I understand why many people don’t care for okra: it’s slimy. Or at least it has that tendency. Even while you’re just trimming it, it exhibits an alarming capacity for oozing a clear sticky substance that sort of splits the difference between Superglue, dog drool, and spider silk. The bits you pare away often stick [...]
Tagged Bengali, okra, spices, stir-fryOnce you’ve got your supply of shelled, washed, cooked beans, what next? There are so many options it’s honestly hard to know where to begin, but here are two of my favorites. For beans that will lend themselves readily to Tex-Mex, Cajun, and many Southeastern US style meals, stew your cooked beans with a large [...]
Tagged beans, Garden, garlic, sage, salsa, tomatoesWe had a great big Hollywood-style summer storm early this morning, dark and windy, with plenty of thunder and a truly impressive sudden pounding rain. After it had cleared I went out into the garden to check on things… and to pick up the windfall. There were two more large tomatoes, in addition to these, [...]
Do you recognize the objects in this picture? They look a little like bean pods, don’t they? Not the nicest bean pods, perhaps. A little dried-out looking, a little brown and spotty. Probably not good to eat. Or are they? The little hints of red you can see in there might be a clue as [...]
Tagged beansLeftover salad is an unlovely thing. What was sprightly and crisp, distinct and resilient becomes soft and tired, limp and worn. If you have dressed the salad, especially, you can expect to find it the next morning in a swamp of its own juices, sodden and dispiriting. The temptation is to just compost the lot [...]
Tagged leftovers, salads, soupThe weather report says that the heat index reached 125F or so today here in Baltimore, which is simply unspeakable. So I won’t speak of it. Instead I will show you pictures. Lilies and hydrangea from the garden. I’ve been cutting the lilies as they hit their peak, and bringing them into the house so [...]
This is some crazy weather, isn’t it? Batidas — buy some frozen fruit. What kind? What kind do you like? There’s always frozen guava pulp in my freezer, that much I can tell you. But strawberries are delicious and easier to find at the grocery store. Puree the frozen fruit in a blender. Add cachaca [...]
‘Cause dayyum, it’s hot out there. 1. Flavored Waters — I see them for sale in the shops and I think “I may really be incapable of understanding how far people will go to avoid doing something that is nearly effortless to begin with.” Because $1.49 for 20 ounces of water with a little mint [...]
Tagged too hot to cookHere is a list of 20 things to make and eat when it is too hot to cook. 1. Balela — drain and rinse some canned cooked chickpeas and some black beans, mince half an onion or so and a couple cloves of garlic, roughly chop a big bunch of parsley, dice a few ripe [...]
This is one of those dinners that is not for the kind of person who is afraid of mixing things on the plate. I caramelized zucchini in a tablespoon of olive oil with whole cloves of garlic — a medium heat, with infrequent stirring and a good stout pan, will get it done in a [...]
Tagged chiles, cucumber, dog, Eggs, garlic, monday's supper, pickles, salads