I think it all looks very light, in both senses, and it was. Also surprisingly luscious.

• four 3 1/2-ounce trimmed skate wings from P.E. & D.D. Seafood in the Union Square Greenmarket that day, coated all over with a local coarse polenta (‘Stone-Ground Polenta’ from Wild Hive Farm Community Grain Project), seasoned with local P.E. & D.D. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, sautéed in a bit of Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil and a bit of local butter, Vermont Creamery, for just under 3 minutes on each side inside a heavy enameled cast iron oven pan (they just barely fit), removed to the plates and kept warm while 1 to 2 tablespoons of more butter and one sliced red spring onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, 2 finely chopped tiny Brazil wax peppers from Eckerton Hill Farm, and a bit of chopped epazote from TransGenerational Farm  were introduced into the pan and stirred over a now-lowered flame, just enough to allow the onion to sweat a bit, the heat turned off altogether and another tablespoon of butter added to the pan along with the juice from a little more than half of small organic California lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods (Sespe Creek Organics), the pan stirred for a bit to blend everything and make a proper sauce, which was poured over the skate wings and more epazote sprinkled on top

• one sliced orange/yellow heirloom tomato from Campo Rosso Farm, seasoned with salt and pepper, sautéed briefly in a little olive oil inside a small copper skillet, arranged on the plates with a little chopped fresh za’atar [origanum syriacum] from TransGenerational Farm

• the roots of one bunch of ‘French Breakfast’ radishes from Willow Wisp Farm, the greens having been removed and stored with them when they were first brought home, washed/scrubbed but not trimmed otherwise, split lengthwise into halves or quarters, sautéed rinsed in several changes of water and set aside, the radishes themselves washed, scrubbed, and cut into wedges, sautéed in a little olive oil inside a large, antique, high sided copper pot for a few minutes, one sliced Italian red tropea onion from Alewife Farm added near the end of the cooking, along with a pinch of peperoncino Calabresi secchia from Buon Italia, after which the reserved radish leaves, having been washed thoroughly in several changes of water, were introduced into the pan, stirred, and allowed to barely wilt, the mix sprinkled with salt and pepper, a tablespoon of white wine poured in and stirred with the radish until the liquid had evaporated
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley/Dundee Hills) white, Oregon Pinot Blanc 2016, ordered directly from Erath
• the music was a fantastic album of works by the remarkable Dutch composer Ivo Emmerik (b.1961) that includes his, ‘Documents Pour Servir De Canevas’ and ‘Birdstone’, both performed by the Ives Ensemble on the label, Composers Voice; this is his own site

I bought more swordfish than I really should have, because, while the individual steaks at the fishers’ stall yesterday were really too large for one, they would have been even less satisfactory for two, especially for two of us who really love swordfish.

Warren, who works the stall and is also one of the fishermen, steered me to the swordfish bucket when I asked what would be my best choice if it turned out I’d have to wait until the next day to cook a fish. Then, while complimenting the quality of the particular catch (I’ve learned to always pay close attention to his words and his body language when I’m contemplating – out loud – what to bring home; sometimes he volunteers a suggestion, and it’s always on target) he pointed to the rim of pale flesh just under the long line of skin; I think he said something about rich belly meat.

The main vegetable was puntarelle, which I’ve been delighted to have experienced at home a number of times before, but apparently never as it really should be. At the Greenmarket on Wednesday I came across a form that must be pretty close to what would be found in Rome, and for the first time ever we enjoyed really crunchy curled strands of this wonderful mild chicory. The farm that produced our puntarelle is more than halfway up the state of Vermont, where the climate isn’t anything like that of the farms where cicoria asparago is grown in Lazio.

• two really beautiful swordfish steaks (20 ounces) from American Seafood Company in the Union Square Greenmarket, marinated for more than half an hour in a mixture of a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a bit of  super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano, which is sold still attached to bunches of stems inside a cellophane bag at Buon Italia, one tiny yellow Brazil wax pepper from Eckerton Hill Farm, and a thinly sliced section of a red spring onion from Norwich Meadows Farm, after which the steaks were drained and covered on both sides with a coating of homemade dried breadcrumbs (to help retain the moisture, and keep it from drying out), pan-grilled over medium-high heat for 4 minutes on each side, or until barely cooked all of the way through, removed, arranged on the plates, seasoned with a little local salt, Phil Karlin’s P.E. & D.D. Seafood Long Island Sound sea salt, drizzled with some ‘tomato water’ that remained from a salsa prepared for a meal a few days earlier, a bit of juice from a small California organic Whole Foods Market lemon (Sespe Creek Organics) squeezed on top, and drizzled with a little olive oil
• one ripe red heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, halved, sprinkled with sea salt and black pepper, arranged face down on the same grill as the swordfish, near the end of the latter’s cooking time, turned once, then arranged on the plates, tossed with chopped epazote from TransGenerational Farm, and drizzled with a little olive oil

