What’s Cooking?

[Did You See Them]

Posted by EFO (here)
Did You See Them,you killed me with your photos and you made me to add my own photos of what we cook

I'd love to see what you cook and some of your recipes.
I love regional dishes and some of the more obscure foods that people prepare and eat.
Chinese Steamed chicken feet in black beans is a wonderful dim sum dish that people seem to turn their nose up in UK yet I find the flavour exquisite !
This weekend I am going to start preparing and curing a beef brisket for an American style pastrami with Prague Powder #1 and now that the weather is starting to get good and cold, some salami that I will air dry.

[EFO]

Pastrami home made
Salted first,then smoked,then seasoned with a mixture of black pepper,coriander,mashed garlic,and dried paprika and some water then left it outside during winter for about 2-3 months.All ingredients are mixed by taste and I don't have specific quantities for them.Sometime I add other spices like dried oregano or basil (both home grown) or curry This is a snap shot from a video made for a friend who want to know my recipe.


Chocolate
Cocoa,cocos oil,honey and milk powder


Me and a wheel barrow of onions


Our vegetable garden
Potatoes and cabbage on the left


Cabbage and tomatoes


In about two-three weeks I'll show you smoked and dried sausages in sheep guts
The recipe is simple any kind of meat or mixes of it,but traditionally they are made from sheep meat.The basic ingredients are:salt,black pepper,sweet and/or hot chili and garlic.Mixed all together with the meat,fill the guts,let them dry til next day then smoked them lake any other sausages.When smoking is ready keep them out for drying.The more you dry them the better will be.I will post the recipe together with photos

That curing a beef brisket for an American style pastrami attract my attention and I'll keep an eye on you

I never have specific quantities for my recipes,I always adapt them to our taste.

[EFO]

The last jar of canned chicken and pork meat


Recipe:
1 Chop whatever meat you have at about 2-3cm/2-3cm
2 For 1 kg meat you need 1/1,5 tea spoon of salt depending the salt.Sea salt is not so strong as normal salt and 1 tea spoon of black pepper.You can also add coriander.Mixed all well.
3 Depending the size of the bay leaf,ad 1 or 1/2 bay leaf on the bottom of the jar then stuff the meat inside and put tight the lid.
4 Take a pot and put a towel on the bottom of it,then put the jars in.Add water in the pot just below the jar's lid and add an other towel on top of the jars and start the fire.
5 From time to time check the level of the water in the pot and if is 2/3 of the height of the jars,add more hot water.
6 Boil them 2-3 hours from the moment when the water from the pot started to boil.
7 After boiling,take out the jars and cover them with a blanket til next day.
8 Next day uncover the jars and put the in the storage closet.
That's all.

[Did You See Them]

EPO - have you ever used Prague powder in you pastrami cure or is that something I should avoid using in your opinion ? ( I already have it - but have never used it ! )
Your spice mix sounds pretty similar to what I intend to use anyway - i would really value your input on that !

And I would LOVE to see the video you made of your pastrami !

The recipe above sounds very similar to French Rillettes - minus the pork and duck fat (another favourite of mine !)

Love your land - I can only dream of living off the land with a suburban garden in Liverpool - but to all other readers - its still quiet amazing and fulfilling seeing what you can make/harvest with just a modest garden patch.
And if you can stand picking up chicken **** - a few chickens will be your best friends as Mr Goode can attest to lol !

[EFO]

Posted by Did You See Them (here)
EPO - have you ever used Prague powder in you pastrami cure or is that something I should avoid using in your opinion ? ( I already have it - but have never used it ! )
Your spice mix sounds pretty similar to what I intend to use anyway - i would really value your input on that !

And I would LOVE to see the video you made of your pastrami !

The recipe above sounds very similar to French Rillettes - minus the pork and duck fat (another favourite of mine !)

Love your land - I can only dream of living off the land with a suburban garden in Liverpool - but to all other readers - its still quiet amazing and fulfilling seeing what you can make/harvest with just a modest garden patch.
And if you can stand picking up chicken **** - a few chickens will be your best friends as Mr Goode can attest to lol !

