HungryChris

Bought some fresh flounder yesterday and made fish and chips last night with spicy lemon garlic aioli and a cucumber salad. HC

No, I have not, but I will look for it. Sometimes I think breakfast is just an excuse to have hot sauce.

The perceptive eye may discern that my supply of Crystal hot sauce has fallen precipitously low. Fear not, it's on my to-do list today. HC

It is hard to stand by helplessly and watch summer slip away, but this helps a little. One dozen ears of corn. The first snowy winter night, I'll be happy I did this. HC

I bought a Globe slicer on Craig's list for $100 several years ago and have not looked back. It is not a thing I use every day, but when I do, there is no comparison to not having it. Corned beef sandwiches, shredded lettuce for grinders (or hoagies or whatever they are called where you live), coleslaw, zucchini ribbons for pickles, it's all made possible with the slicer. Mine is a heavy behemoth, so moving it out from storage got old in a hurry and I bought a big bread board and put it on top of the wine cooler for a permanent position in the kitchen. If there is someone in your life that may not like where it is, then take a second look, but if not, go for it! HC

Back from 3 weeks in Italy. I thought I had a picker volunteer while I was gone, but no evidence of it. I feel lucky to have been able to pick this today. Things are winding down quickly, except the shishto peppers are heavy with fruit and blossoms. It looks like the weather was friendly while we were away. Fingers crossed to have fresh silver queen from local farms 1 or 2 more times this season. I recently bought a new freezer and have been putting a little away for the winter each time we have it with dinner. HC

We stopped for lunch on the way to see the recently refurbished Trevi Fountain at a little place on one of the narrow streets along the route. Pane Vino e San Daniel. It turns out the owner also owns the San Daniel Vineyard, which based on the house white wine, made a good impression on me. The most memorable part of the meal was the dish Deb got. It was a polenta with gorgonzola cheese, arugula and toasted, slivered walnuts. This was an amazing combination that I see myself making as a side dish in summer and, combined with a salad as a main course in winter. If I knew a restaurant near me that offered this, it would always be on my radar. Of course, Mr truffle and porcini went for fresh tagliatella with my name sake. I also liked the little clamp on the table ice bucket for the wine. HC

I'd be happy to tuck into it all, okra included. Super fine effort, Shelby!

To be frank, the kitchen in our apartment in Rome is a cook's nightmare. You need a flashlight to peer into the cabinets and we both are saying "we need more light!" repeatedly as we make do with it. So... we decided to go out to a local restaurant we have been to, and liked, before. In addition to great food, it has a reputation for rushing you out when they want your table. One time, they asked us to move to make room for a big party, but gave us dissert and left the Limoncello on the table as a thank you. I have a thing for the tiny moscardini fritti they serve, so I was looking forward to going back to I Buoni Amici. The moscardini fritti (this is really an app to share, but Deb had no interest) Spaghetti with clams spaghetti carbonara we split a very good tiramisu and were given some rather good sweet fennel cookies (before being rushed out as we have come to expect), HC

All things taken into account, that must be some remarkable chicken!

First dinner in Rome. We are both pretty whipped after a long day. Just wanted something simple and light. Still working on my bruschetta skills. This really should have been toasted, but I didn't want to take the time to figure out how to use the broiler in this dark, cook-unfriendly kitchen. Brought some stuff from Florence, bought some in Rome, including some mustard to help make a light vinaigrette. HC The apartment has a Spartan, but private patio, which we both like.

We tried another hole-in-the-wall lunch place we have read about for our last lunch in Florence today. All' antica Vinaio. They serve a variety of sandwiches, all on fresh baked focaccia. There is no seating, so all the dry curbs nearby are prime. The sandwiches are huge, all cost 5 Euro and as you stand in line, fresh, hot focaccia bread is delivered from someplace nearby and stacked on the counter from where the sandwich makers are continually grabbing it. It is an impressive operation, a genius idea, a raging success and if our "La Summer" sandwich (fresh warm focaccia, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and fresh basil) is any indication, deserves all the attention. Check out the porchettas stacked up in the cooler. You can see the loaves of focaccia on the counter that are replaced with fresh baked, hot ones as fast as they disappear. HC

