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Not a huge pasta fan but this one hit hard… carbonara base, sautéed local corn, orange garden tomato seen below, pancetta and some fish pepper.

The "flower" part of figs is internal to the fruit and are pollinated by wasps that burrow into the centre. So bees can't make honey from them. However, fig trees can be produce fruit parthenocarpically, without pollination.

Digging around has revealed that there is something called "fig honey", but it isn't honey at all and not made by bees, but people. It's a syrup made from figs. How to Make Fig Honey

I’ve never seen fig honey either. Maybe the figs are sweet enough as is. Or because figs are generally pollinated by wasps so the bees take their business elsewhere.

Lemongrass chicken with home grown lemongrass and chillies. Cucumber salad

Thanks! Nothing like a little pig fat and cream to smooth out the swordfish! I get a weekly fish share from a local community supported fishery group. They’ve started a side business to convert their fish scraps into fertilizer. I’m thinking sausage could be more lucrative 🙃 I’ll see what they think!

Do, the bees harvest the figs for nectar? My friend who recently sent me lychees from the family lychee farm also sends me lychee honey which I like a lot. Never seen fig honey, though.

Not homemade - from Boston, apparently. Mrs. C picked them up at our local seafood market. Edit: I think she was hoping they were like the delicious smoked swordfish we had in Puerto Vallarta, which tasted like pastrami. No ideal why it hasn't caught on globally, I wish we could get something like that locally.

And still is. It was also one of late French mother's short list of favourites to cook and eat. The dish was named after in Honour of Napoleon after his victory in the Battle of Marengo, Italy. Rice is certainly eaten (and grown) in France and my mother and grandmother both served it with this dish. Corn is gaining acceptance but still not common.

My kitchen floor is sticky because I spilled lime juice on it.

The local hospital carries those traction socks and hands them out to patients. I think I must have 4 or 6 pairs of them now. I really like them.

Yes definitely. Do try them you will be amazed at the difference in the taste and the texture. The little ones in the photo above just get sweeter as they get darker but they are still nice and firm. Down here in this heat, the Cavendish bananas will be soft and mushy in about 3 days and these will last and be good for at least five to seven days.

Sounds delicious! Is the swordfish sausage homemade? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like that, but nor have I specifically looked for it!

I have some of those. You need tough soles to wear them.

Never thought to use anything other than the standard grocery store bananas(Cavendish I assume.) I do have access to Asian and South East Asian markets so will definitely give different banana varieties a try once I go through the plethora of bananas in the freezer!

Charlie frequently mentions a program that he enjoys about food history. He has asked me to look at some of the shows and make some of the recipes. I intend to do it but always forget. But the other day he sent me an email containing a program about one of Napoleon's favorite dishes. Chicken Marengo. The program said it remained popular in French cuisine after his death. We tried the recipe, and he said it was really good and it reminded him of Chicken Adobo. The sides we had with it, most probably, were not ever eaten with this meal in France..rice and corn. Thomas Jefferson tried to interest the French in corn when he was ambassador to France during George Washington's presidency and they were not interested in eating food meant for animals.

This is the earliest that my raspberries are starting to dry up. I'll be cutting canes soon (varieties I grow produce on second year canes) but I'm still picking nearly a pint per day. We've had a great berry year and so has everyone i know locally. Rumor is the huckleberry plants are producing heavily this year and I know the chokecherry trees are loaded. All that fruit production usually means an early or hard winter. Todays pickage should cover 2 breakfasts

What a thoroughly lovely chap

@JoNorvelleWalker Why is your floor sticky? Do you need extra traction? My sister sent me a pair of sticky socks for those "traction emergencies." Note the grabby traction dots:

I shall never again spill lime juice on the kitchen floor. But if I do it shan't matter much. The floor is already sticky.

I feel a little foolish. When I went to wash the shaker there was a big glob of coconut puree at the bottom. Shaking was not enough to get the coconut cream into suspension. The improvement I noted was almost certainly due to using less cream of coconut than in my prior pina colada. I could try homogenization but I doubt that it will happen. It's not like I were making a mai tai or something.

It's a mild shame the goat is minced, the first thing I'd suggest is curry goat if it was diced. If you've got a grill I would be slamming kofte onto it. Here's a recipe for lamb which will do just fine with goat: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jul/03/how-to-make-perfect-kofte (You'll have to scroll a bit, but it isn't the usual spiel about someone's granny converting to Buddhism and feeding her 17 children on three potatoes a day, it's a worthwhile read) I like them with gently pickled cucumber and red onion salad, chilli sauce, plus flatbread and yoghurt spiced with smoked paprika as suggested in the article. Edit: Goat can be leaner than lamb, so try a bit out first and see if you need to add a bit more fat into the mix before you mix up the rest

@Duvel as usual , congratulations on you venue and selections . I did see some garbanzos , w that squid . pig head ? chopped up gelled pigs head ?

Went out to a casual place in town, on the main street. We sat outside and enjoyed a pitcher of very vermouth-forward sangria while watching the people strolling by … We ordered a few items. Grilled squid with chickpeas & pigs head. Artichokes with foie gras filling … Sampler of six croquettes (blue cheese, clams, squid with ink, wild mushrooms, bacalau and spinach with raisins and pine nuts). One was eaten before I could take the picture. They were so good, we ordered another plate … Little one wanted tuna tataki … A canelon with braised duck filling and duck liver sauce. Very good … Instead of ordering dessert, too, we went for a nice walk on the beach and the had ice cream at the plaza. Mine was dulche de leche & leche merengada. Both excellent 🤗

@JeanneCake Good for you ! remember : that steaming ( BPA Free ! ) tray is going to be worth t's weight in Gold ! '' What ? not steaming broccoli ? w carrots and cauliflower ? " " just saying " mine comes Sunday . no prime for me . give me time to get some Brocc.