So...whats for dinner?
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Sandy - the "dressing" may be the difference. I always leave the corn wrapped in the wax paper until I serve it at the table or cut it off the cob. Everyone puts butter, oil, salt as they choose. Sorry yours shriveled.
Oh April, I can tell you're going to be hard on my diet.
BTW - don't know how many of you will remember Sandra from San Antonio from this thread and the book thread, but we're meeting for lunch tomorrow. Also jbDayton is joining us. Really looking forward to getting to know two more members in person.
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Minus, what fun! Have a delightful lunch meet up!
April, I love that you are baking already after the heat...I always remember my mother making pineapple upside down cake and, while I don't recall loving it as a kid, (probably because I was an icing freak) I started making it several years ago. My adult taste buds love it! That looks beautiful, moist and colorful. Your co-worker will be thrilled! The cookies not too shabby either!
I've been nuking my corn with wet paper towels of late. They come out perfect. And have not noticed any shriveled kernels. Tonights "Providence" variety from a local farm was absolutely like candy. The grass fed london broil was a bit tough, I thought, but that is probably just what london broil can be. I did like the marinade I made for it, and the grilled vegetables. It is one of those with garlic, balsamic, soy, herbs and garlic. The salad dressing I made tonight is my favorite, which I make often.... A Vinaigrette that has evoo, dijon mustard, horseradish, garlic, blk pepper, a bit of honey, and white balsamic. It is my approximation of what we had at a recent wedding, and I will definitely continue to approximate it! Light, with a bit of interestingpunctuation! Yum.....
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Mine was bi-color from Whole Foods, from some unspecified farm in WI. Last year, between my mammo and my diagnostic imaging, my singing partner & I played the Sweet Corn Festival in Sun Prairie, WI. Not only did we get a big fat check, we were paid a dozen ears of sweet corn apiece. Steve's wife is allergic to corn, so he gave me half of his allotment. I realize now that may have been the beginning of my fall from low-carb grace, which I had previously blamed on the post-ultrasound pity-party that began with my New Orleans culinary debauch. When you come home with 18 ears of corn, have just so much freezer space, and you run out of people to take them.....
So I cleared out old spices and herbs from my cabinet and lo and behold: my (20-yr-old) bottle of 12-yr-aged Cavalli balsamico tradizionale turned up. But I noticed it wasn't as viscous as I remember--and there was some very thick coating on the sides of the bottle. (Wonder if I can try nuking it ever so gently to try to melt the coating back into the liquid? I know people take cheap balsamic and reduce it by cooking on the stovetop to make it thicker & sweeter, but that coating contains the sugars that make balsamico what it is supposed to be--a syrupy elixir). Anyway, I cut up the strawberries and basil and mixed in about a teaspoonful of the balsamico. It was good, but more acidic than I remember. After all, Italians sometimes drink it straight from the spoon or even in a shot glass as a “digestivo." I'd paid about $75 back then (red seal balsamico today goes for easily double that) and figured it would only get better--it had been stored in a cool dark cabinet, I then turned to my bottle of San Giacomo Essenza “condimento"(presumably) balsamic, which ran me about $30. It was much more viscous. So I turned it over and read the label, expecting to see wine vinegar, caramel color and/or sugar......nope, just “cooked grape must." I noticed the lack of the little IGP seal that has become standard on even supermarket “Balsamic Vinegar of Modena." Then I looked at the town of origin: Novellaro, which is in Reggio-Emilia. And the grapes? Trebbiano and Lambrusco.....same as tradizionale. My best guess is that they can't call it “balsamico tradizionale" because it isn't aged the minimum 12 years, and it's too good and pure to be “condimento." Hence the “Essenza" label (sort of nudge-nudge, wink-wink to the conoisseurs). But it sure tastes like that Cavalli used to!
I tried to gently heat the Cavalli 30 seconds on power level 3. A little bit of the gunk on the sides began to precipitate out. I stuck a cocktail stirrer straw in to try and scrape down the sides, and it sank into very thick gunk on the bottom. So I stirred and shook, stirred and shook, and gradually it became a bit thicker & sweeter, though not as much as it had originally been. I'm wondering if I can try something like a bamboo skewer to dislodge some more of the goo. There's nothing on the net about how to de-precipitate separated tradizionale, only how to cook down the cheap stuff.
