Steamed Lemon Shrimp with Potatoes and Nasturtium Flower Salad

I love popcorn and I will readily forgive someone who is inept in its preparation. I like it that much. And I make my own rather delightful renditions that include popped in a wok with peanut oil and coarse salt and an air popped variety topped with butter, salt and nutritional yeast.

I'll eat a bag from a convenience store (a favorite road trip snack with a cold V-8 juice), air popped with Molly McButter or microwavable. I'll eagerly wait in line at street fairs and festivals for real Kettle Korn and having spent my teenage and college years working at movie theaters, I can't resist movie theatre popcorn, preferably with a dose of the evil oil/butter (I know it's disgusting, that's why I called it evil). And when I was a girl, my mom would pop corn to take to the drive-in movies! And a trip to Woolworth's wasn't complete without a bag of their caramel corn. I can still conjure up that smell. But oh Lordy be, on the most special occasions we got Jiffy Pop Popcorn!

The only occasions that come to mind: when The Wizard of Oz came on TV (which was only once a year, back then) or we had a non-family-member babysitter (which was maybe twice a year, cue Dar Williams' The Babysitter's Here)! Oh the joy of watching that bag grow, even if it was burnt, the magic of busting it open to find such a treat! I loved it!

I tell you this because I was at a loss for dinner tonight. I worked on my patio flowers, cleaned house, went to the bakery to grab a baguette and went by the garden. I didn't get done until well past 5 pm. After a shower and a huge glass of water, I was pooped. I didn't feel like going out (no way was I getting dressed) and there's no good delivery around here. If I was single, you can be damn sure I would have had popcorn for supper. But I couldn't look myself in the mirror tomorrow if I served Chris a plate of popcorn, all Charlie-Brown-Thanksgiving style.

So, I opened the freezer and rooted around until I found a bag of frozen, uncooked, wild shrimp. Humph, I was still less thank enthusiastic.

I opened the fridge and under a bag of onions I found some fingerling potatoes.

Oops, they had been in there about a month, but were perfectly firm. I had lettuce, tomatoes, cukes and a bunch of nasturtium blossoms. It took me a minute, but I knew what to do.

I keep a well stocked kitchen. I always have the basics available in my refrigerator, freezer and pantry. I can proudly say I have a good selection of oils, vinegars, nuts, citrus, cheese, onions and sauces, rices, cous-cous, panko, corn meal, salts, peppers, pasta, canned tomatoes, beans, fish (including tunas, oysters and anchovies) and yes, popcorn. I figure I can make something tasty even if I don't have fresh vegetables or meat!

So, I drew up my plans: steamed lemon shrimp on the grill with the potatoes, onions and what was left of the peppers and cherry tomatoes.

Of course we'd have a salad, but with the nasturtium blossoms. I knew Chris had big plans to finish off the blackberry ice cream, so I didn't need to sweat about dessert. Done. Even in a pinch, I could feed me and my love with a fine meal. Bring on the Apocalypse!

Here's an interesting and life-saving lesson from culinary school: you can quickly thaw frozen food items in a bath of ice water, changing and re-icing every 30 minutes. Yep. Not hot water, like our mothers told us. I'm no scientist, so I asked my husband (who is) why this works so well. Bless his heart, he tried to tell me. But this is all I managed to comprehend: something about hot water freezing faster than cold... more heat escaping from the hot water through vaporization. Cold water being warmer than the frozen items...or something like that, maybe. What I do know is this: even if hot water thawed the food faster, it also allows microbes to grow and potentially harm (kill) you. So don't do that.

I needed to thaw my shrimp on the fly, so into a bowl of ice water they went (and I put that into the fridge). Chris was going to walk in the door in less than an hour, so I was working fast. I washed all the veg and started slicing away. I wanted this to cook fast, so the smaller the pieces the faster the cooking time, the more uniform the pieces the more even the cooking time. Though the potatoes were tiny, maybe one inch in diameter, I cut them in half and cut everything else to match. I threw in about 6 cloves of garlic, in their skins. When you roast garlic it's sweet and creamy and I planned on spreading this on the bread.

After I lit the grill, I tore off four long sheets of foil and crossed them to make a vessel. The idea is to layer all the ingredients so the heartiest is nearest the heat. The potatoes went on the bottom, then the onion, garlic, peppers and tomatoes.

