dcandohio

I picked up some barbecued ribs a few days ago that came with a big hunk of cornbread, which did not interest me. I stuck it in the refrigerator and was pondering what to do with it when I realized I had two ancient green chili and corn muffins in the freezer. I also had some leftover stock in a carton in the refrigerator, plus celery, onions, and some bacon ends in the freezer: Shazam. Cornbread dressing. I baked chicken breasts with just butter, salt, pepper and lemon juice. I also steamed broccoli. The cornbread dressing was wonderfully rich and such a lovely treat at this time of year. I felt very smug for using up so many bits from the refrigerator and the freezer.

Deep Eddy grapefruit vodka with diet tonic and lots of ice. Refreshing on a hot, not-very-festive 4th of July.

A very short cut version of arroz con pollo served with blistered Shishito Peppers.

I had some cherry tomatoes that were starting to look sad, and a zucchini, so I made a sort of puttanesca (Garlic, anchovy, chili flakes and tomatoes melted in olive oil on low heat) on zucchini noodles. Topped with grated Parmesan.

Another wonderful “shelter in place“ meal with The condo neighbors. Last night my Syrian neighbor cooked Florida spiny lobster that she and her husband catch by hand from their tiny kayak. She is in her 70s, and a pretty amazing lady all around, but the fact that she puts on snorkeling gear and carries a large pair of tongs down to the ocean floor to chase lobsters is impressive to me. She cut the tails in half, and sautéed them in some butter and garlic, and then served them on a big platter of a Middle Eastern style chicken and rice which had almonds and some kind of dried fruit in it. On the side there were a large bowl of sautéed onions and mushrooms. It was wonderful.

Yesterday I made a batch of turkey meatballs and today I will simmer them in the sauce. I ate some of them plain yesterday, just with a side of vegetables, and they were quite tasty.

I had some hot Italian sausages in the freezer that I wanted to defrost, and my neighbors had gifted me with a giant sweet onion. So of course I thought about sausage with peppers and onion. I texted my neighbors and told them to come over for a very low-key dinner party. I defrosted all of the corn maque choux that I had made earlier in the month. I wanted to grill the sausages, but the weather interfered so I just put a ton of peppers and onions in a roasting pan and put the sausages on top and put it all in a hot oven. While we chatted and ate potato chips, everything cooked; and then I put the broiler on to kind of give everything a nice brown crust. I zapped the defrosted corn in the microwave. It was one of the better dinner parties I’ve ever had, because it was so low-key and we had a great time.

Salmon fillet from Trader Joe’s broiled with Caesar dressing on top. Leftover roasted sweet potatoes and steamed green beans. For my taste, the combination of salmon and sweet potatoes is a winner.

I made a kind of Chinese style dish with ground pork and green beans. In the wok, I cooked some onion and ground pork, then added sesame oil, hot chili oil, garlic, ginger, hot chili paste and five spice powder. When the pork was almost done I threw in a bunch of green beans (frozen from Trader Joe’s). I finished it with a couple of grinds of ma la peppercorns. I served it over brown rice.

I am supposed to be going to Greece in November on a road scholar tour. I have to decide whether or not to cancel before June 30. At this point, I am not really sure what I am going to do.

Shrimp maque choux. There was some really fresh corn in the grocery store, along with beautiful red bell peppers and nice toma tomatoes. At hime I had onion, celery, and jalapeño. I threw the shrimp in at the last minute, which were frozen Argentinian red shrimp from Trader Joe’s, which are quite good. Aside from cutting the corn off of the cob, this is a really fast and pretty meal… Summer on a plate.

Lentil soup with Indian flavors, that I defrosted from the stash in the freezer. I topped it with grated Parmesan, which was an odd but great combination.

Maque choux!!!!

Shrimp in remoulade sauce over salad. I used Dijon mustard and I should’ve used grainy mustard. Next time!

Roasted asparagus topped with pieces of salami that I crisped in a little skillet and a poached egg. Side of roasted baby potatoes.

Shrimp Arribbiata over zucchini noodles. I rough chopped two medium tomatoes, and cooked them down on high heat with roasted garlic that I had in the refrigerator, red wine, anchovy paste, tomato paste, lots of chili flake and Italian seasoning. I added red Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s (defrosted, high quality) at the last minute, and zapped the zucchini noodles, which had been squeezed in paper towels, in the microwave for one minute. Topped with Parmesan cheese, it was a spicy, quick, low-carb lunch.

Smoked trout salad, made with Trader Joe’s good smoked trout, Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers and celery. The dressing was finally diced capers, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, Salt and pepper. I added a little grated Parmesan cheese and tossed everything together. Yummy.

Shrimp tacos with avocado and homemade salsa.

Tacos made out of adobo beef that was in the freezer. Served American style, on crispy corn shells with cheese and lettuce.

I marinated a lamb shoulder steak in olive oil, lemon juice, lots of garlic, dill, oregano, salt and pepper. I seared it in a skillet and served it with steamed broccoli and a simple salad of tomatoes and romaine with a vinaigrette and feta cheese. It was kind of weird eating a meal like that without friends, but it was delicious, nevertheless.

I bought two lamb shoulder steaks because I wanted one for my solitary Easter dinner. I had to defrost them together because they were in the same package. As I was marinating the steak for Easter dinner tomorrow I had a bit of an inspiration for the other one. i cut the second steak into chunks, and hit it with salt and pepper and then heated up a wok. I chopped up an onion and minced some garlic. I put the meat in the wok, and while it was browning, I chopped up a tomato Then I threw in the onion and the garlic and put in some lemon juice and dill. I added the tomato and when everything started to break down, I threw in a big handful of frozen haricot vert from Trader Joe’s. I let it all play around the wok for a minute before I served it. It was a delicious Greek inspired quick stirfry. It made me realize I need to eat more lamb.

Yesterday I made a sort of mushroom stroganoff with both mushrooms and sour cream that had to be used. I had leftover rice so I served it over rice, but today I will eat the rest of it over noodles.

Salad of a bit of leftover coleslaw mixed with Romain and grape tomatoes. Topped with Parmesan cheese and a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice. Eggplant casserole from the freezer. Cooked eggplant mashed with breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian sausage and whole shrimp. I put some breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese on the top and ran it under the broiler for a pretty brown crust.

A salami sandwich with mustard and coleslaw on a crusty roll.

Shrimp and andouille jambalaya. I packaged up some of it to share with the neighbors. I thought I had celery and green onions, and I had neither, so I think the finished product was good, not great.