C. sapidus

Dinner from ‘My Bombay Kitchen’ Mulligatawny: Toast white poppy seeds, coriander seed, cumin seed, cinnamon stick, cloves, turmeric, and uncooked basmati rice, then blend with cilantro, jalapeños, almonds, garlic, and ginger. Brown-fry onions, add the masala, and then simmer with Mrs. C’s chicken stock and cubed chicken thighs. Finish with coconut milk and serve over basmati rice. Optional lemon wedges for squeezing. Butternut squash with curry leaves: Toss butternut squash cubes with garlic, olive oil, and snipped dried red chiles. Strew with curry leaves and roast in the oven. Always surprisingly good for how simple it is. Mrs. C made a particularly good loaf of sourdough bread, which was wonderful with the soup.

Breakfast concoction for a full house: This started as a simple breakfast and kept growing as more expressed interest. Separately sautéed shrimp, mushrooms, plantains, and green beans. Fried crumbly chorizo with onion and garlic, added some sambal ulek from last night, and finished with chopped parsley, Mexican oregano, and garam masala. Scrambled in eggs and feta and mixed everything together. Younger son said it was too spicy. I told him he needed to build up his tolerance before coming home for a visit.

That is interesting, using the cobek (which I do not have) and hot oil to "fry" the sauce. Lucky you, having home-grown chiles. I miss our vegetable garden, which is now buried underneath the new sun room. I was happy with the flavor and heat level, but I'll use Holland chiles next time if they are available. Thank you, I was hoping to get your perspective on the meal. And now I know that kuning means yellow.

Dinner from 'Cradle of Flavor' Malaccan beef and vegetable stew (Semur daging lembu): Basically a European stew with Malaysian flavors like shallot paste, star anise, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, black soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Red onion, carrots, sliced green beans (sub for peas), and potatoes cooked separately and added just before serving. Jasmine rice to go with. Very popular, no leftovers Sweet-sour cucumber and carrot pickle with turmeric (Acar kuning): Salt matchsticks of cucumber and carrot with sliced shallots and red Fresno peppers and let sit for a couple of hours. Meanwhile make a flavoring paste of shallots, garlic, macadamia nuts (sub for candlenuts), ginger, dried red chiles, and turmeric. Saute the paste and simmer with rice vinegar and sugar. Rinse and dry the quick-pickled vegetables and mix with the sauce. First time making this but it won't be the last. Javanese sambal (sambal bajak / ulek): Shallots, garlic, red Fresno peppers, palm sugar, and a fried disc of dried shrimp paste, all blended "to the consistency of cooked oatmeal." Fry until reduced, darkened, and the oil begins to separate. Good stuff, will make again. I owe Fresno peppers an apology. International market usually carries red Holland chiles, and I was very disappointed to find them out of stock. I reluctantly substituted Fresno chiles, which are often bland. Not this batch!

Gertie's crab cakes, tartar sauce, and green bean salad. Mine was the first (and worst) - I swear the other crab cakes looked better. Served with croissants for those who wanted a crab cake sandwich.

No idea, sorry! When the can showed up I wished I had observed. Last night on the road, bourbon shrimp appetizer with a crab cake-topped salad with nice greens and plenty of walnuts. I’m in Delaware so it seemed safe to order a crab cake lol. No pics, sadly.

Me neither! It was very cleanly done.

These had melted cheese inside, but crispy cheese on the outside sounds amazing. Sorry about the embezzling restauranteur. Looked like Peekskill has a few good Mexican offerings, and a nice wine and liquor store where I got restaurant recommendations. Many restaurants were “closed for the season” this time of year, so you may want to do your Peekskill restaurant tour in the summer.

Road food on a cold day in Peekskill NY - pork birria tacos with jus, corn and chorizo, and Modelo Especial

Roasted chile Poblano, roasted red bell pepper, and red onion salad with Parmesan vinaigrette, served with butter lettuce Red chileatole with mushrooms, chicken, and zucchini. Soup base was toasted ancho chile paste, sauteed white onion, and sauteed garlic, blended with homemade chicken stock.

That is extremely kind of you to say. Thank you! I usually only eat two meals a day, so late breakfast/early lunch needs to last until dinner.

Scrambled eggs with chorizo, (over-enthusiastically) roasted sweet potato, chipotle in adobo, shallot, and garlic. Yogurt for richness, cumin and Mexican oregano for aroma.

I'm always happy with Thai curry. Green, red, panang, jungle, yes please! Improvised dinner tonight. We had Mexican chorizo, yogurt, and chiles in the fridge, and shrimp and spinach in the freezer. Sauteed cubed chorizo and removed. Seared shrimp in the rendered fat and removed. Browned sliced onion, added minced garlic and chile serrano, and then mixed in the dry spices (ground coriander seed, cumin seed, cardamom seed, black pepper, turmeric, cloves, and canela). Deglazed with chicken stock, added spinach, roasted/diced chile Poblano, and yogurt, then simmered for a bit. Mixed in the shrimp and chorizo and finished with fish sauce and garam masala. House guest made bulghur, and we had tatziki from Mrs. C's trip to the Syrian market. Sliced up some cukes and called it a meal.

Leftover Desi murgh (special chicken curry) enhanced with minced chipotle, fish sauce, Mexican oregano, and crumbled feta. Improved an already tasty dish, imo. When I tried to top with an over-easy egg I learned that our formerly non-stick pan no longer performs that function. 🙄

Pakistani recipes tonight, from 'Curry Cuisine' Special chicken curry (Desi murgh): Slowly saute sliced onions until dark golden brown, remove, and puree. Saute garlic and ginger paste, crushed tomato, Greek yogurt, cayenne, turmeric, cumin seed, ground coriander seed, cloves, black cardamom, and curry leaves (sub for bay leaves). Add chicken thighs and water and simmer. When the chicken is done, uncover and simmer until the oil separates. Finish with cilantro. Mixed vegetable curry (Subzi curry): Saute onion, garlic, crushed tomato, turmeric, cayenne, and cumin seed. Add cubed potato, cauliflower florets, and water, and simmer until done. Finish with cilantro. Recipe should have had ginger slivers but I used it all up on the chicken. Oh, well, it was popular.