Interesting. The coral is normally sold attached to the scallop here. It's safe and very tasty.

Wednesday: cauliflower cheese

Interesting anatomy, the scallop. They are hermaphrodites. The orange roe sack is female, (we have always called it the coral) the male part is the grey-brown not exactly a roe. Called a milt(sp)?

Very edible but often removed. It is delicate so more difficult to shuck?. Also a sign of freshness since the roe sack does not store well at all. Perfectly edible like most fish/molusk roe. I've not come across it being toxic...link?

Excellent use of the beautiful tomato...insalata caprese

I used fennel fronds as an acceptable stand-in for basil

The answer is all over. This (well written) is from capecodscallop.com:

”Scallops are typically consumed in the United States as just the adductor muscle, which is the white, meaty portion. The roe and other organs are discarded at sea when they are shucked by the crew.

“The entire scallop is edible, but in the US, it is advised to only eat the meat as other parts of the scallop may retain naturally occurring toxins that can lead to PSP or paralytic shellfish poisoning.

“However, in some parts of the world, the whole scallop including the roe and other organs is enjoyed as a popular delicacy.”

I have no opinion on the subject. Floral asked why no coral. Short answer, because they come that way. I did a websearch and found the answer in many places, I wasn't trying to provoke anything. I was trying to be cooperative and show a plated dinner-ish dish, and answer a question.

Thursday. Frittata. Green salad.

We finally have a passable taqueria in our neighborhood!

This is a bigger deal than it may seem. Mexican food is scarce and usually not good in Portland. There is a burrito food cart about 10 blocks from my house, a pricey place that has a few white-person-taste-Mexican items in its unfocused menu also 10 blocks away, a pretty bad burrito “slop shop” about a mile away, otherwise I have to go a couple miles and to get to okay places and they are at best B- by California taqueria standards.

This new place is, on first eating, at least okay. At least a B. For ethnic food in Portland, a B is like ”good!”. Our Chinese food is B at best, Indian food is worse, only the Japanese food is occasionally a B+ or higher, and that’s because there are some good sushi places, a couple of stalwart izakayas, and ramen is trendy at the moment. We do have a couple good French restaurants, not that I want to spend that much very often, and some good Italian if you think Italian means ”pasta”.

Back to my find. The tacos could have been spicier, but that’s my only quibble. A small but full bar, Modela Negra on tap, the owners are Hispanic, big patio for sunny days and a small amount of indoor seating. This particular location has some negatives and has been death for eateries, but to be fair only undistinguished and unmissed places have been in there.

A decent taqueria - now that fills a real need. Less than four blocks from my house, a bonus. I’m happy!

Chile relleno burrito, lengua carnitas and asada tacos, and sopes.

Friday. Another invention. Thai green curry flavoured chicken thighs. Salad and asparagus from the allotment.

Spring Tonic and Dumplings

Saturday. Weather's gone dull and windy. Beef stew.

Sunday. Roast rack of lamb, roast beetroot and carrots, spinach, gravy. A rare dessert. Blackcurrant sponge pudding. Clearing the freezer for the incoming crop.

Today, I thought I should go make the shrimp salad while the sun was high and bright. I was pulling out the usual kind of thing and there were no peppers except a guajillo trying to go wrinkly but still crisp. Okay. I just cut it tiny so it wouldn't be too spicy. What else I turned up was also foraging in the crisper drawer, so beyond the guajillo and the celery and scallions were French breakfast radishes, bicolor sweet corn (cooked), English peas (raw), fresh mint from the plant by the sink, and blueberries. The dressing is fork smashed avocado vinaigrette.

Defrosting the freezer so yesterday was lentil and sausage casserole. Today, Thursday: fishcakes with chard and asparagus from the allotment. Summer pudding made with raspberries, red currants and blackberries from the freezer. Got to make room for this year's incoming crop. The red currants have already started ripening.

It's only 5/8 cooked—not tonight's dinner—but the minions thought it was pretty even raw, and insisted on pictures. I think it's prettier partly cooked, though after slicing and three more hours cooking, maybe not. It's a heavily trimmed, five pound brisket (the top two sections), braised with carrots, rhubarb, onions, canned diced tomatoes, and the ends of a merlot, a very tannic pinot noir and a very nice red blend. I had been thinking something different, but was overtired and just wanted to get it in the oven, so I used the traditional sauce and seasoning. The juice tastes good. I was thinking crunchy tacos, as well as packets for the freezer.

The rhubarb is an interesting touch. Is that the 'traditional sauce'? Trouble is, I usually do that kind of dish in winter so the rhubarb, although home grown, would need to be out of the freezer.