The shrimp went on top and some of them were still icy, but no bother, I knew the melting water would help cook the potatoes, so it was definitely ok. I doused the ingredients with lots of lemon oil, olive oil, salt, fresh rosemary and the juice and zest of two lemons. For good measure and because I can never leave well-enough alone...a few healthy chunks of butter. I sealed the packet up and wouldn't you know...it looked exactly like jiffy popcorn. I had to smile, knowing something good would come out of that balloon of foil!

I started the grill on high, but turned off one burner and placed the pouch directly over one flame. When you do this kind of grilling, it's important to watch for, well fire. The heat is intense and the direct flame contact will most certainly burn through the foil (which is why I reinforced my packet with four sheets).

By the time I came back inside, Chris was home and hungry. I sliced the baguette, brushed on olive oil, butter and Parmesan cheese. I put the salad together with curly lettuce, red onion, shallots, tomatoes and I used olive oil and the best balsamic I had on hand. Took me less than five minutes! Just before serving I had big plans to toss in the cheese and all of the blossoms.

As soon as the salad was done I checked the shrimp. I opened the foil and the aroma was remarkable. The intoxicating smell of shrimp, garlic and lemon

was so strong and inviting, I nearly passed out. Seriously, I was practically clapping my hands together. Plus, the magic of busting it open to find such a treat! I loved it! I was reminded that good things come in small packages, even at dinner.

The shrimp were ready to come out. So I placed them on a platter and waited another 20 or so minutes for the potatoes to finish.

By the time the potatoes were fork tender they'd released enough starch to mix with the reserve fats and juices and form a rich, dense sauce. While I spooned out the goodies I put the bread over the fire.

Chris poured the wine (the remainder of last night's chilled pinot noir) and we sat down to this heady, easy and quick meal. It was so juicy and messy...and you guessed it, Chris said it was, "Good." I had to agree.

Shopping List

1 lb uncooked shrimp, in shell (frozen or "fresh")

Handful fingerling potatoes, each cut in half

1 small yellow onion, med dice

1 yellow pepper, seeded, ribbed, med dice

1 C mixed cherry tomatoes

6 cloves of garlic, in skins

1/2 shallot, minced

4 basil leaves

2 stems fresh rosemary

2 T lemon oil

4 T olive oil

2 lemons, zested and juiced

4 T butter

1/2 baguette

1 T Parmesan Cheese

2 C curly lettuces

1 Persian cucumber, chopped

1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly

Nasturtium blossoms

1/4 C goat cheese, crumbled

S/P, to taste

Preparation

Toss potatoes in a bowl of olive oil and salt. Cross four sheets of foil and layer the ingredients in this order: potatoes, onion, peppers, garlic and tomatoes.

Drizzle the lemon and olive oil over the veg and use a generous amount of salt and pepper. Toss in the shrimp, lemon zest and juice the lemons over the top. Lastly, add the butter and lay 1 stem of the rosemary and the basil across the top. Close foil into a packet by bringing up the sides and sealing tightly. It should have a jiffy popcorn look to it! So make sure there is enough foil to create a tent for the steam to form. Do watch this closely.

You need a high heat to get the potatoes done quickly, but you can easily a) over cook the shrimp (even if it was still frozen when you put it on the grill) and b) burn through the foil and lose all the juices (which will burn the potatoes and produce a dry, gross mess).

Even though every grill is different, I recommend you check the shrimp within the first 5 minutes. As soon as it pinks-up (a technical cooking term, I assure you) it is ready to come off the heat. Everything continues to cook when you remove it from the heat. So if you wait even a few seconds too long, it's too late. And as far as food is concerned, I can hardly think of anything as pitiful as over-cooked shrimp.

Unlike bad popcorn, simply not worth eating.

You can't really overcook the potatoes, so you can relax for a moment and cool off with a glass of ice water (or vodka). But you still have to watch the grill, even from afar, to avert a fire. I suggest turning the packet, which will help. Closing the grill will speed cooking time, but doesn't let you off the hook, you still have to keep an eye on it. While you remove the rest of your dinner from the grill, place the bread on the flames. As you can see, it can burn, too, if you're not careful.

Toss your veg into a bowl with the rest of the rosemary (just pick it off the stem) and shallots. Dress it before you add the cheese and blossoms, so they don't get pulverized by tossing.

The creamy goat cheese will pair nicely with the peppery nasturtium. If you can't find nasturtium, use rocket (arugula) instead of lettuce, to assure you get a good balance.

