https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/The Kitchen is always a place of warmth--sometimes too warm--and gratifications, of indulgences, clever solutions, and occasional disasters. It is a place of recipes and experimentation. This blog is going to be hanging out in the kitchen for a while. hourly12000-01-01T12:00+00:00https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/997293I've been waiting for the heat to come down outside so I could do some proper cooking, and finally the time came... The two Asian eggplants that have been languishing and slightly wrinkling in the fridge finally met their fate. Years ago I made, accidentally possibly, a really tasty antepasto. I...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/997177Yesterday afternoon I was up for sitting in the car a/c and driving across town to where Charlie had an event to visit. It fit in perfectly with a couple of cravings I've had a while now: a big glass of guava juice that they serve at Juanita's, an authentic Mexican restaurant next door to the...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/996345With or without a/c, firing up the stove and serving hot meals runs against the grain. Early in the morning or even very early in the morning before the sun comes up may be the only rational time to be cooking up the potatoes for potato salad, the rice for sushi, even the protein for cold...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/996153Lately I've been eating a lot more fish than red meat and paying more attention to what's available. I don't remember my mother ever cooking fish though I imagine she did. It was mostly canned tuna she used to make tuna salad. I knew of swordfish, I think, and salmon but we ate ground beef and a...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/996103Tuna, chicken, ham...Each one mixed up with some mayo and bits of celery, parsley, onion, other herbs to taste, served with crackers or as a sandwich or on a bed of greens... Different kinds of fish work well, too: salmon, trout... canned, maybe smoked. That's one of my hot-weather go-tos. Of...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/995157My mom was very nutrition conscious. Also, systematic. Breakfasts alternated between eggs one day, hot cereal the next. Eggs were scrambled, poached on toast, soft-boiled, baked in breadcrumbs... There was bacon, or sausage. The cereals were oatmeal, corn meal mush, wheatena, or cream of wheat....https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/995024Lately two things have come into play that have resulted in something nice. First, I really have to reduce my intake of saturated fats. Second, I am loving Costo's $5 rotisserie chicken. It's a heck of a good chicken and a lot of good protein for the money! Along with those two thing goes this...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/994557Recently I've discovered Costco's rotisserie chicken deal. The chicken is bigger than the ones in regular grocery stores and half the price. So... I get one now and then, enjoy the carved meat on sandwiches and salads and over potatoes or stuffing and cranberry sauce... And then: soup! The bones...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/993675Several years ago I invested in a freeze-dryer designed for home use and packaged up quite a few freeze-dried vegetables, meats, and eggs. The shelf life of freeze-dried stuff is as much as 25 years! So they say... but that's if, first, you actually get all the moisture out, and second, if the...https://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/Ciel9331/993072Yesterday I got out the tagine again and filled it with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, let them simmer a while. Then remembered I have had some medium sized golden beets in the fridge drawer for a week or so *('object impermanence' means if I can't see it, I forget I have it) so I got those...