Monthly Cooking Thread - July 2020

[Jamestown1630]

I’ve been sick the last couple of weeks, and have had energy for the absolutely necessary – and the nice distractions!

I thought I’d share with you some of the things that have distracted me from my personal issues, and from the larger issues that most of us are facing.

I guess it isn’t a surprise that I’ve been drawn, for distraction, to people and places who aren’t really dealing with all the cr*p that many of us are. One of the websites I’ve greatly enjoyed has been ‘Whippoorwill Holler’, offered by Mr. and Mrs. Brown in Northeast Arkansas.

Lately, Mrs. Brown has begun a series on very fresh, cold Summer salads, and will be posting more. (And she has a really wonderful old ‘country-store-style’ kitchen, if you like that):

The Recipe:

Tomato, Cucumber, Onion Salad

4-5 medium cucumbers

1 onion

Bell peppers

Thyme, oregano, dill optional

3 tomatoes

1 cup water

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 t. Salt

1 t. Pepper

And how you do it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJRcsaw-GpM

________________________________

Another place that has intrigued and distracted me is Smith Island, Maryland - an isolated and endangered island in the Chesapeake Bay.

Mrs. Mary Ada Marshall and her husband Dwight have been longtime caretakers of the Smith Island way of life – and here is a video of Mary Ada making the Maryland State Cake, Smith Island Cake. The cake isn't so much a recipe, as a construction and presentation; so you can use any recipe you like. As my Granny did, Mary Ada seems to prefer Duncan Hines (and if you try to make this as one big cake and cut it into tiny layers, YOU ARE CHEATING!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpY-a6M4nOE

(Mary Ada also makes prize-winning crabcakes. She doesn't give that recipe away, but if you hunt her down on the Internet, you can mail-order them :-)

__________________________________

And finally, Animals! They can always distract us and remind us of what it means to simply LIVE, exuberantly, as creatures upon the Earth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bKwRW0l-Qk

-JT

[Jamestown1630]

This month: Cold salads, a BIG cake, and a ‘Cool Change’.

(Does anyone have a great Crab Cake recipe???)

If you would like to be on or off of this monthly cooking-thread ping-list, please send a private message.

-JT

[coaster123]

Cucumbers? I haven’t seen a cucumber in the supermarket for years. Might as well be damp rice cakes.

So much good food is no more.

[Jamestown1630]

We still get some pretty good ones. The hothouse English ones, too.

[GnuThere]

Ha! That was fun, watching the dolphins, etc.
The ones twisting in the air, amazing! What show offs.

[mylife]

Oh! look up Tennessee pig picking cake... Yom

[JBW1949]

Great summertime meal: Polynesian Chicken

Rectangular baking glass container about 14”X8” 4” deep
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup honey BBQ sauce
1/2 cup honey
1 can mandarin orange slices
1 can pineapple chunks
1 jar maraschino cherries (use the juice also)
1 stick of butter cubed and scatter around in the baking glass
Can of pineapple rings (lay one on top of each chicken breast)

Place chicken in glass...Pour BBQ sauce and honey over chicken...scatter oranges, cherries, and pineapple chunks all around and over chicken.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees 50 minutes...
Uncover and bake for another 6-10 minutes.

Serve with green beans and Hawaiian Rolls...

FANTASTIC!!! (Don’t even need a dessert)

[SkyDancer]

Just did a super brisket in a slow cooker. Family went crazy over it. I took it out when the internal temp was around 160 and nice and pink in the center. After slicing off enough for the meal I put the rest back in and ran the internal temp up to 190 - got some great pulled beef from it; will do the BBQ sauce routine with that.

[Jamestown1630]

However, I do have to agree with you in one way.

I was fascinated by the local Lidl store when it first opened. The prices for a lot of basics, like meats, milk, eggs, and various cheeses are very good. Their produce is pretty good, too. They have a great bacon selection, and all of it has been good.

And sometimes, they had really nice and unusual things that I really liked - but then I couldn’t find them again. (I’m waiting to determine if this is a result of Covid, and disruption in distribution, or not.)

But when I moved to their frozen, prepared foods, I found that they were not at all as good as our American brands. Neither are their fresh bakery items.

I’ve tentatively come to the conclusion that Europeans don’t eat nearly as well from their ‘supermarkets’ as we do, except for some very specialized items.

