suzilightning

it is one of those triple h days here in nw new jersey - hazy, hot and humid. just back from 2 hours of checking bluebird nests and yesterday i thought ahead enough to pop a bottle of a wine we picked up in florida into the fridge. ok- it isn't a prestige brand, nor was it md 20/20 but it was really wonderful chilled. at 10%/ 20 proof it was light and crisp and was perfect for today, reminding me of vino verdes that i like to drink. it was something called Key Limen made with key lime and citrus fruit from a place called florida orange groves. can you give me any other ideas for refreshing wines for the triple h's ahead?

I considered digging out my grill, but unpleasant amounts of heat, and unpleasant things laying on top of it made me reconsider. How to cook the burgers then? Well, as I looked around my kitchen I saw this cast iron skillet filled with bacon grease... And I thought to myself, I could empty that out and cook them in the skillet, or, I could just shallow fry the burgers in bacon grease. What a great idea. Now, this is sort of out of order, as the meat is certainly not raw here (that is btw, about 2 lbs of ground beef made into 3 patties), but it shows the appropriate classic bacon cheeseburger condiments. The Liquid Stevia just crashed the shot, ignore it. Dave's Insanity sauce probably isn't too classic an addition, but I like to give my burgers a little extra kick. And finally we have the finished burger! I split the patty open so you could see the proper level of done-ness. This is all on a flaxseed/wheat protein roll btw, tastes sort of like a chewy potato roll. ←

OK, men. The gauntlet has been thrown down and this lass will take the challenge. My husband will give me a hankie. I shop on Monday or Tuesday. This Weber Kettle smoking goddess accepts the challenge. ←

well, with the cool, wet spring here in nw nj there wasn't much besides flowers, cheese, honey and eggs at lafayette today. we did manage to score some cherries, strawberries and radishes. half the cherries have been pitted and are waiting to be mixed into some vanilla soy "ice cream" along with some chocolate chunks and topped with some homemade chocolate sauce. the radishes are bound for salad and some radish sandwiches. saw an old friend at one of the booths and he said the raspberries(which his wife grows) will be in next weekend. hopefully there will be more lettuces, etc. though this indicates to me that these guys are bringing only what they grow and not even bringing product up from south jersey. side note: as we were heading north on 15 the corn is only 1-1 1/2 feet tall. in a normal year we should be seeing the corn start to come in next week. i don't think it will appear until late july if at all -especially if we don't get some steady, gentle rain up here.

glad someone had a good farmer's market. with the wet, cool spring today was basically flowers, honey and cheese at lafayette.

a librarian who doesn't know how to make garlic mash? check to see if she really has her mls. would go with the simmer method. and make sure to check if she knows how to smash and peel the garlic. hey, wait - she works in a library. she should be able to find the 641's (that's cookbooks for y'all). now i would really check to see if she has her degree. Susan K. Simovich MLS, SUNY Albany 1979

johnnybird brought back some keegan ales back. so far i have tried the Old Capital and Hurricane Kitty. the old capital is very smooth and crisp. the hurricane kitty was a very hoppy ipa that grabbed the back of my throat. tried a taste of the Mother's Milk which is a milk stout. ok but stouts are not my thing as y'all know. definitely will drink some more of these. the brewery's website is here: http://www.keeganales.com/

just made a batch of mulligatawny soup which can be served at room temperature. some grilled bread and salad. cheese board for dessert.

two soups today - one for dinner tonight, one for tomorrow mulligatawny for dinner tonight. it has been ages since i made this but wanted to use up some baked chicken breasts. saute the onion, carrots and garlic in some oil. add curry powder, salt and flour. stock and about 5 peeled and seeded tomatoes chunked up. simmer 30-45 minutes. whiz up half of the soup in a blender and add back to the pot. i'll finish it later by adding 1/2 cup nondairy creamer and the chicken then slooooooowwwwwllllyyyy reheat. for tomorrow, which promises to be warmer and muggier than today, a carrot leek soup that i am letting cool a bit before whizzing it up. will finish it with more nondairy creamer and chill. think i'll serve with some grilled bread, salad and some cheeses.

with crab so cheap what about a crab salad served on endive spears? mini crab quiches? sausage rolls? what about doing the duck breast then slicing it thinly - pop on crostini with some arugula and maybe a dab of chutney? whatever you do don't forget the tiara for you mom to wear:wink:

there wasn't the cocktail background in my house. my grandfather might have "Old Granddad with a splash - and make it a small splash". my mom drank bicardi and club *SHUDDER*. i never really drank beer but had an affinity for tequila(prefered it straight) and discovered martinis at an early age. i am now just starting on my cocktail journey - learning more and trying different things. actually it started with sam and kathleen's gimlet frenzy about a year or so ago. bought a tiny cocktail shaker, gin and took them to florida where i used key limes to make up my afternoon cocktail.

