happy birthday, america

we were all excited to have a 3 day weekend for the fourth of july. other than having a cook out with mom and dad, and perhaps attending a parade and some fireworks, we had no plans. i was looking forward to spending the majority of the 3 days relaxing.

you know what they say about the best laid plans, right?

saturday morning, oliver and i visited the outpost to restock our ravaged fridge. now that fruit is coming in and i'm in full canning mode this summer, i picked up obscene amounts of nectarines, cherries, and peaches. between the room the fruit took up and everything else we needed, out cart was literally overflowing (hey, milk takes up a lot of room too!). the ladies at the checkout kept asking questions like, "how many people is this for?" "are you having a big party?" "do you have a juicer or something?"

having all the fruit meant i spent the afternoon canning cherries, spiced peaches, and peach preserves, as well as making a gluten free cherry crumble for our fourth of july cook out. that was a lot of standing over a hot stove in hot weather.

which necessitated a trip to the pool after oliver woke up from his nap. while a little tentative at first, he LOVED it. he ending up in the "deep" end of the wading pool, swimming on his stomach, head just barely above water. i only wish i had worn my suit so i could have lounged around in the cool water as well.

since it was supposed to rain all sunday afternoon, we decided to have our cook out for lunch. that morning, i finished prepping for lunch by making a dairy free "buttermilk" potato salad. i accomplished this by mixing some lemon juice into mayo, which was surprisingly effective in imitating a buttermilk flavor. some red potatoes along with parsley, beauty heart radishes, red onion, and garlic scapes completed the mix rather nicely (with everything except the potatoes and red onion supplied via our CSA share from JenEhr farms). we packed everything up, made a quick stop at culver's for some vanilla ice cream to go with the crisp (i had wanted to make my own, but i didn't get around to it, and would have preferred oscar's, but had a 2 year old with me so the temptation of the drive through was too much, so sue me), and headed over to mom and dad's house.

to oliver's disappointment, no one wanted to play outside in the crazy heat with him, so he had to settle for watching the lion king while everyone busied themselves with other projects. i got some ears of corn soaking in salt water, and made a salad with some lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, and sweet peas. i had made a honey balsamic dill vinaigrette to go with the salad (which complemented the sweet peas amazingly). the corn went on the grill, closely followed by some brats from our friendly butchers at the outpost (regular, jalapeno cheddar, and beer onion, yum).

to say lunch was good was a bit of an understatement. so many fresh flavors -
intensely satisfying. there weren't a whole lot of complaints from around the table (perhaps just oliver due to his dislike of mayonnaise - but i think that was evened out by the entire brat he devoured).


we reminisced about our european ancestors' hostile takeover of this country, imaging it went something like this:
europeans: "hmmm, we'll take that island over there."
indians: "but that is our land."
europeans: "we'll give you these 20 beads for it. they're really nice."
indians: "beads? alright!"
europeans: "faaaaaaabulous. now, go west a bit. uhhhh, and leave that corn, too."

let freedom ring.

nobody grumbled about dessert either. to make a gluten free topping, i used a Bob's Red Mill GF biscuit and baking mix i had. true to form, it was a little gritty (GF mixes always seem a little sandy to me), but with the cherries and the ice cream, it wasn't too bad.

lucky pants oliver even got his first taste of soda (i know, i know - i'm a bad mom!). sprecher's new seasonal summer flavor is strawberry, which has long been a favorite of mine, and which hannah figured she'd like as well (she was right). it may have been the good food or perhaps the heat had gone to my head, but i let oliver have a tiny bit as well. he enjoyed it, can you imagine?

after lunch, dad pulled out an ancient sprinkler from his childhood, which still works perfectly (they just don't make things like they used to!), and the kids proceeded to have way more fun than seems imaginable.








playing in the sprinkler soon degenerated into, "hey, let's just spray each other with the hose!"