In less than 35 minutes you will be eating and I hope enjoying yourself!

Thai Beef Stuffed Zucchini, Garden Salad with Peanuts and Cardamom and Blackberry Ice Cream

My mother comes from humble beginnings. Not that her family didn't have money (sometimethey had a lot) and nice things (sometimes they had many), just that they had a business you couldn't always count on. Her father, my dear granddad, was what you'd call a "roughneck." He was a tall, big man with a booming voice. And he could throw a punch and could be kinda scary, if he was drinking. His family was in the tavern business and when he came of age, the bar became his.

His name was John Black and the bar, Blackie's, was his domain (though his mother worked right along side him, until she was too old to bartend!). Now the difference between a bar and a tavern, according my family, is that taverns sold food as well as drink. Kind of an American version of the pub. The Black's had been in the food and drink service industry for decades. In fact, my granddad's mother, Mary Ellen, ran a chili parlor, prior to opening Blackie's. (and was in vaudeville, too!). But along with draft beers, hard liquor and food, Blackie's menu included illegal gambling. And lots of it.

So my mom grew up seeing lots of drunks, lots of sad people, lots of overly happy people, lots of local muckity-mucks, lots of dangerous looking people and a few prostitutes (not working out of the tavern, just enjoying their neighborhood bar). When my mother and her sisters came to Blackie's for a visit, they'd sneak upstairs to the game room. My mother once found a blackjack and brass knuckles sitting on the pool table. When she asked my grandmother what they were, she was tersely told, "None of your business."

My grandpa wasn't home much, when he wasn't at the tavern he could be found at Andy's, next door. That was the barbershop, cum gambling parlor. On Sundays they'd pile the barber chairs in the window and spend all day playing cards out of view. But my gramps never got in trouble, because all the local politicians and policemen drank and gambled there, too.

My grandmother, Mabel, was an excellent cook, though she hated doing it.

She was often the resident chef at Blackie's. She could whip up stew, chili and steak and lobster (their specialty) to satisfy the sober, as well as the drunk. My father still says her beef and noodles were the best he ever ate. My grandmother's other job at the tavern? Running numbers, even though she thought gambling was wrong. By the time my grandma came home, she had no interest in cooking, or anything else. So the girls often scavenged at the tavern and ate a lot of junk at home.

Basically, my mother and her sisters fended for themselves and not just with food. I loved my grandparents, but unfortunately they were alcoholics and not very present in their young daughters' lives.

When my mother had her children, she was determined to be present. In fact, she was sort of intent on becoming Donna Reed. She made everything! And baked, canned, cleaned and sewed. I had to beg, plead and cry to get frozen food or pudding snack-packs. She wanted to make it all, but we wanted what we saw on TV. We had a comfortable, decorated home and a huge garden in the back yard. I remember a very idyllic childhood. And what brings me to this blog entry is this...my mother's determination to provide fresh, homemade foods for the family she loved. And that garden was the cornerstone.

When I lived in Florida, I never had a yard with sufficient sunlight for vegetable gardening. I grew flowers, so many beautiful flowers and herbs, too. And now, years later, I am finally living up to my mother's glorious achievement. As you know, I have a huge garden. My momma's quite pleased! And Chris and I eat something from the garden every day. More than one something, too. Lots of somethings...as the garden has begun to produce a bounty.

Today I was at the P-Patch, tending to my garden. I was fastening tomato stems to their cages, tying beans to their bamboo arches and trying to get the trailing vines of the cucumbers in some orderly fashion. I hoed, fed and watered. The garden was busy with fellow travelers and Sara stopped by to admire my hard work. And then her eyes got wide and she pointed to my zucchini and said, "Um, did you see that you have a really big zucchini under there?" Under where? I thought. The zucchini plants have gotten so huge, the leaves are massive and I guess something could be hiding under there.... I ducked under a leaf and OMG...I saw IT. A zucchini of grotesque proportions. Offensive in its size and vulgar in its vitality.

I sort of shrieked and immediately broke it off its stem. Patty had to take a picture. Marsha had to laugh...obnoxious, gigantic vegetables usually don't taste very good. I should have left it to become colossal and I could have entered it in some crazy contest. But I picked it. So now we had to eat it.

