zoramargolis

Will the catastrophic earthquake in Napa have an effect on more than just the wine currently aging in barrels, that were tossed hither and yon and perhaps lost altogether? I'm wondering if you think that wineries in other California regions or other states will take the opportunity of fewer Napa wines in the near future to raise their prices.

John--how can one know how fresh the spices in the bulk bins are? I buy ground spices from Penzeys in their smallest containers. And spices I use all the time,or a lot of-- like ground cumin-- or whole seed spices, I get at the Middle Eastern, Latin or Asian grocery store.

On a total no-carb diet, I think that what you can eat is basically mushrooms and meat, and that's pretty much it. I thought carrots were off the list, because they can be quite sweet, unless the fiber cancels out the carbs.

Here's hoping that after your baby is born, you can eliminate all nutritionists instead.

quiche mexicaine: corn, roasted poblano chiles, jack cheese, scallion, cilantro, cumin (+egg, creme fraiche, buttermilk custard)

2013 Muga rosé

No-carb Mexican:

Make roasted poblano-tomatillo salsa--roast onion, garlic, tomatillo, poblano until browned and soft. Blend with cilantro, lime juice, a little bit of cumin and salt until smooth. Simmer on stove top for 15 minutes or so. Makes a great topping for chicken, pork, fish or shrimp.

Use rounds of cucumber dusted with chile instead of tortilla chips with guacamole and pico de gallo.

Roast tomato, onion, garlic, tomatillo. Stem and de-seed, briefly pan-toast and then soak guajillo or ancho chiles in hot water to cover, using a plate to hold them under the water. When they are soft, strain (save the soaking water) and put them with the roasted vegetables in a blender with cumin, salt, cilantro, Mexican oregano, cider vinegar, a couple of chunks of peeled apple or pear and blend until very smooth. Add some of the reserved soaking water to facilitate blending. Simmer on the stove top for about 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. The resulting adobo sauce is awesome on steak, or a few spoonfuls in a beef braise, or chili without beans. It'll last almost forever in your refrigerator.

Make tacos with iceberg lettuce leaves. Use either of the above salsas inside them.

various types of Spanish rice, suitable for paella are available at A&H Gourmet Seafood in Bethesda. Prices range from inexpensive to bomba.

oak-smoked herb-brined chicken thighs with zq sauce

3 bean salad

bbq beans

basmati rice

plum upside down cake

pacifico

salade nií§oise: bean salad, butter lettuce, olive oil packed tuna, boiled new potatoes, steamed eggs, tomato, olives, roasted red pepper, mozzarella di bufala

za'atar flatbread from Aphrodite Grocery

prune plum upside down cake

2013 Drylands sauvignon blanc

A year later and another Washington Post tomato recipe issue is out:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/top-tomato-2014-a-most-interesting-bunch-of-recipes-topped-by-rabbit-ragu/2014/08/18/c635a7f0-2272-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html

Once again, after a quick scan, I don't see anything that jumps out at me as a dish I MUST make.  I used to love this issue, but for the past couple of years the dishes seem to be getting wierder and less interesting.  Tomato doughnuts?!?!?  I'll pass.

I know that soups and sauces have been done to death, but I'd much rather see some more of those listed.

After a few years, the good basic ideas--the ones that are go-to methods by good cooks--have been covered, and have won the contest. They don't like to repeat themselves, so end up with off-the-wall ideas and oddities. After two years, the bbq sauce contest was dropped, because of a lack of unique entries. They were getting too much of the same-old, same-old, and some truly weird recipes that weren't even bbq sauce. I suspect that the tomato contest will either run out of steam altogether, or they will go back to choosing classic sauce-salsa-soup-stuffed-sandwich-tart recipes again.

