Maggie's Farm

My Mom called me The Little Lemon-eater. I still like to eat lemons, whether slices or quarters, skin and all. Apparently some people like to put some salt on the pieces too. I need to try that.

 Eating Raw Lemons Is a Surprisingly Common Habit. We Find Out Why.

The best lemons I have ever had were in Sicily, just off the tree. Larger than supermarket lemons, but thinner pith.

After they have been cooked with something they are good too, maybe even better. With some fish of course, roast chicken, and also veal scallopini or, back to Sicilian food, roast piglet. Piglet + lemon is a good combo. Try it sometime if you have a spare piglet around.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Best way to eat this grain. I like to grill it with the husk on until the husk is burnt, but the Central Americans tend to grill it with husk off. Done right, no butter needed - but salt always.

This grain was genetically-engineered in Central American centuries ago. Agronomists have made it sweeter now. 

If you plan a 12-mile hike, or intend to do farm labor (I mean labour) all day, it seems ok. In Scotland, substitute kippers for the bangers. 

For me, a good breakfast is a coffee before workout and another one afterwards - maybe with a little sinful tobacco.

Can any of our readers eat this sort of breakfast below? And why is the fork on the right side of the plate? Is that an English thing?

Good food: Hacks for Peeling Hard Boiled Eggs (That Actually Work)

Cod is perhaps my favorite fish (besides Grouper). Sadly, their populations on George's Bank, the Grand Banks, and around England have been overfished. Tragedy of the Commons. You can no longer be confident that you can catch one off the Maine coast. 

NB: overcooking fish is criminal. 

Perfect Baked Cod 

I found a few Cockle shells on the bay beaches of Cape Cod. I have no idea about how plentiful they are, but they are not a commercial shellfish despite tasting the same as clams.

Here's a quick guide to North American clams. 

I've dug plenty of clams in my life, mostly steamers and quahogs.  

This is Irish:

I am in  a life phase when I prefer steamers to oysters or littlenecks. Who knows why tastes change? Mrs. BD and I used to love digging them up in the salt marshes. You can get happily covered with good marsh mud.

I think maybe I have had enough lobsters and oysters for one life. God knows, I have tried to. Photo at Pearl, on Wellfleet Harbor. Fun place. Great live music, excellent seafood, good people-watching.

The Gin Martini. It's the best. These days, I only indulge in this treat about twice yearly. I can't handle alcohol the way I used to.

I like 3 olives, to make it healthy. 

From Roger Angell in 2002:  Dry Martini. The ultimate cocktail, down cold.

I'd bet you all would like one tonight. 

A Sicilian classic as an appetizer, relish, or side.

Not new, just new to me. We've posted about all of the varieties of Italian pestos (?pesti) in the past but this one is worth trying: Olive Pesto. Marcella says it's best with grilled or fried vegetables.

Chop one hard-boiled egg roughly in blender. Add to blender 6or 7 pitted green Italian olives, 2 tablespoons capers, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and plenty of ground pepper. Blend briefly - it should have some chewiness and some creaminess.

Yes, a Grilled Cheese Sandwich is great, especially with some ketchup for dipping. The bread ought to be almost burnt and crunchy.

Almost better, depending on mood, is a Tuna Melt. I don't know about the scallions. I prefer capers or, better, some chopped jalapenos.

Hungry? 

While I will confess that I do kinda like that overly sweet "mint" jelly they have at the supermarket, I have grown to prefer the much more interesting taste of homemade Mint Sauce with legga lamb.

It's the simplest thing in the world to make.

Does it mean anything that so many Christians bring out the lamb for Easter? Is it like Communion, consuming the Lamb of God?

We bought two big ribeyes at Costco a few weeks ago. They were Top Choice, not Prime. I measured them - 3 1/2 inches thick. I forget the weight, but I have never cooked a steak that thick. (I should have put the ruler next to the photo.)  For us, that's 4 meals.

