Post #728 Guess I Forgot Too
June 24, 2020 at 7:13 PM | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 CommentsSo something happened this month that slipped by me until this morning at work when I was talking to a customer about a recipe she was working on. I don’t even remember what the recipe was now, but her comment was
”You like to cook, don’t you?”
I grinned although she couldn’t see it through the mask. “Yeah, I’m an amateur cook with wild dreams.”
”You should do something about it.”
”Well, I write a food blog twice a week, and I’m constantly cooking at home.”
We talked a few more minutes, then she left and I continued thinking about the blog and suddenly realized.
The blog turned eight years old earlier this month, and I forgot to say anything about it! June 1st in 2012, I posted my first entry and Partner/Spouse and I committed to writing the blog at least once a week until I got tired of it.
Obviously, that didn’t happen. The more I talk about food, the more I want to talk about food. The blog rolls on. Since the start, we’ve moved around a bit. We’re in our seventh home since the start, but we’re confident this is our forever place. We love the state we’re living in. We both have had some serious health issues and have weathered many personal and family crises. We’ve adopted dogs, held their paws as they left us, and spoiled them terribly in between times.
The blog keeps chugging along, and I hope it’s still entertaining as well as informative.
**************
So my new favorite ingredient is orange marmalade. You might remember me writing about the Orange Chicken recipe that used Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce mixed in equal proportion with orange marmalade. Ever since then, we’ve kept it in the house all the time. Recently, Partner/Spouse made smoky grilled ribs with barbecue sauce made from orange marmalade and other stuff. Tonight I made baked chicken and spread the rest of the orange marmalade b-cue sauce on it. But I wanted some extra tang to cut through the sweetness and added some yellow prepared mustard to it. A perfect combination.
I’m going to learn how to make this stuff.
So, closing for now, but let me know. Is there a favorite ingredient in your kitchen?
As always,
Post #727 The Home of the Baby Duck
June 22, 2020 at 5:51 PM | Posted in Basics, Other | Comments Off on Post #727 The Home of the Baby DuckIn the kitchen, I’m always looking for easier ways to do things. If there’s a way to chop an onion that takes less time, or less effort while still resulting in consistent product, I’m going to try it. And if I like it, I’m going to tell people about it. This is particularly true for cleaning. As you no doubt know, I hate doing dishes. It’s a never ending chore. To make that part of the routine easier, we use Dawn detergent. I’ve been using it since I first knew of it. I’ve tried other soaps, and they don’t seem to do the job the same way. Plus, I like the color of the soap. It’s blue like my eyes. And I love the commercial with the baby duck being cleaned up after the oil spill. We always buy the bottle with the baby ducks on it.
I’m a sucker for “new and improved” too. It shows the company is keeping up with changing needs and changing markets. I don’t for a minute pretend that they’re the slightest bit interested in my personal life or dreams. They aren’t in business for their health, mental or otherwise. But they are interested in the same things I am, making life in the kitchen a little easier with quality products that do the job, and do it well.
So, the introduced a new product recently called Powerwash. According to the commercial, you spray it on a stubbornly dirty pan; leave it alone for some time; wipe it off and everything is sparkly. Sounds like a dream, and it can’t possibly work like that, right?
Given my inclination to stay loyal to products and companies I like, and the steady desire to make life in the kitchen easier, we decided to try this one out. I will never pay to be the beta tester, so we waited to hear any feedback after the first few months. It stayed on the market shelf and was moving through my line pretty steadily. The people I asked about it all said the same thing, “I’m trying it out.” So more people than me were interested in it. And I didn’t hear anything bad about it anywhere.
So we put it on our list. And then couldn’t buy it because the virus got in the way. The shelves were bare. Not just of Powerwash, but of most other dish soaps, too. So we waited.
Then, it was restocked. We bought a bottle quickly, put it under the sink, and forgot it was there. There were a few times when it might have helped out, too.
Then, recently, Partner/Spouse made a dish that was delicious and sticky and messy. He made smoke pork ribs on the grill, and finished them off in the oven. The rimmed half-sheet was a mess. It wasn’t helped by the fact that we both waited a couple of days before attempting to clean that pan.
Then Partner/Spouse told me, “I’m going to use that new Dawn stuff on it and see how it does.”
I’m not sure if I’m just bored because of the quarantine (even though we’re both still working and the FIL has moved in), but I was more excited than I expected to be. The next day he reported that while it had done well, the pan wasn’t clean.
