Food, Glorious Food: Share what you had for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper

[Scepticalscribe]

The deep freeze of the USA is headed this way tonight, along with some more teaser-style snow first to make it more interesting... so my offsetting interest in hearty soups is definitely revived... tonight just a simple but satisfying one of curried lentils and potatoes.

Sounds delicious; I've been on a curry binge myself - there is little more satisfying in cold (nay, freezing) weather.

On the menu for tomorrow, a soup with Mediterranean seasoning, made with red cabbage, onions, carrots, cannellini beans, green beans, diced tomatoes.

Red cabbage (rather than the more usual chard, or kale, or spinach, or green or white cabbage) in an Italian dish is an interesting tweak, and one that wouldn't have occurred to me, as I never seem to think of red cabbage outside of the culinary context of German or central European cuisine (served with fowl, or pork/bacon with apples, sultanas, perhaps pears, and so on, simmered in a flavoursome stock with cider vinegar, apple juice, for an absolute age).

Do enjoy.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Pasta Carbonara - with (diced, by me), guanciale, organic, free range, eggs, freshly grated (by me) Pecorino Romano, generous quantities of black pepper, pasta and pasta cooking broth, - will be on the menu this evening, chez moi.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A tweak on Pasta Carbonara, or, rather a dish inspired by Pasta Carbonara; one does not always need to be a purist, and I would never attempt to argue that this is anything resembling what is understood by a classic carbonara.

Today, I found myself craving the taste of anchovies - those lovely ones that come in jars, or tins, with oil, Ortiz is a brand that I will frequently find myself reaching for - and eggs; indeed, anchovies and scrambled eggs - and toast - is a classic (though sadly infrequently seen, these days) British 19th century and early to mid 20th century breakfast - the sort of thing one might have been served in gentlemen's clubs.

However, I am out of bread - shall pay a visit to the French bakery later in the week to remedy this deficiency - yet still craved that taste of anchovies and eggs.

Inspiration struck, taking the form of tweaking the classic recipe for Pasta Carbonara (free range, organic, egg yolks, a generous quantity of grated - by me - Pecorino Romano, pasta, several twists of black pepper, a few ladles of that gloriously starchy pasta cooking broth, and - instead of guanciale, which I do have in my fridge, and which I almost always have to hand, and which I use a lot, far preferring it to pancetta - today, I substituted anchovies, cooking them on a low heat and allowing them to dissolve into the olive oil, to which they imparted an amazing flavour).

 

[lizkat]

Imma share what a possum had for dinner last weekend on a chilly Omaha, Nebraska back porch that was briefly in use as an insecure overflow fridge...

Opossum eats whole Costco chocolate cake, fans have big feelings: ‘Me too girl' (paywall lifted)

...after which the critter curled up on the porch couch for so long the porch owner figured maybe chocco was toxic to possums and got the veterinarians involved. All's well that ends well: the critter was just sleeping off the massive carbo hit, but was meanwhile diagnosed with toxic levels of lead from its more usual scavenger's diet of whatever trash was available in topsoil and around the 'hood, so it was treated with chelation therapy at a wildlife rehab.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yesterday evening, I prepared my take on an old classic, pasta i fagioli, pasta and beans.

A finely diced onion, a finely diced carrot, (I didn't have any celery to complete the classic soffritto), along with several cloves of minced garlic, and some diced guanciale were sautéed in a pan, in olive oil, until soft.

The pan was then deglazed with half a glass of white wine, which was reduced by more than half, and which also allowed the alcohol to burn off.

A tin of tomatoes (Italian, San Marzano tomatoes) was opened, poured into a bowl, chopped, and then seasoned - (a little sea salt, generous quantities of freshly ground black pepper, and half a teaspoon of organic brown sugar added); this was added to the pan where the other ingredients simmered happily, and a glug or two of olive oil was also added to the pan.

This was then simmered for almost an hour, allowed to cook down, and thicken, intensifying the flavours which were mixing, marrying, melding, at which point another pot of salted water was put on the boil, and the pasta added.

A jar of borlotti beans (which hailed from the superb Prunotto company, from Piedmont, in northern Italy - I have visited one of their farms) was drained and added to the rest of the ingredients; several ladles of that wonderful rich starchy broth in which the pasta was cooked was next, followed by the (cooked) pasta itself, whereupon they were all mixed together in the pan.

At this point, dinner (proper plates, tablecloth, napkins, place mats, crockery, cutlery, glassware) was served.

And it was delicious, though I say so, myself.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Earlier in the week, I had treated myself to an ever so slightly tweaked version of a Nigel Slater recipe.

Dinner comprised butcher's sausages, gently sautéed, in olive oil.

And, accompanying them - prepared in a separate saucepan - were a jar of Italian cannellini beans, which were added to several cloves of roughly chopped garlic that had been lightly sautéed in olive oil.

