Loved my new ingredient but my aging gut did not so plans to use red curry paste on hold. Something went wrong but maybe I have a bug?
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Greetings, People.
Keeping busy in the garden and cooking for two adults in the summery PNW.
FRI: Zucchini pizza redux. If there’s any corn left in our little patch, I’ll be tempted to add it to the pizza. Chopped salad to go with.
SAT: Steak night. New crop potatoes. More zucchini.
SUN: NYT’s angel-hair pasta with grape tomatoes and basil (gift link). Italian sausages. Cukes in vinaigrette.
MON: Lamb and zucchini meatballs. Pita. Greek salad. Raita. Hummus.
TUE: Sichuan green bean stir fry. Rice. I like ATK’s recipe for the green beans, but here’s also one from Recipe Tin Eats.
WED: Panko-crusted halibut sandwiches. Slaw.
THUR: Chicken of some sort – TBD.
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Tuesday’s pork and green bean stir fry will be making an appearance on my menu next week too. Great minds think alike!
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For my dad, I would use a tiny bit of the canned paste for all the core flavors (lemongrass, lime leaves, etc) and use separate aromatics (ginger, garlic, onions) to bring up the balance of other flavors so that the spice/heat level of the paste would not create a digestive issue — maybe the same would work for you?
Coconut milk can also vary in richness, so that can also be heavy to digest. You can reduce it and use a little milk at the end to make up creaminess.
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Hello friends I am now winding down a quiet week. There was no sketching class last Monday since it was a holiday so no classes took place. And the venue I go to that has free jazz concerts on Wednesdays didn’t have a show this week. I have become so accustomed to dashing off somewhere most evenings I feel a little disoriented but it was nice having a bit of a rest especially since I have a busy weekend coming up. It’s still hot and hazy here (heatwave + smoke from wildfires) so not much outdoor activities will be planned. This is what is on tap for the coming week:
Today: My take out lunch is a salad from a nearby store that sells locally sourced foods (meats, cheeses, jams, etc.). They also sell prepared meals and they have a lunch counter open from Monday to Friday. I haven’t bought any of their lunches lately so I paid them a visit today. I am now nibbling away on a quinoa salad with roasted cauliflower and eggplant and grilled haloumi with a beet tahini dressing. The salad is lovely and I look forward to ordering it again someday. Dinner tonight will be another salad using up the last of the arugula in my fridge and I will probably add some of the abundance of cucumbers and tomatoes I have.
Saturday: I’m heading off to an early afternoon movie (an annual Cat Videofest) then a book fair after. Dinner will be a steak and a Greek salad. I don’t even remember the last time I made a steak so cooking advice is welcomed 
Sunday: Off to the farmers market in the morning. Dinner will be fish of some sort. I was going to make a curry using up an eggplant I was anticipating on getting in my CSA this week however we got zucchini instead. That’s okay I like zucchini but I now have to think about what I would like instead.
Monday: Sketching class! My teacher said I am making improvements. During the last class I sketched a building (the one my class is in) so we can practice using two point perspective. My sketch looks almost like the actual building! I will have dinner when I get home so I will reheat some leftover peanut soup and serve it with rice.
Tuesday: Pork and green bean stir fry.
Wednesday: Chicken zucchini stir fry from my James Beard cookbook “How to Eat Better for Less”. The name of the dish is fairly self explanatory - stirfried chicken and zucchini.
Thursday: A repeat of last Thursday. I made spaghetti with a no-cook tomato sauce. It included some finely diced tomato, garlic, olive oil, and capers. The cookbook author suggests adding fresh basil but I forgot to pick some up while I was out and about after work so I will have to remember to pick some up today. I will serve it with a little crumbled goat cheese.
Have a nice week everyone. I hope it’s not too hot where you are.
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I don’t know how thick you like your steaks, but the reverse searing method is fab. You could also experiment with an air-fryer if you have one. I have not tried it yet, but it’s on the agenda.
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Let’s see. Still feeding two adultish peeps in Central PA, where temps have calmed down ever so slightly.
Today was our dear friend’s wedding ceremony at noon, and festivities will continue in the early evening. No doubt the food will be great
SAT: We are playing an early eve, one-hour set as part of a 4-day long event benefitting Out of the Cold, a local organization that improves the lives of and supports unhoused people. This is at the brewery where we often play, and it has revolving food trucks. Unless the one that evening sucks, my guess is we’ll get dinner there.