didn't exactly drink it but used an Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter to make the Blue Ribbon Meatloaf we've been eating on

yesterday riffed off Eating Well's Blue Ribbon Meatloaf http://www.eatingwell.com/articles_recipes...blue_plate.html. used 1.5 lb of ground beef, .75 lb each of ground beef and ground veal. the beer was a stovepipe porter and i used steel cut oats instead of the whole wheat breadcrumbs. john ate it for dinner when he got home last night and said it was one of the most flavorful, juicy meatloaves he had had. leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches today for him. today i grilled up my lamb patties: ground lamb, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and Johnnybird's toast dope. for the uninitiated check here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...bird's+dope 1 1/2 lbs of lamb gave me 5 patties the right size to fit into the smaller whole wheat pitas. grilled till nice and crusty with good marks on the outside and just pick in the center. moist and juicy. served with the warmed pita and coleslaw. i alte 1 1/2 while the allie cat demolished 1/2 a patty then was checking out johnnybird's meatloaf sandwich.

friday night - pb & jelly on toast saturday night - one bag of smart beat popcorn with grated asiago and parmesan sunday night - kashi tlc crackers with cheese tonight - leftover meatloaf, garden peas and garlic mashed potatoes

tomatoes venison garlic

i remember hearing that they had lost their lease.

wicked hot day so it was a cold food night: found some nice looking lobster claws so - lobster roll pickled shrimp salad of asparagus tips, grape tomatoes, black olives, vidalia onion with raspberry walnut vinaigrette Rogue American Ale dessert was homemade baked tortilla chips smeared with blue cheese and Rogue Chipotle Ale.

chris - read the entry just above yours 70) to see what crimes against food the brother in law and his wife had me inflict on my poor burgers

oh, do our perjudices come out here- for me it would be not a dish but technique - butchering. fish, beef, pig or fowl then the technique - roasting - especially chicken and being able to use the jus after that beng able to use veg - in whatever form and whatever way so they aren' t overcooked me - i am not touching any kind of pastry(my mom was a phenom at that) and i don't care for desserts that much

today after weeding for 3 hours in the oppresive humidity it was two coronas for john with a leftover hamburger for lunch and a bottle of tattinger's champagne for me. i do hate to eat when it is too hot or humid course i had already drunk a carafe of tea i then mixed with limeade and poured over ice

steven- how did you like bea? unfortunatly all my crew were caught up elsewhere - and the boss was back here in nj. hope you had a good time - it is quite a wild experience.

about 30C here at 9 am and the trailer park trash across the street started yelling at her 3 kids about 6am iced coffee milk now am waiting for the concert goers to wake up and find out what they want for breakfast. i am set up to make anything from coffee(black) to egg mcmuffins to french toast to eggs benedict... actually i may follow susan in fl's theme and have a cold beer!!

last tuesday two - one john like more than i did, the other we both really loved Hennepin - a bottle conditioned Belgian-style ale from Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, NY. unfiltered and yeasty - guess who liked this best? Rogue Chipotle Ale - Rogue Ales Newport, OR DING,DING, DING... we have a winner!!! smooth, fresh, hoppy with that little bit of chipotle bite in the back of the throat at the finish. john paired this with some homemade tortilla chips smeared with blue cheese. i will have to try some of the other Rogues

brother-in-law and sister-in-law coming down for dinner before the iron maiden concert. burgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, german potato salad, saurerkraut with beer, etc. 80/20 beef, garlic powder, salt and white pepper, "cattleman's sauce". john enjoyed the burger which was medium. grilled but then had to "better cook"(cook to grey and brown) the burgers for the bil and sil. they don't eat any meat that is pink/red. AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH ok in interest of family harmony i will cook that meat till it gives up all it's juices and is dryer than a witches tit.... then they didn't eat it all... luckily i can mash the meat up and add some stock and give it to the princess alia though i did find some ground lamb in the freezer so next weekend i think it will be modified suvir's lamb burgers with tsziki and pita... will have to see. since it is getting hot up here i may defer the meatloaf challange till the fall when it is a bit cooler and i use the loaf primarily for sandwiches during the hawkwatch season for john - i heat it up at work with taters and veg for my dinners

hey marlene - think these would work with buffalo? got some good canadian buffalo in the freezer