Oh well. There was probably a use for the pan somewhere, and Powerwash wasn’t a total bust. It could likely be used for smaller jobs.
Over this weekend, we did some rearranging in the house to make things more comfortable and give us more storage. Part of the rearranging meant bringing the massive, two part, wooden desk that I typically use from the office upstairs to the kitchen downstairs. Partner/Spouse ordered a new desk and I’m taking his previous one. The desk we moved downstairs will become extra storage in the kitchen. It will hold books, odds and ends that don’t fit well other places, etc. It will also be the primary repository for the new stand mixer that should be arriving in a day or so. Yay!
By jamming the desk tightly into the corner, it creates a perfect place to hold the baking sheets of various sizes, as well as the cooling racks. So I moved all those from the shelves in the laundry room/pantry. But I could only find one of the two rimmed half-sheet baking trays. I looked all over for it and spent more time than I care to admit. It wasn’t that I’m preternaturally in love with this pan, but we have two and I could only find one. So where was the other one? It was a riddle. But it was a riddle easily solved. A quick question to Partner/Spouse and he reached into a box. Out popped the tray with an explanation.
”I couldn’t get it clean even with the new stuff so I figured we’d get new ones.”
”Sure,” I said. “We can always use new ones. Let me try one more time first.”
“Don’t trust me?”
“Sure I do. I just want to try it out.”
I set the pan on the stove and shot the troublesome areas heavily, then shot the whole pan with a light coating. Then I got started on other stuff (I don’t remember what exactly) and forgot all about it. Two hours later I walked into the kitchen and said to myself, “Oh. Ooops.” But I noticed that everything seemed melted. That was a good sign.
I turned the water on hot and let it go until it was good and steaming. Once I ran the pan under the hot water, 95% of what was on it was gone. After I used the sprayer, 99% was gone. With just a light scrub, the pan came out looking better than it had since we first bought these guys years ago.
So score 1 for the Powerwash! I’m thrilled that it worked on the one thing we’ve tried. Even the “not worked” looked fairly decent.
I miss the ducks though.
As always,
Post #726 But What Does it Mean?
June 17, 2020 at 9:46 PM | Posted in Basics, Easy, Main, My Recipe List | Comments Off on Post #726 But What Does it Mean?When I was in high school, mom and dad both worked. My younger brother wasn’t inclined to do the job, and my older sister worked full time. So the evening meal fell to me, but it was okay because I loved cooking. Mom would tell me what to do before I left for school and I’d follow the directions when I got home. Most of the time, it was pretty standard stuff. I made a lot of spaghetti, and meatloaf, and pot roasts, etc. She was teaching me to cook and was trying to give me foolproof recipes that I couldn’t screw up. It gave me a chance to develop confidence, make mistakes, and learn how to correct them.
One day, she left instructions for pork chops that turned out so delicious and tender, I’ve remembered the process fifty years later. I used an electric skillet. In the desert where we lived, you developed ways to keep the heat inside the house to a minimum during the hot months (about 9 of them). One of Mom’s ways was the electric skillet. Instead of having an open fire on the stove, or a massive hot box in the oven, the only thing that got hot was the small metal plate with a domed lid. The house stayed cool while dinner cooked. (As an aside, we also cooked outdoors on the grill a lot, too.)
So anyway, I browned the pork chops in the skillet. I did that in batches since the skillet was on the small side. After they were done, I sliced up some onions and cooked them, then added a can of tomatoes and a can of green chilies. I added the pork chops back and simmered them for a couple of hours, adding water whenever it needed it. When they were done, tender and almost falling off the bone, I made some rice and some corn. We had the pork chops on top of the rice with corn on the side, or in my brother’s case, mixed into the rice. It was so good! And so easy.
Decades later, when Partner/Spouse and I were living in Oklahoma, we went to a restaurant that had been recommended to us where they had good authentic Mexican food. It was really Tex-Mex, but good nonetheless. I ordered Carne Guisada. I took a bite and was transported back to high school and a pork chop meal made in an electric skillet. It was beefy, fiery, and so good I couldn’t stop eating. It was much hotter than I’m used to, but it was so good I kept right at it. We went to the restaurant a couple of times, and each time I went back to the guisada. I found that the fire varied with the batch, which is normal for any food.
