Saturday Was Cooking

Even though I was on-call today (always a bummer), I managed to get back into my element (i.e., cooking in my great kitchen). Last night and today I made some killer barbecued pork out of a Boston Butt roast (on sale), which I all but cremated in the crock pot overnight and today picked apart, excising all visible fat, and mixed with barbecue sauce and served for lunch. B. loved it (with a side dish of Publix Southern-Style potato salad doctored up with some lime juice and dill relish).

I also made a load of guacamole today. One of B's customers had given us some large avocados (not the small California kind, though they're OK). (I grew up in Florida with avocado "pears," as they were called--enormous, smooth-skinned, green [on the outside, vs. black] avocados.) I used one of those, along with two rather small "ugly tomatoes" (more expensive than the pretty ones but a helluva tastier and bright red on the inside), half a red onion, a clove of garlic, a lot of fresh lime juice, a lot of chili powder, some hot sauce, black pepper, and salt. Put it all in the food processor and made it into a smooth cream. It came out fantastic. I ate half of it for dinner, with white corn chips. [We also used it on tacos the next day. We prefer the Old El Paso taco kit.]

I also made a load of vegetable beef soup. (For some reason, B. hates soup, so it's his loss.) I used three pounds of stew beef, cut up into smaller, bite-sized pieces; a large can of crushed tomatoes; two cans of double-rich beef bouillon plus two cans of water; a bag of broccoli slaw; one leek, white and green part (cleaned of dirt [seriously]) sliced; one parsnip sliced; one turnip diced; one carrot sliced; one stalk of celery sliced; 3/4 tsp. marjoram; 3/4 tsp. thyme; a bay leaf; about 4 tbsp. chopped fresh dill; 1/4 cup dried beans; lots of salt; some ground pepper; and water to cover. I added about 1/2 cup pasta at the end and let that get tender, along with more fresh dill. (I used to add Locatelli Peccorino Romano cheese to this but it tastes just as good without the added fat, calories, and cholesterol [still I suggest it].) Came out great.

Guacamole Recipe

The video. As long as I've been googling recipes, I never came across a video before. I was impressed!

Sunday Night

Had a good weekend overall. I tallied up our household expenses, which I hadn't done since May. (This entails going through a whole lot of receipts and entering them into a spreadsheet.)

I made some great Tamale Pie yesterday. (B. loved it.) Here's the recipe: In a large skillet, brown 2 pounds of ground beef along with a medium onion, chopped, and a clove of garlic, chopped. Salt that a little. Drain fat. Add 1 can of tomato sauce; two packets of Chili-O seasoning; and 1 regular can of corn plus 1 small can of corn, along with the liquid from the cans. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring; then remove from heat and mix in 1 can of small black olives, chopped (don't add juice). Pour that into a baking pan and smooth over the top with a spatula. Make topping with two small boxes of yellow corn muffin or cornbread mix (e.g., Martha White), pour over the meat mixture, and smooth the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until the crust browns.

I love this stuff and hadn't made it in a while.

Meanwhile I have healed from the tooth extraction.

Sunday Night

Bootsy's new nest, a cut-down rum carton

(cat door stop behind it)

Watched the final episode of Design Star tonight. Great entertainment, and often hilarious. I'm glad Kim won. (I voted for her online.) I didn't care for Todd's hotel suite re-do (the final competition). Kim isn't even a designer by trade (or training). She's a hair stylist. In addition to her good taste, however, her hosting skills were the best among all the contestants. I'll be looking forward to her show in the Spring.

I'm still on the mushy diet. Today I finished off the two salmon loaves, two fat-free yogurts, a carton of Edy's "Slow Churned" mint chocolate chip ice cream (1/2 the fat and 1/3 fewer calories than regular ice cream), some marinated avocado, a can of Goya hot Vienna sausage (good as far as Vienna sausage goes, but I prefer barbecue, which I can no longer find here), and a heaping helping of home-made tomato aspic, which I made with 24 oz. of V8 juice, two packets of Knox gelatin, salt, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and Louisiana hot sauce. It turned out great. Meanwhile the tooth socket appears to be healing properly, thank goodness. I've also been applying Biotène "Oral Balance" mouth moisturizing gel to the wound before going to sleep.

Saturday Night Grab Bag

I caught this at Hullabaloo:

It's become clear in the last few years that right wingers are psychologically unfit to lead the nation. Vast numbers of them are "conservative" not due to philosophy but to cover up for serious personal issues with sexuality, masculinity, oedipal complexes and worse. In fact, it's so pervasive that one must now assume that conservative political leaders are driven by a complicated desire to compensate for psychological problems rather than the usual political mix of ambition, ego and drive to power. There are just too many examples of disturbed, neurotic, secretive GOP hypocrites out there. It's a feature not a bug.

