Friday, 28 October 2016
I found these layers of shelf fungus on several sides of this stump. The breakdown organisms are busy turning the wood into soil.
For our special Friday-night dinner, we discovered wild-caught Georgia shrimp on sale. Did a simple sauté—yum. Did not include the shelf fungus in the dish….
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Meet autumnal oregano.
And the white (not edible) ginger is in bloom.
And Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman)…superb B&W art chosen by The New Yorker for its cover.
Monday, 17 October 2016
Our evening meal was centered around our imported food souvenir—a real Upper Peninsula pasty!
Sunday, 9 October 2016
Tonight we dined on fresh applesauce, delivered still warm by chef Cousin M.
While she was here, we chatted for a bit on the front porch, nicely sun-warmed to the low 70s after a low this morning in the upper 30s (brr). I thought at first there had been no frost, but I did spot some on the roofs—but the field seemed untouched.
Wednesday, 28 September 2016
Early morning sun…has crested trees and is backlighting droplets on squirrel-cage hardware cloth, making them spherical diamonds. Photo doesn’t capture magic.
Late evening sun…shining upstream along the Manistique. Bubbles are natural foam from upstream cedar swamps (chemistry) plus rapids (to stir it up).
Between the two all kinds of things happened (as in rrrrrt (imagine turning wheel of vehicle), change of plans), including my Wally Dinner. I might have called it walleye. Definitely yummy.
Monday, 12 September 2016
I know these as non-spiny veggies (perhaps botanically fruits), but these spiny chayote emote “don’t touch me.” I sure wouldn’t. Internet recipes suggest boiling the whole spiny plant-porcupine, then peeling after the flesh becomes soft. I dunno.
With the non-spiny versions, funny thing, when you peel them, or just cube them, the flesh very slightly oozes a slightly slimy slippery substance. You really notice it if you don’t have a sink to wash up in.
Sunday, 4 September 2016
Dreaming about chocolate…
…what I had to eat instead was (Napa*) cabbage.
Savoy photo for illustrative purposes only.
Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Since the quake in Italy, I’ve been thinking about the namesake dish of Amatrice, a pasta dish much discussed and without a specific recipe. From what I’ve read, the old country version had meat and cheese added, and that’s it. Sometime later tomatoes became part of the dish, for some people. There’s discussion of onion, garlic, and other flavor bits.
The meat, apparently, was an aged, flavored, pork cheek, called guanciale. I could find no guanciale, and had bacon already in the fridge…so, bacon. Some say substitute pancetta…. I still liked my bacon….
As you can see, my recipe does not match either the ancient or the later versions. I also added onion (yellow not red), a bit of garlic (a la Batali).
So—tasty, and not traditional….
Thursday, 11 August 2016
Sending you a flower today, this time from a ginger plant. Lovely, subtle colors. Unknown function of the dangling parts.
Not sure why Tío Flaco is a good choice for a food brand. It means Uncle Skinny/Thin. Great colors, though….
Saturday, 6 August 2016
I’m not real keen on celebrating my own birthdays, but I’m happy to celebrate others’. Tonight was a classy 75th high-quality years. Gooooooo Lovely Linda! 💚