It's Octopuses

Weird road food edition

So we were traveling home from our beach condo and planned on making a stop in Savannah to eat. Alexis is always down for Mexican but I wasn't feeling it. I was more in the mood for Thai. While I was looking on the Google I was reminded of a sushi place we recently tried and liked. So I was like "What about that sushi place?" Then she was all like "Hells yeah!" So then I was like "OK then make a left up here."

Yeah, not a fan of the quotative "like." Say or say not, there is no like.

The place has a baby octopus "salad." I guess it's a salad 'cause it's got sesame seeds, soy, and sesame oil. Really it is just a bowl of chewy yumminess (assuming you're into that sort of thing). Anyhoo we shared the "salad" and some sushi and soup. A great way to start the trip.

Oh, yeah. octopuses always sounds weird to me. I have always wanted it to be octopi. Cactus? Cacti. Alumnus? Alumni. Octopus is not a Latin word. It's Greek. So it is octopuses. My position though is that we are using a Greek word in English that sound Latin-ish. Do we really need to adhere to the original plural form? We should make it an honorary Latin word. Octopi forever!

Spring Means Greens

Supper, Friday May 17: salad-n-stuff (mixed garden greens, avocado, mustard and ale cheese, mixed olives, marinated mushrooms, boiled shrimp, 

poached salmon).

Greens are coming in so we are going to be eating a lot of salad.

It's Just Gonna Have To Be An Occasional Treat.

Lunch, Friday March 09: monkfish medallions (fresh monkfish, salt, pepper, clarified butter); lima beans; slaw.

Lemme tackle the sides first. The limas are about as simple as they get: a little pork stock, diced onion, butter, salt, pepper, and soaked large limas. There is a special something that happens when well soaked dry limas are simmered. They make a sort of gravy that is as good or in my opinion better than the beans themselves. They are really easy to make. They just require planning. Soak the beans overnight with a little salt. Next day saute onion in butter. Drain the beans. add the beans and pork stock (I suppose chicken or a vegetable base would also work) Simmer til tender. Watch for scorching as that gravy develops.

What can I say about slaw? Nothing actually. Slaw is one of those small class of foods that is regional down to the resolution of family tradition. It is very much like the meat that it often accompanies, namely barbeque. In both cases, one persons delicacy is the next's unpalatable refuse. So all I should say is: We had slaw.

Now for the sad news of the day. I went to the grocer 2 days ago. While cruising the seafood counter for no particular reason I saw they were offering monkfish at a moderate discount. I love monkfish. Alexis loves anything that has the word fish in it or near it. Add to that the realization that I have not eaten any for many years then the offering was to great a temptation to resist. I purchased about two thirds of a pound with the intention of sauteing medallions in clarified butter with some salt and pepper. One important note about using butter to saute: even clarified butter is not temperature stable enough to get hot enough for a proper saute. One should add some flavorless high temp oil like canola or soy to stabilize the butter. Also don't overpower the fish with seasoning. let the flavor shine on its own.

So what is the sad news? In seeking a little more info in the actual fish. (I like to be able to recognize my food.) While reading up on them I learned the current fishing technique is not sustainable. Dammit! Harvesters use the "beam trawling" method which damages habitat. Monkfish will have to remain a rare treat. 

Nooks And Crannies

Breakfast, Tuesday November 16: seared lamb chop; mixed fruit (apple, pineapple, dates, pecans); pumpkin bread; English muffin.

I find it a little amusing how the average American (whatever that means) wants bread that has a soft and very light crust with a crumb that is uniform and extremely soft, yet I recall an advertising campaign for a brand of English muffins that touted the "nooks and crannies." Now I understand that is so one can load up with more butter, but the demand doesn't go the other way. Hand most Americans a roll or loaf with a similar crumb and they would scoff.

Don't believe me? Sure there is an "artisan" bread section in most grocers. Sales there paltry compared to the "regular" bread aisle. Not only that but consider that artisan bread itself. My favorite example is the bagel. Bagels should be firm chewy and have an almost leathery crust. Most grocery bagels are kaiser rolls with a hole in the middle. I like to call them bageloids.

Life Gets In The Way

Supper: Friday October 13: pasta? primavera and shrimp (poblano, cherry tomatoes, leek, wild rice, olive oil, parsley, basil, shredded parm, shrimp, pepper, spaghetti squash, loofah); seaweed salad.

I haven't posted in a while, not that anyone reads this.  Life does get in the way though. I have, however, decided on a course of action. I am going to pick up starting today and back post at the same time. There are a few really good meals I have skipped so I am going to dig them up. 

I grew spaghetti squash for the first time this season. I had moderate success. I harvested a few nice gourds. This one has been in the fridge for a couple of months, They keep well if refrigerated. Once the stem borers destroyed my vines I planted another pair just to see if I could sneak another harvest in before the end of the season. Whadaya know, I might get 3 or 4 new squash.

Yes that ingredient list says loofah. I have come to realize that nearly everyone thinks a loofah is a sponge. It's not, it's a squash. Not only that, when they are young they are edible. There are LOTS of varieties. The Romans perfected them for use as sponges. Alexis uses them in soap. She incorporates a loofah in a soap batch so that when sliced the soap has a built in exfoliating sponge.

I Swear There's Greens Under There

Supper, Wednesday June 14: BAS.

Big. Ass. Salad. 

The cheese and the meat obviously did not come from the garden, but most of the rest is from the backyard. I love those little heirloom cucumbers. 

Mmmhhmmm. . . some folk calls it Mexican sour. I calls it mouse melon. Mmmhhmmm. 

Either way they are tasty. It is an heirloom variety that is very suitable for a container. I have four plants in pots with a stake for the vines to climb on. This actually works better than growing them on the ground. It is uncomfortable and tedious searching for tiny green balls smaller than grapes amidst the leaves of the plant. Better that they grow on a stake or even a fence.

Salad Days

Supper Tuesday June 6: BAS (big ass salad)

The garden is producing lots of salad yumminess. I just wish that tomatoes came in earlier. We have several different varieties of salad greens, romaine, arugula, spinach, three different leaf types. One of these is an heirloom called "speckles" that is beautiful. It looks like it is trying to imitate a Jackson Pollack. There is another called "merlot" that is a luscious deep, well, merlot. We are also harvesting radishes including my first attempt at daikon. I am going to try to plant another turn of greens and radishes so that maybe, just maybe, I can have them with tomatoes also.