When things progress to the ‘new normal’, I’ll let you know.

[MomwithHope]

Enjoyed the youtube on the cucumber salad, will probably try it.

[Jamestown1630]

It’s interesting that animals ‘Play’ - even after they are adults. That seems like a higher-level behavior than we usually ascribe to them.

I’ve always loved seeing little calves bouncing and kicking and ‘dancing;. I always thought if I ever founded any kind of company, I’d call it ‘Dancing Calf’ :-)

[Jamestown1630]

She has a lot of other very nice videos and recipes, too.

[Qiviut]

This is one of the cRaZiEsT recipes I’ve ever seen - it’s also super delicious! Who in the heck would think hard-boiled eggs would make a pudding? It’s considered a protein pudding, but it’s more like a chocolate mousse. I heard about this recipe from Maria’s husband Craig Emmerich who was being interviewed on a podcast - this is one of her most popular recipes in all of her books (& yes, my ‘pudding’ looked like the picture)!

Link:
Hard Boiled Egg Pudding
https://mariamindbodyhealth.com/hard-boiled-egg-pudding/

Ingredients are 10 hard-boiled eggs, coconut milk, liquid or powdered sweetener, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt.

Some notes from when I made it:
Unless you have a really good blender (food processors won’t give you the same texture), chop your eggs up into pieces. I put in all the ingredients (except the eggs) & gave it a whirl, then added in the eggs a bit at a time & blended until smooth before adding more. This kept my blender from binding up.

It did taste “eggy” right after it was made, but after being refrigerated overnight, you tasted no egg or coconut. You’d have a hard time guessing the ingredients.

I would suggest reading the comments after the recipe - lots of good ideas, like this one for making your eggs:

Kathy’s Instant Pot Egg Loaf – Genius Hard Boiled Egg No-Peel Hack! No more ice-bath or peeling hassles for making chopped Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs. Perfect time-saver for salads, sandwiches, or dips!
https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-kathy-egg-loaf/

[V K Lee]

LOL “animals are great!”
and that torte doesn’t’ look half bad, either :-)

Hummingbirds (live stream)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6O4mJd4pFE

Brown Bears (live stream)
https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brooks-falls-brown-bears-low

Raccoons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPlZ12zMVW4

[Jamestown1630]

LOL! I was thinking today that ‘pudding’ is exactly what I need, with my bad tooth.

(Speaking of hard-boiled eggs in general, we’ve recently seen videos about hard-boiling in the instant pot, and how easy they are to peel, done that way. Haven’t tried it yet, but will soon.)

Thanks!

[MayflowerMadam]

We always have cucumbers in the grocery stores here in TN. I love ‘em, but wish they didn’t go bad so quickly.

[Aliska]

I just remembered these hot beef (and turkey) sandwiches I used to get at diners. I’m so hungry for one. Here’s a link to a beef one served just as I remember. I cant find a link to embed the photo

Your brisket would work perfectly for these. They HAVE to be plated up with mashed potatoes just like the photo.

https://omnomnomtreats.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/hot-roast-beef-sandwich-with-gravy/amp/

[Jamestown1630]

LOL! The “Raccoon Whisperer’ is one of our favorites - we discovered him just recently. We also love Brooks Falls, especially when the salmon are running.

[MayflowerMadam]

“It’s interesting that animals ‘Play’ - even after they are adults.”

We have five cats with ages ranging from 9 to 12. Every once on a while the usually-lazy critters will get motivated to play in a pretty crazy way. It’s fun to watch, and make us believe they’re happy.

[Qiviut]

Serving size is 1/2 cup .... it is really hard not to eat more.

The thing is, since it’s protein, it’s is VERY filling & it is easy to scarf it down & then end up with a too-full tummy! I made my batch around 3:30 in the afternoon & couldn’t wait to try it, even before putting it in the fridge. I was so full (I probably ate a few spoonfuls over a half a cup) that I never got hungry for dinner. :-) This could easily be a meal replacement. I have elderly folks that have food issues - one is losing weight (for unexplained reasons - we’re working on that issue with her doc) & the other has lost his appetite (advanced heart failure). This “pudding” would be good nutrition for them - they both tasted it & liked it - neither could guess the ingredients.