C. sapidus

Shrimp and spinach curry with onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, green cardamom, dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala, ground coriander, ghee, and yogurt, finished with a tadka of paprika and dried chiles sauteed in butter. Recipe is for saag paneer, but shrimp substitutes nicely. I cooked this while Mrs. C was out of town - she says that spinach curries remind her of things she cleaned up when she worked as a nurse.

Sauteed onion, garlic, zucchini, and roasted chile Poblano mixed with leftover chuu chee bay scallop curry from last night. I enjoyed the vegetable-enhanced version more than the original.

Chuu chii curry bay scallops. Red curry paste was half commercial and half homemade (I was missing some key ingredients). Made with cooked-down coconut cream, so very rich. Fried rice with shiitake mushrooms and roasted Poblano chile.

Yes, chopping with a cleaver takes longer but I do prefer the texture. Using pre-ground meat is faster, and still yields a delicious meal when time is tight. Life is full of choices.

Improvised catfish curry with zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, red and yellow bell peppers, and leftover sweet potato. Curry paste was shallots, garlic, long red chiles, frozen lemongrass, ginger, shrimp paste, and lime zest, with ground coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Sauce was coconut milk seasoned with tamarind, fish sauce, brown sugar, and Thai basil. Outcome seemed shaky but it turned out well in the end.

David Thompson says that sticky rice is best soaked for several hours (typically overnight), but in a pinch you can soak sticky rice in warm water for 30 minutes. I have not tried this so I have no opinion.

This meal was in the "slap it together quickly" category. Not sure we even have any sticky rice in the house. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I enjoy sticky rice but make it rarely, probably because it is more of a production.

Larb gai, from 'Larb Laab Larp" (clicky)

Larb gai, from 'Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook'. Easy to find this recipe because the pages stick together. Poach ground chicken with sliced shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, and minced ginger (sub for galangal powder). Mix in roasted rice powder and minced cilantro and scallions, and cayenne. Serve with mint, Boston lettuce, and microwave cilantro rice. Mrs. C said that she "would happily eat variations on larb several times a week in the summer." I asked her to remind me of that regularly.

Sometimes using up odds and ends leads to a fun meal. We had de-boned Costco chicken, some chipotle en adobo that needed using up, and sad-looking potato rolls. Sauteed and pureed the chipotle with garlic and cumin seed. Mixed with mayo, S&P, and chopped Tony Packo's sweet hot pickles. End result: probably my favorite chicken salad ever (caveat: I rarely have chicken salad, so competition is low 😉).

Cilantro fried rice with steelhead and stir-fried yellow bell pepper, topped with bird chiles in fish sauce. Roasted chile paste and lots of garlic in with the fried rice. Cukes on the side.

Maybe bars should offer a discount if you open a tab. Sounds like it would save everyone money, except the credit card companies.

Parsi soft-scrambled eggs with seared gulf shrimp and sauteed shallot, ginger, garlic, bird chile, ghee, half-and-half, scallions, and cilantro.

For me, minimal prep food includes an omelet, tuna salad, leftovers, or just a can of sardines with hot sauce. Or, as weinoo says, go out for dinner. Hope your ennui is soon on its way. 😉

Dinner was nearly all Mrs. C tonight: Steelhead, seared to remove the skin and then baked. Very simple - just lemon juice, S&P - but very tender. I had mine with some tartar sauce from the other day. Beet and baked rhubarb salad with fried plantains, parsley, shallot, and a dressing of olive oil, pomegranate molasses, and champagne vinegar. I would happily eat that in a restaurant. I had mine with feta cheese. My only contribution was frying the plantains.

Beef curry with spinach. Beef chuck (sub for lamb) was cubed and marinated with pureed ginger, garlic, jalapenos, yogurt, and cumin. Fry black cardamon, cloves, and bay leaf, slowly sautee onions, and then add ground coriander and cumin. Simmer with the meat and marinade, crushed tomato, and tomato paste. When almost done, mix in pureed spinach and sprinkle with ground nutmeg. Tasted better than it looked - I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately. Turmeric rice with black cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon stick, topped with scallions. Sliced and salted cukes.

Zucchini and shrimp with a yogurt and chipotle sauce. Separately seared and removed shrimp and cubed zucchini. Sauteed onions to deglaze the pan, then added cumin seed, garlic, fish sauce, and minced chipotle in adobo. Mixed in yogurt to tame the heat, and finished with Mexican oregano. Kind of a Mexican yogurt curry.

Papas chirrionas (potatoes with pasilla chile sauce). Toast pasilla chiles and blend with chipotle in adobo and crushed tomato (sub for tomate verde). Cube, boil, and fry potatoes, add sliced onion and garlic, and then add the blended sauce and cook down. Finish with Mexican oregano and feta cheese, and serve on corn tortillas. Send-off breakfast for elder son, who is on his way to the airport.

Elder son requested grilled five-spice chicken for his last dinner. Drumsticks were slashed and marinated with ginger, garlic, 5-spice powder, turmeric, soy sauce, oil, and toasted and ground star anise. Somewhat over-enthusiastically grilled over charcoal, but stayed nice and juicy after resting. Since I had the grill going, I quickly marinated zucchini with fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, oil, salt, and black pepper

No, look what YOU made ME do . . . also jumbo lump. To be fair, elder son was visiting . . .

Hacked-up omelet with bay scallop, white onion, and long red chile. Plain for elder son, who is visiting. Topped with feta for me. Fried plantains, burned black like Mrs. C prefers. Tasted, as they say, better than it looked.

I suppose I should call this "zucchini-enhanced crab dip". Zucchini - cubed, salted, rested, seared, and removed. Sauteed chorizo, shallot, jalapeno and bird chiles. Mixed in the zucchini and leftover crab dip. Tasty, but still pretty heavy.

Heading back from Havre de Grace, MD, so I had to stop for crabcakes at Conrad's Crabs and Seafood Market. The fresh seafood looked amazing, wish I had brought a cooler. Crabcakes with mustardy tartar sauce. Good, but maybe I should have splurged for the jumbo over backfin. Crab dip - very rich, this would have been better for sharing

I am so glad that you are home and recovering well enough to cook up some delicious meals.

I was craving a spicy breakfast, so . . . breakfast tacos with chorizo, zucchini, and egg, plus white onion, garlic, jalapenos, bird chiles, Mexican oregano, and Thai basil. Finished with a little heavy cream and feta to somewhat tame the heat.