What's cookin', good lookin'? Part II

[EdwardsOtherSide]

I need to cook more. I am good at it, but is hard to cook for 1

A 1.5 quart slow-cooker is the easy button for making a meal + a lunch for one.

 

[IrisAlthea]

I need to cook more. I am good at it, but is hard to cook for 1

Yes it is.
Before kids I had to do that regularly, because of shifts not matching and it worked as long as I had a plan to make sure certain ingredients were always avaliable for quick and easy, reasonably healthy meals.
Now one or both of the kids are usually around if my husband isn’t, but on the few occasions I have to feed only myself when not out and about, I find that teenage Iris resurfaces. I need to be reminded that I should eat, stand around staring vacantly into the frige and end up eating peanuts, olives and tomato or some other strange combination.

 

[Primalex]

Yesterday was ”fend for yourself”-day

Such a wonderful sign how alike humans are, no matter where they are.

 

[Primalex]

I'm reducing my carbs, so dinner was basically just a greek style salad with beans, onions, tomatoes, tuna and feta cheese.

 

[Missk_2022]

Y

A 1.5 quart slow-cooker is the easy button for making a meal + a lunch for one.

Yeah.... I find if I make a big batch of something I freeze and reheat... seems to be a little easier and healthier... just thaw and reheat with some veggies or a salad...

 

[Missk_2022]

I took half a spiral sliced ham out of the freezer (bought at easter because it was 99 cents a lb and I got irritated that deli ham was 12 $ a pound. So I am going to make ham and pinto bean soup, ham and cheese Stromboli and ham with scalloped potatoes for the freezer. Maybe a quiche? Going to the orchard too... maybe some home made apple sauce on tap for this weekend

 

[IrisAlthea]

I'm reducing my carbs, so dinner was basically just a greek style salad with beans, onions, tomatoes, tuna and feta cheese.

That is pretty much like one of my favourites, but I’ve never thought to add tuna. I’ll have to try that.
I usually go with black beans and chick peas. The latter are a bit carb heavier but I like the texture they add.

I took half a spiral sliced ham out of the freezer (bought at easter because it was 99 cents a lb and I got irritated that deli ham was 12 $ a pound. So I am going to make ham and pinto bean soup, ham and cheese Stromboli and ham with scalloped potatoes for the freezer. Maybe a quiche? Going to the orchard too... maybe some home made apple sauce on tap for this weekend

Sounds like a lot of yumminess.

 

[Primalex]

That is pretty much like one of my favourites, but I’ve never thought to add tuna. I’ll have to try that.
I usually go with black beans and chick peas. The latter are a bit carb heavier but I like the texture they add.

I use gigantes / runner beans. Black beans and tuna makes me feel uneasy somehow, although it's technically not illegal. But in my world black beans are to be combined with meat.

 

[Missk_2022]

I had a salad recently that had garbanzo beans tomato cucumber red onion and an oil and vinegar Italian style dressing. It was delicious

 

[Wonderer67]

So many good Jersey tomatoes coming out of the farm and garden right now. I wish I could sell more of them.

Made tomatoes salad tonight out of cherry tomatoes.

3-4 cups of sliced tomatoes
2/3 cup fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced fresh basil
1/8 cup balsamic or red win vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

 

[seela]

Yesterday was a corn and crawfish kinda night and it was really good.

Today is more crawfish, this time with risotto. Gonna start making the broth soon.

 

[IrisAlthea]

in my world black beans are to be combined with meat.

I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it before but yes, I tend to use them with meat or instead of meat.
I love them and I like the added anthocyanines and high protein content.

Black beans and tuna makes me feel uneasy somehow, although it's technically not illegal.

I’ll try and see how it works out.
We’ve made fish tacos with black bean salsa and mango salsa and that was good and oh so pretty. Very different type of fish though…

I use gigantes / runner beans.

