C. sapidus

Welcome! I have visited the UK but not the southwest. Besides the pirate accent, I would love to hear more about your location - local food specialties, availability of ingredients, etc.

Shrimp with tamarind, fish sauce, Sriracha, garlic, and ginger. Broccoli with garlic and anchovies. Jasmine rice. Not my best effort - everything tasted good, but textures on the broccoli and shrimp were a miss. Oh well.

Mrs. C is not a recipe person. If she makes something particularly delicious the conversation typically goes like this: Me: "Is there any possibility that you could make this again?" Her: "Not a chance." Me: 😔

Zucchini-yellow squash-kielbasa-chile concoction, repurposed as breakfast tacos

Oh, you want a chemically plausible explanation? "The taste of whisky is primarily linked to so-called amphipathic molecules, which are made up of hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts. One such molecule is guaiacol, a substance that develops when the grain is dried over peat smoke when making malt whisky, providing the smoky flavour to the whisky," Karlsson explains. Karlsson and Friedman carried out computer simulations of water/ethanol mixtures in the presence of guaiacol to study its interactions. They found that guaiacol was preferentially associated with ethanol molecules and that in mixtures with concentrations of ethanol up to 45% guaiacol was more likely to be present at the liquid-air interface than in the bulk of the liquid. "This suggests that, in a glass of whisky, guaiacol will therefore be found near the surface of the liquid, where it contributes to both the smell and taste of the spirit. Interestingly, a continued dilution down to 27% resulted in an increase of guaiacol at the liquid-air interface. An increased percentage, over 59%, had the opposite effect, that is to say, the ethanol interacted more strongly with the guaiacol, driving the molecule into the solution away from the surface," Science Daily: Why whiskey tastes better diluted with water

My understanding is that aromatic components of whiskey are more soluble in ethanol than water, so adding water may take these aromatics out of solution where they are available to your olfactory cells. That said, I prefer whiskey neat. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Leftovers from dinner: potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and kielbasa in chile sauce, jazzed up with feta and hot sauce.

One of our friends is from Trinidad. She described Caribbean food as flavorful but not chile-hot. That was pretty much our experience. Have fun!

Had some zucchini, yellow squash and kielbasa to use up. Sauce was reconstituted guajillo, pasilla, and mulato chiles, garlic, and white onion, blended and fried before mixing with chicken stock, cumin, nutmeg, etc. Sautéed the squash and meat separately to maintain texture. Calabaza con Colorado? Braised baby potatoes with garlic and bay leaves.

Russian neighbors dropped off borscht, always a special treat. Dollop of yogurt.

Thanks for doing this, and thanks for all the chorizo and chile photos. If _________ and Mexican chorizo is not a food group, it should be.

Chicken in southern Thai red curry, with added green beans and zucchini that needed using up. Made the lazy way – Panang curry paste jazzed up with garlic, ginger, green and dried red chiles, and turmeric. Southern Thai curries are like a mash-up of Thai and Indian curry ingredients, and quite delicious. Jasmine rice, and green beans with olive oil and lemon.

Agreed, tuna salad sandwich with something green and leafy makes a satisfying quick meal. I usually use chopped up dill pickles because I can never find our little jar of capers. Hot pickles or pickled jalapenos are fun, too. Lots of ways to jazz up tuna salad. Hot sauce, mustard, curry powder, etc. Never a dull moment . . .

Keema with coconut milk, spinach and cilantro, seasoned with lots of onion, chiles, garlic, ginger, and a cabinet full of spices (most notably ground fenugreek seeds, which impart a lovely aroma). Cumin rice with ghee, and green chutney with cilantro and fresh coconut. Younger son is home for the weekend - mostly for a better internet connection - but he does seem to appreciate home cooking more than before.

Kielbasa with yellow squash and zucchini, flavored with white onion, garlic, chipotle in adobo, jalapeno, and cooked down tomatillo salsa, and then finished with Mexican oregano and feta cheese. Polish tacos, maybe?

Very interesting, thanks for posting this @Smithy. I have an aunt who lived to 100 years old and followed a somewhat similar path. Her family fled Armenian genocide in Turkey when she was an infant, and then she lived under Nazi occupation in France before coming to the US. Her cooking though, was 100% French, and she imparted a love of food to all of her children. We have wonderful meals whenever we visit. 😃

Nice to meet you, too! Can you tell us about yourself and your food interests?

Palak paneer (spinach with freshly made curd cheese) and turmeric rice. Palak paneer at a local restaurant years ago got me started on Indian food, and remains a favorite. Anyway, food tasted great and the house smelled amazing. I had never made fresh curd cheese before. The recipe said to barely boil milk (I used half and half), add yogurt, lime juice, and salt, and simmer for a few minutes before straining out the whey. Curds separated nicely. I squeezed them in cheesecloth but there was no way they were holding together when “stirred gently” into the spinach mixture. So I need to check some other sources on making paneer. I vaguely recall hearing about a paneer press, for those who make it regularly. Still tasted delicious, but I prefer the texture of paneer in chunks.

That book does sound interesting. Re sourcing ingredients, I appreciate when cookbook authors list the proper ingredients as well as reasonable substitutes. Bonus points if they describe how much of a compromise the substitute ingredients represent.

You and me both. 🙄

How so? 🤷🏼‍♂️ Mrs. C picked up Truff at Costco. I like thick and flavorful hot sauces, as opposed to the usual thin and vinegary ones. The earthy scent is a bonus.

I was thinking spot fish (clicky), which are common in the Chesapeake Bay and east coast. I recall a bony fish with nice flavor.

Spot?

Leftovers for lunch: shrimp patia, cumin rice, and cucumber riata. Truffled hot sauce and fish sauce gave the patia some pop, and a squeeze of lemon brightened up the raita. Live and learn.

Yes, My Bombay Kitchen is a favorite. Glad you were able to do some online research here. If you haven't yet tried Andrew's Goa curry or Bombay curry, or even if you have, I would suggest those recipes. Also pumpkin with curry leaves, because it is ridiculously delicious for how simple it is. You have an excellent memory, @Shelby 😃