No. ;) The rhubarb is because I was going to make a tart and plans changed, and I didn't want to make a pie with it and wondered what it would be like in the braise. IME, you need acid and sugar to make brisket come out nicely, though I didn't want to go too sweet, and I thought the rhubarb might go well. Our seasons are different. It's often warm and beautiful in late Winter/early Spring, and 3 of four weeks in June is usually overcast, dank and chilly. June weather has already started.

Interesting. Where do you live that has warm late winters?

Son in law made dinner tonight. Red sea bream and potatoes but no picture. I brought dessert. Summer Pudding again.

Southern California. Not always warm, but often. The roses get confused when cooler weather comes back.

It's done. I was craving a hamburger, though the aroma was vegetable not meat. I kept telling myself brisket was a-comin’. Then it seemed a good time to check. Deee-lishus. The rhubarb is mostly melted and gives its essence to the juice, though the carrots, onions and tomatoes keep some of their individuality. The beef is that perfect point of very tender but not falling apart. So much juice! It can go in the next soup. The alcohol is pretty well burned off, and it's not salty, though seasoned.

I wrapped a couple slices and veg into a piece of commercial, natual high fiber bread which is very bendy and not absorbant. Excellent as is with no supporting characters (no condiments, other veg or pickles). Much better than a burger! (Though I do love a good hamburger, and dill pickle chips might have been good, too.)

Looks succulent.

Looking for something to do with kohlrabi. My local organic vegetable farm share is a mystery box. Love the variety and always very fresh. Like this recipe that is simple. Seems a good way to get the full flavor/texture of something unfamiliar.

I've had it before, probably this time last year, but must have been lost in a mixed roasted or soup. No memory of it.

Came with a ton of greens that i'll blanch and have with...

i see a BLT in our future

i like this recipe...

This was a huge order delivered yesterday morning. It has been exactly 8 weeks since last. We were down to one onion, no shallots, potatoes, eggs, greens. Just a few misc vegetables like carrots. winter squash, cabbage. I don't mind the challenge of using what i have on hand,... fridge, pantry, freezer, but FreshDirect is my main grocer now. They have all things needed. Down to one roll of tp is a problem. 3 bathrooms but still...

This is one box. Very generous at a bit over 16lbs. About just under 2$ a pound.

i usually get the box with eggs, mushrooms, cheese and yogurt but did not need cheese or yogurt. Ordered eggs a-la-carte and a pound of mixed mushrooms on sale.

I always get their fish cubes and the pack of heads and bones for soup/stock. More heads than the usual one, so made...

This pack was mostly collars full of meat so froze most of it and the fish cubes in 1/2 pound packs. So fresh.

Another thing my market does is sell Parm-Regiano rinds. But fresh from the wheel and thick slices. Regiano is usually about 23$ a pound. The rind now is 5.99$ a pound. Most do not realize the rind is edible. No wax or paper. The thick rind is a natural firm edge from the aging process. I add a chunk to a 1/2 pint of master stock straight from the freezer...low and slow simmer on the back burner...into the blender for a fantasic Cachio Pepe or any pasta sauce....

The rind is also a basic ingredient for a minestrone. I always keep mine for that purpose but I haven't come across it for sale separately here.

Like floral, I’ve not seen the rinds for separate sale around here but do save and freeze them. Great for adding more flavor to soups, risotto, sauces and stocks.

Years ago, I did get parm rinds at Whole Foods, but they're a very different outfit nowadays and have a lot less stuff to buy.

This was so good...

A pat of butter, olive oil, 4 ounce shot glass of white wine. Must be the quartered half of red onion that made some broth. But i forgot the leek! Love braised leek. Making this again tonight. Adding a leek and a quarter of a fennel bulb.

Used my new baby Staub gratin. Zwilling Memorial sale. 7.5 inches. I don't have any casserole dish this size. My small cast iron is 9inch. My carbon steel is 7inch but egg only, no exceptions. (toasting nuts and seeds but they are oily and add to the non-stick patina)

Perfect size. This puppy will get a work-out. Fritatta, DutchBaby, all things fruit/berry tarts, corn breads...my 3 quart AllClad lid fits like a glove.

We had it with a Squishy.

A well known bakery in the Hamptons on LongIsland, Breadzilla, makes the best sandwiches and soups. Visiting friends and various work projects have me in the area for years. One project was late August through the NewYear. So i make a 'squishy' in honor of them.

I'ts the bread. Takes a back seat to the quality ingredients. (no BoarsHead). Not too soft, not at all sweet. Not thick or too hard. Firm enough to hold together.

I keep meaning to try and make similar. Maybe it has a milk wash or water spritz into the oven?

Wanting a 'TMP'. I have a beauty ripe tomato at the moment. Pesto in the freezer. Half a fresh motzarella ball. Had a ShrimpSquishy once a week, then everything else. The day they were closed, mondays, we ordered a rotation of excellent fried oyster Po' Boys and Lobster Rolls from other restaurants.