I’m the only one here who likes gigantes, so using that might be an alternative instead of my strange peanuts and tomato meals confessed to above.
I might try with cannellini beans and tuna for when the rest of the family is eating though, with a lot of parsley I think.
Thanks for the inspiration!

I had a salad recently that had garbanzo beans tomato cucumber red onion and an oil and vinegar Italian style dressing. It was delicious

Hold the cucumber and add black beans, feta and some garlic and that is what I usually make.

 

[IrisAlthea]

So many good Jersey tomatoes coming out of the farm and garden right now. I wish I could sell more of them.

Made tomatoes salad tonight out of cherry tomatoes.

3-4 cups of sliced tomatoes
2/3 cup fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced fresh basil
1/8 cup balsamic or red win vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

That sounds wonderful!

Yesterday was a corn and crawfish kinda night and it was really good.

Today is more crawfish, this time with risotto. Gonna start making the broth soon.

Are you using freshwater or saltwater crawfish?
Either way it sounds great.

This is what we had yesterday:
View attachment 2174150View attachment 2174151

Tonight, I don’t have a clue because we might have guests over if their cold is better, and that would include vegetarian picky eaters. Might just be pizza, pick your toppings.

 

[seela]

That sounds wonderful!



Are you using freshwater or saltwater crawfish?
Either way it sounds great.

This is what we had yesterday:
View attachment 2174150View attachment 2174151

Tonight, I don’t have a clue because we might have guests over if their cold is better, and that would include vegetarian picky eaters. Might just be pizza, pick your toppings.

Always fresh water, because they’re more readily available for me unless I go with frozen. Usually I get mine from a guy who crabs(? Is that the word? Fishes for crabs?) his own from a lake.

I’m also thinking of baking today. Maybe pulla, aka cardamom buns. Might make some cinnamon buns too.

Hello, carbs!

Would love some of that cheese action you had going!

 

[IrisAlthea]

Always fresh water, because they’re more readily available for me unless I go with frozen. Usually I get mine from a guy who crabs(? Is that the word? Fishes for crabs?) his own from a lake.

I’m also thinking of baking today. Maybe pulla, aka cardamom buns. Might make some cinnamon buns too.

Hello, carbs!

Would love some of that cheese action you had going!

It used to be almost exclusively frosen freshwater crawfish here too, or terribly expensive unless you knew someone.
Getting fresh ones from the deli is still not cheap by any standards but not totally unreasonable if you pair them with something filling like Västerbottenspaj.
You can also find them vaccum packed now and that’s better priced than the really fresh ones and better quality than the frozen ones.

Do you boil them yourself when you get them from the guy with the lake?

The cheese was great. The kids ditched us so there would easily have been enough for you too.
In case you want to recreate it’s Morbier, Kaltbach Creamy, Snowdonia Amber Mist whiskey cheddar and smoked cheese, fig- and fallapple-marmelade and pear- and pomegrante- and calvados-marmelade.

 

[seela]

It used to be almost exclusively frosen freshwater crawfish here too, or terribly expensive unless you knew someone.
Getting fresh ones from the deli is still not cheap by any standards but not totally unreasonable if you pair them with something filling like Västerbottenspaj.
You can also find them vaccum packed now and that’s better priced than the really fresh ones and better quality than the frozen ones.

Do you boil them yourself when you get them from the guy with the lake?

The cheese was great. The kids ditched us so there would easily have been enough for you too.
In case you want to recreate it’s Morbier, Kaltbach Creamy, Snowdonia Amber Mist whiskey cheddar and smoked cheese, fig- and fallapple-marmelade and pear- and pomegrante- and calvados-marmelade.

When I’m home I get them preboiled, but when I’m at my best friend’s place, we usually boil them ourselves, because we need more of them and they're cheaper if they aren’t boiled.

They definitely need something filling to go with them, too. Not only for the cost factor, but also eating the crawfish is just so much work for not a huge amount of crustacean goodness.

 

[IrisAlthea]

When I’m home I get them preboiled, but when I’m at my best friend’s place, we usually boil them ourselves, because we need more of them and they're cheaper if they aren’t boiled.

