Kibbeh returns with some friends

Kibbeh, turnips & friends, and carrots

A recipe of kibbeh uses three pounds of meat, so it takes us a few meals to get through a tray. Today I made a couple of vegetable dishes to go with it. I thawed some lamb curry soup, which has a little meat and vegetable in it, to use in cooking vegetables. One is a mix of white and yellow turnips cooked in lamb curry soup, with onions, bacon, and bay, and some cider vinegar to finish. The other is carrots, also cooked in the same soup, and seasoned with some ginger and cayenne.

Happy Pi Day!

Mac n’ cheese, mustard curry cod, and spiced glazed carrots and parsnips

Tonight’s dinner was inspired by Pi Day. I baked a lime meringue pie. Then I made this dinner. I used a favorite recipe for a fish curry that uses mustard oil. For the carrots and parsnips, I found an intriguing glazed carrots recipe in The Best of Lord Krishna’s Cuisine. I made a totally unauthorized substitution of some beef stock for the sparkling water and juice. And I broke a culinary rule by serving fish with cheese, but I think there should be an exception for macaroni and cheese.

Lime meringue pie

The pie… it came out better than the last time I tried to make a citrus meringue pie, and accidentally doubled the liquid so it ran when I cut into it. The first slice of the Pi Day pie came out looking very nice, actually. But overall, not an excellent pie. The crust shrank, and I would have liked the filling to be more tart. The custard held together when I sliced it, but it still wept. I might be looking for a better recipe.

Beef, kale, and carrots

Kale and collards, carrots, and steak in lavash

The carrots are part of the penultimate distribution from our winter farm share. The kale and collards are a mix of three different kinds of coles that Kevin pulled from the freezer, all stuff I’ve blanched and put up in seasons past. Some of it was winter collards, and the rest was summer kale. I browned the greens and then steamed them all together with butter and garlic. For the wraps, I seasoned and seared a piece of round steak just rare, sliced it thin, and served it on toasted lavash. I put sauerkraut on mine because lately I’m putting it on everything. I used the pan from cooking the steak to finish the carrots. I added chopped parsley and thyme, and more butter, to the pan, and then tossed the cooked carrots in the pan to finish them.

Carrot soup and steak quesadilla

Sirloin quesadilla and a bowl of creamy carrot soup

Lotta dairy here. It was going to be a late dinner, so I started off with a little snack before Kevin got home. I’m on kind of an olive kick right now and I bought some that were labeled Tunisian. I didn’t think what that might mean except for I figured it would have some spices in it. Turns out Tunisian olives are spicy compared with Greek ones. What goes good with spice? Cheese. So I had some cheese and olives, thinking I was going to have steak and vegetables for dinner. When Kevin got home it was late for him and that’s when he’s most likely to propose we eat something horribly evil that sounds convenient but mostly feeds our remorse. We almost ordered burgers. I had already placed a call. But the line was busy, and pausing to reflect before redialing, we rethought our strategy. Kevin’s was to put beef and cheese and bread into his mouth at the same time. We can do this. Steak quesadillas: totally doable. And do you want soup with that? You bet we did. And the final episode of Master Chef Junior? And the last two slices of Jell-O cheesecake? Yes, yes, and thank you.

Braised pork belly and minted rice

Braised pork belly, brown rice, and minted carrots and parsnips

The flavors in the pork belly dish are leeks, crystallized ginger, star anise, rice wine, and tamari. I always make two pounds at a time

Pork shanks

Cornbread, carrots, and braised pork shank

The pork shank is one of the surprises at the end of the half a pig we bought. I don’t even remember when we bought this one, just that we’re near the end of it. I have a few pieces of belly left in the freezer, and I found a surprise loin roast last month. There there were these shanks: enough for two, maybe three servings, all told. I braised them with tomato, cumin, bay, chili powder, my winter mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celeriac, and lots of garlic, until the meat was falling off the bones. The carrots, I gently braised in butter and water, with lots of fresh ginger root and a bit of cayenne. The cornbread is from Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything,” which is still my go-to for most questions beginning with, “How do I make…?”