Thickened with kudzu, eh? This suggests the possibility of a new use for an invasive wild plant! Are the greens cooked in the soup? Is it dried and powdered and used like cornstarch?

the last of the deviled eggs from yesterday

I'm guessing dried and powdered. There were no identifiable greens in the broth other than the onions, and no distinguishable taste. The soup definitely had more viscosity than normal oyako udon. Think very early stage gelatin.

According to the internets, kudzu is native to southern Japan and known as "Japanese arrowroot" for the thickening qualities of powder ground from its roots.

warm strawberry rhubarb crisp

leftover penne pesto

Fried plantains from the Whole Foods hot bar. I'm a fool for fried plantains.

^Me too!

One of the points of Kitchen Diaries is how good impromptu meals can be based on seasonal produce and chance. Nonetheless, Nigel Slater is truly inspired especially when it comes to combinations in salads which he dresses like Italians do. Since some of his entries read in the form of recipes, it's worthwhile to follow his lead:

• the kind of Middle Eastern cucumbers they sell at the farmers markets--hydropondic at Toigo & Twin Springs, otherwise (? still too early? at any rate, differently & organic) at New Morning. Peel a little. Slice in half lengthwise, seed, slice in half lengthwise again, then into stubby chunks. Eat the seeds as you work.
• skinny French radishes, halved or quartered
• scallion rings (or bits of thin red onion slices)
• parsley leaves, whole or hardly chopped
• fresh mint leaves, torn
• toss the above with feta--I'm partial to the French sheep's feta sold at Whole Foods

Grind on black pepper. I added a good, chunky salt since the feta is mild. Drizzle with olive oil (unfiltered wonderful) and an assertive red wine vinegar even if you'd be inclined to go for lemon juice. The vinegar is what does it.
Wonderful with toast and a purée of dried fava beans that has been reheated and mixed thoroughly with the same olive oil. A few olives on the side.

One of the eight dozen sugar cookies just baked for assorted teachers, bus drivers, and crossing guards. I will be glad when school is finally over.

Mmm, cookies. I have been working longer days lately so my dinners have been strictly delivery. Heritage India Tuesday night, Spices tonight.

A couple of miso-basted...something... onigiri and cold rice noodles topped with sesame dressing, shredded chicken, cucumber, shredded tamago, and tomato from the Lawson.

I just chowed down on a bunch of crispy fried pork intestines. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Crispy hunks of fat. Now I don't feel so good.....

It's not just for breakfast anymore: homemade blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream.

"pie. pie. pie. pie. pie. pie. pie."

White Georgia peach. Juicy, fragrant summer in a bite. Purchased at a roadside stand in Cairo (KAY-ro), GA. I might need to make weekly trips north of the border all peach season.

Yes but when you were driving away you said "Egypt me!"

Peach blueberry crisp. Heaven.

(Btw, Rocks needs professional help. )

Wouldn't dare. The guy was like a cartoon complete with overalls, red bandana hankie to mop his brow, straw hat and dog. While I was there his great-grandson came to drop off some more peaches fresh off the tree. We had a great chat about how his orchard was doing given our late freeze. He put a few extra peaches in my bag and told me he doesn't normally like all us Flor-id-e-ans coming by his stand but that I should feel free to come visit again.

No. Rocks needs to be pun-ished

So, there were some orchards in Georgia spared after an early warming spell and frost? Good to know!

There are fewer road stands up this year then last year, but they are there. The peaches I had didn't seem any worse for wear.

Steak sandwich (eye round) with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and pepper jack cheese on a kaiser roll.

I had thrown the steak in the freezer when I bought it a few days ago, since I didn't know when we'd eat it. Slicing it while fairly well frozen made it easier, but I still didn't get Philly cheesesteak thinness steak. Of course, I also didn't slice any finger-parts off either

Came up from the pool to eat leftovers from Heritage India. The bread that was tough last night was straight inedible today, but the rest of it tasted great. I might need a nap.

Did they make it to the dinner table?

Some of them did .

Something called “Rice Vermicelli—Mushroom Flavored” with mixed, frozen stir-fry vegetables.

Pillsbury brownie mix batter. (I'm doing a favor for a friend and was given very strict instructions not to alter the mix in any way, shape or form. No walnuts, no dried cherries, no mint.)

I went crazy at Kam Sen a few weeks back and bought tons of noodles: rice, soba, udon, ramen; dried and instant soup types. I wanted something light, quick and easy. Grabbed the rice vermicelli. The print is 1/3 this size; the nutritional information label is even smaller. The cooking instructions:
1. Preparation (complete with water and pot icons);
2. Boiling;
3. Shut down the heat. Add soup & sauce;
4. Stir well & serve.

