What's for dinner?

[JDub]

Evening all.

I was gonna post on Saturday Night but we had a "small" problem, major storm swept through and we were power out for several hours that evening. No probs though, I just pulled out my travel equipment - storage batteries, lights, 12 v fan etc. My big power cube ran a stand fan and my 12v fridge was already cold because I use it on shore power as my beer fridge. I just plugged it in to one of my power cubes and good to go! Didn't even have to fire up a generator. It was one of those nights that everyone decided to "visit JDUB". Why? Cause they knew I had power and cold beer! Frickin MOOCHERS!

Anyway, we did fire up the grill and I grilled the ribs I had left from the 4th ( cryo plastic sealed so still fresh) and hotdogs and sausage, and veggies etc. I pulled out a couple nice bottles of vino out of my basement wine fridge (Zin and Pinot Grigio) for the ladies. Turned out to be a rather nice evening despite the lack of power. Anyway. had a few leftovers and that's what I've been eating since then.

Tonight, I used the last of the ribs to make that Southern BBQ oddity - The Rib Sammitch - Every BBQ joint in the South has this either on or off the menu. Generally speaking it's an economical serving of 2-3 large spareribs on top of squishy soft white bread, drenched in sauce. Sometimes there are are fries and slaw involved but a true rib sammitch is usually just the ribs, sauce, and bread. If you're ever in Tuscaloosa/Northport AL, go to legendary Archibald's BBQ (A TRUE Rib Shack - emphasis on the Shack) for their version. Heaven on cheap white bread with their famous orange-red sauce "all OVAH".

For a rundown on Southern food oddities and their origins, check out John T. Edge's Volume 7 of the "New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture - Foodways" Great reading! "The Southern Belly" also by Edge is another. For a historical look at food and culture of the South in the 40's, Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's (author of "The Yearling") "Cross Creek Cookery" is a fascinating look at food and life in Florida Cracker Country in the 40's. Be forewarned though, the book reflects the social attitudes of the period although the author was a well know progressive for her time. Worth the read.

So, that's what was for tonight along with some sliced mater, onion, pickles, and jalapeno's. Not a thing wrong with it! You can't see him but a mysterious furry visitor from a far off land parked himself on the other side of the bar "just in case" an extra rib or two just happened to be left... Yes, the spoiled rotten menace got some too...

Well, that's it for tonight. The heat's abating a bit but it's still way up there in danger territory for folks in the South and Texas is looking pretty bad heatwise. If you're out there in this in a vehicle make sure you take all the precautions - don't wait till it's too late...

Stay safe and sane.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all,

Leftovers are finally done but I did some cooking over the last couple of days to get - more leftovers - It's just TOUGH to cook many of my favored dishes in small quantities. Being a single ship household, you want to make sure whatever you cook will actually get eaten as not to waste it. There are some good ways to multi purpose what you cook in several different dishes.

Case in point, I crockpot roasted a chicken Tuesday. It's a good recipe - rotisserie style chicken - You take your favorite chicken seasoning, combine with a little olive oil or softened butter into a paste, then rub it all over the bird making sure you get some in the cavity. Then you ball up 3 wads of foil (or use a rack if you have one) and then place the bird on top of them breast side DOWN (to let the roasting juices run down and keep it moist) and turn on low for about 7 hours or high for about 3.5 hours.

Add just a couple of tablespoon of liquid to start . No more or the bird will stew rather than roast. It's a very good and easy recipe and you'll be surprised at how much it tastes like a store bought roast chicken. Best of all you can use it several different ways if you're only cooking for one. I used that one chicken to make: Chicken Broth for soup, chicken salad using the breastmeat, and the rest of the meat went into a green chile and sour cream chicken enchilada casserole. More than enough for the last 3 days and I've still got leftovers to boot (even after coughing up a big piece of my casserole to a friend).

I'll post a recipe for the enchilada casserole tomorrow but it too is a very simple ingredient stretcher that produces a lot of food for a very cheap price. The broth is made by boiling down basically everything that's left after you pick the chicken (if you add some onion peel while simmering you get a nice golden color) and the very soft remains that I strained out after it was done went into Sam's dog food for supper. The broth is going to be the basis of a nice chicken and egg noodle soup with veggies.

