The night was again far too muggy for cooking, and we still don’t have air conditioning in the kitchen area, but I didn’t think I would be hanging out near the range for long.

I was wrong.  It was far too long.

The pasta however was quite right, and afterward we were able to treat ourselves to the first cold dessert of the summer.

• ten ounces of Afeltra spaghetti chitarra, cooked al dente, mixed with a sauce of several cloves of garlic from Whole Foods, sliced and heated in a pan along with one large dried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, where the garlic was followed by half a pound of pieces of boned smoked swordfish steak from P.E.&D.D. Seafood and some savory pangrattato (here, some homemade days-old breadcrumbs toasted with olive oil in which more garlic and some salted and rinsed anchovies from Buon Italia had first been heated for a short while), the mix then tossed together over a low flame while some of the pasta water was added, served in bowls, where it was finished with a sprinkling of mixed fresh herbs from the Greenmarket and some chopped stems of spring onions from John D. Madura Farm.

There was also a genuine dessert last night.

• a dollop of Ciao Bella ‘Madagascar Vanilla’ gelato on top of some ripe purple fig segments from Whole Foods (no, the fruit was not at all local, just Italian-ish, which almost counts, at least for me); the figs had first been sprinkled with turbinado sugar and drizzled with a little Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup

 

• the wine was an Italian (Tuscany) white, Villa Antinori Toscana 2014
• the music was Jan Dismas Zelenka’s Sonates Pour 2 Hautbois Et Basson, performed by the Ensemble Zefiro; and, later in the meal, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major Op. 10 No. 3, in a wonderful early recording by Martha Argerich

It was so hot.

It was a delicious dinner, but I’ll never again do something that requires so much time and stove hovering on the kind of warm and sticky night we had yesterday. To properly account for my sanity, when I started out assembling and planning the meal I had a reasonable expectation that the air conditioning in our kitchen areas was going to work.

It didn’t, but I only learned that fact about an hour before I had to begin cooking.

I made it through to the end. It was very good, but I’m certain we would both have enjoyed it more had the climate in both the kitchen and the dining area been more reasonable: I read 90º on the thermometer hanging at the edge of the kitchen after I had turned off the flames on the top of the range; there was no air moving (the fan would have inhibited the open gas flame); and it definitely wasn’t a dry heat.

• a 1-pound cod fillet from P.E. & D.D. Seafood , divided into 2 portions (to make the fish a little easier to turn over), dredged lightly in seasoned coarse stone-ground flour, then dipped into a mixture of one beaten egg from Millport Dairy and half of a cup of chopped parsley from Phillips Farm, sautéed in a long oval copper pan over medium-high heat in a mix of olive oil and ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ (one tablespoon of each), turning once, for about 7 or 8 minutes, garnished with chopped dill from Bodhitree Farm, and drizzled with a little lemon juice, lemon wedges served on the side
• ten small red new potatoes (the first of the year, for me), from Norwich Meadows Farm, boiled in well-salted water, drained, dried in the still-warm glass pot, rolled in a little olive oil and some chopped spring red onions (they look like scallions) from John D. Madura Farm, seasoned with good course sea salt, freshly-ground telicherry pepper, sprinkled with chopped flowering thyme from from Bodhitree Farm (I had intended to mix the potatoes with chopped summer savory from Stokes Farm, not thyme, but things were moving fast at this point, and I hadn’t yet washed and dried the savory, so, to save time (ha!), I reached for the small cup holding one of the herbs left from my preparation of the stuffed zucchini blossoms (for those, see below)]
• twelve zucchini flowers from Bodhitree Farm, prepared mostly along the lines of this recipe by Mario Batali, each stuffed with a mixture of grated Parmigiano Reggiano Vacche Rosse from Buon Italia, chopped flowering thyme from Bodhitree Farm, chiffonade-cut basil from Tamarack Hollow Farm, freshly-grated nutmeg, salt, and pepper, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large cast iron pan until golden brown on both sides, drained on paper towels, and served at room temperature (I wasn’t crazy enough to cook them at the same time I was preparing both the cod and the potatoes, and ‘room temperature’ is perfectly appropriate for most vegetables)
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, S & A Verdelho Calveras County 2015
• the music was from Counterstream radio

I’m a big fan of cabbage, all kinds of cabbage, but the Savoy is super, and this particular one a great beauty.

 

This was the second time I had prepared this delicious pasta, and once again it was a winner.

It’s Bittman’s recipe, pretty much to the letter, although reduced to 75% in its proportions, I used a very different pasta from the one he indicates, and once again I finished it with a combination of parsley and lovage.