The context was a discussion of whether or not Condi Rice is gay. As Digby says, who cares?

The tooth socket seems to be healing normally--knock on wood! Got a lot of rest today and also managed to cook lunch for B. (hamburger steaks, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables--not very creative) and clean up the kitchen. I made an entire box of Hungry Jack potatoes (my favorite) with evaporated low-fat milk and spiked with onion powder, dried chives, sour cream, white pepper and maybe a little garlic powder. I used four cups of that to make two salmon loaves for me to eat. They came out great, as they usually do. I'm not supposed to eat anything that requires chewing.

Wesley Clark has come out and endorsed Hillary Clinton for President. Got an email to that effect today: "Today [9/15], I am proud to announce my endorsement of Senator Hillary Clinton as President of the United States."

TGIF

What an intense last couple of days at work, and right when it was getting to be time to leave. Glad the week's over. Whew!

Right now I have a meat loaf in the oven for tomorrow. Haven't made one in a while. I'm not really much of a meat loaf fan myself but B. likes them. So I've spent a lot of time experimenting with different recipes to create one that I really like. (B. likes them all, except the one I put hard boiled eggs in.) I use a basic salsa meatloaf recipe (a Betty Crocker recipe from the Internet) but use Italian bread crumbs (not a whole lot) and also add Worcestershire sauce and regular prepared mustard. It's got loads of flavor. And I like the way the salsa bakes on top into a thick goo (much better than ketchup). Also, I bake the meatloaf free-standing in a regular roasting pan lined with slices of bread, rather than in a loaf pan, in which the meatloaf sits and boils. I prefer a little crust on the outside. Tonight I added some fresh thyme I had in the refrigerator. We'll see what that does.

Believe it or not, I got a lot of meatloaf pointers from Steve Gilliard's blog (before Steve passed away).

Saturday Afternoon

I made the absolute best spaghetti sauce last night with those GreenWise chicken sausages. The sausages were actually bit players. The secret's in the sauce (as they say), which was intense. We had it for lunch today. B. loved it, and he's not really a big fan of spaghetti and meat sauce.

The basic sauce itself consisted of a large container of Ragu meat sauce; two large cans of regular tomato sauce; a can of tomato paste; 1 1/3 lbs. ground sirloin; a large onion, a green pepper and approximately four cloves of garlic (chopped coarsely in the food processor)--to which I added a tablespoon of dried rosemary (ground up in a mortar), a tablespoon of dried oregano, and a tablespoon of fennel seeds (also ground up in the mortar, or at least smashed to bits), along with two bay leaves, about a tablespoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper, about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, a few sprigs of fresh thyme (although you could use dried), and a generous amount (approximately 1/4 cup) of freshly grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese. After all that was bubbling in the pot, I added the sausages (10 of them), which I'd first browned in olive oil. (Actually the sauce began in the olive oil after the sausages had been removed and set aside.) I simmered the sauce for about 2 hours, stirring often.

I served it over Barilla angel hair pasta (2 lbs. for the price of one at Publix).

Almost TGIF

I did go to the gym tonight on foot and went shopping afterwards. I'll deal with the truck this weekend maybe. There's a Publix in the same shopping center where the gym is. Bought some "GreenWise" chicken Italian sausages (never saw them before)--raised without antibiotics; no artificial ingredients; air-chilled; and with natural preservatives. I just hope that when one of these chickens gets sick, they do give it antibiotics if necessary, rather than let it suffer.

I read the ingredients on the package. I guess the natural preservative is salt. These are hot Italian sausages, so I figure the hot spice also acts as a natural preservative. There was also some sodium lactate in it, but my research indicates that this enhances the flavor.

I'll make a nice spaghetti sauce with these for the weekend and also use some regular ground sirloin (which I assume has antibiotics in it).

We watched "Queer As Folk" on Logo tonight. (I'd never seen all the installments.) Last week they bumped it for the presidential debates. We were very disappointed. I already know where the candidates stand on almost every issue, but I'm still a little worried about Hillary's stand on healthcare, now that she's getting big financial backing from the healthcare industries. As far as I know, John Edwards still has the best plan, but obviously he's not going to win the nomination.

No more vitriol from this podium. As angry and frustrated as I get sometimes, it's not worth it to sit here and lash out when frankly I should be going to bed. Plus, if I've had a cocktail or two (as I do on occasion), it comes across as a freakish, paranoid rant. Then I have to delete it the next day. I'm tired of doing that!

Saturday Afternoon

About time for a nap. Meanwhile I'm taping "Sell This House" on A&E. HGTV has also come out with a "staging" show called "Get It Sold." It's good but I prefer watching Tanya and Roger. We don't like the new HGTV show "Color Correction." It's really tacky. The new "Design Star" is fun, although the reruns are eating up the schedule.

