Journal

2019 - Week 23 Cooking Results

Chive blossom risotto

I added chicken as well. I had two bundles of chive Blossoms from Blue Gate. With that, I thought I might need more, and I was right. It was still pretty good, as risotto generally is.

Spicy Sweet Sambal Pork Noodles

Delayed! I thought that I needed to not produce leftovers, as the next day a new fridge was coming into the house.. I made pork burgers instead.

Taco Salad

So I guess this was infused with some Indian flavors, as I used the leftover Channa Masala instead of beans. It worked out pretty well. I was doing my best to get things used up and have less to transition to the new fridge.

Egg Dish

I ended up making scrambled eggs with sour cream. Served over bagels with some deli meat. I thought I had bacon, but did not have any out.

So the install went fine for the most, it was not easy to task to say the least. I took the effort to measure all the ways into the kitchen:

Kitchen front door: 31”
Front door 33.5” > 32.25 > 30.25”
Deck 40.5” > 38” > 28” > 27.5”

And even then there was some magic that had to happen. They did a good job getting the old one in the house and the new one inside the house. The only frustrating thing was they stated that there was a connection mismatch between the copper line and the plastic input. However when the plumber came in (weekend rates), it took him less then 5 minutes to hook them up (he also showed me where the shut off valve was for the fridge (good to know, I suppose). I had the water for the house turned off so I didn’t know that. I suppose this made sense.

The other part I found frustrating was the ice manufacturing. I sitting here thinking something might not be quite right. Until I found a passage int he manual where it stated:

It takes about 12 to 24 hours for a newly installed refrigerator to begin making ice.

I mean great that I found it. and I see cubes in there this morning (which will need to be gotten rid off, as they’re of the first batch. But it was certainly a source of anxiety. Thinking something was wrong, but it was just part of the process I guess

The idea of getting the new fridge is a couple fold. First, the old has had a few problems here and there. Clearly having the knife hold up the ice door, is annoying. Second, there have been some clear temperature inconsistencies from shelf to shelf, where some stuff where frost over and others wouldn’t. There were also missing and/or broken shelves in the freezer, making it hard to organize things. New fridge has all the shelves, newer technology and etc. Getting the French door style pushing all the fresh things up so they’re easier to see. Plus everything is clear and easy to see through, and properly lit by led. Shelves are also split, which will make my large brining or etc projects a lot easier to do without disrupting so many things in the fridge.

Things are transferred in there. I’m pretty happy so far.

2019 - Week 22 Cooking Results

Hamburgers

Beef from Lucky George, Cooked with a mix of salt and pepper, served on little buns. I had some gorgonzola one one and another cheese on another. Good things.

Hot Dogs

All pork, good things.

Channa Masala

Flat Bread with this, made for a good dinner. It did take a bit, to get this done, but after it was, it was quite tasty.

Baked Macaroni with Mortadella and Mozzarella

There was Mozzarella…well suspected mozzarella. As it stands I made a second visit for the week, No mozzarella so after giving a little crap, I bought a tome style of cheese and called it good. I think I should’ve added a bit more herbs and spices, but even so, it was pretty good.

Jammy Eggs, Bacon on Toast

Eggs go into container, Anova Sous Vide goes in, about 45 minutes later, jammy eggs, La Mie Multi-Grain Wheat, and some sliced turkey. Good Stuff. The bacon was a bit fuzzy, so I switched it out for so I switched it out for some turkey.

Smoky and Spicy Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs Recipe

So I didn’t put this on the grill, or really kabob them, but I did cook them up nice in the oven. Then I served the on some flatbread with some arugula. Good stuff. It did take a bit to put it all together.

2019 - Week 22 Cooking

I took some time on Friday to call the office of Rep Chip Roy (R TX), for his grandstanding. I did have a nice conversation with one of his people, where we agreed to disagree, but the take away is Intent only matters to the degree of wrongness, its still wrong. However when trying to express that in this thread, including my compliment to his staffer, he chooses to retweet that, not the fact that his intent doesn’t matter when it’s harm that is being caused. Anyways, it was interesting to be included in a number of retweets of Texans. Anyways, if you want to complain about process, do so on something that actually brings harm to your constituents, rather then others, otherwise the gesture is at best grandstanding, but probably meaningless.

