bavila

Damn. That sounds awesome. Though I admit to being a little afraid of the goat cheese ice cream. As for the local eat/shop with your neighbors, we just had a neighbor like that move away . Our family's shared meals at least every few weeks -- not in the entertaining sort of way but in the come-share-this-big-pot-of-soup kind of way. Luckily she was a foodie too. Our kitchens faced one another, and with the windows open we coudl guess at what was cooking in each one based on the aromas floating across the property line. The new neighbors haven't moved in, but I doubt we'll have the same kind of relationship. I guess part of the problem is that so few people really cook at home. But back to the local sourcing thing. I think to really eat locally, you have to sort of give up a certain amount of control of your menu and go with the season. Especially with a CSA box. You don't really know what you're going to get, so you can't plan too precisely until you get the box. Reading my own words now I think how obvious that must sound, but it was a sea change for me to cook greens several times a week. I used to plan menus around proteins. Now I plan them around my veggies.

Couldn't you just sand it down until it's level? I love the concrete too. That stained table is beautiful. Good to know it was so easy and inexpensive.

Honestly, I haven't...and I don't really have a reason why. Does yours run during the cooler months? ← They actually started with just spring and fall a couple of years ago. I think this is their first summer season. We've had lots of cool stuff that I don't even see at the FM: garlic scapes, lemon cucumbers, blue potatoes, edible flowers. I did get kind of tired of greens in the spring though...

Regarding the travelling for eating locally: the CSA to which I subscribe provides only produce, but has started a relationship with a grass fed meat producer (Polyface) in Virginia. I think having a group like a CSA or coop to accumulate a critical mass helps out. I'd never drive to Staunton, VA for eggs and pork, but when they know they'll have enough customers here, they'll commit to coming here every 6 weeks. Ph--have you looked into getting a CSA subscription?

Pick out the purple pods. They are much easier to shell than the green. Gotta cook the peas with a bit of pork fat and onions!

Probably too late for tonight's dinner, but I like field peas and aromatics as a bed for grilled fish, or cooked then served chilled with tomatoes, tangy cheese and herbs. YUMMY! Still waiting on our local crowders to show up in the FM here. I think you might be putting an extra hatchmark in the plus column of our continual debate over leaving Maryland for RTP.

Hi there Chris. I'm late coming to the discussion, but I thought I'd offer to help if you decide to venture to Annapolis, MD when you do DC. The whole crab thing is way overdone, but we have some other cool food happenings that are sort of only on the locals' radar right now. I also have some cop friends in DC (Pentagon, US Park Police), and we've got the Naval Academy for the military angle.

If there's a heaven, I want it to be like this party! I love the garlic scapes -- still big enough to show off their fantastic whirly shape.

I sliced them, unpeeled, and stirfried them with carrots, broccolini, and onion. I also tried some raw, and think I'll peel them next time for raw use. The greens are still in the fridge, and I plan to add them to some marinara after blanching. I also like the mashed potato idea!

I've been thinking about keeping a diary to include family dinners as well as notes from when we entertain. Can those of you who keep such diaries elaborate on the format you use: type of book or computer file? chronological or by dish type? I can also see such an undertaking as becoming a family heirloom.

First thoughts: rhubarb ginger preserves wrapped in sweet crepes, salade nicoise, and combining the lentil salad with chevre and tomatoes.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't me. The beet I got from my CSA are probably the first I've ever owned. However the search frustration sounds like one I've had. Thanks for the heads up. We had the beet greens sauteed with a bit of garlic beside baked salmon (in foil with lemon juice, rosemary, capers). They were a bit strong/bitter. Maybe blanching a tad would help? I figure next time I'll mix them up with something else. The same night I roasted the beets and peeled them, but have yet to consume. Just got some cukes from the CSA, including a lemon cucumber (seeGoogle pics). These are candidates for the beet cuke salad. Tonight will be pork, summer squash, and zucchini kabobs on the grill with a rosemary marinade.

Just got some kohlrabi in today's CSA box. What could we do with it? Anyone ever cook the greens? How do they compare to other greens for flavor strength and cooking time? And ain't it cool looking?

What about fajita/taco fixings? You could bring them over hot, and they're good leftover for salad or reheated. As for the container thing, I remember reading (Michael Lee West) an argument for containers that do need to be returned. When the family is ready, it forces them to start interacting with friends again instead of shutting themselves away.

Sorry about your friend, Marlene. How sad. BBQ chicken might hold up better than fried, though I do love cold fried chicken.

Oh yes, I learned this with my daughter. She was a total sucking fiend, and we had to do a cold turkey sippy cup intervention around age two. I remember the pediatrician telling me that sippy cups were just bottle substitutes, and I thought, "ok, you come clean my floors". Guess he was right.