I thought zucchini bread would be perfect, but it's too hot to bake in my kitchen right now. I didn't want to freeze IT, it would become too watery. So I decided to stuff IT and stuff it good. The clown-shoe sized vegetable could have easily fed a dinner party, but it was just me and Chris. Pity, but I know what Chris is having for lunch tomorrow! Because the zucchini itself could be a meal, I planned a simple summer supper: stuffed zucchini with Thai flavored beef and a garden salad with peanuts and sesame dressing. For dessert...the blackberry ice cream in the freezer.

I had all the ingredients except the meat, so I ran to the store. I wanted pork, but there was no ground pork (what?!), so I bought beef. I also chatted up the wine expert on hand about a Rosé. I have long thought of Rosés as a lesser wine. Even after Andrea Immer's Complete Wine Course in culinary school. But recently I saw Andrea on a cooking program and she finally changed my mind. Or maybe it's because it's been too warm to drink a heavy red or a wine that's not chilled. Either way, I wanted a Rosé. But I wanted a cheap one and there wasn't a bottle to be found in my price range.

So the Trader Joe's employee talked me into a particular pinot noir called Blue Fin. He said he'd had it at a tasting where they chilled it and it was delightful. "Sold." I said as I headed for the register and high-tailed it home to start stuffing.

First thing I did was have a little fun with my motar and pestle. I wanted to grind some dried spices for the meat and the salad to give a depth of flavor. I included coriander seeds,chilies, garlic, cinnamon, thyme, ginger, oregano and big fat chunks of sea salt.

I decided to go with a very flavorful meat stuffing, since I was certain the zucchini would have almost no real flavor. First I cut IT in half and then scooped out the center of each side. I left the zucchini "boat" fairly thick so that the weight of the meat wouldn't break it.

Then I mixed the beef with the zucchini innards, fish sauce, sesame oil, lime zest and juice, peppers (bell and jalapeño), onion, garlic, herbs, ginger, peanuts and the spices. I minced the veg and mixed everything together.

This was a very wet concoction and I knew the zucchini would leach a lot of water, so I mixed panko (Japanese bread crumbs, for the uninitiated) to help soak up the liquid. I took the boats in hand; salted the inside, oiled the outside and stuffed them with the meat. I lined them up on a sheet of foil and off to the grill they went.

I chopped some of whatever I had in the veg bin and mixed it with some lettuces. I drizzled olive and sesame oils over the salad, did my Moosewood thing with lime juice. I have a need to serve thematic meals (I finally gave up matching my shoes and hand bags, but it took therapy), so I finished the salad off with peanuts.

When Chris came to the table and saw the two enormous zucchini halves he said, "I can't eat all of that!" And he's a big eater. But I reassured him that I would take no offence at his leaving 1/2 of his dinner on the plate. The zucchini itself was fine. It wasn't very flavorful, as I surmised. But it was a good match for a very spicy and flavor-filled stuffing. The salad was delicate, but rich with sesame flavor.

Chris said the zucchini was "great" and the salad was "excellent". I pressed him for more, asking if he'd be disappointed with this meal if he'd ordered it in a restaurant. My man of few words replied, "Not at all."

But he did cock his head while pouring the red wine from a chilled bottle, but I told him the Trader Joe's story and we toasted our good fortune. Our plates runneth over with "great" stuffed zucchinis (pun intended) and our chilled pinot noir was outstanding.

As the sun set, we retired to watch a movie. We don't have cable or watch much TV, so dessert is usually eaten while watching a DVD or reading. This evening I had WORDPLAY, the documentary on Will Shortz and NYTs crossword nuts (like me). So we shared a big bowl of the cardamom and blackberry ice cream. I thought it was sooooo good. It did have a very chai-like taste and the blueberries were at once sweet and tart. Chris said it was "good." I pushed for more information and he sheepishly said, "I liked it, but my favorite so far is the fig with almonds." Well, now I know the ice cream benchmark.

Shopping List

2/3 lb ground beef, pork, turkey or lamb

1 gigantic zucchini, or 4 regular sized zucchini

3 T fish sauce

juice of 1 lime

2 t freshly grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeño, minced

1/4 C baby peppers bell peppers, minced

1/2-1/4 t (to taste) each, crushed: coriander seeds, chilies, cinnamon, thyme, ginger, garlic oregano

1/4 C toasted peanuts, chopped

1/4-1/2 C panko bread crumbs

2 C mixed lettuce

1 C mixed chopped veg (your preference)

Sesame oil

lime juice

S/P, to taste

Preparation

Light the grill on high and leave it to heat. Cut the zucchini in half and scoop out the inside. Minced the zucchini and toss it into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground meat and the next eight ingredients. Drizzle sesame oil over the meat and using your hands (I wear gloves) combine the mixture completely. It will be very wet, so add bread crumbs until it can hold a shape (like a ball). Remember the zucchini will leach a lot of water, so you don't want the meat swimming. Be sure to add a bit more panko after you can form a ball. Oil the outside of the zucchini and rub salt into the hollow. Pack the meat in (it will shrink and the squash will expand, so keep that in mind).

