Poached Blue-Green Egg from Groff's Content Farm
Salt-Flecked Roasted Asparagus from Sand Hill Farm
Wedge of Cornbread, warmed, w fat from Cibola Farms, cornmeal from Safeway & corn from frozen section at Whole Foods

Haagen-Dazs Caramelized Pear & Toasted Pecans from Brookville

light chicken soup with pea shoots, button mushrooms, and black beans
fennel, artichoke, and apple salad with creamy buttermilk dressing
penne with broccoli rabe, olive oil, hot pepper flakes, and Parmigiano

The mister made a little stir-fry with asparagus, seitan, and carrots over brown rice. It was good, but so spicy I could hardly eat it. And I like spicy...

An English Classic: Baked beans on toast topped with a couple fried eggs!

A frittata with leftovers-hash brown potatoes with ramps, braised chard with oregano and lemon, oven roasted cherry tomatoes, cheddar.
Strawberries dipped in gobs of fresh cream.

oh my... i had a frittata with leftover asparagus, ramps and mushrooms from the market. wow I am so bummed to have just discovered ramps.

I had assembled an antipasto platter to precede dinner last night and was going to reheat leftovers once my husband got home. He brought someone home with him to visit for a bit, so we had a leisurely appetizer course (and Sol with lime to drink).

roasted red and yellow bell pepper strips, with coarse fleur de sel and extra virgin olive oil
marinated halved artichoke hearts
chopped campari tomatoes
cornichons
buffalo mozzarella, sliced
Jamón Ibérico
shaved Pecorino Romano, scattered over the platter

everything flatbread (Passport) from Whole Foods

(Later on my husband had leftover braised chicken, pea shoot risotto, and baby mustard greens for his meal.)

Grilled atsuaage (deep-fried block of tofu) sprinkled with soy sauce and shichimi (Japanese seven-spice)
Fuki topped with katsuobushi (shaved dried bonito flakes) and sprinkled with light soy sauce
Miso soup with sliced shiitake and wakame seaweed
Steamed rice

He had to close last night, so the mister made a nice sauce with cannelini beans and tuna, and I was supposed to make myself pasta. But when he's not home and I have the baby to deal with, my dinner sometimes falls by the wayside. So I settled for the last of the So's Your Mom chopped liver on an everything bagel and some shortbread cookies the Nanny Share Couple brought back from England.

Ham and cheese on white: Iberia ham, homemade white truffle buratta, country white

Worth every calorie and crackle on my jaw.

Baguette slices with salad caprese
Chilaquile casserole

Grey sole en papillote with fresh shiitakes, scallions and white miso sauce
Steamed rice
Oven roasted purple asparagus
Mixed green salad

Trader Joe's chocolate chip ice cream sandwich

2007 Chateau Suau Rosé

Beef tataki with a bit of freshly grated seiyou wasabi
Parboiled azami (a kind of thistle) seasoned with soy sauce
Miso soup with momendofu (firm or cotton tofu) and hijiki seaweed
Steamed rice

Iichiko "Downtown Napoleon" shochu on the rocks

baguette slices with soy spread
leftover salad caprese with minced shallots, avocado slices, lime, and raw baby peas*
baked chicken drumsticks
fried potatoes with shallots and dill

*When I was selecting peas for the potato salad for tomorrow's picnic, I didn't carefully check the individual pods to make sure they had fully formed peas. I ended up with quite a few that had just tiny, embryonic baby peas. I saved them anyway, even though I wasn't going to put them in the potato salad. They were really nice sprinkled on top of the mozzarella, basil, and tomato of the salad tonight, along with excess minced shallots from the potato salad dressing prep. I put the avocado around the edges of the plate and squeezed the lime mostly on those.

MtP farmers market bounty:

Broiled pork chops
Roasted asparagus
Sweet and sour cabbage (like a cole slaw)

Broiled Pacific cod, topped with seasoned miso (dengaku miso)
Pan-fried kamaboko (fish paste) and mountain vegetable patties
Spinach sauteed in sesame oil, tossed with white sesame seeds and a splash of rice vinegar (could've done without the vinegar)
Steamed organic brown rice

A pizza, with WF organic wheat crust (I was lazy), red pepper pesto, garlic and basil sausage, mozz and parmiagiano-reggiano, and spicy oregano from the SS farmer's market. It was phenomenal, and went well with our Iron Horse Pinot Noir.