Oh boy, do I have an eater. Dax is 9.5 months now and has 6 teeth (no molars though). We've basically reached the point of his eating what we eat. And so far, the only thing he seems really not to care for is potatoes. Fine by me. He's also a bit sick of Cheerios, I suspect. I never did get the baby food mill. I was pretty happy with my immersion blender and a little mini-chopper-processor thingie. At 7 or 8 months, I decided to skip the pureeing and just steam cut veggies, freeze them in a single layer, then in a ziploc so they could be easily retrieved a portion at a time. Now I basically feed him from my plate, but try not to salt food before giving it to him. Here's today's menu for an example: breakfast: steelcut oats with cream, banana, shared with mom lunch: strawberries, avocado, watermelon, eschewed potato (my lunch was a chili dog, which I figured was not the best choice for him!) dinner: homemade mac-n-cheese, steamed carrots, sauteed chard Feeding him the healthy stuff has also helped me feed my daughter (age 3.5) better. Somewhere along the way I'd slid into just giving her a cheese stick or turkey sandwich for dinner. Now she gets what we eat. She doesn't have to finish it, or even try everything. Unless of course, she wants dessert. This has resulted in the discovery that she loves chard! yay! As we move into cups versus bottles, I find that I'll need some of those sippy cups without valves to serve fruit smoothies (I use frozen fruit, whole plain yogurt, and milk) and such. I gave him one the other day and he was completely undone when the valve got clogged by the teeniest but of pulp.

The mac-n-cheese comments inspired tonight's dinner. A gruyere mac-n-cheese with a bit of andouille. The gruyere was left over from my onion soup the other night. We also sauteed up a bit of chard and baby bok choy, and steamed a bit of carrots (all CSA stuff). Lunch was a cleanout meal too. Chili dogs. We'd bought the dogs a few weeks ago for a party and I'd forgotten to put the leftover pack in the freezer, and we had to beat that expiration date! I know, much less exciting. In my quest to get-through-the-greens, I cooked some greens from last week's farmers' market run. I can't remember what they are. Something like collards but milder. Anyway, I was thinking of doing a spanakopita kind of thing, but I'm not convinced. I'd have to buy phyllo dough (and no, I'm not going to make my own ). Any suggestions? Also have two split chicken breasts defrosting... And I still haven't used the beets. May do something similar to Mizducky's salad and incorporate the greens. Tuesday we get our first summer season CSA box, so I hope to have cleared out all the spring season produce by then!

Oh man. Chocolate pasta? Where can I get it? Awesome garden. I grew up in Louisiana and I miss the great lush vegetable gardens. Our property is way to shaded, and our soil is much too sandy to grow veggies as easily as my parents do. The tacos look like what my husband's grandmother (in Dallas) makes for breakfast every morning. I vote for more Tex-Mex, please! Are you cooking anything special for Fathers' Day?

My dad reports that his mother (who spoke French, and almost no English) made outstanding crepes. She died before I was born, though, so I never go the chance to judge myself. Perhaps this cookoff is a good incentive for a tribute. Oh yeah, and I love having extra vehicles for Nutella around the house.

Mes chers, I am heartened by the existence of this discussion. I found nothing amiss about the service I received when we were there in Jan/Feb. In addition to the whole inexperienced staff thing, PTSD can rear it's head in all kinds of funky ways. But, life (such as it is) is going on. Keep the standards.

Onion soup! I've been meaning to do this. Maybe for tonight's dinner. Tomorrow we're having friends over, and I'll probably have to shop for that. I'm thinking fajitas. We usually do chicken and beef, but I'm thinking I'll add in some greens. One of the guest kids is trying to go vegetarian, and I like to give her veg options.

Re: 3s and 7s: Prime numbers rock! Why is this so surprising? How did you do the sweet potatoes? Peel, slice, then roast? Fry? Lovely dinner. My kind of veggie plate. Was there sugar in the cornbread? Was it more of a bread or more of a pudding? It looks very moist in the pics.

As for the non-perishables, don't feel wasteful. Feel prepared for an emergency. The ramen won't go bad, but the raw chicken will. Tonight's cooking with what we've got will be a salade nicoise: romaine (farmers' market), green beans (CSA), new potatoes (of questionable age from the grocery store). I poached the tuna with a huge onion (I have a huge bag that will soon go to waste!) and lemon thyme from the CSA. Now I need to figure out some herb-y vinaigrette. Can't remember what herbs I've got other than a TON of pineapple sage. Any ideas for the onions (fat yellow types) or pineapple sage?

Major kitchen envy over here... Tell the 'rents they did a nice job. Did you contribute to the design? I'm assuming it was recently done. Ah... hating leftovers. A luxury afforded by the childless or filthy rich. I can't say I've ever seen roasted okra. I'll have to try that. And I may now be brave enough to cook my own CFS instead of waiting for a Cracker Barrel stop on my next road trip. What kind of cooking do you do when you're in school?