the kids were having so much fun that time slipped away from us, and before we knew it, it was waaaaaaaaaaaay past nap time. i collected up my sopping wet son, and we headed home for a much needed nap. with so much sun and fun, he crashed pretty hard.


we had completely forgotten about the West Allis 4th of july parade, so monday morning we did the Wauwatosa parade instead. we drove over around 7am to put our chairs along the route, came home and got ready, then were back before 9am for the parade itself.

predictably, the parade started about 15 minutes late, but luckily, there was more than enough stuff in the parade itself to make up for it (seriously - it's nearly a 2 hour parade). hannah came to the realization that she may be growing up, as the parade wasn't nearly as excited as in past years. oliver, on the other hand, loved every minute of it, especially the fire trucks, clown, tubas (apparently his favorite instrument), and the marching bands in general. watching him jump, dance, march, clap, and generally be extremely happy kept hannah and i pretty entertained.









"look mom, it's from chitty chitty bang bang!"











oh yes, and then there was the candy. this surprised and pleased oliver to no end. i caught on pretty quickly and only let him have half or less of each tootsie roll, but since he was still getting candy, he was more than happy to share. he listened very well and only picked up one piece at a time upon my instruction. though after each collection, he would ask, "they are going to throw more candy, right, mom?"




** on a side note, oliver wore big boy underpants and stayed dry the whole time. i knew i was taking a risk, since we'd be out there for awhile without bathrooms, but he did SO GOOD. i am SO PROUD!

we spent the rest of our monday playing outside and getting even more tired. by nap time monday, i couldn't believe the 3 day weekend was almost over and that i was far more tired than after a normal 2 day weekend (didn't stop me from driving out to trader joe's during nap, though). bryan and hannah hit up the fireworks late monday night, and i was more than happy to stay home with oliver and get into bed at a decent time. still, while the weekend was far busier with all our running around than we had hoped, it was a pretty good weekend.





more pictures in the gallery.

Agretti

the farm began growing Agretti, a rather unique green, and we have taken quite a shine to it.

from Wikipedia:

Salsola soda, more commonly known in English as Opposite Leaved Saltwort, Oppositeleaf Russian Thistle, or Barilla Plant, is a small (to 0.7 m tall), annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin.^[1] It is a halophyte (a salt-tolerant plant) that typically grows in coastal regions and can be irrigated with salt water.


The plant has great historical importance as a source of soda ash, which was extracted from the ashes of Salsola soda and other saltwort plants.^[2] Soda ash is one of the alkali substances that are crucial in glassmaking and soapmaking. The famed clarity of 16th century cristallo glass from Murano and Venice depended upon the purity of "Levantine soda ash,"^[3] and the nature of this ingredient was kept secret. Spain had an enormous 18th century industry that produced soda ash from the saltworts (barrilla in Spanish).^[4] Soda ash is now known to be predominantly sodium carbonate. In 1807, Sir Humphry Davy isolated a metallic element from caustic soda; he named the new element "sodium" to indicate its relationship to "soda." Before soda was synonymous (in U.S. English) with soft drinks, the word referred to Salsola soda and other saltwort plants, and to "sodas" derived from soda ash.

While the era of farming for soda ash is long past, Salsola soda is still cultivated as a vegetable that enjoys considerable popularity in Italy and with gourmets around the world. Its common names in Italian include Barba di Frate, Agretti, and Liscari sativa. Of its culinary value, Frances Mayes has written that "Spinach is the closest taste, but while agretti has the mineral sharpness of spinach, it tastes livelier, full of the energy of spring."^[5]

oh, i know, it's all quite fascinating (well, it is to me at least). which brave soul decided this could be eaten we'll never know, but i'm glad they did. much more tender and mild than your typical green, the plant has an almost pasta like quality to it. to me, once cooked it tastes very much like pasta tossed with olive oil and salt. to say it's become a favorite in our house would be an understatement. even oliver loves this new "green spaghetti."

