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Dinner - The Polyphonic Food Blog


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Sunday night:

Salad Caprese

Leftover pork chop

Spinach and cheese ravioli with tomato sauce and pistachio pesto

Last night:

Pork belly tacos (corn tortillas, shredded romaine, chopped tomatoes, chopped radishes, minced jalapeno, buttermilk - sriracha mayo drizzle)

Leftover baked beans

Leftover potato salad

I had been using the bit of sriracho mayo I had left from making deviled eggs last week as a sandwich spread. Last night I whisked some buttermilk into the last of it, creating something approximating a crema that I drizzled over the tacos. It worked well...and now I have extra of that :rolleyes: . ETA: I also whisked in some sheep's milk yogurt to thicken this a bit.

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I did an all inside, really easy version of this for all the kids over at the house(4 right now, only 1 mine)-rice in the rice cooker, steamed broccoli, & chicken, marinated in sweet soy, sesame oil, & sweet chili sauce, cooked in the microwave on the browning pan-we have leftover cake (& we have ice cream), baked by Lizzy yesterday...

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Tomato paella and part of an Athena cantaloupe from the Four Mile Run farmers' market. The cantaloupe is fabulous. Try the market if you live close by. It's on Sunday, and has just one produce vendor, but she has better prices than Del Ray, and you don't have to fight for parking and/or space to breathe. There's also someone from PA with goat milk cheeses and fresh eggs.

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Cantaloupe slices

Miso-marinated broiled wild sockeye salmon

Sushi rice with hijiki and black sesame seeds

My favorite dish at Corduroy is the tuna with sushi rice and hijiki, so when I saw a small package of hijiki at Whole Foods, I decided to buy it and attempt a version of that with the salmon I planned to make. I wasn't sure about how to reconstitute and prepare the hijiki, so I looked at the website of the company that sold it and gauged what I needed to do from a rice and hijiki salad they had listed there. It seemed like it called for an awful lot of the hijiki for the amount of rice, and, indeed, after preparing it, I had way more prepared than I wanted to use.

I start googling to see if the excess could be frozen and discovered that consuming hijiki is not recommended because it contains very large amounts of inorganic arsenic. I figured we wouldn't be eating that much of it (what was for dinner last night and some leftovers made into rice balls), but now I don't know if I want to preserve the rest of what I bought. I hate to throw it out, since it was expensive. It's in the refrigerator awaiting my decision on whether to freeze it.

Arsenic aside, the meal came out well :blink:. The rice with the sesame seeds and hijiki looked gorgeous on the plate with the salmon.

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Bruschetta topped with a mix of chopped beautiful orange tomato* from RRB farmers' market, olives, garlic, parm, olive oil, champagne vinegar and sherry vinegar (I really need to get some red wine vinegar), and oregano

Muddled blackberries* and mint with vodka, St. Germaine, and club soda

*One thing I love about the Vitamix is that I am buying all sorts of fruits and veggies for it so I always have fresh food in the fridge.

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A DelMarVa peninsula farmers' market dinner.

New potatoes and green beans in chipotle sauce

Sweet corn, pan-caramelized in butter then tossed with black beans and feta

Cantaloupe

Those potatoes were amazing - the best texture and flavor I've had in ages.

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Zucchini fritters

Whole wheat apricot couscous

Handful of blackberries

I really loved what I baked using Nigel Slater's recipe for a simple, homey apricot cake w raspberries (Ripe, published as Tender, vol. II in the UK). The couscous is very good, too, though I bet Zora's tree in Santa Monica would have lifted the dish higher. Given flavors of spices, chopped preserved lemon rind, and golden raisins simmered with both apricots and aliums, the chopped apricots got lost. Planning on roasting some more apricot halves to toss with leftovers. Cilantro also seemed tame. Homemade harissa turned out wonderfully; glad I looked online since recipes bore no resemblance to the list of ingredients on Cava's packages of the condiment.

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Stir-fried pork with cucumber from the Washington Post

It sounded like it might be a little bland, so I added some vermouth and rice vinegar during the final stir-fry. I'm not sure why they direct you to fry the garlic in a separate saucepan; I did it in the sautee pan and it turned out dandy--and really added a nice touch to the dish. Very nice overall. I always forget how flavorful cucumbers become when cooked.

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Dinners have been driven by what's coming out of the garden and what is coming back from various farm stands around rural Virginia. Lots of cantaloupe, gilled sweet corn, new potato salads with chipotle dressing, fresh green beans in mustard vinaigrette, and a recent favorite invention, grilled corn / black rice salad in a chipotle / lime dressing. Yum. Now i have to start using up squash and eggplant.