Readers know that pan-seared is the only way to go with good steak, especially ribeye.  Chefs agree. Here's a good discussion of the topic.

Thing is, you can't really pan-sear a piece over 2 inches thick. My chef consultant suggested pan-searing the heck out of it in butter + olive oil, then finish in the oven. She said 130 (F) in the center with the meat thermometer, which I could not find. I thought we had two.

So I seared all sides of it in the cast iron pan (very smokey), and put the pan in the oven at 400 degrees. Winging it.  After 20 minutes, I checked the inside and the meat was not even rare yet. It took a while to get medium-rare. When I checked it again it was perfect. I do remember that meat keeps cooking for a while after you remove it from heat.

Here's Cast Iron Pan-Seared Steak (Oven-Finished)

Tasty. 

I like Black Beans. Goya, from the can. I always add jalapenos to any Black Bean recipe.

Black Bean soup is traditionally served with a scoop of mashed taters, but I like it on top of a pile of white rice. I hate brown rice. To my mind, rice, like pasta, is supposed to be a vehicle for flavor and not a source.

Here's a Black Bean soup recipe. For me, hold the cilantro please. 

Here's an ordinary Black Beans and Rice recipe. No appeal to me.  I like a pile of beans dumped on top of some rice.

While cleaning out some piles of paper, I found a menu from a nice place where we had lunch a couple of years ago in Modica, Sicily. Go there sometime. I know two couples who have done biking tours of Sicily but, for me, a nice car.

I had their Gorgonzola pizza (gorgonzola, pears, and honey), but I like the look of this one with sliced eggs, pancetta, and olives: 

A classic southern Italian secondo: Grilled Octopus with chopped tomatoes.

A Primo which is new to me: LEMON GARLIC CREAM SAUCE

That's the way you prep pasta or gnocchi: Put them in the saucepan with the sauce when they are done.

Salt Cod has been an important export of the northeastern US for centuries. I think most of it went to Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

The main thing to know about salt cod (bacalhao, bacalao, baccala)  is that it has to be well-soaked in water or it will be too salty to eat. 

Here's Pastéis de Bacalhau ~ Salt Cod Fritters

Aioli sauce is best with them. 

Readers know I am not a pasta fan. In America it's a filling thing, but in Italy it's just a little carrier of some tasty sauce as a primo. 

The classic Tuscan pasta is Pici. Can't find it around here. It looks like earthworms.  Here's a pici primo.

Some readers view me as a food snob for disliking Italian-American food. I find it monochromatic, uninteresting, and there is always so much of it that it is unappetizing to look at. OK, for growing kids I guess they need anything in volume.

Sunday Gravy (aka Red Sauce) with meat and meatballs was a traditional Sunday Italian-American feast. I think one of my grandmothers-in-law (who I never knew) made this on Sundays for after Mass. Here's how Rao's makes it:

We are fortunate to have a pasta shop nearby. They make fresh daily, and make takeout meals too.

While I have never seen any meaningful difference between dried spaghetti, linguine, and things like that, fresh ravioli and gnocchi do matter.  These Italian guys make excellent ravioli (many varieties, from pumpkin to mortadella, to cinghiale) and the fluffiest gnocchi.

Last week Mrs. BD decided to cook up a nice Italian supper for her Dad who had just been allowed to leave the old folk's home. I think it was also in gratitude to me for getting rid of at least a third of my stuff (excess boots, clothing, etc.) as we slowly move back into our refurbished living quarters. I noticed that lockdowns for old folks are terrible for them. They lose muscle and balance. For no reason, at this point.

Apperitivo:  Olives and marinated artichoke hearts.

Primo: Fresh gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce. About 8 gnocchi per person is plenty.

Secondo: Trieste-style Osso Bucco. It's different.   Spinach in garlic as the contorno.

Vino:  All I had around was some Pinot. I do not have a wine cellar.