Pork Roast

Bought these hunks of pork on sale and decided to use the "peanut butter" roux for this. I basically put the exact same spices as the gumbo, except I dumped paprika this time instead of cayenne pepper, since I've had enough of spiciness for the near term. Also, I ran out of the bell peppers so I didn't have the complete holy trinity. But I did add some random chunks of apple.

This was okay... This was the third attempt of slow cooking while away at work. Some of the edges burned a little but I think it was because the roux was really thick. The pork was fairly tender, and the sauce was decent... It almost tasted like a really subtle peanut sauce even though there's absolutely no peanuts in this dish. The apples helped with adding dimension. It wasn't salty enough but that was easily remedied after the fact.

Overall impression... eh. It tastes nothing like the gumbo. I think that making the roux darker really made a world of difference between the gumbo with dark roux and this dish with the light roux. I served this with broccoli because I'm trying to get rid of it... So I guess Kevin and I will be eating this for the next two days. I'm getting tired of meat again. Gotta change it up...

Gumbo

Okay so this is the result of my gumbo attempt, using the roux I made in advance. I'd have to say that after letting the roux sit for a day or two, the flavor/aroma took on more semblance of the gumbo from Lucille's, as opposed to just smelling like oil. I based this gumbo off a recipe that used bay leaves, cayenne pepper, thyme, black pepper, garlic, with the main players being chicken (I cut up boneless skinless thighs since they were on sale), and this smoked apple chardonnay sausage. I left out the shrimp since didn't have it on hand and not a huge fan of it anyway. I also used the "holy trinity" of Cajun and Creole cooking (i.e. bell peppers, onions, and celery).

So I started this at 10p, and with 4 hours being the fastest setting on the slow cooker, I pretty much waited until almost 2am before deciding to pull the plug and just eat it. It smelled like it, and it looked like it, especially with my mound of white rice sprinkled with thyme... And initially it tasted like it, but this was overly spicy!! This is what I get for not trying out the cayenne pepper beforehand and assuming it was just like paprika, and taking some guy's word for it that the cayenne pepper isn't spicy but almost sweet. I basically dumped this stuff in rather than sprinkled, and I paid for it with this extreme spiciness. This was so spicy I didn't even attempt to give Kevin any, and it was so spicy I had to take breaks, and also it was so spicy I decided to eat the leftovers straight from the fridge in hopes that the cold temperature would help!

Anyway I was happy with the way the roux turned out and how this in general turned out, except for the excessive use of cayenne pepper. Next time, I'll know not to dump it in, but there may not be a next time since that roux took way too long to make. One thing is for sure, I'm pretty tired of gumbo, even though I liked this, and I probably will not be going to Lucille's anytime soon...

Meatloaf Over Rice

This was slapped together with pre-made Trader Joe's meatloaf, sliced up and served over fresh white rice, carrots, peas, and almonds. Not too much to say about this one except yay for almonds and yay that Kevin ate it.

Roux

Ok so one of my absolute favorite restaurant dishes ever is the gumbo at Lucille's BBQ. It's not for everyone though. I love the dark taste. It's darker than a lot of gumbos or jambalayas I've had, but my friend got it once and made a face immediately, saying it was too bitter. Anyway if I recall correctly, it has sausage, chicken, and shrimp... No okra or any obvious vegetables, although there's probably onion and/or celery or something along those lines that went into the making of it.

But after ordering it for the umpteenth time yesterday, I decided it is time to attempt to make this gumbo for myself. Apparently one of the ingredients is this thing called roux, which comes from the French word "rouge" which means "red." People make it by heating up equal parts of fat and flour, being careful not to burn it, until it achieves the desired color, which can vary from blond to peanut butter to dark brown. This thing took me 2.5 hours because I was overly conservative and had this on really low heat so as not to burn it and have to start over. I had two batches going and found out it was hard to pay attention to both, so I ended up focusing on one until it was dark brown, and just got tired of watching the other so I settled for the peanut butter variety on that one.

I guess we'll see what the gumbo tastes like, after I pick up the other ingredients for it. Not sure what I'm going to use the lighter roux for... maybe just throw some in randomly when doing roasts or stews. One thing is for sure... I'll probably not make roux again since it takes way too long, unless I decide to try again after getting a cast iron pan. Either way, $10 for a decent portion of my favorite gumbo doesn't seem so bad, especially with free sweet biscuits and apple butter...

Okinawan Sweet Potatoes (Purple Yams)

No these are not weird amethyst stones. These are purple yams, which my mother-in-law gave me yesterday because she knows I love these. I just steamed these in the rice cooker and ate them straight, without adding anything. They are sweet on their own. Note that unlike the purple yam, the purple potato is NOT sweet. It just looks purple but actually tastes like a regular potato and actually loses most of its purple color when cooked, at least in my experience. A quick google image search for "okinawan sweet potato" will yield many beautiful purple desserts. I have yet to attempt any but I'm not really too motivated to try because a really good purple sweet potato already tastes like sweet taro paste, in taste as well as texture. I guess eventually, aesthetics may motivate me to go beyond eating these straight and attempt to make a bunch of mini purple tarts...