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I am very excited to have my holy basil (ใบกะเพรา) finally growing big and happy. I had some pork from the butcher and green beans so I make pork with holy basil (mu pad bai grapao หมูผัดใบกะเพรา)

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with an omelet (ไข่ยัดไส้) with siracha sauce (ซ้อสศรีราชา)

and fish sauce with chillies (prik nam pla พริกน้ำปลา), vegetables, and brown jasmine rice (not pictured)

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This is such a simple dish. Just oil, garlic (a lot), chillies (prik ee nu "mouse shit chillies" as many as you can stand), fish sauce, palm sugar, chopped meat (using chopped meat makes a difference, many Thai places here use sliced meat, it's not as good), optional sliced long beans or green beans and lots of holy basil (you can also add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce as well). Served over rice with a deep fried egg on top and some chillies in fish sauce on the side and you have one of the most popular (Bangkok) Thai fast food dishes.

Yet you can't really get this dish here in Thai restaurants because holy basil does not like to grow in this climate (except for this time of year when its hotter than Bangkok in DC). It is also very fragile and starts to go off rather quickly after its picked. It is around right now at Thai groceries, but usually only for a day or two each week. It tastes nothing like "Thai Basil" (bai horopha ใบโหระพา), which tastes more like what we would identify as basil (i.e. Italian basil) and is what Thai restaurants here use for this dish (which is not bad, but its not the same). Holy basil is its own thing, very different fragrance and taste that changes the taste of the other ingredients. It has to be cooked to give up its flavor. I could eat this almost every day and I would if I could buy it. Real pad grapao is everywhere in Bangkok, but here I have to make it myself. I think I might make this for dinner tonight, so easy, so amazing.

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Holy basil is its own thing, very different fragrance and taste that changes the taste of the other ingredients. It has to be cooked to give up its flavor. I could eat this almost every day and I would if I could buy it.

But, you can! While known primarily for her grass-fed poultry and meats, Julie Stinar of Evensong Farm (Maryland; cf. WaPo article about her poulets rouges) also specializes in herbs. She likes to grow unusual varieties of mint and basil and sells holy basil at Penn Quarter on Thursdays and Silver Spring on Saturdays.

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But, you can! While known primarily for her grass-fed poultry and meats, Julie Stinar of Evensong Farm (Maryland; cf. WaPo article about her poulets rouges) also specializes in herbs. She likes to grow unusual varieties of mint and basil and sells holy basil at Penn Quarter on Thursdays and Silver Spring on Saturdays.

Thanks! I will check her out, but it probably won't help in December when my holy basil jones kicks in.

I saw some really nice holy basil plants at the Arlington farmers market this spring. I didn't buy any because I had some already started from seed. I ended up buying some more plants from my Thai grocery that were from Wat Tummaprateip Thai Buddhist temple. They are doing well and have good karma.

I really wish I could just buy the finished dish for lunch everyday, rice topped with pad grapao with a fried egg on top of that. My local Thai takeout and primary lunch destination (Bangkok 54) sells a nice version, but unfortunately they don't use holy basil. I do recommend the pad Thai, khao mun gai (Hainanese chicken rice), guay jap nam kon (rice flakes in soup with innards, tofu and hard boiled egg), kanom jeen nam ya (thin rice noodles with fish curry), kanom jeen nam prik (thin rice noodles with mung bean curry), khao kloot kapi (shrimp paste seasoned rice with egg, green mango and sweet pork), khao phat neam (fried rice with fermented pork), khao mok gai (Thai chicken biryani), sai grok (fermented pork sausages with sticky rice), gai yang (grilled chicken). BTW this food can be found at the back of the grocery store. It's a rotating selection, not everything is available everyday. I've never eaten at the restaurant, though presumably they share the same kitchen.

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I want your dinner!...the only part of my dinner that was appetizing was the spicy green beans, sautéed w/ garlic, onion, Thai chiles, & soy. My favorite Thai restaurant (ThaiBox) that makes the best chicken kaprow, does it w/ minced chicken & a fried egg on top, & it's the best version I've ever had...I am still hard pressed to tell the difference between Thai & holy basil, mostly because most places don't use holy basil, I have the regular Thai basil planted in my planters, but I forgot to stick some in the green beans.

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I started out planning to make garlic bread last night, but instead I sauteed two sliced Turkish eggplants I'd bought at Eastern Market on Saturday and put them on top of the garlic butter before wrapping the whole baguette half up and putting it in the oven. Oh, was that good. I'd never encountered Turkish eggplant before. We split the baguette half in half and each had a decent sandwich out of it. I was tempted to add cheese, which I might have if it hadn't been for all the butter.