Next, some chicken stock was added to the cannellini bean (and garlic), brought to the boil, and allowed simmer until well reduced.

Double cream, along with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper were the next ingredients to join the cannellini beans, stock, and garlic in their saucepan.

At this stage, rather than steaming it separately (which would have made three saucepans to address when washing up), I added some roughly chopped, or shredded, spinach (chard, actually - with the stems removed) to the cannellini beans/garlic/stock and cream mixture, and let them cook.

Nigel suggests adding some lemon juice "to freshen, or liven up" the flavours; now, while I did this last night, and I am writing this as someone who actually loves (passionately loves) lemons, freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemons grated, lemons blended with other citrus fruit, lemons served with chicken, fish, adore the very scent of lemons - to be perfectly honest, I don't think that this dish actually needs it.

In any case, sausages served with cannellini beans, garlic, spinach, (in a cream and stock sauce) is a tasty, soothing, warming, autumnal, or late winter, or early spring, dish, and one I greatly enjoyed.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

This evening, I treated myself to Pasta Alfredo: The ingredients used were pasta, that gloriously good starchy pasta cooking broth, along with an exceptionally generous hand with both butter and Parmigiano Reggiano, plus some Pecorino Romano, both grated by me.

This is a deceptively simple dish that stands or falls on the quality of the ingredients used.

Plus, freshly ground black pepper, which may offend the purists, mainly because I like the heat, rather than attempting to disguise inferior quality products (such as bland cheese).

A green salad, lamb's lettuce and mixed greens dressed with my homemade dressing (olive oil, white wine vinegar, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, Dijon mustard, and a heaped teaspoon of local honey) accompanied the pasta dish.

 

[lizkat]

Tuesday evening salad: mixed greens, a sliced hard boiled egg, leftover curried chickpeas, some red onion, a few sliced manzanilla olives, almost-croutons from multigrain bread taken from the freezer and run through the toaster on defrost-mode a diced-up last bit of some store-brand brick mozzarella, a diced Roma tomato and some hummus thinned with chickpea broth for a dressing. Somehow by the grace of a higher power more merciful than I can imagine, it turned out great, but of course thanks to the random amounts of everything, it can only be approximated, not replicated some other time.

But that's the joy of Tuesday evenings.

Trash hauling day is Wednesday, so there's a method to the madness of my Tuesday menu options. Any leftovers s/b trembling in their containers because if they're not chosen today, it's the soup pot, the freezer or kicked to the curb tomorrow. I don't compost anything in winter, or at least not intentionally, and I try to avoid developing a bio lab in my fridge. I celebrate my human curiosity but I do set some limits!

 

[splifingate]

I currently work in a PRTF, and three-squares are Provided.

Breakfast was egzzz, sausquach patties and oatmeal (cinnamon-sugared, or plain).

Lunch was spaghetti&meatballs, or braised posrk . . . (heavily/heavenly)-salted Green Beans, accompanied with a (heavily/heavenly)-garnished assortment of greens&veggies . . . sans-croutins.

There is a basket of saltines available for the wary traveler.

We have a FT Dietician who monitors Client Intake; but. I find that I may need to coach 'em on the vagaries of teh Tongue-Aesthetic 😉

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yesterday, I craved curry, thus, dinner took the form of curry.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Pasta, peas, and pancetta (actually, guanciale) comprised dinner tonight.

This dish was started off with a very finely diced onion, which was sautéed until soft in olive oil and a generous quantity of butter in an exceedingly good, Italian heavy-bottomed, stainless steel, sauté pan (manufactured by Lagostina, a pan that I have had for just over a quarter of a century, as I purchased it in 1998).

Then, the finely diced guanciale was added, and sautéed until soft, whereupon the (defrosted frozen) peas, - comprising half a Le Creuset mug, along with some (six, in fact) very finely sliced - almost paper thin - cloves of garlic, were also added to the sauté pan, and gently sautéed until soft.

Earlier, I had grated some Pecorino Romano, as well as some Parmigiano Reggiano (I had also, unusually enough, done all of my other prep - chopping and finely dicing and slicing) in advance, so that everything was already laid out in small elegant bowls, ready for whenever I wished to commence cooking.

While the sauté pan was busy doing what a good sauté pan does, in a different saucepan (Le Mauviel, copper, French), water (to which a stock cube had been added) was put on the boil for pasta, and also, as a source of that glorious starchy pasta broth, or stock.

The pasta was cooked (fettuccine, this evening), and, when almost cooked, was removed (tongs the means of transport) to the sauté pan, where it was mixed, stirred, until well blended with the guanciale, onion, garlic and peas, whereupon freshly ground black pepper (in generous quantities) was also added.

