Growing oyster mushrooms at home, in recycled coffee grounds. They’re starting to come in and lookin’ mushroomy!
For Mother’s Day, my wife asked that I make one of her fave meals - Roasted veggie pasta (asparagus, garlic, mushrooms, red peppers, onions, chives, olives, fresh parmesan, grilling marinade, whole wheat pasta) :: Caprese salad with my own dressing (unfortunately my garden tomatoes and basil aren’t ready yet) - a bit tart and sweet :: Rosemary and sea salt breadsticks from scratch.
The kids also love this meal - between our family and our friends’, it was polished off quickly…!
First lettuce harvest - and first greens I’ve ever grown! Not bitter - sweet and yummy.
First large garden bounty of the year!
These long green beans are plentiful - and damn sweet! I picked the first batch yesterday - and almost a bowl full… once the kids saw them, after about 10 minutes, I was left with this amount, and then less when they ate dinner.
They LOVED these beans - and rightfully so - they’re sweet and tender… the difference between store-bought and home-grown is even bigger than I thought it would be.
Vietnamese tofu spring rolls with peanut sauce. Super-healthy and yummy dinner, made with a side of sauteed broccoli and onions in a sweet ginger/garlic sauce. I make the peanut sauce first, so that it has time to get to room temp.
Someone asked that I share the contents of my rolls: vermicelli (rice noodles), cilantro, cucumber, bean sprouts, spinach, Thai basil, and browned and marinated tofu that I make ahead of time, wrapped in rice paper. It’s laborious, in a good way - a great thing to do with friends for a dinner party.
Made it to the Turkish Festival over the weekend - with two missions - fun for the kids, and finding the Turkish “pizza” that I had every day when I was in Istanbul in the 90s. I’ve tried to reproduce it, but had forgotten what it was called and how to make it, til now.
It is Lahmacun - amazingly delicious, rolled-up pita-like bread (though a bit more spongy, towards injera) with a spread on it consisting of tomatoes, peppers, ground meat, onions, parsley, and spices. YUM.
Also had some great Turkish coffee, and a bunch of savory pastries.
Fresh cactus leaf from Nam Hai - had some fun taking the aloe vera out of it. It could double as Movie Snot.
Savory chicken gyoza tonight - from scratch of course - served with edamame and some red blended Napa. I stopped at Nam Hai (one of our big Asian markets here in Tulsa) and finally found an awesome gyoza dipping sauce but also served them with sraracha and a sweet chili sauce.
First crop of the season! Sweet and sharp.
Stopped at Milk & Honey - the Israeli fleishik restaurant and market in Plano, TX. One of my fave places. I dined with myself and slurped up an amazing round of fresh pita and chumus followed by a hearty, beautiful turkey shwarma with salad, techina, sauerkraut, charif (schug - hot sauce), and total yumminess.
