lperry

Oof. I made the mistake of checking the ingredients list on the Marie's website. Can't bring myself to do it. I'll mix up a batch of homemade. I can't remember a time when there wasn't a package of this in my Mom's fridge. I remember being a kid and thinking how sophisticated we were to have such an interesting cheese at hand.

Sweet corn, mango tacos, mostly from Martha Stewart. Hacks: feta instead of cotija to eliminate the bovine lactose issues, I steamed the corn, I used about half Key lime juice and zest, chives instead of scallions, and a bit more freshly-ground piquin pepper than the recipe suggests for cayenne. The mangos were an Ataulfo type, a crate of 16 for $9.99 at Super H. Excellent quality. This is a wonderful recipe (despite my substitutions), and a combination I never would have thought out on my own. Summer on a plate, quick and easy, and the only thing I had to pick up at the store was a pack of tortillas.

You know what this thread is making me crave? Thick, goopy, 1980s-quality, blue cheese dressing on iceberg lettuce. *sigh*

In the Chicago Tribune, and trending on our neighborhood listserve. It was, apparently, convenient and popular for working couples with kids.

Homemade satsuma granita doused in homemade satsuma-cello. I'm feeling exceptionally grateful to my citrus mule and to my freezer.

I think you had a brilliant formula for the added water? 20%? 25%?

Fourteen of the tomato plants went into beds this morning along with a couple of Hungarian paprika peppers and some poblanos. It took so long for everything to come up in the flats that I added more seeds, and now the heat has everything I planted sprouting up. I need a bigger yard. I also have a fair number of volunteer tomatoes that I left in the beds with the carrots and beets. (So much for my composting abilities.) I figure they will shade the root crops through the worst of the summer. I'll get the Romano beans planted later today, and maybe transplant some of the celery and celery root seedlings out into the beds. For reasons I don't understand, they are still quite small. I also ended up with a measly two fennel plants after something went marauding through my garden, so I'll plant a few more seeds of those.

It's adapted from a David Lebovitz recipe and a few others I found on the interwebs that included the butter. The basic proportion is two cups of nuts to one cup of sugar. Any type of nuts will work, almonds and cinnamon are wonderful at the holidays, and, if I want spices, I whisk them into the sugar so they cook in the pan and toast on the stove. I use raw nuts and toast them in my toaster oven in a cast iron pan. Everything comes together much more nicely on the stove if it is all hot when it gets there. Take the pan to the stove when the nuts are to your liking, put it over a medium flame, and add the sugar. Sprinkle in a couple of tablespoons of water to help it melt. Lebovitz uses 1/3 cup and I have found that is too much - some recipes use no water, so go with what is comfortable to you. The smoking hot cast iron will begin to caramelize the sugar, and stir stir stir until the sugar starts to melt, but you still want it grainy, so don't let it go until completely melted. When it's as caramelized, melty and grainy as you want, drop in a knob of butter - maybe a tablespoon for two cups of nuts - stir it in until melted and distributed, immediately spread them on a silpat, and sprinkle with a flaky salt while they are still hot. Then try not to eat the whole batch before your guests arrive.

Passionfruit daiquiris. Homemade butter-toffee peanuts. Romaine, arugula, amaranth salad with artichoke hearts and chickpeas, dressed in a tarragon, Dijon vinaigrette. Salad, to counteract all the peanuts.

If the Old Bay issue is still at hand, Leite's Culinaria recently re-published a nice list of potential uses.

Super H and H Mart. They are labeled "sweet peppers."

We agree on boldface point one. As for boldface point two, here we differ 180 degrees because I have zero desire to go some place that isn't welcoming or that doesn't make it easy for me to visit. One of the most amazing meals I had in the DC Metro area was colored by rudeness from the reception staff, and I will not return to that restaurant. I don't care how good the food was. There are other places to go where the food may not be the same, but it will still be excellent, and the staff will be wonderful as well. For me, dining is about having a relaxing, enjoyable experience. Putting myself in a mindset or situation where that relaxing, enjoyable experience is compromised is simply contrary to the way I try to live my life. I don't understand dining as a competitive sport. There are plenty of things I can be angry about, and I don't want my dinner to be one of them.

