Annie_H

I've been down that rabbit hole a few times. Last time was March-April 2020. I'd give it a hard no to indoors. Even though true biothane burns cleaner than charcoal, only an industrial hood could handle it. At least that was my research. They are meant for outdoor table dining. Not worth the risk of CO, carbon monoxide poisoning indoors. You will see them as cheap as 50$ but you get what you pay for. Reviews are horrid. Disintegrate if left out in the rain. And crack easily. The good quality ones start around 300$ I think. But tiny. The classic size is about 600$ but worth it if that style cooking appeals. I had the YAK on my short list and bought the Thaan 'style' bricks before committing. Used them on a grill I already have--a small grill meant to attach to a boat hanging over the side. They do burn long and clean but tricky to light. I use a propane torch and chimney starter. Definitely an outside job for that. We found it to be a very social meal. A few hours with friends outside with multiple small bites. But often too cold to sit out for long or too hot to sit in front of a 'hot box' in the summer. The YAK is dishwasher safe and a bit more portable. The one on the top right is made in Baltimore. Was backordered at that time but $$$$. Probably will last 5 lifetimes.

Friday night we had the 'great American dog', or the great Brooklyn dog. Sadly we used up the dog buns on shrimp, lobster, fried oyster rolls... so did not get the full dog experience. We thought Brooklyn was out of business but when our local Fairway hit their first bankruptcy they stopped paying their vendors so many pulled out. Still good. With eyes shut. Side salads to the table. Slaw, potato, pickles.

Mid-week pasta. I think Thursday night. Nice pasta shape that really held the sauce nicely. 2 for 9$ FreshDirect. My cart has a few now to stock-up. Cheap little tomato cartons for pantry back-ups---2 for 3$ Misfits. Meant for stews, chili, or background tomatoes but rather nice in a spicy quick sauce added to leeks, garlic, shallots, minced celery. Spicy with chipotle. Star of the show was the brocollini. I over-blanched, on purpose, for 2 minutes. Perfect. Meant to sear/roast with the merguez but 'don't fuckit up'. --I snacked on most of it in the kitchen. I've ordered more, double more.

Like I mentioned previously, having a good crisp base, I can toast/pan fry garlic/shallots in some of the seasoned oil as needed. *even better is a tBsp in a mortal/pestle with 3-4 fresh garlic cloves for RG bean. Tonight, black beans.

I made another big triple batch yesterday. A bit more spicy than intended but as a base it will last a bit longer.

I gave up on mangoes and avocados a half dozen years ago. Until I found by accident the champagne mango. ---a marketing name so seems to be atoulfo and/or honey. I've only had a handful of varieties over the years. A couple weeks ago I purchased a case of 15 champagne. Small and pale yellow when ripe. Tender and creamy and like Elise says above, almost no fiber. The pit is small and thin. I froze half, a couple went into a hot sauce fermentation. Two still in the fridge. I think I paid 17$ for the case of 15. Similarly the avocados are tiny but very small pits. Very dense for their size. 6 for 5$. I don't blink at cost being so good and very rare to get even a hint of brown in the flesh. Previously avocados from any market were a roll of the dice. One in five would be horrid inside and barely ripe. In the three years I've been getting the small avocados from the same/similar source, maybe two have had a bit of brown---one was hidden and lost in the back of the fridge. (way over ripe)

PalouseBrand beans and grains is having their 'stock up for Fall' sale. Free shipping. PALOUSE I'm out of red wheat berries and lentils and always need garbanzos. Wheat berries can be ground into flour, sprouted 24hours and into grain breads, or sprouted for wheatgrass. Or just cooked like regular rice/grain. I use wheatgrass in fall soups like roasted garlic, leek, and potato.

AKA 'Bollywood' slaw. I've posted before my 'sweet baby' cuisinart. A wedding gift in 1989. Then they discontinued this model mid 90's. Monster motor, small footprint. Side shoot with a grater blade and a slicer blade. Purrs like a kitten. I can make a half dozen salads for a crowd in 20 minutes--as long as the veg is washed 'mies en place' ready. Side shoot keeps going. Just switch out the bowls. Or easily put in the slicer blade for a different salad--fennel, celeriac, radish, celery....press firm for thin, light for a bit thicker. No emptying the bowl. It side shoots. Way too complicated for the basic home cook. Too many parts. I have two back-ups NIBox. The manual is a disaster without clear instructions. Hot item on e-bay. I have my back-ups but do check randomly for gifting. Gave one to my sister who can't boil water. (no joke) Helped her through two simple salads and a salsa. (she gave it away being ADHD). She can't fit the lid at all. Let alone the misc parts and blades.