• my ingredients included emmer reginetti from Sfoglini Pasta Shop, organic garlic from Whole Foods, canned salted anchovies from Buon Italia, dried Itria-Sirissi chili (peperoncino di Sardegna intero) from Buon Italia, Italian bay leaves from Buon Italia, a Savoy cabbage from Norwich Meadows Farm, parsley from Phillips Farm, and lovage from Bodhitree Farm
• the wine was a California (Napa) white,  Matthew Iaconis Napa Valley Chardonnay 2014 (a Burgundy style, it’s Matt’s wine, and comes to us via Naked Wines
• the music was Francisco José de Castro’s Trio Sonatas

It was also lunch.

It was pretty hastily thrown together around noon today, and the ingredients included some which had ben prepared fresh for the meal the night before ( call it ‘overstock’).

• The eggs and bacon were from Millport Dairy; the San Marzano tomatoes, seasoned, pan-grilled, then drizzled with olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, were from Stokes Farm; there were at least half a dozen herbs, from (various) local farms, tossed around among both the eggs and the torn branches of some wonderful flowering half-wild watercress from Lucky Dog Organic Farm; various spring alliums from two different local farms, sliced, were added to the pan in which the eggs were frying; there were 5 different peppercorns (including ‘pink peppercorns’, which are not actually pepper) and several pinches of some kind of paprika, an unlabelled bonus envelope inside the package of sauces I had ordered from L’eKama a while back; and the bread was a Bien Cuit baguette from Foragers Market
• the music, on this anniversary of Stonewall, was that of the brilliant, kindly, generous, out-queer composer, Lou Harrison, from the Naxos album, ‘Homage to Lou Harrison‘

 

It was a warm evening.

The first course never got anywhere near a stove.

I was very fortunate in the greens I had been able to bring home from Union Square on Friday: They were a perfect, spicy foil to the headiness of the smoky pork.

None of the elements of the second course spent more than a few minutes on the top of the range.

I had constructed the meal around the second course, a beautiful piece of fresh wild salmon that I was determined to cook without using the oven, and the rest of the meal had to go with the same proviso. Fortunately there were no taste sacrifices anywhere along the line.

• thinly-sliced Alto Adige Speck from Eataly, each piece rolled around the tines of a fork and put on a plate, drizzled with some very good olive oil from Campania, accompanied by a handful of semi-wild flowering cress from Lucky Dog Organic Farm dressed with the same oil, a little white balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper
• slices of a She Wolf Bakery sourdough baguette

 

• the salmon was prepared in a manner slightly modified from this interesting Melissa Clark recipe, using one fresh wild 14-ounce sockeye salmon fillet from Whole Foods, marinated in the refrigerator in a covered dish for about 4 hours while coated on both sides with a mix of light brown turbinado sugar, sea salt, freshly ground tellicherry pepper, freshly ground allspice, freshly ground nutmeg, and the zest of half of an organic lemon from Whole Foods, after which the fish was rinsed, patted dry, brought to room temperature, oiled generously, and cooked on an enameled grill pan, flesh side down, removed, dusted with dried Pollen Ranch Dill Pollen, sprinkled with chopped fresh dill from from Bodhitree Farm, drizzled with olive oil and served with lemon wedges, organic, from Whole Foods
• two Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, sliced, mixed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped basil from Tamarack Hollow Farm
• flat green pole beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, blanched, drained and dried, then reheated in oil, mixed with chopped red-tinged Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, and finished with salt, pepper, and chopped lovage from Bodhitree Farm

There were cherries, from Kernan Farms.

• the wine was a California (Lodi) rosé, Karen Birmingham Rosé Lodi 2015
• the music was Q2 Music, streaming

I think I’m finally beginning to understand swordfish, at least on an epicurean level. This was one of my most successful outings with this noble fish.

• two 6 1/2-ounce swordfish steaks from Pura Vida Seafood, in the Union Square Greenmarket, marinated for less than a half hour in a mixture of olive oil, a very small amount of dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, chopped fresh wild mint from Berried Treasures Farm, and much of a finely-chopped stem of a red-tinged Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, after which it was drained well, covered with a coating which was a mix of dried homemade bread crumbs, then pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, removed, seasoned with salt and pepper, sprinkled with a little organic lemon juice from Whole Foods, a little more scallion, and drizzled with olive oil before serving
• halved and seasoned San Marzano tomatoes from Stokes Farm, pan-grilled and finished with a dab of olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar
• a little puntarelle from Paffenroth Gardens, prepared in the Roman manner
• the wine was a French (Aude) white, Laurent Miquel Albarino Lagrasse France 2014
• the music was Q2 Music streaming, notably Fred Lerdahl’s String Quartet No. 3

I still can’t say enough about how delicious these crab cakes are, and how much fun it is to assemble a base for them, usually some kind of salsa. They also require very little heat to prepare, and the puntarelle doesn’t ask for any, which means this entire entrée was particularly welcome on an evening when our breakfast room air conditioner wasn’t working.

