The salad that sticks to your ribs

A hearty meal is know by the phrase “stick to you ribs”, inferring  that a meal will stay with you after consumption and fill you up not wanting more for quite some time. (Just in case that phrase is new to you).

I actually had ribs with this salad, incorporating salads into your menu need not be boring, serve as a side dish once and a while to replace the starch component, pasta, potatoe etc. 

The ribs come as a leftover from a celebratory meal, dry rubbed and slow roasted over charcoal and mesquite pellets. A rite of summer, learning that BBQ the day before and then high heat grilling briefly the day of the meal is the best way to go time wise. Not all in the family goes for the ribs, (or chicken) like this so left overs are available. Even though I like the spicy fire finish of the BBQ sauce, two ribs sufficed. 

I can’t take credit for the salad , on warm days,  heating the kitchen is a factor in planning meals so Diane made the salad. I mearly added the ribs and BBQ sauce . (Recipe will be posted later.)

One of the few times I utilized bottled dressing , Vadalia onion .

Shrimp and squid soup

A scaled down inspiration recipe from  http://goanwiki.com/2016/06/10/sopa-de-camarao-recieta-shrimp-soup-recipe/    With a bit of a changeup.

You figure that being a New Englander born and raised that clam chowder would be a staple on the  table. Quahogs are the large clams farmed from certain areas close to the beach or from the water with a bull rake. Shucking quahogs and preparing chowder and clam cakes were a part  of my childhood, enough to where it has satisfied me to taste both only about once or twice a year. Those in the area will reminisce about Rocky Point , so I won’t carry on. Not too fussy about the clam cakes, but a good bowl of watery chowder swimming with quahogs and potatoes is a good tasting.

This recipe seems to get away from the clams and focus on my favorite sea foods (or as the joke goes “I eat all the food I see” (see food)).

What I had on hand was some shrimp and calamari, grape tomatoes and bacon with rendered fat. The Mrs. had made a salad and made bacon for garnish leaving me rendered fat and  a piece for reserve.

Scaled down and with a couple of substitutions , it was done.

Chicken broth was substituted for the water from chicken that the wife cooks. Also the water that the shrimp and calamari defrosted in was utilized. Butter was augmented with the rendered bacon fat. The milk was replaced with a slight amount of heavy cream. I hesitated on adding hot pepper flakes but the cracked black pepper we use is spicy in itself. Some scallions were added for color. Bacon was crumbled for garnish.

The recipe process was largely unchanged so the photos tell the story.

 

MMMMMMMM…. Delicious, I skipped the bread , with an effort on weight maintenance, but your right , it would go good with oyster crackers. Another good meal to get fish in the diet.

 

 

The French bakery

For you bread lovers out there, if you are interested in seeing an actual french bakery in operation, here is link, one of many broadcasts.

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1OwxWpajmmqKQ

twitter share link below

BOULANGERIE EN LIVE pétrin / pesée / façonnage

GHOSTRIDERZX6R

@GHOSTRIDERZX6R

Some of these links may have expired,, search BOULANGERIE EN LIVE on periscope.tv

A sunny Sunday breakfast

Whole wheat, white spent grain toast

Poached egg

Cubed chicken (leftovers)

Brussels sprout greens

Orange juice (one large orange squeezed)

Coffee, (Sumatra )

Sour cream 

Dried hot red pepper

Cracked black pepper

An effort at a balanced breakfast

Considered a bechamel sauce but opted for sour cream.

Enjoy the last day of the weekend!

shopping

recent food prices

 

 

good cooking folks!

Grains of the day

     

Recent baking from last night, a blend of white, whole wheat, and spent grain flour. 

Cup of the day is Sumatra Aceh Gold.



Card Night

Most gatherings cause us to make more food then necessary, but we have learned to limit the dishes to a few items.

a recent card night brought out these dishes.

A nacho style shredded BBQ chicken dish from my daughter I dubbed “Taco Mountain”

Fruit and brownies

Smoked Salsa

Veggies with Serrano chilies that where smoked on the grill with mesquite and diced.

One tomato processed with a food processor and added for juice.

 

a fruit beverage

What to drink !  the hot weather will be upon us and if you want to avoid those carbonated or sports drink beverages here’s an alternative.

Squeeze several oranges, funnel them into a plastic bottle, add cold water, lemon and lime juice, sugar and a small amount of salt. Shake, taste and adjust as necessary. a bit of sliced ginger root can be added also.

Of course, lemonade/limeade can also be made with lemon/lime  juice, water and sugar with a bit of salt. If you don’t have fresh lemons use the bottle type. Keeps longer than fresh lemons or limes.

 

Brussels sprouts saute

here is a quick and easy recipe Diane made  for sauteed Brussels sprouts. Basically melt butter in skillet, add some sliced carrot, saute for a few minutes and add Brussels sprouts and leeks, a tablespoon of water, cover and let steam. season with salt, pepper and caraway seeds. Serve with a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Leeks have been the go to veggie for that onion flavor but with some crunch. Excellent on the grille also. Here with the sprouts, butter and carrots a great combination.

from:

The Central Market Cookbook

Banana chocolate cake

Bananas,a staple of our diet but  when they ripen faster than you can eat them,  into the freezer they go. I happen to come across this recipe for chocolate banana bread (and muffins)  that fit the bill with the exception of buttermilk, which I substituted milk with a bit of vinegar to sour it. So the frozen overripe bananas, now defrosted can be utilized.

The recipe is from Chatelaine.com

Chocolate-chunk loaf and muffins

basically a cake recipe that makes a lot of batter enough for 12 muffins and 1 loaf, good for lunch box.

    no pictures as of  yet of the finished products, they rose just fine and had a semi light  texture.

(another use for overripe bananas is that they can be mashed and served with other overripe fruits or utilized in a smoothie.