Annie_H

Gardeners need to accept the seasons. I'm having the year of the zucchini and it's flowers. My trial baby flageolet French beans---and another dozen trials---a spit here and there. Such a small harvest.

I have never deep fried. Lower right pic is a small pat of butter and whisper of avocado oil. Medium heat. My cast irons are well seasoned. A shake. For a few minutes to roll around and brown. Then into the oven to roast on low heat.--while I prep the rest of the meal. My rub/dry brine has a bit of palm sugar, not at all sweet, but roasts like a fry in the oven. Obviously Thursday night I made a gorgeous porcini risotto. Always make more than a meal for next day arancini. It firms up overnight like grits/polenta. Moisture evaporation. *a good friend a-hole once brought a gallon of shit oil and 20 pounds of potatoes to a party of 75+. We hosted lots of parties in the day having a huge loft. He did not ask ahead. Decided he wanted to make French fries. Total disruption of the kitchen dealio. We had an oyster bar and massive great foods prepped ahead. He made a mess. 🙄 Who brings a fry mess to party?...and does not clean up? Jerky😂 My risotto...thursday. Divert your eyes those that trashed it before---tic-tak and Paul bochino, (sp) I was not insulted being a NewYorker. Maybe my garnish insists an apology. 😂

Not unusual in the EastCoast South, Delaware and down, to have a chicken or turkey Sunday brunch year round. Even most NY diners have a good loaded early brunch and not junk. (some suck). Fresh roasted am. Might be from a previously frozen turkey breast but a half or quartered chicken roasted is is common with holiday sides. In my itty bitty hometown an oyster dressing is common. Often cornbread. Always gravy. Sides are what is locally in season. Biscuits and gravy... Not what we did but my grandmother and aunt went out for Sunday brunch every week for years.

Friday night was porcini aranchini. Stuffed with mozzarella. (had to freezer most of them. I made way too many)

Nice ribs last night. This 'cut' has the boneless flat or whatever that is called. Recently we have had stLouis and lamb ribs. Way too much meat for the two of us with the boneless 'flat', so we will maybe have lettuce wraps and tacos tomorrow night. (tonight is salmon). A side of beans and veg. Beet greens and chard and zucchini from the garden. Making a dent in the RG beans. Nice corona, yellow eye, small black beans. Always nice in summer salads, warm or cold. My pantry grains are thinning as well but ordered some quinoa and garbanzos. Never have been a fan of quinoa but I do like it in a mixed grain. Especially with toasted nuts and seeds. Used the last of our Palouse wheat berries but that is a Fall grain. Need variety.

For the few Misfiters here, I found a blog post that explains the 'point perks'. perks explained Once redeemed a choice is offered. I can choose three smalls or 2 large items. Probably will choose the pound of almonds and the Manuka honey. The bottom of the short post shows what is on the list through Aug 2nd.

Nice thing about pots is the ability to move them to a shady spot if the heat gets them. I have a shade system for my fixed beds when most in the heat cannot grow tender greens. Many of my herb pots are in fabric nursery 5 gallons with handles that can be relocated in part shade. First week of high heat. Tomatoes are not happy over 80ºF. In high heat areas, not a bad idea to start a Fall garden now. I just started two small trays indoors of fall greens, salads, and peas. We have so many thunderstorms I have not needed to water much until now. Moving some herbs like cilantro into part shade.

My go-to favorite knife is a 7inch I purchased as a student in the early 80's. Thrift store. Fast forward 20 years, I took out a magnifying glass in good light and discovered the maker. I guess pedestrian-- HarvardCutlery sold in hardware stores and way out of business. Went on eBay and found a seller that had a dozen new-in-sleeve with most sold but I bought the last three he had. That was ten years ago and still they are my go-to all day long. I have 4. Two on my magnetic above my main prep zone and one in my kitchen travel crate. One at the beach home. Chuckle all you want. Use what does the job and is comfortable. DH does not touch them. He uses the nice expensive 8 and 9 inch always. Gifted Japanese knives are in sleeves in the knife drawer below our main prep. Too many small various pairing knives are handy on the other magnetic. The 5 inch 'all purpose' is most useful for slicing a lemon/lime. Most important for me is a clear good size work area and cutting board. Lots of room to work. If a family member is using a knuckle busting pairing knife I think they are working in a too small claustrophobic prep zone. My kitchen is small but efficient with a small triangle work area. 18x18 inch main prep cutting board is clean and clear at all times. Spin and next to the sink is two 18inch Side-by-side for a second work area---bread, spice mixing, etc. Where DH does most of his prep. (the bread baker) I'm a horrid housekeeper but my kitchen counters are always clean or I can't cook. FU floors and laundry. Our big daily joke is, "stop wearing clothes!". If a five inch chef style is desired, Zwilling seems to have them affordable randomly. For smaller tasks like herbs and garlic. smaller veg sliced. Rarely use our 8-9inch for that reason. If I pick garden basil and roll in a bunch for chiffinade, --the 7 inch is always my go-to. Even greens.