Did You See Them,in regard to Prague Powder,which I didn't know about until you write about it,reading on internet what it is,from my point of view,I can tell you that I use only natural preservatives such salting,smoking,sterilizing,boiling and so on and never adding artificial preservatives or other industrial materials even if they wink me from the shelves. Only from time to time I add a few drops,up to 100 ml,depending of what we processing and/or quantities,of vitamin C diluted in water to kill possible microorganisms that could possible came from factories.Coming back to Prague Powder,if I would be you,I would avoid using it even if the final product would have a pleasant look.Instead of Prague Powder,if is possible,add any natural dye or mix of natural dyes to give to your final product a pleasant look.Sweet chili powder boiled/infused in water and then strained through a sieve and using that red colored water could be an option,depending of how big are the chunks of meat from your product.When you have time and resources,experiment this option to find the appropriate proportion of "colored" water and the final product for you.I can't give you advices of what to do or not,but I can suggest you other options of which you can consider or not.

I can send you the video through we transfer or tresorit if you PM your email address.The video is in Romanian,but until then I can tell you the quantities of spices for those three pieces of meat (total of about four kilograms):
4 tea spoon of sweet chili pepper
1 tea spoon of sweet chili pepper
1 tea spoon of grounded black pepper
1 tea spoon of grounded coriander or fennel
1 tea spoon of a boiled paste made from sweet and hot chili peppers,honey,salt,grapes vinegar and tomatoes sauce.
15 garlic cloves
about 250-300 ml of water poured step by step,not poured all at once.Of course you can add/remove/change the spices according to your taste. Mix all these until you obtain a paste good enough to stay on meat then start "plaster" it on meat. You can keep it outside if the weather is cold enough and wind is dried.If not,you can store it in your storage area if is ventilated a little bit.You have to let it dry until when you touch it,you will no more feel the moisture in the mixture.

Never heard before about French Rillettes,but sounds interesting enough to give them a try in the near future and speaking of new recipes I ask you if your home made Irish Sausages are the same with Irish Bangers?Even if are not the same,can you pass me your recipe?Thanks!

Thank you for your good thoughts and words and I wish to find a way to a place where to take care of a small garden surrounded by nature and harvest whatever you want.

And you are right with chicken "sheet" we especially use it for growing garlic.We don't anymore breed any birds or animals,because we no more can sacrifice them,so we pick manure and buy those from neighbors or from other villages from the area or from local shops in last instance.

[Trisher]

Lovely growing fields EFO..very impressive.
I would love to make really good Cassava (flour) cakes and flatbreads but have never found a decent recipe online, so for now I am eating rather soggy flattened Cassava objects that no-one will want the recipe for.

Trisher

[Did You See Them]

I dont really cthink of Prague powder as an unnatural preservative ( The federal government mandates Prague salt be composed of 6.25 percent sodium nitrite and 93.75 percent table salt (sodium chloride), making Prague powder #1 mostly salt. )
The pink colouring is added to Prague powder # 1 so that it won't be mistaken for ordinary salt.
BUT this is why i would use it - "A special property of Prague powder #1 is that it prevents the growth of the deadly Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which causes botulism."

https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-i...er-no-1-996131

Thanks EPO - pm sent

[EFO]

Sunday Menu

Schnitzel,mashed potatoes and pickles


Papanasi...cheese dumplings with fried breadcrumbs and kefir


Saltine crackers...sort of...

[EFO]

Today fresh harvested,these out of proportion grown "Detroit" red beet will become food...soon and some corn in the background.


Harvesting leek will be the next and last harvest for this year ,but I still keep him in the ground for long lasting freshness.

[Franny]

It's cooling in the northern hemisphere so a cold weather, comfort food dish may be welcome.

This is Cottage Pie, found it somewhere on the net and altered it heavily. Also added about 5 cups of vegetables on hand and less than a half pound of ground turkey - can add sausage if that's what you have. No buttermilk or broth, only a little cheese, cassava flour instead of wheat, so LOTS of substitutions but it is still tasty. A very flexible dish

Official picture, not mine I add peas to the dish!



Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks trimmed, thinly sliced, and washed
1 bunch thin young carrots or 2 regular sized trimmed, peeled and sliced
1 and 1/2 lb ground beef short ribs you can use regular ground beef as well
2 Tbsp tomato paste (can keep a tube in the fridge)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup good beef stock or bone broth
a sprinkle of flour
salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
I added some Thyme

Mashed potato topping
1 and 1/2 lb russet potatoes peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 Tbsp unsalted butter divided
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the leeks and carrots for about 5 minutes. Remove to a plate.

Brown the ground beef, breaking it up as it browns so it has a nice crumbly texture. If it's excessively greasy, drain some off. I didn't, I like to retain the fat for flavor unless there's a ton of it.

