Could you call your ‘casual’ afternoon brunch that’s coming up a ’clambake’ Sleeve.?

I remember that beautiful song from the saddest of movies Carousel.

’This was a real nice clambake

We’re mighty glad we came

The vittels we et

Were good you bet

The company was the same

Anyway...........

I don’t know what happened to my last post. It was another dumpling with chicken, miso and veg broth. Below

We had yet another Asian style meal. This one we didn’t like. The carrots were off and the rice noodles were goopy... also I’d marinated the chicken in bottled Char Sui sauce which was not good.... why do I buy some of these ready mades thinking they’ll save time.? They are usually not very tasty, although Oyster sauce from a bottle is very good imho.

One of our most disappointing meals but we ate it because we don’t like to waste food.

We have a handful of 'never again' ruined meals over the past couple years. Usually brand specific. (too sweet, too salty). Simultaneously we have stumbled across a few keepers. Like last nights tamales.

A NewEnglandClamBake almost always includes a basic ingredient list of clams, shrimp, fresh corn, baby new potatoes....but often includes lobster and mussels. A bit south, the EasternShore, where i grew up, it was often called a BoilUp. Blue crabs, shrimp, corn, potatoes. Often with a bushel of oysters for shucking.

Both meals are seasonal and outdoor dining when the local corn is fresh.

Martha's one-pot-clam-bake recipe

Our heat wave snapped last night. Chilly this morning. So a traditional ClamBake might be on the menu after all. I can get clams for 4$ a pound.

I'll still make the corn fritters and squash blossoms as a starter appetizer.

-sleeve

Back from Italy now. Definitely not serving pasta for a few weeks. Just a classic Sunday roast tonight. Nothing exotic. Roast pork with the all important crackling, roast potatoes, plain cabbage and gravy. Can't be beaten imo. Especially when it's 63f and raining.

Sleevendog, Elery likes those tamales a lot. I enjoyed the pinata, LOL.

Meanwhile, I've been gardening. I've got lots of zucchini and onions, golden beets, cucumbers, potatoes. So, I've been cooking around the garden:

Garden is still growing, I think the corn is over 7 feet tall now, and onions are closing in on 6 inches in diameter:

I made zucchini bread, both double chocolate and some with pineapple:

I made a "quiche", with a zucchini crust along with golden beets and the beet tops:

BBQ'd chicken with roasted eggplant, zucchini, potatoes, golden beets and more beet tops along with cucumber:

Pork carnitas on low carb tortillas with fresh mango salsa:

I made a strawberry rhubarb pie, but never got a picture of the finished product and it's all been eaten, LOL.

I made a batch of AnnT's biscuits while Elery's grandson was here for a couple of days, and served breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy:

Tonight we had turkey breast, cucumber salad, mashed potatoes and Sol's zucchini pancakes:

Tomorrow morning Elery is scheduled for hip replacement surgery, so who knows what's for dinner tomorrow!

Annie

Oh my, speedy recovery! DH is just now feeling back to normal after a bad fall a few months ago. (lower bqck).

Garden looks great. We may need to freeze summer squashes this year. Maybe grating first to remove moisture and using in winter latke, corn cakes, and a good idea in a frittata/quiche base.

Last night had a cashew, egg and vegetable stir fried rice. With pea shoots, radish sprouts, and the yellow is sprouted popcorn grown under a cardboard box to keep it tender.

(tastes like corn!)

-sleeve

My corn fritter recipe. Gluten-free. Ten years ago they had a waffle recipe on the back of the bag. Lost track of that and based this one on Edna Lewis corn muffin recipe

Very forgiving depending on the size of the eggs and add-ins. After a half hour resting might need a bit of water or a bit more flour.

My grandmother would drop spoonfuls into her commercial fryer as well as oyster fritters.

Edna's recipe makes excellent muffins.

I purchased the mini muffin tin to fill my parents freezer with egg bites and corn muffins. Any add-ins like ham and cheese, or rhubarb....grated zucchini....

-sleeve

Well, well, here we go. A few heavy thunderstorms beat up many of the squash blossoms i collect early am. I'm getting lots of fruit now. Expected. I'll start collecting blossoms for the weekend tomorrow.

The only seeds i purchased this season. About 15 varieties. Should be good for a few years. Really tasty if i pick them small.

