Monthly Archives: September 2021

Cooking with Dogs

You wouldn’t understand unless you have or had dogs. Today is just a “FLUFF” story. This is what it’s like in my house when I’m cooking with dogs,

Up above is my big dog with my smaller dog in the kitchen. They were very interested in what I was making……I think they both are smiling at me trying to butter me up so I’d give them a taste of something.

There is cheese on the counter. The smaller dog thinks all the cheese in the house is his.

I am making polenta cakes. This dog is waiting for it.

Real polenta takes around 40 minutes to cook. This dog has been waiting 40 minutes.

I’m putting chicken in the sous vide. My bigger dog is very interested in that and stretches out to occupy almost the whole kitchen.

My smaller dog is eyeing up the eye roast I just made.

I just made Jodhpuri Tawa chicken and I’m also portioning pastrami. Looks like someone is hoping that I drop some his way.

He’s checking out a New York Strip that I sous vide and then seared. He’s hoping that it jumps off the plate.

He’s supervising me removing the silver skin from an eye roast.

Both of them are waiting for something.

He’s waiting for something cooking in the oven.

He’s waiting for some brisket.

He’s eyeing up another eye roast.

The big dog doesn’t usually get in my way. She admires from a far and is already licking her lips.

Interested in another steak I made.

Always interested in perfect chicken from the sous vide getting portioned out for lunches.

Both dogs are always interested in the food but the large dog has better manors and doesn’t get up in my way.

Smoking a pastrami

Large dog feels the need to guard oven with the precious pastrami.

They are delighted with the results.

Interested in oven fries. Well they were a really great batch.

I don’t know why but he is there for the vegetarian andouille squash sausage that I made.

I think I like this picture of both dogs in the kitchen best so I played with it on www.LunaPic.com and came up with this.

That was cooking with dogs. You wouldn’t understand unless you have or had dogs.

The Forking Truth

Carrot Parsnip Lime Soup with Cilantro Recipe Milk Street Style

I subscribe to Milk Street Magazine. They sent me a recipe in an email called carrot-lime soup with cilantro that they say is a riff on a recipe by Alice Walters. I happened to have carrots and parsnips that I needed to use up so I thought this recipe seemed great since it comes out to be a creamy rich soup that is WITHOUT butter and cream. I made very slight changes. You can’t change this up too much because carrot doesn’t have a strong flavor. My biggest change wasn’t on purpose to change the recipe…I didn’t have enough carrots and happened to have parsnips to use. I think I might have accidentally improved the flavor with parsnips but parsnips can be difficult and sometimes you really need to remove the woody core they sometimes have. I also substituted onion for shallots and added a few garlic cloves. I thought a little added white pepper and a small pinch of cinnamon would be good so I added that too.

Ingredients for around 4 smaller servings

1 lb carrots – peeled, cut up in smaller pieces

3 large parsnips or around 1/2 lb parsnips (you might need to remove woody cores of parsnips. Peel and cut into smaller pieces

3 garlic cloves – chop

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + more for serving

2 Tablespoons cilantro + 1/2 cup – chopped

1 lime zest & juice separated

2 jalapeños – stem and core removed – small chopped and separate (you need one for the soup and one for the garnish)

1 sweet onion – minced and divided in half

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

small pinch cinnamon

optional some sour cream or crema for serving

Directions

In a large sauce pot heat up the oil till it is shimmering. Add the carrots, parsnips, 2 Tablespoons cilantro, lime zest, one jalapeño, 1/2 the onion, coriander, salt, stirring occasionally. Cover till vegetables are fork tender. Add 4-5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the remaining jalapeño, onion, cilantro and lime juice. season with salt and pepper. Set to the side. The soup is ready to puree…Be careful when using a blender. It is safer to use a blending wand. Taste and adjust if necessary.

Serve with cold vegetable garnish, a little olive oil and optional sour cream or crema.

Carrot Parsnip Lime Soup with Cilantro

Enjoy!

A special thanks to Milk Street to get me off my ass to prepare this healthy style soup that I needed to make.

The Forking Truth