• one ‘head’ of Puntarelle [cicoria di catalogna], an Italian chicory (28 ounces), from Tamarack Hill Farm, the outer straight leaves removed for another time, the remainder cooked pretty much as described on this site (for which I’m very, very grateful); I used ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm, local sea salt, 3 rinsed and filleted salted Sicilian anchovies from Buon Italia, one and a half tablespoons of Columela Rioja 30 Year Reserva sherry vinegar, 3 tablespoons of Whole Foods Market house Portuguese olive oil, and Whole Foods Market house whole pepper

Noting: It means nothing of course, but it is literally although only slightly remarkable, and I don’t make a big thing about coincidences anyway, but except for the wine (Galician then) and the music (more ancient in 2018), this meal was almost a duplicate of one I had prepared 13 months before, right down to the serendipitous tomato water.

• the wine was a Portuguese (Dão) white, Prunus White, Dão 2017, from Astor Wines
• the music was Gioseffo Zamponi’s 1650 opera, ‘Ulisse all’Isola di Circe’, Leonardo García Alarcón conducting the Capella Mediterranea, the Choeur de Chambre de Namur, and the Clematis Ensemble

The original dinner plan was to pick up some good wild salmon at Chelsea Whole Foods, but when it came time to do so I didn’t feel like going out, even to the corner, having just finished doing several loads of laundry early in the evening.

There was a package of two crab cakes inside the freezer, and we hadn’t enjoyed that treat in a while; I also had supplies to make some interesting ‘fixings’ for a complete dinner, so that’s what we had.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), mostly defrosted by the time I began heating the 2 above a low to medium flame, with a drizzle of olive oil, inside a small cast iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, served on a salsa composed of 2 small to medium chopped heirloom tomatoes from 2 different farmers in the Union Square Greenmarket (Norwich Meadows Farm and Eckerton Hill Farm), and 3 golden grape tomatoes from one, Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market, combined with a tablespoon or so of olive oil, local sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, freshly ground black pepper, a bit of dried dried red espelette pepper (very mild) from Alewife Farm, much of one small celery stalk and most of one thick red spring onion, mixed with garnished some chopped epazote from TransGenerational Farm, arranged on the plates, with more of that wonderful Mexican herb sprinkled on top
• most of an 8-ounce container of plain water buffalo milk labneh from Riverine Ranch, leaving a shallow depression to receive a bit of a very good Greek olive oil (Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (Koroneiki varietal), Hania, Crete, from Whole Foods Market), a bit of a dry seasoning called L’ekama from Ron & Leetal Arazi’s New York Shuk (the two founders are in this video here), a portion of a sweet Italian cipolla di Tropea from Alewife Farm, finely sliced, a little chopped habanada pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, the chopped stem of a baby purple romaine lettuce stem from Jayne and Elizabeth’s TransGenerational Farm, garnished with chopped fresh za’atar leaves, also from TransGenerational Farm, and arranged on leaves of their lettuce that had been dressed with local sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, drops of juice from a Whole Foods Market lemon, and a bit of the same olive oil
• the wine was an Oregon (Willamette Valley) white, Chris Baker Willamette Pinot Gris 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was a recording of the Quintet for Oboe and String Quartet (1973) and the Quintet for Bassoon and String Quartet (1977), by the Finnish composer Kahlevi Aho (born 1949) on a Finlandia CD that we’ve owned for many years

I don’t know how to characterize this meal, but it was delicious.

• a few ounces of ‘nduja, a classic Calabrian spreadable salumi (“loosely based on the French andouille introduced in the 13th century by the Angevins” – Wikipedia) now made locally by Rico and Jill of Walnut Hill Farm in Pawlet, Vermont, and available in the Union Square Greenmarket, spread on slices of ‘Whole wheat Redeemer Bread’ (simply wheat, water, salt) from Lost Bread Co. that had first been toasted with my ‘Camp-A-Toaster‘ on top of our 1930’s Magic Chef range, the salumi sprinkled with chopped fresh za’atar [origanum syriacum] from TransGenerational Farm and drizzled with olive oil

The main course was only a little more elaborate, although totally improvised from what I had on hand. It was basically a long pasta with golden grape tomatoes and several fresh or dry seasoning ingredients.

