Meditation Miso

I made this delicious bowl of miso soup for lunch with lots of veggies and tofu. It was so good that Rusty and I hardly spoke to each other while we ate. I call it the "Silent Soup".

Fruits and Veggies

We've been busy growing wonderful delights in the garden. Now that winter is upon us (we're expecting snow next week in the mountains) I'll be adding some special recipes to the site so keep an eye out.

Roasted peppers

Yes. We've been cooking and too busy eating to post any news. BUT....(that's a big but)..get ready for a deluge of news of where we've been and what we've been up to.

Italian Inspiration

Looking through Culinaria Italy, Pasta-Pesto-Passion, got me thinking about what to do with the Swiss chard in the garden. So I slightly modified this foodnetwork recipe I found with the help of The Google. The chard lends a mild bitterness that works well with the sweet onions and tomato; with the addition of the somewhat briny kalamata olives and crunchy toasted pine nuts, the flavors are all over the mythical "taste map". No pecorino cheese, but I captured the authentic taste of Italy (said so right on the package) with some Sargento 6 Cheese Italian Cheese--a blend of Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan and Fontina, plus Romano and aged Asiago. My 10,000 taste buds approved.

Cowboy Omelette

If you look close enough you can see Henry Kissinger in this omelette. As Henry said "Powerful omelettes are de ultimate aphrodisiac"

Aloo Saag. Can you dig it?

I've been living like a total bachelor and not cooking much at all. BUT! I'm back in the game with some help from my slow cooker.
I made the spinach/potato curry yesterday and ate it with friends who contributed the tofu and tomato/cucumber salad. It's my second attempt at Aloo Saag, and this version was a leap in the right direction! Delicious!

Grilled Pizza..finally .

Successfully made our first grilled pizza last night. As these youngsters say these days.. OMG !!

We've been grillin"

I don't think we have cooked anything indoors for about three weeks. It's been in the 90's lately here in Washoe Valley and I've been making the grills work over time. Feature photos are of smoked BBQ brisket, jerked pork loin with watermelon feta salad, and tonight's mesquite smoked grilled chicken with fresh picked garlic scapes.

Too Hot to Cook

It got up to 96 degrees about a week ago so I tried a couple recipes that would not heat up the kitchen. Both are from FoodNetwork dot com. Spiced Chicken and Grape Skewers by Elle Krieger and a refreshing Gazpacho by Ina Garten. If you're not into garlic (sorry Papadam), don't use big cloves, or use less in the Gazpacho. I ate some before going to the movie, and the place emptied out. Kidding.

More summer treats

We're loving eating outdoors while the sun sets over our Nevada back yard. Last night we had grilled BBQ shrimp and simple salad with mozzarella, olives , tomatoes and lettuce from our garden. The shrimp is a breeze to make.

Clean and de-vein the shrimp. Marinade in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and your favorite BBQ rub for about an hour in the fridge. Heat up a charcoal or gas grill to very hot and cook the shrimp around three minutes (depending on the size of the shrimp) each side. Squeeze of lime or lemon and your done.

Good Brew

I went to the Reno BBQ, Blues, and Brews festival this weekend. Now I'm not a beer connoisseur by any stretch but I know a nice clean, interesting, flavorful blonde ale when I taste it. The folks at Lagunitas Brewing Co. in Petaluma, CA offered up what I though was the best beer of the day. It's called " Lucky 13 " Check it out.

Left overs

Left over steak and a quick mango avocado salsa makes for a great fajitas dinner.

Anybody want the recipe ??

Fusilli with quick sausage "gravy". (in south philly it's not sauce, it's gravy. If you're from Little Italy you know what I'm talking about.) Here's a very simple dish that can be made in an hour total time. Vegetarian options are available . If you're interested in the recipe let me know.

Nothing Like Homemade Bread!

Now that I have time, I have been making bread every few weeks. No bread machine, just good, old-fashioned, hand kneaded bread. I've been experimenting with adding different healthy ingredients, like wheat bran, flax seeds, rye flour, sunflower seeds etc. and some loaves have been more successful than others.

These loaves turned out pretty good, made with whole wheat flour, flax seeds and sesame seeds. And nothing beats the taste of fresh bread, warm out of the oven, spread with a bit of butter!

I'll be back

It's been a while since I've posted anything on CookingCarbone but it's not for a lack of eating good food. Just been busy retiring full time which SHOULD give me plenty of time to start putting more time in to this blog. The idea is to reach more folks who like to eat good food, adding recipes, "how to" videos, and updates on travel dining. In the meantime Mama Rusty has been keeping me well fed as you can see from the photo of these yummy strawberry pancakes.

Chinese Night at Casa Carbone

We have vowed in the past to eat at least one vegetarian meal a week. I know you vegetarians cringe when I say we don't always manage it. But here is a nice, healthy, though time consuming vegetarian meal that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Steamed dumplings, with tofu, bean sprouts, green onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Served with 2 dipping sauces; a soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar sauce, and a sweet mustard, ginger sauce.

Mustardy Kale (recipe follows)

Served with brown rice.

Mustardy Kale (for two)
1 bunch curly Kale
1/4 c tahini, well mixed
1/8 c umeboshi vinegar
1 tbs spicy mustard (or more to taste0
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/3 c kale water

Wash kale and remove the center rib from leaves. Chop coarsely. Boil completely covered for 10-25 minutes. (Older leaves will like a longer boil.) Meanwhile, place tahini, vinegar, and mustard in a med. bowl. Stir vigorously, or whisk. Mince garlic and add to tahini mixture. Mixture will be quite think. Add small amounts of hot kale water to mixture until it is smooth, light, and the consistency of heavy cream. Drain kale, add kale to tahini mixture and mix to coat well. Serve immediately.

Quickie Pizza

(click image to enlarge)

Nothing special...just a nice pizza (home-made sauce, cheese, mushrooms, olives, onions, tomato, spinach), and a good bottle of wine. Life is food. Whoops, typo. Life is good.