Last night. Shrimp and vegetable fried rice. ---only used half the rice from the night before.

-sleeve

Trusting that Elery’s hip operation went smoothly Annie. Good to hear Sleeve’s DH getting back to normal after a fall.

Both of your cooking looks yummy. Don’t you just love Sol’s zucchini pancakes.

We’ve been at our country cabin for a few days. I don’t have all my favourite plates and dishes here but kind of enjoy making do with what we do have.

Made a chunky chicken pie and again served it with a slice of cheddar cheese which we enjoy.

Every 5-7 days we road trip to the Catskill Mountains. We have to pack meal options for 3-4 days every trip. Prep salads and slaws having no shopping options being so remote. (an hour round trip to a grocery). We do pass a farm stand for fresh picked corn on the way up the mountain.

Once we have planted ourselves on the farm, shopping is annoying and not an option. We call it 'farm glue'. Too peaceful to spend precious time in a car.

So wednesday we had pizza night. Made 4, froze two for a quick Catskill meal option.

Nice seasonal use of zucchini and squash blossoms

DH likes to pile on fresh arugula at the table.

-sleeve

Taco night. Pork, kimchi and quick pickled slaw

Dumpling bowl. Dashi/miso broth.

Annie, we were off to a dry start for the summer, then got lots of rain in July. This pushed the corn to really grow. Yours is obviously the same.

Best of luck with Elery's hip replacement. I know of quite a number of people with knees done, but not hips.

Sleeve, any fall is scary, glad your hubby is feeling better.

My landlords plant their garden every year and it's at my bldg. They live just down the street. I always benefit from the spoils. This year the tomatoes are very late ripening, they were picking them mid-July last summer but they're not ready yet.

They give me some onions an garlic and an armful of swiss chard the other day.

I treated myself to a steak with steamed chard last night. I always make lots of potatoes for leftovers and I'm going to fry some up with peppers and onions.

Produce is so expensive that gifting is always appreciated. I've started freezing small packets of greens, sofrito and miropoix for Falll/Winter soups.

I always make extra potatoes. Last night i used some leftover potato, fresh corn, leek and garlic in a pint of master stock into the blender for a chowder base broth. (no dairy)

Seafood chowder. Shrimp, tuna, salmon. Prosciutto crisps garnish and homemade croutons.

Your steak meal looks very satisfying Jasdip.

Good idea freezing packets of sofrito etc. I do the same with just fried onions. After one big smelly cook of fried onion the further meals are more or less smell free.

Had a small turkey breast roast dinner.

Next night left over turkey turned into a Big Salad

We tested lemon-pepper baked chicken for an upcoming event. I'm only posting this because of kiddo's response....

"This is so peppery, but I don't know what else I would change". The lemon pepper part, is pre-made. I have asked for critique since I'm about to serve it to a crowd. "But the spice mixture is lemon pepper (duh is not stated. It's supposed to be healthy (baked) and easy (premade spice mixture); let me get you a longer baked leg". I come back in the first one is consumed, and the second one is snatched up. When I come back a third time, they admit they love it. Guess we're good to go. Plan to serve it with BASIC mashed potatoes and strawberry-spinach salad. Big bro is bringing a pear pie. Might be headed into autumn?!

Kids are so silly. So are big bros. Love them all.

Sounds like they thought the chicken was delicious rob333.

Thanks to Sleeve for the heads up about keeping packets of sofrito or in my case lightly fried onions in the freezer. Tackled this today. Kind of reminds me of the ’onion’ scene in Julia and Julia... LOL Stanley Tucci backing out of the room.

last night made tomato and squash blossom puff pastry galettes.

Spring rolls. Nice meatless meal. The drizzle is unsweetened pomegranite molasses

Prosciutto crisps, Lettuce, Tomato. PLT

Night before, Cod Cakes with Creole Remoulade and Insalata Caprese

PLT looks delicious.

Many meals basically rice and vegetables our go to common meal.

The below had store bought sate tofu squares... pretty good sate taste

Prawns again with rice and a lemon grass sauce.

We started breaking in a new wok last Fall. Stir-fry rice dinners in our rotation again after maybe 10-15 years.

