Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
617
I always hold a thought for your Memorial Day.
Grandad Tom joined the British Army in February 1915, going overseas in the November. He served all the way through the war. His unit was all but destroyed in the spring of 1918 and, whilst a number of his comrades including his brother were transferred to other fighting unit, the remnants who remained spent the rest of the war training newly arrived American troops - mainly National Guard units from New York state. I like to think that passing on his experience may have saved a life or two, amongst these young men.
As for dinner tonight - meatballs on toast. Lamb, sumac, pine nuts, parsley. Browned and then finished in a tomato, garlic and dried mint sauce. I had planned the toast to be sourdough but there was none to be had, so it’s ciabatta. A simple salad alongside - lettuce, cucumber, red onion, yellow peppers. Olive oil and lemon juice dressing - an occasion for my finest Palestinian organic olive oil to put in an appearance. Maybe ice cream for “afters”.
Dang, lady. I’ve been “watching” your holiday weekends with friends for many moons now and I still am amazed each and every time. And I still want to be right there with y’all!
Meanwhile, we had a low-key weekend. As is the norm these days, my mom and dad stayed with us once they got their medical appointments out of the way at home. Aside from the sorta black-and-gold dinner last night (in honor of the Bruins Stanley Cup game 1; in my excitement, I forgot to state that there were sliced radish and cukes drizzled with lime-miso sauce):
-One night I made grilled mahi-mahi with garlic mashed cauliflower accompanied by warm farro salad with mushrooms and broccoli; another night, I gave the parental units and B some Whole Foods rotisserie chicken with brown rice, pickled cukes, and seared broccolini.
-Another night it was veggie chili with lots of bean cooked from dried. We had a couple of meals out because what the heck, it’s a holiday!
My dad has type 2 diabetes so I need to pay close attention to his diet. A resource that has been awesome is America’s Test Kitchen “Complete Diabetes Cookbook.” The recipes I’ve tried thus far (eg, Sicilian white beans with escarole, chicken/veggie pot pie, farro salads, cod with garlic potatoes, black rice with salmon/tofu) have been very flavorful even for non-diabetics. Plus, the recipes are uncomplicated.
you’re a good kid to your parents. mine are gone, but i know how much emotional and physical effort it takes to care for aging/sick parents - we did it for many years. best and worst times of our lives. continued good luck with yours!
and yeah, i’m lucky i have such fun/foodie friends!
A thank you to your Granddad Tom for his service to Britain and the United States.
YUM on your dinner tonight!
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Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
621
Two great uncles were killed during the war. Tom’s brother was killed in September 1918 and is buried in Belgium The other great uncle, from my father’s side, was killed at the end of June 1916 - he’s buried in France in a little military cemetery just behind the village church. I’ve visited both cemeteries a couple of times and it always give rise to thoughts of “what if”.
I made lightly dredged and pan-fried rockfish filets, a cucumber and radish salad with orange muscat vinaigrette, a Caprese salad, and (too salty) pesto and spinach quinoa.
Chocolate hazelnut gelato today. Very fussy but very worth it. It was actually stretchy when it came out of the ice cream maker. Not sure if that was because of the recipe or because I used the (slower) gelato setting on the ice cream maker. I’m also unsure if stretchy gelato is an authentic thing, but I enjoy that texture nonetheless. I’m going to go eat another scoop right now, bye.
Sliced up the cured salmon and froze most of it. A few slices over avocado on half a toasted bun (I had to buy a whole package for that $@&?! delicious lobster roll yesterday, so I’m getting creative). Squeeze of lemon. A day’s rest really helped the flavor and texture too.
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For dinner, a new recipe for Musakhan / sumac chicken. Why a new recipe when the old one is easy and delicious? I’m wondering the same thing. Blame the book - the picture looked good, I’m a sucker, etc etc.
End result: it tasted good, but completely different than my usual version. Not as bright. Much fussier. Why. Ok I’m done. Or I will be when I finish the leftovers .
Apparently it’s national burger day, but I had no desire to go out so some improvising was in order. These are some freezer find turkey meatballs, smashed, with melted cheddar served on a pretzel bun with a drizzle of sweet chili sauce and some cilantro. Side was roasted red potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, and some New Mexico red chili. There was a little green salad and wine.
meatn3
(equal opportunity eater in the NC Triangle)
630
It was too hot to cook.
Dinner: Black Forest ham sandwich with tomato and iceberg lettuce. potato salad and carrot sticks. The crunch of iceberg lettuce is so refreshing on a hot day.
I noticed a little jar of pimentos at the grocery recently. It made me recall my MIL’s potato salad which I haven’t made in decades. The jar slipped into my grocery cart and the potato salad was made the other day. I had forgotten how good this version is!
Harters
(John Hartley - a culinary patriot eating & cooking in Northwest England)
632
Mrs H cooks tonight. A Jamie Oliver recipe from “Happy Days with the Naked Chef”. Cod fillets go in a baking dish and are topped with cherry tomatoes, basil and mozzarella and, finally, Parmesan . Gets 15 - 20 minutes at 220. Spuds and asparagus to accompany.
Tomorrow, I’m doing Fuchsia Dunlop’s gong bao chicken (although with cashews not peanuts, as it’s wot I got). Steamed pak choi, drizzled with light soy and a little sesame oil to accompany, along with rice.
Then we have a couple of nights eating out and a family birthday lunch after that - and then it’s another week. Hurrah!
