Throw One on the Barbie
21/09/08 07:36
Don't know about you guys but I love hummus. Or, it that spelled h-u-m-u-s? I like it so much that I made a batch from scratch yesterday (used recipe from Moosewood cookbook / thanks, Denise!). I even bought a bag of raw chick peas and let the little fellas soak for a bit just to soften them up. I used our food processor to mince up the garlic and the only thing that I was missing once all was said and done was a masher. I could see it in my minds eye and I even went so far as to imagine that we had one and searched through our kitchen drawers just in case it was not a figment of my imagination. Funny thing is that when we went into Portsmouth later in the day for an afternoon coffee we visited a new kitchen store where I saw one on display. Since I was not sure what else I might use a masher for in the near term, I elected not to make the purchase. There were other things that caught my eye including an olive oil mister, an avocado pitter and slicer, and some rather inviting looking knives. A good set of knives is critical when it comes to slicing and dicing all the seasonal favorites. As I think ahead to the rest of this weekend, the thought of making a nice Ratatouille looms large. Just what the doctor ordered.
One of my favorite items as of late, especially when it comes to grilling, is eggplant. I just love the color of eggplant. I'm talking about the purple variety as it comes in many different colors and shapes. I like to slice them about a 1/4 inch, smother them in extra virgin olive oil, and place them on a preheated grill. Nancy usually has plenty of leftover homemade spaghetti sauce and I occasionally take the grilled eggplant, layer it in baking dish with alternating layers of reduced fat mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and freshly picked basil, and bake it up at about 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Talk about yum-ski. This past week, a neighbor dropped off about 4-5 lbs of tomatoes from their garden and I used those in place of Nan's sauce. It makes a very sweet leftover dish and it sets up in the fridge overnight. Damn. Emeril, get your own show!
The Ev-man was funny this year. He wanted lemon squares for his birthday rather than the customary homemade chocolate cake that his mom usually throws together. I use that phrase loosely as she rarely "throws" together anything when it comes to her son. The only rationale that made any sense to me as to why he preferred lemon squares over chocolate cake is that the squares were more likely to give him an infusion of sugar faster than the cake ever could. Nancy talked to me after the fact about the two sticks of butter required for the crust alone and I could feel my arteries hardening as she spoke. She did not elaborate on how much of the required butter she used but you can bet your bottom dollar it wasn't two sticks. Surprisingly, even the candles held up well but I must say that they looked a little funny. Maybe I'm just used to seeing them sticking in chocolate cake. I kept my idle thoughts to myself and the party went on.
Many thanks to the brothers and sisters who acknowledged Ev's b-day. I don't know how people keep track of those things. He was happy to receive his gifts and will spend monies received as frivolously as he prefers; will wear all three of his Red Sox tee shirts but not at the same time (one can only hope); and will get his thank you cards in the mail before Christmas if his mother has anything to say about it. In other words, the more things change the more they stay the same.
Update: The slideshow has been updated.
One of my favorite items as of late, especially when it comes to grilling, is eggplant. I just love the color of eggplant. I'm talking about the purple variety as it comes in many different colors and shapes. I like to slice them about a 1/4 inch, smother them in extra virgin olive oil, and place them on a preheated grill. Nancy usually has plenty of leftover homemade spaghetti sauce and I occasionally take the grilled eggplant, layer it in baking dish with alternating layers of reduced fat mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and freshly picked basil, and bake it up at about 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Talk about yum-ski. This past week, a neighbor dropped off about 4-5 lbs of tomatoes from their garden and I used those in place of Nan's sauce. It makes a very sweet leftover dish and it sets up in the fridge overnight. Damn. Emeril, get your own show!
The Ev-man was funny this year. He wanted lemon squares for his birthday rather than the customary homemade chocolate cake that his mom usually throws together. I use that phrase loosely as she rarely "throws" together anything when it comes to her son. The only rationale that made any sense to me as to why he preferred lemon squares over chocolate cake is that the squares were more likely to give him an infusion of sugar faster than the cake ever could. Nancy talked to me after the fact about the two sticks of butter required for the crust alone and I could feel my arteries hardening as she spoke. She did not elaborate on how much of the required butter she used but you can bet your bottom dollar it wasn't two sticks. Surprisingly, even the candles held up well but I must say that they looked a little funny. Maybe I'm just used to seeing them sticking in chocolate cake. I kept my idle thoughts to myself and the party went on.
Many thanks to the brothers and sisters who acknowledged Ev's b-day. I don't know how people keep track of those things. He was happy to receive his gifts and will spend monies received as frivolously as he prefers; will wear all three of his Red Sox tee shirts but not at the same time (one can only hope); and will get his thank you cards in the mail before Christmas if his mother has anything to say about it. In other words, the more things change the more they stay the same.
Update: The slideshow has been updated.