We've had them about once a week since April. I don't have an i-pot but it could be the quality/variety/growing conditions. Sometimes they can taste bland watery if not full firm and feel heavy for their size when fresh. Or overcooked.

Pre-covid, years past, we would have them just a few times in the Spring. I was very picky when they hit our market. Fortunately our covid grocery has a decades long relationship with a Cali farm. They get the choice of the crop. They have been excellent.

Do you have a TraderJoes? They have the best frozen hearts in small bags. That will give you an idea what they are suppose to taste like. You could even make a dip with half the bag. So good roasted on pizza.

Last night, stuffed portobellos and artichokes.

@sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA), thank you so much for the info about the artichokes. I may decide to give another try. There is a Trader Joes in our metroplex; however, it is not near and I rarely drive to the store. But, I am keeping the info about the frozen hearts for any future trip I might make to TJ's.

Prosciutto bacon BLT

Crumbed calamari with salad and half a roll.

Tuna patties. Managed only two. The third'll go into a sandwich tomorrow.

Bruschetta again. Doubt it will be the last.

no-named deliciousness

@ediej1209 AL Zn 7 I do make jam and that is a great suggestion for my excess pears.

We've had two nights of back to back great meals. Last night we went out for our anniversary - our first real sit down dinner since covid. It was great, the restaurant had set up tables in an internal courtyard. They even put rose petals on our table and left us a card. Three different restaurants were sharing the same courtyard and there was a great vibe. Between the three of us we had wagyu ribeye, duck and rack of lamb - all were excellent. Dessert was molten chocolate cake with berries and vanilla bean ice cream. So Good. Afterwards we walked the downtown area - Many of our downtown streets have been closed to cars and the restaurants have all set up patio dinning in the middle of the street. It was nice to see people out enjoying themselves.

One of the other restaurants in the courtyard was one of our area's best sushi restaurants, so we woke up this morning with sushi on the brain. Our cucumbers are just about over for the season, so we decided to use them all up with one last sushi meal. Our fish came from the Santa Barbara Fish Market (SBfish.com) and the star was the amazing local bluefin. Our son set the table and wanted me to post his work.

Salmon rolls

Bluefin Rolls

Beautiful table set by Garrett

Lynda, congratulations on your anniversary and yay for getting to eat out!

Your mealout sounds delicious Lynda... who had the duck? Yum.

A good old stir fry... garlic and ginger prawns.

I have shrimp in my future. Wild caught in the freezer.

Last night was veg heavy frittata. So many good eggs we have .

Happy anniversary Lynda! I'm glad you had a great celebration.

Looking at the recent posts, shrimp is on the menus and mine is no exception. I defrosted the freezer yesterday and saw my pkg. of shrimp and knew what I was having tonight. This meal encompasses all of my favourite flavours; shrimp, artichokes, orzo, feta. It definitely deserves wine as well.

@jadsip That looks delicious - all my favorite things too.

@Neely My son, Garrett, ordered the duck and was happy to share with me. It was served with a port thyme sauce which was really good. I am already thinking how to replicate it. You garlic ginger prawns look great. I have the exact same dinner set. I lugged it all the way back from a conference in Singapore many years ago only to find it being sold at my local asian market. Not a bad thing as I can replace pieces when they break.

@edie - Yay for eating out!! I hadn't realized how much I missed it.

@sleevendog I've struggled with artichokes. We grow them year round and get a few every year. Every time I get so excited and then I end up with something almost inedible. Next time I am at Trader Joes I will need to pick up some to practice on. I am not sure if it is my lack of skills or if it is the plant itself.

bread baking and a sheet pan of roasted vegetables

(shrimp tomorrow)

Thanks to Sleeve, I roasted veggies tonight instead of sauteeing them. Green peppers, cauliflower, onions and carrots. No potatoes in tonight's meal! Yay for me.

Baked and breaded fish fillet

I'm so far behind, I've been sick for a couple of days plus mother is here plus there's an election. So, who knows what's for dinner?

I just wanted to drop in and say Happy Anniversary to Lynda!

Annie

Yes Lynda, the blue & white plates are available at my little Asian market as well. I like blue and white ceramics in the home, so this can be an inexpensive way to have this effect on the dresser. The duck sounds good with that sauce and your shrimp delicious.

Both roasted veg look good Sleeve and Jasdip.

Annie, hope you are feeling better now. Election, what election?.... just kidding. Our news is full of your election as well.

Dinner was lamb stew. What can you say. It’s stew.

Speedy recovery Annie.

Lovely stew. And fish. Sadly my seafood stash is limited. I'll fix that soon but vegetables have crept way beyond my crisper drawers onto the shelf above. I should freeze some more for the holidays. Just so good fresh.

Made DHs favorite first course.

More roasted veg. Tossed with a miso ginger sesame 'gravy'.

@Annie Thank you and hope you feel better soon!