Lobster Ravioli Take 2

I'm not going to post every last time I make this lobster ravioli, which is a really convenient fallback option from TJ, but I wanted to post one with the new camera. At $3 a package, I think this ravioli is a steal. You could easily be paying $15+ for a lobster ravioli dish at a restaurant. Maybe I mentioned that already. It's pretty versatile. I just threw in carrots and spinach, tossed the whole thing in olive oil, and seasoned with some random spices. One could also just use marinara or clam sauce... Sometimes when I get super lazy, I'll throw this in the rice cooker and basically steam the pasta rather than having to watch this on the stovetop.

Sweet Potato Fries

This is called laziness. I had a bag of these sweet potato fries from Trader Joes, and instead of following directions I just microwaved this. Of course it wasn't crispy but at least it held me over. I forgot what Kevin ate that day. Maybe he ate a Hot Pocket or two. Anyway at least the photos came out more crisp, even if the fries didn't.

Frozen Grapes

Yay I finally convinced myself to get a digital camera. Seeing as I didn't actually cook anything today, I only had these frozen grapes on hand to try out my camera. Plus everything has been pretty busy recently. Hopefully I'll get a chance to cook a little bit this weekend.

Whole Grain Teff Bread

Used up the rest of the teff flour to make this bread. It's okay... not something I would serve people but then again if I were aiming for that, I would not have skipped things like butter or sugar. This would probably taste awesome with a pat of Kerrygold or if I'd thrown in some raisins or currants.Might not be fair to compare with previous attempts since thinner, but yay that it didn't burn at the edges.

Ingredients: teff, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder
Method: slow cooker

Apricot Mango Buttermilk Cornbread

Sounds weird, doesn't it? I wanted to try the cornbread again. It seems to distribute heat more evenly if I use cornmeal and cornflour, and leave out the teff. So I did that, and this time I omitted the vegetable oil altogether since it didn't seem to add that much the last few times. I also threw in a 6oz container of this apricot mango nonfat yogurt that I needed to use up. The edges were still browner than I'd like, while the inside isn't as brown as I'd like, but compared with the first three attempts, this one is probably the best (which isn't saying much). I had based all four attempts on the recipe cited here with some modifications of course. After the first one, I omitted the sugar and the salt completely, and it tasted fine. I think my buttermilk may be compensating for not putting those in. After the third attempt, yeah I dropped the oil. Butter would probably make this really fragrant, but then I may as well make corn muffins. I'm really into those healthy and hearty whole grain flours from Bob's Red Mill and am eager to try out more of the uncommon types once I get through the ones I already have.

Ingredients: cornmeal, corn flour, buttermilk, eggs, yogurt, baking powder
Method: slow cooker

Salmon Chimichurri Rice

I made this by combining a package of TJ's chimichurri rice, the flavor of which is awesome (basmati rice with peas, tomatoes, peppers, creme fraiche, cilantro, and garlic), along with some pieces of fresh salmon. I was surprised that the salmon didn't really take on the strong (and spicy) flavor of the chimichurri rice. This was done in my trusty Tatung old school rice cooker. It's hard to see what's going on in this photo but it was a decent attempt lasting two meals. Oh I forgot to say I threw in extra paprika, hence the extreme redness in color. I have this huge container of paprika because it was cheaper to get a huge thing from Smart and Final than the small container from Ralphs, and for some reason TJ only has cayenne pepper but not paprika.

Ingredients: TJ chimichurri rice, fresh wild salmon, paprika
Method: rice cooker

Lobster Ravioli

Okay so I've personally had enough of red meat for now... Decided to change things up and do seafood, which I really should cook more of, especially since Kevin needs more Vitamin D, apparently. I decided to use the slow cooker for some cornbread tonight so had to come up with another method of making dinner. Good ol' Trader Joes has this really good lobster pasta for $3 per package (don't pay $15 at the restaurant for half the quantity!). I just boiled it along with broccoli and threw in spinach at the last minute to wilt the leaves. I like this with olive oil and some light seasoning, in this case, I used that 21 Seasoning Salute, again from TJ. If you're curious, it has Onion, Black Pepper, Celery Seed, Cayenne Pepper, Parsley, Basil, Marjoram, Bay Leaf, Oregano, Thyme, Savory, Rosemary, Cumin, Mustard, Coriander, Garlic, Carrot, Orange Peel, Tomato Granules, Lemon Juice Powder, Oil of  Lemon, and Citric Acid. For Kevin, I threw on some parmesan.