The cherries were, well, a bowl of cherries.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (the ingredients are crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), heated in a heavy copper pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, served on a salsa composed of 6 Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, which had been chopped and combined with salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a bit of homemade French Basque piment d’Espellate we had purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec last year from the producer’s daughter, some dried Itria-Sirissi chili, peperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, chopped wild mint from Berried Treasures, a section of the stem of a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, chopped, and wild arugula from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm, and, when all was plated, the small amount of juices left at the bottom of the bowl of salsa drizzled on top of the crab cakes
• puntarelle from Paffenroth Gardens, prepared in the Roman manner
• sweet cherries from Kernan Farms
• the wine was a California (Lodi) white, Karen Birmingham Sauvignon Blanc Lodi 2015
• the music was Philip Blackburn’s ‘Ghostly Psalms’

This rather French (yay France!) preparation for flounder turned out better than ever tonight, and I’ve worked it many times before; the vegetables were equally delicious.

• four flounder fillets (3-ounce or more each) from Blue Moon Seafood, sautéed in olive oil and butter over high heat until golden brown (2-3 minutes on the first side, 1-2 minutes on the other, served with a tomato butter composed a little earlier by melting some ‘Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter‘ and adding one chopped shallot from John D. Madura farm, cooking it until softened and fragrant, removed from the heat, allowed to cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then tossed with half a dozen sliced Backyard Farms Maine ‘cocktail tomatoes’ from Whole Foods, seasoned with salt, some chopped fresh lovage from Bodhitree Farm, and a few drops of red wine (Chianti) vinegar
• fresh English peas from Eckerton Hill Farm, shelled, boiled briefly in salted water, drained, transferred to another pan and dried over low heat, stirred with butter, a pinch of sugar, sea salt, and freshly-ground Telicherry pepper, served with chopped wild mint from Berried Treasures
• the wine was a French (Anjou) white, Château Soucherie Coteaux Du Layon Vendange à La Main 2014
• the music was Counterstream radio, streaming

This dish was even better than I had imagined it would be. The whole exceeded the parts, even though all of the ingredients were already stars at the start, as far as I was concerned; when they got together, they totally outdid themselves.

It was also a very easy meal to prepare, produced little more heat in the kitchen than what was needed to boil the water, and it came together very quickly.

I came across the basic recipe while searching on line for something to do with garlic scapes and pasta (maybe I was too mentally lazy to go it alone, but I’m also always hoping for a surprise when I search the internet). I substituted a great penne for the spaghetti specified, and, simply because I could, I added an herb, lovage to be precise.

Note, and an admission: I neglected to add salt and pepper to the mix, somehow not noticing that both were mentioned in the recipe, and thinking it was purposeful, because of the amount of lemon included. I will add both the next time I visit this super recipe, but I have to say, neither of us missed them their punch this time.

• Setaro Penne Rigatoni, from Buon Italia, about 10 ounces, served with a simple fresh sauce which began with 3 minced cloves of garlic from Trader Joe’s and 2 cups of tender garlic scapes from Alewife Farm, cut into 2-inch lengths, sautéed in olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then a little butter and most of the juice of one organic lemon from Whole Foods added to the pan, the drained pasta added once the butter had melted, along with zest from most of one lemon, the mix stirred over low heat, during which time some reserved cooking water was added to help emulsify it, finally seasoned with salt and pepper, and some chopped lovage from Bodhitree Farm added
• the wine was an Oregon (vineyards across the state) white, A to Z Oregon Pinot Gris 2014
• the music was Q2 Music, streaming

 

This is a wonderful dish. On Monday night it started out as one which was pretty much a product of necessity, or at least of wanting to make space in the larder. Happy chance.

I had a little cavolo nero, and a couple young red onions for which I didn’t have any specific plans, there was a piece of Parmesan cheese I didn’t want to grow old, and of course I always have some good pasta, and every other staple which would be needed for a dish in which it would be featured.

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver; I halved the amounts for the 2 of us. My “liquidiser” was an ancient Osterizer.

I used 8 ounces of Afeltra spaghetto, from Eataly, but of course the fresh ingredients were very local. Instead of a leek, I used two small red-tinged Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, the cavalo nero was from Eckerton Hill Farm, organic garlic was from Trader Joe’s, and the cheese was Parmigiano Reggiano Vacche Rosse from Buon Italia.

• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2014
• the music was Q2 Music, streaming, including ‘Stumble to Grace’, by Steven Mackey