Crabcakes
Lemon-caper aioli
Mashed Yukon Golds
Oven roasted purple asparagus

Apricot-pine nut tart

2005 Terroir Les Gras Moutons Muscadet

Catching up here...
A lasagna with Marcla Hazan's bolognese and homemade ricotta.
Rhubarb cobbler

Pasta fagiole made with Rancho Gordo flageolets.

Ham, asparagus and smoked gouda fritatta
salad with watercress, strawberries, gorgonzola dolce and candied pecans with a champagne vinaigrette
strawberry and rhubarb cobbler with whiped cream.

Click to view attachment

Herb-brined, charcoal roasted Eberly chicken
(Sugar-snap peas, shiitakes and tofu cake in Thai green curry-ginger sauce with fresh mint for Veggie-teen*)
Fresh corn pudding
Charcoal-grilled purple asparagus

Mesclun and lettuce salad with roasted almond oil-muscat vinegar dressing

2006 Dom. du Tariquet Cotes de Gascogne

Haagen-Dasz pineapple-coconut ice cream

*this was an expanded version of leftover sugar snaps in green curry and fresh mint that Jonathan and I had as a side dish with reheated leftover crabcakes, on Wednesday night when V-T wasn't home for dinner.

A friend dropped by for drinks and stayed for dinner.

Manhattans with Maker's Mark, Carpano Antico vermouth, home-cured brandied cherries
Royal Red shrimp with spicy remoulade
Home-made garlic pork sausage with dijon mustard
Crostini with fava bean mousse and Pecorino Romano
Gigante beans in tomato sauce
Chili olives

Charcoal grilled hanger steak
Mashed potatoes
Collard greens
2004 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Charmes Ghislaine Barthod (generously provided by our friend)

Trader Joe's California goat milk brie

Sinplicity Devil de Leche ice cream (dulce de leche, cinnamon and chile)

Amaro Montenegro
Bardouin Pastis

Zora, did you use sweet cherries or sour ones? The cocktail cherries that are available here make me weep (and not in a good way), so I've been thinking about making my own using sweet Yamagata cherries.

I used sour cherries, and macerated them in brandy, kirsch and maraschino liqueur with some sugar added. I think that any cherries that have a lot of flavor would work.

Last night:
Spinach and mesclun salad with dried cranberries, sliced almonds and homemade lavender chevre, almond oil and moscato vinaigrette
Charcoal-grilled rib eye
Grilled wild salmon for Veggie-teen (I cured most of the filet overnight for gravlax)
Oven roasted fiddleheads with lemon and butter*
Charcoal roasted corn on the cob

Oven roasted apricots with honey and brandy
Haagen Dasz vanilla ice cream

2005 Sebastiani Secolo

*Fiddleheads are de-LICIOUS done this way

Buttermilk potato salad with fennel
Chili cornbread casserole

Hickory smoked spare ribs (Slow-cooked for 6 hours. Would have been better with one hour less.)
Maker's Mark-chipotle bbq sauce
(Veggie-teen had baked tofu cakes with bbq sauce)
Potato and egg salad
Coleslaw
Bbq cannelini beans

Choice of Magic Hat #9, Negro Modelo, Pacifico

Black and blue berry pie
B&J's vanilla ice cream

Very cute. Were the berries bruised?

Nope, merely shaken up. Got a big box of blackberries at Costco the other day, and had some blueberries from TJ's that needed to be eaten, so I put them together in a shallow tart pan with a lattice-top double crust.

The blueberry pie with stars and stripes at Quaker Valley (Dupont Market) was really cute.

Yesterday-
slow cooked pork spare ribs with Ina Garten's bbq sauce
baked beans
cheddar corn chowder (also Ina Garten's recipe) with the last of my cryovaced corn from Lancaster PA.
Strawberry shortcake
Click to view attachment

Lemon-parsley sausage sandwiches with sauteed yellow pepper and Kitakami shiitake
Grilled bamboo shoots dipped in miso

Homemade white corn tortilla chips with homemade salsa and guacamole; sour cream
Leftover chili cornbread casserole

I was so excited about finding a great pizza dough recipe that I had to share it with you all. Dinner tonight was:

Dinner: Homemade pizza with baby bella mushrooms, panchetta, green peas, mozzarella and goat cheese (ingredients were all from TJs).