SUN: aka Thai (or at least spicy) Sunday. I have a hankering for those lemongrass Lao sausages we purchased at the SEA Market in Philly last fall, even though it’s our last package 
Side TBD — maybe stir-fried gai lan or some other veg. Spicy, tho 
MON: BLT maybe, with a corn salad on the side? Or burrata Caprese? Or gather a few friends and take them to the newish Indian joint & make their manager happy? TBD
TUE: A friend of ours is having a political fundraising event at… the same brewery we’re playing Saturday. Not sure I wanna go, but it’s on our calendar. 'f not, maybe shrimp tacos.
WED: Probs one of the frozen fish filets from the grill with salad or grilled zukes
THUR: something light bc
FRI: we’re back at the amazing prix fixe restaurant in the boonies with 10 lucky friends
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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga.
Breakfast: Braided yeast bread; yes, it says Christmas, but yeast does so well in the summer!
Saturday, August 9: Tomato/summer-fest: Tomato sandwiches, gaspacho from Emily Nunn’s newsletter, esquites
Sunday: Deconstructed falafel salad from Family; Marillenfleck from Classic German Baking (a sheet cake with apricots–it may be plums or peaches depending on what I find at the market)
Monday: TBD
Tuesday: Tortellini soup because sometimes you want to plan an easy meal; maybe Shirazi salad on the side
Wednesday-Thursday: TBD
Friday: One-pot baked ziti; more veg
Hope everyone stays cool–good luck to all those dealing with back to school. Happy cooking!
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Depending on the cut of steak, it may benefit from a marinade to flavor and tenderize before you cook it.
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Thanks but I think my steak is only 1/2 inch thick. Also I don’t have a thermometer.
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The steak I have is an eye of round marinating steak and it’s about 1/2 inch thick.
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Salt well in advance and leave in fridge uncovered. A quick sear in a CI pan should do the trick (depending on the level of doneness you prefer), but it’s usually more tender the less it is cooked.
And slice against the grain, since it can be a tough cut. Let us know how it turns out
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If you have some found money, or a gift card for a shop that sells them at some point, or some credit card points, I definitely recommend investing in a digital meat thermometer.
There are some in the $25 range. The more expensive ones cost upwards of $100. The main difference I can see is that the expensive thermapen is quicker to determine the internal temp than the $25 model. I destroyed my thermapen so I’m currently using a $25 thermometer I bought at my favourite butcher shop.
My steaks, prime rib, chicken, roast duck, salmon, halibut, roast lamb, pork chops, custards, bread puddings, pizzas, and cakes turn out so much better now that I am keeping a close eye on internal temps. I didn’t start using a thermometer for meat until 10 years ago, and I only started using a thermometer for baked goods in 2020, when I was running into mediocre results with my pizza dough.
I didn’t start using the thermometer for perfecting my custard and bread pudding until 3 months ago.
I can’t tell you how much my cooking and baking has improved since I started using one.
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Hello everyone from the hot and humid Twin Cities of MN where we are also getting the return of the Canada fire smoke haze. Early morning with like of loud thunderstorms an hour before we had to get up for big kiddo to head to camp with a friend. Friend’s dad is a volunteer at this camp so he offered to drive them there and back! Thankfully we didn’t loose power or trees this time. Neighbor is busy with the chainsaw cleaning up the remains of their pine which went down last week. Thankfully it missed their house and the other neighbors. Both girls were at camp the last week o july- we went on a mini-break holiday, and then everyone back and now just 3 of us…Actuals and plans
Tues 5: CSA pick up. Gyros (costco) and assorted salad wutg crudute
Weds 6: Both girls skated. I had a board meeting. Red sauce (freezer) with pasta, I think they had salads. I had wine and ceviche after
Thurs 7" BLT Thursday with zucchini fritters to make a dent in the CSA bounty. Our farmer is thinking about renaming the farm to Zukes and Cukes
Fri 8: Leftover red sauce and pasta, salads. Chopped up a bunch of crudite for big kiddo to nibble on for the ride )she misses veggies when she’s at camp and CSA cakes and kohlrabi)
Sat 9: Take our pizza from little one’s favorite place that big sister doesn’t care for
Sun 10: Grilled bratwurst, vs fish tacos Little one is leaning towards “fishies” as she calls them
Mon 11: Little one is taking big sister’s lesson with her other coach and then Mr Autumm has tennis in the evening. Whatever we don’t have on sunday or it might be a scrounge kind of evening
Tues: 12: CSA pick up. I might move the bratwurst to Tuesday. An easy grilled meal is nice after a long (hot) day at work- Tuesday is our meeting day so everything takes longer. . .
