HungryChris

Cheese and potato pierogi from Aldi. I am not a pierogi afficinado, but Deb grew up with them and liked these. This time of year, asparagus is everywhere and dirt cheap. While I wait for mine to come up, I have no problem enjoying the bounty of others HC

Every once in a while, I crave a good porter. I liked this one a lot. HC

Veal piccata with a baked potato. HC

I gave the mixed mesclun and the next wave of basil a chance to get out from under the lights today. The sun is just about right for a little practice session. HC

Leftover ham and cheese quiche this morning. HC

I used the last leftover baked potato for breakfast yesterday. HC

I have been waiting for the first calamari of the season to show up. Sometimes it's sooner than now, but this year, not so much. As a kid, I lived across the street form the Stonington Holy Ghost Society, which is populated by a large percentage of the Stonington fishing fleet crew members. Every Friday during Lent, they have a benefit fish fry that includes seafood that is impeccably fresh, that comes from the docks just a few steps away. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g33939-d6225187-Reviews-Portuguese_Holy_Ghost_Society-Stonington_Connecticut.html So I knew that if I went to the right place on a Friday in Lent, I would find it, and sure enough: Cleaned Point Judith squid was $8.99 pp, but "dirty" Stonington squid was $3.99 pp, and since I like to clean it myself, and go for the freshest possible, I went for the good stuff. Once I cleaned and cut it up, I soaked it in buttermilk, with a splash of hot sauce for a few hours. And fried it up for dinner with some fries. I like to prepare a kimchi tartar sauce that is a simple mixture of finely diced kimchi and mayo. HC

Fried haddock sandwiches with leftover salad. HC

It really does make a huge difference. I had a neighbor who would bring back wild mussels from Maine, that were great, but the cheap ones in the market are loaded with gravel. I am a huge fan of the farmed ones. HC

The last time we had mussels, they were so full of gravel, Deb got sick, and I made a promise to myself that I would never buy wild mussels again. I saw these PEI farmed mussels on sale in a flyer this weekend, and I was all over it. These were great! Herbed garlic olive oil and wine sauce. HC

In the schnitzel cook-off, I developed a great fondness for pork tenderloin schnitzel, especially in a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo! HC

Ham and cheese quiche with roasted asparagus. HC

Yesterday, Deb texted me that she would be "stopping by" Kohl's on the way home from work. Because it turned into an hour and a half visit, I had 2 extra baked potatoes this morning. So, I put one in the fridge, cut the other one in half, covered it with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and heated it up for this. HC

Pork tenderloin schnitzel, in a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo. Very satisfying! Very economical, as well. HC

Having had a rather disappointing lunch buffet at a local casino, I opted for dinner a little later than usual, with a cicchetti motif. Buffalo wings, pasta salad and a shrimp cocktail. We enjoyed it much more than we did lunch. HC

Breakfast toastie, with a fried salami base, sliced marinated mushrooms and strips of provolone cheese along with my flag of support for the radish movement. HC

Linguini with white clam sauce and garlic bread. I wish I had dug these clams myself, but for the last few months, the clam beds have been either closed or frozen over, so I broke down and bought some fresh, chopped ones. HC

Mixed mesclun, which I hope to be able to put out in the cold frame mid March or earlier. The next wave of basil is on the bottom. HC

Chef salads, Cheddar Bay biscuits HC

Cheese ravioli with small wedge salads HC

Poached egg on rye toast, pork scrapple, fresh salsa and Campari tomatoes. I have noticed that this time of year, the Campari tomatoes, which are pretty good all winter, start to deliver an extra summer like punch that is so welcome. HC

It is a local term for a type of sandwich which were ubiquitous in the few small towns in Connecticut where I grew up. In 7th grade, I waited for the school bus outside of Moonie's grinder shop and on cold mornings Mrs. Moonie would let us wait inside. I would watch her make salami grinders (AKA "regular grinders" as opposed to ham or meatball or turkey). The process went like this: She would take a head of iceberg lettuce, deftly bang it, stem side down, on the counter and remove the plug like core. She would then put it on the meat slicer and finely slice it into a bowl, to which she added a good amount of salt and pepper and glug of olive oil. This was all mixed together with a fork. She would cut several foot long rolls, lengthwise and open them up like books and line them up, cut side up, on the counter. Olive oil was lightly drizzled on each cut side of the rolls. Half moon slices of provolone cheese went down the right hand side of each roll, topped by half moon slices of tomato. Similar slices of cooked salami covered the other side of each roll. Then, big handfuls of the lettuce mixture went down the center of each sandwich, followed by additional salt and pepper and crushed red pepper on a few. A bread knife held the lettuce mixture in place while the roll was folded closed. One by one, each sandwich was cut in half and tightly wrapped in butcher paper and taped shut. A black crayon put a mark one each to let her know what it was. These were for her "regulars" who would pull up to the shop and run in to grab their lunch. She would make most of the others to order while the customer waited during the day. I watched that process thousands of times, as a 7th grader, knowing full well that some day, I would make the magic happen myself. HC

Toasted ham grinders with cabbage. I was afraid I was being a bit weird with this one, but we loved these! HC

Bruschetta on avocado crostini HC

I made a quick sauce with some fresh Hamburger, leftover sausage, sweet peppers, garlic and onion. We went with angel hair pasta and were pretty happy with the result. HC