Annie_H

Nice to see favorable reviews. Definitely going on my binge list. A summer storm or Next Fall's first shitty weekend.

Life before Alexa. Hands full and wet and food disgusting multitasking,,,,washing hands, then setting timers. Pre-internet and cell phones I had 4 Ikea timers. Alexa can handle ten timers hands free. DH sets a 4 minute time to dry cast iron on the stovetop after rinsing/washing because he will walk away and forget. Last night I set an Alexa timer, "Alexa, set the 'my-croutons-are-burning' for 4 minutes". (should have set it for 3 minutes, 😂) My hand was on the oven door but kinda forgot why I was standing there. Microwaves. I have a pint size in the pantry, not used often. Maybe once every couple weeks. An hour ago I decided to heat up a 1/2 pint of stock for a pasta dinner dish. Nasty moldy RG beans from Last Saturday. (I usually take pics of oddities like my bloody cut finger from Sunday)...odd puffy black mold like a big dust bunny from a black cat. Even more odd that is had a sweet scent. Like fresh fruit. 🤢 Light off, door open, douche, baking soda, vinegar, boiling water 4 minutes, yada.

Looks good to me. We have quick go-to meals when the other is out of town. I stock his favorite pantry anchovies. He cooks up a kilo of pasta with pepper, anchovies, and Parmesan. Eats from that bowl all week for dinner being lazy. Lunches he gets delivery. My go-to is any veg mandolin thin, greens, olives, sliced apples or pears, and a dump of tuna straight from the can with a spicy lemon mustard vinaigrette. Chili dogs we both like so that is a treat we share on occasion. Sunday I oven roasted a whole chicken. Ugly but excellent spending overnight uncovered in the fridge giving it very crispy skin. Semi-spatchocked. I took it out at 155º, rested, then back in under the broiler before serving. Pretty succotash but zero flavor. bland. Needed to be 'stewed' or a longer cooking with some broth. Needs fresh summer corn and fresh basil and good tomatoes. Winter succotash can be good but this was a fail. Curried chicken salad for lunches. Made a nice stock and a chicken, garlic/pepper sausage, RG cassoulet bean soup. Croutons from the sourdough baguette ends and inter dough fluff I like to remove. (slightly burnt as always).

Managed a pantry pic. Things we like anyway like AC vinegar, DarkBark chocolate, the best brand of pork rinds I'm such a sucker for.... We don't use much mayo but we love this avocado oil brand. Some EV olive oils to try, and a good decent California grown rice. Hot sauce. Olives.

Another nice box. Exactly two weeks to the day from last box, April 15th. I had put away most of it like mushrooms, avocado, celery, cilantro, Persian cucumbers, and some pantry items... Most impressed with the 50 ounces of purple sweet potatoes for 2.49 (75 cents a pound) and giant 1/2 pound lemons. (I moved the kitchen scale a few times and tested with unopened pantry items thinking my scale must be off)--nope. Usually lemons that large are light with thick piths. Thankfully the eggplant is smallish.

That is an SV, then grilled, pork chop under the buttered ramps. A sheet pan of thick slab mixed roots and veg. I like this method--cut again in half or quartered, after tender, retains their colors, especially the golden beets and purple sweet potatoes. Another sheet pan of spiced, roasted chick peas for snacking. I took out a 1/3rd of the roasted root/veg crop a bit early for tonights curry. Chicken thighs for tonight went in the water bath as well to ease tonights meal prep.

It is a-la-carte now. With prices listed so you can cross check your local market prices. Like I posted last week, the purple and orange sweet potatoes were still a good price for local organic per pound, but they sent two pounds of each. Originally, Fall 2019, the Misfit boxes were a 'mystery' but no longer the case. Also excellent customer service and no issues postponing or canceling any time. I rotate my selections every two weeks so I get a good variety. And use the more tender produce first like chard and beet greens. Persian cucumbers. A shame my sister had to cancel when her husband did some cross checking prices with WholeFoods. Failed to note that many are well over the price per pound. My last brussel sprouts was nearly two pounds. Four meals out of them and in an oven roast I am getting many meals from a mixed roast. Anywho, with Walden meat farm share and Misfits, we are set with meal selections. Now some random stops at some favorite old haunts like our Italian market and International groceries like HMart. No longer needing Baldor, iGourmet, or SuperMarketItaly on-line. RanchoGordo bean club and PalouseGrains and beans....every six months---Costco we can now hit just once a year. Pre-covid was every 4-5 months. My garden is a while away. Rhubarb is just ground level corms at this point.

