I have made this before but every time it is different here is another version
We have been suffering from a heat wave and after the 5th day of over 92+ degree temps we decided to forgo our normal Sunday walk at the Wrentham Mall which is one of those out-door discount malls, flat and if you walk all the lanes is a one mile walk. Yesterday we did the Natick Mall this is a good one inside and if you do top and bottom is 2 miles. Yep we both like to walk but with the temps and humidity the way it has been we also like to be comfortable. Early in the week Vermont and NH were much cooler and no humidity and we did go to Nebo’s new location which was right on the water front so while we waited for them to open we sipped wine and gazed out over the harbor enjoying the cool breeze but most especially the smell of salt air. Anyway before I drift to far from my point we decided today to go to Solomon mall but half way there I asked why not Wegman’s it is huge and a bet just about 1 mile if we did all the isles, besides we needed a few things. I ask you what weekend is a weekend without visiting at least 3 grocery stores each with their own specialties. As we walked picking up this and that we saw the ground buffalo still at $7.399 for a 1lb package all the other stores were at $9.99 so I figured we would use at some point. Oh I was right the walk was just over 1 mile. Tonight just before the thundered and rain rolled in I quickly made some patties roasted some corn and prepared dinner. I was not going to post this but it came out so good I decided it was a keeper for me, hence not a lot of pictures.
Roasted Corn salad – I have made this before but every time it is different here is another version
Combine all ingredients and mix well set aside and let sit
I added the breadcrumbs because it is a leaner meat and the bread crumbs help retain some moisture
Form 4 patties
Grill on preheated oiled grill for about 4-5 minutes
Flip top with the cheese continue to cook 4-5 minutes
Take off grill and cover loosely let sit 4-5 minutes
Shuck the corn rub with olive oil put on grill turning occasionally until the corn is slightly charred in spots.
Set aside until cool enough to hold.
In the meantime chop the peppers and combine all ingredients
I like to take a small cup inverted in the middle of the bowl place the con bottom down and cut the kernels off the cobb with a sharp knife following the cob. This way they fall into the bowl. Now combine mix completely. You can server right away of refrigerate and the flavors should come together. I say why wait that’s what left overs are for.
A long time ago I had to stop eating fatty foods they started to do a number on my stomach. A few things made me decide to go for it this year, 4th of July with Lyn asking what are we going to BBQ and Gloria who recently found my site and wanted to know if I had any good rib recipes. To be truthful the last few times I made them I bought the precooked and just reheated, added my own sauce and there you had it quick and easy but I used to cook these and still had the how in my head. Last year I won a contest with my pulled pork and root beer BBQ sauce so I still have it in me. Then Wholefoods had St. Louis Style ribs on sale and I grabbed a slab, gave it a rub down and let it sit in the frig until yesterday. Cooking ribs are relatively easy just time consuming that being said there is a true art to cooking the perfect rib and I am still trying to master that I lift my smoker lid to all those that have satisfied my taste bud in my travels. I remember the road trip my brother and I took bringing Mom and Dad’s car down to Florida for them we had ribs all the way down each a different taste treat. I have to say there was a gap of eating ribs for me after that trip.
Remove the white membrane from the bone side of slab peeling it off with your hands (optional)
If you did not remove the membrane poke several holes in the bone side
Liberally apply the rub of your choice to all sides and give it a good rub, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, I prefer 24+ in this case it was 48 hours.
I take two sheets of aluminum foil and join along the sides to make one large one, repeat and lay the 2nd on top.
Place the slab meat side down and fold the tinfoil to make an air tight package. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 225 to 250 for around 2 hours – until tender and the meat is pulling off the end of bones.
Remove from oven, open foil and drain the liquid.
Now brush BBQ sauce of your choice on all sides, you don’t need a lot.
Here you can either turn heat up to 350 and cook for about 20-35 minutes or as I did move the slab to the cool side of the gas or gas grill and cook flipping once or twice for about 10-20 minutes
I cut the slab in half before the grilling, making it easier to flip and remove.
I was grilling some swordfish also and one of the apple smoke chip cans smoking away. (Drives the neighbors up wind crazy)
Remove cover loosely with aluminum foil and let sit for about 5 minutes, goes for the swordfish also.
