Lunch 2024

[Kim Shook]

We went for a short (1 overnight) trip to the Northern Neck (a region in Virginia off the east coast) to celebrate our 42^nd wedding anniversary.  Stopped in Tappahannock for lunch at the To Do Café.  I had the “pick two” with oysters and shrimp:

Served with hush puppies, butter beans and excellent onion rings:

Mr. Kim had the catfish, hush puppies, and housemade potato chips:

Everything was great – we just happened upon it online and picked it because it was close to the museum we went to, and we liked the menu!

 

Mr. Kim was out of town judging a BBQ competition, so I was on my own for Sunday brunch.  I gave a nearby, but never yet visited Chinese restaurant a try.  I’d heard that they had a Sunday buffet and I love buffets, but Mr. Kim doesn’t so it seemed perfect timing.  Well, they don’t have a buffet, but I went ahead and had lunch with mixed results.  Spring roll and hot and sour soup:

The spring roll was fine – nothing special and the soup was incredibly peppery.  Even Mr. Kim thought so when he ate the leftovers.  The Mongolian beef:

The menu said that this was flank steak fried with spring onions and bamboo shoots.  It was easily half assorted mushrooms and lotus root.  Really vegetable heavy, but the flavor was good – not overly spicy.  The side dish of fried rice was a nice surprise:

Nowadays when they ask if you want white or fried rice with your meal, I feel like you’re not really getting fried rice when you choose that option.  Even at good places, it always just tastes like unseasoned plain brown rice.  This was definitely fried in a wok with seasoning and some vegetables.  I don’t imagine I’ll ever go back there with Yen Ching (“our place”) around the corner, but I’m glad I tried it after almost 30 years of living within 2 miles of it! 

 

Another lunch was leftovers from a dinner out the night before:

Half a Sailor and some hard to find Wise salt and vinegar chips – the best!  A Sailor is a Richmond VA sandwich tradition.  Knockwurst, pastrami, and Swiss on grilled rye bread.  It’s probably available all over the place, but if you Google “Sailor sandwich”, the references are all Richmond. 

 

I’m trying really hard to get through a bunch of OLD stuff in the freezer and pantry.  So weird meals that other people purchased but aren’t eating.  These taquitos were yesterday’s lunch, I guess:

They were crunchy 🙄😑. 

[C. sapidus]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

We went for a short (1 overnight) trip to the Northern Neck (a region in Virginia off the east coast) to celebrate our 42^nd wedding anniversary.  Stopped in Tappahannock . . .

 

Firstly, congratulations!

 

Have you ever tried the lobster rolls at NN Burger in Tappahannock? Best I have had south of Connecticut. 😃

[pastameshugana]

9 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

our 42^nd wedding anniversary.

 

Congratulations!

[Shelby]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!  @Kim Shook

[rotuts]

ditto !

[C. sapidus]

Seared zucchini and yellow squash, sauteed with onion, ginger, garlic, and habanero chiles, simmered with coconut milk, turmeric, cumin, and garam masala, and then finished with fish sauce, cilantro, and lime juice. Lotsa flavor! Microwave rice to go with.

 

[weinoo]

After doing this last night, had plenty of leftover chicken for chicken salad.

 

 

Chicken salad sandwiches, on sliced country loaf from Pain d'Avignon. Potato salad from leftover roasted potatoes. Crudité and cornichons.

[liuzhou]

螺蛳粉, (luó sī fěn), Luosifen (top left); Braised Pig foot (right); daikon radish (bottom left).

 

 

 

Edited March 31 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

10 hours ago, liuzhou said:

螺蛳粉, (luó sī fěn), Luosifen (top left); Braised Pig foot (right); daikon radish (bottom left).

 

 

 

Have the lines gone back to normal now that the hordes have gone?

[Dejah]

Made Cock-a-Leekie soup with the leftover smoked turkey. But, the flavour was barely there, so I pulled out the ham bone from the freezer. Much better!

 

                                                                                           

 

                                                                                                  

[BonVivant]

(Several different meals, consumed on different days. A nostalgia trip back to childhood for the partner. We are atheists.)

