Apple Walnut Cinnamon Bread

I made this for my son long after he had gone to bed last night.  He loves my banana bread, but I wanted to try something different.  I followed the recipe, but added toasted walnuts and tweaked a little for my tastes.

Instant Pot: Stock/Broth

I decided to see how the Instant Pot did for making bone broth.  I usually do this as an all day activity, simmering for 8 to 10 hours and then seeing it turn into gelatinous goodness after sitting in the fridge overnight.

Herbed Tomato Gratin

I based my recipe on this one.  My grocery store by work sells local farm produce throughout the summer and this week they had "Old Time Tasty" tomatoes from Oliver, B.C.  They are like a beefsteak.  I tried one before I bought a bunch and I was very happy with it.  Sweet and delicious.  They were $2.99 a pound.  I pay $4.99 a pound from the "Tomato Man" at the farmer's market...

Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs with Romesco

I saw this and knew I wanted to make it for Sunday dinner.  He made this on his show with Sammy Hagar.  As it turns out, I was under the weather on Sunday from imbibing out Saturday night, so this become Monday's meal.  I used pork back ribs and the seasoning was fresh cracked black pepper, kosher salt and smoked paprika.  I detest smoked paprika, but thought it may be okay in this instance...

Summer Beef Stew

I guess this is beef stew in the summer, but I did throw zucchini in it 😉...  I don't know why but I was craving beef stew and couldn't get it out of my head, even in the hot summer weather as of late.  Thankfully it was cooler and rainy today which I took as my cue to fulfill my desire.  I got my son to get the beef from Costco.  The smallest package he could find was 4 lbs.  I decided I'd put in a roasting pan and bake it low all day as it would be tough to fit that much meat and all the veg in a dutch oven.  I could have froze some of the beef but elected to freeze some of the finished stew instead.

Shrimp and Blue Grits

STAT holiday here, so I had to make a celebratory meal. 

I was so excited when I received my delivery from Anson Mills from my kind co-worker.  She gets deliveries from the U.S.A in the U.S.A., otherwise, I'd never be able to order.  I spent almost $200 this time and all my treasures took up half my freezer!  The first plan with all my new finds was to make shrimp & grits again as its been a long while since I've had them.  I've never had blue grits before, they are coarse.  Anson Mills said no dairy advised for them, but butter at the end, so no cheesy grits this time.

Vietnamese Pork Chops with Green Beans.

At the farmer's market, I picked up these local chops from Gelderman farms.   They weren't cheap at $18 for 4.  I marinated them overnight, using this recipe.  I also picked up green beans so would grill those along side.

Red Currant Crumb Bars

I was shopping at Costco and saw these beautiful red currants.  Below, 12 oz or 340 grams container was $6.  I thought I'd use them in a salad, but they were quite "pucker up" sour.  So, I didn't know what to do with them now...  I found this recipe (easiest one I found!) and decided to give it a try... I'll leave the ingredients/measurements to the link and show you the outcome here.  I changed her recipe by adding some pure almond extract to the currants and adding chopped almonds on the topping.  I also cut down the sugar by 1/3 cup and used unsalted butter.

Roasted Broccoli Soup with Gruyere Cheese and Ham

This was ingredients I had in the fridge today.  I went to the farmer's market earlier and picked up some excellent bread.  I thought it would be nice to have with soup.