We just keep split-top buns in the freezer for Lobster Rolls and Shrimp Squishies.

Nice gratin, sleevendog, I can see that being really handy. When I hear "squishy" bread I automatically think of the WonderBread type loaf, now I'm going to have to adjust my thinking!

Here's it's been one thing after another, from a late frost that made me cover plants to a predator that has killed 5 laying hens to a breach in the upper pond that needed a backhoe to fix. Just another spring on the farm, LOL.

Still, we are managing to eat. Tonight we had bean soup with leftover cornbread from a few nights ago. No pictures.

Some meals were hurried, like this chili dog/coleslaw combo:

Some sheet pan roasted chicken wings and cauliflower with potato salad made quickly from my home canned potatoes:

I made some creamy Tuscan style white beans, recipe from Delish, using homecanned beans and our farm eggs, cornbread and fresh asparagus from the backyard:

Eggs just the way I like them:

We celebrated my 70th birthday last Friday, I made a Boston Cream poke cake. It was good but not very pretty, LOL.

Knowing my weakness for all things maple, Elery made maple shortbread cookies with maple glaze, very good!

Before that we had pork tenderloin with air fryer roasted potatoes and coleslaw:

Baked chicken thighs with coleslaw and fresh corn on the cob, which was surprisingly good considering the time of year:

Chicken caesar salad with the leftover chicken thighs:

BEan tostadas with lettuce, tomato and sour cream, the beans were from last year's garden:

Queso fundido, from Cook's Illustrated, with chorizo and Chihuahua cheese. I've made this before, but Elery loves it and eats it on tortillas or with chips:

Ok, I think I"m caught up, for now! Tomorrow we go to pick up pork that we bought from a neighbor and I'm "babysitting" Ashley's German Shepherd for the weekend while she has a weekend away for her birthday. I should be in the garden with a hoe instead, but I guess the weeds will wait, LOL.

Annie

Sleeve, sorry if I missed it but where where you scoring those tomatoes? Are you in NY?

wFD 420, waiting for @fawnridge (Ricky) to contribute. 😉

Well, I don't have any real food photos, but because this is WFD 420, I thought I'd post photos of the cookies we baked yesterday:

In order: Mint Chocolate Chip, Lemon Drops, Ginger Snaps

Saturday night. Baked sea trout on fennel, onions and tomatoes. New potatoes. Strawberry pavlova to use up egg whites after carbonara.

Well, if you need to use stuff up....

(Floral, that drown the meringue in strawberries Pavlova looks divine!)

Last night I made a wonderful melange of the last of the (non-frozen) brisket and veg goop, the first of the roots and greens soup, and some spinach tortelloni (boughten organic high quality). It was really good, but I could only eat half of my bowl's worth, so I saved the rest. I rarely take more than I will eat, but it was a crazy day. I pulled the leftovers out to eat with my breakfast and it was unbelievably good! I was kind of shocked and I generally love things cold out of the fridge.

There was also a small slice of this week's egg bake (crustless quiche). I didn't have anything set aside for it, so started with the bottom of a box of sugar snap peas. They had gone limp and I was going to make them into pea soup, but some were too far gone, so I shelled them and had enough peas to cover the bottom of the pie plate. Sliced up a bunch of scallions, enough to cover the bottom of the pie plate. Needed fluff! I had washed a gigantic bunch of red dandelion greens for the soup, but the big bean pot was full to the brim before they even got cut, so I put them in the fridge where the moisture from washing froze a bit, but not enough to wreck them. I grabbed a big handful of them and chopped them up--enough to fill the pie plate, but they were super bitter, even for dandelion greens.

I knew cooking would help the dandelion greens, but it was spit-me-out bitter. Then I bethought me of the early apricots which had softened on the counter, so were now waiting in the prep fridge. Two, sliced and halved, was just enough to pretty much cover the top. Custard flavored with a little extra salt and a lot of North African seasoning to bring the heat against the bitterness. I'd already grated some nice smoked Jack for the top. Boy oh boy! Talking about something being greater than the sum of its parts! Downright delicious. And it worked. Some bitterness transfered to the apricots, but they mostly read as pleasantly sour, and the sweetness and heat, plus the mellowing of custard, made the greens very tasty rather than just needing to be gotten through.

I bumped up the brightness, but it still doesn't really show the pretty green peas as they looked…

Happy birthday Annie!

Happy Birthday Annie!

DH has his 70th next week. He requested HotDogs, lol. I was planning a lobster Boil-Up. I win. (hot dogs would save some coin)

Queso Fundido sounds good. I don't have CI but looked at a few recipes. Making that in place of our next taco night. DH will like it. One recipe had corn, black beans, then after baking added fresh chopped tomato, cilantro and avocado to the table....i have the perfect casserole dish. 😜

@Ricky, your kitchen must smell amazing. I don't have much of a sweet tooth but those would be my favored flavors....except for the added 'spice'. I'm sure i would be a paranoid heap in the corner.

