Friday, the 12th of August, 2016, COMO

Our third vegetarian meal since I've been home - whoda thunk??? (Delicious!!!)

It occurred to me that every day I've been here in COMO, it's been a SFD! I'm not in my CT home, I'm not around my normal people, but every night I get to gather with my parents, and, for a week, my sister, as well, in my mind, that makes every single night SFD special! Though I hadn't figured that out until tonight, a mere 4 days until I fly back east, I do believe I'll tell you about these last few meals. 

Last night we had mom's wonderful poached chicken (which I need to write about because 1: it is absolutely delicious, and 2: you all really need to know how to make it!).
And tonight we had another veggie feast! This isn't something I ever do at home, unless the menu includes some sort of starch - GB loves his starch and he'll do without meat or fish, but only if our meal includes some sort of starch. (I agree with him 4 or 5 days a week, but every now and again, veggie meals are a-ok!)

My folks are still avid gardeners, both of foods and flowers, so most of what is on our table in the spring, summer and autumn months comes directly from their efforts. The only thing, above, that didn't come from their spot of garden beauty is the corn. (It's Olathe, CO corn - if you can get your hands on some, SCOOP IT UP!! It's beyond wonderful!) Everything else was grown about 30 feet from their kitchen; (and though their garden veggies aren't as pretty as those you find in the grocery store, their flavors far outweigh them!). So, without further ado, our menu was:

1 - chili rellenos

2 - oven-baked eggplant, okra & onions

3 - cucumber, Greek yoghurt, mint & lemon juice salad

4 - corn on the cob

5 - tomato chunks with fresh basil leaves

1 - We're not sure what's going on with Dad's poblano peppers he's raised this summer (the peppers we use in chili rellenos), but they've been hotter than holy hell! They're supposed to be a warmly surprising pepper, but not in the least astoundingly HOT! However, the rellenos were, as always, delicious. Our family is convinced that's because we BAKE them instead of frying them. Makes a world of delicious difference! For the recipe, go here.

2 - I really should include this step with the above because, outside of flaming their skins, the steps are really the same. Eggplant and onions are sliced into rounds, okra is left whole. They're all rolled in flour, then rolled in an egg/oil mixture and then rolled in panko breadcrumbs. All of the above are baked on a lightly oiled baking sheet at 425º for around 30 minutes. Major deliciousness! Here's a pic of both 1 & 2, ready for the oven:

3 - Mom made up our cucumber salad tonight - she had a little guidance from our friend Google, but it was basically her own creation. She peeled and chuncked three (they're quite small) Persian cucumbers (our home-grown skins were blemished, so off they went; store-bought ones don't need peeling), and then diced and added a small red onion. In the bowl, she then squeezed half a lemon on top, splashed on a bit of olive oil and threw on a handful of fresh chopped mint leaves, ground on fresh ground pepper and sprinkled on some salt. The last step was adding a good dollop of plain Greek yoghurt. All was mixed together and then put in the fridge to chill before being served. Here's a pic of it in the making: 

4 & 5 - Both of these are just common sense, and I know everyone is up on how to make them happen. Boil the corn and serve with butter. Slice or chunk the tomatoes, put a few fresh basil leaves on them and serve with cottage cheese or not. 

No dessert tonight, but dad got his dollop of sweets with a bowl of gelato. Nice! Another SFD meal that make all three of us feel, well, just good! Together!

~~~

See you on Sunday!

Gathered 'round: mom, dad and I

Sunday, the 7th of August 2016, COMO

gathered 'round the table with the cousins for spatchcocked chicken w/sauce, cole slaw, buttered corn, home-grown tomatoes w/cottage cheese and fresh watermelon slices. YUM!
left to right: Tom, Cathy, my dad

Sunday Family Dinner once again at my parents home. The cousins came over and we were eight around the table. This night, Dad was behind schedule feeding the fish, so cousin Tom started the honors, then dad came in to add his thoughts to the process. It's always a fun night with lots of back and forth pokes and jabs and a lot of family lovin'.

Our menu was:

1 - spatchcocked chicken w/sauce

2 - cole slaw w/additions

3 - buttered corn

4 - tomatoes w/basil and cottage cheese

5 - watermelon slices

6 - BEST peach pie ever

~

1 - Spatchcocked chicken, how I love thee! It's become all the fad of late, but when I look back in my mother's 50 year recipe history, she's been doing just that for years, only she didn't have a fancy word for it and simply called it ~flattened chicken~. Go here for the recipe. You can use any fresh herbs you want. It is just so good because the breast doesn't dry out as the entire chicken is flat, so it all cooks evenly.

Here's how to carve it :-):

dad giving pointers to Tom

2 - Seester Care is family famous for her tartar sauce and her cole slaw dressing, so, of course mom and I insisted that she dress the cabbage last night. As she said, she really doesn't have any exact amounts, but the ingredients stay pretty much the same. I chopped up a bowl of cabbage (I chopped 3/4 of a medium head, enough for 8 folks), and to that added a chopped orange-green farmer's market pepper, a cucumber that was sliced length-wise, the seeds scooped out with a spoon, then halved again length-wise and sliced and a small purple onion that had been diced. That was all stirred together and the Carrie mixed in the following dressing: 

In a bowl, whisk together:

Hellman's mayonnaise, about 1/3 C. or so

cider vinegar, about 2 T.

a handful fresh parsley (didn't have any fresh dill), chopped

sugar, about 1 - 2 T. 

milk to thin if necessary

salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk all together. Pour over slaw and mix well. Taste and correct seasonings.

3 - Cut corn off the cob and put all in a pot. Add a half stick of butter and some water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until done, about 15 minutes.

4 - Slice tomatoes and put on a platter along with some basil leaves; serve with cottage cheese.

5 - Cut up watermelon and serve in a bowl. 

6 - Mom made a delicious peach pie - no photos of her making it, or the finished product. Rats! :(

~

On to game-night!

and now for a rousing game of Sequence...of course the gals won!
left to right: Tom, Cathy, Carrie, Curt

~~~

See you on Sunday! 

~

Gathered 'round: mom & dad, Curt & Pat, Tom & Cathy, seester Carrie & me