[Edited: Just read the label on the San Giacomo “Essenza” bottle--in the upper right-hand corner it says “Balsamico Riserva.” The hang tag on the Cavalli says it was bottled “22-03-96,” so that makes it 20 years since I bought it. And the red label stuff from Reggio Emilia is 12-yr-old; silver is 20, and gold 25. Of course, those color labels reflect only the age of the youngest cooked must poured into the first 100-L barrel--because balsamico tradizionale is decanted gradually into a “batteria” series of ever-smaller barrels of different woods. (Sort of like a sherry or madeira solera, and like those, the batteria is stored in an attic), Finally, the smallest barrel gets tapped--and what goes into it can have much older stuff in it. There are different batterias for red, silver and gold--a gold labeled bottle, which started with must poured in to the first barrel 25 years before bottling, might contain a small percentage of balsamico that is a century old.]
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A few years ago at a farmers’ market, I came across a corn so sweet the seller was giving people samples of it to eat raw! It was amazing. I don’t remember the brand other than it began with an “M."
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The funny thing is I am not a big sweets eater nor am I a big baker. I can bake some mean cookies and brownies from scratch (due to Xmas Cookie sharing/exchange activities when I first got married at the ripe old age of 20!!) The cake was the first time I ever made this type of cake and I hope that my co-workers love it. I am hiding it in my office as we speak. My retiring friend is leaving at noon, so we will gather in the conference room at 11 for a send-off. I will send the rest home with her.
I also brought about 2 dozen of the 3 dozen cookies I made so she will be very happy about that as I always bake choc. chip cookies for pot-lucks if I am on dessert detail. We have them quarterly in my office. Generally, I do savory and the one who is retiring does sweets. She makes the best carrot cake I have ever had and I am sure going to miss it. She would make it every year for my birthday...sigh.
Tonight I am making my Mom's stuffed peppers. I will always think of her when I make them as it reminds me of growing up and how she would stretch meat by making things like stuffed peppers that were almost half rice...LOL. I love them anyway and so does hubby so it will be a treat. It is a summer dish as bell peppers are lovely and plentiful in the summer months. One of my peppers is a meal! I get the HUGE ones. Will post a picture tonight. I love food porn as well.
Sandy, there is nothing like fresh sweet corn. I get it around the corner from a farm near me and I shuck and cook when I get it home. I like it almost raw - only a few minutes in the boiling water and then out. It is one of the summer treats for sure. And at 2.50 for a dozen ears, it is a bargain!
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April, that is a nice bargain for your tasty corn! Good corn is wonderful raw, and I often take a bite of unknown varieties to check it before nuking them. Not sure what a health benefit or problem it would be to eat raw corn, but I know some farmers do. I do prefer the non waterlogged nuking process now even tho I boiled corn for years. DH is willing to do them on the grill but I hate the leftover charred foil mess. We no longer use any butter or anything else on our corn ears, and love it au natural.
Maybe your friend will visit you at work each year with a surprise carrot cake on your birthday, April!
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I had two jumbo fried “barnyard” eggs for brunch--mopped up the excess gorgeous orange yolk with slices of a wonderful little tomato. Whatever yolk remained on the plate, I swept up with some arugula and a splash of lemon “white balsamic” and one little hit of gray sea salt. I might do frisee salad tonight--topped with another ripening small tomato, one more egg, and a crumbled slice of bacon. Then again, maybe “zoodles” with pesto, and a Caprese on the side. (Need to make another batch--out of Parm. Reg., so I’ll use some pecorino that’s getting hard. And way more olive oil than I think it needs--this batch is pretty thick and I need to thin it with oil in the pan).
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Three potlucks in one week! 1 for the book club one for a bunch of Fiddler's / violinists and one with 120 other organic gardeners. For the last I made couscous cucumber lemon feta cheese salad it was pretty good I am enjoying the cold salads for now
I start work at the University on Tuesday so time to start studying again Always trying to stay current
- (minus haha)I am envious of your lunch let me know when you come up this way again
I am thinking of getting a Hibachi and wondering how difficult it is to use? Any suggestions or experience? Thanks!
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Bedo - I had a hibachi many years ago when I lived in an apartment. It was great for one or maybe two people. This was in the days before propane grills when everyone used charcoal.
Lunch was fun. We went to Baba Yega (yes, it does mean witch). 30 years ago the restaurant had basically one room and a patio with a tree growing through the roof. They have expanded several times & taken in the two shops next door. They have a lovely patio w/tropical plants & a waterfall & koi. It's been a mainstay for Sunday brunch for years. Lines are always out the door. $25.00 for a breakfast line for custom omelettes, waffles, french toast, bagels & lox, bacon, sausage, ham, danish pastry. Then 5 or 6 meats & fishes, the same number of main dish casseroles, tons of assorted vegetable dishes, huge salad line including fresh fruits, & then desserts. They have lots of vegetarian options but I had planned to order a French Dip today. Discovered they have a lunch buffet on Thurs & Fri now for $15.00 Oh my - pork loin, shrimp rosa, salmon, tacos, quesadillas, fresh asparagus, eggplant parm, and a bunch more main dishes & vegetables on the hot line. Salad line - green & curried & pasta & artichoke hearts & broccoli. Fresh fruit line - excellent melons & berries. Dessert was espresso tres leche cake, strawberry cake w/lemon & mini tarts with chocolate chips. Needless to say i won't need to eat again today.