while at the market, bryan learned of a new way to serve it: sauteed with hot peppers and italian sausage. the idea was so tempting we decided to try it out post haste.

unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), my late night trip to the outpost yielded no sausage, since the meat counter was closed. but this did provide me the incentive to make my own sausage, which i've done in the past. i hauled out 4 or 5 pounds of ground pork (from our pig), and doused the meat liberally with red wine. i added fennel seeds and various herbs (thyme, marjoram, rosemary, plenty of oregano), along with some garlic, salt, and pepper. and then i added some more wine, for good measure. i let this cure in the fridge for 24 hours before using it (should have been longer, but providence being what it was, we needed to use it). i made small meatballs since i don't have sausage casings.

i sauteed sliced onions, garlic, and sweet peppers in olive oil. the original recipe idea calls for hot peppers, but since we had little mouths dining with us, i decided to use sweet in the main recipe with some hot on the side for bryan and me (i fire roasted a few jalapenos, skinned them, and chopped them up for us). i tossed in the agretti, covered it for a few minutes, then uncovered to let the water cook off and the agretti saute.

i followed Lidia Bastianich's recipe for polenta (since i can never remember the ratios on my own), and just added some grated parm once on our plates.

the resulting dish was delicious, and other than some polenta, no leftovers remain.


if you get a chance to get your hands on some agretti, i highly recommend it!

some more information on and recipes for agretti can be found here.

summer eats

well folks, i hope you have a pot of coffee and got lots of sleep last night, because we have more than a few things to catch up on. i hardly have the time and energy in the same moment to update here, and then the longer i wait the more i have to write, which just discourages me more, and . . . well, you can see where this is going. it's a vicious cycle. i've decided to just post the food things; everything else will come in a separate post. hang in there, though - it's still a good deal. and keep refilling that coffee.

june

thursday, june 4th: puffy tacos with beef brisket and avocado.
i had stumbled across a recipe in saveur for puffy tacos, and a martha stewart recipe for beef brisket, and we had an avocado waiting to be used, and so this meal was born. we didn't really follow the puffy taco recipe - we utilized the idea for the puffy shells. bryan made their fresh corn tortilla dough, and fried puffy taco shells. we seasoned and roasted the beef brisket, and we filled in taco fillings from there - lettuce, tomato, green onions, jack cheese, pickled red onions, pickled jalapenos, sour cream. oh. my. god. best tacos EVER - hands down. unfortunately for him, i never want to go back to anything store bought - this is it, my friends.

friday, june 5th: pork cutlets with spaghetti collins and glazed carrots.
another saveur inspiration. i thought the spaghetti sounded good - like a slightly upscale diner dish. and so breaded pork cutlets seemed like the perfect thing to serve along with it.

sunday, june 7th: fondue.
while we were dating, bryan took me to dante's down the hatch, a fondue restaurant in atlanta. we had so
much fun, we visited there a few more times, and bought our own fondue set. we hadn't used it in a few years, so we dragged it out and had mom and dad over for fondue. we did a fairly standard cheese fondue, with cheddar and gruyere. for the meat, we did an au vin style. we had bread, broccoli, mushrooms, chicken, pork, and steak, along with 4 dipping sauces (teryaki, horseradish, mustard, and bbq). a good time was had by all.

monday, june 8th: herbed hamburgers with arugula, sweet potato fries, and salad with champagne vinaigrette, sunflower seeds, and sprouts.
since these were upscale burgers, we went for french bread instead of rolls. i wish the hamburgers were a little more herby, but hey, you live and you learn.

tuesday, june 9th: panko crusted fish sticks with herb dipping sauce and veggie pasta salad.
this was a pretty big hit with everyone. and it involved a martha recipe, which always pleases bryan. the pasta salad we made up on the spot: asparagus, broccoli, mushrooms, onions, a little parm.

wednesday, june 10th: summer squash sloppy joes on sprouted wheat buns, and cheddar herb potato chips.
a little different take on sloppy joes, with built in veg. also, a perfect excuse to have chips with dinner (something oliver is down with, for sure).

