Going back to simple and good tonight. Grilling wings with a cold tray. All sunshine today with a high of 93*—plenty of humidity tagging along with the sun. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine on the back porch are ready-set-go. Life is good in Gator Nation!
It was supposed to have showers and thunderstorms in Gainesville today. But it didn't so I had to mow my front yard. Yesterday it started raining after I mowed the back yard.
Mine needs a lot of tending that I have not been keeping up with. I have Boston fern that has gone viral and lots of sabal palms that need to be dug up. And kaempferia pulchra (peacock ginger) that has gone out of bounds. It is a lovely ginger. Maybe I could have some local nursery dig a lot out for free.
Extra cooking today. My youngest son's best friend since kindergarden's father passed and I am smoking two chickens for the family and giving up half of the yellow rice pilaf as I always make a huge batch. My wife made ham salad and my MIL baked a cake. Food to be delivered to his (deceased father's) mother's house. My oldest son knew him very well as he was the dad that did the most for marching band and my son was in that.
Food is so important. It binds people together. My very best friend in Gainesville was my bike riding buddy. In his youth he was a domestic pro bike racer. For years we rode with a young team that we mentored on Sundays when there wasn't a race, we rode the local "hammerhead ride" that had national level riders and even guys that were at the highest level of the sport, but twice a week we rode the local rail trail and shot the chit. Then he was diagnosed with a blastoma. That is the same brain cancer that John McCain had. Most of his friends took him to lunch. I also did that with a walk. While I walked with him several times per week because with his brain impairment he could not ride, I made him dinners. I knew what he liked and I made it. I found out later that he really wasn't divorced and his actual wife thanked me. She said that nobody else cooked him the food that he liked.
Tonight I’ll be grilling bone-in country cut ribs indirect over cherry wood smoke. We will have fresh green beans and new potatoes and pod okra. We are also going to finish up the pot of cream 40’s & butter beans from a couple of days ago. The yard has been mowed and all of the weed-eating done so the back porch ice cold longnecks and chilled wine will be greatly appreciated this afternoon/evening. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Organic, Green-wise beef at Publix. They charge an extra $2 or $3 dollars a pound, maybe more. In your views is it worth it?
Depends. It is a lot like wine. I don't ever want to taste wagyu beef because I know that I will love it and cannot afford it.
5220— In short, for me—no. But I guess it depends on exactly what you’re trying to accomplish for yourself with your diet or how you eat. In today’s world most doctors are going to basically say “if it tastes good—spit it out”. For us we have changed some “how we eat” things hopefully for the better but I’m sure there’s plenty more we could do. We never use regular hamburger (73%lean/27%fat). We use ground chuck (80/20) or extra lean hamburger (90/10) when available. Since my heart surgery when we do eat steak we go with filet mignon to eliminate fat. We generally grill beef rather than fry except for spaghetti and chili.
I like a lot about Asian cooking in that the meat is just a small part of the dish and not the main taste. That is sound nutrition in that it helps with accessing iron from vegetables (like spinach).
Made the toppings for the carnitas tacos: diced onion, cubed avocado with lime juice, diced radish, cabbage, finely chopped cilantro and one you might not have heard of. Pickled red onion. It is a great topping from the Yucatan.
Tonight we’re going to be grilling wings with a cold tray for our side. Dog days feel like they have arrived in full force. Our high today is expected to be 94* with a 108* heat index. Shoot low boys, they’re riding Shetland ponies….. Back porch ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are available for our enjoyment—come on by and they can be yours too. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Lurk; I read the meal you are preparing to my wife and she said..................... "Yum, Yum and YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would eat at this man's table." Me, I understood the words grouper, macadamia nut and rice.............
Rapini is also called broccoli rabe. It is to Italian cooking what greens are to Southern cooking. I blanch them and then sauté in olive oil and a tiny bit of red pepper flakes. It is slightly bitter to balance out the sweetness of the grouper. If you need to cut the bitterness a bit you can use some lemon juice when sautéing. Panko is Japanese bread crumbs. They are light and flakey and less heavy than regular bread crumbs. It is what is used for tempura. Cilantro is coriander leaves and is a staple in Mexican and South Asian cuisine. Warning: Some people think that it tastes like soap. Of course the grouper crust has a lot of butter in it. Everything tastes better with a lot of butter. Or bacon. Never tried butter and bacon together, though. That might need a side of Lipitor.
Minor update to the dinner plans. My wife requested the rice to be made with some datil peppers. Datil peppers are the same species as habaneros and Scotch bonnets and have been part of the St Augustine cuisine since forever. Similar heat, but a more pronounced citrus flavor. So just a few in the mix.
This is too funny. I asked her what Rapini is??? She said "a type of broccoli". Then Panko??? "bread crumbs" and finally Cilantro?? and she said "a leafy garnish I use for Mexican dishes I make.