MarcellaHazan's Mushroom Risotto and salad

Had a very nice meal last night. All were cooked in Instant Pots (IPs). I am trying to perfect a recipe for IP Mexican rice, so it still needs a little work, but still not bad. The IP Brussels sprouts were delightful and the IP pulled pork so very good.

Sleeve:

I didn't know you could catch shrimp in a freezer ... might have to move out east to try that ...

I have a rare night off work. Instead of making a decent meal as I'd intended I treated myself to some chicken tenders after my errands and an hour-long walk with a friend.

Our grocery store has breaded chicken tenders; 10 for $10, or $8 if you're a loyalty member which I am. They're decent sized so that's what I did. I did make coleslaw and mashed potatoes though, so that counts for something :-)

I put the rest of the tenders on sheet for freezing, and I have 12 on the sheet, so that was a great deal!

DH made cabbage rolls! They not only came out pretty, but very tasty too.

Fish fryday

Ugh. Fresh fish fry. First year in twenty we did not fish. Friends were in BuffaloNY a couple weeks ago and the Canadian border had a sign..."don't even think about it", lol, (meanies)😂

I got an e-mail this morning from Newfoundland..."COVID-19 UPDATE: Newfoundland and Labrador welcomed Maritime neighbours on July 3. Future travellers from elsewhere, please keep dreaming and check back soon for travel updates."

...please keep dreaming 🙄 😂

Thanks for the pics, NFLD/Labrador

Near 20$ a pound for wild caught cod here. Rather than tears I made an old favorite. Miso/ginger/roasted hatch chili noodles. Roasted veg. Shared loaded salad.

Yesterday, I did some much needed work on the garden. Our lemon guavas were ripe so I made some jam, which end up inspiring last night's dinner plans. We grow three types of guavas, strawberry guava, which we usually make into wine, pineapple guava or feioja, which I make into muffins or cakes and the lemon guavas which I make into jam.

Dinner was cast iron seared filet with brown rice, our homegrown Russian kale, and shallots. It was really good, but if time had permitted I would have liked to have had a sauce for the meat. We served it with our homemade wine. We only grow grapes for white wines, but make wine from kits we buy online, which lets us try different varieties and practice our skills. This one was a Chilean Tempranillo.

We finished it off with a pear and guava jam tart. We have a huge pear crop this year. So far I haven't been overwhelmed by them because Garrett has decided he loves pears and has been eating one or two every day fresh.

Yesterday we harvested our pineapple. We have been growing pineapples in our greenhouse for a few years. We only produce a couple a year, so it is always special when we get to have one. It will either be sliced fresh for dessert or made into a pina colada tonight.

I've never heard of guava varieties. My sister just picked a pineapple from her yard. Can't imagine that.

Melon salad. Momofuku ranch dressing on the side. (I used pickled shallots)

Small charcuterie plate. New (to me) covid pantry staple. These crackers. Thin and crispy with just a powder dusting of sea salt.

Lynda, your own pineapples! How exciting!

I slow-cooked a couple of pork tenderloins (only a couple of hours on Low) then brushed them with a glaze of balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and popped them in the oven.

A neighbour had given me 2 1-litre cartons of homo milk, that her workplace was throwing out as they were on the best before date. She took 4 for herself. So I made rice pudding and scalloped potatoes today to make use of it. I've never bought homo (3%) milk ever.

I had a cabbage in the frig so I boiled some. I forgot how much we loved boiled cabbage.

I stir-fried cabbage, carrots, onions and celery and added some leftover pork from last night's meal. Accompanied with brown rice.

@jadsip That slow cooked pork is making me hungry.

Our original pineapple came from Home Depot. Each time we harvest a pineapple, we save the top and replant it. Eventually, we will have them more frequently, but for now we are happy when we get to harvest one.

@sleevendog Your salads always look so good (and colorful)!

Yes, we have multiple guava varieties. They grow easily here and are considered invasive in more tropical climates. We only planted the strawberry guava, the feoija and lemon guavas are volunteers. I assume the birds eat the fruit and scatter the seeds. I've found the lemon guava jam to be very useful, I put it in fruit tarts, add to salad dressing and mix into cakes.

Lots of lovely belt cooking. I don’t personally but the neighbourhood grows the strawberry guava and the feoija, don’t think I’ve seen the lemon guavas. Love the pineapple Lynda.

Our meals are becoming even more simple of late. Still in lockdown but numbers down to 5 cases per day, Lockdown really works but I sure will be glad when it’s over.

Jasdip and neely, your meals are right up my alley. They look delicious.

Thought I had posted what I had Sunday night, as well as leftovers last night. It was so good. It is a Thai chicken dish which, many/many/ many years ago, a friend shared with me. She had lived in Thailand and got the recipe for a local dish that she loved while living there. She called it Hot Chicken. So I made that and served with rice and shredded/chopped Iceberg lettuce for it's cooling effect. We spoon the sauce from the chicken over the rice. It is just so darned good. I don't make very often.

