Shrimp Cocktail

I steamed mushrooms for the first layer, and added chopped tomato for the second. The top was boiled shrimp in Thai Curry spice, with sliced cucumbers for garnish.

A scrumptious appetizer, if nothing else!

Summer Lunch - Tomato & Artichoke Sandwich

Dani's Tomato Butt

Does anyone know what kind of tomato this is?

Arancini (3)

Arancini, again. This time, with me learning! In a fry-pan:

dash olive oil

1 c. Arborio (long grain) rice

chicken bouillon

chopped onion

chopped spinach

chopped red & hot peppers

fresh basil

salt & pepper

And add 2 c. water intermittently as the rice dries out.

Stir, sip, stir, and fret, until the rice is done!

To prepare, make golf-ball sized balls, and stick a dice-sized cube of any pungent, delicious cheese into the middle. We used Parrano -- a beautiful parmesan-gouda mix.

Then roll them in:

1. flour

2. beaten egg

3. bread crumbs (we used Panko)

And then you get your boyfriend ("what?!") -

to fry them into a deliciously filling package.

Cheese Makes the Sandwich

A very quick dinner:

ciabatta bread

spinach

sliced tomato

parrano cheese

The latter of which we found as a special at Hannaford, and is described as:

"The unforgettable cheese with a disctinctly Italian temperament; the alluring nutty flavor of a fine-aged Parmesan with the versatility of a young Dutch gouda."

And it is so good.

Open-faced Summer Sandwich (2)

A very quick dinner:

ciabatta bread

spinach

sliced tomato

parrano cheese

The latter of which we found as a special at Hannaford, and is described as:

"The unforgettable cheese with a disctinctly Italian temperament; the alluring nutty flavor of a fine-aged Parmesan with the versatility of a young Dutch gouda."

And it is so good.

Pita Bread -- why won't you fold?!

Grilled Pizza - Sardines & Broccoli

Thai Try (3)

When we lived with Ma'am, Bean and I would often concoct suppers that allowed us to pootle together in the kitchen, but did not overlap (ingrediently) in the least.

But since we've moved to the new (old) house, we've made nearly every dish together. It's a strange change. Some things are still different (that second dish is mine, and much more vegetable-laden than Bean's peanutinferno) but it does feel like our own home.

Tonight we made a simple Thai-style stirfry:

olive oil

scallion

fresh basil

carrot

broccoli

kale & collard mix (see above)

mushrooom

And when this was nearly done, Bean boiled up some rice noodles, and mixed them in a bag with Panko bread crumbs. This is the stuff they make Japanese tempura with; they're like less hefty bread crumbs.

Add these to the stir fry; top with chopped peanuts and Goyoza sauce, and mmmmmm...

Eggs in a (Basket)?

Today Bean happened upon an Argentinian delicacy; grilled whole vegetables with eggs inside of them. He chose green pepper, and I tomato -- both of us love one and hate the other (can you guess which is which?).

Hollow out, crack an egg in, and plop it on the grill. We had no idea what to expect.

The tomato descended into a fit of instability, and the peppers (though they held up well) were charred inedibly.

I am glad we tried it out, but I doubt we shall ever repeat.

Stuffed Grape Leaves!

First came the cooking of the Basmati rice, which produced a much greater yield than I expected with a measley half cup of the darn things; they swelled and wriggled to a giant bowlful of aromatic grains.

Then, the chopping of wonderfully complementary vegetables -- mushrooms and tomatoes, of course; my altogether favorites.

All of this boiled with the rice, until it reached a delicious tenderness:

olive oil

leftover fresh coriander

chopped onion

chopped scallion (redundant?)

basil leaves

garlic

salt

And then came the unfurling of the jarred grape leaves.

And the rolling.....

Here they are, all hot side-by-side in their lil' dish:

I'd forgotten that grape leaves have a taste all their own; I was simply using them as a containing mechanism. But their taste reminds me of childhood days when a loud, German man would cook us leaves stuffed with lamb and rice, and tell us tales of the world.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Simon had determined to go to a Magic the Gathering tournament (you heard me) tonight, and consequently I had planned to take my sketchbook and find someplace that served delectable sushi in which to spend the dinner hours.

However!

As was foreseen, Simes wimped out, so we made separate suppers again at home. I was in fact quite excited about this one. We went to the grocery first, where I acquired tomatoes, and a bottle of vermouth in a simply beautiful bottle.

So:

1. Saute spinach and parsley in olive oil.

2. Scoop into a hollowed-out tomato (unripe!) or two.

3. Crack an egg on top.

4. Top with feta cheese!

Bake in the oven (400 degrees) for about 1/2 hour. Mine was still a bit shaky when it came out, but I did not want to upset the balance of disgustingly-burnt yolk to runny whites.

