HungryChris

Cold and rainy here, time for soup. Leftover Korean BBQ chicken comes up to the plate (Go Cubs!) with a salad, leftover beet and onion salad and bruschetta. HC

Leftover kielbasa and onions with fried eggs. HC

TJ's chicken liver and truffle mousse, Aldi brie and rosemary and olive oil imitation Triscuits, some olives and a pear. HC

Kimchi fried rice with leftover kielbasa HC

Heavy frost warning tonight. Cold and windy today. I started picking all the shishito peppers in the cold wind, then decided to take a different approach. The final tally and a little snack HC

Cheeseburgers, Shelby fries and some tomatoes that were picked green and ripened wrapped in newspaper. Toppings on the plate for the burgers include tomato, onion, pickles and kimchi. HC

Korean BBQ rotisserie chicken, and salads. HC

Fried green tomatoes and eggs. HC

Kielbasa & onions, bruschetta and a beet and onion salad with a Balsamic vinaigrette. You can blame my still recovering vision for my failure to wipe the plate clean after draining the excess juice. Here is the kielbasa and onions before being wrapped up in HD foil to be put on the grill. The extra onions will be added to the leftover kielbasa for the inevitable kimchi fried rice to follow. As you can see, Crystal hot sauce is a key player. HC

Pickled beets and onions HC

We took Deb's grandson apple picking last weekend at a farm and stand I have been going to for many years. I couldn't help but notice that the still had corn and I bought some for dinner. They are very meticulous about their corn and pick it several times a day in peak season. I gave them a call yesterday morning to see if they still had any and when they said, well, we have some, I asked if they would put some aside for me as I used to do when I lived nearby, and they did. I felt lucky to get it. Now, I had to arrive at the next dinner component and stopped by one of my favorite markets, nearby. Three items caught my eye: I went for the squid. I have already posted too many calamari pics here so I did not bother to take any more, but dinner was great! HC

I just found one this morning on sale because the use or freeze by date was coming up. To me, that means it has been "wet aged" which is a good thing. It is in the brine as I type and I will deliver a full report when I make the first sandwich. HC

I have mentioned here somewhere before that I like to corn them in Morton Tender Quick solution with a few bay leaves and pepper corns for 2 or 3 weeks, then braise them for about 3 hours. Just thinking about it, know I will be doing it again soon! HC

I think that was my reaction on the first visit as well, but once you try some of the items you discover that many of them are quite good and do represent good bargains. Here are a few examples. At first, I was getting their Savoritz brand imitation Triscuits and thought they were great, but soon tried the rosemary & olive oil and loved it. I have never seen that flavor Triscuit. The Happy Farms Cheeses and Friendly Farms milk and cream are a good bargain too I was going to mention the hamburg and hot dog rolls at 89 cents to you, rotuts ,but I see you got them. HC

A beef and a pork in red sauce tamale, both from TJ's, cooked from frozen in the IP (15 min, 5 min cool down then pressure released). Served with sour cream, fresh homemade pico de gallo and salsa Shucked and properly attired HC

The last of the IP chuck pot roast with carrots and cubanelles HC

Wayne, I have tried quite a few methods, but this is the one I have stuck with. These are refrigerator pickles, but green tomatoes hold up very well and I have a jar or two from last season that is still tasty, firm and crunchy. In a quart jar, add a little less than 1 TBS of kosher salt, 1 TBS of dill weed, 3 or 4 cloves of peeled and crushed garlic, 3 bay leaves and crushed red pepper to taste (optional). Pack with cleaned, trimmed green tomatoes. Fill to just an inch below the top with white vinegar. Top off with good water and refrigerate for about 2 months. HC

Linguini fini with white clam sauce and last tomatoes of the season bruschetta HC

First of the green tomato pickles. HC

Bartlett pear that has been ripening in the "nest" for a week. HC

Beef chuck pot roast from the IP, with carrots and peppers over buttered noodles. HC

Crab cakes, chicken wings and salad. HC

We had fried green tomatoes with crab meat, probably the last Silver Queen corn of the season and salads tonight. HC

We live within a half mile drive of 2 Indian casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Each has a few restaurants that are interesting and each has a buffet of some sort. They are not world class and do not have the competition level as those in Las Vegas, but every few months, we will decide to pay a visit. Some years ago and quite by accident, we discovered that if you get into the $10 breakfast queue at Mohegan Sun, Seasons Buffet at 10:30 am, by the time you are seated, the buffet changes over to the more expensive and broader menu, lunch service. That is what we did yesterday. I do not like wasting food and cannot eat a whole lot at one time nor do I like being uncomfortably full, so I only put items on my plate that I know I will finish. Here is a smattering of what we had: Cheese Omelet with bacon Perogies Clam Chowder and Fried Shrimp Lobster Bisque and a few more Fried Shrimp Oysters Lobster Mac & Cheese, a BBQ Rib, Crab Rangoon, a Gioza and Mac Salad Sushi and a Gioza and the beginning of the end, Watermelon. Let me add that people watching at a buffet is also always on the menu. HC

Looks like there will be fried green tomatoes with dinner and green tomato pickles in my future. HC