Nothing wasted and more than a few good meals for just pennies. Can't ask for more than that during these times (If real inflation were calculated the accurate way it was back in the 80's, it wouldn't be the reported 9.1% - it would actually be right at 20% !) Hopefully you guys out there are coming up with some good money saving but tasty recipes to keep you fed and your spirits up out there. Please feel free to post any you'd like to share with us!

Stay safe and sane out there!

Cheers.

 

[maki2]

My campsite neighbors seem to feel I need feeding despite it being obvious I am not missing any meals! Not much need for doing cooking while they are around . They bring enough food that I have the leftovers for breakfast.

 

[JDub]

My campsite neighbors seem to feel I need feeding despite it being obvious I am not missing any meals! Not much need for doing cooking while they are around . They bring enough food that I have the leftovers for breakfast.

Hey there are far worse things than neighbors who try to feed you!

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

Busy day today, Saturdays are my house cleaning and puttering about the yard day. No walks because I need to get started early while it's still cool. Watering is the first order of the day followed by fig picking. My tree has started producing ripe figs in bulk and they don't last long so they need to be immediately picked when ripe and eaten, processed, or frozen quick. Summer tree ripe figs are one of summer's biggest treats and when perfectly ripe, they literally drip honey. As you can imagine it's also a race to get them before the birds and critters do. I always leave some for them too, they've gotta eat like everything else. I also keep a big bowl of fresh water out for the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. It can get pretty dry here come late Jul and Aug. They actually politely wait in line to water!

Anyway, I can't use everything coming off the tree - Think 100 POUNDS of fruit! So I try to give it away to folks who'll use them. I'll trundle big bags over to my neighbor Margie (Her hubby's the city public works director) who makes fantastic fig preserves with them (I always get some - it makes me put in the work to bake fresh, hot biscuits to smear it on along with plenty of butter - the BEST), I also freeze a store for myself to make ice cream (Fig / Banana), pickled spice figs, fig syrup, and just enjoy them fresh w breakfast. "Waste not, want not".

Tonight I had to figure out what to do with the last of the latest batch of mung bean sprouts I had started several days ago (try it on the road. VERY easy to do and loaded with great stuff for you). I settled on an old favorite - Egg Fu Yong. Basically a savory egg pancake loaded w veggies and a little meat (optional) that's an old standbye in about every Chinese restaurant back home (usually covered with a brown gravy) - except maybe fancy ones like Kirin in Waikiki. In old school places like Tasty Chop Suey in Kalihi. Hawaiian Chinese food is something that's a mishmash that has dishes not found on the mainland, in China, or anywhere else except good old Hawaii. Things like Crispy Gau Gee, Minute Chicken, Cake Noodle (Dang... I'm getting hungry again), and Pork Hash. All based on what was available in Hawaii and CHEAP!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tasty-chop-suey-honolulu?start=20
I actually wrote about these a while ago but used them in the mighty St Paul Sammie that's only sold in the St Louis Area (think EAST St Louie) and no ones ever heard about them in St Paul!

https://www.stlmag.com/dining/st-paul-sandwich-included-in-luck-peachs-first-cookbook/
No bread and L/T tonight. Just a simple bowl of rice and a couple of these tasty babies (no gravy, not a fan with these). Very filling, very easy and VERY cheap! A little shoyu and a drizzle of Sriracha and I'm good to go.
I gotta cut this short, Sam is barking up a storm outside and he very rarely barks.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Addendum: Deer!!! It's DEER Dad!!! A savage INVASION!!! Bring your shotgun while I bravely hold them off by barking my BRAINS out from this side of the fence!

*Sigh*

Beepin Paranoid Pooch...

 

[WanderingRose]

Yum, fresh figs!

My Mississippi Grandparents had a fig tree in their back yard, and would always send us home with jars of her homemade fig preserves.

On hot biscuits with butter? A little bit of heaven on earth,

 

[JDub]

Yum, fresh figs!