We got three day, unlimited ride bus tickets and headed off to the San Lorenzo market, famous for leather goods among other things. I just get the feeling that the quality is not what it once may have been. Deb made a few small purchases. We returned to The Central Market simply because I can't get enough of it. Here are some pics o the San Lorenzo Market. Here are some from Central Market. Keep in mind, these are just some of the meat. There is also produce, fish, cheese, fungi, wine, olive oil and everything in between, Finally, to get back onto the topic of lunch, we both spotted Trattoria Za Za at about the same time. We had both read about it somewhere and decided to give it a try, The two story building on the right is Central Market. The second floor is a giant food court, San Lorenzo Market fills the street on three sides of Central Market. It was a beautiful day so we chose to sit outside. Deb had spaghetti with fresh clams, which she proclaimed to be excellent. I had Spaghetti with zucchini blossoms, sliced zucchini, black truffles and shrimp. Somehow I had not seen the word for shrimp on the menu, so they were a surprise. It was a very delicious dish, but I could not really taste the truffles. If I had access to truffles, I would leave out the shrimp. The zucchini blossoms combined with the flavor in a surprisingly good way. Something I will have to try at home. HC

We had breakfast out on the patio garden this morning. All kinds of local chatter from unseen places was kind of cool. HC

We had an over supply of bread, some leftover sauce with sausage and peppers and a few open jars of items we needed to use up, so here is how we took care of it. HC

Lunch in Fiesole. Of course I had to try the bruschetta, which was slightly better than just ok. The warm white beans with olive oil, salt and pepper can be quite elegant, which this was. Deb had pecorino and pear stuffed tortelloni, and loved it. HC

There are very few things more demoralizing than putting good effort into a meal that comes out as if you tried to screw it up. Moving on is the only hope. You'll know you've recovered when you can laugh about it. HC

Having a pasticceria artigianale just a few doors down is both good and bad............but mostly good. HC

Well, then, the molcajete has now moved into the objectd'art column, where I believe it should feel at home too. HC

@Kerry Beal Have you given any thought to a molcajete? If you get one that is made from the dark volcanic lava stone, you just cannot beat them after they are broken in.

Fresh pasta and peppers from the Central Market, Florence, fresh sausage from a butcher down the street from our apt and my second shot at bruschetta like we had at La Castellana in Montefioralle. The pasta with sausage and peppers was spot on, even though the sauce had not cooked all day. I am closing in on the bruschetta and am quite pleased with the progress. That is all I have to say for now. HC

Those are my kind of leftovers!

Once again, I nicked some sage and rosemary from the pool area. The rains yesterday and last night has the rosemary in blossom, which I think helps the flavor. I stemmed the rosemary and sage and infused some olive oil with them and some crushed garlic at a low simmer, then cooled, added some red wine and thinly sliced onions, a little salt and some dried oregano. Put half a chicken in for an overnight rest, turning whenever I remembered to. Traveling market day was today in Greve and we hoped to score some fresh porcini for our last dinner here, which we did. Cut and prepped. Time for the bottom line: chicken cooked on the grill, had great flavor, but was as tough as a pair of sandals. More research is needed here. The porcini, however, were absolutely excellent. Better than I remember. I brought some dry porcini home with me on the last trip and, while good, it is no comparison to the real, fresh thing. I hope to get more fresh porcini in Florence. It is amazing that this tough looking fungi makes such a transformation into the most delicate indulgence in a matter of minutes in the pan. HC

@scubadoo97 I am uncomfortable with envious, but hope you enjoy it too. We took so much time to plan this trip and make it happen that sharing is a kind of celebration. I would like to think that perhaps it will give an inspiration to someone to do something they would not have done otherwise. The first time we ever landed in Rome, many years ago, I saw tears in Deb's eyes and I knew she loved it as much, if not more than I did and how priceless a commodity that can be. Deb is an absolute wiz at Trip Advisor and Slow Travel and she finds great opportunities and bargains. I happen to love to cook, so it all works out. Here are some pics from our bedroom window this morning at the Terre di Melazzano, the agriturismo where we are staying (and have, off and on, for the past ten years). This year the harvest starts on the 19th, just after we leave for Florence. HC

Why, I do believe that to be an endorsement. HC