Hungry Day

Here's some rare roast beast from Il Negozio NiCastro on Wellington. For dinner last night, Adam piled it it between two slices of baguette -- one of which had been buttered and the other slathered in Lady Ash Burnham pickle.

It was a hungry day, as Lucy's dad would say.

Nine Years Later

Saturday the 13th

Already Autumn

Adam's been eating these little open-facers every day for a week. To make, just slather a piece of salty baguette with any mild goat's cheese and top with spoonfuls of fig compote.

To cook your own compote, gently simmer a large handful of halved, black figs with a few splashes of leftover white wine, two pinches each cinnamon, crushed coriander, chili flakes, cloves, and nutmeg, plus a small knob of chopped fresh ginger. Oh yeah, and add a couple spoons of brown sugar to sweeten the pot.

Bondable

Found

Ladies Night

Holding On

It's back-to-school time, but I'm not ready to say good-bye to summer yet. 30 degree weather demands light-tasting food and delicious drinks.

So, refresh with a green smoothie! Just blend together one banana, a peach or nectarine, a couple handfuls of raw spinach, a half cup of plain yogurt or kefir, and a half cup or so of water. Oh, and throw in a little cube of peeled, fresh ginger. Surprisingly healthy and delicious!

Or fill up on arugula salad topped with fresh figs and magic beans. I served this with smoked turkey breast sandwiches and red quinoa dressed with truffle oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Better Butter Tarts

Lucy says her mum's butter tarts are "so good people talk about them for years after they try them." She even dreamed about them the other night, not knowing that her mum had been cooking a huge batch the very same day.

Magic Beans

Remember the fable of Jack and the Beanstalk? Conveniently, my father (née John) goes by 'Jack' and his organic vegetable garden is the stuff of legends.

Last week, Sarah and Jeremiah delivered two bursting boxes from Dad's garden. Since then, we've been stuffing ourselves full of cucumber sandwiches, cucumber crudités dipped in tzatziki, and Japanese salads with cukes, mirin, and black sesame seeds. Plus, Jeremiah brought over a container of his roasted carrot soup -- perfect with crusty bread and garlicky string bean salad, which we've been eating by the bowlful. And yesterday, the last of our red and yellow chard was sauteed and served alongside black olive pasta with three mushroom marinara.

The purple string beans, shown above, are a wax variety well-suited to New Brunswick summers. Want to know what makes them magic? You'll have to watch them while they cook to find out.

Bear's Berries

Tiny Tims

The other day Christina oh-so-generously handed me a bag of tiny red tomatoes from her Gilmour Street Garden.

"Adam's get-well-soon present," she explained.

Well, Christina, he ate them with chopped fresh basil and a splash of balsamic. To Adam, this is the salad of gods.

Fresh Production

On Shawna's advice, Jeremiah and I made a lunch reservation for today at Fraser Cafe. I forgot my camera, so you don't get to see the local cheddar cheeseburger with house-smoked bacon that I ordered. Or the panko-breaded haddock that Jeremiah scarfed down (hey! I thought we were sharing!). Mine came with house chips; Jeremiah's was on a bed of warm fingerling potatoes, roasted baby fennel, and grilled cherry tomatoes. Everything was, as my dad would say, scrum-diddly-umptious.

The Fraser brothers claim they'll be focusing on seasonal ingredients, and by the looks of the peach cobbler on the table beside us, tis the season!

Also, the Fraser brother (which one is which?) who was at the grill is kind of a hottie.

Yeah, she is.

August 22, 2008

Shouts out to all the people (and pets) who helped me love the age of 27. I probably forgot about fifty people, but rest assured, you all make my life a lot cooler, just by hanging around.

Adam, Allen, Andrea, Anna, Aunt Susan, Cathy, Christina Paradiso, Christina Riley, Cindy, Corn Ear, Cousin David, Emilie, Flora, Gillian, Jamie, Janet, Jeremiah, Jitka, Jules, Kaka, M, Mary Lynn, Megan Soucie, Megan Dewar, Pappie, Pigasus, Sarah and Dave, Sarah Waterston, Stucy, Suni, Tony, Tim, Ty, Vanessa, and Wendy.

Much love and gratefulness.

Late Summer

Is it really? Already?

My birthday is tomorrow. When I was a kid, that meant I had just started a new school year. Now it means string beans, slow-roasted tomatoes, Kirby cucumbers, big bowls of blueberries, new potatoes, and the promise of crisp Cortland apples from New Brunswick.

Tonight, faced with the overflowing bounty of my last trip to the market, I made this simple salad for my recovering patient.
To DIY, simply stir together green and yellow beans (snapped to bite size and steamed just until al dente). Drizzle in a bit of walnut oil and a generous squeeze of lemon. Add a clove or two of minced garlic, fresh basil, and fresh hot pepper. Garnish farm-style with good old S&P.

Peanuckle

Adam's home, sitting up on the couch, and typing emails with his left hand.

Here's the recipe he croaked out when I asked him just how those spicy peanut noodles are made.

What To Put In:
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup water
3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
Juice of one lime
1 tsp-1 tbsp dried chili flakes
3-4 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped ginger

What To Do:
Mix peanut butter, water, and tamari.
Add lime juice.
Then add remaining ingredients.
Taste at various stages and at the end. Adjust flavors as needed. You want a peanutty taste with a bit of a kick from the chili flakes, garlic, and ginger, plus some lime to cut the richness, and tamari to bring out the rest of the flavors. The water is mostly used to achieve the desired consistency, which is neither runny nor pastey.

How To Eat:
Toss cooked udon or other fat, tasty noodles with sauce.
Portion into bowls.
Top with julienned cucumbers.
Garnish with Kosher or coarse salt.

During

12:58 pm.

When the going gets tough, the tough feel sentimental. My lunch was an homage to my man. Last night, he made me a huge container of spicy peanut noodles, which, for me, is pure comfort food. I washed them down with a tall glass of sour yumberry juice, which Adam bought for me the last time he was in Washington.

Now, I wait.

Before

7:50 am. Getting ready to take Adam to Riverside Hospital.