@FOAS, seems every grocer has had these every year this time. WholeFoods has similar. My main grocer now is FreshDirect. Occasionally Misfits, my guilty pleasure. Both have them now from different growers.

Sunday night. Roast free range pork chop, roast carrots, roast potatoes, homegrown asparagus and Tuscan black kale.

Raspberries from the allotment, local strawberries and vanilla ice cream

Another in bi-weekly rotation...

I've been making this once a week for three...

Lots of rhubarb now. I keep adjusting my recipe for less volume. DH wants added minced jalapeno and fresh corn...more rhubarb. Sweet. savory, spicy.

DH saw this one one the back of the Bob's RedMill bag, (i just purchased a case of four a few weeks ago for our summer corn cakes.

I've been making this once a week for three...

Lots of rhubarb now. I keep adjusting my recipe for less volume. DH wants added minced jalapeno and fresh corn...more rhubarb. Sweet. savory, spicy.

DH saw this one the back of the Bob's RedMill bag, (i just purchased a case of four a few weeks ago for our summer corn cakes.

My 9 inch cast iron was way too much. Prefer fresh and no leftovers. Freezes fine but not the summer season. We eat half and snack evening and breakfast...

So forgiving unlike most baking...one egg, two eggs.

Can you explain how the pictured rhubarb apple corn cake is made? Are you putting jalapenos and fresh corn in it? So it isn't dessert? You give a recipe for corn cakes and a recipe for corn muffins but how do those relate to your rhubarb creation? Also cornflour means something different here. So is your cornflour more like polenta?

Corn Flour in the US is fine ground CornMeal, not corn starch. Previously i would put coarse corn meal through the spice grinder or my hand grain grinder.

Both recipes work. Very forgiving. This is our 'dessert' every year summer months. All summer. Different berries, a mix of berries. Sometimes nuts. Our close friends are similar. Savory, sweet, lightly spicy.

Edna Lewis is an icon in the US. Southern USA world.

What I'm not understanding us how the corn recipes are mixed with the rhubarb and apples. Is the fruit mixed in, put on top, put underneath? Is it used like I would use a sponge topping to a fruit pudding? And I'm not getting the use of the savoury ingredients (jalapenos, corn,) in a sweet dish.

Dinner for us this evening: eggs Florentine, no dessert.

Wednesday. Pea and corn fritters. Green salad.

Sweet-savory is pretty global. Think jam on toast, basic peanut butter and jelly, up to sweet spicy glazed proteins...chutneys.

I use her corn muffin recipe as a gluten free cake...

Extra-fine cornmeal, (not cornstarch)

"...they have a very tender, creamy texture when hot and stay moist when cool."

It does cut in cake slices when cool but we like it hot from the oven. The apple and rhubarb is dropped on top. As in my pic. Folded in it would be obviously dispersed in the batter. Hundreds of rhubarb cakes on-line.

Rhubarb is not sweet. I just added the apple because i have some at the moment and added some natural sweetness. Pecans would be good. SIL sent me a big box from her tree.

The recipe for corn cake is on the back of the 'corn flour' bag. Waiting for the up-coming zucchini harvest. Often served for breakfast/brunch. Some top with maple syrup or tomato jam. Like some put ketchup on eggs, ick. Some put ketchup on everything!

We call them fritters.

I didn't express myself very well about the sweet savoury puzzlement. Of course I'm familiar with that idea. For example, I'm a big fan of apple sauce on pork and mint jelly with lamb, apples or oranges in meat dishes, quince or figs with cheese, rhubarb or gooseberries with oily fish. But I suppose I was thinking of the rhubarb apple corn cake as a similar dish to the rhubarb crumble or sponge I make with my abundant crop. I might add some spice such as ginger, which goes well with rhubarb, but was curious about the jalapenos and corn kernels. I suppose I'm used to some sweet ingredients being added to a savoury dish but not savoury ingredients added to what sounds like a dessert. I've had a look and it seems that fine corn meal is here so maybe I'll try it some time.

I know you know all that. I was just addressing all the question marks. It is dessert to us and close friends, my family.....DH's family not so much. His siblings have enormous sweet tooths.

No added sugar in the corn 'cake'. Just the bit of apple. I have made one traditional dessert last holiday. A Clair Savitz pecan fragipane. A DH favorite. I cut in 1 inch slivers but not touched until a few hours later, then devoured.

I know in the UK corn flour is called starch here. Comes up here about every year.

Last night, another easy weeknight meal...

Thursday: caramelized onion and beetroot tart.