Chicken cooked in carrot juice with dates and spices over just a little instant rice
Whatever veggies I have in the freezer (cleaning that sucker out for some homemade ice cream)
Leftover cupcakes from Molly's

Picked the last of my asparagus last night and made a killer (cream, butter…heart attack stuff) asparagus soup. And Jim, I agree, there is nothing better than a hobby that you can eat!

sounds good razbry,

tonight is corned beef hash, and some overeasy eggs. Made from a corned beef and cabbage I knocked out on Monday.

Roasted Shrimp pasta to will summer weather into existence -- citrus zest vinaigrette, scallions, asparagus, and feta.

Today we had a Patty's Diner lunch. Consequently, we will be having the same dinner we had last night (post WASC lunch): green salad. Tomorrow I am hoping to finally make the vegetarian shepherd's pie I don't have room for tonight.

Sloppy Joes. My local library has a series of programs related to the 1930's era Writer's Project. At their opening, they served Sloppy Joe sandwiches to everyone. I have had a hankering ever since. I bought ketchup and really cheap hamburger buns last night.

Supposedly, Sloppy Joes came to being during the 1930's. I've since done a little research to learn sloppy joes has various regional names, too.

Slppy Joes plus corn on the cob and some homemade onion rings will round off the menu.

Regards,

Suzy Creamcheese -- can you share your vegetarian shepherd's pie recipe? a google search turns up tons of variations, so i'm interested in one with a seal of approval.

Sure, here it is:

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

•2½ Tbs olive or vegetable oil
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•½ cup onion, minced
•1 large tomato, chopped
•6 cups mixed vegetables, finely chopped
I like to use:
- bell peppers (red, yellow, and green)
- leeks
- mushrooms
- peas
- spinach
- zucchini
-broccoli
•1 cup vegetable stock or water
•pepper
•2 to 2½ cups mashed potatoes

Heat 2 Tbs oil over medium heat, add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add onion and continue sautéing until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomato and cook for two more minutes, stirring frequently. Add stock and vegetables, bring to boil, cover, lower heat, and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Add pepper, taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary. Preheat oven to 350. Use remaining ½ tsp oil to grease pie plate. Arrange vegetables in it, then cover with a layer of mashed potatoes. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

Or you can do what I do, and put the mixture in the following crust (which I think I got from these very forums):

Oil Pie Crust

•1 ½ cups (5 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
1/3 cup (2 3/8 ounces) vegetable oil
3 to 4 Tbs (1 1/2 to 2 ounces) water or milk

Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. This can be done right in the pie pan, if you like. Whisk together the oil and water, then pour over the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until the dough is evenly moisened. Pat the dough across the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides. A flat-bottomed measuring cup can help you make the bottom even. Press the dough up the sides of the pan with your fingers, and flute the top. Fill and bake.

Crust in shepherd's pie isn't exactly canonical, but I prefer it that way.

Not tonight, but last week, along with some green-shelled local CT eggs, I had these:

Morels


Fiddleheads


Massachusetts oysters


Here's a link to npr's article on fiddleheads:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104674500

tonight: doing some burgers stuffued with brie, and then grilled, probably also some corn on the cob on the grill

Tomorrow: undecided, depends what looks good at the market tonight, leaning towards doing a meatloaf, and scalloped potatoes on the smoker. However if the clams, or some other seafood looks good that may be the route I go.

jimswside wrote:leaning towards doing a meatloaf, and scalloped potatoes on the smoker.

Jim,

I have made the following recipe a number of times over the years, and while any meatloaf cooked on a smoker could rightly be called smoked meatloaf, the following particularly lends itself to this type of cookery. I diverge from the outlined recipe in that I use a bit of hot pepper/grated ginger and also poke a number of holes in foil meatloaf (bread) pans so the meatloaf can absorb extra smoke and the fat can drain. Another option is to sink onions in the meatloaf, like my grandmother did.

I have also made this recipe using a grill topper wok with the meatloaf in the middle, this helps keep the meatloaf from falling apart, is easy on and off and lets the smoke get at the meat and the fat drain. Brinkman sells wire meatloaf pans for around 15 dollars, I don't own any, but can look up a url if anyone is really interested.