• a few chopped garlic scapes from Phillips Farms sautéed in a little olive oil over moderate heat inside a large antique copper pot until they had softened, then adding a quarter to a half teaspoon of some really great dried Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo (wild Sicilian fennel seed harvested in the Iblei Mountains), from Eataly Flatiron, then part of a habanada pepper from Campo Rosso Farm, sliced thinly, and a small stem of celery from Norwich Meadow Farm, finely chopped, and stirring a bit more before adding eight ounces of al dente-cooked and drained Afeltra spaghettoni, from Eataly Flatiron and almost a cup of cooking water, the mix stirred over medium to high heat until the liquid had emulsified, and more than a handful of lengthwise-halved golden grape or pear-shaped tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm, that had been sourced at the Saturday 23rd St Greenmarket, added and stirred into the pasta, the mix seasoned with a little freshly-ground black pepper, and some torn peppermint peppermint from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market and chopped lovage from Keith’s Farm in the Union Square Greenmarket, arranged in 2 shallow bowls, more mint and lovage added on top, as well as some chopped celery leaves and sliced garlic flower buds, and drizzled around the edges with a little olive oil

 

• the wine throughout the meal was a Spanish (Bierzo) white, Bierzo Godello, Abad Dom Bueno 2017, from Astor Wines
• the music throughout (it was the American Labor day) was Roy Harris, Symphony No. 1 ‘1933’ and his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra’

Labor Day lunch.

The September date on which the U.S. and Canada celebrate Labour day (Labour Day) was chosen to avoid the putatively un-American leftist, socialist, communist (and, not incidentally, Haymarket massacre*) associations of May 1, the day on which the rest of the world still honors labor, laborers, “..the class demands of the proletariat, and..universal peace”, as International Workers’ Day.

Americans prefer picnics.

To balance things off, today Barry and I mostly enjoyed a good [rainy day, indoor] lunch and listened throughout the afternoon, and continuing through this evening, to American music, some of it associated with the best leftist American values.

Breakfast room activists.

The meal itself included 6 fresh eggs from pastured chickens and 4 slices of bacon from pastured pigs, all from John Stoltzfoos’ Pennsylvania Millport Dairy Farm in the Union Square Greenmarket, one small ripe red/green heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced, and 3 golden grape tomatoes from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market, all seasoned with local sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood and freshly ground black pepper, then heated in a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with chopped fresh za’atar before being arranged on the plates on top of the leaves of one small head of purple romaine, both herb and lettuce from TransGenerational Farm, and the eggs fried inside the same very large well-seasoned cast iron pan in which the bacon had been slowly cooked (but only after a little rich Vermont Creamery butter had first been added), seasoned with sea salt and black pepper, sprinkled with a pinch of the now powdered remains of some light-colored home-dried habanada pepper purchased fresh from Norwich Meadows Farm in 2017, scattered with chopped leaves of some flowering pericón (‘Mexican tarragon’) from Norwich Meadows Farm; there were 2 breads: toasted slices from the heal of a loaf of Pain d’Avignon seven grain bread (rustic, whole wheat, honey, sesame- sunflower-flax seed, oats) from Chelsea Foragers Market and untoasted slices of a much fresher loaf of ‘Whole wheat Redeemer Bread’ (wheat, water, salt) from Lost Bread Co.

the music was by Roy Harris, his Symphony 1933 (Symphony No. 1), the Louisville Orchestra conducted by Jorge Mester (a little more on Harris here)

 

• on that subject, I wrote eleven years ago,

“I haven’t been able to find a really good compact summary of the strike anywhere on line, although there is this setting of the broader context in a discussion from Howard Zinn. I would definitely welcome any other suggestions. I can however offer information on some of the numbers involved in the physical conflict itself, quoted here from the Kansas Heritage Group:

“The total forces of the strikebreakers both government and private were [against 100,000 strikers]: 1,936 federal troops, 4,000 national guardsmen, about 5,000 extra deputy marshals, 250 extra deputy sheriffs, and the 3,000 policemen in Chicago for a total of 14,186 strikebreakers. In addition to these figures there were also twelve people shot and killed, and 71 people who were arrested and sentenced on the federal indictment.

“No picnic.”

 

 

[the Haymarket massacre drawing published by ‘Harpers Weekly’ is of National Guardsmen firing into demonstrators during the 1894 Chicago Pullman strike contemporary, from Wikimedia Commons]

While we’re not vegetarians, last night’s meal marked only our fourth meat entrée in over a month of dinners. This one, presenting local water buffalo steak, was a little out of the ordinary, and very, very tasty.