Next, several generous ladles of that glorious starchy pasta broth were added to the sauté pan, and stirred through, which was when the grated cheese found its way to the pan, where it was slowly added, along with a few more ladles of starchy pasta cooking liquid, the lot stirred through.

And then, dinner was served (with proper crockery, cutlery, glassware, table mats, table cloths, coasters......)

Delicious, though I do say so, myself.

 

[SouprMatt]

Pasta, peas, and pancetta (actually, guanciale) comprised dinner tonight.

This dish was started off with a very finely diced onion, which was sautéed until soft in olive oil and a generous quantity of butter in an exceedingly good, Italian heavy-bottomed, stainless steel, sauté pan (manufactured by Lagostina, a pan that I have had for just over a quarter of a century, as I purchased it in 1998).

Then, the finely diced guanciale was added, and sautéed until soft, whereupon the (defrosted frozen) peas, - comprising half a Le Creuset mug, along with some (six, in fact) very finely sliced - almost paper thin - cloves of garlic, were also added to the sauté pan, and gently sautéed until soft.

Earlier, I had grated some Pecorino Romano, as well as some Parmigiano Reggiano (I had also, unusually enough, done all of my other prep - chopping and finely dicing and slicing) in advance, so that everything was already laid out in small elegant bowls, ready for whenever I wished to commence cooking.

While the sauté pan was busy doing what a good sauté pan does, in a different saucepan (Le Mauviel, copper, French), water (to which a stock cube had been added) was put on the boil for pasta, and also, as a source of that glorious starchy pasta stock.

The pasta was cooked (fettuccine, this evening), and, when almost cooked, was removed (tongs the means of transport) to the sauté pan, where it was mixed, stirred, until well blended with the guanciale, onion, garlic and peas, whereupon freshly ground black pepper (in generous quantities) was also added.

Next, several generous ladles of that glorious starchy pasta broth were added to the sauté pan, and stirred through, which was when the grated cheese found its way to the pan, where it was slowly added, along with a few more ladles of starchy pasta cooking liquid, the lot stirred through.

And then, dinner was served (with proper crockery, cutlery, glassware, table mats, table cloths, coasters......)

Delicious, though I do say so, myself.

That sounds great! When I have peas, ham, and a creamy or cheesy sauce, my favorite pasta shape is farfalle. 😋

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Slowly scrambled eggs (organic, free range eggs), to which was added freshly grated (by me) Parmigiano Reggiano, served with toasted sourdough bread, coffee (Guatemalan), and freshly squeezed lemon juice to which I added a little sparkling water.

 

[lizkat]

"... and the memory of a chicken wing" was the tail end of an ever more impoverished recipe for chicken soup, as related by the Greek grandmother of a college friend when recounting life in Europe as World War II had ground on.

One wonders now if our own make-do recipes for baked goods and candies will end up with only memories of chocolate, as the triple tolls of weather, plant diseases and foolish tariffs bear down on the cocoa trade and the world's chocolatiers.

gift link (7 days):

Wild Cocoa Markets Push Europe’s Historic Chocolatiers to the Brink

Poor harvests in West Africa have driven the price of cocoa to record highs, forcing heritage confectionary brands out of business.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Huntn]

The wife flew out today to take her elderly mother to Boston for a final hurrah, and I decided to fix chicken livers! As I’ve stated elsewhere, chicken livers are more appealing to me now than beef livers. Today I decided to innovate so I thought maybe I could roll these on something besides flower so I went to the pantry and found some expired cream of potato soup. Do you all eat expired canned products from your pantry. I do, 2022. However spooning the glob of potato soup into a bowl, and taking the chicken livers and trying to cover them with soup out of the can didn’t work all that well.

I could’ve tried mixing the soup with water to make it into the consistency of actual soup, covering the livers with that and then sprinkle those with flour may have worked. But instead, I just minced some red onion, garlic, and put them into some skillet with oil and let them sauté a little.

Along with these I placed dollops of this potato soup, which out of the can is rather thick, around the skillet and let it sit there and cook a little Then I added:the chicken livers coated with flour on top of the onions and potato soup:globes, and them fry, I ended up with a big glob so, with a spatula I sectioned each liver and flipped it over, and these things turned out looking and tasting, pretty darn good! 😋
Hmm, Livers Au Gratin?

 

[splifingate]

The wife flew out today to take her elderly mother to Boston for a final hurrah, and I decided to fix chicken livers! As I’ve stated elsewhere, chicken livers are more appealing to me now than beef livers. Today I decided to innovate so I thought maybe I could roll these on something besides flower so I went to the pantry and found some expired cream of potato soup. Do you all eat expired canned products from your pantry. I do, 2022. However spooning the glob of potato soup into a bowl, and taking the chicken livers and trying to cover them with soup out of the can didn’t work all that well.