I agree. An easy rinse. Sometimes if left overnight and does get randomly stained with red beets and such, we would run it through the dishwasher as it says 'dishwasher safe'. Removing the screws is easy if a deep clean is needed.

Kimchi miso glazed and roasted Frenched chicken legs. Last few packages of legs were 3 per pack. This was 4. Same weight. I prefer the smaller ones but frenching 12 pushed my buttons a bit. Solid no-go will I ever do this for a party. Poor-low-on-the-ladder employee that has to do this every day. Roasted vegetables and rice balls. The kimchi is not something I would buy at the price it is selling for but Misfits sent it as a freebie by mistake. Odd gifted condiments get lost in my pantry usually. I kept it front and center and it is really good. I added hibiscus, beet root, and amchur powders for zip and color.

I have a divided drawer where my two benriner have their own home. With the extra blades and gloves. When I hit your link to amazon, the note above says my white one was purchased in 2017. So my original green one that most restaurants use must be from at least 5 years earlier. Useful hint, --it says dishwasher safe but not so. Eventually the screws holding the extra blades will corrode. Circled in red. I usually just rinse and air dry or a bit of soap and use a scrub brush. The screws are aluminum. I just keep those screws in their drawer as I use them less often. The green one uses a screw to adjust the slicing depth back side. If I run it through the dishwasher, I remove it. Bad design idea to use aluminum. The new design white one is now difficult to turn the wheel--no screw, so I have to use a rubberized lid opener. Bit of a struggle. Still love them and use them multiple times a week. The old green one lives in my travel crate now. Gloves are good to have. I've caught the fingertip a few times that would have removed some skin. The gloves come in a pair. When one was in the wash--the other is in my travel crate, I took a slice off my fingertip during lockdown. A new laptop with fingerprint recognition, took a couple months to get that fingerprint pattern back. I need to stitch it up and plan to slide in a sewing thimble. It is the only finger I can't seem to train to keep out of the way. The gloves are called 'no cry' on amazon. I should get something with stronger threads but these nicks in the fabric are a few in hundreds of uses. And never a skin slice. I'll get that one circled in red out eventually with some rust fluid but keep forgetting.

Looking forward to this one. Spaghettoni. Alex French guy spaghettoni

Thanks!. I will be ordering again if they still have them. I order every 12-14 days and that will be this next weekend. I have a nice half full crisper drawer now. I like the challenge using what I have before a re-stock.

That happened to us. A few small herb pots on the fire-escape outside the kitchen window---a letter from our landlord that the weight will cause unnecessary stress on the 'counter balance' of the attachment to the building. Shit apartment and crap renovations. All light switches were up-off, down-on. Tile counters that popped up and off within weeks and blamed us---on and on.

I only ordered one pound and that was a big mistake. I will not see garden tomatillos until September. I plan to smoke mine with onions, peppers, garlic, and the last of the frozen hatch chilis in the freezer this weekend. Smoked tomatillo salsa.

One of our favorites and comes together quick-ish. Cast iron seared two sirloins Sunday but even .75 pounds was a bit much. Noodle bowl last night with a load of vegetables. Kombu master stock with miso and hajiki. New bowls purchased the past prime day. Meh. A bit 'discotecka' for my taste being a bit glittery but the size is exactly what I've been looking for so worth the 20$ for two bowls to try the size. Fortunately the glitter glaze is mild at the table. Camera phone exaggerates the disco glitter. I've posted before the excellent avocados we have been getting the past few years. (misfits) Tiny pits and creamy texture. The noodles I took a rif from theWoksOfLife Excellent broth, seasoned noodles, nice noodle lunches today.