Enjoy,
Gary
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ole Man Jim's Meat Loaf

Yield: 2 large loafs

5 lb Ground chuck roast
2-1/2 lb Ground Pork (Seasoned for breakfast sausage)
2 lg Onions, minced
2 Bell peppers, minced
16 oz Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 oz Cajun Bbq rub
2 ts Thyme
2 ts Sage
6 lg Eggs, beaten
1/4 c Danny's glaze*
1/4 c Sesame Oil
1/3 c Danny's glaze for topping
GLAZE (Danny's Glaze)
1 c Brown sugar
1/4 c Apple cider vinegar
1/4 c Yellow prepared mustard

DANNY'S GLAZE
Place brown sugar, vinegar and yellow mustard in a small pot and bring to a simmer (Do not boil.)

MEATLOAF
Thoroughly hand mix first eleven (11) ingredients and form into 2 equal loaves. Place each loaf into a foil loaf pan and place both into a 275°F pit for 2-1/2 hours. Remove from pit, brush tops with Danny's glaze and return to pit for 15 more minutes.

Drain fat from loafs, slice and serve

thanks Gary,

I have seen the tip about the holes in the bottom of the pan elsewhere, but your confirmation of this method is appreciated, as well as the other tips, and recipe.

I really want to do some ribs again this weekend, but my wife is tired of ribs(imagine that.. weve only had ribs every weekend other than 1 for the past 6 or 7 weeks).

Pie Lady wrote:Chicken cooked in carrot juice with dates and spices over just a little instant rice
Whatever veggies I have in the freezer (cleaning that sucker out for some homemade ice cream)
Leftover cupcakes from Molly's

The chicken was a bit dry but super tasty. From Fine Cooking:
5 breasts cut in half or 10 thighs, salted and peppered
red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp each cinnamon and ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1-1/4 cups carrot juice
3/4 cups chicken broth
12 dates, halved
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp lemon juice (did not use, lemon was moldy)
brown rice

Preheat oven to 350. Sauté over high heat in veggie oil until browned on one side; turn over and brown on the other side. Remove to a plate. Remove all but 1 tbsp fat from pan. Toss in onion and sauté until soft and browned. Add spices, cook about 1 minute. Pour in carrot juice and broth; bring to a boil. Pour into a roasting pan (or other covered dish; alternatively, you could be using an oven-safe pan); top with chicken and accumulated juices. Cover and braise for 15 minutes. Add dates; braise 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Pour juices out into pan/small pot; boil and stir until thickened. Add cilantro and lemon juice. Serve over brown rice.

I also did not finish Molly's cupcakes. I wanted to get rid of some blackberries and my Shitty Banana ice cream, so I made a Shitty Banana Blackberry smoothie with honey. So tonight I'm eating:

Leftover Chicken with broccoli this time instead of rice
Leftover Molly's

the smoker will be not used tonight.

Currently marinating some Large shrimp in olive oil, tequila, garlic, cilantro, parsely, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Making shrimp tacos on flour tortillas, served with a basic white rice.,

Made a salsa with avocado, mango, tomato, jalapeno, lime juice, grilled corn, dried cranberries, red onion, oilve oil, salt and pepper. setting up in the fridge

For dessert, I am going to grill some banana's in their peel, then spilt, & top with condensed milk, saigon cinnamon, and turbino sugar.

back to enjoy the sun, and some suds.

jimswside wrote:the smoker will be not used tonight.

Currently marinating some Large shrimp in olive oil, tequila, garlic, cilantro, parsely, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Making shrimp tacos on flour tortillas, served with a basic white rice.,

Made a salsa with avocado, mango, tomato, jalapeno, lime juice, grilled corn, dried cranberries, red onion, oilve oil, salt and pepper. setting up in the fridge

For dessert, I am going to grill some banana's in their peel, then spilt, & top with condensed milk, saigon cinnamon, and turbino sugar.

back to enjoy the sun, and some suds.