Server up take a snap chat and send to you Mike and Laurel who were driving to Indiana enjoying rest stop food.
We are on vacation and are doing a lot of day trips discovering towns and area that we had not been to in ages or ever. the weather ahs been good some over cast a lot of humidity and we just missed the flash floods in Walpole NH by 1 day and the tornado in CT by a few hours. Been a good week so far enjoying my self especially in the mountains where there is no 3 or 4G. This for someone who spends my time on computers all day is sooooo nice. Anyway we returned home the other day and with a gasp I notice that our passion flower had bloomed. IT closed that night and has not reopened not sure if that is normal or it is just shy but it was beautiful.
Passion Flower (Passiflora) — Symbol of Christ’s Passion and Cross: including his scourging, crowning with thorns, three nails and five wounds.
—Reparation Through Flowers
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion:
* The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance.
* The tendrils represent the whips used in the flagellation of Christ.
* The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles (less St. Peter the denier and Judas Iscariot the betrayer).
* The flower’s radial filaments, which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns.
* The chalice-shaped ovary with its receptacle represents a hammer or the Holy Grail
* The 3 stigmata represent the 3 nails and the 5 anthers below them the 5 wounds (four by the nails and one by the lance).
* The blue and white colours of many species’ flowers represent Heaven and Purity.
The flower has been given names related to this symbolism throughout Europe since that time. In Spain, it is known as espina de Cristo (“Christ’s thorn”). German names include Christus-Krone (“Christ’s crown”), Christus-Strauss (“Christ’s bouquet”), Dorn-Krone (“crown of thorns”), Jesus-Leiden (“Jesus’ passion”), Marter (“passion”) or Muttergottes-Stern (“Mother of God’s star”).
—Passionflower: Etymology and Names
The passion fruit is a vigorous, climbing vine that clings by tendrils to almost any support. It can grow 15 to 20 ft. per year once established and must have strong support.
—Passionfruit
I bought these little tiny cans of tuna at BJs that come in a 12 pack and whether in a salad or sandwich found them just the right size for one. Lyn does not like the way I make tuna, too much mayo so now I can make it the way I like it lots of mayo. When I was a kid I used to make mayo sandwiches for a quick snack but now a days I just pile on a little extra. Tunas sandwich is a quick and easy solution to that what’s for lunch question.
Make the tuna the way you like it then make a roll up, salad or my particular favorite in an organic hotdog roll.
Usually I like to sprinkle some paprika on it I like the color but most of all the little kick it adds, but today I drizzled a little hoisin sauce.
My Sister sent this to me today and I had to share
Last Sunday was father’s day, Mike and Laurel came over which was all I really wanted. I can’t explain how proud of him I am he has done well just want it to take off for him so to speak he has so much to offer and does. Laurel brightens any situation she is always so up and being a foodie puts her in a special place in my heart. Since I got what I wanted and Mikie was not going to be around for Lyn’s birthday on the 29th I thought why not take advantage of this gathering and throw a surprise birthday party. Laurel, Mike and I thought about it and a new Nespresso maker that Lyn had been hinting about for years is what we decided on. Sunday morning I snuck out at 6:30 AM to pick up the Boston Cream Pie, her favorite, (I don’t bake) that I ordered from Ray & Dick’s Bakery. Then I thought to Facebook message a bunch of family and friends to have them text her Happy Surprise Birthday at 2 PM. It was success and for someone who normally does not get a lot of texts she was delighted. I love this woman and was happy to see her big fat smile for the text and the espresso maker. So enough of the mushiness. I cooked Missi’s Dill Chicken with Tomato-Dill Relish and ribs for Father’s day. The ribs I cheated bought pre-cook and wrapped in tinfoil with sauce and baked at 175 for hours and finished on the grill. Being a good father I cooked enough so that leftovers could be taken home which left me with this week of leftover meals. The ribs, I eat fatty meats very limited these days, I dove into on Monday only looking up to wipe my face when they were all gone. Lyn bought some macaroni salad for Sunday which I made a meal of the leftover and diced Dill chicken breast, the Blue Grass Coleslaw also from WholeFoods was added to my regular work lunch salad with chicken and 18 year old balsamic vinegar. That brought me to last night everything gone what to do. We had bought some ground bison and I had frozen two leftover patties so I defrosted them and add a few things to make a Stuffed red bell pepper.
