Shafers' Goosh Buns

I got this recipe from a friend, who got it from someone in her husband's family. I suspect that there are many similar recipes floating around, but this one is perfection itself (in that it reminds me - in a wonderful way - of elementary school lunches where this would be called "barbecue on bun"):

Goosh Buns

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 14-oz bottle catsup
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp vinegar
• 2 Tbsp prepared mustard

Brown meat and saute onion and pepper. Add remaining ingredients and simmer.

yield: 6 servings

Impulse Purchases

Monday: crispy brussels sprouts with sriracha; baked sweet potatoes

We were armed with our usual list when we went to the farmer's market yesterday, but Victor was beguiled by some beautiful brussels sprouts and I decided I couldn't leave without some of the world's best sweet potatoes. Tonight I was planning to make some slow-cooked beef shanks, but didn't get the slow cooker going in time, so I was glad we had something extra around to make.

I used a hybrid of these two recipes for the sprouts - lots of stove-top cooking (in bacon fat) while the potatoes roasted, then a quick deglaze/steam with a sriracha/lime/honey mixture. The sweet-spicy flavor of the sprouts also complemented the sweet potatoes, though the ones from Lydell Farms are so sweet that they really don't need any additional flavoring.

What I did on my "summer" vacation...

Wow, it's been... a long time. There's been a lot of cooking, much of which I no longer remember well enough to identify individual recipes. I've found myself coming back to the blog to try to find things I've made and then realising that I never recorded the recipe I was looking for in the first place. To help remedy that, I'm going to post what I can remember now, and maybe add to it later. This website is, after all, primarily intended as a memory prompt for myself.

Without further ado, the recipe backlog:

From Tasty:
I haven't had the best luck with this cookbook, but told V that I'd give it one more shot before I donate the book. I think it's possible that the author likes a different set of flavors than I do, since everything I've made from it has tasted just slightly less good than I'd like.

• pot roast with porcini and beer -- I might have used too dark a beer, or maybe I just don't like the taste of beer in stew, but I wouldn't make this again.
• real good meat loaf -- not nearly as good as my favorite meatloaf recipe, and a lot more work. Also not worth making again.
  
• roasted tomato soup with grappa and orange -- this was delicious until I added the orange juice (and I didn't have grappa, so my version was NA, too). I'd make it again, but omitting the orange zest/juice.
  

Ham Tetrazzini from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook. I also used the base sauce from the tetrazzini to make tuna noodle casserole several times.

"Goosh" Buns - recipe from my friend Kerrie, these are what we Pennsylvanians would call barbecue (known to the rest of the country as "sloppy joes").

From Vegetarian Suppers: I continue to love this cookbook, and have made my favorite recipes from it many, many times.

• Tofu & Sugar Snap Peas in lemon grass broth: my first total misfire from this cookbook, the recipe was just as bland as it sounds
• Seared Tofu & Mushroom Saute: I know I made this, but can't remember anything about it
• Brown Rice Supper with tofu, roasted peanut sauce, and stir-fried carrots: surprisingly flavorful & delicious

From Appetite for Reduction: A new (to me) cookbook that's been mostly good so far.

• Upside-Down Lentil Shepherd's Pie: yum, though not really a shepherd's pie
  
• Mushroom & Cannellini Paprikas: also yum, but I don't remember much about it other than that V & I polished off the entire recipe for dinner (says it serves 4...)
  

Chicken & Fennel Pot Pie: adapted from As American As Apple Pie to use the pie crust we learned to make in a pie class we took summer 2010; also, I had leftover chicken, not turkey for the pie. It was delicious - possibly one of my favorite things that I've ever made.

So - there we go! I have clearly neglected to list more recipes than I've remembered here, but I'm hoping to remedy that as I run across them again (between bookmarks and stray sheets of online printouts, I'm bound to see at least some of them). And some of the recipes mentioned above deserve a full write-up (especially that delicious pot pie!), so I will try to catch up at some point.