Smithy

True, but as one of those people watching the leaves start to turn already I can appreciate that much of the world (in the northern hemisphere) considers it to be high summer still. I also think that a seasonal theme is fun, even though participants may not be in the same season. All that said, I'd be fine with a different schedule and theme if Rebel Rose proposes it. I'm just keen to try a virtual group wine tasting, led by a knowledgeable teacher!

The moussaka looks great. When I think of that dish I tend to think of the Egyptian version (which @Wolfert said at the time should be spelled mussaka) which has eggplant, the lamb mixture, and a tomato-based sauce. (Gratuitous plug here:) If anyone is interested in various takes on moussaka, have a look at the eG Cook-off#7: Moussaka topic.

I think I'd favor the time-framed posting here, in order to allow more people to participate and possibly to maintain our usual anonymity. However, I'm open to other ideas. @Rebel Rose may have different and better ideas!

My three cherry tomato plants look prolific, and at last the fruit is beginning to ripen. These plants are all taller than I, and they just keep bearing in their delightful indeterminate way. The Sun Gold and Black Cherry tomatoes make a nice color contrast to the classic reds, don't they? The bowl fragment is from a beloved hand-painted Italian bowl that slid off a the top of a bookcase a few weeks ago, a casualty of trying to fit one too many books in the case. The bowl broke into too many pieces to consider trying to glue it together. I've scattered some of the sherds around in various plant pots, but I have trouble letting go of these bigger pieces that still show the original pattern. It's a measure of my general good fortune, I think, that I could spare emotion to lament a dish!

I love the looks of those crumpets, @Kim Shook. Did you make them? It may be about time for me to do that again.

Me, me! I learned so much from the eGCI course "Evaluating Wine", but my local wine-tasting group has aged out or moved and now I tend simply to drink blended wines. There are some fine blends out there, mind, but a sharpening of the perceptions would be welcome. I think biweekly would give time for everyone interested to find the wine and participate. I'd favor kicking it off on a weekend, but in truth it doesn't much matter for my work schedule. Thanks for starting this up - and welcome back!

Thanks for reviving this topic, @JessicaDowd. If you go back to the first page, you'll see that it's supposed to be your own local wine shop, wherever that is. Pick a bottle at random, blindly if you can so safely. Show us what it is, and those who want to participate will get the same wine. Compare notes. We didn't really have much luck with the game because of uneven availability of the same wine. The current pandemic adds another complication: I think the whole "get someone to spin you around in the store" idea is untenable while maintaining social distancing. Maye there's a virtual way to do a random choice. Anyone? I had forgotten that this was how I discovered inexpensive but good Malbecs.

I haven't seen that brand before. Are those from a supplier online?

We always go to the Oasis Date Gardens in Thermal. Here's my most recent visit.

I have no idea what that pattern is called or who the manufacturer could be, but I think it's a very handsome design.

If you're looking for uses, you may find inspiration in the older topic Verjus.

I've been eyeballing the chokecherries that grow wild around here, without having done more than taste them. I had grand plans last year and then didn't get to them. My book on cooking with wild berries and fruits from this part of the country has a recipe for a cherry barbecue sauce (any of the wild cherries would work). Ingredients are the cherries, orange juice, shallot, ginger root, ground black pepper, hot red fresh chile, tomato paste, white wine vinegar and salt. They say it works well with almost any grilled meat, but especially with game such as duck or goose. Let me know if you'd like more detail. I've also been wondering about making a chutney with the chokecherries. This same book has a recipe for spicy plum chutney in which the wild cherries could be substituted for the plums "(if you have the patience to pit 3 cups!)" My last chutney attempt, using crabapples, was a dud but I think that was operator error. One cautionary note from my book is that the pits and leaves of the wild cherries must not be eaten, nor should they be crushed during cooking or straining. They contain low but nontrivial levels of hydrocyanic acid. Cooking or drying eliminates the compound. The reference books I discuss above, for anyone interested, are both by Teresa Marrone: Wild Berries and Fruits Field Guide of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan Cooking with Wild Berries & Fruits of MN, WI and MI (Foraging Series) She has similar books out for other parts of the country.

@weinoo, I believe you're right that we would go to Fall River to get that linguica. I don't remember how easy or difficult it was to find kale in the mid-80's, but I think the Portuguese kale soup was my first inkling that kale existed.

In a past life I lived with a man from New Bedford, MA. When we found linguica, the Portuguese answer to chorizo, nothing would do but we had to make kale soup. It was a special memory from his childhood. I liked it too. 30 years ago kale and linguica were difficult to get in our usual haunts. Who knew kale would become so common and reviled?