Thinking this is like any other vermicelli, I had planned on simmering it for 2 minutes, tops. It took five minutes, at a hard boil, at least. The “soup” was the typical salt-laden seasoning powder packet; the “sauce” was sesame oil. Overall: not bad. Couldn't pick up any mushroom flavor. Quick it’s not.

I have another bundle of vermicelli; I’m saving that for a rainy, chilly summer day.

leftover new potatoes and green beans, with a dollop of homemade creamy buttermilk dressing and lots of black pepper

Shrimp… marinated in soy/lemon/Thai red curry… sautéed with a mélange (my favorite new word) of vegetables… served over Soba noodles

Coffee and steamed white rice with umeboshi (pickled plums).

a really tasty improvised meatball sandwich: leftover meatballs on a whole wheat hotdog roll, topped with a slice of pepper jack cheese, run briefly (oh, very briefly! ) under the broiler

Slab bacon, mayonnaise, lettuce, and thick slices of tomatoes on toasted Whole Foods white bread. Ice cold diet Coke. This is the #1 special on the menu in heaven.

leftover chicken and andouille jambalaya, and to quench the fire a fruit salad composed of green grapes, blueberries and nectarines mascerated with sugar, orange zest and a pinch of ground cardamom.

A 2-day old slice of pepperoni/pineapple pizza from Luigi's, revived very satisfactorily on the george foreman in my office kitchen.

Skittles and boxed white Australian wine. Which I think go surprisingly well together. And which goes to show how badly I need to get back to the world of good tastes... (Twelve days!)

Shoebox Oven White Chocolate Crunch--really interesting (in the good way ) flavor and texture(s)

Peeled local peach, Blue Ridge yogurt and Michele's granola (Takoma Kitchens).

Leftover strawberry/blueberry trifle. Without coffee.

Cibola bacon, lettuce, two thick slices of brandywine tomato, & Duke's mayo on wheat bread. An epiphany.

crackers and peanut butter

egg salad scooped up into whole wheat mini pitas

Leftover ribeye from last night's dinner at RTS with runny eggs. Mmmmmm!

Just finished a sandwich on Marvelous Market Jewish Rye: chicken, port salut cheese, proscuitto, sweet pickles, and romaine. (I spread the cheese on the bread as if it were butter .)

Lays potato chips... Tamar Ridge pinot noir... Saltines with peanut buter... Blueberry Pop-tarts. Comfort food all the way! (Particularly bad day at work; some folks just don't know how to use the sense God gave them. Simply idiots!)

My Mrs. made a sublime peach upside down cake. Delicious! We're thinking of grilling some peaches tonight on the grill for dessert.

Lefotover spinach ravioli, garden salad (Boston lettuce, English cukes, green bell peppers, grape tomatoes, sweet corn, catalina dressing, and croutons), and homemade lowfat banana bread. Yum!

A grilled bacon and homemade pimento cheese sandwich. So good.

Lean Cuisine Spaghetti Carbonara. Inadvisable. No excuse. Will not repeat!

tortilla chips with bean dip

The bean dip is leftover (refried) bean burrito filling. (I thought the tortilla package had 10 tortillas, not 6 .)

This was one of those lightbulb moments. It never had occurred to me that bean filling for burritos could be reheated as bean dip. Really good.

guanciale-wrapped CSA tomatillos, baked in the oven until the pork crisped up. it's an odd combination of flavors, but pretty tasty.

sliced granny smith apple, sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with warm honey; tastes just like an apple pie

A variation of Georgia Brown's Sugar N' Spice pork chop with some leftover couscous and lightly blanched collard greens with white balsamic and olive oil dressing.

I actually used a pork tenderloin I had in the house, and luckily, Neal Langermann's recipe for this great dish was on the interwebs as a Google search revealed. Also fortunate, he was using a tenderloin in this recipe as well and I had all the ingredients the spice rub called for, save for the Sichuan peppercorns. I used some small, red chili peppers we had to subsitute those for the heat the peppercorns would bring. The recipe calls for a brine for the pork, but I was hungry now and didn't want to wait 12 hours. So, instead of roasting the loin whole, I cut it into medallions, and coated the pieces, rubbed the spice mix in, seared the pieces and then put them in the oven to roast for 20 minutes. They came out great, if not a bit dry, but the flavor kicks butt. I'll probably be tooling around with the recipe a bit, but I'm loving it right now.