What's for Dinner?

[sour_grapes]

The start of something beautiful. I harvested my jalapeños and began the months long process of converting these into deliciously fermented hot sauce. I let them ferment for about two months then purée them until smooth. It will be even better after it ages for a year.

Oh, I have never thought to do this! I only recently started fermenting/preserving stuff, mostly preserved lemons so far. I am totally going to whip up a batch of pepper sauce now!

Edit: I wish I had read this before going to the farmer's market yesterday...

 

[GreginND]

I do lots of lactofermentation - kimchi, dill pickles, fermented beets, fermented daikon radish, fermented green beans. I love fermented foods. I also make a cayenne sauce this way when they get ripe.

We make a fermented salsa that is amazing - just chop together tomatoes, garlic, jalapeños, onions and cilantro. Add some salt and let it ferment for about a week then store it in the fridge or in a cool root cellar. We are still eating our salsa from last year and it is as bright red as the day we made it and has a wonderful tangy flavor. You do get more watery liquid in it which I use for soups and cooking beans.

 

[sour_grapes]

I have been intending to start a kimchi batch, but I wanted to get some gochugaru; that market is only a 15-minute drive, but it is not in a direction I go that often. Maybe I will just use smoked hot paprika for the next batch rather than wait...

 

[GreginND]

I have been intending to start a kimchi batch, but I wanted to get some gochugaru; that market is only a 15-minute drive, but it is not in a direction I go that often. Maybe I will just use smoked hot paprika for the next batch rather than wait...

The key is to get the Korean gochugaru. The flavor just won't be the same. My kimchi is quite simple. Everything to taste. After you make it a few times you'll get a feel for how much to add. Some traditional recipes call for fish pastes, fruits, etc. I was shown how to make a simpler version by a Korean friend.

1 head Napa cabbage - cut into pieces to the size you like. I go a bit bigger than bite size.
10 or more cloves of garlic, chopped
2-3 inches of fresh ginger, chopped
2 bunches of green onions - cut into 1-2" pieces
Optional - you can add some Korean daikon cut into small sticks
Salt - a lot?
gochugaru - a couple of handfuls?
Vietnamese fish sauce (optional - may use soy sauce also) - as many dashes as you like.

Cut the cabbage, onions and daikon and layer it in a large container sprinkling generously with coarse salt. Let it sit for 1-2 hours until the cabbage wilts down, releases its water and becomes soft. Drain and rinse very well with cold water. Mix everything together well in a large bowl and then pack into a large jar pushing the kimchi down tightly. You should have enough liquid so that there is very little air. I've never added more but if you are worried, you can top it up with a bit of a 2% salt brine solution. Let it ferment on the counter for 2-3 days (or bury it for six months in your backyard). After a few days it will start to taste a bit sour. This is fresh kimchi that has some tang but still a bit sweet tasting. You can leave it out longer until it gets more sour - depends on the temperature how fast it ferments. After that you can store it in the fridge for months. It will get more sour and delicious as it ages. The older sour kimchi is used a lot to make stews (kimchi jjigae) , kimchi fried rice and other Korean dishes.

 

[GreginND]

And your kimchi discussion inspired my dinner tonight. I definitely have a fusion dish - Japan meets Korea meets Mexico meets India. This is a take on an Osaka style okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancake) inspired by Korean kimchi jeon (well fermented kimchi pancake). Fresh cabbage was combined with six month old kimchi, jalapeños and thickened with a chick pea flour batter.

 

[sour_grapes]

Greg: Glad I could help!

For my dinner, I had some lamb loin chops and some beautiful shiitake mushrooms from the farmers' market to work with. I searched for recipes including both of those on the internet (which, ladies and gentlemen, I really think is going to catch on!). I found a recipe that centered on sherry: reducing some sherry and sherry vinegar to both glaze the 'shrooms and to baste the lamb on the grill. I also had some turnip greens, so I sauteed those with onions and garlic, then braised with sherry. For the meat/fungus, I did as the recipe suggested, and reduced the sherry + vinegar, then cooked up the shiitakes in butter/oil before adding some of the reduced sherry mixture to glaze. I dry-brined the lamb chops, then grilled them on a super-hot grill, then basted with the sherry concoction (or, perhaps more exactly, the sherry decoction).

I grabbed a bottle of Ménage à Trois red blend wine, but I was disappointed. I intentionally chose something straightforward, but this meal called for something with more depth, perhaps more heft (and, frankly, less residual sugar). Nobody's fault but mine, of course.

 

[Ajmassa]

Long weekend, longer Monday. NOBODY wanted to cook.
......Sometimes you're just in the mood for a good ol American burger at the neighborhood bar. W/ the Ballgame on tv, cold beers on tap, and a side of wings.
No judgements please.

 

[sour_grapes]

the Ballgame on tv, cold beers on tap, and a side of wings.
No judgements please.

The only judgement I am having is one of approbation! Looks good from here!

 

[Ajmassa]

The only judgement I am having is one of approbation! Looks good from here!

Saw your lamb chops right after I posted that. And even with a very full stomach I grew hungry all over again. Looks delicious. Lamb is a treat.

----but even I know that meal deserves better than Ménage à trois!
But my Blue Moon paired perfectly with the burger and wings.

Edit: I've never had Kimchi before, but the honey loves it. After that discussion and Greg's pics I think I'm going to have pop my cherry.

 

[sour_grapes]

Well, Greg, inspired by you, I did try my hand tonight. I bought a bunch of Jalapenos and about 6 or so habeneros. I was very disappointed at how mild my jalapenos were, so I did not use as many as I had intended (to tilt towards the habeneros). I timidly tasted the habeneros, too, and they also seemed weak, so I took a bigger bite — oops, that was a mistake!