Thanks to someone or several someones on this topic (or was it the lunch topic?) I got the idea to roast down some gorgeous summer tomatoes and onions, along with a couple of eggplants. Maybe I'd even get energetic and toss them with fresh pasta. Maybe I'd put them into a tart or galette. Unbeknownst to me during this planning process, my darling was rooting around in a freezer. He came in, accusing me: "I've found some sausages from last January!" I took a look. Well...no, they were only from last March. But I agree that it defeats the purpose of buying hot Italian sausage "handmade fresh in Arizona today!" when one sticks them in a freezer and forgets them for nearly 5 months. They went into the mix. Two huge eggplants, several tomatoes, several onions were cut up, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and herbs, then roasted until they collapsed. The sausages kept them company in the roasting pans but didn't collapse. The lot was chopped and tossed with freshly cooked dried pasta. Not bad, not bad at all. Even better with grated parmesan. Somehow, that made the sauce elements stick to the noodles better.

Nice to see you posting, Ambra! All the meals you've posted look good, but this one really sings to me: It happens I have green beans, potatoes and pesto that all need to be used. This looks like a delicious way to do it. Thanks for the idea!

I found an old topic titled Who else has tableware lust? in which @moosnsqrl said, "Whatever you do, don't stop at hobbs in Lawrence on your way to KC".... Is this the topic you were remembering?

How terrific that you're coming back to the States - and I'm thrilled that it will be near Austin! May give us a chance to meet up some time, after the pandemic has been sorted. This place isn't in the Midwest, but could you be thinking of Replacements, Ltd? Even if you don't go the road trip route, they're a pretty good source when you know what you're after.

@shain - that beet soup looks beautiful. I'll remember it next time I see beets at our farmers' market; they're coming into season here. @liamsaunt - your tomato galette is one of several recent entries that reminds me I can actually cook some of the beautiful tomatoes that are in season now. I tend to just cut and eat them fresh - maybe on a sandwich, maybe in a salad - but I bet they also shine in something like that galette!

Grilled "superburgers" (half hot Italian sausage, half ground beef, with finely chopped onion mixed in) and warm fresh sweet corn. There were also 3 types of potato salad for a taste-test, but we didn't get very far with that. There was plenty of dinner already. At this time of the day I generally have the meat patty without bread, but the opportunity for the sandwich was too good to pass up. The burger and bread are a perfect size match. We also have tomatoes that are a perfect size match. Top photo: his preference. The burger between two pieces of toast. Miracle Whip on the toast. That's it. Bottom photo: my burger, placed between two pieces of toast with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. It was a tossup as to whether the tomato or the burger was juicier. The blend was marvelous. We finished dinner celebrating our differences.

I too will be interested to hear about your experiences with them. I'm sorry that you're not impressed so far...it's a lot of money! Our family used to splurge on the pears at Christmas time; a lot of friends and family got them, and we always got a box for our own family. We loved those pears, but never tried any of the other fruit.

Oh c'mon now. You know most of us would also love the crime scene photos!

I am mystified as to why the really good stone fruits are so difficult to find in California, where they're grown. For the last 10 years that I visited my family in the San Joaquin Valley during the summer, we had to rely on friends with backyard trees. Even the roadside fruit stands didn't have good stuff. Why is that, do you suppose? I still know good stone fruits from mediocre; it isn't as though I've forgotten. I can promise you that with judicious shopping I have better access to good peaches and nectarines in northern Minnesota grocery stores than in the grocery stores near where where they were grown! (Apricots are another story, alas.)

I'm going to stretch the range a little bit, in two ways. Stretch #1: no cooking or baking involved: The peaches and nectarines are coming in from California and North Carolina here, and they're fabulous. I made peach/nectarine ice cream the other day and took it to friends. We all shared, and they got the leftovers, so I'll be making more soon. Hmm, peach/nectarine turnovers or tarts would be good. Maybe I'll try that too. Stretch #2: tomatoes. We usually think of summer fruits as sweet, but technically, tomatoes are also a fruit. In Minnesota the tomatoes are starting to come into their own. Last night's dinner was our second Caprese salad of the season, and my best version yet due to a hint of salt and garlic in the mix. This also was a no bake/no cook dish, unless you care to count the bread I'd baked some time ago and was anxious to use up.

Thanks for that link. There are some good sale prices there, given the original price. When I started looking online for paella pans, I was shocked at their list prices. Does anyone know why they're so expensive?