Then last week, I made pinto beans for myself and the FIL. I added a single dehydrated Hatch chili. And, boom! there was the fire. Hatch chilis are the product of a plant grown in Hatch, NM. They are really jalapenos, but something in the ground there, or the growing process, or maybe it’s the water, but the chilis are world famous for their flavor and their heat.
I’ve played around with making guisada on my own, but I think I’ve found the secret ingredient.
So, lets talk about Carne Guisada. Carne means meat, usually beef. Pollo (pronounced poyo) is chicken. Carnitas is pork. Pescado is fish. Guisada simply means stewed. Stewed means cooking in a braise or sauce slowly for a few hours until tender. So it’s basically Stewed Meat of some form.
At the restaurant, they served it with warm flour tortillas, refried beans with cheese melted on top, and Spanish rice is mostly must white rice with salsa stirred into it. It looks like this:
So, how do you make it? Like most things, there are as many ways to make guisada as there are cooks making it. The goal is mix meat, onion, garlic, chilis, and spices to make a tender meat filled gravy. Here’s my take on it.
Carne Guisada
- two pounds chuck roast cut into one inch cubes
- one large onion roughly chopped
- four cloves of garlic minced
- salt and pepper
- one medium can diced tomatoes with the juice
- one teaspoon cumin
- one can chopped green chilis
- one or two pinches oregano
- two dehydrated chilis as hot as you can stand them (Hatch chilis are perfect for us)
In a heavy skillet or pot (think Dutch oven style), heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil until it shimmers, then brown the beef cubes, working in batches if needed and removing to a plate. When the meat is all seared, add the onion and cook until transparent. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes with the juice, and the can of green chilis with their juices, and one cup of water. Stir to combine, and add the spices. Place the beef in the sauce and add any juices that have collected on the plate. That’s all flavor for the stew. Cover the pan and reduce the heat so the stew barely simmers. Check the stew and stir about every half hour. Add water as needed to prevent scorching. You’ll know when the stew is done when the meat is fork tender and the flavors have blended and the sauce has thickened.
This is best served as above, but can also be used as the filling for tacos and burritos. Also, lime wedges can be served with it to brighten the flavor.
************************
We’ve finally entered summer here in New England. It took some time, but we’re there. All my plants are exploding. The small peppermint plant has taken over it’s pot and is ready to overflow. The basil is about three times the size it was. It spread out, but hasn’t grown up yet. The Patio tomato plant has about eight tomatoes on it. The seedlings didn’t really do well except the two tomatoes which will be repotted this weekend, and the cilantro, which has already been repotted. The elm is slow growing because it’s a hardwood, but it’s doing fine. The maple exploded, too, and is now far taller than I am. In just the last week, it added another foot to the top. And the flowers are doing great. My customers at the store are reporting the same kind of results in their gardens, so things are looking good all over. FIL is concentrating on radishes right now so we’ll have those to eat in about thirty days. Partner/Spouse is looking forward to them. We have a skunk visiting once in a while, and leaving his distinctive calling card behind. So far, it’s just the fact that he’s walking by. He hasn’t really sprayed anything yet. The year is shaping up well in the garden dept.
Hope all is well in your parts of the world. Holler and let us all know how you’re faring.
As always,
Post #625 Upside Down
June 14, 2020 at 11:21 PM | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Post #625 Upside DownI used to travel for the government all over the world. It was a great job, and I grew as a person in many ways. I loved it while I was doing it; eventually outgrew it; now I wish I was still doing it to some extent. The oddest part of the whole episode was how I got the job in the first place. You’ll probably guess that it involved food.
I was working in retail. Retail sales is something I excel at and always seem to gravitate back to. I’m comfortable dealing with the public. I can usually get people to chuckle with me. I feel like I’ve made everyone’s day a little better. At that time, I was working in computer sales, managing my company’s second largest store. The only “store” that beat mine in sales was the online store. Location had a lot to do with it. It was right next to the Pentagon. Even as successful as I was, and the store was, I didn’t want to work retail anymore. I was tired of the fluctuating hours, no holidays with the spouse, staffing problems, etc. I didn’t want to be in charge anymore.
My ex-wife (current at the time) was working in a government position (one she still works at today) and her supervisor was transferring to a new contract with her company that involved the Dept of State. It was a new initiative. No one had much experience in it. They were looking for people with proven abilities in customer service, computers, and management. My ex told her supervisor that I was looking and gave her my resume. Two days later, I received a phone call for an interview.