Dessert: Peach cobbler from scratch a la mode. Need to work on finding a good cobbler recipe though.

Sorry the pics are bad, but they were taken on my mobile:

Buttemilk-marinated fried chicken
Collard greens with smoked pork
Artisan grits cakes

Fresh organic peaches (from Trader Joe's, grown in California)

Punkt Genau sparkling gruner veltliner--wow, this was great! So good with oily food. Recommended by Joe Riley at Ace.

Tagliatelle with garlic scape pesto.

Click to view attachment

(good and good for your heart )

Tuesday:

Tofu "steak" topped with simmered shiitake and chives
The "boozy potatoes" from Eric Gower's "The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen", with different proportions of butter, soy sauce, and sake used for simmering
The last of the bamboo shoots, grilled and dipped in miso

Tonight:

Aburaage (deep-fried tofu sheet) split and stuffed with ground pork, spinach, and shiitake, then simmered in a stock of chicken broth, soy sauce and sake.
Miso soup with potatoes and chives
Steamed rice

On a whim, I also put "cottage cheese" in half of the aburaage bags, where it absorbed the flavor of the simmering stock, and became unremarkable. What's called "cottage cheese" here is smooth, somewhat tangy, and rather stiff like a cross between cream cheese and ricotta.

Sounds like quark.

Dinner last night:
Lasagna with La Pasta fresh pasta, crimini 'shrooms and dried porcini, mozz. di bufala and homemade ricotta
Mixed green salad with dried cranberries, avocado and pine nuts
Strawberry and peach tiramisu

2005 Colosi Rosso

Meatloaf
Buttermilk mashed potatoes
Turnip greens braised w spring onions

Meatloaf: ground turkey (not breast meat only) mixed w contents of one chorizo sausage, chipotle in adobo, caramelized Vidalia onion, garlic, lots of Italian parsley, carrot, egg and fresh bread crumbs soaked in buttermilk.

At last minute added halves of grape tomatoes to turnip greens. It was Mrs. B's description of Mac and Cheese that made me do it.

We had a friend over for dinner last night, so Western food was on the menu.

Apps: the rest of the J-cottage cheese mixed with grated lemon peel and black pepper, served on sliced cucumber; garlic crostini
Spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs
Spinach salad with toasted sliced almonds and candied yuzu peel, tossed with mustard vinaigrette
Strawberries macerated in balsamic vinaigrette over vanilla ice cream

Sparkling wine

Spiedies, grilled at a racetrack camping area by a couple of friends who hail from Binghamton.
Components available at Wegman's, natch.

So, Zora, watcha gonna do with that baby lamb?

Yes, details please! I have the other one and am trying to figure out what to do with it. Do these little guys require siginificantly different treatment than a regular leg of lamb?

I subscribe to James Carville's philosophy when I am lucky enough to acquire such very special, very high quality ingredients: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Basically, I am going to quickly pan sear the outside of it and roast it until it is medium rare inside and try very hard not to overcook it. Then I am going to rest it, slice it and put a bit of Maldon salt on it, and savor the flavor. Maybe some new potatoes and roasted asparagus or quick-sauteed sugar snap peas alongside. And a pinot noir to drink--don't want a wine that will overpower the delicate meat.

I have to go someplace tonight, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

I have had positive response (primarily from Legant) about vegetarian options that I provide for my daughter, so I thought I would describe a vegetarian entree I created yesterday to send home with one of V-T's friends, whose mother is undergoing chemo and hasn't had the energy to cook. When I asked what kinds of things her mother was able to eat or wanted to eat, the girl said: "Something spicy. Her sense of taste has been affected and she needs strong flavors to perk up her appetite."

I looked in the fridge and pantry and came up with the following, which provided enough for two families--it's a lot, so can be cut down:

Mexican Chile-Cheese Grits Casserole

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 stalks green garlic (or 2-3 cloves garlic), chopped
1 roasted red poblano chile, seeded and chopped (roasted red bell pepper would be good, too)
1 jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
1 canned chipotle chile, seeded and chopped
1 can corn kernels, well drained ( fresh or frozen corn is fine too--I just didn't have anything but canned)
1-2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and chopped scallions (or more)
1/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

8 cups liquid ( I used 4 cups of water and four cups of milk, but it could be all water)
1 3/4 cups quick-cooking polenta (medium or coarse cornmeal)
1 3/4 cups masa harina
1 1/2 tsp. salt
8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

Oil one large or two medium rectangular casseroles on bottom and sides.

