Sunday, last of August dinner

Had some left over chuck roast (1 lb) from an Irish stew we made; used it for a barbecue only dinner.

We had already cut the beef into 1 inch cubes; today- salt, pepper, and about a tablespoon of a Persian spice blend-  and then some fresh thyme and garlic when I added the fluid; the fluid was a glass of corona beer, and two cubes of home made hybrid stock;  I added sliced onion (generously) and sliced carrots. We put that on the cold part of the grill, and let it sit for over two hours. Before eating, we put the stew (it was in a disposable foil pan) over the hot coals; removed the meat, and thickened the sauce in the pan with buerre manie- and nothing else.

In a second disposable pan, we roasted some carrots and broccoli, in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a touch of sugar.

In a mini cast iron dutch oven, we did some basmati rice, after sauteeing some onion, carrot, olive oil, and turmeric in the dutch oven, and adding the rice and water to the onion mixture in the pan. The cast iron and the barbecue go together beautifully.

We had a bottle of J Lohr cab, because we found it as Smart and Final for a great price.

Total success-

To the odd victory: Na Zdravi!

Dan and Lenka

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Chicken Stock

Stocks should be very simple; they are, after all, only a base, and should not dominate the foods in which they are used. We purchase whole chickens quite frequently; if the butcher cuts up the chicken, we use slightly more chicken in the stock (meaning, the trimmed ends that we don’t cook); if we cook the chickens whole for a while, we end up with a supply of innerds, they alone with the vegetables and herbs make an excellent, light sauce. The recipe below is for fourteen (14) cups of water initially (substantially less stock at end); however, all amounts are approximate- make it a few times and go by color and taste. Never salt a stock.

  • Put aside the chicken pieces that you will be using for the stock- if you are using actual pieces, skin them (a solid grab with paper towel for grip, and a good yank);
  • Onions: quarter two medium yellow onions (can substitute white, but not purple)
  • Celery: cut 2 or 3 stalks into large pieces
  • Carrot: cut 3 or 4 into large chunks
  • Prepare a bouquet garni: quite simply, put a few non-assertive herbs in a container (non-assertive: thyme, parsley, celery leaf: fresh is better; more by volume with fresh- careful touch with dry; assertive would be rosemary- bad choice, too dominant), and a bay leaf. If your bay leaf is fresh, one is fine; the dryer your leaves, the more you will need.
    • for the container: a good trick is a metal tea strainer; fill it with the herbs, tie a string to the pot handle- let it float about. Cheese cloth, works fine; if all the herbs are fresh, tying in a not is fine.
    • Our container trick: a Chinese tea strainer/medicine ball. It was $6 at a Chinese kitchen supply- it is much larger than a standard tea strainer, and it twist-locks in place. It comes with a chain and hook for securing to the handle- by far the best system yet.
  • Put in a large pot with 14 cups of water and simmer for at least four hours. Let cool and skim (generously).
    • remove bones (if any) and the bouquet garni; push everything else through a strainer to extract all the flavor from the vegetables.
  • What you have after straining is your stock. Measure and store in the freezer- but, there will be substantial shrinkage in the freezer- be prepared to adjust.
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Growing Basil

Growing basil is very easy. The only trick, after the LAWS bit has been covered (Light, Air, Water, Soil), is to harvest regularly and always clip off the seed pods that appear on the tops.

We buy the $2.99 basil plants at Trader Joes; the cost is almost the same as buying a bunch of harvested basil in plastic, and, well, it’s the entire plant. We have probably a half a dozen of them around the garden. They do well in the ground, in pots- anywhere that they see a lot of sun. If you see a basil plant looking neglected, do not throw in the towel- water brings them back beautifully.

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Growing Cilantro

I have been trying to grow cilantro for years with little success. I find that as soon as it looks healthy, it bolts and all I have is a narrow stock and no usable herb. This year we have had better success; I have it growing in pots in a very hot part of the garden; we still do not have a meadow of cilantro through which one could frolic, but enough to cook with in small amounts. I will try with more and larger pots and see how it goes.

Will post as I have cilantro news.

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