I dressed myself up in my “best” suit. It was the standard navy blue, white shirt, matching tie, black shoes and socks. But, because I’m me, I added a tie clip with flair. It was gold and in the shape of a paper clip. It was a nod to the times when I didn’t have any money but needed to keep my tie from flapping in the breeze. A paper clip behind the main part of the tie did the trick.
I arrived at a large building that took up an entire block in the D.C. I called the woman I’d be interviewing with and told her I was downstairs and she came down to the courtyard where I was and escorted me into the building and to the office we’d be interviewing in. She was a young, attractive, professional woman who exuded competence and confidence. I wasn’t over awed, but I was impressed.
We talked for nearly two hours about my experience and credentials, the different aspects of the contract, what would be expected. At some point during the conversation, it became accepted that I had the position pending a security clearance, and salary was discussed. She offered a little over twice what I was currently making!
As the interview was ending, she asked if there was anything else I wanted to add. I mentioned a couple of things and said, “Oh! I also make a mean chocolate chip cookie.”
She laughed and said, “If you promise to make those once a week, the job is yours!”
We both laughed and I left.
The ex and I went on a long weekend to Virginia Beach leaving the same day as the interview. When we got back on Sunday, there was a message on our machine (this was in the days long before cell phones) from the interviewer. They wanted to offer me the job and could I call her back as soon as possible? Of course, I had to wait until the next day to call. We had another fun conversation and I reiterated that chocolate chip cookies would be forthcoming.
I received the official offer in email later that day, while I was at work at the store. I called my supervisor who already knew that I was looking and gave her the news. She was happy I’d found something but was sorry to see me go. The store would be fine. As long as the manager was conscientious, the store would be successful. It had a great location.
So one week and two days after first hearing about the job, I was officially walked into the area that would be my office. I shared it with four other guys who formed the initial team of support for the legacy systems, but also included development and testing of the new systems that would be rolled out in the upcoming months and years.
I had a plan. My boss and I would talk every day about my progress and expectations. I met all the key players on the contract, as well as the key players with the client. It was a full week, but there was a surprise at the end.
On Thursday night, I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. I set aside a dozen or so for the ex and I, then split what was rest so she could take some to her coworkers, and I could take some to mine. I kept mine hidden until my boss arrived, then took them in to her.
She laughed so hard I thought she was going to split a seam.
As the weeks went by, I brought sweet treats every Friday. It was fun, and people got to know who I was. My boss even said that she was seeing people arrive early on Friday who had never arrived early before. Other people started getting in on it, too, bringing treats of various types.
About the fifth week in, my boss asked me to come to her office one Friday.
“I needed to talk to you about the Friday sweets you’re bringing in.”
“Okay, is there a problem?”
“No, not so much a problem, but maybe a misunderstanding.”
“How so?” I asked
“I didn’t want you to think that one of the conditions of your job was to bring these baked goods in. You do a great job, everyone likes you, the client thinks you’re great. You don’t need to bring this stuff in.”
I laughed in surprise. “That’s not why I’m doing it! I’m just showing off. I like to bake and I like to give it away. If I don’t, I gain weight.”
She laughed a belly laugh. “Okay, as long as we’re clear on this.”
I started taking requests, too. There was one woman. She and her son both worked on the contract, and he and I worked fairly closely together since we were both computer geeks. She was a sweetheart, a real mom type, and took me under her wing to make feel comfortable and valued. She’d had many severe health issues recently and we discussed those at length. One day she was talking about her favorite foods and asked if I’d ever made Pineapple Upside Down Cake.
“I love those,” I said. “I haven’t made one in a while, but they’re great!”
“I’d love to have a piece of that again.”
“Come see me on Friday.”
On Thursday, I made two of them in 8X8 pans and moved them together. I made them exactly as advertised, but I mixed a little sugar into the pineapple juices leftover and reduced them to a syrup and drizzled it over the whole thing. I didn’t have a plate large enough to carry them, so I improvised a large cardboard tray.
Imagine me on the DC subway the next day, trying to balance that along with my backpack on the crowded train. People were great, though. A couple of people even helped me out when I lost my balance. It was great.
I got to the office and set the cake out. It was perfect. Rings of yellow pineapple with half glace cherries inside them topping the wonderful sponge cake with pineapple flavors, glazed over all with the baked pineapple juice. Everyone went nuts over it. The woman who requested it almost cried. And she said it was one of the best she’d ever tasted because of the love that went into it.
