Morning Tea

Just now (this afternoon) finished reading Liz Cheney's book. By far and away, the most important thing she had to say (although everything she said before led up to her statement) are her final words:

"Every one of us . . . must work and vote together to ensure that Donald Trump and those who have appeased, enabled, and collaborated with him are defeated.

This is the cause of our time."

Pareve

 

"MK Pareve Kosher Certification is a kosher certification provided by the Montreal Kosher (MK) organization. The MK is a widely recognized and trusted kosher certification agency based in Montreal, Canada. The MK Pareve Kosher Certification is specifically focused on certifying food products as 'pareve' in accordance with kosher dietary laws."  -- Common Share

"Pareve (from Yiddish: פאַרעוו for "neutral", in Hebrew פרווה‎, and also parve and other variant English spellings) is a classification of edible substances that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients." -- Wikipedia

Hoagie

 

Turns out that my "chicken hoagie" at Mellow Mushroom has a history.

"The Italian sandwich originated in several different Italian-American communities in the Northeastern United States from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. The popularity of this Italian-American sandwich has grown from its origins in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island to most parts of the United States and Canada, and with the advent of chain restaurants, is now available in many parts of the world. Sociologists Edwin Eames and Howard Robboy identified thirteen different terms for the submarine sandwich in the United States." -- Wikipedia

My friends shared a vegetarian pizza. All good, as people say. :-)

Mellow Mushroom

 

Ate lunch here on New Year's Eve. My first time. Great atmosphere. Good service, even on what appeared to be a rather busy afternoon.

Eggplant Parmigiana

 

So I got curious about the origin of this fabulous dish that I enjoyed at Francesco's: 

"The eggplant arrived in Italy during the 15th century – when the Arabs brought it from India. This part of the story already takes us to Sicily: According to this thesis, the city of Parma has nothing to do with it – not even the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. This version states that the term actually derives from the Sicilian word ‘parmiciana,’ the little wooden strips that form a shutter – recalling the partially overlapping arrangment of fried eggplant used in the dish." -- La Cucina Italiana

Felice Anno Nuovo!

 

Francesco

A salad is just a salad, unless, of course, you slightly caramelize the red onion slices and add peppercorn dressing. Whew! And brace yourself for the pepper!

Felice Anno Nuovo everyone!

Francesco's

 

So, I've had to overcome a reluctance on my part to share my local favorites, mostly because I favor the little known and often slightly out-of-the-way places to eat, which are not likely to remain "little known" if I spotlight them. Anyway, Francesco's is one of my favorites.

Greeting me, as I entered last night, was this cool color-changing sign. More about this place tomorrow.

Round Food

 

You asked for pictures of the food at the Jamestown Pie Company. Well, I confess that I didn't take any photographs of the actual food itself. However, I did snap this photo of a more recent sign on the front of the restaurant showing some of their "round food". 

Gourds

I'm thinking of making a birdhouse out of a gourd for this upcoming cold season.

"Gourds continued to be used throughout history in almost every culture throughout the world. European contact in North America found extensive gourd use, including the use of bottle gourds as birdhouses to attract purple martins, which provided bug control for agriculture. Almost every culture had musical instruments made of gourds, including drums, stringed instruments common to Africa and wind instruments, including the nose flutes [GROSS!!!] of the Pacific." -- Wikipedia

The Bake Shop

 Finally stopped into The Bake Shop. Usually, when students are on campus, there is a long line of people waiting to get inside. This was one of those rare occasions when there was not, so I ordered a couple of sesame seed bagels to go. 

PHL

 

Had about an hour layover in Philadelphia before heading home to Virginia, my first visit to that city's international airport. No time, though, for one of its iconic cheesesteaks or even a hoagie. Another time, maybe. :-)

Farm Table

The nice thing about hiking the Saunders-Monticello Trail is the Rubenstein Visitor Center near the end where--among other things to do--you can relax and and enjoy a meal at the Monticello Farm Table before turning around and heading back to the trail head.

 

The cafe's menus are "seasonal, using local, organic and sustainable ingredients. Offerings include homemade soups, salads, and sandwiches made with Monticello-grown vegetables and locally sourced meats, cheeses, and bread. Coffee, tea, Monticello Root Beer, Virginia wine and beer, and other locally or regionally produced beverages are available, as well as fresh-baked cookies, brownies, and muffins." 

Tea

 

Tried a couple of different tea brands yesterday, Darvilles and Taylors. Both were excellent. I'm not much of one for discerning and describing the different flavors in teas. Suffice to say, they were as advertised.

Darvilles says its English Breakfast Tea is a traditional English favorite (the Brits like to write "fav-ou-rite" :-), full bodied and ideal as a breakfast beverage. Can't argue with that other than to say it's a nice tea for any time of the day. 

Taylors describes its Assam tea as "strong and malty." I don't have any problems with that either, although I've noticed lately that anything less than a "strong" tea just doesn't cut it for me. I don't like the bitter aftertaste I detect in some strong teas, but I definitely do like a tea that can still stand up to, say, a slice of pumpernickel and jam.

Corner Pocket

 

Tempranillo

 The first time I can remember drinking a glass of Tempranillo was while hiking in northern Spain. Ever since then, I've made a place for it at my table. According to Wikipedia, "the dominant flavors include cherry, dried fig, cedar, tobacco, and dill. Age impacts the flavors of Tempranillo significantly, with Roble and Crianza examples imparting juicy fruit flavors and heat." Frankly, I would be hard pressed to describe the flavor, but I have detected, I think, just a little of that "heat" that's described. Maybe. Just a little. :-)

Apricot & Lentil Soup

 

Apricot and Red Lentil Soup adapted from "Samarkand: Recipes & Stories from Central Asia & the Caucasus" by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford (Kyle Books, 2016). According to G. Daniela Galarza, in this morning's Washington Post, "Red lentils give this soup its porridge-like texture, while tomatoes and carrots enhance its orange hue. Onions, garlic, cumin and thyme ground it in savory flavors. And dried apricots, rather than turning the soup sweet, add brightness, like a glimmer of spring sunshine."

Kale

 

Perhaps the Duke basketball team could have used a little kale in their diet before last night's game against the Tennessee Vols, because they didn't seem to be playing at their usual high level. By contrast, I thought the Arkansas and Kansas players must have had too much, especially given the frenetic pace at which they played in the first half. What a game! And yet one more #1 seed bites the dust!

Leftovers

 

So, I'm almost always faced with this same dilemma whenever I fix beans and rice of what to do on the third day when there really isn't enough left for a full meal. In the past, I've tried extending the dish by adding onion, sweet pepper, and even corn. This time, however, I tried diced tomatoes with very pleasant results. 

Can't exactly say the same for the photo. Somehow I've got to figure out a way to provide better light over my stove. The two tiny halogen lamps in the hood above have the effect of spotlighting portions of what I'm photographing and leaving the rest in the dark. So I'm thinking the only solution is to set up some kind of additional studio-like lighting.

Organic

 

Heard an expert in the field say that the label "Non GMO" means almost nothing and that it's more of a marketing tool than anything else. Anything that's labeled "organic", though, does have to meet certain federal government standards. I noticed this morning that my favorite brand of black beans does actually carry the OCIA Certified Organic label.

Maple Mustard Salmon

 

Tried my hand a couple of nights ago at a salmon glaze made of stone-ground mustard, maple syrup, lemon juice (with zest), garlic and thyme. I was eager to use up some of the maple syrup someone gave to me for Christmas and to see if I could shoot this photo at ISO 100. The latter worked, but required an exposure taking a full 13 seconds! I at first thought maybe my shutter was stuck. :-)