August here is all about fresh corn, summer squash, cabbage, greens, radish, beets and the star of the show...tomatoes.

Spent Sunday morning planning two casual dinner parties. A Boil-Up, AKA 'clam bake'. And a smoked chicken dinner. 4 baby pasture chickens in the freezer. 2 pounders. We have had so much rain and pop-up storms that the back-up plan is seafood chowder and roast chickens. (all 4 chickens fit in my oven turkey roaster).

Apps and starter choices...bruschetta, caprese, zucchini/corn fritters, cheve herb stuffed squash blossoms. (gave up on the puff pastry tests)...too fussy.

Last night, creole shrimp rolls.

Started another batch of microgreens a few days ago. Summer months just every 3-4 weeks. Once harvested they last a few weeks in the fridge being so fresh. This was a bit much being 15 trays but house guests-a-coming.

Busy, another easy meal. 3oz blue cheese bison burgers with blistered cherry tomatoes and kimchi. Roasted potato coins, shaved sesame slaw, quick pickles---red onions, cucumber, peppers.

mies en place

New shell live lobsters on sale this time of year. 8.99lb.

Makes such a mess i'm glad the rain held off so we could take it outside.

Why we will opt for a seafood chowder indoors if the clam bake with house guests gets rained out.

sleevendog, you've become sleevendog again, instead of HU! Welcome back, LOL.

Everything looks delicious, but that lobster, yum. And Neely's rice bowls, those look good to me too.

Here my old computer finally died a loud and dramatic death and I'm learning to deal with the laptop, so bear with me. Elery suggested buying another desktop but I told him I had two Kindles, an Ipad, a Dell laptop, and a phone, I'm not buying another device!

Elery is healing up well, that makes me happy, but I'm still doing all the farming/gardening/cooking/ etc. He also can't drive or ride more than an hour, so he's pretty much stuck at home.

Some meals have been very simple, but I'm still trying to use the garden bounty. Today we had baked chicken breast, an elote type corn dish, and tomato zucchini gratin:

I made some roasted tomatillo salsa to go with the chicken:

THe gratin was far prettier when uncooked...

Yesterday I made tomato omelettes, which we had with fresh sweet corn and the night before that I made beef fajitas, having a plethora of sweet onions and peppers:

More corn, with some beans over homemade rye bread:

Maci had a birthday, she's 10 now and wanted a dinosaur themed party. Her most wanted gift? A sewing machine. So, I found a refub Singer, very basic and she pronounced it the best birthday ever. Plus a pink dinosaur cake...

Last week we had pork chops, the obligatory sweet corn, braised cabbage and fried okra. I passed on the okra and Elery happily ate it all. It was the first picking of okra from the garden, so there will be more, I'm sure.

I'm sure there are more, but I'm still trying to find things on this new computer. WIsh me luck, LOL.

Annie

:

How lovely Maci wanted a sewing machine. All food looking good Annie but it’s that green tomatillo sauce that I really need to taste. I will again plant some soon hoping for a reasonable crop.

Good to see your mis en place before a tasty meal Sleeve.

Fish and salad. The fish was orange roughy / deep sea perch. First time we’ve had it for years. They have opened up for a limited catch as stocks have replenished at least in our small corner of the world. Mercury levels ??? I don’t think once every 18 years is going to do much harm... besides very low level mercury in the waters around here.

Nice to hear Elery is on the mend.

That is about the age i started sewing and knitting. I was obsessed.

Similar harvest. Corn, squash, tomatoes, beans. First quart zip-locks of corn and cherry tomatoes in the freezer.

Not sure if we have ever had perch. Looks chubby around the middle like cod. (i googled)

Wednesday we had lobster rolls from the third lobster i steamed with the boil-up.

Last night i made bruschetta. Toasted top side only, then rubbed with a big fat clove of garlic. The winning app/starter for the boil-up/clam bake. Easy, delicious having fresh tomatoes, and no plate, knife, and fork needed like caprese. (duh)

Same for dessert. Mini ice-cream sandwiches. No plates. Clam bakes are hands-on so fits the theme. 😁

Extra credit will be mini corn/zucchini fritters but only if i make ahead and freeze...so just a heat-n-serve.

Also a feta, corn, sun gold and prosciutto crisps salad.