I also threw some tomatillos and a garden tomato in there. I put a little whey from some greek yogurt in there to help start the party. (I am using store-bought peppers and city water, so I need all the help I can get!) Who the hell knows? I am sure it will be lovely.

 

[geek]

Long weekend, longer Monday. NOBODY wanted to cook.
......Sometimes you're just in the mood for a good ol American burger at the neighborhood bar. W/ the Ballgame on tv, cold beers on tap, and a side of wings.
No judgements please. View attachment 38738

If you complain.....then what's good...

 

[ceeaton]

Long weekend, longer Monday. NOBODY wanted to cook.
......Sometimes you're just in the mood for a good ol American burger at the neighborhood bar. W/ the Ballgame on tv, cold beers on tap, and a side of wings.
No judgements please.

No judgements, just a little of what Paul said (approbation, yea, that's it). Reminds me of a bar in Ambler that my older brother and I would end up in when I occasionally visited (I think he was doing an internship at the time at Temple and I think the place was KC's Alley (I know it was near the train station and within walking distance of the house he was renting at the time)).

You could use a little gravy on those fries (thinking Chicken gravy like the Milt in Carlisle PA - https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaur...nWidth=50&cnt=30&offset=-1&filter=7&autoplay= ).

 

[geek]

Wife cooked some drum sticks, yes in the oven inside!!
Darn good!!

 

[Ajmassa]

No judgements, just a little of what Paul said (approbation, yea, that's it). Reminds me of a bar in Ambler that my older brother and I would end up in when I occasionally visited (I think he was doing an internship at the time at Temple and I think the place was KC's Alley (I know it was near the train station and within walking distance of the house he was renting at the time)).

You could use a little gravy on those fries (thinking Chicken gravy like the Milt in Carlisle PA -.

That's not the 1st word I've had to look up from a post from Paul! I think I may know the bar in Ambler. Did some work I've there yrs ago and had a few go-to beer&burger spots after work.
Forget the names but may not even still be named the same anyway. A few great spots tho.
And you and that gravy! Somewhere between Carlisle and Philly the "gravy" on fries is lost. One day I'll have to see what the fuss is all about.

 

[Keith1940]

The start of something beautiful. I harvested my jalapeños and began the months long process of converting these into deliciously fermented hot sauce. I let them ferment for about two months then purée them until smooth. It will be even better after it ages for a year.

View attachment 38707

There's always one nonconformer in the bunch

View attachment 38708

View attachment 38709

View attachment 38710

That is a nice harvest of Jalapeno's. Do you use any for canning? I have used some of mine in cooking, squash relish, and salsa. I have also used Jalapeno's to make pepper jelly. Sometimes I let a lot of them turn red so the jelly will have a different color.

 

[sour_grapes]

Okay, true confessions time. I shop almost every day, because I walk by the grocery store on my way home. No trouble to stop in. Well, the new big-box grocery store that drove my beloved mom-and-pop gourmet store out of business has a weak spot. They have a special section where they routinely put meat that is approaching its "sell by" date, obviously highly discounted. It has become my secret obsession to check there whenever trying to put dinner together, i.e., nearly every day. That is where yesterday's loin lamb chops came from, and tonight, it was a T-bone steak for about $3.50/lb. I coupled that with corn-on-the-cob (simple, just butter/salt) and green beans (with coriander/fennel), both from my farmer's market and all 3 cooked on a hot, hot grill. No pix tonight, as my battery unexpectedly ran out of juice when I tried to take a shot.

For wine, I chugged the last of the saccharine Menage a Trois, just to get rid of it, and opened something more worthwhile: a simple Columbia Crest H3 Merlot. Kicking myself, because this is worlds better, for a buck or two more. Now, to be fair, I have had plenty of agreeable Menage a Trois (WINE, that is) before, not keeping track of the blend, but that last blend was cloying.

 

[ibglowin]

Ahhh Yes, In our neck off the woods it is called the "woohoo" section. LOL

Tuesday is the best day to scour the bin as that is when things that are close to expiration and didn't sell over the weekend get marked down to move it out fast.

I have to remove the label/not confess to any "woohoo" purchases to Mrs. IB. She won't eat it if she knows it. Says it taste "funny" no matter what the cut is. She will not last long when the Zombie apocalypse happens......

Don't tell her but yesterday I scored an 8lb Pork Butt for just North of $1/lb. 3lbs of boneless beef short ribs for $3.50/lb and a nice chuck roast (alas full price) for $4.50/lb.

This will become my first experimental batch of TX German snausage this weekend!

They have a special section where they routinely put meat that is approaching its "sell by" date, obviously highly discounted. It has become my secret obsession to check there whenever trying to put dinner together, i.e., nearly every day.......

 

[sour_grapes]

Ahhh Yes, In our neck off the woods it is called the "woohoo" section. LOL

Yes! As my big-box grocery store chain was bought out by Kroger's not long ago, it is the identical sticker!

My wife's reaction is not as marked as yours, but I do try to hide these purchases from her at times...

 

[GreginND]

Harvest bounty for dinner. It's pink because of our lack of rain I think, but it tastes good. I don't remember the variety. It was an old seed pack I had lying around.

 

[sour_grapes]

It's pink because of our lack of rain I think, but it tastes good.

I was recently the "designated watermelon slicer" for a large gathering. There were two sources of watermelon. One batch had a beautiful, deep reddish pink color. The other was pale pink. Nearly everyone grabbed at the more deeply colored slices.

Of course, the pale pink ones turned out to be flavorful and delicious, and the deeper ones were kind of insipid! The slicer (me) tried to get the word out, but the color was more convincing!