blue_dolphin

Thanks, scubadoo97! Today, David Lebovitz posted a recipe for Za’atar Flatbread that looked delicious. I've seen some lovely examples of flatbreads around here and really should give it a try. But for today, I cheated. I anointed a TJ's whole wheat flatbread with olive oil and za'atar, toasted it up and added some other nibble-y bits to make breakfast: Flatbread, cara cara orange, feta, fresh tomato, kalamata olives.

TJ's crab cake, fresh tomato, mini Hasselback potatoes with garlic & parmesan and sugar snap peas with red bell pepper and a dab of tartar sauce:

Lemon Posset? Sounds like an old timey cough and cold remedy to me so I had to look it up. Interesting. If you've been researching, no doubt you have seen this "How to make the perfect lemon posset" but I thought I'd add it here as I usually enjoy reading that "How to cook the perfect...." series. And I thought the idea of making a syrup from the sugar and lemon juice sounded like a good way to avoid grainy sugar.

I think the key to success with that sort of policy is sufficient demand, which the referenced restaurants have in spades. I think it's also important to differentiate between the policy and the specific system that's used to implement it. Depending on the chosen system, it could be a barrier to folks who are less tech-savvy, particularly for a newer, lesser known restaurant. It would be important that the system worked smoothly as I'd be entirely frosted if my card was charged for the deposit but the restaurant couldn't find it on their side of the system. Also, if I knew a restaurant was using this sort of ticketed dining, I would assume that walk-ins or close-in reservations were unavailable so it could cut into that side of the business. I've visited a number of restaurants that require a deposit for reservations with close-in cancellation/refund restrictions so a ticketed dining policy (which I see as a step beyond the deposit system) would not deter me from visiting a special occasion restaurant with a friend or two. It would be lovely have the service charge included so the meal ends on a note that doesn't require arithmetic, signatures and deciphering small slips of paper in the dark. While I have no concerns with a $50 deposit, it would give me pause to put a reservation at Pineapple and Pearls on my credit card for a larger group, knowing that I could be on the line for a $250-500 charge if 2 of my party of 6 had to cancel inside of that 72-hour deadline. It's one thing that I'm comfortable with the policy and system like but I don't really want the responsibility of educating my friends to the ins and outs of it.

@gulfporter's post reminded me that I had a jar of TJ's Hot & Sweet Chili Jam that I'd intended to serve with baked brie over the holidays. This AM, I put a layer on a grilled cheese sandwich and thought it added a nice little kick. It is indeed very seedy and they do sort of stick in the teeth but with this thin layer, I didn't find it uncomfortable. I'd like to try it in a sweet & spicy vinaigrette on a salad with some berries, citrus and greens. Maybe thinned with a bit of apricot brandy and drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice cream? I like to keep some sort of hot and sweet jam on hand and this will do but generally, there are more interesting options available, like the Red Bell Pepper and Ancho Chili Jam from Earth & Vine or the peach and red jalapeño jam that I made last summer!

Grilled cheese: Swiss on sourdough with TJ's Hot & Sweet Chili Jam:

Some kale and white bean soup excavated from the freezer (finally seeing a hint of organization returning to that space after a period of chaos) with a poached egg: A warming start on a chilly morning.

Looks a little like Grande Renaissance. http://www.replacements.com/webquote/RDSGRR.htm

From Ugly To Hip: Misfit Fruits And Veggies Coming To Whole Foods

@ElainaA's recipe is a keeper! The slow roasting concentrates the tomato flavor and mellows the garlic just enough.

@Anna N's recent post about pasta with tomato, broccoli and SV chicken breast reminded me that my freezer contained not only some chicken breast bagged and ready for SV but also some of the lovely slow roasted tomato sauce that ElainaA posted in the gardening thread so this was lunch: I added some sliced kalamata olives but that sauce is such a flavorful, garlicky melange, I'm not sure it was necessary. Now, I need to make some more of that sauce, and with decent little tomatoes available most of the year, there's no reason I can't!

$129 for a butter sprayer? A bit rich for my budget. On the other hand, I received a $129 milk frother that I have zero use for - I'd at least give this a try if anyone wants to give me one

Wow, from your photo, I can see you have harnessed the power of the sun directly to your pizza set-up - nice job!

@andiesenji recently posted about excellent customer service from Nescafe Dolce Gusto. Based on that, I'd certainly consider that company's offerings if I was in the market for a pod machine.