Weds 13: Dinner out (with little one) after her skating for out 20th wedding anniversary.
Thurs 14: Who knows. . .
Take care everyone
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Hi everyone. I spent last week in Nottingham, England for work, and I’m still recovering from the jet lag. Food-wise, I had two pretty good dinners (one curry and one steak) and stopped at an Aldi for snacks - got some really good gluten-free flatbreads and some salt and vinegar chips which are WAY better than the ones we get here in the US.
So, now I’m back and trying to get in the mood to cook again! I had ChatGPT propose some dinner ideas, see if you can figure out which of the dinners below are from that vs. my own ideas…
Sun: I’m making a batch of lentils with basil vinaigrette and mozzarella for lunches this week. Dinner will be chicken broccoli Alfredo using an Alfredo sauce recipe which uses cream cheese instead of heavy cream.
Mon: taco bowls (turkey, brown rice, taco fixings)
Tues: Greek chicken bowls (chickpeas, feta, cucumber, tomato, tzatziki; quinoa or leftover rice)
Weds: black bean and cheese quesadillas, pepper strips
Thurs: turkey tips, baked potatoes, green beans
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1/2” is challenging for any cut, especially a lean one like round, but I find any marinade with some vinegar or lemon juice helps a lot, as with skirt steak — you can keep it simple with some garlic, vinegar, and salt, or veer asian in some way — soy sauce, oyster sauce, or fish sauce for salt, ginger, garlic, or both, and rice vinegar or some citrus juice.
It’s hard not to overcook meat when it’s that thin, so it helps to sear straight from the fridge on a very hot pan, maybe a minute or two on each side.
Another tenderizing technique for round steaks is to lightly cross-cross the surface, or stab with a fork or beat with a mallet. Helps the marinade penetrate as well.
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If you have the cookbook Gourmet Today (or possibly its just in the equally huge Gourmet cookbook), there is a good recipe for zucchini curry. I bump up the spices. We were surprised by how much we liked it.
Congratulations on the drawing class going so well!
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Still plenty of planning and cooking happening here in AVL, but I’ve been bad about reporting. Here’s my plan for two adults; hoping the kiddo will eat any of these (perhaps with modifications) to avoid totally separate menus. Sigh. I think we’re good on about half of them. 
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Hi everyone!
It’s been quite a week, but at least the weather is a bit cooler and not plain monsoony hot+humid.
Lunches are still play by play, but I’m still trying my parallel planning for dinners. We have a few meals out this week between the brother-sister holiday and catching up with a few friends.
Hong Kong redux was very successful last week – we enjoyed roast goose and char siu among other goodies, and I made a few types of dumplings with the wrappers I brought back that everyone enjoyed as a change to the usual purchased ones.
Ideas for the week:
– Colossal Prawns (under-5 in a kg) simply spiced and pan-fried a la dad + dal + rice
– Semi-homemade pizza (ie ready base) – with homemade tomato sauce and a topping of onions & mushrooms, and pesto sauce with a topping of thinly-sliced potato.
– Pork Chilli Fry (another a la dad, I guess that is the theme of the week) + fresh bread & rice + sliced carrots & tomatoes for veg
– Parsi Mutton (& veg) Dhansak with mom’s recipe / supervision + “brown” rice (aka rice with caramelized onions & whole spices) + kachumbar (diced salad of onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers) & papad
– Sauteed Chicken Livers also a la dad (caramelized onions & whole garam masala) + toast + salad of some sort
– Sushi bowls – shrimp or salmon, avocado, sesame carrots, wasabi slaw, cucumbers
– Steakhouse dinner at home – steak + mashed or scalloped potatoes + spinach
Have a good week!
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Sumac is so good with chicken!
I couldn’t find the Parsi meatloaf recipe – any chance you have a link handy?
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