Month: September 2008

Stuffed zucchini

Not a bad way to continue purging the fridge and cabinets, although I’m totally out of pasta now! I didn’t realize I was out of my favorite, linguine (didn’t have any spaghetti left, either), and had to use the last of the orecchiette instead. This 

French bread pizza!

…’cuz I’m even too lazy for store-bought bread dough! No, I really wanted to make “real” pizza with actual dough, but New Seasons was out! What is this, Communist Russia? I want pizza in fifteen minutes, dammit! So I did the closest thing to phoning 

Pork loin chop with braised Pink Lady apples and strozzapreti gratin

Not as veg-heavy as it should be, considering what I have in the chiller. But last night I gave mac n’ chee another major upgrade, served with homemade sloppy joes and sautéed poblanos. It was exactly what I craved after a day of chores but I didn’t want to dumb down the leftovers with a hot dog or a sammich (I ate the leftover sloppy joe mix with canned beans and some crackers for a quick chili happy time lunch).

I used the last of the strozzapreti and smothered it in smoky, peppery cheese sauce: I stirred a scant 1/2 teaspoon of pimentón into the béchamel and then gooed it all up by folding in handfuls of creamy (local!) pepper jack and a sharp NY cheddar. A generous shaving of pecorino Romano and fried onions on top and in the oven it went until browned and bubbly. Grab fork and commence toe curl.

So you see? Since I had this wonderful stuff with a sloppy fucking joe, I really needed to enjoy the rest of it with something a little classier. Like a tender pork loin chop with braised Pink Lady apples and caramelized onions, with crispy fried sage leaves and a whisper of pink peppercorns (any more than a whisper and you’re chewing on a Christmas candle).

And my handsome little male squash blossoms. I still haven’t worked up the nerve to fry them! But I did wilt some with sliced squash, minced jalapeño and garlic, a drib of truffle oil and a wince of white balsamic.

You see those fused filaments (quite manly, if you ask me), which support the golden talcum, gamete-bearing anther? Flower anatomy is unadulterated, full-spread, hot sex. And you wonder why I’m a botanist.

Anyways, tomorrow is Project Runway night, and I’m thinking store-bought pizza dough. Ooh! Maybe I’ll put corn on a pizza, Japanese-style.

Happy Labor Day!

This is a cop-out post, but I wanted to show you a little of what came out of my garden this morning. It is hell of cornucopic. Going clockwise from the bottom: Purple Cherokee heirloom tomato, scarlet runner beans (can’t wait to turn those into