C. sapidus

Tilapia with chiles and Sichuan peppercorns (la zi yu), from Fuchsia Dunlop. Jasmine rice to go with Stir-fried water spinach two ways: leaves, with garlic . . . . . . and stems, with fermented black beans, garlic, chiles, and vinegar.

Fragrant-and-hot shrimp with chile bean paste, ginger, garlic, mild red chile, dark soy, scallions, and sesame oil. Shrimp were marinated with salt and shaoxing wine, and then fried, rested, and simmered in the sauce. Jasmine rice to go with. Fish-fragrant eggplant: deep-fried Asian eggplants, with chile bean paste, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, chicken stock, and potato starch to thicken. Finished with black vinegar, scallions, and sesame oil. I love eggplant cooked this way but Mrs. C hates the texture so I cooked it while she is traveling.

Thanks! One of my first cookbooks was Diana Kennedy's 'The Art of Mexican Cooking'. 😊 Around here most Latino immigrants are from Central and South America rather than Mexico. This yields excellent tamales and tons of pupusas y tacos places, but unfortunately good Mexican restaurants are few and far between.

Thank you! Unfortunately Grandma Alice's Chipotle Chorizo is hidden behind a paywall, but I did find a few other chorizo recipes that look promising. One used ground pork and no sausage casings (longaniza?), which sounds more likely to happen. But I still prefer finding a brand I like that is available locally.

Eggs with chorizo, tomato, roasted Poblano chile strips, white onion, garlic, serrano chile, and cilantro. Younger son's reaction: "Holy sh*t that's good." I am on a quest for good crumbly chorizo. This was not it, but the flavor was good.

Raising your working surface is the way to go, methinks. I have a nice thick cutting board that raises the working surface about 2.5 inches. At 6'-7" you could probably use even more height for your prep surfaces. If you do build blocks to raise your cutting surface, please post here - I would be very interested to see. Mrs. C is about 7 inches shorter so raising countertop height was not an option. Plus, you may eventually want to sell your house to short people . . .

I had a meal planned, stopped by the Latino market for groceries, and well . . . tamales will change plans.

Ground turkey with burnt caramel sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce. Served on Romaine lettuce with cucumber salad and jasmine rice.

Glad you have a working fridge @Shelby In other news, I replaced two of the igniters on our cooktop. One igniter would go "tick-tick-tick" if set below medium. The other stopped going "tick" at all so we had to keep a fire starter next to the cooktop. The Blue Star cooktop is about 18 years old, so replacing an igniter every once in a while seems pretty reasonable.

Pesto scrambled eggs with sautéed garlic and feta

Pasta with pesto, shrimp, and feta cheese (we just finished a nice block of parmesan, dangit). Shrimp were tossed with smoked paprika and black pepper before searing, and then set aside to rest. Peas with butter and tarragon. Not sure there are many pantry meals left - I might need to break down and get groceries. 🙄

Opposite experience here. I was traveling and grabbed a takeout curry to eat in the hotel. No utensils whatsoever. That was a very good but very sloppy meal. 🙄

Not sure I should post given previous discussion, but . . . 😉 Tuna salad with kimchi and spicy pickles: Dogs supervising the consumption thereof:

Breakfast tacos with onion, garlic, bird chilies, veggie chorizo, and a mystery packet of shredded parmesan cheese.

Thank you! Sadly, no refried beans were available.

You should show him pics and offer a home-cooked meal if he can install the fridge before Monday. I bet he takes you up on it. 😃

Huevos rancheros with leftover pasilla-chipotle sauce. toppped with feta and Mexican oregano. I'm gonna miss that batch of chilie sauce. 😢

Bit of a culture clash meal, but . . . Shrimp with chipotle-pasilla sauce. The chilies were blended with roasted garlic, tomato, molasses, cloves, and Mexican cinnamon. Finished with cumin, black pepper, Mexican oregano, and a shot of half-and-half. Jasmine rice with onion , garlic, and homemade chicken stock. Mrs. C made parmesan-crusted Romaine lettuce and broccoli with lemon pepper.

Leftover summer squash, repurposed as breakfast tacos with chipotle, Scotch bonnets, onion, cumin, feta, and a considerable amount of fresh basil. Topped with Cholula lime hot sauce.

Thanks for that - I now have a new road food to seek out. Usually on the road I'm looking for BBQ, crab joints, or taco trucks. Preferably dog-friendly. Have had some amazing food at random crossroads.

Parmesan-crusted zucchini and yellow squash with melted butter to make the Parmesan stick. Neighbor's teenage son has developed an interest in cooking. He had sliced up squash for ratatouille but the family left on vacation before he had a chance to cook it. Bonus for us - one of the easiest meals I have ever cooked.

We had a similar rule with out boys. I read somewhere that children need to try something several times to distinguish between "this is different" and "I don't like this." We also asked the boys to figure how to adjust the flavor so they would enjoy the dish. Spoiler alert: one son would eat just about anything with soy sauce, and the other would eat just about anything with honey. 🙄

Grilled chicken, marinated with lemon juice, sugar, black pepper, fish sauce, and olive oil. Peanut sauce with hoisin, garlic, and dried chilies. Mrs. C baked sweet potatoes, not pictured but surprisingly nice with peanut sauce.

Dinner leftovers: Friends gave us summer squash so we simmered it with a sauce of sauteed white onion, garlic, and bacon crumbles, plus blended tomato with chipotles in adobo. Seasoned with cumin, nutmeg, Mexican oregano, and cilantro. Feta cheese at the table. Would have been better with chorizo, but so would most things.

Hey I prefer darker roasts. And I enjoy a plain latte from time to time. But mostly we just make drip coffee at home. On the road we try to find local roasters Not crazy about some of Starbucks' business practices, though.