C. sapidus

Couple of dinners on a disc golf vacation. First, from the Burger Barn, a food truck (really a food mobile home) in Jeffersonville VT. The “nutty goat” burger (cherve, maple-roasted walnuts, bacon, caramelized onions, and mayo), and jalapeño poppers with big-hunks-of-blue-cheese dressing: Next meal was at Alchemist Brewing: Jamaican tacos (jerk pork, jerk chicken, and fried fish) with Heady Topper DIPA, followed by Luscious British-style imperial stout. Highly recommended Heady Topper. Enjoyed a jazz band while listening to the rain on a covered patio.

Thai shrimp salad (plah goong) with lemongrass, shallot, cilantro, mint, and a dressing of roasted chile paste, sliced bird chiles, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Served on leftover Mexican green rice (which was also good with the eggplant). Roasted eggplant brushed with garlic, cumin, and roasted chile powder in olive oil. NYT recipe but I doubled the garlic. Salt would be better sprinkled on rather than mixed in the oil.

Two favorites: Garlic-black bean pan-fried halibut, from 'Dancing Shrimp'. Fry halibut fillets until partly done and remove. Stir-fry a minced head of garlic, ginger, and cilantro stems, add black soy sauce, sugar, Shaoxing rice wine, minced fermented black beans, roasted chile powder, and a little fish sauce to taste. Remove half of the topping, add halibut fillets, cover with the removed topping. Flip after a minute or so, and done. Served with Mexican green rice, steamed with a blend of roasted Poblano chiles, garlic, white onion, spinach, flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and chicken stock. This green rice recipe in 'Cocina de la Familia' is my favorite. Also how we used to get extra vegetables into the boys when they were little.

Zucchini and "Grandpa's Chorizo" with onion, garlic, and various chiles. Sauce was roasted chile paste and fish sauce. Finished with fresh basil and a little sweet (sugar) and sour (rice vinegar). I was very happy with this.

Interesting. I suspect I would not like most (all?) of these pizzas (using term loosely), but somewhat appreciate the, uh, unfettered creativity.

Current favorites are caramel whiskey and dulce de leche. Preferably with a really good hot fudge sauce. I used to love "coffee coffee buzz buzz" (with chunks of roasted espresso beans) but I have avoided it after once being kept me awake all night.

Baked beans with excellent half-smoke sausages. I jazzed up canned beans with onion, garlic, mustard, apple cider vinegar, ancho chile powder, smoked paprika, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and fish sauce. Mrs. C cooked half-smokes in the air fryer. Mrs. C made peach crisp with local peaches, dried strawberries, and dried blackcurrant. Yum.

Agreed! Glad you were able to find some locally

We had locally-grown eggplant, tomato, and a variety of chiles so I decided to wing it. Cube and salt the eggplant and set aside in a colander. Brown-fry minced onion, add a paste of chiles, ginger, garlic, and cumin, and cook down with fish sauce, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon stick, and garam masala. Add chopped tomato and cook until reduced. Add eggplant and simmer until softened, finishing with a shot of heavy cream. Top with a scrambled egg (supposed to be over-easy but apparently our non-stick pan isn't any more). With all the BLTs lately I have been craving vegetables.

Fish and farmer's market bounty tonight. Mrs. C did everything except the mushrooms. Sablefish pan-fried in ghee and bacon grease: Very tender. Friends in Alaska said this was their favorite fish. Eggplant, sliced thinly and prepared the same way. We also had a sliced tomato but it escaped the picture. Mushrooms in pasilla chile sauce, topped with chopped shallot and feta cheese. The sauce was a blend of pasilla chiles (roasted and soaked), roasted garlic, a long red chile from the farmer's market, Mexican oregano, cumin, cilantro, chicken stock, and a touch of sugar (which I like with pasilla chile sauces).

BLTs again, this time with lettuce!

Went out for Mexican food. Local place only has mole when Abuela is in the kitchen, so that's what I ordered. Mole chicken enchiladas for me (I removed most of the cheese), chorizo for Mrs. C, and jalapeno poppers to share.

Clean out the fridge lunch. No, literally - I emptied out both produce drawers and gave them a good scrubbing. Seared shrimp, roasted Poblano chile, leftover corn, and a sauce of coconut milk, lemongrass, onion, garlic, serrano and bird chiles, curry powder, and fish sauce, finished with garam masala, Thai basil, cilantro, and scallions. Clean produce drawers are drying on the counter . . .

I have a Tojiro petty (paring knife) and have been quite happy with it, along with our Tojiro chicken boning knife. Other manufacturers may be better entries in a "my knife is sharper than yours" contest () but I have found Tojiro to be easily sharp enough for everything I need to do, quite durable, and excellent value. Tojiro petty (clicky) ^ I did not do a price check, so other sources may be less expensive. Good luck with whatever you choose!

Speaking of bell peppers . . . Chicken stir-fried with lemongrass and chile, from Andrea Nguyen's 'Into the Vietnamese Kitchen'. I think this was the first recipe I cooked from this book, way back when I did my eGullet foodblog. Anyway, marinate chicken thigh chunks with curry powder, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir-fry chopped lemongrass, shallot, and chiles (I used a mix of serrano and red bird chiles). Add the chicken and squares of red bell pepper (I also used Poblano chile, 'cuz why not), and sear on both sides. Simmer with coconut milk until reduced, and then finish with chopped cilantro. I also added garam masala, because the curry powder was not new. Rich, aromatic, and full of flavor with some latent heat. I should make this more often. Jasmine rice and sliced cucumbers to go with.