Sauté the shallot and oils in a little butter and olive oil until shallots are slightly transparent
Add ground beef and a pinch of hot pepper flakes and cook until brown
Add tomatoes and about 1 tbs. Hoisin sauce
Stir to mix
Stuff the pepper halves and top with cheese
Roast in 350 oven for about 10-15 minutes until cheese melts
Then I ate! Was pretty good for a from the gut meal!
I go through spurts with cooking and have always tried to overcook, the amount not the food. I use leftovers as additions to my daily lunch salad, others freeze for another day in perfect one meal portions, while some I use for leftover meals, look at what I have and experiments on how to use.
We have a FoodSaver an ancient model and works fine for us.
Some of my best minced chicken lettuce wraps came about in this manner. This has come in handy recently especially with Lyn on her special diet. This is not to say I won’t cook during the week but I do tend to cook more on weekends. I think any Chicken or meat dishes freeze and reheats well especially the meatballs in or out of sauce.
After a while the freezer gets pretty full so I pull out my frozen menu for the week and place them on the frig shelf. It’s kind of fun when one can plan a week worth of meals just sitting there waiting to be reheated. Some things freeze and reheat well other do not American Chop Suey did not reheat well after freezing – the pasta got a little mushy but that Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai I made the other day did, I reheated in a fry pan added fresh peanuts and bean sprouts and a little more sauce mmmmm. Lyn freezes plain spaghetti squash but told me it is a little watery when reheated so I got my pan very hot and stir-fried until reheated this got rid of the excess moisture.
Freezer burn is not a food safety risk. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots on frozen food, and occurs when air reaches the food’s surface and dries out the product. This can happen any time food is not securely wrapped in air-tight packaging. Color changes result from chemical changes in the food’s pigment. Although undesirable, freezer burn does not make the food unsafe. It merely causes dry spots in foods. Kind of looks like when you defrost in Microwave and some of the edges or thinner parts start to cook, I know you’ve been there.
http://allrecipes.com
Making meals in advance can be as simple as doubling a casserole recipe or tossing an extra meatloaf into the oven.
Before freezing hot food, it’s important to let it cool down. Heat will raise the temperature of the freezer; and the food will not freeze uniformly, the outer edges of the hot dish will freeze hard quickly while the inside might not cool in time to prevent spoilage.
There are just a few things to keep in mind:
Poorly wrapped foods run the risk of developing freezer burn and unpleasant odors from other foods in the freezer. Follow these simple wrapping and container tips to ensure the quality and safety of your food:
With the exception of muffins, breads, and other baked goods, do not thaw foods at room temperature. Bacteria can grow in the thawed portion of prepared foods, releasing toxins that are unsafe to eat even after cooking.
To ensure that your food is safe to eat, follow one of these proper ways to thaw:
In the refrigerator: This is the slowest but safest thawing technique. Small frozen items might thaw in a few hours, while larger items will take significantly longer–overnight and then some.
In cold water: Place the frozen food in a leak-proof bag and place in a large container of cold water.
In a microwave on the defrost setting: Plan to cook the food immediately after it has thawed in a microwave, because some areas of the food might have begun cooking during the defrost cycle.
Although freezing keeps food safe for an indefinite amount of time, eventually the flavor will be affected. If the food is obviously damaged (shriveled, with white or frosty spots) it should be discarded.
This chart lists recommended storage times for popular precooked foods–casseroles, soups, lasagna–to ensure high-quality results:
Tomato/vegetable sauces – 6 months
Meatloaf (any type of meat) – 6 months
Soups and stews – 2-3 months
Poultry and Meat Casseroles – 6 months
Poultry (cooked, no gravy) – 3 months
Poultry (with gravy/sauce) – 5-6 months
Meatballs in sauce – 6 months
Pizza dough (raw, homemade) – 3-4 weeks
Muffins/quick breads (baked) 2-3 months
A temperature of 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C) is best for maintaining food quality. Proper air circulation is key to keeping your freezer operating at maximum efficiency.