I’ve made many cakes in my time. Very few of them have ever been appreciated as much as that one was.
So here’s the recipe for it:
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 can (20 ounces) DOLE sliced pineapple
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 3 large eggs, separated
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 9 maraschino cherries
- Preheat oven to 375°. In an ungreased 9-in. square baking pan, combine butter and brown sugar. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup juice. Arrange 9 pineapple slices in a single layer over sugar (refrigerate any remaining slices for another use). Sprinkle pecans over pineapple; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat egg yolks until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Blend in vanilla and reserved pineapple juice. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to batter, beating well.
- In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form; fold into batter. Spoon into pan.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before inverting onto serving plate. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice.
I hope you like this recipe. It’s a good one.
And as always,
Post #724 Ice Cream Remedy
June 7, 2020 at 8:05 AM | Posted in Basics, Classic, Easy, Main | Comments Off on Post #724 Ice Cream RemedyIt happened a while ago. People come to Partner/Spouse for free medical advice and he guides them. Sometimes bluntly, most times gently. He never tells them what to do; never makes them do the right thing; never is autocratic in his responses. He tells them the options, points them in the correct direction to accomplish what they want, and leaves them alone. He enjoys helping people. It gets kind of rough on him when it’s his own family.
His cousins called. These are nice people, but were hard on him as they were all growing up. They could not accept his lifestyle “choices” and made certain he knew it. They told him he wouldn’t amount to much. They said he’d never be successful or find happiness. He simply shrugged his shoulders and carried on.
Life took over. They all pursued their own dreams and goals. Partner/Spouse went on to become a very successful nurse, finally acquiring a PhD and building a reputation known throughout the country, and moved on to a global stage. The cousins achieved their own successes. People got older. Uncle and Aunts started having medical issues.
The cousins turned to Partner/Spouse who did what he does.
Uncle was failing fast. The cousins didn’t know what to do. He wants to eat crazy things, they said. Should we let him?
Partner/Spouse shrugged. What’s it going to hurt? Give him what he wants. He wants ice cream? Give him a milk shake. It’s easy to eat.
Cousins smiled, chuckled softly. They took him a milk shake in his favorite flavor. He loved it. He couldn’t finish the whole thing, but he relished every swallow. The cousins enjoyed watching him drink the shake, and loved hearing him talk about it.
This is the best thing I’ve had in a long time, he said. I’m loving this. Thank you so much.
The cousins called Partner/Spouse to tell him how much Uncle had enjoyed the milk shake. It had been a real therapeutic moment for him. It perked him right up.
That night he passed away.
The cousins were grateful they had listened. His last moments had been pleasant ones because of the milk shake.
Sometimes, ice cream can be the remedy.
*****************************
FIL arrived safe and sound on Friday, and it’s been a whirlwind of activity. We hoped to take him to a farmer’s market yesterday, but lines, social distancing, and a sudden downpour of rain squashed those plans so we took him to a Co-op instead. Today, we wanted to take him to King Arthur Flour down in Rutland, but again, social distancing and covid response changed those plans. KAF isn’t open to browsing just yet. So we’re going to Stowe instead. Then we’re coming back home and putting together the fire pit and the new barbecue grill so we can grill the flesh of some animal later this afternoon.
On Friday, I made a ham with a lime mojito glaze. It cooked during the afternoon, then sat in the oven to stay warm while we went to the airport to pick him up. It remained tender and juicy and delicious. I made an asparagus salad to go with it. That was fun. Pencil Asparagus cut into pearl size, then tomatoes, celery, pico de gallo, and salad dressing to add to it.
Yesterday, I made pinto beans and ham. I’ve been wanting them ever since FIL made plans to move here. I don’t make them often because Partner/Spouse doesn’t like them and I can’t eat an entire potful by myself, even over several days. FIL loves them as much as I do. At the Co-Op we found some dried Hatch Chilies. Hatch is a town in New Mexico renowned for it chili peppers. I’ve written about them once before. I put one of the dried peppers into the beans near the end when I put in the tomatoes. The heat was so good! When making beans of any kind always put the acid in after the beans have finished cooking. The acid toughens the skin of the bean and they’ll never cook throughout. I also made corn muffins from scratch, not a mix. Partner/Spouse had a ham and rice dish of his own creation.
So that’s the weekend for us. Hope yours has been nice.
As always,
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.
A Heritage of Humor - Stories from my Kitchens 