Anyways.

2019 - Week 21 Cooking Results

Salad w/ Chicken

Pile of arugula, some cheese, bread crumbs and some boneless chicken thighs. Easy meal for a warm day.

All Pork Hot Dogs

Mmm…pork.

Brats

Mmm… Pork. I couldn’t find the beer that went with these, Confluence Royal Roots, but they were still good.

Taco Salad

Chorizo…I did forget to add beans to it, but even so. Good stuff. I did add some of that Goya Sazon, since I’ve got so much of it left.

Egg and Merguez Wraps

Once again using some D’Artagnan Merguez. I had the day off on Friday (getting close to my bank max) so I made the hard boiled eggs earlier in the day between running around and doing chores. It came together pretty easily. I ended up using some leftover onions (from the taco salad). I added a bit of cheese to the mix. I forget ho much I like hard boiled eggs. We both really enjoyed it.

Ramp and Chorizo Quesadillas Recipe

This was quite good. Chorizo, ramps, cheese. Good things. It does look as if ramp season is over (unless something else pops up).

2019 - Week 20 Cooking Results

Tomato, ramps, sweet Italian sausage pasta

This did not quite work out like I thought in my head. I was ok, but not the profile that my brain thought it might be.

French Melt

I’m going to push this on the side. I apparently sprained my foot at some point this week, so the idea of standing around for 45 minutes to caramelized onions doesn’t seem like fun right now. I used the cheese and some of the Prosciutto to make grilled cheese.

Sous Vide Flank Steak with Garlic Butter with Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

We ended up making tiny little steak sandwiches, as I think I intended to use the buns for the goat burgers, but forgot. I had some extra (I had more and had it for lunch today too)

Spicy Merguez Scramble

I did not end up making the bread, not that I ever had planned to, but it was good on just normal flatbread. I was hoping to use Lucky George’s Merguez, but I think I’m one of the few that buy it, strangely enough, my local grocery store had a stash from D’Artagnan…I actually did a double take.

Lucky George Grey’s Lake Nessie Brats

Beer and brats, it’s the combination that is a good thing. I did pick up some Grey’s Lake Nessie to match with the brats (had to make a second stop), but it was a nice pairing.

Goat Burgers

I added a bit of harissa, salt and pepper and cooked them low and slow. Good things.

I did end up having a couple of gin + sparkling water + the honey rhubarb shrub, it was pretty good.

2019 - Week 19 Cooking Results

Franny’s Rice and Beans (Milk Bar Life, p 102)

I was running a bit late, and decided that I wanted to do this, it did take a bit of time, but not to much, but it was a quite delicious meal to have. I’m not quite sure what the Sazon Goya added, but I do have a lot of it now (bulk on amazon, woo). I had it as leftovers the next couple of days, and it was good then too.

Tacos

Made with grass fed ground beef. My brain was playing the forgetful game and I forgot: sour cream, fresh onion, green onions. I made do, and toss the last of Franny’s rice and some other leftover rice that I had in there to. Still turned out pretty good.

Brats

Back to Lucky George and remembering to buy the beer with the brats, I clearly didn’t remember. But I wrote it down this time.

Ramp and Sausage Risotto

This is always one of those times of the year where you love what the early market brings you and you will miss it when it’s gone, but are glad for the cycles so you are fond of the season. This is good as always, and made for a lovely meal. I did have a minor WTF moment when I struggled to find the vermouth (I did, it was buried at the back of the liquor cabinet).

Mongolian Beef

So uh…this involves frying things…I don’t particularly like frying things, so skipped.

Pasta with Chicken, Tomatoes, and Feta

We tried the still in development Farmstead Feta from Lost Lake Farm. And while it was a bit salty by itself, it was nice mixed with the other things. Good dish.

Pinto Bean and Corn Dip with Cilantro

Relatively easy to put together, I may have added a bit more spice then needed, so it was a bit hotter then I suspect the recipe intends, but even so, it was pretty good. Maybe I’ll make it for a party or something. This was made for Shannon’s work thing, but there were leftovers

I also took the time make a honey rhubarb shrub. I have not tried it yet