Oats and various fruits, nuts, dark chocolate. Deep green pistachios come from Iran.

 

North Sea shrimp on Pumpernickel.

 

Eggs with smokey aubergine (left), sweet squash as a spread (right).

 

Pumpernickel and cheese

 

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Mini cheese fondue

 

Some cold cuts (not for dipping in cheese)

 

Bread for the fondue

 

Not for dipping in cheese

 

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Good jamón.

 

Cold water rosé shrimp from Norway.

 

How I usually eat the shrimp: with some quark and greens

 

Just my usual Pacific oysters

 

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Don't like sweets but can't have enough of Turkish baklava.

 

Got 2 coffee drip filter thingies on my last day in Ha Noi (circa 2004/05).

 

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Sometimes a meal consists of just one thing. These are flat oysters (Ostrea edulis).

 

 

[lindag]

@BonVivant

what an amazing feast!!!

[blue_dolphin]

Stunning meals, @BonVivant, it all looks amazing.  

These little breads are adorable! 

5 hours ago, BonVivant said:

Bread for the fondue

 

And I'm ever so pleased you clarified that this was a one-item meal so didn't need to imagine an oyster:chocolate combo! 

5 hours ago, BonVivant said:

Sometimes a meal consists of just one thing. These are flat oysters (Ostrea edulis).

 

[Neely]

We are at our little getaway (holiday) country home and had a pizza for lunch outside on the verandah with a sparkling apple juice. 
 

 

 

[C. sapidus]

Chile Poblano, onion, and chorizo cream tacos with feta, jalapeno, cilantro, Mexican oregano, etc. Rajas con crema is one of my favorite things.

 

[blue_dolphin]

Petrale sole from my fish share with Meyer lemon confit relish and a lemony orzo cooked with kale

[OlyveOyl]

Mini muffuletta style sandwich, olive salad, mortadella, provolone, ricotta.  Rolls were from small batch pizza dough, just enough for two sandwiches. Very thinly sliced slaw with radish and some delicious Sicilian cracked olives.

[Neely]

Pork dumplings in a miso broth

 

[BonVivant]

6 full days of eating yoghurt, feta and souvlaki will commence tomorrow!

(I just got in and it's bed time, unfortunately.)

 

 

 

[BeeZee]

Very nice! I haven't been to Greece since the late 1980's, the airport is much improved! One of my employees is going to Greece for his Honeymoon in the Fall, I'll be taking notes.

[johnnyd]

Scallops, shiitakes, peppers, Chinese broccoli leaves, in black bean sauce

[gulfporter]

Chilly day here.  Green chile chicken soup.  

 

 

[KennethT]

We went out to Queens for an event, so we stopped off at a good Indonesian restaurant.

 

Ayam bakar padang. Grilled chicken first stewed in a spice paste.

 

Ikan balado - mackerel first fried then covered with a green chili sambal.

 

Kangkung belacan - water spinach with chilis, shrimp paste, tomato, shallots etc.

[blue_dolphin]

Chile Shrimp with Coconut Grits from The Global Pantry Cookbook by Ann Taylor Pittman and Scott Mowbray with steamed sugar snap peas.

This was very good.  Never would I ever have thought to cook grits with coconut milk and lemon grass but it worked really well.  The shrimp are marinated in a mix of sambal oelek, fish sauce and soy sauce. 

I'll have more to say about this book over in the cookbook topic after I've cooked a few more recipes. 

 

[MaryIsobel]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Chile Shrimp with Coconut Grits from The Global Pantry Cookbook by Ann Taylor Pittman and Scott Mowbray with steamed sugar snap peas.

This was very good.  Never would I ever have thought to cook grits with coconut milk and lemon grass but it worked really well.  The shrimp are marinated in a mix of sambal oelek, fish sauce and soy sauce. 

I'll have more to say about this book over in the cookbook topic after I've cooked a few more recipes. 

 

I am really going to have to try grits one of these days. 64 years old and have never had them. Don't even know if they are available in these parts although almost everything is available online now...