C. sapidus

Visiting friend wanted to try something unavailable in rural Maine so we went out for African food. Chicken peanut butter stew, goat stew, and pumpkinseed chicken (egusi) stew with mixed greens and three kinds of fufu (plantain, corn, and fonio). Fufu was interesting, and unlike anything I have ever had before. No pics, sadly. Grandparents spent time in Ghana so it was interesting to compare the stews with family recipes, even though the owner/cook is from Cameroon. Wandered downtown and stopped for Old Fashioneds at a local distillery, which recently opened a bar.

Cashew cream chicken, from ‘My Bombay Kitchen’. Sear chicken and marinate with ginger-garlic paste. Fry dried chiles, cloves, cardamom, and onion. Add chicken, cover with water, and then simmer until done. Blend raw cashews with yogurt, sauce, and dried chiles, and then simmer everything together. Milder than intended but no complaints. Turmeric rice with cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, black cardamom, and garlic. Mrs. C stir-fried broccoli florets and broccolini with garlic and maybe some other stuff.

Palak paneer. Fried onions, ginger, garlic, and chiles with ground cumin, cloves, black pepper, and nutmeg. Blended that with spinach, cilantro, and turkey stock. Simmered everything with more turkey stock and coconut cream, and then finished with store-bought paneer and Meyer lemon juice. I was pretty stoked that Mrs. C found good paneer. Royal Mahout brand, from Wisconsin

Tuna salad with fermented black radish and Tony Packo's Sweet Hots. Otherwise usual ingredients - mayo, mustard, hot sauce, cayenne, S&P

Zucchini al mojo de ajo, with toasted garlic slices, jalapeno, cilantro, Mexican oregano, feta, and a mix of lime and Meyer lemon juice. Mrs. C fried cod fillets, but I did not get a picture.

Something between fried rice and scrambled eggs, served with toasted leftover garlic naan.

Lots of cilantro and roasted chile Poblano in tonight's meal Roasted Poblano, dry-fried mushrooms, and seared shrimp with onion, Mexican oregano, and thyme, cooked down with chicken stock and crema, then finished with cilantro. Lots of deglazing. Squeeze of lime at the table. Green rice with cilantro, roasted chile Poblano, onion, garlic, and chicken stock

Sounds like fun. Welcome and good luck!

Welcome! I look forward to hearing about what you enjoy cooking and baking!

Rajas con crema tacos

Mrs. C made another batch of sourdough, this time with caraway seeds

We had delicious Dungeness crab in Alaska with a rich buttery dip. Good stuff for sure. But for me, steamed blue crabs are incomparable. Really good ones have a hint of sweetness like seafood candy.

If I have the right recipe (see below), Franey uses about 3x the amount of saltine crackers compared with my usual recipe. A good crab cake has barely enough filler to keep everything from falling apart. Strong demerit right off the bat. Dunno if the same one, but here is a Pierre Franey recipe for crab cakes: NYT: Crab Cakes Baltimore-style by Pierre Franey

Keema with spinach and coconut milk. Usual flavorings (onion, chiles, ginger, garlic) and spices (black cardamom, cinnamon stick, cumin, garam masala, fenugreek seeds) plus some unusual additions/substitutions (dried fenugreek leaves and lots of basil). Turmeric rice with sweet potato to go with.

Dungeness crab and Sichuan peppercorn broccoli scrambled eggs

Mrs. C steamed pre-cooked Dungeness crab. Not bad. We picked the leftovers so there should be plenty for a nice breakfast. 😃 Broccoli with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chiles, fermented black beans, and fish sauce, finished with sesame oil.

Can't recall the last time I cooked with bananas. Apparently I'm cooking Maryland-style wrong. I do like plantains? Probably when the port of Baltimore was actually busy. The B&O railroad and the National Highway (now US 40) connected the port of Baltimore with the interior, and the city was one of the US top ten by population from the earliest census through 1980, rising as high as #2 from 1830 to 1850.

Haha. I have never heard the term in a lifetime of living in Maryland. So it is not like we are running around all proud of ourselves over a cut of chicken. 😉 Preparation, from the link I posted upthread: Escoffier’s Chicken Maryland is a breaded, pan-fried chicken garnished with bananas. According to Francis Beirne’s 1951 classic “The Amiable Baltimoreans,” bananas were one of the Port of Baltimore’s 10 leading imports, and they made their way into all sorts of dishes. Sounds like fuzzy nomenclature whether "chicken Maryland" refers to the cut or the preparation. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Sourdough bread (from Mrs. C) and borscht (from Russian neighbors). Yesterday's dinner and today's lunch.

Looks great! I have never heard of chicken Maryland, even though I live here. Was your recipe anything like this? Escoffier’s Chicken Maryland is a breaded, pan-fried chicken garnished with bananas. According to Francis Beirne’s 1951 classic “The Amiable Baltimoreans,” bananas were one of the Port of Baltimore’s 10 leading imports, and they made their way into all sorts of dishes.

Quick chicken korma. Stir-fried cabbage and bell peppers with fennel seeds. Microwave cilantro rice.

Sweet potato and salsa negra tacos, with white onion, garlic, jalapeno, crushed tomato, Mexican oregano, cumin, and feta cheese

Wow. Quite a few of my absolute favorite foods, right in one meal. Fantastic! Invite me next time?

Thank you! Sautéed onions, garlic, and the ground turkey, and then simmered with chicken stock, crushed tomato, ground cloves, cumin, Mexican oregano, and a big dollop of the salsa negra I made the other day:

Asparagus soup topped with ground, spiced almonds from Mrs. C Ground turkey in chipotle salsa and arroz Poblano from me. Still cleaning our the fridge and freezer after being gone for a month. Relative was in DC yesterday so we met at The Hamilton. Crab cake, coleslaw, tartar sauce, and a side salad for me. Pic won't upload. Oh well.