• two 9-ounce water buffalo rib eye steaks from Riverine Ranch, rinsed and patted dry, seasoned generously with our local P.E. & D.D. Seafood sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, allowed to reach room temperature (I left it for more than 45 minutes, but it could actually sit for an hour or two with a sheet of waxed paper covering it), seared in a dry oval enameled cast iron pan over a medium flame, cooked 2 or 3 minutes on each side, to medium rare, the time always dependent on thickness [being careful not to overcook, or the steak would be tough, and noting that the color of this lean meat is much more of a red than beef, meaning a medium-rare buffalo steak, which is what I prepared here, would be the same shade of an almost rare beef steak], removed from the pan, arranged on the plates, drizzled with a bit of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic California lemon (Sespe Creek Organics), sprinkled with chopped fresh thyme from Stokes Farm, drizzled with a little olive oil, covered very loosely and allowed to rest for a couple minutes before serving
• a small amount of (semi-wild, or formerly feral?) red cress from Dave Harris’s Max Creek Hatchery drizzled only with a few drops of an excellent olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (Koroneiki varietal), Hania, Crete, from Chelsea Whole Foods Market

• a large number of ‘lunchbox peppers’, a very sweet hybrid, or more likely several hybrids, from Campo Rosso Farm, among which Chris and Jessi had somehow been able to include some purple beauties, halved, the seeds and membranes removed (there were very few of either), sautéed in a little olive inside a large (13.25″), naturally-seasoned cast iron Lodge frying pan over an almost fully high flame until slightly caramelized, one sliced medium red onion from Norwich Meadows Farm added near the end, then adding some local sea salt and black pepper and stirring in some chopped za’atar [origanum syriacum] from TransGenerational Farm, the vegetables arranged on the plates, sprinkled with more of the super ‘oregano’ and drizzled with a few drops of balsamic vinegar
• the wine was a Spanish (Priorat/Montsant) red, Franck Massard Garnacha 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Mendelssohn Edition, Vol. 2: String Symphonies And Concertos’, Andreas Staier conducting Concerto Koln (the composer was between 12 and 14 years old when he wrote these works)

Early yesterday afternoon I went out to the Saturday 23rd Street Chelsea greenmarket, but only to pick up some parsley and mint. Most of the time I would go there I would get seafood, but we’d decided to play it loose with dinner arrangements. We were going to be in the Whitney Museum at least until early in the evening, so the plan was not to make a plan, since I could put a simple pasta together whenever we got home and felt hungry, or we might even decide to eat out.  Once I’d arrived down the block however, I had to check out the seafood stall, only doing it for the heck of it I thought. But then, after first checking with Barry by texting, I came home with two perfectly sized, exceptionally beautiful thick fresh tuna steaks. In fact he was pretty enthusiastic, judging from the caps he used to reply (we both love tuna), and totally okay with a slight change in plans (it’s very simple to prepare).

We’re both glad I had been flexible enough to disregard the original plan for being flexible, because we were able to enjoy just about the best tuna ever last night.

The less simple part of the meal involved the vegetable I’d chosen to cook. I had never before prepared (or, probably, even eaten) ‘bottle squash’ or lauki gourd, but I had bought one from Ashley Scott at her and her partner Nimai Gupta’s Gopal Farm stand in the Union Square Greenmarket the day before, and I was anxious to try it. Maybe it was because of a very recent interesting challenge with bitter melon, another vegetable often identified with India, that caused me to fret more than I really had to about how to cook it, but I ended up just treating it more or less like zucchini (I learned only halfway through my online research that, curiously, this same vegetable is very familiar in much of Italian regional cooking, where it is usually referred to as ‘Cucuzza‘).

