I always think of how privileged we are to be able to enjoy this magnificent local game fish, and I try hard to treat it well.

But the vegetables available to us, although rarely wild, are appreciated at least as much.

• two 8-ounce striped bass fillets from Pura Vida Seafood Company, removed from the refrigerator, salted lightly, allowed to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes or so, then the skin side scraped with a butter knife to remove excess moisture and both sides patted dry afterward with a paper towel while an 11-inch well-seasoned French steel pan was heated above a high flame and a tablespoon, or a little more, of Australian Mac Nut macademia nut oil from Whole Foods Market poured into the pan and swirled to cover the bottom, allowed to get quite hot, the fish placed skin side down inside the pan, which was immediately jiggled to be sure that the fillets weren’t sticking, the fillets salted on that side, the heat turned down to medium-high, their surfaces pressed down lightly with a spatula for 30 to 60 seconds (to ensure that the skin browns evenly), cooked without moving for 3 or 4 minutes then flipped, at which moment the pan was jiggled again, to see that the filets moved easily, and that skin side cooked for another minute, to be sure maybe a bit more, the heat turned off shortly before the time was up, the pieces removed to a warm platter, a tablespoon and a half of butter added to the pan and swirled so that it melted swiftly, followed by a generous helping of chopped shallot from Alex’s Tomato Farm in the Saturday Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on West 23rd Street, the mix stirred with a wooden spatula and the sauce immediately poured onto a portion of the surface of each of the 2 plates, the bass fillets arranged on top, garnished with micro chervil from Two guys from Woodbridge
• eight ounces of washed and dried green (unripe) cherry tomatoes from Alewife Farm, first punctured with a skewer, slow-roasted inside a small antique rolled-edge tin square oven pan with a heaping teaspoon of dried Italian oregano from Buon Italia, one chopped red shishito pepper, also from Alewife Farm, half a tablespoon or more of olive oil, and 3 bruised cloves of garlic [I forgot my usual garlic routine here, and so they were halved rather than ‘bruised’] from Foragers Market, roasted late afternoon that day, at 325º for about 35 minutes, then set aside to be served at room temperature hours later with the rest of the entrée [Note: I had actually forgotten about them until after I had photographed the plate and we’d already begun eating, so I arranged the tomatoes in bowls to the side of the plates, and photographed one of those separately]
• two small fennel bulbs from Quarton Farm, separated from their fronds, and the fronds separated from their stems, sliced, first in half, then into narrow wedges, sautéed in olive oil, along with some of the more tender stems, with a little chopped  ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, and 3 or 4 small of the red shishito peppers from Alewife Farm, chopped, until  everything has softened and begun to char, served garnished with some of the chopped fennel fronds
• the wine was a New Zealand (Hawkes Bay) white, Rod Easthope Reserve Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was Richard Strauss’ ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’, with Jessye Norman in the title role, Kurt Masur conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra

We both chose the blowfish on our own, without any visual stimulus, and unanimously (Barry by responding to the photo I had sent him of the fish board that day, via Slack), but the vegetable seemed to have invited itself, once I had spotted two bunches of long beans that remained on the farmer’s table at the Greenmarket on Monday.

Today many of us think that Italians traditionally tend to overcook their vegetables, but author of the recipe on which I based my preparation of these (very un-Italian beans) has a different take:

If you ask me, people don’t overcook their vegetables often enough. The truth is, vegetables can sometimes be absolutely delicious when cooked until there isn’t a trace of crispness left. In fact, some vegetables practically require long cooking—like these long beans braised in tomatoes, which are best only after you’ve cooked them to death.

I can understand the concept, at least in this case.

• eight local blowfish tails (exactly one pound together) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company, dredged in about 2 ounces of a local Union Square Greenmarket-purchased whole wheat flour (from the Blew family of Oak Grove Mills Mills) that had been seasoned with plenty of local P.E. & D.D. Seafood Company sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, about half a teaspoon of Colman’s ground mustard seed, and a pinch or more of some home-dried darker golden habanada pepper, pan-fried in olive oil about an eighth to a quarter of an inch deep inside a very large well seasoned heavy cast iron pan, turning them over once (cooking about 2 to 2½ minutes on each side), by which time they had turned beautifully golden), drizzled with juice of an organic California lemon from Whole Foods Market, and garnished with micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge

