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What did you have for dinner? -Part dois

Cut 14 huge garden tomatoes in half, scooped out the inside flesh, juice and seeds. Stuffed them with a mixture of fresh ricotta, minced shallots, minced seeded cherry peppers, set them on a baking sheet covered with wax paper. After running the tomato pulp and juice thru a sieve into a bowl, removing the seeds, I whipped about a 1/2 cup of plain yogurt with the juice from two fresh squeezed limes and 4 tbs of dried crumbled orange zest for use as a marinade for dozens of cleaned huge fresh sea scallops in the same large bowl covered with more wax paper. I then prepared about 3 1/2 lbs of fresh pasta dough, let it sit for about 20 minutes before running through the pasta machine for fettuccine. Hung the fettuccine on a drying rack, and walked away for three hours.

Dog and I went for a walk, hit the local produce store and other haunts. Brought back 2 heads each of butterhead and batavia lettuce, raw almonds, 1/2 dozen lemon cucumbers (no lemon flavor, they just are yellow and thin skinned, oval shaped, very mild), and about a 1/2 lb of watercress. I set the almonds to soak in water for about an hour, making for an easy peel of the skins, which shouldn't be eaten for the bitterness of the tannin content. Shredded the greens by hand, thin sliced the cucumbers and two small yellow onions, tossed in red wine vinegar olive oil, chopped raw garlic, fresh ground black pepper with fresh shredded tarragon leaves. Let it sit in a very large salad bowl. After an hour or so, I peeled the almonds, then crushed them with a heavy cleaver on a cutting board. Tossed the crushed almonds in the salad with some toasted day old bread croutons. Didn't want the croutons getting soggy from the dressing, but they add some crunch and pick up the aroma of the wine vinegar very nicely. Retossed the salad.

I then preheated the oven to 450 degrees, set the fettuccine to boiling, placed the scallops on a baking sheet. Mixed a small can of Sicilian tomato paste with the marinade, added about two dozen chopped olives and heated in a saucepan. I placed the tomatoes and scallops in the oven. Drained the fettuccine and tossed back in the pot with the gravy. Heaped the gravied fettuccine on each plate, with an open space in the center where I placed the two stuffed tomato halves and 3-4 scallops. They both had cooked for about 6-7 minutes. I dusted each plate with fresh grated aggiato cheese, an aged and smoked Turkish sheep milk cheese much sharper than parmesan. The salad was self serve at the dining table, the rest quickly became history. Plenty of lemony unsweetened iced tea.

Sliced apricots and peaches, berries and red grapes for dessert.
 
Chicken enchiladas, slaw, and chocolate fudge ice cream for dessert.
 
grilled cheese
canned country vegetables. i like them because they have chunks of potatoes and good seasoning.
 
A few days ago, over 48ish hours, I made broth. Bits of onion, garlic, green pepper that were discarded (anything that might taste good). Chicken/duck carcasses, t-bone steak bones, etc. Made the broth.

Strained out bones, dropped a whole chicken in it, and slow-boiled/simmered that for hours. Strained, picked the bones out, put the chicken back into the broth, added garlic/onions/mushroom/carrot/green pepper, corn, peas, lima beans, crisped bacon bits, a bunch of garden green onions, spices, etc.


It was for several meals. About half way eaten now. Basically, a stew-like chicken consomme. Which is not a consomme.
 
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A classic Boulvadier in Nick & Nora coupe cocktail glasses before dinner. If you're going for classic cocktails you have to have the right glasses. ;)

Dinner was simple, boneless chicken breasts from our local butcher marinated for 24 hours in Chaka MMM sauce, my ultimate favorite marinade, cooked on the barbie and served with Calrose rice, and steamed broccoli.

Since right after state lockdown I've gotten into classic cocktails. Why not? I've pretty much been a classic drink person for a long time. I've been a Manhatten guy for decades. I never liked frou frou drinks and can't stomach margaritas.

The chicken was too good. It would have been difficult to screw up.
 
home made egg muffin
pumpkin spice pancakes
sugar free syrup.
 
Steamed a large pot of saffron rice. Cut up 3 different types of fresh sweet squash into bite size pieces, washed them with a dozen whisked eggs, allspice and fresh ground long pepper, rolled them in thick mixture of taro and rice flours mixed with more black pepper. Chopped a couple of seeded red bell peppers, six scallions, a few garlic cloves, cardamon pods, and crushed about 15 anise seeds, all tossed in a bowl. As the rice was close to finishing, I took the lid off the pot, turned off the heat. Set a small amount of sesame oil at the bottom of a large wok, just as some smoke was rising I tossed in the chopped peppers etal. Moved the floured squash into a preheated deep fryer basket and about a quart of peanut oil. Shoveled the rice into the wok, thoroughly mixing and heating the ingredients, adding in liberal amounts of fermented fish sauce, the remaining whisked eggs and 2 heads of shredded bok choy. Tossed well in the wok, lowered the heat to keep it warm. Removed the fry basket to drain and turned off the heat once the battered squash turned golden brown.

Dished the rice into large bowls, covered with the squash, and served with iced teas. Thick slices of over ripe fresh watermelon for dessert.

This is actually an inexpensive workers breakfast popular in Goa, sometimes lunch with fish, eel or prawns instead of squash, bought from street stands, sometimes served in large bowls made from fried noodle dough, and edible, part of the meal. Usually enjoyed with a warm dark beer or two mixed with fermented spicy mango juice. Worked here as dinner, no beer for the kids.
 
Philly cheese steak hamburger helper made with veggie crumbles.
 