I could’ve tried mixing the soup with water to make it into the consistency of actual soup, covering the livers with that and then sprinkle those with flour may have worked. But instead, I just minced some red onion, garlic, and put them into some skillet with oil and let them sauté a little.

Along with these I placed dollops of this potato soup, which out of the can is rather thick, around the skillet and let it sit there and cook a little Then I added:the chicken livers coated with flour on top of the onions and potato soup:globes, and them fry, I ended up with a big glob so, with a spatula I sectioned each liver and flipped it over, and these things turned out looking and tasting, pretty darn good! 😋
Hmm, Livers Au Gratin?

View attachment 2243

*noms*

When I was younger (and feeling under-the-weather), my Dad would take me to a local dive, and buy me livers & onion (beef (sometimes frozen)).

It wasn't until later in life that I came to understand.

When I first attended Uni (1987-ish), there was this 375 ft^2 shop called "Go!-Chicken-Go!" They sold fried chkn gizzards/livers by the pound. USD2-fitty/lb IIRC. That's it. Good, Wholesome Freshman Bachelor Nutrition 🙂

Nowadays, I just bake 'em with olive oil, onion, garlic and black pepper . . . after the mid-flip, I sometimes add a little butter. What's the harm in adding more cholesterol to one's diet, eh?

Mind if I work your idea to my plate?

I will cook the livers, first, then add the (what I am always wont to use) TJ's condensed portabella soop.

This would pair well with some wild rice, and a lovely chianti 😉

 

[lizkat]

It's rare that I eat meat or even poultry any more, but in my 20s I had an Italian-American boyfriend whose mama's secret recipe for spaghetti sauce included chicken livers, sauteed in olive oil and mashed before adding to and mixing well with some separately sauteéd ground beef before the combo went into the sauce. I partook of that sauce at the BF's place before knowing what was in it, and was awestruck by how rich it was. He confessed details and I started making meat-based pasta sauce that way too.

I still dream of it sometimes, but I only use locally raised chickens now when I do get poultry, and could never store up enough livers to make a decent sauce addition. I sauté a chicken liver now in a little garlic and oil, shake on a bit of salt and black pepper and it never even makes it out of the kitchen. 😋

 

[Huntn]

Tonight, I dipped some chicken livers in a mixture of white and wheat flower coating them well. In a skillet, I poured some olive oil, and sautéed minced onion and garlic, then placed the chicken livers in on top of them, to fry, sprinkled everything with pepper, sprinkled in more flower on top, using tongs, I turned them over to finish cooking them.
I removed the livers and then I took 4 raw eggs as if for frying breakfast eggs, and gently placed them in the cooked liver remains in the skillet, fried them, flipped to be over easy. They picked up much goodness from that skillet, together, they complemented one another nicely. And of note, a stick free skillet, made the eggs part easier. 🙂

 

[lizkat]

It's still soup season here in the mountains (below zero in double digits for three of the last four nights). I like a lot of the recipes at the Plant Based School website, even though I might sub in chicken or fish (or chicken broth) in some of them. They are great at including good ideas for other substitutions of ingredients you might not have on hand.

Easy Chickpea Noodle Soup - The Plant Based School

Need an easy, comforting dinner that doesn’t take much effort? This chickpea noodle soup is simple, cozy, and made in one pot 🍲. It uses pantry staples and comes together fast. Perfect for a calm weeknight meal. #chickpeanoodlesoup #vegetariansoup #onepotsoup #easyhomecooking #comfortfood

theplantbasedschool.com

This is a great salad from their site, for when the weather finally shifts gears.

Chickpea Cucumber Salad (Life-changing Marinade) - The Plant Based School

Tired of bland chickpeas? 🥒✨ This chickpea cucumber salad has a life-changing marinade that turns them zesty, protein-packed, and perfect for a quick healthy meal. Who’s making this for dinner tonight? 🥗

theplantbasedschool.com

 

[lizkat]

Lots of stuff to do today including making colcannon for supper because it's St. Paddy's Day and in my house a March 17th without greens and potatoes would be sacrilege, should such a menu failure ever come to pass.

https://www.thespruceeats.com/irish-recipes-colcannon-recipe-435743

Arguments will persist forever as to whether cabbage or kale must be featured in the dish, along with what is certainly also to be scallions. No purist, I use what i have which in late winter is usually kale... by now I'm tired of whatever may be left of the big cabbage I buy to get my soups through the snowbound days, and kale is one of the first things I re-up on when the driveways are navigable again.

Anyway the arguments are silly. Colcannon during the Irish famines was an impossible dream, supplanted at best by just the greens... maybe seaweed or even nettles. My own dream on the upside is an early spring warm enough to make colcannon with dandelion greens. Not today though, we're looking at three inches of fresh snow, enough to deter even rabbits from salad hunts, and to bring out the snow plows as well.