I cleaned the fridge today. I *hate* cleaning the fridge. All those nooks and crannies and water sloshing everywhere. But our cheese drawer is so much nicer. Especially since I disposed of a handful of rock hard 9 month old chunks.
eva’s pride peaches
we picked 4 off the tree on friday and i devoured them today. so sweet and juicy even though they are the size of an average apricot or small plum. this year, we managed to eat quite a few; in fact, we ate one last night that was the size of an actual peach without any wormholes or squirrel scratches. i would say we have eaten between 10-15. looking forward to august pride peaches later this year.
sous vide
Don’t sous vide shrimp because they become too mushy. We threw them into hot pot to make them firm up. I have already mastered chicken breast (8-9 inches of vacuum sleeve). Delicious!
Seoul Tofu vs Tofuya
since pizza post-op is not recommended, we opted for spicy korean food instead. :)
we returned to tofuya today for a comparison since we hadn’t been back in a while and one of m’s students claimed it had stronger tasting broth and seoul tofu had weaker panchan. i had the vegetable, m had the beef with spicy bbq side, and mama bear had the pork. excellent choices for comparison: the vegetable was deemed the best tasting of the 3 ordered as it had good flavor. i asked for it mild and they got the spice just right. all 3 were pretty salty, though; we were begging for water an hour later. the beef was not as good as seoul tofu but the spicy bbq chicken was tender and juicy — much better than seoul tofu. i also liked the pork better at tofuya for the same reason (tender). the highlight was the kimchi pancake: perhaps a bit too doughy but spicy and simply awesome. i almost forgot: panchan better at seoul tofu. and i can only get tendon from seoul tofu. bottom line: i’d be happy to put tofuya into the rotation but it didn’t win me over.
excised
yes, i had some abnormal cells removed today via excisional biopsy. i thought the wire localization was going to be weird but it wasn’t bad at all. the previous core needle biopsy, on the other hand, was way scarier—i ain’t gonna lie.
potatoes
don’t be fooled by their size. the ryssets are the size of peanuts and the red is the size of a marble. i purposely didn’t photograph them with anything else so i could fool you into thinking they are larger than they really are. the sprouts that started from eyes in the compost bin grew into food when planted in the real world but they are stunted. underwatering, as usual, is our suspect.
einkorn risotto
spontaneously, i made dinner picking a recipe from the “thousands” that are in my email. today, i chose einkorn risotto (even though i wasn’t sure we had enough einkorn). i knew we had plenty of marjoram. i used homemade broth from the freezer. super easy and very tasty. we paired it with baked salmon and lettuce salad. perfect.
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cups einkorn
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
½ cup dry white wine, such as pinot grigio or Sauvignon blanc
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram
¼ cup chopped chives
Black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, more to taste (optional)
Walnut oil for drizzling, if not using Parmesan
PREPARATION
Rinse einkorn and place in bowl. Cover with boiling water and let sit for 30 minutes, or cover with room-temperature water and leave overnight. Drain and reserve about 1/2 cup soaking water.
Place 1/4 cup soaked einkorn in food processor and pulse about 10 times to crack some of the grains.
Pour broth and reserved soaking water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. It should be lightly seasoned, as it will reduce while you slowly cook the einkorn.
Heat oil in a wide, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and, if using, garlic and cook gently until shallots are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add whole and cracked einkorn and stir over medium heat until grains dry out a bit and begin to crackle, a couple of minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until it evaporates.
Stir in enough simmering broth to just cover einkorn. The broth should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of broth and continue to cook in this fashion until einkorn is tender, about 25 minutes. It will still be chewy. Add marjoram, chives and pepper, and more broth if there is none visible in pan. Taste and adjust salt. Continue to simmer, stirring often, another 5 minutes.
Add another ladleful of broth to the pan and remove from heat. Stir in parsley and, if using, Parmesan. Mixture should be creamy. Serve right away in wide soup bowls, and top with walnut oil if desired.
Flat tire
Lorenzo helped me get the Prius to MDR Toyota to patch the rear passenger flat tire. There was a nasty screw that started causing grief on the drive home from Westwood and was definitely flat by noon.
blueberries
i picked a pint of blueberries off of the bountiful blue bush today.
riddle
Q: “How do you unload a dishwasher the morning after a dinner party?”
A: “Use them to prepare leftovers.”