It was so nice to meet Sandra from San Antonio and jb from Dayton. Sandra is in Houston because her DH is in isolation at MD Anderson and we wanted to give her a quick break. None of us had met before so we had LOTS to talk about.
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Ta da! My mom's stuffed peppers before going in the oven. They were delicious! I stuffed the red ones with ground chicken and rice and the green with ground beef and rice. Both were very good.
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The name Baba Yaga (Russian for Granny the Witch, or Strega Nonna) made me think you were going to describe a Russian restaurant. Now I’m jonesing for a trip into the Loop for Russian Tea Time: salmon roe & blini, smoked fish, Russian appetizers, borscht, beef Stroganoff and strong hot tea--sipped through a sugar cube from a glass in a silver holder. (Bob starts with an iced vodka flight--I go straight to the champagne).
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Our dinner at Lago on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee was okay. I had an arugula salad with candied pecans that was generous if not too interesting, then a fig and prosciutto flatbread. I was tired of the fig spread by the second small piece, making it easy to share the rest of it with everyone who was game. DH had the crab gazpacho which was spiced with cumin and was a bit too tomatoey thick for my taste. He also had the risotto with blackened sea scallops. My taste of that was yummy!
Afterwards, we went to the Winnipesaukee Playhouse to see Cabaret. Oh my.....very talented actors/singers in such a powerful performance! The theatre is small enough that you really feel a part of the performances there, and we all left riveted last night. Earlier in the day, a neighbor at the beach who had seen Cabaret in London without knowing the theme, complained that she was distressed to have been so painfully impacted by it after thinking that she was going out to enjoy a musical. Well, the director of this performance wrote an introduction suggesting that beyond the acting and singing, he hoped that the musical would leave us all thinking! It certainly did!
Tonight, I'm thinking that leftover london broil and more local corn and salad will be featured on our dinner plates. The sun is out so we will be heading out for a walk, then to the beach.
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April....beautiful peppers! My mother also used to make stuffed peppers often, which we enjoyed. I have cooked mine in the oven in the past, so mainly made them in cool weather.
Russian dishes, with the exception of borscht and stroganoff hold little appeal for me. I am not a fan of caviars, smoked salmon, etc., so I would be less likely to be found in any Russian Tea Room. DH would love all of that! His mother was Russian....but did not cook so, fortunately, he came to our marriage with no expectations for me to replicate her fare! I would have happilymade borscht but he had lived in a house during grad school with five guys who had a housekeeper/cook in residence. She made that beet delight extremely often, and he has never wanted to eat it again. LOL
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The young Olivia has now attended her first charade in that far northern town. It is an annual event, since 1874 or so. She didn't guess the word, but she says she could hear well enough.
*susan*
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So sweet!
We have our grand-dog Olivia this week. She's adorable too, but is every bit a puppy, constantly into things she's not supposed to be, chewing chewing chewing! I will miss her, but am happy enough she is going home tomorrow.
I've been to the knee doc this week only to find that my right knee is shot. I've been having lots of pain the past few weeks, sharp pain, not like the usual occasional soreness. It's been very difficult to sleep in spite of taking every over the counter pain reliever available and even a prescription one. As it turns out, I have advanced arthritis, bone on bone and spurs. There are several options before replacement, so I've started on a heavier duty nsaid than Aleve and icing. It has helped and things are way better, so yay! Like most of us with cancer, I was a bit worried in spite of a good mammogram and dexa scan.
Tonight is grilled brats, corn on the cob and the cole slaw that didn't get made a few days ago. The half head of cabbage still languishes in the fridge. I'll probably cut up a garden tomato or two as well. I've taken to cooking the unshucked ears in the microwave for several minutes, then cut off the bottom, hold onto the silks, shake the ear and it slips right out without the silk. They are perfectly cooked and I've never had one shrivel.
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Sorry that's so big, can't seem to edit it on my phone.
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Nance - cute granddog. Sorry to hear about your knee but glad you're getting some pain relief. I like the idea of microwaving corn before shucking. I'll try it. Somehow you've been in my thoughts so I'm glad to see your post.