Thanks for mentioning this, @SLB! I listened to it last night. It's a good story and I thought his description of the salad, including the blended greens in the dressing and the young girl who made it using local, family-grown produce was absolutely lovely. If anyone else wants to listen, here's a link to that story on The Moth and (edited to add) a link to his family's farm, Beetlebung Farm that contains info on his cookbook.

Nice Gaviota strawberries from Harry's Berries at yesterday's farmer's market. I usually go for Seascape but they didn't seem as ripe. I gave these guys the luxury treatment with some TJ's vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar: and they were lovely!

@Shelby, I also have a very slow internet connection but luckily no fines! Just in case anyone else has similar constraints, I'll post my LCK observations. There's only a spoiler (that I already mentioned in my last post) on the first of the 2 LCK episodes and they didn't reveal the winner of the second one. For the first of the 2 LCK episodes, Amar and Carl join Jason for a 3-chef competition where one of them will be out. The challenge is to use sourdough and they have many sorts of sourdough bread and fresh dough to work with in 30 min. Amar made a Beef Wellington wrapped in sourdough with asparagus and bernaise. Carl made a gazpacho with apple, green tomato, grilled shrimp, and sourdough croutons. Jason made a bruscetta with smoked salmon, artichoke fritatta served on top. Tom commented that the radish and turnip garnish on Jason’s was underseasoned - dum, dum dum, dum…. Jason's out. On his way out the door, Tom mentions that his eggs were overcooked as well. I was sorry to have him leave. That left Amar and Carl to duke it out in the second LCK challenge - fish! Sort of a redux of their quick fire elimination but this time it has to be cooked, so no crudo! Tom set the starting time at 20 min and challenged them to bid it down, leaving them with 12 minutes at the end. Yikes! I’m pretty sure it will take me more than 12 min to make my tuna salad sandwich for lunch! Unlike all the other LKC episodes, they did NOT reveal the winner at the end although Tom says both were technically excellent and it came down to a few grains of salt. Tom and his salt! The segment ended with quick clips from Vegas (same as at the end of the full episode last night) that didn’t reveal any thing more than Padma hosting whilst wearing a red slip. Not sure what happened to her dress. Maybe a lost luggage issue, not sure.

Yes! Especially after they featured him in that emo-family-phone-call segment in the beginning of the show. It seems like those little up close and personal segments are a harbinger of doom for the featured chef! I'm still rooting for Marjorie but she seems to be self-destructing. They did a good job of editing that elimination challenge to feel very nerve wracking. I was going to make some popcorn but I was afraid it wouldn't be Fleur-worthy! The toast quick fire was one of my favorites - I love stuff on toast! And for once, I agreed with the judges on the bottom 2. Not sure about the winner, sounds like there was too much going on (chicken liver mousse with pickled cherries, white raspberry, and arugula on ciabatta) but I'd love to try them all! Two LCK episodes to watch but they didn't reveal who would be going on to Las Vegas. I was sorry to see that Jason went out in the first of those 2 LCK episodes and would have liked to see him rewarded for that long string of LCK wins.

Interesting. I have smoked tuna salad sandwiches planned for lunch but intend to take a much less exciting approach

Ramen, ramen everywhere! Ramen isn't something I usually think about. Now that we have this cook-off, I am noticing ramen everywhere! Last week, the LA Times ran a note about a food blogger who's produced a poster guide to 42 types of ramen and funded it via a Kickstarter campaign. And just yesterday, I read a great piece on Serious Eats, "Don't Put Your Hand in the Noodle Machine: Notes From Ramen School in Osaka" by Mathew Amster-Burton (aka @mamster ) I confess with embarrassment that the only time I've used ramen is in that ubiquitous pot-luck broccoli slaw/ramen salad where the dried noodles add crunch so I obviously have much to learn this cook-off!

I usually only buy cold cereal when I have house guests but thread is making me want to buy a box of Grape Nuts and some milk.

Like ElainaA said, a fresh fruit plate was my first thought, along with something like banana bread or coffee cake - although I now know it's too hot to bake, is it too hot to shop, too? The stuffed dates really appeal to me because they sort of bridge the sweet/savory divide.

I see A2 milk advertised on TV but have never actually looked for it to try.

I saw a Pesto and Egg Baguette Sandwich on the kitchn the other day and thought it sounded good. My variation - toasted ciabatta with green chile adobo and egg:

Thanks for taking us along on this trip! This looks like the sort of place where one could spend a bunch on some very lovely, high quality products. What a wonderful resource to be able to buy things from local suppliers. I suspect this is the case. Their website lists some specials from Welsh suppliers for the day.