Love and Cooking

I had a long meeting at work today and an even longer one at the church for the web committee.

I was really really glad that I laid in a supply of Dagoba chocolate. The lavendar with blueberries was just the thing to calm me in between, and after. No thoughts of homicide, or the bottle.

(I think my period is about to start. I am craving chocolate. The Green and Blacks I got in Colorado is going in the purse for tomorrow.)

I had time issues before I went off to NM/Colorado, and have been busy since then. But I got a couple of minutes to edit a photo of my birthday dinner at the fabulous Cafe Rouge:



Now that's a steak!

Each year during June I eagerly check the Farmers' Markets for signs of heirloom tomatoes. Well, I was busy during mid-June this year, but I went off to the Saturday market to say hi to Biggles and found that, despite the late rains, that the heirlooms were starting to appear.

They aren't in their full glory yet (a couple of weeks should do that) but here are some of the ones that came home with me:



There was exactly one ripe Brandywine at the stand; the Black Prince and the yellow ones were recommended by the seller. The little Sungold cherry tomatoes were quite toothsome as well.

I had a tomato sandwich, which wasn't as divine as I expected because the tomatoes were still a wee bit off prime. But the tomatoes took quite well to the mild doctoring in Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes and Goat Cheese, with some farmer's market basil, of course! I ate a large bowl and then ate the small container I'd prepared for my lunch the next day because it tasted soooo gooood.

I got the extra-large jar of capers at Genova Deli just in time, it seems.

I'm still having camera upload "issues" (gotta get a new cable) so you won't see the work-in-progress until I do.

Being away for a week plus really has meant a break in the kitchen; I was trying to eat it down before I left, and a lot of what got left got thrown out this weekend.

I stocked up with food at Trader Joe's, Cheese Board, and the Farmers' Market.

I also ended up in the church kitchen without planning to as I got a somewhat distressed call on Saturday and ended up helping with coffee hour, even though I had thought my "switch" was not on till August. Fortunately I had not gone to Trader Joe's at the time, and had been told that baked goods were not required, so went off to Country Cheese for some of their veggie chips and to Trader Joe's for strawberries, grapes, and cheese (we do balanced coffee hours).

I made some banana bread anyway "just in case". I did not cut it; Melanie (the sub) is an ace baker, there was food left over (which was left for a memorial that afternoon), and my coworkers appreciated the Monday treat.

I didn't make soup or anything for lunch, and don't have the energy tonight, so will probably be scrounging for lunches this week till I get back in the swing.

It's hard to remember this sometimes in the fogbelt, and I was a bit swoonier than usual due to my return from the Actual Hot Weather.

But, at the Farmer's Market to see Biggles take over the Selling of the MEAT at the Fatted Calf stall, I found ...

The seasons's first HEIRLOOM TOMATOES!

Tomato Sandwich, here I come.

Pix when my computer recognizes my camera again.

Edited to add: Here's Biggles being the Maestro of Meat:




P. S. Pretty much all the sour cherries on my tree are ripe. Now I really have to get cracking with the Shuna's Perfect Pie Crust attempt, to break in the new KitchenAid.

For anyone visiting Albuquerque or the Santa Fe area, I can recommend the following dining establishments. All but the place in Taos have been enjoyed by yours truly on her recent whirlwind tour, and my friends vouch for the Taos place.

Albuquerque:

Church Street Cafe (Casa de Ruiz), on Church Street behind San Felipe de Neri on the Plaza - I had the spinach stacked enchiladas. Twice. Ask to be seated on the patio if it's at all a nice day.

I thought that Garduno's was the airport place with the world famous bowl-of-green; not so, the T&C Concessions, Comida Loca/World Pantry sandwich shop at Terminal A, is the one. Here's a link to buy the base. But Garduno's was pretty good for airport food.

Santa Fe:

Tecolote on Cerrillos: BEST. BREAKFAST. IN. TOWN. I had a breakfast burrito the first time, huevos yucatecas the next. The bakery basket of biscuits and blueberry muffins provided sustenance in the form of leftovers for our journey.

Upper Crust Pizza: BEST. PIZZA. AROUND.

The French Bakery at La Fonda (between the Plaza and the Cathedral) - ooh la laaaa.

The Bell Tower Bar at La Fonda (no eats, but a great place for a view-filled margarita)

Out and About:

The Mexican restaurant on the little plaza in Taos by San Francisco church. Charlotte Bob says ladies should check out the "facilities" for another awesome mural.