My Mississippi Grandparents had a fig tree in their back yard, and would always send us home with jars of her homemade fig preserves.

On hot biscuits with butter? A little bit of heaven on earth,

We've got some giant fig trees here and so many folks planted them in the old days that they're often just in fields or out of the way places where there used to be homes. I hate to see so much food going to waste but the sheer volume of figs they produce is astonishing. At least the birds and critters have a great feed while they last.

I think I'll pull out my last jar of preserves from last year and bake biscuits this week. I use lard in mine vs Crisco. They come out nice and light and flaky with a crisp top. Much better end result than using any other shortening IMO.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

another scorcher of a day and I spent the morning mowing and whacking trying to get things done before 10 am. We're looking at another bout of high temps this week, back up to 105 F heat indexes and 100% percent humidity. Fun... Got to the point this afternoon that, regardless of the heat, I was going stir crazy sitting around so i loaded Sam into the Jeep and went driving around to give him a break and let him hang his head out the window (I think dogs are genetically programmed to enjoy vehicle rides). Ended up down at one of the parks and it was totally empty. No one but the camp hosts cleaning the restrooms in sight. Hung out by the water for a while to let the dog run around and sniff. Nice but too hot to really enjoy it.

Got home and decided to go simple on dinner tonight. Last night I had some chicken noodle soup I made from that broth earlier in the week - came out great. Lots of thin Chinese egg noodles (it's what I had!), onions, carrots, celery, 2 cans of chicken, and some herbs. Lovely stuff. perfect for lunch or a light dinner. Had a hot ham and Swiss on the side with a marinated tomato and onion salad with some fresh picked basil. Nice meal on a muggy evening.

So tonight I went with my homemade version of French Bread Pizza. Mooz, sauce (on top of the cheese) onions, pepperoni (I cut mine from the stick so it's nice and thick and cups vs burning with the paper thin slices out of the bag) and hot pepperoncini. I preslice the bread ($1.00 WM French Loaf works perfectly here), then freeze it, that's the key so it's frozen when it goes in the oven and it bakes at the same rate of the topping and doesn't burn before the top is done since the bread is so lightweight. Honestly it's so easy to make that I never understood why folks buy a much inferior premade product. The original version was developed by the infamous "Grease" trucks selling fast food at Rutgers and Cornell Universities starting in the 50's (they're still there). The guy at Stouffer's who "invented" their pizza in the 60's just HAPPENED to be a Cornell grad... Hmmmm...

Anyway, 12 min on a rack in a 425 oven and they came out nice and hot and crispy. Still got one for later (probably about 12:30 am tonight standing in front of the open fridge ). Well, that's it for tonight. Here's wishing you all a good evening wherever you're parked. Hopefully you had some good eats, a cool place to sleep and are safe, and secure.

Cheers!

 

[vanbrat]

Evening all.

Busy day today, Saturdays are my house cleaning and puttering about the yard day. No walks because I need to get started early while it's still cool. Watering is the first order of the day followed by fig picking. My tree has started producing ripe figs in bulk and they don't last long so they need to be immediately picked when ripe and eaten, processed, or frozen quick. Summer tree ripe figs are one of summer's biggest treats and when perfectly ripe, they literally drip honey. As you can imagine it's also a race to get them before the birds and critters do. I always leave some for them too, they've gotta eat like everything else. I also keep a big bowl of fresh water out for the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. It can get pretty dry here come late Jul and Aug. They actually politely wait in line to water!

Anyway, I can't use everything coming off the tree - Think 100 POUNDS of fruit! So I try to give it away to folks who'll use them. I'll trundle big bags over to my neighbor Margie (Her hubby's the city public works director) who makes fantastic fig preserves with them (I always get some - it makes me put in the work to bake fresh, hot biscuits to smear it on along with plenty of butter - the BEST), I also freeze a store for myself to make ice cream (Fig / Banana), pickled spice figs, fig syrup, and just enjoy them fresh w breakfast. "Waste not, want not".