Made some decent beef stew, starting last night and finishing it off today. Followed pretty much the "Gaston Beef Stew" recipe in The Joy of Cooking. (It'll be better tomorrow.) Added a can of tomato paste towards the end. Had to walk over to the nearby convenience store to get it. Man is it steamy out there.

Our friend who moved to North Carolina called this afternoon. It's over 100 degrees where she is, in Fort Bragg, but not humid (she says). Her former condo is across the street, next to the store, so I was thinking about her, and then she called (for B.). Her cat is doing well, by the way, up in Hollywood with a friend of mine. Talked to him (the friend) today, too.

Saturday Afternoon

Made some great Beef Gumbo last night. I'd never made it with beef before. I think it's even better than the chicken or seafood. I started off with 3+ lbs. of stew beef. (Didn't bother to try to brown it in oil or fat.) Simmered that till tender (2+ hours) in one large can of tomato juice, a can of double-rich bouillon, and some water to cover, along with 1/2 chopped large red onion, 1 chopped stalk celery, salt and pepper, and a bay leaf. Removed the meat and boiled the liquid down a bit, adding another 1/2 chopped onion, a chopped bell pepper and a package of Andouille sausage, sliced up. When the vegs were done (and the sausage cooked), added 1/2 cup of rice, a large can of crushed tomatoes, a bag of frozen gumbo soup mix, a half bag of frozen okra (there was no fresh okra to be had), a small can of corn (drained), the meat, a lot of Louisiana hot sauce, two tablespoons of basil, and a little more salt. Cooked up perfect in about 20 minutes. (No, I do not use a roux. This doesn't need thickening.) After it sat overnight in the refrigerator, we heated some up for lunch. B. loved it. This has got to be a pretty healthy meal, notwithstanding the sausage--the stew beef is very lean, and it's loaded with vegetables.

Quiet Day at Home

So glad last week is over. Yesterday was a pisser at work.

Last night I made chicken and dumplings for today's lunch. B. loved it. He's off at work now. I also served the kale, which B. refused to eat. He likes the collards, though. Right now I'm making some black-eyed peas with smoked ham hocks.

Last night B. brought home some beautiful orchids, which I put in a water pitcher (q.v.).

I had planned on going to the gym after yesterday's nap, but I didn't wake up till 9:30. I'd set the alarm for 8:45 but the time was on a.m., not p.m. I considered this an "Act of God" and headed off to the store. I really do like going to the gym on Friday nights, however, since the place is practically empty (which is not to say that I like going to the gym).

Will amuse myself a bit further online and then go take a nap. Looks like a storm is brewing outside.

Quiet Night at Home

(Hmmmm. I began to type this title and it popped up. I must have used it in the former blog.)

I was going to go to the gym tonite but decided to stay home. B. is at work but has tomorrow night off. It's been hectic around here and also at work. I'm tired. Can make up the gym visit. I haven't been on the blog since Saturday.

Last night I came home and began finishing off a sauerbraten that had been marinating since last Thursday night. I hadn't made this dish in a while. I came to love it years ago while I was an exchange student in Germany. Before then, I don't believe I'd ever had it. At least in the region of Germany where I spent most of the year (Westphalia), this dish was made for special occasions -- I think I first had it at Christmas dinner.

I had run out of juniper berries (for the marinade) a while back and, as expected, the local Publix didn't have them. Rather than make an almost impossible mid-week run to Laurenzo's or Epicure Market, I decided to go with pickling spice, as called for in a recipe from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook. (I'd also gathered up a few recipes from the Web to consult.) The pickling spice did a serviceable job, but I prefer the flavor imparted by the juniper berries and will stick to using those from now on.

Yesterday I also prepared a sauteed cabbage side dish from The Joy of Cooking, along with potato dumplings -- from a box. Both turned out excellent. I'd been afraid to subject finicky B. to the traditional German sweet-and-sour cabbage (which I love) and go with the sauteed cabbage, since I'd made it before and he liked it. This is a rather simple affair -- a grated head of cabbage sauteed in bacon drippings with onion or garlic (I used both) and then baked in the oven with a cup of sour cream. (I also drizzled some vinegar in it.) The last thing I made was the gravy from the meat marinade, thickening it with the usual ginger snaps. Came out great but everything took several hours, including cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. Hence, I'm taking the night off.

Changing the subject. What about all the flap over John Kerry's maliciously misconstrued joke! I'd like to see George Bush come out and apologize for causing the deaths of 2,800 U.S. soldiers and who knows how many Iraqi citizens. (More anon -- have to run to the store.)