Summer is here! Well, close enough. Firing up the barbecue for smoky marinated back ribs, making a pot of Bush’s homestyle beans with sauteed onions and hickory-smoke BBQ sauce, and french fries. And a vat of Cabernet Sauvignon!
There’s nothing like smoky outdoor BBQ for the first time in the season!
Had a meal out at a nice seafood restaurant. Caesar salad with preserved lemon, pan-fried rockfish with bay shrimp etouffe, chipotle garlic rice, white chocolate mousse cake with raspberry coulis, vanilla ice cream and huckleberry ice cream. Also shared some grilled steelhead.
I was tired tonight so it was a easy, filling meal. Took 2 English muffins and put them in a pie pan, covered with a egg on each half, sprinkled shredded cheddar cheese and cooked in the roaster for 25 minutes at 250. DELICIOUS!
Late Lunch/First Dinner was egg drop soup and a small tray of Alaska rolls (salmon & avocado) from a nearby sushi joint.
(It’s good to support local small businesses, and even better to let them deal with the prep and cleanup!)
… then a nap. Cuz it’s my Blessed Day Off Work today.
Second Dinner is a frozen oven-heated beef shepherd’s pie (don’t judge! at least I didn’t just nuke it) with some toasted whole-grain sourdough slices, slathered in alternately butter, garlic butter, and straight roasted garlic cloves.
Dessert is cheesecake from the freezer. The box has no thawing instructions, so imma go with “gnaw as soon as possible.”
… and later, a pair of fried over-easy eggs. Apparently, I still needed more protein.
Hey, those Aussie frozen dinners are quite wee, plus, I have appetite issues: if I wanna eat, I eat cuz five minutes later, the impulse may be gone again.
Yesterday, I made Century Egg & Tofu Salad. It was delicious. Today I went for takeout Beef Teriyaki. It was a HUGE portion. There must have been a pound of beef! I love leftovers, and I have plenty.
Tonight we had a fried fish extravaganza from Catfish Connection around the corner. She had a 3 catfish fillet/3 shrimp combo, and I had the 6 shrimp platter. It’s really nice shrimp, and they’re the best catfish fillets I’ve ever had (I got to eat half of one of hers). It’s fluffy. Kind of like they’ve marinated it in some acidic or basic solution before frying it. I’d be totally mental if I didn’t go to that place. It’s a totally unassuming strip mall store front, but I noticed a crowd of cars around it every day from lunchtime on. Yeah, there’s a reason for that. The house sauce is just as awesome. I wish the fries would be a little bit more consistently on the crispy side, but at that point I’m just being whiny.
My only regret is that I didn’t walk there in a lame attempt to justify gluttony and a 12 piece shrimp platter.
Tomorrow, we’re planning on doing something besides grilling to some pork chops. We’re probably going to fry them, but the question is how, and what are we going to do to them before hand? Plus, who will accompany them to their doom?
At this moment, my instinct is to dose them with Montreal steak seasoning when I get up, go grab some asparagus, and plan to fry them on the flat top after they’ve sat with it on them in the fridge all day. I’ll probably negotiate that with my sweetie in the morning before I mow.
My go-to for pork chops is to season, coat with flour, and shallow fry with lots of sliced onions.
Hmm, sounds tasty, we may try that. Plans are still up in the air at the moment.
Last nigh was grilling cow.
Tonight , the basil plants have been doing well so home made pesto.
Well, we actually decided on an a plan of pan frying them with garlic/herb butter. The original menu was to have sides of braised potatoes; along with apples fried in a mix of sugar, cinnamon and butter. But the fingerling potatoes we had were very green. So, to avoid any gastric distress, we opted to braise carrots in olive oil with pepper, salt, thyme and rosemary instead. My beverages were a couple of El Chingons to relax the muscles after a bunch of yard work today.
My only regret is we didn’t make enough for leftovers. The whole thing ended up at the expensive restaurant level of tasty.
Had the whole day off today, so I smoked a rack of baby back ribs with a maple rub I’ve been wanting to try. Scrumptious!
Tuna croquettes tonight with spring veg - asparagus for me, peas for the husband. Also had grapes and small savory scones on the side.
Speaking of pork chops - last night I breaded boneless pork chops pounded thin. Breading was four, egg, and Italian Parmesan panko bread crumbs. They came out so crispy, and moist! Sides were fresh green beans simmered with a bit of leftover ham from the quiche I made for breakfast, and Rosie’s Potatoes (my mom’s take on scalloped potatoes.) Wonderful meal!
Tonight will be chili dogs, and leftover potatoes.
In need of comfort food, so tonight is tri-color rotini pasta with Knorr pesto packet (god, I love that stuff) dressed up with a few shakes of Italian seasoning blend + capers.
But I feel the need for more face-stuffing (I barely got a chance to eat today) and there’s salmon and various cheese in the fridge … plus some sliced multigrain bread …
Oh, and I had a bolillo roll with egg salad earlier: another comfort food I’d almost forgotten.
Made bowls with potstickers, kimchi, tofu, scallions, teriyaki sauce, and rice. Sake for accompaniment.
Today is a beautiful summer-like spring day, and since my son is coming to stay for a few days while his car is in the shop, I’ve lined up a few things with a focus on outdoor grilling. He’s into simple foods so …
Tonight will be grilled shrimp skewers, marinated in a tangy Japanese salad dressing with a touch of teriyaki, served with vegetable fried rice. Tomorrow, an old favourite: Wolfpup’s famous smoky flame-grilled cheeseburgers, with lots of chopped white onion, sliced vine tomato, ketchup, and a slice of Strub’s garlic pickle in a toasted sesame bun (yes, I would like fries with that!). Summer is here!
Stuffed cabbage rolls with salads and naan.
With leftover cabbage head made cabbage au gratin for later….mmm
Chicken thighs rubbed and grilled. Boy, what huge thighs! The chickens must have been gargantuan. Potato salad as a side. Water to drink.