Tonight I had to figure out what to do with the last of the latest batch of mung bean sprouts I had started several days ago (try it on the road. VERY easy to do and loaded with great stuff for you). I settled on an old favorite - Egg Fu Yong. Basically a savory egg pancake loaded w veggies and a little meat (optional) that's an old standbye in about every Chinese restaurant back home (usually covered with a brown gravy) - except maybe fancy ones like Kirin in Waikiki. In old school places like Tasty Chop Suey in Kalihi. Hawaiian Chinese food is something that's a mishmash that has dishes not found on the mainland, in China, or anywhere else except good old Hawaii. Things like Crispy Gau Gee, Minute Chicken, Cake Noodle (Dang... I'm getting hungry again), and Pork Hash. All based on what was available in Hawaii and CHEAP!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tasty-chop-suey-honolulu?start=20
I actually wrote about these a while ago but used them in the mighty St Paul Sammie that's only sold in the St Louis Area (think EAST St Louie) and no ones ever heard about them in St Paul!

https://www.stlmag.com/dining/st-paul-sandwich-included-in-luck-peachs-first-cookbook/
No bread and L/T tonight. Just a simple bowl of rice and a couple of these tasty babies (no gravy, not a fan with these). Very filling, very easy and VERY cheap! A little shoyu and a drizzle of Sriracha and I'm good to go.
I gotta cut this short, Sam is barking up a storm outside and he very rarely barks.

Cheers!

View attachment 32122View attachment 32123View attachment 32124View attachment 32125

Fresh figs OH I miss fresh right off the tree warm from the sun figs!!!

 

[JDub]

Fresh figs OH I miss fresh right off the tree warm from the sun figs!!!

During the ~ 3 weeks of fig season every year, I usually just start breakfast at my tree when I get back from my morning walk. I also have plum, guava, and apple trees and blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry bushes. Nothing like fresh fruit right off the plant.

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all. I sound like a broken record but it was HOT again today. I still went out and got things done because (Surprise, Surprise Sgt Carter) it's gonna be even HOTTER for the next couple days - Sheesh... Anyway... Tonight I had a lot of rice I needed to use so I fixed up a homestyle batch of fried rice using what I got in the fridge (and pantry) - Frozen peas and carrots - did you know that background extras in the movies are often told to just keep repeating "peas and carrots" to make it look as though they're having a conversation? My uncle Chuck Silvers (he was the Editing Manager at Universal Studios back in the day) told me that. His big claim to fame? He discovered Steven Spielberg! I kid thee not.

I also had scallions, hot peppers from the garden, leftover tofu (I love the stuff - not so much the prepacked stuff you get here but a trip for the freshly made stuff from the little old Aunties at Aloha Tofu back home will convince you that it's good stuff (try the fresh made Maple flavored soy milk too)! Garlic, shoyu, fish sauce, and egg. I used a can of Black Pepper Spam ( stored for 5 years now and as tasty as the day it was made - got a kick too).

Fried it all up in the wok, drizzled with Sriracha and a bit of shoyu. Ono Bra! Anyone out there have anything good tonight? Hope you all did. Food is one of the most basic human needs and eating dull food everyday isn't good for your well being IMO. Try to try something new anytime you have a chance, even if your cooking with the simplest facilities, it's still possible to cook something different everyday, you just gotta look.

Stay safe and sane folks.

Cheers!

 

[Frood]

Addendum: Deer!!! It's DEER Dad!!! A savage INVASION!!! Bring your shotgun while I bravely hold them off by barking my BRAINS out from this side of the fence!

*Sigh*

Beepin Paranoid Pooch...

MMmmm... Venison...

https://www.google.com/search?q=hom...HWT3D84Q_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1280&bih=936&dpr=1
*Note: Didn't want to upload or remote link to someone elses images so just a link to google image search.

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

It was a Guppy Gaper of a day today, 105 f heat index before noon and 109 as of 3:00 pm. Now we're right in the middle of a really exciting thunderstorm - louder than Hell but dang glad for the rain! It's still 90 degrees out there though...