Misfits is having a 15$ off promo until May 4th. COOKWME-WV5KVC I will get 15$ as well but will match it and sent to WorldCentralKitchen at the Ukrainian-Poland border. A co-worker and friend has been there for a month now. He posted a pic with chefMarcMurphy so guessing he is with José Andrés WCK. Misfits covers all zip-codes now so if in a food dessert like my parents, it is a nice treat. (we send a box to them once a month)

RG rice and bean bowl. Whipple and black caviar lentils. Whipple sauced with a miso/mole. Over a fennel, celeriac, celery, radish, slaw.

I'll look on a map. He is French and spends summers there. Winters back home in France. His Fishermans stew is excellent.(not sure what he calls it). I've not had a more memorable lunch traveling the coast. A few rental motel type rooms right on the coast. Separate from the small restaurant. High strung, passionate, and very friendly. We try and stop by every trip if we have the time. Editing to add this is in NewBrunswick. Between StAndrews and StJohn---coastal. Back when the TCH-1 (?) was not yet re-built. I've visited Lunenburg when working in Halifax. Our first overnight sleep is StAndrews. That gives us plenty of time to reach the Newfoundland overnight ferry. A few stops along the way is easy if we get an early start from StAndrews.

Saturday in the Catskills we had our first Bonfire Chili of the season. A homemade 'meal kit' from the freezer prepped at home. Heated on the wood stovetop. Had some neighbors over for a bonfire. Topping options---cilantro, celery leaves, scallions, feta, goat cheese, and ramps. Roasted garbanzos and black beans heated separately in a 1/4 pint of master stock. Not pretty but very good on a cold evening by an outdoor fire.

We spent a long weekend in the Catskill mountains. Cold evenings below freezing, but warm sunny daylight. Tapped a few maples and quickly harvested 4 gallons---about a pint of syrup but I take a few pints half boiled and make a maple/rhubarb juice. Had to dig out some snow to open our barn door Friday. Big melt Saturday with warm sun. Blooming daffodils means ramps. Did some thinning and next weekend will be snipping. Burgers last night with butter basted ramps, cherry tomatoes, and roasted garlic. Roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussels. No cheeses necessary.

That is rare. Next level chef. The freshest ingredients and make it seem effortless. Not sure if similar even exists coastal Long Island. Hamptons, etc. That is passion and talent, not just a love of cooking. Excellent meals in NY but memorable is a half dozen over the years. (at that level to be clear). I don't need a 14carat gilded fish eyeball or a precious edible flower garnish unless a salad where appreciated. We travel north and coastal often, through Canada and Newfoundland. A small French seaside cafe in Nova Scotia is on that list.

Sushi. Shrimp and salmon.

Mediterranean Pasta Puttanesca Salmon and Marquez, leeks, celery, a feta bake with olives and cherry tomatoes under there somewhere

Using carrot tops never appealed to me for the same reason. But the rainbow carrots I'm getting in my veg box are organic and very fresh. I cut the tops from the carrots and store in the fridge in a glass of water like I do cilantro. Squished between my finger they have a fresh greens scent. Background. Not fragrant forward like most herbs. Best in something briny like a coarse tapenade. I've made a few recently. This one I made for Cubano lunch sandwiches with a couple extra pork chops I sliced. I have a big fennel in the fridge but that sounded too aggressive for pork.

Dusted off the SousVide. Pork chops straight from the freezer 140º for 3.5 hours. (SeriousEats). Celeriac, golden beet, watermelon radish slaw. Carrot top, cilantro stem, green olive tapenade. Spicy horseradish mustard.

