C. sapidus

Hi, David, and welcome! Looking forward to hearing more about the food in your life.

Gosh I love rendang, and that one looks gorgeous.

Camarones al mojo de ajo (garlic shrimp): Marinate shrimp in a paste of garlic (lots of garlic), black pepper, rice vinegar, and salt. Saute with butter and olive oil, and finish with lime juice. Served over last night's leftover salad. Finished off the last of the muhammara with toasted naan, but there is a picture above.

A friend came to dinner last night, and these are the leftovers: Thai beef salad (yam nuea): Marinate strip steak with garlic, black pepper, and soy sauce. Grill steaks over charcoal until still mooing, and then slice thinly. Saute garlic and then add lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, black pepper, roasted rice powder, and the sliced beef. Served as make-your-own salad with butter lettuce, sliced cucumber, tomato, mint, cilantro, scallions, sliced shallots, and sliced long red chiles. Mrs. C made another batch of muhammara (roasted red bell pepper dip) and this one was even better - more heat, and plenty of sumac. Served with toasted, buttered naan.

Mrs. C had muhammara (roasted red bell pepper and walnut dip) at a restaurant and recreated it at home. Toasted naan to go with. Delicious! More jambalaya fried rice, this time with shrimp and extra chorizo. There is at least one more meal's worth in the refrigerator . . .

Jambalaya fried rice with seared shrimp, kimchee, habanero and Fresno chiles, garlic, and a rare double-yolked egg. Probably have something similar for dinner - Mrs. C made a lot of jambalaya (not that I'm complaining, mind you).

I hope you enjoy the tuna-stuffed Poblanos! And I have taken inspiration from your array of summer salads - I love a salad when it is hot and muggy, but don’t make them nearly often enough.

Mrs. C made jambalaya with pheasant, two kinds of sausage, sorrel from the garden, tomatoes, and garlic scapes.

Gonna call this masala eggplant with chorizo and egg. Saute onion, garlic, and chorizo. Toss eggplant with turmeric and cayenne and cook down. Season with a paste of long red and serrano chiles, cumin, clove, and black pepper. Finish with fish sauce and garam masala, and top with a fried egg. Flavorful!

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Pan-seared ahi tuna, marinated with tamarind and salt and seared in a cast iron pan. Benefit of hindsight I should have cut the pieces thicker. Had farmer's market green beans so I adapted a Korean recipe for kale: Stir-fry garlic and sliced onion, add parboiled green beans, and finish with doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and honey. Turned out well. Dessert was crumble-topped cherry pie, also from the farm stand, but I failed to snap a pic.

Sweet Italian sausage, heirloom tomato, and scrambled egg, with long red chiles, shallot, and garlic. The tomato was not yet ripe but cooked down nicely.

Tuna ceviche with avocado and roasted Poblano chiles, enjoyed with butter lettuce leaves. Marinade was lime juice, serrano chile, garlic, and lots of cilantro, all whizzed up in the Preethi. We had some bulbing onions so I added the chopped up bulbs and garnished with the greens. Sashimi grade ahi tuna from the local fishmonger. We should make ceviche more often, such a perfect summer meal. 😃

Sadly, no local sources for fresh green peppercorns so I used ones that were jarred in brine. I also have not had any luck finding grachai lately, but at least they had lime leaves.

Stir-fried bay scallops with chiles and fragrant herbs: Sear bay scallops and remove. Stir-fry mashed garlic and chiles, then add slivered ginger (sub for grachai), lime leaves, Thai basil, green peppercorns, fish sauce, sugar, and a sliced Fresno pepper. Mix in scallops to finish cooking and enjoy. Grilled eggplant chile sauce (nahm prik mah-kheua pow): Fired up the Weber and roasted Japanese eggplant, a head of garlic, serrano chiles, and shallots over charcoal until blackened. Cooled, peeled, and turned everything to mush in the Preethi blender. Seasoned with tamarind and fish sauce. One of the most delicious things I have eaten in quite a while. Mrs. C was elsewhere so I chose things that I love and she doesn't. Depending on your spice preference, this meal was either a symphony or an assault of flavors (I lean symphony). 😉 Jasmine rice to go with.

Rigatoni with spicy sausage sauce: saute garlic in butter, brown sweet Italian sausage, and then add chopped fresh tomatoes and cook down. Finish with cayenne and lots of grated parmesan before tossing with the pasta and pasta water. Mrs. C liked this, even though she is not usually much of a tomato sauce fan. Grilled eggplant with garlic, rosemary, and black pepper. Halve and score Japanese eggplant in a crisscross pattern, sprinkle with salt, and set aside to drain. Fill cuts with garlic, rosemary, black pepper, and olive oil, and then broil, basting occasionally with more olive oil. A favorite. Both from 'Marcella's Italian Kitchen'. I have not cooked much Italian lately, but friends stopped by for a Pug Play Date and we thought they might stay for dinner (they did not, but best to be prepared).

Breakfast tacos with shrimp, roasted chile Poblano, and creamy scrambled eggs. Seared the shrimp with sauteed onion, garlic, ginger, serrano chiles, and cilantro.

Tuna salad rellenos: Chile Poblano, roasted, peeled, and seeded. Tuna salad with chile serrano, bulbing onion, mustard, horseradish, cilantro, and mayo. Topped with soft feta and broiled in the oven. Turned out well for something I kinda made up.

Liuyang black bean chicken with long beans. Chicken thigh chunks marinated with soy sauce and then twice fried. Flavors included ginger, garlic, red chile flakes, Shaoxing wine, and rice vinegar. Mrs. C made beet salad with toasted walnuts and feta. Jasmine rice with sauteed ginger to accompany.

Gouda omelette, leftover BBQ beans, and rye toast

Nothing fancy for July 4th. Mrs. C pan-fried Alaskan rockfish and made a Tartar-like sauce. I gussied up stovetop beans with chorizo, onion, garlic, mustard, BBQ sauce, etc. Bourbon barrel pickles to go with.

Keema matar, made with ground lamb, onion, garlic, and chiles, tomato and yogurt, and spiced with cumin, coriander, cayenne, and garam masala, finished with lemon juice and peas. Would have added cilantro if we had any. Basmati rice, with cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, bay leaf, garlic, and chicken stock, topped with onion greens.

Seared bay scallops with roasted chile Poblano rajas, onion, chile Serrano, and garlic, finished with heavy cream and cilantro.

Seared scallops with mushrooms and mashed sweet potato: Mash boiled sweet potatoes with butter and heavy cream. Sear mushrooms in ghee with a sprig of rosemary and remove. Sear scallops in butter with rosemary and remove. Deglaze the wok with Shaoxing wine, add heavy cream, and reduce. Season with S&P. This was the "last meal" for our house guest. She had the choice of this or keema. I think she chose well (even though I love keema).

Crab quiche, made with jumbo lump crab meat, bourbon smoked gouda, soft feta cheese, and heavy cream. Mrs. C air-fried baby okra to go with (not pictured).