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We went to a BBQ at the home of some dear friends down in Beverly (S.Side) we hadn’t seen in quite a while (I kept missing their parties due to travel and performance commitments). She’s a patient advocate and HR consultant--he is a CFD Battalion Chief. Beverly is as close as you can get to a suburb and still be w/in Chicago city limits, and living w/in Chicago is required for all police & fire dept. employees. It was the usual fare, but top quality from a butcher shop that makes their own sausages. We missed seeing the Air & Water Show on the way down Lake Shore Drive, because there was a long lull caused by weather delays at the air bases for the Thunderbirds & Blue Angels. Of course, by the time the T-Birds were in the air over the lake, we were already too far southwest to see them.
Nancy, I am so glad I had my knees replaced! I did get one extra year’s reprieve from a custom-fitted Breg “unloader” brace, which shifted my weight from the totally trashed part of my knee to the side that had a little cartilage remaining.
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Nance on the bright side....very cute pup! Thanks for the micro en husk idea. Have never tried that method but if it makes the silk scarce, I am all in! I'm really sorry to learn about the deteriorating knee situation. I know what you mean about the constant worry about metastases (sp?), but I do,think that normal wear and tear problems are more prevalent. You've probably done PT for the knee already, but I am a huge fan of the knee exercises I do daily (in addition to the interventions that I used when it was in an acute pain state) that seem to be keeping my pain at bay by strengthening my quads. Of course, my bad knee may not be as far along as you describe. I hope you can get to be pain free, especially when trying to sleep!
We never did "jump ups" last night. Got back from the beach after 6:30 felt lazy, and decided to order pizza and spinach pie and a big Greek salad....which means that It was the third time this week that I had pizza!!! Yikes! Tonight will be the london broil leftovers....and salad.
Susan, so sweet that Olivia is enjoying an up north visit! She is clearly thriving!
Tomorrow we will celebrate DH's 71st and have dinner at a restaurant that overlooks the lake. We had the whole family there last year to celebrate our 70ths and DGD's 3rd and it was a wonderful time. This year, just us chickens!
Before Labor Day weekend DS2 will have us to their place to enjoy lobster dinneron their roofdeck to celebrate DH's birthday and at the same time we will pick up granddog to bring up here for Labor Day weekend since DS2 and DGF are heading to Florida for a football game with both their alma maters.....Florida vs. UMASS, pretty funny!! Last year when UMASS played ND and I was shaking my head, DS2 explained the business of college football to me. So now I get these unlikely match ups.
Fortunately for us, GDog is no longer a puppy, very continent, and only chews an occasional tennis ball. Even so, while we enjoy him (I will not enjoy checking for ticks), when he leaves we are always pleased with our decision to go pet-less at this point in our lives.
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Our weather has broken. In fact, last night I woke up and I was COLD! Had to get up and find a blanket. How wonderful, though I hate to see the end of summer in my sights.
Nance, Olivia The Puppy is mighty cute, and there just might be a bit of mischievous-ness in her eyes. Not happy to hear about knees being shot at all! I do hope that some alternatives will help, but I guess the surgery is a last resort option.
Lacey, are the families starting to clear out at the lake? I guess school is beginning soon throughout the Northeast. Your DD is 71??? I would never have guessed. The two of you are aging very nicely, indeed.
Two days ago, I began a poolish for a ciabatta bread, which I then made yesterday. We have tons of tomatoes, so I marinated some buffalo mozzarella a la Ottolenghi, and then made basil, garlic, oil paste. These were all tossed together for a bruschetta style topping. Mr. 02143 grilled up some of the lamb ribs from last year's animals and I made a large salad. Somehow, this was very satisfying. The bread was not perfect, but it was close enough for both of us.
Tonight, I have pulled out a packet of lamb schwarma from our Persian night. I am thickening some yogurt to make a garlic yogurt dressing. Then I will make a saffron bulgur with farm onions. Of course there will be a plate of tomatoes.
The crumb is a bit too tight, but it did mean that the toppings didn't just fall through a large whole. So, you win some and you loose some.
*susan*
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Oh my Susan, the bread looks lovely, tight crumb or no.
The brace and pt are the next in line options. This knee was injured in a fall in 1995 and was repaired (meniscus) via scope. Also tore the acl. I was told at the time that I could expect arthritis down the line. It appears this is the end of the line. I don't think I'll wait an awfully long time to replace it as much as I hate the thought of another surgery. But we'll see how it goes.