That is an eggplant. Roasted whole, then cut in half. Cross hatched, then rubbed with white miso thinned a bit with rice wine vinegar. (no sugar)

A neighbor gave me a re-gifted bag of giant eggplants and 'big-boy' cucumbers. Blossom eggplant ends were the size of softballs. (my neighbor hates them any size)

I expected to see them left on the plate but they were excellent. I roasted whole, low and slow for almost 2 hours, 275ºF, then heat off, and left them in the oven another 45 or so.

Cut in half, sauced, and back in the oven.

nasu dengaku recipes

I've posted before but such a good recipe. No sugar and gluten-free.

(cooking directions are all over the web with a google search being so popular)

I use the same recipe for corn/zucchini fritters. Also makes excellent waffles.

I will make these ahead and freeze for the clam bake.

I have three cast iron vintage baking forms...fish, corn cobs, and bears.

When i was traveling in a food dessert, i could only find coarse corn meal. I ran it through a hand crank food mill but any blender or spice grinder will 'flour' coarse corn meal.

Neely, we have lake perch here, but it's a small fresh water fish. I have had orange roughy twice, I think, and I do like it, and your dinner looks really good to me. What are those two round pink things on the plate? Or is that another issue with this laptop, things look weird, or at least not like I"m used to?

Sleevendog, thanks for that recipe, I'm going to try it soon. I also have shaped cast iron "muffin" pans, mine are corncobs, fish and sleeping kittens...

Tonight for supper we had nachos after I was finished in the garden, but not pretty enough for a picture...

Annie

Lol Annie those two pink things are microwaved potatoes with their skin on. Lazy cooking but at least a little healthy eating the skin... washed and scrubbed of course.

Creole shrimp over a corn, tomato, cucumber, and flageolet bean salad. The other 'big boy' roasted eggplant i left whole and refrigerated. Thought i would make Baba Ganoush but the Nasu was so good i made it again.

I've made way too many 'dip' type things recently that one more mush did not sound good to me. Humus, feta/blistered tomato roast...

I'll take all the big vegetables nobody wants. Zucchini 'bats' are still useful in breads, muffins, and fritters if the seeds are removed and the dry flesh. I just grate the good stuff near the skin. We eat all the skins.

I just hope the eggplants don't dissapoint next time. (i refuse to purchase)

Still cooking from the freezer and the garden.

Spring rolls still breeding like rabbits...the box is endless. (Costco). No complaints.

Nice crunch with all the veg.

Made three dipping sauces. Lime heavy basic vinaigrette, a cashew/white miso cream with toasted seeds, rice vinegar, and a cilantro stem, celery tops, carrot top leaves, kale, jalapeño, ginger, lime, vinegar. avocado oil. Pervian style.

Annie, my bears are odd. Cute in cast iron but detail is not as great as the corn and fish.

Another good corn flour brand i found in the freezer. GreatRiver is Minnesota i think. I purchased a case of six last year. 2 dollars a pound.

Going through the freezer to make room for garden produce i found a pack of 4 chicken legs. I prefer to cook 8 or 12 using the oven heat and have lunches or another meal or if i had a pack of 4 thighs....to cook along with.

I don't have food texture issues but the tendons in legs annoy me a bit. Love them Frenched.

Another big salad/slaw and roasted vegetables.

It’s just the tendons in chicken tenders that creep me out.

Seafood pasta... not tomato based with a side of green beans because, you know ”eat your greens”

It’s an irregular pasta called

Pantacce Toscane No106

???

Just picked a new crop of beans i put in 4th of July weekend. Barely enough for a meal thus far. Ate them fresh/raw in the garden. Could be our cooler evening weather with lots of rain. Unusual juicy sweet with the usual earthy/dirt/mulch finish. Delicious.

We had BLT hand rolls. No bread. We have corn and flour tortillas but no need. Porcini aranchini stuffed mushrooms. Procuitto crisps instead of bacon. Herby green sauce

Another new to us beef cut from our local grass fed farm share. Beef Shoulder Tenders Au Poivre recipe.

We just order every 3-4 months. Choice of beef, chicken, pork and add-ins. Farm eggs, locally made cheeses, honey, etc. Best are the stock bones and feets/paws. We just get beef and some sausages and ofal, stock bones. They choose the cuts.