Jim,

Why don't you weigh more than you do? That sounds great!

After a glorious afternoon biking, pasta is in order, so we're on with Quintuple P: Pasta (farfalle) with ribbons of Prosciutto, shards of Parmigianno Regianno, toasted Pine Nuts, and jewel-like Peas. Lemon zest and a bit of shallot sauteed in butter round out the flavors (splash of white wine too if you like).

stevez wrote:
Why don't you weigh more than you do? That sounds great!

hilarious..

I guess I have been blessed with a quick metabolism. Although I have had to switch to light beer, and gave up pop over the last year to try and stay ahead of the curve.

the shrimp tacos were great, I took pics, and will download later, served them with the sweet, and spicy salsa, sour cream, mexican cheese, and some jalapenos.

the bananas were a surpirse hit for me(Im not much for desserts). Like a cream banana pudding in the skin.

Always posting after the fact, but last night we had:

Skate wing from Fresh Farms (which comes skinned and was $2.99/lb making it the best deal in edible fish history)
- marinated in butter, garlic, lemon and lemon zest and grilled over low coals
Grilled asparagus
Otsu soba noodle salad, except I omitted the tofu and hot pepper - it would have benefitted from a kick of heat.

I don't understand why skate isn't in more demand: its renewable, it's delicious (more like shellfish than fish,) the bones won't poke you, it stands up to all kinds of cooking techniques, and it's cheap. What's not to like?

Mhays wrote:I don't understand why skate isn't in more demand: its renewable, it's delicious (more like shellfish than fish,) the bones won't poke you, it stands up to all kinds of cooking techniques, and it's cheap. What's not to like?

the fact that when skate is just beyond its prime, it takes on a horrific ammonia-like smell and taste, much worse than other fish. Many people have probably tasted skate gone bad, and have sworn off of it.

True, but isn't that the case with any shellfish/fish? At any rate, it's good stuff!

Grilled Flank Steak (Mark Bittman's standard marinade, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, lime juice)
Grilled Copper River Salmon
Grilled asparagus
Bacon Potato Salad (ATK recipe, slightly modified)

Assuming, of course, thunderstorms don't interfere with grilling.

heres the pics of my dinner last night(the tacos, and the salsa were a hit, the bananas...brilliant...), nothing better than a quiet day out in Marseilles, grilling on my deck with my family, having a few cold ones, sipping some tequila, and enjoying a White Sox winner. Mercy..! It doesnt get any better than this..

my assistant:


salsa ingresdients:


finished salsa:



shrimp marinade:


shrimp on the Weber:





The spread:


my plate:





dessert:





thanks for looking and letting me share.

Wow, Jim - that looks great! We grilled last night too. I don't eat meat so we usually do fish, shrimp, or Jonathan throws on a regular burger for himself and a veggie burger for me. I'm lucky that he actually LIKES tofu so I do stir-fries fairly regularly, but for whatever reason, we've never grilled it. Until last night....

I pressed most of the liquid out of a cake of extra-firm tofu in the morning and tossed it with minced garlic, ginger, scallions, hoisin sauce, crushed chile flakes, and white wine. Placed it in the fridge all day.



We skewered it with some red onion, red bell pepper, and chunks of fresh pineapple.



I had made some Spicy Gingered Asian Slaw on Saturday to serve on the side. (Recipe from the first Union Square Cafe Cookbook - one of our favorite slaws.)



Also steamed some Jasmine rice and tossed in chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds.





Not as photogenic as Jim's beautiful shrimp, but this was good and we'll definately grill tofu again. I do think next time I will thin out the marinade a bit and also have another sauce of some kind to use post-grilling. Lynn

Not tonight, but recently, I roasted Massachusetts oysters, sauteed fiddleheads with morels, and scrambled some local aracuna eggs.

LynnB wrote:Wow, Jim - that looks great! We grilled last night too. I don't eat meat so we usually do fish, shrimp, or Jonathan throws on a regular burger for himself and a veggie burger for me. I'm lucky that he actually LIKES tofu so I do stir-fries fairly regularly, but for whatever reason, we've never grilled it. Until last night....