A bag of Doritos and 2 32 oz Jack and Cokes with no ice.
 
home made personal cheese pizza with onions
Fritos.
 
my wife made us pasta and garlic bread. it was really good.
 
Black Bean and corn relish, Chicken and Shrimp tortilla-less fajitas....
 
Chunky Chicken salad sandwiches with sliced juicy tomatoes and onions on home baked rye bread. Cantaloupe and thin slices of smoked Spanish ham. Spicy potato knishes with mustard. Bottles of Mountain Dew. Grandma's real chocolate pudding with whipped cream and pitted cherries on top. Dog had a homemade turkey burger left over from lunch with kibble. Cat had a piece of fresh tuna tail, a gift from our friend at the fish store. She's in a real sweet mood, stretch out on my shoulders.
 
We lit the grill and made burgers with some really good 80/20 ground beef. I made quinoa, amaranth, and rice starch side and finished the last of the brussels sprouts by roasting them. I was planning to make pizza but it was a nice day and tomorrow will be cooler with the possibility of rain, so making pizza inside then would be a better choice.
 
Impossible Whopper with cheese.
 
We did fruit and cheese, peaches, apricots, plums, red grapes, a half dozen hard cheeses, smoked fish from an appetizing store, along with grandma's potato pancakes and applesauce or sour cream. The ice cream machine is in action, making heavy duty bean vanilla. Should be ready in about a 1/2 hour or so. I'll crack open a jar of Nasty's Chocolate Sauce, a local concoction that is bitter sweet. Got two of the grandkids cracking nuts, another two crushing them for the ice cream. Plenty of fresh cherries are chilling in the fridge to go with the ice cream, and a few bananas are ready for slicing, to have on the side.

Everyone's watching the Marx Brothers At the Circus. A unanimous selection from the Dvd collection. Coconuts is next, the movie.
 
Giordano's -- The much under appreciated thin crust. Green Olives, Black Olives, Onions.
 
Hawaiian Chicken Salad.

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
olive oil
Bay leaves
Toasted pecan halves
Crisp celery that has been peeled and diced
Pineapple tidbits in natural juice no sugar added
Red seedless grapes halved
Mayo
2 teas. pineapple
salt and pepper.

Place chicken in baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, salt/pepper.
Lay bay leaves on top.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 25 to 35 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breasts.

Once cool enough to handle shred chicken with a fork.
Add celery, toasted pecans, grapes and pineapple tidbits.

Mix a couple of teaspoons of pineapple juice with the mayo, salt and pepper. Stir it in till everything is coated.

Place in fridge for a couple of hours then serve on lettuce leaves.

A wonderful meal on a hot day.
 
The grandkids were desperate for some outdoors time. I woke them all at 5:30 this morning, hurried them to dress with a quick breakfast of buttered biscuits and hot chocolates, some fruit and had them load their water bottles. My wife and I, accompanied by Dog, marched them up to the vast nearby nether regions of vast Forest Park on are mushroom hunting safari. We had reed baskets for their finds, pamphlets describing edible mushrooms, and some meager knowledge of my own from past finds. They did terrific, we brought back about 8 quarts of oyster mushrooms, false chanterelles, hedge hog (an edible fungus that grows on oak trees), and about a 1/2 dozen other types. As well, we harvest a load of wild sorrel, ramps, cinnabar, wild garlic, and assorted herbs. To top it all off, they gathered an assortment of wild flowers, so now our home is benefitting from the colors and aromas. Dog was in all his glory, having a great time chasing squirrels at every opportunity. Of course the big wimp came running back when the squirrels stood their ground.

On the way home we stopped at the local fish store, picked up shrimp and scallops, stopped for bubble teas, the kids had emptied their water bottles, hydration was on the menu. We returned home, in time for lunch, prepared ham & swiss sandwiches and grapes, more fruit. Dog and I took much needed and deserved naps.

A bit later we woke to find the kids had trimmed and arranged the wildflowers in vases, and they were trying to identify them on the net with their iPads, as my wife played some blues on the piano. With the help of a few volunteers, we started cleaning about a 1/3 of the mushrooms, washed and cut up about 4lbs of red potatoes, the ramps, some of the wild garlic, and some of the assorted herbs. We cleaned the shrimp and scallops, filled two 6 quart ceramic casserole dishes with the cut up potatoes, leeks, mushrooms and of course, the shrimp and scallops. I minced the garlic and herbs, mixed them in about a pint of water, along with a few tbs of rice flour for thickening, some cayenne pepper powder, and some crushed anise seeds and cardamon pods, poured the mixture into the casseroles. I covered the casserole dishes and let them sit for a few hours.

Before we left I had prepared some egg bread dough in the Vitamix, set in cheesecloth covered bowls for rising, enough for three large loaves.

About 5:15 I set the bread in the oven to bake at 375 degrees, followed by the casserole dishes 15 minutes later. After a half hour I pulled the bread to cool on racks, and 20 minutes later, the casseroles. My wife had earlier this afternoon prepared lemonade flavored with fresh blackberry juice, extra tart, and served over cracked ice. The kids feasted on their bounty, finished by 6:20 ready for a dessert of fresh sliced fruit, berries and grapes. They are now spread out in the living room, quietly watching TV.

I had separately steamed one shrimp and one scallop, let them cool and minced them for the cat. Dog had lamb stew, prepared by the local pet store, per his Vet's dietary instructions, some dry food, and kibble. Both he and the cat are napping in the living room laid down contentedly with the kids. My perfect day.
 
my wife made cheese steaks, and she also made a batch for me with my fake meat. it was great. had it with some baked cheetos and froze the rest to enjoy later.
 
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