Food Friday- Sad Shabbat Edition

This week has been a week of terrible news in the world.  I had invited my dear friend S and her husband. My daughter and her boyfriend are joining us as well. It will be good for all of us to be together.

I had already bought the brisket for tonight. This morning as I mixed together the coffee and spice rub  for the three slabs of beef  my husband was surprised by the sheer volume of spices that go into the rub. I assured my husband that it was not an excessive amount and is the reason that the beef he eats around here  tastes so good.

After the beef was cooked I pulled it put of the baking pan and then  I added water, the dregs of a ketchup bottle, mustard, pomegranate molasses and some liquid smoke to the the dried out dregs in the bottom of the pan. I stirred up the dried up cooking juices and ended up with this.

Then I put the meat back into the pan to rest and cool before being sliced.

Yes, it tastes as good as it looks. If you had helped me clean the kitchen like my boys did I would have given you a a sliver of meat as your reward. I know they aren't puppies, but they love meat.

It's repulsively hot and muggy today. One would have thought that when i went out to buy vegetables I would have selected something summery. I think the weight of this week's day after day of senseless death got to me. I was drawn to the cauliflower the way I assume most people are drawn to chocolate.

After boiling the cauliflower I whipped it up in the food processor with salt, pepper nutmeg and olive oil. 

It looks great in the orange bowl my sister bought me a few years ago. It is about the most comforting thing in the world to put in your mouth.

I realized that the meal did after all  have to reflect the season. I wanted something colorful and crunchy.

I came up with this.  it's red, yellow and orange bell peppers, tomato, cucumber, avocado cilantro and lemon and I think, salt pepper and a bit of cayenne.

I hate overcooked corn. I also think that the sweet varieties of corn get waterlogged when they are boiled.

So I lay the ears of corn in a roasting pan and poured boiling water over them. I let the corn sit for a minute or two, rolled all of the corn in the pan so all of it was cooked, let it sit for another minute and then shocked the whole thing with cold water.

The corn was perfect. My youngest ate an ear as a snack when he got home from work.

I may make a green salad as well. 

Perhaps next week will be one of peace and of sanity.