I pressed most of the liquid out of a cake of extra-firm tofu in the morning and tossed it with minced garlic, ginger, scallions, hoisin sauce, crushed chile flakes, and white wine. Placed it in the fridge all day.



We skewered it with some red onion, red bell pepper, and chunks of fresh pineapple.



I had made some Spicy Gingered Asian Slaw on Saturday to serve on the side. (Recipe from the first Union Square Cafe Cookbook - one of our favorite slaws.)



Also steamed some Jasmine rice and tossed in chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds.





Not as photogenic as Jim's beautiful shrimp, but this was good and we'll definately grill tofu again. I do think next time I will thin out the marinade a bit and also have another sauce of some kind to use post-grilling. Lynn

thanks Lynn, I am not one who typically likes tofu, but the way you prepared it looks like something I might try and enjoy, the rice and the asian slaw looks great too.

well done.

Whoa, Jim, for a second there, I thought you were having a child for dinner.

jimswside wrote:heres the pics of my dinner last night(the tacos, and the salsa were a hit, the bananas...brilliant...), nothing better than a quiet day out in Marseilles, grilling on my deck with my family, having a few cold ones, sipping some tequila, and enjoying a White Sox winner. Mercy..! It doesnt get any better than this..

my assistant:


salsa ingresdients:


finished salsa:



shrimp marinade:


shrimp on the Weber:





The spread:


my plate:





dessert:





thanks for looking and letting me share.

YourPalWill wrote:Whoa, Jim, for a second there, I thought you were having a child for dinner.
my assistant:

hilarious...!, sick, but very funny.

I will be the first to say that I'm not the accomplished chef/home cook that many of you are in this forum; however I do like to eat, so I thought I'd share what I had for dinner.

I'm playing Mister Mom to my 9 month old for a few days while my wife is in Florida for a conference so time is not on my side. I also have a roof garden full of greens and lettuces that need to be eaten. Combine that with the fact that I don't like wasting any food and eat all leftovers - mostly reconstructed (my Grandmother used to call these nights "mustgos" as in everything must go). I was sort of inspired by a recent article I read in Time Out about how to make Ramen more high class, so I thought I would use the packet that has been sitting in my cupboard for a few weeks.

Then, I remembered a Top Chef episode where Carla made a salad that included brown/wild rice. So here goes:

Salad: A salad mix from upstairs that I picked yesterday: Merveille de Quatre Saisons, Green Salad Bowl lettuces with some arugula thrown in. Add some crappy cherry tomatoes (I can't wait for my black cherry tomatoes to come in), a little parsley, chervil (also home grown) and tossed with a simple vinaigrette. On top, I added some leftover "fast cook" brown rice I made yesterday (also had this for some stir fry at lunch). I had a day old end of a baguette as well, so I toasted it up and threw that in there (hey, two carbs but what the heck).

Ramen: First I sauteed some Rainbow Swiss Chard from upstairs in a little olive oil (ribs first) with Escarole (also from the garden - hey I'm picking this stuff daily and someone's got to eat it) some red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Then I added some crushed garlic and a little soy and a very small amount of sesame seed oil. Once wilted, added the prepped ramen noodles. Topped with a few left over green onions that were close to fading and here comes dinner.

The whole meal took me less than 25 minutes to prepare and cook and I'll tell you, not bad. I'll probably try the ramen again actually - even at the gas station on the corner, this stuff is 33 cents a package. I just use the noodles and they cook in about 2 minutes. It's an easy way to use up my cooking greens. Also, the brown rice in the salad was nice since it soaked up any remaining dressing and juices from the crappy tomatoes.

I've read posts on the "food desert" topic and I've always thought that if people could grow some basic stuff in their yard, even in containers, a meal like this is readily available and very cheap (not to mention somewhat healthy). Anyway, thanks for letting me share...

Jim, your daughter is adorable! Good thing she gets her looks from her mom, haha!! FWIW I am filipino and have beautiful filipino/american nieces, mabuhay!