dcarch

For all you gardeners, how are things growing? Here in NY the end of the season is here. dcarch Last of the squashes and other goodies from the garden with pork chops A friend sent me this poem by Robert Francis Squash In Blossom How lush, how loose, the uninhibited squash is. If ever hearts (and these immoderate leaves Are vegetable hearts) were worn on sleeves, The squash's are. In green the squash vine gushes. The flowers are cornucopias of summer, Briefly exuberant and cheaply golden. And if they make a show of being hidden, Are open promiscuously to every comer. Let the squash be what it was doomed to be By the old Gardener with the shrewd green thumb. Let it expand and sprawl, defenceless, dumb. But let me be the fiber-disciplined tree Whose leaf (with something to say in wind) is small, Reduced to the ingenuity of a green splinter Sharp to defy or fraternize with winter, Or if not that, prepared in fall to fall.

Amazing! I don't know if the food tastes good or not, but the plating design is amazing, amazing in a simple way; how the colors and the graphics on the plate just work so well with the colors of the ingredients. dcarch .

Here is the one that survived. Very domineering, arrogant, self-important ------- Doesn't seem like a maw maw to me. dcarch

I am trying to grow paw paw trees. Paw paw requires male and female trees for pollination and fruiting. One of my paw paw trees died. So I need to buy another one. Not sure which sex is my surviving one. Anyone know how to tell a paw paw tree and a maw maw tree? dcarch

I have a dehydrator. For my taste, I like to slice the tomatoes 3/8" thick and dry them for about one hour. dcarch

Is it possible to get fed up from feeding on too many BLTs? May be possible, but not if you take your BLT ingredients up a notch. 1. Best bacon baked uniformly crispy with minimal fat so you can eat lots without having to worry about your LDL. 2. Garden fresh ripe heirloom tomatoes, dehydrated halfway to concentrate flavor and to avoid watery soggy bread. 3. Garden fresh picked delicate organic lettuces (no iceberg allowed). No washing. Wet limpy lettuces are for making soup dcarch

What's for dinner? Garbage ! 50 lbs of tomatoes from my garden donated. All from kitchen scraps to compost to soil to delicious tomatoes. Many families will have carbon-neutral heirloom tomatoes to enjoy for dinner without spending farmers market $$$. dcarch

The first step is to use low heat (220F) to render most of the fat without carbonizing the lean meat. At this temperature, the bacon juice (and fat) drips down without evaporated away because it's under the rendered fat. As you can understand, this bacon juice is very bacon-ly flavorful, together with semi-dehydrated tomatoes, there is no need for mayo. Boar's Head is what works best for my taste for a BLT. dcarch

It’s time for BBLTs! Please don’t criticize me for doing things different. For me, a BLT has to have the following qualities; otherwise it’s just a plain ordinary sandwich. B – Bread! A BLT is a special summer celebration, you can’t just use plain store white bread. B – Bacon, I have my favorite brand of bacon, and I like to render all the fat out crispy, in this rendering process, I can harvest about two table spoons of pure bacon juice. This juice is what I call liquid gold. I sprinkle this amazing juice on the tomato slices. The fat goes to the compost. I don’t feel like eating bacon fat all summer long. L – I never buy iceberg. I only eat garden special lettuces. T – Fresh pick garden ripe tomatoes. Why would I put watery tomato slices to mess up crispy bacon and end up with soggy bread? I dehydrate the tomato slices partially. Wow! Concentrate tomato goodness! Enjoy a safe summer to you all. dcarch

Are those farm grown morels? dcarch

I always like hanger steak. Why? WiKi basically tells why: "A hanger steak, also known as butcher's steak or hanging tenderloin, is a cut ofbeefsteak prized for its flavour. This cut is taken from the plate, which is the upper belly of the animal. In the past it was sometimes known as "butcher's steak", becausebutchers would often keep it for themselves rather than offer it for sale. This is because the general populace believed this to be a crude cut of meat, although it is actually one of the most tender." Tender, flavorful, and fat-less. I might also add, not too expensive. What’s not to like? dcarch Mushroom sauce on hanger steak

Everything in the above discussion changes relative to temperature, depending on where you live. Altitude effects boiling point. dcarch

just a quick mushroom, egg, shrimps fried rice. dcarch

Happy Bastille Day! As I was thinking of cooking something appropriate for today and have the music playing in the background. I thought the lyrics of the France National Anthem can be slightly modified and used against the covid-19 tyranny. I did make crepe for breakfast, but have not decided what to make for dinner. May be I will make something for tomorrow. Anyone have ideas? dcarch

Thorns ! Thorns! Vicious! Gloves! Gloves! dcarch

Life is good! Garden is producing nicely, despite problematic weather. Today's blackberry harvest . Yesterday's is in the freezer blackberry ice cream. You know those blue dots in store so-called blueberry pancakes and blue berry cupcakes? I made blueberry pancakes with real blueberries. dcarch

For microwave oven selection, look into " Inverter technology". dcarch

Slugs, snails are the bane of all lovers of hostas. I love hostas for my garden. They are beautiful and require no care. I have hundreds of them. Fortunately I don’t have a slug/snail problem. Snails are a boon and a bane for me. I love snails, the French kind. I wish I could import some live French variety of snails, but there are laws forbidding that. You can only get canned ones here. I love hostas also because they are delicious. Hosta is a common vegetable in some countries. So I decided to make a dish with Hosta blossom scapes, some French escargots and some shrimps and dungeness crab legs. dcarch

There is a law against child-labor. But I will not report you. Wow! He is a tall boy! He can reach in the cabinet just like that. dcarch

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, "Less is more", that is more or less true. It all depends on the recipe. Plate everything the recipe calls for. Don't hide anything just to be "less". Plate everything that is in a large dish for a family. Another architect, Frank Lloyd Wright said, "Form follows function". Respect the natural shape and color of each ingredient. Don't tourne a potato to look like a football. A well prepared sushi dish is "form follows function" as well as "less is more". dcarch

Harvested a lot of garlic scapes. Lots. Made BBQ (SV) country style ribs with scapes and asparagus (also from my garden). dcarch

To bang a big nail, you need a heavy hammer with a long handle. That is the physics, weight plus speed. Here is my bone chopper, Heavy - three times the thickness compared with a regular kitchen knife. Speed - long handle swings faster as it hits the bone. Also, long handle allows you to use two hands for extra power. I have to be careful not to chop the cutting board in half! dcarch

Garlic scapes !!! Got a great harvest today. What are your best recipes for using garlic scapes besides making pesto? dcarch

Take a magnifying glass and examine the back side of the leaves. Looks like spider mite damages to me. Bean plants = invitation for spider mites. dcarch

I have a 700,000 BTU torch like this one that I used to clear weeds before I plant my vegetable garden. https://www.amazon.com/AUSAIL-Propane-Flamethrower-Trigger-Charcoal/dp/B08M6GFBW8/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=blow+torch&qid=1623035756&smid=A2EIN88G2MB33B&sr=8-9 I also use this torch for BBQ and after sous vide. Very nice except can't use it indoors. Too hot and too noisy. dcarch