Kelowna, B.C

I love this stuff, cooked with a couple of squares of spicy Fuyu (fermented tofu). The leaves deteriorate quickly, so needs to be cooked as soon as purchased when they put it out in the veg cooler.

Been such a busy couple of weeks with granddaughter visiting from St. John's (vegetarian), and different visitors and "babysitting" 2 granddaughters every day the past week. I was exhausted by Sunday! Vegetarian granddaughter wanted mainly plant-based burgers, tofu, gai lan, ramen, Everything Bagels and cream cheese, and pie! Hubby and I enjoyed the tofu and gai lan, but we also need our meat! LOL! Some meals: Picked up a couple packages of Marinated Short Ribs on sale @ SS. Took a long time in the IP! Beets, green beans, and some leftover chicken and rice. Have been making a lot of wonton soup for lunch with company. Eating leftovers for supper. Granddaughter had noodles and veg in the broth and banana cream pie that I had made for guests- her favourite, from a family recipe While looking for the Nagano pork shanks again, didn't find any (for the ingredients list!) but did see the pork chops, again marked down. They were good, just simple seasoning of salt and pepper onto the cast iron skillet. Again, too expensive on a regular basis ($7.00 / chop before the $3.00 markdown), but the quality is definitely better than regular chops. Romano beans, the only veg in my garden producing lots! Supper with the carnivore granddaughters, their Dad, after he finished work. They DO love their steaks - medium rare! One loved perogies; the other loved Cantonese noodles. Made their favourite dessert: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Apple Crisp, warm with Vanilla ice-cream With just the two of us, Home-style Chinese food! One of the Chinese elders gave me a big bunch of Goji stalks, the leaf ones for soup. Have fond memories of the soup, with pork and a salted egg swirled in just before serving. Had picked up small chickens on sale at Walmart, $1.99 / lb. Usually pretty safe on the first day of the weekly sale. Did a big dish of bone-in chicken steamed with lap cheung and shitaki mushrooms.

Apologies for late response. Unfortunately, I had already tossed the package the shanks came in. Have tried to find the product again, and they are a no-show at the moment. Found a recipe on-line: http://www.gourmetmum.tv/easy-recipes/slow-roast-pork-shank-with-red-wine-jus.html The veg mentioned and herbs were strained out and just the red wine sauce in with the package. They were good but expensive. Good trial as pork shanks are not readily available. Lamb, always. Beef shank, usually cut into slices!

It was in the meat cooler with other pork items, not frozen. They had other cuts, but these were BOGO. I vowed never to buy marinated meat in cryovac after a couple of disappointing purchases, but I can never resist a sale. LOL! It was $17.99 for two, and they were quite meaty. We had some meat leftover and had that with crusty buns for lunch next day. They turned out pretty good. I was in the store a couple of days later and they were all gone. Took the shanks out of the package with the wine "jelly", put them into the oven at 350 for 20 minutes while I cook the rest of the supper. There was fat, so I made mint sauce for them. It worked.

Picked up Nagano Red Wine Pork Shanks at Safeway sale. They were fully cooked, so quick to have ready. We had mint sauce to cut the richness. Mashed new taters, bets, and yellow beans from farmers market: Chorizo sausages, savoy cabbage, Jasmin rice Beets are plentiful, so I made my first ever batch of Ukrainian Borscht. It was chock full of vegetables (celery, potato, yellow beans, peas, onion, beets0. Added a can of pork and beans and leftover roast pork. It was good, especially with sour cream and fresh dill. Enjoyed it with crusty rolls, followed by cherry pie a la mode! Panko coated pickerel, green beans, beats, rice, and quick pickle (English cuke in sushi seasoning)

That chunk of pork roast keeps on giving! Finally! Used the big pork roast bone still with meat clinging to it = congee. At serving, added Century egg, pork slices, fuyu, pork floss, chili radish, cruellers. It was rather hefty with all the add-ons! Safeway rotisserie chicken, unfortunately not cheap like Costco, gravy, new taters, and mixed beans with fuyu. Had granddaughters up for supper - picky eaters! They are at the stage where one says she likes it, the other says she doesn't! At least, with steak, they will both eat it IF medium rare. One wanted perogies, the other Cantonese noodles. One ate the corn, the other the beans! Forgot to take a picture of the food plated, but this is the leftovers.

Haven't made this traditional steamed ground beef with spicy Sechuan presereved turnip for a long time. Eaten with Jasmin rice and stir-fried Shanghai Bok Choy. Shrimp and Pappardelle alfredo with my very first Rhubarb Crisp! Cool enough day to use the oven: Roasted a chunk of a huge bone-in pork butt, rubbed with whole grain mustard and fresh Rosemary. Tossed in new potatoes and carrot chunks for the last 60 minutes. Choice of applesauce or @Shelby mustard sauce.

For the sheet-pan oven shrimp boil: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. I used baby potatoes, cut into halves, and corn into 2" chunks 3 batches of seasonings: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons Old Bay, ½ teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon dried dill, ½ teaspoon s Kosher salt,and several grinds black pepper Mix the potatoes with the olive oil and seasonings (Old Bay seasoning, coriander, dill, salt and pepper). Place on parchment (or reusable liners) lined baking sheets and bake 10 minutes. Mix the corn with the olive oil and same seasonings and herbs. Remove the baking sheets from the oven, flip the potatoes and add the corn. Bake for 12 minutes. In the same bowl, mix the shrimp with the olive oil and seasonings. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and add the shrimp. Bake for 10 minutes.