Freezing does not kill bacteria, yeast and molds that might be in your foods–it merely holds them at bay by keeping them inactive. If the freezer’s temperature is disturbed often or altered for an extended period of time (such as a door left ajar or power outages) these microbes can compromise your food’s safety.
I picked the first of what I hope of dozens of cherry tomatoes yesterday. I have one plant in a container on the deck and two other grape varieties in the bed. I am hoping there is not a repeat of the chipmunk and ground-hog war that we suffered last year there don’t seem to be as many this year. Famous last words. Anyway I love this fruit and when they first start to ripen they very seldom make it into the house Pop Pop oh what a treat they are.
Here it is, isn’t she a beauty? This one made it in to the house but did not last long, I blinded it with the camera flash grabbed it and popped. Oh that what Lyn I blinded not the tomato.
KitchenGardener Magazine, archive
Cherry tomatoes are easy-going fruits, which, if grown right, will yield basket after basket of flavorful harvests. They are less prone to many of the problems that plague larger-fruited varieties and they often produce fruit early.
My 96-year-old grandmother, Jinx, when asked the secret to her longevity, advises: “Never say can’t, try everything once, and make one new friend each year.” She should add growing cherry tomatoes to her litany. Other than walking the dog or taking a language class, I’ve found that the best way to increase my circle of friends is to grow cherry tomatoes. When they start ripening in late July, I place small baskets of these multicolored sweets around the office. Without fail, people I’ve never met before approach me to say how much they enjoyed a particular variety, and I invite them to visit my garden for more.
Wild cherry tomatoes are the grandmothers of most tomato varieties we enjoy today. Native to the South American Andes, they traveled north through Central America to Mexico, where they were domesticated and cultivated before the arrival of Columbus. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors returned from Mexico with the seeds of small-fruited tomatoes, as well as those of larger, irregularly lobed cultivars.
According to Andrew F. Smith, author of The Tomato in America, many European varieties were derived from crosses between these different forms. A related species, the tiny-fruited currant tomato (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium) is native to the western coastal areas of Peru and Ecuador, where it grows as a sprawling weed.
Because of its resistance to diseases like fusarium and bacterial wilt, as well as its habit of producing fruit in long trusses, the currant tomato has been crossbred with other tomatoes, producing many modern cherry tomato varieties.
Chose varieties for your region
At a market garden I worked for in Germany, we would sprinkle a few gold tomatoes in each box of Sweet 100s, just to highlight their glowing red color. Imagine what you could do with today’s array of cherry tomato colors and shapes…. Read more
We were at Wholefoods today to pick up some yogurt and bone in chicken split breasts on sale, needless to say the two bags I brought in with us were not enough, we have to stop walking the isles. Hey, just trying to get our steps in! I’m all for the 10,000 steps a day diet check it out. There are arguments for bone in and bone out I recently went back to bone in and found that it cooks juicier and with more flavor. You may disagree but that is just how I feel this week. Anyway we picked up about 8 lbs., hit the food saver on our return and I decided to leave a couple out. I made a quick brine of kosher salt and a little raw sugar let the chicken in sit in it for about 1 hour in the frig.
I had seen these FLAVORWOOD smoke in a can things asked Lyn the next time she is on Amazon to pick up some. She gets free shipping cause she shops so much. After paper towel drying I let sit covered to get closer to room temp. Once the grill heated up that little can was smoking up a storm there is this little hole on the top and the smoke comes billowing out. Either oil the grates or chicken and put skin down over hot fire for about 2-3 minutes until the skin starts to slight brown and bubble, oil the other side and flip for about 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off on one side of grill spread the chicken with Rufus Teague BBQ sauce about 1/3 cup,
cook 15-25 minutes cover both side with another 1/3 cup and continue to cook skin side up on the cold side of grill. Cook until it reaches about 160 degree, remove from grill cover loosely for about 10 minutes. While this was resting I grilled some fresh asparagus. Did you know that asparagus are better for you when eaten raw? Try it they are good, I julienned and used in coleslaw and in my minced chicken lettuce wraps.
So we both like this meal hence it goes up on the site. Plus the bones gave me something to suck the last of the sauce off of, the cashier today said that the sauce was awesome and she was right.
Gourmet Dad, Don’t Let The Title Fool You 