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Susan, that bread looks pretty darn delish to me! But what do I know about proper crumb! This weekend was quite busy with families enjoying their last few weekends at the lake. And theNH kids are probably already in start school mode. Given the rainy days last week, we didn't notice beach "traffic". Today lots of families left in time to "beat traffic". It is always a bit sad to see summer end....and that happens quickly up here. I expect we will return home to a totally dead lawn....oh well, in much company with all the water bans!
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Bob & I are walking to B'way Cellars because they'll have the closing ceremonies on and we can probably get into less carb trouble there than if we walked to the Ethiopian, Thai, sushi or Mexican restaurants in the surrounding few blocks. (I had donuts, I confess--two late last night and one this morning, rationalizing that now, since I've fallen into the Medicare Part D “donut hole," I might as well have something symbolic. Being from Dunkin' they weren't even that good. Would you believe I've never been to a gourmet donut shop, even though Chicago has several of the best in the country)?
Taking a gamble and letting one tomato, about to begin turning faintly yellow, have one more night on the vine before the squirrels can get it. I had one little cluster tomato, with an overripe area, on the sill; so I cut the gooey part off and sliced up the rest. Had to trim back some of the basil before it goes to seed (some of it has, but the bees are sooo happy!) so I chopped up one blossom stalk, sprinkled it and one twist of grey grinder salt over the slices, topped with a drop each of good olive oil and real balsamico. I promptly ate it straight from the cutting board, using my fingers. We'll probably share grilled salmon, or maybe a tuna niçoise for dinner. Bob went to the Sox game with Gordy (I had a voice lesson) and has had nothing today but a burrito, peanuts, and several beers. So we need to get our veggies in (and Bob's not a fan of zoodles; Gordy's out seeing Wilco tonight).
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Nance, I forgot I had two unhusked ears of corn from two nights ago in the fridge. So I prepared them tonight the way you described. They were delicious, and I can see how the silk annoyance would be averted....except that on one, I had torn the brown top silk cluster off before I brought it home, so that made it a bit more challenging to hold on to while shaking the ear out. It was still easier than husking them raw. What a great idea! Thanks!
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Glad it worked well for you Lacey!
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So we got to B'way Cellars about 8, an hour & a half before closing time....and they had just closed. Slow night, what with people watching the Olympic closing ceremonies and stuck in traffic coming home from the air & water show. I didn't want to walk further for Mexican--I might fall victim to the chips again, the Ethiopian joint was closed, and the pan-Asian place's food is a bit too starchy for me (thickened dark sweet sauces, rice, noodles, deep-fried stuff, etc.). So we went across the street to Whole Foods, where the wine bar was still open. We shared a “cheesemonger's plate" (Midnight Moon goat, Abondance herb-coated sheep's milk cheese from the Alps, Fourme d'Aubert raw cow's milk blue from the Auvergne, and a paté plate, and Bob had a sparkling Malbec from Argentina and I had a Canard Duchene rosé champagne. Walked home and cut up some strawberries and a fresh fig and tossed them with chopped basil blossoms and the Essenza Balsamico Riserva (almost like a syrup, but not a balsamic reduction). Yum!
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Nance, that dog has human eyes.
My whole post was deleted 2x!
So I won't re-post the whole thing
i made zucchini lasagna with the huge zucchini, it was really good! I replaced the pasta with big zucchini slices
Tomorrow I start my job at the university and I hope they like me.
Tomorrow I will bring a salad with beets, goat cheese, tomatoes, avocados,etc to another (!) pot luck. It is listed under "My favorite beet salad" in the subject bar
Yesterday I had a fun day at a friend's house who just bought a miniature horse to add to their crew, a huge garden and a pool. I went with my friend and her grand boys. We had such fun
I would like a grand boy or girl
Whoops I did it again!
(Not supposed to ask)
You will be glad to know that the Cat has been reunited with his rescue sister who stayed at my DD's house while I was at camp.
They love it here
There are eagles, coyotes, and all kinds of wildlife.
They have to come in at dusk
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Bedo - good luck tomorrow at the new job. I hope you like THEM.
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D’OH! Bought a salmon filet to cook tonight, forgetting we’re going to see Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field. So dinner will probably be a bun-less bratwurst and a couple or three bottles of water (stadium wine is not worth the alcohol & calories and beer is too carby). Maybe nuke that salmon for midnight supper when we get home.
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Tilapia with roasted peppers and onions, and a combo butternut and yellow squash gratin of sorts. Actually DH is eating this - I am going for a walk with my neighbor. We walked last night as well and I had roasted red pepper hummus and rice crackers when I got home - that was dinner, lol! Probably will have a salad tonight.
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