Place the zucchini on a sheet of foil, turn down the grill and place the zucchini halves on the grate. Close the grill top and let it cook for 10 mins and check the zucchini bottoms. You want them to have color, but not be falling apart. When they look good, move the zucchinis up to the top grate. Close the grill top and let the boats cook for about 15 more mins. Obviously, keep an eye on them. You want the meat cooked through, but not dried out. Also, you want to make sure the zucchinis don't over cook and fall apart. Just check for doneness, like you would a hamburger. You will see the water bubbling up inside the boats, using your tongs, tip the zucchini slightly to drain.

Do the Moosewood trick on your greens. Start with adding all the veg to your lettuce, drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with the dried spice mix (to taste) and toss. Squeeze the lime juice directly onto the salad and give it one last toss.

When the stuffed zucchinis are done, you're ready to eat. You may want to anchor the zukes by plating them on a leaf of cabbage or kale. Pile on the salad, pour your wine and Enjoy! And don't forget a big bowl of ice cream for dessert.

Milk Poached Chicken, Grilled Apricots and Swiss Chard & Mixed Greens Salad with Feta

The first time I ever grilled chicken, all by myself, was probably 1992, after buying my first gas grill. I was living in this great brick apartment house on N Meridian Street, in Tallahassee, FL. It had a fully bricked back courtyard and picnic table and I proudly placed my grill there, but had no idea what to do with the chicken breasts or how to know when they're done.

Naturally, I called my mommy.

I'll never forget her reply. She said, in all sincerity "If it looks done it's ok. I've never worried about that." Hmm. I wasn't a genius, but that didn't sound right. And I had this sinking suspicion that my mother's ignorance could have killed the whole family! I was years away from attending culinary school, didn't own a meat thermometer, but I was dubious. And thankfully so. Every year people end up in the emergency room (or morgue) because they don't practice food safety. Like using old sponges and dirty hand towels to cross contaminate, not washing their hands properly or under cooking meat. Yikes, it is a miracle that I live to tell this tale.

So, using good sense, my foray into grilled chicken produced a barely edible meat that was charred on the outside and dry on the inside. But, by god, it was cooked. Through the years, I've gotten much better on the grill. When I worked in professional kitchens I prided myself on grill work (often the domain of the boys and so I made it my business to be as good or better). Plus I own several thermometers. But, my real chicken issue is no longer grilling technique or temperature. It's that I just don't like chicken. I'll eat it but, for me, it's the polyester of meat. I would never order it in a restaurant, unless I was dieting. And white meat is the worst. It's so bland and boring. I always chuckle when someone orders "all white meat" or worse "boneless, skinless white meat," like they're some connoisseur. Ugh. Fat and bone is the only thing saving chicken. Ok, that was snarky and chicken is cheap available and therefore, easy. So, yes, I do make it, more often that I'd like.

My compromise is breast tenderloins, which are smaller and easier to grill and tend to be a bit less dry. They aren't very sexy on a plate, but they taste better. Tonight I poached the chicken on the grill, which is easy and produces a much juicier result. No grill marks, no char (which I like), but cooked through, tender and wet.

The menu came together as I perused my refrigerator: I had about 5 each of apricots and plums past their prime, a zucchini from my garden and some Bulgarian feta. Thus, tonight's dinner: poached chicken with apricots, a salad of garden greens and the rest of the fig ice cream with roasted plums.

My garden is like a jungle, so every meal has to include produce from the garden. After working on my patio flowers this morning, I walked over to work the P-Patch. The bok choy has bolted, so I harvested all of it, shared what I could and chopped and froze the rest for some fall soups. I needed to make more room for the cucumber, zucchini and watermelon, which are threatening to take over. I picked herbs for my poaching liquid and chard and lettuce for the salad. My tomato plants are heavy with fruit, but nothing is ripe. If it gets cooler before they ripen, I'll definitely fry up some green tomatoes. Chris has never had them, can you believe that? Poor guy is Canadian and has had limited exposure to fine southern cuisine. My husband is an ice cream lover, so tomorrow I'll make him a new batch. I saw big, fat local blackberries at Trader Joe's yesterday and I'm thinking I should employ a pint or 2 in the next ice cream experiment. Maybe with cardamom. Well, until then.

