Breakfast/lunch/Dinner, what are you having?

A simple Greek salad of sorts... at least I had the makings of it on hand. Had originally thought just to slap together a couple of bean and cheese tacos with some salsa or such, and then realized I'd actually run out of taco shells. Oh well.

Anyway I'm not complaining. It's finally got too hot outside to want to cook an evening meal. Winter might be over at last. A gray catbird showed up to claim a usual nesting spot in the thickety shelter of the honeysuckle bush two days ago, and that has been a fairly dependable sign of impending summer weather.
 
We've been putting off going to the cash&carry for at least two weeks beyond when we started to run out of some stuff (and just flat out avoiding the supermarket since probably February-ish) and haven't been to any of the little fresh markets/convenience store lately either so it's really down to little bits of stuff thrown together, in the natural format for such random things: curry.
 
Oh I should mention it does have one 'deliberate' thing (i.e. not just what we had left) in it - fresh bamboo shoots from the back yard.
 
Wifey got a craving for kidneys today, so it's... steak and kidney pie.. but it's actually a cottage pie.. and it's pork mince not beef....
 
I shall have some re-upped options for the menu incoming today... towards end of last week after all that rain earlier, my lawn was getting so out of hand I was too mortified to have groceries delivered. The guy finally mowed yesterday evening and had to go around twice to mulch it down considering how tall the grass had got. Anyway good timing, because I was almost out of cucumbers, tomatoes, hummas, even pitas.... the fallback options for "what's for lunch / supper" during heatwaves.
 
lizkat said:
I shall have some re-upped options for the menu incoming today... towards end of last week after all that rain earlier, my lawn was getting so out of hand I was too mortified to have groceries delivered. The guy finally mowed yesterday evening and had to go around twice to mulch it down considering how tall the grass had got. Anyway good timing, because I was almost out of cucumbers, tomatoes, hummas, even pitas.... the fallback options for "what's for lunch / supper" during heatwaves.
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Long grass.. no salad vegetables... sounds like the problem is also the solution there ;-)
 
lizkat said:
The guy finally mowed yesterday evening and had to go around twice to mulch it down considering how tall the grass had got.
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I do it about every 5 days during the peak grass growing time, makes it much less of a chore (and this new battery mower is just terrific, no smell, no gas do deal with, reasonably quiet).

Sometimes I do an alternating front and back yard, but I always wear my Speedo ...

The neighbors wish I wouldn't mow so much.
 
DT said:
I do it about every 5 days during the peak grass growing time, makes it much less of a chore (and this new battery mower is just terrific, no smell, no gas do deal with, reasonably quiet).

Sometimes I do an alternating front and back yard, but I always wear my Speedo ...

The neighbors wish I wouldn't mow so much.
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Heh, just wearing a Speedo while mowing would probably scandalize the neighborhood around here and warrant a piece in the local paper.

It gets hard for contract mowers around here to keep the grass cut for all their clients when we get a series of rainy days back to back... but this last stretch was absurd: my side yard ended up nearly six inches tall. since after I had some new drywells put in, I just used chaff from a haywagon up at the family's farm to reseed the thing. Hayseed gonna make hay, sky's the limit!

At least he did go around twice on it. What I need is a couple goats if this is how the summer's going to run.
 
Yeah, you go 7-10 days in the rainy summer months around here, it gets totally out of control. Well, in some spots, hahaha, we're at the beach, it's St. Augustine grass, so it's not like some deep, lush grass. In fact, we're going to expand our flower bed areas, more rocks ... less grass :D
 
Lunch today: Freshly cooked beets cooled in a vinaigrette marinade for awhile, then slivered up under some fresh egg salad (mayo, Dijon mustard and plenty of celery for crunch) all in a bed of Boston (butterhead) lettuce leaves, Wasa multigrain crispy cracker on the side.
 
lizkat said:
Lunch today: Freshly cooked beets cooled in a vinaigrette marinade for awhile, then slivered up under some fresh egg salad (mayo, Dijon mustard and plenty of celery for crunch) all in a bed of Boston (butterhead) lettuce leaves, Wasa multigrain crispy cracker on the side.
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Gimme.
Gimme gimme gimme.

I love fresh cooked beetroot (we almost always just had canned when I was a kid) but my wife isn’t a fan so I usually don’t bother to get it even when I find it locally.
 
Stephen.R said:
Gimme.
Gimme gimme gimme.
I love fresh cooked beetroot (we almost always just had canned when I was a kid) but my wife isn’t a fan so I usually don’t bother to get it even when I find it locally.
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The canned are ok in a pinch but I do prefer getting the fresh, and early at a local farmers' market if I can, because I love the greens too.
 
lizkat said:
The canned are ok in a pinch but I do prefer getting the fresh, and early at a local farmers' market if I can, because I love the greens too.
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I’d settle for canned if it’s in a sandwich or hamburger but it’s not the same to me if its for a salad. Tastes a bit watered down, and I find them best if I add olive oil and a little white wine vinegar while they’re still warm. I guess they absorb some due to moisture loss via steam.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen them here with the green part still. And weirdly the tinned ones - that are obviously very transportable - basically don’t exist here. I have no clue what the fresh ones get used for locally. But that’s a very common wondering for myself and my wife - how is there a market for X here?

What are the greens like? Do you cook them with the base or separate them?
 
Stephen.R said:
I’d settle for canned if it’s in a sandwich or hamburger but it’s not the same to me if its for a salad. Tastes a bit watered down, and I find them best if I add olive oil and a little white wine vinegar while they’re still warm. I guess they absorb some due to moisture loss via steam.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen them here with the green part still. And weirdly the tinned ones - that are obviously very transportable - basically don’t exist here. I have no clue what the fresh ones get used for locally. But that’s a very common wondering for myself and my wife - how is there a market for X here?

What are the greens like? Do you cook them with the base or separate them?
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You cut them off the roots. For the greens, trim off any getting-woody parts if they are older beets, then chop the stems and cook the lot as you would red or green chard. Or at least that's what I do, and serve them with olive oil and a vinegar of choice.
 
lizkat said:
red or green chard.
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I am really over region specific names for plants and foods in the “same” language (not a dig at you).

I’d heard the name before but had no idea what it is. Oh. It’s what my mum grew when I was a kid and called silver beet.

thanks for the info. If I ever find some with leaves I’ll be sure to try it.
 
@lizkat; @Stephen.R:

Actually, usually, I tend to roast beets (a recommendation from the German woman who sells them to me) - all root vegetables respond well to roasting, - drizzle with olive oil, in a roasting tin, or wrapped in foil - as it caramalises them.
 
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