So you know it is getting nice here in Portland when my pictures of dinner are taken when the sun is still up and out.

I am lazy here so I am just going to link the two recipes I used for these dishes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/orecchiette-with-roasted-fennel-and-sausage-recipe/index.html

Mom, you will be happy to note this has sundried tomatoes. Also, I used left over feta from the other recipe instead of Parmesan. I would also like to try this recipe with clams or mussels, or some combination of roasted fennel, tomatoes and mussels. And no one should be put off by fennel for a fear of black licorices flavor. Fennel, especially roasted is way mild.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roasted-swiss-chard-with-feta/

This is the other recipe. It takes a bit of time to roast everything, but with plenty of feta and some lemon juice on top at the end, it is remarkably good. See, I just remarked on how good it was. I might have crowded the baking sheet, since I doubled the recipe, but I found it difficult to get the chard to crisp up instead of wilting and sticking to the sheet.

These tacos were excellent. I did a different treatment than I usually do for mexican food and it really paid off. There are a lot of ingredients here, but it actually came together really quick and easily.

Just make sure to marinate the meat, and roast the sweet potatoes before hand.


Part 1: The Meat
2 lbs pork country ribs, boneless.
chipotle in adobo
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp cayenne
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 cup water.

The day before, I mixed all these together and let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. I understand that country ribs aren't really ribs, but the gristle takes to the slow cooking well, and they have enough fat to have a ton of flavor. 2 hours before eating, put into a medium sized pot with a good lid. Make sure to only have enough of the liquid to be about an inch deep. You will want to braise these, not boil them, over medium heat for about 2 hours. Pull off the heat, take out the meat and the chipotles onto a cutting board and chop coarsely.

Part 2: The sweet potato base
oil
1 red onion
2-3 turnips
2 sweet potatoes, roasted for 30 mins at 400F the day before (they should be soft)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp dried oregano

Slice and saute the onion over high heat in a large wok. Over medium high heat, saute the chopped turnips. Chop the sweet potatoes into smallish pieces. When it is all soft, add the vinegar, water, and spices and stir together. The sweet potatoes should and it should be all pretty soft. Cook until the liquid is mostly gone, and you have a good pasty base.

Part 3: The Greens
oil
5 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
7 tomatillos, chopped
1 can pinto beans, rinsed
1 bunch chard, ends trimmed, chopped
1 Tbsp cayenne
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 tspn salt

The greens have the heat in this recipe. Saute the jalapenos, tomatillos, and beans. When they get soft, add the spices. When most of the liquid is gone, toss in the chard and stir until they wilt. Remove from the heat.

Part 4: The finishers
Corn tortillas
lime
cilantro
salsa

On a hot pan, crisp up the tortillas a touch. Layer on the sweet potato base. It should smear nicely. Top with the spicy greens, and then a few chunks of meat. Garnish with chopped cilantro, juicy lime, and some salsa.

 So I normally feel that I have consistently failed at making good indian food. This is an exception. The flavor was perfect, and while it looks burnt, it isn't really. The first milimeter of skin has a perfect char, and the rest of the meat is super juicy.

Tandoori Chicken:




2-3 lbs of chicken legs and wings

2 1/2 cups plain yogurt

 6 oz can of tomato paste

1 tbs minced ginger

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 bay leaves crumbled

2 tsp ground cumin

2 crushed dry red peppers

1/2 tsp cloves

2 tsp cinnamon

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste (4 tsp's of each)

1/2 tsp crushed cardamon seeds or ground cardamom

1 tsp ground coriander

3 limes cut into quarters (for serving)



Directions:

Add all of the spices and tomato paste to the yogurt, mix well.

Massage the chicken well all over with the yogurt spice mixture.

Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade and let some of the marinade drip off and cook the chicken over very hot charcoal or in a hot 450 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Seve eith a lime wedge for squeezing over the chicken.


For the rice and salad


1 cup, basmati rice (steamed)

2 cucumber, halved, deseeded and sliced

1 red onion, finely sliced

2tbsp plain yogurt

2tbsp olive oil

2tsp mint sauce
2tsp white wine vinegar

So I pretty much* just ripped this recipe from here:
http://movitabeaucoup.com/2011/08/12/beaucoup-seafood-chowder/

But hey, I'm lazy, and I doubt anyone still checks this. For me I'm just keeping track of good shit I made.

*A modification: Plenty of tabasco or any hot sauce makes jack happy.