Food Glorious Food!

Dating a vegan makes me miss meat so much. I only eat it sparingly, and it sometimes makes me sick but... Worth it.

Today it's Zataran's Jambalaya with chicken, sausage, and shrimp. (And tomatoes pepper and onion) YUMMEH!


EDIT - Delicious! Didn't use the tomato though - I might cook and add those tomorrow - little cherry tomatoes cut in half and sauteed

Today's recipe is broiled swordfish
Marinated in Olive oil, mustard, lemon zest and juice, with roasted garlic, basil, salt & pepper.

Under the broiler for 5 to 7 minutes per side.
I'll take a pic later if it looks presentable

Smells wonderful in here and I've only mixed the marinade and started roasting the garlic.

Roasted Garlic - preheat oven to 400 degrees F (doing mine in the toaster oven), Take the whole bulb of garlic and peel the outer papers off the bulb - leaving it intact. Then Cut the tips of the bulb off exposing the flesh. make a little basket of aluminum foil, put the bulb of garlic in it and drizzle olive oil all over the bulb, wrap in the foil and put it in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until soft when squeezed.
When it's done it should squeeze out almost like tooth paste
You will not believe how sweet and wonderful it is. Spread it on your toast or fancy toasted bread for a delicious appetizer or use it in your favorite recipes
 

EDIT - Mmmm my nurse walked in and asked what I was cooking and said, "Really? I hate the smell of fish cooking but that smells great."

Can't wait to see how hot these really are - I need stew beef, onions, and peppers for my chili and then I'm good to go.

Found some frozen hamburg in the back of my freezer I didn't know was there, So I decided to do a little Reaper experimenting.

I didn't have enough to make chili so I made a little meat sauce...wow, ok I'm eating as I'm typing and I must have hit the pea sized piece I put into my dish - it wasn't really hot until just then. Wow. pretty spicy.

Anyway, I used the crumbled up meat, some red bell pepper, onion flakes (I don't have onions yet), and some of that roasted garlic I made the other day. Sauteed in a little butter, added in the piece of hot pepper,and basil, and when that was cooked a bit I added a small can of crushed pineapple to balance out the heat with something sweet. I also added a little ketchup, and teriyaki sauce for color and saltiness along with more sweet flavor.

Ok yeah I must have hit the mother load with that bite, the rest is a nice even sinus draining spice level

My nurse brought me all kinds of goodies yesterday. Her brother is always making things with hot peppers and giving her stuff so she wanted to get rid of it and gave it to me since I like it more than she does.

He made some hot pepper jelly that's way to hot for her, and there's some other kind as well, and homemade salsa (which is pretty good.

I didn't quite know what to do with the jelly so I looked it up - one of the things is you can use it as an ingredient in sauces and marinades - so I'm making my own hot sauce today for pork chops.
I have a few ideas - starting with apple cider vinegar - but we'll see what turns up.

I also got mushrooms, bell peppers and fresh herbs from her.

EDIT - I was preparing a Reaper and licked my finger - nice and hot, but I didn't need to drink anything to cool down lol.  To prepare a dried chili to be used you:

1: open it up to see if it is pliable enough to use (if it is too dry and brittle - grind it into a powder and use it that way)
2: Scrape out the seeds and white stuff inside (if you don't want the heat full force)
3: Flatten it out and toss it into a hot dry pan and roast both sides a little to release more flavor
4: put it in a container and pour boiling water in over it.
5: let it sit until it is reconstituted and softer and then you can dice it for your dish 

Warning: Do not rub your eye while working with hot chilies - wash your hands with soap and water before going anywhere near sensitive areas like eyes.  Flush your eye out with water if you make this mistake. It will still hurt for a bit but hopefully end quicker.
 Try using rubber gloves if you are not used to working with hot peppers - take the gloves off before you go for your eyes


NOTE to self - licking your finger AFTER a Reaper is reconstituted is MUCH hotter

The pepper jelly is really good btw

I thought I'd order a few months of Try The World - which is an internet food site. They send you little food baskets with snacks and ingredients from different places around the world.

So far I have Japan:
They sent some Soba Noodles, seaweed snack, peach gummy candies, umami ponzu sauce,blueberry matcha tea, milk caramels, and an okonomiyaki kit (omelette-like pancakes with savory toppings.

And France:
Fleur de sel (finishing salt), artisanal honey, caramels, fig jam, fine tea, sables cookies, and Dijon mustard.

They also send you a little informational guide book about how to use and prepare things they send to you. This includes suggestions for having a little get together with friends to enhance the experience.

I had the cookies and caramels - they were delicious. I also had swordfish with the Dijon mustard - their Dijon is a lot smoother than ours is here,, and very nice. I gave the tea away - I don't do tea. I also tasted the umami ponzu sauce and that will be a very good marinade. Tastes like Soy sauce, which is one of the ingredients, but a little different.

EDIT - I saved my second pork chop from the other night and ate it the next day - it was even better the second day

Today is slow cooker Chili day!

Ingredient list: Stew beef (coated with corn starch and seared in a very hot cast iron skillet with butter), red and green bell peppers and onions (sauteed in the same skillet after removing the beef), Chicken stock (just to deglaze the skillet), Kidney beans (I don't usually put beans in mine but oh well), shredded deli roast beef, sliced maple flavored bacon, shallots (I couldn't find the jar of pre-minced garlic crap my sister buys for me fresh is better), crushed pineapple and raisins (to balance out the flavor with a little sweetness), reconstituted diced habenero and reaper chilies, Chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

Should cook for about 4 or 5 hours

EDIT - oh, I'm also trying a new product (new for me) - crock pot liners. It's a plastic bag you put in the pot and drape over the edges so clean up will be easier

Yesterday's Shrimp Fried Rice which turned out pretty well (I should have added something green for color)

And today I finally got my Kopi Luak! (this is $38 worth)

A couple weeks ago I made some really tasty Banana Bread and today I decided to make Carrot Bread - wow if it tastes half as good as the batter does, I'm golden Yummeh!

Don't really see what the big deal is.