Haven't had anything to post here the last couple of days. last night I just had some leftover fried rice and tonight it was a burger bag from Jack's, they have the best chain burgers in town. I got Sam a plain cheeseburger so he wouldn't feel left out. Really haven't been too enthused about eating with the heat.

Tonight I did though, put a nice big cut of top round into a marinade for a London Broil tomorrow. It's a very economical cut and if you grill it quick (no more than med rare) after a soak in a tenderizing marinade with an acid in it (vinegar, fruit juice, wine, etc) it's a really tender, juicy, and flavorful cut.

I'm going to grill it in the morning over the sear grate and chill it. When it's cold, I'm going to slice it thin on my Krupp slicer (a relic of the 70's) and use it for sandwiches - I'll let you know how it turned out. Here's a very close recipe to what I use:

https://diethood.com/marinated-london-broil/
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and I use top round or tri tip since it's way cheaper but just as good.

That's it for tonight. Stay safe and sane out there!

Cheers.

 

[Southbound]

Yum, fresh figs!

My Mississippi Grandparents had a fig tree in their back yard, and would always send us home with jars of her homemade fig preserves.

On hot biscuits with butter? A little bit of heaven on earth,

I LOVE figs, fig preserves, fig preserves on hot buttered biscuits with butter. My uncle had a fig tree that was above the roof line of a one story building. The cats liked to sleep on the roof so the birds did not get too many figs. One summer I had a bowl of fresh figs. Big enough to satisfy my appetite for them.

 

[JDub]

I LOVE figs, fig preserves, fig preserves on hot buttered biscuits with butter. My uncle had a fig tree that was above the roof line of a one story building. The cats liked to sleep on the roof so the birds did not get too many figs. One summer I had a bowl of fresh figs. Big enough to satisfy my appetite for them.

Here's one of our local ones just hanging out in a vacant lot - It's 2 stories tall and Lord knows how old...

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

I spent a good chunk of today cleaning up after last night's storm. it really was a Deusy, it lasted for hours after parking itself on top of us and deciding to stay the night. Lots of dramatic T&L. Glad we got it though. We badly needed the rain. It even blew over my Guava tree which I secure well with bungee cords to the deck railing. Anyway. I fished my London Broil out of the marinade and let it come to room temp while I worked. Then it got laid on the hot sear grate on the grill and I turned it every 2 min (flip and sideways) for the quick, very hot grilling this cut needs to stay juicy. A total of 12 minutes - It's an inch and half cut but very lean so it'll dry out and overcook in a minute if you give it a chance.

Pulled it off, let it rest and then into the fridge to chill and slice manana. Of course, before that, we had to have just a little bite to make SURE it was good ! It was perfectly medium rare. Juicy and the marinade really added great flavor. The pooch and I agreed that it's gonna be great tomorrow, sliced thin, piled on a toasted kaiser roll with plenty of horseradish sauce. Not sure what I'm eating tonight, maybe a leftover pork chop, couple eggs, and a puddle of cheese grits I'm thinking. Easy Peasy Friday night!

Hopefully you guys are securely parked, well fed, and kicked back tonight. Even though I'm retired, Fridays still have a special feel to them. Just habit I guess! TGIF everyone!

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

Sorry for the blank space here for the last several days. Went visiting Saturday - at a friend's camp house on the river. Did some work and grilled out on a peaceful night with lots of deafening insect and frog noise! Sun was spent recovering from "Too Much Fun" when I got home... No, not liquid fun (maybe a skosh), but mainly from helping to shovel about 2 tons of gravel for their newly CoE approved launch ramp and tie up pier (only took 4 years of jumping through hoops for approval). Honestly, I think that if .Gov were put in charge of the Sahara Desert, within a couple of years they would be having a sand shortage... Especially since the family has owned that chunk of land and river frontage for OOoohhhh - more than 100 YEARS...

