Hodge podge meal. The lady of the house is on a cruise with gf’s. So I made a dragon bowl from lots of frig stuff. Pulled out my dusty LPs, opened the windows and put the scotch on ice.
In about an hour I expect the guys whose wives joined mine to be here ready to play poker.
Cheers!
A Turkish friend of ours once told us how to prepare okra. When you cut off the end, cut just a little bit, leaving the capsule closed. Then you can prepare it any which way. If the whole thing is cut open, prepare it in oil only, without water.
I’m sure it was a dish from his childhood.
Never water unless it’s going to be a gravy dish, and never covered if it’s a dry dish (but with tougher okra that’s hard to follow)
Grilled pork chops and okra tonight. Kept the okra simple with adobo seasoning and Cajun spice. The pork chops I marinated overnight in whole milk with a little ranch dressing mix whisked in. Really tender.
Pulled out another bland chicken breast from the freezer. Got a good crust on it in a cast iron pan seasoned with cumin and s/p. Had Cuban black beans from the freezer and made fresh rice. A baked sweet potato that needed to get used and a small side salad with green olives
Not even hungry . Just when one fire is under control another one starts . The new Delta fire started yesterday around 16 miles away. It’s really getting on my nerves . I am going out on the deck to sit in the smoke and watch the ash fall. I will have a leftover burrito later .
Hope it will be contained quickly. Stay safe!
Oh no…!! I hope you’re able to stay safe and they get the fire under control ASAP!
Rough transition back to the Real World… last night i just had a random meal of sugar snap peas (that I brought back with me! Bought a them at the farmers market), some sliced smoked tofu, pretzel fish, and an apple with almond butter.
There was a bit of a situation this afternoon… i am an idiot and went shopping while hungry, didn’t have anything since breakfast and came home with these beauties
And then ate most of them!!! 
Not especially hungry now but i’ll have some yogurt with almond butter before bed
Yikes, sorry to hear. Stay safe
Another one! And it’s only September.
OoooI
I made Hyderabadi tomato chutney the other day. No picture though. From one of my first cookbooks.
Madhur Jaffrey’s “World of the East Vegetarian Cooking”
https://calmlycookingcurry.blogspot.com/2017/07/hot-spicy-hyderabadi-tomato-chutney.html
I do not “blitz” it. I push the dried red peppers aside, and love getting the whole cloves of golden brown garlic.
Yikes! Stay safe!
I’ve never eaten it that way! Did Jaffrey comment that blitzing was optional or was that your own spin on it?
One of my first cookbooks was Jaffrey’s An Invitation to Indian Cooking, published in the 70’s.
The “blitz” was mentioned by the author of the story in the link; not Jaffrey. Her recipe is an adaptation of Jaffrey’s.
She writes;
". I do prefer to run the chutney through the mixie after cooking and cooling. Ms Jaffrey does not advise this but the dried chilis and garlic cloves don’t always break down into small pieces during cooking. I fear someone eating the chutney might get a big unpleasant bite of garlic or dried chili. Yikes! So I blitz the fried mixture in the mixie when cool to a lovely smooth texture. "
You know what, some people do it make it chunkier and others smoother… so now I know why. Thank you!
that Delta fire is awful!
dinner last night was a quick and easy, sloppy and utterly delish BLT with a new-to-me bacon (Zoe, uncured, applewood smoked), FM tomatoes, FM lettuce, FM pugliese, TJs mayo. Sooo good. and FM corn with a shit-ton of Kerrygold. No pic cuz my pics sucked.
Then began prep for this weekend at the beach - 14 of us rented a house in Dillon Beach (north of SF). I am in charge of dinner tonight. on the menu: 8 lb. Leg of lamb, marinated with fresh oregano, garlic, kosher salt, olive oil; chicken thighs, same marinade, will add lemon juice to both once we arrive. Rice pilaf with pine nuts; baked ratatouille (two batches); Salade Nicoise with some gorgeous Italian tuna; Greek salad; that fab dip i made a few weeks ago with gorgonzola and cream. Others are bringing things too, but that’s the bulk of dinner tonight. i’m leaving work in an hour to drive up, can’t wait!
happy weekend, everyone!
They certainly put the right person in charge of dinner. They get in an A in intuition