• two thick 7-ounce tuna steaks from American Seafood Company in our neighborhood Saturday Chelsea Down to Earth Farmer’s Market, rinsed, dried, tops and bottoms seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, brushed or ‘paved’ with almost 2 tablespoons of a mix of a generous amount of a really, really great dried Semi di Finocchietto Ibleo (wild Sicilian fennel seed harvested in the Iblei Mountains), from Eataly Flatiron and a little dried peperoncino Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market, both first crushed together in a porcelain mortar and pestle, the steaks pan-grilled above a medium-high flame for little more than a minute or so on each side inside a medium enameled cast iron grill pan and finished on the plates with a good squeeze of the juice of an organic Mexican lemon from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, a scattering of chopped fresh zaatar [origanum syriacum] leaves from TransGenerational Farm and  a drizzle of Chelsea Whole Foods Market Portuguese house olive oil
• some little (semi-wild) red cress from Dave Harris’s Max Creek Hatchery dressed with an excellent olive oil, Renieris Estate ‘Divina’ (Koroneiki varietal), Hania, Crete, from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, local Long Island sea salt from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, freshly ground black pepper, and a good Italian (Piedmont) white wine vinegar (Aceto Cesare Bianco, from Buon Italia)
• a young one pound ‘bottle squash’ or lakui gourd (there are many other names) from Gopal Farm, its outer skin peeled off, cut into sections lengthwise, and each of those sliced roughly 1/4″ thin, again lengthwise, placed inside a large bowl, covered generously in sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper, mixed well by hand before drizzled with olive oil and mixed again, grilled on a large 2-burner cast iron grill pan, turing once, until softened and showing grill marks, arranged on large platter, each layer scattered with torn peppermint leaves from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday 23rd Street farmers market
• the wine was a Portuguese (Vinho Verde) white, Vinho Verde Loureiro, Aphros 2018, from Astor Wines
• the music was the album, ‘Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn – Works for Cello and Piano’, performed by
  cellist Johannes Moser, pianist Alasdair Beatson, beautiful music, and a beautiful concept

I’m calling it summer shark, even though it was being labelled “sand shark” at the Greenmarket (it’s also called ‘dogfish’, in some places; ‘rock salmon’ in the UK, ‘saumonette’ in France, and ‘palombo’ in Italy), but whatever it’s called, it’s been impossibly delicious each time I’ve prepared it.

This time the vegetable was terrific as well. It was possibly the best grilled Japanese eggplant I’ve ever done, and that’s saying a lot, since it’s my favorite cultivar of all the ‘berries’ of the nightshade family.

Also, just when I had run out of fresh seasoning alliums, some beautiful late-August’ red spring onions’ (they’re actually available much of the season) showed up at the Greenmarket yesterday, helping to ensure the quality of the sauce I would be making for the shark.

• one long ‘summer shark’ fillet weighing one pound from Pura Vida Seafood, brought to room temperature, cut into 4 sections crosswise, dusted with some lightly-seasoned local North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, shaking off the excess, sautéed in a little over one tablespoon of olive oil inside a large heavy oval antique copper skillet above a high flame for 4 or 5 minutes on each side, or until browned, the heat then turned off while a second pan, a broad based copper pot, was heated over a low to moderate flame with another tablespoon of oil before 2 fresh finely-chopped red spring onions from Lani’s Farm were added and cooked until softened, stirring occasionally, followed by one medium salted, rinsed, and filleted Sicilian anchovy, more than a tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley from Phillips Farms, and a half cup of wine, an Oregon Pinot Gris, the heat increased and the liquid reduced almost completely before a tablespoon of fresh water was added, the sauce seasoned with a pinch of both local L.I. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then poured over the top of the fillet pieces, their skillet heated over a low flame for a minute or two, the fish served on the plates with a sprinkling of pericón (‘Mexican tarragon’) from Norwich Meadows Farm
• three medium Japanese eggplant (12 ounces altogether), from Campo Rosso Farm, each halved lengthwise and scored into a hatch pattern with a very sharp knife, brushed all over with a mixture of a olive oil, 2 finely-chopped ‘Nootka rose’ garlic cloves from TransGenerational Farm, some super-pungent dried Sicilian oregano from Buon Italia, local sea salt and black pepper, pan-grilled inside a large cast iron ribbed pan above 2 brisk flames, turning twice, adding more of the material from the marinade the second time, a few small really delicious ‘honeydrop’ heirloom cherry tomatoes, also from TransGenerational Farm, tossed onto the grill pan just before the eggplant had been removed to the plates and heated, briefly, just enough to warm them through while still retaining their shapes, after which they were arranged strewn on top of their pan mates, both sprinkled with torn spearmint leaves from Stokes Farm and drizzled with a bit more olive oil
• the wine was a Spanish (Rías Baixas/Val do Salnés) white, Albariño “Xión”, Bodegas y Viñedos Attis 2018, from Astor Wines 

• the music was a glorious recording of Hugo von Hofmanstahl and RIchard Strauss’ ‘1909-1910 opera (“reactionary luxuriance”*, composed, amazingly, after ‘Salome’ and Elektra’), Der Rosenkavalier’, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, with Agnes Baltsa, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Kurt Moll, and Janet Perry

 

*the phrase appears in this 2003 article in the Independent

 

[the last image, of the Hogarth print that was von Hofmannstahl’s inspiration for the Marschallin’s levée scene in the first act, is from the National Gallery]