Immediate Satisfaction

I wanted potatoes for breakfast. And cheese. And an egg. So much work to do, no time to go out for brunch. So I whipped out the ingredients and my Lil Beni, and 10 minutes later I had near-immediate satisfaction.

Well if that isn't delicious looking. And highly annoying that it is rotated awkwardly on its side. I'm not smart enough to figure out rotating this thing (trust me, tried all the obvious answers), but no matter which way my hashbrowns with gooey egg and cheddar went down, they were delicious.

Not So "Short" Ribs

Our most recent trip to the Meat Hook sent us home with nearly $70 worth of Korean style short ribs. There were 13 of them at approximately three feet long:

So we put round three to use a few nights ago by rubbing them with ras el hanout and then serving them, grilled, with a bunch of stuff we had on hand in the fridge: feta-stuffed peppers and a lovely fresh salad of cucumber, tomato, spicy mixed greens and parsley.

Oh! And I almost forgot about the adorable little fairytale eggplant from Lani's Farm (quite probably my favorite vendor at the Union Square farmers market on Mondays and the Dag Hamerskjoewlrjdklxfd one on Wednesdays) that we pan-roasted and snacked on while we prepped. Looook at how cuuute...

Actually, the Real Best BLT

Attention, Miss Bray: You may claim the best peaches, ok? But the best BLT? False.

That would actually be mine--complete with a sexy slab of Meat Hook bacon, thickly sliced red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, local arugula and a perfectly crunchy/chewy baguette, all graced with coarsely cracked black pepper and a drizzle of greenish olive oil. The only thing missing was the homemade oregano mayonnaise that I have heard about and dreamed about but am still too lazy to actually make. For now, this still wins. Pair it with a homemade IPA, and EAT IT.

Put Up [Tomatoes] or Shut Up!

Check out these beauts! My very first canning experience--a grand success with 9 1/2 quarts of tomatoes put up, gorgeously!

We started with this... 25 pounds of Romas hauled back mid-morning from the McCarren Park Farmers Market (25 lbs produce + 15 blocks + 86 degree weather = 2 hot Williamsburg ladies):

Then, methodically, into pot #1 (back left) for a quick skin-slicing boil while pot #2 (back right--gigantoid!) sanitized the jars. Careful removal of skins and cores was followed by slicing and tomato flesh into pots #3 and 4 for cook-down with a touch of salt and sugar to balance the acidifying agent (lemon juice).

Hot 'n ready jars are fitted with a wide-mouth funnel and delectable tomato goop savior of winter is sloshed in. Tops get wiped clean and sealed up, and that is that! I shall be banned from recipe cultivation if I tell you that I followed great-great-grandma's recipe and didn't process...