We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Do you know where these typical American garden plants originated in their wild forms before being genetically-engineered over millennia by clever humans into the international things we know and grow today?
Cucumber Eggplant Potato Tomato Onion Zucchini (and all other squash and gourds) Beans and Peas Lettuce Spinach Strawberry Radish Peppers Chard (including Swiss Chard) - chard is in the beet family - the beet was first grown for its greens, not the root Corn (maize) Asperagus Rhubarb
Simple, juicy, and crunchy on the surface:Sauteed Parmesan Chicken Breast
Slice the chicken breasts horizontally in half for thinner filets. Season with s&p, and dip filets in egg, mayo, or sour cream. Then cover with a mix of plain bread crumbs and grated parmesan and sautee in a mix of butter and olive oil until toasty brown.
Amazing the way it stays juicy and tender. It is obviously served with mashed taters, or preferably garlic mashed taters.
Fried Squash Blossoms are a wonderful summertime traditional Italian treat. I harvested this platterful of them last night and we fried 'em up. When served hot, and lightly browned and salted, they leave French Fries in the dust.
On summer squash like Zucchini and Yellow Squash, the blossoms on the long stalks are the males, and thus expendable. However, I use both because there's always too much squash anyway. In fact, the blossoms are tastier than the squash. (I am fond of yellow summer squash steamed with salt, pepper, and butter, not so fond of zucchini except in soup.)
Almost forgot to mention that squash blossoms prevent arthritis, dementia, laziness, neurasthenia, depression, obesity, heart disease, and cancer - and most other sorts of death and disease. Guaranteed. For a few minutes, anyway.
This site explains how simple this is, using Marcella's method. Do not wash them at all because they need to be dry - just check them for bugs inside but a few tiny bugs just adds a little protein to the mix. Brown them lightly, drain, and eat sizzling hot. Photo below from Marcella's site -
Delicious summer side dish for meat on the barbie, but it can function as a full meal for me if served on top of some Boston Lettuce:
A pile of cooked white rice (Basmati is best). Or couscous instead.
Cool rice to cool or room temp. Then add:
roughly chopped - peeled and seeded - cucumber roughly chopped tomatoes roughly chopped (halved) Greek olives lots of chopped fresh Italian parsley not too much chopped fresh oregano chopped red onion lots of crumbled feta cheese
(you can add some chopped red, green, and/or yellow bell peppers too if you want.)
Salt and pepper, fresh-squeezed lemon juice to taste, then toss with your best olive oil. Serve cool or room temp.
It could not be simpler. Remember the protagonist in Walker Percy's extraordinary Love in the Ruins who lived on them? Dr. Tom More. His brain was constantly fizzing and fizzling.
There's also the Royal Gin Fizz (with an egg), and, of course, the Sloe Gin Fizz if you can find any Sloe Gin around - or any loose Sloes to soak in your gin. Looks like a Beach Plum. Cape Cod Beach Plums would probably work just fine. They are bitter, flavor-packed wild plums. Maybe I will give that a try.
Photo is the Royal.
nb: Some old comments below from our late pal Marianne Matthews. Miss her.
Cook up a batch of couscous. Thin slice or matchstick a bunch of zucchini and/or summer squash. Chop up a bunch of fresh mint - enough to make it minty. Whisk some fresh lemon juice with olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix together, serve at room temp.
To make it even more Sicilian, include some chopped pistachios and there you have the classic Sicilian ingredients: couscous, lemon, mint, olive oil, and pistachio. All it's missing is pignolis - but a recipe is either pignolis or pistachios - not both.
You want measures? When you cook Sicilian (or Italian, for that matter), you eyeball it and taste it. Just keep it light, not soggy with oil.
Now back to my gardening chores. Damn weeds, I live to kill them. Need to water the tomatoes again and tie them up again too, trim the wisteria, and shave the boxwoods. That's how the gentry become rednecked on a beautiful cloudless day like this - proud bitter clingers.
Sicilian cheese is not very tasty, but I'll put in a free plug for the northern Italian Asiago. A fine hard cheese, and they now have it at Costco.
I tend to prefer stinky softer cheeses for dessert with a slice of fruit or some fruit preserves, but with an antipasto I don't mind hard cheeses. My favorite hard cheese? 6-month-old (ie young, before it gets grating-hard) Parmesan. Can't buy it in the US as far as I know. Second favorite? Pecorino. Third favorite? Dubliner. Now Asiago competing. I have yet to find an American cheddar that can compete with these things, but it might exist somewhere. A grandfather-in-law used to say "All good things come from Italy."
Ricotta Salata is good too, drizzled with some honey and sprinkled with chopped pistachio, but dog kibbles would be good with that too.
Is domestic Wagyu beef a scam? Since Japanese beef is no longer imported to the US, beef epicures are left with the US version of Kobe.
I would say it's not a scam. On Sunday morning I had a Wagyu steak salad for brunch at the member's dining room at the Metropolitan Museum and it was the best steak I have ever had. Pan-fried, caramelized crust, rare through, cuttable with a fork, dynamite flavor. I think it's my first time with Wagyu.
(Which reminds me to mention my view that, if you have some good steaks, do not cook them on a grill. London Broil, ok, but not good steaks. Pan-seared is the only way to do them.)
And speaking of steak, do you like to serve whole ones, or sliced? I think 1/2-inch slices are best except for ribeye. For London Broil, thinner. Need a good carving fork - a pique - to get it right. Same with grilled butterflied lamb which is my favorite grilled meat.