WC, would you be willing to share the Hot Chicken Sauce? If it's tooo spicy I can tone it down, and I probably have all the ingredients.

I'm a wuss, I like heat but not too much. It floors me that people use a whole can of RoTel in dishes. A tbsp is enough for me! LOL

We had some cabbage last week that needed using up after making kraut. I also forget how good it is as side dish quick steamed/sautéed. Iceberg needs another look. I recently used it, layers thick, for a crunchy burger bun. (gave DH the last carb bun in the freezer). Used one of my English muffin rings to cut out the iceberg 'buns'.

Loving the crisper drawer when it thins. (delivery tomorrow).

Melon/feta miso/tamari marinated eggs

If bruschetta and panzanella had a baby (goat cheese)....still getting garden tomatoes.

I had a few couple miso glazed chicken thighs in the oven but we were satisfied so DH took those to work for lunch today.

Quick, pull out the crisper drawers. Before the next veg delivery. Scrub and bleach.

@Jasdip, sent you a message.

Jasdip - I buy mild Rotel tomatoes with green chiles. Can you find those? I agree, the original is much too warm for me!

Nice outdoor temps. No AC or heat needed. Doors and a few windows opened afternoon hours.

Miso Ginger Chicken Noodle soup (ramen)

Side of veg that needed using up. Just used the soup pot for easy...

Easy sheet pan dinner tonight. Miguerez sausage.

Merguez, I always spell that wrong. Usually auto-corrects to something bizarre.

Misfits showed up while prepping. Spaghetti squash and gorgeous escarole. Pasta as an add-on. Made an adult Mac-n-3 cheese with lots of escarole, garlic, and fennel. (made extra for todays lunch.)

@sleevendog Your adult mac n cheese may have just knocked your bruschetta into second place for my favorite of the items you post. It looks pretty amazing.

Last night's dinner - skewered lamb, hummus, pearled barley with Russian kale and homemade pita. We have this a lot, but it hasn't gotten old yet.

Well, this thread is interesting, but has nothing I can cook. My husband would not touch anything showed, except maybe the meat if it didn't have stuff on it other than maybe butter, salt, and pepper.

Does anyone cook plain stuff?

You mean like Jasdip's baked chicken and mashed potatoes, or Neely's fried fish and corn on the cob? Homemade bread? Scalloped potatoes? Pumpkin pie? Cheese omelette? Those are all in this thread too.

Isn't the diversity great?

Annie

Lynda, that lamb looks so good. Perfect sides. DH said the same about the mac-n-cheese. The-best-ever.

I make plain stuff sometimes. I just happen to have a plethora of veg all garden season. We happen to love all greens and veg. As do all our friends.

I have a double fist of beef thawed. Deciding between a beef stew or a chili today. (the side salad will be Bollywood, lol)

Sherry, my cooking is certainly nothing fancy. Simple chicken dishes, sausages, pork chops, etc. I do like flavour though, so sometimes I put a sauce on it, and certainly spices etc.

One of my favourite dishes is a simple breaded pork chop, mashed potatoes and creamed corn. That was my favourite dish as a kid; pure comfort food.

If you husband won't eat simple fare as that, and the dishes that Annie mentioned (scalloped potatoes, corn on the cob, etc) I feel sorry for you. I'd hate to cook for him.

I guess I was very frustrated the other day (and jealous, lol). Sorry. Everything looks good to me, but I have a huge notebook of good for me. Fish, bass, is okay in plain cornmeal, fried. Chicken in plain flour, fried. Steak if NO pink. Pork chops, grilled or fried. Plain hamburger. Onions and spices are okay in chili, spaghetti sauce, and dressing (as long as you cannot see anything green). No green onions. parsley, celery, chives, garlic, etc. Corn (if only has butter and salt), pinto beans, broccoli, and baby lima beans with only bacon or butter. Salad is okay if iceburg lettuce with carrots and tomato. French fries, but not baked potato. Mashed potatoes, sometimes, but not scalloped potatoes (they have onion). Baked beans with lots of brown sugar. No green beans. No grocery store frozen dinners. Two restaurants. One pizza and one TexMex.

It is getting worse the older he is. He used to eat a lot more. To make it worse, he doesn't eat at a normal time. So I just cook and put in frig and he heats in the microwave.

We are having boneless pork chops, corn, and mac and cheese tonight, with rolls. I haven't decided whether to fry or grill the pork chops. They won't have any seasoning at all. I do have some green beans and new potatoes for me.

Thanks for listening.

Your pork chops, with corn and mac and cheese sound good, Sherry! At least you can spice up your foods, even if not his.

@Sherry8aNorthAL I can understand and empathize with your frustration. These are crazy times which amplify the existing challenges we face. I am trying to work from home while home schooling for the first time, so I actually make pretty simple things during the week. On the weekends, I enjoy cooking something a little special.

I think we would all love to see your pork chops and mac n cheese!