Here's a view of the half-eaten blob. It was better than I expected it to be; a very simple and satisfying combination of tastes.

Mushroom Crostini (?)

Here's just a couple o' lil' crostinis --

1. Freshly baked sourdough bread, thanks to Beansie...

2. Mushrooms simmered in red wine & parsley & olive oil

3. Tomato

4. Mozzarella cheese

Bread came out; workers assembled, re-toasted, and eaten.

Winter Soup

It snowed all day, and rained and froze all night. The drive home from work was slippery and slow, but Bean and I still ventured out afterward to purchase some soup ingredients. What's the use in being comforted by a hot broth if you don't get a little frosty first?

This loaf is one that Bean made while I was away dancing my heart out this weekend, so I cannot divulge the recipe; however, it was sourdough, and it turned out deliciously.

The ingredients were something like:

bouillon

two large tomatoes

some butternut squash

some beet

some carrot

some mushroom

some

some

some

...you get the idea. I also added fresh parsley, thai curry sauce (an interesting debut), and salt and pepper o' course. It simmered while we waited for the bread to bake, and everything became ready in a glorious moment of supper harmony.

Paired with some cheapish-but-good Cabernet Sauvignon that we got at Hannaford's, it made quite a tasty bit.

Tomato Pie

So!

Nick fixed Simon's car just as we were mixing up some pizza dough, and decided that a share of the yeasty bounty would be a fitting enough payment for his service. Since Bean and I usually make a whole pizza for ourselves, I embarked on a separate project: same ingredients in a different shape.

I took a quarter of our thick-crust pizza dough and let it to rest, stripped of the companionship of its flour-and-oil brethren.

Then I rolled it out and flopped it into a ramekin with some:

chopped tomatoes (from lovely Dani)

spinach

grated mozzarella and Parmesan

and brushed the top with olive oil and sprinkled on some more cheese for a delightfully delicious looking pizza kin. I left it in the oven for as long as the brothers' pizza did...probably ten minutes.

And even better was the fact that I was whisked away to fill up the moped's gas tank, and came back years later to find I had forgotten half of it, just as I was feeling as if I were missing something. My body (frighteningly often) neglects to tell me how it is feeling, and I was glad that tonight was a time when hunger would not go unnoticed by this stupidly stubborn brain o' mine.

Red White Yellow

I was going to post pictures of all of my lunches from the past week, but was forced to conclude that they would likely look unappealing to the masses.

For some reason I was struck by the beauty of the colors and shapes in this one.

tomato

hardboiled egg

garlic-stuffed olives

spinach

rosemary sourdough

blue cheese!

Mini Pizza(s)

More pizza; this time just for me. Mixed:

> 1/2 c. flour

1/2 pkg yeast

1/4 c. water

some olive oil

dash salt

dash sugar

and let rise, o' course (o' course). Split into three tiny balls and spread out, and baked with spinach, tomato and mozzarella on top. Each was about 3-4 inches across!

Same as our often-made pizzas, but so neat to eat.

Provincetown!

On my first visit, Provincetown offered an unmatchable combination of perfect weather, art studios as far as the eye could see, shops to satisfy any soul, and quiet company. Hours of driving led us to ice cream for breakfast, and we spent the day wandering up and down the streets after finding an unexpectedly convenient spot to park.

We began our meal with drinks: a mojito for me, and Chimay for Bean. Whilst sipping, we decided we hoped they'd take their good time preparing the meal. There was something inexplicably relaxing about sitting here overlooking the ocean, resting the worn-out soles of our feet, tired by so many hours of walking and being buffeted by the wind; eyes taking in more than the normal day allows.

The Caprese salad I ordered was beauteous; it is hard to go wrong with mozzarella and basil and tomato. Paired with their just-warmed bread, it was a meal tasty enough to cherish the day, but light enough to require dessert.

And a beautiful ending; our waitress seemed oh-so-pleased that we ordered dessert. A flourless chocolate torte with vanilla bean ice cream, and some mint on top. Warm cake, cold ice cream, and a beautiful day -- I really do not think it gets any better...

MORE PIZZA

Hungry, hungry, hungry.

These days, filled with a new job and a mind that doesn't know where it wants to be in the realm of up or down (and often chooses one right after another) require a full plate of home-cooked pizza. Even though I spent the preparation hours squealing in helpless pitifulness, unable to determine what was running through my mind, Bean stuck with me and we saw it through to the end. I whined much more than usual (mm?) and similarly consumed.

This is the best pizza crust we've made to date, and it was the same recipe as the other yeast-based ones. What was different? Hunger is the best sauce, they say; mine just had fresh tomatoes (a lil' farmstand on my homeward commute), mozzarella (retrieved on the moped at the last minute), spinach, and mushroom mushroom mushroom.

Why does no one like mushroom on pizza? It is always what I would choose...

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.