• twelve ounces of purple Asian long beans (the color remains after cooking) from Lani’s Farm, washed, trimmed, cut into 4 or 5-inch lengths, placed inside a large antique high-sided copper pan/pot in 2 tablespoons of olive oil in which 2 medium cloves of ‘Chesnok Red’ garlic from Alewife Farm and a bit of dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia had first been heated over a medium flame, stirring, until the garlic had begun to color, the heat raised to high and cooked, again, stirring, until the beans had become bright purple and begun to sear, 3 to 4 minutes, seasoned with salt and pepper, then most of one can of San Marzano (Italian San Marzano, Italian San Marzano D.O.C.) tomatoes and their juices, the tomatoes themselves first crushed by hand, added to the pan, along with a third of a cup of water that had first been swished around the empty tomato can, the mix brought to a simmer and the heat lowered just enough to maintain that simmer, cooked uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans were very tender and the tomato had reduced to a thick sauce, or about 30 minutes, at which point 2 tablespoons of packed fresh peppermint leaves, also from Lani’s Farm, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil were mixed in [NOTE: this dish could also be served at room temperature, or refrigerated and rewarmed before serving.]
• the wine was a Spanish (Catalonia/Tarragona/Monsant) white, Franck Massard Herbis Verdejo 2018, from Naked Wines
• the music was a recording of two symphonies by Karl Friedrich Abel (1723-1787), Michael Alexander Willens conducting the Cologne Academy

Sure, it was steak and potatoes, with one small red tomato for a light touch – and – color, but before that there was a very light appetizer of freshly grilled zucchini slices with a really good local chevre and some spicy mint.

I think the news about a study about meat studies had just broken around the time I started planning this meal, but I wouldn’t have impacted them in any event. Compared to most Americans, we eat very little meat, but we really enjoy it when we do, and the latest fuss, like so much other modern food advice fuss, seems to have no basis.

I don’t know anything about ‘ScienceAlert’ (there’s no ‘about’ on the home page), or Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, the author of the article on this subject which I found on its site, but one statement I found there seems about right, at least to this non-scientist:

There is some evidence that red meat consumption might be harmful, but it’s not strong enough to justify telling people to change their dietary habits.

Basically, keep doing whatever you are currently doing, because we simply don’t know if it’s harmful or not.

Check.

• one 7-ounce zucchini from Stokes Farm, sliced lengthwise into pieces about a quarter of an inch thick, tossed in a bowl with a generous amount of sea salt and allowed to rest for about a half hour, rinsed well, dried, tossed inside a bowl again, this time with a little olive oil, 2 finely-chopped garlic cloves from Stokes Farm, salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of dried Itria-Sirissi chili, pepperoncino di Sardegna intero from Buon Italia, then pan grilled, turning 2 or 3 times, on the top of a large ribbed cast iron grill plate, arranged on the 2 plates, sprinkled with torn peppermint leaves from Lani’s Farm and more olive oil, arranged on a medium plate, and crumbled with some wonderful Consider Bardwell Farm chèvre, ‘Mettawee’
• slices from a loaf of Pain d’Avignon seven grain bread (whole wheat, honey, sesame-sunflower-flax seed, oats) from Foragers Market

The steak course, as I suggested, was almost a throwback; only the herbs might have betrayed it was the 21st century.

• one picanha/culotte steak (18.5 ounces) from Sun Fed Beef in the Union Square Greenmarket, defrosted, brought to room temperature, seasoned on all sides with sea salt, a generous amount of freshly-ground black pepper, and seared for less than a minute on the top, thick, fat-covered side, then briefly on the opposite side, inside a dry oval heavy enameled cast iron pan, then the 2 long sides cooked for 3 or 4 minutes each, removed from the pan at the moment it had become perfectly medium-rare (checking with an instant-read thermometer), carefully cut crosswise into 2 pieces of the same weight and arranged on 2 warm plates while a bit of juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market California lemon was squeezed on top, followed by a drizzle of a little very good Cretan olive oil, then scattered with scissored bronze fennel flowers from Rise & Root Farm, and allowed to rest for about 4 minutes before being served
• one small red heirloom tomato from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced in half horizontally, sprinkled with sea salt, black pepper, and a little chopped lovage from Quarton Farm, briefly sautéed inside a small copper skillet, turning once, arranged on the plates and drizzled with a very small amount of oilve oil
• roughly three quarters of a pound of medium ‘Chieftain’ potatoes, with red skin and white flesh, from Keith’s Farm, washed, scrubbed, dried, halved, tossed inside a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, dried dark golden habanada, and sprigs of tender young rosemary from TransGenerational Farm, arranged in (on?) a medium Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan and roasted at 400º for about 25 or 30 minutes, arranged on the plates and sprinkled with [more rosemary, I think]
• the wine was a Portuguese (Estremadura) red, Montaria 2017, from Naked Wines, an excellent wine, and também uma grande pechincha
• the music was a delightful album, ‘L’orchestre De Louis XIII’, composed of early seventeenth century French court music by various composers, written for “..solemn events during the reigns of Henry III, Henry IV and Louis XIII, including several Concerts for their royal entertainment, gathered together in an anthology by Philidor the Elder in 1690.“, performed by Jordi Saval and Le Concert des Nations