HungryChris

The rhubarb has gotten a little out of control, and called for desperate measures. So, I took them. What we will do with all this strawberry rhubarb pie, remains to be seen. I think Deb may just have to leave one with a pie knife on the lunch room table at work. HC

Linguini with white clam sauce. These were clams I dug just a few days ago. The $20, 1 year license is one of the best bargains going in my book and I get out there every chance I get. We will probably have linguica stuffed clams tomorrow and I think Deb likes them more than I do, which is hard to believe. This sauce is a mixture of diced, peeled garlic (at least a whole head), fresh chopped parsley, cilantro and basil. Simmer the garlic in about a half cup of decent olive oil, (do not brown). Add about a cup of dry white wine, about a half cup each, of chopped parsley, chopped cilantro and a TBS of dried basil. Simmer this mixture for a few minutes, then blend with an immersion blender until well blended and reduce the volume to half at a slow simmer. To this mixture, add about a half cup of chopped, raw clams and turn up the heat of the pasta water. When the pasta water is at a rolling boil and the clam sauce is at a simmer, add about twenty tiny whole clams to the simmering clam sauce and enough linguini fini to the boiling pasta water for two people, plus enough for a lunch. The clams should be open about the same time the pasta is done. After that, just follow your instincts. HC

Grilled Reuben on seeded rye with last nights corned beef. HC

A bit of St Patty's Day in May. HC

Left the house a little early to go clamming this morning. Low tide was at 9:30 AM and it is a half hour drive to the area and another half hour walk out to the clam beds from the parking lot. Made out pretty well, with a little over five dozen clams, but was tired and hungry when I got home. Can you tell?

Interesting question, that has no simple answer. The first time I tried it, the added moisture of the buttermilk, required longer frying to get crisp. By the time it was crisp, it was overcooked and tough. I now fry in smaller batches, in a wok with plenty of peanut oil and start the fry at a higher temp (380 F). It seems to work well and is tender. I will probably go back to not using the presoak, just to get a better feel of both results and choose the path from there. I was never unhappy with the result before trying the buttermilk presoak. HC

Fresh Point Judith calamari (at $3.99 pp is hard to beat), soaked in buttermilk and a bit of hot sauce and fried up. I served this with a kimchi tartar sauce and fries. HC

Live soft shell crabs came in today, and I wasted no time in getting three for dinner. These were Primes (4 1/2" to 5" from point to point). They present a challenge in getting them crispy, because the bodies are thicker than the more common Hotels, which you can crisp up with little effort. The trick with Primes, is to get the fry pan screaming hot, add the butter and then the crabs quickly (standing back, out of the spatter zone), but the reward is worth the risk, in my book. I served these with fresh asparagus, from the garden, and a garlic and lemon aioli on toasted snow flake rolls, as is my tradition. It was a great meal!! HC

It must have been harvested a little late. HC

Salad leftover from last night, the first of some chicken liver pate, made yesterday and the last of an open growler of 8 Days a Week, APA. I topped this latest batch of CLP with some ramp compound butter which brings a nice mix to the party. HC

Sou vide fried chicken experiment. I read about this somewhere and have been wanting to try it. I SV'd trimmed and cut up chicken leg quarters, seasoned with salt at 155 F for 2 1/2 hours. They were then shaken with flour, dunked in a beaten egg and buttermilk bath, and shaken in a cornflake and bread crumb mixture seasoned with garlic powder and tajin, then fried at 375 F. Overall, the procedure has promise, but needs to be tweaked. I think next time I will pay way more attention to the seasoning the chicken is SV'd in and lower the frying temp to 350 F. The corn flakes darkened way too fast at 375 F, while I set the table. It is a work in progress, but I was happy with the first try. HC

Frankly, Shelby, It was your mom's influence that made me do it. HC

Here is my modest garden estate. This lettuce was actually planted in the late fall, in the cold frame. It came up, but remained quarter sized throughout the winter. It was intended as a fall crop, but turned into a spring one. My "breakfast zucchinis" are in the background. Some of the pickling cukes are in the ground, but tiny and some are still under the lights. There is the first wave of sugar snaps. I am hoping for blossoms soon. Here is the garlic I planted last fall Most of the tomatoes are in the ground. I still have some fourth of Julys under the lights along with shishito, sweet cubanelle fryers and red hot cherry peppers. This one is meant for @Shelby, who, last year, shamed me into doing the unthinkable, this year, and "sucker budding" the peonies. HC

I happened to notice the great price on Klondike bars in the Sunday flyer, but failed to notice the Limit 2. Undeterred, I made the required 5 trips into the store to achieve my ten count goal. HC

Fresh haddock fish and chips last night. HC

Another SLT (scrapple, lettuce and tomato) breakfast sandwich. HC

Fried shrimp po-boy sliders, dressed, small salads with a fresh young garlic vinaigrette and watermelon sticks. HC

Poached eggs on rolls smeared with ramp butter, scrapple and home fries. HC

I used the last of the clams I harvested recently for linguini with clam sauce, last night. I have found that a mixture of finely chopped cilantro, curly parsley, copious amounts of fresh chopped garlic, dry white wine with good olive oil makes the base for a great white clam pasta sauce. I simmer the combination together for about ten minutes, zip it up with an immersion blender, until smooth, reduce until the wine volume is halved and add chopped raw clams and bring to a simmer, putting the salted pasta water on high heat at the same time. When the pasta water is at a rolling boil, I add the pasta to it, turn up the heat of the simmering sauce and add the whole clams to that pot. The pasta is usually done at the same time the clams open up, and it is a simple matter of bringing them all together at that point. HC

Pork pot stickers with a dipping sauce, linguica stuffed littleneck clams and the very first asparagus from the garden. HC

We had a salad with lettuce from the garden, and soft shell crab sandwiches for dinner. Any day that I can have a soft shell crab sandwich for both lunch and dinner, is a good one in my book, and yesterday was one of them. These were "fresh", meaning that they were sold cleaned and prepped for the fry pan. I am still holding out hopes for finding live ones, the pinnacle, in the pursuit of the perfect soft shell crab meal. I wasn't sure if Deb would be on board, but she was all in after the first bite and has fully endorsed soft shell crab season as a legitimate and worthwhile endeavor. I served these up with the same spicy lemon and garlic aioli I made for my sandwich at lunch and was pleased to see how well it was received, as she went back for frequent reapplications. HC

I was in there this morning. They have put up a temporary partition so that the store can continue to operate while the expansion takes place. HC

It looks like the Aldi near me is expanding. It makes me wonder what additional items they will add. HC

Soft shell crab season is one of my favorite times of year! This one with spicy lemon and garlic aioli. HC

Stuffed shells last night. I have learned that putting the sauce in the dish first, makes getting the stuffed shells all lined up and in their place much easier. I make the dish in the morning and put it into a 350 F oven an hour and a half before dinner and let it cool for 15 minutes before we sit down to eat. HC