Last Day of Summer

Asparagus & tons-o'-mushroom pizza (with Brie cheese) on the grill for supper tonight.

How glorious (and wistful) it is to realize that tomorrow is the first day of fall. Many cooking adventures await (pumpkin, mulled wine, pumpkin, soup, pumpkin, etc.), but many will be missed -- and the grill perhaps most of all.

Homemade Lobster Roll

No mayo or limp hotdog roll involved:

portuguese sandwich roll

grey poupon mustard

asparagus

spinach

lobster claw & tail meat

It was so much fresher than I would have imagined!

Here it lies, half-defrosted lobster:

Burgers, Vegetables, and Fries

We found a free grill on the roadside this weekend, and today bought a propane tank. Tonight we tried it out! Rare burgers accompanied by peaky asparagus and mushrooms and garlic in foil.

I did the grilling, which is most unusual; inside, Bean fried up some potatoes. Things he would like to share:

1. The secret to frying foods is: fry them once....and then fry them again.

2. Frying in olive oil is possible (and delicious).

Mushroom & Kale Wonton Cups

If there's been a repetition of ingredients over the past few days, it's because Ma'am is gone to Maine and I've been succumbing to my "use it up" tendencies.

So: shape some wonton wrappers in greased muffin cups, and bake them for 5 minutes.

Take 'em out, and add whatever filling you want, and bake for 10-15 more.

Mine was:

Mushroom

Kale

Red wine

Thai curry spice mix

Chopped onion

Feta cheese

A flavorful beast!

Whitefish (?)

Some day this week I came to the realization that as much as I love seafood, I have never prepared it for myself. Tonight, then, I set out to do just that.

It's funny how disproportionate individual joys can be -- after a long day at work, we went separate ways, and met at home after:

1. Bean looked at motorcycles (scooters? not such a macho term, we need...), and I came home to a house full of no people.

And so, the first item: an olive martini.

2. I stopped at Saigon Market in Nashua, which sells Asian and Mexican food. It's a strange combination, but it's filled with nice people. I got one whitefish about 10" long, and thin like an eel; I had no idea what to do with it.

Bean arrived home earlier than expected, so to the grocery we went! Asparagus and tomatoes lent some assuredness to an otherwise uncertain dish.

The fish, though. What to do? I sliced it halfway up its belly, perhaps cutting the spine right in two. And here I got rid of all the unappealing and organ-like bits. I don't get disgusted by much -- whatever looked edible remained on te plate. And then that thing steamed until it had achieved a satisfying opacity!

It didn't have much flavor, though. Next time I'll add something.

Martinis and Eggs

I love a good olive-laden gin martini, and order them nearly every time we eat out. Tonight, though, I bought some extra-dry vermouth, which means I can make my own. A dangerous thought, to be sure! But tonight I made a mini one; perhaps 1/3 the volume of a bar serving. It was oh-so cute.

And after unsuccessfully attempting to coerce Bean's elderly Father to take us to dinner, we whipped up a delightfully refreshing meal of rice, broccoli and asparagus, topped with an over-easy egg expertly cooked by Bean. I added mushrooms and kimchi. Mmmm.

Why was this so delicious?!

Simon was perhaps too excited about the building possibilities:

A Study in Burnt Asparagus

A plan to make stuffed baked potatoes had taken root, and led to this mysterious gathering of vegetables, spices, and cheese. It had baked potato, lobster bouillon, an adorable whole tomato, and mozzarella. The asparagus were left to fend for themselves in the blustering winds of the oven desert.

This dinner was something to love; too-much-time spent meandering about the kitchen with small-talk, kisses, and a new discovery: the glory of a whole roasted tomato. I like the pictures.

HOMEMADE PASTA!

We watched a few videos to mentally prepare ourselves for the endeavor. Then, ignoring most of the advice, here's what we did. Plop:

1 1/2 c. flour

sprinkle salt

in a pile on the counter. Make a lil' well, and crack two eggs into it. Whisk up the eggs a little with a knife, and slowly mix in flour from the edges until the mess is controlled enough to use your hands. Then, keep adding in and kneading flour until a stiff-and-springy ball is formed. This may not require all of the flour; we had quite a bit left over. Then, knead the ball for about ten minutes. When it's nice and elastic, and a uniform yellowish color, put it in a bag and let it rest away for 20 minutes.

Now the real work starts! With no pasta machine, we rolled out the pasta by hand, and therefore couldn't get it too thin, but it was still under a millimeter. When you're satisfied with the thickness of it, roll it into a loose coil and slice into small strips. This gives you a fettucine-sized pasta. Quite obviously, the pasta can be cut into any shape, length or thickness you see fit!

And then simply stick the pasta in some boiling water; cook it for less time than store-bought pasta of a similar size, because of its freshness.

Rarely has any meal been so satisfying to prepare, and so scrumptious. I mixed the thick (oh-so-thick, but upliftingly un-rubbery) pasta with steamed asparagus, tomato, grated Romano cheese, and pesto, and a rum & coke for good measure.

Thai Try

Simon has been suggesting we attempt to make something Thai like for weeks now, so today we went to the store and bought tons of fresh vegetables and some basil leaves and chicken and went to town.

We started by sautéing some:

olive oil

garlic

basil leaves

red pepper

scallions

and then added

diced chicken breast

broccoli

asparagus

soy sauce

red pepper flakes

and side by side we steamed

spinach

broccoli

tomatoes

And then, finally, we added rice to the mix and proceeded to place it inside of us.

Brush-Burning

The Brush-Burning is a "party" my family has every year in which we invite over a bunch of people, lay out a spread of sardines-cheese-crackers-coffee, and spend all day pretending to pull brush into piles and burn it. Then we go inside for a giant potluck, and play music for hours into the night. It is a joyous time, at least for me; I drove all the way home from Troy to attend the festivities, in fact. For potluck I brought this salad, which just had:

rotini

olive oil

feta cheese

basil

parsley

steamed asparagus

And then I experimented with these strange-tasting cookies, in an attempt to clear some shit out of my refrigerator:

1 c. flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 c. rolled oats

1 c. apple

1/2 c. walnuts

1/2 c. chocolate-covered espresso beans

a few tsp. of Godiva cocoa powder

Prepare as usual, and bake at 350 for 15 or so minutes. They came out slightly spongy and strange, and with a lot of flavors vying for attention. I kind of liked them, though!