Porchetta Pork Chops

 

I was away for a wedding this weekend - congratulations, Chip and Siobhan! - and wasn't doing any cooking, so yesterday I was anxious to make dinner. I saw this recipe on the Times for pork chops and thought it sounded great. I also picked up some avocado squash at the Union Square Market. I'd never had avocado squash it before but the sign said it was like zucchini only smoother and more buttery and holds up better on the grill. Yum! Both were great. The pork chops have a wonderful flavor with the rosemary, fennel, lemon, and garlic. Jamie loved them. The squash was perfect just tossed with olive oil, salt, garlic, and pepper and thrown under the broiler.

I also grabbed some shishito peppers for an hors d'oeuvre.

Shishito Peppers

I saw these at the farmers market and couldn't resist. I made them as an hors d'oeuvre last night. They're so quick and easy and they taste great. The peppers are a little bitter, but the salt and lemon make them very tasty. Will definitely make them again.

All you do is put about a teaspoon of olive oil into a skillet and saute the peppers over medium heat until they start to char and blister in spots. Then squeeze lemon juice on them and sprinkle with salt and you're done.

Brooklyn Bridge Park BBQ

If there's anyone who wants to BBQ in the city but doesn't have a yard or roof for it, definitely try out Brooklyn Bridge Park's picnic area. It's amazing! Jamie and I went with a few friends last night and had the best time. There are picnic tables and grills that are first come first serve. I got there around 7pm and got a great table right up against the river and the nearby grill. You just need to bring your own charcoal, and they clean it up in the morning. It's such a beautiful spot to spend the evening. You get an amazing sunset (weather permitting) and once the sun is down, all the lights of lower Manhattan and the bridges are an unbeatable backdrop. I can't wait to do it again!

 Bryce lighting the charcoal

Look at that view! (Jamie had just gotten off the nearby soccer fields in this picture)

July 6 - Vegetable Garden Week 16

Looking good! Got a zucchini, probably the last of the snap peas, and lots of green tomatoes. Even a few little red ones inside the wall-o-water on the super sweet 100s. Aside from one tomato plant that never made it, things are looking healthy and happy.

Happy Fourth!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! I had a wonderful long weekend out in Long Island and Jamie returned from a week and a half away for work. We watched fireworks, went to the beach, lit sparklers, and saw lots of friends. Perfect summer weekend. Too bad they're not all 4 days long...

Pickled Snap Peas

I have so many snap peas and was bored on Saturday morning (Jamie's in Germany for work). I went out and filled a basket and decided to pickle them. I love any sort of pickles, and can't wait to make these again, so I figured snap peas would be good. I used this recipe as a base, but also added some extra spices. They're supposed to pickle for two weeks, but I tried one on Sunday and they were already tasty. Bright and acidic and actually even more crunchy than before! Can't wait to have them in a salad or next to a burger or BLT. We'll see what Jamie thinks. He's a purist and just likes eating snap peas raw.

Ingredients:
About 2 cups of snap peas
3/4 cup white vinegar
3/4 cup cold water
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, sliced
big pinch of red pepper flakes
a few pinches each of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, fennel seeds, turmeric