thursday, june 11th: pork chops with cilantro rice, plantains, and mango.
a little nod to cuba, and a delicious one, indeed. i love plantains. it always feels like you're eating dessert for dinner.

friday, june 12th: big fat rib eyes with corn, salad, and three philosophers beer.
our wonderful butcher at the outpost either loves us dearly, or can clearly see the targets on our foreheads, because he's always quick to point out something so delicious we can't pass it up. that weekend, it was incredibly thick rib eye steaks (or as i like to call them, further proof vegetarians are nuts). we decided they would be lonely without a nice beer, and that they needed little else other than some simple sides. we were right again.

sunday, june 14th: banana muffins with brown sugar crumble, and bacon.
we started the day off right. we had a couple of overripe bananas, so i made muffins for breakfast. and bacon, of course. the day continued to get better, of course.
for lunch, i made one of our favorites - bean tostadas. this is a quick and oh so satisfying lunch favorite of ours. i fry corn tortillas for the tostadas. i make refried beans by cooking pintos with spices (garlic, pepper, cumin), and smashing them onto the tortillas. i drizzle a generous amount of hot sauce on top of the beans. you can add taco toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese), but our favorite is just raw onion, and perhaps a little sour cream to help offset the hot sauce. we went a little luxe here with some cheese.
for dinner, we had savory onion shortcake biscuits with smoked pork and red onion jam, and sweet potato hash. the idea for this meal started with the biscuits - i liked the idea of the savory biscuit, and thought they would pair nicely with smoked pork (very few things don't). i decided it needed something to tie it together - and hence the onion jam.

monday, june 15th: mini meatloaf with sour cream and parmesan mashed potatoes, and broccoli.
i got the idea for the potatoes from my friend danielle, whose awesome husband mike makes these potatoes. they were good. bryan made mini meatloaves in muffin tins, making meatloaf a quick weeknight meal. and would you believe broccoli is one of oliver's favorite vegetables?


saturday, june 20th: grilled chicken and lemon with garden salad and corn bread.
simple summer meal. the salad was courtesy of our csa - sweet peas, cucumbers, radishes, and green onions bolstered the lettuce nicely. for dessert, strawberry (from our csa) / rhubarb (from our garden) shortcakes. even oliver got some dessert.


sunday, june 21st: grilled steaks with charro beans and spinach salad with hot bacon dressing.
our father's day meal for dad and bryan. bryan actually did most of the cooking here, which i think is ok on father's day when the meal is grilled steaks. we all stuffed ourselves silly, but still managed to find room for some gluten free lemon cake mom made, with chocolate ice cream.


monday, june 22nd: mix grill stir fry over baby lettuce.


tuesday, june 23rd: smoked salmon croque monsieur with caesar salad.
eric ripert, oh, eric ripert - how i love thee. bryan saw him on a tv show, demonstrating how to make this dish of his (which is on his menu), and requested it be on our menu. we did forget to pick up the caviar, so we forewent that, but i did make homemade lemon confit (one of my new favorite things, by the way), so i think that counts for something. paired with a simple and classic caesar salad, this was a deceptively lush meal.

friday, june 26th: pizza hand pies and sweet peas.
i had found this recipe for fried neopolitan pizzas, which i interpreted into hand pies, or mini calzones, which we baked, not fried. i started with sauce and cheese, then made multiple variations on the filling with olives, onions, pepperoni, and sausage. oliver enjoyed having his own little mini pizza.

saturday, june 26th: pesto lasagna with garlic bread and salad.
shannon was in town, and had us over to mom and dad's for dinner. i requested lasagna, as i had been thinking of it for days. we gave her some of our pesto, made with basil from our garden, which she used to make the impossibly rich, utterly delicious lasagna.

monday, june 29th: greens calzone.
loosely based on a favorite recipe for beet green calzone, we used various greens from our own garden.