I don't stock cream of any kind but powdered. So just onion, peppers, white wine, mustard and cracked black pepper.

Smashed potatoes, fennel slaw, horseradish yogurt crema

shaved slaw

Microgreens are right on point. 8 day radish harvest, 10 day popcorn, 12 day pea shoots. Mini salad spinner is stuffed. So i started a few more trays. Harvested fresh they last 12-14 days in the spinner.

Up-coming house guests and brunch/dinner planning. Looking at past summer salad files.

Pasta salad, bean salad, tomato salads, kale/greens salad, savory watermelon/mango...two fritattas, ---a five-six hour brunch. But casual. Most prepped ahead.

Big pic is a Vrbo rental brunch with my family. They love my brunches...snack-n-chat. Take a walk on the beach, have a cocktail. Always a rotation of goodies on the table. Fresh whole food forward.

One of my favorite IronChefs on 'food-tube'. Need to try a version of this salad/slaw. ...

I need to try/test a crispy noodle.

Our next day house guest plan, Sunday, is a full-on boil-up/clam bake.

A family favorite. Noodle bowl. (duh) Make this so often. Rice noodles, a few dumplings, ramen eggs, kale, squash, diced avocado,

a few ounces of sliced sirloin. Dashi/miso-ginger broth

Cashew, sirloin, and vegetable fried rice

Had a lot of trouble getting onto Cooking the last couple of days. Hopefully this posts and “I’m back”

Chicken and dumpling soup.

Edited to Add

Apparently new sign in has worked and I’m able to post again

I had trouble for a while when i was stuck in 'HU'-landia. My laptop was stuck in urgent care and then DH had his laptop lose all keyboard function.

Busy roasting garlic, tomatoes, and mixed veg for flat-pack freezer meals, i made a passive layered vegetable bake. Onions, cabbage, celery, white wine---covered, half hour bake, then more veg, then low and slow baked. Top layer,...cherry tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, a bit of prosciutto bundles, feta, mozzarella, parm. Baked uncovered. Side of pasta tossed in chili crisp and massaged lacinato kale. Enough for 8 servings but planned that to have another version tonight with shrimp.

Creole Shrimp Salad Cups. Similar recipe...Shrimp Salad in Lettuce cups

I use plain yogurt and a couple inches of tube tomato paste. Mixed fresh herbs. (don't use ketchup or mayo). Lots of lemon juice and zest.

Baked adult mac-n-cheese from night before feta bake. Added a top crust of panko and parmesan.

Quick pickled purple cabbage and red onion slaw

LOL “ I made a passive layered vegetable bake” sorry Sleeve but had a giggle, the thought of all those vegetables laying there passively getting cooked. I’m guessing you meant massive but maybe not ❤️

My 1st Grandson just turned 4... honestly, where did those 4 years go... I guess covid has a lot to answer for.

His Mum made an Aussie Rules football cake

We had lamb chop and orzo with veg on the side. These are our ordinary lamb chops and not the little cutlets I sometimes talk about, or lollipop lamb as referred to sometimes.

Wow, 4 years. Such a cute age. And a cute cake. We have 5 under 5 with another on the way via 3 nephews.

I meant 'passive' haha. Meaning, "you do your thing vegetables. I have no time to babysit."

Next day it had a lasagna vibe with the top layer of the pasta. I usually make a harvest lasagna every early Fall...right around the corner.

Another pic of the shrimp salad lettuce cups fell from the clouds,

A couple weeks ago i sous vide four small sirloins. An easy taco pulling two out of the freezer and thawing with a dry brine, then a cast iron sear. Tossed in kimchi. Next day made a sirloin Banh mi for DH. I had a sirloin salad bowl.

Side bean/corn salad

About to hit the end of the Summer thread...bummer.

This WFD thread ends kind of as it started. Steak with mushroom sauce, salad and small potato.

With it being Margaritaville day (goodbye Jimmy!), Carnitas taquitos and cilantro lime rice. None of my verboten foods. The taquitos are spicy enough that I wish I had some sour cream? If that counts 😉

All sounds very good rob. I wish I had some of your (US) sour cream as well.

I'll start the next thread. Not ever enjoying my meal at the header...oh well. Does not seem like Fall at all but we are into the beginnig of the Fall harvest season.