MC Horoscope

You'll never be able to do it this summer. Not enough rain.

My garden rebounded tremendously after fencing off the deer. 3 weeks ago, no more tomatoes. They ate them all and stressed the plants terribly. Today, full of tomatoes! I have been watering like crazy, though. I'd have been picking tomatoes like crazy by now if not for the poor animals. We might be pretty dry by the end of this week. I heard dry and mid-90s for several days. Tabasco pepper has all come out with a vengeance!

I see it at the Safeway in Cloverly, MD of all places. Didn't know what it was, or how to use it, but it's in the produce section.

ooh, that didn't sound too good! Guess we will try Tasting Room instead, or Zest.

We tried Brewer's Alley on Market Street for the first time this weekend. I was a bit skeptical at first but it was very enjoyable! Around the table, for appetizers someone had a decent, spicy okra and roux-based gumbo, crab and corn bisque that was a bit short on crabmeat but tasty, and hot chicken wings. For entrees, the most popular was the seared scallops over ravioli stuffed with crawfish and served with a pinkish tomato sauce, the macaroni and cheese dinner, the crab cake, and a NY strip special. Desserts were a light breadpudding (very good! I am not partial to dry breadpudding that's more like cake), mixed berry cobbler with ice cream (the winner!), and chocolate mousse. There were a lot of menu other things that looked tempting, like the wood-fired pizza, pineapple upside down cake, and duck specials. One of the people in our group had had a duck special on her previous visit. She said it was great but she wanted to try something different this time. For beers we tried Kolsch and Pils. Pils was the better of the two. I liked its sweetness. Maybe my impressions benefitted from my low expectations, but I thought it was well-prepared. Everyone in our group was impressed. It has a sister restaurant, Isabelle's, that we also want to try.

Thank you so much! You have a wealth of information! Next year I'll plant herbs the deer don't like all around the perimeter. This year, and for the foreseeable future, netting. The two fence theory gels with what I have read. If you set an interior fence and an outer fence about 3 feet apart, the deer won't jump. They don't seem to have depth perception/genes to compute that they can solve the problem by jumping twice. Oh, and I have a wascally wabbit in my yard too! Maybe that's what's going for my chard!

First year I've ever had deer eating up my garden! (They sure like my tomatoes and chard). I would hate to put up netting. Has anyone succeeded with something other than practically barricading the garden with an unsightly net fence? "Repellants" like baby powder or soap?

If it's ALA, I am at the same conference! Went to Zaytinya on Saturday for lunch. Loved it! The cod fried in beer batter was excellent, as was my beef loin with pistachio and pepper sauce. Might try A.V. Ristorante for lunch on Monday. What are you up to? PM if interested in lunch.

I went to the Sunshine grocery store for a hamburger. It was good! A half pound burger with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a big bun with some sweet pickles on the side. The place was very busy and I had to wait a while. There's a counter where maybe 5 people can sit, and a regular old kitchen table where you sit with people you don't know. It's kind of odd too that they don't give you a ticket. When you're done you just go to the counter in the front of the store and tell them what you had, then they charge you. Carryout was busy. You can see the cooks pat the ground meat just a few times into a burger shape and grilll them. Nothing fancy but just right.

For fresh seafood try Libertytown Seafood and Steakhouse out in the country. On Saturdays that place starts to fill up around 4 o'clock and it's busy until closing. Just a few weeks ago I had soft shell crabs there, 4 for $24. Nothing fancy but a popular place for hardshells.

That's 15-20 minutes total, not per side, with the hood on. About 15-20 briquettes.

4 minutes per side? For a cheap Weber grill, it would take a bonfire on our rig! We do it with salt, pepper, finely chopped onion, Worcesteshire sauce. Two burgers, 15-20 briquettes, 15-20 minutes. Toasted bun. Very juicy.

I will try to stay in the loop for this topic because my wife and I are planning our first visit to Nova Scotia in August. Digby has a scallops festival that looks like fun: http://www.digbyscallopdays.com/ Looking for music? ETA: I am told that August 15 is the national Acadian holiday, so there should be lots of small festivals and music around that time.