tuesday, june 30th: roast vegetable napoleons.
delicate, rich, filling - i love this meal. bryan roasted various vegetables from our csa and co-op - carrots, onions, zucchini, eggplant, and topped with a bit of cream and parmesan.

july

wednesday, july 1st: flatbread pizza with fresh mozzarella, feta, sausage, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and lemon confit.
the idea for this was backtracked from the lemon confit. i wanted to find another use for it, since i do love lemons so, and wondering if i could work it into a pizza. sausage and feta immediately came to mind, and i decided on caramelized onions to offset the tartness of the lemons, and the fresh mozz to add some mellowness to all the strong flavors. i rubbed the flatbread with olive oil and diced garlic, and tossed fresh oregano from the garden on as well. everyone loved it.

friday, july 3rd: grilled pork chops, corn, and pasta salad with sweet peas, garlic scapes, and feta.


sunday, july 5th:
hannah and bryan made multiple trips out to jenehr farms, who we get our csa from, for strawbery upick. this meant i had a LOT of strawberries. i made some loose strawberry preserves, and canned them so we have preserves and sauce all winter. bryan loves preserves with his yogurt each morning, so i guess it's a good thing we have lots. we did use some immediately on pancakes.

thursday, july 9th: liver and onions, tater tots, and sweet peas.
cue the horror movie music. bryan has always loved liver and onions, but since it wasn't something my palate found agreeable, he only made it when i wasn't home for dinner (which is not often). so he decided hannah, oliver, and i finally had to be subjected to it. it wasn't nearly as bad as i had expected - far less liver-y than i had imagined (presumably the 24 hour soak in milk helped). it did, however, taste a lot like iron. i'm not sure we'll be making it again soon, but it's definitely not off the list forever.

friday, july 10th: hamburgers with watermelon pickles and campfire baked beans.
our camping dinner! i made the watermelon pickles, and since we figured pepper jelly is great on burgers, why not watermelon pickles? there's no reason why not - it's delicious. the pickles were a mega hit with oliver, who proceeded to polish off the jar. the pot of beans fell into the fire, but we managed to salvage some.

saturday, july 11th: cheddar & jalapeno brats with grilled potatoes and green bean & scallion salad.

monday, july 13th: penne rigate with lacinato kale, sausage, cheddar, and mozzarella, topped with parmesan breadcrumbs (a.k.a., macaroni pie).
a few years back, when i asked hannah what she wanted for her birthday dinner, she requested macaroni pie. she had never had macaroni pie before, and didn't know what should go in the macaroni pie, and knew it was slightly different than macaroni and cheese, and that's about all i had to go on. taking a slight inspiration from the movie big night, i made a kid friendly timpano
of sorts: a deep dish, baked macaroni, with salami and lots of cheese. she loved it, and from then on, it's always a request from her. i don't think i've ever made it the same twice, but i've never heard any complaints. this one was made with kale from our garden. you have never seen two kids scarfing up kale as willingly and happily as oliver and hannah that night. for dessert, we had ice cream topped with a homemade bing cherry sauce i made.

thursday, july 16th: pecan crusted catfish with tabasco buerre blanc, sweet potato hash, and green beans.
we made this for cat and the kids while they were in town, and i think it made cat want to move in. this is a total favorite of ours. the season 5 winner of top chef made it, and as soon as i saw it on tv, i knew i wanted it in my belly (as usually is the case for meals where i can employ bryan's homemade hot sauce). if you want the recipe, you'll have to email me, because it's no longer on the website. and believe me, you want this recipe.

monday, july 20th: cheese stuffed potatoes with yogurt spice paste and sesame crust, tilapia with honey-curry glaze, and kholrabi.
dirk joined us for dinner before he and bryan headed out to a sonic youth show. everything was just really, really good. the potatoes were so flavorful, and a little spicy - but so good hannah and oliver didn't mind the spice at all. the fish was joined by onions and peppers, and the kohlrabi was simply blanched, a nice and simple counterpoint to the other flavors in the meal. oliver couldn't get enough of the kohlrabi. i am looking forward to making these potatoes again.