Anyway, through the miracle of Aleve I can move my arms now! Always a good thing. I've just been having sammies for the last couple nights - London Broil, horseradish, and cheese, lettuce and mater, salami, cheese, and onions (great combo) - just light stuff. Last night I did use a pound of sweet Italian sausage to make a nice, thick pasta sauce, tomatoes, onion, roasted green chiles (for a kick), mushrooms, garlic, and fresh basil, oregano, and a couple of my home grown and dried cayenne peppers - I toss in a couple whole for a mellow heat. Look at how red they are compared to the store bought stuff. I let it sit overnight for a good melding. I was going to make some pasta but didn't feel like a really heavy meal. Settled for a "Italian Sloppy Giuseppe". A dollop of thick meaty sauce topped with melted mooz on a toasted bun with fries. NOT a handheld sammie for sure. Definitely a FAKJ (Fork and Knife Job).

Tasted great. Multipurpose pasta sauce! Today is also a Red Letter Day for me. My son called and told me he'd been accepted into the Master's program he had applied for at Georgetown University (he's in DC). Very proud of him. Wish my wife were still here to see that (she had a PhD, 3 Master's and a Master's certificate). I honestly can't remember a time when she WASN'T taking classes. It's nice to see your offspring doing well, glad I didn't Homer STRANGLE the little S**T at an early age with some of the things he pulled (he was cute and FAST)

OK, that's it for tonight. Hope all of you out there had a good weekend and are pulling through the current difficult times successfully and keeping your sense of humor too. Stay safe and sane out there!

Cheers.

 

[JDub]

Evening all.

Not really anything to blog about today. I did NOTHING basically I did go shopping and the prices in general have gone up again. ALOT> $10.00 for a watermelon at the "Not the WM". Unreal... These things sell on the side of the road around here for $3-5 bucks. Cans of veggies are unreal in price too - from .90c to $1.85 for Green Giant brand. The store brand has gone from .50c a can to .85c in ONE WEEK. I have a feeling tomorrow's CPI and GDP is going to be... Surprising.... Always the little folks taking the fall...

Anyway, tonight I fixed a simple comfort food dinner. Sliced up the last of my LB, mixed up a batch of teriyaki sauce (shoyu, mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine), Chinese rice wine, sato (sugar), chopped ginger, pepper, and a dash of Viet fish sauce). Simmered it for a few to dissolve everything and then sauteed the beef in it till thickened and coated w a nice glaze. Fixed a pot of rice, a little cucumber kimchee from the garden, and a sprinkle of furikake rice topping and we were good to go!

Hope all of you out there are good to go tonight as well. Stay alert, stay safe, and have some fun when you can!

Cheers!

 

[JDub]

Evening all. Very busy last few days with both household chores (Think Gutter Cleaning ) a vehicle maintenance run to TTown, shopping trip to Montgomery (The AFB), and more such fun and commitments... I kept trying to post something but I keep falling ASLEEP! Last night I made it through 1 post then I woke up 3 hours later with Sam desperately nudging me to go out (he didn't get his pre bedtime out - Bad Daddy!)...

Anyway, I HAVE been keeping up on taking pix of dinner - been doing a lot of homestyle comfort dishes for the last few days - don't know why, just in the mood. Pork belly boiled to get most of the fat out then simmered in shoyu, mirin, sake, ginger, rock candy sugar (adds a very shiny glaze to the finished product) and green onion. Kalua Pork (smoked pork Hawaiian style - I smoke a big batch wrapped in banana leaves and freeze it) stir fried with round cabbage, round onion, shoyu and Hawaiian sea salt.

Did another round of French Bread Pizza with sausage, mushrooms, peppers, and onions with a big Chef's Salad dressed with EVOO and White Wine vinegar sprinkled with parm and fresh chopped basil and oregano. One night I was so beat I just heated up my pasta sauce and a frozen bake and serve sourdough baguette with a couple glasses of Coppola Zin and I was OUT like a light after that! All in all a productive (if exhausting) weekend,

Did anyone out there have as busy a time as I did? I tell ya, I often wonder when the EASY part of retirement is gonna kick in! Hasn't yet. Hopefully all of you are staying safe dodging heat. drought. fire. gas prices, inflation, dog catchers (oh wait! that's Sam), and the myriad of other hazards that seem to have materialized out of no where lately.

Stay safe and well fed out there folks!

Cheers.