Ribeye, Curry, Flatbread

Curry

• 1/2 onion, minced.
• 1 tomato, cored & quartered
• Curry powder, to taste.

In oil, cook onions until translucent. Add a dash of salt. Add tomato and a few tablespoons of water; cover and cook for a minute or two. Smash tomatoes, remove skin. Add curry powder and a splash of oil if desired. Simmer ten minutes more over to get a nice consistency.

Steak – I just seared it in a hot pan until 140ºF internal for rare. Salt & eat.

Flatbread – the remainder of a failed kefir bread experiment. Actually, maybe it was a success. 77g kefir whey and 123g flour, mixed and kneaded until it stretched without tearing. It didn’t really raise. So I smooshed it into a “naan” shape and cooked it, covered, in a pan on medium heat with just a little oil, enough to brown it. Both sides.

Lamb Cumberland sausage with miso & cheddar baked potato

Remind me to try miso mashed potatoes some day, because this is delicious.

Red curry

With chickpeas, tofu, peas, and ever so slightly fermented kimchi.

Ceviche

That tuna I seared last night, that was only half of the steak. The other half I diced, covered with equal parts lemon and lime juice (about 2T each for maybe 6oz tuna), mixed with 2T minced red onion, half a habanero, thinly sliced, and 1T chopped cilantro. After letting it marinate, refrigerated, overnight, it’s ready for a delicious lunch.

Kimchi, ready to ferment

Seared yellowfin tuna

Just salt & pepper. Nice and rare inside.

Fresh Kimchi Salad, Apple Compote

Last night I made pork chops with an apple compote (pork chops and applesauce?). Dice an apple, add a splash of vinegar, a dusting of curry powder (which imparts the color), some salt, and enough water to simmer; cover and let the apples soften for about 5 minutes, then use a potato masher to make applesauce.

In the side dish is a little leftover fresh kimchi salad (I can’t call it kimchi proper since it wasn’t fermented, but it bears a strong resemblance). Shred some cabbage, add thinly sliced red onion, a tablespoon of lemon juice, an inch of grated ginger, a dash of salt and a pinch of dashi (or a splash of fish sauce) and a tablespoon (or more, or less) of sriracha hot sauce. Mix, refrigerate, and let the flavors meld.

Those leftovers on toast with bacon & eggs from my favorite local (Stelle, IL) farm, Mint Creek, made a great breakfast.

Ribeye steak

Dusted with cumin and chipotle, seared to 140F, thinly sliced, on corn tortillas with some leipäjuusto cheese, refried beans and some lettuce. Quick, 15 minute meal.

Leftovers

Put the pork shoulder back in the oven today with half a beer and let it braise until fork tender. The onions had time to really develop, too. Even better, and much more tender. Let it be known that you may need to braise that shoulder for 4+ hours!

Achiote Braised Pork Shoulder

Start with homemade achiote paste, braise with a boneless pork shoulder for 3+ hours until fork tender; serve with pickled red onions and tortillas.

Paste

• 4 tablespoons annatto seeds
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2-1/4 teaspoons black peppercorns
• 6 whole allspice berries
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 2 habanero peppers, seeded or not, depending on your spicy preference (I processed them whole)
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup white or rice vinegar
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon premium tequila

Ideally grind all spices to powder, and them process with liquids in food processor. I don’t have a spice grinder and so tried to just process everything together and ended up with a chunky/seedy sauce, which was actually good enough by the time everything softened from cooking.

Pork

Brown all sides of 2 to 3lb boneless pork shoulder in hot oil in a Dutch oven. Slice whole white onion. Pour above sauce over pork; add 1/2 cup water and onions. Cover, and cook for 3 hours at 300ºF oven or until fork tender. Turn and pour sauce over top of pork 2 or 3 times while cooking.

Pickled Onions

Slice a red onion as thinly as you can. Cover in 1/4 cup lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand in refrigerator while pork is cooking, stirring occasionally.

Serve in warm tortillas.

Paste adapted from. Pork adapted from.

The closest I've ever come to a Rosetta on a latte.

Curried roast lamb

A top round lamb roast, pierced with garlic cloves, dusted in a hot curry mix with a pinch of salt, roasted to 140ºF internal. I left it to refrigerate for a couple days and am using it as lunch meat this week. Very, very good.

Mutton stew meat

Marinated and then braised in hard cider, honey, ginger and rosemary. Remaining drippings turned into a quick gravy.

Sourdough French toast

And peppered bacon. Had some issues with the excess batter, so it's just sort  of scooped there.

Lemon garlic dill butter sockeye salmon

With lettuce topped with diced gala apples and sourdough bread. Yum!

Guess what everyone is getting for Christmas?

Bacon sandwich

Homemade kefir sourdough bread, thick cut local bacon, Finnish mustard, lettuce, parmesean cheese.

Pasta

Asparagus & cheese pasta with milk-fed veal meat sauce. Mmmm

Miso Soup

Miso soup with noodles, some veggies (carrots & peppers) and lettuce. Based on this recipe, but I didn't have green onion.

Lamb Loin Chops

Topped with curry powder, minced garlic & olive oil. Baked at 350
until 130 internal; broiled to finish. Plated with cooked carrots & a
salad. Sprinkle meat with salt.

Sweet Tarts

Raisins soaked in apple cider, splashed with lemon juice. Topped with
honey. Serve as a dessert soup. Sweet, sour and chewy!

Sweet & Sour Mustard Brussels Sprouts

Mix brown mustard, maple syrup & vinegar. Steam sprouts until just tender, then sear to brown on two sides; toss to combine. Served here with Polish sausages simmered in apple cider/beer mix, then browned.