HungryChris

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

Zucchini crostini pizza HC

Dinner last night was baked boneless chicken leg quarters that had been stuffed with garlic cooked spinach, pine nuts and crumbled blue cheese and baked in tomato sauce. Fresh local corn on the cob. HC

Stir fried zucchini and onions, bruschetta, mango and blackberries. HC

Cheeseburger with pickles and onion on a portabella "roll". I had to let the bun cool off before I could pick it up, HC

Another breakfast for the "zucchini files" that I have a feeling I will be putting together. These were thin sliced and stir fried in a screaming hot wok with garlic, tajin, salt and pepper. Dusted with parmesan cheese on the plate. I remembered the hot sauce this time. HC

I have a shrimp and pasta combination that is in the works, minced garlic, butter, olive oil, fresh basil and oregano, chopped green onions, chopped fresh tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, capers, fresh peeled shrimp and dry sherry and a couple of bay leaves. It gets a little better each time, but like I say, it's in the works. Now lets talk a little more about fresh tomato. After my first tomato sandwich, first BLT, I have a next up on the horizon: Bruschetta. I had my first bruschetta late in life, but it was a game changer. Chopped fresh tomatoes, sweet onions, fresh basil and oregano, a little minced garlic, the best olive oil I can find, a bit of kosher salt, all dished out on garlic rubbed crostini at the last minute. HC

It got to 94 F here today. Time for an Irish coffee. HC

I have gotten rid of most of the weeds, but because I left the plants untended for so long, there is way too much fruit sitting right on the ground, which is asking for trouble. Those are the ones I use for fried green tomatoes or pick as soon as they start to turn. I grew the cucumbers outside of the garden, this year for more space. They are doing OK, but need more sun, I think. Still, I am happy with the way things have turned out. HC

It was so hot yesterday that we decided to have a cecchetti dinner with cold leftover chicken, TJ's shrimp puffs, and breaded mozzarella, along with crackers and TJ's sheep milk brie, potato salad and my own gardiniera. I must admit, that I pushed the limit on the breaded mozzarella because I cooked them with the last of the TJ's shrimp puffs, that I wanted crisp and the cheese leaked out a bit, oh well. HC

The Aldi nearest to me is across the way from a super Wallyworld too. The prices will take care of things, in time. Would you rather pay $5.49 for a small watermelon or $3.49 for a bigger one? There are many things in Wally's that just are not that cheap, plus it is often a real pain to go in. Often, the smallest package at Wally's is huge, say chicken wings at Wally's often are in packages of a dozen at $3.29 pp, and I can get a package of 6 at $1.99 pp at Aldi. The smaller package, alone will win me over, but the lower price just frosts the cake. HC

Toasted BLT, some pickled zucchini chips and marinated artichoke hearts. HC

FTDBLT's (First Tomato Day Bacon Lettuce and Tomato) tonight on warm, homemade, bread. When I saw Deb tuck into the third half sandwich, I knew it was a winner! Once again, we never made it to the potato salad. HC

I do like my fried zucchini, what else can I say? I'll be planting some more before it gets too hot, today, as my current plants seem to have peaked. HC

I bought a 4 1/2 lb chicken at Aldi and spatchcocked it, then removed the breast bone and cut it in half. I poked little holes in the breast skin (Julia Child episode I happened to see) and poked the drumstick ends through and cocked the wings per Julia. Both halves were marinated over night in Korean BBQ sauce(I now get my gochujang from Amazon). Grilled them for 45 minutes over indirect 350 F heat. Made a few nice salads. And called it dinner. HC

I went to my local Aldi this morning. I got 2 pkg of baby backs @ $1.99 pp, a watermelon, @$3.49 each and a few other items. But... they now have a permit application for selling beer and wine posted, which caught my attention. I was just wondering if they stock any interesting items in that category. Burman beer, perhaps? HC

East meets west. Aldi Beer Brat with onions, mustard and kimchi. HC

Fried eggs with breaded fried zucchini and fruit. HC