lperry

Hot freezer tip. (Sorry.) IKEA has some great ice cube trays right now that are the perfect square shapes (square prisms?) for filling freezer bags with little portions of whatever, and the filled bags will then stack perfectly upon one another. Each cube is one tablespoon. I've already started packing the roasted tomatoes in the freezer, and the yellow crookneck squash got ahead of me enough that I have a quart bag of par-sautéed pieces put away. I'm going to search the interwebs to find out if I can roast then freeze halved acorn squash for stuffing later. Even if I don't find someone who's tried it, I've got five on the counter and another eleven on the plants (yikes), so I'll happily do the trial on that one. Happy freezing!

Second the recommendation for Indian Ocean. We ate an early dinner there recently, and it was excellent. The samosas got eaten before I could try them (which is probably a positive recommendation), but I did get a vegetable pakora, and it was the best pakora I have ever eaten. I wish I knew how they got the besan flour so light and soft on the inside with the outside so perfectly crispy. Nicely spiced, served elegantly (yes, elegantly) on a plate with swirls of tamarind and cilantro chutneys. Mr. lperry loved his chicken korma, and I weenied out a bit choosing palak paneer, figuring it was a safe bet at an unknown restaurant. I was surprised at the delicate spicing, the fresh greens, the aromatic, chopped herbal topping, and the paneer, which had the taste and texture of house made. Our guest ordered the malai kofta lajawab, and I got a taste. Delicious, balanced spice, and lovely presentation with the croquettes neatly arranged and sauced, another winner. The naan was gorgeous: puffed with little, crispy brown bubbles, great flavor, and just the right amount of ghee. Everything was very good or excellent, so much so, that we are trying to figure out how we can get out to Centreville more frequently, just to eat at this restaurant. I haven't enjoyed a restaurant meal that much in some time. If you are out in that direction, do yourself a favor and go to Indian Ocean.

Great minds shop at Pentagon City. Those mushrooms were gorgeous. Chapchae noodle and snow pea salad in a peanut, sesame, lime dressing.

IKEA has some really nice ice cube trays right now. They are little squares that hold one tablespoon each, so they are perfect for freezing all sorts of things (even though they are labeled, "water only.") I froze a couple of cups of ginger juice in tablespoon cubes, vacuum-sealed the bag, and have been using it out of the freezer with great success. The bite is still there, unlike with refrigerated ginger juice.

Portobello mushrooms, marinated in rosemary olive oil and balsamic, grilled, then "stuffed" with goat's milk feta, lemon thyme, chives, and toasted pepitas. Roasted asparagus with balsamic and shaved Romano cheese. Yeah, it's from Peru, but it was the best looking asparagus I've ever seen in a store, and it was $1.49 a pound. Too good to pass up.

Last night, breakfast for dinner: toasty arepas filled with eggs, scrambled with fresh goat's milk cheese and hot sauce.

Interesting.

My Mom used to make brandied kumquats every year, and they lived in the brandy with no issues other than being brandified.

I tried making my Grandmother's three bean salad with fresh beans once. Never again. It just wasn't right. Even after she got a freezer, there were canned beans for that salad. KeithA, that's a lot of pickles.

No, and for even more of a buzz kill, you have to have a pressure canner to put up green beans.

White sweet corn (4MR market) and black bean tacos with goat's milk feta (4MR market), Key lime, papaloquelite (woot!) and cayenne. Tortillas from Giant's "Nature's Promise" line, which are the only ones I've been able to find that have three ingredients: corn, lime, salt. Really good if you don't have time to make your own on a weeknight. I run them under the faucet to dampen them then put them on the Cuisinart griddler. Easy peasy. Sangria with homemade satsuma liqueur, overripe black plums, and red globe grapes. I've got to throw some plums in the freezer so I can have this stone fruit sangria in the winter. Excellent flavor and a richness that has been lacking in the peach sangria I've been concocting.

Portobello mushrooms, grilled and filled with a goat's milk cheese, toasted nut and herb mixture. Lemon thyme is particularly nice with mushrooms, I think. Chickpeas and roasted eggplant tossed with lemon, olive oil, and a big handful of chopped mint. Recuerdo Torrontes 2011

Fairytale eggplant and tofu tossed with homemade hoisin, wrapped in thin, garlic chive pancakes. Mu xu, sort of, except I didn't cut everything as small as I should have. A surprisingly filling meal, and now I only have about 15 eggplants remaining in the fridge. Daiquiris. The clarity of fresh lime and rum works very well with Chinese and Thai flavor profiles. We aren't beer drinkers, and wines can be either overwhelmed or overwhelm, so I'm probably going to stick with the cocktails.

Time got away from me yesterday, so dinner was a quick freezer-inspired leek and roasted tomato risotto. Rosé from Provence was also on the table.

Summer rolls, made with kaenip, glass noodles, piles of herbs from the overgrown garden, and slice-able tofu marinated in the recipe in this morning's WaPo food section. I think they made sliders with it. Excellent flavor. Dipping sauces included basic lime/soy/sugar/chili and a homemade hoisin. Daiquiris.

Super H has two-pound bags for $3.99. They are in the section with the Middle Eastern staples and are labeled Asmar's Large Lima Beans. According to the label, it's a local distributor, so there's a good chance they are elsewhere around town. I've seen these products at Shoppers, but I never looked for the giant beans. The beans in the bag I got are just gorgeous. Clean, unblemished, shiny, unbroken, and over an inch on the long axis, so they should be really gigante when cooked.

Grilled squash casserole Peaches in cognac Rosé from Provence

Penne with Fairy tale eggplant caponata, topped with basil chiffonade. The eggplant and herbs theme continues, as does the accidental vegan theme. If all you have is a pot to grow produce, plant a Fairy tale eggplant. Those little buggers crank out the fruit at one or two per day.

You guys are amazing.

I couldn't get the site to come up at all for about a half hour this morning, and every other site I tried loaded fine. I think they may be having server problems.

The first tomatoes of the season went into a tomato paella. Washed down with a white Bordeaux.

The GIant on Glebe near our house has a display every fall with local-ish apples from Virginia, Maryland, or Pennsylvania, and they advertise it in the circular. I make an effort to stop in and buy some.

The garden was overflowing with eggplant and holy basil, so eggplant kaprow over jasmine rice. The eggplants are wonderful this year, and I've been managing to get them picked before they develop seeds. I tried them before putting in the holy basil, and cooked simply in EV coconut oil with a little garlic, chili, and soy sauce, they are just wonderful. Now we need some rain for the tomatoes.

Two criteria, I think: something seasonal that works well with the weather and/or the food, and something that I would not make at home, due to the presence of a unique ingredient or process. I'm not willing to pay $15 for a well-made whatever if I can mix one up at home.

Vietnamese soy sauce contains rice instead of wheat, so that's what I have at home. And terribly sorry to hear about the lymphoma. Mr. lperry is five years clear which is considered cured, and I wish you the same. The fad aspect of GF goes both ways. It makes it both much easier to find GF products in the grocery stores, but also much more difficult to be certain your needs are being met in a restaurant. We have places we trust in town, and I'm going to get Mr. lperry some of these cards for when he travels. Twice on the last trip he had servers assure him the meal was gluten-free only to have them come back with a plate covered with wheat, followed by an admission that they didn't really understand what GF is. Poor training and disrespectful dismissal of the customer's request.