Outside the dugout: What's cooking?

When I was just an assistant prof at UF I saw an undergraduate team with a NASA project about growing food for a long range flight. They were growing tomatoes and wondered why they never got any fruit. I had to explain to them that many tomato varieties don't set fruit unless the over night temps get to 68 F or cooler and they were growing their tomatoes with a 72 F temps.

 

Last night we used some of the tomato sauce I made over ravioli. We are doing that again tonight to use up the tomato sauce. I made a lot.

 

Last night was stir fried beef and broccoli with Texmati rice. I used sirloin tip marinaded in soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, honey, garlic and ginger. No leftovers.

Tonight we are having friends over for take-out Thai. No cooking during the baseball game.

Soon I will be smoking a lot of dry rubbed Memphis style ribs and also smoking some chickens. Two different events. I know that chickens don't have to me cooked low and slow but they come out so juicy that way with a wonderful smoke flavor.

 

Yesterday I smoked two chickens so that we had plenty of leftovers for chicken enchiladas. Salad and mashed potatoes as sides. Today I am grilling center cut pork chops on the KJ. I was going to make bruschetta but the tomatoes were a bit moldy. My wife will buy some on the way home.

 

Got a lot of heirloom cherry tomatoes from our friend that is into testing tomato varieties for growing near Gainesville. Making a tomato sauce with garlic, ancho chili, sugar and salt to put over rigatoni.

 

Last night was enchiladas using leftover smoked chicken. Today we are having company so two racks of St Louis ribs dry rubbed Memphis style, vinegar slaw, corn on the cob and Caesar salad.

 

Lots of great stuff the past few days.

Tonight I am making spicy stir-fried green beans with pork. As a side a smashed cucumber salad.

 

Tonight it is a red Thai curry with chicken, yellow bell pepper, bamboo shoots, carrots with coconut milk over rice.

 

The youngest got home from Montreal last night just in time for me to make one of his favorites (clam linguini) before the Panther's Stanley Cup game. Actually my wife made it after I prepped everything. I did the hard work and she got the glory. But we are a team so that is OK.

Tonight I am grilling some NY strip steaks on the KJ with a lemony potato salad as the side.

 

All the little tomatoes (cherry, grape) fruit at higher temps. The really great heirloom tomatoes need cooler night-time temps to fruit.

 

Tonight my wife is making asparagus risotto and I am making caprese salad.

I spent much of the day making a new garden bench after our old one (probably about 30 years old) finally collapsed. I could see it was going to happen soon. It is only for holding up plants including a very heavy herb planter. Dodging the much needed rain was a problem.

 

I guess you would call it white but no cream.