Stir in the tomato paste, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and broth to combine. Bring up to a simmer and let simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes to allow the broth to reduce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If your gravy is very thin you might want to stir in a sprinkling of flour, about a teaspoon to start, which will thicken it up instantly. Be sparing with it, a little will do.

Add the vegetables back into the pan and mix well. Turn the mixture into a large pie plate or casserole dish. Spread out evenly.

Meanwhile boil the potatoes until very tender. Drain and mash with the buttermilk and 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add more buttermilk if the potato mixture seems dry. Fold in the cheese and season with a little salt and pepper if needed.

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the pie. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and gently brush over the mashed potatoes.

Put the baking dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until browned and bubbling.

[Franny]

Posted by Trisher (here)
...I would love to make really good Cassava (flour) cakes and flatbreads but have never found a decent recipe online, so for now I am eating rather soggy flattened Cassava objects that no-one will want the recipe for.

Trisher

Quite right, hard to find good cassava flour recipes, I've looked too and had a bit of success, give these a look.

Brownies

Half recipe I use a 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" pan

1/4 c (4 Tablespoons) dark choc chips/chunks
+ 2T same

1/4 c maple syrup ( way too sweet to me, I use less than half ~ 1.5T)
OR 1/2T erythritol or coconut nectar syrup or other to taste.

2 T c cocoa pwd
2T c coconut oil or butter (or 2T oil, 2T yogurt)
2 T c cassava flour
1 pinch salt
1/8 t baking soda
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla

If it's dry I add a spoon or 2 of yogurt or milk


Full recipe
8 inch x 8 inch pan

1/2 c dark choc chips/chunks
+ 1/4 c same

1/2 c maple syrup ( way too sweet to me, I use less than half ~ 2-3T)
OR 3T erythritol or coconut nectar syrup or other
1/4 c cocoa pwd
1/4 c coconut oil (or 2T oil, 2T yogurt)
1/4 c cassava flour
1/8 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
2 eggs
1 t vanilla

Oven 350F. Lightly oil 8x8" pan.

Small pan, low heat melt, 1/2 c choc chips + maple syrup/sweetener + coco oil. Remove and cool.

Beat eggs and vanilla in sm bowl till think and foamy. Fold into chocolate mix.

Mix flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda. Add Choc chips or chopped chocolate. Fold into chocolate mix and mix well.

Add to pan and bake 12-15 min - check at 12 min - or so till toothpick put into center comes out clean.

DONT OVER-BAKE! They are dry as dust and you'll toss them.

Cool before serving, everyone seems to like them.

[Did You See Them]

EFO - I did Schnitzel last Friday for dinner !! - Fried in plenty of butter - and I mean plenty, almost a criminal amount !, and half a lemon to squeeze over - funny how you keep popping up doing the same dishes !
Do you use veal or pork ?
I use pork fillet mostly as veal is so hard to get in uk now as consumers have been put off by the bad press that crated veal got - even though now it is all "rose" veal as they call it - but so expensive.
What a waste ! All the veal calves are culled here now for the pet food industry and any veal that does reach the market goes to high class restaurants with a price to match. The only veal I buy is when I hop over to Dublin to see family and friends but the price there is getting ridiculous now !

PS - I made my pickling brine last weekend for my Pastrami - my Brisket is being turned once a day - I'll take it out Friday night and allow to dry overnight it its dry rub - all ready a long slow smoke on Saturday.

Pickling spice mix I made

[IMG][/IMG]

The Brine ( I have used Prague powder#1 with Kosher salt )

[IMG][/IMG]

[EFO]

Posted by Did You See Them (here)
EFO - I did Schnitzel last Friday for dinner !! - Fried in plenty of butter - and I mean plenty, almost a criminal amount !, and half a lemon to squeeze over - funny how you keep popping up doing the same dishes !
Do you use veal or pork ?
I use pork fillet mostly as veal is so hard to get in uk now as consumers have been put off by the bad press that crated veal got - even though now it is all "rose" veal as they call it - but so expensive.
What a waste ! All the veal calves are culled here now for the pet food industry and any veal that does reach the market goes to high class restaurants with a price to match. The only veal I buy is when I hop over to Dublin to see family and friends but the price there is getting ridiculous now !

PS - I made my pickling brine last weekend for my Pastrami - my Brisket is being turned once a day - I'll take it out Friday night and allow to dry overnight it its dry rub - all ready a long slow smoke on Saturday.