Community Coffee MelloJoy

Pesce had them as an entree a couple of weeks ago. While they were small, I think that's when the shell is most tender anyway, and they were deliciously sauteed. If you go and they have the crab, shrimp, and pork dumpling as an appertizer, try that, too! I love that place and can't wait to return for another dinner.

I was just checking on concessions at the Nats' A-Z Guide at http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ballpark/guide.jsp (under A for Aramark) and it mentions Atman's Deli at 220. Is this the Baltimore Attman's Deli and is it better than the other concessions? (Going on the 18th for a game against the Orioles!)

Did you get French fries with that?

I've asked for suggestions from a friend who runs an Invision board on blues. Hope he comes up with something.

David Craig in Bethesda had soft shells from Savannah this week. Nice meal!

Up the street from that pupusa van parked at the 7-11? I know right where it is!

Tried it this week. Had an unusual combination: bratwurst on a sub roll with chili and blue cheese on top. The roll was light, which I liked, and the brat had some kick to it. Scarfed!

I figure they must still do this in parts of France, i.e. make crepes. I was just talking with a friend from France about Mardi Gras plans and he said he would be making crepes on Lundi Gras.

Rice and Gravy (from Prudhomme Family Cookbook, Bobby's recipe) This is not what you think of when you think of Cajun cooking, I know, because you will never see it in a restaurant but in homes on weekdays. Rice and gravy from beef was a staple where I grew up in Vermilion parish, and other spots on the southwest prairies. You probably think of pork boucheries and the great stuff that came from them like smoked sausage and boudin, etc. But it really was a weekly communal event for neighbors to slaughter heifers for a supply of fresh beef. Cajun cowboy country! Hippy Tiyo! It went out of practice in my community when I was a child, but the rice and gravy remained popular. I know Cajun transplants to the area who are disoriented when they first go to a local grocery and cannot find 7 steak! The recipe below really does it well. 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef shoulder steak (chuck, blade or 7 steak) 1/2 inch thick, cut into about 10 pieces Seasonings: 2 1/4 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 1/2 cup vegetable oil 5 cups beef stock (lower the salt in this recipe if you use commercial stock) 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 cup chopped onions 1 cup chopped green bell peppers 1/4 cup fresh parsley 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt rice Place the meat in a large pan. Combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle the meat evenly with the seasoning mix, working it in by hand and using it all. Cover well and refrigerate overnight. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet for 1 minute over high heat. Place the meat in the pan in a single layer and cook without turning until well browned on the underside, about 8 minutes. Turn meat pieces over, reduce heat to medium high, and cook about 15 minutes, turning meat once or twice and rotating pan if necessary so browning is even. Remove from heat and pour off 1/2 cup hot oil into a glass measuring cup and set aside. Return skillet with meat to low heat, add 1 cup of stock, and stir until brown sediment is dissolved from pan bottom. Stir in 3 more cups of stock, cover and cook about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, make the roux. Heat the reserved oil over high heat, about 3 minutes. Whisk flour into oil, reduce heat to medium and cook about 5 minutes. Remove roux from heat and continue stirring another minute or two until it stops browning. When the meat and stock mixture has cooked its 15 minutes, add the onions, bell peppers, parsley, black pepper and salt. Stir well. Add the roux by spoonfuls around the meat, not on it, and stir well. Cover and cook another half hour, adjusting heat to maintain simmer. Stir occasionally. Add reserved stock if gravy is too creamy. At the end of the cooking time, sample two ways before serving. Spoon out about 1/2 cup gravy and add 1 tablespoon remaining stock. Compare the taste of this with the taste of the gravy in the pot. If the spooned out gravy tastes better, unlock the flavors in the pot by adding more stock. Serve over rice.

A thousand watt bulb? What is that, the temperature of a sunspot or something? Just kidding. Thanks for the tips!

thistle, If your okra turns out, please let me know your secret! I have tried 3 times (twice from seed and once from plants) and it hasn't worked. My best chance was last year from plants, but I planted too early even in mid-May. If I try again this year, it won't be until June, maybe even mid-June, from seed, and I understand it is best to let the seeds soak in water for a few days before planting. You can see some good info on okra planting at the Web site of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service. They name some recommended varieties, but I might try some recommended at the LSU Coop site like Louisiana Velvet, from seed. MC