tuesday, july 21st: braised chicken with paprika onions, couscous, and date relish; paired simply with green beans.
i have never liked dates, but i loved this. this meal was definitely in the top 5 of all time. and, as so many braised dishes are, this was even better a few days later for leftovers - the flavors really sang, and bryan and i were both raving about it again. this will definitely become a cool weather staple in our house. as soon as the weather cools down wherever you are, go, buy these ingredients. make this.

wednesday, july 22nd: farfalle with garlic scape pesto.
bryan used some of the garlic scapes from our csa to make a pesto. pestos of all kinds are a perfect weeknight meal for us - quick and easy. toss with pasta, add cheese and frozen peas, and you're good to go.


friday, july 24th: guava glazed ribs, jicama and red cabbage slaw, cornbread, corn, and fruit salad.
bryan's 40th birthday luau dinner. i worked for most of the day, so bryan ended having to cook most of the meal (good planning on my part, hey?). hannah made a pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. there wasn't much food leftover.

monday, july 27th: the schlow burger, with salad.
epicurious.com featured a burger article, and this burger stood out to me (and hannah and bryan, looking on over my shoulder). the article described it as "crowned with melted Cheddar, slathered with horseradish sauce, and piled high with crispy fried onions." cue the saliva. after a little bit of digging to find out a little bit more about the restaurant that makes the burger (boston's radius), i found the actual recipe. definitely one of the best burgers i've ever had. ever. i am getting hungry just thinking about it. you want this for dinner. tonight. go. i'm serious.

tuesday, july 28th: summer squash and greens casserole with provolone.
this was devised out of necessity - summer squash from the csa, zucchini and greens from the garden. i layered roasted slices of the squashes on the bottom of a casserole, topped with crumbled sausage, then with creamed greens, sliced provolone, and bread crumbs. a very comforting meal using delicious, fresh summer vegetables.

wednesday, july 29th: coconut curry braised pork ribs with zucchini, green peppers, and kohlrabi over brown rice.


friday, july 31st: roast chicken and mango salad with yogurt.
we happened to have everything for this recipe (except nigella seeds, which oddly enough we saw at the spice house the next day, so we used cumin seeds instead), and added a purple bell pepper from our garden. this was so, so good. a new favorite salad. (and i know i say that all. the. time. but i swear i mean it.)

august

sunday, august 2nd: long johns with maple glaze and bacon. right. on. top.
my uncle tom had told us about this at bryan's birthday dinner, and obviously we were intrigued. so of course, i had to make them from scratch. obviously they were delicious (i mean, they're homemade doughnuts, after all). i made quite a large batch so we could share some with mom and freeze some for a rainy day. or tomorrow, as the case may be.
dinner that night was nothing special (roast chicken with homemade fries), but for dessert i made snickers fudge, essentially homemade snickers bars. i did make my own marshmallow creme, but i also cheated and bought caramels. i also used semi sweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate, since mixing the chocolate with butterscotch chips and peanut butter makes it that much sweeter (and i think milk chocolate is too sweet to begin with), and next time i'd probably use bittersweet, but even still - big fat hit, this one.

monday, august 3rd: pimiento cheeseburgers and roast beets.
ok, so perhaps we like cheeseburgers a lot. and before you scoff at the thought of pimiento cheese, i implore you to make your own. i promise it will be good. (the leftovers make good grilled cheese, too, fyi.)

there are a few other meals we had which i can't find the pictures for. i guess that's what happens when i take a million pictures and wait two months to do anything with them. they included:

hot dogs with dal and red-onion raita, sweet potato fries, grilled veg, and coconut-lime bars with hazelnut shortbread crust.

sticky balsamic ribs.

WHEW. well, if you made it through that, you deserve a prize of some kind. but i'm too tired to give you one.