Pickling spice mix I made

[IMG][/IMG]

The Brine ( I have used Prague powder#1 with Kosher salt )

[IMG][/IMG]

Be right back to you.I have to go in a nearby village for some things.I'll be right,right back.

[EFO]

Did You See Them,we should open together a restaurant and a butcher shop but for the moment we can only do small things around the house and you doing the same dish before me with that tasty schnitzel in such a decadent amount of butter with squeezed lemon and the feeling I have reading your post is so strong that I feel the taste,which is like a rainbow,is the same as I wrote to Cara of my intention of opening a similar thread as Start wanted to do,but Cara took the initiative and she had replied to Strat.

In the same note I could tell you,with a Romanian saying,that there is something in the air .By something,is meaning that a common and unknown thing are binding people.

As per your question,was not either veal or pork,was chicken breast

Veal or cow meat have also in Romania prohibitive price,it's like trying to buy gold compared with other meats.Comparing Romanian prices,the order is as follow,starting with cheaper one:chicken,pork,fish,sheep,cow and the last veal.Duck and goose are "rara avis" due to more than prohibitive prices,but can be found in high class restaurants in cities having specific prices!But living in the country side,things are changed and even the taste of the meat,due to the fact that birds and animals are breed in their natural environment and eating all kind of food instead of industrialized food.

I'm really looking forward to see how your pastrami and brisket will look at the end,but most of all I want to feel their taste

In any case both me and my wife were very excited when we read your post and see the images Outstanding photos and description.

Tomorrow we'll go shopping and I hope that next week to post those sausages I wrote before and to post some step by step photos of the process.

What wood do you use for smoking (cold or warm)?I use oak and beech,but in the beginning I start with some plant of corn for a tempt of astringent taste.

[Did You See Them]

EFO Schnitzel was last Friday - Saturday was chicken - One breast beaten out thinly with layers of fresh mushrooms and spinach, smoked ham and palma ham, rolled and wrapped in Palma Ham and roasted with sage. A drop of cream in the roasting pan juices when finished made a simple to sauce to wet the sliced cooked chicken. served with new potatoes and grilled asparagus.
Simple, low cost and makes a little meat go a long way - its served 3 !!

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[EFO]

Posted by Did You See Them (here)
EFO Schnitzel was last Friday - Saturday was chicken - One breast beaten out thinly with layers of fresh mushrooms and spinach, smoked ham and palma ham, rolled and wrapped in Palma Ham and roasted with sage. A drop of cream in the roasting pan juices when finished made a simple to sauce to wet the sliced cooked chicken. served with new potatoes and grilled asparagus.
Simple, low cost and makes a little meat go a long way - its served 3 !!

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

This is an exquisite recipe!!!! I'll try it!!!!

[Strat]

God bless you EFO. Those pics are amazing.

Posted by EFO (here)
Did You See Them,we should open together a restaurant

I'll be a regular for sure.

[EFO]

Posted by Strat (here)
God bless you EFO. Those pics are amazing.

Posted by EFO (here)
Did You See Them,we should open together a restaurant

I'll be a regular for sure.

Thanks Strat and sorry for late reply,but I was left today for shopping.Next week I'll add more photos with more food and I hope that other members will add their own recipes.

[Ernie Nemeth]

Our three regular meals are chicken fingers, hungarian stew, and shish-kabob. I make all three...

My lady's favorite meals to cook: spaghetti from scratch, pork fast fries, roast beef, frozen dinners. I started cooking for variety. I still am learning new meals. Stuffed cabbage is on my mind these days. Will do it soon.

But our very most favorite meal is schnitzel and fried flatbread with cucumber salad. That gets made every week...by me. Seems I get all the hard meals with lots of dirty dishes, but I don't mind - I love to cook!

[EFO]

Ernie,if you mean by stuffed cabbage,cabbage rolls,I suggest you to roll them in sour cabbage because are better than cabbage scalded before rolling and for any reason,don't boiled them on fast fire.Let them boil on the smallest fire you have.The longer they boil the better the taste will be.
Add some sliced of smoked ham,some thyme and 1 or 2 bay leaves on the bottom of the pot,before putting the rolls.

Take care during boiling because the rice from the mixture is expanding and the rolls are increasing in size and is possible that the water and tomato sauce to get out of the pot.

And in the end when are on your plate,add a full spoon of sour cream on every roll and eat them with polenta,not bread and one hot chili.