C. sapidus

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.

Scrambled eggs with roasted chile Poblano, onion, garlic, serrano chiles, cumin, thyme, Mexican oregano, and feta cheese

We have way too many mugs but these are notable. My mother used to pick up mugs from local craft fairs and these were two I kept from her collection. We have mugs from some, uh, unusual federal sites. I got the CDC mug for giving a pre-conference lecture there. Sorry, hard to read the lower right but that is from Camp David, the presidential retreat. This mug has seen some adventures in the past 25 years. It has a rubberized bottom and survived a several-block trip on the roof of my car. Eventually I figured out that the driver next to me was not being rude, he was letting me know I was about to lose a coffee mug. The mug also survived a car crash that caused several thousand dollars worth of damage without spilling a drop of coffee.

What I had: Opened cans of coconut milk, crushed tomato, and chipotle in adobo. Spinach and shrimp in the freezer, and Mexican chorizo in the fridge. Usual procedure after that. Sear shrimp and remove. Fry chorizo and remove. Saute sliced onion and minced garlic, fry dry spices (coriander, cumin, cloves, canela, black pepper, cardamom seed) then deglaze the pan with blended chipotle and tomato. Simmer with spinach and a roasted chile Poblano then finish with fish sauce and coconut milk. Spicy, rich, and aromatic, but I knew this would not be a pretty meal.

Where did you have these crab cakes? With regard to the title of this thread, sorry but I have never used bechamel in crab cakes. Not opposed to the idea, just never tried it. But I am curious whether these were Maryland-style mostly-crab cakes or whether the filler played a larger role.

I gave Red Dog a pink collar when she was 1-yo because everyone called her "he". Within a week the collar was mud brown. She's just not a pink collar kinda gal. Hope the pink collar works better on Scoutie. One of my favorite things I ever ate was a duck salad at a long-defunct local restaurant. Wish I had paid more attention to how they made it, but I think it was a warm salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing and some mushy but flavorful cheese. 🤷🏼‍♂️

A friend came over for dinner and I cooked a couple of South Indian dishes from 'Curry Cuisine' Kerala lamb: This was interesting in two ways. First, it was prepared like a Malaysian rendang - starts like a stew but the liquid cooks down to a spicy, aromatic glaze. Second, it contains a spice paste of grated coconut, sliced ginger, minced garlic, curry leaves, bay leaves, canela, cloves, and black pepper, all dry-roasted until the coconut browns. Other ingredients included shallots, ground coriander seed, cayenne, and turmeric, and a tadka of mustard seed, more curry leaves, and sliced chiles, quickly seared in hot oil. Mixed vegetable curry (rasa kayi): Carrots, potatoes, green beans, and cauliflower with lots of minced onion and sliced serrano chiles, flavored with ground coriander seed, cayenne, and turmeric, plus a spice paste of garlic, ginger, serrano chile, crushed tomato, and fennel seed. When everything is cooked swirl in coconut milk for richness. Very popular. Microwave cilantro rice to go with.

Potato soup with chipotle, crushed tomato, onion, garlic, chicken stock, cilantro, and a dollop of Greek yogurt Black beans with bacon, garlic, crushed tomato, ancho chile powder, roasted chile Poblano, and cilantro

Leftover lemongrass pork and broccolini with a meaty roasted chile Poblano, turned into an egg-thickened breakfast soup/stew. Sauteed shallots and the last of the bird chiles for flavor, cumin seed and thyme for aroma.

Grilled lemongrass pork chops: Marinate thick pork chops with minced lemongrass, garlic, scallions, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, whiskey, white pepper, sugar, and coconut milk. Grill over charcoal. Turned out well, will make again. Stir-fried broccolini with garlic, serrano chile, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and a little sugar.