Melting

First a reminder!  Today is the last day to comment for the July 1 giveaway! I'm giving away some lovely Urbbody products, you know you want 'em!

Meanwhile, it is hot. It is ridiculously hot. I have to give the rabbit outside ice bottles three times a day so he doesn't overheat.  He's hiding in his little house cuddled up to a cold water bottle.  For some reason, the cats have insisted on staying outside, however, and we're treated to melted cats draped over all the available cool surfaces.

Bergil and Banquo defying sense and staying outside in the stunning heat.

The last few days have been taken up with preparing my Phatfiber samples.  July and August were mailed out today.  Sending 2mos at a time is more than a 50% savings in priority shipping, and that alone makes it worthwhile. They should get there in plenty of time for box drop.

July samples shown in colorways Sea Wrack and Long Walk, Jackrabbit base.

And it's Wednesday, which means it's my day to cook.  I refuse to heat up the house by turning on the stove, so I'm getting creative with leftovers. Especially after picking up a chocolate bar I left in my office and it squished. 

Phood

I received my June Phatfiber box today, and as usual it's full of lovely softness. But I also cooked an off the cuff dinner tonight, and I want to record this recipe for posterity as I think it came out very well. So tonight's another double poster.

I basically made up a mango chicken recipe as I went along and it came out a very pleasant sweet/savory combination. The mango was too ripe for this application, so the texture suffered but it tasted good. We had it with a simple salad dressed with oil and vinegar, and rice.


Recipe after the jump

Fud

Time to cook! And if you haven't yet, check out my June 1 post for the yarn giveaway. :)

Tonight we're having a sort of "white" burrito composed of grilled pork that's been slivered, a white bean concoction, white rice, and white extra sharp cheddar. This comes from the fact that it's a bit warm and very humid and I'd rather not steam up the house. Add to this leftover grilled pork that needs to be eaten, wheat tortillas in the freezer, and leftover rice, and it all sort of comes together into this:
 
The discerning will note that there's no rice in this picture. There isn't any rice in my "not burrito" either, and it doesn't need it. I feel no guilt.

Chilly

Post 2! Oo-er.

So, it's been very chilly for May. As a sort of reaction, I made chili, and beans, and cornbread for dinner. It's my very inauthentic out of the recesses of my brain sort of chili, the beans are just basic black beans with onions and herbs, but I'm basing my cornbread off of this cornbread recipe and this one.



Served everything with a side of tomato/avocado/vidalia onion salad and topped with crumbled extra sharp cheddar. I'm pleased. It's all very tasty indeed.  And I didn't have to go shopping for any of it! That's an extra bonus.  Recipes below the fold.

It's Wednesday

Must be my day to cook. Tonight is one pot couscous again, because I am lazy. This time with dark meat chicken marinated in a very Moroccan blend of seasonings.

And oh yeah! I forgot to say that there's a giveaway for some of my stitch markers on the Phatfiber blog. Just comment there and be entered for the drawing. Meanwhile, I'll be having my first giveaway on this blog starting June 1.

Now back to the food. No real measurements! Makes a giant pot (because last time, I missed out on leftovers)


one pot couscous all ends up looking the same....

Kitchen sink cookery - Not-paella

Wednesday is my night to cook, and as I get lazier I've become attached to one pot cooking. At the same time, I don't want it to all taste the same, look the same, or feel like eating undifferentiated soylent green. Cue a discussion of recipes with a friend who also cooks on Wednesdays, and the entirely too enticing idea of "paella" made with couscous instead of rice.

This, of course, inevitably led to a Fake-paella Off! We've both made couscous "paella" with shrimp tonight, the winner gets a delicious dinner to eat. The discerning will realize that we are both winners in this case, since we're both competent enough cooks to make it delicious, and separated as we are by several states we're each cooking our own dinners. But it's fun to go into it as a sort of challenge. It's also an excuse to take lots of pictures.

I call this kitchen sink cookery because it's like making fried rice. It doesn't matter what goes in as long as it all works together. In the end, it's all about ingredient order since it's all made in one pot. I was substituting and estimating through most of this, and it came out exceedingly tasty. It was also, to my delight, incredibly fast. The ingredient prep took longer than the cooking. I started all prep at 5pm and had the Not-paella and a secondary vegetable done by 5:45. (Disclaimer, looking at my log, I actually started prep at 4:15ish. But I was also doing a million other things, and chatting, and taking pictures and things. The actual cooking took about 25min.)


The finished product, one serving with shrimp and no large turkey pieces and one with only turkey. I can't really eat shrimp; I have a mild sensitivity to them. So the turkey was for me, and to add richness to the broth. For a gander at the competition and her fine looking not-paella, go here

One thing I really liked about this, as well, is that I'm not actually that fond of the saucy rice in paella or risotto. It's often too mushy or sticky/glutinous for me. The couscous fluffs up into tender bites that are not at all gummy. It has a light feeling to it, which is perfect for hot weather. And because it's cooked so quickly, each bit of the dish retains its own flavor while still blending together as a whole. Very tasty and not at all mush or porridge-like.

So, on to the recipe. Substitution is inevitable, so this is just an idea of what to put into it. Varying seasonings and primary ingredients would give it a very different flavor and I fully intend to try that some time.