C. sapidus

Tom kha shrimp and shiitake mushroom soup with cucumber salad. Chicken stock and coconut cream simmered with galangal, lemongrass, lemon zest, bruised bird chiles, bruised shallot, and palm sugar. Strained the soup, dry-fried the mushrooms, and then added with the shrimp. Finished with chile jam, lemon juice, fish sauce, basil, and cilantro.

Last night Mrs. C cooked salmon and cabbage with a lovely lemon-cream sauce. Salmon did not survive dinner, but the cabbage, sauce, and an over-easy egg made a nice breakfast.

Mrs. C has a big jug of Amarena cherries, which did the job nicely. But I like orange peel, too, if we have them.

Gai yang: chicken thighs baked and then grilled. Marinade included ginger, garlic, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, and Bourbon. Mrs. C steamed broccoli and doctored up pre-made sweet potatoes with Indian spices and yogurt, served with air-fried pistachios. Since the Bourbon was in the kitchen anyway, we accompanied dinner with perfect Manhattans. 😃

Zucchini, shiitake mushroom, and andouille sausage, sauteed with onion, garlic, chilies, fish sauce, and spices, and then finished with feta and cilantro.

An autoclave is definitely capable of sterilizing chicken stock, as long as the proper time / temperature / pressure regimen is followed. A pressure cooker could certainly achieve the same end. But once open to the atmosphere, there is the potential for the stock to be re-contaminated and, at the appropriate temperature range, for pathogens to grow. Just to be a contrarian, I will point out that even an autoclave does not destroy prions (which, granted, are a special case).

Pollo escabeche and jicama salad with lemon-cilantro dressing

Fried rice with green beans, spinach, mushrooms, and andouille sausage. Onion, garlic, bird chiles, and fish sauce for flavor. Finished with cilantro and feta.

Thanks! Marinated in fish sauce and toasted/ground coriander and cumin seed.

Stir-fried beef with spices (from 'Thai Food'), cucumber salad, jasmine rice. There was cilantro on the beef after picture time.

Over the years my tuna salads have, uh, evolved. Tonight's had sauerkraut, sweet-hot pickles, mayo, horseradish, Poupon mustard, S&P, bird chiles, and a generous dollop of chile crisp. Probably equal parts tuna and sauerkraut+pickles. With cukes on potato bread.

Saute chorizo and remove. Saute shrimp and remove. Saute bird chiles, garlic, and shallots with green beans. Add crushed tomato and spices and reduce. Return shrimp and chorizo to the pan, and simmer with half-and-half. Feta cheese. I wish we had cilantro.

Going over to see friends this evening. They say they are not making dinner but that doesn't mean there will not be a 5-course meal. Consequently, light dinner. Plantains finally got good and ripe after a week on the counter. And yes, we prefer them "well done"

Neighbors gave us pork spareribs. We have a Weber bullet. What to do, what to do? Mustardy coleslaw to go with. I haven't smoked ribs since we had the Green Egg so I learned some things: 1. Spareribs fit the bullet way better than baby back ribs 2. I think I like spareribs better than baby backs, anyway 3. With pork butts I like to slather the rub on thick. Ribs have a higher surface area to volume ratio, so lighter on the rub works better

Clean-out-the-fridge fried rice, with Mexican chorizo, bagged salad mix, garlic, ginger, chiles, crushed tomato, and fish sauce, finished with egg, cucumber and chile crisp.

Huevos con camarones, with olives, capers, chile serrano, pickled jalapeno, onion, tomato, and Mexican oregano

Mexican chorizo, coleslaw mix, feta, and scrambled egg with sauteed onion, garlic, and bird chiles, seasoned with cumin, red Hatch chile powder, panch foran, and Mexican oregano

Couple of dinners from our trip to the Eastern Shore: Fish tacos and a BLT salad at Burnish Beer Brisket bowl at Bark BBQ Cafe. The pickles and coleslaw were amazing

Spinach and eggs with feta cheese, cooked-down tomatillo salsa, and sauteed white onion, garlic, ginger, panch foran, thyme, Mexican oregano.

Keema matar with ground lamb, star anise, black peppercorns, onion, garlic, ginger, crushed tomato, cayenne, turmeric, garam masala, lime juice, and cilantro. Haven't made this version for a while but I like the mix of flavors. Used the last of the Costco ground lamb so we should be done with keema for a while. Stir-fried broccolini and shiitake mushrooms with oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine, a little sugar, and sesame oil. Great ratio of flavor to effort. 🙂

I am surprised that Hunan restaurants in Chinese cities with large Hunanese populations don't offer traditional options as "off-menu" items. In the US, those from the particular culture can often request off-menu items, or on-menu items prepared traditionally. I have even heard of separate traditional menus being printed in something other than English (which I assume would not be necessary in China).

Scrambled eggs with zucchini, dry-fried mushrooms, crushed tomato, onion, garlic, bird chiles, and feta.

Tai bai chicken and cucumber salad

Zucchini al mojo de ajo, a longtime favorite. Garlic sliced, fried, and removed while the zucchini sweats. White onion, bird chiles, and zucchini sauteed. Finished with lime juice, cilantro, thyme, Mexican oregano, black pepper, and the fried garlic, and topped with crumbled feta.

My usual lamb keema, this time with green beans. No complaints. Masoor dal, finished with ghee-fried onions, cumin, turmeric, chile powder, paprika, panch foran, and crushed tomato fried in ghee. Made a fresh batch of panch foran with equal parts cumin seed, kala jeera, aniseed, coriander, and fenugreek. Turned out very well.