Hi, friends!
It’s late August. Summer veggies are in season. It’s hot and gross out for many folks. What’s on the menu this week?
In my recurring theme of “what the fuck do I do with all these tomatoes?” I’ve made chili and also made a small batch tomato sauce which got used in a pasta bake (sort of). I don’t know what to call it. I basically made a layered pasta dish with the red sauce and ricotta cheese but used spaghetti squash instead of pasta.
In good news, I’m almost out of tomatoes right now. 🙂
Sauteing mushrooms for hamburgers right now.
That dispensed with, I shall again go off-theme to gloat about the woman who had me fired (hey, NOT is where I talked about it last time). I have done some digging, because former newspaper reporters accept nothing at face value. It seems that she and the CEO who hired her were caught on camera and on microphone making fun of someone’s religion. This was then conveyed to HR, a complaint was filed, and the investigation commenced, which has so far resulted in her dismissal. The reticence of some of my sources suggest that there will be further repercussions, probably directed at the CEO.
I am of two minds here. Firstly, I am inordinately pleased that these assholes are facing justice. However, I find it hard to believe that someone who is that. fucking. dumb. is responsible for me being fired. I mean, I am typically only fired by the best people.
She probably had a history of doing and saying that shit and no one called her out on it for years so she thought she was special and rules wouldn’t apply.
And apparently so does her boss.
By odd coincidence, I was busy last night sautéing mushrooms, as well as steaming some asparagus for lunches this week. Not from my garden, but still good.
From the garden, the blackberry bush is still going nuts.
That’s awesome! The blackberry bushes here were over and done about a month ago sadly. But peaches are rocking right now still.
Our Butcher Box is coming in the next few days. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks trying to figure out how to empty a freezer that is packed with fish, meat from the last box, several batches of pesto, parsley, and roasted green chiles. Tomorrow I’m making a very large batch of taco meat.
I believe in you! You can do it!
In our last episode, viewers saw their Cousin Mattie working like a dog for an entire week, alone with only his Faithful Hound for company, holed up unhealthily because the heat was so much. It was very perilous and not suitable for young viewers.
This weekend, though, will see Mattie once again alone, but with no weekend work (it doesn’t look like) and that means a Celebrity All-Star cookathon. Yes, I’ve been stumbling over celebrity recipes fast & furious and they’re backing up like traffic on the Cross-Bronx. I’m not sure what I’ll make, I’m spoiled for choice, but I think I’m tending toward an All-American theme. You know who has a lot of recipes out there is Barbara Bush. Daughter-in-law Laura is no slouch either. Maybe I’ll do one of each of those.
Look for the ones that would be used to shame Billy Bush for not releasing earlier the Trump audio footage from that Access Hollywood or whatever where he said grab them by the pussy.
Or if that’s too many options, something that would be served to Jeb! to remind him that he’s the least favorite son in the family.
I will try. Barb has a lot of recipes floating around online attributed to her, and then there are two cookbooks written by chefs, one the White House chef for H.W. and Barb and one the “ranch” chef for W & Laura, and I think a lot of their recipes got retyped and posted and perhaps mistakenly ascribed to the First Ladies. Now that you bring up Jeb! though, he has that Cuban wife, right? I wonder if she has a Cuban recipe or two floating around. That’s stretching the definition of “celebrity” almost to the breaking point but its value would lie in its obscurity, like a single sheet of postage stamps printed with an error.
I’m sitting in my daughter’s new dorm/apartment.  Thank god it has a/c as it is hot.  Been awake since 330am, left home at 530,  drove 4.5 hours & have been moving or unpacking ever since.  I’m beat & n need of a beer.  6 girls in one apartment like dorm is chaos of clutter & overpacking.  Two haven’t even moved in yet.  One of her new roommates went to my high school in Hawaii.  Small world.
Oh wow that’s a lot. Is it one of those multiple bedroom apartments where it’s like spokes on a wheel with the kitchen/living room in the middle?
No, you enter to a kitchen & dining/family room & then 3 bedrooms down a hall. Â Has a split bathroom with common sinks but 2 separate showers & toilets. Â Pretty nice, I think all the athletes are n these, surprised they could get them.
Oh that’s nice! Glad the building designers put some brain cells into improving bathroom situations to work for larger groups of people.
My mommy’s cooking! All my favorites. Starting with Thit kho, Kuy teav, sticky rice with lapchern and ginger chicken wings, Chawanmushi, can ri ga (Vietnamese chicken coconut curry), ham dan and yuk (salted duck egg and congee), and the list goes on. It’s been 2.5 years since I’ve had the luxury and pleasure of eating home cooked meals by her #thankspandemic. She’s the type of person who loves to feed people. She lives in a condo and cooks meals for the doorman every week because all her kids have left the nest. So I am not imposing on her in a bad way. I may be cutting the doorman’s meal supply short for the next two weeks.
Maybe drop the doorman an UberEats giftcard?
That sounds so nice. Enjoy your food and time with your mom.
Update: Just checked the garden and got a ton of green beans and even more tomatoesÂ
Alas, time to figure that out again this weekend.
I made fasolakia not too long ago with a mess of beans and tomatoes.
They use canned but fresh works great. Improvise with whatever herbs you want. Skip the fancy olive oil, that’s a giant waste when cooked so long with so much else.
https://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/fasolakia-recipe
One of my favorite childhood meals was green beans and meatballs in tomato sauce. My sister texted me last week that she had a pot of it simmering on the stove and I’ve been craving it since then. I’m going to try to make it this weekend.
If one can evade the gnat epidemic whilst gardening, there are plenty of tomatoes, herbs in general, and basil. Like you, pesto extravaganza and roasted herbed tomatoes to freeze for the winter. The week after next week may be limited to freezer clean out.