HungryChris

Korean BBQ chicken thighs, scalloped potatoes and peas. HC

For some reason, I wanted a tuna salad sandwich today. I have been trying various canned tuna lately. After having some great canned tuna in Italy, I have moved into the camp, that believes tuna packed in spring water is not a good idea. Here is the one I used today. It was good, but I am looking for better. HC

Poached eggs on fried zucchini with fresh salsa. HC

That is very interesting. I wonder if that will change any time soon. HC

So, they don't make it a practice to break down the primals into categories? Not a judgment, just curious. HC

Chef salad with an experimental lemon juice, prosecco vinegar, garlic, tarragon and caper vinaigrette dressing. Has promise, but needs a little more work. HC

Getting a decent salad in a restaurant is a surprisingly disappointing endeavor. It has long been my belief that any restaurant that could reliably deliver a fresh salad would quickly develop a good reputation, provided there were no other glaring shortcomings. It is why, in my mind, Olive Garden has done as well as it has and why salad bars were invented, but only do well in areas where the restaurant has a steady and reliable stream of customers. A truly good salad is made to order with ingredients that have been freshly washed, dried and assembled. If the restaurant relies on a minimum wage payed, part time, high schoolers to do the work, you can see the issues at once. If they pay someone what it takes to do the job impeccably, the price of the salad goes up inordinately. Now add to the problem, a restaurant that is not busy all the time, or is closed one day of the week and the problem is compounded because now, there must be rules about what to do with washed lettuce at the end of the day, the night before the restaurant is closing for a day, and what to do with that lettuce before the restaurant opens after being closed for a day. There is the “would you serve this?” question, that so many people in the kitchen have their own and varied answers to. Consider how much lettuce to buy to ensure supply, but not have excess, but also think about how often can deliveries be made and at what time do they come. If you are running your own little place where you can ride honcho over everything and know in your heart that every salad that goes out is flawless, do you not want to expand and do better? At some point, you must delegate responsibility, you take a step back, because now you are relying on others to do your bidding and it becomes a judgement call on who to choose to do it for you. Now you have opened the door to why so many restaurants fail and just think, we are still just talking about salad and overlooking the other items on the menu. That is why a truly good salad, at a restaurant, in my mind is like a window into the soul of the place. If you can get a reliably great salad every time, chances are, they are running a tight ship, at least for now. HC

Fresh 'pickage' this morning consists entirely of black seeded simpson lettuce. I am happy to have it and happy to know that more produce is on the way! It was a long winter! HC

Shrimp fra diavolo, with tons of fresh garlic, herbs, shallots, capers, finely diced sweet peppers, tomato paste, dry sherry and just enough hot chili oil to bring in some heat. We both loved this! HC

Bloody Caesar garnished with pickled asparagus and pickled green tomato. HC

I tried the TJ cioppino yesterday and was not at all impressed. The sauce was the highlight, but the bag of poorly handled frozen seafood that they have you add once the sauce is simmering, brings the whole thing down to an unacceptable level. I am planning on bringing the one pkg I have left back, as I have no desire to repeat the disappointment of eating it. HC

Poached eggs on toast, home fries with onions, leftover corned beef and fresh salsa. HC

It was 96 F here today! We had mini chef salads and they were just about right. HC

We were given a gift certificate to Whole Paycheck and bought two dry aged steaks. From past experience, we knew they were just too big for us, and cut themt in half and made two meals out of them. Deb likes her steak medium well (a battle I have given up fighting) and I like mine rare, but I have gotten pretty good at making it all happen. We had it with a small salad with lettuce from the garden and a good sized baker. HC

There is a Lebanese deli near here that sells falafel sandwiches that include pink pickled turnip slices. I was so taken with the flavor of those pickled turnips that I started making them too. HC

I planted mint next to my house, when I first bought it, because I like mint in my ice tea. I quickly learned that mint is best kept in a container, because mint likes to be in everything! I read somewhere that mint can be thwarted with repeated application of wood ashes. Since I heated the house primarily with wood, I was able to get it under control, but even though I now have mint in a container, most of my iced tea is supplied by mint from renegade control. Here is some mint gathered from a recent reconnaissance. HC

Tacos, my friend. HC

They do taste earthy to me also, but in a good way, so I'm on your side of the fence, if it should matter. I have planted them quite a few times, but they have never come up for me. HC

Salami grinder. HC

Deb mentioned that she really liked French toast, something I never knew. Now, truth be told, I was a fat kid, so French toast was something I eliminated from my menu a long time ago and is something I have not made since I still held tenure in the kitchen of my youth, but I accepted the challenge. The first step, it seemed was to bake some bread and while it cooled, get some nutmeg and maple syrup. The first test run was held privately, but the results were good. While I will not be making it for myself again any time soon, old habits die hard, I don't, at all, mind whipping up a batch for Deb from time to time. She took some in to work to reheat for breakfast and was quite happy with it!

Korean BBQ wings and salad with first of the season lettuce from the garden. HC

Bruschetta, watermelon and sopressata (soupy). HC

It's St Patty's day in June. This is one of our favorite meals. Tomorrow I will have to start counting how many we have left in the freezer. HC

Bruschetta toasties with salami and provolone cheese. HC

We had steamer clams last night. I can already hear the comments: Melted butter warmers? Hey, they make Deb happy, so I just play along. I did check to make sure my home owners insurance was up to date. HC