Embudo Station, Embudo, on Hwy 68 between Taos and Espanola - patio dining on the Rio Grande.

Rancho de Chimayo Restaurant, Chimayo

I spent 2.5 days last week in New and Improved Mexico last week and enjoyed the fine local cuisine, including my intro to breakfast burritos NM-style (covered with chile) and sopapillas at the restaurant in Chimayo. (Highly recommended to foodies visiting the area.) I had previously been acquainted with stacked (NM style) enchiladas, but had a great one in Albuquerque at the Church Street Cafe behind San Felipe de Neri (on the Plaza) - spinach, with a zucchini-and-corn side.

My host described the standard ways the locals mediate the heat of the chile: beans, cheese, lemonade, and beer. I will also add spinach and plantanos to the list; the "huevos yucatecas" I had for breakfast at a cafe on Saturday had fried bananas on the side and that helped mediate the considerable heat considerably.

I am in Rocky Mountain High Colorado now and missing breakfast burritos already.

N.B. I had a kick-ass birthday dinner on the 14th and will blog it (with photo) in a retroactive entry when I get back. Indeed, the desire to load the photo to my computer is why I left the camera attached to my PC when I left for the airport. So no pix of the huevos yucatecas, or the chile delights available at the farmer's market.

Haven't been cooking much this week; hot weather, a houseguest, and leftovers from the get-together I had on Saturday.

That was remarkable for two things: the non-puffing pita (I thought I knew what I was doing when I modified things ... I didn't) and the incredibly delicious frozen thingies from the halal grocer that were pureed potatoes in pastry cases. mmmmm potato puffs.

Title is because I got bonked on the head by a frozen banana when I opened the freezer door. Must. make. banana. bread. soon.

Sopa Azteca (Tortilla Soup)


Chicken Broth


Curried Lentil Soup


Roasted Tomato Soup

Minestrone

Italian Wedding Soup

Gazpacho

Master Recipe for Crisp Topping

Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic Chocolate Brownies

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Apple Pie

IMBB#10: Triple Ginger Cookies

IMBB#10: Robert's Chocolate Cookies

IMBB#10: Mom's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

IMBB#8: Bill's Kahlua Eggnog

IMBB#8: Domestic Goddess Banana Bread

IMBB#7: Apple-Blackberry Dumplings

Summer Berry Pie

Mom's Lemon Curd

Fruit Buckle

IMBB#3: Pound Cake

Orange-Nut Bread

Bill's Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Sopa Azteca (Tortilla Soup)

Asparagus Enchiladas

Roast Chicken

IMBB#11: Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce

Curried Lentil Soup

Pot Roast

Latkes

Brined Turkey

Minestrone

Italian Wedding Soup

Fresh Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

Sesame-Peanut Noodles

Simple Tomato Sauce

Lamb on a Stick

IMBB#6: Central Coast Tri-Tip

IMBB#5: Fish Tacos

Roasted Tomatoes

Master Recipe for Crisp Topping

Migas

Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic Chocolate Brownies

Apple Pie

IMBB#10: Triple Ginger Cookies

IMBB#10: Robert's Chocolate Cookies

IMBB#10: Mom's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Focaccia

IMBB#8: Bill's Kahlua Eggnog

IMBB#8: Domestic Goddess Banana Bread


IMBB#7: Apple-Blackberry Dumplings


Mom's Lemon Curd

Fruit Buckle

IMBB#3: Pound Cake

Orange-Nut Bread

IMBB#2: Goat Cheese Toasts

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Lemon Chutney


IMBB#11: Asparagus with Black Bean Sauce


Sesame-Peanut Noodles


Simple Tomato Sauce


Mom's Lemon Curd


Roasted Tomatoes


Charlotte's Bread Salad

"Antipasto" Salad

Middle Eastern Chopped Salad

Leila's Lebanese-American Hummus

Ranee's Saudi-American Hummus


Roast Asparagus

Roast Cauliflower

Soybean Succotash


Charlotte's Bread Salad


Roasted Tomatoes

Middle Eastern Chopped Salad

Leila's Lebanese-American Hummus

Ranee's Saudi-American Hummus

Artichoke-Parmesan Dip

IMBB#9: Goat Cheese Torta

Focaccia

Susan Hattie's Goat Cheese Torta

Roasted Tomatoes

IMBB#2: Goat Cheese Toasts