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.

 

 

Stir it up

A simple stir fry served with gnocci. 

Boil water as you fry some diced bacon. 
A couple of medium potatoes, microwaved, removed from skins, mixed with flour and egg, salt and a bit of oil. Combined in a small food processor so I had 2 batches. Save one for another meal. Added additional flour as needed and gave it a quick knead. Roll out to ropes and cut , nothing fancy here. Roll off a fork if you want the ridges.

Remove the bacon from the pan, leaving bacon fat,  add squid, fry till curly and browned. Remove from pan. 

Add the gnocci to the boiling water.

Add sliced veggies to the pan stir fry and season to your liking . Here you can be creative as to what you have on hand. 

Return the bacon bits and squid to the pan mix all.

Scoop out the gnocci with a slotted spoon to plate , top off with the stir fry veggie mixture.

Garnish as desired , usually grated parmesean , or I was thinking of a sauce , bechamel, cheese etc. 

DONE !

White and Black Rice with Veggies, Bacon and Squid.

The bottom of a one cup measure,  a grain thickness of black rice, the remainder,  common white rice, prepared. Rendered fat from diced bacon bits, sautéed  green onion, garlic and celery. Fried squid.

Bacon potatoe hash with gravy

A few diced potatoes slightly microwaved, then  fried with  bacon, onion , green, and a light amount of  hot pepper. A veggie broth, cream sauce gravy to plate.

spaghetti carbonara

the basic technique of this recipe can be modified at about any stage by different ingredients.
No pictures of assembly or prep, basically bacon and eggs spaghetti, add other ingredients broccoli, greens etc.
Boil enough water for your pasta, traditionally spaghetti or other type of pasta, this recipe can go in different directions.

Start by frying bacon at least a 1/2 per 1 lb of spaghetti, more or less to taste, mine is semi crispy, again here is room for substitution, pancetta, fat back, sausage, or other source of meat with a high fat content for rendering is good. Reserve all the drippings.

Eggs at least 4, beaten, with a bit of salt and pepper.

A large pan preferable, heavy and large enough for the chosen amount of pasta to be tossed.

Ready ? not so fast , put the pasta in the boiling water, have all other ingredients and additives ready, like grated cheese, most likely a hard cheese of Parmesan or Romano or a combo, 1/2 cup or more.

The bacon, crumbled, the bacon fat reserved.

Cook the pasta al-dente.

Heat the skillet and add the bacon fat , drain the pasta and add to the pan and with high heat toss the pasta so it is well coated with the bacon fat, add butter and /or olive oil for extra points.

Again while tossing, add the beaten eggs and toss thoroughly to avoid big clumps of eggs to form. While this is going on add the grated cheese and toss, toss,toss, adjust heat as necessary.
The crunchyness of the spaghetti is to your liking. You could augment the dish with some, cream, heavy, sour, or what not also.

Remove the pasta from the skillet to a serving plate or usually just leave on the stove, off heat, covered for others.

Modification at this point can be in the form of garnishes, white onion diced, green onion, shallots, dried red pepper flakes, more cheese, etc.

An easy alternative to pasta and sauce, utilize what you have in the fridge for ingredients.

Holiday

Aside from the obvious meaning of Memorial Day, it also signifies the beginning of outdoor activities season. This year the weather preceding this holiday has been several days of relatively cold and rain. Today promises a warm up. By advertising and media, one is encouraged to have their outdoor grille and swimming pool functioning by this date if you haven’t already done so.
We already have had our propane grille operating, and the charcoal grille has yet to see action. The cool weather this morning, (40ish) and early rise to have a cup of coffee outside, like camping, suggested the better way to cook bacon and toast bagels was on the grille. Nothing like the taste of flame crisped bacon.
Some views of the yard first.

I guess the shrubs like the diet of coffee grounds.

Some pictures taken earlier this month.

Bacon, potato and greens

A quick skillet meal.

Render some bacon slightly

 

Grab a spud,clean skin, small dice with skin

sauté with the bacon, season 

throw in some garlic

 

add some Brussels sprout greens to the pan, cover, let them wilt

Done