kayb

Also Wright's bacon. With a couple of slabs of a brioche-ish bread I'd made a while back, sliced and frozen. Because I was in the mood for French Toast. I let my eyes overload my plate. I ate about half of this. Just can't eat sweets like I used to.

A trio of salads, picked up from a local caterer yesterday afternoon, because I could and I didn't want to cook. Marvelous pasta salad, nothing-out-of-the-ordinary fruit salad, and really good chicken salad. Note -- I'd called in an order and was hustling to get there before they closed at 2 on Friday afternoon (they're 25 minutes away and I left at 1:30). Several traffic laws may have been broken. In a rush, when the kid asked me how much I wanted, I said, "a quart of each." Can I just tell you, a quart of chicken salad is a helluva lot of chicken salad? Anyone want a chicken salad sandwich?

Here's my haul from the market this morning: New potatoes, eggplant, blueberries, blackberries, romaine, onions, zucchini, yellow squash, peaches, Carolina gold tomatoes, Arkansas Travelers tomatoes. I'll have all this in my garden, except the eggplants and fruit and potatoes, by next weekend, but nothing yet. Lots of green tomatoes on the vines. Beans are looking nice. Grass crop is looking quite healthy. June and July are prime market months. We'll start getting sweet corn around the end of June. I've found a local grower who is growing Silver Queen, and already reserved 120 ears to cut off and freeze. My two rows of Kentucky Wonders are looking pretty good, albeit fighting with the grass. Got to get out this week and stick them. Maybe Monday morning.

Just marvelous! I like the subs as well. I thought the kohlrabi WAS scallops, sliced in half horizontally, which intrigued me. Congratulations on your anniversary, and I, too, hope you celebrate No. 22 there next year!

That sucker has showed up with a vengeance. I have named it "The Beast." This is what it wanted for breakfast. Yesterday, it wanted Thai, so I fed it panang curry, followed by frozen yogurt to chill the burn. I may gain back those seven pounds I didn't really intend to lose.

That'd do it. I'm good to go.

Still holding out on that one. May not last much longer. Damn whoever it was suggested I could use muffin tins and not need mini-tart pans...

Sad. Wasn't a huge fan, didn't watch his show, but his book was hysterical. Depression is an ugly thing. Hope he's at peace now.

Is there popcorn?

Some days, you want traditional. Hash browns, eggs, bacon, biscuits, sorghum molasses with butter. Orange juice and coffee.

Happy anniversary. BTW, do you weigh 9,000 pounds? I would. But Gawdamighty, those are gorgeous meals.

Now that one, I had to get. It intrigues me.

Be still, my heart. Possibly my favorite fish.

Day three holdout.

This one looks fascinating: Feast: Food of the Islamic World, looks fascinating. Amazon link: clickety NYT story, if you're a subscriber: Clickety It ain't cheap. I may ask the library.

I love Deep Run Roots, the stories and the recipes. Have cooked several from it. The Blue Que sauce rocks; I made a big batch and canned it in half-pint jars. It's marvelous on a pork steak. I like Rick Bragg's writing. This one goes on the list. One I go back to time and again is Shirley Corriher's "Cookwise." It's the cookbook I credit with starting my collection of cookbooks, which up until then had consisted mostly of Betty Crocker and local church and civic club recipe collections.

Bunch of enablers. Still holding out.

Ain't gonna do it. Ain't gonna DO it. Though Mini-Pies is tempting me. But it would require mini-tart pans, which I do not have and do not plan to need.

@Nicolai -- I would break a fast with you and your friends ANYTIME! That looks marvelous! I am attempting to recreate what was possibly the best pasta salad I've ever had (for lunch, by a commercial catering company; surely I can get close). Reports later.

I had, yesterday, some of the brisket from Aldi I'd pulled from the freezer, rubbed down with pastrami rub, and smoked last weekend. It was a little disappointing...gristly and a lot of fat on the slices I cut...but had a good flavor. With some Jarlsberg Swiss and some honey spicy mustard to dip. No bread. Some pickles on the side.

The absolute best shrimp and grits I ever ate in the world are at Mr. B's Bistro on Royal in NOLA. The recipe is here. At the restaurant, they call the sauce "red-eye gravy." It is NOT red-eye gravy. It is, however, wonderful. I have been known to serve it with ratatouille for a dinner party.

Yes, the appetite's back. Pear and blue cheese Dutch baby, topped with Greek yogurt and honey.

I toss cubes in a mixture of honey and miso, and roast. I also like the par-cooking in the microwave, sliced thin, and then using to roll up around a cheese or meat filling, like manicotti. Then cover with marinara sauce and bake.

My appetite seems to have returned, for which I'm grateful. I actually ate three meals today. Small ones, but meals. I still want bland, so dinner was potatoes in cheese sauce, with leftover smoked sausages from last Monday. With lima beans, followed by salted caramel gelato. Hit the spot. Unphotogenic, so no photos.

A week, max.