BLTAvocado. I do toast my bread but toasted side in--just broiled top side, no toaster here. A sturdy bread like a boule, I like a soft top and bottom. Spicy chili crisp potato salad, roasted golden beets and greens, everything-in-the-crisper-drawer slaw. Perfect firm/ripe heirloom pineapple tomato. (hidden).

Nice haul. This is about half. Put away the pasture raised baby chicken(frozen solid), eggs, Persian cukes, petite toasts--2 for 3$. Ordered 2 packages of butter---they sent 3. And a box of odd peanut butter rice crispy treats I did not order, lol. Everything else was perfect. Nothing missing. Good favorite skyr yogurt. price is for two. (2ct). Avocados from Laredo, TX. Ginger 1$. Nice looking brocollini!

I don't care for plastic either. Would have been a big mistake. I do have a set of melamine lunch plates for children. BBQ's and buffet style events. Fun patterns. I think they are dishwasher safe but no microwave. DH has been working long hours since Wednesday and all weekend. Making some of his favorites. Up at 4, home after 10pm. Peppered baked salmon, shrimp, and merguez. Plumped the sausage in a tBsp of water and olive oil, then into the over to roast with the seafood. Garlic chips and fried shallots using the purchased chili crisp oil that turned out more oil than 'crisp'. Caesar-ed greens. Kales, chard, escarole, romaine.

I should point out that I think the same company has melamine. At one point I had a few different glazes in my cart but missed the material content. Some things, like dinnerware, I would normally purchase in person. But the price was right. If they sucked, no big investment. I've been looking for a while and would find one I liked and always out of stock. Had to flip a coin and sent a text to my husband---"DO NOT complete/send the Amazon order". I almost ordered the plastic ones. If I order again, I might choose one of the other dark ones. One of the dark brown seems to have a smooth glaze but the same size and shape. I don't mind mixing ramen/noodle bowls as long as they are similar dark in color. We are not entertaining much these days, but a friend recently divorced is always welcome. Usually stays for dinner. A shame to have this meal planned and not offer the same plating experience.

That was easy. In my amazon cart last month. Tried and true being in a few oven heats and many dishwasher loads. DH has slippery fingers but no breakage so far. I broke the last 'trial' bowls--just one but this seems ok so far. I might get another two back-ups. --Not a meal we would serve to guests so I do not need a dozen. I purchased during the last 'amazon deal day' but that is becoming odd and not so great. Nice bowls even at this price.

Spicy noodles with white miso/ginger/seaweeds. I'm liking my new bowls. Always heated in the oven. They hold the heat well with a heavy base. The wide shape keeps fresh ingredient out of the hot broth. Very stable. Easy to pick up at the table and take a warm broth sip/glug. The upper edge cools off just enough--not too hot like the broth in the base 1/3rd. (that bottom base with the broth holds heat really well) I broke one of our earlier trial two bowls and missed the shape but this is better. Noodle bowls might be twice a week now. DH home at 11pm last night. Low oven kept his bowl warm. Various add-ins stacked in the fridge. Broth he heated on the back burner 10 minutes. (he knows the drill) Miso broth poured over and pooled into the avocado. Noodles are fresh/frozen--heated in a spicy kimchi broth. They soaked up all that broth so many separate flavors--crips, chewy, earthy, spicy. I made garlic chips and crispy shallots but not needed.

I know artichokes are not local to NY, but one of my favorite markets has them once a year and gorgeous. They support local but need to offer other veg to survive. True butcher and fish monger. Seeing the fish monger filleting big cod, I asked for a few heads for stock. "come back in 15 minutes"....I had three heads for stock, but even better I had six cheeks and three tongues/throats for a delicacy appetizer. Adams is just 5 minutes off the NYState thruway. Kingston. 4 locations now. Story's is our farm stand favorite. On the way to weekend Catskill road trips. The Farber farm sells local but no website. They sell to NYC restaurants. Angus beef.