I want to share a salad dressing technique that will never fail you. I learned this about 25 years ago from my first Moosewood cookbook, so the credit goes to Mollie Katzen. My version is less complicated, but I promise you, the results have pleased a plethora of vegetarians through the years.

The big secret is to place all of your greens and veg in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with oil and add your herbs, spices, s/p, etc. Toss it up and then add your acid, mix and serve. If you want to include cheese, do that last. Use tongs. By adding the oil first, you cover each leaf and veg and it allows the herbs and s/p to stick to everything before adding the watery acid. Another plus about this method is that you can really control your oil use, if that's important to you. You'll never have a puddle of dressing in the bottom of the bowl and every bite will taste perfectly seasoned. When you mix the dressing separately you tend to use much more oil (and dressing in general) than needed and the the emulsified dressing washes over the leaves and makes a soggy mess before supper is over. I can Pack Chris a leftover salad for work the next day and it's still pretty damned good. If you you want a dressing with mustard, garlic, buttermilk, mayo, yogurt or anything like that, just add it after the oil but, before the acid. Sometimes, I'll mix mustard or yogurt with a bit of acid, to loosen it up. But that's only when I don't mind dirtying another dish. Yet another reason to praise this technique: no extra bowl or whisk. Brilliant.

So the dinner was really excellent. Chris said, "I really like the apricots with the chicken," and that dinner was, "good." With his last spoonful of fig ice cream came his oft repeated compliment, "this is really good." Before I give you the recipes I want to tell you about a spice blend I found called African Fusion, from a local company in Issaquah, WA called

Something South African. I used this blend on the chicken, apricots and in the salad. It's quite aromatic but, subtle and I wanted to carry the flavor throughout the meal. Sometimes

that's overkill, but it was lovely with these dishes.

Shopping List

Chicken breast tenders (or whatever cut you like)

Milk (whole, or whatever you have)

1/2 sweet onion, quartered (Vidalia or Walla Walla)

1 zucchini, sliced

1 spring tarragon

3 springs mint

1 clove garlic

Spices, to taste

5 apricots, stone removed, halved

2 C mixed greens (I used chard, romaine and red leaf)

Handful of tomatoes

1/4 C red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 celery, chopped

1/4 C Bulgarian feta cheese, crumbled (or Greek, if you prefer)

Fresh herbs, to taste (whatever you have)

5 plums, stone removed, chopped

Sugar, to taste

Olive oil

1 lemon

S/P, to taste

African Fusion spice blend: coriander, garlic, crushed red pepper, fenugreek, black pepper, cumin and yellow mustard (I bought this blend, not sure how African it is, but it's a very tasty combination of dried spices)

Preparation

Marinate the chicken in milk for at least 1 hour. I added the raw meat to a zip-lock bag, poured in milk to cover and added salt, a garlic clove and an about 1 T of the African Spice blend.

Pre-heat the grill on high for at least 5 mins. Take 2 long sheets of foil and fashion a basket. Pour the chicken mixture into the foil, add the zucchini and onions. Wrap the foil loosely to form a pouch, seal. Turn the grill down to low and place pouch on the grill. In large mixing bowl tear your greens into bite-sized pieces (don't use a knife on lettuce, the metal causes discoloration), add your veg, herbs and s/p and drizzle with oil. You have to eyeball this. You can always add more, so go light. Toss it up and if you can see a sheen on the leaves, you have enough oil. Squeeze lemon directly over salad. Taste it to adjust seasoning and crumble the feta over the top.

In a small bowl place the apricots and toss with olive oil and s/p. Put them on the top grate. They won't take more than 10

mins to get grill marks and start to breakdown, so put them on the grill just before the chicken is ready. Now take a med-sized piece of foil and toss in plums. Cover with sugar and wrap tightly to seal. Through the plums on the top grate of the grill and let them cook while you have dinner.

The chicken will need to be checked, but not turned. The steam and milk will poach the meat quickly and it won't take long. I had 6 tenderloins and it took about 20-30 mins. You'll have to make the perilous decision of "done" for yourself, but your chicken breasts are edible at 170 degrees. Hope you like it!