Also served: cold cantaloupe soup with jalapeno and basil; corn on the cob; and, a salad of mesclun + sorrel, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, and bacon, with ranch dressing.

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last night:

zaru soba: cold soba noodles with soy/dashi dipping sauce, scallions and sesame seeds

cedar planked charcoal grilled teriyaki salmon steaks (farmed for him, king for me)

cucumbers with soy, rice vinegar and citrus, scallions. cilantro and red pepper

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We've got a half-century bike ride coming up this weekend, and we've been putting in some serious training time, so I'm trying to balance a need for a lot of carbs with the need to use up everything that is exploding in the garden. Here are a few recents, with apologies for the photography.

Squash blossom and sweet corn risotto with a salad of sun gold tomato and basil dressed with a bit of balsamic, goat's cheese, and very coarse salt.

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Roasted tomatoes, basil, goat's cheese, and a bit of balsamic over fusilli, freshly-pulled carrots grilled with thyme.

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Chickpea, sun gold tomato (these things are so freaking prolific), purslane salad with pecorino romano and lemon, Athena cantaloupe that looks really shiny and weird for digital reasons I may never understand.

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Wednesday:

Mesclun, arugula, and sorrel salad with cucumber, radishes, bacon, nicoise olives, feta cheese, and tomato; ranch dressing

Ricotta and parsley gnocchi with tomato sauce

Last night:

Leftover salad from Wednesday

Chicken breasts with onion - garlic jam, brie, and sliced almonds

Steamed broccoli

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Mr. MV and I have been enjoying lamb this week. I made a boneless leg of lamb from Valentine's. Seriously, get some if you can (Fall Church and Mt. Vernon). It was so tender with just the right amount of fat. I served it with a red wine pan sauce, smashed red potatoes with cream cheese and chives, and roasted tomatoes/squash/asparagus with thyme and Parmesan.

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Last night I made a Greek-ish lasagna with ground lamb from Valentine's and Coulter's (Crystal City). Lasagna takes a long time to pull together (for me at least), but I do love having leftovers for days, and maybe even a serving or two for freezing and enjoying later.

Served with a big tossed salad of Romaine, sauteed corn, tomatoes and feta.

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The eggplants needed picking, so roasted eggplant, chickpea, and feta salad with mint. I used a Martha Stewart recipe, and with the intensity of the mint from the recent heat and drought, this was a really delicious meal.

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last night:

mixed lettuce and tomato salad with blue cheese dressing

eco-friendly suckling pig leg, herb brined, braised and then roasted in a 500 degree oven to crisp the skin

jus of reduced braising liquid

stone ground grits cooked with fresh sweet corn, milk and butter

freshly shucked black-eyed peas, stewed with aromatics and a piece of eco-friendly smoked ham hock

watermelon

2011 Viña Aljibes rosé

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Tonight was penne pasta topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, goat's cheese, basil, and a little balsamic, then yellow crookneck squash with sweet onion, feta, and mint.

A couple of nights ago was this tart with a side of sweet corn caramelized with sweet onion and butter. Summer. :)

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Crostini with Monocacy Ash goat cheese, nectarines, and basil

Whole wheat orzo salad with tomato, cucumber, parsley, lemon, walnut oil, olives, and chicken

Chilled watercress soup with chives

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In the oven- a spinach quiche, w/ frozen puff pastry, spinach, feta, cream cheese, buttermilk, egg, Kalamata olives, green onions, purple basil, chives, s&p, & a couple of shakes of Cholula chili-garlic sauce- I hope this turns out ok, I am so hungry...ETA, it's a little salty, shouldn't have thrown in the olives, but w/ some Sungolds tomatoes from the yard, pretty yummy...

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Got some pasture raised chicken, thighs & drumsticks, from Cibola Farms at the FC market yesterday. The last time I bought chicken at the market it was from Smith Farms and didn't care for it, as it had a distinct fishy first note. I guess there must have been supplemented feed full of rapeseed. The Cibola chicken didn't have that at all, just a clean flavor & aroma. Pricey, though -- about $6.25/lb for legs.

Seasoned the skin and roasted it up simply, served with some very pretty okra that I got at the market as well. Love those little slimepods!

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Last night, grilled cheese with fresh tomato-basil soup.

Tonight, pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, goat's cheese, basil, and a spray of balsamic. If you aren't roasting cherry tomatoes, give it a try. It's one of those amazingly simple things that has such wonderful flavor. I'm going to stop before I get superfluously adverbial.

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