What did you cook today?

That sounds good, I do a lot of similar meals when I'm too broke or too lazy to go grocery shopping

 

I have a few meals like this where you just throw things together and it works and is cheap lol. Just sometimes it doesn't sound appetising when you type it out but they're always scrumdiddlyumptious.

 

San Francisco pork chops, cauliflower, and rice.

 

But where's the picture? ;-)


A couple of days ago I made pork ribs in my tajine. I didn't use Moroccan spices, just a dry rub of mixed spices and cooked it with onions. They came out so nice and tender. Here's a pic of the tajine as well. It's a clay vessel that has a whole in the top and because of the shape, the moisture drips down and the food comes out nice and succulent. You cook it for about 4 hours on very low heat. Somewhere between slow cooking in a crockpot (not as wet) and baking in the oven (not as dry).









Today we had Duck Confit. I have to admit to not making it from scratch, it was prepared ahead of time and I baked it in the oven and added the accompaniments, sauteed oyster mushrooms, tomatoes and cucumber. It's a dish that's first cured in salt and spices for a few hours, then cooked in duck fat. It was the first time I had Duck Confit. It was so incredibly tender and flavourful.

 

Eh, I've cooked a lot over the past few days. I'm going to one of the local temples tomorrow morning, though, and it's a Theravada temple in the Thai Forest Tradition. The monks are really strict about their vows (though currently there is only one monk residing here). They eat one meal a day, it must be before noon, they do not cook for themselves. They eat what the laity offers. Of course, when a few people show up with food offerings for a single monk, there are plenty of leftovers - but being forbidden to reheat it himself (no cooking) for the next day, and being forbidden to eat after noon, what the monk can not in one sitting is not eaten by him. Everyone offers their food, he takes what he wants (some of everything, but different amounts of things) and the people then share the rest of the food as a potluck.

The monk doesn't speak English, and they aren't exactly advertising for the student population. In fact, none of my professors (in the religious studies department) even knew the place existed until I brought it to their attention. So, the temple is there to serve the spiritual needs primarily of the small local Thai population. Which means that basically every morning there is a big potluck with lots of Thai home cooking. Which is nothing like what you get at American Thai restaurants, which is basically regarded by them as more or less just fast food. One big reason to go to the temple is to get to eat ridiculously good stuff that I have no clue what it is

Anyway, I can't compete with them. But while I don't make the best in the country (not by a long shot) I'm pretty competent with my rice and red beans. I started the dish tonight, sauteing the sausage and peppers and onion and celery, adding seasoning and such, but the beans themselves will be cooked slowly overnight in the crock pot and added to the stock pot early in the morning to get things all mingled up together, and I'll get the rice cooker going then, too. I have faith it will come out pretty well, I've done it more than just once or twice...but as for "authentic" Louisiana style red beans...this probably isn't it, just my interpretation of the dish. Still, I think it's good, and I look forward to it.

Last night was a vegan stew though, with fresh sweetcorn cut from the cob, potatoes, onions, great northern beans, and cabbage, seasoned with thyme and rosemary and garlic and white pepper, and I boiled the cut up cobs in the broth before I added the broth to the veggies...overall the soup/stew is pretty sweet, but it's all natural sweetness from the corn, nothing added. It's a really nice, fresh, clean flavor.

Oh, and Sunday I made rigatoni with Italian sausage and homemade sauce, again to take to the temple for breakfast/lunch and hang out with people.

...despite what it may sound like, I don't go there very often. It had been a few months until Sunday. But I'm going again this Sunday as well, because there's a Thai Buddhist festival being celebrated. Actually it should be on Saturday or Friday I think, but they schedule things a little bit by convenience here because the laity is a small community and things like that are better scheduled around work, since many of them own or work in restaurants here in town.

 

I made a rib steak today for the first time. The meat was tender, but unfortunately there was a lot of gristle, so it took away from it. The supermarket isn't the best place to pick up rib steak, especially on sale. I'll have to try a butcher's next time.

 

All of those look amazing. I've never heard of a tajine before, I like it.

I didn't make anything exciting, we had breakfast for dinner: Eggs & Bacon.

 

That all sounds so amazing. What an awesome cultural experience...

 

Fried Rice and Eggrolls.. but I used wonton skins instead of eggroll wrappers...

 

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I like it. I'm going again this morning because a friend from out of town who is connected with the temple has been staying here, but he's leaving today. So I'm going up there to bring food again, as well as to see the friend off.

To that end, I've had pork in the crockpot overnight, and I'm about to shred it, add a little barbecue sauce and bring it with buns and some fresh melon.

 

I finally got to use my cast iron grill pan to make striploin steak. Nice char marks. I also bought a smoked salt to try. It definitely imparts a smoky flavour. I was pretty sparing with it, being the first time I used it. I can easily apply more next time. I'll have to play around with it.

 

Idk what you call it, but i put beans, chopped up serrano peppers, some chopped up yellow chile peppers, columbian sausage, bacon, chopped up onion, garlic paste, several differnt other seasonings in a pot. it has to cook really slow for a while until the beans are done. I use either roman beans, pinto beans, or dominican red beans

 

I just made two pots of coffee.

 

BBQ pork loin chops, new baby potatoes in butter, salt and pepper, cauliflower, broccoli slaw and baked apples.

 

[FONT=&quot]I've never been good at flipping omelettes so when I saw this technique by Chef Jacques Pepin, I had to try it. The video is below for anyone interested. I still have some practicing to do, but it's a start! I used the Country French omelette method. I may try the Classic French omelette eventually. This omelette had mushrooms, red onions and smoked Gruyère.
[/FONT]




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57afEWn-QDg"]Jacques Pepin omelette omelet - YouTube

 

Heck, the only answer I'm ever going to have is coffee. I don't know why I never get around to cooking a meal. I go out and buy something that somebody else has cooked. Makes shopping day easier and my list only ever has Bustelo on it.

 

i just finished some thin quick fry pork chops on the BBQ

bought a mango too and grilled it...it was alright but i should have done a peach instead..or an apple

 

Baked ham & eggs cups.

 

im currently cooking a striploin steak on the grill

then ill grill a tomato when its almost done

 

Today I made a stew that was shown me by a Mexican-American friend I worked with many years ago in Tucson, Arizona. He said it was as his grandmother made for him when he was a kid.

I've learned it's better to use dried whole chile pods, prepared, soaked and puréed...



However, the pre-ground es mucho convieniente :sombrero:, and not only is what my buddy used, but I can be a tad lazy from time to time, lol and I happened to find some at the supermarket so thats what I used here.





I pre-soaked the chile powder for 3-4 hours, then blanched carrots, sautéed garlic, cubed potatoes, and browned hamburger.
All ingredients went in the pot with the re-hydrated chile and simmered until the potatoes were done. Best served with fresh corn tortillas...
I didn't have time to make those today, lol so I substituted with corn tortilla chips.