If we were in Atlanta we could all head to the Varsity for an "oil change." Here, Peruvian chicken places have excellent fried yuca with alioli and that spicy, cilantro-laden, green sauce. Shoot. Where are my keys...

No harm done, and, as a youngest child, telling people what to do isn't really my schtick. I do, however, genuinely want to understand why people behave very differently than I would in the same situation. If you read my post and hear the voice of a confused Mr. Spock in your head, you'll get a decent sense of my demeanor. I'm still casting a vote for the restaurants of excellent food and least resistance.

Chapchae noodles dressed in a peanut/sesame/lime sauce, tossed with carrots, radishes, garlic chives, and about a cup and a half of shiso and spearmint chiffonade. Daiquiris with Barbancourt blanc.

No offense was meant, although it seems to have been taken. An internet risk, I suppose. I still don't really understand why there is such desire to go somewhere that makes it difficult to get in, no matter how good the food is. Dinner is the entire experience, and I'll simply go elsewhere. To those who choose to be angry, frustrated, put out, or offended, well, carry on.

El Ceibo Bolivian Fine Dark Chocolate, 75% Organic Cocoa Beans. Slightly dry texture with a mix of dried fruit and coffee undertones in the flavor profile. The coffee/bitter part is a bit overwhelming my supertasting-ness, so I'm still partial to Manjari, but I can see this working beautifully in a cake with an espresso glaze.

Can you please explain further? I genuinely don't understand why going someplace else causes any of these problems. A reservation seems very convenient to me because you won't have the stress of worrying about a wait or whether or not you get in, and you'll have a great meal and visit with your friend, which is what the trip is about anyway. Plus, if you aren't waiting in line, she can hit one more museum or monument, making the trip that much better. Win-win-win.

We had a big lunch, so salad for dinner. Red romaine, avocado, and Manchego in a tarragon, Dijon vinaigrette. The mosquitoes are still MIA, so we are eating on the deck. We expect them to push us onto the screened porch any day now.

I found the following in a list of regulations: 2.15 Pets. All pets must be restrained on a leash which shall not exceed six feet or otherwise physically confine a pet at all times. An "invisible" electronic leash is not considered restraint by the GWMP. Visitors with pets in the GWMP are required to remove and dispose of their pets' excrement by placing it in a refuse can or carrying it out of the GWMP. Pets are prohibited from entering the Potomac River from within GWMP managed areas. (It sounds like it would be OK.)

The radishes needed thinning, so various radishes served with butter and salt. Grits with radish greens and goat's cheese, topped with shirred eggs. Rosé from Provence. It's nice to be eating out of the garden again.

Twenty people voted, so that's the minimum number who were both interested and date constrained. It was a matter of finding someone to secure the site. We're about 50/50 for being here both the 15th and 29th, so I didn't want to commit and then have to scramble to find someone else to open and close. Ilaine, if you are willing to do it, that would be wonderful.

Satsuma mojitos made with satsuma juice from the freezer. Red potato and baby arugula salad tossed with an herb and mustard vinaigrette. I had a few other greens that needed thinning, so there was also a little amaranth and yu choi in there. The garlic chives are wonderful right now from all the rain - grassy with just a little hint of garlic. To counteract TrelayneNYC and Fishinnards' gorgeous photos, here's my potato salad being served from the metal mixing bowl on top of our pollen-ated table on the deck. Also present was a bottle of rosé from Provence.

I never think of Greenstreet, even though I can walk to it. They have new owners, and I'm glad they have a decent selection now. Anyone looking for tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers can head to Shoppers at Potomac Yard. I just got a six pack of Fairytale eggplants for $1.99. Also picked up some catnip.

Penne with roasted asparagus, balsamic, and romano cheese Red romaine in a tarragon vinaigrette White bordeaux