Cooking And Eating....“Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es”

Sliced pork tenderloin, marinated overnight in cognac, Worcestershire sauce, ground peppers, chopped garlic, & salt brine..... fat-rendered and cooked over a hot flame in an iron-skillet, brushed with avocado oil..... served over a flat, oil-cured tomato, flamed in the cognac, then left to soak up the pan leavings.......sprinkled with chopped, dried cilantro leaves and crowned with non-pareille green capers, pickled in vinegar. TRIAL #2: with a prune and a condiment mix  of 17 Turkish spices, ground in a pepper mill & Golden Whisk Kitchen's Garlic 'N' Spice in a jar.. and pan-scrapings........ FINISHED... pièce de résistance: Destined for a 6-course 'small plates' French supper....to consume, while watching, and critiquing, Masterchef, this evening..... Make that "4"....   The ' Final  'leftover' ......with toasted sesame whole wheat pasta and South Indian Madras pickles........

 

then, piled atop a wooden bowlful of long-grain basmanti rice, cooked  in coconut milk, with tumeric powder, chopped green onions, sun-dried tomatos and dried cilantro & parsley leaves......with mango chutney and Nepalese sea salt, crispy onions, white sesame seeds, pearl barley and apple jelly.   Later, I warmed up the peppery Kung Pao...after dabbling it with blackberry  preserves and fresh, sliced scallion greens, a few drops of 'Bee Sting' Prik Ki Nu & a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice....and served it from a more colorful bowl, wherein it appeared more vibrant.....         For the bold....how about a spoonful of sweet burn to trickle and dribble, just before serving!   

The Cockscomb, now heavy with flowering, is beginning to droop from the weight of its blossoming.....for who knows what reasons, if any, I've never eaten Cockscomb flowers or leaves or roots......So, I harvested a drooping 'comb' for some culinary experimentation this afternoon......The flowers can be dried, of course, and utilized ...decoratively......all year round.. NOT THESE ROOSTER "COCKSCOMBS" THAT ARE POPULAR IN THE ORIENT........ But the Mawal f lower/cockscomb , which is primarily grown for ornamental purposes, in America; however, some cultures incorporate its young leaves and tender shoots into culinary dishes. In more exotic lands, these 'parts' are used in salads, soups, or stir-fries, offering a mild, spinach-like flavor. [It’s important to note that not all varieties of cockscomb are edible. Always ensure you have a safe and edible variety if considering culinary use.] https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2r4pSyvCur/

                 NOSE-RINGS THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE....(FOR THIS EXAMPLE, I'D EXCLUDE THE FRENCH, OF COURSE)....INTO COMPLIANCE WITH 'THE FAMILIAR'.. THIS MORNING'S 'TASTE TEST' WAS A SLICE OF TOASTED SOURDOUGH BREAD, HALF OF WHICH WAS SPREAD WITH NUTELLA NUT BUTTER AND THE OTHER HALF WITH LIVER PATE...    pâté and nut pairings   are found in high-end culinary traditions, but seldom in customary, conventional fare....I made a sandwich of these two 'halves' and found it delicious enough to add to my menus of 'quick b'fast fare'.    

Microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) were detected in 84% of patients who had experienced a major heart attack , compared with 40% of people with chronic heart disease and 32% of those with normal coronary arteries.   OTHER THAN MAKING AN ALMOST FUTILE EFFORT TO AVOID FOODSTUFFS THAT ARE CONTAINERIZED IN PLASTIC AND CHEMICALS-LINED BAGS AND BOXES.....SOME EFFORT SHOULD BE EXERCISED TO DINE UPON PORCELAIN OR GLASS, WITH 'REAL' STERLING SILVERWARE.....AVOIDING, COMPLETELY, THE 'PLASTICWARE' KNIVES, FORKS SPOONS, CUPS AND PLATES......THUS, AS MUCH AS ONE CAN, AVOIDING BOTH THE ACCUMULATION OF POISONOUS, CANCER-PRODUCING MATERIALS...AND THE BILLIONS OF TONS OF PLASTIC THAT, ULTIMATELY....AND QUICKLY.....IS RETURNED 'TO ACTION'...LOGARITHMICALLY....TO BOTH POISON US AND PRODUCE TOXIC CHANGES EPIGENETIC  OUR DNA, LEADING TO BEHAVIOR DISORDERS AS WELL AS METABOLIC CONFICTS AND NORMAL CELL DEVELOPMENT.. "MICRO"PLASTICS ARE A 'BIG' THING IN THE ...

      an extra-large, free-range brown hen's egg, scrambled in butter,  with small chunks of Prosciutto di Parma, smoked tumeric & paprika, hot-pepper sauce,  coarse-ground black pepper, grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, baby spinach leaves, chopped scallions, cilantro, & parsley,  and yellow bell pepper slices, piled atop a slice of toasted 5-grains bread, generously spread with apple-cinnamon butter......  followed by another ''meatless"  variation....sans the ham, but 'plus' a generous dollop of lemony mayonaisse...... and a bit of leftover caviar, for the salt.......

                                       I snatched up a 5.5oz  prepared "Apple Walnut Salad Kit" of both green and red apple slices, grilled white meat chicken, dried cranberries,  blue cheese and candied walnuts....with a cup of sweet onion/dijon vinaigrette  at a local Kroger Store.....for $1.57!    A thrifty shopper can always eat well!                           

 

 

and spicy cole slaw...and....dribbles of horseradishy remoulade sauce with white anchovies..(no salt  in the cakes)....... wonderful with the added calories of a topping of guacamole.......easier than making hollandaise...I  obtain  pre-made remoulade sauce from the DeKalb Farmers' Market....or get it, in a jar, from Trader Joe's.       If Lunch is already on the horizon.....one can 'step up' this relatively simple b'fast to a bit-more-complex food reportoire....     Yum, Yum, eat em up! How about "doing" basmati rice.... cooked in chicken broth with saffron.... topped with the crab cakes, smothered in ginger, carrot, and garlic sauce; puffy puri with ginger/garlic paste, fried, then baked; hot curried and creamed purple dal peas; spanakopita; miniature artichoke/mushroom quiches on wild grilled 'n' chilled radicchio and endive; and butternut squash soup, cold, to be "washed down" by blackberry cassis flavored cabernet sauvignon.............