I am doing a Cal-Mex barbecue for labor day and I decided to make beans to go with my tri-tip. Moro Beans are a Mexican heirloom varietal. When Jan and I went to Napa, she bought me a package of these beans from Rancho Gordo. They describe Moro beans as a cross between pinto and black beans. They say that these beans are flavorful enough to stand on their own with few additional flavors. I decided to take them at their word and keep it simple.
Karl’s Moro Beans
Filed under Beans, Holidays, Side Dishes, Starches
I love the very idea of a meal wrapped up in a neat package of bread. Anyone who has been following my blog recently will have noticed than I am on a pocket bread binge—Chicken Curry Pasty, bierock, better bierock, California Fusion guo kui. Today, I decided on a Cal-Mex Fusion taco bun.
Karl’s Pocket Tacos
Filed under Beef, California Fusion, Main Dishes
Adapted from a Serious Eats recipe
I like marinated artichoke hearts, but they get a bit pricy for a tiny little bottle. When I saw baby artichokes for 5 for one dollar, I thought I would try making them for myself. It turned out not to be a simple task, but it was well worth the effort.
Karl’s California Fusion Marinated Artichoke Hearts
Filed under California Fusion, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
I am doing a fusion Mexican theme this Labor Day. Spices from South of the (U,S,) Border, but in ways that are probably non-traditional. Jan and the kids have been pushing me to make more vegetarian dishes. I decided to make a second vegetable dish to go with my cauliflower. I had used an annatto sauce to make a bright red cauliflower. I am using the same sauce on zucchinis before I barbecue them.
Karl’s Annatto Barbecued Zucchini
Filed under California Fusion, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
I am doing a fusion Mexican theme this Labor Day. Spices from South of the (U.S.) Border, but in ways that are probably non-traditional. As an additional vegetable dish I decided on cauliflower. As I was looking around I saw that someone had used annatto to make a bright red cauliflower. That gave me ideas.
Karl’s Annatto Cauliflower
Filed under California Fusion, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
I love pocket breads. I have recently been experimenting with bierock, the Volga German pocket breads. I have settled on the right proportions of bread to filling and I have decided to start branching out. What other fillings could I put in my “pockets?” Today, the answer is Chinese pork.
Karl’s California Fusion Baozi (包子)
Filed under bread, California Fusion, Chinese, Main Dishes, Pork
I needed a vegetable to go with my barbecued Sichuan Turkey. One of the soy sauces I have been experimenting with is Chinese dark soy sauce. It is thicker and has a more complex and less salty flavor than Kikoman’s. A few weeks ago I made a dish with green beans that my family really liked.
Karl’s Leek and Bell Pepper with Dark Soy
Filed under California Fusion, Chinese, Green Vegetables, Side Dishes, Stir-fry, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
This is not so much a recipe as a presentation—one does not actually cook sashimi. I make a Japanese dinner once or twice a month—sashimi, inarizushi, fresh tofu, miso soup, wakame salad, and fresh pickles. This week I had bought two different pieces of Maguro (tuna), some akimi and chutoro.
Note: Some might bring up tataki at this point, but while mostly raw, I would argue that it is cooked and therefore not sashimi.
It did not seem right just to slice the pieces of tuna up and throw them on a plate. That would be very much against the aesthetics of Japanese cuisine—eating should feed both the body and the soul. Looking at the contrasting colors, I decided on my arrangement.
Karl’s Sashimi
Filed under Fish, Main Dishes, Weeknight
With the kid’s on the Atkins Diet, I decided to make some sugar free dill pickles. A bit of this, a touch of that. A week in the fridge and voilà dill pickles.
Karl’s Garlic Dill Pickles
Filed under Pickles, Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian
When I made hamburgers—a long time ago—I simply took the meat out of the package, formed it into patties and threw it on the grill. While I still think there is a place for a plain burger, you can do so much more to make simple ground beef into something to write home about. Of course, fancy burgers require fresh buns.
Karl’s Barbecued Hamburgers
Filed under Beef, bread, California Fusion, Main Dishes
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 