Doesn’t look like much but this was the most delicious soup I have made or eaten in a very long time. First made an intensely savory, smoky (low sodium) dashi, using a sachet from Grelim. Used it to poach first salmon (deliberately undercooked so it would not overcook in the hot bowl of soup), then small shiitakes and finally baby bok choy. Poured into bowl, added fairly large chunks of salmon and dug in. So good!
19 Likes
We enjoyed some excellent takeout from WooSmash / Bloom Chicken in Verona, NJ, including outstanding crispy, greaseless, Cajun dry rubbed chicken tenders; crispy pork dumplings; delicious crispy corn nuggets; truffle fries, and a smash chicken burger. It all went great with an excellent red blend.
12 Likes
Sounds fantastic!
1 Like
This is the first time I’ve heard of a chicken smashburger. I was wondering what was on that bun, bc at first all I saw was onions and tomatoes.
Did you like it?
The batter/beading on the chicken tenders looks so crunchy.
1 Like
It’s a brand new item that the chef was trying out, and comped me with it. It’s not on the menu yet. It had onions, lettuce, tomato, pickled cucumber, and a nice spicy sauce. It wasn’t bad, but I like their regular beef smash burgers better.
1 Like
It was very crunchy, and absolutely no grease. The Cajun dry rub had a nice kick to it.
1 Like
2026 Discombobulation Day 1 of 2 required a relatively simple meal with little planning needed.
Rana’s Chicken & Roasted Garlic Ravioli to the rescue. They were gently warmed with a sautéed mushroom and roasted garlic sauce (with mushroom stock, dried thyme, a sprinkle of grated Parm-Reg and a blup of heavy cream). A sprinkle of more Parm-Reg and some dried parsley on top.
The “side” was a buttered crusty roll.
And wine.
There was also “Opening Day”, albeit briefly. Hit 57°. Would have been better on Tuesday, when it’s supposed to reach 70°. But the boyz enjoyed their 15 Minute SniffFest.
18 Likes
Our boys very much enjoyed the open doors today and yesterday as well 
1 Like
A sunny day that started a little earlier than I’d hoped — thx, DST! 
— perfect for watching my PIC do yard work, however 
I also decided to try and take the car around the block for the first time in two months. Looks like I can FINALLY drive again and resume working. Glorious news! 
We also booked our tix for Berlin this summer & got a very good deal with SAS. Now to find someone for the house & the hellions residing in it…
Dinner was a pretty easy affair. When we were at the Asian market yesterday to gather hot pot veg & meats, we stumbled upon packages of roast duck delivered from Chinatown that very morning, and we couldn’t resist. It was duck or roast pork, which we’ll have to try next time. They get deliveries every Thursday & Saturday 
The duckie was crisped up in the air-fryer & enjoyed with Vietnamese kumquat hot sauce in lieu of any hoisin in the house. Worked.
I produced a side of delicious Filipino garlic rice,
and my PIC made his now world-famous 
magical baby bok choy.
Two nights of “Asian” food in a row! Hope he survives
14 Likes
I made huli huli (well, broiled) b/s chicken thighs with leftover brown sushi rice and broiled pineapple rings, sesame broccolini, roasted zucchini with garlic butter-ponzu sauce, and cucumber salad. Yummy.
17 Likes
Old School chicken tacos with leftover grilled peri peri chicken, Tillamook cheddar, and chopped romaine . Pico de gallo with toms, scallions, chili pepper, cumin, and avo. A choice of three sauces: yogurt-lime with habanero, chipotle-honey, and sriracha mayo.
18 Likes
I also made and delivered dinner to our school friend who had a new baby: a giant pepperoni and cheese stromboli with homemade pizza dough, a green salad with maple-Dijon vinaigrette, cookie butter bars, and a ham, egg, and cheese biscuit breakfast casserole.
23 Likes
You’re so nice. The food looks delicious and they’re lucky to have you as a friend.
6 Likes
Aw, thanks! 
Sweet potatoes, fish filets, and carrot, grapefruit, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds dressed in grapefruit juice and hot honey. Recipe called for oranges and honey lemon dressing and probably would have been a lot better than my concoction. I also went overboard on the butter.
17 Likes
Does. Not. Compute.
Welcome home!
1 Like
Cod with caper orange sauce served over kale rice with toasted baguette. Mango avocado salad with lime vinaigrette. The fish was good, I enjoyed it, the salad, not so much. Mostly due to an underripe mango and an overripe avocado, I also thought the dressing too oily.
16 Likes
Thank you.