Saute onion, garlic and chiles until soft and any liquid is evaporated. Add corn and spices. Reserve cilantro for later. Keep mixture warm.

Heat liquid to boiling, add salt and turn down to a simmer. Slowly add cornmeal and masa while simultaneously beating with a wire whisk. Masa harina can easily clump together, so vigorous whisking is necessary. You are looking for a very stiff mixture, so add more masa if needed, if it still seems soupy after cooking for 5-6 minutes. Cook for another few minutes while stirring, so that it doesn't stick or burn. Add grated cheddar cheese and stir well to thoroughly combine. Remove from heat and gently fold in the vegetables and cilantro-scallion mixtures so that they are well distributed.

Spread mixture into oiled casserole(s). Top with grated romano or parmesan cheese and run under a broiler until lightly browned.

Allow to cool to room temperature. Can be cut into chunks or wedges and reheated.
Serve with salsa, pico de gallo or hot sauce.

Well, I ended up not being quite so austere about it. After I seared the lamb and put it into the oven in a little casserole, I had some fond in my cast iron skillet, so I made a little pan reduction sauce with some pinot noir, veal stock from the freezer, some finely chopped spring sweet onion, green garlic, fresh mint and thyme and a little butter. The little creamy new potatoes had just some butter and salt, and the sugar snaps were sauteed in butter with a chiffonade of fresh mint. The meat was so amazingly tender, juicy, and very delicate in flavor. The wine we had with it was a 2005 Rene Bouvier Bourgogne Le Chepitre which we both thought was as enjoyable as a $100 2004 Gevrey-Chambertin that a friend brought over not long ago, though it cost far less. This was just about a perfect meal. For Jonathan, the wine was the star, but I'm still humming from the harmony of it all.

The other night:
Rombi w pesto; tiny new potatoes, halved and boiled along w the pasta; split, raw grape tomatoes
(Stoneyman cheese mixed w just a little Romano)

Tonight:
Lemony Moroccan tagine w lamb shoulder, spring onions and cardoons
Grated turnip salad
Couscous
Steamed snap peas

Eco-Friendly Berkshire pork rib chops, pan-seared and braised on top of a sweet-sour rhubarb-onion compote*
Baked home-made ricotta for Veggie-Teen
Braised ruby chard
New potatoes

Peach-blueberry pie with Haagen-Dasz vanilla

2006 Weingut Strauss Gelber Muskateller


*I enjoy fruit with pork, but Jonathan does not. This was my compromise: sauteed sweet onion with sliced rhubarb, then steamed it until tender with agave syrup, dry marsala, balsamic vinegar and golden raisins, lemon zest & juice, bay leaf and thyme. Laid the browned pork chops on top and covered the pan until the pork was cooked through. Chopped Italian parsley and thyme to garnish. This was a very successful improvisation that I will definitely do again during rhubarb season. The Berkshire pork was amazingly flavorful--in the package it was dark as beef, but cooked up somewhat paler. Not "the other white meat" by any measure. I had already started the chard when I came up with the rhubarb compote. The texture of the chard and the compote were similar, and the balance of the plate would have been better with a veg with a little crunch, like green beans or asparagus. But it all tasted really good.

Chicken sandwiches (lettuce, tomato, sliced hard boiled eggs) on mini baguettes
Buttermilk fennel potato salad

Costco rotisserie chicken with homemade gravy
Gorgonzola dolce souffles (leftover from a few days ago, when I paired them with a strawberry and pinot noir sauce-inspired by Top Chefs Stephanie)
corn on the cob that needed a lot of hlep to taste like something
mixed greens with naturtiums
Middleburg Creamery mocha toffee ice cream (from the Kingstowne farmers market)

Romaine and bok choy salad with tuna, topped with sesame seeds, red onions, matchstick carrots and (terribly under-riped) tomatoes. Served with a really interesting -- as in, this tastes better than I thought -- vinagrette: rice vinegar, orange juice, dijon mustard, sesame oil, canola oil and Sriracha. (Adapted from May 2008 Cooking Light.)

Cheeseburgers (provolone) with fried onions and mushrooms on mini baguettes