The one on the far left has cocoa and beet root powder. I topped with fresh cherries. So good.

Oh, here is my muffin testing a couple years ago. No need for the papers--- they stuck. Shows the 'kits'. The parchment twists in the top of the jars holds just enough palm sugar for the topping. I travel with a couple kitchen crates but the 'kits' minimize too many ingredients. I can make these quick a few times and extras go in my parents freezer. Good for mini egg bites as well. They are microwave only these days.

I use Edna Lewis corn muffin recipe.(no sugar). NYTimes has a pay-wall but I see it all over the web. I've adapted it to fit a favorite cast iron lid that cracked last year--thermal shock. The lid to a years old lodge dutch oven. Bummer. I used to run cornmeal through a hand crank grain mill before I came across Bob's corn flour. I use a bit of add-ins like ground oats, seeds and nuts---flax, sesame, sunflower, pepitas, hemp seed, etc. (spice grinder) I make 'kits'. I just need to add an egg and enough water for the best consistency for waffles, corn cakes, mini muffins I make to fill my parents freezer... I use goat milk powder being easily digested. The 'kits' I keep in the freezer. Rhubarb is coming up so tis the season. I'll be making one every weekend through the summer. Any fruit or a mix. Even eggs, prosciutto, chives, cheese. But you need to be a cornbread lover. 😜 The texture is 'cake' but not sweet. I do add a bit of coconut palm sugar and some organic brown sugar on top if we have house guests. Really good topped with fresh cherries. Waffles we add frozen blueberries to the bake. Fresh corn and chives to the pancakes. Love how the rhubarb holds its structure but if I took a butter knife to it I could spread it like a jam. All summer I use what comes out of the garden.

Do love his adventurous palate. ❤️ I grew up in a small southern redneck town. First summer job at 15 was TastyFreeze. ---made up for it since then. Sunday Land and Sea. Lamb and shrimp. Lamb usually means mashed potatoes and greens. Too many good roots and veg in the crisper so I made a roasted veg tray. Golden beets and purple veg can get ugly roasted---brown. Left the beets whole and the sweet potatoes in big slices. Sliced them out of the oven to keep their color. Should have kept the carrots whole as well. Will do this from now on. My pop will love this when I visit. He loves sweet potatoes and doubt he has ever had purple. My mother boils to death, then leaves them in the water for ever. And no seasoning. Watery and tasteless. No sauce or gravy needed. Just the roasted garlic and lemon. Sautéed the beet greens and mostly on my plate.

In NY we can get Maseca in just about every corner store (bodega) that sells lottery tickets. I use it for tamales. The Bob's is very finely ground and organic. Much different flavor. I use so much of it this time of year for a savory rhubarb cake that I used amazon during lockdown for a case of six.

Friday morning haul for the weekend....more snacks than usual and cold pack not pictured had a nice 4 lb chicken, a pound of prosciutto, pastrami, eggs and cheese. 120 bucks includes shipping.

Food prices are 20-30 % higher lately?. I needed a few staples like Bob'sRedMill corn flour and polenta, etc. Greens and root crops were dismal. (local healthFoodStore). My sister is still using Misfits but just maybe once a month for greens and a few vegetables she likes. Some pantry items. 50bucks. Her husband is so against it having cross checked prices. What he misses is the weight prices. No way can you get sweet potatoes for 80 cents a pound anywhere---or purple sweet potatoes for 1.25 a pound. To be fare, he came to the US for medical school, worked hard, and now spends weeks in the ICU night shift. One patient leaves, 20 pass away. He so enjoys their shopping trips together to WholeFoods and TJ's. And his obsession with American ice cream. 😜 Good grief this is cheap. He cross checks prices as if Misfits is one pound. My last Brussel sprout Misfits was nearly two pounds---half the bag was big ones for a slaw and baby ones for roasting.(Like they read my mind). I pick in a grocery both big and small. I've not weighed any Misfits in a long time but this is worthy. They always seem to toss in extra items or pad it heavy.