They definitely need something filling to go with them, too. Not only for the cost factor, but also eating the crawfish is just so much work for not a huge amount of crustacean goodness.

I’m a very fast undresser of crustaceans (can’t hear that word without thinking of Lisa Simpson).

Back when we’d go to big kräfskiva-parties where every couple was supposed to bring their own box of crawfish, I was usually on my own eating them all because Mr Althea didn’t like them then.
I’m probably the only one who ever really got sick from overindulging in the crawfish rather than the snaps.

 

[seela]

I’m a very fast undresser of crustaceans (can’t hear that word without thinking of Lisa Simpson).

Back when we’d go to big kräfskiva-parties where every couple was supposed to bring their own box of crawfish, I was usually on my own eating them all because Mr Althea didn’t like them then.
I’m probably the only one who ever really got sick from overindulging in the crawfish rather than the snaps.

I’m pretty fast as well and often undress them for J’s enjoyment as well. My fingers always ache the next day, though.

I hear you on overindulging on the crawfish. One year we got a ton of crawfish from the guy because we got together close to the end of the season and the guy had gotten a huge load and didn’t know what to do with it all because people had already kind of had enough of crawfish by that time of the season.

It was such a big load of crawfish that next year we didn’t feel like eating them at all and skipped crawfish altogether and instead had just the side dishes of a traditional kräftskiva.

 

[Missk_2022]

I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it before but yes, I tend to use them with meat or instead of meat.
I love them and I like the added anthocyanines and high protein content.



I’ll try and see how it works out.
We’ve made fish tacos with black bean salsa and mango salsa and that was good and oh so pretty. Very different type of fish though…



I’m the only one here who likes gigantes, so using that might be an alternative instead of my strange peanuts and tomato meals confessed to above.
I might try with cannellini beans and tuna for when the rest of the family is eating though, with a lot of parsley I think.
Thanks for the inspiration!



Hold the cucumber and add black beans, feta and some garlic and that is what I usually make.

That sounds yummy...

 

[twister947]

Wondering if what y'all call crawfish are the same thing we eat...we don't have saltwater crawfish.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crayfish

 

[IrisAlthea]

Wondering if what y'all call crawfish are the same thing we eat...we don't have saltwater crawfish.

View attachment 2174274

The darker red guys are the fresh water ones. These are probably the same you have - signal crayfish. The European noble crayfish are very rare these days.
They are traditionally boiled in water seasoned with salt, dill crowns, sugar and beer.


The pink one is the saltwater variety. Scampi in Italian.

 

[BaldAndHorny]

Grilled some skirt steaks. These 2 made for a tasty sandwich on a fresh, toasted garlic roll.

View attachment 2174328

 

[Tallcajun]

The red ones pictured. That’s what we eat. Our rice farmers raise them after harvest. Big business here.
Feb to May, we have big crawfish boils.

A sack of crawfish run 35 to 40 pounds and cost around 50 to 60 dollars depending on market price.

 

[Orchidea73]

I'm preparing lasagna with ragù and lasagna with pesto. Put them in the freezer and have them ready during the week. I'm also preparing pite with meat and onions, and yogurt sauce for today.

 

[IrisAlthea]

The red ones pictured. That’s what we eat. Our rice farmers raise them after harvest. Big business here.
Feb to May, we have big crawfish boils.

A sack of crawfish run 35 to 40 pounds and cost around 50 to 60 dollars depending on market price.

As the noble crayfish was getting so rare there was a ban on fishing them from november until the first wednesday in august. That is why we traditionally have our big season for the craw fish parties in august.
They lifted the ban in the early 90s because there was no point in trying to save what was already lost, but traditions die hard.

We pay roughly the prices you mention for a kg fresh imorted crawfish. Fresh Swedish ones will cost about 100$/kg.

Dinner yesterday was Schweinsbraten (perfect crust! :cartwheels with matching veggies:View attachment 2174426