Prof. B. explained why reds should be chilled a bit before serving, especially in the summer - assuming the bottles are not coming from your underground or temperature-controlled wine cellar. 55-62 degrees F, max. That's not "room temperature."
I think The Prof is absolutely right, but I had never thought it through. No wine tastes good at 76 degrees. Hot grape juice isn't good either. (my Dad calls wine "grape juice" even if it's '81 Petrus).
Same thing applies to old Ports, I think.
Rich folks have wine refrigerators that keep each type of wine at its own preferred temp. If you have one, surely you deserve to be more highly taxed.
All it took for Hungarian cowherds to add to their stewpot was ground chili pepper - Paprika. Thus it was just plain stew until the Spanish brought peppers to Europe from the New World in the early 1500s.
Daughters and I are grilling lunch today for 3 moms in the family. Gave birth so God bless 'em.
Grilled things: eggplant, mixed-colored bell peppers, yellow squash, onions, portobello mushrooms, asparagus. Marinate with oil & vinegar, garlic, and herbs, salt and pepper and toss em on the fire. I use very large chunks or slices. That's Italian, or really more like Sicilian. To keep it traditional, I always throw some wood on top of the charcoal. I close the grill top so they cook before they burn, but I do like them a bit burnt.
London Broil, rare. My new Victorinox serrated meat knife can slice this thin enough to eat happily. 1/4-inch-or- less slices. Otherwise, I find London Broil inedible, meat-flavored chewing gum.
Mixed salad with walnuts and dried cranberries.
Mixed berries with creme fraiche (or sour cream, no difference really) for dessert
Not just for the Derby. This source, which explains why we can thank the Arabs for the basis of this refreshing adult beverage along with inventing Algebra, notes:
Mint Julep first appeared in print in 1803 described as a "dram of spirituous liquor that has mint in it, taken by Virginians in the morning."
A breakfast tonic to tone ye olde brain. Healthy herbs. You can use either homemade sugar syrup or confectioner's sugar. Here's one. Use a chilled julep cup or collins glass. I grow a mint called "Kentucky Mint" which is quite intense, but close to Spearmint, just for this purpose, but I haven't made a batch in years. I should. Unlike Southern families, I do not own any heirloom Julep Cups. I am tempted by these on eBay ($500 for a pair). Nice Sterling cups seem to run between $100 to $1000 apiece. I am not in the market for these right now.
Scoop of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. Splash with a shot of your best Scotch whiskey, then lightly dust with freshly powder-ground dark espresso coffee bean. Scotch whiskey on an Italian dessert? I call that cultural appropriation.
If you don't like this, there is something wrong with you. Plus, it combines a sweet, an after-dinner drink, and after-dinner coffee, all-in-one.
Last night, friends served us home-made vanilla gelato with a handful of raspberries on top, then sprinkled with mini chocolate chips. Damn simple and tasty.
Ever wonder why people say "codfish" instead of "cod"? Easier to understand with Tuna: "Tuna" is at the fish market, "Tunafish" is that stuff in a can you make sandwiches out of with white bread, mayo, and capers or sliced gherkins.
Cod, Scrod, or Haddock all work.
Like the best crab cakes, codfish cakes are best without any filler like mashed potatoes or dough. Maybe just a dash of flour and egg to hold it together.
The ingredients in this recipe are good, but I disagree with putting the meat in a food processor. Best to simply steam the meat a little until it begins to flake, and then stir it around with the mix so it breaks up somewhat.
Probably the most classic version is made from dried salt cod, "bacala", but there is no need to use that.
Serve with lemon, tartar sauce, or even red seafood sauce. Or best, nothing but salt and a glass of wine.
I have posted in the past about the food of Sicily. Basically, it is entirely different from that of southern Italy. For one thing, they use more couscous and rice than pasta. For another, the menu is heavy on seafood and grilled meat. Lots of eggplant.
Muslim invaders ruled Sicily for long enough to shape their culture. Ruled it wisely and softly, too. Can't say the same for the subsequent Viking rulers who fortunately had little impact on Sicilian cuisine.
Arancini is their street food (a fried thing made of rice with tasties in the middle). The local blood oranges are a typical dessert.
There is little authentico Sicilian food in the US. Pizza is not Sicilian, and neither is tomato sauce. I know of one decent Sicilian restaurant in NYC: eolo
Do you know where these typical American garden plants originated in their wild forms before being genetically-engineered over millennia by clever humans into the international things we know and grow today? 
It's a Prohibition-era summer cocktail from the 21 Club.
Making a batch this weekend, from the garden. Simple
It could not 
Recipe 
Everybody loves the taste of basil. My father-in-law likes to just take a leaf and munch it up, and so do I. 
Prof. B. explained why 
All it took for Hungarian cowherds to add to their stewpot was ground chili pepper - Paprika. Thus it was just plain stew until the Spanish brought peppers to Europe from the New World in the early 1500s.
Fresh truffles, black or white.
Not just for the Derby. 
No breadcrumbs 
My current favorite. Give it a try.
Scoop of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. Splash with a shot of your best Scotch whiskey, then lightly dust with freshly powder-ground dark espresso coffee bean. Scotch whiskey on an Italian dessert? I call that cultural appropriation.
Ever wonder why people say "codfish" instead of "cod"? Easier to understand with Tuna: "Tuna" is at the fish market, "Tunafish" is that stuff in a can you make sandwiches out of with white bread, mayo, and capers or sliced gherkins.