Category Archives: Recipes

I got a beautiful slab of chuck roast the other day for a song. So I’m making my version of Mom’s traditional pot roast. I was going to make Beef Carbonnade but that takes some time. Jim and I both are coming down with colds and have some personal business to take care of on Sunday (health insurance, housing et al) so I’m taking the easy way out.

Pot roast, beefy onion soup mix, large can of tomatoes, juice and all, cover with foil and cook for at least three hours at 325 degrees. Serve over egg noodles with a vegetable on the side.

Jim’s liking my new LED light right about now, as I can hear him snoring. It’s a comforting sound, his snoring. I just put my phone up to charge, at 3:30 a.m., because may have to be on it a lot later today talking with family.

I found roasted almonds with sea salt yesterday so will make some Spicy Almonds and Cashews to take to Nanny’s for Thanksgiving. I think I’ll halve the salt in the recipe or up other ingredients because the cashews I bought in CA were raw and unsalted. Better to undersalt and season well, than over-salt the mix. I’ll work on it. I’ll let you know how they turn out.

Nike was purchased, runt of a Collie litter, for my brother and youngest sister and was left, of course, with Mom when they flew the coop.

One day when she was older, I was visiting parents and making breakfast for the family. I made eggs to order, toast and bacon. One of my orders was for a two-sided plastic dish for a piece of toast and poached egg on one side and two milk bones on the other. Specifically left-right.

I cooked for the family and made Nike’s egg the way she liked it and served it to her on toast with biscuits on the side. She wouldn’t eat it. My brother asked if I’d buttered the toast before mixing it with the egg.

After adding a tsp. of soft butter and stirring it around, she ate it. One of my harshest critics, Nike was!

Yet I chose to cook for my first dog (as an adult), who was abused and had problems with dried foods. So I made her lentil loaf, rice, and mixed it with high-quality dried food and homemade chicken broth.

My goodness, it sounds as if I’m a short-order cook for my animals and not just for my Jim! I’ll have to think about that overnight. McCain just accepted the nomination and ended his speech, something Jim was watching and I heard in the background.

Note: Now I’ve mixed dogs and politicians. Well, dogs are more honest than any politician, whatever party. Ladies, if your dog doesn’t like your boyfriend, ditch him. The boyfriend. Dogs are canny and know who to trust. You don’t want to marry someone your dog hates. And if he tells you to get rid of the dog, that’s a double whammy. Lose the guy!

Note: I’m thinking the music at this convention is geared to McCain’s era of the 40’s and Palin’s 1990’s focus so they ended up with disco stuff I heard in college in the 1970’s. Nice compromise.

Tonight I got Jim a beautiful filet mignon that I’ll just rub with garlic, brush with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper and pan-fry probably on the hard-to-clean ridged grill pan. I found a nice piece of Atlantic salmon, twice what I would normally eat but can always save some for lunch.

For the salmon I’ll either poach in the microwave in 1:3 soy sauce to water; a few slices of ginger and garlic cloves; lemon slices; and perhaps a bit of sesame oil and/or a pinch of red pepper flakes. I generally cook the marinade first for a few minutes, 4-5, then add salmon and start at 3 minutes at 50% power. You want to cook it through but not allow it to fall apart. Remember residual heat. I usually place a scant teaspoon of the cooking liquid over the filet on the plate.

Or I’ll cook the salmon in two papillotes, parchment paper packages sealed to keep in steam and flavor. I’ll season with salt and pepper, add a bit of lemon juice, then coat the tops with about 1/4 ” grainy mustard, then seal and cook in a high oven, at least 425 degrees, for about eight minutes. You can’t check on these mid-cooking so depending upon your oven you must gauge what your level of done-ness is. Note: this salmon can also be done on a grill. Just oil the skin side, place it on the grill and cover. If it is coated with mustard do not turn but let the grill/oven crisp the skin until the fish is cooked.

You could always do this in foil packets but practice it before you serve it to guests because it is lovely to serve a perfectly cooked and presented dish in a parchment paper package. Just make sure to follow with a bowl to take up the used paper, saving your guests as well as your dining table. If you’d like a lesson in folding parchment packages I’d be glad to provide one.

I’ll serve it with fresh corn on the cob, and cucumber salad (recipe on this site). Perhaps some leftover baked beans from yesterday, warmed.

The freshness and variety of summer produce is fantastic. Sometimes I find myself wanting to make a hearty stew and the weather just does not permit that, for a while anyway.

What are you making this evening? Dee

was on sale at the grocery today. I got it to room temperature and brushed it with extra virgin olive oil (Greek), cut garlic and coarse pepper and cooked it on a ridged grill pan in the house. After the first side was seared it was salted with kosher salt.  Ditto the final side when done, then rested out of the oven 5-7 minutes and served with fresh corn on the cob with a sage butter, and baked beans I made last night and re-heated.

Steak was medium rare, tending to rare, and was tender and succulent. It was a tasty summer dinner.

Otherwise I ran errands and tried to exchange our car (a rental as we’re looking to buy and Jim’s been working downtown for four years so I have the car) from a Chevy HHR – yuck as seats are stained and it’s been smoked in and remote is broken) and all they had was a large pickup or minivan. No thanks.

I agree with Susan on minivans. I’m not ready for one. They put a new battery in the remote. With pouring-down rain at least twice a day I’m not going to chance drycleaning or groceries in the back of a pickup.

Tomorrow I’m looking for some new ideas as even I get in a culinary rut. Then again, if I run out of time doing other things, Jim loves spaghetti and meatballs. Favorite meal of all time.

Tomorrow is serious clean-out-the-frig day. Among other things. Thanks for sticking with the blog! Dee

Take one can tuna…

Don’t laugh. My sister actually had this the other day! She was visiting family in the midwest and she and family friend Bill shared a crabcake appetizer. The crabcakes were the size of hamburgers!

They each tasted their crabcake and it was tuna! When asked, the restaurant said first that it was tuna, then said it was a mix of tuna and crab.

I expect a crabmeat cake to be expensive (recently had two sea scallop-sized ones at a reasonably priced local eatery on the LUNCH menu for $32, no sides).

I expect to taste delicate crab, with very little mayonnaise or breadcrumbs or other fillers. But for heaven’s sake, if you’re advertising crab cakes, you’d better use crab (and not Krab, either). My rant for the day. Well, at least my first rant! Dee