BLTs on White Bread with Cucumber & Garden Herb Salad

I've said this about myself many times: I am not a food snob. I appreciate all sorts of low-brow foods, including junk and items that don't seem remotely made from a natural source. I love comfort food, international, ethnic and cultural foods, gourmet and fine foods, snacks, tapas, an occasional amuse bouche, bread, cereal, fruit, vegetables, beans, nuts and meat. In other words...I like it all. My parents are middle class, mid-westerners and I have a healthy admiration for casseroles, bread, meat loaf, stew with Parker House rolls and left-overs. I grew up eating bologna and cheese sandwiches on white bread, Campbell's soup and fish sticks when I could get my mom to buy them. But my folks are also sincere foodies. And so we dined on homemade fried chicken, freshly baked challah every Friday, salads with olive oil and lemon juice, pavlovas, home canned peaches and pickles, avocados, BBQ ribs, artichokes, aspic, thick shrimp bisque on my birthday, steaks on the grill, dried fruits, my dad's chocolate cake, lox, cheeses, cured meats, lobster, crab, rice pudding and a huge garden in the back yard. As we got older and my parents had more money, they sought out hole-in-the wall joints, neighborhood bars and 4-star restaurants. As far as my dad was concerned, the further off the map, the better. I mention all of this so that you get to know a bit about my food history. Our parents exposed me and my sister, Leslie, to every taste they could come by. And (for better or worse) I loved every bite! My food history has informed my cooking choices, obviously. And so my aim is to make even the simplest dishes taste good. I figure they should to have some integrity. Even when I eat alone, I plate my food for presentation. Anyway, that brings me back to tonight's dinner: comfort food in all of its glory. A sandwich that is at once warm, creamy, crunchy, cool and juicy: The BLT on fresh white bread. I served it with a cucumber & garden herb salad and ate the fig ice cream while watching a bad movie.

Before I get into the details, I have to make a confession: I used microwaveable bacon. I know, I know...that's cheating and kinda gross. But it's summer and we don't have a/c. The bacon I bought was uncooked, but in a microwavable pouch. Is this wrong? Probably. But since this is a diary I ought not lie and I feel better just writing about it. So after buying the bacon, getting the rest of the ingredients together was easy.

There is this amazing French Bakery in the shops across from where we live. I try to avoid its siren call...it is as good as any high end NYC bakery I've been to (and I loves me some NYC bakeries). I might go as far as to say that their challah is as good as my mother's, their french baguettes as good as Balthazar's.

Why are they in a shopping plaza in Bellevue, WA? I have no clue. Maybe the owner's husband got a job at Microsoft. That's why I'm here. So this morning I bought a hot-from-the-oven loaf of their white bread and had them slice it thickly. I don't like white bread, generally and my own sweet mother's devotion to Wonderbread has always made me cringe. But obviously I have a genetic marker that allows for white bread, at least on occasion. I figure if I can find a sturdy white loaf from a real baker...made simply from yeast, flour, water and salt...then it isn't a mortal sin.

In my refrigerator I had full-fat, organic mayonnaise and sitting on my counter were 2 gorgeous, vine-ripe tomatoes waiting to fulfill their destiny. I ran by the garden and picked a basket full of lettuce and herbs. And thus, dinner tonight was simple, filling and deeply satisfying. Chris said it was "really good."

Here's how I do it:

Classic BLT and Cucumber and Garden Herb Salad

Shopping List

4 thick slices good white bread

12 slices bacon

2 ripe, red tomatoes

4 lettuce leaves

3 Persian cucumbers, chopped

1/2 C thinly sliced red onion

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 C mixed fresh herbs:

parsley

rosemary

basil

thyme

tarragon

oregano

mint

handful of nasturtiums

1 t Dijon mustard

olive oil

1 lime

mayo to taste

fresh cracked s/p to taste

Preparation

Hand tear the herbs and place in bowl with cucumbers and onion. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Add s/p to taste. Mix in mustard and then squeeze lime juice over veg ( I use a fork and get all the juice and pulp). Toss and set aside to marinate.

Cook bacon and drain on paper towels. Slice tomatoes thickly and sprinkle with s/p. Generously spread mayo on both slices of bread. Build your sandwich: bread, 6 slices of bacon in cross-hatch pattern, tomatoes, lettuce and bread. Slice on the diagonal and plate with salad.