Seafood has jumped up 30-40%. Not all but most. I have a good rotation now. I spend about an hour Sunday mornings and check just a few markets. We are seasonal so I support local farms this time of year. I check FreshDirect, Misfits, and get a local Farm share for proteins every three-4 months--WaldenLocal. FreshDirect is a local delivery that has good prices being a distribution center without the overhead of a grocery. Every two-three months. Misfits once a month now. Watching for sales gives us some seasonal treats like the lobsters, oysters, salt cod, lamb ribs, noodles, pastas, case of mangoes, and some wonton wrappers for the freezer. No interest in Costco these days. Or our local Italian market that started over-salting their sausages a few years ago. Sadly not on our rotation at all anymore. Hilarious four generations small grocery singing on the loudspeaker non-stop.

I have a small shoe box sized drawer in my freezer--came with the fridge, that I can pull out onto the counter. Holds all the 'smalls'--parm rind, extra chipotle peppers from the tin, etc. Previously, I used the door shelf and all the bits into a bigger gallon zip-lock.

A few of the breads made with sprouted grains. Very old pic.

I've been making various sprouted grain breads for years. First I've heard of GABA as well. It is basically a plant when sprouted. Every grain/seed has a germ, the embryo. surrounded by the endosperm--its suitcase full of nutrients to assist in feeding the germ to help it sprout once moisture is added. sprouted grains explained Took this pic last night. The grass looking greens are wheat berries grown as micro greens next to some pea shoots. Completely different nutrient profile than the dried seeds/grains. For breads I just look for small tails, 24-36 hours, then blendered into a slurry.

Lamb chops over a fresh fennel and celery slaw. Lacinato kale and hatch chilie sauté. Quick pickles. Cooked all 4. The other two will be something easy tonight. Undecided.

Four flat packs of smoked Hatch with smoked garlic, onion, and tomatillo. Freezer packs. I can break off a half or quarter easily for winter salsa--add fresh green onion/cilantro winter months. Good spice. Not too much. Heat is present forward but sneaks up in the background minutes later.

We had three in rotation at that time. Mid-late 90's? It has been so long ago. The one with the KeithHering art lining the walls we were wed/ engaged. Maybe 'ISO' ?. DH might remember. Sushi at that time was a two/three times a month but we let friends often select the location. Only Sundays. Early meals being a work night. Love a sushi bar seat early evening. Lots of 'try this' freebies being regulars. Have not found similar since. Having a 20+ year relationship is special. Mr Suzuki would ride his bike down to WallStreetFulton fish market every morning early. Thinking now it was 'Iso'. "THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Iso Restaurant Review: Since 1984, Iso has been king of the East Village’s medium-priced sushi houses. (For the neighborhood’s best sushi, and higher prices, go to Jewel Bako.) Behind the sushi bar is the framed logo Keith Haring did for the restaurant---the design is emblazoned on the waiters’ T-shirts. And Iso himself still makes sushi, along with a young team of three men. The number of chef’s special platters they turn out is enough to make your fingers ache. Forget the regular menu and order from the daily specials list, a mix of innovative and traditional appetizers, sushi, sashimi and main courses."

Looks good and a clean pull. Did you use the ice water bath method?. That is the only way I can clean them easily. I started a small batch with the smoked. This pic was Sunday. Both were bubbling this morning when I 'burped' the big jar. Air locks are so much easier. The gallon jar has a silicone small disc that fits perfectly with a glass juice jar to hold all under the brine.

My favorite eggplant dish, Nasu Dengaku Our favorite EastVillage sushi joint closed 15+ years ago due to retirement. Mr Suzuki's daughter took over for a while--even featured in the NYTimes but lacked the passion. Finally cracked the recipe code a few years ago due to internet searching by accident.

I posted a page back but I'll re-cap. Sunday I filled my smoker with Hatch chilies and a tray of tomatillos/garlic/onions. Heating up I added two salmon fillets and some merguez on the lower rack. (half frozen). Gave them an hour of heat/smoke once up to temp. Finished in the oven to roast a bit. Half went in the fridge for last night, warm. But excellent cold in salads, croquettes, chowder, bisque. It is tender but flakes. Everyone seems to have a favorite method for hot smoked. I don't use sugars or long smokes. This brand I see does not use sugars. hot smoked salmon While smoking the peppers, I made a mixed grain and RG beans and some salads--corn, potato, quick pickles, and caprese. Mixed grains are always a bit different as I stock so many. This one is wheat berries, wild rice, quinoa, and lentils. Most from Palouse Beans are RG Marcella, and Vaquero. ( trying to retain the dried blk/white color by rinsing). Garbanzos I spiced and roasted and have not used yet except in our lunch salads. I'm low on Palouse grains/beans but will wait for the next RG delivery.