HungryChris

This mornings pickage. The cow manure compost that I bought, spread and tilled in, in May has been paying off. I hope to double down for next season. HC

French Bread Pizza. Meatball, mushroom, pepper and onion and leftover kielbasa, mushroom, pepper and onion. Tomato, cuke and onion salad. HC

Mortadella, kimchi and pickled zucchini ribbons sandwich. Cucumber pickles and the first out of a gifted jar of stuffed sweet peppers. They are stuffed with cabbage, which frankly didn't sound that good, but are interestingly good in a sweet and sour way. HC

Okay, so that last picture of the second wave of the zucchini bothered me so much, that I had to go back out and address the crab grass before I could eat breakfast. HC

Finally dug up the three zucchini plants and sugar snaps, took down the fence to get the rototiller in, pulled up all the weeds, tilled and planted Swiss chard, lettuce and beets for greens. It's always a matter of luck at this point, but you have to go for it, no? Here is the second zucchini wave building and the shishito peppers: HC

Fried green tomatoes topped with lump crab meat salad, tomato, cucumber and onion salad and some of the best corn so far. Even though we only eat 4 ears at most, I now buy 6 to cut off the cob and freeze for a winter treat. HC

I really like the way the birds are not pierced, but rather, caged. I have searched for this kind of setup, but not found one. Did it come from Weber? HC

I have to admit, it was good. Something I'll think about all winter, Shelby. HC

Tomato sandwich, as promised in the gardening thread. HC

Tomatoes picked this morning. I think I'll have a tomato sandwich for breakfast. HC

NY Strips, honking baked potatoes and tomato salad. I like to eat the skin of a well done baked potato, but these were just too big. I spotted the well marbled steaks at Stop & Shop on a gas run to Rhode Island this morning (7 miles down the road and way less tax). Deb likes her steak med-well and I like mine quite rare. A med well steak has to be well marbled if there is going to be any hope for it to be more than cardboard, but I play the game by the rules provided. I had to have blood work done today and fasted until late in the day, so I tucked into this meal like a homeless waif! HC

I tried my hand at zucchini fritters this morning. They were good, but did not seem worth the effort when compared to simply frying the breaded coins. I bought the big hot sauce with the intention of using it to refill my smaller bottle, but then discovered it had a shaker top too. HC

I am sorry that I may have insulted you. What exactly are you suggesting those of us who do not live in shrimp country do when we want shrimp cocktail? HC

Shrimp cocktail is a good thing when done right. Those of you who live in shrimp country, will probably want to change channels when I speak of frozen shrimp, but up here, fresh shrimp is a crap shoot, at best. I quickly thawed frozen, raw gulf shrimp (these were 31 - 40) in cold water, peeled, deveined and steamed until cooked. Then plunged them into ice water. You know the job is well done when they squeak against your teeth when you bite into them. Good cocktail sauce depends on a hot horseradish. Without that, you are doomed. You want to add just enough to threaten, but not frighten, to ketchup with a bit of lemon juice and a dash or two of Lea & Perrins, mix and chill. Here, I served with bruschetta and fresh corn on the cob. I include what I hope is a corn money shot out of respect (and sympathy) for the corn deprived (demiglace). HC

I sliced up a bit of the big kahuna zucchini that I picked yesterday and made zucchini fries with the non seed part. HC

I have been doing well with the squash, but there is always one that escapes detection. I noticed a squirrel sampling the tomatoes, so I went on a rescue mission. Allow me to show you a pointer. HC

Fried eggs, French bread toasties with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and cheese. HC

A smattering of French bread pizzas and a chef salad. Mushroom and green pepper (first from the garden) and meatball and green pepper. HC

I have been calling these crostini pizzas, but it dawned on me that there is really more to it than that. Back in my restaurant life, Sunday was dinner all day and the wait staff had to have a meal provided. I went through all kinds of items, some more successful than others. One day I spotted Stouffer's French bread pizza in the frozen food section and the lights came on for me. We could use the loaves of bread that had never made it out to the salad bar the night before and we had an enormous selection of toppings. The next Sunday it was French bread pizza and was a big hit and quickly acquired the handle "FBP". Here we have a mushroom and a meatball and pepper FBP. HC

Kielbasa and onions, cooked in foil on the grill, bruschetta and corn on the cob. HC

Stir fried zucchini, fresh tomatoes and over easy eggs. No real complaints except that I had to get up from the table and make some Italian toast for "moppage". Not sure why I didn't see that coming. Other than that, no complaints! HC

Biased sliced about as thick as a nickel, shaken with flour. Shake, or brush off the excess flour. Toss in a watery egg wash and shake in a mixture of seasoned bread crumbs with copious amounts of garlic powder and tajin, Fry ( I use peanut oil in a wok) until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and serve with aioli. In this picture, it is spicy lime and garlic. Great with cocktails or cold beer. ` Here are some with a lemon, garlic aioli: And some as a breakfast side (they are good with hot sauce too). HC

I wash them off, remove the bigger stems (these are good pickled). Put some olive oil in a covered sauce pan big enough to accommodate them raw, add some crushed garlic over medium high heat and add the still wet leaves. Cover them long enough for them to cook down, uncover and cook until tender. Take a little sample after every few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. They are quite good. The leftovers are also good on a hot day, served cold, with a bit of Italian dressing. HC

Garlic, zucchini crostini pizza. HC

Another 94 (F) degree day here and dinner was a struggle. Bruschetta, fried zucchini and fresh corn, which was as good as it gets. HC