Loquat Harvest

The fruit has a cluster of five internal seeds that look like an alien colony ready to hatch. I’m juicing this year. Yep, hitting the Loquat sauce. So, I pop out those pesky seeds and run my bounty through the food mill. Then through a strainer to weed out any fibers that made their way through the mill. Pain the ass? You betcha! Time to invest in a juicer? Point me the way.

King of Freezerland

Canning is cool, but the freezer kicks it’s ass. No boiling water and tongs to deal with. When I see choice cuts on sale, I always grab them and freeze them. Case in point, rack of lamb. I thawed out these beauties on a idle Tuesday and a few hours later I was eating like a king. I served it up with some slow braised collards and a savory souffle.

Cookbook Review: Real Cajun

Lately, I’ve been struggling with the food of the great state of Louisiana. I love the idea of Cajun food. I love the history, the influences, the spices. But, apparently, I suck at making it. Just in time to give me a hand is Donald Link book Real Cajun. It hits on hits the swamp classics (etouffee, gumbo, oysters and the like), with personal stories to back them up.

The James Beard Foundation recently gave Real Cajun top honors for the category of ‘American Cooking’. It also wins the Austin Food Journal award for ‘Kick-Assness’ for it’s local ties. Chef McClung at Jeffrey’s cut his teeth at Links top notch New Orleans restaurant Herbsait. And, it’s co-written by one of my favorite cookbook authors, Austinite Paula Disbrowe.

Reason #28 Not to Wear Italian Shoes While Grilling

John Wayne once said, “they can take my grill when they pry it from my cold, dead, western wear clad hands”. John Wayne was a brave man with a keen style sense. But, he probably would have taken issue with my grilling attire. I grilled two different cuts of beef, tenderloin and sirloin flap. My lady friend is a fan of the softer cuts and I like the beefier flavor of sirloin. The meal ended up being His and Hers fajitas.
I was secretly attacked by a terrorist lump of coal while grilling. Sneaky bastard. Cooking is a dangerous game, my friend. Will that stop me? No. Will I abandon grilling? No. Was I happy that I was wearing shoes at all? Absolutely.