What is missing in the look of them?. The red food coloring?. It isn't necessary for the flavor. I know some red is from bugs but most is probably from petroleum or such creations. I find there is a sweet spot where the meat is tender but can be presented to the plate with the bone and meat connected and a gentle tug held in hand releases. Just a classic rib desire. Some may think if it falls off on the plate or before, it is overdone. But it is 'pulled pork' at that point. No longer a rib dish if a fork is needed. But not necessarily overdone. The only problem we have had occasionally is underdone. A well known mediocre dim sum buffet I returned the ribs to the meat counter.--they charge extra per plate left on the table not consumed. (I recall 5$). No argument but it was inedible and did not want to be charged. Prices have gone way up. 27$ per person lunch. 57$ for dinner. Children cost is like a carnival. 7$ for 2-3ft tall and 10$ for 3-4ft. (or something like that).😂

Yes, anyplace where I would use a lime. Unexpected is the tiny leaf shape. It will Winter live next to the Meyer in the kitchen. Nice thing about the Meyer lemon is it starts slowly ripening around Thanksgiving. Then rapidly mid February. Some were green forever. This past season the count was around 22. A couple into the freezer whole. Half a dozen I preserved. Wedged to go into seltzer for the week, a salad dressing, etc. It will just add to the kitchen greenery. When outside is gray, cold, and snowing.

Made a few salads Friday night for the weekend after a big veg delivery. Chili crisp/kimchi potato salad. Loaded tuna salad we had in butter lettuce wraps and slaw.

Squash blossom withdrawal without yogurt or goat cheese or eggs---just stocked up. Extra crispy adding cornmeal flour to my dredge mix.

That is what I said in my few posts. Nothing will compare to the top quality picks like the first 5 minutes of the video posted. Always some hidden gems in all pantry categories. During lock-down when we realized this was not just a few weeks, DH ordered cases of all Baldor had to offer from Matiz. Not top tier but good. Greenpoint has some great Polish delis and bakeries. Always worth it to try some mustards. Liked tinned Mexican chipotles. A pantry staple. Matiz tuna is firm and flaky bright white but very mild. Baldor being a restaurant/hotel kitchen supply, that would make a nice room service tuna sandwich with just a fresh bit of dill. A bit bland for my loaded tuna salad. Bottom of the barrel is anything I find in my parents pantry. Last visit the tuna was brown and mealy. Emptying the tin left 1/3rd tuna and water down the drain. Stunk. The sardine tins I would not feed the pups. In their 90's it is about food value, not taste quality. They can afford quality but don't care. I bet their last meal out was Friendly's for the all you can eat salad bar when dad was training for the senior olympics. (five gold metals). On the cover of the Washington Post magazine like MarkSpitz. But old guy. Our pantry does not have any canned goods except for tins of fish. 3-4 dozen. DH buys then everywhere he sees them. Never looks at price. Probably a few Fairway treats in that stash. I don't care for the Costco brand he buys even when we have already a dozen. He buys more. The olive oil has no flavor. I should try giving a vinegar soak and better olive oil and try smoking them. The ones I posted in the round tin above were in the pantry for a year or two. Pulled them out for a dog treat but tasted first as I do. Pups got a bit but we had them with a good mustard, toast, and pickled red onion. Not all are shit. But not sure about the quality of the BalticSea waters. Tuna I would rathe buy frozen or fresh small steaks for a nicoise or salad seared rare. A good tin for tuna salad. DH purchased a 30$ pound of tuna but unfamiliar with Baldor it was 5 pound quantity. Yikes. But I food savered in 5-6 ounce portions for the freezer.

Vivian Howard has two restaurants in Charleston. A breakfast/lunch spot and a dinner joint. Handy and Hot menu Biscuits and hand pies, etc. One hand pie is Rodney Scott's smoked pork and coleslaw. SIL, MIL, nephew and his family relocated to Charleston from Clemson fall 2019. Looking forward to a visit.

My Meyer lemon is 6-7 yrs old. I get 6-20 every year. First few years 3-4. Then remembered to hand pollinate. I just think of them as beautiful houseplants that give back.

I posted the link further up...finger lime I had planned on ordering a key lime but this is a new item for them. Gorgeous little upright tree.

Warm sauté salad greens--kale, leek, fennel, charred corn, cherry tomatoes. Cast iron seared flank steak. First course we ate in the kitchen right out of the pan--zucchini flower fritters.