lion's head meatballs made with eco-friendly ground pork, napa cabbage, rice noodles, homemade chicken broth

fat tire

Great minds think alike, Lperry! I was at Costco early in the week, and had bought a package of portobellos there. And time was running out, so I grilled them tonight. I used to do this frequently when my daughter was vegetarian. Before going on the grill, they were drizzled with olive oil, dusted with my all-purpose spice blend. The inside was slathered with some TJ's red pepper and garlic paste, sprinkled with shredded jack, cheddar, parmesan and romano cheeses. Even though he had suggested we have an all-veg dinner, J. decided that bacon would be a good addition, so I fried and crumbled some eco-friendly bacon, and topped the cheese once it had melted a little bit on the grill. Then laid a slice of ripe tomato over that and some fresh basil. They baked a while in the closed bbq until the tomato softened a little bit. And I grilled some bread. We also had a three-bean salad that I made with green and wax beans from the farmers market and some kidney beans I pressure cooked with aromatics. We washed it down with a 2013 Mulderbosch rosé.

As for the Food Network, it reminds me of MTV, which started out playing music videos, and now is anything but. Maybe they need a Food Network 2, that just shows cooking shows full time.

They do: it's called The Cooking Channel.

last night:

pan fried panko crusted fluke

remoulade sauce

braised chard

leftover spaghetti al pesto

cheap but tasty French rosé

spinach salad with cucumber, sungold tomatoes, avocado, vinaigrette

charcoal grilled, spice rubbed tri-tip

spaghetti with pesto

peach cake with peach compote and vanilla gelato

2011 Ancely Minervois

If you have the freezer space, blanching and freezing green beans is so much easier and you end up with a much better product than with pressure canning.

caprese salad--mozz di bufala and good tomato, basil chiffonade

herb brined eco-friendly pork rib chop, stove top grilled

romano beans slow stewed with fresh tomato, garlic, onion, roasted red pepper, aromatics, Greek oregano

basmati rice

homemade peach butter cake with peach compote and vanilla gelato

2012 La Montesa rioja

rice noodles and ground pork with Thai flavors: ginger, garlic, shallot, lemon grass, tamarind, palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, cilantro, mint.

chilled creamy corn soup with roasted poblano chile and mirai corn kernels. the soup was made with corn cob stock.

charcoal-grilled king salmon burgers with lemongrass, fresh ginger, scallion, and cilantro on challah rolls with wasabi-ginger mayo, avocado, tomato and lettuce

peaches

2013 Muga rosé

last night:

slow roasted salmon: coho filet for me, farmed steak for J.

masa corn cakes with roasted poblano chile

marinated green beans with smoked tomato vinaigrette

ricotta cheesecake with peach compote (freestone peaches cooked with caramelized sugar, vanilla bean and lemon zest)

2011 Botani moscatel seco

Is he the next Peter Chang, "the disappearing-reappearing elsewhere" chef?

Sri Lankan food, Chicken curry (kukul mas), masoor dal (parapu), coconut sambal (pol sambola), salad of cucumber, tomatoes, onion, green chilli, salt and lime juice. Jasmine rice.

That coconut sambal looks familiar...

marinated green beans with roasted red peppers and smoked sun dried tomato vinaigrette

eco-friendly chorizo stewed with tomatoes, Turkish red pepper paste, garbanzo beans, new potatoes, smoked tomato soaking water, bean broth, aromatic herbs and dry vermouth

crenshaw melon

2012 Mas Donis

last night:

taleggio and crackers

linguini with white littleneck clam sauce, garbanzo beans, basil chiffonade and Italian parsley. delicious clams from A&H.

cantaloupe

2013 Drylands sauvignon blanc

When my daughter was in Beirut, she was craving spicy food, since Lebanese cuisine is savory but not hot spicy in the least, especially for a kid who grew up eating Mexican food. Her local friends took her out to a Yemeni restaurant to satisfy her spicy jones.

eco-friendly suckling pig shoulder, herb-brined, smoked with hickory and oak for two hours and wrapped in foil for three hours @220f., pulled and served on buns with ZQ sauce

cabbage and carrot slaw

bbq kidney beans made in the pressure cooker

fat tire, db vienna lager