Ingredients: lobster ravioli, broccoli, spinach olive oil, spices, parmesan
Method: boil (stovetop)

All Day Beef Stew

I just got a new phone that happens to have a camera also. So here is my first photo! All the photos I've taken have turned out fuzzy, and also I guess I have a ways to go as far as food presentation and also food photography. Oh well.

Felt like trying the beef stew again except this time, I left it at work all day... Sigh. Even on the lowest setting (10 hours) and then automatically switching to the "keep warm" mode, I guess 13 hours was kind of pushing it. The ribs turned out tender, probably because of all the fat, but the stew meat turned out ridiculously tough, despite being immersed in liquid. Didn't really like this one. I think the omission of the stout was also a bad move. I only used sangria (trying to get rid of it, if you can't tell) for the liquid and I guess the stout would have tamed the tartness. At least it didn't overflow this time.


Ingredients: lean beef stew meat, fresh beef back ribs, diced tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, sangria, paprika, thyme, celery salt
Method: slow cooker

Sweet Paprika Barbequed Pork Ribs

I bought a lot of meat to make this since we were expecting people over for dinner. I thought I'd play it safe and use BBQ sauce. The only thing that was risky was the tomatoes and whether that would make things too tart or not. Turns out the tomatoes tasted caramelized and sweet. It must have been the brown sugar. I liked how the paprika added to the color. This was a hit with Kevin! The meat was really tender and literally fall-off-the-bone. The only thing was that I made a lot of this since we were expecting company for dinner, and I underestimated the amount of liquid the ingredients would exude, so even on low heat, it almost overflowed except for the fact that I was watching it and removed some sauce before that could happen. Better not fill the slow cooker beyond the recommended 2/3 - 3/4 capacity next time.

Ingredients: country-style bone-in pork ribs, tomatoes, honey bbq sauce, brown sugar, paprika
Method: slow cooker

Lamb Shoulder Braised in Sangria

Decided to attempt lamb... I could not find lamb shanks so had to settle for the shoulder. I'd call this a success. The lamb was tender, and the tangy and fruity sangria worked well with the gamey lamb, while the brown sugar tamed the acidity of the tomatoes. The potatoes were ok... substantial but didn't stand out as far as being complemented by the flavors. I think the potatoes were better in the stout beef stew. Kevin liked it. I served his over white rice.

Ingredients: lamb shoulder, tomatoes, sangria, brown sugar, potatoes
Method: slow cooker

Quinoa With Cabbage, Sweet Potatoes, and Chicken

For my first slow cooker dish that I leave all day while I go to work, I decided not to risk any raw meats in case the power goes out. So I tried this with all semi-ready-to-eat stuff that really just needed to be cooked for a little bit. This was pretty much a failure. Not enough liquid, and left it in too long (like 12 hours while at work). The edges (mostly lined with the cabbage) were charred black, the meat became pretty tough, and the sweet potatoes got really soggy. Lessons learned... need more liquid and don't use easily-cooked items or semi-ready-to-eat foods when leaving it during the work day, in case I get stuck at work.

Ingredients: quinoa, shredded cabbage, sweet potato fries, diced deli chicken breast
Method: slow cooker

Beef With Corn and Cheese Casserole

Bought too many ears of corn so had to find a way to use them up. Decided on this hamburger meat type casserole. I would consider this a botched attempt. Not salty enough, couldn't taste the cheese, and too many corn kernels. That's what happens when they are 4 for a dollar and you buy too many ears. I guess I could have been less lazy and just added more seasoning, even after the fact. Oh well. At least the beef was like only like 7% fat.

Ingredients: ground beef, shredded cheddar/jack/colby/mozzarella cheese blend, fresh white corn kernels, shredded cabbage
Method: slow cooker

Irish Stout Beef Stew

I wanted to try a Guinness beef stew but was too lazy to follow any recipe to the letter so just threw a bunch of stuff together and eyeballed everything, and it was really good! Kevin liked it too. The meat was tender, and the individually strong flavors combined into a fusion that was subtle but tasty. Woulda been nice to have some brown soda bread and creamy Irish butter to go along with it (as if the potatoes don't already provide enough carbs...).

Ingredients: beef stew meat, various potatoes (yellow, red, purple), shredded cabbage, fresh white corn, sangria (fruited wine), Murphys stout, thyme, black pepper
Method: slow cooker

Various Cornbreads

I wanted to try out cornbread and use up all these weird flours I'd bought. The three I've attempted so far were ok but not worth repeating. I haven't figured out how to get the cornbread to heat up evenly. The edges burn while the center is still not done. I have more flours at my parents' place which I'll pick up next time, but I think I've used up most of the less common ones. The remaining ones (kamut, quinoa, oat) are a bit more versatile than these.

Ingredients: cornmeal, teff, amaranth, corn flour, eggs, oil, buttermilk
Method: slow cooker